The Last Red

Chapter 29: Genevieve

Genevieve's POV ~ year 2683 (22 years ago)

Mayor Oppenheimer laughs.

"Oh, I swear, Viv, you make me feel young again."

"And you make me feel old," I throw my red wavy tresses over my shoulder. "But surprisingly, I like it."

There is a knock on the door.

Young Leonardo walks in.

"I'm sorry to break your meeting, Mayor, but Mr. Rottheim has come to see you."

Mayor nods, pursing his lips nonchalantly in a silent gesture to spare him a few moments.

Leonardo obediently closes the door.

"I'm sorry to cut our meeting short, Viv," he apologizes, "but I mustn't keep Mr. Rottheim waiting."

"I cannot believe it," I say, teasing.

"What is it you cannot believe?"

"That there's actually somebody you have to cater to."

He laughs. "Oh, dear Viv, it's not like that. Mr. Rottheim has just traveled a very long way to see me."

"How far?" I ask, curious.

Mayor chuckles a little. "That I mustn't tell you, my sweet Genevieve," he places a finger over his lips, then ushers me to the door. "We'll talk again once I return. I am leaving on another trip tomorrow."

No. 

I haven't managed to share my concern with him. 

"When will you be back?" I ask, upset.

"I am not sure. We are working on a disruptive upgrade as we speak," he clutches the door handle - the only non-modern door in the entire City - "so it all depends on the success of its integration."

I swallow hard.

Just tell him. He's a man of tradition. He'll understand.

"I need to share something with you," I insist. "It can't wait."

"Well we don't have time now, Genevieve," he shakes his head in a slightly admonishing way. "If it is urgent, come see me early tomorrow morning. Before I depart," he opens the door.

I nod.

"I'll make sure to stop by."

I leave the office and see someone who is probably Mr. Rottheim in a very bad mood.

In his arms, he carries a large set of printed catalogs of sorts.

I only manage to read the title of the front one - Sports Abilities.

He completely ignores me, so I narrow my eyes to inspect it better.

The child of your dreams, the subtitle says.

"Do come in, my friend," Mayor walks out of the office to receive Mr. Rottheim.

He obviously is very important to him.

"How was your travel?" is the last thing I hear before I enter the elevator.

I immediately cling to the bar over the mirror to keep me from fainting.

I can finally stop pretending.

I feel like crap.

I've never felt worse.

I counted on the Mayor to give me a solution to my problem.

If I don't tell him before he leaves, it might be too late when he comes back.

He never returns sooner than three months once he leaves.

I check-out at the receptionist desk by scanning my wrist, then rush out of the building.

I raise my head to check the time at the lovely tall street clock in the middle of the Mayor's Park.

13:37

I have to hurry.

Lunchtime starts at 2PM, and after that we have our count time.

No mingling allowed.

I open the hologram above my wrist and say a command.

"Connect me to George."

Instantly, George's projection appears in the hologram in real-time.

"What's up, beautiful?"

I shake her head. "Nothing good, George. We have to talk. Meet me at our spot in 2 minutes."

George nods, worry eating away his face. "I'm on my way."

I close the hologram, then run across the park and over a big wooden bridge covering the big artificial lake filled with fish and swans.

Donors aren't allowed to hang out after lunchtime, so we only have ten minutes to spare.

I rush toward a large beige building, INFIRMARY written on its façade.

I open the door and buzz myself in.

The infirmary is the only building everyone is allowed access to at any time.

After all, they all care about our health. We need to be healthy as donors.

I walk past the elevators and towards the back yard.

Just as I bring my wrist to the door scanner, babies' cries cut through the hallways, echoing against the walls of an empty corridor.

My throat goes dry.

"Viv," I hear George's voice from behind.

Tears drown my cheeks at once.

"I can't, George, I can't give it -"

"Shh," he grabs my hand, leading me gently to the exit door. "Not here," he silences me.

The back yard of the infirmary is my single favorite place in the entire city. The fence surrounding it is completely covered with vine plants, that stretch onto thin bars on top. When the Sun hits in the right angle, the entire yard is illuminated as if it was a garden in Heaven.

"What happened?" he asks. "Did you tell the Mayor?"

I shake my head, crying. "I didn't have the time," I sniff. "He's leaving tomorrow."

"Good," he says surprising me. "He wouldn't have allowed you to keep the baby anyway. Listen to me, you cannot tell him."

My eyes grow big in shock.

"I have to. He- he likes me. A lot, George. He might be able to help us."

He shakes his head.

"The child will be sent off to Earth, Viv."

"No, I'm not letting that happen."

