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Chapter One

    The frightened teenage boy sat on the bed in his cell, clutching his knees close to his chest. He had no idea of where he was or how long he had been held captive. It had to have been several months by now, he thought. He was wearing a silk nightgown and matching peignoir. When he didn’t wear them, his unknown jailers made the room either very hot or very cold. They would also make it totally bright or pitch black for what seemed like weeks at a time. They controlled everything. His meals arrived on a very haphazard schedule, and were so similar that he couldn’t tell if they were supposed to be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He had finally stopped fighting them and now wore the nightgown. It felt funny against his body. For some reason they had made him shave his body. Again, it was either do that or be punished. It actually felt good against his soft body and that bothered him.

    He looked around his cell. It wasn’t much. The walls were all painted  gray. There were no windows. The lights were controlled from the outside. The only furniture was the bed. There was a shower stall and a toilet in the connecting bathroom. Everything was gray, even the sheets. The only color was the light pink in his nightgown and robe.

    There was a bit of color in the bathroom. The electric razor he used to shave his legs and underarms was pink. His shampoo was a light green and the conditioner was a creamy green. The lotion he used on his body was white. His toothbrush had a bright pink handle.

    He longed for something to do or to read. But there was nothing! Even the shampoo bottle was blank.

    What made this so frustrating was that he never saw them. There was the occasional message on the speaker, but he had no physical contact with them. They wouldn’t let him speak, let alone ask questions. If he tried to say anything, the lights immediately went out and stayed that way for ages. Why were they doing this to him? They just told him what to do. They never used his name, or any name for that matter, when they talked to him. While it appeared that they were trying to turn him into a girl, they made no references to his gender. He had no identity at all. The last thing he remembered was walking home from school. A van pulled up and he felt a sharp pain in his arm. The next thing he knew, he was here. Wherever here was!

    What really frightened him were the sounds he occasional heard through the ventilation duct. He sometimes heard the sounds of someone getting a severe beating. He could hear the sounds of their cries as they were beaten. The cries and moans were awful and he dreaded the idea that he was next. He sometimes could just make out voices telling the victim that the next time they disobeyed orders the beating would be worse.
He wasn’t sure, but his body also felt different. He knew that they were doing something to him when he slept. He’d wake up and find part of his body all irritated. When the irritation died down, the skin was very soft and free of hair. What was strange was that they were doing this to his pubic area, as well as his face.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but his nipples seemed bigger and more sensitive. He looked down at them. They were visible through the thin pink material of his nightgown. He felt a strange urge to rub them. He still couldn’t get used to the fact that his nails were now long and feminine and painted a bright red. They had done that to him several weeks ago while he was asleep.  Just like when had he woken up and found his ears had been pierced. The tiny gold studs were heart shaped. He trembled in fear as he wondered how far they would feminize him. He began to play with his nipples and he was rewarded with a nice feeling. He knew not to play with his cock. The last time he did that he was sitting in a hot, dark room for hours, begging for forgiveness. He was soon lost in his own pleasure and forgot his fears for a while.

The boy’s actions were monitored through a hidden camera. The woman watching was very pleased. He was progressing very nicely and soon would be started on the next phase. She would make a note to the nurse to increase his hormone intake. She smiled that the boy had no idea that his food had a dose of special hormones in it, which was slowly feminizing his body. The hormone formula was her own creation. It was designed for use on teenage boys. It would feminize both their minds and bodies, while at the same time leaving their diminutive penises capable of achieving an erection. Her clients paid big money for that.

She would give the boy a gender assignment, once he was bought and paid for. Some of her clients liked to have a boy feminized physically, but to still refer to him as a male or a sissy. It was used as a method of control and constant humiliation. Others wanted one who thought of herself as a real girl, but one who had a naughty secret between her legs. There were two men bidding for this slave and the price was up to almost two million. The winning bidder would determine this boy’s exact fate, specifying the details of his further feminization and training – everything from his gender identity, breast size, and clothing preferences to his social behavior, the ways in which he’d be disciplined, and the vocabulary he would use.

She was also pleased with the recording system. What the boy had heard was all a ruse. There was no torture chamber at the end of the ventilation duct, still it seemed to work pretty well. The combination of total isolation and vague threats of terrible violence worked wonders on the captive teens. If they had been adults she would have used at least one session of actual violence first. But with these pampered teenagers it wasn’t necessary. They were too naïve to think it was a trick.

They were kept in total isolation at first. She controlled everything from lighting to temperature. By using cycles of total darkness and then bright light she was able to throw off the body clock. They lost all track of time and many had no idea how long they were there.

Next, she checked on the girl who had been captured at the same time. The girl was kept naked 24 hours a day. The woman was pleased with how submissive the girl appeared. She had lost her initial shame at being naked. She was ordered to sit with her legs uncrossed and to sit in other poses to expose herself.  The order was immediately followed by the threat of a severe beating. The girl had stopped resisting almost immediately. Tomorrow, she would enter the girl’s cell and begin to train her. The lovely part of this was that the girl would be so hungry for contact with a sympathetic person that she would readily surrender. She would willingly accept the maid’s outfit and put it on without any hesitation. The woman felt her vagina get wet as she thought about it.

There were ten other teens in various stages of training. Not all would become maids. Some would be trained to be sex toys. One special request called for a girl to become a trophy bride. Thanks to her methods, the others were all passive and eager to obey. Three slaves would soon be delivered to their new owners; that meant she would need to go out hunting soon. That also gave her a sense of arousal, as the hunt and capture were so erotic.

The woman was a very stunning figure. She was very tall, almost six feet, three inches tall. She was in excellent shape and she prided herself on her physical appearance. While her hair was jet black in color, her complexion was very pale. She loved to dress in tight, custom-made leather outfits that clung to her body like a second skin. She would treat herself to a new outfit upon the sale of a trained slave. It was one of the ways she rewarded herself.

Chapter Two

Agent Ally Burns arrived home, dropped her gym bag by the front door and immediately flopped on the couch and let out a long pitiful sigh. Home was a townhouse just outside Washington, DC, that she shared with her best friend and lover, Carol Martin. Both were federal agents.

    “How did it go this evening?” called Carol from the kitchen.

    “Has the agency ever run a check to make sure that physical therapists aren’t really sadistic criminals in disguise?” moaned Ally, as she rubbed her right shoulder.

    “Poor baby! Did the nasty physical therapist hurt you?” responded Carol sarcastically.

    Ally laughed and got up and joined Carol in the kitchen. They hugged and kissed.

    “I guess it’s not that bad. I’m starting to get more mobility in my shoulder,” replied Ally, as she gently rotated her right arm.

    Four months earlier, Brian Wilcox, a crazed serial killer, had nearly killed her with a large hunting knife. The blade of the knife had passed all the way through Ally’s slender shoulder. While the blade had severed many muscles and tendons, there was minimal nerve damage. She now had two physical scars as a reminder of the case. She was seeing her physical therapist three times a week.

    “That’s great. So, do they think you’ll need more surgery?” asked Carol, returning to stirring the contents of the large pot on the stove. She was making beef stew, a good midwinter meal.

    Ally moved over and examined the contents. “Smells wonderful! I go in for a check-up in a few days. But, as long as I make progress, I shouldn’t need any more surgery. At least not on my shoulder.”

    Carol cracked a smile at Ally’s last comment. They had tentatively scheduled Ally’s SRS for the fall, but that depended on her recovery from the attack.

    “Pick out a bottle of wine, please,” requested Carol.

    “Yes, ma’am!” quipped Ally.

    Carol smiled, as she was pleased that Ally was so upbeat this evening. In addition to the physical scars, Ally was seeing a therapist for the mental scars of the attack. Ally had initially resisted seeing the therapist, but after several realistic nightmares her opinion changed. Now, Ally looked forward to seeing Jenna, the agency’s expert on Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The department fully understood and ensured Ally had time to heal.

    Over dinner they discussed their day.

    “How did the lecture go?” asked Ally. She took a sip of the wine and smiled. It complemented the stew perfectly!

    “Surprisingly, it was actually interesting for a change. We had an expert talk to us about the Stockholm Syndrome,” replied Carol. Carol was working on a case involving violent bank robbers, who had been striking all over the eastern seaboard, sometimes taking hostages to ensure their escape.

    “Hmm, I would have liked to have heard that,” remarked Ally.

    “I think it would be useful for your whole department to hear the lecture. He discussed in detail the four main conditions for the syndrome to take hold,” continued Carol. She took a small bite from one of her biscuits.

    Carol went on to describe the Stockholm syndrome and its precursor conditions. First identified in a hostage situation in Sweden, it was what happened when hostages bond with their captor or captors. It made long-term hostage situations very dangerous, as the victim often resisted rescue. She described how there needed to be a creditable threat of death or physical violence to the hostage, followed by an act of kindness by the captor. The act of kindness could be very small and something as simple as not killing the victim. Additionally, the hostage was isolated from any perspectives other than those of the captor. Finally, the hostage perceived that escape was impossible and that doing anything to please his or her captor was the only possible course of action.

    “So that is why they cooperate so completely?” asked Ally.

    “Yes, they see keeping their captor happy as vital to their own survival,” replied Carol. “Eventually, they may totally adopt the captor’s beliefs. Do you remember the Patty Hearst case?”

    Ally rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yes, we read all about it in ancient history!”

    Carol laughed.

    Patty Hearst is the heiress to the Hearst fortune and had been kidnapped by a radical group. Eventually she took part in crimes with the group, seemingly a willing participant. She’d been convicted of assisting in a crime, and spent time in prison until it was recognized that she’d been a victim of Stockholm syndrome.

    “How rapidly can it develop ?” asked Ally.

    “Well, in the original case the hostages were only held for five days. But it depends upon the initial actions of the captor. The more the victims feel that their lives are truly in danger, then the more they are susceptible,” explained Carol.

    Ally nodded. She was thinking about the reactions of the two girls they had rescued a few months ago. Initially they both claimed the kidnapper was their actual father, even after the police had the abductor in custody.

    After dinner they sat on the couch, sipping tea, watching a Bogart movie.  A fire was roaring in the fireplace. Ally was sitting close to Carol and her head was resting against Carol’s side. Carol had noticed how much more affectionate Ally had become since the attack.  She seemed to want to be cuddled and held much more than before. Carol didn’t mind, as the attack had shown her just how important Ally was to her too.

    Carol leaned over and whispered, “Let’s go to bed.”

    Ally looked up, smiled back, and nodded.

    Ally slept well that night in Carol’s arms. Brian Wilcox, the MNF killer didn’t invade her dreams that night.

    The next morning, Ally was examining her body in front of the mirror. She was very pleased with the way she was looking. Her breasts were growing nicely and she was quite proud of them! She then ran her fingers down the scar on her shoulder. It was starting to fade, but it still looked awful. Ally twisted around and looked at the exit scar on her back. She lifted her arm and winced as she reached her limit.  Thankfully, Carol had bought her some nice front-hooked bras, as there was no way she could presently put on a back-hooked bra by herself. There was still a way to go until she was 100 percent again, she thought. She also knew that without Carol she never would have gotten through the attack.

Chapter Three

    Even though Carol and Ally worked in the same building, they drove in separate cars. Their schedules at work differed greatly. Carol was on call, in case there was a new bank robbery.   Ally arrived and checked her schedule on her computer. She heard a gentle knock at her door and looked up to see a pretty blond haired young woman standing there.

“Good morning, Donna” greeted Ally.  

    Donna was Ally’s protégé. She had proved invaluable and Ally saw the day when Donna would be the head of the agency’s Internet Juvenile Sex Crimes Department.

    “Hi, boss. You got a minute?” asked Donna. “I have something I think you should see.”

    Donna was fast becoming one of the stars of the department. She was a young agent with a very sharp mind. Before Ally drafted her into the department, she had been wasting away as a computer technician.

    Ally nodded and waved Donna in. Something was up. They had a daily meeting to discuss cases, it must be really important if Donna couldn’t wait until then. Ally didn’t mind, as she had an open-door policy with her agents. They could always come to her with questions and concerns.

    Donna sat down. “I was going through the weekly requests and I spotted something that bothered me.  Boston requested help on some missing teens. Both are from private schools. That by itself is no big deal. But it tickled my memory, so I checked our records and found three other cases similar to that in the past six months,” explained Donna. She then paused to allow Ally to comment.

    “You think they’re related?” asked Ally.

    “I’ve got no proof. Just a feeling,” answered Donna.

    Ally nodded and smiled. A feeling was what got the investigation going on the MNF serial killer.

    “What do you need?” asked Ally.

    “I’d like to search the database and see if any others pop up. Additionally, I’d like to see the files of the missing victims,” explained Donna.

    “I’ll call MP and see if they have any objections,” stated Ally.

    Donna nodded. “Thanks, Ally!”

    “If you do see a connection, what do you want to do next?” asked Ally.

    “All the missing kids are from top schools, so they are highly likely to be using the net. It would seem to be the most likely way for an abductor to make contact. Once we narrow down the list, we can check for similarities,” responded Donna.

    “I’ll get back to you,” Ally replied.

    After Donna left, Ally thought about what she had said. Donna wasn’t one to see conspiracies everywhere. Ally decided to support her and see where this led.

    Ally called up the head of the Missing Persons department. She hoped he had forgiven her for beating him so many times in office football pools the previous fall.

    “Rich, hi, this is Ally. Do you have time to talk about something?” she asked.

    “Sure. I just brewed up a new pot of coffee, why not meet me in my office in ten minutes?” responded Rich.

    “Great. See you in ten minutes,” replied Ally. She grabbed her mug and headed over to Rich’s office. For someone so computer literate, Ally still preferred face-to-face communication. She hated the impersonal nature of office e-mail.

    She arrived outside Rich’s office and knocked. He was only in his forties and had graying hair. It gave him a distinguished look, thought Ally.

    “Ally! Great to see you! Please come in,” greeted Rich.

    “Thanks,” replied Ally.

    Rich took her mug and filled it with coffee. Ally held the mug close to her face and soaked in the aroma.

    “Kona?” she asked.

    “Yes. It tastes as good as it smells,” replied Rich.

    Ally took his advice and wasn’t disappointed. The coffee was exquisite!

    “I have a request. One of my agents has a hunch on some missing teens. She would like to search your database,” stated Ally.

    “That’s what I love about you, Ally; right to the point! I don’t have a problem with that. We can barely get through our caseload as it is. What does she suspect?” asked Rich.

    “Possible connection between several missing prep-school teens. I trust her opinion and I think it is worth a shot,” explained Ally.

    Rich nodded. “I assume we are talking about Donna.”

    Ally smiled and nodded.

    “If I didn’t respect you so much, I would try to steal her from you,” laughed Rich.

    “If she gets anything, we’ll let you know,” replied Ally, ignoring Rich’s false threat.

    “I know you will.”

    “Thanks for the coffee,” stated Ally as she stood up.

    “Whoa, not so fast. I have a favor to ask in return,” smiled Rich.

    Ally looked at him and rolled her eyes in jest.

    “My kid’s school wants someone to speak to parents and students about Internet safety. I was hoping you would do it,” asked Rich.

    Ally knew the school, as Rich had sold her numerous raffle tickets for school functions. Ally didn’t hesitate with her answer. “Sure. When?”

    “How ‘bout Tuesday at 3:00?” he asked with a smile.

    Ally laughed. “I think you had this planned out in advance! Tuesday is fine, I don’t have therapy that night.”

    Rich nodded knowingly. He had been seriously wounded several years ago and had undergone a long rehab in order to return to work.

    “Any time you want to talk about it, Kid,” he offered.

    Ally smiled back. Rich was one of the few people in the office that could call her Kid and get away with it.

    “Call me when you have confirmed the date with the school,” stated Ally.

    She had wanted to do a school program for a while and this would be a great opportunity to try it out. Back in her office, she called in Donna and gave her the go-ahead to start her search of the database. She also reminded her to wear her jacket when she went down to the research room. After Donna left, Ally called Michelle, her friend in research, and told her that Donna was coming down. Michelle’s staff was constantly overworked, but a nice bottle of wine would smooth the path for Donna. Actually, Ally knew the bribe wasn’t necessary, but she loved sharing good wine with Michelle.

Chapter Four

    The voice that came out of the walls was surprising soft and gentle, thought the boy.

    “You will have a visitor this morning. You will not speak until you are told to. You will not complain or argue. You will show respect to this person. ANY violation of these rules will be met with immediate and harsh punishment. If you understand and are willing to obey these rules then say, ‘Yes, I will obey’.”

    With almost no hesitation the boy answered, “Yes, I will obey.”

    He sat on his bed and eagerly awaited his visitor. He so craved contact with another person, even if it was one of his captors.

    In the control room, the woman watched and was very pleased. She had seen so many teens trained that she immediately knew when one’s will had been broken. The boy, if he could be called that anymore, was now ready to start the next phase of his treatment.

    The increased hormones had caused a remarkable change in his personality. He was overwhelmed with his emotions and was in desperate need of contact with another person. He willing dressed in fine lingerie now. She looked at the screen and saw that he was in a garter belt, stockings, panties, pushup bra, and lace teddy. They were all a soft pink. She decided that he would only wear pink for this phase of his training. His hair would soon be long enough for his first perm. What little masculinity left in him was slowly fading. He found that he started crying very easily now. He couldn’t even control his own emotions now!

    The woman switched to another monitor and watched in pride as what appeared to be a buxom young woman dressed. The “girl” appeared to be the picture perfect sexy French maid. In fact, she was fluent in French and had been conditioned to only speak French, or English with a heavy, sexy French accent. Six months earlier, she had been at the same phase as the boy. It was hard to believe that the sexy young woman had once been a teenage boy. The woman knew that in a few days the young woman would be introduced to her master, she began to finger herself at the thought of starting a new slave on the road to a lifetime of servitude. .

    A man walked into the control room and watched his wife pleasure herself.

    “Enjoying the show?”

    “Yes, Thomas, very much so. Has the final payment been made for her?” asked the woman pointing to the monitor. She continued to pleasure herself.

    “Yes, Margo, it was deposited two hours ago,” replied Thomas. He slipped his arms around her.

    They kissed long and passionately.

    Thomas was a large man. He had to be to satisfy Margo. He was six foot, four inches tall. He kept his head shaved smooth and had no facial hair. This was for Margo, who preferred her lovers smooth.

    Margo stopped him from going any further.

    “I need to see after our assets first. But don’t fret, there will be plenty of time to play later this afternoon,” promised Margo. Margo was very serious about sticking to the timelines for treatment for the slaves under her control. “By the way, we’ll need to start hunting again.”

    “I know. I’m looking at the Philadelphia area,” replied Thomas.

    “Good. That means that we’ll be hunting local in a month,” replied Margo, with an evil sounding laugh.

    Thomas smiled. “Of course. You know I always keep the best for last. I even have a few new schools targeted in the DC area.”

Chapter Five

    “How’s the presentation coming?” asked Donna, as she stood in the doorway to Ally’s office.

    “Pretty good. I think I’m ready,” stated Ally without looking up from her computer.

    “I have some data to show you,” stated Donna.

    Ally stopped and looked up. “Please come in. What do you have?” asked Ally. “Donna, you do know that you don’t have to wait out there? I don’t mind you coming right in.”

    Donna smiled. “I know. I just think you deserve the level of respect you’ve earned.”

