Date: 06/14/2525

Planet: Sargasso

Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate

(Within Amaranth’s dream….)

A six-year-old Amaranth sat in her chair. She was in a large auditorium surrounded by other kids her age; some were in pajamas while others were in regular clothes. A few of them were crying while others clutched their sides with their heads down. Some just looked around with uncertainty. But they all asked the same questions.

‘Where are we?’

‘What’s happening’

‘I want my mommy! Where’s my mommy?’

‘I’m scared. I want to go home!’

‘I want my daddy!’

Amaranth looked down. She pulled her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around her legs, then sobbed. Where did those men take her? Why did they take her? Why did they take her from mommy and daddy? She wanted mommy and daddy! Amaranth sobbed ignoring the other’s cries until a familiar voice spoke, causing the room to go silent.

“As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, code-named Spartan-2.”

Amaranth lifted her head, tears still flowing, and saw two women standing on the podium. One was an AI hologram, but Amaranth only focused on the real woman by her. She had pale white skin, black hair, and blue eyes covered by eyeglasses. There was something familiar about her. Something about her brought out strong emotions from within her, a wave of seething anger and hatred. Amaranth’s hands clenched tightly into fists threatening to draw blood. Amaranth kept focusing on the woman, ignoring her speech as it faded into the background.

Her face, those cold eyes covered by glasses, and her voice. She knew who this woman was, it was in the back of her mind. Then it hit her. This was another memory from Daisy. She had seen this woman in her dreams before. She also saw her somewhere else. The face when combined with blond hair instead of black…. Amaranth got up from her seat as the other children and the environment disintegrated into nothingness. Leaving only her and the woman that was on stage. Amaranth walked towards the woman growing from six-year-old to a 14 year old within seconds. She continued towards Dr. Holl - no that wasn’t her name. Amaranth stood in front of the monster examining her further. She knew her real name now. Her name was-

At that moment Amaranth's eyes opened and she instantly sat up, mouthing the word, “Halsey.” She flinched, grabbing her side as the feeling of soreness hit every part of her body at once. She let out a cough; her lungs felt as if someone took them out, punched them, stuffed them with small rocks and placed them back in. Her body felt heavier and her limbs felt like jelly mixed with needles.

‘Take it easy, I’m still healing you. I was able to heal most of the damage, but I still have a bit more to fix.’

‘Nightstalker? What happened?’ Amaranth looked down and saw she was on the living room’s couch. She sat up rubbing her head in a vain attempt to relieve her headache. Suddenly she froze, petrified at what she remembered. The memories were hazy but clear enough that she knew the carnage she caused. She remembered the blood that splattered coating her body and the way she mauled those thugs like a savage animal. She remembered vividly the rage, the hunger, and the sliver of morbid satisfaction buried under all of it. To top it all off she remembered what she did with their heads. She ate them. The full implication of what she did struck her. She could accept killing in self-defense, but eating another human…. ‘Dear God, I ate their heads. I’m a killer and a canni-’

Amaranth's thoughts were interrupted as she felt two strong arms hugging her. "Daisy, we’re so worried!" Amy said hugging tight and causing her soreness to intensify. The clone hissed in pain causing Amy to let go. "Oh, Sweetie, I’m sorry! Are you alright!? Did I hurt you too badly?" She panicked frantically checking over Amaranth.

The clone shook her head. "I’m alright,” she then rubbed her head, feeling nauseous. “What happened?”

“You fell unconscious after…..,” Jon’s hands shook and tears ran down his face. “We were so worried…..,” he choked.

Amaranth looked down, avoiding their eyes. She remembered what she did and they had seen it all. They saw her mutilate those men and worse of all, they saw her eat their heads like a starving animal.

‘Amaranth, listen, you didn’t eat the brains. I ate and ingested them. The brains didn’t go to your real mouth or to your stomach. You’re not a cannibal and you did what you had to, to protect your family.’ comforted Nightstalker. Its words were useless.

It didn’t matter if it was her or Nigthstalker. She felt everything: the crunch of bone and metal, the iron taste of blood, the jelly-like texture that coated her mouth. She instinctively enjoyed it in the way food satisfied hunger. Her stomach suddenly felt tight and heavy, her head felt dizzy, and her throat found it hard to swallow. Amaranth’s gag reflex kicked in as her body tried to empty her stomach, but nothing came out. Her head felt dizzy, and her throat tightened forcing her to retch harder. Someone handed her a small trash can and rubbed her back. She spent the next couple of minutes dry heaving. After calming down Amaranth stared at the empty trashcan. “I’m a cannibal,” she whispered before remembering another detail. The monster that was under their roof.

