03-26-2018, 03:25 PM
Wait.
What was he thinking?
Steve drew up short, frowning. What had just come over him? He had almost headed off to Coruscant on foot. And not only that, he had been about to leave behind his precious shotguns.
“Tch.” he turned to his comrade of convenience, the ribbon-boy, who had not yet deigned to introduce himself, “I’m not walkin’ all the way across this damn place. Wait here a few minutes.”
For a moment, the hooded figure didn’t speak. When he saw the orb of Omnilium materialising in Steve’s palm, and the gangster then throwing it forwards, where it stopped in mid-air and slowly began growing in size, that was when he replied, “Ah yes, of course, transport.”
Steve was too focused to pay much attention to him, but he did notice the younger man turning to look back at that fight occurring nearby. A half hour or so later, his summoning was finally complete. Over the course of that period, the blue-haired Prime had casually inquired a couple times as to why he was taking so long, though Steve had never bothered to answer.
Now that he was done, it must be rather obvious. He had summoned a vehicle, yes; his black Bentley S2 Continental, but in addition to that – for the car alone ought not to have taken more than five minutes or so to craft – he had also created three Secondaries. His three Secondaries. The same ones that those idiotic swine had killed back Tier Five, shortly before he himself had died.
Eleanor, the black-haired one, Lisanne, the blonde, and Bethanie, the redhead. All three were ‘custom-made’ Secondaries, intended essentially to be simple dolls with no more individuality or rebelliousness than a wind-up wooden soldier. Only their hair colours set them apart. All three had it cut in a chin-length bob, all three had the exact same (rather well endowed) build, all three had the exact same facial features, the exact same skin colour and the exact same outfits; each of them wore a simple black bikini, and that was all.
“Hm...” the young man raised an eyebrow... perhaps not quite sure what to make of the skimpily dressed women, but willing to withhold judgement for the time being... and then all three draped themselves across the gangster and started snuggling against him. A blind man could have seen that these were no great warriors or sages, “What is this, Steve? Did you actually just spend half an hour summoning a... harem?”
Flinging his arms around the shoulders of two of the girls, the old guy took great pleasure in seeing his ally frown and narrow his eyes, “Yeah, I guess I did. What's wrong, kiddo, you jealous?”
“Jealous? No, of course not. I'm perfectly capable of seducing a woman or three without needing to make my own... I thought you were interested in avenging yourself, though? Or did you tire of that idea the moment you remembered that being a Prime meant you were free to summon as many large breasted whores as you felt like?” the young man didn't sound upset or angry; he apparently wasn't in any great rush himself, it seemed, but Steve thought he could detect a slight edge of contempt in his tone, hidden beneath a veneer of calmness and mild disinterest.
The Claw scowled, then pulled his hangers on roughly off, none too happy at being dismissed so casually by this little bitch... normally, he'd have blown the wimpy fuck's head clean off with a point-blank slug to the face, but for once it seemed that he was managing to keep his temper in check, strangely enough, “I remember just fine. Elizabeth, go pick up all my stuff. Load it into the back seats and squeeze in there yourselves. Mystery man, you’re riding shotgun. I’ll drive. Get in and let’s be off.”
All three women took off towards the pile and began hauling loads of weapons and ammo back to the Bentley.
“Elizabeth?” ribbon-boy asked. It was impossible to tell from his tone, but it didn't exactly require a great leap of imagination to come to the conclusion that he was curious as to why three people were being addressed by only a single name.
“El, Liz & Beth. Or Elizabeth. I named ‘em for convenience.” the Claw slammed the door shut after climbing into his car. Despite being newly summoned, it was as worn-down looking as ever. It also completely lacked a roof.
“You named-?” the hooded figure began, before immediately seeming to think better of it and continuing without leaving a pause for the gangster to respond, "Actually, never mind, it doesn't matter.”
