The NMWA was in a state of absolute emergency.

"How did they find out about our plans!?"

"Are there any spies among us?"

"Those monsters have already proven that they can become invisible to any electronic device. What if any of them had infiltrated here?"

The video released by Sobek had had a terrible effect on the morale of the heads of state. Everyone was convinced that they would attack first, catching the dinosaurs unprepared, and yet they apparently knew everything.

Tensions among the population were already very high. Some of those who praised the war were happy, but many were no longer so sure of their choice. Sobek's speech had frightened them. After all, the spinosaurus had threatened to stain the streets with blood, and he seemed very confident as he spoke. Faced with that threat, even the bravest had faltered. Those who were against the war, on the other hand, were even more frightened and feared that things would degenerate at any moment; many had run into the streets to implore governments to stop that madness, and the most religious even shut themselves up in churches to pray to God to stop the war.

"Order, order!" recalled the president of the NMWA. "We must remain calm in these difficult times! We have to…"

But his speech was stopped by Odaria's representative, who after receiving a phone call stood up and asked to speak: "Gentlemen, forgive me for my interruption, but I have an announcement to make. Following the supervening implications, the Odaria government categorically abandons any war effort. Any introduction of foreign weapons on our territory will be considered a violation of international agreements"

"WHAT!?" was the general scream, which also included the president, unable to contain himself.

********

Perpetual Palace was the seat of Odaria's government. There, politicians gathered to discuss the laws on the agenda and the rules to be approved.

Of course, all this was just a cover: it was the heads of the families of the major corporations who decided the fate of the country. The politicians were simply their puppets. They voted and approved the laws that the heads of families wanted and rejected the ones they didn't want.

Normally the heads of the families did not show up at the Perpetual Palace. But that day an exception was made.

After watching Sobek's video, the people of Odaria had entered a state of collective hysteria. Unlike the rest of the world, they had a clearer view of the war, because they had just experienced one. Many families were still mourning the thousands of soldiers slaughtered by dinosaurs who did not even have a grave. Rather than risk a new war, this time in their streets, the citizens had risen up demanding that any war operation be stopped.

Odaria's now small army was not yet able to contain the crowd, so the heads of the families had to find a solution. And while they thought about it, Markus Jersey had proposed to everyone to meet in the Perpetual Palace with the politicians. In this way they would have given people the illusion that all the most important elements of the nation had come together to manage the crisis; this would have calmed the population for a while. Not only that, but Markus also proposed to turn off the Internet and disable all communication devices until they had made a decision, so as not to give the population of different cities the opportunity to organize and unleash a revolt.

Turning off the Internet was something that technically only the president could do, but the president was just a puppet of the heads of households. And the heads of the families very gladly accepted the idea, since this would have prevented, at least immediately, a real revolution. Although technically depriving the population of communication devices was a dictatorial action, no one had a problem with it.

But in reality it was not Markus who had the idea. Jocelyne had suggested it to him. Jersey would have preferred to go to the Perpetual Palace alone, given the dangerous climate, but his daughter had refused to be left behind; in the end, the man had given in and took her with him. Curiously, her daughter had also brought a duffel bag with her.

Once they arrived at the Perpetual Palace, the two were greeted by a black man in his forties: the president Morgan Medlay. "Mr. Jersey, miss Jersey. Welcome. We were waiting for your arrival"

Medlay was president in name only. He had obtained this position because he was the most cowardly one, and consequently the one most easily malleable by the heads of the household. It was nothing, nothing more than the shadow of a man who was unsuccessfully trying to show himself authoritarian. "This way, please" he said, accompanying them as if he were an usher.

The three arrived at a large room in the center of which there was a large table with at least fifty seats. And at that table all the most important politicians and heads of families of the nation were gathered.

"Markus, you're late" Mosley greeted him with a fake smile. "I see you brought the little monster with you. You should have warned, I'm afraid I don't have a seat now"

Markus seemed intent on punching Mosley, but Jocelyne replied for him: "It doesn't matter, I can stay standing. I'm here to talk, not to warm a chair" and having said this she positioned herself in a corner of the table. She threw the bag on the ground and opened it, taking out a snack that she began to eat casually.

If those present found this behavior strange, they didn't show it. They just ignored it. When finally the last heads of the family arrived, the room fell into total silence, broken only by the sound of Jocelyne's chewing. The politicians present remained silent, waiting for the heads of families to give them instructions. However, no one seemed to have any idea how to get started.

