Chapter 88: Northern Lights Project, The Threatened Control (5000 words)
Control raised her head, feigning surprise, and asked,
"Didn't the doctor already complete rounds just now?"
Arthur, lying on the hospital bed, said with a blank expression,
"The doctor came for rounds? Did they? Why don't I remember?"
Then Arthur's gaze fell upon Control, and his emotions immediately became agitated:
"Right, Doctor, quickly remove this woman! I clearly don't know her!
She insists she's my wife, Diane, but my wife died long ago!
She's an imposter!"
Control said with a helpless expression,
"Look at you, you've forgotten again. I really am Diane.
The doctor said this is amnesia caused by your brain tumor. Be calm, settle down."
"No, I won't! You liar, get out—get out now!"
Arthur was so angry his face turned red, and simultaneously, he threw anything within reach at the deceptive woman before him, clearly not believing her.
Control continued feigning a helpless demeanor, allowing Arthur to lash out, truly appearing like a wife deeply devoted to Arthur.
But her presence was inconvenient for David and his group's communication, so David immediately used this scene as justification to speak:
"Ms. Diane, the patient is agitated right now. Your presence here will only further stimulate his condition.
If you genuinely care for him, please step outside first.
How about I notify you to return after the patient's emotions stabilize?"
Hearing David's words, Control—to maintain her persona—had to lower her head and force out a few tears, saying,
"Ah, it can only be this way. My life is so difficult. The person I love doesn't recognize me..."
Then, while wiping away crocodile tears, she walked outside.
After all, David had stated that if she truly cared for him, she wouldn't keep stimulating his emotions.
This statement forced Control to temporarily depart.
But once Control reached the doorway, the expression on her face immediately transformed, and she whispered to the CIA agent beside her:
"Check for me whether this person is actually a physician. I want all his information within three minutes."
After David confirmed Control had gone sufficiently far, he pulled out a signal jammer, disrupting all transmissions.
This was to prevent any recording devices from being left behind.
After completing this, David then pointed at John and whispered,
"Do you know who he is?"
Arthur's gaze followed David's gesture to John. He was immediately stunned, then laughed happily, opening his arms to embrace John:
"Harold! Harold Finch! Of course I know him! By the way, why are you here?!"
Then Arthur seemed to sense something was wrong. He released his arms and said somewhat confusedly,
"Is this my hallucination? Did I really see you?
What about Nathan? If it's a hallucination, why hasn't Nathan appeared yet?"
John's lips moved as he was about to speak, when suddenly there was commotion in the hospital, with screams everywhere.
Periodically, a gunshot could also be heard.
David immediately realized that Decima Technologies had revealed Arthur's location to Vigilance members.
They wanted to eliminate the backup Arthur possessed, and their target was precisely this Arthur, who seemed to have advanced brain cancer but actually still retained cognitive ability!
David immediately removed all monitoring devices from Arthur, and said to Reese,
"Take him."
Reese heard this and didn't hesitate, immediately attempting to help Arthur up and head outside.
But Arthur was filled with panic and completely unwilling to accompany Reese.
"Who are you? Don't touch me! I'm not going!"
Seeing Arthur's resistance, John had to gently reassure him,
"Arthur, listen to me. It's very dangerous here. Let's catch up after we leave, okay?"
Strangely enough, Arthur immediately calmed upon hearing John's words and obediently followed Reese outside.
The CIA agents at the door were already on high alert when the gunshots erupted.
The surrounding chaos made them immediately want to enter the room to escort their VIP to safety.
But when they opened the door, they collided with the four people exiting.
Just as the CIA agents were stunned, the prepared Reese quickly acted, incapacitating the unsuspecting agents in just a few moves.
And Control, witnessing this scene at the door, immediately adopted a surprised expression, pointing at the four people who emerged, speechless.
John, completely unaware of Control's true identity, believed this person was genuinely Arthur's wife, Diane. He quickly approached 'Diane' and said,
"Diane, it's not safe here. Come with us quickly!"
Control went along with the plan, retrieving her purse with a GPS tracking device and followed the four people, preparing to leave the hospital.
At this time, the hospital had gradually transitioned from chaos to relative calm. Those who should flee had fled, and those who should hide had hidden.
Therefore, the group of five still mobile naturally became the target of those Vigilance members wearing tactical masks.
Just as the Vigilance members were preparing to shoot at the group, gunshots suddenly erupted again.
That was also a group of people wearing balaclavas.
These operatives entered and immediately engaged the masked faction without hesitation.
The two sides instantly fell into a chaotic firefight.
The hospital, which was supposed to be for healing the sick, instantly transformed into a battlefield, with bullets flying everywhere.
David noticed that someone on the balaclava-wearing side nodded slightly at him.
Through the scarred face slightly revealed beneath the mask, David quickly confirmed the newcomer's identity.
Elias's top enforcer, Scarface.
It seemed Elias was genuinely fulfilling his promise to eliminate the Vigilance members.
