Pink Ops is a story set in Zoe Taylor's Robinverse, starring Cassandra, a former U.S. Special Forces sergeant that was introduced in Zoe's Boy's Don't Cry. This story can also be found on the official Robinverse site.
Chapter 1
“How'd it go, Sarge?” asked Corporal Jessica Montague as Sergeant First Class Timothy Miller entered the armory.
“Ah you know me. Expert again,” he replied locking up his trusty M-4 for the last time.
“Figures,” she replied. “Captain Clark wants to see you.”
Sgt. Miller knocked on his CO's door. “Come in,” came the reply.
“You wanted to see me sir?”
“Ah, Sergeant Miller. I have your discharge orders. Your terminal leave begins today.” Captain Clark stood and shook his hand.
“It's been an honor serving with you sir.” replied Sgt. Miller as he turned to leave. He stopped by the corporal's desk on his way out. “I'm freeeeeeee!” he practically shouted at her.
“And what will you do next?” she asked in her best gameshow announcer voice.
“I'm going to Disney World!” he shouted as if he'd just won a million dollars. He made sure no one was looking and hugged her. “I'm gonna miss you Jess.”
“Aww, I'm gonna miss you too. You sure you won't reenlist?”
“No way, 6 years was more than enough. Why? You gonna re up?”
“You're kidding right?” she replied. “You gonna be able to survive as a civilian?”
“Yeah, I've got some money saved up, plus I'm technically on leave for the next month.”
Sgt Miller hopped in his jeep and drove home. He made some calls to take care of his utilities, called the movers to come get his stuff, grabbed the duffel bag he packed a week earlier, hopped back in his jeep, and drove away wanting to put as much distance between himself and the base as he could. Timothy Miller had been a good soldier, but he had never been good at being a man. Being a green beret had taught him the skills he needed to blend in and hide his secret from the world, including his brothers in arms, for they don't take too kindly to anyone who's different, so he drove as fast has he could for Florida. Orlando to be specific. He had heard the people there were much more open minded than the people he knew, and thought he might be able to start the life he'd always wanted.
After half a day of driving he entered the state of Georgia. A place he wasn't a big fan of, but with 6 hours still ahead of him, he decided to stop for some food. He pulled off the interstate and into a truck stop. He entered the diner at the truck stop and his training immediately kicked in. When the hostess went to seat him, he requested the corner booth, and sat with his back to the wall taking note of all of the exits. He also took note of the people, mostly truckers just minding their own business, but one person stuck out like a sore thumb. There was a young girl, or was it a boy? Tim wasn’t sure, but she was maybe twelve or thirteen years old and sitting alone at the bar. The waitress came up and he ordered a cheeseburger and a coke. As he ate he watched the people come and go, but that girl was still at the bar. Just as he was getting up to leave a huge dirty man in jeans and a flannel shirt came busting through the door.
“There you are you little shit!” he yelled as he made his way towards the scared child at the bar. Tim made his way towards the commotion. The dirty man tried to grab the kid off the stool, but she managed to pull away from him. Tim got to him just in time to catch his arm mid swing as he attempted to hit the girl who was now crying on the floor.
“Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down,” Tim said thinking that the special forces patches on his uniform would be enough to deter the man from doing anything stupid. He was wrong.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” the man screamed at him as he took a swing with his free hand. Tim spun the man around and slammed him into the bar, pinning him down.
“Sir, I will only ask one more time, calm down,” replied Tim. The man nodded, and Tim let him stand. The man backed up a bit and pulled a gun. Tim by this time had had enough. He took the man's gun right out of his hand, dropped the mag, and removed the slide. The man lunged at him, and Tim caught him in the throat with his elbow before slamming him head first into the bar again. The man, somehow still conscious, decided it was in his best interest to run as fast as he could out of the diner.
He turned to the frightened child on the floor next to him and offered his hand to the girl. She backed away from him. “I'm not going to hurt you,” he said with a friendly smile. She looked at him for a minute and then jumped up and hugged him. “Whoa, take it easy there,” he said as he helped her back up to her stool. He flagged down a waitress. “Can we get her a sundae please?”
“Sure thing,” the waitress replied winking at him. A minute later she reappeared with a sundae and the girl just sat looking at it.
“You know, it tastes even better than it looks,” Tim said trying to entice the girl to eat the sundae. Finally the girl let out a sigh, and started taking small bites of the delicious treat in front of her, or was it him? Tim examined the child closer while he ate. It was a boy, but you could hardly tell from the pink hello kitty shirt and long blonde hair he had pulled up in a high pony tail. He even had feminine bangs. Looking down he could see the kid was wearing a pair of white Keds, and what appeared to be lace trimmed socks peeking out from under the hem of his jeans.
“You got a name kid?” he asked. The boy just nodded and kept eating his ice cream. “Look, I can help you kid, but you gotta talk to me.”
“Justin,” replied the boy quietly
“Justin?”
“Yes, but I don't wanna be Justin anymore,” he replied
“Well who do you want to be?” asked Tim.
“I want to be Katie”
“That's a pretty name. I'm Tim,” he replied holding out his hand. Katie took his hand and was surprised when he pulled it up and kissed it like in those old movies. That was the first time Tim had seen her smile since he had entered the diner.
“You want to know a secret Katie?” he asked. She nodded. “I don't want to be Tim anymore either,” he said quietly, “I've always liked the name Cassandra.” Katie's eyes went wide with surprise when she realized that the big, tough soldier just said he wanted to be a girl too.
“Who was that man? How does he know you?” asked Tim.
“He's my dad,” answered Katie as she began to sob.
“Hey, don't cry,” he replied as he hugged her. “I'm not gonna let him hurt you. Do you have any other family you can stay with? Someone that won't tell him where you are?”
“No, and I won't go back to that house. I could live with my grandmother, if it weren't for my dad.”
“Don't worry, I have a plan,” said Tim as he flagged down a waitress and paid his tab. He took Katie by the hand and led her out to his jeep. “You're gonna stay with me until I fix this.” He pulled the jeep out of the truck stop and went farther into town. He found a rundown roadside motel and pulled in.
“We can't stay here,” said a scared Katie from the passenger seat.
“Don't worry I've stayed in many worse places,” replied Tim. “Now try to stay out of site while I check in.”
Katie ducked down in her seat, and Tim went up to the check-in window and got a room. Once inside the room Tim started pulling things out of his duffel bag. He pulled out a pistol, a pair of night vision binoculars, a lock pick set, a pair of black pants, a black t-shirt, a black jacket, a pair of black gloves, and black combat boots. He quickly changed into the black outfit. When he came out of the bathroom he checked the pistol, it was loaded. He went over to his duffel again, and pulled out a Kevlar vest. He walked over to Katie and put the vest on her. He wasn't taking any chances.
“Katie I need to go out for a bit. You should be safe here, but if anybody other than me comes through that door point this at them and pull the trigger,” he said as he handed her the pistol. “I know it's scary, but you can do this.”
Katie looked scared but nodded yes. Tim handed her his smartphone and asked her to put her address into the gps. She handed it back to him. “Keep the lights off and the TV quiet while I'm gone,” he said as he walked out and locked the door. He stopped by his jeep and pulled another pistol out of the glove box. He stuck that one in a holster hidden in his jacket. Looking around he spotted a convenience store a block up the road and headed out on foot.
Inside the store he was careful to keep his face off of the store's one ancient security camera, and bought a prepaid “burn” phone. On his way back through the parking lot he was approached by a scruffy looking you man.
“Hey man, you looking for that good shit?” asked the approaching man.
Tim thought about it for a moment. “You got any rock?” he asked.
“Yeah yeah man, back at my car,” he replied pointing at a beat up El Derado sitting in a dark corner of the parking lot. Tim started walking towards the car, and the drug dealer eagerly followed him. As they got closer to the car Tim let the dealer walk in front of him, and as he bent over to unlock his trunk, Tim noticed the imprint of a large caliber pistol tucked in the back of his waistband. He rushed the dealer, slamming him into the trunk and relieving him of his weapon. Putting the man's own gun to the back of his head, he eased the hammer back. “If you want to live, you'll do exactly as I say,” said Tim in a low menacing voice.
“Yeah yeah man, whatever you say. Just don't kill me,” plead the man as he contemplated his choice of lifestyle.
“Open the trunk,” he ordered. The dealer complied, opening the trunk to reveal that it was full of an assortment of drugs, mostly cocaine and heroin. “That'll do nicely,” replied Tim. “Now close the trunk and give me the keys.” Again the dealer complied. Tim then threw him to the ground and shot him in the leg. “You're gonna want to get to a hospital,” he said as he stole the man's car and headed toward Katie's father's house.
