Dangerous Games

Stefano was not pleased with having to come all the way to Salem, but it had been a necessity. It was a very hush-hush business venture, but completely legitimate. His presence was required at the finalization meeting, and his signature was needed on important documents in order to seal the deal. He sat through the meeting, utterly bored. Things were lagging a bit, and the meeting was running late, glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was nearly twenty after eleven. His flight was scheduled for take off at noon.
Stefano pushed back his chair and stood up. “Excuse my rudeness gentlemen, but my flight is scheduled to leave at noon and I really must be leaving for the airport. Are there any more papers I need to sign before I go?” Stefano announced as he gathered his things.

“One more if you please, Mr. DiMera.” A tall, thin man in a black suit said, handing Stefano a document and a pen. Stefano quickly signed his name and passed the paperwork back. “Thank you, a pleasure doing business with you gentlemen, and good day to you all.” He took his briefcase and quickly left the boardroom, followed by his bodyguard, Ingo.

They hurried down to the waiting car, Ingo rushed ahead to open Stefano’s door. Stefano climbed in and the door closed behind him. Soon Ingo entered through the passenger door and the car sped off for the little airport just on the outskirts of Salem’s north side, that serviced only domestic, local flights. Stefano stared out the car window at the sky that was rapidly turning an ominous gray, and blotting out the noonday sun. He could only hope they would be in the air before the storm came in. The plane was registered to a Mr. Alan Medira of Salem, president of Medira Enterprises on Stefano’s numerous legitimate companies.

It took nearly twenty minutes to reach the airport and the storm had picked up velocity. Rumblings of thunder came closer, and the winds howled, coming in great sweeping gusts. Stefano hurried inside just ahead of a downpour. The place was nearly deserted, the handful of people that were there, were otherwise engaged, or attempting to keep a low profile. He reached the terminal, only to be told that all flights were being delayed until the storm had passed. His custom Lear jet sat fueled and waiting, he was upset, there was nothing that could be done about it.

Stefano turned up the collar of his coat, as he and Ingo prepared to board the plane and wait it out there. They dashed a few yards to the stairs, and then into the comforts of the dry, newly built, lavishly decorated private jet. It was Stefano’s latest toy, fully loaded with all the latest technology and then customized again by his private staff of engineers. Equipped with anti-radar cloaking capabilities, enlarged fuel tanks for extended flight time, and an enhanced radar system. Topped off with a luxurious interior, that included almost all the creature comforts of home. Stefano poured himself a Strega and settled in at the far end of the large sofa with a grateful grunt.

He turned to look out the small window of the plane. Spears of lightning thrust down from the sky, stabbing at the earth, immediately followed by roaring thunderclaps, which shook the ground and rattled the small jets . All he could think about was getting back to her, to Marlena. Stefano smiled, how glorious it was to think of her there, waiting for him to return.

This plan had been evolving for years, hour upon hour were spent in constructing its design, every intricate detail no matter how small had been accounted for, honed to pure perfection. For such a long time there weren’t many advances in the areas of mind control and brainwashing, two tried and true methods he had often employed over the years. He had funded many research projects both public and private on the subject for many years. Until one day there were new breakthroughs in the technique.

Ingo had checked in with the pilot and then returned to the cabin. “Is there anything I can get you Boss?”

Stefano shook his head no and he returned his gaze back out the window, and his thoughts back to Marlena. It was three weeks ago to this very day when she came back to him. At first, when his team of private researchers had professed to him that they had found a way to make it possible, he was not thoroughly convinced they could deliver on all their grand promises. But they assured him that they now had a way of making his dream a reality. Stefano had arranged things and soon the plan was put into motion. In the middle of the night, while John and Marlena slept peacefully in their bed, in the penthouse, they were abducted. Spirited away, each to separate facilities. Both would undergo numerous “treatments and therapies” as the doctors liked to euphemistically call their various methods of torture, both physical and psychological. The doctors had given Stefano an idea of some of their planned trials, they were brutal and inhumane. Stefano wisely stopped them there, opting to stay out of this phase of the process, and was only to be kept abreast of general progress, or vitally important issues.

It had only taken eight weeks of continuous therapy to bring John to his breaking point. This was not John’s first time, nor his second, and that made things go much more smoothly. Two weeks after he yielded, he underwent the surgery, then three weeks in coma before he awakened. It was as though the past twenty-five years or so had never existed, he was back in a place where he only existed for Stefano’s purposes, a tool at his master’s bidding. A month later Stefano sent John on a small mission, which he executed flawlessly. Stefano was moving on with other plans in which John would play a central part, now after another month of recovery.

