𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟓𝟔. 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 (𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟐)

"We'll never figure this out," Cara moaned. "It's going to be too late...dammit!" She stood up, slamming the blueprint down, frustrated.

"Tiger," Aiden stood up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't panic, okay? We'll figure out nothing with our heads foggy. Look, I know that you care a lot for Taelyn, and I do too, but the best way to get out of this is to think logically and with a clear mindset."

She took deep breaths before returning to the booth seat and nodding. "We'll - we'll figure it out soon. We will...we-"

BAM!

Suddenly, Aiden's eyes opened wide as an excruciatingly loud shot rang through the air. Before Cara could react, he grabbed her shoulders and ducked to the floor, taking her with him as the bullet soaring through the air barely missed their heads.

She gasped, stumbling to get her handgun on the floor as she saw it - a batch of men stormed through the opening and into the office, all armed with guns and firing at the booth.

"Dammit!" Aiden growled as he pulled them under the seat, bullets richocheting off the walls of the booth.

"You idiot! Shoot to injure, the boss wants her in alive," they heard one of the men instruct the others.

"Can you aim them from her?" Aiden asked as they hid helplessly.

"I can try," Cara replied, fiddling with her gun before moving her head out from the seat to fire. She bit her lip, trying to aim her gun at the men, but the fact that she had to duck every second wasn't helping.

"Stop trying to interfere, we've got you five to one," called a gruff voice from outside of the booth. "We're not going to hurt you unless you resist."

She sighed before locking eyes with Aiden. He nodded at her, although reluctantly, and she slowly stood up, coming within view of the five men that had stopped firing.

"What do you want?" she asked them quietly, her voice almost breaking.

"We need you for information," replied the man. "Whether you cooperate..." he cocked his gun. "Or not."

"I don't know anything," Cara said calmly with no problem - she wasn't lying, she did really know absolutely nothing. "You can kill me, drug me, torture me, scream at me, but you'll get nothing out of me. I'm a waste of your time."

"If the boss believes you have something to say, we'll believe him."

"You're being brainwashed."

"You know nothing, naive little girl."

"Exactly," she grinned. "I know nothing. You said it yourself."

"I'm done with her," the man growled. "Shoot."

Cara braced herself for the shot, but what rang out wasn't at her-

BAM!

"Ah!"

Contrary to the shot that she had prepared herself for, a man now was lying on the ground, lifeless. A bullet lay through his head, and blood pooled through his clothing and onto the floor. A rusty, metallic smell arose in the air.

"Cara, get your friend, let's get out of here!" an unfamiliar voice and face had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and had just shot the leader of the group of five men, saving her from the brunt of a bullet.

"Who the hell-"

"Just do it!"

Cara shook her head, utterly confused, but she didn't question her savior as she ducked back in the booth and quickly explaining what had happened to Aiden.

"...and now we're escaping?" he asked.

She nodded. "Come on, and keep your eyes open for guns. They won't kill you, only injure, they want us alive for some reason."

They walked out from underneath the booth, rushing to the opening that the mysterious man was waiting for them at. The rest of the men had either been knocked out or killed, which was a relief.

"Thanks for your handiwork," Aiden nodded towards the man.

"What's your name? Who are you?" Cara asked him.

"...Sugu. My name is Sugu. I used to work for the Itch Gang but I defected, a...a long time ago." He started to walk off through an unfamiliar tunnel, and they followed, they didn't have anywhere to go. "Black Mamba wants you for information, and as soon as he finds out you don't have any, he's going to torture and kill you."

They walked under a spot where there was a brief moment of light where an old, flickering lamp hang, and she caught a glimpse of his face.

The man looked older than them, still young, but the bags under his eyes and extremely pale skin made him look older. His hair was dyed a minty-green color, but obviously greying with white hairs here and there. He looked tall, but not taller than Aiden, and well built.

"Black Mamba?" Aiden repeated. "The one-"

"You probably saw him on the painting when you first arrived here," Sugu cut him off. "Black Mamba is the boss here, and trust me, you don't want to get on his bad side. Or anyone's, for a matter of fact. You can't stay here and stay alive, which is why I'm going to get you out. What were you guys doing here in the first place?"

"We were going to drug a gang member to get information on something, but obviously, now that we know they needed Cara for information, we won't get anything from them."

"So you're escaping?"

"No, no, we can't get out of here right now," Cara shook her head. "Our friend was taken and we don't know where they've taken her. If you're going to get us out of here, you're going to also help us find her."

Sugu frowned. "I'm not going to-"

"Do you want to help us or not?"

He sighed before stopping his brisk walk. "Are you Hylord's daughter?"

"Yes," replied Cara. "I'm going to erase what he did and bring justice. Obviously."

"I knew your father."

"I'm sure you did. Do you want to help make his mistakes right?"

"Of course I do," Sugu snapped.

"Well, that's what me and Aiden are doing. And I need our other friend to help. So are you going to do it?"

He bit his lip before nodding. "Fine...Yes. I'll help you."

Cara grinned. "I knew you would come around."

"Do you know where they could be keeping her?" Aiden asked.

"Yes."

"And?"

"The dungeon."