A man is feminized by his wife and his business partner and framed for
embezzlement. Can he survive the humiliations his wife intends to
subject him to and start a new life?
Thanks go out to Marina Kelly for her very valuable editorial
assistance in improving the quality of this story.
We find comments (good or bad) to be valuable in helping us to write a
good story. Thank you.
Chapter 17
Rob looked up at Jim and said, "Officer, thank you for getting us out
of there. I don't want to seem rude or ungrateful, but who are these
friends? More police?"
The first thing that occurred to Rob was that they might be trading one
set of captors for another. He glanced around looking for possible
escape routes and to see whether they were being hemmed in by other
police of mobsters. So far, Rob could only see that they were outside
of the club, not necessarily out of captivity. He had taken his heels
off to let his feet rest, trying to dodge the fire hoses that had been
stretched out on street was a strain on the ankles. Now he tried to
put them back on without seeming to hurry.
Jim had become good at reading expressions and body language, something
that made him a successful detective.
"No...No, Mr. Tanner," he said as he smiled and held up a hand as if to
stop an argument. "It's Sally Olsen and her brother Pete. I think
that it's safe to say that they are the one responsible for your
rescue. I'll explain, but the two of you are rather under-dressed for
the weather and I would like to get you into the van."
He offered each of them a hand and pulled them to their feet. Leading
them over to an idling police van, he opened the side door to let them
climb in. He followed them in and closed the door. The interior was
roasty-toasty and the heat was enough to make Rob and Sophie relax back
into the seats. Even though it was a government vehicle, Rob found the
hard upholstery to be perfectly comfortable. The old saying that
freedom makes everything sweeter was definitely true.
Jim moved up to the front and handed each them a blanket from the
passenger seat. Pulling it around him, Rob was glad that it wasn't a
cheap wool thing as he would have felt it on every part of his exposed
skin. The fleece inside increased the delicious warmth that Rob seemed
to wallow in.
Jim turned to face them and said, "The others that were rescued with
you are being taken to the hospital to be checked out before they are
put into protective custody." He paused and looked them. "Do either
of you need to be seen by a doctor? Any burns, bruises, or cuts?"
At their negative responses, he continued, "Technically, the two of you
should be in custody as well. You may very well be our star witnesses
on this case. The main reason we are keeping the others under
protection is so that we can check for other crimes or warrants."
He held his hand up to forestall the protests that he saw the two them
about to put forth.
"However, I've seen enough regarding you Mr. Tanner, to be quite sure
that you've been a victim all of the way through this. And you sir,"
he said as he looked at Sophie, "I suspect that you are very much in
the same boat. So I am exercising a great deal of leeway to release
you on your own recognizance until we can make some sense of what
happened here today."
Bob felt a stab of panic in his gut and interrupted, "Where would we
go? The way we are now, we have no way of way of living on our own."
"That's taken care of by Sally and Pete," Jim answered, "they've agreed
to have a couple of house guests. In fact, they rather insisted on
it." He grinned at that revelation.
Sophie looked at Jim and asked, "Officer, who are Sally and Pete?"
It was Jim's turn to look confused as he answered, "Please, call me
Jim. I'm sorry; I was under the impression that you knew who the
Olsen's were."
He looked at Rob, who spoke up. "Sally was my executive assistant
before all of this happened to me. Her brother works at the university
in computer security." Rob's expression darkened as he contemplated
how Evan had used the company's computers to destroy it.
"Yes, and Pete was the one responsible for blocking the plan your
partner apparently had for your company," Jim said as if he were
picking up what Rob was thinking. "The Feds are looking for him right
now. According to my sources, your partner and your wife are two of
the most sought-after individuals in the country right now. By both us
and the Mob."
"So Evan and Geri weren't able to steal everything from the company?"
He was practically shouting with joy.
"They didn't get a thing," Jim said. "All of his computer commands and
programs were blocked by whatever Pete did. If the Feds get them,
they'll end up in prison. If the mob does, they'll wish that all that
happens to them is prison."
Rob's expression was a combination of surprise and delight. He was so
happy that he dropped his blanket and lunged at Jim and jumped into his
lap. He hugged him enthusiastically, maybe a bit too enthusiastically.
It was apparent that Diana was in charge. His breasts had come out of
his stripper's gown and were rubbing against Jim's arm and Jim was
looking a bit uncomfortable about the situation.
Sophie poked Rob in the ribs and said, "Knock it off Diana, now's not
the time for that."
Rob was startled by Sophie's jab, pulled back from Jim, and reluctantly
returned to his seat.
"Sorry about that," Rob said. He made an attempt to look embarrassed
at his actions and almost succeeded.
Jim, who had obviously enjoyed the impromptu lap dance, tried to
nonchalantly adjust his underwear to relieve the strain his erection
was causing and waved his hand in dismissal. "If you two will fasten
yourselves in, I'll take you to your new home."
Before he could even put the van in gear, Rob spoke up nervously. "I'm
really not comfortable seeing Sally right now."
Jim faced him with a frown, "What do you mean?"
"The last time Sally saw me, I didn't look like this. I looked and
sounded like a regular guy, not an overdeveloped bimbo."
Rob was practically in tears at the thought of the humiliation and
possible rejection he would face when Sally got a look at him.
Dreaming about her acceptance was just that: a fantasy. It looked
like Evan and Geri had succeeded at least to a certain point: they had
turned him into an object of ridicule.
He was only a sexy stripper now. If Sally could even look at him now,
it would with pity in her eyes. All he saw in the mirror was the slut
they had created. It didn't matter how much he wanted someone to love
him, because he was an impotent she-male, caught between sexes.
Everyone loved him when he was dancing, but they were cheering for the
stripper, not him. He liked the feeling he got where he was dancing
though and that made him wonder if it was it the stripper or the person
behind the pasties who was enjoying it. Maybe he didn't deserve to be
loved any more. He had come to identify with the stripper side of
himself too much. He was becoming more of the new Diana and losing the
old Rob.
He came back to his senses with a start. Jim was suddenly looking into
his eyes. When had he moved from the front of the van? Jim had his
hand on Rob's shoulder, shaking it gently, and both Jim and Sophie were
looking at him as if they were afraid of something.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Jim kept his hand on his shoulder as he said, "That's what we were
asking you. One minute, you were talking and then you were staring
straight ahead and you weren't there."
Rob blinked and shook his head a couple of times to clear his thoughts.
"I don't know what happened. I guess I just I just had a vision of
what my life will be from now on and what people will think of me."
"Are you worried about what Sally is going to say or think?" Jim asked.
At Rob's tearful nod, he said, "You don't have to worry about that.
