The Hypnotist’s Assistants

"Ok, wait a minute," sputtered the old man. "Have I got a deal for you, Mister. The truth is…the tickets were on hold, the people haven't shown up, the show is about to start…the seats aren't that great anyway…and I'm tired of fucking with this and want to go home. So, what say…I just give 'em to you. My treat. You seem like nice folks and all."

Ken was shocked yet pleased. Beth's hand on his back was sending chills through his body. He began to imagine naked people doing naughty things on stage.

"Well…ok," he said. "We'll take them."

The old man thrust a thick ledger book in front of Ken.

"Sign here," he demanded. "By signing, you are agreeing to not hold the club responsible for any dumb stuff you might do while you or anyone else is under hypnosis. You can read all the legal fine-print stuff if you want, but if you do, you'll be late for the start of the show. As far as I know, we have never lost a customer, but our lawyer says we have to do this shit…so sign if you are staying."

Ken quickly signed.

"Her too…" sighed the old man. He let out another series of bilious coughs.

As Beth signed, she asked, "What is this all about?"

"Honey," smiled Ken. "How would you like to go see a hypnotist?"

"Watch out for the man in plaid pants," called the man.

Strange thing to say, thought Ken.

Chapter 2

Ken and Beth both squinted as their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the main showroom. A small half-circle stage thrust out into a series of high-backed booths arrayed in concentric half-circles. Each row of booths stair-stepped up so that people seated in them could see over the row in front of them. A steep set of heavily carpeted stairs led down the center aisle to the stage. Art deco designs covered dingy walls and a moth-eaten curtain veiled the stage although it did not quite meet in the center. The room was packed with talkative people, young and old, anxiously awaiting the start of the show.

Ken and Beth found their way down to the booth that matched the number on their tickets. It was on the front row center.

"Thought he said these were bad seats…" Ken remarked. He paused when he noted that another couple already was seated in their assigned booth.

"Here we go…our seats are right…over here," said Beth as her eyes fell on the two remaining empty seats in the booth. "Hello, we're the Smiths. I guess we are sharing."

The well-dressed African-American man rose and extended his hand.

"Hello, I'm Jonas Jackson…my wife, Nita."

From his vantage point, two steps above the table, Ken could gaze directly down at Nita Jackson's ample cleavage. In contrast to her husband's very dark, almost purple hued skin, Nita was honey brown complexioned, very thin, and quite beautiful. Her high cheekbones intensified her bright smile. Ken's attention quickly refocused, however, on the very short skirt that barely covered Nita's most precious spot. A feeling of disappointment slinked through Ken when he realized that he wouldn't quite have the right angle to inspect what most assuredly would have been a show of Nita's panties if he had a better viewing location.

Nita looked up at Ken and demurely smiled. Ken at first thought that his obscene staring had been discovered, but then he determined that either she had not noticed or, if she knew he was looking at her boobs et al, she didn't let on.

Ken and Beth settled into their over-stuffed naugahyde seats, ordered and received drinks, and exchanged a few pleasantries with the Jacksons, including the determination that this was the first visit to this club for all of them. After a long pause, Beth felt Nita staring at her and turned to meet her gaze.

"I would swear that we have met somewhere before," Nita pondered. "You look very familiar to me."

"Perhaps," smiled Beth, "but, I don't think so. Actually, I was thinking the same thing."

Suddenly from the stage a loudspeaker crackled to life. A raspy female voice drew everyone's attention.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Klub Kasbah. Tonight, you will see sights that will amaze even the most skeptical among you…control of the mind like you have never seen before…hypnotizing, mesmerizing, tantalizing power over mind and body. So, without further ado, the Klub Kasbah proudly presents the greatest hypnotist on earth…the Amazing Roger!"

The curtain creaked open and an aging, distinctly unhandsome man appeared wearing a cape and old tuxedo along with a terrible comb-over hairdo held in place by an abundance of oil. He swept on to the stage and received the audience's rather reserved applause.

Ken whispered to Beth, "Roger? The guy's stage name is Roger? I thought hypnotists were named Kreskin or Rasputin or Dr. Demento or something…not Roger. This could be really bad…very very bad…I'm sorry I dragged you in here."

