by Thom Parsons
"For a long time as well, because this camera's been here a while. It's got a thin layer of dust on it," Eli said, knowing that he was probably making the situation worse.
"Maybe Owen did it?" Nick asked, trying to come to a logical conclusion, before realising in himself that he was wrong. "No," he said quickly, correcting himself. "He would have told us. Or he would have checked them out after we came from the bar and realised that there was someone inside the apartment."
The two of them stood there in silence in the middle of Owen's kitchen, unsure of what to say to one another. “Why?” Nick said quietly and slowly, asking the question to himself more than Eli.
“We need to search this entire apartment,” Eli stated.
Without even waiting for Nick, he quickly moved with a sense of urgency out of the kitchen and towards Owen's living room. Nick followed, jogging into the front room to catch up with Eli.
“I’ll take the living room,” Eli said as his eyes scoured the huge living space before him. He didn't even look at Nick as he spoke, he was too busy trying to figure out where more of these micro-cameras could be hidden. “There’s bound to be another one of these around here somewhere.”
“Okay,” Nick responded, quickly casting his eyes over to where Owen and Ethan lay. He saw that their vital signs were looking good. One less thing to worry about. “I’ll work through the bedrooms and the office room at the back of the apartment.”
Now that they knew what they were looking for, the micro-cameras were really easy to find. Eli and Nick found at least one in every room, including the bathroom. Someone, somewhere had been watching every single thing that Owen had been doing. Why?
Whoever it was had also heard every single word that had been said in this apartment. Every single plan that they had made had been watched and heard. No wonder someone out there knew every single one of our moves before we made it. Kate, combined with all these camera's dotted around, was giving someone full access to Owen's life.
"Can you track the signal back on these?" Nick asked Eli as they reconvened in the front room. Camera's weren't exactly his area of expertise. He was hoping for a good outcome in their situation, a glimmer of hope that could give them some clue as to what was going on and where the cameras had come from.
"No," Eli said apologetically with a shake of his head. "It looks like somebody has shut them down remotely. Whoever's watching these knows that we have Ethan. And they know that we've found their micro-cameras."
"What does this mean?"
"I don't know exactly," Eli replied. "But I'm pretty sure that whatever we're caught up in is moving towards the endgame."
Nick didn't know how to respond. All that he could do was repeat one question, over and over again in his head.
What is going on?
Chapter Seventy Seven
Date: December 13th 2035
Location: Unknown
It's not easy being in control of everyone. Being the manipulator. Being the boss.
It's not easy pulling the strings. Especially when there are so very many strings to keep hold of. Several hundred, in fact. Every now and then, one of those strings is going to start pulling back. That is not something that I like to deal with. Dangerous strings need to be cut. In this case, the string that needs cutting right now, is Richard Sterling.
It's a huge shame. He was extremely, extremely useful in the beginning. But that was two years ago, back when we at Veridian first created the PRoGRaM device in utter secrecy.
And then we did what any company would do. We sold it.
The sales pitch was perfect, but PRoGRaM barely even needed selling anyway. We had almost every branch of the United States Government jumping through hoops for us. Every single department of their hierarchy wanted to be the ones to use it. But in the end, we settled with the FBI. We signed endless contracts with the Government allowing the Bureau to be the ones to sample this technology.
Why the FBI? Well, that was because I knew that Richard Sterling was going to be the one in control. And he's an easy enough man to manipulate. He acted as a base to which we could push PRoGRaM. He created the Special Projects Division of the FBI especially for it. We made him seven devices, for seven teams.
But of course, we here at Veridian had to cover ourselves. We had only just created the technology. We were purely using the United States Government as a means to an end. Little do they know… they are only testing the device for us.
So we added something into this contract with the Government to protect ourselves for the future. Something that allowed us to take back control of PRoGRaM whenever we desired. Not only that, but we were also allowed to take the memories of everybody outside Veridian that knew PRoGRaM existed. Of course, the United States Government put up a fight about it, but in the end, they caved in. They just couldn't resist the technology.
And the best part about being able to take the memories of those people that work for the FBI's Special Projects Division? The United States Government hadn't told them a thing about it. They really had just dropped them in at the deep end.
It wasn't the first time we were going to be taking the memories of a huge group of people, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be the last. Don't get me wrong, it's not an easy decision to make, but deep down, it's always the right one. We can't just have people out there running around with the knowledge that PRoGRaM exists.
We always planned on people like Richard Sterling, people who wouldn't agree with our methods. There are always people who fight power, who fight against us. But it doesn't matter, because we have other ways of working things out.
What could Mr. Sterling possibly do anyway? He has absolutely no idea who I am.
It's always better this way. It's just the way that I like to work. Never meeting the people that you control, that is.
Just like Marcus Ortega, Alex Morgan, and Ethan Darkes. All three of them were my employees. All three of them worked for Veridian. Together, they were the lead designers for PRoGRaM, and I've never met any of them. Just the way I like it.
