This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be real. Words that have been echoing throughout his mind as he raced across the city. Words that have not eased the tension he is feeling ever since leaving that place.
A place where one's fantasies could come true. Whether it was being a major sports or movie star for a short period of time with millions of fans cheering his name to even being a spy. A situation that he now finds himself in.
The situation where his fantasy had come to life. He had been told that he indeed was a spy. A statement that only confused him deeply before his emotions went into overdrive when a team of officers barged into the place laying waste to the men and women in charge of the fantasy.
But that was only when his fear had just begun. When his fear kicked into overdrive when suddenly out of instinct he had killed every single man inside of the room within seconds. A memory that has only made his heart beat skyrocket as he races up towards his apartment.
Without breaking his stride as he quickly unlocks his apartment to find Lori sitting on their bed with her cell phone in her hand without any hesitation as he closes the door behind himself quickly Doug reapplies the locks before slowly he starts to pace through the apartment with his eyes glued to the floor unaware that Lori is quickly making her way towards him with a look of concern riddled across her face.
Snapping out of his thoughts as he sees Lori approaching him without any hesitation Doug closes the gap between them before he pulls her into a tight embrace that he feels her returning in full.
" Lori? Thank god you're here."
" Of Course i'm here. I've been going out of my mind. Where have you been?"
With only sear panic surging back through his mind as he breaks off the embrace quickly Doug makes his way across the apartment as Lori watches him carefully before slowly as he slips a curtain slightly to the side Doug quickly glances around outside.
" Look something bad is happening."
" I know, I know. I just got the call. We've been put on stand by."
" No you don't understand."
" What?"
Turning away from the window as he turns to look at the television screen to see a headline that makes his eyes go as wide as saucers releasing the curtain slowly Doug makes his way into the living room as he stares at the screen unaware that Lori is looking towards him with a concerned look across her face.
" Doug?"
" Oh my god."
" Doug are you okay?"
Gently reaching out as she lays her hand on his shoulder Lori watches as Doug shakes his head as he continues to stare at the television screen.
" Lori it wasn't the resistance that killed those sentries. It wasn't the terrorists. It was me."
" What was you?"
" Lori i'm the one who killed them."
" You? You killed 20 armed men?"
" No it was more like 10."
" But you killed them? With what honey you're book?"
" Lori i'm serious."
Suddenly as she sees Doug turning in her direction to grab her shoulders in a sudden motion Lori jerks his hands off of her as she takes a step back.
" Doug you're scaring him."
" I'm sorry. This is gonna seem crazy okay? I went to Recall after work and…."
" What!? What did they do to you?"
" Nothing. I sat in the chair and they hooked me up but before they could do anything the police burst in. They tried to take me. I just reacted. I….I killed them."
Shaking her head as she reaches out and gently cups his face in her hands leaning out Lori gently rests her forehead against Doug's own.
" No listen. You didn't kill anyone."
" Trust me. I killed them."
" No sweetie. Don't you see? Whatever you think you did had nothing to do with any of this. Those assholes screwed with your mind and now you are having some kind of paranoid delusion. That place is really dangerous. And whatever it is we'll get through it."
As he feels Lori wrapping her arms around him bringing him into an embrace slowly Doug can't help but return the embrace as he buries his face in her neck.
" It happened so fast…."
" Shhh….it's okay…."
" I would never…."
" I know Doug. I know. Everything will be okay."
Feeling all of the tension leaving his body as he relaxes into Lori's embrace slowly Doug closes his eyes before suddenly as he feels Lori's grip tightening by the second Doug opens his eyes.
" I….can't….breathe…."
Reaching up as he tries to break Lori's grip to no prevail in a sudden motion with a burst of energy Doug charges forward holding onto Lori tightly before mere seconds as he slams her back first into a window the sound of the glass starting to shattering with a sickening crunch echoes throughout the apartment.
Spinning around as he follows up by slamming her into a nearby wall completely shattering a bookshelf that layed high above without having any time to react Doug feels Lori landing a well placed backhanded strike across his face before a split second later he jerks his head to the side nearly avoiding another strike.
" Lori!? What the hell are you doing!?"
Ignoring his words as she continues to send strike after strike in his direction that hits nothing but air suddenly as she sees him going on the defensive reaching out Lori blocks an incoming flurry of strikes as she counters his moves before suddenly she stops to look at him when she feels him catching her arm.
Suddenly without giving him a chance to react as she catapults herself off the shelf into a back flip to only feel his grip loosening right as she lands on her feet using all of her strength Lori flips Doug off to the side in the direction of their bed to see him fall straight into the middle of their bed.
Racing over as she slides across the ground to only kneel over him without giving him anytime to react rearing back Lori sends right hook after hook into Doug's face before suddenly as she feels her hand being caught in a sudden motion Lori feels herself being sent flying off the bed to the side.
Rearing back just as she lands on the side of the bed rearing back Lori sends a vicious kick in Doug's direction to only feel him catching her foot in mid air before suddenly as she is sent upwards Lori feels her back smashing against an overhead window causing glass to land down upon her as she lands down on the bed.
