A family spiralling out of control.
A child forced to grow up too fast.
Is there any room left for a young girl to find herself?


Book Two ‘Childhood’
Chapter 9 – Leaving Civilization

 

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Author's Note:How far away is safe? And is Cassandra about to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire? I hope you are all enjoying Cassandra’s story as much as I am in writing it. As ever please be tolerant of my failings, and forthright with your criticism. ~Persephone

Current Score: US Readers 11 – 2 UK Author

Photo by  Christopher Campbell on Unsplash
© Persephone 2019

~o~O~o~

The next time Michael was able to come over to Silver Lake was late Friday afternoon, his pick-up incongruous amongst all the Lexus’ and BMW’s in the affluent neighborhood. As always he was welcomed with open arms. His news however, wasn’t.

“You’re going?” Cassie asked with dismay.

“I have to, now that Charlie is on the way to a full recovery. I signed the contract with Kenneport Mineral last Wednesday, before the attack. I’ve also made a lot of promises to the guys. We start the refurbishment of the bunk house up in Oregon at the start of July.” Michael tactfully refrained from reminding Cassie that it was her plan for them to do so.

“So you’re leaving in three weeks?”

“Everything should be sorted legally by then. Yesterday the DA told Mom and Dad that all of the boys had agreed to a plea bargain. They’ll be sentenced next week. Seven years each for the three oldest. Five for Sean.”

Cassie frowned. “That leaves Dad.”

“Apparently he’s fighting the ‘felony accomplice’ charge. He’s claiming that he thought the boys had only been in a fight. He has witnesses to show he was nowhere near the scene of the attack.”

“That’s a crock of shit!” Cassie exclaimed.

“I’m not disagreeing with you li’l sis. His lawyer is arguing for a reduction of charges, just ‘contributing to the delinquency of a minor’ and ‘obstruction of justice’.”

Cassie bit her lip. “So Kath and I still aren’t safe.” She spat out angrily.

“Yes, but your Aunt Megan will have no problem getting custody. No family court in the State will allow your Dad within a mile of either of you.” Michael offered.

Cassie let out a distinctly unladylike snort of disgust. “Like he’ll obey that! And as soon as he finds out about me, I bet he’ll have a whole bunch of religious crazies sending him money to hassle Aunt Megan in the courts!” She shook her head explosively. “No! I won’t let him do that to her and Kath.” She decided, then lapsed into silence as she stared into the distance.

Michael watched Cassandra carefully. He’d been expecting tears and wails of anguish at his news. He hadn’t expected to be faced with the look of calculating anger on the young teen’s face.

Eventually Cassie came back from wherever she had gone. Her next question completely derailed Michael.

“Michael. You remember I included a budget for a weekend cook and cleaner, but said it would be difficult to find anyone out in the middle of nowhere?” She asked.

“Uh? Yeah. But we were talking about…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that! We’ll sort all that out later.” Cassie dismissed their previous conversation with a wave of her hand and pressed on. “Well, I have some really good news for you.” She smiled sweetly.

“Huh?” Michael realized it wasn’t his cleverest response, but his brain was struggling to keep up.

“Absolutely! I’ve been in touch with a Miss Metherick and she is willing to take the job for twelve thousand a year.” Cassie ignored the squawks of protest from Paris and Cheryl. “And best of all she’s happy to live at the bunk house and cook, clean and do the laundry for you guys all week!”

“Uh? that’s great I think? Does she have any experience? How old is she?” Michael asked as he tried to get his mind onto the right track.

“Well, I believe she’s been cooking for a team of seven, so she doesn’t think she’ll have any problems with a few more mouths.” Cassie smiled at Michael as she waved vigorously behind her back for Cheryl and Paris to keep quiet. “She showed me her ID card and apparently she’s eighteen. She’s got a couple of things to wrap up, but will be available in two weeks.”

Michael scratched his head. “Well, uh? That’s great? Yeah that’s great! I’ll be glad to welcome her to the team. Where will she meet us?”

By now Cassandra’s smile was pure honey. “Why, right here silly! And thank you so much for letting me join the team. You’re going to be the best fed crew in Oregon!” She told him, before wrapping him in a massive hug. If it had worked for the munchkin against her, then she surely could use it against Michael, who wasn’t trained to the wiles of little sisters, she decided.

Behind her, Paris was still gold fishing in shock while Cheryl was curled up in hysterics.

“Shit girl! You don’t need any more lessons.” She chortled. “You didn’t even use an eyelash or a little finger! YOU, Girl are THERE!”

