AMNESIAC
Chapter Sixteen — House Party
The light drifted over her face, catching her pretty green eyes over and over. Flash. Blink. Flash. Blink.
“Well, you’re in good health,” said the young doctor standing in front of her. “And in good hands. My name is Doctor Benson. Can you tell me your name?”
“Kate,” she said quietly.
“Hi, Kate. My name’s Kate, too. So you’ll have to call me Doctor Benson, or else people will get confused.”
She looked up, and tried to force her mouth into a polite smile. She managed to achieve a stern grimace. “Okay, I’ll do that.”
“Kate, can you tell me a little about yourself? Where you were born, where you live right now? Do you have an apartment or a house?”
“I…” she struggled to recall anything. “I live at… I mean, I live on… in a big… no, I don’t. I don’t know where I live.” Her lips quivered as she spoke, and she began to cry. “I don’t even know where I live. I don’t know, I don’t know.”
“Shhh… Kate, Kate, it’s okay honey, it’s okay.” Doctor Benson pulled her in for a comforting hug. “We have your address. I have it written down right here. Your name is Kate Thomas, and you’re 28 years old, and you like chocolate ice cream.”
She pulled away, wiping her nose with her bare hand. The tears slowed. She blinked. “How do… how do you know I like chocolate ice cream?”
Doctor Benson slipped into her best matter-of-fact tone. “Because everyone likes chocolate ice cream, of course.”
Kate coughed and spit out a laugh. She touched her fingertips together and held them over her nose, allowing herself to draw in a deep, clean breath of air. She opened her mouth and let herself exhale, trying to expel all of the horrible feelings from her body. For the most part, they stubbornly remained in place.
“You’ve had a really tough day, Kate,” said the Doctor. She reached out and took Kate’s hand into her own. “You’ve had a really tough, really scary day. But it’s over now, and you’re safe. You’re not hurt, and you’re in safe hands. It’s just going to take a while for your body to catch up, okay?”
She nodded, and sniffled. She tried to blink away the tears. “I don’t remember,” she volunteered.
“Don’t try. Just think about how you’re safe, and keep taking deep breaths, and focus on relaxing. Your muscles, your feelings, your mind, everything. Like a yoga session. Breathe and relax. The memories will come back to you in a little while. Breathe, and relax. That’s all you need to remember right now.”
A nurse cracked the door open. “Doctor Benson? Can you—“
“Just a second, Jim.” She turned her attention back to Kate. “I need to see another patient now, Kate. Is that okay? Or do you want me to stay here with you?”
She shook her head. “No… okay…”
“All right then. The call button is right there to your left. It’s the red button. All of the nurses ran a 5K last week, so they’re all super fast. If you need anything, just push the button and they’ll be here in ten seconds. I promise.”
“Okay.”
“We’re going to hold you here for a little while just for observation, okay?”
“Okay.”
Doctor Benson left the room. From beyond the door, Kate could just make out the conversation.
“How many total?”
“Ten. Seven men and three women.”
“Jesus.”
“They’re saying it’s a workplace thing. Can they interview her?”
“She doesn’t remember what happened. She won’t be of any help. I doubt that she’ll ever be able to remember much about it. Whatever she saw, it shook her up good. She was practically catatonic when she got here.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Just keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t relapse. She’s never going to be the same girl she used to be. Not after today.”
Kate stepped outside and let the door close softly behind her. Her Honda sat in the driveway, and the keys were still in her jacket pocket. She fished them out and slid behind the wheel, taking care to adjust the seat and the mirrors before putting the keys in the ignition.
I will go to my house and kill Decker.
The gun was in her lap. That was no good. She needed to store it away for when she was ready to kill Decker. She gathered her purse from where Amy had thoughtlessly dumped it, in the footwell of the passenger seat, and placed the Glock inside. She was normally cautious around guns. The thought of a loaded pistol floating around her purse would have disturbed her, but today she had to kill Decker. The gun disappeared from her mind the moment she turned her attention back to the ignition.
I will go to my house and kill Decker.
She pulled into the street. She didn’t recognize it, or the surrounding neighborhood. James has apparently rescued her from a place that was far from home. He was so sweet and brave. She had to kill Decker for him. For them.
A car rapidly filled her rear view mirror. The driver, annoyed at her slow pace, began thinking his horn. She ignored him and pulled up the GPS on her dashboard.
I will go to my house and kill Decker.
The offended driver sped by to her left, leaning on the horn the entire time, but she kept her attention on the GPS. She punched in her home address and calmly waited for the results to appear. Another car approached and swerved around her, this time silently.
The route appeared on screen. Satisfied, she pressed her foot down on the gas and made the first recommended turn.
She knew what she had to do.
“I’m sorry, is this seat taken?”
Tina looked up from her book. Her would-be companion stood next to the empty stool, grinning. There were plenty of open seats at the bar. She gave him a second look. Tall, cute, sharply-dressed, staring at her eyes and not at her chest. What the hell, I’m on vacation, sort of. She smiled and nodded her head. “It’s a little early to be picking up girls at the bar, isn’t it?”
