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Act 6: Road to Jaden

I sat in a booth in Jack's Tavern, staring down at my Communicator as I left it closed. I chugged down some alcohol as if it were my life source. I had chosen to cope this way out of personal choice. I wasn't in the proper mindset for a job at the moment, nor would I be if I managed to actually get drunk off of the cheap beer Jack had given me. Normally, I never drank that much. I just had to that morning, however. I needed to try and blur the memory at least temporarily. No matter how much I drank, however, I never forgot seeing Marci's dying body and eventual corpse. The moment of myself pulling the trigger to end her misery still haunted me, even when I was successfully drunk.

"I think you've hand enough," Jack chuckled as he approached my table and then sat down at it. "You look like something's troublin' you, kid."

"What... What if there is?" I hiccuped, speaking with an obvious slur.

"Well, I am a barkeep, kid," he chuckled. "You can probably spill your guts out and it's likely I heard any story ya have already."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, raising an eyebrow slowly and then staying silent for a moment.

Jack rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of me, causing me to react to the noise and take a deep breath.

"I found a dead body," I said. "Well, two. Two dead bodies. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's what I know you're gonna say, but it was at the damn man's business. Pow, there was an explosion everywhere along with lots of fire, which usually comes after explosions. Then I found the man without a head, on the ground and lifeless. Of course, you can't live without a head. I don't know why I would mention lifeless when it's already pretty obvious a headless man isn't... breathing. I knew he was a lost cause to save being decapitated and all, so I looked around for anyone else. I then entered the backroom and surprising me was a woman impaled onto a rack, gasping for air." I choked a bit as tears had begun running down my cheeks. "A goddamn woman impaled on a goddamn rack, Jack. A goddamn woman. On a rack. Jack. Jack rack. Rack Jack. Hey, if you were a woman, I'd say you got a nice rack, Jack." I laughed and sobbed at the same time, patting his shoulder.

Jack looked at me rather confusedly. He obviously was trying to interpret what I had conveyed into a rather jumbled message. He pat my hand and sighed, moving my mug away from me. "Now, let's try again," he said. "What is this about finding two dead bodies? A man and a woman?"

"Yes," I nodded and let out a burp, which I drunkenly laughed at.

"As a result of what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Payment issue with the Gavel," I sniffed. "Pretty sure.... They killed him and then her. At least attempted to kill her."

"The Gavel?" he asked, thinking for a moment. He then let out a deep sigh. "You're talking about the fiasco in the shopping center. I heard there was a fire, leading to an explosion. You could have just witnessed a freak accident, kid."

"No, it wasn't an accident," I snapped at him and groaned, holding my head. "Damn headaches. I know for a fact the Gavel had something to do with it. I got a call a few minutes before I headed there telling me to stay away. I didn't listen and now I'm here, drinking and from the looks of it, annoying you, too." "Did I say you were annoying me?" he asked.

"Your handsome face tells me that I am," I hiccupped again.

"Okay, you clearly had too much to drink," he sighed, getting up. "I'll give you that job I have for you after you sober up. I'm calling that little IOU idiot friend of yours to pick you up." He then went over to the phone on the bar counter, dialing Bernie's number.

I looked around and with my alcohol impaired vision, I thought I spotted a shady man in the corner. "Hey, you!" I called out as I reached for my pistol. "Stop!" I then stood up and stumbled, but then aimed my pistol shakily toward a barrel in the corner. I fired it, causing a few people to scream and scurry around.

"Holy crap," Jack blinked after he put the phone down. He ran over to me and grabbed my arm, snapping it back and quickly grabbing the pistol as he jabbed me in the eye, making me lose my grip. "Are you insane? Don't ever use a damn gun when you've been drinking, kid."

"That... guy.... Was running," I said, groaning as I held my eye and tried to look back at the corner. I then blinked when my other eye, realizing it indeed was just a barrel.

"That guy is a freakin' barrel," he said, sighing. "You clearly haven't been drunk that often. Can't hold you liquor. That idiot's comin' to pick you up. I'll be holding onto this gun of yours until he gets here."

"Fine, whatever," I grumbled and groaned, sitting back down in the booth.

"Next time you get some bad news, don't drink yourself into a stupid shooting binge," he said before heading back to the bar to continue serving drinks.

I stayed silent until I heard Bernie call my name out.

"Laney boy!" Bernie chuckled as he walked over to me. "Ole Jack says you've been drinkin'. I didn't know you liked the booze."

"I don't," I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "I usually only drink when I think I need to. Come on, let's just go back to the apartment. I need to get my gun back from Jack."

"Alright, fine," he said. "I'll wait at the doorway then. You gotta tell me what you did on the way back there though. Jack's never taken someone's gun before."

I sighed and headed over to Jack now and reluctantly looked up at him. "I'm sorry for discharging my weapon at a barrel," I said, a bit softly.

"What was that?" Jack asked, turning toward me. "I'm sorry for discharging my weapon at a barrel," I repeated, louder now.

"Good to hear that, kid," he said, handing me my pistol. "Don't get drunk alone again though. Next time, I'll take it and break it into two. Understood? Now, go sober up. I got a job for you to do, but it can wait until then."

