by Ana Stone
“Research Triangle Park – outside of Raleigh.”
“That’s a good two or three hours away.”
“Which is why we need to leave now. We have to get there before the day shift clocks in. There’s just a skeleton crew at night, including my contact. He’s the only one of the team we can trust.”
“Are you sure we can trust him?” She asked as she slid her bare feet into her boots.
“No, but we don’t have any other cards to play at the moment.”
“Then let’s roll.”
He made for the door with her one step behind him, but stopped short and turned to her. “No matter what we find or what’s been done to our heads, one thing is true. I love you, Roxy.”
“And I love you.” In that statement she could be completely honest. She just hoped that when all of the dust settled, they could say those words again and mean them.
*****
There were half naked people passed out on the floor, on every piece of furniture, the bar and even the pool table by the time Zeke called it a night. He shoved the blonde woman off him, pulled up his pants and searched around on the floor for his shirt and MC vest.
It took a bit longer than normal to dress thanks to way too much Jack Daniels. As he passed the bar, Reese, who was slumped forward on it with his head on his forearms, raised his head. “Done?”
“Done.” Zeke replied.
“Have a drink with me. Let’s talk.”
“Talk? Us?”
“Yeah, us.” Reese grabbed a half empty bottle off the bar and pushed into a standing position. “Come on, let’s go outside.”
They made their way outside. Reese took a seat on the tailgate of a pickup, lit a cigarette and took a swig from the bottle then offered it to Zeke. Zeke shook his head. “I’m good.”
“You and me, we been going at it ever since you got back.” Reese said.
Zeke shrugged and Reese laughed. “Yeah, I guess we went at it pretty good before you left.”
“Yeah, we did.”
“Why do you think that is?” Reese asked. “I loved you, man. Like my own.”
Zeke cringed inside at the words. “Lotta shit went down. You know that. I…I wasn’t ready for it.”
“Just like your old man,” Reese said. “He didn’t have the stomach for it either.”
“You say it like it’s an insult.” Zeke said. “He had a plan for the MC. One that didn’t include whores and drugs and guns. Or killing.”
“Oh yeah, right, Saint Rafferty,” Reese’s smile was more of a sneer. “His magnificent plan. The one had had us all scraping to put fucking food on the table. That the one you’re talking about?”
Zeke didn’t want to get into it with Reese. “We’ve already walked this path and nothing’s changed. You have your opinion and I have mine. No sense in getting into it now.”
“Guess not,” Reese agreed, which surprised Zeke. “Just wanted to thank you, man. You saved Rice’s ass and had our backs.”
“Just doing my job.” Zeke said.
“Like a mother-fucker,” Reese replied. “No shit, man. Never seen anyone shoot the way you do. You coulda killed those fuckers if you’d wanted to and I know that.”
“A wounded fed is one thing – a dead one is a whole other level of trouble.”
“No shit.” Reese thumped away his smoke and took another drink. “We’re in deep this time, bro. Real deep. Money’s gone, guns are gone and we got RICO coming at us like a fucking train. We need to disappear.”
Zeke’s attention level perked up a bit. “No money’s gonna make that hard.”
“Not if we can get our hands on more,” Zeke replied. “Another two weeks with the drugs would give us enough for a major gun buy. Sell ‘em all to the Mexican’s, pocket the money and hit the fucking road.”
“The MC will be under surveillance until trial.”
“Not talking about the whole club, man. Just you and me. Family.”
“Eli’s family.”
“And not involved. He has the business. You and me, we got nothing except each other and Carrie. We take the money and get the fuck outta Dodge.”
“You’d bail on the club.”
“Somebody’s gotta go down, man and it ain’t gonna be me. It’s every dog for himself and I’m offering you the only empty seat left. Take it or go down with the rest of them.”
“Why?” Zeke asked.
“Why what?”
“Why offer it to me? After all the shit we’ve been through why not Razr or Chopper?”
“Because we’re family, you dumb shit. Family fights and gets pissed off but blood is blood.”
Zeke nodded. “Yeah, I hear ya.”
“So, you in?”
Zeke saw a window of opportunity shining bright on him and was not about to pass it up. He’d get Maybelle behind him again, let her get the feds in the game. It would be the nail in Reese’s coffin that would guarantee he went away for life.
“Yeah, I’m in.”
Reese stuck out his hand and Zeke took it. “Glad to have you home, son.” Reese said.
“Glad to be home.” Zeke lied. Hell, he didn’t even know where home was anymore.
*****
Roxy had fallen asleep on the drive. When West woke her, for a moment she was a bit disoriented. As soon as she was fully conscious she felt guilty for sleeping and apologized to West.
“It’s not a problem, honey,” he assured her and placed a call to his contact.
“We’re outside.”
Roxy looked around at where they were. It looked like an industrial park, four six-story buildings that all looked the same, with identical landscaping rimming the perimeter of each, arranged in a square around an enormous parking lot with small service roads leading behind the buildings.
