Bad Medicine Chronicles Ch 05

Story description: A husband and wife tell a story of their family's indoctrination to incest. Preparations are being made for a mission to rescue Kristy. The story continues from chapter four.

***

Prelude to a Mission

Andy fell on to his back from a forceful kick. His sight narrowed, and bright colored specks floated before his eyes. His chest heaved with an effort to regain his breath.

Opal said, "You're supposed to block. Use both hands next time."

He tilted his head and said, "Rushing me to learn martial arts isn't working."

"I'm not training you to fight. I'm teaching you to defend yourself," she replied.

"Opal, I can't even get close to you without landing prone."

Vincent entered the room and said, "Being so aggressive isn't the way to build his confidence. You're showing off when you should be teaching him. The men he'll face aren't professionals."

Opal replied, "Okay, okay, I see your point. Andy, I'm sorry. The objective is to hit soft vulnerable areas on the body. No matter how big a man is, if you crush his nuts he'll go down. Trust me, even kicking a woman in the crotch will send her tumbling. Gouge a man's eyes and he'll release you. Shatter his nose, you'll have time to run away. There you go, all you need to know."

"Not helpful," Vincent said in response.

Andy replied, "No, it helps. I understand what she's saying, I just don't know how to apply it."

Vincent said, "That's why I instructed her to teach technique and not paint you with bruises. Given an opportunity, landing a powerful punch to the right area can immobilize a mark."

Opal nodded and said, "Surprise and deception is the key. Let the target believe you're feeble and compliant. Take them off guard and don't let up. Meaning, you don't stab once and call it a day. You extinguish the fucker with a series of vicious stabs and let them bleed out."

Vincent sighed and said, "Not realistic, still not helpful. Neither of you will have weapons. That's the one thing they thoroughly check for. This is a rescue mission, not an assault."

Opal replied, "Can't I hide my knife? For that matter, why is Andy coming? I work better on my own."

"Where would you conceal it? To avoid suspicion, you're going to play their game. This means at some point you will be naked. What then? Those people discreetly carry rifles on the outside perimeter, not within the resort compound. Andy is needed because no matter how fucked up Kristy is, she will recognize him. We don't know what they've done to her or her state of mind. The women are conditioned to refuse escape."

Andy said, "But, she's immune."

"Yes, she is. However, there is a possibility that they've made modifications. The bastard said he sent her to the island because of that immunity. They want to use her to make the drug universally effective," Vincent replied.

Opal said, "And we're going because we both have partial invulnerable, yadda, yadda..."

"Yes, it means neither of you will be crippled by it unless you give in to it," Vincent replied.

Opal suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Andy, did Rudy really make that woman ride your dick for twelve hours?"

Andy nodded and said, "Once we found out that the drug only made me hard, Ruby punished Karen by giving her what she wanted. I've never seen someone so exhausted."

Vincent motioned Opal to him and then said, "Richard wants to speak with you in private. He asks that you give him the opportunity."

Opal heatedly said, "We've already discussed this. You're my daddy. Remember we agreed to accept that relationship. We also decided to fuck as father and daughter because it gets us both off. He's the bastard that abandoned me. I don't have anything else to say to him that I haven't already said."

"Then do it for me. Also, I want our relationship to be more than a sick fetish. I've expressed my feelings for you."

"You want to marry me; how could I forget. I'm not going to be a fucken housewife."

"Opal, you're pregnant. The child needs a father and I want to be that person."

"Ruby fucked me with that freaking drug. You jizzed me once and now I'm screwed. I refuse to have a kid and I don't want to be a fucken mommy. I told you I'm getting rid of it as soon as this mission is over. It's my choice."

Vincent gave her a hard stare and crimped his mouth tight. His eyes became glossy and his skin flushed red. He broke his gaze and lowered his head. Without a rebuttal, he turned from her and walked out the door.

Opal wiped a tear from an eye and crossed her arms.

Abruptly, she turned to Andy and said, "We're done. Go fuck your milfs. I'm sure one of them is spread-eagled on the bed waiting for you. I've never seen such an infatuation with a teenage boy."