In the end it was Kimber who spoke. "Gentlemen, it is clear that we are facing an unprecedented moment of crisis, even worse than the one we faced a year ago. Not only is the dinosaur threat again evident, but our own people are rowing against it. Strikes and protests are taking place across the country, and riots have even broken out in some cities. For the moment the situation is contained thanks to the masterful idea of the here present Markus Jersey to turn off communication devices nationwide, but it will not last long. We have to find a solution by tonight"

"Without our army, there is no way to contain the threat" Markus interjected. "Even by putting our private militias together, we could not put down a revolt even if we wanted to. Nor can we ask the NMWA for reinforcements: they would take too long to cross the strait, time we don't have. Consequently, this time it is the people who have the knife on the side of the handle. We have to give them something to appease them"

"And what?" asked another head of the family, Ifrit Sama. "The people ask for peace with the dinosaurs. They are afraid that the disaster of a year ago will repeat itself, and in addition they fear that the war will take place in our cities. I don't think they will appease with anything less"

"But if we refuse to let foreign weapons be placed on our soil, then we will be put in a bad light not only in front of the NMWA, but in front of all humanity!" Mosley pointed out. "In the rest of the world, people are hoping for the extermination of the dinosaurs. Although there are movements in favor of peace, they do not even have the support of a tenth of the world population. If we refuse to contribute to the cause now, from their point of view it will be like having turned their backs on them! We will lose any of our customers like this!"

"We could always ask the NMWA only for a postponement, a delay on the timing" proposed another head of the family, Hugo Magni. "It would not be a refusal, and it would give us time to attempt a pro-war propaganda, or at least it would give time for the NMWA's reinforcements to arrive on our soil"

"And do you think people won't notice?" Jocelyne suddenly asked. "Unless you want to keep the internet off for weeks, dictatorial action that is sure to spark a revolution, people are sure to hear of a fleet headed towards us. How do you think they will react? It will be the downfall. Before you can even see the reinforcements, you will be hung on spades"

Jocelyne's nefarious words had the power to shake the spirits of the entire table. Everyone felt a shiver behind their backs, as if they suddenly felt even more in danger.

"The wren has spoken again" Mosley murmured. "Who knows why, I'm not at all surprised"

"Should I take this as a compliment?" Jocelyne asked sarcastically.

"Take it however you want. I don't care, as long as you tell us how to get out of this mess" Mosley said. "I don't believe what I'm about to say but... you got us out of shit once, so do it again"

"Wow, look. A great head of a family who spontaneously asks the advice of a woman, and even a minor? Would you mind repeating everything in front of a camera? You know, I'd like to capture the moment for posterity" Jocelyne teased.

"Oh, stop it!" Mosley exclaimed. It was clear that he was doing his best to be so sympathetic. Evidently the situation was so critical that even he had chosen to swallow his pride and lower the crest for once.

Kimber interjected: "Miss Jersey, please stop making fun of Mr. Mosley. Rather, tell us your opinion on the matter". He knew that if Jocelyne didn't give them a decent solution, no one would be able to.

"Okay, okay, don't fret" the girl said. "In short, I am sorry to inform you, my kind gentlemen, that this time you have lost"

The heads of the families were surprised by those words. It was certainly not the situation they expected. "You made a fool of yourself when you agreed that the NMWA would move its weapons to our territory before reforming our army. Dinosaurs in the past have repeatedly proven themselves capable of preventive action, and thus it was clear that they would discover the threat prematurely. Furthermore, it was obvious that the people would not appreciate the prospect of a new war. If you had asked the NMWA for enough time to reform our army, or for foreign aid to reform it, then we could have contained the riots and managed to pacify the nation, even if only partially, and we could have continued with the commission's arms shift. But you were in a hurry and didn't consider too many factors, and now you are literally in a quagmire" Jocelyne continued. "Now, regardless of whether the dinosaurs can stop the NMWA's weapons or not, you have no chance of getting out with your head on your neck. If you refuse peace, the people will tear you apart and destroy our nation from within. If you accept it instead, this will be a betrayal of the NMWA, and since the rest of the world is pressing for war, it will only be a matter of time before our country is occupied militarily with some excuse, and the first heads to jump will be those of the leaders of the nation, or the most influential politicians and people. Regardless of how you turn the omelette, all of you are really screwed"

Although many of the heads of the families wanted to argue, or at least respond in kind, none of them had the courage to open their mouths. The calm with which Jocelyne was talking about such a dramatic matter was terrifying. It was as if she was not only completely unrelated to the matter, but she was actually enjoying the impending disaster. Even Markus found he was frightened: he had never heard his daughter speak like that.

The only one who had the courage to speak was Kimber. "Miss Jersey, I hope you didn't come here just to tell us we lost across the board"

Jocelyne laughed. Even though her laugh was normal, she still made everyone's blood run cold. "Of course not. If Odaria were doomed, I would certainly not be here, but on a plane bound for overseas" she replied casually. "If I came here it is to tell you that Odaria has a chance to save herself, and come out stronger than ever"

Kimber felt calm invade him. He had been right: all that speech was just a way to get them to listen to her. Jocelyne actually had a well-defined plan in her mind and was just aiming to scare them properly to make sure everyone present followed it in detail. She was truly a skilled speaker and a clever strategist. She was a very dangerous woman, in every sense.

