This story is based on the story called, "I, My Sister" and was written by Diana Christy (07/97). I would like to thank Diana for allowing me to use parts of her story in mine. I would also like to thank Arcee and Darkside for offering suggestions needed to finish this story. I could not have written this story without their support. Thanks guys!

Warning: This story contains sexual material and transgender themes. If you're not 18 or over, or are offended by such material then don't read it! This story can be posted on Fictionmania or any other free sites however, I do ask that you notify me first before doing so.

The Life And Death Of Al Parker
Part 1 - Jennifer's Beginnings
By Kelly Davidson

Chapter 1 - Easy Money

"Ten thousand dollars," said the fat, bald man.

Al Parker was shocked at the offer. He had heard Klein Walker was a cheap son of a bitch but this was an insult.

He pushed back his anger and calmly replied, "you have to be kidding Mr. Walker. You want me to break into a very secure research lab and steal information that you'll turn around and make millions off of. We're talking about real jail time here if I get caught!"

"If you're as good as you claim you to be then that isn't a concern now is it?" Klein sarcastically snapped back. "I could find a dozen other people to do this job!"

"Yes, that's true," the young man replied, "but then your chance of success is much lower, isn't it? The last thing you need is to send someone who'll get caught and then tell the police everything." Al stopped talking for a moment to let comment sink in. Klein Walker may be a cheapskate, but he wasn't a fool.

"I know this security system like the back of my hand," Al continued. "Hell, I used to work with the company bigwigs during my stint in the army -- trying to find ways around this system. I know its weaknesses and secrets and I was trained by the army to get in and out of a location without anyone even knowing I was there. But if I do get caught, it will appear as if I was there for other reasons."

"How will you accomplish that?" Klein demanded.

"That's my concern," the private detective replied. "But for me to take this job it's going to cost you $150,000 in cash".

"THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!" Klein shouted back, trying to bully the younger man into a lower amount. "I'll give you $20,000, take it or leave it."

The pair continued to haggle for another 5 minutes before they finally agreed on $50,000. Not as much as Al had wanted but he could live with that amount.

"Here are the plans for the house and the other information you asked for," said the fat man handing over a large envelope to Al.
"The lady will be leaving for Washington this evening and won't be back until Friday night. Her bodyguard is almost never there when she's gone, we checked. When will you be leaving?"

"Tonight," Al answered quickly. "With luck, you'll have the information no later than Saturday. In the mean time I'm going to need an advance to handle my travel expenses, say about $5,000?"

"I'll give you $1,000 and not a penny more until I see what you're going after." Klein laid down a stack of bills down in front of the detective, now turned corporate spy. "See you in a few days then." Klein turned to some paperwork on his desk. It was his way of impolitely dismissing the young man from his presence.

"In a few days," Al repeated back. He didn't bother trying to shake Klein's hand as he left. The private investigator may now be working for him but that didn't mean he had to like it.

As he walked out of the office, Al's mind was in deep thought. There were a number of things that needed to be done before he left that night. With just under a week left before Christmas it would take even longer to accomplish these tasks since he had to fight the vast crowds of last minute shoppers. He was so deep in thought, that it wasn't until Al heard his name for the third time that he realized someone was calling him.

"Hey Al, wait up!" said the voice from the other side of the street. He turned to see his friend, Jim Baker, running up to him.

"Hey, what planet were you on?" Jim asked. "I've been yelling your name for over a minute."

"Sorry about that," Al replied sheepishly. "I've got a lot on my mind." He decided to spill the beans.

"I'm on my way to the jewelry store to buy Sally an engagement ring. I already have one picked out. I just needed the money to pay for it."

"Hey, congratulations buddy. When do you plan to ask her?"

"Christmas Eve," Al replied back happily.

"That's great buddy. So what the hell were you doing in Walker's Enterprise? Don't tell me you work for him now?"

"Sort of," Al explained. "He's hired me for a job and I'm leaving tonight. I hope to be back by Saturday."

"Tom doesn't know about this, does he?" Jim asked. Tom was Al's partner and the closest thing to family that he had. Tom also knew, like half of the Seattle police force, that Klein Walker was a career criminal who had always managed to stay one step ahead of the law. His partner's one goal in life was to put Klein behind bars for good. If Tom found out that Al was doing a job for his old adversary, well, the shit would hit the fan.

"No he doesn't Jim, and I'd like to keep it that way. If you ever run into him please don't say anything, okay?"

"Hey man, no problem Al," said Jim and then eased the situation. "I won't be around for the next few weeks anyway. The army's sending me out on a mission tomorrow. Sorry Al, but I can't tell you were I'm going. You understand."

Al shook his head. "I understand, but just before Christmas. That's one of the reasons why I didn't re-enlist. You can never plan anything in advance. Hey look, give me a call when you get back in and we'll celebrate over dinner or something."

"Sounds great buddy," Jim smiled. "Talk to you when I get back."

Al shook Jim's hand and watched him leave. The army had treated him well but unlike Jim, he'd been ready to leave after his four years were up. But not Jim, he was a career soldier and enjoyed the life. The detective thought that was a mistake. His friend was smart and could easily land a good paying job almost anywhere. Well, Jim was happy and how many guys could say that about their job. Right now Al had his own life to run and he didn't have any time to waste. There would be a train leaving for Salt Lake City tonight (wrong tense) and he needed to be on it. The detective turned and started walking towards the shopping mall.

***

Dr. Sarah Jensen stretched far back in her chair. She felt stiff from sitting so long and being in this windowless office didn't help matters. It would have been nice if the contractors had included at least one window when they were setting up this room but her bosses wouldn't hear of it.

'Oh well, it wasn't too high of a price to pay for working at home,' Sarah thought. She decided to take a break and get a cup of coffee.

As she closed the office door the doctor heard it lock automatically. This was another price to pay for working at home. The security agency had insisted the door to her office remained shut and locked anytime she was away. At least she didn't have to use a key to get back in; the door was equipped with a palm reader, the newest thing in security systems.

And then there was Gerald, the security agent assigned by the agency to watch over her and the lab. He was the biggest price she had to pay for working at home. Still, it wasn't that bad. At times she was glad he was there to help her out. Today however, was not one of those days. Gerald was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper when she walked in.

"Good afternoon doctor. How's it going?" he asked.

"Fine I guess. I still have a lot of work to take care of before I leave tonight." She spotting the dirty dishes Gerald had piled up in the sink. "Why didn't you put these dishes in the dishwasher? It's only three feet away!"

"Hey doctor, it's not my job. I'm only here to protect you and keep an eye on the lab, not play maid. But leave it there, I'll get to it later!"

Sarah knew he wouldn't. They had been down this road many times before. She also knew that he knew it would bug her until it got done and she would end up doing it for him. The doctor was a very neat and orderly person who insisted on a tidy house. It wasn't in her nature to leave a mess lying around for very long.

"Speaking of maids, when do we get a new one?" she asked while grabbing a dirty plate. It had been over a month since the last one quit and she was getting tired of doing her research, the housework and picking up after Gerald.

"I don't know yet doctor. The last two didn't check out. There are a couple of others I plan to talk to next week but you know how careful we have to be with the work you do."

'As if that had anything to do with it,' Sarah thought to herself. What it really came down to was how pretty and willing one of these new ladies would be to go to bed with him. In the past 2 years they had hired six different female maids with the oldest being just 23 and the youngest only 19.

They would work for a few months while becoming Gerald's girlfriend and everything would be just fine. But then the bodyguard would grow tired of them. Once the romance faded these women usually didn't want to be around him anymore so they would just quit. Gerald may be charming and good-looking but underneath all the glitter he was still a chauvinistic pig.

"We need to get a new maid 'soon' Gerald!" she complained. "It's affecting the research I'm doing and we don't want that to happen, do we? I don't care if the next new maid is 80 years old; I want you to hire someone new by the end of the year! Do you understand me Gerald?"

Sarah took a deep breath to calm down. She was under way too much stress at the moment and having to fly to Washington to meet her boss didn't help. She really needed that vacation she would be taking after Christmas. New Years Eve couldn't come soon enough for her.

"Okay doctor, calm down. Once you get back from Washington we'll take care of the matter." Gerald tried to change the subject. "Speaking of which, do you want me to drive you to the airport tonight? It would give you a chance to relax before the flight and you wouldn't have to leave the car in the airport garage."

"No thanks, I'll drive myself," Sarah answered back. The last time she left her car with Gerald he had driven it for the entire week. When she got it back there was an empty gas tank and two, long ugly scratches on the driver's door.

'Not this time buddy', she said to herself heading back to her office. There was still an hour or so of work left to do before she would start packing.

***

Chapter 2 - Road Trip

Al stared out at the mountains slowly going past the boxcar door. There was no better way to travel than by train...in this case a freight train. He was standing inside a yellow boxcar with the name "Railbox" printed on the outside; one of thousands just like it that roamed all over the United States and Canadian railroads. "Next load, any road." was its slogan. In this case he was the load, the road was the Union Pacific railroad, and his destination was Williams siding, located just north Salt Lake City. As luck would have it, the UP main line ran less than a mile from the house he was going to break into.

It was the third day of his trip and Al was dirty, smelly, and tired. The last item he could take care of once he got to his motel room. The other two would have to wait until he got this job done. Just in case he did get caught breaking in, he wanted to give the appearance that was a nothing more than a homeless vagrant. But he knew he wouldn't get caught.

Al thought of himself like James Bond! Daring, cunning, resourceful, and able to work himself out of a tight situation when he needed to. He had spent most of his time on the train planning how to get in and out of the house in case he ran into any trouble. His disguise was nothing more then a safety net in case all else failed. The private investigator was convinced nothing would go wrong.

He saw the sign with the word "Williams" printed on it located right next to the track switch. The train was going much slower now as it strained to climb the steep grade it had just encountered. Al picked up the two backpacks he'd brought along and slung them over his shoulder. His favorite pack, covered with railroad patches front to back, contained food and water he had taken for the trip - as well as a change of clothes he would change into once the job was complete. The other pack had been custom designed to hold the equipment he needed to get past the security system. It had been liberated from the Army depot shortly before he was discharged.

Al waited until the train slowed to about 10 miles per hour before jumping off. Then he stood by the track and watched the rest of the cars slowly roll by. He didn't know it then but it would be the last train he would see for a long time.

The hike to the house was hard but he didn't mind. Normally the private detective ran 5 miles a day and was in excellent shape. Being cooped up in the boxcar had been the hardest part of the trip so far and Al was enjoying every step he took.

As he cleared the woods, Al spotted what he had come for. The house was located on a small hill surrounded by a high, brick wall and to the trained eye, a very elaborate security system. Anyone climbing over the wall or gate would set off an alarm alerting the people inside. Wanting to get a better view, the private investigator climbed a tree near the wall. From there he could see a beautiful, expensive home with a windowless room added to the rear. Compared to the rest of the house that room looked out of place.

In the driveway was a brand new Ford Mustang. The information he had been given said it belonged to the bodyguard, Gerald. Today was Friday and Al figured he would most likely be going out for the evening. At least that was what he hoped would happen. There was no car in the garage as expected. The owner, Sarah Jensen, was obviously still in Washington and wouldn't be home until later that night. It was a perfect setup! Now all he had to do was wait until it got dark, come back, get the information he needed, and then go collect his $50,000 from Klein Walker.

Al left the woods and started jogging down the road toward a motel located three miles away. The detective was tired and looking forward to a decent 8 hours of sleep in a real bed. Less then an hour later he arrived at the 3rd class joint called The Sunset Motel. The owner looked much like the place did, old and run down. 'Well, beggars can't be choosy', Al told himself as he walked in.

"I need a room - one that's quiet and away from the traffic," Al told the owner/manager.

"I'll give you number 4," the man replied back. "It's clean, quiet and the shower works." The owner emphasized the word "shower". Well, at least he smelled the part.

Once in his room, Al unfolded the map of the house to look at it once more. He really didn't need to look; the private investigator had a photographic memory. Still, his army training had taught him to be thorough.

"Piece of cake," he said to himself lying down on the bed. Less then 10 minutes later he was sound asleep.

***

Gerald was furious. His car, his brand new Mustang wouldn't start. It was less then three months old and already it had developed ignition problems.

"What morons!" he muttered to himself after he'd hung up the phone with the local Ford dealership. The manager had promised to pick up the car within the next hour and find out what the problem was. In the meantime he was stuck at home miles from anywhere. The dealership manager had assured him that he would get his car back before the day was over.

They'd better or there will be hell to pay! Gerald said to himself.

***

Tom McClain arrived late at the office but wasn't surprised to see Al not there. They both worked irregular hours and coming in late was part of the job. He looked down at the answering machine and noticed several messages waiting to be played back - some of them were a few days old. Tom frowned slightly. Al was supposed to have taken care of this while he was away.

'Well, maybe he got called out on his own assignment,' Tom thought. It had happened once before. He clicked the play button and listened to the messages on the machine. None of them were from Al.

'Damn it!' Tom swore silently. How many times had he told Al to check in and let him know what was going on. His partner had all the makings of a great detective but was also too much of a lone wolf. While being a private investigator wasn't as dangerous as some detective novels made it out to be, there were still some tense moments at times. And if anything bad did happen to his friend well, Tom needed to know where to start looking.

Well, he would talk to his friend when he got in. In the meantime Tom had his own work to do. He had to fill out a report for a woman who had suspected her husband was cheating on her. She was right of course, he was. When would they ever learn?

***

Chapter 3 - Inside the lion's den

Al woke up to the sound of the radio broadcasting a winter storm alert. It was already getting dark outside and the weatherman was warning everyone of a severe snowstorm that would hit the area sometime after 9pm.

'Perfect,' he thought to himself. 'The snow will cover up all my tracks after I leave.'

He studied the map of the house one more time before taping it to the underside of the drawer. Carefully he slid the drawer back into the slot. Then he grabbed the backpack with the equipment. As he stepped outside a blast of cold wind greeted him. Well, he would warm up in a few minutes. Al did some stretching exercises and then started jogging toward the Jensen house.

***

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIX IT UNTIL TUESDAY?" Gerald yelled into the phone. "Take the part off one of the other cars on the lot."

The bodyguard listened to the manager's poor excuse on why this couldn't be done. He had watched them tow his car away with the assurance it would be fixed by the end of the day. Now the dealership waited until 5 minutes before they closed to tell him it would be Tuesday before the part would come in.

"What about a rental?" Gerald demanded. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY? You have an ENTIRE LOT FULL OF CARS I COULD DRIVE!" The manager on the other end tried to explain about their insurance not covering such a situation but Gerald cut him off.

"Screw YOUR insurance," said Gerald in a fit of rage. "I have my OWN INSURANCE AND I WANT A CAR RIGHT NOW! NOT NEXT WEEK, TODAY!" Sometimes yelling got him what he wanted but not this time. Gerald slammed the phone down in a fit of rage.

"GREAT! A Friday night and no car to go anywhere." The bodyguard sat down on the couch to sulk. If only Dr. Jensen hadn't taken her car. Now he would have to spend Friday night home alone. But Gerald didn't realize how mistaken he was.

***

The sky was starting to spit snow when Al arrived at the main gate. There was a light on in the living room but the car that had been parked in the driveway was gone. Quickly he moved off to one side of the surrounding wall towards a clump of trees. In this type of weather it would be impossible for anyone to see him from the road.

He took a few steps back and made a running jump for the wall. His fingers grabbed the edge and slowly Al pulled his head even with the top to see what he was up against. Imbedded in the bricks were a series of sensors spaced about every six inches. They were designed to pick up large objects climbing over the wall, like a man for instance. The sensor's range was only a few feet at best; but then it didn't need to be more since the wall was almost seven feet high. It would have taken a giant to jump over the wall and clear the sensors without breaking a leg (or two) on landing.

Al looked around for the place he had spotted earlier in the day. A thick tree branch had been allowed to grow over the wall making it the perfect bridge to cross. Carefully he climbed high into the tree until he got to the branch. After making sure it wouldn't break, he slowly inched his way out across it. Once passed the wall, Al placed a rope over both sides of the branch and gently lowered himself down. When his feet touched the ground he retrieved the rope and looked around for a junction box.

The house was protected by a high-rated security system called 'The Nighthawk'. It was the same system Al had worked with before while in the Army. 'The Nighthawk' was simple in terms of hardware but very effective in what it was designed to do. Each system had it's own standard computer that could be located anywhere inside the house. Attached to the back of the computer was a high powered receiver.

By using radio signals, it allowed the system to be free of wires between the computer and the sensors; wires that could be cut both accidentally and on purpose. The sensors in the wall were connected to a device called the junction box. Its purpose was to collect the data from the sensors and pass it on to the receiver via a narrow-band signal. The signal was scrambled between the two locations making it almost impossible to duplicate. Because of its strength, the signal was equally impossible to jam unless someone used a jammer the size of a small car. In the case of the latter, any interruption in the signal would cause alarm to go off making the attempt pointless.

All in all it was a beautiful system but it had one major flaw -the junction boxes were not made to be tamper-proof. Instead of having the front panel monitored with a sensor so the computer could alert someone when the door was open; it was kept shut with a cheap metal latch that a 2-year-old could have opened.

Al had tried to warn the company about the problem but the designer's arrogance wouldn't allow him to admit there could be anything wrong with his baby.

"After all," the designer had lectured the young army soldier like some college professor who was berating a student for questioning something so obvious; "first you have to get to the junction box - which of course is impossible anyway. So why increase the security of the box if a intruder can't get to it in the first place."

Al almost rolled his eyes when the designer then started talking about how much more expensive the system would be with the change. He had checked to see what the cost would have been. All together, the parts wouldn't have added up to more then $20 per box. If they went with just a simple, high-rated lock, then that price was almost cut in half. What was a couple of hundred dollars extra to someone buying a $100,000 system? It was well worth the cost considering it would have increased the security protection of 'The Nighthawk' tenfold.

At the Jensen house there were two junction boxes assigned to each of the four walls for a total of eight.

'That salesperson must have done some fast-talking,' Al told himself. 'One box per wall would have done the job nicely.'

The private eye spotted what he was looking for behind a bush and went to work. First he pulled out a digital tester and turned it on. The numbers on the display panel were lit making them easy to see in the dark.

Next he hooked up the leads to the junction box circuits and hit the scan button. What few people realized when they purchased a security system was that there was always a back door built into them. This allowed the service people to monitor and calibrate the system without having to pry the password out of the owner each time this was done. In a matter of minutes his tester had figured out the code needed to disable the sensors on that part of the wall for one minute. Sixty seconds would be plenty of time to cross over the wall and get away. Al punched the code into the memory, disconnected everything, and packed the digital tester back into its backpack. Then he made his way over a set of trashcans next to the garage window.

Being careful not to make any noise, he tucked the backpack into one of the cans and covered it up with trash. While Al was confident the house was empty, he wanted to be sure no one was inside before he brought anything in. After all, what would a transient be doing breaking into a house with a backpack full of expensive, electrical equipment?

Prying open the garage window was easy; it wasn't even locked. But in the process of climbing in, Al knocked over a can, which made a loud rattling noise as it hit the floor. The PI almost jumped out of his skin when he heard it hit the ground. He stopped dead in his tracks and listened carefully to see if he could hear anyone coming.

***

Inside Gerald heard the can fall and laid down the newspaper. He didn't believe things fell for no reason so he quietly tiptoed over to the door and put his ear to it. Listening carefully, he was soon rewarded by the sound of footsteps walking across the hard garage floor. Then the handle on the door jiggled.

***

Al tried the door even though he knew it would most likely be locked. Well, that really wasn't true. It was fitted with one of the cheaper door locks you could buy.

'Very typical of the world we live in,' Al thought to himself. 'Buy a super expensive alarm system for the house but protect the outside doors with a $2 lock.' He took out a pick and in less then 30 seconds he had it unlocked.

***

While this was going on, Gerald's training was kicking in. He walked inside a closet and closed the door until there was just a crack to see through.

'Better to find out just whom I'm dealing with before acting,' he thought to himself. His right hand gripped the gun that was already out of its holster. It had been a while since he had had a reason to use it. What he saw come through the door surprised him. In walked a skinny, dirty man dressed in shabby clothes.

'A thief!' If so he was going to be in for a rude surprise.

Next to the door was the alarm panel. Al noticed the ready light was green, indicating the system was waiting to be turned on.

'Also very typical of the world we live in today,' Al said to himself. In the army his commander had drilled into him to turn on the alarm whenever he was leaving a secure area. Yet most people only set the alarm when they would be gone for more then a day - sometimes not even then. Al didn't see the point of having a security system if you weren't going to use it all the time!

He stood by the door for a moment and listened. The car outside was gone and the house seemed to be quite deserted. If the bodyguard were in the house he would have known it by now. Al headed up the steps toward the bedrooms, unaware he was being watched.

Gerald was sure he was dealing with an ordinary thief. The intruder was heading upstairs, not towards the lab. The bodyguard put his gun away. He wouldn't need it to take care of this job. After about 30 seconds he headed up the stairs behind Al.

***

Al entered the main bedroom and started going through some drawers packed with expensive lingerie. 'This doctor sure has good taste,' he thought. Underneath a pair of lacy underwear he found some expensive gold rings.

'Jackpot!' Al almost said out loud. Maybe he wouldn't have to use any of the money Klein Walker had given him to get back home.

His original plan had been to get some stuff together in the event he was caught, making him look like an intruder rather than an industrial spy. Then, after he got what he had came for, he would put everything back the way he had found it. But the lure of easy cash was just too inviting. The investigator now understood why criminals continued to rob houses even when they no longer needed the money. It gave them a high.

Looking in another drawer he found $700 in cash rolled up in a pair of pink socks. This was getting better. Other drawers revealed similar items he could sell for lots of money. Al stuffed them all into a small bag he had brought along.

"Now for the real prize," he said quietly to himself. As he turned towards the door Al came face to face with the biggest man he had ever seen in his life.

"Hi there," Gerald said with a smile. Al felt something hit the side of his face and a moment later found himself on the floor. As the private investigator tried to get up, he was rewarded with a blow to his side that knocked the wind out of him. Then came a sharp blow to his back, leaving him partially paralyzed. Al gasped for air and looked up at the big man standing above him, still with a smile on this face.

"I...I," he gasped. "I made a mistake...the wrong house."

"Yes, you made a big mistake my friend," Gerald replied back. "And now you're going to pay for it." The bodyguard reached down to hit the intruder hard again.

***

Chapter 4 - The wrong choice

The flight had been a long and Sarah was glad to be home. Pulling into the driveway she noticed the light was on in her bedroom.

'That's rather odd,' she thought as Gerald met her at the door.

"We have a small problem," he said to her.

***

Al was locked in a small room located inside the very lab he was supposed to have broken into. His body was bruised and bleeding from the beating he had taken. Gerald's punches felt like he was being hit with a sledgehammer and the bodyguard seemed to take great pleasure in distributing them even when it was clear Al was no longer a threat to him.

As he lay on the bare cot, his eyes turned to the large mirror located on the wall that the lab office shared. He had been too groggy to notice when Gerald brought him in but guessed it was really a one-way mirror. He rubbed his head and tried to think about what had happened. The physical pain was bad but it was his pride that hurt the most. After all his planning, what had gone wrong?

Gerald had questioned him roughly for over an hour about how he had gotten over the wall and what he was doing here. Well, at least Al had the satisfaction of knowing the screw-up didn't occur there. But that had been over an hour and a half ago, the police should have arrived long ago. If only he could see what was happening on the other side of the mirror.

***

On the other side of the mirror Sarah stared at the intruder lying on the cot. "How did he get in?" she demanded to know.

"I'm not sure," Gerald replied back slowly. "As you can see, I questioned him extensively. He told me that he pole vaulted over the front gate. I guess that's possible, he's in pretty good shape for a transit; but I didn't find a pole anywhere near the gate. He said he needed some money for a place to stay. Here are all the things he had on him."

Sarah looked at all the items Al had taken from her room, some of them having a very high sentimental value to her. She really did need to get a safe, didn't she? Cash could be replaced but not sentimental items. There was also a wallet containing an ID card with the name of "Joe Smith" and his picture on it. Odd, he was wearing the same clothes in the picture that he had on now and the ID card was several years old. It had to be a fake.

"I was getting ready to call the police but...," said Gerald.

"Yes," Sarah finished for him. "That's the last thing we need right now."

There was more at stake here than a simple break-in. If the agency found out what had happened they would force the doctor to move out of her home and into someplace they felt was more secure. If she refused well, they may not cut their support for her research but she couldn't take that chance, could she?

The doctor was so close to achieving her goal and needed the test subjects the agency provided her with. But what could she do? Gerald could take care of the man and not have it bother him but her? No, she could not be a party to murder. She would rather turn him over to the police first. So was there another way? Gerald read her mind and prepared to spring a plan he had been thinking about before she had shown up.

"There is another way we can handle the situation where the police don't have to be called in and no one gets hurt," he told her in a cunning tone. "It also fixes another problem we talked about earlier. Remember how you were telling me we needed a maid and I told you about the security risk. The problem is finding someone we can trust...or control."

Sarah didn't even look over at Gerald. She just stared at this dirty, most likely smelly thing that had invaded her home and tried to steal her precious possessions.

'Why not?' she thought. 'The police would only turn him lose in a few days to steal from someone else. This bum was never going to find a job and here she could offer him real security where he would serve a useful purpose. Outside he was just another leech on society.'

"We have to make sure he has no family or friends before doing 'anything' to him," she finally said. "We don't want someone coming around later looking for him. Let me in so I can question him."

"Hold your nose," said Gerald as he unlocked the door. "He stinks pretty badly!"

Al didn't rise as the bodyguard and Dr. Jensen strolled into the room. Damn it, how was he going to get out of this mess without being arrested? And if he was arrested, how was he going to make sure no one found out who he really was? Well, the police hadn't been called otherwise they would have been here by now. Al decided to play it cool and see what they wanted. The lady spoke to him first.

"So, I understand you went through my things looking for stuff to steal. What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked sternly. Her bodyguard wasn't kidding, he did stink.

"Hey lady, I'm sorry. It's cold outside and I didn't want to spend Christmas in the snow. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone, honest. I'm very sorry, please let me go. Please?"

'Not a bad act,' Al thought to himself.

"What about your family? Don't you want to spend time with them?"

"Don't have no family. My parents were killed in a car crash by a drunk driver when I was two years old. I lived in an orphanage until I was 13, then I ran away." Al didn't mention he had been caught a few days later and sent back.

"So no family? No one to miss you?" Sarah asked in what sounded to Al to be a concerned tone.

"No, no one. I'm all-alone with no one who cares for me. I take care of myself. I've done so for a long time." Al looked down on the ground trying to create sympathy for himself. Being so close to Christmas, people tended to be more generous to the less fortunate. It was a dirty trick but Al needed to use every one in the book if he planned to get out of this mess. He couldn't have realized he was writing his own death warrant.

"How come you're in such good shape for a transit?" asked Gerald.

"Hey man, it's a hard life, with no health policy if I get sick, you know what I mean? I spend hours in railroad boxcars with nothing to do so I might as well keep in shape, right? Besides, it protects me from the other people who ride the rails."

'He's perfect,' Sarah said to herself. There were no family members or friends who would miss him. He's kept himself in good shape, which was needed for what she had in mind. Yes, he would do very nicely.

"I'll give you a choice Joe. I can call the police and have them pick you up or you can help me with my research. I will need a sample of your blood and skin. Don't worry, it won't hurt at all. And, you will need to spend the next 48 hours here while I conduct my tests. The sample is for some genetic research I am working on. I'll even let you keep the cash you took from my sock drawer. So, what do you want me to do?"

Gerald knew his boss had made up her mind to use him when she mentioned the word's "genetic research". It was a big breach of security to mention what they were doing here and Dr. Jensen knew it all to well. There was no way this Joe Smith, or whoever he really was, was going to walk out of this lab alive if he decided wrongly.

Al on the other hand considered himself very lucky. Not only could he avoid going to jail, he may even earn some money out of this. At least he wouldn't be going home empty handed. He would have loved to teach this big ape a lesson but if that was the cost of not spending Christmas in jail, along with a small sample of his skin and blood, it was worth it. Al started to roll up his shirtsleeve.

***

Chapter 5 - Crossing the "T"s, dotting the "I"s

Sarah was pouring through the thick books on her desk. The hardest part of the process was making up a word -- one word --which had never been spoken before and would never be heard in public. It sounded so easy and yet it wasn't. The problem was, you never knew when the test subject (that is how she thought of Al now) was going to run into someone from a foreign country where in English the word meant nothing but in their language it did. She was on her third word; the first two had failed to be unique. One had been a medical term in Russia and the other was a common name for a tool in Spanish. The odds against hearing such a word were great but if it happened, the results could be disastrous.

Her computer was searching the CD's (there were 19 of them) containing numerous words from around the world. It checked to see if the word she typed in existed or sounded like any of the other words the CD's had on file. But even they didn't contain all the words (yet) and she still had to look in real books to be sure.

The computer beep and displayed, "NO MATCHING WORDS FOUND." Sarah also hadn't found the word listed in any of the books she checked. So, this was the word she could use. 'Ekala!'

Next the doctor looked at the profile sheets of several donors she had received from around the country. All of them were young females between the ages of 18 and 25. She looked at each one carefully and picked out what she thought were the best two. One was a 23-year-old named Cindy Baker. From the report she had beautiful blonde hair and a body to match. She was also intelligent and carried herself well.

The other was an 18-year-old female named Jennifer Anderson. She was a cheerleader and an "A" student in high school. The person taking her report had given her a top score of 5 in several categories including looks, poise and mannerism. Sarah thought about it for a moment and put Cindy Bakers profile back in the pile.

"Sorry Cindy, I have to go with the younger woman this time." There was one more thing she had to do before going to bed. 'How late was it?' she wondered. The clock showed it was almost 3am. Sarah looked up the number and dialed.

"Sam, this is Sarah Jensen. I have a job for you. I need you to find out what is happening with a Jennifer Lynnette Anderson." She gave him all the information he needed. "I also need you to find me a new female ID around the same age range and Sam, I want you to keep this to yourself, understand? Yes, I know that will double the price; I'll pay it. Okay, thanks Sam. You can fax me the information when you get it. Night."

Dr. Jensen hung up the phone and stretched. It had been a busy day but tomorrow, no today, was going to be an even busier one. Still she didn't feel tired despite being on the move for more then 20 hours straight. The excitement of starting a new experiment had kept her going half the night.

Now came the hardest part, waiting on the information to come in from Sam. She peeked behind the curtain at the man sound asleep in the room. Gerald had found the vagrant a pair of sweat pants and T-shirt to wear along with a bar of soap. He made sure the man had taken a shower before being locked up for the night.

How strange that fate had brought this stranger to her. In less then 48 hours he would go from being a useless vagrant to a great asset for her use. She would learn so much from him, more than she had been able to learn in the past year. Hopefully he would prove what Sarah already thought to be true about her new drug. She took one more look at him then dropped the curtain and headed up to bed.

***

It had taken the better part of the morning but Sam had found and faxed the information to her. It was better then Sarah had expected. Jennifer Anderson had been killed in a traffic accident a few months earlier. Her older brother and sister had died years ago and her parents were retired and living in Florida. They apparently didn't have any close relatives (there were none listed on the report Jennifer had filled out when she agreed to donate her tissue sample) so there was no chance on running into anyone out near Salt Lake City who knew her. Sam was asking if he should reactivate her Social Security number or provide Sarah with another identity of someone else who had been born around the same time. Sarah thought for a moment.

Here was an ideal situation to use the real identity of the donor from which the sample had been taken. In many ways, she was going to bring Jennifer Anderson back to life. To bad she couldn't allow Jennifer's parents to see her again because she was sure they must have been devastated. Losing a child had to be hard to deal with, but losing all three of them at different times must have been pure hell!

Well, she couldn't let them know about her creation. In fact, no one but Gerald, herself and this vagrant could ever know the truth. That was why she needed a proper ID for this subject, in case the people she worked for decided to do a little background check themselves. This subject would need a driver's license, credit cards and a checking account. In short, she needed to be just like everyone else in the world.

Sarah was amazed how everything seemed to be coming together. She had needed a maid and a subject to test her drug on, and then this vagrant showed up that no one would miss. Then she needed a new identity for him and the real donor's information was readily available. It was like some higher being was pulling all the strings together for her. Now that all the strings where in place, she was ready to begin. She would start the process after the subject had his supper.

***

Tom was more then just a little concerned. It had been over three days since he'd heard from Al and that just wasn't like him. He had already left 2 phone messages on his home answering machine asking him to call. Well, Tom decided he was really going to give it to his friend the next time he saw him. Taking off like that and not telling anyone where he was going was irresponsible and stupid. Tom tried to stop thinking about it as he turned back to another case he was working on.

***

In his locked room Al had time to think about everything that had happen in the past 24 hours. He should have been home by now, kissing Sally and getting ready for Christmas. Instead he was prisoner with no idea what was really going on. He wondered if this Dr. Jensen would keep her word. Suddenly the door opened and Gerald walked in carrying a tray of food.

"Better eat it all," he informed Al laying the tray on the desk. "That's all you're going to get for tonight".

They had fed him breakfast but not lunch so Al was hungry. He dug into the hot food, enjoying every mouthful. He was sure the big ape was watching him on the other side of this mirror.

'Well let him enjoy himself,' Al said to himself. 'In another day I'll be out of this prison and on his way back home.'

'Home!' The word sounded so nice. Al started to dream about how wonderful it would be to get home and sleep in his own bed. All of the sudden he felt very, very tired. Strange, he never went to bed this early and yet...he couldn't keep his eyes open. Al moved towards the cot and fell onto it. In less then a minute he was sound asleep.

***

Chapter 6 - The experiment

He woke up in a chair located in Sarah Jensen's bedroom. Someone had removed all his clothes and placed him in a robe. Still a little groggy, Al looked around and saw a small pile of clothes on the bed. Dr. Jensen was standing in a corner looking at a laptop computer while Gerald stood next to him. The private investigator felt a slight pain in the back of his neck, as if it had been pricked. He also could see and feel several sensors attached to his legs, chest, arms and head. Looking at the clock next to the bed Al realized he had been asleep for over three hours. What the hell had happen to him in those three hours?

"Ah, I see you're finally up," Sarah said to him cheerfully. "Good, we can begin our experiment."

"What experiment? I didn't agree to ANY FUCKING EXPERIMENT! And what the HELL are these fucking things?" Al demanded to know while pointing at one of the sensors on his leg.

"Those are the newest thing in the medical community; wireless sensors. I can pick up all your vital signs on this computer without the need of wires. They're much more comfortable to wear than the old type. Don't worry, you will only have them on for a few days." Sarah smiled warmly at him but Al sensed it was forced rather then one of genuine compassion and concern. "Now, if we can begin. Since you seemed to enjoy going through my things I thought maybe you'd like to try some of them on. I want you to go over to the bed and put on my clothes."

Al Parker was taken back by the request/demand. "Are you crazy lady? There's no way in HELL you or that big ape of yours is going to make me put on your clothes. I don't know what you take me for but you can forget that idea. Call the fucking police if you want but I want no part of this."

"Oh, that's too bad," Sarah said with a disappointed frown that Al sensed was also being forced. "I was so looking forward to seeing you get dressed in some of my finest lingerie. Perhaps I can make you change your mind."

She moved closer to him and spoke, "Ekala! You will do exactly what I tell you to do. You will not try to hurt Gerald or myself in any way and you will never speak the key word Ekala out loud. Ekala! "

She paused for a moment then said, "Now, I want you to get up and get dressed in my clothes that I have laid out on the bed." Al felt a slight burning in his neck but ignored it.

"I said are you crazy lady? There's no fucking way..." he stopped short in mid-sentence. Despite not wanting to, he found himself getting up and walking towards the bed. When he tried to stop himself, the burning sensation in the back of his neck got stronger.

"What the hell, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" he yelled out to Dr. Jensen. She didn't answer, instead keeping her eyes glued to the computer screen in front of her.

Al removed the robe and then watched in horror as his hands; his own hands, reached out and picked up a pair of pink, nylon panties. He suddenly felt a strong desire growing inside him to put them on.

"No, no, stop! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" he shouted to his now useless hands. He didn't want to put them on and yet in the back of his mind he knew he was going to do just that. He stepped into the panties and pulled them up his naked body. Then he picked up the bra.

"GOD DAMN IT, STOP!" Al shouted out to his body. In the back of his mind he didn't want to do any of this and yet he couldn't a prevent himself to doing so. Al felt like he was on a runaway roller coaster with no control over what would happen next. He was only along for the ride.

Al hooked the bra just like he had seen his girlfriend do many times before. Then he pushed his arms through the straps and straightened it the best he could. Next he picked up the lacy blue half slip off the bed. He concentrated on trying to stop the action before it happened. But the more he tried to fight it, the greater the desire to put it on grew.

"You DAMN BITCH! STOP what you're doing or I swear to God I'll break your fucking neck!" He shouted out more threats but noticed Gerald didn't move from his corner to try and stop him.

Dr. Jensen meanwhile gave him an emotionless expression and looked back down at the computer screen again. Stress levels, respiration, heart rate were all way up, far beyond normal. It was a good thing this subject was in excellent shape, otherwise there could be some serious damage.

'Well, enough of this,' she thought. It was now time for phase two. She cut him off in the middle of some more threats.

"Ekala! You shall remain happy and calm. You will not issue any more threats and you will enjoy doing what you are doing. You will only answer questions in a nice and polite way from now on. Ekala!

Immediately Al's outside appearance changed from anger to an almost unnerving calm. Inside his stress level rose up to 220, 80 points higher than what was considered normal. But to Sarah's surprise, his heart rate dropped from 160 to 140 and his respiration showed some improvement as well. She hadn't expected that to happen.

"Oh, this is so pretty!" Al remarked as he slid the half-slip up to his waist.

Gerald started to chuckle, enjoying every moment of the show. The doctor looked up at him sternly. She took her experiments very seriously and didn't want anyone around who didn't feel the same way.

"Gerald, why don't you wait outside in the hallway until I need you." The bodyguard gave her a questioning look. "It's okay, I have things under control and it looks as if our guest is enjoying this now, isn't that right Joe?"

"Oh yes doctor. I just love putting on your clothes," Al replied. This was totally opposite of what he'd wanted to say. Inside Al was like a boiling volcano ready to explode. He tried to concentrate and block out this need to wear her clothes but it only caused the burning in his neck to increase and the desire to grow even stronger.

Gerald nodded and left the room without saying a word, while Al started putting on a pair of the doctor's pantyhose. He used to love watching Sally get dressed whenever he spent the night at her place. But now...now he was doing the same thing based on what he had learned from watching her. And worse, there was nothing he could do about it. It was so frustrating, so embarrassing. Sarah watched the readouts some more and then spoke to him.

"You know, if you calm down and just accepted what's happening then things would go a lot smoother for you. Getting dressed up in women's clothing really isn't so bad, I do it all the time." She giggled slightly at her own comment.

"Thank you for the advice doctor." 'Damn it!' He wanted to yell and threaten her but all he could do was reply back in a nice, calm way.

'How am I going to get out of this?' he thought. 'Think man, think!'

After Al put on the pair of pantyhose he reached to pick up the dress she had laid out for him. No, he wouldn't put it on. He was going to fight this with all his might. He concentrated as hard as he could to stop himself.

'No! No! No! I won't put this dress on! I'll stop myself from doing it. I won't do this! I have control over my own body. No! No! No! I won't do this.' He kept repeating that in his mind but all it did was build up his desire to wear the dress even more.

His hands gently lifted the dress off the bed and held it up in front of him. It was a beautiful blue and white flower dress trimmed with white lace at the neckline and hem. If Sally had been wearing it he would have been drooling all over her. It was a real feminine dress and knowing that only made it worse for Al. He knew he was going to put it on. No matter how hard he concentrated, how hard he tried to avoid it, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Still he tried, concentrating now on just the word, "no". His only reward for the effort was a burning sensation in the back of his neck and a desire to put it on that reached a 'feverish state'. Every part of his body was telling him that putting on the dress was the right thing to do, that it wanted to feel the dress against his skin. Inside Al's mind screamed out to stop but his body just wasn't listening to him anymore. After a few seconds of struggling, he lost the mental battle. There was nothing Al could do but watch and suffer in silence as his hands worked the dress over his head and pulled it down over his body.

The doctor meanwhile watched the readouts with fascination as they rapidly increased. The subject's stress level reached 260 and continued to climb. His heart rate reached 170 but quickly dropped back down to 120 after the dress was on. Respiration was still high but showed strong signs that he was getting tired of fighting. Perfect, just as she had predicted. But there were still other tests to perform before she could be sure everything was all right.

"You did a very good job, Joe. Now I want you to sit down at my vanity here." Al did as he was commanded in silence despite the fact he tried to say no.

"Okay Joe, I want you to put on this wig and then some makeup. Don't worry if you can't get it on right, we can fix that later."

This constant fighting within him had drained Al, still, he tried resisting with what little strength he had. It didn't matter, he watched his hands reach out and pick up the blonde wig the doctor had set out for him. With care, he placed it over his head the best way he knew how. Then his attention turned to the makeup lying about on the table. He had seen Sally fool with her makeup before but he'd never actually watch her put any on. Sarah gave him some directions but Al ended up doing a terrible job. He put on way to much eye shadow, some of the mascara ended up on his nose, and he didn't get all of the lipstick on his lips.

Sarah patted him on the shoulder after he was done. "There, that isn't too bad for a first time." She smiled at him in the mirror and Al couldn't help but smile back. How he wanted to wipe that smile off her pretty little face.

The readouts on the computer were going down now. Heart rate was at 100; respiration was almost back to normal. His stress rate was at 190; still high but showing signs of improvement. It was time to proceed with the next step.

"Come with me Joe. It's time we find out the TRUTH about you." Al stood up to follow her out of the bedroom.

"Oh, I'm sorry about the lack of shoes," she told him opening up the door. "I didn't have time to buy any high heels in your size. Besides, I didn't see a need to spend good money on shoes you would only wear once."

Al was relieved over the doctor's last sentence; at least he wouldn't have to repeat this experiment again. He couldn't have been more wrong about anything else.

***

Chapter 7 - And the truth shall set you free

Gerald was standing in the hallway as they walked out.

"Hi gorgeous!" he said with a smirk. Then he started laughing uncontrollably at Al. Inside the private detective was embarrassed and angry. He wanted to strike out and teach this asshole a thing or too. Sarah noticed Al's stress level increase on the computer screen.

"Now Gerald," she told him. "Joe is our guest and needs to be treated with respect... no matter how he's dressed. However Joe, I feel we need to give you a new name - something to match the way you look. We'll take care of that after we start our chat. Lets go down into the living room where we can talk."

Sarah led the way followed by Al and then Gerald, who was still snickering with delight. Al took a seat on the couch across from his two captors.

"Let's begin Joe." Sarah flashed him a quick smile. She was enjoying herself. "What is your real name?"

"I told you. It's Joe Smith, just like my ID says."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't believe you." She smiled at him like someone who had the upper hand and knew it. "I see we're going to have to do it my way. Ekala! You will speak only the truth whenever you are asked a question. You will only answer my questions in a calm manner. Ekala! Now, what's your real name mister?"

Al felt a slight burning in his neck. "My name is - Al Parker."

'What the hell?' He had planned to say Joe Smith just as before, not his real name.

"I see," Sarah replied with big smile. "So Al -- how about we call you Alice instead? You look more like an Alice to me."

The private investigator felt his ears burn from shame and embarrassment. When he was a young boy, a much bigger and older kid had once called him Alice. The older kid had paid for his mistake with a bloody nose. Al wanted to do the same thing to Dr. Jensen right now.

"I hate that name so don't call me that again." Al was surprised at how rude he was able to sound despite her command to remain calm. Perhaps they hadn't worked all the bugs out yet?

Sarah looked over at him with a frown. "I see we need to help our friend here concerning manners Gerald. Ekala! You will no longer be rude or short tempered with Gerald or myself again. You will only answer our questions in a nice, calm, civil manner. You will like your new name and answer to it until we give you another name. Your new name for now is Alice. Ekala! Now, what do you think of your new name Alice?"

"Oh, I love it Dr. Jensen. Thank you for picking it out." Inside Al cringed at what he was saying. What had happened to him while he had been asleep? Did they plant some sort a mind control device in the back of his neck that was making him tell the truth? Well, he would try this again.

"Okay Alice, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty...I'm twenty-two," he replied and then cursed. He had wanted to lie and tell them he was 23 years old. There had to be a way around this control of theirs.

"Very good Alice." Dr. Jensen stopped to observe the readouts on the computer before continuing. "Now Alice, I want you to answer my next questions carefully. Where are you from, why were you in an orphanage, and when did you run away?

"I was born in Kansas City. My parents were killed in a car crash when I was 2 and I was sent to Saint Mary's orphanage. When I was 13, I managed to run away and have been on the run ever since."

'BINGO!' Al said to himself. For the first time since this nightmare experiment had begun he had hope. What he had told her was in fact true and yet -- it didn't reflect what the real truth was. Yes, he had run away from St. Mary's when he was 13, only to be caught 3 days later and sent back there. But that period was a defining point in his life. From that moment on Al always felt like he was still running to get away from that place. It was one of the reasons he had enlisted in the Army when he was only 17 years old.

At St. Mary's, Al had been a master at deceit. He could spit out facts which, while true, misled people so they'd believe something that was totally false. It was like telling everyone your Uncle was in prison but then not mentioning he was also the warden. In the army this skill had served him well and with the help of others, he had managed to fine-tune his methods.

So that was the way around this control of theirs. As long as they didn't ask him specific questions such as his name or age, he was free to mislead them with facts. He wasn't actually lying to them, was he?

"It sounds like you've had a hard life." Sarah said, trying to sound sympathetic but not doing a very good job at it. "So, no living relatives you can visit? No living brothers or sisters that you know of?"

"As I told you, none. I was an only child." Al didn't mention that he thought of Tom as a brother. He didn't have to since she hadn't specified if he felt like he had a brother. Gerald asked the next question.

"How did you get onto our property without setting off the alarm?"

"I was able to climb a tree and use a branch to get past the top of the wall. Then I used a rope to lower myself to the ground." Al left out how he was planning to get out.

Gerald wasn't happy with Al's answer. He was in charge of security and it was his job to ensure everything was safe and secure. Yet a $100,000 security system had been breached because he had allowed a tree branch to grow over the wall. So damn simple and yet...he had failed to see it coming. Well, he would fix that problem.

But something else puzzled Gerald. Why hadn't the heat sensors picked the transient up when he was over the top of the wall? Unknown to Al, the Security Company had also imbedded some heat sensors in the wall and they had a much longer range. Then Gerald remembered there had been a lot of snowfall that night.

'The snow must have blocked the heat coming off this transient's body long enough for him to get across. Damn it,' he swore to himself. 'He should have realized this would be a problem. How often did it snow here anyway? To damn much! This bum's answers didn't reflect well on his ability to keep things safe and secure. It made him look like a fool, and in front of Dr. Jensen.' Gerald didn't like being made a fool of. This Al Parker was going to pay for his sins when he got him alone. Sarah could see what Gerald was thinking.

'Well, too bad,' she thought to herself. It was good to see Gerald's ego broken down a little from time to time. It also gave her something to hold over him and the worst thing about it for Gerald was, he knew it. She smiled inwardly and turned back to her guest to ask another question.

***

The two of them questioned Al for over an hour but fortunately didn't find out what he really was doing there. The private detective had been able to twist about 50% of the truth around to make them believe his original cover story. After they were done, Gerald led him back to the lab. A few minutes later Sarah appeared carrying something.

"Here, you can't sleep in that outfit tonight. I got you something a little more comfortable to wear. Take off the dress, slip, pantyhose..." Oh, what the hell, she wasn't a cruel person, "and the bra Alice. Then put on this nightie while I fix you something to help you sleep."

Sarah noticed his stress level, which had been averaging around 150, take a jump on the computer. It really was amazing to watch him follow her instructions so calmly while knowing at the same time that he was like a boiling volcano inside.

Rested after his last battle, Al resisted the best he could. After stripping off the doctor's clothes, he picked up the black, silky nightgown she had given him to wear. Inside his mind was screaming, "no!" while on the outside he was calm and collective. His hands placed the nightgown over his head.

'Damn it -- listen to me you stupid body. It's me, your brain. Stop, stop, STOP!' Al felt so helpless as his hands reached into the sleeves and a moment later the nightgown slid down his body just like it was supposed to.

"Oh good," Sarah observed. "It's not too small on you. I was afraid it wouldn't fit since you're slightly bigger then me. I hope it's not too snug, that's the biggest nightie I own."

"It fits fine," he purred back at her. "And so pretty - I love it. Thank you for letting me borrow it Dr. Jensen." Inside Al died a thousand deaths.

Sarah flashed him a smile while keeping an eye on the computer readings that were going wild again. "You're welcome Alice. I want to help you with your process in any way I can. Now, take this pill and swallow it like a good girl. It'll help you sleep through the night. You need to be well rested since tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for us."

'What the hell is she planning to do to me tomorrow?' Al wanted to know. He swallowed the pill as commanded and got into bed.

"Good night Alice," Dr. Jensen said while turning off the light and closing the door. She checked to make sure it was locked and dismissed Gerald for the night. Then she sat down at her desk and began printing out the results. It took over an hour.

***

"Tom!" The voice on the other ended sounded very worried. "This is Sally. Have you seen or heard from Al in the past few days?"

"No Sally, not for some time," replied Tom. 'Damn, she's worried about him too.'

"Well I haven't either. Al was supposed to be back by now but he isn't. I haven't seen or heard from him in four days. That's not like him."

Tom sat up in his chair. "Back? Back from where Sally? Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No. He called me on Tuesday at work to say he was going out of town and would be back this morning. He didn't tell me where he was going, only that he had been hired to do a job for someone he referred to as Mr. W. I'm really worried Tom, he should have called me by now if he was going to be delayed."

Tom realized that his partner had to be in some kind of trouble. If nothing else, he knew that Al would have given Sally a call by now.

'Damn it Al,' Tom swore to himself. 'Why didn't you tell someone where you were going.

"Don't worry Sally," Tom said in his normal voice to try and calm her down. "I'll go over and check his apartment right now. I'm sure he's okay. Probably got hung up somewhere and forgot to call you. You know how Al is sometimes. Look, I'll give you a call as soon as I find out what's going on, okay?"

"Please do that Tom," the distraught female pleaded to him. "I don't think I can sleep tonight without knowing he is safe."

"Don't worry Sally. Al knows how to take care of himself. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Tom hung up the phone. Now he was deeply worried. Al was the closest thing to a family that he had. No, he was family! Tom grabbed his friend's apartment key and headed out the door; wishing he hadn't waited so long.

***

Chapter 8 - Final Checks and Dead ends

It was another late night for Sarah Jensen but she didn't mind. The doctor was used to working long hours and in this case it wasn't really work to her. Sarah loved doing research and tonight she had learned so much. The results from the experiment were very promising and showed that she could now proceed with the next step.

While Al had been asleep the first time, Sarah had injected two serums into the back of his brain. One of them was the behavior serum, which had worked extremely well. She figured that it would from past subjects she had injected however, this was the first time she had used it to control someone who was 100% uncooperative and it went off without a hitch. Tomorrow she would trigger the physical serum and study those results. They promised to be just as interesting The doctor walked over to the two-way mirror and stared at her test subject sleeping soundly in his bed. Sarah would have liked to given him one last night as a man before tomorrow but that just wasn't possible. Doing so would have involved bringing someone in from the outside or satisfying him herself. Well, Sarah couldn't allow someone in for security reasons and she made it a point to never get emotionally involved with any of her subjects.

"Oh well, I guess he'll have to live with his memories," she spoke to herself. "If he has any that is?" Besides, there would be far better memories when the subject was ready for his first sexual encounter as the new person she was going to turn him into. The doctor wondered if the real Jennifer had been experienced or not. It would be fun to see how she would react to the situation, as a virgin or a young woman with experience.

***

Tom had torn the apartment apart and came up with very little. Al's computer indicated that he had last checked out the Union Pacific Railroad web page but for what purpose Tom didn't know. Several messages waiting on Al's answering machine indicated he had been gone since Wednesday evening. Even more frustrating was the fact Tom couldn't find anything on this "Mr. W" Al had mentioned to Sally.

But it was what Tom didn't find that worried him. Al had a box of old clothes he kept in his closet for special night work and they were gone. That could only mean Al was doing some sort of undercover work and if he got caught? Tom decided he had better start checking the hospitals next.

***

Gerald walked into the room and pulled Al out of the bed. "Time to get up gorgeous," he told Al. The bodyguard gave the other man an evil smile; the type one gets just before something bad happens to them. "Use the bathroom and step outside."

Al obediently stepped over to the toilet and lifted up the nightgown. The extent to which they were able to control his movements frightened him. This was some kind of evil experiment and he didn't want to stick around to see how it ended. He finished what he needed to do and stepped into the lab. Sarah Jensen was at her desk looking down at the laptop computer. Gerald was nowhere to be found.

