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Price of Life: Twelfth

War Room

"Really, Dante," said Virgil with a venomous tone "you ought to know better. After all, we are the sons of politicians. Didn't Mother teach you anything about being a good citizen?"

Dante's complexion no longer resembled that kind and heart-warming sparkle. Now, an inferno of hate looked to be burning within his magnificent eyes. "Keep our mother out of this! How dare you talk about her after you killed her!"

Selene snapped to as she heard who that mysterious gunman had really been. The thought of matricide chilled her bones to the core as the colonel expelled more poisonous words.

"Nonsense! I'll have you know that her and father's assassin was put behind bars by MY men minutes after their murder!"

"Oh, shut up!" barked the younger brother, "I know you employed that assassin! Why else would you withdraw fifty thousands marks from the family's account!"

Virgil took a step forward. He was a few inches taller than his brother, given that he wore military boots. With a solitary digit, Virgil put pressure on Dante's chest, trying to intimidate him.

"You've always disapproved of my actions, baby brother. You think that you're so high and mighty because you've never had to get your paws dirty! You believe that you are all that is good in our family and that I am all that is rotten! Well, the tables have turned, brother! You know full well that harboring an enemy of the state is a crime punishable by death."

Selene gave a yelp of fright when she heard what might become of Dante. This outburst broke Virgil's attention on his brother, only to have it redirected on her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" came the evil coo of the colonel as he strode over to Selene. She shook with fear as he placed a gloved hand into her hair and began to stroke her cheek. "A fine bitch you've got here, my brother!"

"Virgil! Keep your bloodstained hands to yourself!" shouted the younger, furious with his brother for having touched Selene.

"Why should I?" demanded the colonel "is she your slave or something?"

"This family doesn't keep slaves, you know that!"

"Well, if she's not a slave, I'll put my hands wherever I want!" His hand ceased to stroke Selene's face and instead folded around her muzzle in an angry vice. The poor wolfess shook with trepidation as the man's hand slowly began to choke her.

"Virgil! I said let her go!"

"Hey, Hitler Junior! Selene didn't do anything to you! Now let her go, you stupid fuck!" came the angry shout of a very upset vixen.

Virgil, fascinated by this newfound courage, released Selene.

"Raksha! My childhood friend! How are you?" said the colonel with an almost authentic smile. "I'm surprised you're still hanging around with my helpless brother. My! You've filled out quite nicely! The last time I saw you, you were fifteen and as flat as a board!" His sarcastic tone accompanied a very inappropriate fondle of Raksha's breast. The vixen angrily shoved him away. He stumbled a little, but quickly regained his balance. "And you're still as much of a bitch as ever, I see."

The reunion was almost over. As soon as Virgil spotted Keith standing in the background, his brow furrowed. "Mr. Israel, I wish I could say its good to see you again, but that would be a blatant lie."

"Likewise...sir..." said Keith sarcastically. Despite the direness of the situation and the impending repercussions, Keith found it very easy to try and tear down some of Virgil's confidence.

"You were foolish to come back, Keith. Did you think you would ever find peace of mind after what you did to your comrade?" scolded Virgil. "Before all this, I thought that it would be the humans who would show us into a shining future. I guess I was wrong."

Keith stood his ground and issued a response, "Yeah, I guess you were wrong. Humans are just as hopeless as the rest of this miserable world."

Dante stood near Selene, trying to calm her from the frightening ordeal. He looked back angrily at his brother, hating him for having hurt his lover. "It's been over a decade since we've last seen each other, big brother. And, yet, you haven't changed a bit. If Mother or Father saw you right now, I think they would just fall down and cry!"

Virgil didn't appreciate his brother's boldness, "I haven't changed! Dante, you hypocritical mutt! You're as stubborn as I!"

Dante didn't say anything, he just tried to watch as his brother began to pace back and forth, throwing insults and barking lessons to him.

"You don't get it, do you baby brother? Mother and Father never approved of me. Not even after I joined the military! They always told me I was fighting for the wrong side, that the weak would one day overthrow corruption and greed within our ranks! I say nay!

"Mother and Father always loved YOU more! They would always tell me, ‘Why can't you be more like your brother? He's so kind and loves everyone!' You're no different than them, Dante. They stood for a cause that was bound to fail and they paid the price. I assume you too, brother, will make the same mistake one day.

"You see brother, there are two kinds of people in this world; Those who rule and those who are ruled. It has always been this way. The Shogun in Japan, the Nazis in Germany, the Czars of Russia! Don't you see? Those with power will always invoke to use it. But, instead of conforming and let nature run its course, the weak cry out, refusing to play their part in the betterment of the sentient race! When the weak try and oust the strong, they cripple our ability to move forward, hold us back! That is why I fight for the strong, so that we may pull the world into a glorious new age.

"Think of a day when the will be no more war, no more racism, no more fighting, no more hatred, all because the weak have done what their overlords command and allow progress to take hold! But we will never reach that day if people like you, Dante, continue to upset the natural order.

"And that is why I'm taking Mr. Israel with me. He will be made an example of. Oh, what a glorious execution it will be. Think of it! The last of the humans crucified in the town square! But do not fret; his death will mark the birth of a new empire! The military now holds all the cards. This is the beginning of the Fourth Reich!"

