The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The Jilliad

Book 2

After the Necklace

Chapter 3 Mike Caldwell

Mike Caldwell sat with Phil and Sharon Winthrop watching the football game. He was frustrated. It looks like Wendy, Patty and Mark decided to skip the game. He was worried that Patty and Mark would discover what he had been doing with Wendy too. While in his mind what he was doing with Wendy was completely justified, he knew that they would not understand. After last night’s fiasco, he had sought out his mole on campus to confront her about not telling him about Mark and Patty’s engagement. He wound up doing what he always did when he visited her for information. They had sex. When he had met Liz, he had determined that she found him attractive, yet she did not feel that she was worthy of being with a guy as attractive as he was. Like many young girls her age, her shallowness prevented her from having meaningful relationships. Since she considered herself disfigured, he thought that at least he could try to help her self-esteem and get laid in the process. Liz’s minor scar on the upper left side of her face didn’t really mar her physical beauty all that much. She would be even hotter if she lost about ten to fifteen pounds, but she was enthusiastic in the sack and a vindictive bitch too. He chucked to himself. Man, did she ever hate Patty and with good reason too.

Still, manipulating Liz was for Patty’s own good. While he had failed to get the goods on Samuels, he was sure that the kid was manipulating Patty through drug use. The Patty he knew was a spoiled, little bitch who caused Phil and Sharon all kinds of trouble; not a cowering little girl who let him hold her in his arms the last night. Patty would have never allowed that in the past. Her docility was Samuels doing and since he couldn’t get to the bottom of it, he would just have to take the matter into his own hands, no matter what he could prove or what the cost.

After they fucked, Liz had told him that since Patty and Mark were close friends, always hung out together and were affectionate with each other. She thought that nothing had changed. She didn’t find out about the engagement until after she came out of the locker room and had witnessed the family fight. Mike decided to cut Liz some slack. She still could be useful to him in helping get Mark out of the way while he employed his plan to get Patty to himself.

Mike was woken from his reverie by his cell phone. It was Wendy. “Hey Uncle Mike” said Wendy.

“Hey you.” said Mike.

“Mark and Trish just dropped me off at the hotel. Mom and Dad still want to eat at the Smithville Inn, right?”

“Yeah.” Said Mike.

“Could you pick me up and we can meet them there?” asked Wendy.

“Sure thing. I don’t really want to see the game anyway. I’ll be right over” said Mike.

“Thanks. See you soon,” said Wendy as she hung up.

Mike looked over at Phil. “Hey boss. That was Wendy. She’s at the hotel and needs a ride. I just talked to my PI a little earlier and he confirmed that what we thought about Samuels is true,” Mike lied in a whisper.

“Oh God!” exclaimed Phil.

“What’s wrong honey?” asked Sharon.

“Just some business problems, honey. Mike will handle it, but I do have to call my dad,” said Phil.

“I’ll go get Wendy and we can meet at the restaurant tonight”, said Mike.

“OK, thanks pal. I’ll walk you to the landing.”

When Phil got to the landing, he said goodbye to Mike and then he opened up his cell phone and placed a call.

“Hello son,” said Tricia’s grandfather.

“Hello Dad. It is exactly what we had feared,” said Phil.

“Should I fly up?” asked his father.

“No, that’s OK, dad. We will handle the intervention. I don’t want you involved in case something goes wrong,” stated his son.

“Are you sure, about this Samuels kid?” asked the family patriarch.

“Yeah. Mike hired a PI and he just called him,” said Phil.

“I see. Did you talk to the PI?” asked his dad.

“No, but you know that Mike is completely trustworthy. He loves Patty and has her best interests at heart. Please put a hold on her trust fund,” said Phil.

“OK, I’ll handle it. Just call me if you need anything else” said the elder Winthrop.

Phil Winthrop disconnected the call as he went back to his seat and continued to watch a 14-14 game with an anxious look on his face.

Chip Winthrop had a heavy heart. While he was concerned that his granddaughter might have a drug problem and be under the influence of a drug dealer, he still wasn’t completely convinced. When he had seen Patricia over the summer, he saw no indication of drug abuse. She also remembered her speaking quite fondly about the Samuels boy as one of her best friends. He had also remembered hearing the story of Mark’s heroics concerning his granddaughter freshman year.

