“I was just returning the favor,” Caiden flatly replied.
“Wait. That’s it? Just a returning a favor? What are we, just mere pawns in your game or somethin’?” Nami asked confusedly.
“It’s not entirely like that. Yes, at first I was hellbent on getting back at Slavo for putting me in danger by taking away his biggest money draw in you two. But I saw how he treated you two. And the sadness in the riddle you posted. And I really felt it. Even more than I could admit at the time,” Caiden said. “If I saw that someone was in need of help and I did nothing, then I would be no better than that dickhead, Slavo. I really wanted to get you guys out because everyone deserves their freedom. "
The twins simultaneously gave an evil eye, of sorts. But he couldn’t take it seriously. They really are cute, he thought to himself.
“What did he do to you?” Nami skeptically asked.
“He found me on CWR, asked me to do a job syphoning money from Prime-1 Bank’s digital assets,” Caiden replied.
“Prime-1? How much did he want you to take?” Nami was stunned.
“Seventy-five million Creds. He somehow got a hold of my identity and threatened to kill anyone I ever cared about. So, I figured I’d teach his dumb ass a lesson. I got the money, but I created a bot that would release it to millions of others across the city, so he couldn’t get his hands on it,” Caiden replied.
“Seventy-five million Creds? And you gave it back to the people? Just like that? Did you even keep any for yourself?” Hitomi asked.
“I kept the money I received from Slavo as payment for the job. That’s it,” Caiden replied.
“How noble of you. Well, in any case, we really appreciate all that you’ve done for us. We really do. But we also don’t wanna be any more of a burden to you either,” Hitomi stated.
“Well, what are you planning to do then?” Caiden asked.
“Head back to Rune Village. We have nothing left here. We, at least, have a home back at Rune Village,” Nami replied.
“I’ll help you get there,” Caiden said with conviction. “If I remember correctly, getting to Rune Village is an extremely dangerous six-hundred-mile journey of wasteland and desert. In order to safely do that, we would need a good amount of supplies, and most importantly, a hover sander.”
“But don’t those cost a fortune?” Hitomi asked.
“Yeah, and they’re really hard to come by, let alone steal. Zonos, Inc. has Psi-Corp guarding those vehicles twenty-four seven. But they are by far the best vehicles to use to travel that damn desert safely without the need of a protective caravan. But now that I think about it, escaping the city undetected would be pretty difficult, especially right now,” Caiden said.
“How so?” Nami asked.
“Chimera. We figuratively shook a hornet’s nest. They’re definitely gonna hit the streets and utilize their influence in any conceivable way to find you guys, and probably me too,” Caiden said. “If we’re gonna leave the city, we need to be smart about it. Truth be told, if we want to escape with our lives, this is gonna take a couple months.”
The girls looked disheartened. Realizing the gravity of their situation, their eyes showed their discouragement. They knew there was no easy solution.
“Your best bet is to stay here, hidden. Lay low for a while. No one knows this location exists. There’s plenty of food here, encrypted access to CWR, and comfort and safety, at the very least. You won’t have to look over your shoulder.” Caiden said.
“I guess we don’t really have much of a choice. You really are a lifesaver, Caiden. We really can’t thank you enough,” Nami replied.
“Well, then. It’s settled,” Caiden said as he yawned.
“We can pick up this discussion tomorrow. But for now, I’m dead tired,” he finished while forcing himself to his feet.
"Okay.” Just then, Hitomi realized something. “Hey, wait! We, um… Well our clothes are, well, practically nonexistent."
Caiden, realizing they only had on robes over their revealing clothing, stopped and stared at them intently. Man, these two really are beautiful, he thought to himself, before snapping out of it.
"Uh, right! T-shirts. I can give you guys T-shirts for tonight," he said, stumbling over his words in an attempt to recover from the awkward moment.
"Thank you so much. Um, another thing?" Hitomi started to ask. She began twirling her fingers and looking down at the floor in adorable fashion. "Do you think we could like, I dunno, borrow your Cred codec to buy some clothes online maybe?" she asked with an irresistibly sweet tone.
"Hito!" Nami whispered shyly, as she tapped her sister on her hip. Hitomi glanced back with what appeared to be a facial expression saying, "Well, someone had to do it."
"This place is essentially off the grid, we shouldn't have any problems accessing our money from the site we pooled it from. But it might be a bit safer to use yours, just for now." Hitomi continued
"Since Slavo found out about your NeuroVoyeurism venture, it would be wise to assume that he may be monitoring the activity on that account,” Caiden surmised. “You don't wanna run the risk of being discovered despite my location being heavily encrypted. You also don't want him to know what kind of moves you're making, either. Accessing your account may give him an inkling that your desperate to get out of town, which would in turn result in him intensifying his search effort for you two. That would make it much harder for us to move freely and get you guys back home. Chimera has spies everywhere. There’s always someone watching. Using my money completely mitigates any risks, therefore solving the problem. Am I right?" Caiden said.
"Well, yeah, exactly. That’s exactly right," Hitomi replied, taken aback by Caiden's shrewdness.
"Of course. That's not a problem, I guess,” he replied nervously as he sifted through his
