A Wish the Heart Makes : Fornever in Blue Genes

by: Tigger

 

Chapter 14: Mandy Makes her Escape

The odd combination of a very feminine pout on the very same face that was trying to twist into a grimace of purely masculine frustration had Cat choking back a laugh. Mandy was definitely not in the mood to enjoy that particular joke at that particular moment in time, especially since she was the punch line. Matt had always taken himself just a little too seriously, in Cat’s view anyway, and now Mandy was showing the same lamentable inclinations.

*Well, it is time for that to come to screeching halt,* Cat thought gleefully to herself. *Time to shake little Miss Dimple-Cheeks out of her doldrums.*

Nonchalantly, Cat strolled over to where the quietly stewing Mandy was sitting, whereupon she vigorously tousled the younger woman’s hair. "HEY!" Mandy yelled as the heavy mass of auburn locks ended up covering her face. "What the hell do you think you’re doing, Donovan?" she snarled as she came up out of her seat.

Cat was too quick and too strong for Mandy, even with her greatly improved physical conditioning, and almost instantly had Mandy face down on the floor. Pleased with the potential inherent in their situation, Cat quickly settled herself down on top of the floundering Mandy, a wide smile on her face.

"GET YOUR FAT ASS OFF ME, Donovan!" Mandy bellowed.

"Aw, now why’d you have to go and say something mean like that, Mandy?" Cat asked with a mock catch in her voice. "You want to hurt my feelings or something?"

"DON - O - VAN!!"

Cat shifted her weight and then used her legs to get a grapevine tie on Mandy’s own, effectively restraining the smaller woman to the floor. "Well, I am not going to take that kind of treatment from you, Sorenson," Cat growled in Mandy’s ear. "Guess we’ll see just how sensitive that new and improved skin of yours REALLY is."

"And just how do you think you’re going to . . . " Mandy’s indignant query was cut off by a sudden burbling giggle. "Stop that, Cat!" she ordered, her voice suddenly rasping. "DAMMIT, Cat, that tickles!"

"Good!" Cat replied as she dug the knowing fingers of one hand into Mandy’s ribs and underarms, while the other sought for volatile targets of opportunity in other regions of Mandy’s body.

Mandy’s new womanly body turned out to be just as sensitive as Robert had promised it would be. In mere moments, Mandy was helplessly howling with wild laughter even as she continued her hopeless struggle for freedom.

Morag and Teri came rushing into Mandy’s room just in time to hear her gasp out, "Cat, PLEEEAASE stop. I am going to PEEEE my pants if you don’t . . . "

"Good!" Cat snapped back again. Weeks of frustrated longing turned into something just a bit sadistic now that Cat *finally* had her hands on Mandy. A wicked grin formed on her face as she slipped her fingers down Mandy’s madly quaking body, seeking out those places that might just accelerate such an event. "Damn you Mandy, but it might do you some good if you DID wet yourself, you control-freak little tart. Might make you just a little easier on yourself to know you could lose control like a real person now and then."

Amused, Morag looked over to Teri who, now that her immediate fears had been allayed, was trying and failing to keep from giggling herself. In short order, Morag joined Teri and both were laughing lustily together.

Eventually, the sound of new voices raised in laughter broke through Cat’s awareness; the distraction clearing her lust- driven berserker rage. Slowly, and with great deliberation, she stopped her teasing and slipped her body from atop Mandy.

For her own part, Mandy could not catch her breath. The combination of carrying Cat’s weight on her rib cage while being tickled to near insanity had left her oxygen starved. It was all she could do just to lay on the floor gasping for air.

Cat was starting to worry she’d gone to far when Teri matter of factly helped her patient to her feet. "Calm down and breathe slowly, Mandy. You’ll be fine," she said with a nurse’s certainty.

"Why didn’t you two help me?" Mandy asked, making the question an accusation.

"Why?" Teri asked bluntly. "You don’t laugh enough, and other than your workouts with Morag when the two of you try to just barely avoid killing each other, you don’t play enough, either."

"Ya dinna think I am gonna take on the Donovan when all she’s doin’ is havin’ a bit of fun wi’ ye, now do ye, lass? Do ya think I’ve got me a death wish?" Morag added, her lilting brogue heavier than usual as she fought to control the laughter that still fought to escape.

