The alley spits you out into a cramped maintenance court behind a shuttered noodle bar. Steam leaks from vents, neon smears across wet concrete, and the city noise drops to a distant throb.
Jiro hugs the data rig to his chest and glances up at the fire escape. Leader steps in behind you, weapon lowered but ready, scanning the dark windows.
A side door stands ajar under a buzzing red sign, its keypad half-dead and sparking. Somewhere above, a metal shutter rattles in the wind.
ChleairahBellah
The keypad is still powered enough to matter.
Jiro
We can duck inside. Give me ten seconds and I can kill our trail.
Leader
Do it fast. If they tracked us, this court is a trap.
Jiro darts for the side door while the others hold the court, the blinking amber on ChleairahBellah's rifle painting her paws in warning light.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the maintenance court
“Look around for any one following us”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -2)
ChleairahBellah sweeps the court in a tight arc, eyes catching on fresh water dragged across the concrete and a scuff trail that cuts toward the side door.
The trail is recent, and it is not alone. A second set of prints fades near the crates, where steam curls low and hides the edges of a crouched shadow.
ChleairahBellah
Two routes, one too fresh to be luck.
Her rifle battery flickers amber again as she shifts position, the tiny status light blinking hard enough to betray her hand for a beat.
Jiro
See something?
Leader
If we are not alone, say it now.
A wet metal tap answers from above, and the rattling shutter shivers once, as if someone has just tested it from the other side.