Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume9 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 7===

When Quenser left the motel, the outdoors felt like a sweaty locker room. A sticky fog covered his hair, which only made the oppressively hot night all the more miserable. The fluorescent and decorative lights had become vague blobs with no real outline, so it felt like being thrown out into a nightmare.

He recalled what Millia Newburg had told him.

“We’ll meet up in the southeastern shopping district. That’s where we in Azul Hive get our funds. They might notice us if we moved as a group, so everyone find your own transportation and take different routes.”

The sound of a bolt unlocking snapped him back to the present.

He saw Heivia forcing open the door to a two-seat sports car parked on the side of the road. He then removed the plastic cover below the steering wheel and started messing with the wires.

“Hop in already, Quenser.”

“You’re kidding. Do you have any idea how old a car would have to be to turn on by touching two wires together?”

“Don’t be stupid. I’m shorting it to reset the immobilizer. See? This is how this city works!”

Quenser heard the roar of a cheap engine and the blinding beams of the headlights.

He clicked his tongue, climbed into the passenger seat, and saw Heivia ripping out the GPS car navigation and chucking it out the window.

“Let’s get going. Time isn’t gonna wait around for us.”

“Wow… You know there’s something wrong with the world when I’m the closest thing to a symbol of benevolence.”

“What are you talking about? Reusing cars is the ecological thing to do. This’ll move the hands of the World Clock back a little.”

“Yeah, but I hope this city’s crazy rules never catch on anywhere else.”

“To be clear, I’m following my own rules here. I check the door and the lock and only steal the cars that have already been stolen. Then I search out the original owner based on the number and secretly take it back to them. I’m kind like a rough towing service. And it’s true I tend to get into car chases and that’ll damage it a fair bit, but it’s still better than nothing.”

With that, the two idiots drove the stolen car off into the foggy city.

Even with the poor visibility, barely any of the other cars were showing any caution. In fact, it looked like most of them were not even obeying the traffic lights. There were also plenty of people on the sidewalks, but unlike during the day, there were far fewer in swimsuits. Instead, there were a lot of women in shiny strips of cloth that may have been cocktail dresses or stripper outfits.

“The old man in that black luxury car we just passed is the city’s most famous '''Jeweler'''. And I of course mean that he’s willing to launder the precious metals that people have stolen. He’s been getting carried away lately, so people have been betting on when he’ll be attacked by men in masks.”

“…”

“That tow truck is actually a '''Car Thief''' who steals luxury cars in broad daylight. If you see him, don’t get too close. He’s made a lot of enemies, so you never know when a stray bullet will fly his way.”

“…”

Quenser heard a dry explosive sound and thought he saw something like a life-size doll falling from a building’s balcony, but no one paid much attention.

“Don’t worry. That wasn’t targeted at us. These days, I’ve heard a lot about a mysterious '''Sniper''' appearing on the building roofs at night.”

Quenser got the feeling he would wear himself out pointing out how ridiculous it all was.

The normal old men and women walking along the street were as likely to be carrying guns as the more conspicuous people. Just watching it all seemed to wear down his spirit. He was feeling homesick for the battlefield country he had left to come here, but he concluded that meant he was normal.

He then heard Millia Newburg’s voice from the radio tossed on top of the dashboard.

“I just received word from the unit in the mountains. The blackout will begin in thirty seconds. Be careful as you approach traffic lights and railway crossings. It would be safest to stop on the curb ahead of time.”

A low rumble and a darkness deeper than a movie theater covered all of Lost Angels. Even with the car’s headlights, there was some confusion.

Quenser heard sounds of bending metal and breaking glass from all around, but Heivia slipped through it all with only one hand on the wheel.

“It takes an average of fifteen seconds for it to recover. As awful as this city is, it is supported by the military, so don’t get greedy and think you can break open a roadside ATM while the security is down.”

Just as she had said, the power returned as quickly as it had gone out.

The city’s lights recovered and blinded the already confused drivers.

After entering an intersection and nearly getting hit by a large bus, Heivia cheerfully honked the horn several times and turned the corner.

This new road was a straight shot to the wharf.

“What’s the Faith Organization military doing?”

“No obvious movements from the Object or the people,” replied Millia. “They don’t seem to have realized what we’re doing.”

“So Step 1 was a success.”

“This is where it really begins. Hurry on to the port.”