Losers Can't Be Choosers Ch. 20

Chapter 20 - It's Now or Never

Nicholas Kendall rubbed his dirty fingers on his chest as he examined the broken down surroundings, the pain on his nether regions a reminder that the world he knew had been twisted beyond recognition.

"Seriously... What the fuck is going on here?" He asked too many times in a row.

"Welcome back," Angela said. "I hope it doesn't hurt too much."

"Angela? Did you...? Did you bite my...?"

"Yep. And it's a good thing I did. Are you thinking clearly now?"

"I... my head is all foggy... We're a long way from the hospital, aren't we?"

"A long way from sanity, too..." she muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind. What's the last thing you remember for real?"

He frowned, expression wrinkles building up on his forehead as he tried to recall the fragments of a warped existence bubbling to the surface.

"Boobs."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Godde... I mean, Gail flashed me and then I... I ... fuck, was I hypnotized?"

"Most definitely. She pulled quite the number on you and your response was kind of shocking. Your father was skilled in inducing trances but a terrible subject. You seem too good."

"It feels so weird."

"Because...?"

"Her voice inside my head was just..."

"Natural?"

"Yeah. I could tell something was going on but I couldn't stop. Did I hurt you?"

"You tried."

"I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Everybody reacts differently to hypnosis. I guess your reluctance wasn't really what you thought it was."

"She said I could get close to you if we... damn it, how could I have been so stupid?"

"Take it easy, okay? This is what she does. She fools people into letting their guard down and then turns their thoughts against them. She fooled me too, and I've got the marks to prove it. Here..." she showed him the red and swollen syringe mark.

"What happened?"

"She drugged me today, had me do all sorts of nasty shit to keep her happy. She also used my brother's triggers as a weapon to get under his skin and tried to turn our mother into a hypno-slut, too. She fooled us all."

"That's crazy!"

"I know."

"What does she hope to gain from all of this?"

"Satisfying her own sadistic desires for starters. The world of hypnosis and mind control is as fascinating as it gets and the fetish implications are overwhelming but there are limits and she crossed them all. I didn't want you to get involved in this but now it's up to us to put an end to her delusions. I need your help, Nick. I can't do it alone."

"What about your brother?"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE, BITCH!" Jonah vociferated, banging both hands and sweaty forehead against the inside of the car's trunk.

"He's better off where he is right now."

"Are you really just going to leave him there?"

"I have to. Too much of a liability at the moment. She got inside his head real deep and deprogramming him will take a while. It breaks my heart but we don't have time for this right now..." Angela replied, a loud sigh escaping her lips.

Nick sat on the vehicle's hood, feet dangling mid-air. One by one, his memories were becoming clearer alongside ghostly remnants of altered speech patterns. Addiction was a harsh Mistress and even though he had only experienced it briefly its effects remained unsurprisingly strong.

"What about me? Aren't you afraid I'll try to hurt you again as well?"

"I suppose that's a possibility. Are you?"

Hands shaking, he lowered his gaze to the ground. "I don't know. I don't want to but if Gail starts talking again, I might... I might lose it... Perhaps you should lock me up as well or better yet..."

"Yes?"

"Let's make a run for it. We drive out of here and leave her fuming on her own. Or we let the cops handle her."

"No! Mary suggested the latter too, but this is not a case for the authorities. It's personal and I'm not giving her a chance to regroup and come after us another day. She thinks she has the upper hand now and that will be her downfall."

"So what do you need me for?"

"She used you as bait to get me here. Now you'll be mine. How good are you at acting?"

"Honestly? I suck."

"Not expecting an Oscar-winning performance or anything. I need her to believe you're still her thrall long enough for me to give her a taste of her own medicine."

"You want to hypnotize her too?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop her from being a menace. She will learn not to fuck with the Barnes family even it that means erasing her entire personality."

"Please tell me you're kidding..." he gulped.

"That would be lying. I've played the nice girl role for far too long and that got me nothing but headaches, literally and figuratively. Gail's antics have to stop and if I have to turn her brain into mush to do that, then that's exactly what I'll do."

"You'll never be able to fool my Goddess! She'll tear you apart!" Jonah continued to scream.

"Fuck! Did I act like that?" Nick mumbled.

"Almost. If we let her go, who knows how many more she'll infect with her madness. Help me, Nick! Help me bring her down. It's now or never."

"If we do this, there's something I want from you in return."

"The coffee, right? I'll do more than that. I'll even make you dinner and I hate cooking!"

"Are you flirting with me, Angela Barnes?" He grinned.

"Is that what you want, Nick? Or do you want more?"

"You promised me more not so long ago..."

"Oh... so you remember everything now, huh? Okay, big boy. Follow my lead and you're in for an experience you'll never forget when this is done."

"That's what she said and look at the mess it turned out to be."

"Let's go, Nick. Just one more thing though."

"What is it?"

"Stop picturing me naked right now." She giggled.

"How did you...? Wait..." He blushed.

"You really are easy..."

They headed back to the warehouse. Halfway through, Angela stopped by a dirty puddle and wet her clothes. Then, she tore her shirt in half and smeared her face with dirt.

"Hit me!" she ordered.

"What?"

"I need you to punch me so that the illusion is complete. Gail will not buy our ruse if she thinks you got me without a fight."

"I don't want to do that."

"Don't enjoy beating women?"

"Don't enjoy beating people in general, okay?"

"You need to make an exception this time."

