Catch & Neutralize (14 page)

“I wasn’t going to hurt you,” Scott said softly. He laid his head on Stockton’s knee, consoling himself. “I love you, Mrs. Carter.”

Angie walked over and slapped Scott’s face almost as hard as she had his rear. “Don’t ever say that to me. Time for you to shush or,” she bent and grabbed one of his socks, “I really will stick a sock in it.”

Scott begged, his tone loud: “Please stop. Please just let me go.”

Angie kicked his thigh. “Stop whining. This is your fault.”

Tiffany pushed her glasses up with one finger. “Scott,” she demanded, “remove Stockton’s clothes, and we won’t hurt you anymore.” On a softer note: “We’re just going to take a few pictures for insurance, and it’ll be all over.” She petted his head as if he were being a good dog.

“Pictures?”

The corners of Tiffany’s glossy lips slipped upwards. She leaned forward, chest nearly exposed. Then the gun so close to his face he could smell it. “Yes, Scotty boy, just a few so we can remember how nice our time together has been. Mostly, we need collateral to be sure you’re not posting pictures of Mrs. Carter anywhere. Now, take off Stockton’s clothes.”

“I’m not doing that,” Scott said standing, suddenly defiant. “No way.”

The gun sounded a one-tap endorsement as Tiffany cocked it. “Are you ready to die then?”

Stockton shuffled in the chair kicking Scott’s ankle, barely a touch, making Scott jump. No longer worried about showing his nakedness, Scott lifted his hands.

Tiffany hurried backwards, gun still aimed at him.

A small stream of urine hit the floor, splattering Scott’s feet and legs. “Okay, okay. Don’t kill me.”

Angie pointed at him giggling. “You’re so pathetic, Scotty boy!” She started bouncing still pointing. “Scotty boy the pee-pee boy. Scotty boy the pee-pee boy,” she chanted.

Scott hid behind his hands again. In a soft voice, he asked, “Isn’t there something else you’d like me to do besides a nude photo shoot with Officer Psycho?”

Tiffany took another step back from the urine puddle and pursed her lips. “Could be but I doubt it.” She turned her attention to Angie. “Any ideas?”

“We could have him kill Officer Psycho.” Angie scratched her blonde scalp delicately before pushing a hand though the strands. “And when that’s over, maybe we have Scotty boy off himself? They’re both a couple of losers anyway. Who’d care?” Angie’s features twisted, eyebrows pulling together into a perfect illustration of the word scowl.

“Great idea, except for the part about Scotty killing himself. I think we should keep him awhile.” Tiffany stepped over the pee stain and patted his head again, gun pointed at his chest. “I’ve always wanted a pet. We’ll just need to potty train him first.”

Angie left the bed and went over to Tiffany. “You’re the smartest,” she whispered. “Shoot off his bally-balls. Make him your
neutered
pet.”

With that, an eardrum exploding bang ricocheted against the stone walls.

Chapter 26

Scott lay on the floor in fetal position holding his crotch, a steady shriek flowing from somewhere deep inside. Tiffany and Angie giggled like a couple of schoolgirls. A mirror once standing on the opposite side of the bed now wobbled against the wooden floor. Shattered pieces splayed across the room reflected light at unusual angles.

“Oh, Scotty, your boy parts are intact,” Tiffany said, face flushed with laughter. She held the gun down, pointing at the floor. “Can’t say the same for the mirror. I never liked that ugly thing, and now I have a reason to get rid of it without feeling guilty.”

The grin plastered over Angie’s face finally disappeared. “I guess you weren’t expecting that, huh, Scotty boy?”

Scott opened his eyes and carefully examined himself. Sitting up, he succumbed to their wishes. His tone soft and whispery, “I’ll do it.”

“What was that, Scotty?” Tiffany’s hand cupped her ear, the tiny diamond exposed. Amusement danced in her misty blue eyes.

Scott cleared his throat and repeated: “I said I’ll do it. I’ll take the pictures with Officer Psycho just like you want.”

“That’s a good boy.” Tiffany used the gun as a pointer, indicating she wanted Scott to go to Stockton still passed out on the chair. “Well, get to it then. Officer Wood is in no condition to undress himself.”

