"Serafin, Jeff and I have a proposition for you, that is, if what we're asking is even possible," Scott looked at the man across the desk from him in the manager's office, measuring him. If Serafin was the kind of man Scott's instincts told him he was, this was an offer he couldn't refuse.
"You tell me what you want and I'll tell you if it's possible," Serafin allowed, glancing from Scott to Jeff and back again. He affected an air of calculated repose as he awaited Scott's proposal. He couldn't fathom what was on the minds of the two men who had spirited him away from the party in the green room moments ago.
Jeff cleared his throat. "We couldn't help but notice that the club you're booked to perform in this weekend is, well, kind of a dive," he began almost apologetically. "A performer of your stature should be playing a better venue and we thought perhaps we could help you out, if you would agree to help us."
Serafin regarded Jeff from hooded eyelids. So, they'd noticed that he'd been relegated to the seedier joints in recent years. His more prestigious engagements with the crowned heads of Europe and the president had been ages ago. Of course, that was always carefully downplayed in his press releases. It didn't do to publicize the fact that all of his achievements worth mentioning had occurred so early in his career.
The decline in the quality of the venues he played wasn't his fault. It was all the fault of that disreputable agent of his, Bernie Damato. If only he didn't owe Damato so much money from those gambling debts; he'd be in hock to the guy forever. He planned to demand better engagements from him, if he could ever reach the louse on the phone. If these guys thought they could offer him anything better, even if it was just for the weekend, it could be the jump start his career was desperate for.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" Serafin asked guardedly, using his considerable prowess as an actor to hide his eagerness for the scheme.
Scott smiled, exactly what he'd expected. "We just want you to perform some of your magic on Betty and Hilary. Not during the broadcast, of course. We need you to unlock their subconscious so their true feelings can be revealed, like you were explaining in the green room."
Serafin regarded the other men through narrowed eyes. "Unless I miss my guess, you two have run afoul of the affections of these two ladies and you're now looking for an easy way to correct your transgressions. I know from personal experience that there are no easy ways to make up for past wrongs where the heart is concerned. Ahh, but love," Serafin sighed rapturously, "there is no more worthy cause. And I can see that your intentions are honorable, your motives sincere. Yes, I think I can help you," he nodded sagely.
"That's wonderful," Jeff exclaimed, at last seeing a possible end to his months of torment. "How are you going to do it?"
Serafin paused to reflect before answering. "I believe I'll do it in the green room. I'll simply tell them I need to warm up before the performance, as well as make sure Hilary is able to be hypnotized. I'll say that I'm including Betty as a backup plan- if Hilary can't be hypnotized, I'll use Betty instead. Then, when I have them under, I'll merely suggest that they should allow their true feelings to be revealed. Quite elementary, really. You two must stay in here. Just as I'm prepared to awaken them, I'll bring you into the room. I think you'll be pleased with the results," Serafin nodded confidently.
"Very exciting," Scott said as Jeff nodded in agreement.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You are completely relaxed . . . there is a wonderful warm feeling spreading through your body . . . you have a great desire to sleep . . . your eyelids are getting heavy . . . heavier . . . and heavier . . . you hardly can keep them open any longer . . . now they are closed . . . with every word I am saying, you are getting sleepier . . . and sleepier . . . you are going to SLEEP . . . deep, sound sleep . . . deeper and deeper asleep . . . SLEEP!"
With those final hypnotic words, Serafin sat back and exhaled a sigh of satisfaction. Both women were deeply entranced, just as he'd expected. They sat before him, motionless, eyes closed, in the silence of the room. He asked them first to open their eyes, then raise their right hands, testing the depth of their sleep. Satisfied, he lowered their hands and took a moment to prepare himself for what he was about to do.
What Scott and Jeff had asked of him was unusual to say the least, and unethical when you got right down to it. But what Serafin was planning was absolutely unscrupulous, there was no other word for it.
