DU: Endgame A-4
Back at the beginning
“How often am I supposed to feed them?” A chubby little orange fish hovered near my finger, wiggling back and forth with anticipation. Tapping on the glass was tempting, but Tara had already yelled at me twice for doing just that.
“Once a day, tops. It’s worse if you overfeed them.” She walked back into the living room and settled into the big brown easy chair. “Don’t tap! It freaks them out!”
“Hey!” I protested. “I’m not!” I watched them swim around in circles. “Who has tropical fish these days, anyway? You’re like my aunt.”
“My dad bought me that fish tank, I’ll have you know.” She picked up her glass from the coffee table and sank back into the chair. “What am I going to tell him, that I killed all of his fish? No. I expect each and every one of them to be alive when I get back. Each and every one, Paul.”
“I promise.” I took a seat in the chair across from her. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable. “Are you sure about this? Really, really sure?”
“I trust you and your skills. I’ve seen what you can do. Besides, he’s already fallen for Cassie, right? She’s my in. She sees that Avery’s into some sketchy things, and she has an incredible urge to hire you, private eye extraordinaire, to figure it out for her. We send her snooping into his affairs, she gets caught, a few days later... she’s become another zombie minion, with me riding shotgun. It’s perfff...” She paused, and let out an enormous yawn. “Ugh. Where was I?“
“Something about you being perfect,” I said. I was watching her closely now, but she barely noticed.
“Mmmm. I am pretty awesome, but this plan... we find a way to collect evi...dence...” Another yawn. “Oh, fuck. How powerful is this wine? Anyway, I want you to make sure that she messes up. Does something obvious. I want her to end up as mindless as Lacie Adams and that Michelle chick.“
“I don’t like it, Tara.” I didn’t. “What if he brainwashes you as well? Makes you a robot? Makes you tell him everything?”
“That’s the beauty of it. He won’t even know that I exist. He’ll let his guard down around her, say incriminating things he shouldn’t. And in the meantime...”
“...I keep hypnotizing her on the side, and triggering you.”
“Exactly! You know how it goes in the movies. The perfect...” A huge yawn. “... the perfect sleeper agent is one that doesn’t... doesn’t know that... she’s even... fuck, what’s... what’s... Paul?” Her eyes fluttered, and the empty glass slipped out of her hand.
I stood, ignoring her fading, pleading eyes, and took up a spot behind her. I brought up some cheesy New Age music on my phone and set it on top of the chair. Then I began to massage her limp, motionless shoulders. “Listen to the music, Tara. Listen to my voice. Relax.”
“Nnnoooo, I... I... Paul... what are...”
“Let the music relax you, Tara. Let my voice relax you. Let my hands relax you. So relaxed. So tired, and relaxed.”
“Nnnn... donnnnn...t...”
I could feel her muscles soften as she sank deeper into the chair. “My voice is so relaxing, Tara. The music is so relaxing. Your body is so, so relaxed. Your mind is so very relaxed. Let your mind drift away, free of worries, free of troubles. So relaxed. Let your eyes close, and relax. Listen to my voice, and relax. Listen to the music, and relax. Deeper. Deeper. It’s so hard to think. So tired, Tara. Relax, and let me think for you. So tired. Rest.”
“Sssss...”
The drug I slipped into the wine was an incredibly powerful narcotic that left its victims powerless and completely open to hypnotic suggestion. Created, according to the story I heard, by some Columbian drug lord’s chemist to improve on the scopolamine they had lying around. His gang members and drug smugglers turned out to be very loyal to him after that. Getting my hands on a single vial took some very questionable and dangerous decisions on my part. Not that anyone would ever know. When I was done with Tara, she wouldn’t remember a single second of this.
Her head slowly sank forward to her chest, and I let go of her shoulders. “You’re so deeply relaxed, Tara. I want you to go very deep for me. Deep into your mind. Safely inside your mind. Beyond Cassie, beyond Tara, beyond memory. Deep in your soul, Tara. I’m speaking to your soul. As you sink deeper and deeper into this relaxing trance. Deeper and deeper.”
