The Mind Control Assassins

by Sekina Mayu

  Chapter 5

  “Touka, I’m sorry, but this is going to be the last time we will see each other again,” Shiori says to me. I don’t get it. Why is she saying that we won’t be seeing each other again? “What do you mean by that?” I ask her. She pauses for a while and averts her gaze away from me. What’s got into her? “I’m not sure myself, but I have a feeling that we won’t see each other ever again.”

  Before I can say anything to her, she disappears. I keep on pleading to her not to leave me behind, but she doesn’t even look back. Does she mean what she says? Shiori, what happened to you? Why you suddenly say something like that? What’s going on here? There are so many questions running through my mind. Shiori just leaves me in the dark without further explanation. I feel confused with her action.

  When I wake up, that’s when I realize that everything I’ve experienced is just a dream. My head is still buzzing because of my sudden reaction to the dream. As I begin to get up slowly, I realize that my body is fully bandaged. With bandage all over my body, my injury must be terrible. It feels painful when I’m moving around. I realize that I’m in my room. At least I can recognize where I am.

  My mind still feels fuzzy as I’m trying to recall what happened to me last time. I can’t recall what happened after that, but I do remember that I fought Momoko Sugita last time. Wait, it’s not even Momoko Sugita to begin with. I was fighting against her alter ego, Mika. It feels surreal that an idol can be programmed to become an assassin. Not only that, her strength is way beyond the normal human being. Even someone like me has no chance against her.

  “Sis, you’re awake. I’m glad that you’re okay,” Yuuto says to me. He looks happy to see me. “My head hurts. How long have I been asleep?” I ask him. “Three days,” he replies. It’s three days, huh? That seems long to me. The last time I was unconscious was only for two days. I’m amazed that the injury doesn’t tamper my memory. But it’s still going to take a while for me to recover.

  “What happened after I lost my consciousness?” I ask Yuuto. “Hayato and I came to get you. We were surprised to find out when we went there. The scene itself looked like a war zone. Saburo Matsuda’s bodyguards were brutally murdered. It felt like I was seeing a massacre as we headed to his suite. That was when we found you, lying unconscious, with Saburo Matsuda, who was already dead. We couldn’t find Momoko Sugita anywhere, though,” Yuuto answers me.

  I clench my fist whenever I hear about Momoko Sugita. It feels like the name itself evokes the horrible experience that I wish to forget. “I doubt that you will find her. Even if you do, she’s not the same Momoko Sugita that we know,” I tell Yuuto. Yuuto seems puzzled with what I say. “What do you mean by that? Was someone else there besides you and Momoko Sugita? Who killed Saburo Matsuda? I doubt that you were the one who killed him,” Yuuto says to me.

  I don’t know how to say this because I still find it hard to believe, even until now. “The one who killed Saburo Matsuda was none other than Momoko Sugita herself. She was also the one who killed the bodyguards as well.” Yuuto’s eyes widen. He finds it hard to believe that Momoko Sugita was the one who did those.

  “How can that be possible? How come an idol like her is capable of something like that?” Yuuto asks me with a confused look. “You may not believe this, but she also has a microchip implant. And that microchip implant was the one that turned her into an assassin. Unlike the microchip implant in Dr. Hayama’s body, hers is a complete mind control device. Not only that, her strength was the same as Hayato. I had no chance against her,” I tell him.

  Yuuto seems lost for words. “So, Satoru Yuuya is behind this?” He asks me. I nod at Yuuto. “She said it herself. What’s even more terrifying,” I say to him, “It was her alter ego who scolded us in the backstage back then. And it was also the same alter ego who did the killing. The real Momoko Sugita didn’t even realize that she had murdered people. She didn’t even realize that her alter ego existed and has taken over her.”

  None of us are saying anything after that. Both of us remain silent until dad barges into my room. “Sorry that I was eavesdropping,” dad says to me. He looks like he doesn’t sleep much. He must have been worried about me. “I’m sorry. I’ve never thought that something like this would happen. It was my fault that you ended up like this,” dad says to me when he hugs me. “Dad, don’t worry about it. What matters the most is that I’m alright,” I say to him.

