“We were supposed to meet tomorrow! Why go through all this?” Shino asked.
“Rule number one; I don’t meet on anyone’s terms. You hacked me, forced me into a corner, then expected me to just magically help you on your mission? And you were actually foolish enough to pay me half up front. Ha! For someone who believes themselves to be smart, you sure are stupid,” Caiden said.
“Look, I reached out to you because I need the help! Please! I—”
“You will answer my questions first!” Caiden shot back.
“O-Okay,” Shino conceded. Caiden sent the file he received on Lieutenant Daav August, to the holo-display on Shino’s computer.
“Know this guy? Who is he?” Caiden asked.
“Lieutenant Daav August, military junkie, Special Ops, and right-hand man to General Vladimir Cain. He’s a s-sadistic fellow. Why are you asking?” Shino replied.
“You said he is General Cain’s right-hand man. What do you know about these two men?” Caiden asked.
“T-They’re really violent. They head up the Psi-Corp Force. Real law and order types, especially Cain. He’s never been a man short of ambition,” Shino said.
“It’s common knowledge that you Zonos assholes do tons of backdoor deals with groups like Chimera, to do your dirty work. But I saw this man meet with members of ZOBE,” Caiden said.
“What? ZOBE! When? Where?” Shino asked perplexedly.
“At the Darkside Bazaar. I overheard them talking about an assassination. Could they be targeting you?” Caiden asked with an antagonizing smile.
“Oh, no! Not this again! I’ve done nothing to piss them off this time. Unless… They must’ve caught on to what I was trying to do. But, no! I was sure to cover my tracks!” Shino said to himself.
“Then how did I find you?” Caiden said.
“No! This can’t happen, not right now! I can’t—”
“Hey! Shut the fuck up,” Caiden said slowly. “Now, I couldn’t make out much, but I didn’t hear your name in the conversation. Tell me, why would Zonos even associate themselves with a terrorist group like ZOBE?” Caiden said.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense!” Shino replied.
“It’s funny, ya know,” Caiden chuckled.
“What is?” Shino replied.
“I don’t believe the shit that’s coming out of your mouth. I watched the tail end of your press conference yesterday. To see the charismatic orator, Shino Honda, deflect questions and look uncomfortable was truly entertaining. Reporter by the name of Eva Young ring any bells? Your terrible lie about there being no such thing as a clone police force. Ha! Sorry to tell you but I know the truth. The real question is, why didn’t you tell the public?” Caiden asked. Through his NOVO Lenses, he could see Shino’s heart rate skyrocket. He began to nervously tap the table.
“So, it was you who infiltrated the clone farm! Now it all makes sense why HQ was so wound up,” Shino said.
“Ah, and the truth is out in the open,” Caiden replied.
“Look, VseR, if I were you, I would be very wary of General Cain. He’s looking for you. F-For questioning. Well, he doesn’t know who you are, but he wants to. He’s a f-fearsome man,” Shino stuttered.
“Oh? And I guess General Cain is also the same man that made you put your sorry ass tail between your legs, which is why you reached out to me in the first place. It all makes sense now. You, the champion of the people, got intimidated out of standing for the very constituency you swore to fight for.”
“You don’t understand! There are forces far beyond my pay grade, and far beyond your imagination that pull the strings! They’re far beyond my measly reach, far beyond that of Vladimir or Stein. The Chosen Three. They control everything! No one escapes them! My family, they’re everything to me. They were gonna kill them first, and then me if I continued!” Shino replied.
“You’re nothing more than a figurehead. You mentioned both Stein and Vladimir together along with the 'Chosen Three'. What are you blabbering on about?” Caiden asked.
“Please! Let me explain. It’s the reason I reached out to you in the first place. Yes, my position was compromised by the likes of my partners Stein and Vladimir. I am basically a lame duck. They stripped away all my digital assets, all my sanctioning power, all my executive power. The only reason I’m still alive is because I still am of value to them, The Chosen Three, that is. Stein and Cain have dangerous ideologies with vast resources at their disposal. The two of them, including me, are The Executive Three; tasked with running the city-state as it’s visible leadership. We provide a false sense of security, to prevent potential uprising. But we, The Executive Three, don’t make the law in this town, we only enforce it. The Chosen Three are the real rulers of this place.
“Stein, Vladimir, and I were chosen, many years ago, to carry out their orders without question. At first, they gave us a considerable amount of wiggle room to carry out the rules, to implement them however we saw fit, if it went by the plans they sent us. But we’ve never met them in person, or know what they look like. We only get a heavily encrypted, top-secret codec once every three months. We speak with them via a special holo-projector in Neon Tower. But I don’t even know if the faces they show us are their real ones. The codec provides laws, bills, changes, adjustments, economic goals, social agendas and many other things that we are expected to carry out,” Shino explained.
“What changed?” Caiden asked.
“I was too naive. Once I was given the power of Prime Minister, I exercised my power to it’s fullest extent, in a foolish attempt to change the city. It was my fault for resisting,” Shino said.
“You mean to tell me that some imaginary group of people, a batshit insane scientist,
