Flight of the Griffin

by Maddie V

 

Life is a funny thing. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and sometimes it changes just when you think you've got it figured out. It's that last part that can really throw you or maybe it can give you a new direction depending on how you see things. Not so long ago, I was just some guy trying to figure out where I belong in the grand scheme of things. To be totally honest, I wasn't having much luck. I didn't feel like I fit anywhere. After twenty-six years of trying, I pretty much had given up and just existed. I guess life had different ideas for me.

My name is Gabrielle James, but that wasn't always the case. Until a few months ago, I was known as Griffin James, average Joe. That's a little bit of information that could have gotten me killed in the not so distant past. Now I'm not usually the type to get into trouble. About the worst thing I do is the occasional breaking of speed limits. For the most part, I keep a low profile and do my best to follow the rules. You could call me a chameleon; I blend into the background quite well. I would probably still be living a nice quiet life doing my best not to get noticed if I hadn't tried to be a hero that night thirteen months ago.

That night I wasn't looking for trouble, it just happened to be hanging out next to my car in the garage at work. It was late. I'd spent most of the night trying to finish some artwork for the latest edition of reptile inspired t-shirts. I finally shut the computer down and headed out of the office a little after midnight. The only thing I was worried about was getting something to quiet my grumbling stomach. I got a weird feeling when I stepped out of the elevator and headed toward my car.

Normally, there was a lot of noise when I left work. Lots of people and cars were usually moving in and out of the garage. Not that night, the only sounds were coming from my shoes as I walked across the concrete floor. I don't know about you but I find silence in a normally noise filled area creepy. My mind always starts thinking of all the scary movies I've ever seen. I was wondering if the guy with the chainsaw started it before you got too close to escape. Or did he give you a second or two warning? It's thoughts like that that convinced me to start learning Aikido a few years ago. I had unconsciously picked up the pace and was almost jogging to my parking spot when I started to hear voices.

I was relieved to hear something. I heard a woman and man speaking to each other. I slowed my pace and tried not to listen to their conversation. My car was just around the corner along with the sources of the voices. I slowed myself to a normal speed. I didn't want to look like I was scared to be alone walking through a dimly lit nearly deserted parking garage. Just before I turned the corner things started going bad. Whatever the people were talking about had turned into an argument.

"OK, great," I thought

"The boss isn't happy with you double crossing us," growled a male voice.

"What he is doing is wrong and you know it," fired back a female voice.

Instead of standing there listening, what I should have done is to keep walking, get in my car and drive away. That's exactly what my brain was telling me to do but my feet anchored themselves to the floor. I just stood there like some bizarre cross of human and tree.

"What we are doing is none of your concern," said a second man, "where is the disk?"

"Fuck off. You and your boyfriend can't frighten me. There are a few important people who would love to know exactly what's going on over there."

"You will not be allowed to make delivery to anyone. Our superiors are getting impatient. Forget this crusade of yours. Walk away now, before you get hurt. Give us the disk."

"I'm not giving you the disk and I'm not backing down, asshole," she replied firmly.

I had heard more than I wanted to. Things were quickly getting out of hand. My feet finally uprooted themselves. I thought that maybe having a witness would stop whatever was happening.. They'd have a few seconds to calm down. Hopefully long enough for me and the woman to get in our cars and leave. I really didn't want to get involved with whatever they were talking about.

Unfortunately, I decided to move at the worst possible moment. Things had gone from bad to really, really bad in about two nanoseconds. As I stepped around the corner, the woman was thrown against her car; I guess the guy's patience ran out faster than his boss'. She didn't even blink. She had a look that said she'd been through worse and beating her wouldn't get them what they wanted. They didn't seem to get the message. I quickly jumped back around the corner. I wasn't sure what the Hell I was doing.

The man closest to me was tall and thin. His sunken eyes and pale face immediately brought to mind the image of a vampire. It wouldn't have been surprising if I saw that he had fangs and a long red and black cape. I wondered if I the woman had any holy water or a crucifix on her. If he was the brains, then his sidekick was certainly the brawn.

He was slightly shorter than the vampire, but almost twice as wide. His head seemed to rise directly from his shoulders with no apparent neck to join the two. He either spent a lot of time in a gym, used more than his share of steroids, or maybe both. I imagined him being a linebacker who enjoyed hurting unsuspecting quaterbacks. I had the distinct feeling that if his boss wanted someone to suffer he would be called for the job.

They both had the officious air of ex-police or government agents. Their legitimate careers were probably cut short with an excessive force charge or two. My guess was that they worked as some sort of private security officers for someone who didn't want to get their own hands dirty. They were thugs as far as I was concerned. Well paid thugs, but thugs nonetheless.

I'd seen the type before. Similar ones had found it amusing to mercilessly bully me early in high school. I wasn't very big at the time and being a bit of a nerd made me one of their favorite targets. I was a junior before I started to catch up with them size wise. Add in some self-defense classes and I could hold my own in a confrontation. I had discovered that they didn't like fair fights or people who weren't afraid of them. Beatings on fellow classmates and myself pretty much ended by the time I graduated.

"For a traitorous thief, you seem to have an over-developed sense of morality," stated the vampire.

"I might be a thief, but even I have my limits. No amount of money is worth what your boss is doing."

"That's where you are wrong my dear," he smiled

At some unseen signal the linebacker attacked the woman again. After knocking her down, he kicked her hard in her ribs. There was a sickening thud. The vampire just smiled bigger. The woman let out a small sob but nothing else as she struggled to her feet. I was impressed by the way the woman kept her composure and the toughness she showed. I'd probably be curled up in a little ball crying like a baby after a kick like that. The men's behavior was less than impressive. Cowardly would be too nice a word for them.

"We've heard that you're one tough bitch, but Denso here loves his work. We're just getting started. Where's the disk?" he demanded again.

"Uranus," the woman laughed.

"You are certainly brave, or perhaps its just stupidity that you continue to mock us. Denso, I believe she would like some more."

I couldn't stand there and let that woman get beaten. My brain was functioning well enough at that point for me to realize that they may be armed. I needed a distraction. What I had in mind was a few dozen well-armed police officers. Unfortunately, there weren't any around. The only thing I could find was a fire alarm and extinguisher "That'll have to do," I thought. I grabbed the extinguisher and pulled the alarm. It started ringing followed shortly by the sprinkler system. I was hoping to be able to hold them off until security came.

"What the hell?" I heard from the vampire. "Denso watch her."

I heard him coming through the makeshift shower I had created. If he had a gun, I was sure it was drawn and ready to use. I was hoping he would be sloppy and give me a window of just a second or two. He obligingly came walking around the corner I was hiding behind without checking it out first. For that, he got a face full of whatever comes out of a fire extinguisher. He dropped the gun and reached for his face. I took the lapse in his defense and combined that with the hard metal extinguisher to put him out of the fight for a while. I hoped I hit him just hard enough to keep him down for a bit but not hard enough to do any permanent damage. Unlike the action heroes in the movies, I get a little queasy at the thought of serious injuring someone.

I considered grabbing his gun but I wasn't particularly comfortable with the idea. I didn't think I'd be able to shoot anyone so I kicked it down a nearby drain. I hoped that Mr. linebacker would still be itching for a fight and would forego the gun for something more personal. He didn't disappoint me. He also made the same mistake that so many other bullies had done so long ago. He seriously underestimated the person he was picking on.

One on one, we were a close match. His size and power equaled my speed and training. The longer the fight went on the more the odds tipped in his favor. I was more of a challenge than he was expecting though. Once he realized I was more of a danger than he thought, he focused his full attention on me. In doing that, he forgot about the woman he was harassing. Finding a suitably sized chunk of concrete, she caught him in the back of the head putting him down for the count. He wouldn't be back to the land of the conscious for a while.

