“Wow, pretty sophisticated detection system you have there,” he commented. “There’ll be more time to talk later. For now, we must escape.” She replied.
Wizard and Caiden then took off down the back street, dashing into the dark of the night.
More gangsters made their way to the back entrance. “Hey! We got two bogies here!”
“Well, get rid of those motherfuckers! We were told no one was allowed to leave until we were done!”
“Shit! Why does this always seem to happen?” Caiden asked. Wizard briefly turned around, surprised to find that Caiden kept up with her.
“I wasn’t planning on leaving you, but I’m shocked that you’re able to keep up! You’re not useless dead weight after all,” she remarked.
“I was wondering why you were running so slow!” he replied.
She smirked as she picked up the pace. As she looked around her she found Caiden at her side. Bullets whizzed past their heads as they ducked and dodged. In response, Caiden pulled his gun out of his holster and fired some rounds at his pursuers.
“Duck!” Wizard yelled as she stopped in her tracks, turned around and held her right hand forward. Caiden sidestepped as she commanded. Her right hand transformed in to a miniature chrome-finished cannon. Caiden could see where and how the metal folded and merged to change from a normal hand to a dangerous weapon. She’s amazing! This gives me some good ideas for my gun, he thought.
A green lit gauge on her forearm filled. Small particles of light began to converge at the center point of the mini cannon followed by a blast of light flashed as she fired this strange cannon! A ring of energy shot forward at the speed of light toward the gangsters. The powerful shockwave from the blast sent the pursuers flying backward in multiple directions. Smoke and debris filled the passageway where the assailants were. The concrete turned jagged and craggy from the power of the blast. The result of the blast left the gangsters critically wounded. More shouting came from that direction.
“Holy shit! What the fuck happened here?” the voices shrieked.
“Hey Wiz, we need to get outta here,” Caiden yelled.
“Don’t call me that!” she angrily replied her hand reverted to its normal form. Caiden laughed it off before he sent a text to the twins.
Caiden: Change of plans, Orion Street.
Twins: OMG! What happened?
Caiden: I’ll explain later. Just meet me there.
Caiden turned to Wizard. “Follow me! Got an escape route!”
Wizard was beginning to understand even more why Knight-1 spoke so highly of this young man. They darted through the back streets, twisting and winding through. Eventually the duo ended up at the rendezvous point where Nami and Hitomi were nervously waiting. The car’s engine revved and ready to go. The twins were happy to see Caiden in one piece, but were perplexed to see the beautiful woman with him.
“You’re more than welcome to come with us. We can drop you off wherever you need to go,” Caiden offered.
“Can’t turn down a friendly offer now, can I?” Wizard replied.
“Cai, we gotta get outta here! Let's go!” Nami nervously yelled out the car window. They hopped in the car and took off, escaping yet another dangerous situation.
CHAPTER 7
---usr/systems/server-x/NOT CLEAR YET---
Southandro was particularly busy that night, with a considerable amount of traffic congesting the main streets. It forced the group to take an alternate route out of the borough. As soon as they cleared Southandro, they all relaxed a little.
“So, who is this?” Hitomi asked.
“This is Wizard,” Caiden replied.
“Really? Never thought you would be so beautiful! I pictured you to be some grubby creature or something,” Hitomi said.
“These are the friends you were referring to?” Wizard asked Caiden, smiling. Caiden nodded.
“Forgive my manners. Yes, I am the Wizard, pleased to meet you,” She replied.
“Wow, so beautiful,” Nami said.
“I could say the same for you two. From Rune Village. yes?” Wizard replied.
“How could you tell?” Hitomi asked.
“I’ve been there during my travels. Headmaster Nilrem is a wonderful man and brilliant leader. Plus, your hair, and those beautiful eyes; not many people have the kind of glow in them that you girls do,” Wizard replied. The twins gushed and blushed amongst themselves.
The car was in automated drive mode which allowed for the four of them to converse comfortably. “So, Cai do you have the codec ?” Hitomi asked.
“Right here, thanks to her,” he said pointing at Wizard.
“So, you gonna open it up or what? We have a little time, right?” Nami asked.
He was unsure of what to do, mainly because Wizard was there. Not only was Wizard a prominent private courier, but she also doubled as a highly sought-after information broker. Caiden’s apprehension in revealing such critical data was plenty warranted.
“You’re probably wondering if you should extract the codec’s data for viewing while I am present. I understand your suspicion, but do not forget that I am a private courier of the highest caliber. I have a strict code of confidentiality. Also, I’m privy to some of the data already via Knight-1. So, do not worry, my friend,” Wizard assured them. Caiden nodded; he was still unsure. “Do not worry, dear Caiden, my lips are sealed.”
“Okay, here goes nothing. Alpha, Exodus, Influx, Theta.” He read out the verbal encryption.
The codec unlocked and a stream of light beamed from the center and display menu generated, showing hundreds of video logs. In addition, there were thousands of pages of code, research results, and a detailed history of the nanocells’ conception. The codec had mind-bending information on the nanocells’ purposes in amazing detail; assimilation, life cycle, techno-organic matter, discussions about future beings possessing the potential to merge consciousness with computer systems. This codec was crammed with a plethora of topics.
“Where do I even begin?” Caiden said as he sifted through the endless amounts of information on the