From behind a veil of wavy blonde hair came her soft, muffled voice. “Deeper...”
“That’s right, Tara. Always so deep. Deeper and deeper.”
I’m sure that drugging and hypnotizing someone in her own apartment breaks all sorts of laws, not to mention all sorts of ethical boundaries. And here I was, fighting the urge to slip a little command in there, something like you will have an irresistible urge to sleep with Paul or you’re madly in love with Paul. Maybe both. No, this was for her own good. And she couldn’t consciously know about it. Ever. Hence the surprise.
I switched off the annoying music and whispered into her right ear. “The deepest, darkest corner of your mind. My voice compels you to obey. You will obey. Listen, and obey.”
“You will not remember being hypnotized. You will forget everything about tonight. It will not concern you. You will wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed and happy. You will forget everything that happened tonight. It is gone from your mind.”
“Gone from my mind... forget...”
I helped her to her bed, waited outside while she changed into her pajamas, then made sure that she was tucked in. “I hope it never comes to this, Tara. I’m sorry.”
“Nnnnn,” she mumbled. She rolled onto her side and pulled the sheets up to her neck. In a minute she was snoring, mouth half-open, eyelids motionless as she slipped beyond REM into deep sleep.
I said goodbye to the fish as I left. I have no idea why.
A few days ago
I had the presence of mind to slap my hand over her mouth an instant before her eyes flew open and she came back to reality. It turned out to be a great idea, because within five seconds she was trying to scream her guts out. It was also a really bad idea, because those pearly white teeth I love so much clamped down on my hand like a doggie chew toy. Over my career as a private eye, I’ve been stabbed, I’ve been grazed by bullets, and I’ve gotten the shit beaten out of me by gangsters. This was right up there on the pain-o-meter. I shut my eyes and tried to ride it out.
Oh, and the thrashing. Did I mention the thrashing? Because there was a lot of that. She squirmed and kicked and tried to free herself from my grasp. Bite, thrash, squirm, muffled scream, repeat. “Cassie,” I said slowly, trying to get as close to her ear as I could without getting a black eye. “Cassie. Wake up. You’re awake. Remember who you are. Cassie.” Thrash, squirm, muffled shout. At least my hand wasn’t being devoured now. “Shhh, shh. You remember now. Your name is Cassie DuBois. I’m your friend. You’re safe. You trust me. You remember. Remember.
The earthquake slowed to a faint aftershock, and I relinquished my hold. Her mouth closed, and I bit my lip as I slowly pulled my hand away. I fully expected a blood-curdling scream and a punch in the balls.
She took a deep breath. “Paul? What’s going on? Where am I? Why am I naked? Did you… I mean, did we? Oh my God, did we...”
“No, Cass.” I cradled my sore hand in my lap. That girl has a tremendous bite. “We didn’t. Trust me. Do you trust me?”
She nodded. Not the most convincing of nods, but good enough. “What am I doing here, Paul? The last thing I remember, I was... I was...” her voice trailed off as she tried to put the pieces together. “I was... at Avery’s house? God, it’s all so fuzzy! I was in the bedroom, and I... must’ve blacked out or something, because...” She looked up, confused. “How did I get here? What happened to my clothes?”
I took a second to gather my thoughts. “Avery Berman has been secretly hypnotizing you for weeks. He’s got you programmed to go into a hypnotic trance whenever he says certain words to you, and he makes you carry out his orders. Don’t... I’ll take questions in a moment. Just listen for now.”
Her mouth closed, and I continued. “You hired me because you thought that Avery was doing something, right? Well, that was the thing he was doing. You and I came up with a secret phrase I could use to de-hypnotize you if I ever needed to. I just used that on you.
She looked at me. God, she looked into me. Like she could read my mind. Maybe she could, because in the next moment she said, “I don’t believe you, Paul. I know you’re lying.” Her eyes scrunched just a bit. “Tell me the truth.“
God, I loved this woman. “Okay, Cassie. I will.”
I did.