But obviously, there were more than three people that created this technology. This life changing machine, created by just three men? Impossible! They were just the lead designers, working with a team of fifty staff each.
So what happened to all of these people? Deep down, I think you know. Remember I said that it wasn't the first time we'd be taking the memories from a huge group of people? Well… there's your answer. That was exactly what happened to the people that created it. Memory wiped.
We couldn't take any chances of those people remembering what they were a part of. Remember, PRoGRaM is still in its trial phase and until we had worked out the kinks in the system and proved that memory erasure was permanent, we had to put them somewhere.
So we created a PRoGRaM Prison System just for them. It wasn't permanent for them by any means. It's just until the PRoGRaM trial is over. Until we're certain that erasing memories is permanent.
Marcus, Alex and Ethan. Together they lead the creation of PRoGRaM whilst working for Veridian, and then the FBI tested it for us. It was the perfect system. We were putting the technology through its paces without telling anyone fully what was going on. But now, everything is falling apart, piece by piece. All because of Owen Archer. He's threatening to topple everything.
Owen getting that video message… That was our first problem. But I'll be honest. That was more of an interest to me than it was of an annoyance. This made things interesting, and I was willing to keep pushing him and pushing him, just to see how far he would go. After all, this is what we were working towards from the beginning. It was interesting just to see how this… experiment would work out.
Now he's causing problems. Owen is crossing all the wrong wires and putting the entire operation that we're running here at risk. It shouldn't have been too much of a problem, as we sent Ethan Darkes in to fix it. He was supposed to bug their PRoGRaM machine and have Owen kill himself inside the digital world.
But… from what I could see, he's surviving the experience, and will probably make it out alive, knowing things that he doesn't need to know. He's close to figuring it out now, I can see it.
What's worse than this is that now, Owen has Ethan Darkes, my second in command. He'll do anything I tell him to, all because he's an obedient lapdog to me. Marcus Ortega's car crash? Ethan caused that, just because I told him to. It was supposed to be fatal. It was supposed to stop Owen from ever finding the first piece of his puzzle. Alex Morgan? That was Ethan too. But that's another story. A longer story. We'll get to that another day.
Luckily for me, Ethan doesn't even know who I am, and thats just saved my identity. They could have whittled it out of him with little issue once they get their PRoGRaM device up and running again properly. Once again, the way that I do things works out perfectly.
How can I see things there?
Those camera's in his apartment? That was me. We put the things there weeks ago to keep an eye on Owen's… progress.
So, credit where credit's due. Owen's team are very, very good. And that's why they all need to die. But that wasn't my choice to make.
I will say this now, to make sure that you understand my line of thinking. I do not want to kill Owen. If possible, I want him alive. There is a certain… hierarchy to things here at Veridian. Even though I am in control of everything to do with PRoGRaM… I am just a small cog in a huge, huge machine.
Veridian have passed the point of no return with PRoGRaM.
We want it back.
It's time to shut it down.
Chapter Seventy Eight
Date: December 13th 2035
Location: FBI's Special Projects Division Headquarters
Sterling had absolutely no idea on how to proceed. For once, he was at a complete loss for any sort of solution. He thought long and hard about it as he rode the elevator down on his way out of the FBI's Special Projects Division Headquarters. Veridian are going to take your memories. He reminded himself. Veridian are going to wipe every single thing that you know about PRoGRaM. And why? Just because they can… and there's nothing that you can do to stop it.
Or is there?
Ding!
He stepped out of the elevator and into the huge, dark underground parking lot of the FBI's Special Projects Division Headquarters. I never did get around to calling Archer. Sterling realised. It had been right up there on the top of his to-do list, but that phone-call from his boss an hour ago had seriously muddled up his head and thrown him out of sync. Owen Archer. He thought. He's irrelevant now. I've got more important issues to deal with.
To Sterling, whatever it was that Owen was up to didn't exactly matter in the grand scale of things that he was facing at the moment.
Archer could wait.
His footsteps echoed off the concrete as he walked across the mostly empty parking lot before him. He was the last one to leave, as usual. In the distance, Richard could hear the noise of the city playing out, albeit very faintly.
Another long drive home through New York City. Sterling thought as he pulled out his car keys from one of the pockets of his long black jacket. As he got to within five feet of his vehicle, he clicked the unlock button for the car which was built into the key.
But the car never unlocked.
Sterling never noticed the small electronic device attached to the underside of his BMW. A device which was linked to a small wedge of plastic explosive. The signal from his car key didn't unlock the door.
It triggered the detonation.
Sterling was fired backwards from the shockwave of the blast. The front of his body and face was instantly scorched from the flames that burst out from underneath his car. He flew backwards through the air, and as his body hit the concrete, the back of his skull cracked, smashing violently into the floor.
Luckily for Richard Sterling, he didn't feel a thing.
