Unpredicted Disruptions.

AN: Hey everyone! Here's a new chapter of Divine Intervention.

I apologize, because the storyline is kinda slow right now. I have so much to want to write and there are so many situations to develop that I had to cut this chapter again because he'd become too long. This is part 2 of 3 of the original chapter I had in mind. But then again, I enjoy writing this story, so it's not that bad.

Have a good read, and don't forget to review :D


One hour earlier.

Britannian Imperial Palace.

The news of the resign of the Autonomous Republic of Colombia's Prime Minister, Raul Jimenez, had been revealed in the early morning. Empress Nunnally was having an appointment with her counselor in Diplomacy, her half-brother William, and the Britannian Prime Minister, Claudio Darlton.

"I've sent Bornstein to Bogota." Claudio said to the Empress. "We'll just hope he'll appease the tensions and explain our position to the Colombian people."

Nunnally was thoughtful. Lord Cornelius Bornstein, the minister of internal affairs, might be a little bit old, both in age and in his way of thinking, but he was effective at his post of leader of the Britannian Police. Perhaps he was too effective …

"He might seem a little bit reassuring for the reactionary electors of Colombia." She admitted. "Perhaps we need him more than we thought."

Claudio nodded in approbation. "You're right, Majesty, because if we don't pay attention there is a high risk that Ivanov will take control of the Colombian Parliament. We need his censor motion to fail."

"May I go as well in Bogota?" William asked suddenly. "I can meet the leaders of the other parties in Britannia's name and set up a coalition rallied behind the provisory chief of the Colombian government, the vice- Prime minister."

Nunnally stared at her half-brother cautiously. "You'd do that? Ivanov is your cousin."

William smiled. "Yet he threatens the stability of the Empire. He might not have to be treated as a traitor, but whatever he schemes needs to fail."

Nunnally didn't know if her brother was sincere or not. When she was blind, Nunnally had the ability to know if people were lying or not, simply by touching their hands and feeling their heartbeats. But now, she couldn't rely on this.

"Very well." She said finally.

Once they left, Nunnally contacted two people for a video-conference. Their faces appeared on the giant screen posed on the room's wall.

Kaguya Sumeragi, Prime Minister of Japan, Jiang Lihua, the Chinese Empress. China was the first economical power, just before Britannia, and Japan was the first provider of military officers among the Black Knights. It was still the evening in Tokyo and in Luo Yang, while it was already the early morning in Los Angeles.

"Why did you call us, your Majesty?" Lihua asked. She wasn't as smart as Kaguya, but she was loved by her subjects which made her as influential as Nunnally.

"I would like to discuss about the crisis my country suffers." Nunnally declared.

Kaguya raised an eyebrow. "I thought we'd talk about this matter at our next meeting in Honolulu, in three days."

"There had been unpredicted disruptions in Bogota's government." The Britannian Empress explained calmly. "The events aren't in our favor and there is a real risk that Colombia will gain its independence."

Kaguya raised an eyebrow. "A risk? We're talking about the auto-determination of one people." She retorted. "Unless you're feeling upset about letting one of your colonies choose its destiny, but I doubt it. Or at least, I hope so, because I do have some faith in you."

The Japanese Prime Minister was a very cunning woman; Lelouch had warned Nunnally that people like Kaguya would want to take the upper hand by using kindness and forgiveness as an excuse to dictate some of their conditions. It took many years for Nunnally to fully understand the meaning of it: in two decades, many countries, organizations and associations reclaimed concessions from Britannia simply because it once was a threatening and unequal nation. Many people refused to see –for their own interests- that Britannia's nature had deeply changed. Sadly, it was probably because of these people that the nostalgic of the old Britannian regime were so popular nowadays.

"We both know that if Colombia gains the independence, Ivanov will control it." Nunnally objected. "Prime Minister Jimenez just resigned because of an unfortunate scandal and he was one of the few leaders to be both in favor of the UFN's policies and loyal to the crown. Ivanov has planned to launch a censor motion on the Colombian Government, and if he succeeds we'll be sure Colombia will gain the independence, just like Brazil did 3 years ago." She lowered her eyes, showing an expression of slight sadness. "It will leave the Colombian people into Ivanov's mercy."

