The Marriage Counselor Ch. 02

"It's different for me," Tim said. "You're a lot like my wife. She was so beautiful. She also had huge, er, breasts too, and guys always looked at her. You remind me of her. A little too much."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Raquel said, lowering her voice to a soft and concerned tone. "Jay has told me about what happened. How she betrayed you and now you have a hard time trusting women. Take it from me, Tim, she was a bad apple. Most women aren't like that. Not like that at all."

"I want to believe that," Tim said, looking down, but unable to stop himself from stealing glances at her tits, especially when she moved a little and they jiggled subtly. "I want to, but the thing is that I can tell you like to be looked at. You like the attention."

"To be honest," Raquel said, "I do. Sometimes. Sometimes creepy guys will follow me around or things like that happen. However, when I think about it, I'd rather have too much attention than too little. Some of my girlfriends are kind of plain looking, and they don't get enough attention, or complain they can't meet the right guys. I know that if there was a guy I wanted to meet, I would never have to worry that he would come talk to me."

"That's what I'm talking about," Tim said. "It's that power you have to draw men in and make choices. It's innocent enough, but it's part of a feeling of power and superiority. I think that what Dr Castle did is that he made Charlotte take those feelings to ultimate extremes. He made her realize she could not only get any man she wanted, but that she could get rid of any man she wanted."

"Maybe she felt that way," Raquel said, "but take me for example. Yes, I know I can attract any man. However, it's not the attraction that's important. I'm with Jay now, and I married him because I've been with other guys and I knew I could choose any one I wanted. Now I have chosen, and I'm not going to stray from that."

"How do you know, though?" Tim asked. "How can you be sure that you might not meet someone else who inspires new feelings, and then at that moment, you might realize that you could have that new man just as easily as anyone else?"

"I just know, Tim," Raquel said as softly as she could. She felt a little like she was on trial for being beautiful, but she tied to keep in mind that Tim was hurting inside. "You keep trying to find the way to make it so that what happened was Dr Castle's fault, as if he somehow tapped into feelings that everyone has and was able to use his psychology to make them evil. That way you can blame him, and you can blame human nature, but not blame Charlotte." Tim's eyes got a little wet, and Raquel could see that she was getting through. Tim turned a way a little, because as a grown man he didn't want to be seen crying or appear weak, and Raquel said nothing about it because she understood that saying anything about his tears would only make him even more self conscious. "At some point, though, you have to accept that Charlotte is responsible for what happened. At least fifty percent responsible, maybe more."

"It's hard," Tim said weakly, the honesty of his feelings making his words shake, "because I loved her so much. I would have died for her. If I accept that she was the bad apple, then I feel like I was a fool for having believed in her for my whole life."

"That's where you're wrong, Tim," Raquel said, reaching out and touching his arm. When she did, she leaned forward, and even through his tears, Tim couldn't avoid noticing how incredibly sexy she was. Her lips were so erotically enticing as she spoke. "You weren't a fool. You were deceived. The whole reason why bad people can get away with being bad is because they are so convincing. You shouldn't think of yourself as being stupid for having been tricked by her, you should see that she was a sociopath. She doesn't have normal feelings."

"You're saying that the whole time we were together," Tim asked, "that she wasn't really in love with me?"

"I don't know, Tim," Raquel answered, "she probably believed she did. Maybe she was in love, but that's not the point. The point is something about her made the type of person who could betray that love and your relationship. Maybe Dr Castle was the trigger, but if wasn't him, it would be someone or something else."

"How can you know that not everyone, every beautiful woman, doesn't have triggers in them?" Tim said. "Maybe that's what Dr Castle has worked out. He's tapped into the primal feelings th," Raquel interrupted Tim.

"Stop it," she said firmly. "Don't you see? If you try hard enough, you can come up with reasons for everything. Part of you is so determined to avoid confronting certain ideas that you are coming up with the most outrageous ideas to defend how you see things now. Love is about trust. If you can't trust anyone even a little, you'll never fall in love again. I'm asking you to trust me. Trust me as an example, because I love Jay, and if a relationship like me and Jay can exist, then you can have one like it too."