"Dammit," I heard from the woman, "do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?"

"You're welcome," I replied sarcastically. I would have thought she'd be happy for the help.

"Look, I appreciate the help but you've got to get out of here right now," she ordered as she tried to get into her car. She was obviously in a lot of pain.

"You need to see a doctor. You probably have a broken rib. That was one nasty kick you took."

"I know but you've got to get out of here. We don't have time to argue, there will be more where those two came from." The words had barely left her mouth when I heard something whiz past my ear and ricochet off of a cement post. The next second her windshield exploded and tire went flat. I looked up over to see the vampire woozily making his way to his feet. He was still feeling the effects of the fire extinguisher but was recovering quickly. "How many guns do these guys carry?" I asked myself.

"RUN!!" she shouted. I took me a second to get my brain in gear and start moving. "Where is your car?"

"The silver Mustang right there," I pointed at one of the last three cars in the lot. Fortunately it was behind a large truck and we were able to get to relative safety. I grabbed my keys and hit the unlock button. "Thank God for keyless entry," I thought. Within seconds we were inside and I had the car started.

"Go, Go. Go," she rasped as she pointed toward the exit. I didn't need the direction. My self-preservation instinct finally kicked in, about five minutes too late, in my opinion. We shot out of the parking spot and headed toward the lower level. We had one level and two very tight turns between us and the street. The Mustang was up to the task; it carried us out onto the street before anyone else showed up. My mother wasn't too happy when I bought the car. She thought it was going to get me killed. She knew I drove too fast and thought the car would make me drive even faster and more reckless. She was right. I did drive faster and more reckless, but that night it probably saved my life.

Twenty minutes later, I finally slowed down to my normal mildly excessive pace. My heart however was still trying for a new record. I started checking myself for holes. I was more or less unscathed. My new female friend wasn't in such good shape. She had fortunately escaped any holes but had received one hell of a beating from the linebacker Denso.

"We need to get you to a hospital," I said worriedly.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. What's your name?"

"Griffin."

"Thanks for the help, Griffin, you saved my ass. I'm Katie"

"Your welcome, Katie, I could have done without the fighting and bullets but the driving too fast was fun, though," She laughed. Then winced.

"Oh don't make me laugh. It hurts."

"OK, no more laughing. Where the hell are we?" I was in such a hurry to get away from the parking garage I hadn't paid attention to where I was going. We ended up in a part of town I wasn't familiar with.

She looked out the window for a few seconds. " I don't know. I haven't been here in a long while."

"Hang on, there's a gas station. I need some gas and I can find out where we are."

"I thought guys didn't ask for directions."

"I'm not your typical guy."

"I'd say not. You don't even know me but you helped. Not many people would have. There aren't to many heroes that don't wear uniforms anymore."

I didn't know what to say. Hell, I didn't even know why I helped. I pulled into the gas station and filled the car then ran inside to pay and get directions. The sight of sandwiches reminded me of my empty stomach. I grabbed a few and some drinks then headed to the register.

"Late night munchies?" the attendant asked.

"Late night dinner more like it," I returned.

"Nice car. Bet it runs like a bat outta hell."

"I gets me into and out of trouble."

"I'll bet. Street racin's on the other side of town. Industrial district I think."

"Huh?"

"That's what you're lookin' for, right?"

"Oh, no, actually where's the nearest hospital? My friend dropped a computer on her foot and we got lost looking for the hospital."

"That's good street racin's dangerous. I'd hate to see that pretty car all mangled up. Woodridge is about ten minutes up on the right. You can't miss it. Hope your friends OK."

"Thanks, I hope she is, too." I said then headed out to the car.

If I could have seen the little TV the attendant kept under the counter I would have realized that I was in a lot more trouble than I thought. As I drove off he turned the volume up just in time to hear "I repeat the man and woman attacked two agents while making their escape and are considered armed and dangerous. The male is six feet tall, thin, weighing about 160 pounds with long brown hair…

*

"Katie, we're in luck there's a hospital a few miles up. Thirsty?" I asked offering her a bottle of water. She nodded and took the bottle.

"You wouldn't happen to have grabbed something to eat while you were in there? I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast yesterday and I'm starving." She asked.

"Turkey or ham?" I returned.

"Turkey, please."

I handed her a sandwich then started toward the hospital. My heart had finally decided we were safe and returned to a more sedate rhythm. My mind was busy reprimanding me for being so reckless. I was lucky I hadn't been killed. The good guys in movies can get away with stuff like that but real people get killed. I really needed to quit watching so many movies.

It didn't take long to find the hospital. I parked the car and helped Katie to the emergency room. Our luck was still holding, as it was a slow night. We were seen almost immediately. Katie was sent off to get some x-rays. I decided that I couldn't just leave her there without any way to get home so I stuck around. She returned a short time later confirming a broken rib and adding some bruising but nothing more serious. The doctor gave her some painkillers and said we could leave.

I had just asked her if she wanted me to take her home when I caught the news bulletin. I noticed Katie's picture being shown on screen.

"This woman known as Katie Darwin and an as yet unknown male suspect are wanted for attacking two men and shooting at government agents earlier this evening. Robbery was the apparent motive in the beatings. The male suspect has been described as six feet tall with long brown hair. Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous…"

"Damn, they must be getting impatient. I didn't expect this until tomorrow morning," Katie responded.

"Wanted? I'm a wanted criminal now!" I couldn't believe it.

"Come on, let's go. I'll explain in the car."

"What have I gotten into here, Katie?"

"I'll tell you in the car. Now move!"

We left the hospital in a hurry, all but running across the parking lot towards the car. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know what I had gotten into. I also didn't know what the Hell to do or who I could go to for help. I needed to find out as much as I could.

"Ok, now tell me what's going on," I demanded.

"It's probably not safe for you to go home. Let's get moving. We are going to see some friends of mine. They can help and I'll explain on the way."

I didn't have a choice but to agree. Her telling me I couldn't go home had me worried. Just a couple hours ago the only thing I worried about was deciding on what to have for dinner. Now I was dropped into the middle of something that could very well end my life. I didn't have a chance on my own. My only choice was to stick with Katie, at least until I figured out exactly what I was involved in. She directed me to the interstate and gave me an exit number.

"I'll direct you once we get there. Do you want the whole story or just the highlights?" asked Katie.

"I guess it's too late to back out now. It can't hurt knowing exactly what I've gotten into."

"I hate to tell you, but your Good Samaritan act just got you on the wrong side of some very powerful and very dangerous people. Have you ever heard of Infincorp?"

"Yeah, aren't they some big government defense contractor," I answered.

"Ninety-nine percent of what they do is totally legitimate. They are a leading authority on non-lethal technology. Many government agencies use their equipment. Police, FBI, NSA, you name it. They also have some of the most advanced combat weaponry on the planet, some seriously sci-fi next generation stuff. It's all done with government funding. What they are building isn't the problem. It's what they are doing with it that's the problem.

The NSA has suspected that some of the controlling parties have been selling that technology. More specifically, Mandrick Jensen has been selling the U.S advantage to terrorists and our enemies. He's the man behind the mask, the Wizard of Oz, if you will. A few years ago he gained total control of everything relating to Infinicorp. The general sense is there were a lot of dirty dealings that got him there. I can say that it was almost certainly true. He's the kind of man that will do anything to get what he wants. It doesn't matter if it's legal or not. Since then more and more advanced weapons have ended up in the hands of the wrong people. The only problem was that there was no evidence linking him to it."

