The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Six-thirty a.m.

Zebediah’s eyes opened, and he yawned, sitting up, stretching. He glanced at his alarm clock, ruefully, briefly considering going back to bed. He had nothing going on today, just a quick consult with Gene, confirming that the previous client’s payment had cleared, and checking idly to see if anything interesting was available for the morning. There was nothing waiting for him at the Lotus today—his next appointment was scheduled two days later, at ten a.m. In short, there was absolutely no reason for him to be awake and up at this time of the morning.

Nevertheless, he easily kicked off the covers and strode naked over to his bathroom, prepared to wash and get ready for the day.

It is a bit annoying, he ruminated as he groomed himself in front of the mirror, running the incredibly sharp razor carefully across his face, shaving off the day’s stubbly growth. A lot of behaviors Gram Gram conditioned into me after twenty-plus years are pretty useful. And being able to always wake up at six a.m. on the dot every morning simply by my body’s own internal clock does come in handy... on days when I actually have something to do. He sighed, lathering up the other side of his face. On days like this, however, it’s just annoying.

Nevertheless, it was easier to simply adhere to the habit and get up rather than trying to fight his body’s natural inclination and try to force himself back to sleep. Besides, even if he didn’t have anything specific scheduled that he needed to do this morning, there was always something to do to occupy his time. Satisfied with his appearance, he finished cleaning himself, then returned to his bedroom to dress.

Walking across the room to his dresser, he sighed softly, considering, then opened the drawer. Inside, amidst the myriad papers and magazines sat a large and heavy hardbacked book. Reaching down, he withdrew the Holy Bible from the dresser, holding it aloft in his hands. It had been some time since he had taken it out, longer still since he had perused its contents, but as he had a little time to himself, it felt somehow appropriate.

I’d probably feel very uneasy about this kind of sacrilege, he mused to himself as he opened the book wide, wide enough to crack the spine if I’d been raised Christian. Hell, even with my Voodoo background, this just seems... wrong, he thought distastefully, as he carefully withdrew the book hidden within the bible’s shell, mindful of the book’s advanced age. Sighing softly, he slid the disguise aside and opened the copy of The Art of True Hypnosis that his Gram Gram had bequeathed to him.

He had, over his youth, studied the contents in their entirety, having been taught and trained in the various techniques and disciplines within. His grandmother, a notorious stickler for perfection, had gone so far as to declare him ‘moderately proficient’ with all of its teachings. Indeed, she had unceremoniously summoned him to her a few months before, told him ‘Your progress has reached a plateau. You have learned everything from me that you can. The only way you will continue to grow now is to go out and gain experience in the techniques you have studied.’ She’d then all but kicked him out, making Rhonda pack up all of his belongings, and having Persephone drive him to the train station.

Talk about a rude awakening, he thought, chagrined, pouring over the ancient words once again. Not that he needed to study, per se. He knew the information contained within better than he knew his own name. But the book itself was an artifact, a source of power from the goddess Hypnothea herself; merely having it in his possession increased his strength, power, and clarity. And, speaking of which... book in hand, he sought to test himself against one of his particular weaknesses, Focusing, he began channeling and expanding his aura, increasing his hypnotic presence, pushing it outward. Viewing it as a shimmering sphere around him, he began forcing it to expand... to send it outward like a wave…

Only to feel it fizzle, drawing back in on itself, leaving him gasping for breath, momentarily drained from the exercise. Dammit, he grunted in frustration, even as he calmed his heartbeat and steadied his breathing, slowly recovering his energy again. Again, it eludes me. Gram Gram is able to manipulate her aura well enough to control others from afar without even speaking or commanding them. Yet I can’t get my aura to stretch more than a few inches from me without making direct contact. He shook his head. Blast... it’s not as if I had Hypnothea’s favor to begin with, making this all the harder. I wonder... is it simply that I am not strong enough? Do I just lack the raw power to use such an advanced technique? Or... is it that I need more instruction?

As he knew, his book was far from the only manual of True Hypnosis in the world. Many such books, as well as artifacts, relics, and items existed, many of them lost to time, others held privately, their whereabouts closely guarded secrets. It was entirely possible that the secrets to fully utilizing his grandmother’s technique were explained in greater detail in a different tome.

Of course, I could very like spend the entirety of my life searching for such a treasure and never find it, he thought realistically. Perhaps I am simply not ready to use it yet. Retrieving the discarded book frame, he carefully inserted his ancient relic back inside the false bible, straightening the creases to make sure it passed muster then placed it back inside his dresser drawer. As tempting as it was to become discouraged, to accept that being just male limited his connection to Hypnothea, and weakened his hypnotic abilities all around, he refused to simply give in. Rome was not built in a day, as the saying goes. Every day I am getting stronger, sharper, more adept. I need only be patient.

A hard thing to be, particularly for a True Hypnotism practitioner, one used to getting results instantly, and taking what they wished, when they wished. But if there was one thing Zebediah Clark had, it was discipline. If there were two things he had, it was discipline and perseverance.

After a vigorous workout, and a light breakfast, Zeb booted up his computer, switched on his encryption key, and logged into the black site. Gene made contact a few minutes later and confirmed that the last client had indeed forwarded full payment for the job completed. “I know this is perhaps a stupid question,” he asked Gene afterward, “but do clients ever decide not to pay? You know... try and back out of a deal after it’s done? I can’t imagine anyone would be that stupid, considering what we can do, and the personalities of the people hired, but...”

“Oh, no, that is a very good question to ask,” Gene assured him. “And, believe it or not, it does happen now and again. People as a whole are generally a bit stupid,” he stated, shaking his head. “I mean, if they were brighter, they wouldn’t be in the kind of mess that they’d have to hire a Hypnotist to fix things in the first place!” He snorted. “But yeah... every so often you get some yahoo that thinks they can cheat the system... that they can outsmart or intimidate you into simply letting it go. They generally don’t believe in the whole hypnosis thing, believing it’s just a ‘parlor trick’, or that somehow it won’t work on THEM if push ever came to shove.”

Zeb chuckled at the sheer absurdity of that kind of thinking. If you hired someone to perform a seemingly impossible act and they manage to accomplish it, what on earth could possibly convince such a client that the same person couldn’t track them down and deal with them the exact same way? “So, what is the official policy in such a case?” he asked.

“Officially, if a person renigs on a contract with one of our mercs, they are blacklisted. We keep pretty thorough lists of those who post jobs as well as those to accept them. And if they prove themselves to be untrustworthy, then we don’t want their business.” He smirked. “Unofficially. however, any hypnotist that gets screwed over by a client tends to take that rather personally. And as you might guess, once they catch up to the offender... well, let’s just say that our service usually doesn’t have to worry about dealing with them after the wronged hypnotist has gotten his or her revenge...”

Zeb nodded at that. It was the kind of answer he’d hoped to hear. “Well, with any luck I won’t have to worry about that personally,” he stated. “In the meantime, do you have anything interesting for me this morning?”

“Hey, stranger!” Zeb glanced up from his bench with a smile as a familiar face approached. “Fancy meeting you here!” His friend, Patty Jamison had returned. Dressed a bit more casually, she wore a stylish yellow flowered sundress, and a pair of white sandals, revealing her small, pristine size six feet. Her toenails, like her fingernails, sported a pale sky blue shade, and she wore a silver band around the middle toes of both feet.

