06-02-2008, 06:04 PM
"Madame President..." murmurs Saxon. "I like that." She snaps her head up and looks Carter in the eye.
"Mr Carter, I heartily agree with you. We can't keep it around anymore. If the Minister..."
She is interrupted by a cellphone playing a low, four-beat staccato rhythm. She reaches into a pocket and flips it open. "Hello?..This is she...What?" Her eyes widen. "Yes...I...Very well. Evacuate as many people as possible, there's no telling what's left...Yes, I remember what happened...Thank you, councillor. Goodbye." She looks up, ashen-faced.
"I'm afraid it will have to wait. I have just been informed by none other than the capital's chief councillor that a series of devastating explosions have ripped through downtown Ferveo City. Death toll is unconfirmed, but it is believed to number in the thousands. My citizens need their leader. How can I tell them that it was probably him who ordered the placing of those bombs? Remember what he said? I'm doing this for you? This is what he means. It's a baptism of fire. Checking if I'm up to the job..."
A tech speaks up timidly. "Um...Madame President? We, um, detected a signal leaving the island at roughlythe same time as Seismos was killed. Think it's connected?"
"Jesus..." whispers Saxon. "A cardiovascular detonator. He must have set those bombs long ago. They'd only go off if he was killed --specifically, if his heart stopped."
"Mr Carter, I heartily agree with you. We can't keep it around anymore. If the Minister..."
She is interrupted by a cellphone playing a low, four-beat staccato rhythm. She reaches into a pocket and flips it open. "Hello?..This is she...What?" Her eyes widen. "Yes...I...Very well. Evacuate as many people as possible, there's no telling what's left...Yes, I remember what happened...Thank you, councillor. Goodbye." She looks up, ashen-faced.
"I'm afraid it will have to wait. I have just been informed by none other than the capital's chief councillor that a series of devastating explosions have ripped through downtown Ferveo City. Death toll is unconfirmed, but it is believed to number in the thousands. My citizens need their leader. How can I tell them that it was probably him who ordered the placing of those bombs? Remember what he said? I'm doing this for you? This is what he means. It's a baptism of fire. Checking if I'm up to the job..."
A tech speaks up timidly. "Um...Madame President? We, um, detected a signal leaving the island at roughlythe same time as Seismos was killed. Think it's connected?"
"Jesus..." whispers Saxon. "A cardiovascular detonator. He must have set those bombs long ago. They'd only go off if he was killed --specifically, if his heart stopped."