Synopsis:

Jack's Little niece has been kidnapped and the family gathers to help in her recovery.

Story:

Rescuing Amy

by

Paula Dillon

Jack Jennings got home from high school, where he was a seventeen year old senior, at about four-fifty. He came in the front door and put his books down on a table just inside the door. He could hear his Mom talking frantically on the phone to somebody, so he began to hunt her down.

“Oh my God Joyce, what do they want?!?” He heard his Mom ask. Her voice was close to panic.

Jack’s brow creased with worry as he rounded the corner to the kitchen, nearer to where his Mom’s voice came from.

“Yes, we can get that much together. Have you called the Police yet? Well go ahead and do it. I don’t care what they told you, go ahead and call them. I will be there in a couple of hours. I will send Jack over as soon as I can; I think I heard him come in the front door just now. Stay strong Joyce,” Mom said.

“Mom what gives,” Jack asked.

Francis Jennings rushed over to her son, tears left makeup trail down her face. She hugged Jack tightly and cried on his shoulder for a few seconds. Jack could feel her tremble and shudder as she cried.

“Oh Jack, it’s just horrible. Somebody has kidnapped little Amy and are holding her for ransom. They want half a million dollars or they swear they are going to kill her. Joyce is just sick right now and she is coming unglued. Can you go over there and help her. I have got to get to the bank.”

“I am on my way,” Jack said running out the door.

Jack got behind the wheel of his Mazda RX-8. It was tricked out like the cars in the movies, at least under the hood, where it counted. His Baby could do a quarter in ten flat and had a top end of one fifty. He hadn’t touched the black paint job like some of the people he knew did. He left stripes on the pavement fifty yards long as he pulled out on the street.

Joyce was his sister, she was newly divorced, twenty four, and had three kids, little Amy was just twenty months old. Her other two kids were Tina and Tommy, who were twins and just turned four last month. She had gotten the house they lived in, from the divorce and lived across town.

‘God, I can’t imagine what she is going through right now,’ Jack thought.

Twenty over the speed limit was as close to driving the speed limit, he got. The forty minute drive took him just over twenty nine minutes. He didn’t get picked up by the police till he neared Joyce’s home. A police cruiser lit him up in the last half a mile. A dark blue Crown Vic had just pulled up to the curb in front of her house. Jack put his Mazda into a drift, till he was perpendicular to her drive, then he gave it the gas, pulling into the driveway and coming to a stop. He made it in the front door ahead of the detectives and the street cops.

He found his sister crying inconsolably in the living room, holding the twins and just staring at the phone. He had just dropped to his knees to hug his sister, when the police came through the front door, guns drawn and pointed in his direction.

There were a few tense moments; Jack was handcuffed for a few minutes, as things were sorted out. The detectives finally convinced the uniforms to uncuff and release Jack. He was still issued a citation for doing fifty-five in a twenty five mile an hour zone.

With the street cops gone, introductions were made all around. The detectives were Det Jim Logan and Det Angie Parker. They finally asked Joyce to tell her story.

Joyce Jennings told the detectives that she had just put Amy, her daughter, into the playpen, in the living room and went to the kitchen to fix her bottle, and a snack for Tina and Tommy. The twins were in one of their rooms playing. She went to the sink to wash her hands and saw a guy in the back yard. Without thinking, she left the kitchen and looked out the back door to see the guy going over the seven-foot, wood, privacy fence, in the back yard. Joyce said she slammed the door shut, locking it by the deadbolt and ran to check the front door. It was wide open when she got there. She said she then ran to check on Amy but she was gone, a sheet of paper was lying in the play pen. Joyce said she read it and screamed, she then ran upstairs to check on the twins. She couldn’t find them at first, Tommy told her that her scream scared them and they had hid under Tina’s bed. When she hollered out their names, they stuck their heads out from under the bed. With the twins in hand, she said she reread the letter, called her Mom and finally called the police.

Det. Jim Logan asked to see the letter, so Joyce started to hand it to him. “No, don’t hand it to me, it may have prints on it. Just hold it up by the edges for me.”

Joyce held it up for the detectives to read.

The letter appeared to be printed by a laser printer. The kidnappers appeared to have a sense of humor, as the font they used looked like letters cut out of a newspaper, or magazine and glued to the paper. They were later to find out the name of the font was Ransom.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR BRAT AGAIN, IT’S GOING TO COST YOU $500,000. GET THE MONEY ALL IN SMALL USED BILLS, NO NEW MONEY. WE WILL CALL YOU AT MIDNIGHT AND GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO WHERE YOU WILL DELIVER THE RANSOM. THERE BETTER BE NO COPS AT THE DROP OFF OR WE WILL KILL YOU AND THE KID. DO AS WE SAY AND WE WILL CALL AT SIX AM AND GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR DAUGHTER.

