The Capture

After some time, the explosions stopped. The fire was still burning. Smoke was rising from the forest.

Cough…. Cough...Cough….: The general crawled out from under the boulder. He could only see a few meters ahead of him due to the smoke.

He could see burnt body parts scattered all around him. Among all his years in the army he has never seen something so wretched. He kneeled and vomited.

Suddenly he saw a faint silhouette amidst the smoke and fire. The figure was moving towards him. When the figure reached him, he looked up while kneeling…. He got a clear view of that person's face.

Zerooooooooooooo...….: The General screamed.

You…. You…... You are the devil. God will punish you for this.; he said.

Come on… You guys have done much worse. Although I feel pity for some of them since they were brainwashed, this was necessary: Zero replied with a cold voice.

The Golden Circle will hunt you ....

Before the general could finish a knife flashed by. A thin red line could be seen on the general's neck. Gradually it split and blood started flowing out.

Ugg…Ugg…. Ugg…...The general tried to speak but no voice came out. His eyes bulged out. He lifted his trembling hand and pointed at zero with the remaining strength he had. Then his eyes gradually lost their light and his body fell.

Outside the forest…..

The once busy military camp was now deserted. Zac was walking through camp. Suddenly he felt something prickling his neck. He ran his fingers behind his neck, and he pulled out a dart.

Zac suddenly felt dizzy and gradually started losing his vision. He dropped on his knees. He heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up at a blurry silhouette of a person filled his vision.

Target Secured: The figure spoke through his comms.

No wonder they call you the best. That dart was filled with enough sedative to knock out 2 elephants. It still was not enough to knock you out: A voice reached his ears.

The next thing Zac knew was something hard hitting his head and he lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was in a laboratory. His hands and feet were shackled to the chair he was sitting on. There were a lot of tubes and devices attached to his body. Scientists were surrounding him taking all kinds of readings.

Above the laboratory, there was a viewing platform which was enclosed with tinted glass. Behind the glass sat men and women of different ages wearing luxurious dresses. They were being served with all kinds of delicacies by beautiful women in maid uniforms. They were the Golden Circle, the real controllers behind the planet.

The Golden Circle was made up of 18 people, each of different nationalities. They were representatives of the largest 18 countries on the planet. You could even say these people controlled these 18 countries behind the scenes.

Leonard Hastings, he was the head of the Golden Circle and the representative of the most powerful country amongst the 18 countries. He was 51 years old. He joined the organization when he was 37 years old. He had blond hair and mustache, blue eyes and an indomitable figure which radiated a sense of pressure. At the age of 42, he achieved the distinction of becoming the organization's youngest-ever leader, and he was also the most youthful member within the Golden Circle.

Within a short span of 5 years, his countless achievements pushed him to the position of the organization head.

Over the years, there have been many different families that occupied a seat in the Golden Circle. But only the Hastings family had maintained their position in the Circle from the beginning.

Zac looked up and stared at the center of the platform and smirked.

Did he notice us: the woman sitting beside Leonard asked.

'There is no way. The glass is made of special material that even the latest technological equipment cannot see through': Another one interrupted.

Leonard squinted his eyes. Even though his logic told him it was impossible for Zero to see through the glass, his years of experience and instincts pointed out that he was spotted.

'It must be related to the big secret. The Hasting's family must get hold of the secret at any cost'. Leonard mumbled to himself.

Below at the laboratory, Zac looked at the scientists around him and opened his mouth,

"What makes you think you could find the secret now, when you couldn't do it in the 6 years you tortured and experimented on me."

The scientists were frustrated. Zac was right, after doing all the tests they couldn't find any anomaly other than his body possessing superhuman characteristics.

Zac again fixed his gaze towards the platform. "Leonard", why don't you come down and have a talk with me face to face. Or is it that the mighty leader of the Golden Circle doesn't even dare to show face and rather hide behind a glass wall.

 The people on the platform stood up one by one with shocked expressions on their faces. They couldn't believe that Zac had found them. Their arrival at this base was top secret. Only the top management of the base knew about this.

Leonard stared at Zac with a threatening glint in his eyes. 

Arrange for a room. I need to have a talk with him...…Alone….: Leonard spoke to his secretary who stood behind his seat.

Sir, you don't need to adhere to the whims of this lowly miscreant. We don't know what he is planning to do: the secretary replied.

I know what I am doing. Besides, I can protect myself. He replied.

"But Sir..."

'Get it done immediately': Leonard glared at the secretary before she could finish.

The secretary bowed her head and left.

After some time in a meeting room….

Zac was sitting on a chair with his hand and legs chained. Opposite to him was Leonard. There was a glass wall partitioning them. Zac had a cold look on his face while staring at Leonard.

'So, what do you want to say to me?': Leonard spoke through the mic placed in front of him.

"Who was the one responsible for my parent's death?"

So, this is about revenge: asked Leonard.

"You just need to answer the question "

And why would I do that: the reply came from Leonard.

I know you came to me to get the secret I have. If you don't answer you won't be getting anything.: Zac replied. 

Although Zac knew the person responsible for the death of his parents and all his sufferings and the person sitting in front of him are the same, he needed confirmation.

Leonard went silent for a moment. Afterwards he replied: "It was Ivan Vlostov. He took a liking to your mother. Your mom and dad tried to resist so he killed them in a fit of anger. You were sent to the lab for experiments, that's when they found you were special".

After a pause…. He continued:

Zero, you have great potential. Why don't you work for me? Not for the Golden Circle, not for the Hasting's family but for me. I can rescue you from here. I can even help you get your revenge.

Zac stared at his face. His face had an expression of extreme anger. He gritted his teeth and said sarcastically: 'As expected of the youngest leader in the history of the organization. You can lie through your teeth without even flinching and you didn't even forget to get me to work for you…'. 

What do you mean: Leonard asked.

"You should know what I mean. I know for a fact you were the one responsible for my parents' death. I also know that you were the one who ordered my capture and all those experiments done on me."

Leonard's face changed. He let out a small sigh and said: 'Since you know everything, I won't hide it from you. Yes, I was the one who ordered your capture. You could say it was fate that I stumbled upon your dad's secret research on your supernatural physique.'

Ahh…. He again let out a sigh.

It was nothing like I had ever seen. We haven't even dug into 1% of the potential of your body. Unfortunately, our technology is lacking to go any further.

As for your parents, I first suspected that their bodies were also special, and I secretly ran some tests on them to find that they were completely normal. When I approached your father about experimenting with your physique, he firmly rejected me. I approached him multiple times just to get rejected again and again. 

True, your father was a genius and he contributed so much to our organization, but you…... you were far more valuable than anything his geniusness could provide. Since your parents proved to be an obstacle to my cause I had to remove them.

So, Zero, it's better for you to reveal your secret and cooperate with our experiments. That will make it less painful for you. Finishing his sentence Leonard stared at Zero.

He was astonished to find that Zac didn't have the expression of anger he previously had. Instead, it was replaced with a condescending smirk.

Leonard…., you talk to me as if I am some cornered beast. You think I have no other choice. You believe I can't escape from here: saying this Zac's eyes gradually turned cold. A faint killing intent was emitting from it.

"You're Wrong", you and I are sitting here and having this conversation because I wanted you here. After all, it's very rare for all the organization members to gather at a single spot in person. 

"I admit it took me quite some effort and time to make it happen. But it was all worth it."

Leonard's clam façade was broken. Warning bells rang in his mind. But he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. His heart grew with unease.

At this time Zac spoke again, this time his killing intent was fully unleashed:

"From here on out, I decide what will happen next. Your future is in my hands."