I nodded as I placed my gun back into my holster. I then turned toward the entrance and stumbled a bit into the outside world, covering my eyes as the sun had begun to rise. Once my eyes managed to adjust to the light, I made my way toward the car Bernie had arrived in. I then let out a groan and a sigh when I saw Tay sitting on the hood, her arms crossed as she seemed a bit angry about being out here.

"So we're picking you up for being drunk and nearly causing a shooting incident?" she asked. "I don't usually wake up this early, Lane. I'm sorry if I'm a bit cranky."

That was a bit hard to believe. I rubbed my eyes as I looked at Tay, noticing how the sunlight already reflected off of her fur. It was then I noticed she was a blue furred Lunga, a color that was more appealing than the white and black of the usual Lunga. Her hair was down and flattened out, seeming to reach her mid-back. She wore rounded sunglasses, but I could see her sparkling green eyes through them. I shook my head and blinked a few times as she hopped down, causing my gaze to focus at a certain part of her body as I didn't have full control yet in my drunken state.

"Didn't know you were a boob man," she laughed, flicking my forehead and causing me to flinch.

"Ow, sorry," I groaned. "Being drunk doesn't mean I don't feel anything, you know."

"A soldier like you got hurt by a little flick?" she laughed. "Must be the beer because I didn't think you were that wimpy."

I rolled my eyes at her as I watched her sway to the driver side of her car. Her outfit was that of a traditional tomboy. Though my knowledge of anything women related is limited, I at least assumed jean shorts that go only to her knees, brown worker boots, and a somewhat tight blue t-shirt with a V-neck collar may have been considered "tomboy". I approached the passenger seat and climbed in, noticing a sleeping Minnie in the backseat.

"I guess you two follow each other around," I said, rubbing my forehead now as I leaned against the door somewhat.

"You could say that," Tay said as she started the car. "Minnie is indeed the closest thing I have to a sister, so it's not uncommon for us to go places together unless specified otherwise. Now, do you mind if I ask why I'm suddenly picking up a drunk Lane? You didn't seem like the type to have a drinking problem."

"I don't have one," I said, looking out of the window now. "As I told Bernie, I only drink when I think I need to and I thought I needed to, but it hasn't helped much."

"Why did you have to drink alcohol?" she asked. "That does sound like the words of an alcoholic, you know."

"Well, I'll tell you about it when we get back to my apartment," I said. "I'm assuming you're still spending the day there since you spent the night. I hope my couch wasn't too uncomfortable."

"It wasn't my bed, but it wasn't terrible either," she said, laughing. She headed down the road at a moderate speed and impressed me a bit by taking several side roads, seeming to purposely avoid patrols.

"You know your away around Tonoko, don't you?" I chuckled.

"Of course I do," she smirked. "I am a reporter. I go around looking for new hot scoops. I have to know the area I work at, you know. Plus it helps that I love to explore. I have been outside of the city on rare occasions a couple of times. The desert is both beautiful and horrible. I've only gone as far as Harker Retreat though. I've never gone to Jaden. There's still rumors that there's more cities out there, but mostly cut off from Tonoko at least. I don't know how much power the Baron and the Queen have in Jaden, given they have their own princess who runs things there."

"I'm sure they have some power or may have corrupted the princess into following their orders," I grumbled and sighed.

"Corrupted?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean?"

"The Baron and the Queen have just been implanting this whole ideal of that they're the only ones you should trust in running this city and even the entire province," I said. "They caused riots outside of the city, maybe even staged criminal acts and are pretty much the reason Czech and Alcad shut down any sort of trade within Mortion."

"They stated it was because they were threatened by the truth," she said, now in a pondering pose as she drove. "Though a reporter doesn't ignore any story. If we can find some solid proof on that, then the Baron and the Queen would be in for an uprising."

"Against an entire elite military?" I asked. "No, any uprising would be slaughtered if it tried to mount an attack, at least at the moment. Right now, the biggest concern I'd have is the Crimson Gavel. The Cryptic Guard may be horrible and borderline criminal, but the Gavel... would need to be stopped first. There's no sense keeping two organizations that torture people."

"Haven't you only been in the Gavel for a few days though?" she asked. "What's with this talk of a possible uprising toward them?"

"You'll probably understand when I tell you about what I saw," I said as we arrived at my apartment.

When she parked, we both climbed out of the car at the same time as Bernie climbed out behind us with a sleeping Minnie in his arms. He hurried ahead of us, seeming to want to spend more 'cuddle time' with her. Well, at least he was happy. I wasn't going to ruin that. I then headed up the stairs and to my apartment door, opening it as Bernie had unlocked it and headed straight for my room. I managed to plop onto my bed before I heard Tay's boots behind me. "Oh no, you're not passing out before you tell me what you saw," she humphed, closing the door behind her. She crossed her arms over her chest, which made me chuckle as it seemed a bit difficult to do given her busty nature. Yeah, I noticed it. She was busty.

I then sat up and yawned before looking over at her and revealing the gross scene I had stumbled upon checking inside of Impersonal when it was on fire.

It took a little while, but when I was done, Tay looked dumbfounded.

"Oh my God," she said, looking down. "They really did that to this Marci girl and her father?"

"I think so at least," I said. "I don't have any definite proof other than being ordered to do something a few minutes before the explosion happened."

"To do what?" she asked.

"To stay away," I said. "I clearly defied that."

