We have to let her in

A few days later I still didn't have my clothes back. It was perfectly clear to me that it will be same just like last time, so I wasn't surprised at all. Although, it really wouldn't hurt Damien to come and return what he borrowed. Maybe he was just lazy.

However, Zayd played into the offer Damien made when, instead of coming to get his repaired hoverbike, he wrote me an address asking me to deliver it there. Fortunately, he promised me that he would pay extra for it, so I thought why not.

Surprisingly, this business was starting to move to a higher level. After all, most of people down here couldn't afford any of those vehicles, so repairs and the like were more for the wealthier. And despite that, our workshop was based down here. That didn't make much sense to me.

Zayd also offered to help me by saying that he would help me move things forward here in the business. Up. So at first he had the idea that if I didn't want to go to the mechanics at the guards or up there somewhere else, that he would try to arrange a place for me there, but I didn't want to go to those scum, even though interplanetary hovercars and so on didn't sound bad.

"You can handle it here without me, right?" I asked Hideaki and Chris, who were just having a coffee break, so they were sitting on the stairs to the upper floor with mugs in their hands.

They both nodded in agreement and I was able to make my way up. Some time before, I had managed to find out the address of Damien's apartment, as I had planned to go there for the borrowed clothes, since I already had a way in that direction.

I put on a silver helmet that Zayd had left for me with the hoverbike, put my backpack with the documents in the mini-trunk of the hoverbike and got on it. I couldn´t help not to smile when I remembered the one I had, the one I dusted off not so long ago.

I went through the aisles towards the main hovercar runway leading towards the center I needed to get to. It was quite full there considering the approaching evening, as many people had already finished their work shift.

Before long, I was almost at my destination. All I had to do was connect to the runway to the sky part of the city and fly to the hotel of Zayd's family, in the upper part of which they lived. I was there once, for a business - for my career as a racer. Such a nice luxury rooftop suite with a view of almost the entire city.

I parked in the parking lot next to the mostly glass building, took out my backpack and then I went to the entrance, which was guarded by security guards. It was pretty clear to me that I didn't have much of a chance of getting in if I came alone, so I explained with a greeting that I would like to see young master Hasegawa. It was horrible to call him that, but I had no choice.

One of the security guards looked at me strangely and examined me with his gaze, while the other one raised his right hand to his ear and said something, to which he looked at the other: "We have to let her in."

The one who hadn't spoken so far looked at him questioningly, then at me and then moved out of the way so I could finally walk through the automatic doors into the interior of the luxury building where I made my way to the front desk, but before I could say anything, the receptionist told me to wait.

After a while, one of Zayd's bodyguards came out of the elevator at the end of the ground floor and walked up to me saying that the young master was already waiting and I should follow him, which I did, rolling my eyes at how he called Zayd after the bodyguard turned and walked back to the elevator.

After a few minutes, we were finally at the top floor, where I got out right behind the bodyguard. We passed through a expensive looking corridor at the end of which was a tall door made of dark wood with some gold on it, which the tie man opened and let me in with a gesture, where I entered.

Zayd was sitting behind his desk in the office and when I arrived, he looked up from the desk, where he probably had some work, and nodded at me: "Finally."

I rolled my eyes at his welcome and sat down in a nice chair in front of the table. Then I took the paper document out of my backpack and put it on Zayd's table along with the keys to the hoverbike: "It's in the parking lot."

Zayd nodded and gave the keys to the bodyguard, who led me in, saying to park the hoverbike in the garage. As soon as the guy with the rather annoying poker face left, Zayd looked at me: "Have you thought about it?"

I sighed: "Yeah. And my opinion is still the same. I'm not gonna pay to you, too."

"But you could at least try to increase the business in some other way."

Zayd offered to buy our workshop, but I didn't like it very much. There would probably be more orders, because thanks to him more people would known about the workshop, but part of the earnings would go to Zayd's company. And I should also solve it with Chris and Hideaki, since we have been working together in the garage for years now.

I left Zayd's office after our little conversation and then I also left his family's hotel. In front of the hotel, I looked at Damien's address, which I then looked up. Fortunately, the destination was not far away from where I was at the moment.

The journey took only a few tens of minutes. With my backpack over my shoulder, I walked to the address that matched the one Damien had given me. I was standing in front of a black, fairly tall building, which shone as if it was entirely made of glass. The guards dressed in black were standing in front of the entrance again and I sighed.

Fortunately, I didn't have to deal with anything, because they were standing quite far from the door while talking to each other. So I tried to enter through the automatic glass doors without their notice, which I succeeded in, and I then found myself in a rich-looking room where a few people were sitting on chairs in front of a lounge and another person was sitting behind the massive glass wall what seemed to be a office probably like reception for residents.

For a moment I wondered if I should ask the guy in that office what floor I had to go to, but I didn't want to risk him calling security to escort me out. After all, my clothes didn't fit in here - what kind of that rich person would wear old coat with hood on their head all the time and threadbare pants, right?

On my way to the elevator, I looked at Damien's apartment number. 1004. I sighed and pressed the golden button to call the elevator. Luckily for me, it was right downstairs and I was able to get on. The highest number was 9, which corresponded a little to the number of the apartment I was going to, so I pressed it.

I hoped to be up as soon as possible so that I could disappear from this part of the city as soon as possible. However, the elevator stopped on the next floor and a girl approached, who looked at me with a rather judgmental look.

Rolling my eyes, I leaned against the back wall of the elevator and looked at its ceiling, which reflected the contents of the elevator. Fortunately, the next stop came almost at the end, where the girl quickly got off and I went up alone.

On the last floor, I got out and looked around the fancy corridor. It's time to find the numbers. Luckily for me, there weren't many apartments up here and the numbers were similiar to Damien´s adress. I didn't search for long and found door number 1004. Then I rang the bell and waited for someone to come and open it for me.