While his son trusted Mike Caldwell implicitly, Chip did not share his son’s confidence as strongly. He knew that Caldwell was an ambitious young man. He also knew that Trish had spent the last couple of Thanksgivings with he and her grandmother, Edith after strongly hinting that Trish had felt disdain for Caldwell. He seemed to ingratiate himself into his son’s household in a manner Chip considered disturbing. Even to the point where Phil had preferred Caldwell’s presence over his own daughter’s at holiday meals. Patricia could be a frivolous girl sometimes, but he did not sense that she was being frivolous concerning her feelings for her father’s employee.

Chip decided that he needed to do his own research on this Samuels boy. Chip picked up his phone. “Hello Rick,” said Chip.

“Hello Mr. Winthrop,” said Rick.

“Could you make sure that the Lear is gassed up. I need to fly to Bennington tonight.”

“Will do. I’ll file the paperwork and we should be able to take off in a couple of hours,” said Rick.

“Thanks son. I’ll be at the airport in 90 minutes. Bye.”

“Bye, sir” said the pilot.

Chip began to rack his brains. What Sanders men did he know that were still on campus? All of his professors were dead. A few of his classmates had gone on to teach there, but they were all retired or gone. The he remembered Gerald Alderson. Jerry was his best friend Fred’s youngest brother. The last time he had seen Jerry was a few years ago at Fred’s funeral. Fred’s widow, Marcy was one of Edith’s best friends as they had met at Smith and Marcy had introduced Edith to Chip. After a few months, a condo in Chip and Edith’s complex opened up and Marcy had moved down there. A year later, Chip and Edith moved down there permanently, so they could spend more time with Marcy and some of their other friends who lived there. Chip remembered that Patricia had told him that Mark was an Economics major. He also remembered that Jerry was still an Economics professor at Sanders. Maybe Jerry knew Mark or at least knew of him. He quickly found Jerry’s home phone number and called him, but got no answer. Then he realized that the homecoming game was still going and Jerry was most likely attending. As he didn’t know Jerry’s cell number, Chip would try him later at his home from the plane.

Several minutes earlier Wendy had hung up from her call. “Is he coming?” asked Trish.

“Yep,” smiled Wendy.

“Do both have your cell phones ready?” asked Mark.

“Check” said Trish.

“Double check.” said Wendy.

“We should assume our places in about fifteen minutes,” said Mark as he handed his cell phone to Trish and Wendy handed her keycard to Mark.

About a half an hour later, Mike Caldwell arrived at the hotel. He was still worried about the effect that Patty and Samuels nay have had on Wendy. Of all the Winthrop family, Wendy was his favorite. He could not bear the thought of her thinking badly of him. After Mike went in Mark got out of his car and slowly followed from a discreet distance. Mark saw Mike get into the elevator through the window, he then went into the lobby and waited for the next elevator.

When Mike got to Wendy’s room, he knocked on the door. “I’ll be right there” said Wendy’s voice through the door. After about thirty seconds. She got to the door and opened up.

“Hey you,” smiled Mike as he followed Wendy into the room.

“Hi Uncle Mike,” smiled Wendy brightly. Mike was relieved. Apparently Patty and Mark had not done anything to corrupt his relationship with the young girl. He wrapped his arms around her into a warm embrace. Then he made the mistake of looking into her eyes. She looked so much like her, he thought. God, how he missed Lauren.

He leaned in to kiss Wendy, but she struggled in his arms and turned her head.

“Uncle Mike, I don’t think this is a good idea,” said Wendy.

“Why, it’s just a kiss?” said Mike soothingly.

“I don’t know. It just feels kind of weird,” said Wendy in a concerned voice.

“Remember, honey. This is how we will get your inner beauty to surface. I see the true you underneath all of your childish ugliness. I am the only one who can help you become truly beautiful, but we have to start treating you like a grown up,” said Mike smoothly.

“OK, if you’re sure.”

“I am!” promised Caldwell as he leaned in to kiss her.

The kiss was more intimate than he had planned and much deeper and longer than any kiss they had shared. His instincts were to pull back, but when Wendy had actually deepened what he thought would be an innocent kiss, but he couldn’t resist letting the kiss and the hug linger. He knew at some level that it was wrong, but like her sister and her mother, Wendy reminded him of Lauren. The Lauren that he knew was gone forever, yet hugging and kissing Wendy seemed to help ease his loss. Then they heard a sound. The toilet flushed.

