Three weeks had passed since Marcus ordered Doyle to contact Dr. Cynthia Zell and request that she come to Section 31 to discuss business, and he had expected her to show up on his doorstep the very next day but was forced to wait until the starship she was currently serving on returned to Earth. However, once it did return and the shuttle landed she came directly to 31 to meet with him, surprised that he was allowing her back in at all.

She'd worked there for a few weeks once before but he was forced to send her packing when she started going against his orders and putting sensitive information into one of her books. She'd also taken to exposing the men and women willingly taking part in various experiments to biological elements and treatments they had not consented to, resulting in some new biological agents that could end the lives of individuals with certain genetics whilst leaving others alive and well, but also killing most of the volunteers. Not to mention she was downright unpleasant to be around, believing herself to be on a pedestal above everyone else simply because of her genius level intelligence. Even by his standards, she was dangerous and cold.

Had he not felt that her expertise in genetics and human augmentation would be beneficial he would have never sought out her presence ever again. But these were unique circumstances, and now she sat in the chair opposite him at his desk, intently reading every single piece of information he had on Khan from both before and following his awakening.

He'd already informed her of his new found goal revolving around Khan and he thought wasn't surprised that she readily accepted the unique challenge. All she had to do was catch up on all things Khan, as well as learn as much as possible about Alice.

"This is incredible," Zell murmured in awe, brown eyes wide as she read over Khan's medical data. "His pain receptors are nearly non-existent – he could be tickled by a feather but anything short of a stab wound or a serious beating by another Augment would result in little to no sensation that could be called pain. And his blood…" she shook her head, her smile reminding Marcus of a child reading about her favorite superhero or idle. "I cannot begin to express to you what breakthroughs could be made in science if you allowed me the opportunity to just –"

"No invasive experiments will be performed on Khan," Marcus interrupted sternly. "I need him in one piece, not spread all over a lab."

Zell rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you need him to build you toys – you've told me that already. I was merely fantasizing out loud. I can assure you, this assignment you've given me is more than enough to keep my attention. What was it you wished to designate it again? – Project…?"

"It doesn't have a designation yet," he replied. "Once we're certain we can get something viable out of this, I give it a proper designation. Until then, we don't even know if it's possible."

"Oh, it's quite possible, Admiral," Zell assured him, taking on a note of seriousness for a change. "It'll be difficult, though, no question there. That woman who started the whole Chrysalis Program didn't want any unauthorized… trouble, but with the right treatment and handling, I truly believe your vision is achievable – with the right odds and ends, of course."

"Whatever you need, you've got it, and if we don't have it I'll to it that we get it as soon as possible."

"Excellent!" she exclaimed, grinning. Looking back to the PADD in her hands, tucking a long, dark brown curl behind her ear, she added as a side thought, "Though really, I could have informed you of these possibilities the moment you had Khan in your hands if you'd only come to me and not Dr. Walsh. Why involve her in this anyways? From what I gather, she was a decent psychologist before she insulted her patient to death – literally – but she's nowhere close to being an expert on Augments of any kind. Sure, she wrote a few papers in the Academy on the behavior on Khan and his Augments, but any child could have done that. I've spent my whole life studying, researching, and theorizing on everything Augment related from the stands of DNA within their bodies to how many hairs are on their heads. Yet you choose her?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, expecting her little tantrum about Alice being in 31 working with Khan instead of her, but it still gave him a headache.

"I picked her because despite her lack of knowledge on their physiology, she knew their minds and was someone who could easily provoke Khan and keep his attention off of me to a more comfortable degree," he explained. "Her methods of treating her patients with hostility before warming up to them is controversial, but exactly what I required to keep Khan's anger turned away from me to some extent. She's succeeded in drawing in his attention, just not in the way I expected. Hell if I understand why, but she's keen on treating Khan like a man, not a superman or a weapon. It's disconcerting, but as I told you this assignment would have been more difficult to get underway if you were here instead. You might disagree, but you're not a likeable woman, and things will go a lot smoother with willing parties."

"Doesn't have to be willing," she pointed out with a shrug. "Hell, you could even crack open another cryotube if you didn't want to risk angering Khan."

