It’s nine o’clock at night. In the city’s middle-class districts, formal-looking shops with more affordable prices than the famous chains are everywhere. The most common ones are food establishments, where customers of all races stop to rest and eat something to regain their energy. The more expensive restaurants usually have room for over fifty people. More modest places settle for serving an average of ten customers at a time.

  A bell rings, signaling that a new customer has entered the establishment run by two female fairies. The space consists of four tables, each with two padded double chairs. There is also a counter that separates the dining area from the kitchen, where customers can sit to eat and sometimes interact with the cook. On each table, a sensor allows customers to pay using a phone or a card. The colors and lighting—true to fairy heritage—create a warm atmosphere and a sense of connection to nature.

  “Welcome.” A fairy who appears to be about fifteen in human years, standing just under one and a half meters tall, floats a few centimeters above the floor as she approaches the customers. Her white hair reaches her shoulders, and her green eyes evoke a sense of quiet majesty.

  When she realizes the newcomers are people she knows, the young fairy’s smile widens.

  “It’s you!”

  “Hey, Lumi.” Andrew Vance, dressed in his signature trench coat, raises his hand for a high five.

  The young fairy eagerly returns the gesture. Behind Andrew, his two brothers step into the café as well. The smell of coffee and prepared food surrounds them, making their appetites grow. Aside from the brothers, there other customer, seated at a table in the back, focused on his phone screen.

  “Good evening.” Lewis is more formal, but he still raises his hand to return the fairy’s greeting.

  “If you’re here, it means you either completed another mission or didn’t feel like cooking.” Lumi lifts her hand to high-five the last of the brothers.

  “This time, it’s both.” Axel returns the high five, moderating his strength so he doesn’t accidentally hurt the young fairy, as he has done on previous occasions.

  An adult fairy woman with features similar to Lumi’s, though with shorter hair, peeks over the counter from the kitchen, floating just a few centimeters above the floor.

  “Welcome, Vance brothers,” she says with a warm smile. “What will you be having?”

  “Mom, that’s my job,” Lumi says with a pout.

  “Sorry, sweetheart.”

  “Good evening, Mrs. Aerwyn,” Lewis says. “We’ll have the usual—the nightly special.”

  “I’ve told you to call me Faelith, Lewis.”

  “All right.” The eldest brother obeys the unspoken order and removes his hat.

  The Vances take three of the four seats at one of the tables. Andrew pulls a projector from his pocket and places it on the empty chair.

  “LENA wants to say hello too.”

  The device projects a vertical holographic screen, revealing a woman with long brown hair who looks very similar to the brothers.

  “Good evening, Faelith. Lumi.” The AI raises her holographic hand.

  “Hi, LENA,” the younger fairy replies with another bright, enthusiastic smile. “What exciting case did you solve today?”

  “We helped some workers better organize a shipment of trucks that had to be sent out of the city. We started by—”

  Lumi listens in awe, while her mother is amused by her reaction and heads back into the kitchen to prepare the brothers’ order.

  The three brothers, on the other hand, don’t look thrilled after that annoying assignment, which required them to move heavy boxes under their older sister’s instructions. The physical strain had been considerable, for their first job of the work shift. Even Axel ended up exhausted—something rare for him.

  “We’re still human,” Andrew mutters, slumping forward onto the table as he fights the urge to fall asleep.

  “That sounds exciting,” Lumi says, never losing her smile. “When I’m old enough, I’ll study criminology and solve cases just like you.”

  “Well, actually we—”

  “Think very carefully about that, sweetheart!” A near-shout from the kitchen interrupts Lewis.

  Everyone lets out soft laughter.

  “Will you tell me more about your adventures?” The young fairy floats a little higher, her wings fluttering with anticipation.

  “We can, at least until Faelith finishes our food,” says Andrew.

