A Turn On The Pathway To Citizenship Part One Of Two
By
Warm Hearted

Synopsis: The tale of Mark Cedric's unique and unexpected turn on his pathway to being an American Citizen, but Mark will discover that being a new citizens is very pleasurable. As always comments and constructive criticism is much appreciated.

I was born in Serbia and my parents brought me to the USA illegally in 1997 and they both died shortly thereafter. I never knew how they died, but it was probably drug related. I assumed this from the little I was told by the Serbian couple that took me in.
The elderly man and woman that took me in were unrelated to me ,but they knew my parents. They came with them from Serbia and like my parents they were undocumented.

I knew my first name was Marko so they called me Mark. I never knew my real last name, or my new "Grandparents" real names. They only told me, it was not safe for me to know, when I asked. In later years I assumed the secrecy was due to the same gang related problems that my real parents were killed over. Peter and Rose Cedric were good to me and spoke perfect English with no accent, Which I always thought strange.
We moved to Charlotte, NC the day after my parents' death and we were all happy there till I was 16.

I remember well that Summer day my whole life changed for the second time. I came home from playing video games with my friends and no one was home. I went through the house, looking for my grandparents, but hey were nowhere to be found. Then I saw two tiny spots of blood on a shower curtain and smeared on the upstairs bathroom floor.

Looking through the small bathroom window, I saw two men, but they didn't see me. They were coming out of our motor home parked in the back. Just this morning, I had helped my grandparents pack it for us to go to Disney World in the morning. The men must have put my grandparents bodies in it, and they were coming back to clean up their "little mess".

So I climb out the window and took my usual route in getting out of the house, when I was grounded to my room. Knowing, if they saw me they would put my body with my grandparents, so I ran. I hid in the woods near our home and cried uncontrollability. When it was dark, I went to my friend Daniel's house.

Staying hidden in the woods, I knew so well, I ran to Daniel's, but when I got there I saw a black SUV. The SUV was parked so the occupants had a clear view of Daniel's house,
but far enough away not to draw attention. My mind started racing and I tried to think of someway of escape.

"I saw it enough in movies to know that, the Serbian Mob will not rest to they kill the whole family of someone that has betrayed them. I thought it was just in the movies, but it's real and it's happening to me. If that part of the movie was based on facts maybe the rest was real too. I'M SO FUCKED!"

Pushing back thoughts of blow torches and chain saws, I tried to think of a plan that would save my life. I thought,

"When I watched movies, with someone trying to escape The Mob. I always thought I could have done it better, now is my chance to prove it"

Then I thought of how the stars in the movies got caught and more importantly how they escaped.

"First of all, you never go back home, they will be there watching for me. They must have gotten Daniel's address from the address book Grandma had. That means they know all our friends, but that is all they have on me.

God, I'm so glad I listened to my grandparents and never had my picture taken. I told the school and my friends that it was a religious thing. So my name, but not my picture is in any of my school annuals and not on anyone's phone. My grandparents would never let me have a phone, or a computer. All we had was a land line phone at the house and when I needed a computer for school I used one at school, or the library.

So they know my name, where I live, my age, and who my friends are, but that is it. My grandparents, somehow made me a very good fake driver license. They told me to never to get pulled by the cops because it would not show up on their data base. So they let me drive very little, I usually rode with a friend.

I was still worried that they could recognize me because of my unusual appearance. I was very tall for my age, very slim, and silver blonde hair. I would be easy to spot at a bus station or hitch hiking. Drawing on my cinematic knowledge the best way to get caught was to try to get out of town.

I knew Charlotte very well so it made more sense to stay put and hide in town. So I went back into to the woods. I just needed some time to think and get some rest, because the stress of the day had wore me out.

The Woods, was not a real forest it was just a large undeveloped wooded area. The area was set aside to be "Phase Four" of the subdivision I grew up in. Although Phase Four was slow in coming dew to the bust of 2008. So it became my neighborhood's kids play ground. Daniel, myself, and two other friends built a secret tree club house there.

We built it using scraps and what we could steal from the abandoned construction sites. I was always good with my hands and "The Tower" as we called it was still there. So I climb up the tree and went in, to my surprise it looked unchanged. With exception to a family of squirrels that had made a nest in it.