"OK, that tells me who we're dealing with. How do you fit into all this?" I asked.

"Everyone has heard of industrial espionage. We all know it happens. What everyone doesn't know is that the old corporate spy is a dying breed. Today's technology and economy is running so fast that the spies are inefficient. Corporations can no longer afford the time and effort of getting the right people into position. Bribery is still used to some extent but it, too, isn't the most reliable or quickest method. They need everything as quickly as possible. Information is worth more than gold these days. The newest tool for them has been around since time began. The thief. That's me."

"You're a thief? Somehow I just can't picture you crawling around through and air ducts in all black."

"Oh please, you've seen too many movies. We don't do things like that here on planet earth. Yes, I'm a thief and a damn good one at that. I was hired to do a job for Infinicorp. No, not Infinicorp, I was hired to do a job for Mandrick Jensen. It seems that Defense Tec was on the verge of taking a very lucrative contract away from him. He needed to know what they had going on.

It supposed to have been a simple little job. Go in pick up the mark and get out with no one being the wiser. I had done similar ones a hundred times. Apparently, someone had other ideas. I was surrounded by a dozen NSA agents as soon as I set foot in the building. Somebody had tipped them off and they were waiting for me. I was screwed.

I can duck regular security easily. Their communication can be disrupted and they don't work together particularly well. The NSA is a whole different story, especially when they know you're coming. I slipped the agents themselves easily enough but I had nowhere to go. They had sealed off my exits and playing hide and seek in the building all night would have been pointless. I couldn't get out. That was the first and only time that has ever happened to me. I wanted to know why in the hell there were twelve highly trained agents there waiting for me. So I went and asked them. I was caught anyway. I was taken to speak with Special Agent Jack Kent.

They had received the tip off from someone relatively high in the order at Infinicorp. That someone was working with or for the NSA investigating Mr. Mandrick J. and had turned up some interesting information linking him to certain illegal activities. Agent Kent needed that info and the evidence to back it up. He didn't know exactly what it was and didn't want to risk the moles cover. What they needed was a way to get it out without raising anyone's suspicion. They needed someone that wasn't connected to anyone, someone who could easily get in and out of Infinicorp, someone who could be controlled, and someone who was ultimately expendable.

I just happen to fit the bill. I was given the choice of helping my country or spending a long time in jail. Being that I love my freedom, I chose to give my country a hand. Besides that, I had a check to collect. While playing around with the agents was fun I did have a job to do. I had picked up my mark while I was playing hide and seek. All that was left was to make delivery and take my normal fee. I did have a reputation as being one of the best and wanted to keep it that way."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Are you telling me that not only are you a thief, but while trapped in a building with a dozen of Uncle Sam's finest, you managed to elude them and find whatever the Hell it is you went in there to get. Then, at that point, with the stolen goods walked out and gave yourself up? Did I miss something?"

"Not exactly. I didn't have the mark on me. I left it someplace I could easily get to it. I figured that after I found out why they were trying to catch me, I could find an alternative exit. Then I could go back and finish the job. I think it worked out quite well, thank you very much."

"Damn, I'm in way over my head," I realized.

"Do you want me to finish or have you heard enough?" she asked.

"No, let me have it all."

"I had made a decision on the way back to Infinicorp. That was going to be my last job. I had made enough money. My conscience had been getting to me, too. When I first started, it was fun. I liked the rush you get when things go exactly as you planned. Hell, I liked the rush of improvising when things didn't go according to plan. Back then it was stealing from the rich to give to the rich. I figured there was plenty of money to go around. It was just a matter of who was on top at that moment.

A few years ago I found out a few companies had to shut down because of me. The product that could have saved them was stolen by yours truly. I began to wonder how many people had lost their jobs because of me. Tens? Hundreds? How about thousands? I didn't know. I didn't like that feeling. I remembered when my Dad was laid off when I was a kid. Things got a little rough for us. I didn't like being responsible for making some little girl's life more difficult than it had to be. I only had a few more jobs to set me for life. All I had to do was keep doing what I was good at and not think about the consequences.

Special Agent Kent had given me a rundown on what they needed. They gave me the location of the mark, security details, and a window to work in. About the only thing he told me that was useful was the location of the mark. He may be a world-class government agent, but he would make a piss poor thief. I had my own plans. The getting in was easy. I did have some unfinished business to attend to. It was easy enough to get the disk. I mean, how many of those things are lying around offices anyway. It was made easier by the fact I knew exactly where it was going to be waiting for me. I was back before anyone knew I had left. I concluded my business with Mr. Jensen had a drink with him and left. The arrogant prick actually tried to get me to sleep with him.

On my way out of the building I picked up a tail. I didn't think they had any suspicions about me other than just keeping tabs on me. It happens occasionally. Usually after the first time I do a job for someone. They seem to want to make sure I'm not going to the police or feds. It usually lasts a day or two maybe as much as a week. If they were really concerned about me, I wouldn't have been allowed to leave the building. I wasn't in the mood to be followed, but I didn't want them to get suspicious by dumping their surveillance too quickly. I waited patiently then ditched him a little while later.

I was supposed to meet with Special Agent Kent the next day. I called him to let him know that I was being followed and I was going to wait a few days to make sure I was clear. He wanted to meet anyway. He might think I'm expendable, but I'd like to keep breathing for a while. He was none too happy when I told him he has waited this long and that a few more days wouldn't kill him. I was taking a chance putting him off but I figured he was willing to allow me a little leeway.

I took the next few days to relax and test out the amenities in my hotel. I waited another three just to be sure I wasn't being watched then called and set up a meeting. All that was left was to hand over the disk and I could disappear to an island in the Caribbean never to be heard from again. That was my plan, at least.

A few hours later I was waiting in an abandoned warehouse waiting for the fearless Special Agent Jack Kent. What is it about abandoned warehouses and covert meetings? Is there some sort of rule in the special agent handbook? About ten minutes later he shows up with eleven of his buddies from the Defense Tec job. Did he really think I was that dangerous? I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or flattered, a few seconds later I was very glad that he had brought them along.

I mentioned earlier that NSA agents were well trained. I should have added well armed also. Just as all the agents had gotten out of their cars, two men wearing full body armor emerged out of thin air. They opened fire on the agents with some very strange weapons. I didn't know what they were at first. Then I realized they were non-lethals. Their intent wasn't to kill but to incapacitate. High tech non-lethal weapons meant Infinicorp. I figured they were after the disk, but why face-off with the NSA? I was easily the softer target

The initial attack left one agent unconscious and three others dazed. The remaining eight agents had found cover and regrouped. I had found some cover behind a very thick steel post. Special Agent Kent was busy barking out orders. What looked to be assault rifles were unloaded and dispersed to the remaining men. Then they went on the offensive.

The display of firepower was impressive to say the least. Had their enemy not been wearing body armor the fight would have been extremely lopsided and would have ended quickly. I don't think the two armored men were expecting that much resistance. They were well armed as well and with the body armor it was a level playing field.

Both sides were concentrating on the other and paying no attention to me. I took that opportunity to get the Hell out. I had made it out of the building without any holes. With pure luck, I heard the crackle of a radio before I stepped blindly around a corner. I was sloppy and damn lucky I didn't get myself caught.

"We've lost the woman and these agents are putting up a hell of a fight. The exchange wasn't made. The woman still has the disk," I heard coming over the radio, "We're at a stale mate here."

"The disk isn't here. She must have hidden it somewhere. Return to home. I'll meet you there," replied another male voice.

