General Cain ground his teeth and looked away, angered by the subject.
“What if I told you, that if I captured the young Fayte boy, I could harvest his nanocells and create a formula far more efficient, powerful, and effective than the ScioN serum your soldiers are currently taking?” Volda tried to use this angle to win over the General. General Cain’s cold grey eyes connected with Dr. Volda’s in an awkward, and equally intense stare-off.
“Let’s say I go along with this plan of yours. How do you plan on capturing the boy? Do you even know where he is right now?” Cain asked.
“Not exactly, but both your special units, TEAR and the CSSA, haven’t been able to, while the White Knight has at least found him with a bit more success. So, what if we team up, and use both the White Knight and the TEAR and CSSA units together to zero in on this elusive Fayte child, yes? What say you?” Volda inquired.
“The Adriel Project, or White Knight, being out in the open poses a great risk to us, the citizens, and our secrets. You would have to reprogram him to recognize a Psi-Corp ally code identification if he does encounter our soldiers that aren’t TEAR unit,” Cain said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, he will remain unseen.”
“I’m serious, Stein. My men will have much more flexibility to track and move in on the kid, but even we cannot move in on this Fayte boy without more evidence that he is, in fact, who you say he is,” Cain replied.
“So what strategy do you propose then, sir?” Volda asked.
Lt. Daav was the first to answer. “While the White Knight has had more success tracking this Fayte kid, and nearly killed us looking for him, might I fucking add, he can’t risk being spotted due to the contractual obligations to the Adriel Project Agreement, but he can continue to survey from the shadows. Then, if possible, he can relay coordinates to our team for us to investigate. At the same time, the CSSA can also use the intel gathered to find any other personal information on him; who his friends are, his buying habits, any girlfriends, fuck buddies, what his occupation is, and so on. I also have contacts within the Chimera Crime syndicate. Specifically, their two most notorious hitmen, Franki Butcher and Neo Masamune. We can use them to corner the kid for capture. That way, we force him to fight for his survival. By doing this, we can observe his abilities, and confirm whether he’s the real deal. If he is, then we take him in. If not, well then, we will have wasted time and Creds for being immoral shitheads,” Lt. Daav said.
General Cain ran his hand along his beard and smirked. He then looked to Dr. Volda who looked delighted about the idea proposed by the Lieutenant.
“It looks like we have ourselves a deal, gentlemen. If this works out, I will have a much more powerful military force at my fingertips; powerful enough to initiate our campaign of expanding further westward and assimilating other settlements into ours,” the general said. Stein cleared his throat and Cain rolled his eyes in exasperation. “And Stein will have his hands on this coveted ‘nanocell’ to do whatever he pleases.”
All three gentlemen stood.
“We shake on this as partners in this operation, then, yes?” Dr. Volda asked. General Cain silently nodded and both men shook hands. “Oh my, oh my, what shall we do about the do-gooder?” Volda asked.
“Oh, you mean Prime Minister Honda? Though he, like us, was chosen to govern this city-state by The Chosen Three, he is to know nothing of this meeting or this operation, period. Politically he is defanged and depowered, but he is adored by the people of this city. We cannot make him aware of our plans, for he will certainly try to intervene in some indirect way,” General Cain said.
“Good. This will ensure our success, yes?” Volda replied.
“Indeed,” General Cain said. They had struck a new deal.
CHAPTER 23
---usr/systems/server-x/STRONGER---
It was close to eight a.m. There were loud shouts and heavy breathing coming from the lower level of the Home-base apartment. The shouts became more intense. Nami and Hitomi were exercising. More specifically, they were following the training program that Caiden made for them. In the depths of their boredom they found a new purpose, a new desire to change. They were tired of their admitted weaknesses. Never again did they want to be afraid or powerless to protect themselves. Instead of surrendering to fear, they used their fear as fuel to become stronger.
Sweat trickled from Hitomi’s silver hair down her forehead. She was sitting with her back against the wall with one leg extended outward. Her arm was rested her other knee. They were both in sports bras and skin-tight leggings, courtesy of Caiden's sneaky midnight delivery. They had no idea when he arrived or left, but they were extremely happy to have their new clothes. Nami lay flat on her back. Her eyes were closed but she was grinning.
"I won that one," Hitomi panted.
“You got lucky with that weird joint lock you had on me. My kicks were getting to you right before then,” Nami replied in between breaths.
Hitomi smiled. “I guess this training regimen is really working out for us, huh?”
“OMG, dude, it actually feels good to do this. It’s almost like I was born to do this,” Nami replied.
“Pretty soon we’ll be as skillful as Caide, too.” Hitomi said.
“Break time remaining; forty-five seconds. Next on the schedule will be jab-cross-low leg kick combinations reps,” the pre-programmed training hologram indicated. The girls got to their feet, assumed their fighting stances, and fired off the combinations as the program instructed.
“Next training module; the virtual firing range.”
CHAPTER 24
---usr/systems/server-x/RECOVER---
Caiden’s short, but reenergizing slumber was gradually interrupted by the yellow glare of the morning sun. Caiden awakened, arms and legs stretched outward. He ended up falling asleep shortly after he got back from
