Riley panicked, thoughts of horrid punishment filling her head as she contemplated the daunting task before her-- how could they expect her to do this? Jarod probably couldn't do this! And neither could she! She looked over at where Mr. Lyle was standing against his desk in the SIM Lab. "I-I don't know what to do!" She pleaded, she needed him to understand; just this once, she needed him to expect less.
"C'mon Riley, you've read his file, and I know you can do this SIM, just get into his head." Lyle watched the pretender pacing around the SIM lab, he could tell that she really was having trouble; he had no reason to doubt her anyway, but if she couldn't find a way to get into Jarod's head, then this project would be ruined. Besides that, knowing Raines, he wouldn't give into her inability that easily. Lyle remembered how when she was younger, and just learning how to pretend, Raines had given her a project that was way over her head-- and he knew it too; it had been a test, he wanted to see what she would do. When she failed to run the simulation Raines had used some rather 'brutal' methods to force her to finish. Riley hadn't spoken to Lyle for a week, and he personally couldn't blame her, she had put her trust in him, and he hadn't been able to protect her. To this day Riley was terrified of Raines, of the power he held over her project; over her life. "Riley," Lyle got up from his chair and walked over to her, trying to help her get into Jarod's mindset, "Just ignore the SIM for a minute, I want you to try getting into Jarod's head first."
"I am trying, I really am! I just- I don't know what he's thinking, I don't think I can do this." Riley ran her hands through her hair in frustration, and Lyle was having a hard time keeping his temper.
"I know Riley, I know that you're trying, but we have to figure out how to do this, you have to figure this out or the assignment will fail, and you know what will happen if you fail." Lyle threatened her, she knew what would happen, boy did she. Riley had only failed them once in her entire life, and she was not going to allow history to repeat here. "Yes, I know- Mr. Raines- I know... but pressure really isn't helping at the moment." She answered him a little irately, her snarky side coming out in agitation. She looked at the floor guiltily when she realized what she had said, and her voice took on a more plaintive tone. "Sir, I don't- I can't figure him out. I need help."
Lyle had forced Riley to stop the pacing, but now she was just fidgeting all over, she was snapping her fingers quietly, and bouncing around on the balls of her feet.
"Riley stand still!"
Riley stopped moving instantly, her hands held open at her sides, eyes level, looking straight ahead, following his order before her brain had even processed her actions. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, trying to get rid of the nervous tension that was coursing through her.
"Okay, good." Lyle placed his hand on her shoulder, and she tensed up at his touch, relaxing very slowly when she realized that he wasn't going to do anything more than that. "Now, Riley I want you to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, okay? I'm gonna see if I can help you get into this, alright?"
She followed his directions, and nodded her head at him, indicating that she was ready.
"Alright, that's very good, now Riley you've read his file, you are becoming Jarod at age 15, understand?"
She gave another small nod and he started trying to get her into 'SIM mode'.
"Okay, Riley I want you to let go of yourself now, I can bring you back, and I will, just let go. You're mind is going completely still, you aren't anything, you aren't anybody, you don't exist." Lyle could feel her finally loosen completely under his touch and knew that he could probably get her into Jarod's mindset now.
"You are Jarod, you're in the SIM lab, you're with Sydney, you're about to begin a SIM, now what are you thinking about? Become Jarod, Riley, what are you thinking? What are you feeling? You are Jarod."
Lyle watched Riley's eyes open and change slightly; they gained that faraway look that signaled she had entered the persona. Good, step one complete.
"Where are you? What are you doing?"
"I-I'm in the SIM lab, I'm about to begin the SIM, b-but I don't want to."
"Good Riley, that's good." Lyle had watched the DSA of Jarod this morning; he had to memorize the way Sydney had acted towards Jarod, and what he said, so that he could stay true to the SIM. It seemed that Riley had gotten into the mentality; but he could tell that she wasn't entirely sure of herself, her voice was a little shaky, and her body language looked like she was struggling with an internal battle.
