The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Aces and Eights

Chapter 5 — The King is Dying, the World Trembles

“We getting the fuck out of here or what? We’re sitting ducks, and from the twinkle in that jacked ass’s eyes when she tried to butt in on my brain, maybe sitting fucks, too!” Rhonda snapped as soon as the four of them were gathered in Claudia’s car.

“Oh, did you meet Melanie too? Nice kid- trying too hard to keep her hormones from hooking someone in just for a fling, but otherwise harmless. On the surface it looks like she’s been locked in the closet- I never saw a thing, but I don’t think even a butthead is so clumsy with paperwork that she drops it and has to pick it up three times. She needs a girlfriend,” Gianna said with a giggle.

Claudia was in no mood for games. “We’re already down two, in case you haven’t noticed. I lost contact with Cynthia and Brenna hours ago. We’re lucky we only lost the two of them, and knowing these people’s MO, I’m sure we could just walk into the library and have them back in seconds. The question is what we’d get back along with them.”

“They just want to hit us with Michaelsson’s beliefs. Had a gypsy boy try to do that to me. They’re scared of what’s going on. They want to believe, so they try to get us under and show us what they believe with our minds pried open. They could do much worse,” Cheryl said with the voice of experience.

Claudia’s mouth tightened. “They can and they have. Hints, allegations, and things left unsaid are all I can tell you right now. They’re unsure of themselves enough because of their age. Michaelsson gave them structure, and now they think that the structure is going to fall, and the idea of it is enough to drive them mad. This place is crawling with controllers, all varieties, more than I’ve ever imagined in one place at one time. We’re up against a lot more than I realized. I have the evidence they need to completely slip the reins. But if I say it, even to you...”

“Boom,” Rhonda said.

“I have the numbers from the admissions files. Controllers number over fifteen hundred. All of the professors and high administrative staff, with the balance being students. It’s enough to control 45,000 students. None of them are plotting anything, as far as I know. Their files are more monitored than any others. But all the frats, the clubs, the cheer squads, the athletic captains- controllers. All the real professors, all the authority figures- controllers. Frightening, but given how much squeaking there is at the edges without a squeal, the amount of control that has to be heaped on the controllers to save the control is the most frightening part,” Gianna said.

“Are they so controlled that madness would ensue? Not regular temporary insanity, the type of post-control madness that kills. Are their chains that tight?”

“They’re going mad right now,” Cheryl said grimly. “I don’t know what all of them would do. Some of them might go nuts, but in the ‘let’s finally break that hottie I’ve been staring at for the last four years’ way. But they know enough right now that the conflict is making them lash out. I don’t know if Brenna and Cynthia’s taking was ordered or not, but it wouldn’t be a stretch if some tightened their grip out of sheer fear.”

“That I know. They can’t kill. They’ve been chained too tightly. That was an open secret in the right circles: the controllers are the most affected victims, dragged the deepest down- and they have to be to maintain order. Some stay and join Alpha Omega, while others join groups based on their individual talents, but they’re all deeply controlled. And yes, they’re better for that, as are the other students, but I fail to see the ethics in that. And if they realize what’s been done to them to make them who they are... I don’t want to know what we’d be releasing into the world,” Claudia said.

“So let’s get out while we still can. I’m sure you can pass for Cynthia’s mom,” Cheryl said with as much sarcasm as she could muster up, but there was fear in the biting edge of her words, and Claudia knew it.

“We’re in too deep. And I know what Michaelsson’s crime is- not Cleveland’s, but Michaelsson’s. If we run from the necessity now, we all turn in our badges and give up the fight. I just need to know what we’d be doing when we do what we have to do,” Claudia said sadly.

“If vermin escapes the wreckage of the tower when it’s destroyed, it doesn’t mean it terrorized the tower when it stood. But it spreads into everything else from that day forward, and it festers,” Rhonda said. “The doctor, the guy who supplies everyone with the equipment that nerfs their stuff, he said that. They’re scared of their own shadows. That’s why they covered up everything they could. For all I know, if we kill Michaelsson, they’ll call it a drive-by and go on with their lives. That’s how strong the hooks are.”

“You don’t know how right you are. I don’t even know how deep this really goes. Michaelsson himself is the only one who does... who can still tell about it,” Claudia said.

Cheryl went pale, Gianna went sallow, and Rhonda went gray. “We have to act,” Cheryl said.

“Fuck the consequences,” Rhonda agreed.

