The Manchurian Candidate - Chapter 3 - Starting level 4
For warning, splease check out the first chapter here.
The story can also be found on AO3.
“Stand down Neal. 666alpha8657omega726 ” Peter commanded.
He took his gun back from Neal. It hadn´t been loaded, but Neal had passed the test for level 3. He took the bullets out of his pant pocket and reloaded his gun, placing it back in his holster.
Neal didn´t show any emotions on his face. He was just waiting for instructions from his handler.
“OK Neal, you passed your test, you are ready for level 4 training, are you up to it?”
Neal nodded, the tension was still there. Neal as an operative was so different than Neal Caffrey, CI. He was coiled, ready for action, focused. He was magnificent. He was the best sleeper agent Peter had handled so far.
“We are ready here, tomorrow your training continues, after we have visited the FBI offices. You will make a vital discovery in the case. The entry into the museum was flawless and there is only one person you know who could pull this off, except for yourself and that is Gregory Martin.”
Neal was listening and nodded again. Peter talked to Neal as an agent for some time, before he called it a day.
“OK, let´s go.”
They left the hospital and drove off. Peter triggered Neal again and Neal studied the car for a moment.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened?”
Neal had a contemplative look on his face. He knew he was missing something. It was on the edge of his memory, but he couldn´t retrieve it. It had happened a couple of times already, he must be tired, because he seemed to zone out sometimes. It was a strange sensation. And the headaches were relentless. Every time he thought they were gone, they came back.
“Care to tell me what you are thinking?”
“Not really, no.” Neal started rubbing the place where he had placed the muzzle of the gun against his temple.
“It´s OK, Neal, we can´t always make progress in a case, sometimes we need a lucky break. Tomorrow is another day. I just want to go back to the hotel, call El and have something to eat.”
“Of course, me too, I´m tired.”
“It has been one hell of a day.” Peter agreed, if only Neal would remember what sort of day.
When they arrived at the hotel, Peter pulled out his laptop and started Skype to talk to El.
“Hey Hon.”
“How as your day?” Peter asked.
“Interesting to say the least.”
“Oh wait, Neal wants to say hello.” Peter leaned back and Neal gave El one of his biggest smiles.
“Hi Elizabeth, did Mozzie come over?”
“Yes, he did, he left about an hour ago, when I didn´t want to watch the Moon Landing with him.” She grinned.
“That sounds like Mozzie, alright. Bye, Elizabeth, I´m going to take a shower and let you talk to your husband again.” Neal gave a wave and was off to the bathroom. Peter could hear the faucet being opened and someone getting into the bathtub.
“How did he do?”
“Very well, he passed level 3, so tomorrow we will start with level 4.”
“OK, good luck, Peter.”
“Thanks, you too.”
Peter closed the program and walked over to the TV and turned it on to one of the sports channels. He couldn´t let his cover of Peter Burke, FBI agent, slip. So he ordered pizza and beers, although he was dying for some healthy food.
* * *
The next morning they drove to the FBI headquarters in Dallas. When they arrived, they studied the case file. Neal started scanned the pictures taken at the crime scene but he said he needed to see the entrances of the museum for himself, so they drove with the case agent to the DMA. It didn´t take Neal long to come to the conclusion that only one thief could have done this job, Gregory Martin. He may allegedly have met the man before. With this new lead, the case agent went back to the office. Peter promised they would call in later that day; they were going to follow some leads in other cases now that they were here.
Peter drove towards the FBI building before trigging Neal and turning into TX-12, a direct road between the FBI building and Doctors Hospital.
Once at the facility, Neal was put into level 4 hypnosis. In this level, Neal would no longer be able to differentiate between right and wrong. Peter knew they were now entering levels of training other candidates rarely reached. This would strain Neal´s mental abilities to the max.
When Neal would finish this last stage of programming, he would be a ´clear eyes´, a fully programmed ´sleeper´ assassin. He would be dangerous.
Oh, the Neal Caffrey they had created in the level 3 was dangerous, but he was still a non-violent operative. He was a menace to law enforcement agents, but not a threat to anybody. That would change after this last part of the programming.
