A Fool's Coming

Ch. 3 - Unanswered Echoes

I hesitated once I reached the front of the tall apartment building.

Which room is theirs? Goddammit, Alex! I think peevishly.

I pulled out the black mask Alex handed me. Hopefully, no one really notices me.

I open the rotating door, push my way in, and pause when I see some receptionist lady staring at me.

I take a small step forward, "Um," oh shit, I'm not supposed to talk.

She looks at me up and down, a hint of fear on her face.

I throw a hand over my mouth to try and muffle the words a little. "Where is my house?"

"Your... room, sir?" She asks.

I nod.

"You're... in it right now."

My eyes widened. What. This entire thing is their goddamn house?! They're rich as fuck! I thought—even Alex thought—this was an apartment complex!

"Oh." I say slowly, "R-right."

A look of suspicion shows on her face before it's forcibly pushed down. "Would you like me to open your room?"

"Oh, yes!" I nod eagerly before cringing, hoping she doesn't think my voice is too off.

"Have a good morning, sir."

Holy shit, is it already morning? I got no sleep at all. I'm going to crash the moment I get home.

Then, that brings me a whole new worry. Sally. What if Alex goes after her when I'm gone? He seems to really hate her for some reason.

I have to do this. For her.

"Where..." I say nervously, looking at her, "I'm, uh, tired."

She smiles softly, "You do not seem like yourself. The elevator behind me."

"Thanks," I instinctively say while walking to the elevator and immediately just die where I stand.

There is no way he, a Villain, says 'thanks' . Hopefully, she just doesn't really know Ares.

I press the button for the elevator, and it promptly opens up. I glance back at the lady again, clearing my throat.

"Are my... teammates here?"

"Teammates?" She raises a brow.

I flinch, "I-I mean friends."

She hesitates, "... They're not here. They had gone with you earlier, remember?"

"Oh," I laugh awkwardly, "Yeah."

She just looks away from me quickly, typing something into her computer.

I have to do this quickly. I enter the elevator, literally spamming it closed.

Once shut, I press the top button, which is room forty-two. Holy shit.

I'll just go through each room; the lady said she'll unlock it—which means she can control the rooms from some device. Unless they have rooms that need to be manually opened.

I'll just have to kick the doors open in that case. I need to get whatever substance Alex is talking about.

And bullshitting this isn't an option; he'll just come after me again. And moving is not possible.

We can't afford a new house, and people don't change Districts unless they're Heroes on a mission or part of the government.

If you're not any of these, you'd have to be filthy rich, like insanely wealthy and well-liked by the government.