Kingsman awoke, unsure of where he was or how long he had been wherever he now was. He searched for clues to determine things, and none was coming. There was no clock on the wall, no window to look out for any information. Taking inventory, he realized he was tethered to the bed at the wrist, and he could not reach to touch his own face. In pursing his lips, he noticed no facial hair, so there was no tell there as to how long he was captive. HIs mind was not fully clear, and he noticed the difference immediately. The last thing he remembered was hearing the gun shooting the dart into him. How long ago that was he had no idea.
Jonah Hale and Dr. Sofia Sorina were both notified that their 'guest' was awake. They met in Hale's office to assess where they were at with Kingsman.
"Our man is awake, again," the psychiatrist said as she entered the office. "Time for the show, Jonah. Remember what we discussed about this round."
"Certainly I can handle it, Sofia," Hale replied. "I hope this is the final round, I have waited for this for a while now. I won't be denied."
"No, of course not. I will make this happen. His ability is interesting though. Every time I run the program on him, his brain rewrites things back to almost normal each time," the Psychiatrist said to Hale. "But each time he rewrites he moves further and further away from where he started. Subtle, but quantifiable on my data."
"Yes, closer each time," Hale said. "What round is this one again? I lost count."
"This is the fourth time, Jonah. The first time we used the full dose of the drug, and he rewrote things in his mind inside of 7 days," Sorina explained. "The second time, we used a 75% dose, and he rewrote my programming in 15 days."
"His programming lasts longer each repetition," Hale explained. "But there is more to it than that..."
"Yes Jonah, the third time we used a half dose of the new drug, and it lasted 21 days. Once he rewrote things after that round, I let him crash and detox from all the drugs in his system, only sedating him," Sorina replied. "His body decided to crash and rest, and now he is ready to go again. And so am I, Now that he is awake, he will remember only bits and pieces of things- and exactly as I have told him. Our goal is for him to want what I have laid out for him."
"Yes, as you said last time, Sofia, let him choose to want to let someone help him with his ability. What is different this time that you think this is the final time we will program him?" Hale asked.
"Well, first, his brain waves are different. If we compare them with Mason and Dr. Krissy, Kingsman's brain waves are showing similarities. But again, with his ability, he has recovered fully once, and nearly normally one other time," explained the psychiatrist. "The data shows that his original scan and the most recent one show a marked move to be closer to those who are controlled than his original one."
"So why the detox? Why not use the drug one last time and complete the deal?" Hale asked.
"His brain can not take anymore," Sorina explained. "I cannot guarantee what would happen if we use it again on him. According to the research, he would most likely become compromised in intelligence, and it is unknown what would happen with his ability."
"Have the drugs altered his ability so far?" Hale asked.
"To my knowledge, nothing significant. But we are at the tipping point, Jonah," the eastern European doctor explained. "Slow and steady wins races, like your tortoise and the hare story."
"I hope this round works, and I believe you are correct, I want a weapon, not a vegetable," Hale replied.
"Yes, and he has contempt for you, which is useful in this stage," Sorina explained. "And it is my voice he has been listening to. It is time."
"I am sure he will hate you," laughed the Doctor, who walked with Hale to get to the room Kingsman was being held in. "Remember this is his first time off the drug since he has been here. He will consciously have lots of holes in his memory to fill in."
"I hope the groundwork you have laid will pay off, Sofia," Hale told his partner.
"I have been the voice in his head for 51 days, Jonah, and my record speaks for itself," the smiling psychiatrist replied. "We will see the result today, I am positive. He will fall into the trained persona as he and I interact, you will see it very clearly. As much as you anger him and get him angry, when he sees me, he will feel calm and relaxed and feel safe with me, then I can further our progress."
The two separated as Sorina went into the room where the one way glass and speakers were to watch Hale be the 'bad cop', as Hale went to welcome his now awake and drug free captive.
"Hello John Donald Grant," Hale said as he entered the room where Kingsman lay bound to a hospital bed. "Welcome."
Kingsman shook his head and stayed quiet, waiting for more information before speaking, as he stretched his neck and felt a collar around his neck and then did the same with the cuffs on his wrists.
"Jonah Hale," Kingsman finally responded. "I can't exactly say it is a pleasure."
"Oh, come now Mr Grant, let's not be this way," Hale said to his captive, who was not ready to cooperate. "I see that I don't need to introduce myself."
