Dan Harding woke up in the middle of a bare room. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was through the pain. He reached up and touched his right temple, shocked to find that that area of his head wasn't only bare, but there was a stitched up gash there. "What the..." he murmured.
He startled when a female voice answered from behind him. "Sorry about the incision and bald spot. It was necessary so that the doctors could implant the device." Dan sprang to his feet and turned to face the source of the voice, a short, pasty woman with pasty black hair and silver-rimmed glasses. She wore a smart, gray shirt, jacket, and skirt. "My apologies, Mr. Harding. I don't mean to startle you," she continued. "Unfortunately, time is of the essence so I don't have time to worry about every little sensibility."
Dan stammered, "Wh-who are you?"
"My name isn't important, Mr. Harding. For simplicity sake, call me Terry. But who I am is not nearly as important as who you are and what I -- or more accurately, my superiors -- want of you."
"And what is that?"
"Good, you didn't waste time asking who my superiors are. Mr. Harding, you are a computer programmer working for Proteus Technologies. Your employer is currently working on a project with the code name Trellis. My superiors would like you to get all data files on Project Trellis and deliver them to me."
Dan's eyes widened in confusion. "I'm not involved with Project Trellis, and I certainly don't have the security clearance to get to it. I'm afraid you have the wrong man."
Terry smiled and came within three feet of him. "Oh no, Mr. Harding. We have the right man. We've been evaluating your suitability for this operation for just over six months now. Indeed, the fact that you've even heard of Project Trellis proves it. Most people at your company have never even heard of it. Of course, serving as one of the administrators and security consultants for the company's computer systems would require you to at least know the code name of all projects, even the ones beyond your own security clearance. Actually, you don't have a security clearance."
Dan frowned, shocked at how much this woman seemed to know about him, his job, and his employer's top secret work. "Okay, so I know about the project. I still don't see how I can help."
"Mr. Harding, please quit pretending to be obtuse. As I said, you've consulted on the computer security for your employer. We are confident that you can use your knowledge of those systems to get the data you require."
"Well fine, maybe I can get the data. But I certainly see no reason why I should."
"Well, I suppose that depend on whether you wish to continue living." She paused as her words registered in his head, his jaw dropping. "Yes, I suppose it's time we talk about the implanted device I mentioned earlier. It's a small radio receiver connected to a mechanism that will break a vial containing a neurotoxin if activated. If the vial is broken, the neurotoxin will be released directly onto your brain. I understand that death is almost instantaneously.
"Let me clear about a few things, Mr. Harding. The mechanism is similar to a dead-man's switch. It constantly receives an encoded signal via the receiver. If that signal stops -- or is interrupted -- the vial breaks and you die. Now that the mechanism has been primed, it will continue to look for the signal until such time as it receives a second encoded signal that shuts down the device.
"Finally, I will note that the device is designed that if you or anyone else makes an attempt to remove it without first deactivating it, it will trigger and you will also die. As I and my superiors are the only people who know what encoded signal deactivates the device, I'd say that gives you plenty of motive to do as I have asked."
Dan frowned. "Okay, you got me."
"Very good, Mr. Harding. Now, we understand that you may need some time to think through how to get through your own security systems. We will give you seventy two hours. If you have not retrieved the data by then, I will remotely trigger the device."
"That's not a lot of time," Dan protested.
"No, but it should help motivate you. Also, I should be clear, Mr. Harding, that I, my superiors, and some of my associates will be watching you. If you try to go to the place, we will execute you immediately. If you tell anyone else about this meeting or what I've asked of you, we will execute you immediately. If we see any evidence that you are trying to betray us -- or simply not doing what I have asked of you -- we will execute you immediately. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Then I suggest you leave, Mr. Harding. You have a hard job ahead of you and little time to accomplish it." She motioned to a door in one corner of the room. Dan walked through it, and found himself blinking in blinding noon-time sunlight. He could feel his heart racing as he considered his options.
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