“Hello Patty,” he greeted her back, gesturing for her to sit down across from her at the table. “Yes fancy meeting you as well.” He chuckled. “Why, one would think we hadn’t met here several times before in the past few weeks to talk and hang out together.”

The dark-haired woman laughed as well. “You have a point there.” She sat idly by as her friend unpacked the chess set he’d brought, setting up the pieces. She grinned. “I hope you’re ready. I brought my A-game today. This time you are going down!”

“I look forward to the challenge,” Zeb replied diplomatically. “So, how is Max doing these days?”

Patty let out a soft sigh. “He’s fine, last I heard. His new owner is overjoyed, and they’d had no problems. I think they’ll be a good fit.” She sighed again. “If anything, it’s hardest on me! I know... being a foster dog mom means I take care of them, train them, and prepare them to go to someone on a hopefully permanent basis. You’re not supposed to get too attached. But you can’t spend all this time caring for and looking after someone and NOT get attached to them, yanno?”

Zeb nodded. “Yes, I understand. I certainly could not do what you do, that is for certain.” He shook his head. “Do you know when they are sending you your next rescue?”

“Hmm... not for a few weeks, at least. We have a rotation set up, so unless there is an emergency and one of the others can’t handle them, I’m dog-less for the next few weeks at least.”

A few moves into the game, Patty let out another soft sigh. “So... I tried to call you last night,” she began, moving her bishop forward, threatening Zeb’s knight, which he blocked with a pawn. “I was thinking... maybe we meet up, have a drink or two.” She withdrew her bishop, and Zeb countered by sliding over his rook. “But you didn’t answer,” she added with a pout. looking over her pieces carefully, before advancing one of her pawns.

“Yes, sorry,” he apologized, taking her pawn with his bishop. “I was occupied, I’m afraid. I had a job.”

“A ‘job’, huh?” Patty replied, biting her lip. Her hand hovered idly above her Queen, which was being threatened. Sighing, she let it stay, moving her bishop up to defend it, daring Zeb to trade pieces. “I thought you worked as a massage therapist. What kind of ‘job’ were you doing at ten o’clock at night, hmm?” she asked, smirking.

Zeb considered briefly, then shrugged. Why not? If she freaks out, I can always erase her memory. Aloud, he answered. “This was a special kind of job. A hypnosis job.”

Patty glanced at his sidelong. “Hypnosis? You mean.... like a performance on stage at a nightclub or something?” she asked dubiously. Zeb chuckled.

“No, no, nothing like that. What I practice is no sideshow act. I’m a True Hypnotist,” he said confidently. “And unlike ‘performers’ I can actually hypnotize someone and make them do whatever I desire.” He moved a rook forward, zipping past the opening her bishop had created. “You’re in check, by the way.”

“Ah, dammit,” she huffed, glancing down at the board again. “No fair distracting me with all this hypnosis talk,” she complained, taking his rook with her knight, only to have her knight slain by his pawn in return. “So... you’re a ‘real’ hypnotist, huh?” she asked skepticism evident in her voice. “And if I asked you to prove it?” Zeb merely shrugged.

“A demonstration? I would be happy to,” he said, glancing around the park. “Pick out someone you’d like to see hypnotized, and I’ll show you.”

“Anyone at all?” she asked. Zeb nodded. “Okay, then... I choose myself,” she replied with a smirk.

“Yourself? You want me to demonstrate by hypnotizing you?” he asked.

Patty nodded, almost eagerly. “You did say anyone. So, come on then, Mr. Hypnotist,” she said, sitting up straight and attentive. “Do that voodoo that you do, on me.”

Zeb chuckled drily. “It’s not Voodoo,” he replied, withdrawing a gold pocket watch from his pants pocket. “Just because my family is originally from Haiti doesn’t mean we all practice it.” Of course, his Gram Gram’s parents did practice it, and had spread its practices and beliefs to her as well, and she to him, but there was no reason to point out that little tidbit. It was most likely where his aptitude for magic, in addition to hypnosis, came from, however. His Gram Gram had cautioned him, however, that both disciplines required great reservoirs of power to practice, and that strengthening one weakened the other. It was why he focused his attention on hypnosis, regulating his magical aptitude to only the most basic and useful of cantrips.

“Now then, Patty,” he said, dangling the pocketwatch up to her face, allowing it to swing deftly back and forth, “Look at my gold watch. See the way it swings.. back and forth... back and forth... the way it glints in the sunlight... drawing your eye...”

Patty blinked, eyes widening as a strange feeling swept through her. Her body felt warm and tingly, and suddenly lightheaded. Despite her skepticism, she found her eyes locked onto the swinging watch as if magnetized as if his words had become the truth somehow.

“It feels good,” he continued, his voice low, soft, yet perfectly clear. “Nice and relaxing... so relaxing to watch the watch swing... watch, and listen to my voice... letting it guide you... soothe you... relax you... leading you deeper... and deeper...”

A soft moan escaped Patty’s mouth, that dizzying euphoric feeling getting stronger. A part of her quailed, instinctively trying to fight it, feeling herself succumbing to his words, to his power. Another part of her, however, welcomed it, wanted to feel it, to experience the blissful surrender his words promised. It was a strange inner war, fought entirely within her subconscious, as her conscious mind had grown still, thoughts slowing bit by bit, as she continued to sink closer and closer to a hypnotic trance.

“Good, very good,” Zeb replied, nodding slightly, “so nice and relaxed now... so deep... so very deep... just ready to let go... let go... and let yourself... sleep!” When the command came, it was almost welcomed, as Patty’s eyes fluttered, then closed, her head slumping forward. Zeb sighed, gripping his pocketwatch and glancing at the time. Huh. Fifty-two seconds... pretty terrible, considering that she was a willing subject, he grumbled. Had she been antagonistic, or worse, another True Hypnotist, she would no doubt have held out a lot longer. Or not gone under at all.

It was rather annoying. For all his skill with quick and convert inductions, his complete mastery of surprise and fractionization inductions, his weakest skill remained the standard visual-based ones, pendulum, and focus-based hypnosis. It had actually frustrated his grandmother to no end, being particularly gifted with the more advanced techniques, yet utterly inept at the basics.

For now, he pushed away those concerns. He had accomplished his goal, and without having to resort to his more familiar touch-based induction. “Open your eyes, Patty,” he commanded, nodding in satisfaction as she did so, her gaze completely blank and void of consciousness. “Listen closely. You are deeply hypnotized. You must obey my every command. You WILL obey my every command. But you will sit up and talk and act normally. And you will answer any questions I ask you with complete honesty. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Patty replied in a soft monotone. “I understand.”

“Master,” Zeb corrected her. “You will refer to as ‘Master’ while you are under my control.”

“Yes, Master,” she replied. “I understand.”

Zeb grinned. In truth, he still thought of Patty as a friend. He had no plans to keep her as a slave or to do anything distressing to her now that she was entranced. Basically, he’d simply wanted to show her the truth and demonstrate his abilities to her, thinking it would be nice to have someone to converse with that knew his secrets, so he could talk freely. Of course, the fact that she WAS hypnotized was causing his darker impulses to flare up slightly, reminding him of what he could do to her if he chose. Hell, if he wanted, he could make her strip, debase and humiliate her, fuck her raw, then simply erase her memory of the incident, and go on as if it had never happened, with Patty none the wiser. A dark temptation, indeed...

“Tell me, Patty,” he said, pushing the thought aside forcefully, “why did you choose for yourself to be hypnotized? Was this a fantasy of yours, or something?”

