Chapter 44: Consolidating Efforts

Lunch is good but I just can’t do it justice like I would have done had I still been Chris. Andy and I join a bunch of the other kids in the shade of a tree as we enjoy the available food. The conversation is light and humorous. There’s a lot of conversation about school–including parodies of some of their favorite, or not so favorite, teachers and fellow students. I have to constantly remind myself that I need to act like an outsider as I catch myself more than once about to contribute to the stories. When we’re done with the food, Andy puts his arm around me as we listen to the banter. I find it comfortable to lean my head against his shoulder.

Andy is generally quiet during this conversation but several of the other girls manage to draw him into the discussion from time to time. A couple of them, Caitlin included, have a slightly predatory look in their eyes when they look at him. I think some of the guys are a little jealous. Andy seems oblivious to the fact that he’s become a babe magnet as he only has eyes for me. I suspect that that’s part of the appeal. It’s hard to find a kind, devoted boyfriend. It’s definitely nice to snuggle up to him even though it is a hot day.

Dan seems to be going out of his way to befriend Andy as well.  Most of the other guys seem to warm to him once they begin to get over their jealousy. Only Ben seems standoffish. I suspect that he has a major crush on me and is having a strong bout of jealousy. I really hope he gets over it soon.

One of the guys asks, “Hey, Laurie, when’s Chris coming back? He’s going to be sorry that he missed this summer. He’s been trying to get us working out together off season for a long time now.”

“Yeah,” Dan pipes up, “It took his female equivalent to make it happen.”

“Not for another month,” Laurie sighs.

“I’ve been emailing him,” Dan says, “He seems to be having a good time at camp but he misses you.”

“He said that to you?” Laurie asks eagerly.

“Yeah,” Dan replies, “He did. He hopes you’ll still remember him when he gets back.”

“Lucky girl,” I hear one girl comment under her breath to her neighbor. “But she’s probably happy that he’s gone so her cousin doesn’t steal him. That’d be a regular mess.”

The conversation moves on to talk about tomorrow’s race, the fall running season, and how well positioned the team will be. I’m glad that Dan piped up and reassured Laurie about my commitment to her. Somehow it sounds better coming from him than it does from Tina.

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The rest of the afternoon is spent just hanging out, waterskiing, and playing volleyball. The beach is crowded so it’s hard to spot the princess protection detail. I do see them on a couple of occasions scanning the beach with what appear to be powerful binoculars. Idly, I wonder what wild life they’re recording in their bird watching books.

Andy and I take a turn at the waterskiing.  I’m hesitant–given my monthly predicament–but Laurie assures me that real girls don’t let that get them down. She proves to be right and I have fun on the skis. I actually get a little bolder this time and try to jump the wake which results in a wild wipe out. Andy proves to be very adept at it though he’s never tried before. With coaching from Caitlin–who is also driving the boat–he picks it up quickly. Unfortunately, his turn comes to an end before he’s ready to quit. Caitlin promises to take us sometime when there are less people to share the boat with.

All too soon, the party starts to break up in late afternoon. It’s been a great day. At the end of the afternoon, everyone remaining helps with the clean up as well as thanking the senior Sommers for the party.

The end result for Andy is that he now has a lot more friends. He seems happy to be emerging out of his shell. Somehow I don’t think that he’ll be able to fade into the woodwork during his upcoming senior year. My heart becomes sad wondering what impact the likely outcome of the investigation will have on him and his mother. I hope it doesn’t undo all the good work that’s happened today.

“Tina,” Andy asks on the drive home–I opted to ride back with him, go figure–, “Do you want to try going to the Harry Potter movie tonight?”

“Sorry, Andy,” I reply regretfully, “I’ve got the race early tomorrow morning and I can’t afford another late night.” Not to mention that I need time to snoop around his home network: I’m beginning to feel guilty about that. I’ve decided to stay away from his personal computer activity and focus just on his father’s–for the most part. I’m still undecided about snooping in his mother’s email since I might be able to help her if I know what she’s thinking.

