The Undoing of Sidekicks | ✓

thirty

(a/n: instead of a massive 5 chapter update, i decided to spread it out more for everyone's enjoyment instead of rushing the last pieces of the story arc ... besides, i wanted to run through it again in case i wanted to kill off any characters last minute. just kidding! anyway, i posted the schedule at the end of the chapter, so dw) 

thirty

AS ZURI had already run the numbers, we had a bunch of probable locations where Mistress might be hiding out. As we needed to narrow it down further, we erased the ones in more populated locations, assuming she hadn't planned on manufacturing illegal chemicals in the city center.

"She could be that stupid," Zuri suggested as we discussed it, " — would make your jobs easier."

"I wouldn't complain." My response had made Zuri smile, before she got back to work. We'd sent the drone off to scout some locations, attempting to see if there was any strange activity going on there, or any possibility of Mistress having her place located there. Some of those locations were empty lots, little more than parking spaces, while others were public parks.

As a last resort, Zuri sent off Josh or me to check the places ourselves. We'd rested as much as we could, patching up our suits and ourselves best as we could. Zuri strongly disliked me going back out there, claiming I should rest while I can.

"There's only three of us capable of checking these places out, Zuri. One's a drone, and the other's a dummy."

I inclined my head to Josh, who raised a brow at me from his position half-slouched against the wall.

"Really?"

I shot him a quick smile, then turned back to Zuri, resting my hand on her shoulder to offer some measure of reassurance.

"I'll be real careful." The words were futile, but Zuri nodded slowly nonetheless.

"If you have the slightest suspicion that it's Mistress' place ... —"

" — I'll alert you, and go straight back here. I won't go in on my own."

"You better not." Zuri shrugged my hand off her shoulder, eyes narrowing at me, "You have to promise me you won't."

I returned my hand to my side, clenching my fist briefly before relaxing it, forcing a relaxed expression.

"I promise you, I won't go in on my own."

"That's all I wanted to hear."

Rolling back to her desk, Zuri went back to a frantic typing. I eased up, eyes rising over her head as I met Josh's insistent stare. As he noted that I was staring, he shook his head silently. My lips flattened in response. The both of us knew what my promise had really meant.

"Where are you sending me, boss?" I mustered, turning back to Zuri.

"Here," she replied, pointing at one of the red dots on the map, "Gibbons Road."

And so I found myself heading out of Sylvester House only a few minutes later, heading for Gibbons Road. It'd take 15 minutes, little more, which was more than fine by me. We'd rested for most of the day, and now a light swath of dusk had descended on the sky, smudging a trail of colors among the clouds. It was summer by now, alright, and the sticky heat of the night had already started clinging to the insides of my suit.

The little holes and scratches I'd gathered had ruined whatever sweat-wicking properties I'd believed my suit had, that was for sure. I'd have to make do with some good old-fashioned hand-fanning, not that it'd really help.

Is that really what you're worried about at the moment?

It wasn't. Rather, it was far from my issue, but I'd force that disastrous train of thought aside for the moment being, and focus on my mission. I only needed to do some light recon, which would be easy enough. I was more than used to staying invisible whenever I slipped into my suit, becoming the more infamous Nymph.