allergy to opiates at the last moment.
Remote: Interesting. How did you find that out?
Jack: Medical alert bracelet. He was wearing it when I took him down—fortunately, it didn’t affect the operation.
Remote: I commend you on your thoroughness.
Jack: I don’t like surprises.
***
“Uh. Uhhhhhhh. Where—where am I?”
“Hello, Mr. Parkins. You’re a prisoner.”
“I—what? I can’t—who are you?”
“I’m the one who captured you. You should be more careful about who you pick up, Mr. Parkins.”
“Oh, God. Look, I wasn’t—I mean, I was just looking for a little release, okay? I didn’t mean any—any harm.”
“Just a business transaction, huh? All right. I can appreciate that. I’m fairly business-like, myself.”
“So this is a kidnapping? That’s—that’s fine with me. My wife, she’ll pay. You don’t have to worry about her going to the police or anything, she’ll do exactly what I tell her to.”
“She sounds very obedient. You think she’d be as eager to buy you back if she knew what you were doing when we caught you?”
“You—you don’t have to tell her that, do you?”
“I’m a big believer in honesty, Mr. Parkins. But I’ll grant you that sometimes a little deception is called for, in certain situations. Tell you what—you co-operate with me, I’ll co-operate with you. All right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.”
“Okay. Now here’s the part you’re not going to like very much . . .”
***
Jack: I’m ready to make the trade.
Remote: It’s been a while since you were in touch, Closer. I was beginning to worry you might have had second thoughts.
Jack: What I do takes time. It’s not so much the actual work as the preparation; every target means learning new patterns, new neighborhoods.
Remote: Of course—it’s much the same with me. I take it you were successful in your latest quest?
Jack: Yes.
Remote: Outstanding. Might I ask who it is you’re giving me?
Jack: His name is Dennison Parkins. Organized killer, targets red-headed prostitutes. Murdered seven women through strangulation with a wire coat-hanger, dumped the bodies in a local river--I caught him in Sacramento and I’m still in the vicinity.
Remote: I see. Mr. Mason—despite his considerable size—is currently unconscious after an extended period of sleep deprivation. He should give you no problems, though his mental state may be somewhat fractured when he wakes up.
Jack: Sleep deprivation? What was the point of that?
Remote: An experiment. I’m always trying to improve my methods, and the idea of actual mind control as opposed to external manipulation is one I’m very interested in.
Jack: I can’t say I’m surprised. Are you aware of what Jeffrey Dahmer did to some of his victims?
Remote: He performed impromptu lobotomies on them with a power drill, in an attempt to destroy their will so they would obey him without question. My approach doesn’t rely on amateur surgery—though so far it’s yielded limited results.
Jack: Goliath not responding well to taking orders?
Remote: In his case I wasn’t trying to create a robot. As every military organization knows, before you can train someone to act as efficiently as a machine you must first destroy the programming that’s already there. I thought I should achieve that before attempting something more sophisticated.
Jack: And have you?
Remote: Sadly, no. He stubbornly retains a sense of identity, though his capacity for rational thought is diminished.
Jack: That’s often the case. Breaking someone isn’t about smashing through defenses; it’s about finding points of weakness.
Remote: Very true. I hope you find him an intriguing subject.
Jack: Let’s talk about specifics.
Remote: All right. You’re currently in Sacramento. Do you have a preference as to the location of our
Remote: Interesting. How did you find that out?
Jack: Medical alert bracelet. He was wearing it when I took him down—fortunately, it didn’t affect the operation.
Remote: I commend you on your thoroughness.
Jack: I don’t like surprises.
***
“Uh. Uhhhhhhh. Where—where am I?”
“Hello, Mr. Parkins. You’re a prisoner.”
“I—what? I can’t—who are you?”
“I’m the one who captured you. You should be more careful about who you pick up, Mr. Parkins.”
“Oh, God. Look, I wasn’t—I mean, I was just looking for a little release, okay? I didn’t mean any—any harm.”
“Just a business transaction, huh? All right. I can appreciate that. I’m fairly business-like, myself.”
“So this is a kidnapping? That’s—that’s fine with me. My wife, she’ll pay. You don’t have to worry about her going to the police or anything, she’ll do exactly what I tell her to.”
“She sounds very obedient. You think she’d be as eager to buy you back if she knew what you were doing when we caught you?”
“You—you don’t have to tell her that, do you?”
“I’m a big believer in honesty, Mr. Parkins. But I’ll grant you that sometimes a little deception is called for, in certain situations. Tell you what—you co-operate with me, I’ll co-operate with you. All right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.”
“Okay. Now here’s the part you’re not going to like very much . . .”
***
Jack: I’m ready to make the trade.
Remote: It’s been a while since you were in touch, Closer. I was beginning to worry you might have had second thoughts.
Jack: What I do takes time. It’s not so much the actual work as the preparation; every target means learning new patterns, new neighborhoods.
Remote: Of course—it’s much the same with me. I take it you were successful in your latest quest?
Jack: Yes.
Remote: Outstanding. Might I ask who it is you’re giving me?
Jack: His name is Dennison Parkins. Organized killer, targets red-headed prostitutes. Murdered seven women through strangulation with a wire coat-hanger, dumped the bodies in a local river--I caught him in Sacramento and I’m still in the vicinity.
Remote: I see. Mr. Mason—despite his considerable size—is currently unconscious after an extended period of sleep deprivation. He should give you no problems, though his mental state may be somewhat fractured when he wakes up.
Jack: Sleep deprivation? What was the point of that?
Remote: An experiment. I’m always trying to improve my methods, and the idea of actual mind control as opposed to external manipulation is one I’m very interested in.
Jack: I can’t say I’m surprised. Are you aware of what Jeffrey Dahmer did to some of his victims?
Remote: He performed impromptu lobotomies on them with a power drill, in an attempt to destroy their will so they would obey him without question. My approach doesn’t rely on amateur surgery—though so far it’s yielded limited results.
Jack: Goliath not responding well to taking orders?
Remote: In his case I wasn’t trying to create a robot. As every military organization knows, before you can train someone to act as efficiently as a machine you must first destroy the programming that’s already there. I thought I should achieve that before attempting something more sophisticated.
Jack: And have you?
Remote: Sadly, no. He stubbornly retains a sense of identity, though his capacity for rational thought is diminished.
Jack: That’s often the case. Breaking someone isn’t about smashing through defenses; it’s about finding points of weakness.
Remote: Very true. I hope you find him an intriguing subject.
Jack: Let’s talk about specifics.
Remote: All right. You’re currently in Sacramento. Do you have a preference as to the location of our
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