Chapter 213: One last night

Chloe urgently needed a good amount of caffeine. Her mind was now falling apart and her body was practically begging for mercy. Being a direct employee of the Commission was sometimes downright detrimental, especially if you were involved in important state matters. Unfortunately for her, Chloe had been involved in the most important and complicated question of state that humanity had ever experienced. Since she returned, every day had been a constant filling out of paperwork, answering questions, holding interviews, talking to important people, running from one part of her and other countries to another, and often sustaining real interrogations by the Commission. She had so much work to do that she once couldn't sleep for two full days. She was pretty sure she got an ulcer just for stress. And then that damned little girl got into it too! She admired Jocelyne's work, but so far she had done nothing but cause her problems. Not only did she create an excessive number of headaches in her because of her choices that were too independent, but she also had the habit of disappearing without telling anyone where she was going. And who was the one who had to take responsibility for it? Obviously her, because she was the one who had been closest to her in the negotiations and therefore she should have kept her under control, at least according to the sick ideology of her leaders. Even if she Chloe wasn't a person who committed child abuse, at that moment she wouldn't have disdained giving that little girl a good tease of the ear. Seriously, if it was Jocelyne who was doing her own thing and wandering around, then why it had to be her, Chloe, who took the responsibility? Fortunately, after the first huge wave, the workload had begun to quiet down. Although there were still many things to fix, it was now the task of other experts to take care of them; Chloe had been essential as long as doubts arose about the negotiation, but now that all doubts were cleared the governments were letting her breathe. And luckily, Jocelyne too seemed to have lost the habit of disappearing from the eyes of the world whenever she wanted. Chloe could finally enjoy a calmer lifestyle. She knew it wouldn't last long, but it was worth enjoying. It was at that juncture that a certain person came to see her. When she saw him she almost didn't believe it herself. "Hi" Jackson greeted with a smile. "Hi" Chloe returned smiling at him. "Can I offer you something to drink?" "I don't see why I should refuse" Jackson behaved like a true gentleman, at least in his way. He took her to a place that was not exactly luxurious, but still pleasant. He ordered a good vintage wine and the most delicious dish in the restaurant. "Sorry" he told her as they were waiting for dinner. "I guess you will be used to higher standards, but I can't afford more..." "Quiet, I like this place. It is much quieter and simpler than the high-class restaurants. And then I'm sick of seeing those clubs" "Have you been there a lot?" "If you are an international diplomat you have to go there, especially in this... difficult period. So thank you for bringing me here, I could have smashed a plate in your head if you had forced me to go to a super luxurious restaurant again" "I'll keep that in mind for the future... for my health" Jackson joked. Chloe laughed at the joke. The two chatted throughout the evening. They talked about the most disparate topics: what were the other's favorite hobbies, what they thought of a particular television personality, who was their favorite novelist, what foods they preferred... anything that didn't incorporate dinosaurs or politics. When they had finished eating they left the restaurant and took a walk. They walked for almost an hour. Even though Chloe until recently would not even have the strength to get out of bed, with Jackson beside her it seemed that all the physical and mental strain she had been subjected to was gone. Eventually they reached a park. There they sat on a bench and watched the full moon calmly mirror itself in an artificial lake. Chloe wished nothing would spoil that moment. Yet her instincts told her that Jackson wasn't telling her something. So even though she was cursing herself she still decided to ask the fateful question: "Why did you come to see me right now?" She hoped Jackson would ignore her, or decline the subject with a joke, but her question put a smile on the man's face. "My duty is to protect miss Jersey. It is the task entrusted to me by her father, and which I consider my moral duty" he explained. "Therefore I could not get away from her, not even to see you..." "But today you came" "Yes. Right now I'm contravening my own sense of duty and my job, but I needed to see you. I'll be leaving soon" "Will