As they finished reading the ransom note, a couple of CSI type guys came and knocked on the door. Det. Parker went to the door to let them in.

The CSIs were already gloved up; one took custody of the ransom letter, while Angie gave them a rundown on what they knew. He bagged, tagged and logged the letter, and finger printed Ms. Jennings before rushing the letter to the Lab.

“Ms. Jennings, was the front door locked when you put the baby down,” the other CSI asked.

“Yes, it is always locked. This is a nice neighborhood, but I just don’t feel comfortable leaving the door unlocked.”

“And you found the door open and Amy gone right.”

“Yes that is right. That is what frightened me so.”

“Do you have a hidden key anywhere out front?”

“Yes, I have a key on a wire tie, like you find on loafs of bread, in one of the bushes, to the side of the house.”

“Thank you, let me check the front door, then I will check to see if I can find that key.”

The investigator, Bill Gordon, went to check the front door. He got on his knees with his flash light and a magnifying glass, to examine the locks. One lock was on the door knob and another deadbolt, which was independent of the other. It wasn’t what he found that interested him, but what he didn’t find. There were no scratches on either lock.

Around the side of the house, the concrete drive extended up by the house, to a garage. A line of thorny bushes were next to the building. He looked for foot prints but didn’t see any; he then moved towards the bushes and stopped when he saw a cloud of agitated yellow jackets flying around the bush. Looking down on the ground, he saw two or three other dead yellow jackets and a bread wrapper, wire tie, on the drive way.

He went back to his vehicle, a Chevy van and got out a CO2 extinguisher, he carried. When he got a few feet away, he sprayed the yellow jackets and the bush. The exhaust from the extinguisher froze the yellow jackets and they fell to the ground. He sprayed the bush very carefully, making sure there were no other yellow jackets left alive. He quickly checked the bush for the key. He saw where the bark was stripped off the bush. Who ever had gotten the key had surely been stung multiple times, he thought. He photographed the area where the key had been, checked for any trace evidence and then backed away to be sure he wouldn’t get stung by a straggler.

Back inside he reported his findings to the detectives and suggested that they call the hospitals checking for someone with multiple stings to the hand and arm. He said it was a long shot, but maybe the person might show a reaction to yellow jacket stings. He then went in the back yard and checked that part of the woman’s story out.

He found foot prints in the soil near the fence. It looked to him that someone stood flatfooted and jumped up to catch the top of the fence. He marked and photographed the foot prints, made plaster casts of the shoe prints, dusted the fence for finger prints but only found smudges on the other side.

Inside Det.’s Parker and Logan were still questioning Joyce. Jack had taken the kids upstairs and was playing with the kids to keep them occupied. He loved his nieces and nephew and would do anything for them. He got them to take a nap about six, and went downstairs.

Joyce answered a couple of hundred questions for the detectives.

Det. Parker asked, “Joyce, tell us about your husband and your divorce,” Jack heard, as he came back into the room.

“Frank Stevens is a piece of shit, or he became that way, after the kids were born and he lost his job. He tried to hit Mom up for money for a business, but she refused. She had seen how shallow and belligerent he had become. I threw him out of the house and filed for divorce, after he hit me. I promised Mom a long time ago, that I wouldn’t become a punching bag for some man.”

Angie continued, “Was he always like that Joyce?”

“No, the first three years we were married were great. It was after Amy was born that things began to change. He never seemed to bond with the kids and seemed to resent the time I spent with them. Then his life seemed to spiral out of control, when he was fired from his job. He started drinking and fighting with me over anything and everything. I couldn’t do anything right by him.”

“Do you think he could be behind this?” she asked.

“I would bet my last dollar on it. That is the amount of money he hit Mom up for.”

“We want to see if we can discretely locate him and put him under surveillance, do you have his address or know where we can find him?”

Joyce gave them five or six places where he hung around and his last known address.

The front door opened and Francis carrying a large nylon gym bag and a bank guard entered the home.

Joyce jumped up and shouted, “Mom,” when she saw her and ran over to her, throwing herself in her arms, where they cried together.

Joyce, Francis, Jack and the two detectives sat down to discuss the case.

“We want to pay the ransom.” Joyce said.

Det Logan said, “I don’t think that is such a good idea. If it is your ex, he might be out to hurt you also. Do you think he might actually hurt the baby?”

“I’m not sure; I would like to say no, but… I just don’t know,” she said in a fit of tears.

“Mom, let me use your cell phone.” Jack said whispering in her ear.

Francis reached into her purse and handed her phone to Jack. He took it and called his girlfriend Melissa Grant. Francis tried to listen unobtrusively to her son, as he talked and also listen to what was being said by the others.

“Melissa this is Jack. I need you to do something. Go to my house and get in anyway you can. In my room, get my blue gym bag in my closet and the suitcase under my bed, and come over to my sister’s place,” he said, giving her Joyce’s address. “My niece has been kidnapped; don’t say anything about it to anyone else yet.”

