MIND CONTROL
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Colby paced the Major's office restlessly. "How much longer is it gonna take before we can start the next phase?" he demanded almost belligerently.
"We should be able to start this afternoon." The Major said offhandedly. "He's been receiving the drugs for almost three weeks now, he should be more docile and controllable. Combine that with the isolation and the lack of comfort, he should be ready for us to proceed."
"Good." Colby said with a satisfied smile. "So what's next?"
"We'll start by seeing how cooperative he's going to be and if he refuses to cooperate, we'll start using more physical discipline to remind him exactly who is in charge."
Colby hid a smile at the thought of Starsky being punished and suffering even more than he had already had. His goal was to completely break the man's spirit, to see his nemesis cowering at his feet and begging him for mercy. The major sorted through some papers on his desk, then glanced at his second in command. "Go to the control room and tell Private Masters to give you whatever you need to discuss things with our friend."
Colby saluted smartly and left the room. He hurried down the corridor and up the steps to the second floor of the compound. Inside the tiny control room, he found the officer in charge slouched in a chair, watching the monitor that showed the inside of Starsky's room. The former detective was lying on the bed and appeared to be asleep.
"How long has he been like that?" Colby asked, leaning down to peer at the monitor with interest.
"Most of the morning. He ate his breakfast and then paced around the room for a while. Then he laid back down a couple of hours ago."
"I'm going to pay him a little visit. I need a stun belt to put on him"
.The other officer shrugged and shoved himself to his feet. He walked over to a cabinet and unlocked it, taking out a thick leather belt that he handed to Colby. Unlike an ordinary belt, this one was almost six inches wide and was designed to be securely locked around a man's waist so that it couldn't be removed by the person wearing it. Wires concealed in the base of the belt would conduct an electrical shock through the body of whoever was wearing it. The electrical charge was controlled by whoever was holding the remote control and could be used from up to a hundred feet away from the victim. A pouch in the back of the belt housed the energizer box that delivered the shock of electricity.
The device had been used effectively for quite some time by the military and was slowly being introduced in the prison system to use on dangerous and violent criminals. On activation, the belt delivered a 50,000 volt shock which lasted between five to eight seconds depending on the pre-set timer. Two metal prongs built into the belt are positioned over the victim's kidneys, to maximize the pain. The current enters the person's body at the site of the electrodes and passes through their body, causing a rapid electric shock. The painful shock knocks its victim to the floor, where they shake uncontrollably and remain incapacitated for as long as 15 minutes. Colby felt a surge of deviant pleasure at the thought of using the stun belt to control the unruly brunet. One of the major arguments against the use of the belt was the likelihood of it being misused as a torture device. Colby grinned as he left the room and headed back down to the lower level and Starsky's room.
Starsky opened his eyes immediately when he heard the sound of the door to his room opening. His eyes narrowed as Colby stepped into the room. Cautiously, he shoved himself to his feet and stared at his former friend defiantly. Colby tossed the leather stun belt on the bed and said coldly, "Put it on."
"No." Starsky said firmly. He knew full well what the belt signified and how much pain it could deliver to its unwilling victim. He had endured a similar form of torture during his captivity in a Vietnamese P.O.W. camp. It was not an experience he cared to repeat. He struggled to control the panic that crawled its way into his chest at the memory of just how much pain it could cause. The memory made his stomach churn uneasily and his breath come in shallow gasps.
Colby pulled a forty-five from his pocket and pointed it at the defiant brunet. He had expected Starsky to resist. Smiling thinly, he said "Oh, I think you will unless you want a couple of bullet holes in you. And, don't forget, I know exactly where to shoot you where it will hurt like hell but not kill you." He gestured towards the wall with the gun. "Assume the position and don't try anything cute." He ordered.
Starsky considered his options. He had no doubt that Colby would take great pleasure in shooting him as he threatened. Sighing heavily, he turned towards the wall and leaned against it with his hands flat against the cold surface. Colby stepped up behind him, the belt in one hand and the gun in the other. He used his left foot to kick Starsky's feet back and apart, throwing off his center of balance.
Acting swiftly, he wrapped the base of the belt securely around Starsky's waist, fastening it snugly with the Velcro straps and strong seat belt lock bands through the D-rings attached to the belt. Once the belt was in place it could only be removed with a special key. Any attempts to tamper with the belt would result in a nasty shock even without the use of the remote control.
"Now see…that's wasn't so hard, was it?" Colby said sarcastically as he stepped back after fastening the stun belt around Starsky's waist.
Slowly straightening up and turning to face him, Starsky said curtly, "Beats getting shot…especially if your aim is as bad as it was in the Academy." He knew he was taking a risk baiting Colby while wearing the stun belt but Starsky didn't care. He refused to go down without a fight.
Almost immediately, he regretted his rash words when Colby took the remote to the belt from his pocket and gleefully pressed the button. Starsky shrieked in pain, tasting the blood in his mouth as he bit his tongue. He immediately fell to the floor, his body convulsing as his muscles contracted and spasmed from the violent shock. Even as the shock faded away, Starsky's muscles continued to twitch uncontrollably, the front of his sweatpants wet from losing control of his bladder. Kneeling beside his victim, Colby grinned and said, "Don't forget who's in charge here, Curly. I own you now and you will do as I say without opening that smart mouth of yours."
Too confused and disoriented to raise his head, Starsky lay there waiting for his nerves to stop quivering and his body to stop hurting. The mocking sound of Colby's laughter echoed in his ears as the other man left the room. It was almost fifteen agonizing minutes before Starsky felt strong enough to pull himself up to the edge of the bed. He collapsed on the mattress, trying to ignore the uncomfortable wetness of his clothing, as he wrapped his arms around himself and tried to stop shaking. He knew that he was in serious trouble. They were upping their ante and incorporating torture into his daily routine.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Miles away in Bay City, Hutch awoke with a violent start. His chest was pounding frantically in his chest as if he had just ran five miles and a sharp pain ran down his left arm. He sat up, his head spinning as the room tilted crazily around him. Fragments of his nightmare still clung to his mind. Ghostly images of Starsky, crying out in agony, and reaching for Hutch.
Breathing heavily, Hutch fumbled around on the floor beside the bed for the bottle of whiskey he had been drinking before he passed out. Since Starsky's alleged death, the alcohol had become a convenient crutch, the only thing that seemed to ease his pain and grief enough for him to rest. Drinking straight out of the bottle, he drank until he passed out again. Maybe this time he wouldn't dream.