He gestured impatiently, irritated by his own mutinous thoughts. By the time they realized they'd been duped, he would have already kept the engagement at the higher-class club where they'd arranged for him to perform and be long gone to Hollywood (where he'd only be making low budget pictures thanks to Damato, he thought with a derisive snort). Betty and Hilary would suffer no permanent damage, he reasoned, the suggestion he was about to make to their susceptible minds would wear off in a matter of days.
He just couldn't take the chance that the women would wake up and reveal no different feelings for Jeff and Scott than they had before being hypnotized. He was going to do what they'd asked of him, but include a post-hypnotic suggestion - call it a little insurance policy - as a guarantee that he wouldn't lose that spot at the club this weekend which he so desperately needed.
With a deep, steadying breath, Serafin plunged ahead. "When I awaken you with a single clap of my hands, you will remember nothing of this session. However, you will fall madly, irresistibly in love with the first man you see upon awakening. Your devotion will be wholly to him and you will have eyes for no other. Remember..."
"Serafin," Gertie appeared in the doorway, trying to be unobtrusive by whispering. "There's a Mr. Damato on the phone for you. I wouldn't interrupt but he says it's terribly urgent that he speak with you right away," Gertie couldn't tear her eyes away from the entranced Betty and Hilary.
"Did you say Damato?" Serafin demanded. The louse, finally calling him after all this time! He leapt up from his chair and hurried for the door.
"Yes, it's Damato. Is it all right to just leave them like this?" asked a concerned Gertie.
Absently, Serafin waved them off. "They're fine, they're fine. Just let them sleep," he called over his shoulder as he went to pick up his call in reception.
Shrugging, Gertie turned aside to follow him, then thought better of it. Much as she'd like to hear this phone call, she had a much more pressing matter to attend to in the ladies room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mackie and Victor came through the front door of WENN, both so absorbed in their conversation that they hardly acknowledged the fact that the person in reception wasn't Gertie. They continued down the hallway, Mackie regaling Victor with stories from his recent fishing trip, pausing only for a moment before pushing through the green room doors.
"I tell you, Victor, I had that fish hooked, the biggest trout I ever saw! I was reeling him in closer and closer and then," Mackie brought his hands together in a resounding clap, "my line snapped and he was gone. Broke my heart. Hi, Betty. Hi, Hilary," he added absently before turning back to Victor.
Both women had jolted back into animation at the sound of Mackie's single clap. They stared at the men in front of them as if they'd never seen them before in their lives. Then, with a sudden rush, they were on them.
Betty ran to Victor and flung her arms around his neck. "Victor!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you! It feels like an eternity since we were last together!"
"Well, uh, Betty," Victor began, obviously discomfited, "I was only in Washington for two days, surely not long enough to merit this public, er, demonstration," he finished lamely as he tried to disentangle her arms from their stranglehold around his neck.
"Two days apart from you is an eternity, Victor. Say we'll never be parted again!" Betty demanded passionately.
"Well, I can't make any promises- Are you all right?" Victor broke off in astonishment.
"Two days? I've had at least three days away from my Mackie, just think how I must feel!" Hilary rejoined, her cheek resting adoringly atop Mackie's head as she wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.
"Now, Hilary, I know things have been tough between you and Jeff lately, but it won't always be like that. You're just a little confused-" Mackie voice broke off, flustered as the color rose in his face.
"Jeff? Jeff who? Mackie, my darling, surely you know there's no one on this earth for me but you! Oh, say we'll be together for all eternity!" Hilary implored, pressing a kiss onto his cheek.
"Gee, uh, Hilary, I hardly know what to say, this is all so unexpected. Are you sure Jeff wouldn't mind? What am I saying?" Mackie demanded of the ceiling, "Of course he would mind! Hilary, what's wrong with you?"
"I concur wholeheartedly, Mackie. Betty, snap out of it!" Victor commanded.
"Never, Victor, I'll worship you for all time. Nothing can keep us apart!" Betty vowed, laying her head on his chest and gazing up at him admiringly.
