“Follow that boy, but do not engage. I repeat, do not engage. I need to know more about that young man,” Dr. Stein said, rubbing his hands together.
“Affirmative,” Michael answered, and in an instant, he disappeared to fulfill his orders.
“Sir? May I ask why you had the Kni… Uh, I mean, Michael do such a thing for one meaningless citizen?” one guard asked.
“Synchronicity, my son,” he replied.
“Sir? I don't follow,” the guard said.
“Things are going to get very interesting from here on out, my good man. That child is the son of a legend. I can feel it! I know it. I can tell by the golden color of his eyes. There’s only one other person I know that had those same intense eyes and fierce expression! Even by today’s standards, where there have been many mutations in genetics that lead to people having different more diverse eye colors, it is extremely rare, if not impossible, that anyone would have golden eyes like she did. And that boy had the same exact eyes. Her son is alive and well!” Stein replied with unmatched maniacal glee.
“Very well, sir,” the guard said, still confused.
They eventually took off. A street light above the alleyway flickered and revealed a horrific scene left behind by the strange man. It appeared to show the body of a dead woman with her clothes ripped off and bright red blood trickling from her neck. Her eyes were wide open and her panties were ripped in half. It looked like she was raped and then brutally murdered. There was a barcode tattoo on her left wrist. Under the barcode it said ‘Red Rabbit’.
Mystified by such a weird encounter, Caiden sent a text to the twins. Guys I’m almost at the club. Ran into a strange guy, name’s Dr. Stein. Remind me to look him up once we get back. Something’s off about him and I need to know more.
Will do, they replied. The back entrance of the strip club was nowhere near as busy. The bouncer covering that entrance took advantage of the inactivity and decided rush off to grab a quick smoke break. Caiden wisely made haste toward the entrance. He casually walked through the kitchen. The cooks seemed bewildered by his presence, but none cared enough to question him, soon turning their quick gazes back toward their work. Past the kitchen, he came across a few offices. The lights were off and the door was ajar, and he heard some commotion inside.
Upon closer inspection, he saw a middle-aged man and a younger woman, presumably a stripper at the club, having sex on the desk; documents and papers were scattered across the floor. Caiden shook his head and kept moving. Soon, he approached another door. The closer he came, the louder the bass from the club’s music got. The door opened and a sonic boom of music and cloud of smoke came bursting through.
There were naked women everywhere. There was a stage with transparent fiberglass flooring and inbuilt flashing neon lights. On it were numerous poles. As the women gyrated, their skin appeared to shift from color to color. Every wall inside the club had strategically placed mirrors. Some were deliberately protruding from the walls at strange angles, giving the club an otherworldly, cavernous feel.
This was emphasized by the elaborate lighting scheme that bounce off the walls and the marble floor. There were large trusses filled with laser lights that emanated intricate patterns, smoke machines, and automated holographic light programs that traveled across the room in pre-sequenced patterns, creating a breathtaking, alluring ambience.
A topless woman with perfectly augmented breasts carrying drinks walked by and winked at Caiden, maintaining intense eye contact with him as she passed. Caiden responded in kind, gazing at her as he felt another stripper brush and press against his groin. She pressed her behind against him for a while, slowly tilting her head into the skin of his neck without saying a word. It was their job to sell lust in the Red Rabbit. This place is nuts! he thought to himself.
He politely shifted her to the side and kept moving, looking out for anyone conspicuous. He came across a section of the club dedicated to VIP areas. There were four VIP sections that the club had to offer. Each VIP section held at least thirty people and came with its own bar, exclusive bartender, and personal servicing. The VIP sections were made accessible by a staircase that led off to the different rooms. It was blocked by a freakishly large bouncer standing in front of a velvet rope.
What am I supposed to do now? I don’t even know who I’m looking for, Caiden thought, frustrated that Knight-1 left him no clues about who he was meeting with, other than a name. Luckily, each VIP section corresponded with the host who hired the section for the night. Customers had the option to put anything they wanted on the holo-display in the front of their section. This was a popular practice among high-rolling club goers. This was especially true for gentlemen's clubs, as most of the time, those custom named sections indicated what kind of exclusive, kinky, or interesting activity was happening there.
“Flirtatious Fellatious VIP. Lurid Mania VIP. Ah, here we go! Sex Gives You Magic VIP. I’ll assume that Wizard’s in there somewhere. A wild guess is better than no guess at all,” Caiden said to himself. He sauntered toward the ‘Magic’ VIP section when a large bouncer stepped in front of him.
“You have a reservation here?” the guard grunted.
“I’m here to see Wizard,” Caiden responded.
The guard made an attempt to push him back. “If you don’t have a reservation, you aren’t allowed here,” he said as he became more aggressive.
“I highly recommend you get your hands off of me, unless you like walking around with broken wrists,” Caiden said with a dead cold stare.
“What? I can’t hear you,” the bouncer said jeeringly, as Caiden prepared to break the guard’s hand.
Before anything else