“Who’s picking up girls? I’m just conserving space for the inevitable early-afternoon hotel bar crush.” He grinned again, more hopeful this time. “My name’s Bill.”
“Tina. Hi.” She held out her hand, and he gave it a gentle shake. “Why are you all dressed up with nowhere to go, Bill?”
“Long story? My sister’s kid got baptized this morning, and she made me the godfather, so I drove out here from Michigan to be there for it. Then her husband’s family got into it over something they’ve probably been arguing about since 1973, and it involved a lot of angry glares and shunning, so I escaped. Short story? I had to dress up this morning.” He tapped the bar with his hands. “What about you?”
“Vacation,” she said, raising her glass. “Just a short little getaway.”
He looked at her. “People come to Freeport for vacation? No, I’m kidding. No, really, they do?”
She chuckled to herself and smiled, a genuine one, full of perfect white teeth. “When I get tired of Swan Valley I come down here to kick back. I don’t know why. Sometimes it’s like… like I just need to come here. And there was some family stuff going on, and a difficult client… and I’m probably sharing way too much with you right now.” She began laughing again, and enjoyed the sensation so much that it made her laugh even more. To her surprise, he laughed as well. Not the practiced, faked laughter of a pick-up artist, but a genuine response. Her heart quickened. She’d been single for more than a year. Always too busy for dating, but perhaps…
“That’s the first good laugh I’ve had since I left Lansing,” said Bill. The bartender arrived with his beer. “So I know this is a little straightforward, but are you doing anything today? I’m not driving back until tomorrow and the less I see of the Finkleman family until then, the better.”
“I’d be happy to be your tour guide, Bill. Do you like art? There’s a Matisse exhibit over at the… oh wait, hang on, my phone. Sorry! This should just take a second. I’m on vacation but I’m on call whenever… Polaris Consultants, this is Tina.”
Bill watched as her face smoothed into a dull blankness. He assumed it was bad news, as her answers to the caller were all short and to the point. “Is this a bad time?” he ventured, hiding the frustration he felt at having a phone call ruin a promising conversation and a possible date. He wondered if it would still be possible to get her number somehow. “Are you okay?”
She slipped off her stool and, purse in hand, walked out of the hotel lounge without acknowledging anyone. Bill felt his heart sink.
“Hey. Hey. Heyheyhey HEY!” The bartender was hovering nearby, glaring at Tina’s abandoned book and whiskey sour. “Where’d she go?” he yelled, looking at Bill as if her were her accomplice in crime.
“She… hey don’t worry, I’ll pay her tab. I think she just got some bad news or something.”
The bartender shook his head. “No. No. I’m tired of bitches coming in here and walking out without paying. That’s the fourth time this month.” He turned to the kitchen. “PAULIE! Watch the bar for a sec, I’m gonna go write down this bitch’s license plate.”
Bill watched as the young man bolted for the entrance. He looked at his beer, then at the very confused Paulie, then at the beer.
“So… this is Freeport…”
“What’s the matter, Trenchy? Can’t handle me alone? You need your little hypno-slave to do all of your dirty work?” James eyed his opponent, hoping to goad the sandy-haired man into making a mistake. He thought about how frustrated and miserable Decker had looked while standing in front of the Baxter Professional Services Building, envelope in hand, scanning the neighborhood for the woman who had just one-upped him. I’m poking the bear, he thought, even as the rest of his mind immediately questioned the validity of that assertion.
To his disappointment, Decker remained calm. “Your so-called wife wants to meet us at Mulroney’s office at three. And since you have proven to be an uncooperative little shit, in spite of my generous nature, I’m going to have Nikki drive us there while I keep a gun in your back. I meant what I said, James. This all ends today, whether you like it or not.”
James sat in silence for a few minutes. When he spoke again, it was in a quiet, reflective voice. “If she goes with you, Decker, will she… will you keep her safe? Will you take care of her?”
“Kate knows how to handle herself. At least she does when I’m calling the shots.” Decker sank into the armchair and crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t have spent all of this time chasing her down if she wasn’t worth it.”
“I don’t want to give her up just for her to get killed next week, Tren… Decker. Promise me that you’ll keep her safe.”
Decker sighed. “I’ll do my best, James. Like I said, I didn’t do all of this just to throw her away on some suicide mission. And when she gets too old for field work, I’ll wipe her memory and send her off to be a librarian in Nebraska.” He leaned back in the armchair. “Now shut up and wait for Nikki to get here. We’ve got a deal to make.”
She let the Honda glide to a halt, coming to rest behind a black BMW with tinted windows that she’d never seen before. Her hypnotized mind decided that it belonged to Decker, as he was in her house, and she had to kill him. She watched the front of the house for signs of movement, for the quick ruffle of a curtain or the shadow of a peering face, but there was nothing. There was a gun in her purse. She would use the gun to kill Decker.
