Dr Director had a vast array of connections, but none could help her prepare for what she had in her front. A super villain, one of the most wanted men in the world. He was dangerous and, though she wasn't worried, knowing very well how to protect herself, she still needed to make a decision.

She had told him they needed to know, but how even start a subject like this? How do you tell a super villain you know of their misdeeds? A potential love interest that it's your job to stop their passion and arrest them?

There was no clear answer and that clearly bothered Dr Director. Betty didn't know what to do. Truly she was bound by her morality to turn him in, it was also her job...but yet she couldn't help but feel an attachment to this man, the one who had shared so much with her.

It wasn't an easy call in any way, and she hated to have to weight in the options, but what could she do? She had responsibilities she couldn't escape, no matter how much she tried.

Montgomery sensed her hesitation, as well as the shifty look in her eyes. Betty was a very good actor, but he could see through her body language just how upset she was...This is what he had feared, his hands...those freakish things he so loved...they might have upset her. He slowly moved a hand to her cheek, caressing it.

It weren't the hands that were the problem, but rather his actions...she had to make a call, and though his hands felt nice against her cheek, she knew she had to turn him in. The man deserved an explanation at least.

"Look...Montgomery" – Every word came as a shard of glass through her throat, she really didn't want to do this. Though she really had no choice. He had hurt a lot of people, and it was only fair the reckoning came to him. Through her (shaky) hand if need be. And it really seemed as if needed be.

Her hesitation was clear and she took her time finishing up her sentence. She couldn't predict just how he would react to being rejected. Though she sincerely hoped he reacted well.

"...this isn't going to work." – There she had said it, by the look on his face his heart was broken. It made her eyes almost water. The man didn't deserve this. – No, he deserved it, she reminded herself, as she remembered some of the calamities he had committed.

If she was so sure he deserved it though...why did it hurt so much to look at him? Couldn't her brain wrap around the idea that he was a bad guy? That it was her job to stop him?

She had decided already, she'd wait a couple of days while she got the papers for it, then she would capture him. It was only fitting.

That feeling of tightness around her neck, still persisted. She could see that Montgomery was preparing to talk. He had one finger pointing up and his mouth open. Whatever he was going to say, he seemed to change his mind, as he closed his mouth again.

He gulped, and the look on his face almost melted Betty's resolve...but no she couldn't. She controlled her respiration and held steady. She didn't go out with criminals, no matter how nice they had been to her.

He seemed to keep on hesitating on whether or not to talk, she was honestly getting kind of tired of it. Couldn't he get on to the point? She owed him that much, letting him talk to her one last time.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out." – He finally said, surprising Betty. She had seen him as a very educated gentleman, but when the revelation arrived at her mind she had expected him to completely fillip in seconds. Not so much, he was holding himself remarkably well. Then again, he was a Lord, he'd probably been very well educated.

He smiled, a smile that sent shivers down her spine, though she knew she wasn't in any danger, even if Montgomery...well Monkey Fist, knew some moves, so did she.

"I'm thankful for the few moments we spent together..." – He continued, and she smiled, agreeing, as she nodded. – "And I hope you had fun. Do you need a lift to your place?"

Not only was he totally fine with her leaving him hanging, she also offered her a ride home. He was truly a gentleman. She was surprised, but she hoped it didn't show too much as she smiled. The blush on her cheeks would tell otherwise though.

She hesitated, wondering if it was a bright idea to reveal her place of residence to a super villain. She liked Montgomery, she really did, but knowing his true identity...she just had to refuse.

All the while she couldn't exactly call her driver...not many flight attendants had private drivers, and it would be suspicious if one just showed out of nowhere. She'd have to walk.

She sighed as she left, thankfully she hadn't indulged in any alcohol. She was dozens of miles away, but she'd manage to arrive. Monty watched her leave with resignation. It seemed she had been affected by his hands and feet.

A shame...but he couldn't let her just walk away into the night, who knew what dangers awaited her? She seemed fit, but nobody really knew what could be awaiting them at night.

He stopped her, and made her sit in one of the comfortable main halls couches. They were indeed very comfortable. She almost fell asleep on one of them. Monty was calling the cab company. Requesting a cab, she smiled warmly, he did take care of her. She drifted off to a restless sleep while awaiting, she had no dreams, and when she woke up she felt like she hadn't had any sleep. But it didn't matter.

She wasn't very glad with how the situation had turned out but – As she entered the cab which smelled of smoke and old leather. – She figured it was for the best. A shame for Monty though, he seemed to have had everything to have a good life, if he hadn't been obsessed with simians.

As the vehicle moved she pondered on just what exactly she was going to do. She remembered one of the things her mother had told her "Your eggs aren't getting any younger..." and that had been years ago.

It was true, though, she wasn't getting any younger, she was a strong woman, independent, but she had really hoped this would work.

She bit down on her lip, trying not to cry.

:
:

Doctor Director sighed. She couldn't exactly do her job like this. Too many thoughts on her mind.

