A Mission Remembered

by Tanner Froreich

  I was still thinking when Simon burst through the door. I jumped as he blurted out, “Abigail found it!”

  “Found what?”

  “The connection between BDI’s Memory program and Mindsweeper! Come on, we’ve got to go her place,” he gestured for me to follow.

  In the car I asked, “Did she say anything about it to you?”

  He shook his head. “No man, she gave me a call and told me to get you.”

  I was more than excited; I was a step closer to getting my memory back. Perhaps I’ll have the answers to some of my questions about IODINE and my involvement with them.

  We pulled into a gated apartment complex. Simon stopped the car. We stepped out as he asked, “What are you going to do when you’re remembering again?”

  “I’m gonna visit my mom and tell her I remember.”

  “How’s she doing, Arf?” Simon asked with a grim look plastered across his face.

  I sighed; I had grown closer to my mom but no memories had surfaced. It hurt to see her in pain and not being able to do anything about it. I put on a brave face. “She’s doing ok. I don’t think I want to talk about it. I just want my mind back.”

  Simon led me to an apartment and knocked on the door. Moments later the door flew open to reveal Abigail smiling. “Hey guys, come in. Sorry about the mess.” She let us in as she adjusted a pair of reading glasses.

  “I didn’t know you wore glasses?” I asked. I looked around the place. For someone like Abigail, I didn’t expect the apartment to be as untidy as it was. Dirty clothes littered the floor. Science books, files, and the remains of multiple nights of takeout were scattered on the table. The bookshelves seemed to have never been dusted.

  Simon’s voice pulled me out of my observations. “It’s a recent thing, Arf.”

  Abigail finished, “Apparently mom had bad eyes, and it didn’t show up ‘till I got older. I’m considering contacts.”

  Simon had wandered into the apartment. He picked up some dirty laundry and put it in a basket that was on the couch. “You know Abigail, I think you look nice in glasses. It makes you look much more distinguished.”

  She walked over and took the basket from him just to put it in a lounge chair. “Thanks Simon, but my glasses aren’t why I called you two over.” She walked to a computer desk across the living room. The desk looked like the only item in the room that was cleaned regularly. She picked up a file and beckoned us to come take a look.

  “When I inherited B.D.I, the man heading the Mind program, Dr. Arthur Benedict, was fired.” She handed me the file and I flipped through it. “Though we kept on many of the scientists my father employed, Dr. Benedict aided my father in some ‘unethical’ experiments. One of which employed me as a test subject.” She winced at the painful memories.

  “The memory blockage, however, didn’t last long for me. The tech was incomplete, and with a strong enough emotional connection – you – my mind was able to connect the dots again.”

  “So, let me get this straight. With a strong enough bond, I can break this?”

  She shook her head, “Unfortunately, whatever was used on you is incredibly more complicated. In my digging, I found that Dr. Benedict had made hard copies of all his work before the program was liquidated. He either continued his work, sold it, or it was stolen. I believe it was the later of these three.”

  Simon had walked into the kitchen and got a glass of milk. “What makes you think that?”

  “He was found dead two months later, murdered,” she bluntly stated.

  Simon coughed on the milk. “Wow…um…yeah, makes sense.”

  I cringed. “Mindsweeper. He must have killed him and took the gear.”

  “Either Dr. Benedict made brilliant progress in those two months or our guy is fairly smart,” Abigail replied. “The good news is that we still have Dr. Benedict’s work at B.D.I. With time, me, and a team of scientists may be able to figure out how to restore your memory.”

  I smiled. “So, there’s hope?”

  “There’s always hope, but I would recommend you keep looking for Mindsweeper. That tech will make fixing this situation so much easier. Now I have to fly back to B.D.I headquarters and get working on this.” She walked into a doorway that lead to a bedroom.

  I was ecstatic, but Simon was concerned. He followed her into the room and said quietly, “Hey Abby, shouldn’t you, I don’t know, take a break for a little bit. You’ve been working to get this information for three days. Have you slept?”