She covered the ground between car and house slowly and deliberately, her arms and legs moving with the oiled smoothness of a beautiful dancer. The gun was in her hand now, ready for action, just as soon as she could get inside. The thought repeated inside her head over and over, as it had since she began her journey.
I will go to my house and kill Decker.
She reached the front door and, finding it unlocked, gently eased it open.
For James, it all seemed to happen in slow motion.
Kate strode into the living room, ignoring him, ignoring everything except for the man in front of her. Her pace was steady, almost robotic. Enough to seem oddly out of place, but before he could process that bit of information, he watched her raise her right arm like a sleepwalker. The gun where the hell did she get a gun in her hand rose with it. Her face was devoid of emotion, and her eyes were cold and lifeless.
At the same time, the other corner of his eye tracked Decker as the sandy-haired man attempted, without success, to leap to his feat. He struggled to leave the plush armchair, its high sides preventing him from digging into his coat to retrieve his gun. He wiggled free, but Kate already had a gun in her hand and she had the element of surprise. In a few seconds, he would be dead.
No Kate, no!
He’d been preparing to leap at Decker the moment the opportunity presented itself, and now that he had two targets to choose from, he chose the more immediate threat. He launched himself from the couch, arms and legs askew like the world’s clumsiest superhero, colliding with his wife at just the right moment to knock her off of her planned path of action. Her gun hand swung wildly to the right, and James braced himself for the sharp BANG that was sure to come from her weapon, or from Decker’s, or from both of them at the same time. Nothing happened.
Kate grunted and shoved him backwards into Decker, causing the latter to fall backwards into the chair with a loud shout. The gun floated upward again. James stood his ground, and tried to make himself as large as possible. He held out his hands and stood with his legs apart to block her view of Decker. As he did so, he found himself staring into the deadly end of the pistol in Kate’s hand. Her eyes bored two holes into his face. Again, he waited for the gunshot that would end his life. Again, it didn’t happen that way.
“Kate, listen to me,” he said, trying and failing to bring calm to the situation. “You’re not a killer, baby. Please, listen to me. You don’t have to do this.”
Her eyes softened a bit, and her head tilted to the left. Her auburn hair spilled onto her shoulder. “James? I… have to… I… I must…”
From behind him, he could hear Decker struggling back to his feet. He knew that Decker’s gun would be out shortly. Even if Kate couldn’t shoot him, Decker certainly would. “Kate, honey, please put the gun down. We don’t need to do this. We don’t need to kill him. Please.”
Kate blinked her eyes rapidly. “James… I… James?” Her quizzical look changed to grim determination. She adjusted her grip on the gun. “I must kill Decker,” she said flatly.
Decker was on his feet now. “Get out of the way, you idiot,” he snarled. His hand fell on James’s shoulder, ready to shove him out of the way.
It’s now or never, James.
Closing his eyes, he rushed forward and tackled Kate like a linebacker, throwing his arms around her petite body and slamming her to the floor. The gun bounced out of her hand and tumbled across the living room. The zoned-out zombie he’d thrown to the ground suddenly became a mass of angry snakes beneath his body weight, twisting and squirming and kicking as hard as she could. His nose filled with her perfume as he pressed down.
“Kate! No! What are you…” It’s like she’s hypnotized?
Kate raised her legs and nearly threw him to the side. He held on and rode the wave, biting his tongue to keep the pain in his lower body from affecting his grip. She grunted and squirmed again.
“I’m sorry!” he shouted. He slapped her across the face. Hard. Her cheek immediately turned bright red, and he cringed. I just hit my wife! Oh Kate, please wake up. She moved again, and he slapped her in the same place. Her head jerked to one side, and her body went limp.
“Kate. Katie-bear. Talk to me. Hey.” He gave her a gentle shake, and sighed with relief when she opened her eyes. They were green and beautiful and, most importantly, full of life. She stared at his face in disbelief, as if she’d just recently arrived back in her own body from somewhere far away.
“James…” she said, shaking her head. “What am… what am I doing in our house?”
He bent down and placed his hand over her swollen cheek, and kissed her hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re okay now. You’re okay now. I love you, I love you. Oh shit, I love you Kate. I love you.”
Her muscles tensed, and a gasp escaped from her mouth.
Behind them, James could hear Decker chuckling to himself. He pictured the gun he knew was aimed at his back, and shuddered.
“Aw,” said Decker. “You two are so goddamn sweet.”
They sat side-by-side on the edge of the bed. James was near the pillows; Kate took up the opposite spot at the foot of the bed. Both were awkwardly tied to a bedpost with sheets that Decker had found while ransacking the bedroom closet. Their captor grumbled as he finished securing Kate to her post. “No decent chairs, no rope, no duct tape… what kind of domestic life do you idiots have here? Who doesn’t have duct tape, for fuck’s sake?”
Kate and James looked at each other. “It’s bad for the…” they both began at once, then stopped. “…it’s bad for the environment,” Kate finished.