“Why don’t you come over and hang out at my Aunt’s house for a little,” I suggest. “We can try posting some of today’s images on my website. I haven’t added much lately.” Andy has been busy with his camera today so I’m sure we have lots to post.  I made sure that we got a few pictures of the two of us together as well–which should cool the jets of some of my Alaskan admirers. Yes, I’ve heard from them too in recent weeks.

After dropping me off at home, he hurries to his home to take care of a few chores before returning. This gives me time to clean up and do my part around the house. When he gets back we spend an hour or so remotely updating my website on his server. We’ve got some good pictures. My favorite is one of us facing off at the volleyball net–Laurie took that one using his camera. We have another of us sitting on the stern of the ski boat with his arm around me. Much to my chagrin, he insisted on posting a well timed shot of me wiping out on skis. I have to admit that it is pretty funny. Laurie and Aunt Jen get a big kick going through the pictures of the day.  I got a couple of good ones of Laurie posing in her bikini on the beach. I suggest that she email them to Chris, but she appears to be shy about it.

“This has been a great weekend, Tina,” Andy tells me when I see him to the door, “Thanks for making it so special.”

I press my body to his as I wrap my arms around his neck, “Thanks for being such a great guy,” I respond before giving him the most intense kiss I can muster.

“What time do you get off tomorrow?” I ask.

“Actually not until late. We don’t close until eight on Sundays,” he replies. “I had to agree to work the entire day tomorrow to get today off.”

“Call me when you get off,” I request. “Maybe we can find an opening in the calendar early in the week.”

“I’d like that,” he says before giving my final good night kiss. I linger on the porch as he drives away.

It’s getting too late to go find a place to check on the network so I just head back inside to get ready for bed. I really do want to be rested for tomorrow’s race.

Laurie is waiting for me in my room when I return.

“You really like that guy, don’t you?” she asks watching me intently.

“Yeah,” I say dreamily, “I guess I do.”

“I have to admit,” she continues, “you two make a beautiful couple. I know that a couple of the guys are disappointed that you’ve been snapped up so fast. Ben was asking me today how serious you guys are. I told him to just take a look and answer that question for himself. I think he’s got a major crush on you.

“And most of the girls are envious. You seem to have it all. You make everyone one around you feel like they want to be better people, you’re bright, you have an awesome boyfriend and you can run like the wind. It’s like you can’t do anything wrong, but at the same time you’re so humble and unassuming.

“And speaking of your boyfriend, Andy treats you with respect and kindness. He’s quite attentive and mature. That’s rare in a high school boy. To add to the list, he’s actually pretty good looking once he comes out into the open. You could coach him a little on style, but he cleans up nice. He reminds me an awful lot of Chris.”

“Maybe that’s why we get along so well,” I suggest. “Not that I’m all those things, but maybe we’d be destined to be friends no matter what gender I am since our personalities are so well matched.”

“Maybe,” she allows. “And another thing, you two looked like an old couple in the way that you’re secure in your relationship. You’re tactile but not all over each other all the time like some new couples we’ve seen at school. Neither one of you is clingy. I wonder if Chris and I are like that?”

“I think so,” I reply, “from what I remember anyway. It seems so long ago and in a galaxy far, far away.”

“I know what you’re saying,” she replies with a sigh. “I can’t wait until he returns–hopefully before we forget how we were.

“Tina,” she continues, “are you really okay with the way things are going? I mean, you really seem to be getting into the role. Are you forgetting how to be Chris? I know that I don’t see you that way right now.”

“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. Is Chris still in here somewhere? “For now, I’m not worrying about the future. I guess I know that Tina will only be around a few more weeks so I’ve let go of Chris for now and am just trying to enjoy every minute of being Tina.”

“Do you want to go back?” she questions me with an intense look. That’s really a good question.

“I’m trying to not think too hard about that,” I reply. “Sure, there are lots of things I miss about being a guy and I have a lot more history being a guy. I’m sure I’ll make the transition back just fine once I shed this female body and its hormones, but I think I’ll always miss some of the things about being a girl, just like I miss some things about being a guy now.  No one can have it both ways at the same time so I’m destined to always be missing something. It’s like we only get part of the package and we need someone else in our lives to make us whole. In my case, I’ve tasted both sides and have found things I really like about both but I’ll never be able to have both.”

