Neon District: ALPHA (The Neon District Trilogy, Book 1)

by Chad Campbell

“Damnit!” A frustrated Shino said as he got up angrily to leave the study. Before his hand could touch the doorknob, he heard a voice.

  “I wouldn’t twist that doorknob if I were you,” the voice called out to Shino.

  Shino was frightened. He slowly turned around to see a dark figure with glowing turquoise eyes relaxed in a crouched position on the large window sill of the study.

  “W-who are you? What are you doing in my house!?”

  Shino was overwhelmed by fear. He turned back around and fumbled with the door knob, but before he could turn it he felt it lock on him.

  “You see? I told you not to do that. We have some stuff to discuss, Mr. Honda, or should I say Che le Che,” Caiden said.

  “What? I d-don’t know what you’re talking about!” Shino said nervously.

  “Oh, I think you do. Sit!” Caiden commanded. Shino sat behind his wooden desk as ordered, hands open and forward, to indicate that he wasn’t a threat to his new intruder. “Good. Now, I’ll say this again, we have some stuff to discuss. You can play dumb all you want, Mr. Honda, but I already know a lot about you. Certainly, you are sharp enough to know what kind of situation you’re in,” Caiden said calmly.

  “You called me Che le Che. You couldn’t be!” Shino said.

  “Ahh, yes, you finally caught on,” Caiden replied. The large study, only lit by the silver moon peeking through the window, and Caiden’s glowing eyes set the tone for a rather uncomfortable, and intense environment.

  “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, and an ugly ass military general forced you to sit on the bench? You’re so weak,” Caiden said in disgust. Shino offered no reply at first.

  “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

  ---usr/systems/server-x/GUNNED DOWN---

  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 cause and the attendance of the rally was expected to be in the hundreds of thousands. CWR was the main distributor for the event.

  “Eva Young, reporting live here in Blue Emerald for Q1 News. We’ve just received a live feed of politician Ren Krong’s address to the nation of Neon District. There’s plenty of buzz to go around about this gentleman. He seems to be loved by the people at large. He’s even garnered surprising major support by the elitists. His message seems to appeal to all, not just some. He is a true champion of change for the better and for all, not just for the powerful. Here we go, his speech is about to start. This will be broadcast live across the nation,” Reporter Eva Young said.

  The plaza to Blue Emerald’s administrative complex was flooded with thousands of supporters. Roads were blocked off, and traffic was redirected to facilitate the rally. Local businesses within the vicinity of the rally temporarily shut down so they too, could tune into the address. The weather was beautiful, not a single cloud in sight.

  “Fellow Neonians. I want to thank you for gathering here today with me so that we can begin to embark on a new journey of positive change together,” Councilman Krong said into the microphones. “It is important that we get straight to the important issues. Firstly, there is too great a disparity between the rich and the poor here in this illustrious, prosperous city. There’s no other way to state that fact. There have been too many unfavorable policies put into place by the hands of our well intentioned, but often misguided political colleagues on how to tax the fine citizens of this city.

  “Economic reform has only served the one percent thus far. There has been very little trickle-down effect. Neon District, one of the most powerful nations in the world, is suffering from a severe identity crisis. Are we totalitarian? Or are we benevolent? How can we, whose gross domestic product stands the largest in the world, stifle the needs of the poor and the middle class? We cannot, and we will no longer let that happen!” Rep. Krong said as the massive crowd roared enthusiastically in response. “I’m proposing a new economic bill that would change all of that. The ‘ETTO’ bill. ETTO stands for the Economic Tax Transformation Overhaul. This bill would not only account for the poor and middle class by increasing wages, tax benefits, and by allowing them to be in a much better place financially, it would also empower the one percent, as well. It would help to strengthen the economy, create jobs, and help with infrastructure! The more we help one another, the stronger our unified front will be! Tax and economic reform are only the tip of the iceberg, my friends. There has been a significant spike in criminal activity over the last six months.

  “I will not lie to you, it is unsettling at best. But the solution to this problem is not overbearing policing and violent police retaliation! No! The answer is not rounding up non-violent criminal offenders and throwing them into privately owned prisons with those that have committed violent felonies. We are not in an era of slavery. We need to ameliorate the current practi
ces of the Psi-Corp military police force. We need to change legislation that supports the unjust locking away of non-violent criminals for minor offenses. We need to eliminate the corruption behind the privately-owned prisons. We need to develop rehabilitation programs for those who have committed felony offenses, as well as those who did not. That is not to say that unconscionable acts of violence or crime should go unpunished. In fact, those who do infringe upon the laws set should be punished accordingly. But we must also broaden our critical thinking.

  “How can we expect these men and women, who have a shot at a second chance, to reintegrate successfully into society after they paid their debt to it, by treating them like animals? The disproportionate arrests, particularly of Hybrids must stop, and I pledge, I will work alongside colleagues like our brilliant Prime Minister Shino Honda to put an end to these unjust practices!” Rep. Krong said as the overjoyed crowd cheered and shouted.

  The atmosphere was electric. Rep. Krong was speaking to a broken city that yearned for repair, reform, and a reestablishment of justice and fairness. Celebratory horns, large signs, Neon District flags and banners waved and flowed atop the crowd.

  “Let us not forget our rights have been violated by powers that don’t understand individuality. Powers that be that do not understand that our diversity is what makes us great! This is…” Rep. Krong was cut off. A loud boom echoed through the plaza as Representative Krong collapsed. Pandemonium ensued; no one knew what was going on.

  “Eva Young here, at the Krong rally! We’re under fire. I’m getting word that that councilman Ren Krong has been shot. He has been shot! No word on his condition yet! The scene here is extremely chaotic. Thousands are running for their lives!” Eva said as the coverage feed panned back to her. The cameraman followed Eva as she ran into the madness to get a closer look. “Here, Ray! Get this shot!” she said to her cameraman.

  He zoomed in got footage of Ren Krong, down and unmoving. He was surrounded by special government agents, all on high alert, looking in all directions and scanning for more threats. The camera feed also caught some footage of a Psi-Corp SWAT team truck rolling in, assisting civilians, while other SWAT teams fanned out and searched the perimeter for the attacker.