"Good morning Alice," she said with almost no emotion in her voice. "We're ready to begin the next phase of our experiment. I need you to get totally undressed. Once you are done, I want you to stand straight and look only at me."

Al did as he was told. The room was chilly but he was happy to be out of the nightgown and panties she had forced him to wear. He wondered what this mad doctor was going to do to him next. He didn't have to wait long to find out.

***

Tom sat at his desk going through all of Al's files. He was looking for someone his partner had worked for or knew whose first or last name started with the letter "W". There were a number of people in his files that matched that criteria.

Checking the hospitals had been a waste of time. In one case he'd driven over an hour only to find out that it wasn't Al lying in the hospital bed, but some other poor, as yet, unidentified man. Another dead-end. No one had seen or heard from his friend in over four days.

Sally was beside herself and Tom ended up spending the rest of the night at her apartment trying to calm her fears. If things didn't pick up soon he was going to have to file a missing person on Al with the police. But there were still a few things he could check out before that happened.

***

Chapter 9 -- Two + Two = Five

The readouts on the computer were going crazy. Sarah had never seen them so high before with any of her other test subjects. But then, they had been willing up to this point. She issued the next command.

Ekala! Facial modification and hair modifications. 2749726. Ekala! Al braced himself for what would happen next. He knew things were happening to his body but not what or why. Since this all began he was now several inches shorter and the hair on his chest, arms, and legs had disappeared.

Things in the room began to get fuzzy and for a moment the private detective thought he might pass out. This time there was a sensation around his face, as if it was being pulled in different directions only from the inside. It wasn't painful, just a strange tugging feeling against his skin. There was also a pulling sensation around the top and back part of his head. It felt like his hair was shooting out of his head with tremendous speed. After a few moments the tugging stopped and Al regained his senses. What he felt scared the hell out of him. Before his hair had been cut short in a military fashion. Now he could feel the sensation of long hair lying on his bare shoulders and back.

What the hell had happened? If only he could turn his head just slightly to look in the mirror next to him. Instead all he could do was remain perfectly still like a statue while this mad doctor did whatever it was she was doing to him. But what the hell was her plan? Al began to worry that what had happened the previous night was a prelude to something even more terrible this morning.

Sarah saw the expression on his...her face. Well, it was time to let Mr. Parker know what was really going on.

"Okay Alice, I think I've kept you in the dark long enough. Turn around and look at yourself in the mirror."

The young man did as he was commanded and got the shock of his life. What he saw were the makings of a beautiful woman, with long dark hair, and pretty, facial features staring back at him. The problem was, it was 'him'!

Before the doctor had started, she had given Al limited free speech in case he needed to tell her about any pain he felt. But for the moment he couldn't find the words to speak. How could this be happening? How was any of this possible? Then Al remembered.

'"Genetic research!" Those were the words she had used. 'Oh my God, what have I stumbled onto?'

"What...What are you doing to me? Why do I look this way?" Al couldn't take his eyes off the image of the girl he now knew to be him.

"I guess you have a right to know," Dr. Jensen started out slowly. "In case you haven't realized it, I'm changing you into a female; in this case, an 18 year old female. You see, I needed to find out some things about the serums I've been working on. It's just not possible under normal testing conditions. So, I took the DNA from a young woman and incorporated it into your system. By the end of the day you will 'be her'. In fact, I picked up several outfits yesterday based on the measurements she wrote in her profile. They should fit you quite well." Sarah stopped to let this all sink in before continuing.

"I know all this comes as a shock and sounds painful. Don't worry, it won't hurt you at all. As for what happens next? After your transition, you will become my personal maid. I may have plans for you in the future but not right away. I'll pay you of course and make sure all your needs are met. You will learn responsibility and in time I know you will accept your current position. It really isn't that bad Alice dear."

Al couldn't believe his eyes or his ears. He was going to be *trapped* as a...as a woman. And be a maid for how long...the rest of his life? He was going wear women's clothes and makeup like any other female? And not only would he look and dress like a woman, but he would act like one as well? And everyone he met would accept him as if he was a naturally born female?

'Oh God no, don't let it be so. Let this nightmare end now,' he prayed.

"No please, I don't want to become a girl. I can't live like this. Please, change me back to the way I was...please. Don't do this to me. I'll do anything you ask of me but please don't change me into this woman!" Dr. Jensen suddenly became very angry.

"Change you BACK? WHY? So you can become a 'useless leach' on society again?" Sarah took a deep breath to control her anger. This person would have taken her most precious possessions without a second thought for her feelings if luck hadn't played a part in all this. Yet now he, no, she was asking Sarah to consider her feelings when she wasn't able to consider those around her. How many other poor victims would this 'dirtbag' hurt just to satisfy her own selfish needs? How many would be injured by her lack of respect for others? And yet she had the nerve to beg to be turn back.

Sarah was beginning to realize how angry she was over catching this thief. She had worked hard to earn what she had and many of the things this thief was going to steal were her only link to a family now long gone. All this anger had been building up inside her for some time and now it was trying to work its way out. No, she had to calm down. This wasn't about revenge after all; this was about doing research. She took another deep breath and continued.

"I'm keeping you out of jail young man. If I did let you go sooner or later you'd get caught again and then my tax dollars would be used to support you in prison. Instead, I'm giving you a chance to do something useful with your life and serve a need of mine. Besides, it's too late to turn back now. If I tried your nervous system wouldn't survive the transition back. The only option we have left is to continue so..."

The doctor cut Al off before he could reply. "Ekala! Voice modification. 427681. Ekala!" Al felt a burning in his neck. It was like having a sore throat only his vocal cords seemed to be repositioning themselves. Then the burning stopped as quickly as it had begun.

"Now, how do you feel Alice?" Sarah asked.

"How do I feel? I feel like..." Al stopped in mid-sentence. He was talking but the voice he heard wasn't his own. It was so soft and sweet and so...so feminine.

'Oh God, no!' he thought. Now he was not only beginning to look like a woman but sound like one too. Al realized he was slowly being put to death, that each command was replacing his former male self with this other woman's DNA - and so far he was powerless to do anything about it.

"You have a very sexy voice Alice," the doctor said smiling. "It's going to drive all the men crazy."

"You bitch!" Al said in a crude but calm voice. "I'll get you for this. I may not look or sound like myself, but I'm still Al Parker inside and you can't change that. The first chance I get you and that well-dressed gorilla will pay for this. Do you hear me, you will PAY!"

Suddenly it dawned on Al that he had actually been able to raise his voice back at her. Not only that, the control to do as they command seemed weaker.

'Is the drug wearing off?' he wondered?

Dr. Jensen didn't notice the slight loss of control. Instead she looked at him with a weak smile and shook her head.

"There, there now. Threatening people like that isn't very lady-like. I see we need to help you out some. Ekala! You will speak and converse in a happy, feminine manner at all times. Your tonal inflections will be feminine, ladylike, or girlish as the situation dictates. You will not refer to your transformation or speak of anything that has happen to you starting from the time you arrived at my home unless given specific permission to speak your true mind. From now on you will only use the mannerism of a young woman. Ekala! Now, how do you feel Alice?"

"I feel...fine Doctor Jensen. Thank you for asking." It took a moment for the words to come out which Al had fought hard not to say. There was a sense of relief knowing the behavior serum wasn't as strong as it had been a few minutes before. If Al could get control of his body for five minutes he could set the record straight. For now he little option but to play along until the time was right.

"Very good Alice," the doctor said. She seemed generally pleased with his progress. "Now, I have a surprise I've been saving for you. Since you don't like your current name, I'm going to issue you a new one. Actually you should react well to it. It's the name of the person who's DNA sample we are using. Are you ready for me to tell you?"

Before Al had a chance to answer Sarah spoke out the dreaded key word which had turned his world upside-down. "Ekala! From now on you will respond only to your new name. You will not respond or refer to your old name, Al Parker, at any time or to your current name, Alice. You will only refer to yourself and respond to your new name. Your new name is Jennifer Lynnette Anderson. Ekala! Now, please tell me your full name."

Suddenly Al changed his mind about playing along. The thought of saying his new name was unbearable to him. To do so would be like admitting he was no longer Al Parker. He placed his name in his mind. 'My name is Al Parker. Say it out loud. Let her know who you really are.' But what came out of his mouth was very different.

"My name is Jennifer Lynnette Anderson." Al's heart dropped, he hadn't even been thinking his new name.

"Very good Jennifer," Sarah said with pride. "You're doing very well. By tonight the old person you used to be will no longer be there." She paused for a moment. "Don't worry Jennifer, you'll still have your old memories and be able think whatever you want. All my serum does is help you along so you'll continue to be a happy, normal young woman. Soon you'll want to dress and act as a young lady all the time. You will become a new member of society, one that gives and no longer takes. And in time you will give!" she added with a wink.

'How dare she?' Al thought angrily. What right did she have to decide who was fit to be a member of society and who wasn't? This wasn't about just getting even anymore. Someone had to stop her before...before what? What was the real plan here? What was he missing? Sarah's calm voice knocked him back into reality.

"Well Jennifer, I see we need to work on your mannerisms and movements. You still stand like Mr. Parker. Let's fix that. Ekala! You will perform all physical moments and mannerisms as a young lady would. You will move, sit, stand, eat and conduct yourself in all physical aspects as a young lady would. Ekala!"

Almost instantly Sarah noticed a change in the way the younger woman had been standing. So straight and proper, someone had taught her well. To bad she couldn't activate the real Jennifer's memory. But Dr. Jensen was still years away from accomplishing that.

"Let's try walking Jennifer. I want you to go over to my desk."

Al did as he was commanded, walking very gracefully in the process.

'She's such an attractive young woman,' Sarah thought to herself. 'I wonder how Gerald will react to her?'

"Well Jennifer, it's time for you to get dressed. We have a busy day ahead of us."

She picked up a bag from the chair. "Inside this bag you will find your underwear and makeup. Don't worry, in a moment I will issue a command that will help you understand how to get dressed and properly apply your makeup. After you are done we can start on your other training. Are you ready? Ekala!.."

***

Chapter 10 - Lost souls

Tom watched the sun rise from his office window. He wondered if Al was still alive to see it. After missing for almost five days, Tom knew his friend's chances were slim. But he wasn't ready to give up hope yet. There had to be something he had missed or overlooked.

On his desk was a list of people he was going to visit that day. Maybe one of them would know where his partner was or at least give him a clue as to what was going on. Either way, it was a lousy way to spend Christmas Eve. As Tom studied the list carefully he didn't know that there was one name missing from it; that name was Klein Walker.

***

Al followed the doctor from the lab to the kitchen. On the way they passed close to the front door. How he desperately wanted to use the door to escape from this mad house. But the doctor had issued him a command so he couldn't leave the house unless told to do so. Dr. Jensen had assured him that in time he would be allowed out on the grounds and even the freedom to go into town alone. But for now, he would have to be happy being able to roam the house freely.

Gerald was at the table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper when they walked in. The look on his face was priceless. He had seen the procedure done several times before but none of the other volunteers had been as attractive as this one. He observed her long, dark hair, her pretty face, and her sexy legs. It was hard to believe that a couple of hours ago this had been a smelly, ragged young man. He was dressed in a black dress that went down below his knees.

'That's too bad,' Gerald thought. She had the legs to show off. The dress she wore was really something a middle-aged woman like Dr. Jensen would wear, not a young and sexy 18-year-old girl. The only item that could have been considered sexy about Jennifer's outfit were the two-inch heels that she wore. Maybe he could change that.

"Gerald, I would like to you to meet Jennifer Anderson, our new maid," Sarah introduced them as if they were meeting for the first time. "Jennifer, this is Gerald Rogers. If you have any questions Gerald is the person to ask."

"Hello Jennifer," Gerald said in his most charming voice. "It's going to be a pleasure working with you."

Al blushed. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Rogers."

'Damn!' He was acting like some kind of love-struck teenager when deep down inside he hated this asshole. When would this nightmare end?

"Please, call me Gerald. And like Sarah said, if you're not sure about something, please let me know." Gerald gave her a charming smile, which caused Al to blush again in embarrassment.

Sarah interrupted the moment. "Jennifer, I'm sure you must be hungry. Why don't you show us your cooking skills and fix us some breakfast."

"Yes Dr. Jensen." Al smiled obediently and went to work making them bacon and eggs. In a few minutes he had whipped up an excellent meal for all of them.

"This is very good Jennifer," Gerald said after they finished eating. "You're going to make someone a great wife!"

Al blushed again but inside was insulted by Gerald's latest comment; one that he knew was really meant as a cheap shot about his current situation. How could things get any worse? But he knew they would if he didn't find a way out soon. There were still parts of his manhood left but by tonight they would be gone for good. That didn't leave him much time. He had to find a way to break this control and soon.

While all this was going on Sarah sat and observed how Gerald reacted to her newest creation. Her bodyguard disliked a number of different types of people, Africa-Americans, Jews, and gays especially. It was hard to see Gerald as a bigot since he could be so charming to anyone when he needed to be but Sarah knew that he was. Gerald had a bigoted dislike for certain groups of people and felt superior to them, although he didn't openly show it very often. It was for this reason Sarah had worried a little about what Gerald's reaction to seeing Jennifer would be. After all, Jennifer had at one time been a man just like him. That would put Jennifer on the same level as a gay, drag queen in Gerald's eyes. Sarah was glad to see her bodyguard was reacting well to her new test subject. What she didn't pick up was that behind the charm, Gerald was plotting his revenge against this outsider who had made him look like a fool in front of the doctor.

"Jennifer, I want you to clean up the dishes and put them away. Then Gerald will show you to your room so you can freshen up. After you're done, I want you to report to my office so I can go over your duties with you."

She gave the Gerald a quick nod and left the room. The bodyguard sat there staring at the young girl picking up the dishes.

'God, if only you weren't really a guy!' he thought to himself. 'How much fun I could have with you. He needed to fix his hair and wear some sexier clothes but other than that he was beautiful. Any man who didn't know what he really was would want him.'

Al was aware of the other man's staring but couldn't do anything about it. Instead he gave him a flirting smile as he cleaned everything up. It felt so natural to do so, even if it did go against every desire he had inside him. Quickly the new maid finished with the dishes so he could be shown to his new room and hopefully, left alone for a few minutes.

His bedroom was located down a short hallway not too far from the kitchen. It was actually a mini apartment that was made up of two rooms. One of them was the bedroom, which had a small, private bathroom off to one side. The other was a living room, where he could entertain visitors.

'I guess I won't have much use for that room,' he told himself.

"I'll wait in here while you fix your hair and freshen up," Gerald told her. "When you're done come and get me."

The new maid walked into his new bedroom and closed the door. Alone, he tried to speak out the key word but "EK" was the only thing he could get out. That was better than last night. He couldn't even make an "E" sound when trying to say the word.

Next Al tried writing out the key word. To his surprise, he was able to write it out with very little resistance. There were more things he wanted to try but the growing desire to work on his hair finally won out and he found himself sitting down at the makeup table and picking up a brush. However it didn't bother him. Now he had hope, something he didn't have an hour earlier.

It took 20 minutes for Al to fix his hair and apply his makeup. When he walked back into the living room Gerald was sitting on a couch watching TV. As he looked up Al noticed a strange look appear on his face. It was a look of interest.

'She's so beautiful,' Gerald thought. He wanted to take her right there and then. Then he got a hold of his senses. WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING? This was a guy standing there and even after the transition was complete, this person would always be a guy inside. He could never be interested in someone like her. And yet Gerald couldn't convince his body what his mind knew. She looked so inviting.

"You look much better Jennifer. Lets go see Dr. Jensen and find out what she has in store for you today." Gerald watched her stroll out the door in a feminine manner.

'Man, it was going to be hard to resist her,' he said to himself.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Klein Walker asked the question again. Al Parker was now two days overdue and the crime boss was not a patient man. When Al had failed to call him Saturday evening, he had sent two of his men over to his apartment to find out why. Their report didn't make him very happy.

"Yes sir I am. We watched his apartment last night and saw his partner, Tom McClain, go inside and search it. After Mr. McClain left, I told Harry to continue watching the apartment while I followed him around. I'll spare you all the details Mr. Walker; the bottom line is he's tearing up the town trying to find his partner. No one has seen or heard from Al Parker since he left town, not even his girlfriend. I also checked with my friend down at the station. The Salt Lake Police haven't picked him up either. It's as if he's just disappeared into thin air."

The tall man stopped talking for minute then decided to ask the question anyway. "Do you think he took the money and ran?"

"Are you kidding, for a GRAND? No way! Even if he decided to take the money and run he would have taken his girlfriend with him."

"Then he must have been caught and someone is holding him, other than the police that is."

"Are you sure the Salt Lake Police don't have him?" Klein asked one more time.

"Absolutely," the tall man replied.

'Then the people at the lab must have him,' Klein deduced. 'Great! Just fucking great! Now he would have to wait at least a year before trying anything like this again. Not to mention finding out what changes they made to the security system during that time. All that boiled down to more money he would have to pay out to get the information he needed.' The fact that Al Parker had most likely paid for this mistake with his own life didn't matter to Klein. All that mattered now was the money he would lose over this, both real and potential.

***

Chapter 11 - One small step to freedom

It was already starting to get dark outside as Al cleaned the big living room window. Dr. Jensen had given him a list of things to do such as fix meals, change the beds, clean the bathrooms, and dusting. At first Gerald followed him around to every place he went but after an hour he got bored and only checked on him occasionally. It was during these times of being alone, that Al worked on saying the code word out loud.

The behavior control serum was definitely getting weaker. He was able to spell out the code word without any trouble at all. Even better, he was able to say "EKAL". In time he would be free of this control but time was one thing he didn't have a lot of. If he didn't get full control of his mind soon it would be too late.

Al wondered if resisting further commands would speed up this process. No, if he did that they would know and any chance of escape would be gone. It wasn't time to panic yet. He put the vacuum away and went to the kitchen to fix dinner, the last meal he would have to cook for them. In a few hours he would be either be free...or dead.

***

What happened to Al Parker may not have mattered to Klein but it certainly did to Tom. He had talked to five people that day that knew or had worked with Al recently. None of them had been of any help.

"Damn it Kiddo, where are you?" Tom said out loud when he got inside the car. "Kiddo" was his nickname for Al.

A few more places, a few more leads. If Tom didn't find anything soon he would have to report Al's disappearance to the police. Not that they would find anything more than what he did, which up to this point was zip.

"Why didn't you tell someone where you were going?" Tom said to himself. He was beginning to lose hope of finding his friend alive. The more time that passed, the worse his friend's chances became.

***

Dinner lasted longer then normal as Sarah talked about past Christmas's she had had with her family. Al stared at the coming storm brewing outside the house. A warm front had moved in temporarily raising the outside temperature just above freezing. The weatherman was calling for a bad thunderstorm followed by dropping temperatures and heavy snow. Already he could hear the thunder crashing outside and see the lighting flashing through the window. But his mind wasn't on the storm; it was on Sally.

Al should have been home with Sally by now, trading Christmas gifts and having a romantic evening in her arms. He had planned it all out. Right about now he would have been asking her to marry him. To hear her say 'yes' would have made him the happiest man in the world. But he wanted to buy an expensive engagement ring and didn't have anything saved up. That was why he'd taken this crazy job. And that was why he was in this situation. He had been such a fool thinking it would be easy breaking into such a place. He had screwed up royally and he was now paying the ultimate price.

Sarah's voice brought him back to reality. "Jennifer, why don't you clean up the dishes while I finish wrapping up a few little details in my lab. We should be ready to proceed with your final process after that. I'm sure you'll be much happier once we complete your transition."

"Yes doctor, I can't wait." Al now had enough of his control back to say what was really on his mind but held it in check. It wasn't time to tip his hand yet. The question was, should he just run away and get help or pay them back first and then escape? He couldn't take the risk. Once he told a few others what was going on here, there would always be time to come back and get his revenge on both the doctor and Gerald.

"Here Jennifer, let me help," said Gerald as he picked up some dirty plates. Sarah almost fainted in disbelief. Gerald had never offered to help with the dishes before. Maybe being around Jennifer would do him some good after all.

Al didn't want his help, what he really wanted was 30 seconds to unlock the back door and escape over the wall. Then he would use his army training to escape capture and make his way to the nearest telephone. After that, he wasn't sure, but for his plan to work he needed 30 seconds without Gerald hanging all over him.

Gerald didn't know why he was doing this. He knew who Jennifer was and yet it didn't seem to matter. Soon she would be a total woman, at least on the outside. Did it really matter what this person thought inside? His mind kept saying yes, that he should feel uncomfortable about her and yet he didn't feel that way. Instead it felt so natural being around her. He didn't know why and he didn't know what to do about it. Should he fight his desires or give into them? Would giving in mean he was gay? He didn't know. All he knew was he was physically attracted to her...no him...no her. 'Damn it! It could drive a person crazy trying to figure it all out.'

After the dishes where put away he asked Jennifer to go into the living room with him. "My neck really hurts. How about giving me a neck rub honey?" he asked.

"Sure sweetheart," Al purred back at him. "Sit down here on the couch."

'Right next to this big, heavy lamp,' Al added to himself. 'But not so heavy that I can't pick it up and swing it.'

Gerald did as he asked and Al started to rub his thick, muscular neck. If only he had the strength to snap it. He had to restrain himself from trying - the lamp would be good enough for now.

"Now, close your eyes and lay back sugar," Al cooed to him sweetly. "I want you to relax while I work the tension out of your body."

'And in a minute you're going to meet my friend, Mr. Lamp, and by the time you wake up I'll be over that wall and long gone,' he added silently.

Once Al felt Gerald was totally in his power he made his move. First he positioned his body closer to Gerald's head while removing one of his hands from his neck. His perfume distracted the bodyguard from realizing he now had a free hand. Al noticed the smile on his face as he caught the perfume's sweet aroma. With his free hand he grabbed the lamp and dragged it closer to him.

"You're such an attractive man Gerald - I have a special surprise for you."

Quickly Al grabbed the lamp with both hands and swung it with all his might. It happened so fast that Gerald didn't have time to react. The lamp hit him squarely on the side of his head and knocked him to the floor. Somehow Gerald managed not to pass out. Al didn't wait for him to get up; he dropped what was left of the broken lamp and headed for the front door and freedom.

***

Chapter 12 - Road blocks

Al came so close. He was less then a few steps away from the door when Doctor Jensen shouted out, "Jennifer! Where are you going?"

Ignoring the doctor's question, Al reached for the door handle only to hear a loud thud before he was able to turn the knob. He tugged on the door handle a few times but it was frozen and wouldn't turn.

'What happened?' Al asked himself. He turned and got his answer. Dr. Jensen had pulled from her pocket a small remote control device that could be used to turn on the security system from anywhere in the house. The doors couldn't be unlocked until the system was reset at the main control or-an idea popped into the detective's head. Al turned and ran right at the doctor who was standing between him and the hallway.

"Ekala! You will stop running and stand still. Ekala!" the doctor shouted out with fear in her voice. Al felt a slight burning in the back of his neck and a strong desire to do as he was commanded but pushed it away. Running as hard as he could, Al ran straight into Sarah and knocked her to the floor not far from where Gerald was trying to get up. He was now totally free of their mind-control.

He ran down the long hallway, past the lab, to a small closet where the electrical box was located. The security system may have been the top of the line but it was totally useless without power. Al swung open the fuse box door and with all his might pulled out the main breaker. Immediately the hallway went dark and then an emergency light kicked on, providing just enough light to see where he was going. There was an outside door located near the closet; Al tried the knob only to find it wouldn't turn. How could the system still be operating without power? It wasn't possible unless.

Al ran back to the lab door and discovered the green ready light was still shining out from the palm reader panel. A wave of despair came over him. The security system must be located on a separate circuit. Most likely its electrical box was located inside the locked lab. Al kicked the panel in anger, causing sparks to fly from it and lighting up the hallway like the 4th of July.

***

In the living room Dr. Jensen hovered over Gerald, checking to make sure he was all right. There was blood dripping down his face from a slight cut on his forehead but the real damage she realized was to his ego. She saw the deep anger in his eyes.

"Where is he?" the bodyguard asked with a slur, still not fully recovered from the blow he had taken.

"She ran down the hallway and a moment later the lights went off. I put the system on a level 2 alert so she won't be able to open up any doors or windows or use the phone."

Sarah knew Gerald understood what a level 2 alert was but explained it anyway since he was still rather groggy. A level 1 alert would have brought in the police.

"We have to find her Gerald before she finds a way out or causes any more trouble," Sarah said looking anxiously at her bodyguard.

"He won't get out, this house is like a fortress now," he replied back with certainty. His training kicked in. There was one way maybe.

"Stay here Doctor, I'll be right back." Gerald disappeared into the dark garage and a minute later returned with two flashlights. He handed one of them to Sarah.

"Does your computer still work?" he asked.

"Yes, but the sensors on Jennifer only have a range of about 20 feet and they don't work very well through walls," Sarah replied.

"That'll be good enough. It'll let us know when he's close. Let's go find him." Gerald led Sarah down the hallway.

***

Al, in the meantime, was starting to panic. Kicking in the panel hadn't released the door to the lab. He ran into the exercise room and closed the door behind him. There was no backup light in this room so it was pitch black except for the lightning flashing through the window.

He tried the window but it wouldn't budge. In desperation he picked up an exercise weight and threw it at the window with all his might. To his surprise, the weight broke the glass but bounced back into the room. Upon careful examination, Al discovered there were bars across the window. Even with the proper tools it would take at least an hour to cut through them. He didn't have the time or the tools to do the job. Sarah's voice rang out from the hallway.

"Come on out Jennifer, you can't get away." A moment of silence followed. "I promise, I won't let Gerald hurt you for what you did to him. I only want to complete your process to make you whole. You can't go through life the way you are. I promise it won't hurt at all. Now come on out Jennifer, lets not waste any more time."

A bolt of lightning lit up the room followed by a deafening thunderclap. The hard rain was making it impossible for Al to hear anyone walking outside the door. By now his panic had turned to despair. Every female emotion inside him wanted to break down and start crying -- to accept defeat. Tears began to form in his eyes.

'NO damn it, not yet.' He was still Al Parker, at least his mind and some parts of his body still were. He couldn't give up as long as there was still a chance of escaping.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Al tried to calm down and figure a way out of this predicament. Okay, he couldn't open any of the doors or windows as long as the security system was on; and there didn't seem to be a way to turn it off. That meant he had to bust his way through one of them. To do this he needed something bigger than these exercise weights, like a battering ram. Whatever he used, it would have to break through on the very first attempt. The mad doctor and her henchman would be on him before he had a chance to try again. But what had that much force that he could use?

A light went off in his head. The car! The doctor kept the keys to the car in the ignition. Right now the car was parked in the garage which was located on the other side of the house. If he could get to the car, he could smash through the garage door and ram the front gate. There was only one problem. He heard Sarah speak again.

"Come on out Jennifer, this is silly. You'll feel a lot better once we're done. There's no need to play this game of hide and seek; I saw what you did to the security panel. I'm not mad, I swear. I know you're just confused and angry but once we finish your transition you will feel a lot better. By waiting it's only making it harder on you. So come on out now Jennifer. Be a good girl and lets finish what we started without anymore problems."

"Why don't you just yell out the code phrase and finish the process?" Gerald whispered to her.

"Because," replied Sarah with a tone of annoyance, "I need to see the data when the transition happens. Something is very wrong here. Supposing I change her and as a result she dies because I'm not around to save her? Or she decides to kill herself? Or the code word doesn't work? I need to be there when this happens. Now lets find her fast, before something else happens." Gerald began searching the room right next to the one Jennifer was in.

The problem facing Al was Gerald and Dr. Jensen. It was unlikely they would let him run past them and Al knew he didn't have the strength to escape either one once they got their hands on him. He could think of only one way to get past them. Mentally he got ready for the game.

In high school, Al Parker had been a running back on the football team. In one game, he had scored the winning touchdown by running over two linemen near the goal line in the final seconds. Now he was in the same situation, only this time the prize wasn't six points -- it was his life. He wouldn't get a second chance at this.

Gerald moved to the next set of doors. It was possible Jennifer had gone upstairs using the back stairway but he thought this was unlikely. No, she would most likely try to stay close to the ground. Sarah touched his arm; the computer was picking up something. Jennifer was close by.

There were two doors remaining, one on each side of the hallway. Gerald chose the door to the weight room first. Al crouched down low behind the exercise bike as the door opened up. Lightning flashed and he saw Gerald's face as he looked around. In his mind he was ready. He heard the coach's voice yelling at her to hit them low and hard. The hard rain outside sounded like the cheering of hundreds of fans, urging him on to victory. For a moment he was back on the football field, reliving that last play of the game. Gerald stepped inside the room while the doctor waited in the hallway. He heard the word "hike" and sprung into action.

Gerald's weight was almost twice that of Al's so it wasn't a simple task of running over him. He had to use Gerald's weight to his advantage. Instead of coming at him head-on, Al hit him from the side. His charge, along with Gerald's weight, forced Gerald's body to move sideways and he fell over a weight bench. The blow also took its toll on Al and he came stumbling out of the room with only half the momentum he had started out with. That momentum carried him straight into Dr. Jensen who was clutching a computer in one hand and a flashlight in the other. Both ladies hit the wall hard and fell to the ground, only Al never stopped moving his feet. Before Sarah had a chance to grab anything he was already up and running for the garage. Gerald came out and stopped to help Dr. Jensen up.

"After her you fool. She's getting away," shouted the doctor.

"He won't get far," Gerald said with a confident smile. He grabbed the flashlight and walked quickly to the garage while Sarah followed in confusion.

***

Chapter 13 - False Hopes

He swung open the car door and jumped inside. "Please be there," he prayed.

His hand reached for the ignition and touched the keys. Yes, it was going to work. He was going to get away.

Quickly he turned the key and the starter moaned to life - and that was all it did. The car didn't start.

"Come on you piece of Junk!" Al tried again and once more the car refused to start.

"DAMN IT! START!" Al yelled as he pounded on the steering wheel in frustration. Once more he turned the key and once again the results were the same. The starter turned over but the motor wouldn't catch.

"Going some place Jennifer?" Sarah stood by the door looking down at her with a stern look.

"Not without these she's not doctor," said Gerald as he leaned over the door holding some wires.

"No. NO!" Al repeated as tried to start the car one more time.

"It's time Jennifer!" Doctor Jensen said crisply, as if she was talking to a lab animal. "Just relax, this won't hurt one bit."

"No, please don't do this," Al pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Please, stop what you're doing. No Pleaseeeee."

Sarah ignored the pleas. "Ekala! Breast and vaginal modification. 0000001. Ekala!"

Al became frozen in time. The behavior control may have been on the fritz but the modification serum was working just fine. A gentle tingling grew in his chest and he desperately wanted to rip his blouse open to look at what he knew was happening there. The tingling grew to sharp, pins and needles and Al thought he could just see the gentle outline of a nipple starting to show through his blouse. Inside he felt sick and no matter how hard he concentrated to stop the changes, the pins and needles grew in intensity. By now the twin bulges in his blouse were growing as the flesh inside it expanded.

The breasts, HIS breasts were forming and with every passing moment seemed to get larger and more pronounced. As hard as he tried, he couldn't scream or stop the changes happening.

A sharp, stabbing sensation in his groin almost reduced him to blind panic, and it was the change he had been dreading the most. He felt something withdraw into him and wave upon wave of mixed emotions overloaded his brain; half pleasure, half terror. In his mind he knew what was going on, even though he was powerless to stop it. He felt his limp, flaccid penis start to shrink inside itself, getting smaller and smaller as the flesh was reformed into his vagina. Al wanted to throw up in shock but that too was denied him by the control serum. Then it was over and Al had control over himself again.

His first feeling was that of utter disbelief. This couldn't really have happened. He touched his large breasts and felt a cool wave of excitement come over his body. The feeling soon turned to sickening horror as the consequences of what had just happened started to sink in.

'No, this wasn't happening! It has to be a bad dream,' Al screamed silently. He reached his hand underneath the skirt in the hopes that his penis was still there. He didn't find it. The look on his face told them everything.

"Congratulations Doctor, it's a girl!" Gerald announced with a smart-ass grin.

Al lost his temper. "You bitch! You killed me. You KILLED ME! Your experiment failed doctor. You may have turned me into a woman but I'm still Al Parker. You failed doctor. YOU FAILED! You can't control me anymore. You can't make me act the way you want me to act. Do you hear me DOCTOR? YOU FAILED! You will have to KILL me now but at least I can go to my grave knowing you are a FAILURE, that this whole damn experiment of yours DIDN'T WORK!"

"Dr. Jensen, is this so?" Gerald asked. He saw the cold look on Dr. Jensen's face and realized it was true. Jennifer words had hurt the doctor worse than the bruises she'd received a few moments ago. If there was one thing the doctor took seriously it was her work. It was her pride and joy and when something didn't go as planned, she always took it hard.

Sarah didn't speak for a moment. She thought about what could have gone wrong, about what was different with this experiment from the others. And just as important, could the problem be fixed? None of the other subjects had shown any kind of behavior problems like this before. Why was Jennifer different? Then it struck her. Of course!

"I made a...slight miscalculation Gerald," admitted Sarah. It was as close to saying 'I screwed up' as the doctor would come.

"Fortunately this problem can be fixed. Gerald, help Jennifer out of the car and to the lab. I need to make a slight modification."

Jennifer started to scream and kicked at Gerald but it was to no avail. He scooped her up like a baby doll and carried her to the lab.

***

Chapter 14 - The fix

Most people spent Christmas morning opening gifts and sharing warm moments with their loved ones. Tom McClain spent his morning filling out a missing person's report. It was a technicality since there wasn't anything for the police to go on. With no sign of foul play, Tom would be lucky if the detective assigned to the investigation would spend more then a few hours on the case. Most likely the detective would consider this a case of someone who left town to start a new life without telling anyone. So the report would be looked at and then filed as unsolved until someone brought something in that justified its re-opening. In a week everyone except Tom would forget about it. That meant it was up to him to find Al and bring him home.

The private investigator didn't have the money or time to do a full-scale search; he was barely making it as it was. But Tom made an oath that he would find out what happened to his friend no matter how long it took. There was still a chance he was alive although Tom couldn't convince himself that this could be true. He knew Al Parker was dead. Now he had to find out why.

***

Sarah Jensen sat at her desk going over some final notes on her report. It had been a busy week and in a few hours she would be on a plane headed towards a luxurious resort. It was going to be great to get away for a few days. Jennifer walked into the lab carrying a cup in her hands.

"I brought you some coffee doctor. I hope you don't mind."

"No, thank you Jennifer. I was just thinking how nice a cup of coffee would taste right now." She stared at Jennifer for a moment. How relaxed her maid appeared to be. Only her eyes seem to tell a different story. There was something haunted about them.

"Do you and Gerald have any plans for New Years Eve?" Sarah asked while taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oh yes, he asked me to a party. I can't wait!" The excitement in Jennifer's voice seemed to bubble over. "I only wish I had something special to wear to the party. I haven't had the time to buy anything nice and well...I want to make a good impression on Gerald."

Sarah smiled warmly. "I understand Jennifer." There had been a time in her life when she had had a crush on a guy. It was refreshing to see the same type of reaction in Jennifer.

"Tell you what Jennifer. Why don't you knock off for the rest of today and go shopping for some new clothes. I still owe you $700 from our agreement last week and I'll give you an advance on your salary. That should be enough for you buy some nice outfits to wear."

"Oh, thank you Doctor Jensen. You don't know how much I appreciate this." Again, her eyes seem to be saying something different.

"You're welcome Jennifer. After Gerald drops me off at the airport the two of you can go shopping." She started to speak but Sarah stopped her. "I know you've come a long way this past week Jennifer, and you want to surprise Gerald with a new outfit for the party. But until you get your driver's license you need Gerald to drive you around. You understand my dear."

"Of course Dr. Jensen. It's okay. I enjoy spending time with Gerald. He's been so nice to me, even after I hurt him. I want to make it up to him...and to you."

"I know you do Jennifer. You've been trying very hard and it shows. I told you it would be easier once the process was finished. Now, run along and change into something else. Oh, and tell Gerald I want to see him."

"Yes Dr. Jensen." Jennifer walked out of the room with a special bounce in her step. The doctor sat there for a moment and thought about what Al Parker had to be feeling. Anger? Rage? You could never tell there was a struggle going on inside her mind. Turning back to her computer, Sarah started typing in some more notes only to be interrupted by Gerald a moment later.

"Good morning doctor. Jennifer said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I understand you and Jennifer have plans for this weekend."

"Nothing special. I'm meeting a few friends at Dewey's to celebrate the New Year. I'm taking Jennifer along to keep an eye on her since you won't allow me to keep her locked up anymore." Gerald made his disapproval of the doctor's decision known.

It had only been two days since Sarah had deemed it safe to allow Jennifer to move back into her own room. Up to that point she had been spending part of her days and all of her nights locked up in the observation room. Gerald was still uneasy about the doctor's decision to let her roam free.

"I told you Gerald, you don't need to worry about her anymore. This time the mind control serum will hold." Gerald looked at her with doubts.

Sarah sighed. "Okay, I screwed up last week. I knew the serum would start attaching itself permanently to his DNA after six hours. I should have realized that by changing his DNA into Jennifer's DNA the behavior serum would become weak and ineffective. As you can see, injecting her with the serum a second time has corrected the problem. I've also modified the serum so this won't happen again. If anything, it was a good learning experience."

"We got lucky doctor," Gerald said quietly

"Don't you think I know that," Sarah snapped back. "I make mistakes too. But this was one mistake I was able to correct. She won't give us anymore problems. Yes, we need to keep our eyes open and make sure we didn't miss anything. But even now, what can she really do about her situation. I have permanently made sure she can never tell anyone she was a man or let anyone know what really happened to her unless we instruct her too. Jennifer is fine Gerald. You need to stop treating her like a prisoner who needs to be watched every moment of the day and more like a member of our staff."

Sarah took a deep breath and continued. "I told her to take the afternoon off and go shopping for some clothes. She's really looking forward to your date."

"It's not a date doctor," Gerald replied back annoyed. "I told you I'm just taking her along to keep an eye on her, that's all."

"Well she sees it as a date. In any case, here's a thousand dollars. Make sure she buys everything on this list first. Anything left over can be spent on clothes. Make sure she gets at least two nice dresses."

"Great!" Gerald rolled his eyes. "I get to spend a entire day shopping with 'the freak'."

"Don't call her that!" Sarah replied back angrily. "Jennifer is a real woman, even if she didn't start that way. Try to forget what she did to you and treat her as if you just met. You may even find out that you like her company."

"Sure," Gerald replied back. He wasn't interested in a long-term relationship, especially with someone that had made a fool of him twice -- once by breaking into the house and the other by almost escaping. He couldn't wait for the doctor to leave on her trip. Payback for Jennifer would be a real bitch.

"Try!" Sarah said one more time. If Gerald had one weakness, it was his ego. "I'm going upstairs to finish packing. I need to leave within the hour." Dr. Jensen headed off to her bedroom leaving her bodyguard to lock up.

***

Chapter 15 - Small Breaks

Tom clicked the play button on Al's answering machine.

"Hi, this is Rob Davis from Precious Stones. We have your ring in Mr. Parker. Can you please give me a call today so we can arrange a time for you to pick it up? My number is...."

Tom wrote down the phone number on a scrap piece of paper. What ring was this man talking about? He checked the phone book and found the store wasn't that far away.

"Maybe this will be the break I need," Tom told himself as he left Al's apartment.

***

Gerald drove Jennifer to the local mall. He hadn't figured out how he was going to extract his revenge, only that it would be a long, slow, and sweet process. Every now and then he would look over and catch her staring at him. She would quickly turn away and blush. Under normal conditions this would please Gerald but there was nothing normal about this.

Al on the other hand was feeling totally opposite of what he was showing. Inside his feelings ranged from anger to fear at the thought of going out in public for the first time. He knew that the people at the mall would accept him as just another young female shopper. Some of the men would stare at him, others would make crude comments behind his back, and most would desire his new body. And the women, they would understand and accept him as their own. At that moment Al had never felt so out of place in the world.

"Okay, where do we need to go first?"

"Let's head to Wal-Marts. Their prices on cosmetics are low and I'll have more money to spend on an outfit for tomorrow." Jennifer flashed him a small smile.

Gerald realized the doctor was right about how this freak felt towards him. Well, he would change that once they got home.

***

"Susan, how are you?" Sarah wrapped her arms about the other lady and gave her a big hug.

"I'm fine Sarah," Susan Bennett replied back smiling. "You're looking good girl."

"Oh, looks are deceiving. I've had a hard week at work. Trust me, I'm ready for this break. How are the kids?" Sarah asked as she followed her friend to the rooms that had been reserved for them.

"Cynthia is doing great. She started school in September and is spending New Years Eve with some of her girlfriends. Keith on the other hand has been giving me all kinds of problems. I'm hoping our move to San Diego will change his attitude. But enough about them, what have you been up to?"

The two ladies continued to chat as they walked to their rooms.

***

For Gerald it seemed like an eternity. First Jennifer had to buy underwear. That was an experience in itself. There were so many different things she had to buy. Panties, bras, slips - the list went on.

After that came her makeup. Jennifer couldn't get just one type; she had to get several bottles of the same items, all in different colors and shades. Gerald guessed the real Jennifer must have had quite a collection of stuff when she was alive. All this searching took over two hours. Then Jennifer started looking at a few dresses on a rack.

"How does this look Tiger?" she asked holding up one of the dresses.

Her nickname for him annoyed Gerald. So did the dress. It came all the way down to her knees.

"How about something a little bit shorter Jennifer?" he suggested. "After all, you want to look real nice for the party tomorrow."

"Oh, I can't do that. Short dresses aren't very lady-like. And my mother would kill me if she knew I wore something so revealing."

Gerald frowned but then a smile slowly took its place. A plan developed in his mind and for a moment he debated the risk of using the keyword in public. Checking to make sure no one was nearby, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear.

"Ekala! You like wearing short skirts and dresses. You enjoy showing off your body and dressing as sexy as possible. Ekala!" Jennifer put the dress she was holding back on the rack.

"These dresses aren't the style I'm looking for Gerald. Let's go look somewhere else." Jennifer picked up her purse and headed toward the cashiers to pay for her other items.

***

Chapter 16 - Discussions

Sarah took a sip from the glass of ice water she had brought into the steam room. The large room was empty except for the two of them. Susan had been her roommate and best friend in college. Those had been such fun times. They had both been well known on campus and at times had to fight the guys off so they could study. It was rare to have a weekend when they didn't double date. In college they had been like twin sisters, so much alike and completely inseparable.

But then it happened. On one of those double dates Susan met Mr. Right and after graduation she married him. For years Sarah didn't hear from her friend very often as their paths took off in different directions. Then one night Susan's husband was killed in an automobile accident. His death had been hard on her friend but Sarah had been there to talk with her on the phone during those long, dark nights. Now it was like being back in school again and they spent most the day talking and laughing like two teenage girls.

"So Sarah. You haven't told me about your work. What are you up to?"

Sarah took another sip of water and decided how to answer the question. Well, if she couldn't trust Susan who could she trust?

"Susan, you have to promise not tell anyone, okay? This is very top secret."

Susan giggled then realized her friend was being very serious. "Of course Sarah, you know I can be trusted." Her face reflected the mood of the conversation."

"I've been working on a new drug that has shown some very promising results. I can't tell you everything, only that it's big."

"How big?" Susan asked, her attention focused on every word her friend was saying.

"Remember in college how you always wished you looked more like Leslie Yale? With my new drug, I can make that happen. I can make your body look like anyone you wish it to be, male or female."

"You're kidding? That's incredible Sarah."

"I know. However it's not perfected yet and there's still a lot of testing to do. But think of it Susan. If this drug is successful it will allow us to grow new arms or legs for someone who had their original one amputated. Birth defects could be wiped out with a simple injection. And people with a bad heart, liver or kidneys could have a new one grown for them. But the most important aspect of the drug is, eternal youth. No one who took this drug would ever need to grow old again. Of course, we could only allow 'certain' people to have access to my drugs." Sarah emphasized the word "certain".

Susan didn't know what to say. It sounded like a fairy tale and if anyone else had told her she wouldn't have believed it. But she knew better with Sarah. If there was one thing her friend didn't joke about it was her work.

"How close are you to perfecting this drug?" she whispered.

"Very close Susan, within a couple of years. I can grow new organs but there are certain side effects, bad ones I'm afraid, which in the end leads to death. And most bodies can't handle the stress from the drug's effect. There's a limit to what it can do and my...boss...can't seem to understand why this research is so important. I'm trying to go one way with it and he wants me to go in a totally different direction. It's very frustrating."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Before the doctor could answer, a couple of other ladies walked into the steam room ending their conversation.

***

"How do you feel about your new outfits?" Gerald asked.

"I hate them you asshole! They're way too short! I look like a fucking hooker in them. If you think I'm going to wear them just to entertain your perverted desires you're wrong! I'm not going out in public dressed like that."

For the first time in over a week Al had been given permission to speak his true mind. He was angry and embarrassed about the day's events. He had gotten used to being dressed as a girl in front of Dr. Jensen and Gerald but going out in public was different. 'Horrible' was the word that came to mind.

Then there were the outfits Gerald had forced him to buy. Slutty and whorish in appearance, yet he had tried them on in front of a dozen other people who all commented on how sexy he looked in them. It was embarrassing knowing that he was making himself look more like a sex object than a normal person of the human race.

"Oh, I think you will pretty girl. I have plans for you tomorrow. There is this great guy I want you to meet. He's going to love you, if you know what I mean." Gerald winked at her.

"No way asshole, I'll resist him. I'll do things to make sure he knows I'm not a real girl. I can do that too, I know how. I'm sure the doctor won't be very happy when she finds out and then it will be YOUR butt in a sling!"

Al was worried that Gerald was serious about his threat but didn't show it. Instead he gave him the biggest and sweetest smile he could.

"You're bluffing." Gerald responded but Al picked up on the uncertainty in his voice and turned to attack.

"I always figured you for a cheap, two-bit pimp Gerald. What's the matter, couldn't make it in the CIA? It shows asshole!"

Gerald slapped Al hard enough to send his female body to the floor. "Shut up BITCH!"

Al wiped the blood from his lip. "That's no way to treat a lady asshole. No wonder the only date you could find for tomorrow night is your own right hand. I noticed it's much stronger then the left one, as if it gets a daily workout." Al saw that his words were hitting their mark.

"I said SHUT UP!" Gerald reached down to hit Jennifer again but stopped. If he knocked her around too much and left bruises he would have to explain himself to Dr. Jensen. His plan to torment Al Parker had backfired and now it was this bum that had gotten the best of him. There was nothing he could do but stop it before things got out of hand.

"Ekala! You will return to your regular self. You will not talk about this to anyone. Ekala!" Jennifer stood up and smiled lovingly at Gerald. "Go to your room. I don't want to see you again tonight."

"Certainly tiger. Goodnight." Jennifer smiled and walked away. Gerald headed for the exercise room. He had a lot of frustration to work off right then.

***

Chapter 17 - Party time

Susan and Sarah hadn't been able to pick up their previous conversation until the next day. They were enjoying a pleasant breakfast while checking out two men sitting close to them.

"Sarah, were you serious about what you told me yesterday?" asked Susan.

"Very much so Susan. Of course we would have to limit the number of people who would have access to my formula but I can safely say you and your family would be included. You asked me if there was anything that you could do to help me out. Well, there is one thing you could provide me with, money!"

Susan was taken back a little. Her friend had as much, if not more money then she did. Sarah saw her reaction and explained.

"Yes, I could do it on my own but I'd rather not. If the people I work for saw large amounts of cash being taken out of my account they would know I was up to something. What I need is an outside source, one that they can't track, to finance my research. In time, I'll pay you back plus give you access to my formula. I know your daughter has some inheritance money coming in soon. I would only need part of it, say one million dollars. As collateral, I would name you as the beneficiary of my estate if anything does happen to me. It's worth three times the amount I want to borrow." Sarah turned and smiled at the two men sitting at the other table.

"That's not a problem Sarah. I've already talked to Cynthia about the inheritance money and she's agreed to share it with me. I would like to learn more about your research, maybe visit you sometime in the coming year if that's okay?" She also turned to smile at the two men.

"That'll be fine Susan. Maybe you could bring your family with you. I haven't seen them in a while. Then I can show you everything. You won't regret it Susan, I promise"

Sarah noticed the two men, hopeful dates for the New Years Eve party that night, stand up and walk towards them. She smiled inwardly; it had been a while since she had spent the night with a man.

***

"Hurry up Jennifer," Gerald yelled from the living room. Working out last night hadn't helped his bad disposition. More than ever, he was determined to extract his revenge on her. All that changed when she stepped into the room.

"How do I look Tiger?" she asked.

Jennifer was wearing a short, black leather skirt and a bright red blouse. Her legs were encased in a pair of dark hose that led down to a pair of bright red, high-heeled shoes. Her long dark hair was beautiful, showing hours of work so it would be just right, and her makeup was perfect. She looked so pretty and sexy standing there with a mischievous smile on her face.

"You look fantastic Babe," Gerald blurted out, suddenly forgetting who she really was. She was by far one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Inside Jennifer, Al was screaming to get out. All day long he had fought the efforts of his own body to get ready. He had even tried wearing something a less revealing but the desire to look as sexy as possible, just as Gerald had commanded him to do, had won out. Now as Jennifer, Al was being drawn out the door, where he was sure to be the spotlight of the party. If only Jennifer's body could go but his mind could stay at home.

"Lets go Jennifer. It's time to make your debut." Gerald held the front door open and watched as she strolled out to the car with her heels clicking. His interest in her peaked again.

***

Chapter 18 - The end of innocence

The New Year's party was fun, at least for Gerald. Throughout the night his friends kept coming up and asking where he had found such a "dish". Jennifer, under Gerald's insistence, ended up dancing with most of his friends that night but at midnight wound up in his arms.

"I guess it's that time Jennifer," he said with a sly smile. Al, who was inside Jennifer, was beside himself.

On the inside he was screaming, 'Don't you dare kiss me you asshole. Don't even think about it.' But outside all he could to do was blush and prepare for what was to come.

"I guess so Tiger," she replied back in a warm, sexy voice. Gerald reached down and kissed her. Al felt like he was going to throw up. His new body on the other hand reacted in a very pleasant and normal way. He fought to stop the reaction but realized it was a losing battle. All of sudden Jennifer's young female hormones began to kick in and the excitement started to build up inside. Finally they both came up for air.

"Come on Jennifer. Let's start the New Year off right." Gerald bid good-bye to his friends and quickly pulled her out the door.

***

Once they got home, Gerald began kissing and touching Jennifer's body more intensely. Despite his best efforts, Al was unable to stop Jennifer's body from reacting the way it did. As if on cue, Jennifer started responding to his kisses more affectionately and her female emotions kicked into overdrive.

Inside Jennifer, Al was trapped in a sea of conflicting emotions. Gerald's touches felt so good to his new body yet at the same time he struggled to fight these feelings off. Gerald reached down and pulled off her top, exposing her lacy bra to him. Then he started to unzip her skirt. All of the sudden Al experienced a new emotion; concern. She pushed Gerald slightly away from her.

"I...I think we need to slow down some Gerald. I'm...I'm not ready for this yet. I'm sorry, but I'm can't go any farther with you. Not at this time--not until I'm married. You understand Tiger, don't you?"

'So, the real Jennifer had morals after all,' Al thought to himself. 'Maybe she had been raised a good Catholic girl all her life.' It appeared her natural reaction was to resist sex until marriage. But Gerald wasn't about to stop now. He was ready to take her, with or without her permission or regardless of whatever moral values she held.

"It's too late to slow down Jennifer. I want you badly. I need you badly." He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Ekala! You want to have sex with me. You can no longer stop yourself from having sex with me. You will give yourself completely to me. Ekala!"

Al's feelings changed from resistant to totally giving in. Inside there was nothing he could do but take in all the sexual feelings bombarding his mind. It was horrifying and confusing to him.

"Let's go to my room Tiger. I want to make it for the first time in my own bed." Despite Al's best efforts, Jennifer grabbed Gerald's hand and quickly led him to her room. Inside Al was screaming at the top of his lungs to stop this madness. Why couldn't he stop the one act he found so horrible and disgusting.

Gerald stopped Jennifer just inside the door and rapidly removed her bra, revealing her young, firm breasts to him. The thought of her still being a virgin excited him that much more. No one had touched these breasts before. No one had screwed her before. He was going to be her first. And to think he had almost passed this up. What the hell had he been thinking?

Slowly he started sucking on one breast while caressing the other with his hand. Jennifer's body began to react in a favorable fashion while inside Al's anger turned to panic and fear. How far would this pervert go? He felt Gerald's hand reach down and proceed to remove Jennifer's pantyhose and panties.

'This can't be happening. Please, let this be a bad dream. Please God, make him stop,' Al begged.

