On the big screen in the living area, the backstage of the newsroom was displayed. It was slightly blurry, and there were more body shots than facial ones as the news team wandered around. However, the sound was excellent.
"How many more have to die before we get rid of the weredragons for good?" a man asked.
"What do you mean by 'for good?'" another retorted.
"I don't mean sending them home, that's for sure," the first man replied.
"We would bring down the wrath of Maxxus if we destroyed his dragons. I, for one, don't want a war with aliens. I don't even believe this is the weredragons' fault. There are easier ways to take over here, and they could have done it when they brought their warriors to fight the Xycon. This is a frame job. It's been far too easy to pin it on the Talonians; very convenient," the second argued.
"Have you heard?" a woman joined in. "Reports have just come in. Because of the China incident, they took the threats to the oil rigs seriously. They raided them. There's video we're going to show. In Russia, two rigs were destroyed by the weredragons who worked on them. Their coworkers were killed, and so were several of the men sent to capture the Talonians. In Kuwait, the same thing happened on one, but on the other, the weredragon wasn't there. They can't find him. Here, in the gulf, they got the perpetrator. He didn't release the biologic or set a fire. Of course, the CIA is claiming they were heroes and overcame him. I've seen the footage. It looked more like the dragon refused to hurt them. He was hurting. He collapsed, and his heart stopped."
Belle screamed and jumped out of her chair. No! Blayze couldn't be dead. She had promised to protect him and the others.
Shark wrapped her in his arms and said, "Listen, it's okay."
The woman was replying to a question. "Oh, they revived him alright. They needed him alive so they could torture answers out of him before they destroy him. Isn't that how it works? The really sad part is, I don't think he'll have answers. He looked scared and confused to me, especially when he stared off into the sky like he was listening for someone to guide him. It broke my heart. Go watch it yourself, before we air it. It will probably be edited so that no one is sympathetic toward the dragon. Sometimes, I hate this job."
"She has a soft heart. I'm almost certain she has a crush on one of the aliens," one man announced. "You want to see if what she claims is true? Once it's edited, we'll only see what they want us to see."
"Sure, it can't hurt. What if she's right? What happens if they're being used?"
"We have to report the news the way we are commanded to. You know we'd be fired if we said anything differently. Our opinions don't matter in the least. One way or another, people are dying, and it has to stop. So far, the biologic has been released in remote areas. What if this escalates to large populations?"
"Turn it off," Belle demanded. "I don't want to see Blayze collapse in that footage, and I definitely don't want to see how they twist it in editing."
Shark obliged, knowing Belle would fall apart if she saw Blayze's pleading eyes. She needed to focus on the future, not the pain of the past few hours. "Why do you think the weredragon in Kuwait was a no-show? Did he figure out the puzzle or is he dead already?"
"I would like to think he figured it out and is fighting against the programming like Blayze. Yet, the capsule could have leaked, or he may have used dragon fire. In either case, he'd be dead. It's also possible that he never made it through the programming."
"It's time to speak to Maxxus. If he sees the news feeds first, things are going to get dicey," Shark replied.
"You're right. I hate to give him more bad news, though. The Talonians have had enough trouble. If I were them, I'd bring everyone home and put an impenetrable bubble around the planet. Earth has fended for itself for thousands of years, and it can do so again."
"You can't put the genie back in the bottle, I'm afraid. Once the government knows a planet exists, they won't leave it alone. If they surrounded themselves with a bubble, it would just be more tempting to discover how to pop it."
"Would you try?" Belle dared to ask.
"Sadly, it would be a challenge I'd find hard to resist. I admit I'm fallible and imperfect."
Belle nodded in reply. She couldn't judge him for his admission. No one was perfect. For now, he was on her side. That's all that really mattered. "Let's do this. Maxxus should hear the real truth, not a doctored news report."
It was the middle of the night on Talonia. Josie, Maxxus's human mate, answered the call. She was rocking the baby, her eyes barely open. She yawned, "This better be important. I only have a couple of more hours to sleep."
"Wake up Maxxus, please," Belle replied, without a proper greeting.
Josie awoke fully at the desperation in Belle's voice. "I know who you are. You're the CIA agent Maxxus wanted me to call at daybreak. I guess we both have some news. Let me put the baby down, wake Maxxus, and move this discussion to another room. I have a feeling there's going to be shouting, and Phoenix needs to sleep. Give me five minutes. I have a lot to tell you."
