Finally.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the number of seconds remaining for [BRING THE HEAT (2)].
[10]
They were still too far away for me to have a shot.
[8]
I assumed I just squeeze this–
BANG!
[5]
"What the fuck are you shooting at! Firing blind? How the fuck–!"
[3]
Maurice swerved around a corner. I did my best to brace, barely able to avoid hitting my head.
[0]
[PERK EXPIRED]
"If they get close, aim for the tires! It's bad enough we're stealing from June Park. If we kill one of them? It isn't just us they're going to be looking for!"
The swarm of lights appeared again. I climbed into the backseat and slowly raised my head.
"Maurice," I said, squinting through the light, "I see three cars!"
He cursed and stayed his course.
"What's the plan to meet with DD?" I asked.
"There is no plan until I shake those motherfuckers!"
From behind the men of June Park, a new set of flashing lights appeared. They alternated between red and blue at a high frequency.
"The fucking pigs?!" exclaimed Maurice.
"Does swine often chase in this world?"
Maurice glared at me.
"What? You said–"
A sudden jerk of the wheel prevented me from finishing. When I looked up again, we were no longer alone on the road. Maurice led us through crossings and pathways with the rest of Saint Stanlowe. Swerving between the other cars, I tried to keep my eyes on our pursuers. The areas we drove through were well lit enough for me to see them maneuvering through the other cars as well.
"I should have known this motherfucker had some sort of tracker. It was too easy," he sighed, "How close are they?"
I leaned out the backseat and tried to assess.
"They're approaching! How fast can this car go?"
"We're gonna find out! I'm going on the highway!"
Maurice took another sharp turn that I did not brace for. I felt the hum of the car intensify as I lay in the backseat. As I sat up, the wind from the broken windows rushed past my ears. I saw our pursuers take the same path in quick succession, as well as their pursuers.
I aimed the gun out the back of the car and tried to focus. Maurice's driving made it hard for me to be confident in my shots. I squeezed the trigger twice.
The car I was aiming for swerved out of the way. A sharp ricochet off the back of our car made me duck in the seats again. When I looked up, the front of their car was aligned with the back of ours.
"Hang on!" yelled Maurice.
He slammed on the breaks, letting them fly past us. A sign flew by that read, "Exit 22". The lead car kept going, but the two behind us were able to follow. The swine split up, with the rest of them following behind us.
"Aim for the wheels!" Maurice said, "Just get them off the road!"
I aimed and fired four more shots. The recoil of the fourth shot made the gun fall out of my hands and into the backseat. I scrambled, praying I could locate it. When my hand finally found the grip, I looked up to see the car I had fired at was still chasing us. However, the swines had caught up enough to sandwich their cars between them.
That left the last car.
I could see the reflection of his necklace through the front of his car. It was Julian, no doubt. Climbing from the other side of the car was the man who fired at as previously.
"Maurice, duck now!"
I ducked in the backseat to avoid any ricochets. After a moment I snapped up to return fire, once again aiming at the tires.
I fired three shots.
All of them missed.
Maurice swerved around a corner.
They followed.
I fired two more shots.
Another volley from Julian and his friend who needed a belt.
I held my head out the side of the window and fired rapidly, hoping to–
Click.
No.
Click. Click.
"Maurice! I'm out of–"
More projectiles hit the car.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
After their attack, I looked up to see their car turning the corner. The front wheel looked flatter compared to the other one. When he turned, a plume of smoke arose from the flat wheel.
Then it came off.
Sparks flew as their car dragged itself across the road, and into a small red tower. Immediately, a surge of water burst from it. In seconds, the car was a mere speck in the darkness.
"Maurice?"
"Yeah?"
"It seems they disturbed a water elemental's home."
He did not respond to me for the remainder of our trip.
Using the backs of buildings and dirt roads, Maurice navigated us back to DD's meeting point. He stood outside the black car, pacing back and forth as we arrived. When he saw us, he gasped in horror.
"The car! I gotta replace all windows and repaint–"
"Not my problem," stated Maurice, "You didn't tell me he had a tracker."
"Nigga, I didn't know! How the fuck can I tell you things I don't know?"
Both men sighed. After a moment I saw DD eye's light up.
"Since when did he get a fucking gun?"
I turned to see the weapon still in my hand, finger on the trigger. I had forgotten it was still there.
"Don't change the subject, DD," said Maurice, "Pay up."
"Pay up? I can't even sell this shit!"
"Might I offer a third option?"
Maurice and DD turned to me.
"You pay Maurice, but don't pay me. All I want is the name of the man who shot me."
DD went to speak but stopped. He rubbed his chin and adjusted how he stood.
"You really want that nigga dead, huh?"
"No," I said, "I just want to know who he is."
"Why does that matter so much if you're not planning to kill him?" DD asked.
"I've been wondering the same thing," added Maurice, "You just wanna know, you just wanna know, but if you don't want him dead, then why?"