She already knows. She's had me checking on you when she thought that
Evan might be up to something. Then you disappeared. It was pictures
I took of you that Pete saw and helped us to find you."
Rob shrugged. "She may have seen pictures of me, but you have to
understand that they played with my mind too. I'm not sure that I'm
the same person anymore. You saw how I was acting just now. It would
kill me to have Sally hate me."
Sophie put his arm around Rob's shoulder and hugged him.
"Rob...It was your strength that kept us both going these past weeks in
the club. I was ready to give up when I first got here and you pulled
me back from the edge. Look at how everyone felt about you and treated
you here. How would they normally treat a slut and a stripper?
Everybody likes you and respects you. Give them the benefit of the
doubt that they know what they're doing. Do you remember what the
Wizard of Oz told the Tin Man?"
At Rob's shake of his head, Sophie continued, "'The measure of a person
is not by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others'.
Everyone who meets you loves you. Don't you think Sally deserves a
chance to decide that rather than you choosing to believe that she will
reject you?"
Rob was silent as he let himself hope that a reunion with Sally would
not be as painful as he feared. He was frozen for so long that Sophie
had to prompt him for an answer.
Jim was actually becoming concerned that whatever had been done to Rob
might make him a problem for Sally. It might be wiser to take these
two down to the hospital for evaluation; regardless of what he had
promised Sally.
Before Jim came to a final decision though, Rob finally spoke up,
"You're right. All I can do is try. If she doesn't want me there or
if I make her uncomfortable, we will have to go somewhere else."
Jim gave a short nod in agreement. "I don't think that you'll have
anything to worry about, she's a good person. I'll explain the
situation and make sure that there won't be any problems."
Rob and Sophie kept their silence as Jim put the van in gear and headed
away from the club area. That didn't mean that there wasn't a good
deal of anxiety on their part. The club, even though it had been a
prison, was a known quantity with its dangers predictable. They were
leaving that haven for what might be an infinitely happier and safer
home or for what could end up being a waypoint on a trail of tears.
Even with that fear, the stress and activity of the past day had
exhausted them. Coupled with the warmth of the van, Rob nodded off in
less than ten minutes. Sophie let his head cuddle up on her shoulder.
She slid an arm around Rob and lovingly ran her fingers through her
friend's silky hair. She was slowly going to sleep herself.
* * * * *
The lack of movement of the van woke Rob. Looking around, he noticed
that they were parked outside of a row of apartments. Jim was missing
from his seat. Rob could see the door of the unit in front of them was
open a bit and he guessed that was where the police detective had gone.
He reached over to Sophie and shook him awake while he was undoing his
seat belt.
"We're here," he said. Sophie looked around a bit bleary-eyed, not
saying anything. Rob waited for him to finish waking up and said, "I
guess we should go in."
Leaving the warmth of the van, they wrapped their blankets around them.
They weren't that far from the building and they stepped quickly before
the cold started chilling them down. They both wore the heels that
they had performed in and Rob was glad they didn't have to contend with
ice underfoot.
Despite his trepidation at the reception he might get from Sally, he
knew that he had to give her the benefit of the doubt and allow her to
either accept or reject him. Still, the butterflies in his stomach
could have carried him up to the door.
At the door, he and Sophie paused. Rob was sure that it would be bad
manners to just walk in through the partially open door without an
invitation, so he knocked tentatively on the door and stood back.
In the living room, Jim had finished giving the Olsen siblings a short
briefing on the two men he had rescued. Sally knew that they were
outside in the police van and she almost missed the knocking at the
door. It was almost like they didn't want to be heard. Without a
moment's thought, she left the living room and went to the door. It
had been left open just a bit and she could feel the winter air
chilling legs and feet.
Outside, the length of time that they waited made Rob think that they
hadn't been heard and he was getting up the nerve to just walk in.
Suddenly, the door opened wide and Sally was there, looking at them.
Sally saw two women huddled in blue blankets and looking a bit worse
for wear. She was sure that he cold air was not helping them much
either.
Because she was already familiar with Rob's new appearance from
pictures, it was no stretch for Sally to know that the mannish-looking
woman was Sophie. Sophie really was not unattractive, it was easy to
see that she could have been or had been masculine in the very recent
past.
Sophie was a couple of inches taller than Rob's five-seven with a black
page boy style cut that framed her squarish face. Her light green eyes
and short straight nose went well with her light olive complexion,
making her look as if she were Italian or Greek. Her build fit in with
that as well. Sophie was a relatively attractive person who had the
potential to be pretty with the right makeup and a visit to a salon.
That was everything that she absorbed in her first assessment. But it
was Rob who really caught her attention and held it.
He was taller than she remembered and then she noticed the high heels
he was wearing. Even though the blanket he had wrapped around him
cloaked most of his body, Sally could see that some changes had taken
place. The legs sticking out from beneath the blanket were absolutely
beautiful and were nothing like the legs Rob had sported in golf shorts
this past spring.
The face sticking out of the blanket had some of Rob in it; she could
see that it was more oval now. Almost the only thing that was
unmistakably Rob were the dark blue eyes that framed an adorable short
round nose. It was obvious that Rob's nose had been bobbed. The
blanket had pulled his hair down somewhat and Sally could see that
Rob's normally blond hair was now streaked with soft reds and oranges,
almost as if he had a campfire on his head.
But those eyes! Rob's face had always been rounded and there was
something about how Rob looked now that made his big blue eyes lock on
hers and she didn't want to look away.
Sally felt a familiar sensation go through her belly. She didn't
understand what was happening...she had never before been aroused by a
woman in the past. Intellectually she knew what stood in her doorway
wasn't a woman, it was a man, her boss. She had fancied him for
months, which would explain her excitement, but not the sexually
aroused feelings that coursed through her body. The creature before
her possessed a sexual aurora and looked like someone who had stepped
off the cover of a girlie magazine. Sally's nipples suddenly tingled
and her belly fluttered. She could have also sworn her pussy reacted
as well. Something was wrong here. For the moment, Sally set aside
her feelings, attributing them to the release of endorphins, at seeing
Rob safe.
Rob and Sophie just waited for Sally to let them in as she looked at
them. Sally scanned over Sophie quickly enough, but then she just
stared at Rob. He stood there, caught in her stare. He knew from the
way she was acting that she was repulsed by his appearance. He wanted
to turn around and go back to the police van until Jim came back out.
Just as he was about to tuck his tail between his legs and crawl away,
Sally blinked and smiled at them. Standing back, she practically
pulled them inside. Rob was still frozen in place for a moment or two,
like a deer in the headlights of a car. He had thought about Sally so
much in the past months and it had kept him from breaking down more
than once. Was she really inviting them in? "Rob...Sophie, please get
in here, it's cold out there."
