MissTake

Note: This is the sequel to "MissPlacement."

The crack of the bat from across the stadium echoed it loudly and was followed by an excited roar of cheers. With the ball flying in the air, nearly everyone in its general trajectory rose to be ready to catch it. Buried under a sea of raised hands and baseball gloves sat Detective Ned Ryburn, showing half the excitement of the moment. He wasn't a grump about it, nor misanthropic and unhappy to be there, but the spirit of his favorite sport wasn't there like it used to be, as his police buddies noticed when they and everyone else sat down.

Detectives Sally Saffron and Lou Giatti next to Ned declined to poke fun at his lack of enthusiasm; attending the game was their idea, to get their friend back into a positive swing after a supposedly-huge opportunity of apprehending a major criminal, and surprisingly-huge slump. Being the kind of cop to usually hold things close to the vest, Ned had been cagey about a lot of the details; it took their trained intuition to figure that he had his sights on a reputed mob lieutenant, Richie McClure, known in the area as virtually untouchable.

"You know you're going to get him eventually, Ned" Sally commented, consoling her friend she's known relatively long. "Guys like him always give second chances."

"And cops like you never give up," Lou added. "Patience always bring the good things. But don't miss out on the good moments, like right now."

Ned laughed at their words, outwardly brightening as he tried to acknowledge their efforts and hide his true feelings. He was happy his pursuit of McClung could easily mask the criminal he was really missing - Kelli Kennedy, aka MissPlacement. He'd forgotten how long it'd been since he'd heard any word of her, or from her. The infamous street hypnotist had gotten to him, twisted his thinking as easily as a bow being tied on top of a wrapped present, and how she loved to see his thread repeatedly tugged at and unraveling. Buried as deep as he possibly could, he had to hide how much he loved it too. Every drawing gesture, every lingering glance, every snap of his counterfeit-girlfriend's fingers.

The sound of another hit in the field caught his daydreaming mind again, happy to stay seated as others rose, ready to catch something. All he caught was an ability to note how similar the distant sound of a bat hitting a baseball was to a distant, crisp finger snap was, feeling mental and physical reminders of that effect. The desire to go blank for a short amount of time, even in public, went thankfully unnoticed, and he was more than thankful that evidence of arousal from that association was solely his to notice.

Ned stoically tried to steel himself, to focus on the intended purposes of enjoying the game, when another sound caught his attention. Light confusion shaped facial muscles as the sound was much more akin to a real finger snap, followed by another. And another. And another. Each was crisp and powerful, as if made from very-practiced fingers. Each one was a taunt, that barely anyone else noticed, until his eyes caught a woman wearing a blue-jean jacket, dark sunglasses, and a pleased smile borderlining a smirk. Further down Ned Ryburn's row, across from a staircase aisle, sat MissPlacement herself, someone that could remained altogether inconspicuous if it wasn't for her blatant staring. The snapping virtually stopped when they saw one another, raising a hand to wave politely at her old acquaintance.

"Hey Neddy Bear," red-painted lips mouthed, while giving one more teasing snap, to note who drew his attention, leaving his mind to race with questions, and his cheeks to blush at her irritatingly-cute pet name for him. Visibly tensing at the fresh wave of submission that flowed over him, it was akin to how a fluffy teddy bear must feel when hugged tightly, lovingly, affirming affectionate trust that complimented suggestive lust, promoting the desire to be toyed with. Thankfully for him, the wave wasn't nearly as strong as it used to be, allowing him to tense enough to fight the words. Ned knew more than anyone there the devious twinkle in her eye hidden behind the glasses, happy to see the effects she could still produce after a long absence.

Sally just happened to look over to see her colleague looking back in their direction. The woman staring in their direction raptly kept Ned's attention, and got him to hide a whole gamut of emotional reactions, reading the older cop's body language and attempts at seeming nonchalant. She seemed to give another little wave before rising to her feet, walking away from the stands and towards the concession area, or to make some provocative exit. It took a lot for Ned to get so flustered; Sally figured ex-girlfriend, or some kind of problematic character he wasn't too pleased to see. What seemed to catch Sally's attention more than anything was a white, snakeskin purse in Kelli's possession that wasn't on her person when she rose, and matched the outfit of the woman sitting next to the staircase moreso than Kelli's blue-jean look. That piqued Sally's curiosity enough, rising herself a minute later and heading in Kelli's direction.

