Movies had always fascinated me as a child and as an adult. One of the many things that makes a human stand out, on this planet, is the unbound imagination. Maybe something couldn't physically exist, but there was a way for someone to figure out how to make it exist in people's minds.
Six months had passed since my 21st birthday. It didn't really seem like that long sometimes and other times it felt much longer. The first month or so, after that night, was spent in what seemed to be a coma for everyone else. For me it was in another bizarre world deep within my own mind. What was a month for everyone else was actually a few months for me. Spent trying to find my way out.
My keepers had spent a lot of time testing me for everything imaginable. The best were the psychological evaluations I'd been subjected to every other day. I did the first one how anyone else would have taken the exam. After that, it was just me messing with them. It was too fun to take a Warshak test every other day and change my answers so drastically each time they started to think I had multiple personalities.
One thing difficult to figure out was what they were doing with all the clothes. They would give me brand new clothes and towels every day, along with all the hygiene products. Sometimes I wondered what they were doing with all these things. Other times I would think about the fact the American taxpayer were paying for me to have a new set of scrubs and Crocks every single day. Images of the entire prison systems sending clothes to us here and then back out to other inmates kept me laughing. There was no way of telling if they were actually doing that or not.
On my third day of being awake is when I began to put together a plan. It would be a long term plan, but there were many short term goals. First things first, remember, analyze and copy what I had been able to do in the past. My talent would get me out of the room, among other things.
Around my room were two way mirrors. They were recording me 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The Plexiglas shower was still a bit embarrassing for me, but my imagination carried me someplace else where I could be alone.
Being in two different places like in Sydney's apartment or when moving was the first thing to figure out. Could that be held? Was anyone able to see me? Was moving around and interacting with people a possibility? Figuring these things out was my first goal or being locked up in my room would surely drive me insane.
Everything was setup for the next five months to meet that goal. With my memories of the things that happened and how they happened, I had plenty of free time to test and discover how it was done and how to repeat it. Most of all, I had a driving need to figure it out after my birthday.
My birthday brought a lot of knowledge with it. It was almost impossible to process all of it felt like going through a library trapped in my own mind and the only way to know everything was to open every single book in the library. Tedious was the best word to describe it and all the knowledge I was given.
Practicing being in two places at once was going to be the simplest thing to practice with all the cameras and eyes on me. It would also be the easiest to discover my progress. If I wasn't sitting on the bed or in a chair in the room, then my keepers would know about it.
Day one went a little off course. One thing I would never be able to do, at least in this building, was be in two places at one time in the same room. Thankfully, the first day being awake they took me to an interrogation room down the hallway from my room. Knowing that room was empty, there was no reason not to us it.
Sitting on my bed with my legs hanging over, my focus was the image of the interrogation room in the back of my mind. All my emotion was going to that image. My eyes twitch and hazed over. My right arm twitched violently. Closing my eyes and I was in the interrogation room. Looking back to see myself on the bed, it had worked, to that point. Trying to hold it I closed my eyes again. Then the realization hit me, I was sitting in the interrogation room only. Panic filled my stomach and puking was a reality.
Thinking of my room and focused only on the room and my bed, it was deep in the back of my mind sitting with all my emotions. Twitching, hazed vision, closed eyes and I was back in the room on the bed without the panic or nausea.
A few guards with taser guns ran into the room with a couple of people in lab coats. My body was in one place only, on the bed in my room. The lab coats looked around the room and then at me. At first, it was like they didn't see me, but then they looked at me. A confused expression spread over my face.
Realization that they were looking around the room for mirrors or sheets or something that could have disguised my body long enough to look like I disappeared. That was the first time that something had happened that they got on film, but it wouldn't be the last.
Figuring that would be some excitement that would cause more people than usual to come and watch me through the glass like some sort of zoo animal, I decided to take the rest of the day to reflect and not try doing it again. Sure the video would show me gone and then there, it was enough.
When it happened before, Matt said it was almost instantaneous even though it felt like a long time to me. However improbably it seemed, time was slowing down when I was moving. It only seemed to be that way for me.