"Now... What are you doing? What are you feeling?"
"I-I'm frustrated, I hate doing SIMs...I hate doing everything they tell me..."
Riley paused in her analysis and Lyle watched as she lost the objectivity she had been maintaining; she had fallen completely into the simulation. Good.
"I don't want to do a SIM today! Why can't I just be me? Just be Jarod for a little while?"
Lyle watched as her body language became almost an exact replica of the Jarod on the DSA, her arms were folded across her chest in defiance, and her brows were furrowed, showing her anger and frustration.
"These SIMs are important, only you can do them Jarod, now become that man!" Lyle said his lines, every bit as involved in the SIM as Riley was.
"No! I don't want to; I want to be me today! Why is it so important for me to always become someone else? I won't do the simulation and you can't make me!" Riley stamped her foot on the floor, clearly showing her distaste for the need of her cooperation.
"Jarod, what is he thinking? What is he feeling? Become the man Jarod!" Lyle said, as Sydney had tried to force Jarod into the pretend. Lyle had used this DSA as a 'manual' the first time Riley had ever refused a SIM as a child-- it was genius. The pretenders had perfectly moldable brains-- always open to the power of suggestion, all you had to do, was place them in the scene.
Riley clapped her hands over her ears, trying to resist the pretend but Lyle flicked on the projector on the wall, showing various pictures of a man, a fugitive, and some blueprints of a building, the area where the police had finally managed to catch up with him.
"No, stop... I won't do it, you can't make me! I'm not listening!"
"Relax, just relax. Become him, he's scared, alone, trapped. He's facing a future that terrifies him. What lengths will he go to avoid that? You know what he's thinking Jarod, just tell me."
"No. Stoppit, don't! I don't want to do this! Please just stop!"
Lyle watched Riley's declarations that she wouldn't do the simulation, turn to pleading, pleading that he wouldn't force her into the pretend, this was good; the pretend was headed in exactly the right direction.
Riley closed her eyes, trying to ignore the projections in front of her. Lyle walked around from behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and forcing her to listen to him.
"Become the man! What are you thinking? What will you do?" Lyle asked, waiting for Riley to move forward in the pretend and become the trapped convict, as Jarod had. But Riley, instead of dropping into the SIM that Sydney had forced on Jarod, rather snapped out of the pretend altogether. She returned to her own mentality, looking a little confused.
"Riley, the SIM isn't finished yet." He told her, walking around in front of her to look her in the face, "Riley, complete the simulation."
"I-I can't, I can't switch from Jarod's point of view to the man in the simulation. I can't juggle both personalities--"
"Yes Riley, you can." Lyle tried to appeal to the suggestible side of Riley's brain, trying to nudge the pretender part of her brain into completing the SIM. "You've become Jarod, and I know you can do this simulation, so become the fugitive.
"Please, Mr. Lyle, I don't know how to do this!"
"Riley, it's just a simulation; you do know how."
"Sir, I-I can't, I've never done this before. Please, I don't know how."
"Riley, you didn't think that you could become Jarod a few minutes ago either, now finish the simulation."
"But-"
"Stop arguing Riley, or you will face the consequences. It is imperative to this project that you do the simulation. If you can't learn to be Jarod- if you can't be Jarod while he is pretending to be someone else- than you won't be able to SIM his capture. Riley, that is all Jarod does outside, SIM; the only difference is that he creates his own pretends, so in order for you to track him down, you need to be able to SIM him and his pretend at the same time."
"Sir, I'm trying, I swear, but I don't know how. I can't do this, I-I I just can't."
Lyle slapped Riley across the face, silencing the girl; she had to stop doing this, or she was going to be receiving a lot more than just a small beating, Raines would be after her blood and Lyle wouldn't be able to stop him. "Yes Riley you can. And furthermore you will, if you don't know how than I suggest you figure it out." Lyle looked up as the door to the SIM lab opened, he was expecting Raines; he knew that the man would not be as forgiving of Riley's inability to perform, but instead of the bald, chain-smoking, ghoul, he was greeted by Parker's sweeper, Sam.