"They knew I had the disk. I was in serious trouble. I backtracked the way I came and found an alternate route. I made it to my car and got out of there as quickly as possible. I didn't know how the firefight had ended up.

I don't think that Jensen ordered that attack. It's not his way. He's not the type to care if a little blood gets spilled. The first possibility was they found out about the meeting at the last second. They didn't know exactly what I had but didn't want the NSA to get it in case it was something to worry about. They either didn't have time to wait for Jensen's order or couldn't get to him in time. The fight was just to keep any exchange from happening and to buy them time to find out what I might have gotten out with.

That's not likely. Jensen is the type of guy who would insist on being notified and unless he took a trip to the moon he was somewhere they could reach him. My guess is that whoever the inside guy is probably was in charge of that little escapade. Whoever gave the order showed discipline and restraint. He knew that trying to kill NSA agents was suicidal and unnecessary. I was an easier target. He just wanted the information I had to stay with me for a little while longer. The comment about the disk not being there was just for cover. He could go back to his boss claim that it was hidden and I needed to be found. It also gave me time to disappear.

That was a month ago. I've been dodging Jensen's men ever since. I've been able to keep half a step ahead but they are getting closer. He must be pushing for them to get results. They nearly caught me earlier today. They managed to track me to the hotel I was staying at. I'm not sure how they managed that. I do take steps to maintain my anonymity. Luckily, I was out getting ice when they showed up. TH I got back just as they were letting themselves into my room. I wasn't happy to see that. I am prepared for such an event but I didn't like having to resort to those measures. That usually means that my time and options are running out.

I called Agent Kent and told him I was ready to deliver the disk and we set up another meeting. I never made it to that meeting. They had my car bugged and managed to cut me off before I could make it. I did manage to keep from getting caught but only barely. Either I'm getting sloppy or they got very lucky. I think it's time for me to take that long vacation I've been planning.

I was able to get in touch with Agent Kent. He knows the situation. He tried getting me to go into protective custody but I feel safer out on my own. Jensen has friends in high places and I didn't think there was anyplace Kent could take me that he wouldn't be able to find me. Kent's given me a week to get the disk to him before our deal becomes null and void. All we have to do is survive until we can get the disk to him. By the way, we're being followed."

I checked my mirror but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Where, I don't see anything?"

"Three cars back the black sedan. He's been rotating watch with a SUV and a compact import."

"How can you tell?"

"In about a minute, the sedan will either exit or pass us. Then a SUV will take its place. The compact will trade with the SUV about five minutes after that. They've been repeating that pattern for about twenty minutes."

The sedan passed us about a minute later. I checked back and saw a SUV had taken its place. Five minutes later the SUV was replaced by the compact.

"Damn, any brilliant plans?" I asked.

"Yeah, put some space between us and them. We've got six miles. The cars they picked are supposed to help them blend in. They aren't made for speed. This pony of yours is. I'd be willing to bet that you've added some horsepower and other bits to make it even more so."

I had invested quite a bit of money in power and handling upgrades for my Mustang. It was definitely the right car for some high-speed antics. I knew the highway we were on pretty well. She was right. We had the advantage.

"Make sure your seat and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions. Be sure to securely fasten your safety belts and enjoy your flight." With a devilish grin, I buried my right foot. The engine came alive with a demonic growl. The rear tires gave a tortured squeal then hooked into the roadway. It felt like we were rear ended by a freight train. The speedometer made a rapid ascent into hyper legal speed. Within what seemed like seconds, it swept passed the 140 mph mark. We quickly outpaced our rivals. All they could do was watch our rapidly diminishing taillights.

*

"Holy shit! I've got to get one of these," Katie exclaimed. "Your exit's coming up."

The oversized brakes easily scrubbed off the excess speed as we returned to a more civil minded velocity. We exited and Katie directed me a few blocks off the highway to a neon-covered building sitting at the end of a large industrial complex. Pulling into the parking lot I realized it was one of the more popular nightclubs near town. "What are we doing here?" I questioned.

"I have a few friends here that can help us," she answered.

She told me to park in the busiest part of the lot, saying something about it being more difficult to spot a needle in a haystack than a needle all by itself. I could see the logic in that. We found a spot not to far away from the front door. I felt very exposed as we left the car. I'd taken two steps toward the door when I realized Katie was headed around the side of the building.

"Are we not going in?" I asked?

"Of course we are. We just don't have to use the front door," she said coolly.

What could I say? I decided to keep quiet and follow her lead. We came to what looked like a fire exit. She knocked, then a second later there was an audible click and she opened the door. A huge shadow filled the doorway.

"Hey there, Bax. Duncan or Max around?" Katie questioned.

"Damn, it's good to see you girl. I've missed that pretty face of yours. Come on in. I'll go find the guys," rumbled Bax.

We followed the giant inside. Baxtin Van Zandt looked like the guy you didn't want to meet in a dark alley. He was a muscled behemoth that looked like he was carved out of granite. He was close to seven feet tall and probably tipped the scales well over three hundred pounds. His massive arms were covered in tattoos from his wrist to the ragged edge of the sleeveless T-shirt he was wearing. I'm not exactly tiny. I stand a solid six feet and keep myself at a trim 160 pounds. Standing next to Bax I felt positively petite. "Help yourselves to something to drink. I'll be back in a minute with Duncan, Max, or both," with that he turned and left the room we had entered.

"That is one very big very scary guy," I said after he left.

"Oh, Bax is a sweetheart once you get to know him. He's a very good person to have as a friend."

"I'd definitely like to have him on my side at the moment."

"Don't worry, he is."

The door opened and two men entered followed closely by Bax. "Katie!" they exclaimed in unison. They were obviously very happy to see her. They looked at me and seemed to recognize me for a second, but quickly realized I wasn't whom they were thinking about.

"I'm so glad to see you, kid. How long has it been?" asked the first of the men to enter the room. He was a distinguished looking gentleman just starting to show a little gray hair. He was probably in his early fifties but due either to good genetics or taking care of himself he carried his age well. He wore slacks and casual polo with the club logo embroidered on it. He had a warm smile that only brightened the closer he got to Katie.

"Too long, Duncan, too long," she said as she tried to give him a hug "You too, Max. You guys look great." She gave Max an equally painful hug.

Max noticed the tenderness in her ribs. "Thanks, you're not looking so great. If you don't mind me saying so," he smiled. Max was probably about the same age as Duncan but wasn't holding up as well as his partner. Too many years of drinking and smoking had aged him farther but his jovial disposition and quick smile helped to counteract the affects of those habits.

"I've had a few rough weeks and I need your help," she stated.

"You need help? This must be serious. You've always been able to take care of yourself," commented Max.

"I can't remember you ever asking for help, kid. And you've gotten into some pretty sticky situations, too. What's the story and who's your friend?" added Duncan.

"Oh damn, sorry guys. This is Griffin," she replied as a sort of introduction. "He's managed to save my ass twice tonight.".

"Just once, Katie," I quietly corrected her.

"No, it's twice. The first time was in the garage and the second was by choosing to not to drive some gas sipping econobox. We wouldn't be here right now if that Mustang of yours wasn't so damn fast."

She spent the next hour telling Duncan, Max, and Bax the story she had just told me. Then added what had happened since she met up with me. I just stayed quiet. I'm painfully shy when I get around people I don't know. Add in the fear of being in an out of control situation and I was more than happy to have a few quiet minutes. I had just started to get scared about what was going to happen when Katie finished her story.

