He had been right about De Souza, being an early-morning runner. Careful not to wake Neri, who had slept in his arms again, he had climbed out of bed. Luckily, he had brought some sportier clothes as well. So he had put on some sweatpants and had slipped into runners. Hidden by the entrance of the hotel, he had waited for De Souza to come out to get her exercise. He sent his mother a short message about his whereabouts, along with the appeal to only tell Neri. Then he fell into a run himself, following De Souza with some distance uphill into the woods.
He had expected her to be very fast. She was an highly-trained agent after all. Jason had done some training recently, but after a few minutes, he had to accept, there was no way to keep up with her. Nonetheless, he kept running.
Unfortunately, fate was merciless on him today. He arrived on a crossroad, out of breath. De Souza was nowhere to be seen. Swearing, he started to look around in hope to find a footprint or any trace on the wet ground, he could follow. Time was running out, so he decided to take the most difficult route: a small muddy-grounded path. What he knew about her, she loved to challenge others, and maybe herself as well.
With every step, he sank into the soft ground, which made it impossible for him to run, so he fell in a quick-paced jog. One foot getting stuck, ultimately put a stop on his enterprise. Frustrated, he rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath, when something hit him. Startled, he found himself lying on his back, a familiar face upon him, her knee close to his throat.
"Any reason, you keep stumbling after me like a three-legged kitten?"
His fruitless attempts to shove her knee away from his throat only raised an amused smile, and he gave up quickly.
"Can't you figure?" he asked.
"If Her Majesty wants to talk to me, she shouldn't send her human pet," De Souza replied and increased the pressure on his chest.
"She didn't send me," Jason assured in a constraint voice. "I'm here on my own account."
"Even, if I'd believe you, why should I listen to you?"
With one last attempt, focussing all the energy he had left into it, he finally managed to shove her from his chest. She got on her feet, smoothly as a cat. For someone reaching the end of her forties, she was in very good shape.
"Because, I'm gonna tell you the truth," he answered, while he sat up, resting his upper body on his elbows. "The whole story. Anything, you want to know."
"So, she was lying?"
Not a question, but a finding.
"Yes," he confirmed and gave her a look. She had folded her arms across the chest, but her body was still in tension. Ready, to nail him to the ground again.
"Why me?" she asked suspiciously.
"Because you are the only one, who had the guts to question her," he answered. "Because you care more about the people on Earth than about what anyone could think of you."
The corners of her mouth crimped. Finally, she rolled her eyes, took an annoyed breath, and stretched out her hand. He took it, and she pulled him to his feet.
"From the top," she demanded. "Leave nothing out."
He nodded, and pointed to a big tree bole, lying on the ground. "You should sit down," he recommended. "This will take a while." De Souza didn't move.
"Mind, if I get my shoe?" he asked, and gave a nod with his head in direction of his trainer, still stuck in the mud.
She took another annoyed breath, but he took it as a "yes". While he freed his shoe, De Souza took out a phone.
"Isabelle? Reschedule everything till tomorrow. – No, I'm fine. … Just do it, please! – No," she said and gave him a look. "Don't tell anyone... – Just think of something… Thank you!"
She hung up, and watched him, putting on his shoe. "Alright, kid," she said. "You have my attention. You wanna tell me a story? Better make it a good one!"
After a while, he lost track of time, while reliving the past seven years.
Their first encounter. The Island. Charly. UBRI. The spacecraft.
The message, Neri's father had left for her.
The finding of Mera. The hunt for the synchronium. Kal.
The pyramid. PRAXIS. Malakat and Shersheba.
Jason flinched by the memory of Neri's death, but forced himself to ran on. De Souza listened with a blank expression. He couldn't tell if she believed him. Apart from some questions, she remained silent. At some point, she conjured forth a cereal bar which she broke into to equal pieces, offering him one of them.
The ankh. The Red Virus. Malakat's conspiracy. The invasion. Shalamorn.