Sophie smiled and nodded politely to Sally and passed on into the
apartment. As they filed in the door, Sally wondered at her reaction
to Rob. She had always been attracted to him. Not so much for his
appearance though. He was a kind, good-hearted person and she had
always enjoyed working with him. He had been engaged and then married,
so she had never considered enticing him to cheat on Geri. Some of the
thoughts and desires she had just felt bordered on the way the romance
novels she had been reading lately made her feel. Sally had always had
a vision of Rob sweeping her off her feet and riding away with her on a
white stallion.
In her fantasy life she had often envisioned being called Mrs. Tanner.
Looking at the sexpot standing before her now, she realized that dream
was unlikely. Sally just couldn't picture that body stuffed into a
tuxedo and standing with her at the altar. If they were to be together
obviously there were have to be some compromises. Ever since she had
found out about Geri's deception of Rob, Sally knew that his marriage
was doomed. She had allowed herself to play the mental game where she
envisioned herself being call Mrs. Tanner. Now, seeing the lovely
creature before her, she wondered if Sally and Mrs. Olsen might be more
appropriate, she could definitely see him in a tight fitting wedding
gown.
She blinked to snap herself out of her trance again and snagged Rob's
arm as he passed by and before he was out of range. Standing in his
high heels, Sally was able to easily pull him off-balance and Rob
stumbled into her arms. Rob never had a chance to even think before
Sally was hugging him tightly enough to squeeze the air out of his
lungs.
"I've been so worried about you," she whispered in his ear. In that
moment, those words were enough to cause all of the tension that held
Rob rigid to drain out of him.
He sagged into Sally with a sob. "I was so afraid you would hate me.
Or worse feel sorry for me."
Sally continued to hug him as she said, "Rob, I could never hate you.
I know none of this was your choice." She stroked his head to relax
him.
Sally was becoming seriously confused. She knew that this was Rob, but
the long silky hair and sexy voice said that this was a woman. As she
hugged him she could feel the warmth of his breasts as the mashed
against her, she felt his nipples respond and realized with shock that
they were not breast forms. This wasn't right. She was attracted to
Rob...really attracted. The problem was that he looked like a woman.
She shouldn't be feeling this way. She wasn't supposed to like women
that way. She forced all of her warring emotions down into a small
compartment in her thoughts and just concentrated on reassuring her
friend.
Rob stood wrapped in Sally's arms, listening to her reassuring words.
The knowledge of not being rejected and the feeling of safety caused
the remnants of his tension to melt and Rob collapsed against Sally
with a sob. Even in his heels, Rob was still slightly shorter than
Sally, so his head rested against her shoulder. She was wearing a
comfortable-looking terry cloth robe over what Rob assumed what her
night clothes.
When Rob felt his breasts against what he was sure were Sally's he felt
Diana stirring inside. He was almost overcome with the desire to crush
his lips against hers and to slip his hand into her robe. More than
anything, he wanted Sally to fondle him. These were the impulses that
he fought so hard to overcome. Sally was probably the last person he
ever wanted to offend like this.
Sally continued to brush her hand through his hair and whisper to him
that he was safe now and that everything would be fine, she would take
care of him and protect him He was holding her almost as tightly as
she was holding him. It was as if they were afraid that the other
might suddenly disappear. Feeling safe in Sally's arms, Rob let his
mind go almost completely blank. All that mattered right now was that
he was free from the treatment he had received at the hands of Vargas
and, before him, Geri. The blankness helped him to control his Diana
side.
Knowing now that Sally was different from Evan and Geri just made him
feel warm inside. At some point during the trials he had endured, Rob
had given himself to Sally in his mind. It was an idealized image of
Sally who existed in his imagination, a tall, beautiful woman with a
disposition of an angel. She would never hurt him and Rob just wanted
to make her happy.
Finally, Sally thought that they had better join the meeting with the
others and led Rob into the living room where some snacks and drinks
had been set out. Knowing that he was covered with soot and smoke from
the fire, Rob went to sit on one of the wooden chairs in the room. As
he passed Sally she pulled him down on to the sofa beside her and held
his hand. In response, Rob sat closer to her and snuggled a bit. If
he had been a cat, he would have been purring while he rubbed up
against her.
Sally saw the outrageous heels on Rob's feet and reached down to take
them off. Rob put his hand out to stop her, and said, "Please don't...I
have to wear heels all of the time. A present from my ex-wife." He
thought of how the six foot Evan would look perpetually wearing five
inch stilettos and smiled to himself. He didn't know how or when it
would happen, he just knew payback was coming, wearing high heels was
just the beginning of the things he had planned for Gerri and Evan.
Sally just looked at him to see if he was joking. The expression on
his feminine face told her that he was totally serious and she looked
at Sophie who was nodding in confirmation. Sally realized that
something sinister had been done to someone she cared for. She felt a
sinking sensation in her middle that transmuted itself into anger
toward that evil witch.
Jim waited for the two of them to grab a soft drink and began his
briefing. He had to stop and watch while Sally put two straws into one
of the bottles and shared it with Rob. It was like watching a couple
of teenagers at a malt shop. Despite his previous infatuation for
Sally he was happy for her now. He had to smile as he watched the two
of them cuddling.
"Sally, this is Sophie." Sophie nodded to her and Sally responded with
a smile and a small wave. Pete had taken a seat near Sophie, trying
not to crowd him. Sophie had already recognized him as the man who had
decked his father-in-law.
"Sophie has found himself in the same situation as Rob appears to be
in."
Sophie chimed in with his explanation, "I didn't choose to look like
this. My family forced this on me. Before this, I was Steven. I am a
lifelong transvestite - a fact I kept hidden from my wife when we were
married. My wife and her family went ballistic when they discovered my
need to occasionally dress up like Sophie and they had me kidnapped and
transformed into the freak you see before you. I've been called Sophie
for months now and I've become comfortable with looking and acting like
Sophie. I don't think that I would even want to go back to being
Steven, even if it were possible. I hope that isn't a problem."
He had the same kind of fear of how he would be treated by others and
was a bit apprehensive about what Sally might say, but she just smiled
back and shook her head. Sophie visibly relaxed at her acceptance.
Pete reached out and gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder and
said, "If you want to be Sophie its fine with us. In this household we
don't judge a book by its cover."
Jim took control of the conversation again and continued. "Rob and
Sophie were prisoners at the nightclub like we thought and were unable
to leave. Sophie tells me that they wore some kind of bracelet that
kept them from escaping."