  Dad then looks at me. “For the time being, I want you to stay rested. Your recovery is our utmost priority right now. At least we have a lead on Satoru Yuuya’s whereabouts and his intention,” dad says to me. “Don’t worry about school as well. We’ll take care of everything,” Yuuto assures me. I smile when I see how much they’re willing to do for me. “Touka, you’re not just my squad member. You’re my daughter as well. This will always come first no matter what.”

  Dad leaves after telling me that. “I should get going too,” Yuuto says to me, “You should rest now. Just like what dad says, don’t think too much about it. Put the recovery as your top priority for the time being. We’ll talk about it even more once you’re fully recovered.” Seeing how much they focus on my recovery, I don’t think I have any choice other than to listen to their orders. Besides, I shouldn’t make them worry so much about me.

  It takes about a week for me to recover from the injury. I don’t do anything much other than lazing around and do something that I don’t get the chance to do. Reading happens to be one of them. Dad doesn’t allow anyone to see me during the recovery process. But he does allow my classmates to call me if they want to check on me. The one that calls me pretty much every day is Shiori. I didn’t tell Shiori what I’m going through because I don’t want her to worry about me.

  Shiori is happy with her new school because she gets to know the idols from another agency. She also begins to make a lot of friends besides the idols too. When I hear her talking about her new school and her new life as a talent, I feel relieved that the dream is not true at all. She even tells me that we should go and see each other once in a while. For the time being, her schedule doesn’t permit her to see me. But she’ll let me know when she has a free time.

  Throughout the whole week, I don’t even see Hayato at all. I feel weird when he’s not around, though. “Dad, did Hayato even come back home while I was still unconscious?” I ask him. “The only time he came back was when he sent you home. After that, he left and continued with his mission. He felt guilty for not notifying us earlier about Momoko Sugita. He could sense that her power was overwhelming, and it was dangerous for you to fight her.”

  I don’t even know that Hayato already knew about Momoko Sugita. “So, what’s the progress then? Is that really Dr. Frederick Choo?” I ask dad while he’s busy with drying up the plates in the coffee shop. Dad nods his head. “Yup. It seems that Dr. Frederick Choo is still alive. So, I already ordered Hayato to find out what he intends to do. We have to be cautious since he can be as dangerous as Satoru Yuuya.”

  Well, I agree that we have to be cautious about them. “Dad, I’ve been wondering how someone like Dr. Frederick Choo was able to escape death. Based on our past report, he got into a fatal car accident. From the look of it, it didn’t look like something that you could escape, even with a stroke of luck. It’s a different story if he’s a PSIA officer or a police officer,” I say to dad.

  Dad chuckles when I ask him that question. “Well, it’s true that people like us would be able to escape from something like that. But it still depends on our luck. So, it doesn’t matter whether Dr. Frederick Choo is a PSIA officer or not. He was just lucky to be able to escape from a fatal car accident.”

  I just nod in agreement with dad. I guess I shouldn’t assume that only PSIA officers are able to pull off something like that. I shouldn’t get this into my head. Otherwise, I’ll be toast if a similar situation happens to me. “But, who could possibly want to kill him? I doubt that the researchers had a grudge on him. I understand if it happened wh
en he was still in the United States. But the accident occurred when he was already in Japan.”

  Dad pauses for a while, thinking about the possible answer to my question. “This is just my hypothesis,” dad answers, “But I think Satoru Yuuya was the one who caused the accident. Based on the research assistants who used to work with them, Satoru Yuuya wasn’t even close to him. In fact, he hated him. So, they felt that it was bizarre for someone like Satoru Yuuya to work together with Dr. Frederick Choo.”

  “So, he threatened Satoru Yuuya because he knew that he was the one who killed their colleagues?” I ask dad again. “Well, maybe he did threaten him. But I don’t think it’s because he knew Satoru Yuuya was the one who did that. I’m pretty sure that he knew something that none of the CIA or FBI knew about. If that’s the reason, then it’s obvious that Satoru Yuuya wants him dead no matter what,” dad answers.

  When I think about it, it makes sense now. He was able to escape death is because he knew all along that Satoru Yuuya would attempt to kill him. It’s just that he wasn’t sure when Satoru Yuuya would try to kill him. He must have known this when he got involved in the car accident. The car accident wasn’t a coincidence. It was Satoru Yuuya’s orchestrated plan to kill him.