Michael may not have been used to little sisters, but he knew when one had been put over on him. He rapidly started to put together his arguments.

“Whoah Cassie! I thought you said it was a Miss Metherick and she was eighteen.”

Cassie proudly pulled out the new creative artwork that they’d collected from Paris’ little friend earlier that afternoon, before showing it to Michael. “I said ‘she showed me her ID and apparently she was eighteen.’” Cassie pointed to the date of birth on the card.

“But what about school?”

“Home-schooling with reputable online courses.” She answered promptly. “The site has internet access. I’ll be able to complete all my schoolwork and have plenty of time to cook and clean. Heck, I’ve been doing much the same for the last year. In fact I’ll be able to do more study. Have you any idea how much time is wasted in school moving between classes?”

“Best of all,” she continued, ticking off points on her fingers, “I’ll be able to help with all the set up and the paperwork at the site. You’ll know that I’m safe. Dad, his scumbag lawyers and Children’s Services won’t be able to find me, and I won’t be putting Kath or Aunt Megan at risk.” She declared. “Michael, it’s the best idea you could have come up with. Thank you!”

To say Michael was unhappy with the idea would be an understatement. However, he had to accept that it solved an awful lot of problems he’d been puzzling over. He also knew just how big a debt he and his family owed to the young girl in front of him. She would never ever mention it, but they both knew it was there.

Michael sighed. “It looks like you’ve thought of everything li’l sis. Except for how to get you out of the city and across state lines without us all going to jail for kidnapping.”

Cassie grinned happily at his capitulation. “Don’t worry Michael. In three weeks I’ll have a plan for that too!”

~o~O~o~

On Saturday Paris escorted Cassie into the offices of Doctor Zeebowski, and then vanished ‘to go shopping’ for a couple of hours. Cassie had wheedled and plotted all week. She’d also made some calls to the Doctor’s clinic, which Cheryl and Paris had been careful not to overhear, and eventually a compromise had been agreed regarding her desire for an orchidectomy.

After being ushered into a treatment room where a nurse collected fluids, Cassie was directed to an ultra-modern office to meet the famous Doctor Zeebowski.

At first sight he looked more like a movie star playing the role, than an actual doctor. Perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect tan, all packaged together in an expensive Italian suit. Even his smile was perfect as he greeted her and got her settled on a couch, a glass and a chilled bottle of water at her side.

“So Miss Metherick, you’re part way through your transition and need to hurry things along. Why, may I ask?” He finally inquired.

“Um, doctor, It’s not so much ‘hurrying things along’ as keeping things on track. I’m about to embark on an extended contract commitment a long way from civilization. The medical services that will be available are likely to be pretty basic, and we strongly suspect that the medical staff might not be very understanding about girls like me, which would seriously set back my progress. It kinda makes sense to get things done here, where I can find the best professional help.” Cassie decided to add that last to try and butter him up a little.

Sure enough, he preened under the compliment. “Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place. My team and I take pride in the quality of services we provide our patients. We can certainly take care of your blood work and pharmaceutical requirements.” He paused for a moment, a perfect frown just creasing his forehead. “I am however, a little concerned about your request for an orchidectomy.”

Cassie smiled widely back at the good doctor, thanking her lucky stars she had thoroughly researched and rehearsed for this question. “As I mentioned, I will be out of reach of reliable and sympathetic medical services for a considerable time. I’m very conscious of the risks of testicular cancer during a prolonged treatment with estrogen and wished to minimize that risk. When the opportunity to see you came up, well, of course I leapt at the chance.” Cassie allowed herself a little giggle. “It’s not as if I planned on any other use for them.”

Doctor Zeebowski smiled and leant forward. “I absolutely understand Miss Metherick and applaud you on your foresight. But you can understand that I have to assure myself that we are adhering to the proper ethical guidelines first.” Cassie had to bite her lip at that, having heard a few juicy stories from Paris. He watched her for a long moment before continuing. “I think I’m happy to proceed, given your unique circumstances.” He finally decided. “Now, if you’d care to return to Nurse Julia, we can get you prepped for the procedure.”

Four hours later, and fourteen thousand dollars poorer, Cassie made the ‘John Wayne walk of shame’ to where Paris’ Mini Cooper was parked on the street. “I’m glad that’s over.” She grumped, trying to ignore the snickers coming from Paris.

“Been there, done that, got the tee. Just wait ’til you have GRS!” Paris chortled heartlessly.