"But he still needs the absolute majority, doesn't he?" Lihua asked innocently. "I think that the BNF has less than one quarter seats in the Bogota parliament."

Nunnally sighed. "It isn't as simple." It could have been way easier if the politicians simply followed their conscience and admitted that the most important thing to do was preventing Rudolf Ivanov from ruling Colombia. "Ivanov and the Britannian National Front are highly influential. Many corporations and politicians either support his cause or see an interest in rallying him."

Kaguya was thoughtful. "And if he succeeds, many other countries will leave the United Federation of Nations. It is quite disappointing that this man, who insults and disrespects the Japanese Nation is still able to speak freely."

Nunnally narrowed her eyes. Kaguya was subtly accusing Britannia to be too permissive regarding the xenophobic –or rather the anti-Japanese- speeches. "He had attended five trials for defamation, apology of illegal behavior and public insults, but the charges weren't serious enough for him to be condemned." And, in the meantime, the Britannian National Front accused the Britannian Government to be too harsh against 'patriotic opinions' in the medias and in the tribunals, simply because Japan told them so. "Besides, Ivanov isn't the only one posing a problem; he's merely the figure of an ideology that becomes more and more popular every day."

"That's because your government was too permissive in the matter of spreading anti-Japanese propaganda in the Medias." Kaguya retorted. "Have you forgotten what Britannia has done to the Japanese people?"

The Empress sighed. She knew Kaguya wanted to protect Japan's interests, but she seemed to take profit a little too much of Nunnally's kindness. She was one of the few Britannian rulers that allowed someone to disrespect her nation, much to the patriots' dismay.

"We haven't forgotten." Nunnally replied diplomatically. "However, it is not the time to look for a responsible to blame, and I haven't call you to do so. I would like us to take action."

Sumeragi raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"You want Ivanov to be condemned." Nunnally stated. "And I don't want him to take the Colombian people in hostage. It isn't like with Brazil; because as much as I hate to admit, this regime may be a bit conservative, but it isn't reproducing my father's policies. However, Ivanov had made it quite clear that his rule will follow the ancient Britannian doctrine. We cannot avert our gaze on that matter, because everyone will lose if Ivanov succeeds."

Experience had shown her that being kind wasn't always sufficient to push people into making the right decisions. Nunnally had to show them the interests behind it: Kaguya would have never helped Britannia to prevent the independence of one area, but if it helped one of Japan's best ally to win the struggle against extremism, then …

"Alright." Kaguya said finally. "Japan will support you."

"China will support you too." Lihua added, even if she had no clue of how to really help the Britannian Empress to solve this crisis.

Nunnally let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, my friends."

Even if their interests sometimes diverged, the three female rulers still had a certain friendship they could rely on in times of need. Kaguya's mask of professionalism and stubborn politician was only wear when serious matters were involved, and sometimes helped Nunnally, and Lihua to keep her feet on the ground. The World wasn't easy, people could not always have what they want from their friends, or their allies, but they could always find a middle ground, a way to cooperate.

"So, what do you exactly need?" Kaguya asked, her face showing a lighter personae.

Nunnally hesitated for a second. 'If this communication ever leaks, then…' She thought again at what would happen if Ivanov ever get a hold on the recording of this future conversation and decided to be a little bit more subtle about it.

"The Black Knights are free to investigate without the avail of one judge." The Britannian Empress said. "And the BKIS doesn't need a vote from the UFN's supreme council to be used in operations."

"So does the OSI." Kaguya pointed out.

Nunnally shook her head in bitterness. Gino had been advising her yesterday about the next course of actions and he concluded that the OSI wasn't trustworthy anymore. It was true that the Britannian intelligence hadn't received the best treatments on Nunnally's rule, and she feared that the director, Gordon Cheney, and many other executives from the Office would want to see her abdicating. It was hard to admit, but Nunnally couldn't rely on the OSI anymore.