"Well, that's obvious," she said. "What are you going to do though?"

"At the moment?" I asked. "I can't do anything. Maybe one day, but for now, I have to act as if it didn't happen. A man of war doesn't act immediately regardless of circumstances."

"That's all fine and dandy but I think you may need some supervision on some of these jobs," she said, blushing slightly. "You know... I wouldn't mind helping out. I do want to do something new and exciting and I'd rather not have anything happen to Bernie's friend, especially since I'd never hear the end of it from Minnie." She laughed softly, though she still seemed nervous.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Any job I get could be potentially fatal. It's a risk I'm taking to try and earn the Immunity title. Even if I do get that far, that won't stop the Cryptic Guard's hunt for me. They can't prosecute me under city approval, but they can sure as hell try and kill me even under Immunity."

"Well, I still think it'll help having someone helping you," she said with a cute pout. "I'm not gonna take no for an answer, you know."

"I'm well aware of that," I chuckled. "Feel free to make yourself at home then. Maybe eventually Minnie and Bernie could live together. If that means you'd move in to, I wouldn't be opposed to it. You seem pretty straight forward and level headed. I like that."

"Oh, thanks," she smiled and then wrapped her arms around my waist, embracing me into a very tight hug. "I promise you won't regret it!"

Several months had passed since I had told Tay about what had happened. She had become a bit of a helper with some of my smaller delivery jobs for the Gavel. I strictly delivered small goods along with occasionally picking up the 'rent' from various store clerks. Tay, being the journalist she is, had looked into the rents and managed to help a few businesses branch out a bit to gain extra money so they could easily pay their rents. The Apoco-Store seemed to take kindly to the idea of branching out and selling some merchandise other than clothing. They now sold a small section of toys, along with some games. Their business has been booming ever since, though it seemed to make the Cryptic Guard suspicious as their patrols were more apparent at each Apoco-Store location. Local bakeries took up serving well known soft drinks, such as Juniper Juice - which was a sweet mango juice that was rather popular. They also sold soda, which ranged from Dr. Caffeine - a cola drink - to Synergy Mug - a root beer brand. I was a fan of Dr. Caffeine, of course, as it helped me stay up on long deliveries from Tonoko to Jaden's outskirts. Businesses seemed to be doing rather well, with most collections going smoothly. Until I was "promoted" and told to stop collecting the payments, that is.

"So could you repeat that, sir?" I asked Don Bortelli over the phone. "I'm being promoted to what again?" "A Collector, you numbskull," Don Bortelli chuckled.

"Isn't that the same as my current job?" I asked.

"Oh hell no," he chuckled. "You'd be collecting and delivering bigger cargo now since I can trust ya, kiddo. I don't know what you did, but the payments are rarely late nowadays. It's a nice time to be in a mass profit. As long as you keep on performin' this well, I'll make sure to keep the Cryptic Guard off your ass, got it?"

"Got it," I said. I then hung up and let out a small sigh, looking at my Communicator to find an email just sent by the Don himself. It pointed me toward the direction of Harker Retreat, which was a Cryptic Guard outpost. Though I double checked the location and found out that it was just before Harker Retreat, between it and Bronco Point. Both locations were Cryptic Guard outposts, which made me a bit skeptical about the pickup.

I put my Communicator away and grabbed my pistol before heading toward the door. I then heard someone clear their throat behind me as I reached for the door knob.

"I know you're not going on that job alone," Tay said, grabbing my arm. "Remember your deal? I come with and help" "I remember it," I chuckled. "I'm still not a fan of exposing you to the dangers of the desert. I don't even let Bernie come with me."

"Well, I'm not him," she humphed. "Let's go. I've been tagging along and helping since we made the deal. I'm not stopping now."

I shrugged and opened the door for her, letting her sway ahead of me. I chuckled, looking her over from behind. Tay still had quite the figure, hourglass and all. Even in her somewhat baggy attire currently, which was a pair of jeans, sneakers and a white t-shirt, I could still see it. Her blonde hair was bouncing a bit behind her as it was tied back into a ponytail. It did compliment soft, rounded cheeks on her face along with the small sparkle within her eyes. I watched her hop onto my Hooverbike as I admired her, snapping back to reality after a moment.

"Quite eager, aren't we?" I chuckled.

"Well, I'm enjoying helping you out a lot," Tay smiled. "It's a nice change of pace from reporting. I've honestly been having fun."

I hopped onto the Hooverbike and started it up. I smiled as I felt her arms wrapped around my waist and then felt her chin rest on my shoulder.

"Comfortable?" I asked.

"Mmhm!" she giggled, looking up at me. "Come on, let's go! I wanna see this place out in the desert!"

I nodded and turned the handle, hitting the accelerator as I headed toward the Crimson Gavel guarded exit into the Jehree Desert. I felt her arms around me cling a bit, as she still seemed to be a bit unsettled at the fast speed I went. We were waved past the Crimson Gavel guards and headed out into the desert.

It wasn't an ideal trip, being out in a bunch of sand and all. We looked around as I headed toward the point marked on my Communicator's miniature map. As we neared the pick-up point, I began to notice that the lot looked like it was abandoned, perhaps a former military holdout. I raised an eyebrow and looked around as I parked my bike. I hopped off and then walked toward the building with Tay quickly following me. I peeked inside in order to spot anything or any sort of a trap. There was nothing.

