As time slowed, I forced the Nanobots to open my entire chest and then create a seat inside of it that could be rotated. Since my chest was so big, and Fawna not that big, there would be no problem for her to get inside and stay safe. Time returned to normal, but Fawna now looked terrified.
"You want me to get inside of you?!" She asked incredulously, but then her eyes got big, and she rushed to climb in.
I was about to close my chest and leave her, but her ability let her see that. I wasn't sure how good that was for me, but as long as I could keep her happy while teaching her to get stronger, I would have a perfect crew member that could prevent me from getting caught for the most part.
That was the seventh step to becoming a crime lord, but it was more of a rule of thumb rather than a step, and it was something that should be considered on the entire way up the list. I had done things much differently last time when I started, but the difference this time was that I was no longer a man, could do things that shouldn't be possible, and my mind seemed to be on the ball all the time. I just had to focus on the task, and I was able to pick apart the situation.
"How am I supposed to see?" Fawna asked as I closed my chest over her since I made it to be opened and closed now.
"Wait," I said as time slowed again, and I created a joystick to move her around 360 degrees to expand my chest to give her the proper room. When that was finished, time returned to normal and then slowed again. I had to keep doing this, so I didn't lose time like with the guards. The next thing I did was create screens all around the inside of my body for Fawna, as well as one speaker. I released time and slowed down after moving my hand to my cloak, creating small night vision cameras all over it. They would be impossible to see without getting close.
"Woah! What is this?!" Fawna asked from inside me, but we didn't have time for this.
"Can you use your ability to see outside me with this?" I asked as I started to walk down the road out of Wendell.
"Yes! It's amazing!" She said from inside me, and then I increased my pace, ensuring to stay away from the main roads and towards any small alleys where I could hide in case a guard came by. We had to be careful, too, since Fawna could see into the future but couldn't predict what would happen if we ran into a guard.
We traveled through the night, only stopping when necessary to avoid guards or hidden people sleeping in back alleys. Anyone who saw me was a liability; staying undetected was the seventh step.
I had been traveling for hours, and I was now in an old part of the city bordering the ocean. The streets were dark and deserted except for a few drunkards here and there, but nothing that would seriously threaten Fawna or me. I kept one hand on my sword as we passed through alleyways and narrow paths, navigating through the shadows. Suddenly, I heard heated voices from a nearby building and stopped abruptly.
Cautiously, I stepped back toward the wall and pressed against it, hoping they wouldn't notice us.
"Someone is coming out of that door, and they are going to see you, but this is not a bad person, so don't kill him, or you will have to kill a lot more!" Fawna said quickly, so I stepped back into the shadows.
A man stepped out of the building and pointed at me accusingly like he knew where I was. He had a cold, calculating look in his eye, and he recognized me right away.
"You! You're the new creature in this city!" He growled as I considered my options, but then I saw something that changed my mind quickly. Behind him was a young man, obviously scared and desperate, hiding behind the other man. He seemed to be the source of the disagreement between the two men, and I knew that killing him would bring trouble since there was likely more inside since I could see stairs that led up them.
"Oh, and where did you hear that?" I asked in a dangerous voice as I walked up to the man, but he just turned and waved me into the house, pushing his kid back inside. With my small speaker, I asked, "Who is this man?"
"Gilmar Graben, and his son, Tammerin. Both work for the Manta Clan as informants. These are good people to have in your pocket if you can offer them better odds than the Manta, but they are not to be trusted explicitly, but that is a general rule with most people in the city's underworld," Fawna explained.
"You led me here, didn't you?" I asked as Gilmar offered me a chair, but I declined.
"It was on the way, and this is someone that you should meet. Considering that you can change your body, it should be hard to change your appearance at some point if you are worried," she explained, and I narrowed my eyes at the man.
"What was the argument about?" I asked, but I had overheard it with my superior hearing, but I wanted to see how much truth they would give me.
"He wanted more money than I was willing to pay, but we could come to another arrangement if you are interested," Gilmar said and then began talking about his son. That Tammerin had been trying to get away from the Manta Clan, and they were after him, but he didn't have the funds to do it.
I figured out a plan in my head quickly. "I need information, and you need money for your son's freedom. I will give you the money for his escape if you tell me what I want to know."
Gilmar agreed to my offer and told me where I was headed was dangerous because of the guard stationed at the warehouse. He also gave me details on the layout of the building, and which guard shifts changed first so I knew when best to slip inside undetected.
After thanking him for the vital information, Fawna and I left the place, leaving a few gold coins with the promise of more after I created some in my pocket after a brief description of the pressed gold coins. She had told me that the crest on the coins was on the flags around the castle, so I got my rat to give me a picture of one for reference. We were now well equipped with what we needed to make this mission successful, and I finally realized why I hadn't killed Gilmar or Tammerin upon seeing them. They weren't my enemies, and killing him would only cause more trouble for me in the long run.