He clearly didn't give a shit. Well, that was totally fine as far as Steve was concerned. Far too many people for his liking went about acting as if Secondaries were real people who actually mattered. If this guy wasn't such an annoying little tit, it might actually be refreshing to keep the company of someone who had their priorities straight for once.
After the blue-haired man gotten into the car as well, the pair waited in a somewhat awkward silence for a couple minutes, whilst the girls finished carting their master’s massive mound of munitions into the back seats, then somehow managed to squash themselves in amongst the armaments without nudging any triggers and accidentally blowing anyone’s limb off.
That done, they set off. It was less than fifteen minutes from then that they reached the gate they had set out for… even with the additional time taken to summon his Secondaries, this had turned out to be far faster than the five hours or so that it likely would have taken them to walk this distance.
They slowed down and gradually rolled to a stop by the gate. Two stormtroopers stepped forwards, “Good day sirs, mind if we give you a quick pre-search search before you pass through the gate? It’s nothing major, we just have to check you don’t have any- Emperor’s balls, that’s a lotta guns!”
“NL-5728! That sort of language isn’t- oh, fuck me… why is the back of your car literally filled with shotguns...? And half naked women… what the hell is wrong with you two?” the second stormtrooper seemed just as shocked as her counterpart. Each of them had a hand on the blaster holstered on their belt. The first speaker had sounded male, the second female.
“I don’t see what the problem is. You let Primes in through here every day, don’t you? These shotguns are no more powerful than a fireball or a bolt of lightning or whatever other magic half the people in this city can probably use. It ain’t hardly fair to single me out just ‘cos I aint got any freaky powers.” Steve scowled at the pair impeding his progress.
“That may be the case sir, if you were only carrying one or two guns, but there are dozens here. It’s obvious that not just one person is going to be using these. You’re trying to bring them here to sell, aren’t you? We don’t exactly appreciate people arming insurgent factions within our city. If you want to enter then you’ll have to leave the guns here with us.” the female ‘trooper informed him, having regained her composure after the initial surprise.
“What? What’s the point in that? I'm a Prime, you stupid bitch! I can just summon more whenever I feel like it! All you’d be doing is forcing me to spend more Omnilium for no reason! Now stop wasting my time and lemme through!” Steve snarled at them, baring his teeth.
Both of the EPD soldiers drew and aimed their blasters, directly at him. Steve opened his mouth to speak once more, but before he could get out another word, Mr Mysterious beat him to it.
“Let’s all calm down.” the blue-haired man already sounded perfectly calm, and when Steve turned to glance his way, the gangster noticed that he was holding up a gold coin with a hole bored near one edge, dangling it from a piece of string that had been threaded through the little hole and tied so that the metal disk hung from the bottom of its length.
It was strange… he couldn’t be sure why exactly, but that shiny, tiny, little object seemed to arrest his attention completely. He found his gaze locked onto it, magpie-like, as it swung pendulously from side to side. So intent upon it was he that the old man never even noticed whether or not anyone else had been similarly enthralled.
“Steve,” his passenger said softly, after a few seconds of silence, “you should be more polite. These two fine officers were only doing their jobs. We should be thanking them for their diligence, not condemning them.”
“Right… right… yes… you’re right… thank you… fine officers...” the Claw mumbled uncertainly, a strange sensation of sleepiness washing over him for a moment. Now that he thought about it, his companion was absolutely correct. It was good if the EPD wanted to stop them… it was good because… because… because… well, the hooded man knew best, he was sure. If he said it then there must be a valid reason why it was a good thing for this to happen.
“And you two,” the young man continued, still slowly swinging his coin back and forth, “this has all been a misunderstanding. These weapons aren’t meant for any rebel scum… no, they are for the EPD, in fact… specially requested by Judge Dredd himself.”
“Oh… oh… oh...” muttered the male ‘trooper, who had been addressed as ‘NL-5728’ by his partner.
“Oh… I see.” the female responded, seeming to have retained slightly more of her faculties than her ally, “That’s great… great news… yes… please head on… through the gate… then… please...”