Amaranth whipped her head towards Jon and Amy. “We can’t stay here! We need to leave!” Amaranth sat up straighter and hissed, but ignored the pain. She attempted to get off the couch. She only got far as putting her legs over the side of her bed when Jon put his hands on Amaranth’s shoulders trying to stop her.

“Daisy, stop you’re still hurt. You need to rest!” said Jon.

‘Listen to them. Slow down; don’t push yourself.’

“No, you don’t understand. Dr. Holly- She can’t be trusted!”

“Daisy, what are you talking about?! What do you mean Holly can’t be trusted?” asked Jon.

Amaranth got out of Jon’s grip and attempted to stand. An arc of pain went from her legs to her entire body. Her legs buckled and she fell onto her knees, hands clutching her sides. “Damn it….” she hissed, wincing in pain.

“Daisy!” Jon and Amy went to her sides and lifted her up to her feet before placing her onto the couch.

“You need to calm down. It’s over, you’re not in danger. They’re…. They’re gone.,” explained Jon.

“Please, you’re hurt and need to rest,” pleaded Amy.Amaranth clenched her fist and avoided eye contact.

“Mom, Da-” Amaranth hesitated; tightening her fists trying to keep them from shaking.

“Amy. Jon." The clone focused on her partially healed hands.

“Daisy, what’s wrong?” Amaranth felt gentle hands grabbing her shoulders. “Daisy, look at me,” the clone slowly lifted her head, staring into Amy’s puffy eyes.

“Please, tell us what’s wrong. You’ve never called me by my name before. “Please, Daisy, We’re worried about you.”

“Amy, Jon, please listen, there's something…. Something I must tell you … I-” stuttered Amaranth.

“Daisy, we know about Nightstalker and if this is about what happened earlier…. you’re still our daughter. Or if this about your other secret then you can tell us,'' encouraged Jon.

Amaranth hesitated. They knew one of her secrets and after everything that happened, she owed them the truth. Amaranth knew she was going to have to tell them eventually. She was naively hoping it would be at a much later date, but fate had other plans.

‘Amaranth, you sure want to do this? I told them everything about us and they are still processing the information. You can hold off telling them about your true nature. We can-’

‘Wait, you told them everything including your diet!? she asked.

‘Yes, keeping your body from completely tearing itself apart took more out of me than anticipated. I needed more hormones to heal you and they were the only ones that could get it for me. But back on subject; are you absolutely sure you want to do this? It’s probably better to hold off.’

‘No, too much has happened and after what I learned…. They need to…. No, they deserve to know. Even if they hate me for replacing Daisy. I have to tell them.’

Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s worry. ‘It's about the dream you just had, isn’t it? What happened?’

‘It's better if I show you. You… you have my permission to look through my recent memories.’

Nightstalker was quiet for a moment. ‘I see, alright give me a moment.’

Within that moment Amaranth felt a pressure in her head, like someone was tickling her brain, as Nightstalker dug through her memories. When it stopped, Nightstalker spoke.

‘Oh, I…. I understand now. Then if you really want to go through this I will support you any way I can. We’ll face this together, but keep in mind once you do this there’s no turning back and it could possibly put them in more danger.’

‘They’re in danger in the first place because of me. I have to do this, I owe them the truth.’ Amaranth remained quiet for a moment. ‘And thank you, Nightstalker, for the support.’

‘It's what friends do.’

“Amy, Jon, please listen…. I’m not-” The clone choked, tears started to form. She looked away and at that moment saw Dr. Hol- No, Halsey - the cause of everything, standing behind them beside Jacob typing on her datapad.

“You!” she snarled. Summoning as much energy as she could Amaranth got out from the couch. Nightstalker instinctively oozed out of her skin and coated the clone’s arms and legs to protect Amaranth's healing limbs. Amy and Jon jumped back in surprise as the clone dashed towards Halsey. Jacob raised his gun aiming it at Amaranth, but before he could shoot Amaranth sent a tendril out, crushing his gun and knocking him down. Within moments Amaranth stood over her, and attempted to grab Halsey's throat.

