It was a cold, rain-splattered night that she crashed into my life. It had been a long day. I was locking up at my office when I felt the ice-cold slap of a puddle against my trouser cuffs, then a body collided with mine. Call me a cynic, but with a name like mine in a place like Coronet City, my instincts were to swing a punch – but as I rounded on the puddle-stomper, I was met with the wide, long-lashed eyes of a woman in a hooded cloak. My fist unclenched.

“I'm so sorry. I slipped.” She was tall, a couple inches shy of my height. Her cloak was heavy, heavier still for the rainwater on the hem. Under the hood she looked to be in her thirties, human or at least near-human. The hood didn't give me the best look at her, but I got a glimpse of long, dark hair and full, red lips.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

She nodded. “I'll be fine, but you must let me pay for the cleaning-”

I lifted a hand and shook my head. “It was going to happen sooner or later,” I said with a glance at the length of the street. It was covered in standing water. It was also not the kind of pedway that you walked down unless you had a reason to. Especially not looking as... expensive as she did. “Are you looking for something?” I asked.

“Someone, actually,” she said. She had an accent that I couldn't place. “Two someones, in fact, but for now only a Mr. Longstar. I'm told that he has an office... somewhere in this area.”

What were the odds? That someone walking down the street to my office should be looking for me? Not all that slim, when you looked at it like that – but it had the feeling of unusually good happenstance.

“This is it. I just locked up.” I held out a hand to introduce myself and realisation swept over her face like silk and she smiled.

“You must excuse my calling late, Mr. Longstar. Shall we step inside?” The smile was still there, expectant. The polite smile of woman addressing a servant or underling, not quite patronising but definitely confident that whatever question had preceded that smile was going to be answered in the woman's favour.

“Sure,” I swiped my keycard on the door and gestured the woman inside.

It had been a long day and I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.