"So this is the strategy of the Colonel and the NMWA..." Jocelyne smiled. "If he didn't put the country and humanity at risk, I could almost praise them"

Odaria's new president sat in her study, listening to Al's words. The allosaurus had explained to them everything Snock and Rambo had discovered.

The two were not alone in the room. All the people most loyal to Jocelyne were gathered there with them. There was Jackson, the new foreign minister, who had returned promptly given the emergency situation; there was Abe, the defense minister, who obviously couldn't miss a meeting like that; there was Malcolm, the interior minister, and there was his friend Dreyfus, the new chief judge; obviously there were her parents and there were some collaborators with him.

"We did well to put so much pressure on the NMWA and to speed up the peace projects so much" Jocelyne murmured. "If we hadn't, the Colonel could have recruited many more people and fomented a civil war. Instead now we can put an end to everything in one fell swoop"

Many people had felt that Jocelyne was rushing to oppose the NMWA so strongly and immediately strike up new peace deals with the dinosaurs so soon after she became president; in fact, this was part of a well thought-out plan designed by Sobek and Jocelyne. They both knew that Jocelyne's sudden and violent rise to power would leave deep cracks in the nation; moreover, not everyone looked favorably on the dinosaurs and would not have liked an extension of the peace. This meant that surely some people would try to take advantage of the unstable situation to eliminate Jocelyne and establish their own government. If Jocelyne had proceeded calmly, these people would have had enough time to gain enough followers to foment an open rebellion; the NMWA would surely have helped them and would also have had time to find any secret channels to supply these rebels. Instead, by speeding up operations to the maximum, Jocelyne had left both the NMWA and the rebels with very little time available, preventing them from recruiting too many men and forcing them to speed up their plans in turn. In doing so they had only played their game. Now not only would Jocelyne and Sobek get rid of a problematic element like the Colonel, but they would also send a message to the other rebels who would surely be discouraged.

The people gathered in the room were all smart enough to understand that this was all planned. Not that Jocelyne was doing anything to hide it: her expression on her face hinted at the truth all too clearly.

'Once again the world danced in her hands...' Jackson thought. 'Indeed, he danced in his hands and those of that dinosaur. I'm happy that these two are on our side...'

Jocelyne roused them from her thoughts: "Mr. Oz, what can you tell me on the international front?"

"I can confirm what Mr. Al said" Jackson replied. "Chlo... I meant, Miss Tousignant informed me that there is a secret operation in progress. Given how the situation proceeds, it is likely that it refers to this. I also know that they are planning an assault on the dinosaurs; the control was entrusted to a certain Quaritch"

"As we imagined. Abe?"

"My troops are ready to move at any moment. Just tell me where I can find the Colonel and I'll bring him with a bow and wrapping paper"

"It would be counterproductive to arrest him now" Malcolm stopped him. "The Colonel hasn't technically done anything wrong yet. We cannot arrest him without evidence"

"I agree. I doubt a man so witty is stupid enough to leave visible traces" Dreyfus argued. "Without concrete evidence we could not even blame him for criminal association. The population will not take it well. Eliminating political opponents based only on suspicions is basically an autocratic action"

Beleriard had just emerged from an era where dictators and the powerful ruled it; the people would not have taken it well for Jocelyne to behave the same way they did. They would have taken it as a signal that Jocelyne was aiming to proclaim herself the new hegemon of Beleriard and this could have sparked a much worse revolt than the one planned by the Colonel.

"You humans are really weird. Your politics confuses me every time" Al commented. "Anyway, if you really want to wait for him to do something, then just arrest him when he attacks"

"That was what I planned too" Jocelyne said. "Our only solutions would be to investigate the matter, and then extend the time that the Colonel has available to gather his army even further, or continue on this path and push him to act immediately"

"If we had the coordinates of their outposts we could eliminate them as soon as the threat is felt. As soon as the Colonel shows himself in violent attitudes, we will eliminate him" Abe suggested.

"We can take care of their outposts" Al said. "Rambo is tracking them right now and Snock is preparing a full-scale purge. You will only have to deal with the Colonel"

"Good" Jocelyne smiled even more. "How many men can the Colonel take with him? If he wants to divide his army like that he can't have more than a few hundred"

"Very likely" Al replied.

"We could crush them in one fell swoop" Abe said satified.

But Jocelyne shook her head. "Yes, Abe, we can crush them. But I need us to divide our army too"

"What? Why?"

"Because the NMWA will attack immediately after"

The people in the room looked at each other in confusion. "But, Madam president…" Malcolm murmured. "Mr. Al said that based on what his comrades have discovered, the NMWA will only disembark if the Colonel is successful..."

"And it will be what we make him believe"

It was only then that everyone understood. Jocelyne was not aiming to avert battle with the NMWA: she was aiming to make them fall into a trap. "Madam president, do you want to start an open war with the NMWA?" Malcolm asked in a faint voice.

"They are the ones who started the war. They did it the instant they started stirring up riots in my country" Jocelyne replied. "If we stand still and watch we will never get justice. The NMWA will pay. This is our chance to break away from them for good, and we will have the perfect excuse to do so. In the eyes of the world we will be the victims and finally the corruption in our political system will be brought to light"

"But... can we win such a war?"

"We have already won. Our ally, lord Sobek, is preparing to take out the bulk of their fleet and get that Quaritch out of the way. We will be left with only the small fish. Lord Sobek lent us enough strength to win"

Everyone looked at Al. "I confirm what she said" replied the allosaur. "A large part of our navy is ready to attack. As soon as the NMWA ships try to land, we will eliminate them all. And if by any chance someone manages to get to the port, then the combined forces of you humans and Commander Snock will be able to wipe out all the soldiers right away"

"What if the NMWA were to launch a second assault?"

"There will be no second assault. Within twenty-four hours after this attack, our navy will destroy all the ships of the NMWA present in the ocean"

"Are you aiming to take control of the ocean?"

"This is the plan that the pack leader came up with"

The people in the room looked at Jocelyne. Unlike them, she was relaxed, as if the idea of going against the whole world did not affect her in the least. It was a disturbing vision, but that was enough: by now everyone had learned that if Jocelyne Jersey said one thing, she would do it.

"I want a full report as soon as you have one, with outpost coordinates, rebel names and the best battlefields at our disposal" Jocelyne said. "We will remind the whole world that no one can interfere with our country's affairs! Nobody!"