Andy strolled over to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

She immediately gave him a look that communicated he'd be laid flat if he didn't remove it.

Acknowledging her demeanor, he shook his head, expressed sadness and then left her in the room.

Opal stood for a minute staring at the door and then burst into tears.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I've been riding an emotional rollercoaster since I got drugged. I've lost control and I can't do my job in this state. I'm such a douche for hurting Vincent. He didn't deserve that. What am I going to do?

***

Confrontation

The rotund man dressed in a business suit stood as Opal entered.

Behind him were a series of monitors mounted on the wall. Each of them depicted a chamber with people fucking like baboons.

The moment Opal walked in, the speakers blared out the vociferous climax produced from a daughter, he freaked and quickly flipped a switch to mute the ending of a show.

Embarrassed that she heard it, Richard said, "I apologize. I wasn't expecting you."

Stone-faced, Opal replied, "So, this is what you do? You screw up families just like the enemy and then justify it by stating you're saving people. I'm surprised you didn't have your dick in your hand."

"I do not get off on this. These people are the enemy, not victims."

"These people aren't our adversary's, but you include them in your vendetta. How do you justify that?"

"They're complicit in relation to the mark. Therefore, they suffer the same fate. It's also a means to fund our operations. Their crime fits the punishment and no more than that."

Opal said, "I'm pretty sure that teenage girl had no idea her father abducted women or whatever he did. She would be just as horrified to know that. This isn't justice, it's insanity"

"No, it's perspective. You're an employee, it's not your place to—"

Heated by his words, she abruptly exclaimed, "That's how you view me? If that's the case, you owe me back pay for every man I murdered for you. Should I collect now or later?"

He held the palm of his hand towards her and said, "Peace. Again, I apologize. I'm not used to confrontation. You remind me of your mother."

Opal glared at him and touched her stiletto hidden in the fold.

Richard was observant and said, "Kill me if you want. For what I've done to you, I deserve it. Justice is often interpreted by the one that holds the biggest knife. I don't fault you for how you feel about me."

"Why?" Opal replied.

"I don't understand. Enlighten me."

She said, "Why didn't you save your family?"

He stared with intensity in equal measure as hers and then lowered his gaze to the floor.

He replied, "My head was in a different place back then. I was in despair with no resources. I was a used car salesman, not a criminal mastermind."

"You were a coward. It's as simple as that. It took the death of your wife to drive you to create what you now have. Even then you didn't save your daughters. You didn't save Ruby and Andy. You had all these resources at your disposal and you sat back to watch."

"I've made mistakes. I admit to that."

She said, "Mistakes? Your failures caused devastation. Can you not see it?"

"I won't be responsible for events I had no control over," he said.

"Are you mad? You're responsible for everything that's happened to us."

He heatedly replied, "I must be ruthless! They must fear me."

Opal buttressed her fists on the waist and said, "How's that working out for you? Vincent said we must be better than the opponent to win a fight. I thought he was referring to skill. Now I know he meant something entirely different."

Richard angrily replied, "See, that's the problem. Who's ever heard of an assassin with a virtuous nature? That cutthroat has burdened me with these men because he refused to kill them."

"Vincent left them unscathed because they weren't bad men. He's never taken a life unless he had no choice. You wanted the enemy to perceive your callousness to life, so you viewed it as a job. You never took in to account the individuals placed there."

"That's not true. I hold great value to life. I refuse to allow harm to innocence. Anyone associated with that terrorist group is the enemy," he said.

"Vincent taught me that we live in a world that's neither black or white. It only consists of deviant shades of color. People only have a perception as to what represents good or evil. To be truly good, one must strive to be the shadow that represents all hues. The absence of color is true evil. That's how he lives his life. You intended to make me a monster to fight your foes, but you erred in judgment by selecting Vincent as my tutor."

"I'm grateful that he failed. I don't expect forgiveness. Even I cannot absolve myself for my greatest sin. I've always regretted it."

She said, "You can't alter what's been done. I am who I was meant to be. If you desire to make amends, strive to be the shadow and cease your delusion of black and white. Vincent saved the men that had the potential to do good. Now he wishes he'd killed them because what you've done is much worse. You've brought their families into the picture and now they all suffer."

