The plane hummed with power as it flew through the atmosphere. The small vessel vibrated noticeably with turbulence. Bright strikes of lightning flashed on the horizon, illuminating the massive white clouds that surrounded them.

"What kind of downsizing are we talking about here?" Andrea asked after she took the last swig of her cocktail. She was not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I really don't think you need to know that. I don't want to upset you any further." Miranda said.

She really hated speaking about this. She never had to face what she may be responsible for, it was too late any way. The plan was set in motion. Any day now, the world would change. There is nothing anyone could do about it. Not even the great and powerful Miranda Priestly.

"I'm already upset" The young woman said with narrowed eyes, frustration apparent in her features.

Miranda took a deep breath, and noticed that her glass of wine was running low. She lazily picked up the green bottle of expensive red wine.

"We estimate an initial eighty-million casualties." She stared at the dark liquid she was pouring into her glass until it was emptied of every last drop. There was a distance in her pale blue eyes.

"Everyone within the blast radius of the targets, about four miles, will die within minutes, and then there are those who will perish from the ensuing fires" Miranda said slowly, the numbers were the hardest to speak of; she never had to say them out loud before.

"Over the next couple of months we expect another ten-million to die from a tsunami that will wash inland two hundred miles. And then thirty-million from radiation, starvation, disease, natural causes, civil unrest… suicides" The nagging pain in her belly flared again as the words easily fell from her lips as if she were explaining a business plan.

She had not looked at Andrea as she spoke. She did not wish to see the disgust that was surely shining in her big brown eyes. When she was finally able to force herself, she turned to see Andrea hugging her knees to her chest, biting her thumb nail. Her eyes looked crazed, terrified, and… she seemed to be shaking.

"Miranda" She was barely able to speak, she took a steadying breath.

"That's over a hundred million people" Her mouth hung open, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Yes. I know." Miranda said looking away from her young wife. She looked at her hands in her lap, wishing she could kick herself for her cowardice. She couldn't even look at the girl.

"I'm going to be sick; I don't know you at all!" Andrea said feeling her stomach twist and turn inside of her. The alcohol felt warm as it coursed through her, the sedative effect it had on her was the only thing keeping her from bursting apart.

"I love you, you know that, darling" Miranda said as she reached for her small hand. Andrea pulled away from her grip. The last thing she wanted was for this terrible woman to touch her.

"So what happens to my family? My parents?" She asked suddenly.

"I've sent your parents on a nice vacation to Fiji, they will be very far away when everything happens."

"What about my sisters? Amy just had a baby! Did you send them to Fiji too?" Andrea nearly yelled. She already knew the answer; Miranda had not seen her sisters since their wedding and always had to be reminded of their existence.

"I'll take care of them too, Andrea" The striking older woman said as she crossed her arms across her chest and stared forward, biting down on her bottom lip.

"What if I wished to die with everyone else?" her young wife cried, her voice weak but defiant.

"You don't want to die, Andrea. Not like this"

The older woman sucked the last drop of wine from her glass.

"I'm not sure if I can live with myself! How am I supposed to live with you?" Andrea said as she stood from her seat.

She glowered over the fashion editor, fists balled at her sides. The older woman did not flinch. She looked up at her angry wife and into her eyes. She felt that she might burst into tears. She could feel the contempt radiating from Andrea like heat, the only woman she's ever loved, was prepared to hit her for what she's gotten them involved in.

"So, you've blown half the continent to shit, killed all of these people. Then what? Is this the kind of future you envisioned for the girls?" Andrea was now pacing up and down the aisle.

"You don't understand" Miranda said dismissively looking out the window at the patches of green earth they flew over, silently. The majestic clouds bellowed with thunder, spraying fat droplets of rain onto the small plane windows.

"It is out of my control. Things are not going to be the same, Andrea." Miranda said with a voice as cold as ice.

"When we get to Colorado, agents will escort us to our home. I need you to know that these people don't fuck around." her tone of voice was one that Andrea had not heard in a very long time. She remembered this chilling tone when she began working for her years ago as her assistant. It was amazing how quickly she could conjure this malicious side of herself.

"They only recognize that you have rights if you are with me but they'll take you away from me if they think that you're a threat. If you don't die from the radiation or starvation you will wish you had after being locked inside of a cage with thousands of desperate men and women." Miranda said with a sharp tongue, quickly re-establishing her dominance.

She did not realize she could still be so effortlessly cold, even to her young wife but she had had enough. How was she supposed to get through these next couple of months with her potentially raising hell among the people they will keep company with? The girl had to learn her place. She had to accept the new order of things.

Andrea's mouth hung open and she stood there for a moment without moving. Miranda said nothing more. The seat belt light illuminated and she reluctantly took her seat, buckled herself in, and crossed her arms. She stared out the window at the angry rain clouds outside. Looking away from the woman across the aisle whose eyes she could feel boring into the back of her.

They landed and unloaded their luggage without incident. There were two tall men that were there to escort them. They introduced themselves to Miranda and she shook their hands gently. Andrea refused to acknowledge them at all. They climbed inside of the black SUV. They all sat quietly as they drove away from the airport.

Miranda stared at her wife as they rolled along on the road, she was so beautiful, she knew she was her soul mate, and that she would do whatever it took to keep her close. She reached for the girl's free hand laying in-between them. The girl pulled her hand into her lap and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, sneaking a warning look at her. The look sent a jolt of pain through Miranda.

