Lonely Thieves

Act V, Part IV

Megumi's Side (April 14, 10:15 pm)

Megumi and Daryl ran through the streets in the dark of the night. They weren't sure whether they were being followed by mafia or not, but they were not willing to slow down to find out. Thankfully, the residential area they were running through was rather empty, allowing them to avoid drawing the attention of the populace.

The two soon arrived at the safe house that belonged to Megumi's friend, affording them their first chance at a rest for the first time in a long while. Daryl took a moment to catch his breath while Megumi quickly began gathering up their things for their return to the Morning Star district.

"How in the world are we even going to make it back?" Daryl asked between exhausted heaves. "The district is still under lockdown, and we can't contact Trevor, so he can't guide us back in that way."

"We can't give up just because of that!" Megumi growled back. "There's no point in us going to all this effort if they end up capturing my mother! We need to get back, no matter what!"

"Then what are we going to do? Do you have a plan?"

"Shut up and let me think for a bit." Megumi closed her eyes and mused over her options. "Call Hikaru. He should be able to help us out."

"Why don't you call him?"

"My phone is compromised because of what happened at Matteo's office! It's safer for all of us if you're the one who calls him up."

Daryl grumbled, but he obediently took out his phone and called up Hikaru on speakerphone. Hikaru picked up almost immediately, his voice clearly full of concern. "Hey, are you guys okay?"

"Yeah. Why, did something happen?"

"You don't know? A swarm of people suddenly burst out of the Florencia building and now the whole place has been cordoned off! Are you not in there anymore?"

"No, we left earlier today," Megumi explained. "Hey, did anyone in that crowd stand out to you?"

"Huh? In what way?"

"There's no way you wouldn't have noticed her if you saw her. That kind of way."

"Sorry. I didn't see anyone like that."

That answer worried Megumi. It was possible that her mother had managed to escape from some other route, but it was more likely that she was still cooped up inside the building. That would be bad, especially if something had actually gone wrong.

"Hikaru, Daryl and I are in the Sunshine district right now, but we need to get back into the Morning Star district. Can you help us out?"

"What are you doing in the– never mind, I don't want to know." Hikaru fell silent for a few short moments. "Actually, now's probably the best time to sneak in if that's what you wanna do. The chaos around the building has left security around the border gates pretty light."

"Really? That'd be great if that's true."

"You're coming in from the Sunshine district, right? If that's the case, come to the eastern gate. I'll get you in."

Hikaru hung up the phone, and Megumi and Daryl instantly ran off to grab their things to leave. They left the house, hotwired a nearby car, and were off to the Morning Star district gate in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, the lack of traffic combined with it being late at night meant driving through town was a lot easier than it normally would have been. All in all, it took less than an hour for the two of them to arrive at the eastern gate of the Morning Star district.