Sensing her intentions Nightstalker seized control. ‘Amaranth, stop!’ Nightstalker screamed, stopping Amaranth's claw when it was mere inches away from Halsey’s throat.

Halsey tried to back away, but Amaranth, fighting for control, grabbed Halsey’s shoulder with a shaky hand and pulled her back causing Halsey to drop her datapad.

‘She’s the one responsible for kidnapping Daisy and creating me. and doing the same to many others. She needs to pay! She deserves to die!’ Amaranth growled as she fought to override Nightstalker’s control. Her anger and will were so great that Nightstalker’s resistance only slowed her down as she grabbed Halsey’s throat.

Amaranth’s claws dug into Halsey’s neck intending it to be a killing blow, but due to Nightstalker wrestling for control it lacked the power to even cause bleeding resulting in what amounted to a firm grip. But it was enough that, if allowed, all it would take was a twitch of her hand and it would be done. Amaranth slowly lifted Halsey in the air. Catherine’s eyes widened and twitched erratically eventually rolling back as she tried to gasp for air.

“YOU LIAR! YOU MONSTER!” She lifted Halsey up off the ground. “YOU’RE THE CAUSE OF SO MUCH PAIN! YOU MADE US SUFFER! ALL FOR YOUR DAMN SPARTAN PROGRAM!”

‘Amaranth, I understand she hurt you and your family but listen, this isn’t you!’ reasoned Nightstlaker.

‘Why?! I’m already a killer and cannibal, what's another body to the pile!’ retorted Amaranth.

‘But you’re not a cannibal nor a murderer. Killing her in your state won’t do anyone any good, especially in our current situation. Let her go. Please, do it for yourself. Do it for your parents. Don’t let them see you do this.’

Amaranth glared at the one who hurt Daisy’s parents so much. Halsey struggled to breathe, trying to dig her fingers in the space between Amaranth’s claws and her neck in hopes of getting some relief. Suddenly Amaranth felt someone grab her arm. She turned her head and saw Jon was the one who grabbed her.

“Put her down, Daisy, please.” He pleaded sternly looking at her with a steeliness she never saw in his eyes before.

Amaranth looked behind Jon and saw Amy staring at her with wide eyes. Filled with shame she let go of Halsey. Halsey was on the ground gasping for breath. It took a few moments to lift herself back up, coughing and rubbing her neck. Amaranth had lost control of herself and nearly killed Halsey in cold blood, and worse, in front of Jon and Amy. She was one action away from becoming a murder. There was no doubt about it, after what she nearly did they were going to hate her once they learned the truth. Nightstalker oozed back into her skin.

“I’m sorry,” she looked down, tears falling onto the floor as she went onto her knees. “I’m… so…. sorry. It’s all my fault” she sobbed. Amaranth felt two pairs of arms wrap around her.

“It’s alright, Daisy. It’s alright.” comforted Amy.

Their embrace provided little comfort for it was time to tell them the truth. She steeled herself as much as she could and pushed the pit in her stomach down. “No, it's not alright! Amy, Jon, after what happened and putting the closest thing I have to a family in danger. You deserve to know the truth.” She took a deep breath then let it out. “I’m not Daisy!” she cried.

Amy and Jon let her go knitting their eyebrows together in confusion. “What? What are you talking about?” asked Jon.

Amaranth lifted up her head, staring Amy and Jon in the eye. “ I’m not Daisy, I’m a-” before she could finish, Halsey spoke up.

Halsey cleared her throat as she continued to rub her neck. “Your daughter-” she cleared her throat again letting a small cough. “-is clearly suffering a delusion resulting from extreme stress due to earlier events-” Halsey let out a few coughs before speaking again. “ Nightstalker did say it didn’t finish healing her, so I suggest-”

Amaranth clenched her fist turning her attention towards Halsey. “Shut up! Just shut up!” Amaranth got up from her knees trying to ignore the pain. Nightstalker coated her legs helping her stand and increasing her height.

“Daisy, stop you’re still hurt. Damn it, Nightstalker, stop her!” pleaded Jon.

“Sweetie, please stop. You’re not thinking straight!” cried Amy.

‘Listen to them, getting worked up like this won’t do much good.’

‘I know, I’ll restrain myself. I won’t hurt her again.’ dismissed Amaranth.

‘It’s not her I’m worried about.’ whispered Nightstalker.

Amaranth kept looking at the monster that caused all of their sufferings. She shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. A month ago I discovered that I am not Daisy. I’m….. I’m a clone.” she choked out. “A cheap copy meant to cover up the real Daisy’s disappearance.”