“No Michaelsson, no lock, and the truth can be exposed from inside his own castle,” Gianna finished.

“I’ve sent for Collins to get more insight into this. I don’t know all the details. But people knew for decades- remember what the concierge said? And if people on the ground knew for decades, Michaelsson knew for decades. It’s only getting out now, probably because of Michaelsson’s age. He has his heirs, and he has a son with his eyes- that’s common knowledge. But this is beyond big, and beyond an Eighth Circle pervert sneaking into his machine. He’s been living the ultimate vampire life for more than seventy years. More than that, he’s been doing it with controllers. The horrors in that filing room... just the bits and pieces I saw were a nightmare. Just the one, and only God knows what he saw now,” Claudia said.

“God and Isaac Michaelsson,” Rhonda corrected.

“Welcome to Great Lakes. They’re the same thing,” Cheryl said.

“So now what?” Rhonda asked Claudia.

“Hiding would tip them off, but going back to our old mission would be suicide, given that Michaelsson has given the whole town a sixth sense. I think we can bargain for Cynthia and Brenna. If I’ve got their code right, they’re almost required to return them. Brenna’s resilient, and Cynthia’s good at sorting out things in her head that aren’t hers, so they’ll be okay after a while, and what dogma did get stuck in their heads will be useful. And we stay together. Right now, I don’t think they can put together the resources for a mass attack. And they’re so frightened of what we mean that if we say we’re leaving, they’ll all but throw Brenna and Cynthia at us,” Claudia said.

“Cheerleader’s used to that,” Rhonda muttered.

“And meanwhile, they will build the wall of silence higher. There has to be a way to wait it out for General Collins,” Gianna protested.

“I never said we were actually leaving, Gianna. They’re scared enough to bargain. And they know their own power. If we hide here with Cynthia and Brenna for two days to have them recover, then leave, it might still be too soon,” Claudia said with a laugh.

“And you’re sure they didn’t leave any booby traps, even ones against Michaelsson?” Cheryl pushed. “We’re talking about a hive of controllers. Sweet fuck knows what goes through their heads.”

“It’s a risk we have to take. Besides, if that does happen, we have our own ways to make them so very sleepy,” Claudia mocked. Rhonda cracked her knuckles as punctuation to draw a laugh out of Cheryl and Gianna.

“I can contact Moe in admissions. If anyone knows about this, it would be him,” Gianna said, pulling out her phone.

Cheryl slapped it away. “With Library Grand Central? You just need to show up. Why risk more attention and another department being involved?”

“Cheryl’s right. Gianna, we need you as the backup plan. Stay behind and stay out of sight. If we’re not back in two hours, call admissions. I don’t think they’re brazen enough to keep almost an entire unit of Wealth and Taste prisoner, not if Collins is on the level. And if Collins is double-dealing, they’re close enough in that they know we don’t take kindly to hostages. Here’s the keys. Don’t tell me where you’re going, just stay out of sight wherever it is.”

Claudia handed Gianna the keys to her car and got out with Rhonda and Cheryl, heading for the library. Even at night, the library was packed, and Claudia realized that it was no fluke that this was a 24-hour operation. Some were there for papers and exams, while others might have been there for reinforcement, but they were all there for a reason, and they were all out cold, even the controllers. They stuck out more than anything else, but no one moved as the team searched for Brenna and Claudia.

Then Claudia saw the Alpha Omegas move in, and she didn’t have to hear Rhonda’s inspired swearing to know that they were in trouble. “You have come to pick up your girls?” Elena said with a sneer, her mindless pledges closing ranks around her, her presence almost tangible.

“Elena, this has gone far enough. You know we don’t take, we don’t kidnap, and we don’t keep prisoners,” Sheila said- though the open buttons on her blouse and the low-cut lacy bra she wore underneath showed that she was fully armed and expecting trouble. She pointed her bosom at Rhonda, and while it was enough to distract Rhonda slightly, it wasn’t enough for her to lose touch with reality.

“I left home because I did not wish to make my schoolmates into whore dolls, then live the rest of my life as a mourning babushka raising my children into the same cycle! But I will protect myself from murderous scum who want to destroy the only place I have ever been safe!” Elena snapped back. Despite her hysterics, no one looked up, though Claudia noticed more than a few people burying themselves deeper in their books out of sheer fear.

“Then let’s make sure this place stays safe,” Sheila said to Elena. She turned to Claudia and said, “Let’s talk. Follow me.”