"It's quiet out here," I said. "Perhaps the reason for this being a pick-up point. Though keep an eye out, Tay. It may also be perfectly suitable for a trick."

Tay nodded and looked around, seeming a bit more nervous that I've usually seen her. Perhaps it was because we were alone, a few miles from both Cryptic Guard posts and Tonoko. It meant we were also a bit farther away from Jaden. I walked over to a small stack of crates and leaned against them, awaiting the Gavel's delivery boy. Tay was pacing around a bit and my eyes followed her, mostly out of boredom.

"What's got you so nervous?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing related to this," she said. "I heard the Baron and the Queen were going to put on some sort of public access speech about what they're doing to combat crime. You and technically I fall under the crime category, you know."

"Relax, the Gavel has me under protection and no one knows you help me." I said. "The Baron and the Queen can try to throw guards into the Crimson Gavel's territory all they want. They won't get far."

I then heard a vehicle pull up to the abandoned lot. It was a red colored Excalibur, which took the design of a normal Sedan hovercar and combined it with the design of a sports car. The man, whom was a silver furred Festo, hopped out of it as it came to a stop, apparently being a convertible as well.

"Yous Silverbane?" he asked in a nasally voice.

"Yeah, I am," I nodded, hopping down from the crates.

"Gots a package here for ya," he said, tossing me a briefcase.

I managed to catch it before it hit the ground. I placed it onto the crates and looked inside. I raised an eyebrow when there was nothing inside of it. I then blinked, hearing the charging of a laser. I turned quickly and dove for the man's legs as I heard a shot go off. Instinctively, I let out a growl as I knocked the man's gun away from his hand. I grabbed his collar and landed two cold, hard punches in his jaw.

"Trying to screw the Gavel over by killing me?" I asked, beginning to ready a third punch.

"Ha!" the man laughed, spitting out a tooth already. "The Gavel got some information that caused them to tell me to waste ya, kid. Nothin' personal. Just doin' my job."

"You suck at it," I said, landing the third punch. I then lifted him up and narrowed my eyes at him. "What exactly did the Gavel tell you?"

"Said somethin' about they got told you was embezzling from 'em despite the good source of income from their protection racket," he groaned. "Said they went over the numbers again and found out there ain't no profit, possibly just cash switchin' hands in a circle, no actual gain. They don't take kindly to no profit. In the Gavel, money is everything."

"Oh?" I asked, slamming him against a wall now, but still kept him in my grip. "So they're hiring a chump like you to make quick work of me out here and make it look like the Cryptic Guard did it?"

"Essentially, yeah," the man coughed. "But you had your shot with killin' me. Such a shame."

"Why's that?" I asked, then let out a surprised groan as I was kneed hard in the gut. It caused me to lose my grip and stumble backward.

Tay blinked and almost let out a yelp as she had hid in the building when the man showed up. She looked around, gulping.

"I need to find something useful..." she grumbled to herself.

The man laughed and coughed, landing an upward kick to my jaw, causing me to fly back a small distance and groan. I felt all four of his hands grip me as I was picked up. I was then tossed into the nearby wall, groaning in pain as it hurt like hell. I struggled to attempt to get up before being kicked again as I watched him get his gun.

"When yous got a killer in your hands, Silverbane, yous gotta kill 'em," he chuckled, slowly lowering his weapon down to my head. "Like so."

I groaned and closed my eyes tightly, hearing the loud bang.

There was silence and a ringing in my ears for a few seconds. I then heard a plop and a shriek. I opened my eyes to see the man lying lifeless on the ground as I heard footsteps running toward me. I looked up slightly and could make out Tay's face and groaned.

"Did you... shoot him?" I asked as she seemed to hurriedly help me up.

"I attempted to with a gun I found," Tay said, gulping. "I guess I did hit him. Or maybe that sniper over there did... Wait a second....!"

"Sniper?" I blinked and quickly pulled her down as there was another loud bang and the bullet had barely whizzed past us. "The Gavel hired a sniper?"

"Uh... Would they be in large red metal suits?" she asked, looking over at me.

"No," I sighed. "It's the Cryptic Guard then. The shot that dead idiot made must have alerted them to some sort of activity here. If this is really an ex-military spot, it's illegal to be here. It's an act punishable by, you know, death."

"Good to know, law book," she said. "Let's worry about getting out of here alive, okay?"

"After being thrown around and nearly killed, yeah, I'm up for trying to survive," I said, biting my lip as I crouched a bit as I tried to stand up and stay out of the sniper's sights. I could hear him radio other soldiers, meaning we'd be outnumbered soon.

"That did seem like it hurt," she said, looking over me.

"No, it was pleasant," I said. "Of course it hurt. Regardless, that convertible is our only way out of here in any safe vehicle. You know how to raise the roof, right?"

"I've driven a convertible before," she nodded. "Then good," I said. "We're going to have to make a run for it."

She nodded as we both readied ourselves before attempting to dash toward the convertible. I was slower than she was due to the pain I felt from being thrown into a wall. I gasped and held my breath as I heard the sniper firing, trying to hit me and coming close too many times. I hopped into the convertible and landed on my side in the back.

"Put it up and drive!" I managed to say through the pain.