    Ally smiled.

    Donna laid down a map on Ally’s desk. It showed a pattern of missing teens throughout the Northeast corridor, the area between Boston and Washington, DC. It showed over twenty missing teens over the last three years

“My god!” exclaimed Ally, stunned at the number of missing teens. She reviewed the data for a few moments and shook off her shock. “So there are one to two abductions in a city and then none for almost a year?”

    “Yes, that what it looks like. All of the abductions marked have similar circumstances - smart, happy kids from prep and private schools who suddenly disappeared. From what I have seen so far, none had any history of problems. They were all the cream of the crop, and none have been found, dead or alive,” noted Donna. “I’ve also noticed that both sexes have disappeared, which makes me think this is not a predator acting alone.”

    “This is a good start. I’ll arrange a meeting with Rich and his department. We’ll run this by them and see what they think. If we can find an Internet connection, I’ll add this to our workload,” stated Ally. “Don’t worry, Donna, it this pans out I’ll assign sufficient help.”

    “Thanks,” replied Donna. She then looked at Ally with a very serious expression on her face. “I can’t explain why, but I have a really bad feeling about this one. I can’t shake it, but someone really evil is behind these kids’ abductions.”

    “I understand. I’ve had those feelings myself about some cases,” added Ally.

    Rich agreed to a meeting. It was scheduled for the following afternoon. That was a good sign, thought Ally. He must also think that Donna was onto something.

    Ally looked at her watch and saw it was time to go. She packed up her laptop and grabbed her coat. When it was snowing or raining, she wore her parka from LL Bean. One sure thing she had learned about winter from Carol was that warmth and comfort were more important than fashion. Still, she liked to look good too. It was just cold today, with no chance for snow, so she had worn her long camelhair coat. Another good thing about winter was that it allowed her to wear nice leather boots. Carol kidded her that she was developing a fetish concerning boots. Ally smiled, she didn’t consider seven pairs of nice leather boots to be a fetish!

    Ally arrived at the private school in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. It looked like a nice school, she thought. There was something very comfortable about the look of old brick buildings with white trim and ivy covered walls.

    Ally was a bit surprised by the turnout. It appeared to be standing-room-only in the auditorium. It seemed many parents had shown up, as well as all the students. The one thing that Ally didn’t want to do was to be heavy handed. She wanted to get her message out to be safe and to use common sense without scaring the parents or alienating the students. Rich had told her that he wouldn’t be there, but she had been greeted and introduced to the headmistress by his wife, Alyce.

    As she spoke, she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. She couldn’t place his name at first, but she knew it would come to her. She smiled at the fact that he was trying to place her face too.

    The lecture and Q&A went better than Ally could have hoped. She emphasized that if something seemed strange or inappropriate, then to let some adult know. She emphasized not to give out a phone number without telling their parents, and then to use a cell phone number that could not be traced to the home. They all seemed to accept this advice.

    Afterwards, the man walked up to her with a teenage girl. She then recognized him from the firing range.

    “It’s Steve Williams, isn’t it?” she asked.

    He smiled. “Yes, Ally. So you remembered me?”

    Ally nodded. One important part of being an agent was remembering names and faces. Obviously, Steve had a sharp memory too.

    “Ally, this is my daughter, Beth,” introduced Steve.

    Ally smiled and greeted the pleasant young woman standing before her. They talked about the presentation for a few minutes. Ally was impressed with Beth’s knowledge of Internet crime.

    “By the way, thank you for the help,” stated Ally. “I think it saved my life.” The firing position that Steve had taught her had allowed her to twist at the last second, saving her from a fatal injury.

    Steve stared back at her and then it hit him. “My god! That was you!”

    Ally nodded.

    Beth looked confused and turned to Steve. “What happened?”

    “Beth, Ally is the agent who caught the MNF serial killer last fall,” announced Steve.

    Beth looked at Ally in awe and admiration. “I’m honored to meet you.”

    Ally felt her face turning red. “Thanks, Beth. I appreciate that.”

    They hugged each other.

    “How’re you doing?” asked Steve.

    “Better. I have a way to go, at least that is what my physical therapist says. We meet three times a week in her dungeon,” quipped Ally.

    “Been there, done that,” replied Steve with a laugh.

    Ally instantly liked both of them. She also wondered what section of the agency he was in.

    “So you’ve actually posed as teens online to catch perverts?” asked Beth.

    Ally laughed. “That’s oversimplifying it a bit, but that’s what we do.”

    “That’s sounds really interesting. It’s a combination of acting and detective work,” added Beth.

    “Funny you should mention acting. We’ve actually used acting coaches to train new agents,” remarked Beth.

    “Beth has a role in the school play and has become star struck,” quipped Steve

    Beth rolled her eyes at Steve’s embarrassing comment. Ally saw this and they all laughed.

    “If you’d like, I can give you a tour sometime,” offered Ally. “That’s if your parents okay it.”

    Beth immediately looked at Steve. “Please!”

    Steve laughed and nodded.

    “Great. We can arrange a date that works with your school schedule,” replied Ally.

    “We have a day off next Monday, if that isn’t too soon,” Beth instantly replied.

    Ally thought about it. There was nothing big on the schedule, outside of their usual insanity. Beth seemed genuinely interested and Ally didn’t want to squash her enthusiasm.  “Sounds good.”

    “Great!” smiled Beth.

    “I have a great idea, why don’t you come over for dinner?” asked Ally, turning to Steve. “It’s the least I can do to thank you.”

    “I don’t know if you should be thanking me. After all, you still got hurt pretty badly,” replied Steve.

    “Nonsense. Carol and I don’t get enough company. What do you say to Saturday at 6:00?” replied Ally. She knew that Carol wouldn’t mind. “Of course, you’re invited too, Beth.”

    “That sounds like fun!” exclaimed Beth.

    There was something about Beth that seemed different, thought Ally. She looked like the typical teenager, but there was a sense of more maturity than she would have expected. She was also pleased that neither seemed all that concerned that she was a lesbian.

    “Can I call you to confirm? I need to check with my wife, Maggie,” explained Steve.

    “Sure, here’s my card,” stated Ally as she wrote her home number on the back of her business card.

    “Thanks, Ally,” replied Steve.

    Ally called Carol on the way home, and, as expected, Carol was delighted to have an opportunity to cook for company. She also was interested in talking to Beth. There was something interesting about her, thought Ally.

    On their way home, Steve and Beth discussed Ally.

    “Dad, tell me how you met her?” asked Beth.

    Steve told her about the incident on the range. He said that it stood out because of the weapon she was training with and the intensity she was showing concerning the case.

    “I could tell that it wasn’t just a case to her. It was personal,” added Steve.

    “Hmm, that sounds like two people I know,” quipped Beth.

    Steve smiled. “She’s pretty tough. I read the after-action report and she held her own against a real psychopath.”

    “How badly was she hurt?’ asked Beth

    Steve could sense the concern in Beth’s voice. “It was bad. She was stabbed by the killer with a large hunting knife. From what I heard, the knife went through her shoulder and she almost died of blood loss.”

    Beth just nodded. She knew she had been lucky in her own life. Her respect for Ally had just gone through the roof.

    “I can’t wait to talk to her about her work. I think it’s cool that she is in charge of such an important department,” added Beth.

    Steve knew that Ally was transgendered. He had suspected something when they first met and he had heard some rumors. Personally, he didn’t care. It was her life and she had a right to be happy. Besides, he was the father of a seventeen-year-old daughter who used to be a 26-year-old man, so who was he to judge? He didn’t bring this up with Beth, not that he thought it would bother her, but Ally had a right to her privacy. If Ally wanted to tell them, that was up to her.  He was pleased to see an instant rapport between the two of them.

    Beth was excited about the possibility of meeting Ally at work and touring the office. She had felt an instant friendship with Ally. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she sensed that Ally and she had more in common than what met the eye. She was also impressed that a young woman like Ally could hold such a responsible position in the agency. It definitely made her think!

    Maggie readily agreed to the dinner invitation and Steve called Ally to confirm. He was also pleased that Ally had the forethought to ask if any of them had special dietary needs, preferences, or major dislikes.

“No,” he chuckled, “we’re all on seafood diets; if we see food, we eat it.”

Chapter Six

    Ally and Donna sat down in the briefing room. As it was held in Rich’s department, they brought the snacks. Even thought it was mid-afternoon, they brought doughnuts. They wouldn’t go to waste. Ally always marveled how quickly leftover doughnuts disappeared when left in a briefing room. A dead antelope on the Serengeti lasted longer!

    “I have to admit that I’m nervous,” confessed Donna.

    “Don’t be. You have a good theory and some preliminary facts to back it up. Rich thinks so too, otherwise he wouldn’t have called the meeting,” stated Ally.

    Rich and his team walked into the briefing room.

    “I’m glad you’re here,” whispered Donna.

    Ally smiled and mouthed, “No problem.”

    Rich was joined by two agents. Ally recognized one of them. His name was Bob and he was a good guy. He had helped Ally several times. The other agent was a woman. Ally estimated that she was in her late thirties. She was a little taller than Ally and wore her black hair pulled back in a bun.

    Rich introduced Bob and the woman, whose name was Grace. “Okay, I think Donna should start the meeting.”

    Ally sat back and watched as Donna gave an excellent briefing. She felt a sense of pride in Donna’s performance. Ally looked around and saw that Donna had everyone’s attention. When she finished, she opened the floor for questions and comments.

    “There are too many commonalities in the cases to ignore. The next question is how are they connected?” offered Rich.

    “We’ll need to go through their files and look for connections. Many parents in cases like this don’t change their child’s room. So we may find some clues there,” remarked Bob.

    “Hopefully we can get some info from their computers,” added Donna.

    “We can check with their schools too,” stated Grace.

    “Good. I think we have our team right here,” remarked Rich. “Do you agree, Ally?”

    “Absolutely,” concurred Ally

    “Donna, I know you did the initial work on this, but I would prefer Bob be in charge, he’s had more experience in this sort of thing and it’s primarily an MP case unless we prove an Internet connection,” suggested Rich.

    If he was afraid this would offend Donna, he was wrong. “I was about to suggest that myself!” answered Donna. “I just want to get the kids back.”

    Bob nodded in approval. He had heard good things about Donna and was pleased she was so willing to accept his leadership.

    “Grace, you have any objections to Bob leading this group?” asked Rich.

    “No, none at all,” she replied

    Ally could sense that Grace wasn’t happy. She figured that Grace was getting to the point in her career when she was beginning to realize that she would never be a department head. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t be a big asset to the investigation though; some people who were great investigators just didn’t have leadership talents.

    Ally left Donna with Bob and Grace and headed back to her office. She rotated her shoulder as she walked. She looked at her watch and saw that she had an appointment with the torture chamber in an hour. Still, the hour of pain was worth it; if it prevented her from needing more surgery, then it was worth it.

Chapter Seven

    Less than two hours away, a different sort of therapy was being applied. Margo was pleased with the increased submissive nature of the young boy. Although she had to admit that he barely looked like a boy now. He was dressed in a frilly silk French maid’s outfit. His waist was nice and slim, thanks to the pink satin corset he was wearing. He would be wearing a corset from now on, even when he slept. His thin smooth legs were encased in black seamed stockings. Margo was pleased that his seams were straight. She had watched earlier on the monitor as he spent nearly an hour adjusting his seams. He was still a bit wobbly on his 5” heels, but she gave him some slack there. He was trying very hard to walk correctly.

    His makeup still needed work, but again it was obvious that he had been practicing. It still amazed her how fast they became submissive. She loved to search the tapes for the instants that they gave up and submitted to her completely. Margo thought about putting together a tape of those moments to watch. It would be a great tape to pleasure herself to!

    “Matron, is my appearance acceptable?” asked the boy eagerly.

    All the slaves were instructed to call her Matron. She was the only person they came in contact with, until the final phase of their training. By then, they would be totally obedient and would do anything she asked. The final phase was their sexual training.

    She pretended to inspect him. “You are making good improvement and you’re getting prettier everyday. Yes, I am pleased.”

    She watched as he broke out in a big smile. That was delicious too! Watching him get genuinely happy over being complimented. A month ago he would have been fighting her, now he was delighted in being told that he looked like a pretty maid.

    One of the reasons they risked grabbing the rich kids was that they tended to be more intelligent and therefore easier to train. Also the clients preferred more cultured slaves. Before he was abducted he was cramming for his college entrance exams, now he was more concerned with keeping his nails pretty.

    The boy might not have a name for six more months. His new owner would get to pick the name and then he would be conditioned to accept it. The bidding for this one was getting interesting. She hoped that it would end soon, so she could begin the implanting of the new personality.

Of course, he would be a very different person by the time his owner received him. His breasts were a small A-cup, but she expected they would reach C-cup on their own. Then he would get implants. Most of her clients like their slaves to be buxom. She preferred more natural sized breasts, but the client was always right.

    He was responding well to the corset and was naturally thin. She didn’t feel surgery would be necessary. Sometimes ribs were removed in order to give the slave a smaller waist. Soon his penis would be pierced, as would his nipples. Additional piercings would be done at the request of the client.

    His personality would be modified too. A new trend was to make the maid speak in an accent. She thought it was silly, but if the clients wanted it, who was she to object. The results with that sort of conditioning were very successful. She doubted that they could speak English without an accent, even if they wanted to. The boy in front of her spoke two languages other than English. He was fluent in French and Spanish. Either one would be very cute.  She would leave it up to the client, although she was partial to French; it was just so sexy.

    She instructed him to spend the next few hours on his makeup and she left to inspect the other slaves in training. The girl who was abducted at the same time was also becoming a very willing slave and maid. Her hair was now bleached blonde, and she took great pride in styling it.

    She was already speaking with an accent. She had been a special order and her new owner was very specific in his tastes. He wanted her to have a Dutch accent. It had taken some looking, but they had found a girl in Boston who spoke fluent Dutch. The girl was also to be a good pianist. Fortunately she’d already met this requirement, so they’d only had to provide a piano for her to keep in practice. The “reward” of the piano had done wonders in her acceptance of her new role. He’d also given a long list of body piercings he wanted on her. Margo thought this was a shame as the girl had a beautiful body. But for two million dollars she would comply.

    Margo returned to her office. Thomas walked in and poured them both a drink.

    Margo took the drink. “Thank you, my love.”

    “I contacted Marcus and he said that he’ll e-mail us a list of good candidates from the Philadelphia area,” stated Thomas.

    “Excellent!” exclaimed Margo. “I have one special order to fill. We will need an oriental boy, to become an oriental girl. Must be very petite.”

    “That shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

    Margo nodded.

    “The final bid came in on the newest boy slave. The other candidate just dropped out. The new owner would like HER to speak with a French accent. He was pleased that she was still available,” informed Thomas

    “How pleased?” asked Margo, as she stretched back in her leather office chair.

    “Very pleased! He paid three million for her. The bank confirmed his deposit twenty minutes ago!” continued Thomas.

    “Excellent! I’ll start her on her new identity tomorrow,” beamed Margo. That always was an exciting event, she thought. “Did he suggest a name?”

    “Yes, Bébé! I believe it means baby in French,” replied Thomas with a laugh.

    She smiled. “Bébé, it is!”

    “I must admit that you were right. I was watching your training sessions and we really do get much better results with kindness than pain,” admitted Thomas. He had moved behind Margo and he began to massage her shoulders.

    “It has multiple benefits. First off, the slave is much more receptive to training. By the time they are done with the initial isolation phase, they have almost no will power. They have little urge to resist. The threat of punishment is often enough to get them to obey. They’re all very intelligent and learn quickly. There’s no need to crush them completely. Besides, this way we don’t scar the merchandise,” explained Margo. She stretched out like a cat. “Hmmm…… that feels wonderful!”

Margo had learned her trade in breaking down terrorists for the government. It was highly successful, when they were allowed to do it. Her superiors were too squeamish and refused to let her do her job. It was too frustrating, so she had quit and gone into business for herself.

Thomas filled many roles in Margo’s life and organization. He was her lover, her business manager, and was a skilled plastic surgeon. He had lost his license for conducting bizarre body modifications. He was also a cold-blooded killer.

    “I was wondering if we could take a break after we fill the next few orders. We’re fixed for life and we can always start up again,” stated Thomas as he continued to work her shoulders.

    “That might be a good idea. What do you have in mind?” replied Margo.

    “I was thinking of a ‘round the world vacation,” replied Thomas.

    “That would be nice.”

    “To make it more enjoyable, when we go hunting next month I want to pick out a nice slave for you. I think you should have a personal servant as we travel the globe.”

    Margo swung around in her chair. A wicked smile was on her face. “Oh, Thomas, I do love you! I know exactly what sort of girl I want too!”

    Thomas smiled and lifted Margo up and escorted her to the bedroom.

Chapter Eight

    Ally was walking around the control room getting status reports from her agents. She was too busy these days to work on actual cases and she missed that part of the job. Still, it was rewarding to see her agents hard at work.

    Ally walked over to Donna, who seemed lost in thought. “What’s wrong?”

    Donna looked up. “Can we talk in private?”

    Ally nodded and they walked back to Ally’s office. Once inside, Donna closed the door and sat down across from Ally.

    “I have something to tell you. I don’t want to make a big deal about it, but I think you should know,” explained Donna in a soft voice.

    “You okay?” asked Ally.

    “It’s not me. The other day I was working with the group from MP. I was getting a soda when Grace came up. She told me that she had heard a rumor that you were a transvestite. She then said she could tell that wasn’t true and was glad, because she couldn’t stand the idea of one of THEM using the women’s room. My reaction must have given something away, because she got all silent.”

    Donna paused and looked at Ally.

    “Go on, Donna.”

    “Before I go on, I just want to say that our department knows your situation and we only want you to be happy. You’re the best boss I’ve ever worked for. I think you are  a very courageous woman,” stated Donna with conviction.

    “Thank you,” replied Ally.

    “Anyway, Grace stated that she couldn’t imagine working for someone like that and so on and so on. I asked her to knock it off and she said, quote, ‘Fine! If you want to support some freak, then I guess that’s your problem!’ Her words, not mine.”

    “I see. Did she make any other comments?” asked Ally.

    “No. But I could tell that she wasn’t about to let the issue die. I think she is going to try to make some trouble,” continued Donna.

    “I’ll call Rich and we’ll get everyone together. If this is going to affect the investigation, we’ll have to make some changes,” stated Ally calmly. Inside she was trembling. She had dreaded the day something like this came out.

    Ally picked up the phone and called Rich. He didn’t seem surprised and readily agreed to the meeting.

    Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting together in Rich’s office. Grace refused to look directly at Ally.

    “I want everyone here to read the paper in front of them. It’s from the employee handbook and it states the agency’s policies on discrimination and harassment,” stated Rich. “I hope we can resolve any issues here, without taking this up with the boss.”

    “If Ally wants to dress as a woman, that’s HIS problem. Why inflict it on the rest of us?” stated Grace angrily. “I would like to use the ladies room without fear of a man walking in.”

    So much for preliminaries, though Ally.

    “If you must know, Grace, I’m not dressing as a woman. I’m legally a woman. I am transgendered and undergoing transition,” explained Ally calmly. She knew that it was probably pointless to explain this to her.

    Grace still wouldn’t look at Ally. “What-ever!”