“Yeah, well. I’m sure that your plastic zip-ties are a great contribution to the world’s ecosystem.” He gave the white plastic tie around Kate’s wrists an extra tug, and smiled wickedly when she winced. “That should hold you long enough to keep you both out of trouble. And if you don’t, Nikki will happily put a bullet into your brain. Isn’t that right, Nikki? On my command, you will kill James and Kate.”
The platinum-haired blonde stood behind them, next to the bedroom window. She held Kate’s Glock in her hands, keeping it pointed at the bed. “Yes, sir,” she said quietly.
“Good. Lower the gun until I ask you to use it. I don’t want your arms to get cramped.”
“Yes, sir.”
Decker smiled. “You see, James? I look after my agents.”
“Why don’t you wake her up and we’ll see if she likes how much you take care of her, Trenchy,” said Kate. “Puppets are always happy to dance when you pull their strings.”
“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? Hypnotizing your friends, hypnotizing total strangers, bending them to your will, bending them to my will. How many strings have you pulled in your life, Kate? How many have you told James here about? What about—“
“SHUT. Up.” Kate pulled against the bedpost. “You leave my husband alone. You leave him out of this. Otherwise, no deal.”
Decker pulled on the bedsheets holding Kate to the post. Her head snapped back, smacking the wood with an audible crack.
“Hey!” James shouted.
Decker ignored him, and walked around the bed to gloat at his captured agent. “The deal you made with Nikki in the park? That’s off the table now. Not after your little John Wilkes Booth stunt. I owe you nothing.”
“That wasn’t my fault! Mulroney got the drop on me! You two have been messing with my head for so long… how was I supposed to resist getting drugged and hypnotized?”
“Mulroney’s a dead man, Kate. That dirty fucking rat is going to get what he deserves. I suppose I should thank you for letting me know in advance that he was planning to fuck me over. I’m going to give you the honor of blowing his head off, if it makes you feel any better.”
“It really doesn’t.”
He leaned in close and whispered into her ear. “By the time I’m done with you, Kate, you won’t feel anything at all.”
Claire was deeply asleep.
The brainwashed slavegirl that looked and acted like Claire Jenkins walked down Taylor Street, looking like any other beautiful young woman out for a Sunday stroll, and from time to time she passed other young women who were doing just that. Claire, however, was not here for a stroll. She was here to protect her Mistress. Her purpose. Her Kate. She was carrying out Kate’s orders the way a perfect, brainwashed slavegirl should. The thought of obeying pleased her greatly, and she wore a genuine smile on her face as she rounded the corner into the alley next to Franklin’s.
She found Jane at the end of the alley, as expected, taking a quick smoke break. The waitress was alone, her back against the brick wall, hands forming a passably effective windbreak for the lit cigarette as she took a long drag. Claire gave the area a quick search. They were far enough from the street that they wouldn’t be noticed. She confidently walked up to Jane and waved.
“Oh hi!” She was bubbly and friendly, doing her best to put the wary young woman at ease. “Are you Jane? My name’s Claire. My friend Kate and I sit in your section on Wednesdays?”
Jane lowered her cigarette and looked Claire over. “Oh, hey,” she said. She sounded tired, and certainly uninterested in carrying on a conversation with a stranger. “Can I help you?”
“Just wanted to see if you needed a light.” She held up a lighter. “Kinda windy out here.”
Jane shook her head. “No, that’s okay, I… oh, shit. She shook the cigarette in her hand and frowned. “I guess I do. This fucking wind! Thanks for the light.” She held out her cigarette expectantly.
Claire stepped close to her and held up the lighter. She flicked it rapidly four times, making sure that the flame only appeared after the fourth try. She watched as Jane’s eyes grew huge before slamming shut. The half-finished cigarette slipped from her fingers.
“Jane,” said Claire, “can you hear me?”
“Yes,” said the pretty brunette. “Can hear you.”
Claire paused as her next command filled her mind. The wind picked up, whipping Jane’s hair across her sleeping face. “You will obey Kate without question. We will obey Kate without question.”
“We will obey Kate without question.”
“Kate is our mistress. We must always obey her.”
“Must always obey… we… I…”
More commands clicked into place. “Remember the pretty crystal, Jane.”
The waitress smiled and sank against the brick wall. “Ooooh. Yesss… so sleepy…”
“Yes, Jane. I’ve been programmed to hypnotize you. You will let me hypnotize you, and take you into a deep trance.”
“Let you… hypnotize me… deep… trance…”
“You will obey me, and you will obey Kate.”
“Obey…” her voice was soft and distant.
“Our trances deepen with every command we obey.”
The waitress swayed back and forth. “Deepen…”
Another door opened in Claire’s mind. “Listen to me, Jane.”
“Even if we’re not going to Mulroney’s office, Trenchy, my deal still stands. You let my husband go, and I’ll go wth you. If you lay a finger on him, so help me God, I will burn you alive.” Kate dangled her feet against the edge of the bed. She tugged against the sheet holding her to the post, just enough to cause it to move, not enough to give her away to Decker. “I’m willing to go with you, if you’ll do that.”
