"... and that's all I discovered"

"I see I see. Thank you my friend. Are you sure that's all we need to know?"

"There is certainly nothing more in this world. This is what I know and so far I have no reason to believe that there is more satisfied"

Snock and Rambo were gathered in the usual shed. The rhamphorhynchus was carefully explaining to the giganotosaurus everything he had discovered about the location of the outposts.

Once all the information had been obtained, Snock's mind had already begun to act. "If the Colonel wants to divide his army in this way, then each outpost cannot contain more than a hundred soldiers. A single team of four or five dinosaurs will be more than enough to deal with it"

"Are you sure? I remind you that they will have many powerful weapons"

"If I were in the Colonel, I would have the most powerful weapons for myself. While the weapons in the hands of the outposts will be strong, they won't be as destructive. Also, we will have the skills and armor on our side. However, I have to study a way to prevent communications"

"I can provide you with a floor plan of all the outposts. It will be enough for a single small dinosaur equipped with [Ambush] to access it and destroy the communication devices"

"Good idea. Using the plan of the outposts, we could also close all escape routes"

"I will do my best to study the best path"

"The key will be timing. It will take exceptional speed if we are to avoid worse disturbances. We'll have to get them over in one time" Snock rubbed his muzzle. "Bring me those floor plans, and I'll take care of the rest"

Rambo waved his wings slightly. "I'll do it immediately"

**********

Jocelyne was in her office surrounded by her co-workers when suddenly her cell phone rang. She luckily she wasn't in the middle of a meeting or a meeting and she wasn't even giving a speech or entertaining an important character, so she could leave what she was doing and retire to her private study where she could answer. to the call.

When she saw who it was she was a bit stunned. The caller turned out to be John Hammond. "Hello?" she asked accepting the call.

The voice of her godfather came from the other side of the cell phone. "Jocelyne, my girl. It's nice to hear from you again"

"How did you call me? Communications have been blocked and the few granted are monitored"

"No problem. I used a secret channel. The advantage of being the richest man in the world is that there is nothing that money cannot buy. I simply had to find a communications expert and that's it"

"Oh I see. Well, I'm happy to hear from you"

"I'm sure. How are you?"

Jocelyne sighed. "It's not a good time, as you can imagine"

"I know it. A lot has happened in recent times. For some reason, wherever you go, everything always happens"

Jocelyne swallowed. "Godfather, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier. I don't know what idea you got of what... well, what I did, but I assure you that..."

"Hey hey, calm down. I'm not judging you"Hammond stopped her quickly. "No one here has ever had any doubts that you have done the right thing"

Jocelyne rolled her eyes. "Ser... seriously?" she asked. Although officially no one had raised doubts about her rise to her power, she knew that everyone suspected that she had been the one to eliminate the old heads of the family, or at least that everything had started on her orders.

"I know you, Jocelyne. And the others too… Ian, Alan, Ellie, everyone… they know you. You are not someone who acts out of greed or personal pride"Hammond replied. "I don't approve of certain actions, but I know when they are needed. I would like to live in a world where words can solve any problem, but unfortunately this is not the case. So no, I don't judge you. Also, if you allow, I feel that I know too little about your situation to be able to make an objective judgment. If I know you really well, then yours was not a hasty act, but it was something premeditated, and consequently you first calculated all the other various options before choosing that killing those men was the only way available"

Jocelyne bit her lip, feeling the taste of hypocrisy in her mouth. In a way, what Hammond said was true: he had carefully calculated each scenario before choosing his course of action. However, she had also acted with a bit of selfishness. Killing the heads of households and eliminating Odaria's rot had been her dream for a long time, and she had taken extraordinary pleasure in watching them agonize.

It was something she dared not confess. She hadn't told Jackson or Abe, or anyone else. And she didn't even want to tell Hammond. She knew that if he revealed that dark side of her, everyone's reaction would be the same as he was her father.

Markus had distanced himself from her daughter after that day. Of course, he had always supported her and guaranteed her anything she asked him, and he had never declared himself opposed to the way he governed. However, the two never spoke to each other again. Jocelyne knew that her father had been terrified of her after seeing her more brutal and cruel side of her; he hadn't stopped loving her or loving her, that was certain, but he didn't want to spend her time with her for more than ten minutes. By now Jocelyne spoke only with her mother when she wanted to ascertain the conditions of her family.

Even though she tried not to show it, that situation wasn't good for her at all Jocelyne. The stress of ruling a nation was already enough to bend her mind that, however brilliant she was, she remained that of a fifteen-year-old girl; if you added to it that the awareness that the man who had raised her didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore, her sanity really struggled to stay stable. She didn't want other people to get away from her, or she would go mad.

"Yeah… yeah, that's it" she lied. "I thought about it for a long time, but... there was no other way". Well, maybe it wasn't really a lie, but a half-truth.

