A Friend Indeed

Rob was admitted into the apartment. Getting the live feed up on his phone, he couldn't hear anything from that side yet. He broke cover and approached the entrance. The window on the street side gave him a peek into the kitchen, where they seemed to be chatting away. He kept out of sight and waited for a minute. When he poked his head up, they were gone. He moved around to see if they were visible from anywhere else outside, but it was no good. Deciding he wanted a cleaner view, he fished his laptop out of his satchel and pulled up the livestream there. He could see the corner of Maggie, sitting on the end of the bed. He wished he could adjust the angle, but fortunately, the two of them moved further into view. Maggie stared up at Rob, whose torso was visible but not his face. He held out something - a handheld device of some kind, and the lights on front of it started blinking. The camera wasn't capturing it very well, and it was causing some havoc with the real time streaming compression. He'd kept the bitrate constrained to avoid noticeably degrading her home network, but every time it flashed, the sudden adjustment in luminance turned the image into a soup of pixels. He frantically opened up the connection to his home server, found the relevant settings and increased the bitrate. He swapped back to the other window, and it was now a much cleaner picture.

He put in his headphones and turned the volume up. Thankfully, he was speaking a lot louder than she was the previous night.

"Deeper and deeper. Allow yourself to relax," said Rob.

"Deeper and deeper..." said Maggie.

"So deep for me. You're so good at this now. And you don't resist anymore, because it feels so good, and you know how helpful these meditation sessions have been. Don't you love them?"

"Yes, I love relaxing for you," she replied.

"Have you been keeping up with your homework, Ms. Wong?"

She moaned slightly.

"Yes, Doctor De Luca, I have."

"I'm pleased to hear it," he said. "Now, keep looking into the lights. Today, we're going to move onto something a little more advanced. Are you ready to take the next step for me?"

"Oh Yes Doctor. Yes, my mind and my legs are open."

"As you use the toys on yourself today, you're going to stick one finger - just one - inside your ass. I take it you've still got some lube?"

"Yes Doctor... Plenty... but why?"

"It's very simple, Ms. Wong. Studies have shown that anal stimulation is one of the most effective ways to relax. And you do want to relax, don't you?

"Yes Doctor... I want to relax."

"And you do want to obey, don't you?"

"Yes Doctor... I will obey... You know what's best for me..."

"Good, good," he said. "You're going to bring yourself to orgasm like this, with the toy in your pussy and a finger in your ass. You're going to do it five times. And each time, you'll sink deeper and deeper for me. Each time, you'll find it easier and easier to cum. You're becoming more and more sensitive, especially when your arsehole is being played with."

"Yes Doctor... more and more sensitive... easier and easier... deeper and deeper..."

She began to do exactly as he asked. Austin couldn't believe that he was still watching it instead of acting. But what could he do? Kick the door down? He rationalised his inaction as needing more evidence. In truth, he was scared. He needed to involve the police - or at least somebody a lot more physically imposing than himself. He watched for another two minutes as she fingered her arsehole and fucked herself silly, all the while that motherfucker just kept standing there verbally encouraging her. Maggie moaned and announced her first orgasm.

He finally reached a breaking point. He couldn't let this violation go on. He couldn't keep letting someone he once considered his closest friend cuckold him. He had to make it stop. He closed his laptop, stuffed it into his bag, stood up and marched to the door. He smashed the doorbell with his fist several times.

At first, nobody answered. He rang the doorbell again. thirty agonising seconds passed. Maggie opened the door for him. She looked dishevelled, just like she had the other day.

"Austin?" she said, sounding dazed. "I thought we weren't meeting up until this afternoon. What time is it?" She let out a big yawn.

He looked over past her and didn't see any signs of Rob. That suited him just fine.

"Babe, that isn't important, but I need you to come with me to the car."

"What?"

"I'm serious. I can't tell you why right now, but this is really, really important. Please."

"I've got stuff to do... I'm really busy right now..."

