City of Kinetics

TWENTY-SEVEN ✴ Hunting Down A Witness

       The second Mila parked the car beside the curb, Hunter threw his open his door open and jumped out. He took a breath of fresh air and steadied himself as he relished the feeling of his feet on the ground.

       Mila frowned to herself, turning the car off and hopping out as well. Slamming her door shut, she walked around the car to stand in front of him.

       "Are you okay?" she asked him, slightly worried.

       His eyes were closed as he rested a hand on the lamppost beside them, leaning against it.

       "Fine," he answered, his eyes opening as he nodded his head.

       She bit her lip to keep a small smile from breaking out. "Do you need a minute?"

       "No," Hunter said, taking in a deep breath before straightening up. "I just... I get car sick, sometimes."

       "This is the first time I've seen you get car sick," she informed him. "Was I that bad?"

       He looked at her and for a moment, his mouth opening to respond but then thinking better of it.

       "You just need a little more practice," he settled on saying. "How... how did you pass your driver's test? I'm just curious."

       This made her roll her eyes and she turned away from him, looking ahead at the small apartment building in front of them. It was the same building she remembered dropping off Theo's paycheque, and with any luck, he would be in unit three with his friend.

       Hunter stepped up beside her. They were on a street with limited traffic cameras, if any, so he wasn't too worried about getting caught.

       "You're sure this is the place?" he asked, his eyes going over the building.

       Mila nodded. "Positive. Let's go."

       They began walking over to the front entrance, slipping inside without a problem. Mila led the way, turning right into a hall revealing a series of doors. Stopping at the third one, she took a deep breath and knocked.

       Hunter stayed behind her, looking around to make sure they were alone. They weren't exactly on the safe side of Nexus City.

       Mila waited a minute, but when nobody opened the door, she knocked on the door again, this time a little harder. She feared that maybe Theo wasn't there, or his friend, but then in a couple seconds she heard footsteps from the other side.

       The door was thrown open, then, revealing a very disheveled man with bloodshot eyes, messy hair, and only wearing a pair of old sweatpants.

       "What?" he demanded, blinking away the sleep in his eyes.

       Mila frowned. "Good morning. I'm looking for Theo. Is he around?"

       His eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down, making her shift her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. When his eyes went to Hunter, he was met with a hard, icy stare. The man blinked again, straightening up a bit before shouting over his shoulder.

       "Hey, Theo!" he yelled. "You got visitors!"

       "What?" a familiar voice shouted back.

       "There's someone at the door for you, man!" he yelled again, this time walking away and disappearing into his apartment.

       The door was left open a crack and Mila had to resist the urge to push it open. Another set of footsteps could be heard before it was swung open all the way. Theo stood there, looking more awake than his friend and actually dressed.