Manipulator by Thom Parsons Read Free Book Online Page A

directly at him as he spoke. “There was nothing that I could have done.”
    Annie. It had been two weeks since his wife had died in a car accident. Two weeks of feeling empty inside. “Let’s just drop it for now, okay? Trust me Nick. I’m fine.”
    “Well, you know where I am,” Nick said, knowing full well that there was no use trying to talk to Owen about something he wasn’t willing to. It would have been like talking to a brick wall. He’ll come around in his own time.
    On that note, the three of them all went their separate ways. Kate and Nick moved Eli, whilst Owen decided to call it a night and head on back to his apartment on the opposite side of the city.
    For Owen, It felt like an incredibly long drive home that night, and he was getting exhausted. He took solace in the fact that at least now his team had nothing urgent on for a few days, except for the case with Eli, but that could end up being one of those slow-going jobs. Although saying that, every case that they worked was different, there was no telling how long they would end up working on Eli for. There were never any black and white defining set of rules for each and every job. Everything was a shade of grey, and you just had to take each job as it came, treat every situation differently.
    It was late, just after midnight when Owen got back into his apartment. It had been one hell of a long day and he was tired. He realised that he hadn’t done any of the paperwork on Eli to send off to HQ, but at this point, he didn’t care. He collapsed backwards onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling. Then Owen let the world just drift away.
    But little did Owen know, that world was about to be turned upside down.

Chapter Nine

    Date: December 15th 2035 (Present Day)
    Location: Unknown

    “So there you have it,” Owen said, leaning back into his chair, satisfied. “PRoGRaM. Perception Recreation Geist-Reality Manipulator. The ability to enter memories. To simulate near enough any place in the world. To see what secrets people have been hiding. To erase specific memories from people’s minds altogether. I think that sums that up? Do you agree?” he asked.
    “Yes,” Victoria said slowly, nodding her head and writing down some final notes. “You paint a rather vivid picture of this technology, Mr Archer. Now… onto the matter at hand. I need you to confirm that everything that took place regarding the events involving the three men known as Marcus Ortega, Alex Morgan and Ethan Darkes was done so personally, and that the United States Government, including the FBI, is in no way, shape, or form involved.”
    Owen knew this bit was coming. He knew all along that this was the point of the interview that mattered the most to Victoria and the people that she worked for. To get him to denounce the role of the FBI in his actions, to confirm that he acted alone.
    “I worked for a Special Projects Division of the FBI that owns one of the few working PRoGRaM machines. We were contracted to take people’s memories away from them, and to solve crimes by using people’s memories of past events. But business turned personal. The FBI’s Special Projects Division had nothing to do with what happened. I acted on my own. People died, and I went off the rails. But I did what I had to do to find out the truth.”
    “And you realise that you broke a hell of a lot of laws in doing so? Which is why you’re here now?” Victoria said, reminding him of his current situation.
    “I’m well aware of that,” Owen said emotionlessly.
    “Then what kind of leader takes his team on a stupid and deadly personal mission like the one that you recently undertook?” Victoria asked, the anger almost showing in her tone.
    “They didn’t know what they were doing,” Owen lied. “They had no idea that they were acting on my own personal authority, and not under the authority of the United States Government or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I take full responsibility for