Neal had basic training and it turned out that Neal had been a natural in weapons training. Maybe, it was something he had a natural gift for; his former life was classified, even for a high ranked agent as Peter.
Peter worked on some cases for the bureau while he was waiting. He checked in on Neal and the team every now and then to see what progress they were making. This stage would take some time. If Neal had natural defenses against killing, this would be the time to clear those. Not that it really mattered, because the programmers would have no problem overwriting those defenses, but still. It would make things more complicated.
When Peter stepped in after lunch break, he could hear Neal being told by the programmers that he was super human. Laws did not apply to him; they were for common people, not for him.
Normally in this phase of the programming, they would replace the person´s moral code, respect for the law and fear of dying with the super human feelings, but the Neal Caffrey, the programmers had written into his personality was already a criminal and dare devil, they didn´t have to change that much in this phase.
“Neal, the US government believes you are above all human laws, that is why they chose you for these assignments.” He heard one of the programmers say.
Normally in this phase of the programming, Neal would get a new identity, but Neal had been unique and they had pushed the programming already in level 2. Giving Neal a history as a master criminal made it easier on the life that needed to be created. As he had no contact with his family, no family needed to be constructed. There were souvenirs from trips Neal had never taken, Venice, Paris, London, Istanbul, even as far as Miramar.
The day went by uneventful, as the programmers worked with Neal, there would be no hands training or programming today.
Neal´s cover was complete and went deep. If ever Neal´s mission would go ´sour´, El, June and himself would produce a news conference or an interview with the press. They would let the public know that their ´Clear eyes´ had a deep troubled life and violent past of child abuse and a history of abuse in prison. Who wouldn´t believe a respected senior FBI-agent, his wife and a landlady, who was a respected widow in New York´s society. They had given Neal chances to a better life, but it hadn´t worked in the end. The media would present Neal Caffrey as a violent criminal who went on a tragic and senseless rampage. With a couple of days, max a month, the public would have forgotten the incident. That is the way the bureau always handled rogue agents, it had worked before and it would work again if the time came.
There was only one possible problem, that short friend of Neal. He was paranoid beyond believe, which was only in their favor, nobody would ever believe him.
The story can also be found on AO3.
“Stand down Neal. 666alpha8657omega726 ” Peter commanded.
He took his gun back from Neal. It hadn´t been loaded, but Neal had passed the test for level 3. He took the bullets out of his pant pocket and reloaded his gun, placing it back in his holster.
Neal didn´t show any emotions on his face. He was just waiting for instructions from his handler.
“OK Neal, you passed your test, you are ready for level 4 training, are you up to it?”
Neal nodded, the tension was still there. Neal as an operative was so different than Neal Caffrey, CI. He was coiled, ready for action, focused. He was magnificent. He was the best sleeper agent Peter had handled so far.
“We are ready here, tomorrow your training continues, after we have visited the FBI offices. You will make a vital discovery in the case. The entry into the museum was flawless and there is only one person you know who could pull this off, except for yourself and that is Gregory Martin.”
Neal was listening and nodded again. Peter talked to Neal as an agent for some time, before he called it a day.
“OK, let´s go.”
They left the hospital and drove off. Peter triggered Neal again and Neal studied the car for a moment.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened?”
Neal had a contemplative look on his face. He knew he was missing something. It was on the edge of his memory, but he couldn´t retrieve it. It had happened a couple of times already, he must be tired, because he seemed to zone out sometimes. It was a strange sensation. And the headaches were relentless. Every time he thought they were gone, they came back.
“Care to tell me what you are thinking?”
“Not really, no.” Neal started rubbing the place where he had placed the muzzle of the gun against his temple.
“It´s OK, Neal, we can´t always make progress in a case, sometimes we need a lucky break. Tomorrow is another day. I just want to go back to the hotel, call El and have something to eat.”
“Of course, me too, I´m tired.”
“It has been one hell of a day.” Peter agreed, if only Neal would remember what sort of day.
When they arrived at the hotel, Peter pulled out his laptop and started Skype to talk to El.
“Hey Hon.”
“How as your day?” Peter asked.
“Interesting to say the least.”