It must have been way past midday. The sun was already sinking again when he finished talking. For a while, they sat in silence. Jason shifted around nervously on the tree bole. She stared into the woods in front of her, processing expressionless. He waited, feeling even more uncomfortable with every second.
Abruptly, she got on her feet. "Thank you," she said simply and turned to go.
"What?" He jumped off the tree bole. "That's it?" he asked bewilderedly.
She turned around to face him. "What do you expect from me? Applause? Compassion? My approval in an impossible choice?" Her voice became less calm with every word. "What do you want, Jason?"
It took him a moment to realise, he hadn't really thought about that. He slouched his shoulders. "I don't know," he admitted. "Perhaps, … a solution?"
De Souza snorted. "There is none. But you already know that. Look," she added gentler. "I get it. Shalamorn is not to blame for this situation. But that doesn't mean, I can consent with her way of dealing with things! I can't possibly approve with an alien invasion, and she is clearly forcing it on us!"
"She has as less of a choice as you have," Jason replied. "She has to prove herself a worthy leader. She has to show her people, that she is still able to provide for them."
"By overthrowing an entire planet? Drowning the inhabitants?"
"She would never do that," Jason objected. "But if she fails to establish good relations, and at least get the assurance, you consider, – just consider! – to grant asylum for her people, they will take action. The closest thing we get to a chance is with Shalamorn in charge."
De Souza shook her head. "I can not consent. A vote for them is a vote against mankind. The people of planet Earth are my first priority!"
"I get it," Jason answered. "And I respect that. But this is your only chance to dictate the terms of the settlement. Shalamorn will fight to the end, hold the peace as long as she can."
"She can't fight on both fronts, and I'm afraid, neither can you." The look she gave him, was unexpectedly sympathetic and gentle. "Take my advice," she said sternly. "Take your princess, and get out of here. Go back to your island, raise some kids, – if you can, – and live your life apart."
Jason shook his head. "I can't do that. Neri will never back out, and I won't leave her alone. She is my life!"
De Souza sighed. "Yeah, I got that from your little story." She took him by the shoulders. "I do not doubt the depth of your feelings. But I think you're both far too young to understand the consequences of you being together. Neri is sweet and innocent. I can see that. But she is also delicate, and shy." She withdrew her hands. "On her planet, being compassionate and kind maybe suffices, but here, she's barely enough leadership material to deal with the actual situation. If you stay, the both of you are gonna be crushed, and I would hate so see that. You could as well just pin a target on both your backs!"
"You think, I don't know that?" Jason responded. "We both pledged our life to this mission."
De Souza opened her mouth to a reply but then changed her mind. She nodded in direction of the hotel and turned to go. "I can see why she chose you," she said.
"Shalamorn didn't choose me," Jason objected.
"I wasn't talking about Shalamorn!"
Jason felt himself slightly blushing, and followed De Souza back to the main road.
"I will talk to the President," she promised, when the hotel came in sight. "But when you plead your case, you're gonna be on your own."
Jason nodded. "Thank you."
Their eyes met. "I will still vote against it."
Jason gave her a friendly smile. "I know."
He had barely entered the suite when Neri threw herself into his arms. He responded instantly to the embrace, burying his face in her hair. "Hey beautiful," he murmured close to her ear. "I'm okay."
He looked up, still holding her, to see Shalamorn and his mother approaching from the other side of the room. Diane looked concerned, but Shalamorn seemed shaken to the bones.
"What happened?" she wanted to know. "The President cancelled today's meeting."
"I had a little talk with De Souza today," he replied. At first, he wanted to keep her in the dark, but he knew her concern was genuine. He was not a mean person, after all.
"You should come up with an excuse for tomorrow at some point. I'm gonna do it, but on my terms."
"Yes, of course," she agreed startled. "Jason," she began and took a step closer to him, "I am so sorry. And so glad, you're alright."
He gave her a nod, then turned to Neri, whom he still held in a close embrace. "I haven't eaten all day," he realised. "What do you think? We find something fancy to eat at in the city, you can take a swim in the bay? Afterwards, maybe some midnight ice skating?"
She broke into a radiant smile.