“No,” Steve said under his breath. “No more than was already there.”
“I heard that. Anyway, in about 85% of the people who suffer with epilepsy the origin is idiopathic, in other words, there is no known cause for the condition.”
“So how did you do it?”
“My theory is based on a theory for the cause of the Reflex Epilepsy. Since the eyes are linked directly to the brain, visual stimuli is hardwired directly into the vision center without having to travel through the periphery of the nervous system as do most of the sensations we experience. This means the stimuli are unfiltered prior to reaching the brain, which then receives the full impact of the stimuli. The vision center of the brain is actually in the back of the skull, the furthest point from the location of the eyes. My conjecture was that with the proper sequence of strobe lights directly stimulating the brain one could disrupt and negatively impact the electrical impulses within any desired area of the brain. Through this disruption, I believed I could induce a seizure similar to the ones suffered by those with Reflex Epilepsy.”
“Apparently you were right,” Alpha concluded.
“Only on the surface,” Chris said modestly as he went on with his hypothesis. “Now you guys are going to have to make a little bit of a leap of faith on this one, but what if someone else had already been on this track and made modifications to the sequence and intensity of a particular strobe light. If I could do what I did, then someone more brilliant and focused than me could, theoretically, design a strobe light with a specific sequence and intensity to have any desired effect on a person’s brain function they wished.”
Chris remained quiet for a moment to let that sink in.
Steve was the first to speak up, albeit skeptically.
“So you are saying that you think the victims in both clubs were all zapped by someone with a special strobe light? What? Did he carry it around with him in his jacket or pants?”
Chris thought about that for a moment.
“No, to have an effect on all of those people simultaneously, the culprit would have needed to tap into the club’s special lighting effects in order for it to be powerful enough to get The Inferno results.”
Something nagged at the back of Steve’s mind, fighting its way to the surface.
Alpha asked another question. “Would the effect be possible to create with a flash bang grenade?”
Chris bolted upright in his hospital bed.
“What?!? Maybe. Why?”
Steve volunteered, “There is evidence at the Glitter Gulch that flash bang grenades were detonated.”
“As well as in our home last night,” Alpha growled softly.
Chris nodded. “Those grenades do give off a powerful and disorienting blast of light and sound. With the right expertise in munitions a person could modify the grenade to explode with a series of light flashes. It would be similar to making a giant firecracker for the Fourth of July.”
“There was no evidence of flash bangs in Los Angeles,” Steve said dryly.
“That means the only way the theory would work in LA is if someone sent the impulses out through the existing lights at The Inferno,” Chris postulated.
“Which makes sense since Pharmanetics agents were officially helping with the clean up; that would enable them to remove all evidence of their involvement.”
“Seems a little bit of an obvious and convenient suspect,” Chris speculated. “Also, how could they have overridden the FBI and the WHO?”
“Good question. And a now that we are good conspiracy theorists, the answer would have to be some kind of payoff or favor from or to the government.”
“So we are actually going to be taking on our own government?”
“I doubt it,” Steve consoled. “Not directly anyway, but considering the three of us are the only ones who know there is a potential connection, things could get a lot worse before they get better.”
Either encouraged or genuinely excited, Chris announced, “So ‘Athos’, what would our next move be?”
Steve was somewhat amused by the reference.
“Simple, my dear ‘Porthos.’ We return to the scene of the crime and see if any of the Cardinal’s spies arrive.”
Alpha had not caught the reference. “So where do we go from here?”
Steve looked at Chris, “How soon before that blood work is ready”
“What blood work?” Alpha asked Steve.
“Should be any second now, why?”
“What blood work?” Alpha turned and asked Chris.
“Because we’ve had two mass abductions and it stands to reason the best way to keep that many abductees under control would be to make them all sleep through it.”
“Excuse me. What blood…”
“You think The Inferno and the Glitter Gulch were just tests for some other true purpose?”
“Exactly, but I don’t know what that purpose might be; perhaps the result of the blood work will…”
Alpha slammed a fist down so hard on the nightstand the wood shattered and the metal bent under the weight of the blow.
“WHAT BLOOD WORK?!?”
Steve and Chris looked at each other.
Quickly Chris said, “I’ll be outside.” Chris started to roll out of the hospital bed and yelled at Alpha. “Aramis! Get me my pants!”
Steve put a hand on Chris’ chest preventing him from getting out of bed. “Easy boy, you’re not going anywhere.”
Chris looked at Steve with incredulity and exclaimed, “Nonsense! Aramis, the pants!”
Alpha still didn’t understand why Chris was calling him “Aramis.” And then it connected.
“Perhaps you should rest and tell me about the blood work…Porthos.”
“Damn you both. Well that’s fine, at least let me get dressed.”
Reaching out, he pressed the “Call Nurse” switch and a female voice crackled over an intercom.
“Yes Mr. Barnes, are you all right?”
“Hello my little nightingale; how I have longed to hear your voice again.” Chris was making a show of swooning into the intercom, but he sounded more like PePe LePew than Cassanova.
"Are you all right sir?”