"I would prefer it to be an international action." Nunnally said finally.

Kaguya nodded slowly. "I understand. I'm going to Horai tomorrow morning so I'll speak to Zero about it; he'll probably send you General Todoh and the authorization to use the BKIS in order to solve the crisis."

Zero, despite suffering a wave of unpopularity, was still the leader of the Black Knights. Five years before he had been elected Supreme Chairman of the UFN, and many people didn't like the fact that he accumulated these two mandates. Twenty years ago, no one would have cared, but now it seemed like Suzaku had made another political mistake. But still, many people still relied on Zero and saw in him a victim of the power-hungry, stubborn politicians who denied his leadership while others swore that he was a failed messiah, simply because he wasn't wise enough to govern the UFN, or it was much likely that Zero failed to grant all of their own wishes, which was impossible. And Nunnally, Nunnally simply saw in him the childhood friend, the brother-in-law (in another universe!) and the kind-hearted Suzaku she always knew. Even though he wasn't as smart as Lelouch, Nunnally would always support him.

"Thank you." The Britannian Empress said finally. "You've been a great help to me."

Lihua smiled. "We'll hope everything will turn out for the better."

The communication stopped shortly after, leaving Nunnally alone in her thoughts. Did she make the right decision? Would it have been wiser to let the crisis be solved by Claudio, the one elected by the people? What would Lelouch do?

"I know how he would have done it." Nunnally said bitterly. One use of his demonic power, Geass, and everything came to order. Order… Nunnally didn't want order; she wanted peace, harmony and understanding. Using the force was like admitting her father was right…

But she had to face the facts; the days where people only sought for happiness and harmony were over, they wanted something else. What was it? Nunnally didn't know. Perhaps they wanted a strong leader, a new bearing to rely on, an authority figure. There were times when Nunnally thought that she wasn't at her rightful place, that she was too kind and weak to be Empress, too dependent from Zero and the UFN to be a proper ruler of Britannia, but…

'You're wrong, you're not weak. Your strength resides in your heart, in your kindness. On that, you're stronger than me, little sister.'

It was true: her brother might have used despicable methods to achieve his means, lied to her and did horrible things, he still believed in her and Nunnally still hold Lelouch a place in her heart.

The Britannian Empress was the ruler of one billion of living souls: Britannians, but also Colombians, Mexicans, Cubans, Argentineans and many other peoples were under her responsibility, from Alaska to Patagonia. The United Federations of Nations divided the Empire into many nations, creating the special regime of Autonomous Republics whose population wouldn't be represented on the council, so Britannia wouldn't have too many influence. Today, the population of South Britannia felt like they had been abandoned by the crown, not because it was the truth but because someone kept telling them this over and over that they started to truly believe it to be the truth. Despite being a constitutional monarchy, despite the institution of these semi-autonomous regimes, The Britannian Empress still had some responsibility towards these people, Pureblooded Britannians and former numbers alike, because they wanted to rely on their Empress. At least that was what Lelouch would say to her.

Nunnally called her press agent.

"Your Majesty?" She asked with a professional tone.

"Milly, can you set up a public announcement for me?" Nunnally asked. Milly Ashford was a childhood friend, someone Nunnally could always trust. When she arrived in this World, Nunnally noticed that Milly was having a great career of journalist. The former president of the student council accepted without blinking to be Nunnally's press agent.

"May I ask for when?" Milly asked on the phone.

"As soon as possible." Nunnally needed to speak before Ivanov get the chance to. The parliamentary sessions in Bogota opened at 1PM of the local time zone, so Nunnally had only less than three hours before her.

"My dear and loyal subjects…"


Bianca couldn't believe her eyes. Her aunt Nunnally, who chose to stay at home and not to work, was now the Britannian Empress? Euphemia she could understand; she was, after all, the leader of the Black Knights. Bianca's father, Lelouch, would have made a more than decent Emperor too, but why Nunnally? What happened here?

