Autopsy of a Mind

Chapter 175: Manipulations and Games

There was silence for a long moment. "Are you challenging me?" the old man asked. Clearly, it had hurt his inflated but fragile ego. 

"You don't like it when a small girl challenges you, is it? You used your daughter to kidnap unsuspecting and vulnerable women, drugged them into unmovable objects, and then treated them as you wanted to." 

His eyes burned with anger. I extended my cheek to him, glad that his slap had woken me up from the drowsiness I was feeling.

"You want to play a game with me?" he seethed.

"But you're not qualified to play any games with me, don't you think?" I countered. "You knew you could never beat us, so you drugged us and tied us up. If you have the balls, go ahead and leave us undrugged. Let's see how long you last."

He mulled over it for a second.

"Don't talk nonsense," he hissed. "I will never fall for this nonsense." He stormed out but the daughter lingered. She stared at me for a solid moment, her eyes unsure before she went away. 

"Evie, should you" Gene started. 

"Don't worry. They won't kill me," I told them. "Tell me about your families," I asked them. For the two girls, it was to make them feel better and take their minds off what was happening, however much was possible, but for Benny, I wanted to know his background. Foreknowledge was important in such matters. 

The other two spoke, their backgrounds were casual. Normal middle-class families had no power to fight back if their family was hurt by powerful forces. 

I turned to Benny. "What about you?" I asked. 

"I day trade. My dad my dad is in the police," he said quietly.

I smiled, not showing the fear I suddenly felt. Phillips if I thought about someone in the police who had a lot of power, I could only think about the Director-General.

If that was the case, Benny's father could very well call off the search when he found out his son was behind this event.

"Is that so?" I shook my head. "Well, we don't need to worry too much then. You have more power than me, it seems." It wasn't meant to flaunt. I had no reason to tell him where I came from, but it was a small jab that I felt entitled to make.

He coughed but didn't respond. 

The daughter came back with the food. The setup was made. She waited this time for me to eat. I took the first bite and sure enough, the drug was there. 

With one hand free, I ate as I looked at her. "Why do you hide behind that mask?" I asked casually. The others quietened down. "Your father already showed his face to us, so it's no point in hiding anymore," I told them.

"He's not my father," she barked, taking a threatening step towards me.

"After what he did to you, I hope he is not your father. I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy," I whispered. "But the mask. Why not take it off? He took it off already because he knows none of us here will speak about who he is." The words were framed very carefully, not giving away if I meant that we would all die or some of us would survive and still not speak about it. 

"If you know that you are going to die, you shouldn't make so much fuss. You are clearly trying to get on our nerves!" she accused. 

I nodded my head. "Absolutely. I wanted to piss him off and talk to you." I paused, giving her a moment to soak in that information. "He's the one who forces you to do all of these. He's scary and dangerous and it must hurt," I choked for the effect. 

I had used my understanding of the psyche of the victim for good all this time, but this one time, I willed myself to use it for my benefit. I had to exploit it. 

Would I forgive myself? Yes. Because this was the only choice. I had often found the phrase an oxymoron. There was only one way to the end, then why call it a choice? There was no alternative, to begin with. 

"Fuck you." That was all she said.  Maybe it was the drug in my system, but I giggled.

"A pervert actually took a picture of me and my husband on our date and sent it to our address. I don't even like exhibitionism but everyone pushes me to it." I snickered some more, my body slowly going out of control. 

I looked down at the food. They had changed the medication. Or the excessive use of drugs was dulling my control over my senses and emotions. I would find out but I wondered how hard it would be. 

But my words seemed to stir the woman. The pictures. That was what had made her grow stiff. "Oh, that's right. Your father took videos of you it's all over the internet." I hung my head, feigning shame. "Sorry, I saw them." The last bit I spoke was thrown towards Benny. "I suppose I am no better than the pervert who stalked me, huh?" I said innocently. 

"She's really high," Jade said, sounding horrified. Really, I was extremely high. My eyes were down to tunnel vision and I was almost sure that my words were garbled, but the others still understood what I was saying.

"You you still have a way out, you know? We haven't seen your face when your dad gets caught, you can get away unscathed." This was the carrot I dangled in front of her. 