"I had no choice," he replied.

"Who's the fucken boss around here?" she cried.

He hesitantly exclaimed, "I am, of course."

Opal answered with silence as she stared him down. In a huff, she turned and left the room.

Richard glared at her back as she exited. For moments he stared at the empty space between the frame. It was a void that represented what his heart had become and what he had lost.

This simple confrontation with the daughter he had malformed from heartbreak was the battering ram that finally crumbled his wall. The armor forged to shield himself from the outside world had been dissolved by a single question. He was left marooned in a boat that floated on a lake of sorrow which he himself had filled using a hose that poured despair.

He fidgeted from nervousness and then mumbled, "What have I done?"

He quickly wobbled over to the monitor array and pressed the intercom.

A voice said, "Yeah, boss, what do you need?"

Richard replied, "Cancel all shows. Send them back to their rooms and give them clothing."

"Want to reschedule for tomorrow?"

"No, they're canceled indefinitely. Schedule counseling instead and flag their records for rehabilitation. They're all being released."

"What?"

Richard yelled, "You heard me! I'm the boss and it's my decision, my choice!"

***

Nothing is Free

At the conference table, Opal whispered to Vincent, "What's going on?"

He grinned and said, "You hear that commotion? Something miraculous has happened. He's shut down all his illicit businesses and he's restructured them towards an end game. Everyone was taken off guard including his clients. It's pandemonium and I've never seen the man happier."

"I don't understand."

"Something you said about all men having the potential to do good struck a chord with him. It gave him an idea. He met with the twenty men he held in captivity. These are people that hadn't yet introduced to show business as sex performers. He laid the truth on the table and showed them everything about their former employers, including the master plan."

"Why would he do that?" she said.

"Regardless to their criminal history, American's tend to be righteously patriotic to the point of fanaticism. When he showed videos of white American women on their knees sucking the dicks of jihadi terrorists the room exploded with anger. They had no idea who they were working for or the true nature behind the abductions. Once he added videos of the families, the men reacted like rednecks that were threatened to have their guns confiscated. They immediately signed up to join our fight against their former employers."

"That's incredible."

"Richard said he's accomplished more from using truth in an hour than he had in twenty years of deceit. It lit a fire under him and he hasn't stopped. He's activated all our sleeper agents and have them tasked to obtain intel."

"Where's Ruby?"

"He has her focused on developing an inoculation to the drug. He's pouring resources into it and has her recruiting a whole team of professionals for that task alone. It's not a counteragent for those already affected, but it's a start."

Opal said, "So, why are we here? Why aren't we on a mission?"

"You can't be sent to the island without being briefed. I've told you the husband and wife are going to tell their story. I'll also explain what happened to me. You need to understand the process and what was done to their family. I hope you can stomach it."

Richard appeared at the doorway and yelled down the hall, "Remove that leash from around that woman's neck and show her respect. Are you inhuman?"

He then swiveled his head to the other side and screamed, "Give that man and his daughter clothing or you'll be walking around naked with your ding-dong fully exposed to laughter."

He then shook his head and turned to the assembled team. His expression of annoyance altered into giddiness and he said, "My apologies, I know I'm late. So much to do and so little time."

As he walked to his chair at the head of the table, he drew a look to Opal and then shamefully turned it away.

Once seated, he pressed a button on the intercom and said, "We're ready, please bring them to the conference room for the briefing."

The instant the couple entered the room, Vincent rose up from his chair and ran to the pairs side. After shaking the husband's hand while giving him a hug, he immediately moved to wrap an arm around the pregnant woman and guided her gently to a chair.

Opal watched and was mystified by Vincent's attentiveness to care for the woman.

Curious, Opal said, "How far along are you?"

The woman slightly tilted her head to the question and replied, "Four months."

Shocked by that announcement, Opal said, "Vincent, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. She looks like she's nine months."

The woman held up two fingers without saying a word.

Opal shook her head, unable to comprehend.

The husband spoke up and said, "The one she carries is her second child in a little more than a year. My daughter is the same. Our adult children aren't here to tell their story because they're home attending to the babies."