  We can’t say for sure if it’s true or not. We can only find out about it once Hayato comes back or we can ask Satoru Yuuya himself for the clarification. I don’t think he’ll be honest with us even if we have concrete evidence that he did intend to kill Dr. Frederick Choo. We still have to listen to what Dr. Frederick Choo has to say about this. Maybe it was someone else who tried to kill him.

  A week after my recovery, Ms. Shoko comes to visit me. She bows at me while apologizing to me. “I’m sorry, Touka. I’ve never thought that it turned out to be like this. It was our fault that we failed to realize that Satoru Yuuya was behind this,” Ms. Shoko says to me. Dad convinces her that it isn’t exactly her fault. “Well, I was at fault too. I shouldn’t have dispatched only two of them to save Momoko Sugita. I should have let Azuma come with them.”

  I’m happy that they admit their mistakes. But it still doesn’t make me feel any better if they keep on blaming themselves. “Guys, it’s alright. There’s nothing much can’t be done at this point. I’m happy that you admit your mistake, but it’s not going to change anything anyway. What matters the most right now is that I’m alright.” After that, I tell them everything that happened to me on that day.

  Ms. Shoko seems disbelief when I tell her about Momoko Sugita. “Can we trust what she said? It’s hard for me to believe that she was willing to tell Touka everything. Maybe she lied just to lead us elsewhere,” she says to us. Dad frowns as he tries to think for a possible answer. “I don’t think she lied to us,” dad says after a while, “Satoru Yuuya was always honest with his intention. So, I don’t think she lied to us just to confuse us.”

  “Ms. Shoko, there’s something I’d like to ask you. It’s been bugging me since my last encounter with her,” I tell her, “The one that I’ve met was Momoko Sugita. But she denied that it wasn’t her. Rather, she introduced herself as her alter ego. She called herself Mika. She admitted that she did the killing. But Momoko Sugita didn’t even realize that she had murdered people. Can someone with a microchip implant alone is capable of such thing?”

  Dad is also wondering about the same thing too. “I know that Satoru Yuuya is capable of creating a microchip implant which works as a mind control device. But based on what Touka told us, that seems like a perfect mind control device. The end result is just like your normal voodoo-style mind control,” dad says to her.

  Ms. Shoko pauses for a while to think for the answer to my question. “Was she in a complete mind control effect?” She asks me. I nod at her. “I knew it,” she sighs after that. “For the mind control to work, the person itself should be able to dissociate from the reality. But it only happens to those who experience extreme abuse and torture.”

  Ms. Shoko continues with her explanation. “Gender-wise, women are more likely to do this. It’s because they’re not strong enough to withstand any physical abuse or tortures. They’re doing it as a way to endure the pain and torture they have to go through. As a result, they create another person within themselves as a way to escape from the abuse and torture. This is what we refer to as an alter ego. When the alter ego takes over, the person’s primary personality will be locked away.”

  “Does anyone who has gone through abuse and any form of torture can dissociate from the reality?” I ask her. Ms. Shoko nods. “Yes, and this situation will cause them to develop dissociative identity disorder. This is what leads to the creation of an alter ego within themselves. And they can have as many different personalities as they want,” Ms. Shoko answers.

  “Wait, does that mean you can begin programming the person’s mind when it’s empty? I mean, when you dissociate, your mind is blank, right? So, when it’s empty, you can input whatever you want,” dad asks her. “You’re right about that, Minoru,” Ms. Shoko answers, “But it’s not that simple. Our brain has many different wavelengths. And when you tap into any of these brain wavelengths, you can mold the person’s behavior in any way you want.”

  “So, different wavelengths create a different personality. Is that what you mean, Ms. Shoko?” I ask her. “You’re right,” Ms. Shoko answers, “This is the essence of mind control. They will tap into different brainwave to control your thoughts and behavior. In this case, the microchip implant must have triggered delta brainwave. It’s also known as killer programming. It’s the same brain wave used to train special agents and elite forces for the covert operation.”

