Frankenstein's Bastard Child

Volume 13

50 seats, one for each board member, each one from a different European country representing their respective steel tower. Each one more pompous than the last practically draped from head to toe in the finest silks and leathers.Together they made up a society more powerful than any elected official or dictator on the continent ready to screw over anyone they needed to in order to keep the status quo. In a way these people were heroes. Every last one of them owned a tower containing bio weapons possibly more devastating than the world could ever know. They weren't atom bombs as far as they knew but who knows really? No one person knew what was in the other's steel tower but they had heard stories of the chaos and destruction in Moscow after a certain unnamed someone let it fall into disrepair. That would explain one of the empty seats but not the other. It made what would have been a pleasant meeting between pals turn into a possible declaration of war. Of course that would mean pinning an unknown force against an unknown force almost like a randomized game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Even if that wasn't the case none of them would be willing to gamble away their cod fish caviar for the faintest chance of gaining even more entitlement. Having said that, it still didn't relieve the tension in the air. Unspoken questions began to arise, whispers and murmurs that could barely be heard across the room felt less like small talk and more like rumors and soft threats. Gossip had always been a prominent thing amongst the group but it was nothing  deeper than an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Now it felt more like Narcos.

The pseudo-silence was broken by the clinking of a glass initiated by the German representative, Aldous Fischer. He stood flexing his wide frame adorned with a colonel's uniform accompanied by medals awarded to the fine young man partially responsible for defending his land against all that would threaten the peace of the common German citizens. Though he could no longer be considered young, his days in the military were worth more than a distant memory. Aldous spoke with a booming tone.

"I would like to start by welcoming all of you here today, despite your busy schedules you all still manage to grace us with your presence and for that I thank you." He took a polite bow before sitting back down.

"With introductions out of the way I would like to address the elephant in the room". There wasn't any need to gesture towards the empty chairs. Everyone already assumed as much.

"The absence of Epstein Vulcnastien is troubling to say the least but as for the course of actions we should take we should start by assuming Epstein has been recently diseased." This was customary, they all knew it. If you didn't show up you would either have died or have been killed soon after.

"With that being said I have already dispatched a personal mercenary of mine to dispose of Mr. Epstein only to find that there was nothing there to dispose of." The representative of France stood to speak.

"You mean he's already dead? How? And why hadn't you made us aware of this beforehand? It would have saved us the trouble of worrying, don't you think?" John Mulligan The representative of the French steel tower and a paragon of wealth and stability. Secretly addicted to coke but that's not important right now.

"Sit down John you fat motherfucker do not talk when I'm talking got it!" They never got along. Aldous continued, now without interruptions.

"As I was saying the answer is no, we have not identified a body yet but even more troubling is that we also haven't identified the tower either." This time Britain's representative stood.

"What'd you do, lose the address? It's a fifty foot tall building not a McDonald's. I'm sure you'll find it eventually." Aldous shot him a distasteful look.

"I don't mean it's lost, I mean it's gone." He put down a folder full of photos of the scene. They spread across the table like water flowing from a pitcher. From photos of scraps of metal to literal bodies mangled and strewn all across the scene. The room stank of sweat.

"What does this mean? Germany did you do this if not you then who? And Why?" The room burst into arguments and accusations. Friend turned against friend, paranoia born from nonsense, and the fear of losing the entitlement they had coddled to like children to a blanket. The noise stopped once more with the slamming of a fist to the table by the German representative.

"I understand your concern." 47 sets of eyes were focused on him.

"Many years ago a man by the name of Dr. Frankenstein shook the world by perfecting a formula for man made life, a concept that would have been considered absurd. And yet it walked. And it gave each and everyone of us and our ancestors our aristocracy as we were the ones entrusted with keeping the world safe from whatever horrors lie within the steel towers. We in this room are the last line of defense against the creations of the mad doctor that would've never existed had someone taken him seriously. I don't think any of us could ever be redeemed for that." Silence and pressure turned to confusion until Spain's representative spoke.

"So? Why are you telling us this? We already know all this so there's no point in going on this random monologue."

"It's not for you." Aldous stated as a rebuttal. "Is that enough for you?"

I rose from my squatting position behind the representative's chair.