“Yes, Master,” the entranced woman replied, nodding. “For the longest time, I used to dream about hypnosis. As a child, I was very interested in it. I used to believe it was real,” she said, a wistfulness coming through even in her trance. “Then, one day when I was in high school, I saw a hypnosis show at the summer fair. I was delighted and wanted to meet and talk to the hypnotist, so I went to his trailer to see him after it was over...”

Zeb nodded, intrigued. “I see. What happened then? Did you talk to this carnival hypnotist?”

“No, Master,” she said, shaking her head. “When I got close, I heard him talking with someone. When I got close, I saw it was the three people he’d selected from the audience and brought on stage to be hypnotized. They were arguing with him... saying that he needed to pay them more money to keep doing their act for the rest of the week.” She shook her head. “I was devastated. Hypnotism wasn’t real. It was all just an act, a fake-out to amuse crowds of people. But still... I continued to hope... to want it to be real. I wanted to experience it myself just once...”

“I see,” Zeb replied. “So... you wanted to be hypnotized, then? You dreamt of being controlled by someone else, and being forced to obey against your will?”

To his surprise, Patty shook her head. “No, Master. I used to dream of BEING the hypnotist,” she clarified. “I wanted to be the one hypnotizing others... making them obey me. Making them serve me... sexually...” she murmured.

Hmm. Interesting, Zeb mused. It seems there is more to Miss Patty Jamison than meets the eye—and speaking of which... Closing his eyes momentarily, Zeb opened his third eye, extending his senses out, seeing the unseen. Patty’s aura appeared before him, just as before... but studying it now, in-depth, was it perhaps a bit brighter than the other mundanes walking around? It had never occurred to him to check, and at twenty-two years old, it was possible that the girl had a talent that had manifested but not truly been unlocked yet.

Well, there’s certainly one easy way to find out if she has the gift or not, he thought to himself.

“Listen closely, Patty. I want you to think back... remember when I hypnotized you. Let your mind focus on that intently... remembering my actions, my words... remembering how they made you feel. Let that information lodge itself deeply in your mind, stored away but easily remembered again at will. Can you do this for me?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. Now... in just a moment, I am going to awaken you. You will remember everything that happened while you were hypnotized. More importantly, you will remember the technique I used to hypnotize you, to the point that you can duplicate it at will. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

With that, Zeb woke her. Patty blinked, shaking her head slowly, taking a minute to process everything. She glanced up at Zeb, eyes wide. “Whoa... um.. okay. So... did that really happen?” she asked. “Tell me I didn’t just dream all of this. You really hypnotized me, Master?” She blinked, frowning, hand going to her mouth. “Huh. I called you ‘Master’, just like I did when I was hypnotized. Guess that means this really did happen, huh?” She paused, considering. “But as to the other thing... you letting me remember how you hypnotized me before? What’s up with that?”

Zeb chuckled. “Let’s simply call it an experiment. I believe you may have the talent and ability to be a True Hypnotist like myself. And what better way to find out than running a little field test.”

“Field test?!? You mean... you want me to hypnotize someone?!?” she said, blushing deeply. “I... um... n-no... no way. I couldn’t... I wouldn’t even know how to begin! I’d screw it up, and—”

“Patty, calm yourself,” Zeb said gently. More of a suggestion than an actual command, but the still hypnotized woman interpreted as such. “Now... trust me on this. You’ll do fine. You have the knowledge in your head. And I am reasonably sure that you have the talent and skill. The only thing you are truly missing is confidence.”

“Confidence?”

“Yes. Confidence is key. You might say it is the secret fuel that empowers a Hypnotist,” he quipped. “Hypnotizing someone is always a battle of wills, yours against your opponent’s. If you can break their will, make them doubt themselves, then the battle is yours. For that, you need to be supremely confident, in yourself, and in your skills. If you can convince your subject that they cannot resist you, then they won’t.”

“Really? It’s that simple?” she asked, doubtful.

“With most mundanes, yes, it’s that simple. Hypnotizing another Hypnotist, on the other hand,” he stated, “that’s where it gets a bit more tricky. It is still a battle of wills, but your opponent will have the same mindset as you, supremely confident in his or her superiority over you. Then it’s a question of who can outlast the other. Strength, endurance, skill, training, experience, and determination—they all play a part. But as the saying goes... any hypnotist can beat any other hypnotist. It just depends on the circumstances.” He turned then, pointing at a young black woman a few feet away, talking on her phone. “For now, we need someone for you to hypnotize. I pick her.”

Patty grimaced slightly. The woman in question was tall and rather heavyset, and very boisterous from the way she was speaking on the phone. She seemed like the type of person most likely to balk at being hypnotized, and would definitely resist. Worse, she looked like the type that might even resort to physical violence if she thought Patty was trying to take advantage of her. She glanced up at Zeb, only to see his face set, emotionless, waiting. Yeah... I get it. This is a test, she thought grimly. Okay, fine. You’re my friend and a True Hypnotist. I’m counting on you to come to my rescue if this all goes sideways...

“Here,” he said as she moved to approach the woman talking on her phone. “Try using this as your focus,” he said, handing Patty a very expensive-looking diamond and emerald necklace. She gaped at him. He shrugged. “You never know when you’ll need something pretty to distract someone before putting them into a hypnotic trance,” he explained. Grinning, she pocketed the necklace and approached the young black woman.

The woman spied her walking up, but turned away, focusing on her phone call. Frowning, Patty cleared her voice loudly, then again when the woman didn’t respond. Finally, she tapped her on the shoulder, causing the woman to whirl around. “WHAT?!?” she hissed, glaring down at the shorter brunette.

“Excuse me, I just wanted to ask you a question,” Patty said, calmly, despite her stomach doing flip flops. Act and portray calm even if you don’t feel calm, she told herself. Or, as the kids say these days, fake it ‘til you can make it. The black woman scowled back at her, clearly not impressed.

“Can’t you see that I’m on the phone?” she snapped before glancing away. “Rude, much?” she muttered before placing the phone back to her ear. “Yeah, yeah, Monique, it’s nothing, just some crazy white chick... anyway, as I was sayin’...” Unperturbed, Patty tapped her on the shoulder again, causing the woman to whirl around again. “Goddammit, bitch, what the FUCK do you want?!?”

Patty, meanwhile, had already figured out her approach in her head. “I was just about to ask if you lost some jewelry,” she said evenly. “A really expensive diamond and emerald necklace.” That, she noted, got the woman’s attention. “I found it in the grass over there near where my friend and I were playing chess, and I thought maybe you dropped it and didn’t notice it.”

“Hey, Monique? Yeah, I’m gonna have to call you back,” the woman said, hanging up the phone, now giving Patty her complete attention. “So you said you found a necklace?” she asked again.

“Yes, this one,” Patty replied smoothly, withdrawing the hypnotic focus from her pocket, holding it up to the woman, letting it dangle and sparkle as it slowly drifted side to side. “This necklace. Tell me, is it yours?”

Eyes wide in shock, the woman nodded eagerly. “O-oh! Y-yeah, that’s it, that’s the one,” she said, reaching for it... only to grunt as Patty pulled away, dangling the necklace just out of reach. “Hey! Give it to me!” she snarled.

“Not so fast! I need to make sure this is actually YOUR necklace after all. I mean, did you even look at it?” she said, her voice dropping into a lower softer tone to emphasize the words. “I mean, REALLY look at it... stare at it deeply... to make sure it’s yours? You need to be sure, after all...”

