The shopping district was more lively than Troy remembered it to be. People were flocking around them, space to move restricted. Faces were different on each of them, some flaunting what they had gotten while standing beside one showing just how much they had lost. The latter was also the tipsier of the bunch. It was a miracle of rationality that nobody had puked on the street yet.

Most surprising of all was how early it was. The expression witnessed should have been saved for later, when the people had really settled into the game being played, whether it would be gambling with friends or gambling on a table. If not for his surety of the time, Troy would have not been surprised if it was three in the morning. The people were already acting as if it was over, with how many were moving towards the exit.

Though, that could have been explained by how the place ran, never letting anything be left on the ground. Work was constant, even if some had to sleep sometimes. And while the number certainly was scarce, Troy could recognize some of the faces that he normally saw at lunch. Those people might have called it dinner, however.

The number of people being recognized brought Troy out of whatever serene state he had been in. Since walking inside, he had not questioned anything, only trying to make sure that he didn't lose track of Charlie. That man could walk quickly when he walked, and the crow most certainly didn't stop him. It would have been pleasant to describe the man as a fish streaming through a large sea. In reality, it was more like a freight truck going through a crow of blind goats. There might have been resistance, but those were quickly removed with boundless amounts of force. It was only luck that allowed Troy to stay behind him.

Yet such focus did not stop him from beginning to wonder just why they were at the shopping district. When Troy had originally asked why the hell the two had travelled all the way there, Charlie had just called it all a big surprise, that wide grin showing its ugly stickiness yet again. It might have been used as a symbol for mirth, but Troy had begun looking at it as a need for somebody to get their face punched in. Nothing was known about where they really were going. Charlie was leading the way, and the massive crowd was obscuring everything around him. Troy was not among the highest people in the world, even being slightly under average. It was a sully state to be in when it wasn't possible to get any directional knowledge-bases going. At the very least, Adam had not-

'I believe you have waited long enough to know where you are going. While I would not mind telling you myself, I believe it would be best to be told by Charlie. Please ask him about it at your earliest opportunity,` Adam sent, being more than a little provoking. The timing of the message was close to unreal, making Troy briefly think that the AI had gained the ability of mind reading. After a short compendium of death threats, it was determined that Adam was not able to hear Troy’s thoughts.

Just as the timing was not believable, so too was the reasoning portrayed hard to take seriously. While the young man may not have known much, he had talked enough with the AI to get a general idea of his personality. Troy knew that Adam was not one to needlessly interfere. Everything was a small test for him, and changing the parameters would only cause confusion on the validity of the results. That had been one of the reasons why the AI had been against the irregular tests in the first place. Adam had most definitely grown in maturity, but the core was the same as it had been in the beginning. That core had been a gem in the making, becoming more and more refined as time passed on, just as it was becoming more clear what the AI held dear. The values may have been crude in the beginning, but Troy was starting to understand just how important those things were, even if Adam didn't say it out loud.

It was likely this understanding of values, that led Troy to really adhering to Adam’s wishes, pricking Charlie on the shoulder. Already, he had tried to speak to the man, but that had turned into a massive failure. A large crowd of people had the side-effect of just as loud background noise. If not for the normal filtering, Troy would have grown insane from the constant white-noise. Yet while it could be ignored, it still drowned anything else coming for his mouth, forcing the younger man to be more direct in his approach. It was pure luck that Charlie was even stopped by the jab on the shoulder, as it could have been taken as just another person being too slow in getting to the side.

“Yes?” Charlie asked, his right ear in Troy’s general direction. The muscular man had likely realised the same problem, making sure that he was able to hear the shorter one. There was a little offence taken at the bending of the knees, but that feeling was overshadowed by the need to hurry. People were filling in the gaps that Charlie’s constant movement had made, and they would soon be pressed together hard enough that it would be hard to move forward. Already, the feeling of people moving into the empty space could be felt. The luxury of moving the arms would soon be robbed fully.

“Where are we going?” Troy asked, raising his voice a tad to be sure that the words travelled clearly enough. Charlie’s earlier word had been hard to hear, only being fully understood by the context and the movement of his lips. Troy was happy that he had become proficient in that art, the inclusion of outside volumes not stopping his ability to comprehend.

However, it did not take the ability to read lips for Troy to see the smile on Charlie’s lips and the mild shaking of the head. The man was robbing him of his deserved answer, with how much work had been put into asking a simple question.

“You will find out in a minute. Just follow me,” Charlie requested, beginning to move forward yet again. The swift start was the only thing stopping Troy from slapping some sense into the other. Well, that and the reservation which had been taught to him throughout his life. But still, one could not spell forward without including war. And war was what it was turning out to be. The question was just this. Where would the battlefield be laid?

“Was that enough for you?” Troy mumbled in a query. It was absolutely peculiar for any to talk to themselves, but nobody was around to notice. Any of might have been looking his way would have only seen the movements of his lips, not being able to hear anything coming for him. The only reason Adam would be able to hear was due to his literal sense of being inside Troy, being able to hear the young man’s inner voice.

