It's nighttime. Cold. No sound except for the chattering of cicadas and the voice of a GUARD making his report on a walky-talky. MAX TAYLOR barges past him, incapacitating more guards until he breaks out of a building and makes his way to a checkpoint barrier. He is about to pass the barrier when he's surrounded by men in white coats. They drag him back into the building. Taylor is a patient at a military institute for highly trained soldiers and spies who have lost their sanity during combat or secret missions; they're kept under sedation and observation until such time as they're deemed fit to return to active duty. The next morning, JOHN DANCE walks through a secure reception area, asking HENRY WALSH (the institute's chief administrator) about the patients. Dance is introduced as a psychiatrist charged with assessing the institute's viability and the patients' mental stability.