"Playing!" Mandy was almost shrieking. "Fun? Is that what you call it???"

Cat was beginning to feel like a heel. She had not meant for her game to go that far and really upset Mandy. *But dammit, what else could have happened, particularly with Mandy’s tight little butt squirming against me like that? You fucked up this time, Donovan - big time.*

Cat began to work at formulating an apology when Teri responded, "Of course it was fun and play, silly."

"But . . . but . . . but . . . " Mandy sputtered, trying to find a response to that, but again, Teri had the answer.

"Mandy, you’re young again, and female to boot. You don’t have to wear that cloak of stodgy male dignity all the time like you did before . . . before you changed. It’s all right to let your hair down and laugh, even if it might be at yourself sometimes. All right, so maybe you’re a little embarrassed just now, but so what? Aren’t you among friends? Can’t you laugh with us on this?"

Mandy went very quiet as she considered her nurse’s words. In truth, she *had* enjoyed the tussle right up until the point where she had begun to lose control of her body, only it hadn’t *really* been her bladder she’d been worried about. The feel of Cat’s big, powerful body covering hers, the touch of Cat’s strong, active hands all over her body had brought Mandy to the brink of orgasm. *THAT* had been what had been bothering her, and THAT, she realized, was pretty silly. Wasn’t that what she’d been dreaming about in her lonely bed ever since Cat had come to act as her bodyguard?

Ruefully, she turned a sheepish look at Cat and was surprised to see the normally assured woman looking . . . uncertain. *Why, she’s worried,* Mandy thought in wonder. *Worried about what? That she might have gone too far and that I might be really upset with her? Well, enough of that!*

Mandy walked over to Cat, looked at her, and then caught her up in a tight hug. A cold lump that had been growing in Cat’s gut melted instantly in the fiery heat of that embrace. Only a strong exertion of will kept Cat from sweeping her "dream girl" off her feet and carrying her off to her bed.

"Oh . . . Cat?" Mandy said sweetly.

Too sweetly, a suddenly wary Cat thought. "Yes, Mandy?" she asked carefully.

"Teri was right. That was fun. So much fun that," and suddenly, Mandy’s grip and weight shifted. "That I want to share it."

Before Cat’s lust-dulled wits could recover, Mandy had *HER* down on the floor and was returning the tickling favor. Cat tried not to resist too much, delighted with the game, but all too quickly, Mandy was driving her crazy, and Cat began to buck. "Hey, you two, c’mon and help me. She’s too damned strong and she’ll get off MUCH too easy if she breaks loose now."

Bemused at the request, the other two looked on for a few more seconds before Morag growled, "Oh, what the hell . . . "

Cat found herself the target of three pairs of very clever hands and *did* go momentarily out of her mind under their relentless, mischievous onslaught. It was several infinitely long minutes before the laugh-ravaged Cat Donovan was able to free herself from her giggling tormentors and regain her equilibrium.

~------------~

"Why do I have to stay in here, Cat?" Mandy asked later after things had once again settled. "I mean, I refuse to be a prisoner for the rest of my life. Besides, its not as if I am well known. Heck, less than twenty people even know who I am, or rather, who I was."

"Twenty people that we know of, Mandy," Cat corrected firmly. "There are people out there who know of your transition - people who had a major role in manipulating you into that transition."

"Dammit, Cat, I am bored, okay? I want to go out and be a person for a few hours."

"I can’t protect you out in the open, Mandy. You’ll just have to . . . "

"Goddamn it, Cat, I am NOT going to be a prisoner in my own house for the rest of my unnatural life!"

"But Mandy, we still don’t know who attacked you. They may try again."

"Yeah, and I may get hit by a chunk of falling space junk, too. Or lightning," snarled Mandy, then her expression changed to sadness that tore a ragged hole in Cat’s heart. Mandy continued in a much softer tone, "Though I guess I don’t have to worry about lightning at that, if I just hide out here in my cave."

Cat sighed and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Oh, I don’t know. Just get out of here. What do you do when you’re off duty?"

Cat actually blushed, the first time Mandy (or Matt) had ever seen such a window of vulnerability. The tall bodyguard fought to regain her composure and finally said, "You wouldn’t want to go where I go. It’s a, um, special interest setting."

