Elle

"Have a seat and we'll get started." The man said. I walked up to one of the chairs and sat down. The man walked to the other and sat staring at me.

"Your name is Justin Blackwell. You apparently have a good bit of influence and that is why you are here. We'll skip the bullshit details because we don't have the time and I really don't care. You are being charged with the murder of your wife. Whether you are truly guilty or not makes no difference, however they will charge you with guilt if they find you." He said.

"They?" I asked cutting him off.

"The government. You have paid an enormous amount of money to disappear from their site and be reinserted as a different person. That is why you are here. We will attempt to recover and insert a new cranial chip, and implant you seamlessly back into the world." He said.

"Cranial chip?" I asked having no idea what he was talking about.

"A tracking chip in your head, inserted before birth. It allows them to know where you are and what you are doing at all times." He said.

"How?" I asked him.

"They can jack into your head, read your thoughts." The man said.

"What!?" I cried jumping out of my seat. The man sighed and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit one and then held the pack towards me.

"Now's a great time to start." He said. I took a cigarette from the pack and put it between my lips. I took the lighter from him and lit it. It seemed like a natural act to inhale the sweet tasting smoke and let it float back out of my lungs through my nose.

"Who are you?" I asked sitting back down after getting lost in the act of smoking for a few moments. It had calmed me down, and that is what I needed.

"Nope. No names, nothing. If they catch you they'll download your memory and I'm not going down with you." He said. I looked at him confused. I still didn't understand how someone could read my thoughts.

"So why don't they know I'm here now?" I asked.

"We're several thousand feet under the ocean in an old research laboratory. Their satellites can't reach this far down." He said taking a long drag off the cigarette.

"Why should I trust you?" I asked him.

"This is what I do, and because you already paid me." He said laughing. I sat back in my chair and thought for a few moments. I had no idea what was going on, I didn't even know who I was. For now I had to trust him, what other choice did I have?

"So what do I do?" I asked him.

"Oh so you've come around now. Well if you'll just follow me we'll get you to a scanner and find out what is going on in that little head of yours." He said and stood up. I followed him out of the room and through a maze of hallways. Eventually we came to two large steel doors, but these contrasted hard against the rest of the scenery. They were shiny and looked almost new. The man walked up to the wall and a small sphere admitted three short beeps. He stepped back a few feet, the doors made a large boom and started to open. A blinding white light came from within and I shunned my eyes away.

"Oh quit being a pussy and come on." The man said. I squinted my eyes and followed him into the room. There was another man waiting in the room who looked almost exactly like the man I was with, except his tie was a different color. I figured they must be twins. The room was extraordinary. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all glowing white it seemed. I looked around for a few seconds. There were no light fixtures anywhere. There was a large white sphere in the center of the room. The only way I could tell it from the wall was that it had a dull texture to it.