It was very early on day two when I decided to try it again. Sitting on the bed Indian style, I was in both places looking back at myself. When I left my eyes opened and transferred focus on my thoughts and image of the other, I would switch places, but both me's would be still there. Trying to lift my arm for me in my room, as I did I closed my eyes. Ending up in my room wasn't a bad outcome at all.
For about fifteen minutes after, each time I was fatigued. Was it like working out new muscle groups for the first time where they built up or would it always be like this?
Day three was wall to wall tests. Waking up to urine and blood samples, psychological evaluations, dexterity tests, memory tests, IQ test and the list went on. Skipping out on attempting it that day, my body just shut off and went to sleep.
Day four was the first of the pick and choose menu from the chef. It was strange they would feed me so well, but they did. The menu was full of everything. After my shower, breakfast was served and no one came in for testing. It was the right time to try it again.
Focusing on the interrogation room, my body was seated in a chair. Feeling some panic when a lab coat walked in to ask me some questions in my room, my eyes were left open in both places and focus was on talking through the me in my room. Twenty minutes answering questions in my room and watching myself from the interrogation room was time well spent. After it was over my body gave up on me and crashed hard. It took two steak dinners that night to replenish.
Before my ability started to dominate there was never a two steak dinner or much food of any kind. Thinking about it, it had to be using up the energy of two people to hold the 'bridge' open for so long.
My theory of the Einstein/Rosen Bridge was starting to feel more and more true. Crossing the plane of space-time seemed almost impossible in college reading about it day in and day out. It seemed to be the only theory to explain what was happening to me.
Day 5 was a more difficult test. The elevator was a good test to see other people and to see the Chef and talk to him about food. It was always a fascinating subject, after my kidnapping, and a good person to talk to that didn't know me was chef. Interacting with him would never raise suspicion because he didn't know my personality when I wasn't split.
Focusing on an elevator and ending up inside, the 8th floor became my final destination. No one was in the elevator and since it was 5 AM, almost no one was on the floor. Up and down the hallways the offices were all empty. One office nameplate said 'B. Reynolds', and the door was unlocked behind the door were several dry cleaned suits. Taking one of the seven black ones off the hook, it went under my arm and down the hall with me to a janitor's closet. Changing out of the scrubs and into the suit, it dawned on me to hide it there later in order to wander around the building and not be noticed.
This also made me think about something else. In both places I was in scrubs when I split. Back in the room the other me was still in scrubs en though in the closet I had on a black suit. Oddly, the first answer that popped into my head was maybe time was paused. Trying to keep my mind in the closet, I tried forcing myself to lift my arm in the room, which it did. There went that theory. Maybe that was where all my food calories were going, to doubling my clothing.
Back in the elevator with the black suit on, the 18th floor button was lit and the car was headed up. Other people got on and off interacting with me the entire ride up. There was nothing that exciting about the 18th floor. Some higher up name plates and so on, typical large offices with views.
Getting back in the elevator and hitting the lobby button, the car moved down and let me out in front of the doors. Calmly striding, my feet carried me right out the front door past the security guard. He smiled at me.
"Be right back. Just need to get some air," talking like I did this all the time.
"No problem, sir," he smiled back at me.
Outside the building it was easy to see we were out in the middle of nowhere. Forest, trees that looked like the East Coast, covered the entire perimeter. We were not near any close civilization. The parking lot had a few cars in it. There were a few buildings surrounding mine that looked like the same building, duplicated. With nothing else to discover I decided to check out the rest of the building.
Walking back into the building the guard who was on the phone and just waved. On the elevator my finger pushed the button for the 4th floor. It was just some random number of a floor to hit. Checking back on my room there was no one coming in or testing me.
On the 4th floor my body was starting to feel fatigued. It was a quick end to the day and the elevator took me back to the 8th floor and the janitor's closet. The scrubs quickly replace the stiff black suit. Sticking the suit behind some boxes, my focus was on the room and leaving the closet behind. Nothing was really different in the room even though I had been wandering around the building for almost an hour.
Breakfast was lots of eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast in the hope with enough piled on my energy would stay up longer when my body was split. Exhaustion seemed to be the only issue with being in two places at once.
Watching the mirrors and thinking, being in two places was happening, but my interaction in both spots was lacking. In order for my idea to work the interaction would have to happen from both sides at the same time.