"Sounds wonderful!" laughed Mandy as delighted with Cat’s reaction as with the idea of finally getting out of the high security apartment. "When can we go?"

"Don’t be silly. I told you - *you* wouldn’t like it at all."

The part of Mandy that would always be Matt was showing in the redhead’s eyes at Cat’s assumption that she couldn’t make her own decisions. It was not a tender look. ‘Silly’, huh?

"Cat, you’ve got two choices. Either you help me in this, or I’ll go on my own. And do NOT even THINK of trying to stop me."

The sharpness in Mandy’s tone sparked a reflexive sharpness in Cat’s eyes. She was about to argue further, but the memory of the sadness that had consumed Mandy such a short time before held Cat back. Was she really helping Mandy by forcing her into the life of a prisoner?

"All right," Cat said, "we’ll go out. But not to my club. Seriously, Mandy, that place wouldn’t appeal to you anyway. We’ll find some nice place for dinner."

"That’s not what I said," Mandy replied, soft-voiced but implacable.

"Huh?" Cat grunted. "I agreed to let you go out."

"Yes, you did," Mandy said. "You just patted me on the head and said, ‘Mommy will take baby to the zoo, one of these days.’ Well, that’s not good enough. We’re going to go to your club, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to fit in there."

"But . . . "

Mandy interrupted, "Enough, Cat. It’s decided. You can bring someone else along if you think it’s necessary."

Mandy stood there, staring up at the tall, powerful woman, but there was no doubt whose hand held the true power between them. It had become a matter of authority, not a matter of security alone, and Cat accepted that distinction, as she always had. "Very well, but the club I go to has a strict dress code. ‘Fetish or fashion.’ Frankly, I don’t think you’re ready for that."

"Then we will get me ready," Mandy declared. "It’s probably time for me to learn about women’s fashions, anyway. Teri can help."

~-----------~

Mandy took a deep breath, and walked out into the main room of her apartment. Teri followed her, almost running into the shapely redhead from behind when Mandy froze at the doorway.

Cat had chosen fetish.

The tall woman had somehow poured herself into a shiny black catsuit that hugged every curve with a lover’s passion. On a lesser woman it would have been spectacular. On Cat, it was as though all the others had somehow reverted to childhood in the presence of one, fully complete woman.

The heels she wore seemed almost superfluous until she stepped toward Mandy. Then the special sway they imparted to her stride started ripples playing over the shiny material that would have had to be toned down by orders of magnitude to be merely hypnotic.

"God, Mandy, you are GORGEOUS!" Cat said.

"Huh, what?" Mandy stammered. She was so caught up in the way CAT looked that she had forgotten her own appearance.

Teri had talked her into a sleek, black silk dress that was much too short, and much too body-conscious for Mandy’s peace of mind. Her own heels were fairly low, especially in comparison with Cat’s, but they did lift her calves into graceful accents for the trim legs that she had worked so hard to firm up. As for her face, Mandy had learned makeup techniques with the same concentration she applied to all problems, and with the same success that had built her fortune. All in all, she was more than beautiful, and a part of her knew it even as she was still trying to absorb Cat’s incredible appearance.

When all those thoughts had had time to wander around in her mind for a while - say, about a millisecond - Mandy blushed and found herself ducking her head in sudden embarrassment. That motion started her dangling earrings to swaying, reminding her once again of how much effort she had gone to in order to look good that evening. Apparently, her work had paid off.

"I’ll second that," Morag said with a smile. "Saints be praised, boss, but ye do look awesome."

Mandy felt another blush fire her cheeks, but she straightened up and walked confidently over to her two bodyguards. "You’re not bad yourself, Morag. Green is definitely your color."

She might as well have been speaking to the wall, though, for as soon as she had cleared the way and Morag had laid eyes on Teri, there was no one in the room for the Scots lass but the blonde nurse. Their surprise at each other’s appearance made it clear that there was no pre-arrangement, but both Morag and Teri had chosen to wear silk dresses, going the fashion route as had Mandy. The styles were similar enough to be compatible, yet distinct enough to make each woman worthy of attention on her own. Even the bright blue that Teri wore fit well with the dark, shimmering green selected by Morag.