“Why, thank you.” the passenger nodded politely, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “Take us though, Steve.”
It wasn’t until after he had spoken those words that Steve realised he had been waiting on his command to act. The coin and its attendant string had vanished up one sleeve, and already the Claw’s thoughts felt sharper… though his memories were strangely seeming to blur, somehow.
As they drifted slowly through the gate, before stopping once again, this time at a much more thorough-looking checkpoint, Steve wondered at that a little… he had a feeling something odd had just happened, though he couldn’t put his finger on what, exactly. This guy he’d met at the fountain had made a couple suggestions… what were those again? Eh. Nevermind. He had gotten them past the Nexus guards, that was all that mattered.
Four new soldiers approached them, “Anyone who would enter Coruscant must undergo a routine customs check, don’t worry, this shouldn’t take- are those shotguns?”
A coin, hanging on a piece of string. Why did it feel like he’d seen this before? Was this déjà vu? Tier One was brightly lit – though perhaps not quite so much as the Nexus – and the golden disk gleamed. Out of the corner of his eye, the Claw could see some sort of machines. Scanners? Metal detectors? Lie detectors? Prime detectors? Magic detectors? They could have been anything. In here, as opposed to in the wide, white abyss they had just departed, permanent fixtures could easily be planted in the ground. Whilst the first search would have been little more than a quick pat down, normally, to make sure they weren’t carrying anything too deadly, this one appeared like it ought to have facilitated a much more thorough inspection.
Especially when several of their gizmos started beeping and flashing, as they were now. None of the ‘troopers reacted to these warning signs, though.
“These aren’t shotguns, they’re water pistols, and we aren’t suspicious at all. There’s no need for a search. You should just let us through now.”
“Yes… yes… let you through...” one soldier muttered, and all three backed away.
“Go.” the blue-haired one told him, and Steve hit the gas.
A couple minutes passed, with traffic speeding by them on both sides – as well as directly above, with all manner of vehicles soaring through the air – and at about the time they were turning onto the next street, just as he was realising all over again that his memories of what had just happened felt a little unclear, a loud alarm began whooping, somewhere back in the direction they had just come.
“Do you know the whereabouts of the nearest elevator?” the hooded man asked casually, seemingly unperturbed by the shrieking siren in the distance.
“Huh?” Steve had been lost in thought, and it took him a couple moments to take in the question, “Oh. Oh yeah, sure. ‘Course I do.”
“Good. Head there. No one will bother chasing us down to Tier Five. No one cares enough about that place.”
“Gotcha.” it was odd... he didn't like this guy at all, but acquiescing to his wishes was strangely easy.
It was only several turns later that they reached their destination; a lift which was – conveniently – more than large enough to fit an entire truck, never mind a single car. With goods frequently having to be transported between tiers, it was no wonder that such large elevators were scattered about the city, in addition to the usual, smaller ones that were generally used by individuals lacking cargo.
As with both sides of the Nexus gate, there were more stormtroopers waiting for them when they arrived at the lift. These ones, though, had their blasters out and ready, and were firing before the Bentley was even halfway down the street. It would seem that they had been forewarned of the vehicle’s coming, and weren't planning on taking any chances.
“Brake. Don’t fight back.” though still unshaken by their predicament, the youth had a much more focused look to his features now, and spoke tersely, not bothering to give Steve a rundown on why exactly he was telling him these things.
The gangster growled under his breath, and considered arguing, not much appreciating the commanding tone… still, this wasn’t the time, not while two of the swine were firing on them as they spoke. Slamming on the brakes, he jerked the wheel around, bringing the car into a skid. At least one of his Secondaries cried out – whether in shock or in pain, he couldn’t be sure – and there was a clattering noise as a few of his guns fell out into the streets.
