Dream Weaver Ch. 03

The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 10 - Revelations

Dr. Fredricson got a stool, pulled it up to the bedside next to my left arm, and sat down. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Thirsty." I said. "Can I get some water?"

"Maybe after we're finished, and you start cooperating." Laura said. "So, is your memory improved? Who am I?"

I noted the wedding rings on her fingers. They were not mine from the dream I'd had days... what, weeks?... ago. "You're Dr. Laura Fredricson." I said. "Still married to that Army General?"

Laura looked at me darkly. "How did you know that?" Then she caught herself. "Never you mind about me. We're talking about you. Why were you in that facility in Coltrane County?"

"Why has the FBI been harassing me?" I asked in retaliatory response. Laura nodded.

"We've gone through this before," she said, "and obviously your short-term memory is still not working properly. Mr. Troy, you are being investigated for treason. You accessed an FBI site and attempted to acquire classified information. Do you remember that?"

"I never accessed the site." I said. "The password failed."

"You went to Apple Grove," said Laura, "where you contacted several people known to be hostile to the U.S. Government... including the Reverend Jonas Oldeeds. You then managed to get jump files from a safe deposit box, and by a deception, I might add. Where are those jump drives?"

"They were in my car." I said, which was technically true, for a while. I could see that those were important to her, and to whoever was backing her, so I lied: "They must've been stolen. By they way, why did you guys clean out my home, and leave only one suit that was wired to the hilt with tracking devices?" I noted that Laura looked confused.

"I had no part of that." she said. "I have no idea what you are talking about. So you tried to take those jump drives to The Vision Headquarters? Maybe Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart was going to pay you very well for that information?"

"I've had no contact with him." I said.

"Bullshit." Laura said simply. "His lawyer, Cy Hart, contacted you several times... even is doing your divorce and bankruptcy pro bono. Very generous of him... and even more 'generous' of the man backing him, wouldn't you say?"

"I... I had no idea he was working for Eckhart." I said, feeling very confused. I was getting dizzy, as well.

"What did you give him?" Laura demanded.

"Nothing!" I said, rather loudly. "I haven't stolen any classified information, and I haven't sold or given anything away! This is bullshit!"

Dr. Fredricson peered at me, then said "Okay, why were you captured--- er, arrested at the old 'Vision' facility? How did you get down into that underground tunnel?"

"Your security there must be shit if I was able to do that." I replied.

"No doubt about that." Laura replied. "But you're not answering the question: why were you down there?"

"Looking for answers." I said. "It was obvious FBI Agents Muscone and Nash were leading me there. It's entrapment if anything. I want to know why they're harassing me and you've got me imprisoned here in The Asylum?"

Laura jolted, her face a mask of shock. "How do you know you're in..." She stopped and peered at me again.

"So, Dr. Fredricson," I said, pressing the tiny advantage I had for the moment, "what happened to you after Ivy accused Jack Burke of rape? Are you and my wife in cahoots in all of this, somehow?"

Laura's eyes turned jet, staring daggers at me. "If you must know, I was fired from your School after Burke ran to his daddy. Michael Burke is a very bad man. He tried to buy Ivy off, and she told him to go to hell. Then he got the Police to go after her for a false allegation. I helped Ivy, and we pushed back on it. The allegation was not false; Jack Burke raped Ivy and a lot of other women. But you know that to be true, don't you?"

"Yes, I know what Jack Burke was... and is." I said. "So you never worked at the University here?"

"No, Michael Burke pulled every string he could to keep them from hiring me." Laura replied. "So I went with my husband when he was assigned to NATO in Europe, and did research there. When we returned, I was offered this job here at The Asylum, analyzing wackos... like you."

"I'm not the one that's the wacko." I said. "You and your entire Federal Government are the wackos... and corrupt."

"I can see we're not getting anywhere today." said Dr. Fredricson, closing her notebook. She stood up. "Mr. Troy, I suggest you begin talking. I suggest you tell us what you know. The FBI is not playing around. If you have any hopes of going free, you'd better talk."

"You'll kill me anyway." I said. "No way you can do to me what you've done, then let me free to tell anyone about it... especially the Media."