The woman frowned, peering at the necklace, eyes tracking it as it shifted slightly, back and forth back and forth. “Uh-huh... I’m sure it’s mine,” she said, staring intently. “So... so you can... you can give it to me now...”

“Oh, but you’d HAVE to do better than that,” Patty replied smoothly. Amazingly, once she’d started the induction, everything had just seemed to fall into place. She didn’t just know the right things to say, she felt them, flowing up out of her from somewhere deep inside her. She was acutely aware of the woman’s state, the way her voice fluctuated, the way her eyes were wide and unfocused... down to the slight trembling in her hands and fingers as her muscles began to relax and go limp. “After all, if this was yours.. you would at least know how many diamonds there are on this strand. So... perhaps you should count them... just to make sure...”

“Umm... yeah... counting... the diamonds,” the woman murmured, head lolling slightly. “No, wait. Why would I—” she started to protest only to be cut off.

“Oh, but if that’s too hard, then I’ll help you count them,” Patty stated confidently, slowly moving the necklace closer, the sparkling stones taking up all of the woman’s vision. “See? Count them with me. One... two... three... four... five... six... oh, but this one is an emerald, isn’t it? Better start over then. One... two... three...”

“Four... five,” the woman counted dimly, glazed over eyes still locked to the necklace. “Six?” she continued, sounding unsure and confused.

But Patty shook her head. “No... it looks like you’re having trouble counting again. You poor dear. You’re just so relaxed right now... so tired... so sleepy and confused... but that’s fine. That’s perfectly fine. I’ll help you again. I’ll count for you. You just need to listen and follow along. You can do that, can’t you? Just relax... and listen. Let yourself drift... while I count down for you.” Her smile turned slightly sinister and predatory; she had her victim right where she wanted her. “Let’s see... there’s ten... nine...eight... seven,” she began, eyes flashing a brilliant emerald green.

“Nnn... no... wait... feel weird...” the woman managed, eyes fluttering. “Wha... what are... doing.. to me...”

“Shhh... just listen,” Patty said calmly, “it’s almost over. Six... five.. four... three...”

“Nnnnoooo... staahhpp... pleeaase...”

“Two... one.” Patty finished, nodding in satisfaction. “Now... SLEEP!” she commanded sharply, eyes flashing again as she willed her subject to submit.

“Guhhh... sleep... uhnnn...” the woman managed softly, before slumping over, nearly falling over before being caught by Zeb. Nodding to Patty, he gave her a smile. She’d done extremely well for her first time, against a truly challenging and resistant subject. He’d hoped Patty would succeed, had been ready to step in, in case the woman managed to break free and cause trouble, but gratefully, he hadn’t needed to do so. The girl had mentioned an almost rabid interest in her youth, after all. She’d no doubt done a lot of research and study, possibly even practiced inductions herself. Yes... definitely a bit too good at this for a complete and total novice, even a natural. Looks like I chose correctly...

For her part, Patty felt ecstatic! She’d actually done it! She’d hypnotized someone. The arrogant, pissy little bitch that had been so rude to her earlier was now completely in her power. A sudden rush of arousal swept through her, and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning aloud. Fuck! if it feels this good to hypnotize someone against their will, I’m surprised Zeb doesn’t do this all the time!

“So, I think that proves that you have the gift,” Zeb stated, nodding to her. “So, Mistress Patricia, you have hypnotized your first victim. She’s completely open and keyed to your voice, your wishes. Of course, that’s just the first step,” he pointed out, gesturing to the entranced woman. “She’s in a light trance... but her will has yet to be squashed. She could still resist, or wake up at any time. You’ll need to deepen her trance... take her down deep enough so that she is unable to resist your will. Can you do that?”

Patty nodded, feeling a surge of confidence. “Y-yeah. I got this. I’ve read all about deepening and conditioning a person in my college classes. I’ve got the basic idea down.”

Zeb nodded. “Good. Then I’ll let you continue... and give you some pointers if you have any trouble.” His help and advice turned out to be unnecessary, however. As with her induction, Patty was quite gifted as a hypnotist. She soon had the irksome young woman properly deepened and prepared, leaving no room for misinterpretation, no loopholes that she might exploit. He was honestly impressed—the girl’s technique was far better than he had expected.

“Okay, she’s ready,” he interjected after a while. “I’d say she is fully deepened now. You can make her do whatever you want. So... what do you want her to do first?”

Patty considered briefly. “I want her to strip,” she answered immediately. “You hear me, bitch? You must obey my every command. Strip now! Take off all of your clothes!” Zeb glanced at Patty, eyebrow raised but said nothing.

“Uhhn... strip? I... n-no... n-not... strip... outside...” the woman protested weakly, even as her hands began to rise.

“Yes, you WILL strip for me,” Patty cut in smoothly, unperturbed. “You are deeply hypnotized, slave. You cannot resist. You can only obey. You MUST obey! Now... strip!”

“Yes... I must... obey...” the woman replied dimly, hands moving to unbutton and discard her clothing. For her part, the black woman was rather attractive, at least physically. Hefty full c-cupped breasts, with thick pink nipples, ample hips, and a large plushy butt, all added up to make a very alluring figure. Long straight black hair cascading halfway down her back completed the look. Her bare feet were a bit larger and wide, her toes unpainted, but all in all, well-cared for, Zeb noted with approval.

Patty, too, noted the woman’s form with a surprising hunger; she was, admittedly so, straight as an arrow. She’d never felt any sexual attraction for the fairer sex before. And yet... the idea of dominating this woman, of having her crawl across the ground to kiss and lick her feet before commanding her to eat her pussy, had her so turned on she could barely stand it! Before she could command her new slave to do just that, however, Zeb spoke up again.

“I am assuming by your choice to have her strip naked here in the middle of the park,” he stated blandly, “that you intend to humiliate and punish your new slave for the way she acted earlier?”

Patty blinked, glancing around sheepishly. She’d been so caught up in having enslaved another woman that she’d forgotten all about her surroundings. There were several people walking around the area, though none of them had glanced in their direction as of yet. “Um... I... er,” she stammered, blushing slightly. “Sorry... I guess I got a bit carried away,” she admitted.

“Don’t apologize,” Zeb said, surprising her. “You’re a True Hypnotist now. You’re a Mistress. You can do whatever you want... for the most part,” he added with a smirk. “You still have a lot to learn, of course. And this woman was an easy test—there are far harder ones out there, other subjects, as well as other Hypnotists. You need mentoring. Teaching.” He sighed softly. “But for your first time... this was exceptional. As for the aftermath, yes, making a woman strip naked here in public would undoubtedly cause you some trouble and shine a lot of attention on you... but in the end, it’s nothing that you couldn’t fix. If the police showed up, you need only wait until you are alone with them, then hypnotize them the way you did this girl. The same with anyone else who becomes a problem for you.” He shrugged. ”It is how many of other True Hypnotists starting out learned... by trial and error. Of course,” he added with a grin, “it is generally better to think and plan out your actions beforehand to avoid trouble if possible.”

“Heh heh... yes... you make a good point,” she agreed. “So, uh... what should we do, then?”

“I’d suggest that we continue this somewhere more... private. Have her gather up her clothes, and our belongings, and let’s get her loaded up in my car. We can finish this properly back at my apartment. And we can talk further about your... education.”

