CHAPTER 246: MARRIAGE COUNSELING

"You know, there’s an easy way to find out what kind of person she really is," said Jack as he grabbed a chair and sat down next to Katie.

Katie grabbed his hand, but instead of relief she felt anxious.

Orin, on the other hand, looked triumphant. Like he’d won the argument.

Fran had told Jack that even wise men can be blind to certain truths, especially about those close to them. And he suspected that was the case with Orin and his wife, Jacqueline.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, looking at Orin.

Orin nodded, smiling, then paused and asked, "My team?"

"At the other warehouse and loading into two vans. The tunnel collapse has been extended in both directions, and the Nov’s are down an unknown number of men due to West’s Nov-a-chunk surprise."

"Outstanding!" crowed Orin jubilantly.

"Novichuck surprise?" asked Katie.

"Nov Ah Chunk. Chunks of Nov. The Nov’s entered a room rigged with explosives."

"Oh." She was sorry she had asked.

Jack turned back to Orin. "So, just to be clear, you want me to summon a copy of your wife and have a candid discussion about her values and priorities. Are you sure?"

The man’s earlier jubilation dimmed, and he looked a touch nervous, but said, "Yes, I’m sure."

Jack assumed there was a good chance Orin’s wife would be asleep and he wanted to avoid the awkwardness of him interacting his Orin’s wife while she was either wearing a nightgown, or naked.

So, he walked back across the walkway over the water to the edge of the room then added a short hallway with a small room at the end.

Once in the small room, he added a bed, then located Orin’s wife in a snapshot. She was in bed, as he suspected.

He templatized and summoned her along with some clothes, then as soon as she appeared, he modified her so she would be unconsciously obedient.

He then commanded her to speak honestly and without deception. Not just when anyone asked her a question, but also when she chose to speak of her own volition.

His last command was to get dressed and go sit next to Orin, but forget about everything that happened between when he summoned her and when she sat down.

He turned and left the little room and returned to sit next to Katie.

"She’ll be out in a minute," he said in response to Orin’s questioning look.

A minute later, Jaqueline entered the interview room, walking woodenly along the walkway over the water, then sat next to Orin.

As soon as she sat, she blinked, then her blank expression shifted to one of surprise.

She looked around the room, then focused on Orin and asked, "Orin. What is the meaning of all this? I don’t remember giving you permission to enter my dreams."

Orin glared at Jack and opened his mouth, but stopped when Jack held up his hand and knocked on Orin’s mental gate.

Orin’s expression shifted to one of confusion, but opened the gate anyway.

"I can alter copies so they are unconsciously obedient. I commanded her to speak honestly and without deception. Basically, no filter. Now you get to see who she really is."

"Oh, fuck!" was all Jack caught from Orin’s thoughts before he exited the man’s mind.

Orin’s expression shifted to trepidation as Jack turned to Jaqueline and said, "This is not a dream."

Then Katie asked, "Mom, do you really love Dad, or do you just love his money?"

"Oh, honey, love is a fantasy for weak little girls. Your father’s not bad in bed. Not the best, but not bad, so it’s fortunate for him that he has enough money to keep me happy. Otherwise, I’d dump him and sink my claws into that tasty Chad."

The nausea that he sensed from Katie over their connection was so strong that he felt his gorge rising in sympathy as she bent over and retched.

He put a reassuring hand on Katie’s back and looked at Orin.

The man’s face was pale, and he was looking at his wife in horror.

The woman reached up and patted his face and said condescendingly, "You sad little man. Did you actually think I loved you?"

"When we bumped into each other at General Kershaw’s BBQ. Was that really a coincidence?"

"No, Orin, that was not a coincidence. I had to suck that sergeant’s cock to get him to let me in to the party. I knew there would be a few candidates there, and you were the juiciest, so young and already a major. Young, dumb, and full of cum."

Miranda and her mother might have a pragmatic and somewhat mercenary view of men in general, but at least they supported the man they chose. This woman was a vampire in comparison.

Orin asked his wife several more questions, each more personal than the last, and Jack regretted being present to hear the answers.

When Orin was done, he turned to Jack and tapped his temple. Understanding what the man wanted, he knocked on the man’s mind gate again.

As soon as Jack entered the man’s mind, the man thought, "I can’t kill her. She’s Katie’s mother after all. And I can’t divorce her. She’d take half of everything I own! You said you can make someone totally obedient to you. Can you make her obedient to me instead?"

"Maybe. Worst case, she’s my zealot instead of yours. But I’ll need Katie’s approval."

"Understood. I think she’d hate us both if we forced her to spend her life knowing that women benefited from you in any way."

Jack left Orin’s mind and knocked on Katie’s mind gate.

She let him in immediately.

"Jack! I can’t. This is just horrible. I knew she was selfish, but this is worse than I ever imagined. And I’m her daughter!"

He could feel her anguish through their connection.

"Katie, you’re nothing like your mother. I would never have accepted you if I had thought for a moment you were anything like her."

"I know. It’s just... Is there anything you can do?"

"Your father wants me to turn her into his Isabella."

She sat up and turned to look at him, then at her father. Then she turned and gave her mother the evilest your-going-get-yours look he had ever seen.