“Do you think there’s any hope for me and Chris?” she asks with anticipation in her voice.

“Yeah, I do,” I reassure her. “But it may take a week or two for him to readjust. Please be patient.”

With that, she gives me a big hug and says, “I certainly hope you’re right.”

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I’m really glad this race is starting at eight o’clock. It’s already seventy degrees and the temperature is rising quickly. It’s supposed to hit 104 ° by lunch time. It’ll be a great day to be indoors or in a pool.

I’m ready for this race. Yesterday was relaxing and I got a fairly decent rest last night.  The good news is that my period is starting to abate just a little. The bad news is that it’s still with me. Since the race is relatively local, Laurie has come to cheer us on. I’m glad to have her along as we haven’t had much time together. Granted we did pick up Caitlin along the way, but at least we’re together.

Yep, Killer is also running the race. Laurie spots her first. What do you bet that she’s also running the 5k event and she won’t be too far from me? It’s a short race so maybe I can give Helen a run for her money. I wonder where the two guys are. I can’t imagine much trouble here as the race is sponsored by the Sheriff’s department and the entire local SWAT team is also here to run the 10k race. Not to mention that the first part of the race circles the county prison. It seems like it’d be foolish to try getting crazy here.

Our team is represented by five of us girls and four of the guys in the 5k race. Dan and Ben are doing the 10k event as is Mrs. Harrison. This week we’re more fortunate in our starting order, being near the front of the pack when the starting gun fires, which is good for a 5k race since it is more of a sprint than the 10k. The course is flat and winds through a neighborhood. It is going to be a fast race.

It’s not long after the start that our group begins to spread out. Caitlin stays with me as we loop around the prison but then she drops back, unable to sustain the pace. Once we get clear of the main pack, the way is fairly clear. There are at least a couple dozen really fit individuals ahead of me and pulling away. I hang with the lead pack of women throughout most of the race. There are a fair number of people out watching the race–mostly where the race passes through the residential neighborhood.  I suspect that it’s mostly bored residents.

There are a couple of girls my age who look determined to beat the rest of us and I just hang on their shirt tails until the last half kilometer then I pour on the gas to out-sprint them to the finish. I’m surprised to actually be the fastest woman there–I think all the really fast women must be running the 10k race. I’m not surprised that Helen comes in just behind me.  It was nice of her to let me win.  She won her age category anyway.  I recover fairly quickly and have just caught my breath sufficiently to cheer Caitlin as she finishes only a couple of minutes behind me.  She knocked over a minute off her time from last week so she’s feeling pretty good about the race.

“Great job, Caitlin,” I congratulate her enthusiastically with a hug after she crosses the line. It takes a little while for her to get her breath back. She seems excited that I beat all the other women.

“How do you do it?” she gasps.

“Training,” I respond with a grin. “You’re improving nicely but you’d do better if you showed up for intervals.” I don’t think I’ll mention the genetic manipulation that came with my sex change–that certainly helps!  You know, though, the more I think about it I’m starting to feel a bit guilty about my genetic advantage. It’s kinda like cheating in a way.  It’s a good thing these races aren’t part of a series or anything important like that then I’d really feel bad.

“Whatever,” she replies offhandedly. “I think you’re just born to run.”

Much like last week, the girls I beat look confused. You can tell what’s on their minds: ‘where did this girl come from?’ I take the time to introduce myself and congratulate them on a good race. Once again, they seem more than a little relieved that I’m not going to be around for the school running season.

One of the problems with being one of the first in is that you have a lot of time to kill before the awards ceremony.  Fortunately, they have provided lots to drink and some healthy snacks to reenergize us runners while we wait. The Sherriff’s department is making a party out of this much like last week’s organizers so there are a few things to do.  It’s starting to get hot when the last of the 10k racers straggle in almost an hour later.  Fortunately the awards ceremony is reasonably short and we’re on our way home before too long. We drop Caitlin off at her house on the way home. She’s working this afternoon and evening.

