Going Under_ A Bill Roberts Thriller - Silas Payton Page 0,15

questions as well," he said calmly, trying to keep her from derailing.

She was getting freaked out and wasn’t calming down. “What is going on? Why are you asking all these questions about Sarah? Is she okay? What does this have to do with us? Is Sarah in trouble? Am I in trouble? I’m not answering any more questions until you start talking.”

She stared at him with a snarl on her lip and a straightened back like she was saying, “What do you think of that?"

Oh, here we go. Gone are the days when cops got respect. We ask one too many questions and they go ape-shit on us. It feels like I’m at home trying to negotiate with my 4 year old.

He thought better than to continue with Samantha. Instead, he thanked her and excused himself. He left the room and found the manager who was waiting at the reception desk. He asked him for the contact information of Samantha and their friend, Natalia, and told him he’d likely be in touch with him as well.

Chapter 15

The Doctor

The lights were dim and the soft music was playing. His client had just come back to reality. He always preferred them when he finished working his magic. They were calm -- and more importantly -- quiet.

No more bullshit whining, no pathetic self doubt.

He hadn’t had any self doubt since he was a kid. His father always reinforced the fact that he was special. "Most people are pathetic and full of weakness," his father would tell him. "All you have to do is find their weaknesses and it becomes easy to exploit them."

His father was a con-man and proud to share his skill with his only son. He, however, took his father's skill to a whole new level. His father had been good, but he hadn't realized just how easy it was to discover a person’s weakness. Going into medicine and then psychiatry, he had been given a universal key, unlocking any barriers people had. Now, many years later, he had taken the skills passed on to him by his father and perfected them. He had found a way to have everything he needed handed to him on a silver platter.

Find their greatest fears and insecurities, and it's easy to gently feed them a pile of shit -- to hype up their concerns. Simply by directing questions at their past and discussing what would happen if their concerns came true, it's a done deal. Have them look their demons in the eye...terrorize them with their already existing fears, and they are putty in my hands. All I have to do is give them a bit of hope -- stupid, defenceless morons.

Not only did they pour their heart out as patients, thinking he was going to help them, but with the ability to add drugs to the mix, he found he could amplify the effects of the hypnosis. If only his father were still around to see what he was capable of now. No rules, no boundaries. The only limit was his own imagination.

She sat on the edge of the couch and asked, “Did it go well today? I feel fantastic. Do you think it worked?"

Oh, it worked perfect Bitch. Just wait until later. Tonight is the test -- we’ll see just how well it worked. I hope you’re ready, because I sure am. If all goes well, tomorrow will be the real deal, and I'll be out of here with cash in hand.

He helped her up off the couch. “It went fine. You are getting stronger. I can see it in how you speak -- how you carry yourself. You answer questions with confidence, and speak with authority. Your boyfriend will see it in you. He will feel it in you. You will no longer be invisible."

She steadied herself on her feet. "I feel strange. Is this normal, like I'm in a fog."

He was growing more impatient.

Get on with it. Get the hell out of here.

"It's quite normal. That is your new power surging through you. Now you better get going before your boyfriend starts questioning why you're taking so long."

When he finally got her out of the office, he collected his case containing his special concoction of drugs, grabbed his smart phone, turned out the lights and left the building.

His car was parked outside. He picked it up cheap when he got in town and had his work acquaintances put fake plates on. He planned on ditching it the next day when