  Minutes pass, and Lumi delights in the stories told by the Vance quartet. Some are more entertaining than others, but they always involve magical races in addition to humans. Once again, an exquisite smell of food fills the air, making the three boys’ stomachs growl—they can’t wait much longer for dinner.

  “Faelith’s cooking is the best,” Axel says. “Way better than the canned or junk food we usually eat.”

  “One of us should learn how to cook and make use of the agency’s kitchen,” Lewis adds.

  A sudden noise shatters the pleasant atmosphere of the café, drawing even Faelith’s attention toward its source. The other customer besides the boys is a man in his forties, his face twisted with anger and frustration, his teeth clenched. He has just slammed his fist down on the table, making the plates, glasses, and cutlery jump. The outburst displeases both the owner of the place and the members of the Vance Night Agency.

  Andrew rises from his seat and walks toward the troublemaker.

  “Hey, buddy. This isn’t a bar where you can come in and throw tantrums that disturb others. Apologize to the owner. Now.”

  The man locks eyes with him. Beyond his anger, his expression also shows desperation and distress. Noticing that everyone in the café is staring at him, he lets out a sharp huff.

  “My apologies.” He brings his phone closer to the sensor at the center of the table to pay the bill, then stands and heads toward the exit.

  “Wait,” Lewis calls out. “Things don’t seem to be going very well for you if you reacted like that. Trouble?”

  “That’s none of your business.” The man looks down and clenches his fists.

  “If you ever need the help of detectives for… unpleasant jobs, don’t hesitate to contact us,” Axel says as he appears in front of the man, extending a business card marked with the initials VNA and the agency’s phone number beneath.

  “Unpleasant jobs…?” The man, unsure of when the boy managed to get in front of him, takes the card and examines it.

  “Your food is ready,” Faelith announces as she places the brothers’ plates on the counter. Her daughter flies over, ready to serve them.

  “You look desperate, sir. Would you like to tell us a bit more?” Lewis asks.

  Minutes later, the three brothers are eating at their table, while the man now sits at the counter facing them, sipping a glass of water offered by Faelith.

  “My name is Richard. I’m the manager of a distribution company that handles shipments both inside and outside the city.”

  “And what caused your outburst?” Faelith asks, her patience restrained.

  “If I broke anything, I’ll pay for it. I was just informed that another one of our trucks was attacked by a biker gang. An hour ago, they stopped the driver and forced him at gunpoint to open the truck’s container. They took everything valuable he was transporting.”

  “Another truck?” Andrew asks.

  “It’s not the first time the same gang has hit us. The day before yesterday and five days ago, the same thing happened, and they stole a large amount of cargo.” Richard takes a few deep breaths to calm himself. “We asked the police for help, but there’s a long, tedious process, and by the time it’s resolved, those criminals will have stolen even more goods.”

  “Are you sure it’s the same gang?” Lewis asks.

  “Yes. The drivers confirmed it. They also know our routes and use very specific locations with little police presence to carry out their attacks.”

  “That sounds far too organized to be just a random gang of thieves. If they know your routes, they must’ve studied you and known ahead of time where the trucks would be.”

  “We tried changing routes to throw them off, but they still knew where one of the trucks would be. After the second incident, we installed trackers on the trucks, but it didn’t help at all.”

  “We can stop them if you hire us,” Andrew says. “We’ve dealt with plenty of gangs like this before.”

  “We’re a legal agency that handles unpleasant jobs at night,” Axel adds. “We’ve faced criminal groups before.”

  The man stares at the three boys—and at the AI—without saying a word.

  “You all seem too young to—”

  “We’re all over twenty,” Lewis says. “Twenty-seven, twenty-five, twenty-three, and twenty-one, to be exact. Don’t underestimate us, sir. You can hire us, and if we don’t meet your expectations, you won’t have to pay.”

  Richard thinks it over for a few seconds.

  “Our company doesn’t lose anything by trying.”

  “We appreciate your trust. When does the next shipment leave?”

  “In less than an hour. The last departure is at ten thirty tonight.”

