It had been about five days since Malcolm, Ellie and Alexander had been released. Since they were a family too, they had some kind of 'priority' over others. Therefore, after two months of waiting, they had finally been released following the last exchange with the dinosaurs.

Initially he was not at all sorry; they were finally free and could go home. Unfortunately, they soon realized that the world had changed a lot in their absence.

The entire global economic system had been disrupted, with a consequent increase in many prices in the energy and food fields. Even though Jocelyne had found the solution to these problems and Hammond was working to solve them, the rest of the world was slower on the uptake and consequently a small economic crisis was inevitable. The prices of fuel, food (especially meat) and utility bills had all gone up. And to make matters worse, they now no longer had a place to live or a job.

Both Malcolm and Ellie worked exclusively in the colony. Now that the colony was gone, they were unemployed. In addition, their home was in Marsala, which was now under the jurisdiction of the dinosaurs. In practice, they had become homeless.

Both had some money saved up for emergencies, so they didn't run the risk of ending up under a bridge; however, they had to find employment as soon as possible. Malcolm initially thought it was a good idea to leave the country, since in the event of another war Odaria would be the first place the dinosaurs would attack, being directly adjacent to their territory, but it quickly became apparent that they did not have enough money to be able to travel overseas and find accommodation in another state.

So Malcolm had opted for a compromise: they would move to a small seaside town on the coast (plus a village, actually). He had a friend who was a fisherman who would have been happy to get a hand. That way Malcolm would get a job back and in case of danger they could take the fishing boat or some other boat and escape.

And so Malcolm, Ellie and Alexander had gone to the small coastal town of Flosfil. Malcolm's friend, a man named Erick, had been happy to host them in his house until they found an apartment. After that they had moved permanently. Malcolm had started his fishing business, Ellie was looking for a new job, and Alexander had been enrolled in a small local school.

From that day on, Malcolm had led a simple, quiet lifestyle. In spite of everything he liked the new job and he was earning quite well. As long as there were enough fish, he wouldn't have a problem. He kept a low profile and tried not to be recognized as one of the prisoners of Marsala, sure that this would only create trouble. And promptly trouble came to find him.

It happened one evening after he and his colleagues returned from fishing. He and Erick accompanied by two other sailors had gone to a bar for a couple of beers. On time the situation had degenerated and Erick had gotten drunk, ranting left and right that he wanted his son, a certain Lars, to put his head right and go help him. Eventually the other two sailors had picked him up and brought him home. Malcolm had offered to help, but they had assured him they didn't need his help; so he had decided to sit and drink a little longer.

When the place started to empty he thought it was time to go home, but as he was about to get up someone sat in the seat in front of him. "A beer, please"

Malcolm stiffened at the sight of the guy. He didn't seem very tall and from his voice it was unlikely he was over seventeen. It was impossible to say for sure though because of his covered face. A cloak enveloped him completely, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Neither of them said a word until the waiter served the man. When they were alone again, the guy spoke: "Malcolm Morringan, right hand of the governor of Cartago. Honest and upright man, punctual to work seven days a week, immaculate criminal record, not even a fine for no parking. One of the last prisoners released by the dinosaurs"

"Who are you?" Malcolm whispered.

"My real name doesn't matter. You can refer to me as Nero" replied the man.

"I don't know what you want, but I have nothing. I'm a simple fisherman" Malcolm said. "I am not aware of any of the dinosaurs' weaknesses, nor am I able to deal with them, nor can I offer any useful information regarding them. If that's what you want, you have to talk to someone else"

"I don't doubt it. But it's not the dinosaurs that interest me, it's the other information you have. Those concerning the government of this nation"

Malcolm inspired deeply. What did that mean? He had assumed they were looking for him to extract information about dinosaurs from him… but maybe what he was facing was a hit man. Malcolm's blood froze: having been Dreyfus' right hand man, he knew many dirty secrets concerning the country's government. What if they decided to get it out of the way to silence it? "Who sends you?"

"None, actually. I'm here on my own" Nero explained." But that doesn't mean I'm not under contract. One person intends to change this country and asked me to monitor the activities of the heads of households and find evidence of their wrongdoing. According to his request, I should have limited myself to hacking their devices without them noticing, but I allowed myself to investigate further"

Malcolm narrowed his eyes. The prospect of a person investigating household heads wasn't all that crazy, but he wouldn't have accepted such a simple explanation. Nero could very well hide behind that excuse to find out what he knew and who else knew of that information and then kill him. "Proves" he said simply.

Nero nodded and pulled a cell phone from under his cloak which he handed to Malcolm. He turned it on and was shocked: there were all the current accounts of the heads of households, their direct position, all their properties and, above all, an endless flood of contracts that violated at least fifteen laws of the nation.

"As you can see, I have already collected a lot of material. Do you think I would take the trouble to create so many false evidence just to deceive you?" Nero whispered.

Malcolm checked everything on his cell phone thoroughly. He knew some of those contracts and could confirm that they were genuine. He didn't trust him completely, but his interlocutor was right: no one would have so painstakingly created such a number of false evidence just to deceive his target. The one in front of him was not a killer. "What will you do with this information?"

"My client assured me that when the time comes they will be used to change this nation and make it more just, united and stronger than ever"

"And do you believe him?"

