Intrusion

[Marcus DuBois]

Alexandrova Vladislavovna
Consulate of Propaganda

Alexandrova pulled off her glasses and pressed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Leonid had left by the secret door much earlier in order to avoid eyes. Thinking over the situation had taken up the longer than she had planned. There were times things seemed to spin out of control. Now was such. The existence of the paranormal and Nikolai's own revelation to the world- a lifetime ago, it seemed- had fundamentally changed the things. Relationships and strengths had to be recalibrated. In retrospect, their strategies and actions prior to that seemed to hearken to a world more simple and easy to control. A lie, of course. Merely a changed perspective.

She knew that from experience. Creating the ASU- the Ascendant Soviet Union- had been a monumental undertaking.
It was not enough to simply remind people of a more "glorious" time (a fiction, of course). No, they had laid the groundwork for something far beyond the Soviet Union, something that transcended it. But the name had been necessary, an emotional foundation on a bedrock of nostalgia after the decades of mismanagement and flittering away of world-wide importance. There had been a real time when Russia had become considered a Banana Republic, a 3rd world country that commanded little to no respect among its peers despite the nuclear weapons at its disposal. Not quite as bad as North Korea, but close.

It had been enough for them to tap into, the longing for the days when Russia and her empire were feared and respected the world over.

And it had all begun with a name, a concept that propelled Nikolai and the ASU to the Ascendency and the CCD. In many ways, she considered it one of her best moments of inspiration.

Now, it was a new world. And new pieces spun out of control. And she was no longer in her early 20s. She did not have Nikolai's gifts and well of power to draw on. One day, he would speak at her funeral, she knew. She had made peace with it. They had birthed something new and great into the world. Nikolai would carry her legacy into the future.

And so, despite her tiredness, she shook her head and refocused. The little things piled up. And the not so little things! Where had the Pope disappeared to? She had her feelers searching, cats to ferret out every secret and truth. It was like being beaten to death by feathers.

She needed to walk. And to take the pulse of her Consulate. A fool watched the world for sparks while her house burned.

And so stepping out her her office, she was surprised to find Nikolai himself standing and conversing with one of the new aides at the office. The name escaped her at the moment. There were many new faces as their work had expanded yet again. She cast about. "Ascendancy," she said warmly. She knew Nikolai was not fickle, nor prone to flirt without thought. But the color on the woman's face said that he had found yet another heart drawn to him. She suppressed a smile at the repetitiveness of it. There was no twinge of jealousy there, she knew. That too had been rooted out long ago.

"Ms. Jourdain." She looked at Nikolai. "How can I help you Ascendancy." Proprieties needed to be maintained.