Lefo opened the manhole in the slums of Section 4 and climbed out. Luckily the manhole was large enough to accommodate EV's size. He looked around the ramshackle alley way and felt a wind blowing the loose rafters and hanging clothes high up above.

"We have to keep moving, EV. Central agents don't just give up and go home."

He tapped his chin while walking amidst the seemingly abandoned alley, thinking about what EV had told him earlier. Why would a supply order and the university charge be mixed up in the first place? You don't get chased by simply issuing a wrong order... or do you? In Ruin, that sort of confusion wasn't as odd as one might think.

He was tempted to call Old Karl but thought the better of it. Though he thought he's not targeted by Central yet, he didn't want to involve his friend unless he really has no other choice. But if you can't involve your friends, might as well involve your enemy.

"This area is a bit rough. It may not seem like much, but the gangs are always known to hide in ambush. We.... seem like a prime target at the moment."

True to his words, figures slinked out from the shadows of the alley and surrounded them. Lefo knew them quite well.

"Ahhhh! Lookit here boyos! Our friend Lefo pays us a visit! And with a vench too!"

A thin skinny man with a mohawk and covered with tattoos stepped up to Lefo, holding a very wicked shiv underneath his neck.

"I know how you elves are prissy about being clean an' all. What if I just make a lovely long scratch across yer chest for what you did to me last time, mmm?"

"Now now Torr, last time was an honest mistake. I didn't know that a pile of tin cans was your shrine or whatever, if I did, I wouldn't have knocked it down."

"It's a TOTEM ya halfwit! Pike, you know how long it took to rebuild that thing after you crashed into it?"

"Gate exits can be.... unpredictable."

Torr spitted nearby Lefo's feet while still maintaining his hold on the shiv.

"You know you'd be dead the next time you step here. So what made you brave enough to face death hmmm? This vench?"

"Part of it. She's also quite rich. I'm to be her guide, she needs a bodyguard," the best thing about being an elf is that there's little facial muscles to show that one would be outright lying.

"How much?"

"She offered me 2 plats just to guide her through the alleys. You guys? Might score 5 each being her bodyguard."

Torr scratched his chin for a while and slowly withdrew his shiv from Lefo.

"How do I know that you're not lying?"

"Elves don't lie, Torr. Remember?" Cubes, luckily enough that bit of superstition and reputation helped Lefo at the moment. He gathered that he must be the first lying elf in all of Ruin.

******

5 minutes later, Lefo led EV onto the streets. His little parlay with Torr's gang worked. He managed to convince him to stand watch over the manhole that they just came through for possible pursuits. That'd keep them off their backs and handle any incoming trouble, if any. They'd buy them time if nothing else.

"Well, at least that worked. Now to find a place to lay low."

It's market day in Section 4 today, much to Lefo's delight. It'd make losing their tracks amidst the crowds a little bit easier.

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