Sincan never thought that he would have to resort to burglary in order to accomplish what he needed to. But when push comes to shove, he is willing. The rest of the group walked ahead of him, scouting out the neighbourhood for any stalkers. The paved stone beneath their feet made up most of the background noise, along with the chirp of the occasional insect.
They happened upon a roundabout and saw several vehicles moving on the road. along the edges of the roundabout, vibrant lights could be seen hanging off of the buildings. The sound of cars and vehicles could be heard in the night. They crossed over to the roundabout and Sincan noticed the giant metal statue in the middle. The homlin man had a regal bearing—helped by the fact that he wore the clothes of an old noble. Sincan admired the statue for a long time along with the others while Firil turned away from them.
"Don't do well around metal? Life truly must be hard for a Battery," Sincan noted amusingly.
She made an annoyed sound at Sincan's comment. "It's something personal" she stated. "Care to share?" he asked. "Not with someone like you," she answered.
What was so wrong with being called a battery anyway? Manipulating charges was a fine ability, after all. Sincan put that thought in the back of his mind and walked over to the commemorative plaque and eyed the writing.
In honor of King Olivin Firilton
May His rule be long and prosperous
Firilton? That can't be a coincidence. Sincan looked back up at Firil, who had a guilty look on her face. Of course she's that popular. The others were still searching the plaza and thinking of a way to travel to Lokor—giving Firil and Sincan just enough time to talk.
"If you're so buddy buddy with the ruler of a country, why don't we just walk up to his doorstep and ask him to help us, huh?" Sincan inquired.
"You don't understand what kind of person Olivin is," she replied.
"You're on a first name basis with the king? And from what I hear, he's a great man," Sincan countered.
"That's exactly the problem. He might take us in, but he won't help us bring my uncle to justice. He doesn't just care for me, but the whole Meyers family," Firil reasoned.
"So he's got a bleeding heart. Fair point then, I want to see Oxe go down too."
Jake interrupted the conversation, "And we will, as soon as we find a ride. Look over there, Sincan," his thumb pointed to an RV that was parked near a restaurant. The restaurant itself was grand looking, with pillars of marble at the entrance and valets running around busily.
"I thought the whole point of those things were to avoid eating out," Kos said.
"Seems we got a free ticket out of here," Sincan smirked. "Don't hurt them, Sincan," Firil ordered. Sincan looked at her—annoyed that she would even consider him such a brute to do that.
----
Noziv was leading the best life he could. Though he had to utilize some underhanded means, he achieved a level of financial security that would ensure him a long and relaxing life. He walked through the doors of the restaurant with a grin on his face and his hands in his designer pants. His popped collar and gold chain added to the already amazing look he had. His dark yellow fur underneath it all.
"I made a reservation for tonight. Name's Noziv Kamansa." He looked around at the scenery, impressed with the beauty.
"It seems we do in fact have an open seat for you, sir," the waitress said. "Why not ditch the job and spend a night with me? I could make it worth your while," Noziv suggested. She scoffed at the offer and replied, "Sorry, sir, but professionals have standards. A one-night fling won't change those standards." Noziv walked to where he had reserved his seat—disappointed that the woman had decided against joining him. As he sat down, the jingle of keys could be heard in his pocket.
Coincidentally, a certain scalin man happened to be standing outside when this happened. How do I want to do this? He looked around and noted a valet standing nearby. Oh, that simple huh? Sincan made sure that the valet had no one else near him before walking into the alley and gesturing towards Kos.
The sound of a woman screaming pierced the ears of the valet, who made his way over to the alley. He considered himself a bit of a hero—fulfilling duties that no one else could or would. I feel sort of bad that I have to do this to you Sincan thought as he popped out from behind the dumpster and choked the man unconscious. "He's got nice clothes," Sincan tried to make small talk as he stripped the man bare.
"He seemed nice. Firil said to leave him some cash," Kos said. She handed Sincan some cash which he tucked into the man's underwear before setting him up in a safe spot. He wouldn't be unconscious long, so Sincan had to work fast.
He walked into the restaurant and called over the woman who was making reservations.
"It seems one of our customers forgot to park their car. Can you please fetch them?" Sincan asked in as professional a voice as he could muster.
"Sure but uh-You don't seem familiar. When did you start working here?" her suspicion was rising.
"The manager hired me a few days ago. With the rush those valets were in, he decided they could use an extra hand," Sincan said.
"We are a big restaurant, so it's to be expected. I'll bring over the customer post-haste." She walked away and Sincan wiped his brow. Phew, didn't think I would need to improvise like that. She returned a second later with an annoyed lyclan. "Make it quick, I'm trying to enjoy my dinner here."
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
"Sorry sir, but it seems you forgot to hand over your keys for parking. We would be glad if you did so."
Noziv fished around for the keys before tossing them to Sincan. Way easier.
"There better not be a scratch on that thing, alright?" Noziv ordered.
"Oh I assure you, sir. There will not be a single scratch on your vehicle," Sincan obeyed.
He walked out of the restaurant before assuming his regular posture and starting the car. The rest of the group wasn't too far, so Sincan picked them up easily. They loaded all the things that they had bought in Zonzara and made off. Someone that day was going to be depressed, but it wouldn't be Sincan and his crew.
----
The sound of the engine running was an annoying blot on Moris' plans. He couldn't get any rest because of that—not to mention the sound of Firil arguing with the others.
"We were in Zonzara. That means we take this route through!" Firil puffed out.
"If we take this route, it'll be much safer. Don't try to rush this," Jake argued.
"I agree with him on this, Fir. The last few days have been too demanding. A little rest won't kill us," Kos added.
