"Damn you, Oz! Mobilize those damn troops! Now! Bring my daughter back here! NOW!"

Marcus Jersey had been yelling at his chief officer for half an hour. Like all great families, he also had a private militia. Too bad it wasn't doing its duty.

Jackson Oz, the chief officer, couldn't do nothing except remain silent while his master let off steam. Unfortunately, screaming wasn't very useful: the criminals didn't care about the people screaming, so they continue to remain hiding from the cops as usually.

Jersey screamed for the next ten minutes, then he finally calmed down. Jackson waited patiently. He had been at his master's service for years and he knew he was a composed, serious, and rational man; his fury of the moment was only due to the frustration of losing his daughter.

Unlike many of Odaria's breadwinners, Jersey didn't care that his child was a girl. He had loved her just as if she were a son and he never thought about using her as a political tool. Indeed, he was thinking of granting her the inheritance of the family's wealth, and in fact he had begun to educate her just as the other heads of the family instructed their sons.

Jersey had introduced the young girl to Jackson and his men from a while, since they would have been her future militia. Although everyone was initially doubtful, very soon they all became fond of the little Jocelyne, not only for her tenderness, but also because they recognized many traits of her father in her: she was almost as rational and cunning as he was.

She was obviously still a child and therefore she was full of childish naivety, but no one in the militia had any doubts that she would have become the same as her father once she grew up.

As a result the soldiers from the Jersey family's private militia, Jackson in the first place, also suffered from the loss of the girl and understood her father's grief. The first night he and his soldiers had inspected the entire city and its surroundings from top to bottom. Unfortunately, however, they hadn't found anyone, neither the girl nor the kidnappers.

They had become discouraged, knowing full well what the kidnappers probably had in mind, and had expected to see them return the next day with the little Jocelyne married to a man who was four times her age.

But no one had returned. There hadn't even been a blackmail letter. In four days there had been no sign of her. They hadn't remained idle, of course: Jackson had conducted an investigation, and soon he realized that the tracks led straight into the forest. At that point he could only fear the worst. Not returning from a wilderness area could only mean one thing: either they were lost or dead.

He had waited for Jersey to calm down to say his opinion. When his master stopped for breathing, he finally opened his mouth: "Sir, you know how it works when a child gets lost in nature. For twenty-four hours you are looking for a child, after twenty-four hours you are looking for a corpse"

Even on Earth, where Sobek came from, the same rule was in force: the only difference was that the gap was seventy-two hours. But in that world where there were dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures it was already a miracle if a child was able to arrive at the end of the day.

Jackson knew that although Jocelyne wasn't a stupid child the chances of finding her alive were very low. The fact that the kidnappers hadn't shown up in four days was a sign that they had found a large predator that had killed them all. Only a miracle could have saved little Jocelyne.

But a father cannot resign himself, at least not a self-respecting one. And Jersey, as such, was unwilling to let it go. "It doesn't matter" he replied. "Prepare any heavy weapons you find. We go to the forest tomorrow morning and we inspect it inch by inch. If she is alive I will have my daughter back, if she is not...

then I will kill the beast that eliminated her with my hands"

"Yes sir" Jackson replied. He had learned for years to interpret his master's tone and knew that this was a tone that did not allow for replies. So he left the room and went to follow orders.

As soon as Jackson was gone, Jersey took a sealed suitcase and opened it; inside there were several weapons. Many of them were ineffective against large jungle predators, but he began charging them one by one.

He didn't care what it would cost him. He would have razed the jungle to the ground if necessary.

"Give me one of them"

Jersey lifted his head and saw the face of Bethany, his wife. "No"

"Yes. She's my daughter too" the woman said, and without waiting for his answer she took one of the guns.

Jersey sighed. He knew that when his wife had something in her head, it was impossible to dissuade her.

They had married twenty years earlier by political agreement, as had practically all the couples of the big families. However, they had been lucky enough to be very much in tune. It certainly couldn't be said that what connected them was love, but at least they tolerated and supported each other and enjoyed each other's company.