“Is someone here?” said Mike in a panicked voice as he broke the kiss.

“It’s just Trish. She needed to use the bathroom before she left,” smiled Wendy.

After they heard the faucet, Trish walked out smiling. “So what’s going on here, Uncle Mike?” asked Trish as she walked over to the dresser to pick up her cell phone.

“Nothing,” said Mike.

“I thought I heard something about ‘childish ugliness and ‘inner beauty’?” asked Trish.

“Oh, that. It is just part of a cleansing ritual that I taught Wendy that helps free her soul,” said Mike trying to sound convincing.

“Sounds interesting. Why don’t you show me how it goes,” said Trish.

“Maybe some other time,” said Mike.

“I’ll show you, Sis,” said Wendy as she stepped toward her sister.

Mike immediately panicked and stepped forward and blocked Wendy. “No Wendy! She’s not a believer and needs to attain a certain level, before she can participate in the ritual!”

Mark who had been listening at the door decided to enter with the keycard. “What’s going on here?” said Mark as he walked over to the night table to pick up his cell phone.

“None of your concern Samuels. I’m taking Wendy to meet her parents for dinner,” said Mike.

“No you’re not!” said Trish. “That is unless you would like to show me your little ritual” she added.

Mike looked angry and said, “Come with me, Wendy”

“No can do, Unc. You heard my big sister,” said Wendy nonchalantly.

Mark glared at Caldwell, just to be sure that he didn’t try anything. As Mike was of a similar build to Mark and was the shortest person in the room, he thought better of using force. “Young ladies, wait until your parents hear of your attitude!” growled Mike.

“You seem to have forgotten your place, Caldwell. Tricia is my fiancée and I will not have you act with such familiarity toward her or my future sister-in-law, so get out of here before we call hotel security!” growled Mark back at him.

Caldwell glared at the group and left in a rage. He knew that he was running out of time. He would employ his plan tonight. In retrospect, he was glad he treated Liz Cuello as kindly as he had. She would be a big part of his plan to ruin Mark and get Patty. He called Liz and explained what he wanted her to do.

Back in Wendy’s room, there was much laughing. “We’ve got him!” laughed Trish.

“Three different ways!” added Mark.

“Should we show the video to my parents?” asked Wendy.

“Probably not right away,” said Trish.

“Let’s wait and see what he does,” added Mark. “If your parents confront us, we will. Otherwise, let’s see if he figures it out and just takes himself out of the picture voluntarily.”

“Let’s go back to my room and make extra copies from each cell phone and e-mail them to our accounts,” suggested Trish.

“Great idea, babe,” said Mark.

“What should I do?” asked Wendy.

“As Amy will be staying over at a friends tonight, you are going to have a sleepover with your big sister,” smiled Trish.

Mark knew where Amy would be sleeping as he would be sleeping there too, he thought. Mark and Trish then helped Wendy pack all her things and then they headed back to campus.

Liz Cuello sat on her bed. While she had good reasons in the past to hate Trish Winthrop, she had several reasons to be concerned about doing Mike Caldwell’s bidding in this instance. First of all, Trish seemed to have changed recently. She began to treat Liz and the other girls on the volleyball game as friends, not just teammates. She had even befriended Monique Adams who was a freshman on the team and the two of them helped to spark the great winning streak they were on right now. It was true that Liz held Trish indirectly responsible for the scar she had on her face. If Trish had not run out on her date with Liz’s date she never would have wound up in a car with an angry Nate Brett, who was Tricia’s boyfriend at the time and the accident may never had happened.

Nate was a junior and a captain of the Sanders football team. That weekend, he had invited his high School friend Greg Larson who played football for Division 1 Pittsburgh to Sanders. Trish had seemingly fixed Greg up with Liz as she was one of her best friends, freshman year (though Trish had other motives). Everyone had a little too much to drink and Greg and Trish hit it off so well that they left Nate and Liz without telling them where they had gone. Nate was irate and grabbed Liz and the two of them took off looking for their dates. He took a corner too fast and ran his truck into a tree. Liz’s seatbelt was not fastened correctly and the impact of hitting the tree in combination with a large, low branch broke the windshield, causing shards of glass moving toward Liz as her body was already moving forward. As she ducked, her head hit the dashboard just after one shard of glass hit her on the left side of her face. While she had a concussion from hitting the dashboard, she was more worried about the chunk of glass which was wedged in her face. It took 28 stitches to close the gash and a fair amount of plastic surgery. She was still left with a small scar, which slightly marred her otherwise beautiful face.

