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One hour, fourteen minutes and thirty-five seconds.
That’s exactly how much time has elapsed between the bus departing from its first stop, and pulling into its last.
Beans has been onboard the entire time. Which is strange, considering this is the Northern Bus Route, and prior investigation has revealed he lives in the Eastern Quarter…
xB can’t remember how long he’s been tracking the man down, only that he won’t stop until he’s figured out their plan.
Who ‘they’ exactly are is a question that sends shivers down his spine. Well, less the question and more the most likely answer. Whoever they are, this is far bigger than Beans and Shadow, that’s for certain.
As the bus slows to a stop, xB pulls his car over a good distance away and waits to get out until he’s certain Beans has left the bus. He watches as people file out of the vehicle one by one, but as the doors close and the bus pulls away there’s no sign of him. He quickly kicks the car back into gear, following the bus though he scans the crowd to be absolutely sure Beans hasn’t passed beneath his notice, a process he’s followed at every one of the stops along the way.
After following the bus for a few minutes, xB has to slam on the brakes, not anticipating it to stop randomly on a side street. Hopefully, whatever’s going on in there is distracting Beans, as xB isn’t in the most inconspicuous right now. He gets out of the car, not locking it as that would flash the headlights, and puts up his hood, lingering in the shadows where he has a good view of the scene. Discreetly, he activates his listening bug, a device Etho had made for them to gather information on this operation, which looks just like an ant but in reality has a super tiny redstone circuit that follows directions and feeds back audio to the receiver. Speaking of which, xB clicks the headpiece into one of his ears, the other listening for any other activity in his immediate surroundings.
It takes a while for the ant to get over to and onto the bus, but as it does xB just about catches the tail end of a conversation Beans is having over the phone with someone called Jim. xB scribbles down the name, and the important details he hears about him, of which there aren’t many. Then, Beans radios over to someone, presumably Shadow, which xB finds much more promising in terms of information. He seems eager for Shadow to join him, and quickly, and also mentions a few other things, including something about tunnels, and that the ‘Jim’ in question was Shadow’s brother.
Interesting. Maybe Beans and Shadow are closer than just colleagues, if he knows her brother well.
He sticks to the shadows as Beans falls silent, lying in wait. Sure enough, Shadow appears five minutes later, easy to recognise with her pastel pink hair. xB has never understood that decision, surely sticking out is a bad thing in her profession.
He continues listening, hearing something about a dead body, which does make sense considering the bus driver had abruptly been erased from the picture, as well as the details of their plan.
Shadow is taking the bus, meanwhile Beans is heading up to Redfield.
Realistically, following Shadow would be the best decision for their cause, it would lead them to find out what these people wanted with an entire bus, and one that wouldn’t disappear unnoticed.
But there’s always been something about Beans. xB thinks of him almost like a rival, that no matter what happens to the rest of the operation it’s a victory so long as he figures out what the deal is with Beans.
And xB knows people in Redfield. Tracking him there wouldn’t be difficult, and if he’s heading to the mines - which he must be, there’s no other reason to visit the district - then it should be remarkably easy to corner him. xB almost wants to laugh.
It’ll be a shame to let Shadow go, but xB reckons that having Beans would be good leverage against her.
He signals the ant to make its way back to him as Beans appears at the door to the bus, saying his goodbyes to Shadow. xB makes his way back to the car as quietly as possible, though changes plan once he sees Beans head towards an alleyway. He pulls another bug, this one mimicking a fly, out of his pocket, and sends it to land on Beans. This one should work as a tracker, according to Etho. He’d never gotten close enough to use it before, with the range being limited due to the issue of cramming so much technology inside one tiny insect. Either way, it should prove useful now.
The tracker sends a signal back which is picked up by xB’s phone, which has specialised software inside that displays the distance and direction the signal has travelled from. The numbers on the screen tick upwards, and xB starts walking, not allowing him to get too much of a head start. He’s a little worried about Shadow spotting him, but the bus pulls away before he nears it, and a few seconds later he feels the listening ant crawl onto his foot. Bless Etho and his redstone genius.
As he digests the reality of how well this is going, xB can’t help but chuckle to himself.
He exhales, a little high on adrenaline, “Tough luck, Beans…”
“...I’ve got you.”