When they at last drew to a stop, the vehicle was only a foot or so from the ends of the gun barrels of the pair of stormtroopers before them. Had he waited any longer to slow down, they may well have flattened those two, and gotten bounties on their heads because of it. As it was, the hooded man threw up his arms immediately, “We surrender!”
“Alright, just get… get out of the...” one trooper began.
“The car... ” the other helpfully added when his comrade trailed off… though he himself never got much further. They were both utterly engrossed in staring at Mr Mystery here… or… at his hand? Weird. Steve leaned around his ally, wanting to get a glance at whatever they found so intriguing. A coin on a string? Where had that come from...?
A minute or so later, and the guards were nothing more than a rapidly – much too rapidly – fading memory behind them. They were in the lift, descending at breakneck speeds towards the fifth tier.
Shortly, their transport began to slow, and slow, and slow. Before more than three minutes had passed since they got in, it came to a gentle halt and the doors hissed as they opened. Steve starting driving immediately. The lift hadn’t stopped halfway through its descent and begun rising again, which meant that their… uh… whatever it was that had allowed them to bypass those swine up there… had presumably gone unnoticed.
Still, there was no point in tempting fate. The sooner they could lose themselves in the choked, cramped, clogged and congested streets of Tier Five the better… they’d surely find it much easier to blend in down here. Or at least, that was the thought that crossed his mind momentarily, before he remembered he had three bikini girls in the back seats.
He didn't have a particular destination in mind, though he did want to get back into the vicinity of Northside as soon as possible… not only because that was where their target resided, but also due to the threat of other gangs. The last thing he needed right now was to run into a band of orks screaming some shit about ‘dakka’ and firing wildly at everything that so much as twitched… or the Westside lot. What an annoying bunch they were; so many gangs crammed together that you could never even guess what they might throw at you.
No, it’d be best to head north for now… and given the Secondaries he had with him… Steve took a turn on his left. This way would actually be a somewhat roundabout route, but it would also take them through a red light district… in which scantily clad women would be a sight much less likely to raise eyebrows.
What was he thinking?
Steve drew up short, frowning. What had just come over him? He had almost headed off to Coruscant on foot. And not only that, he had been about to leave behind his precious shotguns.
“Tch.” he turned to his comrade of convenience, the ribbon-boy, who had not yet deigned to introduce himself, “I’m not walkin’ all the way across this damn place. Wait here a few minutes.”
For a moment, the hooded figure didn’t speak. When he saw the orb of Omnilium materialising in Steve’s palm, and the gangster then throwing it forwards, where it stopped in mid-air and slowly began growing in size, that was when he replied, “Ah yes, of course, transport.”
Steve was too focused to pay much attention to him, but he did notice the younger man turning to look back at that fight occurring nearby. A half hour or so later, his summoning was finally complete. Over the course of that period, the blue-haired Prime had casually inquired a couple times as to why he was taking so long, though Steve had never bothered to answer.
Now that he was done, it must be rather obvious. He had summoned a vehicle, yes; his black Bentley S2 Continental, but in addition to that – for the car alone ought not to have taken more than five minutes or so to craft – he had also created three Secondaries. His three Secondaries. The same ones that those idiotic swine had killed back Tier Five, shortly before he himself had died.
Eleanor, the black-haired one, Lisanne, the blonde, and Bethanie, the redhead. All three were ‘custom-made’ Secondaries, intended essentially to be simple dolls with no more individuality or rebelliousness than a wind-up wooden soldier. Only their hair colours set them apart. All three had it cut in a chin-length bob, all three had the exact same (rather well endowed) build, all three had the exact same facial features, the exact same skin colour and the exact same outfits; each of them wore a simple black bikini, and that was all.
“Hm...” the young man raised an eyebrow... perhaps not quite sure what to make of the skimpily dressed women, but willing to withhold judgement for the time being... and then all three draped themselves across the gangster and started snuggling against him. A blind man could have seen that these were no great warriors or sages, “What is this, Steve? Did you actually just spend half an hour summoning a... harem?”