“Huh. So... um... nice place you have here, Zeb,” Patty remarks sometime later, glancing around the small one-bedroom apartment. On their trip across town, he had removed the compulsions to call him Master, obey his commands, and answer all his questions honestly. “Nice and... homey.”

Zeb shrugged. “It’s small, but it’s all I require for the moment. I am looking into finding a much larger place, but until then, this is where I reside.” He gestured to the sofa. “Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you care for anything to eat or drink?”

“No, thanks, I’m good,” she said, with a grin, sitting down. “So... about her,” she began, gesturing to the naked black woman standing idly in the corner staring ahead blankly.

“Ah, yes. Well, first of all, if you truly wish to humiliate and dominate your new slave, you’ll want her aware and alert. You’ll want to wake her from her trance... AFTER you’ve given her a bunch of commands and compulsions to follow, of course. If you wish, you could simply use her as she is,” he added, “but time and awareness basically stop for a person under deep hypnosis. So she wouldn’t know what occurred to her while she was entranced unless you specifically tell her to remember it.”

“Oh, right... like you did to me,” Patty nodded. “Got it. Um... any suggestions on what commands to give her?”

“A basic one is to simply obey your instructions,” he pointed out. “That even when she is awake and aware she still has to obey you without hesitation.” He grinned. “Another good step is that she cannot talk or move at all unless you give your permission. Most people waking up to find themselves in such a situation tend to get very angry and violent unless you take precautions.” He ran a hand lightly along his chin in memory, to the small scar hidden mostly by his goatee. It was a definite reminder of what could happen when you weren’t prepared.

Hmph. And she was a lot faster than I’d anticipated as well. Just thankful I’d had Shari with me at the time, else she might have cut more than just my chin...

“Huh. Good point,” Patty murmured. “I was thinking earlier that she might be the kind of person to use her fists rather than her words. So, any other tips?”

“That should do, for now, I think,” Zeb replied. “Keep it simple for now. The fact that she has to obey anything you tell her covers a lot of ground and allows you to add or make changes as you think of them later. But I would suggest one last thing—a trigger phrase.”

“Trigger phrase?”

“You know, a word or phrase that you can speak to put her back into trance again, instead of going through the whole process of hypnotizing her again from scratch.”

Patty nodded. That made sense. Honestly, she would have likely figured it out in time, with trial and error, but she felt extremely glad to have Zeb to help her figure things out. I hope it continues, she thought to herself as she approached her hypnotized slave. He told me a bit about his grandmother, and how she trained him. It sounded... kind of rough, actually, but it apparently seemed to have worked. And... he’s a really nice guy. I hope I can convince him to stay on and be my mentor...

Commands implanted, Patty woke her slave, going back into Mistress mode, forcing her expression back to calm and composed as the dark-skinned woman slowly regained her awareness. “Uhhh... wha... what? WHAT?!” she suddenly yelled, glancing down at herself. “WHAT THE FUCK? WHERE THE HELL ARE MY MOTHERFUCKING CLOTHES?!?” she screamed.

“Quiet!” Mistress Patty barked at her, causing the woman to blink in shock. “From now on when you speak, you will speak in a quiet and respectful tone, got it, slave?” she asked, smirking.

“What the fuck did you call me, bitch?” the woman asked, eye going wide at her soft, bland, voice. “What the... why am I talking like this?” She grunted, scowling. “And why can’t I move?”

“You’ve been hypnotized,” Patty replied, holding up the diamond and emerald necklace from before. “Remember this? This necklace that you lied about claimed was yours? I used it to put you in a hypnotic trance. You’re now my obedient hypnotized slave,” she told her with supreme delight.

“Uh uh. Bullshit,” the woman stated. “That shit is fake. Everyone knows that. And I ain’t nobody’s slave, bitch. My name is LaWanda. Call me a slave again, and I will fucking cut you,” she said softly.

Unable to help herself Patty burst out into laughter. “Oh, man! That is soo... adorable!” she laughed, to the woman’s continued fury. “Your words might be a lot more intimidating if you weren’t kneeling there, naked... whispering them like a scared mouse.” The woman growled, hands clenching into fists. “But putting that aside for now... you claim that hypnosis is bullshit... and that you’re NOT a slave? Alright then... let’s test that.” Shifting her position slightly, Patty toed off her sandals, one after another, revealing her bare feet. “Crawl over here, slave, and kiss my feet. Worship them... kiss and suck my toes as if you were in love with them.”

“Hell no! No fuckin way I am doing that to your nasty ass fee... aaahh! Fuck!” she cried out in alarm, as she began crawling on her hands and knees. “H-how?!? How are you doing this?” she asked, eyes going wide, as she found her head lowering down, moving closer to Patty’s pretty size sixes. “No! NO! Stop! Don’t make me... mmmmmpphhh!”

“Hahahahahaha! Yesss!” Patty cheered in glee, as her brainwashed slaveslut began enthusiastically worshipping her feet. “Yes! Just like that, slut,” she teased, wiggling her toes, giggling a bit in ticklish distress from that tongue teasing between them. “Ohh! Ohohohoho... mmm.... either you must really like my ‘nasty ass feet’,” she taunted the woman, “or you’re an obedient slave that does as her Mistress commands her. So... which one is it?”

LaWanda groaned, tears starting to fall as she enveloped the dominant young white girl’s toes, sucking long and hard on them against her will. She felt completely humiliated. As unbelievable as it seemed, she really had been hypnotized. She had no control whatever over her actions. Every part of her wanted to stand up and punch this skinny little slut in her face... to knock her on her ass and stomp her into the goddamn ground! Instead, she was the one groveling on the ground, worshipping the girl’s feet, sucking on every toe as if it were a miniature cock getting her very best blowjob.

Patty laughed again, feeling flush and aroused all over again. Dominating this woman was turning her on so much that she wanted to... no, needed to, get off. Walking back to the couch, she sat down, delighted to see LaWanda crawling to follow her without being told, and resume kissing her bare feet once she settled into place. “Okay, enough of that for now,” she said, raising a foot to push the naked woman back. “Tell me, LaWanda... are you into girls? Sexually, I mean?”

“No... I ain’t no lesbo freak.”

“Me either,” Patty replied, frowning slightly as she scooted forward, reaching down to lift the hems of her dress, and slide down her panties. “Though I don’t really like that term. I happen to have friends who are lesbians.” She smirked, sliding her panties all the way down to her feet, before stepping out of them. “I’ve never really had an interest in other women that way. I’m definitely a fan of the cock.” Her smirk widened. “However... with you, I think I’ll make an exception. Your next job, slave—make me cum! Eat my pussy, stick that tongue up inside my fucking slit, and lick me until I cover your face with my fucking juices!”

LaWanda looked up at her in horror. “No! Please! Don’t make me do this!” she pleaded. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Don’t ma—mmmmmpphh!” her protests again shut off as her body obeyed, slamming her into place between Patty’s thighs.

Zeb watched idly, smiling in appreciation. The newly minted ‘Mistress’ Patricia was very much enjoying herself, taking to the hypnodomme role like a fish to water. It’s always interesting seeing this play out. Gram Gram always said that women tend to make the most aggressive and vindictive Dommes... and I guess she was right. Patty is showing her no mercy! Still, it was actually a pleasant surprise; he’d known instinctively from the moment he’d met her that there was something special about her. It was nice having someone he could help guide and assist in her growth as a True Hypnotist, even as he continued to grow and make his own way. Best of all, he now had a firm friend in the community, someone he could talk with and share things with, and an ally in case he needed help.