“Tell her to go to the Reynolds place next door Jack, they have a key,” Francis said.

Jack jumped when he heard his Mom, but passed that tidbit on to Melissa, before hanging up. He leaned over and whispered into his Mom’s ear, “Mom I am going upstairs, send Melissa up to Joyce’s room when she gets here.”

“Ok, hun. I will send her up when she gets here.”

Jack hurried up the stairs.

The house was a beehive of activity as the police set up a trap and trace on the home phone, and a recording system, along with several receivers, so they can eavesdrop on the call. Except for cell phones, it is a fallacy that it takes two or three minutes to get a lock on a phone call coming in. With today’s technology, a trap and trace, can instantly pin down a land line, a cell phone takes a little longer, as the calls are triangulated from the towers, or the phone’s GPS system can be queried. If they know ahead of time about where the call will come from, they can rapidly localize where the caller is.

It was about an hour later, when a commotion at the front door attracted the people’s attention inside. Francis went to investigate and found Melissa Grant trying to gain access to the house. Francis interceded for her, with the officer at the door, and she was admitted.

Melissa came in carrying a suitcase and Jack’s gym bag. Francis relieved Melissa of the suitcase and led her upstairs.

“Why did Jack want his gym bag and suitcase? All that is inside the gym bag are his karate gi and gear,” Melissa asked.

“I think I know Melissa, but we shall let him explain.” Francis said, as she led the girl to Joyce’s bedroom.

The two girls knocked on the door and they heard Jack say, “Come on in.”

When they entered, Jack was sitting at Joyce’s vanity working on his face. He was almost finished with his makeup, when the knock came.

“Jack, what on earth are you doing putting makeup on?” Melissa asked.

“Mom, what are you doing here? I just asked you to send Melissa up.”

“Son, I know what you are doing and I approve. I think you might need both of us to help you.”

“Hey! People, what is going on?”

“The kidnappers want Joyce to deliver the ransom, Melissa,” Jack said, “She is basically a mess right now and on top of that she can’t defend herself like I can. She also has two other babies to look after. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try and help her. We look so much alike, that with makeup and a wig at night, I could easily pass for her.”

“But where did you learn to put on makeup like that. I mean you look good.”

Jack finished working on his face, as he explained, “Melissa, it is a long story. When Joyce went off to college, I really missed her. One day I went into her room, she had left a lot of her stuff home. I don’t know why, but one day I found myself just wanting to try to use her makeup. It was funny, the way I looked back then. The more I tried it, the better I got. Then I started dressing in her clothes and I put on a wig she had.”

Jack got up and took the suitcase from his Mom and opened it, pulling out what he wanted, as he continued his story. “The better I got, the better I felt. I can’t explain it, but I like to cross-dress. I don’t think Mom or Joyce knew I was doing it. I even taught myself how to do my hair, I wasn’t great, but I could do OK.”

“Jack, I am not sure when you started this, but I found out about it. I figured that if you needed to tell me, you would. I have known for about four years.”

His Mom’s words caused him to stop for a second and as he thought about it, he realized he had probably left enough clues. “Ok help me get these breast forms glued on then.” Jack said, as he dropped the robe. He was just wearing a pair of his sister’s panties.

Francis took one of the breast forms and found the glue, spreading it evenly on the flat, backside, of the form. “I even knew when you ordered these breast forms. Can you wear her bra’s with these attached.”

“Yes Mom, I was very careful when I ordered them to make sure they would fit her bras. I like the way sis looks, she has a great figure, but not as good as Melissa’s, I love hers.”

“Well you better Mister.” She said giggling, “There would be something wrong with you, if you liked your sister’s body better than mine.”

“Mom, go find a roll of duct tape for me,” Jack said after Francis had attached the second breast form.

“Ok, there is probably some in the garage.”

After Francis had left the room, Melissa turned to help Jack get dressed, “And just when were you going to tell me about all of this crossdressing stuff, Jack?”

“I don’t know Melissa, I was trying to quit it, because I didn’t feel I could tell anyone,” Jack said as he rolled on a pair of pantyhose. “I was afraid to tell you because I didn’t know how you would react. I didn’t even tell my mother, or sister. This will come as quite a shock to her.”

Jack then pulled on a padded panty brief over the hose. Melissa then helped him put on a waist nipper, that went from above the panty brief to just under his faux breasts.

“I can’t say I understand Jack, but I respect you a hell of a lot more for what you are willing to do for your sister and your niece. I won’t leave you over this, I promise, and I won’t try to hurt you either.”

The two shared a light kiss; Melissa didn’t want to smudge his makeup job. She was amazed at how sexy he looked and she didn’t understand how she could be so attracted to this lovely creature. Francis came in as their lips touched and she smiled at them.