"Well," Cat finally broke the uneasy silence as the four women stood about staring at one another. "If we’re going to do this, let’s get a move on. Remember, we can leave anytime you’ve had enough, Mandy."

The smile the gorgeous redhead wore did nothing to relieve Cat’s reservations while doing a very great deal to arouse her libido. It was going to be a very long night.

~-----------------~

Cat sat quietly, watching as club patrons merrily engaged in their usual mad dance of socializing and seduction. It was easily far more interesting than her snifter of de-alcohol’ed brandy. As for Cat’s little "debutante", well, Mandy had been fascinated with the place from the moment they’d walked in the door. She’d also become the center of attention of every unattached as well as almost every supposedly attached person in the place.

Not that Mandy had noticed.

The Pas d’Ordinaire was a small alternative lifestyles club located a few kilometers from the CyberBiotics compound. The place was jumping, filled to the rafters with the usual mix of gays, straights, bi’s, dominants, slaves, leather-folk, rubber-lovers, lurking gawkers and a myriad of other types. And every damned one of them was hovering around Mandy like hungry hyenas waiting for a lion to finish with its latest kill. *Well, at least that makes me the lion,* Cat thought as she took another sip of the very inadequate brandy-substitute. *And I’m not even close to being finished.*

Actually, Mandy’s response to Cat’s fellow club members had really been amusing. She’d been chivalrously deferential to the women who came to chat her up, and had happily tried to male-bond with most of the men who had tried to hit on her. *She has absolutely no idea what is behind all this attention. She doesn’t see the men as potential partners because they are men. Hell, she’s still trying to relate to them as if *she* was still a man. As for the women, I don’t think old Matthew was ever very successful in the dating game . . . too much of a lab-rat. He, or rather she, *likes* women, but she doesn’t realize that these women like *her* or that they would like her to do a helluva lot more with and to them than just like them.*

It had been like that all night. With two exceptions, Mandy had happily chattered away with whoever had come over to their table begging an introduction, but that’s as far as it had gone. The two exceptions, at least the first one, had been more than enough for Cat’s peace of mind.

The first incident had involved a long-time friend of Cat’s by the name of Cheryl. Cheryl, or Mistress Cherisse when she was working or playing, was a lovely, highly respected professional and lifestyle domina. She hadn’t been working or playing when she’d dropped by to say hello, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to take full advantage of any play opportunity that might arise during the course of the evening.

The well curved blonde had arrived in full "battle armor" in happy anticipation of renewing the battle of the sexes. The soft syn-leather catsuit was a sparkling electric blue that matched Cheryl’s own intensely blue eyes. If the outfit had been spray-painted on her, it could not have been any more figure-hugging. Except for her neck and face, every inch of Cheryl from the tips of her fingers to her toes had been smooth, blue and dangerously sexy. Far more sexy, to Cat’s way of thinking, than if the suit’s designer had left Cheryl’s butt or breasts hanging out. *Too bad we are both tops,* Cat had thought wistfully, and not for the first time.

For her part, Mandy had been absolutely enthralled with Cat’s friend, and most especially with Cheryl’s outfit. Her oddly breathy, "Is that *real* leather?" and her almost impatient, "*Where* did you get it?" had drawn amused chuckles from Cheryl. Delighted with Mandy, and even more delighted to see her longtime friend Cat so obviously smitten, Cheryl had easily responded to Mandy’s requests for information.

"I like your friend," Mandy had said to Cat when Cheryl had slipped away to continue her evening’s hunt.

"I do, too," Cat had replied. *Especially since she’s a good enough friend not to poach.* That thought brought Cat up short. *Wait-a-minute, Donovan. How the hell could she poach on someone who isn’t claimed?*

Except that something deep inside Cat’s soul had screamed in denial at that thought. "THE HELL SHE’S UNCLAIMED!" that inner voice had bellowed, "SHE’S MINE AND SHE’S GOING TO *STAY* MINE!"

Cat had still been struggling with this new and very uncomfortable revelation when they’d had to deal with the second exception arrived at their table. One of the few bores in the club, a male pseudo top who called himself "Lord Tyr" after the Norse God of War, came over to hit on Mandy. The damned fool had been too drunk to take no for an answer. Which only made him more of a fool because he’d been too incapacitated to recognize just how dangerous a mood the Big Cat was in at that moment.