Parking a few blocks away, Tim got out of “his” car and started surveying the house. After determining the house was empty, he pulled the car up into the driveway. He didn't know how much time he had so he went with the least elaborate plan he had. He kicked the front door open, and moving room to room, cleared the house to ensure he truly was alone. He then proceeded to move the drugs from the car to what he assumed was the spare room of the house. He then stood in the front doorway and fired off several shots from the drug dealers pistol into the living room. He left through the back door, ditching the pistol in the tall weeds of the back yard before hopping the fence and running through the neighbors yard. Once he was sure he was safe, he used the burn phone to call 911.
“911 what's your emergency?” asked the operator.
“I just heard gunshots next door,” he frantically replied in his best female voice.
“Ma'am what's your address?” asked the operator.
“2214 Pine Street,” he replied.
“Officers are on the way ma'am. Did you hear anything else?” asked the operator, but Tim had already hung up the phone before she could finish.
To be continued...
Using his night vision binoculars, Tim sat behind a bush watching the police raid a house a couple of blocks away. In fact he was watching the very same house where he had planted a rather large cache of narcotics.
The owner of the house, Katie’s dad, came home and was arrested as soon as he exited his car. Tim, having seen enough to be convinced the man was going to jail for a long, long time, removed the battery from his burn phone, dropped both down a storm drain, and started heading back to the hotel.
Once back at the hotel he knocked gently on the door and go no response. Quietly, he unlocked the door and pushed it just a crack. Inside he could see the little girl asleep. Opening the door the rest of the way, he slipped inside and locked the door. He took the pistol from Katie and pulled the blanket up over her. He sat down on the other bed with his back against the wall, pistol in hand, and fell asleep.
A few hours later he was woken by the sound of a toilet flushing. Quickly, he raised his pistol towards the door. Seeing it was closed he swept across the room to the bathroom door. Looking at the other bed he noticed Katie was no longer in it, and hoped that it was her in the bathroom. A moment later she emerged, still wearing his kevlar vest, which was several sizes too large for her. Smiling, he put the pistol down beside him, and motioned for her to come over. “You don’t need this anymore,” he said as he removed the vest and pulled her into a hug. “You’re safe now.”
“Thank you,” she replied through her tears. For the first time in her life Katie felt a freedom to be herself. She didn’t know how long it would last, or even what would happen when they left the hotel, but here, in this moment, she was free.
“With your father out of the picture, will you be safe at your grandmothers?” asked Tim.
Katie nodded. “I should be. She has always been kind to me. What did you do to my father?”
“It’s best that you don’t know the details, but he’s going to jail for a long time,” replied Tim. “In fact, it’s best if you never mention me to anyone. If anyone ever found out what I did, your father would probably be released from jail.”
“What do I tell my grandma then?” asked Katie.
“Tell her you ran away, and that when you walked past your house, there were police there, so you walked to her house,” he replied. “We need to get going,” he said as the sun was peeking in the window. He quickly changed back into his uniform, packed up his gear, and checked out of the room. Katie gave him directions to her grandmother’s house and he stopped the jeep a couple of streets over.
“I need you to walk from here,” he told her. “If anyone sees us together, it could blow the whole operation.”
“I’m gonna miss you,” she replied as she leaned over and hugged the stuffing out of him.
“I’m gonna miss you too,” he replied, hugging her back. “I’m gonna miss you too.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It is a small world after all,” he said with a smile.
She giggled at his joke. “I really hope so,” she said. Katie opened the door and got out of the jeep.
Tim sat and watched until she rounded the corner of the block her grandmother lived on, and then headed back for the interstate. As he drove he thought about last night’s mission, and how much he would miss Katie. He had never really been fond of children, but in the short time he knew this girl, she really touched his heart.
Six hours later he arrived in Orlando. He made a quick stop at the post office to pick up packages he had mailed to a box he’d set up when he’d gone to Orlando on leave the year before. From there he went straight to the apartment he had reserved when he got his leave date. A quick tour of the apartment informed him that it would suit his needs for now, and he signed the lease.
Back in his apartment, he quickly locked the door and threw his duffel aside. The place was empty as his furniture had not yet arrived, so he opened his packages. Pulling out some toiletries, he dashed into the bathroom and stripped. He grabbed the Nair out of the pile of toiletries and after reading the directions, applied it to his whole body. When it was time he hopped in the shower and rinsed away all of his body hair. He filled the tub with hot water and added some Epsom salt and lavender bubble bath. He setup his laptop and turned on a playlist of slow songs from the big band era before settling down in the tub.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d soaked in the tub, but he felt refreshed when he got out and toweled off. He looked in the mirror and his heart sank. Staring back at him was a tall, slim man with rock hard muscles from years of training and combat. He had a few battle scars from covert operations he’d been involved in, but nothing that really detracted from his appearance, yet he longed for feminine curves, breasts and hips that would help convince the rest of the world he truly was a woman. His face at least, was rather androgynous. His nose was larger than he wanted, but he didn’t have that manly, square-jaw look that most soldiers did.
His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach rumbling, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since the diner the day before. He pulled out his droid, and a quick google search later, called out for pizza. While he waited for his pizza to arrive, he went through his packages and found a shiny purple nail polish, which he promptly applied to his toenails. He was startled by a knock at the door just as his toes were finished drying. He jumped up, threw on a robe he’d pulled from his package, and opened the door. It was the pizza guy. Tim paid for his pizza and sat and watched youtube videos while he ate. After dinner he went back to his packages and found a pair of pink panties, a pink nightie, and a pair of white frilly socks. As he pulled on his first pair of panties since he was a teenager, he got such a rush. Once he also had the nightie and socks on, it all felt so right. He knew then that he wasn't crazy, and he didn’t want to keep his secret any more. He climbed in his sleeping bag and slept soundly for the first time in years.
The next morning he was woken by a loud knock on his front door. He jumped up and ran to the door. Looking through the peephole, he recognized the logo on the man’s shirt as the logo of the moving company. “One minute,” he yelled as he scrambled back to the bedroom. He threw his sleeping bag over his girlie stuff, and changed into his male clothes with a speed that would’ve impressed Superman.
It didn’t take long for the movers to unload all of his stuff, as he didn’t have much stuff to unload. A couple basic pieces of furniture, and a few boxes of other assorted stuff is all he owned having been prone to moving often, and traveling light due to his military duties. He quickly double checked that everything had made it and signed for his stuff. He thanked the movers, and they left.
He double checked that his body hair was all gone and decided he was going to try going out en femme. Rummaging through his packages, he found a pink hello kitty t-shirt that reminded him of the one Katie had worn, a denim skirt, and a pair of black mary jane flats. Pulling on the shirt and skirt he went and looked in the mirror. It was all wrong. He didn’t look like a linebacker in a dress as he had feared, but his military style haircut didn’t really help either. Looking around again he found silicone breast forms, a bra, and a wig. After adding the bra and forms he put his shirt back on and checked again. This time he liked what he saw, well, from the neck down anyways. Using the makeup skills he’d been practicing since his teens, he deftly covered any stubble his razor was unable to remove. Going for that natural look, he stuck to neutral shades of lipstick and eyeshadow. He picked up the wig and managed to get it on his head. The long brown wig matched his natural hair color pretty well. He found a pink scrunchie and pulled the wig back into a loose ponytail. He grabbed the maryjanes and slipped them on over the frilly socks he was still wearing from the night before. Once again he stood in front of the mirror, this time he almost liked what he saw. Grabbing his tactical shoulder bag that could pass for a purse, he tossed his pistol in it and headed for his jeep.
Wanting to go somewhere where she wouldn’t be recognized by the people that lived around her, Cassandra headed across town to the University of Central Florida. After she found a place to park she started following the signs towards the student union. As she rounded the corner of one of the building she heard screaming coming from inside. Quickly she went inside and followed the sound through the mostly empty building until she finally found it’s source. Some linebacker looking guy had a frightened young woman pinned against the wall.
“Please, no,” she plead with her attacker.
“I’ll show you what it means to be a real girl, faggot,” the jock replied as he tried to shove his hand down the girl’s pants. Cassandra managed to sneak up behind him and twist him around pinning him against the wall. She adjusted her grip on his forearm to dig her thumb into a very sensitive pressure point.
“If you would like to retain the use of your arm, I suggest you keep it out of other peoples pants,” she growled at him.
“Let me go dammit,” he yelled as he tried to twist out of her grip. Cassandra pressed harder as she twisted his arm farther.
“Any farther, and it’ll snap,” she hissed.
“Okay, Okay, just stop hurting me,” he plead. She let him go and he took off like a scared cat.
“Oh my god thank you,” the scared girl said as she hugged her savior.
“He shouldn’t bother you again. I’m Cassandra by the way,” she replied.
