Chapter 2
Alister walks into a mechanics shop the walls are covered in well worn tools, replacement parts for vehicles as well as a photo of an old man and a young girl standing in front of an Atlas drone. The two of them were smiling with "My daughter's first job" written on the photo. "Hey, Wrench, are you in here?" Alister asked as he looks around at everything from toolboxes to displays of refurbished drones, robots and random parts. None of which Alister could tell what they were used for but for some reason he was quite impressed at how good they looked. "Alister? Is that you?" A muffled female voice came from another room.
Alister turned his head towards where the voice came from "Uh, yeah it's me" he walks into the room to find a woman in a welders mask, loose denim overalls, a white long sleeved shirt, big industrial books and a long monkey like tail working on an Atlas convoy truck. She was busy scraping the truck for parts using a welder to take off a door "You know Alister we have scrolls for a reason. Still it's good to see ya" upon further inspection her clothes were covered in oil and grease stains. "So, how's my favourite grease monkey doing?" Alister chuckled at his own joke then he waves his hand "Seriously though, how are you Wrench?" Wrench lifts her head the shakes her head at his bad joke.
"Well to tell ya the truth, since the borders have been shut. Things have been a lil difficult, but we'll manage" she said as she took off the welders mask. Her pupils are bright red, her red hair was short and unkept and just like her clothes she had grease stains on her cheeks. Wrench smiled brightly at Alister as she looked at him "So, what brings you here?" she tilts her head slightly as she puts her hands in her pockets. Alister looks down as he folds his arms "Riyaz has given me a new job. Its in Mistral" he said with a disappointed tone. Wrench's smile quickly turns to a look of disgust "Mistral? God dammit Alister! I sweat that Riyaz has your nuts in a vice" she sounded equally as disappointed and just as annoyed.
"Alister" Wrench puts her hand on his shoulder "Riyaz is bad news. I should know, that slimeball had me and pa under his thumb for years. There's something about that man's voice that…just..ugh. I don't want to think about it" she sighs as he looks into Alister's eyes. "as your friend. I worry about you when you do jobs for him" she said with a worried look on her face. Alister nods as he looks away "I know but I need the Lien to get out of here. And I need help getting smuggled out of here" Alister replied. Wrench punches Alister in the arm "Fine, I'll help you but remember Alister. It ain't always about the Lien. You must take care of yourself. Pa would be rollin around in his grave worrying about you if he knew about all this" Alister looks back at her "I know" he nods "Your old man was such a worry wart. But he took good care of me, I couldn't bring myself to tell him about what I do for a living" Alister puts his hand on Wrench's head and gently ruffles her hair "I knew I could count on you, so thanks"
Wrench swats his hand off her head "Quit doing that! Look I'll go make some calls and call in a few favours, but you'll owe me after this" she said as she walks into a nearby office. Alister follows her and stands against the wall just outside of the office "Sure thing" he said as he sent a message to Riyaz asking "What does Dimitri look like? Got any pictures of him or any defining features that his father told you about?" Riyaz replied with a picture of Dimitri, Alister looked at the picture. Dimitri has a small scar on his upper lip, stern and intense looking eyes and short and spikey looking hair. Alister sent another message "So where was he last seen?" Riyaz replied "Why not just call me? It'll be way easier" Alister's eye twitched as he replied "because I hate hearing your voice. Now answer the question" Riyaz sent back another message "So brutal" he sent with a heart broken emoji "He was last seen at the construction site at Haven academy. So how are you going to get there?". Alister read the message then he put his scroll away as Wrench walked out of the office and looks at him "Alright Alister I got you a spot on an airship, but it isn't going to be a luxury flight. Just head out and go to the Atlas landing pad near here. And be careful" Wrench straightens Alister's jacket the she pats his shoulders. Alister nods as he turns to leave "I'll see you later, Wrench" He walks out of the workshop and back into the streets of Mantel.
An hour later eventually he gets to the landing pad where he is greeted by a pilot "You're Alister, right?" the pilot asked to which Alister simply nods as he hands the pilot a handful of Lien. "get in and get comfortable. It's going to be a long flight". Alister stepped in and finds that the aircraft he's about to get in is a cargo ship. "You're going in with the cargo so get in back" The Pilot said as he got into the cockpit. "Yeah, thanks" Alister replied as he got in the back of the aircraft then he laid down on a few boxes as soon as the aircraft took off. Alister closed his eyes "This better be an easy job" he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.