Cynetic Wolf
OLD FRIENDS

At the center of the small whitewashed windowless space was a mahogany table, nine seats around it, six of which were full. The three chairs nearest the door were empty. At least these were cushioned, a stark contrast to the spartan efficiency of everything else.

We tried to be quiet but everyone stopped to stare. “Sorry we’re late,” I mumbled.

“Don’t worry,” Lilia replied with a sympathetic smile. She was seated at the far side in what appeared to be a prominent position. “Come in, take a seat. Make yourselves at home.” She gestured to the open seats.

I was the youngest in the room, a year or two younger than Zedda, and at least ten younger than anyone else.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Council,” Zedda announced. “I give you Raek Mekorian and Linus Fitz.”

Several eyebrows jumped as a few Council members gave Fitz curious glances.

“Linus, eh?” Paer said at last, breaking the awkward silence. “That what you’re going by these days, Lyam?”

Fitz smiled. “Why, Agtha, still so direct after all these years? By the way, you’re looking lovely, darling. Fiery as always.”

“Till I die, Lyam, till I die. You know that.”

“I do.” There was a twinkle in his eyes.

What was going on? I was so lost. Fitz knew Paer? And Lilia? And Linus wasn’t his real name, it was Lyam. My head spun, and they hadn’t even asked me anything yet.

“It’s good to have you back, Lyam,” Lilia said. “The Resistance lost a great fighter and leader when you left. We understand, what happened and all,” she added. “Still, it is good to see you and have you back.”

I kicked Fitz under the table to let him know I was on to him. As soon as we left, I’d confront him.

“So, your name isn’t Linus?” Zedda asked.

Thank you, Zedda!

“Depends on who you ask,” Fitz replied with his usual nonchalance. “What’d you want to see us about?” He looked to each Council member in turn as he said it.

“Raek, the boy,” the older man next to Lilia said. He had brown hair, big blue eyes, and a powerful frame, arms and face covered in dark clover spots. “Let’s save the reunion for another time. We have things to discuss. But as Raek is new and some of us don’t know Lyam, let’s introduce ourselves.” He paused, eyeing me. “Raek, it is nice to meet you, son. My name’s Hrun and I’m the president of the Initiative and oversee the Council. I help the seven of us come to an agreement, even when we’d prefer to argue,” he added with an ironic smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Lilia introduced herself as well. Second in command, not bad.

The pale blond man to Lilia’s right waved a large manicured hand. “My name’s Mico and I represent the Old Europe contingent of the Initiative. I manage our missions and hubs on the continent including old Britain, Ireland, and, of course, Scotland.”

“Good idea, Mico!” Hrun added. “We should say where we’re from. As Lilia and I are responsible for overseeing all ops, neither of us have a specific regional focus. She’s based out of Caen, and I’ve come in from Zone Three. I bounce between our Asian hubs.”

“Raek and I have met,” Paer said when it was her turn. She gave me a smile, no hint of the competitiveness earlier. “And, Lyam,” her eyes sparkled, “well, we go way back. I’m responsible for Zone One ops and overall strategy.”

“Raek, Lyam, it’s a pleasure to meet both of you. I’m Ganla and Zone Two’s my territory.” The olive-faced woman next to Paer flashed a sharp smile and raised pencil-perfect eyebrows. She was pretty, and radiated energy. “I add a bit of Latin fire to this lot and while it’s too cold up here, it was worth the trek.”

Fitz was next and my ears perked up. “Most of you know me as Lyam, but for the past ten years, I’ve gone by Linus Fitzgerald, teaching in a small town northeast of here, Kiag. Raek was a student of mine, Science History. I’ll let him tell you the rest.”

He turned to me and I took a deep breath. “Thanks. My name’s Raek, most of you know that. You also know about my condition. I have no idea how it happened. Do you want me to talk about that now, or do you have specific questions?”

“Whatever you’re comfortable with, Raek.” Lilia’s encouraging smile and creamy voice reminded me of home.

I relaxed. Thank you Lilia. “Where to begin? I guess the beginning’s as good a place as any.” I told them about my life, my family, that I’d never known my father. I described our town, my senses, hunting in the woods... everything. The six-clawed beast, the incident with Vovi, and about Elly. By the end, I was drained and slumped in my chair.

