Project A.N.E.W

Remember?

The bald man taps away on his tablet, glancing now and then at the comatose man in the chair.

'Initialising John Wick protocol... now.'

The captured man's eyelids begin to twitch, moving back and forth rapidly. Another of the standing group, this time with a gun, turns around and looks back at the technician. 'Wait, you mean they actually called it that?"

The technician shrugs. 'The name stuck. Why come up with something else?'

The questioner shakes his head, turning back to the door. He says something.

'What?' The bald man asks, looking up from his work.

'I said it wasn't even that good a movie.'

Another one of the guards chimes in. 'Of course it was, it's a classic.'

'I'm one of the few who actually watched it,' said the first. 'It was stupid.'

'I downloaded retro memories of watching it, ' the second guard argues. 'And, anyway, you have to admit it was satisfying.'

'Shh, he's waking up,' hisses the technician, straightening his glasses and turning his tablet off. The energy screen goes blank, before dissipating. He hangs the leftover rod on his shirt-front.

John Kovacs wakes up, blinking. The neural net was gone, and he can see the bald man packing it back into his briefcase.

As John calmly studies his surroundings, the man watches him with a critical gaze.

When they finally meet eyes, the technician queries 'Who are you?'

'John Kovacs, intelligence officer for the Interplanitary Police. Hitherto a sleeper agent, within SecretSafe.'

'...And your wife and family?'

'Also agents, sir.'

The technician nods. 'Very good. Now, we need to move quickly lest things become suspicious. The Syndicate's grown a lot in the last two years, and they haven't taken any of our other agents as bait. You're the first. And they're terrorizing other innocent souls, just like they did Aiden Witchowski.

'The time has come to put a stop to that'

He reaches into his pocket, and presses a button; causing the metal clamps on John's body to release. Turning around, the bald man accepts a bundle of paperwork from an aide in a pink manilla file, and hands it to John.

'These are the files you were supposed to procure for The Syndicate. Binding them is a device which looks like a paper clip, but it's a transmitter. From it, we'll be able to track your location, as well as wirelessly hack into their database when you're within range.

'Thanks to you, we'll be able to name names, see which planet's they operate from, which companies willingly aided them, and finally put an end to their illicit activities.

'Now, go. We've taken long enough as it is; they'll be growing suspicious.'

John nods, and stands shakily. He doesn't know how long the memory renewal took, but the process always left him feeling sleepy, and tired.

Just like he had been, fresh out of the 3D printer, when he'd believed he was Aiden Witchowski.

He turns, and looks back at the men in the room, who were already packing away all signs of their presence. 'Can I have a weapon?'

The bald man turns to him, mouth open. 'What?'

John is stoic. 'It doesn't matter whether or not I survive. All you need is for the remote transmitter to pass beyond their walls. Now, I know at least two years ago there were weapons one could sneak past sensors—an energy knife, for example.'