Moving through what felt like a sea of people between innings of the game, the female detective surprisingly didn't have to go far before seeing Kelli. She was standing out in the open, near one of the lines for the concession stands. The way she stood, head unmoving, maybe staring at the food menu, or just off into space, made it seem like she was half-waiting for something else. Or someone else. The white purse she clutched under her arm didn't look that uncoordinated to her blue denim outfit, and had she never paid attention to the stylish woman in white near their seating, she might've never made the connection. But Sally let her police instincts take over as she got behind Kelli. Intuitive person that she was, the hypnotist smiled to herself, cocked her head a little bit to the side, and turned it to see who had finally approached her.

She looked only slightly shocked to see Ned's companion behind her rather than Ned herself; years of disciplined showmanship kept her from acting too surprised.

"Oh, hello," Kelli greeted Sally. "Are you...one of Ned's friends?"

"I am. Sally Saffron, nice to meet you..." She extended her hand, and Kelli turned to grip it gently, with a slight but noticeable firmness to it. "Kelli Kennedy. Nice to meet one of Ned's friends."

"Likewise," Sally said evenly, keeping her skepticism internal.

"Are you doing the concession line? I'm not sure myself. I'm not even sure the line is moving." Kelli looked ready to move out of the way so Sally could get in line.

"I might. I do need to eat something eventually," Sally admitted, trying to keep the exchange friendly at the beginning.

"Yeah, you might concede to hunger before long," Kelli smiled. The way she said it almost puzzled Sally before her new acquaintance interjected the thought. "How long have you known Ned?"

"Oh, quite a while; we came up together through the academy."

"Oh, cool. You're a police offer too? A detective like Ned?"

"I am," Sally enjoyed how subtle Kelli seemed to be at innocently probing for information.

"Even cooler. I do wonder why there aren't more women detectives out there; we arguably have a much better eye for detail."

Sally smiled appreciatively, looking thankful for the compliment while using her eye for detail on the complimenter.

"What do you do, Kelli?"

"Oh, I'm a street hypnotist."

The detective's subtle blink and the slight holding of breath made Kelli smile inwardly, her own detecting eyes twinkling behind the sunglasses, grinning at the tale-tell signs of yet another person showing reactive, subconscious interest in her skills.

"Really?" Sally tried sounding nonchalant.

"Really. It's a very fun, fulfilling profession, to be able to show people the power of their own minds, how interests and thoughts can be narrowed, how focus and deep introspection can slip into one singular thing that keeps their attention and let's the rest of them, and soon all of them, relax and enjoy..."

Kelli loved letting those words hang in the air, letting considerate minds absorb and soak up their meaning, silently embodying them.

"Granted, it's not as fun as being able to tell people 'Freeze!' and 'You're under arrest!' all day..." Using a compelling, seductive voice with a touch of dominant intonation to utter the typical police commands struck Sally more than she was expecting, momentarily standing stark still with arrested senses. "But it's still fun."

"Y-yeah, that-" It took her a few seconds longer to recover than the detective wanted, centering herself on the purpose of their meeting. "A really interesting way to make money. Nice purse, by the way."

"Thank you, it-"

"I've never tried denim with white snake skin, before," Sally said evenly, reasserting herself as she originally wanted to.

"Weird fashion statement, I agree. But who knows what trends will start," Kelli coolly responded back.

"I wouldn't let the lady at the end of your row see you with that purse. Tackiness aside, her white outfit will make it seem like that purse belonged to her," Sally was ready to take a step forward in apprehending the young hypnotist.

Without the mention of Ned's first name, she would've done it sooner, but she muddied the waters with the genuine possibility of them being friend's. Sally was a half-a-step behind in her mind putting it together that Kelli could've just as easily been someone Ned arrested once.