“Zoey,” replied the girl quietly.
To be continued...
“Wait here,” said Cassandra. “I need to check and make sure he’s actually gone.”
“Okay,” replied Zoey, still shaking from her attack. Cassandra walked up the hall and looked around. She didn’t see the asshole that attacked Zoey so she went back to where she left her.
“All clear,” she stated.
“I really need to get to class,” replied Zoey.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea right now. You need to clear your head or you won’t be able to pay attention to your professor anyways.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I know I’m right,” said Cassandra as she took Zoey’s hand and started leading her towards the student union. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.”
The student union was alive with the energy of college students studying and discussing their classes, or that most noble of college traditions, stuffing their face. Cassandra looked around surprised at all of the options. She surveyed the food court area for a good place to sit. Eventually they ended up at a table in the far corner where Cassandra could sit with her back to the wall. Again she turned and surveyed her food options until her gaze rested on a Taco Bell. Her insatiable love of tacos bordering on obsessive, she had made her choice.
“Do you like tacos?” she asked.
“Who doesn’t?” replied Zoey.
“Wait here,” said Cassandra as she wandered off towards the glorious kingdom of tacos, only to return a few minutes later with a tray covered in them. Zoey’s eyes practically popped out of her head at the number of tacos on the tray.
“What?” asked Cassandra at Zoey’s expression.
“Nothing”
“Hey, I’m a big girl,” she replied. “Now eat up. Take as much as you’d like. I’ll eat the rest”
“Thank you,” replied Zoey.
“So how long has that guy been giving you trouble?” asked Cassandra between mouthfulls.
“Ever since he figured out my secret, about a month ago I would say,” replied Zoey shyly.
“It’s a shame people are still like that. I moved here to try to get away from that mentality”
“From where?” asked Zoey.
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” replied Cassandra with a straight face. Zoey looked slightly worried until Cassandra smiled and winked at her. Both girls busted out laughing at the same time.
“It’s good to see you smiling. It suits you,” said Cassandra still smiling causing Zoey to blush. The girls finished eating, and collected their belongings.
“Now what?” asked Zoey.
“Now I walk you home,” she replied. “You do live in a dorm right?”
“Yeah,” replied Zoey leading the way towards her dorm room. They walked in silence until the reached the building. “This way,” said Zoey. When they reached her door, it looked as if it had been kicked open. Cassandra’s training kicked in, and she reflexively drew her pistol and kicked the door the rest of the way open. The room was thankfully empty, but in shambles. Her computer looked like it had lost a fight with a baseball bat, and her laptop was missing altogether. The words “faggot” and “sissy” had been spray painted across the cinder block walls. Zoey couldn’t take it, and burst into tears. “Why me?” she cried. Cassandra put her pistol away, and held Zoey in an attempt to calm and comfort her.
“It’s not your fault,” Cassandra whispered as she stroked Zoey’s hair. She continued to hold her until Zoey managed to calm down. “It’s going to be okay.”
“How? How will it ever be okay?” asked Zoey. “I can’t protect my self, I can’t protect my room, and now everyone is going to know what I am.”
“But you ain’t never had a friend like me,” Cassandra replied in her best Genie voice that was just enough to get a slight smile out of Zoey. “And what do you mean ‘everyone is going to know what you are’? They should already know what you are, an attractive, intelligent young woman.”
Zoey hugged Cassandra and sighed. “So what do I do now?” she asked.
“First you call the campus police, so you don’t get blamed for all of this,” she said gesturing to the mess that Zoey’s dorm had become. “And then we find you somewhere else to live.”
“Where else can I go?” asked Zoey. “I can’t afford to live off campus, and he’ll find me anywhere I live on campus.”
“That settles it then,” replied Cassandra. “You’re coming to stay with me.”
“But”
“No buts. I have the space and I think we could both us a friend. Now call the police so we can report this and get outta here,” replied Cassandra. Zoey called the campus police. When they got there they took some pictures of the damage and statements from the girls. They said that due to the fact the door had been kicked in, Zoey would not be held responsible for the damage to the room, and that they would be in touch if they found anything.
The girls packed up Zoey’s things and loaded them into the jeep.
To be continued....
Author's note: Sorry for the short chapter, my muse refused to cooperate.
Chapter 4
Cassandra and Zoey arrive at their front door after having gone out to dinner as a sort of celebration for becoming roommates and having finished moving Zoey’s stuff. As they approached the door Cassandra noticed a liquid buildup on the door lock and motioned for Zoey to stay quiet. She determined that the liquid was a lubricant, probably WD-40, that had been used to pick her lock.
With her weapon now drawn, Cassandra swiftly opened the door immediately zeroing in on her target.
“Don’t shoot,” said the man with a thick Russian accent.
“What are you doing in my house?” demanded Cassandra.
“I’m looking for Timothy Miller, we have how you say, mutual friend,” replied the man.
“Who?”
“Nickolai Pavlovski. He send me to ask your help.”
“And you are?”
“Sergei. Sergei Romanov. Nickolai would come himself, but he could not get away, so he send me. Now where is Timothy?”
“I am Timothy,” replied Cassandra in her normal male voice.
“Wow, that is good disguise. You look so natural.” replied a shocked Sergei.
“That’s because I go by Cassandra now. Even if it’s not official yet.”
“What is it you Americans say? Ah yes, whatever floats boat,” Sergei chuckled.
Cassandra giggled and lowered her weapon, keeping it in her hand just in case. “I’m familiar with your work Sergei. What could you possibly need with my help?”
“This job is too delicate for my expertise. Nickolai’s daughter, she is kidnapped. Nickolai believe she is in brothel here in your country,” replied Sergei as he pulled out a picture and handed it to Cassandra.
“I didn’t even know Nickolai had a daughter,” she replied looking at the picture. The girl in the photo looked to be about ten or eleven years old with dark red hair and piercing blue eyes.
“Her name is Nadia. She is his life now he is retired.”
“He did save my life on that mission in Moscow. I suppose you know that though.”
“Yes, Nickolai say you are good friend. He tell many stories of your adventures in Moscow.”
“Alright Sergei, I’ll do it,” she replied still looking at the picture. “I’d probably do it even if I didn’t owe him. You’re coming too. I’ll need backup.”
“Of course,” he replied.
“Wait what’s going on?” asked a scared and confused Zoey.
“Zoey, my job in the army was special ops. Spy stuff. I worked along side and sometimes even for the CIA. In the army my training focused on the weapons and combat aspects of black ops, but for the CIA I was trained in infiltration and social engineering techniques.”
“She is very dangerous lady if you get on bad side,” chuckled Sergei.
“No kidding,” replied Zoey.
“You just stay here and keep up with your schoolwork. We’ll be back before you know it,” said Cassandra reassuringly. She went into her bedroom and grabbed her mission bag, which she kept packed just in case something like this happened.
“Be careful,” said Zoey as the two operatives headed out the door.
“Come, we take my car. I rent with fake ID,” smiled Sergei.
“Do you know where they’re keeping her?” asked Cassandra.
“I have narrowed down to neighborhood in Miami. It’s controlled by Ivanov family. I think she will be in nicer place. Her age make her more valuable.”
“Then maybe they haven’t hurt her too badly yet.”
“They probably waiting for bigshot, how you say, highroller yes?”
The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful as both of them were going over their plans in their minds, trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. They reached Miami and drove around until they found the neighborhood Sergei had mentioned.
“It’s near here somewhere,” said Sergei.
“There seem to be a lot of brothels in this neighborhood,” replied Cassandra looking around at all the prostitutes that were half hiding in the shadows, half doing their best to attract business.
“I have idea,” said Sergei as he pulled over to the side of the road. “Wait here.” He got out of the car and approached a girl on the corner.
“Hey hot stuff,” she said with an accent just as thick as Sergei’s. “You looking for a good time?”
“I’m looking for great time. Tell me, where I can find more exciting time,” he replied.
“I’m all the excitement you need.”
“I’m looking for something a little younger. I hear your boss have good taste. I can see this is true,” he says motioning to the girl’s body.
“True, I come here very young. You want to go two streets up that way and to the right. You’ll know the place when you see it, but you will need money for what you want.”
“Money is one thing I have, thank you,” he replied and headed back to the car.
“How did it go?” asked Cassandra.
“They keep the young ones up there to the right,” replied Sergei as he drove in that direction. He turned the car down the street. “There,” he said as he pointed to a slightly rundown building. “The pink curtains are sign to people who know. They mean young girls there.”
“We need to get up high, I’ll try to find a tall building or parking garage that overlooks the place,” said Cassandra as she pulled out her droid and started searching through google maps’ satellite view. “Take a right up there.”