We did a good job in building it, because even after five years of being uncared for, the roof kept it dry and the floor was still solid. To my amazement there still was cans food on the shelves. We placed them there just in case of a zombie attack and I was surprised that most of it was still in date.

That night I dined on cold Beefaroni and soda and planed my next step. In the morning I hid till a saw the CATS Bus come to a stop. I used my student bus pass and transferred to another and arrived at Urban Ministries. We had a Civics project last year to tour it and write a paper on what they do for the community. I never thought that I would be using their services, but here I was with no home, or much money, and only the clothes on my back.

Over the next year I became a street smart, hard, and one of the nameless people of the street. Until I was on the street, the only fights I had were two school yard scuffles, but on the street you learn to fight or you die or get punked. I did not want to die. I would have died before becoming someone's bitch. So I chose to fight, so after numerous beat downs and three trips to the ER, I became a feared, or respected citizen of the streets.

I stayed away from drugs even weed I guess because of what happened to my family. So when I heard of a Day Work Recruiter that was paying good for those who could pass a drug test, I thought I would check it out. After pissing in a cup, Mr. Gomez told me to get on the back of his truck.

Mr. Gomez was a subcontractor to a subcontractor to a lot of contractors. Like I said I was good with my hands and I did everything from cleaning Port-A-Johns to working on roofs. At the end of each day Mr. Gomez with two body guards would pay us cash without any paper work, which was perfect for me.

Soon I had enough money to get a room in a pay cash, rent by the week sleazy motel and buy clothes at Goodwill. Mr. Gomez would bring us lunch as part of the deal and I would get a Value Meal for supper. I soon became a favorite of Mr. Gomez and he would always give me the highest paying job, roofing or sheet rocking.

One very hot Summer day, after spreading hot tar on a flat roof for ten hours, I was especially smelly and filthy. After getting paid for the day in cash as usual, all I wanted to do was take something home to eat and shower. On the bus trip home the other passengers gave me dirty looks and moved away from me.

I got off the bus at the Wendy's in the front of the same parking lot as my motel. When went inside, I started getting the same looks as on the bus. I went to the counter to place my order, but the lady at the register placed her hand over her nose and just walked away. I heard her telling her boss she was not waiting on me because of how bad I smelled.

Her boss, a short, fat balding, man that was probably younger than he looked. When he saw I was hearing what counter person was saying, he just walked past her. He came to the register and facing me smiling and said.

" Welcome to Wendy's what can I get you?"

I looked at his name tag and it said "Assistant Manager Rob". He seemed like he was not faking being polite to me, even with me in my present condition. He made me feel like that my present condition didn't mater at all, so I placed my order.

Rob then asked, " Will that be dine in, or to go?".

I told him," To go.".

He then gave me a huge plastic cup for my drink, and he went and filled my order himself. Then it hit me that he did not ask me for any money, confused I fill the huge 40oz cup and came back and Rob had my order ready. Taking bag I asked, "How much is it?".

Rob said, "I'm very sorry for the poor customer service you were given and I will reprimand the Associate for being rude to you. I'm not charging you for your meal today because of how she treated you."

I thanked him and went to my motel room and turned my air on high. I sat down at the small dinning table and found the Rob had "Super Sized" my order and added a piece of pie. I thought, "That Rob is either gay or really a nice guy."

After eating and showering I watched TV till about 11pm. I would normally go to bed then, but Mr. Gomez told me that he wouldn't need me tomorrow. That is how Day Work is, your days vary. I have worked 26 days without a break, but a few times I have had five days between jobs. So I learned to budget my money so I would not have to go back on the street.

So I decided to get some ice for my ice chest from the motel's only amenity, an old ice machine. As I was dumping the old ice and water, I heard some loud voices coming from the back of the closed Wendy's. I saw, that guy Rob, confronted by two people. One of them was the rude woman, that wouldn't wait on me and the other was a large guy.

Then I saw the large guy grab Rob pushing him against the building and start beating him. I would have called the police, but I didn't have a phone and the office was closed. Most street smart people, would have just ignored it, but I am not most people.