  I think I know how the microchip implant works as a mind control device. The microchip implant begins by tapping into the delta brainwave in her subconscious mind. This will bring her alter ego and shuts her main personality by force. This process can only be achieved because of her dissociative ability due to her abuse. I don’t think the full-blown mind control will work if she had never been abused. Since the real Momoko Sugita is unaware of her alter ego, I doubt that she’s the one who triggered the process.

  So, the only person who can trigger the process is none other than Satoru Yuuya himself. I’m pretty sure that he must have programmed the microchip implant to respond to his command only. If the program is the same as the one that Dr. Hayama had, then the trigger must be based on a certain word. No one knows what words will trigger the switch unless we crack the program. The only option left is to capture Momoko Sugita alive. I just hope that Satoru Yuuya doesn’t equip her with suicide program. Otherwise, we’re back to square one.

  “So, she was there to assassinate Saburo Matsuda from the beginning? That pig must be thinking she was there to get hot and steamy with him. That should serve him right!” Dad hates bureaucrats. It’s because we have to do dirty things on their behalf just to protect their flawed policies. But so far, we haven’t protected any policies that seem flawed.

  “You say that prolonged abuse and torture is the cause of dissociative identity disorder. But, there must be at a certain degree it will begin to develop such disorder, right? What makes the mind control in Momoko Sugita work so flawlessly? I don’t think the mind control will create a similar result like hers if a mild abuse and torture will do,” I say to her.

  Ms. Shoko pauses for a while. “You’re right about that. In order for the mind control to work so well, a certain characteristic is needed. A mild abuse won’t cause the person to develop that disorder. It’s always the extreme form of abuse and torture that causes the disorder to develop in the first place. I’ve done a background check on all idols in the Muse Agency. Each of them had experienced some sort of abuse, but only two of them are considered extreme.”

  My heart is beating so fast when I hear that there are two of them who they consider extreme. I bet that the first one must be Momoko Sugita. But who’s the other one? I hope it’s not Shiori because she did say that she was abused when she was small. “This is Momoko Sugita’s personal re
cord. This is a confidential document, so I hope you destroy it once you’ve finished reading it,” she says to us. She looks reluctant to transfer the documents to us, but she eventually does that.

  Ms. Shoko then shares the file with us. The file is about Momoko Sugita. It consists of information about her family and the orphanage that she was sent to. “Let me warn you about this report,” she says to us, “The report is extremely graphic. So, you may feel uncomfortable when you read it. But I still want you to have access to it. Use this information to relate the relationship between the mind control and her past.”

  After the file transfer is complete, we begin to read the report. According to the report, Momoko Sugita was found in a darkened room in her foster family’s house. The foster family was one of her relatives who took the custody once her parents passed away. During the time they found her, she was barely moving, with visible signs of abuse on her body. There were many dark bruises, and she was most likely frequently abused for a long time.

  Not only that, she was also malnourished when they found her. She would certainly have died in the darkened room if this situation continued. “There’s something else I want you to see,” she says to us once we’ve done reading. “These records are the proof that she had already developed the dissociative identity disorder. But it’s never mentioned in the record. I assume that her agency is keeping this as a secret.”

  She then transfers another confidential document. The file happens to be her medical record. We begin to take a look at it. “Her current medical record is…blank?!” Dad says as he opens the file. He seems to think that Momoko Sugita’s medical record is dubious. “I know, you may be thinking that she’s always healthy and never falls sick. But that’s not even the case,” Ms. Shoko replies.

  After looking through at the first file, we then take a look at another medical record. And then we start to compare it with the previous one. “This is her medical record before she became an idol,” Ms. Shoko tells us. This is when we realize that her medical record before she became an idol isn’t even blank at all. “What’s going on here?” I ask her.

  Ms. Shoko then takes the medical record and put it side by side. “Her medical record was blank when she was 18. It still remains blank even until now. She was seeing the doctor as usual whenever she was sick. It was only when she turned 18 that she no longer seeing a doctor.” Dad takes a closer look at her medical record. “She’s the kind of person who gets sick so frequently, even before her major debut. There was no way she didn’t get sick at all until now.”

  Ms. Shoko nods, agreeing with what dad says. “Minoru, you’re right about that. She’s the kind of person who gets sick easily. So, it doesn’t make sense that she didn’t even fall sick at all during this time. Besides, her works becomes more demanding as soon as she gains popularity. It’s impossible for her not to get sick at all.”

