"You mean the word 'please,' don't you? I'm not sure why it works, but it does. Even on the oil rig, when you heard nothing else I said, that got through. See, everything can be worked out. I'll stay by your side until this ends."
"Will you be able to reach me when I am in the presence of my tormentor? If a nightmare can bring such violence, what will happen when I hear his voice and see his face? The instinct will be to kill. He may deserve it, but that does not make it right. I do not wish to be the evil one, nor do I want you to see me kill."
"You won't kill him. You've faced more than one of your tormentors, and all have survived. You're so strong and such a good man. I believe in you. You need to believe in yourself. Look inside, find the power that's there and let it rise to envelop you. I trust you."
"For you, I shall try."
"You'll succeed."
"We have to go back. Maxxus will be calling to give us the location of the summit if they chose to invite him," Blayze replied. He could not keep arguing about his condition. If Belle was unable to control the beast inside him, he would welcome death. Becoming a killing machine was not an option.
"He'll be invited.The president will put on a good show of pretending he's afraid to let the King of Talonia attend, but in the end, he’ll be gleeful. You see; it's his chance to kill Maxxus along with the other leaders. He'll be rid of the alliance, the weredragons, and all rulers. Better yet, Maxxus would be killed by his own men. It's like wrapping his present and putting a bow on it."
Back at the ranch house, there was an unusual excitement in the air. Clearly, there had been a development of large proportions during the couple of hours Belle and Blayze had spent at the pond. Something had changed besides their relationship.
"You're not going to believe this, Belle. I was here when the news came in, and even I'm having a hard time believing it's true." James couldn't contain his excitement.
"Well, get on with it. If it's that good, I want to hear it too."
"The plan has to change. We've got a real chance of stopping this without risking lives, especially Maxxus. Our CIA director skipped out on the president's agenda. After we got Blayze and his buddies out, he was afraid the president wouldn't make good on his promises, so he cut his losses and fled. He figured Blayze knew too much and would tattle. Then, the president would shift all the blame to him. Anyway, when Blayze didn't blow his cover, he panicked, because now he could be hunted down and made to disappear and the terrorist plot could continue. Sure enough, two of the implanted weredragons were sent to kill him. He was set to board a cruise ship, under a different name and disguised. He planned to leave at one of the foreign ports and become someone else."
"Is he dead?" Blayze asked. "He was a cruel man."
"No, he wasn't killed. This is where it gets good. There was a tracking device in his shoes. He had forgotten about it. They were his running shoes, and the device had been put in them a long time ago so that he could always be found if he went missing. He was really paranoid about abduction, so this was quite ironic. It turned on when he put pressure on the shoe. The bad guys who had been working with him at headquarters saw it, but so did we. Everybody went after him, including Maxxus and Shark. It turns out the cruise ship was leaving from Alaska. Don't you love it?" James asked.
"What happened? Where is he?" Belle inquired.
"The president must have decided the cruise ship would suffice as another terrorist target and when the director was found on board, it would be clear that he was the target. That scenario would work in his favor. Maxxus spoiled it. He got to the weredragons before they let loose with the biological weapon. They had the director cornered on deck. They were in full dragon form. The authority Maxxus had on them seemed to break through the programming. They heard his orders and fought the implants, just like Blayze did. They passed out. Shark has the director, and he's so scared he's naming names. He fears Maxxus on one side and the president on the other. The cruise lines agreed to pretend the scheme worked. The passengers were given vouchers for a better, longer cruise and Shark agreed to pay for air flights. The president was informed that all on board, including the director, died. It's on the news feed. The world believes it's true. Now, we know who's involved in every country. We can make a better plan and bring it all down. Any ideas?"
