Mister Nobody

Chapter 7

At first, he was surprised that the woman knew his name, but then he realized his name and face had been all over the news, and he wasn't about to play stupid. Placing the gun against the door, he spoke loud enough so she could hear him. "If you're some kinda cop, I'll shoot." The woman sighed. "I'm not a cop, Jack, I promise. And you should know that what I just said to you confirms that." Jack had no idea how she'd managed to make him say that phrase back to her, but he knew that he still didn't trust her. Reaching up, he slid the bolt out of the lock and opened the door slowly, aiming his gun at her. The woman didn't flinch when she saw the gun, and then shook her head. "I'm not here to kill you. If I was, you'd be dead already." Jack frowned and didn't move. "Yeah, well I've had people shooting at me all day, along with the fact I have no idea how or why I'm here, so you'll forgive me if I'm a little on edge." He said with a bit of malice in his voice. Sighing, the woman walked past him, and Jack closed the door, still pointing the Glock at her as she looked back. "Jesus Jack, put the gun down. If you want to know how you got here, I have answers. But first, you need to trust me." Jack stayed silent for a very long time, then hesitantly put the gun down at his side. "What the hell is going on?" He asked in as stable a voice as he could muster.

The woman took off her coat and placed it on one of the chairs at the card table. "My name is Alison Blair. You don't know who I am, but I know everything about you, Jack. Before we go through this, I need you to know one thing: everything I am about to tell you is the truth. You can accept that or not, it's on you. But if you do accept it, you need to understand. This is a matter of life and death, so if you believe me, you need to listen very carefully." Looking at Jack with her crystal blue eyes, he could tell that she was being serious. Nodding, Jack sat down at the table, placing the gun down in front of him. "Fine. Then let's talk." Alison sat down across from him and started speaking. "In the 1950s, the CIA created a secret division of the agency known as MK-ULTRA. Their purpose was to find different ways to alter the minds using drugs and hallucinogens for espionage and interrogative purposes. For years, the project didn't show success, until 1964. A special compound was created that would allow people to control memories, edit them, basically change a persons thoughts and experiences. This compound was codenamed Ozone. In 1974, MK-ULTRA was revealed to the public and eventually shut down by the CIA. At least, that's what the official story was."

"The real story was that MK-ULTRA continued, in a special splinter group created by the head of the CIA, whose callsign was known as Castling. Their objective was to use Ozone to create the ultimate sleeper agent: people with extensive combat and espionage training who could have their memories altered to seem like normal people, even under interrogation. However, in order to fully be susceptible to Ozone, the mind would have to be at a base chemistry, in other words...young. Castling would take children from orphanages, broken homes, hell, even sometimes right out of the maternity wards. Then, ever since they could walk and talk, they would train them. Sharpen their minds, turn them into soldiers and spies. Then, once they were old enough, they would give them a dose of Ozone and reshape their entire mind, give them new memories, and plant them in society. Say, like living in an apartment in Connecticut." She looked at Jack when she said this, and a chill ran up his spine as he realized what she was saying. "Castling is real, Jack. And you used to work for them. You're a government-legislated assassin. A weapon."

Jack sat there in silence as he looked at Alison, then he laughed a little and shook his head. "Great. So you're not a cop. You're just crazy. You gonna say that we faked the moon landing next or something?" Alison leaned in closer, her face still deathly serious. "Jack, you and I both know I'm not joking. It all makes sense. Your loss of memory, the fact that you know all these skills, the tattoo on your back, everything. You have been living a lie for most of your life, and you didn't start being Jack DeLancie until 2 years ago." Jack's eyes widened when she mentioned the tattoo. "How did you know about that?" He said, then Alison unzipped the sweater she had been wearing under her coat to reveal a tank top underneath. Turning around in her chair slightly, Jack's heart almost stopped when she showed her back right shoulder blade. On it was a tattoo of a chess piece. This one, however, was a knight. "So...believe me now?" She asked as she looked back at Jack, her blue eyes shimmering in the harsh lights of the apartment.