"That's an interesting question," the moribund man says, straightening his white patient gown. He glances through the misty window, at the dismal skyline, "Are you sure, that's what you want to ask?" He turns back to the illuminated, bare room, resting his gloved hands on the cold, metal table as he faces the seated person before him. The redhead, donned in a black pantsuit, nods; her dignified blue eyes staring into his small, grey ones.

Frederick Thornwood casts a geniune smile, a glimmering ray of hope brightening his cadaverous visage. "Wise choice, Madam President."

"He's what?" Veronica says, her aching head now imploding. She reclines in her executive chair, to dampen her quickening pulse, eyes on the slim tablet placed on her desk. "He's suffering from Newmann's, a degenerative disease common in elderly superhumans," Chief Chambers states as her boss reads the report. "Dr. Fix and her team performed the Yates procedure, to procure his memories, but only managed to retrieve one."

The President sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. The only person who has answers to everything. She muses, flashes of the live footage of an overcrowded hybrid room zapping across her mind. She lifts her head, adjusting her thick rimmed spectacles, "How long do we have, if we choose to interrogate him?"

"After Dr. Fix wakes him up, we will have about 15 - 20 minutes before he either collapses or loses his mind," Sophia answers, raising her sleeve to check her watch. "Also, she can keep him asleep till 6, so we'll have to make a decision by then."

That's about twenty minutes from now. Veronica muses, tapping her fingers on the oak, "What was the procured memory?" The Chief of Defense casts a small grin, "That leads us to the good news." She nudges her tablet forward, its display showing a large sketch of a brooding lady. "It was fragments of a recent conversation with her."

The president squints at the monochrome sketch. "Her name is Macy Rune, a prominent telepath from the Xenos gang," Sophia apprises. "The acquaintance?" Veronica asks, right brow arched. The chief nods, swiping to the next slide, this time displaying two images. "This is Cummings' neck," she explains, pointing to the left image. "This has been confirmed as Rune's trace." The president studies the thin, black scar engraved on the Xenoxian's neck.

She directs her gaze to the other image, "There are numerous identical scars here." She pauses, clearing her throat. "This was taken three days after she was admitted," the chief explains, swiping to the last slide, an image of the patient's clear neck. "And this was taken a month ago."

 She exhales slowly when she sees a dewy-eyed president, "Dr. Fix said that Carrie is really strong. In cases like hers, the trace remains there, and even with treatment, there are high chances of the victim not waking up again."

The President nods, the clip of her awakened daughter, appearing in her mind. She dabs off the tears that managed to roll down her cheeks, and takes in a deep breath to revert to her placid demeanor.

"We are currently tracking her down," Chief Chambers says, when her composed boss lifts her head. She turns on her heels, peering at her colleagues who march into the President's office.

"What happened?" Veronica asks as the duo reach the mahogony desk. "Did Jason wake up?" Chief Oshken shakes her head, "Tom just started with the procedure." The President shifts her gaze to the bisque notepad Chief Moorhaven clasps. "This is what we've found out so far." The president steadies her spectacles as she leans forward to read the scribbled list.

- 5/4/1985 - Discovery of Eso genes
- 6/30/1990 - Initiation of C.P
- 10/20/2003 - ?

"These are the dates Anthony had mentioned," Sanders explains. "He said that Fred tried to point out something to him and our agent. I jotted then down, as these dates correlate to these events." They point to the question mark, "The Cyan Project was scraped off a month before, so I don't know what Fred is trying to say here."

"We've also discovered this," Laura chimes in. The president takes the handed ruled page. "Dr. Clarke started to mutter these 50 words repeatedly in her sleep," she says, letting out a muted sigh when the President creases her forehead.

tau omicron delta iota alpha kappa omicron pi eta kappa eta delta epsilon mu omicron upsilon alpha sigma delta iota alpha kappa omicron pi eta kappa alpha iota delta iota alpha kappa omicron pi eta tau omicron delta iota alpha kappa omicron pi eta kappa lambda epsilon iota delta iota

Sophia peers at the handwritten note, "These are Greek alphabets." The geneticist's daughter rubs her forehead, "When did this start?"

"Mrs. Wilhelm spotted this about a few months ago," Laura answers. "That's when Dr. Clarke attempted to learn the Greek language." She knits her brows, "But we couldn't make sense of what she was trying to say."

"Wait," Chief Chambers realizes, re-reading the paragraph. "I think I know what this means." She glances at the President, "May I?" She nods, crossing her arms, eyes riveted on the list. What happened on October 20th? Chief Moorhaven steps forward, "Anthony stated that Fred kept mentioning 'The legend is true'. "

"Ma'am, I found it," Sophia exclaims, her colleagues turning to her when she straightens. "I wrote these in Greek to make it easier for deciphering." The President directs her gaze to the new line.

