Chase

(7:36 PM)

"You're late, you know that right?"

Mai's voice echoed throughout the house from the living room, like the nagging of a married woman.

She was dressed in black pants and a matching black jacket.

For someone who was supposed to stay home, she looked like she was going somewhere.

"Tap!"

"Tap!"

The sound of footsteps could be heard, and soon a dark-haired man was revealed, his gaze as deep as the night sky.

Sporting a black turtle sweater covered by a fine overcoat was Aiden.

As always he looked dashing, his hair tied to a ponytail portraying a tamed appeal, like a beast in deep slumber.

Checking his watch, Aiden marveled at how quickly time flew. "I'll be on my way then, tell Jonathan I'm off."

"Ok," Mai replied before saying with narrowed eyes. "Be careful, you'll be alone out there."

"Hmm," Aiden hummed before saying solemnly. "You know the plan, you both can't stay here tonight."

Saying this he walked passed Mai patting her head as he walked by.

"Pa!"

A sound could be heard as Mai slapped his hand off earning her a chuckle from Aiden who continued walking towards the front door.

Watching Aiden as he walked away Mai pouted and grumbled to herself. "Why does he get a car?"

Aiden had told Mai about Jonathan's decision the moment he left the garage and her reaction was quite comical.

She threw a fuss, wanting Jonathan to get her something as well, but upon being rejected she threw another fuss.

Meanwhile, as Mai grumbled, the fresh moon cast a subtle glow over the quiet suburban neighborhood.

Aiden's silhouette emerged from the shadowed facade of Jonathan's family home, its roof adorned with ivy, and its windows adorned with curtains drawn tight.

His figure was tall and lean, exuding an air of confidence as he descended the porch steps.

With each step, his polished leather shoes clicked softly against the cobblestone pathway, echoing in the stillness of the night.

His silhouette gradually became more defined under the dim streetlights, revealing the chiseled features of a man who seemed sculpted by the hands of an artist.

His tailored overcoat draped over his frame with loose precision, accentuating his broad shoulders and tapered waistline.

"Giii!"

Approaching the garage, he pressed a button on a sleek key fob, causing the heavy door to groan open with a mechanical sound.

The interior was illuminated by a soft glow, revealing the luxury vehicle nestled within, it looked extra neat, a result of Aiden's extra cleaning.

Admiring the fruit of his labor, his gaze lingered momentarily but ultimately settled as he decided to continue his journey.

"Beep!"

"Beep!"

With a flick of his wrist, he unlocked the car remotely, the sound of the locks disengaging like a symphony to his ears.

Sliding into the driver's seat, he ran his hands over the supple leather upholstery, savoring the sensation.

And with a purposeful motion, he inserted the key into the ignition and brought the engine to life with a low, rumbling purr.

"Vroom!"

Engaging the gear shift, he smoothly maneuvered the car into reverse, the headlights casting an ethereal glow as he backed out of the garage.

As he navigated the winding driveway, the car's sleek lines caught the attention of the aged neighbors, who had gathered in the adjacent yard for their nightly ritual of drinking and gossiping.

"Hey, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I've never seen this man before. Do you think he's related to the mysterious neighbor?"

"I'm not talking about the man, I'm talking about the car."

"Ahh, too bad, I remember when I used to drive cars like this."

"Haha, you wouldn't be here if you really did."

As the neighbors gossiped, Aiden was busy enjoying the feeling of driving such a beauty, his gaze focused on the street in front of him.

"You seem to be enjoying this," Landon's voice suddenly sounded out in his head, his tone grim as he added. "You don't have time to enjoy things, you need to increase your strength quickly."

At the sound of Landon's voice, Aiden responded. "I know that, but it's not good to rush things, the wheels are already in motion, so all I have to do is wait for it."

"Wait for it?" Landon echoed, his tone angered as he added. "If you're not strong enough, those wheels will crush you once it does get to you."

Landon's tone made Aiden frown a bit, his tone turning solemn as he asked. "What is this about Landon?"

Aiden's question made Landon quite down a bit before saying. "I feel like you don't sense the urgency of the matter, you have to grow stronger to survive, I'd hate to see you die prematurely."

The car suddenly turned silent, but since all conversations were made internally there was no noise to begin with.

Glancing to the right, Aiden noted the many buildings that flashed by, he took note of the people as well going about their day, looking at his rearview mirror he noted the cars behind him, a few normal cars, and eight bikes, driven by bikers with helmets on.

"Haha," Aiden suddenly chuckled, his voice serious as he broke the car's silent atmosphere. "Ever since I regained my memories of that place, I've begun to feel numb, to topics even as important as life and death, but that doesn't mean I'm not paying attention, in a way, fear was a hindrance to me, but don't worry, the night is still young."

"Hey Landon," Aiden suddenly called out without pause, prompting Landon to respond.

"What?"

"I've never really asked this, but you see what I see right?" Aiden asked.

Landon was slow to reply, but he eventually said. "Yes."

Feeling unsurprised by Landon's answer, Aiden continued. "Then what do you think about the vehicles behind us?"

"Haa!"

Landon suddenly sighed, confusing Aiden who wondered why Landon needed to sigh in the first place. "I think you're trying to change the topic," he added.

Shaking his head, Aiden said. "Then you've gotten slow dude, I've made like three different turns, and these bikers are still following us."

"You're just being paranoid, this is the city, it can't be as dangerous as the abysmal enclave, can it?" Landon asked, his voice laced with mockery.

Sensing Landon's tone, Aiden rolled his eyes. "There's only one way to find out," he suddenly said as he turned the steering wheel pulling over immediately.

