Chapter 29: Operation Santos City… Start (Part 5)

After Don made it clear that he wanted to focus in preparing for his insertion into Santos City, Trixie no longer bothered him. 

Instead she passed the time by watching internet brain rot before eventually falling asleep in her seat.

It wasn't until 40 minutes passed that Don was done going through the back-story information and familiarizing himself with both the watch and the aviators. 'That's one hell of a back-story Gary has cooked for me.'

Don raised his aviators in the next moment and let out a sigh while stretching his hands. It was while doing this that he glanced at the window and noticed they no longer above the vast ocean. 

Gary, who was sitting in the pilots seat with a book in hand, noticed that Don was done and approached him. 

"Does it feel good to be back sir?" Gary asked with a warm smile and his hands behind his back. 

The question made Don realize that the coastal city he could see through the window was Santos City. Even from high up, Don could see that the city was a grand metropolis unlike anything he'd seen before in his former life.

'So that's it huh?' Don felt anxious just looking at it, remembering that his mission was to conquer it. However, he didn't let his worry show as he gave Gary a mild smile before nodding. "It does oddly feel good to be back. A part of me really missed it there."

Don turned his gaze toward the window and acted like he was feeling nostalgic, an action which Gary didn't suspect in the least. 

"We shall be beginning our descent in the next 5-minutes, please do strap in." Gary instructed before turning his attention to the sleeping Trixie and poking her on the forehead.

She gave an immediate reaction as her body jolted upright, "huh? Who? Aww, it was just a dream."

Trixie showed a disappointed look when she looked around herself, prompting Don to ask, "I take it you had a nice nap?"

Trixie shifted from a look of disappointment to one of mischievousness as she faced Don and answered, "oh yea, I had a really really nice dream. You were there too. Want to know what it was?"

Before Don could answer, Gary cleared his throat to cut into the conversation. *Ahem* "Perhaps a discussion for another time madam Trixie, we shall be descending shortly so please do strap in."

Trixie pouted for a moment before showing a wide grin. "Heh, my dream also had it's own straps," Trixie cryptically revealed before giving Don a little wink. 

'Now I really don't want to know.' Don thought but ignored the revelation on the surface as once again he knew Trixie was likely just trying to bait a reaction from him.

Without answering, he strapped into his seat and lowered his aviators again. This caused Trixie to frown childishly as she also strapped into her seat.

Gary gave an approving nod and returned to the pilot seat where he immediately got to work, clicking buttons on the panel and flipping switches. 

In the next moment, the engines began to hum once again as Gary steered the air shuttle into a descent.

The trio could feel the slight pressure change as they descended closer to Santos City. The giant metropolis grew larger and more detailed with each passing second, its towering skyscrapers glinting in the sunlight. Don couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline at the thought of what awaited him there.

As the air shuttle approached the landing zone, Gary expertly maneuvered the aircraft through the busy airspace above the city. The sounds of traffic and distant chatter filtered in through the windows.

"We're almost there," Gary announced, his voice still calm but with a touch of seriousness as he added, "Brace for landing." 

Lights flickered on and off as the shuttle descended, creating a mesmerizing display of colors and shapes. The landing zone was a distinguishable patch of open space, surrounded by towering buildings.

Don felt the shuttle decrease speed as they neared the landing zone. With a final jolt, the shuttle landed smoothly on the designated landing zone. Don could hear the faint hum of the engines winding down as Gary expertly brought them to a stop.

Once the humming came to a stop along with the tense vibrations, Don let out a sigh. His heart had been beating incredibly fast throughout the entire ordeal.

Gary was the first to unstrap himself from his seat. After doing so he walked over to Don and Trixie before saying to Don, "we've arrived sir, thankfully it's early so not many shuttles are present here. You should be screened relatively quickly."

Though not entirely sure what Gary meant, Don felt he could just go with the flow, and worst case scenario he could simply check the internet for an answer as much to his relief, it still worked largely the same. 

"Great, I hate standing in lines." Trixie happily revealed as she unstrapped herself from the seat, just as Don was doing the same. 

"You'll find very few who enjoy that madam Trixie. Anyway, I will unload your luggage sir, it will only be a moment," Gary said to Don before walking over to the shuttle's door and opening it. 

Once Gary walked out, Don followed suit and made his way out, coming to a halt right outside the door as he scanned his surroundings. 

Outside the shuttle, Don could numerous other air shuttles of varying color and design present on other landing pads. The area on which the shuttles were landed was completely surrounded by buildings from all sides. 

'I suppose this the world's version of an airport.' Don concluded, taking note of the sights while stretching his limbs as the landing had left him feeling incredibly stiff.

Gary stayed true to his word and soon appeared with Don's bag and suitcase, which he proceeded to settle down in front of Don before looking at his watch. "It is currently 8:21 a.m, we arrived earlier than anticipated, wonderful. Now then, will you be needing anything else sir or are you ready to be on way?"

Don didn't immediately answer as he felt anxious about going into this new and largely foreign world to him. It was a feeling similar to that of leaving home to go off to college in another city or country. 

Despite feeling anxious though, Don also wanted to see what the world had to offer. Every world had ups and downs and in this one, he already got off to a great start so why stress over the little things. 

With that mentality in mind, Don soon gave Gary a nod and picked his bag before strapping it over his shoulder. He then held the suitcase by the nod and stood confidently in front of Gary. 

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."