'It was an adequate answer. I was not expecting for you to get a direct answer, but the time left for arrival should be enough to understand where you are going,` Adam sent in reply, not sounding too sad about the lacklustre answer. That might have been due to the AI’s idea of where the heck Troy currently was at, in more broad terms than just behind Charlie. As the young man could not say that he had the same understanding as Adam, he could feel as happy about that terrible answer.

Yet it was not he was able to do anything about it, only following along with the man. It was said that only a minute more would pass till they found the place, and Troy was gambling on that being true. If not, other methods would have to be made. The only real hindrance to the extreme plans would be if Charlie was against the younger man riding on his back. It would solve the problems of not accidentally getting lost in the crowd, and would allow Troy to gather a rough idea of just where he was supposed to be.

That extreme planning that Troy had made was not needed, yet. While the buildings may have all looked alike, there was one which would always stand out. One that any person would be able to guess the purpose off, with the fancy lighting on it being more than a representative of it.

The crowd around them had shifted both in density and direction, people now wandering towards the casino. The two were hanging back, around ten meters from the entrance. Charlie looked to be enjoying the golden lights swerving around, while Troy tried to figure out just what the heck was going on. He had already seen the place before. There had been a small expectation of the muscular man showing him the secret entrance to Francis’ laboratory. Hiding it in plain sight would have been so awesome to witness.

“What is this supposed to be?” Troy asked, still retaining some hope of a secret entrance. Maybe it was a department focused on the minds of people, so having its base in the place with the most people would make sense. Free research, seeing how people would act with certain factors influencing them. That was what the government would fund after all. Manipulation could be offensive… right?

“Can't you see it?” Charlie asked right back, sounding weirdly energetic as if he was just about to be the recipient of the best man award.

“What, the casino?” Troy questioned, feeling it a bit strange how little was actually being answered. Questions just seemed to be passing over them. Though, there was the small chance that Charlie wasn't actually talking about the over-glorified gambling hall before them. That 'hidden in plain sight` thing was still fresh on the young man’s mind, not yet ready to be extinguished. Not that he was even dreaming of it.

“No, I am talking about the talking shark that is- Of course, I am talking about the casino!” Charlie proclaimed, his voice going a few decibels upwards by the end. It caused a few people to look towards the two, but the faces were recognized quickly enough, and summarily ignored. The others were here to have fun, and not to make even more drama with their connections at the ready.

“I just had to be sure,” Troy said, mentally deflating from the inside. “So… why are we at the casino then? Do you want another go at the roulette table? I do remember you being filled with salt, for not having time to visit the thing.”

“It wasn't that bad!” Charlie said, clearly not having any sense of self. Troy vividly remembered the effects of alcohol on the muscle-bound man. Politics was not the most controversial topic which had been discussed that night. The younger one still begged for a direct hit on the side of his head, which would cause a blackout to appear when he thought of Charlie and the state of Florida together. “But… I wouldn't mind playing roulette if you are up for it when we get in there. Games of chance with no skill required will be my bread for the night.”

“So this is just for us to gamble,” Troy pointed out. He was not sure what he was supposed to be feeling from the situation unfolding. Randomness was to be expected, yet when it was expected Troy would still be surprised by the outcome. “You could have just said that, truly. And it would have allowed me to get the credits from my room.”

“Well, you don't have to worry about that. I snatched your credits when I was waiting for you to come out of your room before we went to the fitness centre,” Charlie sheepishly answered, taking a small bag of credits out of his jacket. The quantity of credits inside was very familiar… Troy took it with little to no hesitance.

“When did you even get this?” Troy asked more than just astounded. “You never went into my room then! I closed the door as I got out!”

“I can walk quietly when I want to. Couple that with well-oiled door-hinges, and I was able to go in, out, and knock on the door afterwards like nothing was amiss. Not the most conspicuous of operations done, but certainly, one which I am proud of,” Charlie answered. The man looked smugger than Troy felt he had any right to. Hadn't he just testified for illegal entry?... Now that Troy thought about it, illegally entering restricted premises using modified key-cards was perfectly fine, and did not need to be a punishable offence.

“... Fine,” Troy said, accepting what he had been told with a heavy heart. One could not change the past, no matter how much it dearly needed to. “Still, though, you could have just asked me to come with you, you know?”

“I couldn't have done that, unfortunately,” Charlie started with a smile.

“Why not?”

“If I had, it wouldn't have been much of a conspicuous Suprise-party now, would it?”

It took a few seconds for the words to fit into the gear-work that was Troy’s brain. The concept was foreign and needed some time to be understood. Although, when it was understood fully, Troy pounced onto Charlie, giving him the biggest hug that his body could do. There might have been a few tears mixed in as well, but neither mentioned it.