The Coffee Shop Pt. 05

The coin did not flash. The coin glowed with a strong steady soft light that filled the room. I blinked my eyes in surprise and looked up at the Council of Coins. The Council members looked at me with surprise plain on their faces as well. Slowly they opened their right hands one by one. Each coin that was revealed was glowing as brightly as the coin that remained in my right hand.

"Could someone please tell me what the heck is going on here?" I asked once I'd found my voice and gotten over the shock.

"Congratulations. The coins have chosen you to be the new member of the Council of Coins, Paul Walton," Mary said.

"What?"I yelled. I thought I failed the first test. "How could I possibly be chosen for the Council? No one mentioned anything to me about this being part of the test. I never agreed to this."

"I'd like to know that myself," said Brian, snarling at me. He made no effort to hide his objection to my being chosen.

"The council does not choose its members by testing, the coins do. This is how it has always been. This is how it shall continue to be. Any who object must now touch the coin in Paul's hand." Mary replied.

"Gladly. If anyone deserves that coin, I do," Brian said as he marched up to me and snatched the coin from my open palm.

His scream of pain filled the entire room. He dropped to his knees in front of the Council table, clutching his right arm. The coin was on the floor of the room, next to him. He knelt there sobbing as I picked up the coin and returned it to my right palm. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Of course I'm not okay, you stupid fuck!" Brian yelled at me, the tears still streaming down his face. "Look at what you did to me, you fucker! You'll pay for this! You're dead meat!" He held up his right hand to me and I could see that his fingertips were bright red and looked as if they had been burned.

"Threats are useless and will not be tolerated by the Council, Brian," Mary said coldly. "Paul did nothing to you. You challenged the decision of the coins. You now know that decision cannot be challenged, or changed. The coins pick their partners and bond with them mentally. Once that bonding is complete, nothing can change it. Only Paul Walton may safely use that coin now. Anyone may hold the coin, but you discovered what happens when someone else tries to claim or use the coin for themselves, Brian."

"You could have warned me, bitch," Brian snarled at Mary.

She looked down at him, ignoring the insult."There was no point. You are not a person who would have heeded such a warning. You're one of those guys who has to pee on the electric fence for himself."

I did my best to hide the smile that tried to sneak onto my lips. From the twinkle in her eyes, Mary was doing the same thing.

Mary looked at the rest of the candidates in the room, and then her gaze fell upon me. "While it is true that Paul Walton failed the first test, the decision of the coins is the deciding factor. The coins examine all aspects of every person whom they examine for fitness to be a Council member. Their decision is final. It cannot be challenged." Mary looked pointedly at Brian. He snarled back at her.

"One more point. We know Paul, that at one point you had that man on his knees sobbing in front of you, torn between his desire to serve you, and his commitment to his duty. You repaired the situation flawlessly. Our examination of the man's mind shows that other than the hypnosis, which he did enjoy greatly by the way, he has no idea of what happened during those critical minutes. We salute you on a job well done. We welcome you to the Council of Coins, and are honoured to serve with you."

The council members on the right side of the table stood up, Mary was amongst them. She climbed up to the vacant raised seat and all the other Council members on the right side shifted to the left leaving the right most seat vacant. "Your seat on the Council awaits you Paul Walton."

"Don't I have any say in the matter?" I asked, a trifle annoyed with how the Council seemed to expect that I was going to say 'yes' to this craziness. Boy, did they have a surprise coming.

"Of course you do, Paul," Mary said warmly. "This is an offer to become a Council member. The coins extend the offer, but they cannot force you to join the Council. The choice is yours. Consider carefully all aspects of this decision."

"Do I have to decide right this minute?" I asked. Suddenly I felt a great weight on my shoulders. This was too much to ask of me. I didn't have all the facts I needed to be able to make such a decision.

"Yes, you must decide now. If you decline the offer, then the second most qualified candidate will be given the chance to choose," Mary looked at Brian again. Brian smiled back at her. He could clearly see that I was reluctant to join the Council. If I refused, I knew he would jump at the chance. For some reason, I found that thought disquieting. The idea of Brian on the Council of Coins left, a very bad taste in my mouth. I didn't know why, and that fact I found more unsettling than anything else that had happened this evening.

