Tales From The Couch  Armageddon  
by dmg


Dr. Oldman stood in his doorway looking at the outer offices. they were
deserted. all of the "administrative personnel" were gone for the day except
him. he was anxiously waiting for his last session of the day and wondered if
it would be delayed like all the others were. Mabel had told him there was an
ugly mood in the prison and advised him to go home early. looking down the row
of empty cubicles he guessed that everyone else had listened to her. at the
end of the corridor was the imposing steel door that linked the office area
with the prison proper. he saw the reflection from the glass viewing port whch
enabled the guards to see who was on the other side. someone told him once
that it was bulletproof. he noticed that even the guard wasn't at his usual
position just inside the door. he wasn't necessarily alarmed by this. he just
filed it away in the back of his head as being unusual.

As he wandered back into hs office and sat down his thoughts turned to
Jennifer. her hearing was four days away and the had a session scheduled for
tomorrow. he hadn't figured out yet what he was going to say at the hearing or
what he would tell her tomorrow. he didn't want to say anything against her,
and legally he could not mention or even hint at anything she had told him due
to privilege. the problem was that they thought they were releasing a one time
first offender who was not a danger to society. he knew that she was an amoral
multiple murderer. it wasn't that she was evil. she just thought no more of
killing than most people think about telling a "little white lie." any
justification was enough for her.

Just then he became aware of some kind of low-pitched rumbling sound. it was
hard for him to make it out or even tell where it was coming from. he went to
his window and looked through the bars. he could see people running around,
shouting, and pointing in the direction of the prison yard which he could not
see from there. he went into the outer office and it got a bit louder as he
walked down the corridor to the steel door. looking through the viewing port
he recognized Mandy, who was usually the inside guard, standing outside on the
walkway at the top of the stairs with another guard he didn't know. the steel
stairs led down to the main cell block. they both had their night sticks out
and were looking around nervously.

He looked across at the single guard on the opposite side of the walkway. she
seemed to be struggling with an inmate. then there were two, and then two
more. suddenly his view was obscured as Mandy came right up to the door and he
could hear her trying to open it with her keys. when she bent down just a bit
what he saw made his blood turn to ice. a howling mob of prisoners swarmed up
the steps at the two guards and him. Mandy's face came back up and was then
smashed into the unbreakable glass. he saw blood coming out of her nose and
then she was pulled away.

Nothing could be seen through the blood smeared glass now but he was already
backing up toward his office. he was hyperventilating, and he could hear the
prisoners trying Mandy's keys in the door. he could also hear the wail of
sirens now as he ran to the elevator but all the indicator lights were out. he
had been told once that the elevator power was automatically shut off during
emergencies. as he ran back to his office and closed the door he thought of
Mandy's large key ring. he might have a minute or two before they get to the
right one. he tried to get his breathing under control as he looked around
desparately for a way out or a place to hide. he wondered if they had seen
him.

Suddenly he remembered something. it was something from the distant past, from
when he was a child. he looked at the large, comfortable, upholstered chair on
the far side of his office. it was only used when someone had to witness one
of his sessions, a patient's relative or some other doctor. he pulled the
chair near the corner of the room. then he sat on the floor with his back
right in the corner, with his shoulders each touching one of the adjacent
walls. then he grabbed the back legs of the chair and pulled it toward him
until the back of the chair was in his face and both he and the chair were
facing diagonally into the room. he also folded his legs into a yoga type
position to keep them hidden. he remembered hiding this way as a child when
they played the game "hide and go seek". now if he could just get his
breathing under control and stay quiet they might not find him. he had never
felt this alone before.

Crashing noises came from the outer office and distant voices drew nearer. he
heard his door being opened and he cursed himself for not having locked it. it
sounded like several of them were in his office, sweeping the papers off of
his desk, throwing the books around that were in his small library, and just
generally trashing the room. he heard his window being smashed, and one of the
women screaming obscenities at someone below. then he heard a familiar voice.
"let's get out of here. they're all gone." it was Millie, a two hundred and
sixty pound double murderer who had colorfully threatened his life and his
manhood on many occassions. he thought to himself, god, please don't let them
find me.