Al tried to rationalize what was happening. This was just a fucking nightmare. Yes, any minute now he would wake up, or the police, or Dr. Jensen, or Tom would barge in and stop this madness. But there was no cavalry coming over the hill this night - there was only the two of them in the big, empty house.

After stripping off every piece of her clothing, Gerald picked Jennifer up and placed her on the bed. Without taking his cold, sex-starved eyes off her naked body, he removed the rest of his clothes and got on top of her.

Inside Al was crying as he waited for the insertion. It was like waiting for a doctor to stick you with a needle; that nervous, horrible feeling where you wish it was already over. Jennifer's body on the other hand, was primed and ready the way nature had designed it to be. Sweat began to appear over her body and Al wasn't sure if it was out of her fear, sexual desires, or both.

'Oh please God -- don't let this happened to me,' he cried out inside. The excitement from his female body began to replace the fear and Al started getting angry with himself for enjoying this so much. 'Oh please don't let this happen. Oh please stop this now. Oh please...Oh GOD!'

Al felt Gerald's penis enter into Jennifer's vagina. It was the most pleasurable and horrible experience he had ever felt. For a moment he just lay there not knowing what to do. He was going to have sex with a man and worse, he was being made to enjoy it.

'God, please let me die right now,' Al screamed silently. Then Gerald's voice reached with another command.

"Ekala! You will start having multiple orgasms. Ekala!"

Al felt the pressure building up inside him. Just when he thought his body couldn't have felt any better the pleasure doubled. His female body clamped down on Gerald and it felt...so good. Then the first orgasm stopped and the next one started, and then the next one, and then the next. With the start of each orgasm Jennifer's body pushed upwards against Gerald's hard body, forcing him inside her even more. Suddenly Al's mind went blank and for a moment he was lost in a sea of complete pleasure. When Jennifer's body slowed down and he regained his senses, Al felt Gerald's stuff inside his female body. Every part of his body was covered in sweat and shaking with excitement.

Gerald looked down at her with a wicked smile. "I didn't notice anything strange to make me think you weren't a real woman, did you?"

Al felt like he was going to be sick.

***

It was pitch black outside the window Al stared from. Somehow staring into the darkness made the young woman feel better. His body was still shaking from the sexual episode it had experienced a little while ago but inside his true feeling raged.

'How could anyone do something like this to another person?' Al thought. 'How could Gerald have violated his wishes and taken advantage of his body while knowing his true feelings of not wanting to have sex with him. And the worst part was, his new female body had enjoyed every minute of it. Just thinking of the experience caused shivers to go up and down his spine in anticipation.

Gerald had been tired out from their moment of passion and was snoring soundly in her bed. But Jennifer's body could have gone on all night and was currently wishing for more. Inside Al felt numb. Was this what it was like to be raped? To have every ounce of dignity, every shed of self-respect stripped away from you. Al couldn't even look at himself in the mirror; he was too ashamed. He had enjoyed it, every damn minute of it, and even now found himself wanting more. Because of that he hated Gerald more then ever.

"One day I'll pay you back you bastard. One day."

***

Chapter 19 - Repercussions

Sarah was driving back from the airport in a very pleasant mood. Her New Year's Eve date had been very satisfying and now she felt like a totally new woman. Tomorrow she would have to go back to work but today she dwelled on the previous events.

"God, he made me feel so good," Sarah said to herself. All her previous stress had been left at the resort and she was ready to start this year off right.

'Maybe I should have a one-night stand with a stranger at the beginning of every New Year,' she thought.

Seeing Susan had also cheered her up. Sarah didn't have many close friends; her work just didn't allow it. But being around Susan made her realize how great it was to laugh and talk with another woman again. The two of them were so much alike. Now that her friend was moving to San Diego, it would be easier to get away and visit her on the weekends. Maybe they could double date again, just like in the old days. Sarah pulled the car into the garage and walked inside her house.

"Hello doctor," Gerald said to her. "How was your trip?"

"It was fine Gerald." Sarah didn't see a need to tell him all the fine details. She noticed Jennifer wasn't with him and he seemed to be acting very strangely.

"Where's Jennifer?" she inquired.

"In the exercise room working out." A small smiled appeared on his face. Sarah instantly became suspicious. Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"What's going on Gerald? You're acting awful guilty about something. Didn't you take her shopping like I told you to?"

"Of course I did doctor. And nothing is wrong. I just realized you were right; that I needed to start treating Jennifer like a member of the staff, that's all. She really is a... pleasant person to be around." His small smile was replaced by a big smile.

"Right," she replied in a sarcastic tone. Sarah didn't believe him for a minute. "Get my bags and take them upstairs, will you please. I need to check on a few things."

"Of course doctor." Gerald gave her another smile and walked into the garage.

'Well something is going on here,' Sarah said to herself. She would try to find out what that was from Jennifer. She found her maid on the floor mat doing sit-ups.

"Hello Jennifer."

"Hello Dr. Jensen, how was your trip?"

"It was fine Jennifer." Sarah closed the door so they wouldn't be heard. "Do you know what's going on with Gerald?"

Jennifer looked down at the ground in guilt but didn't say anything. Sarah realized she was going to have to help Jennifer out some.

"Ekala! I want you to speak as your true self and answer my questions truthfully. Ekala! Now Jennifer, what's going on?"

"He RAPED me doctor, that's what's going on. He took advantage of the situation and used me even when he knew I didn't want him to."

Al's anger began to focus. It wasn't really Gerald's fault; he was just an asshole. The real person responsible for last night was Dr. Jensen.

"You did this to me," the young woman hissed. "You created the situation and then you failed to protect me. Once again you screwed up doctor. I hate you for this! Do you hear me Dr. Jensen? I HATE YOU! One day I'll even the score for killing me, for locking me into...."

The word "failed" dug into Sarah's skin like it had a week earlier. She cut Jennifer off sharply.

"Ekala! You will return to full control and behave as the young lady you have been commanded to be. Ekala!"

'That idiot!' Sarah said to herself. 'Didn't Gerald have ANY idea what he was doing? Didn't he understand the opportunity he had caused her to miss? No, he probably didn't. If she had known ahead of time she would have hooked some sensors up to Jennifer body to study the effects. Now the opportunity was gone for good. Worse yet, Gerald didn't understand the consequences of his actions. Well, she would explain it to him in term's even he could understand. But first she had to deal with Jennifer.'

Calmly she replied back to the younger woman as a mother would to her daughter when explaining the facts of life.

"I understand your fear Jennifer. But it's perfectly normal to have sexual relations with your boyfriend, especially one as charming and handsome as Gerald. When two attractive people are together it's going to happen sooner or later. And you are a very attractive young woman Jennifer. The first time is always the hardest...I understand. It's all new to you - and you're afraid about doing everything correctly. Trust me, you'll find it much easier the next time. In fact, you'll find it the most enjoyable aspect about being a woman. In the mean time, I'll talk to Gerald and help him understand. But let's not hear any more talk about being taken advantage of. It's a very natural act when a man and an attractive woman get together like that. You did enjoy yourself, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes doctor. It was...wonderful." Jennifer blushed while answering the question. "Thank you for your advice doctor. Last night was a little scary and I felt bad about what happened afterwards but -- now that I know it's very natural for us to...be together like that, I feel much better about it."

"I'm glad Jennifer." Sarah gave her a stern smile. "Why don't you go change into a pretty dress. I'll tell Gerald to take you out some place nice and then tomorrow things will be back to normal. Oh, and please let him know I would like to see him in my lab after he is done unloading my things. I have something for him."

"Yes Dr. Jensen," Jennifer said obediently.

'So this was the doctor's solution; DO NOTHING. It was all "natural" was it! Well there was nothing natural about being forced to have sex with someone you didn't want to have sex with. It was RAPE!'

Al knew last night would be replayed over and over again. As long as he kept Gerald happy then as far as Dr. Jensen was concern, everything was fine. He began to feel sick over the thought of last night being repeated over and over again.

Dr. Jensen unlocked the lab door with her key. It would take months to fix the security panel Jennifer had destroyed, so now she had to deal with the inconvenience of carrying a key around. She sat down at her desk and started rummaging through a drawer for something.

"You wanted to see me doctor?" Gerald asked as he closed the door. He was still acting a little guilty, like a boy who had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Here!" Sarah said as she tossed him a box of condoms. "I suggest you use them the next time so we can avoid any problems."

Gerald was taken back by her suggestion. "I don't use these things. And why would I need to with him...her."

"How many times do I have to say this!" Sarah said raising her voice as a mother would to a young child. "Jennifer is a REAL woman now. That means everything about her works just like a REAL woman. That means she can REALLY get pregnant with your child. Do you want that to happen?"

"So what? If she does get pregnant it can be taken care of. What's the big deal anyway, it's just a simple operation." Sarah almost lost her temper.

'Stupid male chauvinistic attitude!' It was obvious Gerald had no clue or responsibility when it came to dealing with women. It wasn't that he was stupid, Gerald had a very high IQ according to the agency records. The problem was he didn't think of anyone but himself outside of work. Well then, it was up to her to think for him.

"It is a big deal but I'm not going to explain it to you right now. What I am going to do is set up an appointment for Jennifer to see my doctor and get checked out. If everything looks okay she can start taking birth control pills. But even then it's going to take 30 days for the pills to kick in so get use to them," she said while pointing to the condemns. Gerald had a glum look on her face.

"Cheer up Gerald. It could be worse. Think how Jennifer is going to feel when she finds out I set up an appointment for her to see my gynecologist."

All of the sudden Gerald didn't feel that bad anymore.

***

Chapter 20 - A starting point

Tom stared at the map long and hard. So, Al had gone to Utah. He had rushed down to the store and questioned the man who sold his friend the ring. From him, Tom learned his friend had put $500 down on a $3,000 ring with the promise to be back on Sunday to pay off the balance. A quick check of Al's savings account showed he didn't have anything near that amount of money saved up; nor had he taken out or applied for a loan at the bank. The jewelry store manager remembered that he had more than $500 on him when he counted out the down payment -- at least $400-500 more.

'Where in the hell did Al get that kind of money,' Tom asked himself? The salesman also remembered Al telling him he was going on a business trip to Utah. Unfortunately that was all he remembered. The private investigator turned back to the map that he had been staring at for almost two days. Utah was a very, very big state.

Tom sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, trying to piece things together. He now had some idea where his partner had gone but no clue as to what was so important in Utah.

Second, someone must have advanced Al the money to make the trip. But if that was true, why hadn't this client called Al to find out what was going on? Surely they would have left a message on his answering machine by now, asking him to call them back. After all, you just don't throw $1,000 away unless money doesn't matter to you. That meant whoever sent his friend to Utah probably knew what had happened to him. Maybe they even took care of him once the job was completed.

And finally, there was the money? What kind of job would have paid at least $3,000 for four or five day's worth of work? That kind of money was unheard of in this business. Most jobs involved trying to catch cheating husbands in the act or tracking down deadbeat fathers, hardly worth $3,000.

Suddenly Tom had a troubling thought. Supposing Al had gone to Utah to do something that wasn't legal? This would explain all the money he had on him and why he hadn't let anyone know where he was going or why.

Somehow his disappearance all centered on this Mr. W, whoever that really was. Find him and you would find the answers to these questions. Unfortunately there were millions of people whose last name started with the letter "W" and Tom couldn't even be sure if this person's name did start a "W". It may have been a code letter Al had made up to cover his tracks. All Tom could do now was wait and hope for a clue to the puzzle. He looked eastward out the window at cold, cloudy day. His friend was out there somewhere.

"I swear buddy, I will find you. If you're alive, hang in there. Just hang in there."

Tom turned back to his computer and started typing up some notes for his most recent case. On the folder it was titled, "Al Parker - missing person."

To Be Continued in Part 2 - What every happened to Al Parker?

This story is based on the story called, "I, my sister" and was written by Diana Christy (07/97). I would like to thank Diana for allowing me to use parts of her story in mine. I would also like to thank Arcee and Darkside for their support and suggestions that I needed to finish this story. A special thanks to Elaine for all her hard work in proofing the story and her suggestions on a number of different issues. I couldn't have written this story without their support. Thanks guys!

Warning: This story contains sexual material and transgender themes. If you're not 18 or over, or are offended by such material then don't read it! This story can be posted on Fictionmania or any other free sites however, I do ask that you notify me first before doing so.

The Life and Death of Al Parker
Part 2 - What Ever Happened to Al Parker?
By Kelly Davidson

Chapter 1 - Lost souls

Tom sat back in his chair and took a long swig from the bottle. He needed a drink after viewing that last body. This was the third time in the past month he had been asked by police to try and identify a body. In this particular case the person had died a very horrible death. Tom knew he would be having nightmares tonight over what he had seen - just like had from his previous two viewings. To make sure it wasn't really Al, he had forced himself to look closely at the face of the grisly corpse. Its image was now burned soundly into his mind. The only comfort the detective had was knowing the body wasn't that of his friend.

The detective tried to remove that image in his mind as he took another long drink. The alcohol burned his throat and already he began to feel light-headed from its numbing effects. He would need it to sleep tonight.

***

Al stood in front of the window staring out at the darkness beyond. The clock indicated it was almost four in the morning and in less then an hour he would have to start getting ready for another day in hell. Being turned into a woman had been horrible enough, but being stripped of his freedom was unbearable. This place, with all of its comforts, was still a prison and Al's only purpose for living was to serve his two masters.

During the day Al's master was Dr. Jensen, who issued orders to clean the house and make the meals. In the evenings his master was Gerald, who made him do things that inside he found repulsing while outside his female body found to be very pleasing.

It seemed important to Gerald that Jennifer enjoyed what he did to her physically, even if he knew emotionally (and Al had told him many times before) he hated every aspect of their actions. There was no reprieve for Al from Gerald. If he resisted him in any way then a spoken command would end his resistance.

Al turned and watched him lying in the bed snoring softly. He didn't dare wake him up. Even after an exhausting night of sex, he could still wake up and find himself in the mood. He was a pig, containing the worse aspects of what a man could be. He cared nothing about Al or his feelings; he only cared about his own selfish desires.

So each morning Al would wake up and pray that this would be the day someone would come to rescue him. He figured someone, the police, Tom, or even one of Walker's men should have shown up by now. But no one ever did.

'Why hasn't anyone shown up to save me?' he asked himself. 'Hasn't my disappearance mattered to anyone? Isn't there anyone out there looking for Al Parker?'

The answers to these questions were as dark as the night outside the window.

***

Chapter 2 - First break!

"Hello. Can I speak with Tom McClain please."

"This is Tom, what can I do for you?" Tom didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Well, I don't know if you remember me but my name is Jim Baker and we met at a party last year. I'm a friend of Al's and I'm trying to get a hold of him. I tried his apartment but the phone has been disconnected with no forwarding number. I was hoping you could tell me where I could reach him."

Tom took a deep breath before speaking because he hated this moment. Al had a lot of friends he had kept in contact with and every week, Tom would get a call from one of them asking if he knew where Al was. Tom thought by now it would be easier for him to deal with Al's disappearance but he found the opposite was true. Each conversation was always more painful then the previous one.

"He's not...around. Can you tell me when you last talked to him?" There was a moment of silence of the other end as if the man wasn't sure how to answer the question.

"Well, it was about a week before Christmas. I was being shipped out on an assignment and..." Tom cut the other man off before he finished.

"When did you say you talked to him last?" Tom shouted in disbelief. The man on the other end gave him the same answer. "Are you sure it was the week before Christmas?"

"Well, let me think. Yea, that would be correct. I saw Al on the 20th. He told me to give him a call when I got back into town. I should have been back sooner but my assignment took a little longer then I thought it would. Why?"

Tom could hardly contain himself. Was this the break he had been praying for? Could this person fill in the pieces to the puzzle of Al's disappearance?

"We need to meet Jim and now! Where are you?"

***

Tom walked into the restaurant and over to the man sitting in the booth in his army greens.

"Jim Baker?" The man shook his head yes. "I'm Tom McClain. Thanks for meeting with me at such short notice."

"No problem. As I said, we met at a party last year. I guess you don't remember me; you were pretty plastered by the time I showed up. Now, can you please tell me what this is all about?"

The waitress brought over a cup of coffee for Tom and left. The detective stared into the cup for a moment before answering Jim's question.

"Al's been missing for almost two months now. The last time anyone heard from him was around Christmas, when he phoned in. That call was made on December 20th, the same day you talked to him. That means you may have been the last person to see Al alive before he left town. Since then no one has heard from Al."

The experienced detective looked intensely at the soldier to gauge his reaction. It was one of genuine shock and concern.

"What?" Jim gasped. "Al's missing? Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"A general idea but not enough to go on. Al said he was going on a trip but didn't say where. I've been able to track his movements to Utah but there the trail goes cold. Do you know where he was going or what he was up to?"

"No, not really," Jim replied in a voice that indicated he was holding something back. Tom picked up on it immediately. Normally he would have let Jim tell him when he was ready. But after two frustrating months of searching and coming up empty, Tom wasn't in the mood to play games.

"What is it? What are you holding back?" he demanded to know.

"I promised Al I wouldn't tell you," the soldier answered back, his face showing signs of conflict. Jim didn't want to break his promise to Al and yet...if his friend was missing shouldn't he tell someone?

"Jim, look. Al's been missing for almost two months now. If you know anything about where he was going or what he was up to then I need to know about it. His life may depend on it." Tom stopped long enough to swallow his pride. "Please Jim, I need to know! You don't know what kind of hell I've been going through since he disappeared. I have to find him!"

The soldier stared down at his drink trying to decide what to do. He had given Al his word he wouldn't tell and to Jim, his word meant everything. But that was before...before what? Before Al had been murdered or kidnapped? Jim didn't want to believe his ex-army buddy was dead. So if he was still alive but being held against his will then he needed help in order to get free. Wasn't helping out his friend more important than his promise to keep quiet?

"I don't know where he was going," Jim started off slowly. "Al didn't tell me that part. All he said was that he was doing a job for someone you knew and that he would be back in a few days. My God, he told me he was going to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. He looked so...so happy when I saw him last. I can't believe he's missing."

Tom knew Jim was telling him the truth. No one except the jeweler and himself knew about the engagement ring. He pressed the army soldier for the answer that was burning in his mind.

"Who sent him? Who is the mysterious person who sent Al on this assignment?"

"You're not going to like it Tom," Jim whispered. "It was Klein Walker. I saw Al coming out of his building that day and he told me he'd been hired by Klein to do some kind of job for him. He didn't tell me what that job was and I didn't ask. That's all I know Tom, I swear."

'Klein Walker...Mr. fucking "W" himself!' Tom swore silently. 'Damn it Al, why did you have to get mixed up with that scumbag?'

Now it was all starting to fall together. Klein had hired Al to do something illegal by offering him more money then he had seen in his lifetime. The amount of money Al had on him had fit this scheme too. Klein usually fronted his pigeons with $1,000 for expenses unless the job demanded more.

"Thank you Jim. You've helped me out a great deal."

"If you find him, will you please let me know. If I'd known this would have happened..." Jim's voice trailed off. There was a lot of guilt in his tone.

"It wasn't your fault Jim." Tom replied as he stood up. "You couldn't have stopped Al if you wanted to. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go see the person who's responsible."

"Good luck Tom." Jim lowered his head and stared at the table in silence.

'Luck!' Tom said to himself as he left the restaurant. If there was anyone who needed luck it was Klein Walker when he got his hands on him. That son of a bitch had helped murder his best friend, someone Tom considered to be like a brother. His anger grew as each step took him closer to Klein's office a few blocks away.

***

Chapter 3 - Meeting with the devil

"I'm sorry sir, you can't go in there. Wait! Stop! Security!" The woman cried.

Tom buzzed by Klein's secretary and forced open the office door. The fat man was sitting at his desk looking over some business papers. For a brief moment there appeared a look of anger on Klein's face that someone would dare barge into his office unannounced. His anger quickly turned to fear however, when he saw the intruder was not an employee but rather Tom McClain.

"Where is he, you fat son of a bitch? Where is he? What suicide mission did you talk him into?" Suddenly two men grabbed Tom from behind and proceeded to pull him out of the office. Klein held up his hand to stop them.

"Well, well, if it isn't Tom McClain," he said, a forced smile replacing the fear that had been there just moments before. "It's been a long time since we've talked. So what do I owe for the pleasure of this visit?"

"You know why I'm here," Tom snarled back. "I want to know what happened to my friend, Al Parker. I want you to tell me what you did to him?"

Klein got a confused look on his face. "Al Parker? Aww, of course -your partner. I heard you quit the force and became a private investigator. You should have stayed where you were McClain; I've heard your business hasn't been doing to well lately."

"At least it's an honest living, which is more then can be said about you," Tom shot back while tugging at the two men holding onto his arms.

"Why, I don't know what you mean McClain," Klein replied back in a hurt tone. "As you well know, I've never been found guilty of any crime despite the fact the police and DA accuse me of something new each month. But that's the price I pay for being rich and successful. There will always be little scum like the police, the DA, or you who'll want a piece of my action. I've put more than one lawyer's kid through college, just to defend my reputation and good name."

"I'm not here to discuss your legal problems Walker!" Tom snorted back. "I want to know where Al Parker is! I know you gave him $1,000 and sent him to Utah. I want the address of where he went and the reason why you sent him. You can tell me what I want to know now or...I can come back after your goons have gone home and get it from you the hard way."

"Don't threaten me McClain," Klein replied back angrily. He was uneasy to learn that Tom knew so much about his business between him and Al Parker. "I've eaten people like you for breakfast. Hell, you're not even big enough to be considered a snack. If I tell you anything it will be out of the goodness of my heart, not because of your empty threats. I suggest you reconsider your position and actions before I have my boys throw you out of my office on your ass."

Tom knew deep down Klein was a coward. Without his bodyguards to protect him he was as helpless as a newborn baby. Unfortunately Klein did have his bodyguards and Tom realized a need to change his attitude. He took a deep breath to calm down and asked the questions again in a less threatening way.

"Okay, where is he Walker? Where is Al Parker?"

"I don't know where he is," replied Klein who held up his hand to stop Tom from saying anything more. "He didn't tell me where he was going in Salt Lake, only that he had something which would make us both really rich men. Where he was getting the product from I don't know. Of course if he were doing something illegal then I wouldn't have gotten involved. As you know, I run a legitimate business here." The last line was added with a touch of sarcasm. Tom frowned but didn't say anything.

"He told me this product was on the up and up. Said it was a new medical drug that the inventor was trying to sell to someone. Naturally I was interested and wanted to know who this person was but your partner wouldn't tell me."

"You supplied him with the money," said Tom knowing he wasn't being told the entire truth.

"So what? There's no crime in that," said Klein who went over to the bar to fix himself a drink. "He told me he needed some money up front for travel expenses and I felt it was worth the risk. As it turns out he took my money and ran. And they call me a thief boys."

There was a muffled laugh from his bodyguards. Klein swallowed his drink before continuing.

"The bottom line is, I don't know anything more than what I just told you and I didn't do anything wrong. If your friend was involved in something illegal then that was his problem, not mine. That's all I have to say to you. Now, before you leave I want you to see how the results of your reckless actions have hurt others around you."

Klein picked up his phone and spoke, "Janet, I'd like to see you in my office right now." A moment later the secretary Tom had buzzed by appeared in the doorway.

"I'm tired of your screw ups Janet. If this had been someone with gun I'd be dead by now. You're fired! You have five minutes to clean out your desk before security escorts you out of the building."

The middle-aged women looked like she was going to start crying right there and Tom felt sorry for her. She stood in the doorway for a moment as if she was going to say something then turned and left.

"Was that really necessary Walker?" Tom asked angrily. "She didn't do anything wrong. She couldn't have stopped me even if she wanted to."

"That's right," Klein pointed out. "You screwed up, not her. But since I can't punish you directly I'll let you live with the fact that you cost someone else their job. Maybe that will cause you to stop and think the next time you decide to come barging in on me again. Boys, show Mr. McClain the way out."

Klein's bodyguards roughly pulled Tom out of the office and toward the front door. On his way out they passed by the secretary cleaning out her desk. She had tears in her eyes. Tom had to say something, if nothing else to ease his own guilt.

"You're better off working for someone else Miss. Trust me on that."

She looked at Tom with angry eyes that could have melted the hardest soul. "Tell that to my three hungry kids when I can't afford to put food on our table you creep."

Suddenly Tom felt very ashamed about his actions.

***

Chapter 4 - Right way, wrong way

Tom knew a lot more than before his visit to Klein Walker's office. Al had gone to Salt Lake City to pick something up. What that was he didn't know but more then likely it was some kind of medical drug. While Salt Lake was still a major city, it at least it narrowed down the search. Tom planned on heading out there but first there was a little business matter he had to take care of. It was late and the detective hoped she would still be up.

Janet Arkley lived in a house that was old and rundown. The front yard was littered with toys and the bushes that bordered it looked like they hadn't been clipped in a long time. Her mini-van was over 10 years old and was showing signs of neglect. It was a clear case of a single mother who had too many jobs to do and too little time to do them. From the road, Tom could see there were still a few lights on inside. Gathering up his courage, he walked up to the door and knocked. Janet Arkley opened up the door and stared at him coldly.

"What do you want?" She asked in an unfriendly tone.

"A few minutes of your time," answered Tom holding up a folded one hundred-dollar bill in front of her face. "I really need your help."

"Really! And what makes you think I'd want to help you out or be interested in your money?" she replied back harshly.

"Three hungry kids," Tom answered matter of factly. Janet Arkley stood there for a moment deciding what to do before letting him in.

"I really don't know anything," she said while taking the bill from his hand. "You're wasting your money."

"Let me be the judge of that. Do you remember this man coming into Klein Walker's office on December 20th?" Tom showed her a picture of Al Parker.

"No. As a matter of fact I wasn't even there that week, I was on vacation with my kids. See, I told you that you were wasting your money. Until today I'd never even heard your friend's name mentioned. I take it he was a friend of yours?"

"You could say that. He's been missing since Christmas and I'm sure your ex-boss knows what happened to him. Look, did anything strange happen when you got back? Did anyone new or suspicious show up asking to talk to Klein Walker?"

Janet thought about it for a moment. "No one showed up but Mr. Walker did beef up his security right after Christmas. For a while he had two men standing outside his office door all the time. When I asked why they were there he told me to mind my own business. That's the only thing I remember being different."

'Right after Christmas!' Tom thought to himself. 'So Klein did know what had happened to Al. Maybe he was even involved in Al's disappearance. It wouldn't have surprised Tom any. Klein Walker was the worse kind of human scum there was.'

"Okay, thank you for your help Ms Arkley. You've told me more than you realize. Oh, there is one more thing." Tom handed her a card. "I felt very badly about causing you to lose your job today. So I made a few calls and was able to secure you a new job with the Seattle Police Department. The pay and benefits are good and well, it's my way of saying I'm sorry. If you like, you can start tomorrow at 9am. Just ask for Johnny, he'll take good care of you."

Janet took the card and smiled for the first time that night. "Thank you Mr. McClain. I thought you were just like Klein Walker and all his other associates. I've misjudged you."

"That's alright Miss Arkley. Now I have to be going."

Outside Tom felt a lot better about himself. He had pulled in a lot of favors from his former boss to get her hired but the look on her face had made it all worthwhile. Tom got into his car and looked at the map one more time. His next stop was Salt Lake City.

***

Al sat at the vanity table preparing his female body while Gerald watched TV in the next room. He hated this time of the day more than any other. Gerald was forcing him to do things that, as Al Parker, he wouldn't have dreamed of doing to Sally.

As Al brushed the long brown hair, his thoughts kept going back to Sally. He wondered if Sally still thought about him after all this time. How he wished he could be back in her warm, loving arms again. Sally knew how to make love to a man. What Al was doing trapped in Jennifer's body wasn't making love - it was far from it. All he was doing was serving one man's perverted desire. Oh, there was pleasure in the acts that his female body was forced to with Gerald, but it certainly wasn't love. And without love, no matter how enjoyable it was, it made the events seem empty and meaningless.

The nightgown, for lack of a better term, didn't even cover his exposed rear. That was just the way Gerald liked it, so he wouldn't have to work on taking something off. Al dressed like a tramp around him.

'No, that wasn't right,' he thought. 'I am a tramp; doing things no respectable lady would do.'

During the day he behaved as a prim and proper maid but at night he was Gerald's plaything and personal whore. Nothing Al did could prevent that from happening. And that's what hurt Al the most - being commanded to behave in a manner that was the exact opposite of what he was.

It was time. Al put down the brush and picked up some perfume to spray on Jennifer's body. If he were lucky, sex with Gerald would be over in less than an hour. Then he could get some sleep and forget about this living nightmare, at least for a little while. That was the only time Al was really free, when he slept. Only then could he dream about getting his hands around Gerald's neck and holding on tightly until he saw the life slip away in the bodyguard's eyes. Al opened the bedroom door and in Jennifer's shapely body, sashayed up to Gerald to begin another empty and meaningless night of sex with him.

Chapter 5 - A needle in a haystack

On the map, Salt Lake City didn't look that big. In reality the city was spread out over many miles and with no real starting place, it was like trying to find a needle in a field full of haystacks. The first thing Tom did was check out the police stations and hospitals to see if someone matching Al's description had been spotted. It turned out to be a dead end.

Next he purchased a detailed map of Salt Lake City and marked all the pharmaceutical companies. Klein Walker was a very sly person, using lies mixed with just enough truths to keep someone guessing. Tom reasoned Al probably had come to Salt Lake City to steal, not buy a new drug for Klein Walker that the fat man would turn around and make millions off of.

After checking out all the companies on the map, Tom started doing the same to the motels that were close by. The number of motels soon climbed to over 50. Tom looked at his watch and made some quick calculations. In 12 hours he had to head back home to take care of his own business. Figuring 2 motels an hour, he could visit maybe 24 of them on this first trip. He wrote down some information about the first motel to check out and then drove off.

***

"How long do you intend to keep me here?" Al asked freely yet unable to express his true anger. Dr. Jensen had private conversations with him from time to time where Al was allowed to speak freely. Al didn't know why Dr. Jensen did this nor did he care. All he wanted was to get out of this mad house.

"Oh, not for more than 10 years or so," Sarah Jensen answered back as she pulled out a cigarette. "You have to understand Jennifer, your change was expensive and it's going to take a while for you to pay me back."

"Pay you back?" Al replied back sweetly. "Just give me a gun and the control to pull the trigger and I'll pay Gerald and you back right now."

Dr. Jensen frowned. "I'm not amused by your answer Jennifer. You could at least show me a little gratitude. I took you out of a cold, drafty boxcar and provided you with a nice place to stay. You now have a warm bed to sleep in, nice clothes to wear, and real security in your life. In addition to that, I set you up with someone who cares about you deeply."

"Don't kid yourself doctor!" Al replied back in a calm but cool voice. "Gerald is an asshole who only cares about himself. He isn't concerned about my welfare anymore than I am about yours or his. And no matter how good a life you give me, it can never compensate for my lost freedom and sexual identity. You had no right..."

Sarah cut Al off sternly. "I had every right to do what I did. You were going to steal from me blind without any considerations for my feelings. You weren't a member of our society. You were just some bloodsucking leech who makes the society of decent, hard-working people weaker. In time it would have been my tax dollars that would have supported you in prison or some other program; just so you can live a life with no responsibilities. I decided to get my money's worth. What I did to you served a higher purpose. From you I learned all kinds of things about my serum. You saved me almost a year's worth of work and if this information came at the expense of someone like you then so be it. But don't tell me I didn't have the right to do what I did to you; not after what you were going to do to me! At least my actions led to a successful conclusion. Where were your actions taking you? I'll tell you - to jail! At least what I did served a useful purpose!"

Al held his tongue. How grand it would be to tell Dr. Jensen the truth and let her know she'd screwed up again. But how would telling her the truth benefit anyone? Klein Walker would get his maybe but who else would suffer? Would telling the truth also put Sally's life in danger? And what about Tom? If he were looking for him then telling the truth about who he was would ruin any chance of a rescue. No, it wasn't time yet.

"I had a life which you had no right to change," Al argued. "You don't know how I would have turned out. What gives you the right to play God?"

"I'm tired of this," Sarah answered back. She spoke out a command and Al's freedom to speak his mind vanished as quickly as it came. "I want you to fix dinner half-hour later than usual tonight Jennifer. I have a lot of work I need to catch up on."

"Yes doctor," Jennifer said with a smile. "I'll let Gerald know. Will that be all?"

"Only one more thing." Dr Jensen took a puff of her cigarette and gathered her thoughts. "What I did to you Jennifer is permanent, it can't be changed. You can continue to hate Gerald and me or accept that fact and start living your 'new' life in your 'new' body. You'll never get an opportunity to hurt us...I guarantee it. And since Al Parker had no friends, no one even knows he's missing. Accepting these simple facts will make your life much more bearable. In time you'll even thank me for what I did. You are what most men want in a wife - pretty, affectionate, a good housekeeper. And with Gerald teaching you how to...well, how to be the perfect lover this will ensure you a long and happy life with whomever I decide you'll fall in love with. You see, I'm going to make sure you marry the right man with the right connections to help my research. I'll get what I want and you...well; you'll get a life that you could only dream about before I found you. So you see, I don't intend to keep you here as my maid forever. Once you leave, you'll be able to live your life the way you want to, with some restrictions of course. You'll be able to decide how many kids you want to have, what type of house to live in, what clothes to wear, and other day to day decisions. You'll be free but the first step to your freedom is accepting who you are now. Think about that Jennifer. You may go now."

"Yes doctor. And thank you for the talk." Al closed the door as he left.

"So damn close," Dr Jensen said out loud while pulling out another cigarette. She really needed to quit smoking. If only her boss would allow her to devote all her time to project Phoenix instead of project Peace. Then she wouldn't be so stressed out all the time.

She pulled up Jennifer's file on the computer and began typing in some notes. After all this time she seemed no closer to being broken and accepting her fate than the first day she'd been changed.

'What would it take?' Sarah asked herself. Well, there was still plenty of time to find that out. She made a few more notes then closed the file.

***

Chapter 6 - Change of plans

It had been two long fruitless days and Tom was exhausted. He'd actually been able to visit 27 motels during his short stay in Salt Lake City; but only a dozen of them could be ruled out as places Al hadn't stayed at. At this rate it would take months to check every motel in Salt Lake City.

Tom closed his eyes for a moment. He had managed a few hours of sleep in his car on the way back but that had only been enough to get him home. What he needed now was a decent eight hours of sound sleep to feel refreshed again. He checked the answering machine for messages; there were several of them.

Tom sighed. Being a private investigator was a cutthroat business. If you didn't get back with a client soon they would go somewhere else. He picked up the phone and started dialing the first number.

"Next time I'll plan my trip more carefully," he said out loud.

***

"Will that be all Miss?" the lady behind the checkout counter asked.

Al nodded and pretended not to notice the other woman's stares toward Gerald as she reached for her wallet. Today was Tuesday, grocery-shopping day. Sarah Jensen enjoyed eating fresh vegetables with her meals so every Tuesday and Friday Gerald would drive Jennifer down to the store to buy some. Normally nothing happened on these trips but today was going to be different.

The clerk's name was Dianna. Every time they came into the store she would stare at Gerald with big, wishful eyes; hoping that one day he would talk to her or even ask her out. Gerald enjoyed this game and made it a point of always getting in her line even if it meant waiting a little longer to pay. But today he had a little surprise for the love-struck cashier. He caught her eyes and smiled. She smiled back.

"What the HELL are you looking at BITCH?" Jennifer demanded to know in a loud threatening voice. The clerk was taken back by the rude and mean demeanor of the younger, more attractive woman.

"What? Why, um, nothing. I'm just doing my job Ma'am." She turned back to the register.

"The HELL you are!" Jennifer said loud enough so that others in the store could hear her. "I saw you checking out my man! MY MAN, not yours. Do you understand me? Mine!"

Before leaving the house, Gerald had commanded Al to act and respond to Dianna's flirting as an angry and jealous woman. Al was ashamed at his actions even though he couldn't do anything to stop them. The checkout lady had no idea this was just another little game to pump up Gerald's ego.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't like that at all, honest. I was just trying..."

Al cut her off at the knees. "That's right, you are SORRY! You're one of the sorriest women I've ever seen. No wonder the only thing you can do is LOOK at a man. You're a pathetic, ugly bitch!"

Al saw tears form in the woman's eyes as his words found their mark. How could Gerald stand there and be so cruel? How could he hurt someone who's only crime was to have a crush on him? This lady would have given the world to be with him for one night and he was trashing her feelings for his own personal enjoyment. She'd never know the real truth about Gerald or how better off she'd be without him. All she'd remember was the young witch who had come into her store and cut out her heart.

Al picked up his purse and headed out of the store. He heard Gerald tell the approaching manager with a chuckle, "bad PMS day," as they left. Once outside Al looked back and saw the woman crying uncontrollably at her register while the manager tried unsuccessfully to comfort her. A cold chill ran through his body. Gerald came up and put his arm around him.

"I didn't realize you cared about me so much," he said, very pleased with the results. "That was some cat fight you had back there over me."

"Not half the fight I'm going to give you once we get in bed," Al said with a seductive smile and totally opposite of what he really wanted to tell this asshole.

***

It was Tom's fourth trip to Salt Lake City in the past six weeks. His first three visits had been futile. No one had seen or even heard of Al Parker. The last motel, number 126 on his list, had been like all the others.

Tom was getting frustrated at his lack of progress. He checked the next motel on his list called the Sunset Motel. Tom compared its location on the map with the pharmaceutical companies in the area. It seemed unlike he would find any answers there, this place was at least five miles from the nearest one. Well, the place had to be ruled out didn't it? Tom decided to get some dinner first before continuing on with his search.

***

Chapter 7 - Paydirt

It wasn't much to look at. The motel was made up of 10 rooms and some of them had the windows boarded up. Clearly the entire place was in need of some major repairs. In this case its name, the Sunset Motel, fit Tom decided. The sun had definitely set on this dump long ago. Tom entered the motel office and found an old man sitting in a chair reading a newspaper.

"Can I help you?" the manager asked cheerfully enough.

"I certainly hope so," said Tom who pulled a picture of Al Parker. "I was wondering if you'd seen this man before."

The manager looked at the picture and tugged at his chin as he thought about it. "I sure have. He spent a couple of nights here and stiffed me for the bill. Even left some of his stuff here."

Are you SURE THIS IS THE MAN YOU SAW?" Tom shouted out in disbelief. After so many weeks of searching and coming up empty, he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"No need to shout sonny, I ain't deaf yet," the old man replied back in an annoyed tone.

"I'm sorry mister that I got so excited. It's just that I've been looking for my friend for a long time and you're the first one who has seen him."

"Oh, a friend of yours is he?" the old man replied. "Well, to answer your question, yes, I'm sure that was him. And if you catch up with your friend you can tell him personally that I'm not returning any of his stuff until he settles up."

"Can I see what he left behind please?" Tom asked, hoping it would contain a clue about where Al had gone.

"Well, okay," the old man answered reluctantly. "But just to look at, I ain't letting you have it."

The manager ducked into the back for a moment then reappeared carrying a backpack in his hands. "Does this belong to your friend?"

It was Al's backpack all right, Tom could have spotted it a mile away. The pack was covered with railroad patches that Al had picked up from several railroad shows. It was his pride and joy and he would have never left his backpack behind without a good reason. That meant he must have been planning to go back to the Motel before he disappeared.

"Do you remember when you last saw him?" Tom asked.

"Well, lets see now. He was here just a little bit before Christmas. Came in off the street and boy, did he smell. Stayed a couple of nights and then vanished without a trace. He stiffed me for both nights."

Tom doubted the last part of the manager's story but didn't want to upset the man by calling him a liar. Besides, he really needed his help.

"So what's your connection to him?" the old man asked curiously.

"He's like my brother," Tom replied. "How much does his bill come to? I'd like to settle up."

"Well, lets see now." The man rubbed his chin in a greedy kind of way. "It was within a week of Christmas so I have to charge you our holiday rate. That would be $50 per night. Then there is the storage fee for his stuff; that's $30 per month. Tell you what, lets just call it an even $150."

Tom wasn't in the mood to barter. He handed over the money and took the pack from the manager's hands. Quickly he started going through it and came across a picture of a house surrounded by a high wall and a heavy gate. It wasn't anything Tom recognized so he laid the picture on the counter.

"Have you seen this house before?"

"Well...it's looks familiar. I just can't seem to place it yet," the old man answered back with a sly grin.

Tom sighed and laid a twenty-dollar bill out on the counter. "Does this help your memory?"

"Oh yea, now I remember. I pass that place on my way to the lodge every week. Funny how you forget things like that."

"Yea, real funny," Tom replied sarcastically. "You don't know who happens to live there, do you?" The man got another sly grin on his face. Tom laid another twenty-dollar bill on the counter.

"If I recall, the house is owned by a lady name Jensen. I think she's a doctor or professor of some kind. There's also a man named Gerald Rogers who lives in the house with his girlfriend. Her name is Jennifer something. I don't know what any of them does for a living."

"How do you know this Gerald fellow is living there with his girlfriend? Maybe he's romantically involved with Miss Jensen and this other lady is her daughter or niece."

"No, it's his girlfriend all right," the old man stated firmly. "One night I was at the bar minding my own business when they walked in. She was dressed real nicely in a way that gets stares; you know what I mean? And so I was sitting there drinking my beer and enjoying the view when all of the sudden this Gerald fellow walks up and knocks me to the ground. Told me I was staring at his girlfriend too much and he was going to teach me some manners. Fortunately the police arrived before he had a chance to hurt me."

"Sounds like a real sweetheart," Tom told the manager. "How far is this house from here."

"Not far. I can draw you a map if you want," the old man offered.

"How much?" Tom asked in a sarcastic tone.

***

The map to the house was free but it cost Tom $60 to rent the same room Al had stayed in. This was because someone had already reserved the same room for the night and now the manager was going to have to disappoint them by putting them in another. At least that was his story for charging him almost double the normal cost of the room. Tom didn't fret about it; he had a more important job to do.

He started searching the room to see if Al had left anything behind. When he pulled out the dresser drawer he found what he was looking for; a large envelope had been taped to the bottom. Inside the envelope was a wealth of information about the house and its security system, including a small blueprint. Circled on the blueprint was a small, windowless room at the back.

"What could be so important about this Jensen lady and the small room attached to the back of her house?" Tom wondered out loud. The room appeared to be to small for a complex research lab. On the other hand, while Tom didn't know a lot about security systems, he did know a high price setup when he saw one. Many of the top research labs he'd visited when he was a cop didn't carry this much security. Either this lady was paranoid about the outside world or she was trying to hide something.

Then there was Mr. Rogers and his girlfriend. Why were they there? Were they her companions, protectors, or guards? Tom would try to figure that out later. He looked at his watch; there was still enough time to see the house before it got dark. He got into his car and drove off using the map the manager had drawn him.

***

Chapter 8 - A view to a kill

"The doctor wants to know if dinner will be on time. I guess she's hungry. So am I, only not for food," Gerald said with a mischievous smile.

"I'm still on my period tiger," Al replied back. There was a sense of shock at saying the words, "my period."

"The curse," as Sally had called it, started happening to Jennifer's body a few days earlier. For some unexplained reason it had taken this long for his female body to experience its first period but once the process started it was long, hard, and painful. Al's mind was under a constant bombardment of strange, new feelings due to the hormone changes inside his female body. A wave of sadness gripped his soul and wouldn't let go.

Already depressed about his current situation, Al felt like he could break down and cry for a week. Not that any of this mattered to Gerald. He wasn't about to let Al's problems get in the way of his pleasures. He found out, much to his horror, that there was other ways to please Gerald that didn't include straight sex. A shiver went up his spine just thinking about it.

"That's okay babe, I'm not a selfish guy. You can find some other way to please me tonight." He gave her a wink and reached for her breasts.

***

Tom sat in a tree that provided a good view of the living room, dining room, and part of the kitchen of the house. He could see a young lady wearing a maid's uniform cooking something over the stove. Tom snapped some pictures using the telephoto lens on his camera. Suspect number one.

A man appeared behind the maid. Suspect number two! He said something to the maid and then started fondling her breasts. These two had to be Gerald Rogers and the woman Jennifer the motel manager had referred to. Gerald was a big man and he had to be at least 10 years older than the attractive maid who didn't even look 20. Tom sighed, maybe one day he would find a girl like that to be his true love.

Suspect number 3 walked into the living room from a hallway at the back of the house. She was an older woman, yet still very attractive. 'This had to be Dr. Jensen,' thought Tom.

Gerald must have heard her coming because he stopped what he was doing with the maid and went into the dining room to greet her. A moment later the two of them sat down at the dining room table and the maid started serving them dinner. From his binoculars it looked like roast beef and potatoes and Tom suddenly wished he'd brought something to eat. He made a mental note to bring some snacks next time.

Over the next several hours, Tom took more pictures and made notes on the three suspects. Later, after dinner was served and the dishes were picked up, he observed the maid walk towards her bedroom. It wasn't too long after, that Gerald did the same thing.

Tom couldn't see directly into Jennifer's bedroom window but he did make out the light shining from the area where her room was.

Moments after Gerald entered into her bedroom the light went off. Around 30 minutes later the doctor also went to bed, turning off the lights as she walked upstairs. In a few minutes, the house was completely dark.

Tom looked at his watch and could see from the luminous dials that it was almost midnight. Carefully he climbed down from the tree and made his was back to his car without a flashlight. He made another mental note to bring one the next time.

The private investigator started up his car and drove back to his motel room to get some sleep. In a few hours he would have to start heading back home. During the drive back he would try to figure out what his next move would be. There wasn't any rush; it would be at least five days before he could make it back.
Business had started to pick up for him. There were a lot of cheating husbands and wives in Seattle this time of the year.

***

Chapter 9 -- More questions

"Are you telling me this is all you could find out about these two people?" Tom asked Rob in surprise.

He could have found out more about the President of the United States than what his friend had on Dr. Jensen or Gerald Rogers. His own search for information on these two people (Tom didn't know what Jennifer's last name was) had come up empty so he turned to Rob to find something for him. Normally Rob always returned with good information but not this time.

"I'm sorry Tom, but it's as if they don't exist," Rob explained. "If you can get me their driver's license or social security number I could find out more about them but right now this is as much I can give you. It's very strange really."

"What do you mean?" Tom inquired.

"Well, normally I could find basic stuff like their full names, banking statements, or utility bills just from the information you provided me with. I couldn't even find that. It's as if someone wanted them to be invisible. But what's really strange is their tax forms. I have a direct line into the IRS building and I can't find one tax form on either of them. I mean NOT ONE and we are talking about 20 years worth of old records! That alone makes this situation strange. Who ever these people are, they have some very high connections to be able to hide stuff like that."

"Any idea who those connections might be?" Tom asked curiously.

"CIA maybe. Most likely it's some sort of secret faction of the government. If I had to guess, I would say this all points to some sort of black project; one which someone or some group doesn't want anyone to know about. This Gerald fellow is probably a bodyguard."

"Okay, thanks for your help Rob. You should get your check in a few days."

"Forget it, I didn't earn it this time. Look, get me a social security number and I'll get you something worth my fee."

"Sure, I'll just go and ask them for it," Tom laughed back. "Thanks for all your help Rob."

Tom hung up the phone and stared out the office window in deep thought. How could he get a hold of those numbers Rob needed?

***

Al was sleeping in his bed alone. For the first time in months, Gerald wasn't there to bother him. Tonight he'd gone out without taking Jennifer along. Al didn't know why nor did he care. He was happy not having him touch his female body for one night.

At that moment Al was having a dream and it was a wonderful dream. In the dream he was Al Parker again and he was lying in bed with Sally; just like they use to do before this nightmare began. Sally was touching him; whispering for him to wake up.

The dream felt so real; Al could feel Sally's warm hands rubbing the back of his neck. It felt so good to feel the touch of a real, caring woman again. And Al could smell Sally's perfume although it wasn't the brand she normally wore.

Al could hear her talking to him, telling him to "wake up" so she could play with him. That was when the dream became strange; Sally was calling him Jennifer, not Al.

Sudden Al realized he was only half-asleep and this wasn't entirely a dream. He woke up to find a blonde woman sitting on the bed touching and talking to him. Gerald was at the foot of the bed watching them with a smile.

"What the hell is going on?" Al demanded in a tone that held more shock then anger. "Get your hands off me you QUEER!" The woman quickly removed her hands from Al's body.

"I thought you said she liked women?" the blonde woman snapped at Gerald. "You promised me 200 bucks, where is it? I want it now!"

"Take it easy Lucy, you'll get your money. Jennifer, come with me."

Al covered himself up with a blanket and followed Gerald into the next room. Lucy heard Gerald saying something that sounded like a command but couldn't make out what it was. A moment later Jennifer came back into the bedroom smiling. She reached into her purse, pulled out a wad of bills and handed them to Lucy.

"Here's your $200...and two hundred more if my boyfriend gets to join in."

***

Tom had been sitting in the tree since before sunrise. For the past several weeks he had been watching the house off and on for days at a time; trying to learn the patterns of the occupants inside. There wasn't much to learn. The older lady rarely left the house, leaving the others to take care of things for her on the outside. Most of her time was spent hidden away in the back of the house.

Gerald and Jennifer went out frequently, usually on the weekends, but it was never to the same places. The only time Tom knew for sure when and where they would be was on Tuesday and Friday. Those were the days they went to the grocery store.

Searching the Internet had proved somewhat useful. Tom had discovered Dr. Jensen was scheduled to fly out to Washington, DC in a couple of weeks. He had been searching the airline computers for recent trips the three of them had taken and had come across the information. Her return trip was scheduled for a few days later. Tom knew an opportunity when he saw it, but he was unsure how to use it.

He lifted his binoculars and searched out parts of the house. There was still a slim hope Al was alive and being held against his will inside the house. He watched as the maid made her way around the living room dusting everything. Dirt didn't stand a chance around her because she went at her job in an almost fanatical way.

Tom yawned and stretched a little bit. Not much was happening today as was the case of the previous days. But today was going to be different from the rest. An event was taking place almost 1,000 miles away that would put a spin on his investigation.

***

Chapter 10 - The Accident

Keith Bennett turned to his left and looked down. He could see his sister, Cynthia, swaying slightly in her harness about 30 feet below. She gave him a frightened, worried look as she swung lightly up against the sheer granite cliff. She looked tired, a bad sign.

'Damn!' Keith swore to himself. 'Why did I let her talk me into this in the first place? If mom finds out she's up here with me, she'll have my head on a platter! I know better than to try this with a novice! '

He'd never climbed this part of the cliff before and it was turning out to be much harder than he thought. It was definitely not the place where a novice like his sister should be climbing. He looked around to see how their situation could be improved. About thirty feet to his left he spotted a ledge that jutted out from the cliff wall. If they moved over to the ledge, his sister could rest for a while and from there the climb up would be much easier.

"Don't worry, sis. I'll tie you off over here and then you can climb up and we'll move left. Just keep cool. This part is a little trickier than I thought."

He gave her a quick smile to try and calm her down. Cynthia tried to smile back but she was obviously a little afraid. Keith moved his left hand over to another finger-hold, stretching out with all his might. Just as he got a good handhold on the cliff-face he heard a sharp crack of breaking granite. Instinctively he looked over to his right where his own line was strung through. The piton was stuck deep in a small crack and was holding securely.

Then he heard the short, sharp cry from Cynthia. He looked down and saw his sister bobbing slightly in her harness. Immediately Keith looked over to her piton and saw it tilting dangerously downward -- an inch or so further out from the crack than it should have been!

Keith opened his mouth to tell his sister to reach onto the cliff face and find a handhold but it was too late. There was an even louder snap as the piton came out of the crack and flew downwards under her weight.

As Keith saw his sister start to fall, he felt the first tug of the slack end of her line. It quickly snaked out from the D-ring where it hung, as yet unsecured, on his climbing belt. Keith didn't even hear her terse cry as she fell. His mind was intent on getting the loose end fastened to his waist before the line went taut. As he grabbed the line to tie it around himself, he unconsciously braced for the inevitable jerk. But as quick as his hands moved, the line ran out; zipping through his clutching fingers just as he almost had it about him.

He looked frantically down at her as she as fell; tumbling once against the sheer wall -- her limbs flailing like a rag doll. When she finally reached the bottom there was a sickening thud followed by silence. His sister didn't move and Keith knew she was dead. No one could have survived that fall. He was responsible for the death of his only sister.

A nauseated feeling grew inside his stomach and Keith thought he was going to get sick right there on the rock ledge. Then he become distracted from the terrible sight by the glint of sunlight that reflected off the rooftop of a car as it pulled up next to Cynthia's body. To his horror, his mother stepped out and she was the last person he expected to see.

***

It took almost ten minutes for Keith to negotiate his way down to the floor of the narrow canyon. During the descent he wondered if it wouldn't be better to just let go and fall next to Cynthia. At least it would spare him from what was to come.