“Clone? What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense!” exclaimed Jon.

“I understand that you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth” Amaranth let out a mirthless chuckle. “I barely believe myself.” Her eyes harden as she looks towards Halsey. “And she has been lying to us.” Amaranth took a step forward standing over her once again, and to her credit, Halsey didn’t flinch. Jacob regained his composure and lifted himself off the ground, going for the pistol on his hip only to stop when Halsey made a gesture.

Halsey stared back at Amaranth with cold eyes, but Amaranth saw her hands shake. “Daisy, you need to calm down and think. You don’t want to do this. You clearly revealed more than enough to prove you’re suffering a delusion,” warned Halsey.

“No, no more lies! They have been through enough! After all the lies and pain they deserve to know the truth!” Amaranth bent down staring Halsey in the eye. “I know who you are. Who you really are, Dr. Halsey,” she growled.

For a second a look of shock crossed Halsey’s face before being replaced with one of cold neutrality. She looked at Amaranth then at Amy and John, as if thinking, before letting out a sigh.“There’s no denying it then.”

“Doctor, are you sure?” asked Jacob.

“Yes, they are in too deep and maintaining our cover is counter-productive-” Halsey looked over Amaranth. “All things considered.”

Jon’s face hardened. “Cover?” Then realization dawned on his face. “You’re not from a university, are you?” he asked.

Halsey closed her eyes, letting out a tired sigh before opening them again. “You’re right, my assistant and I aren’t from a university. We work for the Office of Naval Intelligence My name is Dr. Catherine Halsey and this is my escort Agent Conner.”

Jon's face turned white. “You’re a spook.”

Halsey adjusted her glasses. “Though I prefer a different term you are correct. We were sent to investigate the creature known as Nightstalker, and during our investigations, we noticed that Nightstalker’s appearance and your daughter’s miraculous recovery coincided with one another. Due to-” she took a quick glance at Amaranth. “-Unforeseen circumstances you three know too much. By the authority granted to me by ONI protocol 3322-5525-12, I’m placing you under military custody, for security purposes and your protection.”

Amy stepped forward. “You can’t do that. We have rights!” she shouted then looked at Jon. “Jon, she can’t do this!”

Jon’s face turned grim. “I’m afraid she can. If it concerns the security of the state she has the authority. During my days in the corps, I had a friend in my unit who saw something he shouldn’t and was taken into custody by ONI. He was returned, but he never talked about what he saw or anything pertaining to it again. We can’t run or hide from ONI, they would find us if we tried.”

“I have no choice,” she explained evenly. “ Listen, believe it or not, I’m your ally and it is in your best interest to cooperate.”

“Like hell we will!” retorted Amaranth stepping forward. She wasn’t going to let that monster hold Daisy’s parents hostage. She was going to get them out of here even if she had to rip and tear her way through anyone standing in her way. Despite not being at 100% she and Nightstalker could easily-

‘No, it's best we do as she says for now.’

‘What, why?! We can force our way through and-’

‘And what? Once we escape what can we do? The people who kept me prisoner know you are my host and so do the ones who kidnapped your donor. Like Jon said; if we hide they will find us. The most we can do is listen to Halsey. She claims she wants to help us, let's see if that is true.’

‘We can’t trust her. She is responsible for hurting Daisy’s family, Joseph’s family, and who knows how many more..’ argued Amaranth.

‘I know, but we have no choice. We just have to stay alert to any sign of treachery,’ reasoned Nightstalker. Amaranth gritted her teeth and tightened her fist, then relented. ‘

Alright, I see your point, but I’m going to keep a close eye on her,’

‘Amaranth, I understand your feelings, but this is our best option. Let’s see what she has to say. We could use this to our advantage and gather information from her. ’

“Fine,” gritted out Amaranth before stepping back.

Jon glared at Halsey. “Can you at least give us some answers? How does our daughter know your name? What is this nonsense she speaks about being a clone?” questioned Jon.

“And what’s going to happen to our daughter and Nightstalker? It’s the only thing keeping her alive,” asked Amy.

“I will answer any questions that I can at a later time, but for now we need to focus on getting you and your family off-planet, to safety,” she explained.

“Alright, Dr. Halsey, we’ll do as you say,” relented Jon.

