Of course, this was easier said than done. Breaking the push wasn’t easy, which was why we weren’t up to our ears in alphas–and why Mega-Push didn’t work on all betas. The military had some projects, but they were more along the lines of making more deltas and alphas to be soldiers, not saving the lives of illegal designations.
“I’m happy to help. Perhaps we can reach out to Dr. Stonefeld again?” Mrs. K suggested, making more notes.
“Yes. Let’s set up casual meetings, ones that look like they could easily be for less controversial topics. Also, we’ll need cover projects,” I commented.
We went over a few more things.
She smoothed the skirt of her outfit. “I’m so glad that you’re doing this. I think it’s time, and I’m so sorry Grace had to go through that. You know, for a moment, I thought that you were going to tell me you were, in fact, going to pursue your father’s research and had found something helpful in what I’d given you.”
“Actually…” I took a sip of my now cold coffee.
“Spencer.”
“I’m not taking their research on. However, between the coded papers of Dr. K’s, and my father’s notebooks, Grace could probably do so if she wanted. But she’s not. What I need is specific information that you might not have. Also, I’m about to tell you some very confidential things,” I warned.
“You’re scaring me, Spencer.” Her brows furrowed.
“You told me that while my father and Dr. K wanted to send some of our illegal designations to other worlds for safety, it didn’t go as planned. But some were sent, weren’t they? If records exist, I need them. And if you know anything anecdotally, I’d like that information as well.” I played with my coffee mug.
She frowned. “I need to know why. I’ll keep your secrets, I always have.”
Getting on my phone, I pulled up the dates that I’d gotten from Nate Thorne regarding Rosalind’s appearance in Europe. “Sometime along these dates, did my father and your wife send a young sigma woman and an infant to another world? I actually have the world number if that helps.”
Grace had written it down on her phone.
“I don’t know about those specific dates, but to my knowledge, the few people that they helped were families.” Her expression grew guarded.
“One of those children was returned to this world. That child is not a sigma, but their re-appearance is causing issues,” I said carefully. The Office of Designation Management was continuing to push Grace for information on Rosalind. At least the Bureau of Investigation had backed off.
“What?” She jumped in her chair. “If they’re returning people, lives could be at stake. And if they come for the ones here…”
“I don’t think that’s the case. This person was a witness in a weapons smuggling operation on their world of residence. Afterward, they were returned to their world of origin. That person didn’t know that they were from here, have since been found by their paternal biological family, and it’s an incredibly complex situation.” I rubbed my temples as my inbox filled up with inquiries as people realized that I’d returned to the office.
“Oh. Did you speak to those temporal detectives or whatever you call them? Did you find out anything about your father and Demitra?” Her look went hopeful.
“That person did and discovered that my father and Dr. K were imprisoned, not executed, for their crimes. Though Dr. K has passed. I’m so sorry.” I took her hand and squeezed it.
Her eyes teared. “Oh. But I figured long ago that she was gone. It was nice of this person to ask. How… how did they know?”
“It’s Grace. She was the baby.” I gave Mrs. K a very brief version of what happened.
“That poor dear. She ended up in a world with no designations at all? The people they were working with helped a couple of times mostly to appease them but wouldn’t send many of our illegal designations over. They also wouldn’t give my wife and your father the knowledge they needed to do it themselves. Really, we were just a receiving depot. Of course, they figured out a few things, but not enough. There were a couple of times they literally fired up the portal and pushed people through, hoping it was better than here. They just wanted to save lives.” A hand went to her heart.
“I know.” Exactly as I thought, and why the Temporal Authority might have objections.
Mrs. K frowned. “I’ll see what I can find. Butonlybecause it’s Grace.”
“All we’re trying to do is piece things together, mostly to stay one step ahead of the Office of Designation Management. Also, while we’re talking about this. I’m not asking if there’s a list of the omegas that were brought here. But, if you still keep in contact with any and know of one that’s a therapist, Grace desperately needs someone to talk to, and we’re at a loss as to what to do. People can’t know about this. Also, rest assured, Grace isn’t going to take up their research. She’s actually been forbidden from doing so. Though that’s not where her interests lie, anyway.” I replied to a meeting request.
“I’ll see what I can do. Just please, be careful?” Her look went stricken.
“Of course.”
“What about your father? Did Grace get any news about him? It was sweet of her to ask,” she told me.
I hesitated. “My father is still alive. The agent told her that he might be released for good behavior in his old age. I’m not holding my breath–and I’m sorry Dr. K didn’t make it.”
“For your sake, I hope he does come home. Even if you only get a couple of years with him, it’s better than nothing.” She shot me a sad smile. “Also, congratulations on your mating. Are you going to be having a party?”