τοΔιακοπηκηδεμονασΔιακοπηκαιΔιακοπητοΔιακοπηκλειδι

"There's a group of letters that repeat," Chief Moorhaven says, noticing the pattern. Their colleague nods, "If you write this separately, as a word, we get this." She jots the word down with her black pen.

Διακοπή

"Diakopí," the Greek enthusiast says, casting a grin when her boss relaxes her creased forehead. "Which means stop." The president leans forward, "In Greek, the form of the letters change if they're placed at the end of the word, right?" Chief Chambers nods, "That's what Dr. Clarke used to separate the words, to get her message across."

Her colleagues watch her jot down the reduced message.

το κηδεμόνας και το κλειδί

"Wait," Laura says, stepping back when she sees the five words. "Does this translate to the guardian and the key?" The Chief of Defense arches her brows, "Yes." She turns back to face the page. "to kidemónas kai to kleidí  literally translates to the guardian and the key." Sophia turns to the Chief of Staff, "How did you know this?"

"Well, this was what Mark exclaimed when Anthony told him the dates," the Chief of Informatics intercedes. They turn to the befuddled President, "Do you know what it signifies?"

The geneticist's daughter rubs her forehead, eyes on the decoded message, "I have no clue." She turns to the list of dates, "How did the residents of Pearl Manor react, when Mark said that this is related to the message?" She lifts her head, glancing at the Chief who rubs the back of their neck.

"They found out that we were watching them," Sanders pauses, sagging their head. "So when they began Jason's procedure," Laura intercedes. "They temporarily shut down that camera." the President sighs, rubbing her face. Why would they do that?

She lurches up from her seat, "Chief Chambers." She straightens her blazer, "Please tell Dr. Fix to get ready for the interrogation." She turns to Chief Moorhaven, "And I want to know every detail of Jason's procedure when I return." Sanders nods, marching out of the room with their colleague.

"Travis Faulkner wanted to scrape off the Cyan Project, when Dr. Clarke made an unplanned discovery," the powerless telepath begins. Mr. Faulkner was the former director of the ICJ. The president muses, straightening her blazer as she crosses her arms. He was General H.

"The Cyan Project started to deflect from its aim, seven years after it was initiated, when Dr. Clarke discovered the Eso genes in a Class F* individual," He flashes a grin when the President gives an indifferent reaction. "This was obvious, since we all are from the same race." He leans forward, "But what Faulkner wanted to stop, was the release of the project's results, also known as the Panama papers."

"That's what the Xenos gang is searching for now," a soft voice chimes into the president's earpiece. "Rune specifically asked him for its location," she says. Veronica taps her earpiece when her chief of staff concludes. She glances at the old telepath, his grey eyes beginning to droop in exhaustion. "We have about fifteen minutes before he collapses," Dr. Fix apprises.

"The Panama papers are the results of the deflected, but successful, Cyan project: they contain instructions of creating the entity, which can activate anybody's and everybody's powers."

Veronica leans back, trying to wrap her head around this fact.

On the other end of the mirror behind the president, Laura gawks, "What?" She turns to agent who checks the monitors, placed on the long table, displaying the advanced polygraph's charts. "He's not lying," Dr. Fix says, glancing through the window at the old telepath, a wide black band wrapped around his head. "He's telling the truth."

"Wait," Laura flits her gaze to the agent. "How does he know so much about this project?" Dr. Fix shakes her head, "I'm wondering the same as you are." She crosses her arms, "He was part of the ICJ in his early years, but he retired in 1980."

The Chief places her hands on her hips, glancing at the documents on the table, "So he joined the Xenos gang for his grandson?" She reads the transcript of the telepaths' conversation. "Adam was diagnosed with the Moreson curse last year, and was presumed to have acquired it fourteen years ago," Dr. Fix explains. "The curse would activate whenever he used his powers. That used to cause his abrupt temporary aging."

Laura gives a curt nod, glancing at the dying grandfather, "The Xenos gang had him for a year. And yet, they don't know where the project is?" Dr. Fix sighs, "This reflects that the gang is not as organized as it's used to be. They've lost their way." She turns to the Chief, "This means that the head has changed."

The two blondes turn back when a panting Chief Moorhaven enters the emergency quarters, "We got access to the Hybrid room." They pause, catching their breath. "Did Jason wake up?" Laura asks as her colleague plops on the sole couch. They shake their head, "But he's almost at the end."