"Listen to me-"

"No!" I cut him off. "This is not just another gene donation, Murphy," I yell, "this is my child. Our child. "I'm not letting it go. I will not!"

George clenches his jaw.

"Then there's really only one thing left to do."

A tear drops down my cheek. I already know what he's going to say.

"We've got to leave the City."

I shake my head. "We can't, George. You know the stories about rogues. How would we even survive?"

"We'll think of something," he squeezes my arms, "we'll make sure no one even knows we're purebreds."

I keep shaking my head.

"It's impossible. Our eyes, our skin, our hair... George, we look nothing like rogues."

"So we will!"

George clenches his jaw, shaking me now.

"There are only two options, Viv. We either give up the child or we escape to the Wild."

I yelp.

I know... I know that's our only option.

"What do you say, Viv? Are we going to send our child away? Or are you willing to fight for it? So we can have a family. A family of our own."

I inhale, weeping.

"I'm not letting them have it."

"That's right," he says. "This is our child," he says. "And we will raise it together. In the Wild."

But the Wild is no place for a child.

George doesn't realize how fond of me The Mayor is. 

I'm sure he can work something out. Allow me to keep it. For all I know, he is as close to being in love with me as possible without us being romantically involved.

Finally, I nod.

I have to silence George's voice so he doesn't drown out the voice of reason in my head.

And then I keep nodding, my watery eyes shut.

*

In the morning I rush back to the Mayor's office.

I have put on my favorite dress and straightened my hair.

Just before I enter, I run my trembling fingers through it.

Then I clasp the doorknob.

As I enter, I see the Mayor standing with his back turned, gazing through the window.

He turns and the moment he lays his eyes on me, I notice there is something wrong.

He is looking at me in a way I've never seen him look at me before.

"I am very disappointed in you, Genevieve."

My throat goes dry. 

He knows. 

The doctor must've told him.

That bastard. He promised he wouldn't.

The Mayor gestures for me to take a seat.

"How far along are you?"

"Ugh, a week shy of three months," I mutter. "H-how did you know?"

"Doctor Aberdeen told me last night. I barely managed to sleep, Genevieve. I would expect that from some people in here, but," he stares at me in pain, "not from you."

I frown. "But if Dr. Aberdeen told you, he also must have told you how far along I was."

He nods.

"Why did you ask me then?" A tear drops down my cheek.

He exhales in relief. "Because this means we still have time."

A tingle runs down my spine.

"Time for what?"

"To make things right."

I know what that means. The doctor told him before it was too late to make an abortion. And I was silly to think the Mayor would allow me to keep it.

His love for me is so sick that he wouldn't even let me give birth to him.

I have to play this right.

I have to make him believe I am complacent. Otherwise, he'll force me into doing it. Strap me into the office and then it will be too late to escape.

I nod. "We do. And we will."

But these are just words. In my mind, I already know what will happen next.

From this point on...

I am a rogue.

T o d a y

Kayla's POV

Koben frowns looking at me, then back at the Mayor.

I shake my head slowly.

"It's Gina - my name's... Gina."

He inhales, pressing his heart.

"My grandmother's name was Gina," he says with a strange smile stretching his thin lips. "She knew that," he gets up from the chair, almost running towards me.

"How old are you, Gina?"

"I-I'm 21."

He inhales sharply again."Of course you are..."

What's going on?

"What's your mother's name, Gina?"

"V-Viv," I say and as his eyes fill with water, I finally connect the dots.

My mother was Genevieve...

He shakes his head in awe, approaching to inspect me more closely. "The similarity... is astounding."

I swallow hard.

"Y-you knew my mother?"

"Oh, yes," he lays a hand over his heart. "Genevieve was my single favorite donor. I never forgot about her," she narrows his eyes then. "Whatever happened to her?"

"She was murdered by rogues," I look to the ground.

I could swear there was a glimpse of water in his eyes when he heard it.

He turns away, staring through his glass windows into the magnificent gardens in front.

"I-" he clears his throat, "I am very sorry to hear that..."

I glance at Koben, frowning. What's he talking about?

"I would've stopped her, you know. Before she could escape... But I had to leave, you see... I wasn't here when she left..." he turns to us, then smiles. "When did she die?"

I swallow hard. "I was nine."

He stands frozen for a second, then nods once. "Did she... tell you about me?"

I'm not sure what I should say.

But I have no intentions of lying. I've been lying so much my whole life, I barely remember how it feels being honest.

I shake my head. "No."

He doesn't show any emotion. "Your mother escaped," he says. "Along with your father. She was three months pregnant at the time," he keeps nodding. "But as they say," he approaches me. "Nothing is ever lost."

