MIND CONTROL
CHAPTER FOUR
The two vehicles drove up into Benedict Canyon, stopping alongside a sheer drop off with no guardrail between the road and the edge of the steep incline. The four men waited patiently. While they waited, two of the men stripped off the clothes that Starsky was wearing, along with his wristwatch. They attempted to remove the two rings he wore on his left pinky finger but they were too tight. They couldn't be removed. One of the men had given Starsky a strong sedative that would keep the brunet blissfully unaware for at least the next four to six hours. Plenty of time for them to carry out the rest of their plan.
Twenty minutes after they arrived, a nondescript blue sedan pulled up and three more men climbed out of the vehicle. One of them was a young man approximately Starsky's height and age. He was even underweight like the recovering brunet. Even his coloring and hair color was the same. The Major handed the other man the clothes they had taken off Starsky and ordered him to change into them. The young man did as he was ordered. When he had finished, one of the other men slammed him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. The man slumped to the ground without making a sound. Private Bixler had finished with his part of the mission.
The other men quickly put the young man behind the wheel of the Torino and slammed the door. Two of them moved to the rear of the car and pushed the heavy vehicle to the edge of the embankment. At a signal from the Major, they shoved the car over the edge. A few minutes later, there was a loud explosion and a plume of black smoke rose in the air. Peering over the edge of the cliff, they gazed down at the crashed Tornio lying at the bottom of the canyon, engulfed in flames. Colby, the Major and two of the men climbed into the van, while the other men climbed into the other car and they drove away. Step two of their plan was completed.
The van drove for hours before reaching their destination, a hidden military compound deep in the desert, safe from prying eyes and uninvited visitors. The van drove through the gates without bothering to check in, the sticker on the windshield authorizing their entrance to the base. The driver maneuvered through the winding road to an isolated building at the far end of the base. He stopped at the gate and showed his identification before being allowed to pass into the restricted section of the compound. He drove around to the back of the large sprawling building and stopped the van. Two of the men grabbed Starsky, who was still unconscious and unaware of being manhandled by his captors.
The men entered the building and walked down a long corridor to a stairway that led underground. Colby and the Major followed as the men entered the top secret section of the base. The two men carrying Starsky's limp body took him to a room at the end of a long hall. The Major stepped forward and unlocked the door with the swipe of a keycard.
The room was bare except for a hospital bed sitting in the middle of the room. The two men laid Starsky down on the thin mattress, fastening thick leather cuffs around each ankle and his wrists, effectively restraining their captive. A separate strap was fastened around his chest. Satisfied that Starsky couldn't escape, they all left the room except for the Major and Colby.
"You'd better be right about him." The Major said gruffly. "We're putting a lot of money into this project."
"Don't worry, once you break him…he'll be perfect for your mission." Colby said confidently. "But getting him under your control is going to take some time."
"We have at least a year and all the experimental drugs and brainwashing techniques that the military has devised in the past five years at our disposal."
"It could take that long with this one." Colby said with a sneer. "He ain't gonna go down easy."
"We don't expect him to. That's what makes this such a challenge…for both of us." The Major looked at Colby with an arched brow "We're counting on you to tell us all of his weaknesses that can be used against him."
"His biggest weakness is that partner of his. I already told you that. But, he's also afraid of heights and of snakes. Plus, he was a POW in Nam for almost six months. He never talks about it, but you've read his military files. They really did a number on him."
"Yes
and we can use that to our advantage. I'm sure there are a lot of
memories locked away in that head of his that he'd rather not think
about."
"You've seen his scars and read his records. He
can deal with a hell of a lot of pain and still keep fighting. You'll
have to find other ways to break his spirit."
"And we will. I assure you, we will." The Major said confidently.
"I hope that Hutchinson and the rest of the cops buy him killing himself because he was depressed over getting kicked off the force." Colby said, a touch of worry creeping into his voice. "Cause I guarantee it, you don't want Hutchinson on your trail. He's like a pit bull, once he latches on, he doesn't let go."
"Well, then for his sake, I hope Detective Hutchinson believes his partner is dead or I'm afraid we'll have to arrange a little accident for him too."
"How did you ever convince Bixler to go along with the switch?"
"Let's just say that Private Bixler wasn't informed of all the details of this operation." The Major said smugly. "He didn't know he was going to become the victim of an unfortunate accident."
"Yeah, but if they check the dental records, they'll know that's not Starsky's body."
"Don't worry about it. One of our operatives made sure that a copy of Private Bixler's dental records was switched for Detective Starskys. And his blood type is the same. The fire will take care of the rest for us. The body will be too burned for a physical identification and there won't be enough left of the fingers for them to take prints."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course I am. Sergeant Lukas is going back to the scene to make sure the body burned the way we wanted it to. Not that I believe that is necessary."
"I just want my chance to get even with him for putting me in prison for almost two years." Colby said, throwing am icy glare at the brunet lying on the bed.
"And you shall have it. That was our agreement. After his initial conditioning, you'll be an active participant in all of his sessions."
"Good." Colby said in a satisfied voice. "I wanna hear him begging me to make the pain go away."
The major clasped Colby's shoulder and said with a thin smile, "Let's go, shall we? It wouldn't do to have our guest wake up and find us here…not yet anyway."
Colby nodded but before leaving, he walked over to the bed and bent down over the bound brunet. He hissed into a curl covered ear, "Your ass is mine now, Starsky and you're going to be sorry that you were ever born." Chuckling to himself, Colby straightened up and left the room with the Major.