Rhivera (Complete Novel)

~Chapter Twenty-One- Amassing Power~

~Chapter Twenty-One- Amassing Power~

~Arturo~

"That bluff you pulled about the explosives in the car was risky."

"It was the best I could come up with on such short notice."

"Glad it worked, it got you inside the Equality Zone. No one wants the Equality Zone now. "

"Ugh, that name drives me crazy. The people who would've lived there would be treated as lesser, not equal."

"Nirivo helped, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I was hoping the royal family would be with Santoro himself. I don't know if I would've found them without Nirivo. And what makes you so sure that Nirivo is a man?"

"Fair point."

After the incident at the ruins of the old Equality Zone, the government cancelled all plans to renew it. They tried to hide Miro's involvement, but our spies in the military leaked the information. Now everyone knows we killed Santoro's and fought the Rhiveran Liberation Army. They know we aren't terrorists and won't condone violence against civilians.

After what the RLA pulled, we couldn't allow them to continue operating. Their main hideout is in the Northeastern region of Tolesta, at its Peninsula. Our spies discovered it months ago.

In a decisive movement, we gathered our forces around the area and launched an attack on their hideout. Our numbers and the surprise of our assault were far too much for them to handle. They surrendered without much of a fight. With Santoro dead, their resolve had waivered.

We allowed the RLA members to join our ranks who swore off their old methods. We took all of their bases for Miro's revolution. The military might've whittled the Rhiveran Liberation Army down over the years, but Miro finished them off.

Between the RLA members who joined us and our new supporters, our forces nearly doubled across the country. The prospect of being able to challenge the military directly seems like it might be coming true.

Our greater numbers brought new challenges. The military has become privy to our use of the underground tunnels around Rhivera and they were hunting for them. They discovered one of our larger cells in Desi and managed to capture many of them. Our cell structure was setup so that even in the event of capture, no one would know where all of our hideouts are located. Despite that, Miro's revolution was more powerful than ever.

Melissa's dad Raul was promoted to General after Lena's life was taken by Population Control. "We have to be ready for when we come to blows with my dad." Melissa points out.

"Your dad isn't as much of a tactician as Lena or the other Generals. He'll be easy to beat."

"That's not what I mean." Melissa responds, "We either have to make peace with him or capture him."

"We will," I say flatly.

"I wouldn't underestimate him either. That's the mistake our enemies keep making with us." Melissa remarks.

She's right, I might be growing overconfident.

Miro's forces in Illesto receive an invitation from Antonio Montoya. He wants to meet Miro at one of his facilities and provide support to our movement. I don the guise of Miro and meet my forces there.

"It's a trap," I tell Commander Cecil, "If we show, I'm sure the military will ambush us."

"Should we ignore his offer then?" Cecil asks. She was a relatively new commander who assisted our efforts in the north.