Chapter 33
Kirk slowly climbed the stone steps carrying the whip. Konti preceded him and stood waiting for him. Kirk's dread was apparent in every move. From the first lash, Kirk doubted his ability to pull this off. The intense pain was going to be a serious distraction. He had wanted to go all the way to 500; now he wasn't sure he could do half that.
His instinct was to become very still, concentrating all his energy on staying conscious and upright. But at all costs, he must not do that. There must be a visible reaction to every lash, even if he couldn't last past 100. Moreover, today's reactions must be different from yesterday's. He condensed all of what he had done before into the first hundred lashes, except for collapsing onto his knees. The second hundred, he expanded the sound effects to include howling and even some screaming. The third hundred, he added very agitated body movements, making it appear that he simply could not hold still. The fourth hundred he gradually fell apart, ending up face down on the edge of the stone step. He still sobbed, pounded a clenched fist on the stone, and randomly kicked a foot in the air.
He reflected wryly that this was a very ineffective way to deal with pain, but was grateful he'd been able to concentrate enough to ignore the real pain. From now on, it would be more difficult, simply because there was less to do. Suddenly he decided to pass out early.
On lash 427, he went completely limp and silent. Konti was startled, but managed to cover it by throwing a fit. As he stepped close, Kirk whispered, "Kick me off. Finish down there." So Konti did, complete with a barrage of verbal abuse. Kirk again managed to land face down, stirring slightly as Konti approached. Konti delivered three lashes to the legs, yelling at him to get up.
Kirk struggled to rise, and then collapsed again. But he managed to do it in such a way as to convey an unwillingness, rather than an inability to get up. Konti reacted the way he hoped Kirk wanted. He furiously applied twenty lashes as fast as he could manage. Kirk screamed, lunged to his feet, and began staggering around with a crazed, wild-eyed look on his face. He appeared to be looking for a way out, a place to run to, but without sufficient mental ability to actually run away.
Konti followed him around, continuing to apply the lash. As the minutes passed, Konti decided Kirk was gradually working his way towards the flitter, without seeming at all obvious about it. Then when about twenty feet away, he suddenly broke through the crowd and dashed for the flitter. Rather than open the door and climb in however, he simply plastered himself against the side of the flitter, pounding his fist against the hull.
Konti followed him and continued his physical and verbal barrage. Kirk slowly slid to the ground, his fingers clawing the metal all the way down. Then he crawled into the space between the flitter and the ground, trying to get away from the lash. But he left one foot within Konti's reach, so he dragged Kirk out from under the flitter.
The beating was finished with Kirk spread-eagled on the ground, digging his fingers and toes in, and sobbing. After the last lash, Konti opened the flitter door, threw in the whip, then picked up Kirk and threw him in, yelling at him to shut up.
As Konti closed the door, sat down and took the controls, he took a deep breath. They had survived the second 500 lashes. Kirk had fallen silent.
"Kirk, are you all right?"
"What a question! I'm still conscious, yes. Konti, we're not finished yet. When we get home, you will pull me out of the flitter, throw me toward the door, kick me, drag me, whatever. We don't know who might be watching your yard. Once we're inside with the door shut, if I really can't walk, you can carry me."
Konti followed orders, and Kirk got a few more scrapes and bruises, but nothing he considered serious. Once inside, Kirk slowly got to his feet and very carefully moved to the back room, where he collapsed in the center of the floor. He began to shake, and Konti dropped to his side, concerned.
"Kirk! You're not faking this? There's no one here but me. Kirk, stop it, please!"
"Calm down, Konti. I'm not faking. It would take more energy than I have to stop it, and it wouldn't change the outcome any. Tell Koh, he forgot to mention tingling lips."
"Kirk, you can't be dying! What can I do?"
"Nothing. Just sit and talk to me, Konti. This won't take long."
Kirk used that quiet voice of encouragement, and Konti gradually calmed down.
"I don't mind, I really don't. I expected it to be the knife, but this is okay. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that you believe that Jesus Christ loves you and wants to know you."
Believing that Kirk was dying, Konti said 'yes' to the Lord Jesus Christ, and was immediately flooded with that same incredible peace that Kirk had given him before.
"Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!" was Kirk's response.
His second concern was that Konti not blame himself for Kirk's death. So he talked again about forgiveness, and Konti promised to try not to blame himself. With Kirk's heart at peace, he turned to small talk to try to make Konti more comfortable.
"You know, it's really a good thing we don't have to do this tomorrow. I'm fresh out of ideas."
"That's what you said yesterday. But you certainly got creative in the middle of it."
Kirk chuckled. "Yes, well, I think better on my feet. Anyway, you followed my lead beautifully. Kezak undoubtedly thinks we rehearsed it."
"Didn't you?" said a voice behind them.
Konti whirled to face the intruder. It was Kezak.
"How much did you hear? And what are you doing, barging in here?"
"You didn't answer the door and it was unlocked. And I only heard the last sentence, but that was enough."