I yelled, "STOP THAT!" and ran to help Rob, Who I really didn't know. I got there and the rude woman didn't recognized me cleaned up, but she warned me,

"White boy you best stay out of this, my man is giving his fat ass a wooping for firing me."

I knew Rob must have fired her for not waiting on me so I felt responsible in a way. My street education taught me to always carry a sock full of pennies, so I hit the big guy on his knee. The big guy fell and then blue lights started flashing. the big guy got up and the rude woman ran away leaving me alone with Rob.

The officer knew Rob and I could tell he liked him too and asked, "Rob you ok, do you need me to call a paramedic?".

Rob shook his head and said, "No, I am fine, but thanks for the offer."

The officer was about to get out to check for himself, but a call came in on the radio and he said," That's an officer down.". Looking at me he asked "You got this?" and I nodded and he took off lights and sirens going.

Looking at Rob I saw he had a cut over his eye, and I asked, "You sure you're OK?".

Rob answered, "I think so but I don't have insurance so I will go home and try to fix myself up."

I thought about for a second and told him, " I'm at the motel, so come with me and let me fix up little.".

Rob looked at me kind of strange, but agreed and came with me to my room. I got out my med kit and started working on Rob, I saw he was not hurt bad just a small cut and mainly bruises. We talked as I fixed him up and Rob Told me the whole story.

He explained he called his manager to tell him how the Associate treated me and the manager told him to fire her for misconduct. Rob was a 20 years old and had planned to go to Johnson and Wells College, but both his parents were dead.

Rob just about cried when told how they were both dead. His mother died on his 18th birthday of a heart attack. Choking back tears, he added his father died in a boating accident when he was 12. I told him I was sorry and that my parents were dead too, but I did not share any of the circumstances.

Rob thanked me for saving his ass and fixing him up and I told him it was no big deal. although, I wished he had not fired the woman for being rude to me. Rob shook his head and informed me that his manager told him to fire her. I found out from Rob that he didn't have the authority to fire someone or even write them up without approval.

So after the incident he had called his manager so he could write her up, but his manager said to fire her. Rob shared his suspicion, that his manager wanted the woman gone, but was afraid of her boy friend. Rob was sure that his manager saw this, as a perfect opportunity for him get what he wanted safely. Over the next six months Rob and I became good friends and he even became my Wing Man, sort of.

Across the highway from my motel and the Wendy's was a Country Western hook-up bar. It had cheap draft and I had another fake ID that said I was 21.Not that it mattered because they served Rob who was just 20. The bar was very run down, but had live music on the weekends and it's cliental was mainly, low income like Rob and I.

When we would go to the bar, Rob had a strange "pick up" style. He would not hit on a girl till almost closing time. So usually, he stayed behind, when I left with my "One Nighter". On one of the rare times I found girl that us actually was fun to be with, I saw, Rob's "moves".

Right before "Last Call" Rob would approach some plain or heavy woman that had been there most of the night and was still alone. Rob would buy her a drink at "Last Call" and talk to her and most often she would leave with him. I asked Rob about it, after we were friends for awhile, and I was surprised at his explanation.

Rob looking down at his feet, he told me the reason for his pick-up style.

"Mark your a tall good looking guy and women think you're hot, and I have no illusions about my looks. I am a fat, short, already balding, and a pasty faced Burger Boy I understand women having four sisters. Strangely all my surviving family are women. Actually no one can remember when the last boy, before me, was born or mom's side . So with four sisters and a lot of female cousins, I know how women think.

Any woman going to a hook-up bar alone is very lonely, but she has hopes of finding good looking hunk. So she will not be lonely, even if it is just for one night. It is the same with plain, or fat women. They have this dream that someone like you will be interested in them. I watch them in the bar they do their best to make you notice them.

If I approach one of these women too early, they will refuse me my offer to dance or buy them a drink. So they would be too embarrassed to change their minds later and accept. That is why I wait till almost closing, with time running out they're more open to my offer. The only sex I get is desperation sex. Most of the time it's not worth the effort, so nine out of ten times I leave alone right after you leave.

Now that I told you my secret, tell me what you're paying for rent?"

I didn't have a problem telling Rob, so I told him, " Two hundred a week.".

