Howard paused, eyeing the hall outside. What kind of question was that? Stephanie certainly had little way with words, that was obvious. Or she had little to no filter, which was familiar in many people he'd worked with, especially now. "She wasn't my wife." He replied simply. "And she didn't die." True, it was a much easier notion to believe she had. They had found her craft on the moon, abandoned and covered in a good amount of her blood. But no footsteps to or from, as if she'd never left, and no one had come to get her. Everything had been as it was when she had taken off, save the lack of actual body. He actually hoped she had died, to save her whatever fate might have been worse than death.

Raine tilted her head. Stepping forward, she took to his side. Her intention had been to get out, get Stephanie out, so they could continue their ideas and little projects, but perhaps Howard had something better in mind. "So... What's your angle? Got something better than prison?" She crossed her arms, and Howard looked to her, then to Stephanie.

"Of course I do." He said almost defensively. "But I can tell both of you are up to something. And that'll just have to be taken care of too." He knocked on the glass doors behind him, and the guard reappeared, suddenly wide-eyed at the prisoners' freedom. She released the lock, and Howard stepped out. "They're not terrorists. They just wandered into the wrong place." He told the woman. She pursed her lips, but nodded curtly. "Do you want me to---?"

"No. They're coming with me." He motioned for the girls to follow, but for the guard to stay behind, and spoke to them: "Stay close. Don't try picking my pockets, don't try running off or engaging anyone besides myself. Right now you're a very high security risk and I'm putting a lot on the line for the two of you. If you screw up once, you're dead. No second chance." He turned and started down the hall, spurring Raine to jump into movement too, just a little behind him. "So we're meeting 'her' now?" She asked eagerly.

Howard nodded. They would meet Melissa, then go through a variety of tests and questionnaires. Perhaps they'd be very useful, of their own free will. One could always use a couple on the outside.