“Earth to Caiden! Are you listening?” Hitomi yelled as she nudged his shoulder.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” Caiden asked, staring off into space.
“Can you make something like this for us too?” she asked.
“Wait, what?” He was confused.
“Dude, for all your brains and intelligence, you sure do space out a lot,” Hitomi said. “As I was saying, me and sis talked about it last night, and we decided that want to learn how to defend ourselves.”
“Yeah, we're sick of feeling helpless, like we’re powerless to protect ourselves, ya know? We don’t ever wanna relive the nightmare of the brothel, or lose anyone else we care about. If we can become strong like you, we may be able to change those things if the time comes to do it.” Nami said “We know it’ll be hard, but we want to learn. So, can you teach us how?”
Caiden let out a long sigh and shook his head. “You guys are asking for a lot. I’m no master.”
“But we’ve seen what you can do! You saved our lives. We got out of that mess the other night with nothing more than a scratch! And that was because of you! If we could just practice with you, I’m sure we will learn and get stronger,” Hitomi implored.
“You even said so yourself. We’re gonna be here for a while, so we might as well make good use of the time before we leave, right?” Nami said.
Caiden gave the two of them a stern look, but relented shortly thereafter. “I really can’t say no to you guys and I don’t know why.” The girls rushed him and embraced him tightly. One of them even tried cop a quick feel. “Whoa, okay guys. Easy now,” Caiden laughed.
“So, when do we start?” Nami asked.
“Easy there, speedy. Preparation will take time. I’ve got to put together a training regimen for you to follow on your own. You need to be resolute and practice every single day. It’s the only way you’ll truly learn and get the gist of the techniques. As for your weapons, the next Darkside Bazaar isn’t until sometime next weekend. They never give out the exact date for security reasons, so we’ll have to keep a close eye on that. I got most of my materials for my gun from there, and I’m sure we can get some good stuff for your weapons from there too,” Caiden said confidently.
“Yay! I’m so excited!” Hitomi happily expressed.
“Yeah, I can tell. But for now, we gotta formulate a plan for the meeting with Wizard.”
CHAPTER 6
---usr/systems/server-x/ENTER THE RED RABBIT---
They went back upstairs to go over the plan in the living room. As they sat down, Caiden turned on the media apparatus and switched it to computer mode. He searched for the Red Rabbit’s address then plugged it into a navigation function. The holo-display showed a detailed layout of the location on the map.
“There. That’s where I want you guys to park and wait for me,” he said as he pointed to a street about two blocks away from the club.
“It’s best to stay there since it leads to the main road, allowing for a quick and simple way to escape in case something happens. I have a spare cell phone that I can give you guys so I can stay in contact with you, if need be. If anything changes I’ll let you know, so that you guys get away from there. Then I will find a different route,” he said.
“What would be the safest street from here?” Hitomi asked pointing at the map.
“Orion Street. That’s our safety rendezvous. If shit really does hit the fan, we’ll meet up there and we’ll head back here together. Can you handle that?”
“Yes,” they both replied confidently.
“Good. I feel bad asking you to help me with this, but I have no other choice. The success rate of this increases exponentially with more help,” Caiden said.
“We know how important this is to you. Like we said, we wanna help you however we can. You did the same for us,” Nami replied.
“Thanks, again.” Caiden said. “Anyway, I’m gonna get out on this street and walk to the club. It looks like there’s two official entrances to the strip club, and I’m gonna take the lesser-known one, just to be safe. If all goes well, I’ll simply leave the club and meet you guys at the car. If something happens, well, we’ll just see how things pan out.” Caiden pointed at various marks on the holo-map display.
“It’s close to eleven p.m., so we still have some time to prepare,” Hitomi said.
“You’re right,” Caiden replied.
After a few more hours of preparation; showing the twins the schematics and features of Vantz’s car and going over the layout of the area in Southandro once more, it was a little after one a.m. Caiden loaded his gun and placed it in a shoulder holster under his jacket. As soon as everyone was ready, they got in the car and took off toward the Red Rabbit Strip Club in Southandro.
***
The trio eventually arrived in Southandro. The area looked and felt dangerous, but even still, its streets were buzzing with activity from the locals. Despite its reputation, there seemed to be encouraging signs of development and budding business opportunity. There was an eclectic mix of both dangerous and artsy looking residents to compliment the dicey bars and clubs. Some of the buildings nearby were either boarded up or abandoned. Others looked well-constructed, some luxurious even. Even stranger, there was very little Psi-Corp presence in the area. The stoplight at the intersection they pulled up to seemed to take longer than it should have done, but it allowed them to get a decent look around.
“I think I’m gonna get out here and make the rest of the way on foot,” he said.
“Okay. Please be careful,” Hitomi said, concerned.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful for sure. Keep the phone close and listen out for me,” Caiden said as he smiled assuredly and closed the
