They arrived at the apartment and Riku scanned the surroundings and heaved a sigh of relief knowing that it looked exactly as they left it.
He looked up at the eighth floor of the apartment building where he lived. The door to his unit was still intact—no signs of forced entry, no barricades broken. That meant they were still inside, waiting. Good. At least they hadn't made any rash decisions. He hadn't been able to update them since he left, so now was as good a time as any.
Riku unclipped the walkie-talkie from his vest, twisting the knob until it aligned with Suzune's frequency. Static hissed through the speaker for a second before he pressed the transmit button.
"It's me," he said. "Suzune, can you hear me? Over."
For a moment, only the faint crackle of interference answered. His grip on the radio tightened. Then, a familiar voice broke through, shaky but alive.
"Riku? Is that you? Over."