That night my plan was to wait until they were going to come in and test me. Moving to the 8th floor and putting on the suit my mind was in the room. Lab coats came in to test me while sitting at the desk. All the testing went on as the security guard in the lobby filled me in on his life.
We talked about his family and how long his shift normally ran. At the same time there were several tests happening, written and oral, in the room. Focusing my energy on one made me feel robotic with the other. Even though he didn't know me, at one point the guard asked me if I was alright. After nearly thirty minutes the suit was exchanged for the scrubs in the janitor's closet changing. Focusing on the room, it was easy to stay.
No one stayed behind in the room. No one was waiting for me with tasers drawn. It worked better than hoped for. It was possible for me to be in two places at once, it was just going to take some practice.
By the time day thirty came along talking to two people at one time came pretty easy without any question of abnormality.
Being out around the building gave time to practice other things. Standing outside of Reynold's office looking through side window next to his door my hand picked up a pen off of his desk. Focusing only on one hand it ended up outside the door in my left.
Understanding how all of this was done from a physics standpoint was very difficult. Wrapping my mind around what the math would be to accomplish it was too much speculation. Strangely, working backward from something that most people thought was science fiction but to me was science fact became more difficult to create the scientific explanation for. After a several days my mind gave up on trying to explain it.
Reynold's office was used as my test lab for everything I could test outside of the room. One of these was locking and unlocking doors on his office door. After so many times, I'm sure he was going to need to have it replaced at some point soon.
Sixty days had come and gone. Every day the building became my test lab. My endurance for being in two places was gradually rising. A diet had become an art form with the amount of protein and carbohydrates needed to sustain extended periods.
Ninety days out became the point to put on the black suit and go visit someone. It was time to interact doing more than just talking. On the 12th floor, with my suit straightened, the kitchen called to me.
"Chef?" my voice echoed as I bellowed nervously.
"Yes," a portly man with black hair and a little salt and pepper goatee stuck his head out from behind a shelf. Not exactly the image in my head, but the attitude would be.
"Ah, Chef. Yes, I am new at this facility," he looked at me a bit odd. "I have been assigned to the guest in room 111."
"Oh, that guy has a great appetite!" He seemed quite excited to be talking to someone about me. He walked over to me and stuck out his hand, "I'm Gil or Chef Gil if you like."
"Agent Reynolds," his face was puzzled at the name. "No relation." His face lightened up.
"I was wondering if you might help me make something. You see, the guest in 111 was telling me how he loves Chicken Marsala," the Chef's face perked up. "I myself love it as well. I was wondering if you might help me learn to make it properly."
Often in my life, I have come to realize, if you get a person talking about something they are both knowledgeable and passionate about, they will go on forever discussing it.
"The perfect Marsala starts with the mushrooms," Chef handed me a kitchen jacket which I immediately put on.
"The mushrooms?" Just keep them talking to their passion.
"Oh yes! You must have either Porcini's or Portabella's for this dish. It is Italian and everyone in America decides to use some kind of flavorless American mushrooms to make it." He walked over to a large walk in refrigerator and walked out with several Portabella caps. "I prefer Portabella's in this case. They soak up the flavor of everything around them so much better," at times there was the hint of an Italian accent in his voice.
We spent an hour going over and over the ingredients and the reason for each and every one. Then we spent twenty minutes cooking. The entire time in the room I was questioned, had to take three written tests, and even had a conversation with some random agent that came into my cell.
After we were done cooking, "So, Reynolds, does 111 want Chicken Marsala tonight?"
In my room I wrote in '2 X Chicken Marsala with Portabellas'. "Yes, yes he does. I believe he is even asking for two orders of it."
Chef became a bit giddy, "God love that boy!"
"Thank you Chef," stopping before walking out. "Chef, would you mind if I came by a couple or a few nights a week and cooked with you?"
He seemed even more excited at this thought than anything else. "Oh please! I would enjoy that," his expression became one of frustration. "They keep sending me these buffoons to work with. I need someone to shape and mold in my own image." He sounded like a painter or artist of some sort.
"I am definitely that, Chef." He smiled as I walked out of the kitchen.
