The Coffee Shop Pt. 04

Chuck studied me for a minute or so after I'd finished speaking. "I suppose I'll have to accept you at your word. But should I ever find out otherwise, you will live to regret it." he warned me, in a chilling tone of voice.

"That sounds like a threat, Chuck," I said trying to match the chill of Chuck's voice.

"Consider it some friendly advice, which if you are wise, you will take to heart," Chuck replied, his voice a few degrees warmer than before. He stared at me silently as I looked back at him.

"Understood," I said, letting my voice warm up as well. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?" I asked him.

"No, I think that about covers it," Chuck answered. "I am sorry for coming on so heavy handed, but I worry about Andy. This is a nice apartment you have by the way."

"It's understandable, I suppose," I replied. "No offense taken. And thank you for the compliment."

Chuck gave me a very small smile in acknowledgment that we had a truce between us, as far as Andy was concerned. He looked around at the apartment a bit more taking in the decor and the various objects scattered about the living room. "What's this?" he asked as he plucked up the small black jewelry box from the living room coffee table, where I'd left it from the night before. "Planning on asking the big question are you?" He asked as he grinned at me wolfishly, as he opened the lid of the box. He looked at the two gold wedding bands and a look of stunned surprise came to his face. "Two wedding bands?" he asked me in a puzzled tone of voice. "No engagement ring? What type of woman wants to wear a wedding band, instead of an engagement ring?"

An icicle of fear stabbed through my heart as I tried to think of something to say to explain the two wedding bands, but I was fresh out of ideas. Then I calmed down as I realized that I didn't need to explain anything to Chuck. It was none of his business in the first place. "She's an unusual lady, and I'm too much of a gentleman to say anything more," I replied with a secretive smirk on my face.

Chuck threw an "Oh, I see" expression at me, as he picked up one of the wedding bands to examine it more closely. He held it up to the light. It was a forgone conclusion that he had noticed that there was something engraved on the rings and he wanted to read what it was. Chuck gulped as he read the engraving. He looked at me with an unreadable expression, which for some reason I found disquieting. He quickly grabbed the other ring and held it up to see what had been engraved on it. Chuck's face suddenly drained of colour as he read what was on the second wedding band. I was more than puzzled by this reaction, since I hadn't examined the second wedding band myself. I had no idea what the engraving on it said. It had never occurred to me to even look. I just assumed that the second wedding band was engraved the same as the one that I had examined.

Slowly Chuck replaced both wedding bands in the box and closed it. He gently put the box on the table and slowly turned to look at me. His face was unreadable. I guessed that he was upset or in some kind of shock, but it was difficult to be certain. As I sat there bewildered, looking at Chuck, an all too familiar feeling returned. It was that eerie feeling as if something was crawling over my forehead. I knew what it meant, and I gulped nervously in spite of myself. Someone in the immediate vicinity of me, was having less than friendly intentions towards me. I didn't need three guesses to determine who it was. For the life of me though, I couldn't imagine why Chuck suddenly felt that way towards me.

Chuck stood up suddenly and turned to walk away from me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, the concern in my voice unmistakable.

"Give me a second, will ya?" Chuck blurted out at me, as he finished turning away from me. All I could see was his back, and it looked stiff and tense. I stood up and looked at Chuck's back as I pondered what to do. I let the empty minutes drag by, and finally my compassion got the better of me. I softly walked over to where Chuck stood, and placed my left hand gently on Chuck's right shoulder.

"If there is anything I can do to help," I started to say, but my words were cut off. Choked off would be more accurate. With the speed, strength and dexterity that comes from long hours of practice and a lot of experience, Chuck grabbed my right hand with his left hand and pulled me about, spinning me around in the process so that I wound up in front of him, with my back to him. In the next second, Chuck's right arm was clamped around my neck, and applying pressure mercilessly. (All of this happened much faster than it took to describe it, of course. It is only by thinking carefully about what must have happened that I can guess that this must have been the case.) For a second or two I was in shock and unable to understand what had just happened. By the time I realized that Chuck was using a form of police restrain known as carotid control on me, it was too late for me to do anything about it. I could not break free of the grip that Chuck had on me, since he was stronger than I was, physically. As for my mental powers, I normally need to make eye contact to insert my mental commands into a subject's mind, which is rather difficult to do, when you are facing away from the subject. My next thought was to set up a powerful compulsion field in the room that would force Chuck to release me. Compulsion fields don't require eye contact to be created, but they do require some time to set up. The fastest that I'd ever set up a compulsion field was in 30 seconds, and that was 18 seconds longer than I had, but still I did my best. It just wasn't good enough. I was just beginning to project the field when my vision started to dim, and my body started to feel numb and rubbery. I had barely registered those feelings when my world went dark and I slipped off to oblivion.