"Hey, babe? Why don’t you take a turn about the dance floor with me?" he’d asked with the assurance of the drunk. "I’ll show you things you’ve never seen . . . " and his voice had dropped in a low rasp, "or *felt* before."

Cat had started to get pissed. Unlike Cheryl, Tyr wasn’t teasing - he was actually trying to pick Mandy up! That kind of poaching was frowned upon in the club. Mandy had clearly been with Cat all evening and that idiot was trying a direct, unsubtle come-on right there with Cat seated next to Mandy.

"I don’t think so," Mandy had replied coolly. "As that very old song goes, I dance with the one what brung me. Why don’t you go somewhere else. Better yet, why don’t you take an air- cab home and sober up."

The tinge of pure masculine disdain in Mandy’s purely feminine voice had been lost on Tyr. All he’d heard was the firmly delivered setdown and he’d been unable to deal with it. "You’ll dance with Tyr when Tyr wants to dance with you, slave!" he’d bellowed, causing the all conversation in the immediate vicinity to stop. Then, he’d grabbed Mandy by the wrist, trying to drag her onto the dance floor.

Only Mandy had not wanted to go, and did something about it. What followed didn’t qualify as even a minor scuffle, because it ended before anyone else in the room realized it had started. All the nearby patrons saw was a stunned Tyr on the floor staring up at an infuriated Mandy. *I taught that girl well,* she thought with a dark, but satisfied smile. Still, that ending had been somewhat disappointing, Cat reflected as she sipped again at her drink. Cat herself had been a nano- instant away from dealing with the fat bastard herself only *she* wouldn’t have left him conscious, or quite that . . . unbroken. Unfortunately, Mandy had done him first and then the club bouncer had tossed the still fuzzy headed would-be suitor out of the club before Cat could come up with an excuse to continue the "fight".

The incident would probably cost Tyr his membership in the club which was just fine with Cat. What wasn’t fine was that Mandy’s Aikido technique had worked, in part at least, because the fool had been drunk. In Cat’s professional judgement, the problem with most Aikido techniques was that they were too gentle. Mandy’d have needed something a good deal more disabling than that slip-and-toss move against a less impaired opponent. *Gonna have to teach that girl a few more of the really painful techniques if she’s gonna insist on being out in the real world again. Something that will let her take the bad guy out of the game hard enough and long enough to get the hell out of Dodge. Girl has to learn that when you are the small dog, or more correctly, the small bitch in the fight, fighting ‘fair’ can get you hurt.*

"Isn’t it great about those two?" Mandy asked suddenly, her words coming as a surprise to the other woman since Cat was still struggling to deal with the stress of being denied the opportunity to choke the life out that bastard.

And with her possessiveness of Mandy.

"Huh? Who? What do you mean?" Cat asked, confused. She followed Mandy’s pointed look to the dance floor where Morag and Teri were dancing.

The two of them had been doing the "teenage girls on their first group date" thing the whole damned night. They’d shared war stories about past dates and boyfriends, and giggled like loons. They’d embarrassed their young waiter nearly to tears with their pointed observations and just slightly short-of- lewd ‘compliments’ on his nice, tight butt. They’d gone off to the ladies room together and had come back wearing each other’s shade of lipstick and eyeshadow, and they’d danced, like they were doing now. Not really dancing together, mind you, but not with anyone else either, and close enough together that they could keep chattering even over the din caused by the sorry excuse for a band that was playing tonight.

Like teenage girls on their first group date, and yet . . . not quite. But they were a lot closer together now than they had been the first time they’d gone out to dance, but they’d dragged Mandy along that time and the band hadn’t been quite this loud - had it?

Cat had been ready to tear into both of them when they’d dumped Mandy back at the table and had run off again. They’d been off somewhere for almost twenty minutes and that had sure as hell not been why Cat had brought them. And she would have torn each of them a new anterior orifice had Mandy not stopped her.

"Dammit," Cat had fumed, "they are supposed to be watching out for you, not playing sticky-finger in the women’s john!"

"As if Morag would, and even if they were, so what? They’re both big girls," Mandy had snorted in response. "Look, Cat, I am safe as long as I am with you and everyone here seems so nice. Let them have their fun."

