Dr. Allen Wakefield walked slowly down the corridor. His hands were sweating. His life had gone to shit ever since the “incident” as he liked to call it. It wasn’t his fault that it happened. He told that pompous fool not to parade them around like show dogs. He shouldn’t talk ill of the dead. Wasn’t right. After all it was supposed to be him that day showing the official the place. But his mother had begged him to take her to his cousin’s wedding. His cousin was a 42 year old woman who no one in the family thought would ever get married. So, this was an event that his mother didn’t want to miss. At the last minute Allen had gotten Matthias to fill in for him. "Should send her some flowers." The corridor seemed longer today. "Damn you Matthias." Allen thought as he continued to walk. He wasn’t Dr. Allen Wakefield anymore they had stripped him of his title after the “incident” he was now a paper pusher. At least he had a higher title than his late colleague who got stuck in the basement. It had been a year since the incident and things had changed. The parliament was in shambles and it had to do some real P.R to fix the mess that Matthias actions had caused. "If he didn’t insistent on showing them around. They weren’t stable. We didn’t even know what they could do." That’s where he and Matthias split hairs. He saw them as children and Matthias just saw them as subjects very seldom did he even refer to them with their names. He wanted to see their full potential, Matthias just wanted to see how far he could go. Especially with her. She was his favorite. He practically salivated at the mention of her name. A Pavlov affect she had on him. Even though she was the most talented she was the most unstable. Wakefield noticed that a light was out in the corridor. The constant flickering bothered him. "Everything in this place is shit." Finally after what seemed like hours Wakefield reached the office. He hated these bi weekly meetings. Nothing had changed. They still couldn’t find her or the others. It was pointless. He slowly turned the knob. The room was dark and cold. "Would it hurt them to turn on the heat?" “You’re late.” A voice came from the shadows. A tall thin man emerged from the darkness. He clicked on a lamp. “There that’s better.” The man sat at a desk. He motioned for Wakefield to sit. “What do you have for me today?” Wakefield sat in his chair. "The same shit I had last week nothing. Well that’s not exactly true." He thought to himself. “I have some good news.” Wakefield stammered a bit. He pulled out several folders. “We were able to locate some of the others.” He slid the folders over to the man. The thin man looked at them greedily. “Is it her?” “No. But these students where on the verge…” The man cut him off by slamming his fist on the desk. “I don’t give a good gorram about these…these freaks of nature. I want her.” He said coldly. “Yes, sir I understand. But, unlike the others she didn’t have any familiar ties. We found her at an Alliance run group home. We weren’t even sure of her real name or age.” The man calmed down a bit. “None of the subliminal messages triggered her?” Wakefield shifted in his seat. "I’ve told you a million times subliminal messages don’t work on her." He thought. “No. We’ve sent out several on different mediums. Nothing has turned up.” “What of the other girl? Have you found her?” “River Tam is still missing. We didn’t get any information from the Operative on her whereabouts or even if she’s still alive.” Allen could hear the man lean back in his chair. He saw a flicker of light as the man lit a pipe. They sat in silence for a while, before the man spoke. “I want Tam. I want them both. Make it happen Mr. Wakefield.” Allen thought he sounded like a spoiled brat wanting something that he couldn’t deliver. “Yes, sir. I’ll try…” ”Don’t try. Do. That’s all Mr. Wakefield. I’ll see you for our next meeting.” Allen slowly got up to leave. “Oh Mr. Wakefield.” The man said. Allen turned around slowly. “Yes sir.” He said in a soft voice. “How’s your mother?” Wakefield gulped. “Fine, sir.” “Good. I hope she stays that way…You can go now Mr. Wakefield.”

Allen returned to his crappy office and slumped in his crappy chair. His life had turned to shit since the “incident”. Allen truly believed that he was making a better world. That he could make people better. He was wrong. There was no better it was just this. When he was stripped of his title his wife left him and took the kids. He was now a 42 year old man living with his mother. She made up his bed, washed his clothes, and packed his lunch. His life had gone to shit. There was no hope. They were ghost now, River Tam and the girl they called Eden Hiroshima. Wakefield opened the top drawer of his desk. He pulled out a small gun. He slowly took it to his mouth. "Damn you Matthias."

TBC.....