Tay gulped and pulled the roof up quickly as it was automated and the car spun around as it turned on. She then hit the accelerator and sped off, though not toward Tonoko. I tried to sit up, but was bounced around by her swerving to avoid being hit by the bullets from the sniper.

"Do you see any reinforcements coming?" I called out, finally managing to sit up.

"No," she said. "It's not like I can accurately see them while driving though."

"Good point," I said, looking through the back window now. "I don't see any either, but we could just be far ahead of them." I pulled my Communicator out and attempted to call Bernie.

His Communicator rang several times before he did pick up, making me panic a little.

"Y'ello?" he answered.

"Bernie, where are you?" I asked.

"Out with Minnie, headin' back to the love pad as we speak," he chuckled. "Why do you ask, Laney boy?"

"Well, for one, the Gavel isn't going to be kind to us anymore," I said. "They found out they're not making any profit from Tay's and my meddling to keep the businesses being 'protected' having their own profit instead. Though they assumed I was embezzling, possibly to just pin something quick on me to justify taking me out. Tay managed to take out a hired gun otherwise I'd be dead. If I were you two, I wouldn't go back to the apartment. It may be watched or booby trapped."

"Wait, what!?" he screamed in surprise. "But Laney boy, the Tin! We're broke! We ain't got no place to go in a time like this!"

"Relax, Bernie," I said. "There's a reason Tay handled the Tin the Gavel gave me for my jobs. That card they issued has been useless for probably several months now. We have money, but not as much as the Gavel. You and Minnie sneak out of Tonoko without the Gavel or Guard seeing you. We're heading to Jaden."

"You guys are gonna expect us to walk there?" he asked.

"No, we're going to pick you up," I said. "We have to get out of Tonoko and think of a plan. The Cryptic Guard is very scarce over in Jaden. The only thing there we'd have to worry about is the Gavel. If I can convince the mayor of Jaden to side with us, we might have a chance to combat this."

"Alright, I'm trustin' ya, Laney boy," he said, sounding like he turned and covered the phone to tell Minnie.

"Tell Tay I told her I knew she was a good shot with a gun," Minnie suddenly said over the Communicator. I did roll my eyes a bit at the comment.

"Get outside of the city in about twenty minutes," I said. "To the best of my knowledge, sneak past the Southwest gate."

"That's a Gavel gate," Bernie said as he was back on the line now. "How are we gonna do that?"

"Simple," I said. "Use your sneaking abilities. You know, the ones you gloat about to Minnie."

"Lane, this ain't a time to joke," he said, sounding very nervous now.

"There's a small break in the wall in the Southwest, Bernie," I said. "Small enough to fit you two through. It's behind a Apoco Store."

"Alright, thanks," he said before he hung up.

"Southwest hole, huh?" Tay asked, looking over at me. "Yes," I said and then blinked. "Keep your eyes on the road, please!"

Tay rolled her eyes at me and turned back to the front only to swerve out of the way of a giant rock, which would have totaled the car and may have killed her on impact.

"Okay, eyes on the road," she grumbled.

"I think I may need a new pair of pants now," I sighed and covered my face with my palms.

"Shut up," she said, still speeding along the sand.

It didn't take that much longer before we arrived at a small hiding place just before the Southwest hole in the wall. I kept looking out of the window a bit like I was paranoid, which was true, I suppose.

"What's taking them so long?" I asked, grumbling.

"They're trekking half way across the city, Lane," Tay said. "It'll probably be a while before they get here."

"I hope you're right," I said. "They shouldn't have gone back to the apartment. I told them not to. The Gavel may not be superior in intellect, but they're reckless."

"Well, they don't seem to have reliable hired help," she said. "It didn't help that the one guy they tried to kill almost got himself killed while trying to find answers to why the said guy was sent to kill you in the first place. If I hadn't there, Lane, you'd be dead."

"I know, I know," I said, grumbling under my breath. "I made a dumb mistake."

"You did, yeah," she nodded. "Though what's going to Jaden going to do? The Gavel's based there. Even the mayor can't exile them."

"I may be able to convince Mayor Roland otherwise," I said. "He did try to start his own police patrol, if I recall."

"Yeah, the Seekers," she said. "You sound like they aren't an effective police force."

"They're only in Jaden and can barely handle that," I said, looking back at her. "I don't want their help if they're not willing to break rules. Maybe one day down the road, I'll need their help. However, for now, we won't need it. I know Roland has old contacts from when he took Jaden from his tyrant father."

"King Lenon?" she asked. "Haven't heard anyone reference him since I was five. He's probably one of those Forgotten Kings then."

"He is and I read a lot in the Cryptic Academy," I said. "Even crap I wasn't supposed to read. He's still in contact with the people that helped him stage the fake military blast at one of Jaden's walls."

"And who are they?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You should really be the reporter, Lane. Your knowledge is uncanny."

"Considering all I did was read history related books, it's not that impressive," I said. "We're going to try and convince that small team to help us. Or at least if they're already dead, maybe their talents were passed onto their children. Roland is quite old, you know."

"Well, dead or not, having more than just the four of us would be better," she said. "Minnie can't fight and I shot a gun once and managed to get a lucky shot. You're so buying me dinner for saving you though."