For a few seconds there was relative quet, and he heard a slightly higher
pitched female voice telling them not to kill anyone they find. "we need
hostages, not more bodies." for a split second the thought of surrendering
went through his head but he heard Millie reply, "well if i found that wimp
psychiatrist you're gonna have two hostages because i'm gonna break him in
half." he just closed hs eyes and waited. the voices became more distant and
then ceased completely. he thought of moving but was far too scared. was he
alone, or had they left someone behind?

it was hard for him to tell which sounds were real ,and which came from his
imagination. twice he thought he heard the sound of some one quiely moving
about. he even wondered if it was someone else hiding from them like he was.
just stay put, and you'll be safe, he told himself. his legs were starting to
cramp and he tried to straighten them out without making a sound or giving
himself away. then someone sat down in the chair, pressing the back of it into
his face. he was so terrified that he just could not breathe, and he closed
his eyes tightly. after a few seconds whoever it was got up and he heard
footsteps, and then he got yet another shock.

"Is that you behind the chair, doc?" he knew it was Jennifer, but the fear of
being discovered gripped him lke a cold hand. he heard her laugh, "oh, come
on, doc. this is embarassing." he took a deep breath and tried to compose
himself. "come out, come out where ever you are," she sang out. he pushed the
chair forward and rose to his feet on wobbly legs, steadying himself by
leaning on the back of the chair. he saw she was now sitting in his highbacked
leather chair, leaning back and laughing as he stood up. "oh, doc, you are a
sight to behold. i'm surprised at you. afraid of a bunch of girls, hiding in
the corner like that."

He knew she was just taunting him but he hung his head in shame. she was
right. "oh, you poor thing, come on out of there. i didn't mean anything by
that. nobody expects you to fight a hundred cons. go sit down on the couch and
we can talk." he started to move but asked, "what if they come back?" she
smiled and brandished a bloody nightstick. "if they come back you're with me."
as he sat on the couch he stammered, "w-where did-- how did you g-get?" she
held up the nightstick. "this? it used to belong to your friend Mabel. she
didn't need it anymore." he just stared at it. "oh, don't worry. most of the
blood on it is not her's. she brained two or three cons with it before she
went down. they must have stuck her twenty-thirty times. i wasn't the first
one to get to this but i convinced the girl who did to let me have it. she
couldn't use it, seeing as how her wrist was all broken."

He had never been more afraid of her. she was enjoying all of this, having the
time of her life. he kept glancing nervously at the door, still terrified that
they might return. she leaned forward in the chair. "doc, what about my
hearing? what are you gonna say?" his voice was still a bit shaky as he
replied, "i was just thinking about that when all of this started. i still
wasn't sure but i just realized something. if i can say you helped save me
during the riot they'll be sure to let you go." her smile got even wider. "you
are one clever little son of a gun, aren't you? all right, doc, that's what i
wanted to hear. of course you know i would have saved you anyway. right,
sugar?"

The sound that came from the outer office kept him from answering. his eyes
widened in fear as he stared at the door, barely aware of Jennifer moving
fluidly around the desk to stand beside him. the door burst open and Millie
stood in the doorway, her huge frame flanked by two average sized girls. he
looked up at Jennifer just as she landed a viscious backhand to his face
sending him sprawling off of the couch to the floor. Millie demanded, "what's
going on here?" Jennifer looked down at him with a cocky smile. "i caught this
wimp trying to hide. he was behind that chair." they saw that the chair was
away from the wall. Millie was practically licking her chops as she looked
down at the terrified, confused man. "you did real good, sister. now just get
out of the way and leave him to me." Jennifer casually strode past her to the
door and said to the other two girls, "i think we should go outside. they
obviously want to be alone." Millie looked back at her companions and grunted,
"go on."

After they left Millie smiled at him evilly as she pulled out a bloody plastic
spoon which had been sharpened to a fine edge. he scrambled up to his feet and
backed up as far as he could go. he picked up one of the books off the floor
to use as a shield but he knew it wouldn't be enough to save him. even more
than the horror he felt at the approaching death was disbelief. he just
couldn't believe that Jennifer had turned on him so quickly, with no remorse.
somehow it was more devastating to him than the fact that he was about to be
cut up.