He looked at Rob and Sophie, "Under normal circumstances, we would keep
you in protective custody and hidden away until we could bring Anders
and Vargas to trial. Fortunately, we are pretty sure that we broke the
back of the mob's manpower last night and you should be safe here.
Also, Pete and Sally expressed the willingness and desire to have you
stay here as their guests. You are free to leave at any time. If you
do, please coordinate that with me first, for your own safety. The
department and the courts are fine with saving some money and allowing
you to be comfortable, rather than sitting in a motel somewhere under
guard. So here you are."
He looked at Rob and Sophie. "I'm going to need statements from the
two of you after you have had a night's sleep. You should see some
specialists at the hospital also. They help people who have been
through traumatic experiences like hostage ordeals. Your mental health
is just as important to us as it is to keep you physically safe.
"That's it in a nutshell. Any questions?" Jim looked at each of the
other four, who all shook their heads.
"Okay. It's the early hours of the morning, so we all need to get some
sleep. I'll be back here in the late morning to take care of things.
To be safe, only let myself or my boss in. Sally, you know who John
Moritz is. If you have any concerns at all, call me. We will have a
car that will be doing nothing other than patrolling the area." He had
briefed Sally and Pete before Rob and Sophie had come in on what to
expect so that there would be no surprises or concerns. He bid his
goodbyes and headed out to the van.
Jim left to take care of the mountains of paperwork the night had
generated. On the way, he stopped to pick up the early addition on the
local paper.
The headlines trumpeted the latest actions of the police department to
crush organized crime after acting on an anonymous tip. He found
himself mesmerized by the picture on the front page which portrayed Rob
as somehow rising out of the ashes of the club. The narrative in the
article was just as eloquent: 'emerging from the soot and flames after
saving a group of strangers to immediately disappear into the smoke
with vengeance in her eyes...like the proverbial Phoenix bird.' Jim
noted that the picture had caught part of the Phoenix tattoo on Rob /
Diana's upper thigh. He tucked the paper under his arm and headed up
to his office, grinning.
Sally and Pete set to work getting their guests settled. While each
was sent to one of the bathrooms for a shower, the brother and sister
dug out night clothes for Rob and Sophie to choose from. A choice was
laid out in each bedroom adjoining the bathrooms.
In due time, Rob and Sophie made their appearances. Rob and opted for
the pink baby doll nightie where Sophie had selected khaki-colored
men's pajamas. At Sally's invitation, they all reseated themselves in
the living room.
"We have three bedrooms," Sally said. "Pete has been spending quite a
bit of time here these past few months, but we've decided that he will
be heading back to his own apartment tomorrow. So he will be taking
the couch for tonight. I'll put you each into one of the guest
bedrooms. The master bedroom is mine." She made the last comment with
a faint smile.
With everyone assigned a bed, Rob and Sophie trooped off to bed while
Sally and Pete organized a makeshift bed on the couch. Lights were
soon turned out and silence settled.
But not for long.
Rob sat on the edge of the bed and he finally had the chance to assess
himself and take inventory by the light of the reading lamp. This was
probably the first time in many months that he could actually relax and
not have to worry about someone else.
Yes, there was a very real possibility that the Mob might want to
actually hurt him this time. Funny how that lie had now become
something bordering on the truth.
Here he sat in the home of the woman he had come to think of as his
best friend over the years. Whether Sally thought of herself in that
way, Rob didn't know. He had never given any thought to why Geri had
discouraged any of his social contacts, until now. As a result, Sally
had been the only one he had really been close to. She had watched
over him pretty much like a big sister.
He thought about their arrival and subsequent conversations. She
hadn't looked horrified at their appearance and she didn't throw them
out, which was all good. He had noticed that she had looked at him a
lot though. Weeks ago, he had come to terms with the fact that his
marriage to Geri had been a sham and that they were probably not
legally married at all. More importantly, a marriage was a state of
mind. Geri had shown that she had never thought of herself as his wife
and everything he had been through in the past months had done its job
to destroy that feeling in himself as well.
He looked up at the knock at the door. Sally opened the door slightly
to look in.
"Hi...Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I wanted to make sure that you didn't need anything."
Rob felt his body responding to Sally as she entered the room. His
nipples hardened and there was a tingle in his gut that spread to his
cock. Even though he'd found that erections were becoming less
intense; he found that he still got turned on regardless.
"I'm fine. I could use a little company though." Rob answered as he
curled his legs under him.
She sat quietly at the end of the bed for a few moments, not sure of
what to say or how to start.
"I'm glad that we found you," she began. "I've been in charge at work
since Evan disappeared and it felt like you might never come back."
Her smile trembled a little and tears threatened at the corners of her
eyes.
Rob smiled back and said, "I'm glad that you're in charge Sally. You
care about the company and everyone down there. It couldn't be in
better hands."
"But it's your company Rob!" Sally cried out. "I've spent the past
couple of months feeling like I stole your job."
Rob felt the loss of his job like a vice squeezing his heart. He had
enjoyed some of the things that position had required of him. Then
fatalism struck him as he thought of his condition.
"Sally, look at me. I look and sound like a twenty-something stripper.
I can't walk in anything less than a four inch heel anymore." He
paused for a moment to prepare for what he had to say next. "To top it
off, I've changed inside too. Most of the time, I can be Rob and I'm
like I always was. Then, something can knock me out of whack and I'm
suddenly acting like a slut called Diana. Do you really think that
anyone will take me seriously?"
Sally smiled and said "Diana...That's a pretty name, I like that. For
some reason, it really seems to suit you Rob." She looked embarrassed
for a moment and continued, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that, but
it's the truth."
She wasn't sure how to bring up the subject of brainwashing or mental
illness, so she asked, "Jim said that you had mentioned something about
having been hypnotized."
He couldn't meet her eyes as he nodded and said, "I guess that Geri and
Evan intended to frame me for stealing all of the money in the company.
They were going to leave me looking like this with the mind of a bimbo
slut. I wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to tell anyone
the truth."
"That bitch!" Sally practically shouted before she got herself under
control again. "If I ever get my hands on her, I'll rip her hair out!"
Rob giggled, which sounded appropriate coming from him. And thought
'I'd pay to see that.'
He looked up at her with fire in his eyes. "Believe me; I've spent
hours thinking about what I would do to them for the changes they have
made in me. Sometimes, I've found that being this way isn't so bad.
In fact, I've become comfortable with it."
"You mean that you like looking like a cute secretary with a sweet
voice?" Sally said, surprised. She caught herself again, "I'm sorry...I
didn't mean to embarrass you with that."