“Oh wait, Neal wants to say hello.” Peter leaned back and Neal gave El one of his biggest smiles.
“Hi Elizabeth, did Mozzie come over?”
“Yes, he did, he left about an hour ago, when I didn´t want to watch the Moon Landing with him.” She grinned.
“That sounds like Mozzie, alright. Bye, Elizabeth, I´m going to take a shower and let you talk to your husband again.” Neal gave a wave and was off to the bathroom. Peter could hear the faucet being opened and someone getting into the bathtub.
“How did he do?”
“Very well, he passed level 3, so tomorrow we will start with level 4.”
“OK, good luck, Peter.”
“Thanks, you too.”
Peter closed the program and walked over to the TV and turned it on to one of the sports channels. He couldn´t let his cover of Peter Burke, FBI agent, slip. So he ordered pizza and beers, although he was dying for some healthy food.
* * *
The next morning they drove to the FBI headquarters in Dallas. When they arrived, they studied the case file. Neal started scanned the pictures taken at the crime scene but he said he needed to see the entrances of the museum for himself, so they drove with the case agent to the DMA. It didn´t take Neal long to come to the conclusion that only one thief could have done this job, Gregory Martin. He may allegedly have met the man before. With this new lead, the case agent went back to the office. Peter promised they would call in later that day; they were going to follow some leads in other cases now that they were here.
Peter drove towards the FBI building before trigging Neal and turning into TX-12, a direct road between the FBI building and Doctors Hospital.
Once at the facility, Neal was put into level 4 hypnosis. In this level, Neal would no longer be able to differentiate between right and wrong. Peter knew they were now entering levels of training other candidates rarely reached. This would strain Neal´s mental abilities to the max.
When Neal would finish this last stage of programming, he would be a ´clear eyes´, a fully programmed ´sleeper´ assassin. He would be dangerous.
Oh, the Neal Caffrey they had created in the level 3 was dangerous, but he was still a non-violent operative. He was a menace to law enforcement agents, but not a threat to anybody. That would change after this last part of the programming.
Neal had basic training and it turned out that Neal had been a natural in weapons training. Maybe, it was something he had a natural gift for; his former life was classified, even for a high ranked agent as Peter.
Peter worked on some cases for the bureau while he was waiting. He checked in on Neal and the team every now and then to see what progress they were making. This stage would take some time. If Neal had natural defenses against killing, this would be the time to clear those. Not that it really mattered, because the programmers would have no problem overwriting those defenses, but still. It would make things more complicated.
When Peter stepped in after lunch break, he could hear Neal being told by the programmers that he was super human. Laws did not apply to him; they were for common people, not for him.
Normally in this phase of the programming, they would replace the person´s moral code, respect for the law and fear of dying with the super human feelings, but the Neal Caffrey, the programmers had written into his personality was already a criminal and dare devil, they didn´t have to change that much in this phase.
“Neal, the US government believes you are above all human laws, that is why they chose you for these assignments.” He heard one of the programmers say.
Normally in this phase of the programming, Neal would get a new identity, but Neal had been unique and they had pushed the programming already in level 2. Giving Neal a history as a master criminal made it easier on the life that needed to be created. As he had no contact with his family, no family needed to be constructed. There were souvenirs from trips Neal had never taken, Venice, Paris, London, Istanbul, even as far as Miramar.
The day went by uneventful, as the programmers worked with Neal, there would be no hands training or programming today.
Neal´s cover was complete and went deep. If ever Neal´s mission would go ´sour´, El, June and himself would produce a news conference or an interview with the press. They would let the public know that their ´Clear eyes´ had a deep troubled life and violent past of child abuse and a history of abuse in prison. Who wouldn´t believe a respected senior FBI-agent, his wife and a landlady, who was a respected widow in New York´s society. They had given Neal chances to a better life, but it hadn´t worked in the end. The media would present Neal Caffrey as a violent criminal who went on a tragic and senseless rampage. With a couple of days, max a month, the public would have forgotten the incident. That is the way the bureau always handled rogue agents, it had worked before and it would work again if the time came.
There was only one possible problem, that short friend of Neal. He was paranoid beyond believe, which was only in their favor, nobody would ever believe him.