Sincan grew tired of the argument and made his way to the bunk bed that Moris was sleeping on. He noticed the derlin trying to cover his head with pillows and began talking. "Can't catch any sleep, Mor?" he asked.
"Doesn't look like it," he turned over and Sincan noticed the bags under his eyes.
"Something wrong? You don't look well."
Moris sat up on his bed and Sincan took a seat. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Moris built up the courage to speak. "I'm no better than you, Sin. I...I also worked...for Oxe." The information came as a surprise to Sincan, even more that he would reveal it to someone like him. "I..uhh.." He looked at the derlin before continuing, "You're wrong, Mor. You may have worked for the man, but I can tell it wasn't the same situation. Not to mention that you don't exactly look like the criminal type," he chuckled before standing up.
"Don't think I won't use it as blackmail though. That's just who I am, after all," he grinned.
Moris took that as a joke, or else he wouldn't know what to think of what Sincan said. The rest of them were still arguing, Jake at the wheel and Firil and Kos with a map laid out on the dining table.
"You win, idiot!" Firil yelled.
"A well fought for victory," Jake said flatly. He kept driving.
----
The sun was starting to rise over the horizon when the sound of something crashing awoke the gang. A dent could be seen on the top of the RV and before they could react, A bullet pierced the roof and lodged itself into the floor. Sincan froze in place and tried to move quietly. Sincan opened the door to the outside and climbed up to the roof.
As soon as he could see the top, another gunshot resounded and his body fell over onto the quickly passing road below. It turned back into crystals as the real Sincan was still inside the car. He looked over to Firil and shook his head. He whispered to Moris, "let's break open the roof. Do it as soon as I give the signal." Sincan covered his arms with the crystals, using the sand from the outside to form it. He braced himself and nodded to Moris, who took the tap water and used it to propel him through.
Sincan jumped out and landed on the roof with a thud. The Scalin man near him grunting in surprise. Those red eyes, they seemed familiar to him.
"You're that Hand from the airport!" Sincan shouted. Kos froze up at the realization. "I told you to come quietly, now look what happened," the man said. Sincan growled at the man as Firil and Moris also made their way up. Nearby, a derlin woman was driving a car, keeping pace with the RV easily. Blot my soul, they're not leaving unless I make them.
"Just hand over the derlin girl and we won't do anything. She's all we need," he continued, "Don't you want that? This little charade of yours can end without anyone else's life being risked." "Is that the same line you fed Cervo and Vanessa before you gutted them both?" Sincan asked loudly. The scalin man seemed to cringe when Vanessa was mentioned. Suddenly, a figure jumped up from the car onto the RV, on the opposite side of the scalin man.
"Oh he didn't feed her anything, I did give her a nice dose of lead though. That Gear of yours was pretty pathetic in a fight, no match for mine." That white coat that fluttered in the wind, that sadistic smile. Sincan had never seen the man before but he could tell at a glance that he was guilty.
"Sadly, my little stunt cost me some time on the old Gear. Nice to see Okshender put to better use at least," he said in a casual voice. Okshender, kill him. Shoot him, do anything!
"If I do that, young Jake will get caught in the crossfire. Are you sure?"
I don't ca- Sincan was cut off by a fist to his face that sent him flying. Using the hole he made as leverage, he stuck onto the RV, but not before a fist came crashing down on him, sending him through the hole itself and onto the carpeted ground near the bathroom. A crackling sound could be heard from outside as they fought on top of the vehicle. Sincan climbed back on top to find Moris defending himself against the homlin man.
The man kept breaking the ice that Moris conjured. "Have I properly introduced myself yet? I guess you could call me Tox if the need arises," he said as he broke another layer and tried to reach for Moris. Moris froze his hand in place and backed off. If only those bastards let me bring Soot. That old man Olivin can't even do anything! Tox thought as he broke out of the bond,
The large scalin man butted heads with Firil, clearly enjoying the fight between them. "Vanalog! Just grab the girl already!" the derlin woman screamed from the car. "I'm trying!" he responded. He ran against the wind and raised his sword over his head. He was stopped by Sincan who held the sword in place and shouted, "Now, Okshender!" The Gear was floating alongside the RV and punched Vanalog overboard. He went flying and landed on the ground but neither the car nor Tox stopped.
Right in the front seat, Okshender. Shoot that car!
"Young master, I'm not sure if Cervo would have wanted that." Moris and Firil were still fending off Tox. He seemed to be acting more seriously—an annoyed expression on his face. He kicked Moris in the gut, sending him tumbling across the roof and breaking an antenna in the process.
And look where that got him. Shoot it, Okshender.
Okshender obeyed the command and shot at the car. Sincan noticed that his aim was slightly off. It could have been due to multiple factors, but for some reason he was glad it had happened. The car started slowing down and Tox, noticing how outnumbered he was, decided to abandon ship. He jumped on top of the car with inhuman agility and glared at them as the vehicle slowly crept out of sight.
The RV didn't stop as Sincan, Moris and Firil climbed back down into it.
"Jake, you've been driving too long. Switch with me," Sincan offered. "Are you sure?" he asked. Sincan looked around the messy vehicle and nodded. "I think I am." After Sincan took over the controls, Jake looked around the room and noticed someone was missing. Chosh was comforting Firil, Moris was on the bed soundly asleep, but Kos—Kos was nowhere to be seen. A small bit of panic began to rise up inside him as he searched around for her.
He looked everywhere except the bathroom. As he knocked, it opened slightly, revealing Kos' petrified expression. "Are they gone?" she asked.
"I think they are," he continued, "Don't worry, Kos. I'll make sure to protect you. I won't let what happened repeat." Her muscles loosened up as she came out. There was some shame on her face. Embarrassment that at the first sign of conflict she ran and hid. "I'll make sure to protect you." She hoped those words would be true.