"The problem is, Miss Beckett." Kyle suddenly spoke up, as though he had been waiting for this moment for far too long. "That I have no problem at all with the plan, but when it comes to you, I am not so sure."

Cries of protest were immediately made, but I found myself feeling less than bothered by his attitude. He dressed like he was above everyone else, and also spoke like it. I would bet that he had never been outside of Pax and see what it was like in the citybases, or met any POE outside of the ones that are bound by SMS or UGE.

"Then what would you have us do?" I retorted, realising that no one had given me their last name and yet they all seemed to know who I was. I got to ask Tristan about this.

"The tricky part is we have to make the big reveal look authentic, as well as in a good light to push the public over your side." Kyle has begun to stand up and walk around the table leisurely, as though he was addressing a particularly thick group of people. "And I am not sure you are the one to pull it off."

By now Tristan was looking mortified, and everyone else was ready to jump in to reassure me. Stifling the urge to roll my eyes, I wondered if Kyle realised how much he looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I could see that his heart was in the right place, but his attitude needs some serious work.

"You met me for all but five minutes, and you already think you know what I am capable of?" I challenged, seeing his confident front faltered a little bit as my reaction wasn't what he expected. For someone who had dealt with the media for so long, he surely is one poor judge of character. Did he really think that he could raffle me with those useless words after all I had been through to come to where I was?

"Let us go through everything first before we jump into any conclusion." Eleanor intercepted quickly, forcing Kyle to sit down with one arm. The latter gave me a disappointed glance before settling in his seat again and Tristan shot me an apologetic look. I shrugged at him, there was no way anyone was worse than Gerald.

"Ignore what Kyle had said about you, but we do have to make sure that the exposure is done in a way that will not push the public into fearing POE." Eleanor said, "We need to strategize a little bit, and it has to be soon."

I nodded, my mind drifting the Academy and my friends in Ganesh family guard. "Does anyone know what is happening with the Academy?" I asked, despite the fact that I will have a full meeting with the UGE tomorrow anyway. Eleanor shared a quick look with the others and I knew that whatever they were going to say, I probably wouldn't like it.

"There are a lot of confusion and lock down about this," Eleanor began, "The fact of the matter is that no one really knows."

I blinked, disappointment flooding my heart. "How?" I asked, against my better judgment. Eleanor's lips pulled into a tight line as she carefully considered her words. I tried to get something out of her mind, but she had been taught how to guard her thoughts.

"There seems to be some kind of an impenetrable barrier around the entire Academy. No one was sure when it came up, or whether anyone from the disaster actually made it back. But it was ascertained that Mr. Andrewson was definitely in there."

I took a deep breath and told myself not to panic. Who expects the SMS to know anything anyway? Besides, they specialize in getting rid of POE's tower. It's stupid of me to get my hopes high. I just hoped that whatever happened there, we would be able to fix it.

"The reason why we had Tristan pulled this meeting so urgently is because a perfect opportunity is coming up." Eleanor quickly switched back to the topic and I gave myself a little shake to concentrate. "It's nearly the 260 year mark for the establishment of Citybases and a special documentary about the walls is underway. They will be filming in a spot outside of the city wall on Friday, and we need to stage an act."

Using my peripheral vision, I kept an eye on Kyle. He didn't strike me as a bad guy so the main reason why I did this was because his reaction when he didn't get what he wants is hilarious. He had his lips pressed into a thin line and his arms crossed in front of his chest, staring at a blank spot on the wall resolutely.

"What kind of act?" I asked, intrigued by whatever idea SMS would come up with. Sharing a mischievous glance with Tristan, Eleanor learned close towards me with a sparkle in her eye.

"You are going to love this!" She declared, before revealing her master plan to me.

---------

"So, tell me." Casey demanded as soon as I opened the door, somehow managing to get in my room without a key. I was too tired from the long day to react to her presence and merely grunted at the sight of her sprawling over my once tidy bed.

"I had a meeting with the SMS people." I told her the half-truth. "They wanted to have a meeting with me without Gerald."

Delighted by this, Casey's eye sparkled. "Now those are people with sense." She hooted, slamming a hand on her thigh. "What did they want?"

"Mostly to clarify who hijacked their plane." I grimaced. We did briefly touched on that topic at the end. Apparently Nigel literally took off and disappeared from sight and no one knew where he was or what he was doing with the jet. Crazy guy.

"I have almost forgotten about that." Casey said, I nodded. That did seeme like it happened a lifetime again, and it seemed weird to remember there was a time when I wasn't stuck in all these big picture troubles.