you leave? Are you and miss Jersey going home?" "No. She stays here. I... will return to the territory of the dinosaurs " Chloe's body tensed and she almost jumped to her feet when she heard those words. She looked Jackson in her eyes trying to see the sign of a joke, but she obviously was disappointed. "Why?" she whispered with the little breath he had left. Jackson clenched his fists. "We found him, Chloe. The man who caused all this. He is on Maakanar right now. I have to go to capture him" The woman's anger dissolved instantly as soon as she heard those words. Her mood went from furious to surprised. "Is... is it really artificial? The talking dinosaurs, their weapons, everything?". When Jackson nodded, she asked: "Why didn't you inform the Commission?" "Because we have no proof, Chloe. Or rather, we have them, but they're not enough" Jackson replied. "See, the real responsible for all this... is the Raiding Global" Oddly she Chloe found she wasn't blown away at all. For some reason, knowing that the cause of that disaster was the most powerful multinational in the world seemed almost natural to her. She now understood why Jackson and Jocelyne hadn't informed anyone: the Raiding certainly wouldn't shut up and would try to hide the evidence. As a demonstration of her thoughts, Jackson continued: "We know that asking for Commission support would be easier, but the Raiding has eyes everywhere. If it would discover what we found it would do anything to stop us. We have to destroy that damn company, for all the lives that have been lost. We need overwhelming evidence, and we can only find it over there, in Maakanar, in the middle of the dinosaur territory". The man let out a deep sigh. "I have to go get them. Jocelyne is secretly preparing a capture expedition and I will lead her. We have the support of a very rich man and several scientists, including my father" "Your father?" "It's Robert Oz" Chloe's eyes widened. Yet, thinking about it with a clear mind, it was so obvious... beyond the similar surname, that face, that chin, those eyes, that hair, everything of Jackson was so similar to the infamous Dr. Oz... "Don't tell me that..." "Yes, my father was right. His theories were correct" Chloe bit her lip. She wasn't a scientist and she didn't know what Dr. Oz's theories were in detail, but she knew they were about intelligent animals and that he had been discredited for that. Under normal circumstances she would never have believed it either, but seeing what was happening it was natural to think that perhaps Dr. Oz had not been completely wrong. "When will you leave?" "Very early. It's a matter of a few weeks" Jackson replied. "This is why I came. I didn't know when you would be free again in the future, so I preferred to act tonight rather than wait until the last day. I wanted to say goodbye in case... well, in case you never come back " Chloe felt a bitter sensation in her mouth. She knew what Jackson was facing: there was no guarantee that he would come back alive from such a journey. A capture expedition into enemy territory was always a huge risk, and members of that expedition often returned home in a coffin. The thought of Jackson's corpse squeezed her heart like a vise. "I don't want you to go" she whispered without realizing it. The man shook his head. "I know it. But I have to go. It's not something that I can refuse to do" "Why? Because did your miss order it?" "Because my brother is in Cartago, and because I can't trust anyone right now. I can't take the risk that the command of this mission goes to an incompetent, it's too important. I have to be the one to catch the bastard who caused this disaster" "And this is more important than your life?" "And would my life be more important than all the ones of others? We can do this speech over and over, Chloe. This is my choice. I want to go there. I have to do it, for Abe, for all the people I care about, for all those who have died, and for all of humanity. I can't back down, not this time" "I could denounce you and force you to stay" "You will not. You also know that it is too important" Chloe's hand moved with a life of its own towards Jackson's, but the woman pulled it back a second before their fingers brushed. "You're cruel, Jackson Oz" she said. "How can you make me have such a pleasant evening, and then you tell me you're going to throw yourself into the dragon's jaws?" "I know it. Apparently cruelty is inherent in the males in my family" Jackson replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't really want to tell you" "So why did you do it? You could have invented an excuse when I asked you why you came to see me today... you could have told me that you had received a permit, that you were fired, that you had secretly escaped from your