“Well, I’m glad this isn’t going to be a problem for you, at least right now, Melissa.” She said to the teens.

The two teens were startled and both blushed heavily, turning a nice crimson.

“No, Ma’am it isn’t a problem with me,” Melissa said.

“Here is the duct tape you wanted Jack,” his Mom said smiling.

“Mom find me a loose, long sleeve, deep V neck blouse and a pair of loose fitting slacks to wear.”

Jack took the tape and went to his gym bag. He unzipped it and tossed his gi, his punches and kicks out of the way. He then started going through his weapons. He set out his whip chain, six darts, two razor sharp, polycarbonate knives, in sheaths, and a Kubotan (a metal rod about a half-inch in diameter and five and a half inches long.) He taped one knife sheath on his stomach, with the point just under his bra and another on his leg, with the point all the way up in his crotch. Two tasseled darts went in his faux cleavage and two were taped on either forearm. He checked to see that he could draw out each item easily.

Francis returned, with several of each item he requested. He tried each on, rejected a few, but found a white, chiffon blouse and a pair of black slacks. He then looked at the three pair of shoes he had in his suitcase. “I wished I had some flats to go with this, or maybe a pair of open toe sandals, with a short heel. I can’t wear sis’s, her shoes are too small.” He stopped and looked at his mom’s feet. She had on some black flats.

Francis looked where he was looking, then sat on the bed to take her shoes off and put on a pair of his shoes. They fit her pretty good.

Jack took his Kubotan and stuck it in the waist-band of the slacks, on his right side. Melissa helped him with buttoning the blouse, not that he really needed the help, but she smiled as she worked the buttons. He then wrapped the whip chain around his waist, on top of the blouse. It looked like many of the metal belts women wear.

Francis finished his look by helping him with his wig, or rather Joyce’s wig; that she had left at their house and forgotten. It was the same color as Joyce’s hair, but not as long. She had gotten it for her prom and to see how she would look with long hair. She liked it, grew her own hair longer and didn’t need it. Finally she brushed out the hair and sprayed it with hair spray. The wig was human hair and quite pricey. Jack had taken good care of it and it was in good condition, she noted.

Finally, Jack checked his makeup, did a few repairs and then added lipstick to his lips. Francis and Melissa were shocked as Jack closed his eyes and took on a feminine bearing. He stood and did a little twirl for them.

“Well, how do I look Mom, Melissa?” Jack asked, his voice was almost like his sister’s.

The two girls were gobsmacked for a few seconds and just stared.

“My God Jack, if I hadn’t seen the transformation, I would have never believed it. You could be Joyce’s twin sister.” Melissa said.

“She’s right Jack, You are simply gorgeous. I can see a few differences but they are small. Most people would probably have to see you two side by side, to pick you out. I doubt that even half of them could do it.”

“Now how do we convince those people down there to let me do the drop?”

“You just leave that to me Jack. Stay here for right now. Melissa come with me.”

Francis and Melissa went down stairs. They found Angie and pulled her to the side.

“Det. Parker, we need to talk, come with me for a second.” Francis said, leading the woman detective away from the rest. “I don’t think it is a good idea letting Joyce make the money drop. She is an emotional mess and she can’t defend herself.”

“I can’t agree with you more, Mrs. Jennings, but it is Joyce’s choice and she wants to go through with it. It would take too long to find a policewoman that looked like her; there is nothing we can do about it.”

“I have a different idea, just let me show you. Follow me.” Francis said, leading the detective upstairs. She then opened the bedroom door and led her into the bedroom. “Det. Parker, meet Joyce. Joyce, this is Det. Parker.”

“How did you get up here… Who is that Mrs. Jennings, Joyce is down stairs…” She walked over to the lady and looked closely at the person standing there. “Jack, is that you.”

“I don’t go by Jack when I look like this Det. Parker. I prefer to go by Rebecca, but tonight, I am Joyce.”

“This won’t work, he is just a kid.” Angie said.

“I beg your pardon Ma’am, I turn eighteen in a month.”

“You could get your ass killed kid, and I don’t think you could take care of yourself any better than your sister.”

“That is where you are wrong Ma’am. I can take care of myself quite well. I could probably take your partner out in hand to hand combat. I am a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a second-degree black belt in Wu Shu. About half the time I teach the black belt class and I do teach the brown belts at the dojo.”

Angie threw a back fist, back punch combination at Jack. He moved by reflexes and much practice, as he deftly blocked the back fist and trapped the punch with his left hand, twisted her arm, locking out the joint and his right hand snatched the Kubotan at his waist. He stopped from ramming the pointed end of it into her skull, at her temple by just millimeters. He jerked her arm up and swept her leading foot out from under her. Angie started to fall over backwards, but she was caught by Melissa, who had anticipated Jack’s move.

“Jack is good Angie, I take Karate at the same dojo,” Melissa said.