Ken rolled his eyes and continued to grouse until Beth shushed him quiet with a finger to her lips. Ken turned his attention back to the stage and at once he noticed the rather shoddy looking performer's penetrating eyes. Strangely, they were eyes like those of a black panther stalking its prey, dark and foreboding. Sinister shadowy circles underneath added to their disconcerting appearance. Ken felt a real sense of fear rise within him when the hypnotist suddenly turned and looked directly into what seemed to be Ken's very soul.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."

The man's voice was deep, resonant, and commanding despite the certain disjointedness between the richness of his voice and the cheapness of his appearance. Ken's discomfort increased every time Roger's eyes fell directly on him…and they frequently did so.

"Tonight you will witness the most amazing, the most titillating, the most erotic display of the power of hypnosis ever performed. Are you sure you are ready to be amazed?"

He paused awaiting a response that didn't come.

"I said are you ready to be amazed?"

This time the audience responded with reserved affirmation.

"Good! The faint-of-heart and members of the Religious Right should leave at once. I hope there aren't any Mormons or Baptists in the crowd, are there?"

Laughter and shouts to the negative came from various audience members amid more enthusiastic applause. Ken sat motionless. He was fascinated by the deep, compelling and somewhat monotonous sound of the man's voice. He glanced at Beth and the others in their little booth. Everyone was staring at Roger. The hypnotist seemed to have their complete and undivided attention.

"First, allow me to introduce my beautiful and talented assistant, the lovely…Darlene."

Roger awkwardly threw out his arm displaying the rather faded red interior of his black cape. From backstage appeared a woman dressed in an obviously very old, red-sequined gown. Most of the sequins had long ago departed.

With one quick glance, Ken determined that this woman might be the most unattractive female he had ever seen. Even the stage make-up, which she wore in abundance, did not disguise that she was simply ugly in every way. The coup de gras came when she smiled revealing a jumble of rather dark stained teeth pointing in a variety of directions. The teeth were surrounded by brightly painted red lips. Hair dyed Lucille Ball red and a large mole on the side of her prominent nose completed the woeful picture.

"I would like to solicit some volunteers from the audience…," the hypnotist droned. "Ruba-dub-dub!"

Ken began to cease attending to particular words, his mind started to wander, as did his eyes around the audience. People apparently from all walks of life filled the club. His attention suddenly was jolted back when the hypnotist moved directly above him on the stage and said, "Yes, and you there in the lovely dress…ok, and your friend as well…yes, you…you with the handsome husband…come on up."

Ken was shocked when both Nita and Beth began to make their way to the stage, giggling as they went like two embarrassed schoolgirls. Several other men and women gathered on stage and were directed to a row of folding chairs by Roger's homely assistant.

Jonas leaned over to Ken and said, "This might become very good…or very bad…for our wives, I mean. Do you think he can actually hypnotize your wife?"

"I don't know," Ken whispered.

"Mine will go under in seconds, I'm betting," said Jonas. "She went to a hypnotist to help her stop smoking. He said she was a quick and easy subject…so, I figure, she's under in a heart beat…maybe less."

Ken barely heard Jonas. Beth, his beaming wife who was seated ever so modestly in front of the audience, drew his rapt attention. A chill move up Ken's spine as he thought about the preview he had received from the man in the rest room. His mind filled with images of nakedness and sex on stage, yet he could not conceive of his conservative wife doing anything that wild.

She won't even consider giving me a blowjob in our own bedroom, Ken reasoned, so surely she won't be susceptible to suggestions like that. Or will she? My god, what if she is…in front of everyone…Jesus…this could be very bad…or very…good!

Ken's mind was ablaze with imaginative possibilities as he watched the hypnotist's assistant moving among the assembled group. Nita and Beth giggled together in adjacent seats. While curiosity made Ken anxious to see what would follow, a tinge of real fear lurked deep within him.

Disappoint came first, however. Instead of anything approaching risqué, the hypnotist began with the usual stunts of the trade. After a period of droning in his deep monotone to his subjects and occasionally whispering into their ears, several people appeared to fall asleep, including both Beth and Nita. Able assistant, Darlene, led the ones who were not asleep off the stage and they returned to their seats in the audience.

