Into The World

#22 - The Guardian and The Key

"That's an interesting question," the moribund man says, straightening his white patient gown. He glances through the misty window, at the dismal skyline, "Are you sure, that's what you want to ask?" He turns back to the illuminated, bare room, resting his gloved hands on the cold, metal table as he faces the seated person before him. The redhead, donned in a black pantsuit, nods; her dignified blue eyes staring into his small, grey ones.

Frederick Thornwood casts a geniune smile, a glimmering ray of hope brightening his cadaverous visage. "Wise choice, Madam President."

"He's what?" Veronica says, her aching head now imploding. She reclines in her executive chair, to dampen her quickening pulse, eyes on the slim tablet placed on her desk. "He's suffering from Newmann's, a degenerative disease common in elderly superhumans," Chief Chambers states as her boss reads the report. "Dr. Fix and her team performed the Yates procedure, to procure his memories, but only managed to retrieve one."

The President sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. The only person who has answers to everything. She muses, flashes of the live footage of an overcrowded hybrid room zapping across her mind. She lifts her head, adjusting her thick rimmed spectacles, "How long do we have, if we choose to interrogate him?"

"After Dr. Fix wakes him up, we will have about 15 - 20 minutes before he either collapses or loses his mind," Sophia answers, raising her sleeve to check her watch. "Also, she can keep him asleep till 6, so we'll have to make a decision by then."

That's about twenty minutes from now. Veronica muses, tapping her fingers on the oak, "What was the procured memory?" The Chief of Defense casts a small grin, "That leads us to the good news." She nudges her tablet forward, its display showing a large sketch of a brooding lady. "It was fragments of a recent conversation with her."

The president squints at the monochrome sketch. "Her name is Macy Rune, a prominent telepath from the Xenos gang," Sophia apprises. "The acquaintance?" Veronica asks, right brow arched. The chief nods, swiping to the next slide, this time displaying two images. "This is Cummings' neck," she explains, pointing to the left image. "This has been confirmed as Rune's trace." The president studies the thin, black scar engraved on the Xenoxian's neck.

She directs her gaze to the other image, "There are numerous identical scars here." She pauses, clearing her throat. "This was taken three days after she was admitted," the chief explains, swiping to the last slide, an image of the patient's clear neck. "And this was taken a month ago."

 She exhales slowly when she sees a dewy-eyed president, "Dr. Fix said that Carrie is really strong. In cases like hers, the trace remains there, and even with treatment, there are high chances of the victim not waking up again."

The President nods, the clip of her awakened daughter, appearing in her mind. She dabs off the tears that managed to roll down her cheeks, and takes in a deep breath to revert to her placid demeanor.

"We are currently tracking her down," Chief Chambers says, when her composed boss lifts her head. She turns on her heels, peering at her colleagues who march into the President's office.

"What happened?" Veronica asks as the duo reach the mahogony desk. "Did Jason wake up?" Chief Oshken shakes her head, "Tom just started with the procedure." The President shifts her gaze to the bisque notepad Chief Moorhaven clasps. "This is what we've found out so far." The president steadies her spectacles as she leans forward to read the scribbled list.

- 5/4/1985 - Discovery of Eso genes
- 6/30/1990 - Initiation of C.P
- 10/20/2003 - ?

"These are the dates Anthony had mentioned," Sanders explains. "He said that Fred tried to point out something to him and our agent. I jotted then down, as these dates correlate to these events." They point to the question mark, "The Cyan Project was scraped off a month before, so I don't know what Fred is trying to say here."