“Ah yes that will works very good,” replied Sergei as they approached a tall apartment building. Cassandra pulled her bag out of the car and they went up to the building. She didn’t need to pick the lock, somebody had left the front door open. After a quick but quiet climb they reached the roof. Cassandra pulled her night vision binoculars out of her bag and surveyed the building.
“They probably keep her on top floor, she’s valuable to them,” said Sergei.
“There’s a room with no light on the third floor,” replied Cassandra. “If she’s that valuable, that’s where she’ll be.” She pulled out her phone, hit a speed dial and stuck the phone to her ear.
“Tim?” came the voice of Corporal Jessica Montague.
“Hey Jess, I need a favor.”
“Sure what’s up?”
“I need you to hack into the Miami City Planning database. Find the blueprints for the building at 1123 Elm. I need to know if it has roof access and a back door.”
“I don’t wanna know why I’m doing this. Gimme a second,” she replied as she looked up the information. “Yes there is roof access from the main stairwell, and a back door. What are you planning?”
“No time to explain, I’ll call you later. Thanks Jess,” she replied as she hung up the phone. She turned to Sergei, “You have explosives right?”
“Of course, it’s what I do best. Why?”
“There’s an electrical box on the side of the building. I want you to rig it with a remote detonator, and join me on the roof.”
“How do we get on the roof?”
“The building behind it. We rappel from there, and enter from the roof access. It’s only one flight of stairs to that room.”
“Sounds like good plan. I get explosives,” replied Sergei. While Sergei was retrieving explosives, Cassandra hauled her bag up to the roof of the other building. Once up there, she grabbed her rappelling rope and her tactical vest which contained some ammo, and some improvised flashbang grenades. She tied the rope off to the ladder on the side of the roof. Rappelling without her harness was risky, but it was really the only choice she had. She climbed over the ledge, and slid down to where she had enough slack to swing over the small gap between the buildings. Swinging over she managed to grab the ledge of the roof and pull herself up. She pulled the rope over and tied it to a pipe sticking up through the roof so that Sergei would have an easier time getting over. A few minutes later he came sliding down the rope.
“All set up?” whispered Cassandra. Sergei replied with a thumbs up. “We’re only going to get one chance at this,” she continued, still whispering. “We have to succeed now, or never.” Sergei just nodded in response. They both checked their weapons. Once satisfied Cassandra deftly picked the lock to the roof access door. They drew their weapons and stacked up on the door. Cassandra signalled and Sergei blew the electrical box. Power was instantly cut from the entire building. Opening the door she saw that the stairwell was clear. They could see men running down the stairs ahead of them trying to locate the source of the explosion. Once they reached the landing it was empty. there were only 4 rooms up here, the one they wanted was locked. Not waisting any time, Cassandra kicked the door open. The room was empty save for a mattress on the hard wood floor. In the opposite corner she could make out the figure of a girl who was leashed to the wall by a chain with a leather collar. Her arms were tied bihind her back, and her ankles out in front of her. She looked like other than being tied there, she had not been touched. She was still wearing normal street clothes consisting of a t-shirt, jeans, and she even still had her sneakers on.
“Nadia?” Cassandra called out in a whisper. The girl looked up and even with the gag tied in her mouth, Cassandra recognized her instantly as the girl in the photo. “Your father sent me to rescue you.”
To be continued...
Cassandra quickly crossed the room. Kneeling down beside the girl, she pulled out her knife.
When she grabbed the rope at the girls ankles she saw the lace trim on her socks peeking out from under her jeans. Suddenly the memories of the mission in Georgia came flooding back, and she wondered how Katie was doing. Shaking off these memories she returned to the task at hand, and cut the ropes binding Nadia’s ankles. Turning her over, she freed her hands. A quick observation of the collar and chain revealed there was no easy way to remove it. Cassandra decided to try a different approach. She pulled as hard as she could and managed to pull the anchor out of the decaying wall. She helped the girl to her feet, and she fell into her.
“Can you walk?” asked Cassandra. Unable to speak with the gag still in her mouth, Nadia shook her head no and pointed to her feet. Cassandra understood and picked the small child up. “I guess I’ll have to carry you then.” By now they could hear the russian thugs on the stairs outside the room. “Sergei, you take point. We’ve gotta go now or never.”
“Follow me,” replied Sergei as Cassandra pulled a makeshift flashbang grenade out of her vest.
“Now!” shouted Cassandra, and Sergei opened the door allowing Cassandra to throw the grenade out onto the staircase. As soon as they heard the explosion, they opened the door to find the thugs that were on the landing when the grenade went off were now very disoriented. One of them started to point is gun in Cassandra’s direction, but she managed to put a round between his eyes before he could even raise his weapon. She lobbed another flashbang down the stairs ahead of them creating even more chaos in her path. Sergei charged down the stairs taking out many of the goons before he reached the ground floor. Suddenly Cassandra heard gunfire very close to her head only to realize that Nadia had pulled the extra pistol from her vest and fired over her shoulder at a guy that was chasing them down the stairs.
“Nice shot,” said Cassandra as they were running through the front door.
“Thanks!” smiled Nadia through her gag.
“Sergei go get the car!” she shouted.
“Way ahead of you,” he shouted in reply. The girls were half way to the car when Sergei pulled up. Cassandra jumped in the back with Nadia still in her arms.
“Drive!” she commanded as a bullet pierced the trunk of the rental car. Sergei slammed on the gas. The tires let out a screech as the car shot off like a rocket down the road and away from the chaos behind them. Cassandra sat in the back of the car holding Nadia for several minutes before she realized the girl was still gagged. Gently she turned her around and untied the gag.
“Thank you,” croaked Nadia.
“You poor girl, your throat must be dry as the Sahara,” replied Cassandra as she pulled her canteen out of her pack and handed it to Nadia. That’s when she noticed how bad the rope marks on the girls wrists were. “How are your feet?” she asked as she remembered why she had to carry the girl.
“Not good,” replied Nadia.
“Let me see,” Cassandra said while patting her lap. Nadia slowly slid across the seat and put her feet up in Cassandra’s lap. Cassandra gently slid one of Nadia’s sneakers off and began to softly massage her foot. Nadia enjoying this immensely, closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time since this whole ordeal began. When her foot started to feel normal again, she wiggled her other one to signal Cassandra to switch feet. Cassandra slowly slid Nadia’s other shoe off and began rubbing that foot. A few minutes later, she realizing Nadia had fallen asleep, she lifted the girls foot and gently kissed the top of it. “Sweet dreams little one,” she whispered as she caressed the girl’s foot. Slowly, Cassandra also nodded off to sleep.
When she awoke a few hours later, she realized they were pulling in to her apartment complex. She looked over at the sleeping child who’s feet were still in her lap. The peaceful look on Nadia’s face made it hard for Cassandra to will herself to wake the child. Finally she gently shook the girl’s leg. “Wake up sweetie,” she said soothingly. “We’re here.”
“Where are we?” Nadia asked as she yawned.
“We’re at my apartment,” replied Cassandra as she picked up one of the girl’s sneakers and slid it back on her foot. “I have a nice large bed you can sleep in once we get you upstairs,” she continued as she placed the girl’s other sneaker on her other foot. Cassandra helped the girl out of the car, and held her hand as they walked up to the apartment. Noticing the lights were on, Cassandra opened the door and shouted, “Honey! We’re home!”
“Honey?” asked Zoey sarcastically.
“Well you could be,” Cassandra teased as she poked Zoey in the side, causing her to squeal.
“Don’t do that,” Zoey said slapping Cassandra’s hand away. “Is this her?” she asked when she noticed Nadia still standing by the door.
“Yes,” replied Cassandra as she pulled Nadia over next to her. “Zoey, this is Nadia. Nadia, this is my good friend Zoey.” Nadia smiled at Zoey as she hid behind Cassandra. “You’re awfully shy for a girl that shot somebody tonight.”
“She shot somebody?” asked an incredulous Zoey.
“Yeah. A skill she picked up from her father no doubt. He’s ex KGB.”
Zoey shook her head in response. “What am I going to do with you people?”
“For starters we’re going to put this one to bed,” replied Cassandra as she tousled Nadia’s hair. She led the girl into her bedroom and started digging through her dresser drawers. “Ah, here it is,” she said as she pulled an oversized Hello Kitty t-shirt out of the drawer and handed it to Nadia. “You can sleep in that,” she said as she pointed Nadia to the bathroom. A few moments later she emerged. The shirt fit her like a dress as it came down to her knees revealing her lower legs and her feet still encased in frilly socks. She looked a perfect picture of girlishness. Cassandra pulled the covers back on her perfectly made bed, a habit that was ingrained in her from her first day in the military, and motioned for Nadia to climb in. She walked over to her dresser and got down a teddy bear for Nadia to sleep with. She bent over and kissed her on the forehead, only to find that she couldn’t stand up, for Nadia had wrapped her arms around her neck.
