Chapter 562 562 Dodge The Cops
The modified bike nimbly dodged between vehicles as Ella slipped through traffic, overtaking the couriers and taxis as if they were parked. It had been a while since she had the thrill of high-speed driving through the city streets, and there was a fair distance to the ramp down to the next level from where she was, so she wasn't going to waste any time.
She also wouldn't cut across town to use different ramps, she had a work order made up for repairs at the Noxus Family house, so if she was stopped, she could use the excuse that she needed to get to a job in a hurry before a wealthy client got upset.
The local traffic was used to that sort of driving on her level, but once she got to the downward spiralling ramps, she would either have to slow down or risk attracting attention from local gangs and racers.
Anything that stood out would be noted, and she didn't want to attract all that attention when she was further from home.
Her father and his friends racing their motorcycles on the streets was familiar here, but technically, they too were part of a gang, so the riders and courier companies on the other levels might take their presence as a challenge if they mistook Ella for one of them.
Her highly attuned senses picked up the presence of witches guarding the ramps to the lower levels, so Ella slowed down to merge into traffic, and checked her coat to make sure that her old fake driver's license was still in the pocket.
It would get her through a cursory check, and it was registered with the Fortress City, so as long as she kept her helmet on they shouldn't recognize her, even if they were witches she had met before.
The checkpoint must have been up at this location for a while now, as everyone knew the routine. Pull up, show them your license, then slowly pull away. It was driving traffic to a crawl, but eventually Ella got to the front and showed them her license.
"Turn your back to me, I need to check your backpack." The policeman with the witches demanded.
Ella turned and let him check her tool bag, which he only unzipped enough to look inside using the flashlight, then zipped up again.
"The bike is registered to a mechanic's shop and the bag is full of tools." He informed the witches.
"Alright, let her go." The bored witch replied, and Ella rolled off, pulling back into traffic.
She had only been gone a few seconds when the bored witch finally registered what the guard had told her.
"Wait, what mechanic's shop?" She asked.
"Mariel Auto Repair." The guard replied, and the witch smiled. Their checkpoint might have finally paid off.
She sent off a secure message to the Coven Council as soon as she could pull her phone out of her coat.
[We have a possible lead. A young woman driving a motorcycle belonging to the Mariel Auto Shop just went down the ramp between levels. Should we follow and see where it goes, Councillor?]
[No need. We have checkpoints on every floor. If there really is an infiltrator from the Demon's camp, we will find them within the hour.]
As she descended the levels, Ella prepared to make her transition onto Wolfe's home floor, and lose anyone who might be trailing her. The ramps had pull offs with a bathroom and emergency charging stations, where she could pull the bike out of sight and use a hint of magic to change its colour and her outfit, then rejoin traffic as a whole new vehicle.
If there were more checkpoints, they would be looking for her, and they would think that she was still on the ramp downward, headed for the lower levels.
The whole process took under ten seconds, and no vehicles pulled into the rest area while she was there, assuring Ella that she wasn't being tailed by anyone from the Coven as she joined the flow of traffic looking like a younger version of Professor Moon, who none of the locals should know, other than some of the Witches, and they would assume that she was a relative of the Professor, since she had no aura.
When she pulled off at the Noxus Family's floor, she flashed the Noxus Family guards on duty the Family's hand signal for an employee needing a meeting with the family Elders, and then rolled up to the checkpoint.
"Visor up, let's see your Identification." The guard demanded, looking much more sharp than the last one.
Ella could only hope that she hadn't changed her face too much, but the photo on the ID wasn't hers to begin with, and the features were generally delicate, similar to both her own and the fake image she was wearing now, courtesy of her [Camouflage] spell.
"Open the coat and pass over the bag, we need to check for unregistered amulets." He demanded, and Ella heard the cabbies behind her groan in frustration.
"Just wait your turn. All vehicles on the ramps are getting searched, Coven Security orders." the cop informed the traffic behind her.
He took her ID, and Ella noticed that the Noxus Family guard nodded at him while he looked between the driver's license and her, then recorded the fake license plate number that she had created for the bike when she changed its appearance.
"The Bike is registered to the Noxus Family Delivery Company, but it's been painted since it was registered two years ago. Other than that, we're clean here." The cop reported.
"There are no active amulets on her, and none in her pack or on her person." The younger witch on duty reported after briefly frisking Ella and double-checking her pockets.
"Alright, good to go." The senior witch reported.
Ella pulled away, and the complaints of the cabbies only got louder as the next vehicle was searched. Inter floor rides didn't have a big enough surcharge to be wasting half an hour or more on vehicle checks, and the ramps were quickly turning into a parking lot as every vehicle was searched.
She made it a block away, and a Noxus security guard flagged her down with a gesture.
"What did you need to see the Elders about?" He asked politely.
"Elder Wolfe has a message and a request for them. It's urgent." She replied.
"Alright, go to the main house, and we will gather the Elders for dinner in a few hours."
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