That had surprised Cat. "You don’t mind? I mean, them both being, well . . . "

Mandy had given Cat a long, level look that reminded Cat of the man behind those gorgeous eyes. "Have I ever given you the impression that two people really loving each other bothers me? If so, then I apologize for giving you that misconception. Just to set the record straight, Catherine, it’s loneliness and living without any love at all that bothers me. If those two end up falling in love - really in love - all you’ll hear from me is cheers. Slightly envious cheers, but cheers nonetheless."

An uncomfortable silence had followed as Cat had considered Mandy’s statement. Mandy must have been thinking hard, too, because Cat recognized her body - it was Matt Sorenson puzzling over a sticky problem. Was Mandy telling Cat that she might welcome Cat as a lover? Weren’t the two of them also dancing around that issue, much as Morag and Teri were?

*Well,* Cat thought as she brought her mind back to the present, *at least Morag’s potential-soon-to-be-lover is already cleared for Project Mandy. That will simplify the security checks required once MacPherson gets Teri into bed - or vice versa.*

"Cat?" Mandy’s voice called Cat back from her envious reflections about Morag’s apparent good fortune. She looked at Mandy who was starting to stand up. "I need to go to the little boys’ . . . I mean, the little girls’ room. I’ll be right back." Cat started to rise, but found herself gently pushed back down. "I am a big girl, and I can go to the bathroom by myself, momma. You just sit here and relax. Have another drink."

Cat wanted to protest, but *that* look crossed Mandy’s features again and reluctantly, Cat relented. *Hell, the place is pretty well settled and paired up already. She’ll be fine, Donovan!* More than fine she mused, as she watched Mandy’s trim butt swaying seductively in the short, slinky black silk dress as she slipped into the milling crowd. The very interesting motion of those twin moons was nicely enhanced by Mandy’s still uncertain gait in the relatively low heeled shoes Nurse Richardson had pressed on her along with that killer dress.

*Teri did a great job dressing her for tonight’s outing,* Cat thought with pure feminine appreciation. *Glad I thought to tell them the place has a dress code. Wasn’t even a lie, either. Fetish or fashion,* Cat smiled and toasted her boss’ retreating figure with her snifter. *Too bad Miss Mandy wasn’t quite ready for latex and six inch heels, though. She’s even wearing make up, just like a real grown up woman, and those long, glittering earrings make me want to grab hold and use ‘em as handles while I kiss her senseless.* Cat took another, healthy gulp of her drink, hoping the artificial burn of the synthesol would help cool her growing need . . . at least back down to manageable levels.

*Maybe I’ll take a page from MacPherson’s book and take Mandy out for a turn around the dance floor when she gets back,* Cat decided. *Have to make sure to bribe the band to play only fast dancing music, though. I have a LOT of nervous energy to burn off.*

~--------------~

Mandy had also been thinking quite deeply about fashion and the female form. Particularly fashions on *Cat’s* very female form. Which had been a large part of the reason she’d wanted to go to the ladies room alone - so she could get those little fantasies under control and cool off a bit - before she jumped Cat’s bones right there and then.

*Lord only knows what would happen if I got her alone in the powder room. That slinky black one-piece-whatever-the-hell- that-is she’s almost wearing - oh, man, what a woman. So tall and elegant, a sleek black panther that I wouldn’t mind have chasing me. Sure as hell wouldn’t run very far or very fast before one of us caught the other, that’s for damned sure. And she needs a couple of those synthetic leather things - one in black and one in red. Wonder if they can size it from a holo-pic or if they’d need her to stand still for a fitting?*

Mandy had been happily daydreaming of how someone might go about getting six feet of woman *out* of one of those catsuits when a pair of hands snaked out of the shadows to grab her. A leather gloved hand moved up to her mouth to cut off her scream.

"Get me tossed out of here, will you, bitch? Turn down Lord Tyr when he offers you the honor of his attentions? You need some training, girl, and I am just the man to give it to you." The words were slurred, in a pseudo-whisper that still barely carried in the noisy club, and the breath was fetid with the stench of too much whiskey. "And then, you are going to reward me for my efforts on your behalf with what’s between those sexy legs of yours."