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out the door. She started objecting, and twisted herself out of his grip.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Ugh, OK fine. Let's go inside then."

"No I... I need to be... alone... it's very important. I have to finish some things here. Alone. You need to leave."

"No I don't mind waiting darling, I'll just play on my phone while you to finish doing whatever that is. I'll wait in the bedroom, I think," he said in a very loud voice. "I'm going to the bedroom," he repeated, almost in a shout.

"No, you can't," she said. "Come back later. Please!"

He heard sounds coming from inside.

"Fine," he whispered to her. But I'll be waiting in my car," he said. She shut the door.

He was pretty sure he'd scared Rob off for now. He scrubbed through the laptop footage back in the cafe, and sure enough, he'd gone out the window while he was at the front door shouting into the apartment. She returned to the room as she was instructed, but there was no hypnotist waiting for her.

* * *

Maggie was crying.

That evening, he'd brought around his laptop, and told her everything about what was going on. At first she didn't believe it. Then he showed her the footage. She was furious he'd been spying on her, but when she realised that what he was saying was true, she broke down completely. He awkwardly put an arm around her, and then she embraced him, crying into his arms.

A few minutes later, she started composing herself.

"I think we have to go to the police, Maggie. This has to be exposed," he said.

"Will they even believe us?" she replied.

"I've found a few sexual assault cases where a hypnotists was taking advantage of clients. I think considering all the footage we've got, with your testimony and mine, there is a case here."

She looked him in the eyes.

"Thank you, Austin. I- I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't found out. What already has happened to me. God, I don't remember. I don't remember any of it!"

"I can't believe it either. He was my friend, and he seemed so... normal. Well adjusted. I was always the weird one."

That was always what people said in serial killer documentaries, it occurred to him. I never would have believed it, he was such a lovely boy!

"I don't know if I have it in me today. I agree we have to tell somebody, but I need some time. Maybe we can try tomorrow, OK?"

Austin passed another tissue to her and wrapped his arms around her again. They stood and hugged in silence.

Time he was happy to offer her. There was something he needed - closure.

* * *

The cafe was as good a place to meet as any. It was close, there were always people around and he could shout if anything suspicious was going on.

Austin waited with a coffee anxiously. He'd asked Roberto to meet him here, and he had no idea whether he'd do that or just flee to the nearest airport. Much to his relief, his former friend walked in the door. He made the universal gesture of "I have nothing in my hands", then took the seat beside him on the bench. For a few long moments, nobody spoke.

"So, you figured it out," said Rob, finally.

"Yeah." Austin took a sip. "I know exactly what you've been doing to her."

"So, what happens now?"

"Tomorrow, we're going to turn you in to the police. I'm going to turn over the recordings I've made, and I assume after a trial you'll be sent to prison. Maybe some government guys will whisk you off before that, who knows."

"Not exactly the ending to our friendship I'd had in mind. But I guess I can understand. I suppose you felt too guilty keeping things going like they were."

"Keeping - what? I was obviously not going to let you keep brainwashing and fucking my girlfriend!"

Roberto looked over his shoulder to see if anybody else had noticed the sudden increase in volume, but it seems like the coast was clear.

"Austin, you're a really smart guy, but I think you've misunderstood the situation quite severely."

"I understand just fine."

"No, you don't. I have not been having sex with Maggie."

"What, you're just recreationally hypnotising her? You expect me to believe that all that was above board? I'm not an idiot, I have it on camera."

"Dude, I have been doing all of that for you."

The sentence hung in the air.

"How many dates have I set you up on over the years where you flamed out completely? How long were you on Tinder and Bumble and god knows where else, and all you had to show for it was a handful of one-off dates?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Austin, man, I love you, but you have zero charm. We all tried for years and everyone except me gave up on you ever finding somebody."