Marcus shook his head. "No. Khan is the most advanced of the Augments. It's him we need, but if this is a success then we can turn to including his crew in the project."

"Fair enough," she sighed, setting the PADD down, her attention no longer glued to it. "But for this to work, you are going to have to give me complete control over the project and allow me to handle it as I see fit – within the parameters you've established, of course."

"Why would I give you complete control after the shit you pulled last time you had it?"

"Because you need me helping you," Zell replied with a thin, knowing smile, reclining back in her seat. "You gave me an assignment, Admiral, so like it or not if you want this project to succeed you will have to take a back seat. You focus on your precious weapons and warships, and let me focus on Khan and Walsh."

The notion of giving Zell of all people any control over project involving Khan nearly made him ill and he would surely lose sleep over it, but anything less than full control of the project and she might not put 100% into her work. Or she might decide to go public, or do something else to screw him over.

Grinding his teeth, he sighed, "Very well, but Commander Doyle will be working alongside you to ensure that you don't do anything to jeopardize the development of the weapons and ship Khan is currently developing."

"As long as your little errand boy doesn't step on my toes, he can stay glued to my side as long as he wants," she agreed with a shrug. "Now, for the first order of business – oh, this is going to be so exciting!"

"Get to the point, Zell," Marcus ordered sharply.

"Touchy, touchy," she muttered. "For starters, I would get them out of this dismal place sooner rather than later."

He stared at her incredulously. "You of all people should know that letting that bastard on the surface is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Not necessarily," she argued. "Khan is utterly devoted to his crew and I don't believe he'd do anything too distasteful to risk their safety. It's perfectly reasonable for to expect him to behave on the surface."

"Even so," he started, the notion of letting Khan out of 31 incredibly unsettling and disconcerting. "How does him being out of here have any effect on your work?"

"This place is a prison, Marcus, and prisons have rules dictating your actions, eyes watching your every move, something an Augment such as Khan would obviously despise. You want this project to stand a chance? You need to grant Khan a bit of freedom and return some freedom to Walsh as well. Move them out of this place and into their own flats – have them share a flat if you feel so inclined to keep an eye on them both! Let them prance about without your body builders following them around, and watch them dance."

Marcus wished that she would be more serious when she spoke and he already regretted dragging her into this. As smart as she was, she was a pain in his ass if there ever was one.

Unwilling to relent to her terms, he questioned, "And what if you're wrong and he does act or try to run?"

"Then you can dangle one of his crew in front of him as you would do with a disobedient dog to give him incentive to fall back in line," she replied in an almost bored tone, rolling her eyes yet again. "If that fails to get his attention, bring him back kicking and screaming and force him to watch the demise of a fellow Augment. Let one of them defrost and shrivel in the sun for all I care. Or do something to Dr. Walsh – from what I've read, he didn't take kindly to her being harmed by Doyle."

That he didn't, and Doyle was on thin ice with Khan, Marcus knew that for certain. He wondered if Zell would walk out onto that ice and join his Commander in pushing Khan to his limits, or if it was Alice who would become enraged.

Alice had a thick skin, able to take insults and shouting and whatnot with relative ease. Should she be hurt by whatever was said or done to her, she would walk away, vent, and then return to continue working. That had earned her many nods of respect throughout her career and also in 31. A majority of the guards posted around Khan commented once in a while that she was probably the only able to take Khan's occasional verbal abuse along with his threats and throw them right back at him, holding her ground when others faltered. But she was hardly unbreakable, and if she thought she was having problems with Doyle then she was in for a rude awakening with Zell.

Though not as violent as Doyle could be, Zell was known for her nasty bedside manner and total disregard for the pain and suffering of her patients. Compared to her, a Vulcan was warm, gentle, and sweet. She didn't give a damn if she had to strap down her patients while they were screaming in agony – if she was conducting human tests, legal or otherwise, she got results one way or another. Had Marcus not watched out for her, finding her exceptional intellect and skills, she might have eventually found herself arrested. Even if it caused him to lose sleep now and then, it was easy to fabricate a story surrounding her "misconduct" since most of it had been done in Section 31.

