Spectrum resisted the urge to roll his eyes, a rather uncouth habit that he'd picked up from his wife. Rather, he merely stared the both of them down for a few moments. It was clear that something was not as they told it, but in truth it didn't matter much. The problem was still of the same nature it had been before, and that was not going to change unless something else was done with it.
"Fine," he replied tonelessly. "Agent Citrine, you are confined to the building for forty-eight hours." A slap on the wrist, and everyone knew it. Still, it wasn't as though he had the resources to spare in order that he might lengthen the punishment. Add to that the fact that it was a first offense (and not terribly wanton or egregious as told) and it made a great deal of sense. "Agent Vermillion... you may leave, but not to find the rebels. And especially not to engage them. If I am understood, you are both dismissed."
After they filed out, Spectrum turned his computer screen back on, bringing up a map of the city with a dot on it that represented 001's current location. Looks like they've lost her... he considered calling her back, but in reality this would likely entail him having to find her personally, freeze her in time (fortunately, his area of effect was larger than her Dispell range), bind her, and transport her that way. He didn't much fancy wasting the effort that would take. She'd look for Azure until the end of days if she had to.
For now, however, it seemed even Colorless had failed him. "Niles," he spoke in an almost off-handed manner, "how many Magispawn do we currently have in the holding facility in the third sector?"
There was the tapping sound of the tall, lanky man consulting his technology, then a matter-of-fact response. "Approximately one hundred ready for immediate use, sir."
"Very well..." there was a pause as Spectrum consulted the map, running a few algorithms and probabilities in his head. "Send fifty of them to this area," he ordered, indicating a broad three-mile radius which included the current location of the rebels. "And make sure at least one of them is a tracker. Give it the Life Engine's scent. That should be easy enough to follow."
"Of course sir. They should be on the area in an hour."
***********
Citrine, once outside her father's office, shot Vermillion a glance. He appeared to be doing better than yesterday, anyway, though for once she could almost have said he was in pain or discomfort of some kind.
I'm going to take a look at that data now, if you're still interested. With that, she set off down an adjacent hallway and to a room that while generally unused, was actually very important. Spectrum, she knew, had access to every computer in the building at all times. What he did not know was that there was one exception to this rule.
What had once been her Uncle Saffron's office now belonged to her, and she placed the pad of her thumb to the fingerprint scanner and stepped aside as the door swung open. The lights flicked on inside, revealing a space that though much smaller than Spectrum's, was still quite spacious for its purpose. It had the feel of not being very often-used, and a fine layer of dust covered most of the objects within, save a computer console unit on the wall and a few of the books on the shelf that surrounded the solitary window. It would appear that the cleaning staff wasn't permitted in here.
Two wingbacked leather chairs sat facing the redwood desk, all thee pieces obviously antique. Saffron had enjoyed such things, she remembered. But remembering her uncle was not her reason for being here, and indeed she swiftly crossed to the desk, finding the disk input and removing Azure's information from her pocket.
A window popped up on the screen upon the wall. Population Control Project- Version 1.4 stared back at them in glowing letters. Citrine frowned, and prompted the slide to change, only to repeat the motion slowly for several minutes, the expression of disbelief (and horror) growing on her face as every one of them flashed by. At the end, she stared at the screen unblinkingly for a few moments before collapsing into the desk chair.
What... what is this?