Jaye Michael

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2:05 P.M., BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

They could see most of the stone and ivy structure of the Harriman Building with its red tile roof from their position double-parked at the edge of Washington Square, but it was possible to it. It was the home of the Department of Biomedical Research, and had been since the family had donated the funds to build it.

They waited in silence for five minutes, then ten and finally twenty minutes. Students and faculty walked by–some briskly as if with a firm goal in mind, others meandering with no apparent place to go. A police car passed without stopping, but nothing else seemed to be happening. There were no soldiers, no ambulances, no flashing lights and no suspicious people loitering about.

“Well, it sure looks like you overestimated our government’s abilities and interest in us. Where’s my ten bucks?”

“We’ll see.” Lyle began to get out of the car.

“Where do you think you’re going? Get back in here.” Eunice grabbed at the retreating figure, but missed.

“I want some of Dr. Sternlicht’s files. They should help me figure out what happened and what we can do about it,” Lyle called over her shoulder as she walked briskly towards the building entrance.

Suddenly, several lounging students looked at her and began getting up. A cop car suddenly appeared. Several people came out of the entrance to the Harriman Building and began trotting towards Lyle.

With a scream, Eunice gunned his car over the curb and through a broken section of the wrought iron fencing around the campus. Lyle ran back to meet him. She dove through the window of the still moving car as Eunice swerved to miss several people grabbing at Lyle’s feet; waving frantically out the car window. She sped away as Lyle scrambled the rest of the way into the car.

The police car stopped to let several of the people chasing Lyle get in before giving chase and Eunice took advantage of the delay. Horn blaring, she roared through a red light. A crashing sound and cursing were heard in her wake.

The cop car and another unmarked car followed, gradually moving closer. Ahead, traffic was slowing to a stop at a traffic light, so Eunice swerved onto the sidewalk, scattering pedestrians right and left as he increased the distance from their pursuers to almost a full block while the cop car slowed to avoid screaming bystanders.

Just after entering the intersection the cops were slowed even more as a truck partially blocked their path, allowing Eunice and Lyle a full two block lead. Amazingly, no other cars had joined the chase.

Several blocks latter, Eunice suddenly turned into a short drive and into a garage beneath a townhouse. “Quick, close the garage door, Lyle. Kay?” Lyle took a deep breath, unclenched her hands from the car upholstery and rushed to close the door.

Once again, they sat in silence waiting while the sounds of police sirens approached and then faded out into the distance.

“Where are we and how did you know this garage door would be open?” Lyle asked after she felt she could again breathe.

“We’re at my father’s house and I didn’t know it would be opened, but I hoped. My father is often less than careful. Kay? He seems to leave it open just about every third or fourth day. It’s amazing that he isn’t robbed blind here in the heart of New York City, but he must have a charmed life. He has lost the contents of the garage several times, but I guess the alarm on the door to the house itself is good enough that most criminals want to bother.”

“But if they tapped your aunt’s telephone they must know about this place,” Lyle interrupted, a note of fear in her voice. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Not so fast. If they were watching, we would have been picked up already. Kay? Look at how fast they got to the University. As long as we don’t use a telephone or set off the alarm, we should be all right and we need to slow down and think or they’ll catch us for sure.”

Eunice got out and headed for the door to the house. “Luckily I’ve got a key. Daddy won’t be home for quite a while so we should be able to be on our way before he sees us. Grab the suitcases and come on.”

Muttering, grumbling and struggling in his female body, Lyle brought the two large suitcases into the living room, one at a time, and dropped them. “Now what?” he panted.

Eunice came in from the kitchen with two glasses of soda and a tray of fruit. “We relax and we plan. Kay? You look terrible and I’m hungry.”

“Thanks for the compliment. What should I look like?” Lyle grabbed an apple and took a bit to hide his frown.

“Whoa! Don’t get me wrong. I just meant that we need to make you look and act more like a woman and me more like a man.” Eunice’s face took on a far away expression as she thought for a moment, then she continued sheepishly, “For example, I guess I should have been the one to bring in the suitcases, not you.”

Anyway,” Eunice waved his hand dismissively, “You wouldn’t have the right clothes for your new body in your suitcase, but the clothes in mine should fit you. It looks like you’re just about exactly my size–I mean my old size. Why don’t you get undressed while I see what I can dig up? Kay?”

“Where?” Lyle looked around questioningly. The living room curtains were drawn, but they were a gauzy material that could easily be seen through. A look in the direction of the stairs produced a shiver of fear. Since the fever broke she’d felt a strong urge to be near other people, almost as if there was some sort of unstated safety in numbers, but she was also just not ready to let anyone else see her new body.

Eunice immediately understood. “How about going into the dining room? Kay? You can close the blinds and the door. We can use the living room as our staging area and I may want to get more food out of the kitchen. I don’t believe how hungry I feel.”

Lyle went into the dining room and closed the door while Eunice began digging through her suitcases. At some muffled words from the other side of the door, she walked to the door and handed through some undergarments.

“Put these on.”

“How?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean how do I put these things on?”