He asked " Why? You could get a real nice apartment for that kind of money.".

Rob was my best friend in the world and I truly trusted him, so after swearing him to secrecy, I told him my history. He understood and agreed that I needed to pay cash for everything to stay under the Serbian's radar.

After a long pause Rob made me an offer that shocked the hell out of me. He told me his parents didn't leave him anything, but the house he grew up in. He then explained that when his grandmother was alive, she lived with them for awhile. He said his parents turned their garage into an apartment for her, and I could live there if I wanted rent free. All I had to do would be share in paying the utilities.

I was the one trying not to cry now, I accepted and thanked him. I then told Rob, "I will always have your back man, and one day I'll prove it."

I moved into the apartment which was still furnished from the stuff that Rob's grandmother had. I got a TV at Wal-Mart, so I was set. The house was a 1930's style Craftsman style house, but in bad shape. Rob couldn't even screw in a light bulb straight so the house had went down hill. So I worked on it on my days off and soon it looked great.

Rob and I were even closer now, and he would cook for both of us on his days off. Rob loved to cook and wanted to be a chef, not just a burger boy. He surprised me on my birthday with a Smart Phone. He added the line to his service so no one could trace it to me.

I was the happiest I had been since my grandparents were killed, then things started to change. On Rob's 21st birthday we planned to go out, but our plans changed. He got a call from a legal firm in Ashville. They told him a distant relative of his had just died, naming Rob sole beneficiary in his will. Although the will also stipulated that Rob had to perform a small ritual within 24 hours to receive legacy.

I helped Rob quickly pack his 2007 Kia Rio so he could get there in time. I told him, "Good bye and be safe.".

He responded, "I never heard of this guy and I don't expect much, but I need to go, he was family after all. I'll be back soon.".

So Rob left, and I didn't hear from him for a week. During that week I tried calling, but it went to voice mail and I started worrying. Normal people would have called the police, but considering my circumstances, that was not an option.

At the end of the second week of Rob's disappearance, a package came addressed only to "The Occupant". I opened it and it had three thousand dollars, in three banded bundles of twenties, and a letter from Rob.

With my hands shaking, I opened the letter, and read what it said.

"Mark,

I am sorry that I haven't been answering my phone, I was kind of separated from it.
Mark you are my best friend and I know you were worried, but things are complicated right now. I didn't call you because, I know you'll have a lot of questions and I'm sure some them, I don't know the answers to. Although, the ones I do have answers for, the answers are unbelievable. Just let me say, life is going to get much better for the both of us, very soon.

Mark don't worry about any of the bills, I am paying them online. The cash I sent you is for anything else you might need. I hope to have you up here soon, but if it takes longer, for some reason, I will send you more next month. You can move in to the house if you want. I will put it on the market once I get you up here.

Always Your Best Friend,

Rob"

Laying the letter down, I just said "WOW!". So Rob is good and seems like he's into something big, I hoped it was legal because I have lost too many to illegal shit. Although knowing Rob, I was 99.9% certain it was legal. I thought it must be that strange ritual, that his dead relative wanted. I figured that must be it, Rob did say, he had some unknown ritual, to do.

I looked at the money and thought wear to hide it. After hiding $2,000 under a board in the floor, I went on a shopping trip. Dressed in actually new clothes, I decided I wanted a steak. I had only one steak since I hit the streets and Rob fixed that. Rob did a great job, but I want another, so I went to Out Back.

The Out Back was in the same parking lot of the Mall so I did not need a bus. As I was walking to the restaurant, I saw a guy snatch and old woman's purse. The thief came running right by me, so I just stuck out my arm. The thief clothes lined himself on my arm, and gave the purse back to the lady.

As she was thanking me I saw mall security coming, so I told her she was welcome and left. I made it in Out Back thinking that I was safe, because I ordered, ate, and left without anyone questioning me. What I didn't know someone got it on their phone and it went viral. The next morning I saw a picture of me clothes lining the thief, on the front page of the Charlotte Observer.

I fought back panic and thought about it.

"They don't have any pictures of me and I look different now. My hair is longer, I'm taller, and all the construction work has made me more muscular. In addition why would they still be looking for me? In addition to all of that, it has been years. So why would they still be looking for someone like me, that knows nothing about them."