Like her previous summer, Cassandra chafed at her enforced house arrest over the whole of the next week until the stitches came out. However, she did make the most of her down time, helping Cheryl research reputable Comic dealers and the likely value of her paper treasure. Thursday was Cheryl’s day off, so she was finally despatched to do the rounds, the comic safely stowed inside a hard-shell briefcase and wrapped in bubble wrap.

When she returned it was like Tigger had been let loose in the house. “Thirty four THOUSAND freaking dollars!” She plonked herself down on the couch next to Cassandra. “For an ancient comic that cost ten CENTS new? Those guys must be nuts!”

Eventually Cassie and Paris managed to get Cheryl to calm down enough to tell the tale of her foray into the underworld of utter geekdom.

“…and what is it about beards? They all looked like ZZ Top wannabes. And some of them? If they could afford thirty thou plus for a comic, you’d of thought they could afford deodorant! Big style yuck!”

“Don’t knock it Cheryl. Those three hours of putting up with them just earned you fifteen hundred bucks.” Cassie reminded her, causing Cheryl’s jaw to drop.

“Say what? I thought you were kidding!”

“I never joke about money.” Cassie replied straight faced.

At that Paris snorted Diet Pepsi straight out of her nose. “You are way too young to have seen ‘Pretty Woman’!” She tried to mop herself up, “and I am SO charging you for the dry cleaning bill on this outfit.”

When they finally worked out the various bills, and argued over who should pay what, Cassie found herself with a new prepaid debit card loaded with five thousand dollars, a further five thousand in cash, and a new apple laptop loaded with all the trimmings and subscriptions she could ask for. Paris had also advised her to hold back a couple of thousand for essential shopping.

“When you head off with Michael you want to have everything new from the skin out Cassie.” Paris advised her. “Voice of experience honey. Phone’s, laptop, tech, plastic, clothes, makeup. You name it. Take nothing that can link you back to Carl McCarrick, except your fingerprints and DNA.”

Cassandra turned to Cheryl. “You know, I’d love to find out the name of the actor who she had to do that for.” She snerked.

Paris just gave her a look. “It wasn’t a client. It was for me.”

Cassie ducked down on the couch. “Oh God Paris, I’m so sorry!” She apologized profusely.

“Don’t sweat it hun, it’s ancient history now.” Paris shrugged before continuing.

“We also need to sort you with foundation garments. Your own breast enhancers and gaffs. You may not need them, but better to have them and ignore them, than not and miss them. We can pick those up Saturday. You should be healed up enough by then to at least try the gaffs on.” Paris looked down at the rest of their shopping list. “Oh yeah, pick up your prescription, travel bags, some work clothes that will also get you through the winter.”

Cassie interrupted. “Paris, could we also add some dresses please?” She asked hesitantly, still worried about upsetting Paris earlier.

“Sure kiddo. But I didn’t think you’d want to be too smart at a mining camp. What were you thinking?”

“Um, they are adding a church and hall to the workers’ village. I just thought…”

“Sunday best huh?” Paris allowed her gaze to soften. “You can take a girl outta the Bible Belt…” She muttered to herself.

“We can do that hun. We’ll also need to make sure you’ve got a coat, shoes and tights to match.” Then she turned back to the rest of her list.

“Oh yeah. A can of combined Mace and skin dye and a rubber door wedge.” She added them to the list while Cassie looked on in surprise.

“I kinda get the Mace, but the door wedge?”

“You probably won’t be the only person with a key to your room. A wedge gives you enough time to wake up, turn on the light and grab the can kiddo. Absolute life saver, trust me.”

Cassie saw a pained memory in Paris’ face, and decided not to ask her any questions this time.

Cassie also made use of her down time to find a way to be able to get messages from Kath. Eventually she settled on a very discreet Swiss service called ProtonMail. She sat down and wrote Kath a long email, telling her as much as she could about what had happened and what she expected to happen. That took her an hour. The next two hours were spent trying to get up the courage to hit send.

‘Had she been fooling herself thinking that Kath might accept her transition like Michael had done? Would she hate Cassie even more for just dumping her with Aunt Megan, then running away rather than staying to protect her? Did Kath even believe that the rest of their family had even committed those crimes? Cassie had made a point of not letting Kath see any of the evidence. Was Brian already lying and putting pressure on Kath and Aunt Megan to send her home? Was he going to try and get at Cassie through Kath?’ Even as her thoughts swirled in a chaotic jumble of doubts and fears, Cassie realized that the only way to resolve them would be to find out. And that meant letting Kath get in touch. Finally, with her heart in her mouth, Cassie hit send.

The next afternoon Cheryl came home from work to hear sobbing coming from Cassie’s room. She found her curled up on the bed hugging her laptop.