Of course, she’s only just starting out, he chided himself, as he opened his laptop, checking his job requests on the server. It’ll take a while before she’s got the experience and confidence to be truly useful as a partner. But I don’t mind helping her. He smiled at that. It’s a nice way to pay forward my Gram Gram’s teachings... and it furthers her legacy a bit more, just like she always wanted. His smile faded, however, as he noticed a particular job listing. Hmmm... time-sensitive huh? And all the way in Twin Falls... a nice two-hour drive time just to get to the site. He glanced at the completion time. Hmmm... just enough time to get packed, study the Intel and mission parameters, and head out... but I should just be able to make it.

“YES! YESS! OOHHH GAWWDD DAMN YEESSSSS!” Patty shrieked in pleasure as her slaveslut succeeded in bringing her off. Zeb chuckled.

“Well, it seems as if you are getting on swimmingly,” he remarked, “unfortunately I’ve had something come up rather suddenly. Another of those ‘jobs’ I alluded to. I will need to leave shortly.”

“Awwww,” Patty replied, sitting up, pushing LaWanda’s face away from her oversensitive pussy. “I was just getting warmed up. I was hoping you and I could double-team the bitch.”

Zeb laughed again, completely ignoring the stricken look on LaWanda’s face. “It does sound like fun... but I’m afraid this job is time-sensitive. I’ll need to leave soon. You, however, are more than welcome to stick around as long as you want.”

“Ah, no,” Patty sighed. “I should probably get back home myself. I have a few errands I need to do, as always. But... I am hoping that we could... continue our lessons again soon?” she asked, hopefully.

“Mistress Patricia,” he said formally, “are you asking me to be your mentor?”

Patty nodded. “Yes, I am. Er... Master Zebediah,” she replied back. Smiling, he extended a hand, and she shook it.

“Then I accept. From now on, consider yourself my apprentice. I shall endeavor to teach you everything I know.” He paused, considering. “Incidentally, Apprentice-Mistress Patricia... LaWanda is your slave, and thus yours to do with as you please. And far be it for any Master or Mistress to dictate to another on what to do with their own slave...”

“But?” Patty prompted him. “You’re my teacher now, right? I trust your judgment. No need to sugarcoat it. Just tell me what you think I should do.”

“I think you should release the girl,” he stated with a sigh. LaWanda glanced over at him in stunned surprise. “Erase her memories of all of this, drop her back off at the park or somewhere nearby, and let her go, free and clear.” Patty frowned slightly at that. “You didn’t really mean to keep her after all,” he pointed out, continuing. “She was a spur-of-the-moment pick. And we only brought her back here for you to get your revenge on her for acting like a damned cunt to you in the park. But keeping her long-term would cause complications. Nothing you couldn’t deal with, I’m sure... but complications nonetheless. In short, it would be more trouble than she’s worth.”

Patty sighed heavily, nodding. As always, the man made a lot of sense. A strong part of her rebelled at the thought of letting her slave—my slave, mine!—go, but Zeb was right. She hadn’t exactly sought her out or anything, Zeb was the one that had picked her for the test. And Patty had most certainly gotten her revenge on the little slut. She was more than satisfied and sated for the moment.

If anything, she felt somewhat surprised, looking back at it now... surprised that she’d reacted so aggressively towards the other woman. And strangely, she didn’t feel any guilt or remorse for humiliating and dominating her that way. Huh. That’s... that’s strange. I wouldn’t have thought of myself as being some heartless unfeeling kind of woman... and I still don’t. Not really. But... I feel no empathy for this woman at all.

“All right, you win,” she said, peering down at the kneeling slave. “Just so you know, you owe your freedom completely to that man. If it were simply up to me, you’d spend the rest of your life on your hands and knees, kissing my feet.” LaWanda glared back at her but wisely kept her mouth shut. “Caliente,” she said clearly, nodding as the dark-skinned woman slipped instantly back into trance again.

Damn... that is so fucking hot! she mused to herself, pulling out her phone to call an uber. I could really get used to this lifestyle. She chuckled softly to herself. I might have to find someone to... practice my newfound skills on after I drop off this bitch...

When Zeb returned from his bedroom a few minutes later carrying a black duffel bag, he was alone. Nodding, he tapped a few keys from his laptop, then printed out the relevant information. A quick conference call with the client to confirm the details, and he was driving down the Interstate, heading for Twin Falls. This should be an interesting one, he thought to himself, as he slid onto the onramp. A simple snatch and grab, really... go to a warehouse being guarded by a private security company and retrieve the hard drive being stored there. The onsite security is the problem. Apparently, the client hired two others to try and infiltrate the warehouse, and both of them were caught. So now the site is on high alert.

Hence the need for a hypnotist, apparently. The security company guarding the hard drive was top-notch, all of them with military training. And the site itself was set in a lone isolated patch of land with a large fence surrounding it. That made things troublesome from the beginning. Having glanced at satellite photos of the area, he had decided to park his SUV a few hundred yards away from the site and hike the rest of the way on foot, lessening the chance of someone spotting his vehicle approaching.

Parking, Zeb gathered up his gear, frowning a bit as he considered. Hmmm. Probably not the hat and cape, he decided, removing them and leaving them in the trunk, slipping on a balaclava instead. Flashy and memorable were not exactly the best choice for a stealth mission. Satisfied, he checked his watch, marking the time: ten o’clock pm. The buyer for the hard drive is scheduled to arrive precisely at midnight. That gives me two hours. Better get moving...

Sprinting across the rough ground, grass, and sand, he arrived at the fence in a little less than ten minutes. Crouching down, he extended his senses, scanning the area, spotting the life signatures of... twelve guards? Grunting, he considered his strategy again. The guards were spread out about the compound, some stationary, some moving. All of them appeared to be carrying radios, from what he could see, as well as semi-automatic rifles. Most vexing of all, their patrols kept them all basically within sight of each other and the warehouse, meaning it would be next to impossible to sneak past all of them.

Which means I’ll have to neutralize every single guard one by one, he mused wearily. Which was troublesome, but doable. The biggest concern was, again, the time constraint. He would have to subdue and entrance every member of the security team before approaching the warehouse, lest he chance one of the unconverted noticing the unscheduled entrance. And, of course, there was the fact that he needed Intel on the inside of the warehouse. The client’s information in that respect had been practically non-existent, and he didn’t like the idea of simply walking in blind.

Sighing inwardly, he focused his mind and began using one of the methods his Gram Gram had taught him to decrease his aura. This served to make his presence easily ignored. While he was not actually invisible, with his presence diminished a person could stare directly at him and not consciously register him as being there. A useful technique, but taxing to maintain for a long period of time. Virtually invisible, he made his way towards the first sentry, coming up behind him. Refocusing his energies into hypnotizing the guard rendered him visible again, prompting him to strike quickly.

“Huh? Wha—” the sentry said, suddenly aware of someone behind him. He managed a half-turn, only to gasp, staggering on his feet as a series of precise touches and jabs to the back, side and neck turned off his conscious mind, dispersing his thought processes. He stood in place, staring blankly, as his assailant calmly whispered instructions into his ear.

“Listen and obey. When I touch you again, you will awaken with no member or knowledge of having been hypnotized. You will continue on your patrol as normal for the rest of the night, however, you will completely ignore any disturbance or intruder sightings. To your mind, the night passed uneventfully with no problems.” Satisfied, Zeb touched the man’s neck again, and decreased his aura once again, vanishing from sight.