Dante, Selene and Raksha looked toward Keith with dismay, now knowing that he had been given a death sentence. But he merely smiled and started the chuckle. With a casual tone, Keith issued a goodbye to his companions, "Don't worry guys. I'll be fine. I have a score to settle anyway."

And, with that, Keith took a step forward, toward the firing line. He put his hands up high in the air to show he was unarmed and would go willingly. Two of the men let their rifles hang and went to secure the man. Although they needed not use force, as Keith did not struggle, one swiftly secured the humans arms behind his back with the other smashed the butt of his rifle into Keith's face.

"Keith!" shouted Raksha, eyes filling with tears. "No! Don't go!"

Keith managed to swivel his head around long enough to wink at her.

Keith was not the only who had noticed the outburst, however. Virgil now had his eyes trained on Raksha. His face brightened as he hatched an evil scheme. He looked to his brother once more and delivered his ultimatum, "Technically, I was supposed to take you along with Mr. Israel into custody, Dante. But why take you when I can take the ones you love?" His face broke into a twisted grin.

Dante bellowed, "Virgil! No! Take me! I'm the one you want!"

Virgil ignored his brother and started barking orders while walking back to the officer's car. "Men, seize the vixen. She's coming with us! Prep the convoy, we're leaving."

Several voices called out in unison, "Aye!"

Dante moved to protect Raksha, but it was too late. A soldier leveled his weapon at the black wolf to make sure he wouldn't interfere. The others began to restrain Raksha. The vixen struggled, but to no avail, she was being overpowered. As she was led away to one of the trucks she called out to Dante, "Boss, keep Selene safe! Don't worry about me!"

Dante wished he could follow, but if he were shot now, all his plans would be for naught. He nodded affirmatively, "Raksha, I'll come for you, I promise."

She put on a brave face for both Dante and Selene as she was thrown into the prison wagon along with Keith. The soldier who held Dante at gunpoint retreated to the convoy, leaving the wolf and his mate alone. Selene clung to Dante's side, crying. "Where are they taking them?"

Dante just held Selene as hard as he could and shed a silent tear for his comrades. "I don't know, love."

Virgil tipped his hat to the crying lovers as the officer's car fled the premises, along with the rest of the convoy. When the sound of diesel engines had died away. Dante stood up and began to gather his thoughts. Selene fell to the ground in a slump and started to weep over what was to become of her friends.

Dante bent down to face her and wiped away her tears. "Get your coat, we're leaving." He helped up the wolfess, who then asked, "Leaving? Where? Where will we go?"

"You just leave that to me," assured Dante. He went back into the house and began to quickly gather his things. Going into the guest room, he picked up the revolver Keith had left behind and tucked in into his jacket. Then, just as quickly, he took Selene by the hand and led her to the garage. Inside, rested Raksha's car. He instructed the wolfess to get in and she humbly did so.

Carefully backing out of the driveway, Dante set out for an unknown destination. Selene was curious to know where exactly they were going, but she thought better of it. Dante seemed too stressed right now to deal with such a menial question. After all, his best friend had just been led away and his brother was at the heart of it all!

So, they drove through the forests for a few hours. Despite the direness of the situation, Selene was amazed by how big the world was. Granted she had only seen a small portion, but she was finally getting to see the country! It was too bad that she had to see it on such bizarre and unfortunate circumstances.

Eventually, the forest roads widened into grain fields. The cultivated land made it easy to see miles in all directions. Selene could barely make sense of where the horizon ended and the sky began. She was sure that the world seemed a lot less beautiful to Dante right now. She would hold his hand just to let him know that he could abide in her. He smiled whenever she did so. But the smile didn't do anything to hide his pain.

Soon, Dante had reached his destination. He pulled the car onto a long windy road of hills. At the top of the hill, Selene spied a big, red barn. She could only assume that this is what Dante had been talking about. Was it his safehouse? Or were they going to get away from Virgil for a while? All of her questions would soon be answered.

Dante pulled the car into a little shed near the barn and silenced the engine. As he did so, Selene began to get out of the car. Dante gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her seat, however. He gave her a kiss to show her how much he loved her and then proceeded to tell her about what was going on.

"Look, a few of my colleagues live here. Now, before we go in, there a few things I have to tell you. Don't touch anything, they've got some dangerous stuff lying around. The people who live here aren't exactly normal, either, so just watch your back. I love you, Selene. I promise we'll get through this together."

Selene returned his kiss, "I know, babe. I have total faith in you."

"Good."

So, the two exited the car and proceeded over to the barn door. Dante took a quick look around to see if anyone was watching. When he was sure the coast was clear, he rapped on the door three times.

A panel in the door slid open to reveal two eyes. The eyes quickly inspected the visitors. The eyes issued a disembodied command, "Password."

Dante chuckled and recited, "Password."

The eyes spoke again, "All right, come on in." The flap closed shut and suddenly, the barn door gave, allowing the guests inside.

As Dante pushed the door open, he waved Selene inside, "Welcome, Selene. Welcome to the War Room."