“Don’t leave me,” the girl plead.
“I’m just going to be in the next room.”
“No. Please, I’ve been alone too long. They kept me tied up in that, that room, alone, in the dark, for days,” she sobbed. “Don’t leave me.” The pleading look in those piercing blue eyes just melted Cassandra’s heart. She could only imagine what it would be like to go through something so bad at such a young age. Being chained to the wall like an animal, bound hand and foot, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder knowing that he would only cause her suffering, had to be the most horrific experience a child could ever endure, short of actually experiencing the things said bidder would do to her that is.
“Okay okay. I’ll stay. Can I change first?”
Nadia slowly nodded and let go of Cassandra’s neck. Cassandra walked to the bedroom door and motioned Zoey to come over. “Can you sit with her while I get ready for bed?” she whispered. “She’s afraid to be alone.”
“Sure,” she responded as she walked over and sat on the bed. Neither of them spoke while Cassandra changed. A few minutes later Cassandra emerged in a knee length Hello Kitty nightgown that was very similar to the shirt she had loaned to Nadia, and a pair of frilly socks that were also similar to the ones Nadia wore.
“Thanks for sitting with her.”
“Anytime,” replied Zoey as she headed for the door. “Want me to get the lights?”
“Yes Please,” said Cassandra as she slid into bed next to Nadia who quickly latched on to her. Cassandra held the girl close as they both drifted off to sleep.
“I think Nadia have, how you say, schoolgirl crush yes? On your friend there,” said Sergei as Zoey emerged from the bedroom.
“What makes you say that?”
“I see it in her eyes when she think nobody looking. I think one day they make cute couple.”
“I think she’s way too young for Cassandra.”
“She not young as looks,” chuckled Sergei. “She is eighteen.”
“No way! That’s not possible.”
“She has disease, makes her age slowly. Also she can not have the babies.”
“But she acts as young as she looks.”
“Nickolai, her father, he baby her. He also train her to be secret agent,” he chuckled. “She very dangerous like Cassandra. Nickolai taught her well, but her mother died when she was little, so she had no one to teach her to be lady. I think Nickolai confuse her.”
“That explains a lot and nothing at the same time.”
“My english is not so good yes?”
“Not so good,” giggled Zoey. “But I’ve heard worse. It’s getting early. I need to get some sleep. I’ve been up all night worried about you guys, and I have a class this afternoon.”
“I sleep on couch. Have good night. Don’t let bed bugs bite,” chuckled Sergei.
“Sweet dreams,” said Zoey as she disappeared into her bedroom, locking the door behind her.
That afternoon Cassandra awoke to find something cold and hard jabbing her in the ribcage. Further examination revealed that is was the chain from Nadia’s collar, which they had somehow forgotten to remove. A moment later, she realized that Nadia was awake and smiling at her.
“Good morning sleepyhead,” said the little girl using the edge of the blanket to wipe the drool from Cassandra’s face before kissing her square on the lips. Cassandra was caught off guard both by the fact that this little girl was kissing her, and by how much she enjoyed it. Before she had a chance to react, Nadia jumped up and dashed off to the bathroom. A few moments later she was standing in the doorway, her red hair was a mess, and the Hello Kitty shirt was hanging off of one shoulder. Even her socks were a mess, one of them being scrunched down, and the other pulled all the way up, but even in this state of disarray, she was stunningly beautiful. Those bright blue eyes were intoxicating to Cassandra. She had never felt this way before. Nadia strolled over to the bed, and straddled Cassandra, handing her the chain still attached to her collar. Before she knew what she was doing, Cassandra pulled her in for another kiss. When it was over, she pushed the little minx off of her, and shook her head trying to gather her thoughts.
“Nadia,” began Cassandra, “ I’m way too old for you.”
“I’m not that young,” she giggled. “I have a disease called Turners Syndrome. My body ages too slowly. I’m really eighteen.”
“There’s a disease that makes you look that much younger than you are? Sounds like you’ve hit the genetic jackpot.”
“Well like everything in life, there is a balance. Bad to go with the good.”
“Like what?”
“For one, I can’t have babies. There are a whole lot of other symptoms I don’t have yet, but I could still get them,” she replied sadly.
“I’m so sorry,” replied Cassandra as she pulled Nadia in for a hug before passionately kissing her, this time without the guilt.
To Be Continued...
“Let’s see if we can get that collar off of you,” said Cassandra as she examined the leather band around Nadia’s neck. “Standard fetish collar and lock. They probably buy this stuff wholesale.”
“That’s comforting,” replied Nadia sarcastically. “Can you get it off?”
“Sure thing, let me get my smaller knife.”
“Can you get it off without ruining it?”
“You want to keep it?”
Nadia blushed and nodded.
“What was it Sergei said the day we met?” asked Cassandra. “Ah yes. Whatever floats boat,” she said with a russian accent causing Nadia to giggle. “Let me get my lockpicks. I don’t know if I have a rake small enough to fit that lock.” Nadia sat on the bed straightening out her socks while Cassandra retrieved her lockpicks from the living room, where she found Sergei playing on her XBOX 360.
“I hope you don’t mind,” said Sergei pointing at the TV. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“It’s fine,” she replied taking the lockpicks back into the bedroom where she found Nadia had straightened herself out, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She sat down on the bed, and using the smallest tools in her kit, set to work on the lock. After a few minutes she heard the lock click, and she slowly removed the lock and the collar from Nadia’s neck. “Well, I salvaged it.”
“Thank you,” replied Nadia hugging and kissing her.
Cassandra’s phone rang and caused them both to jump. The caller ID revealed it was Jessica. “Hey Jess, what’s up?”
“You caused quite a ruckus in Miami last night.”
“Nobody knows it was us do they?”
“No. Nobody knows anything. What in the hell were you up to?”
“Do you remember Nickolai Pavlovski?”
“Your FSB contact in Moscow?”
“Yeah.”
“What does he have to do with this?”
“I extracted his daughter from that brothel last night.”
“Oh. That makes sense, but why do you sound like a woman?”
“Hang on,” replied Cassandra as she turned to Nadia. “Will you be okay for a few minutes? I need to take this in private.”
“Sure,” replied Nadia.
“Thanks,” replied Cassandra as she kissed Nadia on the forehead before getting up and walking out to the front porch. “Still there Jess?”
“Yeah, now what’s going on?”
“Jess the reason I left the army, is the same reason I sound like a woman. I’m transgendered.”
“You’re kidding me right?”
“No Jess, I’m dead serious.”
“Wow, I never would’ve guessed. Oh, also, I heard there’s a civilian intelligence advisor position about to open up if you’re looking for a job.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind. I should get going though. I have a russian demolitions expert playing xbox in my living room.”
“You would,” giggled Jessica. “Call me later.”
“Will do,” replied Cassandra as she hung up the phone. She walked back into the bedroom to find that Nadia had hung her collar with the chain still attached from a hook the previous tenant had left in the wall.
“I want it to always remind me of the darkness you rescued me from,” said Nadia as she wrapped her arms around Cassandra’s waist.
“Nadia, you know, as much as I don’t want to, I have to return you to your father soon,” replied Cassandra causing Nadia to run across the room and curl up on the floor.
“I won’t go back. You can’t make me!” she shouted. Cassandra, stunned by the girl’s reaction, ran over to her and pulled her into a hug.
“You know I don’t want to send you back,” Cassandra said reassuringly. “I’ve known you less than a day, and my life is already exponentially better. I can’t even imagine how wonderful my life would be if I were able to keep you in it, but I have to know why you’re so scared to go back.”
“I just can’t go back,” sobbed Nadia.
“You don’t have to tell me now,” replied Cassandra as she squeezed the girl tighter and kissed her on top of her head. She sat there comforting Nadia for several minutes before her sobs finally died down.
“Please let me stay with you,” she plead looking up at Cassandra like a frightened child. Cassandra stared into those captivating blue orbs wondering how Nadia could one minute be so grown up, and the next a frightened child. She wondered if it had something to do with the girl’s disease. Many interesting theories ran through her head, but in the end it didn’t matter. All she knew was that she was going to take care of this girl. She leaned down and gently kissed Nadia.
“You can stay with me forever. In fact, I hope you do,” smiled Cassandra.
“Thank you,” Nadia said as she squeezed herself against Cassandra before kissing her on the cheek. “Your face is prickly,” she giggled. Cassandra dropped her gaze and sighed, but Nadia lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes. “It’s okay,” she smiled, “we all have things in our past we’d like to forget.”
“Yeah I guess you’re right,” Cassandra replied half heartedly.
