Chapter 20

Michael stood in front of his two subjects and listened with quiet satisfaction as Anna began to undo at least some of the ham she had done. Then he turned and head toward Oscar, content to leave them to it.

Oscar did his best to stand his ground and not flinch or back away. From all appearances, Michael Marchetti had created his own rudimentary mind control device! Oscar couldn't help wondering if he'd be the next to be 'zapped'.

''Tell me about what you just did,'' Oscar requested, at least keeping up the appearance that he was the one in charge.

Michael shrugged modestly. ''I did the same thing with Jaime.''

''You what?!'' The thought was unbearable.

Michael's smile was warm and reassuring. ''I didn't hurt anyone,'' he explained, ''Even if Anna might've deserved it.'' He looked into the cell at his two most recent subject. ''Let's find somewhere that we can talk,'' he suggested, Once Anna's cell was locked (with Anna and Hansen both shackled and hard at work), he and Oscar retreated to the same small conference room where he'd so recently hidden from Security.

Oscar had two of his 'penguins' stand guard...just in case. ''Alright; tell me what's going on,'' he requested again.

''Nothing sinister, I can assure you,'' Michael began. ''When I took a closer look at all of Jaime's test results put together, I realized her brain waves simply needed to be re-routed. Essentially, I forced her brain to re-wire and heal itself. And once I found a way to do that for her, it only stood to reason that I could also 're-program' Anna,'' he concluded, as if it was the simplest idea to grasp and the easiest thing to be able to do.

One realization both intrigued Oscar - and terrified him. ''So basically,'' he said (giving voice to the unimaginable fear), ''You could control anyone you choose.''

''Well...yes but only certain people and only to a point,'' Michael admitted ''For almost anyone else, this treatment would either have no effect at all...or it could turn their brains into scrambled eggs. An MRI and full neurological work-up would be the surest indicators. I would offer to turn this device over to you - along with my notes - but...''

Oscar nodded. ''But if you had the desire you could easily construct a new one now.''

''Exactly. But there's no reason for you or almost anyone else to fear.''

Oscar caught the qualifier - and had to call him on it. ''Almost anyone?''

As Michael began to explain, far too many details (of unbelievably complex technicality) were suddenly thrown at Oscar, all at once. He was a man who'd gotten where he was in life by his ability to assess any situation and make a firm decision - decisions that could affect many lives and, indeed could cost lives when he made a wrong call. Should Michael be welcomed back into the fold of those who were most trust - and most utilized - by the OSI, in light of a discovery that could effectively be used against their enemies? Or should he be locked away forever as an evil genius, much like Anna? Where was the middle ground...and was there a middle ground at all? In essence, Michael was claiming that his device would only be able to 'set right again' brain waves that had otherwise been interfered with (by a bullet, in Jaime's case and by Ann and Jack's interference, in others. Whether it had other uses was unclear to Oscar, as it would be to anyone without very sophisticated medical and technical knowledge

Oscar was also a man who'd gotten where he was in life by knowing when and how to consult others when that need arose. In this case, he knew that Rudy Wells (who had been a familiar and well-trusted name almost since the inception of the OSI) had the technical knowledge to wade though the details of Michael's discovery...and Rudy knew the young surgeon as well as anyone on the planet did.

Once again, an ethical decision regarding Michael Marchetti was about to fall (at least in part) into Rudy's lap.

When sufficient time had passed, Oscar made a huge leap of faith of his own by allowing it when Michael asked the guard to release Jack Hansen from his shackles. ''He's fine now,'' Michael pronounced. ''The only power he holds now in terms of 'mind control' is to give your men - or you yourself, if you prefer - a full list of those he's affected under Anna's instruction. They will then each require the same treatment as you just witnessed me perform on Jack himself. After that, the fear that anyone else is out there trying to destroy the OSI or harm the Austins will be over.'' Michael could read the skepticism all over Oscar's face. ''Why don't you go ahead and get that list,'' Michael suggested. ''In the meantime, I'll meet with Rudy or with anyone of your choosing and you can then decide if you'd like me to proceed.''

For Oscar, it was going to come down to a matter of trust. Could he trust Michael Marchetti?

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