Hrun cleared his throat. “Quite the story you have there, Raek. I’m sorry to hear about your sister,” he added, his voice a touch softer than before. “Don’t give up on your family. We’ll see what we can dig up.”

“Be careful,” Fitz said. “If DNS knew he were here, they’d redouble their efforts to find him. It’s better they think he’s hiding somewhere in the woods.”

Hrun nodded. “For the time being, nothing about this boy leaves the building, not a peep.” He looked at each of us, face a determined chisel. “Understood? We’ll emphasize that at the meeting tonight.” He gave Lilia a sharp look.

“I don’t know.” Lilia’s eyes flashed fire. “We’re running out of time. We can’t continue like this forever. Isn’t it delaying the inevitable?”

“What do you mean, running out of time? This is my life we’re talking about,” I said, harsher than I intended. “I want a say in what happens.”

“Times have been tough,” Hrun replied. “We’ve been losing ground for years. The government ups taxation and enforcement budgets every year, making it harder and harder for us to operate. Every day they intercept more and more of our comms. Every week officers and volunteers are killed in their raids and—”

“You all know what this could mean,” Lilia cut in, her voice electric. “An animote-cynetic hybrid, it invalidates their propaganda. We could have equality, we could have peace… heck, we could even rule!” She paused, a slight smile crossing her face.

“We outnumber them. The ability to breed with cynetics, or to cybernetically advance existing animotes,” she continued. “What happens when we have our powers plus theirs? We need the people, we need the towns. Without them, we know what happens...”

There were nods and sighs all around. There was a practiced feel to what she said. They’d had this discussion before.

“We don’t have to decide anything now,” Paer said with a finality that closed the topic. Phew. “We’ve gotten to know each other and said things we wanted and needed to say. Let’s give this two days to settle and consider what we talked about.” She stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m starving. I heard Anti is serving something new today, not that nasty-as-nails meatloaf he’s famous for. I’d prefer to get it while it’s hot.”

“Thank you everyone for coming. And thank you, Raek, and Lyam, for being here,” Hrun added. “Agtha’s right, this meeting is adjourned. See you all tonight.”

Everyone filed out, everyone except Fitz and me.

“Interesting,” I said once the heavy door had closed.

“Yes and no.” He pursed his lips. “They’ve been having that debate since I left. The question is always timing, and peace versus war. We’ve always been divided.”

Oh, nice of you to tell me now… “That why you left?”

He nodded. “Among other things.” Such as...

“Why does it take so long? It’s been decades of fighting.”

“Sometimes,” Fitz—or Lyam... Fitz I decided—said, “there is no right choice, no good solution. Sometimes all the brainstorming in the world isn’t enough.”

Huh? I raised an eyebrow.

“Part of the Initiative,” he said, “the part that changed the name to the Initiative, believe people are inherently good. They think it’s possible to reunite mankind and create an equal society for all. Because of that, they push for peace. The bombings, the attacks… these hurt their cause.” He sighed.

“Then we have folks like Lilia, people who’ve had everything taken by the GDR. They want revenge. They’ve always been the stronger of the two sides, hence where we are today. They want war, they want rebellion. And most of all, they want you.”

“Me?” I looked up, startled. “What do they want with me?”

“They’ve been searching for something to unite animotes for ages. They never expected someone like you, a hybrid human. You’re better than they could have hoped, proof the subspecies could co-exist, even breed. You could be a rallying cry. They want you to spark a revolution.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. Me? “Don’t I get a say? I don’t want millions, or tens of millions to die because of me.”

Fitz grimaced. “I’ll do everything I can to prevent that from happening, to let you choose. I didn’t want to come here, remember.” His eyes hardened. “I wanted to go to Lhalas until you were ready.”

“And now?”

“We wait and see. In the meantime, how about some food?” He licked his lips, carefree smile emerging once more.

How could he be so relaxed? Seeing my expression, he added, “Tonight, after the meeting when we know more, we’ll talk. Okay?”

I guess… My stomach grumbled. “Fine, let’s eat.” At the door, I stopped. “Why didn’t you tell me your name, your real name?”

“I had to disappear. That’s a story for another day. My name has a lot of baggage and heartache. I chose a new one, simple as that.”

“So, what do I call you?” I asked.

He smirked. “I’ll leave that to you.”

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