"I guess I will leave you to it then." Casey said, finally leaving my bed. "I won't be there at the meeting tomorrow; Gerald sent me a note forbidding me to go. Not that I care, you will tell me everything anyway."

Not exactly surprised by Gerald's decision, I nodded and suddenly felt a little guilty keeping the real agenda of my meeting from Casey. She had been nothing but a good friend to me, supporting me in a venture that wasn't her burden. But it wasn't my secret to tell.

"Well, good night then." Casey said from the door, but not before snagging one of the free chocolates from my bowl. "Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks." I sighed, not looking forward another day of meetings. I wished that Nirmal was here to help me with this; she was one of the only one who truly knew how much pressure I was under and could relate (since Gerald loves the pressure). But she was needed back home, and she would be more useful there pulling the strings and rallying forces anyway.

Tomorrow came way too fast and before I knew it, I was dressed in my smartest clothes, loaned by Katerina, who was freakishly about my size and stepping into the hallways of SMS alongside Gerald and Caleb. Viktor had come as far as the door with us before going away to their labs, apparently there had been some changes since they were away and he was busy smoothing some ruffled feathers.

"This way." Caleb muttered softly, indicating with his head that we were to go to the next sets of plastic green door. The entire building had a futuristic quality to it, consisting of glass and apple green or royal blue panels. We had headed into a more glass dominated section, which no doubt meant more important quarters.

The doors opened even before I had the chance to touch the handle and I was ushered into a modern room with a glass conference table, tall leather wheeled chairs and a massive projector. Inside there were already a few people dressed in suits and they all stopped what they were doing and look up at me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat and keeping my trepidation in check, I mustered the courage to walk confidently forward. "Hello," I began, extending my hand to the lady closest to me. "I am Abigail Beckett."

As though waking from a trance, she immediately pushed her chair back and gave me hand a firm shake. "I am Kimberly Hopkins." She answered, her voice soft. She didn't look too old, but her expression tells me that she's seen a lot in this world already. Everyone introduced themselves, but my mind was too occupied to retain anything at this stage.

"Please have a seat." Kimberly said politely and I settled down into one of the leather wheel chairs. Gerald, as usual ,had no expression whatsoever on his face so I had no idea how he thought of these people. And to be fair, I didn't really know what the purpose of this meeting was after my secret meeting yesterday.

"First of all, we would like to demand an explanation about the disappearance of our research group 290." One of the men spoke. Before I could even open my mouth to counteract his hostility, I saw that Caleb had begun to speak as well but Gerald beat us both to the punch.

"May I ask the purpose of this meeting?" He demanded, earning a few hostile and uneasy glances from the SMS staff. Kimberly, however remained rather calm and watched Gerald closely. "We were under the impression that we were here to discuss issues, not be interrogated."

"And I had explained the situation." Caleb jumped in, his voice calm and firm. At this point I was just happy to sit back and watch the scene unfold in front of me. "This meeting is supposed to bring us together to talk about peace."

I didn't have to be a mind reader to see that Caleb's intention was never theirs. And given what I heard yesterday I can't say I was surprised. This meeting is definitely turning out to be a huge waste of time. Not only that, we were trapped in the SMS's headquarters.

"Is this how SMS treats their guests?" I asked, looking at Kimberly, since she seemed the most rational one out of the people on their side.

"My colleague did not mean to be harsh." Kimberly said, her hands folding neatly on her lap. "I apologise if they have offended you."

"I am not that easily offended." I gave her a close lipped smile, the whole fiasco was getting old quite fast. "If there is nothing serious to be discussed, we will take our leave now."

For once Gerald seemed to be in agreement, shuffling his chair back immediately. One of the other SMS employees tried to speak, but Kimberly silenced her with a raised hand. Next to her, Caleb threw me an apologetic glance. I didn't blame him. Much. He was too naïve for this world.

"Please forgive us, we do have some serious matters that we wish to discuss with you." Kimberly said curtly, throwing a look to her coworkers which quietened them down finally. "We asked you to come here because we had a preposition."

The hairs on the back of my neck rose and I knew right then that whatever it was, it wasn't something that I was going to like. Caleb had now completely lost all clues and was trying to hold his expression together. That kid needs some lessons on hiding his emotions.

"We feel that in order to truly advance our technologies," Kimberly began, her voice deliberately slow drawing out every syllable. "We need to advance with the time as well."

I gave her a small nod, and out of the corner of my eyes, I could sense Gerald stiffening in his chair. I didn't like the direction this was going. And Gerald shared my unease.