Doesn't work for everyone, I guess, thought Ken. Obviously worked for Beth though!

Roger, the hypnotist, began to focus attention on the first man in line by continuing to whisper in his ear. Ken's gaze, however, was drawn to the sight of sleeping Nita who was seated directly in front of the booth in which he and Jonas sat. Her head lolled on her shoulder and, best of all, her legs had become askance. Under the bright stage lights, a shiny triangle of white panties clearly showed between her splayed legs…plus, the more she seemed to relax, the more her legs parted.

Fearfully Ken glanced at Jonas to check his reaction. To Ken's surprise, Jonas also was staring directly at his own wife's crotch and openly was "adjusting" his own cock within his pants as he ogled her.

Ken's voyeuristic moment was interrupted when the hypnotist said something about a wardrobe change and Darlene helped Nita to her feet and led her off stage.

"She'll be back in a moment or two, folks," said Amazing Roger. His toothy smile struck Ken as overtly evil. Ken felt that tinge of fear growing larger within him.

After another minute or two, Roger, through whispers, incantations, and suggestions, had those on stage doing a variety of outlandish, but innocent things, such as, believing they were animals or that they were very cold or very hot.

Beth obviously had been told that she was sweltering. From his vantage point, Ken could see that she actually was sweating, fanning the front of her dress open and closed, and turning red. Once a skeptic, Ken now believed. This was neither a pre-fixed deal nor a joke. His wife plainly was under the full influence and control of the hypnotist, as were the others.

How far will this…how far will he go, Ken wondered. Another chill ran down Ken's spine as he again reflected on the conversation in the bathroom. No worries, Ken thought, if he does something like that to Beth, I'll simply hop up on stage and stop everything…I'll make him wake her up...I'll protect her. With that, Ken felt somewhat reassured.

Roger's almost unintelligible words and whispers continued to drone from the loudspeakers. In turn, the bizarreness level of each subject's behavior slowly increased. One older man, who thought he was a gorilla, climbed lithely on his chair and began to pick at invisible fleas. Another man's body became so rigid that Roger was able to prop him up between two chairs, neck on one and ankles on the other. There the man remained as if he was in rigor mortis.

Beth by now was so overwhelmed by her perceived heat that she had loosened several buttons of her dress and sat with her legs apart, her skirt loosely yet modestly draped between them. Her bra showed slightly as she fanned herself furiously. She without a doubt was uncomfortable and growing more so by the minute.

Ken finally decided that enough was enough. He was about to object when his attention was drawn to another man who had been told that he was at a tawdry peepshow. The hypnotist had convinced the man that he was in a private booth and through a window could see a young female patron on the front row, but she could not see him…and that the woman was a stripper. When Roger announced to the man (and the audience) that the woman had begun to disrobe, the man started to fondle his obviously erect cock through his clothing…to the laughter and delight of the entire audience.

The woman, fully clothed and awake, gamely got into the spirit of the moment and rose to dance seductively at her seat. The man immediately responded by fumbling further with his own crotch and then, without warning, he unzipped his trousers and reached inside.

Just as the man was about to pull out his cock, Roger intervened and sent the man back into a deep sleep, much to the distress of the audience. Shouts of "no" erupted mostly from females in the crowd. Roger responded with a very fake theatrical look of shock that brought gales of laughter from the audience. Roger now had the entire assembly, including Ken, believing in his powers. The hypnotist's eyes flashed triumphantly as he moved around the small stage.

Ken looked back at his poor wife who was still agonizing in imaginary heat. Her legs were fully apart and anyone in the crowd now could see her pantyhose covered crotch. Deep inside Ken wanted to be outraged, stop the show, and rescue his wife's modesty, but instead he found himself getting aroused. It only took a quick glance to reveal that Jonas Jackson also had a massive hard on.

"And now, ladies and gents, the part of our little show for which you have been waiting and for which you all paid big bucks. Warning…this part of the show is X-rated, so if you might be offended, you better go now…don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."

Roger acted and spoke as if the "big bucks" and "X-rated" parts were secret information between him and the audience members.

"On the other hand, if the X-rated part is entirely why you are here…"

A huge, clearly positive roar rose up from the audience bringing a broad and very evil smile to the hypnotist's lips.