    “As for using the same restroom, trust me I’m only in there to do my business and leave. Besides, it is my right to use it,” continued Ally.

    “What about MY rights!” exclaimed Grace to Rich. “I intend to file a complaint with the human relations council. It’s not right that he is walking around mocking the rest of us real women!”

    “Grace, I want you to think this over. Your complaint has no merit. Ally’s situation was known when she was hired and has no bearing on her ability to do her job. I will warn you right now that, if you harass or create problems, you’ll be the one in trouble.”

    Grace stared at him. She could tell that he was serious. “What has happened to this place? Fine!  But I request to be taken off this case, immediately!”

    Rich nodded. “That would be for the best. Any objections?” He looked around the room at Ally, Bob, and Donna. No objections were raised.

    “Grace, I want to see you back in my office in thirty minutes. You may leave now,” ordered Rich.

    Without a word, she got up and walked out.

    There was a long moment of silence in the room. No one knew what to say. Bob finally spoke. “I have a good person in mind to replace her. I think Maria is ready to move up to a case like this.”

    Rich nodded. “Good choice. Why don’t you go and brief her and introduce Donna to her? Also make sure Grace gives you all her files and notes.”

    Donna and Bob got up to leave. “Ally, I just want to say you have nothing to prove to me. I’ll work with you any day!” stated Bob.

    Donna nodded in agreement.

    “Thanks. I know, but I appreciate you telling me anyway,” replied Ally. She could feel her emotions getting really shaky, and the last thing she wanted to do was start crying.

    Rich and Ally were now alone. “I’m sorry. I never would have thought Grace would pull a stunt like that.”

    “So, what will you do about her?” asked Ally.

    “I’ll put a warning letter in her file. It will tell her that she has been told not to make any problems and that she read and signed the employee rights statement. That way, if she does cause any more problems, I will have ammo against her,” explained Rich. “I’ll send you a copy.”

    Ally agreed. It’s how she would have handled it.

    “I guess I knew that this sort of thing might happen, but knowing and experiencing it are two different things,” confessed Ally.

    “You need a drink?” offered Rich. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of high quality whiskey

    “Isn’t that against agency rules?” smiled Ally.

    “It’s for snake bites,” he quipped

    “Snakes? It’s winter if you didn’t notice,” laughed Ally

    “Make that exposure. I use it as preventive medicine!” laughed Rich

    Ally extended her mug. “I’ll take a drop in my coffee. By the way, thanks!”

    Rich poured a dollop of whiskey in her mug. He noticed she was trembling slightly.

    “No problem, Kid,” he replied, as he poured a little in his own coffee. “To exposure!” He held his mug out in a toast.

    “And to snakes,” replied Ally. Their mugs clinked together. She took a long sip of the fortified coffee. It did feel good.  “I need to get back to work. Thanks again, Rich.”

    Ally got up and walked out. She hoped this was over, but she doubted it. She couldn’t wait to get home and be in Carol’s arms.

Chapter Nine

    Saturday evening Carol was busy in the kitchen of their townhouse. She was preparing her favorite recipe for chicken breast sautéed in a red wine sauce. Ally was preparing the salad when the doorbell rang. The kitchen in their home was large. That was one of the main selling points for Carol. In addition to the counter space, there was a separate island in the center of the kitchen.  There was also enough room for a large oak table. Carol and Ally rarely used their dining room and ate most of their meals in the kitchen

    “I’ll get it,” announced Ally.

    Ally greeted Steve, Maggie, and Beth.

    “Welcome to our home,” announced Ally. “Carol’s in the kitchen.”

    Ally took their coats and, when she returned, she found they had all migrated to the kitchen. This didn’t bother Carol, as she viewed the kitchen as the heart of the home. Ally asked everyone what they wanted to drink. Carol and Maggie wanted wine and Steve wanted a beer. Beth settled for a Diet Coke. Ally selected a bottle of white wine and took it to Steve.

    “I hate to bother you, but I can’t quite open a bottle yet,” apologized Ally, as she held out the bottle of wine and the corkscrew.

    “No problem, Ally,” replied Steve.

    Carol and Maggie were hanging over the stove discussing the meal. Beth helped Ally with the salad, and Steve watched and made snide comments. It was as if they had known each other forever.

    “I know you’re both in the agency, but what department?” asked Carol

    “Spec-Ops,” replied Maggie, after glancing at Steve.

    Ally and Carol looked at each other and nodded knowingly. Spec-Ops, or Special Operations, was never officially discussed, although most agents knew it existed.

    “So we won’t be trading office stories tonight after all,” quipped Ally

    They all laughed.

    Still, they all managed to talk about work without violating national security. Ally noticed that Beth didn’t seem bored with the conversation. In fact, she was very interested in everything they talked about and asked intelligent questions. Beth seemed so much more mature than a seventeen-year-old, thought Ally.

    “Are you two going to the dinner next week?” asked Maggie.

    “Of course. We wouldn’t miss it!” stated Carol.

    The dinner was the annual agency formal dinner. The joke was that you had better be dead if you missed it. Or, at the very least, mortally wounded!

    “I’m looking forward to seeing Steve in a tux!” exclaimed Maggie

    “Just as long he doesn’t do his cheesy James Bond imitation,” quipped Beth.

    Steve put his hand over his heart. “Oh! That hurts!”

    “I don’t mind him doing it, it’s just that ALL the men are doing it!” added Maggie.

    That caused more laughter.    

    Dinner was a smashing success. In keeping with the bonding feel of the evening, it was held at the kitchen table. After dinner they all retreated to the living room for coffee and dessert.  It was a raw cold night out and everyone appreciated the fire in the fireplace, even if it was just a gas fire.

    Maggie appreciated Ally’s offer of showing Beth her office. She knew that Beth wanted to enter the family business and she felt that Ally’s job was much safer than Spec-Ops. She knew Ally had been injured, but at least she was alive, and not all agents in her department needed field training or experience.  Spec-Ops had lost three agents the previous year. Maggie wanted a more intellectual job for Beth, even though Beth craved the action and excitement of being a field agent. She smiled at the idea that she barely thought of the fact that a little over two years ago, Beth had been a man.

    After the Williams left, Carol and Ally discussed the evening. Carol had put one of her Van Morrison CDs on. Van was soon singing about what a marvelous night it was for a moon-dance.  It was good late night music, thought Ally.

    “I’m glad you invited them, Ally. That was a lovely evening,” remarked Carol, as they cleaned up.

    “I like them too. I’m just a little surprised they have a daughter that old,” commented Ally, as she washed the dishes.

    “Maggie told me she adopted Beth two years ago. Her original parents were killed in a plane crash,” explained Carol. “Maggie and Steve only married last year.”

    Ally stood there for a second. “Plane crash? That sounds like a cover. I wonder what they’re hiding?” remarked Ally.

    “You should talk about hiding things!” quipped Carol.

    Ally laughed, although she sensed that they were hiding something. However it didn’t really matter, as it was apparent that they loved Beth and she loved them.

    “Well, they seemed comfortable enough about us. Do you think they know I’m transgendered?” asked Ally.

    Carol shrugged her shoulders. “Does it matter?”

    They finished cleaning up and then slipped into bed for some great sex.

***********

    Later that night, Steve and Maggie were holding a similar conversation at their kitchen table about Carol and Ally. Beth was asleep.

    “I must admit that she passes very well,” remarked Maggie. “I also like her a lot.”

    “I agree. From what I’ve heard, both are good agents. Carol is working that bank robbery gang, and Robert Ledyard couldn’t say enough good things about Ally,” stated Steve.

    “That’s a good recommendation to have!” acknowledged Maggie

    “Have you known many transgendered women?” asked Steve.

    “I had a friend from college who transitioned. She’s much happier as a woman.”

    “You have any issues about Beth hanging around Ally?” asked Steve. “I don’t.”

    “Neither do I. Did you notice how Ally and Beth got along? I think it would be good for Beth to have a role model, other than us,” Maggie replied.

    “I know what you mean. I’m not keen on Beth’s involvement in the past cases. But I must admit she’s good at it,” stated Steve.

    Maggie reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Chapter Ten

    Monday morning, Ally was making her rounds of the office. She told her staff about Beth coming for a visit. She told them her parents were agents, but left out the Spec-Ops part.

    Back in her office was a copy of the warning letter to Grace. Ally wondered if it would work or would be like one of those useless restraining orders. She continued through her mail and found a sealed envelope. The envelope was internal and lacked a return office code.  Inside was a hunting knife catalog. She stared at it and felt her anger rising. This was so stupid and juvenile. She bounced back and forth between ignoring it or reporting it. There was no proof that Grace had sent it either. Ignoring it would be the easiest thing to do, but the exact opposite of the advice she would give to someone else. She decided to call Rich.

    “Good morning, Ally,” he greeted.

    “Rich, can you come down here? I need to talk to you,” replied Ally in a very serious tone.

    “Oh. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he replied.

    He arrived ten minutes later and looked disgusted when he saw the catalog. “What a stupid thing to do. What do you want to do?”

    Ally filled his coffee mug. “Nothing for now. I just wanted someone else to know about it. What does she expect to accomplish by doing something like this?” asked Ally.

    “She’s frustrated. Trust me, you’re just the latest on her list. Grace could be a good agent, but she cannot see her faults and blames everyone else for her lack of success. If this keeps up, I am going to recommend she see one of the therapists,” added Rich.

    “Do you think she’ll escalate this?” asked Ally

    Rich nodded as he sipped his coffee.

    “I see,” replied Ally

    “Keep me informed,” reminded Rich.

    “I will,” replied Ally. It was a crappy way to start a week.

    Ally filed the catalog and went back to work.

    Right after lunch, Maggie swung by with Beth. That cheered up Ally a lot. Beth was so different from the average teen.

    “This is fantastic!” exclaimed Beth as she saw the operations room.

    Ally smiled at Beth’s reaction. She was like a kid in a candy store, thought Ally.

    “So you guys actually make up teens and use them as lures for criminals?” asked Beth.

    Ally handed a folder to Beth. “Yes. Here’s the form we use to create a bait.”

    Beth began to study it. The original form that Ally had created was now several pages long. “Bait?”

    Ally smiled. “That’s our name for the character.”

    “And do your agents always play the bait?” asked Beth.

    “Not always. Depends on the case. Many of the characters we portray are all over the country. We work alongside the local police departments,” explained Ally.

    “I’m glad that your department is open-minded. I see that you portray both gay and straight teens of both sexes,” noted Ally.

    “Don’t forget transgendered teens!” added Donna, as she walked up to both of them.

    “Cool!” stated Beth.

    Ally gave Donna a stern look. “Beth this is Donna. She’s working on a few cases, if you want to watch her. Donna, Beth’s parents are agents and she’s interested in our line of work.”

    “You don’t mind, Donna?” asked Beth.

    Donna shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t mind an audience. Come on, Beth, I’ll show you what we do.”

    “I’ll be back in a little bit, Beth,” announced Ally. She knew that Beth was in excellent hands.

    She went back to her office and reviewed a few status reports. She would talk with Donna later on about the missing preppies investigation. Ally got up to use the restroom. She arrived outside the one she always used and found that it was blocked by Michelle.

    “What’re you doing out of the meat locker?” quipped Ally.

    “Actually, I was looking for you,” replied Michelle.

    “Okay. We can go back to my office, I just have to make a quick stop,” stated Ally.

    Michelle shook her head. “Not in there.”

    Ally stared at her. “What’s wrong?”

    “You don’t want to go in there, Ally. Trust me.”

    “I appreciate your concern, but I need to see,” replied Ally.

    She walked in, followed by Michelle. On each stall door was a sign. There was a red circle with a diagonal line, crossing out a stick figure. The stick figure had both breasts and a penis. Ally stared at them and shook her head.

    “Whoever did it put them up in all the women’s rooms on this and the next floor. Maintenance is removing them. HR has been notified. I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to see them,” explained Michelle.

    “Did anyone see who did it?” asked Ally. Her temper was rising.

    “Unfortunately, no. But I think we both know who did it,” replied Michelle. “Grace was blabbing to everyone in the coffee lounge about you.”

    “Without proof, there is nothing we can do,” explained Ally.

    “She’s just making everyone angry at her,” added Michelle.

    “Look, I’ve got the daughter of some other agents here in my operations center. Do me a favor and get these signs down quickly,” asked Ally.

    “Sure thing.” Then Michelle hugged Ally.

    By the time Ally got back to her office, her phone was ringing off the hook.

    “Agent Burns speaking.”

    “Ally, I need to see you,” replied Robert Ledyard.

    Robert had been Ally’s supervisor during the MNF killer investigation. Since then he had been promoted to her section head.

    Five minutes later Ally was sitting in his office. Grace and Rich were also present. Robert didn’t look pleased.

    “I think I know what is going on around here and it will stop. I just sent an e-mail out to everyone in our section that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated,” stated Robert, as he held up one of the signs.

    “Excuse me, but I had nothing to do with those. I also know that I am not the only one who doesn’t want to work with him,” complained Grace.

    Ally glared at Grace.

    “Grace, you were warned not to refer to Ally as a male,” reiterated Rich.

    “Yes, sir,” replied Grace meekly.

    “Ally, you have anything you want to add?” asked Robert.

    “I know that Grace doesn’t care for me or understand what I’m going through, and I believe her when she says that there are others who side with her. But, I have a legal right to do my job and to be free of harassment. If this sort of …stuff continues and the person responsible is discovered, I will not hesitate to seek that person’s immediate suspension. I may even seek civil damages against the individual. I don’t want to create a distraction, but I am not going to be a doormat either,” stated Ally in a firm voice.

    Robert nodded. He was proud that Ally wasn’t about to back down.

    “Ally, Rich, you may go. Grace, please stay. We need to have a talk,” stated Robert.

    “I hope that ends it.” remarked Ally outside the door.

    “That makes two of us,” added Rich.

    Back in her office, she got a call from Maggie. She would be delayed and Steve was out of town; she asked if     Ally would keep Beth occupied a bit longer.

    “Here’s a suggestion, I’ll take her home for dinner. You can pick her up there,” offered Ally.

    “That’s so kind. Thank you, Ally,” stated Maggie.

    Ally also got a call from Robert. He said that he was calling in an expert on workplace relations for dealing with transgendered workers, with special emphasis on legal issues. She would give mandatory training to the department.

    “I don’t want to be a problem,” stated Ally.

    “Ally, you’re not the problem. The person or persons doing this are the problem Besides you’ll like her. Her name is Marlene Hamilton. I met her at a conference a few years ago,” explained Robert

    Maybe he was right thought Ally. Education was never a bad thing.

    Ally returned to the operations room and found Beth thoroughly enjoying herself. Donna was explaining how they used multiple agents to introduce a bait into the chat rooms.

    “So, are you bored yet?” joked Ally

    “Bored? No way! This is great,” exclaimed an excited Beth.

    “To be honest, I feel the same way,” replied Ally. “By the way, your mom called and she has been delayed. So you’ll be coming over to my place for dinner.”

    “That’s great. Thanks, Ally,” smiled Beth.

    “I have to wrap up a few things. I’ll come back and get you in thirty minutes,” stated Ally.

    As she walked out of the operations center, she looked over her shoulder and smiled as she saw Donna and Beth were again hovering over the computer.

    Ally was just finishing up some administrivia when the phone rang. It was Carol.

    “We just had another robbery. I’ll be home late tonight,” announced Carol.

    “Where are you now?” asked Ally.

    “We’re right outside College Park,” replied Carol.

    “So, they’re sticking to the Beltway,” remarked Ally.

    The last three robberies were all in the DC area.

    “Looks like it. I’ll call you later.”

    “Okay. Be safe! I love you, Carol!” added Ally, her voice almost cracking.

    “Thanks Ally. I love you too,” replied Carol. She was a little confused by Ally’s response. She wasn’t usually this emotional. She called up Rich to see if anything was wrong.

Chapter Eleven

    Beth was sitting next to Ally as they worked their way through the rush hour traffic. Light snow began to fall. Both were very tired of winter and longed for warmer weather. Ally told Beth that Carol wouldn’t be there to join them for dinner. Beth nodded, she said she was used to that at home.

    “Sometimes we go weeks between having all of us together for dinner,” stated Beth.

“What do you say to some Mexican food? We’ve got a pretty good takeout place near my home,” asked Ally.

“I haven’t had good Mexican food in so long!” exclaimed Beth.

“It’s the best that I’ve found since I left California,” promised Ally.

“You’re from California? Where?” asked Beth.

“I worked for a police department in Orange County before I was recruited into the agency,” replied Ally.

“I spent some time in San Diego,” remarked Beth.

“Nice city,” added Ally

Beth smiled softly and nodded.

Ally immediately noticed a change in Beth’s demeanor. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is that where you lived, before the accident?”

Beth nodded. “It’s okay, Ally.”

They arrived at the Mexican restaurant and picked out enough food to feed a small army.

“What can I say? It all looked so good,” smiled Beth.

Ally laughed in agreement. Maybe a feast would be a good way to drive away her anger over the harassment.

As they approached the house, a floral delivery van pulled up.

“Excuse me, are you Ally Burns?” asked the driver.

“Yes, I am,” answered Ally.

He came running up with what looked like a large bouquet of flowers. Ally signed for the flowers.

“Just put the food in the kitchen, Beth,” instructed Ally. She set the flowers down and opened up the protective wrapping. They were gorgeous and their aroma instantly filled the room. Ally read the card and fought to hold back tears.

    My Sweet Ally,
            Just a reminder how much I love and care about you!
            Love,
            Carol

Ally felt a tear run down her cheek.

“Everything okay?” asked Beth.

“Yes, Beth. Things couldn’t be better!” replied Ally, wiping the tears away.

They set out the feast on the kitchen table and dug in. Ally was amazed at how much Beth ate.

“How do you manage to stay so slim?” asked Ally in amazement.

“I was blessed with a high metabolism!” exclaimed Beth with a laugh.

“I hope you never lose it!” smiled Ally.

Halfway through dinner, Beth looked over at Ally. “I must admit that after seeing what you and your team do, I’ll feel more secure online and at the same time a little creeped out!” She then laughed.

Ally nodded. “Think of us as the lifeguard. We see everything, but we only jump in to save people.”

Beth nodded. “May I ask how you got involved in the serial killer case. I read all about it in the news. That seems a little out of your department’s tasking.”

Ally laughed. “I can tell that you really are from an agency family! I got involved when I happened to see one of the victims down in Atlanta. I played a hunch and was assigned to the case.”

“Dad said that your wound was very serious. He was shot two years ago, but he recovered pretty quickly,” remarked Beth. Steve had been shot in the shoulder during her initial mission to meet Dr. Martz.

Ally smiled. There was a comfort level developing between the two of them that allowed for such personal comments. She sensed it from the first time she saw Beth.

“I go to therapy a few times a week. For both my mind and body,” replied Ally.

“PTS?” asked Beth.

“Yes,” she wasn’t ashamed of it. In fact, therapy was now mandatory for all agents hurt in the line of duty.

“Me too. I still see Jenna every few weeks,” admitted Beth.

“Jenna? She’s my therapist too!” exclaimed Ally.

“She’s the best!” concurred Beth. “I see her about my….life changes.”

Ally nodded and figured Beth was talking about the death of her family.

“May I ask why you were selected to play the bait for the serial killer case?’ asked Beth.

