Anything that was picked up on the ZOBE member’s hacked phone, would display across Caiden’s NOVO OS screen. Due to the outdated technology of the phone, Caiden’s connection was full of static and errors. However, he could still make out parts of the conversation.
“Our organizatio—adamantly—refuses to—this!”
“Don—forge—you—itheads! We are supp—for all your—”
“Be sure to—llow through on—deal. The assassination—of—en—ng must—”
The transmission cut. A deal? Assassination? But why? He mulled over his findings, attempting to make sense of the sparse bits of info. He tapped into the same phone once more, but this time he heard movement, as if they were preparing to leave. Caiden picked up his utility case and quietly made his way to the front of the large tent to see if he could discover any visual clues about the strange ZOBE members. He found nothing; just their gaudy velvet robes.
After ZOBE left, Caiden saw two dangerous men approaching the same tent where Lt. Daav was. The larger of the two, was almost seven feet tall, with over four hundred pounds of enhanced muscle. There was no way it was natural. His massive fists were covered by black leather gloves and he donned a black formal suit with a white tie. He had a shiny bald head and a cybernetic visor that was like Slavo’s.
The other man was around five feet and nine inches. He wore a distinct custom-made yellow bomber jacket that was zipped up. His pants were modern-day bakama pants. Intricate weavings of dragons scaled down the lower leg portions with shiny golden thread. He wore customized over the knee boots. On his head was a large bamboo woven sugegasa that effectively covered the top half of his face adding to his enigmatic appearance. Both of his arms had cybernetic enhancements. On his waist, he carried a large katana that was almost double the traditional size. On both men’s attire was a small Chimera insignia; almost double the traditional size. Caiden contacted the twins via E-CHAT immediately:
Caiden: Guys, I hate to burst your bubble, but I think we may have some trouble on our hands.
Nami: What?
Hitomi: What do you mean?
Caiden: Connecting your visual feed with mine right now.
Caiden connected his NOVO Lenses to the twins’ modified datashades and opened a shared visual channel for them. After a few seconds, the sisters could see what Caiden was looking at:
Nami: Why are they here?!?
Caiden: You know these goons?
Hitomi: Unfortunately. The big guy’s Franki Butcher and the shorter one is Neo Masamune. Two of Chimera’s most feared hitmen.
Nami: Are they after us? We gotta get outta here, Hito.
Caiden: Wait a sec. I doubt they even know you guys are here. They’re heading into one of the negotiation tents. Some guy’s already in there, and he met with ZOBE like five mins ago.
Hitomi: What should we do?
Caiden: Sit tight, keep your cool. I’m gonna find out.
Nami: Caide, please don’t.
Caiden: Don’t worry, they won’t even know I’m here.
-End Chat-
Caiden made his way back to the negotiation tent. The two hitmen were inside with Lt. Daav. Due to his positioning outside of the tent, Caiden heard the whole conversation between the three of them.
“I take it you know why I called you guys here?” Daav said.
“How much you offerin’?” Neo asked with his nasal voice.
“What? Further immunity to engage in your illegal fuckery isn’t enough? We’ve been layin’ off ya for this long. Even the really crazy shit we shoulda brought you in for!” Daav replied.
“You need us more than you think, bud,” Franki said calmly.
“We never agreed to your price, but we did agree to meet so we could discuss the price! And then those tree-huggin’ ZOBE bastards got me wonderin’ why you want Chimera involved in this shit show in the first place,” Neo said.
“You guys are the backup plan in case they fail,” Daav replied.
“You got a shovel?” Neo asked.
“A shovel?” Daav asked.
“Yah, ‘cause you always call us to dig you up outta your own shit!” Neo yelled.
“This is exactly why I love to meet with you fucks! Always givin’ me a good laugh!” a hysterical Daav said. Daav then suddenly slammed his hands on the table. “Listen here shitheads! It’s because of US, that you do not rot in a prison cell! It is because of us, that you are even allowed to continue conducting your shitty business! It is because of us, that you can even get away with the things you do illegally without consequence! So, when we blow the dog whistle, you pups better come runnin’!” Daav yelled.
Quick as a flash, Neo pulled out his sword. The tip of the blade was held millimeters from the bridge of Daav’s nose. Shit he’s fast, Daav humorously thought to himself.
“Then how about we end our rosy fucking romance right here with a nice, red, bloody parting gift; your head on a platter for our boss man, Dragon, huh?” Neo said with a horrible smile that looked like more like a grimace.
“Um, Neo, you’re missin’ somethin’,” Franki said. He unfolded his arms to point at something.
“The hell you talkin’ about?” Neo asked as he looked to where Franki was pointing at. A red infrared beam was aimed right over Neo's heart. Shocked by this he looked back up at Daav and realized that Daav had his gun locked, loaded, and aimed at him.
“Wanna see who’s faster?” Daav asked sadistically with
