Aiden did not sleep much that night. It's not like he ever slept too well. In the time spent awake he would go through being nearly catatonic to being as fast as the heartbeat of a hummingbird. Every night, he went through a process of trying to release all the pain of his actions. He called it his pseudo-catharsis. He always felt better for a little while after, and then he went outside and saw the world. He was surrounded by what had happened to him, by what he had done. Anytime he saw a little girl, he saw Lena. It didn't matter if the girl looked like her or was even the same race. He found that he couldn't go anywhere near the spot that it happened, either. Those weeks he had to spend in Pawnee were hell. That tunnel was always too long or too bright or too dark or too enclosed or too open, he felt like he couldn't escape it.

He sat up from his bed after his sleeplessness. It was seven thirty in the morning. He had already established that he was not going to go outside. He rose from his bed wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. He slipped on a pair of slippers. He looked in the mirror and realized that he had black and blue marks spotting his body. Aiden shut his eyes realizing that he hadn't been taking care of himself. He stepped away from the mirror, not putting on any more clothes. Well, the others were gone, so he could dress as he pleased. The descent to the main level was quick, as he wanted to get clean. He stepped into the shower, thoughts meandering, again. He was still left with the question of how he was to 'disappear'. Was he going to drop off the radar or just 'die'? That remained to be seen. Of course, he did not want to do that literally.

After a good scrubbing, he stepped out of the shower. He went to the bathroom mirror. Bad decision, he was reminded of those contusions. He brushed his teeth with his eyes closed. He put on his robe and walked back to his room and put on the only casual clothing he had. His stomach started to growl. He padded his way to the monitors. He had satellite television, but it's not like he ever had the chance to watch it. He turned on the television. The first channel had one of those paternity test shows. The second channel had on some children's show teaching toddlers how to count. The third channel had a small claims court show on. He turned the monitor off. This was getting on his nerves.

He wanted to be out of here. Well, he wanted to be got out of here, and live a 'normal' life. He had to start thinking. He couldn't call Jordi. That contract had long expired not to be renewed. T-Bone couldn't help him even if he wanted to. Clara was dead. Tobias was, well, wherever the hell he was. He knew that sulking wouldn't help. It never did. Pseudo-catharsis would do shit either. Suddenly, his monitor turned on. It was displaying static, as a message came across the screens. It came haltingly in large red letters displayed with a 'snowy' background.

AIDEN PEARCE

I C U

I WANT 2 HELP U

U CAN GET OUT OF HERE

GET TO UR SISTER

GET ON UR PHONE

Aiden was shocked. His chapped lips parted in astonishment. Who could have been listening to his phone call? And how? He took so many precautions. He bounced that signal through all fifty states and through about six or seven countries. It didn't make sense that any normal hacker could even discover him. He looked at the phone on the desk as it started to ring. He walked to it, a little wary. Hell, the thing might have blown up if this hacker was skilled enough. He picked up the phone.

"Who is this?" Aiden tried to play it cool, but he still wasn't as tough as they thought he was.

The voice that crackled over the telephone was sent through some sort of voice changer. It made the voice sound deeper than it would usually sound.

"It's a friend."

"What kind of friend?"

"One who can get you out of here." The voice was determined, unwavering.

"What's your name, voice."

"I am Benevolence."

"Well, Benevolence, you can't just be doing this for nothing. That's what your name says but you must want something.

"Yes, I… I-" The voice was shaking, even through the filter.

"Spit it out," said the fox sternly.

"Need you to take down DEDSEC for me." Benevolence spoke quickly, almost brusquely.
"For you?"

"Well, for us. You see since CTOS went down last year, they've gone from watchdogs to terrorists. They exploit the simple. They cheat anyone who has the misfortune of crossing their path. Now they're killing innocents. They kidnap and shoot. They want ransom from the city. They blame you. They say you didn't allow them to plant the seed."

"You talk like you know everything about this. I know what seed they're talking about. And I bet you know what seed they're talking about, too. If we're going to do this we need to trust each other."

"Fine, I was a member, but when I saw the shift starting after the blackout I got out while I could. They, ironically, don't like dissenters."

After that conversation Aiden felt conflicted. DEDSEC had been changing after he locked them out of ctOS, but he figured they were smart enough to find their way back into the system. It was not that difficult they could go through any of the servers in the city, crack the code and everyone was in. That's how Aiden would take down DEDSEC. He would only have one problem. He would have to find those servers. Those servers would be hard to find he would need help. He took out his phone and redialed Benevolence.

"Well, if I'm going to take this down for us. I need your help," Aiden started. "Do you have an app that has these servers' location in it?"

"Well, I don't know that I have their exact locations, but you might be able to track their locations from the energy fields around them. I'm sending it to you now. All I know is that there are six of these servers in the city. Use the radar and take them down. Physical destruction of the server would be the best." CLICK

Aiden was less conflicted now, but now he had to go outside. That's what he wanted to avoid in the first place. He realized he was still holding the cell phone. He had one more phone call to make.

"Hello," his sister's voice was even with early morning grogginess.

"It's me."

"Oh, Aiden I didn't recognize the number. It's different than the last number."

"Yeah, well look, I'll be there to see you two soon. And I won't bring any heat with me either. Tell Jacks that I'll bring him something to make up for Christmas."

"Alright but, you better be reformed when you get down here."

"I will. I have to go. I have, uh, preparations to make before I get down there."

"Okay. I love you, Aiden."

"I love you, too."

Aiden after that phone call went into his pseudo-catharsis.