“Kate,” James protested, “if you go with him…”
“You’ll find me, James. You’ll find me, and you’ll save me. Someday. I know you will. But you can’t save me if you’re dead. I love you, James. I know that… I know you’ll come for me.”
Decker scoffed loudly, causing both husband and wife to glare at him. He reveled in their distaste. “You love him, Kate? Really? James and I just had this conversation. Do you remember the time I came to visit you?
She cracked the door open, and poked her head out into the hallway. “Claire, I won’t be ready for another fifteen- oh, hi. Can I help you?”
The sandy-haired man smiled. “Yes. Are you tired of the Weltschmerz?”
She tilted her head, briefly confused, until the emotion drained from her face. Her hand slipped from the door and came to rest against her soft white bathrobe. “Yes.”
He pushed the door open. “Invite me into your apartment, Kate.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Those were great times, weren’t they? I could just tell you to fall in love wth James and just like that—“ he snapped his fingers- “just like that, you were in love with him. And just like that—“ he snapped his fingers again- “you won’t be, ever again. But don’t worry. James and I have a little agreement of our own, one that will keep him happy, and me happy, and you… well, two out of three isn’t bad. Three out of four, really. And for that,” he held up her phone, “I’ll need your access code.”
“To hell with that. You leave Claire alone, Decker,” said James. “Kate, he wants to take her too, he wants to make her a slave like Nikki, like he wants to do to you. We can’t let him!”
“And if you don’t give me your code, Kate, I’ll have Nikki shoot James in the gut, and we’ll watch him bleed out all over your nice comfy bed.”
James shook his head. “Let him figure it out on his own. Let’s see him try to call Claire when—“
“It’s seven seven three four,” Kate blurted out. She looked at James. “What?”
“What what? You’re helping the bad guy!”
“We’re tied up, and they’ve both got guns! This isn’t a hill I’m going to die on!” She ignored the face James made at her, suddenly reminded of the last text that she sent to Claire. It would be impossible to explain the meaning of ‘Zanzibar Mooncarver,’ much less the later part about obeying. She decided to continue being helpful. “If you send her a text, Trenchy, she’s not going to respond,” she lied. “Let me talk to her on the phone.”
Decker held out the phone. “Do you really think that I’m that fucking stupid, Kate?”
“Yes, and also, do you want to sit here for four hours while Claire ignores your text? Let me talk to her. You don’t like what I say, you shoot me. Deal?”
He motioned to Nikki. “Shoot her the moment I tell you too.”
Nikki aimed her gun at the back of Kate’s head. “Yes, sir.”
Decker scrolled through Kate’s contact list and, on finding Claire’s number, tapped the phone to call her. He held the phone in front of Kate’s face. “You know me well enough to know I mean business.”
The phone, now on speaker, buzzed loudly as they all waited.
Claire pulled into the parking lot of Parkview Hospital. She chose the spot nearest to the entrance, and backed her car into it. She turned to the pretty waitress in the passenger seat. “Kate wants us to wait here until she needs us. While we wait, you will continue to go deeper into trance.”
“Yes, Claire. I will go deeper for you.” Jane’s hazel eyes were half-lidded, and her body sank into the leather seat. “Deeper and deeper,” she chanted. “Deeper and deeper.”
Claire occupied the time by watching the hospital entrance, waiting for any sign of Kate. She briefly pondered taking Jane on a quick side trip to Steve’s house, to get the rifle out of his hall closet. It was a stupid idea, she decided. It would take too long- Kate wanted her to be here at the hospital, not wandering around Freeport- and the rifle was too bulky to smuggle into the building.
“Do you own a gun, Jane?”
“No, Claire. Deeper and deeper. Deeper and deeper.”
It doesn’t matter. No one in there is going to have a gun anyway. It’s a hospital, not an army barracks. She began tapping her foot against the floorboard, soon falling into cadence with her hypnotized passenger’s chanting. Tap tap, tap tap tap. Tap tap, tap tap tap.
A muffled rock tune broke her concentration. The music was coming from the depths of the passenger seat. She shook Jane’s shoulder. “Jane, you’re sitting on my phone. Lift your butt off the seat for a second.”
“Yes, Claire. Deeper and deeper.” She arched her back until a space opened up between her body and the seat, and Claire dug her hand into the breach until she located the phone.
She gently pushed Jane back into the seat. “Close your eyes and wait for my next command, Jane. You’re deep enough for now.”
“Yes, Claire.”
The blonde tapped the phone. “Claire here!”
“Claire? It’s Kate. Hey, listen… you need to come to the house. My house. I want to show you something really important.”
The programming in Claire’s mind clicked and whirled like a machine. Her job was to protect Kate, and her brain immediately went to work on sussing out the level of danger her Mistress might be in. There’s something off about it. Something I’m not supposed to notice. But I do.. She decided to probe for more details. “Can I bring Steve with me? We’re out shopping.”
“I know. Tell him I’m sorry. This is really important. Can you drop him off someplace and come on over? It won’t take long.”