workplace..." "Yes, I could have done it. But when you asked me I found..." Jackson sighed. "I found that I don't want to lie to you" Chloe's heart was now pounding, and she could feel Jackson's doing the same. Tears were forming in her eyes, and she strangely she couldn't tell if it was from anger, fear, sadness, happiness or an unhealthy mixture of all these emotions. "The Commission has established a blockade. How are you going to get over it without getting noticed?" she asked her, hoping to be able to cling to that last hold. Jackson bit his lip. "Miss Jersey wanted... to ask for your help, but I convinced her to change her mind" "What?" Chloe's voice was now so low that she would soon mingle with the wind. "She wanted to ask for your help, but I asked her to not. Now she is looking for another way" "Why did you ask her to not let me do it?" "Because too many people I care about are already in danger. My brother, miss Jersey... I don't want to endanger you too". Jackson sighed deeply. "I came here with the intention of spending a happy evening with you and not revealing anything, but... as I said, I don't want to have any secrets with you. So please stay out of this business, even if now you know the truth" Chloe was about to argue, but unexpectedly Jackson stood up. "Please forgive me" he said. "I acted like an asshole. I guess this isn't a happy time for you, and I've just messed things up even more. Hate me if you want. I just wanted you to know that... if you die... you will be one of those people I will miss most when I am in the afterlife". He let out a snort. "Sorry, I'm doing it again. Don't worry, now I'm leaving" He started to walk away, but suddenly something grabbed his right arm. He turned and saw Chloe staring at him. He tried to free himself, but incredibly that woman had a very iron grip. "What..." "You're absolutely right, you're an asshole. You're a bastard and a piece of shit. You can't behave like this!" the woman growled. "You cannot enter in a person's heart and then leave it as you want! You can't play with the feelings of others like that and then cover your asses by blaming your abandonment to a sense of duty! You can't behave like this with... with me". Chloe's voice was getting more and more shaky. "We will find another way..." "You know there isn't one" "It doesn't matter, we'll find him. If you're not a bastard, Jackson Oz... don't leave" Jackson's heart faltered. Chloe's face was streaked with tears and her eyes stared at him pleadingly. All the time he had been with her he had been tempted, but now more than ever he felt the need to stay, not to return to dinosaur territory, to give way to someone else... to stay with her. But then common sense returned to dominate his brain. He looked away, knowing she wouldn't have the strength to answer him as he stared into her eyes, and replied, "I'm sorry, but I can't. I must do it. This expedition could save millions of people. It could save Abe, it could save miss Jersey, it could save all those people who live in peace in the world... including you. If that makes me a bastard... then I'm sorry again, but I can't change my nature" He started to turn around again, but Chloe's left hand grabbed him by her collar, forcing him to look into her eyes again. "I knew you would answer that" she said shaking from head to toe. "After all, I understood it from the first moment I saw you. You are like that... you think of others before yourself. Yes, you are a bastard, Jackson Oz... and maybe if more men were like you this would be a better world" "Chloe..." "If this is to be the last time we will meet... then I don't want it to end with this bad memory" The woman's eyes mirrored his. "Let's leave it all behind. Let's forget everything we just said. Talking dinosaurs don't exist tonight. The danger of a war doesn't exist. Politics doesn't exist. Death itself doesn't exist. There is only us, and the rest of the world is gone. So... let's enjoy this last moment together, let's abandon any rationality and let our desires take control of us" Jackson realized that Chloe's face was frighteningly close to hers. "Are you sure...?" he asked with his heart pounding. The woman's eyes showed not the slightest hesitation in her soul. "I do. If you don't want it, push me away" Jackson did not. He let Chloe completely cancel the distance between them and place her lips on hers. He greedily savored that priceless treasure that was granted to him, and found that they tasted of strawberry and mint, the same flavors that he had imagined and that he loved so much. They remained entwined with each other for an indefinite period of time, exploring each other's oral cavity and savoring each other, because it was from the first moment they saw each other that they wanted to do it.