"Your wife's kids aren't yours, are they?" Opal questioned.

The man flatly replied, "No."

Opal said, "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. You need to know the severity and outcome. We aren't even a family anymore. They eradicated our love. They reconditioned us to serve only one function and because of it, we can no longer manage our daily lives. We tried, but we are incapable of stopping ourselves. We've lost everything including our home. If not for the generosity of Vincent, we'd be on the street selling sex for money. That's the devastation it causes and we're not alone."

Vincent said, "James, explain why your family was targeted."

James replied, "My wife worked for the Department of Defense. She was an Analysis, a critical role in the war against terrorism. The intent was to cripple the department's infrastructure by removing experienced assets that are difficult to replace. She could no longer function in that position and was forced to quit."

"How did this start?" Opal asked.

The wife replied, "A phone call—" The instant she uttered, "...call," she lost composure and began crying.

Unmoved by her emotion, James said, "Telemarketing for an all-expenses-paid two-week vacation, including airfare and boat. We should have known there was a catch. No one ever gives away something for free. Being gullible, we took them up on the offer. If I had just said, no..."

When James couldn't continue, Vincent put a hand on the man's shoulder and then said, "The sales gimmick is effective and hard to resist. Our intel shows that hardly anyone turned it down. It's no one's fault. There's nothing to tip the families off that there's a hidden agenda at play until it's too late."

Richard watched the woman weeping and his eyes began to water from empathy for her sorrow. After pulling a few tissues for himself, he handed the box to Andy and said, "Please, pass this down to the lady."

James looked at Vincent and said, "Jennifer is too shook-up, it's probably best if I begin the story. She can tell hers when she ready."

Vincent said, "Go ahead, start at a point when you first spotted odd behavior."

***

Pango Island

Sitting under an umbrella drinking a Pina colada through a straw, Bobby said, "Creeps me out watching the Islanders always smiling. There's a lot of hot bikini chicks, but those fixed grins don't fit them."

Mina replied, "Did you see the look the maid gave mom when she verbally abused the woman for not refilling the towels. Instead of being upset, the woman giggled and left. Mom was so infuriated. Thank goodness the manager had someone drop some off."

James added, "Yeah, I've caught a few natives staring at us. The instant I glared back they'd turn and continue whatever they're doing."

Jennifer replied, "It's not just us. They're doing it to everyone. It's like they're assessing us. We probably need to hide our valuables when we get back to the room."

Bobby's eye was drawn to a 20-year-old woman his age that was bending over at the pool.

Mina hit his shoulder with a closed fist and said, "Bobby, quit undressing women with your eyes. You're a sexist pig."

"No, he's a typical young man. Stop doing it son, it's rude," Jennifer said.

Bobby turned back to look at his mom and said, "I was actually looking at all the dangling flower necklaces hanging from everyone's necks. The locals keep giving them out like candy. I hate the smell. It weirds me out."

James grabbed a string of flowers from around his neck and tossed it behind him. He mumbled to himself, "Among other things," and then scooted further under the table to hide an erection.

Mina clumped a hand around the dangling red fauna hanging from her neck and took a big waft of the odor.

Bobby teased, "Mina, what the fuck. Your nipples are poking through your bikini at full mast. What are you doing, thinking about your fiancée again? Yuck, mom too. Seriously, you both need to stop smelling that shit. Toss it like dad just did. It's weirding everyone out."

Glossy eyed and dilated, Jennifer stared at her son.

Bobby goggled his eyes at his mom's unsettlingly gaze and waved his hand in front of her face. "Bobby to mommy, your staring at me like I have a snot hanging from my nose. Has everyone gone bonkers?"

Jennifer trembled once, shook her head, and replied, "I like the smell," and smiled.

James said, "Jen, you were staring at him with that same creepy grin. Wear it if you want but you both need to stop sniffing it all the time. I've never seen flowers like these. They could be grown in a sewage pipe for all you know."

Mina drew a hand over her mouth and giggled, "Oh my Lord. Don't turn around. I can't believe she's doing that in front of everyone."