57 – Following the TrailJam stared at his bloody finger while the whole club grew still—even the dancers over in the next section froze. Everyone stared, but Hector had eyes only for Jam. “I said, where’d you get this ring?” The words ground out between his teeth as Hector fought against the urge to dig his steaming Aura Blade into Jam’s guts—he needed answers, not a corpse.“Hector—” Grando growled, but he was still back by his storeroom door; Hector had covered ten meters in a flash.“Y-you cut off my f-finger!” Jam wailed, finally finding his voice. He strained against Hector’s hold, but he didn’t have any leverage. Hector was twisting his wrist, leaning into him, chest-to-chest, bending his back over the bar-top.Hector was single-minded in his pursuit of an answer, but even so, some part of him knew his Aura Blade would fade soon. He lifted it to Jam’s face. People around gasped, and someone put a restraining hand on his elbow—Sass?—but Hector didn’t stop. He put the blade a centimeter from Jam’s right eye and hissed, “Want to lose more parts?”“Th-the ring? I got it from Lemon! But she gave it to me, man! She owed me.”Hector stared into Jam’s eyes, watching his pupils contract, watching the tears pooling. He exhaled slowly and then dismissed his blade in a cloud of crimson steam. “Start talking. From the beginning.”“M-my finger—”“Talk!” Grando roared, much closer by then. “Your finger will be fine.”Jam’s face had regained some color, the shock of Hector’s sudden attack having begun to fade. He was a prideful man, and everyone’s eyes were on him. Hector could see he was weighing his options, trying to decide if he should stand up for himself. Grando’s blaster whining as the coils warmed up banished such thoughts.“Relax, boss! I’m talking! She was at the station a few days ago—the one on Fourteenth. I saw her and, um, reminded her she owed me (...)