The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Four

It had only been a couple of days since Kade made his last delivery with Saigon. Two in a month was the norm – two in one week was a gift. Everyone in town knew Saigon's reputation for paying the best, but that wasn't the reputation Kade was thinking about. Saigon was also known as a ruthless scoundrel who used forceful, and even deadly, tactics to get what he wanted. He was not a man one wanted to be on his bad side, and refusing a job was the surest way to get there.

Kade was in the middle of repairing his drone when he received an incoming message. He decided to ignore it and return to his work. Less than twenty minutes later, another message came in. This time, Kade checked. They were both from Mr. Saigon — he was requesting Kade's services. Even though Kade had his delivery status set to unavailable, the messages were marked as urgent.

Kade read the message and thought for a moment how he should respond. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Kade wrote, "Mr. Saigon, I appreciate the request, but I'm not making any more deliveries until next week. Equipment repairs."

Seconds later, Mr. Saigon replied. "Send me your location, I will have someone pick you up. This matter is of the upmost importance."

Mr. Saigon was not one to take no for an answer. Refusal to meet Mr. Saigon could cause him to go off the rails and do something irrational. He was unpredictable. Kade felt it would be best to comply with the request so he sent a ping to Mr. Saigon, which showed his real-time coordinates. On the other end, Saigon was staring at a digital map waiting for the signal. Once it came up, he sent his driver to retrieve Kade.

Kade messaged his friend Tanjoban to see if he had any experience with Mr. Saigon such as this. Tanjoban hadn't had the experience, nor had he heard of it happening to any of the other riders. This wasn't business as usual. 

The entire time Kade was working, his mind was preoccupied with what it could possibly be. It was making him anxious. Kade made a point of never inquiring about or inspecting the contents of his deliveries. He mostly assumed it was spice, drugs, or some other banal object of desire from one elite to another. He wondered what could possibly be so important that demanded such urgency.

A car service pulled up to Kade's building and alerted him. Kade peered out the window and saw an all-black SUV and what appeared to be a single driver.

"Be back in a bit," Kade said to his dog, Digi. He grabbed his helmet from the kitchen counter and shoved it on his head. The digital display lit up, he had plenty of oxygen to last him the rest of the week. "Protect the castle in my absence," he said, walking toward the front door of his apartment.

The dog made an artificial bark sound before following him faithfully to the door.

"Digi, track my location. If I don't return within the hour, send help."

Kade made his way down several flights of stairs before stepping outside. A proximity sensor alerted the driver. They exchanged a formal greeting before Kade was invited into the backseat. Not a word was spoken between him and the driver the entire way.

The vehicle drove through the rundown part of town where Kade lived into the nice part of town to where Saigon lived. Saigon was the richest man in the city and fittingly lived in the tallest tower. On a clear day, the tower could be visible from any point in the city, but there were never any clear days.

As the vehicle pulled into the underground parking facility, Kade's nervous energy grew stronger. Mr. Saigon was not one to mess with, and without any indication of what he wanted, Kade's imagination ran wild with all kinds of unpleasant scenarios.

The driver got out first and opened the passenger door so that Kade could exit the vehicle. "This way," he said, instructing Kade to follow him. Kade walked closely behind as they entered the building, walked down a hallway, and entered into an elevator. Kade opted to remove his helmet even though the oxygen he was breathing was a higher grade than that artificial junk Mr. Saigon pumped throughout his building. Anytime he could preserve his precious oxygen, he opted for that.