Halsey nodded approvingly. “A wise decision. I know this doesn’t mean much, but I truly want to help you and your family.” Halsey then turned towards her escort. “Conner, go to the garage and get Spencer’s SUV. We will meet you out front.”

“Are you sure you want me to leave you alone with them? I should confiscate his gun,” suggested Conner. Halsey waved him off.

“No need, they understand being uncooperative isn’t in their interest. Now go and hurry.” she commanded.

“Right away, ma’am,” he said reluctantly heading out the room.

Now it was just the four - or rather five counting Nightstalker - of them in the room. For a few moments, there was a tense silence as the group let what Dr. Halsey said sink in. Amaranth turned towards Amy and Jon. Jon hugged his crying wife doing his best to comfort her, wiping away her tears as she sobbed in his shoulders. The pit in Amaranth’s stomach came back with a vengeance. It was all her fault. If she just stayed in her wheelchair and continued pretending to be sick, none of this would have happened.

It wasn’t long before a honk was heard signaling the arrival of the SUV. The group went outside, but before entering into the SUV Amaranth stood still, taking in the carnage that lay before her. The mangled corpses, the guts and entrails strewn across the pavement and grass, and the headless corpses. She caused all this. Before she could think about it further she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked towards its owner and saw it was Jon

“Come on, Daisy. Let’s go,” he urged her.

Halsey sat in the front passenger seat while the Spencers sat in the back. Jon hid his SMG under his seat before the group drove off, heading towards the spaceport.

Unknown to them Widow’s symbiote, sensing no threats, weakly sprung to life. She had kept her host’s brain alive and in optimal condition, barely. The one named Jon didn’t make it any easier when he decided to double-tap. Fortunately, for Widow and her host, he aimed for the chest. And she knew how to make her host play dead. Though in truth it would take more than one magazine for a weapon of that caliber to kill her. Widow focused on the task in hand; she had to act quickly before brain damage set in. She filled her host’s destroyed chest, eating the leftover pieces of Juri’s heart, lungs, and other destroyed organs. Once she finished feasting, she morphed into a grotesque hybrid of a heart and lungs filling most of the chest cavity and connecting to the necessary blood vessels. The ‘organ’ started to beat providing Juri’s body with the necessary blood and oxygen. At the same time Widow did her best to heal her host, despite her severely weakened state. After a couple of minutes of healing and pumping, Juri opened her eyes taking a deep and painful breath.

Date: 06/14/2525 (Book mark. Will delete when return to continue.)

Planet: Sargasso

Location: the City of Fairfield, highway 95

The ride was quiet. Conner focused on driving as fast as he could to the spaceport without drawing attention from patrolmen. Jon comforted Amy while Amaranth stared at Catherine like a hawk. Catherine focused on her datapad, making preparations for departure from the spaceport. Using an encrypted signal Catherine sent a message to Alice, her ship’s smart AI, containing ONI emergency Code ‘9111-5555-9955’ which was only used when a plan had been severely derailed. This granted Alice authority to make the necessary arrangements for a quick and discreet departure including: allowing them to skip all security checks, erasing all records of their arrival and departure from the spaceports flight system, and other necessary preparations. She also sent instructions to tune the ship’s intercom system to emit a high-frequency sound on command for good measure.

After sending the message, Catherine’s mind focused on something that bothered her to no end. The clone knew her real name, and worse, she knew something about the Spartan program. It didn’t make any sense! Not only was that information classified, but Catherine heard the entire conversation between Daisy and the clone when they first met. Their conversation was devoid of classified information! Catherine bit her lip mulling the thought over.

‘How did she know?’ she mused to herself, until she remembered something the clone had said when the two met.

"I-...it’s always the same dream! I dream I'm strong. Stronger than anyone...Like you. Just like you are."

In fact, once Catherine thought about it more deeply…. The entire interaction between the clone and Daisy was strange. When the clone met an almost exact copy of her with a gun she didn’t call for help, scream, ask questions, or anything that a normal person would do. Instead, she talked to her like there was a familiarity between them, even giving her the bear necklace that Daisy had before her ‘recruitment’. That day Catherine dismissed the clone’s irrationality as a sign of her degrading health, but now she wasn’t so sure. She wondered if this was connected to Daisy’s unusual behavior as of late.