"I have my reasons"

Malcolm considered. "So, now you want me to reveal to you the secrets I know about the heads of families I came in contact with?"

"Any more information could be useful in the future. When he is released, I will also speak to your boss, Dreyfus. The more material and the more evidence I have, the more my client will be able to change the country"

"Changing the nation..." Malcolm was torn. Logic told him the best choice was to walk away and let it go. However, even if it was very unlikely, there was still the possibility that the one in front of him was a killer. But if he was a killer, then he would follow him and then he would eliminate not only him but all the people who knew him. If Malcolm told him what he wanted to know and made him believe that no one else knew, perhaps he would just kill him.

And then there was a high possibility that what Nero was saying was true. In that case, Malcolm did not mind revealing to him many of the wrongdoings committed by the nation's rulers and hoping that this would one day lead to their downfall. But revealing the secrets of the heads of households was still a risk. "Let's make things clear: if I give you the information you want, no one will have to trace it back to me"

"Protecting my clients and sources is my job. Don't worry, sir, I can assure you that no one will be able to track you down" Nero said.

Malcolm nodded, a drop of sweat dripping from his face. "All right. Here's what I know..."

*******

A few days earlier, on the Jersey estate.

"Am I talking to Nero?"

Jocelyne had followed Chloe's directions and managed to trace her contact on the Dark Web. Through it she had obtained his phone number and contacted him.

From the other side came a hoarse voice, clearly changed. "It's me. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jocelyne Jersey"

The girl shook her cell phone. "How do you know my name?"

"I logged into your laptop the instant you accessed my profile on the Dark Web. I know everything about you, your personal data, your interests, even your history. I must say that it is a pleasure for me to speak with the ambassador who solved the crisis with the dinosaurs"

Jocelyne looked at her computer and was tempted to throw it away, but she refrained. It wouldn't do any good. Nero had already violated her privacy and already knew everything about her. She would just put her laptop back.

"Anyway, if you tracked me down you had to have a contact" Nero continued. "Who referred you to me?"

Jocelyne considered what to answer, then she simply said: "Chloe Tousignant. She told me that you are reliable, that you always carry out your duties, that you hate oppression and that you are willing to help anyone who opposes tyrannical regimes"

"Oh, Chloe Tousignant… I should have expected it. Yes, the description fits perfectly. What do you want?"

"I want to change this nation. Destroy all the rot that controls it and rebuild it from scratch. I have great ambitions, but I don't intend to reveal them to you. It is enough for you to know that I act for the well-being of the people"

"How can I be sure?"

"You will have to trust. You trusted Chloe to the point of letting her have your contact, you'll have to trust me too. Just as I will have to trust you"

Nero was silent for a moment, then a laugh came from the cell phone. "You can speak well, I see. Yes, I want to trust. I doubt Chloe would have let you contact me if she didn't trust you. Tell me, what do you need?"

"I want you to keep an eye on every movement of Odaria's family heads starting today and to provide me with all the necessary evidence to unmask their cheating"

"A noteworthy work. But it will not be enough to crush the heads of families. They are the law in Odaria, they can do whatever they want. No matter how much evidence I give you, no one will ever condemn them"

"I don't need them to send them to court. I need them for what comes next"

"After what?"

"It's none of your business"

Nero was silent for an infinite time, so much so that Jocelyne thought he had hung up. She finally replied, "I understand. All right, Miss Jersey, I'll provide you with everything you need. But the remuneration will not be low"

"I can pay for it. How much do you want?"

"200,000 dollars. The payment must be made half in advance, half at the end of the work"

"All right. Done deal"

"Perfect. In the next few seconds I will send you an email with the bank account to which you will have to pay the money. As soon as you have done this, delete the email. And when I have hung up, delete this number too. When the time comes, I'll contact you"

"I understand. There's more?"

"No. You just don't try to find out what I'm doing and how I work. Trust me and wait for me to contact you. Don't be rushed and don't do anything stupid. Having said that, we're done"

Nero hung up. Jocelyne obeyed the instructions and deleted the number. A few seconds later an email icon appeared on her laptop. Inside was a bank address. Jocelyne made the payment, after which she turned off the computer.

She now she could only hope that this guy was as clever as she Chloe had told her.

The night before, when she had asked him if she knew any hackers, she Chloe she had had no doubts: Nero's name had emerged from her lips before she could even finish the sentence. According to Chloe, Nero was the most elusive person on the planet and only some of the top government knew of his existence. In the past he had provided assistance several times to uncover the secrets of dictatorial regimes. Chloe had assured that Nero was not only the most skilled hacker in the world, but also an excellent detective. Whatever rotten the world tried to keep hidden, he brought it back to light. Sometimes he acted in partnership with governments, but very often he worked alone, simply posting the evidence he gathered online once the work was completed. According to Nero, the truth was the only way to guarantee freedom. Chloe had only spoken to him once and remotely, but she was sure she had framed him well enough. After all, understanding people was part of her job.

He was exactly what Jocelyne was looking for: a perfect hacker and detective who would uncover any wrongdoing on the heads of households for her. Nero hated dictatorial regimes, so she was sure he would be happy to help her.

One piece had gone in his place. Nero would take care of the penal part. She could now concentrate on something else. She quickly dialed another number on the phone.

"Hello, godfather?"