His mother was no longer crying when he reached the ground. Her tears had been replaced by a stoic, expressionless stare. Keith felt sick about what had happened to his sister, but he was now frightened of his mother. He knew there would be no forgiveness from her, even though it had been an accident. He wondered why his mother, someone who always maintained control, hadn't rushed to call an ambulance or someone for help. But then, certainly she could see that it would do no good. He had to face facts; his overconfidence had killed his twenty-year-old sister.

Keith took off his climbing harness and walked slowly over to where his sister lay. At that moment he wished he was invisible and his mother wouldn't notice him. His mouth was dry and his heart was pounding with fear and sorrow.

"You! You did this!" She hissed at him, almost on the verge of crying again. Keith recoiled, his fear of her growing again. He always wondered how a beautiful woman like his mother could make him feel so afraid. But looks only hid the domineering personality she had. Maybe it even enhanced it.

"How could you? You knew she shouldn't be climbing with you!"

"But -- but she -- she wanted to." Keith's emotions took over as he blurted out, "Oh, God, Mom! I didn't mean...I mean...can't we...shouldn't we call for help...or something?"

"What for?" she blurted out. "Can't you see what you've done? Your sister, my daughter, is dead!"

Susan Bennett walked briskly past him to her car. Thinking his mother was going to use her car phone to call for help, Keith followed. But instead of calling for help, she reached into the front seat and grabbed her purse. Opening it up, she pulled out a handkerchief and gently started wiping her eyes while staring down at the dirt.

She stood there, staring down for what seemed an eternity, while Keith grew more and more afraid and uncomfortable. He was scared and was looking to her for guidance, but none seemed to come. Then she straightened up, as though she had come to some conclusion in her mind, and stared at her son.

"Who knows you two were up here?" Her question startled and confused him.

"What? Why do you ask?"

"Just answer me! Who knows?" his mother asked in an angry and curt tone that unnerved Keith.

"No one. We didn't tell anyone where we were going. Honest!" Keith couldn't understand why his mother would be asking him something like that.

"Did you see anyone after you got here?"

"No, Mom. No one comes here but me." She nodded and looked down again, as if thinking over again some plan she had conceived in her mind. Keith had no idea what it could be until he remembered the money...his sister's inheritance.

Cynthia was the sole beneficiary of their grandmother's will --eight million dollars sitting in a New York bank. His mother had been one of her heirs before his father had been killed two years earlier. His grandmother had adored Keith's dad, who had died in a car accident after a visit with her late one night. It was a visit he'd made alone because Keith's mother hadn't wanted to go.

After the accident, grandmother blamed Keith's mother for her son's death and had removed her from the will. About two months later the old lady died and it was then that they found that Cynthia was the sole beneficiary. Keith didn't know why his grandmother had removed him from the will too nor did he care anymore. But his mother sure did!

The will stipulated that Cynthia would receive her inheritance only when she turned twenty-one. His mother had spent long hours lecturing them both on how wrong it had been for Grandma to have written her out of the will. Now Keith knew what was dominating her thoughts. Her daughter and their eight million legacy were lying dead a few yards away. The will stipulated that if for some reason Cynthia couldn't accept the money, it would go to several different charities.

Susan reached into her purse and took out a cigarette. Lighting one, she blew out a stream of smoke and looked sidelong over at Keith. She spoke deliberately, matter-of-factly.

"I knew you'd be up here with her. I saw your gear missing from the garage and the extra rope you'd just bought. I couldn't find Cynthia in the house and I just knew you'd try something like this with her!"

Keith felt daggers fly from her eyes as she spoke but it was familiar to him. They hadn't gotten along for a long time and now it was all coming to a head. But instead of defending himself, he looked down at the ground in shame and fear. His mother was right -- this was all his fault.

"I suppose you know what this means? Besides the fact that your sister, my daughter, is dead, we now have no way of recovering our family inheritance! Do you realize what this means?" She repeated.

Keith looked up at his mother, her anger registering harshly on her face. He opened up his mouth to plead with her but she cut him off.

"When you told me about this place, you said there was a cave -or a fissure or something nearby. Something that was deep and you couldn't see the bottom, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, pointing to a clump of rocks not far from them, "it's over there. But why?"

"Never mind. Come with me."

His mother walked over to where Cynthia's body was lying. Keith instinctively followed; still shaken and not knowing what else to do then she stopped next to the body and turned to look at him.

Pointing her finger firmly at her son, she sternly said, "now listen to me, Keith. You're going to help me and you are not going to argue with me or say anything! Do you understand?"

Keith nodded, afraid to do otherwise.

"Now come over here and help me with your sister."

She grabbed one side of her body and Keith dejectedly followed her lead. They dragged Cynthia's body over to the fissure and proceeded to push her in. Despite her small size, it was a tight fit and they had to maneuver her body around to get her inside.

It was like a bad dream to Keith. He couldn't believe his mother was treating his sister's body this way and that he was helping her without hesitation. But fear was a very powerful tool and his mother knew how to use it against him. With one final push Cynthia's body disappeared into the darkness below. Several seconds later they heard a 'thud' as her body hit the bottom of the narrow cave. His mother picked up a rope and threw it in.

"If anyone does find her they'll think she was climbing into the cave and fell to her death. Let's go now Keith. We still have a lot of work to do."

The dejected son followed his mother back to cars in guilt and shame. Along the way he whispered a silent prayer to Cynthia; asking her to forgive him for what he'd done and for being to afraid to stand up to their mother to stop it. He wondered if his mother had said a prayer for her too.

***

As night came the temperature rapidly dropped well below freezing. This was the worst time of the day for Tom, sitting in a tree shivering while trying to keep his mind focused on what he was doing. To make matters worse, a stiff breeze had picked up making it seem even colder. He checked his watch. Soon they would be going to bed and Tom could go back to his motel room and craw into a nice warm bed himself. He noticed the maid walk over to the phone and answer it. The phone call was about to make the detective's night even longer.

***

Chapter 11 - Discussions

"Hello, Doctor Jensen's residence. May I help you?" Al answered pleasantly in Jennifer's voice.

"Yes, I need to speak with Sarah Jensen please. Tell her it's very important." Al detected a hint of distress in the female caller's voice.

"Who should I say is calling?"

"Tell her it's Susan Bennett and it's very important that I speak with her now."

"I will see if she is available. Please wait." Al put the call on hold and went back to the lab where the doctor was working.

"Dr. Jensen. There's a call for you from a Susan Bennett. She says it's very important that she talks to you. Do you want to take the call?"

"Yes I do. That will be all for now Jennifer. Please close the door as you leave." Dr. Jensen waited until her maid left before picking up the phone.

"Susan, how are you?" It only took a moment for Sarah to realize her friend wasn't fine at all.

***

Tom watched the maid come back to finish cleaning up the dining room. The phone call stuck him as being rather odd. Sarah Jensen had never had a phone call this late before. Apparently the call didn't concern Gerald in any way. He was still in his room glued to the TV set. Tom put down the binoculars and wrapped his arms around his body to stay warm. The night was getting colder and more miserable by the minute.

***

"How are you doing Susan?" Sarah asked in a concerned voice. She remembered how hard it had been on her friend after her husband had been killed.

"I see...good. I'll try to get a flight out tonight. What? Yes, I remember what I told you in December. Yes I was very serious about what I said." Sarah thought it was odd that her best friend would be asking her a question about her research at a time like this. Then she found out why.

"Are you sure Susan? Once I do that he can't be turned back...Alright, I understand. What about Cynthia? Are you sure no one will find her body? Good. And you're sure this is what you want to do? How do you think he'll feel? Un uh, okay. Now listen, I need you to bring me a piece of her hair off her clothes or brush. You need to be sure it's hers, understand? And pack some of her clothes, he'll need them when you're ready to return home. Then find out what time your flight comes in and call me back. I'll be there at the airport to pick you up...Okay Susan. Don't worry, everything will be all right. I'll see you sometime tonight. Take care of yourself. Bye."

Sarah hung up the phone and lit a cigarette. Smoking helped her think at times like these. She wondered if her friend had really thought this all out. Well, there was still time for Susan to change her mind wasn't there. The earliest they could start would be in the morning. Maybe she'd even try to talk her college roommate out of what she wanted to do. No, she wouldn't do that because there was a lot at stake for both of them.

Sarah grabbed a pen and started making a quick list of things that needed to be done. The first item on the list was going to be the hardest, telling Gerald about this breach in security.

***

Five minutes after receiving the phone call, Dr. Jensen walked into the living room and instructed the maid to do something. Tom watched Jennifer disappear up the steps and reappear a moment later with Gerald in tow. The doctor dismissed her maid, who nodded obediently and went off to her room. After she left, Gerald and Dr. Jensen became engaged in a very intense conversation.

***

"Her daughter was killed in a climbing accident and she needs my help. She's flying out here tonight with her son, or rather, her new daughter."

"Why didn't you tell me she knew?" Gerald asked, his voice teetering on the edge of complete rage. He wondered what the hell the doctor had been thinking about; telling friends what she was doing and worse, not informing him that she had done so.

"Do you realize what this could mean if someone from the agency finds out? You're not supposed to tell anyone doctor and if you do, I'm supposed to be informed."

"Look, it's my research," Sarah snapped back. "I know and trust Susan like she was my own sister. And even if you did know beforehand what difference would it make? I didn't feel like getting a lecture then and I sure as hell don't want one now. I told her Gerald. What's done is done and I can't change that. Right now she needs my help and I'm going to give it to her."

"And how many other people have you told doctor?" Gerald asked bitterly. "The agency has rules that we both have to follow. We just can't break them whenever we want."

"You mean like Jennifer?" Sarah quickly pointed out. "Remember, that was your idea Gerald. The way you spend so much time with her explains why you insisted having me use the DNA of a pretty, young female. Well, now it's my turn Gerald. My friend needs my help to get back her daughter and I'm going to do it."

"And if you friend decides a month later that she wants her son back what are you going to do about it? She does realize this is going to be a permanent situation, doesn't she?"

"Of course she does Gerald. Do you think I'm an idiot? I explained that to her twice and I'll do so again when she gets here. This isn't just about losing a daughter, trust me." Their conversation was interrupted when the phone rang again.

"That must be her," said Sarah. "I'll get it."

***

Tom saw the doctor pick up the phone and write something down on a piece of paper. After she hung up, the two of them talked for another minute and then she went upstairs. Whatever the conversation was about, it was clear that Gerald wasn't happy about what he had been told.

Sensing something big was about to happen, Tom decided to wait and see what unfolded next. Two hours later Gerald and the doctor drove off in her car leaving Jennifer alone. Shortly after that the bedroom light in the maid's room went off. For the next couple hours Tom stared at the dark, silent house trying to stay warm and wondering what the hell was going on.

***

Chapter 12 - The last night of Keith Bennett

"There they are," Sarah told Gerald. Susan saw them and walked up to her friend with her son in tow. Sarah gave her a hug and then turned to her son.

"So you're Keith," she said. Sarah stared at boy and made a summary. There wasn't anything special about him, just a typical 17-year-old. In fact, he was rather small for his age although rock climbing had firmed up his body. Well soon she would turn him into something more than just an average male.

"Let's get your things and we'll be on our way. We still have a half-hour drive ahead of us," Sarah told them.

Gerald turned and led the way in silence while the two ladies walked behind him saying very little to each other. Keith Bennett tagged behind them wondering how this friend of his mother was going to help them out with Cynthia's death. If he had known what his mother had planned for him he would have ran out of the airport screaming at the top of his lungs.

***

"Finally!" Tom said softly to himself as the car pulled up to the gate. He'd begun to wonder if they would be back at all that night. The car slowly drove up the driveway and stopped next to the front door. To Tom's surprise, four people got out of the car; the doctor, Gerald, an older woman and a young man who couldn't have been more then 17 years old.

Gerald went back to the trunk and pulled out three suitcases while the others went inside to get out of the cold. A few minutes later, Tom saw a light go on in one of the spare bedrooms. Gerald walked into the room carrying two suitcases and set both of them on an end table. Then the older woman walked into the room and started undressing.

"You really shouldn't be watching this you pervert," Tom told himself, yet unable to bring the binoculars down from his prying eyes. Despite being in her mid forties, she was still a very attractive woman. What she did next was a total surprise. After changing into her nightgown she sat down on the bed and started crying.

"What is that all about?" Tom asked out loud.

His binoculars turned to follow the doctor coming down the steps. She exchanged a few more words with Gerald and headed towards her lab while he headed for Jennifer's bedroom. Tom pulled out his stopwatch and started it. Almost 2 hours later Dr. Jensen reappeared and headed upstairs to bed. A few minutes later her bedroom light went out and the house became dark again.

By now Tom was totally confused. Just who were these people and what where they up to? Whoever they were there were two things that he was sure about. First, Gerald wasn't happy about them being there and second; the older woman seemed to be greatly upset about something. However he didn't have a clue why.

Too tired to think about it clearly, Tom climbed down from the tree and headed back to his car. He would get a few hours of sleep and be back in the morning before the sun came up. Maybe by then he would be able to figure out what was going on.

***

Chapter 13 - The Phoenix

Al walked into the kitchen at the usual time to prepare breakfast. He was surprised to see Dr. Jensen already up and waiting for him.

"I have a assignment for you Jennifer. I want you to listen to me carefully. Ekala!..."

***

Tom took his spot in one of the many trees he had scouted out before. This tree gave him an excellent view of the living room and dining room. He figured Dr. Jensen and her guest would be using these rooms the most. The detective was surprised to see Dr. Jensen already up and about at such an early hour. Normally she didn't appear downstairs for another half-hour. Tom tried to get comfortable in the tree as he waited for the day's activities to begin.

About 30 minutes later, the older woman and the young man, who Tom guessed be her son, walked into the dining room and sat down at the table with Dr. Jensen. It was then, Tom noticed the first strange occurrence of the day, Gerald wasn't joining them.

The bodyguard had never missed breakfast with the doctor in all the times he'd been watching them. Could he still angry about the events of the previous night? The maid came into the room and started serving them coffee. Tom noticed she picked up a different pot to serve the boy. It must contain tea or some other drink he deduced.

***

'He's just a young man!' Al said to himself. 'No, that wasn't right...he was still a boy. How could his mother or the doctor even think of doing this to him? Worse, he has no idea about what's going to happen and I can't tell him.'

Al gave him a sad look as he poured him a cup of the drugged coffee, hoping he would get suspicious by his actions. Instead he gave Jennifer a pleasant smile as if nothing was wrong. The doctor noticed the look on Jennifer's face with displeasure. Here was something else for her to take care of later on.

"That will be all for now Jennifer," Dr. Jensen said firmly. "I'll call you if we need anything else."

All Al could do was politely smile and walk away. Deep down he felt guilty about being part of the process that was going to end this young boy's life. Why couldn't he do something about it? He wanted to, he really did! Inside he was screaming at the top of his new female lungs not to let this happen. So why couldn't he save this boy from his fate? Why couldn't he warn him? Why? He prayed to God that he wouldn't have to go through this transformation and that this boy would wise up and go running out of the house before it was too late.

***

"Is everything ready, Sarah?" Susan Bennett asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Susan. We're all set. We need to finish our coffee and then we can get started." She glanced at Keith as she spoke, making him feel a little uneasy. He took a sip of the hot liquid, unaware it was drugged.

Dr. Jensen and Susan chatted for a little while as they finished their coffee, making small talk but not really saying anything. Keith wondered when the subject of his sister was going to come up. After he'd emptied his cup, Dr. Jensen stood up and nodded to her friend that it was time for the next step.

"Come with us, Keith. It's time we got started." Keith gave her a quizzical look but didn't say a word. He knew his mother would tell him what was going on in due time.

The doctor led them down the hallway to a metal but stylish door. She unlocked it and gestured both of them to go inside. Other than the lack of outside windows, Keith didn't notice anything strange about the room. There were a couple of computers on one table and a desk that was clean and bare except for a desk pad and a crystal ashtray. He noticed an expensive cabinet with a lock on it sitting next to the door they came in.

Along another wall was a huge bookcase containing a large number of thick, medical books. On the opposite wall hung a drape with a metal door next to it. Keith wasn't sure if the drape was there for decoration or for some other purpose. He noticed the metal door next to it had two locks, one on the handle and the other a deadbolt.

Dr. Jensen motioned them to take a seat in the two chairs that were pulled up in front of the desk. Keith began to wonder if she was really some kind of hotshot lawyer. Perhaps that was why his mother had come here, to plan out some sort of legal strategy to get Cynthia's inheritance in spite of her untimely death. But any more ideas he had about Sarah Jensen being a lawyer ended when she went to the closet and put on her white lab coat. She sat down at her desk facing them but this time she spoke directly to Keith.

"Well, Keith. Your mother has told me all about what happened yesterday." She looked at him accusingly which caused the young man to squirm a little in his chair. It was obvious to him that Dr. Jensen thought Cynthia's death was entirely his fault.

"It's fortunate that your mother called me right away," she continued. "If we're to save the inheritance, we need to act fast and decisively. I'm sure you'll agree."

Keith didn't know what else to do but nod. It all seemed so clinical, as though his sister's death didn't really matter any more. The only thing that did seem to matter to them was the money. Sarah leaned forward and looked directly at his mother.

"As I explained to you Susan, what we propose to do requires only about an hour to accomplish the preliminary phase. The second phase, that is the physical modifications, will occur as fast or as slow as you want them to. I recommend that you take it slowly, maybe over a couple of days. That way there's less stress imposed on the body and it will give you time to incorporate the third phase, the personality modifications, into the physical moods without much discontinuity. In other words, you don't want to have the subject appear as one thing and act as another. Do you follow me?"

Susan Bennett smiled and replied, "yes, I'm clear on that point Sarah. You mentioned it yesterday and I believe I can work it out so everything will seem normal to anyone who might observe us."

"Good. Then I think we can begin. I'll give you a detailed list of the order in which to trigger the physical modifications. I'll also give you a list of behavioral modifications with my recommendations as to where and when to incorporate them. But you may deviate from that list if it suits your needs. Only the physical moods must be kept in order. Be careful not to deviate from that list too much or there might be some problems. And don't forget to stop for the time period listed on the sheet when you reach that stage."

Susan nodded while Keith tried to understand what they were talking about. None of it made any sense to him. Why were they talking about physical and behavioral modifications? What the hell did that have to do with the inheritance? Or with Cynthia?

He looked questioningly at his mother, who was looking over at him now and smiling slightly. Keith felt nervous and unable to grasp why he was being kept in the dark about everything. Why didn't they just tell him what was going on? He opened his mouth to ask when he felt a shiver start in his back and go up to the top of his head. He thought it was just a chill but then it happened again, only this time he went rigid in his chair. He sat there paralyzed, unable to even move his mouth as it hung partially open.

"Well, Keith. It appears that you're just about ready to begin." Dr. Jensen flashed him a re-assuring smile. "Just try and relax. This won't hurt and I'll be through with you in just a few minutes."

The doctor stood up and spoke as she walked past him.

"The drug that's controlling your movements right now will wear off in about fifteen minutes. Please don't worry. It has no lasting effects and only serves to keep you still while I administer these serums."

'Serums? Drugs? What the hell is she talking about?' Keith's drugged mind tried to make sense of what she said. He was petrified with fear. He heard the doctor opening up the cabinet behind him as she spoke to his mother.

"This first injection Susan is for the behavioral modes. Remember that it will not only trigger the behavioral modifications, it also serves to trigger the physical modes by use of a key word, followed by coded number arrangements. Before I give it to him, remember that all behavioral and physical modes will have to be preceded by a key word. This serum acts on the base of the brain, incorporating the key word into his genetics. It's like teaching him a word or phrase without him ever having heard it before. The brain synapses automatically recognize the word and they will react to it, triggering other responses throughout his system. Don't use the word unless you're ready to give him a set of instructions or trigger a physical change with the proper number arrangements. Understand?"

"Yes. What will the key word be?" Keith's mother asked calmly, as if she were asking for the price of a lettuce in grocery store.

"I chose a word that he wouldn't hear unless you said it. Actually, it's not a real word. There would be too great of a chance that he might hear it from someone else accidentally. So I made one up. When you're ready to trigger a mode, just say 'Jolexo'. The vowels are clear and can't be confused with other words. Got it?"

Susan repeated the word and told her friend that she did.

Keith felt someone's hand tilt his head forward. He wanted to bolt out of the chair but couldn't move. Then he felt the cold touch of an alcohol swab on the back of his neck.

"This injection will place the serum into the base of his brain. It will take effect in just a few minutes, so don't use the key word until I'm through and you have the list in front of you to refer to." A second later, Keith felt the sharp sting of a needle on the back of his neck. It was followed by a slight burning sensation that quickly faded!

'Oh, Shit! What are you doing to me?' Keith wanted to cry out. 'God mom, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt anyone! Please, don't hurt me! Please, I'm your son.' But he couldn't say any of the things that flooded into his head. He heard the cabinet door open again as Sarah continued to speak to his mother.

"This injection will place the genetic DNA and accelerator serum into his system. It contains the necessary instructions for all of the physical modes. In addition, it will incorporate any behavioral modes into his learned muscle responses. He won't have to think about changing his mannerisms, his physical movements and actions, or his behavior when you trigger a response. As you know, we all learn things as we repeat them while growing up. They become learned responses. He won't need to learn them. They'll already be there, waiting to be triggered. Once these learned muscle responses are triggered, they become the only responses he has. All the others are deleted from his brain. Make sure you're ready for them to occur before you trigger them, otherwise, remember what I said about the person not fitting the image. Understand?"

"I understand," Susan replied.

"Good. Here are the two lists. The first list, labeled 'B' for behavior, gives my recommendations for the order in which to modify his behavior in accordance with the physical modes. Simply say the key word once, read off the mode or say whatever it is you want him to do, then repeat the key word again when you're done. Speak clearly and slowly...don't rush it. And do it when it's quiet around you. You don't want him confused by background noise or something someone else might say while you're giving him an instruction. Okay?"

"Yes, I've got it."

"This list, labeled 'P' for physical modes, must be read in order. Each mode is followed by a number code. Say the key word, read off the physical change, then read the number code, then say the key word again. I've listed an example below so you'll remember. Make sure you're alone when you do this. The change will occur almost immediately and you don't want anyone to see it happen. By the way, the physical changes won't hurt him. A special anesthetic is released during the genetic and matter transformation process. He'll just lose mobility while it's happening and then he'll be fine. Understand?"

"Yes, it's all clear to me."

The panic in Keith had reached a fever pitch by now. He didn't know what they were planning to do but he knew he wasn't going to like it. He tried to get up but his body refused to budge. Dr. Jensen spoke again

"Now remember that during all of this, he'll be aware of what's happening. I can't change his memories or the basic persona in his mind. He'll be completely aware of what's happened, he simply won't be able to act in any other way than is prescribed by the modes. Don't worry though, each time we've done this, the subject never gave us any problems. In fact, you can even give him a command that will allow you to speak with him, as he really is, whenever you want. Just remember to turn it off when you're through, otherwise his physical appearance and physical behavioral won't match with what he says. The command for that is on the last line. Okay?"

Susan said that she understood and Dr. Jensen proceeded with the next step. Keith heard someone approaching him from behind again. He felt the cold swab on the back of his neck followed once more by a needle stick and then a burning sensation. He thought his heart was going to pound out of his chest as his mind reeled with fear and confusion. Then he saw Dr. Jensen come around and sit down at her desk again. He looked in horror at the large empty syringe that she placed on the desk in front of him. He realized that the contents of it were coursing through his body doing who knows what!

Sarah smiled, "don't be afraid, Keith. You'll be fine in a few minutes. The drug I gave you should wear off shortly. I'll leave all of the explanations of what's going to happen to your mother. If you haven't guessed at what we're doing here by our conversation, I'm sure it'll all be clear to you quite soon."

Keith wanted to yell and lash out at her for violating his privacy and his rights! But he was unable to do anything.

Sarah looked over at Susan and said, "in a few minutes you should be prepared to give him the first two behavior modes. You don't want him to regain his mobility without some measure of control over him, alright?"

"Okay, Sarah. Just let me know when to proceed."

She nodded and asked, "are you planning on returning to San Diego with him as he is now, or will you be making some changes first?"

Keith found that he could move his head a little and looked over towards his mother. 'As I am now? Making changes first? What the Hell was this mad doctor talking about?'

"I was hoping to return home with enough basic changes already made so there wouldn't be any questions about Cynthia's disappearance. Our flight doesn't leave until seven this evening. I can finish with the rest when we're home. Would that be alright?" Susan asked.

"Oh, that's fine. That way I'll be able to make sure everything is working out okay. You can start as soon as you're ready. I assume you brought enough things for him to wear?"

"Oh, yes. I packed enough to get by. You're sure they'll fit alright?" Dr. Jensen looked over at Keith, noticing that his head was now turning freely as he looked first at his mother and then back at her.

"No problem. All the changes will be made to exact specifications. If the sample DNA from the hair was only a few weeks old, all modifications will be to the most recent physical standards."

She looked back at Keith and said, "He's coming around now Susan. Get ready to give him the first two commands."

Keith felt himself being able to move slightly. His fear was gradually being replaced by anger over the way he'd just been treated.

'My mother and this doctor are insane,' he concluded. Keith wasn't sure what they were up to but he wasn't going to wait and find out. As soon as the drug wore off he was going to make a break for it. Then he was going straight to the police to tell them everything - including Cynthia's accident. It may mean he would end up spending some time in jail for dumping her body but this situation was getting out of hand. He started to stand up when the doctor spoke again.

"Okay, Susan. Go ahead. He's going to get up."

"Jolexo! You will remain calm and do as I say. You will not tell anyone about what has happened to you. And you will never speak the key word out loud for any reason. Jolexo!" Then Mrs. Bennett firmly added, "stay where you are, Keith!"

Just as he came to his feet Keith heard his mother speak those words. There was a slight burning in his neck that he ignored. However, when he tried to move towards the door, he found himself just standing there! No matter how hard he tried, Keith couldn't make his legs move! Susan Bennett stood up and walked in front of him.

Keith gave his mother a pleading look and said, "oh, mom! Please! Don't hurt me! Please let me go!"

"Keith, I want you to thank Dr. Jensen for her help and then I want you to follow me upstairs."

The young man looked over at Sarah Jensen sitting at her desk with an amused smile on her face. Anger rose up inside him. 'Thank her!' He was going to tell her what he thought of all this and threaten her. But as Keith tried to speak out the words he meant to say it was at that moment he began to realize the true extent of what she had been done to him.

"Thank you, Dr. Jensen," was all that came out of his mouth.

No threats, no four letter words, nothing different than what his mother had told him to say. Keith couldn't understand what was going on. How could they control him against his will? His anger was quickly replaced by fear again.

"You're welcome, Keith. I hope you'll be able to accept your situation and be a help to your mother. I'll see you later for lunch." She smiled again as she sat back in her chair while taking another languid puff on her cigarette.

Keith followed his mother back upstairs and into the bedroom where he'd slept the night before. She closed the door behind them and told him to sit on the bed. Unable to resist, Keith did as she commanded.

"Mom?" Mrs. Bennett looked up at her son with almost no expression on her face. "Mom? What are you doing with me? Why -why are you doing this? Please, I won't tell anyone! Please stop!"

The young man felt like he was going to break down and cry; partly out of fear and partly out of the way his mother was treating him. But instead of showing sympathy toward her only son, Susan gave him a look of disdain and moved within inches of his face.

"You'll find out soon enough!" she hissed slightly. "You didn't think I'd just let eight million dollars fly out the window because of your selfish stupidity, did you?"

She was just barely keeping her anger in check and Keith became more frightened over what she planned to do to him. It was obvious she had little regard for his own wants at that point!

"Since you are the reason we are in this situation - you're going to get us out of it! Now keep quiet and get undressed. When you are done put your clothes on the bed."

Keith tried to resist, but found himself doing what she had commanded him to do. A moment later he stood in front of his mother completely naked. She picked up the pile of clothes from the bed and left the room.

***

Tom had watched the two ladies and young boy drink their coffee and leave in the direction of the lab.

"Damn, why couldn't there be at least one window in that room," Tom muttered to himself.

Almost thirty minutes later Susan Bennett and her son re-appeared and headed upstairs. Tom kept an eye on the older woman's bedroom. A few minutes later she walked into the room carrying some clothes in her arms. She placed them on her bed and went over to a suitcase on a table. Tom couldn't be sure but the clothes she laid down looked like the ones the boy had been wearing that morning. The older woman grabbed the suitcase and carried it out the door.

"Damn it!" Tom cursed as he realized that he'd picked the wrong tree to sit in. The boy's room was located on the other side of the house. The private eye debated about moving but decided to wait and see what happened. It turned out to be the wrong choice. He watched the maid clean up the dirty dishes and then moved on to her next assignment, dusting. Gerald appeared, dressed in a pair of gray sweat pants and a T-shirt. He spoke to Jennifer for a moment and headed towards exercise room. The rest of the morning was uneventful.

***

Susan walked back into Keith's room carrying Cynthia's old suitcase. She placed it down on the bed and turned to Keith.

"Come over here," she commanded. Keith followed her over to the freestanding mirror in the corner.

"Now, you wanted to know what's going on here? Well, I'm about to show you. Look at yourself in the mirror and listen to me."

Keith looked at his reflection. He was still slightly taller than his mother who was standing next to him in her high heels. She looked at the list in her hand and started to speak clearly and slowly to him.

"Jolexo. Height and weight. 49837. Jolexo."

Keith felt a burning sensation grow in his neck along with a loud buzzing in his head. He felt a slight numbness creeping throughout his body until he couldn't feel his hands or toes anymore.

Suddenly the room began to spin as his mother seem to get taller right in front of his eyes. To his horror, he actually began to shrink in size by several inches. But that wasn't all. Keith also saw himself getting thinner. His weight, though there hadn't been much before, seemed to melt away into nothingness. A moment later, the buzzing subsided and he was looking at a much shorter image of himself.

His mother moved around in front of him, blocking the terrible reflection in the mirror. She was at least three inches taller then her son now and was actually looking down at him.

"Well," she said matter-of-factly, "Sarah certainly knows what she's doing. You must be five foot five inches now and that looks about right."

A fleeting, terrible thought ran through Keith's mind. 'That was Cynthia's height! Could mom be planning to - no, that's just not possible. Even if it was, she wouldn't do that to her only son, would she?'

"Alright, Keith. Watch yourself in the mirror again. Let's try the next step. Jolexo! Basic Figure Modification and Skin Modification. 36712. Jolexo!"

'Nooo!' Keith tried to yell out. 'Stop this!'

He felt the numbness return over his body again. This time the buzzing was much louder and sounded like a swarm of angry bees. Keith wanted to cover his ears to block out the noise but couldn't move his hands. He knew it would have been a useless gesture since the buzzing was coming from inside his head, not outside.

As he watched in horror, his shoulders narrowed, his arms shortened, his waist got narrower and raised higher up on his torso. His hips grew outwards into the basic shape of a - .

'Oh, God! Oh, please noooo! This can't be happening to me. She can't really be doing this to me!' Keith tried to scream. He watched as his hips became the basic shape of a girl.

When the buzzing stopped, Keith looked clearly at the image in the mirror. It was now that of a flat chested girl with a penis. Only the face looked familiar but even that had taken on a different look. The softer skin that covered his body made him look more like his sister.

'Oh, God! It was true!' Keith suddenly realized. It all made sense now. This was how his mother was planning to get the money! He was going to take Cynthia's place! He was going to become her!

"Well!" Susan started out. "I'm very impressed with the results so far. You're starting to look more like your sister now." She paused for a moment to give her son an evil smile and to take in what she had just said.

"I suppose you've figured this out by now, Keith," she went on. "Since you caused her death, it's only fair that you take her place and make sure we don't lose our inheritance, don't you agree?"

Keith was in too much shock to answer her.

"Well, let me see," she continued as she looked down at the paper in her hand. "A couple of more things and then we can get on with some of the behavioral modes. Jolexo! Facial Modifications and Hair Modifications. 2749726. Jolexo!"

Keith felt the numbness returning to his body. He closed his eyes so he couldn't see what was happening next.

***

An hour passed -- then two. Tom shifted in the tree trying to get more comfortable, an impossible task. Everything in the house seemed to be normal. There was no sign of the mother and her son since they went upstairs. Finally she appeared coming down the steps followed by an attractive, younger woman.

"Who in the hell are you lady and where did you come from?" Tom asked himself. Could this be the young man dressed up as a girl he wondered? The young woman did look a little like him but no; she was much shorter than the older lady was and the boy would have been taller than both of them. Maybe you could change the appearance of how someone looked but even Tom realized that you couldn't cut several inches off his or her body.

The two ladies walked into the dining room where Dr. Jensen greeted them. Each of them took a seat at the dining room table and started chatting.

***

Dr Jensen smiled at the two ladies when they entered the room. Seeing the look on her friend's face only convinced her more that she had done the right thing. Susan was thrilled to get her daughter back - even if it meant the loss of her only son. Of course, she already had plans to fix that little problem sometime in the future. But for now she stood there admiring her work.

"Oh, Susan! I'd no idea your daughter was so pretty! I'm so glad everything is working out so well! She's just - so perfect!"

"It's you who should be proud Sarah. We never could have done this without you! Thank you so much!"

"It was my pleasure Susan." She motioned for them to sit down at the table. "It isn't often I get to see the fruits of my labor in action." She followed every movement of her friend's new daughter as she femininely smoothed her dress underneath her thighs and gracefully crossed her legs after sitting down.

"Cynthia, honey. Why don't you thank Sarah for helping to make you such a beautiful young lady. Her voice came out just perfect Sarah, and I want you to hear her."

Deep inside the young man cringed. He hated being put on display like this. But as hard as he tried his smile remained and in a girlish, high voice -- his sister's voice, he said, "thank you, Dr. Jensen."

"You're welcome, Cynthia," Sarah turned to face her friend. "Did you stop the process where I recommended on the list Susan?"

"Yes I did. However, I did skip ahead one item to get her fingernails out to full length. I hate those fake nails and I wanted her to feel more natural."

"Oh, that's no problem. In fact, there are a few other things you can do if you want before tomorrow. You may have noticed there are items on the list marked by an asterisk. It really doesn't matter when you do them. But I placed them where they are for continuity."

The other woman nodded, looking once again at the list and smiling.

"Have you made sure you have given her all the behavioral modes that she'll need to fit into her new role properly?"

"I think so. We covered several things up in the room, but there are still a few other things that I was saving for later. I thought you might want to observe them, too. And if you have any suggestions, please feel free to mention them. I want to make sure there is nothing missing from her normal behavior...nothing to draw undue attention to herself. I'm sure you must have changed some things since experimenting on your first subject."

Dr. Jensen nodded. "That's right. After the first try, we noticed some errors in the way the subject assimilated the behavior of the donor's DNA. Sometimes there were abortions in the translation. But, we haven't had any problems where the two individuals involved were closely related. I'm sure she'll do just fine."

"That's comforting to know. By the way, how many transformations have you done?"

Dr. Jensen straightened up smiling, obviously enjoying talking about her work.

"Well, let's see. We've done four same sex transformations. That is, we've changed two males to other males and two females into other females. Those are fairly easy and we did them primarily for government agencies. You know, witness protection programs and a couple of CIA operative jobs. They were actually the first tests we did. We were originally funded by the government and I can't really go into those cases."

Susan nodded, understanding the secrecy involved.

"Then, we received government approval to test out some gender changing experiments. We've done three so far. Cynthia makes the fourth. Of course, as I explained to you before, this is all still very top secret and I'm relying on you to keep this quiet. The advantage to this type of procedure lies in its secrecy."

Susan again nodded that she understood and Sarah went on.

"The first sex change procedure was with a volunteer. It was a young man who was working with the CIA in a foreign country. He was twenty-three at the time. We used a twenty-one year old woman from the agency as the DNA donor. He turned out just fine, but we had some problems with his personality and behavioral modes. It seems the female donor was, shall we say, a bit promiscuous and he, or shall I say she, became a bit of a problem. The CIA eventually asked us to reverse the process. I'm afraid she died in the attempt. That's when we learned the process was irreversible. Any attempt to change the subject back to how they were, placed too much stress on the nervous system. Once changed, it's for good."

Keith reeled in horror. 'Oh, God! That was it then! There is no going back if they completed the process.' At best, even if they stopped the process now, he would always appear more female than male no matter how he dressed. 'Why is this happening to me? Cynthia's death was an accident! How can my mother do this to me?'

Sarah continued while Keith's mother listening intently, obviously intrigued by her friend's description of the other subject's changes.

"The next subject was a woman who had been left for dead after a botched assignment for the FBI. She was in pretty bad shape, a victim of the Mafia. But they nursed her back to health and needed her to go back in undercover to finish the assignment. There was just no way to get her back in as a woman, so she was asked to undergo the process and go in as a man. I'm really not sure if she volunteered or was forced into it in some way. In any event, the process worked well with her because we used a cousin of hers as the donor. She's still working for them I hear and is doing just fine, except he's now married to one of the Mafia bosses daughters! I've always wondered what that must have been like for her." Susan smiled and wondered too.

"Now the last time I did this it was a little different. It was the first time I did one on my own. That is, I didn't have any orders to do it from the government. I had just gotten home late one evening after flying back from Washington DC. Gerald, who's a government security agent assigned to watch over the lab, told me he had caught someone breaking into the house. Gerald's been with me now for almost five years and he knows everything that goes on around here. He was about to call for the local police when I came home."

Now Keith and Susan were both getting intrigued over what she was saying.

"It seems the young man he caught was a vagrant; travelling through the area and looking for some easy cash. Needless to say, I didn't want the local authorities poking around here and Gerald decided that was best, too. But we were in a quandary as to what to do about the young man sitting locked up in my basement. That's when Gerald reminded me of how often I'd been complaining about not being able to hire a decent maid to help around the house. So to make a long story short, we used the DNA of a young woman that was around eighteen at the time. She had participated in a sampling my associates held in Florida a few months prior. I can't remember the details now, I believe her application said she was a high school cheerleader. Anyway, we put the young man, who was about twenty-two, through the process, changing him into a lovely, eighteen year old girl. The behavior modes were easy, I just turned him into a domestic, able to cook and clean and help me around the house."

Then she winked at Susan and added softly, "and Gerald put in a few modes of his own. Now he doesn't take any time off at all to go into town, unless it's with Jennifer, if you know what I mean." Both ladies laughed devilishly while Keith sat there stunned.

'Oh, my God! The maid!' The pretty, young woman he had found so attractive was just like him. Keith sat there smiling, unable to register on his face the horror he felt inside. 'That poor guy! Forced to be a maid to serve this evil doctor and worse...to be a playmate for her bodyguards amusement.'

About that time Gerald strolled into the room. He seemed bigger then Keith had remembered and was wearing a plain, gray suit. Now that he knew what the bodyguard really was, the man looked like a government agent.

"Oh, Gerald," Sarah announced, "you're just in time for lunch. Would you ask Jennifer to serve us please?"

Gerald smiled slightly and gave her a nod. "Yes, Doctor, I'll tell her now." He went into the kitchen and returned a moment later, taking a seat next to Dr. Jensen.

"Gerald," the doctor said as she stubbed out her cigarette in the crystal ashtray in front of her. "I'd like you to meet Cynthia Louise Bennett, Susan's daughter."

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Bennett," he said politely.

"How do you do, Gerald," Keith replied back sweetly in Cynthia's voice.

The bodyguard was about to say something else but was interrupted by the clicking sound of high-heels as Al walked into the room carrying a large tray in his small hands. Al flashed Keith a momentary sad, sympathetic look. Keith looked away from the stare, unable to stand the thought that she had once been a male like himself.

The maid resumed smiling and sat down the tray containing several small sandwiches and some juice. When Al was done setting out the plates he asked in a sweet, high pitched, obedient voice, "is there anything else I can get you Dr. Jensen?"

Sarah smiled and said, "that'll be all Jennifer. Have you already eaten lunch?"

The maid returned her smile and replied, "yes, Ma'am."

"Then why don't you go to your room and change into something more appropriate. You can join us for coffee in the living room after we've finished our lunch?"

"Yes Dr. Jensen," said Al who then flashed a quick smile at Gerald and left the room. Sarah took a small bite from a sandwich, passing the tray around to Susan before talking again.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy talking to Jennifer after we've had lunch Susan. It'll help you to see how well things will work out with Cynthia."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fun. And maybe Cynthia can learn something from her, too," Susan replied giving her new daughter a quick wink.

***

"What the hell's going on here?" Tom asked out loud. He watched as the maid headed off to her bedroom.

'Isn't anyone going to take some food upstairs to the boy?' he thought. 'No the better question was why wasn't he joining them? Had he done something wrong and was he now being punished for it.'

There was also something else that caught the detective's eye. He noticed Gerald seemed to be more tense then normal. A couple of times, when the bodyguard moved just right, Tom was able to catch sight of the gun hidden underneath his suit coat. And his smile seemed forced, as if he was nervous, almost frightened, about the two houseguests sitting in front of him. It was the fear that confused the private eye the most. Why would he feel threatened? These people couldn't have posed much of a threat to Gerald even without his gun but it was clear something was bothering him.

After lunch, the bodyguard disappeared into the kitchen while the others went into the living room and sat down. The conversation appeared relaxed until Jennifer walked into the room interrupting them.

Tom gasped partly out of surprise and partly out of lust. She'd changed out of her maid's uniform and was now wearing one of the sexiest outfits he had ever seen. She'd put on a short, tight red dress with a pair of matching red leather, spiked heels. Her make-up was immaculate, with her shiny red lips locked in a perpetual smile. Tom was so busy watching her he didn't catch the expression on everyone else's face.

***

Sarah smiled as she saw the reaction on her friend's face. "Quite a difference, don't you think, Susan?" she asked coyly.

Susan Bennett raised her eyebrows and nodded, looking wryly over at her friend. Dr. Jensen chuckled a little.

"Like I said, Gerald had a few behavior modes for Jennifer of his own design. Oh my, how rude of me. Cynthia, I'd like you to meet my maid and Gerald's girlfriend, Jennifer Lynnette Anderson. Jennifer, this is Cynthia Louise Bennett."

"Hello, Cynthia. Pleased to meet you," Al smiled pleasantly at Keith as if he was unaware of who he really was - or had been.

Keith tried to look away, but instead returned her smile and replied back, "it's so nice to meet you, Jennifer." His sweet, feminine voice betrayed his inner anxiety over talking to this beautiful young woman who had also been a man like himself. He wondered what this person was really feeling inside. Was he still angry over what they had done to him? Did he still have his own thoughts?

Gerald came into the room with a tray of coffee and gave each of them a cup before settling down next to Jennifer. He placed his arm around her shoulders and gave her a slight squeeze. Al smiled and gazed lovingly up into his eyes. Susan lit a cigarette and blew a column of smoke off to one side while watching them interact.

"If there's anything else you'd like to try or do for Cynthia, Susan, now would be a good time. I would be more than happy to help you out with any suggestions or have Jennifer demonstrate her own conditioning, if you think it would help you out."

"Well Sarah, since you brought it up. I was wondering about something. Will this Cynthia be able to do everything that her sister did? I mean, her sister had many different aspects to her personality and habits. Will she assimilate all of these automatically or will I have to give her all the necessary commands to do so?"

Sarah thought about the question for a moment before answering it. "She'll assimilate almost everything her sister did in a natural way, but some things may require a command. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, her sister smoked and I haven't seen any inclination on Cynthia's part to do so." Dr. Jensen raised her eyebrows a bit.

"Well...I really don't know if she'll start doing that on her own or not. I'm sure you'll want to make sure she does everything just like her sister. I suppose you should just give her the proper command and let it go at that. It can't hurt to be redundant with behavior modifications."

Mrs. Bennett looked over at her ex-son who pleaded with his eyes not to do anything else to him. Then she turned back to her friend and asked, "does it matter if I say the keyword in front of Jennifer?"

"No, but first we should give them both commands to never say the other one's keyword out loud. Then they'll never be able to override a command for each other if they are left alone."

Sarah then commanded both of them never to use each other's keyword out loud. "Okay Susan, you can begin anytime you like."

"Jolexo! You'll begin smoking ladies cigarettes just as your sister did Cynthia," Mrs. Bennett commanded in a clear, crisp voice. "You normally smoke the same brand as her and you'll do so in the same fashion and manner as she did. You'll smoke as often as she did, about a pack and a half a day and you'll not quit smoking unless I tell you to. Jolexo!"

Keith felt the burning in his neck subside and realized that he didn't feel any different than he had a moment before. But then a strange desire started to grow inside him. He found himself reaching for his purse and opening it up. Immediately he understood what he was looking for. A feeling of frustration came over him when he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Mother, I've run out of cigarettes. Could I please have one of yours?" Keith asked.

"Of course my dear," Susan said smiling as she handed him a new pack of Virginia Slims. Keith thanked her and gracefully pulled one of the long, white cigarettes out of the pack. He started digging for his lighter but couldn't find one. Gerald leaned over with his lighter in his hand.

"Please. Allow me Cynthia."

"Oh, thank you Gerald," Keith leaned forward and lit the cigarette in his mouth. He took a deep puff and felt his stomach turn over from the taste. Now he remembered why he never got into the habit of smoking. Not only did it lower his ability to climb it also made him sick to his stomach. He found the cigarette he was smoking quite disgusting.

"Well that worked out fine," Susan said. "I'm going to have to make sure I remember everything about Cynthia's habits and incorporate them into her own as I think of them."

"You know," Sarah started out. "I've been wondering how difficult it would be to modify a subject into a behavior that neither the subject nor the donor ever had indulged in before. This might be a good time to try it out. Gerald, do you recall if Jennifer smoked prior to her transformation?"

Gerald looked thoughtfully for a moment then said, "I don't believe so, Doctor. But it was only about a day that he was held here before you began the process."

Dr. Jensen stared over at Jennifer who was fidgeting slightly and looking down at her lap. She already knew from past experience where this was leading.

"Ekala! Jennifer, I want you to speak as your true self. Answer me truthfully. Did you smoke prior to your transformation? Ekala!"

There was a sudden change in Al's attitude. Now able to speak freely, the smile vanished and he sat upright, moving slightly away from Gerald as he did so.

"No, Doctor. I didn't! And I won't do it now either! You people are crazy! You can't do this to..." Al was cut off in mid-sentence by Sarah's stern, quick voice.

"Ekala! That's enough, Jennifer. You will now assume your proper role as my maid and Gerald's girlfriend. Ekala!" Al resumed his ladylike posture and leaned slightly back towards Gerald as if nothing had happened.

***

Outside Tom noticed the strange behavior. For the briefest of moments it appeared as if the maid actually lost her temper with Dr. Jensen. It was something he'd never seen happen before. But then the doctor said something sharply to her and she settled back into her position against Gerald as if nothing had happened.

"Strange," Tom muttered to himself. He wondered what that was all about.

***

"Gerald, if you don't mind, I would like to try a little experiment with your girlfriend. I'm sure her donor wasn't a smoker either, being a cheerleader and all. So I'd like to see if the behavior modification process could incorporate that behavior into her personality as easily as it did for Cynthia. Alright?"

"Sure, Doctor. I don't mind at all."

Sarah looked over at Jennifer and spoke slowly and clearly. "Ekala! Jennifer, you are a cigarette smoker. You smoke about a pack and a half a day. You smoke the same brand as I do, Bensen & Hedges 120's. You'll not smoke when acting as my maid, unless you do so on your breaks. But you will smoke as often as I've commanded you to when you are off duty, such as now. You'll always smoke in a ladylike and graceful, seductive way. You especially enjoy having Gerald light your cigarettes for you, just like a lady would. You'll do this as I've commanded. Ekala!"

Keith watched Al's eyes glaze over slightly while the doctor was speaking to him. He wondered if this was the way he looked when his mother was issuing commands to him. After it was over Al opened up his purse and started searching. A look of disappointment appeared on his face.

"Oh, Gerald, I'm out of cigarettes again," Jennifer pouted. "Would you be a dear and get me a fresh pack?"

The bodyguard smiled and replied as he stood up, "sure thing, honey. I'll be right back." He left the room and re-appeared a minute later holding a freshly opened pack of cigarettes in his hand. He sat down next to Al who looked up at him, smiling brightly as he took the pack from him.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he purred sweetly. Then, without hesitation, he plucked out one of the extra long, white cigarettes and held it between her fingers as though he'd done it a million times before.

"Would you give me a light please, honey?" Al asked softly.

Gerald pulled out the lighter from his coat pocket again and lit the long cigarette that he held in the tips of his fingers. Al leaned back slightly and took a deep puff while smiling up at Gerald as if everything was normal. Sarah smiled proudly, obviously pleased with the results.

"Well I guess that answers my question," she chuckled. "Gerald, you may cancel that command at any time you wish. I'll leave it up to you."

Gerald stared back as Al took a long, lazy puff on the cigarette and then energetically exhaled a long column of smoke up and away into the air. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll keep that in mind."

It was obvious to Keith that Gerald enjoyed watching Jennifer behave that way and had no intention of stopping her from doing it. He tried not to think about the other things that the agent made her do. It was also becoming evident to him that his mother and Dr. Jensen enjoyed this level of control they had over others. He began to realize that his mother was not only unconcerned about how this bizarre change was effecting him...she was enjoying it!

"Susan, why don't I take this opportunity to give you a little tour of my facility? Gerald, you can join us if you like. I'm sure that Jennifer and Cynthia could use the time for a little 'girl talk' while we're gone. Besides, I'm certain that Cynthia could use a little respite from all this and would like to ask Jennifer a few things that only she could answer."

Gerald became uneasy over the doctor's suggestion. He didn't know which idea bothered him more; leaving Jennifer and Cynthia unattended to talk about their current situation or having Dr. Jensen give her friend a tour of the facility without him. It was a big breach of security but he knew better then to remind the doctor of that. He decided it was probably better if he did his job and tagged along with the doctor to see how much she said about the place.

Susan was also concerned about leaving the two young ladies alone and expressed it. "Sure, I'd love a tour of this place Sarah but...well, do you think it's okay to leave them alone together?"

Sarah gave her a reassuring smile. "Oh, it won't be a problem at all. I'll just give them the proper commands and it'll be fine."

She faced the maid and looked her straight in the eyes. "Ekala Jennifer, listen carefully! You may be your true self while we are absent from the room. But you'll speak and act only as the young lady you've been commanded to be. You may engage in conversation and speak freely with Cynthia, but you may not conspire against me or anyone else. You'll behave this way only until I return to this room. At that time, you will revert to the behavior that you are constrained to now. Ekala!"

Next Sarah spoke Cynthia's keyword and commanded her to do the same. As the three of them rose to leave, both Al and Keith felt the control to speak freely return to them. Gerald looked back at them as he left the room. He was sure it was going to be an interesting conversation and was almost sorry he would be missing it.

***

Chapter 14 - Personal Experience

Al stared intensely at the young woman who just a few hours before had been a healthy, young male.

'Just like me,' he said to himself. 'My gosh, he must be more terrified about what is going on than I was.' Keith, struggling to stem his emotions seemed embarrassed and unsure of what to say. Stubbing out his hated cigarette Al decided to break the ice.

"I guess they haven't had time to...you know...change you completely yet," Al started.

"Uh... no. I think they have to wait...for a while before...before they finish it." Keith looked down at the ground in embarrassment at the prospect of what was to become of him.

"Take it from me, it's not something to look forward to. I know."

Almost immediately Al felt horrible about what he had just said. This poor kid had enough problems without having him adding to them. At least in his case, he'd no one to blame but himself. But this poor child had been betrayed by his own mother, someone who was supposed to be protecting him from people like Dr. Jensen. What kind of personal hell was he going through because of this? And yet, Al had acted so insensitively towards him. The old Al Parker would never have said anything like that. What kind of person was he, or rather, had he turned into?

The scared, young woman looked up and asked a question. "Uh, Jennifer. Uh...when...when it happen to you...uh did...did it...hurt?"

What could he tell him? Al gave him a sympathetic look, realizing that if it hadn't been for the control holding back his emotions, he would have burst out crying before finishing the question. Al wanted to wrap his arms around Cynthia and tell him everything would be okay but knew better. What this kid needed more then anything was the truth. Sugarcoating what was about to happen would only make it harder for him to accept things when the final transformation was complete.

"No...no it didn't hurt...at least how you mean," Al started off slowly. He found the words painful to say. "But it hurts like hell inside. I mean...one moment you're a guy...and the next...and the next moment you're a...a girl. It was...terrible. But it was much worse later...when...when he started giving me commands and...and taking advantage of me."

That horrible moment where his life had been changed came back to Al. There was Gerald, standing there with an evil smirk on his face and the doctor, ignoring the plea's to spare his life, what was left of it by then. He would pay them back for what they did. But the words seemed hollow and empty now. A new feeling was starting to take over his mind; it was one of defeat. Was that really possible anymore? Would he be able to set the record straight some day? Nothing so far had broken the control they had over him. His fate seemed to be set in stone. Tears formed in his eyes and he quickly turned away. Keith could see and hear pain in her voice but he had to know. He had to ask the question.

"Did he...does he...uh, use you like that?"

