The war broke out so suddenly, without any warning or hint of what was coming. Civilians in District 25 and the Federation had all thought it would come later, or that the two sides would merely trade insults and engage in minor skirmishes, perhaps conduct some espionage or arrange a few assassinations. They had never expected things to escalate into war. There might be a few small clashes, but once their interests aligned, the threat of war would disappear.
But no one had imagined that District 25 had no such intention.
Or rather, the Alt Conglomerate had no intention of coexisting peacefully. That was why Jonas had first specifically asked the Peacekeeping Forces and the Arbitration Bureau to keep a closer eye on District 25, then focused his attention on the war with the Federation, to prevent anything from going wrong.
What he wanted from this war was to tear a huge chunk of flesh off the Federation. No, not just one chunk-the more flesh he could bite off, the better. And most of it had to come from the Misen Family. Only then would Dorothy stop playing petty tricks and dreaming up schemes fit only for elementary school children.
The Federation thought far too highly of itself to believe District 25 would launch a war first. It assumed District 25 lacked both the technology and the nerve. All Jonas could say was that, before he arrived, District 25 really had lacked the nerve. But now that he was here, even if it lacked the nerve, it would have to find it.
The enemy had already come knocking. They had sent Noel, and after thoroughly humiliating her and planting a few things on her, he had deliberately let her return. Reconciliation was practically impossible, yet the people of District 25