Laurie and I have the rest of the day to ourselves until Andy gets off work later in the evening. Several hours are spent in chores around the house, checking Chris’s email and the like. Not a lot of new information in the email pile. In fact, it seems that Chris’s email is tapering off as the summer progresses. The same seems to be true of the email from Alaska.  Only Joey from Alaska and Laurie and Dan from California are hanging in there–aside from family and pseudo-family that is.

Dan hardly mentions Tina in his email this week. The only comment is in reference to the fact that she’s found herself a boyfriend but there are a few guys who hope that it doesn’t last.

Chris received an interesting email from his sister Tiff. She tells him/me that work is going well and that she got talked into lunch this week with a geek programmer type who turned out to be remarkably interesting. In my return email, I tell her that she needs to be patient with geeks. I get the feeling that she’d be open to another lunch with the guy. It’s kind of fun keeping her in the dark about my true identity.

Grabbing my Chris laptop I head to the library to use their wireless network. Laurie decides to join me. The library is almost deserted; everyone must be out enjoying the summer–even with the heat wave.

Settling into my favorite carrel, I begin poking around in the Lang’s network. Everybody’s computer is up but they all seem to be idle. An email from Mr. Rana continues to pressure Dr. Lang for the report. Fortunately there is no mention of me. The email also has a contact number for his prepaid “entertainment” in Washington. I hope the FBI is following up on this.

Mrs. Lang must have had a good conversation with her sister, because she thanks her for the advice. She’ll be holding off on the split until she has definitive information which will give her a strong case. The hope is to discourage her husband from putting up a fight.

Andy had been busy this morning; he posted a bunch more images on his website from yesterday’s beach party. It should go without saying that a few of them feature me. You know, I have to admit that I am pretty hot in a bikini.  So is Laurie from the couple of images that she’s in as well.

I’m just getting ready to delve more into his hard drive when my concentration is broken by a cheery voice.

“Hey, kid,” Steph greets me, “checking up on anyone I know?” This woman must live at the library.

I close the lid of my laptop quickly. “What are you doing here?” I ask in surprise.

“Oh,” she says, “don’t quit on my account. I just thought this would be a good time for our getting-to-know-each-other session. I’ve got a few questions I’d like to ask you. Do you mind relocating to one of the group study rooms?”

I’m not sure if I have a lot of choice, but there are few things I’d like to ask her as well. I grab my computer and follow her into the study room. Laurie is already there. So is Helen. Steph closes the door behind me.

“So,” she begins, “how are my two favorite teen agents?”

“Fine,” Laurie responds eyeing her warily.

“What do you want to know?” I ask.

“Well,” she replies, “we really need to learn all the facets of this investigation so that we’re not competing with one another. It helps to gather all the facts together in one place so we’ve taken on the investigation with the able assistance of Major Jeffers’ unit. I take it that you know Private Clawson already.”

“Yeah,” I reply keeping my answers short with a quick smile at Helen, “we’re running partners.”

“Okay,” she obviously notes the chill in the conversation. “I’ll go first and tell you some of what we know so far. Tina, you are a mystery to us. Nobody can figure out where you came from, but your background is probably not relevant to the investigation beyond assuring us that we can trust you. I suspect that you’re not going to alleviate the mystery any further than what the Lab people have told us so I don’t intend to pursue that right now, however if you care to enlighten me, I’m all ears. Your true identity has us intrigued but we have it on the most irrefutable authority that you are to be trusted. It has Mr. Rana intrigued also–in fact, he’s wasting a lot of resources trying to answer just that question–which is making him easier to track. I’d say that he’s becoming obsessed with finding out who Tina Jeffers really is, and we thank you for that. We’re uncovering a lot of his contacts as a result.

“We also know that you’ve talked someone into leaving out false classified documents in unsecured areas to simulate a breach of security in an effort to either prove or disprove the presence of a leak in the Lab’s security team. We’d like to know who it is that’s helping you, but again, that’s information which is not really essential to nail the bad guys. Laurie, you’ve been doing something similar in your work area and it’s proven to be just as useful. In your case, we know all the involved parties.

