Aspen (The Dragon Kings #2)(36)

“It can’t remain a secret if you want all of us to support you,” Raja said.

“And will you?” Sid asked.

“Of course,” both Jonathan and Raja said at the same time.

“Where are we going?” Aspen asked.

“To the Pentagon. The meeting will be in an hour. Then you can head back to Montana,” said Jonathan.

“Reschedule the flight for late tonight. I need to meet with Darneil.”

Jonathan whistled. “Darneil doesn’t like to be found.”

“He likes me. We’ve been friends for a long time. Besides, I think he’ll like Aspen.”

“You’re the one who takes all those pictures?” Jonathan asked.

“I am.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Darneil will like her.”

They rode in a limo, and Aspen marveled at the opulence of it all. She wasn’t sure if she could get used to the idea that this would probably be her life. They arrived at the Pentagon thirty minutes later, walked along a long hallway, and took an elevator several floors down. Everyone in the full room stood, and a few people gave a small bow. To Aspen’s surprise the President of the United States stood at the head of the table. Sid took his place at the opposite end.

“Madam President,” Sid said, inclining his head to her. She was a tall woman with short, severely cut brown hair.

“Your Majesty,” she replied with a smile. “Please sit.”

Aspen took the chair next to Sid, and the others sat at various points around the table.

“Allow me to introduce my military generals and their advisors.”

The four men dressed in impeccable uniforms nodded as she introduced them one by one.

“Thank you for meeting with us today,” Sid said.

“We don’t want to make a decision this grave without consulting you,” President Johnston said.

“Of course.”

“We have a dragon who is killing people. We were told the situation was under control only to have another individual killed. Have you identified the dragon?”

“No, Madam President, we have not. We have every dragon trained in tracking looking for him. We will find him,” said Sid.

“But what do we do in the meantime?”

“Let me do my job and find the dragon.”

“I’m afraid that’s not good enough. We need to let people know that we are tackling the problem.” She whispered something to the man sitting next to her and then looked up at Sid again.

“If it makes you feel any better, bring in the military to make it look like you are doing something, but it will be more effective if you could just stay out of our way.”

Aspen was surprised to hear him talk like that. He’d never sounded so in charge before.

“If I’m sending the National Guard, they will do more than just sit and look pretty. Surely they can assist you in your search and help with security.”

Sid sighed. “Okay. They can keep an eye out for him. But every male dragon in Yellowstone is gold. It doesn’t mean they are the killer.”

Aspen couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like the president rolled her eyes. “I think our troops are more professional than that. They can tell one dragon from another.”

Sid rubbed his forehead. “Sure. We can use them. Especially if it will help ease the public’s mind.”

The general sitting to the president’s right spoke. “I’ll contact the governor of Montana to bring in the Guard. You should also be aware of the plan if you do not resolve this issue promptly.”

“What do you mean?” Sid asked.

“Let’s say this dragon eats a few troops, and we can’t find him. We need a resolution.”

“Like what?”

The president answered instead of the general. “We have the resources to take out the dragons in Yellowstone without impacting the surrounding towns, and we will. This problem needs to be taken care of now.”

Aspen couldn’t take it anymore. “Excuse me, I don’t understand. Does this mean you’ll kill all the dragons if the one dragon that is eating people isn’t found?”

“Only the ones in Yellowstone.”

“You realize that’s an entire race of dragons.”

“That’s irrelevant. When a herd of cows contracts mad cow, we’d kill the whole herd. This is the same thing,” President Johnston replied.

“This is not the same thing, and you know it. This is not a disease, and we’re not dealing with mere animals. How many known serial killers are out there right now?”

A man in the middle of the room answered. “Right now there are forty-two.”

“Forty-two. Huh, that’s a high number. Maybe we should nuke the towns they terrorize so that they can no longer kill anyone. How does that sound?”

“That’s absurd,” the president said.

“That’s what you are proposing.”

“People live in those towns.”

Aspen stood, fuming. “Who do you think lives in Yellowstone?”

“Dragons.” The president stared at Aspen.

“And you feel dragons are expendable.”

“My job is to protect the people.”

Aspen gestured toward Sid and the others. “What do they look like?”