Flinging his arms around the shoulders of two of the girls, the old guy took great pleasure in seeing his ally frown and narrow his eyes, “Yeah, I guess I did. What's wrong, kiddo, you jealous?”
“Jealous? No, of course not. I'm perfectly capable of seducing a woman or three without needing to make my own... I thought you were interested in avenging yourself, though? Or did you tire of that idea the moment you remembered that being a Prime meant you were free to summon as many large breasted whores as you felt like?” the young man didn't sound upset or angry; he apparently wasn't in any great rush himself, it seemed, but Steve thought he could detect a slight edge of contempt in his tone, hidden beneath a veneer of calmness and mild disinterest.
The Claw scowled, then pulled his hangers on roughly off, none too happy at being dismissed so casually by this little bitch... normally, he'd have blown the wimpy fuck's head clean off with a point-blank slug to the face, but for once it seemed that he was managing to keep his temper in check, strangely enough, “I remember just fine. Elizabeth, go pick up all my stuff. Load it into the back seats and squeeze in there yourselves. Mystery man, you’re riding shotgun. I’ll drive. Get in and let’s be off.”
All three women took off towards the pile and began hauling loads of weapons and ammo back to the Bentley.
“Elizabeth?” ribbon-boy asked. It was impossible to tell from his tone, but it didn't exactly require a great leap of imagination to come to the conclusion that he was curious as to why three people were being addressed by only a single name.
“El, Liz & Beth. Or Elizabeth. I named ‘em for convenience.” the Claw slammed the door shut after climbing into his car. Despite being newly summoned, it was as worn-down looking as ever. It also completely lacked a roof.
“You named-?” the hooded figure began, before immediately seeming to think better of it and continuing without leaving a pause for the gangster to respond, "Actually, never mind, it doesn't matter.”
He clearly didn't give a shit. Well, that was totally fine as far as Steve was concerned. Far too many people for his liking went about acting as if Secondaries were real people who actually mattered. If this guy wasn't such an annoying little tit, it might actually be refreshing to keep the company of someone who had their priorities straight for once.
After the blue-haired man gotten into the car as well, the pair waited in a somewhat awkward silence for a couple minutes, whilst the girls finished carting their master’s massive mound of munitions into the back seats, then somehow managed to squash themselves in amongst the armaments without nudging any triggers and accidentally blowing anyone’s limb off.
That done, they set off. It was less than fifteen minutes from then that they reached the gate they had set out for… even with the additional time taken to summon his Secondaries, this had turned out to be far faster than the five hours or so that it likely would have taken them to walk this distance.
They slowed down and gradually rolled to a stop by the gate. Two stormtroopers stepped forwards, “Good day sirs, mind if we give you a quick pre-search search before you pass through the gate? It’s nothing major, we just have to check you don’t have any- Emperor’s balls, that’s a lotta guns!”
“NL-5728! That sort of language isn’t- oh, fuck me… why is the back of your car literally filled with shotguns...? And half naked women… what the hell is wrong with you two?” the second stormtrooper seemed just as shocked as her counterpart. Each of them had a hand on the blaster holstered on their belt. The first speaker had sounded male, the second female.
“I don’t see what the problem is. You let Primes in through here every day, don’t you? These shotguns are no more powerful than a fireball or a bolt of lightning or whatever other magic half the people in this city can probably use. It ain’t hardly fair to single me out just ‘cos I aint got any freaky powers.” Steve scowled at the pair impeding his progress.
“That may be the case sir, if you were only carrying one or two guns, but there are dozens here. It’s obvious that not just one person is going to be using these. You’re trying to bring them here to sell, aren’t you? We don’t exactly appreciate people arming insurgent factions within our city. If you want to enter then you’ll have to leave the guns here with us.” the female ‘trooper informed him, having regained her composure after the initial surprise.