“What’s wrong hun? What’s upset you?” She asked as she joined Cassie on the bed.

Cassie turned the screen towards her. “Kath wrote me back,” was all she could squeeze out.

Cheryl turned her attention back to the screen, terrified that she would find the same sort of poisonous filth she had seen all too often from Paris’ parents and siblings. As she read a long slow sigh escaped from her lips.

“She loves you Cassandra. She accepts you for you. Did you see where she told you that she had guessed some of it before you even told her? She’s even forgiven you for leaving her, once Aunt Megan sat down and explained the risks, and then your… parent started making threats and demands. She’s angry. But only because you didn’t tell her what you were planning, and then, when you left her to worry herself sick, because you didn’t get in touch.” Cheryl reached out with a tissue. “She loves you Cassie. You’re her big sister and she doesn’t want to lose you.”

The third time Michael showed up he had a further update about how the case against the McCarrick males was going. The DA hadn’t felt they had enough evidence to convict Brian McCarrick for the battery with GBI charge, despite the video. Investigators couldn’t put him at the scene of the attack and nothing on the footage nailed him as knowing exactly what was planned. He’d claimed he thought the boys had only gotten into a fight when they came home after. As a result the DA had accepted a plea bargain for ‘contributing to the delinquency of a minor’ and ‘obstruction of justice’ with an eighteen month sentence, eligible for parole in twelve.

They all agreed it wasn’t fair or just, but at least it would be long enough for Aunt Megan to get custody of Kath without any chance of it being contested. More worrying was Michael’s other news.

“Marty Johansson’s big brother and a few of his friends have been seen cruising around your old neighborhood. They’ve been asking around after you.” Cassie could see the worry in his eyes.

“Then it’s a good job I’ll never be going back there, isn’t it?”

Michael agreed. “Yeah, but they might get a lead on Pasadena and your Aunt Megan.”

The color drained from Cassie’s face. “Oh my god! We have to warn them! We need to get there and protect Kath and Aunty Meg!”

Michael caught both her hands as she tried to get up. “Calm down little sis. It’s already done. The Pasadena PD have also been advised. Your aunt and Kath are as safe as we can make them… and a lot safer without any sightings of you popping up in the area. Much as I hate to admit it, your staying away is the best way to keep them safe for now.”

Once Cassie settled back down, Michael changed the subject. “Now, have you had time to come up with a plan that gets you out of town and across the State line, without any of us going to jail, ‘Little Miss S3 Plans’?”

After looks of bewilderment around the table Michael was forced to explain the nickname and its military background. “Sheesh! That fell flat.” He ruefully declared. “Anyway, have you got a plan?”

“Yep!” Cassie announced, her grin returning.

“Well, go on.” Michael mock growled. ”Or do I have to tickle it out of you?”

Cassie giggled. “You park up outside and come in for a coffee with Paris and Cheryl before heading off to the wilds of Oregon. I sneak out the back door and hide my bags in your pickup, then catch a cab to Union Station. I catch the Amtrak Thruway to Bakersfield, taking lots of selfies on the way showing me alone, footloose and fancy free. Then you pick me up three hours later, near Bakersfield station, and away from any CCTV we can spot. Then we drive north as planned, but take the 395 through the dinky little town of New Pine Creek right on the State Line. You stop at the gas station south of the State Line road to fill up, while I cross the road and head for the post office. Ten minutes later you come pick me up at the post office. Easy!”

Michael thought about it for a bit. “I’m not sure it meets the spirit of the law, but it certainly seems to address the letter. Yeah, I can live with that.”

The last few days in Silver Lake were bitter sweet for Cassandra. She’d grown to love both Paris and Cheryl and was awed by their love and open heartedness. She knew she owed them more than she could ever repay. The morning she was due to leave was a long crying fest for all three of them, interspersed by Cassie panicking that she hadn’t packed and planned everything. In the end she was glad when she softly closed the back door behind her, her heart couldn’t have taken any more.

She stowed her bags under the carefully unsecured tarpaulin on Michaels’ pickup, just as her cab arrived.

“Union Station please.”

~o~O~o~

When Cassandra stepped out of the cab into the bustle of Union Station, she realized that it was the first time she had ever been out on her own. For the last three weeks Cheryl or Paris had always been at her side, guiding and protecting her as they took her shopping or to the Doctor’s. With their escort, her confidence had steadily grown that she didn’t look like the freak her Grampa had branded her. That she passed, and, while not beautiful, looked no different from the dozens of teen girls around her. But now she had no protectors to whisk her away should anyone start pointing at her, or if the police tried to arrest her for being a runaway. Cassandra shivered for a moment.