“I wasn’t selected. I volunteered. Actually, that’s not right either, I sort of insisted on it,” stated Ally.

Beth stared at Ally and a small knowing smile broke out on Beth’s face.

Before Beth could speak, Ally nodded and interrupted. “That’s right, Beth, I’m transgendered myself.” She figured there was no sense in keeping it a secret. Beth was too smart and would have figured it out on her own anyway.

“That’s so cool! I think that is fantastic!” exclaimed Beth. She got up and ran over to hug Ally.

Ally hung onto Beth for several moments. “Thank you, Beth! I really needed that hug!”

Beth sat down and looked at Ally with a confused look.

“I have a co-worker making some waves about my life. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was come home to an empty home. Being with you has really raised my spirits,” confessed Ally. She felt a bit strange pouring out her soul to a teenager, but Beth was different!

    “So your co-workers know?” asked Beth.

    “I don’t make a big deal about it, but yes they know. When the agency first checked me out, I was still living as a male, although I wasn’t happy,” replied Ally.

    “Are you happy now?” asked Beth.

    “All things considered, yes, very much so,” answered Ally.

    “That’s great. Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is, why should anyone besides you care what gender you are?”

    “That’s a great attitude, Beth.”

    Beth smiled. She didn’t feel that Ally was quite ready for the truth.

    “I take it that you always wanted to be a woman,” stated Beth.

    “Yes, but it’s hard to describe. I tried really hard to be a guy, but I always felt different. I now know that this is the right path for me,” explained Ally.

    “I know one thing, your staff loves you! Donna couldn’t stop talking about you,” announced Beth.

    “She’s a fine agent and a good friend,” remarked Ally.

    “Whoever this person is who is harassing you is a narrow minded idiot!”

    Ally laughed

    Just then the doorbell rang. Ally checked through the peephole and saw Maggie standing there. She opened the door and greeted her.

    “Come on in, Maggie,” stated Ally.

    “I’d love to Ally, but I need to get home. Thank you for looking after Beth.”

    “It was a pleasure! Beth and I had a great time.”

    “You ready to go, Beth?” asked Maggie.

    “Sure. Thanks again, Ally, for the tour and for dinner,” thanked Beth. She then gave Ally a big hug. “May I come back to your office another time?”

    “Absolutely!” remarked Ally.

    Ally watched them leave and then closed the door. It only took a few minutes to clean up. She was just making a mug of tea when the phone rang. It was Carol and she was on her way home and would be there in twenty minutes. Ally smiled. It wasn’t such a bad day after all. She went into the living room, lit a fire, and turned on the stereo and waited for Carol to arrive.

    On their way home, Maggie and Beth discussed their day.

    “I really like Ally, Mom. I think it’s so cool about her situation. I feel so lucky that I was programmed to accept my change. I can’t imagine living a life full of duality. It must be awful!”

    “Ally’s also lucky that the she is doing this now. When I joined the agency, it would have been very difficult for her. We weren’t as enlightened. And from what you told me, some still haven’t evolved.”

    “I also like the job Ally does. It’s a pretty cool way to fight crime.”

    Maggie nodded. I hope you go into something like that, she thought.

Chapter Twelve

    Bébé was slowly getting used to her new name. At least she had a name now. She could expect the Matron any minute now and she conducted a last minute inspection. She was up to five-inch heels and was walking better in them all the time. Her maid’s outfit was so soft and feminine. The ruffled chiffon petticoats felt so good against her legs. The top of the dress was cut low and showed off her breasts. Granted they looked bigger due to the push-up bra, but Bébé was proud of them. The Matron was very pleased with the way she was changing and that made Bébé happy.

    Bébé’s cell was more like a room now. The walls were now covered in cheerful floral wallpaper. There was a regular bed, instead of the cot. The sheets were also a bright floral pattern. She also had control of the lights now! The Matron explained that things would return to the old ways if Bébé disobeyed her. Bébé had no intention of doing that.

    Speaking mostly French was difficult, but she would master that phase of the training too, if it kept the Matron happy. Her vocabulary had grown amazingly after Matron had given her all those lovely French books on personal care, makeup, hair styling, etiquette, and social graces, along with the big French dictionary. Having something to read was delightful, and she was learning so much. She felt sure that French women were sexier and more sensual than any others, and she hoped she could live up to that image. She found that when she spoke English she now had a French accent. She had felt it was silly and was initially worried that she would be punished for it, but the Matron was actually pleased by it. In fact, the Matron encouraged her to make it more noticeable. Bébé discovered that now she couldn’t speak English without the accent. That would make the Matron very happy, she thought

    Bébé checked her hair and makeup again. She liked both the curls and color of her hair. She now had light brown curly hair and it bounced delightfully when she walked.

Bébé also liked her sexy thick lips. As she inspected herself in the mirror, she thought she was a pretty cute girl. It was hard to imagine that she once thought of herself as a boy.

    Margo was watching Bébé’s constant preening and attention to her appearance. She was turning out even better than Margo had thought possible. Her new owner would be getting an excellent maid. There was barely a trace of her old personality. Of course Bébé’s new life would include a wide range of duties, including sexual slave, but she would be trained for those duties later.

    Today she would give Bébé several more books and magazines. The books were romantic novels, where the heroine falls deeply in love with a man, and submits totally to him. The books were written especially for her slaves. Margo figured that Bébé would love the fashion magazines too. Of course all of them were in French.

    The other thing that she was giving Bébé today would be a pierced penis. Margo would put a steel ring through the head of her little penis, called a Prince Albert, and a second ring under her scrotum, called a guiche. When they healed, the penis could be locked down between her legs. She would also pierce sweet Bébé’s nipples. This was too enjoyable to allow anyone else to do it.

    She then checked in on the girl, now named Kalie. Her appearance had been further modified to meet the requirements of her new owner. She had been given breast implants and was now a very buxom E-Cup. Margo had talked the man out of anything larger. Her hair was now bleached blond and styled into a cute pageboy cut. Her lips were also thicker and fuller due to the collagen injections.

    Her new owner had a fetish for Dutch girls and was very specific about how Kalie was to look. Margo was letting the girl recover from the surgery and the multiple labial piercings. The rings could be locked together to form a natural chastity device. Margo planned to give Kalie plenty of time to heal. The last thing she needed was to have a slave get sick.

    Kalie was sitting in her bed, watching TV. Actually she was watching taped shows and movies from the Netherlands. Like Bébé, her accent was coming along nicely.

    Margo had one last thing to do, and that was to select the next slaves. Marcus had provided a list of potential candidates. He was a sneaky bastard, but he did a good job, thought Margo. There was a photo and biography for each teen. Margo was looking for some very specific characteristics. She immediately identified the girl she wanted. She was a gorgeous redhead. Natural redheads brought top dollar. Marcus was now scouting out teens in the Washington, DC area.

The boy would take some time. Originally the client had wanted an oriental t-girl, but he had changed his mind. He now wanted a very light-skinned white boy, modified to look oriental, specifically Japanese.

    Margo had a plastic surgeon that could do a decent job on the face. She needed a short, thin boy who spoke some Japanese. His body would be modified to look like a young girl, including small pert breasts and smooth skin all over. The owner had a fetish about Japanese schoolgirls. Margo didn’t care as long as they paid. This one was a special order and would cost him almost four million, including the surgeries. She found two good candidates and faxed a copy of their photos to the client. He would decide which one he wanted.

    She looked at her watch and decided to go see young Bébé.

    “Bébé, are you ready for your inspection?” she asked as she entered Bébé’s cell.

    “Mais oui, Matrone,” replied Bébé, cheerfully, as she rose and curtseyed.

    Margo nodded. She loved the increasing accent!

    After the inspection, she ordered Bébé to strip. Margo sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Bébé carefully and sensually undressed. Margo was pleased as Bébé took great care in hanging up her uniform. She smiled as Bébé kept looking over to her for approval.

Soon the young teen was naked and standing in front of her. Margo was pleased with what she saw. Bébé’s breasts were developing nicely. Her body was smooth all over. Margo especially loved that Bébé’s pubic area was so smooth, thanks to hours of electrolysis. Margo admitted to herself that she had a fetish for smooth skin. Her next slave would be completely smooth.

“Bébé, I want you to lay down here. I don’t want to hear any crying from you or you will be punished. Do you understand?”

“Oui, Matrone,” replied Bébé.

“These rings I am about to give you will show everyone that you are a loved and obedient slave,” explained Margo, as she prepared to pierce Bébé’s penis. “Remember, my sweet, no crying and no screaming.”

Margo watched as Bébé struggled to hold in the pain as she installed the Prince Albert. There were tears, but no screams. Margo was impressed.

The second piercing between her legs almost caused Bébé to cry out, but again her fear of the Matron outweighed her physical discomfort.

“I have two more rings to install. Are you ready, my sweet?” asked Margo, knowing the answer. “Tell me in English.”

“Yes….Matron,” struggled Bébé, in heavily accented English.

Margo smiled. Bébé was struggling with English as if she was just learning it.

Within a few minutes, Bébé’s nipples were also pierced. The young slave had held up quite well and absorbed the pain. Margo instructed her on how to keep the piercings clean. She warned Bébé that she would be punished severely for any infection and could expect to be inspected daily until they healed.

“Good girl, you behaved yourself well, and I’m very proud of you,” Margo complimented her. “As a reward, you may have tomorrow to rest and relax with your reading and your videos.”

“Merci bien, Matrone.”

Margo could see the girl smile with delight, despite her discomfort. It was a very satisfying afternoon for Margo.

Chapter Thirteen

    There were no more personal attacks and things returned to normal in the office. Donna was a little frustrated over the lack of progress in her investigation. Ally sat her down in her office and told her to set it aside until Monday.

    “I expect to see you at the dinner tomorrow night, Donna,” stated Ally.

    “I wouldn’t miss it. I like to see everyone dressed up,” replied Donna.

    “Not to pry, but who’re you going with?” asked Ally.

    “I’ve been dating a man named Ed. He’s a Lieutenant in the Navy. We met at a coffee house near my apartment. He’s nice,” smiled Donna.

    “That’s nice. I look forward to meeting him,” stated Ally. “Look, don’t worry about the investigation. Both Rich and I believe that something is going on and the clues will eventually come to light.”

    “Thanks, Ally,” replied Donna.

    The next day, Ally was nervously doing her makeup. This was her first big agency function and she knew that she would have to make a good impression. Selecting a dress was a major issue. She was very self-conscious about the scar and most dresses were too revealing. The ones that weren’t were downright ugly. Thankfully, Carol found a nice satin jacket that would hide the scar. It went perfectly with a beautiful black velvet dress.

    “Next year, you won’t even care about the scar,” promised Carol.

    “Maybe, but this year, I’d just as soon hide it. I’ll be getting enough attention as it is, thanks to that idiot, Grace,” replied Ally.

    Carol nodded. There weren’t a lot of same sex couples in the agency and that alone would draw some attention to them. That, combined with Ally’s recent injury and the problems in the office would make it seem like a spotlight was on Ally, thought Carol.

    “No matter what, just remember you have good friends that care about you,” stated Carol. “Don’t forget that I love you too!”

    Ally smiled and blew Carol a kiss.

    Carol and Ally arrived at the hotel ballroom and walked slowly in. Ally wanted to find some friendly faces as soon as possible. There was a reception line that they had to pass down first. At the end of the line was the Director and he always personally greeted every agent.

    As they moved through the line, Ally whispered to Carol. “How does he know all of us? I mean there are hundreds of us!”

    “I don’t know either, but he does. Some say he has a perfect memory.”

    In a few minutes they reached the Director.

    “Good evening, Agents Martin and Burns. I’m so glad you made it here tonight. How’s your recovery coming along, Agent Burns?”

    “I’m getting better every day, thank you,” replied Ally.

    “Glad to hear it. I was deeply concerned when I heard you were wounded.”

    Ally smiled and could tell that he was being truthful.

    They left the line and headed across the room. Carol had spotted Steve and Maggie and they joined them for drinks.

    “Ally, Beth can’t stop talking about you,” announced Maggie.

    “Beth is pretty impressive herself,” replied Ally.

    Ally tried to ignore it, but she could tell that many people were staring at her. Maybe it was just her imagination, but the others noticed it too.

    “I think they’re looking at me and the fact that I have three lovely women around me!” quipped Steve.

    That helped break the tension and they all laughed.

    “No, seriously, I think they’re all looking at me,” laughed Steve.

    “Yes, they must think how nice we all are to humor you,” replied Maggie.

    They left the line and headed across the room. Carol had spotted Steve and Maggie and they joined them for drinks.

    “Ally, Beth can’t stop talking about you,” announced Maggie.

    “Beth is pretty impressive herself,” replied Ally.

    Ally tried to ignore it, but she could tell that many people were staring at her. Maybe it was just her imagination, but the others noticed it too.

    “I think they’re looking at me and the fact that I have three lovely women around me!” quipped Steve.

    That helped break the tension and they all laughed.

    “No, seriously, I think they’re all looking at me,” laughed Steve.

    “Yes, they must think how nice we all are to humor you,” replied Maggie.

    Ally and Carol excused themselves and made their way through the crowd, towards their assigned table. They saw Donna and a handsome man standing close together. That must be Ed, thought Ally.

Ally immediately liked Ed. He was thirty, six- feet tall, athletically built, with reddish brown hair and blue eyes. He was a Lieutenant Commander in Naval Intelligence and was presently stationed at the Pentagon. Ally could understand why Donna was so smitten with him, as he had an easygoing, friendly manner, and a great smile.

As they walked over to their table, Ally whispered in Donna’s ear. “I like him.”

    Donna turned and smiled. “So do I!” she whispered back.

Ally looked around at the rest of the group at their table. Rich and his wife, Alyce, were sitting to their left. Michelle, and her husband Warren, were sitting across from them, and Donna and Ed were to their right. Everyone got along as if they had known each other for years.

    The dinner was very pleasant and the food wasn’t bad, although Ally thought the wine wasn’t that good. The company more than made up for the wine. Ally totally forgot about Grace and work for an evening. 

    “By the way, Ally. I really liked that last bottle of wine you gave Michelle,” stated Warren.

    “Ally, you may not believe it, but Warren has become such a wino that we’re going to northern California for vacation. He actually wants to tour some of the vineyards!” explained Michelle with a huge smile on her face.

    “That sounds wonderful,” replied Ally

    “Yes, it will give me a chance to surprise you with a nice vintage!” replied Michelle.

    The conversation shifted to vacation spots. Ally noticed that Ed was holding Donna’s hand the whole time, whispering in her ear now and then.  They looked deeply in love. Ally was delighted to see her co-worker and friend so happy.

    Ally felt very lucky to be surrounded by so many good friends. She smiled as she saw Steve and Maggie walk over after dinner to join them for coffee.

    “We just escaped from the most breathtakingly boring group of people in the agency. We decided to sneak away and spend some time with a more lively bunch!” quipped Steve, as he pulled up a couple of chairs.

    Ed and Donna moved their chairs down to open a spot for the Williams.

    “You’re always welcome,” replied Ally. She introduced Steve and Maggie to the rest of the group.

    “They weren’t really that bad,” confessed Maggie, “it’s just that most of them are so trained not to talk about work, and they think that it applies to everything else.”

    “The poor waiter couldn’t get the rest of the table to admit if they wanted dessert or not!” laughed Steve.

    “I can neither confirm nor deny that I want some chocolate mousse,” quipped Rich, in a serious monotone voice.

    Everyone at the table broke out laughing.

After dinner they had a DJ and he played a variety of music. He occasionally dedicated a song to someone’s wife or husband. Ally and Carol danced several times together. They caught a few dirty looks from some of the people there, but neither cared, as they were having too good a time. Ally also danced with several men, including Rich, Steve, Ed and even Robert Ledyard.

Ally noticed that Donna and Ed danced as closely as possible much of the time. Both looked like they were off in another world.

A little while later, Ally finally got a chance to talk to Donna alone as they walked over to the restroom.

“Ed was surprised that you were my boss. He thinks you look way too young and too cute to be my boss,” laughed Donna.

“I thought he had good taste,” replied Ally, with a smile. “I’m very happy for you!”

“Thank you, Ally. I know that you mean that!” answered Donna, before hugging Ally.

It was a lovely evening until the DJ made an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have another dedication. This next song is for Ally Burns,” he announced.

Ally wondered what he was talking about and looked around the table. Everyone seemed as genuinely surprised as she was.

“The song is sent from Brian with love,” continued the DJ

The song came on and, as Ally recognized it, she froze in anger and fear. The song was Mack the Knife.

Carol was likewise incensed. “I’ll be right back!”

She started to get up when Rich stopped her. “Allow me.” He got up and walked towards the DJ, followed quickly by Steve.

Ally was fighting back tears. It was an extremely cruel joke, that is, if it was a joke. Carol shifted close to Ally and tried to comfort her, as did Donna and Maggie.

“Don’t let them see you get upset,” whispered Carol.

Ally bit her lip and fought hard not to cry. Without thinking about it, she rubbed her right shoulder.

Rich pulled the DJ aside, “Who told you to make that dedication?” he asked with a controlled anger.

Steve stood next to him, seething in silence.

“I don’t know. Someone handed my assistant an envelope with the dedication in it, and $50.00. What’s the big deal? It’s a great song,” explained the DJ.

“Where’s the card?” asked Rich.

The DJ handed Rich a crumpled up card. The dedication was typed out on it.

“Where’s your assistant?” asked Steve.

“She’s over there,” stated the DJ, pointing towards a young woman next to the stage.

Rich and Steve walked over to the woman. They noticed Robert Ledyard walking over in their direction.

    “Can you tell us who gave you that last dedication?” asked Rich.

    “I don’t know. I’ve been getting them all evening,” she explained.

    “It’s rather important. Try to remember, please,” explained Steve.

    “I think it was some older woman. But I really didn’t get a good look at her. Why?” she asked.

    Rich smiled. “We just want to thank her for the thoughtful dedication.”

    They walked over to Robert. “Nothing positive. The girl remembers an older woman making the request. It could be Grace. You want me to find her?” He handed the card to Robert.

    He shook his head. “I saw her leave with her husband right after the music started. We’ll end this Monday. The Director heard it and isn’t pleased.”

    Steve and Rich nodded and headed back to the table. By now the DJ was playing some Sinatra.

    “Well?” asked Carol. She was still furious.

    Rich explained what had happened.

    “I would like to leave, now,” stated Ally softly, as she stood up.

    Carol stood next to her and put her arm around her.

    “I’ll walk you out,” stated Rich.

    “We’ll join you,” added Maggie.

    In fact, their entire table got up to escort Ally out of the ballroom.

    Ally nodded. “Thanks.” She was really fighting back the tears.

    The good thing was that, as they walked towards the exit, she got a lot of supportive looks from friends and co-workers. She smiled and tried to act like nothing had happened.

    Ally didn’t say a word on the way home. Back in their home, she started to vent to Carol, who was turning on the fire.

    Carol turned, looked at Ally and shook her head no as she put her finger to her lips.  She turned off the lights, so that only the fire was illuminating the room. Her last act was to turn on the stereo.

    Ally stood there in silence. She wondered what Carol was up to.

    As the music started, Carol pulled Ally close and then began to dance slowly. The song was Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey and it was one of their favorite songs.