They were parked at the side of one of the buildings, beside a block structure that from the looks of things, housed the garbage dumpster.
West ended the call and stuck the phone in his pocket. “He’ll let us in.”
Roxy saw no need to respond. She sat and waited, watching the side door of the building. Three minutes later, the door opened, spilling light. She and West got out of the car, took a quick look to make sure they were alone then hurried to the door.
West grabbed the handle to open it wider for her. Roxy took two steps before she got a look at the man who waited inside for them.
“Doctor Turner?”
“Come in, come in.” he urged.
West nudged her in the back and she proceeded through the door with West on her heels. “What’s going on?” She asked. The man standing before them was the same man who’d treated her when Zeke shot her in the Selma.
“Come,” the man replied and turned toward the stairwell.
They followed him to the third floor where he unlocked a door via a fingerprint scanner. He held the door for them and followed them inside a room not much larger than a closet with one door and a retinal scanner mounted beside it.
Roxy watched as the man passed the retinal scan then keyed in a 10 digit alphanumeric code. It was only then the door opened.
What lay on the other side of the door had her stopping dead in her tracks. This was no medical facility, nor was it an administrative office. It was like something out of a science fiction novel. It had to have encompassed the entire floor. Bank after bank of storage units and processors lined the walls. The center of the expanse was filled with large stations, each with a bank of monitors, at least eight per station. The stations were arranged around a central area and in that center area was what appeared to be a central command station.
The only thing that set it apart from the others was two additional bank of monitors and a chair that resembled a dentist’s chair bolted to the floor in front of the station.
“What is this place?” Roxy asked.
“NeuralNet.”
“Neural net?”
“We are a government funded, yet autonomous corporation dedicated to the field of neurocybernet
ic research, particularly as it relates to the processes by which information within the human brain is encoded, stored and retrieved.”
“The memory wipe and recall procedure.”
“Not what we’d prefer to have it referred to, but essentially yes.”
“If I asked how exactly it works, would you baffle me with scientific jargon, or give it to me straight?
“A bit of both,” he replied and led the way to the command station at the center of the room.
He opened a drawer in a short cabinet and withdrew a small clear glass vial barely as long as the nail on her thumb.. He handed it to Roxy and she looked at it with a degree of confusion. It was simply vial filled with water, or what looked like water.
“What’s this?”
“It is the key to the process. Inside that vial are microscopic nanobots.”
“Nanobots?” She gave a short laugh. “Sounds a bit sci fi to me doc.”
“Some would agree,” he said seriously. “And in truth, it is a marvel of science.”
“How so?”
“When these bots are implanted, they perform a number of functions, the first being to gather information on the synaptic transmission within the brain of the host in regards to memory. To put it in lay terms, they learn every pathway and synapses involved in the recall of memory of the host and record the precise synaptic strength and plasticity. In essence they record a precise map of all activity within the brain during the process and record the data, creating a map of sorts.
“We can capture and record the data collected by the bots and do so. To insure the validity of the data the process is repeated in consecutive sessions, twenty-four hours apart. The data is compare to all previous maps. Once we have three complete matches the process is complete. The subject is programmed with recall activation codes as well as backup keyword activations.”
Roxy thought about it for a moment. It sounded impossible and if she was not living proof of its validity, she would have scoffed and tried to dismiss it as science fiction bullshit. But things being what they were, she couldn’t do that.
“Okay, so you make a copy, so to speak and program the subject with recall info, but that doesn’t explain why we forget.”
“As I said, the nanobots perform a number of functions. Once all data is verified and securely stored, we then send new programming based upon the data gathered. Essentially, we write a script, if you will, leaving key elements, but altering others and that is uploaded to the subject. I won’t go into the scientific explanation, but basically you wake with an altered identity and perception of self.”
Roxy nodded and turned away, her bottom lip pinched between the index finger and thumb of her left hand, her brow knotted in thought. What Turner said gave part of the story, but she suspected he was not telling everything.
She considered calling him to the carpet on it, but decided against it. She knew where he was now. If she should need to get more information out of him, she’d know how to find him. Besides, something was niggling at the t, something trying to formulate that she suspected had to do with the procedure. Perhaps she knew more than she realized. Meeting Turner and hearing about the procedure might just bring that knowledge to the surface.
She turned to face Turner and West. “What’s the problem with Zeke’s activation?’
Turner looked genuinely surprised. “I was not aware there was an issue.” His gaze went to West which raised a mental red flag.
West did not look at her. His attention was on Turner. “His activation seems to be …corrupted. His memories are not returning as anticipated and because of it he is something of a liability.”
“Did you—“ Turner stopped short, his eyes darting to Roxy and then back at West. Now she knew something was afoot.
“What’s going on?” She asked.
“I don’t know.” West replied.
