“Rethais, can you talk? I need some help. Right now.”
Rethais smiled as he pondered what to say. He had just gotten in from a fine day at work as the Vice General and his little brother calling him asking for help was basically icing on the cake. Rethais always felt good whenever he was doing better than his little brother.
“What is it, little Retvik?” Rethais finally answered. “Tired of that shithole of a Thanatian city?”
“No. I have the Cassid government wandering around my street looking for a Rethan which they experimented on, turned into a monster and were planning on executing until the poor bastard escaped.”
“Mhm?”
“Said Rethan is traumatized and hiding in my house.”
“Um…” Retvik’s story was getting a bit weird. Almost like those old stories he would tell from his Dessaron days.
“Rethais, Cassids are kidnapping and experimenting on Rethans!”
That was a sudden jump. And a rather serious claim.
“Um, little brother, do you have proof of-”
“I have proof right fucking here!” Retvik snapped down the line. “She is terrified. And she is dripping all over the carpet. She has a habit of turning into some sort of strange goo. For all I know, there could be hundreds of other Rethans in the same predicament as her, trapped inside Cassid facilities!”
“I more meant have you got proof that these facilities exist and-”
“Are you really…” Retvik sighed loudly. “You must be retarded.”
“Do not-”
“Super retarded. Utterly idiotic. You stupid butt. This has been happening for decades and now we have obvious proof of what is going on and you are sitting on your lazy backside mocking me for being in a dire situation.”
Rethais tutted. Of course Retvik was right, but he didn’t have to be a massive grumpy bitch about it. “While your insults lack any real punch today, you have a point. What actual help do you need?”
“The problem is two-fold. Firstly we need to get Jelly out of here before the Cassid agents decide to start shooting. Secondly we need some sort of media plan to expose this mess. Because I do not want my kid to-”
Retvik immediately fell silent. Rethais jumped on his hesitation.
“Kid?”
“Yes.”
“Are you egg-ridden or expecting?”
“Expecting.”
“How long?”
“It has been about a week.”
“Well… congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I will call you back. With some assistance.”
“Please be quick.”
Rethais closed the line, then called a new number.
“General Elkay, we have a problem.”
“Is it to do with the Cassid government and the city of Palaestra?”
Rethais blinked. “Ser, how do you know?”
“Psiksi called me and told me. I am just about to call Prime Minister Aesop to ask him what the fuck is going on and to hopefully work out a peaceful solution to this mess.”
“What do I say to Retvik in the mean time?”
The High General paused. “Is he not well?”
“He is expecting.”
Again, the voice on the other end hesitated.
“Well, call him back. Tell him that if anyone tries to hurt him or his family, he is permitted to use deadly force…”
“Thank you…” Rethais sighed as Elkay closed the line. He immediately re-dialed Retvik and waited for a response.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
No answer.
The longer the rings went on for, the more Rethais worried. He decided to ring off and try again.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
Still no answer.
“Please don’t get hurt, little brother…” Rethais whispered as he gave up and put the communicator down. “Please…”s