“I see, it’s been a while since I have been bested. Still you can’t block a bullet.

“Neither could a police woman.” Jack replied.

“I don’t know, but you are right, you would be better than your sister,” she said, “This might work. Let’s go downstairs.”

They followed Det. Parker down the stairs and stopped just outside the living room.

“Jack, Melissa, stay right here for a minute. Don’t come in till I call for you,” Angie told them.

Angie and Francis entered the living room. Angie walked over to Joyce and said, “Joyce, I don’t want you to go on the drop.”

“We already talked this over detective, I am going to do it.”

“Oh you will, just not you, I got someone to take your place.”

“If this is Frank’s doing, he knows me. A policewoman might not fool him.”

“I agree, Joyce meet Joyce. Come on in,” she said, loud enough for the teens to hear.

Jack took a deep breath and came around the corner. He strutted around in his best feminine behavior till he heard his sister catch her breath and say, “Oh my gosh… Who is… Jack is that… Oh my.” She ran over to her brother and threw her arms around him hugging him tightly.

“You agree this Joyce would be better than you?” Angie asked.

Joyce just nodded her head crying. She knew what her brother was capable of.

“Jack, I can’t ask you to do this. If it is Frank, he might want to kill me. He blames me for his failures. You know that.”

“All the more reason to let me do it sis. You have the twins to look out for. I just couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt.”

“I would die if you got hurt or killed because of this… but yes if you will do it, I won’t object. Just don’t get yourself killed, or I will never forgive you.”

“I will try not to sis.”

Det. Parker turned to a technician and told them to wire her up so we can get that out of the way.

The techie went over and asked Joyce/Jack to take off his shirt. Jack blushed, not out of fear of exposure as a girl might, but for what he had hid. He pulled one end of the whip chain and the other end fell with a thunk, that got everybody’s attention. He unbuttoned the sleeves, then the front of the blouse and handed it to Melissa.

The tech’s eyes got large as saucers as he looked at Jack’s stomach and arms saying, “Damn this Babe’s got teeth. You can’t wear them, they’re illegal.”

Angie walked over and looked Jack over. “I don’t see anything Ted, you must be hitting the bottle again,” she said, counting the weapons she could see and she knew there were probably more she couldn’t see.

Ted looked over to Det. Logan who held a hand over his eyes as if to say ‘I see nothing’. Ted just shook his head and wired up Jack. When he finished he just walked away.

Melissa stuck her tongue out at the retreating form’s back, as she helped Jack redress. Angie saw this and couldn’t help but laugh.

The tension was building as the clock ticked away the seconds. Angie looked at the clock, it was eleven forty-five. A check was made to see if everybody was ready for the anticipated call. Everybody had been ready for hours, but it was good to see that everybody was on their toes and ready.

The sounding chime on the clock, on the mantle, struck midnight and the minutes ticked away. It wasn’t till ten minutes after that, the phone began to ring.

Joyce was shocked, terrified and relieved to hear it ring. She looked toward the Det. Logan, who nodded to her, before she answered the phone.

“Hello,” Joyce said, her voice was dripping with fear.

“Is this the brat’s mother?” A gruff male voice said.

“If you mean Amy yes, I am her mother.”

“You get the money?”

“Yes, Is my baby alive, I need to hear my baby.”

“The brat is still alive and will remain so as long as you cooperate.”

“I need to hear my Baby, or you won’t get the money.”

The people at Joyce’s home could hear some discussion, but couldn’t tell what was being discussed.

“Ok, just a second.”

They heard a swat and a baby began crying. Joyce almost fell apart. The volume of the baby’s cry got louder, as they assumed the phone was brought closer to the baby. Joyce could hear the baby say, “Muma, muma,”

“Mumma is going to get you Amy,” she said.

Before she could say more, the gruff male voice came back online.

“You got twenty five minutes to get to the park at Jefferson and Oak streets. Park on Oak and walk to the restroom, wait there. Oh and wear a skirt and some high heels,” the laughing voice said, before hanging up.

Quickly Det. Logan asked did any of you recognize that voice. They all shook their heads, except Joyce who said, “Yes, No, sorta, I don’t know,” before breaking into a fit of tears.

Melissa had run off to Joyce’s room and returned tossing a black chiffon skirt at Jack and handed him a pair of black sandals with a three inch heel. Jack kicked off the shoes he had on and dropped his pants right there, before pulling the skirt on. He then hurriedly put the heels on. They were higher than he would have liked in this situation but they would have to do.

Det. Logan watched with interest as the boy worked. When Jack was finished, he turned to him saying, “Ok, go kid, we will be listening to you. If you want the cavalry to come in, just say Cinderella. Got it.”

“Yeah, Cinderella. Got it.” Jack said, taking the bag and the keys to Joyce’s SUV.

