>> Now Playing Mission Log #38
The footage flickers to life, briefly resuming deep in the tunnels.
Still sat on Oreo’s back, Solena’s camera catches the rise and fall of his feathered crest as his head tilts, looking at something ahead. Coming into the view of all their lights, a hole etches itself into the rock, black and unknowable.
Sloan holds up a hand for the group to stop, and Wendy dismounts, landing in the earth.
Before she can do anything more, the footage CLICKS
, switching the darkness of the tunnels for the bright lights of the inside of a bustling arcade floor.
Despite the late hour, the Blastercade was abuzz with activity. There were still a few family parties and groups of teenagers around, but with the promotion on the door they had steadily begun to be replaced by another crowd: harriers.
The arcade floor was swarming with them, some still half-in their green suits and others in civilian clothes but all wearing arcade-provided wristbands that let the staff know they’d be enjoying the mid-week discount during their stay in the city.
They travelled in groups of threes and fours, with occasional larger parties sifting through their ranks to hog games of chance and skill for their chance to win tokens and prizes from the back counter.
With all the hubbub and chatter, it was easy to split up crews four and five and blend in with the unsuspecting civilian ranks. Sebastian tugged a bit on his shirt, trying to ease some tightness around the sleeves. He’d started to grow out of his civvies by now. It bothered him more than he cared to admit.
Just as planned, they’d made their way to the back wall — to the lineup of machines that would be their best bet at consistently winning tickets tonight. Racing games, basketball hoops, soccer, shooters, racers — games of skill, not chance. They only had the next few hours to make this happen, and they’d have to make it count.
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