On the other hand, Alice genuinely cared about the people she was treating. She could be harsh and cold in the beginning, but her record showed that eventually she would develop a close bond with her patients once she changed gears. Reportedly, some of her former patients still contacted her to wish her happy birthday or to seek advice if they ran into trouble. Never did she abandon them, not even when her work with them was done.

Alice and Zell would certainly clash.

Despite their different professions, they were both doctors with an entirely different way of treating people. What would be interesting was when Alice discovered that she would be playing a part in Zell's new pet project that Marcus had given her.

The psychologist would definitely not take that well, but he would prepare for the day everything came to the light when and if they got there.

Right now, he had to consider letting a very dangerous man out of his cage.

Sensing her chance to push her case, Zell continued, "We've seen how Khan acts while under guard, but I'm curious to see how he will act without the chains, so to speak. Who knows, maybe a taste of freedom will make him easier to control. And it's mentioned in these reports that any time the cameras are not functioning for whatever reason, he and Walsh can be found together, and that there are often times where they angle their bodies so that their faces are unseen and their voices so low they cannot be heard. I can only imagine what they would discuss with absolutely no fear of being seen or heard."

"My demise, most likely," Marcus snorted.

She smiled, amused. "Perhaps. But while Khan's crew is under your control, he will not let anything happen to you. Now, a time may come where he seeks to change the game, but hopefully with my help you'll be able to see that time coming in time to stop him." Sitting forward, interlacing her tanned fingers on the desk, she continued, "This is a controlled environment, and it has been useful so far, but for things to progress that needs to change. If this experiment is going to work, I need to see how Khan interacts with both those around him outside and with Walsh. It will better help me predict and prepare for the future." With a slight shrug, she added, "Tell them this is a… a test."

"A test? And what sort of test should I tell them it is?"

"The best kind – a test of loyalty and trust," Zell replied smoothly. "You stated that you recently refused to wake up any of Khan's crew – tell him that the opportunity to live outside of 31 with no guards is what you are instead willing to offer at this point in time, and that if he does well you will wake one of them. As for Walsh, tell her that you're pleased with her work to where you're willing to allow her back some of her freedom, and start the process of cleaning up that mess she made with her dead patient. It'll show that you're serious. They may hate you, but right now they have no choice but to believe you. Don't throw them a bone, however, and they might very well end this fantasy of yours."

Marcus thought it over for a long moment, deeply considering what she was suggesting he do with both Khan and Alice. Letting Khan out of 31 full time was out of the question, but if Zell needed to see him in an open environment with Alice, he could arrange that.


Sitting in Regents Park, her dark brown coat wrapped tightly around her to ward off the cold as the snow lightly fell, Alice tried to sooth her racing thoughts.

Ever since Khan's meeting with Admiral Marcus just over a week earlier he'd acted differently around her. She'd thought they were making progress and that her promise to truly give him a chance would bring them closer, but something had happened to pull them apart. He damn near ignored her when he returned to research/development, didn't speak much during their sessions, and outright refused to answer many of her questions about what changed.

All he said was that he had things to think about and Marcus gave him a lot to take into consideration. She didn't have a clue about what he meant by that, but she had a sinking feeling that it had something to do with her.

Had the Admiral found out about their deal? Was that why Khan had taken two steps back?

That was unlikely because she knew for certain that if Marcus thought she'd betrayed him he'd have Doyle finish what he started the night he strangled her. So, what was it that did happen?

Maybe she had done something that made him step back. She didn't think she had done anything that might have overly offended or angered him, but why else would he have reverted back to be so cold and distant? It was embarrassing just how much that possibility upset her, and she didn't like that she cared so much about what he thought of her and whatnot. It bothered her terribly to think that it was something she did.

Sighing, Alice turned her face upward towards the sky, letting the snowflakes land on her face as she waited for Carol.

She had some information on the ship that she needed to pass along to her, and since she needed to get away from the city and people in general she opted for them to meet in the park. Carol hadn't minded at all, often coming to the park whenever she got the chance, claiming that Marcus and her mother brought her there quite often when she was a little girl before they divorced.