Bianca listened to the speech. Her aunt was talking about the former Prime Minister of Colombia who resigned because of some scandal revealed to the press, then to the Brazilian regime and its president, a Britannian named Henderson.

'Henderson …' Bianca thought. 'As in Henderson, the Britannian regent whose stubbornness led Britannia to its downfall?'

Bianca always wondered what would the World looked like if Britannia didn't cease to exist and turned into an okay nation. Perhaps she just got the answer.

Suddenly the name 'Ivanov' was pronounced, and it caught her attention.

"These nobles who proclaim themselves true protector of the Britannian people have been raised in the belief that their lives are more important than anyone else. For their personal gain, and glory, the leaders of the Britannian National Front have created a clash in our society, triggered ethnical conflicts and divided us. In this troubled times, I, Nunnally vi Britannia, 100th Empress of the realm, solemnly ask you to choose the path of unity and tolerance."

Bianca was speechless. She never realized that her aunt could be suited for such a position than the throne.

"I remember." Bianca mumbled. "I remember when father told me that there were things that existed beyond human knowledge."

Was this alternate reality part of these things? Did her father know about it? Bianca didn't know the answers to these questions, but she was sure of one thing: this World felt real.

She grinned. 'Well, it's a pretty cool adventure that awaits me!'


Second timeline

Even though it was one of the most infamous history characters existing, Sonia Weinberg didn't know many things about the Demon Emperor. She wasn't the only one of course: little was truly known about Lelouch vi Britannia. Many facts were being kept in the dark about the young boy who single-handedly conquered the World in less than two months, but Sonia's entourage knew some more. Lelouch had been her mother's classmate, and Villetta, Chigusa's mother, had been acting as a gym teacher at Ashford Academy to spy on him for Emperor Charles. That was all; Empress Nunnally always refused to divulge any other information on him, which entertained the myth of a demon returning from the depths of hell…

"You seem tired. Do you want some coffee?"

But here he stood, a middle-aged family man with a couple of bruises on his face. Sonia's doing. She didn't know if she should feel ashamed or proud to have hit him.

She shook her head. "No thanks."

The Lelouch vi Britannia from the history books was the very definition of evil, and Sonia's parents' testimonies seemed to go in that way too, but…

Lelouch smiled. "It's alright." He said with a reassuring tone. "It must be hard for you, to be suddenly dragged away from home into a situation you can't possibly understand. Even if it was unintentional, I apologize for bringing you here."

Sonia blinked. It was really hard to believe that the man that stood before her and the Demon Emperor were the same person.

"It's … okay. I think." She said awkwardly.

"I understand." Lelouch said. "So, would you mind telling us what is happening out there?"

Sonia stared at him with a quizzical look. "What, you don't know?"

He shrugged. "Not really. There is no real connection between the two Worlds, except for …" Lelouch showed his right eye with his finger.

"Oh yes, Geass." Sonia said thoughtfully.

Lelouch nodded. "Yes."

"I'm very curious of what your life looks like." Sonia's mother from a parallel universe said suddenly.

"Yes, me too." Nunnally added.

She sighed. There was no reason to be afraid, because there was nothing Sonia could do to change this. She was still stuck here, where everyone she knew seemed to be different, even herself…

"My life's pretty average in fact." Sonia said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm working in a bar in Los Angeles with my … childhood friend."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Chigusa?"

Sonia wondered briefly how he knew, but then remembered that she kind of screamed her name just after she arrived here. "Yeah."

"The name seems oddly familiar." Nunnally said. "Isn't she Ohgi and Villetta's daughter?"

Sonia's face brightened. "Exactly."

Lelouch had an amused smirk on his face. "So, Chigusa is your lover and…"

Her eyes widened. "How did you…"

Lelouch paused. Kallen and Nunnally stared at the scene, a bit confused.

"How did I figure out?" Lelouch asked. "That's because I've never seen this facial expression on Bianca before."

Sonia gulped. She hid her secret for, like, six years to her entourage and this man, Lelouch, just figured out the truth instantly.