Rob smiled and said, "I'm not embarrassed Sally. Modesty is one of the
things that became a casualty for Sophie and myself early on. In fact,
we were forced to sleep in the same bed in just our underwear. It's
been quite a while since I even had night clothes."
Now Sally responded with a blush when she thought of Rob and Sophie in
bed together. She knew that Rob and Sophie were guys, contrary to the
visual evidence. Whether they were guys or dolls, they were officially
still the same sex. She wondered if the two of them had just slept
together or if they had indulged in some kind of hanky-panky. Then she
realized that it didn't matter to her. They were both adults and
whether they had engaged in some kind of sex with each other was their
business.
According to the stereotypes, that meant that Rob and Sophie were gay.
But she had seen that both of the feminized men behaved more like women
than men and Sophie had said that he was more woman than man now. What
did all of that mean? Were the physical forms important at all? After
all gender identity comes from the head and heart not the physical
body.
Then, there was her own situation. She had found herself attracted to
Rob, when he had been Rob. Now, he was a combination of Rob and Diana
and she was still attracted. Maybe even more now. She felt like she
was paralyzed somehow. On one hand, she could say that she was
attracted to Rob and that was okay. On the other, she wondered if she
wasn't attracted to Rob's new appearance. If that was the case, did
that mean that she wasn't hetero? She remembered something her
grandfather had told her once: 'Sexual attraction was supposed to be
like magnets, opposite sexes were supposed to attract and same sexes
were supposed to repel'.
So...Was Rob male or female? Was she a lesbian or not? Should she or
could she love Rob now that he had been feminized so radically? Did it
or should it matter to her as what Rob's physical situation was?
He/she was the same person on the inside.
Sitting here talking to Rob and thinking about him had gotten her
aroused. She found herself sitting on the end of his bed, becoming
increasingly turned on and confused about whether she should be and
whether it was okay to be so horny for the woman-man before her.
All Sally knew was that she didn't know what was right. That meant
that she needed to get out before she made some kind of mistake that
they would both regret or she might hurt her friend's feelings in some
way.
She stood, making sure that her robe was pulled closed. She certainly
did not want Rob to see any kind of arousal on her part. At this
point, she didn't want to encourage him or insult him.
"We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. We need to get you and
Sophie clothes, Jim wants to interview you, and I'd like to get you
into a salon to have your hair taken care of."
As she stepped toward the door, Rob asked, "Do you have to go back to
your room?"
This had been what Sally was afraid of. She sat back down on the bed
and said gently, "Rob, I really like you. I think that I always have,
but you were with Geri. Now, Geri is out of the picture. The problem
is that you've changed and I'm trying to come to terms with that. Can
you give me some time to think all of this through?"
She was doing her best to keep tears from forming, there were be plenty
of time to cry once she was in bed. She didn't want to break down in
front of Rob, even though that probably would have been the better
choice.
* * * * *
All Rob heard was that he was being rejected. This was what he had
been afraid of from the moment they had left the club. There was a
cold feeling in his middle and his heart seemed to be pounding like a
drum as he felt tears filling his eyes. He shook his head sharply and
blinked to clear his eyes.
"I understand Sally." He fought to keep his voice even, the last thing
he wanted to do is show Sally just how girlie he had become in the past
few months. Any arousal that he had felt a few minutes ago was long
gone, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
"I know that it has to be hard to see someone you used to know turned
into something like me." He wished that she would go now, before his
mood got any more bitter than it was.
Sally felt ashamed of herself, knowing that she had hurt Rob's
feelings. "Rob, I'm really sorry. Please, let me get used to this.
Okay?" The pleading tone in her voice was a perfect match to his self-
pity.
All Rob could do was respond with a couple of nods of his head, unable
to speak. He was too lost in feeling sorry for himself to return her
hug before she left for her own bed.
Once the door was closed and he had turned out the light, Rob lay there
thinking. It was obvious that Sally couldn't see herself loving him,
now that he was image of a pinup girl. He wasn't going to give up
though. Sally was important to him and he was going to do whatever he
had to make her see it. As he gave in to overdue sleep, he told
himself that he would win her over, even if it meant unleashing Diana.
* * * * *
It took Sally much longer to fall asleep than Rob, which made sense.
Rob had been up early, performed a strip tease routine, and had escaped
from a burning building. All she had done was sit and worry about Jim
rescuing him and whether or not Rob would be okay.
Things kept going through her mind on a continuous loop, asking her
questions. How did she feel about Rob? How should she feel? What did
it say about her when she found herself attracted to someone who looked
so much like a woman? Could they continue to have a working
relationship with him looking like that? Did she want to? What kind
of relationship did she want?
That last question sent her off on another track. While she had had a
few relationships over the years, none of them had been long-lasting.
Now, she began to wonder why. To be honest, she had probably been
responsible for each of them ending. It was almost as if she
intentionally did it. Had she somehow caused her relationship with Jim
to blow up too?
The reasons for why she was still alone eluded her as she finally
drifted towards sleep. She found herself confused about her love life.
Like everyone else, she had experimented in college. It was something
that she and her sorority sister had sworn to never talk about. Maybe
that was part of her problem...Even though she and Constance had enjoyed
each other; they never did anything like that again. Sally refused to
believe that she was sexually attracted to a man who looked like a
woman.
At least that is what she told herself. Instead, her dreams were
filled with images of Rob's face up close to hers. Other times, the
two of them were taking turns nursing babies, changing diapers or
taking them for walks. She woke in the morning remembering that she
had felt warm and loved.
* * * * *
While Rob and Sally were discovering the pain of starting up a close
relationship, Sophie had had problems trying to get to sleep. Of the
two of them, he had more reason to worry about the effects of PTSD,
caused by the abuse he had suffered before coming to the club and while
he had been there. While Rob had the brainwashing treatment that
served as a filter for of the pain and humiliation that they had been
put through, Sophie had to face it all. He saw it every time he looked
in the mirror, heard it when he spoke, and felt it when he walked. He
could not even escape it in his sleep.
Sophie had come to depend upon Rob. He was someone who could
understand what he felt and was going through. He'd actually been glad
that they had been forced to sleep in the same bed. If he had been
kept in solitary, he would probably have lost his mind.
Right now, Sophie was in a bad way. He had heard Rob and Sally talking
and it was obvious that Sally would not be returning to her own bed.
The dreams that he would be visited with always made him wake up on a
cold sweat, if not screams. Having Rob hold him helped him to deal
with those demons. Sophie
Pete had apparently heard him tossing and turning. Then he heard
something moving in the dark. He got off the couch, grabbing the bat
Sally kept by the front door for protection and went to investigate.