"I'll remember that when we're safely in Jaden and not hiding under this small rock formation," I said. "I think I see them coming out."

I pointed in the direction where there were two fast moving dots coming from the crack in the Tonoko wall. They seemed to be coming in an alarmed rate, clearly having done something or had someone after them. I quickly opened the passenger door for Minnie and Bernie, which Minnie had scooped up Bernie and just carried him the rest of the way before hopping into the car.

"Drive!" Bernie said, out of breath. "We tried to go back to the apartment, Lane, but we noticed there was a few Gavel cars out front. We tried to sneak away, but they spotted us."

I looked back as Tay hit the gas and we began to head toward Jaden. There was a Crimson Gavel goon squeezing through the hole, barely managing to make it. He seemed to notice the car and made a gesture, though I recognized the goon. It was Vinchi's son, Sprock.

"Shit," I said, grabbing my laser pistol from its holster. "Sprock's going to be coming after us. Keep driving, Tay. We'll have a tail after us."

"Got it," Tay nodded. "Do you think if we get into Jaden, they'll let up?"

"No," I said. "You're making a detour for that reason."

"What?" she blinked. "Detour? Are you nuts, Lane?"

"No, look at the car's GPS," I said, not taking my eyes off of the slowly fading away image of Tonoko City. "Set it to the destination the Marsh Swamp."

"Are you nuts!?" Bernie blinked. "That's the same distance as Jaden! We won't have enough gas!"

"We will," I said. "If I'm right about Sprock's car of choice, he'll have more than enough gas to take us there. Just trust me."

They all seemed to share worried looks before nodding and Minnie altered the GPS and turned sharply to the right, heading into the direction of the Marsh Swamp.

On our way to the Marsh Swamp, it was eerily silent. I kept my weapon ready, expecting the fast paced vehicle I knew Sprock had access to to catch up any moment now.

"I don't think he's following us," Bernie said after a few more minutes. "We've been heading toward the swamp for like half an hour now."

I smirked when suddenly he blinked and looked out of the back window to see a very large Hoover Truck, specifically the specialist model that relied more on water than gas to power it, was speeding toward us. "AHHHHHH!" he screamed. "He's going to ram or run over us! We're doomed, toasted, cooked. Well done, too, probably with a nice slice of pie as dessert. And by that, I mean your head, Lane. They probably want it as a trophy!"

"If that's the case, then you three run with the car if things turn ugly," I said, reloading my pistol. "Open the small top window, Tay."

Tay nodded and hit a button that made the middle of the car's ceiling open up, rather than turn it into a convertible again. I climbed up and waved at Sprock, which I assumed may have just angered him. I then fired a series of laser rounds at the ground where he was speeding. Dirt blasted upward, causing Sprock to adjust to it and try to straighten out. The Hoover Truck he was in was rather sensitive to landmass. This was simply to egg him on, getting him too riled up to be a real threat. I already had a plan for him and it wasn't pretty. I was partially hoping Bernie, Tay and Minnie would go on ahead to Jaden without me and I'd catch up, though I did know they wouldn't do that either.

"Got him trying to stabilize his steering!" I called out, chuckling. "He's an idiot to take that model."

"Pretty nice model, too," Bernie said. "It's got the customized flame paint, probably Super Turbo, and high density armor."

"Super Turbo?" I asked, looking down at Bernie. "Is that new?"

"It's an illegal mod for any Hoover vehicle," he said, then blinked. "Wait, you didn't know about that?"

"No, I didn't," I said, then looked back. "Oh crap."

I saw the Hoover Truck gain a massive increase in speed, indicating that angering Sprock was majorly backfiring.

I jumped back into the car as soon enough, we all felt the Hoover Truck ram into the back of the car.

"If he does that again, I'm going to spin out!" Tay blinked and tried to balance the car as she floored it again, trying to speed up.

"That didn't go as planned," I said, looking back. "I doubt he'd want anyone to die due to a car accident. He's probably trying to get you to stop."

"Well, we're coming up on the Marsh Swamp fast and there's not a clear path for me to go at this speed," she said. "Do something!"

"I'm trying," I said, then groaned as Sprock rammed against the car again before it finally spun out and forced Sprock to pass us. We all groaned and held onto the car until it finished to avoid falling into each other.

Sprock seemed to make a sharp turn in front of us and stop, seeming to know we weren't going to try and run anymore. I shook my head and regained myself before opening the door to the car and crawling out of it. I put my finger to my lips when Bernie tried to say something as I quietly closed the door.

"Where are you, you embezzling little weasel?" Sprock called out, with a Shock Gun in tow. It was a modified shot gun, sending out painful and eventually lethal electric shocks for its ammunition. "You think you can steal from Pop and from the Gavel?"

"Who said I embezzled?" I called out, making him look around suspiciously. "You're taking this information too seriously with no concrete proof, like a true numbskull would."

"What did you call me!?" he growled, firing at the car. Luckily, it blocked the pulses and wasn't affected by it. He approached the car slowly and looked around. "Come out here and die like a man, Silverbane! You never mess with the Gavel!"

"Make me!" I chuckled. "You're nothing but a buffoon, Sprock. You'll never be crowned the next Don. You're an idiot, a dunce. Understand me now?"

He growled with anger, obviously becoming angry at my simplistic insults. He approached the car and seemed to grin, noticing Tay hiding in the front seat.