Everyone was surprised at his agility in those heels, but Jack didn’t think about it, he just did it. He didn’t know it for sure, but he had three GPS transceivers, one in the wire, one in the bag and one in the SUV. He got in the Escalade and drove off fast. He had a bit of driving to do to get there, ok. He had been promised that the street cops had been pulled out of the area and warned not to pull over this SUV. Just don’t kill anybody, they asked him. He was glad that he was driving it, rather than his sister. She scared him, the way she drove. She would always be talking on her cell phone, talking to the kids, or checking her makeup and lipstick while driving. His driving scared her too, but for different reasons.

The Park was in a somewhat deserted neighborhood, it was sometimes used by druggies. Jack figured this was done to scare the putty out of Joyce. He made it to the Park with about two minutes to spare. He parked the SUV, looked the area over discretely, describing what he saw and walked over to the restrooms and stood there. He waited ten minutes, before he heard a cell phone ringing. He looked around and found it and a blue tooth ear piece. He put the ear piece on and hit the answer button on the phone, coughing as he said, “Hello.”

“Good girl, we didn’t see any cops. Your daughter my live through this. Now, no talking from you and don’t hang up the phone. Over on Adams street is a beat up Toyota, near Riverbend drive. The keys are in the ignition, go to it now.”

Jack had about a mile to walk thru the heart of the park to get there. At least there was a sidewalk he could use. He worked very hard to present a feminine demeanor as he walked. He figured that he was being observed. He walked like a frightened woman trying to hurry.

He had not seen anybody, or heard anything out of the norm, on his walk. He saw the clunker sitting as promised. It was a twenty year old Corolla, if Jack knew his cars and he did.

Jack heard the voice in his ear say good girl, you found it. Now get in it and drive. Head on out straight, take the first right and the second left after that. Jack started the car and put it in gear. From the sounds of protest the car made as he drove it, he just hoped it would make it to where ever.

“Good now, go four blocks and turn right and get on the freeway.”

They had to be watching, Jack thought, as he hit the freeway access.

“Ok doll, drive to the Henderson Street exit and take a left at the light.”

He was headed for the badest part of town for a woman. There were all sorts of desperate people, gang members, muggers, rapists and such, just hanging around at all hours, on the street there.

“Ok, take a right and another right after that. Park under the bridge, get out and walk south.”

Jack didn’t have to pretend to act scared. He was scared, to the very core. He tried to remember what he told all his students at the dojo about remaining calm and doing what ever it takes to remain alive. He had an added incentive, or pressure, of his niece’s life at stake. His senses were in overdrive, hearing the things around him, and hearing things that weren’t there.

Halfway under the bridge, a figure stepped out that Jack thought he knew well. “Frank is that you?”

“You brought the money bitch?” His speech was slurred and he wobbled slightly as he walked. He walked with his hands close to his sides.

Jack just held up the bag. As he looked at the approaching figure, he saw a glint of a reflection, by Frank’s knee.

“You and your family are so high and mighty. They never gave me a chance. I could have really made it Joyce,”

“What about Amy, Frank, how is she?”

“Oh your precious Amy, you cared more for her than me, your own husband. She’ll be fine, but I am afraid you won’t be.”

Jack heard a noise of running feet behind him. He tried to time his next move. At the last second, Jack ditched the bag, grabbed at his cleavage, and sidestepped. He caught a glance of the guy behind him, Jack’s move allowed him to be missed and he caught the guy’s leg with enough force to send him flying to the pavement. He then hurled a dart at the falling form. The dart penetrated the Coccyx and lodged in the colon. The man hit the ground and skidded to a stop.
Frank started running at Jack. Jack yanked at the whip chain around his waist. He swung it once and launched the weighted ball, chest high, wanting to stop him, but Frank, more than a little drunk, fell forward as he ran. The pointed end of the ball struck him in the center of the forehead and lodged there with a sickening thud. Jack didn’t have to check to know he was dead.
He walked over to the prostrate figure of the other man lying on the ground and kicked him saying, “Punk, tell me where Amy is.” he said in his very masculine voice.
“Fuck no,” the man screamed in agony.
Jack dropped down by his side grabbed the man’s arm, bent it up his back and locked out his wrist. “Tell me or I will tear off every finger on your hand and scramble your plumbing, till you piss and shit in a bag attached to your waist,” Jack said, snapping the bones in one finger for emphasis.
The man yelped and screamed in pain.
“I have at least thirty seconds, before the cops can get hear. I can cause a lot of pain in that time,” he said snapping another finger.
“Alright, alright, stop it, she is at my aunt’s house, on West Dale.”

Jack repeated the address again and kicked the man in the head. He was sick in his stomach and walked away from the man and threw up next to a bridge pilling, before collapsing in tears. He didn’t know what happened for the next two hours.

When Jack came to his senses, he was in a hospital ER. He groaned and opened his eyes. Melissa shouted, “He’s awake, Francis.”