Al looked straight at Keith with a stone expression on his face. Then his expression softened some and Keith saw it was a look of embarrassment, not anger. "I'm sorry, Jennifer. I shouldn't have asked."

Al managed to give him a weak smile. "It's OK, Cynthia. I know you're just as frightened as I was when they first did this to me. Yeah, he uses me all the time. The worst part is that he makes me like it. I mean, inside my mind I hate what he is doing to me but outside -- my body enjoys it." Al lit another cigarette and continued.

"The first time we did it...I was so scared and sick inside. But...but he commanded me to...you know, have an orgasm with him! It felt so...so", he closed his eyes and whispered, "so good! I couldn't stop it from happening. I think I passed out for a second and when I came to, I could feel his...his." He couldn't finish the sentence.

"I wanted to die. It was the worst moment I've ever experienced. He had no right to do that to me." Keith felt the pain and shuddered at what might lay ahead for him. What did his mother have in store for his future? Keith wanted to comfort Jennifer somehow but didn't know how.

An idea flashed into Al's mind. Maybe he should tell Cynthia the truth about who he really was. Then, once Cynthia left this place, he could get a message to Tom and let him know where he was. But he quickly dismissed that idea. The plan was too risky, not only to Cynthia but to everyone else involved. If Cynthia was caught trying to make the call, and it seemed unlikely his mother wouldn't monitor whom he talked to, Tom's life could be in danger. No, he had to wait for the right moment. But in the back of his mind Al wondered if that moment would ever come.

"I hate them," Al continued. "They'd no right to do this to me. I was just looking for enough money so I could eat that night. I wasn't going to hurt anybody. Jesus, I was just looking for some quick cash! I was wrong...doing what I did. But that didn't give them the right to do this to me."

"I know how you feel Jennifer. I didn't mean to kill my sister. It was an accident. Then the next thing I know, I'm here and this morning...this morning they did this to me. I think my mother has gone insane! I can't believe she's done this to me."

Al nodded as he took another drag on the long cigarette and held it gracefully off to his side. "I hate the things Gerald makes me do! This smoking thing is just another way to make me look like the whore he wants me to be! Someday...someday I'll get even."

There was a question that had been gnawing at Keith since this nightmare started. "Jennifer...Uh...are you...I mean...completely a girl now? I mean...could you have a...a baby?" Al blushed slightly.

"I have to take my birth control pill every day. Yeah, I could get pregnant...if I'm not careful. And with Gerald around me all the time I have to be very careful. The first thing I do every morning is go into the bathroom and take that damn pill. My worse fear is that the doctor may decide to experiment with me and allow me to get pregnant. I know she's interested in seeing how this would affect her serum. She's made comments about me having children several times already." Al shuddered at the thought of having a baby. "I guess in her own way the doctor sees me as her daughter."

"Jennifer? Can you remember everything about what it was like before they changed you? I mean...can you remember your name and where you came from and who you were?"

Al smiled slightly at the question. "Sure I can Cynthia. You don't forget anything. But you can't talk about it much. Even now, when we're granted free speech, you can't say your real name. Go ahead and try. Tell me your real name."

Keith tried. "My real name is Cynthia . . . Cynthia Louise Bennett."

"See what I mean? My real name is...my real name is...Jennifer...Jennifer Lynette Anderson. You can no longer control certain things that you say. You'll never be able to tell anyone you were once a guy. And even if you could, by the time they're done with you no one would believe you anyway."

"But they didn't command me to say I was a girl yet. And I'm really not a girl...at least not yet. I'm still a man. See? I can say it. I'll bet you could, too, if you tried. Maybe someday you'll be able to tell someone and find a way to make them believe you."

Al slowly shook his head. "They have already taken care of that with me. Though I can speak freely of other things, if anyone ever questioned me, I know I would have to tell them I am and always have been a woman...or a girl. And Gerald makes me say things even worse. I hate him."

Al and Keith hadn't noticed Gerald standing near the entrance to the living room. Leaving them alone to talk had been too much for him to bear. So when the doctor suggested that he go check up on them Gerald jumped at the chance. He knew the doctor was now probably telling her friend all kinds of things that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But he didn't care.

'How can I stop her?' he asked himself. 'I can't be with them every minute of the day.'

He knew that Dr. Jensen would simply wait until he was gone to tell her friend everything about her research. Hell, she may have already told her that already. So let the doctor have her fun -he was going to have some fun of his own.

"She's right, you know, she does hate me. But she can't help but love me, too. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" He touched Jennifer's hair and smiled evilly at her.

Although still smiling from the control he was under, Al's free speech hadn't been removed yet and he planned to make it count.

"You're a pervert, asshole...and a pathetic excuse for a lover. The only women you're able to get are the ones you can control or pay for...and even then I bet they fake it pretty well so you won't feel bad. I never had to pay for my women Gerald...but I bet you've had to all your life. And someday you'll pay for this too!"

Anger flashed in Gerald's eyes. Despite everything he had put this bitch through she still had the strength to go toe to toe with him and worse...win. He knew he shouldn't let her get to him but he couldn't help it. This tramp wasn't fit to be in the same room with him and yet she was the one who was constantly making him feel like it was the other way round. He was better than her, he knew it. And yet she knew just what to say to get under his skin. Well, this time he would teach Miss Smart-mouth a valuable lesson on who was really better than who around here. This time he would do it in front of one of her new friends.

"Jolexo! You will return to full control and behave as a young lady again. Jolexo!" Gerald turned to Jennifer and said, "Ekala! You will return to full control and behave as I've instructed you to. You will behave completely as my girlfriend and lover. Ekala!"

After Al's eyes cleared up, he looked lovingly up at Gerald and asked, "hi, handsome. Where's the Doctor and Ms. Bennett? Cynthia and I have been having a lovely talk. You know, just girl things."

"The Doctor and Cynthia's mother are talking in the study. They asked me to come out and entertain you two lovely ladies while they get caught up on old times." He flashed Jennifer an evil smile. "Cynthia, why don't you accompany me and Jennifer to our playroom. I'm sure Jennifer would love to show you her room and our playroom attached to it, wouldn't you dear?"

Al nodded readily and grinned. "Oh, yes Gerald. That's a great idea. Come on, Cynthia! You'll just love it!"

All three of them stood up and headed to Jennifer's bedroom.

***

Tom watched the three of them leave. He lowered the binoculars and pondered over what was going on. This entire visit didn't add up and yet he didn't know why. What he found most puzzling was that he hadn't seen the young boy since early that morning. From the resemblance with the young woman who showed up today, Tom deduced they were related, maybe even brother and sister. And yet, stranger still, he hadn't seen them together. Why did the girl appear only after the boy had disappeared? He raised the binoculars and stared back at the house wishing it would reveal some of its secrets.

***

Chapter 15 -- Project Peace!

"Project Peace," Susan said. "That's an ironic name."

"Yes, isn't it," Sarah replied. "I laugh when I first heard the name and read what it's objective was all about. Remember Susan, now that you know what the real purpose of my serum is you can't tell anyone."

"I understand Sarah. But why not talk to your bosses about Phoenix? I'm sure they would see the importance of the project."

Sarah sat back in her chair and took a drag from her cigarette.

"I've tried Susan, but they don't want to divert any funds or time from Project Peace. Once I work out all the details and Project Peace is completed, then maybe they will listen and allow me to continue my research. But that could be 5, 10, or 15 years from now. I don't want to wait that long." She paused to put out her cigarette and light another one.

"For the first few years I worked hard on Phoenix and got some very interesting results. Then someone higher up decided it was pointless to continue my project without world security. So they came up with Project Peace and told me to put Phoenix on hold. In a way some very useful things have come out of this project. What we did to Keith is a result of what I learned from Project Peace. Without it, I wouldn't be as far along today as I am now."

"Well I'm impressed Sarah. As soon as Cynthia turns 21 I'll get you the money you need. I promise!"

"Thank you Susan. I can't tell you how much that means to me. Like I said, I can't use my own funds without them being aware of what's going on."

"But why would they care? You'd be working on Project Phoenix during your own time and with your own money. Why would it matter to them?"

"Because my bosses feel that if I have time to work on Phoenix then I'm not devoting all my time to the Peace project. The two projects are identical in many ways but yet they are also totally different. And then there are the clinical studies which have shown that the average researcher who tries working on multiple projects at the same time ends up working three times longer to complete just one of them. In other words, he or she is less effective working on two projects at the same time than if they were focused on just one project. In some cases they end up not completing either one of the projects they were working on. Of course I am not your normal researcher but my bosses won't listen to me." An exasperated look appeared on the doctor's face.

"Male bosses can be idiots," Susan joked, "because they have two heads to think with and usually think with the smaller of the two."

Sarah let out a loud laugh. "Oh Susan, I missed your humor so much. Lets go make ourselves a drink and talk about something else."

***

There wasn't much for Tom to observe the rest of the day. The four of them sat down at the table while the maid, who had changed back into her regular uniform, served dinner. The young man who had been present in the house that morning didn't join them. After dinner, the bodyguard packed up the car and pulled it in front of the door. Dr. Jensen, the older lady and her daughter got into it and drove off, without the young man.

'Where could he be?' Tom wondered.

He observed the maid stand in front of the window smoking a cigarette as they drove away. There was a sorrowful, almost painful expression on her face, much too painful for just a common parting of old friends. A minute later she stubbed out her cigarette and walked back to her bedroom.

The private eye waited around for a while. A couple of hours later, the doctor and her bodyguard returned home. They talked about something for a moment before departing in different directions -- the doctor headed upstairs to her bedroom while Gerald made his way to Jennifer's room for his nightly activities.

Tom climbed down from the tree and drove back to his motel room. He sat down in the recliner with a pen and pad of paper to write down his thoughts. There were a few things bothering him.

First, an older lady and her son show up at the house in the middle of the night. Their visit appeared to have been unexpected and Gerald wasn't happy about them being there. Shortly after they'd arrived, the doctor ended up spending two hours in her lab working on something. In the meantime, the other woman just sat in her room and cried about something for almost an hour.

The next morning Dr. Jensen, the older lady, and her son have a quick breakfast and head off in the direction of the doctor's lab. Thirty minutes later the mother and son leave the lab and go upstairs. After a couple of hours the mother comes back downstairs only this time with a young woman in tow, maybe her daughter. They leave later that night without the boy, who hasn't been seen since the early morning.

Then there was Jennifer. Who was she really and where did she come from? The motel manager indicated she wasn't from around this area. He had first seen her sometime in late January at a local bar with Gerald.

Private investigators relied on their instincts and something about Jennifer set off alarms in his head. She just didn't fit in and yet Tom didn't know why. Maybe one of the reasons was her age. She was too young to be a government agent and Gerald was almost 10 years her senior. True, some women were attracted to older men, but it was the way she dressed for the bodyguard that bothered him.

While younger women did tend to wear shorter outfits, off duty Jennifer dressed more like a call girl as if to please Gerald. Why would a young woman, with such good looks, put herself down by dressing that way? During the day she was a prim and proper housemaid but after hours she dressed totally differently, like a cheap hooker. Nothing about Jennifer added up.

The solution to this dilemma was simple; he had to meet Jennifer and find out what she was really like. The problem was finding a time when she was outside the house by herself. Gerald always seemed to accompany her whenever she went out and 90% of the time that was to a bar or club. The only time he knew for sure when Jennifer would be alone was when they went grocery shopping. Like clockwork, Gerald and Jennifer always went to the same store on the same days and at the same time. This pretty much limited his options on where and when he could meet her. Unless he wanted to wait around for months in the hopes of finding a better location he would have to risk trying to talk to her at the store.

Tom got out his calendar and checked to see what his schedule looked like. It would be at least 10 days before he could make it back to Salt Lake City due to several new cases he'd picked up. Actually this worked out to his advantage. He needed the time to think up a way of convincing a certain highway patrolman to help him out.

The private eye got undressed and laid down in his bed. One more time he prayed to God, as he had been taught in the orphanage, that Al was still alive and he would find him. Tom forgot that God sometimes answered prayers in his own way.

***

Chapter 16 - Cold, hard decisions

The clock on the dresser read 4am. Al had just experienced a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. In it he was Al Parker again and he was standing on the edge of a dark, bottomless pit. His legs were frozen in place, preventing him from moving away from the edge to safety. All he could do was stand there, using his arms to balance his body from falling into the dark abyss below. Then Jennifer appeared out of the dark, a perpetual smile painted on her face. He begged her to pull him away from the pit before he fell into it but she didn't lift a finger to help. Instead she continued to smile and said two words to him, "my turn."

Al felt her hands press firmly against his back. With one hard push he fell forward into the darkness below. As he started to fall Al got one more look at Jennifer who was standing over the edge watching him, a perfect, waxed smile still on her face. Then everything went black and Al woke up with a sudden jerk. The bed sheets were wet from the sweat of his soaking body.

Al stood in front of the bedroom window looking out at the cold, dark night as he had done so many nights before. It was only a dream but to Al it had seemed more then just that. To him it was a sign. He took a long, deep, hated puff and felt the smoke burn his throat. How he hated these damn things.

When he had been Al Parker he had treated his body as a temple. Each morning he woke up early and ran between 5 to 7 miles before breakfast, usually in the cold Seattle rain. In the army he'd been careful to limit the amount of alcohol he drank each week, which was unusual for someone in the service. And he never put these cancer sticks in his mouth. Too much smoking and drinking defeated the purpose of trying to keep in shape. But now, thanks to Gerald and Dr. Jensen, he was being forced to do a detestable habit that he hated so much. Could it really get any worse?

"Could it?" Al asked himself. What was life going to be like for him now as a young woman? What kind of future was he really facing? It was time to start facing reality. For the next several years he would begin his day at five in the morning. He would cook, clean, do laundry and make beds like a mindless robot just to please his female mistress. Then, after all this was done the real personal hell began, pleasing his male master.

True, one day Gerald would leave for bigger and better things but then who knew what his replacement would be like. He, or she, may end up treating him worse then Gerald did, if that was possible.

Al considered the situation was about as bad as it could get. He had been stripped of the freedom to live life the way he wanted too and was being forced to have sex with someone that he deeply despised. Maybe the next person would fall in love with him and treat him right but would he be happy with them, knowing they could change any of his actions with a simple command? And what about Dr. Jensen's promise to set him up with the perfect husband. Would he be happy with a new partner based on the doctor's agenda and not his own love? What kind of future was that? What did the future really hold for him now?

"Nothing!" he said out loud. For months his hate and anger had kept him going. It had kept him focused on staying alive while all these new and terrible things were happening to him. But seeing what they did to Cynthia had touched his soul. He had been fooling himself all this time. There was no way out of this for him or for Cynthia.

"That poor kid," Al whispered. "He didn't do anything wrong. His sister's death was an accident. But he paid the ultimate price anyway and worse, I helped them do it."

Seeing the process done to another person had broken Al. These people could and would continue to do this to others and there wasn't anyone who could stop them. Not him, not the police, no one. They were above the law.

"There's no one to help him," Al said softly. "Or help me." At that moment it became clear to Al they had won! He accepted that now. No matter what he did, it wouldn't make a difference. He couldn't stop them...he couldn't even stop himself from helping them. What happened to Cynthia was just as much his fault as theirs. His fantasies of getting even with Dr. Jensen and Gerald were just that, a fantasy. It was over.

A train whistle blew in the distance, catching his attention. Al walked over to the living room window and stared out at a certain spot in the horizon, between the trees and front gate. There he caught a glimpse of what he was looking for. In the dark distance he could see the headlight of a Union Pacific freight as it headed westwards toward...home. If only he could catch that train and get out of here. If only he could be himself for 5 lousy minutes. But there was only one way out now. He had to take his own life. It was time to die.

While it had taken months to come to this conclusion, the answer seemed easy for him to accept. The hard part was figuring out how to end his life? It wasn't like he could slit his wrist or take some pills. The doctor had made sure that as Jennifer he wouldn't be allowed to hurt or kill anyone, including himself. No, if he wanted to die then he had to do it in a way where it would be an accident and not intentional. But how could that be done? Al stared out the window and thought about it some more.

***

Chapter 17 -- Meeting of old friends

The next ten days passed quickly for Tom. He had worked on seven cases during that time and had been able to close five of them. All in all it had been pretty good week. Now he focused on this current dilemma, meeting Jennifer Anderson. Tom parked his car across from the store and waited. He didn't have to wait long because right on schedule Gerald's red Mustang pulled into the store parking lot.

Tom waited until they both went inside before pulling into the parking lot and heading into the store. He quickly spotted them picking up items off the shelves. Being careful not to be seen, the private eye watched and waited for his opportunity. When Gerald went off to another area of the store, Tom saw his chance and took it.

Grabbing a head of lettuce, he trotted up to Jennifer and asked, "excuse me Miss, can you help me with something?" Her reaction to his question shocked the hell out of him. Her eyes got real big as if she was seeing an old friend for the first time in years. Then she threw her arms around Tom and gave him a big hug.

"Oh Tom, you found me. Oh God how I missed you"

"Excuse me Miss, have we met before?" He tried to pry the young woman off but she held on tight. What was going on here? He knew they hadn't met before and yet she was acting as if they were old friends.

The young woman released her grip slightly and whispered cautiously, "Tom, listen to me. There is great danger here. Please help..." She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Gerald approaching them.

"What's going on here honey?" Gerald asked unpleasantly as he took his position beside Jennifer. Tom answered for her.

"Nothing mister. I needed some help and thought she worked here. Excuse me Miss, but have we met before?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I've never been to Dragon's Lake before. In fact, I don't even like caves. You must have mistaken me for someone else."

Her response mystified Tom. Not only had Jennifer lied about knowing him, although he had no idea where they may have met, she also knew about Dragon's Lake. Only a handful of his closest friends knew about that place and most didn't know anything about the cave she was talking about. In fact Dragon's Lake wasn't even on the map. It was just a name Tom had given the place after finding it years ago. The lake's real name, if it even had one, was unknown to him.

He had stumbled onto the lake by accident a few years back while hiking in the wilderness. It was a small, beautiful lake fed by runoff water from the melting snow of a nearby mountain. The lake was filled with fish, turtles and other water creatures and just a few feet above it sat a small cave that overlooked everything. The area reminded Tom of a childhood fantasy when he pretended to be a knight heading off to fight dragons and so, he gave it the name Dragon's Lake.

Tom visited the lake at least 5 times a year. It's remoteness made it the perfect place when he wanted to fish, camp, and get away from the rest of the world. In all the time he had gone there he had never once taken anyone with him. Yet this woman seemed to know all about the place. How could that be? Tom was about to ask her something else when Gerald ended the conversation abruptly.

"You got the wrong person pal. I suggest you get some help up front." Gerald gave him a slight push with his hand, a warning that Tom picked up on, while at the same time grabbing Jennifer's arm and pulling her away.

As they walked away the young woman turned and looked back at Tom with eyes that almost seemed to be pleading with him to help her. The odd thing about her reaction was, she wasn't struggling to get away from Gerald.

The private eye watched from a safe distance as Gerald led her up to the cashier to pay for their groceries. Only then did he release his hold on Jennifer so he could pull out his wallet. She kept looking at Tom with her sad, empty eyes. Her boyfriend didn't notice; he was too busy trying to pay for everything and get out of there as quickly as he could. Once that was done, he grabbed the bag of groceries with one hand and Jennifer with the other and pulled her quickly outside to the car.

Inside the vehicle he angrily asked, ""WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? WHY WERE YOU HUGGING AND TOUCHING HIM THAT WAY?"

Suddenly Al realized that he'd been a fool. His actions had raised Gerald's suspicions and put both him and Tom's life in danger. If he started asking him straight questions then everything would be lost. It was time for some more half-truths here.

"He was kind of attractive," Al said softly. "I just wanted to talk and get to know him a little better, that's all."

"You mean you actually thought he was good looking?" Gerald asked although not really too surprised. Dr. Jensen had told him this could happen. She suspected that once Jennifer accepted her situation she would start reacting the same way a real female would around the now, opposite sex; actually giving up her past male ideas and feelings. And Gerald had to admit this stranger was fairly attractive.

"Well...yes I did," Al answered carefully. "I don't know why but I found him very attractive. I just couldn't help myself, I had to hug him."

'Won't this make Dr. Jensen's day when I tell her what happened,' Gerald thought to himself. Every time the doctor made a breakthrough in her research she would go out and celebrate. That meant a long night for Gerald, who would have to go with her and listen to the doctor rambling on about how smart she was. Maybe he wouldn't tell her what had just happened. Jennifer spoke again, interrupting his thoughts.

"You do know he's not half as good looking as you," Al said with a twinkle in his eyes that Gerald hadn't seen before.

'Damn,' Gerald said to himself. 'Jennifer must have forgotten who she used to be. She's acting more like a normal woman than I've ever seen her act before. Maybe this was a sign that things where changing inside her. It could explain her mood swings over the past several days.'

Al reached over to give Gerald a kiss but he pushed him away. Normal reaction or not, he wasn't about to share Jennifer's affections with anyone else.

"We can take care of this little problem right now," he said with a frown. "Ekala! You will no longer find other men attractive. You will only devote your attention to me and not look at other men. I'm your only lover and you will only want to have sex with me. Ekala!"

'Only sex with you,' Al chuckled to himself. 'Oh Gerald, if you only dropped your ego for a moment you may find out what's really going on here.'

Al placed his hands on Gerald's chest and smiled sweetly into his eyes. For once Al's insides matched the happiness that the female outside showed. Tom was here, in Salt Lake City. That meant he was looking for Al. He hadn't been forgotten. Al Parker was still a someone in the world. The fact that he'd tried to contact Jennifer at the store while she was alone could only mean Tom had some idea of what was going on. Al hoped the clues he gave him would help.

'If you are going to do something Tom, please do it fast. I can't take much more this.' Al started kissing Gerald's neck as Jennifer's hands moved down to unzip his pants.

***

From inside the store, Tom watched the car peel out of the parking lot in a hurry. His impression of Gerald was that of someone who had a really short fuse with a powerful body to match. That type of combination could turn into a dangerous situation.

"You might as well forget her friend. Not only is she is totally devoted to that guy, she's also a real BITCH." Tom turned and came face to face with a lady cashier.

"So you know her then? Can you tell me something about them?" The tag on her uniform said Dianna. She must have been close to 30 and while not totally unattractive, she could have improved the way she looked if she invested a little bit more time in her hair and makeup.

"Know her?" The lady looked to make sure the manager wasn't close by then lowered her voice. "She's the biggest BITCH I know and such a phony too. A few weeks ago she started smoking to impress her boyfriend. I guess she felt it made her look more grown up! All it does is make her look like a cheap slut with a bad habit...and I don't mean the boyfriend."

"I see." That piece of information was interesting. Tom pulled out his pad and started making a few notes about her smoking. "When did you first meet her?"

"I'm sorry, I don't answer questions very well on an empty stomach." Tom looked up from his writing and saw the cashier smiling at him.

"You know, I'm the same way Dianna," he replied smiling. "Maybe we could talk about this over dinner tonight? What time do you get off?"

***

Chapter 18 - Old debts

The next morning Tom left Dianna's apartment with an extra spring in his step. It was amazing how one night with a soft, warm woman could straighten out a cluttered mind and make everything clear again. Tom didn't have a steady girlfriend and opportunities like that didn't come along very often due to the hours he worked. Yesterday had been just another day, nothing out of the ordinary. Today the sun was shining brighter then normal and the birds were singing louder then usual. Everything was as it should be.

Quickly he made his way back to his motel room to shower, change and checkout. Ahead of him lay an hour's drive to his next destination, a meeting with an old friend. Tom hoped they would still be friends after their conversation. He had a feeling it was going to turn ugly.

***

Al had found it impossible to sleep that night. Every half-hour he would wake up and go to the window to see if there was some sign of Tom out there. Every shadow raised his hopes only to have them shattered when he discovered it really was just a shadow, not someone lurking about. Al assumed, incorrectly, that his friend knew all about what had happened and had come to rescue him. What he failed to realize was that his story was so unbelievable that not knowing all the details would lead someone to a different conclusion. Outside of the doctor and Gerald, no one else had any idea that inside Jennifer's body was the mind of Al Parker.

By morning his spirits had fallen as quickly as they had soared the day before. Today was going to be no different than any other day. He was still a prisoner trapped in his female body.

***

Tom noticed Kevin Brown as soon as he walked into the restaurant. It was really kind of hard not too. At 6'2", 225 pounds (all muscle), the Black State Highway patrolman looked more like a football player than a cop. In fact he'd played football at a Texas high school and at least three colleges had been interested in recruiting him at one time. But that was before Kevin had decided to go into law enforcement and once he made up his mind it was set.

His presence caused instant respect among the people in the building, not so much by his size but by how he was dressed. Like most law enforcement officers, Kevin took a lot of pride in the way he looked and how he did his job. It was obvious by looking at his waist that the patrolman kept in shape and hadn't seen the inside of a doughnut shop in years. His uniform was pressed and spotless and his shoes were so shiny that you could see your face in them. He waved at Tom and walked over to the table.

"Tom, it's great to see you again. How are you doing?" he asked with a big Texas drawl. Kevin had the whitest teeth Tom had ever seen. During their training at the academy, Tom use to kid Kevin that if he just showed his teeth and growled he could stop any crook in his tracks by scaring them. Kevin, who was a good-
natured guy at heart, would always let out a bear-size laugh at the ribbing he received.

"I see you're still a Seahawks fan," he said pointing to the Seattle Seahawks cap that Tom was wearing. "When are you going to pick a real team to follow?"

"They beat your team this year, didn't they Kevin? I would say they're doing okay. Anyway, sit down and order something, I'm buying."

The patrolman got a shocked look on his face and grabbed his chest like he was having a heart attack.

"What? You're buying? My heart can't take it. Who are you and what did you do with the real Tom McClain?" The two men laughed and quickly started getting up to speed on what each other was doing. After they finished eating Tom decided it was time to talk business.

"Kevin, it's great to see you but I didn't ask you here just to talk. I need a really big favor. Only you have to promise that you won't tell anyone what I am about to say."

"Sure Tom, I owe you a few. What do you need me to do?"

"I'm afraid you won't like it much." The big State Patrolman's toothy smile faded.

"What is it?" he asked in a cool and businesslike tone.

"I need you to get some information for me. I need a driver's license and social security number from someone I'm investigating."

"Why?" Kevin inquired so Tom spent several minutes telling him why.

"Look Kevin, recently I found out that Al went to Salt Lake City. Klein Walker sent Al out to retrieve something, an experimental drug I believe. I'm not sure what this drug does but you can bet Klein Walker figured he'd make millions stealing it."

A frown appeared on Kevin's face. The State Trooper didn't like Klein Walker any more than Tom did. A few years earlier, a police officer and his young son had been murdered because of Mr. Walker. The problem was they could never prove it but cops didn't forget things like that.

"Why come to me? You could let one of the detectives in Seattle handle it. I'm sure the Salt Lake City Police Department would cooperate with them."

Tom shook his head. "I haven't told anyone about this Kevin. Look, there is something wrong here. I don't know what it is but the fact that Klein Walker is involved is the icing on the cake. And to be honest Kevin, I don't trust anyone else's ability to solve this case without more facts."

Kevin understood Tom's position because Al was Tom's best friend and that made it personal. It was also the reason why Tom needed to let someone else to help. The problem about a case becoming personal was that the person investigating first starts bending, then breaking the rules to find out what really happened. Even if the investigator did find out the truth, by that time he'd probably have broken so many laws that a third year law student could get the charges dropped without any trouble.

"Look Tom, let me make a call. I have a friend on the Salt Lake force who is a first rate detective. He can check this out..." Tom didn't let him finish.

"No Kevin!" He stared into his friend's concerned eyes momentarily before continuing. "Kevin, you don't understand. I can't tell you why, call it a hunch, but this case is bigger then you, me, or any detective on the Salt Lake force. Look, if someone from the police department goes poking around, these people are going to hear about it and then Al's life will be in danger."

"After almost four months? You really don't think Al is still alive, do you!" Kevin phrased it more as a statement of fact than a question.

Tom stared down at the table and said softly, "no, I don't." Then his face shot up and he stared angrily into Kevin's eyes. "But that doesn't mean I should give up. I'm close Kevin, real close, but I need your help."

"What exactly do you want me to do Tom? It's not like I can pull someone over without a reason. Salt Lake isn't even in my patrol district."

"Oh hell Kevin, the entire state is your patrol district. You guys can go anywhere you want."

"If I'm going to be patrolling in the Salt Lake City area then I need a damn good reason," Kevin replied. "I just can't take off and drive, I need to let my superiors know where I'm going and why. It's that simple Tom."

"Okay, say you got a tip from a concerned citizen about a speeding car that almost hit a few kids. Sure you could turn it over to someone else. But explain to them that it's a matter you want to handle personally. They would buy that."

"Except that would be a lie," Kevin answered strongly. "Tom, you're asking me to lie to my superiors, people I look up to and respect. You know what that means to me and then you want me to pull someone over for no real reason just so I can get some personal information to pass on to you. Tom, we're talking about lying, breaking patrol rules and wasting taxpayer's money. I can't do that. Look, let me talk to my friend..."

"I said NO Kevin." Tom took a few seconds to calm down before playing his trump card. He hated to do this but he didn't have any other options left.

"Kevin, you owe me. Remember the harbor incident. I covered your BUTT and it almost cost me my job. But I never told them. NEVER! Don't talk to me about rules. If you were so DAMNED CONCERNED about the rules you would have cleared my name back then. Instead I took the heat for your mistake. You owe me Kevin. You owe me BIG TIME!"

It was rare for Kevin to lose his temper. Tom could have counted the number of times he'd seen him do so on one hand and none of those times had been directed at a fellow officer. But today was a first. Kevin didn't say anything but his mood changed quickly and his face got red. Tom knew what that day at the harbor meant to the State Trooper. From that point on Kevin had vowed to follow all the rules and be the best, most honest cop he could be. To this day, Kevin had done just that and now Tom was unfairly shoving a mistake he had made as a rookie back in his face. Worse, he felt Tom was trying to blackmail him into breaking the rules again to get what he wanted. Tom saw the change in Kevin and switched tactics.

"Look, I'm sorry buddy. I know what you're thinking. Yes, I could get this information through other means but that'll take months. If there's a chance Al's alive then I need this information now, not later. Please Kevin, I'm begging you."

Kevin stared coldly into Tom's eyes, obviously still upset despite Tom's humble apology. For a moment the Tom didn't know what he would say. Finally the state trooper spoke.

"Okay, I'll do it. But let's get one thing straight MISTER HOTSHOT INVESTIGATOR. I do this and we're EVEN! YOU GOT THAT? The books are closed on what happened three years ago. You never mention what happened that day to me AGAIN. ARE WE CLEAR?"

Tom nodded his head. "I understand buddy...and I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Don't be sorry." Kevin snarled back. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

***

Chapter 19 - Joyride

Officer Brown sat on the side of the road waiting for the target to appear. Tom informed him the two suspects always went to the market every Friday at the same time. Just to be on the safe side, Kevin still got to his spot 30 minutes early. Right on time, the officer saw the car speeding around the bend. He put up his radar gun and in two seconds had three different hits. They all showed the car was doing 51 in a 45 M.P.H. speed zone. Only six miles over the limit; not much but enough to ease his conscience that he wasn't stopping them without a good reason. He pulled out behind them and turned on his lights.

"Oh Shit!" said Gerald when he saw the patrol car. "What the hell is he doing out here?" He made a nasty comment when he discovered that the officer pulling him over was also black. Al sat there and listened to the garbage spilling out of Gerald's mouth. He never understood this type of hatred in anyone.

By the book, Officer Brown walked slowly up to the driver side window while checking out the car. Before getting out, he noticed the driver was angry and had been yelling some profanity, which included the "N" word. The things you could pick up by looking at the person's mouth in their rear view mirror.

"Good morning, sir. I need to see your driver's license and registration please," Kevin requested as politely as possible.

"What for officer?" Gerald asked in a defiant tone. He didn't hide the fact that he had a problem with police officers, especially black ones. "I wasn't doing anything wrong. You had no reason to stop me. None at all"

Kevin ignored Gerald's remarks and attitude. He was too much of a professional to let some bigot get the better of him. He continued his routine in a very businesslike fashion.

"Well, for one thing sir you were speeding. I clocked you doing 51 in a 45 mph speed zone." Gerald rolled his eyes as if he couldn't believe he'd been pulled over for going six miles over the limit. "And the second reason is your passenger isn't wearing her safety belt. That's not safe either. I need to see your license as well ma'am."

Al started to open up his purse but Gerald stopped him. "Wait a minute, she's a passenger. Isn't that my responsibility?"

"Are you over 18 ma'am?" Kevin asked. Al nodded to indicate that he was. "Not when she's an adult sir."

"This is BULLSHIT officer! If you're going to give me a ticket then do it so I can be on my way -- but leave her out of your personal crusade! I'm sure you'll still get your quota, being so early in the month and all."

Kevin kept his temper. The worst thing he could do right now was get mad and cause a bad situation to get worse. He had learned this lesson through years of experience and staying calm and business-like had helped him get out of more then one bad situation. In a way it was kind of comical to watch this grown man act like a five-year-old who had just had a toy taken away from him. But Officer Brown didn't dare laugh either.

"This isn't a crusade sir, it's a traffic stop. Now, I need your license sir and yours as well ma'am. Or, if you prefer, we can all go back to the patrol office and you can talk to my supervisor about these violations."

Gerald's temper flared at the options the trooper had just given him. He grabbed Jennifer's license and threw both of them at the officer.

"Here, now don't take all day. I'm a busy person!" Kevin noticed the young lady turned her head and looked out the window, too embarrassed to even look at him.

"Please wait right here sir, I'll be back with you in a moment." Kevin got into his car and ran the licenses. While waiting for the reply he jotted down the information Tom had requested. The young lady seemed so nice, why would she hang around with a creep like that? He noticed the man was yelling out the "N" word again mixed in with a few, choice four-letter words.

The dispatcher called back and gave officer Brown some additional information on the car. He debated about writing Gerald up but decided against it. He wasn't supposed to be there anyway. Besides not handing out a citation would take away this bigot's reason for being angry and maybe make him realize just what kind of a jerk he had been. Kevin got out of his car and walked back to the Mustang.

"I suggest you slow down Mr. Rogers. Speeding killed more than 150 people in this state last year. And I also suggest you have your passengers buckle up as well. Seat belts do save lives."

Gerald, surprised that he wasn't going to get a ticket despite the way he'd treated the officer, took the licenses out of the officer's hand. "I'll remember that next time...sir. Thank you."

As Kevin watched them drive off before getting in his car, he thought 'maybe that guy killed Tom's friend?'

He looked at the information and debated; there was still time to back out. No, he would send Tom the information once he got back. Perhaps some good would come out of it. Maybe his friend would see he was way over his head and finally seek some help. Deep down Kevin wasn't mad at Tom for what he did - he was concerned. The fact that he'd brought up his screw-up at the harbor years ago to get his help only showed how desperate he really was to find Al Parker. Kevin cleared with his dispatcher and sped off.

***

Chapter 20 -- Questions but no answers

Almost 24 hours after Tom faxed the information to Rob he received an answer back. It was all very interesting. Gerald had been an above average high school student before attending Yale University to study law. But into his second year he dropped out of college and all records about his life had ended. There were no income tax returns, no traffic citations, no bank records, no social security, work information, no nothing. It was as if he didn't exist anymore, which of course, he did. His last official residence had been in Washington, DC but that had been several years ago.

The report on Jennifer was much more complete and interesting. She had been a top student in high school that had earned her several scholarships; including one to the University of Florida, which she had accepted. But then, for some unknown reason, the scholarship she had earned and accepted went to someone else.

Tom sat back in his chair in puzzlement. Why would someone with a real future want to become a housemaid? That just didn't make any sense. Even if there had been some kind of parent trouble at home, she was old enough and had the means to attend college on her own. Why throw away something like that for a low paying, manual job when you could get a higher paying and more challenging job with room to grow? It was as if Jennifer had lost her focus on life.

He shifted through her papers some more. Her last known address was her parent's house in Lakewood Florida. Tom picked up his phone index and pulled out the business card of T.J. Byrd, a private detective living in Miami, Florida. They'd met at a Private Investigator's convention in Atlanta the previous year. Tom had attended one of the classes the older investigator was teaching and had been impressed by TJ's natural ability to solve the unsolvable cases. Like Tom, TJ ran his own investigating service in Miami only his business was doing very well and he had three full-time people working for him. Tom picked up the phone and dialed TJ's number. He was surprised to hear TJ answer the phone.

"Hello, this is Byrd's investigating. How can I help you?"

"Hi TJ! This is Tom McClain. How's the weather down there?"

TJ laughed. "Sunny and warm. Better than what you've been having. I heard it's been either raining or snowing in Seattle for the past 12 days now."

Tom laughed. "Only 10 days TJ, but the weatherman is predicting more rain over the next several days." He wondered how TJ knew what the weather was like on the other side of the country. The man seemed to know everything. "Look, this is costing me money TJ. I need to hire you to do a job."

"Okay Tom. Is this for you or someone else?

"It's for me, it's a personal matter and I need you to be discreet about it. I don't want the parents contacted, at least not yet, and I'd like you to handle this personally TJ."

"Okay Tom. As one PI to another I'll give you a special rate. I know you could use a break. What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to get me everything you can on a Jennifer Lynette Anderson. I'll fax you the information I have on her. I need personal stuff, her school records, what kind of person she was, how she used to dress, any problems she had at home, stuff like that. Oh, and I'd also like a recent picture of her if you can get me one."

There was a moment of silence on the other end as TJ scribbled down the information. "Okay, send me what you have and I'll get right on it. I should be able to get back to you in a couple of days. Can I reach you at this number during the day?"

"Yes and TJ, thanks for the special rate. You're right, I could use a break right now."

"I understand buddy. The first couple of years are the hardest until you build up a reputation. Oh, and by the way, my offer is still good. If you ever decide to leave Seattle you can get a job working down here. I could use another good investigator. And as an extra benefit, there are plenty of pretty, young girls in bathing suits looking for a single, young man."

"What, and give up all this snow and rain?" Tom laughed. "Do you know how many women there are running around in long trench coats? I'll think about it TJ. Talk to you later."

Tom hung up the phone and turned to his current case. This time it was a husband who suspected his wife wasn't being faithful. All the facts he had dug up so far seemed to point that the husband was right.

***

The phone rang a couple of days later. Tom picked it up and was greeted by the friendly sound of TJ's voice. "Hi Tom."

"Hi TJ! What have you got for me?"

"Plenty," TJ said. "This Jennifer Anderson was one smart cookie. She held an "A+" average in High school and finished number one in her class. Let's see, what else." Tom heard some papers being moved around.

"She was a high school cheerleader...a club leader in SADD, Students Against Drunk Drivers, which is ironic...and was also a member of the local drama club. Looks like she enjoyed the arts a lot."

TJ cleared his throat before continuing. "She was the youngest of three children in her family. Her sister, Linda, was raped and murdered a few years ago. I talked to a friend down at the station and that case is still unsolved by the way. The police think it was a serial killer that is currently on death row for a few other murders. They're hoping he'll confess some day so they can close it. Until then her case remains open."

"Lets see, what else? Her brother died of cancer about eight years ago. Her teachers told me Jennifer wanted to be a research doctor because of his death. She wanted to help find a cure for cancer so other families wouldn't have to go through what her family did. They all thought she was smart enough and had the drive to accomplish what she had set out to do. Overall, everyone I talked to described her as a friendly, outgoing, and well-liked kid. An All-American girl you might say. I fell in love just listening to people talk about her. It's very sad about what happened," TJ added with heartfelt sorrow. "I wish I'd met her."

"I'm sure your heart will mend buddy," Tom joked. "She's one small fish in a big sea. There are others out there." He noticed there was a long pause of awkward silence as if TJ hadn't found his humor funny.

On the other end of the phone TJ was thinking it was a rather cold thing to say considering what had happen to Jennifer Anderson. Didn't Tom have any feelings for what the parents must have gone through? TJ thought Tom was a warm and understanding person but maybe he'd misjudged him.

"Do you want me to tell you where she can be found?" TJ asked in a business-like tone. The hell with a special rate, he was going to charge Tom full price for being such a jerk.

"No thanks. I have her address in Salt Lake City." There was another long moment of silence from TJ.

"Tom, are you sure you have the right girl?"

"What do you mean TJ? Sure I'm sure. I talked to her less then two weeks ago. The information I sent you came off her own driver's license."

"Tom, I thought you knew...okay, now it makes more sense. Look, you couldn't have talked to the real Jennifer Andersen."

"Why not?" Tom replied, more confused by TJ's demeanor than ever.

"Because Jennifer Anderson, the real Jennifer Anderson, is dead. She was killed by a drunk driver last July."

"No way! Are you sure TJ?" 'This really threw a monkey wrench into the case,' thought Tom

"I have the newspaper article and death certificate to prove it Tom. Her boyfriend was drunk and drove them both into a tree. Jennifer Anderson wasn't wearing her safety belt and was thrown out of the car. She died an hour later at the hospital. Over 400 people attended her funeral, most of them classmates. There was also a big write up about her in the newspaper. Her boyfriend walked away uninjured and is attending college now."

"TJ, do you have a picture of her?"

Sure do. One from her yearbook and another from the newspaper. Let me fax them to you." A moment later the fax machine started spitting out her image and Tom looked at the pictures. The woman he had spoken to and the person on the fax could have been twins.

"TJ, are you sure her parents didn't have any more children? Could Jennifer have had a twin sister perhaps?"

"I didn't run that down Tom but my gut feeling is no. If Jennifer did have a twin sister most likely I would have run across her some time in my investigation. No one I talked to mentioned she had a twin sister but they did tell me about her older brother and sister. Even the write up in the newspaper doesn't mention one. I kind of doubt that everyone would forget to mention a twin sister if Jennifer had one. Why do you ask Tom?"

"You won't believe this TJ but I talked to this same person a couple of weeks ago."

"Then you were talking to a ghost buddy, or someone who looks just like her. Jennifer Anderson is dead."

"Okay, can you confirm that for me TJ? I mean other than the death certificate."

"Are you thinking she faked her own death? Forget it Tom. Once I found out she'd been killed I talked to a friend on the Lakewood force. He happened to be the first person on the scene and handled the investigation. He was there when Jennifer Anderson died at the hospital. Hundreds of people viewed her body at the wake. No Tom, she's dead. No question about it."

"Okay TJ, thanks for everything you've done. Go ahead and fax me what you have and UPS me a hard copy along with your bill. You've earned it."

"Let me know if I can help you anymore Tom. Bye." TJ picked up the bill he was going to send to Tom. It came to $250, half of what it should have been and a bargain for all the running around he had done on this case. He thought about it for a moment then wrote, 'Paid in full! You owe me one Tom.' TJ slipped the bill into a large envelope and prepared the contents for delivery.

***

Chapter 21 - New trade

Tom knew this day would come. He knew from the moment he found out Al had broken into this house that he was going to have to follow him inside. Staring at the house through a set of binoculars all day wasn't going to get him the answers he needed. He had been waiting for the right moment and now it had arrived. The doctor was leaving for Washington the following night and wasn't scheduled to return until two days later. If Tom caught his own flight and rented a car; he could get there just before she left. That would give him the opportunity he needed to get past the security wall.

But there were still a couple of problems to tackle. First, the bodyguard and maid would still be in the house, at least part of the time. And second, he needed the equipment and training to get past the security system. There was only one thing to do. Tom picked up the phone and called Al's friend, Jim Baker.

***

"Okay, you did good that time," Jim told him. "However, you still need to be careful with the amps here. This security system is very sensitive to electric relays and if you aren't careful they'll set off the alarm. You came close to doing it that time."

"Right. I guess we should try it again then." They had been at it for almost five hours straight and Tom was getting tired. Jim saw that.

"Lets take a ten minute break Tom. I could use one and so could you. Do you want something to drink?"

"Diet Pepsi if you have it," Tom said as he rubbed his head, trying to work out the headache he had developed. In three hours he was going to be on a plane heading towards Salt Lake City. Once there he would have less then two hours to rent a car and get to his hiding spot before the doctor left. Tom knew he was cutting it close.

He had called Jim not only to supply him with the equipment to turn off the alarm but also give him some training. As it turned out, the security system was much more complicated then he'd imagined. His last attempt to bypass the security system had taken over 30 minutes. In contrast, Jim was able to bypass the alarm in less then two minutes and he wasn't really trying.

"Look Tom." Jim began. "I know what you said before. But maybe I should go..." Tom stopped him off before he finished.

"No Jim. Not only is this job dangerous but it's also illegal. I know how much the army means to you. I won't have you risk your career because of me."

"But it's not for you, it's for Al," explained Jim. "Tom, you don't even know if the system they are using is the same as in these diagrams. The Security Company could've upgraded it by now. And even if you do get in undetected you may not get out. Time is against you and that's where I can help."

Tom knew Jim was right. He also knew that two people brought a lot more attention to themselves than one.

'No,' Tom decided. He couldn't handle the responsibility of putting someone else in danger.

"Jim, I know you want to help out and you have so far, but I need to do this alone. Look, if I run into trouble I'll give you a call and fly you out myself. Is it a deal?" Jim nodded. "Good, then lets try this again. I need to get my time down to less than 20 minutes."

***

Chapter 22 -- Discovery

The flight to Salt Lake City had been uneventful. Tom grabbed his bags, rented a car, and in less than an hour after stepping off the plane was outside Dr. Jensen's house. Immediately he moved behind a bush next to the gate and waited. Phase one was complete.

About 20 minutes later Gerald walked to the back of the car carrying a couple of bags with the doctor right behind him. He placed the bags in the trunk of the car as the doctor said something to him. Whatever it was Gerald nodded in agreement. As he turned and went back inside, Dr. Jensen got into the car and drove slowly up to the entrance. Tom scrunched down low behind the bush and watched as the gates opened slowly. He had to time his entrance perfectly. Just as the car drove past the gate, Tom ran the other way keeping his body lower then the passenger window. Once inside the compound, he flung himself to the ground and waited. The gate started to close and the car drove off. Phase two complete.

Carefully he moved closer to the house, darting between the trees that lined the driveway so he wouldn't be seen if someone was looking out a window. When he got close enough to the main window he peeked inside. There was Gerald on the couch reading a book while Jennifer stood in the kitchen cleaning up. After she was done, she strolled over to the bodyguard and started kissing him. It wasn't long before he had removed her dress and bra to expose her firm breasts.

"Come on, get a room you two," Tom said softly to himself.

No sooner had he made the suggestion than Gerald picked Jennifer up and carried her off to her bedroom. Tom moved to the side of the house looking for a way in. He found one when he got to the garage window and discovered it had a broken lock. Quietly he slid it open and used his flashlight to look around. He noticed there were several cans laying on the floor where he needed to step.

Slowly the private investigator worked his way inside the garage, being careful not to make any unnecessary noise. Once he was firmly on the floor, Tom tip toed over to the house door and quietly opened it. Carefully he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Phase three was now complete.

Tom played with the idea of trying to open the lab door first but decided against it. Now wasn't the time to fool around with a lock while there were still people in the house. Instead he headed up the stairs to check out the bedrooms. He first looked in the guestroom at the top of the stairs. A five-minute search turned up nothing. He tried another room only to come up with the same results.

Tom wasn't sure what he was really searching for, only that he would know what it was when he found it. He turned his attention to Gerald's room and it was there that he found something interesting. Inside a desk drawer was a crumpled up piece of paper entitled, "Behavior codes". On it was a list of commands that began and ended with a key word. The last command contained an instruction to let the person speak freely as their true selves.

"So they can control people!" Tom said out loud. If that was true then Al could still be alive only unable to control his own actions.

This particular list had commands related to a female subject. Did this mean Gerald was controlling the maid, issuing orders to dress and act the way she did? It would explain a lot about her actions. It also meant she was an unwilling partner in all this, whatever all this was, and why she had warned about the danger in this house.

However, it also left a lot more interesting questions unanswered. Why did this maid look like someone who'd been killed in a car accident the year before? And how did she know who he was when they hadn't met before? What was the connection? And what was the keyword mentioned on this list? He had to get closer to Gerald and Jennifer if was going to find the answers to any of these questions.

Swiftly Tom made his way back down the stairs towards Jennifer's bedroom. The door was wide open and he could hear some moaning noises coming from inside. Tom crept into the other room connected to the bedroom and peeked inside. The two of them still engaged in their business. Tom waited them out.

Finally Gerald rolled over on his back breathing heavily. Jennifer, completely naked, moved over and lay on top of him.

"You're such a great lover," he said seductively.

"So I've been told," Gerald said with a chuckle. He reached over and touched her. "And you're a horny little thing, aren't you? Can't get enough of me, huh?"

"Lets just say I'm in love with you tiger." He started to run his hands through the hairs on his chest. "I love you so much. You mean everything to me."

Gerald frowned. The last thing he wanted was to have this...this person desire him that way. Well, he could fix that easily enough.

"Ekala! You will not say you're in love with me anymore. You will not refer to being in love with me at anytime. You only want to please me, and be pleased by me, but you do not wish to seek a permanent relationship with me. Ekala!"

'There, that should take care of that,' he thought.

"I'm going out to get a beer. I want you stay here and get ready for our next session. I'll be back in an hour." Gerald needed to get away for a while. Jennifer's comment had left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Sure thing lover. I'll be waiting."

The bodyguard got dressed and walked out of the room. Tom heard the front door close and the sound of his Mustang starting up. Al put on a silk robe and walked into the bathroom. Tom peered out the door far enough to see Gerald's car drive past the gate. They were alone now. It was time to learn the truth about what was going on here.

Carefully he made his way into her bedroom and stopped by the bathroom door. He could see Jennifer looking in the mirror, working on her face. Tom took a deep breath and got ready. Then in one quick moment he reached around the corner and grabbed her from behind, putting his hand over her month at the same time. It was a useless gesture; no one could have heard her scream anyway. But Tom didn't want to have to hear it. Jennifer struggled for a moment and started making a muffled sound that Tom didn't understand. He spoke to her softly.

"Shhh, shhhh. I'm not here to hurt you. I need some information about a friend of mine that's all. Calm down." Jennifer became relaxed and stopped fighting.

"Ekala! You will revert back to your normal self. You will not try to hurt me in anyway. You will answer my questions truthfully when I ask you. Ekala!" Tom released his grip on her but to his surprise, instead of stepping away from him, Jennifer turned and buried her face into his chest.

"Oh TOM! Oh GOD, you FOUND ME. I HAD ALMOST GIVEN UP HOPE!" Tears flowed freely down Jennifer's soft face.

Tom found her reaction totally out of place and so far, par for the course. Why was this stranger acting like she had known him all her life? Tom didn't ponder her reaction very long - he wanted answers.

"Look lady, I don't have a lot of time. I need your help. I'm trying to find a friend of mine. His name is Al Parker. Have you seen or heard of him before?"

Al inside Jennifer calmed down enough to speak. There was pain and frustration on her face as if she was struggling to say the next words. "I'm....I'm......I'm Jennifer Lynnette Anderson."

Tom noticed the stress from saying the words seemed to overwhelm her. She let out a frustrated wail and started crying uncontrollably in his arms again. Tom held Jennifer's head up and looked straight into her eyes.

"I know who you are lady...or at least who you claim to be. I'm not interested in your story right now. I'm trying to find my friend. He's very important to me and I've been searching for him for a long time. Now, have you seen him or not? Do you know if he is still alive?"

"Yes...yes...he's right here...." Al said between sobs. "My name is...my name is Jennifer...Jennifer Lynnette Anderson. Oh God please help me for once!"

'This lady's becoming hysterical,' Tom thought to himself. He became frustrated at her answer and shook her a little in the hopes she would regain her senses and start making sense.

"I don't CARE what your name is LADY! Look, if you help me out I promise I'll help you but RIGHT NOW I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MY FRIEND! NOW WHERE IS HE? TELL ME!"

"My name...my name...my name is Jennifer Lynnette Anderson."

Tom's anger grew. He gripped the maid's arms tightly and brought her face only inches away from his. DAMN IT, STOP TELLING ME WHO YOU ARE. I WANT TO KNOW WHERE MY FRIEND IS RIGHT NOW! WHERE IS HE? DAMN IT, TELL ME!"

Al didn't know what to do. How was he going let Tom know who he really was when he couldn't even speak out his old name? God, so close and yet just out of reach. He couldn't even tell him something simple like who he really was. It was so damn frustrating. There had to be a way to let him know. Then he thought of one.

"KIDDO!" Al shouted out at him. "KIDDO!"

"Kiddo? What about Kiddo? That was my nickname for Al. Where is he? TELL ME!"

"It's me Tom...Kiddo. I'm right here. I'm Kiddo!"

"Al?" Tom released his grip and blinked hard. Could this young lady standing in front of him really be his friend? It was all starting to make sense now. "Is that really you Al? My God, what...what happened?"

"Oh Tom, you wouldn't believe what they've been doing to me." Al buried his head back into Tom's chest and started sobbing loudly.