Unaware of the drama unfolding within, Serafin, having completed his call with Damato, chose this inauspicious moment to usher Scott and Jeff into the green room. The sight that greeted their eyes left them all staring blankly in astonishment.
"Betty! What the heck are you doing?" Scott exclaimed in anguish as he advanced upon the embracing couple.
Betty was still absorbed in her rapturously adoring dialogue, so Victor answered for her. "That's what I'd like to know, Sherwood. Miss Roberts appears to be indisposed. Perhaps if you could help me pry her arms away," he grunted with the effort, causing Scott to join in the struggle.
"Hilary, what is going on?" Jeff demanded as he took in the sight of Mackie furiously blushing in the heat of her embrace. "I think you owe me an explanation!"
"There's no explanation for the way I feel," Hilary purred, "it's all chemistry. Mackie, say you'll take me away to some tropical island where I can be alone with my pumpkin."
"Pumpkin! Hilary, I'm your pumpkin!" Jeff growled as he tried to disentangle her from Mackie, but found the task impossible.
"Jeff, I swear I had nothing to do with this. She just came right up to me and- well I guess I've always had that effect on women- maybe it is my fault," Mackie amended in bewilderment.
"It's not your fault, Mackie. I think I know who to blame," frustrated, Jeff stopped trying to pry Hilary away from the other man. "Scott, where's Serafin?"
"I don't know, but he's not going to get far," Scott said with grim determination as he headed for the door. Jeff joined him, realizing there was nothing they could do to help the situation until they'd collared Serafin.
They found him trying to surreptitiously slip into his cloak in reception before vanishing into the darkness of the Pittsburgh streets.
Scott's hand landed heavily on the man's shoulder from behind. "What's your hurry, Serafin? We haven't even had our broadcast yet. Not to mention that I haven't even tried to hit you. You can't leave before the fun starts," Scott said with mock joviality.
Jeff spun Serafin around. "Yeah, we wouldn't want you to miss out on anything."
Both men advanced, backing Serafin up against a wall. The frightened man looked from face to face, hoping to see a glimmer of mercy, unfortunately for him, there was none.
"Really, gentlemen, I don't know what the problem is. I simply did as you requested," Serafin spluttered, waving his hands helplessly.
"As we requested?" Jeff growled. "We only asked you to unlock their subconscious feelings, not change their personalities or take over their minds. I've never seen Hilary act like this," he exclaimed in exasperation.
"Yeah, what exactly did you do to them?" Scott asked as he rolled up his right sleeve.
Serafin watched Scott's actions with mounting anxiety; he'd never been good in physical confrontations.
"Do? Why I didn't do anything! I swear-" He broke off as Scott's fist clenched. "All right, all right! Just don't hit me, you have no idea what bruises could do to my career," Serafin exhaled loudly as Scott's fist lowered. "I may have suggested something to them. I just wanted to be sure you were satisfied with the results."
"Yeah? Well, we're not satisfied," Jeff said threateningly, advancing upon Serafin again. "What did you suggest to them?"
The famous hypnotist hung his head. "I merely suggested that they would fall madly in love with the first man they saw upon awakening. I was supposed to wake them up when I got back in the room with you, but through some fluke those other men woke them before I returned."
"Can you fix it?" Scott demanded.
"Oh, certainly. I only need to re-hypnotize them and un-suggest my suggestion. Piece of cake," Serafin answered with a shrug.
Jeff nodded. "Good. Then I suggest you get to work."
Holding Serafin firmly between them, they ushered him back to the green room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After a chaotic few minutes, Serafin was at last able to clear the room so that he could again hypnotize his subjects. Scott and Jeff insisted upon staying in the room to guard against any further creativity on Serafin's part. When his subjects were again fully entranced, he looked over his shoulder at the two men who stood glowering at him from the background.
"Do you want me to suggest that they will remember nothing of their, er, behavior after the first session? It might save us all some explanations. We can simply tell Victor and Mackie that they inadvertently awakened them from a trance which was what caused Betty and Hilary to act so strangely," Serafin reasoned.