Dr. Fredricson did not reply. She merely turned and walked to the door.

Part 11 - A Night in Hell

I felt myself getting dizzier. And weaker. I dimly wondered if they were drugging me. And I was feeling colder and colder.

I tried to hang on to my sanity, and to figure out what was going on, and why I was being subjected to this treatment...

And then the screams started.

At first, I thought I must be dreaming. I heard a scream. A woman screaming. Then another.

The screams went on for some minutes. Then silence-- no, what was that... it was sobbing. A woman was sobbing.

Then more screams, all from women, coming from different places. What the hell was going on here?

This went on for some time. And then the door to my room opened up.

There was only one bedside lamp on. When the visitor finally came into the circle of light, I saw who it was: Special Agent Jack Muscone.

"Still not talking, eh, traitor?" he snarled. "I'm going to give you one more chance. You are going to tell the truth. You're going to tell us what you did with the classified information you stole. You are going to give us those jump drives you took out of Apple Grove. You are going to admit that you are a traitor, or you are going to die."

"And you are going to go straight to Hell." I replied. "I've committed no treason; it is you that's abusing the Constitution, not to mention me."

"Oh, you think this is abuse?" snarled the FBI Agent, his face red with anger, and hatred. "You're about to find out a new meaning of the word." He went to the door and opened it. A technician in a labcoat came in, wheeling in a rolling table with some sort of instrument on it.

The man looked familiar to me, and then I heard Muscone say "Okay, Technician Bond. Give this traitor the full treatment."

The name triggered a memory, and then I realized it was from my dream. There had been an FBI lawyer named 'James Bond'... and it was this guy, but he was a lab technician now, an employee of The Asylum.

He began attaching electrodes to me. Over my nipples, on each ankle, on each wrist, on the small of my back, and on the back of my neck. The attaching electrodes were tiny pins that bit into my flesh, and were mildly painful. Technician Bond then got the stool Laura had been sitting on, and sat down in front of the device. Muscone plugged the device into the outlet on the wall, and I realized it wasn't the normal outlet... it was the special plug-in for 220 volts, not the normal 120 volt plug-ins in most American homes.

Shit, this thing is right out of Atlas Shrugged, I thought to myself as the machine turned on with a slight whining pitch that rose higher and higher as the fan began whirring. I heard a scream of a woman from somewhere in the facility, adding to my foreboding.

"Why are those women screaming?" I asked.

"They're being raped by the staff." said Muscone. "Sometimes men get raped too, and I just might get an orderly in here to fuck you in the ass. Okay, Bond, let's pay this bastard back for his treason."

Bond pressed a button, and a current of electricity went from my left ankle to my left nipple.

"AAAUUUUGGHHH!" I screamed out. At first it was not actual pain, just a feeling and knowledge that something was not right in my body. Then the pain kicked in.

"Number Two." said Muscone. The current went from my right wrist up my arm to the electrode on my nipple.

"ARRRRGGGGHHH!!" I screamed out. I could not stop the pain, but I tried to roll with it, screaming out instead of trying too hard to resist what I could not resist.

Muscone went through several iteration, having various parts of my body endure the pain. "Ready to talk now?" he growled after what seemed like an eternity of doses of pain.

"Yeah." I said. "And here's my statement. Fuck you. I'm not a traitor, you are."

"Fucking shithead." said Muscone. "Bond! The mixed series!"

Bond pressed a button and electricity tore through various parts of my body. A leg would be subjected, then an arm, then my torso, then from one wrist to the other. Each dose would last about fifteen seconds, then switch to different route with no idea to guess which one.

There was nothing I could do, I just had to endure it. I knew I was dead anyway, so I just lay there, my screams helping some to work against it. I realized I was rapidly becoming much more exhausted, that my body was being sapped of any energy I had left. I had not had water nor food for an unknown amount of time, either.

Finally, Technician Bond stopped the series of shocks. It felt good... in the manner of it feeling good after being hit by a hammer, when it finally stops hurting.

"We can do this all night." said Muscone. "It's not hurting me a bit."

"Get it overwith, then." I said.

