“Aw, come on!” Chris pouted, stamping his foot.
Daniel raised a judgmental eyebrow at Chris. It was odd seeing this large, older guy act like a two-year old. He looked across the street at the top of the hotel, which could be seen through the trees as they walked down the sidewalk in a direction northeast of the tower. “We can see the hotel from here. It’s within walking distance.” He looked confusedly at Chris, who didn’t seem to understand what he was trying to get at.
“But I’ve always wanted to ride a shuttle bus!” Chris argued.
Kate sighed loudly and Xarissa rolled her eyes. At the intersection, Chris stopped complaining and stared in awe at what looked to him to be an entirely different road. He’d heard of people driving on the left side of the street but he hadn’t seen it in real life until now. The traffic lights were horizontal instead of vertical, with one of the lights showing blue instead of green. The streets all seemed to be marked with random lines and triangles. The signs were all written in a language he didn’t understand. A truck labeled Re-Classo had a number written underneath that started with four numbers, then three, and ended with three. He wondered if you were supposed to type the numbers in backwards or forwards.
“Chris!”
He looked around him and found the source of the sound. The rest of the group had already stepped out onto the street, and Xarissa was running towards him. She grabbed his arm and yanked him with her across the street. When they made it onto the other side, she let go of him. “Seriously, it’s like dragging a toddler around a playground!” she said through her teeth.
“Why’d you bring him with us?” Hayden asked, not caring to lower his voice.
“Hey!” Chris shouted, then saw that the Japanese citizens walking down the sidewalk had stopped to stare at the group of American tourists.
Xarissa let out a breath. “Come on, guys. Let’s go.”
**************
Laura crept along a silent, dark corridor. She opened every door she came across. She left the room open if it was safe or empty; she locked every door that was dangerous or contained very closely kept secrets.
Laura knew that the DANE group would soon be done fixing the gate that Laura had broken with the wing of the plane when she had landed. With that, they would soon feel comfortable enough to explore the base. Laura walked into a room and had to suppress a gasp. It was an empty dark room with a single chair in the middle. Laura reached into a hidden compartment in the wall, grabbed the key, quickly closed the door and locked it. She took out her ring of keys and added the key to it. The key jangled loudly as it hit the other keys. She closed her eyes and sighed, then continued on to the next door.
**************
Xarissa walked into the lobby and up to the lady in the front desk. She looked up and smiled at Xarissa, then asked in English,
"How may I help you?"
Xarissa was taken aback for a bit, but smiled, noting that except for a slight accent, her English was perfect.
"I need two rooms for tonight."
"Would you like them to be smoke-free?" the lady asked.
"Yes, I would appreciate that very much."
"Alright, rooms 436 and 439. That will be 35257 yen."
Xarissa counted out her money and handed the woman 35300 yen. The lady counted out the money and then the change and handed it to Xarissa.
"43 yen is your change," she said, then reached into a cabinet and pulled out four cards. She took out 2 paper pockets for the cards and placed two in each. She then wrote 436 on one and 439 on the other. " Here are your cards. Please enjoy your stay."
Xarissa walked out of the building and handed Hayden the keys for room 439. "Please enjoy your stay."
***************
Kalyia and Imraan were wrapped up in white furs over white thermal suits. They were posted as guards outside while the DANEs were fixing the door that Laura had apparently hit while landing.
The two of them had tried to help fix the door, but the DANEs refused to believe that the two could be of any use. Imraan was naturally furious.
"Ugh! I can't believe their stubbornness! Why can't I help? I know mechanics, I know technology, and I am from the GCA! Why won't they let me help?!"
"Imraan, calm down, I can hear you perfectly well. The microphone in your helmet and the speakers in mine work. The wind is not going to block your signal. "
"Sorry, I'm just really frustrated right now."
"I can tell."
Silence.
"So..." Imraan started.
"What?" Kalyia asked.
"What do you think is happening at the HIA right now?"
"Oh, I don't know. Training, missions, a worried Adm., more training. They're probably learning how to use GCA technology too."
"Ha! That would be a sight to see."
"What?"
"HIA agents trying to figure out GCA technology."
"They're not dumb, they just spend more time on doing rather than dreaming."
"Ouch.."
"Exactly."
"Hey, I agreed with Armaan. The HIA would be able to use our technology much better than we ever could."
"Of course you did."
"Are you being sarcastic with me again?"
"Me? Sarcastic? How could you ever think of me as sarcastic?"
Imraan didn't know how to answer to that one.
***************
Zamyr had been grateful for the technological curtains as he changed into the suit, but as the plane landed, he realized that he never asked how they worked. He stood behind the curtain, holding his clothes, unsure of what to do.
“You done, Emilian?” came voice from the other side of the curtain.
Zamyr stood there for a few seconds before he realized they were talking to him. “Oh. Um, yeah,” he answered. The curtain shimmered, then disappeared into a cube on the floor. He watched as Nik picked up the cube and put it next to her thigh, where it seemed to magnetize to her pants, then disappear into the fabric. She looked at him, then smiled.
“I know it’s weird thinking that I was a double agent in the gang, but you can stop staring,” she said.
Zamyr blinked, then looked away quickly. He wasn’t sure where to look, so he just awkwardly looked around, then settled his eyes on a chair. Nik laughed, and he looked at her again. He saw that she was shaking her head and he realized that she was just kidding. He laughed nervously, knowing how awkward he was being. “Sorry,” he apologized.
She shook her head, still smiling. “I just hope you’re not like that when we get to the SSAWPS.”
Zamyr nodded. “Promise.”
“Oh, by the way,” Nik added, “Ren thinks I should change my name, too, since I was in the CGG and some people might know me. So you’ll have to call me Nevaeh. It shouldn’t be hard since you didn’t know me too well as Nikita.”
“But you went by Niko in the CGG,” Zamyr argued. He didn’t want to mention that he also thought she was a man. “People won’t recognize you in the SSAWPS.”
Nik shrugged. “You can’t be too cautious.”
Zamyr thought they could, but he wasn’t going to keep arguing. Instead he followed the other agents into a line at the door to the outside. At a glance, he wondered where Petra had gone. He turned to Soul, who was standing in front of him. “Where did Petra go? I thought she was here.”
“Nope,” Soul answered, his Indian accent unmistakable. “She left earlier than us, and she’s going to talk to the SSAWPS for us to kind of announce our coming.”
“Oh. That makes sense,” Zamyr said. He wondered how he could have missed it.
“Okay, everyone out. Stay close to the plane,” Ren commanded, and the door to the plane opened. The sun shone brightly outside the plane, and Zamyr took a breath as he stepped through, not sure if he was ready to become a whole new person, to become part of the Elites.
****************