*

Bax walked over to me and stuck his hand out, "You saved Katie and treated her really nicely. For that, you have my respect," he smiled at me and I immediately felt better. I reached out and shook his hand. His hand easily swallowed mine and I was reminded about how small and helpless I felt at the moment. "Don't worry. Those three will think of something to get you out of this mess." He motioned to Max, Duncan and Katie. He seemed to have read my mind. "You're going to have to take me for a ride if your car's that fast," he smiled even bigger at that.

"Bax, that's a great idea. Why don't you take Gab, I mean Griffin and his car to Kel's? Get Kel to take care of the car. You and Griffin can get to know each other a little better and Katie, Duncan and I will try and figure out what our next course of action will be," offered Max.

"Sure thing, Boss. Let's get to work, Griffin," replied Bax.

I gave Katie a questioning look and she nodded yes, so I left with Bax. If I would have known what decisions would be made while I was gone, I might have stayed. Once we got in the car, Bax told me we were going to give my car a facelift. It would no doubt be recognized as it was now. I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that. I'd spent the better part of five years and a ridiculous amount of money getting it just the way I wanted it. I couldn't believe that I was just going to hand it over to someone I've never even met and let them undo all my work. Bax again read my mind, he told me not to worry, Kel was a total professional and he would take good care of it. I had a feeling I could trust Bax but I was still uneasy with the whole idea.

I had been taking it pretty easy trying not to attract any attention. "Open this thing up. Don't worry about getting stopped; we have an agreement with the local police. As long as we don't attract a crowd this street is our own personal drag," Bax grinned.

I grinned back then dropped the hammer again. So I'm addicted to acceleration. Arrest me. Bax and I managed to talk and obliterate every speed limit in the area on the trip. He seemed to enjoy the ride as much as I did. Fellow speed freaks united. It normally takes me a long time to get comfortable enough with someone to talk freely. It took all of about ten minutes with Bax.

"Katie wasn't exaggerating, this thing won't need any engine work. Kel's place is coming up. Better shut it down." Bax said approvingly. Instead of using the brakes, I downshifted and let the engine slow us down. The net result is the same with either method but downshifting gave us the bonus of the wonderful sound only a well-tuned Ford small block can make. The smile on Bax's face told me he felt exactly the same way as I did. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure to hear it, you don't know what you're missing.

Kel's place was a small-unadorned building about thirty minutes away from the nightclub. As we pulled in the parking lot a large door was rolled up and we were motioned inside. A younger guy directed us to a spot near an old well-used paint booth. I was about to shut off the engine when Bax asked me to blip the throttle, "I just love the way a Mustang sounds." I gave him a little blip then killed the engine. He was all smiles as we got out to meet Kel.

"You just never get enough do you, Bax?" chided Kel.

"Hell no. Do you?"

"Not really," he answered. "Nice," he said looking at my car.

"Thanks," was all I could say. My normal shyness had returned.

"No problem. So, what do you need done to this beauty?" The question was directed at Bax not me. That made me a little uneasy.

"Basic facelift I think. Wheels and paint should do for now. Let's try and keep it low key," the big guy answered. Kel handed me a book of sample colors and told me to pick one. As I looked through the book, he talked to Bax and asked a few questions. Most were the basic what modifications have you made type. I picked out an electric midnight blue metallic and handed him the book.

"Nice choice. We'll have it ready tomorrow evening. You're ride's ready if you want to take it," he told Bax.

"Of course I want it. Where are the keys?"

I handed over my keys as Kel was giving Bax his then followed Bax out the door. There was a car waiting to take us back to the nightclub. Bax walked over to the driver said something to him then continued toward a Corvette parked nearby. The driver looked at me, smiled then drove off. I guess it was Bax's turn to show off.

"I thought you might like a ride in this beast better than that luxo-cruiser," he said.

"You're right. Let's go," I wanted to stay on his good side. I knew as soon as the engine roared to life that it was not your average Corvette. "Do I even want to know what you have done to this thing?" I asked.

"It would take me all night to list everything. It would probably be easier to list what I haven't changed. I will say the one thing that really matters, twelve hundred horsepower," he grinned.

I was impressed. I have heard of a few thousand plus horsepower rides floating around out there, but I never really thought I'd get to ride in one. My car is stout but nowhere near quadruple digits. It was going to be an interesting ride. The trip back to the nightclub took a bit less time than the trip to Kel's. To say Bax's car is fast, would be like saying Michelangelo is just a painter. Being a speed freak, I could appreciate the work and money that he had put into that car. With all the car talk and intense sessions of acceleration, I had actually managed to forget about the danger I was in for a little while. I was a little sad to be back at the nightclub.

*

Katie and Max were waiting for us when we got back to the room. Duncan had left to get some more information on our predicament. I was really getting tired. My nights normally would have ended a few hours ago. The fist fight and car chase didn't help matters much. Katie must have been too. She stretched and yawned.

"I'm getting tired. We need to get some rest. I want to throw an idea at you then we can get some sleep. Max, Duncan, and I think we've got a way to keep you alive for a while. It's a bit strange but I think we can make it work," she began.

"Strange? How much stranger can things get? I'm up for anything," I replied.

"Good, you can agree that we need to change the way we look. We are getting a little too recognizable for my tastes."

"I'm with you so far. What's so strange about that?"

"Nothing, here comes the strange part. We want you to dress as a woman."

"Huh, I must be more tired than I thought. Did you just say you wanted me to dress as a woman?"

"Yes, that's what I said. Now, hear me out. If people are looking for a man and woman, they won't be looking for two women. You'd be much safer that way. I think you could pull it off, too. You look a lot like a friend we used to know, in fact Duncan and Max thought you were Gabbie for a few seconds."

"That would explain the looks they gave me when I came in. I don't know about this, Katie. I don't know the first thing about being a woman."

"I'll teach you. I hate to tell you this, but you aren't exactly Mr. Macho. You wouldn't have to change anything too drastically or permanently. We'd just kind of soften things up a bit. You have to admit, that would be one Hell of a disguise."

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not like your average guy. I never got the macho junk most guys get into. While a lot of guys are loud and like destroying things, I'm quiet and like to watch things grow. Women always tell me that I'm different than the others. I don't talk down to them or treat them as lesser beings. They enjoy talking to me and I enjoy talking to them. But I have never thought of myself as feminine. I just thought I was unique. The more I thought about it the more I could see her point. It was still a little distressing to have someone point it out.

"I see your point. Are you absolutely sure I can pull this off without looking like a guy in drag?" I asked.

"No, not one hundred percent but I'm very confident we can," was her answer.

"I don't know. My brain is on the verge of overload. I've had more excitement in the last few hours than I've had my whole life combined. I need a little time to get myself recalibrated. I'll sleep on it and decide when I wake up. If that's OK?"

"Fair enough. We'll decide in a few hours. There's a room and shower upstairs. Get cleaned up then get some rest. You look like hell," Katie teased

"Flattery will get you nowhere," I replied sarcastically.

The room upstairs was more than I had expected. It could easily have been mistaken for a five-star hotel room. It was fully furnished and softly lit. There was a king-sized bed covered with many rich colored pillows and expensive linens. Next to the bed was a large soft brown leather recliner. It reminded me of my grandfather's favorite chair. When I was little, I used to sit in his lap as he read the newspaper or watched TV. That memory brought a smile to my face as I checked out the rest of the room.

The only other door in room lead to a modest sized bathroom. It was complete with a full-sized shower. The shower at my place was roughly the size of a small phone booth. I hated it. I inherited some of my mother's claustrophobia. I didn't panic in small confined places but I definitely wasn't comfortable. I took full advantage of the opportunity and took a long hot shower.