"Consult your coin. Push a mental probe into it and you will understand," Mary said with a small smile.

Gingerly I did as she suggested. Suddenly I felt a creepy tingling across the front of my forehead. Danger. This was wrong. I didn't know why it was wrong, but it was. Becoming a member of the Council of Coins was wrong. Or maybe, the coin was wrong? Or could it be, I wondered, that my joining with the coin was dangerous? The creepy tingling feeling became twice as intense. I'd learned to trust my sense of danger over the years since I had acquired my super hypnosis powers. This coin and serving on the Council was dangerous for me, for some unknown reason. I looked at it. It looked innocent and ordinary. I thought about sending a mental probe into it, but the danger feeling became stronger. I raised my mental shield up at full strength. I walked back to the Council table. Carefully I placed the coin on the table and stepped away. I did not need to say anything. My rejection of the coin was obvious.

"My turn," Brian said as he walked up to the Council table and picked up the coin. "I'll be glad to join the Council," he said with a grin. A second later that grin was wiped from his face by the scream that was torn from his throat. He dropped to his knees again, clutching his right arm. The coin tumbled from his right hand onto the floor.

"This is yours, I believe," I said as I picked up the coin and returned it to the Council table. I looked over at Brian, as I wondered what was going on. Things were getting confusing. It would be more accurate to say that things were getting even more confusing. Personally I thought we had just left confusing and moved well into strange.

"Jesus, what the fuck did you do to that coin, you bastard?" Brian screamed at me as he slowly stood up. It was clear that this bout of pain from the coin had been stronger than the last one.

"I didn't do anything. Ask them," I answered as I turned my head in the direction of the Council.

"What the hell is going on here? If this jerk said no to becoming a council member, and the coin is not his, why can't I claim it?" Brian asked the Council as he cradled his right arm.

"We are not sure.. This has never happened before. Until now, when a candidate has rejected a coin, the next most qualified candidate was able to claim the coin if they so desired," said Mary. All the Council members wore the same calm cool expression, almost as if they had expected this turn of events. I, however, wasn't buying that story for a second. This whole thing was just too strange.

"Okay, then," Brian said calmly. In the next heart beat the room filled with light, and I felt some type of mental shield drop over my mind. I wasn't sure what it was, other than it was not my mental shield. The huge bolt of mental energy that Brian hurled at my mind impacted on this new mental shield and became stuck in it like a truck sunk up to its axle in a mud filled drainage ditch on the side of a road. The bolt bounced back and impacted Brian's mental shield which he barely raised in time. His mental shield did not shatter, but it was dented. Two more mental blots impacted on Brian's mental shield almost immediately following. I could not figure out where they came from though. I was sure it was not from me. I had not moved a muscle physically or mentally. The third mental bolt shattered his mental shield completely. It had taken less than a heartbeat to accomplish all this. I had not done it Maybe the Council had, but I could not be sure.

"You see now, why it is not a good idea to challenge the coins' decision, or anyone that the coins choose to protect," Mary said as she looked at Brian. She was suggesting that the coins, and not the Council, had intervened to protect me from Brian's mental attack. That was certainly a new twist on things.

Brian's face was as white as a sheet, while his eyes flicked between me and Mary. He gulped once. I put as stony a look on my face as I could. Brian didn't say anything he just looked at the two of us with pure terror in his eyes.

"All of you must now leave, save Paul Walton," Mary addressed the other candidates.

The candidates slowly moved towards the open doors in the room. All looked disappointed save Brian, who still looked scared through and through. I was surprised that he had not peed his pants. When they were well away, the dividing wall rose up separating the Council chamber from the rest of the testing rooms.

"Our most sincere apologies for the objection and consequent actions of Mister Brian Hallows. Usually the decisions of the council coins are not questioned, but on occasion it does happen. I hope you were not unduly upset by the matter," Mary said as she looked at me and smiled that warm welcoming smile that she'd first shown me in the Coffee Shop those many years ago.

"You did not answer Brian's question, Mary. What the heck is going on?" I asked.