“You bet! I’ll be right over. Steve says hi. He… what? He says you owe him a beer.”
“You can steal the ones in the fridge. See you soon!” Kate hung up.
Claire started the car and pulled out of the parking space. “Jane, listen to my voice. We must obey our Mistress.”
“Yes, Claire.”
“About time you stopped being a pain in my ass, Kate.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, Trenchy. The day’s not even over yet.”
Decker smiled, and moved to the window. He looked out over the neighborhood as he spoke. “How many times have you hypnotized her, Kate? Fifteen, twenty times now? Maybe a little more than that? “
“You’re the only one around here who likes messing with people’s heads, Decker,” said James.
“How many times, Kate? Ever since you got fired from your job, more or less, right?”
She shook her head. “I don’t remember. I can’t remember. You know that.”
James felt his heart drop to his feet. He stared at Kate. He wanted to protect her, to defend her, to tell her the truth. Don’t listen to him, Kate, he’s lying, he’s trying to trick you! But his body betrayed him, and his mouth opened to form one single word. “What?”
She lowered her head. “I’ve… James… every Wednesday, when Claire and I go to lunch… I… I’m so sorry, James. I’m so sorry.”
“Every week, she’s been drugging and hypnotizing her best friend into wanting to be just like herself and Nikki,” said Decker. He turned away from the window and faced James. “Your so-called wife has been selling out Claire for weeks. I had to give her a little side project after she got fired from that office job. That one was my fault, I’ll admit. I got sloppy with her scheduling. Not like you noticed anything, you idiot.”
“Kate,” said James. “I thought that you quit your job?”
His voice was flat and even, but his eyes were desperate and full of pain. Kate couldn’t look at them. “Decker made me think that I quit, James. He made me hypnotize Claire, too.”
“What about last week, Kate?” Decker was practically giddy. “Did I make you hypnotize her last week?”
She looked down at her feet again. She could feel her husband’s eyes on her skin. “No, you didn’t.”
She lifted the sleepy blonde’s head away from her chest until it was nearly level. “Let’s recap, Claire. What are you?”
“A slavegirl,” came the reply, soft and distant.
“What kind of slavegirl, Claire?”
“A brainwashed slavegirl.” Her mouth curled into a faint smile again at the mention of brainwashing, and Kate felt the familiar pang of guilt surge through her. Whatever she’d been telling her mesmerized friend every week, it had been extremely effective. The idea that someone as bold and forceful as Claire was now sitting before her, absolutely enthralled with the idea of being a mindless, programmed servant… it was unthinkable. Hypnosis, as far as Kate knew, didn’t work that way at all. And yet here she was. With my own personal brainwashed slavegirl.
She bit her lower lip, and then plowed ahead. “That’s right, Claire. You’ve been brainwashed. You will always obey me without question.”
“Of course, Kate.”
“What happens when I snap my fingers?”
“I will wake up, and remember only the programmed events.”
You won’t want to remember this, trust me. “What happens when you see or hear the words ‘Zanzibar Mooncarver,’ Claire?”
“I will go into a deep sleep. Slavegirl Claire will awaken. She will obey you without question. She’s… brainwashed.”
“Who does Slavegirl Claire serve?”
She sighed happily. “Only you, Kate. Only you. Without question or hes…itation.”
Kate looked around. The park was still crowded, but no one seemed to pay any attention to the two women on the bench.
She stood before Master, naked and horny and excited at being chosen for a special assignment. “Do you know what makes me different than others like me? I like to think it’s because I care about my slaves. I want assistants and allies, not just dumb bimbos who fuck and suck all day long.”
“Listen carefully, and remember. Slavegirl Claire will act exactly like Normal Claire. She will think like Normal Claire, and she will act exactly like Normal Claire. She is just as smart, and clever, and brave as Normal Claire. No one will know that Slavegirl Claire exists. What is Slavegirl Claire like?”
“She is jussssst like… Normal Claire. No one’ll… know.”
“The only difference is that Slavegirl Claire will serve only me. She will dedicate her life to serving me, to keeping me safe, and to obeying my will.”
“Your will. Yes.”
“I’m sorry, Claire. I never… I didn’t want to do this. Any of this.”
Claire’s hair fluttered in the soft breeze. “Yes, Kate.”
And now I’m going to dig the hole even deeper. “Now when you next see or hear the words ‘Zanzibar Mooncarver,’ you will carry out the following orders for me…”
Amy drifted through the ballroom, swaying her sexy hips as she slow-danced with Josh. His hands were resting on them now, holding on as she twisted in time to the band’s slow, seductive beats. It was a perfect moment. They were alone, and they had an entire ballroom band playing just for them. Josh looked amazing, and she knew she looked gorgeous in the gown she was wearing. She felt her boyfriend’s hot breath on her neck, hungry and seductive. He leaned in for a kiss. She obliged, eagerly letting his tongue reach into her mouth as they swung, lip-locked to the never-ending music.
He pulled away, finally, gasping for breath. She smiled. She still had the power to make him swoon. He was so sexy.