Claudia could tell that Sheila’s withdrawal was as much to get Elena away from the general population as it was to negotiate with them. She was all right with that, and she gave her team the signal to follow. It took Cheryl and Rhonda a moment to do so, mostly because Rhonda was following the bouncing boobies, and Cheryl had to lightly kick her to follow Claudia instead of drooling on Sheila.

“Do that again and I’m putting you in a headlock,” Rhonda informed Cheryl.

Sheila looked back with a smile and casually adjusted her shirt. Rhonda happily returned to her daydream. Cheryl shrugged. “Well, I’m not risking Rhonda’s wrath,” she said, and she let Rhonda drool alongside her as Sheila and Elena led them to an upstairs classroom.

Rhonda’s light trance snapped along with her temper when she saw the sight. “Whoa! The only thing bigger than your tits is your ego! Twenty-five? You know you only got two of us, right? Okay, two and a quarter, but I ain’t ashamed of liking boobs. That doesn’t mean I was letting my brain get too twisted on your torture rack,” she said.

We only got one of you, your little cheerleader,” Sheila said.

“Oh, say that when she’s awake,” Cheryl muttered.

“We’ve been busy,” Sheila said. “Dean Gregory said that your other spy was dumb enough to sneak into Hall 45. You’re lucky she didn’t drown- I’ll bet it took effort to make sure she didn’t. The others... well, you tell us who they are.” She sighed, sounding older than her years.

“Yes, is dungeon, but just to teach those who doubt us. Alarm clock rings, they go back to where they are staying, sleep off trance, wake up satisfied, and return home happy. You keep us very busy,” Elena added, sounding irritated.

“You keep saying that, but I don’t recognize anyone other than our two. And if you really knew what was up, you’d have let them stay awake and find what they’re looking for,” Claudia said with confidence that struck more fear into Rhonda and Cheryl than it did into Sheila and Elena.

“You will not play dumb with me!” Elena snapped with a vicious stomp that rendered Cheryl blank, drew Rhonda’s eyes back to Sheila’s cleavage, and made even Claudia pause for a while before coming to her senses.

“We don’t know any of the others,” Cheryl droned, her words slurred as if forced.

The frustration in Elena’s eyes made Claudia swallow hard and hope that everyone else had recognized the storm signs and cranked up their guard- if it wasn’t already too late. She could see that the storm brewing in Elena’s mind was flashing lightning of white rage, not golden loyalty. She was breaking, and what had been enclosed in the shell of Michaelsson’s control was to be feared.

“We have no shame here! You bring shame to us! You will obey me! Tell me the truth NOW!” Elena screamed.

Cheryl’s eyes rolled up in her head, and Rhonda began reciting something under her breath. Even Claudia felt her resistance being knocked down, her cover shredded, the encounter with Red on her lips. She screwed her eyes shut and dug her nails into her leg to relieve the pressure.

“Obey mmmmmph!” Elena said, cut off by a soft noise, then silence. Claudia dared to open one eye and saw Elena’s face pressed tightly into Sheila’s bosom, Sheila holding her in place with one hand for a good thirty seconds. Elena gasped for breath once Sheila let up- only for Sheila to repeat the process until Elena’s eyes were glazed, fixed on Sheila’s breasts as Sheila rocked back and forth.

She looks like the most perverted newborn ever, Claudia thought, watching as Sheila sat the dazed and almost blue Elena in an empty chair with the other prisoners, wound up one of the alarm clocks, and whispered in her ear before rejoining the others. “Sorry about Elena. Her kind of presence does lend itself to anger and thoughtless rage. I don’t like the crush induction, but I think she needed to breathe a little of her own breath for a while. Um, would you like your out and proud lesbian to have a sample, or should I wake her up?” Sheila asked in a meek, polite voice.

Claudia looked over at Rhonda, who was still drooling. Oh. So that’s what those pictures were about. “Secondary entrancement doesn’t last that long unless you give a primary induction because you’re greedy. But nice try. I can handle this,” she said to Sheila with a smile before rearing back and slapping Rhonda hard across the face.

Rhonda came up with her fists balled, but backed down when she saw the amusement on Claudia’s face and the crimson blush across Sheila’s. “Whoa. Sorry. Booby birds on their own I can resist. Cleavage crushing, not so much,” she said, sounding more embarrassed than she would normally let on to a stranger.

“I’ll remember that,” Cheryl muttered, still sounding a little out of it.

