Markus's comlink chirped again, and he answered it. "The lines are broken, they'll be on their way. I'll meet you at the fifth house," said Jason.

Markus did not like the sound of what Jason was saying; if they were meeting at the fifth house, it meant that Jason did not think they would be able to get to the Cafe, or if they did get there, that they would not be safe for long. Markus had no idea what kind of Imperial force was coming towards them from Jason's direction, but he knew it had to be bad if his friend was advocating traveling down into the seedier lower levels of Coruscant to hide.

As the people cleared quickly off of the street, Markus spun around and around once again, looking for the beautiful blonde woman he had been dancing with earlier. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be found. [i]On the other hand, maybe it's fortunate that she's already gone,[/i] thought Markus. [i]That probably means she's gotten to safety.[/i] Disappointed nevertheless that he would not be able to take her with him to safety, Markus quickly stuffed his blaster pistol back into the makeshift holster inside his jacket and took off running himself, blending into the crowd of mass hysteria. He made his way towards one of the large, long, ferrocrete staircases which would lead him down a level. The staircases were incredibly old, and some thought them unsafe, but in either case, the Imperials rarely, if ever, used them. It would take him longer to get down to a lower level this way than using one of the turbolifts or a speeder, but it would ultimately be safer and stealthier, and he knew he would get there in one piece without being stopped or detained.