His Mom and Melissa smothered him in hugs and kisses.

“Mom, did they find her?” Jack asked tentatively.

“Yes, dear they found little Amy. You did a good job.”

He looked at Det. Parker, who came by his side. “Am I under arrest Ms. Parker? Frank Stevens was going to kill me.”

“No, not at the moment. The wire picked up the threat to your life. Frank did have an eleven inch Bowie Knife, that was one wicked blade. You will have to face a Coroner’s Court and a grand jury, but we are recommending a No Bill, due to self-defense. You will have to answer questions about Carl Jones’s broken fingers, but I don’t see anyway charges for assault coming out of it, under the circumstances.”

“Where are Joyce and Amy?”

Francis looked warmly into her son’s eyes and said, “Joyce is with Amy and the twins at our house, I think she wants to move back home with us. They have Joyce sedated somewhat and Alice Reynolds is with her and watching the twins. She freaked out when she heard that Frank wanted to kill her.”

“What happened to me?”

“Det. Logan found you mumbling incoherently under the bridge, the wire you wore also has a GPS locator. They came running, after they heard the threat over the wire, but they got kinda lost, when they heard you questioning Carl. They must have taken a wrong turn. After you gave them an address, they sent units there and found Amy. They took Carl’s Aunt and Sister in custody,” Det. Parker said.

“Any chance I can get out of here soon.”

“As soon as the doctor releases you. A nurse went to fetch him.”

They talked a little bit more about the things that happened. Jack was recounting what he had done, when they were interrupted by the doctor. He introduced himself to Jack as Dr. Wendell Kinney. He quickly checked the boy out. He asked a few questions that Jack answered and then he smiled.

“Well, you seem to be alright, but before you go, I want our staff psychiatrist to talk to you a bit. You have been through a traumatic experience and I am a bit concerned about the mental state they found you in. You can get cleaned up, there is a bathroom to the right and I understand your Mom brought some clothes, but don’t leave yet please.”

“I got the bag of clothes right here,” Melissa said, “Let’s go get you cleaned up.” She helped dress Jack in a robe and took him by the hand and led him to the bathroom. She went in after him and set the bag down. The two teens hugged and kissed for several minutes, before they did anything.

Jack took off the robe and looked at himself for the first time. There was blood on his blouse and it hung open, his skirt was torn in a couple of places, he didn’t have the wig on, the waist nipper was gone, along with the darts, that were on his wrist and in the bra, and his pantyhose were trashed, but he felt the knife was still in place on his leg.

Melissa helped undress him and started cleaning him up. He was a little embarrassed, but she just smiled at him. “I love you Jack, more now than ever. Just let me help you.”

“Did you bring the solvent for these breast forms?”

“No we didn’t.”

“Well, I can’t go home like this.”

“Why not? You wore a skirt and blouse here, you can wear a skirt and blouse home. I kinda liked you that way.”

“What ever you want, I guess.”

Melissa worked quickly cleaning Jack. He wasn’t an invalid but it was just something she wanted to do for him, after what he had done. After he was cleaned up, she helped him into another bra, panty and nipper. He then rolled on another pair of pantyhose. Melissa was amazed at how easily he did that. He then redid his makeup and Melissa put on his wig, which she had saved and cleaned up. She then dressed him in a burgundy silk blouse and a blue denim mini-skirt. Jack then put the heels he had worn, on. He checked himself out in the mirror.

“Well how do I look, Melissa?”

“I think you look fabulous, in fact I am a little jealous about how good you do look.”

“I could never look better than you, baby.”

“Good answer Rebecca, now let’s go show your Mom.”

Jack gave Melissa a hug, took a minute to put himself in the right frame of mind, before smiling and opening the door. He was acting completely feminine as the two teens left the bathroom.

Francis smiled as Rebecca and Melissa rounded the curtain, to their cubicle in the ER. “My, but you do look gorgeous dear.”

“Thank you Mom, I guess I owe my good looks to the genes you gave me. You and Sis set a high bar in the looks department.”

“Yes we do, don’t we. Melissa and I look positively plain, beside you right now, though.”

“Yeah, but both of you clean up real good, as gramps use to say.”

That had Melissa and Francis laughing.

“Well, It is a good sign when I hear laughter in the ER,” a lady in a white coat said, entering the cubicle. “Laughter really is good medicine. She looked at the three women and then at her clipboard. “Now, where is my patient Jack?”

“Right here Ma’am.”

“Ok, you don’t look like a Jack.”

“I go by Rebecca when I am dressed like this,”

“Well, ok Rebecca, I am Dr. Sarah Lange, but please call me Sarah. Do you feel like taking a walk, or would you rather go to my office, for a bit.”

“A walk would be good.” Rebecca said. She was a bundle of nervous energy and wanted to work it off a bit.