I emerged much cleaner and feeling more relaxed. The evening activities had finally caught up with me and I was more tired than I had ever been. I moved some of the extra pillows onto the recliner and climbed in bed. I was probably asleep about two seconds after my head hit the pillow. I didn't even turn the light out.

It was dark when I woke up a few hours later. The morning sun had just begun to rise. Its first weak rays had turned the window a pale gray. I thought I was home in bed and had had a bad dream. Then I realized the window was on the wrong side of the room. The feeling of relief I had a few seconds before vanished. It was replaced by the fear of an uncertain future. I lay there trying not to think about what had happened. Katie's suggestion kept bouncing around in my head.

A few hours before, it had sounded completely ridiculous. Why on Earth would I want to do anything like that? Strange how a few hours sleep can change your perceptions. That morning, things seemed different. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to do it. It almost felt as if I had to do it. There was a voice in the back of my head whispering to me. If I could pull it off I would be infinitely safer. I made the decision to give it a try.

I must have fallen back asleep. Katie woke me up a while later. This time the sun was definitely up. The curtains were ringed in a gold light.

"What time is it?" I yawned.

"A little after seven. I was going to wake you up earlier but you looked so cute I couldn't bring myself to do it. I shut off the lights and gave you another hour. There's breakfast downstairs. I'll meet you down there after you get dressed," she answered.

My stomach growled at the mention of food. "I'll be down in a minute."

She nodded and left the room. I reluctantly crawled out from under the covers and got dressed. I am not a morning person. I have the hardest time getting out of bed. I'd taken to setting my alarm an hour early just to get me started waking up. My body was doing it's absolute best to stay rooted where it was under the warm blankets. I would probably still be buried in the covers if my stomach hadn't been so empty. I joined Katie, Max, Duncan, and Bax a few minutes later.

Duncan was busy relaying what he had learned while he was gone, "They have thrown out a pretty big net. Most of the local police have given finding you two a top priority. State offices have been alerted but it doesn't look like they're giving up any manpower. There seems to be some pressure from higher up not to look too hard."

"That's probably the NSA. That's probably Kent's doing. I get the feeling that he's not quite as hard-assed as he appears to be," Katie smiled.

"The guys in white hats aren't going to be a problem. The word on the streets is there's a reward out for finding you. They definitely want Katie alive. There's no reward if she's brought in dead. I'm not sure about Griffin. It seems they'd prefer him alive but would pay if he was not." frowned Duncan.

"So basically you're telling me I'm dead if the wrong people recognize me," I said uneasily.

"Unfortunately, yes. I think they determined you were just a guy trying to help someone out and weren't involved with Katie before. That puts you on the endangered species list."

"Katie, it's time we got started on our idea. Seems Griffin and you need to disappear," stated Max.

Katie looked questioningly at me. All I could do was nod my head yes. I didn't trust myself to speak. My emotions were in turmoil. Fear and anger fought with each other for top spot. Anxiety, disbelief and dread were there in lesser amounts. For the first time since I was a child, I was on the verge of tears.

I had long ago learned to imprison my emotions. The fortress I had built to hold them was put under tremendous strain. I could feel the iron bars of my will begin to bend and buckle. The pressure of too many buried feelings began to build. The walls of my fortress began to crack. I could almost hear the splintering wood. With great effort, I was able to gain control of myself. I couldn't lose control now. My very life was at stake. A few minutes and many deep breaths later, I was feeling a bit more solid.

"Where do we start?" I asked Katie.

She thought for a second, "Let's see what we have to work with. Let's go upstairs and have a look." I followed her back up to the room I had stayed in the previous evening. There she told me to get undressed. I hesitated for a second then thought that I didn't have anything she hadn't seen before, so I undressed. I stood there feeling very exposed, as she looked me over.

"Not bad. I think we can definitely do this. You don't have a lot of body hair for a guy. Your hair is long and looks like it's in good shape. You have good muscle tone but you're not bulky. That little waist is a plus, too. Shall we get started?"

"If that means the critique is over."

"It's over. Go ahead and fill the tub," she said pointing toward the bathroom. "There's a razor and shave gel under the sink. Shave your legs, armpits, and any place else you wouldn't want your girlfriend to have hair. I'm going to get some stuff together and try and reach Jack Kent. When you're finished have Bax show you around. You are not going to believe this place. It's like an adult play land."

I started filling the bath then went to cabinet. It was full with everything someone might need in a bathroom. Next to the razor was a bottle of rose scented bath oil. I figured I might as well start acting like a woman so I added that to the bath. A few more seconds of searching netted me a small stash of candles along with a lighter. "In for a penny in for a pound," I thought. I dispersed them around the tub and managed not to burn myself lighting them.

I noticed a pair of small speakers mounted close to the ceiling. Behind another cabinet door I found the radio/CD player. I turned it on and started searching for something to listen to. The only thing I could find was commercials. I switched over to CD. A cello started playing. The notes seemed to resonate with something inside me. The sounds fit the scene I had set perfectly. With the setting complete, I slid into the warm rose scented water.

I spent the next half hour soaking in the tub. It was wonderfully relaxing. I wondered why I had waited so long to try it. Was that a taste of things to come? I was thinking about other things that women do when I remembered I was supposed to shave. I reluctantly put my body in motion. A little more than an hour after I got in I climbed out of the tub with much less hair.

I pulled the tub's plug and started to dry off. I remember reading somewhere that it was better to pat yourself dry. I normally do the guy thing and rub the towel roughly over me to dry off. I had been trying new things all morning so I continued the trend. I patted myself dry and was amazed at how much better it felt. The combination of warm soaking bath, freshly shaved body, and pat dry left my skin feeling incredibly soft and sensitive. I could definitely get used to that.

I found a whole new set of sensations as I was getting dressed. The feel of my jeans against my bare legs sent chills up and down my spine. It wasn't necessarily all good. I found with less hair you get chilled easier. I quickly finished getting dressed after that. Strangely, I was looking forward to more changes.

Katie hadn't returned by the time I finished dressing. I went downstairs to find Bax. He had traded his heavy metal bouncer look for a more sedate black slacks and white long sleeve button down combination. He had his nose buried in a book and didn't notice me as I came down. It was a little weird to see a guy as big as Bax reading. You never see anything like that in the movies. The book looked tiny in his huge hands.

"Whatcha reading big guy?" I asked.

His head popped up at the sound of my voice. I must have startled him.

"Where'd you come from?" he smiled. "If you came down the stairs you're even lighter than you look. Those things creak loud enough to wake the dead."

"Just call me feather weight," I grinned.

"I'll call you something else if ya sneak up on me again," he laughed.

"OK, I'll try and make more noise next time."

"Speaking of calling you something else, Katie thought it would be a good idea to start calling you by a female name. It will help keep us from saying the wrong name at the wrong time. Any ideas on what your name should be?"

"I don't know. What was my female twin's name?"

"It was Gabrielle. Most of us just called her Gabbie, though."

"I guess that's as good as any other. Do you think anyone will mind?"

"No, I think they may even like the idea. Ready for the tour?"

"Whenever you're not busy. I'd hate to interrupt your reading."

"Don't worry about it. I was just keeping busy. Besides, it's about time for a break anyway."

"Lead on then."

I followed him through the door that he brought Max and Duncan through the night before. We walked down a short hall to another door.

"This leads to the club. It's kind of a secret door so to speak. You can't really tell it's a door from the club side. We're not really going to go into the club. I just wanted to show you where this hall goes. The room we just came from is the meeting room. It's where Max and Duncan's business guests can meet and not be disturbed. The room you stayed in last night is there for those associates that stay overnight," Bax stated.

We returned to the meeting room to the third and final door leading out. With a silver key, Bax unlocked the door and ushered me through.