"I thought so" Hammond replied. "So, tell me. How are things going there? The news that reaches us from this part of the world is not exactly free"

"Yes, I know that everything is subject to censorship. Well, everything has been fine here for now. I cannot say that there are no problems, but we are managing to keep the nation on its feet and to solve those problems that have plagued us for many decades"

"I guess that money you asked me long ago was useful to you"

"Yes, they were. Thanks again, by the way"

"Forget about it. As long as money is used to save lives or improve others, then it is money well spent. The hacker I hired told me that you used them to build new houses, new infrastructures..."

"Uh? Who is this hacker?"

"I don't know his real name. He calls himself Nero ..."

"NERO!?" Jocelyne exclaimed, and by the noise that she came from the other side she was pretty sure that Hammond was jumped.

"Um… yes, it's him. Why, do you know him?"

"Yes, it… helped me. I hired him some time ago. How do you know him rather?"

"That friend of yours recommended it to me, Miss Tousignant"

'Chloe... I had to figure it out' Jocelyne thought. "How is she? And... all the others?"

"She is fine, and so are the others. Ian sends his regards, by the way. He told me to tell you, and here I quote his words, 'if you really had to have so much fun at least you could have warned me to have a party'."

Jocelyne giggled. "Yeah, these are definitely Ian's words" she said amused. "I'm sure that if he were here he would start criticizing me for my too schematic plans or programs, explaining to me how everything is chaos and nothing can be foreseen..."

"He taught us the lesson. You narrowly escaped it. War saved you" Hammond replied with a touch of amusement mixed with sadness in his voice.

Even though they were at a distance, Jocelyne could feel the note of darkness in the man's timbre. "Godfather, I know it's complicated right now, but..."

"Jocelyne, no" Hammond stopped her promptly. "I don't want to know anything, and I don't want you to tell me anything. Even if the hacker I hired assured me that this channel is safe, there could always be the possibility that someone is listening to us. And then, as I said, I trust you. I know that whatever you do in the next few days, you will do it with a specific purpose. None of us here doubts that you are already doing more than you should". The man sighed. "Just... be careful, okay? When there is a war, the weak are always the first victims. I do not doubt that you are able to defend yourself, but... please watch your back"

Jocelyne couldn't suppress a smile. Those words had warmed her heart. Even in that critical moment, when her confidence in any relationship was wavering, Hammond and the others had not lost faith in her. This was reassuring. "All right. Thank you, godfather"

"I wish I could help you more. Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No, and I'd like you to tell others too. Just keep doing what you've always done. Talk about the importance of coexistence and support peace movements. I know that for now it seems absurd, but in the future it will have a lot of value... at least I hope"

"Ok I believe you. Don't worry, I never intended to stop"

"And... could you take a message from me to others?"

"Of course. Tell me too"

"Tell Chloe that Jackson always thinks of her, and that I wish I could have sent for her but it all happened too quickly. Also to Robert, tell him that his son has not forgotten him, but that he did not want to make him take unnecessary risks. She tells Ellie and Alan to wake up and get together, and Mitch and Jamie too. And to Ian... tell him that I know very well that he is pessimistic about the future, and that when we meet again I will be happy to hear his sincere apologies"

"Ha ha! I can't wait to see his face"

"If you can, take a picture. When this situation is over and I'll go back there... one day... I want to be able to see it"

"Don't worry, I will jealously guard it"

Jocelyne burst out laughing, so much that a tear fell from her eye, even though she didn't know if it was for hilarity or something else. "Thank you, godfather. I really needed to talk to... someone who didn't just think about all the headaches that await us"

"Forget about it. Good luck, my girl. I hope that when we see each other again this world will be a better place"

"It may take a long time"

"Don't worry" Hammond's voice suddenly became steadfast. "Now I have a new reason to live. I can make you this promise: when you come back here, no matter how long it takes, I will still be alive and waiting for you at the door. Death will have to wait a little longer before taking me, because I have no intention of leaving this world before a last family hug, and by now you are part of the family"

And with that said, Hammond turned off the call.

Jocelyne remained motionless with the cell phone close to her ear for almost a minute before remembering that there was no one else on the other side. Only then did she drop her arm and try to go back to the conference room, but she found that her legs had gone as soft as mozzarella. She managed to stay on her feet for just a few seconds before collapsing against the legs of the desk. "I can't believe it... I spend my days solving international crises, yet a few words of affection are enough for me to give in like this' she scolded herself in her head. 'What the hell is wrong with me..."

She stood there in silence for a few minutes, then finally regained her mobility. Despite this, she didn't want to get up. For at least half an hour she sat there, hidden behind the desk, listening to nothing but the silence of the room. After that, she braced herself and with an almost superhuman effort she got up and walked out of her office, returning to her duties.