Then she tossed back her head and stuck her chin in the air. The last time Carl had been alone had been on that horrible journey from Pasadena back into downtown LA; running from the nightmare of home. This time, Cassandra decided, she wasn’t running from anything. She was running towards her future. She made sure her purse was safely across her body and stepped confidently into the mayhem.

“One way to Bakersfield please.” Cassandra asked nervously at the Amtrak Thruway kiosk.

The ticket operator didn’t even look up at her. “Seventeen forty.”

She slipped a fifty through the slot.

“You got anything smaller?”

Cassandra rummaged in her purse for a moment, blushing with embarrassment. “Um, sorry, no.” She squeaked.

The operator rolled his eyes as he made a production of making her change, before handing it to her with her ticket. “Here you go. Next bus in fifteen. Bay seven.”

“Um, thank you?” She offered, but his attention was already on the next customer.

It took her five minutes to find the bus, so she decided it’d be best to go use the restroom before setting off.

For a public restroom it wasn’t too bad, but Cassandra wasn’t to know that. She’d built up this image in her head that they’d be all clean and neat and perfumed, unlike the Men’s. She wrinkled her nose as she discovered that reality was a bit of a let-down. Cassandra quickly scuttled into a stall and did her business, terrified someone would look over the stall door. Then she took a few moments to make sure her outfit was straight and done up before heading for the line of faucets; to discover that both paper towels and hand dryers seemed to be missing. Surreptitiously she wiped her hands down the legs of her jeans as she headed back out to the bus. Cassandra huffed to herself. ’So much for sugar and spice!’.
The three hour ride on the bus was just about bearable. Cassandra had made a point of sitting up front near the driver and next to the aisle, as Paris had advised her. “It won’t mean you aren’t hit on. But it should discourage any guy getting too handy. Don’t sit next to the window where you can be trapped in. As soon as you sit down dig out a school book and keep your head down.” Cassandra had listened carefully to her words of wisdom at the time. She now prayed desperately that they’d work.

Fortunately, the bus wasn’t too busy, so Cassandra still had the seat next to her free by the time they pulled out of the station. For the next three hours she was alone with her thoughts, and an introduction to calculus.

Bakersfield station was a lot smaller than Cassandra had expected. She stepped down and gratefully stretched before re-slinging her purse and backpack. She looked around for a moment to get her bearings, then started heading towards the main station entrance when she heard a truck horn beep sharply once. A glance spotted Michael parked off to one side, so she quickly changed direction and bounded over with a huge smile.

“You Miss Metherick? I’ve been expecting you. I’m your new boss, Mike Braybrooke.” Michael looked around theatrically. “Where’s your bags?”

Cassandra formally stuck out her hand with a grin. “Cassie Metherick Mister Braybrooke. Someone’s already arranged for my bags to get there.”

“Well jump in. We got a way to go.” Even as she was buckling up Michael was already pulling out into the traffic.

Michael finally turned to her once they had settled into the traffic through Downtown Bakersfield. “So how as it? You didn’t have any problems did you Cassie?”

Cassie shook her head. “Exactly as we planned. Although I never want to look at that book again!” She snorted.

“Huh? Book?”

Cassandra giggled at Michael’s expression, then explained Paris’ rules for traveling on a bus alone.

Michael looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yeah, I can see how that would work. I guess it’s one of those things that guys never think about.” He paused, and gave Cassandra a stern look. “It’s also something you are going to have to learn real quick.”

A couple of hours later Michael pulled off the I-5 and parked up alongside a Subway. Cassie had hardly noticed the time passing as she listened avidly to Michael telling her more stories from his time in the Sandbox. Usually the ones he hadn’t wanted to write down, knowing her Mom might read them. As an added bonus she found herself being reintroduced to many of the members of his squad and company that would be joining them up in Oregon.

“I need a break Cassie.” He groaned as he tried to straighten his back. “This truck wasn’t built for cruising the Interstate. Let’s grab a bite.

Over a shared sub Michael laid out their route. “We’ll stay on the I-5 up to Redding. That’ll take us ’til eight tonight. We’ll find a motel for the night then take the 299 in the morning. We should make it to New Pine Creek about eleven. Then it’s time for your hot shoe shuffle over the State line. Then we have about six hours to Vale, Oregon where we’re meeting the guys. Should be there in time for chow.”

Cassie did some quick math in her head. “Uh, Michael? I make us arriving about five?”