"Well…alrighty then…Our lovely volunteer from the audience has made the costume change that I promised, so may I now present…the beautiful, the exotic, the fully unaware…Miss Nita!"

Ken's eyes popped as Roger's ugly assistant reappeared leading Nita out of the wings. Adorned in a stunning red gown that shimmered in the bright stage lights, Nita seemed to glow with happiness and contentment. She gracefully glided to the front of the stage, Roger whispered something in her ear, and immediately her head slumped forward.

Only then did Ken and the rest of the audience begin to realize that Nita's dress was transparent…in fact, very transparent. Ken rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Dark, black nipples showed clearly through the top of Nita's gown and an even darker triangular patch of pubic hair could be seen below.

Ken expected Jonas to lunge upon the stage and protect his wife's modesty. Instead Jonas sat motionless across the table from Ken.

That's weird, thought Ken. Ken leaned toward Jonas and was dumbfounded by what he saw. Jonas just sat there staring blankly at his almost nude wife. No emotion showed on his face at all. Roger's voice droned on as Ken tried desperately to make sense of Jonas' behavior.

Ken reached for his drink. Suddenly, there was a very loud shout and huge commotion in the back of the hall.

At the same instant, all the ice in Ken's glass seemed to melt at once. Ken was still observing this curious event when another cry rang out. These words Ken fully understood.

"I'm going to kill you, mother-fucker!"

The voice belonged to an obviously very angry man. Ken turned to see the origin of the shouting when a deafening blast along with a blinding flash of fire rocked the room. Screams rose up from the audience. Ken felt completely disoriented in the tumult.

In trying to get his bearings, Ken looked back at the stage and there, to his utter amazement, stood Nita and his wife, Beth, both totally naked. A third nude woman knelt in front of a black man…Jonas Jackson…she was holding his rather long purple cock in her hand. Ken could hear Roger shouting over the din.

Ken pinched his eyes closed and shook his head in a feeble attempt to clear his mind. At first, the entire scene on stage was completely real, then slowly it seemed to become more and more a dream. Ken rubbed his eyes and slowly reopened them. His mouth fell open.

Everything had returned to normal.

Ken frantically tried to reorient. He bolted up from his seat and looked all around. The audience appeared jovial; Beth and Nita along with the other subjects were standing on stage receiving applause; Jonas was clapping from the seat beside him, and the Amazing Roger was taking deep bows. Each of the subjects wore a look of happy confusion as they filed from the stage. To Ken, everything appeared to be normal, yet at the same time, something seemed very, very wrong.

Ken looked down at his iceless drink glass. As hard as he tried, he could not remember why he was concerned about the ice, but deep inside he knew that ice was related in some way with his anxiety.

Something about the ice, he thought as he struggled to make sense of everything. The ice…something is wrong with the ice…very wrong.

By this time, Beth and Nita had returned to the booth. Both were giggling just like before.

"Hope you liked the show, ladies and gentlemen," said Amazing Roger. He and his assistant continued to smile and bow.

"Gosh," said Beth. "I don't remember a thing, except going up on stage. But, I feel great! I didn't do something bad, did I, Ken? Please tell me that I didn't!"

Ken started to respond, but Jonas beat him to the punch.

"Not at all, but you two certainly acted silly. Well, goodnight…nice to meet ya'll," said Jonas.

Jonas and Nita began to make their way out of the booth. Ken still sat rubbing his temples.

"Goodnight," responded Beth automatically.

Beth whispered in Ken's ear, "Before we go, I have to pee."

"Me too," Ken whispered back.

As they climbed the stairs up to the back of the hall, Ken felt as if the world had become somehow out of focus, albeit slightly.

What is it? What's wrong with this picture?

He looked around the room. The rest of the people seemed normal enough. They sat chatting to each other—some looked at them; some did not—and interestingly they remained in their seats and seemed in no hurry to leave even though the show was over.

Something is not right, thought Ken. They're not leaving. Why aren't they all leaving? The show is over…not leaving…the ice…the dream…not leaving…the man in the bathroom said naked people were in the show…my wife was in the show…my wife was naked…or maybe not…a gunshot...or a dream about a gunshot…something was wrong with the ice in my glass…then…then I can't remember…