Page 29 of Savage Love
“What?” Zev asks.
“Mmm. Yeah, so Vinny is looking for his wife,” Lupin says. “I know he means Astra, but he is talking to various leaders, saying that his wife was kidnapped and he is trying to find which country she is in.”
“So, they don’t know I am genetically mutated,” I say.
“They have no idea that the genetically mutated are still alive in general,” Lupin says. “Every country is careful about how itkeeps records of any genetically mutated children born. There are no records kept on the main servers, so their computers cannot access them. No one even publicly talks about the mutated humans. The people of Torvex have done the world a lot of good, so it’s only fair that we protect them in exchange.”
“The population is slowly increasing. More and more children are starting to be born with mutations worldwide,” Zev says.
“Yes, and we are hoping we can start getting some adults in other countries to help these kids learn how to control their abilities. So far, we have not had any issues, but there’s a bad egg in every dozen,” Lupin says. “I suspect that this is not what you want to talk about.”
“No,” Zev says. “We, as the people of Torvex, have made it our mission to save the genetically mutated people living among their citizens, but we want to go further than that. Astra has gained her abilities and is now able to control them. I think we are more than capable of getting close to Aaron and Vinny.”
“Pause,” Lupin says. “This is something that the board needs to hear.”
“Board?” I ask.
“The board is a group of leaders across the world. I made sure that the meeting coincided with your visit,” Lupin says.
“Let’s go,” Zev says.
We all stand and go down the hallway. When we enter another room, it is filled with people. “We are early, but I’m sure you won’t mind,” Lupin chuckles as we take our seats, and I am back to sitting between Zev and Ren. “Everyone, you all know Zev Kross and his brother Ren Kross. They brought with them today Astra Kross, who is also genetically mutated and is their wife. She is instinctively connected to the brothers, but she is also a refugee of Ossara.”
“Three months ago, we were able to extract her from the country and bring her back to Torvex,” Zev says. “She has since gained her abilities and learned how to control them. It took her a few days to detox from the Hydrovita. At that point, we removed her brand… She was the chosen wife of Vinny Black.”
“Oh no,” a woman says.
“Mmm, yes. So… As you can tell, it took us a while to be able to extract her. We did lose an amazing woman in the process. Lyra Baron was able to get close enough to take the position as her caretaker while she was the chosen wife of Vinny. She was able to heal her, but also help prevent Vinny’s breeding attempts. When we were finally able to extract her, Lyra made the decision to stay behind and act as a distraction so she could get to us. Now… It is no secret that we want to free the genetically mutated because their discovery would be immediate death. We have lost many people in an attempt to extract them, but now we want to go further.”
“Uh, oh. I smell a war,” a man says.
“It doesn’t have to be a war,” Ren says. “We want to free the people of Ossara. Astra made a good point when she said that she wanted those citizens to experience the freedom that the rest of the world gets to.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Lupin asks. “You have one, yes?”
“Yes,” Zev says. “The people of Torvex will get to Aaron and Vinny Black. We will execute them by any means necessary. It will be as quiet and efficient as possible. After that, we need other countries to come in behind us. There will be civil unrest because they will not understand what’s going on. They will be confused, but they need to be detoxed from that shit the government feeds them. They need to eat real food, but they have absolutely nothing to eat. The police and military will be the biggest battle overall, but without a food source, they will immediately start to detox.”
“So, take out the building that holds all of the Hydrovita,” I say.
“You know where this is?” Zev asks.
“Yeah. Vinny once raped me in that building,” I say. “They make and store it there. It is never guarded because the electronic locks that they use are supposedly impossible to get past.”
“Doubtful,” Ren chuckles.
“So, we will have to work out the logistics of the teams,” Zev says. “Either way, we will handle their food source as well as Aaron and Vinny. All we need is resources for the citizens when theydetox, and for one or multiple countries to come in and help them find peace.”
“We can come in behind you,” Lupin says. “Your people are generally nonviolent and have never gone against anyone. You are always completely neutral in any issues that arise. If you want to do this, I feel as though it’s only right that we support you.”
“Agreed,” a woman says. Almost everyone else also agrees.
“How do you think you can get close to him?” Lupin asks.
“Honestly, I don’t know yet,” Zev says.
“I mean… I can get close to them,” I say.
“They will kill you, Astra,” Ren says.