"Was that so obvious?" Sonia asked rhetorically.

Kallen rolled her eyes. "Well, it is Lelouch we're talking about."

"I'm truly happy for you." Nunnally added sincerely.

"Yeah, that's cool." Lelouch said casually.

"We're okay with that." Kallen continued. "We're tolerant, you know."

Lelouch shrugged. "Hey, I'm the kind of tolerance."

Sonia pinched the bridge of –or, more precisely, Bianca's – nose. "Hey, it's not a big deal." She said matter-of-factly.

Lelouch nodded. "Yes, but that's kind of ironic."

She raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Kallen cleared her throat. "Well, Bianca is kind of…"

"Just a little bit, only slightly…" Nunnally continued awkwardly.

Sonia stared at them oddly. "Homophobic?"

Lelouch tilted his head. "I wouldn't say that but…"

"A little bit." Kallen admitted. "She doesn't realize it, but yes, we have to be honest."

"Objectively, no." He corrected. "But Bianca's the kind to be easily bothered…"

Lelouch was interrupted by a loud yawn coming from the recent universe-traveler.

"Sorry." Sonia said quickly as she put a hand to her-Bianca's mouth.

"No harm done." Nunnally said softly. "But perhaps you should go to sleep."

"I don't understand why I'm so tired." Sonia said in disbelief.

Lelouch stared at his daughter-in-law-from-another-universe with a smile. "That's because you feel Bianca's physical tiredness. She just ended a very exhausting series of exams and slept very little tonight."

Sonia nodded. "I get it. I'll sleep on the couch, if you don't mind."

Kallen and Nunnally shook their heads. "You can use Bianca's bedroom." Nunnally proposed. "After all…" But then she stopped as reality hit her again. It was hard to admit, but her niece was gone. Perhaps she would come back, and Nunnally knew that Lelouch would do anything to bring her back, but what if…

"I'll accompany you to her room." Kallen said, feeling her sister-in-law's distress.

Lelouch looked at the two women leaving the room. Suddenly he sat on the couch, and dropped the mask of self-control he showed to them.

"I'm sorry."

Nunnally stared at her brother with sorrow. "It's not your fault."

"I know." Lelouch put his hands on his face, perhaps to hide the distress he felt. "But I'm afraid."

Her sister smiled sadly. "You're not accustomed to be afraid."

Lelouch chuckled bitterly. "You're right. There were so few uncertainties in my life these last years."

"You're afraid she won't be going back." Nunnally stated. "But I'm sure you'll find a way to bring her home."

Lelouch smiled at her sister. "Thanks." He said before showing a depressed face again. "Yes, I feel dread at the idea of being completely powerless."

There was a pause, a moment of heavy silence in the room where the two siblings did nothing but stare at each other. After many years of struggle, wars and separations Nunnally and Lelouch had been able to be reunited from the two Worlds that separated them. After the Black Rebellion, and then after the Requiem, where Lelouch had been given the opportunity to go back in time. They lived separated from each other for three years after Lelouch's resurrection, with him doing his rebellion a second time and her ruling Britannia as the Empress. Lelouch choose to follow his heart, and decided to use his second Geass on her sister to bring her back with him. The main difference with now was that Lelouch had the power to reunite with his sister from the very beginning.

He allowed himself to let a tear swelling down his cheeks.

"She will find out." He stated with a broken tone. "About my true self. About what I did out there."

"So did I." Nunnally retorted in order to reassure him. "And so did Kallen. And we forgave you."

Lelouch wiped out the tear with his hand. "Perhaps she will too, but it will take some time."

Nunnally lowered her eyes. She wouldn't forget the brief times when she hated Lelouch; when she had opened her eyes in the Damocles, her caring, kind-hearted brother had been replaced by a cold, emotionless and cruel Demon. But Nunnally realized after that she made the mistake to trust her eyes, and had been fooled by the mask her brother was wearing.

"She will understand." Nunnally said. "Bianca is a lot like you, actually."