“Dreams…,” Catherine muttered to herself.“That day she mentioned having dreams of being strong like Daisy. On top of that, she was having a nightmare before waking up and revealing classified information.” There was a hypothesis among certain circles of the scientific community - though its credibility still remained questionable - that identical twins shared a telepathic bond. The hypothesis suggested memory sharing was possible. In the past Catherine dismissed the notion due to lack of scientific evidence and the sheer ludicrousness of it. But considering recent events, and the clone technically being Daisy’s genetic twin...

Catherine unconsciously rubbed her neck and felt the indentions left behind from the clone’s outburst. Catherine unconsciously gulped; all it would have taken was a slight switch and her neck would have been torn asunder. Then there were her eyes. They were so full of hate and anger. Catherine looked behind her, checking on her guests. Jon comforted Amy while the clone stared at Catherine, her expression one of suspicion and loathing. Her posture was hunched slightly, as if ready to act within a moment notice, and her hands were balled into fists. Catherine turned back around and placed a hand under her chin. There was another issue she had to solve; they all knew too much. Catherine needed to figure out a way to keep Jon and Amy from ‘disappearing’ when she reported her findings. The clone would be safe for now, thanks to the symbiote inside of her; but she would likely be locked up in a research facility, studied, and eventually dissected by uncaring scientists.

An idea came to Catherine. It was risky and required pulling a lot of strings. The plan would expose them to top-secret information, but they knew more than enough to warrant a ‘disappearance’ already.,It appeared the clone knew half of it anyway. She would tell Jon and Amy eventually. Catherine made her decision; she was going to take them to Reach. If the plan failed, at least they would know the truth and see their real daughter. And Daisy would see her parents one last time. Catherine looked at her datapad and got to work.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach Fairfield Spaceport. Jacob took a turn off the main road heading towards the section reserved for those with private space crafts. Security was fully automated with the exception of a couple of guards manning the gate; and thanks to its exclusive nature, the terminal was sparsely populated during this time of year. Conner pulled up next to the guardhouse in front of the gate.

The gate opened and a guard signaled for the group to move on. Conner drove in, following the signs to the spaceport’s terminal station. Catherine let out a sigh; Alice did her part. The only thing left was going into orbit and heading towards Reach. Then the real challenge would begin.

Date: 06/14/2525

Planet: Sargasso

Location: Life Foundation Research facility a few miles from Fairfields

Ronald Reece took a shot of bourbon from behind his desk and wiped his sweaty forehead with his coat sleeve. Everything was going so well, but then it just fell apart. The retrieval team was thoroughly decimated leaving only two survivors: a soaked and smelly Bludgeon, and a barely functioning Widow missing half of the organs in her torso. She was kept alive by her symbiote until they could flash clone some new organs for her and rebuild her chest cavity. The two reported that everything went downhill when the target went berserk and attacked like a savage animal. It didn’t make sense; no other symbiote, at least at this facility, had been shown to have that ability. Could it be a possible mutation they missed? Ronald placed his face in his face. The worst part was that when he sent his report to Mr. Drake, a message showed up in his inbox reading: ‘Await further instruction.’ Meaning either he was fired, or he was going to be transferred. If he was going to be transferred he just hoped it wasn’t to Project: Carnage. He heard enough horror stories that he’d rather get a reduction in pay and become a janitor than go there.

“Director, Mr. Drake is calling,” reported Sentry.

Ronald let out a tired sigh. Time to face the reaper. “Put him through,” he ordered.

The projector in the middle of the office flickered to life and the classy figure of Carlton Drake stood in the middle. He was unusually calm. “After some careful consideration and based on your past record, I’ve decided to-”

Ronald held his breath. ‘Here it comes,’ he thought.

“To keep you as director.” he finished.

“What? Mr. Drake-” he gasped.

Mr. Drake lifted his hand, stopping Roland. “Don’t thank me yet. There is a stipulation. I will be sending an evaluator soon to make sure recent events were just a string of bad luck and unfortunate events. She will assist and evaluate you. And a word of advice, if she makes a suggestion,” Mr. Drake paused. “Take it. And if she finds you inadequate, you’ll be transferred to a different project. Understand?” he explained.

Ronald gulped. “Yes, sir.”

Mr. Drake gave Ronald a shark-like smile. “Good, Carla Unger will arrive in a few days. That is all, director.” With that, the projector died before Ronald could get a word in.

Ronald let out a sigh. He had his work cut out for him. Carla was a well-known hardass. Ronald got up from his desk and went out of his office to make sure everything was up to standard before she arrived.