Chapter Seventy Nine
Date: December 13th 2035
Location: FBI's Special Projects Division Headquarters
The office was quiet now that everybody have left for the evening. Sterling himself, as always, was the last to leave. Just as soon as the elevator doors had closed to take Sterling down to the parking lot, the hidden, balaclava wearing man made his move.
He heard the Ding! of the elevator doors closing and quickly rolled out from underneath the desk where he had been waiting patiently for the last thirty minutes for Sterling to leave.
His timing needed to be impeccable.
Getting past the security in this building was easy. Especially when the boss that he worked for had access to almost everything, everywhere. Thinking about the boss prompted him… It was time to check in.
He pulled a small, disposable flip phone out of his pocket and speed dialled an encrypted number that had been pre-built into it. It rang a few times before going silent, but this wasn't a problem, the man knew that it was just a security measure built into this specific phone-line to prevent unauthorised people from dialling through. The man punched in a numbered encryption sequence and raised the phone to his ear once again.
This time, the line connected.
"Is it done?" a robotic voice said to him through the airwaves.
"Yes," the balaclava faced man replied, speaking calmly as he walked across the office floor and towards the private office of Richard Sterling.
"Good," his boss answered slowly. They sounded pleased. He could hear it even with the modulator covering their voice. "Good work. Has it activated yet?"
"Not yet. He will still be on his way there now. But it will be over in minutes at most."
"Inform me when."
"Yes Sir," the man replied. "What's our plan of action now?" he asked as he walked into Sterling's office, trying to figure out just how all of the pieces of the operation were fitting together. "Are we back in control?"
"We are officially undergoing Phase Two right now. Veridian are back in charge. PRoGRaM is ours again. We are the ones calling the shots."
"What about the FBI?" he questioned as he sat down in behind Richard Sterling's desk in the man's comfortable office chair. Reaching down with his free hand, he booted up the PC underneath the workstation.
"They are not going to be a problem. Our original deal with the U.S. Government still stands. Every member of their staff, including those who are a part of the PRoGRaM teams, are to be brought in for memory re-evaluation and erasure. But Sterling? He's too stubborn."
"And that's exactly why you called me in," the man replied, proud to have been a first choice in this operation. As if right on cue, the building shook slightly from a huge explosion somewhere down below.
Richard Sterling was no more.
"Was that what I assume it was?" The boss asked over the phone.
"Yes. I can't be here long, but i'm in his system now. What do you require?"
"The USB drive that you were provided with. Plant all the files from that onto Sterling's desktop. This will make Sterling's death look like he was tied up in debt with some dangerous members of the criminal underworld. The FBI will suspect a gang related hit and look no further into it."
"Done," the man said quickly, completing the task without hassle and without asking any questions. The wrong question in this line of work, and I'll end up exactly like Richard Sterling. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.
"Secondly. There is an executable file on that pen drive. It's called Veridian.exe. Just run it through Sterling's system. This will simultaneously inform every single person involved in the FBI's Special Projects Division to report into Veridian, and how if they fail to comply, they can consider themselves disavowed. Then we will send our own private Veridian task forces after them."
"Done. Do you need me to get out now?"
"Not quite. Finally. I need you to change Owen Archer's agent status to disavowed. Change the timestamp on the order, backdate it, and make it look like it was given by Sterling. We don't want him to have the sa
me fate as everybody else at Special Projects. He needs to be dealt with separately."
"I thought that Owen was taken care of?"
"I had sent a man to take him out. But from what I could see, he's failed and has been captured by Archer and his team."
"Do you need that situation sorting out after this?"
"No. I've already procured a Veridian team to move out shortly in order to take Owen and his entire team out. It's too late for Archer," the boss said. "He'll be dead in minutes."
Chapter Eighty
Date: December 13th 2035
Location: PRoGRaM
“Please,” Owen said softly to Ethan as he collapsed backwards onto a chair. He was desperate, almost willing to beg for the answers. “Please... Tell me what you did to my wife. Tell me why Ethan."
"I did nothing to your wife," he answered emotionlessly from the floor. He was still lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling the entire time, trying to avoid Owen's pleading stare.
"LIAR!" Owen shouted at him, causing him to jump up from the chair he had only sat in moments before. Acting out in a sudden fit of anger, he fired a trio of bullets into the ground near Ethan. But the man was unfazed, he didn't even jump or react to the gunshots. Instead, he just let out a long breath that he seemed to have been holding in.
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Ethan replied quietly. “The situation that we’re both in is so utterly fucked up that you wouldn’t believe me even if you tried to.”
“It was you,” Owen said weakly, as he began to lose all hope of ever finding out what really happened to Annie. “It was all you. You were the one in charge all along.”
“No,” Ethan replied, rolling his head from side to side as he lay on the floor, attempting to emphasise his answer. “Didn’t you hear? I’m not the one running the show. My boss is.”