Delia Asia Vieira slowly approached the shore in her boat. A light wind ruffled her hair and the water gently lapped against the sides as she quietly moored herself to the sandy beach. As she paddled the last few meters, she looked back – nothing but fog and empty horizons. Only when she stepped onto the shore did her gaze fall on two figures standing against the dark horizon. They were Jennings and Peter Reynolds.
Jennings noticed her immediately and stepped forward, his gaze focused but not without a hint of irony. Peter, standing next to him, looked much more tense, as if he knew they were at a critical point in their lives.
"You've come," Jennings said, his voice even and serious. "We've been waiting for you for a long time."
"I don't like you very much," Delia Asia Vieira replied with a touch of sarcasm, looking at both of them. "It seems you have something to tell."
Peter just sighed, he was nervous, but still decided to speak:
"We... aren't actually here by accident. We've been part of a covert operation this whole time."
Delia Asia Vieira raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"An operation? A secret one?" She stepped closer, her gaze becoming more focused.
Jennings nodded slowly, as if wondering where to begin.
"Yes," he said, his eyes serious. "It was called Operation Anti-Antichrist. We monitored the situation and decided we had to act. You've probably heard about Damien Thorn? About his daughter? About how she's... how can I put it..." Jennings paused for a moment, as if choosing his words.
"Yes, I know." Delia Asia Vieira straightened up and stood in front of them. "But you didn't explain why "Anti-Antichrist". Is it about the girl? Or something more?"
Peter was silent for a moment, and then said quietly:
"We thought the world shouldn't belong to her. We knew that she, as the daughter of Damien Thorn and the granddaughter of Satan himself, was too dangerous. If she wasn't stopped, if she took power into her own hands, the world would never be the same again. Jennings and I were convinced that even her existence had to be prevented.
Jennings sighed as if this whole time had been a heavy burden.
"Peter's right," he continued. "When we began our operation, it was after we learned of her birth. We felt that if we could intervene now, at the beginning of her life, we might have a chance of preventing a catastrophe. But we didn't know how... how to approach it. Everything was so carefully hidden that even we, being in close proximity, couldn't fully understand what was happening.
Delia Asia Vieira stood and listened, her eyes never leaving Jennings and Peter. All this time she had felt that her actions, her path, were only part of something much larger. But, as she now understood, it was clear that their meeting was not accidental.
"So what next?" she asked. "What do you plan to do with this knowledge?"
Peter looked up and looked into her eyes.
"We are still not sure that she, that girl, is the Antichrist himself. But if it is true, if she really is the embodiment of evil, then everything we have experienced, everything we have done, was for the sake of ultimately stopping her."
Jennings added:
"We tried to gather information, find out what she was doing, who was helping her, what forces were behind her movement. All this time we felt as if the world was swallowing us up, forcing us to accept a strange and cruel reality that we would have to face."
Delia Asia Vieira was silent, her thoughts spinning. What should she do? There was too much ambiguity, too much uncertainty. But one thing was clear: her meeting these people was not an accident. They were part of something much bigger.
"If you want to defeat the Antichrist," she said decisively, "then first we need to find out where she is. And how can I help with that?"
Jennings stepped forward and squeezed her hand tightly.
"We thought you were the one who could help us. You are close to it, you have been through a lot before, and your willpower and determination could be the key."
Peter looked at her and also came up, with concern in his eyes.
"We can do this together. But we need to be careful. It all depends on how we proceed. Do you agree?"
Delia Asia Vieira was silent for a long time, then nodded.
"I agree. But only if you are honest with me. Everything you are hiding, all your intentions - I need to know it."
They exchanged glances, and both finally nodded. They were ready to open up, ready to share what was in their hearts. This was not just an operation, not just a game with fate. This was a decisive confrontation with something that could change the world.
"Then let's begin," said Delia Asia Vieira. "Everything that awaits us, we will go through together."
Three figures walked down the street, hurrying toward the station. Delia Asia Vieira, Jennings, and Peter Reynolds. Their steps were confident, though the fog obscuring the horizons only added to the tension. They moved without words, but each of them sensed that their task was more than just escape. This was the first step on a new, far more dangerous journey.
As they approached the station building, Peter finally spoke, his voice quiet but determined.
"You know, I still can't believe she's... actually president." He glanced at Jennings and robotess. "A ten-year-old girl ruling the United States. It's just absurd.
Jennings, walking behind, frowned as if considering their every step.
"Absurd? Perhaps. But if she really is the daughter of what we were told, then this was all planned from the beginning." He glanced at Peter, then at robotess, as if trying to gauge how much they all understood the magnitude of what was coming.
"I still don't understand how she became president," Delia Asia Vieira said, finally breaking her silence. "Did she have some kind of patron? How can children even achieve such power?"
Editado: 18.11.2024