The next day I went to the job site Mr. Gomez told me to show up at that morning. Mr. Gomez came up to me and grabbed my hand and shook it, saying while patting me on the back.

"Mark, I wasn't suppose to tell you this, but an anonymous person placed an ad in the paper. They're offering to give you a reward for doing what you did, if someone would call and identify you. So I called and they are coming soon to give you a reward for helping that lady."

At this without saying anything I ran, I hid till the bus came and ran onboard. I got off the bus and ran down back ally ways to the house. Then I retrieved the $2,000.00 from the floor and as I was heading out the back door, my phone rang. It was Rob, he told me to stay calm and there would be a car here for me in two minutes.

So nervously I waited, looking out the front window through cracked curtains. I saw a black Tahoe in the drive and I about shit myself. Then a very large man in a black suit got out of the shotgun seat a yelled at the house, "Rob sent us for you.". At hearing that I ran out of the house and climb in the back seat.

The big SUV quickly backed out of the drive and I saw a car, come up fast behind us. The man that opened the door said, " We have a threat.". I slid down in the back of the seat and the guy in the shotgun seat pulled a gun out.

The man with the drawn gun, trying to calm me said. "Mr. Cedric don't worry this vehicle is so armored, if they hit us with a RPG we will just need it washed. We have heavily armed back up at the helipad, and I am sure it is secured. Our ETA is in less than 5 minutes and the chopper is ready to take off when we get there."

We made it on the helicopter safely and in one hour and forty-eight minutes we landed on the lawn of a mansion in the NC mountains. A man, was waiting at the pad and waved me over to him, when I got off the helicopter. Then the helicopter took off leaving me and the stranger alone, The man patted me on the back and said, " I am sure glad to see you made it here safe Mark.".

The man sounded like Rob, but he was tall as I was and very good looking in great shape.
I looked at him a little fearful and asked, "Who the hell are you?".

The man laughed like Rob and said, "I'm Rob, your best friend.".

He saw my of look of being completely lost and started laughing again, when he stopped he explained.

"Sorry Mark I wanted to have some fun with you ,before I told you about what has been happening. Remember, I told you that there weren't any males in my mother's family, but me. I found out, that wasn't just some kind of fluke of fate but it was by design. You see over 3500 years ago there was a Wizard in my family.

This Wizard saw that magic was disappearing from the world and he had no idea why, but he wanted his descendants to carry on the Wizard legacy. So he crafted a spell that transferred his magic to a ring, but even the ring was starting to weaken.

So he searched the reason for magic's disappearance and discovered it was the increasing population. The magic was not disappearing, but being spread around. To fix this watering down effect, he crafted another spell. This spell pooled all his bloodline's magic in it's male descendants.

I guess he chose the male descendants because of the culture of his time. Then to prevent the watering down effect of population growth, he made it so only one male would be born every thousand years and I'm him. My relative that just died was 1021 years old and looked thirty, until I took the ring off him.

The taking of the ring was the ritual I had to perform, that the lawyer told me about. What I had to do was, go alone to the crematorium, remove the ring, seal his casket, and push the button to cremate his wife and him. You can imagine how shocked I was when I took the ring and the two of them turned to dust. It was strange how the were in the same casket, I guess they really loved each other.

Soon I found out that only I could remove the ring and why his wife turn to dust too. You see I was born with the pooled magic, but I did not know I how to use it. That was the purpose of the ring and why I could not send for you sooner. For the last two weeks I have been in and out of a trance.

Every morning, a hour after sunrise I would go into a deep sleep and not wake up till Midnight. When I would wake up at Midnight I would know more magic and I can do so astounding things, you have no idea how powerful I am now. Take my new look, I changed myself with a snap of a finger, let me show you."

I looked at this evidently crazy man as he snapped his fingers and he changed back to the old Rob, the again he snapped and became the new man. The new Rob then said, "Show me that scare you got when you burned your arm with hot tar."

I pulled back the sleeve on my right arm and showed him the bad scar. Rob waved his hand and said, "Look at it.". I turned my arm and watched it just fade away till there was no sign of it.

