Manipulator (44 page)

“Then what did seeing this video do to you?” she asked as she stopped writing in her notepad and looked up at him. “What did it make you remember?”

Owen waited before answering, staring hard into Victoria’s eyes.

“Everything.”

Chapter Ninety

Date: December 13th 2035

Location: Staten Island, New York

“Your name is Owen Archer,” the video version of Owen said as clear as day, speaking directly into the camera. He looked panicked and sounded heavily out of breath. He was flustered, but more importantly, he was
scared
.

In the background of the video, behind where Owen was stood talking into the camera was a single door leading into the room. It only stood out because the present day version of Owen noticed that it had been barricaded. A single, heavy desk was wedged perfectly underneath the door handle in an attempt to prevent anyone on the outside from entering.

“You were born on February 27th, in the year 2000. By the time you are watching this, you will be 35 years old. Don’t be surprised to see me, I can guarantee you that this is real. Today, is your wedding anniversary, and Annie is not with you. But she should be, and there are people to blame for that. First of all, a very important address that you need to know. 45 Redford Avenue. That address will mean everything to you, and only you know why. I will keep this short, because I don’t have much time.”

Owen, Eli and Nick watched as the barricaded door in the far background of the video started to move slightly. The handle moved up and down.
Someone was trying to get in!
Someone's chasing him.
Owen realised.
And he knows it too. But why…

His trail of thought was broken by a huge banging noise in the background of the video. The situation behind the video version of Owen seemed to have escalated. Someone had begun to kick at the door, intent on breaking in. Whoever was on the other side was getting impatient.

The Owen in the video quickly glanced at the noise behind him to see what was happening, before turning back to face the camera in order to continue his message, speaking slightly more urgently than he had been before. “There are three people responsible for Annie not being there. Their names are Marcus Ortega, Alex Morgan and Ethan Darkes. You must find these three. They, and only they, can tell you the truth about everything.”

The noise coming from the background of the video was gradually getting louder and more violent. There was no being subtle about it anymore, someone was clearly trying to bash the door in, in a seemingly desperate attempt to get to Owen.

Whoever was behind that door was making some serious headway with every kick that they landed. Whoever was trying to get in was
so close
.

The door in the background was slightly ajar now. The desk that was barricading it was slowly getting pushed out of the way. They’d be on top of him soon enough.

“They can tell you the truth about Annie,” the Owen on the video continued to say, speaking faster and more desperately than before, knowing that his situation was turning hopeless. “That’s because they had everything to do with it. Fight for the truth.”

The message was over. The present day Owen watched as the man in the video punched some sort of command into the keyboard that lay on the desk in front of him. Whatever he did caused the video to quickly cut off. The display turned black, leaving only the words *END OF TRANSMISSION* to be seen in bright white lettering on the screen.

This day is getting weirder and weirder by the second
.

The three of them stared at the dark screen in silence. Nick and Eli, who were stood on either side of Owen turned their heads slowly to look in his direction. All eyes were on him now.

"This video…" Archer muttered quietly under his breath. Nick and Eli tensed up in anticipation, awaiting some sort of answer. They waited for him to say something… anything that would enlighten them as to what was
really
going on.

This video.
Owen realised.
This video is the final key.

Something deep inside of him clicked. This video was the final push that he had needed. He could feel those forgotten nerve endings in his brain firing up all at once, allowing him access to something long lost and forgotten. Owen felt a joyful feeling overpower him as everything gradually came back into his minds eye. His emotions took over, allowing him to search inside his rediscovered memories for all the answers. Within seconds, he found
everything
he was looking for. Ethan was right.

It had been right there in front of me the entire time.

“Oh my God,” Owen said forcefully. “Guys. I remember everything."

Chapter Ninety One

Date: November 22nd 2035 (One Month Earlier)

Location: PRoGRaM Headquarters

The rain was pounding down hard, but that didn't bother Marcus Ortega as he exited his car, holding an umbrella up to cover his head. He picked up the pace as he walked towards the old, huge country mansion that he hadn’t seen in years.
It looks just like it did when I left it.
He thought to himself as he stepped underneath the awning that hung above the huge double doored main entrance.
 

One of the huge wooden doors slowly began to open without even as much as a knock. Someone had seen him coming. Marcus pulled down his umbrella and shook it slightly in an attempt to throw the rain off it, before looking up at the man who now stood in the open doorway. Standing there looking back at him, was Ethan Darkes.

“Ah ah ha!” Marcus shouted out joyfully with a smile on his face. The two men embraced slightly, patting each other on the back several times before releasing and shaking hands.

“It’s been too long my old friend!” Marcus said happily, with a little chuckle evident in his voice.
Too long indeed. Almost two years…

“Marcus!” Ethan reciprocated with enthusiasm in his tone. “Come on in,” he said as he gestured with his hand, welcoming Marcus into the huge old mansion. “Everyone else has just arrived.”

Marcus walked forwards into the huge house as Ethan closed the door behind him in an attempt to keep the nasty winter weather out. Together, they walked. Their footsteps echoed out off the wooden floor as the sound bounced across the huge, empty grand hall. Marcus took in his surroundings, feeling the nostalgia of being back in a place that because of him and his colleagues, had changed so many lives.

After a long walk, the two of them reached the outside of a room on the complete opposite side of the house. Ethan led the way, stepping through a door and out into a spacious common room. Marcus followed, and inside, found two of his old friends and work colleagues. Alex Morgan and Owen Archer. They all greeted each other happily and exchanged pleasantries whilst Ethan lurked suspiciously in the background.
Surely there's a reason as to why he has gathered us all here tonight?
Marcus pondered.