"I will not deny it to you, it will be very, very complicated. This time it won't be enough to agree with the dinosaurs for some supplies and build some plants for Odaria to emerge victorious. We will need a long list of changes, on a political, social, economic level… it will certainly not be a job that can be done overnight, but it will guarantee the success of the nation" Jocelyne explained; she almost looked like she was flattering herself. However, suddenly something changed.

The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant and the air seemed to drop a few degrees. All the people gathered at the table felt a shiver down their spine, as if their intuition was warning them of a terrible danger to come. And suddenly, Jocelyne stopped smiling. Her eyes narrowed like slits, and they almost seemed to ignite from the inside. "But the first change will happen here. If we want Odaria to win, there can no longer be room for the parasites inside. And as I said at the beginning of the speech... you have lost"

"What... AAAARGH!"

All the heads of the families gathered at the table, except Markus Jersey, screamed. The politicians stood up frightened by that cry and backed away. All the heads of the families had felt dozens and dozens of sharp objects sticking them in the legs and then had an unpleasant sensation, as if the muscles of their limbs were heating up and melting from the inside. With a simultaneous snap they moved the table and saw at least a hundred legless creatures stirring on the ground.

"AAAAH! They are snakes!" more than one person shouted. Householders waved their legs to shake them off. The reptiles released their grip and climbed onto the table, blowing heavily in the direction of their victims.

Jocelyne shook her head at that scene. "They are not just snakes. They are taipans, the most poisonous reptiles in this world. One bite from them is so powerful that it can kill two male elephants. A quarter of a milligram of their poison is enough to kill an adult"

Householders turned in horror to Jocelyne, and the sight of a fifteen-year-old girl uttering what was in effect a death sentence to them terrified them as never before. Then, suddenly, a snake bigger than the others climbed up Jocelyne's leg and landed on her shoulder. It wasn't a taipan: its collar made it clear which species it belonged to. A king cobra. "Done" it said.

"I see it for myself. Great job, Jafar" Jocelyne replied to the snake, who let out an amused snort in response.

This scene made it possible for the people at the table to be able to link events together. "You..." Kimber growled. "It was you! This was a trap from the start!"

"Of course it was. As I told you, there is a chance that Odaria will win. I never said YOU would win" Jocelyne replied. "You are an obstacle to this victory, because you would surely have opposed the change. Also, you cannot say that you are innocent. Over the generations your families have dragged this country into poverty and corruption. If I want Odaria to come out victorious, I must first eliminate the internal enemies"

"Soon! Let's go to the hospital!" Mosley suddenly yelled. "The taipans' poison take thirty minutes to kill a man. We can still get an antidote!"

"Wrong, Mr. Mosley: ONE taipan takes thirty minutes to kill a man. But what would happen if dozens of taipans bite at the same time, injecting a disproportionate amount of poison?" Jocelyne asked sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure you already can't get up from your chairs anymore. You will be dead in five minutes at the most"

"Call someone! Maybe they will arrive in time..."

"How? You have turned off the Internet. Your private lines are also disabled. You can't call anyone even if you want"

Unfortunately it was true. Many heads of households tried to get up, but they didn't even feel their legs. Their limbs seemed to have completely atrophied. And without the Internet or media there was no way to call an ambulance. "Fuck yourself! If I have to die, you will come to hell with me, you traitor!" Kimber growled. "Guards! Come here now!"

The door to the room opened slightly, revealing the silhouette of a man in uniform, clearly a member of a private militia. "Kill this damn witch! She had set a trap for us!"

But to everyone's horror, the guard fell to the ground. As soon as the body was placed on the floor, it was clear to everyone that it was nothing more than a corpse. A pool of blood was forming under his throat. Then claws emerged behind him. Two dinosaurs with huge curved claws on their paws and sharp teeth entered the room.

Kimber froze. Utahraptors. Some of the most dangerous members of the dromeosaur family. They could kill a tiger in ten seconds. And one man in one.

Suddenly it was all clear to him. "You..." he whispered as he looked at Jocelyne with an expression halfway between furious and terrified. "It was you who informed the dinosaurs about the weapons! You gave them the proves of our plans! You betrayed the country!"

Jocelyne shook her head. "This time you are not up to your intelligence, Mr. Kimber. You got one out of three right. The dinosaurs discovered the weapons for themselves and I certainly didn't betray the country…" A sinister light shone in her eyes. "But I won't deny that I gave them the proves of your plans"

Kimber was starting to have difficulty breathing. "Why?" he simply asked. He wanted to know before he died. Why sell your country to monsters?