Heading back to the elevator, a crowd of suits got on. In the front was the agent that caught me, if you could call it that. He was in a walking boot now. It was definitely better than the cast he was in before. I tried to stay ready to be back in the room if McCoy noticed me in the back. Every other agent had gotten off on a floor except me and McCoy as we got to the 8th floor.
Walking by him to get off, "Where you going, Michael?" My heart stopped and my thought about being back in the room was a possibility. That was an out if needed but my curiosity needed to be quenched.
Slowing my pulse, "Interesting. I wasn't sure you would notice me here."
"I've been staring at your photo for quite some time," he patted his jacket lapel.
"I am touched, but my heart is with another," sarcasm didn't really get along all that well, but it came out pretty well for McCoy. "Maybe you should follow me, McCoy."
He followed me off the elevator. It was after five so most of the offices were empty including Reynolds'. The chair was a perfect fit as my legs went up on the desk.
"What the hell's this, Michael?" McCoy was really agitated.
"Well," stretching out behind the desk, "you have seen me and know who I am. I can't have that McCoy," my eyes locked onto his leg.
He was getting nervous after that, "Look, I just want to know what you're doing here, out of your room?"
My eyes rolled a bit, "You don't have any family, do you?" He was getting really nervous, "Relax. I am not going to kill you. But, I do need some kind of solution or I might have to leave you in the middle of the Himalaya's, McCoy."
He sat down across from me. "Look," he put his gun on the desk, "I don't want any trouble."
My eyebrows raised and my focus was being behind him. I moved from the desk to behind his chair and then to the wall then back to the chair. He reached up and took the clip out of the gun and the chambered round.
Sweat was beading up on his forehead. My hand reached up through the desk and grabbed the gun pulling it down. His eyes were huge and his heart beat could be felt from my chair. The gun made a clanking sound as it dropped into one of Reynolds' drawers.
"Oh shit," he became very jumpy. "Michael, I'm sorry. I was just scared."
"Look, Scott, I don't want to do anything to you. I am not that type of guy," getting up from the desk and looking thoughtfully out the window. "I cannot have you out there running around knowing something about anything I am doing."
"I won't tell anyone. I promise I won't," he was starting to squirm in his chair.
"I know, Scott. I know," sitting down again. "This is your one chance. Pick a place you want to disappear to right now and tell me or I will choose for you." He aggressively stood up. My eyes rolled, "There is more at stake than you or I, Scott. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you do not impede that. One life for billions is worth the transaction," looking him dead in the center of his eyes.
He sat in the chair and had accepted his fate, "I've always wanted to be a scuba instructor in the Bahamas," he had a faint smile.
"Scott," standing up from the desk and walked over to him, pulling him up, "If I ever see you again or hear about you talking to anyone inside the government," he looked at me. At the same time we both said, "Himalayas!" my head bobbed with his.
"I understand, kind of," he was being honest.
Grabbing him in what was like a hug, "Keep your eyes closed. Now, I have only done this once before, but it was with you."
"What?" he was very nervous and his tone showed it. He had every right to be. The last time he ended up with a broken leg.
My focus was on Nassau in the Bahamas. Not being there before didn't seem to matter. My focus in the back of my mind was on the name Nassau and seeing both Scott and myself there. My eyes twitched and both hands. Another new experience was moving one me while being split, telling him that would have just made him flip out so it stayed with me.
Turning we were both in Reynolds' office and we were standing on a beach in the Bahamas'. It was a good, although dangerous, time for a test. Then, my focus was only Scott on the beach.
"Scott," he opened his eyes. "Do not forget our deal." He nodded at me.
I focused on being in the office as he backed away from me. Closing my eyes it was only the office again. A little blast of a secondary image flashed of me being in my room at the same time. It was a strange sight. Being in three places at once was extremely confusing. Dropping to my knees, my lungs felt heavily. Three different set of thoughts were bursting through my mind. The thoughts from the Bahamas gradually dissipated and then they were back down on two separate thoughts.
Grabbing McCoy's gun from Reynolds' drawer it went with me tucking it into the suit pocket. From suit to scrubs and back in my room in time for dinner to show up, exhaustion swept though my body from my three-way split that made me realize it might be impossible to ever sustain more than being in two places at once for any length of time.
