The moon hung low over Masaki, a pale disc filtered through the clouds that looked heavy enough to press down the city, the air felt heavier as if the city itself was holding its breath, the wharf was eerily quiet, just the low groan of rusted cranes swaying against their chains and the occasional slap of water against the docks.
Arman's lungs burned as he pushed himself to keep up with Joyce, the pounding of his sneakers on the pavement screamed in his ears with a mixture of adrenaline, the muffled slam of boots and the clipped voices of the agents reminded him he was seconds away from being caught again, his hood stuck to his back with sweat, but the night air did little to cool him.
Joyce kept glancing over her shoulder, her hood pulled low, concealing most of her face except for the giant glint of determination in her eyes, the small, silent hand signals she used weren't improvised, Arman recognized them from competitive play tactic.
It clicked to him like a puzzle piece snapping into place, she wasn't just a casual player, she is indeed Foxxie, the mysterious Ghost Knights member known for disappearing between matches without a trace.
"Left!" Joyce's voice cut through the chaos, "Keep moving."
They ducked into a narrow passage between two stacks of shipping containers, vaulting over a low chain link fence, Joyce's hood bounced as she landed on the other side, Arman stumbled after her, his landing was rougher, his knees screamed in protest but adrenaline kept him upright.
"We can't just keep running," he said between his gasps, "They'll call in more units."
Joyce didn't break stride, "Thats the point, If they spread too thin, then they wont box us in."
"Where are we even going?"
"Somewhere they won't think of looking." Joyce said, already typing rapidly on her phone, the faint blue glow illuminated the corner of her mouth tight lipped, focused face, he caught the faint flicker of her IGN on the cracked screen, there was no doubt now, Foxxie, and yet, why had she hidden it? Why had she acted so distant from the squad
.......
Xiorra's Pov
Peter parked his motorbike infront of a 24 hour restaurant took off his helmet and went for a nearby table facing the opposite side of the CCTV camera, took out a small portable laptop from his bag and spread it open on the table.
"A cup of milked coffee would be great" he requested as soon as the waiter neared his table.
The live feed GPS tracker of Arman glowed like the full moon in the midst of stars, he swiftly typed,
>Turn left in about 30 meters from your current position, in between containers towards a chain link fence
He sent it through Foxxie's comms and kept monitoring them, he then accessed the Ghost Knights' encrypted channel looked for any updates from it and after some time he sent a private message to one of his trusted teammate, Dubster.
> Trident Gray has been launched, Drift Protocal is live, Cana has been compromised
It didn't take long his device chimed with a ping,
>Dubster: The situation turned in too early, I guess it's time to mobilize Ghost Knights for a bigger picture that the one we're currently in
>Xiorra: Foxxie's cover's blown, rendezvous DROPPOINT ALPHA-7
>Dubster: DROPPOINT ALPHA-7? but that's... Its out of commission
>Xiorra: And that's exactly why we have every reason to be there, it's somewhere the least suspicious
>Dubster: Then it's decided, I'm currently at HQ with the core Ghost Knights, we'll be there in a jiffy
It was at that moment he received a ping from Foxxie through the shared shared;
>Foxxie: Yo Xiorra, what's the Droppoint
>Head straight to DROPPOINT ALPHA-7
Silence invaded the chat room for a span of a few seconds, then buzzed again
>Foxxie: Hmm!! okay, I trust your judgement
>Dubster: That was clean
>Foxxie: Oh hey Dub, bye Dub
After Foxxie left the chatroom, only Xiorra and Dubster remained, the atmosphere was tense, Xiorra leaned back on his chair, took a sip of his hot coffee and thought for a while contemplating about something, then a ping brought him back from his thoughts
>Dubster: This situation we currently in is very off
His hands danced on the keyboard as he answered
>Xiorra: Yeah, but if Foxxie's mission fail, it's not just the agents we have to worry about, the team dynamic will fracture, some of the Knights will side with her....others might start doubting the general mission
>Dubster: And we do know exactly that the rumors about David Gonzalez are all true.
Xiorra's brows furrowed>Xiorra: This is not just a game anymore, David wasn't just some player or coach, he was part of something far bigger, and in that case, Arman's not just playing for himself, he inherited the weight of whatever his father was mixed up in.
.........
Back On The Run...
"We're not gonna make it at this pace," he grumbled between his breath
Foxxie didn't answer, she skidded to a stop, yanked a side hatch and shoved him in, only the echo of their breath filled the void
"We'll go to a place after we exit here, I think we might be safe, temporary"
Arman said nothing, besides he had nothing to say in the first place
They moved, crawling through vents, dropping into maintenance alleys, the sodium lights flickering above them, garbage bags sagged against the walls, their smell sharp and sour, Joyce stopped abruptly, pulling out a folded sheet of paper from her pocket.
"What's that?" Arman asked.
"A map," she replied, scanning it quickly, "Drawn from memory, my memory, I used to run supplies here for....."
She stopped herself before saying too much
"Point is, there's an access point to the freight tunnels nearby, they'll lead us under the main road." The sound of engines in the distance grew louder, Arman didn't argue.