Angie’s long hair surrounded her face and cascaded over her shoulders. Scott stared, thinking she looked like a demon disguised as an angel. She clapped her hands twice causing him to jump.

“Chop! Chop! You don’t want Psycho Officer waking up in the middle of your debut modeling session. Right?”

Scott Dovy scrambled up losing his balance, a graceless motion of one-man leapfrog.

Angie shook her head and rolled her eyes, hands resting on her hips. “Come on, Scotty,” she urged. “For the safety of these nice floors, I suggest you crawl.”

Chuckling as she watched Scott obey, Tiffany used a middle finger to reposition her glasses. She kept eyes on Scott but addressed Angie, “My cell phone is on the desk,” she nodded over her shoulder. “Would you get it and play paparazzi while this gun and I make sure things stay in order?”

“You bet.”

By the time Scott knelt in front of Officer Wood fumbling with his belt buckle, Angie returned. The room temporarily brightened with each snapshot taken.

Pulling down the officer’s pants was, by far, the most difficult challenge Scott had ever encountered. With Stockton’s pants around his ankles, Scott went from knees to rump. His butt smacked against the hardwood. He groaned wiggling, searching for a more comfortable position. Once settled, he started on the humiliating task of removing Officer Wood’s boots and pants.

“Boots and pants, and boots and pants, and boots and pants,” Angie chanted like Maxwell the GEICO pig from an old commercial.

Scott’s blood boiled like a vat of toxic chemicals. Working the second boot a little too roughly, Stockton moaned and lazily scratched his crotch, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. His hand stayed where he’d been scratching.

Tiffany’s lips shifted in revulsion. She shook her head and pushed at her glasses. “Never could keep his hands off his balls.”

Angie’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter. She resumed collecting pictures with Tiffany’s cell phone, each one imitating the sound of an old-fashioned camera.

Even as Scott finished the grueling task at gunpoint, Stockton remained asleep in the chair. He now wore only an unbuttoned shirt.

“Okay, Scotty boy, time to give the nice officer a kiss on the mouth,” Tiffany said raising the gun. “Once Angie has collected a couple pictures of that, you will lay a nice juicy kiss on his stomach followed by a kiss to the thigh.”

Scott’s attention shifted from Tiffany to Angie, knowing she meant business.”Fuckin’ seriously?” It came out as a high-pitched whine.

Tiffany nodded. “Yep. And, don’t look at Angie to save you. This was her idea.”

“That’s right,” Angie agreed. Her mouth raised into a grin. “If you weren’t such a pathetic doofus trying to screw me over, you wouldn’t be here, Scotty boy. This is totally your fault. Give yourself an enthusiastic pat on the back.”

Angie’s eyes ran down Stockton’s nakedness, and she giggled. “Scotty boy, your boyfriend’s crotch is like a tumbleweed. Can’t even see his teeny weenie.” She giggled again. “I suggest you do what you’re told, Scotty boy, without complaining. You’ve had it easy so far. Don’t make us order you to shave his bushy pubic forest. Who knows what you’ll find, or what we’ll tell you to do afterward?”

Scott blinked and blinked again, hoping none of this was real, hoping he was at the lake with his college buddies and experiencing one helluva bad Acid Trip. He blinked a third time. Realizing his situation wasn’t going away anytime soon, he stood and did as he’d been told. Bending over, he quickly pressed his lips against Officer Wood’s and took a step back.

“Do it again,” Angie demanded. “I wasn’t ready.” She held Tiffany’s phone up indicating she hadn’t taken any pictures. “Slower this time and put your arms around him.”

Scott’s eyes rotated towards the door.

“Don’t even think about it. Tiffany will shoot you before you get halfway there. Now, be a good boy and pucker up for your man-on-man photos.”

Scott looked down at Officer Wood the now Naked Psycho. He wasn’t sure whether to cry or vomit. Gay people never bothered him. Poles with poles, holes with holes, or poles with holes… he didn’t care. He himself was not gay and not interested in becoming gay. Scott’s stomach flopped.

He looked back at Angie. “Can I go to the bathroom? I think I’m going to throw up.”

Tiffany nodded waving him away. “Yes! Go! Run! I don’t want to clean your stomach contents off the floor.”