She looked at Turner. “Well?”
“I … I—I am at a loss.” He hurried to the main station keyboard, took a seat in front of it and started typing furiously.
Roxy didn’t have a clue what the stream of data meant that was appearing in one window after another on the monitor, but she assumed Turner did. He was completely focused on it for nearly fifteen minutes before he turned in his chair, addressing her.
“I cannot be certain without further investigation but it appears as if the programming was – altered.”
“In what way?”
“Perhaps altered is the wrong term. Amended. Additional programming was added after the approved program was completed.”
“Approved by who?”
“You.” He addressed Roxy.
Roxy could not have been more surprised. “That’s impossible. Why would I have—no, you have to be wrong. I don’t have the power to override the original programming. It would have to have come from higher up the food chain.”
Turner averted his gaze as he responded. “All I know is what the data shows.”
His information and behavior had Roxy suspicious. Obviously there were things he was keeping to himself. She thought about pushing him but decided to play along and get what she could out of him. “Okay, whatever. We’ll worry about that later. For now, can you correct it?”
“I believe I can.” He turned back to the keyboard and for the next three minutes typed at lightning speed. When he finished he swiveled in his chair and looked at West.
“Tell me about the original architecture of the neural net.”
“Say what?”
Turner’s eyes narrowed and his gaze became unfocused, an expression Roxy read as one of concentration. He didn’t seem aware of them at all. All at once, he turned to the keyboard again and started typing. A couple of minutes later, he stopped and looked at West.
“Could you please have a seat?” He gestured to the procedure chair.
“Why? I thought we were trying to correct Zeke’s recall?”
“I do not believe your activation was complete.”
West looked at Roxy and she shrugged. “If he can fix it, let him. We’re operating at a disadvantage here.”
West took a seat in the chair and Turner affixed several small devices to his head, one on each temple, one in the center of his forehead and one just below each ear. When Turner had finished, he moved to his console.
“What now?” West asked.
“Now…” Turner hit the enter key on his keyboard.
Roxy was in motion toward West a split second after his body arched, head back and eyes rolled back. His mouth was open in a silent scream, the veins on his forehead and neck bulging and pulsing. Roxy ran behind him and wrapped her arms around him trying to hold him still and keep him from falling out of the chair.
Ten long seconds later, he slumped, his breathing fast and harsh. She held him, listening to his breathing. A minute passed before it started to slow. Finally, he reached up and unwrapped her arms from around him. She grabbed his hand and clung to it.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.” He looked at Turner. “That was …”
“Incredible?” Turner asked.
“Among other things,” West replied.
“What’s going on?” Roxy asked.
“Recall,” West replied.
“Explain.” Her own pulse accelerated.
“I remember.” He looked at Turner. “I think you may want to check her coding as well.”
“I suspected as much,” Turned replied and turned to his keyboard.
“What’s going on?” Roxy asked. “West, talk to me.”
“Hold on.” He removed the devices from her head, placed them on Turner’s console and then took her arm to guide her across the room. “There are things I didn’t previously remember.”
“Such as?”
“David.”
“David? I thought he was just a construct planted in my memory.”
“Hardly.”
“And he’s my – husband?”
“No.”
“But he’s dead, right?”
“Not by a long shot if what I remember is correct.”
“You’re starting to make me nervous.”
“You should be. We all should be.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the reason we’re here. He and Maybelle – they’re in a power struggle. And whatever his game is, he altered our programming to cover his tracks and keep us and her from figuring out what he’s up to.”
“But you remember now so we can stop him.”
West shook his head. “I remember him … well sort of. I can’t recall his face, but I do remember that he exists and you were involved with him. And you hated him.”
“This is …” Roxy blew out a breath and looked at the ceiling, trying to compose her thoughts and suppress a rising sense of panic that threatened to rob her of reason. “This is too much.” She finally returned her gaze to West. “It’s like one of those freaking Escher drawings – nothing leads where it’s supposed to.”
West pulled her a few steps further away and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Until we can figure out exactly which of the memories were altered, and locate David and get the truth out of him, we’re at a disadvantage. I suspect Zeke’s recall problems are intentional.”
She nodded. “Can’t say I disagree. His problems keep the team off balance and destroy the cohesion. It’s a perfect strategy. But what’s the end game?”
“Power.” West replied.
“Okay, so what do we do?”
“Let’s see what Turner has to say and go from there.”
Just then Turner called out to them. “I believe I’ve found something.”
They hurried to where he sat. He pointed to a window open on his monitor. “Here’s the original data that was to be recalled.” He then pointed to an adjacent window. “And this is the actual recall data that was activated.”
Roxy and West both studied the data. Even she could see there were discrepancies in the code. “And what, exactly was altered?”
“That I can’t say without a thorough examination of the complete data set.”
She looked at West. He stared back at her for a second then turned his attention to Turner. “What if you reactivated her using the original data?”