For those of you who are not familiar with it, 'carotid control' is a restraint method taught to the RCMP. This method allows a constable to hold a suspect and apply pressure to compress the sternocledo mastoid muscles against the carotid arteries in the suspect's neck. This painless, humane and effective hold, restricts the blood flow to the suspect's brain. After about twelve seconds, the suspect becomes unconscious and thus much easier to handle. This was the unfortunate position that I found myself in. (You're probably wondering how it is that I know so much about this. Well, let's just say there are some advantages to dating an RCMP constable, okay? Knowing what was happening to me at the time though, didn't help me any.)

I slowly climbed out of my enforced slumber to discover that I was sitting in a chair. I blinked my eyes and tried to move, as I became fully conscious. That was when I discovered that I wasn't just sitting in a chair, I was tied to the chair, and gagged to boot! A piece of cloth, probably a dish towel from the kitchen, had been forced between my lips, across my mouth and tied at the back of my head. "It's a good thing I did the laundry a few days ago and washed this dish towel. At least it's clean," I thought to myself. It was a silly and useless thought, but it popped into my head nonetheless. To judge from the feeling in my wrists and ankles, Chuck had used some type of cord to bind my writs together behind my back, and to tie my ankles to the legs of the chair I was sitting in.

I blinked my eyes a few more times and the room finally swam into focus. I was in my dinning room. A wave of relief washed over me as I realized that Chuck had not kidnapped me. I didn't know what was going on exactly, but I was still at home and that was a comfort. I turned my head to the right and then back to the left as I looked around searching for Chuck. I couldn't see him anywhere and that did concern me I wondered what else he might be up to. I took a few relaxing breaths as I calmed myself down. I couldn't do anything at the moment, so it was best to wait and see what developed.

I could not see the living room wall clock, and I certainly could not check my wrist watch with my hands tied behind my back, so I had no idea how long it was before Chuck finally made his appearance. It could have been three seconds or thirty minutes. My first instinct was to make eye contact with Chuck as quickly as possible in order to use my super hypnosis powers on him. Once he was under my control, it would be a simple matter to have him untie me. (And yes, I did think of taking some revenge on Chuck for doing this to me. I'd be lying if I said that such thoughts did not cross my mind.) I fought down the panic that was behind this urge and waited to see what Chuck was going to do. He wanted something from me, otherwise he would not have gone to this much trouble. The question was, "What did he want?"

"You've recovered, I see," Chuck said to me as he walked around and into my field of view. Chuck stopped when he was directly in front of me, standing a couple of feet away from me.

I nodded my head in silent agreement. There wasn't much else I could do now, was there?

"I know that you're wondering why I've tied you up and gagged you," Chuck said in a cold and unfriendly voice. "It's simple. I'm going to ask you a few questions and you are going to answer them with a simple yes or no. You can still nod your head or shake it, so you'll be able to answer. The gag is to prevent you from trying to hypnotize me with your voice. You see, Andy's told me how powerful a hypnotic voice you have. As for tying you up, it was the only way to be sure that you wouldn't try something, such as trying to call for help."

Chuck paused for a few moments as if he were making up his mind about something. "I know what you did," he said in a deadly quiet voice. "I know what you did to Andy."

I looked at Chuck and blinked at him stupidly. I had no idea what he was referring to.

Chuck walked over to stand just in front of me, and looked at me coldly. Suddenly his right hand came up and he slapped me painfully across the left side of my face!. As my head rocked painfully to the right with the force of the blow, I wasn't sure which was stronger, the pain I felt or the surprise. As I slowly turned my head back to the left to look at Chuck, the left side of my face became washed with stinging pain. I looked up at Chuck. I felt more confused than hurt.

