Daud Andreas
Mirage
New City
Daud stopped for a moment, looking at his comrades as they waited patiently on the other side of the street. Eric leaned against the clean-cut wall of the apartment complex, while Andy nervously looked around, trying to make himself look as small as possible. Daud looked back, facing a telephone booth and clutching a handful of change. He sighed heavily, shaking his head at his next actions. It was something he dreaded doing, but needed to be done. He inhaled quickly, delivering the coins into the slot and selecting 'Local Call', punching in the numbers as he remembered them from his phone. He couldn't use his own phone in case it had been tapped, though the city's network wasn't much safer, it would give him enough time to mobilize if Savior had to comb through the thousands of phone calls in New City just to hear Daud's voice.
The dial tone eventually broke up, and a voice came through on the other end. "Hello?" It sounded, a bit jumbled and mechanical from the telephone service. Daud exhaled deeply, and replied in earnest to the voice.
"Hey, Lee...It's Daud." He said, shrinking closer to the booth, resting one of his arms on the top of it.
"Oh," This man named Lee replied, "Hey, Daud...It's good to hear from you." The way the two men interacted seemed to suggest some familiarity between them, but an underlying hint of animosity. Perhaps like the two had once been friends and drifted apart, or forcibly ended their relationship sometime ago. However, Daud knew that this was not the time to catch up or patch things up with God Lee, as right now, Daud needed his help more than ever.
"Heh, yeah, but it's not so good for me, though." Daud began, "There's...been a problem."
"Problem?" God Lee inquired, "What's the issue?"
"You see...Savior attacked the group." Daud said plainly. "He's got Blizzard and Geo with him right now."
"And where were you?"
"I had gotten captured by the Kree. It felt like I was gone for only a few hours, but it turned out to be a week back here." Daud explained, fidgeting a bit. "Look, I can't stay long, so I'll cut right to it: I need your help." Daud closed his eyes tightly, pursing his lips together in wait for God Lee's response, imagining the man ridiculing and laughing in his face - though he knew God Lee wouldn't, he just expected the worst for some reason. Without so much as a smug tone or signal of happiness, God Lee replied,
"Where can we meet?"
Taken by surprise and exhaling happily, Daud continued, "Right, we're going to be at Johnny's apartment. Get here soon, man."
"I will." God Lee said, ending the phone call quickly. Going on for around two minutes, Daud placed the phone back on it's receiver softly, nodding heavily. He was glad to have God Lee back working with him, but wondered how much he had changed recently since their split. It was not too tense, their break-up, but it left some scars on the two as the truth hidden between them had finally come out. God Lee disliked Daud's leadership capabilities and wanted out, while Daud wanted further control over the group's activities. Daud made changes after God left, hoping to entice him back, but with no dice. He crossed the street to re-join his comrades who waited on him.
"You call him?" Eric demanded, pushing himself off the wall with his foot.
"Yeah." Daud said, staring forward blankly. "He'll be here soon." He looked up at the high-rise apartment complex, located in the upper class part of town and free from graffiti and vices. There were little people walking around, most getting around with their cars rather than on foot like in the poorer neighborhoods. Daud glanced over at the name's list, picking out the one he and his crew needed. Johnathan Jericho, he read, before pressing the button intently. A hum of static followed, and then suddenly a voice.
"Password?" It demanded.
Daud sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Password." He responded, resulting in laughter from the opposite end of the intercom.
"Alright, you guys come on up. " It said, prompting Daud to visually scan the surrounding area for any signs of trouble or followers. No one so far, putting him at ease for a moment. He and his crew walked through the door of the complex, meeting an elevator right in front of them - two hallways leading off around the device that constituted the ground floor. Calling the elevator down, the three men stepped into it's confines, Daud taking charge once more and pressing the number 7, Johnny's floor number. Their flight up was smooth and without any real mechanical noise, unlike any other elevator in the city which grinded and screeched, a faint tune being played as well.
The doors opened up to reveal a well-kept hallway, the rooms evenly spaced out and rather far from one another, perhaps a sign of their inner enormity. A short distance from the elevator's doors was their friend's apartment, 750 etched into the door with a golden plaque of some sort. Daud knocked quickly and briefly, the door flinging open as he did so, his long-time friend standing lazily before him. "What'sup, mi amigos!" Johnny said in the whitest accent one could imagine. "Welcome to mi casa! Casa de la Johnny!" He further said, allowing the three a view of his living quarters and ushering them in.
