Violet Eyes

74: Gravity

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Nate and his friends had been suddenly called into Elizabeth's office in the late afternoon. Nate considered not going for a fleeting moment, he was still shaken from his Gift failing for the first time in his life. But he knew that this could potentially be another lead on Z, and he didn't want to miss out on putting him down. He would just have to be more careful. Nate walked up to Elizabeth's desk with a blank stare. Danny looked over at him with a slightly nervous look before his eyes looked back at Elizabeth. Danny was still shaken up from...what he had seen that night.

"Thank you for coming, I think you all are going to enjoy the news I have for you." Elizabeth raised her head with a soft smile on her face and a shred of hope flowed into their systems. "We found his hideout." Everyone in front of Elizabeth's desk tensed and their eyes went wide.

"Really? How?" Orion asked urgently as he leaned forward slightly, hanging on her every word.

"Well, we haven't found it, but we know the general location, which means you can easily find it." She said quietly, "The slums where you discovered the first Ace of Hearts card. We have confirmed that the entrance that leads to Z's hideout is within 100 feet of the pub where you found the card."

"Wait, the entrance?" Danny asked in a slightly confused tone.

Elizabeth sighed, "Yes. His hideout is somewhere in the sewers under the slums. That's all we were able to confirm, and time is running short. We believe he is planning to go into hiding, he likely heard about Azriel's threat. If he goes into hiding, you likely won't have another chance for a long time, if ever." Elizabeth spoke clearly and the tone of seriousness was hard to miss.

The group looked at each other before Soul spoke. "Well, I vote that we hurry down there and get looking." She suggested sternly and they all nodded in agreement. After they had finished their briefing, they quickly left the office to gear up before going. They wanted to make sure they were beyond prepared for Z's hideout. After what happened the last time they saw him, no one wanted to take any chances.

The group got out of the SUV after their drive back to the slums. They all pulled hoods over their heads to shield them from the steady rainfall. Nate led his friends again through the narrow alleys, his hands in his coat pockets and his eyes looked tired. He was tired, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Danny's eyes searched and analyzed every nook and cranny as he walked alongside his friends. His katana was strapped to his back and he had a handgun in the back of his waistband. Danny was jolted when he felt Soul tug on his sleeve slightly, "What do you see?" She asked him quietly.

"There's too many options, there could be a hidden entrance anywh-" Danny cut himself off when he heard rushing water. They all heard it and stopped walking. Nate focused his hearing and followed the noise with his eyes. It was coming from around the corner to their right, it could barely be heard over the rain. Nate wordlessly walked down the alley towards the noise as his friends followed closely. After turning the corner, a few dozen feet away from the entrance to the pub, was the edge of the large culvert that guided flood waters out of the city. It was fuller than usual from the heavy rainfall that had been going on all day. As they got to the edge, Nate crouched down and looked over the side. He smiled softly when he saw a drainage pipe with water flowing out of it and into the culvert.

"There." Nate said quietly as he stared at the pipe. "That's a good place to start as any." He started to move towards it before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Danny looking at him with stern eyes.