"We'll have to keep the agreement on her tacky attire between ourselves; it's hard to tell another friend how atrocious their clothing choice, to the point where you just don't, and accept them as they are. Kind of like Ned assuming that he was unhypnotizable one time. I didn't have the heart to tell him how easily I hypnotized him, how the meticulous detective was under well before he started to think about resistance. He still doesn't believe that when it comes to hypnosis, it's typically already over before the subject even realizes it, that the hypnosis is already underway, and can't be stopped. And before I forget, still haven't decided about concessions myself. What about you? Conceded to anything yet?"

Sally's look turned hard, ceasing to pretend that she wasn't about to arrest Kelli. Kelli nearly smirked, acknowledging the change in tenor of their exchange.

"Can we start over?" Kelli was the one to extend her hand this time.

Sally smirked herself, taking the gesture as a white flag, ready to cuff the outstretched wrist. The smirk disappeared a few seconds after Kelli's outstretched hand managed to take the uncuffed metal bracelet and clasp it around Sally's wrist instead. She couldn't believe it as Kelli managed to uncuff the other bracelet and neatly clasp it over Sally's same arm twice without ever looking down.

"Or is it already over?" Kelli's low, soothing whispers arrested the mind looking for any feasible explanation to what had just happened, which the infamous MissPlacement was happy to supply.

"Because if a hypnotist tells you that it's already over, that the hypnotic trance has begun, then there's really no stopping it. You can't stop what is already finished. You were already hypnotized. You are already hypnotized, Sally. I already hypnotized you, in a line waiting for concessions when you never realized all you wanted to do was to make concessions, to concede, to concede to hypnosis, to know what it feels like, to know how good it feels to let it wash over you. And for the parts so curious about how it happened, allow me to explain why you feel so good right now, and how you feel better and better the more I explain."

Kelli's soft handshake was rhythmic like her words, gently pulling and leading he in every unresisting direction the hypnotist wanted.

"Ned is such a good detective that he noticed every little detail about how he sunk into hypnosis. Relaxed muscles, slow breathing, still body, listening mind, he faithfully followed where his instincts led him, into my suggestions. And while Ned is a good detective, you are a great detective, noticing every little thing taking you into deeper hypnosis. You know hypnosis already happened, and that everything happening just takes you deeper. Every muscle you feel, every breath you take, every person passing by you, every second you stare at me. And at yourself."

Kelli stepped in a little closer, the clear reflection off her black sunglasses let both women see the profound effect of subversive hypnotic control.

"See yourself in my sunglasses, detect how you concede to my every word now, how you want to detect, want to concede to what's already happened to you. What you want to happen to you. It can keep happening to you, and you really, really want that, don't you?"

The gentlest of nods affirmed Kelli's suggestions back to her.

"Then all you have to do is listen, and do what I tell you. And it will be so easy to obey my words, because you already obey them now. Might as well keep a good thing going."

Kelli soon let go of Sally's hands, making her new subject tingle with anticipation. Sally didn't want to let go of Kelli's hand, or didn't want Kelli to loosen her grip on Sally altogether, but she believed it would happen again. Kelli told her it would, and she took it as a happy inevitability, following the hypnotist through a crowd that might as well have been a breeze passing by tree.

Pulled into the ladies room momentarily, Kelli offered a hand to be shaken again, and Sally's doubly-chained hand happily took it again, the pleasure of Kelli's control flooding back into her. It became a heightened surge all at once, being jerked forward by hand and Kelli sharply whispering "SLEEP" to her, over and over again, introducing the abyss to a Sally desperate to remain inside it.

"Now Silly Sally, tell me about who else came here with you besides Ned..."

***

Lou Giatti had his attention mostly on the game, when it wasn't on trying to keep Ned's spirits up, or glance over at any hot women he saw in the crowd. With Sally having stepped away, Lou tried out some dirty jokes that usually got a chuckle or laugh out of him that Sally couldn't stand. Ned put up a good front some time after Sally, left, but Lou had no idea how hard he was masking the panic of seeing his former controller in public again, bottling that fear while trying to figure out if she was plotting something again. And what, if so.

Lou told himself that trying hard to cheer Ned up would probably hurt more than it would help, so he didn't let any of Ned's possible brooding keep him from having a good time. And simultaneously celebrating a fresh divorce from a crummy marriage, Lou was bound to keep an eye out for attractive prospects. Sally laughed at that, glad that he was free from a terrible woman he married too quickly and stayed with too long, but he was almost too horny once the courts approved everything, dating a few times a week, and even getting into phone sex.

