Countdown - Iris Johansen [79]
“Indeed he was. But you’re special also. So I’ll let you pick up the mail next week.” Reilly waved his hand to dismiss Norton as he turned to the box. “And tell Kim I said to increase your ration tonight.”
“Thank you.”
Reilly smiled at the eagerness in the young man’s voice as he heard the door close behind Norton. The extra cocaine ration always brought the pleasure and excitement intended, and he’d never found a suitable substitute. He’d tried several times to use posthypnotic suggestion in combination with various forms of deprivation to make the subjects believe they were being given hard drugs. In some cases the ploy had worked, but the effects were too short-lived to be satisfactory. Pity. It would have been the ultimate power trip to be able to give intense pleasure as well as pain. Like being God.
But he mustn’t be too disappointed. It was an exhilarating experience to control other human beings as if they were slaves and he the master. It was clear Grozak had no concept of the complicated and difficult methods he used to bring about the desired results. He thought the subjects were weak of mind and will, and in the beginning Reilly had experimented with just that type of personality. But he’d grown bored and exasperated very soon and moved on to test himself with more difficult subjects. That was the reason he’d taken Norton when Jock Gavin had slipped away from him. He’d wanted to prove that he could overcome all resistance, even if Gavin had been a failure.
Not really a failure, he reminded himself. The boy might have broken down, but his basic conditioning had stayed in place. If it hadn’t, he’d have had Homeland Security and CIA crawling all over Montana and Idaho looking for him. He’d had Grozak monitoring Jock after MacDuff had taken him to Scotland, but he’d gradually begun to feel more comfortable. It was almost worth Jock’s defection to prove how impregnable that basic conditioning was. Jock would die before betraying him. He almost hoped he’d try. It would be a heady victory.
“Norton said you’d okayed an extra cocaine ration.” Kim Chan stood in the doorway. “You shouldn’t have done it. You were never that soft with Jock.”
“Jock was different. I had to keep the reins tight. Norton is no problem.” He leaned back in his chair. “And you’ve evidently been undermining his training by comparing him to Jock. It’s okay to voice your displeasure to me, but don’t do it to anyone else.”
Kim’s cheeks flushed. “It’s true. A little pain and Norton caves. He disgusts me.”
“But not enough to stop inflicting that pain.” He smiled. “And until you reach that point, don’t come and tell me how to do my job.” His voice lowered to steely softness. “You’ve forgotten. You’re not my partner. You work for me. And if you annoy me too much, I’ll toss you back into that whorehouse in Singapore where I found you.”
“You won’t do that. You need me.”
“I need someone like you. You’re not unique. Perhaps if you’d done your job more efficiently, I wouldn’t have lost Jock.”
“You can’t blame it on me. You’re the one who—” She stopped as she met his gaze. He could see her struggling with her anger and outrage, but she finally backed down as he knew she would. She muttered, “It wasn’t my fault. I had complete control when he was with me.” She turned away. “I’ll give Norton his extra ration, but it’s a mistake.”
And she realized that she’d made a mistake too, Reilly thought. She’d been arrogant when he’d chosen her, and he’d had to keep that arrogance in check over the years. He’d been tempted to try training her, but that might have destroyed the domination factor in her that was her most valuable asset.
But she was right: Norton was no Jock Gavin. Though he’d been a brilliant student at the University of Colorado, president of the student council, a star on the basketball team, all of which had given him that touch of youthful arrogance that had made him interesting for a while.
No longer. Reilly would have to dispose of him soon and get someone else to pique his interest. It was getting increasingly