Starving to no end, the Chicken Marsala went down so fast my stomach hurt for a few minutes afterward. While eating, there was an expectation someone would come in and ask me about McCoy. No one ever did which seemed strange since he must have come to meet with someone.
It took six months to build up my tolerance enough to be in two places for about six hours at a time. Granted, it took a lot of food and figuring out that with eating normal on both sides it was much easier to sustain. It did take a little more energy because I was holding open space-time, but it was still much easier.
It was a Monday morning at 9 AM when the biggest test of all came along. For this I needed the suit. After eating two helpings of breakfast, Chef made me strawberry pancakes, on half went to the 8th floor and changed into Reynolds' black suit. Then, it was time to try something brand new. Split gain and just watch Matt in his office without staying there. From everything I could tell, this left me invisible to everyone else.
Standing in the janitor's closet my focus was on Matt's office. He was drinking coffee while sitting at his desk reading the paper. It had been seven long months since we saw each other. His secretary walked in.
"I have a call for Michael," she said.
"Sara, anything coming in for Michael today," he spun his chair around, "just tell them he's with his sick mother." She nodded as she acknowledged.
My focus was on the couch in Matt's office where I was watching him from and only the office. The janitor's closet was gone from my mind but not my room.
"So," he dropped his coffee mug on the floor. Coffee spilled everywhere. He turned his chair to me.
"Holy shit! Am I hallucinating?" his shock was priceless.
"No my friend," standing up. He jumped up from his chair and almost sprinted over to give me a hug.
There was some uncertainty if he was going to let me go at that point. It felt as if he was crushing my lungs. As he put me down Breathing became difficult for a few deep breathes.
"So, my mother is sick, is she?" smiling as he smiled and sat behind the desk.
"We had to tell them something. You just up and disappeared inside the government agencies wasn't going to go over well." He was right about that. "What took you so long to…," he was waving his hand around toward me.
"Move?" as it was becoming known to me.
"Yes, Move, if that's what we're calling it." He was smiling big. It was good to see him.
"I knew if I did then everyone would be hunted down and watched. I figured it was good for me to stay put. Besides, I had to learn how to control this thing," inally, someone to confide in about everything.
"If you were staying put to save all of us, then what are they going to do now?" He looked worried.
"Nothing," confusion layered over his face. "New tricks!"
He laughed, "What new trick is this?" His curiosity was getting the better of him.
"Right now I am in the room they have me locked up in," his eyes squinted as he leaned back in the chair. "And, I'm here with you." He leaned back forward with his mouth open.
"Are you telling me that you are in two places at one time?" His hand started to shake and a smile crossed his mouth. "Holy shit, Michael! They write comic books about this kind of thing!" He seemed more excited than ever. "What are you doing, the other you I mean?"
"I am taking another Warshak test. They give them to me every other day, usually." The testing had run its course with me. Something new was welcome.
"This is so amazing!" He got up and walked to the window. He looked out with his hand to his face. "I feel like I fell asleep and woke up in the middle of a movie."
He was right. It did feel just like that. Everything that had happened to us over the last five or six years was some type of fictional book or film.
"So, what's the plan?" he sat back down and looked at me.
"I want to get back into the company, but quietly. We need the government to think we have a double in place as the face of everything." Grinning at him, "The truth is, if they look in the room I am there so the only explanation is that it would be a double."
"That sounds pretty easy. We should walk over to your office from here. It might freak Sara out, though," he brought up a valid point and not just with her.
"I can take care of Sara," stopping him. "Wait, before we walk over there, did you guys find out anything about this 'John' that has been feeding the NSA information?" Matt sat back down.
"We found out some. We didn't find an exact identity, but we did find out the guy died on your 21st birthday," which was good information.
That made a lot of sense. He died at the exact moment I turned 21. What Matt did no know was that I already knew that particular fact.
"We still need to find out what his background was. I do not want Bob or Jax to stop looking on that front." Matt nodded at me.
"Let's walk you across the floor for the effect." We walked out of Matt's office and Sara turned around. She was so shocked she dropped the phone and her coffee.
"You alright, Love?" I picked the phone receiver up for her.
"How did you….," she pointed at the entrance to Matt's office.
