If only he had money…
Balling his fist in frustration, he struck the wall he had been leaning on before he let out a deep sigh and resolved himself to return to the Bright couple empty-handed.
Maybe some more information on Bulat would be enough for them. Unlike most of Bulat's men, Darren never got to know more than was necessary, his primary goal was simply paying the debt he owed and nothing more.
He never saw the need to involve himself beyond that, he's heard some rumors as people tend to talk but his information was second-hand, it wasn't really a guarantee it was true, plus he didn't know if rumors and hearsay would be concrete enough to be helpful.
Not to mention Bulat had some noble backing him, in all honesty it was probably just useless information anyway but it should have some use, at least he hoped it did.
On foot, reaching the slums from the center of the capital would take around forty minutes to 45 minutes by carriage; that time is cut in half.
He quickly got off the ground and made his way deeper into the alley, making a turn in a corner and jogging his way back where he came.
He didn't believe the slums wouldn't be swarming with Bulat's men looking for him but since he was going to Arthur's home he was certain he'd be safe as long as he kept to the back alleys until he reached his destination.
True to his estimation, Darren reached the edge of the city in under an hour, his form still hiding in the alleys however being close to his destination, he decided to scout around a bit and see if Bulat was actually looking for him.
A quick leap over a house and silently landing on the roof, he was grateful that he took his items with him when he left, now on the roof, he scoured the area, looking over the roads, alleys and streets, of course he made an effort not to be seen while doing all this and lucky for him he saw nothing that would suggest Bulat was looking for him.
He wasn't fully convinced but he decided to carry on of course he didn't plan to be out in the open, so he jumped straight back in the alley and kept himself hidden.
Unfortunately just before he could turn the corner, there was a sudden thud that came behind, like something dropping from high up.
"Honestly, I thought you would have left the capital by now."
However, that assumption was wrong. Gus' voice reached his ears and alarm bells went off in his mind. He turned to face him and leapt back several meters.
"Don't be so jumpy Darren, it's not like I'm here to kill you or anything"
His words carried a casual tone, however, Darren could easily tell they were lies.
"Uh huh"
The thief responded unconvinced, his body tense and ready, when it came to combat Gus was physically stronger than him, specializing in more in brawling brawling and strength. A good strategy against opponents was hig agility and high defense.
As long as he couldn't get a clean hit in, or did not catch you, you could wear him down and drain his stamina through hit-and-run tactics.
"Honestly, the boss doesn't like losing money, so he didn't order us to kill you"
Half of that was believable to Darren however he still maintained his skepticism.
"Drop the act, Gus, you and I both know you've never liked me, even if the boss didn't order it, you'll try to kill me anyway"
Darren decided not to play along with the farce, he'd rather not fight but getting away without a fight was out of the question.
Hearing such words Gus let out a hearty chuckle, of course he didn't expect Darren to fall for the act but what was funny was the fact that the thief would finally get what was coming to him. Gus had never forgotten that kick to the balls.
"It's not without reason, you always have this, 'I deserve better than this' look on your face. Sends me up a wall. You think you're better than us"
Gus was a slumrat, born and raised, his parents lived there and died there, the young man had long since accepted it was his life, and was content with it. However, from the moment he met Darren, he never liked him.
At a glance, he could tell that Darren thought he was better, that he deserved better and that made Gus resentful in a way.
He couldn't place a finger on it but it felt as though Darren believed he was above the life he was currently living.
"Excuse me for wanting something better for myself, regardless I don't give a fuck what your reasons for hating me are, that's your business"
Darren made no attempts to justify himself, there was no need to explain himself to a person like Gus, He knew what he wanted for himself and that was all that mattered.
"You little shit, fuck you and your want for something better"
Gus suddenly sprinted towards Darren, such words leaving his mouth, laced with a palpable venom. His speed surprised Darren a bit however the young man had his wind boots on, and he readily leapt over Gus, flying over his foe and landing right behind him.
Without missing a beat, Darren spun his body on one leg, easily transitioning into a kicking position, a kick aimed right at Gus' lower back however Gus was ready.
