The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Thirty-Five

"So," Dax said, leaning forwards in his chair. "Xylem is a psychopath?"

"Seems like it," Aiden nodded. He'd just finished telling Dax everything that had happened in the past year, from the first Consignment Day, to Zariah's Transferring, to the fall of Fifth Unit, to Jayda's death. The young private had listened intently for the hour long explanation, never interrupting Aiden once while he spoke.

"I can't believe that Fifth Unit is gone," Dax murmured, "and we had absolutely no clue. What about the people in their sector?"

"I don't know," sighed Aiden. "I assume that they're not too well-off, since Xylem can't expose the secret by asking another Unit to pick up their slack on Consignment Days. That's why we've got to overthrow him."

"And soon," Dax added. "What do we do?"

"Well, there's no way we can do anything from here. I'm not really a popular man in the eyes of the people at the moment. If I showed my face in one of the cities, all the people would see is a murderer, and nothing less. It's screwed us over, since we're going to need the help of the people to bring about change," Aiden continued.

"What about the civilian in Oslua City that you mentioned? Roman?" Dax suggested.

"I'm sure he hates me by now. Besides, even if Roman remembers who I am, why would he help us?" Aiden shook his head.

"Well, he let you live last time. He doesn't seem all that dumb. It might be worth getting in contact with him and seeing what he can do from the inside. He seems popular in the cities," Dax shrugged.

"And even if he does somehow agree to meet with me and talk, how am I even going to get in contact him? Who knows where he could be by now?" Aiden retorted.

"Oh, that's easy," Dax waved him off. "Just send him a transmission."

Aiden looked at him blankly. A transmission? Clearly his trainee wasn't thinking properly. Dax seemed to pick up on his confusion and sighed before elaborating further.

"All the Units are equipped with a radio tower and transmission station, yeah?" Dax clarified. "They told us about it in the youth centre. Then, well, I've snuck in there a few times before on a dare, but that's beside the point. It's not too hard to get in if you know someone who's pretty sneaky. Just send a transmission to all the cities and be done with it. If he shows, he shows. If not, well, then you know."

"That's actually not too bad of an idea," Aiden remarked, impressed with the young private's ambitious plan. He was about to praise Dax before he furrowed his eyebrows, perplexed. "Wait a minute, you're telling me that you've-"

"Yeah, yeah, that's not the point, though," Dax intervened. He folded his arms across his chest. "So, when are we gonna go and get this job done?"

"We?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Not a chance. There's no way I'm letting you go with me to sneak into the transmission room. Absolutely not."

"Colonel," Dax protested. "Look, I've gotten in there before, and-"

"You want to help out?" Aiden crossed his arms. Dax sighed and nodded in response. "Good. Then you train, and you train hard. Something about all this tells me that we're going to end up in a bloody brawl at the end of the day, and I want you in prime shape, just in case. I'd rather resolve the matter peacefully, but there's no peace when it comes to Xylem."

"Right," Dax relented. "You can't get into the tower by yourself, though. You need a partner."

"Oh? And who was yours?" Aiden inquired.

"Osric. He's a crafty guy. Faster than me, that's for sure," Dax explained nonchalantly. "Have you got anyone in mind?"

"A few people, actually," Aiden thought. The entire time, he'd been thinking of bringing Zariah along, but after Dax had mentioned that Aiden needed someone stealthy, an unlikely name popped into his mind.