Chapter 7
The old man smiled for the first time in days. He had received the first report from his little hawk in Washington and though there was no new information the fact that he had an agent in the Pentagon still seemed surreal. In the intelligence world it would be the pinnacle of any career and he had succeeded where others failed.
“Colonels please sit. We have much to discuss. Please excuse Major Ivanofs absence, she is needed elsewhere. In her absence there is a plan I need to talk with you both about.”
Ana was silent as she stared into the mirror moving her mouth from side to side to see the effect. She sat in shock as she stared trying to understand this new reality whilst being totally unable to take her eyes away from the face looking back. Her chin was sharper, lips fuller, nose leaner, everything was different. Gently, almost with fear she touched her skin daring for the illusion in the mirror to shatter.
“How is she doing?” The major had invested too much to sit quietly 500 miles away at this critical point.
The Doctor didn’t move his head from the monitor showing the feed from Ana’s room. “We cannot be sure of anything yet. This is the first time she has seen her new face. I have witnessed this before after reconstructive surgery and every time it’s different; but this is more, much more. Her identity is trying to find itself. She will physically heal that much I can guarantee but it’s her mind I can’t help her with. For now we are spectators.”
As Ana looked into the mirror her image blurred, randon disconnected memories jumped into her mind.
A large room with books scattered around her and people, lots of people. Someone was at the front, a professor discussing the romantic beauty of Pushkin’s poems. She glanced at a clock on the wall as its ticking distracted her.
Lying on a bed as a stranger started fucking her whilst a clock slowly ticked. He was grunting as his fat, swollen belly wobbled above his small cock. He smelt of beer and he was breathing hard but her attention was held by parts of his last meal still in his beard as his fetid breath washed over her.
Tick tock. Kimberly passed her a sandwich, the sun was out and she could feel the warmth on her skin as a feeling of happiness washed over her soul. Children were running round and laughter floated on the sir.
Tick tock. The quiet acceptance she felt in her young body as Ivan held her hands either side of her head as he raped her.
Tick tock. A man passed her something in a dark street and she found the shadows to furtively inject herself into oblivion. The rush of tranquility and peace as the high took her body. Everything instantly fading to the background of her mind.
Tick tock. She looked at the clock slowly ticking as she dived into a hole in the ground as bullets rained overhead. Gasping she rolled onto her stomach and squeezed the trigger watching as if in slow motion as a man jerked to a halt and crumpled to the ground.
Tick tock. Galina’s cunt in her face and the taste of coke in her mouth.
Tick tock. Nothing made sense. Yet everything made sense. A hotel and a man called Victor was her last conscious thought before she slipped into an exhausted asleep and the insanity of her dreams took over from her conscious mind.
The Doctor crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray and watched Ana’s tossing body. “When she awakes we will have Captain Petrov at her side, hopefully she can anchor her. She has been well briefed.”
“You care don’t you?”
He looked intently at the Major. “Care for her? No. I care for success and I care for the sleep I am about to get. Its been a long day Major and I suggest you sleep too. It will be a very long day tomorrow.”
“Good morning Major, did you sleep? Here for you.” He passed her a lukewarm tea. “It’s shit but it helps.”
“I slept a little thank you.” She gratefully sipped the tea as they were watching the monitors. Ana was tossing and turning in bed but they could easily see her legs pulled up under the covers as she furiously played with herself as she dreamt.
“How long has she been like that?”
“For a while now. An hour or so.
They watched and as Ana came she groaned and jerked. She seemed to wake as her upper body almost lifted into a sitting position. Then, slumping back down, her hand continued to slowly move under the covers.
The figure on the monitor continued to gently stroke between her outstretched legs and then it stopped as her whole body froze.
“She’s awake. Note the time please nurse and tell Captain Petrov to take a seat next to the subject. Now lets see if our hypothesis is correct Major”
Dreams held in her mind, dreams that played with her and yet through it all she was excited. She was excited and yet what truly horrified her was that those same dreams had excited her. Then a new thought entered and panicking she reached for the mirror. As she looked she was picturing the face she had seen thousands of times before and yet found only a stranger staring back.
“Ana. Anastasiya Romanovna Raskolnikova.”
Wide eyed she looked to her side and saw Sveta, she remembered Sveta. She was here. She was real.
“Sveta.”
“Yes its me Ana. I thought you were dead when they told me but you came back. I am here. Remember the first time we met in the dark alley? I told you I would make everything good and I did. You moved on, you took control of your life. You joined the army and you were happy. Now trust me one more time Ana. Please I beg you.”
She held Ana’s hand as she spoke and she could feel a returning pressure. It was a start.
“Ana do you truly remember that night in the ally when we first met.”
Memories rushed into Ana’s mind and she found herself remembering Ana holding her, soothing her all those years ago.
“I do. I remember it. You were there, I can see you.’
“You have been through so much but lets start there. Describe it to me, tell me everything you remember and leave nothing out and Ana I knew you were working the streets as a prostitute. That is in the past but please for your own sake you have to discuss everything, you cannot delete the person you were. Embrace your past in every detail both good and bad. Share it with me Ana.”
“It would appear Major that we have a splice.”
“A Splice, as in a memory splice.”
“Yes, her brain has made the first splice between her own memories and the implanted ones.”
“Explain Doctor. I thought we had been splicing memories.”