“Now remember, Amy,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. “You have a very special assignment coming up.”
“Mmmmmm…. yes. Very special.”
“Tell me about it. What will you do at five minutes after three o’clock?”
“At five minutes after three o’clock,” she said, twirling him in a circle, “I will go into a deep trance. I will think of nothing but my orders. Nothing will stop me from carrying out my orders. Then I will wake up.” She frowned. They were supposed to be dipping, and Josh was ignoring this important part of the dance. She tugged on his shoulder, and he obliged, taking her by the shoulders and dipping her to the floor before pulling her back to her feet. She swooned a little herself. “Mmmm. I will wake up, and remember everything.”
He kissed her on the lips, as his hands roamed the tight, sleek fabric of her gown. “You’re doing very well, Amy. Now in a few seconds, I’m going to snap my fingers, and you’re going to wake up.”
“Of course,” she agreed, even though it seemed like an odd thing to say. Behind them, the band finally wrapped up their last song. Distant applause ushered them from their little stage, and Amy and Josh had the entire room to themselves.
“You’re the perfect lover,” she said happily. “This is wonderful.”
“I know,” he replied. He snapped his fingers. “So after all of that, I was right back where I started. Can you believe it? I still don’t have a sink!”
She blinked her eyes, momentarily confused. Then it all came back to her. “Oh, that’s terrible, Doctor Mulroney! You have just the worst luck! I hope that everything works out for you!”
“Thank you, Amy. That means a lot. Sometimes I feel like no one understands me around here but you.”
“Aw, you’re sweet, Doctor. I really enjoy our talks. They always make me feel SO much better!” She leaned in and gave him a quick, friendly hug. “Well, back to the grind.”
“You’re on duty this afternoon?”
“Not right now, but I need to hit the break room for a snack and to catch up on my study assignment.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon?”
“You know it!” she squealed, clapping her hands together. “See you soon!”
Amy strolled out of Doctor Mulroney’s office with a smile on her face. Although he came across as a creepy weirdo, he was actually pretty nice in person, and funny, too. She really enjoyed spending time with him on her off time, just talking about work and life. The fact that he was handsome certainly didn’t hurt matters. I could be his perfect lover. She giggled a little. Josh teased her endlessly about her “doctor crush.” She needed to hook Doctor Mulroney up with Doctor Farber, the cute woman who just started in Radiology.
She spotted Wanda Markle just ahead of her. Tall, beautiful, confident. She was everything that Amy wanted to be, and she always made sure to give Wanda a pleasant wave and a smile. It was always a good idea to have the best staff on your side. The right words from the right staff to the right supervisors could mean the difference between getting a promotion and being stuck feeding patients into the MRI machine for the next ten years.
To her surprise, Wanda waved first. “Oh, hi Amy!”
Amy melted a bit on the inside. Damn, if I was into girls… “Hey Wanda, where ya headed?”
“Oh,” she casually gave a toss of her hair, “just going to see Doctor Mulroney. He’s got… a very… important… meeting…for me…” Her voice trailed off. Suddenly she shook her head again. “Anyway, I guess I shouldn’t be late. I know people say that he’s a jerk, but I kind of like him. There’s just something about him, you know?”
“Yeah, he’s not so bad when you get to know him,”Amy agreed. “Can we grab lunch tomorrow? I wanted to ask you about those perfumes you sell.”
Wanda brightened. “Oh of course! I’ll bring some samples. Maybe noon?”
“Perfect! I’m really excited. You always smell so nice!”
Wanda cast a glance at Doctor Mulroney’s door. “I really… I do have to go now. I don’t want to be late.”
Amy watched as Wanda let herself into Doctor Mulroney’s office, then turned and made her way back to Radiology. Doctor Farber, have I got the perfect man for you…
“So your wife is a closet hypnotist, and now she’s condemned her best friend to coming over here and being enslaved by me, the guy who’s been brainwashing her for years. How do you feel about that, Pendleton?”
In an instant, James felt all of his anger shift away from Kate and back to Decker. “You made her this way. You made all of them this way! What kind of sick fuck are you, anyway? Look at this! Look at you! Of all the things you could be, you’re in my house trying to kidnap people so that you can… Jesus! You want to know how I feel, Trenchy? I feel like ripping your goddamn head off, you son of a bitch! Untie me and we’ll settle this the old-fashioned way, you fucking coward!”
His brief tirade was interrupted by Kate, who began to giggle.
Decker tapped the pocket of his coat, where his gun was. “Do you find something funny about all of this?”
She giggled again, deliberately, enjoying the anger it brought to his face. “I find a lot of this funny, Trenchy. First of all, you made my husband swear like a sailor, which he never does. So you’d better believe that he’s going to kick your ass! But also, I just realized something about you. You’re all alone in this, aren’t you? It’s just you, and your robot girlfriend, and Doctor McDaterape. Because otherwise you’d have someone else pick up Claire, right? You’d never risk having her come here. That’s why you’ve been having me hypnotize her. Because you have nobody. You’re not scary at all, you’re just pathetic. Pattttthhhetic.”