"I'll make ya come out then," he said, grabbing the car door and swung it open. He aimed at Tay, making her blink and squeal in fear. However, before he could get the shot off, I had climbed onto the roof of the car and then jumped, tackling him to the ground. I knocked the Shock Gun out of his hands and a decent distance away from him.

I growled at him myself, angry that he would find Tay and attempt to kill her to lure me out. I landed several hard punches to his muzzle before he grabbed my arm and twisted it back so it was behind me and landed several hard kicks to my stomach. I groaned and bashed my head into his, attempting to free myself only to cause a headache as he retaliated by bashing his own head into mine.

"I'll break it off before I kill you," he growled in my ear before landing another hard punch to my stomach and tried to flip me over into the sand.

I managed to stop him by kicking him in the crotch and broke the hold on my arm before managing to elbow him and then land a direct punch to his lower jaw. He ended up falling over, but grabbed my arm as he did, causing me to fall and hit my head against the side of the Hoover Truck. I let out a pained groan, feeling him grab my collar and he landed several direct punches to my own jaw and slammed my back against the truck as he struggled to stand up, before slamming my head against the truck. As he did, I grabbed his own head and made it slam into the truck at the same time my dead, causing us both to cry out once again in agonizing pain. We fell to the ground, both bleeding from our mouths. I looked around as I managed to stay on my knees while he fell flat onto the ground before attempting to get up. I noticed the Shock Gun was close by now and groaned, trying to get up and get to it. He seemed to notice it as well as he was beginning to get up as well. I felt him try to grab my leg and purposely make me fall. I foiled that by grabbing his arm and twisting it with the little strength I had at the moment before finally getting up enough to kick him in the stomach with my right leg and then kneed him hard in the face. It caused him to groan out again and fall onto the ground. I panted and groaned, limping toward the Shock Gun. I picked it up as best I could as my fingers trembled from the pain I felt just trying to position the weapon. I did find out as I looked down that I was bleeding from several cuts as well, not just my mouth. I groaned and slowly limped toward Sprock and looked down at him.

"Do you feel like... a big guy now, Sprock?" I groaned, aiming the Shock Gun at him. "Do you think you've accomplished anything?"

"I've accomplished more than you ever will," Sprock groaned, coughing up some blood onto the sand.

"Right, keep... telling yourself that," I said, groaning. "In fact... You can tell him yourself. You see this gun? I'm keeping it."

"Good for you," he groaned, attempting to get up. "You'll never be anything but a lone... dirty... orphan, Silverbane. We looked ya up when the call was made on you bein' an embezzler. We know your crap probably better than you do. Bet you're so sad still that Daddy couldn't be here to bail ya out of any trouble."

That just hit a trigger inside of me as I let out a much more fearsome growl before violently kicking him straight in the head with a sudden surge of strength.

"I... hit... a soft spot, eh?" he groaned and chuckled, coughing up more blood as his nose was crooked. "You won't ever be... like him..."

"What?" I growled, resisting the urge to kick him again.

"You heard... me..." he coughed. "You won't... screw the Gavel over. Even if you kill me, they'll hunt... you down. Your girlfriend and chump friend... aren't safe from it."

"You won't utter anything related to my family through your filthy mouth again," I said rather angrily. "You'll be my message to the Gavel and why it's unwise to assume things. Rather, your body will be the message."

"Go ahead and kill me," he groaned. "It'll beat bein' you."

I bit my lower lip and readied the gun before I began to charge it. I closed my eyes and fired at him, hearing him groan out much louder than he had in our scuffle. I opened my eyes to see him lying on the ground, not moving. I groaned as I tossed the Shock Gun to the ground, looking down at my arms. My fur was becoming stained with my own blood from the cuts I received. I spat onto the ground, watching the blood pool from it. I groaned and tried to force myself to not fall over from the blood loss as I held onto the Hoover Truck's side window.

"You guys... can come out now..." I groaned and panted.

Tay was the first to jump up and out of the car. She ket out a horrified squeal as she ran over to me and looked e over. "M-Minnie!" she called out. "Get the first aid kit out of the trunk!"

"How do you know we have a kit?" Minnie blinked as she climbed out of the car with Bernie climbing out with her.

"Just check!" she said. "We need to stop Lane's bleeding! Otherwise he's not going to last until we get to Jaden!"

"Okay, okay," Minnie said as she opened the trunk and looked around. "Oh, well, apparently there's a first aid kit in here." She picked it up and quickly tossed it to Tay.

Tay gulped softly and I could tell she was trying to not look at the bloody fur on my arms. She pulled out the gauze and wrapped it around my left arm and then my right arm. Once she tied them firmly, she held my chin and checked my mouth before using a sponge to dab the fur around it and attempted to clean it off with a soft silk cloth.

"How are you feeling, Lane?" she asked, helping me stand fully.

"I've been better," I groaned and coughed. "Help me get Sprock's body into the late hitman's car."

"Why?" she blinked.

"Well, my message will be clear to at least Don Vinchi," I said.

"And that message is?" she asked.

"The Gavel has a rival that won't... stop... trying to ruin them," I groaned, limping to the Hoover Car. "Never mess with an ex-soldier. You know, that stupid motto all those veterans kept quoting whenever I visited the older shops."