Part 12 - An Excuse For The Sky

I was barely conscious when Dr. Fredricson returned to the room. It must be daytime outside, I reasoned, though I had no real way of knowing. Then I saw the watch on her wrist... sure enough, it was 8:30am. What day, though?

"Wow." she said softly, looking at me. "I'm surprised you're still alive."

"Like you care." I replied. "You're part of this. Why don't you just kill me now? I'm innocent of any charges, I have nothing for which to confess. I won't bother with a false confession, as you're going to kill me anyway. So just do it, and get it overwith."

"So... are you so eager to die?" Dr. Fredricson asked.

"What are clouds, but an excuse for the sky?" I said, quoting the Kasigi death poem from the book Sho-gun.

"What is Life, but an escape from Death." Laura replied, finishing the quotation. "Well, a man without fear of death is a man who cannot be corrupted. But before you will be allowed to die, we need to obtain those jump drives you took."

"Why?" I asked. "Why are they so important?"

"They will prove your treason." said another voice. It was a man, older, tall, distinguished. He had a balding head, glasses, a long thin face. I had never seen this man before, I realized... I had never... seen him before...

"They can't prove what I haven't done." I said. "I've committed no crimes. None."

"May I speak with you for a moment, sir?" asked Dr. Fredricson. They went over to the door, but for some reason I could still hear them.

"He's stuck to that story from the beginning." said Dr. Fredricson. "No guilty person has ever maintained their innocence this far along in the process. In addition, he's at the point he's willing to die. Even enhanced techniques like waterboarding can't be assured to be successful."

"Oh really?" the man said sardonically. "Well, then, we'll just have to find new methods of persuasion. Maybe having him watch some family and friends being tortured in front of him."

"And what family and friends would those be?" asked Dr. Fredricson. "You killed his nephew, you've killed his parents, his wife is divorcing him so he may not care on that one, either. And he has no friends."

"Okay then..." said the man. "Bring in 'The Madman'. If he can't get the job done, we'll just have to kill Troy and hope those jump drives don't fall into the wrong hands."

The man left the room, and Laura came back over to my bedside.

"What did he mean, 'you killed my nephew'?" I asked.

"You're about to find that out." Laura said. "Well, Mr. Troy, my work with you is done; there is no more I can do to help you. And I'm sorry about that; I wish I could've helped you save yourself. I won't be seeing you again."

"Before you go," I said, "I just have one question: What does the name 'Carole Diana' mean to you?"

Laura's eyes widened in total shock. "How did you...?" she started to ask, then regained her composure. "You know too much about me, Mr. Troy. All I'll say is that I was always going to name my first daughter 'Carole Diana'. The reasons need not concern you. Goodbye, Mr. Troy, and may the living God have mercy upon your soul."

With that, Dr. Laura Fredricson went to the door and exited the room, not looking back.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I must've fallen asleep. It seemed line an interminable time had passed, yet at the same time it seemed like I was instantly awake again. I heard screams again, the screams of women. They seemed closer than before. I also felt like I could no longer move; I was too weak. My head was hurting, and I was beyond thirsty. I'd had no water for... what, days now?

And then I saw and heard what had awakened me. The door to my room had opened, and into the room walked a young man with wispy brown hair, slender, tall but stopping over. He was wearing a labcoat over a dirty shirt and blue jeans. His eyes peered at me.

It was my nephew Ned.

"Well, Uncle Donny." Ned said quietly. "It's been a while. A long while."

"You hiding out here, or what?" I asked.

Ned smiled, a brief, mirthless smile. "No, Uncle Donny. Let me explain. A few years ago, while you were in the Army Reserve, you were offered the opportunity to join the CIA. You rejected their generous offer. As far as I'm concerned, you did them a favor and prevented them from making a huge, huge mistake."

Ned got the stool and sat down upon it. He then said "What you didn't know is that when I began college, I was asked to join the CIA... and I accepted. I've been working in labs at the University, and then I work in a lab across the way, in the facility below the 'Vision' Headquarters's old dorms. And I've made some really good stuff for the CIA. Really good stuff."

"And now you're going to be a 'meth lab slave' to them." I said. "They'll never let you go free."