"I was waiting in there for a long time to surprise Matt. I hid when you dropped off the paper and coffee." She immediately relaxed. She laughed a bit.
"Good to see you, Michael," she smiled at me.
Matt and I walked across the floor to the other corner of the building. Everyone was standing up out of their cubicles and ducking their heads out of their office doors. It was raucous in the office.
Seated at a desk in front of my office door was Alice Waterman. She was a 24 year old college graduate that was in love with me and just didn't want to leave the position and move on to what she should be doing because of it. We just kept paying her more money to match what she should have been making.
"Oh God! Michael, you're back!" She ran around the desk and gave me a hug. As she cut off the circulation, Matt pulled her off of me.
"Love, get me some coffee and grab a pen. We have some notes to write," looking up at Matt. "Call Bob and have him come down." Looking at my watch, "We only have about five hours, so time is of the essence." Matt nodded and walked back to his office.
Alice followed me into my office. She sent off about twenty e-mails and setup some meetings. One meeting would be at 1 PM that day in our auditorium for all the employees. They all needed to see my face and know I was back.
It took about forty five minutes to get all that out and have Alice busy the rest of the day. Just as she left Bob walked into my office with Matt following. Pushing the intercom button for Alice, "Love, hold all my calls until the 1 O'Clock meeting, please. Can you get me some beef jerky, too, please?"
"Yes, sir," she said back with a lot of excitement still in her voice.
Getting up from the desk and walking over giving a bone crushing hug to Bob, "God, it's good to see you boss!" We both laughed.
Peeling away and going to my chair. "Let me tell you guys how this works," they were both listening intently. "I do not understand the science of it, yet. I might never understand it. What I do know is it has taken me 7 months to get to this point where I can be in two places at once for about five hours. I have been building my stamina up to that point. It takes a lot of food to do it, too." Spilling the details felt good.
Alice walked in with a plate in her hand. She had poured the jerky out of a bag onto it.
She set it down, "Thank you, Alice. Can you order a case of this for me to keep here during the day?" She nodded on her way out but looked a little confused.
"Why are you staying in that place?" Bob jumped out and asked in kind of a pissed off tone.
"Two reasons," swallowing some jerky. "One, as long as I am in there they will not being chasing everyone I know and watching all of you. Two, I get time to practice and figure this thing out. Right now I am practicing controlling this thing as I sit here speaking to you." My eyes twitched a bit, "Now they have me taking another IQ test. I will make sure to score a 70 on it." Matt laughed.
"Well, that makes sense," Bob said. "But won't you get tired of it eventually?"
"Yes, as soon as I know what I need to, I will leave that place." Chewing some more jerky, "Not before I know everyone is safe from the government, though. Until then, we do it like this. Understood?"
Both of them nodded, my eyes looked down at the street. It was a sunny day outside so the light was coming in through the blinds. The government had cameras all over the building taking pictures and video and they needed to see me.
"They have people watching this place and the street. They are following you all over." Both of them nodded knowing it was true.
"Shouldn't you close the blinds?" Matt asked.
"No, I want them to see. It will confuse them. I want them to spend some time checking to see if I am a double or not," it was part of my plan.
Closing my eyes my focus was on the jerky on the plate. My hand came up through grabbing a piece and then disappearing with it in my hand. Matt and Bob moved a little, but they had seen this before. Practice was practice and it needed to happen all day long.
"Has anyone been able to find Baal?" No need to turn around to know the answer. Trying to drive home how important it was to find where he was living, all I heard was silence. "Okay. Keep sending out more and more people until we find him."
"Well, what's our next move?" Matt was getting impatient.
"We get all the money and the companies moved off shore. We set everything up just as we planned it. We find Baal. We find out about John. We find Delilah," the last was most important to me.
"What about McCoy?" Bob asked.
"Oh, yes," a smile grew. "He is in Nassau, permanently." Looking over at Bob, "If you hear differently, let me know. If he shows his face again he and I have a date in the Himalayas."
Matt laughed, "Fuck! I would hate to be on your bad side anymore."
I threw the black sport coat down on my chair. "Let's go get some food. I am starving." Matt and Bob both looked at the empty plate of jerky with a surprise on their face. "Besides, I want to talk about some other things you guys need to do while I am not around."