  “What makes you think that Simon?” she asked, somewhat irritated.

  I walked off to give them some privacy, but I could still hear them. “Well for one, you only have one earring in. Two, I can see the bags under your eyes.”

  Thinking about it, there were bags under her eyes. I started to feel bad that she had worked tirelessly to help me.

  Abigail lowered her voice, trying to not let me hear. “I have to help him Si, he’s…done so much for me. The least I could do is this.”

  “But at what cost? Abby, you need to rest. Why not take a break from all this? Why don’t we go do something you enjoy? We’ll pick up Paul or one of the Twins and make it an outing,” Simon said. “At least rest. Your team of brainiacs can handle this without you for a few days. I know you want to do everything you can for him. I would give my right arm for the guy!”

  “And you know that I won’t stop until he remembers that, but if it will help you sleep at night, I guess I could take the next day off. Glow-in-the-Dark Minigolf would be a welcome distraction.”

  “Good,” he said as he came out to me rubbing his neck in embarrassment. “How much did you hear?”

  “Most of it.”

  Chapter 31

  Last Memories

  Simon didn’t hold anything against me for eavesdropping. I also understood Simon’s concern for Abigail’s wellbeing. So, if there were any bitter feelings from that event, they weren’t shown. We stood in an awkward silence before I said, “So, if I’m being honest, I don’t know where to start looking for Mindsweeper. The guy is like a phantom.”

  Abigail came out of the bedroom. “Well the BDI warehouse, where this all began, still has video recordings of the robbery. Mindsweeper may have taken the hard copies, but we had back-ups and back-ups for the back-ups.”

  “Ok, so you guys were paranoid.” The rude comment was unintentional. As soon as I heard it, I muttered. “Sorry, how does that help us?”

  Simon started pacing, clearly thinking very hard. “Maybe… If I can get a good image of his face, I can wire up a facial recognition system to alert us if Mindsweeper is seen on any camera connected to the internet. Abigail, mind if I use the computer systems at the warehouse?”

  I realized we hadn’t asked the obvious question. “Why was Mindsweeper at the warehouse?”

  Abigail flipped through the files on the table. “He stole, other than the tapes, some parts.” I looked at her as she bit her lip. “But we don’t know what.”

  Simon raised an eyebrow. “How do you not know?”

  “Mindsweeper kind-of took the inventory list and sent a virus that erased every inventory list on BDI’s personal server.”

  “Why didn’t he do that with the security tapes?” I questioned.

  She shrugged. “It couldn’t have been too hard for him, so either he forgot to when you showed up, or…”

  “He wants me to have a way to find him.” That didn’t fill me with a lot of confidence.

  Changing the subject, Abigail replied to Simon’s question. “Yes, Si. You can use the warehouse assets. Do you still have your key card?”

  He nodded and I smiled. “Finally, time to go on the offensive.”

  Abigail stayed behind to get some much-needed rest. The warehouse was in Colorado, so we couldn’t leave right away. Well, I could and be back in time for dinner, but Simon would have to drive, or fly. He had heard about Phineas’ piggyback ride through the woods and didn’t want any part in that. So, while Simon was busy at his apa
rtment preparing for this trip, I went to the hospital to see my mom.

  To my joy and surprise, my mother was not only awake but walking around! I greeted her and she smiled so genuine every other smile I had seen seemed fake. “Arf, I’m so glad you came.”

  “Hey mom, how are you up? Not that I don’t enjoy seeing you better, but how?” I asked inquisitively.

  She hugged me and sat on her bed. “We’re not sure, but it is a blessing, nonetheless. Your father is on his way with all the other children. I wanted them to be able to see and remember me like this instead of bed ridden if…” her voice trailed as she remembered the seriousness of her condition.

  I nodded, but I hadn’t seen her in any other condition. All my memories about her were only about her in this hospital bed.

  She looked at me, and she was still rather pale. “I can imagine how hard this is for you. The pain and despair, not knowing whether or not I’m going to make it.”