It had been almost two years since the four of them had gone their separate ways. Marcus knew for a fact that Owen had left in order to head up the FBI's New York Memory Analytic Team, working with a programmer called Nicolas Sinclair. As far as Marcus was aware, that was what the man was still doing. He wasn't sure about Alex. The last thing that Marcus had heard was that the man was working on something called
The Atom Project
, but he had no idea at all on what that could be.

And as for himself? Marcus had no notable achievements over the course of the last two years. He had barely worked. But that wasn't a bad thing. That was exactly what he was going for. He had taken an early retirement and had planned to spend the rest of his days travelling the world.
So why did I agree to come back here?

But Ethan? Marcus had absolutely no idea what Ethan had been up to for the last two years, but he had a feeling in his gut telling him that he was about to find out.

“It’s good to see you all again,” Ethan said as the noise and pleasantries began to evaporate out. A collective nod occurred from all of his guests almost simultaneously as they looked around at each other.

“How have you been?” Marcus said, speaking to Ethan, hoping to talk to his host a little more.

“I am good thank you,” Ethan replied courteously. “I trust that all is well with you?”
 
Marcus gave a slight nod in return without breaking eye contact.

“Shall I pour us all a drink?” Ethan asked, talking to everybody in the room this time around.

“Of course," Marcus replied, speaking out first. "I never turn a drink down!”

Ethan turned to look at the other two men in the room. “Drinks for everyone else?”

“I wont say no,” Owen said, speaking out quietly. They were the first words that Marcus had heard him say. He seemed to be keeping to himself more than normal. Owen wasn't an outspoken man, but he wasn't usually this quiet either. Once again, Marcus wondered just what the hell was going on.

For him, this had all started up just one week ago, after a brief phone call from Ethan. The man was insistent that the four of them meet up again at PRoGRaM’s Headquarters. He kept saying that he had so much to share with everyone and that everything was about to evolve. It sounded like the ramblings of a madman, but if anything, Marcus saw it as an opportunity to meet up with some old friends.

“And me,” Alex replied to Ethan in regards to the drink. “It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen this place. Doesn’t seem to have changed too much!” He spoke enthusiastically.

But there was something there in Alex's voice that wasn't quite right. It wasn't so much the words that he spoke… but rather, it was the tone in which he spoke them. Marcus casually looked around at everyone in the room and saw immediately what was wrong. All of
this
that Ethan had seemingly strung together. It was just all
too
formal, and
too
businesslike for his taste. The four of them had never spoken like this before. It had
always
been casual between them. But not tonight. Tonight, something was amiss and Marcus decided that it was best to confront it head on and get to the heart of the matter. “So, lets get down to business,” he began. “What’s going on Ethan?”

Ethan finished pouring the whiskey before turning to face everyone in the room. In his hands, he now carried a small metal tray which held four glasses. Silently, and without answering Marcus, Ethan walked around the room and offered everyone a glass before sitting himself down in a nearby single seater leather chair. He looked around, making sure that all eyes were on him before he spoke. “Gentleman, I’ve figured it out,” he announced proudly. “Phase Two.”

“Impossible,” Alex shouted out in an outburst, completely out of character.

“You can’t be serious!” Marcus said, the shock evident in his voice as he spoke out, talking almost at the same time that Alex did. Ethan smiled slyly and took delight at the look of surprise that covered both of their faces. He savoured it for a few moments before looking over at Archer.

“What?!” Owen called out loud, his voice sounding more annoyed than surprised. The other three men in the room turned to look at him, but no-one responded.

Marcus, completely unphased by his response, spoke to Ethan as if Owen hadn’t even said anything at all. “You continued your research?”

“I did,” Ethan replied. He too was ignoring Owen’s outburst. “It’s been such a long time coming, but I believe I’ve made it possible.”

“Amazing!” Marcus said with a slow nod of his head, truly fascinated by the news that he was hearing. “Have you tested this as such yet?” he asked Ethan directly.

“
You’ve got to be kidding,” Owen said, chipping into their conversation. His tone of voice said it all… he was pissed off. “I thought we agreed that this was pushing it too far?” he continued, speaking loudly and directly to Ethan, ignoring everybody else in the room.

“You were the only one to voice that opinion yes,” Ethan replied cooly. “But it cannot be the defining factor in determining the progress of science,” he said as he turned his head, looking away from Owen and over towards Marcus and Alex instead. “As for the testing Marcus, I have done partial testing and the results are very promising. With all of your help here I believe we can iron out the kinks and make phase two a reality,” Ethan said, before raising his whiskey glass up to his lips and taking a large gulp.

“You should know yourself that this is wrong,” Owen interjected whilst leaning backwards and slouching into his chair. “Why are you doing this?” he said in a different tone, speaking quietly, and with feeling.

“Science isn’t about the ‘Why’, It’s about the ‘Why not’,” Ethan replied, his approach to Archer growing darker by the second.

Owen turned away from Ethan’s gaze and looked over at Marcus and Alex on the other side of the room. “Are either of you going to back me up?” he pleaded to them enthusiastically, whilst always feeling Ethan's stare out of the corner of his eye.

“I’m sorry,” Alex replied quietly, averting his eyes to look at the ground, unwilling to make eye contact. “I can’t turn this opportunity down.”

“Neither can I,” Marcus answered proudly without even facing away. “This was always going to be the next logical step. Imagine the possibilities!”

Owen had sat there all night feeling slightly out of place. Listening to Ethan's announcement just now had sealed the deal for him. He'd had enough, and finally landed at the conclusion that had been floating around in his head for the last few minutes.