    Carol held Ally close as they rocked slowly to the music. Tears began to run down Ally’s face, as she released her emotions. It was a soft gentle cleansing cry, releasing her fears, anger, and frustration.

Van Morrison’s lyrics filled the room. “She’s as sweet as tupelo honey. She’s an angel of the first degree. She’s as sweet as tupelo honey. Just like honey from the bee.”

Carol held onto Ally as if to remind her that she would always be there for her. The crying was very freeing. Ally felt Carol’s hands caressing her back as they danced. Ally saw their shadows floating on the wall, moving as one.

    Ally smiled as she heard the lyrics and realized why Carol had selected the song. Van Morrison repeated over and over “You know she’s alright, you know she’s alright with me. She’s an angel”

The tears shifted to those of love and joy. Carol was telling her that she loved Ally for who she was, and not to worry about the ignorant. They rocked together as the cares drifted away. Ally would remember that moment for the rest of her life.

    “Thank you,” whispered Ally into Carol’s ear. “I love you too!”

    Later that night, Carol was stroking Ally’s hair as she slept next to her. Carol knew that there would be other ignorant people for them to deal with. She so wanted to protect Ally from them all, but she knew that wasn’t possible. She would allow the system to work and let her superiors handle Grace, but woe to anyone who tried to hurt her Ally! Carol leaned over and kissed her lover on the cheek and went to sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

    Grace totally denied having anything to do with the stunt at the dinner. Robert knew she was lying, as he had proof that she was the one who made the request. He found it amazing that Grace didn’t think an entire room of federal agents could deduce that she was responsible. He also had a positive ID of Grace by the DJ’s assistant. Rich had left the party and returned with a photo of Grace.

    The issue was what to do next. There was no denying that Grace had her supporters. He had noticed a few snickering as Ally made her exit. They saw Ally’s departure from the party as a victory. Fools! Anyone with half a brain couldn’t help but admire the way Ally made a dignified exit that night. Change takes time, he thought. But he would do his part to try to speed it up. He had the Director’s permission to conduct an agency wide training session. He scheduled it for the following Tuesday. A memo was coming down from the Director stating that it was mandatory. Marlene had agreed to repeat the brief the following day and to allow it to be taped for those agents unable to attend.

    Robert was pleased and a bit amazed by the Director’s interest in the case. He was also impressed in the Director’s interest in Ally. He smiled at the fact that when he was a younger agent he too had caught the Director’s eye and it had helped him rise quickly in the agency. Well, if Ally’s being a department head bothered some people, he couldn’t wait to see their reaction in a few years when she was promoted to a higher position.

    When Travis Coleman had brought in Ally, many thought it was just an experiment in political correctness. Robert laughed at that idea. Travis didn’t give a damn about being PC, he only wanted results. That’s why he’d sent Carol out to recruit Al. Travis didn’t care that it was Ally that Carol brought back, just as long as she could do the job. The task Ally was given was monumental; she was given a moribund department, with no success or even a real purpose. In less than a year, Ally had transformed it into a superb crime-fighting machine. He admired her selection of personnel. She picked people based on their qualifications and willingness to do the job. They immediate achieved a level of success that attracted the attention of many in law enforcement. It also contributed to Travis being promoted. He was now in charge of the Seattle office.

Still, even with her department’s success, many in the agency hadn’t thought Ally was a “real agent”. That all changed with her participation in the capture of the MNF serial killer. Robert had seen Ally at work and what he had seen impressed him. He also admired her for going forward with the gender change. Now that he was her boss, Robert planned to groom her for higher positions. He wouldn’t allow a frustrated, narrow-minded person like Grace interfere with these plans. He smiled at the fact that Ally was much more of a lady than Grace would ever be!

Robert had seen a bit surprised when he saw Ally and Carol with Maggie and Steve Williams at the party. That was another mark in her favor. He had known Maggie and Steve for years and he was one of the few people in the agency they socialized with. Both Maggie and Steve were very selective about whom they chose for friends. They were also very selective about who in agency had contact with their daughter. They must trust Ally a lot to leave Beth with her, as they had the other day.

His daydreaming was broken up by the sound of a knock on the door. He saw Grace standing outside his door. She wasn’t going to like what he was about to say, but that was tough.

“Agent Campbell, come in and take a seat,” he ordered.

She obeyed and sat down in front of his desk.

“Before you say a word, I want to remind you that lying to a superior officer is considered grounds for dismissal. I have proof that you were behind that moronic and cruel stunt at the party. To avoid this becoming anymore of a problem, I’m giving you an option. I want you to think about your response before you say one word. Do you understand?” he asked.

Grace nodded. She seemed very subdued. Robert figured she’d got the word that the DJ and his assistant had identified her.

“Good. I think you need a change of scenery. One of our regional offices has an urgent need for an experienced agent. I am offering you the position and you’ll volunteer to go. You will report to the office in thirty days,” he stated as he handed Grace her orders.

He watched as the color went out of her face as she read the orders.

She looked up at him and was about to complain when he interrupted her. “The only other option is for you to face charges of harassment, which would most certainly lead to your immediate dismissal. It’s your choice.”

She was trembling slightly as the gravity of her dilemma sank in. “I’ll take the transfer,” she answered in a soft voice.

“Thank you for volunteering. Good choice. Grace, this is your last chance. Use this as an opportunity to focus on your career. The Director feels you have potential to change; if he didn’t, you’d be up on charges right now,” explained Robert.

“What about Ally? Will she retaliate?” asked a shaken Grace.

“No. She agreed to let us handle this internally. She is willing to let it drop, without any further litigation. You’re very fortunate, as she has a solid case against you,” stated Robert. He was pleased that Grace had finally used the correct pronoun in regards to Ally.

Grace nodded and re-read the orders. She was being transferred to the regional office for the northern Great Plains, in Bismarck, North Dakota!

Grace got up to leave and break the news to her husband that she was being transferred to the US version of Siberia. Robert interrupted her departure. “I know that you have your supporters. Let them know that they won’t be as lucky as you, if they pull any similar stunts,” he stated.

Grace nodded and walked out.

Robert called the Director and told him that Grace had accepted the banishment. He hoped the word would get out that no one could harass a fellow co-worker and get away with it.

Next he called Ally and told her that Grace had accepted the transfer. He was pleased that Ally had set aside her own anger and thirst for revenge for the overall good of the agency.

“Ally, trust me when I say this, you made the right choice,” explained Robert. “I’m very proud of you.”

“I understand,” replied Ally. She wanted her pound of flesh, but was pleased with how the agency had handled it. She shuddered, thinking about spending winters in North Dakota. She barely could stand the computer lab!

Chapter Fifteen

“Have you made contact with the Philadelphia area candidates yet?” asked Thomas.

“Yes, I spent the last few nights with Sally. She was very obedient and eager to please. I doubt the candidates suspected a thing,” replied Margo.

“Once again, you’re right. What a great way to interview the potential slaves! Using an Internet chat room as the meeting point and a slave as your microphone,” laughed Thomas.

“Microphone? I like that. Yes, that is a nice touch. I tell the slave and they relay my questions to the targeted candidate. They have no idea that they are interviewing for a life as a sexual slave,” remarked Margo.

“What makes it all the more ironic is that we’re using a website that is recommended to parents by the schools!”

They both broke out laughing.

Marco’s contacts worked for a legitimate college prep company. Since they had access to schools, they could search for potential slaves. Marco would provide his contacts with a list of targeted students. They would be given a free log-in ID number to a very reputable website, used by students prepping for college tests. Margo’s computer would alert her when one of the students checked into the room. She would then use one of the completely trained slaves to help her interview the potential slave. Even if someone were monitoring the room, they wouldn’t suspect what she was doing.

“I would like to know how Marco keeps his contacts inline,” remarked Thomas.

“He has dirt on all of them, real dirt; drugs, sexual perversions, things like that. Things, which would get them into prison for a very long time. What’s ironic is that he’s the one who corrupted them in the first place!” laughed Margo.

“Where did you meet him?” asked Thomas.

“I found him in a file back when I was working for the government. He’s a very useful person to have around. He’s a real professional. He believes in honor. As long as I pay him the agreed amount, he’ll be loyal to me,” stated Margo.

“Hmm…. a mercenary with a sense of honor. Very refreshing!”

“By the way, I have a job for you. I think you’ll enjoy it. Marcus felt one of his old contacts was about to have a sudden attack of guilty conscience and tell the authorities. Marcus has him in the trunk of his car. He was going to kill him, but then I remembered that I never gave you a birthday present. The person is male, aged 31, slender build, brown hair, blue eyes, and very vulnerable. I’m sure you could have some twisted fun with him,” stated Margo

Thomas had a totally evil look on his face. “Would your conditioning process work as well after they have been changed physically?” asked Thomas.

“Absolutely. What do you have in mind?” asked Margo.

“I’m thinking a whore or a stripper. I want her a total bimbo slut,” stated Thomas. “Maybe Marcus can then use her to blackmail future ‘assistants’?”

They both laughed.

Margo was pleased. Thomas needed something to do in his spare time. After they grabbed the next two batches of slaves, they would have a year to train them and then they could take their well-earned vacation.

“Do you know which ones you want?” asked Thomas.

“I have them narrowed down. I should have the list ready for Marcus by the end of the week.”

Up in Philadelphia, there were two high school students who weren’t aware that their lives were about to take a very twisted turn.

Chapter Sixteen

It was Wednesday, and Rich, Bob, Donna, Maria, and Ally were sitting in one of the conference rooms reviewing the data they had on the missing teens. Ally would have liked to have David there too, but he was out on loan to the Miami Police Department. She had to admit she was a bit jealous that he was in Miami while it was 23 and snowing outside. On the whiteboards were written common characteristics of the missing teens. Nothing really stood out as a shared factor.

    “We have a pattern, that teens disappear from prep and private schools. There are only a few disappearances, usually on the same day, then no more in that area for a year,” stated Donna.

    “There has to be a connection,” remarked a frustrated Maria.

    Ally looked at the lists. The teens were all excellent students. They were all carrying a heavy academic load, heavy on college level classes. Some were bilingual and some were musicians. Then she got an idea.

    “You know, we’re looking at this from the wrong way,” stated Ally.

    “What do you mean?” asked Rich.

    “There’s a connection, but we need an expert to see it,” continued Ally.

    They all looked at her, waiting for her to finish her thought.

    “Why not bring in a few teens from schools like these and have them look at the data?” suggested Ally. “Maybe they’ll see something we’ve missed.”

    Rich smiled. “That might not be a bad idea.”

    Donna looked at Ally and smiled.

    “I think I know someone who can help,” announced Ally.

    Ally spent the next twenty minutes on the phone talking to Maggie. She explained the case and what she needed from Beth. Maggie invited Ally over to her office to discuss the idea.

    Ally felt a bit nervous as she entered the Spec-Op world. She was a bit disappointed that it didn’t look any different than her wing of the building.

    “Somehow I figured it would be very futuristic!” laughed Ally.

    “That’s what everyone thinks!” responded Maggie.

    Ally went over the case with Maggie and laid out the help they needed from Beth.

    Maggie nodded. “Ally, I think Beth will love helping you. I do need to brief you on something.”

    Ally nodded and wondered what was up.

    “Beth has already actively participated in several operations.”

    Ally sat there trying not to look totally amazed. She knew Beth was special, but this went beyond her wildest dreams. “Okay, anything else?”

    Maggie smiled approvingly. “I figured that you wouldn’t ask more details. You’re too professional for that! Keep that up and you may end up over here with us!”

    Ally smiled. She wasn’t sure if Maggie was kidding or not.

    “I have a favor to ask. I have to go out of town and Steve is also working a case. Could you do this Friday and then keep Beth over at your place over the weekend?”

    Ally beamed. “Maggie, that’s no problem at all!”

    “Beth’s old enough to be left alone, but I would prefer that she stays with a friend, and she thinks very highly of you,” continued Maggie.

    “Carol has been out a lot lately herself and I hate to be alone. We’ll have a great time together!”

    Maggie felt relieved. “I’ll drop Beth off at your office Friday morning, if that is okay?”

    “Sure. That will be great.”

    “I’ll leave it up to Beth if she wants to tell you about the missions,” stated Maggie. She then paused for a second. “By the way Ally, I am also proud to call you a friend.”

    Ally smiled back. “I feel the same way!”

Chapter Seventeen

    Friday morning, Ally was sitting in her office with Donna and Beth. Donna was briefing Beth on the case. Ally smiled as she noticed Beth was wearing her agent ID.

    “We want you to go through the data and note anything you see that seems unusual or that connects the missing teens,” explained Donna.

    Beth nodded.

    “Okay, you two need to get to work,” stated Ally.

    Beth looked at Donna, who nodded, then together they stated, “Yes, Mom!”

    Ally tried not to smile, but failed. Beth would fit in here perfectly!

    As the day progressed, Ally kept to her normal routine. Around eleven she made her rounds and checked in on the progress of all her agents. As important as the missing teens case was, Ally couldn’t lose track that her department was working many other cases.

    Ally checked in on Donna and Beth and found that they had been very busy. The walls of the conference room were covered with poster paper. Each paper had the characteristics of the teen written on them. The white board in the front was a list of common factors.

    Ally was impressed and let them go back to work. Back in her office, she was working on yearly agent reviews when Robert called her.

    “Ally, please come up to my office. I have someone I want you to meet,” stated Robert.

    “Be there in five minutes,” replied Ally.

    On the way up, she wondered what was up.

    Inside Robert’s office was a short, thin woman in her 30’s. She was dressed in a long skirt and a red wool sweater. She wore her long brown hair in a ponytail and had a very pleasant smile.

    “Ally, please come in. This is Marlene Hamilton,” introduced Robert.

    “Pleased to meet you, Marlene. I’ve read a lot about you,” stated Ally. She had done a web search on Marlene and found that she was a champion for transgendered rights. “I was very impressed with how you handled that case in Pennsylvania last year.”

    “Well, Ally, you have checked up on me. I must admit that I am equally impressed with you!” exclaimed Marlene.

    “Marlene will be giving training to the agency Tuesday. She just wanted to meet you first,” informed Robert.

    “I was hoping we could grab some lunch together. Robert has informed me of the case and what was done. I find some poetic justice in the punishment. I spent a month in Bismarck one afternoon,” laughed Marlene.

    Ally and Marlene grabbed some lunch and retired to Ally’s office.

    “I was caught off-guard when Robert called me. I had been asking to talk to law enforcement agencies for years, but this is my first real chance,” explained Marlene. “By the way, he thinks very highly of you.”

    Ally felt a bit embarrassed.

    “I also want to thank you for the great work in catching that psychopath. I was talking to some transgendered activists about the case. None were aware that you were TS,” stated Marlene.

    “I see myself as an agent first.”

    “Of course. Now let’s talk about your case.”

    Marlene explained how she would define the different terms to the group and then move to legal rights. The rest of the time would be question and answer.

    “You won’t be the one answering the questions, Ally, that will be my job. But you can expect some questions in the days after the lecture.”

    “That’s fine,” remarked Ally.

    “Just remember that, while some of the questions they’ll ask you may seem idiotic, they mean well,” explained Marlene.

    Ally laughed.

    They spent another hour talking. Ally really liked Marlene and felt that they would become good friends.

    “I read about that scholarship contest in that town in Pennsylvania. I wish there had been something like that where I went to school,” remarked Ally.

    Marlene nodded. “Golden Hill is a special town. You’ll be pleased that they’re starting a program like it in Oregon this fall.”

    “That’s really cool!” replied Ally.

    “I need to go. I’ll see you on Tuesday,” stated Marlene.

    “I’m looking forward to it,” smiled Ally.

    Ally walked Marlene out of the building and then checked in on Donna and Beth.

    They were both beaming as she walked in.

    “We may have it!” exclaimed Donna.

    Ally closed the door and sat down. “Well?”

    “Beth got a hunch. We dug into their records a bit deeper and we found it,” stated Donna.

    “Enough with the dramatic delay. Get to the point!” quipped Ally.

    “The connection is the college boards. All the missing kids were studying for their boards when they disappeared. We found that they were all in online study groups. The problem is that there are several of them,” explained Donna.

    “How do they know about the websites?” asked Ally.

    “The companies are always on campus leading up to the testing periods. They’re there to sell their sites. They often give a free trial period first, and then you must pay for the complete service,” explained Beth.

    “This is a good start. I’ll call Rich and set up a meeting with the rest of the team. Good job. You two make a good team. David’s going to be jealous!” quipped Ally.

    “Good! Serves him right. He e-mailed me a picture of him on the beach this morning!” laughed Donna.

    “By the way, Beth. You’re on the team for now, so you’re welcome at the meeting,” stated Ally.

    Beth just sat there and smiled. She was so excited that not only was she being treated as an adult for a change, but that she was actually contributing to the case.

    “Ally, before you go, Beth worked out a couple very interesting profiles of the missing teens,” stated Donna. “I think you should take a look.”

    Ally stopped, smiled at Donna and then turned to Beth. “Well, Agent Williams, show me what you’ve got.”

    Beth smiled and showed Ally two charts on the wall. One was for the missing males and the other for the females.

     “Donna asked me to look for things these kids have in common. Your team was looking for specific commonalities. But they didn’t look for things that make them stand out from the total student body of a school.  Notice the fact that there are no athletes of either sex among the abductees? Neither are there any debaters, or students who have expressed any interest in law or law enforcement or the military. There are none who have held major student leadership positions,” stated Beth

She paused as Ally studied the charts, nodding in agreement.

“Please continue, Beth,” stated Ally, never taking her eyes off the charts.

“See that students with strong foreign language, humanities, arts, and social studies interests are more prevalent than students with math or science interests? That the kids are all computer literate, but none of them are real computer geeks? That none of the boys is over 5’6” or looks strongly masculine? That all of the girls are much more attractive than average? That none of them have bad complexions? That none of them are visibly members of any minority population?” continued Beth.

“Write this up. Excellent work, Beth!” smiled Ally. She noticed that she would have fit the profile when she was in high school.

    An hour later, the taskforce was crowded into the briefing room examining Donna and Beth’s work.

    Donna explained their theory concerning the case and the college testing companies.

    “We need to get into the databases of those companies,” remarked Bob.

    “I agree, but can we trust them? These abductions are obviously being done by a gang. It would make sense that they would have someone on the inside of one or more of these companies. Any request for information could tip them off,” stated Rich.

    “What do you suggest?” asked Ally.

    Rich looked at Ally, then Beth. “Beth, I know your status and with it goes the full responsibility that goes with the title of Agent. I expect you to follow all security rules,” stated Rich.

    “I fully understand, sir,” replied Beth. “You can trust me.”

    Rich smiled. “I know that, Beth. Thank you. I think we need a little look inside their archives. I recommend we get Cathleen involved.”

    Ally smiled and nodded. Cathleen was the new hot computer programmer and hacker for the agency. She had gotten the job, by hacking into the agency e-mail system and sending her resume directly to the Director. He immediately hired her.

    The group agreed to reform as soon as Cathleen’s search was complete.

    Ally looked at her watch and saw that it was almost four. “I need to finish up my weekly report. I assume I can find you with Donna, Beth?” smiled Ally.

    Beth nodded and smiled.

    Ally went back to her office and worked on her weekly status report for Robert. The phone rang and Ally answered, as she continued to type. It was Rich.