Jocelyne didn't hide the truth. "Because my loyalty goes to Odaria, not you. You, my dear family heads, are not Odaria. You are just parasites who have transformed this nation into a concentration of corruption and falsehood". None of the family heads had ever heard so much contempt in a girl's voice. "You would have destroyed this nation. The war between humans and dinosaurs would have turned the whole country into a battlefield. The people would have been massacred. But you didn't care, did you? You would either have had your own bunkers, or you could have sneaked away to some tropical island. I did not betray Odaria, I saved her. I have prevented this nation from turning into a bloodbath, and in the next few days I will also heal all the damage you have helped to create with your greed and indifference towards ordinary people. There will be a radical change in our nation, but you would never have accepted it, because you are too attached to your privileges. So better for everyone that you die now". She let out a grunt. "I'm only sorry I didn't eliminate you earlier"

Those were the last words Kimber was able to hear. In the next instant, the poison reached the diaphragm and paralyzed his lungs. He agonized for a few more seconds trying desperately to breathe, then his life left him.

That was the fate of all the heads of families. The powerful poison of the taipans killed them within minutes. They did not even have the strength to curse their executioner before they died.

The corpses of Odaria's mightiest men collapsed from their chairs, a trickle of white foam dripping from their mouths.

The only survivor was Markus Jersey. "Do you want to take control of the nation?" he asked his daughter with breathlessness.

"Do you want to stop me?" Jocelyne asked back.

"I'm not so stupid. I can tell when my opponent has the knife on the handle side. I won't oppose anything you want to do" Markus replied. "But don't expect me to approve... this"

Markus Jersey knew that she, her daughter, could be capable of doing anything, she had proved it several times over the last year. However, he never imagined that she would be responsible for the carnage and murder of all the most important men in the nation. Even though he had been pardoned, and perhaps under normal circumstances he would have been proud, at that moment he was afraid of her.

"I don't want your approval, nor that of these men" Jocelyne replied, casting a look of disgust at the politicians, who drew back in fear. "I just need everyone to do exactly as I say"

Jocelyne had planned everything in detail from the start. She had made her decision about her and now there was no turning back.

She could have just sent some dromeosaurs to take out the household heads, who could have slit their throats like they did with the guards. There would have been no way to discover that they were claw marks: she would have only had to drop a little money for the police to pass them off as stab wounds. However, she wanted to personally take pleasure in seeing those bastards agonize. Therefore she had made them gather in that room, without connections with the outside, and then through her bag she had carried a hundred poisonous snakes with her. Then, with the excuse of eating a snack, she opened it and the snakes came out protected by [Ambush]. At that point, Jocelyne had been able to put their failure in the face of the heads of the families, enjoy their desperate faces and then personally give the order to kill them all.

It had been a very liberating gesture. She wasn't a person who took pleasure in the suffering of others, but the family heads had done nothing but bring him suffering since she was born. It was they who had established the laws of Odaria, it was one of them who had had her kidnapped, they were the ones who had always hindered her. Their deaths could only benefit the country.

"I just hope you know what you are doing. The heads of families had many friends and even heirs" her father told her.

"Their friends and heirs have already been dead from at least twenty minutes. I made sure there was no one left who could bother me" Jocelyne replied. While the heads of families were gathered there, in fact, other dinosaurs had exterminated their families. Jocelyne knew every detail of them, or at least most of them, so the hit men knew exactly where to look. Certainly there were also good people in the families, but she Jocelyne knew that some sacrifices had to be made. Wars are not won with beautiful words. "Now... you"

The politicians felt their blood freeze under the girl's fiery gaze. "Personally, you disgust me. You are nothing but worms that crawl faithfully obeying the command of others. I would have gladly gotten rid of you too, but I cannot manage the nation by completely eliminating its political class, not without causing several problems that would not benefit anyone" Jocelyne said. "So here is my proposal: I will give you the opportunity to hold your position for a while longer, after which I will give you enough money to be able to spend the rest of your lives somewhere in the tropics living on income. All I want is for you to do exactly what you have always done: obey. Before you followed the commands of the heads of the families, now you follow mine. It won't change much for you. So, do you accept?". As she spoke her last words, the king cobra on her shoulder opened its jaws and blew, showing its venomous teeth.

There was no need to say more. The entire political class of Odaria, or at least the top one, was made up of a bunch of opportunist cowards. None of them even felt the urge to oppose. Even if Jocelyne hadn't promised them a life in the tropics, they would still have obeyed her. They were men without dignity.

"Very good. Then you can start by informing our representative at the NMWA that Odaria refuses the deployment of weapons on our territory. And then you, dear president, will make an announcement to the people"