It was so incredibly hard for Alice to see Admiral Marcus as the loving father Carol spoke of when she saw him only as a cold, war hungry man willing to use and essentially imprison people.

"Ali!"

Looking to her left, Alice smiled, giving Carol a brief wave as she scooted over on the bench to make room, brushing away some of the snow.

Carol took a seat, adjusting the dark blue hat she wore, and stated, "It's really coming down, isn't it?"

"It is," Alice agreed, taking in the wondrous sight of the snow covered park. "I forgot how much I love the snow – it's beautiful out."

"I know. I'm going to miss it when I go back to San Francisco."

"You're going back?" Alice asked, heart sinking.

She nodded solemnly. "Tomorrow. I've been asked to take over for an instructor at the Academy while she's on maternity leave. There were others they could have asked, but my father put my name forward and his opinion carries with it a great deal of weight. I can't help but feel like he's trying to get me out of his hair."

"If that were the case, he'd keep you here," Alice pointed out. "He spends a majority of his time at HQ, not London."

"He used to. Tom's told me that he heard that Dad's going to be staying here for a few months to oversee a few new projects."

Alice bit back a groan.

Having Marcus around to oversee anything in 31 meant she'd have to be even more careful with what she said to Khan and her gathering of information. Maybe that was what had Khan so uptight lately. If that were the reason, she certainly could understand.

"I just don't understand why he suddenly wants to… to shun me!" she exclaimed sorrowfully, shaking her head in confusion. "It wasn't until I started looking into those bloody torpedoes that this has happened, and I want to know just what about them is so secretive that he won't even speak to me anymore."

"Believe me, I wish I knew," Alice said gently, hooking her arm around her friend's shoulders comfortingly as a twinge of guilt gnawed at her.

Despite his sudden chilly demeanor, Khan had made her promise not to speak of the torpedoes with Carol or anyone else. She could more than likely tell Carol whatever she wanted about the torpedoes and he would never find out, and that would help Carol understand why her father was shunning her. But Khan was right – she was a woman of her word and she did not desire to break promises unless wholly necessary. For Khan to even tell her anything about those torpedoes had shown that he trusted her at least a little, but his making her promise not to speak of them was quite possibly a test that mirrored her own earlier test with him when she allowed him to see the code to his door.

He had chosen not to walk through that door, and she had since chosen not to tell Carol anything about the torpedoes.

The ship, however, and everything else, was fair game.

Releasing her friend, Alice dug through her purse for the PADD she'd prepared for her and handed it over. "I managed to get a hold of some more information on the ship's warp capabilities. It's pretty amazing stuff, actually."

Carol was quick to read through it all as thoroughly as possible, her early sorrow dissipating to genuine curiosity and astonishment. Shaking her head slowly, she asked, "Frightening is the more appropriate word I'd use. The enhanced warp capabilities are stunning, yes, but there is absolutely no need for any ship to be able to fire on anything while at warp. That would mean that the ship is chasing down something as opposed to defending itself against an attack. That is not what Starfleet's about!"

"My thoughts exactly," Alice agreed with a short nod, looking at the PADD with her, recalling the first conversation she had with Marcus upon arriving at Section 31.

She knew that Carol was aware that 31's purpose was the creation of weapons and whatnot, but did she know the extent of it all?

It was painfully clear that Marcus was working to militarize Starfleet, if that ship was any indicator. Gaining intelligence and training to handle a worst case scenario was one thing – building warships, torpedoes, and who-knows-what else was very different. She had to wonder if Carol really understood that or if she was purposefully being ignorant to it all – they did say that ignorance was bliss.

She opted not to try to get that through to Carol at the moment, figuring that it would just do more damage when she was still wounded by her father's recent actions. Right now, the Vengeance was what was important.

"Rumor is that it'll be ready for people to come aboard for internal construction and maintenance in a few months and that Harrison might be going up to oversee it all personally," she continued, recalling how she'd heard that rumor being spoken by Donavon who sounded relieved to maybe have Khan out of her hair for a while. "Seeing as I am still overseeing Harrison's mental health and stability, I'm going to do my best to accompany him to that ship if indeed the rumor is true."

