“Find anything?” Maren asked. 

“Empty beer bottles, empty baggies, empty rooms,” Mav said. 

Maren sighed, pulling out her tablet. The map she’d made of Howin was full of little circles depicting spots where Aidan’s gang was said to hang out. Most were crossed out. With another X, there wasn’t a single open circle on the map. 

“A whole hour,” Mav said, exasperated, tapping his foot, “and we’ve found nothing.” 

Maren understood his frustration. Her nerves had been growing with every hideout they’d found empty. Maren had hoped that this last one – an abandoned distributing center for a tech company which had gone under – would provide fruit for their labor. Frustratingly, their harvest was as barren as a politician’s morals. 

Where had Aidan taken JJ? Even if they found him, would they come upon a corpse? 

No. She couldn’t think like that. She was the guild’s leader. She had to keep a cool, calm demeanor. 

Maren stepped in front of Mav and placed her hands on her hips, letting her blanket fall. “What’s with the poor attitude? Are we not Talam’s best up-in-coming guild?” 

“Yes,” Mav huffed. 

Maren threw her head to the side and puffed out her chest. “And are we not the ones who stopped Sekko’s monster and calmed actual Titans?” 

“Yeah.” 

Maren placed the bottom of her fist on Mav’s exposed chest. “Then don’t worry. We’ll find him.” 

Mav smiled, his usual enthusiasm overshadowing his anxiety. “Yeah!” 

Maren smirked, then became keenly aware of her fist on his pec. Despite his skin perpetually displayed to the elements, he was so warm. How did he do that? Could she steal his secrets? 

Wait a second... Cheeks warming, Maren pulled her hand away and returned to her tablet. What are you doing, girl? You can’t just touch people! 

“So where to next?” Mav asked. 

“Aidan’s gang can still have other hideouts,” Maren began, scanning the map again, “though they seem to stick to the west side. I think it’ll be more beneficial to look underground.” 

“You think they’re hanging around the sewers?” Mav said. 

“I hope not.” Maren changed to the subterranean map. “This building and several others once belonged to companies that connected to Yoularnon’s dumpsite via tunnels.” 

Mav nodded, scratching his chin, but his eyes were as blank as an unwritten page. “Mmhmm.” 

Maren smirked. “So they could be hiding there.” 

Mav furrowed his brow. “Couldn’t they use those tunnels to sneak anywhere in the city? I mean, don’t they connect to other businesses, like Wilkins’?” 

“Not anymore. Look here. About fifteen years ago, the city caved in all the tunnels at the edge of Howin. None can go into or out of Howin from the tunnels. It’d take a massive effort to clear one. And the city would notice.” 

“So they have a giant secret playground? The only way they could be stopped is if the cops wander through the tunnels.” 

“And how much police presence have you seen in Howin?” 

Mav’s mood darkened. In the time they spent wandering the neighborhood, walking past plenty of sketchy figures, there wasn’t a single police vehicle in sight. 

“Where’s the nearest tunnel entrance?” Mav asked. 

“The basement,” Maren said. “Let’s hope I’m right and they’re not in the sewers.”