“Come in!”
Retvik took a deep breath as he stepped inside the Raptor’s skull-lined office and sat down on the stool in front of her desk. Phovos seemed pretty pleased, but as she tried to figure out the expression that Retvik was pulling, she realized something wasn’t right.
“Hello, Raptor. I have a request to make. I need to take time off work.”
The Raptor looked Retvik up and down. Physically, he looked perfectly fine. Phovos knew a lot about the biology of most of the Twelve Races, and, on top of what she knew about Retvik’s recent past, she was certain that he had never been healthier. But there was an exhausted look in those large, ruby red eyes of his. The mighty Lightbearer was stressed beyond belief.
“Well, I will have to rearrange some matches since this is somewhat short notice, but is this because of today’s unexpected grudge match?” Phovos asked, putting on her nice voice. One she rarely used.
Retvik nodded, leaning on the desk. “Partially, yes. But the last three months have been hectic for me. I was caught in the warehouse fires back in Dekem; I lost the only two Rethans who could tolerate me; I was nearly caught in a second explosion in the Arksini hospital where I met Kayel, Nyssi and Tenuk; I befriended the Thantophor, who told me I am now essentially immortal; I was captured and experimented on by the Allbirther; we escaped those accursed torture labs, just about; we helped kill some sort of corrupted entity that called itself the mother of our four deities; I started a Dessaron team and you made us fight some of the best teams around… On top of that, you saw all that stupid stuff that happened between us and Arkay and his asshole sibling deities, we JUST beat Retha Squad One and, an hour ago, I beat the snot out of Kayess-En and told a live audience the one thing I am not supposed to tell people about.”
Again, Phovos looked Retvik up and down. That wasn’t stress he was feeling. Retvik was nervous.
“Are you worried that something is going to happen to you?” Phovos asked. “Because I thought you’d be vaguely happy with how everyone reacted to your impromptu match, and now you’re here, urgently asking me for a break. I thought the reason why you were exiled was common knowledge.”
Retvik shook his head, keeping his eyes down. “All exiled Rethans are publicly known. The reasons why are not public, apart from on a need-to-know basis, such as in the case of employment or criminal records. I have known Kayess-En for five years, ever since she started up her team, yet she was under the impression I was lying about my unfortunate heritage and was taking the Rethianos surname in mockery. And now everyone knows that, well, I should be dead, not exiled.”
“Pretty sure they can’t go back on that, Retvik. Killing you now would be, to put it politely, fucking stupid. Looking at the state of you though, while yes, you do want a break, and I will give you one, you do not just need a break. Rather ironically, you are looking for protection.”
“I do not want protection. I just want to have space in my normally packed work schedule to be able to deal with whatever the High General may throw at me. I have had… stern visits in the past.”
The Raptor frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“The reason Isaar left me was not because we no longer loved each other. It was… heavily recommended that they remove themselves from my life.”
“Retvik… you should have told me. You should have-”
Phovos paused. Someone was knocking on the door. With a tut, the Raptor checked her schedule, she wasn’t due for meetings for another two hours, this time had been put aside so Phovos could deal with any problems with her house fighters. Retvik was admittedly one of her favourites, mostly because she rarely had any issues with him.
The Raptor also noticed something else. Retvik had immediately turned to face the door and was completely silent and unmoving. Getting up from her seat, Phovos patted Retvik on the shoulder, telling him to remain seated, before making her way to the door. As she opened it up, she was only slightly surprised to see five Rethan governmental soldiers. She knew they were from the Rethan government because they all wore black and red armour topped off with a red sash, as well as a red ribbon tied around each of their wrists.
“What do you want?” Phovos hissed.
“We are here to speak to Retvik Rethianos.” It was the smallest of the five Rethavok who was doing the talking. Underneath their armour and sash, they had blue organic plating and rather pale skin.
“On who’s authority?”
“The High General’s authority.”
Phovos immediately got defensive. “Are you here to arrest him or something? Because Retvik is currently working.”
“No, we just wish to talk. In private. At a secure location.”
“That sounds a lot like you wanting to arrest him.”
The Rethan soldier bowed. They towered over Phovos but could perhaps sense Phovos’s anger and frustration, and were being rather cautious.
“No, I reiterate, our superior just wishes to have a civil conversation with Retvik Rethianos. We are not here to arrest the exile in any way, we just need to take them to a secure location where they will meet with our superior. When they are done, assuming Retvik does nothing… idiotic, they will be allowed to leave and will be returned home.”
“Do you have all of this on paper?” Phovos asked. “And a name?”
“Of course. My name is Lepid Kaptenion. Katis, could you please?” Again, the head soldier bowed. One of the other Rethans, the one called Katis, with dark grey skin and orange armour, removed a sheet of paper from a satchel and handed it to Phovos. Everything Lepid had said was clearly stated in plain Panglish, with a line claiming that they could hold Retvik without arresting him or charging him with anything for a maximum of three days.
Phovos re-read the sheet of paper several times, before turning back to Lepid. “Give me a second, please.”
“Of course.”
Tutting, the Raptor stepped back into her office and closed the door. Retvik was still sitting at the desk, having clearly heard everything.
“You alright, Retvik?” Phovos thrust the sheet of paper into Retvik’s hands.
“No…” Retvik scanned the document, then sighed. “Hmph. I do not think I have much choice here.”
“Do you have a non-Rethan phone?”
Retvik looked up at Phovos. “What do you mean?”
“Do you have a phone or communicator with a contact number that isn’t on a Rethan network?”
“No, I do not. It is the only Rethan utility I use, aside from my olanet connection. Why do you ask?”
Phovos didn’t answer at first. She rummaged through one of the drawers in her desk, then pulled out a tiny Ksithan mobile phone, which she immediately gave to Retvik.
“Take this with you. It’s got full battery and my personal, 24/7 number on it. If those bastards give you any shit, if they go against their word, you call me, I get my lawyers in on this. I am NOT letting one of the best gladiators to ever grace the Great Arena get taken away because you were sick of your kin assuming the worst about you.”
“I… I appreciate that, Kyr Raptor…” Retvik hesitated as he tucked the phone into his stomach wrap/ He then stood up and made his way to the door. “Thank you.”
“Thank you too, Retvik. You’re a good guy. Stay safe.”
Retvik bowed and smiled weakly, before stepping outside. The Rethan soldiers immediately greeted him, then led him away, down the hallway and out of sight.