“Floor it and head east now!” Wizard shouted.
Caiden hit the gas and they sped off, cutting and weaving through the traffic filled streets, away from the mysterious tracker.
***
“Dr. Stein, I’ve lost sight of them. An unanticipated jamming interference signal disabled my navigation and sensors temporarily. Would you like me to continue pursuit?”
“My, my, he even threw off the likes of you, my dear Michael? Tsk, tsk. Looks like there are still a few kinks to work out with you. But this is good. Better than expected, even. He’s even more special than I thought. Return to headquarters immediately, Michael. Looks like we will get an opportunity to expand our test operations,” Dr. Stein replied over the transmission.
“Affirmative. Returning immediately,” Michael relented as he disappeared into the darkness.
***
“Well, looks like tonight turned out to be a calm one,” Caiden huffed.
“And I thought my life was pretty action packed. But your life seems to play out like a real-life movie Mr. Nyx,” Wizard marveled.
“Wasn’t always like this,” he stated. “What happened back there, well, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that unique ICM of yours possesses the capability to phase into other electronic networks, right?”
“Good guess,” Wizard replied.
“Frightening ability you have there; how can I get one like that?” Caiden asked.
“Who knows? From what I understand, technically, you are part machine as well, if you think about it. I’m sure you’ll find a way to utilize your God given talents,” Wizard smiled. “I think I will take my leave here, my friends”
“Where’re you off to now? We’re on the BlackLight, Nova Central border. Isn’t it dangerous?” Nami asked.
“Danger is part of my profession, sweet girl. I am the most sought after private courier and information broker there is. It’s part of the territory. I have business to tend to, a huge job has come my way so I will be out of town for a few weeks. I will be heading to the west,” Wizard disclosed.
Caiden pulled over and parked in front of an obscure broken-down Hybrid bar. As Wizard stepped out of the car, Caiden rolled down the window. “Hey! Thanks for everything. If you ever need help with anything, you be sure to let me know.”
“That’s my line, dear friend,” Wizard replied. Caiden gave her an assuring nod and drove off.
***
The trio arrived safely in Darkside. Exhausted from the thrilling affair, they all went to the living room to have a breather.
“Sheesh! We’ve dealt with more action in the past three days than we did all last year at The LoveMaars,” Hitomi said. Caiden, meanwhile, reopened the nano code codec and continued looking at the data.
“I guess you’re gonna be Mr. Mad scientist tonight, huh?” Nami asked while sinking further into the couch.
“Actually, no. Not yet. There’s so much to go through, so many tests to be done, there’s no way I’d get all of it done tonight, tomorrow, next week or next month, for that matter. I think I’m gonna upload the codec to my system and have it decode the entire thing. Judging by the amount of data, it's probably gonna take a day or two, since it will be backing up to my servers at the same time,” he replied. “I’ll have to study the data as I go.”
“I’m gonna assume, knowing you, you’re gonna sync it to all available viewing devices such as your phone, holo-watch, laptop and everything else, right?” Hitomi asked.
“You know me so well,” he grinned. “I gotta get some rest. I’m heading back to the other apartment this morning. I’m sure Vantz is biting off more than he can chew right about now.”
“Huh?” Nami was puzzled.
“Yeah, I think he’s got a problem. Let’s just say he spreads himself rather thin with the ladies. Gets a little carried away, parties a little too hard and what not.”
“Ah, I see. He’s one of those guys who thinks he’s some sort of ladies’ man,” Nami said.
“Exactly,” he replied.
“So, does he, like, know what you do? Does he even know about this place?” Hitomi asked, changing the topic of the conversation.
“Okay, I take your non-answer to mean no he does not,” Hitomi continued.
“Any particular reason for that? I mean this place is really cool; it seems like something you’d wanna show your friends and all,” Nami added.
“I don’t have any other friends. And I don’t want him involved in what I do. It’s too dangerous,” he confessed.
“You know, if you guys are as close as you say you are, eventually he’s gonna find out. How do you think he’ll react if he does?” Nami asked.
Caiden sighed in frustration and walked toward the bedroom as the twins looked at each other and uncomfortably, acknowledging their mood killing questions. It was close to four a.m., and Caiden was packing some clothes before he called it a night. The twins approached the doorway and watched as he packed. He was clearly troubled.
“When’re you leavin’? Now?” Nami asked.
“Soon enough,” he coldly replied.
After he finished, he turned off the lights, climbed into the king-sized bed and slid under the sheets. Without saying a word, the twins followed suit. Vantz became something of a sensitive subject for him. He was the only family Caiden had.
It was still dark out, but the sky was beginning to brighten. The girls were fast asleep as Caiden lay on his back with his eyes wide open, pensive, gazing at the blank white ceiling, until his eyelids began to feel heavy and he faded into nothingness.
CHAPTER 8
---usr/systems/server-x/RETURN HOME---
The alarm on