  “There’s very little time to prepare a strategy,” LENA says. “Sir, we’ll need you to provide us with the routes your trucks will be taking.”

  “And we’ll also need you to give your loaders an order,” Andrew adds.

  “What kind of order?”

  “There’s a snitch among your employees,” Andrew concludes. “We suspected it when you said the trackers didn’t work. We’ll bring him down too.”

  Faelith and Lumi, who have stayed out of the conversation, listen with anticipation to the deductions of the Vance Night Agency. Lumi, the most amazed of all, doesn’t hesitate to pull out her phone and start taking notes on how to think like a detective. Luckily, no other customers arrive to distract her.

  “It’s a pretty risky plan, so you’ll have to trust us,” LENA says.

  “As I said, my company doesn’t lose anything by trying.” Richard gives them a serious look. “If it doesn’t work, I won’t pay you, and any material damage will be on you.”

  Lewis, Andrew, and LENA exchange confident, defiant smiles.

  “Challenge accepted,” Axel says with an innocent gesture.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Can I go with—?” Lumi is interrupted by her mother, who flies out of the kitchen and grabs her by the shoulder.

  “Don’t even think about it, sweetheart.”

  The young fairy pouts like a spoiled child, amusing the Vances.

  “When you’re done, you’ll have to tell me everything in detail,” Lumi says.

  “We will.” Lewis pulls out his phone and brings it close to the sensor at the center of the table to pay the bill.

  It’s ten o’clock at night. The Vance Night Agency’s van moves through the lightly traveled streets of a middle-class district, where the number of lights decreases and the city’s noise fades into a calmer hum. They follow a delivery truck bearing the logo of its shipping company: a cardboard box with wings and a lightning bolt in the background. The brake lights at the rear of the truck turn on, signaling that it’s about to stop—a cue Lewis mirrors by pressing the brake pedal of the van.

  “I’m not sure about doing this, sir—manager.”

  “I already spoke with the company president,” Richard says through his phone to the truck’s driver as he sits in the back seat of the van. “Stick to the plan, and if anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility.”

  “Everything according to plan?” asks the youngest of the Vance brothers, watching the truck through a pair of binoculars from about fifty meters away.

  “The bait is ready. That truck is carrying high-value items—jewelry and expensive, latest-model devices. I told my employees to spread the word that one shipment is delayed because of what’s been happening, and to load the most valuable items onto that truck.”

  “Perfect. If the snitch is smart, he’ll realize it’s a trap and won’t act. That way, we can rule him out as a suspect tonight.”

  “On the other hand,” Lewis says, “if his greed gets the better of him and he falls for it, we’ll be ready to go after his friends.”

  The truck comes to a full stop, and the delivery driver—an adult human—steps out to open the cargo area and retrieve a package.

  “This is the address where a coveted, latest-model smartphone is supposed to be delivered,” LENA says.

  The driver pulls out a small cardboard box, closes the doors, and walks up to ring the bell of a two-story house. The delivery process—signature and confirmation—goes with nothing unusual happening. No motorcyclists appear, and the driver shows no suspicious behavior.

  “For now, we know the driver isn’t involved,” Lewis says. “LENA?”

  “All three trucks that departed at the same time remain intact. Their drivers haven’t reported anything.”

  The delivery driver gets back into the truck, and the Vances resume their escort in the van, following behind.

  It’s eleven and some minutes at night. The bait truck’s deliveries are still going smoothly, with no issues beyond a few odd customers who ordered things like foul-smelling air fresheners, candy machines, and jewelry meant to decorate a picture frame. LENA has also reported nothing unusual regarding the other vehicles.

  “Some people don’t know what to do with their money,” Axel remarks, leaning back in the passenger seat.

  “It looks like the snitch realized it was a trap.” Andrew watches through the window as the truck driver they’re following completes yet another successful delivery. “Maybe he’s among the employees working tonight.”

