Debt to Pay

Chapter 5 : Underground Theft Market

ELSA'S POV

My hair blew wildly around me and I was almost pushed down by the wind. The train finished passing by and I stepped out, replaced the brick on the wall, and entered the secret passageway, the wall sliding back to its original place in the tunnel.

I leaned back against the rough wall, feeling my heart beat out of my chest, I started to deeply breath in and out trying to calm myself down. After a couple minutes, I followed the dark corridor I was in, placing my hands along the wall for stability, I was still unsure if I was capable to walk.

I started to walk down the stairs, guided by circular lights that gave off an dim orange glow on the side of the walls. At the end of the stairs was a black door with streaky spray paint spelling out UTM.

I opened the door and was hit by the familiar buzz of hundreds of voices. I looked around and smiled. Everywhere people were milling about, selling and buying all sorts of things.

The Underground Theft Market was a huge dome shaped area with old architecture and fancy designs on the walls. It had thick pillars to hold up the crumbly looking ceiling. It looks as if it was supposed to be one of the main subway stations back when the subway was built, but was forgotten.

Rows and rows of set up booths were all over the place, but somehow in an orderly fashion. Each booth either had a seller or a buyer, but most of them were buyers. You could sell anything that criminals could repurpose. Whether it was stolen passports so you could bring people into the country, or gold watches you pick pocketed off a stranger, you could sell it.

I made my way to the fourth pillar on my left to see Astrid and Hiccup sitting down leaning on it. They were my best friends, we hung out almost everyday. Astrid lived with her parents, but they were poor like almost everyone here. She had her blonde hair in her usual French braid with a headband. She wore brown pants, a green shirt with a dark pullover, and dark brown leather boots. Hiccup lived with his Dad who tried to make ends meet, but had problems with buying a lot a alcohol since Hiccup's mother disappeared. Also, he was terrible at listening to Hiccup. Hiccup had his uneven dark brown hair almost covering the top of his eyes. He was wearing what he was normally, a white long sleeve shirt, with a dark brown vest overtop, black pants, and dark brown work boots.

" Hey guys, what's up? " I said to them as I sat down in front of them.

" Nothing much, just debating on what the heck is going on with that guy, " Astrid said pointing at a guy around 40 years old, he was standing about two inches away from a wall and was yelling angrily at it while flaring his arms about.

" I think he is blind, " Hiccup stated.

" And I know that man is crazy, " Astrid said, " What do you think Elsa? "

" I would have to say... He's insane... Plus there is a lot of crazy people here. "

Astrid turned to Hiccup and punched him in the arm, " Ha ha, I win, " she said grinning. I wasn't surprised, they always used me to settle their disputes, and trust me they argued a lot, but in a non-annoying way, it was always entertaining for me.

" So, what brings you down here ? " Hiccup asked while rubbing his arm.

" Actually I was hoping you guys could help me find someone. "

" Who ? "

" Have you ever heard of the name Hans ? " I asked.

Their mouths fell open in unison, " Why on Earth would YOU need to find Hans ? " Astrid questioned, pointing at me when she said ' YOU '.

" Anna borrowed money from him and I want to negotiate with him. "

Hiccup laughed a little, " Elsa, there is no negotiating with Hans. "

" Well I have to try, do you know where he is ? " I asked while standing up.

Astrid looked around, " Ummm... There he is, " She said while pointing to a very expensive looking man.

" Okay thanks, " I said as I started to walk away.

" Good luck! " I heard Hiccup call.

I started to walk towards Hans and stopped when he turned around. No wonder Anna borrowed from him, she would think he's totally cute, me on the other hand, did not find him very attractive. He was around my age, maybe a little older, he had orange reddish hair and big sideburns that went half way to his chin. He was wearing a white suit that was lined with dark blue, his tie was also dark blue and he had black polished shoes on. He looked at me and finished walking the distance between us.

" You must be Elsa. "