Considering how on edge everyone was at the moment, it might not have
been wise for Sophie to be up and around. His stomach got the better
of him and he had decided to utilize his new found freedom to raid the
refrigerator. He realized his mistake when he saw the baseball bat
Pete was holding as the lights came on.
When Pete saw that it was Sophie in the hallway, he grinned and the
both relaxed. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," Sophie answered with a sharp nod. "I just can't sleep."
Pete was silent, trying to figure out what to say next. He had been
initially captivated by Sophie's exotic looks and then his stage act.
He really wanted to get to know Sophie, he wasn't sure how, considering
the circumstances and Sophie's situation.
"Can I do anything to help?
"I'm not sure that you can," Sophie answered, not meeting his eyes.
"It's a bit embarrassing."
Pete tried to look encouraging as he answered, "Okay. We can sit and
just talk if that will help. I'll be a good boy I promise."
"You see, Rob and I were kept locked up at that club for weeks. The
guy in charge thought that it was funny to lock us in together. All we
had to sleep on was a cot almost the size of a twin bed or the concrete
floor."
"Ah...I see," Pete responded, not really getting the point.
Sophie looked away again as he said, "I got used to having Rob there
with me. Nothing ever happened, but I've gotten to the point where I
need to have him there so that I know that everything is going to be
alright."
Pete just nodded. He himself had needed a teddy bear to help him sleep
up until he had reached third grade.
Sophie continued, "I was going to see if I could sleep with Rob. It
sounds like your sister is talking with him right now."
Pete nodded knowingly and smiled. "Yeah, Sally has had a thing for Rob
for a long time. In fact, she was ready to storm that nightclub all by
herself. Jim had to make her see reason on that. We probably won't
see either of them until tomorrow."
Pete looked at Sophie and said, "Is there anything I can get you? A
glass of warm milk might help."
He was really at sea here. Sophie looked upset, maybe even ready to
cry, and he had no idea how to help.
"I could get you a couple of extra pillows, if that would help." He
really wanted to offer himself, but that was way beyond the line he had
drawn for himself.
"No, that won't help," Sophie said, feeling a bit alone and abandoned.
He looked completely embarrassed as he looked up at Pete and said,
"Could I ask you to be on the other side of the bed? You know that I'm
a guy, right?" Sophie obviously didn't want Pete to think that he was
offering himself for anything.
Pete kept a straight face as he acknowledged Sophie's statement. Pete
could see that she obviously did not realize that he was gay, and
acknowledging Sophie was a man, was only a turn on for Pete; not a
turnoff as he clearly intended. Showing any kind of amusement at this
point would probably hurt Sophie's feelings and damage any hope of
friendship that might develop.
Pete gestured back into the living room and said, "Why don't we sit
down out here for a few minutes? There are some things that you should
know."
Pete led them back out to the sofa and armchairs where they made
themselves comfortable. Pete thought about how he was going to get
this all out and he decided to just jump in.
"You do know that nightclub caters to the LGBT community?" he asked.
"That makes sense," Sophie said. "That's why there were so many people
with different lifestyles working there. I just never gave the
clientele any thought."
Pete sat there for a couple of moments. It was obvious that Sophie had
missed his point. When Sophie didn't continue, Pete plunged ahead,
"Sophie, I'm gay. You're the reason I stuck around in the club that
night that Rob was dancing. Because of that, I was able to tell the
police where you were. All I knew about you was that you worked there
and that you were a guy."
Sophie sat there feeling somewhat like Rob had earlier. Instead of
worrying about rejection from someone he cared about like Rob had,
Sophie was faced with someone telling him that they had feelings for
him. The problem was that Sophie didn't know how to respond. He
pulled his PJs tightly around himself and thought, 'Oh this could get
interesting.'
Again, Sophie was slow to respond, so Pete said, "Actually, I don't
even know if you want to be called by Sophie or Steven."
That finally got Sophie going.
His voice as bitter as he said, "You're right. Before all of this was
done to me, my name was Steven. After the surgeries, they put me
through weeks of hell. They hurt me if I didn't answer to the name
Sophie. Steven has been pretty much trained out of me."
He stopped as he looked off into the distance. "Considering how I look
now, I can never be Steven again. If I tried, everyone would laugh at
me."
As he considered the prospect of life ahead of him, tears built up.
"I'm still pretty much of a guy inside, regardless of how I look and my
voice sounds. My wife stopped seeing me as a man the night she caught
me wearing a dress. She intended to treat me like a slave if she had
gotten me away from that club."
"No woman is going to want me when I look as good as she does in a
dress. I'm not a man or a woman now. They turned me into a joke
because I offended their precious sensibilities. I'm just a freak."
"Sophie I don't think you're a freak. In fact I think you're a really
nice guy or gal. Either way I like you. Can we just be friends and
see what happens?"
By now, months-worth of tears caused by the pain and humiliation he had
been subjected to were running down his face. Pete could see that
Sophie _needed_ human contact and he slid over to hug him. There was
no sexual thought involved, just the desire to help somebody who was
hurting and feeling very alone in the world.'
There is nothing in the world that feels better than to just be held by
another person and to know in your heart that everything will be
alright. Sophie just seemed to melt into Pete's embrace, loving the
sensation of being held.
Once Pete could feel that Sophie had gotten the worst of it out of his
system, he decided that he needed to put Sophie back to bed.
"Come on. It's too chilly out here for you. Let me get you back into
the bed and blankets."
They headed into the bedroom and Sophie was happy to get back into the
warmth of the bed again. Shyly, he looked up at Pete and said, "Would
you mind just holding me some more? At least as long as it takes to
get to sleep?"
Pete smiled gently and answered, "I don't mind. I'll stay here with
you. You'll be able to sleep."
To reassure Sophie as to his intentions, Pete only removed his footwear
and swapped out his shirt for something looser. He got under the
blankets with Sophie and put his arms around him. Sophie was happy to
move back so that he was held securely in Pete's embrace.
As Sophie relaxed into sleep, he felt safe and warm for the first time
in a long time. Being with Rob had been like this, but Pete just
seemed to radiate security. It didn't feel as if he had anything to
fear from Pete and he just knew that he could trust Pete with his life.
Though he wasn't so sure he could trust him with his virtue. Oh, well
that's a problem for another night. Now all he wanted to do was sleep.