“Carlos? Hey Carlos?” a voice sounded through the radio. The sentry frowned, picking it up, answering it.

“Yeah, Tom, what is it?”

“Just checking man. You kind of staggered there for a minute and just stood there like you were asleep on your feet. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied with a yawn. “Just taking a minute to stretch. Geez... you should relax too,” he muttered, clicking off his radio, hanging it back on his vest. “Not as if anything is happening tonight anyway. You’d have to be crazy to try and sneak into a place like this...”

One by one, Zeb repeated the process, having to pause now and again as the guards shifted position, or made routine checks on each other. It was actually quite impressive; if not for his particular skill set, he doubted he could have accomplished it. Even so, he was hard-pressed to see it through, using so much of his energy to stay hidden, then instant touch inductions, before resuming his cloak again, had him feeling seriously drained. Nearing the last sentry, one seated atop a high guard tower, he had to pause and take a brief rest, slipping into a shadowy section to catch his breath.

Hmm... oh my! Is it truly that late? Zeb thought grimly, checking his watch a few minutes later. Eleven thirty-eight. Damn. Just about twenty minutes left. This took a lot longer than I’d planned. I’d best hurry and take down this last guard then question him about the warehouse. Taking a deep breath he stepped out and moved quietly towards the ladder leading up to the top of the guard tower. Unfortunately, at his first step, the old wood let out a loud creak, instantly catching the sentry’s attention.

“What? Who’s there?” he called out, glancing down, holding a Glock .22 with one hand, flashlight in the other. Cursing silently, short on time, Zeb went for expediency, thrusting a hand towards him, chanting softly.

“Adhuc quasi lapis,” he incanted, going with a familiar cantrip, freezing the guard in place while he hurried up the ladder. Grabbing the frozen man by the arm, he completed the job, placing him into a deep and obedient trance, then sighed, sagging down briefly, momentarily dizzy. “Well... this has been more... of a workout.., than I expected,” he murmured giddily, shaking his head. He glanced at his watch again. “And nothing like a fast-approaching deadline to keep things interesting.” Sighing, he turned his attention back to the man. “Listen closely, and obey. You will answer my questions truthfully. What is the layout of the warehouse housing the hard drive? Describe it in detail.”

“Yes, sir,” the man droned. “It is a large empty space, approximately forty feet by sixty feet. Originally used for storing machine parts, the racks were all removed and cleared out, with only a single five by two rack in the center holding the hard drive which is surrounded by armed guards. There is only one entrance, located at the front of the building, that requires an active integrated ID card.”

“I see,” Zeb mused. “And how many armed guards are there on the inside.”

“One hundred.”

Zeb blinked. “What did you say?” he asked, unsure if he’d heard correctly.

“There are one hundred armed guards inside the warehouse,” the sentry repeated. “After the previous two attempts, the buyer requested an excessive amount of redundant guards to ensure no possible chance of anyone slipping past them to reach the merchandise.”

“One hundred guards...” Zeb murmured incredulously. “Just... brilliant.”

This was a problem. He had expected some resistance, knowing he might very well have to fight his way through a group of armed soldiers. He had extensive fight training, leaving him confident in his ability to hold his own in a fight. He’d trained in fighting multiple targets at once, and while he could handle four or five armed assailants at a time, any more would be beyond him. Facing down ten well-trained and armed soldiers was definitely unrealistic. Twenty-five was unthinkable. But one hundred... it was utterly in the realm of impossibility.

Damn! There has to be something, he thought furiously, his clever mind running through various strategies. While he was, technically, able to hypnotize multiple people at once, the most he’d ever managed at a time was three people... and it had taken nearly two minutes to put them under. A hundred people in one shot? Only my Gram Gram could manage something like that... or perhaps the Archdomina, he mused dimly. I can’t cloak myself and hypnotize someone at the same time. And the moment one of their group goes down, the rest of them will know they’ve been infiltrated. He sighed in frustration. No matter how I approach it there is no way to take out that many people at one time. And it’s over the moment they see me...

But... what if they couldn’t see me?

Zeb’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. “Tell me, slave,” he demanded, glancing down at the warehouse, “is there a power junction box, or electric breakers, for the warehouse?”

“Yes, sir. It is located just along the western side of the building.”

Zeb nodded, a plan taking form. “Excellent. Now, listen closely. This is what you are going to do...”

Grant Sutherland glanced up sharply as the door opened. He and his men stepped to attention, one hand on his rifle in reflex even as the familiar face of sentry Simon Maxwell stepped inside. “Just me, Grant,” he said, waving a hand. “Just checking in to make sure everything’s still okay in here. The buyer is only fifteen minutes out.”

“We’re all set in here,” Grant replied, the others nodding silently. “We’re all just on alert and ready for this deal to be completed.”

“Heh. Yeah,” one of the men behind him muttered aloud. “So we can get our paycheck and get the hell outta here. Talk about a boring waste of time...”

“What Sam means to say,” Grant cut in, his tone sharp, “is that even though we all think having us all here to guard a simple box is beyond overkill, we’re professionals, and we’ll stay alert until the job is done.”

Simon nodded. “Good enough. As I said, they’re fifteen minutes away. Soon as the transfer is made, we can all get out of here.” Satisfied, he turned and left, the door sealing closed behind him.

Zeb watched idly from the nearby empty corner, hidden by the shadows, his presence decreased and virtually unnoticeable. He’d snuck in behind the guard, Simon, slipping unseen into the corner, taking a moment to study the layout of the room. A fairly large empty space, it was somewhat crowded by the sheer number of bodies occupying it. In the center, however, he spotted his prize—the hard drive his client needed him to retrieve. Glancing at his watch, he sighed softly, clearing and focusing his mind. He was ready. All he needed now was to wait for the perfect moment to strike—

Bzzzt! Tccchhhnnngghhh

“Huh? Waahh... the lights?”

“What the fuck?”

“Aahhh! Can’t see shit!”

Now.

Just the moment he’d been awaiting. Third eye open, Zeb sprinted forward from his hiding spot, striking out and subduing the first guard before he’d even known he was being attacked. The second and third went down just as easily, Zeb striking vital spots in their necks and chest, preventing them from crying out. Fourth, fifth, and sixth went down just as silently, however, the absence of light had made the other soldiers begin to panic. “Hey! HEY! Quiet down, everyone!” the commander, Grant, barked. “Stay calm. It’s just a power outage. You’re professionals, act like it—”

“AHHH! What the fuck, someone just bumped into me!” a random soldier called out.

“Hey, Cap, there’s someone fucking in here with us!” another soldier called out.

Zeb sighed inwardly. It was only a matter of time before someone had figured it out. Throwing caution to the wind, he decided to go full rampage, attacking soldiers left and right, taking full advantage of his spiritual vision to locate each member of the enemy team. Precision strikes with fists, knees, elbows, and feet sent down four more guards, bringing his total number to twenty, though the rough treatment caused many of his victims to cry out in pain as they were neutralized.

“Fuck! We’re being hit!” Grant yelled, drawing back, reaching for the flashlight on his vest. “Everyone stay calm and—”

“Fuck that! Aaaaarhhh!” a soldier yelled out suddenly, as automatic gunfire rang out. Several people screamed and more gunshots rang out.