"I'm waiting for Koh. Kirk is dying." Konti's stance remained aggressive, even while he offered an explanation of the situation.
"Relax, Konti," Kirk murmured. "You were going to trust him anyway. Now that he has his proof, you have to either trust him or kill him."
Konti stared tensely at Kezak for a moment. Then he sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"So did you rehearse it?" Kezak's tone was purposely mild.
"No, we didn't even talk about it. But it doesn't matter anymore."
At this moment, Koh rushed in. "Sorry that took so long. I was detained. How is he?
"And what are you doing here?" This last to Kezak, who didn't reply.
"He's dying."
"What!? Why do you think so?"
"He thinks so. Shock symptoms."
"When? Is he still conscious?"
"Yes, I am. The reaction set in as soon as we got home. I'm surprised I've lasted this long."
"Describe your symptoms."
Koh was checking vitals as he listened to Kirk's succinct recitation.
"As long as you're conscious, there's a chance."
He gave Kirk two injections, sprayed his back with anesthetic, and expertly inserted an IV.
"Koh, you're wasting your time. Just let me die. If you don't, Konti will have to do it again tomorrow, and I'll probably die on the steps. Is that better?"
"No, it's not. Are you giving up then?"
"No. Just accepting the inevitable, and looking out for Konti's best interests."
"It's in Konti's best interests for you to survive. Haven't you got that figured out yet?! So stop talking about dying, and concentrate on living!"
Koh pulled out a heat blanket and wrapped Kirk up in it from head to toe.
"Now we wait. Might know in an hour; might be touch and go all night. Konti, go to bed. I'll call you if things go from bad to worse."
"But-" Konti protested.
"No buts, unless you want a sedative."
"Go ahead, Konti. I'll be okay."
So Konti went. Koh turned to Kezak.
"I don't know what you're doing here, but given what you've seen, you'll have to stay til Korn decides what to do with you. Since you're here, you might as well be useful. Sit down and talk to Kirk. Keep his mind occupied. Let me know immediately if he loses mental focus. I'm going to get us something to eat, and make sure Konti goes to bed."
Kirk and Kezak talked for four hours. At first, they talked about acting. Kirk was surprised to get understanding acceptance from Kezak, without any exclamations about how incredible he was. He had finally encountered someone for whom what he could do was no big deal. A refreshing change. Kirk found himself explaining the entire situation, including what was supposed to happen the next day. Kezak was neither appalled nor disbelieving, but offered several suggestions.
Koh checked in regularly, listening to the conversation long enough to assess Kirk's condition. After four hours, he decided it was safe to let Kirk sleep.
"Thank you, Kezak. Kirk, describe your symptoms now."
"The anesthetic wore off about an hour ago. No return of shock symptoms. I haven't been this warm in months. Very relaxing. Looks like I'm going to survive another day."
"Good. I'll clean your back in the morning. Get some sleep."
"You too. And Koh, thank you."
"You're welcome. See you in the morning."
Koh and Kezak bedded down in the main room.
"Will he really die tomorrow?"
"Who knows. Only his God, and He doesn't talk to me. But don't lose any sleep worrying about it. Kirk doesn't."
xxxx
Kirk was much better in the morning, handled the back cleaning on his feet, and seemed to Konti, more or less normal. Kezak had no idea what normal was, so he watched in fascination as Kirk interacted with both Koh and Konti as if they were not only equals, but close friends. Kirk served breakfast over Konti's protest, but then sat at table with them, perfectly at ease. After breakfast, they held a conference. Koh chaired the meeting.
"Now, we have to decide whether to go through with Day 3. Korn has given me authority to make that decision, which basically means, if Kirk dies, Korn can blame me. But before we address the question, let me give you a report on yesterday.
"It's the commonly held opinion that Konti is trying to kill Kirk, slowly and painfully. But more than that, to thoroughly humiliate him publicly first. Also, it's a unanimous conclusion that he's succeeding. Everybody thinks Kirk has completely lost control of himself."
Kirk nodded in satisfaction. Konti, however, was upset.
"That's part of what I can't stand about this - watching him fall apart, when I know he could just stand there and take it with no reaction at all. It's not fair!"
Kirk leaned forward earnestly. "Konti, it's not about what's fair. It's dangerous for that to be common knowledge, but we've talked about that. Maybe this will help: as long as I'm ranting and raving, I haven't fallen apart. If I really fall apart, it won't look like that."
"What will it look like?"
"I don't know. Koh hasn't gotten there yet. But consider this: when we first started yesterday, I wasn't sure I could last through 100 lashes. The pain was much more intense than I remembered from the first day. But once I got involved in the performance, ignoring the pain was relatively easy. If I can do that again, it won't hit me til afterwards. If I start getting uncontrollably quiet, then maybe I'm about to really lose it. But probably all I'll do is pass out."
"How am I supposed to know if you really passed out?!"
"Watch the fingers."
And Kirk illustrated what his hands would look like if he was faking it.
"Anything else to report about yesterday?" Koh asked.
