Caiden nodded subtly. “How much is it going to cost me?”
“Hmm, nothing at all. Anyone who is recommended by Knight-1 is someone to be trusted,” she replied.
“How can you be so sure?” he asked.
“Should I not?” She said as the atmosphere became tense.
“Okay, look. I’m not here to cause problems; I just need that codec. There’s so much I want to learn about myself that I’ve never fully been able to understand before. That codec is the key, apparently,” he replied.
“Yes, I was told that you were a special child, indeed. A child that could change the world, even,” she said.
“Wow, Knight-1 has some pretty damn high hopes for a guy like me, huh?” he replied.
“Yes, and now I can see why,” she said as she reached into her thigh-satchel and pulled out the coveted codec.
“May I ask you something?”
“By all means,” she pleasantly replied while handing him the codec.
“How do you know Knight-1? How did you guys link up? Is there anything that I need to be made aware of?” he asked.
“My dear Caiden, unfortunately, I can’t really answer those particular questions,” she said. “But what I can tell you, is that Knight-1 has many enemies, and despite the abrupt and cryptic nature of Knight-1’s conversations, her intentions are good and are meant for the betterment of humanity. We are on the path to a revolution Caiden, a new world, and we need your help to achieve--”
Her sentence was interrupted by a commotion on the other side of the club. Someone had fired off three rounds of bullets into the air and the crowd and employees immediately began to scatter. A large group of fifty people dressed in tailor-made black suits, white dress shirts and skinny black ties, stormed into the club, armed to the teeth. The music was turned off and the main overhead lights came on. They moved aside in single file and in came walking a familiar tall, sleazy looking man; it was Slavo. He displayed visible marks from his brutal confrontation with Caiden. His visor was still damaged, and his injured shoulder was in a sling.
“Alright! Listen up! I’ve come courtesy of the all-powerful Chimera. We had a little situation a few nights ago, and lost two of our best girls. So, we need two new ones to take their place, and we decided to get them from here! Red Rabbit is makin’ too much fuckin’ money, and I want some of it!” he yelled as he waved his trademark white pistol. “Anybody have a goddamn problem with it? You can gladly file your complaint with the boss man, Dragon!”
The silence left patrons too nervous to move or speak for fear of their lives. Slavo moved through the crowd to look for the best-looking women they had to offer, pointing at a couple to come down from the stage so he could inspect them. This uncomfortable inspection involved an unnecessary amount of groping and fondling on his behalf, much to the chagrin of the women. It was a barbarous display to assert his power in this position. Typical of the foul-mouthed drug-addicted Slavo. How he was able to function, no one knew.
Like a missile locked onto a target, Caiden was laser focused. He was ready to launch toward Slavo full speed. As soon as he was about to spring into action, he felt Wizard grab him and bring him down to a crouching position.
“What are you doing?” she asked, bewildered.
“Everyone else is too goddamn scared to do anything about this! I was the one who caused trouble at The LoveMaars a few nights ago. Two of my friends were there; I had to free them. Slavo is bad news,” he said.
“That was you?” she asked, surprised.
He nodded; he was wracked with guilt. Slavo and Chimera’s arrival at the Red Rabbit were a direct result of Caiden’s actions. He felt it was his responsibility to deal with Slavo, but Wizard begged to differ.
“Attacking them head on right now is suicide. Come, we must leave,” she whispered. “There’s too many of them to take on here.”
Caiden reluctantly agreed and they readied themselves for their escape. Staying low and slipping through the frightened crowd, Wizard and Caiden maneuvered their way toward the back exit. Navigating through the kitchen and office area was rather easy. Wizard opened the door leading outside. Two Chimera henchmen arrived there at the exact same time Caiden and Wizard did.
Without hesitation, one of the henchmen reached for his gun. Caiden dashed forward with blurring speed, leaving the gunman unable to react in time. Swaying away from the gunman’s aim, leaned to his right. Grabbing the gangster’s wrist with his left hand, he then drove his right palm into the gunman’s elbow, snapping it at an unnatural angle. The pain from the hyperextension of his elbow caused the henchman to lose grip of his gun. Caiden caught the falling gun mid-air and pointed it into the henchmen’s face while still holding his left wrist. The Chimera gangster found himself looking down the barrel of his own demise.
Stunned and disoriented, he looked and found his arm bent and manipulated in a painful angle than didn’t fully register until he laid his eyes on it. But before he could cry out in pain Caiden knocked him out cold using the back end of the gun. The henchmen fell to the floor, limp and unconscious. The other Chimera gunman stalled, confused about what to do. He stumbled for his weapon when he was intercepted by Wizard who rushed him with a flurry of precision strikes. Each strike was accompanied by powerful electric shocks. He dropped to the floor, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
“Wow, that was pretty awesome” Caiden said.
“This doesn’t look like your first rodeo either,” she replied, impressed with the technical proficiency and brutality he took out the gangster with.
“Where did you learn killer moves like that from?” she asked.
“Took a kickboxing class once,” he replied sarcastically as he smiled.
“You surprise me