Chris quickly shifted gears and grew indignant, “No, I am not all right! These heathens are vexing me and I shall require wine and my tailor, post haste!”
Steve couldn’t help but smile at Chris’ antics; unfortunately, Alpha looked as though he might blow a gasket again.
After a brief pause the nurse responded, “No alcohol is allowed on this floor sir. Besides it wouldn’t be a good idea while you are still catheterized.”
The room immediately fell into an awkward silence. Chris’ eyes looked up from the speaker and darted from Steve to Alpha and back to Steve. He then looked at the “Call Nurse” button as if it had suddenly turned into a hunk of uranium. Slowly, Chris extended a shaky finger and depressed the button.
“…Excuse me?” Chris’ face was ashen and all traces of the romantic had faded.
Both Steve and Alpha watched Chris, eyes wide.
“That’s right sir. You have a catheter in your urethra. You probably don’t feel it as a result of the relaxants the doctor prescribed for you.”
Completely bamboozled, Chris stammered, “I have a ‘what’ in my ‘where’?”
“So this is Karma,” Alpha said as Steve patted Chris on the shoulder.
“Take it easy drippy dick, you’ll be all right.”
As Steve and Alpha sat in a couple of folding chairs the hospital provided, a stunned Chris slowly raised the sheets of his bed to nervously peer at himself under the covers.
“My God, that tube is huge! How can I possibly not feel that?!?”
Chapter 35
For the next hour, Chris attempted to explain to Alpha why he felt the need to have their blood analyzed. Alpha was furious at first, but the truth in Chris’ explanation overwhelmed his anger so he reluctantly acquiesced. A doctor arrived to check on Chris, performed a few cur
sory evaluations, removed the catheter and signed a release so Chris was free to leave. Most of the drugs were out of his system by now, but Chris was still moving sluggishly as he started dressing. He was having trouble tying his shoes when an orderly arrived with two manila folders. Chris immediately opened the folder on top and began reading the lab reports.
After a few minutes Chris’ face took on a look, which gave Steve the distinct impression he had read something raising a red flag. “Steve…I…?” Chris’ voice was hushed and in a rasp that added to his already disturbing demeanor. Chris looked down at the medical chart containing figures looking to be a lab report, searching for where to begin.
“Steve, you told me that you guys weren’t susceptible to viruses and certain harmful bacteria, right?” “That’s right. Why? What’s up Chris?”
Nodding, Chris replied, “Well, there actually are several aspects of your blood that were unusual, but I think I know why Pharmanetics is interested in you and your people.”
“What?” Steve said with alarm.
“Steve, your blood has no antibodies. The white blood cell count is zero; however, your T-cell count is normal.”
“Yes, the T-cell count would be normal and there would be no antibodies in the blood if we assume there are absolutely no viruses within our systems now nor will there ever be,” Alpha said cryptically.
Chris shook his head. “That’s completely impossible. Viruses are present in everything we eat, drink, breathe, touch or absorb. Even though most are controlled by a healthy immune system and pose no threat, they can’t be avoided.”
Alpha countered, “Viruses are structurally one of the most simple and yet most complicated life forms on the planet, simple strands of DNA. Yet some target, attack, consume, reproduce and ultimately evacuate their host organism to attack another host. Somehow, there is an inherency within those simple strands that recognizes a suitable environment in which to thrive.
“And that’s why Pharmanetics is interested in you and your people!” Chris suddenly announced. “If they could develop an absolute cure for viral infection, like an antibiotic does for bacterial infections, the patents would be worth billions, perhaps trillions of dollars. Everything from the common cold, the flu, even AIDS and…”
“Biological warfare?” Alpha finished the sentence for Chris.
Steve blanched. “What?”
“Its far easier and more affordable to produce a biological or ‘dirty’ bomb then it is to produce a nuclear one,” Alpha stated matter-of-factly.
“Pharmanetics is harvesting what they need from Alpha’s kidnapped people. That’s why they took the children first and why they created the device which puts people into stasis. Chemically induced comas can be detrimental to health over time and Pharmanetics can’t afford to have their only resource for the medication dying too soon. ”
Chapter 36
There was dead silence in the room after Chris gave voice to the revelation of Pharmanetics’ true agenda.
Steve thought for a moment then spoke: “The question is, ‘what will our next move be?’”
“The remaining hunters and I will be going to Pharmanetics to get back our children, and whomever else they may have taken. And we will destroy anyone who tries to get in our way,” Alpha said with cold confidence.
“Easy Alpha, we don’t want to go on a killing spree.”
Chris jumped back into the conversation. “What we need now is a way to get those people back without getting them or ourselves killed in the process.” Chris caressed his chin in thought then raised his index finger to the ceiling and shouted, “I say we storm Pharmanetics!”
“Uh-oh” Steve thought, “There he goes.”
Steve spoke as calmly as he could. “Uh…Storm, Chris?”
“Yes STORM! Like a hurricane!”
All eyes were on Chris now as he began to rapidly pace the room.
Alpha turned to Steve. “I like this one.”
“Don’t encourage him.”
About a minute later, Chris stopped and turned to the duo.