No matter how much you love your abusive father, when faced with jail-time and eternal agony, you would choose to protect yourself. No sane human would choose love over their happiness.

Only deluded people like Alicia who fancied psychopaths to be in love with them were so easily manipulated. 

Take the bait, I willed her. 

"Do you think I am a fool?" she hissed. 

I shrugged. "You can believe what you want. I have worked with the police long enough to know the ins and outs of the system. I mean the worst that can happen is you go to jail."

I burst into laughter. "Why are you laughing?" she said frantically. "Why the fuck are you laughing?" She was growing more hysterical. 

"Men in jail get abused and killed if they mess with the wrong people or molest children. Women in jail are tortured if they torture and aid in the rape of other people. Do you know the worst thing? Cop killers aren't popular. The guards have enough people vying for their affection to let someone off you." I pressed my lips together. "I don't stand for it, but life will be horrible from now on."

The daughter leaned against the wall, defeated as I ate my share and then Gene's. I heard the little girl's stomach growl and looked at her momentarily.

I could hardly control the jerking of my body. Agony it was agony not being in control. So, when the distant voice of the daughter floated into my ears, I gritted my jaw to stop talking. 

I must not say anything when not under control. I couldn't say something wrong and ruin the little chance I had of protecting these two women.

"Evie?" I heard a whisper from my right. I turned to the poor little girl. "Are you okay?" she asked. 

I couldn't even nod to reassure her.

"You're grinding your teeth. It isn't good for you," she told me.

"Can't help," I opened my mouth to say. "Sorry for eating," I apologized. 

"No. Thank you." She looked down at her legs and fat tears rolled down her cheeks. 

"Sorry," I said once again. The next thing I knew, everything was burning. At first, I was sure it was scalding water that was poured over me, but then slowly and surely, I recognized that it had been ice water. So cold that my body couldn't differentiate between cold and feeling like my skin was melting off.

"Tell me how!" the daughter yelled. I looked around wildly to find the two women crying. Even Benny seemed to put on an act.

"Too drugged," I muttered. I groaned when the shivers set in. I didn't say more and pretended to sleep. I don't know how much time passed but I finally felt clear-headed enough to open my eyes. The lights in the room were bright.

Unlike when I was brought in, I could see everything with clarity. 

"Awake?" Benny asked softly. There was an edge to his voice. I almost sensed anger. I wondered why. Had I put a pause in his plans?

The daughter was slumped against the wall, sleeping. The father was nowhere in sight.

"Why is she here?" I asked. I could barely recognize my voice. It hurt so much to speak that I felt tears prickling at my eye.

Gene and Jade shook their heads. They didn't know. I turned to Benny. "She wants to know how she can get away. I don't think she is letting the dad come in." He sounded almost peeved. 

"Are you upset?" I asked casually. His head turned to me and he watched me.

"Of course! I have been kidnapped!" he snapped. 

I grinned. I saw the daughter stirring from the corner of my eyes and waited for her to fully wake up. She finally did and looked at me like I was her savior.

"What?" I pretended not to know what she wanted. 

"Tell me how how do I" she couldn't even finish the sentence. She was smart not to admit to what she had done.

"I need you to promise me that you won't drug Gene or me any longer," I proposed calmly. 

"Are you crazy?" she hissed. I stared at her.

"You're pouring two sets of drugged plates. Keep doing that." I don't know if anyone heard that, but her eyes widened in horror. I glared at her, stopping her from giving out my foreknowledge right there. 

"I can't tell you if I can't think straight. Understood?" I pressed harder. 

She nodded hesitantly. "Tell me." She grabbed my injured wrists in a manner that made me grit my teeth to keep from screaming my lungs out.

I had already noticed the slight swelling around the wounded area. There was no way a trained nurse wouldn't have noticed the same.

"You have my cellphone. Pull up the last picture in my gallery and buy the exact thing." The insulin shots, I had to get them here for this girl to survive.

She stood in stunned silence for a second. "Are you playing me?" she hissed, her face lingering threateningly close to mine. 

"I am laying out my terms. If you follow, you go scot-free." I didn't tell her the adverse effect, though. That was out of the question. One should only show the profit from a plan.

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