“Of course I’m right, now go get cleaned up,” said Nadia as she kissed Cassandra on the cheek and pushed her towards the bathroom.
Cassandra snapped to attention and saluted her. “Yes Ma’am!” she said before dropping her salute, executing an about face, and marching towards the bathroom leaving a giggling Nadia on the bed. She took off her nightgown and panties first before reaching down to remove her socks. She stopped for a second when she saw the circle of lace around her ankle as it reminded her of Katie. She thought back to that day in Georgia as she finished undressing and showered. She wondered if the girl she reluctantly left behind was doing okay and decided she needed a way to keep tabs on her.
She climbed out of the shower and after quickly toweling off glanced in the mirror. Her reflection still caused her some pain, however her hair had grown a bit over the past few weeks and she could now at least pass for a civilian. She lathered up her face with shaving cream, and started shaving. “There’s got to be a better way,” she said to no one in particular. She finished shaving and got dressed in a pair of flare leg jeans, some black canvas shoes, and her grey army PT shirt. She checked herself in her full length mirror and was definitely happier with what she saw than that first night in the apartment. Her muscles were a bit softer without the constant workout routine she kept in the army, and soon she would have enough hair that she wouldn't need her wig.
“You look lovely,” said Nadia who was leaning inside the doorway.
“Now I know you’re lying,” replied Cassandra.
“Am not!” pouted Nadia as she ran over to Cassandra and jumped into her arms planting a passionate kiss on her lips. “You look absolutely beautiful.”
“I’m a long way from beautiful, but thank you,” smiled Cassandra as she put Nadia down. They walked out into the living room where Sergei was still engrossed in the XBOX. Nadia joined him on the couch and picked up another controller as Cassandra went over to her desk and fired up her laptop. She tossed her phone to Nadia, “order us a pizza. I’ve got some research to do.”
To Be Continued...
Chapter 7
Cassandra sat at her desk staring absentmindedly at her laptop when her encrypted instant messenger pinged.
mont357: You there?
cap556: Yeah, I’m glad you’re on actually. I need a favor
mont357: You always need a favor, lol. What now?
cap556: I do not! Okay maybe I’m a little needie. Turns out the daughter is an adult.
mont357: Oooh, the plot thickens.
cap556: Yeah, well she doesn’t want to go home, but she won’t say why. She just starts crying and looks like a scared cat.
mont357: We still have assets in the area that keep tabs on him, maybe they can figure something out. I gotta go for now ttyl!
cap556: Laters!
Cassandra closed her messenger and pulled up google. She ran a search for permanent hair removal, and was surprised at the results. “I can’t believe I never looked this up before,” she said to herself. After reading through some of the articles she decided the results still weren’t as fast as she needed. Deciding to see later what experimental procedure she had access to through the government, she turned her search towards finding a therapist that would help her get on hormones. As she was reading through the google results, Zoey came home from class startling the three trained operatives in the living room.
“Don’t shoot!” screamed Zoey throwing her hands in the air, as the other three lowered their weapons.
“Oh hey Zoey,” Cassandra casually replied. “How was your day?”
“It was fine until I nearly peed myself coming through the front door!” she replied.
“Hey you’re a psych major right?” asked Cassandra, completely ignoring Zoey’s outburst.
“Yyyeeeeessss,” she slowly replied. “Whyyyyyyyy?”
“I need hormones,” she stated simply.
“I’m not qualified for that yet,” said Zoey.
“I know, but you’ve got to know someone who is.”
Zoey thought for a moment and sighed. “I suppose I owe you, but going about it this way could get me into trouble.”
“If we get caught I could be in worse trouble. Technically I’m still in the army for another week, but you don’t owe me. If you’re really not comfortable, I’ll find another way.”
“Cass, I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I think of you as a sort of big sister. How can I say no to you?”
“NNOOO,” exaggerated Sergei from the couch causing Nadia to giggle.
“It’s not that simple, Sergei,” she replied.
“Yes it is,” said Cassandra. “You could simply say no.”
“I suppose I could, but I won’t. I know you need this. I know because I remember how I felt when nobody would help me with the same problem.”
“Wait. You mean you are..like her?” asked Sergei as he pointed from Zoey to Cassie.
Zoey nodded. “You mean you couldn’t tell?”
“Most people can’t, Zo,” said Cassie. “I probably wouldn’t have known if that ogre that attacked you hadn’t called you the names he did.”
Zoey walked over to Cassandra and hugged her. “I’ll make some calls,” she said softly as she disappeared into her room.
Just then Cassie’s messenger pinged again.
mont357: One of our assets just reported in. Apparently Nickolai will be very upset if his daughter is not returned even though, according to my source, he is the one that sold her to that brothel in the first place.
cap556: That’s just like him to play both sides. He knew they’d bring her here, and that I would rescue her for free. I knew he would sink pretty low to make a quick buck, but this is too far.
mont357: I can’t believe you were able to work with a guy like that.
cap556: It was difficult, but most FSB agents, especially former KGB agents have their hands in something illegal. I’m going to need documents for her. A passport and green card at minimum.
mont357: Under an alias?
cap556: No. I want her to be able to use her real name. I’ll send photos and info through the usual channels.
mont357: I’ll process it as soon as i have it.
cap556: Thank you. On an unrelated note, I need a surveillance kit.
mont357: You’re going to get me court martialled. What is it for?
cap556: long story
mont357: It’s always a long story. I’ll see what I can dig up.
cap556: thank you
mont357: You owe me
cap556: yeah but it would never work between us
mont357: What?!
cap556: kidding! it would totally work out between us, only I’m not sure I’m currently available.
mont357: I’m going to go now, I had a lot to do BEFORE I agreed to help you.
cap556: You know you love me
mont357: Yeah in a masochistic sort of way
cap556: Ouch
mont357: lol, ttyl
cap556: laters!
Cassandra turned around in her chair and motioned Nadia over to her and pulled the girl into her lap. “Looks like i get to keep you a little longer,” she whispered as she gently started kissing Nadia just below the ear causing the girl to shudder and smile.
“Thank you,” whispered Nadia. They sat there and held each other in silence until Sergei finally spoke.
“I need some air,” he said as he rose to his feet and walked out the door.
“We should move to the couch,” said Cassandra. The girls relocate to the couch with Nadia curled up next to Cassandra. “Should we watch a movie?”
Nadia slowly nodded yes. “Something romantic.”
“I know just the thing,” said Cassandra as she got up and put Phantom of the Opera in her XBOX. When she sat back down, Nadia put her feet in her lap and wiggled her toes. “Still not feeling well?” asked Cassandra.
“They just feel wierd,” she replied.
Cassandra got the movie going and started rubbing Nadia’s feet. It was times like this when it hit her how small Nadia really was. She continued to massage and caress Nadia’s child sized feet throughout the movie occasionally kissing her toes or the tops of her feet, and eventually nodded off.
Cassandra awoke a while later with a severe case of cotton mouth, which she realized was because her mouth was actually full of cotton, or more accurately a sock. Pulling it out and looking at it she realized due to its size, it could only belong to the lovely redhead grinning at her like the cheshire cat from across the room.
“Hello sleepyhead,” said Nadia with a youthfulness that made Cassandra wonder if she really was the 10 she looked or the 18 she claimed to be.
“What’s this all about?” asked Cassandra holding up the sock she had removed from her mouth.
“You’re always playing with my feet,” replied the young girl. “I thought you might enjoy their taste too.”
This caused Cassandra to blush as she stared at the carpet and slowly nodded her head.
“I thought so,” giggled Nadia.
Cassandra recovered from her embarrassment and got up. “I’ll have plenty of time to play with your feet later,” she said. “Right now we have to get your papers straightened out, which means we need to make you look a little more like an adult.”
Zoey came out of her room with her cell phone in hand. “Cass, are you busy tomorrow?”
“Not unless something crazy happens,” she replied.
“Good. Tomorrow afternoon you’re going to see the doctor then,” she stated as she put her phone back up to her head and disappeared back into her room.
“I guess I’m going to the doctor tomorrow,” Cassandra said to no one in particular before turning back to Nadia. “I think we’re going to have to take you shopping missy. My clothes will swallow you.”
“What will I wear to go shopping?”
“Just put on the clothes you have and we’ll get you something new on the way to the mall.”
“Okay,” said Nadia as she scrambled to get dressed.
Cassandra knocked on Zoey’s door. “I’m taking the squirt shopping, you wanna go?”
“I could always use a new pair of shoes,” Zoey replied grabbing her purse.
“I’m ready,” announced Nadia who was now dressed in the clothes she was rescued in, which happened to be in worse condition than anyone had realized.
“We can’t take her shopping like that,” proclaimed Zoey.
