Leaving the others in the shadow of the adjoining building, Coy adjusted his mory and marched up the steps brimming with confidence.
The two guards turned to look at him in unison.
"Who are you?" The tall man with an oddly-shaped head asked.
Coy shrugged. He continued to move up the stairs only to be blocked by the two soldiers guarding the courthouse's door. Soon they flanked him on either side.
The pair stared intently at Coy, touching the weapons at their sides.
The tall man frowned. "This is a secure facility. No one is allowed in or out without identifying themselves. So I repeat, who are you?"
The Curly-haired master flashed a smile and shrugged.
"Listen, if you don't start talking, I may have to take you in for questioning. You're acting mighty suspicious." The soldier leaned forward to poke Coy in the chest to punctuate his point, but the Master evaded.
Slipping between the two guards, Coy ran down the street.
"Get him!"
Both soldiers drew their firearms and chased their suspect down the street. Coy stumbled, rose, and continued his sloppy escape.
"Stop or I'll shoot!" the second soldier, a pudgy woman, scread from behind him.
But Coy didn't stop. He ran faster.
A shot like so many he had heard during his stint in Antarctica rang out behind him. The armor-piercing round sliced through the air and sailed through his chest.
Blood ran down his breastplate before pouring out of his mouth.
Coy fell to his knees, stunned by the turn of events. He touched his mouth. Blood was coming out of it also. That wasn't a good sign.
"You should have stopped when I told you," the woman said when she ca alongside him. She clicked her tongue. "You would have lived a little longer."
"Not by much," the taller man laughed. "But at least we might have learned your na. Now we'll have to make one up."
"Nah, he can still tell us, can't you?" The pudgy woman teased. "Give us a na!"
Coy coughed silently, gasping for breath.
"Co on," the woman spat. "Speak!"
But Coy's eyes rolled back into his head as he thudded on the ground.
Frustrated, the woman kicked at his dead corpse…and found only air.
-----
"They shot !" Coy gasped as they ran through her halls of the governnt building.
"Is that the little pop we heard?" Chip smirked. "I hope you gave them a good show!"
Coy shrugged, a small smile coming to his face. "I tried."
The man's Aspect allowed him to make an illusory copy of himself that could separate from his body and continue on. The copy inherently drew others' attention while the lamp mory at his waist deflected anyone from noticing him.
So while they had seen the split occur, none of the group had seen the real Coy stay behind while the decoy went to engage the enemy.
Noble had leaned forward to stop him, only for her hand to go through his body. It wasn't until Coy pulled her back into the shadows that the realization of what was happening hit her.
Thankfully the stunt had been a success and the group rushed inside unnoticed when the guards chased Coy's decoy.
Now they searched for a specific stairwell that led them not up…but down.
"Where are you?" Coy muttered.
His eyes looked more focused now that he had dismissed the copy of himself, making their trek through the halls faster.
But the elusive stairwell seed to be missing. The building was old—not Dream Realm old, but old enough that much of the courthouse was made of real wood.
Coy stopped in front of a wall with a large portrait. "It should be right here."
"Maybe the schematics we had were wrong?" Noble suggested. "They could have renovated."
"We know there is a way down because Lonzo found a way." Coy pulled at his chin.
"Fine. I'll handle this... " Chip's nose elongated as he sniffed at the air. "There's a draft right...here!" He touched the full-length painting.
It tilted to one side, and a cool breeze pulled at the tendrils of hair around Noble's face.
"A hidden door!"
"It's locked. The keypad seems to be cented over," Fir ran his finger over the portion of the door where the access code should have gone.
"This is what shoulders are for. Step out of the way!" Chip didn't wait for Fir to comply, he barreled past him and splintered the wooden entrance into thousands of small pieces.
Noble swept the debris into the hidden hall. "Everyone inside in case soone heard that."
There didn't seem to be anyone in the building, but a feeling of urgency rose within her. She scanned for any security caras they might have missed. Finding none, Noble ducked into the passage, using her power to put the painting back where it was.
Hopefully, none of the Skinwalkers knew about the passage. If they did, there was nothing she could do about it anyway.
Noble had other things to worry about.
The worst part about the safe house was the location.
Along with the subterranean transport during the dark ages, many wealthy people along with various governnt agencies built large underground structures to survive a fallout. Here, so many were built that an underground city of sorts was ford.
Since then all of the places had been boarded up and abandoned except for a select few—one of which was where they were headed now.
'Underground…why did it have to be underground…'
'What's wrong with underground?' Fir shot her an inquisitive glance.
'It's just not my favorite place.'
Noble gritted her teeth as they descended the first set of stairs. Already she felt weaker than she had on the surface.
'I see.' Fir nodded. 'I am afraid of spiders. Not that that helps here.'
Indeed it didn't, and Noble found herself getting distracted.
'Hopefully, we won't run into any spiders. I need so ti to think now. Excuse .'
Noble dismissed the mory from behind her ear. Her thoughts beca quiet once more.
With Fort and Sarai, she could use the mory easily. They knew her well and the communication was natural.
Anyone else in her mind felt like an intrusion. While the conversation with Fir had been necessary earlier, Noble was very glad to have so peace once more.
That peace was quickly shattered as Coy led them down a fourth flight of stairs.
They ca to a dead end and a door that was sealed shut.
"Is this it?" Fir pursed his lips. "I suppose it must be. There isn't another option."
Chip squinted in the dark hall. "I don't see a doorknob."
The burly Master summoned a luminescent mory. An amulet that looked like it was made of fireflies appeared around his neck, bathing the stairwell in a soft light.
Chip cursed.
"Dead gods, you've got to be kidding."
Like the last door, the keypad had been cented over.
Coy leaned forward and squinted. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes. Yes, it is." Noble's stomach clenched.
The stone sealing off the door was tinged with a very special shade of pink.
Which ant only one thing.
"Harlow is here."
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