“What? What’s the point in that? I'm a Prime, you stupid bitch! I can just summon more whenever I feel like it! All you’d be doing is forcing me to spend more Omnilium for no reason! Now stop wasting my time and lemme through!” Steve snarled at them, baring his teeth.
Both of the EPD soldiers drew and aimed their blasters, directly at him. Steve opened his mouth to speak once more, but before he could get out another word, Mr Mysterious beat him to it.
“Let’s all calm down.” the blue-haired man already sounded perfectly calm, and when Steve turned to glance his way, the gangster noticed that he was holding up a gold coin with a hole bored near one edge, dangling it from a piece of string that had been threaded through the little hole and tied so that the metal disk hung from the bottom of its length.
It was strange… he couldn’t be sure why exactly, but that shiny, tiny, little object seemed to arrest his attention completely. He found his gaze locked onto it, magpie-like, as it swung pendulously from side to side. So intent upon it was he that the old man never even noticed whether or not anyone else had been similarly enthralled.
“Steve,” his passenger said softly, after a few seconds of silence, “you should be more polite. These two fine officers were only doing their jobs. We should be thanking them for their diligence, not condemning them.”
“Right… right… yes… you’re right… thank you… fine officers...” the Claw mumbled uncertainly, a strange sensation of sleepiness washing over him for a moment. Now that he thought about it, his companion was absolutely correct. It was good if the EPD wanted to stop them… it was good because… because… because… well, the hooded man knew best, he was sure. If he said it then there must be a valid reason why it was a good thing for this to happen.
“And you two,” the young man continued, still slowly swinging his coin back and forth, “this has all been a misunderstanding. These weapons aren’t meant for any rebel scum… no, they are for the EPD, in fact… specially requested by Judge Dredd himself.”
“Oh… oh… oh...” muttered the male ‘trooper, who had been addressed as ‘NL-5728’ by his partner.
“Oh… I see.” the female responded, seeming to have retained slightly more of her faculties than her ally, “That’s great… great news… yes… please head on… through the gate… then… please...”
“Why, thank you.” the passenger nodded politely, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “Take us though, Steve.”
It wasn’t until after he had spoken those words that Steve realised he had been waiting on his command to act. The coin and its attendant string had vanished up one sleeve, and already the Claw’s thoughts felt sharper… though his memories were strangely seeming to blur, somehow.
As they drifted slowly through the gate, before stopping once again, this time at a much more thorough-looking checkpoint, Steve wondered at that a little… he had a feeling something odd had just happened, though he couldn’t put his finger on what, exactly. This guy he’d met at the fountain had made a couple suggestions… what were those again? Eh. Nevermind. He had gotten them past the Nexus guards, that was all that mattered.
Four new soldiers approached them, “Anyone who would enter Coruscant must undergo a routine customs check, don’t worry, this shouldn’t take- are those shotguns?”
A coin, hanging on a piece of string. Why did it feel like he’d seen this before? Was this déjà vu? Tier One was brightly lit – though perhaps not quite so much as the Nexus – and the golden disk gleamed. Out of the corner of his eye, the Claw could see some sort of machines. Scanners? Metal detectors? Lie detectors? Prime detectors? Magic detectors? They could have been anything. In here, as opposed to in the wide, white abyss they had just departed, permanent fixtures could easily be planted in the ground. Whilst the first search would have been little more than a quick pat down, normally, to make sure they weren’t carrying anything too deadly, this one appeared like it ought to have facilitated a much more thorough inspection.
Especially when several of their gizmos started beeping and flashing, as they were now. None of the ‘troopers reacted to these warning signs, though.
“These aren’t shotguns, they’re water pistols, and we aren’t suspicious at all. There’s no need for a search. You should just let us through now.”
“Yes… yes… let you through...” one soldier muttered, and all three backed away.
“Go.” the blue-haired one told him, and Steve hit the gas.
A couple minutes passed, with traffic speeding by them on both sides – as well as directly above, with all manner of vehicles soaring through the air – and at about the time they were turning onto the next street, just as he was realising all over again that his memories of what had just happened felt a little unclear, a loud alarm began whooping, somewhere back in the direction they had just come.