Tom wrapped his arms tightly around Al's body and gave him a big hug. "It's okay Kiddo, I'm here now. I'm here."

***

Chapter 23 -- Revelations

It took almost 10 minutes for Al to calm down to the point where he could talk again. He sat on the bed smoking a cigarette and wiping away the remaining tears from his eyes.

"I've been wondering if you'd ever show up," Al told him. "God, I had given up hope that anyone was even looking for me until I saw you at the grocery store. I wanted to reach out and tell you everything but I couldn't say a word."

"Al, what's going on here? Who are these people and what are they doing?"

"You mean you don't know? Didn't Klein Walker tell you anything?"

"Klein Walker took the fifth Kiddo. He told me you approached him about selling him some kind of drug but he didn't know where you were getting it from."

"That fat bastard! He set this entire thing up." Al thought about it for a moment. "But if he didn't tell you where I was, how in the hell did you find me?"

"With a great deal of luck Kiddo. It wasn't easy and there were a lot of dead ends. My big break came when I found your backpack and all your diagrams hidden in your motel room. To be honest, after all this time I didn't expect to find you alive!"

Al shook Jennifer's head. "I'm not alive, not the real me. Kiddo died a long time ago Tom. Now there is only Jennifer and her existence is unbearable. At least I'll get my revenge before I die."

Tom wasn't happy about what he had just heard. It meant Al, or rather Jennifer, was in worse shape than he first thought. Tom was going to have to work real hard to save Al and he would need a plan soon.

"Let's not talk about that right now Al. I want you to tell me everything; how you got here, what happened to you, what they are doing in this place, everything. Start talking."

And from that point on Al told him everything he could. He told him about the conversation with Klein Walker and how Gerald had beat Al up once he'd been caught. Then he told him about the doctor and her serums, how they'd changed Al's body into Jennifer's and controlled his mind and were later used to do the same thing to Keith Bennett. Then Al told Tom how Gerald had been using and abusing him all these months. By the time Al was through talking he was close to tears again.

"It's okay Kiddo. You're safe now." Tom said giving Al a reassuring hug.

"Look Tom, lets destroy this place and get the hell out of here. I'll get dressed and then we can start a fire and burn this place to the ground." Tom grabbed Al's arm before he had a chance to stand up.

"You can't leave yet Kiddo."

"What the hell do you mean I can't leave? If I stay in this place one more minute I'll go crazy. I have to leave right NOW!"

Tom looked straight into Al's eyes. "No, you can't. Think about it Kiddo. If you leave they'll start looking for you. You'll never be safe no matter where you go. You know too much about what they are doing for them to leave you alone now. Your disappearance would leave too many questions unanswered. They'll keeping searching until they find you. Maybe it won't be tomorrow or next week or next year, but they will find you. And when they do they'll bring you back here, only the treatment you'll receive will be far worse than it is now."

"Alright, then lets stay and when Gerald and the doctor get back we'll kill them."

"And then what?" Tom asked calmly. "Instead of being hunted by them it would be the entire United States police force that would be searching for you. Even if you told the authorities the truth they wouldn't believe it. You would either be sent to jail or a mental institution for the rest of your life."

"So what are you suggesting I do? STAY HERE and continued to be this asshole's sex slave and the doctors personal maid?"

"For right now, yes. But only for a little while longer until I can put together a plan of action." Al began to panic at the thought of being left behind. Tom couldn't really be serious about this.

"I...I can't...do...do that Tom. You don't know what it's...it's like. You don't know what he is going...going to make me do...do to him...to please him," Al sobbed. "I can't Tom, I can't. Not any more, not when I've tasted freedom. Please, don't make me stay. Please don't leave me alone with him, I'm begging you." The light on the security box went on signaling that the gate was opening up. Gerald was back home again.

"Look Kiddo, I don't have time to argue about this anymore. I promise, I'll be back in two days - 48 hours. I need time to think this all out. Trust me Kiddo. I'm not abandoning you, I'm thinking of your safety. Right now this is the safest place for you. I'll be back, I promise."

"Noooo, please don't leave me," Al begged as he clung tightly to Tom's arm. "I can't do this anymore. Please don't make me stay Tom...please. Don't leave me alone with this asshole. Take me with you."

"I'm sorry Kiddo, I really am. Ekala! You will revert back to your old self. You will not tell anyone about this conversation or that you met with me. Ekala!" Tom hoped that would do it. Then he then gave him one more command and some instructions.

"Okay, get into the shower and remember Kiddo, I'll be back in 48 hours. Hang in there."

She gave him a slight smile and went into the bathroom to take a shower. A few moments later Tom heard the front door close followed by footsteps coming down the hallway. Gerald walked into the bathroom and said something to Jennifer that Tom couldn't understand before getting into the shower with her. Tom peeked around the corner just in time to see Jennifer get down on her knees. He shuddered at the thought of what must be going through Al's mind. It had to be hell on him. Carefully Tom crept out of the room and made his way back to the front door.

To Be Continued

This story is based on the story called, "I, my sister" and was written by Diana Christy (07/97). I would like to thank Diana for allowing me to use parts of her story in mine. I would also like to thank Arcee and Darkside for their support and suggestions that I needed to finish this story. A special thanks to Elaine for all her hard work in proofing the story and her suggestions on a number of different issues. I couldn't have written this story without their support. Thanks guys!

Warning: This story contains sexual material and transgender themes. If you're not 18 or over, or are offended by such material then don't read it! This story can be posted on Fictionmania or any other free sites however, I do ask that you notify me first before doing so.

The Life and Death of Al Parker
Part 3 - Beyond the Lines of Friendship
By Kelly Davidson

Chapter 1 -- The plan

Tom sat in his motel room staring at the blank wall across from him. He didn't have a clue on how he was going to get Jennifer, or rather Al, out of this situation safely. He had gone through half a dozen plans in his mind and each one he deemed wasn't feasible. But from these plans he did realize one thing, Dr. Jensen was going to have to die. There was no other alternative that he could see. If he let her live then their lives, as well as many others, would always be in danger. Yet knowing that fact didn't help ease his conscience. He had never been part of murdering someone before. Even when he had been on the police force he would never have shot at anyone with the intent to kill. Now he was being forced to go against his own principles to save others. It didn't sit well with him.

Then there was Al. It was clear Al was on the brink of committing suicide if he didn't do something fast. The only thing stopping him was the control Gerald and Dr. Jensen had over his mind, and maybe a deep desire to even the score with everyone involved. But once that was over, so would his desire to live one more minute trapped in Jennifer Anderson's body. It was odd to think that way but the fact was, Al Parker was trapped in another person's body, even if at one time it had been his own. Tom wondered if the situation could be reversed or altered somehow. Of course what Al really needed was outside help but first he had to find something else for him to hold on to.

`Wait, maybe that wasn't right,' he suddenly thought to himself. `Maybe what Al needed was an extension of the current situation.' Tom smiled as he kicked the idea around in head. Yes, this idea may work if he played his cards right.

Slowly but surely Tom began to devise a plan to free Al from his situation. It all centered around when Dr. Jensen got back from her trip. Al would have his revenge and more by the time this was over. And the good doctor's project would be finished for good.

***

Al kept looking out the window every chance he could. Tom was out there, waiting for the right moment to rescue him. The last two days had seemed like an eternity to him, especially since most of his time had been spent with Gerald. Normally Al would have spent the majority of his time cleaning the house and fixing meals. But with Dr. Jensen gone, Gerald put a hold on the housework so Jennifer would have more time serving his selfish needs. But tonight, if everything worked out as Tom planned, Al would be free from his grasp for good.

Gerald reached out from behind and lifted up the hem of the silk dress Al was wearing. He gave Jennifer a devilish grin. "I see you're wearing the dress that I like so much. Let's say we go back into your bedroom and find out what else you have on that I like."

Gerald took the maid's hand and Al followed the bodyguard back to his bedroom like a mindless robot. But Al didn't care this time; it was all part of Tom's plan.

***

Tom took one more look at the mirror before leaving his room. Although he considered his chance of success as being better then average, he also knew there was a good chance he might fail. Such failure meant the end of life, as he knew it.

"Well, it's too late to turn back now," he told the reflection in the mirror. He was now committed to see this through.

Tom drove to the house in silence, not even listening to the radio. He didn't want anything to distract him as he went over the plan one more time in his mind. Everything had to be perfect.

After parking his car on a side road where it couldn't be seen, he jogged slowly up to the gate. Carefully he looked around to make sure no one was watching him. The last thing he needed was a witness seeing him go in.

Convinced everything was safe, Tom punched in the code Al had given him and the gate slowly began to open up. When it opened wide enough he darted inside and hit the close button. The gate closed back up and locked. `So far so good,' he thought.

He made his way up the driveway, darting between trees in case Gerald happened to be looking out the window. When he was close enough to the house, he saw the light on in the kitchen; a signal Al had left for him indicating that Gerald was distracted and the coast was clear.

Quietly he unlocked the front door with a key Al had given him and stepped inside. A careful check revealed Gerald was with Al in his room. He looked at his watch -- there wasn't much time left. Tom walked down the hallway toward the lab.

***

Sarah Jensen was happy to be home. Her trip to Washington had been very long and tiring. More than that, it had been very upsetting. Her boss was a butthead who didn't understand any of the potential that project "Phoenix" represented. The entire time she was there, he had made it a point to remind her that she worked for him, and the only thing she should be concerned about was project "Peace".

"It seems," he told her in front of a group of other paper pushers, "that you're not devoting all your time and effort to this project. Remember that you work for me. I paid for your office, your bodyguard, and your computer equipment plus all the research material you needed to get this project started. It's time you considered that and started producing."

Sarah would have been more open to his criticism if he hadn't been such an `ass' about it and belittled her in front of ten other people. But he wanted to pound the point home that she was his employee and he was the boss, not the other way around.

"Stupid male-ego jackass!" Sarah shouted as she opened up the gate. "I'd like to see you get as far as I have with your limited intelligence. You couldn't even turn on my computer without screwing that up. My work isn't like building a house. There were no blueprints to what I am doing. It's all based on theory, guesswork, and trial and error. Getting results takes time, months, sometimes years. What the hell would you know about hard work anyway?"

The doctor parked her car in the garage and got out. She didn't bother with her suitcase; that was Gerald's job. She was a little surprised to find no one in the living room waiting to greet her.

`The two lovebirds must be busy again,' she said to herself.

Well no matter. She would talk to them later when they were through. Just as the doctor was getting ready to head upstairs she heard a noise coming from the hallway - a low tapping sound. Dr. Jensen peeked around the corner and was surprised at what she saw. She reached into her purse and pressed a button on her box.

Chapter 2 -- Schedule of events

Gerald noticed the light on his security box indicating that the gate was opening up but he was too busy at the time to care. After all, the doctor didn't need him to greet her at the door. It wasn't like they were married. Then the warning buzzer went off, indicating there was trouble and the doctor needed help fast.

"Holy Crap," Gerald yelled as he struggled to put on his underwear and grab his gun at the same time. He ran out of the room leaving Jennifer alone in the bed wondering what was going on. Then it hit Al.

"Oh my God, its Tom. They found him." Al grabbed Jennifer's silk robe and followed Gerald out of the bedroom.

***

Tom was on his knees trying to pick the lock on the lab door when he first noticed it. It was that funny feeling you get when you know you were being watched. He looked up to see the doctor standing there in the hallway with a gun pointed right at his head.

"I suggest you stay right there and don't move," she warned him. "I'm a expert shot." About that time Gerald showed up behind her, his gun also drawn.

"Are you okay Dr. Jensen?"

"I'm fine Gerald. But it looks like we have a visitor." About that time Al arrived and Tom could see the panic on his pretty face.

The bodyguard looked at the intruder carefully for a moment before a light went off in his head. "You! I know you. You're the guy from the store who was hugging my girlfriend. What the hell are you doing here?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Tom replied back pleasantly.

"Oh, I can do THAT!" Gerald answered angrily. He took a step forward, his gun pointed directly at the intruder's head. Sarah stopped him.

"There is a better way Gerald. Since he wants to see what's inside my lab so badly, why don't we let him. Stand up you and step aside."

With two guns pointed at him, Tom did as he was told. Dr. Jensen unlocked the door while Gerald stood guard over him. After the door was opened, Gerald pushed him into a chair near the doctor's desk and strapped him down. The Doctor put her gun back in her purse and turned to face him.

"You're in a lot of trouble my friend. I suggest you tell me what you are doing here or else. We can do this my way or...the hard way." Sarah made a motion to Gerald who moved closer to Tom in a threatening manner.

"I'm looking for my friend," he told them calmly.

"I see," Sarah said, a little amused by his answer and calm demeanor. "And you think your friend is in this house. I can assure you he or she is not. But just to humor you, what's your friend's name?

"Al Parker," he replied back with a smile.

The doctor felt as if her body had been slammed into a brick wall. That was the last name she expected to hear. Al Parker had led her to believe he was a vagrant without any friends. But this man they'd caught wasn't a vagrant. In fact he was dressed like a regular person. So why would he be interested in a dirty, smelly, useless tramp unless...unless Al Parker really wasn't what he said he was? But that would mean he had been able to lie to her while under her control serum. Sarah looked over at Jennifer who was standing there fidgeting.

"What makes you think your friend is here?" she continued.

"Because this was the last place he was seen alive," Tom answered.

Gerald, who was furious about another break-in happening under his nose, asked the next question. "Who are you and what is this Al Parker's connection to you?"

"My name is Tom McClain. I run a detective agency in Seattle and Al Parker is my partner. A few months ago a man by the name of Klein Walker sent him on a mission to steal some information from you. I didn't find out about all this until recently. Once I started searching for him, I was able to track his movements here."

`At least if I fail Klein Walker will get his,' Tom thought.

`Detective agency!' Sarah was shocked at what she had just heard. All these months of believing her serum had worked without a hitch were shattered. Now she was finding out there were some very serious glitches with it. What else was wrong with her research?

"A PI you say," Gerald spoke angrily. "Well, you picked the wrong house to investigate my friend and I'm going to make sure you realize that."

Tom ignored the bodyguard's threats and focused his attention on the doctor who seemed to be having a hard time dealing with what he had just said.

"I need to know what happened to him Ms Jensen. I want to know if he's still alive. You have to tell me."

A small smile replaced the doctor's shocked look. She turned to a cabinet and started pulling out some stuff from it.

"I'll do better then that Mr. McClain, I'll show you exactly what I did to your friend. This Al Parker must really mean a lot to you, seeing that you would risk going to jail for him."

"Al was like a brother to me," Tom stated firmly. "I would give up my life to save his." He saw Al lower his pretty head in shame.

"Like brothers, uh?" Gerald grinned. "Soon you'll be more like sisters to each other." He let out a small chuckle but Dr. Jensen gave him a stern look that made him shut up. She mixed something into a glass and set it in front of him along with a loaded syringe.

"I'll give you a choice Mr. McClain. You can either drink what's in the glass or I can give you this shot. What's in the drink won't harm you; it's just a small sedative to help you relax. So which method do you prefer I use?"

"Just Tom, please Doctor and I hate needles so I'll make a deal with you. I'll drink what's in this cup without any complaints if you allow me to ask a few simple questions. Do we have a deal?"

"Of course Tom. Just as long as you understand that I reserve the right to refuse answering any question you may ask. Gerald, please remove the restraint from his right arm."

The bodyguard did as he was told. Tom picked up the glass and lifted it high in the air, as if toasting his host, before drinking it down. Once done, Gerald re-attached the restraint.

"That will be all Gerald," Sarah told him. "We'll talk about this later."

"Doctor, I don't think I should leave you alone with him," he protested.

"Nonsense. I have my security box in case I need you. Beside, you still need to get dressed," she said, pointing at his underwear. It was a good excuse to get him to leave because she didn't want him hanging around to hear what she was going to say next.

"Alright doctor, I'll be right outside if you need me." Gerald still wasn't convinced that leaving her alone was the right thing to do. After he was gone, Dr. Jensen sat down at her desk and lit a cigarette.

"Before we continue, I need to ask you something Tom. How much do you know about what's going on here?"

"Not much," the private investigator lied. "I know this is some kind of genetic research lab but I'm not clear about it's purpose. If I had to guess, I would say you are experimenting with human DNA to reproduce another human being, like cloning frogs or sheep."

"Close but I'm still years away from that. No, it's much more complicated than that Tom."

"I'm really not interested in what you're doing here doctor. All I want to know is where my friend is. Is Al Parker still alive?"

Sarah eyed her new test subject carefully as she took another long drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke into the air.

"He's alive. No real harm has been done to him. In fact, I would say he looks better now than before I first met him." She glanced over at Jennifer who was now staring at Tom -- panic and despair clearly in her eyes.

"No real harm, that's good to hear." Tom replied. `Right! All you did was change his gender and turn him into your slave you self-centered bitch'.

"Where is he doctor? I want to see him."

"You've been looking at him all along Tom," the doctor replied back with a cold, thin smile. "Only he no longer goes by the name of Al Parker, he now prefers the name of Jennifer Anderson."

Tom acted surprised even though he knew the truth before she had spoken it.

"Al? Al, is that really you?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't respond to that name anymore Tom. You see, it wouldn't look right for a pretty, young lady to respond to a man's name so we had to, for lack of a better term, block that from happening."

"Jennifer, is what the doctor telling me the truth?" The maid sadly nodded.

"As you can see Tom, she's very convincing. But it appears she was able to fool me on a number of things. I'll have to be more careful the next time."

"Let us go Doctor," Tom pleaded with her. "You've got what you wanted. I promise, if you let us go you'll never hear from us again."

The doctor looked at the private eye sharply. "If only it was that easy! Unfortunately I can't do that. Jennifer's ability to lie to me despite being told to tell the truth has raised questions about the effectiveness of my drug. So you see, I need her more now then I did before we met. And I also need you too Tom." The doctor stubbed out her cigarette and walked back over to the cabinet.

"What for doctor? You already have a maid and a girlfriend for your bodyguard. From what I can tell, your he seems pretty happy with the current arrangement you set up for him. Oh, now I see, you're lonely too." Tom's hands began to feel heavy from the effects of the drug.

"Don't flatter yourself Mr. McClain," Sarah Jensen snapped sarcastically back at him. "The last thing I need is a male gigolo messing up my life. No, I have other plans for you. Tell me Tom, do you prefer blondes, brunettes or redheads?"

"Why blondes of course doctor." Tom hesitated for moment then continued. "Blondes do have more fun." He watched his friend react to the last comment and shook his head slightly.

"Good!" the doctor replied. "I was supposed to perform a sex change next week and was told the new person needed to be a blonde. The donor's DNA I'm using is supposed to be very pretty."

"Is that what your research is all about doctor? Changing men into women? Sounds like a feminist thing to me."

Sarah sat back down at her desk and lit another cigarette.

"Oh, I don't mind telling you Tom. In a little while you won't be able to repeat to anyone what I'm about to say. You see...this procedure is just a by-product of the serum's real purpose. What I'm really trying to do is develop a drug that will re-generate the body cells again and again. Do you understand what that means?"

"Eternal youth," Tom replied.

"And eternal life," she added. "A person who takes this drug, maybe once a year, would look the same 1,000 years from now as he or she does today."

"But there's a problem, right doctor?"

"Yes," Dr. Jensen said with some annoyance. "The nervous system can't handle more then one treatment of my serum. And while I'm able to create healthy, working organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys -- they don't stay that way for very long. After a few weeks they simply give out."

"But if you've been able to work out the re-generation process, surely this problem wouldn't take too long to fix."

Tom couldn't move his legs. The drug was starting to paralyze parts of his body.

Sarah took another puff on her cigarette. "A year or two at the most. But unfortunately I have a boss who sees my project in a whole different light. You see, my drugs can be used both ways, to preserve life and to take it away. Just as it can re-generate a new, healthy organ, it can turn a healthy organ into a dead one. One drink and the correct code and its instant heart attack time. My boss refers to it as project Peace." She rolled her eyes while saying the project name.

"But if you can do that now why delay the..."

"Because Tom, he's a stubborn jackass," Sarah said before Tom had finished talking. "He wants to see the serum modified. He wants it to work over a period of time instead of instantly. He wants...who knows what he really wants. The point is I'm spending all my time on project Peace instead of what I really want to do. And I'm so damn close too."

"I must hand it to you doctor, your research has impressed me." Tom made a motion toward Jennifer.

"As I said Tom, she is only a by-product. But if you're impressed now, just wait until you see what I have planned for you. You see, my boss is not only a jackass, he's also a skirt chaser." She gave him a cold smile.

"I see. And you plan to," Tom flashed her a quick smile back, "enlist my help in getting him to see things your way." He could feel the drug's icy grip taking over his body.

"You're very clever Tom. I would use Jennifer but...well, lets just say Gerald has become very attached to her. But don't worry, I'll make sure he gives you a few lessons before your trip to Washington."

Tom tried to get out a reply but his lips froze in mid-sentence. The doctor stubbed out her cigarette and smiled smartly.

"I'm sorry I have to break my promise to you Tom, but there are a couple of shots I need to give you. However, I'll make it up to you. I will give you one last night as a man with Jennifer unrestricted. I couldn't allow that with Al Parker unfortunately but then, he wasn't the most pleasant person to deal with. You I actually like so it's a pity things have to end this way."

Dr. Jensen picked up a syringe from the table and walked over to where he was sitting.

"Jennifer, come here. I want you to see how this is done. You may need to do this one day."

"Yes doctor." Al answered obediently placing his hand in the pocket of the robe he was wearing. He positioned himself behind Dr. Jensen.

"Lets see, where is that...." The doctor never got to finish her sentence. Al grabbed her from behind and forced a handkerchief over her nose and month. The doctor struggled to get back to her desk where her security box lay but Al held on tightly and in the process both ladies fell to the floor. A moment later the doctor's body went limp. Tom prayed Gerald hadn't heard the struggle going on but then he didn't know the lab was soundproof.

"Tom, are you okay?" Al asked. All Tom could do was move his eyes.

"Don't worry, it should wear off soon and I'll be right here with you." Al grabbed his hand and held on to it tightly.

By the time the doctor came around, Tom was back to his normal self. She felt a prick on the back of her neck and reached her hand around to start rubbing it. That was when she noticed someone was standing over her. She looked up and saw Jennifer looking down at her with a smile on his face. "It's my turn now doctor."

***

Tom wouldn't let Al harm the doctor despite his vocal objections. "You'll get your pound of flesh, I promise Kiddo." The remark shut Al up for the moment and he turned his attention to the doctor.

"I want you to get me another vial of this control serum doctor." Sarah did as she was told, unable to do otherwise.

"Okay Jennifer. Here's what..."

"That's not my name Tom," Al yelled at him angrily. "My name is" there was a struggle on Al's face, "Jennifer Lynnette Anderson. Damn it, why can't I say my real name?"

"Okay Jenn... Al. Look, for right now let's use your female name. This isn't the time for me to get confused and ruin everything. We still have lover boy to deal with."

"Okay?" Al reluctantly agreed.

"Good. Now here's what I want you to do. Take this drug and...."

Chapter 3 -- Gerald's turn

Gerald waited impatiently in the living room for something to happen. "Damn Dr. Jensen and her independence!" he muttered to himself.

The bodyguard knew what was going on. He had figured it all out a long time ago. Dr. Jensen was devoting more time to her own research and had enlisted the aid of her friend, Susan Bennett, to finance it. Once he found out about the inheritance money Susan's daughter was supposed to receive, it doesn't take long to figure out what was going on. That and the fact Dr. Jensen's boss, Dennis Butz, had already talked to him several times about the lack of success she seemed to be having lately concerning project Peace.

Despite being assigned to assist the doctor in her research --she still insisted on doing things her way, without his help. Well this time he should be in there, protecting her. But what did she need to be protected from? The intruder was tied up and Jennifer was fully under her control. What danger was she really in?

No, that wasn't what was bothering him. What was really eating at him was the fact that Dr. Jensen had captured this intruder, not him. This time he had literally been caught with his pants down and once again Dr. Jensen had been there to not only see him fail, but had bailed him out. Damn, he should have realized something was up when Jennifer started paying that much attention to this man at the store. Instead he had been sucker into a false sense of security by her charms, which had made him fail to do his job properly.

That was why he had been given this assignment, because he was the best of the best in his class. Yet over the past few months he had failed to protect the project not once but several times. If it wasn't for dumb luck, his failures would have been exposed and he would be looking for a new job. Even now Dr. Jensen was in her lab questioning the intruder instead of letting him do his job. Gerald's ego was in need of a major stroking and there wasn't anyone around to do it. He heard the lab door close and the sound of footsteps coming towards him. It was Jennifer.

"Hi Tiger." Al said with a big smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better now that you showed up. Are you still naked underneath that robe?" He eyed her like a hungry cat watching a mouse. "You know, we really didn't get a chance to finish what we started. Maybe we can do that now." He reached out and pulled her down on top of him.

"Silly sex-starved boy, not with the doctor in the next room I can't. Besides, I only came out here to change. The doctor wants me back in the lab to help out. But while I'm here, let me fix you a drink."

"How is the doctor doing in there?" Gerald asked curiously. "Is she getting any answers out of him?"

"You mean `HER'!" Al giggled as he emphasized the word "her". "No, actually she hasn't asked `Her' anything. I think she intends to let you question `HER' when the time comes."

`Good!' thought Gerald. At least the doctor still trusted him to do his job.

"So what does Miss-what's-her-name look like?" Gerald asked in curiosity.

Al handed Gerald a drink. "Her new name is Cindy and she is one blonde knockout. In fact, I'm a little insecure about being around her. I'm afraid she may win your heart and then you'll lose interest in me."

"I don't think you have to worry about that...you're still good in the sack. Besides, I've always wanted two love mates at the same time." He smiled at the thought and downed his drink in one gulp.

"Oh, you have, have you. Well, maybe I can convince you to let me be your favorite. You know, the doctor is kind of busy right now." Al opened up the front of the robe revealing Jennifer's naked body to him. "See anything you like tiger?"

"Come here so I can get a closer look," he replied with a devilish grin on his face.

Gerald started kissing Al's perfumed neck as he lay down on top of him. He began to feel a little weak but pushed the thought away because he had more important things on his mind. By the time he realized what was going on it was too late. Al clamped his hand over his mouth so Gerald couldn't say anything. He mumbled out something, most likely Jennifer's keyword followed by a command, but Al was unable to make any real sense out of it. When Al was sure the bodyguard was fully paralyzed he lifted himself off him and tied the robe back on to cover Jennifer's body. Tom appeared next to Al.

"So you like blondes Gerald. I'll see what I can do with the doctor but be careful," Tom hesitated for a moment, "blondes do have more fun." Al's demeanor suddenly changed.

"I'm glad that's over," Al shouted. "I told you I was going to pay you back asshole. I told you I was going to GET EVEN WITH YOU. I TOLD YOU..."

Tom softly cut him off. "Al... that can wait. First things first." He handed him a cotton ball and a syringe. Al found the mark and injected it into Gerald. Now the only one left in the house not under the control of the serum was Tom.

There was an emotional release inside Al once this was done. The hell that he had been experiencing these past few months was finally over. Al looked at Tom with tear-filled eyes and in a shaky voice said, "I better get dressed now. I'll be right back."

It was the way he said it that concerned Tom. The tone of voice signaled great danger. While Al claimed that he was fine, the voice told a different story.

Tom waited until after Al left and turned to Gerald. "Zomlix! You will remain seated and not try to talk. You will never repeat your keyword or say Jennifer's keyword again. You will not try to harm Jennifer or me in anyway. You will remain calm and relaxed. Zomlix!" Gerald's eyes glazed over and then returned to normal. With that done Tom followed after Al.

Upon entering the bedroom he found Al lying face down on the bed crying. Tom felt so bad that he forgot about his own anger at the moment. Al would need a lot of love and understanding before he could continue on with a life as Jennifer. He sat down on the bed next to Al and gently touched him.

"Hey, it's okay Al. This nightmare is over now. Soon we'll be on a plane heading home. I already have our plane tickets to take us back to Seattle."

"I'm...I'm not going Tom." Al replied between sobs. "I don't want...want to go. I don't want to live...not like this. I can't live like this. I want you to command me not to move and then set the place on fire. Destroy this house and everyone in it so they can't do this again to someone else; so there won't be any more victims like Keith Bennett or me."

Tom grabbed Al by the arms and faced him. "Are you CRAZY Kiddo? Do you have ANY idea what it took to find you? Do you really think I spent all this time tracking you down so I could watch you die in some FIRE? WELL YOU'RE WRONG, I DIDN'T! We have a few scores to settle still and one of them is with Klein Walker."

"Then do it without ME!" Al cried out. "I can't go on. I don't want to go on. Let me DIE!"

"Listen to me Kiddo. You're going to make it, do you hear me. I need you buddy. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I NEED YOU! All these months have been HELL on me too. Al, it's going to get better, I promise. I'm going to take care of everything."

"How?" Al sobbed.

"By starting with the good doctor and Gerald." It was time to execute the second part of his plan.

Chapter 4 --In and out

While Al got dressed Tom went back to the lab to talk with Dr. Jensen. She was still sitting in her chair as he had told her to do.

"Okay doctor. Trijola! I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer me truthfully. I do not want you talking unnecessary or asking me any questions. You will only answer my questions with truthful answers. You will also remain calm while answering me. Trijola! Now, can you change Jennifer back into Al Parker?"

"Yes. But if I did she would die," the doctor replied back calmly.

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

The doctor shook her head. "No. Once the process is done it's permanent. Even if I had his DNA sample, which I don't, the process of returning Jennifer back to her old male self would result in death. Her nervous system couldn't handle the stress a second time."

"I see." Tom rubbed his chin. That idea was no good, time for plan B. "How young can you transform an adult person into a child and still have it be safe?

"Perhaps as young as two but to be safe I wouldn't make an adult person any younger than three years old. The DNA sample would have to be that of a normal size three year old, otherwise there would be problems with organs and skin restructuring."

"Okay, then let's start looking in your files for a normal, three year old child. A blonde, three year old female child Dr. Jensen."

The doctor went over to her filing cabinet and in a few minutes had pulled out half a dozen folders. Tom looked through them and gave her the one he thought was the best.

"Now, lets start working on the physical side of this process. I need one for this child," he handed her the sample from the file, "and another for this one." Tom handed her a file from the top drawer of her desk.

"That subject is a part of project Phoenix," Sarah replied.

"What's project "Phoenix?" Tom asked curiously.

"It's a project to transfer one persons memory's into another persons mind. If successful, it will allow you to change the recipients body and memory's to match that of the donor's." Tom was stunned.

"Do you mean you can replace a persons memories with someone else's? Why didn't you just give Jennifer an entire new set of memories? Why only recreate the body but not her mind?"

"I'm not that far along with the project," the doctor answered. "At best I can only transfer about 5% of a person's memory and even then most of the real old memory's wouldn't be there. I also needed tissue samples from a certain part of the brain -- which wasn't available in her case. The only thing Jennifer received from the original DNA donor was what we call her learning process. Since the real Jennifer Anderson had done the same thing so many times it was a part of her body function."

"Like brushing your hair or walking a certain way," said Tom. "So that was how you were able to control Al like you did. You made her learning traits the dominant features in her behavior. Al couldn't have acted any other way."

"That's correct," Sarah confirmed.

"Okay, let me get this straight. With a sample of memory brain tissue you can transfer a person's memories, at least the most recent history, into another person's mind?"

"Yes -- but that wouldn't have worked on Jennifer. The real Jennifer Anderson died some months before. Her brain cells are dead and totally useless now. This sample has to come from living brain cells with the same DNA as the body DNA. In other words, you can't mix the two. The memory DNA and body DNA has to come from the same person. Using two different DNA's, one for the memories and one for the body, would kill the subject. The exception to this mixing process is when you change a person's body DNA without changing the memory. There are no side effects that I know of."

"That you know of doctor?" Tom responded sarcastically. "How comforting to hear you say that." He paused for a moment. "Alright then, is there any way to remove Al's memories from Jennifer's mind?"

"Death is the only way," the doctor answered matter of factly --too matter of factly for Tom's taste.

"Death is not an option here doctor." He noticed she seemed to have something else she wanted to say.

"Okay doctor, I hear you. Trijola! You will speak as your true self. You will remain calm while talking to me and will not try to leave the room. Trijola!"

"Tom," Dr. Jensen started off. "I really didn't want to hurt you. I could tell you were a man who knew how to get things done --not like my overly muscular bodyguard who doesn't have a clue. Look, I know we got started off on the wrong foot but you have a place here."

"As a blonde knockout to please your brain-dead bodyguard? No thanks doctor."

"Of course not Tom. Look, I had to do what I did because of Gerald. If you had come to me in person, without getting him involved, we could have worked something out. But by doing it the way you did, you forced my hand. I had no choice but to control your movements and change you."

"But now you do have a choice, right doctor?" Tom asked doubtfully.

"Yes. You have proven your worth to me. You have shown me that you can think things out, something Gerald lacks. I could insist to my boss that you replace Gerald and he would go for it. Or I could change your body so you would look like Gerald! Think of it, you would have his body and all his privileges but still be you. And I would give you complete control over your body, I promise."

"But there is more." she added. "I'm offering you a chance to live forever as a young man. With my research and your help we could make this project a success. Think of it, we could repair millions of broken bodies. No one would have to suffer with pain or illnesses any more. We could bring happiness to the entire world. Total peace. Think about what we could do together."

Tom was thinking. Did he have the right to let the doctor die when she could do so much good to mankind? Was he throwing away paradise for the entire human race? Was he committing a crime against the entire world?

"TRIJOLA! You will STOP talking and ONLY answer questions WHEN ASKED! You will not talk to Tom about this again. TRIJOLA!" Tom turned to Al who was standing in the doorway glaring at him angrily.

"ARE YOU GETTING STUPID OR WHAT? Don't LISTEN to her, LOOK AT ME! THIS IS THE PEACE SHE IS TALKING ABOUT! ONE QUEEN BEE SITTING ON HER THRONE while the rest of the world SERVES HER! She isn't out to SAVE the world Tom -- she's out to enslave it, like she enslaved me. This is HER PEACE TOM! I'M THE FUTURE SHE'S TALKING ABOUT!"

The truth hit Tom like a ton of bricks. Al was right. The doctor wasn't doing this research to help others -- it was for more selfish reasons.

"Thank you Al, I see your point. We're almost done in here, how is lover boy doing?"

"Oh, he's almost ready," he replied with a slight smile.

Chapter 5 - Bar room blitz

Dr. Jensen drove off in her car followed closely by Tom in his vehicle. Al and Gerald stayed at the house to wait until it was time for them to show up. Tom had to caution Al several times not to do anything to Gerald while they were alone. Still, as he left to follow Dr. Jensen to their next stop, he worried if he had done the right thing.

Dr. Jensen fought for control over her body but after a few minutes realized it was futile. She then changed tactics and thought about how the serum worked. An idea popped into her mind and she realized there was still a chance to work herself free, providing she had the time. Unfortunately, time was something Sarah figured she didn't have much of. She was positive Jennifer didn't plan to let her live much longer.

Pulling up to the `Joe's Bar and Grill', the doctor knew what she had to do. Once inside she ordered a drink and quickly gulped it down. No sooner had she put the glass back on the counter than she ordered another and downed that one as well. The bartender raised his eyebrows. If the doctor kept this up she would be unable to drive herself home.

Tom walked into the bar and took a seat in the corner where he could keep on eye on both the doctor and the clock. He observed her put away another drink but wasn't to concerned because it was part of his plan. He didn't know that it fit into Sarah's plan too. By the time Gerald and Al arrived, the doctor had just finished off her tenth drink and was definitely under the influence.

The bartender made eye contact with Gerald and motioned him over. He whispered something to Gerald who nodded his head in agreement. After they were finished talking, the bodyguard walked over to where the doctor was sitting.

"Come on Dr. Jensen, I think you've had enough. Let me drive you home."

"You can take me home but I'M DRIVING," she told him in a slurred voice.

Dr. Jensen grabbed her purse and staggered out the door followed closely by Gerald who was making sure she didn't fall over. Jennifer stopped long enough to tell the bartender they would be back later on to pick up Gerald's car. Tom waited five minutes after they left before getting up and also leaving. He drove his car to the designated spot located half a mile away on a deserted side road. Gerald and Jennifer were already out of the car waiting for him.

"Get Gerald in my car," Tom told Al. He looked over at Sarah Jensen painfully. "I want to say something to the doctor before we go. Leave us alone for a minute, will you?"

"Sure Tom, just don't get any ideas. I owe her. Come with me Gerald." The ex-bodyguard followed Al back to car like a faithful puppy dog. Tom stared at the doctor knowing what was going to happen and hating every moment of it.

"I want you to know doctor...I'm very sorry about this. I really wish it could have ended in a different way. Please forgive me."

The doctor didn't say anything. Instead she gave him a quick smile as if to say `I understand'. Al appeared behind him with her purse and Gerald's wallet.

"I'll take it from here Tom. Why don't you go back to the car and wait with Gerald." Al was concerned that Tom might change his mind and spare the doctor's life. He really didn't have the guts to kill someone; not that Al Parker did either but that was before Dr. Jensen had put Al through this hell. Al had suffered too much from this mad doctor's nightmare experiment to let anyone stop him from getting his revenge. It was Dr. Jensen who had abandoned him to Gerald's perverted sexual fantasies without even a second thought so why should Al care how she felt. Tonight was payback for everything Sarah Jensen had put him through.

After throwing Gerald's wallet into the front seat, Al pulled out a pint of blood taken out of Gerald's arm. He proceeded to pour the blood all over the front seat and dashboard. Next Al did the same thing to the back seat with a pint of Jennifer's blood. Once that was done, Al walked around the car rolling down all the windows.

"You won't need to wear these where you're going," Al taunted the doctor as he unbuckled her seatbelt. "Now, listen to my directions carefully. I want you to drive to lookout point..."

***

Tom watched the car make a U-turn and drive off in a hurry. It would be the last time anyone would see Dr. Jensen alive again. Al got into the passenger side of the car. He turned to smile at Gerald and said, "Are you ready Tiger? Then let's begin. Zomlix..."

***

Dr. Jensen didn't have much time. The serum wasn't permanently attached to her DNA yet and the large amount of alcohol she consumed had weakened its effects. She concentrated on gaining control of her hands to shut off the car while her foot pushed down hard on the accelerator and the car leaped forward. She was less than a mile from a hairpin curve where her car was to have a most spectacular ending. At the curve there was a deep embankment with a river at the bottom. The speedometer reached 60, then 70, and then hit 80. She could see the guardrail ahead that protected the curve. At that speed the car would burst right through it. Her hand began to move but very slowly.

Sarah Jensen knew she had seconds to live. Turning off the key wouldn't stop the car in time and she was going too fast to make the corner. Her hand reached down and pulled on the door handle.
The car door opened up and Dr. Jensen started to fall out of the car just as it struck the guardrail. She felt her body being thrown through the air and then everything went black.

***

"Zomlix! Body and hair... Zomlix!" Tom stared into the rearview mirror in pure amazement. Watching Gerald's body change was shocking. Everything about the process looked so unreal. He glanced over at Al who was smiling and enjoying the moment. Months of pain, anger, and frustration caused by Gerald were starting to work their way out. But the best was still to come.

Chapter 6 -- Investigation

Utah law required that the Highway Patrol investigate every accident on a state highway that had a fatality. Normally Kevin wouldn't have been called to an accident so far away but the local patrols were already busy with two other crashes and the local police had asked for his help. It took Kevin almost 30 minutes to drive to the crash site. When he arrived, two deputy sheriff officers greeted the trooper.

"Hi Kevin. I'm surprised to see you out here. You must have had some drive."

"Hi Bob. Dave." He shook both officers' hands. "The local patrols were backed up so they called me. What have you got?"

"So far one female, who we believe is the driver," Bob started off. "She was ejected from the vehicle and landed over there." The deputy shined his flashlight at the place where she had been found. "She's at the hospital now but I doubt if she will last the night. Her name was Sarah A. Jensen. She lives in the area."

The deputy was interrupted by the tow truck driver, who asked if it was all right to start pulling the car up the hill. Bob gave him the okay and the three officers walked over to the embankment to get a better look of the recovery process. Even from the roadside Kevin could see that the car was a mess.

"We think she had two passengers in the vehicle with her. I've sent volunteers down the river to search for them but so far they haven't found anything."

"What makes you think that there were two other people in the car Bob?" Kevin asked.

"We found a purse and wallet outside the vehicle that don't belong to the victim. Dave, you got those driver's licenses on you still?"

"Yea, right here Bob." The other deputy sheriff pulled them out of his pocket. "The two people missing are a Miss Jennifer Anderson and a Mr. Gerald Rogers." Kevin's head turned sharply when he heard the names.

"You okay Kevin?" Bob asked.

"Yea...I'm fine. It's just that I pulled them over not to long ago for speeding. I let him go with a warning."

"Too bad they didn't get the message. We estimate the car was doing at least 80 mph when it hit the guardrail. To top it off, the lady we sent to the hospital had been drinking heavily. I'll bet you a week's salary that she's at least twice over the limit," Dave stated in disgust.

"Eighty miles per hour and stinking drunk. This would be a great Driver's Ed movie if we had all the bodies," Bob added.

"Where do you think the other bodies are?" Kevin inquired.

"We think they were thrown into the river," Bob explained. "The car flipped end over end a couple of times and then spun sideways before landing partially in the water. We found a shoe inside the car and another near the river. One of them was a man's shoe and the others belonged to a female however -- they were too small to belong to the woman we sent to the hospital. Most likely the shoes came off their feet while they were being ejected from the car."

"And there's also a lot of blood on the passenger side and back seat, as well as on the dash and doors," Dave added. "It looks like they got tossed around pretty good before being thrown out. Here, take a look."

He pointed his flashlight inside the car that the tow truck driver had just pulled up. There was blood everywhere inside except on the driver's side.

"Looks like the driver was thrown out before it started flipping," Kevin observed.

"Yea, we think so too. Oh, we found this on the woman driver." Bob handed Kevin a book of matches.

"It's from a local bar not too far from here. I already had Dave ask the local police to check it out. Mr. Roger's car is parked outside the place. The bartender didn't see them get into the car with Ms. Jensen but Miss Anderson did say they were leaving Mr. Roger's car behind and would be back later to pick it up. I guess they decided to take a drive and get some air." Bob pointed to the windows that were rolled down.

"Stupid people," Dave added. "The bartender said that Mr. Rogers and Miss Anderson weren't impaired in any way but they let the one person who was drunk drive for them. Just plain stupid."

Something bothered Kevin about the Dave's statement. Except for being a bigot, which was it's own form of stupidity, Mr. Rogers didn't seem like an idiot. For him to get into a car being driven by a drunk driver and leave his brand new car behind didn't make sense. Surely he would have insisted on driving the doctor home himself.

"Where is this bar Bob?" Kevin asked. "After we clear up this mess I want to talk to the bartender myself."

***

"Thank goodness for 24 hour stores," Tom said to Al. Gerald needed some new clothes since his old ones were now too big and the wrong style.

"Wait here with Gerald, I'll be back in a bit." Al got out of the car and walked into the store. It was close to Easter and the store still had a great selection of outfits to choose from.

***

"I'm Officer Brown from the State Highway Patrol. I'm investigating a road accident and I would like to ask you a few questions if this is a good time."

"Sure officer," the bartender said while he continued to clean a glass. "My name is Jimmy Boyd. I heard about the Doc, Gerald and Jennifer being killed. What a tragedy but I did warn him."

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.

"Well, Miss Jensen came in and started drinking down one Mind Twister after another. That's our specialty drink here, I created it myself," Jimmy added proudly. He waited for the officer to finish up his notes before continuing.

"Anyway, about 30 minutes later her friend, Gerald, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, walked into my bar. By this time the doctor was, a term I like to use -- completely shit-faced, and was in no condition to drive. So I called Gerald over and told him someone needed to take her home. I offered to call a cab but he told me he would take care of it himself. The three of them left and that was the last time I saw them."

"Did you happen to see which one was driving the car when they left?"

"No, I'm sorry officer. I just assumed it would be Gerald but I didn't actually see him get behind the wheel of the car. It was kind of funny in a way. I've never seen the doctor drink so much in all my life. It was almost as if she was trying to get drunk as quickly as she could."

Kevin thought the bartender's last statement over for a moment before asking another question. "Did anyone else leave with them?"

"No not really. There was a stranger wearing a Seahawks cap that came in shortly after she did. Come to think of it, he left a few minutes after they did. But he wasn't with them; he sat over there in the corner. First time I've seen him in here before."

Bells starting going off in Kevin's head. Tom was wearing a Seattle Seahawks cap when they last met. "Can you tell me what this man looked like?"

The bartender gave Kevin a pretty good description of someone who looked a lot like Tom. The patrolman pulled out a picture from his wallet. "Is this the man?"

"Yea, that sure looks like him. Is he a friend of yours?"

"Sort of. Thanks for your help Mr. Boyd. I'll let you know if I need anything else from you." Kevin went outside and sat down in his patrol car. He gripped the wheel hard, part out of anger and part out of fear about what his instincts were telling him.

"Damn it Tom, what did you just do?" He hated to think this could be a case of another good ex-cop gone bad. Tom was his friend and now a suspect in a... what? A possible murder case? That was for Kevin to figure out. He called his patrol office to tell them he was clear and headed back to his district.

Chapter 7 -- New plans, old plans

"It took you long enough," Tom said to Al. Even though it was in the middle of the night, the parking lot was well lit, and Gerald was dressed in a way that was sure to have raised suspicions if anyone had seen him. The last thing they needed was to try and explain the situation to the police.

"Get used to it Tom! Besides, I wasn't sure on the size and I had to get some assessors. Now lets get moving." Al got into the back seat and pulled out an outfit from one of the big bags he had.

"What do you think Tiger?" Gerald's eyes went wide with horror.

***

The phone rang very early in the morning at the Butz's residence. Dennis was an early riser but even 3am was a little too early for him. He fumbled around for the phone in the dark and picked it up.

"This had better be good...WHAT?"

The lady on the other end explained that she was a dispatcher for the Sheriff's department and that a friend of his had been involved in a serious automobile accident. When the investigating officer had checked her purse he found this number, informing them to call in case of an emergency.

"How bad is she?" Dennis asked. "I see. Yes, thank you officer." He wrote down the name of the hospital where she had been taken. "Yes, I'll be on the next plane to Salt Lake tonight...eh, this morning. Thank you again officer. Have a good night."

He hung up the phone and sat upright in his bed. Today was going to be a very long day. His wife asked him what was wrong to which he replied it was government business. That was enough to please her and let her know that he couldn't talk about it.

Dennis Butz put on his robe and made his way downstairs to his office. He unlocked the safe and pulled out his personal phone book. Once he found the name he was looking for he picked up the phone and dialed. A sleepy voice answered on the other end.

"Doctor, this is Dennis. We have a code black in Salt Lake City. I repeat, a CODE BLACK! I need you to get on a plane and fly out there. I am going to activate project Phoenix as of right now. Yea, I know. Look, don't argue with me, just DO IT. I'll work out the other details here...Yes I have a person in mind. Just get me what I need and don't create any suspicions. Say an old family friend asked you to check on her, okay? Right! I'll have a plane waiting for you, be on it within the hour. From what I've been told we don't have much time. Give me a call when it's done. Bye."

Dennis hung up the phone and took in the gravity of the situation. If Sarah Jensen died before his person got there, project Peace would die with her. He picked up the phone to make sure the private jet would be waiting for the doctor when he got to the Denver airport. Then he went back upstairs to get dressed.

***

They walked through the terminal quickly. To everyone in the building the three of them appeared as a normal couple. An older male, his younger and pretty wife, and the cutest three-year-old anyone had ever seen. She was wearing the frilliest dress that Al had been able to find and was clutching tightly onto a doll in one hand while holding on to her mother's hand with the other. Many of the people in the airport stopped and commented to each other on what a pretty little girl she was. They didn't realize inside this cute, little girl was actually a full-grown adult male by the name of Gerald Rogers.

At the check-in counter the blonde attendant took their names and bent down to talk to the little girl who had caught her eye. "My, don't you look pretty tonight princess. Would you like a sweet?" The little girl shook her head shyly causing the attendant to laugh.

"She's so cute in that outfit."

"It's her Easter outfit," Al explained. "She wore it to a wedding and gave me such a fit about taking it off that I decided to let her wear it home." She patted Gerald on the back, who moved closer and hid his face in Al's blue jeans.

"Such a shy thing," the attendant chuckled. "What's her name?"

"Tracy." Al answered half-smiling.

***

The first chance Kevin got he placed a long distance call to Tom residence but there was no answer. Kevin knew there were dozens of other places Tom could be besides Salt Lake City, but he would have felt better if the private eye had answered the phone. Checking on a hunch, he called the airport to check on the flights out of Salt Lake to Seattle. There was one that had left about a half-hour earlier. The attendant checked the passenger list for the officer and sure enough Tom's name was on it.

Unable to rule him out, Kevin left a message with the crash investigator to have Dr. Jensen's car checked in the morning, especially around the rear bumper. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Maybe these people didn't crash on their own. Maybe someone helped them.

Chapter 8 -- Homecoming

The flight from Salt Lake City was completely uneventful. At that time of the night most of the lights inside the plane where turned off so the passengers could sleep. Despite sitting in the dark, Tom stayed awake and thought about the upcoming events. There was so much left to do.

He looked over at Al who had managed to fall into a fitful sleep. He wasn't out of the woods yet. Turning Gerald into Tracy had bought him time, but it wasn't the solution to saving Al's life. If he didn't get him help soon Al would kill himself. His friend needed to accept what had happened, that he was now permanently Jennifer Anderson and could never be Al Parker again. Tom wasn't sure how to accomplish this task but he did realize two things. First, it would take more than one person to get Al to accept himself as Jennifer and two; he was way over his head on this one. What he needed was to find someone who could help. He had an idea on who that someone might be. When they landed Tom loaded everyone into his car and drove to a nearby hotel.

"We're not going home?" Al asked in a surprised voice.

"Not right now Kiddo, I'm beat. In fact we're all beat. Lets get some sleep first." Tom's real reason for going to a hotel was so Al wouldn't be around any sharp objects. He deemed it too risky until Al got some real help.

He could have ordered Al not to harm himself and he did consider doing just that. Doing so would have put his mind at ease and it made good sense but he also knew that this would be a fatal mistake. If he did issue an order, even for Al's own good, the results would be disastrous. Al would start comparing him to Dr. Jensen or Gerald and ruin any chance of him gaining his trust. What Al needed was someone he could trust to protect him while at the same time not feeling that they were trying to take advantage of the situation.

Tom got a room with two queen size beds. He set Tracy on the couch and covered her up with a blanket. She looked so peaceful sleeping just like an angel. He wondered what kind of dreams Gerald would be having.

"Take that bed Kiddo," Tom said, pointing to the one farthest from the outside door.

Al nodded and went into the bathroom to remove his clothes. A moment later he came out wearing only a pair of panties and the T-shirt he had worn on the plane. Al lay down on the bed and turned off the light. Tom stripped down to his underwear and got in the other bed. Then he waited and it didn't take long.

For the first few minutes Al tossed and turned in the bed. Then he heard Al sniffing as he tried to hold back the tears. Finally he got up and walked over to Tom's bed.

"Tom?" Al said in a tearful voice.

"It's okay Kiddo, I understand. Get in." Al lay down next to him and buried his face deep into his chest. Tom's T-shirt became wet as the floodgates opened up again.

"I don't want to be alone...not tonight...not ever. Please hold me, please don't let go of me," Al wept.

"I won't Kiddo. It's okay now." He wrapped his arms around Al and gave him a re-assuring hug, while fighting off his own desires within. Al may have been like a brother to him but he certainly didn't feel like one now. Tom tried to think of other things as he held on to him tightly. Al felt so soft and warm lying there against him.

He thought about telling Al in a joking way that he needed a cold shower but quickly changed his mind. Al didn't need to hear comments like that. What his friend needed to hear was that someone cared for him as a human being, not as some sex object. Tom did care for him of course and was overjoyed to have Al back again. But he was also a normal, heterosexual male and well; Al was now in the shape of a warm, attractive female and that made things a little difficult for Tom.

"You can sleep here tonight," he told Al. "I'll hold on to you and won't let go Kiddo. You're safe here, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you again." He pushed away his own thoughts for a moment and tried to concentrate on what was really important here.

"Tom, I need to do something for me."

"Sure Kiddo, anything. What is it?"

"I want to call home. I need to talk to my parents."

"Kiddo, your parents are dead, just like mine. Don't you remember?"

"I know that Tom," Al sniffed. "I mean Jennifer's parents. Ever since this...this happened to me I've had a desire to call them. I guess it was part of the learned responses I inherited. Whenever Jennifer was out someplace she must have called home to tell them she was safe. It's been driving me nuts and of course Dr. Jensen wouldn't let me call them. Now that I'm free I can make that call, to let them know she's safe. But I don't know where to find them."

