We jumped down in front of the large church, landing in the street. "This way," I said, stepping out of Rellik's arms. We ran to the front door and swung it open, entering the nave. Together, we approached the preacher's stand where I bent down to move an old fancy rug, revealing a trapdoor underneath.

  "Paráxenos?" Rellik exclaimed as I opened the trapdoor. We climbed down into a small room containing only a door. I knocked, and a small window slid open, revealing a pair of watchful eyes.

  "Who's that?" the person asked, eyeing Rellik.

  "A friend, don't worry about him," I assured them. The door swung open to reveal a room full of rebels gathered around a table.

  "Jason, over here!" a rebel called from the table. We approached to find they were studying a map of the entire city.

  "We need to strike now, Reagan," one rebel insisted.

  "But we don't know where to strike," Reagan replied.

  "Here, that's where," Rellik said suddenly, pointing at the Statue of Liberty.

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  "There's nothing there though," Reagan argued.

  "Their main lab is underneath it," Rellik revealed.

  "Okay, but the bridge leading there is destroyed," another rebel pointed out.

  "We can steal one of the army helicopters," I suggested.

  "How? The armory is heavily guarded. We'd need someone who could be invisible to get in there," Reagan said.

  Rellik chuckled. "Watch this," he said, before vanishing from sight.

  "Well, that's lucky," a rebel remarked.

  "You and Rellik should get the helicopter and gather any intel you can while you're there," Reagan decided. "We'll prepare the rest of the rebels for the strike."

  "Meeting over," Reagan concluded.

  As the rebels dispersed to prepare, I led Rellik to an armory room with targets lining one wall and a table of weapons. I handed him a handgun. "Show me how well you can shoot."

  Rellik took the gun and demonstrated remarkable accuracy, hitting each target with precision. "Well done," I said as he holstered the weapon.

  We left the hideout and stepped back into the grim, bloody streets. Suddenly, Rellik grabbed my hand, holding it firmly. "What?" I asked.

  "You shouldn't come with," he said softly.

  "Why, Rellik?"

  "I don't want you to get hurt."

  "I won't though. You don't need to worry about me."

  "I'm scared, Jason. I don't want to lose you too," Rellik admitted.

  "You won't, Rellik," I assured him. His face softened into a smile.

  "Okay, let's get going," he said, still holding my hand as we prepared for our mission.