"We need your kind's" Kimberly said, stumbling a little on the last word and I tried not to react to it. "'help if we are to make the next level technologies that would benefit the world."

Schooling my expression I told myself that I need to give her time to explain. But Gerald was ready to explode.

"What do you mean?" He demanded with a look of fury clear on his face. I wouldn't want to be in Kimberly's shoes right now.

"Before you jump into conclusions, would you like to hear me out?" She countered and for once in his life Gerald backed down. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but I didn't exactly have a bad feeling either.

"We are aware of the Original Peace Treaty." Kimberly gave an almost imperceptible eye rolls at Gerald. "So we are not looking to experiment on POEs in any ways. However, we would like your input and insight in developing technologies."

"We are not trained in science extensively." I stated, it was probably something that they are aware of as well. "How exactly would we help you?"

"We need a new perspective." Kimberly said, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward. Now we were cutting to the chase. "And we believe that we need to advance alongside time."

I could feel rather than see that it was more her perspective than her coworkers. And to be honest, despite her robot like façade, I like the way she thinks. It was about time that people start accepting POEs as part of the population and stop being scared of us.

"Here is a draft of our plan." Kimberly motioned and a surge of small robots suddenly glided along the table, dumping a folder in front of each of us. They were small, sleek little things shaped like little spiders with arms instead of splintery legs. It was kind of creepy, but I had to say I admiredthe a futuristic edge to their black metal bodies.

Flipping open the first page I saw a very well layout proposal that detailed how the collaboration would proceed and how it would be beneficial to both sides. It was some kind of an exchange like program, where they allow POEs to learn in SMS and give their opinions to the new techs. They would get to attend the relevant lectures they desired and if passed certain classes they would be able to get a certificate at the end. Even though it did sound like a great opportunity, it was more catered towards POEs who wish to move on into a scientific career which might not always be the case.

"You know, not all of us wants to distance ourselves from the POE world." Gerald immediately pointed out; he was feeling particularly snarky today. "This program is going to appeal to very small selection of individuals."

"Perhaps, but a certificate from SMS would give them a chance for a normal life if all things fail." Kimberly reasoned, not at all put off by Gerald's scepticism. "Not everyone wants to hide forever, and there's no better safety net than a qualification from the SMS."

There was a ring of truth in what she said, but I also knew that if the plan with the other SMS people worked out, then this wouldn't need to be an option at all. However, there is no guarantee in life, so it would be in the POEs' best interest if we agree to this anyway.

So after combing through the rules, we finally made an agreement with Kimberly. It wasn't easy, because one stray rule could potentially mean that we are feeding our POEs right into the lion's den. Caleb's face finally relaxed as Gerald and I both signed the document.

"I hope to see you again soon." Kimberly gave us a tight lipped smile, and we shook hands and shuffled out of the room. I look longingly outside the window; the sun was way past the highest point, which meant we spent too many hours stuck inside that office. I could hear voices inside the conference room, but it was none of my business anymore. Caleb hurried out of the room behind us and closed the door.

"I had no idea that they were going to do that." Caleb immediately said, looking a bit distorted. I waved him off, knowing that it wasn't his fault. Gerald, however gave him a little glare which Caleb didn't notice. I mean, Gerald had a resting bitch face on full time anyway.

"Let's just get out of here." I said, my eyes darting towards the nearest exit and making a dash for it. Before I walk two steps Caleb tugged him on my right arm.

"Gail, the exit is that way." He pointed to the opposite direction and I could hear the amusement in his voice. Even Gerald gave me half a smile. With a stomp of my feet I turned around and marched towards the door. I really needed to stop doing this.

-----------------

I almost forgot to put an a/n, because wattpad's new interface threw me off a little bit. But I guess some if not most of you don't read this anyway haha!

I don't think I have mentioned it, but I actually spent the last month volunteering as Juliet's Secretary. It had been a super surreal experience and I had learned a lot from it. I am seriously considering writing a story based off my experience, and I will definitely be writing a guide to Verona for my travel blog. If any of you are interested in this, message me.

Anyhow, I took some time and actually planned out the rest of Revolution. I still haven't decided on how it should end, but everything leading up to it is pretty clear and I would be sad to see Gail's story end.

On the side note - I am ecstatic to start Dark Ages. And I have a third POE Universe on the pipelines that I have started outlining. Let's just say that one might be even more insightful in both the future and the past. I think I have been watching Marvel too much.

Anyway. Comment and vote my lovelies.