"I don't either Kiddo," Tom lied. "But I'll get you the information. Now, get some sleep, we have a big day ahead of us." Al was exhausted and five minutes later he was sound snoring softly in his arms.

Tom wondered how he was going to pull off this request. Well he would figure that out later. First there was a lady they needed to see in the morning, maybe two women if things worked out. Al moved slightly and Tom felt his soft warm body pressing against his. He really did need that cold shower.

***

"I'm Dr. Schnegg. I'm here to see a patient by the name of Sarah Jensen. She was brought in a few hours ago."

Troy Harper had been told to expect a specialist in the Jensen case. He wondered whom this Miss Jensen was that would cause a high price doctor to fly out in the middle of the night to check on her.

"We've been expecting you Dr. Schnegg. I'm Dr. Harper." Troy held out his hand for the other doctor to shake it. "I've been taking care of her just as you requested. I'm afraid there isn't much hope Doctor. Her brain was severely damaged in the crash and even with the life support systems we have her on she won't last more than a couple of hours. I've already had to resuscitate her twice. Clinically she's brain dead and there's no hope I'm afraid."

Dr. Schnegg looked at the chart and smiled at his colleague. "You've done well Dr. Harper. Now if you will allow me, I need to examine her myself in private. It was her request that I do this you see." He handed him a legal document that Dr. Harper quickly scanned over.

"Of course Dr. Schnegg. Everything seems to be in order." Dr. Harper handed the legal paper back to him. "You will find her in room 311."

Dr. Schnegg took the paper back and thanked him for all his help. He walked into the room with his bag and closed the door behind him. Ten minutes later he re-appeared.

"Terrible blow," he stated. "I see no reason to let her suffer anymore, do you Dr. Harper?"

"None Dr. Schnegg." Troy felt good about being asked. Even though Dr. Schnegg was now legally in charge of his former patient he still had the decency to ask him for his opinion. This doctor had real class.

"I agree Dr. Harper. If it's okay with you, I would like to remove some of the life-support systems, at least the ones that will allow nature to take it's course without causing her to suffer any more."

"I think that's the humane way to handle this situation Dr. Schnegg. I'll get a nurse to help you."

"Thank you Dr. Harper," Dr. Schnegg replied. "These moments are never easy to handle alone."

***

"Well, did you find anything?" Kevin had waited almost two hours past his shift to see what Pat Knight could find.

"Nothing conclusive Kevin, the car is a mess. It does appear that the auto was kept in good shape before the accident, no rust spots anyway. The back bumper was messed up pretty badly but I did find some dents that may not have been caused by the accident."

"Could that have been caused by a..." Pat answered the question before he finished.

"I'm sorry Kevin, but that's impossible to tell for sure. The bumper is pretty well twisted and any evidence wouldn't stand up in court. If you want my expert opinion, this dent right here was caused by another car." He pointed to the small dent on the driver's side of the bumper.

"However, when that dent happened is anyone's guess. It could have been last night at the crash site or last year in a parking lot. There isn't anyway for me to tell."

"Okay, thanks Pat. I have an idea on when it happened."

Kevin walked out to car, his mind still on the accident. Under normal circumstances he would have written this crash off as the result of a drunk driver who was speeding and missed the curve. But he knew things that troubled him and while Pat's report didn't prove anything, it didn't disprove anything either. Because of the speed involved and knowing Tom had been interested in at least two of the three people involved in the crash; it was equally probable that someone had been chasing the car and forced it off the road. But could that someone have been Tom?

Just as he was just getting ready to leave, his supervisor came out to give him the news; Sarah Jensen had died less than half an hour earlier. He told Kevin to go home and get some rest first. He would pull the report and place it in his mailbox to fix when he got back in tonight.

Kevin drove home in a foul mood. Now there were three people who were dead, or so he thought. It was up to him to determine if it was really an accident or murder.

Chapter 9 -- Pain, anger and tears

After Tom dropped Tracy off at the baby-sitter's house he drove Al to their next appointment.

"Where are we going Tom?" Al inquired

"To see someone." Al gave his a puzzling look but he said, "Trust me on this Kiddo."

A few minutes later they pulled up in front of a worn out building that was located in a poor part of Seattle. The sign on the outside indicated it was a woman's shelter.

"Why are you bringing me HERE?" Al demanded to know.

"Because you need to be here Kiddo. You need to talk about what happened, to help you heal."

"That's BULLSHIT TOM!" Al shouted out. "Once we take care of Klein Walker then I will be HEALED. I'm past accepting who I am. I'm...happy now. All I needed was to be was free of their control, to be myself. Now I can live again, even if it is as Jennifer Anderson."

Tom saw through the smoke screen. Al was closer to taking his own life now than when he had first found him as Jennifer. True, they still had a score to settle with Klein Walker but once that was over so would his desire to stay alive.

"Look, trust me on this Kiddo. If it doesn't work out then fine, you don't have to come back. But do it for me."

Al became angry and turned away so he wouldn't have to face Tom. "You're treating me as a woman TOM. I'm not a WOMAN! I'm not like any of these women who need to be here. I don't need to talk all this out like they do. I'm still a MAN INSIDE! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT? I can HANDLE it MYSELF! Stop treating me like a woman who has been abused."

Tom swung him around and looked deeply into his eyes. Al was biting his lip and trying not to cry. "I'm not Kiddo, I swear I'm not. I'm treating you like a person who has been through HELL. If you like we can find a male counselor to talk to you. But personally, I think you'll feel more comfortable with someone who knows how it feels - who knows what that HELL IS LIKE. I can listen to you buddy but I can't help you, I don't know how. THEY CAN! Please, do this for me."

Al wiped the tears from his eyes and put on a brave front. "Okay, I'll go in but if I don't like what's going on, if it doesn't help me out, then I'm leaving. Is that clear?"

"That's all I am asking you to do Kiddo. If this doesn't help we will leave together. Come on, Redina is waiting for us."

***

Redina Wolfe was a 26-year-old black woman who had been raped by two white men on her way home from a store 10 years earlier. While most of the black community was in an uproar about what they considered to be a racial attack, Redina knew better. Rape wasn't about color any more than it was about making love to someone. It was a crime that involved one person having the power to do something over another person.

Rape didn't have any bounds and it affected everyone regardless of their race, religion or gender. One of the hardest things for Redina to deal with wasn't with the women who had been raped - it was their men. Most felt like they had failed to protect their loved ones despite not even being in the location where the rape took place. Not only did they feel guilty about what happened, most wouldn't even admit how they felt or talk about it. Unlike the women Susan saw, their nightmare would continue until they faced the truth or left the relationship. At least the women she dealt with learned to cope with what happened to them and not let it ruin their life.

The police picked up the two men who had raped her a few days later. At the trial their lawyer had done his best to discredit Redina but she held firm. In the end, the two men were convicted and sent to jail for three years. Prior to the trial, Redina`s mother had seen some disturbing changes in her daughter's personality. Determined not to let this event ruin her daughter's life, her mother had brought Redina to this same shelter and that day had changed her life forever.

Before she had been a self-centered, 16-year-old who didn't care about anyone else besides herself or her friends. But after talking to the shelter's counselor, Redina started reaching out to help others. When she turned 18, she started counseling other women who came in and found her niche in life. After a few years, she was running the shelter and it was rare for her to take a day off. Tom's friend on the police force had told him that Redina was the best counselor around. She would need to be.

While Al sat down in a chair Tom went up and told the volunteer receptionist whom they were there to see. Moments later a dark skinned woman appeared next to the Tom. The older woman glanced over at Jennifer and realized she was looking at a train wreck. The young woman's hair was unkempt, her face was free of makeup, her eyes where bloodshot from crying and her clothes were unkempt. Clearly this woman wasn't concerned about how she looked and she looked like hell.

"Mrs. Wolfe, before you talk to my friend, I'd like to speak with you first. I think there is something you need to know before you can begin."

"Very well." She gave the younger woman a smile. "I'll be right with you Jennifer." She led Tom back into her office and closed the door.

"So, what do you need to tell me Mr. McClain?"

"What I am about to say you may find hard to believe but please, trust me, it's all true. However, you can't repeat this to anyone otherwise her life and mine would be in grave danger."

"Mr. McClain, I can assure you that I will keep anything you or Jennifer tell me in confidence. And believe me, I've heard some pretty wild stories since I've been here."

"Not like this Mrs. Wolfe." Tom started out by telling her how his friend had been caught and turned into Jennifer Anderson.

***

Dennis Butz stared at the man through the one-way mirror and carefully considered his next move. The man's name was Robert White and he was a cold-blooded murderer. In a short but terrifying six-month period he had managed to rape and kill three young women and was suspected of at least four other rape/murders. The problem for the prosecutor had been there wasn't enough evidence to convict Robert White in the last four cases. It really didn't matter -- the first three murders had been enough to have Mr. White sentenced to death.

Since the trial Robert White had been fighting that sentence with all his might. Dennis knew the murderer was scared to die, even though he wasn't afraid to kill others. But this scumbag would die eventually, even if it took a few more years. That was what he planned to play on. Dennis motioned to the guard to let him into the room and took a seat across from the convicted murderer.

"Who in the hell are you and what do you want?" Robert White demanded to know. "If you're a cop or reporter I ain't answering no questions."

"Me?" Dennis started out. "I'm your best friend. I'm the one who is going to pull your ass out of the fire. My name is Dennis Butz. For now let's just say I work for the government."

Robert let out a brave, arrogant laugh. "Is that so Mr. BUTTs! Well now, how do you plan to "pull my ass" out of this mess if I may ask?" Dennis ignored the insult for now, his revenge would come later.

"It's Butz, not Butt's. And it's Mr. Butz to you, Robert, unless you want to rot in your cell until the time comes for them to strap you down. Now, are you interested in getting out of here today or not?"

The words sparked Robert's interest. He was being offered a way out of this hellhole? "Okay MR. BUTZ, I'm listening. What do you want and how does it get me out of here?"

"It's like this Robert. I need you to take the place of an employee of mine who was killed last night in a car crash. This doctor was working on a top-secret project that had some pretty high funding. You're the perfect height and weight to take this person's place." Dennis didn't mention that his employee had been female.

"Me, take his place? I don't know anything about doing research! And if it's that important a project I doubt if I would be much help."

"Someone else would do the research for you Robert." `That isn't too far from the truth,' Dennis thought. "All you have to do is allow us to alter your appearance so you will look like this dead researcher. I'll take care of the rest."

"How do I know this guy isn't some ugly son of a bitch? Show me his picture so I can see what this dead doctor looked like," he demanded in a defiant tone.

Dennis Butz slammed his hands on the table in anger. "There are NO pictures Mr. White. I'm offering you a chance to get out of here...TODAY! If you want to jerk me around then I will find someone else. There are three other people on my list, let's see what they have to say about a get out of jail free card. If you want to rot in here that's up to you. Personally, I would listen to what I'm offering. A luxurious home in a warm, sunny place. Fine food, nice clothes, and all your sins, for lack of a better term, forgiven. You'll be free to go and do as you please as long as it's within the law. And I don't have to tell you this but I will. Not only was this person loaded, they also happened to be very attractive. So you get everything, the money and the good looks."

"And women?" Robert asked while looking for the attached strings. "How about women? Do I get those as well?"

"If you want, sure. As many lovers as you desire and whenever the mood hits. I don't care about that aspect. To be frank Mr. White, I just need your body. I have a legal document here placing you into my care. Sign it and in thirty minutes not only will you be out of here, but you will also be a free man as well. So, what do you want me to do?" Dennis held the paper out in front of him. Robert White grabbed it and signed his life away.

***

Al tried looking at a magazine but was too nervous to read anything. Even though he hated smoking he really could have used a cigarette right now to calm down.

`What am I going to say this to person?' Al wondered. `Damn it, why did Tom bring me here in the first place? This person can't help me. No one can.'

Al fidgeted in the chair a little and wondered what was taking them so long. Tom wasn't telling this lady about him being Jennifer, was he? Oh God, he hoped not. But deep down inside Al knew that he was. Tom was doing what he thought was best, even if he didn't agree with it.

`He wants to treat me like a woman who has been raped and abused,' Al thought. `But this woman has no idea what I went through. I'm a man, not a woman...not mentally that is. I don't think or react like a real female. No female could begin to understand what I've been through or how it felt.'

He wanted to leave this place so badly. It would have been easy for him to get up and walk out that door since Tom had released all restrictions over him. He was free to do as he pleased. But if he left, where would he go? He didn't have a home anymore.

Besides which, Al needed Tom to hold on to. Tom was like a security blanket and Al needed his friend to protect him from all the dangers outside. What he needed was time - time to clear his mind and figure out what he was going to do. But that was easier said than done. Al felt more confused and afraid now than before Tom had rescued him. The world had become a very cold and cruel place since his transition into Jennifer and he was totally unprepared for it.

`Damn it, I've never been so afraid before. Why can't I get over this? And what the hell is taking Tom so long?' He looked back at the front door and thought about leaving again but couldn't get up to the courage to move.

Finally, after about 10 minutes, Tom walked back into the lobby with Redina. The dark skinned lady smiled and said, "Jennifer, lets talk some."

Tom came over to where Al was sitting. He got up and grabbed him by the arm. "Tom, let's go. I don't need to do this...really. Please, just get me out of here."

Tom looked directly into Al's face. It was filled with pain and fear, more than Al could bear. He really needed help badly.

"Please Kiddo, do this for me. At least give it a try." He gave Al a small hug to reassure him. "It's okay, Redina is very open-minded. Just give her a chance. You need this buddy, trust me please."

Al gave the Tom a worried look. "Will you go in with me?"

Tom shook his head. "You have to do this yourself Kiddo. Go on, I'll be right here when you need me. I promise I won't go anywhere until you come out."

Slowly Al released his grip on Tom and followed the counselor into her office. Once the door was closed Redina gave her a weary smile. Male or not, here was a person who needed a rescue boat like the one she had needed 10 years earlier.

Al looked around the office, unable to even look directly at the woman's face. He felt ashamed, embarrassed, angry and a whole range of other emotions as well. Yet Al couldn't let them out...didn't know how to let them out. So nothing did come out and he held it in and it HURT. GOD, HOW IT HURT.

"How are you feeling Jennifer?" Redina asked, trying to break the ice between them. Getting started was the hardest part of the process.

Al shrugged his slim shoulders and stared down at the floor. "I guess...I guess Tom told you about what happened...about who I really am?"

Redina nodded, "yes he did, but I'm not interested in that right now Jennifer. Tell me about Gerald and what he did to you all those nights." She saw the floodgates begin to open up in the younger woman. Here was the first step. The road to recovery was a road filled with pain, anger and tears.

Chapter 10 -- False Freedom

It only took 27 minutes, not thirty, for Dennis Butz to arrange the release of Robert White from prison. Fifteen minutes later they were on a private jet heading west. The ex-prisoner sat back in an over-stuffed seat drinking a gin and tonic from the bar on the plane. He had a wide smile on his face that went from ear to ear. It was all starting to sink in now. Not only had he beat the death sentence the judge had imposed on him, he was also a free man. However, appearances were deceiving. In this case neither his freedom nor his revoked death sentence was real.

"I have to admit Mr. Butz, I thought you were giving me a load of bull crap when we first talked. But I like the service so far." Robert White raised his glass and gave Dennis a salute. "Where are we going now?"

"To your new home," Dennis said with a sight smile. "I know you will enjoy it. Soon we'll start the process of your new life."

"Good. I can't wait to get out of these prison rags and into some nice clothes again!" Robert turned to eye the young, attractive female agent who was fixing him another drink.

"Don't worry Robert. I had Trisha here pick out something nice for you to wear once we get there."

"I found the outfit very appealing to me," the female agent spoke honestly as she handed Robert White a new drink with something extra added. "I can't wait to see you try it on."

"And I can't wait to try it on for you," Robert chuckled. "Maybe we could have dinner afterwards."

`Man, it's been a while, hasn't it? Dennis Butz did say I could have all women I wanted with this deal. I hope I haven't lost my touch,' he thought.

Trisha just smiled as Robert took the drink from her hand and drank it down. If he hadn't been paying so much attention to the female agent, he might have noticed his drink tasted a little different. In a few minutes he was fast asleep in the chair. Dr. Schnegg came into the main compartment carrying his black bag.

"Here are the papers Doctor. It's all legal now, just the way you like it," Dennis Butz told him. Dr. Schnegg nodded and pulled out a syringe from his black bag.

"Help me roll him over onto his stomach," the doctor told them.

***

"And then he started touching me. I tried to stop him...wanted to stop him...but I couldn't. And he made me ENJOY it...I didn't want to...I tried to fight it, I really did...please believe me that I TRIED not to enjoy it but...but he MADE ME! And then he called me names and made me feel so...so...so DIRTY. Oh GOD, I'M FEEL SO DIRTY!"

Redina watched the tears flow freely from Jennifer's eyes. The counselor reached over and wrapped her arms around the broken woman.

"It's okay Jennifer, I know how you feel," she said softly. "I felt the same way afterwards. But you're the victim here sister, do you understand? YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG. Let it out now Jennifer. Let go of this pain you're holding inside you."

Al put his head on Susan's shoulder and started crying louder and harder then he'd ever done in his life. All the pain, anger and guilt that had been trapped inside for so long was coming out. In the waiting room Tom heard Al's crying and looked at his watch, it had taken almost 20 minutes. He took a deep breath and smiled at what he heard. It was the sound of freedom. His friend had reached rock bottom. Now there was nowhere for Al to go but up.

Thirty minutes later the two ladies walked out the door. Al's eyes were bloodshot but his face was clear of the pain that it once held. Where there had once been stress lines on Al's female face was now replaced with calmness. Al wasn't free from the demons yet, that would take time. But at least now he had some strength to deal with them.

"I would like to talk to you again in a couple of days Jennifer," Redina told Al. "And I would also like you to attend one of our support groups. Here is the information." She handed Al some papers.

"Thank you so much Redina." Al said weakly, wrapping his arms around the dark-skinned woman. The counselor gave Tom the thumbs up while she hugged the teary eyed woman back.

As they left the building Tom debated about the next part of his plan. Should he wait? No, the other woman needed to move on with her life as well. It would be painful for Al but once it was over they would both be stronger. The longer he waited, the harder it would be on the both of them.

"I need to make a phone call Kiddo. I know this may not seem like the best time but I need to meet with someone. It may not be a bad idea for you freshen up a little at my apartment." Al nodded but he was thinking about the dream he had, where Al Parker had been pushed into the dark, bottomless pit to be replaced by Jennifer. "My turn" Jennifer had said. "My turn."

Chapter 11 -- Unhappy Reunion

"We're here," Tom said. Al looked out at the restaurant and saw a familiar face.

"Sally? Oh my gosh, it's Sally, Tom. God she looks so good. I can't wait to hold her again." He noticed Tom was frowning at him.

"Al, you can't tell her who you are," he said firmly.

"WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T TELL HER! Tom, I MISS her. I LOVE her. I wanted to MARRY THAT GIRL AND SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH HER."

"I know buddy, I know. But listen to me for a moment. Sally has been living in HELL not knowing what really happened to you. She loves you and if you told her the truth she would accept you...for now. But Kiddo, you're not the man you once were. What kind of life can you offer her?"

"Plenty Tom. I could still..." Al stopped talking. Anger flashed in his eyes as he was unable to find the words needed to complete the sentence.

"Look Al, I'm not against gay relationships and you know that. But I think we both know Sally couldn't handle one. She would try but in the end she would be miserable and so would you. Al, this woman has a shot at putting this nightmare behind her and starting over with someone new. But the only way that's going to happen is if you're willing to do the right thing here. It's up to you Kiddo but ask yourself this -- how much do you really love her?"

"I love her a lot you son of a BITCH!" Al yelled. "Do you think this isn't painful for me, seeing her there and knowing I'm not the person I used to be. You take me to where she is and then tell me I can't let her know who I really am. You're asking me, NO, TELLING ME to make her think I'm dead so she can move on with someone new. WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITHOUT HER IN MY LIFE? I LOVE HER TOM! GOD, I LOVE HER!" Tears began to form in his eyes.

"Al, listen to me. Sally needs a chance to live a regular life with a man she can have children with. Kiddo, sometimes it's hard but if you really love someone that much...sometimes you have to let go of them for THEIR OWN GOOD. What happens when it doesn't work out? For the rest of her life Sally will feel guilty about not accepting you as you are now. If you tell her the truth, she will never have a happy, normal life again. We BOTH KNOW THAT, DON'T WE? We both know I'm RIGHT!"

Al knew he was. The question was, how much did Al Parker, what was left of him, still love her? Enough to let her nightmare end so she could have a normal life once more? Or only enough to be selfish and hold onto memories that could never be repeated?

"Let's go," Al said coolly.

Sally spotted Tom walking over to her with a younger, very attractive woman and stood up. "Tom, you said you know what happened to Al."

"Actually it's not me. This is Jennifer Anderson and she knows what happened. I'll let her tell you."

Al stared into Sally's worried, but pretty face. What should he do? What should he say? How much did he really love Sally?

"Did you really love him?" Al asked.

"Very much so," Sally replied.

"I'm sorry." Sally's face turned sour.

"No! NO! TELL ME HE'S STILL ALIVE." Sally buried her face into her hands and started crying. Al went over and held on to her. He couldn't go through with this; he had to tell her the truth. But what was the truth? Was Al Parker really alive? Was he still alive the way she needed him to be?

"How did it happen?" Sally asked with a sob.

"I can't...I can't talk about it right now," Al began. "It's all too painful for me to recall. But his death wasn't painful. I was there when it happened. He loved you. The last thing on his mind was you Sally. He told me to tell you something if I ever found you."

"What was it?" Sally asked in-between sobs.

"That he loved you so very much, both in body and in soul. That he had hoped to spend the rest of his life with you and have kids together and grow old with you, but he knew it wasn't meant to be. So he told me to tell you to move on and find someone else. He wanted you to be happy and not dwell on what happened to him. He wanted you to make someone else as happy as you had made him. Only in that way could you prove how much you really had loved him and allow him to finally rest in peace.

Sally sat there not knowing what to say. Al on the other hand was trying hard to keep control of himself. Letting Sally go, the woman Al Parker had loved so much that it hurt to be away from her arms, was killing him. The two women grabbed on to each other and started crying while Tom sat back and watched. Al had done the right thing. Now after 4 months of pure hell and putting her life on hold, Sally could move on. And so could Al, in his own way.

Chapter 12 -- Odd man out

Robert White was horrified at what he saw. Dennis Butz had promised him many things and so far he had delivered on all of them, only not in the way Robert had expected. The house he was staying in was fabulous, filled with many nice things that he could only have dreamed of owning. The bank account he was shown had more money in it than Robert could have made in three lifetimes and the food was first class. But it was the clothes; all those fine clothes Dennis Butz had promised him that he objected to. Seeing them for the first time made him understand what was really in store for him.

"Please, I don't want to put it on. Stop what you are doing please."

"But you said you couldn't wait to try this outfit on for me," Agent Trisha replied back in a pouting voice. "I'm very disappointed to hear you say that. I guess this means dinner is off too."

"I've changed my mind," Robert White said, his voice filled with panic. "I didn't know what you expected me to wear. Stop this, all of this, I beg you."

"Did the women you murdered in cold blood also beg Robert?" Dennis Butz asked sternly as he walked into the room."

"BUTZ, whatever the HELL you have in mind I want it stopped. Change my body back to the way it was and take me back to JAIL. I HAVE..."

"Rights?" Dennis finished the sentence for him in an acid tone. "Not any more scumbag. Have you forgotten about the contract you signed with me? You gave up all your RIGHTS to me. In a nutshell, your ASS is mine to do with as I please."

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Robert White shouted.

"NO, YOU DIDN'T ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS!" Dennis snarled back. "Everything I promised you I have delivered on. A nice house, good food, money in the bank and -" Dennis picked up a pair of lacy panties from the bed and held them in front of Robert's face, "nice clothes." He stuffed the panties into Robert's hand and smiled. "Like I said, everything I promised you would get I have delivered on."

"Okay, you misled me. I want to break the contract NOW."

"Sorry, you can't. It clearly says that once we start changing your appearance the contract can't be broken." Dennis ran his finger up Robert's small blooming chest causing him to shiver. "So you see, there is nothing you or I can do to stop this. In a few days the families of the women you MURDERED will get a letter from me. In it I will write how you tried to escape and were killed in some horrible fashion. These families will probably send me a thank you card. Justice will be done for them, for the women you murdered in cold blood, and to you."

"Why me? Why not someone else. There must be worse criminals than me you could use," Robert asked.

"True, but most of them have either families or friends who see them frequently. You, on the other hand, haven't had a visitor since you arrived in prison. Your parents are dead, your sister hasn't talked to you in over seven years, and in the two years you have been incarcerated you still didn't have any close friends on death row. You, Robert White, will not be missed. That makes you the perfect candidate."

"Do you really think I will go along with this?" Robert asked in a last ditch desperation. "I'll tell everyone I meet who I am and what you're doing."

Dennis looked at him in amusement and chuckled. "I don't think so Robert." He turned to the female agent and said, "we will start up project Phoenix tomorrow once the transformation is complete. Do you think you can handle him by yourself Trisha or should I have a guard come in?"

"Oh, I don't think Roberta will be giving me any problems boss. Besides, I don't want to embarrass him anymore then he needs to be but thanks for offering." Dennis waved his hand at her and gave Robert one more smile before leaving the room. Trisha turned to Robert also wearing a wide grin. She was going to enjoy this.

"Now Robert, let's get you dressed. Come over here and put on your new clothes. I can't wait to see how you look in this dress." Robert's feet started moving him toward her as commanded.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted.

***

Al didn't say anything as Tom drove them home. He stared out the car window at the all the people on the sidewalk going here and there. How normal everything seemed to be. Finally he got up the nerve to ask Tom what was really troubling him.

"I'm really dead, aren't I? I mean Al is. He doesn't exist in this world anymore?"

"I'm afraid not Kiddo. I didn't now how to tell you that."

"And what you did to me back there at the restaurant, that was for Sally's benefit, wasn't it?" There was a hint of anger in his feminine voice.

"Yes," Tom answered matter of factly. The time had come to confront his friend.

"That was a cold-hearted thing you did to me back there, Tom! Do you know how close I came to telling her the truth? Why did you do that? WHY?" Al demanded to know.

"Because I HAD TO," Tom snapped back. He pulled the car off to the side of the road and faced Al. "That poor girl has been twisting in the wind ever since you disappeared. I couldn't let her go on one more day thinking that Al Parker may still be alive; that one day he would pop back into her life. I knew she loved you and if she didn't hear the words that she would keep on loving and holding on to your memory. Her life would remain on hold until this chapter in her life was over. I couldn't let this go on any longer for her sake."

"But why ME?" Al asked angrily and on the verge of crying again. "Why didn't you tell her I was dead? Why didn't you tell her how much I loved her?"

"Because you needed to LET GO TOO!" Tom yelled back, allowing his anger to finally come out. "I'm sorry Kiddo, but you are NOT the person you used to be. I LOVE YOU Al! You're family to me and I can't tell you how happy I am to have found you alive. But let me explain to you what kind of hell YOU PUT ME THROUGH.

"For the first few weeks after you disappeared I didn't eat or sleep very well. I lost more than 10 pounds the first two weeks; TEN POUNDS worrying about what had happened to you. You left without a word and worse, you went behind my back to do a job for that devil, Klein Walker. You DIDN'T EVEN CARE HOW I WOULD FEEL ABOUT THAT!

"Do you want me to tell you about the nightmares I had Al? Or HOW that feeling of guilt ate inside of me every GODDAMN day; viewing one dead body after another, half of me hoping it wasn't you while the other half hoped it was so you wouldn't be missing anymore? Do you want me to tell you about all the leads I hunted down that turned out to be dead ends and how DAMN FRUSTRATING IT WAS? DO YOU? I've done my share to help you out. I've paid YOUR TAB AT LEAST THREE TIMES OVER. Now you want me to tell your girlfriend, who loves you more then anything else in world, that you're DEAD so YOU WON'T FEEL ANY OF HER PAIN? NO, I'VE DONE MY SHARE. IT'S YOUR TURN NOW BUDDY! IT'S TIME YOU START PULLING YOUR WEIGHT AGAIN! YOU CAUSED THIS FUCKING MESS, NOT ME! IT'S TIME YOU PICKED UP AFTER YOURSELF! IT'S TIME YOU FACE THE PAIN YOU CAUSED OTHERS TO FEEL!"

Tom paused for a moment to re-gather his emotions. This blowup had been coming ever since he discovered Al's connection to Klein Walker. Now that his anger was out of the way, it was time make peace. He took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone.

"I love you Al, I really do. You've always been like a brother to me and I'd do anything for you. What I did back in Salt Lake City proves that. I risked my life to save yours and I would do it again if I had to. But don't ask me to carry you anymore...not when you're able to walk by yourself. It's time you got on your feet buddy. It's time you started living again."

Al stared out the window and thought carefully about what Tom had just said. How true his words were. He had no right to get mad at his friend for what he did. This wasn't Tom's fault; it was his. Nothing could change that fact. Too many people had suffered as a result of his actions. It was time to face that fact and become responsible for what had happened. Sally deserved a normal life instead of wasting it by hanging on to the hope Al Parker would be back. And Al shouldn't expect Tom to handle every one of his problems because it was too painful. He was the one who had caused all this pain.

"Tom, I'm sorry for getting mad at you."

"I know Kiddo. I'm sorry too for yelling at you the way I did."

"You rescued me and I'm grateful," Al began slowly. "My words can't begin to describe how grateful I really am. I should have told you that sooner. I've been very selfish these past few days...I'm sorry."

"It's okay buddy, I understand. You've been through hell Kiddo. A normal person would have cracked by now."

"Tom."

"Yes Al?"

"Don't call me Al or Kiddo anymore. That person really is dead...I can accept that now. My name is, is...Jennifer. Please call me that from now on."

Inside Tom breathed a sigh of relief. Al or rather Jennifer was back on the road to living again, not just existing in someone else's body.

"Okay Jennifer. Oh, I almost forgot, I have something for you. A present you might say." Tom reached into the back seat and handed over a box he had been saving for the right moment. This seemed to be it

"What is it?" Jennifer asked opening up the box. Inside was a folder containing a bunch of papers.

"It's from TJ, you remember him don't you? It's all the information he has on Jennifer's parents...your genetic parents."

"How...how can I contact...?"

Tom turned and smiled at Jennifer "I'm still working on that Kiddo...sorry Jennifer."

But his friend didn't hear the last part. Jennifer was too busy going through the papers and photos in the file. For the first time Tom saw a beautiful smile on her face that wasn't being controlled. Things were starting to look up at last.

***

It was Kevin's co-worker who told him what had happened. Karen Jones had made a call to Florida to break the bad news to Jennifer's parents only to get a very unexpected response. At first she didn't believe what she had been told, it was just too bizarre. But after checking out the facts with the Lakewood police there was no way it couldn't be true. She found Kevin in the conference room doing some paperwork.

"Hey Kevin, I'm glad I found you. That Jennifer Anderson woman who you think died in that car accident the other night. She was killed while riding in a car with a drunk driver."

"I know that Karen!" Kevin replied, a little annoyed that his Karen would be telling him the obvious. "The hospital tested Miss Jensen's blood level, it was two and a half times over the limit

"No Kevin, you don't understand. Jennifer Anderson was killed while riding in a car with a drunk driver last year in Florida."

"Get out of here!" Kevin replied, figuring it was yet another one of the endless pranks that she was always pulling on him. "If that's true then this accident would make it the second time she died. I've only known one person who came back to life after they were dead and she didn't look like him."

"Look Kevin, I swear I'm not making this up. I don't know who that was in the car last night but I'm telling you that Jennifer Anderson died in a car crash last year."

Kevin laid down his pen and rubbed his head. This accident seemed to get stranger by the hour. "Okay Karen, how do you know that?"

"I was able to track down what I thought was the victim's parents by using the social security number on the drivers license you gave me. I called the parents this morning to inform them that their daughter had been killed in an accident only to have the father curse at me and tell me that I was a little late telling him. He told me his daughter had been killed in a car crash last year. I thought maybe he was in shock or in denial but he insisted I was wrong and hung up on me. So I decided to check with the police department in Lakewood and they confirmed what he told me. Jennifer Anderson was killed in a car accident last year when the drunk driver she was riding with drove his car into a tree."

"Did you ask the father for a picture of Miss Anderson by chance Karen?"

"No, I'm afraid not Kevin. He hung up before I could say anything else and I don't think he will be too helpful if I call him back. But I did fax the officer a picture of Miss Anderson from her driver's license. He said the girl in that photo looked just like the Jennifer Anderson who was killed in Florida."

Kevin pondered this new development. What the hell did all this mean? A girl who was already dead dies again in the same type of accident? Impossible, she looked pretty alive when he had pulled her over earlier. So why would someone want to take up the identity of a young lady who was already dead? Kevin bet Tom knew the answers to these questions. It looked like he was going to have to make a trip to Seattle and talk to him.

Chapter 13 -- Payback time

"And that's my plan for Klein Walker and Keith Bennett," Tom finished. "I'm sorry Jennifer, it's the best I can come up with. I know that I'm asking you to do a lot. If you can't deal with it I'll understand. It'll just take more time for me to come up with another plan."

Jennifer thought about it. What Tom was asking her to do was a lot but at least he was asking. Then she thought about Keith Bennett and what he must being going through right now. Could she continue to let him suffer when she had the power to stop it? They couldn't change him back; his fate was set in stone the same as hers. But at least they had the power to free him, to let him live his life as Cynthia the way he wanted to and not as an extension of his mother's second childhood.

"I'll do it Tom but I'll need you to help me." Tom understood what she was saying. "However, I do have one condition. I get to pick out the getaway disguises. Is it a deal?"

Tom was surprised that she had agreed so fast to his plan; he had expected at least a little argument. "Sure, that's fine with me. You realize we need to get started on this right away."

Jennifer nodded. "I know. Lets do it now before I change my mind, okay."

"Sure, I understand. Ekala..."

***

Klein Walker took his usual seat at the bar and scanned the room. It didn't take him long to spot the beautiful woman in the corner, all alone no less. She was much younger than him but that didn't matter to Klein. This woman was exactly how he liked them; pretty, blonde, and wearing a short skirt that showed off her gorgeous legs. She must be new in town; he hadn't seen her before. Klein called the bartender over and told him to send another drink to her table.

"Watch this boys," he said confidentially to his two bodyguards.

The waitress took the drink over to the woman's table and pointed to where they were sitting. The blonde hair lady mouthed the words, "thank you," at him and smiled.

"That's my cue boys. Stay here and watch the master in action." Klein picked up his drink and waded over to the attractive blonde.

"Hi, my name is Klein Walker. You must be new here, I haven't seen you before."

"Hi Klein," the woman replied in a deep southern voice. She extended her hand seductively to him. "My name is LuAnn Stone. I'm in town for some business and I was beginning to think that this would be a boring night for me."

"So did I until I saw you," he replied back.

***

The motel was located on the other side of the parking lot from the bar. Tom peered out the window and was worried. He hated not being inside the bar where he could keep an eye on Jennifer but that would have been far too risky for what he had planned.

A thought crept into his mind. Maybe Klein wouldn't be interested in Jennifer. No, that was crazy, of course he would. Jennifer had pulled out all of her female magic to be as desirable as possible. If Klein didn't find her irresistible then he was brain dead. In fact, Tom had taken a cold shower after she'd left to cool down. She looked hot tonight. No, Klein would be interested. All he had to do now was wait; something he found very hard to do when his friend could be in trouble.

Almost 30 minutes after Klein had entered the bar he came out with a blonde lady holding on to his arm. His two bodyguards were close behind, scanning for any sign of trouble in the parking lot. Here is where the real danger began. Everything had to go just right or someone would be dead.

The four of them headed over to LuAnn's motel room as planned. Tom closed the drapes and turned on the TV so they would think the room was occupied. Then he waited. It was all up to Jennifer now.

When they reached the room, one of Walker's bodyguards went in first to make sure everything was all right. Klein explained rather boldly that he was a very important man and couldn't take any chances. The bodyguard checked the doors between the two rooms and found them locked. Just to be safe, he shoved a chair underneath the knob so it couldn't be opened. Convinced that the room was safe, the bodyguard motioned his boss and his new girlfriend inside.

"Can I fix you boys a drink?" she asked.

"My men don't drink while on duty, isn't that right guys?" The two men shook their heads and eyed the lovely lady who was about to become another mark on their boss's belt. "But hell, I'll take one. Why don't you boys go outside and smoke while LuAnn and I get better acquainted."

The men nodded and left the room. Klein picked up the key and handed it to one of the bodyguards as he left. When they were gone, he closed the door and locked it. He felt secure knowing that his men were just outside within shouting distance in case there was trouble. LuAnn handed him the drink.

"Here you go sugar! Drink up." Walker took the glass and gulped it down in one chug.

"Wow, you must have been thirsty sugar." LuAnn said. "Do you want another?"

"Not right now you pretty lady. All I want for the moment is YOU!"

Klein Walker pulled the blonde woman into his arms and started kissing her hard. As he was doing this, his hands moved up her short, black dress. She didn't resist him. Instead she returned his kisses and started moaning deeply at his advances. He pulled her down onto the bed in anticipation of what was to come next. She got on top of his 300+ pound frame and with one quick stroke pulled off her dress like it was on fire.

"Does this interest you sugar?" she asked while showing off her large chest that was pushing out of her tight, lacy bra.

"You bet it does pretty woman." Klein growled. Her southern voice was driving him crazy. It had been years since he had scored with a southern belle, especially one as pretty as this. He would definitely have to get her number after this was over and fly her back up sometime.

Klein reached out for her lacy bra only to notice his hand felt a little heavy. He brushed it off as a normal reaction from all the drinks he had at the bar. But then he realized he was feeling a little strange and LuAnn picked up on it.

"Here, let me help you." She moved her chest closer to his face and Klein caught the sweet scent of perfume between them. But he wasn't thinking about her breasts anymore. Something was wrong with his body.

`Damn it, why does my entire body feel so heavy,' Klein asked himself? `Am I having a heart attack?' No, he didn't feel any pain in his chest but...panic set in.

"Get off me, I'm not feeling very well." He tried to move but his entire body felt stiff. He opened up his mouth to say something else only this time all that came out was a garbling sound.

"Lay still sugar, I'll be right back." Jennifer gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and walked over to the door that separated the two rooms. She removed the chair and opened up her door then she gave a quick knock on the other. It opened up and Tom walked into the room.

"Hi Klein. How have you been?"

The fat man looked at Tom with wide eyes knowing that he was in big trouble. He tried to say something but nothing came out.

"Don't try to speak Klein. It only makes it harder on your body. Oh don't worry. The drug she gave you won't kill you. In fact, you'll be back to your normal self in say...oh 10 minutes. Well, almost back to your normal self. We need to make a few small adjustments." Klein Walker stared back at Tom wondering what was going to happen next. One thing for sure, he would kill this son of a bitch himself after all this was over.

"Oh, by the way, what do you think of LuAnn? Quite a dish, don't you agree? But then we all know, `blondes do have more fun'." Jennifer's smile turned to anger as if a switch had been turned on inside her. She leaped on top of Klein and placed her hands tightly around his throat.

"You fat son of a bitch...you set me up and left me for dead. I'll kill you for that." With all her might she squeezed tightly around his fat neck. Tom rushed over and pulled the angry woman off him.

"Jennifer, calm down. Remember our plan. We need him alive."

"Just give me another minute Tom, please," she begged. "Just enough to let him feel the cold hand of death coming to get him."

"We don't have time for that Jennifer," he told her softly. "Now calm down and help me flip him over."

It took both of them to flip Klein's over onto his stomach. Jennifer was being less than gentle with him and Tom had to warn her about it.

"Where are they?" Jennifer asked.

"Right here." Tom handed her the first injection.

Klein felt the cold touch of an alcohol ball followed by a slight pinch in the back of his neck. A minute later there was second pinch and shortly after that there was a third.

`What the HELL are they doing to me'? He wondered.

"Do you think the memories will still be there?" she asked.

"The doctor said they would be, some of them anyway. It's all experimental but I'm sure at least part of it will work. We'll know more once we triggered the memories."

Tom issued Klein a command to talk quietly and not move unless he was told. When the drug finally wore off, he ordered the fat man to sit up.

"What do you want Tom? Money?" Klein asked in a whisper. "I can give you plenty, more than you can spend in two lifetimes. Just release your control over me and I'll give you everything you deserve."

"Like you did to Detective Taylor and his son?" Tom answered angrily. "Do you really think you can buy yourself out of this? Don't be foolish Klein, money doesn't matter to me."

"Then what does?" he asked in surprise. "If you don't plan to kill me, if it's not about getting even or about money, then what do you want?"

"Who said it wasn't about getting even Klein?" Tom grinned sharply at the fat man. "I said we needed you alive, I didn't say anything about not getting even. But before I tell you what I want, there's someone you need to meet. You remember Al Parker, don't you? He's changed a little since you last talked. Of course he has you to thank for that." LuAnn, AKA Jennifer, had taken off her blonde wig but Klein still didn't see the resemblance.

"Al...Al Parker? Is that really you? But you'r..."

"Dead!" she answered for him. "Yes, thanks to you I'm dead! I thought you should see first hand what they did to me you fat little worm. They caught me and turned me into a woman but I never told them why I was there. I thought you would come and get me out of that hellhole but instead you abandoned me and left me to rot. If it wasn't for Tom I would still be in that HELL-HOLE."

"As you can see Klein," Tom interrupted, "Al still has a lot of built up anger towards you. But don't worry; I won't let him hurt you. We, rather I, need you alive and well."

"Let me go RIGHT NOW and I'll let you both live," Klein threatened. "I'm too big to sneak past my men and in case you forgotten, they're right outside the door. Sure we can wait but if I don't walk out that door in the next couple of hours they'll come in looking for me. You're just as trapped as I am McClain. Give it up now if you want to live."

"I have a better idea Klein," Tom replied. "Why don't I show you first hand how the serum works."

Klein Walker looked at Jennifer in fear but Tom read his mind. "No, not like that even though you so richly deserve it. I have something else in mind. Now keep quiet and listen up..."

Chapter 14 -- Walk on the wild side

By the time Tom was done no one would have recognized the person standing in front of him was actually Klein Walker. He was almost 200 pounds lighter and several inches taller. Jennifer walked in from the other room where she had been changing. Her hips and stomach were padded, making her appear 50 pounds heavier then she really was. Gone was her short dress and blonde hair she had worn before; it had been replaced by a long skirt and a short, red wig.

"What do you think?" she asked Tom.

"I think I liked you better as a blonde," he joked. "No one will recognize you now. How does Klein look?"

"Very impressive." Jennifer got closer and looked directly into his face. "He looks exactly the way he should."

"Good, then lets put on our disguises and get out of here. Come with me Klein." The three of them walked into the next room.

"Your outfit is in the brown bag on the bed Tom," Jennifer told him. "But first, look what I brought for our friend to wear."

She pulled out a short, pink dress covered with white lace and a large, fluffy petticoat. Tom watched the reaction on Klein's face and chuckled.

"Very nice but I think something a little bit more conservative would have been better. He's going to stick out like a sore thumb when we leave."

"Better him than us," Jennifer shot back.

Tom nodded in agreement and picked up his bag. To his surprise, instead of finding a pair of pants and a shirt, he pulled out a short, black skirt and a pretty tan sweater. He held them up for Jennifer to see.

"What's this? Did you give me the wrong bag or something?" he asked in bewilderment.

Jennifer flashed him an evil grin. "Welcome to MY world Tom!"

***

The two bodyguards leaned against their boss's car that was now parked near the room he was in. They noticed the light in the room next door go off.

"Must have gone to bed," one bodyguard commented to the other.

The other bodyguard noticed someone peaking out the window. "Something's up Sam." Both men immediately focused their attention on the door as it began to open up.

The first person to step out was a heavy-set woman. She looked at them cautiously and whispered inside, "it's okay, don't be nervous. They won't hurt you." She grabbed a hand and gently pulled out another person dressed in a short, pink dress, white heels, and a wide petticoat that made the short skirt spread out. Then another person stepped outside wearing a tan top, a short, black leather skirt, and a pair of shiny black and tan 2-inch high heels. The bodyguard read them instantly.

"It's a bunch of QUEERS!" he told his partner. He shouted out to them, "Hey you...in the pink outfit. Your SLIP IS SHOWING!" Both men broke out laughing.

"Ignore them," the heavy-set woman commanded while leading them away.

The bodyguard couldn't resist one more shot as they were leaving. "Hey lady, why don't you lose some weight! Maybe then you could find some REAL MEN to date!" He noticed the guy in the pink outfit look back at them. "I wasn't talking to you little lady. Hell, you're the PRETTIEST in the bunch! I bet you get LUCKY tonight!" The men started hooting and laughing in an uncontrolled manner.

`YOU FOOL'S!' Klein wanted to yell back at them. `It's ME you idiots -- HELP ME! They're going to take me away. Stop us and check the room. Can't you see this is all wrong? You're supposed to be protecting me. STOP THEM DAMN IT!'

Klein stared at the corner of the motel, as it got closer with every step he took. Once they turned that corner it would be too late. He tried to stop walking but couldn't. He looked back at his bodyguards to give them a hand signal but they were too busy laughing and making jokes to notice. They came to the end of the motel and Klein turned the corner. His old life ended at that point and a new life awaited him.

The walk to Tom's car wasn't far but it did require passing by some other people who all had a chance to stop, snicker, and make a joke at what they saw. Jennifer and Tom dropped back about 20 feet so they could enjoy the show. A couple of young ladies that Klein surprised outside their door decided to have a little fun at his expense.

"Oh my GOD Janet, would you look at her. She's wearing the same color dress you are." The two women stepped in front Klein blocking his path.

"And such a pretty color on her too. What's your name Sweetheart?" Both women giggled while Klein tried to get around them, unable to say anything and too embarrassed to do so if he could.

"I guess she's shy Mary. Hey, let me look at your outfit honey." Janet grabbed Klein's hand and spun him around causing a couple of guys to hoot and whistle at him. The two ladies burst out laughing as Klein walked away at a much faster pace. The two women were too busy joking and laughing at him to pay much attention when Tom walked by; although he did hear one of them ask, "is that another guy in that skirt?"

A minute later the three of them piled into Tom's car. Jennifer turned around to face Klein and asked, "Did you have a good time Klein? I sure did." Then she turned to her friend. "Now aren't you glad that I picked out that outfit for him to wear Tom? They didn't even pay attention to you."

"Actually I was a little disappointed," he joked. "I mean, my first time out in a skirt and no one even whistled at me. I was hoping to turn at least a few heads."

"Well if you want, you and I can go out clubbing after we drop Madonna off," Jennifer laughed. "Then you can get all the attention you want."

"Sounds like fun but I'll pass. Let me ask you something, how in the hell do you stand these HEELS? MY feet are KILLING ME!"

"Lots of painkillers Thelma. You know it was a man who designed high heel shoes to entrap the female population. It's only fitting you should wear them from now on."

"No thank you," Tom replied with a cringe. "Say, how do I get back into my apartment without being seen? I don't want my neighbors thinking I dress like this in my free time."

"That's not my problem Tom. I guess you should have thought of that first." Jennifer giggled at his predicament.

"I didn't know I would be wearing this getup. You picked this out for me, remember? And I swear you made sure it was the most uncomfortable thing to wear. I can't keep this skirt down."

"Like I said Tom," Jennifer answered with an evil grin, "welcome to my world."

Chapter 15 -- Missing persons

Several hours passed before the bodyguards decided they should check up on their boss. First they knocked but that didn't get them an answer. Sensing there was a problem; one of them unlocked the door and both bodyguards rushed in with their guns drawn. They did a quick search of the room but their boss was nowhere to be found. Almost immediately one of them noticed the unlocked door leading to the other room. He motioned to his partner and kicked the other door into the room the drag queens had occupied. They found that room empty as well.

Immediately they left and phoned the police. The first car arrived on the scene within five minutes. An hour later detective Dave Power was assigned to investigate Klein's Walker's disappearance.

"So Klein Walker bit the big one!" Dave said pleasantly to himself. This was going to be a pleasant night after all. There would be plenty of cops celebrating at the local pub after the shift was over. As he got out of his car, one of Walker's bodyguards boldly approached the detective.

"It took you long enough to get here," he said in an arrogant voice. "My boss is missing and I want action!"

Klein's Walker's bodyguard was more then a full foot taller than Dave Power was but that didn't intimidate the veteran detective. At the police department he was known as 'the bulldog' because of his cold-steel toughness and ability not to be intimidated by anyone no matter how tall they were. Besides, Detective Taylor had been a good friend of Dave's and while he hadn't been assigned to that case, he knew enough about it to know who was responsible for Taylor's death. He wasn't about to let one of Walker's two-bit goons push him around.

Detective Power smiled pleasantly and turned to the man finger-printing the door. "Hey Charlie, did you hear that. Make sure you give this job your best. We don't want any screw-ups like the last time, okay?"

The middle-aged cop looked up and gave Dave a stupid grin. "No sweat boss. See this rag, I'm wiping the area first to get rid of any dirt so the fingerprints will show up real nice and clean."

Dave rolled his eyes in a dramatic way. "Charlie you IDIOT! You're supposed to dust and THEN WIPE, not the other way around."

"Oh," the cop answered dumbly. "Is that why I'm not getting anything to show up? Thanks for the tip boss. I'll try doing it your way next time."

The detective turned back to the bodyguard and smiled. "Rookies...what can you do?"

The bodyguard got angry at what he considered a lack of enthusiasm on the detective's part. Well, he would light a fire under his butt real fast. Figuring Dave's small size would make him an easy pushover; the bodyguard made his move but it was a big mistake.

"What are you, a BUNCH OF KEYSTONE COPS?" he shouted. "Get this IDIOT OUT of here and get someone who KNOWS HOW TO DO HIS JOB RIGHT. I WANT ACTION RIGHT..."

Dave cut the bodyguard off cold. "LISTEN ASSHOLE! DON'T stand there and tell me how to do MY JOB, UNDERSTAND? I KNOW what I'm DOING, Charlie knows what he is DOING, ALL THESE OFFICERS KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING! We DON'T need YOU telling us HOW TO DO OUR JOB! I ISSUE the orders here, NOT YOU. HAVE YOU GOT THAT?" By this time several other officers had joined Dave's small circle and they all carried loaded guns. The detective continued giving Walker's bodyguard the third degree while at the same time explaining to him why keeping quiet was in his best interest.

"Now, as far as I can tell there is no way Klein Walker could have stuffed his fat ass out that back window. This leads me to believe he had to come out the front door and guess who would have been the last ones to see him leave? Let me answer that for you; it's you TWO HOODS! In my EXPERT opinion that makes you bozos the PRIME suspects in his disappearance. So do you want to explain to me how 300 pounds of lard could have walked right past the both of you without being seen...or do I start GUESSING?" The bodyguard knew he was way over his head and backed off quickly.

"Hey look, I'm sorry detective. I'm still a little shook up over all this. You're the expert here, not me. Do you have any leads sir?" The last thing he needed was to have his boss's friends believe they had been responsible for bumping him off.

Dave's angry face changed back to a wax smile. "I don't know yet son, I just got here. I haven't looked at any of the evidence yet." He turned to the other cops standing around him. "What about it boys, do you have any ideas as to what happened to Mr. Walker?"

"I do Dave," one senior police officer spoke up. "I noticed the bathroom has one of the older type toilets in it. You know, the large ones they use to make thirty years ago before they started downsizing them. I bet someone flushed Walker down the john and now he's floating in the sewer with all the rest of the crap." Several of the officers started to chuckle.

"I don't know, it would have taken a mighty big plunger to stuff his fat ass down that small hole," Dave replied skeptically. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

"I think someone stuffed him in the trash compactor with the rest of the garbage and then tossed him in the dumpster out back."

Dave scratched his head as if he was in deep thought. "Do they really make dumpsters that will hold that much garbage?" There was more snickering and chuckling among the group.

"How about the drag queens you guys talked about in the next room?" another officer asked. "You told me the door between the rooms had been opened and one of the, umm, ladies, was rather heavy."

"Really!" Dave added with some amusement in his voice. He turned and looked directly at Walker's bodyguard to see the expression on his face. "Did your boss wear dresses often or only on special occasions?"

"That queer wasn't our boss," the bodyguard insisted. "First of all, they were all too skinny to be him and second, our boss never wore dresses! He's a man's man."

"Uh huh!" Dave replied back in an unconvinced tone. "Well boys, as you can see we have 'several' leads to work on so I'm sure we'll find your boss soon. But just in case we don't, maybe you should consider looking for a new job." Dave left no doubt in the bodyguard's mind that this would be one case Seattle's finest wouldn't solve.

The bodyguard opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. He realized a hopeless situation when he saw it. Instead he turned and stomped back to his car to join his partner.

`Score one for the good guys,' Dave said to himself.