"Do you think they'd buy it?" Jeff asked skeptically.
"Only if we sell it to them well enough," Scott answered. "Yeah, we want them to forget. Anything that helps us get out of this mess."
With a nod of assent, Serafin turned around to comply. When he clapped his hands this time, Betty and Hilary awakened normally, completely unaware of what had taken place in the previous moments.
"What happened? Was I hypnotized?" Hilary demanded curiously.
"Yes, Hilary! You are a splendid subject. As are you, Betty. Our performance should be a complete success," Serafin announced triumphantly as Scott and Jeff visibly relaxed.
Gleefully, Hilary clapped her hands. Then her eyes lighted upon Jeff quizzically. "I don't remember you being in the room," she told him.
"I don't remember Scott being here, either. What a strange feeling," Betty agreed as the two women looked at each other in confusion. "It's like being here, only not here, if that makes any sense."
"I agree. I felt as if there were other people in the room as well, don't you think?" Betty nodded her agreement at Hilary's questioning look.
"Uh, is it safe to come in here now?" asked a tentative Mackie, poking his head inside the door.
"Yes, the experiment was a superb success," Hilary said. Then she cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that my lipstick on your cheek?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"It was a great episode of 'Magic Time', wasn't it, Betty?" Scott asked as he strolled casually into the writer's room after sign-off that night.
"Yes, it was definitely memorable." She collected her hat, gloves and handbag and headed for the door. "I'm not sure I like being hypnotized, though. It was a very odd feeling, I can't quite put my finger on it," Betty contemplated it for a moment, then shook the feeling off. "What was wrong with Victor tonight?"
Scott almost succeeded in looking innocent. "Wrong? I didn't notice anything. Why do you ask?"
"It was the way he kept looking at me, like he was afraid I was going to jump at him. It was the strangest thing," Betty told him in puzzlement.
"Probably just the full moon or something he ate," Scott shrugged and smoothly changed the subject. "Speaking of eating, Betty-"
"Hmmm, somehow I thought we already settled this," Betty said suspiciously.
"As I recall, we never settled anything at all. In fact..."
"Jeffrey, you do Matter on so, it's a wonder I ever married you at all," Hilary was saying as they joined Betty and Scott at the front door. "It's only one meal. What can you possibly hope for it to accomplish? Oh, hello, Betty, Skeet. It was a remarkable performance, wasn't it?"
Betty nodded, Scott grumbled.
"Were you two just heading off to dinner?" Jeff asked, looking pointedly in Scott's direction.
Scott gave him a sly nod and reached over to grab Betty's hand. "As a matter of fact, we were. You?"
"Us, too. Actually, I was just trying to get Hilary to decide on a restaurant. Why don't we all go together?" Jeff asked as he took Hilary possessively by the elbow.
"I think we've been had," Betty hissed at Hilary, who glared her agreement.
As Jeff and Scott allowed the women to precede them through the door, Scott leaned in to Jeff and whispered, "Great thinking, Jeff."
"Yeah, I just figured there was safety in numbers. You don't suppose Serafin's suggestion is still lurking around somewhere in their minds, do you?" he asked anxiously.
"Naw, I'm sure that's all behind us," Scott responded with a dismissive gesture. "Of course, you realize this means we're right back where we were this morning."
"Yeah, but somehow that doesn't seem so bad after that scene in the green room," Jeff shuddered at the memory. "This uphill battle to get back into Hilary's good graces is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I can't think of anything more worthy of fighting for."
"I know what you mean, but don't forget, things will be a little easier now. Partners?" Scott thrust his hand towards Jeff, reminding him of the pact they'd made that morning.
"Partners," Jeff agreed with a conspiratorial smile.
THE END
Fanfiction Library
Go Back to The Eyes Have It, Part I!
Go Back to the Fanfiction Library!
Lycos - Search the Web
CareerPath - Where Employers and Employees Click