To Liz, it completely marred her beauty. She began to put a little weight on her small and slender frame. Her small A cup breasts actually grew into the B range, but both her ass and belly also grew. Finally she realized that she needed to control her depression and managed to begin to work back to her original figure. Because she still harbored a great deal of resentment for Trish, she became the perfect operative for Mike Caldwell.

Mike had met Liz at Homecoming freshman year. When he had casually mentioned her to Trish at a family gathering that spring, Trish mentioned that they had a huge falling out and were no longer friends. Mike decided that he would carefully cultivate a relationship with Liz. He had heard about the accident and had sent her a card offering to help in anyway he could. One day he showed up on campus and took her to dinner at the Smithville Inn. While Liz was worried that Mike might be up to something, he was a complete gentleman and was sweet to her. He made her feel special. After a few such dates, Liz had somewhat fallen for the older man. Once Mike had earned her trust and convinced her that he found her attractive, he found a regular sex partner. As Mike was the only man that she was attracted to who seemed to like her, Mike quickly earned her trust. Liz seemed willing to do virtually anything Mike wanted her to do, without even realizing that she had been manipulated. Additionally Mike knew that Liz was short on money, so he paid her to spy on Trish. Mike knew that he could count on Liz to help him with Trish. He knew that she hated Trish even though she had pretended to patch things up with her sophomore year. Once she had earned Tricia’s trust she was able to report back to Mike about what she had learned about Tricia’s current romantic entanglements. Still, Liz did not see the thing with Mark coming.

The biggest thing that made Liz ambivalent was Mark. Mark was a really sweet guy. He had maintained a friendship with Liz, even though Liz knew that Trish was not only one of his best friends, but also the girl he loved. When she had asked Mark why he still wanted to be her friend, he smiled and said “Switzerland, baby. I don’t have enough friends to afford losing any.” Now that she had moved out of his dorm, Liz did not see Mark as often, but she remembered what a nice and caring friend he had been during her ordeal. He even told her that she was still a “hottie” no matter what she thought about herself.

Aside from being a great friend to Liz, Mark had helped her in a way that she would always be grateful for. She remembered when she was up for a scholarship freshman year. Her stepfather insisted that if she did not earn the scholarship, he would stop paying for her education. She knew the Chancellor was a huge Bridge fan and she was a pretty decent player herself. He regularly held a Bridge evening for faculty and interested students and she saw it as an opportunity to shmooze him concerning the scholarship. The problem was that she didn’t know anyone who played Bridge. When she was hanging out with Trish, her friend Mark showed up and overheard them talking. Mark volunteered saying that he played some Bridge and he would be happy to help. Great, the Nebraska farmboy is going to play Bridge, she thought to herself sarcastically. After she confirmed that he had at least a rudimentary understanding of the rules and conventions, she reluctantly agreed as she was desperate. As it turned out, Mark was not only a terrific player, but quite affable company. The Chancellor and his wife seemed quite impressed with Mark and they became equally impressed with Liz when Mark talked to them about her qualifications for the scholarship. In the end, she got it. While she may have gotten the scholarship on her own merit, she was convinced that Mark had helped her cause.

Mark was definitely not her type anymore than he was Tricia’s type. Still, he could see why any girl with a head on her shoulders could fall for Mark. She sometimes wished that she had. Now Trish “all I date are jocks” Winthrop was engaged to sweet Mark. That coupled with Tricia’s recent positive attitude adjustment showed that maybe her teammate and former friend was worth another look.

Mike’s plan concerning mark was evil and made Liz decide that maybe Mike wasn’t the nice guy she thought he was. While she did not exactly know what Mike Caldwell was up to, she knew that it meant real trouble for Mark and possible danger for Trish. She needed to figure out what to do.

After he got off the phone with Liz, Mike called Phil. “Hey Phil. Wendy won’t be joining us for supper,” said Mike.

“I’m getting very annoyed with my children. Do you think Samuels is responsible?” asked Phil.

“Yes and I want to warn you. I think that Samuels and Patty put Wendy up to something which put me in a compromising position. I believe they have video of Wendy coming up to me and kissing me on the mouth. Honest Phil, I think of Wendy like a niece.”

