Dr. Minett was drinking her usual daily glass of red wine in her bed while looking at some pictures of her family in her cell phone. Her daughter, Claire, was seven years old and looked exactly like Susan in every detail, almost as if the girl did not have a biological father at all.

Even though she was not comfortable with the idea of being apart from her husband for the two-year term of her contract for Project HETO, what really hurt Susan was not being close to the only person that she actually loved: her daughter.

Six more months would have to elapse before Sue could leave Adak, return to San Francisco and be with Claire. Minett did not regret the professional choice that she made, but the pain of being away from her daughter was becoming increasingly hard for her to bear.

It was time for her daily call home. Claire answered the phone:

“I can't talk now, mom. We're going out to celebrate.”

“Really? What are you celebrating, sweetie?”

“Aunt Jessie is moving in.”

Susan felt like she was stabbed in the stomach and thrown into a hole. She could not feel her legs, and her mind went simply blank.

“Mom, are you there? I have to go.”

“Okay, sweetie. Have fun.”

Susan did expect to be cheated on by her husband, but it never crossed her mind that she would actually be replaced. It did upset her that her husband did not have the decency to tell her anything at all, but what really hurt Sue was the thought that her own daughter was replacing her as well.

Sue did not know when was the last time that she cried, neither did she know if she ever cried so copiously at any other point of her life. She felt so devastated that it took her an hour to eventually manage to get out of her bed.

Minett did have access to the gym of the restricted area, but she did not want to run the risk of being seen by anyone that might talk to her. Hence, she decided to take the elevator and go to the gym that was intended for use by her patients.

Captain Armstrong was sitting on the floor of the basketball court that lies across the hallway from the gym, with the lights out, trying to find a way to fulfill his end of the deal with Dr. Volkov, when he saw Dr. Minett enter the gym.

Armstrong did not expect Minett to go to the unrestricted area at that time of the night, unless she had to check on Captain McCoy for a medical reason, but there she was. Her misfortune had served him well.

Since neither the gym nor the court had any door, there was not any obstacle for Captain Armstrong to hear Dr. Minett's thoughts as she started running on a treadmill, listening to depressing alternative rock songs on her earplugs.

When Minett thought about finishing her exercise, Armstrong flew into the gym and floated unnoticed above her, waiting for her to stop running. Covered in sweat, Susan hopped off the treadmill and reached for the metal outlet cover that was placed on the ground, to the left side of the equipment, in order to pull the machine's plug.

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As Dr. Minett's right hand grabbed the plug and touched the outlet cover, Captain Armstrong started shooting unceasing electric currents from both hands at the piece of metal.

The current flowed from the outlet cover to Susan's hand and through her body. As her muscles contracted strongly, she could not inhale or exhale air. Cardiac arrest followed shortly thereafter.

Captain Armstrong ceased shooting the currents, descended to the ground and checked Dr. Minett's pulse over her carotid artery. Upon confirming that his mission had been accomplished, he walked out of the gym and went to his usual bed at a dormitory in the second floor.

Around five minutes after Captain Armstrong had left the section, one of the guards that were standing at the hallway entered the gym and found Dr. Minett lying on the floor. He followed the established procedure and called the paramedics.

***

Captain McCoy had been awake for over an hour when he saw Dr. Volkov enter the intensive care unit. As far as McCoy knew, that was the first time that Volkov had come to see him.

“You don't need these anymore”, Dr. Volkov said as he started removing the electrodes from Captain McCoy's head.

“What's going on? Where's Dr. Minett?” -– Captain McCoy could sense that something was wrong.

“Dr. Minett was going to discharge you from the ICU today. We think the device won't cause you any side effect.”

“And why isn't SHE discharging me now?” – Captain McCoy questioned, now sitting on the gurney.

“I know you and Dr. Minett had a very close relationship, so I'm afraid I have bad news for you.”

Captain McCoy felt a chill in the spine. The first thought that crossed his mind was that Dr. Volkov had fired Susan upon finding out that they were having an affair.

“What happened?”

“Dr. Minett suffered an accident at the gym last night. She was electrocuted while trying to unplug a treadmill.”

“How long until she's back?”

“Susan is dead, Captain McCoy. I'm sorry.”

Ben's legs and head went numb, his arms started shaking and he felt like his body was being dragged into the ground. For a few seconds, he was blind and his heart felt as heavy as a wrecking ball. He could not help crying.

“Not Sue... she's the woman of my dreams...”

“I'll give you some privacy now. Please have a guard bring you to my office when you're ready”, Dr. Volkov said as he walked away.

Captain McCoy spent the whole morning lying on the gurney and trying to deal with the overwhelming pain that he was feeling. It was past noon when he got up and decided to go to the clinic.

McCoy tried to open the door of the clinic, but it was locked. Having failed his attempt to see something that could bring him more good memories of Susan, Ben asked a guard to take him to Dr. Volkov's office. He had completely forgotten about Armstrong by then.

***

Dr. Volkov and Captain Armstrong stopped walking and looked at each other for the last time. They had not said a word since Armstrong entered Volkov's office three minutes before, wearing a black camouflage uniform that was designed for the members of the Elite Force that complete their training at the Compound.

Neither of them was willing to shake hands, each for a different reason: Volkov despised to be touched by strangers, and Armstrong despised Volkov. A reciprocated nod was deemed enough by both of them.

As Dr. Volkov entered the intensive care unit in order to talk to Captain McCoy, Captain Armstrong started walking down the hallway toward the exit door of The Compound, behind which Private Fowler was waiting for him. Fowler and Armstrong entered the Humvee that was parked a few feet ahead and left to Adak Airport.

Later that day, Captain Armstrong felt overjoyed as he set his feet on the soil of Homey Airport, within the zone of the Nevada Test and Training Range popularly known as Area 51, since he did not know when was the last time that he saw the sun or felt the warmth of its beams. He soaked in that small moment of happiness.