Prologue
The shock baton came down on Seven's chest. The handler's arm shook at the impact it took to keep electrocuting the man in the cell. But, Seven never flinched.
Over the years, he'd put Seven through everything imaginable. Testing, manipulating, torturing him while supplying him with LSD, at first, then the highly dangerous regimen of experimental drugs that helped enhance his natural skills and keep him in control.
"That's enough." The controller for the Alpha Bio Project walked away from the cell. "Let him out."
Seven rose to his feet and stepped into the walkway of the cave. The handler kept his baton handy. Just in case.
Often, the men would take two or three sessions when the lessons were repeated for the needed behavior changes. Though, it was easier when they dealt with the original six men.
From the start, the originals had become the ultimate participants. Each study, each lesson, each change, succeeding after long and controversial training.
"Go ahead and hand over the new medicine container to him." The controller walked deeper into the cave.
He gathered the new pills, put them in the plastic container, and returned to Seven. "You will start this new pack in the morning. Any changes you experience will be reported to the handlers immediately."
Seven took the container, slipping it into the pocket of his leather vest.
There was no reason to repeat the instructions. Once told, Seven would remember. He'd leave the cave, return to Avery Falls, and become an active member of Avery Falls Motorcycle Club. As the other participants had done.
Currently, there were twenty-five members of the biker club. Each at different phases of the project. Once they graduated from the first stage, they were put in the community, set up in a house, and from an outsider's view, became the lawless bikers that ran the small, remote mountain town.
It was the job of the originals to oversee the others. If the behaviors of the other men went haywire, they knew what to do.
The handler exhaled and studied Seven. Every aspect of the Alpha Bio Project would've broken him. Sometimes, he wondered how the men who were brought in as participants survived.
And if they knew how easily it was to change their whole existence with one simple word.
Through mind, body, and a void of their emotions, each of them had an internal switch that could end their life.
One word would turn these men into mercenaries, ready and able to kill. One specific word could force them to kill themselves. Their presence wiped from the earth to protect the Alpha Bio Project.
"You're free to go, Trip," whispered the handler.
Brandt "Trip" Rowe, aka Seven, turned and walked forward into the dark tunnel, not needing a light to guide his way.