He chuckled bitterly. "Unlike me, she's innocent."

"But she's not as naïve as I was." Nunnally retorted. "You taught her to understand the World's mechanics, and even if she's not perfect..."

Lelouch abandoned his depressed face, and flashed a small grin of pride. "I don't care because she didn't have to witness what I had to witness; Bianca and Naoto have grown up away from the dangers we had to face, and it's all that matters to me."


First Timeline

It all began when Bianca decided to dye her hair in black. She had wandered in the streets of Los Angeles for an hour and then found a shopping gallery to spend her time.

At one moment, Bianca noticed a small hairdressing salon and entered the place.

"Hello, can I help you?" An employee asked. It was an average middle-aged woman.

"It's for dying my hair." Bianca replied simply. It was awfully odd to stare at herself in the mirror and see a stranger. At least, with the same hair color she'd have some more familiar looks.

'Perhaps I should buy purple contact lenses too.' Bianca thought.

"Sure." The employee replied. "May I ask you to pay first? It's the company's policy, I apologize if it may seem unpleasant."

Bianca shrugged. "I don't mind."

They headed to the cash register and Bianca sorted her –or rather, this Sonia girl's- mean of payment; some sort of device that what Bianca had, well, in the real World. (to her perspective, at least) It worked with a secret code, but it was merely because Bianca was special. Well, special in the sense that she had some small privileges with her being the daughter of a prominent UFN employee. Bianca didn't figure in many lists, and her bank account was completely confidential and anonymous. For the common people, the identity of the person was appearing on the screen so the cashier would notice if the device was stolen or not. So the common people's payment device didn't require a code…

"Your secret code, please."

'Shit, shit, shit!' Bianca cursed in her mind.

It was bad. Bianca had approximately 20 pounds in real money, which was only enough to buy a decent lunch. The phone she had on her pocket also required a secret code, much to her annoyance.

"Well, I'm waiting." The cashier said impatiently.

Bianca made an effort on herself to hide her frustration. "I think I've forgot my secret code." She lied while taking her payment device –who looked like a key ring- and putting it back in her vest. "I have such a crappy memory." She finished with a fake giggle.

The hairdressing employee raised an eyebrow. "Well, you can still pay with your phone."

"Battery problem." Bianca replied with a straight face.

"Maybe with cash, then?" The employee asked. It seemed like she was losing patience.

"I don't have enough on me." Bianca replied truthfully, for once.

She sighed. "And the RFID chips…"

Bianca stared at the commoner with an intense glare. "Have I heard right? Have you said RFID?"

The hairdresser employee had a hard time maintaining the gaze. "Well, it is a mean of payment, and you don't need a secret code, but I assume that…"

"Look at me." Bianca said sharply. "Do I look like a sheep?"

The other woman was deeply shocked by her behavior. "I beg your pardon?"

Bianca narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I need to be traced like some fucking cattle?" She snapped icily. "My father gives orders to the most influent people in the planet and they just bow their heads and say thanks."

The poor cashier was on her knees, crying and pleading for her life. "Please, your Highness." She begged. "I apologize for my behavior. I didn't know, I didn't know…"

At least, it was what Bianca wanted to reply to the poor employee that did nothing wrong, but she restrained from doing so. Bianca had to keep up the appearances, after all, even if she wanted to release her frustration.

"…And the RFID chips would have been an alternative but we aren't equipped for receiving payment from them." The employee continued her talk, oblivious of what just happened in Bianca's mind.

She blinked. "Well, I don't have one anyway."

"If you have a problem with your code you should go see your bank." The employee proposed.

Bianca nodded absently. "Yeah, I'm going to do that."

