"Ok, Ok. I think it's attached. Now stop before you seriously damage my brain."

  "Yes, I do have one. It might not be functional normally but I doubt it will function at all after this."

  "Give me something for a headache and take these fucking bracelets off."

With a slight crackling sound another voice can be heard "Ok, Rabi, the implant seems to be fully operational. We need to do a few scans to make sure it is properly integrated, then we can remove the bracelets. I want you to concentrate on me."

  The voice is Brooklyn. She isn't a medic but since she usually oversees the implant procedure, she decided to test her skills on me. 

  -'I thought inflicting pain was part of my job with interrogation. Hmm well at least I don't have to clean up the mess when I'm done.'- 

  "Rabi good news. The procedure was a success. The bad news is, it is functioning and I know what you're thinking." 

  Damn... 

  She took off my bracelets and told me to go to Lian's office. Lian's office... I've never been to her office. I hope I didn't get myself in trouble again. 

  As I approached Lian's office, the door opened. 

  "Berek, what are you doing here? I thought you were away today." 

  Berek is our medic and one of my closest friends. 

  "Hi, Rabi. I was just dropping off some reports before going out for lunch." She said as her phone rang, "Sorry, I have to run. Brooklyn just broke something in the lab." 

  I entered the office. Lian is such a perfectionist. It was all organized and spotless. I stood near her desk, afraid I might mess something up if I touched it. She was looking over papers from a file labeled 'R. Silverburgh'. Oh no I got the implant finally, what did I do wrong? 

  Without even looking up she said "I see you have a problem turning in your reports as well as seeing the medic regularly." 

  "I just got the implant. I'm not good with paperwork but I try to get them done. I'll..." 

  She cut me off "Rabi you are good at what you do but you are not meeting the necessary requirements. We have decided to assign an assistant rather than replace you." 

  "What?! I don't need an assistant I just need a little more time between assignments." 

  She handed me an unlabeled file. I opened it and felt my heart stop. 

  "Jay? You can't be serious." 

  Lian finally looked up "I know he's new and inexperienced but with your help I'm sure he will do fine. Plus he can help with your reports." 

  "He's my little brother. You can't do this. I can't... I won't work with him." 

  Lian stood up and walked toward the door "You can and you will. He is about to get his implant. I want you and Jay to meet Toby at 0800 tomorrow for details on your first assignment together." 

  She smiled as she opened the door. I quickly left. 

  I sat on the floor outside of the lab. My mind was so overwhelmed I couldn't think straight. Jay is only a year younger than me but he is too young and weak for this kind of work. Something could easily go wrong. I may seem cruel and heartless but Jay isn't like that. Why would he be here? I closed my eyes and hoped that it was just a bad dream. 

  I heard Jay's voice "Rabi are you ok?" 

  Fuck! This can't be happening. 

  I looked up at him "Why Jay?" 

  "Let's get something to eat and we can talk about it." He said as he pulled me to my feet. 

  I suddenly felt dizzy and leaned against the wall "I'm still adjusting to the damn thing they put in my head." 

  He shook his head and started walking away. 

  We went to a pizza place nearby. 

  "Jay, you know what I do is dangerous. Now that you're in and you have an implant, the only way out is if you're dead." 

  With a sad look he said "I know but it was my decision." 

  "You have no training. You're my assistant... my partner but I can't jeopardize my self or my mission to save you." 

  We sat in silence for a few minutes. 

  "Our first assignment is tomorrow. We have a lot to do to prepare. Do you understand how the implant works?" 

  He looked a bit confused as he said "It's a neuro... something." 

  "It's a fucking tracking device. It monitors us. It sees, hears, knows everything about us. It sends all that information back to the system at HQ where it is sorted into our files. If I even think of anything it doesn't like, it tells them." 

  He raised an eyebrow and said "Yeah but that's a good thing. If one of us needs help, it will tell the others. It can do more than just monitor us. Berek said we can access the info from our own files or intel reports from others. It's just like having an expanded memory." 

  Hmm memory. 

  "Let's go back to my place. I have an idea." 

  I have a small cabin about a mile away from HQ. It's off in the woods a bit so I can feel like I have at least a little privacy. 

  As we neared the house wolves started howling in the distance. 

  Jay seemed surprised "I didn't know there were wolves here." 

  I laughed and said "They're mine." 

  I started concentrating. I tried to remember anything that might be useful to him so that it would go to my file. 

  I used my computer to access my file. I told Jay to go through it so it would go to his file. I figured he would at least have the knowledge even though it was without experience. 

  A few hours later we were done with as much as I could remember. An expanded memory is something I'm apparently in desperate need of. I'm sure someone like Lian has memory that could go on for days even before the implant, but not everyone has an eidetic memory.

  I need to take Jay to the advanced training facility at HQ. I called Trent and asked him to meet us there. Trent is the lead tech for the advanced training equipment. I can run it myself but I want to make sure Jay is being properly trained. I get a bit slack during advanced training. 

  Trent already had everything prepped when we arrived. 

  Jay didn't seem nervous at all. He got into the chair, put the bracelets on and let Trent inject him without a peep. My first time I kind of panicked. I don't like feeling powerless. 

  As his body relaxed into a semi-conscious state, Trent connected the sensors to him. The equipment is like a virtual simulation. The injection completely numbs your body leaving you paralytic. The effects last about two hours. The bracelets are to stop anything that may have been missed by the injection. 

  While in the simulation your mind controls your virtual body. The sensors detect the impulses of what your physical body is trying to do so that the virtual body will function the same. It can't make or allow you to do anything beyond your physical ability. 

   I was really nervous and tried to keep my mind off of Jay's training. 

  He done pretty well, not great but better than I expected. At least he only made a few minor mistakes. I felt a bit more confident in his ability but was still unsure if he could really handle being under pressure.