Bait

The duo stepped into Harlem as Jack shivered for a moment at the cold air that seemed to come from nowhere. "What's up with the weather?" He muttered as he glanced up at the dark clouds in the sky.

"Were those dark clouds always there?" They actually didn't know about Shiro being able to affect the weather. They just thought he used ice.

[Quinn: I don't think so, it might be a bad omen so let's try to make this fast.]

The two made their way through the dreary city as they were stopped a few times by beggars. Harlem mainly thrived on three things. The red-light district, The casino and the slavers. Three factions controlled the gangs of the city while bandits and scavengers roamed outside the city for scraps.

"We can't keep stopping like this or we'll be here all night." Jack sighed as Quinn gave another Midas to a beggar.

[Quinn: You're right, sorry I just couldn't help it.]

"It's fine, besides we've already walked into someone's trap." Jack commented out loud as Quinn was confused.

[Quinn: What do you mean?]

"Back when we crashed." Jack said as he continued to walk forward.

[Quinn: Someone sabotaged us?]

"Bingo." They were already targeted since they came in range of the city. "An expensive machine running on a null engine designed from Helios. While Shiro just somehow ended up wrecking it while we were still on the main road." It was suspicious the moment they became conveniently wrecked near a place like Harlem.

[Quinn: Doesn't that mean we're in danger?] Quinn seemed to feel nervous now.

"Not us." He shook his head at that. "Their plan was probably something along the lines of giving us no choice but to head towards the city while they looted our parts. Most likely the mechanics have been bought off to stall us, we should be safe since they're probably trying to loot the car right now." he analyzed until he felt a metal gauntlet on his shoulder.

Quinn made his displeasure known as his grip became tighter.

"Relax, this was the best plan available. Even Shiro agreed to it." he placated. In the case that they still sent people after them in Harlem, it was better to have two of them. Shiro was the best choice for being the bait.

[Quinn: When did you...]

[Jack: You're not the only one who can use sign language.] Jack communicated through his hands. He had already explained the situation to Shiro before they left. They agreed that Shiro was best at dealing with groups.

[Quinn: Then why are we here if they paid off the mechanics?] Quinn couldn't understand why they were here.

"I didn't lie when I said I came here before, I know someone that can help." he said as he continued forward. "But before we keep going..." Jack pointed his cane towards the shadows and sprayed burning hot smoke from the tip.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" The hidden stalker wailed in pain as a metal gauntlet slammed onto his head.

"They sent one to tail us after all." Jack commented as he continued walking towards the slums. After a moment of being stunned, Quinn followed along.

∞

"YA'LL CAME TO THE WRONG HUMVEE!" Shiro taunted as his 8 ice clones positioned themselves around the area beating up anyone that came. Shiro could have just froze a large area, but he felt like this was a better way to save up on mana just incase. Regular attacks whether they be low level spells or regular guns were incapable of piercing any of their bodies.

"Do you guys hear that?" one of the clones asked as they all turned to the sound in the distance. Shiro narrowed his eyes to get a better look as he noticed they were drizzards. An odd fusion of a drake and small lizards that he remembered people use as mounts.

"Well, look at what we got here." Shiro heard the voice of the lady in the front of the group. "Tell you what. The boss doesn't want me to take too long, so if you just walk on out of here then we can go our separate ways." she offered as Shiro was a tough kid to fight. Losing too many people wouldn't be worth it, but they couldn't just back down now.

"Thanks for the offer hot stuff. But I'm on guard duty so I can't make that decision." he replied as he checked the girl out. He noted her fine body and how some parts of her clothes revealed her toned figure. He cursed the fact that he was physically 15, maybe he could cop a feel mid-fight. He couldn't help it, he was a pervert and he was experiencing teenage hormones again.

She didn't reply as she revealed a mini-gun mounted onto the drizzard. Shiro blinked oddly at that as he also noticed the other riders do the same thing on their own mounts. "Hold up, aren't you afraid of damaging the goods?" he thumbed towards the wrecked Humvee.

"I could say the same to you." She smirked. "Let's hope you can keep it in good condition for the both of us kid!" The barrels started to spin as a hail of bullets seemed to rain down towards Shiro.

"Brinicle Shell!" Shiro shouted as a barrier of ice shimmered to life. He recently found out that he could focus the Shell on one side to make it stronger.

"How long do you think your mana can last kid?!" He heard the hot female bandit shout out over the gunfire.

∞

Quinn followed behind Jack as he led them through the slums, making enough turns in the alleyways to make a man dizzy. Finally stopping outside the door of a decrepit run-down structure that looked like the size of a storage closet. Quinn assumed that he would knock on the door until Jack abruptly opened it and stepped through.

Within the room was another door that was lined with metal. There was no doorknob and on the side was a button like a doorbell. Pressing the button, a slightly slurred voice sounded out from the intercom above the door.

"Go away! I'm drunk!" Quinn raised a brow at that. Jack pressed the button again, despite the desires of the person on the other side.

"You're really starting to piss me off now!" From the ground and walls, tiles flipped over displaying an assortment of firearms on all side pointed towards them. The humming and whirs of steady rose in volume as they were loaded. Quinn immediately became startled as Jack remained calm despite being at the end of these barrels.

Jack cleared his throat with a cough "I don't think my father would take it well if you shot his son after he helped you relocate in the past Miss Kri." He spoke as the whirring sound of spinning gears died down. The guns disappeared back into the tiles as the metal door slid open revealing a staircase leading downwards.

The duo made their way down the stairs and through a short corridor. Opening another door, they were treated to a room cluttered with an assortment of paper, wrappers and other miscellaneous items.

"Well, look who grew up. I haven't seen you in three or four years now." A bespectacled woman swerved her chair around as she continued to slouch in it. She wore a blue and gold robe underneath a lab coat, her platinum blonde hair was done in a disheveled tied up bun.

"It's been about three and a half years now Miss Kri. I see you still haven't changed your way of living." Jack smiled as Quinn tried to find a proper spot to stand.

"Enough snide remarks, what do you want?" she questioned straight to the point.

"Our vehicle seemed to have come to an unfortunate wreck near the city, I was hoping you could assist us." he asked politely.

"Oh yes, because I obviously look like a repair-girl to you." She sarcastically remarked crossing her legs. She used to work in the main branch of Arkhana stationed in Helios. She was quite well known for a short time as an inventor of high-tech weaponry.

"I know that this type of work is beneath you, but I can make it worth your while." Jack's tone was one of complete assurance. So much so that it intrigued her.

"Oh? And what do you have to offer?" she straightened up her posture with interest.

Quinn was also interested to hear what he had to offer as he stood silently to the side. Jack knew he had her attention, of course he was telling the truth. He had heard of her accomplishments from his father and read files of her work. It was safe to say that he knew what she wanted. So he opened his mouth to voice the bait that would catch them the best mechanic.

"An Ice Dragon."