Konti replied, "I'd like to know how Kezak knew it was faked. What did we do wrong?"
"Nothing really. I suspected it the first day, because it didn't make sense to me that Kirk would show you how terrified he was. Then I just watched carefully. If you ignore all the hoopla and just watch his feet, it's obvious he knows exactly what he's doing. But don't worry, nobody but a trained actor would see it."
Koh cleared his throat. "All right, I need a go, no-go vote from each of you. Do we finish this today? Kirk?"
"Yes. Do it today."
"Konti?"
"No. He almost died last night. He looks fine now, but I know how well he can hide it."
"Kezak?"
"Why do you want my opinion?"
"You crashed the party, but now that you're here, you stay with the ship. If we sink, you go down with us. Besides, you might have a fresh perspective."
"What happens if you don't do it today?"
"We put it off until Kirk can survive it. A few days, maybe even a week."
"I can see why Kirk wants to do it today. You lose momentum with a delay like that - very hard to recapture the emotional atmosphere. So the problem is how to do it in such a way that doesn't kill him. Kirk, let's have a look at you."
After a thorough inspection, there were several minutes of thoughtful silence.
"Konti, how good are you with that lash? Can you place it exactly where you want it?"
"Yes, within the inch."
"Okay, Koh, here's what I'm thinking. You tell me if you think this'll work. No more than twenty lashes here on the back. Spaced evenly, you can open all this up, so it looks like a bloody mess, without doing a whole lot more damage than we already have. All the rest of them go elsewhere. A few on the front, and there's a little room on the upper arms, but most of them on the buttocks and upper legs. Kirk, put your hands on your knees. See, that opens all this up. I would expect by the time you're done that all of this would look about like the back does now. Okay, thanks, Kirk, you can sit down. Well, Koh, what do you think?"
"Maybe, but the effects of injury are cumulative. You open up that back and it's going to be right back where it was last night."
"I don't think so," interrupted Kirk. "I didn't go into shock this morning when you cleaned it. Maybe because I wasn't exhausted."
"Which you will be tonight. The other thing I can't possibly quantify is your stubborn will. You decide you're going to die, there's no way I can stop you. On the other hand, as long as you want to live, there's no telling where the limit is to what you can take. By the way, what did you do last night before I got here, when you thought you were dying?"
"Talked to Konti."
"That's probably why you were still conscious. Konti, talk to him in the flitter all the way home. Keep his mind occupied."
"Does that mean you've decided to go ahead with this?" Konti asked.
"I'm strongly leaning in that direction. But I'd like it to be unanimous. Do you have other concerns besides Kirk's survival?"
"Well, a little less guess work would be nice."
Kezak offered, "I'd like to spend a couple of hours with the two of them going over the script. Several things Kirk and I talked about last night need Konti to do specific things. And that dive off the steps needs to be diagrammed. It's got to be right the first time. There is no second chance."
So Kezak coached Kirk and Konti for over two hours. Koh watched, and called to confer with Korn. At 1030 he convened another meeting.
"Well?"
Kezak smiled. "It's a pleasure to work with them both. I still vote do it today."
"We should have hired Kezak two months ago," was Kirk's opinion. "He's marvelous. Got the whole thing planned with no dead time. Definitely doable. The only question mark is afterwards. I had a thought: could you leave me some injections to take in the flitter on the way home?"
"Yes. I'll have to guess on the dosage, since it depends on the severity of symptoms. Konti, what's your vote?"
Konti took a long look at Kirk, then sighed.
"Kezak is as bad as Kirk in the way they plan the most awful things in such a matter-of-fact way. But Kirk's right; Kezak is a very good coach, and I can do this. It won't get any easier by putting it off, so if you think Kirk can survive it, I'll vote yes."
"There's absolutely no guarantee. All I can say is, it's not for certain that he can't survive it. Can you live with yourself if he doesn't?"
"I'll have to. It's not as if killing Kirk is a brand-new idea."
He looked at Kirk, who smiled warmly, but said nothing.
"All right, then, there's one other thing we need to settle. What are we going to do with Kezak?"
"What did Korn say?" Konti wanted to know.
"He said it was up to us, but we'd have to take care of the body ourselves. Interesting though, I got the distinct impression he thought Kirk's opinion should be the deciding factor."
Without a word, Kezak got up and came around the table to Kirk, who rose to meet him. He drew his knife and again offered it to Kirk.
"Will you take it now?" Kezak's voice was quiet.
Kirk gazed at Kezak for a long moment, then looked at Konti and Koh as well.
"You both think that if I trust him, he must be trustworthy? And if I don't trust him, you want me to kill him?"
Neither replied, but Kirk sensed acquiescence in the silence.
"Koh, do you trust him?" No reply.
"All right, my decision and mine alone. And if you die because I guessed wrong, at least I probably won't be around to regret it." He turned back to Kezak, his decision already made. "Put the knife away, Kezak. I'm not going to kill you. Welcome to the club. Your life expectancy may be short, but we try to have a good time."