Aiden felt the situation turn grim, if these people were who he thought they were, then they reacted much faster than he had anticipated.

The streets of Twilight City were bustling with activity, mostly civilians going about their day.

In this city, two women could be seen walking down the street laughing as they discussed their day.

The first woman had chocolate brown hair, amber eyes, and beige skin, she was mature, her curvy figure veiled by her baggy shirt and pants.

The woman next to her paled in comparison but was still pretty in her own right, white skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a petite figure.

"Hazel, why do you have to be such a killjoy, all he did was ask you out," the blonde-haired girl said to the brown-haired girl called Hazel.

Looking towards her friend, Hazel smiled a bit as she said. "I'm not interested in dating at the mo-"

"Shhhhh!"

The sound of tires screeching suddenly interrupted Hazel and her friend, looking towards the source of this sound both friends noticed an impressive sports car black and oppressive in nature.

They weren't the only ones surprised, other pedestrians couldn't help but look over as well.

Both friends glanced at each other, and before they could say anything the windows rolled down revealing a man with long jet-black hair.

Hazel was startled by the looks of this man, he looked so stunning that she couldn't believe he was real, and she wasn't the only one who was stunned.

Her friend also stared with widened eyes at this dream of a man.

As both friends stared blankly at this man, his deep and commanding voice sounded out politely. "Please can you ladies point me in the direction of Vin's Parlor?"

Looking at Hazel, her friend asked. "Are you talking to me or Hazel?"

"I'm talking to anyone who can point me to Vin's Parlor," Aiden responded with a small chuckle.

As he did this, he glanced at his rearview mirror once again and noticed that the bikers had stopped, parking at the side of the road.

Meanwhile, Hazel and her friend pointed in a certain direction, and before they could even explain anything, Aiden said. "Thanks."

"Vroom!"

He drove off, increasing the pressure on the gas as he slowly pushed his foot downwards.

Looking at his review mirror, he noticed that the bikers were back on the road, following him from a distance.

"It seems they are following you after all," Landon's voice sounded out in his head.

Hearing this, Aiden smirked and said. "I told you, you're getting slow."

"I'm not the one with an advanced consciousness for sniffing out when something isn't right," Landon defended himself.

Hearing this made Aiden roll his eyes as he said. "Who do you think they're with? The Blue Dragon Syndicate or the Order Of Desolation?"

"I'm guessing the Order because that's who she really works for. So what are you planning to do?" Landon asked.

His question made Aiden smile. Leaning back a bit he glanced at the rearview mirror and said. "I don't want to meet them till after the party, so for now I'll try to lose them."

Hearing this made Landon question his intentions. "Don't you want to eat their souls, why lose them?"

"Because they know where I'm going!"

"Vrooooom!"

Aiden suddenly stepped on the gas with full force his move earning him exclamations from every driver around him.

"Hey watch it!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Learn how to drive you idiot!"

"Haha!" Aiden laughed in delight, looking ahead he discovered that he was approaching a left turn at high speed, any more and he would crash Into the building ahead.

But Aiden didn't slow down, instead, he braced himself, and just when he was about to reach the turn he turned the steering wheel sharply to the left.

"Screech!"

The sound of tires screeching sounded out as Aiden held the steering, narrowing his eyes as he felt his car drift sharply to the left.

He felt his heartbeat increase a bit due to excitement, his nose picking up the faint smell of the Seventh Shelter's street mixed with burning rubber, it wasn't delightful.

The sound of exclamations of surprise and amazement also reached his ears their origins from the surprised pedestrians who had witnessed his stunt.

"Vroom!"

"Vroom!"

"Vroom!"

"Vroom!"

To make for a smoother drift, Aiden broke traction on the tires by applying quick bursts of acceleration, violently tapping his feet on the gas as though he was dancing to a tune.

But he wasn't safe just yet, just when he was losing the feel, Aiden counter-steered to maintain control, gradually straightening the steering as he regained speed.

"Vroom!"

The car roared attracting even more attention to its menacing form.

Everyone was shocked, the bikers glanced at one another before increasing their speed to follow, the pedestrians on the other hand brought out their phones to record the action car chase.

Of course, there were some Contractors mixed along with the civilians who seemed unimpressed.

"Where did you learn to drive like this," Landon's inquisitive voice sounded out, his tone one of amazement.

Landon's tone made Aiden laugh, "I went to South City's local college, it's be a shame if I didn't learn how to ride."

"Well your skills can't be that great since you couldn't avoid the truck that killed you," Landon quipped.

"Screech!"

"Fuck you," Aiden cursed jokingly as he drifted into another corner. "Woo!" He exclaimed.

Meanwhile, the bikers were having a hard time keeping up. "What kind of car is that?" They thought simultaneously.

Aiden's car would glide down the long streets like he was teleporting, then when it came to cutting corners it would drift into the next street and proceed to increase its speed again.

"Wo!"

"Wo!"

The sound of a police siren suddenly sounded out as one of the police cars parked by the road followed Aiden's car.

Upon noticing this car, the bikers glanced at one another before slowing down and coming to a stop, they didn't seem to have the desire to get entangled with the authorities.

As they stooped, one of them tapped his watch, while and immediately spoke into it. "The target is really heading to Vin's Parlor."

There was a momentary feeling of quietness until a voice replied from the device. "Regroup and wait, let's not be too brash, we wouldn't want Medusa up our asses."

Meanwhile, Aiden noticed that he was being chased by the authorities, and of course, Landon noticed as well.

"What are you gonna do?" Landon asked.

Shrugging his shoulders, Aiden responded. "What else can I do? I'll stop," upon saying this, Aiden pulled over again waiting for the police vehicle to reach him.