Ch4 - Mitch

Mitch was her first hire. At six-feet tall with broad shoulders and a strong bone structure, he looked more like a magazine model than a man of science, but he was brilliant. She found him on the campus of MIT analyzing synaptic membrane reaction to stimulus. His doctorate thesis on the malleable brain was profound, and Helene couldn't believe he'd taken the position. Money may be the root of all evil, but it certainly brought the right people to the table.

Mitch quickly caught up to speed and believed in the project. His enthusiasm was contagious and Helene found herself in a state of joyful bliss as she met her six-month goal of twelve disks in only two months.

Her first subject, Thom was reinstated to active duty and making amazing strides with no evidence of the crippling flashbacks that had almost ruined him. Lana was spending less money according to Harold, and so Helene had no reservations about her meeting with Charles Godfrey III scheduled for this afternoon. She was so confident about Lana's progress, she asked Mitch to go in her place.

"Take the new disk. It's Hawaii with the surf and I threw in a present for her."

Mitch rolled his eyes and left the lab.

When he pulled up to the mansion he headed past the doorman and straight into the study.

"Charles." He greeted the man with a firm handshake and a hearty smile.

"Mitch. How are you liking your new position? I know you must find it trivial, a man with your capabilities and thirsts, but lucrative."

Mitch laughed as he patted his pocket. "I must say it's been enlightening. Helene is a slave driver with so much passion. If she weren't such a humanitarian, I would make her a partner in my own work. But her research has been very useful to my own plans. You've done me more of a favor that you know."

He slapped the disk down in the table and took another headset out of his bag, delicately laying it on the desk.

"The interface should work. I've tested it myself. You'll be able to see and feel what Lana does. I suggest setting an alarm for yourself, so you can easily get out every ten minutes."

Charles' bony fingers snatched at the disk. "It's a hell of a thing to give someone Mitch. It's worth every penny. That is, if it works. I want to see that bitch die. And I want her to suffer. Just like the old days, war is hell. But nothing is as satisfying as revenge."

Mitch let the old man relish in his joy. He exited the house and took one last look. If all went well he wouldn't be coming back, and everything Charles Godfrey III knew about his secrets would be safe by morning.

Ch5 - Charles

Charles gave Lana a kiss on the cheek, ignoring her look of disgust. "Goodnight my love. I was thinking we could use a trip. Maybe Hawaii. It's getting cold here and I'm sure you're as bored of the damp weather as I am. I had another disk made, of things we can experience there together. And Helene said she put in your request, whatever that means."

Lana's face bloomed with color and a smile crept across it. Charles sighed, it was always promises and trinkets that had made her happy. How could he have been so stupid. His first wife, Gail, had loved him. She was a woman he depended on, one who understood him. It wasn't until he left her that she had ever looked at him with anything but love.

He closed the door to Lana's room and made his way to his own. He didn't bother with pajamas or getting under the covers, eager to see his money in action. If Mitch was the genius he claimed to be, Lana wouldn't wake to see another day. Trapped in a nightmare of unending fear, she should die in her sleep a very tormented woman. And he had a front row seat.

The helmet fit snugly on his head, and immediately the lights blinked as they found the signal of the other helmet. Charles kicked off a slipper and watched images dance across his mind. White sand, a pink sky and rolling waves. He could see how this would be energizing. A sense of happiness and calmness rolled across his mind, and he felt his muscles relaxing.

He saw Lana appear on the beach in a bikini. Her curves, once so alluring he'd do anything to have them touching him, now just seemed like part of the scenery.

Another man showed up, spinning fire and dancing to distant Hawaiian drums. Lana laughed and clapped as he showed off his taut muscles and bright smile. Lana put her foot in the surf and kicked water at him playfully. The torches disappeared and the man grabbed her in an embrace.

Charles' heart thumped loud and irregularly. He hadn't paid to watch her paw over another man. He'd payed to see her screaming. He steadied his breathing. Patience. Mitch was always a bit of a wild card. Maybe he was taunting him before the show. He had blackmailed the poor chap, all those pretty girls he left buried back in the Midwest. Soldiers had some of the most unusual habits. But some just had pain and killing in the blood.

Lana lay in the sand, kissing the man as a crab crawled across her flat stomach. She swatted it and wrapped her arms around him pulling him closer. Passion, Charles thought, that's what I tried to buy. fingers went through his pulpy torso.

Charles chuckled as Lana's face turned into a mask of terror, and by the time she dislodged herself from the corpse, she was covered in muck and goop. She screamed and ran into the water to get it off her.

Piranhas swarmed to where she stood and starting feeding in a frenzy, plucking off bits of skin, shredding and ripping her perfect canvas. She struggled to find the sand and get herself out of the water as her screams pierced through the night.

Charles wondered if her screams were coming out in real life. He wished he could be in both places at the same time and find out. As mesmerizing at it was to see her tortured, he wanted to make sure it was enough.

Lana's head lulled to the left as she did her best to roll off the clenching jaws of the predators that hadn't let go. The white sand soaked in the blood, staining it as it pooled around her. Standing beside her was Death, in the most macabre and clichè way. Black robe, scythe, and shadow-covered veil of rotting flesh and bone. He swung his arm out and her head flew, airborne and weightless, landing at Charles feet.

Death turned its head and stared at Charles. His heart began to pound like a thoroughbred mid-race, knocking against his bony ribs and struggling to jump. Death reached out his skeletal hand and Charles felt his wish come true, his heartbeat slowed and he gasped, taking in putrid death-scented air.

As Death closed his fist, his heart slowed even more and Charles began to understand that he was no longer just a spectator. Death had set its sights on him as well. He felt an instinct to run but his legs, like in real life, were slow and heavy.

As he felt himself falling to the sand, he pleaded for more time. Reaching in his pocket for a handful of cash which he thrust forward as a last-ditch effort.

Death looked at the offering and smiled. Charles begged for reprieve to stop the view. Even death would beat the inconsolable fear he felt in that smile. Hopelessness and a blackness unmeasurable. He beat his own chest with his fist to try and reset his heart as he squeezed his eyes closed to block the view.

As the world around him greyed and spun, he opened them for one last look, only to realize his last glance would be staring straight into the eyes of Lana and knowing their corpses would end the way their relationship began, with one longing look.

Mitch took off his virtual gear and checked the remote for vitals on the two subjects. Both screens were flat lines in alarm. No heartbeat, or thermal heat. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, texting his first contact.

"Done. Tell my father, your ex-husband is dead. And Gail, I expect a very lucrative pay off. I'll be home to collect in a few days. I've got a beautiful brain to pick first."

His second text was to Helene. "We've got a situation, can I come over? It's urgent!"

He smiled as he packed his kit. Virtual death just couldn't compare to the real thing. Mitch had never been much of a watch from the sidelines kind of guy.

He wished Charles had died first, seeing Lana in virtual reality hadn't really done it for him, but Charles sucked out what little he did get. Old men certainly weren't exciting to him in life or death. But now his own part of the plan would all come into play. Helene was a nice girl, and although on the plain side, she had a sort of librarian sexy side. A side he wouldn't mind seeing squirm just a little. And best of all, the project would then be his to do what he wanted with. Helping soldiers would be the perfect cover, and maybe throw a little karma his way, as if he needed it.