"This side is a little harder to define. It's strictly for the guys and their friends. For some it's a playground. Others view it as a training facility. For others, it's a school. It's really just a place to learn new things. A lot goes on here. Everything from gardening to weapons training. Whatever happens to interest any of us," He continued.

"Is the club that successful? It must cost a lot to run this place."

"The club does a good business but you're right it wouldn't cover all this. The guys have made a good bit of money over their lifetimes. I'll admit that not all of it has been totally clean. We've fractured a law or two along the way but now it's mostly a law-abiding business. You don't need to know the details but we keep up our contacts in the less appealing side of society."

Bax continued to show me around. He had warm easy going manner that put me at ease and as we talked and I found him a very interesting person. With degrees in engineering and business, he was every bit as smart as he was big. He was well-traveled and told great stories from those travels. I had a feeling we would become good friends.

We wandered through a large greenhouse like room filled with tropical plants and flowers. I felt as if I had been magically transported into a tropical rainforest. A lot of effort had been made to make things appear as natural as possible. The only thing that was missing was the sound of birds and monkeys. I was reminded of my pets at home.

"Bax, I know I can't go home but I have a few lizards that need to be taken care of. I don't want them to starve to death. Can I call a friend to take care of them?" I asked worriedly.

"It isn't a good idea to call anyone. I can have someone go and pick them up for you. If you'd like?"

"Really? That would be wonderful," I said with relief. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. He talked to someone for a minute then asked what needed to be picked up. I told him I had an iguana and two bearded dragons and where to find them and the travel cases. He relayed the information then hung up.

"Iguana, huh? I guess you should meet Moe," he pointed to a small waterfall in the corner of the room. I followed him to it. Basking on a rock was a beautiful albino iguana. "Moe, meet Gabbie. Gabbie, this is Moe. He doesn't say much but he listens real well."

"He's beautiful. Is he yours?" I asked.

"Nah, I don't know who he actually belongs to. He's just a friend of mine. He likes for me to come talk to him occasionally. He also loves it when I bring grapes. I think they're his favorite," he smiled patting Moe on his back.

His phone rang then. The conversation lasted about two minutes. "I need to go take care of some club business. Why don't you hang out here for a bit? It's been a while since anyone's spent any time with Moe. I'm sure he'd like the company. It'll only take a few minutes. I'll bring him some grapes when I get back then we can continue our tour."

"Fine by me. I could stay in this room all day. It's like a little piece of paradise," I smiled.

"I'll let Max know you like it. This is one of his hobby rooms. He's done most of the work in here," with that he turned and left.

I was left to entertain Moe. It wasn't very difficult. He was perfectly content to soak up some of sun that filtered through the open skylight and have his dewlap stroked. I sat down on a large flat rock next to him. I was just as happy to be sitting in the sun listening to the falling water. I found that I was enjoying the tour I had been taken on. That building was one of the most interesting places I had ever been and Bax was a fun person to hang out with. I heard that little voice in my head whispering something I couldn't quite make out.

Bax returned a few minutes later carrying a small bag of grapes. Moe and I both looked up at him.

"Gabbie keep you company, Moe?" he asked the lizard. He opened the bag and tossed Moe a grape. I was surprised when Moe caught it in midair. I couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't everyday you see a mountain of a man tossing grapes to a bleached out iguana, who caught every one before they touched the ground.

"Nice show. You should charge admission," I commented.

"Nah, that's just between the three of us," he said with a wink. "Shall we continue?"

"You're the tour guide. I'll have to remember how to get here though."

"I'll show you after we get you settled into a more permanent room."

"Will I be staying here long?" I asked a little uneasy.

"You're not a prisoner, Gabbie You can leave anytime you want. I just wouldn't recommend it. There is a lot of heat out there right now. I'd hate to see someone as nice as you get killed. You'll be safe here. Think about staying at least until we can get you a new identity," he answered.

"It's not that I want to leave. Everyone is doing so much to help me but I'm not doing much myself. I want to help. I hate feeling like I'm dead weight."

"I can understand that. Tell you what, let's spend today getting you familiar with this place. Tomorrow we'll put you to work. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough. Where to next?" I was ready to see more.

"How about we check out the garage and your new wheels."

"Why didn't you say that sooner? Come on let's go, Gargantua," I teased while pushing him towards the door.

"All right, Tinkerbell, this way," he teased back.

I was lead into another large room. It easily held a dozen cars. They ranged from classic American muscle cars to brand new Italian exotics. Some were in various states of restoration. A factory fresh metallic black Ford Thunderbird caught my eye. It was a beautiful car. I spent a few minutes checking it out and drooling over all the features it had that my Mustang didn't. I was willing to bet that it had a much more comfortable ride, too. I looked around for my car but didn't see it. There were several large roll around toolboxes sprinkled throughout the room. Each one was almost as tall as I was. The place was spotless. Whoever ran this garage took his work very seriously. "Nice place. Someone knows what they're doing around here," I stated.

"Thanks, I like keeping things clean and organized. It makes things easier to work with," Bax answered with a huge smile.

"Let me guess. This is your corner of the woods, I should have known. Hey, I thought you said my car was here," I said.

"It is. You were looking at it a minute ago," came his reply.

"I saw a new Thunderbird but no Mustang."

"The Thunderbird's your new ride." He pointed out.

"Bax, I can't take a car from you. It's too much. You guys have done enough already."

"Look, there's plenty of money running around this place. Like I said before it wasn't always obtained under fair and legal activities. Max and Duncan feel that helping you will help offset just a little of the bad things they've done. They really want to do some good now. Besides, that Mustang really draws too much attention. It also looks and sounds like a guy's car. Not too many women would drive a car like that."

"I see your point, but that car saved my ass last night. What happens if I find myself in a similar situation?" I questioned.

"I thought you might feel that way. That's why I chose the Thunderbird. It's v8 powered and rear wheel drive. With almost three hundred horsepower, it's pretty solid in stock trim, but we aren't going to leave it stock. Get some ideas together and we'll make a plan tomorrow. We'll need to keep it looking stock but anything goes underneath. How's that sound?"

"Now you're talking. I can get into the sleeper concept."

"I figured you'd be OK with that. Come on. Let's show you the rest of the place before Katie gets back. We're starting to run short on time."

He gave me the quick version of the tour after that. I was taken to the gun room first. It was an indoor shooting range and gun shop. Like I said before, I'm not a big fan of guns so we just took a look and moved on to the next room. The workout room had just about every fitness device known to man. A not quite Olympic sized pool and hot tub were squeezed in to complete your workout.

We walked through the dining area and kitchen. Bax told me if I needed anything from the kitchen to just ask any of the people in there or punch the kitchen button on the phones for room service. I asked if I could get a plate of assorted fresh leafy greens to be sent to my room. Bax gave me a funny look then passed on my request. To finish off the tour, he took me to my new semi-permanent room.

"The second floor is for bedrooms only. Getting to your room is easy, just find any stairway. That will bring you to some point in the second floor hallway. The hallway itself is u-shaped, so once you're there you can't really get lost. Your room will be the last in the east corridor. It'll have a Phoenix on the door." directed Bax.

"A Phoenix?"

"Yeah, like rising from the ashes kind of Phoenix. Duncan thought it would be interesting to call the rooms different mythological creatures. We would have given you the Griffin room but it's being remodeled," he answered trying not to smile. He led me upstairs to my new room.