Carol looked to her with wide eyes. "You think you might actually be able to do that?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Like I said, right now it's just a rumor."

"Well, if it proves to be true, you being on that ship will definitely be helpful," Carol commented, brightening up a bit now that she had something to hope for.

"If Harrison goes, I'll make sure my ass is on the shuttle with him," Alice assured her, not entirely sure about how she would go about convincing Marcus that she should go if the opportunity came about.

From within her purse, Alice's communicator began beeping rapidly and she turned her attention towards finding it in her cluttered bag. She flipped it open and read the readout on the small screen, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Your father wants to speak with both me and Harrison in…" she checked the time, "about twenty minutes. Can't imagine what for."

"Maybe Harrison's done something to raise some concern – you did say he lost his family and was suffering from PTSD."

That was only partly true, and she sincerely doubted he'd done something. At least she hoped he hadn't done anything. She'd told him that if he was going to stand a chance at getting to go to the surface he was going to have to behave.

Sighing, Alice packed up her communicator, waited for Carol to transfer the data from her PADD to her own, then returned it to her purse as well. "I should get going. It'll take me almost twenty minutes just to get back."

"I'll tag along," Carol said, rising. "I need to finish packing my things and let my landlady know that she'll be able to rent out my loft tomorrow."

"Why not just tell her you'll be gone for some time," Alice asked, not liking the thought of Carol moving out of London altogether when she could really use a friend. "You are coming back once this instructor's leave ends, right?"

Carol replied, "Absolutely, but I was planning on moving into a larger flat anyways. Now's as good a time as any to just be rid of the loft altogether, at which point I can find somewhere better when I get back."

As they walked along the snow covered path, passing a few families and couples here and there, Alice got to thinking about Carol's loft and a thought popped into her head. Before she stopped to even fully consider the question, she asked, "Instead of letting your landlady rent out the loft to someone else, how about you keep it in your name but I use it?"

Perplexed, she asked, "I thought you were living in the living quarters in 31? Why do you need my loft?"

"Do you know how hard it is to find any privacy down there? Along with security cameras all over the place, I am constantly bumping into people and can't even sit down to read without someone knocking on my door. Running around window shopping and frequenting cafes is nice, but even that's starting to drive me nuts. What I need is a place where I can just retreat to where no one will think to look for me." The idea was already making her giddy, the possibility of being able to go somewhere to hide for just a little while here and there making her feel like she could finally breath even when Carol had yet to say yes or no. "Anything that needs done with the place – maintenance, touch ups, anything – I'll take care of it, I swear. Just keep the loft under your name and let your landlady know that I'll be using it while you're away or… or something. Please."

Carol didn't offer up an answer right away, chewing it over for a good minute. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "I'll talk to her and have my last name on the lease changed to Wallace as well – no one who knows me would think I'd ever use my mother's surname, not after she left Dad and me. That should at least lessen the possibility of anyone figuring out that you might be using the loft as a place to relax."

Alice grinned from ear to ear and threw her arms around Carol in a tight hug, making her friend laugh and give her a lighthearted shove away. "Just remember that the loft is terribly small, barely big enough for two people and just comfortable enough for one. It's not like your apartment back in San Francisco where you can comfortably fit a family of four."

"I wouldn't care if the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom were all one room!" Alice exclaimed happily. "As long as I get to be away from 31 and everyone else once in a while."

Both grinning and laughing, the two women made their way out of the park before going their separate ways, and Alice hoped that whatever Marcus had to say to her and Khan would not put a damper on her brightened mood.

Catching the second taxi to come her way, she arrived back at Section 31 with just barely a few minutes to spare, much to her frustration. Had it not been for a situation on the road involving a minor accident between two other commuters she would not have had to jog inside as she was now forced to do. The security officers at the elevator had little care for her haste and did their job as they always did – switching on the scanners and letting them do their thing, pausing to double check the readouts, then ushering her forward. Even the elevator felt painfully slow, her desire to know just what was going on that had Marcus calling both her and Khan in for a meeting so great. As cheery as she currently was, she was still worried as well.