Pete was a little longer in going to sleep, holding Sophie in his arms
felt nice. He didn't know if Sophie would reciprocate the interest he
had in him or if either of them would actually love the other. That
didn't matter right now. Sophie was someone he wanted to be friends
with and that friend needed his help right now. Tomorrow, he would set
about helping Sophie get some mental health counseling. It sounded
like he really needed it. Hell, Pete might need help when this was all
over. He had known forever he was gay. He had always gone for the he-
man types. Why was he now finding that was he attracted to a beautiful
shemale?
* * * * *
Rob had been the last one to get out of bed and join them in the
condo's dining room. He wore one of Sally's sexy little robes over his
underclothes. Unfortunately, the robe was intended to cover Sally and
her endowments, not Rob's. As a result, a robe that was intended to
fit on someone a size larger than Rob draped to down his knees and was
still tight across Rob's bust. Obviously, the breast fairy had been
good to Rob over the past few months. And...while the robe was larger on
Rob than Sally, it did nothing to conceal Rob's lower half either...or
was that how Rob intended to wear it. An old joke ran through Sally's
thoughts about the girl who, when asked by God asked who wanted boobs,
thought God said brains so she asked for a double helping.
Pete and Sophie were doing their best to hide their amusement and were
failing horribly. Sally had been in the kitchen with her back to them
when Rob had first appeared for breakfast. Sophie nudged Pete and
pointed out Rob's attire. Pete and Sophie weren't offended or aroused
by Rob's appearance. After all, Sophie had been exposed to it for
weeks now and Pete just wasn't interested in Rob. While Sally was not
a prude, they knew that watching her response to Rob's appearance would
be fun to watch. As a result, they were waiting for Sally to come to
the table with coffee and juice.
Sally took one look at Rob and smiled. She refused to be embarrassed
by someone walking around half-dressed who looked better than she did
in the morning. Especially when that someone was a guy, admittedly a
cute girly-guy, but a guy nonetheless. Rob's whole demeanor indicated
that he was not embarrassed or being intentionally provocative with his
appearance, which told Sally that this might be part of the
conditioning that they had heard about.
"Good morning sunshine!" She could see that Rob was wearing lipstick
and mascara. His hair was neatly brushed and pulled back into a pony
tail. He must have seen her cosmetics in the bathroom and used them.
She made a mental note to make sure that they picked up makeup supplies
for both Rob and Sophie while they were out today.
Rob looked up at her through his eyelashes, coming across like a sex
kitten. Sally corrected her original thought. Rob was trying to be
provocative, the little minx. Even just sitting there, he looked so
damned sexy. She had a brief image of grabbing Rob and having her way
with him. The little voice somewhere inside that was yelling at her
that she should not think that way was getting thinner and harder to
hear.
"Good morning," Rob answered in his cute, sexy voice. "I hope you
don't mind that I borrowed one of your robes, the airline appears to
have lost my luggage."
That got a laugh out of all of them and Sally acknowledged that Rob and
Sophie were going to need clothes, even if they did not buy an entire
wardrobe today. Sally and Rob adjourned to their rooms to find clothes
for their shopping expedition.
Pete bid them goodbye, explaining that he needed to be at work. "After
all, not all of us are the bosses of a big company and can take the day
off at a moment's notice." Sophie had managed to find some articles of
clothing in Pete's wardrobe that she was able to make work in a unisex
fashion. She lounged in the living room, waiting for the other two.
In his room, Rob looked through the pile of clothes Sally had left for
him. He discarded the various blouses because they would not fit and
skirts to settle on a sweatshirt and pants. Obviously, these had been
provided by Pete as they were even larger on him than Sally's robe had
been. While they covered him properly, he was dismayed to discover
that he had forgotten what it was like to wear clothes that had been
made for a man. Even the soft fabric of the fleece felt harsh against
his skin.
Rob had come to realize that he was probably permanently hairless as he
hadn't noticed any hair growth anywhere on his body. It was just
another passing fact of his new life and he had stopped allowing these
things to get him down. He looked regretfully at the pile of women's
clothes that he had had to discard, wishing that some of it might fit.
Opening the bedroom door, he could see that Sally must have finished
dressing and had rejoined Sophie. Quietly, he stepped out his room and
into Sally's and pushed the door closed. He felt a little bit like a
burglar as he opened drawers in her bureau, looking for clothes that
might fit. He was very careful to avoid making a mess of things,
mainly because he didn't want to have to straighten it when Sally
demanded it.
When that particular thought flashed through his mind, all he could
think of was Geri's treatment of Diana the Maid and the work that Diana
had been made to do. On one hand, Rob fantasized about being Sally's
maid and just knew that it would be better. Working for someone who
cares about you would be better than to do a chore because you were
ordered to do it. On the other, there was anger as Rob remembered that
he was this way because of Geri and her manipulations.
He was still lost in his thoughts when Sally opened the door to see Rob
standing at her bureau, underwear in hand and seeming to stare off
through the wall. When Rob didn't look around at the slight noise of
the door opening, Sally coughed slightly to get his attention. Rob
looked around quickly and had the grace to look embarrassed.
"I...I'm sorry," he stammered. "I couldn't find anything that fit
properly in the clothes that you left for me. The only things that did
fit were some workout clothes and they were uncomfortable."
Sally smiled reassuringly. The last thing she wanted to do was get Rob
upset or accuse him of snooping in her underwear drawer. "That's
alright; I didn't know what would really fit you when I pulled that
pile together for you. What are you looking for?"
She stepped over to him. The nice thing was that the heels he was
forced to wear raised him up to almost her height. Sally made a mental
note to try to always be in flats or be barefoot when she stood close
to Rob. It would keep her from being too intimidating. The errant
thought went by that wearing heels around Rob would also accentuate his
smallness to her control...'Where did that come from?' she thought.
Rob looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I was looking for some
underwear. What there was is too big and uncomfortable. I'm sorry; I
know that you think that I shouldn't be wearing something silky or
revealing." Rob looked like her wanted to break down and cry from
frustration.
Sally gathered her scantily clad friend and boss into her arms and held
him tightly. She ignored his breasts pushing against hers.
"Rob...It's okay," she said. Her voice was soft and reassuring. She
would probably have used the same kind of tone with an upset child.
She pushed him back from her so that they could look at each other.
"We really need to sit down and talk tonight. I said this last night,
but I'll say it again. I won't lie to you and tell you that everything
is normal, because you're different now and I'm trying to deal with it.
I guess that what I'm trying to say is that it's your soul that I love
and I just need time to get used to having someone that I care for to
have been changed from looking like a man to looking and sounding like
a woman. Can you understand that?"
The hope of acceptance was better than outright condemnation and Rob
was willing to take anything he could get. Not having any clothes of
his own was a scary situation. It was one thing to be in that position
when they were slave labor at the club, but he was on his own now. All
he had were the clothes he had escaped in.