    “Cathleen has the list of names and social security numbers. She says she’ll have results soon,” stated Rich.

    “She’s good,” replied Ally.

    “I also want to tell you that I was damm impressed with Beth. She doesn’t seem at all like a typical teenager.”

    “No, she doesn’t. She wants to follow in her parents’ footsteps and join the agency.”

    “Hmm. I foresee a future battle between you and I over who gets her!”

    Ally laughed, but she was thinking the same thing. She’d take Beth right now if it were possible.

    “I’ll get back to you regarding Cathleen’s information. Have a great weekend,” stated Rich. “By the way, Beth did a masterful job on those profiles. They’ll be very useful. I already passed them down to research and they’ll have a profile program worked out shortly. We may find more missing teens to match to this case.”

    “I will, thanks. Beth’s staying with me and I’ll have a whole weekend to win her over!” quipped Ally.

    “Curses! Foiled again!” joked Rich.

    Ally smiled and finished her report and sent it to Robert. She then went into the operations room and saw off her staff. Ally always wanted to see them personally as they took off for the weekend.

    “Ed and I are going skiing this weekend,” stated Donna.

    “Have fun and be safe. That goes for all of you!” stated Ally.

    “Yes, Mom!” they chorused.

    Ally smiled. “Come on, Beth, let’s grab your stuff and head over to my place.”

    Beth nodded. She turned and hugged Donna goodbye.

Chapter Eighteen

    Ally and Beth walked out to the parking lot and got into Ally’s silver Acura.

    “Is Carol going to be there tonight?” asked Beth.

    “Not tonight. She’ll be back home tomorrow,” replied Ally. “Do you like pizza?”

    “Love it!” exclaimed Beth.

    “We have a great pizza place nearby and they deliver,” added Ally.

    “That doesn’t bother you?” asked Beth.

    The MNF killer had disguised himself as a pizza delivery guy.

    “No. I don’t worry about that; although I could kick myself for making such a stupid mistake,” remarked Ally.

    “Were you afraid?” asked Beth.

    “No. Shocked and stunned at first, but then I felt surprisingly calm. It’s kind of hard to describe,” replied Ally.

    “I was,” stated Beth.

    “You want to talk about it?” asked Ally.

    Beth smiled. “It’s a long story, and you might not believe me.”

    “I’m a good listener, and from what you know about me, you know I’m open-minded!”

    “I’ll wait until we get the pizza,” replied Beth.

    “It’s up to you,” remarked Ally. “I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

    “Thanks, Ally. I know that I can trust you.”

    They arrived at Ally’s home and ordered the pizza;  pepperoni with extra cheese. Ally started a fire in the fireplace and they sat down near it. The pizza arrived on time, and Beth agreed that it was very good. They sat on the floor near the fire and used the coffee table to place their drinks and the pizza on.

    “Ally, no matter how you react to what I’m going to tell you, you must promise not to tell anyone about it. Promise me, please!” begged Beth.

    “I promise, Beth,” pledged Ally. She could see how serious Beth was about this, and played it very straight.

    “I guess the best place to start is the beginning,” stated Beth nervously. “I used to be a man, specifically a twenty-six year old Navy Officer named Ben Carlson.”

    Ally’s eyes widened in clear disbelief, but she remained silent and gestured to Beth to continue.

Beth described how she had been transformed into a genetic female by a process developed by a warped genius named Dr. Martz. Martz was initially trying to recreate his deceased daughter.

    If that wasn’t enough, Beth was dragged into several conspiracies to gain access to the Martz Process. In addition to all this, she had had to adapt to being a teenage girl.

    Ally sat there in silence as Beth told her incredible tale. Somehow, being stabbed didn’t seem like such a big deal now. Instead of treating Beth’s story as a prank or joke, Ally felt so sorry for everything Beth had been through and held her in much higher admiration than before. Beth was much stronger than anyone could imagine.

    “So, that’s my story,” finished Beth. She had been talking for over an hour.

    Ally reached over and hugged Beth. Beth wrapped her arms around Ally and hung on tight. They were both crying.

    “I just wanted you to know about me. I feel a special bond between us. I hope you don’t mind, but I see you as an older sister,” explained Beth, as she wiped tears away from her eyes.

    “I like that idea, Beth! I’m an only child and always wanted a sister!” replied Ally.

    They looked at each other and the tears started again. This time they were tears of joy.

    Beth was beaming now. “I thought I could trust you, but I was also afraid that you might push me away.”

    “Beth, I wouldn’t do that to you. But I understand your fears. They’re very natural.”

    “I guess I get a little possessive at times. I mean I lost so much. I also gained a new family and now some great new friends. I just worry about going through all this alone. I don’t know how I would have gotten this far without my new parents.”

    “I can understand that. I feel the same way about Carol,” added Ally.

    “I used to hate the Martz Process for all the problems it caused. I was pleased when they couldn’t reproduce it. Now I wish they could,” explained Beth.

    “Why?” asked Ally

    “I only wish that the process could be used one more time. I wish that you could become whole,” stated Beth.

    Ally felt her eyes tearing up again. “I appreciate the thought, but I’m on the path I was destined to follow.”

    “But, wouldn’t you love to be physically female?” asked Beth.

    “Yes, more than you can ever imagine. But, the cost is too great. The damage that a process like that could cause is monumental. Someone always seems to take something designed for good and twist it into something evil,” explained Ally.

    “Maybe you’re right. But you deserve to be happy!”

    “I am happy, Beth. I’m living as a woman. I have a great job and, most importantly, I have someone in my life that I love dearly and who feels the same way.”

    “I believe you, Ally. Still I would love to see you complete!”

    “Well, soon, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine I will be.”

    “Yes, but you won’t really be physically whole. You won’t be able to have children. I will. It isn’t fair!” replied Beth.

    “Beth, many women cannot have children. Would I love to have what you have? Absolutely. But the cost is too high. I love my present life!”

    “But you have to deal with people like Grace!”

    “Life isn’t perfect. Yes, I have to deal with close-minded people. But I’m gaining respect in my job because of my skills and abilities. I can’t imagine losing what you lost.”

    Beth sat there and nodded. “It was hard at first. I still think about them a little, even though I have a great family.”

    “Only a little?” asked Ally, with a slight smile.

    “Okay, I miss them a lot. But, there is no chance I could ever see them again. The son they knew is dead. I have changed a lot in the past two years.”

    “So, you’ve always felt whole?” asked Ally.

    “Yes, even before the change was complete. Dr. Martz did something to make my transition easier. I can barely remember what it felt like to be a male, even though I have most of Ben’s knowledge.”

    “That’s my biggest wish, to be whole. The duality I felt when I was Al was oppressive. I could function, but I wasn’t really happy.”

    “Is that why you threw yourself so thoroughly into your job?” asked Beth.

    Ally smiled. “Have you been talking to Jenna? Yes, I found a freedom in my job that didn’t exist in my life. Granted it was mostly online, but it was freeing. I was so fortunate that Carol came out to see what the secret to my success was,” explained Ally.

    “Did she suspect right away?” asked Beth. She was lying on her stomach, her hands propping up her head.

    Ally was now on her side facing Beth. “She said she suspected something. As we progressed in the investigation, she discovered my secret. Actually, it was more a secret in my own mind. Turns out many of my old co-workers knew that I was hiding something.”

    “I imagine that they didn’t care, because they liked you so much!” replied Beth.

    “True. They also respected me as a professional. I doubt they would have been as open-minded if I had been a bad cop. I guess another reason they accepted me was that I was so much younger than them. Initially, they saw me as a ‘kid brother’. I graduated college early. I also volunteered for all kinds of hard duty and that also helped win them over.”

    “How old were you when you graduated college?” asked Beth. She was sitting up now.

    “I was nineteen, - well, almost twenty  - when I graduated with a double major in pre-law and psychology.”

    “Wow!” How did you do that?” asked Beth, excitedly.

    “First off, I entered college at sixteen. I tested out of a lot of classes and took a full load during the summer. I’m blessed with an excellent memory, so it wasn’t too difficult. I did sacrifice the socializing aspect of college and I do regret that.”

    “I went through college once, and while it was fun, I would prefer to get through it quickly. I want to get started with my career as soon as possible,” stated Beth.

    “Beth, in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve already started your career. I imagine you’re in a hurry to grow up again, but enjoy the here and now,” advised Ally.

    “Maybe you’re right, but high school is so boring! I have a perfect GPA and am so bored! That’s why I started acting, it was something to do!” sighed Beth.

    Ally smiled. “I agree with Maggie, it’s a good place for you to learn your feminine social skills. I have so much to learn, as Carol is constantly reminding and correcting me.”

    “You two are such a great couple. I’m happy that you’re in love!” smiled Beth.

    “Love? I don’t think that’s a strong enough description of what we have. We were both missing something in our lives. We’re whole together. So what about you?” asked Ally, figuring everything was now fair game.

    “I had a boyfriend for a while, but he moved to London. We still trade e-mails, but he has a girlfriend over there,” stated Beth.

    Ally nodded. “Anyone new strike your fancy?”

    Beth laughed. “I do get asked out a lot, but they’re so immature!”

    “You don’t have to get married. Go out on dates. You might surprise yourself and have fun!”

    “Mom says the same thing!”

    “Seriously, Beth, enjoy yourself. You have a whole life ahead of you to be serious!” quipped Ally.

    “I may just do that. So, even though you’re with Carol, are you attracted to men too?” asked Beth.

    “My, little sister, you’re nosey!” laughed Ally. “I don’t know. I felt some attraction to a police detective when I was down in Atlanta. I still feel a little funny about my feelings.”

    “I still have a sexual attraction to women. I haven’t acted on it either. I’m not sure if it’s residual from my being born male.”

    “Could be. I imagine it can be a bit confusing at times.”

    “I feel better now that I have a sister to talk with. Mom has been great, but there are things I feel funny talking to her about. I know she doesn’t mind and is willing to listen to all my problems. I just like the idea of having someone else, who has some similar feelings.”

    “You know, Beth, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!”  drawled Ally, in a bad Bogart imitation.

    “Don’t tell me you love old movies too!” exclaimed Beth

    “Absolutely!” smiled Ally

    Ally showed Beth her collection and let her pick out a movie as she nuked up some popcorn. They spent the rest of the night watching a double feature of Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.

Chapter Nineteen

    A totally different form of entertainment was occurring at Margo’s facility. Margo was supervising the sexual training of several of her slaves. This was the last stage of their training.

    There were several other out there who provided sexual slaves. What made Margo the Rolls Royce of slave producers was that she personalized each one for the client.

    Once a slave had been purchased, Margo conducted a lengthy interview with the client. She would then program the slave to meet the requirements as closely as was possible to the demands.

    Many clients wanted virgins, but ones who were sexually knowledgeable. Margo accomplished this by exposing the slave to long sessions of pornography and of course reward and punishment.

    Margo rarely needed punishment. By now the slaves were so conditioned that they would do anything to please her. They spent much of their days preoccupied with sex. Some were given sex toys to practice with. She guaranteed that they were virgins, unless the client requested something else.

    Margo looked in on one of the feminized boys. She was practicing oral sex on a large life-like plastic cock. She spent hours on it, and occasionally was allowed to sexually pleasure herself as a reward. She had been conditioned to ignore her gag reflex and could deep-throat a very large dildo with little difficulty. She was also wearing a very special butt-plug that was remote controlled. Margo could turn it on to give the girl a nice reward. It was hard to believe that this sexy young woman had once been a sixteen-year-old male honor student. She was now a voluptuous French maid who was very oversexed, but also extremely obedient. In a few days, she would be the property of a wealthy CEO in Canada.

    What was really exciting was how fluent the slave was now in speaking French, especially strong sexual language. The client had insisted that she have a really slutty vocabulary and who was Margo to argue?

    Margo switched back to the young girl. She was also practicing her oral skills. Margo marveled at how deeply she could take the dildo down her throat. She would make her owner very happy.

    This slave was being prepared to be the trophy wife for an older man. He wanted to impress his friends with a young sexy wife. He told Margo that he would use the slave to sexually satisfy his trusted employees, and business clients, as he watched. So, she would get a lot of use.

    The last slave being trained was very special. The client wanted a sissy-boy. A boy who looked like a young girl and acted like one, but was also fully aware that he was a feminized boy. The client loved the humiliation aspect of the slave’s circumstances.

    The slave’s body had been modified so he looked like a young girl. His breasts were small and high on his chest, but with very sensitive nipples. His face was so cute and feminine, almost like a doll. He had pert lips and high sexy cheeks. He was a real darling.

He was trained to act like a schoolgirl and would, in fact, be enrolled in a nearby girl’s school. The constant fear of being discovered as a sissy would make him even more dependent on his “uncle”. The client also had a thing about schoolgirl uniforms.

She had trained this one to be very emotional. He cried very easily and giggled like a real girl when he was happy.

    The boy was trained to be very sexual, both orally and anally. He would be the “niece” and the client was the uncle. This was the second slave this man had purchased from Margo. The first had matured too much and was sold into slavery in Europe. Margo insisted that she approve all resales of slaves. She didn’t want one to be accidentally discovered.

    Margo had commissioned many porn videos to train her slaves. She had an extensive library of customized videos that she showed to the slaves. What was amusing to Margo was that Thomas had marketed the videos and had turned a nice profit. She selected a nice one for the sissy-boy. It showed a similar boy pleasing several men at once. It wasn’t her taste, but that didn’t matter.

    She then thought about what qualities she wanted in her new slave. She had narrowed down the physical requirements and was debating what she would do to improve her. There was something fascinating about keeping the girl totally shaved, including her head. First, Margo could change the slave’s look easier. Two, it would make the slave look like a store mannequin, which for some reason excited her.

    Margo worked on the profile. After Marcus captured the two in Philadelphia he could look for the future slave along with the other two.

    Thomas walked in with a satisfied look on his face.

    “Surgery a success?” asked Margo. She hadn’t seen Thomas in several days. He was having fun with his latest patient.

    “Yes, very much so. She is sedated and will stay that way for a week or two. Her face will be exquisite. I gave her very classic looks. She will have to beat men off with a stick!” exclaimed Thomas. He poured them each a drink.

    “Not after I’m done with her!” laughed Margo.

    Thomas smiled. “Her breasts are huge and I removed the ribs without any complications. I also did some lovely surgery on her hips. She will have a very sexy figure.”

    “She’ll be in shock when she wakes up,” remarked Margo.

    “She went to sleep with the knowledge of what was going to happen to her,” revealed Thomas.

    “You didn’t!”

    “Just before I started surgery, I told her what I planned to do. The look on her face was priceless!” confessed Thomas.

    “I’m jealous! You didn’t share that with me!”

    Thomas smiled and handed her a videotape.

    Margo smiled a wicked smiled. “Can I look at it now?”

    Thomas leaned down and kissed her. They were soon locked in deep passionate kissing. The tape could wait for now.

Chapter Twenty

    “Good morning, Ally,” stated Beth, as she walked into the kitchen.

    Ally looked up from the paper and smiled. “Good morning, Beth. Did you sleep well?”

    Beth nodded and sat down at the table.

    “I figure we’ll go out for breakfast and make plans then. Carol will meet us at the diner,” explained Ally.

    “I thought she was out of town?” asked Beth.

    “They finished up late last night. Carol decided to grab a room for the night,” replied Ally.

    “Cool. So what are we doing today?”

    “We’ll decide that over breakfast,” stated Ally.

    Beth was wearing overalls and a red sweater. Ally was in jeans and a green turtleneck top. The weather outside was cold and damp. They got into Ally’s Acura and headed to a good local diner for breakfast

    “Looks like the groundhog was right this year. I don’t see any sign of spring,” remarked Beth.

    “I’m so sick of winter!” sighed Ally.

    “That’s right, this is your first real winter,” remarked Beth.

    “It’s March now. Where’s the warmer weather?” asked Ally.

    “I hate to tell you this, but March can be a really ugly month,” informed Beth.

    “Any other good news?” quipped Ally.

    “I’ll try and think of some,” remarked Beth with a smirk.

    They headed down the road. Traffic was light and it was a pleasant drive.

    “Don’t worry about your secret. I won’t tell Carol, unless you want me to,” added Ally.

    “How do you think she’d react?” asked Beth.

    The car was at a stoplight and Ally turned and gave Beth a big smile.

    “Oh, yeah. I guess that was a dumb question. Of course, she’d be cool about it!” stated Beth, as she answered her own question.

    “However, I’d save it for later on tonight,” advised Ally with a laugh.

    Beth turned to Ally and smiled. “Really?”

    They both started laughing

    They arrived at the diner and Ally broke out in a huge smile when she recognized Carol’s car. Beth noticed Ally’s reaction.

    As they walked into the diner, Beth turned to Ally and spoke. “I hope I meet someone someday that I care about as much as you love Carol.”

    “Is it that obvious?” smiled Ally.

    “Please!” laughed Beth.

    Ally beamed and turned to Beth, “You will.”

    Carol was sitting at a booth and jumped up and greeted them. She gave Ally a long hug and a kiss.

    Beth noticed that Ally and Carol’s affection for each other barely raised an eyebrow. Then she noticed that there was a rainbow flag above the cashier.

    The food was excellent and they decided to spend the day downtown at the Smithsonian.

    After dinner, while resting their tired feet, Beth told Carol her secret. As expected Carol totally accepted Beth’s story. It was too farfetched to not believe.

    They capped off the evening with a movie classic that Beth hadn’t seen before, Bogey and Katie Hepburn in The African Queen.

    Sunday morning, Carol made pancakes and they enjoyed a long and leisurely breakfast.

    Maggie arrived shortly after noon and took Beth home.

    “So would you submit yourself to the Martz process?” asked Carol.

    “I don’t think so. Beth told me how she changed, and not just physically. I like who I am, it’s just that the body needs some adjustments. I would be afraid that I would be a different person,” explained Ally. “I don’t want to lose you.”

    “Don’t worry about that. I love you too much. But I appreciate your concern for our relationship.”

    “It’s an amazing prospect; to be genetically changed to the proper gender,” stated Ally.

    “I just can’t help thinking of how it could be abused,” countered Carol.

    Ally nodded in agreement. “Yes, anything like that would be abused. Too bad.”

Chapter Twenty-One

    Monday evening, Ally was driving back from her physical therapist when both her pager and cell phone went off at the same time. Both were from the office and she was ordered to return immediately. She called Carol and said that she wouldn’t be home for dinner.

    Ally walked into the briefing room and saw Robert and Rich talking to each other. She suddenly felt a little self-conscious about being in her workout clothes.

    “Sorry, didn’t have time to change,” she apologized.

    “How’s the therapy going?” asked Robert.

    She raised her right arm and rotated it. “Improving.”

    She was about to ask what was up when she saw Steve walk into the briefing room.

    “Sorry to drag you all back here, but I have something that will have a major impact on your missing teens case,” explained Steve as he took a seat.

    They all sat down and waited for Steve to start.

    “I just got finished briefing the Director on what I’m about to tell you. He’s moving this case to the top of the list,” stated Steve.

    That caught their attention.

    Steve handed each of them a folder. “Last night, there was a single car accident in Georgetown. The driver was speeding, lost control, and hit a utility pole. There were two occupants, a driver and a domestic servant. The driver was killed instantly and the servant died at the ER. The car was a diplomatic vehicle, belonging to a member of the British Ambassador’s staff. Specifically, Sir Nigel Cleese.”