  “Not yet,” Richard says. “This is when they strike—after more than half the truck has been unloaded.”

  “Now that I think about it,” Lewis says, “if they carry out their robberies on motorcycles, they wouldn’t be able to take much, especially heavy boxes. Unless—”

  “Guys, look,” LENA warns the brothers and the manager.

  From a street perpendicular to the truck’s route, a light appears and grows brighter. Then that same light multiplies—once, twice more—and the roar of engines shatters the silence.

  The Vance brothers wait until the last possible moment, in case it’s just a coincidence. Their suspicions are confirmed when two of the four arriving motorcycles stop in front of the truck, blocking its path. Another positions itself at the rear, and the last one stops near the driver’s door.

  All four motorcyclists are wearing leather jackets, and one of them stands out for his massive build. The one closest to the driver dismounts and pulls a pistol from his pocket. He first smashes it against the driver’s window, then aims it.

  “Get out and open the container doors,” he says in a loud but eerily calm voice. “Now.”

  The driver steps out, trembling, and raises his hands.

  “P-please don’t hurt me. I’m just… I’m just an employee.”

  “I didn’t tell you to talk.” The man—still wearing his helmet, from which a long snout protrudes—fires a shot into the ground near the driver’s feet.

  “It’s impossible not to recognize your species with a feature that distinctive.”

  The other three motorcyclists draw their pistols as they hear Andrew Vance’s voice. Two brown-haired boys, armed and with similar features, are already walking toward the truck.

  “Draconids don’t have snouts that long,” Andrew says, aiming his pistols at the two bikers in front of him. “That makes you an anthropomorph.”

  “Eliminate them!”

  At what appears to be the leader’s command, the two motorcyclists blocking the truck jump off their bikes and fire red laser beams at the boys. Axel and Andrew sprint in opposite directions to dodge them. The youngest brother fires a rapid burst of laser shots at his attackers, but they manage to evade and take cover behind the truck.

  Axel takes advantage of the opening and charges at the gang leader, thrusting forward with his sword. The target twists his body with impressive agility and dodges the strike. Still, Axel’s true goal is achieved—forcing him away from the truck driver, who crouches down after the gunfire.

  The only motorcyclist who hasn’t acted yet—the largest of them all—raises his pistol and aims at Andrew’s head. Before he can pull the trigger, a red laser beam flashes right in front of his eyes. He turns toward its source and sees, more than fifty meters away, a figure wearing a hat, standing atop a black van with a long-range rifle in hand. Another laser shot heads his way, forcing him to dodge as well.

  Axel swings his sword in a wide slash. The leader leaps far backward and unleashes a barrage of laser beams. Axel raises his sword and, with remarkable agility, blocks every single beam as they strike the blade without effect.

  “Damn it,” the leader snarls, pulling another object from his pocket and hurling it to the ground.

  The metallic, circular device hits the pavement and bounces. The middle Vance brother recognizes it—and squeezes his eyes shut.

  “Close your eyes and cover your ears!” Axel orders the truck driver.

  The frightened man obeys, and what happens next catches everyone off guard. A blinding beam of light erupts from the device, and a second later, a piercing, high-pitched noise blasts at full volume.

  For those outside its immediate range, the effect is so unpleasant they’re forced to shield their eyes and ears. But for Axel and the truck driver, it’s devastating. The light is so intense it nearly pierces through their eyelids, and the sound cuts straight into their ears, leaving them disoriented and unable to keep their balance.

  “A flashbang…” Axel drops to his knees.

  The gang leader—shaken as well—scrambles onto his motorcycle, starts it up, and prepares to flee. Axel tries to push himself up to go after him.

  “Don’t,” LENA says through the earpiece in his ears.

  “I’ve got him,” Andrew says as he sprints toward the Vances’ van. Lewis jumps out and opens the rear doors, releasing the black hover motorcycle with red flames painted along its sides. Almost simultaneously, he tosses a black helmet to his brother.