“Time zone change kiddo, add an hour.” He grinned. “Okay, let’s hit the restrooms and then hit the road. We need to have a conversation.”

Once they were back in the road Michael turned off the radio. “So Cassie, we need to decide what to tell the guys… and what to tell everyone else.”

Cassandra bit her lip for a moment. “What have you told them so far?” She asked.

Michael shrugged. “That I’d arranged for support staff to take care of the domestic side of the operation. And that she was related to me, so if anyone tried to get fresh I’d tear them a new asshole. There wasn’t much time to tell them anything else. To be honest, everyone was so pleased not to be stuck on KP duty that they didn’t ask questions.”

“Most of them have seen pictures of me, I mean Carl, haven’t they?”

“I guess. How do you want to play this?”

“Do you think any of them will have an issue with me if we tell the truth?”

Michael paused at that. “Thinking about it, probably not. None of the guys I served with where from Deep South, tub thumping country. The only one who I thought might be a problem was Hector Ruiz. You know, all Latino machismo and that?” He glanced across to catch Cassie’s nod. “But when he was introduced to Brandon and Norm, and they came out and told everyone they were a couple, he just shrugged. It’s your call, but I’d go for honesty myself.”

“I guess you’re right. It’d be a shit storm if we lied and they found out later.”

Michael laughed. “Yep, but young ladies don’t say ’shit storm’ missy!”

Cassie tried to copy Kath’s ’sweet, innocent and sorry’ look. “Sorry Uncle Michael.” She cooed with her eyes downcast.

“Huh? Wah?”

Cassie couldn’t keep her face straight for more than a moment and burst into peals of laughter.

Michael grinned and shook his head. “You had me there.” He exclaimed ruefully. Then his face took on a thoughtful expression.

“Hmmm, you know, that might not be a bad idea.” He muttered and lapsed into thought.

“What might not be a bad idea?” Cassie finally asked after Michael had been quiet for what felt like ages. She nervously wondered if her teasing might be about to backfire on her.

“Well, what we tell the team is one thing. But I think we need a different story for everyone else on the site.” Michael explained. “You can’t be my sister with that ID. They know we just left the military so ‘wife’ won’t work. I’ve spoken to a few guys who have worked these sites and ‘girlfriend’ is a real bad idea. A lot of the single guys won’t stop hitting on you… and won’t take no for an answer. That leaves cuz, or niece. If you’re my niece I can get away with being a strict S.O.B. keeping you safe, and also punching the sh.. bejesus out of anyone who gets fresh, without anyone getting any ideas.”

They pushed on into the early evening. Stopping occasionally for comfort breaks and gas. By now Cassandra was beginning to feel the day catching up on her, even though she’d spent most of it sitting down. After stopping at a Denny’s for dinner, they found a Motel 6 just south of the junction with the 299.

“You stay with the truck Cassie. Keep an eye on the bags. I’ll go and get us a couple of rooms.”

“Wouldn’t it be cheaper to share?” She asked. Then blushed when Michael raised an eyebrow.

“With my niece? Who, despite that fancy ID, is still only fourteen?”

“Um, I’ll keep an eye on the bags then.” Cassie mumbled.

Twenty minutes later the truck was unloaded. “Get an early night Cassie. I’ll come by and collect you at seven, then we’ll head out for breakfast. We’ll see if we can find a Mom and Pop diner on the 299 okay?”

“Sure Michael. I’ll see you in the morning.” Cassandra smiled up at him cheerfully.

He reached over and gave her a quick hug. “G’night then kiddo.”

He turned and went into his room, leaving her standing in the corridor alone. Cassandra finally turned to her room, angrily cuffing away the start of a tear as she did so. ‘He’s my big bro, or Uncle even, nothing more,’ Cassandra told herself as she sadly pulled the door closed behind her.

~o~O~o~

Cassandra found crossing the State line a massive let down. She had built up this fearsome image in her mind, sorta like the attempted escape in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, and was looking everywhere for State Troopers and cameras. In the end, Michael just pulled into the gas station south of the State line road, while Cassie walked up to the post office on the other side. She had just finished paying for a lame picture postcard of New Pine Creek from the air when his truck honked once from outside the store. That was the high point of their day. The 395 gave way to the 20 as they drove onwards. Cassie tried to entertain herself by trying to spot the place names on the SatNav as they drove through. More often they’d be past the two shacks and (perhaps) a gas station before she realized those were the ‘towns’ of Valley Falls or Riley.

She’d thought she had been stretching the truth when she told Doctor Zeebowski that they’d be a long way from civilization. Now she wasn’t so sure. For a child who grew up in LA, the vast desolate spaces she saw rolling past her window were intimidating.

