Chapter 28 - National parks?

"Good morning star shine, Me says hello!" beamed Adela as she entered the small conference room a few minutes before 7 am, holding her favorite mammoth-mug of coffee. The night had been good indeed. For the first time in what seemed like ages, she had no nightmares, but kept dreaming of those two small words over and over again. Thank you… She still felt the need to grin like a moron, and that small sign recognition from the prince made her feel confident in their plan. Trying to keep her still damp hair out of her eyes, she collapsed in an office chair and took her sweet time inhaling the perfumed steam rising from her cup.

"Gah! You're so hyper this morning it makes me sick" grumbled a sleepy Red, raising his forehead from the table to glare at her, before adjusting into a more comfortable position. "Had wet dreams about the elf or what?" he yawned.

Adela's grin widened, making her friend raise an eyebrow at her antics. "Neah, the dreams were drier than you think, but you are quite close! He thanked me last night!" she added, in a hushed voice, as if she was confiding the greatest secret in the world.

Red laughed loudly at that. "You're smitten, kid. Badly so! If you're like that from a thank you, I think you would explode at something more interesting than that!" With a wild grin on his face, he continued, trying to imitate Nuada's voice. "Picture this: Oh, Adela, I never realized how amazingly beautiful you are! I will repay all the efforts you made to save my sorry ass by kissing and licking every inch of your body…"

He then roared with laughter again, seeing the wistful/embarrassed look on her face.

"Shut up, demon!" she grumbled. Then, to change the subject, she inquired about the others.

"Liz is in the bathroom, where she has been for the last hour or so. Morning sickness, she said, before slamming the door in my face. That's why I was here 15 minutes early. As for Abe, I have no idea, he should be here any minute now."

Just then, Liz entered the room, the look on her face showing utmost hatred for the Universe.

Adela turned and, before thinking, used the same hyper tone "Liiiz! You look…green! …sleepy?" she finished lamely, noticing the state of her friend.

The dark circles under Liz's eyes spoke volumes. Glaring at Adela, she mumbled. "If by that you mean I look like shit then yeah, I know." Sitting in a chair next to Red, she started to massage her temples. "I swear, whoever said pregnant women have a "certain glow" should be hanged. I sure don't think I'm shining when I spend every morning with my face in the toilet."

"Where's Abe?" she snapped, after a few moments of silence.

"Here I am, sorry for being late!" said a tired looking Abe, who was carrying a ton of papers and a laptop.

"Well, this meeting stated well," mumbled Adela, realizing that all her friends seemed to be a wreck before coffee. "You set up the library you carried with you, I'll bring more coffee. We need to get your brains in gear."

One hour later, they were looking more alive, but quite pissed.

"This is getting us nowhere," said Abe. "All this talk is worthless if we cannot formulate some valid demands. We just mumbled about how we want some lands for the underground population, but we need to know exactly what we are asking for."

"It's going to be complicated," mumbled Liz. "If we want to keep their existence secret, at least for the time being, we cannot just give them some acres and pray that the humans don't discover them."

"We just have to ask for some lands that are far away from human establishments. Some lands that have not yet been touched by their developments…" said Adela mostly to herself, while staring at her now empty cup.

Red snorted. "Sorry, kid, but that's silly. This is the US, there are no places untouched by humans. Unless you want to discover a new continent or send them to Alaska, I say we need to think of something else."

Adela frowned, but it soon turned into a grin. "Send them to Alaska!" she laughed! "Brilliant! Red, you might be surprised, but that not the answer to everything. Even if you seem to love that solution," she giggled.

Liz threw him a playful glare, smiling, while Abe tried to hide his amusement by focusing on the computer.

"Yeah, well it sometimes works. Let's get back to the problem at hand, you snickering hyena!" he growled playfully.

"Fine. I was actually thinking, in my silliness, about some forests or something…" Adela didn't get to finish, distracted by Abe, who practically jumped up, staring at her with a glint in his eyes.

"Let me guess, you have an idea," she smirked.

"As a matter of fact, I do! National parks!" he beamed, looking at each of his friends as if expecting a round of applause.

All he got, for a couple of moments, was deep silence, as the other people in the room thought about the idea.

"It's…well…brilliant, if I think about it," said Adela, coming back from her daze. "They are secluded, not inhabited by humans, and the nature is very well preserved. Abe, that's perfect!" she grinned, her happy bunny state returning.

