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He made his way up the nearby staircase, careful not to walk on the center of any of the wooden steps. The edges were less likely to make noise, he'd always thought, and he didn't want anyone hearing his footsteps. It helped that there were so many other people roaming around below, but he was still mindful of foot traffic on the higher floors.

It was quieter up here, which was both a good and bad thing. He didn't have to worry about bumping into anyone accidentally, but they would also hear him coming if he made any sounds at all.

Slow and steady, he thought.

He was looking for the largest quarters. He didn't know much about how the VMP laid out their buildings, but logic would dictate that the higher-ranking officers would be in the larger rooms.

He'd only planned to eavesdrop from the other side of closed doors, but on the top floor, he discovered a much more inviting prospect. One of the doors was ajar, and he spotted a group of people therein, all standing around a bed-ridden man.

Most of them seemed to be nurses or doctors, tending to him and fiddling with medical machinery. The man himself was only wearing an off-white gown, but there were three sharply dressed officers in front of him, all talking to him with obvious deference.

Two of them left just as Raul was settling in to listen by the door, making him curse his timing. The one remaining officer, however, said something that most certainly caught his interest.

"--my contact within the Vanguard." The green-suited officer spoke Valgan with a deep, almost grinding voice. "You recall the deal I mentioned a while back?"