She paused, aghast at a sudden thought. "You're not a cheerleader, are you?"

"No," I said. "Never have been, never will be."

"Oh, good!" she cried, with obvious and immense relief. "I mean... not that there's anything wrong with cheerleaders!"

I felt like a pregnant woman. I held my stomach (which felt enormous) with both hands, and took small, waddling steps toward the kitchen. With every step, I let out a little grunt, groan, or whimper.

"No, it wasn't that..." I hesitated. "It was Ms. Gifford..."

I wasn't sure how much I wanted to say. The real reason I was upset was all the media attention... what it might lead to. What it would have to lead to, if it kept up. If the reporters started looking into my life, they'd find out pretty quickly that I used to be a boy.

This is really the story of a vacation I took in the South Seas, or mostly the story of my South-Sea vacation. Susan would say that it's ostensibly about my vacation. Don't worry if you don't know what "ostensibly" means... it will all become clear once I get underway.

Street Politics

Nibs was reading the Forum Boards and came across a thread titled ‘Politics for the Street — Suraban’, she opened the thread and read the first message —

Chapter 1

Easy As Falling Off A Bike
by Angharad
part 253.

Exhausted and feeling quite ill, I lay on my bed. I needed to know what had happened to the thug who had died in hospital. Had I actually taken a human life, me the brave soul who feels upset at running over beetles in the road. I was really upset with myself.

I went to talk to Tom. He was busy in his study, I knocked and entered.

Easy As Falling Off A Bike
by Angharad
part 251

I ran over to my car, Stella's bag was still down in the footwell. I felt my eyes tear up. They had taken her.

"What the hell is going on?" Tom was stood by my side.

"They've got Stella."

"Who's got Stella?"

"Those bastards, the Russian ones."

"How do you know?"

"I recognised the one who tried to take me."

Sometimes, despite a breath of breeze across the inky river, the night air seemed almost liquid with the lingering heat ....

CONCLUDING INSTALMENT: A final confrontation between Masters and Sato at the top of the world. This is how it ends...

Masters' mission nears its conclusion as she penetrates the security surrounding Room 497. But Sato has a final surprise up her sleeve. Who lives and who dies...?

Jewel the exotic dancer has a successful life in the fleshpots of northwestern Japan, but is there something important she's forgotten? CAUTION: contains explicit sexual scenes.

British Intelligence agent Anthony Pierce, 004 is transformed into someone quite different as the Service prepares to reinsert him into a perilous terrorist situation in the Far East. Will sparks fly as Bond returns to supervise the transformed operative's embarkation?

The beginning of a new life for disgraced British Intelligence agent Anthony Pierce, 004, as he prepares to embark on a mission into enemy territory in a deep cover disguise he didn't expect to be wearing in his wildest dreams. The transformation begins...