“Okay, I’m pretty sure I can hack into the city’s zoning offices and the Pharmanetics security computers. Give me one hour to put a plan together and I will describe in detail how we are going to storm the Bastille.”
Chapter 37
The room Lei woke up in was dark and cold. It was also dry with a sterile, though not wholly unpleasant smell easily identifiable as refrigerated air. She tried to rise from the cot she lay on but found her wrists bound by police issue handcuffs. Testing her restraints briefly she realized she wasn’t going anywhere, so instead of struggling or panicking, she relaxed her breathing and let her eyes adjust to the surroundings.
She was supine on what she eventually comprehended was a hospital gurney, not a cot. Her wrists were shackled to the framework of the bed placing her in a crucifixion position. The rest of her body was free to move. Her eyes continued to adjust to the darkness and memories of a ride in a large vehicle with the bodies of her people stacked around her like discarded clothing played in a mental haze. She remembered lapsing into and out of consciousness as if continuously sedated. When she felt she was regaining clarity during the ride, she would suddenly become groggy and nod off for another period of time.
Her mouth and throat were parched and held a foul taste, further confirmation of having been drugged. With concentrated effort she shook off even more of the effects of whatever had been introduced into her system. The increased clarity allowed the realization she was naked on the bed. Lei hadn’t initially been aware of her nakedness; the room was adequately warm and she hadn’t experienced any kind of chill. She knew captors stripped their captives to give them a heightened sense of vulnerability, but in her case, her body and the intense allure her appearance could evoke had always been her armor. Through her training, as well as the fruits of skilled cosmetic surgeons, she felt at her most powerful in as little clothing as possible or even better, nude.
In the next moment she sensed she wasn’t alone in the room, feeling eyes on her as she had so many times in the past. No amount of adjusting to the dark of the room revealed another person.
“So who’s there?” Lei said in her most seductive tone.
No answer.
Okay, time to play the game she had never lost since she had completed her training.
“C’mon, come closer…You know you want to take a better look.” She shook her breasts gently from side to side. “It’s so dark in here, you can’t possibly see me as well as you would like.”
A slight creak sounded behind her, as if someone shifted their position in a chair. It came from directly behind her which, given her bound state, was the one area she couldn’t see.
“Are you watching me?” Lei asked as she arched her body so more of her could be seen from the position of the sound.
“I like to be watched. What’s your name?”
Lei heard a slight chuckle come from the area where she suspected the voyeur to be. She couldn’t do anything with him from that position and needed to draw whoever it was in close, engage them to draw nearer. She would easily enthrall them and encourage her new conquest to free her, even protect her as she made her escape.
“This isn’t usually how I go about finding a partner to watch me, but…” She began to breathe with a bit more effort, as if she was getting aroused by the thought of someone watching her.
“You know sometimes if I squeeze my thighs together just right…” She bent her knees while keeping her feet planted on the mattress, slowly arching her back and lifting her torso up into a pelvic thrust as she pulsed her hips and thighs together. Her body shuddered slightly as her muscles tightened; she began grinding her pelvis in slow circular motions, occasionally jolting her body as if one particular spot sent an electric impulse through her.
Lei let out a small gasp and a quick intake of breath as she repeated the performance, gradually increasing the speed of her gyrations and this most erotic dance. As her breath ca
me out in labored need, the effort caused a slight sheen of perspiration to form on her cappuccino colored skin.
Moaning as softly as a whisper she continued her dance. Lei’s heart skipped for a fleeting moment when she heard sounds of someone rising out of the chair. She spread her feet further apart and planted them firmly on the sides of the mattress. She raised her legs and completely exposed herself to the opposite side of the room from where the voyeur was sitting.
“God, I love being watched…Do you like what you see?” She breathed heavily, “I think you do.” Her voice was perfected and she sounded lost in the moment. In truth, she was actually starting to lose herself in the moment, just a little bit. Her best performances always came when she could ‘feel’ the role she was manipulating.
“Please…” She huffed, “Please, I am so close. I need to be touched…I need to feel someone touching me all over.”
No sound.
“Please,” she begged as her movements became more desperate and her breath more erratic. “I know you want to touch me. You’ve been watching me all this time going out of your mind with the need to touch me. Do it! Please! I want you to! I need you to!”
Lei never heard the man approach. Suddenly two large, leather-gloved hands reached over from behind her head and caressed her lower waist and abdomen. The surprise of the contact sent shivers through Lei although she hid the surprise with a barely audible cry of pleasure.
The powerful hands flowed over her flat stomach, down the sides of her hips then back up and over the large curves of her breasts where they stopped and pinched firmly on her erect nipples.
Lei almost laughed out loud when the hands stopped on her breasts. Men were so predictable. The only reason she didn’t laugh was her breath caught in her throat; the pressure registered an exquisite sensation, sending a tremor through her.
She was getting into it now, almost regretting that once her goading put the voyeur into her thrall the fun would have to end. It was so easy now. Any doubt in her ability left her mind years ago with the culmination of all of Alpha and his clan’s teachings. She could seduce and enmesh anyone, at any time, mostly because she knew how not to play fair.
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