    “Isn’t he their main economic advisor?” asked Robert.

    Steve nodded. “He’s also filthy rich and a close friend of the royals.”

    Robert nodded in agreement.

    “The ER made some interesting discoveries while they tried to save her. While she had a feminine body, she also had male sex organs. There were also several body piercings and tattoos. There was also evidence of severe physical abuse. There are copies of the autopsy photos in your folders,” explained Steve.

    Ally looked at the photos and was shocked. The girl had obvious breast augmentation and a ridiculously small waist. The medical report stated that two ribs had been removed.

 Her penis had a steel ring through the head and there were other rings around her scrotum. The photo of her back was sickening. It looked like she had been whipped extensively. Judging by the scarring, this had been going on for a long time. There were faded scars and fresh marks too.

    The medical report also stated that the girl had repeatedly been sexually abused. They estimated her age between sixteen and eighteen.

    Ally read the report in stunned silence.

    “As the girl didn’t have any identification, combined with the physical evidence, the police ran her prints, and she came up on the missing teen database. The computer identified her as Bradley Stevenson, age 17, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. We confirmed this using DNA,” added Steve. “He disappeared over two years ago. Sorry for switching pronouns, Ally, but I have no idea what to call the victim.”

    “Victim is a good start,” stated Ally softly. Looking at the pictures, she felt the same way she had when she saw Stacy lying dead on the ground in that Atlanta carwash.

    Ally and Rich checked their lists and sure enough he was one of their missing teens. The case just gained a whole new urgency to Ally.

    “The British have asked for the return of her body. They claim she is Mary Brown of Liverpool, aged 20. Obviously, they’re wrong,” stated Steve.

    “What do we do now?” asked Ally. She couldn’t take her eyes off the photos of the dead teen.

    “Clearly, we can’t just rush in and arrest Sir Nigel. The Director is working on something through his connections, so that hopefully we can question him,” replied Steve. There was a tone of bitterness to his words.

    Ally felt her temper rising. “Don’t tell me we’re going to let this bastard get away with this just because he’s a buddy of the Queen?”

    “Actually, he’s friends with Prince Phillip. But the White House has stated that the British will handle any punishment. He will be recalled to London as soon as we’re done with our interrogation. What we want to know is how and where he got the kid,” replied Steve.

    “Do you think that he’ll cooperate?” asked Rich.

    “Yes. We’ll get some good cooperation from the Brits. They don’t want another scandal,” answered Steve. “It wouldn’t be proper. Bad show.”

    Ignoring Steve’s sarcasm, Ally fumed. “You find this acceptable? That Sir Nigel will walk away with punishment?”

    “Easy, Ally. I didn’t say that. No, it sickens me. He will be punished, just not in the conventional sense,” replied Steve seriously.

    “Sorry. I know you care. I just like to nail all the bad guys,” apologized Ally.

    “So what now?” asked Robert.

    “It’s still your investigation. I’ll work it from this end and share any information I can get. Hopefully, we’ll solve it together and soon,” replied Steve.

    “I know I may be stating the obvious, but if this poor kid somehow ended up an abused sex slave for a rich businessmen and diplomat, it’s very likely that the other missing teens are also sharing the same fate. How do we recover them? What do we do with them once we recover them?” asked Ally.

    No one said a word as they absorbed Ally’s questions. This case had just gone from bad to worse.

    Robert looked at Rich and Ally. “Call in your team and brief them on the latest. We’ll need to be ready to move quickly.”

    Ally and Rich nodded.

    An hour later, the team was assembled. There was no need to sanitize what Steve had told them. They were all told to maintain agency security rules.

    “Cathleen just finished the search. She may have found the focal point!” exclaimed Bob, as he got off the phone.

    “Well?” asked Rich.

    “Primus Preparatory & Tutoring Services,” announced Bob.

    “I’ll let Robert know,” stated Rich.

“Cathleen also believes she can find out who signed the students up for the service,” added Bob.

    “Good!” exclaimed Ally. “How soon will she know?”

    “Maybe by morning,” replied Bob. “She’s pulling an all-nighter on this.”

    “We can go into their website as soon as you want,” stated Donna.

    “You have a profile ready?” asked Ally.

    “Yes. We have several in fact, all based on the profile Beth helped me with,” stated Donna.

    “Good. Go in tomorrow, after school. I want you on one and David on another. I doubt if they contact you, but you might see something,” instructed Ally. “I want someone in that room at all times students are likely to be there until this is over. I’ll take some time myself and I’ll try to bring Beth back in to help. She can provide us with some good insight.”

    “I don’t have a problem with that,” replied Rich.

    “I’m convinced they are working a geographic pattern, we’ll focus on Philadelphia and the Beltway,” stated Donna.

    Ally agreed. At least they had a lead now. She looked at her watch. It was almost 10:00 PM. “I think everyone should go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow we start the hunt in earnest.”

    “I need to take a long hot bath. I feel dirty just thinking about what has been done to those missing teens,” stated Donna to no one in particular.

    “I know what you mean,” added Ally.

    Halfway home, Ally’s cell phone rang again. It was Rich.

    “Ally, they’ve struck again. Two teens were reported missing in the Philadelphia area. Both went to private school and they fit our profile.”

    Ally cursed. “Shit!”

    “I feel the same way. We’re getting closer, Ally. We’ll get them back,” remarked Rich.

    “We’ll focus on the Beltway. I’ll let my team know in the morning,” added Ally.

    She drove home in silence. This was becoming personal, just like the MNF serial killer.

Chapter Twenty-Two

    Steve was driving to the British Embassy. Sir Nigel had been instructed to cooperate with the authorities. Steve didn’t expect him to tell them much, but it was worth a try. The Director had told Steve to be “diplomatic.”

    Steve was met by Michael Edmunds, the US liaison for Scotland Yard. They had worked a few cases together and each had great respect for the other.

    “I am as shocked as anyone about Miss Brown. She was always very polite,” stated Sir Nigel politely.

    Steve nodded and glanced at his counterpart, who rolled his eyes. “Let me cut through the niceties,” stated Steve. “Sir Nigel; we know you were using Bradley, or Mary, if you prefer, as a sex slave. We have DNA evidence that I’m sure will match yours.” Actually he wasn’t so sure they did, but he figured that Sir Nigel wouldn’t call his bluff.

    As the color went out of Sir Nigel’s face, Steve knew that his gamble had paid off.

    “What I want is simple, I want to know who you bought the teen from,” demanded Steve. The hell with diplomacy, he thought.

    “I cannot do that. They will ruin me,” whimpered Sir Nigel

    Steve was about to tell Sir Nigel that was the least of his worries, but Michael stepped in first.

    “Sir Nigel. You understand that your staying out of prison depends on your cooperation.”

    “I was told the teen was a runaway. I was giving her a home,” explained Sir Nigel.

    Steve was sickened by Sir Nigel.

    “Sir Nigel, Bradley Stevenson was an honors student at a private US school as exclusive as Eton who was sought by several Ivy League schools. He came from a loving and prestigious family that has never gotten over his disappearance. We have witnesses who can testify that you personally brought Mary onto the staff. Those same witnesses can testify that you spent a large amount of time alone with her,” stated Michael.

    “Two more teens were abducted this week to satisfy the twisted tastes of sick bastards like you. I want to know who you bought Bradley from!” interrupted Steve.

    Sir Nigel was shocked, both by what Steve said and by the way Steve spoke to him.

    “I found out about the ‘supplier’ through an old acquaintance. There are two of them, that I’ve had contact with, a man and woman. I never learned their names. I can give you a good description of them. They were both Americans,” stated Sir Nigel. “I’m shocked that they would sell their own countrymen!” He gave Steve a dirty look.

    “As opposed to being outraged by someone buying a teen sex slave?” injected Steve. “We know you brought her on your staff over a year ago. When did you ‘order her’?”

    “Six months prior to that. It had something to do with her training,” confessed a contrite Sir Nigel. “I’m truly sorry for my conduct.”

    “Oh? An apology? You’re sorry? You’re so damn lucky that you’re protected by your diplomatic status. If you weren’t, I’d have your ass in a cell right now. You really make me sick!” exclaimed Steve angrily.

    Sir Nigel stared at Steve. “You are the rudest man I have ever had the displeasure to have met. I cannot believe that your government would place a ruffian like you in a position of authority.”

    “Coming from you, that’s a compliment,” smiled Steve. “Michael, I’ll call and have our sketch artist come over, while Sir Nigel is so cooperative.”

    “Sounds good. You haven’t changed a bit, Steve,” smiled Michael, as they walked to the front door.

    “Nope! By the way, why don’t you come over to dinner when this is over? Maggie would love to see you again,” asked Steve.

    “Lovely! I will, Steve. I promise that Sir Nigel won’t renege on his promise to help,” replied Michael. “I’ll tell him that if he does I’ll give him to you personally.”

    Steve nodded. He wanted the people responsible for this very badly.

Chapter Twenty-Five

    Margo was very pleased with the two captives from the Philadelphia hunt. The boy was perfect to be turned into a Japanese schoolgirl. Thomas was excited about the plastic surgery necessary to change the face of the slave. He wouldn’t be doing it, but he would get to watch.

    The girl also had a lot of potential. Her photo had been sent to three bidders and the price was already up past two million. One was a woman, who wanted to turn the girl into a five-year-old. Margo found that idea appealing and secretly hoped she won. It would require some interesting surgery, and that would make Thomas very happy.

    Thomas was pleased with the recovery of his new personal project. He now kept the transformed male in a lighter coma. Thomas couldn’t wait to see the reaction on the man’s face when he woke up and saw his new feminized body. Thomas checked the IVs and opened a valve to administer the slave’s daily dose of hormones. Margo would take over the actual slave training, however Thomas would conduct the sexual training.

    Margo was pleased with the progress of all her slaves. Bébé was fast becoming an excellent maid. Part of the training involved Bébé following a set routine. She now had access to a side room, where she worked all day. Today Bébé was polishing silver. She did an excellent job and gave great attention to detail.

    Margo fully expected that Bébé would respond as willingly to her sexual training. But that wouldn’t start for a few more months. That would also give her time to get all Bébé’s paperwork complete. Margo provided each new slave with new US identification at no extra cost. Foreign identification cost extra, the actual price depending on the country.

Chapter Twenty-Four

    Donna and David spent several days and evenings in the Primus chat rooms. Neither expected to make direct contact, rather they were observing at the other students in the room. Most students just passed through, but there were a few who were regulars. Donna and David assumed several different students’ identities, to avoid suspicion. Ally even took a few shifts.

    The fact that the boys were being physically transformed added a whole new urgency to the case. Ally imagined that the girls would also be modified. Long-term abductions were difficult enough as it was. The mental recovery often took years, but throw in physical changes and these poor kids might never be able to go home. She felt a shiver of pain go through her. There might now be a satisfactory ending to this story, she thought, but it was unlikely to be a happy one for all of the kids. Ally knew that she  would get a real pleasure out of stopping the bastards doing this.

    The case was so important that Ally almost missed Marlene’s briefing. She might have blown it completely, if it hadn’t been for Robert’s personal reminder to attend.

    With the thoughts of Bradley’s death on her mind, social acceptance by the rest of the agency seemed less important to Ally. Still, she was glad she attended. Marlene did a great job explaining transgendered status and rights to the rest of the agency. The Q&A period was excellent. It soon became obvious to Ally that most of the staff was willing to accept her. As for the rest, it was made clear that intolerance wouldn’t be allowed. That suited Ally fine.

    By Friday, Ally’s staff had a few good leads. Cathleen had found that three representatives of Primus had made contact with most of the missing students. The problem was that they couldn’t access who the actual persons were. The database only used a code to refer to the representatives. Cathleen was trying to find the key to the code through other means.

    Ally knew they were getting close. Steve told her that they had descriptions and Identikit pictures of the two people who sold Bradley to Sir Nigel. They were running them through the database. Steve mentioned that the woman looked a bit familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember from where.

    Sitting in her office, Ally was about to head over to the operations room when she heard a familiar voice at her door.

    “Hi, Ally!” greeted Beth.

    Ally looked up to see Maggie and Beth standing there. “Good afternoon. What brings you two over to my little corner of the world?” asked Ally. Beth and Ally hugged.

    “We were passing by and wanted to say hi,” said Beth.

    Ally looked at Maggie and saw concern in her face. “What’s the real reason?”

    “I was given access to a college prep website and, well, the people in there creeped me out a little,” stated Beth. “It’s probably nothing, but I thought you be interested.”

    Ally was instantly interested. “Was it Primus?”

    Beth looked shocked. “How’d you know?”

    It was Ally’s turn to look worried.

    Both Maggie and Beth saw the change. Before they could ask, Ally began to explain.

    “We’re pretty sure that Primus is related to the abducted teens. Did you access it on your own or were you given a free access number?” asked Ally, anxiously.

    “Free access. The representative visited our school yesterday and gave us free use of the site,’ explained Beth.

    “Free? To everyone?” asked Ally.

    “No, just to us some of us, as a reward for our high GPAs,” answered Beth.

    “Did you have to register?” asked Ally.

    “Yes,” stated Beth.

    “Excuse me. I need to make a phone call,” stated Ally. She called Robert and Rich and told them about the gift that had fallen into their hands.

    Ally then explained to Maggie and Beth what was going on.

    “You mean these bastards have targeted Beth?” asked Maggie, angrily.

    “They may have,” replied Ally. “They probably give freebies to a batch of kids to cover their trail.”

     “I fit the profile,” added Beth, referring to the profile she had helped to create.

    Ally nodded in agreement.

    Within thirty minutes, an emergency meeting was called concerning the missing teens case. Present were Robert Ledyard, Steve, Maggie, Rich, Bob, Maria, Donna, Michelle, Cathleen, David, Ally, and of course Beth, who was now an active agent again, thanks to the Director.

    “As much I dislike the idea of using Beth as the bait, I don’t think we have a choice in this situation,” stated Maggie.

    “Like it or not, Beth, you’ve been recruited,” stated Ally.

    “I understand,” she replied. She glanced at her parents. Steve winked at her, which made her smile. “You’ve never let me down before.”

    “It looks like the Primus representative made contact with the students in the Philadelphia area around a week prior to their disappearance,” reported Maria.

    “Unfortunately, that representative has since disappeared himself,” added Bob.

    “I doubt we’ll find him,” stated Steve.

    “The representative who made contact with Beth is also missing. We had the school try and to contact him and Primus reported that he had quit yesterday. No one has seen him since,” continued Bob. “Apparently, they have a high turnover at Primus and no one suspects anything unusual.”

    Ally had a thought. “Rich, we need to alert all area police agencies that we need to be notified immediately on any teens reported missing – no 24-hour wait until further notice. If they try to grab two or three at once, as they seem to have done before, maybe we can have a full detail right on hand when they go for Beth.”

    “Good point, Ally. I’ll take care of that right away.” 

    “Beth, you tell the rest of the team about the person who made contact with you online,” stated Maggie.

    “It was another student, who went by the name Dot. Within minutes after I entered the site, she hooked onto me. I had the distinct feeling she was waiting for me,” explained Beth.

    “I want you to go online again today and re-enter the room. Donna, you’ll be with her. Call me as soon as Dot, or anyone like her, makes contact with you,” stated Ally.

    “We will, Ally,” replied Donna.

    “Call me too, I can try to access their database and see if I can identify Dot,” added Cathleen.

    Beth was surprised at how young Cathleen looked. She barely looked older than herself, thought Beth.

    “One more thing Beth, I need you to come down to the medical office for a few minutes,” stated Steve.

    Beth nodded and followed Steve out.

    “We’ll have Beth under surveillance constantly from now on. However, if they grab her, we’ll still be able to monitor her location,” stated Robert.

    “They’ll locate any bug in her clothes or on her body,” stated Ally.

    “Exactly,” stated Maggie.

    Ally looked at Maggie and then it hit her. She smiled and nodded.

**********

    “Okay, Beth, this is our latest long range tracking device. It can be detected by satellite and pinpointed within 20 yards,” explained the doctor.

    He was holding up what looked like a small, thin strip of plastic. It was barely one inch long and less than an eighth of an inch wide.

    “How is it powered?” asked Beth.

    “You power it. We implant it in your body, and your own body chemistry provides the power. It’s biodegradable and will last up to sixty days in the body. Do you have a preference for where you want it?” asked the doctor.

    “How big a scar will it leave?” asked Beth.

    “It will look like a shaving nick, and should disappear in a few weeks,” described the doctor.

    “Would it work in my leg?” asked Beth.

    “Sure. Good place, it would initially look like a cut from shaving your leg,” explained the doctor.

    Beth took off her boots and tights and exposed her right leg. The doctor injected the bug into her thigh. He was right, as the incision was barely noticeable. He then sealed the nick with some liquid bandage, saying that it would ensure rapid healing and reduce the chance of leaving a scar.

    Steve called a number and requested confirmation of the bug’s activation. Five minutes later he was called back. The bug was up and working.

    They walked back into the operations room. Steve turned to Beth. “I’m sorry you got involved again.”

    “At least it’s something besides Martz!” quipped Beth.

    Steve nodded. “You like it, don’t you? You like being involved in a mission, even if it’s dangerous?”

    Beth stopped and looked at her dad. “Yes, I guess I do. Do you?”

    Steve smiled. “I guess I do too.”

    “See, I really am your daughter!”

    Steve hugged her. “Just don’t tell Maggie, she’s worried enough as it is.”

    Beth nodded in agreement.

    They walked into the operations room. Ally waved Beth over to a computer terminal and explained how everything would be recorded.

    “We’ll also hook up a device to your home computer. Of course, we’ll take it off afterwards, “ remarked Ally.

    “Cool,” stated Beth. Steve was right, she did love this.

    “Okay, Beth, get to work!” ordered Ally.

    Donna took her station next to Beth and they entered the room.

Chapter Twenty-Five

    Out in the Maryland countryside, another young woman was monitoring the room. The Matron had ordered her to make immediate contact with any of the students on the list in front of her who entered the room. She was then required to contact the Matron. If she held the student online for longer than one hour, she would be allowed to pleasure herself that evening.

    Then she saw one of the targeted students. This was the one the Matron was particularly interested in. The girl made contact and immediately notified the Matron.

    Dot: Hi Beth! Hugs!

    Beth: Hi Dot! Thanks, good to see you too!

    Dot: How was school today?

    Beth: Not too bad. I am so sick of studying for the tests next month.

    Dot: You’ll do fine.

    The Matron walked in and smiled at the slave named Dot. “Well done, slave,” said Margo.

    “Thank you, Matron.”

    “Just make small talk for now, slave. Find out her interests. See if she likes to cook,” suggested Margo.

    Dot started talking to Beth. Margo smiled at how at ease Dot was at being completely naked, with the exception of her 5” heels. Her future owner wanted to keep Dot naked all the time. Margo didn’t see any problem with this, as Dot had a magnificent body.

    She had been training Dot for nearly a year now and she was almost ready to start her new life in Italy.

    This girl, Beth, really excited Margo. She was very intelligent and beautiful. She planned on making Beth her personal maid and slave. Beth would be trained to be very oral. Margo had always wondered just how submissive she could make a slave become and Beth would be the one to experiment on. She fantasized about having a slave who would do anything she asked, no matter how depraved, without hesitation.

