Captive

Chapter 31

Laughter poured from Doctor Spencer's office as he and his night secretary watched segments of Bridget's episode with the monster. They drank champagne as they replayed pivotal moments of terror. Sadie congratulated her boss on his impeccable acting skills and another successful experiment while Doctor Spencer applauded his assistant's technical abilities. She ran the lights and triggered the bullet wounds when Bridget fired the blank-loaded pistol. The secretary had come a long way since she started working for Spencer, and he saw a great deal of potential in the young woman. She was almost as sadistic as he was when it came to psychological torment. It was clear to the good doctor that his assistant, however interested in his work she was, had no real desire to cure the sick. She only enjoyed watching them scream.

"The look on her face when you came up behind her after she shot you was priceless," the woman laughed. "She really thought she killed you. With all those damn movies you made her watch, you would think she would've known better."

"I'm sure she did, but that's the beauty of hope. It can make us believe what we want to believe even when we know the truth. It blinds us," Spencer replied. He was trying to teach her something about his work despite the fact that he knew she did not care. He changed tactics. "I was very impressed with your staging this time. You really have a knack for the spectacle end of this."

"Who would've thought all that high school and college theater would've ever paid off, right?" They both laughed. Sadie took a long swig of champagne from the bottle before she pushed Spencer into his chair and straddled him. She poured a small amount of the liquid into his mouth and then leaned over to kiss him, her tongue lapping up the bubbly inside his mouth.

"Oh, Sadie," Spencer mused, "whatever shall I do with you?"

"It's not what you want to do with me. It's always what you want to do to me. Are you still seeing that awful redhead?"

Spencer sighed, "I am."

"She's no good for you. You know that? She doesn't know what you like."

"And you do?"

"I like to think so." The secretary slid off Spencer's lap and gently lowered herself to the floor between his legs. Her lovely fingers caressed their way up his thighs before working to undo his pants. Spencer smiled and helped lower his dress pants to free his erect penis. Sadie flashed him a devilish grin before she wrapped her glossed lips around him and moved her head. Nathan put the camera feed on silent and started the video again—this time, on loop. His left hand rested delicately on Sadie's ebony hair, guiding her rhythm to completion.

Doctor Spencer/Nathan Jones headed toward his penthouse apartment about two hours later. It was close to midnight, and he knew that he would finally sleep well after nearly a week of insomnia. The Audi sped through empty intersections as it made its way toward Laurel Hills, his condominium building on the other side of the city. Nathan was smugly content with himself. If Bridget Dunn had any hope left in her before tonight, it had certainly disintegrated into utter despair. To her credit, he was actually surprised that she picked up the loaded pistol and fired it at him—or the monster, that is. He had never shot anyone, so he contemplated what she felt as the bullets left the chamber. The driver thought about her shock and disbelief when she realized she had not slain the monster, and he treasured the look of terror in those bloodshot blue eyes right before he injected her with the tranquilizer.

His blissful reminiscence shattered, however, when he parked the car and saw his girlfriend sitting on the steps outside his apartment complex. As he approached, he watched a faint mist wafting above her head. He then noticed a faint orange glow brighten periodically in the darkness. She was smoking a cigarette. Nathan walked toward her, working up a smile despite his shock and anger at her presence. When Bridget saw him, she tossed the butt to the ground and extinguished it with her shoe. She moved toward him, her tablet in her left hand.

"Darling! I can't believe you're here so late!" he exclaimed, feigning excitement.

She thrust the tablet toward him. "What the fuck is this, Nathan?"

"What is what?" He seemed confused. The screen was dark.

"This," she prodded as she clicked on the screen and played the video. Nathan glanced at the screen to see footage of one of his sessions with the other Bridget. His mind exploded, and a thousand different emotions ricocheted around his brain in less than a second.

He watched silently, his blood boiling as he eyes grew large. His girlfriend asked again, "What is this, Nathan?"

"I'm not sure. Where did you get that?"

"It was sent to me anonymously. I wrote back and asked who the person in the chair was, and they sent me another clip. This one was closer. I could see her face. And then, as if that weren't enough, you walked into the frame."

"Me?" He tried to sound as innocent as he possibly could.

"Yes. You. Why would someone send me this?"

"I'm not sure. It's a really cruel joke."

"Don't placate me, Nathan. Why does she look like me, and why are you there?" She was starting to get hysterical.

Nathan looked around to see if anyone was lurking. He calmly suggested, "Why don't you come inside, and we can try to figure this out."

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain this."

"I can't explain it. I've never seen that woman before in my life."

"Nathan. She's me! Or I'm her! Or she looks like me. Or something."

"I'm going to settle on 'or something.' Now it's late, and we both have to be at work in the morning. Why don't you come inside and settle in for the night. It's obviously been a stressful week, and this little incident isn't helping." He tried to put a loving arm around her, but she shoved him away.

"I'll go home thanks," she said as she started to storm off.

"Bridget, come back," the boyfriend begged.

"Not until you can explain this. When you can tell me why you've got someone who looks like me strapped to an electric chair, I'll listen. Until then, stay away from me." She stomped to her car as he tried to call her back to him, and Nathan watched as Bridget got in her company car and high-tailed out of the parking lot.

"Fuck..." he muttered as he turned and went into the apartment complex. He had a mole lurking somewhere—a vermin that required extermination.