~----------~

Something tickled at the back of Cat’s mind and she glanced back toward the ladies room. She hadn’t expected Mandy to take so long in the powder room. Certainly, Mandy had not yet fully mastered the fine art of cosmetic application so it wasn’t too surprising that she might need longer than other women, but something felt wrong. Cat had stayed alive more than once because of such feelings and knew better than to ignore them. She wished she could see the door to the ladies room, but there were just too many people between her and the door. Cursing, Cat stood and started off the bathroom. *If she rags on me for this, I will just tell her that I had one too many glasses of that wretched brandy-substitute. Besides, I *am* the bodyguard and I can’t very damn-well guard a body that I can’t even see.*

~-------------~

With recognition, Mandy’s first response was pure male fury that another male had dared challenge him, had dared attack him from behind. That reaction very nearly cost the intoxicated Tyr his life. In their first encounter, Mandy had been more annoyed than angry, and had been, for the most part, still rationally in control of her actions. She’d consciously chosen that Aikido throw because it would quickly free her from his grip and because it was relatively gentle. The man had just had too much to drink, and she had seen no reason to hurt him anymore than necessary.

That was *not* how Mandy felt now. Red hot rage colored her world and she reacted without thought to the consequences of her actions. For his part, the still inebriated Tyr had made a nearly fatal mistake. He’d simply grabbed her around the waist which did not really restrain or limit Mandy in any way. He’d compounded his stupidity by trying to held her with one arm while using his other hand in an attempt to muffle Mandy’s screams.

Only Mandy had no intention of saying or screaming anything.

A heel shod foot slammed down onto Tyr’s right instep, followed almost immediately by two hard back-elbow strikes to Tyr’s solar plexus. Gasping in pain for air that would no longer come into his lungs, Tyr lost what little grip he had on Mandy. She didn’t even step away, and instead, simply spun around hard, leading with another elbow to Tyr’s eye as she snapped her following knee up into his groin.

Tyr never felt the knife hand strike to his wishbone that finally ended the fight. Mandy’s nut-shot had already shut down his nervous system because it simply couldn’t deal with that much pain and agony. He toppled to the floor, seeking the fetal position even in unconsciousness. Mandy had never moved more than six inches from the spot he’d initially pulled her.

That was how Cat found them mere moments later as she pushed her way through the milling crowd that had gathered around the scene of the fight. Mandy, standing above her fallen foe - her legs slightly spread, her hands fisted and ready, her eyes wild but locked on his still quivering body. Cat barely stopped the bouncer from coming at Mandy from behind. "Not a good idea," she’d whispered. *Maybe I don’t need to teach her so very much after all,* she thought as she moved around so that she was in front of Mandy.

"Mandy?" she said quietly. When she got no response, she called again - louder. "Mandy?" The smaller woman seemed to shake herself back, and then finally, turned her eyes back on Cat. "What happened here?"

A dazed look replaced the stony fury on Mandy’s face. She looked at Cat, and then down at Tyr. "He was angry about being shown up earlier," she said in a voice devoid of inflection. "Said he was going to train me . . . and then . . . and then he was going to make me reward him . . . " Mandy’s voice died away.

Slowly, Cat moved to her friend and took her hand. She knew, or thought she knew what that meant. She was afraid to bring that issue out into the open, but she was more afraid not to. "What kind of reward, babe?" she asked softly, still pulling Mandy away from the scene of her fight.

In a very child-like voice - almost a whisper, Mandy finally answered. "He . . . he was going to rape me, Cat."

It was like a dam breaking, Cat would think later - when she had time to think. Suddenly, Mandy was in Cat’s arms, sobbing loudly. "Omigod, Cat, he was going to *rape* me," she’d cried over and over again.

~----------~

Interlude:

Teri had asked to be taken home as soon as Robert and the duty nurse had things under control back at the compound. She needed to report this incident to the Cabal because it would have a very direct bearing on what direction Sorenson, and therefore on what direction BioCybernetics would take in the near future.

But it had been damned hard to turn down the offer of wine and comfort from Morag. It occurred to Teri that Morag was potentially almost as valuable an intelligence source as Mandy. The Leader might conclude that having Teri become MacPherson’s lover could be as useful as having the nurse seduce Mandy. It was certainly a less mission-hazardous strategy than getting in Cat Donovan’s way by making a play for Mandy.