Now
Ralph’s is having a sale on mangoes, two for a dollar, so I grab a couple to snack on while I wait for Cassie to arrive. For once, I’m the early one. She won’t recognize the rental car—not that I’d want her to—so it’s up to me to keep an eye out for her while I work on keeping mango bits from messing up the interior. I’m mostly successful. I could probably be more neat if my hands weren’t shaking so badly.
She finally arrives about three quarters of a mango later, pulling into the far end of the lot by the loading dock and slowly working her way on foot back towards the main entrance. She looks a lot more confident now than she sounded in the car, which I take as a good sign. I have to, really. After all, if she’s only confident because Avery’s reprogrammed her mind, we’re both toast.
I grab an empty shopping cart and wheel it towards her until it catches her attention. “Hey, Cass,” I offer. I sound more tired than I feel, which is saying something. “Let’s go shopping.”
We’re about halfway down the bread aisle before she finally says something. “So, what have I been up to? I mean... what has she been up to?” The last part comes out like an angry hiss. Ssssshhhe.
“You sound like you hate yourself, Cassie.” I make a show of picking out a loaf of bread before tossing one into the cart. Something with extra grains, I think. “That’s good to hear, actually. Means you’re still you.”
“I hate what she is right now. What’s he’s done to her. What she’s done to you and me. Anyway, I think I was on my way to Madame Franz when you called. That tells me that he’s still got me fucking the Navy guy. So yeah, I’m still me. Well...” Her eyes narrowed. “Whatever that means.”
She bends down to hoist a twelve-pack of bottled water into the cart, and because I’m incorrigible, I stare at her great ass the entire time.
Cassie ignores me and drops the whole pack into the cart with a thud. “Are you actually buying all of this stuff?”
“Probably. Even a dead man’s got to eat and drink. Especially since I’ve been living in my car these past few days chasing you around LA.”
Three packs of beef jerky land on top of the bottled water. “Here, this’ll keep. So what did I do that we need to talk about?”
“The big thing?” I add a bag of pretzels to the pile. “First thing Tara did was meet up with Megan. Used a trigger phrase to drop her, then had her follow Tara back to Avery’s place. Haven’t seen her since. She’s probably thoroughly brainwashed by now.”
“Paul! Why didn’t you...” She looked around, embarrassed at the sound of her own voice. “...bring the coupons like I asked, honey?” She gave me the sweetest smile. “You’re such a scatterbrain! Hee!” We turned the corner into a new aisle, and she started over. “Why didn’t you stop us? Why didn’t you do something?”
“Because if he knows about Megan, he knows about Madame Franz, and he knows about our little data interception project,” I said as I grabbed a few cans from the shelf. “The fact that he’s still sending you down to Santa Monica means that either he’s greedy and trying to squeeze more money out of the Chinese, or that he’s just stringing Marta along until he’s ready to drop the hammer on her. Either way, all of the evidence we gathered is likely trash now. But, if he knows about Megan, he knows what she’s capable of. Which means he needs her for something. And that’s our next move.“
“Okay, but what is our next move?“
I pulled the cart to one side of the aisle and looked into her eyes. “You’re about to tell me.”
She cocked her head to one side, the way she does when she’s confused, or when she’s falling into a hypnotic trance. In this case, two-for-one.
“Listen carefully to the sound of my voice. Video camera playback.’
A few days ago
“It’s a lot to take in.”
“I know, Cass. I know.” I poured a little more bourbon out of the flask. Lord knows I needed it.
“Paul, you’re telling me that my entire life is a lie! You can’t just say ‘I know Cass, I know,’ and then... whatever, drink up like it’s nothing! Do you think I’m gonna just digest that all at once, like, okay Paul, that makes sense?“
Gulp. “The way I see it, we have two options. One, and this is the one I suggest, we bail out. I hypnotize you, you go back to being Tara, and we get as far away from Avery Berman as we can. Two...“
“You send me back in.”
