She flipped the phone screen off after finishing the file. Women had been going missing for months from the resort. Well not directly, they often went home for days, weeks or months but eventually they vanished without a trace. Husbands, boyfriends and employers had no warning and no clues. They just left.
All the women were physically attractive, between 20 and 40 and none had children. It was enough of a pattern to suggest that the Deep Calm Spa and Resort was involved but not enough to get a warrant to do a proper search of the premises. So rather than tip off whomever was behind this Special Agent Christina Summers of the FBI was going undercover to look around.
The three day spa stay she booked was right in the average of what the missing women had booked for. She had made sure to sign up for the most popular package with all the amenities.
Day One
The first day was just checking in and getting organized. She took a swim and had dinner. Texting the FBI, in case the rooms were bugged, she informed them that nothing suspicious had been observed so far.
At three am as the agent slept her TV turned on. A spiral appeared on the screen and a sort of elevator music began playing. Groggily she sat up, wondering what was going on. As Agent Summers’ eyes fell on the screen she found that she couldn’t look away. She wanted to grab her phone and text about what was happening but the bedside table seemed so far away.
The hotel room door opened and two men entered.
“Subject is responding to subliminal sans spiral,” one said making a note on a clipboard. He added, “Physical rating is A grade. I recommend further conditioning.”
Agent Summers did not feel the needle pierce her arm, but she felt the warming effects of the drug as it swam through her blood stream. Her body fell back into the bed and her eyes shut.
Day Two
Agent Summers swam in the morning then enjoyed breakfast. Even if she had not seen anything unusual yet at least she was getting food that was better than her FBI field office’s cafeteria. Healthy. Tasty.
First up was the hot tub. An all women’s area with large hot pools of water and relaxing orchestral music playing. Settling into one of the pools she felt her muscles loosen and a heaviness overwhelm her. The job was to experience everything the women had, she thought to herself, so nobody would blame her if she just closed her eyes for a moment.
When she awoke she had to hurry to make her appointment for a massage. She barely made it, managing to enter naked except for her towel just as the time started.
The masseuse grinned, “Don’t worry we’re not big on deadlines here. We know people like to relax.”
She grinned, “Well that’s good to hear.”
Agent Summers maid down on a narrow padded board and the masseuse began to massage her shoulders. His hands smelled of a sweet natural substance that she assumed was the oil he was using. It made her feel slightly dizzy.
“So how was your day,” he asked.
“Good. I fell asleep in the hot tub. I am not used to being this relaxed.”
“Oh what do you do for a living?” he asked, his hands traveling down her back.
She sighed, “I’m an undercover FBI agent.”
There was a silence and then he asked, “And why are you hear?”
Stifling a yawn Agent Summers said, “We’re investigating the disappearance of some women.”
“Oh. Have you found anything yet?” he asked, his hands working on her waist and thighs.
“No. Not yet,” she said, “but tonight I’m going to sneak around after hours and see what I can find out.”
“Well good luck,” he said and started on her feet.
When the massage was done Agent Summers went to dinner and then an early bed. Texting into her office that nothing suspicious had happened yet she fell asleep after setting her alarm for two AM.
Day Three
It was daylight when she awoke. Glancing at her phone she cursed that the alarm had not woken her up. The phone’s battery was dead. Stupidly she hadn’t plugged it in. That meant she had only another night here and hadn’t found anything.
Then her TV clicked on. On the screen was a spiral and a strange music began to play. Trying to dress so she could get out and call her office for help Agent Summers found her movements becoming slow and sluggish. The music and spiral were making her lethargic and she was half dressed when two men entered.
“Subject is fighting. But the subliminals are effecting her. Unfortunately we have to move her treatment course up. We can’t have her free to report anything to the FBI,” one said as he moved toward her.
Hearing the word subliminals Agent Summers presses her hands to her ears to block out the music. Kicking at the man approaching she backed away towards the window.
The other man closed the gap and grabbed her, twisting her body so she was facing the TV. The agent tried to fight but her eyes fell on the spiral and everything seemed to stop for her. Her body relaxed in his arms and her hands dropped from her ears. A relaxed smile came to her face.
“It’s a good thing the masseuse reported her. If she’d gotten to snoop around we’d have all been fucked. As it is we’re going to have to program her to be our mole inside the FBI,” the man holding her said.
“Let’s go. We have to have her done by tomorrow,” the other man said helping lift her body.
Day Four
“Nothing to report,” Agent Summers said into her phone as she exited the spa grounds. It had been a bust, “It was a nice weekend but I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.”
She smiled, remembering just how wonderful the weekend had been. If only the bureau would send her on more wild goose chases.