Chapter 16 -- Third Degree

That night Tom managed to sneak into his apartment without being seen by his neighbors. At least he had the good fortune of being able to change out of his disguise. Jennifer made Klein keep his clothes on until the next day, when the transformation was almost completed. It kept her busy.

Tom was also busy working on the several items that needed to be done before they left. He had just gotten off the phone with the airport to reserve tickets for their flight when there was a knock at the door. Tom opened the door to find Kevin standing on his porch looking very official in a suit and tie.

"Kevin, what a surprise! What are you doing in Seattle? Come in."

"Thank you Tom. I'm on official business. I'm investigating a car crash that happened last weekend and I'd like to ask you some questions."

"Sure Kevin, take a seat." At that particular moment Jennifer walked into the room to see who Tom was talking to. Kevin recognized her immediately from their last meeting with Gerald. She was the last person she expected to see in Tom's apartment.

"What the hell, you're supposed to be dead!" Kevin pointed to the couch. "Both of you sit down there. I'm placing you under arrest for suspicion of murder. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right..."

"Kevin, this isn't necessary," Tom said.

"Shut UP TOM, I'm doing my job! Now listen to what I say before you speak another word. Then, if you still wish to talk, I'll be more then happy to hear what you have to say." Tom let Kevin finish before trying to explain.

"Look Kevin, it's not what you think. I didn't kill anyone, I swear."

"Sure Tom. You contacted me looking for information on two people who you think had something to do with Al's disappearance. Not long after that both of them are killed, along with a third person, in a terrible accident. Only one of them wasn't killed, instead I find her here with you. That means you're involved somehow and I want to know HOW. So do you want to talk to me, or to the Seattle detectives? It's your choice."

About that time Tracy trotted into the room from her nap. "Mommy, who is that man and why is he so mad at you?"

"It's okay honey," Jennifer answered. "Why don't you play on the floor over there with your doll." The little girl did what she was told. Tom looked at Tracy and then back at Kevin.

"First of all Kevin, as you can see neither Jennifer Anderson or Gerald Rogers were killed in that crash. They are very much alive."

"I can see Miss Anderson, where is Mr. Rogers?"

"I'll tell you in a minute but first I'm going to tell you what happened to Al Parker. He is alive, in a sense." Kevin saw the woman stare sadly at the ground.

"Are you okay Jennifer?" Tom asked in a concerned tone "I can talk to Kevin alone if you like."

"No...I'm okay. It's just a little painful to relive this all again."

"What is she talking about Tom?" Kevin asked. "Where is Al Parker?"

"He's sitting right next to me Kevin."

"But the only one sitting next to you is Miss Anderson."

"That's correct Kevin," Tom answered in a truthful tone. "Please sit down Kevin, this may take a while."

For the next 15 minutes, Tom went over everything that had happened to Al Parker. It was way too much for the officer to take in and accept. Still he listened, as his police training had taught him, in the hope he could pick out the truth from the lies. He had to admit; it was a well thought out fairy tale.

"Okay, lets say I believe you Tom. Then what happened to Mr. Rogers? You said he is alive. Where is he then?"

"He's been in this room with us all along Kevin. He makes a cute three year old girl, don't you think?" Kevin observed the little girl look up and give him a smile.

"You want me to believe you turned a 6 foot tall adult man into a small child?" Kevin asked in disbelief and anger. "Do you think I'm an idiot Tom? I want the truth this time or I'm taking you both in."

"It is the truth Kevin, all of it I swear," Tom insisted.

Kevin sighed and decided to play along for a moment. "Okay, lets say I believe everything you told me is true. If that's the case then I'm going to have to charge you with kidnapping and taking someone across the state lines. Do you understand what the punishment is for that crime? Mr. Rogers has rights you know."

"RIGHTS!" Jennifer screamed out in rage. She stood up and looked the officer squarely in the eyes. Tom tried to calm her down but she pushed him away.

"You want to talk ABOUT RIGHTS OFFICER BROWN? THEN LETS TALK ABOUT MY RIGHTS FIRST? WHERE WERE YOU WITH YOUR BOOK OF RIGHTS WHEN THEY WERE CHANGING ME from a MAN into a WOMAN OFFICER BROWN? WHERE WERE YOU AND YOUR DAMN BOOK OF RIGHTS WHEN GERALD WAS 'RAPING ME' EVERY DAMN NIGHT? WHY DIDN'T YOU SHOW UP IN YOUR FANCY UNIFORM with your BOOK OF RIGHTS to STOP HIM? What the HELL did you or anyone else do to protect MY RIGHTS? WHO DO I SEE about my RIGHTS being VIOLATED not ONCE or TWICE BUT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN?" Angry tears formed in Jennifer's eye. Tom waited a moment before speaking.

"Kevin, I know you have a job to do but I want you to think about what that job really is. It's to serve and protect people, not turn them over to the executioners. If you turn us in you're signing our death warrants. Sarah Jensen's boss will not only come after Jennifer but me as well. That was why we had to fake her death. As long as they think Jennifer is dead she's safe. But if you turn us in then we're both as good as dead."

Kevin thought about what Tom said. He had never known Tom to lie and yet his story about Al Parker and Gerald Rogers was so hard to believe. But if the story was true then Miss Anderson, AKA Al Parker, had been put through hell because of Mr. Rogers and Dr. Jensen. Not only that, turning them in would be putting both of their lives in danger; maybe even his own now that he knew the entire story.

Mr. Roger rights had been violated but then he deserved it, didn't he? And Al Parker? Well, even though he had done something illegal, his rights had been violated far worse. This logic was crazy and yet, it made perfect sense too.

"What about Sarah Jensen, Tom? Did you kill her?" Kevin asked.

"No Kevin, I didn't. I had nothing to do with her car going off the road." Tom was stretching the truth a bit but his friend didn't need to know everything.

"Tom, you're asking me to believe something so...so unbelievable. Do you have any proof on what you are saying is true?

"Would a chat with Gerald Rogers be enough Kevin?"

"If that can be arranged, yes...I think that would convince me."

Tom turned to the little girl who was still playing with her doll. "Tracy, come here for a moment." She stood up and walked over to him just like a robot.

"Zomlix! You will talk as your true self. You will not try to leave this room or harm us. You will answer our questions truthfully. Zomlix!"

Tracy's eyes glazed over which Kevin found to be a little scary, like a scene from a horror movie. Then they cleared up and the sweet little girl threw down her doll and glared angrily at the policeman.

"Well, you heard what they did to me. ARREST THEM!" the little girl demanded.

"Are you really Gerald Rogers?" Kevin asked in an unconvinced tone.

"Are you DEAF as well as STUPID OFFICER? They just told you I AM! Now ARREST them and call my boss, Dennis Butz, in Washington, DC. He'll be able to help me."

"Your boss?" Kevin asked dumfounded.

"DAMN IT yes, my boss you stupid N..." Tracy spitted out some racial slurs at the black officer. "Now move your ASS -- I don't want to spend another minute dressed LIKE THIS! And when I'm back to my own self I'm going to make sure the two of you pay, ESPECIALLY YOU Mr. McClain."

It was hearing her call Tom "Mr. McClain" that convinced Kevin. No three-year-old child would talk like that. Tracy started throwing out some more threats but Tom said they had heard enough and spoke a command to her. Moments later she picked up her doll and returned to her sweet self again.

"Does that convince you Kevin?" The officer slowly shook his head, still a little shocked at what he had just seen and heard.

"What do you plan to do with her now?" he inquired. Jennifer answered that question.

"Raise her like my own. Teach her how to respect other people and not judge them based on color, gender or religious beliefs. Make sure she grows up to not only be a proper young lady, but to be compassionate to others as well."

"Sounds like that may take a while?" Kevin observed.

"We have an entire lifetime ahead of us," Jennifer said half-smiling.

"Who knows Kevin, maybe one day your son will fall in love with Tracy and then we'll be related by marriage," Tom added.

"Related by our daughter? Why Tom, are you asking me to marry you?" Jennifer asked in a teasing manner.

"What...no...it's...what I meant was..." Tom couldn't find the words to pull his foot out of his mouth.

"Yes Tom," Jennifer beamed at him.

"Well...I mean...I helped with the creation of Tracy so technically that makes me her father." Kevin laughed at Tom's predicament.

"If you want my opinion Tom you should make an 'honest woman' out of her."

"Well...lets not go overboard here," Tom muttered. "Don't you have to be going Kevin?"

"Trying to change the subject Tom?" Kevin gave him one of his big, Texas smiles. "Actually I do. Thank you for telling me the truth Tom. This is one report I won't mind falsifying. Good luck to the both of you and let me know when the two of you set the date!" Kevin couldn't resist one last friendly jab at his friend.

Jennifer gave the officer a hug and quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Kevin, for protecting me. I'm in your debt."

"It's my pleasure Miss Anderson...Jennifer." Kevin turned to Tracy who was looking at him with her baby blue eyes. He couldn't resist one last jab at Gerald either.

"Listen to your parents pretty little girl. They will teach right from wrong and why you shouldn't hate certain groups of people because of the color of their skin. Maybe one day your parents will let you date my son." He shook Tom's hand and left the apartment.

On his way back to the car Kevin smiled. He knew it was wrong but it felt so good inside to see a bigot get his just deserts. Not by murder or some other type of violence, he was totally against that. But by re-living his childhood with open-minded parents who wouldn't allow that kind of behavior to creep back in again. Now if the rest of the world could be like that. Maybe this was the answer to world peace?

All of the sudden Kevin realized what a dangerous thought that was. It was so easy to impose your own morals on other people while forgetting how imperfect you yourself really were. There wasn't a person or a government on this earth that was mature enough to play God. No, this was one secret that was better to be forgotten.

Chapter 17 -- Prodigal son

The plane trip to San Diego was uneventful. While Jennifer and Tracy slept most of the way there, the person who used to be Klein Walker stared out the window in silence. Tom left him alone in his own thoughts.

When they arrived, Tom flagged down a taxi and gave the driver directions. The trip was long but there wasn't much talking among the four of them. Each of them had a part to play and knew what to do. They arrived at the house located in one of the better neighborhoods of the city. Tom stared at the house and wondered how people could afford to live in places like this. He handed the driver three twenty dollar bills as the four of them got out of the car.

"Stand here," he told Klein, placing him out of sight of the front door. Tom had planned it out so the four of them would arrive while Susan Bennett wasn't home. The private investigator he had hired for this job had assured him the two ladies would be flying back from the Sarah Jensen's funeral late the previous night and that Mrs. Bennett had an appointment with a lawyer in the morning. But Tom had been in this business long enough to know that even the best information could change on a moments notice. He knocked on the door hoping it was still good. A young woman opened the door and smiled.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a feminine manner. A surprised look replaced the smile when she recognized Jennifer standing there next to Tom. "Oh my gosh...Jennifer! They told me you'd been killed." She reached out and gave her a big hug.

"Hi Cynthia. It's good to see you again. I've brought a few people along with me. This is my friend Tom and you remember Gerald, don't you? He looks a little different from the last time you saw him."

Cynthia put her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God...he looks so CUTE!" And he has such a pretty dolly too." Tracy tightened her grip on the doll and tried to hide behind Jennifer's leg.

"I have one more person for you to meet Cynthia," Jennifer told her. Klein Walker stepped out from behind them and Cynthia's eyes went wide as if she was seeing a ghost.

"Oh my GOD!" she gasped.

***

It had taken a while to learn all the information and figure out what was going on. Trisha got off the plane and headed for the first Taxi she saw. The backpack she carried contained the only change of the clothes she had for this trip. The special agent didn't expect to be in town very long, a few hours at best. But she always brought a change of clothes just in case. Her mission was an important one. She had to make contact with Susan Bennett and warn her of the danger she was in.

***

Susan Bennett came home from the lawyer's office with some papers for her daughter to sign. For some reason, Sarah Jensen had left the house to both Cynthia and herself. The lawyer explained this had been done for tax purposes.

Susan choked back the tears astonished that Sarah had been thinking of her. How she missed her friend already. To die in car wreck, along with Gerald and Jennifer; the circumstances brought back memories of her own husband's death. At least Susan could be thankful she had Cynthia back. She would always be grateful to Sarah for that.

Her daughter was seeing a young man who she approved of and any day she expected him to pop the question. Cynthia would of course tell him yes even though deep down she really didn't love him. The marriage would guarantee Susan a comfortable future and an opportunity to raise some more children. In fact, she had already started thinking about how many grandchildren her daughter would give her and what their names would be. The future looked bright ahead but Susan didn't know about the black cloud that lay just behind the front door. She was surprised to see a cute little girl playing with her doll on the hallway floor as she walked in.

"Well," Susan asked pleasantly, "where did you come from princess?" The little girl just smiled and went on playing.

"She's my daughter Mrs. Bennett," someone said from the living room. Susan looked to see who that someone was and got the shock of her life.

"Jennifer? But you're...you're dead!"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not dead, I'm very much alive."

"I can vouch for that Mrs. Bennett," Tom said walking out of the kitchen to take a position behind her. She turned angrily to face him.

"Who in the HELL are you and what's going on here?" she demanded to know.

"I'm a private investigator from Seattle Mrs. Bennett. My name is Tom McClain but please, call me Tom. You recognize Jennifer of course but apparently not Gerald. I guess he's changed a little since you saw him last."

"WHAT?" Susan exclaimed as Tom pointed at the small child. "Are you telling me this small little girl is really Gerald, Sarah's bodyguard? He, looks so...."

"Cute?" Tom answered for her. "Yes, we've been told that before. But I'm not here to discuss Gerald with you. I have some very good news for you Mrs. Bennett. Please, step into the living room so we can talk." He motioned to where Jennifer and Cynthia were sitting. Susan took a seat in a chair where she could face all three of them.

"Here mother," Cynthia said. "I fixed you a drink. I thought you might need it."

Susan took the glass and drank it down without talking her eyes away from Tom. She was worried about how much this man really knew. Since Jennifer was here he had to know everything, didn't he? But if that was true, why wasn't Cynthia acting any differently towards her?

"I understand you've offered a $10,000 reward for anyone who has information on what happen to your son. Is that reward still valid?" Tom asked.

"It is," Susan replied. She gave Cynthia a nervous glance but her daughter smiled back as if nothing was wrong. "He ran away a month ago and I haven't seen him since. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes, I have some idea," Tom answered pleasantly. "By the way, how much more of a bonus is there if I can return him to you?"

`What is he up to?' Susan asked herself.

"Is that what this is about, MONEY?" she demanded to know.

"No Mrs. Bennett," Tom said with a half-smile, "that is your vice. Mine is the pleasure I get from re-uniting lost love ones.
I was just wondering how much Keith really meant to you. Considering what you did to him I think it's a fair question."

"I think we both know what you are talking about Mr. McClain," she snapped back, "so lets not play any more games. What is it you WANT?"

"Only to see the happy look on your face when I re-unite you with your son. That will be my reward." Tom, Jennifer and Cynthia all smiled at Susan making her squirm a little. She sensed danger but didn't know why.

"Then let's get on with it." Susan turned to Cynthia only the next voice she heard didn't come from her daughter; it came from behind her.

"Hello MOTHER! I'm glad to see you again. It's been a long time." The voice was dripping with anger and sarcasm. Susan turned to see a young man standing in the doorway. Her mouth opened wide but she had trouble getting the words out.

"My...my...my God," she gasped. "Keith? No, it can't be you...it CAN'T BE!"

"Of course it can," Tom answered for him. "You saw what Sarah Jensen did to Cynthia, or rather Keith who is now Cynthia." Susan turned to her daughter who was sitting there smiling at her.

"Isn't this wonderful mother," she said. "We can be a family again."

"Who...who is that really? Is that Sarah?" Susan asked fearfully.

"No," Tom replied. "I'm afraid Sarah Jensen isn't in this world anymore. Lets just say this is a friend of mine who needed to make a clean start. As for how he became Keith, I think you know the process. Oh, you may not be aware of something, we were able to add something special to the transformation"

"What was that?" Susan asked half-consciously, unable to take her eyes off her long lost son.

"Sarah told you about project Phoenix but not all the details. Well, it seems that before the doctor injected the serum into Keith, the original Keith that is; she pulled out some of his brain tissue first. Sarah never told you about this, I think she wanted to surprise you one day by giving you back someone who not only looked like your son, but also had his memories. Unfortunately, her untimely death ended any chance of that happening but not all of his memories were lost. In fact, everything that happened to him from the last couple days up to that first injection are still very clear in his mind."

"Why Mom -- WHY? How could you change me into her?" Keith demanded to know. "I was your only son. How COULD YOU?"

"Keith..." Susan turned to Cynthia and then back to Keith, unsure of whom to direct her response too.

"Answer the question Mother!" Cynthia added firmly. "I want to know what I did that caused you to do this to me.

"YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER KEITH!" Susan shouted out. "I had to do it. I had to get her back. She was my only daughter. Then there was the money. You caused all this. It was the least you could do to set everything right again. You killed Cynthia."

"No mother, I didn't kill her," Cynthia said.

"It was an accident, that was all," Keith added "I'm very sorry it happened but I didn't plan on it happening. That's the difference between killing someone and an accident."

"What you did to me was MURDER," Cynthia continued. "You used me, your only son, to replace her."

"Not for her good, but for yours," Keith finished. He moved a little bit closer to Susan. "You are the MURDERER Mother, not ME! I GRIEVED for Cynthia. I GRIEVE for her NOW!"

"Did you grieve for ME mother?" Cynthia asked. "Even once?"

"Of course I did Cynth...Keith." She kept turning back and forth between her two children while talking. "But it had to be done. We were going to lose all that money and seeing...Cynthia dead, my only daughter...I had to do it. There was no other choice Keith. I'm sorry but now that you're back," Susan looked directly at the new Keith, "things can get back to normal."

Her son walked over and stood next to Cynthia. "Tell me mother, did Dr. Jensen ever tell you about project 'Peace' and how it worked?"

"Not how it worked," answered Susan suspiciously. She didn't like the way the question had been asked.

"Let me explain then," Cynthia replied happily. "You see, unlike the serum which the doctor had to inject into the back of my brain, this formula can be taken by mouth. In fact, you can place it on a sandwich or in a drink to hide the aftertaste. Keith, why don't you show mother how it works."

Keith put his hand on Cynthia's shoulder. "No, I think after all this time you earned the right sister." Cynthia smiled back at her brother.

"Why thank you Keith. That was very thoughtful of you, don't you agree mother?"

Susan gave them a sick smile. What were they up too?

"Heartsmart, 1239856!" Cynthia said.

Susan felt as if a weight had been placed directly on her chest. Immediately she started having trouble breathing and fell to the floor. Keith stood there glaring at her while Cynthia continued to sit in the chair with a calm smile on her face as if nothing was wrong. Tom and Jennifer just sat there in silence and watched -- it was out of their hands now. Susan reached out to her children as if to say something but the pain wouldn't allow it.

"Goodbye MOTHER," Keith told her in an angry voice.

"Goodbye mother," Cynthia added sweetly. "Say 'Hello' to Dr. Jensen when you get to HELL!"

Susan's heart gave out and she lay on the floor dead. Tom looked at her body in bitterness. He had hoped this matter could have been handled another way but both her children insisted they wanted her dead as punishment for what she had done to them. It didn't make him feel any less dirty knowing it had been their decision and not his.

Cynthia looked up at Keith and smiled. "It's over."

He smiled back at his sister and replied, "Yes...it is."

***

They were a block away from the house when Trisha saw the lights from the ambulance and realized that she was too late.

"Stop the car driver and wait here. I'll be right back." Quickly the she made her way down the street to where a small crowd had developed. She arrived just in time to see a body being carried from the house. An older lady followed the paramedics out and walked over to a woman who was close to where Trisha was standing.

"The poor dear. It looks like she had a heart attack. I guess seeing her missing son was too much excitement for her heart to take."

`Missing son,' Trisha thought? `But Mrs. Bennett's son was actually her daughter, Cynthia. At least that was what she had been told. Who could this other person be?'

A young man appeared on the front steps and motioned the lady back over.

"There he is now. I'll be right back." Trisha took a few pictures of the young man standing there using a hidden camera inside her purse. Then she quickly headed back to the cab. She had to report this to Dennis Butz right away. It was a good thing she had packed a change of clothes just in case.

Chapter 18 -- Choices

"Hi TJ. This is Tom. I have another job for you."

"Sure Tom, what do you need me to do?" the Florida detective asked.

"I want you to contact Jennifer's parents. I need you to convince them to get on a plane and fly out to Seattle to meet with me."

"That's a pretty tall order Tom," said TJ. "Can you tell me how I'm supposed to convince them to fly across the entire continent to meet with someone they've never met before?"

"Tell them it has to do with their daughter, Jennifer. And tell them it's a free trip in first class with $1,000 spending cash, which I'm going to send via Western Union along with an extra $500. I'm paying you this time buddy."

"Okay, thanks Tom. I'll get started on this right away. When do you want them to fly out?"

"Let's make it four days from now. That would be the 9th. I'll going to be tied up in San Diego for a few days attending a funeral."

"I'm sorry to hear that Tom," TJ said in a sympathetic voice.

"Thanks TJ but it's okay. I wasn't very fond of this person anyway."

***

Susan Bennett's funeral was well attended by neighbors and friends from the country club she attended. Afterwards Cynthia grabbed Tom's arm and asked if he would walk with her for a bit. They went outside the reception room and were greeted by yet another sunny California day.

"What's on your mind Keith?" Tom asked.

"That's the problem Tom, I don't know what's on my mind. Where do I go from here?"

"I guess anywhere you want," Tom answered truthfully. "In a few months you'll be a very wealthy person (he avoided using the term 'lady') and you can do anything you wish."

"That's not what I mean Tom," Cynthia said in a confused tone. "I mean, first of all there is Keith. Do you know how weird it is seeing yourself standing there in front of you and treating him like he was you -- while at the same time knowing you're the real Keith? It's crazy! I'm Keith Bennett; I just don't look or talk like myself anymore. And the other Keith, well, he looks and talks like me but doesn't have any of my memories, at least not very many of them."

"Only about 5% from what Dr. Jensen told me," Tom replied, "and most of those memories would only be a few months old.

Cynthia stopped walking and looked directly into Tom's eyes. "The problem is Tom, I don't know who I am or how I should act anymore. I don't know what to do. Should I try to live as Keith...or as Cynthia? Do you know what the answer is?"

Tom gave her a warm smile. "When I talked to the doctor and she told me the process was irreversible, I knew there were two people I had to rescue; Jennifer and you. Since I couldn't change you back to the way you were before, I tried to do the next best thing. To give you a chance to live your previous male life through someone else."

"So that's why you brought Keith back?"

"Yes. He doesn't have your old memories but everything else is the old you. By giving him your input you can turn him into the way you wanted to be. In a nutshell, you can live your life as Keith through him much like your mother was trying to do to you. I know it's not as good as the real thing but it might make your life more bearable."

"And what about the person inside Keith now?" Cynthia asked.

"He is of course aware of everything that's going on, but as long as you have control over him he can't do anything about it anymore than you could when your mother was controlling you. I don't think it will be as painful for him as it was on you or Jennifer. I mean, he's still a male and we gave him another 40+
years to live in a comfortable environment. He deserves a lot worse but that can't be helped."

"And Cynthia?"

"I know you still feel guilty about her death Keith. From what the other Keith told me, it was total accident. Okay, maybe bad judgment on your part but not murder. However, you have a chance to make up for that bad decision by living her life. I don't mean doing everything as she would do. I mean living your life in a way that respects her and at the same time, is your own path. The only other option you have is surgery to make you a male again but to be honest, I don't think you'd be very happy with the results."

Cynthia turned and stared out at ducks in the pond. "Thank you Tom. I think I know what to do now." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and they started walking back to the house.

"There is something I want to give you. Call it your payment for freeing me from my mother." She placed a key into his hand.

"What's this?" Tom asked curiously.

"It's the key to Sarah Jensen's house. You see, after her death she willed everything she owned to my mother and me. Now that my mother is gone it's all mine. I don't need the money, I have plenty right now and in a few months I'll have even more. So I'm giving everything, her entire estate, to you. It's going to take at least a year to get everything settled and that'll mean a few trips to Salt Lake City but I'm told its worth a few million. I want you and Jennifer to have it. Heck, I don't think I could stand going back in that cursed house again."

"Thank you...Keith or is it Cynthia?"

"Cynthia. That's who I'm going to be from now on."

"Thank you Cynthia." They went back inside the house to be with the other guests.

***

Sox Anderson sat on the couch drinking a beer and watching an afternoon baseball game on TV. He didn't know who was playing and he didn't really care. Nothing in life mattered to him anymore. His wife, and it was a term he used only for convenience, was in the kitchen washing dishes or doing some other useless chore to pass the time. They didn't talk much these days. Once he had loved his wife so much that it hurt to be away from her for more than a day but Jennifer's death had changed all that. Now they were both wrapped up in their grief; both angry about losing the last of their three, beautiful children, and they had no one to take the anger and sorrow out on except each other.

His drinking hadn't helped. Sox was an alcoholic who, with the help of a local AA group, had worked his way out of the gutter years ago. Now he was drinking himself right back there and he just didn't care. For the briefest of moments it helped him forget the pain he felt every day. There was a knock at the door. Sox grumbled to himself about having to get up and answered it. It had to be a stranger, most likely a salesman. None of their former friends visited them anymore. At the door was a tall, good looking man who was nicely dressed.

"What do you want?" Sox inquired rudely.

"Mr. Anderson? My name is Theodore Jones. I'm a private investigator and I've been hired to contact you."

"What for?" Sox asked. TJ noticed the man seemed to be a little impaired and it was still early.

"It's about your daughter, Jennifer, Mr. Anderson."

"My daughter's DEAD Mr. Jones," Sox told him bitterly. "She was killed in a car crash last year."

"I know that Mr. Anderson, I'm not here about the accident. This concerns another matter. Can I come in please? I think your wife should hear what I have to say. It concerns her as well."

Sox made a motion for TJ to come in, almost spilling his beer in the process. The living room was a mess. There were beer cans and dirty plates scattered over the place. Mrs. Anderson walked into the room to see who her husband had let in. TJ observed her swollen eyes, unkempt hair, and the sorrowful expression on her face, all signs of the deep grief she was suffering.

"Sit down," Sox said as he plopped clumsily on the couch and reached into the cooler to open up a fresh beer. "You want one?"

"No thanks, it's still too early for me. The reason why I'm here Mr. and Mrs. Anderson is that I've been asked to invite you out to Seattle to meet with my client."

"Who's that?" Sox asked.

"His name is Tom McClain. He would like to meet with you both tomorrow afternoon."

"Why?"

"I don't know Mr. Anderson," TJ answered truthfully. "He didn't tell me what it was about other than it had something to do with your daughter, Jennifer. He did want me to tell you that if you go, you wouldn't regret it. I have two first class plane tickets in my pocket with your names on them. There'll be a Limo waiting to pick you up at the airport and drive you to where you need to go. And," TJ pulled out a wad of money from his pocket, "$1,000 in spending cash. Think of this as a free vacation Mr. and Mrs. Anderson."

Mrs. Anderson didn't say anything. She just stared at the ground in silence, wrapped up in her grief. Mr. Anderson looked over at his wife and then back at TJ. "Are the drinks included on this flight?"

"Yes sir," replied TJ. "But I would recommend you don't overdo it. You're going to need a clear mind when you get there."

"How do we get to the airport?" Sox asked.

"I'll pick you up in the morning and drive you there myself. My car isn't as nice as a Limo but you'll find it rides nice. Once you get checked in I'll give you the tickets and money and then you'll be on your way. Any questions?" Mr. Anderson shook his head while Mrs. Anderson continued to stare dejectedly down at the floor.

"Good. Then I'll inform my client you are coming and will pick you up tomorrow at 11am. See you then." TJ let himself out and walked back to the car.

`I wonder why Tom wants to meet with these people so badly,' TJ asked himself as he got into his car and drove off.

Chapter 19 -- Tearful reunions

The flight to Seattle had taken almost 6 hours. No sooner had the Anderson's disembarked from the plane than they spotted a uniformed man holding up a sign with their names on it. Mr. Anderson identified themselves to the driver who led them to the limo. As the driver went back inside to collect their bags, Sox rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"I've heard they keep these things well stocked. Let's see what we have here," he said eagerly to his wife. To his disappointment, instead of finding beer and other types of alcohol in the refrigerator, Sox found it loaded with fruit juice and pop.

"What the HELL IS THIS?" Sox asked furiously. He waited impatiently for the driver to come back and demanded to know where all the alcohol was.

"I'm sorry Mr. Anderson, but Mr. McClain ordered a nonalcoholic car for you. Please sit back and relax, we have a 45 minute drive ahead of us."

"Rotten BASTARD!" Sox said to his wife. "I dislike the man already and we haven't even met him."

His wife didn't say anything. She was staring out the window of the limo at a young woman who was trying her best to get three young children into a taxi.

"That was me 15 years ago," she whispered to herself. Mrs. Anderson couldn't understand why God had punished her this way? Why had he taken all of her good children away from her? What had she done do deserve this? Hadn't she been a good Catholic mother to them? Hadn't she raised her kids the best she could by his words? So why then had God decided to punish her so?

Ever since Jennifer's death, Mrs. Anderson had asked herself these questions over and over again. After almost a year it had taken its toll on her. While her husband fell into his own deep depression and started drinking heavily again; she wrapped herself up in a blanket of guilt and grief. The love they once had between them disappeared as suddenly as Jennifer's life had slipped away that horrible night. She didn't hate her husband; she just didn't have any love left in her to give. Every part of her body was filled with a wall of grief and anger so high that it touched heaven. Only God could tear down that wall and he wasn't listening to her.

The drive was quiet and uneventful. Sox grumbled a little more about the lack of alcohol but for the most part the Anderson's didn't speak. The reality was, they didn't know what to say to each other. When the driver pulled up into an apartment complex, Sox was surprised at what he saw. He was expecting to be driven to a big, fancy house away from everything, not some middle-class apartment building.

"Why did you stop driver?" Sox asked.

"We're here," the driver told him as he got out of the car to retrieve their bags.

"You have to be kidding, check the address again. This Mr. McClain hired a PI to find us, flew us out first class, and had you pick us up in a limo. All this took more money than we both make in a month. Does this look like a place where someone with that much money would live?"

The driver just smiled back. "I'm sorry Mr. Anderson, but they just pay me to drive the car. I don't get to pick the destination. If you will follow me please."

He put their bags on the cart and led them to the apartment number as he had been instructed. A few people stared out at the Anderson's, wondering why someone who drove around in a limo would be stopping there. Tom was already outside waiting for them when they showed up at his door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, I'm very pleased to meet you." Tom reached out and shook their hands. "Just leave the bags here driver, I'll take them in myself." The driver did as he was told and left.

"What's the meaning of this Mr. McClain?" Sox asked in an angry tone. "We've never met and I'm sure you didn't know my daughter. So why did you drag us all the way out here?"

"If you come inside I'll explain everything Mr. Anderson. Please." Tom gave them a smile and motioned them inside. Mr. Anderson walked in followed by his wife who didn't make eye contact. He was unimpressed with what he saw. The apartment didn't have a lot of fine things. In fact, Sox didn't see anything to suggest this man had wealth of any kind.

"Okay Mr. McClain, we're here. Now what is it you want to talk to us about?"

"It's a little complicated Mr. Anderson," Tom started out. It was then that Mrs. Anderson saw a young woman standing in the kitchen doorway staring at them. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"JENNIFER?" she cried out. "Is it you?"

"Mrs. Anderson..." Jennifer's lip started shimmering and tears formed in her eyes. "Mom...mommy?"

"Oh my God Jennifer." Mrs. Anderson flung her arms around the young woman and hugged her tightly.

"Oh Jennifer," she said sobbing, "they told me you had been killed. Oh GOD...I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH."

Tom became a choked up watching the reunion. Mr. Anderson's reaction was a little different. He grabbed Tom by the arm and pulled him close.

"Oh right McClain, what the HELL is going on here?"

"I suggest we sit down Mr. Anderson. This is going to take a while."

***

Tom spent 20 minutes explaining to Mr. Anderson about everything that had happened. When he finished he looked over at Jennifer and Mrs. Anderson sitting in the kitchen talking, laughing and hugging. Tracy was in there also, showing off a picture she had drawn (at Jennifer's request) for her new grandmother. Mr. Anderson just sat there dumbfounded.

"So, that isn't really Jennifer," he stated, his voice reflecting the disappointment that he really felt. "The person sitting in the next room is just a cheap copy of the original."

"She's as real as you want her to be Mr. Anderson. It depends on how much you let her into your life."

"My daughter is lying in a grave in Florida Mr. McClain. This...this person isn't her and never will be. My." his voice cracked a little with emotion, "my little girl is dead."

"Is that why you started drinking again Mr. Anderson? To hide from the pain by using the bottle as a shield?" Tom saw his words hit their mark.

"What the hell do you know about PAIN McClain? Have you ever lost a child before? I HAVE! THREE of them!" Sox pounded his fist into his other hand. "Do you have ANY idea what that pain feels like?"

Tom nodded and spoke. "When I was four my parents, older brother and my Uncle Mike went to a movie while I was left at home with a baby-sitter. I begged them to let me go but my mother told me I was too young and it would be well past my bedtime before they got back. Sometime after I fell asleep, I was awakened by a social woman who was picking me up out of my bed. They took me to a house I had never been to before and a few days later I wound up at St. Mary's orphanage. I kept asking the nuns where my mother and father were but they wouldn't tell me. Finally, one nun told me my parents, brother, and Uncle Mike were in heaven with Jesus. Years later I found out they had been killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. He survived to face trial but everyone important in my life was gone."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Sox said soberly.

"Please, there is more. A few weeks later Al was brought in. He was only two and a half at the time and a drunk driver had also killed his parents. Despite our age difference, he became a replacement for my lost family. When he disappeared, it was like losing my family all over again except this time I was old enough to understand what was going on. When I found Al, I was so thrilled it didn't matter to me that he was no longer a man. We may not be related by blood Mr. Anderson, but I love Al Parker as if he were my own brother. I would give up my life to save his, just like you would have given up your life to save your children. He means that much to me."

"Okay, I understand what you are trying to say but this is different. The person in there doesn't have any of Jennifer's memories. Nothing about the trips we use to take together, or her first prom date, or the dollhouse I made for her fifth birthday. It's all a blank"

"Yes Mr. Anderson, you're right. She doesn't have any of those good memories...or the bad ones either. She doesn't remember the pain of losing a brother and sister. She doesn't remember the times you would come home drunk yelling at your wife. She doesn't remember the last moments of her short life or the pain it caused the both of you. Jennifer has been born again, just as you remember her before the accident, but without any of her memories -- good or bad. You have a chance to build some good memories with her Mr. Anderson, starting today."

"DAMN IT, it's not enough for her to look and act like Jennifer. Can't you understand that?"

Tom took a deep breath and played his trump card. "Mr. Anderson, if your daughter had survived the accident but it had left her without any of her memories would you turn your back on her?"

"Of course not," Sox answered angrily. "She would still be my daughter."

"Why?" Tom asked point-blank.

"Because, she would still be my flesh and blood."

"Exactly my point. The person in there is your flesh and blood, right down to the DNA. The trouble you're having is that Jennifer; the original one that is, was killed. But that's the only difference between the two, other than the lack of memories. The person in that kitchen is Jennifer Lynnette Anderson, your flesh and blood...your daughter. Let me ask you this. How many times did you ask God to bring her back after her death?"

"More than I can remember but not half as much as my wife," Sox replied sadly.

"Mr. Anderson, your prayers have just been answered. Your daughter IS back. Not many people get a second chance like that."

Sox looked like a defeated man. "When the police came to the house and told me she was...dead, I didn't believe them. It was only after identifying her body that I knew they were telling me the truth. I felt so...so much pain. I mean...how much can one man 'take'. Losing one child is hard, two is like living in a nightmare but three." He closed his eyes for moment to fight back the tears.

"Jennifer was our youngest child and my favorite. She was always so pleasant and nice to everyone. She was one of those people who you wanted to be around all the time, you know what I mean? She brought so much love and joy into our life. Then she was gone and my...no, our joy, my wife Norma and I, was gone. I didn't see much point in going on so I started drinking. It took the pain away, at least for a little while. But it always came back when I sobered up."

Mr. Anderson struggled to find his next words. "Now you show me someone who looks like her, with a new granddaughter no less, and tell me it's my daughter back from the grave. The news is a little hard to swallow."

"I know it is Mr. Anderson but you have two choices as I see it. One of them is to stop drinking, get back on the wagon, and start picking up the love and joy you lost when Jennifer died. Learn how to start living again."

"And the other?" Sox asked.

"Go back home and do what you were doing before we met. Continue to drink yourself into an early grave and toss almost 25 years of a strong, happy marriage out the window. Be alone with nothing inside you except for the pain of an empty life snapping at your heels until you do physically die. Emotionally you already have died, both you and your wife. Mr. Anderson, I'm offering you life, please take it. PLEASE!"

Sox stared at his wife and their re-born daughter. It was the first time since the accident he had seen his wife happy. No, Mr. McClain was right, living. His wife was alive again.

"I need to meet her," he told Tom. The two men got up and walked into the kitchen where Jennifer was sitting. Sox stared at her for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to do next. Then he opened up his arms. Jennifer stood and fell into them.

"I've missed you baby," he whispered as tears formed in his eyes. He felt the love and joy of being around her returning. "God how I missed you. Please don't leave me again."

"I won't daddy," Jennifer said with tears in her eyes. "I want to stay with you from now on." Mrs. Anderson stood up and put her arms around the two of them. Her eyes were also filled with tears of love and joy. Tom turned to Tracy who was standing there looking a little bewildered.

"From every tragedy there is always good that comes out of it Gerald. You may want to remember that." The little girl smiled but Tom was sure that wasn't the reaction she really wanted to give him.

***

That night Tom took Mr. Anderson to his first AA in meeting in years. It did him a lot of good. Afterwards Sox left with a renewed interest in life and the strength to stop drinking, at least until his next meeting.

Later on Sox had a private conversation with his wife and told her everything he and Tom had talked about concerning Jennifer. It made no difference to her. While Mrs. Anderson knew this person was missing her daughter's memories, she still had all her traits and mannerisms. As far as Mrs. Anderson was concerned, this was her daughter Jennifer given back to them.

Chapter 20 - Jennifer Lynnette Anderson

The next morning the five of them drove to the airport and boarded a plane for Salt Lake City. It was, what Tom figured to be, the last step on Jennifer's road to a complete recovery. While Tracy and her new grandmother played a travel game they had picked up at the airport, Jennifer stared outside the plane window thinking about what was to come. The anticipation inside her grew.

Far below she picked out an eastbound freight traveling on the same railroad tracks she had used to get to Salt Lake City. How long ago that trip seemed. Now she was heading back again only this time she wasn't alone; this time she going back with people who cared about her.

When they arrived, Tom rented a van and drove everyone out to the house. It looked the same to Jennifer as when she had last left it weeks earlier. Tom parked the van in front of the house and everyone got out to go inside. But as Jennifer moved closer to the front door she began to panic.

`What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. `I'm safe now. They can't hurt me anymore.' But she didn't feel safe. All the fear and hopelessness she had felt while being trapped inside this luxurious prison started to come back to her. She stopped a few steps from the door in a semi-frozen panic.

"Are you okay Jennifer?" Tom asked in a concerned voice.

She gave her friend a weary smile and nodded. She was far from being okay but this had to be done. If she didn't face this fear now she would never be free of it. With all her strength she forced herself to walk through the front door.

They spent a few minutes looking at some of the items in the living room before heading back to Sarah Jensen's lab. The room was completely empty now. Even the desk the doctor had worked at was gone. Tom guessed her bosses had hired someone to move everything out of the house that belonged to them after she died. He wasn't too concerned about what they might find; he had ordered Dr. Jensen to destroy all information on Jennifer and Al Parker before they had left.

Jennifer noticed a few other things missing, a lamp, some jewelry and a few other odds and ends but most of the personal stuff had been left behind. It seemed so odd to think that all this stuff belonged to her and Tom now.

"Look at all these fine things," Sox said while admiring a wooden mantle clock above the fireplace. "What do you plan to do with it all?"

"Sell most of it I guess," Tom replied. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jennifer leave and walk back to her old room. Mrs. Anderson also saw her go. The two-made eye contact and Tom read her mind. She saw the pain starting to surface inside her new daughter. She gave him a wink to tell him everything was all right, that she would take care of it.

`Mrs. Anderson, you are one amazing lady,' Tom told himself.

***

Jennifer stared at the surroundings of her old bedroom. There was her bed, the place where she had not only lost her female virginity, but her human dignity as well.

She opened up the closet and started going through the clothes she had been forced to wear. Some she would keep but most would be thrown away when she found the strength to do so. On the vanity table was her jewelry and makeup, lying there in a neat, organized order. A strange feeling came over her as if they were calling out to her to try them on.

Suddenly Jennifer felt a deep sense of dread as reality hit her hard. She may be free to walk out of this house anytime she wanted too but she would never be free of this female imprisonment. It was a LIFE-SENTENCE!

The thought was too painful for Jennifer to bear. Quickly she turned and left the room to escape how she was feeling. But in her mind she kept hearing the words, "life sentence" repeated over and over again.

The others were in the kitchen fixing lunch when she walked back into the living room, all except for Tracy that is. She was sitting on the floor playing with a game her grandmother had given her. She looked up at Jennifer and a small smile appeared on her face.

"You bastard!" Jennifer hissed at the little girl. "You did this to me. You and that crazy bitch you used to work for. I hate you. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? I HATE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME."

Tracy just continued to sit there and smiled as if she was totally unaware that Jennifer's anger was directed at her. The fact was Tracy couldn't have reacted any other way. But Jennifer was too angry to remember that Gerald was now going through the same hell she was. She felt Tracy was laughing at her; that her smile was genuine and she was expressing her joy over what they had done to her. Jennifer's hand tightened into a fist. She was going to teach this asshole a lesson, Al Parker style.

"Jennifer, are you okay?" The voice startled her back into reality. Mrs. Anderson was standing in the kitchen doorway watching her moments very carefully. Tom and Sox peered out from behind her to see what was going on.

Jennifer just stared at them in silence. They didn't understand; they couldn't understand. They had no idea how it felt to have your gender switched against your will; what it was like to be forced into someone else's body and life. Jennifer thought she was passed all this but now it was crystal clear she wasn't. She didn't accept her situation anymore now than the first day Dr. Jensen had changed her. She was still trapped and miserable. The ex-maid tried to say something but couldn't find the words.

`What good would it do, they wouldn't understand anyway!' She looked back at Tracy who was playing with her game again. `I have to get out of here before I really do lose it.'

But there was still one more place she needed to visit before she could leave. That was where Al Parker, had died. Without saying a word, Jennifer turned and headed to the garage. Mrs. Anderson recognized the troubled look on her face. Fortunately she knew how to deal with problems like this from raising three kids of her own.

"You men folk stay here and take care of Tracy. I'm going to have a little talk with Jennifer."

Tom smiled and nodded his head while Sox looked at his wife in puzzlement. Mrs. Anderson smiled back. She knew Tom would explain it to him.

***

The area where the car should have been parked was clean. There wasn't even a grease spot on the cold, concrete floor to mark where the car had been. Jennifer bent down and touched the area. A wave of sadness and regret came over her.

`If only I could go back in time and change all this,' she said to herself. `I could be Al Parker again. I could marry Sally and have kids and...and be a man once more.'

Jennifer felt a good cry coming on again. Damn it, how she hated the way these female hormones made her react during these times. Al Parker never cried but she did now at the drop of a hat. Worse, she usually felt better about it afterwards. Even now, when she had control over her own emotions, she still didn't act the way she used to when she was Al Parker.

"Who am I now?" Jennifer whispered to herself. "What am I? What am I going to do with my life?" How she wished she knew the answers to these questions.

"This is where it all happened, isn't it?" someone asked her. "This is where they changed you."

"Yes!" Jennifer answered bitterly as she turned to face Mrs. Anderson. "This is where I died. This is the place were I became...became trapped in this new body. This is were my life ended."

"Jennifer." Mrs. Anderson hesitated for a moment. "Al...Please sit down next to me. I know you may not be feeling up to it but I need to speak with you for a moment." Jennifer did as she was told while trying to fight off the wave of depression coming over her.

"I know you see this as a horrible place Al," Mrs. Anderson began, "and you have a right to feel that way. I can't begin to imagine how you must have felt when this happened or how you feel now. I'm so sorry all this happened to you." She put her arm around her daughter to comfort her.

"I know this sounds selfish Al, but when I look at this place I don't see sadness; I see great joy instead. You see, to me this place isn't where Al Parker died, it's where Jennifer was re-born back to me."

"Mrs. Anderson...I'm not...I'm not really Jennifer," she sniff. "All my memories are of Al Parker, not Jennifer's. I just...I just had to call you, to contact you. It was part of the learning response I received from your daughter's DNA and it was driving me nuts. I was climbing the walls not doing something what I felt I should be doing."

"I know Al, I know," Mrs. Anderson said in an understanding voice. "But will you listen to an old woman for a moment please. When Jennifer...died, it was like the entire world collapsed on top of my husband and I. All of our dreams of seeing Jennifer getting married and having a son-in-law to share time with and having grandchildren we could spoil; they all vanished when she was killed. It was hard on both of us when our son Steve died followed later on by our other daughter, Linda, but at least we had Jennifer to hold on to. When she died...so did we." Mrs. Anderson took a deep breath and Jennifer could see how painful this was for her.

"It's hard to lose a parent," Mrs. Anderson continued. "My mother and father have been dead for over 10 years now. It still hurts knowing they are gone. But losing a child, someone that grew inside you, someone you raised and took care all those years...that's so different. Your parents are a link to the past but your children...they are your future. Seeing them die is like seeing your future die as well."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Anderson. I'm sure it must have been very painful dealing with their deaths."

"It has been Al. It's been so very hard. You see, after Jennifer's death Sox started drinking because he couldn't face the future without her. As for me, I gave up on life. I didn't see any point in doing stuff like taking care of the house, visiting friends...or trying to be a woman. I kept asking God why this had happened; what had I done wrong to deserve this?" A small smile appeared on Mrs. Anderson's face.

"But when I saw you and learned how you came to be...I realized that God wasn't punishing me at all. Jennifer died at the hands of a drunk driver, not by God. You see...I thought it was something I did and it had nothing to do with my actions at all. I know God didn't take her away from me. But I do believe he gave her back to me through you. Let me explain why.

"Tom had a nice long talk with the doctor while you were with Gerald. He found out that Dr. Jensen had over 3,000 female samples in Jennifer's age group alone to pick from. She could have used any one of them but out of all the samples she picked my daughters DNA. Fate? No, I don't believe it was. I think God did it for a reason. I think he knew we needed Jennifer back, even if it was only her outward appearance and not her memories."

"I'm not...I'm not so sure Mrs. Anderson. I prayed for God to let me break free when I was being...being." Jennifer couldn't say the word "rape" in front of her.

"I know Al, I know. I didn't want any of my children to die either. But bad things do happen, even to good people. Now, can I ask you a personal question?" Jennifer nodded. "Did you ever ask God to give you new parents after your father and mother were killed?"

Jennifer lowered her head. "All the time. I don't remember my real parents; I was too young when the accident happened. After the social worker brought me to Saint Mary's I had a hard time adjusting without them. I felt so lost and abandoned."

Jennifer looked up at Mrs. Anderson and smiled slightly. "I remember there was this older kid who was picking on me one day. I was sitting there crying and telling him to leave me alone but he wouldn't. That's when Tom showed up. He walked over and pushed the older kid away. He protected and kept an eye on me after that. From that moment on he became the older brother I never had and the family that never adopted me.

"Tom was there for me even after he left St. Mary's. I still remember the thrill I got looking up in the stands during the football games and seeing him sitting there. He could have been doing ten thousand other things on a Friday night but instead he was there, watching me play and cheering me on. I use to ask God every night to find a family that would adopt both Tom and I. A family that would love us and let us to grow up together. But he never answered my prayer."

"You're wrong Al!" Mrs. Anderson responded firmly. "He did give you a family...if you still want one. Sox and I, we want to be your parents Al. We want to be a part of your life and take care of you and watch over you. We want to be there when you get married and have kids and share in your joy and happiness. We want to be a part of your life and Tom's. I'm sorry we're a little late," she added with a tearful smile. "But I think you need us just much as we need you."

Jennifer turned and looked into Mrs. Anderson's eyes. They were filled with love and kindness. The one thing Al had prayed for all his life was coming true. Parent's who would love him and Tom as their very own.

`No, that isn't right,' Jennifer said to herself. `She really was "their" child. Al Parker didn't exist anymore. She really was Jennifer Lynnette Anderson.' How easy it was for her to say that name now.

The two ladies hugged each other as the tears started flowing from their eyes. Each tear released the demons that both women had struggled with for so long. Jennifer and the Anderson's had come full circle.

Epilog -- One year later...

Tom sat back in his chair by the pool reading the newspaper and soaking up the warm, afternoon sun. His stocks were doing well for a third month in a row. If this kept up his investment would double by the end of the year.

He put down the paper and watched Mr. Anderson building a playhouse for Tracy near the corner of the yard. She was buzzing around him in excitement (obviously under the suggestion of Jennifer) asking him to explain every detail of what he was doing. Tom was surprised Sox was able to get anything done under these conditions. However, he could see his father-in-law was enjoying her company. He just smiled and answered all of her pointless questions while continuing to work. Sox even took the time to let Sally hammer in a few nails. Jennifer came out of the house and handed Tom a glass of Lemonade.

"Tracy looks so happy, doesn't she?" she whispered.

"Thanks honey!" Tom took the drink from her. "I think they both look happy. I haven't seen Sox smile this much since our wedding. He really enjoys being around small kids. Speaking of which, I should be doing this for you."

"Oh, don't worry. You'll get your chance in my next trimester," Jennifer said holding onto her slightly fattened stomach.

They hadn't even been married six months yet and already Jennifer was pregnant with their first child. It hadn't taken long for Tom to realize he was in love with Jennifer and she in love with him. At first the situation was awkward but there was no stopping the attraction, both physical and emotional, between them. Soon they were past that awkwardness stage and love bloomed between them.

After deciding to get married they discussed going to Las Vegas for a quick and simple ceremony. But when the Anderson's found out about their plan they had other ideas. They insisted their daughter was going to have a traditional Catholic marriage in a real church. So when the day came, Jennifer was marched down the isle by her father wearing the same wedding gown her mother had worn 25 years before.

Most of the people they invited were those who knew Tom (it was too risky to invite anyone else). Cynthia was there as Jennifer's maid of honor and Kevin stood in as Tom's best man. Even though Jennifer really didn't want to go through all the fuss, she and her mom had a ball getting everything ready. By the time her wedding day rolled around they had grown very close to each other. And getting married on the Anderson's 25th wedding anniversary made the day that much more special to the four of them. Jennifer didn't think anything could top that experience until she learned she was pregnant.

Prior to their marriage, Tom had purchased some land and contracted to have a couple of houses built on it -- one for them and the other for their new parents. The Anderson's sold their home in Florida along with most of their old furniture and furnished their new place with stuff they had received from Sarah Jensen's old house. Tom had been able to sell the house much quicker than he expected for a nice amount.

Mr. Anderson continued to attend AA meetings and had been on the wagon for over a year now. Mrs. Anderson in the meantime was enjoying her new role as a grandmother for Tracy and old role as a mother; spending time teaching Jennifer the things she needed to know. She also joined a woman's group at church and had made several close friends. This kept her busy most of the day. Both Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were enjoying a new lease on life.

"Where's Mom?" Tom asked.

"Fixing cookies. I was going to have Tracy help her out but I think dad's having too much fun with her right now so I'll do it. See you later babe." She gave Tom a quick wink and walked away.

Tom lay back in his chair and smiled at his good fortune. It was strange how all this came about from such tragic beginnings. But in the end everything had all worked out. Dr. Jensen and Gerald had received their just deserts for what they did to his friend, Al Parker. Cynthia Bennett was now free and no longer a prisoner of her mother. She still had some issues to work out as Cynthia but she was strong and Tom knew everything would work out okay for her. Klein Walker, now Keith Bennett, was gone and no longer a menace to society. And as for Jennifer and himself -- they now had what they had always wanted; someone they could call mom and dad. Real parents.

`But it was the Anderson's who were the biggest winners out of all of us,' Tom thought. 'Through these strange chain of events their lives had been given back to them. How could anything top that?'

He smiled and then went back to reading his paper.

***

"She's definitely pregnant," the agent told her. He handed the thick file over to her. "From the doctor's report everything looks fine."

"Thanks, I'll let you know if I need anything else." The man nodded and walked out of the office leaving the woman alone. He wondered why she was so interested in this young lady.

The woman glanced at the file briefly. She didn't remember much about her past life, only the last few days of it. She put the file in the drawer for safekeeping. Now wasn't the time to think about it, there were more important jobs she had to work on right now. Sarah Jensen turned to her computer and started typing in some more notes.

END