  “Yeah, and the lack of memories. I don’t even really know who I am anymore.”

  She ran her hand through my hair. “Your hair used to be so nice. So bushy you couldn’t do anything with it without gel, and then you started running. You’ve spent so much time running, your hair is blown back beyond repair.”

  I laughed. I hadn’t ever considered the condition of my hair.

  She sighed. “I remember when you were in this very hospital after the accident. I spent so much time here. Like you, I worried every moment that you wouldn’t make it. There were so many times you came so close to death. I was so scared, but God brought you back to me every time.”

  I didn’t want to interrupt her, so I just sat there, not worrying about anything. I just closed my eyes and committed her words and voice to memory. She sounded just like a mother would. Every syllable was laced with the memories of years of raising her children: the joys and fears, the pride and heartbreak, the smooth seas and the stormy trials. All of them bound into these heart-sent words.

  “I guess those times, and others, have been used by God to prepare me for this moment. Somehow, I can see my future and my last days, and I’m not afraid. I know it will be hard on all of you and Stephen, but God has shown me that He is more than capable to care for you. I know that as He always brought you back to me, He will bring you to where He’s taking me,” she said with peace in her voice, but sadness in her eyes.

  I sighed. I admired her faith, but deep down I feared I was incapable of that same faith. Though I had this inward knowledge of who God was, and that He was in control, I had a hard time really trusting Him. I still had to wrestle with my flesh. I looked at the tile floor and fought with the conflicting voices within my soul. I refused to deny God's sovereignty in this situation, but with everything that had happened recently, it was just hard. The doubt within me questioned that if God had control over this world, why did I lose my memory, why did I get involved with IODINE? There was a war recently born due to my actions – where was God in that situation? Why did I have to fight and endure torture just to return home to suffer through my mother's last days?

  The mental struggle was so prominent, it took everything I had to keep my mom from noticing. Sometimes it felt as if the enemies I fought on the inside were more of a threat than the ones outside. I wrestled with foes who sought to rob me of not only joy but everything that has defined me up to this point. I owned it to my mother, my father, my siblings, my friends, and everyone my alter-ego influenced to keep fighting the doubt and despair. I was the only person in the world that could possibly undo the evil web IODINE was spinning. I realized there, on that hospital bed with my dying mother next to me, that I had the duty to oppose IODINE. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sit any longer while they kept Ravenhouse prisoner, destined to live his life being tormented in that awful place.

  I looked at my mother. “I promise you. I will find a way to come back to you, both in mind and body.”

  She stroked my hair again. “I know you will, my wonderful boy. Just remember this, right now I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  I hugged her and left. Somehow she understood why I had to go even though I never told her. I wanted to run back home, but I knew that some family members would not think returning to IODINE would be a wise idea. I headed to Simon’s apartment.

  I stopped running short of the building; I didn’t need to be leaving skid marks in the carpet. I walked through the front door to be greeted by a young receptionist. “Mr. Fredrick, it’s been awhile. I started wondering where you went. Vacation?”

  I didn’t know this person, but she apparently knew me. “Yeah, you could say that. I may have forgotten where Mr. Stretton’s…my apartment is.”

  She shook her head playfully and fingered through some paperwork. “That’s a new response, forget often?” I didn’t sense anything suspicious in her tone. Perhaps my extensive time with IODINE had made me paranoid of new people. I would never know when IODINE was going to show up.

  “Only the important things,” I replied coolly.

  “I understand that. I’m always misplacing my keys. Ah, here it is!” She pointed at a line on the paper. “Fourth floor, room 416.” I thanked her and showed myself to the stairs. I walked up to the door with "416" on it.

  To my surprise and fear, the door was left eerily ajar. I tensed up as I approached, since I didn't know what to anticipate I was going to be ready for anything. I slowly opened the door. The room was well lit, but no one was visible.

  "Hello?" I called into the silence.

  From inside the apartment, a voice called out, "The cash is in a bag on the hat rack, leave the pizza on the ground."