"We are not sure. We will have to investigate further and contact you when we have further information. While you have rejected the coin, the coin has refused to reject you. It would appear that the coin wishes to connect with you, to bond with you, and will not accept anyone else. This is most unusual," Mary answered.

"In other words, you haven't got a clue," I said flatly.

"I would not have chosen those exact words, but I suppose they are accurate given the current circumstances," Mary admitted reluctantly. "You should head home now, Paul."

I sighed to myself, as I realized I was back at square one with the Council of Coins. They would continue to watch me, more closely now than ever. This little test of theirs has not settled anything. If anything, it had intensified their interest in me. I was a very bright blip on their radar, due to the odd things that had happened here today. A door off to my right slid open. I could take a hint. I left without saying another word to the Council. 'Maybe the coin is defective and needs to be repaired', I thought to myself. It made about as much sense as anything else that had happened tonight. I didn't look back at the Council as I left the room. The door slid softly closed behind me as I exited. I was glad to be out of there.

The trip home by cab was uneventful. I wondered if I should talk with Andy about these recent events. Did he need to know? Would it help our relationship any? I decided to shelve those thoughts for the time being and deal with them later. After this confusing evening, I was looking forward to a little peace and quiet for a while. Andy was on duty so he would not be dropping by my apartment for a visit tonight, until after his shift, that is if he wasn't too tired. Maybe that was just as well. I had much to think about.

Yes a little peace and quiet would do me good. As it turned out, I wasn't going to get it.

Thirty minutes after I got home, and out of my suit and tie into a nice comfortable dark green long sleeved cowboy shirt, broken in Wrangler light blue jeans with a brown leather belt snaked in the belt loops, and my feet in a pair of warm thick soft comfortable socks, the doorbell rang. It was nearly 8 PM and I was not expecting anyone. Not even the pizza guy. Curiosity dragged me off of the comfortable couch and I looked through the peep hole. My jaw dropped open in surprise.

It was the Marine Sergeant from my test with the Council of Coins. He did not know my full name, nor my address, which made me wonder how he had tracked down my home address. The Sergeant was wearing the same Dress Blue class C uniform I had seen him in earlier. However, he was carrying his hat (or cover as Marines call it) tucked securely under his left arm.

"What do you want, Sergeant?" I called through the closed door.

"Please could I come in and talk with you about this, sir?" The Sergeant asked. "I uh, got your address from those people at the Coffee Shop. You know the important powerful people."

The Sergeant was implying that the Council of Coins had provided him with my home address. That was possible, though I can't think if why they would do that. I was curious as to what the Sergeant wanted. I knew that he was susceptible to my super hypnotic powers, so the danger factor was low. I wasn't getting any sense of danger. I decided to let him in. I unlocked the deadbolts and the chain, backed away from the door and opened it.

"Thank you for seeing me unannounced, sir. May I come in, sir?" The Marine Sergeant asked respectfully. He wasn't fearful. He seemed self assured. My curiosity had most definitely been aroused now. (Okay, dear reader, I admit it. My cock had expressed some interest when I had laid eyes upon the Sergeant again. He was a hell of a hunky Marine.)

"Yes, come on in Sergeant. Please make yourself comfortable on the sofa," I told him. He seemed oddly hesitant as he walked in to the living room and walked past me on the way to the sofa. Oh yes, that magnificent butt of his in those very snug dress blue uniform pants with the button flap pockets on the back, made my heart beat a bit faster, not to mention what it did to my breathing. (Once a butt man, dear reader, always a butt man. And this was some Grade A prime beef Marine butt we are talking about!) Need I say my eyes were practically glued to that Marine butt as it found its way from my front door to my living room sofa? I felt more than a twinge of regret as the Marine Sergeant sat down on the sofa and made himself comfortable.

I closed and locked the apartment door. I walked over to the living room area and sat down in one of the stuffed chairs near the sofa. This chair was a swivel rocker, which would make it easy for me to find a comfortable position, while I talked with the Marine Sergeant. While I was thrilled to see the Sergeant again (What gay man with a detectable heart beat wouldn't be?), I was also slightly concerned. I'd never told him my name, much less given him my address. Which begged the question, 'how had he found me?'