“Take the panties and put them on one foot at a time, just like any other pair of pants. Oh, and the label goes facing in and in back. Kay?”

“Okay. Done. That was the part I could do on my own.”

“Good. Then take the bra and wrap it around yourself under your breasts keeping the label by the clasp on the inside and the straps on top. Attach the clasps, slide it around so the clasp is in back, put your arms through the straps and adjust your breasts so they fit comfort...”

“Slow down, this isn’t working.”

“What’s not working?”

“Your instructions. They don’t work.” Lyle was beginning to whine.

“Of course they work. They’ve worked every day since I was eleven and a half. Let me in and I’ll show you.” Eunice pushed open the door. Lyle was standing on the other side of the door intent on the brassiere she was maneuvering about in her hands. Eunice quickly moved to take the brassiere and put it on.

“Thanks. Now what?”

“We dress you the rest of the way. Kay? Put on the pantyhose and I’ll bring you the rest of your wardrobe for today.” Eunice headed back into the kitchen, asking over her shoulder, “You do know how to put on pantyhose, don’t you?”

“I think so.”

“How?”

“Roll it up and put it on one foot at a time. Roll it up to the knee, switch and do the other leg. Go back and forth in small increments until they are extended to the limit.”

“Excellent.” Eunice laughed. “Spoken like a true scientist.”

Lyle began to cloud up and Eunice quickly interjected. “Kidding! Just kidding. Kay? That’s exactly right so go to it.”

Eunice came back into the dining room munching a sandwich only to see Lyle cursing at the pantyhose which now had several long runs in them, even though they were only on up to his knees. “I guess you didn’t file your nails this morning. Never mind. I should have had you shave your legs before trying to put them on anyway. Take them off. Kay? I have a better idea.” Eunice went back into the kitchen and the sounds of suitcases opening and closing could be heard.

In the meantime, Lyle kept muttering, “I can reverse this. It can be done. I don’t have to stay this way.” as he removed the remains of the pantyhose.

Eunice returned with white socks with lace tops, a pair of black jeans and a pink, v-neck, short sleeve T shirt with the word “Princess” in fancy script on the front. “Put these on. Kay? Fold down the socks about one inch and fluff out the lace ruffle. The rest you should have no problem putting on. Come into the kitchen when you’re done and we’ll set you up with some shoes–I hope.”

Lyle dressed and walked into the kitchen. Eunice had been rummaging in his suitcase. She was now wearing a similar white T shirt, with blue jeans, white socks and his low top sneakers.

Eunice handed Lyle a pair of low heeled boat shoes in pink to match the T-shirt. “Are you as hungry as I am?” Eunice waved her second sandwich in the air at Lyle before taking a bite. “Help yourself to the refrigerator. Kay? Then I’ll do your makeup while we figure out what to do next.”

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2:05 P.M., UNDERGROUND RESEARCH FACILITY, LOCATION DELETED CONSISTENT WITH PROVISIONS OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT

“Captain. Report from Team One. They’ve lost them, sir.” Master Sergeant Challer was in Captain Schultz’s office, standing before the officer’s desk. There was a completely impassive look on his face, eyes staring straight ahead at a point on the wall behind the Captain and about two feet above the officer’s head.

“Great.” Captain Schultz snarled. “Any word from Team Two?”

“Nothing new since about fifteen minutes ago, sir. They are spread thin, but they’ve got most of the likely places either of them would show up under surveillance.”

“How many more personnel do they need to provide total saturation?”

“Five, sir.”

“Instruct Lt. Jackson to reassign Team One to assist with surveillance.”

“Yes sir. Is that all sir?”

“Yes. Thank you Sergeant. Dismissed!”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Of course, Jack.” Captain Schultz gave a deep sigh, closed the folder he’d been staring at and leaned back in his chair. “What’s bothering you?”

“What are we chasing this time sir? Really?”

“As usual, this does NOT leave this office, right? Even Dr. Isaacs doesn’t know it all.”

Challer nodded and slid sharply into parade rest. They had been together for more than eleven years. Early on they had developed the trust necessary for a good working relationship.

“Best guess is that it’s not airborne. If so, it’s not easily communicable and the biohazard is limited. That’s why we’re implementing only the blood borne pathogens procedures.

“From our prospective it’s just another ultimate weapon. This one involves the possibility of replacing selected individuals in hostile countries with exact replicas who support our goals.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll get right on the reassignment of Team One.”

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 3:55 P.M., 1661 112TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

“Your makeup is done and we even shaved your underarms. If you’ll finish packing the last of the food, I’ll get the car started and out on the street. Kay?” Eunice grabbed a suitcase and headed back to the garage.” We can figure out where we’re going as we drive.”

Lyle finished the packing and did a cursory clean up of the kitchen counter. As she turned off the kitchen light and walked through the far door, to the hallway that led to the front door, there was a squealing of tires. Before she could get to a window to see what was happening, the front door slammed open with a loud cracking sound and two men with guns were yelling, “Freeze!”

Before Lyle could open her mouth to protest, one of the men fired and she was thrown back against the wall, groaning as she slid to the ground and into unconsciousness.