He swiftly turned and blocked the kick with his elbow before quickly grabbing the offending leg and lifting him up before dropping him to the ground, letting the thief crash on the ground with enough force to make him dizzy.
Realizing he was at a big disadvantage, Darren shook his head, freeing himself from the dizzying feeling and quickly delivered a kick to the face, putting all his might behind the kick and forcing Gus to let go of his leg.
Once that was accomplished, he flipped himself upright and leapt onto the roof, deciding it was better to move the battle to a more open space.
Darren landed on a more open street, and quickly surveyed the area. It was empty, people who lived closer to the slums tended to turn in pretty early, long before dark, and the time of day was much closer to dusk than afternoon.
An empty street meant he could be attacked from anywhere however it gave him more space to fight back than an enclosed space where he could not take full advantage of the agility given to him by his items.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, as he anxiously waited for his opponent to appear, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Adrenaline flooded every inch of his veins and his heart crashed against his ribcage like a hammer against a wall. However, the young man kept his breath steady and calm.
"..."
A moment passed, Darren still tense, stretching his senses beyond himself prepared for a surprise attack, then a minute passed and Gus never made an appearance, in fact no one appeared instead Darren looked more like a man filled with paranoia waiting for something that would never arrive, his head sharply turning left and right still tense.
His eyes kept darting back and forth between the corners and alleys, his back never facing the same direction for longer than a single moment.
"This is what you're wasting your time doing?"
A voice came from above, forcing his attention to move towards the rooftops, ironically the only location he had elected to overlook while he waited for an attack.
There Arthur was parched at the edge of the roof, in a low squat, looking down at the young man with an amused glint in his eyes.
Recognizing Arthur, Darren quickly straightened and stood straight, adopting a more respectful posture.
"Mr. Bright?!"
Gus suddenly became a ghost of thought in his mind, as the man who could offer him salvation now stood over him.
"Did you find the necklace?"
Arthur dropped to the floor, landing gracefully as if he didn't just drop straight down from several meters up.
That question forced Darren's muscles to tense up even more, his lips pressing together as he found it difficult to answer such a simple question.
"Don't worry about your friends coming after you, he ran the moment he saw me"
Arthur eased the young man, one could call it a coincidence or pure luck but when Arthur went out and met with Duke Lionmane's men who were still keeping an eye on him, He happened to notice Gus and tailed him discreetly, he had figured he would find some to use against Bulat.
Incidentally, he was also going to watch Darren get his ass beat, or rather he wanted to see what he could do, but he decided to intervene once Darren decided to take the fight somewhere more open.
"Anyway the necklace?"
Darren couldn't say if this was good luck or something worse, if he couldn't convince Arthur to protect him from Bulat, his chances of surviving the next day or two were extremely low.
Despite the situation being far safer and calmer than before, Darren's heart never rested.
"Uh… I couldn't find it, none of the shops in the slums had it, not even the Jewelry shops in Central"
Darren opted for honesty, the young man figured it was better to just be honest, hopefully that would count for something.
"Hmm…"
Arthur let out a disappointed sigh, he figured that would be the case, the fact that days went by before he could even get someone to search for told him the necklace was probably sold and bought a long time ago.
This would be the moment where they part ways, Darren failed his part of the deal and now Arthur had no obligation to do anything for him, but unfortunately, things are a bit different now.
"But, I can definitely give you more information on Bulat and I can be useful, I'm really good at–"
In his panic Darren made attempts to appeal to Arthur, however, the man quickly had him shut up for a moment.
"Come with me, and we'll talk about this a bit more"
Arthur turned on his heel and gestured for the young man to follow him, however Darren couldn't help but be rooted where he stood a bit confused, he had expected that a little more begging and pleading would be necessary, he hadn't expected this.
After a few moments of watching Arthur walk, Darren hurriedly followed, he decided not to ask anything questions and instead hoped that the terms of the deal could be revised and Arthur was willing to protect him in exchange for something else