Ch.9: Lontard's "Persuasion" Plan
Ms. Trask stared at the bob-whites with a weird look in her eyes. "These are the volunteers?" She asked Pierre Lontard.
"Volunteers for what?" Trixie asked her voice quaking a bit.
"Ok don't worry Trixie; you aren't going to be doing anything bad. Mr. Martinez is just going to test his persuasion skills on you. He wants to persuade people that we need to take care of our environment. He's not bad anymore!" Ms. Trask explained.
Ms. Trask might be fooled by Pierre Lontard, but Trixie wasn't. That wasn't why they were here. If that was it, Lontard wouldn't have kidnapped her and Jim. No, his plan was more sinister than that,
"Ms. Trask you don't believe that do you? I mean this Lontard we're talking about. He wouldn't kidnap us for that. He's planning something more drastic." Honey asked her eyes pleading.
"Mr. Martinez is doing that. He isn't capable of doing anything bad! And its Mrs. Martinez not Ms. Trask!" Ms. Trask defied Honey; her eyes flashing with a fire the bob-whites had never seen before.
Honey gulped and stared sadly at Ms. Trask. Honey's eyes welled up with tears. She tried to stop them, but she couldn't. Trixie seeing the tears walked over to Honey and wrapped her arms around her best friend. Trixie too looked like she wanted to cry, but she kept the tears at bay.
"Now that that you know what I need, I will take you to the room you will be staying in." Lontard said, "Mrs. Martinez I will be back soon. While I am gone please start dinner."
"Of course." Ms. Trask said.
"Now bob-whites follow me." Lontard ordered.
Lontard led down a hallway to an elevator that only went down. He pushed the button and ushered the bob-whites in. As the elevator started down Trixie got more uneasy by the minute. It just seemed too much like a horror movie. Lots of bad things happen in basements. Then to Trixie's surprise they got to the basement and kept right on going. This added to her unease.
Jim sensed Trixie's unease and grabbed her hand so he could give it a reassuring squeeze. She glanced up at him; her face wreathed in worry. He smiled reassuringly down at her. She didn't smile back instead she frowned at something behind him. Jim turned around to see what it was. What he saw shocked him. There was a series of rooms under the house swarming with Lontard's cronies. Lontard was leading them towards a room with glass for walls.
"Here is where you will live until I am through with you." Lontard sneered.
"One question, is it sound proof?" Dan asked.
"We can hear you from the outside and you can hear us, so no." Lontard answered.
"Why do you let us hear you?" Trixie asked, "I mean I get you being able to hear us, but us hearing you? That doesn't make sense."
"Oh you can only hear us when we want you to hear us. But we can hear you all the time." Lontard said laughing coldly.
"Why would you even want us to hear you sometimes?" Trixie asked perplexed. It didn't make sense to her.
"So you can hear your friend's screams." Lontard said bluntly. The bob-whites asked no more questions after that.
The bob-whites were stuck in their room. Trixie saw the room as a cage. It kept her in when she wanted to be out. It was like torture. The images of her mother and father swam in front of her eyes. Bobby's face rose up in her thoughts. His face pleading her to read him another story. Tears streaming down his face as he glanced at a motionless Reddy after Bobby had watched Reddy get hit by a car. Bobby's cries of joy when Reddy came home from the vet. Memory after memory of Bobby ran through her head as Trixie waited for Lontard to explain his evil plan to them.
Jim watched Trixie's face as she sat staring into space. Her face betrayed her emotions. Fear and unhappiness were clearly labeled on her face. Trixie hadn't been the same since they had entered the mansion. Something was bothering her that much was clear, but what?
Lontard stayed outside of the room showing that he wasn't going to be near them when he told them his plan. He cleared his throat and then said, "Now I need the bob-whites cooperation for my plan. Can I count on you?"
Trixie came out of her daze to answer, "It depends on what your plan is. Once we know your plan we will tell you our answer."
"Thought you would say that," Lontard smirked, "Anyway I need one of you, preferable Trixie, to become evil so I can use you for an experiment. Or you could just let me duplicate you so I can use your twin for evil. That is my plan."
"And you thought we would say yes?" Trixie asked stunned.
"Of course not. I knew you would need persuasion. That's where my persuasion comes in." Lontard said; an evil smile splitting his face.
Trixie felt sick. Lontard was going to torture them so that they would do what he wanted. That would not happen. She would rather die than help Pierre Lontard.
"I will let you decide." Lontard said and then the sounds they had heard were gone and they were alone. Or so they thought.
"Guys stay strong. We won't cave in to the pressure. We've been through worst right. We cannot help him." Trixie rallied the bob-whites.
"Are sure Trixie or will you be the first to cave in?" Lontard's cruel voice said.
Trixie opened her mouth to respond when suddenly an electric shock hit her. Trixie jumped when the pain hit her. It was unbearable. "Ahhhhh!" Trixie screamed trying so hard to fight the pain. Her eyes darkened as the pain went on and on. Finally the pain stopped and Trixie lay still, her breathing fast and painful. She stared into space as the pain ebbed. The bob-whites stared at her worried, but Trixie could do nothing to reassure them. She couldn't move! Panic replaced the pain as Trixie strained to use her muscles, but they were too tired. Too in shock. Too burned out. Trixie tried to stay awake, but the strain was too much for her. She drifted into unconsciousness.
"It begins!" A voice said right before Trixie fell unconscious.