Shaking the cobwebs in a sudden move as she snaps her body around to send both of her feet into Doug's chest sending him flying off the bed and onto the hard ground with a thud a couple of feet away leaping to the side Lori reaches into a nearby bag grabbing a hold of a hidden handgun from within before a split second later as she sees Doug scrambling to the side Lori unleashes a round that nearly misses as it strikes against the far end wall.
Keeping her aim focus as she sends a few more round at Doug to see the rounds only hitting nearby walls as he scrambles away in the direction of the kitchen slowly Lori gets up to her feet before suddenly she comes to a stop when she sees the lights going out engulfing the apartment in darkness other than the small light coming from the windows.
" Lori!? God damn it! What are you doing!?"
" My job."
" Are you crazy!"
" Am i crazy? That's a good one Doug. Considering you don't know who the hell you are. Do you really believe that a factory worker can take out an entire room of highly trained men?"
Listening closely as he hears the sound of silent footsteps quietly making their way towards him being as quiet as possible Doug leans off the wall before slowly he disappears further into the kitchen before mere seconds later Lori appears in front of the kitchen with her handgun raised up.
Glancing around her surroundings as she sees Doug nowhere in sight without lowering her gun slowly Lori takes a few steps forward to take a closer look around before suddenly as she hears movement coming from her side without having anytime to react as she turns her head Lori suddenly feels her arm being roughly grabbed.
Without giving her anytime to react as he twists the gun out of her hand in a sudden motion Doug snatches the gun out of her hand as he wraps his free arm around her neck before slowly as he feels her grabbing his arm Doug raises the gun up towards her head.
" Tell me what is going on?"
As he feels her trying desperately to break free slowly Doug tightens his hold around her as he watches Lori briefly close her eyes.
" Talk! Or we can skip until death do us apart!"
" I'm not your wife."
" That's complete bullshit. We've been married for 7 years."
" I'm UFB police intel assigned to play your wife. 6 weeks ago i didn't even know you."
With his confusion only growing by the second in a swift motion Doug releases Lori allowing her to scramble a few feet away before slowly he locks eyes with her as his aim remains on her head.
" What are you talking about?"
" It's true. Your memory was replaced. Your mind was implanted with the life you think that you lived. You keeping up baby? There is no Douglas Quaid. There never was."
" This….this aint real. Our marriage?"
" What can i say i'm a good wife. Come on. Deep down did you really believe that someone like me would marry someone like you and live in this shithole?"
" If i'm not me then who the hell am i?"
" How would i know? I just work here."
" Speculate."
" If i had to guess. With all of the trouble Cohaagen had done to hide you from the resistance you must be fairly important. And with your skill set it's highly doubtful that your his gardner."
" Cohaagen? Resistance? I don't….I don't work for the resistance. I'm not like them. I'm not a murder."
" Are you sure? You said so yourself that you killed 10 highly armed men with nothing more than your bare hands. Men that i mind you work for the UFB."
" I didn't know….it just happened. I didn't…."
" Deep down inside you know that i'm right…."
" No! I'm not a murder. I'm not…."
" Then prove it. Prove it to me."
Staring directly into her eyes for the next few seconds Doug stares at Lori in silence listening in to her taking deep breathes before slowly he starts to lower the gun down.
" Will you help me?"
Glancing down as she sees Doug slowly extending the gun out towards her with the barrel facing away from her slowly Lori nods her head before she reaches out and gently takes the gun out of his hand.
" Turn around and place your hands over your head."
Raising up the gun slightly as she sees Doug obeying her orders without lowering her aim slowly Lori makes her way back over towards their bed to only mere seconds later retrieve a pair of handcuffs from her bag before slowly as she returns to Doug's side reaching up Lori gently grabs a hold of his hands and starts to apply the handcuffs.
" For what it's worth. You're doing the right thing."
Without putting up the slightest of resistance as he feels himself being gently lead through the apartment complex to the outside world by Lori just as he takes a step outside Doug's eyes widen slightly as he looks through the crowd of passing civilians to see police officers staring directly in their direction.
Human officers that are staring at him with their hands ready at their firearms just waiting for the wrong move on his part while the faceless synthetic officers stare at him awaiting orders from their superiors.
A sight that only makes a wave of shock run through his body as he stares out at each and everyone of them before suddenly he is brought out of his thoughts when he feels the slightest of nudges by Lori to continue forward.
A request that he obeys as he feels himself being steered through the crowd towards a small group of officers standing by a small stand just inside of the market place a couple of rows down.
Mere seconds later as he feels Lori coming to a stop Doug comes to a halt before slowly as he feels Lori gently moving her hand to rest on his arm glancing to his side Doug sees Lori staring directly at a synthetic officer.
" I have secured the target and will bring him directly to Cohaagen myself. Make sure that he knows that we are on our way."
Glancing at the synthetic's helmet as he sees it's visor turning blue with his interest only peaking with a nudge on his arm slowly Doug follows after Lori as he feels her holding his arm with a tight grip.
" How…."
" They can broadcast and deliver any messages through our network. It's how they are able to follow any orders given even if their commanding officer isn't within miles."
