"Please, take a seat." A man said, entering the room with a few files in his hands.
The man, I'm assuming was Hans Croft, immediately sat at the head of the table on the opposite side from where Abe and I were seated. Secretary Croft was probably in his mid-fifties, and his face showed his age and the stress of his job. Dimitri paused in his pacing and hesitated before sitting down next to me.
"Secretary Croft?" I asked hesitantly.
"Please, call me Hans." He said with a pleasant smile. "I've been told you want to have a chat about the Project and Guardian Programs. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's right," Abe said. "My name is Abe Mazur. This is my daughter Rosemarie Hathaway and her partner Dimitri Belikov. We need to inform you that the man behind the two programs is dead. We've come to see whether the Programs could be ended."
"Dead? Ended?" Hans asked looking confused. His eyes darted between the three of us, and I couldn't help but shift uncomfortably under his stern gaze.
"Yes," Abe said plainly.
"Victor Dashkov is dead?" He asked again.
"Yes," Abe said, his voice gaining a little irritation from the repetition.
"How?"
"I killed him," I said quietly, but the sound reached him. Hans' eyes snapped toward me. For the first time since entering the room, he studied me.
"You killed Victor Dashkov?"
"Yes," I said glancing nervously at Abe. "It was an accident. I'd developed a new ability that I didn't know how to control, and he ended up dead."
"You're a Project!?" He exclaimed, backing away from the table slightly, but he didn't run for the door, which was a good sign.
"Yes. I'm Project X, from the D.C. compound."
"The one that was destroyed?" He asked cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"I'm also the one to blame for that," I mumbled looking down at my hands.
"Before we get too off topic here." Abe cut in. "We do need to talk to you about disbanding the Project Programs. Victor Dashkov's motives were not pure, though, his intentions might have seemed so."
"What do you mean?" Hans asked still eyeing me with disbelief.
"Dashkov was using the compounds of Spiriteds to help himself. He'd figured out how to borrow an ability from a Spirited and raise an army of the dead. He was currently looking for a Project that could make him younger, healthier. We don't know what he was going to use the undead for, but I can't imagine that it would've been all sunshine and roses."
"So? What if his intentions weren't what we thought they were, isolating Spiriteds from the greater population is a good thing." Hans said, leaning back in his chair, he seemed to be unconcerned about Victor's motives. "I'm not disbanding that program just because its founder is corrupt."
"We're not asking you to release Spiriteds into the world," I said. "We're asking for more freedom, to live in the compounds without being fearful of the Guardians or scared of what we are."
"So, you're wanting to live in the compounds?" He asked a little shocked.
"Yes. Well, for the most part. We'd like to get the government's assistance in helping us live in the compounds with as much self-sufficience as possible. I'd also like to talk to you about developing a test for those of us that would be able to mesh with the greater population without risk of exposure or harm."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, some of us have special abilities that could be beneficial to your world, not just ours. Most of the Spiriteds that can control their powers are extremely intelligent. I have telekinesis, which would allow me to move things that normal human beings wouldn't be able to. I'd like to pursue a career in medicine. Dimitri was thinking about becoming a doctor. The two of us working together would be able to operate on the more difficult patients with success."
"But with that same power to help people, you'd have the ability to hurt people, too." Hans countered.
"That's why I'm asking you to create a procedure for us to complete. Whether it's yearly psychological evaluations or constant surveillance, I want to be able to live a normal life. Well, semi-normal." I told him. "Most Spiriteds won't want to leave the compounds because that's been their home for so long, but some of us lived on the outside for so long that it's hard to adapt to an isolated lifestyle."
"So, what were you hoping?"
"We want to move the remaining Projects into the two biggest compounds: the one in Montana and the one near Novosibirsk in Russia. We're wanting help turning those compounds into small towns for those that are there to run and live in. For those that pass whatever tests you decide to run, we'll consent to having whoever following us just to make sure we're following the rules you most-likely will set forth."
"And other than the ones wanting to blend with the greater population, you'll stay in the compounds?" I nodded. "I think we can work something out. I'll probably have to add a clause to the conditions of your 'normal' life. If need be, the government will be able to call on you and you will help us with whatever we need your help with."
"What kind of things would you need help with?" I asked cautiously.
"It shouldn't be anything illegal, but I'm not at liberty to give any specific details." He said evasively.
"So, unless it's absolutely necessary for the survival of our government, you won't interfere with our lives?" I asked looking to Dimitri to clarify that we'd both got the same message.
"That's right. I'll still be keeping an eye on you, and we'd like to have a choice in where you decide to settle down. We'd want it to be somewhere out of the way, without too many neighbors around."
