Chapter Text
Spikemuth. A city shrouded in darkness, both literally and figuratively. The city was walled off years ago in hopes of using it as a dumping ground for degenerates that the rest of society didn't want to deal with. The plan worked. Almost too well. However, that's because the citizens of the city were already mostly degenerates themselves. They welcomed the lost souls with open arms. Spikemuth became a degenerative paradise. While most of Galar didn't care about the well-being of Spikemuth, there was one man, or rather, one family who did. Piers and Marnie Evans. With their parents dead at a young age, both Piers and Marnie were raised by the people of Spikemuth. Because in actuality, the people, who ended up in Spikemuth, created a city that was more like one big family then anything else. Because of this, the small city became notorious with Galarian police for being the hardest city to work in. However, despite it's notorious reputation with the police force, the chief of Police wanted the stream of drugs coming from Spikemuth to be dried up as soon as possible.
When Chief Rose gave Leon the lead on 'The Rat's Den' case, he didn't know how to feel. He had been on the force for a couple of years now, but had only started undercover work within the last year or so. He had been a shining example of what the badge was supposed to be, but right now… he was honestly feeling a bit nervous. He had heard the rumors about Spikemuth. He had seen the list of officers who had gone missing while working here. He was scared. Not scared for himself, but for his family. His little brother Hop, his mum, his grandparents. He was scared that… that they might…
"Leon!"
"Huh? Yes?" Leon blinked as he looked over to his handler for this case.
"You didn't hear a word I just said did you?" The white haired woman asked, as she glanced over at him before returning her gaze to the road.
"I'm sorry, Mel. I was… thinking abo-"
"It better be about this case. Leon, I've been here, setting everything up for you, for the past month." Melony said as she pulled into a parking lot behind an apartment building.
"Sorry. I won't do it again." Leon said as he unbuckled his seat belt.
"Good!", the older woman said in a cheery voice. "Now let's move you into my apartment, deary. I'm surprised your mother let you move here, of all places." Melony states as she steps out of the car. Picking up on her shift in tone, Leon's training kicked in as he followed her lead.
"Me, too. But you know mum, always wanting to teach me lessons about my behavior." Leon said as he grabbed his various bags out of the back seat of Melony's car. As they entered the building, the two officers made light chit-chat that fit the roles they were given. They continued their chat all the way up the flight of stairs to the apartment. It was a small two bed one bath apartment, and perfect for their cover. Once in the apartment, Leon dropped his bags in his room, before sitting down with Melony on the couch to go a bit more in depth about the case and their covers.
"Ok. So tell me what you know so we don't have to go over the whole case file." Melony said, turning to Leon before relaxing into the couch a bit.
"Um… OK.", he took a deep breath before continuing. "Several homicide victims were all unintentionally poisoned by a bad cut of cocaine found at the scene. The cocaine was traced back to a dealer in Wyndon. After searching his apartment, evidence was found that traced him back to a gang here in Spikemuth called 'The Yelling Skulls'... and That's about as much as I know." Sitting up, Melony started organizing some of the information that was laid out on the coffee table.
"Ok… so…" Melony handed Leon a tablet that had pictures pulled up on it. "These are pictures I've taken while gathering intel for the last month." Leon began going through the photos as she spoke. "I've been acting as a waitress in a dinner where some of the gang members like to eat lunch almost every day. Been recording them every day they come in since I started." The photo album ended with a picture of a set of stairs and a neon sign. "After listening to hours of the members talking about all sorts of things, from TV, to video games, to their sex lives, not to mention then wanting to do some… odd things to me… I came up with nothing about the drugs they sell or who the leader of their gang is."
"The Badger's Sett?" Leon interrupted her as she finished her sentence. He looked to Melony with confusion.
"Ah, yes. During one of my off days from the dinner, I followed the members in hopes of finding their hideout… But they ended up leading me to this club. After that, I tried following them a couple of more times, but they always ended up taking me back there. After giving the name of the club to the boys in Wyndon, we came up with a bit more info on the place." Melony leans back again as she continues to talk. "It's a strip club owned by a man named Piers Evans. He goes by the name Nezu while he's at work. And after listening to the audio again, it seems that's what he's known as on the streets too."
"So, you think this… 'Nezu' guy is our ring leader?" He asks as Melony takes a sip of water.
"Yes." She answers as she puts her glass down. "And so do the boys back in Wyndon. Most importantly, we believe that the strip club is actually a front for his drug operation, and that he might be selling it out of the club as well. The only problem is getting the evidence to prove it, since we all know no one is gonna fess up to it." Leon only nodded as he looked over the information laid out in front of him. He sat there for a few seconds as he went through everything in his head.
"Wait…" he turned to Melony, his cheeks a bit red as the possibilities started to pile up in his head. "What exactly is my role in all of this? I can't really look around a place like that as a customer without looking suspicious or at least mental."
"That's why you aren't." Melony said sitting up, a bit of a smile on her face.
"What?"