“We have been but they are less than 50% of her memories. The trauma of seeing her new face is stimulating her mind, searching if you will and opening a pandora’s box of memories that we suppressed with our splicing and the controlled environment. In this we cannot control events, we need her to fit her new and old memories together to give full creation to her identity.” The Doctor turned to Sasha and passed her a cigarette.
“We are not God Major. She has to piece together the pieces to make the picture. We just scattered enough for her to see the picture we wanted her to see. Now we wait and hope our picture was clear enough. Captain Petrov is pivotal though and to think we never thought of it. Like a mother Captain Petrov can guide the subject to put the jigsaw together as it should be. As we want it to be.”
“So Captain Petrov is the key.”
“Yes absolutely. She believes the whole story of Lieutenant Anastasiya Romanovna Raskolnikova, she even remembers part of it. The part we gave her. That single memory from so long ago combined with all the recent ones they share will give them a foundation to build on. To both of them those memories are absolute truth.”
Sasha sat deep in thought at the implications. “But Doctor what would have happened if Captain Petrov were not a part of this to guide the subject.”
“No one knows Major, but taking a guess she would have taken stimulus from someone else in order to grow. Either that or insanity.”
“Strip. Strip off all your clothes and stand for me Serenity. Stand quite motionless and let me look at you.” Amber sat in her jeans and quietly sipped her wine as she spoke. It was early evening and Amber had been looking forward to this moment all day. It had started at three that morning when Serenity had desperately called her.
Serenity was one step away from walking away from this but something made her stand precisely as told. What she wanted was Amber. What she wanted was to feel that rush that Amber had given her. She didn’t want to stand like a statue. She felt stupid and humiliated.
Amber looked directly into Serenity’s eyes “Every relationship has threads, ties, bonds that hold two people together and the most important thing is that those bonds must be mutually shared. A yin and yang must exist in so many ways.” She paused to let it sink in.
“For two people to have a relationship so much must connect and we connected when we met, we both felt that and now you come back to me begging. But my dear Serenity for people like us there is so much more that we need. Yes we need love to grow, affection, friendship, respect and all the crap that weighs down every relationship. We absolutely need lust to drive the winds of passion. And then most importantly we need our very special boxes ticked to fuel our lust.” She picked up a crop from the side of her chair and gently ran its tip down Serenity’s thighs.
Serenity groaned and her body moved against the crop. It flicked and instant pain swelled in her thigh.
“Good, I hate talkers. So hard to train it out.“ Amber smiled as she gently moved the crop. “I have desires and I can see you have ones of your own. If you ask me I will help you realize your true potential but there are rules and you have no choice in these. It is a yes and stay, or no and walk away immediately situation. Don’t move Serenity and think for an hour and then answer me.”
This was not what Serenity had imagined it would be like. It was supposed to be different, she expected to be kissed, to be fucked, to be spanked, but she never imagined this. And yet she couldn’t walk away, something deep inside her was holding her in place. She could feel her chest trembling as it rose and fell with every breath. With a start she realized she was sweating, praying for the hour to end. She had no intention of moving.
Within five minutes of no movement Amber smiled, she already knew the answer. She loved her games and the power it gave her. Nothing turned her on more than this.
“Miss Denvers a word please in my office please.” Roger was leaning on the wall to her cube and he didn’t look happy.
To be honest Serenity didn’t give a shit one way or another what Roger the fucktard was worried about. She really didn’t give a fuck and as she walked it showed. The eager young girl who had interviewed three weeks earlier was gone.
“Now. Your work is first class and I have no problems but I do with this.” He was pointing at her nose and Serenity understood immediately what the problem was. A couple of weeks ago she wouldn’t have dreamed of piercings but now Serenity felt more comfortable in her skin and with Ambers blessing had started to experiment a little. The nose ring was new yesterday and she had considered replacing it with something less conspicuous for work but Amber had forbidden it
“You are a probationer Miss Denvers and as such you are under scrutiny all the time. Piercings are not allowed in this building for any employee. The rules were made very clear to you when you started and you signed an understanding of the same. Do I make myself clear.”
She remembered Ambers words from the night before when the nose ring was discussed. ‘Serenity, you live once, you owe it to yourself to be yourself and if someone doesn’t like it then tell them to fuck off. They aren’t a friend of yours.’
Roger looked up from his desk. “Please go home and consider what you want. If you come back tomorrow with that in then your job is finished. Understand.”
At home Amber sat and listened then and told Serenity strip off her clothes and stand on the same spot that she had three weeks ago. “Baby, you have the same hour to make your choice. And it is exactly the same as before.”
Serenity didn’t need time. “I have made it. They can go fuck themselves.”
“Good now be quiet pet and stand still for your hour. And then we will see what reward you shall have.” As she spoke she was stroking a dildo in her hands smiling. After a minute she looked up with a mischievous grin.
“And Serenity as you are going to have more free time I think its time you came to the club with me.”
Subject - Anastasiya Romanovna Raskolnikova
The subject has been revived from induced coma. Initial confusion and apparent fragmentation of memories as predicted. The Mentor, Captain Petrov has proven to be the foundation that the subject is re-building her memory on.
With completion of this period it is expected that the identity of Serenity Denvers within the subject will completely disappear and that of Anastasiya Romanovna Raskolnikova will be 100%.
Replacement – Serenity Denvers
An incomplete report has been received that employment in the Pentagon has been terminated.
End
“Terminated. Fucking Terminated. Is this someone’s idea of a sick joke. If someone doesn’t get me more information quickly there are going to be more fucking terminations very soon.”
“Dismissed.”