Ned smiled that smarmy smile of his. "Oh, I don't agree, Uncle Donny. I'm free to go where I please... and I do. They know that if they try to fuck with me, then something ugly might happen to some of their best people... and their highest leadership. I have friends... friends they only wish they could have."

"And who might those friends be?" I asked.

"Oh, don't concern yourself with that." said Ned.

"You're going to kill me." I said. "You might as well tell me, satisfy a condemned man's curiosity?"

"Curiosity killed the cat." said Ned. "But satisfaction brought him back. And I can only kill you once; I can't have you coming back with nine lives and causing me problems."

"And speaking of nine lives... that's getting to be how many I've taken by now." Ned continued. "The most pleasurably wonderful was that God-damned piece of shit Todd. Uncle Donny, you have no idea how much I hated that bastard. He tortured me, physically, mentally, emotionally, for years. Years! Uncle Donny. And our mother was fucking him, and they both were making fun of me."

"Mom ran off to France." Ned said. "Came back for my grandparents' funeral, but I missed the opportunity to get her then. Jonas Oldeeds was protecting her, like he always has. Lucky for her. But Todd..." Ned began to laugh, an evil laugh. "Todd wasn't so lucky."

"He wasn't drunk in that car crash." I said. "What happened to him?"

"Ah yes..." said Ned. "The Town & County Police is totally inept. The only smart thing they did was to decline to hire you. They had no idea what happened when Todd crashed into their Chief and their dyke Detective." He stopped a moment, a smile on his face, obviously enjoying the memory of his brother's death.

"What did happen?" I asked.


Ned looked at me, as if irritated I'd interrupted his thoughts. He said "You've probably heard news reports about an alleged CIA 'heart attack' gun that induces heart attacks? Like what killed that reporter Michael Hastings. Well, sometimes the rumors have a basis in truth. Not exactly what they report. But Todd and his car were subjected to something similar to what killed that reporter, and a number of others who wish to subvert the Federal Government, and expose the good things we were doing."

"What, was Todd going to expose something?" I asked skeptically.

"Naw, the only thing he ever exposed was his dick to our mother whenever he wanted to fuck." Ned said. "I killed him because I wanted to see that piece of shit die. My grandparents... I really had nothing against them, but they had to die, and so they did."

"Now you, Uncle Donny, I want to see you die, too... but apparently some people have a purpose for what I'm about to do to you. They think you've done something subversive, too."

"They're full of shit." I said. "Well, whatever you're going to do, get it overwith." I just lay back on the bed. I'd been right about Todd, and maybe Captain Harlan would follow up, expose what happened to him. I hoped the Apple Grove Police might find something about my parents' deaths and follow up. But they'd have to do it without me... I saw very little hope for my own continuation.

"You're not getting out of it that easily, Uncle Donny." said Ned. He pulled out a leather billfold and opened it. There were four syringes inside.

Part 13 - The Final Trip

"First, let's put these earphones on you." said Ned. He fitted earphones to my head, and I could hear binaural tones in them.

"Okay, syringe number one." said Ned. He took the first syringe, and injected the contents of it into my arm.

The world began changing colors. Lights flashed and the light literally seemed to swirl before my eyes. I was dizzy, a vertigo-like dizziness. I heard ringing in my ears, then the binaural tones, then the ringing again. Then what sounded like an alarm going off.

I felt disoriented, and like I wanted to vomit... but there was nothing in my stomach to bring up. I felt like my muscles were twitching, of their own accord, independently of my thoughts and of each other. And then... I felt like I was floating away...

Finally, I thought, let Death come. But Death would not come. Instead, I felt my mind clearing. Did Ned inject me with a new drug, an antidote?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Where are the jump drives?" I heard a voice say. I had no idea how long it had been since my trip. I was no longer hearing the binaural tones, nor any subliminal suggestions. I couldn't open my eyes, and I wasn't sure whose voice was speaking to me.

"Where are the jump drives?"

"I destroyed them." I heard myself say, my voice barely a murmur.

"Why did you give that reporter classified information?"

"I didn't give any reporter classified information."

"Where are the jump drives?"

"I destroyed them."

"What did you do with them first?"

"Copied them onto my computer."