When they finally pulled into the motel in Vale, Michael was quick to point out a couple of trucks and cars he recognized as belonging to other members of the squad.

“Tony’s here. I could spot his ride a mile away. Not looking so spiffy now!” He chuckled. Tony Rossetti’s Ford Ranger, with its custom silver and blue paint job was his pride and joy, but the thick dust of the road had left it looking distinctly old and drab.

“Um, I think that’s Wayne’s, and that might by Eric’s.” Michael scanned the rest of the lot. “No problem, I’ll give them a call and see who’s here. Let’s grab our rooms and clean up first kiddo.”

As with last night, Michael got them separate rooms, and Cassie took the opportunity to snatch a quick shower before taking her time to get ready for the meeting with the rest of the team. She knew many of them, if only from pictures and stories. They’d also seen pictures of her when they thought she was Carl. Cassandra struggled to decide how to present herself.

‘Not too girly, they needed to know she was here to work and up to the job. Enough of a girl not to be mistaken for Carl. Not vampy or OTT like some drag queen. Just normal.’

But even as she picked through her choices her nerves turned her stomach into a writhing knot.

‘What was normal for a girl like her? Or normal for a mining and processing facility in the middle of nowhere? Or normal to meet a bunch of former marines? What if they didn’t want her near them? Hell, even if one of them was nasty it would be too easy to call the cops and get her shipped back to LA, while Michael could end up facing federal charges. She would have to hope Michael could get her away in time before the cops arrived’. Cassandra jumped at the knock on her door.

“Cassie? You ready in there? I’ve got us all a private meeting room before we head over to the diner for chow.” Michael called out.

With her heart in her throat Cassandra grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

“Afternoon, glad to see you’ll could get here.” Michael waved down the good-natured jeers as he ushered Cassie into the meeting room. ”’Kay guys, settle down. This is Cassie Metherick who’s going to be running our logistics ops.” Nine pairs of eyes bored into Cassandra. “She’s used to cooking for bottomless pits. I also have it on good authority she bakes a mean cookie!”

“Not as good as the ‘Cookie Monsters’!” A voice called out from the back of the room to an assortment of cheers.

Cassandra quickly spotted the heckler and looked closely. The hair was longer but… yeah, that was Jordan Rose. Feeling very brave she spoke up. “You sure about that Jordan? You still like gingerbread men? I guess we could do ties for senior management and white hard hats for supervisors. What do you think?”

The room fell silent.

Near the front the two new guys looked confused by the sudden change of atmosphere. “Uh, guys? Something going on here we should know about?”

“Yeah, there is Brandon.” Michael answered as he moved to the front of the room. “You may have heard the rest of us talk about two kids that adopted the squad out in the Sandbox? Even when they were having their own problems at home?”

Brandon nodded. “Yeah… Cool kids.” There were mutters of agreement around the room.

“Well the rest of their story since then is a damn sight nastier.” Now eyes began to narrow around him. Marines look after their own and the ‘Cookie Monsters’ were theirs. “I told you all about my kid brother, Charlie? And his attack?” Again thoughtful nods answered his question, wondering how the two went together.

“Our cookie monsters have been running an undercover surveillance op on the scumbags targeting Charlie for over a year. They managed to feed him enough intel to keep him safe all year. Then, when they were away for a few days, the fuckers struck.” The anger in the room was now palpable. “When our two got back they wanted justice. They quickly gathered enough evidence to put those sick fuckers away for a long time, and then they ran.” Michael sighed. “They had to run, the scumbags were their father and two older brothers, among others.”

“Jeeezus fucking Christ Mike! Where are they? Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?” Eric Carr all but shouted at him.

“Sit down Eric! Let me finish first. Okay!” Michael demanded, then waited until the room had settled before continuing. “Carl kept Kath away from the evidence to keep her safe. Made sure everything pointed to him so he was the only target they’d go after.”

“Holy fuck!” Wayne Bass whispered.

Michael pressed on. “He extracted Kath to a safe location, and a family member who could be trusted. Then, realizing if he stayed with her, he’d bring the attack dogs down on all of them, so he ran again. He dropped off his evidence with the cops and only then did he call for back-up… He called me.”

“Then why the fuck aren’t you with him! That kid’s one of ours dammit!” Eric demanded.