“I must say that this ploy has been extremely effective in allowing us to trace the flow of information to Mr. Rana and on to other individuals. I am also happy to report that the ploy has served its purpose and need not be repeated any more.

“Tina, your work exposing the leak in the committee and the leading us to Mr. Rana and his network of spies has been nothing short of brilliant. You’re awesome, girl.

“What you probably don’t know is that we’ve managed–as a result of your tips, Tina–to justify warrants to hack Mr. Rana’s computers and tap his communications systems legally. We have also obtained search warrants for his home and office but have not officially served those yet as we’re not ready to spring the trap.

“We’ve been able to learn quite a bit about Mr. Rana and his network in the past few days–for example he has agents in all of the major units at the Lab. It seems that he’s exploited one or more of the human weaknesses of these individuals to lure them or to blackmail them into passing on vital secrets. We think we know who most of the individuals are, but need more time to make sure there’s not a sleeper out there somewhere. We also need time to gather evidence which will stick in court. Unfortunately we can’t just nail them one at a time without spooking the rest of the network, so this may take some time.”

“That’s a good summary,” I interrupt her, “but what I want to know is who at the Lab are you working with? How do you know that your involvement won’t be compromised?”

“Good questions,” she replies. “Right now we are working only with the Director’s office through your mother,” she indicates Laurie, “and Susan Harrison–your boss. We are also working with Major Jeffers’ anti-terrorism squad. In fact, he’s the one who asked us to get involved after it was determined that the Lab’s security team has been compromised. He’s been working closely with Jen on this project.” That sure explains a few things.

“So what’s happening with the security team’s investigation?” Laurie enquires.

“From what your mother tells us,” Steph continues, “the team thinks the investigation is a bust. She and Susan have been particularly adept at convincing the team that you’re not finding anything. On the other hand, Jen and Susan have convinced the rest of the team that you two are great office interns even if you can’t uncover any dirt. That’s the only reason you two are still working there.”

“So why the heavyweight protection?” I ask, referring to Helen and her team. Killer just smiles and remains quiet.

“Ah,” Steph responds, “you’ve notice the ‘royal protection’ detail I hear. They haven’t shared with me why they refer to it that way. It seems as if they consider you to be royalty of sorts.”

“Actually,” I inform her, “it’s no big secret. The Major’s nickname for me is ‘Princess’.”

She grins on hearing this. I think I’m going to regret having shared that tidbit with her.

“Anyway, Princess,” she continues obviously pleased with knowing my nickname, “As I mentioned, Mr. Rana is becoming obsessed with learning who you really are. He has been in contact with known thugs the past few days–enlisting their assistance in finding out your origin. For some reason he’s feeling threatened by you. Anyway, he’s made a few comments to his contacts which would indicate that he feels the need to get you out of the way before some big project comes due. The good news is these are guys who we’ve been keeping track of, off and on for some time so we know who they are. We haven’t been able to get hard evidence against them for any of their past misdeeds or they’d have been taken off the streets long ago. They are suspected in a number of disappearances in recent years.”

“In other words,” I interrupt again, cutting to the chase, “I’m in danger.”

“Yes and no,” she replies. “Yes, there is a definite threat against you. No in that we don’t think it is imminent at this point. Mr. Rana is smart enough not to move until he absolutely has to. As he’s still not sure about who you really are, he’s not likely to cause you any harm unless or until there is no alternative. He’d hate to garner the attention of the Feds if you turn out to be someone important. Also with the squad from Major Jeffers’ unit and a few other undercover agents I haven’t told you about, we’re confident that we can neutralize the threat.”

“The deal was,” Laurie lets her know with a frown, “that Tina would be pulled off the case as soon as any danger to her person is detected. Is that still part of the plan?”

Steph winces at this, “Yeah, we’ve heard of that deal but we’d like you to consider staying on, Tina. We’d really like to nail these bastards along with Mr. Rana and his bunch of traitors. If you disappear now, it’ll set off warning bells and the bad guys–including Mr. Rana and his network– will all go underground. Also, while you’re still in the picture he’s getting careless in his desperate attempts to determine your true identity. The longer you stay in, the more information we gather. If you bail now, we may not be able to take them down. We really need you to stick with us, girl, but the choice is really yours or your parents–whoever they are.”