This saved David a day of his lifespan.
One should know that David's hand had already been on the concealed firearm at his waist moments ago.
If Elias's subordinates hadn't appeared, David would now summon the Machine to activate god mode and begin a massacre.
Simultaneously, he would also expose his exceptional marksmanship capability before the authorities.
This was the worst possible scenario.
It was fortunate that Elias's people were currently engaging Vigilance.
Thus, everyone very smoothly, under David's guidance, proceeded through the hospital's emergency exit to the underground parking garage.
Reese was about to randomly select a vehicle when 'Diane' on the side suddenly pointed to an SUV:
"Let's take our car. This is the vehicle Arthur and I purchased on our thirtieth wedding anniversary."
Reese didn't question further. He directly took the key, started the vehicle, and collected everyone.
But Arthur was still rambling,
"Don't believe her. Diane died before our thirtieth anniversary. I buried her myself. I'm not mistaken."
John frowned slightly. He was very curious about his friend constantly mentioning Diane's death.
According to what 'Diane' just stated, his friend had amnesia.
But why did he have such a firm recollection of his wife's death?
John couldn't help but ask his friend Arthur,
"Could you be mistaken? Isn't Diane right here?"
"No! I couldn't be mistaken! On August 10, 2012, I personally witnessed her burial at Hoover Memorial Cemetery!"
With such specific details emerging, John's heart suddenly felt a chill.
If Diane was already deceased, then who was this Diane before them?!
But before John could inquire, he heard the sound of a firearm's safety being disengaged.
Looking back, it was David pointing a Glock at the back of 'Diane's' head, then David's cold voice was heard:
"Now, slowly remove your hand from your purse."
Only then did John notice that 'Diane' had somehow placed her hand into her shoulder bag.
After 'Diane' withdrew her hand, John seized the shoulder bag and discovered a compact Beretta handgun inside!
Besides that, there was also a flashing GPS tracking device.
John's face immediately changed. He opened the window and threw the shoulder bag out.
The sudden object thrown from the car window caused a vehicle behind that couldn't evade in time to run over it, crushing it completely.
Then came a string of classic profanity.
But none of them were concerned about the potential hazard caused by throwing something from the window. John stared closely into 'Diane's' eyes and said,
"Who exactly are you? Diane wouldn't have a compact Beretta handgun and a GPS device transmitting signals constantly."
'Diane's' face immediately showed panic. She attempted to explain,
"I really am Diane. I just wanted to hold the gun in my hand in case you were dangerous people.
That GPS device was provided by the CIA agents, because my husband Arthur used to work for the NSA.
So after he frequently suffered from amnesia and wandered due to his brain tumor, the CIA agents gave me the GPS transmitter to prevent Arthur from getting lost and not being located again."
But why is this doctor pointing a gun at me? Who exactly are you people?! What do you want with Arthur?!
Please release us! Arthur genuinely can't distinguish anything right now!"
Seeing 'Diane' appearing distraught and crying profusely, John's eyes flashed with a hint of sympathy.
Could he have been mistaken?
Just as he was about to tell David to lower the weapon, David's voice sounded again at the opportune moment:
"Alright, stop performing. There are no fools here."
"Should I call you 'Special Counsel,' or should I call you 'Control'?"
Hearing these cryptic code names, John looked at David with some confusion.
It was clear that David had known from the start that this 'Diane' was fraudulent.
Then David must have had a purpose in having her enter the vehicle with them.
Now was the moment to reveal the outcome.
Feeling John's questioning gaze, David had no intention of concealing anything. He smiled and continued to explain:
"She was in charge of the Northern Lights Program, which had independent authority and a black budget allocation."
"That is to say, she was the one who sent operatives abroad to eliminate witnesses, and she was also the one who decided to terminate Nathan Ingram and neutralize you."
"So now you understand who she is, correct?"
Hearing David's explanation, John's gaze immediately transformed.
According to David's statement, Control before him was the origin of all tragedy.
If they hadn't contracted Nathan and him, the Machine wouldn't have been created.
If the Machine hadn't been created, so many insiders wouldn't have died.
Thinking of this, John's eyes immediately reddened, but soon he closed them and suppressed all emotions.
He understood that since the decisive David hadn't immediately shot Control, this person remained useful.
Especially now that the Machine had been completely liberated, perhaps the Machine had already predicted something.
That's why it had David bring Control along.
As for John's misunderstanding, David naturally wouldn't clarify that he needed the Machine's assistance and had to leverage his highest authority.
He just aimed the gun at Control and then asked:
"I want to know what stage Samaritan has reached."
Seeing that her identity had been exposed, Control's demeanor immediately changed.
The composure of someone who'd occupied high-level positions for extended periods emanated from her.
Even facing a gun barrel, she showed no panic.
This formed a stark contrast with the tears still remaining on her face.
Facing David's question, she not only didn't answer but instead inquired:
"How much do you know about Samaritan?"