The fashion maven slid on her oversized sunglasses and stared out the window, looking at nothing in particular. Just wishing to escape the pain she felt in the moment. What had she done? They drove up a road that Andrea began to notice was going up the side of a mountain. They nearly reached the top until they came to a stop in front of a wall of rock.

The driver spoke into the microphone on his wrist and the rock disappeared, revealing a large hole and a dully lit tunnel. They followed the road inside of the mountain, continuing to climb as it spiraled upward until it opened up into large parking garage filled with the most luxurious cars Andrea had ever seen. They rolled to a stop in front of a large glass door where she could see a single elevator. One of the men slid out of the passenger seat and opened the large glass door for the two women.

He followed shortly behind them, and the black SUV drove out of view. He looked into a camera mounted on the wall, and smiled. The elevator door slid open with a ding. The three of them stepped inside, Andrea looked around hesitantly. Where exactly was this elevator taking them?

There were no buttons inside of the elevator, just another camera in the corner of the car. They were descending rapidly, for what seemed like forever. Miranda held onto the railing next to her, head held high, alert and listening to all of the sounds around her.

The car finally came to a halt and slid open. Cool air rushed toward them like a gust of wind. They stepped out of the car into daylight. There was a clear blue sky, but Andrea was sure that they had descended thousands of feet inside of the mountain. There were tall buildings and people walking along sidewalks.

"What is this place?" She thought out loud.

"This is metropolis. The top of that building over there will be our home for the next couple of months." Miranda said pointing to the tallest building in the small city. It really was a beautiful place, the architecture was amazing and the illusion of rolling fields of wildflowers in the distance gave her a giddy feeling. It all seemed like a dream.

"Welcome home Mrs. & Mrs. Priestly" The man that had escorted them to this city below ground left them to walk the rest of the way to their building. They were in the most secure place in the entire country. She pointed up to the faint outline of a moon.

"That's the command center. They see everything that happens inside of this city, they control everything." Miranda said just above a whisper.

"And that structure just north of our building is the new capitol. The white house moved in yesterday evening"

They walked through the city; the tall modern buildings towered over them. They passed by several couples and families, all impeccably dressed and all greeted Miranda with a friendly smile. When they finally make it to their building Andrea felt fatigued, it had been such a crazy day that she had constantly been either crying or trying not to. It was all too much to take in.

she briefly noticed the penthouse décor before she found a bedroom and laid down. Miranda crawled into bed with her, still fully dressed, heels and all. Andrea's eyes shot open and she sat up.

"I don't want you here. Get out!" She said pointing to the door

"Andrea, my love. I… please" Miranda said reaching for her, wanting to touch her, sooth her pain. Even if she was the cause of it all. The girl laid back down, facing away from her wife.

"Please. I just want to be alone." Her small body curled up into a ball, hugging a big white pillow close to her. Hoping it would bring her some small amount of comfort, she did not know where else to find it anymore.

Over the next couple of days, Andrea refused to get out of bed. She did not want to 'see the city' or 'get out'. Everyone in this place knew about the event, they came here to seek refuge from it. She felt that she was brought her against her will. She could not bear to go out, look them in the eyes, and pretend that she didn't hold a deep seeded disgust for them all.

She watched them pour in one evening from her view at the top of the penthouse. She knew that it must be soon. Miranda came into the living area and saw her standing by the windows. She stood next to her and followed her gaze. They watched one family after another, step out of the elevator.

"Please have dinner with me this evening, it would mean a lot to me" Miranda said in a sad voice standing next to her. She figured that her wife would say no, that the rest of her time spent here would be just as miserable as the last couple of days.

Miranda wasn't sure she could handle it either. Maybe she shouldn't have ever told her. Maybe they should have just taken a nice quiet trip to New Zealand or some mountain top in Siberia. Just somewhere far away when the bombs drop, not hiding here, cooped up inside of a mountain. She might have done things differently if she could have foreseen this kind of reaction in Andrea. She wasn't sure what reaction she expected, either. But the council needed her here; Such dreams were useless fantasies now.

"Please, darling" Miranda said grasping her young wife from behind, resting her head on her shoulder.

"I wish that I could change it, but the only thing I can do now is to keep up safe, I couldn't lose you. I just could not handle it." She slid her hands over Andrea's torso, holding her close. She had contemplated giving Andrea the option of staying or leaving, telling her before they left their home in N.Y.C, but the latter option was far too terrifying for the older woman to even consider.

"Please, don't forget everything we have, Andrea. Everything we've been through. We can get through this." Miranda plead with a kiss on her young loves long, elegant neck.

Andrea let her beg; and in the process she forgot everything. This beautiful woman was just her wife in that moment. She was not this malicious and horrifyingly powerful woman that she had found her out to be. She was just Miranda, ever enchanting, but so human in the moment that Andrea almost felt sorry for her.

The woman was ashamed. She had believed so strongly in The Councils judgment for so long that she forgot the reality of it. She would wrestle with her demons for the rest of her life. Andrea made her look at it from her point of view, as a part of the human race instead of something above it. She realized that her wife will suffer greatly during these attacks, and that she would have to live with the knowledge of her responsibility for them.

When their lips met, Miranda stifled a cry. She had been so worried that Andrea would never agree to be intimate with her again, that her lips upon hers were the closest to heaven she had ever experienced. The fashion maven felt an overwhelming need to sweep this girl off of her feet and take her to the nearest bed. Show her that she was still that woman she married, and that she could still make her feel good. That she was still that same loving, and caring woman she had always thought her to be. The idea of losing her, because of her duties to the council terrified her. She prayed they could forget it all for just a few moments. So that they could be happy together again.