After the meeting, I asked Grayson to come to my office to inquire about the progress in Solaris. He reported everything truthfully, and it seemed that things were going smoothly there.

"What about the situation with Fred I asked you to keep an eye on?" I asked.

I had asked Grayson to keep an eye on Fred and the Myers family. I had my reasons for not asking Fred about it directly. Some things were clearer from a third person's point of view.

"I've got Fred under close watch now. He's learned to behave, but there are subtle movements happening behind the scenes. The old man still leans toward Fred, so the next steps shouldn't be a problem," Grayson reported.

"Keep monitoring him. If he starts to lose control, give him a little push," I instructed Grayson.

"Understood! You can trust me on this one." Grayson nodded. "But there's one thing bothering me."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The situation in Yare is too tightly sealed. We can't dig anything out, and it's hard to monitor anything