"I've got a place where they will be staying. It's in Pennsylvania, I'll give you the address when we're through here so you can thoroughly investigate it yourself, though I'm sure it'll pass inspection." Abe told Hans while simultaneously giving Dimitri and I a place to live.
"Your house would be, what, an hour and a half drive to Johns Hopkins?" I asked, already planning our lives in the greater population. I hope Dimitri was alright with Johns Hopkins because there was no way I was settling for anything less than the best.
"Johns Hopkins, Roza? Really?" Dimitri asked with a smirk.
"I know you can do it. You might have to help me a little, but I'm sure I'll manage." I said happily.
"Well, I'll start working on getting a test ready to certify that you're able to be out in the greater population, going to school and such. I'll see what I can do about getting you into Johns Hopkins. You both seem like nice people, and I can see how much this means to you. I don't believe you're a danger to society, but I don't think the greater population needs to find out about you just yet. It probably won't happen in either of our lifetimes, but I can see a world where Spiriteds are accepted."
"No offense, but I honestly thought that you were going to be a lot harder to convince…" I said eyeing him warily, but he just chuckled and leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed for the first time this entire meeting.
"Ms. Hathaway, I have relatives that are Spirited. They fell on the crazy spectrum, but I didn't think they were bad people. Being Spirited is a lot more common than everyone thinks, most live in society already and blend well. I know I have a few in my staff, but I don't want to single them out or acknowledge that I know what they are because I don't want them to be scared to live a normal life." I stared at him in shock. If he was alright with Spiriteds, why did he allow the Project Program in the first place?
"The Project Program started as a way to remove dangerous Spiriteds from the greater population, but Victor morphed it into what you know it as. I was actually working on a way to get it disbanded, but you seem to have found a solution, which I quite like."
"Huh…did not see that one coming," I mumbled more to myself than anything, but Dimitri chuckled lightly anyway.
"Don't worry. I'm going to help you as much as I can." That said, Hans stood and moved toward us. As one, the three of us stood, waiting to see what he did. He first shook Abe's and Dimitri's hands before turning to me. "It took a lot of guts to come in here and confess to murder and reveal that you were the Spirited that took down an entire complex. It was stupid, but I kind of like it." I tensed, waiting for him to arrest me, or shoot me, but neither happened. "I'd like to keep in touch with you, Ms. Hathaway. I feel like we could be great friends. I would be more than willing to help you wherever I can."
I was shocked, to say the least, and became even more shocked when he hesitantly reached out and pulled me into an awkward embrace. When the encounter was over, he pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to me.
"Please, don't hesitate to reach out to me. If you have any ideas about how to better your people, let me know." He nodded sharply to Abe and Dimitri and gave me a small smile before exiting the room. I stared after him, still shocked by his actions.
"Well, that went a lot better than I had expected," Abe said looking pleased with himself like he'd been the one to make it all happen. I rolled my eyes but didn't respond. I started toward the door, hoping to find Lee outside the door.
When I stuck my head out the door, I didn't find Lee but a very large male with a stern look on his face. His head and eyes slowly turned to look at me questioningly.
"May I help you?" He asked in a deep, serious tone.
"Um…could you find Agent Masters? We're ready to leave." I said shyly. I felt Dimitri move closer to the door when he sensed my unease. It wasn't that I was scared of the man. I could easily have taken him, but I didn't want to jeopardize any progress I might have made with Hans.
"Certainly." Was his response. He spoke quietly into his cuff, ah, there it was. "He's on his way."
"Thank you," I said and stepped back into the conference room. "So, what are we going to do after getting out of here?" I asked Abe. Dimitri looked expectedly toward him, too.
"We could go back to Russia and collect the others, or we could send a jet to meet them and they can meet us at the house in Pennsylvania." Abe offered.
"Let's have them meet us at the house in Pennsylvania. Dimitri and I can start looking into the application process to Johns." I said excitedly. Dimitri chuckled at my enthusiasm, but I knew he was just as excited as I was.
"As long as you two are ready to start the rest of your lives," Abe said.
"I'm ready. Are you ready, Comrade?"
"As long as I'm with you, I'm ready for anything." He said pulling me closer and lightly kissing my lips.
"That was cheesy…"
"You know you love it." He chuckled as he kissed my nose.
"I'm not so sure, but I know I love you."
"I love you, too, Roza."
"Enough you two," Abe said gently. He might have started out despising Dimitri because he was dating me, but now I don't think Abe would approve of anyone else. Dimitri was perfect for me, and I for him. "Let's go home."