Decker growled, and pulled the gun from his pocket. “You annoying little bitch. You ruined everything for me, do you remember that? You ruined it for me, just like you ruined it for that asshole Oliver, just like you ruined your marriage. You ruin everything you touch.”
“And I’m not done, Trenchy.”
He pointed the gun at her. “It’s. Decker.”
“Deck. Ker,” she said slowly, drawing out the syllables. “If it’s just you, and me, and James, and Nikki, and Claire, who’s going to stop those tapes and pictures from coming out once we disappear? Now if there was some big vast conspiracy? I can see how you’d have us fucked over a barrel with that one. But if it’s just you? There’s too many tapes, and not enough time to get them all. Once the cops get their hands on Mulroney, you’re toast.”
He grinned wickedly and returned the gun to his pocket. After fishing around a second pocket for a moment, he produced a cassette tape. “Oh, you mean this tape, Kate? This tape? Or do you mean the copies of it that Nikki has in her car?” He gripped both end of the cassette and flexed his arms. “Sorry, but… shit. Wait. Fuck!” He readjusted his hands and tried again. This time, the plastic gave way with a loud snap. He tossed the broken remains onto the carpet. “Sorry, but you’re too late for that. There are no tapes, Kate. No tapes, no photos. I’ve been one step ahead of you this entire time. No tapes, and no proof of anything. I’m afraid it’s game over, Kate.”
She winked at him. “Who needs tapes?”
Doctor Kapoor closed the drawer of her file cabinet and looked around the office. Everything was filed away, neatly in place, even the messy conference notes on the side desk that she’d been meaning to clean up and transcribe for the past three months. Now that her latest case files were freshly organized in the file cabinet, she was officially out of things to do. I should really go home. She looked at her pretty watch for what had to be the tenth time in ten minutes. It was almost three o’clock. I am being so productive… another thirty minutes and I will leave. She dug into her cavernous desk drawers, now neatly organized, and retrieved the little cylinder of cleaning wipes. Pulling one from the top, she attacked the desktop and phone with gusto, sweeping away weeks of dust, dirt, and fingerprints.
Her watch alarm began beeping. Annoyed, she switched it off. Why do I even wear this watch when I am… when it…
She began to sway, struggling to stay on her feet, as her head became a thousand pounds heavier, and her eyes a thousand pounds more heavy than that. Finally, her neck muscles gave way, and her head came crashing down. Her eyes, too, overcame what little resistance she offered and slammed shut. She remained on her feet as her head rolled back and forth, slowly coming to rest.
When it finally did, her eyes snapped open, and she raised her head. She marched straight to the phone on her desk, entering the phone number she knew she had to dial. She calmly waited for someone to pick up.
“Yes. I would like to report a crime,” she said.
“…his name is Doctor Kyle Mulroney,” said Amy. “He assaulted me…“
“…multiple times,” said Wanda. There was a knock on the bathroom door, but she ignored it. “He threatened to kill…“
“…me if I told anyone,” said Janice. Her mail slipped from her hand and scattered on the kitchen floor. “I don’t want him to hurt anyone else.”
“I can take a lie detector test if you need me to.”
“He’s in his office right now, at Parkview Hospital.”
“I’m not sure. He might have a gun.”
“Yes, I will call security. Thank you.”
Doctor Mulroney stared impatiently at the wall clock. It was already two past three. The girls were supposed to be in his office at three sharp, and with their hypnotic programming, being on time was practically a certainty. And yet, they were all late. He frowned. I clearly have more work to do on all of you. He waited. Four after, then five, then six. Still no one.
His mind drifted back to the memory of Disha’s big, creamy-brown tits, and the joy of entering her for the first time. The way she knew how to clench and unclench at just the right time, and the incredible orgasms that resulted from it. He thought about taking her in her office- it would be something fun and new- but that would leave the other three girls wandering around without direction. If they ever show up…
He picked up the phone and dialed Disha’s number, ready to give her the phrase that would send her gliding mindlessly into his office, fully prepared to do his bidding.
A harsh voice on the other end answered. “Freeport Police Department, how may I help you?”
Oh shit, wrong number! He faked a polite stutter and prepared to sheepishly admit to calling them by mistake. “My name is Doctor Kyle Mulroney,” he said apologetically. “I’m calling to confess to several crimes.”
His eyes glazed over. He saw only Disha’s silver watch, swinging back and forth. It was ten past three, and he needed to obey the beautiful doctor’s orders. “I’ve been drugging and hypnotizing my patients,” he said. “I just can’t live with myself any more. I am in my office at Parkview Hospital. Yes. Yes. I understand.”
There was a loud knock on the door, which quickly turned into an insistent pounding. “Doctor Mulroney? Security. Please open the door.”
He looked up from the phone, feeling utterly calm and relaxed, letting Disha’s words flow through his sleepy mind. “Please come in. It’s unlocked.”