Clover was at the far corner opposite the door, pointing to a small air conditioning vent near the ceiling.  The three screws that remained were unevenly flush to the vent cover.

"Whoa, good eye, Clover!" Alex said appreciatively. Clover smiled in return.

"Wow.  Can't believe you found something, but I doubt it's a lead. A person couldn't fit in there," Asahi noted.

Clover nodded, then activated her jetpack to the surprise of Asahi and Mitsuru. She floated to the vent and unscrewed one of the loose bolts by hand.

"Screwdriver, coming up," Sam announced.

She tossed up a metallic pink bracelet she'd fished out of her backpack, which Clover caught. Clover pressed a button and a small screwdriver popped out of a slot, which she used to get to work on the remaining screws.

"Found the other screw," Alex said holding it aloft. She'd spotted it behind a potted plant with her M-Rays. "You mentioned a person couldn't fit," she said to Asahi. "But we've dealt with pint-sized robots and people in the past-" she mused. He and Mitsuru once again shared a surprised look.

Before either could reply, they noticed Sam caught the screws Clover tossed down. She handed them over to Asahi, who put them in his coat pocket. Clover hovered back down with the vent cover, handed it to Alex, and flew back up to the shaft. She pressed a button on the Multi-Function Charm Bracelet to send a beam of light into the dark.

"Scratch marks in the shaft here," she informed the others.

"Same here," Alex said with interest, holding the vent cover so the others could see the inside face of it.  They looked closely at it and saw that a series of small slashes marred the metal cover.

"I'll get that," Sam said, holding out her X-Powder to press a button. A click signified a standard photo, followed by a purple light passing over it for a scan. She pressed another button, and a holographic image of Jerry, from the shoulders up, appeared on the upper half of the high-tech compact.  Asahi and Mitsuru looked at the older gentleman with curiosity.

"Hello Sam. How goes the mission?" he inquired cordially.

"We've got a lead, Jerry. Can you check out these marks on the inside of this air vent cover?" she asked, pressing a button to transfer the data to him.

"I'll have the lab get on it ASAP. And get you the results once we know. Ta ta," he said with a smile.

Alex set the vent cover alongside the wall under the opening, and Clover landed and deactivated her jetpack. "We know ventilation shafts from years of experience," Clover said, walking towards the exit. "Time to go to the roof," she said, sparing a glance over her shoulder before opening the door for everyone else.

Everyone made their way out of the room, through the station and out the front entrance, receiving a few stunned looks, thanks to their inexplicable outfit change.

The group of five stood to the side of the double doors, in front of a series of wall-sized windows, under the sturdy metallic overhang outside.

"Be right back," Alex said musically, as she, Sam, and Clover ignited their jetpacks and flew up to the roof. Mitsuru simply gazed after them before turning to Asahi.

"Their technology," Mitsuru said, with a hint of wonder.

"You're telling me. The police could really use gear like that," he replied.

Mitsuru nodded. Faint sounds of traffic and city life filled the air as she pulled out her white Kirijo smartphone to check for messages and make a call.

Police Station Roof, Tatsumi Port Island

The girls landed and made a quick sweep on their way to the ventilation shaft, each covering their own area. As they reached the shaft cover, the same sort of scratches were visible. Screws were strewn about, and a small piece of cloth appeared to be stuck in a bottom corner of the cover. Alex deftly brought out her X-Powder and opened it, plucked the cloth out, and set it onto the device. She pressed a small red button, blinking in the cold breeze of the higher altitude.

"Says it's just cloth. Might have fingerprints or some trace of human DNA," Alex said hopefully. 

She pressed another button, then pulled the sample off the X-Powder and stashed everything in her backpack. "Sent over a scan to Jer," she announced.

"Thanks, Alex," Sam replied. "I think that's it. Let's go back down," she suggested.

They promptly fired up their jetpacks to hover back down to join Asahi and Mitsuru. The businesswoman returned her phone to a coat pocket and looked at them with expectation.

"We found a piece of cloth in the vent cover and sent the sample off for analysis," Clover said.  "Found more of those scratches, too," Alex noted. "Oh, we don't need the cloth itself anymore," she said in realization. She crouched to grab the cloth out of her backpack and handed it to Asahi. "Can you give this to the police? We can race to see who comes up with info first," she said with a smile.

"Sure thing. Thanks," Asahi replied, impressed with their investigation.

"Yes. Well done, thank you. Not even Aigis detected the ventilation cover when she stopped by," Mitsuru mused, looking at them with appreciation.

"You're welcome," Sam replied, curious who Aigis was. "Ms. Kirijo, you mentioned the three relics can cause great danger, but we have no idea what that is," she said, gesturing to Alex and Clover. "If we knew the details, we'd probably be able to help more," she explained.

Mitsuru sighed, looking at them evenly. "Of course. Can I fill you in over dinner at my estate? Say 5:30 tonight?" she inquired hopefully. "You'll meet my team as well," she added.

"Sounds good. Thanks," Clover replied for all three of them.

"See you, Mitsuru. Good meeting you ladies," Asahi said with a slight smile.  "Thanks for your work, and let me know if you need anything from us," he said, handing Alex his business card, before turning to walk back into the station.

"Sure thing. Bye," Alex replied, followed by goodbyes from the others.

"That reminds me, shall we exchange contact info as well?" Mitsuru asked.

Sam nodded, and they exchanged numbers, Sam with her X-Powder, and Mitsuru with her phone.

Mitsuru turned to a luxury sedan that had pulled up in front of the station, and climbed into the back seat, before looking up at them. "Where are you staying?" she asked.

"The Z Hotel downtown. Why?" Sam replied curiously.

"I'll send my driver by at 5 to pick you up outside," she said evenly.

"Really? Thanks! That's nice of you," Alex replied. Sam and Clover assented as well.

"Very well, I'll see you then," Mitsuru said.

"Bye," each of the girls replied. Mitsuru closed the car door with a quiet sound, and the vehicle pulled out and drove off.

The spies checked to be sure they weren't being watched. Satisfied, Alex then pressed a button on her X-Powder to change back to casual clothes, and Sam and Clover did the same.

Alex looked to Sam and Clover and sighed. "These translator gadgets are making my semester of Japanese sort of unnecessary," she said.

Sam smiled at Alex as they walked out to the main street from the station, the sounds of automobiles becoming more pronounced.

"I don't think a semester would quite cover the level we'd need for this mission," she said diplomatically. "I'm sure Mitsuru knows English well, but for most other people, this is probably most convenient," Sam reasoned. Alex smiled back in return.

A low profile cab ride back to the hotel seemed more discreet than drawing attention by flying over busy city streets. Soon they'd waved down the nearest cab and were on their way. After going over what they'd learned and searching a few leads, it was time to get cleaned up, changed and meet the driver outside the front of the cutting-edge glass and chrome style hotel.

A/N: Thanks very much for reading.  Please vote and comment if you enjoyed it!