Riley turned around as she heard a sweeper enter the room. The sweeper, Sam, she thought he was called, handed Mr. Lyle something before walking away; he never even said a word. Riley wasn't exactly surprised, sweepers weren't supposed to have very much contact with pretenders, at least not on a conversational basis, not that she'd want to talk to a sweeper in the first place, it seemed that all of the bad things that had happened in her life involved sweepers at some point or another, and some part of her brain, the illogical childish part, had deemed them unlucky. She watched Mr. Lyle read the paper, she couldn't tell what he was thinking though. She tried to empathize with his feelings, but she couldn't read them, they were too muddled, too confused for her to be able to unravel them.
"Riley, I have to go for a couple days-"
Where are you going? She wanted desperately to ask, but she knew it was a bad question; she wasn't supposed to question him or his judgment.
"The pursuit team has a lead on Jarod, and I'm supposed to go with them." Lyle looked up from the paper at Riley, not sure if he wanted to tell her the last part of the order. Too bad Riley decided for him.
"What about me? What do I do while you're gone?" Riley asked the question, though she already knew the answer, she would be forced to work with the same person she always was when he left--
"You will be working with Mr. Raines."
"But Mr. Lyle, I-I can't! Please, I've tried it before... he'll just be angry with me."
"Riley, you won't get in trouble as long as you work with him; it's just a simulation, just a normal SIM."
"But it's not normal!" She argued, raising her voice in her panic. "I can't even do the SIM while I'm working with you! Please, I don't want to work with Mr. Raines. Please... y-you don't know what it's like when you're gone--" She pleaded with him, she couldn't work with Mr. Raines, she just couldn't.
"Riley, stop arguing, you're working with Mr. Raines and that's final." Mr. Lyle ordered, and Riley's shoulders slumped, her head dropping to the floor in defeat.
"Yes Sir." She mumbled to the ground, accepting the inevitable.
Lyle turned around, grabbing his briefcase and heading for the door; he paused and turned slightly at hearing the pretender call his name-
"Mr. Lyle?"
"Yes?" He turned and looked over his shoulder as he shoved a few documents into the leather attaché case.
"Good luck."
Lyle left Riley with a nod and charged down the hallways at a fast clip, making his way to the Centre airstrip. He caught up with the pursuit team just as they reached the doors leading out of the Centre.
"You are not coming!" Parker glared at him, dislike plainly etched upon her face.
"Yeah I wish too. But you know what Parker?"
"What?"
"Shit happens." Lyle matched her step as they walked out onto the airstrip and onto the plane.
"You know, normally you love getting the chance to shoot Jarod and bring him back to this place." Parker looked him up and down as if she might see a sign saying 'I'm lying' hung from his neck, "Why the change of heart? Not getting soft are we?" She mocked. "Oh wait, this means she'll be working with Raines, doesn't it? No one else gets to beaton your little whipping post but you, is that it?"
"Parker, you know Angelo? And Kyle, I seem to remember you meeting him too... Or what about Dannie and Einnad?... All of them are Raines' projects. I suggest that you take that into consideration before you ever question my motives about working with Riley again." He raged. He did hate leaving his pretender with Raines-- the man was too volatile. He played too many mind games with the girl. Riley was Lyle's ticket to the top, and he couldn't afford having her damaged.
"Raines wouldn't screw Riley over that bad; he still needs her to find Jarod-" Parker stated, trying to reassure herself more than anything.
"Let's just get this hunk of tin in the air; the sooner we get back the sooner I can prove you wrong." Lyle signaled to the captain and settled down in his seat. He hoped Jarod was still hanging around, because if they caught him now, they could scrap this assignment for Riley altogether.
Parker watched him from her seat across the aisle, but he didn't notice; he was looking out the window at the building they were leaving behind. She took in his tense posture, and the way his hand was running over the stump of his left thumb and it dawned on her.
He really was worried.