"Just because your ex didn't manage to take all your money doesn't mean you should give it away to all your next future exes," Sally chastised him, half-humorously.

Even Lou knew he was hitting the dating circuit pretty hard, but he considered himself lucky that his marriage ended before he started going bald. After the game was over, he saw a few ladies in the surrounding seats he thought might be worth talking to. He thought that was his best shot at his next date, before a text came to his phone. He was going to dismiss the unfamiliar number, but was intrigued by the message itself:

"Hi, I am friend of Sally Saffron's. Please call me back ASAP at this number."

A small bout of concern filled Lou, knowing that Sally hadn't returned to her seat yet. Getting up out of his seat, he headed in the same direction Sally went, calling the number.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Lou?"

"It is. Are you the friend of Sally's?"

"I am. My name's Kelli; Kelli Kennedy. It's nice to meet you finally meet you Lou."

"What's going on? Is Sally alright?"

Scanning the crowd, Lou's worried grew about not being able to find her, and what the call was about.

"As far as I know, she's fine. Didn't mean to make my message sound like an emergency, I'm sorry. I just...finally worked up the nerve to speak with you."

"What?"

"Sally told me all about you; well, warned me really. I saw you in a picture of you, her, and some friends. I commented how I thought you were cute, but she relented connecting us. I got your number from her phone though; she doesn't know about it. Please don't tell her."

As if on cue with Lady Luck, he saw Sally heading back to the seats, passing by Lou, waving to him and unaware of who he was on the phone with.

"Your secret is safe with me, Kelli. Nice to speak to an admirer."

"Kind of hoping it will be likewise, if we get to meet up soon."

Sally's friend definitely had Lou's attention, and kept it engaged; her words were cute and flattering, but the quality of her voice went beyond appealing. Lou half-wondered if Sally had befriended any call girls.

"I'm going to assume Sally has never mentioned either of us to one another, but I'm going to guess you're a cop too, right?"

"Detective, actually."

"Detective Giatti, that's impressive."

"And what do you do, Kelli?"

"I'm a doctor, a hypnotherapist."

"Wow, that's impressive too. Dr. Kennedy."

"Eh, Dr. Quack if you believe any of my patients."

"If they call you that, you should make them believe they're chickens, for good measure."

"Won't say the temptation is never there, but they usually behave once I get their breathing under control."

"Breathing?"

"Yeah, a lot of the basis for success in hypnotherapy is really just breathing. I mean, it's probably like that for a lot professions; sports, medicine, any high-stress jobs that make you take deep breaths. Mine is unfortunately one of the few that make it a thing worth paying attention to. An old girlfriend even told me once that a successful date could be determined just by listening to how a guy takes five deep breaths; even if she was right a few times, still a bit funny."

Lou leaned against an indoor stadium wall, as far away from any crowd noise as he could get, and started to take five very audible breaths into his phone for Kelli to hear.

"Did I pass muster?" he joked after finishing the fifth breath.

"More than for me; but oddly enough, one of those breaths was one that would made my old girlfriend force me to date you. It's just hard to tell which one it was."

Lou would've found the whole topic of breathing very strange for a first-ever communication, if Kelli's voice didn't take on a breathy, interested quality.

"It's said that each breath is like a snow flake or fingerprint, all of them uniquely different somehow, if you know what to listen for. Having a profession of paying attention to people all day like mine, like ours, I think we even notice these things without really noticing. The way someone breaths in through their nose, holds that breath for a few seconds, and lets it out even slower, can reveal a lot about a person. Just the way they take a deep breath..."

Kelli took a deep breath herself, delighted to hear the same on the other end.

"Holding it for a few seconds..."

She loved the silence, the patience Lou didn't know he'd have for Kelli's command.

"And....SLEEP"

Kelli appeared next to him as if by magic, holding his forehead while he exhaled without having to be told to do so, letting her suggestions steady his muscles so he could stand upright and inhale more deep breaths and deeper suggestions.

"That's right, Lou. You know exactly how important deep breaths are. Every one you take is important, every one takes you deeper, every one makes you realize how important my words are."