Rob got a sneaky on his face then and pointed at me, I felt funny then I saw why. Rob had dressed me in a clown outfit, down to the red nose.

Laughing he said, "Just "clowning". OK. you back to normal."

I could not help but to laugh and I realized that Rob was just keeping me from being overwhelmed with some humor. Then a thought struck me, so I asked, "Why did his wife turn to dust too?".

Rob looked a little misty eyed, but he choked out an answer.

"You see Mark, the old Wizard knew living a thousand years alone, or watching one wife after another age naturally and die would not be a blessing but a curse. So he placed another spell on the ring. If his heir finds the love of his life, she will have to willingly shed her blood on the ring and pledge truthfully, never ending devotion to his heir.

Once she does that, They will be joined by undying love as man and wife till the new heir's 21st birthday. At that time they both will die together looking as young as when they were married. That way the old Wizard's heirs have the best chance at happiness."

I stood there trying to take it all in, then it struck me, that I was still being hunted.
I did not want to lose Rob like I lost my grandparents so I told Rob, "I can't stay they're still hunting me."

Rob just smiled and held up his ring, using his best Pacino impression said. "They need to meet my little friend and I know they will find you. I had the chopper pilot file an exact flight plan. They should be here very soon, so let's get you inside and hid, till I deal with them."

I followed Rob in the house and found out we were here alone and I was worried, not for myself but Rob. He my have faith in this "Lord of the Rings" stuff, but I would trust an AK-47 a lot more. Rob put me in and upstairs bedroom and we heard someone knocking down the front door.

Rob looked at me and said, "You wait here and I will deal with our guests.". Then he left me shutting the door behind him. Then I heard and heavily accented man demand, " I will give you till I count to three, tell me where he is or I will shoot you in the leg.".

I burst out of the room and a shot rang out and I was unconscious. When I came to Rob was holding his hand on my bloody abdomen. I did not feel any pain and soon Rob was holding a bullet, he tossed it to me and said, "Here's a souvenir for you, there won't even be a scar".

I caught the still warm flattened bullet and wondered why the shooting stopped. Getting to my feet I saw the reason, eight very rough looking men were frozen with guns pointing up at us. I looked at Rob and said, "You did this?"

Rob nodded then he scolded me.

"Mark when I say for you to stay put, I want you to listen to me. The reason you got shot you distracted me long enough, for one of them to get a shot off. I was able to fix you, but if his shot killed you, dead is dead. What the hell were you thinking?"

I answered, "Rob you are my only true and best friend and I will always be there for you."

Rob was touched I could tell by what I said and I truly meant every word of it. Then Rob looked down at the men and then at his ring. His eyes went wide and he shouted.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT NOOO! Mark I have your blood on my ring that you willingly shed for me. NO,NO, NO, FUCK! This is not going to happen."

I looked at Rob and backed up, actually afraid of what could scare this new super hero Rob so much. I looking for some horror to appear, I finally was able to squeak out, "What is going to happen?"

Looking at me Rob said, "Your "willing shed your blood" is on my ring". Then he continued after taking a long breath.

"Mark while your blood was on my ring, you truthfully pledged never ending devotion to me. Don't you see that locks us your, my wife now and we will be together forever."

I thought about it then it sank in and I could only say, "NO FUCKING WAY!".

Rob looked at me closely and then said, "Do you feel attracted to me?".

I looked at him and answered, "NOT NO, BUT HELL NO.".

Rob smiled and nodded his approval and shared his thoughts.

"Considering the culture and how the old Wizard thought, I bet it must take a woman to do that for it to work, but God Damn. It had me scared that we were going to turn Gay. I mean, if that is your choice, it's fine, but I like girls. Since I got the ring I'm able to hook up with some hotties and I love it."

With that we both went down stairs to take a look at the my would be assassins. Rob would look at one and then another, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. Then he laid his hand on one and said, " OK. This is the boss the, rest are just hired help.". He then snapped his fingers and all, but the boss just dissolved into nothing.

Seeing all those men disappear I asked Rob what did he just do and he said, "They're no more, I killed them."

I was horrified but then I thought, "Hey they were here to kill me so Rob just killed the killers, it seems only fair. If I had that AK-47, I would have tried to do the same thing".