Hale chuckled, saying "I am sure you have plenty of questions. You are my guest so tell me, where should we begin?"
"Where's the girl?" Kingsman asked, referring to Jessica Jensen. "What have you done with her?"
"Jessica is safe," Hale said. "For now, anyway. You will see her soon enough, I promise."
"How long?" Kingsman asked.
"Have you been here?" Hale replied, walking to the side of Kingsman's hospital bed, looking at his watch. "Today is day 51 with us in this facility, after a three day hospital stay at Lake View General. Your doctor will be here shortly, and you have been in and out of consciousness since you arrived."
"Where is here, exactly?" Kingsman asked, as he was realizing he could not reach very far with his wrist cuffs tethered to the side of the bed through a chain. He jerked at the chains, and found no give in them. He really wanted to rub his eyes and massage his temples, since he felt mentally sluggish even though he felt he was wide awake.
"There's no use for that," Hale said as he watched Kingsman pulling at the restraints on his arms. "With your ability, we can't be too careful."
Kingsman stopped his attempts to pull an arm free, realizing Hale had an idea about what he was capable of doing. He decided to wait to gather more information about what his captor knows about him before formulating a plan.
"Oh, don't be surprised, Mr. Grant," Hale said confidently to his captive. "You will know everything shortly. In fact, let me share something with you."
Hale picked up a remote control and a screen on the wall emerged and came to life, as the captor pressed 'play'.
On the screen, a television news anchor was seen on the screen. At the bottom of the screen in the chryon were the words "Human Trafficking Ring Halted" were displayed. Kingsman felt a sense of accomplishment, but wondered what transpired. The last thing he remembered was being shot by a dart gun at the apartment of Jessica Jensen. The screen burst to life and Kingsman saw the typical talking head newsman begin to speak. He consciously remembered nothing much of the last 54 days at all.
"Meanwhile in Lake View, a bizarre human trafficking ring was broken at Executive Airport just outside of town," the anchor relayed as footage of the airport hangar was seen on screen.
"According to a statement released by the Lake View Police and the National Bureau of Investigation, the ring was uncovered and broken by a visiting psychiatrist, Dr. Marcus Kingsman. The hero, according to the joint statement, uncovered and broke up the ring at the airport, thwarting the delivery of a trafficking victim in the process," the newsman continued as a small photo of Kingsman appeared in the upper right corner of the television screen.
"Dr. Kingsman suffered a head injury during the heroic action in saving 22-year old female college coed Jessica Jensen," the blonde haired blue eyed newsman continued, as the picture of Kingsman changed into a photo of Jessica on the screen. "Dr. Kingsman is credited with rescuing the young woman from her captors, according to Ms. Jensen's account of the action. Dr. Kingsman was found by police unconscious and shielding the girl with his body on the tarmac at the airport. The hero doctor is undergoing treatment for head injuries at an undisclosed location."
As he watched the screen, Kingsman realized the answers to his questions were playing out on the screen in front of him. What he saw next was a picture of James Phillips on the screen, with the "Human Trafficking Ring Halted" still on the chryon at the bottom of the screen.
"A local psychiatrist, Dr. James Phillips, 45, of Lake View was the ringleader of the trafficking operation," the announcer continued as James Phillips' picture popped onto the screen. "The ringleader allegedly trafficked 5 women who were drugged and trained as sex slaves while under his care as patients. Phillips' body was found in his car at the airport parking lot, his death ruled a suicide, a single gunshot wound to the head has been ruled as the cause of death."
As the television newscast continued, Kingsman watched as the single picture of James Phillips changed to include a picture of James with his wife.
"James Phillips' wife, Anastasia Lubova Phillips, is a person of interest in the investigation, and wanted for questioning. Mrs. Phillips is missing and considered dangerous. Anyone with any information on the location of Dr. Anastasia Phillips, a former popular self-help, stop smoking therapist, is encouraged to call authorities."
Hale shut off the video feed, and smiled at Kingsman, saying, "well done, Dr. Kingsman, you're a hero. I am sure you have many questions now."
"Hero? No, you set this all up," Kingsman told his captor. "Five women? Don't you mean 45?"
"I am a businessman, Dr. Kingsman," Hale replied. "How do I stay in business if all my clients end up arrested? I must say I do have you to thank for doing me a big favor in getting rid of the Phillips. It saved me a great deal of effort. I like that forward thinking."
Kingsman, disgusted, looked away from Hale as he continued with his monologue.