“I believe you, Mike. This is outrageous! After everything you have done for my ungrateful daughter! Mike, I am so sorry that you they did this to you. I will be sure to get the goods on this slimy drug dealing Samuels, so we can vindicate you and get the monkey off Patricia’s back!”

“Phil, I think we need to move things up to tonight. Now it seems that Samuels has corrupted Wendy so we should move quickly. I believe I can have my team ready in a couple of hours,” said Mike.

“OK. Where are the kids now?”

“I left them at Wendy’s room, but they may have left by now. I’ll check around town and back at the hotel, if you can check the campus,” said Mike.

“Will do! Sharon and I will check both the cafeteria and the snack bar in case they are eating. Otherwise, we will check back at Patricia’s dorm,” said Phil.

“Once you get Wendy, take her right home! We will handle Patty” said Mike.

“OK, I’ll let you know. See you back in Concord” said Phil.

“Right” said Mike as he hung up. Mike proceeded to contact his team to move their assignment to tonight. Then he would need to meet up with Liz.

As Mark, Trish and Wendy were arriving on campus, Trish got a call. “Hey Trish,” said Liz.

“Hey Liz’s Cell, what’s up teammate?” said Trish smiling.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t mind me asking for your fiancée’s new cell number.”

Actually I can do you one better, he’s right next to me, here he is,” as she handed Mark her cell, as he had just parked his truck.

“Hey Liz! Long time no time. What’s up?” asked Mark.

“I can’t tell you now, but could you meet me at your room by yourself in about ten minutes. It’s urgent and please come alone!” said Liz anxiously.

“OK Liz! I’ll be there,” said Mark as he picked up Wendy’s bag that Trish had removed from the rear of the truck and disconnected the call and gave Trish back her cell, while noting Liz’s number before entering it into his cell.

“What’s up with Liz, babe?” asked Trish.

“I don’t know. She wants me to meet her at my room in ten minutes” said Mark.

Trish whispered in Mark’s ear. “Are you planning to add her to your collection?” she smiled.

Mark smiled back sarcastically and unseen by Wendy, gave Trish the finger and she laughed. “I’ll see you guys in about half an hour. Maybe we can order some pizza, OK?” asked Mark.

“We’ll start uploading the video from our phones in the meantime,” said Wendy.

“I also have to call Grampa and Gramma about my new fiancée,” smiled Trish.

Trish took the bag from Mark and he decided to walk over to his dorm as he was coming right back.

When Mark got to his room, he saw Liz standing outside it and greeted her with a hug as he opened the door. “I’m sorry I missed talking to you at the game” said Mark.

“I noticed that you had your hands full with your future in-laws,” said Liz.

“Tell me about it,” moaned Mark. “So what’s up?” as he motioned for Liz to sit down on his chair while he sat on his bed.

“Old friend, you are going to hate me,” said a sad Liz.

“No I’m not. Remember, I’m Switzerland, baby. Besides, you and Trish are friends again,” said Mark.

“That’s what she thinks,” said Liz, as she started to tell Mark the story of her strange relationship with Michael Caldwell

Chip Winthrop was airborne and very troubled. He had just got off the phone with Jerry Alderson. Not only did Jerry know Mark, but he described Mark as one of his prized students. Not only had Jerry asked Mark to be his teaching assistant next term, but he called Mark brilliant enough to help him research the book that he was writing next summer. He also mentioned that Mark was on the Dean’s list four straight terms and was considered a model student both academically and socially. This did not sound like the profile of a drug dealer. A few moments later, he got a call from Edith. “Honey, you’ll never guess who I just heard from. Patricia and Wendy and Patricia is engaged!” said Edith happily.

“Did she tell you to whom?”

“Yes, to a nice young man named Mark!” exclaimed Edith.

“Yes, Edith. That’s wonderful news! I have heard good things about this young man” said Chip.

“Wendy met him last night and she raved about what a nice young man he was too” said Edith’s voice.

“Well that settles it. Patricia and Wendy can never agree on anything. If they both agree on this young man, I’m sold on him too” said Chip.

“Did you tell them that I’m coming?”

“Yes, dear”

“Good. I’ll call you when we land. Bye dearest,” said Chip.

“Bye honey.”