Scott bolted.

Angie pressed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

Chapter 27

“I think this is enough humiliation, Angie,” Tiffany whispered. “We need to give it a rest.”

“We’re just getting to the good part. Plus, we could make this a challenge worth two grand.”

Tiffany shook her head, gun held loosely pointing at the floor. “No. We were just doing this to teach him a lesson. Goal accomplished. Time to let him go,” Tiffany’s voice firm. “I doubt he’ll try his blackmailing stunt on anyone else. He’s scared. Already cried, pissed himself, and now puking. That’s it. We’re done. Take him back.”

No way was Angie going to go against The Institute’s orders. She needed to stay with Tiffany plus keep her two other targets until more instructions came through.

“I’m not finished with Scott. We’re in this together; we’ll decide together. If you’re done, then go take a break.”

Tiffany pushed at her glasses, lips pressed together. She nodded, looking down. “I guess you’re right.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt him. I’m just not ready to let him go.”

From the chair, Stockton mumbled something that ended with a snore.

Angie looked over at him. “So,” she asked, “what about Stockton? I think we should leave him there for now.”

“Yeah, he’ll have no idea what happened. Probably think he got drunk and passed out. He’s out like one of those dead characters on movies. Even the damn gun going off didn’t wake him.”

“All right.” Angie’s eyes brightened. “Hey, for two grand each in the
Party Girl Fund
jar, do you want to shave his tangled crotch nest before we go? It’s really weird and revolting. It’d probably be fun like popping a pimple.”

Tiffany chuckled. “Jeez. You’re so gross, Angie. That’s probably why we get along so well.” Still grinning, she looked at the offensive mound of hair covering Stockton’s genitals. “I don’t remember ever seeing them like that.” She wrinkled her nose. “I guess we could, but I don’t trust he’ll stay asleep much longer. We should tie him up first.”

“Sounds good. Let’s take Officer Psycho down into that dungeon I still haven’t seen yet.” Angie’s lips tipped upwards. “Make Scott help us drag him down and tie them both up down there.”

Tiffany contemplated the plan. “That’s a great idea. You’re doing an awesome job, Angie.”

“Thanks.” Angie gave a side look, not sure what else to say.

“I mean it. The CAN Institute is proud of you. We’re glad you’re with us. We’ll talk more about that later. For now, let’s keep going. We’ll figure out when to let Scott go, but Stockton…he’s not going anywhere. I’ll tell you the horrible things he’s done when we have more time. Trust me; he deserves what we’re going to do to him, worse actually. I think we’re finished torturing Scott. He’s been properly neutralized.”

Angie felt surprise and confusion. The Institute had given her strict orders about Scott Dovy, and letting him go wasn’t one of them. Maybe the order to watch Tiffany had something to do with that. She wanted to ask Tiffany about her orders but knew something strange was going on. She had no idea Tiffany worked for The Institute. Angie would have to continue pretending. As long as she could keep an eye on the three of them, she followed guidelines.

The Institute was big on guidelines.

Scott made his way back, hand hiding his crotch area. He addressed Tiffany. “I rinsed my mouth with water, but it wasn’t enough. I still taste vomit. Do you have mouthwash or anything?”

“Yes.” Tiffany started in the direction of the bathroom. “Grab your pants and follow me.” Pausing, she said to Angie: “Keep an eye on Stockton. Yell if he wakes. This’ll only take a second.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Angie couldn’t wait to have a moment alone. She needed to check for mission updates.

While they were in the bathroom, she pulled the compact from her handbag and used her thumbprint for access. A new message waited.

URGENT! Obtain Info About Stockton Wood’s Partners. Who & Where. Use ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Any means necessary.

The words buzzed inside Angie’s head. She hoped the means would be reasonable, but that would be entirely up to Stockton.

Angie also hoped for more instructions about what to do with Tiffany. She was getting sick of dealing with the peculiar S&M costumed doctor. Doesn’t make any sense why she’d changed into a maid’s uniform. Ultra bizarre.

One never knew what one had to do as an agent for The Institute. It felt like things were getting way out of hand.

The money,
Angie reminded herself.
Do it for the money, so you can take care of your mom. That’s why you’re here. She’s sick and needs you. You can do this.