“Yeah those are worse than I thought,” replied Cassandra. “We’ll have to stop at a store and get her something she can change into in the jeep.”
“That should work.”
The girls headed out the door as Sergei was returning from his walk. “Hey Sergei, we’re going to the mall.”
“Have fun,” he replied.
“Don't blow up the apartment while we’re gone,” giggle Cassandra.
“You are no fun,” chuckled Sergei as he went in the house while the girls continued down to the jeep, climbed in, and headed for a local discount store.
At the discount store Cassandra tells the others to wait in the car. She goes in and a few minutes later returns with a blue t shirt, a pair of denim shorts, a package of frilly socks, a package of panties, and a cheap pair of sneakers. She hands the bag to Nadia who proceeds to change in the back of the jeep.
“I’m not a contortionist you know,” she complains from the back seat as she struggled to change into her new clothes.
“I have faith in you,” replied Cassandra. Nadia replied by blowing her a raspberry.
“There, I’m dressed,” replied Nadia.
“Come out and let me see,” said Cassandra. Nadia climbed out of the jeep. “Wow, it all fits.”
“For the most part. Good enough anyways,” said Nadia.
“Back in the jeep,” said Cassandra. Everyone climbed back into the jeep and they headed for the mall. Being a weekday in early autumn they found a parking spot relatively easy.
They entered the mall through one of the major department stores and headed for the little girls section. Cassandra spotted a rack of blazers in the school uniform section.
“What do you think?” she asked as she held the blazer out for Nadia.
“It could work,” replied the girl as she took the blazer and tried it on over her t-shirt.
“I like it,” replied Zoey. “Now we gotta find her a shirt.”
“What about the matching blouse and skirt?” asked Cassandra.
“You don't think that will be a little too schoolgirlish?” asked Zoey.
“Nah, not if we go with the pink blouse and leave the collar open, or even better, flip the blouse collar over the blazer collar.”
“That might work,” replied Zoey as she grabbed the matching blue skirt and pink blouse. “Here Nadia, go try these on.”
Nadia took the clothes into the dressing room and reappeared a few minutes later.
“Beautiful,” announced Cassandra.
“Not bad,” replied Zoey. “She’ll need some shoes to go with it.”
“I think she needs two pairs to go with it,” said Cassandra.
“Why two?” asked Nadia.
“Versatility,” replied Cassandra. “You could wear it with those socks and some mary janes and look like a schoolgirl, or you could wear it with some hose and heels and look like a business woman.”
“Good point,” she said, and they walked over to the shoes, where they picked out a pair of black mary jane flats and a pair of black mary jane pumps. Nadia changed back into her bargain store clothes and they bought the outfit, and both pairs of shoes before heading out into the mall. They were walking towards a store that caters mostly to preteens when Zoey was pushed from behind and fell to the ground.
“Hey faggot,” a voice called from behind them. It was the linebacker sized asshole that had tormented Zoey the day Cassandra met her.
“Apparently you don't learn,” replied Cassandra turning to face him.
“What are you going to do about it?” he asked as he pulled out a knife.
Cassandra shook her head. “Idiot,” she mumbled. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to pull a knife out in here? In front of all these witnesses, and the security cameras? The major ass kicking that you’re about to receive will be all over the local news, not to mention youtube.”
“I can take you,” he snarled.
“Look this is your last warning,” said Cassandra angrily. “If you leave now and we never see you again, I’ll forget this whole thing ever happened, however, if you attack me, or come near us ever again, you will regret the day you were born.”
Their attacker couldn't believe a woman would dare talk to him this way. He decided it was time to teach these people a lesson. He swung his knife towards Cassandra’s face. She deflected his untrained hand, and jabbed him in the throat just hard enough to make him drop his knife and hold his neck where it hurt.
Cassandra laughed. “If that’s the best you’ve got, I suggest you quit while you’re still breathing.”
“I’ll get you, all of you do you hear me?!” he shouted before he took off running from the quickly approaching rent-a-cops.
“You dropped your knife!” called Cassandra as she bent down and picked it up. “Oh well, guess it’s mine now.”
“Are you ladies alright?” asked the first security guard to reach them.
“Yeah, that asshole has a problem with my friend here, but it’s nothing we can’t handle,” replied Cassandra.
“We can call the police for you if you would like to press charges. We have the whole thing on tape,” he replied.
“Nah, like I said, it’s nothing we can’t handle.”
“But he pulled a knife on you.”
“Aaaand I took it from him,” giggled Cassandra.
“And I suppose if he pulls a gun next time you’ll take that from him too?” the guard asked sarcastically.
“Nope. If he’s dumb enough to pull a gun, he’s dumb enough to get shot,” replied Cassandra.
The guard looked at her like she was crazy. “Allrighty then, If you ladies are okay then we’ll be on our way.”
“Have a good day,” she smiled at them. “You alright Zo?” she asked as she pulled Zoey into a hug.
“Yeah, I’m just a little shaken up. When the FUCK will people like that stop bothering me?!” she shouted. “I’m okay now,” she added more calmly.
“Got that out of your system?” asked Cassandra.
“Yep,” nodded Zoey. “Now let’s go get the squirt here the rest of her wardrobe so I can go home and become a recluse.”
“You’re not going to become a recluse”
“Am too,” replied Zoey sticking her tongue out.
“Come on children,” interjected Nadia causing all three girls to laugh. They continued on to the store for preteens where they proceeded to buy half the store, ensuring that Nadia would have a variety of outfits to make her look like a preteen fashionista. When they left the store she wore a bright blue tank top, denim bermuda shorts, the frilly socks from the discount store, and a pair of bright blue low top converse that matched her tank top. They took all the bags out to the jeep, somehow crammed everything and everyone inside, and headed home.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 8
“Thank you very much,” said Cassandra as she took the slip of paper from the doctor.
On it was her very first prescription for hormones. Having made a deposit at the sperm bank that morning, she hopped in her jeep and headed for the pharmacy. Luckily the doctor had called it in, and they had her prescription ready when she got there, so she quickly paid and headed home.
When she walked through the front door she was greeted by a sizable package in her foyer.
“You have package,” said Sergei.
“I can see that,” she replied. “Any idea what it is?”
“No clue.”
Cassandra pulled out her tactical pocket knife and cut the tape off the box and opened the flap to reveal a note sitting on top of a hard plastic case. Carefully, she opened the note.
You owe me.
Love,
Jess
Cassandra lifted the case out and popped it open. Inside were several pieces of surveillance equipment.
“Where is everybody?” she asked.
“Zoey take Nadia for lunch,” replied Sergei.
“Good. I need to talk to you.”
“About Nadia?”
“Yes. She doesn’t want to go back to her father, and I can’t blame her, so I’m keeping her here.”
“You know, Nickolai he will not like this.”
“I know, and I don’t care. My debt is repaid, and given the fact that he’s the one that sold her, I could really care less what he likes and doesn’t like.”
Sergei smiled. “Good. I have no love for the old man either. In old days, he was good man. Take much good care of Nadia, but she get older, he get mean, abusive. My debt to him is paid also.”
“So we’re on the same page then?” asked Cassandra.
“Da” replied Sergei.
“Good.”
“What is all that for?” asked Sergei as he pointed to the surveillance kit.
“I have another person I need to keep an eye on. I wasn’t expecting this to come in so fast. I only requested it yesterday,” she giggled. “I really should leave as soon as possible though. I’m going to take Nadia with me. Can I count on you to stay here and keep an eye on Zoey? She’s had some trouble with a local ogre.”
“Ogre?” asked Sergei.
“Chudovishe,” she replied in Russian causing Sergei to chuckle.
“Yes I will protect Zoey from Ogre,” he said as he continued to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” asked Nadia as she stepped through the front door.
“Nothing,” replied Cassandra. “We’re going on a trip though. Go find a backpack and pack some clothes.”
“Okay,” said Nadia cheerfully before giving Cassandra a quick kiss and skipping to the bedroom.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” giggled Cassandra.
“She has a lot to be happy about,” replied Zoey. “So where are you two off to?”
“Georgia.”
“Does this have something to do with that little girl you helped on your way down here?”
“Yeah, I want to be able to keep tabs on her. Make sure I didn’t save her from one monster only to deliver her to another.”
“That’s understandable.”
“I’m leaving Sergei here in case you have anymore ogre problems. We should only be gone a day or two.”
“We’ll hold down the fort.”
Cassandra went into her bedroom, grabbed a backpack, and started packing a couple of tactical outfits, and a couple of very feminine ones.
“So what exactly is the mission?” asked Nadia.
“I’m not sure what we’ll find when we get there,” replied Cassandra. “Ideally this will be a simple recon job. I’m hoping to install some surveillance gear and get out, but this could also turn into an extraction job.”