Red was the one who brought her back to earth. "Wait just a minute! I hate to be the Grinch today, but it's not that easy. Natural parks are not inhabited, but they are still visited by millions. And I don't think the government will just give us Yellowstone with a red ribbon on it."

"That's true," agreed Abe. "Even if the authorities somehow agree to put the parks off limits for the population, the people will be upset and they will ask questions."

Adela frowned. "Well, I wonder what's more important, save an entire population by giving them back just a small slice of what is rightfully theirs or make sure that the humans have a place to relax and gaze at the threes. Tough decision," she added on a sarcastic voice, while inspecting her now long claws.

Looking up from her hands, she saw her friends staring at her and she laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Small control lapse. He he...But seriously, I think we're on to something here. Abe, could you please pass that laptop?"

"Someone needs some help with geography, huh?" teased Red.

"Shut up, you jerk. Quick, tell me the capital of Alaska!" she smirked, while setting the computer in front of her. "Liz, I know you know, but you get a zero if you whisper to him!"

Red fidgeted, not giving an answer, and she smiled. "I rest my case. Now, let's see what are the options for us."


"National parks?" asked Nuada, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Adela beamed at him, while unloading his food from the tray. "They are owned by the government and restricted from development…"

"I know what they are," interrupted the prince. "I'm still not convinced that your government will agree, and even if you reach an agreement, allow me to question their honor!" he said with disdain.

Adela sighed, knowing that, in a way, he was right. The joy of actually having a decent conversation with him was slowly wearing off.

"I know, but at the moment, I don't see any other way. You know as well as I do that anything is better than leaving them in the sewers. Now, since I don't know much about your people, I need to ask you some questions."

Nuada looked at her and, for a moment, distrust shone in his eyes. His expression soon became neutral again, but that brief moment was enough to hurt her.

"What do you need to know and why?" he asked.

"I just want to ask you how many of your people need to be relocated. Also, I need to know if they require a specific habitat…From what I've seen in the troll market, the population is very diverse. Will some need special geographical or weather conditions?"

Nuada pondered for a moment, but eventually replied.

"The total population amounts no more than half a million souls. What you saw in the troll market is only a small part. Most species are adapted to living in forests, but some, like the trolls, are used to living in caves. Smaller groups choose to live near rivers. None of them are too fond of cold weather, and that is all you need to know for now."

Well, we need to cut Alaska off the list.

"Thank you! The others are now informing Dr Krauss about the plan, we decided it's in our favor to include him also." After a few moments of silence, she meekly added. "Nuala is also informed and she agreed to do anything to help."

His face darkened, but he only nodded. Feeling like she was being dismissed, she took the empty tray and left the cell.


"NO! No, no, no, no, no!" growled Manning, pacing the library. Hellboy tried to open his mouth and say something, but a sudden glare from his boss interrupted him. "NO!" he said, again, in case the message wasn't clear enough.

Red and Adela growled, while Abe and Liz frowned. Dr. Krauss seemed to be the only calm one in the group.

"With all due respect, sir, but could you at least think about it before you say no?" said Adela through clenched teeth.

Manning turned towards her and glared. "No! I don't need to think about anything! The answer is NO! Need I remind you why this office was set up in the first place? It was set up by the HUMANS and it's still funded by humans, for the protection of HUMANS! It works in their interest! You work in their interest! You cannot ask for lands from the government, to give to some other population!"

The team tried to say something, but the boss went on.

"You mission was to stop the Golden Army and prevent a war. It's accomplished, so congratulations to you! Now celebrate by having a party or take some days off for yourselves. Any other dreams of rescuing the enemy are in vain!"

"The enemy?" asked Adela in a forceful tone. Images of Pic-Poc playing with her hair came to her mind, followed by the memory of Wink bringing her food and taking her to a decent bed. The creatures in the troll market were not evil, they were just forced into hiding by the ignorance of humans. "Those creatures aren't evil, sir! They just need a decent place to live. Given the real story, they deserve at least that!"

"Agent Adela, I don't know from what planet you're coming from, but after a war, the defeated population is not in a position to ask for anything!" he almost shouted, his face turning red.

"War! Since our mission was to stop the prince, I think the word hardly applies. Your battle was with prince Nuada, not with the creatures living underground!" It was her time to talk and they all knew that it was difficult to stop or interrupt her. "This is so typical! Humans fuck up one way or another, a whole species becomes critically endangered, and then the humans wake up and spend millions of dollars trying to rescue it, all the time congratulating themselves for their big heart, I might add, forgetting they were the cause of the disaster in the first place. This is just like that, now it's your turn to jump to their rescue. Just imagine we are talking about the giant panda or what not, and act like you would in that case! Recreate their habitat!" Adela was almost panting. Sometimes, in heated arguments, she forgot to breathe, and the effect was comical - making an important point while looking suffocated was hardly impressive.