It was similar to the room I had stayed in the night before. There were three additional occupants when I arrived. I hoped that they might be there when I got there. My iguana and bearded dragons had safely arrived. The plate of greens was also there waiting for us. I freed Zoë, my iguana, from her travel case. She was not happy with all the commotion and didn't want any of the greens I offered her. She'd relax after a while so I let her wander around and check things out.

"I hope you didn't give your rescuer too much trouble, Zoë," I said to her. Then started tearing the greens into small bits to feed to the dragons.

"What the heck are these things?" queried Bax looking at the spiky dragons.

"That's Doc and Holly. They're bearded dragons," I answered.

"They look like pin cushions with attitudes," he joked.

"They just look mean. They are actually very gentle lizards," I said offering Holly a piece of green. She happily took it from me and started chewing. I repeated the process with Doc with the same results. "I see you two weren't too upset with the trip." They both looked at me wanting another piece. I gave each another piece then placed a small bowl full for them to eat at their leisure. Bax just watched as I got all three of them settled. After spending the afternoon with him I realized that Bax was very similar to my dragons. He might look scary but underneath is a completely different story.

"You are a gentle soul, Gabbie," Bax said. "Most of the guys that come around here act tough, hard, and cold. They come in and start trash talking. I'd be surprised if any of them did half the things they claimed to. I get so tired of all the bravado and posturing. You're the first real honest person to walk through those doors in a long time. I really have enjoyed showing you around today. It been refreshing."

I was a little embarrassed by his compliment. I never really thought of myself as anything but a regular boring guy. However, it was nice to hear that other people found the tough guy act a little tedious, too. I never really understood why that was considered good by so many. That little voice was whispering again.

"It's nice to see the two of you are getting along," came Katie's voice. She was standing in the doorway watching us. "What is this, Wild Kingdom?"

"Yep, just wait until the snakes arrive," I said trying to sound serious.

"You're a terrible liar, Griffin. It's time to get started on your new look."

"It's Gabbie now, Katie. I thought you'd like that," corrected Bax.

"I think that is just perfect. Ready for your makeover, Gabbie."

"I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be. Thanks for the tour, Bax. It was fun," I said as Katie directed me out of my room. I followed her back down to the first level and into a small room. Inside there was a large table half covered with bags and boxes. The other half had been setup as a vanity with lighted mirror. There was a large sink set in one corner and a salon styled hair dryer in another. The last item in the room was a full-length mirror attached to the opposite wall.

"Go ahead and get undressed. We're going to work from the skin out," Katie began. I did as directed without the previous hesitation. I was getting anxious to get this over. She handed me a light blue bra and matching panties. I gratefully pulled on the panties then looked at the bra to figure out the easiest way to put it on. Katie gave no sign as to what to do.

I had taken off a few in my time but never actually put one on. It was obvious enough what was front and back. I didn't think it would be very easy to get things hooked reaching behind me, so I did the hooks in front and spun it around. I put my arms through and pulled the straps over my shoulders.

"Not bad. You figured that out pretty quickly. I didn't even need to help. Now we need something to fill it," she said as she opened one of the boxes from the table and handed me the contents. It took me a few seconds to realize they were very life like breast imitations. She helped get them situated properly and to get the straps adjusted.

"You won't have these for long. Once we get you dressed, we'll take you to get fitted and color matched. That set is attachable and will look very real. Only the closest inspection would reveal them," I was informed. "Now, let's deal with that little butt of yours. This should help," She said handing me a padded brief. I slipped it on and magically I had curves. Next, I was handed a light satin robe then led to the vanity.

"Here's make-up 101. First thing is to go and wash your face. After that, use the toner and moisturizer that are by the sink over there. Then I'll tell you what everything is and what it is used for. I'll do everything first to show you how it's done. We'll wash it all off then you get to do it. The sooner you get comfortable doing it yourself the better," instructed Katie.

Katie's lesson lasted about an hour. A week before I couldn't have cared less about the art of make-up. It's funny how the prospect of death can change one's priorities. I paid very close attention to what she was teaching. When she finished with her demonstration, it was very difficult to see the male me underneath.

I was absolutely, shocked. Katie seemed confident, but I really didn't think I'd turn out all that well. I figured I'd give it an honest try, but it would ultimately be a failure. Katie was right and I was wrong. Staring back at me from the mirror was a reasonably passable, if not attractive, woman. All I had to do was learn how to copy what she had done.

It took me three full attempts to get anywhere close to what Katie had been able to accomplish. I kept trying to apply too much of everything. Once Katie forced me to use less, things started looking better. On the fourth attempt, both Katie and I were happy with the results.

"That will do nicely. I challenge anyone to see the guy under there. Besides, anymore scrubbing and your face is liable to fall off," she stated.

"I'll agree with the scrubbing part. I already feel rubbed raw," I commented.

Our next task required getting my hair in order. My hair is a little weird. The top half is almost perfectly straight. I guess that comes from pulling it back all the time. The bottom portion ranges from slightly wavy to seriously curly. I never know whether to make it all curl or all straight. Fortunately, men don't usually have to worry about their hair. My new position would require some effort in that area.

"We're kind of doing things in a weird order. Normally you'd wash your hair first, but I wanted to get the make up part done to see how you'd look before we did anything more permanent to your hair," Katie stated.

Together, Katie and I decided to go straight to avoid overloading my brain. Katie thought that changing color would be a good idea also. After some discussion, we decided to go a few shades redder than my natural reddish brown. Katie picked up a few things from the table and got to work.

A few minutes later I was leaning over that little sink and Katie was covering my hair with some less than pleasant smelling substance. I had to wait an excruciating thirty minutes before I could rinse that stuff out. It was at that point I started getting a whole new appreciation for what women put themselves through to look good. Little did I know, I was just getting started.

After a good fifteen minutes of rinsing, most of the excess color and harsh smell was gone. I made my way back to the vanity area and Katie started trimming my wet hair. After a couple minutes of work, she was ready for the next step.

"Let's get this hair dried and straight then we'll be done," she said and set to work. She added a bit of gel and something called anti-frizz to my still damp hair, pulled out a blow dryer, and started my next lesson. Keeping with my previous lessons I was first told how to use the heat of the dryer to get the results I wanted. She then led by example and I was allowed to follow with my own attempt. I managed to pick up the technique without too much extra help from Katie. With dry hair we were finally done.

"OK, let's get you dressed," she said

"Gladly, I've been running around half naked long enough," I replied.

Katie produced three different outfits from the boxes on the table. The first was a pale yellow knee-length sundress. I thought it was too small but Katie insisted it fit fine. I wondered how she knew what size I was. My normal wardrobe consists mainly of t-shirts and blue jeans. I pretty much keep myself covered up. That little sundress left me feeling all too exposed. I may have looked fine, but I was very uncomfortable.

The second option was better. The dark red boat neck dress actually managed to cover most of my lower body. Other than the lack of sleeves, I was pretty comfortable. I still wasn't one hundred percent OK, but I thought I could manage my unease.

In true Goldilocks fashion the third outfit fit just right. Katie had paired a long denim skirt with a long sleeve scoop neck linen shirt. That was definitely to my liking. A pair of stitched slides was added to my feet to complete my new look. I would have called them sandals but Katie told me they were slides. I started thinking about writing some of this stuff down. There was little chance of me remembering on my own. There really should be a female to male dictionary.

I was totally complete. I was a little afraid to look in the mirror. I wasn't afraid of looking bad. That I had expected, even hoped for. That would have ended this little experiment. I started getting nervous after I had done my make-up. I didn't look bad. Now the possibility of going out in public was very real. That really made me nervous. That little voice in my head was back and nearly screaming something at me. It was clearer than it had been, but I just couldn't quite figure it out.

(continued)

  

  

  

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