And Jocelyne was the little joy of both of them, so Jersey didn't even try to dissuade his wife from coming.

******

When Jackson walked out of his boss's office, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. He could understand why Mr. Jersey was so stressed: he too cared particularly for the little Jocelyne. He had been the head of security for the Jersey family for just two years, yet that was enough for him to become attached to the girl.

Jocelyne wasn't just adorable and sunny; there was something about her, something extraordinary. To call her smart or bright would have been an understatement: the only way to define her way of thinking was 'she saw things before others'. Where there was only chaos for everyone, she glimpsed patterns. And if there weren't, she created one. There seemed to be no problem that she couldn't solve.

For Jackson and any other member of the Jersey family, Jocelyne would become the perfect figure to lead her father's economical empire. Markus Jersey himself often relied on her advice, despite the fact that she was only twelve years old and still had several gaps in economics that would only have been filled by years of study.

From Jackson's point of view, Jocelyne could have become the one who would have changed the corrupt and rotten nation that was Odaria. He genuinely cared about her and would have given her his own life if she had asked him to.

Then he could understand how Markus Jersey felt at that moment. If even he, who had known the child for only two years, had become so fond of her, he didn't dare to imagine what the father of the aforementioned child was going through.

Unfortunately, her intelligence could do little against brute force. Jocelyne could see farther than the others, but she remained a child. She had no way of defending herself against trained full-grown men, let alone survive alone in the forest.

"Are you all right, Rafiki?"

A voice brought him back to reality; Jackson turned and saw a black man at least an entire head taller than him, shoulders as wide as a closet. "You already know the answer, Abe"

The black man grunted. His fingers tightened slightly, as if he wanted to punch something.

If Jackson was the head of security, Abraham was the head of that part of the militia focused on more military purposes: in short, he was in charge of making up for riots, facing criminal gangs and possibly even removing uncomfortable or dangerous elements. He and Jackson had known each other since they were children: Jackson's mother had in fact adopted Abe when he was still ten years old.

The two had grown up together and considered themselves brothers, even though they weren't related by blood. They had joined the Jersey family militia together and had climbed the ranks to the highest ranks together. Even though their respective duties didn't allow them to stay together all the time, their bond was still unbreakable.

Abe's real last name was Kenyatta, but he refused to call himself that. He didn't want to have the name given to him by the parents who had abandoned him. He insisted his surname be Oz, like his brother's.

And like any brother, Abe knew when Jackson was upset. He was never wrong about this. "Let me guess: we will go to the forest"

"As soon as possible" Jackson replied.

Abe nodded. "I'll be leaving in an hour with some of my men. We'll do an inspection. With a little luck, we'll be able to track the kidnappers. This could speed up the search"

"Thank you"

Abe sighed, then put a hand on Jackson's shoulder. "You know it's not your fault, Rafiki. There's no point in pining" he told him. 'Rafiki' was the nickname Abe used to call his brother, because to say he reminded him of a baboon.

Jackson grunted. "No, Abe, it's my fault. I'm the head of security, I'm the one who should have foreseen this. I let my guard down and now the young lady may be dead"

"You haven't let your guard down. You've taken all necessary precautions" Abe said. "Those bastards were just smarter... or maybe they were just more ruthless. You have nothing to blame"

Jackson shook his head vigorously. "Stop comforting me, Abe. The situation doesn't change. Protecting that little girl was my duty, and I failed. Now we have to find her"

"And we will find her"

"You know better than me how high the chances are of finding her still alive"

"Maybe, but I'm optimistic. And you should be too. Because let me tell you a great truth: crying on your mistakes won't change anything" Abe grumbled, and then he turned away. "I'll go round up my men. When you and Mr. Jersey are ready, join us"

Jackson watched his brother disappear into the hall. His words kept echoing in his mind. "Abe is right" he concluded. "I don't have to feel sorry for myself. There is no point in him giving me illusions, but it also makes no sense to throw in the towel now"

As long as there was even the slightest chance that the little Jocelyne was still alive, it was his duty to keep looking.