  Andrew mounts the two-seater vehicle and presses his fingerprint against the dashboard, activating the engine within seconds with a powerful roar. The motorcycle lifts ten centimeters off the ground thanks to the twin thrusters beneath it. Andrew twists the right handle to move forward—and then twists it further to accelerate. At high speed, he races after the anthropomorph, vanishing from sight moments later.

  “We’ll handle the ones left,” Lewis says, aiming at the largest criminal, who has moved closer to attack his brother.

  The man removes his helmet, revealing the head and face of a brown bear anthropomorph. Judging by his expression, the flashbang’s effects hit him hard. The other two bikers remain on the ground, also affected.

  “Anthropomorphs have sharper senses than humans. What were they thinking?” Lewis says, resting his finger on the rifle’s trigger.

  “That idiot must’ve betrayed us,” the bear growls. His hands glow with digital magic.

  “He’s not using his weapon,” LENA notes through Lewis’s earpiece.

  “His instincts took over,” Lewis replies.

  The bear lashes out with a massive, clawed swipe. The attack is so wide that Lewis dodges to the side—trying to block it would be suicide. The anthropomorph follows up with faster swipes, shockingly agile for someone of his size.

  “You just confirmed there’s a snitch inside that shipping company,” Lewis says.

  The bear lets out a feral growl and continues attacking until, thanks to his heightened hearing, he senses movement behind him. He spins and slashes at the air with his enormous claws, forcing Axel to leap back.

  “You’re using digital magic to boost your strength—and with it, the speed of your strikes.” Axel holds his sword forward. The blade is now glowing with blue light.

  The anthropomorph roars. The digital magic around his hands destabilizes, surging as if it’s about to break free from his control.

  Axel charges and swings in a horizontal cut. The bear counters with a heavy punch. The collision triggers a burst of energy. Lewis fires a red laser beam into the bear’s chest. The anthropomorph reacts and retaliates with another swipe at the youngest Vance. Axel darts back, avoiding it, positioning himself perfectly for a counterattack.

  “You won’t beat him with brute force,” LENA warns through the brothers’ earpieces. “His endurance and adrenaline will let him fight for hours.”

  “You saw it too,” Lewis says. “Axel, listen.”

  Following his brother’s cue, the swordsman infuses his hands with digital magic. The bear launches a rapid barrage of punches. Recklessly, Axel steps in close, dodging each blow with precise movements. He keeps his sword lowered, waiting—watching—for the right moment.

  Lewis fires a shot at the bear’s head. The beam makes him flinch and halts his charge for less than a second—but it’s enough. Axel drives a punch straight into the bear’s face, right into his nose. The bear squeezes his eyes shut, bracing for another blow that never comes. When he opens them again, Axel’s open palm is right in front of him.

  A pulse of light bursts from Axel’s hand, blinding the anthropomorph for a moment. Unable to see, the bear throws wild punches to keep the humans at bay. Then his body jerks as Lewis unloads a burst of red laser shots into him, and he collapses onto his back.

  “You made a big mistake,” Axel says. “You should never close your eyes in the middle of a fight.”

  “And you should never turn your back.” Lewis fires two laser shots at the remaining bikers—a badger and a raccoon anthropomorph—dropping them to the ground as well.

  Axel crouches and peers beneath the truck, where the delivery driver has been hiding. The man now wears an expression of fear mixed with awe at the brothers’ strength.

  “They attacked you first, and we just defended you, right?” Axel asks in an innocent tone.

  The man nods repeatedly.

  “How far does he plan to run?” Without easing off the throttle, Andrew weaves through the empty streets of the middle-class district, with a few parked cars breaking the flow.

  The anthropomorph he’s chasing—just ten meters ahead—flees at top speed, taking sharp corners where he wipes out. Both motorcycles roar, pushed to their limits.

  “Hurry or he’ll get away. He’s getting closer to the central district, where the streets are more crowded.”

