For the rest of the week, Rose was released, while the group deliberated on her employment. She took this time to let her actions soak in. Rose caught herself cringing every time she thought about her father's endless supply of prophecies. Boy, was he a man for prophecies.
Rose watched her father organize the last bit of paperwork that had been sitting on top of his desk ignored. The man probably saw over a hundred files a day; everything from banking accounts down to the latest unknown scandal on a prominent politician.
"You gave quite a performance at the facility." Linderman said without even looking up. "It will cost thousands of dollars to repair, not to mention the lives lost or the research." At this he finally looked up at her with that fatherly reprimand he wore so well.
Rose smiled softly, "Thousands of dollars you have aplenty, those lives have always been replaceable to you; so your real bone to pick would be the research."
Linderman glared at her, "Sweetheart, you have no idea how far you have set us back. What we are trying to succeed here is for your benefit too, don't forget."
"Yeah, one day you become king of the world through massacring half the world and engaging the rest in a hostile take over."
"You know its nothing as dramatic as all that. You are still young. You do not know what is at stake here for our kind if we do not develop some kind of offensive."
Rose choked out a bark of laughter, "And the torturing and disposing of our kind to get there is excusable how?"
"Darling, we have to make sense of all this and that can only be done through research and study."
"I want out." She said softly, barely a whisper.
He sighed, "I know you feel that way now, but if you just take some time to consider the end result…."
"NO! I don't want an end result this way. People are dying." Rose rasped, tears gathering in her eyes.
"So, what is your big plan? To run to the ends of the earth and hide? I can assure you, my dear, wherever you go, I will find you."
"I know. I know you will. So I'm going to make a deal with you. I leave here, go wherever I want and live a harmless, uninvolved life. I'll never be heard from again."
"Why should I agree to that?"
Rose smiled cruelly, "Because if you don't. I'll run off anyway, but I won't be disappearing into the masses. I'll be coming after your labs, your facilities, anything that is tied to your goals. Hell, I might even hit up a couple of your casinos while I'm at it. Then, once all of this destruction is public knowledge, I'll come forward as the source."
"No one would believe that a little girl could cause that much destruction."
"Not at first, no. But how are they going to deny it when it happens right in front of their eyes and gets recorded by their cameras? I'd say they would have more than enough evidence after that."
"You would selfishly sacrifice all of us, ALL OF US."
"Of course not. You would. I'm giving you another option. One that wouldn't change much at all. Just my presence here."
"Alright, alright." Linderman held his hands up in surrender. "You may go away, if you feel you must. But I don't want to lose contact with you. No matter what happens you are, MY child. I refuse to have you starving in some street somewhere. I want to know that you are alright."
"As long as no one interferes with how I live. I'm fine with that."
Linderman nodded, "Then it's settled, you may go. I'll have your funds and accounts updated immediately under different identities, of course. They will be renewed as need be, as long as you stay away from my dealings."
"Done," Rose agreed, turning to leave.
"You will return one day, though." He called after her. "It is your destiny to be apart of this revolution. You have become too involved to just walk away from your kind. Your place is here with your generation."
"We'll see about that." Then she was gone.
Linderman allowed a moment to gaze after her, then he smiled. He knew exactly why she was running and he had to admit, he was indeed proud.