She then led him through an industrial yard, the tang of oil and steel coating the air, somewhere a freight truck groaned on the tracks, a stray dog barked in the distance
They reached a rusted metal grate behind a warehouse, Joyce knelt, pulling a multitool from her bag, "Keep watch."
Arman's hand curled into fists, "You've been here before, haven't you?"
Joyce didn't look at him, "Not in this lifetime."
The grate opened free with a groan, a cold draft swept out, smelling of damp stone and old oil, the tunnel sloped downward into darkness, Joyce swung in first, landing on the gravel floor with a soft thud, Arman followed, his sneakers crunching against scattered debris, as the grate slid shut above them, the sound of engines passed overhead, they were out of sight for now.
Ghost Knights HQ
KT sat cross legged on the sofa at the lobby together with the core Ghost Knights members listening keenly at Dubster who was briefing them about their current situation
"Currently the DRIFT PROTOCAL has been initiated, well to be honest our guy, Cana has been compromised"
As she kept listening, her eyes never left her laptop, still tracing variables.
It was then just as she was about to trace the location of Arman, a poping window blinked on her monitor revealing a private chanenel
>Anonymous sender: Its_cana reaches the southern tunnels, the chase changes, tell your people to be ready.
Suzume hesitated before typing back.
>Ready for what?
But no reply came.
She sighed inwardly
"Dubster what's the current location of Cana?" She asked
Dubster paused for a while, looked at her and typed something in his phone, after a few seconds a ping chimed in his phone, a live location feed shared to him, he directly shared it to her.
"I see" KT said plainly, "I just received a text from an anonymous sender, let me share the contents"
"Im curious about this mysterious person but my worry is with what's to follow" Cherry spoke first after observing the contents.
"I've been meaning to say this, infact this is where I was heading to, aight now, our current objective is heading towards Droppoint ALPHA-7..." Dubster uttered
Gojo, Cherry and Anime Girl all raised their brows
"I always thought I was the only one who wasn't normal in this squad, turns out everyone is, anyway isn't Droppoint ALPHA-7 out of commission?" KT voiced out
"Yeah I was thinking of the same thing"
"Same here"
"Likewise"
Dub looked at them before continuing, "My knowledge was the same as yours a few minutes ago, that was before contacting Xiorra" he changed his sitting posture then continued, "Droppoint ALPHA-7 is the perfect place for us all to lay low for a while, that is after things cooldown for a while"
"And about that, we all have to move this night, before Foxxie and Cana reach the said location"
The room went dead silent after Dubster finished talking
"As long as it concerns Cana, Im okay with it" Anime Girl voiced out first
"Well I made my vows to coach before joining the squad so count me in too" KT Suzume said
"I don't need flashy words, Im in" Gojo said plainly
Dubster smiled by their answers, "Then that's settled, SILENT AS GHOSTS"
"DEADLY AS KNIGHTS" they all answered
"Let's move out"
.........
Arman & Joyce's Pov
The tunnel split into three dark corridors, the map Joyce carried was crude, with only vague arrows.
"We can't stay down here forever," Arman whispered.
Joyce tilted her head, listening, somewhere to their left, water dripped in slow, deliberate beats, to the right, faint vibrations hinted at a train line, straight ahead was silence pure, heavy silence, she folded the map and stuffed it away.
"Pick one," She said.
"Huh!! what If I choose wrong?" Arman asked.
Joyce finally met his eyes, "My father once told me that sometimes wrong choices tells us more than safe ones."
The hum of engines above them was fading, but Arman knew that didn't mean they were safe, somewhere out there, someone was closing in and maybe not all of them were on the agent's side.
He chose the path on the far southern route, they sped up along the long pass and eventually came across a corner, they rounded it and voila, a battered motorcycle was leaning against a corrugated metal wall
"Would you look at that, turns out you have lady luck by your side, oh wait, that lady luck doesn't happen to me right?" She teasingly said after seeing the motorcycle
"You wish" Arman blurted out
Joyce tossed him a helmet without a stride
"Ride or get caught." she said flatly
As Arman slipped it on, the sound of the depot's gates clanging open behind them sent a jolt through his veins, he could almost feel the agents closing in.
The engine coughed once, twice then roared to life, Joyce swung onto the seat ahead of him, gripping the handlebars like she'd been born there
The rumble beneath him triggered an unexpected memory, one of his father's voice and the warm glow of an old tablet, he'd been eighteen, sprawled across their worn sofa as David Gonzalez guided him through his mobile legends match
"It's not always about flashy plays, Arman" David had said, his tone measured
"It's about positioning, knowing the map, anticipating your enemy before they move"
At that time, it had felt like a fun father-son bonding moment, but now, speeding through the empty streets with Joyce steering into the night, Arman realized his father hadn't just been teaching him a game, he had been training him for something else entirely
The bike tore through a series of alleys, kicking up litter and dust, Joyce didn't take the main road instead, she zigzagged through backstreets that seemed to form a labyrinth, Arman clung on her from the back, feeling every bump and jolt.
"You sure you know the way where you're going?" he yelled over the wind
Joyce didn't answer right away, she slowed enough to glance back at him, her eyes meeting him through the dark visor and floods of wind.
"Trust me or don't but if you fall off they'll find you first" she yelled back
Somewhere behind them, the agents' black SUVs screeched around a corner, marking their successful evasion from the chase