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“Are we all clear on the plan? First, we check Elara’s flower shop. Jocelyn will no doubt have demanded for the flower to be handed over.”
“It hasn’t been long since Elara was taken,” said Sakkar. “If we move right now, we might still catch them at the shop and apprehend the culprits.”
“Precisely. Move out!”
The men followed in formation as we left the office. The guests filed out of the main doors one by one as we moved to where Elara was last seen.
As I approached, I spotted a slit in the curtain and moved through, continuing on until coming to the side doors that led out into the alley. Kicking it open, I glanced around before turning to my men.
“To the hovercars, on the double!”
We picked up the pace, moving to the spot on the metro where the cars awaited us. They weren’t usually taken all over the station the way we intended, but at that moment, I didn’t give a damn. They still sped up our attack.
There, a terrible sight greeted us. Each of the cars were smashed, smoke emanating from them. So much for a grab and go job.
“Bastards,” cursed Laux. “What now?”
“We have no choice but to go on foot. Try to look orderly and avoid suspicion. Running will only raise questions.”
The walk there felt excruciatingly slow. Internally, I was burning up. The longer I took to find Elara, the less chance she had of survival. But I had no choice if I wanted this to go smoothly, seeing as we were pulling this operation in public.
Along the way, my men and I kept an eye out for any suspicious activity. We caught sight of some Ewani running away at the sight of us, but I gave the order not to chase them. After all, we were known amongst their kind prior to this, and so they could have ran out of fear and not out of affiliation to Jocelyn. I had no time to waste chasing down a few cowardly rats.
The human scientist was no doubt a mastermind. It baffled me how she orchestrated this plan. I thought I had all possibilities covered, but clearly, I underestimated the villain’s abilities.
After a few painstaking minutes, we made it to her shop. Opening the door, my spirits fell further when I saw there was no one there. The place was turned upside down, presumably by Jocelyn’s hired thugs.
To see the shop, her pride and joy, destroyed made me seethe. The others came in behind me as I stepped over fallen shelves and shattered vases. I came across a hole in the floor.
Kneeling down, I inspected it. It was perfectly cut, with air circulating inside. Glancing at the counter, I spotted a discreet button and glanced between that and the hole.
“This is where she hid the flower, which means... Fuck!”
“It’s in Jocelyn’s hands now,” said Laux as he approached.
I stood to my feet, irate as I spun around violently.
“I need someone to check out the security footage!”
“One step ahead of you,” said Ryrik. He held his percomm, hitting a button that sent out a hologram. It displayed footage from one of the many cameras around the property, showing an image from only a few minutes ago.
The blue and white video flickered with static as it showed Jocelyn entering the shop with Elara. With them were two Ewani who accompanied them inside as two Nazok stood guard outside.
Ryrik fast-forwarded and stopped when they left the store. They carried a box of some sort, which I presumed held the flower inside. It showed them heading into an alleyway just outside.
“We’ll have to follow where they went,” I said, urgently making way for the exit. The others joined me as I dipped into the alley. A breeze of hope flowed through me as we broke into a run down the narrow passageway.
It soon dissipated when the alley came to a set of turns, one up ahead, one to the left, and another to the right.
“All of you split up. I’m taking the right!” I yelled.
I sprinted down the alley, my nostrils coiling back at the putrid scent that filled this damned place. Junkies peppered the alleys like moknars, scurrying away upon my approach.
I reached the end of the passage, where the maze-like formation continued. The deeper I got into this cesspit of alleys, the worse it became. The smoke grew thicker with each turn, as did the puddles on the ground.
“I’ve hit a dead end,” said Laux’s voice through the percomm.
“Me, too,” said Ryrik.