The bourbon came back up, and I gagged on it. “What? No! Absolutely not, Cassie! Option two is that we go to the cops and try to convince them with the evidence that we have! It’s a long shot, but—”
“But I’m a brainwashed assassin sent to kill you. Make her think that she pulled it off, and that Avery’s got nothing between himself and success. Send her back into the wild and track her. See what he’s doing next. It’s perfect.”
“You thought that being undercover as Cassie was perfect!” I was angry now. I couldn’t even keep track of who I was yelling at, and that only made me angrier. “Oh, he’ll brainwash her and I’ll be safe. Well, look at you now, Tara!“
“Cassie.”
“Whatever! This is it, this was my one and only ace up my sleeve! I’m all out of tricks, Tar—Cassie! If he hypnotizes you again, there are no more lifeboats. He’ll have you forever, and I can’t...” I bit my lip to stop the words, but they poured around my teeth like water breaking through the levee. “I can’t lose you. I can’t. I love you. I’m madly in love with you and I can’t LOSE YOU.”
Warm lips landed on my cheek. I jerked back in surprise, but her hands grabbed the back of my head and held it in place while she finished the job.
“That’s for Tara,” she said. “I don’t know her, but I’m guessing that she loves you too, Paul. So we need to get her back to you. You need to keep us both safe for that to happen. Can you do that?”
“You’re not listening, Cass. I...”
“I’m a skilled hypnotist and I’m going to do my best to keep you safe, Cassie, because I’m going to use you to bring down this asshole once and for all? Is that what you were going to say? Of course it is.” Those eyes were sparkling again, just like Tara’s when she got excited. They were beautiful and gorgeous and full of life and I fell into them, like I always do.
I’d left way too much of Tara’s spunk and determination inside of this ‘Cassie’ persona, and it showed. Painfully so. My own dumb fault. I liked seeing my beautiful partner fawn over me the way Cassie did. Full of kisses and hugs and smiles and trance triggers that would take her so, so deep at a moment’s notice. “Tara with tweaks,” I’d called it, dismissing the ‘dumb bimbo’ persona Tara had asked me to create for her. Too obvious, I’d told myself at the time. Avery would see through it. The truth was, I was creating a perfect lover for myself, not for Avery.
And now that fake dream girl was willing to sacrifice herself in order to get my Tara back. And like Tara, there was no stopping her.
“We’re going to flip the script, see? Now Tara’s the brainwashed one, and I’m the girl going undercover. Put me under and turn me back into Tara. Make her think that she killed you. Make everyone think that she killed you. Follow us around until you can get what you need. And then, boom!”
This was stupid. All of this was stupid! All I needed to do... it was so easy. I’d put her under, and I’d program her to forget all of this. Have her go back to being Tara, as best as I could remake her, and take her to Hawaii or Mexico.
Although... if the video camera suggestion still worked... and Avery fell for this...
I pushed her against the headboard, and gazed into her wide, receptive eyes.
The early morning air feels cool against my damp hair and skin. I look down at my shoes for the tenth time, convinced that I’ve overlooked a spot of incriminating blood somehow. But there’s nothing to be worried about. Nothing on my clothes, my shoes, my skin, or my hair. It all went perfectly. Master will be so pleased. I know I am. I lured Paul back to his apartment, exactly as ordered. I obeyed. The thought sends shivers up and down my spine. I pull my phone out of my purse and dial the number that immediately appears in my mind.
His voice. His wonderful voice. He sounds sleepy. “Were you successful?”
“Yes, Master. I have obeyed my orders. I eagerly await my next command.” God, that’s the understatement of the year.
“You’ve done very well, Tara. I’m very proud of you.”
OhGodohGodohGodohGodyesyesyesyesyessss “Thank you, Master. I will always obey your every command.“
“You will remember now that you must meet Megan at Big Bagel at the correct time. You will hypnotize her and bring her to me. Obey.”
I pull out Paul’s key fob and unlock his car. I’ve got enough time to get over to WeHo and pick up my own car before meeting up with Megan. “Yes, Master. I hear and obey.”
The line goes dead. I can’t help but grin.
Megan is going to make an excellent slavegirl.