The elevator at long last reached the level where Marcus' office was located and as she stepped out of the elevator she found that her haste had greatly diminished with her growing nervousness. She checked her watch when she reached his door, a security officer posted at each side – she still had four minutes to spare.

Expecting her, they pressed a button on the console and the door slid open, revealing Marcus sitting at his desk with Doyle behind him, one chair beside the desk, and two opposite of him.

Khan was already there and sitting in one of the chairs opposite of Marcus, but in chair beside the desk was a woman whom Alice did not recognize.

She had long chocolate brown hair that was pulled up into a ponytail with a few odd curls hanging lose, tanned skin, and admittedly striking features. Her eyes were equally pretty – a very dark brown that matched her hair – but something about the way the woman looked at her made her uneasy, as did Khan's ridged posture.

"Excellent timing, Doctor," Marcus commented, extending his hand towards the vacant chair beside Khan. "If you'll just have a seat, we can get this over with and you both can get back to whatever it was you were doing."

Hesitating for only a moment, Alice stepped forward, slipping off her coat and draping it over the back of the chair before taking a seat. She glanced at Khan out of the corner of her eye, hoping to learn something from his expression, but just as she expected his face was void of any answers, expression blank. Only his ridged, tense poster gave him away – he was as nervous as she was.

Allowing her a moment to get comfortable, Marcus inclined his head towards the woman and said, "Dr. Walsh, this is Dr. Cynthia Zell. She's a geneticist and could be called the leading expert on human augmentation. As such, she is aware of Khan's identity and the circumstances of his… return."

She blinked, taken aback by this bit of information, and she looked at Zell who smiled proudly.

Beside her, Khan remained impassive, likely having already been told this before her arrival.

"Dr. Walsh," Zell began, smile too friendly. "I read through your notes on Khan and must say I'm impressed at what you've been able to learn. Given your field of expertise, it was unexpected."

Alice was unsure if that was meant as a compliment or an insult, so she took it as neither. "I don't see how it's unexpected. I'm a psychologist. It's my job to poke, prod, and get inside his head."

Faintly, Khan smirked, amused.

"You stated multiple times that you believe he should be permitted to head to the surface. Something about 'him needing fresh air or a bit of freedom' or something," she continued, ignoring her comment. "Aren't you worried he'll, oh, I don't know, run off?"

"No."

"Why?"

"You've read my notes," Alice stated coolly. "I want to see how he reacts in public and I believe that even former tyrants need, as you put it, fresh air. Not to mention respect."

She frowned, unsure. "What does respect have to do with him wandering out of 31?"

"Nothing," Alice replied. "But he's sitting right here – quit speaking as if he weren't."

Whatever was going on between them right now, she didn't talking about him like he wasn't even present. It made her uncomfortable.

"I have tried to speak with him," Zell replied, looking more than a little frustrated, a child-like pout forming over her lips as she glanced at the man in question who sat with a very faintly amused expression. "But he's said very little to me and openly ignores anything I've asked him in regards to you."

She blinked.

They were talking about her?

"What about me?" she demanded.

"Oh, I was just curious about what he thought of your methods of treatment," she answered with a shrug. "I wanted to learn a bit more about you, Alice."

"I would prefer it if you called me Dr. Walsh, Dr. Zell," she replied shortly before turning her attention to Marcus, forcing herself not to demand to know what Khan had said about her. "What's going on, Sir? Why is she here asking about Khan and myself? Why is she here at all?"

Interlacing his fingers on the desk, Marcus sat forward and replied, "Recent events have been brought to my attention that some… adjustments must be made. Your progress with Khan has been remarkable, but you have to understand that I can't simply take your word for it that he might be even remotely safe to let of here even for a while, or that he's safe in general. That's why I've asked Zell to assist you."

"Assist me?"

He nodded. "It'll still be your show, but she's to give me a second opinion."

Alice opened her mouth to protest, but Khan took the opportunity to speak up.

"And your chosen voice for this second opinion belongs to a geneticist with a fondness for Augments?" Khan asked, knowingly wary.

Zell snorted and muttered, "He speaks."

Right there, Alice decided that she did not like Zell one bit.