"Because it does. That's it. Now do we have a deal or not, DD?"
"I wanna know why you're so bent on it," he responded, "Never seen a nigga be so obssessed with another nigga just to know."
DD and Maurice waited for an answer. My vision tunneled into DD's eyes.
"Why is it of any concern? According to everyone I talk to, I got shot, I almost died, yet I live."
"That ain't enough, nigga?" sighed DD, "You know how many I've seen that happen to and don't wake up?"
"But I did. Someone did this, and I want answers, that's it. That's where your involvement begins and ends. Now, do we have a deal or not?"
DD started backing away, I took a step forward and pointed–
Maurice clamped a hand around the arm I used to point at DD.
"Put the gun down, Jamal."
My vision cleared. In my right hand remained the gun I took from the car. I put my arm down and took deep breaths as DD put his hands down.
[INGENUITY CHECK PASSED]
"Get your cousin checked, Maurice. This nigga is not right. I'll get you a name, but this is the last time your ass does anything for me. Come by the gas station tomorrow, I'll have it. Maurice? I'll send your share to you later."
[TUTORIAL QUEST: GET YOUR GET BACK PART 2 – UPDATED]
[OBJECTIVE: OBTAIN TARGET CAR]
[COMPLETE]
[REWARDS: 10% - DENIED]
[REWARDS: INFORMATION]
[REWARDS: + REP]
DD tossed the keys to the black car over to Maurice. Without another word, he drove me home and dropped me off in the black of the night. Before he left, he asked me one thing.
"Jamal, what happens when you know the name? I did all of this stupid shit because I got the feeling you were gonna get yourself killed trying to figure it out on your own."
I stopped just steps away from him.
"Like I said. I'll know. Until then, I just wanna know who he is."
I went inside and locked the door. I went into my room and sat in the dark before my stomach growled. I stood and realized I tucked the gun into the side of my pants. Without looking, I tossed it onto the bed and went to the kitchen. I took from the box of cryomancy and placed a plate into the heating box. My arms were folded as I stared at the glowing box from my place in the kitchen.
I blinked.
The warm colored box was now a softly burning lantern. I turned to see Darius standing to my right, with hooded figures surrounding us. The woman from my previous vision was pacing around the room.
"This is stupid," she said, "We won. We survived. Why do we need to know where he is?"
"[ ] says to make sure he doesn't hurt more people," sighed Darius, pointing at me.
I looked between them in confusion.
"Yes, that's right. How is my request unreasonable?"
Darius leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
"See, Viana? He's not going to listen."
The woman now identified as Viana rolled her eyes and walked toward me.
"It's over. Get that through your head."
"It isn't over until his head is on a pike. Suddenly we're pacifists? Do you forget what he did to you? What he did to me?"
Viana laughed and walked away.
"And what did he do? Give you a couple of scars?"
Darius joined her in her laughter.
"Should I hunt every man who I've fought in a bar? Better yet–should I seek out all my past enemies? Should I have slain you the day I met you?"
He pointed to a spot on his arm.
"Damn you all!"
I slammed my fists on the table and stood up.
"Do you not understand that your silence is permission for him to act once more? That your spineless response will only enable him? He must be crushed underfoot, as all of our enemies! Nothing more will satisfy me!"
The dark faces in the room murmured amongst themselves.
"[ ]. We understand how you feel," said Viana, "But your dissatisfaction is not enough to warrant our lives. But, I will concede knowing his location for future safety is a tactical idea."
Darius nodded.
"But," she continued, "Only his location. We will not move to provoke him."
I scoffed.
"Only retaliate when he takes something else from you. Pitiful."
A loud buzzing sound pulled me back. In an instant, I was standing in the same place in the kitchen.
The heating box chimed again.
I ate at the table in silence. My gaze stared into nothing as I took one bite after another. Why was everyone opposing me? Why must my methods be questioned? I am tracking a known threat, and still, my comrades defy me.
Normally, I would have been able to find them within an afternoon. Now? I suspect this would take weeks of work with this lack of compliance.
My solitude was interrupted by several panes of text.
[QUEST LENGTH: TUTORIAL]
[SOME QUESTS DO NOT HAVE TIME LIMITS]
[THEY CAN BE CONTINUED AT ANY TIME]
Whatever is guiding me clearly can read my mind.
[ABANDONING QUESTS: TUTORIAL]
[YOU WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO ABANDON QUESTS]
[A PENALTY WILL BE APPLIED]
And it clearly did not know me well enough. I swiped the text out of the way and continued my night in.
The next day Maurice took me to the gas station to meet DD one final time.
"Here," he muttered, "Psycho-ass nigga."
DD slid a folded paper across the counter and walked away. I stared at it, my body motionless. Finally, after a minute, I reached for it.
Inside I found a name.
[QUEST UPDATED]
[GET YOUR GET BACK – PART 3]