Captain McCoy was informed by Dr. Minett that he would have to sleep at the intensive care unit until his secondary ability was known, since the lack of any sign whatsoever thereof thus far could mean either that the device is malfunctioning or that he had developed a still unseen ability – in both scenarios, his life could be at risk.

Furthermore, McCoy was instructed by Minett not to interact with the other patient who was also going to sleep at the intensive care unit for an indeterminate term, due to the fact that the status of both patients was strictly classified.

Captain McCoy knew that his mission in The Compound was solely to acquire intangibility as fast as possible – anything other than that should be deemed irrelevant or secondary at most, and thus should not interfere with his focus. Hence, he did not question or even think about anything that Dr. Minett had told him.

Tunneling his whole arm through a sheet of paper got incredibly easy later that morning, which prompted Captain McCoy into thinking that the same mental technique that allowed phasing should work for other abilities as well, whether natural or acquired.

McCoy spent a couple of hours trying to lift the sheet of paper from the plastic table it was on, but did not get close to succeeding. Feeling tired and frustrated, he looked to his left side, held the palm of his right hand up in the air, at the same height as his ear, and thrust his arm down.

Having given up on his attempts, Captain McCoy turned around, shook his head in a negative motion and walked away from his practice room, failing to notice that the plastic table had moved about three inches upfront when his arm-sweep gesture was finalized.

Even though he did not have any reasonable pretext or even a trace of a plan, McCoy decided to go to Dr. Minett's clinic in order to try to talk to her about anything at all, just to satisfy his need to see her again.

He was lucky enough to arrive at a moment in which she did not have a lot of work to do and thus was able to spend a few minutes on cheap talk. Captain McCoy eventually found an opportunity to ask:

“Have you ever been to New York?”

“I love that city, especially in winter.”

“Why is that?”

Captain McCoy's heart rate reached its peak when he asked that question. Dr. Minett smiled and answered:

“It's so romantic when it's covered in snow...”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It happened again: she had just given him the same response that he received in a dream. Captain McCoy was not sure of what to think about it, but he was certain that it was not a coincidence. He kept the conversation going:

“What's your favorite part of the city?”

“I love Bryant Park, but my favorite part is around Union Square.”

“Those places are great, but my favorite part is City Hall Park.”

“Are you from New York, Captain? 'Cause you don't sound like it.”

“Please, call me Ben.”

“I'll try” – Dr. Minett did not feel comfortable with first name basis in general. “You can call me Sue.”

“Okay, Sue. I'm from Seattle.”

“It's a nice city. I like the Waterfall Garden Park.”

“Oh, it's beautiful!”

Dr. Minett's answers matched the knowledge that Captain McCoy acquired from his dreams. Thereafter, they started asking personal questions to each other and their relationship got closer.

As days passed by, Captain McCoy successively achieved advancements both in regards to his practice routine and his relationship with Dr. Minett. It did not take McCoy too much time from moving a finger through a clipboard to walking through a cardboard panel. By the time that Ben was phasing through an oak board, Sue and him were already having intimate moments in her clinic on a regular basis.

***

It had been a week since the last time that Captain Armstrong provided Dr. Volkov with any information on Captain McCoy's dreams. Volkov believed that Armstrong was telling him the truth: McCoy had stopped dreaming about Dr. Minett since they started seeing each other.

Dr. Volkov knew that he had a problem that could not wait any longer for a solution and that the only person who could help him address the issue at hand was Captain Armstrong.

Volkov already had a plan in mind when Armstrong walked into his office that morning, for their daily meeting, and took a seat:

“Did Captain McCoy have a relevant dream last night, Captain Armstrong?”

“No, he didn't. Same status.”

Upon listening to Captain Armstrong's reply, Dr. Volkov removed his helmet and placed it on his desk.

“No helmet today, Dr. Volkov?” – Captain Armstrong could not help feeling surprised to see that Volkov was not trying to hide his thoughts from him.

“I don't need to hide from you what I'm about to offer.” – Dr. Volkov leaned forward, closer to the helmet that he was still holding with both hands, and asked: “Would you like to leave Adak tomorrow, Captain Armstrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you help me, I can get you out of here tomorrow before noon. You'll go to a detachment of Nellis Air Force Base between Mercury and Rachel, in Nevada, and be put to use by the armed forces. I don't know the details, but you'll get another chance at serving our country.”

Dr. Volkov's thoughts did not contradict anything that he was saying, which prompted Captain Armstrong to the conclusion that what he had just heard was the truth. Armstrong would do anything if it meant that he was finally going to be free, so there was only one thing that he could say:

“What do you want me to do?”

As soon as their meeting was over, Dr. Volkov sent an e-mail to the Secretary of Defense stating that withholding a subject of extraordinary value such as Captain Armstrong for research would be a waste of a strategic asset and thus an assault against the country's interests. He called the Secretary shortly thereafter.

Volkov's call was received by the Secretary as great news due to the fact that there had been political pressure for the program to go operational at once. All the necessary arrangements were made within a few hours.