In the past Stefano had resisted resorting to brainwashing, and mind control as a way of making Marlena love him. He had wanted it to come from her heart, of her own freewill, but after his other failed attempts he knew that would never come to pass. As the years progressed, time was running out, it was becoming a dire case of now or never, and at this point Stefano was willing to take her any way he could get her. Unfortunately Marlena’s treatment didn’t go as easily as John's had. She had never been broken before and her will was strong, she valiantly resisted the "therapies". This resulted in more intensified methods, each more cruel and exacting than the last. She was subjected to harsh and savage abuses, until she finally succumbed. After two weeks of continued conditioning she underwent the surgery.

She was supposed to have awakened in approximately three weeks, just as John successfully had, but she didn’t. It reminded Stefano of the past, to the time he was attempting to recreate. His men on a totally separate expedition had witnessed a plane exploding in midair. A short time later they stumbled across a badly injured and unconscious woman. One of the men on the team who had been working for Stefano for a very long time recognized the woman, and knew the boss would be thrilled with this serendipitous find. They immediately gave her emergency medical treatment, calling ahead to alert the boss of their discovery, and she was quickly whisked away to a private clinic.

The doctors could scarcely believe it when they were told she was the survivor of a midair explosion. Her injuries were confined to a single head trauma. Apart from that she had only sustained, some bruises and a few minor lacerations and abrasions. Stefano’s hopes were quickly dashed however when the doctors informed him that, while she was in remarkable condition for what she had been through the severe concussion had put her into a coma.

Stefano maintained a constant vigil at her bedside, night and day he was at her side, talking to her, touching her hand, or her arm, or her cheek. He brought in enormous floral arrangements, he played music, and he read to her from a book of sonnets. He could not bear the thought of her dying, not now, not ever, and with all his might he willed her to live.

Then came that wondrous day when she opened her eyes and sat up in bed, Stefano had been taken by surprise, he wasn’t at all prepared for what would come next. She was alert and cognizant. When she stared up at him with those big dark eyes of hers, Stefano’s heart skipped a beat. He saw no anger, no fear in those eyes. They were wide and full of wonder, she tried to speak, but her throat was too dry and nothing came out.

The nurse returned with the doctors and they quickly brushed Stefano aside, speedily setting about their examinations. Afterwards they whisked her off for tests, and it would be hours before Stefano saw her again. When she was finally brought back to her room, he was there waiting for her. As they wheeled her back into the room, along with the entourage of monitors and IV’s, she again looked up at Stefano standing there. There was a calm expression on her face, no hint of animosity. The doctors asked to see Stefano in the hallway for a moment and he joined them.

“Mr. DiMera, your wife seems to have made an outstanding recovery from her injuries, physically. But in our psychological tests we’ve found that there is a huge problem. Your wife seems to have suffered some memory loss well, a complete memory loss actually. While all her other higher functions seem to be in good working order, her memory in a complete blank.” The bearded doctor told him.

Stefano wasn’t sure he had heard them correctly, did they just tell him that Marlena was fine except for the fact that she has no memory? He looked through the door at Marlena waiting in bed, looking back out the door at him. He resisted the urge to pinch himself, to prove that this really wasn’t a dream. He looked back at the doctors.

“You will need to be extremely patient with her, calm and encouraging. She will have lots of questions for you so be prepared, she’ll need you to help ease her through all this.” The older doctor said.

“Will she come out of this soon?” Stefano inquired.

“We can’t really say. She could regain part or all of her memory today even, but there have been more extreme cases in which patients never fully recover all or any of their past.” Another doctor said.

“So you are certain that she is mentally fine, no brain damage etc?” Stefano asked.

“As far as we are able to ascertain Mr. DiMera, her psyche and intellect remain intact, essentially she is herself, only without any memories.” The bearded doctor said.

“You can visit with her now, just don’t upset her, or let her become overexcited, she’ll need to rest soon. We want to ensure that she makes a full recovery.” The older doctor gently took Stefano’s arm guiding him back toward Marlena’s hospital room.

Stefano entered her room and Marlena’s gaze turned to him. “How are you feeling my darling?” He asked tentatively.

“Are you my husband?” She asked in a soft raspy voice.