David grinned:
"First, you need to understand—I'm the one asking questions."
"Secondly, if you counter-question, although I won't kill you, I will insert sewing needles one by one beneath your fingernails. You can describe the sensation after experiencing it."
"If you can still speak."
"Finally, I don't want to ask questions twice, so you have three seconds to answer... Okay, time's up!"
Control's calm composure was instantly shattered by David's unreasonable transformation of three seconds into one second.
David had no intention of granting her three seconds to deliberate.
Control's peripheral vision even caught sight of the cold, gleaming 'needle' between David's fingers.
This was no sewing needle—it was clearly a surgical needle, an 18-gauge from a medical syringe!
Control's pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints, and she spoke rapidly:
"Samaritan was permitted online for twenty-four hours last night to test its capabilities."
"Because Decima Technologies discovered the existence of a backdoor in the Northern Lights Program, Decima submitted sufficient evidence to prove Northern Lights was compromised."
"Now the authorities are planning to replace the Northern Lights Program."
"Moreover, Northern Lights' sudden malfunction last night further proved its unreliability."
"However, the legislation regarding using Samaritan as a national defense measure is still being drafted, and whether it will ultimately pass remains uncertain."
Control, who'd delivered all the information in one breath, was panting heavily.
Such an extended passage was indeed somewhat challenging for someone like her who didn't maintain optimal physical conditioning.
However, the information she'd disclosed in her haste was quite valuable—at least the needle didn't get inserted beneath her nail bed.
Seeing Control cooperating quite 'actively' under his threat, David withdrew the needle in his hand under John's astonished gaze.
"That's correct. If you'd cooperated earlier, you wouldn't have been frightened."
"We're all civilized people. Communication can prevent all misunderstandings. Force is merely an unnecessary measure, don't you agree, Special Counsel Control?"
Control, who'd finally caught her breath, turned her head slightly and looked at David in the back seat, saying:
"Listen, I don't know who you are, and I don't know what you're attempting to accomplish."
"But Arthur beside you is someone from our National Security Agency. He possesses classified information related to national security."
"If you abduct him, it's equivalent to threatening entire national security. Have you considered the consequences... Ah!"
Control cried out in pain, looking somewhat shocked at the scalpel embedded in her thigh.
She never expected this David to act so decisively!
She'd assumed David was merely threatening her to divulge information.
But now, this gleaming scalpel was embedded in her leg!
Feeling the pain radiating from her thigh, she finally understood that what David had stated about him asking and her answering wasn't mere posturing.
Seeing that Control had finally ceased talking, David nodded in satisfaction.
"Why complicate matters? I ask and you answer—that's all. Don't bring your methodologies from your classified little agency here."
"They won't work here. Don't forget, your life remains in my hands."
David pressed the cold gun barrel against Control's temple, signaling her not to entertain any rash thoughts.
Control gasped in pain, and after contributing to warming the vehicle's interior, she spoke:
"I understand."
"Very good. Now, here's a question you haven't considered."
"Since Samaritan has gone online and is monitoring this city, then why were those Vigilance operatives able to accurately breach the hospital, locate Arthur's room, while you received no warning?"
Hearing David's words, a trace of confusion flashed in Control's eyes.
Not to mention Samaritan, which possessed superior computational power—even the Machine could predict this type of socially detrimental hospital shooting incident.
But why didn't Samaritan provide them a warning?
Furthermore, there was an even more critical question: why did this doctor named David before her possess this classified information?!
As the person in charge of the Northern Lights Project, Control was naturally not unintelligent.
She almost instantly analyzed considerable information from David's words.
This information was also a bombshell for her.
In other words, the implication behind David's words was that Samaritan was connected to Vigilance.
And Samaritan wanted to use Vigilance's operatives to eliminate the remaining 'factions' of the Northern Lights Project like herself!
By then, Samaritan could conveniently use the pretext of her death at Vigilance's hands to enhance the persuasiveness of its own deployment.
What an excellent scheme!
As for David... Control vaguely deduced which entity was supporting him: Northern Lights!
The vanished Northern Lights had actually found an executor for itself!
Such a realization also sent shivers down one's spine upon deeper consideration.
When a super AI develops its own consciousness, nobody will know what it genuinely intends to accomplish!
The unfortunate Control had numerous questions she wanted to ask, but upon seeing the scalpel still embedded in her thigh, all her inquiries could only be swallowed.
She could only honestly answer David's question.
"Because Samaritan wants me eliminated."
"Very good. We've finally reached a consensus."
"You're not the only one Samaritan wants eliminated."
"If it successfully goes operational, those who will obstruct its agenda will all die under the guise of terrorist attacks."
"So, are you prepared to cooperate with us to prevent Samaritan from officially deploying? Or are you prepared to die here?"
Control felt a chill down her spine looking at the sunny smile on David's face.
This individual before her was a demon, articulating the cruelest statements with the kindest expression.
Life or death?
Did she have a choice?
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