Tim smiled a little. He felt a small sliver of hope, and he wanted to give Raquel at least a little sign that he had taken her words seriously. She patted his arm, and then it seemed like the right moment to change the topic. Perhaps sensing a change in the tone of conversation, Jay came out onto the porch with some cold drinks and they spent the rest of the night contemplating different ways of getting the revenge that Tim deserved.

That night, when Tim got home, he masturbated furiously thinking about Raquel. A woman as hot as Charlotte but loyal and kind? The idea made him feel such hope, but it was confusing at the same time, because images of Charlotte and Raquel got mixed together in his head. While Raquel made a convincing argument about how a woman could be as beautiful as her and also not evil, there was something so powerful in the image of Charlotte as a wild, sexually free, dominating women. Somehow, in Tim's head, he wanted both. He wanted the security of a love like what Raquel offered, with the outrageous sexual energy that Dr Castle had released in Charlotte.

Afterward, he felt guilty, because he knew he was still trying to forgive Charlotte, and also because he was now attracted to Jay's wife, Raquel. None of his feelings made sense, and in the end, he felt jealous of Dr Castle, because he seemed to have everything that Tim wanted. Slave like loyalty from intensely powerfully erotic women. "How can I be a part of that?" Tim wondered to himself.

Weeks later, when their vacation time came up, Tim and Jay packed up Tim's car and drove toward the south west deserts. They arrived the next day, after having had a stop at a motel overnight on the way. When they got to the city, they checked into another hotel, where they left most of their things and Jay's gun. The first part of the plan was to watch and monitor Dr Castle, and then pick the best time to kidnap him.

The address Jay had was for a building that had some doctor's offices in it. It was a modern glass building, with a security guard at the front, and doors that one had to buzz in, and a garden with a pathway in front. Jay and Tim parked across the street, and watched. Jay had a notepad, and they had a pair of binoculars between them, and that was all they needed. There was no need to photograph Dr Castle because they didn't need evidence for anything. They just wanted to figure out a good time to catch him.

Their hope was to catch Dr Castle coming or going from the building, but they didn't see him. Sitting in a car for hours watching a building is a lot more boring than either of them had anticipated, so the time dragged on long enough for them to have doubts, even though it was nowhere near enough time to have confirmed anything. However, through the afternoon, they noticed a pattern that gave them hope they were at the right place. A few couples walked in, and left an hour and half or two hours later. In each case, the wife was stunning. Incredible body, dressed sexily, huge tits, and the face of a model. The husband in each case was normal looking or maybe even above average, however, there was nothing about them that might have got Jay and Tim's attention. It was the women who were so beautiful that even men not watching the building couldn't help but notice.

They never saw Dr Castle at all, but the next few days were the same story, confirming in their minds that they were at the right place. They saw some of the same couples, and some new ones, but each day, there were two or three couples coming and going from the building that looked like exactly Dr Castle's type. Tim couldn't be totally sure, but he thought he could tell that when the couples came out again, the women looked like their clothes, make up, and hair were a little disheveled, and the men looked slightly sadder. As if the women had been fucked intensely while the men waited and were made to feel worse. Tim mentioned it a few times to Jay, but even Tim had to admit he might just be projecting.

They tried getting there early in the morning, and late at night, and checking the entrances and exits, but they just couldn't see Dr Castle. They walked in to the building and looked at the directory and tried calling different offices. They stopped short of talking to the security guards or engaging anyone else because they didn't want to risk being identified later. When they called the offices, they got some secretaries and tried to speak to the doctor, but after having narrowed it down to about three or four offices they felt were most likely to be Dr Castle's latest alias, they just couldn't be sure enough to take any action. They wanted to lay eyes on Dr Castle, but somehow he was like a ghost. Somewhere in the building right in front of them, but they just couldn't see him.

As it got to the end of the week, and time was getting short. They decided to start bringing Jay's gun along with them, because if a chance came up, they knew they would have to act quickly since it might be the only chance they get.

