"That bastard bombed Ethan's Dam!" Lolita's scream was venomous, yet she barely moved from her silk pillows, the soft pink of her gown a stark contrast to her fury. Across the room, a massive flat-screen TV played out the horror silently: churning brown water swallowing houses, desperate figures clinging to rooftops, the chyron flashing FLOOD DEVASTATES KIP-FORD TOWN.
"Lolita… my god…" Artemis's voice crackled through the phone, thin and shaken. "What are we going to do?"
"Do?" Lolita's voice dropped, becoming chillingly calm. "We are going to respond. I'm authorizing a chemical strike. We will bombard Cascadia until their people choke on the same fear ours are drowning in."
"Chemicals? Lolita, this is madness!" Artemis pleaded, her voice rising. "You'd be murdering civilians! You're just pouring gasoline on the fire!"
"I'm ending it," Lolita said firmly. "This is not a fight I started, but I'm finishing it. I'm contacting the military command now."
"Please, Lolita, don't do this," Artemis begged, his voice breaking. "War isn't the answer. Think of the innocent people…"
Lolita held the phone away from her ear, her gaze fixed on the silent devastation on the screen. "In war, Artemis," she said with cold finality, "violence is the only answer."
She ended the call and tossed the phone onto the polished surface of her desk. The sharp clatter was the only sound in the room.