“Do you know the whereabouts of the nearest elevator?” the hooded man asked casually, seemingly unperturbed by the shrieking siren in the distance.
“Huh?” Steve had been lost in thought, and it took him a couple moments to take in the question, “Oh. Oh yeah, sure. ‘Course I do.”
“Good. Head there. No one will bother chasing us down to Tier Five. No one cares enough about that place.”
“Gotcha.” it was odd... he didn't like this guy at all, but acquiescing to his wishes was strangely easy.
It was only several turns later that they reached their destination; a lift which was – conveniently – more than large enough to fit an entire truck, never mind a single car. With goods frequently having to be transported between tiers, it was no wonder that such large elevators were scattered about the city, in addition to the usual, smaller ones that were generally used by individuals lacking cargo.
As with both sides of the Nexus gate, there were more stormtroopers waiting for them when they arrived at the lift. These ones, though, had their blasters out and ready, and were firing before the Bentley was even halfway down the street. It would seem that they had been forewarned of the vehicle’s coming, and weren't planning on taking any chances.
“Brake. Don’t fight back.” though still unshaken by their predicament, the youth had a much more focused look to his features now, and spoke tersely, not bothering to give Steve a rundown on why exactly he was telling him these things.
The gangster growled under his breath, and considered arguing, not much appreciating the commanding tone… still, this wasn’t the time, not while two of the swine were firing on them as they spoke. Slamming on the brakes, he jerked the wheel around, bringing the car into a skid. At least one of his Secondaries cried out – whether in shock or in pain, he couldn’t be sure – and there was a clattering noise as a few of his guns fell out into the streets.
When they at last drew to a stop, the vehicle was only a foot or so from the ends of the gun barrels of the pair of stormtroopers before them. Had he waited any longer to slow down, they may well have flattened those two, and gotten bounties on their heads because of it. As it was, the hooded man threw up his arms immediately, “We surrender!”
“Alright, just get… get out of the...” one trooper began.
“The car... ” the other helpfully added when his comrade trailed off… though he himself never got much further. They were both utterly engrossed in staring at Mr Mystery here… or… at his hand? Weird. Steve leaned around his ally, wanting to get a glance at whatever they found so intriguing. A coin on a string? Where had that come from...?
A minute or so later, and the guards were nothing more than a rapidly – much too rapidly – fading memory behind them. They were in the lift, descending at breakneck speeds towards the fifth tier.
Shortly, their transport began to slow, and slow, and slow. Before more than three minutes had passed since they got in, it came to a gentle halt and the doors hissed as they opened. Steve starting driving immediately. The lift hadn’t stopped halfway through its descent and begun rising again, which meant that their… uh… whatever it was that had allowed them to bypass those swine up there… had presumably gone unnoticed.
Still, there was no point in tempting fate. The sooner they could lose themselves in the choked, cramped, clogged and congested streets of Tier Five the better… they’d surely find it much easier to blend in down here. Or at least, that was the thought that crossed his mind momentarily, before he remembered he had three bikini girls in the back seats.
He didn't have a particular destination in mind, though he did want to get back into the vicinity of Northside as soon as possible… not only because that was where their target resided, but also due to the threat of other gangs. The last thing he needed right now was to run into a band of orks screaming some shit about ‘dakka’ and firing wildly at everything that so much as twitched… or the Westside lot. What an annoying bunch they were; so many gangs crammed together that you could never even guess what they might throw at you.
No, it’d be best to head north for now… and given the Secondaries he had with him… Steve took a turn on his left. This way would actually be a somewhat roundabout route, but it would also take them through a red light district… in which scantily clad women would be a sight much less likely to raise eyebrows.
![[Image: Hijiri_Name_Sig.png]](https://image.ibb.co/k1H7Hd/Hijiri_Name_Sig.png)