Just as Millie moved close enough to make a thrust there came a cry from the
outer office. she looked away and then back at him, but then another cry and a
loud thump against the door made her break off her attack. she was yelling as
she opened the door, "what the f--" she was cut off as Jennifer charged into
her burying the nightstick in her stomach. Millie bent way over and Jennifer
tucked her head between her legs and squeezed it. she also grabbed both of her
hands and forced them together high behind her back. she thundered down at her
captive, "don't you ever put your hand on my man!!" then she looked at him,
smiled, and said, "you ok, doc?" tears of graditude were streaming down his
face. "i think i love you." she winked at him and said, "you'll get over it,
doc." Millie tried to straighten up and lifted her about a foot off the ground
but Jennifer locked her ankles together and squeezed so hard Millie sank to
her knees crying in pain.

Dr. Oldman stared on in amazement as she dominated a woman twice her size.
then he saw that one of Millie's companions was back up. she picked up the
nightstick that Jennifer had discarded and swung it at her head but he grabbed
it and they grappled for control of it. now it was Jennifer's turn to feel
grateful. with her arms and legs being occupied by Millie, she had been wide
open for that head shot. she watched as the girl tripped him and pounced on
him as he fell to the floor. she sat on his chest and forced the nightstick
down onto his throat, choking him. he managed to force the bar off of his
throat momentarily, but she leaned on it and Jennifer could see it was just a
matter of time. she knew she had to finish Millie quick. she used all of her
strength on both holds and felt and heard Millie's neck snap like a dry twig.
she released her and the body dropped to the floor with a loud thud. she
wasted no time landing a brutal kick to the side of the girl's head, and she
was out cold when she slumped down onto him.

She helped him up and he hugged and kissed her. "i really mean it, Jennifer. i
love you." she hugged him back. "take it easy, will you? you're shaking like a
leaf. we're gonna be ok now--" out of the corner of her eye she saw the other
girl she had fought in the hallway trying to sneak up on them with a homemade
knife in her hand. the girl stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that her
two companions were down and out . when Jennifer moved toward her she backed
out of the room and then turned and ran.

Jennifer chased her all the way to the steel door but stopped when she saw her
running down the stairs yelling to the other prisoners. and pointing up at
them. Dr. Oldman came up behind her. "what's happening?" she closed the steel
door and stared at it as she said, "we are about to have company, unless we
can bar this door somehow. he turned and ran back to the office, got the
nightstick and ran back. they managed to rig it up across the doors just
before the howling mob got there. there were quite a few bodies pressing
against the door and they knew the wooden nightsick was only buying them a
little time. they could hear many voices screaming death threats.

she took his hand and said, "let's take a little walk, doc." they walked back
down the hallway to his office hand in hand. she asked, "do you think about
dying much?" he gave a nervous laugh. "lately, all the time." she smiled, "i
think it was Kipling who said, "all true stories end in death." he squeezed
her hand tighter. i think it was Clapton who said, "if i could choose a place
to die, it would be in your arms." she looked deeply into hs eyes. "i told you
once about how i never got to drive a car. there's something else i never got
to do."

Without another word they closed the door and went to the couch. they kissed
as they both removed their pants. he sat on the couch first and she mounted
him, wrapping her legs around his body and her arms around his neck and they
made love for the first and last time. he was vaguely aware of hearing gunfire
in the distance, and the voices and banging on the steel door had stopped.
Jennifer whispered to him, "i'm not going to let them get you, doc. goodbye."
her voice choked up a bit as she kissed him and squeezed him with all of her
strength. he tried to tell her something but no sound came out. he tried to
breathe but could not. his body was exploding from the pressure and screamed
for air. as darkness descended on him his last thought was to wonder if this
was all a dream. the last thing his dying eyes saw was a man bursting into the
room, but he never saw him fire, and never felt the impact of the bullets
which tore through her and into him. she was struck in the heart and died
almost as quickly as he had. her last thought was that it was the first time
she had been happy in a long, long time. THE END