“General Cain is a firm believer in the methods of The Chosen Three. Out of all of us, he is the most passionate, and stalwart advocate of their iron fist cause. Because his ideologies align with theirs, he has assumed the most power of the three of us. He will stop at nothing to obtain power. And, yes, that even means colluding with the crime syndicate. But I never thought he’d go so low as to work with terrorist groups,” Shino said. “These whispers of assassinations worry me. To them, yes, I am a non-factor now. But there are other government officials out there who don’t hide their dissent. That makes them targets, like I used to be.”
“If General Cain is so committed, I guess that the rumors about COGLIMS being reintroduced back into the public are probably true,” Caiden said.
“Yes, it would be safe to assume that. However, even I don’t know what will become of that. I truly hope it stays a rumor,” Shino said.
“Dr. Stein Volda, what do you know of him?” Caiden asked.
“Too much and too little, at the same time. I know he’s a scientific deviant. But he is brilliant, and extremely difficult to read. I never know what that man is thinking, and it's truly unnerving.” Shino said. He appeared much calmer, placing his elbows on the table and leaning forward in a pensive, but relaxed manner.
“I got the same vibe,” Caiden replied.
“You’ve met him?” Shino asked.
“Yeah, I bumped into him. I did some research on him. His file is stained with women’s blood,” Caiden somberly replied.
“You are well informed, VseR,” Shino said, impressed.
“I have to be, in my line of work,” Caiden said. “You mentioned that your digital assets and that your power has been taken away. Just how exactly did that happen? Do you believe Stein and Cain have the capacity to work with each other against you?” Caiden asked.
“Hitmen came to my home, threatened me and my wife, and my kids. No one else could have been more opposed to my policies than General Cain. I know for certain he was the man who relayed the order. It frightens me to think that The Chosen Three had something to do with it,” Shino said, his voice trembling.
“And you want me to unfreeze your financial assets. You want to use the money to influence change? Become some sort of corporate donor to manipulate your political motivations anonymously and vicariously through others? Whatever happened to standing up for the little man? Being brave enough to become the face of a revolution like you used to get on your soapbox and preach about all the time in your speeches? To me it sounds like your actions align more with a corporate lobbyist with deep pockets, than it does as someone who actually wants to enable change,” Caiden surmised.
“You are sharp. I must admit, it’s not the most noble of ways. But what is nobility in the city of the corrupt? Something must be done for the greater good,” Shino replied.
“You also understand that change doesn’t come about by sitting comfortably behind your pine oak desk, in a Plush Grove mansion, while people are out there on the streets struggling, starving, striving for anything more than what they’ve been given by the system,” Caiden said. “A revolution cannot be had by cowardice.”
“I am certainly guilty of misleading the public. I fed them promises I knew I couldn’t keep. I covered up atrocities committed by my peers, out of fear for my life. I’ve smiled when I was broken inside, powerless to do anything. I didn’t hack a powerful bank and give away free money to the poor like you did. But therein lies our common ground; we’ve both done less than desirable things for the greater good, albeit, I am much guiltier of inaction than you. But together, we can put a dent in the corruption here, I just need your help,” Shino pleaded.
“Well, well, the prime minister decided to grow his balls back. I’ll need the firm, name, server locations, exact amount of Creds, security codes, protection software info, and anything else you can give me related to your assets. You’ll also need to provide me with a secure offshore account. This part is extremely important, we don’t want this tracing back to either you or me,” Caiden said.
“Finally! Thank you, VseR. I knew Asuka was right about you,” Shino said.
“Not so fast. Rule number two; don’t fuck me over. If you double cross me, I will not hesitate to kill you,” Caiden said.
He saw Shino’s heart rate spike. Hmph, this guy really does scare easily. If he plans to lead this revolution, he better get that under control, Caiden thought to himself. Caiden opened the window and got ready to leave.
“VseR?”
“What is it?” Caiden replied.
“Be careful out there, okay? This city has a way of devouring the righteous. It would be a shame if you were taken out. Hell, it would be a tragedy,” Shino said.
“Speak for yourself. Oh, by the way, you might wanna upgrade your security system. Someone could slip in unnoticed, steal your shit, kidnap you, or even worse, kill you," Caiden said intimidatingly.
“Leaving s-so soon?” Honda nervously asked, trying to fight through his fear.
“Yeah, got a date I can’t miss.”
Caiden chuckled. He then opened the window and slipped out, disappearing into the night. No less than thirty seconds after Caiden made his exit, the power to Shino’s study came back on.
“Honey! Everything alright up there?” Rinn called out from downstairs.
“Yeah everything’s fine. I’ll be down in a moment!” Shino replied.
CHAPTER 31
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A few days after Caiden’s visit, a big rally was scheduled to be held by the popular politician, Ren Krong, in the borough of Blue Emerald. The announcement of the rally went viral. The councilman had been racking up massive support for his
