We’re in the dining hall at the dormitory. I’m sitting across from Lenny.

“Well, shit. Nick isn’t answering.” Lenny sighs, looking at his phone on the table. “Son of a bitch is really gonna make me pull out the tracking tech, huh?”

“You mean Nick’s meant to check back with you regularly?”

“Just when I contact him, which is somewhat frequently. He’s not responded for three hours. He better be with his mistress or some shit...” Lenny sighs heavily as he gets up from the cafeteria table, leaving the room.

A few minutes pass as I mull over possible reasons that Nick wouldn’t be answering, such as a dead battery or a lengthy, important meeting. Lenny enters the room again, holding a piece of paper with a small-scale map on it. He drops the map on the table as he sits down. “So, I checked his phone, and he’s in a place where I’ve never seen him at before… that, and I did some further research.”

“What did you find?” I was hoping that this would be some joke about him being at a strip club, but it sure as hell didn’t sound like it.

“That building’s abandoned by all accounts.” Lenny frowned. “I think the son of a bitch got kidnapped.”

I sighed, frowning slightly. “I was hoping that was gonna be a joke about him visiting a brothel.”

“Really, making a joke now of all times…?” Lenny paused and had himself a hearty cackle, and I guess I had to smile as well. It’s possible Nick rubbed off on me some.

“I had to try in these trying times.”

“Well, you’re not wrong for trying to, that’s for damn sure.” Lenny then looked back to the map. “We need to do a little recon of the place first, though.”

“And how would we do that?” I raise an eyebrow.”

“A little bit of a joyride, of course.” Lenny stood up from his seat. “Let’s go.”

We soon get into a car as Lenny drives over to the area referenced on the map he printed.

As we arrive, I notice that this part of town has a lower emphasis on storefronts and a larger emphasis on things like small offices, warehouses, and in one case a brewery that looked like it’d supply several different bars at once. Lenny and I drive along the roads and see as much into the alleys as we can without getting out. We don’t see a lot of normal foot traffic actually go into the alleys, but here and there we can see movements from within, as if somebody was prowling them like an alley cat. We park outside of the district, pulled over by the sidewalk.

“I think it’s pretty clear that although the area isn’t exactly teeming with goons, there’s someone out there watching for trouble. I wanna try and get in there without them raising the alarm.”

“So, what does that mean for us, practically speaking?”

“I’m glad you asked.” Lenny sighed. “Well, I can’t go because I might get recognized, and sending in a group is definitely going to raise the alarm. In short… I’ll have to send you in alone.”

I sigh, crossing my arms. “Really? Do you honestly think I have even a remote chance of succeeding?” I really don’t think I could pull this off, given my most recent showing with claw-man back at the drughouse.

Lenny offered up a half-smile. “You’re nimble, competent, and you can think on your feet. I’m confident you can at least escape, even if you’re not able to actually succeed.” Lenny then sighed. “I’m sorry, I just don’t have anyone better for the job than you. That, and it’d be a great way to prove yourself if you can stick the landing.”

I huffed. “Fine.” I looked out the window. “When do we strike?”

“As soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more likely we’ll find Nick dead. That being said… let’s head back to the dormitory first to get you kitted out.”

“Agreed. Let’s get moving.”