Narrowing his eyes fractionally, Khan stated, "You're first compliment to me was to acknowledge my accomplishments through my augmentation, including the ones made during my rule. Most would not call what I did in that time an accomplishment, at least not those who were against what I did. That to me says that you're here for more than just to offer up a second opinion."

Zell smiled thinly. "I'm curious about you and want to learn more."

Khan retorted, "So does Dr. Walsh, but she began our first sessions with insults, disrespect, and passionate disagreement in regards to my way of ruling, and she continues doing so to varying degrees even to this day."

Alice wasn't sure if he was complimenting her or insulting her, and so help her this was all giving her the worst headache she'd ever had. And people wondered why she made a habit of forgetting any communicator or phone or whatever of any kind. Whenever someone called her, problems and headaches followed.

Releasing a long, bored sigh, Khan asked Marcus, "I will repeat Dr. Walsh's question with the hopes of a more solid answer – why is she here?"

Both amused and frustrated by the whole exchange – mostly frustrated – Marcus replied to Khan, "She is here to offer up that second opinion, but there is a lot we don't know about what makes you tick. Dr. Walsh has a good grasp on what's going on in your head, but Dr. Zell can better help me understand what's going on at a cellular level. Augments have heightened aggression and all that, and I want to know more about it. So, while Walsh will continue her sessions with and will shadow you, at the end of the day she will compare notes and theorize with Zell on the extent of your progress as well as more accurately predict your future actions."

Alice had enough to deal with as it was, still stinging and reeling from the cold shoulder Khan had taken to giving her. She did not need to deal with some other doctor who just didn't seem right following her around. How was she supposed to speak with Khan privately about anything, especially themselves, with her tiptoeing around her?

"You don't seem too thrilled about the situation, Walsh," Marcus commented.

"That's because I'm not," she replied bluntly, not bothering to hide her irritation. "I was under the impression that progress was being made, but this all seems like an attempt to have us… monitored."

"Progress has been made, and as a show of good faith you're free to take up residence outside of 31 and Khan now has a free pass to come and go as he pleases."

Silence followed and both Alice and Khan just stared at the Admiral as if he'd grown a second head. The Augment recovered first, face returning to its nearly impassive state though confusion and shock still shone brightly in his blue eyes. Alice didn't recover nearly as fast, if at all really.

Pinching the bridge of her nose then rubbing the back of her neck, Alice said slowly, "When I brought up Khan being able to go out for just a day, you didn't like it. Now he's allowed to come and go whenever he wants and I'm allowed to move out if I want to? I don't understand, Sir."

"Dr. Zell and I have been discussing the terms of your stay here as well as Khan's," he explained, speaking as if they were discussing a business arrangement as opposed to their technical imprisonment. Looking to Khan, he continued, "Despite my… discomfort with the idea, Zell insists that keeping you locked up 24/7 will do more harm than good. Since that coincides with Walsh's report, I'm inclined to believe that you both know what you're talking about. So unless this freedom impedes with your work or you give me a reason to lock you back up, you're free to come and go when work doesn't demand you be in the labs."

Khan considered this, wary of the turn of events. "It wasn't long ago when you expressed your concern in my ability to manipulate those around me," he commented knowingly, and Alice's attention turned to him. "And now you are willing to let me out? Dr. Zell must have made some very compelling claims."

Alice looked between the two men, confused and curious by the exchange. Something was said between the lines but damned if she knew what that was. Whatever it was, Marcus smirked marginally and he glanced at her.

"She did," Marcus confirmed, looking back to him. "Which backed up Dr. Walsh's theory about you mingling with the public." Losing his smirk, he looked to Alice and said, "As for you, like I said – you're free to seek housing outside of 31. All I'll need from you is the address of your new residence."

More than anything she wanted to give him her thanks – even if this situation confused her – and go house hunting, but the words caught in her throat as her thoughts raced.

If she took up residence outside 31, she would no longer need the loft she'd talked Carol into letting her use and would only have to go underground for work. She would no longer have to sleep in the uncomfortable room/cell provided to her by Marcus and wouldn't have cameras watching her every move.

But could she know for certain that she wouldn't be watched?