"Giant panda! Giant. Panda!" Manning screamed. "You are forgetting one little thing, agent! Everybody on this planet knows about the giant panda! How do you expect us to do the same thing, to give that population some part of a national park, and then say to the visitors: 'Sorry people, you can't go there, some endangered trolls are currently residing in the area!'." Then, giving them a look that was beyond pissed, he continued, in a calmer, authoritarian voice: "This is out of the question, agents! We cannot do anything. It's simply life taking its course. The stronger population survives, while the other fades. Call it natural selection and let's end this discussion!"

"Natural selection! Are you fucking kidding me?" shouted Adela, also starting to pace. The frustration was making it impossible for her to stay in one place. Pointing a finger at Manning, she growled "You have some nerve to bring that up into the discussion. What natural selection? Humans excluded that a long time ago. Nobody is allowed to die anymore, not even the ones who, in the real world, would not be fit to survive! Humans defy nature and now you use it as an argument? Just because they are peaceful does not mean they should simply fade…"

Before she could say anything else, Red put a hand on her shoulder, shutting her up.

"Boss, I feel it is our duty to help them. We are not humans ourselves and we cannot agree to what's happening. Me and Liz also need to think about our kids. It pains me to say this, but they will be accepted more by that population than by the humans."

"I agree with Red. I don't want my children to have to hide all their lives. By insuring that magical creatures have a place to live we insure that our kids have a happier and somewhat normal existence."

Manning calmed down a bit, but his face was still red. Massaging his temples, he groaned and looked at Abe and Dr. Krauss for support.

Abe shrugged and looked at his boss with a cold expression. "You already know my opinion. I will design the plan and make the presentation to the officials myself, if we get a green light from you."

Manning turned to Dr. Krauss, defeated. "You too?"

"I am living ectoplasm in a rubber suit; still, my loyalties lie with the humans. I would never agree to something that would endanger them. However, allowing an entire population to die is no better than killing it ourselves and genocide is not something that I want to whiteness again in my lifetime, sir."

Manning sighed, knowing a lost battle when he saw one.

"Fine! You will be able to meet some government officials who actually have a say in this mess, and it's up to you to negotiate with them. All I can do is wish you luck, as I will not take your side in this. Unfortunately, not taking your side also means I cannot make them come all the way here just for these discussions, we have to make up another reason…"


"A party?" asked Nuala, surprised. Adela came to her room to inform her about the result of the discussions as soon as they ended, and she was still trying to calm herself with some vanilla tea.

"Well, yeah. It will be a good reason to invite officials, although it makes me sick to think we're practically going to celebrate your brother's imprisonment. Manning said he will not get involved, and making them come here only for the discussions would put him in a difficult position with Washington, so he made up a reason. We will celebrate the success of our mission through a party…" Adela explained.

"What sort of celebration? Will it be like a ball?"

"Well, not really. This building is not fit for balls, since neon lights, concrete and metal doors are known to kill the mood, but it will be something classy. No drinking competitions and loud music, so I guess it's not my kind of party", she smiled to herself. "Good thing I'm not invited. There will be some music, but mostly classical and chill-out, no dancing program, some food and socializing. You are asked, actually implored to come," smiled Adela.

"I wonder if it's a good idea to attend this event just before the discussions" said Nuala, looking doubtful.

"Nuala, you are actually a key element of the party. I'm sure that once they meet you, the officials will have an excellent opinion of you and, therefore, will be more receptive to the pleas," she smirked.

"Why are you not invited?" asked Nuala.

"Well, me staying away from the party was actually the only thing Manning and the others agreed upon. They want to make sure there is no chance for me to screw things up, since I manage to get annoyed at annoying very fast," she laughed. "I have to agree, but don't tell anyone. Judging by the way I screamed at Manning, it's better I don't "negotiate" anything with the government."


A.N. Ta-dam! Here it is, the new chapter. For those who actually wait for this story, I'm sorry, but I can't update as fast as I would like to. I'm sorry the romance part is lacking for now, but I want to keep thinks as realistic as possible, and I just don't see anyone thinking about their crush in these circumstances.