As Chip hung up he realized that while Mark was an unlikely drug dealer, he was an eminently qualified suitor for his granddaughter. He then figured out what was going on and he knew that he had to make haste to Smithville before it was too late.

Phil and Sharon Winthrop had searched the cafeteria without luck. Now they were in the snack bar, but could not locate their daughters. The next place they figured they would try would be Tricia’s room at Hill Hall. Phil’s cell phone rang. It was Mike. “Hello Mike. Where are you?” asked Phil.

“I went back to the hotel and I talked to the desk attendant. He saw Wendy leave with a young man and a young woman about an hour ago. She turned in her keycard at the desk and said that her parents would officially check her out in the morning. So I am heading back to campus. My best guess is that Patty was going to have Wendy stay overnight in her room” said Mike.

“That’s where we were about to go” said Phil.

“I suggest that you hold off for now. We should coordinate it so that you remove Wendy when I have my team ready for Patty” said Mike. Why don’t you and Sharon catch a bite and I’ll call you when I have everything together” said Mike.

“OK. Call us when you are ready” said Phil and then he hung up his cell. Phil turned to Sharon and said “Since we are here, let’s grab some supper”

“What’s going on” said Sharon. “Mike thinks he knows where they are. We are moving up the intervention to tonight” asserted Phil.

“Honey, is this really necessary? Mark seems like such a nice boy. I find it hard to believe that he is a drug dealer,” said Sharon.

“He is obviously a very clever one. Mike has hard proof…” started Phil.

“Have you seen any of this proof?” said Sharon.

“Honey, this is Mike we are talking about here. He has become like a brother to us and an uncle to our children. He cares about us!” exclaimed Phil.

Sharon did not know what Mike cared about, but suspected that it wasn’t them.

Unbeknownst to Sharon, Mike had a device which could influence people’s minds. A target would just need to consume a cocktail of LSD and Rohypnol to prepare them and the device, which looked like a motorcycle helmet would pump strong subliminal text and aural stimuli into the drug hazed distracted brain of the target. Circumstances had warranted that Mike use the machine on both Phil and Sharon. Mike and Phil had a bender a couple of years ago. After that night, Sharon noticed that Phil had started acting strange. He seldom talked to her anymore and their sex life became nonexistent. She also noticed that Phil started “working late” more frequently. Sharon also noticed that Phil’s new assistant Lauren seemed to be showing Phil inappropriate attention. The hussy wasn’t even trying to hide her lust for her husband. What Sharon did not realize was that Lauren’s behavior was beyond her own control. Lauren had been the first victim of the device in Mike’s possession. Mike had become obsessed with perfecting it and for a good reason. He had seen the Winthrop family as his means for helping him to do it. Sadly this was driving some of his actions concerning them.

One day Sharon and Mike had their own bender, which resulted in the affair that she was currently having with Mike. At first she reasoned that the affair was borne out of her loneliness and Mike’s attraction for her. Now she was beginning to get a feeling that his motives were more sinister. Lately she had made an effort to avoid being alone with Mike for any extended period of time and he seemed to respect that. While she formally wanted to end the affair, she seemed not to possess the strength to do so. Sharon could never say anything about the affair although she tried. Again, it was as if something in her brain was preventing her. Sharon turned sadly to Phil and said “I hate snack bar food.”

“Me too,” said Phil as they got into line.

Mark had just finished hearing Liz’s story. Liz saw a kind of anger in Mark’s eyes that made her feel he was going to hit her. She had managed to hold back the water works, but she couldn’t any longer and she started to cry. “I’m so sorry Mark. I never wanted to involve you in any of this!”

Mark’s eyes softened and he hugged her. “No longer Switzerland, baby. We’re all allies now” he smiled.

Liz loved Mark. He was such a geek, but she loved him even more for it. “What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything.”

“First you need to play along with Caldwell. You mentioned he wanted to plant something in my room. Make sure you bring your pocketbook and put the evidence in there when he gives it to you. Tell him it is to conceal it from me when you walk into my room later. In reality, you will plant it somewhere else” said Mark.

Just then Liz’s cell phone went off. “It’s Mike,” said Liz.

“Answer it.”

Mike decided to call Liz. He knew he had to set Mark up to prevent him from interrupting his plans. Liz would be his agent to do so. “Hey baby,” said Mike.

“Hey, lover” replied Liz.