  Andrew hears LENA’s voice through his earpiece.

  “Did you deal with the others?”

  “That doesn’t matter right now. Up ahead, there’s a long, straight road with no traffic. You can catch him there.”

  “I know what you mean,” Andrew says with a grin of anticipation.

  The anthropomorph turns down the only right-hand corner, leaning his bike just inches from the pavement. Andrew mirrors the move and straightens up. His hands glow with digital magic, which surges into the motorcycle—the dashboard lighting up in response. Andrew takes a deep breath and lowers his head. The vehicle accelerates even faster, streaking forward like a blue lightning bolt.

  Pulling up alongside the anthropomorph, Andrew cuts the digital magic and draws one of his pistols, aiming it as a warning. The target ignores him and twists the throttle harder.

  “I warned you.” Andrew reactivates his digital magic, and the hover bike surges ahead, overtaking the fleeing rider. He gradually angles his vehicle to block the path, easing off the magic.

  Faced with an inevitable collision, the anthropomorph slams the brakes and skids, struggling to slow down. Andrew does the same, his motorcycle cutting its energy output as the thrusters reverse to bleed off speed.

  The anthropomorph finishes his skid and, because of his earlier speed, loses control and crashes onto the road with his bike, tumbling across the asphalt. In pain, he scrambles to his feet and fires several shots at Andrew.

  Andrew effortlessly dodges the red laser beams and fires back with his twin pistols, releasing two simultaneous shots that strike the man in the back and knock him to the ground. The electromagnetic pulse takes effect, paralyzing his muscles for a brief moment. Defeated, he sits up and removes his helmet, revealing the face of a white-furred fox anthropomorph.

  “Your hover bike is designed to work with digital magic too. You took a huge risk just to catch me.”

  “Aren’t you going to hide your identity?” Andrew asks, never lowering his weapons.

  “The police will come for me, right?” the fox pants. “What’s the point?”

  “Will you cooperate to reduce your sentence?”

  The fox lets out a low growl, his answer ambiguous.

  It’s midnight. A mouse anthropomorph citizen, one meter tall, gets out of bed after hearing the doorbell of his apartment ring. He walks over to the door, where a screen displays the feed from the security camera at the entrance of his building. An adult man wearing a cap greets him with a wave. The mouse presses a button on the screen to speak through the intercom.

  “Good evening, Mr. Manager. It’s a bit late to—”

  “I know you’re the snitch,” Richard says. “You’ve been helping those criminals steal the products our company transports.”

  The mouse anthropomorph’s eyes widen, cold sweat breaking out across his face.

  “What are you talk—?”

  “Your friends already confessed, and there’s evidence against you. This is just a formality, but since I was in the area, I came to tell you on behalf of the president that you’re fired.”

  Richard steps aside from the apartment building entrance, making room for the police to take over. Two patrol cars sit nearby, sirens flashing as officers move in.

  At the edge of the street, the Vances’ van is parked, and the three brothers wait to receive payment for their services. All three stand with their arms crossed, wearing satisfied smiles.

  “Don’t get too full of yourselves, kids,” Richard says, matching their expressions as he pulls his phone from his pocket. “You caught a few members of that gang. There are probably many more who’ll want payback. At our company, we’re hoping police protection will be enough.”

  “You know who to contact if things get complicated,” LENA’s voice comes from inside the van.

  Lewis, Axel, and Andrew perform a synchronized military salute.

  “A pleasure, sir,” Lewis says as he climbs into the driver’s seat. “We already had breakfast at Faelith’s café. Anything special you want for lunch?”

  “We could stop by a 24-hour market.” Axel climbs into the back while checking his phone.

  “Maybe there’ll be some good deals,” Andrew adds as he takes the passenger seat.

  “We also need to refuel,” LENA reminds them.

  Lewis starts the engine, and the Vance Night Agency’s van pulls away, leaving behind another successful case—and the promise of consequences yet to come.