"Wait, so you're saying..."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I met Maggie at an event on campus. She was super interested in my research. She loved the idea of being hypnotised. She was an extremely good subject, and I have this fancy new device that's very effective at bringing people into trance. My head lights up - you know what? She's cute, she's the kind of girl you like. So I did what I had to. I made sure she'd be into you."

"Jesus Christ," said Austin. Now it was his turn to look around.

"Yeah, I know."

It was a gut punch. He didn't want to believe it.

"So why were you there yesterday? Why did you keep seeing her?"

"To make sure it stuck. My dude, it was hard enough to get her to agree to go out on a date with you in the first place. Your profile pics are bad. And your dating performance leaves something to be desired."

"What?" said Austin.

"She told me you spent half of your first date talking about 737 Max disasters and you somehow didn't notice that she was falling asleep. You barely asked her anything about herself. She was absolutely not going to message you for a second date until I stepped in to patch that up."

His head was swimming. How could he have been so blind? Nobody was ever going to love him. He was beyond help.

"So," continued Rob, "Since you don't seem to let her get a word in edgeways, I've been getting her to open up to some of your interests instead. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get her into trains, but Lego and major disasters, maybe. And god, after you started having sex, I helped fix that up too."

"What? Our sex life is great!" said Austin.

"Yeah, thanks to me it is. She's always had trouble achieving orgasms, and you aren't exactly a pornstar, in terms of skills or size, no offence. I've been working on making it easier for her to achieve climax and opening her up to new experiences to keep her from getting too bored."

Austin sank into his drink. He wanted to die. But everything was starting to make a twisted sort of sense. Things she'd said or done. The way she behaved. The fact that someone like her was dating him at all.

"Open mind, open legs," he said dejectedly.

"Just so," said Roberto. "Look, I don't expect you to believe everything all at once. But I've got some of the early sessions recorded. I can prove this all to you."

Austin drained the rest of the drink and was silent for a moment as he thought.

"If you go away, this is all going to unravel, isn't it?"

"Probably, unless you find a magic potion that turns you into one of the lesser Hemsworths," said Roberto. "She'll want to see a professional to help undo all of my hard work, and it doesn't seem like she's going to stick around with the person who she was only dating because she was brainwashed into it."

Austin sighed deeply.

"You know, you could just not turn me in. We can go back to the way things were," continued Rob. "You seemed happy. Happier than you've been in a long time. And that's what I wanted for you. For both of you!"

He couldn't deny that there was an appeal to the idea. He didn't want to lose her. He'd fantasied about marrying her some day, about having a family. But it just wasn't right. Even if this was all true, and Roberto had done it for his benefit, there was no way he could let him control her any longer.

"I'm sorry, Roberto. But the answer is no. Things can't go back to how they were."

* * *

Maggie awaited him inside the house. When he walked through the door, she went straight in for a hug.

"Are you OK? How did it go? Did you find more evidence?"

Austin nodded.

"Grace was helpful enough. She let me into the lab. There were a bunch of recordings on the computers, they weren't even protected. And I found this, too," he said, pulling out a small device with a pistol grip.

It could have passed for a ray gun in a 50's alien invasion film.

"What is it?"

"You don't recognise it? It's what he was using to induce you into a trance state."

She looked at it and ran her hands along it.

"No, I don't remember it at all. And that frightens me. God, I'm not even sure if we should turn something like that over to the police."

Austin felt terrible for everything she'd been through. The idea that somebody could take control of you like that, transform you into their puppet, change and warp you then make you forget - it was the stuff of nightmares.

Which is why he felt especially bad about what he was about to do.

"I think you're right about that," he said, then raised the device to eye level.

"Austin? What ar-" said Maggie, before she was cut off by the strobing, colourful lights.

"I'm sorry, Maggie. You won't understand yet, but I'm going to help you to. I just can't let you go."

Her jaw slackened, and her eyes became fixated. She started to fall backwards. He steadied her with one arm, then led her to the sofa. A fleck of drool fell out of her mouth.

"Can you hear me, Maggie?"