“Where are you?”

“I’m on my way back from dinner,” lied Liz.

“I am almost back in Smithville. I’ll meet you outside your dorm room in fifteen minutes. Call Samuels and have him meet you at his room in a half an hour. Tell him that you saw Patricia making out with …what was that guy’s name you suggested?”

“Rich Kiley” said Liz.

“Right, the kid from BC” said Mike.

“OK, I’ll call him now and I’ll see you outside my dorm at 6:30” said Liz.

“OK, thanks baby” said Mike and he hung up. Mike then proceeded to contact his team members. Everything would be in place within the hour.

Wendy and Trish had ordered a couple of pizzas. They had tried to contact their grandfather, but Chip had been on the phone at the time. Tricia’s cell phone rang. “Hi Tricia” said her grandfather.

“Hi Grampa. I have some wonderful news!” chirped Trish.

“Let me guess… you are engaged!” said Chip.

“Gramma never could keep a secret,” moaned Trish.

“I am so happy for you, honey. I have heard some good things and some troubling things about your husband to be, but I would tend to believe the good things”

“Let me guess. Dad?”

“And his mini me,” said Chip referring to Mike Caldwell.

“What are they saying about Mark?”

“Nothing that I am putting any stock in. Speaking of which, is your future husband-to-be around?”

“Nope, only just we girls at the moment. Wendy is staying over with me tonight”

Wendy mouthed for Trish to put her phone on speaker.

“Hi Grampa, it’s Wendy!” Wendy chipped in.

“Hi sweetheart!”

“Gramma told us you were flying up now” mentioned Wendy.

“I guess Gramma can’t even keep my secrets,” laughed Chip.

“Good news travels fast, with Gramma Edith,” laughed Trish.

“I should be in Bennington within the hour. I’ll call when I land. I have a driver waiting to take me to Smithville” he added.

“I’m sure Mark would be happy for us to pick you up” said Trish.

“Tell you what, princess; could you give me his cell number? I might want to take you up on his driving services and it might be a good opportunity to get to know my future Grandson-in-law” asked Chip.

“Hold on Trish, I want it too,” said Wendy as she got her cell phone open.

“It’s 413-555-5890” said Tricia.

“Thanks Patricia. I’ll straighten this whole matter out with your parents when I get there,” said Chip.

“Thanks Grampa! You may be the only sane person in our whole family,” laughed Trish.

“Hey, What about me?” complained Wendy.

“You, sane? You’re the worst one of us all. You’re so crazy that you used to think that you were ugly!” laughed Trish.

“Good point!” laughed Wendy.

“I can tell that I am really out of my element at your slumber party, but it does my heart good to hear you having fun together again and Wendy dear?” started Chip.

“What Grampa?” asked Wendy.

“You ARE gorgeous, and don’t let anyone tell you differently” stated her grandfather.

“See, I told you so!” giggled Trish. Wendy started to laugh too.

“Bye girls” said Chip.

“Bye Grampa” said Wendy and Trish in unison.

Trish then smiled at her sister and gave her a big hug.

Back in Mark’s room, he and Liz were discussing the phone call from Mike and formulating a plan.

“Did you get all that” asked Liz to Mark as she explained the other end of the conversation

“Yeah. So you are to meet me back here at 6:45?” asked Mark.

“Yep. Consider yourself called” smiled Liz.

“Liz, thank you for doing this and for confiding in me. Trish has really changed and she will be mortified when she finds out about what happened to you” said Mark.

“You don’t have to tell her about the past” said Liz.

“I think we do, but I promise to be there for you when you speak to her if you want me to be” said Mark.

“God, you are such a sweet guy. I wish I had half the brains of blondie, because then I would have tried to snag you for my own,” said Liz wistfully. “Not that you would want to kiss this ugly puss.”

“Liz, you’re gorgeous, and don’t forget it,” swore Mark.

“I know you are sweet, but you don’t have to lie to me,” said Liz.