“STOP FIRING YOU GODDAMN FUCKERS!” Grant yelled, switching on his flashlight. “Calm your asses down, or you dumbasses will just end up shooting each other! Use your damned flashlights!”

A bit of mumbling sounded, and several bright beams of light burst into view. “Oh... oh fuck!” one of the men near Grant hissed, shaking his head. “Are you fuckin’ seeing this, Cap? That’s like... half our guys, taken out in just a few seconds!”

“Forty-seven, by my count,” Zeb spoke up from behind them, causing the remaining men to jerk around wildly. “But to be fair, I only took out about twenty. The rest of them you and your friends cut down by shooting in a panic.”

“FUCK!” Sam yelled out, drawing his pistol, firing square at the intruder... only to growl in frustration as the black-clad man suddenly disappeared into thin air. “Shit! Shit! You see that, Cap? Some kind of fuckin’ ninja!”

“Calm! Down!” Grant barked. “All of you!” He let out a sigh of his own. Truth be told, he was just as freaked out as his men, just holding it in better. “You all saw. It’s just one guy. He’s using the goddamn darkness to his advantage. Just use your flashlights and your goddamn brains, and we’ll all be fine!”

Suddenly a loud cry sounded from the left side, and two soldiers collapsed, slumping unconscious to the ground. Grant himself felt a sudden push, as several men on his right side suddenly collided with him, causing him to stumble back. “Aaahh! Fuck! Back off and spread out!” he yelled, drawing back to keep from getting tangled up in the crowd. When the noise died down, and the lights spanned the area, six more men had fallen.

“Oh, to hell with this!” Sam growled, gun out, stomping his way back towards the main door. “I’m not going down inside this shithole... not like this!”

“Sam! Get back over here!” Grant yelled after him as he stepped out of the illuminated area. “You can’t get outside that way. The fucking door’s electronically sealed—you can’t open it with the power off!” Silence. “Sam? SAM!” Nothing. “Goddamit Sam, say something!”

Sam suddenly stepped back into the light, a blank dazed look on his face. “Sorry. Sam is not here at the moment.” he said in a creepy weird monotone, “but you can leave a message at the sound of the beep,” he stated, slowly raising his gun, pointing it towards the remaining soldiers. “Beep!” he stated as he shot, hitting a random soldier in the leg. “Beep!” he said, firing again at another before one of the remaining soldiers shot back in return, taking him down.

Grant drew back, panting loudly, sweating. It felt as if he had suddenly entered a nightmare. He’d been briefed on the previous two attempts, that a thief had attempted to steal the hard drive first, and then someone thought to have been a ‘True Hypnotist’ for the second attempt. Both times, they had been caught and executed. When the owner had requested the additional security to guard the case, he had scoffed at the idea. A hundred men in a closed room guarding a single metal case? Ridiculous. With only one way in and one way out, not even an armed unit with riot gear would be able to get past them. Yeah, a hundred men had seemed like a total waste of time, money, and resources.

Now, facing down this man, this... shadow... Grant found himself wishing they’d asked for twice as many.

Tcccchhiinnnggg!

Suddenly, the darkness vanished, as the lights flickered, then came back strong.

Zeb, panting slightly, stepped back as the soldier he’d just disabled slipped silently to the ground. Huh. I told the sentry to wait three minutes then turn the lights back on again. Guess I overestimated my prowess a wee bit, he thought ruefully, glancing around at the four soldiers still standing.

“Fuck,” Grant breathed, glancing around in disbelief, seeing all the bodies lying on the ground. Spotting the intruder, he dropped his flashlight and drew his pistol, as well as a large serrated knife. “Nice. Real fucking nice,” he said, as his men all moved slowly forward, repositioning to surround him. “Well played. Cutting the power that way. Attacking us in the dark. Using confusion and panic to let us whittle our own numbers down for you.” He glanced sidelong at his second in command, lying groaning on the ground, and frowned. “Not sure what you did to Sam there,” he added with obvious distaste, “but that also left quite an impression. But... now you’re done. You ran out of time. And me and my guys are going to pay you back for all of our brothers you slaughtered!”

Zeb shook his finger at the man, tsking loudly. “Ah, not so. Despite how gruesome some of your men look, I can assure you that none of them are dead. Even the ones your people shot are still alive... at least for the moment.” Grant blinked at that admission. “I’m not one to take a life unnecessarily,” he explained. “And I’m not without mercy, either. You and your friends agree to throw down your weapons and surrender peacefully, and no one else needs to get hurt.”

The other men laughed openly. “Haha! You hear that, Cap? He’s unarmed, surrounded on all four sides, and telling us to surrender!” Grant, however. took a moment to truly study his adversary. Tall, slim, toned, and fit, he stood with comfortable ease, his posture loose, without the slightest bit of tension. This was a man who was completely unconcerned about the four armed men holding guns at his head. Evidently, he felt supremely confident that they were no threat to him at all, Which meant the man was either crazy... or far more dangerous than they could possibly imagine.

“Okay, ninja man,” the first guard grunted, stepping forward. “you’re coming with m—”

Later on, when asked, Grant would say that he was still unsure exactly what had happened. The moment Rick’s hand had reached out to grab the black-clad man from behind, the ninja has just... exploded into action. Faster than his eyes could track, the man had moved, swerving somehow behind Rick, pushing him forward, already moving on towards the second gunman before Rick’s body had even begun to fall. Closing the ten-foot distance in the blink of an eye, the ninja grabbed Eddie’s arm, the hand holding the gun, and twisted, causing his hand to go slack, the gun flying free. Twisting in one fluid motion, he’d then turned, his elbow coming up, connecting with Eddie’s chin in passing, as he sprinted on towards the third soldier. Frank, having witnessed his two friends knocked out in less than a second, had barely enough time to register shock on his face before a fist connected hard to the side of his jaw, staggering him back, followed by a brutal knee to the sternum, driving the air from his lungs, and sending him to the ground as well.

An eyeblink later, Grant, the last man standing, found himself staring eye to eye with the intruder. Swallowing, he nodded slightly again. “Damn. That was...” he began. before chuckling softly. “Fuck... I don’t even know WHAT that was. You’re clearly out of my league,” he said, making a show of lowering his gun and tossing his knife. “No way I’m beating you in a fair fight.” He sighed deeply, then assumed a fighting stance, raising his fists. “Even still, I’m a professional. I was hired to guard that fucking box. So even if I ain’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of beating you, I ain’t going down without a fight.”

Zeb nodded, bowing slightly. “I can respect that. Tell me, sir... what is your name?”

“Grant Sutherland,” he answered. “Formerly Master Sergeant Sutherland of the U.S. Marine corps. Retired due to injury,” he added with a slight frown. “And you, Sir? Your name?”

Zeb grinned. “You may call me, Lonbraj-la.” He assumed a fighting stance as well. “In truth, I am not a ninja, though I have studied several of their fighting techniques.”

The fight ended in swift order. Grant Sutherland ended up facedown on the floor with his brethren, though a bit less rough around the edges than most. Reaching the metal case, Zeb opened it and removed the hard drive he’d been tasked to retrieve. Huh. Such a small thing for so much effort and trouble, he mused silently, securing it into the pack across his back. Taking out one of his calling cards, he place it into the metal case in its place, then secured and locked it tight. Heading to the door, he glanced back one last time.

Former Master Sgt. Grant Sutherland, hmm? I’ll have to remember the name. Who knows... perhaps our paths will cross again someday. Grinning, he opened the door and slipped out into the night.