I already know the answer to this one, but I take a moment as if I’m thinking about it then sigh. “I’m in. I’m sure my parents will support me too. What do you want me to do?” I ask. Laurie doesn’t look too pleased with me.

“Just stay close to the Langs,” she replies–obviously relieved. “When we tell you to, we want you to drop a sign or two to increase Dr. Lang’s paranoia that you are indeed spying on him. This should cause the bad guys to make their move and we’ll be ready for them.”

“Have you seen any of the bad guys the last few days?” I ask.

“Not yet,” Helen finally joins the conversation. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

Changing subjects, I point out: “This could tear the Lang family apart.”

“Yes,” Steph admits. “We’ve seen it happen before. It’s impossible to protect a family from the sins of the father.”

“Maybe there’s a way we can soften the blow,” I suggest hopefully.

“How’s that?” Steph asks with peaked interest.

“Mrs. Lang has recently met with a lawyer to see about divorcing her husband,” I inform her. “She needs more evidence of broken marriage vows to have an effective case. The lawyer has advised her to find more evidence if she wants this to be a cut-and-dried case otherwise it could get nasty.  Anyway, I suspect you know that he’s going to Washington tomorrow and that Mr. Rana has arranged some evening ‘entertainment’ for him. I suspect that he’s going to be under surveillance, so why not provide Mrs. Lang with some documentation which will stand up in a divorce proceeding or at least keep him from being difficult? You could package it as being from a private investigation firm or something like that.  With this information she’s likely to file for divorce as soon as she can. I think it would be best if she started the divorce proceeding before you bust him for his other transgressions.”

“Not a bad idea,” Steph allows. “If they’re already split, then she’ll be insulated somewhat from the negative effects of the arrest. Great idea, Tina. I think we may be able to help her with some information but we won’t hold up our work for her to file. Maybe we should contact her after they’ve separated as Mrs. Lang may know something which will help us.”

“Agreed,” I continue the negotiation. “I’ll stick it out for now particularly if you can help out Mrs. Lang. Also, I’d like to keep my name out of all of this if at all possible. I really don’t want Andy or his mother to know about my part in his father’s arrest.”

“Anything else, Your Highness?” Steph asks with a grin.

“Yes,” I continue while ignoring the jab, “I’d like you to find a way for Mrs. Lang to get some of that money her husband has squirreled away in his offshore account. There’s several million there.””

Laurie’s eyes get big at this. I guess I forgot to tell her about the money.

“I’m not sure we can do that,” she responds with a frown. “Those funds will be seized under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act if we can get access to them, but I’ll see what we can do.”

“She should be able to claim some of it,” Helen breaks her silence. “The law requires that hearings be held to consider third-party claims to forfeited property. She just has to show that she didn’t participate in the criminal enterprise and she wasn’t knowledgeable of her husband’s unlawful activities. She should be able to retain any assets she has direct interest in such as her house, car, personal bank accounts and stuff like that, particularly if they are separated or divorced when he gets arrested. Since California is a community property state, maybe she can claim an interest in the offshore funds.”

“I doubt it,” Steph responds. “The money was obtained via a criminal act so she won’t be allowed to profit from it, but we’ll see. The hard part will be getting the money back to the U.S. anyway.”

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On the walk home, Laurie is very adamant about me getting out of the investigation now.

“What are you thinking, Tina,” she lays into me. She’s not a happy camper. “You’re in danger. Do you have a death wish or something? I really want Chris back at the end of the summer. The FBI can do their thing without you. You’re just bait to them. It’s time to bail.”

“Chill, cousin,” I try to soothe her, “I’ve got the best protection that the government can provide on my side.”

“That’s what concerns me,” she pouts.

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Many thanks–yet again–to the ever efficient Gabi who worked this in around the Wimbledon schedule. Her editing is most appreciated.