She walked away from the hairdresser shop, completely lost in her thoughts. It was wrong, she knew it was wrong to have that anger on people every time the World didn't turn to her direction, when things didn't go Bianca's way. It was always convenient to blame the others when one couldn't blame himself, but she couldn't avoid it. It was stronger than her; deep inside she had a slight fascination for violence, and didn't see good and evil the same way as people did. She was smart, but when she observed the other people she couldn't help but feel superior to them. It was troubling, to see the stark contrast between her family and the other people that sometimes, Bianca wondered if it had something to do with her blood. However, Lelouch's daughter didn't want to be superior because of her blood, which was a paradox in a way. She was just Bianca, the girl who wanted to govern because she understood concepts that the masses couldn't possibly understand; she was a person with her own rules, her own opinions; she was someone who'd never followed anyone or anything besides her parents.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't pay attention when she bumped into a man passing by.


Alexander Ivanov was sitting on a bench of a park in the campus of the Los Angeles University, staring at his phone with determination.

He just went to Sonia's bar in order to discuss about an eventual meeting with her father: Gino Weinberg, the military counselor of Empress Nunnally. Unfortunately, Sonia wasn't there.

During all these years, Alex had to keep up the appearances, in order to hide any weaknesses from his father. Not because he didn't want to disappoint him, but because he was terrorized by him.

But Alexander wasn't afraid anymore.

He searched for his father's name in his phone's list and called him.

Alexander took a deep breath and stuck the phone to his ear.

"Son?" Rudolf's voice reached his ears. "How're you?"

"I'm fine, father." Alexander replied with a surprisingly calm tone. "I look forward to listen to your speech on the parliament."

"Me too." He said. "But you've not called me to talk about my intervention on the parliament, aren't you?"

His father had the ability to read between the lines, and to understand where people really wanted to go during a conversation. 'Well, try to guess this.' Alex thought cynically.

"I spent the night thinking about it." Alexander began, doing his best to keep the control of his tone. "I've seriously considered the question and now I'm sure or my choice. Do you want to hear it?"

The seconds of silence were intensely heavy.

"I'm all ears." Rudolf said finally.

Alex took another breath and closed his eyes.

"I wish to enter the party."

The sentence was coded, of course, and his father knew exactly what the party was truly referring to.

The White Knights.

Alex didn't lie; he had seriously considered the question during the night, and understood that it was the best thing to do. He would spy on his father's organization, and feed information to the good guys, his father's enemies.

It was hard to face the reality of things, but Alex knew that deep inside he didn't fully value his life as much as he thought. He would gladly sacrifice himself if it ever helped to put his father into custody, or even to kill him.

"I'm proud of you, son." Rudolf said, and Alexander wondered if he was telling the truth. "And, of course, you're allowed to join the group."

Most of the White Knights were members of the aristocracy, so they wanted to build their own dynasty. Integrating a member's child into the group was accepted, even encouraged. Alex knew it was one of their main weaknesses.

"Thank you, father." Alex replied, faking gratitude. "I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure of it." Rudolf replied. "How about you depart for Bogota tomorrow?"

He widened his eyes. 'Shit!'

His father spoke as if he gave him the choice, but Alex had no illusions, it was an order. Alex wasn't prepared for it to be so soon; he wanted at least a couple of days to prepare himself mentally for this hardship.

He knew he made a dumb move, influenced by his desire of justice and his sudden burst of courage. He had lacked wisdom, discernment, and it might cost him his goal.

Alexander exhaled completely in order to dissipate a bit of stress.

"So be it, then." He said to his father and to himself. "I'll be at home for tomorrow at noon."

"Very well." His father replied. "You've made the right choice, my son."

Then Alexander hung up the phone, and against all odds, burst out laughing. It was the kind of laugh that was more close to a mental breakdown than anything.

"You bet I've made the good choice, asshole!"


Bianca, annoyed because she couldn't have been able to pay something, accidentally bumped into someone when she stormed off the hairdresser salon.

"I'm, ahem, sorry." She said apologetically while scratching her head in embarrassment. "I wasn't looking in front of me."

Her collateral victim just smiled at her. "No harm done." He said reassuringly. The passerby was a young Asian man with a tanned skin, probably in his mid-twenties.

The man stared at her with a surprised look, as if he had recognized her.

"Sonia, is that you?" And he did, well, sort of.