“So the cheerleader and the one who tried to go to class were the only ones of yours? I... I don’t know the others. Too many people have been snooping around. I don’t know how long the others have been out, or how long the students who found them want them out. That’s why I had to knock out Elena. Whatever’s going on, it’s more than some old sicko who used to work at the school. It would bring us shame to not allow Lady Justice to take her course, but it would be shameful for this place we’ve worked so hard to build to be destroyed, but...” Sheila trailed off, conflicted.

Claudia looked at the line of blue and gold sweatsuits on the entranced women and looked at Sheila with her lips pressed in a thin line. “And this is just for the women. How many men?”

“I don’t know! I guess about the same? I was just told to send spies to the library and which rooms they would be in if someone came to claim them. This is the first- I never thought it was this many,” Sheila said in genuine horror that Claudia could tell was starting to fry her brain.

“Show us why everyone’s here if you can, then give us back what’s ours and we’ll leave you alone,” Claudia demanded.

Sheila sighed with relief, turned back Cynthia and Brenna’s clocks an hour each, then pointed at the suitcases that mirrored the backpacks on the desks. “Best I can do. Everything they brought with them is there for them to bring back. You’ve got an hour to search, then your girls wake up and you need to leave. Half an hour after that, Elena wakes up, and I’m not going to be near her, even with the programming relaxing her. That’s as long as I know she can stay out, so I set her clock for it, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to stay out that long. Now, I’m going to run home and pass out, if you don’t mind,” she said.

“Don’t sleep, think. You knew something was wrong as soon as you opened that door. Keep thinking about that and maybe you’ll get out of this alive and sane,” Claudia suggested. Sheila turned pale and took off running in a way that made Claudia wince and Rhonda drool until Cheryl kicked her in the shin and dragged her over to the bags.

“Black one’s a reporter for WXYZ- that’s one of the Detroit stations. The tall blonde with the great posture is a Do-Right. The little Chinese lady’s from NSN,” Cheryl reported.

“Ohhh, boy, back row’s Mindcrime. The whole back row. At least we know they weren’t fooled. Well, now they are. But now we know why Boobs of Steel is freaking out. Five in one shot? And you know the boys are getting the same treatment.,” Rhonda said.

“If the Do-Rights are looking into them, they must have crossed the border. What else... oh, stay classy, Northern State, sending a spy to mudsling. No, I stand corrected. There’s a trading card, so this is one of their relics. Of course that phony reformer would. And... oh, shit. Ladies, over here, now,” Claudia said, face grave as she pulled out the black leather catsuit from under one woman’s skirtsuit.

“Kinky!” Rhonda whistled.

“Shut up, Rhonda. I know what that is too... MI-9. Search and destroy, with the same kind of extranational authority and respect we get. Voluntarily conditioned to search and destroy, their wills completely sacrificed for Elizabeth and England, on Her Majesty’s secret service, commissioned only when all other means to discover the truth have failed. We have to find that commission. Someone or their parents called for help, and MI-9 accepted,” Cheryl said, pale and nervous.

“And only Michaelsson himself could be strong enough to overwhelm the safeguards and resistance given to an Emma- or he’s got someone more powerful under his thumb, which would be even worse, to put it mildly. This is even more evidence than what I have. Michaelsson knew about Cleveland, and now the question becomes ‘what else was he hiding?’” Claudia said crisply. She and the team turned the clocks back an extra fifteen minutes, though Rhonda took a simpler approach when it came to Elena and slammed her head into the desk a couple of times.

“Do we have time to investigate the men’s room?” Cheryl asked.

“We’d have to know where it is first, and I get the feeling asking about it would lead us back here in sweatsuits,” Rhonda countered.

Claudia hesitated, then nodded. “Rhonda’s right. I’ll see if I can get in there with Collins later.”

They waited the last couple of minutes for Brenna and Cynthia’s clocks to ring. At the sound of the bell, the two rose and shouldered their bags before leaving in lockstep, next to each other but not acknowledging each other’s presence, or the rest of the team following them. Claudia took out her phone and texted Gianna that they had succeeded, then resumed scanning the area. What frightened her the most was that only one person reacted to them, only one head turned, only one person tried to retrace their steps to figure out what they might have been doing there. What intrigued her was that the person was a standard-issue Great Lakes student with a standard-issue Great Lakes backpack; her coppery hair was the only notable color on her. If there was time, she would have followed the student and tried to get some answers out of her, but she had her team to worry about.