“Eric! For fucks sake let me finish! Remember I said the kid was undercover? He had to be to survive in that household. ‘Carl’ was the cover, an alias. Our cookie monster’s real name is Cassandra, or Cassie for short. Right now she can’t go anywhere near her old home. Some of the other scumbags have their family out hunting for her; while the cops will just use her, then dump her on Children’s Services. You can guess what would happen if either of them find her.” A couple of the guys nodded, their faces pinched with their own memories of being in ’care’ as kids. “So… I brought her with me.”

Nine pairs of eyes swung towards Cassandra.

Then the murmurs started.

“No freaking way!”

“What the fu…”

“You’re saying she’s jailbait?”

Hector Ruiz was the first to pluck up enough courage to ask Cassandra a question directly. “You used to be a guy? Carl?”

Cassie took a deep breath under the inquisitive stares of the rest of the team as she ransacked her memory for stories about Hector Ruiz. “Hector, yeah, I pretended to be Carl.” She paused for a moment, keeping her attention firmly on Hector. “But that’s not the question you should be asking.”

Hector’s face wrinkled in confusion.

“You should be asking, ‘Can I learn to make Chicken Burrito’s like your Mom’s?’”

At that the rest of the team erupted in laughter. They’d put up with Hector complaining for a year in the Sandbox every time he opened a number sixteen MRE, with its deceptively named ‘Chicken Burrito Bowl’ and plastic ‘tortilla’. Cassie waited until they settled back down, then grinned. “Or you really should be asking, ‘Have I still got the picture of Hoover licking all the Reddi-wip off you?’ You know the one? Where Hoover has his tongue up your…”

Hector blanched and turned to Michael in accusation. “You said you’d deleted it! I saw you! You fucking promised!” He demanded.

“That was after I’d emailed the cookie monsters. They thought it was real cute man. Hey! I don’t have a copy. You’d best just ask Cassie nicely I guess.” Michael shrugged, then turned serious again.

“So guys. You know Cassie found us this gig. You know she wrote up most of the OpPlan. I know she can cook. I’ve told you she’s in serious danger back in LA, even from Children’s Services. Anyone got a problem with keeping her safe with us? Anyone got an issue with a trans-girl?”

Cassandra held her breath as the team turned their attention firmly back to her.

Wayne Bass stuck his hand up. “I thought Carl… Cassie was only like fourteen?”

Cassandra pulled her new ID out of her purse and passed it over. “This says I’m eighteen.”

Norman Lejman, one of the new guys and Brandon’s partner, was next. “Hell, There’s no way I’m going to say anything against being trans. That’s cool with me. But are we gonna have to split the pot eleven ways now ’stead of ten? And what about our upfront stake money? Is that gonna go up? I had to stretch to make the three grand man.”

Cassandra waved to Michael that she would take this. “In the budget there’s twelve thou a year set aside for cleaning and cooking services. I get that, so there’s no change to your slice. As for stake money,” she reached into her purse and pulled out a thick bundle of fifty dollar bills and dropped it on the table. “Here’s mine.”

Michael stepped back in. “Any more questions? Or are we cool with our support team? I want a show of hands guys. All in favor?”

After a few moments of shared glances hands started to go up. Cassandra counted nervously. ’…three, five, six, seven… a pause, eight…’ She let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as the last hand went up.

“I’ve got a question.” Eric Carr, the squad’s joker, asked as everyone relaxed.

Michael sighed, knowing that Cassie’s razzing was about to start. “Go on Eric.”

“So, if we’re all miners now, doesn’t that make Cassie ‘Snow White’?” He pointed out with a grin.

Michael turned to Cassie. She’d have to deal with this herself if she was to hold her own with the team going forwards.

He wasn’t disappointed.

“Gee Eric, I never took you for being vertically challenged. You looked bigger in the pictures. Did your boots have lifts or something?” She pressed on through the laughter. “Of course, if you call me Snow White, I guess y’all will need names too… and I promise they won’t be ones Disney would consider family friendly.”

“Let me think now.” She stared at the ceiling tapping her chin for a moment. “How about… ‘Droopy’, ‘Drippy’, ’Tiny’, ‘Wonky’ and ‘Early’. Then there’s ‘Stiffy’, ‘Whiffy’, ‘Hairy’, ‘Fugly’ and ‘Bong’. Any preferences Eric?” Cassandra asked with a sugary sweet smile as she fluttered her eyelashes.

The room fell apart in a gale of laughter.

“Cookie One, Eric Nil!”

“Whoowee! Long time since I’ve seen Joker got the better of.”

“I’m claiming ‘Bong’!”

Michael just stood there with his mouth hanging open. ‘What happened to the scared young kid he’d introduced to Paris only a month ago?’