While the majority of the guards kept watch over the Rio Iris and its northern bank, the rest went to the Obelisk Plaza, to hold a meeting inside the Winston's.
They gathered around two tables that they had placed next to each other. A map of Central America had been laid on it and candles lighted that part of the restaurant. Aside from Brunet, the attending officers were Yu and Drekanson, as Darbinian had decided to take her shift immediately after the talks with the board of directors.
Brunet started the meeting by asking for news about the political reactions to their insurgency.
"In his last tweet, the orange one with the tiny hands seemed outraged by the turn of recent events," One of the guards told him.
"Let me guess, his words weren't in our favour?" Another asked her.
"Not really. He called us terrorists."
"Damn, we're in deep shit!"
"Nothing has been decided yet," intervened an American named Escher, a tall and slender man with a long face and light eyes. "Not only the General Staff must approve an intervention but the Costa Rican government must also give its consent."
"Like if your country gives a damn about the opinion of the Costa Rican government...," one of those there, a Chilean man, grumbled.
"Let's not talk about the avalanche of diplomatic incidents if he decides that this island is in great need of more democracy," a fifth guard said. "Thank goodness there is no oil here."
"Knock, knock. Who is it? It's democracy! If you don't come to her, she will come to you," the first who had talked quipped, half-humming.
"Except that we're cut off from the rest of the world because of that damn eruption," another reminded. "We can't know what is being decided there."
"It's then in our best interest of being prepared for the worst," Brunet said. "When shall the USS Errinwright arrive, Andrew?" He asked Escher.
The latter revealed them the cruiser's position on the map.
"According to the latest news, it was moored in the Panama Canal. It won't be there before a day and a half."
"It gives us some time," one of his comrades concluded.
Escher shook his head, aware that this wouldn't be the case.
"The Air Force has a base in Honduras, Soto Cano," he pointed to the map. "A squadron taking off from there can reach this island in just under two hours," he added, moving his finger from Honduras to Isla Nublar. "If it leaves in the coming hours, they will be here in the morning."
"Just like the reinforcements expected by the UEI platoon as well as the lads Störmer sent us originally as reinforcements," Drekanson added. "How many are they again?"
"One hundred and twenty men, twelve vehicles on the Sleipnir. Thirty men in the escort ships," Yu replied. "Enough to secure the city, crush the Indominus and the Pack, and reclaim the island."
"And enough to stop us," Brunet added darkly. "Don't delude yourselves, Helm has probably already gave his order."
"What do you think will happen when they will realize that we don't want to give up?" One of the guards asked.
"I doubt that would like to come to arms with us," another said to him with a bit of hope. "Some may be even willing to join us."
"Even if they do, Helm will withdraw the others once the civilians evacuated in the best of cases and will leave us deal alone with InGen, the Americans and the Unidad Espacial de Intervencion," Brunet supposed. "We'll see what dawn shall bring. Let's go back to our posts."
They left the restaurant in silence, Brunet in last and holding in his hand Fendiserpentes in its scabbard.
As the others headed for the vehicles parked in the zoo tunnel, Drekanson waited for Brunet at the exit.
"The keepers. They won't let you kill the animals, you know that," he pointed out to him.
"We don't have the choice. These creatures are the only leverage that we have at our disposal. It's them or us!"
"They will do everything in their power to prevent this, even putting their lives at risk. You are turning against us people we called friends. What will you do if they get in your way?"
As they walked towards the centre of the plaza, Brunet remained silent and just looked straight ahead.
"We managed so far to spare the employees and the visitors from the consequences of our insurgency," Drekanson continued, "let's not bring civil war to this island. We already have spilled too much blood. The Slayers have been destroyed, we avenged our fallen comrades. It costed the lives of seven of ours, seven too many, so let's stop this madness while we still can."
Brunet turned with alacrity towards him.
"Madness? InGen are the madmen in this story! I didn't started this war but I intend to put an end to it, once Susan Lynton's head shall be on top of a spike!"
The other guards stopped when they heard Brunet say this and seeing him having an argument with Drekanson, they began to retrace their steps.
"Would you really go far enough to kill an old woman?"
"She could be only a child that it wouldn't change a damn thing."
"Don't be…"
"You know nothing about me, Leif!" Brunet cut him curtly. "You don't know how far I can go and what I'm guilty of."
"Whatever... We still have to survive this long night and what will happen afterwards if you wish to reach her. When the US and Costa Rican special forces will step in, what are we going to do? Resist until the bitter end? We won't stand a chance. The Americans will have helicopters and heavy weapons, and the men they will send won't be mere henchmen but seasoned soldiers. What if Helm decides to involve the expeditionary force? Will you order us to shoot on our own brothers and sisters? Nothing good will happen if we continue like this and the only thing you would have succeeded as a captain will be to send these men and women to their deaths!"
Brunet groaned in anger and under the stunned and helpless look of their comrades, he drew Fendiserpentes from the scabbard but whereas they thought he was going to struck him, Brunet thrusted the sword in the lawn and looked at Drekanson directly in the eyes.
"Everything I did, Leif, I did it for them!"
Drekanson held Brunet's gaze and Yu moved his hand away from his handgun.
"The United States can send forth all their legions if they like to," Brunet said a few seconds later, once he had calmed down a bit. "In my home region, we have a saying: Nenni ma foi! It can be translated as Not on your life. I won't surrender. If you are afraid of death, you are free to go you know. I am not holding you back."
Brunet glanced briefly at Fendiserpentes.
Its blade was still stained with Sherman's blood. Without him, none of this would have happened.
He decided to not take back the sword and threw its scabbard next to it before heading for the vehicles.
Drekanson waited a few more seconds before doing the same but as he finished to cross the plaza, news from the Rio Iris reached them:
"I've got the raptors in sight!" One of the patrolmen said on the radio. "About a hundred meters east of the monorail. For the moment, they are just standing on the edge of the shore like a bunch of illegal immigrants about to pass the border but you better come around here, we never know what those fuckers are up to."
They climbed in the vehicles and hurried to reach the river.
If the neoraptors were on its northern bank, the Indominus shouldn't be far behind.
They had very little time before she decided to swim across it.