Suddenly as the sound of a phone going off echoes in the air coming to a stop as she glances around to see neither of her phones going off slowly turning to look in the direction of the sound Lori's eyes widen slightly when she sees Doug's left hand glowing with each ring.
As he sees the shocked expression across Lori's face slowly following her eyesight Doug's eyes suddenly widen when he sees his left hand glowing as the sound of a phone ringing echoes through the air.
" What the hell is that?"
" It's….but how? It should have shown up on the scans."
" What is it?"
" It's a small cellphone that had been implanted inside of your hand. I have one implanted as well but your's…."
Snapping out of her thoughts as she shakes her head slowly Lori looks up towards Doug's face to see him staring at her with confusion.
" Do you want to prove to me that you're not with the resistance? This is your chance. I need you to answer that call without alerting whoever it is of my presence. Can you do that?"
As she sees the slightest of nods gently reaching down as she starts to uncuff Doug slowly reaching up Lori touches her ear piece.
" Everyone spread out. I want an established perimeter around the square."
Retracting her hand as she turns towards Doug to see him gently rubbing his wrists slowly as she sees him turning to look up Lori stares at him with a hardening expression.
" Stay within eyesight. If you attempt to escape then you will be shot on sight. Is that clear?"
Nodding his head as he watches Lori disappear into the crowd towards a small stand slowly reaching up Doug presses his left hand gently to his ear.
" Hello? Hello?"
" Hello?"
" It's Hammond."
" I don't know any Hammond."
" Oh shit. You said this might happen. Look find a piece of glass. Put your hand to it. Do it now."
Glancing around as he looks through the crowd for Lori to only spot her off in the corner talking with one of the merchants as she looks in his direction slowly nodding his head to the side Doug watches as she returns the nod before slowly as he walks away Doug glances around the area for some piece of glass to use.
Round the corner as he sees a glass stand used to makes calls racing over Doug places his hand on the glass to only suddenly watch with wide eyes as an box comes flashing onto the screen with a face of a man that he never has seen before.
" You really don't remember anything do you?"
" Who the hell are you?"
" You honestly don't remember any of it do you?"
" No,no i don't. Remember what? How do you know me?"
" We worked at federal intel together. Look there isn't much time. You said to me that if you ever popped back onto the grid that i was to deliver you this message."
" Message? What message? What the hell is going on?"
" There isn't much time. Look you asked me to give a message to you so i'm giving it to you. Get the key."
" Key? What is it?"
" You said that you would know."
" Yeah well i don't. So tell me what it is."
" Look i know that we were close but this is getting too dangerous. If they find out that i've contacted you…."
" Just tell me what's going on? Are tell me just who you think i am."
" Look there isn't any time. If i were you, I would get rid of that phone. Alright? Now!"
" How am i supposed to get rid of this phone it's in my goddamn hand!"
Suddenly as she sees the box across the glass disappear coming out of the shadows slowly Lori makes her way over towards Doug to see him staring down at his hand.
Hearing footsteps approaching as he glances up to see Lori slowly making her way over towards him retracting his hand Doug looks back over towards the glass at his reflection.
" Did you recognize that man?"
" No. he said that his name was Hammond but i don't recognize him."
" Alright that's a start. Did he tell you anything else?"
" He told me to get the key."
" Key? What key?"
" I don't know. He said that i gave him that message to give to me in case this happened. What the hell is going on Lori?"
Just as she is about to respond as she hears the familiar sound of her phone going off looking down Lori's eyes widen slightly when she sees her left hand glowing.
" Shit."
" Lori?"
" Stay perfectly still and don't make a sound."
Taking a deep breathe as she slowly raises up her hand Lori turn away from Doug before slowly she puts her hand up to her ear.
" What is your status?"
" Sir? I have the target in custody a we speak."
" Excellent work. You are to bring him to me immediately is that clear? We clear up any misunderstanding later."
" Sir why was i not notified of his advanced tactical training. I should have been made aware of that."
" How the hell did he get reactivated?"
" An agent in place told me that he went to Recall. I sent in a team but his memory implanted had been blown before they could get to him. He is clearly regaining memory fragments."
" Listen closely. You do whatever it takes to bring him to me alive. Is that understood?"
Glancing over her shoulder as she sees Doug staring directly at her slowly Lori forces a small smile across her face before she turns her head back forward.
" Who the hell is this guy? He has cooperated with me fully and has shown to help us in anyway that he can. It is only fair if we can help give him some of the answers he is seeking."
Looking on closely suddenly as he sees Lori turning to look towards him with wide eyes Doug can't help the confused look that forms across his face before he watches her turn to look back forward.
" Are you fucking kidding me? Why is…."
" In due time. All you need to know is everything is not as it seems."
Closing her eyes as she takes a deep breathe Lori nods her head.
" Yes sir."
Retracting her hand as she turns around to see Doug staring at her with a confused look across his face slowly Lori gives him a sad smile as she locks eyes with him.
" You really don't remember anything do you?"
" No. what is going on? Who am i?"
" Your name isn't Doug. It's Hauser. Carl Hauser."