It had been this way since she had left in the cab. In the beginning as the vehicle advanced she had fought with herself. Maybe she could return? It wasn't like the people affected were directly related to her in any way, but she knew better. Her conscience wouldn't allow it. Dr Betty Director had a very big sense of morality, one that knew very well what was wrong and what was right.

And stealing ancient artifacts', attacking people in the process and overall just look for the ultimate goal of any super villain. – That was. – World domination...well that was just wrong. Dr Betty Director didn't like the evil doers.

And it was such a shame to her as well, the man had been polite...the man had been charming...the man had been a lot of things that she was looking for in a man...or man ape...or monkey...simian? She was the leader of an international organization, not a biologist.

Though she looked at the amount of crimes in the file she had on him. The picture they had taken was a blurry mess, it showed a mass of limbs, monkey limbs, all furry, as they shifted and attacked random people. Nasty animals, Betty thought they were, if what she had remembered about them from her childhood was true, she heard they even threw dejects at one another, though they were clever.

And cleverness was something that the possible romantic interest, now turned down had on him...the man had had an easy life, she had no doubt of that, he was a Lord after all, but he didn't seem to be as snobbish as some of the politicians and important people he had met.

Maybe that had been why she had been so ok with meeting him...he had been...and she let out the word...nice. – She stared at the blurry photo, again, the man, though it contrasted greatly with his urge for world domination, had been so polite to her. It was like he was going for a position of power, but he was treating people nicely all the way to the top, unlike the person who...

Speaking of the devil the telephone atop her desk rang. And she picked it up, aware that she was about to get her ears filled with yelling. In a way she pictured the president of the free word, whom she was just thinking about it, in the other end, spitting at the telephone.

She almost snickered at the thought, but managed to keep her composure. Laughing at the person who funded most of your organization was a sure fine way to lose most of their funding.

This was her routine, and she was used to it, so it was nothing new to hear about how she was failing at her job. That didn't mean however that it wasn't a frustrating experience to hear it over and over. Especially when she felt that she had more important things to worry about. If before she was worried about her chance at finding a man, she now was finding it harder to get over it.

That pesky conscience had made the decision for her however and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I understand sir." – She did understand, apparently things were getting spotty, and she was in a world of sh...Trouble, she corrected herself. Though she was an adult, she didn't like to swear much.

The voice on the other side of the line sounded distant, cold, so unlike the warm voice of the politician when facing the general public.

"I expect you to." – And in a second the voice had returned to it's usual warm tone, one tone that had made the president be compared to a kind old man. – "Now...if you'd please..."

Betty sighed, of course she'd please, he was one of the major people paying her salary, wasn't he? Of course he'd go and have his way done, just like he wanted to.

Betty looked at the paperwork that had, once again, stacked up, could she not leave for a day and get herself some rest? It didn't seem that way.

She remembered back when she had been a young agent...maybe she was getting old. Maybe that was the problem. What was there left to climb? And as her mother had said her eggs weren't getting any younger.

She had to give the go ahead to go and capture Lord Monkey Fist, it'd be quite the scandal, and she was regretting the kind of headaches it'd cause, both for her and for her organization. Still super villains were hardly ever common petty crooks, with little resources, they had to buy the trips, and secret lairs and all that it enthralled. They needed money, and, as a result, most of them had it. Whether stolen or not.

It looked like Montgomery...she corrected herself, - Monkey Fist had earned his money the old fashioned way, inheriting it. Whatever the case as a family of renown she knew he was going to drag this out on the courts.

And then what? What was even her accusation? They didn't just take him without a judgment, or a court hearing or two, they had to follow the legal procedures. And what did it mean?

All would be over when people saw his monkey hands, how many people could have those? But still, she regretted having to do this. There was no choice however, she looked at the long list of crimes assigned to his name.

Guess she could add heart-breaking to it, for her heart was definitively broken. The man had succeeded in making her feel even worse about herself.

She pressed the number, and made the call.

:

They were dancing the waltz.

She recognized the localization, it was the chateau at which she had been briefly. Betty didn't know just how she had been there.

Nor why she was grabbing the other person, the man, which she was calling Monty, under the flickering lights.

It felt right, it felt good, but she knew it not to be true.

It was the interesting part about all of this, she knew that, in large part due to her own doing, the man was locked up, and not with her, in his house, dancing the waltz.

But it felt great as she felt the furry hands against her own, the feeling of the lights. It reminded her of the movies she had watched as a kid, animated or otherwise. And though she didn't exactly like the idea that a woman was defined by romance, she had a satisfying career...she had to admit, this wasn't so bad.

She knew it to be a dream, but she knew she'd miss monty, the contact, even if ethereal, not real at all...

All of this.

Did she have regrets? Not really, it was her job to impose the law, at a super villainous level, she was the law in a way. Though she wasn't about to shoot anyone.

But it was as it was.

It was over.