"There are three. We only require one of them." The older man growled, slamming his fist on the table. "This damned contraption cost me a fortune, not only to build, but to keep a secret! So you, girl, are going to tell me which one to go after, and then I will put a plan into action, in order to capture the one!" The woman swallowed, looking down at a computer that she used solely for this business, reading over her notes in order to think carefully about what to say.
She didn't want to be a part of this, originally. She had only applied to be a part of this new firm, because she had thought it was some type of small corporation setting itself up in the city. Little had she known, it was a firm run by her biological father. She would admit to the fact that he was a brilliant man, but she was severely frightened of him. He had all but kidnapped her, forcing her silence about a contraption referred to only as the Animus, some type of machine that was created in order to activate the memories held within a person's genetics, and allow them to live such events as they had been, by the ancestor. He was after some artifact that she hadn't quite figured out yet, for he knew she was much too smart for him to confide in her. She, after all, could not lie. The information was close though, just at the edges of her fingertips, and she would have all of her answers soon.
But he was adamant, he would get what he sought at any cost. And the animus was not perfected, it would, slowly and nearly undetectably, cause the participant to die, breaking apart from the inside out, bleeding out slowly. Not that the prospect of taking a person's life for personal gain truly sat well with the doctor, but she had accepted the man's cruelty... Until he gave her the name of the family that he needed a person from.
"I am waiting for an answer, woman!" The tone of his voice made her swallow, thickly. "Choose one of them!" She thought about her answer for a few moments longer, considering every relation, every possibility, as closely as she could in such a short time. She had three options.
Tommy. He was the easiest to talk into coming with her. She knew just how simple it would be to get him to come to the lab, hook into the animus. But he was the weakest, he wouldn't survive anywhere near long enough. And his sister would never forgive her, when the youngest brother died.
Frankie. He was stronger than his younger brother, of that she was certain. He would probably survive until her biological father had all of his answers. However, she was attached to the street cop, if only in a brotherly fashion. She couldn't speak his name either.
Jane. In her biased opinion, the strongest of the three. Also the most difficult to access, to get to this vile place, and to destroy so slowly. The one that she was senselessly, albeit quietly, in love with. She would gladly put herself in the animus before she ever damned Jane to that awful fate of being destroyed from the inside out, from bleeding out without knowing it.
"I said-"
"Jane. Jane Rizzoli." The man paused, before he smirked slightly. She swallowed.
"The sister... Good. Now that's left is a plan worthy of-"
"I'll bring her here." The doctor whispered quietly. "She'll come if I ask her. She'll do anything, if I'm the one to ask her."
Jane stopped her car outside the address that Maura had sent in a text to her earlier, putting the unmarked vehicle into park before checking her hair and stepping out. The medical examiner always looked runway- perfect, and she always felt the need to try and look decent when with her best friend. She entered into the main door, stepping into the elevator and hitting the button for the basement level, stepping out before she froze. There was something wrong here, and the detective drew her gun quietly, taking a few cautious steps forward.
"Maura?" She questioned into the air, trepidation creeping into her tone If anything had happened to the doctor, she would never forgive herself. Maura was so much more than just her best friend, if Jane stopped to think about it. The quirky, slightly awkward medical examiner was nothing short of her entire world. Glancing around the corner before she stepped out to the larger room, Jane nearly cried out when arms trapped her, grasping both of her wrists and pinning them behind her back. Her gun clattered to the ground as she struggled, before the female officer was jammed against the steel wall of the room, her nose cracking audibly.
"Feisty, aren't you. You'll have to learn to be more compliant though, you're pretty much stuck here with us." She didn't recognize the voice, trying to turn her head to the side, to see her attacker.
"Maura. Where's Maura? What have you done to her!"
"Nothing. You shouldn't care so much about her, its due to her that you're even here." The detective writhed, trying to break free of his hold. She had to find the blonde doctor.
"Maura-!"
"I... I'm here Jane. I'm fine." The tone was different, but only slightly. Jane only caught the minor note of difference because she made it her business to know every miniscule, seemingly unimportant detail about the gorgeous medical examiner. "Please. Listen to him."
"What do you want from me." The detective growled, tilting her bloodied face to the side, trying to locate her friend.
"You're going to participate in a bit of an... Experiment, if you will, Miss Rizzoli. Maura, if you would." There was a shaky inhale from behind her, and slightly to her right, the sound of shuffling papers. The man sounded smug, as though he was certain of the outcome of his experiment.
"In a series of genetic tests, using a machine built solely for the purpose of genetic memory immersion, you will be a witness and active participant in the previous memories of your ancestors. Through the application of such memories contained within the genetic code, you should be able to locate the artifact referred to as the 'piece of Eden.' This machine, known as the animus, is located here in the laboratory where the test subject can be monitored at all times, in order for safety details to be conserved." There was a long pause, where Jane swallowed.
"It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice. Where is this thing, then." The man holding her wrists chuckled, releasing her abruptly and picking up her gun, which he tucked into his pants.
"Smart woman. This way, if you would." Following him down another brightly lit hallway, Jane could barely contain her anger at the doctor. How could she make this more of a hostage situation than anything else? If Maura had simply asked the detective, she would have come willingly. She would have moved into the machine, gone into genetic memory, whatever that was, more than willingly. The bald man led her into a large area, a large desk situated at one side while a metallic bed- like structure was nearer to the center of the room. Three large computer screens were beside it, complete with a double keyboard that she recognized only because it had been on Frost's Christmas list this year, which she had searched on Google during a free moment to decipher the cost. "Your room is the one on the left, though the door is locked at all times. This is the laboratory, where the animus is located and maintained by Doctor Isles exclusively. As far as meals, you will be served in your room three times a day, when not in the animus. There is an attached bathroom, and everything should satisfy your needs." He swept his hand towards the contraption that seemed to be a simple, metallic bed. Jane nodded. "The first session can't hurt to begin as soon as possible. Maura." The blonde stepped past, her eyes cast downward as she did so, as if she was embarrassed about something. She tapped a couple of keys, before all three screens lit brightly. She offered one hand to Jane, who shrugged past it, jumping up ungracefully onto the machine.
"So how does this work, Doctor Isles?" She knew her words stung the doctor by the way she flinched, her eyes moving down to the keyboard almost immediately.
"The machine will access the memory from your ancestors wound into your DNA, accessing and allowing you to become a spectator to specific events as they happen. The activation of the animus will appear to be a white sector as you synchronize with the previous self. As far as your well- being, I will be here to monitor all status and progress within the animus, and can remove you from the experience if needed. After a certain amount of time has passed, and the selected memory has played itself out, you will return to the engaging animus, where you can choose to come out of the animus yourself." She swallowed, as if she wanted to say more, to say something monumentally important, before nodding to herself. Jane sighed, rolling her eyes up to the white ceiling before closing them, trying to get comfortable on the very uncomfortable table.
"Right. Genetic memory. Sounds fun. Lets do this."