  "Simon? I don't have any pizza."

  His head popped out from the bedroom door. "Oh Arf! I thought you were the pizza guy."

  "No, I'm not." I came in and looked around. The apartment was split into two sections – the kitchen and living room. The two were separated by an island which had the sink built into it. On one side of the room were doors that lead to what I assumed were the bedrooms. I walked into one, which was probably mine, as everything had a thin layer of dust. I noticed a file on the dresser.

  I picked it up. “Simon! I have something you are going to want to see.”

  I walked back into the living room as he came out of his. “What’s up?”

  I showed him the pictures in the file. They were all of Mindsweeper. There were some facts that we didn’t really need, like suspected gender and height. “Will these be of any use?”

  “Absolutely. I still need to go to the warehouse to set up the system, but these will make my job so much easier.” I wondered how I had pictures of Mindsweeper. Was it connected to my memory of my meeting with Mr. Bordeaux and Derek? They probably gave it to me, but this wasn’t the reason I came here.

  I sat on the couch. "I need to tell you something, Simon."

  "What do you need help with? Do you need advice?"

  "No, I don't need that. I know exactly what I'm going to do."

  He sat on a reading chair to my left. "Arf, I don't like that tone in your voice. You’re about to do something drastic aren't you?"

  "When me and Phineas escaped from IODINE, we had the chance to free another prisoner. IODINE was torturing and experimenting on him too. Against my better judgment, we left him. It’s been bothering me ever since I got back.”

  Thinking back, I know we could’ve helped him, but we just left him. I didn’t even know if Ravenhouse was still alive, and it would’ve been our fault. What if we couldn’t though? We would’ve been caught and probably all would’ve died. I was out and free, so I had this responsibility to get him out as well. I wondered if he would do the same for me. Probably not, but that doesn’t change anything.

  Simon could see the conflict I was having within me. “And you’re planning on going back aren’t you?” I nodded. “You do know how dangerous that is?” I nodded again. Simon sat and thought for a moment. Then he pushed himself up and said, “Well, if I can’t stop you, I can at least hel
p you.”

  He went into the spare room and came out with a ginormous needle. I stood up abruptly. “What is that?”

  He looked at the needle and then at me. “Glad to see your still scared of these things. This is just a needle, and I’m going to use it to inject a small tracker into your body. After you first disappeared, Abigail and I started working on this. Don’t want to lose you again.”

  Reluctantly, I gave him my arm and he injected a small device into it. At first I could feel the pill shaped device imbedded in my flesh, but eventually I was able to ignore it.

  I rubbed my arm. “Well, I should probably be going. You never know if IODINE has been listening or not. Thanks Simon.”

  He gave a small smile and patted my shoulder. “No problem buddy, I’ll keep working on finding Mindsweeper. Don’t be too long though, ok? God’s Speed.”

  “God’s Speed,” I replied as I left the room. I headed down to the ground level, and as soon as I was outside, bolted off with a sonic boom.

  Chapter 32

  Abandonment

  I raced south. Though I hadn’t ever been given direct directions to the IODINE base, I was able to find my way back with relative ease. By relative ease I mean I was racing all over the Sequoia forest and surrounding areas.

  I had been running for almost two hours when I finally found evidence of IODINE. Night had fallen by the time I came across a well-used dirt road. From what I could see, semis had been using this road, which was highly irregular for the region I was in.

  I paused to wonder what my plan was. I figured I would just sneak into the high security base of a top-secret agency without a problem, find the Troll, break him out and with his help bust our way out to freedom. Yeah, brilliant plan. I thought as I realized how little I had thought this through. I scolded myself for my ill planning and gave a quick prayer that God would protect me and keep me from falling into the hands of my enemies again.

  I looked sharply down the road in one direction, as I thought I heard the sound of an engine approaching. I had left all my gear back home, so no mask with night vision. However, I also realized that without my bright blue suit, I would not stick out like a blueberry among bananas.