“Who’s the target?”
“I’ll brief you on the way,” replied Cassandra as she zipped up her backpack. “You ready to go?”
“Yep,” smiled Nadia as she zipped her backpack. “Even packed extra socks just in case,” she winked at Cassandra.
“As fun as that sounds, I don’t think we’ll have time for that,” giggled Cassandra. She picked up her backpack, and another backpack full of gear. “Let’s go.”
The girls walked out to the living room and said their goodbyes before grabbing the surveillance kit and loading up the jeep. The trip to Atlanta was pretty uneventful. They mostly listened to the radio, and Cassandra filled in Nadia on what had gone down the last time she was there. Eventually they reached the city, and found a hotel not too far from their target, but not too close either. Cassandra checked them in as mother and daughter using a fake ID.
“Now what?” asked Nadia as they unloaded their gear into their room.
“Now we do some recon,” replied Cassandra. “But first, we need to look like we belong here.” Cassandra looked at Nadia who was dressed in a light blue hello kitty shirt, denim shorts, frilly socks, and sneakers. “That outfit works, you look like you just got out of school for the day. Now I need something mom like.” She searched through her bags until she found a short sleeve polo shirt that was loose enough to conceal her Glock 26, a pair of boot cut jeans, and a pair of keds. “This’ll have to do.”
“You look just like a soccer mom,” giggle Nadia.
“That’s what I was going for,” replied Cassandra. “Here,” she said as she handed Nadia a Ruger LCP. “That should be small enough for your hands. Just don’t get caught with it. You look ten and we don’t have any ID for you.”
“Yes mother,” giggled Nadia as she slipped the pistol and its holster into her shorts. They hopped in the jeep and headed for Katie’s grandmother’s house.
The first time down the street, they drove slowly, and Nadia took pictures. At the end of the block on the other side of the street was a house with a for rent sign in the yard, so Cassandra spun the jeep around to face Katie’s house, and parked on the curb.
“I hate stakeouts,” said Nadia.
“We all hate stakeouts,” replied Cassandra. She checked her watch. “School should be getting out soon if it hasn’t already.”
Just then, a bus dropped off some kids at the other end of the block. One of the kids stuck out like a sore thumb. A boy about Katie’s age with long blonde hair wearing a faded t-shirt and jeans was walking straight for Katie’s house. “Found her,” she said pulling out her binoculars. Through the binoculars she could clearly see that it was indeed Katie, but she was disheartened when she saw that Katie was crying.
“What’s wrong?” asked Nadia as she noticed the change in Cassandra’s expression.
“She’s crying, and I can see bruises on her arm. I don’t know if it’s bullies or if she’s being abused, but our recon mission is over. It’s time to get involved.” And with that she threw the jeep into gear and pulled up in Katie’s driveway. She had made it inside by the time they got the jeep parked, so they strolled over and knocked on the door.
“Get the door,” they could hear an older woman shout from somewhere inside. A moment later the door opened to reveal Katie.
“Hi Katie,” Cassandra greeted the girl. Katie looked up at her confused. Not many people knew her by that name.
“C Cassandra?” she asked timidly.
“It’s me,” replied Cassandra with a smile causing Katie to leap forward and wrap her arms around the woman.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” the girl sobbed.
“I didn’t either.”
“Who are you?” asked an older woman that Cassandra assumed to be Katie’s grandmother.
“My name is Cassandra. I’m a friend of Katie’s”
“To know her by that name you must be her friend indeed,” smiled the grandmother. “Please come in.”
“Thank you,” replied Cassandra as she and Nadia stepped inside.
“So how do you know my Katie?”
“We met in a truck stop actually.”
“You’re the soldier from the diner?” asked the old woman with a hint of shock in her voice.
“Yes ma’am. At the time my name was Tim. I guess technically it still is for now.”
“Technically?”
“Yes ma’am, I applied for a name change, but I’m still waiting on the judge to get around to it,” replied Cassandra. “So I see Katie still goes to school as a boy.”
“Yes,” replied Katie’s grandmother. “I let her be herself around the house, and sometimes we go to the mall a couple of towns over, but I’m just not equipped to handle all of the problems that go with sending her to school as herself.”
“I can understand that,” Cassandra nodded. “Have you been able to take her to a therapist?”
“I want to, but I can’t afford it. I can barely afford to feed us.”
Cassandra thought for a minute. “Take her anyways,” she finally responded. “I’ll cover it.”
“I can’t take your money.”
“You can and you will,” replied Cassandra sternly. “That girl has been through hell. I intend to see that she never has to live through that again.”
“Okay,” sighed the grandmother. “I’ll do it.”
Katie jumped up and hugged her grandmother and then Cassandra. “Thank you both.”
“What happened to your arm?” asked Cassandra.
“I got beat up,” pouted Katie.
“Do you get bullied a lot?”
“Yes,” Katie nodded slowly.
“I think it’s time you learn to defend yourself,” replied Cassandra. “I know fighting isn’t very ladylike, but it’s a skill everyone, especially women, should have.”
“You can teach me to beat up a bully?” asked Katie.
“Yes, but only in self defense or the defense of someone who can’t protect themselves. NEVER start a fight, and don’t be afraid to walk away, but when someone attacks you, defend yourself.”
“Okay,” replied Katie.
“The art I’m going to teach you is called Krav Maga. It’s the style of fighting used by the Israeli Defence Force. It’s not pretty or flashy like the asian martial arts, but it’s powerful. It’s designed to end a fight before it really starts.”
Cassandra proceeded to spend much of the evening teaching Katie the basics of Krav Maga, and Nadia volunteered to be her practice dummy since they were very similar in size. When Katie was too tired to continue her training, Cassandra sent her to take a shower and ordered some pizza. Katie came out of the shower a little while later in a pink knee length nightgown with Ariel from The Little Mermaid on it. She looked at Cassandra and smiled.
“That’s what I like to see,” smiled Cassandra. “A pretty smile on a pretty girl.” This caused Katie to blush as she walked over to the couch and snuggled up next to Cassandra. “You wanna watch a movie sweetie?” she asked.
“Yes,” replied Katie.
“What do you want to watch?”
“Lilo and Stitch,” replied the girl excitedly.
“I’ll get it,” said her grandmother as she got up and put the DVD in the player. Just as she sat down there was a knock at the door.
“I got it,” said Nadia as she jumped up and ran to answer the door. With her right hand resting on her holstered pistol, she used her left to open the door which revealed the pizza delivery guy. Nadia paid him, and they all ate pizza while they watched the movie. About half way through, they realized Katie had fallen asleep.
Cassandra deftly stood up and picked up the sleeping girl. Her grandmother stood also and led the way to Katie’s room. She opened the door and waited in the doorway as Cassandra gently laid Katie on the bed and tucked her in.
“Goodnight princess,” whispered Cassandra as she bent down and kissed the sleeping child on the forehead. She closed the door and followed the older woman back out into the living room.
“It seems Katie is rather fond of you,” said the older woman.
“And I of her,” replied Cassandra.
“This is good news. I don’t know how else to say this, but she’s going to need someone to take care of her.”
“It looks to me like other than needing some money, you’re doing a pretty good job of that.”
“Yes this is true, however it will be hard to take care of her when I’m dead.”
“Dead?” asked Cassandra.
“I haven’t told her yet, but I have cancer, and they haven’t given me long to live.”
“How long?”
“They say probably six months at the most. That’s why I’m so glad she has you in her life.”
“I don’t know anything about raising children,” replied Cassandra.
“You seem to be doing okay with her,” said the grandmother pointing at Nadia.
Cassandra giggled. “I didn’t raise her, I’m dating her. She’s eighteen.”
“I am so sorry,” giggled the woman. “She looks younger than Katie.”
“She acts like it sometime too,” giggled Cassandra.
“Do not,” replied Nadia sticking out her tongue.
“I see,” said the grandmother, “but you look so natural with Katie, and nobody in the system is going to care about her, or her gender issues like you do.”
Cassandra thought about it for a few minutes and sighed. She knew the old woman was right, she just wasn't sure she was up to the job. “So you want me to adopt her?” she asked.
“That’s probably the only way you will be able to protect her. Foster parents will probably not let you near her, and then try to make her be a boy.”
“I can’t let that happen. Even if I’m never mother of the year, I will never force her to be anything she doesn’t want to be. Especially gender she isn’t meant to be.”
“I think you’ll do just fine. Now all we have to do is get my stupid son-in-law to give up his legal parental rights so that you can adopt her.”
“I don’t think that is going to be easy. I assume with him in prison, you have a social worker assigned to Katie already?”
“Yes. Her name is Karen Paulson”
“Good. We need to call her in the morning and set up a meeting.”
To Be Continued...