So why didn’t she feel like reporting that or making that recommendation to Freuda and the Leader?

Florence had not found an answer to that question when Freuda’s holographic avatar shimmered into view. "What do you have to report, Florence?" the older woman demanded in a cold voice.

"Sorenson manipulated Donovan into taking her out to a club tonight." Teri fell into the clipped, unemotional tones of the career nurse and military officer reporting to a senior. "While there, a drunken male patron attacked her, apparently threatening rape."

"How did she respond?"

"Violently. The attacker has a broken foot, two badly cracked ribs, significant damage to the ocular socket about the right eye and a seriously ruptured testicle. The latter will likely require amputation."

"Now that is interesting," Freuda said contemplatively. "*Very* interesting. So, she fought back, did she? Evidently she is developing the strength that West predicted for her with his optimization program."

"Most of the damage was done using the martial arts skills learned from Donovan. She is progressing at a rapid rate in that area as well."

"When did she fight back? After the threat or after the attacker began to physically abuse her?"

"Neither. She did not fight back as much as she attacked first. She doesn’t have so much as a small scrape or bruise."

"How very male of her," Freuda sneered. "Any post traumatic stress response?"

"Once the immediate danger was past, she broke down completely and had to be sedated. As near as I have been able to determine, it was Matthew Sorenson who was in control during the conflict, but afterwards, it was Mandy Sorenson who had to face the reality of nearly being raped."

"The first time she has really been forced to face that particularly vulnerable aspect of her new gender. How very, *very* interesting," Freuda repeated. "I will have to account for that in my continuing effort to profile her for the Leader. Anything else?"

"Yes. West is going to call in a psychologist, over Sorenson’s rather loud protests, in fact. His point was that Matthew Sorenson never had the therapy typically required of individuals preparing for gender reassignment. Additionally, he wants to ensure that Sorenson has the support needed to deal with that post trauma stress."

"Too bad we did not think of this sooner. I might have been able to develop a cover and be selected for her therapist," Freuda said with an evil smile. "Then I *really* could have made some headway with this project. Very well, we will watch the situation closely. Report to me regularly so that I can keep track of Sorenson’s mental state. The profile will not be accurate until we know how she is reacting to this event and to whatever therapy she will accept."

"Yes, Freuda."

"Oh, and by the way. How are you coming in your mission to seduce Sorenson? The Leader is . . . concerned about your evident lack of commitment to her orders in this regard."

Teri sighed, and shook her head, not caring if Freuda saw it or not. "Look, Freuda. Donovan is *always* there, and not only that, she’s has become very possessive of Mandy. Not only that, but Jacobs and West were right - Sorenson is in love with Donovan. No other woman exists for her, sexually at least, so long as Catherine Donovan is on the scene. Making a move on Sorenson will very likely get me reassigned out of the her quarters."

Freuda went quiet for several moments before looking at Teri with hard eyes. "The Leader thinks it is a good idea and that it is achievable," she said stiffly, "I am not certain you are pursuing this tasking with sufficient revolutionary zeal, Florence."

"Right now, Freuda, I am your *only* remaining intelligence asset in place - the only person who can tell you what is going on inside that Level One Security enclosure. You think about that and then decide what you really want me to do. My assessment *on-the-scene* is that Cat Donovan will have me making beds, cleaning bedpans and passing out analgesics in the main infirmary before I could get both lips on Mandy - especially since Sorenson’s condition no longer necessitates twenty-four hour-a-day medical surveillance."

"You are being impertinent, Florence," Freuda charged.

"No, I am not. I am giving you my honest evaluation of the situation as the person on the hotseat, as the only person who really knows all the personalities involved, and I am doing so forcefully because I believe that is my *duty* to the Organization and the Cause. I will, of course, now follow any direct orders you care to give now that you are fully apprized of the tactical situation."

"I see. Very well, Florence, I will give this matter every consideration. Expect our response within the week."

The avatar blinked out of the room without another word. Exhausted both by the day’s events and by the intense battle she had just fought, Teri sagged down onto one of her overstuffed chairs. *Now, why didn’t I tell her about MacPherson and use that to blunt her nasty little attack?*

Teri was very much afraid she knew the answer to that question, and knew the pain she would suffer when it came time for her to choose between the Cause and Morag MacPherson.

 

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