I was seated to the Sergeant's left, and he was seated on the left end of the sofa. We were close to each other, but not within touching distance. (I know, dear reader. Damn it, was my first reaction too.)

The other question that crossed my mind was 'who had sent the Sergeant'? In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder if this was yet another test of the Council of Coins. They were still watching me, so that seemed likely. These thoughts and several others of a more erotic nature ran around in my mind as I looked at the Sergeant sitting there across from me. As I said before the Sergeant was very good-looking, and somewhat of a distraction. Talk about an understatement! On my stud meter, the Sergeant was registered 9.9 on a scale of 10. I'd always had a thing for Marines, and having this handsome hunk just inches away from me was a little bit of a challenge to deal with. Remember the Sergeant was wearing his Dress Blue class C uniform, and I just love a man in uniform!

"Why are you here Sergeant?" I asked bluntly. I was too tired from the day's recent events to be subtle. How I managed to keep the excitement and nervousness out of my voice was a mystery to me. Maybe I'd just had a lot of practice.

"Well, I sort of want you to hypnotize me again, Mr. Walton," the Sergeant replied looking me dead in the eyes. "I really enjoyed what happened at the Coffee Shop and I'm curious if we could do that again."

"I see," I said thoughtfully and pause for a second or two before continuing to speak. This was just too good to be true. There had to be a hidden catch somewhere. A worrisome thought occurred to me. "How did you obtain my name and address? I never told you who I was or where I lived." I looked at the Sergeant sternly, not bothering to try and hide the disapprove on my face. This unsettling fact was throwing a very large swimming pools worth of water on the fires of my desire to agree to the Sergeant's request.

"I talked to those people after you left. They were kind enough to give me that information," he answered.

I mulled that information over in my mind for a few seconds. It made sense but it didn't quite feel right. There was more to the story. "Why did they give you that information? It couldn't have been out of the kindness of their hearts," I asked him.

"I insisted, and convinced them that I didn't mean you any harm. Funny thing though, one of them insisted on touching my forehead and having me repeat the statement that I didn't mean you any harm. After that they gave me your name and address, said something about you being able to take care of yourself and that they considered me trustworthy," he answered calmly. There was a slightly puzzled look on his face after he relayed that information to me.

The sergeant wasn't gifted so he had no idea what one of the Council members had done. I did though. The Council member had been verifying the Sergeant's truthfulness when he claimed he didn't mean any harm. I was pleased to learn that I was in fact safe with the Sergeant. It looked like my evening was good to turn out a little bit better than I thought.

"So you want me to hypnotize you Sergeant. And do what exactly?" I asked him.

"Just feel like I did before, sir. I just want to let go and not have to worry about anything, or anybody," he replied, sitting there at attention on the sofa. He was so rigid and uptight that I knew he'd never go into ordinary hypnosis. His guard was clearly up despite his statement that he wanted to be hypnotized. I would have to use super hypnosis on him to get him back into hypnosis. Ah yes, that would be such a hardship for me, to have to use my powers on this stud muffin of a Marine to give him what he wanted, which was a hypnosis session. (I am sure you can see, dear reader, the many burdensome chores that I am forced to undertake. Woe is me, indeed.)

"Am I allowed to play with you? May I run my hands over your uniform to find out what you've got in your pockets? May I give you interesting suggestions to tap into your creativity?" I smiled at the sergeant as I talked to him.

The sergeant looked at me with one of those 'what the heck do you mean by that' expressions, for a second or two. It seemed he was having second thoughts about this. His body stiffened even more, if that was possible. It was clear that he felt threatened by my statements, even though they were delivered in a light hearted tone of voice. "Since we are here in private, I suppose it would be okay if you wanted to do some of those stage show hypnosis routines with me. Getting down on all fours and barking like a dog or squatting down and clucking like a chicken doesn't really appeal to me sir," he said. He squirmed about on the sofa for a second or two after talking. I flicked my eyes down at his crotch just long enough to see a slight bulge develop along the inside of his right thigh. It was gone almost as soon as I noticed it. Now that was an interesting contradiction. Reserved and reluctant to be hypnotized, and fighting with a secret erotic desire to be made to do silly and slightly humiliating actions while hypnotized.