"Yes... I can hear you."

"Good. You feel safe now that I'm here with you. Doctor De Luca won't be hypnotising you any more."

"Yes... Safe..."

He didn't lie. He'd studied some of the recordings. Rob had helped to explain how the process worked in great detail.

"Now, in this wonderful, relaxed state, I'm going to help make some changes. You like being in this state, don't you?"

"Yes..."

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

One Year Later

"I do," said Maggie.

"Very well," said the celebrant. "You may now kiss the bride."

The two embraced passionately. The guests applauded. After the kiss ended, Austin turned to look at Roberto, standing beside him, and mouthed a silent "thank you". His best man smiled back at him. The board game crew made up the rest of his groomsmen, while Maggie's younger sister and some long time friends stood opposite them.

After the reception, Maggie excitedly paced behind him on the way to the hotel suite. They'd both kept the drinking to a minimum. They wanted their heads to be crystal clear. Austin unlocked the door and left it ajar, then smiled at his new bride.

"Shall I carry you through, Maggie Clark née Wong?"

"Oh, please do, Austin Clark née Clark," she replied.

He lifted her up and took a moment to gaze into her beautiful brown eyes. Neither of them could seem to stop smiling.

He took a step forward. As he crossed the threshold with her in his arms, all expression suddenly drained out of her face.

"My mind is open," she said. "I will obey."

He was fully erect.

"I used to find it weird, but now I think it's so hot when you get triggered. Maggie, tell me - who will you obey?"

"I must obey Austin Clark, MSc. He knows what's best for me."

"Just so," he replied.

He took her over and laid her down on the bed.

"I think I want raw passion tonight. It's appropriate for the occasion. You can't remember how to speak. You're just an animal. You only know that you want to fuck me to within an inch of my life. Nod if you understand."

His petite bride nodded. He snapped his fingers.

She jumped on top of him and tackled him to the floor as she clawed at their clothes. She got the bottom of her dress off - it was one of those modern ones that separated easily - and stripped just enough of him off to get to his cock. She jerked him until she was sure he couldn't get any harder, then made guttural noises as she mounted his cock and rode him to her first orgasm.

He started fighting back, and subdued her. She snarled at him as he took her back up to the bed and pushed her down. He pounded her from behind, and she started playing with her anus. These days, that was so ingrained it was quite difficult to stop her - not that he wanted to. She soon upgraded to two fingers, and looked up at him invitingly. He decided to oblige her.

Not that her pussy was loose, but her arse was divine. He had to slow himself down. The last year had seen him having almost daily sex with his insatiable, brainwashed girlfriend. Who could say if it was his own skills improving or the constant conditioning he put her through, but she now enjoyed their sex even more than he did. She screamed another orgasm, this time even bigger.

He pulled out and rolled her onto her back. She was walking a fine line between playing the aggressive animal and living the core truth that she loved every second of what he was doing to her. He pulled her face towards his cock. She gave him a smouldering look and licked her lips. She didn't need explicit instructions. She began throating his cock like a porn star possessed by a succubus. It was the oral equivalent of topping from the bottom. She gripped his legs and was bouncing up and down, doing her best to suppress her gag reflex. It didn't take long before he came down her throat. She swallowed every drop.

They collapsed onto the bed next to each other. He snapped his fingers and returned her to normal. As they sat gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, he thought back to the start of all of this. He thought of all the feelings of betrayal and loathing. Of how happy they both were now. Of how beautiful she was. He looked over at the bag where he kept the trance inducer.

"What are you thinking about, my darling husband?" Maggie said.

"Oh. Not much."

"I know that look," she said, smiling even wider. "Something's on your mind."

"Hmm, I was just wondering if suggestibility ran in families."

"What do you mean?"

He thought about where the bridal party were staying nearby and wondered if Roberto was still up. Maggie's sister had looked ever so fetching in that bridesmaids dress. It was going to be a very memorable honeymoon.