My Team, My Crew

Vincent was about to say something else but his phone rang at that exact moment, and he pulled away to swipe up on the screen and bring it to his ear with a frown. It didn't take Charlotte long to figure out what was happening when Vincent spoke everything out into the open as if he wanted her to hear.

"Get back immediately," Stone said with a flat tone. "The vigilantes had set fire to our safehouse."

"We'll be right there," Vincent replied and ended the phone call before slipping it back into his pocket.

"What do we do about this mission here? Are we just going to leave the mayor unattended?" Charlotte asked with a frown.

"We don't have any time. It's best to leave the mayor with the protection that he has already since we have bigger problems ahead of us," Vincent said slowly before leaning back to the backseats and grabbing a large black hat. "Put it on."

"Why do I need it?"

He sent her a stern glance and opened up the glovebox to slip on a black facemask. "We are switching seats. We shouldn't let civilians see our faces since this car is disposable anyways."

Charlotte nodded and opened the door to step out, keeping her eyes trained on the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone who was out in the park late at night for whatever party they were wandering from.

She slipped into the passenger seat without another word while Vincent strode over to the other side as though nothing was amiss with a light sway in his gait and got in the driver's seat only to place a hand on her thigh that was quivering.

She lifted her eyes up at him. "What?"

He squeezed her thigh once more. "We're going straight into a chaotic scene. Don't be overwhelmed as I try to seek out Stone."

Vincent started the car down the road, and Charlotte leaned back into her seat while intertwining her fingers together in her lap. "I wanted to meet Stone soon, but I wished that it wasn't in this context. I hope that there isn't anyone hurt."

"He's not that special," Vincent randomly said.

Charlotte lightly laughed. She didn't doubt that Stone would be handsome either way. "That wasn't my point. I really needed to match a face to that voice that I've been hearing."

She crossed her legs and looked out the window to see the scenery that she never truly got to explore and get lost in since it was a luxury to those who resided in the middle to outer rings. The lampposts were tall into the sky that illuminated with shimmery consistency that couldn't be replicated anywhere else.

The buildings were of odd shapes and sizes along with the characteristic of the glass woven throughout all the works in a precise manner that gave the image of the city that could collapse in a second due to its sheer and delicate stance.

Colors were brighter and more vivid within the Centennial Center which contrasted starkly with the outer rings where everything was a wash of grey and tonal beiges that could never be found here. It was the illusion of power and riches that oozed off of the city's center that drew many attractions to it.

They went over the strapping metal bridge of a green metallic wash that was over a wide stream that connected to other canals that led out of the city. The water was a shining dark blue, the illuminated navy night colliding into the waters over the horizon as the sun dropped.

Charlotte rolled her window down to poke her head out and stare up into the sky that couldn't be seen well with the blazing bullets of the thousands of light bulbs that were aimed up at the sky. The wind made her hair race crazily around her head, but she took in the view despite the fast-running dozen cars that were around.

She backtracked into her seat and sat primly as though nothing happened, and Vincent slid a glance over at her. "Wanted to go midnight diving?"

"More like a breath of fresh air," she retorted.

"The city is an illusion of all the desires of those who are wealthy," Vincent said quietly.

Charlotte looked at her hands in her lap. "I don't doubt that. There are many people dying, hungry, alone within the walls of the city that aren't under the lights. It makes me wonder if you were here to see it all."

"Sorry to let you down but I wasn't," Vincent said with a smirk, and Charlotte rolled her eyes since she practically read his mind that he thought she was making a dig at his long-standing years. "Big changes in a system take a very long time. Longer than you would think."

Charlotte leaned her head on the hand that was propped on the window. "You don't seem as though you're worried, but I can tell that you are anxious over your comrades."

Vincent gripped the steering wheel tighter. "They have all treated me poorly, but we are a team at the end of the day. I can't let down my team."