A loud slam echoed in the silent coffee shot, followed by an excited shout.
Liliana was on her feet, pointing a finger at the young man sitting across the table. Her expression was a mix of happiness and anger, and though she tried to force the latter with a glare, her smile showed she preferred being happy.
"Do I really need to tell you to keep your voice down?"
Dante tried to not let her reaction bother him. The short time they were together taught him to expect it so, by the time he was done telling her what she wanted to hear, he already had his ears plugged.
"I was right! I was right all along!" Liliana ignored his rebuke and continued in the same excited tone. "You knew from the start! That’s why you were trying to get rid of me!"
"No," Dante shook his head. "I just don’t like you, that’s all."
"Of course you don’t, because my intuition was right all along!"
She proudly puffed her chest and held her head high. For a moment there Dante thought that he had seen it get bigger, but he quickly dismissed it as just his imagination.
"Your intuition, huh?" Looking down at his cup, he noticed that the coffee was starting to get cold. "You really shouldn’t be trusting it so much. It might get you killed one day."
"I’m not so foolish that I would bet everything on it." She replied.
"Somehow, I highly doubt that."
"Do you really have to be such a killjoy?"
"I would die otherwise."
Simmering down, Liliana sat and grabbed her cup.
"So the dealer is in Factory Town after all?"
Dante’s reply almost caused her to stand up again, but she managed to catch herself at the last moment.
"Calm down." He sighed. "I also suspect that it’s being peddled there. I just don’t have anything sold to prove it."
Turning back to his thoughts, Dante rotated his cup, gently steering what was left of his drink. He took a sip, recalling his encounter with the bikers and the guy who had pursued Ms. Hero even before the incident at the Den. Both work for Caligo, one of the major gangs controlling the area.
Volcan said they suspected her of being related to law enforcement just because she went around asking about Catalyst. That should have been one more proof that they were the ones handling the distribution of the drug, at least in that area, but Dante had his doubts.
He didn’t get to contemplate the matter any further as Liliana suddenly stood up.
"If it’s proof we need then we should go back and look for it!"
The way she spoke -voice full of confidence and eyes brimming with determination- caused Dante’s exasperation to grow.
"If only it was that easy."
"Why would it be difficult? We already know where to look!"
"Factory Town isn’t small, and it’s probably swarmed by people looking for you by now." Dante could only sigh and shake his head. "And you already caught the attention of the gangs running that place."
"Isn’t that why we got new clothes?" Twirling around, Liliana held the hem of her blue puffer jacket and smiled. "I bet not even my parents would recognize me in this."
"But AIs and face recognition tech would."
"Do Gangs even have those things?"
"No, but your people do."
In reality, they didn’t have to worry about surveillance tech as much as people recognizing them. Volcan could mask their presence from cameras and sensors, but not from the eyes of people, and though he was more concerned about the hero following him being found, Dante also had to worry about himself and the people looking for him.
He had to worry about not exposing Volcan as well. Things were bound to get dangerous, after all, and he might forced to use one of the armors.
"Well, I guess we just have to risk it." Saying that, Liliana reached out and grabbed his arm. "Let’s get going!"
Before he could present another argument, Dante was yanked out of his seat with a single pull. She made it seem so easy, as if he was just a plastic bag full of air. That went to show the difference in strength between them, and though Liliana was smiling as she dragged him out of the coffee shop, Dante was utterly horrified.
Since they couldn’t just go back and use the same station they stopped at before, the two ended up making a big detour. While at it they made a quick stop at a particular shop and got a certain item they weren’t able to find in the bazaar on the bridge.
The most recognizable thing about Liliana was her long and weavy crimson hair. Hiding it under a beanie worked just fine, but it drew too much attention. That’s why Dante got her the most boring-looking wig he could find, one with black hair styled in a standard bob cut.
The bangs were a bit long which helped hide her eyes, and together with the black mask covering the lower half of her face, one would struggle to recognize any of her features.
After a short bus ride, they finally arrived at the intended station, which was on the periphery of the City Center. Only once they went inside did the two realize they made the mistake of not checking the timetable, and because of that, they had to wait an entire hour for the train to arrive.
Unlike their previous ride, this one had a few more passengers. Thankfully everyone minded their own business so there was nothing to worry about.
The peaceful atmosphere and gentle rocking of the train caused a wave of sleepiness to wash over Dante. It still wasn’t strong enough that he would pass out, but his genetically enhanced companion lost the battle against the Sandman.
Defeated, she leaned against him and used his shoulder to rest her head. Looking down at her, Dante could only wonder if her intuition had told her it was safe to be so careless around him.