"Okay, fine," Tay said, grunting as she put her slender arms underneath Sprock's underarms and then groaned, lifting him up. She then dragged him to the driver side of the Hoover Car before pushing him into the driver's seat.

"I'm going to pin this damn gun to the accelerator," I said, grabbing some gauze to use as a way to tie the Shock Gun to it. Groaning still, I bent over and tied it as firmly as I could. As soon as I would turn on the car, it would accelerate forward, back toward Tonoko. I made sure to wrap gauze around both ends of the steering wheel as it was a rather strong brand and I assumed it would prevent the wheel from turning too much. I then took the medical book from the kit and ripped a piece of paper from it from the very back I jotted down a small note for Don Vinchi, in which it simply stated "bring it on". I then put it in Sprock's t-shit and made it stick out a bit. I then closed the door and reached in, turning the ignition before pulling my arm out. The Hoover Car suddenly raced forward, hitting top speed quickly as it raced back toward Tonoko.

"It's just going to crash into the wall," Tay said, watching it speed off.

"It'll stop before it hits the wall," I said. "Hell, with the fact it has barely enough gas to get back... It may just sit out there and eventually the Guard or the Gavel will get curious. It won't crash, but it will also end up stopping near Tonoko if it goes the way I believe it will."

"Okay, fine, but one thing," she said, then turned me toward her. "Don't do that ever again. That was another stupid move on your part!"

"It was stupid of me to intervene when he was intent with murdering you to just lure me out?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. "I acted quicker than I had wanted because I wasn't letting you die just because a doofus like Sprock wanted my head on a silver platter." I turned away from her now. "Get into the Hoover Truck, all of you. We can get to Jaden no problem in the car Sprock 'gave' us. Tay, be mad at me as long as you like. We still need to get to Jaden." I then climbed into the open door on the passenger side of the Hoover Truck, while Minnie and Bernie had climbed into the backseat.

Tay seemed to just stand there for a moment, looking a bit sad. She let out a soft sigh before climbing into the driver's seat and closed the door. We then headed in the direction of Jaden, which wasn't that far away. During the ride, Bernie tried to look around and make conversation with Minnie. He tried to hug her but she told him not to do that for now. Perhaps my scuffle with Sprock spooked her too much? Or was it the fact I may have killed Sprock? As far as I knew, he was dead. He didn't move even with Tay moving him into the Hoover Car. I just sighed as I looked out of the window.

"We're getting medical attention for you as soon as we can get it," Tay said. "Okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. "I'm not going to argue with that, Tay."

"Good," she said.

The silence after that was awkward for a while. When we approached Jaden, Bernie looked over my shoulder and gasped.

"Whoa, it looks cooler than I remember," he said.

We stared over the hill at the large wall of jade that surrounded Jaden, protecting it much like the stone wall around Tonoko protected that city, too. The measurements of the bricks seemed like they were measured precisely, with the wall maintained much more often than the Tonoko wall. This caused rumors to surface that it was probably stronger than Tonoko's own wall, despite being older. The buildings within the wall were made of brick, stone and jade as well. We could see the mayor's Palace from afar, one of the few buildings made of jade. We could see the Market Row section of the city until we went downhill, which had several jade buildings within it. From what I had read, most of the buildings - even the stone ones - were kept in almost perfect shape. The people of Jaden since Roland Rutan had assumed control had been quite peaceful and content, giving them time to not worry too much about anything other than maintaining their city. However, the Crimson Gavel began to operate in the city and that made the perfection of the city dwindle a bit. It was still a beautiful city, with the jade buildings still being the highlight of the city, but the Shallow section of the city - which was a section of the city almost completely underground - was closer to being like Tonoko. Run by the Gavel mostly, not well kept and it wasn't a place you wanted to live or be seen in unless you couldn't afford any other place in the city.

We managed to make it to the Front Gate of Jaden. Tay leaned out of the window, smiling at the guard. The guard was muscular Festo like Sprock was. He was dressed in a military uniform, sporting the colors blue, white, and black. He carried his own personal Shock Gun, which made me twitch a bit when I saw it. His blue shirt was tucked into his blue pants, with the white primarily being on the pocket flaps on his chest and on the front of his pants, around his knees. His army boots were black and had large laces on them, looking scuffed and dirty from the gravel in the city and the sand out here. His helmet was also colored the same shade of blue, with the Jaden symbol on it - which consisted of a reworked peace sign on a pole with a bird flying around it.

"Hello, we're here to seek residence in Jaden," she said. "Is the mayor available?"

"He will be shortly," the guard replied. "You may enter, but do not break any of our mayor's laws. Until you gain residence, you are under the guidelines of a tourist."

Tay nodded and headed into the city once the gate opened. Bernie and Minnie looked around as the streets were very clean compared to Tonoko's leaf infested ones. All the light posts worked on the street we were heading down as the sun was getting ready to set. The pavement on the ground to signify roads was paved with little to no cracks and seemed to still be fresh even now. The citizens we passed by seemed happy and content. They even seemed friendly, occasionally waving at us.

"Whoa," Bernie said. "This place sure has it right when it comes to living."

"Welcome to Jaden, Bernie," I chuckled, though groaned a bit. "This is our new city. At least... For now."