On the third to last day of their time, they decided to wait around as late as it took. They split up as they sometimes did, so one could watch the back of the building, and one could watch the front. Tim waited in the car in the front, and Jay went around the back. Tim asked Jay to take the gun with him most times, because Jay knew how to handle it.

Jay stood by a wall at the entrance to the alley, standing as casually as he could. He smoked cigarettes, looked at his mobile phone, and tried to look as if he was just meeting a friend. Cars went by. Sometimes a police car went by, and Jay hoped it wasn't the same one. A guy standing around might get attention if he was still there after multiple passes.

A van pulled up in front of where Jay was standing. Jay tried to ignore it, but the driver called out to him. "Hey man," The driver called out, his face obscured in the darkness, "is this the Wayneright building?" Jay didn't want to interact with anyone, so he acted as if he didn't hear the guy. "Hey! You! I'm just asking if this is the Wayneright building right there behind you!" the man in the van called out again.

"I don't know." Jay said, dismissively while trying to stay polite. As soon as the words were finished, suddenly everything went black and he was choking. Someone had come up from behind and put a black cloth bag over his head and was pulling at the rope that went around the mouth of the bag in such a way that it strangled Jay. The man behind moved with such force that he was dragging Jay and Jay couldn't call out. Before Jay knew it, he was being thrown into the back of the van, which was what he expected as soon as he was attacked.

Disoriented and with men holding him down, his arms and legs were bound, Jay's gun was taken from him, and he was left lying down in the back of a moving van. "Tim? Tim!" Jay called out, hoping that he might confirm if Tim was there or not before someone silenced either of them. Jay got a swift kick in his gut, and he knew that he had said as much as he would be permitted.

The drive was hours and hours. Jay even fell into a light sleep, so he completely lost track of time. Nothing was spoken the entire time. Finally, the van came to a stop, he was taken out and dragged into a building, and then he was placed face down onto a cot of some kind. The binds were cut, and the black cover was taken from his face. It took him a minute to adjust to the light, and while his eyes adjusted, he could only see two or three hulking figures walking away, and he couldn't make out more than that.

When his eyes focused, he found himself in what looked to be a small town jail. It was in the back of a sheriff's office, though the office was behind a door at the end of a hallway. The area Jay was in only had two jails. There was a window, with frosted glass reinforced by metal wires. Judging by the bright blue color coming through the window, Jay guessed he was far out into the dessert, and it might be noon the day after he was abducted.

Jay stayed there for days. At first, he expected that something would happen. He would be interrogated, or something. Even though it obviously wasn't the police who abducted him, he thought that the people who took him would want at least something from him. However, the only person that came in was some old, unkempt looking deputy. The man had only one eye and looked like he hadn't washed his uniform in ages. The man would come in, and slide a tray of barely edible food in a gap at the base of the jail door. Jay tried to talk to him, but the man would just mumble "fuck off" and walk away. Jay considered trying to grab the man, but he noticed that the man didn't carry any keys on him, and as a hostage, the man looked expendable to the entire world, let alone the people he worked for. Besides, the opportunity never came up. The man would always motion for Jay to stand at the opposite side of the cell before getting close enough to slide the food in.

Jay lost track of the days. It could have been a week, or ten days, or maybe even two weeks. It was so boring, being essentially in solitary confinement, that Jay felt that he might go a little crazy.

Then, one night, when he was laying in the cot in the darkness, he barely had woken to the sound of the jail door being opened when again a cover came over his head, and he was being held down to have his arms and legs bound. This time, he was naked, the heat inside the jail at night making it impossible to rest otherwise.

The process of transportation was the same. It took hours. This time Jay was wide awake, strangely even glad for something to happen to break the monotony of the jail cell, even though rationally he knew he was being taken to even more danger. If he had to guess, he would say he was in the van for 10, maybe 12 hours before it came to a stop.

