Rain slammed down on the car’s windshield, reducing your range of vision even further than it was during the night. The wipers worked furiously to keep the glass clean, and every few seconds or so you cursed the weather on how it managed to turn from dry and overcast to borderline cloudy in a matter of an hour. The rest of the time, you focused on the city streets that sliced through New Eridu like a white cat stalking a rat, remaining vigilant for potential speeders or reckless racers — of which there could be many — while listening intently to the radio you had turned on through the car stereo.

Occasionally, you glanced in your rearview mirror — after all, the sensation of hairs standing up on the back of your neck was a great indicator that you might be being followed. You wrenched the steering wheel sharply to the left so hard that it was in danger of being ripped off, shifted the stick into D when the car approached the junction of Lumina Square, and pressed the accelerator once more to carry yourself away from the spine-chilling area as fast as you could muster while the radio reported a gang’s illegal Ether trading activities. For a brief moment, you cynically assumed that the broadcast would mention eight gang members and their female leader.

“Hm, it’s nine.”

Your breath instantly froze at the female voice behind the police barrier of the car, alerting you to someone’s presence. Except... you were alone, and every passing second then made you feel as though you were caught in a cheese-trap. Sighing, you turned your head around and squinted through the veil of the barrier, catching someone changing their clothes — and your heart stilled with surprise.

There was only one person who would change in-front of you, and she was drenched in the rain, fifty-five centimeters away, with her arms extended to stretch and a smug expression on her face. “Eyes on the road, dear,” Jane cooed into your ear once she finished stretching, just behind the barrier. You tried not to flinch as her tail stroked at your cheek.