-What do you suggest then? What should we do?
A boy in a pink jacket was sitting at one of the tables in the Royal Hall. In his face no emotion seemed to bloom and this was accentuated by showing a bored posture while he spoke. The calm with which he spoke was similar to that of The Man of Blue, though less controlled and more inattentive. That was the calm of someone accustomed to being involved in disasters, or so The Man of Green thought.
-The most pertinent thing would be to work to discover the identity of the mastermind. The issue is in how to do it. The faster we find out the truth, the sooner we can get out of this hole.
The Man of Blue had at that moment an additional dilemma in his head and he needed to find a way to make the pieces fit by themselves, otherwise the prolongation of the discussion could put him and the others present in trouble. It was clear that time was not on his side and finding solutions was becoming tedious as needs piled up one on top of the other. It was at that point that a plan emerged from the abyss to save the day.
-I may have an idea, we may be killing two birds with one shot.
-What do you mean?
The Man of Green waited for a response from The Man of Blue but several seconds passed before he said a word. The delay made The Woman of Red impatient, screaming for explanations, like someone who lacks enough self-control to modulate her tone of voice.
-No need to lose your temper. In this case, losing control over ourselves would be giving in to the machinations of the kidnapper. I propose that we resume the meeting as if none of this had happened.
-Are you crazy? Pretend everything is fine while the world burns around us? What benefit can such stupidity bring?
-Two birds with one stone. I already understand what you mean.
The Man of Green paused for a moment and thoughtfully asserted in affirmation. That silhouette in blue seemed to be light steps away from all the regents and envoys in the room. It was clear that his intricate mind was the best way out of the problem they were all in. After all, none of those present had noticed the big picture, except him of course, although it had taken too long for his liking. The other man must be a genius or at least an die-hard strategist.
-Can either of you two say for once what we're supposed to do to survive this hell?
-Miss, think for a moment why we are here. I am not referring to being kidnapped, but to the fact of our presence in the capital.
-The meeting?
-Exactly, the meeting. Which, as all of you could realize, had a declaration of war as a reason. Although we are trapped in this takeover, that situation has not been taken off the table, it is only on hold, and the longer we procrastinate, our future will worsen.
-What does that have to do with getting out of here? It's no use finding a solution to a problem if we're all going to end up dead before we can get out of here.
-That's where you're wrong. What would be the natural reaction of a group of hostages in a takeover?
-Go into crisis, cry, kick and try to escape at any cost.
-That's right, boy. That is precisely what the takeover leader would expect from all of us. What would be the opposite case to the one we just raised?
-Keep calm, resign ourselves to escaping and go on with our original business.
-True, except for the resigning part, that is what that man was proposing when he said that we act as if nothing had happened. Any mistake in my reasoning?
-Not at all, I see that someone has an agile mind, and I'm glad for that. It will be an indispensable tool if we want to gain the upper hand in this mess.
-I still don't understand why acting as if nothing happened is the best response to this situation.
-They propose to find a way out of the pontiff's problem and at the same time use the meeting as bait to drive the person responsible out of its intended plan. As crazy as it sounds, it can work. If we get out of the subject's plan and at the same time we work on outlining who the mastermind is, we can find the culprit or, in the best of cases, make the person responsible make a mistake and give himself away.
The Envoy of Pink stared at The Woman of Red, waiting for a signal that would confirm that the woman had understood the reasons for the proposal. A small shake of the head was enough for the young man to end the matter and move on to further the discussion with the other two men.
-The culprit is among us, and sooner or later its mask will fall if we press hard enough. The Supreme Pontiff is the second threat we must deal with. I don't think he'll give up on his proposal, you've seen how he reacted to the Representative's challenge. We have very little control in both situations.
-In that case let's try to win a little. Who is the only person who can currently maintain the Status Quo inside the basilica? Does anyone dare to guess?
-Me, of course it's me.
The Prime Minister rose from a seat on the south side of the room and walked towards the center of the discussion, which now occupied the entire central area of the Royal Hall. In his head it was logical that if they wanted to buy time they should play all their cards and extend the discussion with the Holy Father until they reached a consensus. And the only way to achieve this was to put pressure on The Supreme Pontiff, and also on the person responsible for the attack within his homeland. He would do whatever it took to stop the madness that had taken over his homeland today.
-Correct Minister, any idea to convince the crazy old man not to create another world war?
-The same as you, go with the flow. If we can somehow get his faith placed in humanity once more, he may give up trying to crusade. That would be my bet, I don't know what you guys think.
-Then let us summon everyone again in the Golden Hall, including the pontiff. From now on it will be a war of attrition, the first to lose the rudder of the ship will be the one who begins to drown. If you all agree, please raise your hand.
In the chamber the arms of The Man of Blue, The Man of Green, The Envoy of Pink and The Prime Minister were the first to be raised. With some distrust, The Woman of Red continued with the chain and some others joined her decision. In the seconds that followed, the rest of those present raised their hands following their own time. It was a unanimous decision, and that was the best strategy. Unless they work together the Basilica would become the epicenter of the end. The Man of Blue asked everyone present to return to the Golden Room and tell the other people in the Basilica of the plan they had devised. For the strategy he had in mind to work, no piece could be out of place, or the domino would fall faster than the building once the bombs were detonated. That was how the minutes began to pass and the Golden Room began to be flooded again with a sea of characters. However, ten minutes after the entry of The Man of Blue, only half of the attendees had resumed their positions. The Prime Minister, who was already in his seat, proceeded to inform those present that an additional fifteen minutes would be granted before the meeting began. This for the sake of doing it with the presence of the largest number of people.
The Man of Blue was distractedly looking in the direction of the main entrance when a hand rested on his shoulder. Turning around he found The Woman of the Jasper who hastened to inform him that she had already found out about the plan, and there was a problem with it. When the man asked about it, the woman could only tell him in a whisper the results of her search.
-I found no sign of The Supreme Pontiff. I went through the entire Basilica and there is no trace of him. It seems as if he had just vanished.
The Man of Blue swallowed hard and a grimace of surprise, anger and fear could be seen on his face. That was the worst news he could have received. And just when he thought nothing could get worse on that disastrous day, life taught him a valuable lesson in humility.
A deafening scream ran like thunder throughout the building, and there was no person in that place who did not hear the heartbreaking sound that a female throat had just released. Before the petrified bodies of everyone present in the Golden Hall, The Woman of the Jasper, The Man of Blue and The Prime Minister hurried to reach the place where the scream came from. When the three individuals arrived at the scene, the crying of an uncontrolled woman rushed to flood The Prime Minister's clothing. What those individuals witnessed in that instant generated a single unified thought.
Everything could be worse. Everything was infinitely worse.