Page 21 of Master B-1901
“Let’s start at the top. Where did this one come from. It’s not big. Two inches at the top of your pec.”
“Prison. My cellmate and I didn’t get along. We got in an argument and the next thing I knew, he swung wide. He was hoping to catch me off guard, but I was ready.I’m always ready. The bastard filed down a damn toothbrush. He may have cut me pretty deep, but I got the last laugh. I stuck it through his throat.”
Blue eyes rose to my Masters.
“What about the small one right there. It looks like a gunshot wound.”
A huff of air left Braddock’s mouth in what sounded like a sarcastic laugh. He was relaxing. Becoming more open as he went on.
“Because it is. Not because of anything brave. I didn’t get that in the military. That was while I was homeless. Son of a bitch tried to rob me. I wasn’t going down like that. He managed to get in a shot, but as you can see,” my Master said, turning to display more of his side. “The damn bullet went right through. Didn’t hit a thing.”
For a long moment the Main Master didn’t talk.
“This isn’t the Braddock I know. Not the body of a pampered elite who didn’t leave Daddy’s side until he passed. This…You’re not him…are you?”
It was my Master’s turn to get quiet.
“I’m not sure…or…maybe I’m not the Brad you know.”
Elec’s hand gestured to my Master’s lower right side.
“Those are a nasty set of scars. What happened there.”
I glanced up to take in the jagged slices along his hip area and side.
“Razor wire. Forty-eight hours of no sleep during training. I fell right into the barrier we set up not a few hours before.”
“Military.” Elec breathed out the word.
“Yep. Eight years. Twenty years old to twenty-eight. Almost twenty-nine.”
“This can’t be.” The Main Master let out a deep sigh, sinking back to the sofa as Braddock followed him to sit a few cushions down. “How? There’s no record of you in prison or in the military. Trust me,I looked. How did you live that life and still keep up a front as if you lived the other? Braddock.” The Main Master’s arm shot up. “Brad. I’m sorry, I keep forgetting you don’t like to be addressed by that name.”
“I can hear it. Just don’t call me by it.”
“Okay. What happened? Do you know if you’re the real Braddock or not? Do you know how you managed to live one life as who you say you are and another amongst society as your father’s protégé? I mean,you did. You were at events. You hosted charities. I saw the pictures when I went through your file. I remember hearing you were in attendance in all sorts of things. It was you. You have no twin. You have no brothers.How?”
Braddock grabbed his shirt to put back on, pulling it over his head.
“I don’t know. It’s almost impossible for me to even try to decipher it. I keep hearing I’m two people, but I can’t even think straight enough to know if it’s true. Thinking about the past isn’t easy, but it’s easier than the present. I try and try to go over it all, and I’ve come to some conclusions but none I can hold to. Or prove. Nothing solid comes from trying to figure this out but the episodes. Fighting this triggers them, but what am I supposed to do if I don’t fight? I feel I must. I feel…unsettled and…panicked. Nothing makes sense. Everything is wrong. But.” He paused. “Maybe you know how I feel. I’m not the only one who has memory issues. You…If I recall correctly, you have them too. But maybe different? Let me ask you this, Elec. How did you kill Vivia,the woman you love, and not remember doing it? Was your emotional state so pronounced that you merely don’t recall the violent act? Or…did you not kill her, and only remember what they want you to so you don’t know the truth? Or…maybe none of it was real at all and our craziness is a side effect of their greed. What do you think? What is real? What serves a purpose, and what is purposeful? Is that the same thing? Is it different? I’m not so sure about anything anymore.”
Blue eyes jerked back and forth across my Master’s face as something unrecognizable played out. Horror? Dawning? Fear?
“You remember Vivia. You were at Pierce Hall while you were under. You have to be the real Braddock.”
“Of course I am, and of course I remember her. Vivia is not someone you could just forget.”
“But…”
A long moment passed as they stared at each other. I placed the two sandwiches on the plates, carrying them over to my Master and Elec. Both nodded appreciatively, but I was just doing my duty. As I sat on the far side of the room so not to distract, I listened as they ate and continued.
“Alright. Let’s backtrack and focus on something different. What do you know of your father’s businesses? Do you know how to run them? Do you have memories of going to his main office in New York? Chicago? What about recollection of attending events with and without your father?”
My Master finished chewing. His eyes cut over to the side, only to lower.
“I feel I could do it. I have the knowledge, but I don’t know how. I can’t tell what’s real or not anymore. I feel—My mind saysI have. I can even almost…see something that tells me ‘as Brad Pierce’ that I would have lived that life. I don’t recall learning it, though. Not like the other memories I have. Those as Brad are real. The…others…Braddock, the elite, they feel like a lie. I even have hate for them. Maybe that’s why I can’t stand to hear my real name. I wish I could understand this.”
“We’ll figure it out. I don’t want you to talk about this to anyone. I’m going to have to do some digging but maybe I can come up with the truth.”