Suddenly Chuck's left hand came up and he slapped me across the right side of my face! The blow was much harder this time, and I gasped with the pain and shock as my head rocked to the left. I let my head hang there for a moment as I gulped in air, confused and hurt. I slowly turned my head back to face Chuck more confused now than ever.

"I KNOW!!!!!!!" Chuck screamed at me, as he thrust his face just inches from mine. "I RECOGNIZE THOSE WEDDING BANDS!!! ANDY BOUGHT THEM!!!!" Chuck continued to scream at me, as spittle flew from his lips and sprinkled all over my face.

I swallowed as fear suddenly gripped my belly and settled down in my stomach like a small ball of ice. Chuck looked like he was losing control of himself, and I wasn't exactly in a position to defend myself. All I could manage to do was to keep looking at Chuck and listen to him rant. Chuck took a couple of quick breaths before he continued to address me.

"Andy told me that he was going to give those wedding bands to someone very special in his life," Chuck said as he finally managed to stop screaming at me. "Andy said that he couldn't marry this 'special person' of his, and the rings were the best he could offer. I was thrilled for him when he told me all this and showed me those rings. I was looking forward to meeting this 'special person' of his." Chuck looked at me as he paused for breath, and I could see the anger flair up on his face.

"AND NOW I FIND OUT IT'S YOU!!" He screamed at me as he raised his right hand and slapped me across the left side of my face again. The blow was even stronger this time, and I heard a very faint ringing in my ears.

"YOU!" He cried out as he slapped me across the right side of my face.

"HYPNOTIZED!" He screamed, while slapping me across the left side of my face.

"MY!" He ranted as he slapped me across the right side of my face.

"BEST!" He raved on, and slapped the left side of my face yet again.

"FRIEND!" He shouted out, and slapped me across the right side of my face once more.

"AND!" He continued to scream, slapping the left side of my face even harder. My head was starting to feel like a Ping-Pong ball.

"TURNED!" He stormed at me, followed by another slap to the right side of my face.

'HIM!" He boomed at me. The now expected slap to the left side of my face followed almost immediately.

"GAY!!!" He howled at me, with even more fury and venom than before. The last word was followed by a long series of slaps. So many that I soon lost count. It could have been ten, it could have been twenty. I was in too much pain to know or care at the time. Eventually though Chuck stopped slapping my face. I didn't know if it was from exhaustion or because his hands were starting to hurt. All I knew for certain was that my face hurt, my ears were ringing and I couldn't seem to think at all. I just let my head hang there in pain, and let time pass me by.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Chuck voice inquired after several moments of silence.

I shook my head in a silent 'no', keeping my eyes closed against the slow steady burning pain in both my cheeks. I flinched in pain and fear as I felt Chuck's hands cup my face and draw it upward. Resignedly, I opened my eyes as my face was raised upward. I gazed into Chuck's eyes and for a heartbeat I considered using my powers on him. I couldn't bring myself to do it, though. He was Andy's closest friend. It would hurt Andy terribly, if he ever found out. It would break Andy's heart, and I couldn't bear the thought of that happening. Besides, Chuck hadn't really hurt me all that much. He was just angry and upset with me about what he thought was a betrayal of Andy.

"You know that I'm right," Chuck insisted, in a very quiet and calm voice, all the more menacing because it was so calm. "All you have to do is admit it, to me. Admit what you did to Andy, and change him back to normal of course. Once you agree to that, all this will be over."

I shook my head 'no' a second time. What else could I do? I couldn't talk with that gag in my mouth.

"Look, Paul," Chuck continued in that same quiet and calm voice. "It's the truth and we both know it. Admitting the truth is not that hard. Sure, I was a tad upset with you a few moments ago, but that's understandable, I think. Surely you can see that this is what is best for Andy, can't you? After all, turning someone into something that they are not, isn't really fair now is it?"

I stared at Chuck for a moment, puzzled at his line of reasoning. It was clear that he did not know that Andy was gay. Even if I told him that Andy was gay, Chuck would never accept it. A sudden sinking feeling overcame me, as I realized that in order to get out of this situation I would probably have to use my powers on Chuck. I shook my head 'no' at the prospect of that idea.