  “Maybe she takes a natural supplement to build up her immune system? You know that when you eat healthy food, you won’t get sick that frequent,” I tell her. “I’d like to think that possibility too, but it’s impossible. Her food intake was being controlled by the staffs. So, there’s no way she can have access to something like natural supplements. They don’t just control her schedule, they also control her diet too,” Ms. Shoko says to us.

  I’m not going to deny that being an idol isn’t as glittery as it seems. It’s great that they’ve passed the audition. But what awaits them next is the gruesome, military style training. And this military style training isn’t the kind of training that anyone can endure. Even I can’t endure something intense like this. It’s true that we’re trained like a secret agent since we were kids. But our training wasn’t even that intense to begin with. Dad knows what’s best for us.

  I’m amazed that Shiori is able to withstand this gruesome training. After all, she has to work long hours while waiting for her major debut. Throughout the long working hour, she has to do intense singing and dancing practice. She also has to spend her time in the gym so then she remains at her ideal weight, and she should never gain weight. Even her diet is so strict, with only lean meat and salad as the only food she can eat.

  I do notice a significant difference when Shiori joined Machina Twist. She looks more like she’s going to fall apart. I’m pretty sure that Momoko Sugita isn’t that different than Shiori. In fact, they’re going to be even stricter on her since she begins to gain popularity recently. The last thing they want is Momoko Sugita to lose her popularity because of a weight gain.

  “That’s not all,” Ms. Shoko says, “She was fine with prescribing medication back then. It was the same even until when she was 18. When she was 19, she suddenly became hysteric whenever her manager brought her to see the doctor. She even threw the prescription at the nurse because she refused to take it. It was puzzling, not just to the doctor, but also to people around her.”

  Somehow, I have to agree that it’s rather unusual to see Momoko Sugita behaving like that. But then again, she looks more like she’s afraid to see a doctor. In her eyes, the doctor looks more like a threat. “Did she have some kind of a trauma-induced symptom? Maybe she had a bad experience with a doctor that made her so traumatized,” I ask her.

  “I don’t think so,” Ms. Shoko answers, “Her alter ego thinks that the doctor is trying to harm her. She may only be her second personality, but she still shares the same body with Momoko Sugita. Even by seeing a different doctor, she’s still afraid that the doctor will harm her in any way.”

  “That’s not all,” Ms. Shoko continues, “What her alter ego worries the most is the drugs prescribed to Momoko Sugita. Prescription drugs also evoked trauma within her. So, there’s no way that something like this will enter her body. Her alter ego is only behaving like that to protect herself. I think Satoru Yuuya had programmed her to behave like that. He did this to prevent anyone knows about the microchip implant.”

  My heart is beating even faster, that I find it difficult to breathe. I can’t brush it off that another person who shares the same characteristic as her is Shiori. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s true, but I need to gather my courage to ask Ms. Shoko who is the other person. I just want to stop myself from feeling anxious.

  “Ms. Shoko, can you tell us about the other person who has a similar case like Momoko Sugita?” I ask her. I gulp while waiting for Ms. Shoko to tell me the answer. “I don’t know much about the idol industry, but from what I know, she’s a new idol. Her major debut is only recently, though,” she answers. Before Ms. Shoko can even tell me the name, I blurt out Shiori’s name. “It’s Shiori, right?” Ms. Shoko nods. I can tell that she’s reluctant to tell me the truth.

  Without wasting time, dad orders me to go and call Shiori. “Touka, you should call Shiori now. Maybe Satoru Yuuya already got her. When was the last time she contacted you?” I can’t recall the last time Shiori had contacted me. I’m too anxious to recall anything. “I think it was like two days ago. My memory seems vague. But I think she did mention that she had to go somewhere and already informed her school about that,” I tell dad.

  “It doesn’t matter, Touka. Just call her right now. At least we’ll be able to know if she’s safe or not,” dad insists me. I pick up my smart watch and begin to call her. She doesn’t answer my call. I keep on calling her again, but the result is still the same. I have a feeling that something bad must have happened to her. And I’m pretty sure that it has nothing to do with her idol work.