Marcus did just say that he would need her address. A reasonable request, but she knew Marcus well enough to guess that he might send Doyle or someone else to her new home to plant bugs or something. If that happened she would merely be trading one cell for another, and Alice was sick and tired of being watched listened to, and used by the men around her. Not to mention she was also on thin ice with Khan for reasons she didn't know and could not afford to distance herself from him that much, even if she was pissed with him for giving her the cold shoulder and then some.

Licking her dry lips, she said carefully, "While I do… appreciate that offer, Admiral, I think I'll stay right where I am."

Now it was Khan, Marcus, Doyle, and Zell who looked confused, her reply not entirely the response they expected.

"I'd have suspected that you would jump at the chance to spend a night in a real bed," Marcus commented, reading her mind about hating the beds.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? This place has grown on me," she replied dryly with a shrug. "And it'll be easier for me to continue my work with Khan when we're living in the same vicinity. Coming and going for the night, as tempting as that sounds, would just complicate my work."

It wasn't a complete lie.

She needed to be virtually hip to hip with Khan if she was going to do her job, but more than that she wanted to have some freedom – real freedom. With Carol's loft as a safe house, provided she was able to keep Marcus and his people in the dark about it, she could have that sense of freedom once in a while.

Neither Marcus nor Zell were prepared for that explanation and Alice hoped they wouldn't dig too much into it.

Sighing, Zell glanced at Marcus and gave him a shrug.

"If that's what you want," Marcus conceded, looking from Zell and back to Alice. "The offer still stands if you change your mind."

"Thank you, Sir." She had no intention of changing her mind.

Shaking his head at the two of them, Marcus said to them, "You're both dismissed."

Khan and Alice rose from their seats without a word and walked out together, leaving their host to talk behind their backs.

Walking side by side, they didn't say a word on their way to the elevator, but both took notice that they weren't being tailed by guards of any kind. They were alone and could talk more freely if they wanted, not having to worry about a curious guard listening in on them, but Alice chose not to speak.

Alice stepped into the elevator first, moving towards the far corner to lean back against the wall in hopes that Khan would take the hint and leave her alone.

Her luck was not that great, and when he followed her he came to a halt directly in front of her, no more than a foot from her.

Khan reached back and selected their floor with little more than a glance before looking on her once more. "We're leaving tonight at eight o'clock."

She snapped her eyes to his, blinking. "Excuse me? What do you mean we? I'd have thought you'd want to wander off alone for a while. Heaven knows I'd like to be more than a few doors or levels away from you."

Jaw muscles tensing beneath the skin, he replied coolly, "There are things we need to discuss that would be better discussed in private."

"I could have arranged a private chitchat, Khan, but you've been cold and distant since the holidays," she snapped.

"Things came to my attention that required me to distance myself in order to figure out how to go about handling these new issues," he replied, tone forcefully calm when his eyes were damn near icy. "Now that I can leave 31, we can have a discussion without being rushed or interrupted."

Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the small space and his close proximity, she replied tersely, "We can, and we will, but not today. I am going to go out later on for fresh air, and you can do whatever the hell you want as long as you walk the other way and just leave me alone."

"I have been leaving you alone since the holidays and you've reacted poorly," he stated as his tone dropped a few degrees at her refusal to accompany him outside. "Yet you now decide that you don't want to talk?"

"I imagine that it must be shocking that someone would not want to be in your presence, Khan. You should get used to having people try to ignore you and walking away because that's what everyone outside is going to be doing. Even if they notice you, chances are they'll just try to ignore you so they can go about their day." The elevator pinged and she smiled tightly. "Here, I'll be the first pretend you don't exist!"

Side stepping around him, Alice stormed out of the elevator with a stomp to her step as she hurried to her quarters to relax before heading out for the evening.


Review, please! Reviews let me know that you wish for more!

A/N: I can only take Khan and Alice's growing relationship so far while they are both stuck in Section 31. Seriously, I can only write the cameras being shut down for maintenance and Alice having a buddy of her's in security shut them off so many times before it gets old and ridiculous. For things to progress, they need to get out of that place and experience the freedom to talk unguarded without cameras and whatnot spying on them 24/7, even if that freedom lasts for only a short period of time each day.