"I'll tell you what," Chuck said after a few moments of thought. "If you give me your solemn word, that you will not try to hypnotize me, I'll take the gag out of your mouth so that you can talk. If you do try anything at all, any type of suggestion, the gag goes back in and stays in. I know that your voice is your main tool to induce hypnosis. So, do we have a deal?"

I slowly nodded my head 'yes'. It would be good to have that dish towel out of my mouth, and maybe I could explain things to Chuck. It was a long shot at best, but it was worth a try. Chuck walked over to me and slowly removed the dish towel gag from my mouth. He dropped the towel on the carpeted dinning room floor a foot or so away from me. Silently Chuck offered me a drink of water from a glass that he must have carried in from the kitchen. It felt good to get relief from the dryness in my mouth. Chuck was careful in how he held the glass to my lips. He made sure that the water did not pour into my mouth too quickly and cause me to either choke or dribble the water down the front of my shirt. (He was a thoughtful son of a bitch, if nothing else. Well, how else would you have thought of him? The man attacked me, tied me up and slapped me around. And now he wanted to 'talk'. He wasn't exactly doing his best to convince me that he wanted to be my friend.) I choked down the urge to tell Chuck exactly what I thought of him. It would not help the situation any. As for my not hypnotizing Chuck with my voice, I would keep my promise, I decided. Of course I had not promised that I would not hypnotize him using my eyes, and he didn't know that it was my eyes, and not my voice, that was my main tool for inducing hypnosis.

"That's better, I'm sure," Chuck said as a prelude to our conversation. "Now, I think it is a forgone conclusion that you are gay, Paul. I don't need to be a detective to figure that out. If you were not gay, you'd never have used your hypnosis on Andy to turn him gay. I suppose I can see why you'd do that. Andy is a good looking guy after all. Whether or not you're gay, isn't important. What is important is that you made Andy believe that he's gay, and that he's in love with you. That's something which we're going correct, isn't it?"

I looked at Chuck as I slowly shook my head from side to side. "Yes, I am gay," I admitted to Chuck. "But I didn't try to hypnotize Andy into thinking he's that he's in love with me or that he's gay. He just is."

"Please be reasonable, Paul," Chuck said quietly, in that commanding and demanding tone of voice that he had mastered. "I'm not stupid. I know what happened. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." Chuck's face was passive and calm, as he stared down at me, except for those pale blue eyes of his which looked as hard and unfeeling as blue diamonds. After a minute or so, he spoke again. 'Paul, I'll beat the truth out of you if I have to, believe me I will," he said. The words were so cold that the very air seemed to crackle and snap as he spoke..

I could not believe what I was hearing. It seemed too unreal, like something out of a nightmare. While I did not know Chuck all that well, I knew that he was Andy's best friend. I found it difficult to believe that someone Andy trusted so much, could turn so vicious and mean. My thoughts were in turmoil. I was confused and unsure what to do. The totally unexpected blow from Chuck's fist that landed in my stomach knocked the wind out of me, and scrambled my thoughts even more. "Knocked the wind out of me"? Who ever came up with that dumb expression? It makes it sound like I had to rest and catch my breath for a minute. What I felt, as that blow landed in my gut, was an explosion of pain, and a sudden terror flooding my mind as I discovered that I could not seem to breath. I panicked, pure and simple. All I could think about for the next minute or so (and believe me it felt a hell of a lot longer than a minute), was that I couldn't seem to breath and that I might suffocate.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I was able to breath again, but only shallow breaths. I raised my head to look at the man standing before me. Chuck wasn't smiling. He looked as cold and serious as before, more so if that were possible.

"I mean business, Paul," Chuck declared. "Now are you going to undo what you did to Andy or not?"

"I can't undo something that I haven't done in the first place," I croaked out my answer between shallow breaths. "I didn't make Andy gay. He is gay." The pain was starting to fade, finally, and speaking was a bit easier. I answered Chuck's question honestly. I was more concerned with trying to gather my wits back together, so I could figure out a way out of this mess, than in lying to Chuck. I slowly raised my head back up to look at Chuck. My resolve not to use my powers on Chuck was starting to melt away like an ice cube sitting in a parking lot on a hot summer afternoon in July.