18. I hope you survive

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Why make this difficult? He just had to get through this in one piece. After all he'd been through, how hard could it be?

A bitter laugh rose and he squashed it in his throat before it could escape. Once this was said and done, these people had to accept him, right? If he could rescue their man, then wouldn't that prove that he really was here to help? That he wasn't just another flyer of Troit?

He clung to that thought all the way to Mianka.

Mystery Man drove them deep into the heart of the city. Jett stared out the window with wide eyes, drinking in the sights. He'd been in this place before, but he'd never seen such a massive city at night.

Even though the skies had grown dark, the entire place was exploding with light. Everywhere he looked, different kinds of lights illuminated the streets, the sidewalks, even glittering all the way up the sides of 100 story buildings. It was almost brighter than it was during the daytime.

After about twenty minutes, Mystery Man drove them into an underground parking lot. He went down about three levels before pulling up to a single brown door set into the far wall.

"Well, this is the place." He turned off the car and pulled out the keys.

Jett looked around, a bit confused. "Here?" This didn't even remotely look like it was a Troit headquarters. All he saw was a bunch of randomly parked cars scattered throughout the concrete room.

Mystery Man chuckled. "Come on. Moxie's waiting inside." Seeing that Jett's blank face of complete non-understanding, he added, "your guide, remember? Moxie is the one who'll help you get into the Troit station."

"Oh. Right." At least he wouldn't be going into this alone. Hopefully this guide would be an experienced mercenary that was skilled in seven different kinds of unarmed combat and carried an entire armory in his back pocket. Because at this point, that was the only kind of guide that make Jett feel better.

He watched as Mystery Man left the keys on the driver seat, then followed him over to the brown door. In a lazy manner, Mystery Man lifted a hand and knocked five times against the door with his knuckles. When he noticed that Jett was watching closely, he winked.

"Secret password," he said.

Yeah, right. With a inward scoff, Jett crossed his arms in front of his chest. Now Mystery Man was just poking fun at him. Secret knocks? Ha. Those things only existed in stories. This was just -

Something clicked on the other side of the door before it suddenly swung outwards. A long cement hallway greeted them, dimly lit by a bare, flickering bulb hanging from the concrete ceiling.

"See?" Mystery Man grinned, clearly amused by the surprise all over Jett's face. "Ah, there's Moxie."

"Idiots." A low-pitched feminine voice came from within the hallway. "Get in here before anyone sees."

Jett peered into the hallway. He could barely make out a short person standing by the wall. She held a small flat tablet in one hand, which had a pale pink cord plugged into one end. The other end trailed up into her hood and ended in a small earbud which she wore in her right ear.

He blinked. This is ... Moxie?

A hand clapped onto Jett's shoulder as Mystery Man ushered him inside. "C'mon now, listen to the girl."

Shortly after, the heavy brown door swung shut with a dull thump, enclosing them in a gloomy hallway. Jett couldn't help himself; he looked back at the door anxiously. His palms were clammy and he could still feel his heart racing.

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