They glance at the agent, "What do you know about Maximillian Feignhorn and Elizabeth Banks?" Dr. Fix crosses her arms, "You know about Elizabeth. She's the owner-"

"She saved Jason," Sanders blurts out, shifting their gaze to their colleague. "On October 20th, 2003." Four days after the Hathaway bridge collapsed. Laura realizes. She turns to see the googled-eyed agent who turns to the window. "Who's name did you say first?" Dr. Fix asks, retrieving a black laptop from her backpack.

"The ICJ decided to scrap off the project, as the results, if reaches the Xenos gang, would be world-ending." A shaky Fred says, adjusting in his seat. "And managed to wipe the memories of the people who were working on the project, including the telepaths who took part in the erasing process, save one." He grins, "Faulkner required my skills for one more task."

The president forces a deep inhalation. He imprinted the message in her mind. She muses, recollecting the fifty words her mother would be reiterating in her sleep currently.

"Faulkner wanted to keep a sole trace of the papers, since it would end up bringing him back one day." The old telepath says, "So, he decided to store the papers in a place that even I am not aware of." He pauses, "The place that only the key can unlock."

"Wait," Veronica says. "You mentioned bringing him back." She stares at him, "You mean, from his grave?" The telepath nods, "General H had a tool, which he deemed to be useless, until the Panama papers came into existence." He turns to the side, coughing into his elbow.

The President knocks into the glass barrier between them, when the telepath sags down, "Professor Thornwood?" The telepath lifts his head, inhaling deeply. "Yes, we were talking about the key." He coughs again into his gloves.

"How many minutes do I have left?" Veronica mutters, tapping her earpiece. "Six minutes," Dr. Fix apprises, "But I think we should stop here, since he's showing signs of rapid deterioration." The President hesitates, glancing at the now wheezing telepath. I still don't know what the guardian and the key is. She leans back when she sees the telepath coughing out blood. "Let's stop here," she says, getting up from her seat.

"Yes ma'am," Dr. Fix answers as the president heads towards the door, agents on the other side of the bifurcated room rushing in to the dying telepath. "Did we find the acquaintance?" Veronica says, glancing at the dimly lit corridor as she walks out of the underground interrogation room.

"No, ma'am," Chief Chambers' voice chimes in through her earpiece. Laura exits the room, rushing to the president, "Ma'am, you need to see this."

"So, the tool that Fred talked about," a gawk-eyed Veronica says, turning to the agent. "Is a necromancer?" Dr. Fix nods, "But that's not the important part." She points to her laptop screen that displays the profile of a blonde boy. "Max here, was the only one who knew where his dad stashed the Cyan project."

"He's the key," Veronica says, casting a restricted smile. "But he died fourteen years ago, which means that-"

"The information was transferred elsewhere," Dr. Fix cuts in, leaning back in her chair. She turns to Chief Moorhaven, "We think that General H, before his death in September, made a decision to safeguard the information in someone else."

Sanders nods, "It's because the Guardian rescued Jason when nobody else could find him." The President turns to them. "The Guardian is Elizabeth Banks," Dr. Fix apprises. Veronica arches her brows, darts her gaze to the document, "The one the Xenos gang is after."

The agent nods, "But they think she's the key." She places her hands forward, "They don't know about Jason."

Ping!

Laura straightens in her seat, when she reads the notification, "They've found where Rune's headed." She glances at the President, "She's headed to Hill County." Veronica knits her brows, "That's where-" She pauses, widening her eyes. "She is the only living person, who funded the Cyan project?"

Sanders creases their forehead, "Who, ma'am?" Dr. Fix bites her lip, turning to her laptop. "Kimberly Park," Veronica answers, turning to her Chief of Staff. "Rune's headed for her."

Laura gapes, "Hill County. That's where Chairperson Park resides." She retrieves her phone, "I'll notify Chambers of-"

"Stop," Dr. Fix cuts in. She turns to the president, "When did you find this out?" She crosses her arms, "Because this info was not present in any of our databases."

"It was when I joined politics," Veronica says, trying to recollect. "That must be about twelve to thirteen years ago," Sanders intercedes. Laura widens her eyes, "That's impossible."

Buzz!

Everyone darts their gaze to the president who retrieves her phone. "It must be Tom," Veronica says, eyes widening when she reads the caller ID. Dr. Fix grabs a small, black device from her pocket, placing it under the president's phone, "This is a tapping device." She says, getting up from her seat.

The Chief of Staff staggers in her seat when she sees the caller. "Pick it up," the agent says, bringing her laptop to the round table. "Before she finds out we know something about her."

Veronica nods, her hand shaking as she picks up the call, flashes of the lethal hamper zap across her mind. I should have known.

"Hello, Ronnie," the honeyed voice answers. "I'm afraid we'll have to prepone our scheduled meeting."

* Class F - Those without the presence of the Eso genes; about 99.9% of the global population (1997).