Looking deeply at the last man Rob commanded him to tell us why they want me dead. The man in a hypnotic type voice told us in his heavily accented English.

" I have been ordered to kill him by The Bear."

Rob asked "What is "The Bear's" name and what is his reason?"

The man answered, "I don't know his name, but the reason is a Blood Feud.".

Rob asked "Who would know his name?"

The man answered, "I don't know, I just find whores for The Bear.".

Then Rob said, "This sounds like a movie plot. So this guy is just a low ranking soldier for some mob, probably Serbian. His main duties concern white slavery, he is a very nasty guy, but he knows little of the organization. The Blood Feud is with your family and the head of this mob and is the one that we have to remove. Along with any others that want to continue it.

This could be a long process, but back to dealing with this evil person. Let's give him some instant Karma. What you think Mark should I just kill him or make feel some of the pain he has caused, so many young woman?"

I thought about a documentary I saw about how they would trick young women into a life of prostitution and I answered, "Make him suffer.".

Rob replied, "Excellent thinking Mark, I see your sense of justice is just as strong as always."

Rob waved his hands over man and in his place stood a beautiful, large breasted, curvy young woman in a black cocktail dress that showed a lot of cleavage. She had black seamed hose black 5" stilettos. and dangling silver earrings to complete her attire.

Rob then snapped his fingers and said, "Off to Dubai, to your new job. Mark it may interest you to know, she only remembers her old life. She doesn't remember anything about us, or even getting the call to come here. The last thing she remembers was sending off his last shipment of innocent girls to their Dubai whore house. Imagine how surprised she is now, being forced into that whore house, with the other girls he sent there for training."

Then I asked Rob, "Is she really a woman?"

Rob smiling answered, "Yep, all woman. If they don't keep her on birth control she'll get pregnant. Although she may not end up as a whore because when they examine her they will see she is a virgin, so some rich oil sheik may buy her for his harem. Then she will start popping his babies out. I also added a twist you may like, even though she will hate herself for it, considering her memories. she loves cock any way she can get it."

I laughed and said, "that is perfect punishment for that ass hole."

Then Rob looked at me very strange and screamed, " OH HOLY HELL NO!"

I looked at Rob and said, "What, he deserved it and we both agreed."

Looking at me he said, "I wasn't talking about him I was talking about you. YOUR SHRINKING!".

I Looked at Rob and saw he was much taller and I looked down at my jeans and they were pooling around my feet. I just a few seconds I felt everything about me change, holding my pants keeping them from falling, I stopped shrinking. Then I looked up at rob who was a giant now and whimpered in a female voice, asking Rob, " Am I a woman now too?"

Rob nodded and answered, " Mark you are, but I did not do it to you. OH SHIT! It was the ring, when I turned that guy into a woman it got the idea to do the same thing to you so you could become my wife and fulfill the old Wizard's spell. Mark you see the ring sometimes has a mind of its own, that is how it adjusts to its new owners personality and culture.

Please Mark don't panic yet, let me try something."

Rob clapped his hands and I instantly changed back to my old male self. I said,

"Thank God, what you did worked. That was some weird shit, I don't know how, but I knew I was a woman without looking. I felt it all over my body, I felt that even my mind changed. I was starting to sense things differently and think different, it was still me but my prsonality had changed."

Rob responded by saying, "I am glad it worked too, your my best friend but that spell was starting to effect me too. Like you said I was starting to think how pretty you were"

So with both of us happy to be back to normal we stayed up late trying to figure how to find The Bear and what to do when we found him. While we were still talking, we saw the sun come up. Then I panicked when I felt that I was starting to change again, but it happened quicker this time.

Rob clapped his hands again and changed me back and said, "My ring reactivates at sunrise, I don't lose my magic at sunset, because my magic is mine. Remember I told you I was born with it, what the ring did was teach me how to use it. So I always have my magic, but the ring kind of reboots at sunrise. So it will most likely change you back to a woman every sunrise, but I can change you back."

I told him, "That is good.", but I was thinking, "I need to make damn sure Rob is around at sunrise.".

