Ethan was standing on the roof, the borrowed T-shirt dangling from his hand.
"Alright, alright," Ethan repeated, his shoulders slumping in temporary defeat. "I’ll surrender. You win."
Ethan extended his hand to Agent Sparks, holding out the pistol. "Take your weapon. Just let take Sarah ho first, and then I’ll turn myself in without making this situation any bigger."
"Fine, let’s go," Sparks agreed, taking the gun and re-securing it in her holster.
Ethan turned towards the stairwell to descend. Sarah was already moving to follow when Ethan stopped dead. He wheeled around, his eyes locking onto a chaotic scene near the periter of Celestial Garden.
"Look!" Ethan shouted, his heart slamming against his ribs. "It’s her! Cassandra! They are dragging her into a huge, armored black van!"
Agent Sparks followed his gaze. "We can’t do anything," Sparks said imdiately, frustration creeping into her voice. "We can’t just drive into that place. Even if I wanted to help your friend, there’s nothing I can do. Co with to the precinct, and we can file a report. I promise to be a witness to what you saw."
Ethan clenched his jaw, fury and desperation mixing into a volatile rage. "I’m sorry. Change of plans," Ethan spat out a curse. He extended his hand back to Sparks. "Give the gun."
Sparks hesitated, her hand hovering over her weapon. "You know there’s no way you can beat ," Ethan told her, his eyes cold and unwavering. "It would be better if you cooperated."
The officer remained silent for a mont, then sighed in resignation. Attacking soone who could withstand bullets was pure stupidity. She unholstered the gun and handed it to Ethan, then pulled out her own handcuffs and offered them to him, extending her hands in surrender.
Ethan quickly secured Sparks’ wrists, put his shirt back on, and handed the handcuffs and gun to Sarah to hold. They descended the stairs.
They quickly got back into the delivery van. This ti, Sparks was placed in a rear seat instead of being thrown onto the floor like a sack of cargo.
Ethan slamd the gas pedal, weaving through traffic and quickly catching up to the black convoy. Sparks watched in silence as he drove, now chasing the black convoy.
"System, what’s my current Lux score for kidnapping an officer?" Ethan asked ntally.
[The System chuckled.] "Kidnapping? Zero. You asked nicely! But your Chaos Potential is through the roof! Now focus on the chase, Champion."
Ethan pulled out his phone and called Jason.
"Jason, I’m tracking them," Ethan said, his voice tense but controlled. "Cassandra was just taken by a convoy of black armored vans. They’re leaving the city, heading out into the suburbs."
"That’s a massive opportunity, Boss!" Jason replied, excitent overriding his fear. "How many are there?"
"I saw eight large vans," Ethan reported.
"That ans at least 32 heavily ard escorts," Jason quickly calculated. "Perfect. I’ll figure out how to gather all the available n and weapons to get to your location. Be careful, Boss. If they spot you, escape imdiately."
As soon as they reached the outskirts of the city, Ethan decided the bright yellow delivery van was too conspicuous to follow an armored convoy. He slowed down and pretended to pull into a gas station to fuel up, letting the black vans gain significant distance.
"I need a tracker," Ethan thought, frustrated by the need to slow down. "System, is there any artifact that can help track them?"
The System imdiately displayed a barrage of impossibly expensive items in his vision, all of which required thousands of Lux Points.
[I see your distress, Champion. And your poverty,] the System comnted dryly. [But fear not. There is one item, designed for... specific market niches, that you can afford.]
A single, affordable item appeared at the bottom of the list:
[Jealous Girlfriend Tracker - allows tracking your partner to the ends of the earth, especially designed for those toxic won who don’t trust their husbands, use with caution - 10 Lux points]
Ethan burst out laughing at the na. "This is a total steal!" Ethan exclaid, buying it instantly. He reached into his pocket and, faking the action, pulled the item out of his inventory.
It looked like a small, cheap grey box—sothing akin to a pager or a beeper from the past millennium. "This crap is last millennium technology," Ethan chuckled, but he didn’t underestimate the System. He pressed the single button on the device.
Instantly, a series of glowing arrows appeared overlaid on Ethan’s vision, pointing in multiple directions. Ethan was utterly confused.
"What the hell is going on?" Ethan asked the System ntally. "It’s not just one direction; there are several! One even points directly at Sarah, and another at Agent Sparks!"
[The System sounded delighted.] "That device tracks any and all of your partners, Champion—any woman with whom you’ve had deep contact and there is a mutual affection," the System explained.
"This has to be broken!" Ethan argued internally, pointing the device toward the back of the van where Agent Sparks was sitting. "It’s pointing at the officer, and we haven’t had any mutual interaction!"
[You are truly an idiot, Champion,] the System mocked him. "That ans she is wetting her panties for your pretty face. The primal fear and the thrill of the chase—you gave her the wildest rush of her boring life. That’s a strong form of affection, isn’t it?"
Ethan laughed again, a dark, pleased sound. Ethan thought: Well, I might end up getting off clean if I play my cards right. Two potential allies, or at least two non-enemies.
Seeing that he could now follow them from a distance, Ethan finished filling the tank, paid for the gas to cover their delay, and drove off, following the arrow that pointed toward the convoy.
Even though he couldn’t see them, he trusted the mysterious arrow in front of him, while Sarah remained silent. But if soone could see into her mind, they would see thousands of erotic scenes involving bullets, dead bodies, and her being rcilessly penetrated in a hail of bullets.
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