7 Petrov Technologies (1/2)

The next day, Ci-ci woke up early as usual. After going through his rigorous workout, he prepared himself to leave toward Algood City for his first day as the leading inventor of Petrov Technologies.

Kazimir Petrov, Milana's father, was the leading shareholder of the small company and would now be Ci-ci's boss for all intents and purposes.

To a person on the outside looking in, this was a foolhardy attempt by Ci-ci to keep his head above water, so to speak. After all, only a company as desperate as Petrov Technologies would even consider hiring him at this point – and even then, Ci-ci had technically tricked them into doing so. But, Ci-ci had a very clear goal in mind. Petrov Technologies was going to be his foothold into an entirely new world.

That said, Ci-ci also knew that there was be many challenges as he hopped into his Vintage Camaro SS… And the first was location.

On the large West Continent, there were many provinces. Grandbell University was a part of the Legacy Province, a coastal, warm and economically rich location. Ci-ci's home was further inland and much closer to Algood City, which was why it took him hours to drive to Grandbell the previous day. Due to the improvements in technology, even without the use of planes, driving across the West Continent – a distance of about eight thousand kilometers – would take only a single day if you were willing to go without sleep for twenty-four hours.

However, Algood's environment wasn't very good. Due to governmental neglect, not many regions were as peaceful as Legacy Province. In fact, it was the complete opposite. The income motility and disparity between the rich and the poor on West Continent was troubling.

Petrov Technologies was lucky to be among the few relatively successful businesses within Algood city, though. This was partially due to it being one of the only sources of necessary tech in the area, but, Ci-ci knew there was more to it than that… And a lot of it had to do with Kazimir's illegal activities.

'Let's start small, one step at a time.' Ci-ci accelerated onto the express highway – a place with a speed limit of 600km/h – with a focused expression

**

Less than a half hour later, Ci-ci had made his way to East Algood city.

East Algood City was colloquially known as downtown Algood. It was a relatively busy and commercial area and it also happened to house both of Ci-ci's identities. The first being his role as an inventor – Ci-ci Bell. But, the second was just as important to his plan – that being his role as Lucius Grant the lawyer.

The area was bustling, and it was quite frankly annoying trying to maneuver such a wide based vehicle through the traffic.

City planning had vastly improved since the 21st century pre-apocalyptic era. However, that was only true for the most prestigious of cities. Algood City suffered from the same cramped roads, over-population and odd smells as any large commercial hub had back then much to Ci-ci's disgruntlement.

After what probably took more than hour, Ci-ci had finally dodged enough street venders, ill-parked cars and one-way roads to finally reach Petrov Technologies. Unfortunately, at this point, he was late.

Ci-ci could only sigh as he looked at the large touch screen monitor in his car. '11:36 AM… Fantastic. The great Ci-ci Bell stumped by traffic.'

The truth was that Ci-ci rarely came to East Algood. His interactions with his firm as Lucius Grant were all limited – he was practically a ghost. Unfortunately, that was out of necessity. His lawyer's 'license' and 'degree' had been so abruptly created that he needed to keep a low profile and ease himself in slowly. Soon he'd increase his connections with the firm, but, it had to be done incrementally to decrease suspicion.

The other time he came to East Algood was to speak to Milana's father, Kazimir Petrov. But, he had to do so secretly for legal reasons. So, he had not only traveled as Lucius Grant, he hadn't even used his own car, instead opting for a taxi service.

All in all, this was Ci-ci's first time dealing with East Algood traffic and roads on his own. And, it was clear he had underestimated it.

'Not much I can do now…' Ci-ci scanned the area before catching the reserved underground parking lot of the company from the corner of his eye. After retrieving a ticket and parking in the relatively small space, Ci-ci noticed that the doorway to head to the building directly was electronically gated, so, he had no choice but to awkwardly walk back up the cement hill he had just driven down to duck under the security bar.

Finally, Ci-ci made it to the front of a three-story building.

If it wasn't for the minor renovations, the company would look like an upper middle-class apartment complex. It was covered in deep red bricks with accents of a somber brown. However, the windows were clearly enlarged past normal apartment standards and the 'Petrov Technologies' was etched in large black and curved letters just above the peak most floor.