Redeem My Heart by Kennedy Layne

letting her know she’d failed. Her defensive instinct kicked in and her words hit their intended target. “Did you dream of a small room, covered in shadows and knowing it was only a matter of time before they came for you again?”
    Fallon had researched programming and conditioning of the human brain from a number of similar programs and had gleaned a few common practices that were often employed. She’d extended every resource at her disposal and determined that the majority of governments used a very specific technique. The specific operation’s conditioning personnel acted as subjugators, holding their subjects captive in a drug-induced state, causing them to be more receptive to stimulus. They would then repeatedly reduce their program trainees to nothing more than sponges, thus being able to manipulate them to comply with any task their jailors wanted them to perform. This usually took place in a small room without any outside influence. Even the cycle of night and day would be removed from their senses. The temperature would be high, thus demonstrating to the test subjects exactly whom they were dependent upon for their most basic needs. Food and water could be given upon the trainer’s discretion, again enforcing whom was in charge.
    “There were two men I’ve noted in those files who I had dealings with during my indoctrination with the CIA.” The room might as well have dropped by twenty degrees. Ryland’s voice became hard and he stepped away, taking his heat with him. “You’re most welcome.”
    Fallon could have kicked herself for putting this distance between them. She needed Ryland on board with this investigation. It was the only way they were going to discover who made the conscious decision to reinstate E.D.A., if in fact it had been. She turned to face him, holding her coffee with both hands to prevent her from reaching out to him.
    “These night terrors you’re having are related, and you’re starting to believe what I’m saying may in fact have some validity.”
    “If I were to tell you that you were right…why now?” Ryland inquired, his jaw tighter than usual, indicating his curiosity against his better judgment. “Why would I dream of something now and not at any time over the years that I’ve given my time for various other government contracts?”
    Ryland searched her face and she wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the answer. Fallon debated on telling him her theory, but figured that since they’d come this far there wasn’t a point in holding back anything from him now.
    “I think somehow, someway you’ve been contacted over the last month or two by these people that want to reinstate the program. It could be as simple as the use of a key phrase.” Fallon watched Ryland’s expression carefully, but he was good at concealing his thoughts. She’d studied him enough over the last couple of years that she could sometimes catch his tells, but he might as well be a bank vault at the moment. “The public is basically at odds over numerous items, such as the world economy and the multiple wars brewing with various countries. The United States of America is not the world superpower it once was and it’s my opinion these people believe they can affect some type of change.”
    Ryland remained silent as he walked around her until he reached for something on the table. It was the dossiers he’d looked through last night, separated into two piles. He opened the one on top to the right, sliding the photograph of a man out from under the paper clip. He placed it on the hard surface and turned it toward her without commenting about her theory, but instead began explaining whom the subject was.
    “I already told you that Agent Grahn was the first person to contact me when I got in over my head with the wrong crowd. Those people wouldn’t have hesitated to bury me alive while taking a break in eating their lunch.” Ryland tapped the picture in front of him with his index finger.