“You two can wait in the waiting room, we will be about an hour.”

“Ok, see you in a bit,” Melissa said, handing Rebecca a purse and kissing her cheek.

Francis hugged and kissed Rebecca, then she gather up their things from the cubicle and left with Melissa.

Sarah led Rebecca on a walk through the administrative wing. This area was lit up, but fairly deserted. They talked about what had happened that night. Rebecca was asked about how she felt about the things she brought up. She cried as she described what happened under the bridge. She hadn’t meant to kill Frank, but he was out to kill her. She started to shake, as she described questioning Carl; she explained she just had to find out where Amy was. She also told Sarah about getting sick and throwing up, before collapsing and blacking out.

“I don’t know why I blacked out like that, it is so unlike me.”

“Well it is not uncommon, Rebecca; you got sick and threw up because you were forced to do something repugnant. The fact that it bothered you shows you are still human. You collapsed because you had been running on adrenaline for so long, once the situation was out of your control, your adrenaline production ceased and voila. You blacked out, because at that time you couldn’t deal with what you had to do. You may be dealing with it for the rest of your life.”

“Won’t it go away after a while?”

“The effects may diminish, but they don’t usually disappear completely. I would worry more if they did. It would show that you are becoming too comfortable with killing someone. Killing should bother us. Sometimes it is necessary, but it is never good. Tell me, why are you still dressed this way?”

“Well, Melissa didn’t bring the solvent for the glue for the breastforms I am wearing.”

“You have mastectomy breastforms on?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get them from?”

“I ordered them on the internet.”

“So do you see yourself as a girl, or are you a boy who likes to dress as a girl, at times?”

“I am a guy at heart, but there is a part of me that wants and I guess needs to dress like this at times. Melissa, the young girl that was with me, is my girlfriend.”

“What does she think about all this?”

“She says she kind of likes it. She found out tonight for the first time. Mom said she already knew, but she had never seen me dressed up before.”

Sarah and Rebecca continued to talk as they walked. Sarah told her about what she knew about crossdressers and the transgendered. She explained that these feelings don’t generally go away. Jack might not always feel the need to dress as much, but he might dress less frequently, then again he might feel like this his whole life. The worst thing is trying to completely repress the need, or to deny it.

Sarah led Rebecca to a restroom and told her to clean up her face. Rebecca took a few minutes and did that. She found that Melissa had put everything she needed in the purse.

On the walk back, Sarah told Rebecca that she wanted to see Jack next week and then Rebecca the week after. She said she needed to see them for at least the next month, and that Rebecca or Jack could talk to her anytime they felt the need to talk.

They stopped by the desk at the ER and Dr. Sarah Lange signed off on Jack’s discharge and gave him a copy of the Dr.’s instructions.

Rebecca, Melissa and Francis went home. Everyone was exhausted but nobody was sleepy, they were too keyed up to sleep, except for Joyce. She had been so emotionally wrung out that the Dr. had her sedated when she got home.

Mrs. Reynolds only raised an eyebrow and smiled at Rebecca. She knew who she was. She hugged everyone and then went to her own home.

Melissa called her parents and told them where she was and that she wouldn’t be home till late today. She had told her parents some of what had gone on, but nothing of Rebecca. Today was not the day of revelation for that.

The three girls just sat on the couch with Rebecca in the middle, holding on to each other and talked till they fell asleep in that position. They slept till the twins woke them up. Melissa volunteered to take care of the kids till they felt like getting up.

Rebecca later woke up later to find that Amy had crawled into her lap and was sleeping contentedly.

Epilogue

Jack stayed Rebecca for two more days. He kept his appointments with Sarah. His relationship with Melissa grew and he proposed to her.

Joyce did sell her home and moved back in with her Mom.

Jack and Melissa married two months after they graduated from college. Rebecca continues to be an important part of their lives. They had a long life together and had five children.

Jack met the coroner’s court and the grand juries. The DA verbally harangued Jack over the coals and threatened him with prosecution for torturing Carl Jones, but no charges were ever brought.

Carl Jones was convicted of kidnapping and was sentenced to twenty five to life. He served fifteen and was paroled. His aunt was convicted as an accessory and was sentenced to ten years. She served seven, but died before her parole came through. His Sister hadn’t known the baby she helped care for was kidnapped.

Frank Steven’s parents tried to make trouble for Jack. They tried to convince the DA that their son was not that kind of man and that things were being blown out of proportions. They demanded to testify before the Grand Jury. The DA wouldn’t listen to them, he just played the tape for them. They tried a wrongful death lawsuit and sued for custody of the children, but their legal actions failed on all accounts. Worse yet, they were prohibited from any contact with Joyce, the children, Jack, and Francis, by a restraining order. At least till the kids were sixteen and could decide for themselves. The kids choose not to have any contact with them.

The end

Notes:

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