He blinked tears out of his eyes and nodded at Sally. He smiled for a
moment before he fell against her crying. Sally guided him over to the
bed and they sat down together. She held Rob while he cried himself,
just rubbing his back to relax him. The crying attack only lasted a
few minutes and Rob regained control over himself.
He pulled back from Sally and said, "Sorry, everything caught up with
me."
"Are you going to be okay now?" Sally asked, trying to gauge how Rob
was really feeling.
"I'll be fine. I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself. I mean, I
have no clothes, no money, I don't even have a house any more."
Rob's pity party threw Sally for a loop. He had never been like this.
After a couple of moments she said, "Yes, you need clothes. But your
trust fund is still yours and I know that Geri wasn't able to sell your
house. Of course, I can't imagine that you would want to live there
again."
Rob looked at Sally in confusion. "Geri told me that it was burned
down."
"No, it's fine," Sally replied. "There was break-in though. Probably
people looking for Evan and Geri."
He visibly brightened. "I guess things aren't as bad as I thought they
were."
"Of course they aren't, you silly goose." Sally caught herself in time
to keep herself from calling Rob a girl. "Look...Find something here
that you are comfortable with, anything I own you are free to borrow -
and I do mean anything! In fact, I've got this really cute miniskirt
and sweater combo that would look darling on you." She caught herself
when she realized what she had said, "I'm sorry I don't want to
embarrass you. Dress however you feel comfortable. We'll go out and
get you both some new clothes."
She reached out to finger Rob's hair and said, "Maybe we'll stop by the
salon too. I think that you would stand out a bit less if we have your
hair done."
Rob had nothing to say in response. After all, how was a guy supposed
to react to having his hair done? Yes, his hair had started to become
more unruly in the past weeks. He suspected that it was partly due to
growth of his own hair and some loosening of the weave. As a result,
it was starting to look like an animal's nest and it took a lot of work
to make it presentable.
It was bad enough that he had to shop for women's clothes. The one
thing that made him feel a bit better was that no one would know that
he didn't belong. Then he was saddened that his appearance _was_
completely female. If he ever got the chance, he would have Geri
lifting weights, her arms covered in prison tattoos. Evan would be
prancing around in a French maid's costume, complete with the high
heels and his own set of gigantic tits and of course Rob would enjoy
having him outfitted with his own nipple rings.
Rob had a truly vicious thought as he pictured hanging little bells on
Evan's nipple rings. He had a vision of the bell ringers at Christmas
and was determined he would get Evan to play songs with his tits.
Once he was finished indulging his fantasy of revenge, Rob turned to
finding something to wear. Everything Pete owned was far too big on
him. Even most of Sally's clothes were either too large or not large
enough.
With a sigh, Rob resigned himself to opening a package of panties he
found in Sally's drawer. He found it interesting that Sally had a
package of new underclothes available. He had noticed that Geri did
the same thing. It must be part of the lady's code that dictated that
they keep some in reserve. He had never done that and hadn't heard of
any other guy keeping brand new underwear on hand. He made a mental
note to replace this package while they were out and about today.
He returned to his room and stripped down. Sliding the silky panties
up his legs and around his bottom, he could feel that they were almost
a fit. He thought that being a bit shorter than Sally didn't
necessarily mean that he was also smaller than she was. Tucking his
genitals and penis had gotten much easier these past weeks and he know
what that meant. Doctor Winters had warned him of the possibility. He
was pretty much prepared for the possibility though and he knew that he
would still grieve for his masculinity at some point. He noted the
size of the panties so that he would know what he would need to buy
while they were out and about.
He looked at the dress that he had arrived in last night and made the
decision that he could wear the damned thing one last time. At least
it would go with his shoes.
* * * * *
The street was empty at this time of the day. Actually, the streets in
this part of town stayed empty most of the time. People only went out
during the day so that they didn't have to worry about the possibility
of some punk trying to steal the few dollars that they might have in
their pockets. In Evan's case, he left their apartment only very early
in the morning or just before it got dark. It was the best time to get
supplies and to avoid being seen by both the cops and the mob that were
hunting for them. He and Geri had made the mistake of stopping here to
pick up their 'bug-out' equipment and then had found themselves trapped
in the city. They still had a couple of thousand in cash, but the rent
and supplies would eat that up in only a couple of more months.
As it was, they were surviving on what groceries Evan was able to pick
up at the small store in the next block. Geri stayed behind because
she said that she would draw attention to them and that she couldn't
defend herself in case they got mugged. It hadn't been their intention
to hideout in the apartment, it was only supposed to be an emergency
stopping point to let them grab their things and get out of town.
Their hope that they might escape had vanished almost as soon as the
two of them had dropped out of sight. Evan now found himself reduced
to skulking in shadows to avoid being seen too clearly.
His size was enough to keep the riff-raff from bothering him these
days. In the first week that they had been here, he had broken the
arms of two different muggers and the nose of a third, at the cost of a
black eye. A small price to pay to help ensure his safety. There had
been enough talk among the street rats that they knew not to go after
him these days. True, Evan was just as susceptible to a bullet as
anyone else, but gunfire in these neighborhoods would attract attention
that everyone would be happy to do without. No one had gotten that
desperate as yet.
After those encounters, Evan had realized that getting too big a
reputation as a tough guy might bring him the attention he was trying
to avoid. That was why he elected to go out at just the right time of
day when the citizens were going in for the night and before the
undesirable element was out in force.
At the market, Evan always made sure to show nothing larger than a
twenty when he bought food. He knew that he would have to start using
some of the fifties, but they had been wise enough to make sure that
they had nothing larger. It might make for a bulky bankroll, but it
wouldn't attract attention when they spent it. Of course, that
bankroll had shrunk quite a bit in the past weeks.
It was almost completely dark when Evan got back to the apartment and
Geri let him in response to his knock. By keeping a low profile and
not letting anyone know that they had cash, they expected to be able to
last a couple of more weeks before they would have to try to get out of
the city and risk being caught.
Geri took the discarded newspaper that he had picked up and went into
the other room while he carried the two bags of food into the
kitchenette. They were eating a lot of canned food these days, which
was all you really could prepare on a hot plate. They hadn't been in
this kind of situation in a long time. If only Rob hadn't started to
resist the programming...they would be filthy rich now. Not for the
first time, Evan wished that he could take some of his frustrations out
on Rob. He would make a good punching bag.
Once he was finished putting everything away, Evan began the process of
getting a meal ready. Geri insisted that he do the cooking, pointing
o