This is Part 2 of the Puppetmaster of Weensville saga. A better description of the facts surrounding Barry's control over the people of Weensville can be found in Part 1, titled Project Puppetmaster. Any suggestions as to where Barry's future adventures in his home town should lead him will be greatly appreciated, as will any comments and criticisms. And, as always, thanks for reading!
*****
It took Barry a couple of days to come to grips with his newfound position as the Puppetmaster of Weensville. Finding out that your hometown was the subject of a vast mind-control experiment on the same day that you witness your mother and sister in a wet and wild lesbian encounter (see: Operation Puppetmaster) really had a way of wiping you out. Barry coped with this by sleeping for two days straight, drifting in and out of nightmares and wet dreams (sometimes simultaneously), rarely getting out of bed or leaving his room. He woke up on the third day refreshed and invigorated, having subconsciously tackled his demons and allayed his fears. He was now ready to start his grand rescue plan.
But where to start? He didn't know what the current population of Weensville was, but even for a small town, a safe guess would place it in the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands. He didn't need to trigger the Puppetmaster programming in every single resident, mind you. Just enough so that any attempt at outside forces trying to do the same would result in failure. But even approaching half of the town one person at a time was going to be a tremendous task, and he wasn't sure how to begin.
Going from house to house, apartment to apartment, was certainly an option, but it had several flaws. His major concern was that people would see him doing the rounds, and he'd be investigated as a burglar or a confidence person, and that was a hassle he didn't want. Also, he'd have to visit each house several times to ensure that he got all of the family members. Public places seemed like a good idea, areas where there were large crowds of people. He could cover more ground in a smaller time frame, and the
randomness of the encounters would ensure that his Puppets spread throughout the town to increase the effect of his strategic block. However, that left the problem of people witnessing the programming, and that would definitely raise questions, so he'd public places with limited numbers and places where one could talk privately. Also, he'd have to pick places that didn't draw out-of-towners that weren't subject to the programming, to avoid the embarrassment of trying to trigger the uninitiated. So the public areas would have to have a local appeal, mundane places of trade or business.
Either choice left Barry in the dark. This was alien territory to Barry, a self-confessed loner who didn't really get out much, and actually avoided leaving the house whenever possible. Now he was looking at what could be months of social interaction, seeking out people, complete strangers, and attempting to connect with them. To Barry, this was almost as scary as the concept of mind-control. But it had to be done, so he'd just have to suck it up and do his best. So, where should he begin?
Sitting around thinking about it didn't seem to help any, so Barry decided to drive around town a bit and see what came to mind. Maybe seeing actual locations would help him decide what to do next. In a way, of course, Barry realized that this was only a stalling tactic. Despite what he told himself, he knew he was still a little shaken by his first mind-control experience, and was therefore trying to delay the inevitable. Regardless, a pleasant afternoon drive sounded like a good idea.
Barry spent most of the morning driving around the business areas, looking into stores and offices, trying to get an idea of the pedestrian traffic he'd have to deal with. Weensville was definitely a lot busier than he had expected it to be, and most of the places seemed much too crowded for him to try anything. Momentarily discouraged, Barry grabbed a quick lunch in a crowded deli, then set out again, this time to explore the residential areas.
The suburbs seemed like a much more likely area to begin, especially during the day when most of the residents were at work or school. Of course, this meant that the houses he slowly drove by were almost all deserted, but at least it would be somewhere to start. Barry was lost in thought about how to approach the houses when a police siren suddenly blared behind him.
He kicked himself for being so stupid. His slow cruising through the suburban side streets as he inspected the homes and driveways must have looked suspiciously like a burglar casing the neighborhood. Barry began to panic. He couldn't very well tell the cop what he was doing, yet he was at a complete loss for a logical explanation that would keep him out of the back of a police cruiser. On top of that, he had neglected to bring his wallet with him, only grabbing a fistful of dollars from his nightstand that morning. Casing houses in an upper class neighborhood without any identification. It just kept getting worse.
He watched in the rear view mirror as the cop got out of the police car and walked towards him. It turned out to be a policewoman, and Barry couldn't help but admire her as she made her way to his window. It wasn't the uniform that got his attention. On the contrary, he still harbored a strong hatred of law enforcement, which he developed in his youth from the constant harassment that cops liked to afford juveniles. But trapped beneath that uniform was a full-figured woman desperately trying to look butch and unappealing. The blue and black dress blues were pulled tight against her hips and bosoms, in an attempt to conceal their feminine charms, but all they managed to do was accentuate them. specially what had to be at least 36DD breasts, straining against the fabric of her uniform as if under extreme pressure. Barry's conflicting feelings of lust and dislike were both overcome by fear as she approached his car window and leaned in menacingly.
"You live in this area?" She asked coldly. All business, no courtesy. Barry had
always hated that about cops.
"Um, no." He replied nervously, aware of how shaky he looked. "I live over on the West End."
"Then I guess that's why you're wandering the streets here looking into other people's houses then. Right?"
"But I wasn't..."
"Just get out of the vehicle and place your hands on the hood." She cut him off briskly, placing a hand on her holstered sidearm. She was obviously eager to pull him from the car and pistol whipping him, and was just looking for an excuse.
He was just about to try and explain that he didn't have his wallet when he remembered that he was now the Puppetmaster. He still wasn't used to the idea of taking over strangers yet, but this seemed like an ideal situation to give it a shot. He choked back his fear and cleared his throat before talking.
"Can you spell Chimera, Officer?"
"I beg your pardon, Billy?" was her programmed response.
"Orchid Ice Cream", he responded.
There was a moment of silence as he waited for her to respond, but she merely stood there staring at him expectantly, no visible change of expression or demeanor having taken place. Barry knew from his first experience with his mother and sister that this was normal, and even though she didn't seem to be hypnotized or in a trance, she was now totally under his control. That didn't make him any less nervous, however, and he sat there staring back at her. She finally broke the silence by opening his door and pulling him out of the car by his shirt collar, practically throwing him onto the hood.
Still unsure of himself to give commands to her directly, Barry found himself mimicking one of his favorite movies to help him get the nerve up.
"What the Hell are you doing?" He cried. You'd think he'd pulled a gun on her or something the way she was acting.
"Shut up and spread 'em!" She growled at him, pushing his head down onto the hood, where it made a loud thud. It was at this point that he realized he should probably tell her to stop.
"Stop! That's an order! Stand down!" He'd heard the latter part in an army movie, so he thought it might work. He stayed in his current position, legs spread wide with his head cradled in the new dent in the hood of his car, before daring to get up and see how she was reacting.
