Sixteen Months ago

Unknown location

1700

"....This is the part where I would say "What do you have to say for yourself?"Moya began.

Nemaz just, sat there, beamed at her beneath his mask and waited for her to continue.

"But I'm not gonna do that. All I really need to say is that you made a call on your own. A call to not report. To disobey the orders given to you and to simply, do nothing in response to Apex going rogue. You new about this. And now...?"

Moya's shoulders rose. And then they dropped.

"We, have functionally helped dethrone the warlord of Venezuela. The next North Korea in essence. All the cumulative terrorism caught up to her. And ultimately, she fled. All the terrorism. The showboating. The challenges. And well, it all came back to Ivana. She had no one to protect her but the few lackeys she could muster, in the face of constant attack and formal challenges to her person. All the fear that kept everyone, her allies and enemies, at bay, left her. Us included. And now, she's gone."

"Because of Alexandra Ashworth." Nemaz added. His helmet became completely transparent, to the point that, were his hair not neatly tied, it may as well had not been there. His expression, something of a guy enjoying a spot of tea. No nervousness or anything that would bely that he had any kind of fear, or something like that. No tampering with his amygdala like most elite Shadow Company Required.

"Of course."

"Nelson Mandela once spoke of this thing he referred to as a cycle of hate. When given news of changing a soccer team from European to fully being composed of native Africans. Instead he refused to change the team simply to spite the European players. He integrated with them. So it brings me to wonder. Is this part where start down the same path as Charlemange, then? Shall we enact a new Third Reich?"

"No. The genocide that made Venezuela is enough. Now there is a place they can call their own, and all the individuals responsible are on the run. Apex has taken their place and may as well be heralded as a hero. Ivana and Xenon served well enough in that role. So here we are. Alex is the ruler of Venezuela. I can't really shove my hand up her ass and make her a puppet, and frankly, I don't want to. Ms. Ashworth's genuineness is one of her most redeeming qualities in the eyes of the people. I'd hate to sully that."

"So, is there anything else?"

"Well. I could punish you. But what you did worked. So I won't. Simply, we can save this as a case study, and go over what could have gone wrong. What do you think?"

"Ivana could have stayed. She had survived, but Apex's life would be in danger if she so knew that it was she that betrayed her. We could have been at face with almost a New World War in which Venezuela and all allies would War against them. Who we are holds weight. People fear us, and they feared them. Who knows how it could have been divided. Us. Them? Ivana Strigidae. Or Johnathan Bold. Heh."

Nemaz smiles, as he shakes his head. "We will never know." He says.

"That, we shall not. So, let's break the circle. I'm sending you to Venezuela. You'll spend a lot of time working there from now on. I hope you'll like it. Your flight leaves in a day. I can send for movers."

"Understood."

The Red Raptor reaches idly to her side for a drink, because she is no longer working at the moment.