Mark thought to himself. Just what he needed; another insecure, beauty. This one however was not his future sister-in-law. Mark looked in Liz’s eyes and she felt the intensity. He grabbed her and kissed her passionately. She tried to struggle at first, but quickly melted into his arms and the kiss. Mark entered her brain and began to change levels as he had done with Wendy earlier. This time he could take his time. He saw the trust and loyalty indicators tipping his way, but they were kind of fluctuating oddly between he and Caldwell. He saw the incredible guilt she was feeling which obviously was why she had turned on Caldwell. He lowered Caldwell’s loyalty and trust to zero and then his levels shot up extremely high and stopped fluctuating. Then he increased her levels for Caldwell ever so slightly, though his were still much higher and the levels continued to remain stable. When he broke the kiss, Liz looked at him in shock, so he kissed her again. This one was quicker, but he concentrated fully on the kiss and she responded eagerly.

When he broke the second kiss, she said “Wow! What was that for?”

“To prove a point and maybe to make you an offer.”

“I’m confused. You’re engaged to Trish,” observed Liz.

“Yes. I don’t have enough time to explain now, but you’ve been pretty miserable lately,” posed Mark.

“That’s a pretty good understatement. Nobody that I’m interested in would ever want to go out with me, including you. So I don’t go out with anyone.”

“I think I can help you, but you would have to trust me.”

“I can’t think of anybody I trust more at the moment.”

“I promise to tell you more later, but you have a date to keep now” he reminded.

“Very true. I know what I have to do,” smiled Liz as Mark hugged her goodbye and she left.

Mark picked up the phone and called Trish. “Change in plans babe,” said Mark

“Liz?” asked Trish.

“Yeah, it’s a long story. I’ll fill you in later. You have to promise me something.”

“Anything for you,” she said.

“I think ‘Good Ol’ Uncle Mike’ is up to something tonight and I need you to promise me to be careful. It might be a good idea for you and Wendy not to leave your room.” “You got it babe!” promised Trish. “Mark, my Grampa is flying up to Bennington tonight and I think he wants to meet you,” said Trish.

“Oh no! Another Winthrop I need to worry about?” groaned Mark.

“Nope. This one already likes you for some reason, though he didn’t say why, except that he said he’d heard good things about you,” said Trish.

“That’s good to hear. It appears I need all the support I can get from the Winthrop family.”

“You have Gramma Edith too” added Trish

“Don’t forget me” chimed in Wendy’s voice in the background.

“Tell Wendy she’s unforgettable,” smiled Mark.

“Hey, what about me?” complained Trish mockingly.

“You’re not so bad yourself, babe,” laughed Mark.

“Don’t you forget that Mr. Samuels” said his future bride.

“It’s always been you, babe.”

“You too” said Trish with a bright smile he couldn’t see.

“I should be done in about half an hour. I’ll meet you guys about seven back at your room. We can drive to Bennington then,” said Mark.

“Thanks, babe.”

About ten minutes later Mike was on campus driving to Liz’s dorm. He called Phil. “Everything’s in place” said Mike.

“Good. Should we go to Hill Hall now?” asked Phil.

“Nope. Not until about 6:50. I’ll call you then” said Mike.

“OK” said Phil as he hung up. Mike saw Liz waiting outside her dorm as planned and he pulled up to the curb and she got in. Liz noticed that Mike was wearing latex gloves. She also noticed a pen next to the cup holder. This would be the kind of item that Mark suggested she should use. “Here, put these on,” said Mike handing her a set of gloves.

After she had put them on he handed her a freezer bag which contained some envelopes and syringes. “When you get into Samuels room, find a way to distract him and put this bag under the bed. When Campus Security breaks in, tell them that Mark was attempting to rape you. The police will search his room as a matter of course and they will find the bag of drugs which will validate your story. When you are successful, I will pay you an additional $5,000.00 dollars. Are you clear what you need to do?” asked Mike.

“Should be easy,” said Liz as she took the bag and put it in her pocketbook. In the process of doing this, she surreptitiously knocked the pen onto the seat and put it carefully in her gloved hand. She then fidgeted in the dark with her purse as Mike started driving to Mark’s dorm.

When they got there, Mike got out of the car and opened the door for Liz who was fidgeting with her feet. “Just dropped my lip gloss” said Liz as she got out of the car holding the fallen item.

“How about you put some on and give me a kiss for luck?” suggested Mike.

“Be glad to” smiled Liz as she complied and gave Mike a quick smooch and then she walked toward Mark’s room.

Mike waited several minutes and walked across the street to a security phone and picked up the receiver. He did his best to disguise his voice giving it a very breathy high pitch sound as he spoke. “Hello I’d like to report a possible rape” said Mike to the campus security dispatcher.