Jay listened intently as he was lifted from the trunk of the car and carried up some stairs, across what was maybe a pathway in a garden, up some more stairs, through a door, and then he got disoriented as he was turned around and around going through what he guessed was a house. Eventually he was placed, standing up, inside something that came up to around his waist.

The cover came off his head, and his eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the indoor lighting. It looked like a perfectly nice living room. A large couch and chair, a huge flat screen TV, a coffee table, some plants and side tables. It was very large and spacious, clean, and with modern furniture. Definitely whoever owned this house was very rich.

Looking down, Jay realized that he was standing in a metal oil barrel that had its top removed. It was a dirty, slightly rusted, oil barrel, which was completely out of place in the otherwise pristine living room.

Jay looked side to side. There were two large men, with greasy hair and tattoos, and with Latino features. They had expensive suits on, but they were ill fitting in that way that criminals make everything look slightly wrong. If Jay had to guess, he would say they were Mexican gangsters, from a drug cartel or something.

Something about having the cover taken off his head made Jay assume that something was about to happen. However, nothing happened for a long time. Jay didn't even consider saying anything to the two men standing behind him. They were lackeys, most likely didn't know anything, and would probably just punch him for speaking. Instead, Jay tried to covertly push and pull at the ropes holding his hands together behind him and his legs tightly together. He also looked around to plan possible escape routes and things to use as weapons in the room, in case opportunity swung his way. This also made him feel like he was smarter than most men, who would probably just panic.

After uncountable minutes, maybe even over an hour, a door opened off to the side, and a man entered the room.

"Dr Castle," Jay said, deliberately trying to convey that he wasn't surprised. Dr Castle was wearing a button up shirt and some slacks, like someone on a casual Friday. He looked relaxed as he walked to the center of the room, to face Jay.

"I haven't used that particular alias in a while," Dr Castle said, "but it will do for this particular interaction. And you are Jay, Tim's friend. I would say 'nice to meet you', but since you came here with the intent to kill me, I think you can forgive me for dispensing with civilities."

"We weren't going to kill you," Jay said, acting as if it were all just a big joke that had gone wrong. He actually wasn't entirely sure if he really would have killed Dr Castle or not, had his and Tim's plan worked out. He kept telling Tim that they were just going to get a little payback, but deep down there was something about Dr Castle that was just so evil, it made Jay feel like God himself was urging Jay to pull the trigger. "We just wanted to send you a message."

"Oh, really?" Dr Castle said incredulously. "Well, here you are now, so what is your message?"

"Not a verbal message," Jay said. "What you did to Tim was unforgivable. Inhuman. We just wanted to scare you a little, let you know you can't just get away with those things."

"So am I to believe," Dr Castle said, and as he did, one of the Mexicans walked over to Dr Castle and handed him a gun. Jay's gun. "Am I to believe that this was just for show? It was fully loaded when you were found." Jay hoped that his facial expression wasn't giving away any of the confusion in his soul. Standing here now in front of Dr Castle, Jay felt as if he could literally feel the presence of a deep evil in the room. As if he were facing Satan himself. However, Jay was determined to try and negotiate his way out by pretending it was a misunderstanding.

"We wanted you to take us seriously," Jay said. Then he suddenly had another thought which he was both eager to know and wanted to use it to distract Dr Castle into a new topic. "Where is Tim? What did you do with him?"

"Tim is taken care of already," Dr Castle said cryptically. As he spoke, he waved the gun around casually. Jay wasn't sure if it was loaded or not, so he winced a little whenever the barrel was pointed in his direction. "I think you should be worrying about your own problems right now. The thing is, I think you're lying to me. I'm somewhat of an expert at lying, as you know, and I think I can tell that you came here wanting to kill me. This puts me in an awkward position. I can't let you go, because what's to stop you from trying again?"

"You can," Jay said, jumping at the chance to make his case. "Look, we just wanted to make a point, but I can see we're out of our league here. You're connected, and we can't touch you. Hey, can you blame us for trying? What you did to Tim was really ev..." For some reason Jay thought it best not to say 'evil'. It was too true to say out loud. "What you did was extreme. You must have guys come after you all the time."