I'm the one who stands frozen now.

What have I gotten myself into?

Or should I say, what has Koben gotten me into?

The Mayor now gets a wicked smile. "That means you lied."

"W-what?"

"Out there," he points his index finger. "You said you were Terrestrials," he purses his lips. "But you're both rogues, aren't you?"

Shit. I swallow hard.

"Don't worry," he says. "Your secret's safe with me," his eyes narrow down in a grim face. "I'd never turn you down. Out of love for Genevieve."

I stand frozen in place.

He then looks at Koben. 

"You, on the other hand, I can't say the same for," he purses his lips. "It took me a while, but I finally remembered where I saw you before."

KTL, I realize with horror - he recognized him. 

"Korean Technologies Limited..." he says. "I was very impressed with your skills," he keeps nodding. 

That's what the acronym's for? I gasp.

"I'm very grateful to you for bringing Gina here, but... I know my very good friend Anna was overjoyed to receive you at Base One," he narrows his eyes. "I feel inclined to inform her that her prized Koben Tanaka has just walked into my City."

Oh, no. No, I won't let him send him back there!

"I don't feel your gratitude," Koben stands his ground.

The Mayor chuckles just a little. 

"Besides, I was never really a property of any block," he says confidently. "I am the grandson of Granger Jones and the first-generation Terrestrial transfer in my family."

My loud gasp attracts the Mayor's attention. 

"I'm a landowner of Martian East and I voluntarily entered Base Zero," Koben states proudly. "So that my aptitude tests would bring me here."

Wait. What?

But the Mayor's still looking at me with curious eyes. "You seem surprised, Gina," he squints. "Were you two rogue allies or did he bring you here against your will?" 

I stare at Koben, not really knowing what to say.

"F-first-generation transfer?" my dry throat barely manages to speak. "Does t-that mean-"

"That he was born on Earth," the Mayor nods, "yes."

It is then that Koben locks his eyes with mine. They're glistening a little with tears collected. He must know we are at this point - beyond repair.

That's why he didn't want to share the full story yesterday - he knew I'd hate him. And he was right. 

That's how he knew about this place. About the real albino story. About donorship... 

He's a Terrestrial - an alien. 

Alien I used to love.

But that's gone now. Now... he's nothing but Lying Bradley to me - my bounty hunter.

The Mayor raises his eyebrows in waiting.

"What do you say, Gina?" he crosses his arms. "I'll leave the decision up to you. After all, I don't know what he did to get you here. We have had some terrible cases of receiving mutilated body parts of purebreds..." he shakes his head in horror. "But you seem like a good young man, Koben. You didn't hurt her, did you?"

Well, that depends, Mayor. He mutilated my heart.

"What's it going to be, Gina? Should we keep him here?"

I hear him talk, but my ears are focused only on the pulse of my heart, his voice muffled in the distance. 

Should I punish him for lying? No, I immediately decide - I couldn't live with myself if I took away the only thing he's ever wanted. One he dedicated his life to. I can't be Quira - I can't knowingly punish someone.

I finally give him a small nod.

"Well, there you have it," he gets up off his desk and claps his hands, "Welcome to the O.C., Koben Jones," he pats him on the back. "I'll make sure you're given a job. You might be useful here," he nods slowly. "You've got Granger Jones's genes in you."

"Thank you," Bradley Jones says, but he's looking at me.

"Thank you, young man. For bringing us Gina here... She's indeed special. To say the least."

Bradley gives a deep nod.

"She is."

My eyes are still glued to the colorful carpet and I seem to be unable to look away.

"Very well, then," the Mayor gets up from his chair to escort us to the door. "Amanda will take it over from here. She'll show you to your apartments and give you your orientation," he narrows his eyes warmly toward me. 

"I assure you you will like it here, Gina," he takes my hand and lays a kiss on it.

I am disgusted at once, but can't tell who I'm more disgusted with - him or Bradley.

I step outside the office, my mouth slightly open in shock.

"Leonardo," the Mayor addresses his assistant. "Please call Amanda for their orientation."

Then he looks at us. "She'll be here any second now. Feel free to take seats in the waiting area," he gestures to it.

And then the door shuts.

But I don't move an inch.

I can't - 'cause the room's spinning.

Or am I the one spinning?

"Red..." Bradley's eyes tear up, even though I can tell he's trying hard to contain them.

"Please," he tries to take my hand, but I pull away as if he was poisonous.

"Say something... Anything."

"I don't know what to say," I shake my head. "But one thing I know for sure," I look straight into his mesmerizing blue eyes.

"I never want to see you again, Bradley Jones."