Chapter 25

The minister's body quivered (a reaction not seen from Anna, Hansen or Michael) before his head lolled forward. Michael had already moved on to the second man - a penguin - almost before anyone had time to notice or react. But the doctor (who was to be subject number three) was halfway out of his chair and trying to decide whether to bolt or to try and help the minister (who was no longer quivering but was strangely silent) when Michael took a long, fast stride toward him...and 'zapped' him too.

''What have we done?'' Rudy lamented softly.

''They're fine,'' Michael affirmed as even the minster raised his head. They seemed disoriented and confused - but because they were unsure of what had just happened (rather than as a side effect of the 'treatment'. ''Send someone in to bring them a cup of coffee and a sandwich then let them rest for awhile. We need to move on...and a lot more quickly.''

He was right. The number of 'patients' continued to swell, and various offices and small meeting rooms were now filled with three people each - all of whom were growing restless...

Anna sat alone in her cell, struggling with a feeling that was completely foreign to her: helplessness. For nearly all of her adult life, she'd been in complete control of almost anything and anyone she chose. Most of it had been for revenge, to hurt the ones she'd perceived as having wronged her in any way...but some of it was for the sake of pure amusement. Producing chaos and then sitting in the middle of a maelstrom of her own creation (while those around her ran about like headless chickens) was FUN! Now, though, it seemed she couldn't even control herself...and she had no idea how it had happened.

She'd been sitting in her cell, mulling over her accomplishments and picturing her enemies in utter misery - pain that she had created! Then they'd come to shackle her...but that was nothing new. It simply meant that the OSI, the NSB - or whatever triple-lettered agency was the next to try and crack her - was about to send in another of their 'best' for her to play with for awhile. She thought of her interrogators as chew toys that she could mangle and spit out...or like a mouse that she could toy with, with cat-like intensity, until either they gave up or she tired of them and fell into inarguable silence. In any case, it broke up her day.

She'd even teased the guard who'd come to lock her (once again) to the wall. She'd felt in rare form and looked forward to ripping another of the 'best and brightest' to shreds. Then things had spiraled in a direction very quickly. Instead of making her sit and wait, chained there (which had lately become one of their favorite tactics), the cell door had opened almost immediately. She heard someone greet her by name but she didn't even have time to register who was speaking before she felt the oddest sensation. It was like someone had flipped a master switch and turned off every light on the entire planet, sending her hurtling into absolute darkness while a loud buzzing filled every cell of her body while she remained fully aware. Then, almost as soon as it started, it was over. The lights came on again, in both her conscious and subconscious worlds. She couldn't quite grasp it, but she felt different somehow. Her nemesis - one of the people she hated most - leaned in close and dared to tell her what do! Except, oddly, she hadn't been able to even consider resisting! When Jack Hansen was brought in, she found herself giving him instructions that would essentially undo the majority of the damage she'd caused - to quiet the chaos she'd worked so gleefully to create! The worst part - even worse than the fact that she couldn't stop herself - was that Anna didn't understand why.

The mood of anyone still walking the hallways at OSI-Los Angeles was visibly tense. Michael had moved on to a second room...and then a third...and the tension grew into an almost audible rumble. People still waiting in the small rooms were figuring out that these were no ordinary 'meetings' they were attending - and that they were, in fact, being detained.

''We aren't going to make it,'' Rudy fretted, realizing this had gotten too big too quickly and they would no longer be able to use the element of surprise since they'd now be entering rooms where the occupants were alert that something was wrong. Unless they found someone - immediately - who was skilled in diffusing the stress of the masses, people who were still under Hansen's orders (and thus unpredictable) could begin causing any and all sorts of mayhem. They needed someone like...

Michael had the identical thought at the same time. ''We need Mark Conrad in here NOW!'' he told Oscar.

''Sure,'' Oscar scoffed. ''I'll just go two hallways down, to where we have him locked up and ask him if he'd be interested in doing the OSI a little favor...''

''Do whatever you have to!'' Michael snapped.

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