"No. I'm sorry, but I really can't. I'm already ashamed enough from my behavior while in a trance."

"Fine, I'll do it myself," Angela punched her own face. Her left cheek recoiled from the impact, blood dripping from her teeth. A second hit landed right between her eyebrows and the world spun like a crazy top. The final nail in the illusionary coffin was twisting her own arm until a bone snapped.

"Shit!" She clenched her teeth.

"Are you mad?"

"It's just slightly dislocated but it should do the trick. Just remember: you're her slave and I'm nothing but a nuisance. As long as she thinks you're still entranced, she won't bother triggering you any further and you'll have nothing to worry about. I can handle her in a fight even like this."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Okay, are you ready?"

"Not really but..."

"It will be fine," she said, repeating the mantra that made everything feel right. "This horrible day will soon be over. This horrible day will soon be over..."

When they finally made their way back to the abandoned warehouse's entrance, Gail had already left her vantage point and now sat on a wooden box as if it were a throne fit for a queen. Her casual attire didn't make her less dangerous, much to the contrary.

Despite his better wishes. Nick kicked Angela's ass as she walked in, making her crawl like the bitch she was supposed to be. His face remained as blank and expressionless as possible.

"There you are, slave. Took you long enough..." Gail sibilated, her words echoing ever so slightly in the primal part of his easily suggestible brain. He shrugged them off with great difficulty and retorted:

"Your prize, Goddess."

"Why isn't Jonah with you? Did something happen?"

"He thought he heard something while we were chasing her down so he's taking a tour around the perimeter to see that we're not disturbed, Goddess."

"I see..." she scoffed. "You did well, Nick. I'll reward you properly once she's under my spell again."

"You're too kind, Goddess."

"Don't get used to it. How does it feel to be back on your knees before me where you belong, Angela?"

"Fuck you, Gail! I've had enough of your bullshit to last a lifetime."

Gail stood up from her improvised seat and sashayed to her boss, dangerous hips dictating the rhythm of seduction. Unapologetically, Nick's cock embraced the innuendo.

"And yet you served me in the past... your mind accepted my words and my natural dominance before and it will do so again. You'll be my happy hypnotized bitch hypnotist for as long as I feel like playing with you and when you're no longer useful or fun, I'll get rid of you, no memories, no will, and nothing of importance will be lost. Doesn't this sound positively exquisite?"

"You really are insane. How could I have been so wrong about you?"

"You saw what I wanted you to see, nothing more. I'm grateful for everything you did for me, Angela, I really am."

"You have quite the funny way of showing it then!"

"Yes, yes I do, but I call it paying it forward. You freed me from my shackles in a time of need and now I'll do the same for you. Let me deliver you from your boring existence. It's time for my voice to take over your thoughts."

"Deliver this!" The hypnotherapist exclaimed as she got up on her feet and lunged at her deviant secretary. Rotating her body mid-motion, she brushed her elbow against her opponent's underbelly, the bone snapping into place.

"Slave! Restrain her!" Gail huffed, the intensity of the younger woman's attack catching her completely unawares.

"I'm sitting this one out," Nick yawned. "Angela would never forgive me if I intervened."

"I see... so she reversed my trance. You picked the wrong side on this fight, Nick."

"You know what your problem is, Gail?" Angela bolstered, clasping her fingers as if she were holding a two-handed sword. "You. Talk. Too. Much."

She hit her again, this time behind the knees forcing her to go down for a moment. Gail rolled on her back right before hitting the ground, barely dodging the subsequent blow. Stopping just before making contact, Angela took a step backward and stepped on her foe's toes as she tried to stand up.

"Why, you skank!"

"Give up already! If even my mother beat you up in a fistfight, do you think you stand a chance against me?"

"If I don't play fair... absolutely!"

Gail kicked her in the chin, pushing her aside long enough to regain her bearings. Only a few meters to her right laid the whip she had used to give Nick a good beating. She ran towards it but the paramedic beat her to it. With a victorious grin, he taunted her.

"I think this is safer in my hands."

"Think again!" she lashed, another kick flying the distance. He dodged just at the right time to send her rolling past him, face hitting the hard floor. Before she could stand up again, Angela was already crushing her ribs, splintering wood in hand.

"This is for what you did to Jonah!" The stake descended below her neck.

Gail twitched in pain.

"This is for what you did to me in my own house!"

Gail coughed up dark red blood at Nick's feet.

"This is for what you tried to do to my mother!"

Gail's eyes widened as all the oxygen was sucked clean from her lungs.

"And this is for putting Gregory's only son in the middle of all this."

Gail's lips burst, confident smile fading away. For the second time in just a few hours, she laid, defeated, a quiet storm with nothing left in its path to destroy. The moment she closed her eyes, Angela restrained herself and too fell on the hardened surface, eyes fixed on the trembling lights above.

"Are you okay?" Nick sat next to her.

"I will be soon enough."

"So you're really going forward with this?"

"I have no choice. I have to keep my family safe."

"There's always a choice, Angela."

"Not this time, Like I said, it's now or never. Are you staying? This will not be pretty..."

"I'm staying but only because I don't want to see you destroy yourself over this. I won't pretend I understand this shit - I don't! - but we've only just started knowing one another, Angela. I want that to last."

"You really are your father's son..." She held his hand against her bosom.

Eyes hardening, Angela took one last look at her sleeping nemesis before kissing all sympathy goodbye. It was payback time.