Rob set his clock so he would get up before sunrise to change me back. Most mornings for the next two weeks I woke up to his hand clap. Rob is a very special person and he demonstrated it by trying to keep me from the shock of waking up as a woman.

Rob would spent most of his time, over those first two weeks using magic to find "The Bear". I was fixing us both a sandwich when he came into the kitchen and to tell me something.

Rob looked at me seriously and said, "I have good news and very bad news for you. The good news is, I have identified The Bear. His name is Uros Babic, a former Major in the KGB and he has lived in New Orleans, LA since 1997. Babic, is the head of a large Serbian criminal organization since 1992, when it was formed from mostly ex-KGB operatives and officers."

Then Rob sat down acting like the weight of what he was getting ready to tell me was to heavy to stand with.

Rob looked at me and said, There is something called a Крвна освета, which loosely means a "Blood Feud". It has been around since the 15th century and still is practiced and the Babic family has a Крвна освета with your family for three centuries. Mark you are the last living member of your family".

Remembering how Rob destroyed the intruders just over two weeks ago, I asked, "You didn't kill his whole family, did you?".

Rob shook his head and explained, "I tried to kill Babic though, he is cold blooded killer and needs to be dead. I hoped with him dead, the younger Americanized younger Babics would let the Крвна освета die with him, but I couldn't do it.

Do you know what a Sigil is?"

I shook my head so Rod told me,

"A Sigil is a protection from magic symbol, most are garbage, but a few are real. I was surprised to find that Babic's part of the Uros family, tattoo all there children with a real Sigil shortly after birth. It is a tradition that goes back well over a thousand years, so to them it is just a tradition and they truly don't know its purpose. So I can't use magic to kill any of the Babic's family."

Taking it all in I suggested an idea, "You must have a lot of money now, so why can't you hire a hit man?"

Rob shook his head and told me more.

"I thought about that too, so I read the mind of the Chief of the Crescent City Police Department. I found out he knew a lot, first of all, Babic never leaves his mansion. He is rich enough the world comes to him and his old Mansion has been remodeled into a fortress.

There are cameras everywhere and a state of the art sensor array, that can detect everything from explosives to bio hazards. The basement is an army barracks, filled with a special op grade security force of over 40 soldiers. Although, all his personal guards are family members with his oldest son in charge.

All his windows are special grade armored glass, nothing can get through short of a Hell Fire Missile. The walls are over 18 inches thick of fiberglass concrete reinforced with tons of rebar. Finally there is only one way in or out, that it is always guarded. You could get to the President a hell of a lot easier.

Like I said he is rich and the world comes to him and only by request, but I am richer. Actually a lot richer. My inheritance has made me one of the richest men in the world, so that gives me an in.

I have been spreading the word that I want to use my me new wealth to go into politics. Babic has a lot of pull through his lobbyists and it would not be strange for someone from a poor background like me, would seek his help to get my foot in the door of government.

The hard part will be getting a personal meeting with him so I can start looking for some weakness to exploit. I know our meetings will have to be social at first so not to raise suspicion in this old paranoid spy. Most of his money is still coming from criminal means, but he has went big in legitimate too and I can use that as my carrot.

Every year he has his only large social function, a one million dollar a plate fund raiser for Serbian Orphanages. It is by invitation only, but my lawyer knows a guy that knows a guy that might swing it for me. I have already bought a suitable place on Barracks St. in the French Quarter of New Orleans, to work from.

I still have one thing to work out and it is a big problem, I don't see any hope to fix it.
You see Babic's fund raiser is couples only and I can not chance sharing my plans with anyone. If I just hire an escort, Babic will spot it and kill my plan at the start. If I take you, Babic like so many of his profession and nationality are Homophobic, they would never even let us in as a couple. So I am so stuck."

I got an idea that revolted me, but this was the only way to get the man, that killed my parents, grandparents, and really my whole Damn family. So could not believe I let the words come out of my mouth. I softly said, "I will do it just don't change me back in the morning"

In the morning I woke up with the sun shining through long silver blonde hair, covering my eyes. I jumped out of bed and landed on my butt on the floor. I miss judge how high my bed was now. I stood up and saw young woman looking back at me in my mirror.

The end of part one of a two part story.