Chapter Twenty-Six

    “Good job, Beth. You’re right, this person, Dot, is definitely being controlled by someone else. Every time you ask her a question she hesitates, as if she is being told the answer,” remarked Donna.

    “She creeps me out a little,” remarked Beth.

    “Just a little?” asked Ally, who was watching from behind.

    “Okay, she creeps me out a lot,” laughed Beth.

    “Most likely she’s an abducted teen, being controlled by the person who abducted her,” added Ally.

    “Oh,” replied Beth contritely.

    “Has Cathleen had any luck yet?” asked Donna.

    “Nothing yet, she said to keep her on as long as possible,” stated David.

    “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. She’s definitely interested in me,” remarked Beth.

    Ally watched as Beth talked with Dot. She agreed with Donna and Beth that someone was calling the shots for Dot. Ally wondered about what kind of person she was. Ally had already concluded that the person was a woman. Sir Nigel had said that a woman was in charge. Maybe this was her. So close and yet so far, thought Ally.

    Beth talked to Dot for over an hour. Dot was very interested in Beth’s hobbies and interests.

Dot: So do you have a boyfriend?”

Beth: No. I had one, but he moved away.

Dot: Sorry to hear that. Were you serious?

Beth: No, but I liked him a lot. We kissed a few times, but nothing serious.

Dot: Maybe it was for the best.

Beth: You might be right.

Cathleen was able to tell by then that Dot was close. She suspected she was north of Washington, DC. Ally was glad that Cathleen was on their side.

    Ally stopped it after ninety minutes. If Dot contacted Beth tomorrow, then they’d  know that this was it. Ally was already sure. Her sixth sense about things like this was never wrong.

    “Great job, Beth!” exclaimed Ally and they hugged.

    Beth got hugs from Donna too. Maggie was very proud of her daughter, even if she wasn’t totally happy about Beth being targeted.

    “I’ll meet you at your home tomorrow, after school,” stated Donna.

    They all sat around the operations room, unwinding. Ally had brought in several pizzas and it allowed the team to relax a bit. After regular working hours, the pizzas from the staff cafeteria were free. A nice fringe benefit!

    “Okay,” said Beth. “Do you think that all the abducted teens will be at the same location?”

    “Some of them will be there,” stated Ally.

    “Hopefully, we can get access to their records, so we can recover the others,” remarked Maggie.

    “What will we do for the teens we recover?” asked Ally.

    “The agency’s crisis response team will be there as soon as possible. Jenna formed it for assisting victims of crimes. Although this may be a bit bigger than she’s expecting, we could possibly have dozens of teens needing help,” explained Rich. “I’ll let her know that she may be getting a very big challenge in the next few days.”

    “What about the other ones?” asked Beth. She was obviously referring to the teens already in the hands of men like Sir Nigel.

    “That will be complicated. We will get them back, but what then?” asked Rich.

    No one spoke for a long time.

    “When do you think they’ll try to grab me?” asked Beth

    There was another long silence, as if no one wanted to be the one that said it. Rich finally broke the silence. “Next day or two.”

    “I know you’ll be there, and I won’t give up!” exclaimed Beth.

    “We all know that,” added Maggie. “Well, Kiddo, it’s been a long day. Let’s go home.”

    Ally thought about Beth the whole way home. In some ways she’s so much braver than me, thought Ally. It was strange that they were hoping that Beth would be kidnapped. It was like when she had been the bait for the MNF serial killer, thought Ally.

    Technically, Ally wouldn’t be allowed on the field operation to rescue Beth. Her injury restricted her to office work. Still, just let someone try to stop her from being there! She figured she could count on Steve and Maggie to let her be there when they made their move.

    Ally felt suddenly very weary and longed to be with Carol. When she arrived home, she was pleased to see that Carol was home and preparing dinner. She felt the weight lift off her shoulders as she walked into the house and hugged and kissed her lover.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

    Margo was watching the new captives. They were both crying themselves to sleep. Earlier, the boy had been beating on the door, pleading to be released. His cries fell on deaf ears. She loved it when they showed so much emotion. This usually meant their resistance would burn out very fast. Of course, the boy would be crying a lot easier soon. She was trying a new blend of the hormones out on the boy. It would have a faster effect on his emotional state.

    She also increased the sensory confusion, by speeding up the periods of total darkness and then bright light. The boy was already converted to an all-oriental diet. His transformation would be a real challenge, as it was so complicated. His cell was also different, as he didn’t have a Western style bed. His hair had already been dyed jet black and cut in a feminine style. He had initially rejected the changes and had been punished by total darkness with alternating heat and cold. Margo estimated that he would break very soon.

    The girl was already breaking. The bidding for her was exciting. The woman who wanted to make the teen a little girl presently had the highest bid. Margo had talked to Thomas and he said that he could do a nice breast reduction on her and also change her face to make her look younger. They also discussed a hysterectomy, which would take care of pesky female issues. The girl was short and slim and would make a cute little girl. The woman stated that she wanted the slave to be trained to speak only German, with just a child’s vocabulary. As she would be living in the US, that would make her even more isolated and dependent on her “Mutter.”

    While her process was very successful, Margo longed a bit for more hands-on training. She would get to this with the lovely creature Thomas was creating. She will feel the sting of my whip, thought Margo.

    Margo had picked out her two slaves from the DC area. Both were boys, who were destined to become pretty, young women. Marcus was planning their abductions. He also told her that he had to “eliminate” the representative, as he had gotten greedy and requested a lot of money or else he would call the authorities.

    It wasn’t a great loss, as she was closing down the operations soon. Marcus said he had planned on killing the representative anyway, just to make sure he didn’t tell anyone. He had offered the representative to Thomas first, but he had no interest in him.

    Then there was her new personal slave, Beth. Soon, that lovely girl would be in one of her cells. Margo would break and train her from the start, much like one did a spirited young horse. She looked forward to stripping the school uniform off Beth’s sweet young body.

    Thomas was disappointed that she wouldn’t allow him to modify Beth. Tough! This one was her toy and she liked her girls natural. Still, she might let him pierce her in a few places, as a treat, as she usually did all the piercings on the slaves.

    Margo planned to shave Beth’s head and eventually have her treated so she stayed slick and smooth all over. Margo got wet just thinking about it. She imagined Beth, nude and covered in a light coat of oil, standing before her, looking like a statue. It would be exquisite!

    Margo went into Dot’s cell.

    “Dot, your reward for today is to orally pleasure your Matron. Do you want to do this?” asked Margo, knowing the answer.

    “Please, Matron, I’d love to do that! Please allow me to serve you!” pleaded Dot.

    Margo sat down on the edge of the bed and motioned Dot to the floor. “You may begin.”

    As Dot started, Margo began to fantasize that it was Beth on her knees orally pleasuring her. She wondered how it would feel to have that slick head between her thighs. She would have Marcus act soon.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

    Cathleen had a complete list of students in the Beltway area that the Primus representative had given free access to the website. The list had a little over two hundred names on it. Using the profile, they narrowed it down to less than twenty students.

    David was assigned the task of monitoring them in the chat room. Donna was with him as they monitored the room. Beth had an actual dentist appointment and wouldn’t be online until later that evening. They found that Dot was interested in two boys. One was name Kyle and the other was named Jimmy. Donna had to admire the person behind Dot. Whoever it was was doing an excellent job in getting information out of the victims. Donna agreed with Ally, the person behind this was a woman. They nicknamed her Ms. X. No real proof, just a very strong feeling. Donna also took notes on her techniques, as they might be useful in future cases. Then a sickening feeling came over Donna.

    “David, I think our mystery woman might have been an agent,” announced Donna.

    “Ms. X? I was thinking the same thing. Whoever she is and whoever she worked for, she’s pretty good,” agreed David.

    “I want to run this by Ally,” stated Donna. “I’ll be right back.”

    “No problem,” answered David.

    Ally was walking around the office getting her daily updates, when Donna found her.

    “What’s up, Donna?” asked Ally.

    Donna smiled. “Is it that obvious?”

    Ally nodded. “Don’t ever play poker. What’s on your mind?”

    “Can we talk in private?”

    They walked into Ally’s office and Donna closed the door.

    “I think Ms. X was an agent or a trained investigator,” stated Donna. She then explained her theory to Ally. “In some ways, she is your evil twin.”

    Ally nodded. Donna could be right. Ms. X was, in some ways, her opposite. “Write it up and I’ll send it up to Rich and Robert. Good work!”

    Donna smiled. “By the way, I want to thank you. This is the first case that I’ve been on that I’ve felt like a real agent and not just a techie!”   

    “I only have agents in my department, Donna,” replied Ally with a smile, “but, you’re welcome.”

    “I have to leave in a few minutes as I’m meeting Beth at her house,” reminded Donna.

    “Okay, keep your eyes open. They may make their move any time now,” stated Ally.

    “Yes, Mom!” replied Donna.

    Ally just shook her head and smiled.

    “By the way, how’re things with you and Ed going?” asked Ally with a smile.

    Donna broke out in a big smile. “Great! Ally, I’m so in love with him!”

    Ally smiled at seeing Donna so happy. “When this is over, why don’t you two come over for dinner.”

    “That sounds great. I can’t wait,” replied Donna as she looked at her watch. “Well, I better get going. Bye.”

    “Say hi to Beth for me!”
    A short time later Donna e-mailed Ally with her idea concerning Ms. X, and Ally reviewed and endorsed it, before forwarding it to Rich, Steve and Robert. If Ms. X had really been an agent, then she would be a much more dangerous adversary.

    On a hunch Ally, took the artist sketches down to Michelle.

    “Can these be run through our identification process?” asked Ally, as she shivered slightly. She was in such a hurry she had forgotten her coat.

    “We already did that. We got a few maybes, but nothing solid,” answered Michelle.

    “No, not the criminal database. Do we maintain prior agents in the agency database?” asked Ally anxiously.

    Michelle looked shocked. “You don’t think they were agents?”

    “Donna’s pretty sure that Ms. X was,” answered Ally, “and I tend to agree.”

    “Ms. X? Let me guess, Donna named her?” asked Michelle.

    Ally nodded and rubbed her hands together.

    “Won’t take long. We already have the pictures in the database. Give me a few minutes,” stated Michelle.

    Ally waited anxiously. She didn’t know if she was shivering because of being cold or because of the fear of an ex-agent being behind the abductions.

    “Here it comes,” announced Michelle. “Oh, my god! Ally, we got a match!”

    Ally looked at the screen. It showed a near perfect match for the female drawing. The woman’s name was Margo Simon. Ally glanced at her biography and saw that she had been in psychological operations. She was considered an expert on interrogation and had developed some techniques for converting enemy agents and terrorists. She had been  discharged five years ago for insubordination.

    “I need a copy of this immediately!” stated Ally.

    “Already on it,” answered Michelle. “Good job!”   

    Ally smiled and took the printout and CD from Michelle. “Thanks!”

    She went right to Robert’s office. He looked at the printout and without saying a word picked up the phone. “Sir, this is Robert Ledyard. I have Agent Burns with me and we have something you need to see immediately. Yes, sir, we’ll be there in five minutes.”

    “The Director?” asked Ally. The idea of going to HIS office was a bit intimidating.

    Robert just nodded. In a few minutes, they were standing outside the office of the Director. The secretary waved them in. The Director looked at the printout and without lifting his head, spoke. “Who else has seen this?”

    “Besides us? Just Michelle in research,” replied Ally.

    The Director nodded. “We don’t pay her enough. Robert, upgrade the threat level on this operation. I’m sure that she’ll have some nasty people working for her. Also send a copy of this to Agent Steve Williams.”

    “Yes, sir,” answered Robert.

    “Did you make the connection, Agent Burns?” asked the Director.

    “With some help from two of my agents,” replied Ally. She then told the Director about Donna and David.

    The Director just nodded and smiled, very slightly. “Good work. That will be all.”

    Ally was still in shock as they walked back to their offices. “I can’t believe we were in his office!”

    Robert smiled. “Get used to it. I doubt that will be your last time.”

    Ally felt her face getting warm. Shit! She was actually blushing! “Thanks,” she replied softly.    At least Robert held back his smile, thought Ally.

    Suddenly Ally’s cell phone rang. “Ally, this is Steve. I would like to see you immediately.” He then gave her the location of his office.

    Ally arrived in Steve’s office and saw two other men talking to Steve. One was a large bald, African-American, and the other was short and stocky and had a moustache and a goatee.

    “Ally, good to see you. Let me introduce you to Madison and Tom. They lead my tactical team,” introduced Steve.

    “Pleased to meet both of you,” replied Ally.

    “The honor is ours,” answered Tom.

    “How’s your shoulder?” asked Madison.

    Ally smiled and moved her arm up, “Still a bit stiff.”

    “That took guts. I’m amazed that that bastard took three shots to the chest and lived. I reviewed the case. You’re a pretty good shot,” stated Tom.

    “Kinda hard to miss at that range,” quipped Ally.

    Madison shook his head. “Actually, it’s very easy to miss. Many people panic in that sort of situation, you didn’t! Don’t downplay what you did.”

    Ally smiled. “Thank you.”

    “Anyway, Ally, if we need to launch a strike, these are the two who will be leading it,” stated Steve.

    “Did you hear the latest?” asked Ally.

    Steve nodded. “I thought she looked familiar. I only met her once, years ago. She struck me as very strange.”

    “That means we will have to very careful. Her facility will most likely have excellent security. We’ll have to do a really meticulous recon before we move in,” stated Tom.

    “Don’t worry, Ally. We both know Beth, and we’ll make sure she’s rescued,’ added Madison.

    “It seems strange that we are hoping she gets abducted,” remarked Ally.

    “We have a strange job!” quipped Tom.

    “I know you’re officially on light duty, but I want you in the mobile command center for this operation, “ stated Steve.

    “Thank you,” answered Ally.

    “You’ve earned it,” added Steve.

    As Ally drove home, she thought about her remarkable day. She called Donna and checked up on her and Beth. Everything was okay. Dot was still actively interested in Beth.

    Beth opened her front door and was greeted by the wonderful aroma of Carol’s cooking. She walked into the kitchen and hugged Carol fiercely.

    “Well, I’m glad to see you too!” replied Carol. She could tell that Ally was troubled, but she would wait for Ally to bring it up.

    Dinner was homemade chicken noodle soup and a loaf of fresh French bread and a bottle of wine. Simple, but filling. Over dinner they talked about their cases.

    “It looks like it should come down any day now,” explained Ally.

    “How’s Beth doing?” asked Carol.

    “Better than me. She loves it,” stated Ally.

    “I understand. It is a common fault with some of us,” confessed Carol “How’re you doing?”

    Ally smiled and held out her hand and wiggled it back and forth.

    “Have you talked to Jenna lately?” asked Carol.

    “No time.”

    “Bullshit,” answered Carol. “It’s only natural to feel some anxiety over this case.”

    “Thank you, doctor. Seriously, I’m okay. I’ll see her when this is over. I really want this bitch.”

    Carol nodded, “We never did get our fall vacation, last year. We both need some time off. My case should be wrapped up soon. Any suggestions?”

    “Somewhere warm!”

    “I think I know just the place,” replied Carol with a sly smile.

    “And you’re not going to tell me?”

    “Nope! But you can start shopping for your first bikini!”

    “Hmmmm!”

    After dinner they put their worries aside for the evening. They sat down in front of the TV and put on a movie. It was Chocolat and it was excellent. The film gave them two great ideas. Carol made them each a big mug of hot chocolate and then they went to bed and made mad, passionate love, before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Maybe chocolate really was an aphrodisiac!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

    Ally felt refreshed as she arrived in her office. Donna came in and briefed her on the previous night’s session in the Primus room.

    “I think they’ll make their move really soon on Beth and the other two. We’ve been observing the room constantly and Dot seems to ignore the others. David set a new record in the past few days. He’s portrayed ten teens in the same room. We don’t want to keep a character in there for more than an hour at a time,” explained Donna.

    “If anyone could do that, it would David,” remarked Ally, taking a sip from her Diet Coke. It was her second one that day.

    “Beth’s something else. I wish she was in our department,” added Donna.

    “I feel the same way,” concurred Ally.

    “You’re worried about her, aren’t you?” asked Donna.

    Ally nodded. “I don’t mind putting myself in harm’s way, but it’s so different when it’s someone else, especially a kid.”

    “We don’t have a choice. THEY targeted her. If we hid her out, then someone else would get grabbed and we still wouldn’t know where they were,” explained Donna.

    “I know that, it doesn’t make it any easier. I don’t think I could live with myself if something happened to her,” stated Ally. She began to rub her shoulder.

    “I wish I could say something to make you feel better,” smiled Donna.

    “Trust me, Donna, just talking to you makes me feel better,” replied Ally.

    Just then they were interrupted by David. “Ally, they just got the bank heist gang!”

    Ally looked up suddenly. “Any problems?”

    “Don’t know. I just heard it on the news,” he stated.

    Ally turned on the TV in her office and saw a live feed from a bank near Falls Church, Virginia. The commentator was describing how a combined police operation had captured the gang that was suspected in twelve robberies in the Beltway area over the past few months. The commentator then mentioned that two of the suspects were shot and one officer was wounded. The name of the wounded officer wasn’t released.

    Ally immediately picked up the phone and called Carol’s cell phone. There was no answer. She then called Robert.

    “Robert. Any word on the shooting?” she asked anxiously.

    Donna had walked around Ally’s desk and was standing behind her. Donna’s hands were on Ally’s shoulders.

    “Carol is okay. The officer who was shot is also ok. His vest stopped the round,” announced Robert.

    “Thank God! Thank you, Robert,” exclaimed Ally. “Carol’s okay!”

    “That’s great news, Ally,” concurred Donna.

    Ally smiled and got up and hugged Donna and David.

    “I’ll be back. I need to take a little walk,” Ally stated. She tried to hide the fact that she was trembling slightly.

    She walked over to Rich’s office and knocked. He looked up and waved her in.

    “I think I’m suffering from exposure,” she stated as she sat down.

    “I thought so. I just heard what happened,” remarked Rich. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the bottle.

    Ally held out her coffee cup. Rich noticed that her hands were trembling. He poured in a good drop.

    “Thanks,” she replied. “I’m a little jumpy right now.”

    “I understand. Feel free to vent, Kid,” he stated.

    Ally smiled. She took a slight sip of the fortified coffee and set her mug down. “I wasn’t always like this. But lately I’ve become a bit on edge.”

    “You still seeing Jenna?” he asked.

    “I need to make an appointment when this missing teen case is over,” Ally remarked.

    Rich rolled his eyes and picked up the phone. “Jenna? Rich here, you have an opening this morning? Really? Great, Ally will be down there in twenty minutes.”

    Ally let out a sigh.

    “You can thank me later,” smiled Rich.

    “Here, I’d better leave the high octane stuff here. I don’t want her think I’m  both drunk and crazy,” quipped Ally.

    “Don’t forget sexually perverted!”

    Ally laughed.

    “See you later, Kid!”

    A short time later, she was sitting in Jenna’s office.

    “I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice,” Ally thanked her.

    “No problem, Ally. Carol also called me about you earlier this morning,” smiled Jenna.

    “I guess I’m not totally over the attack,” remarked Ally. “I’m sure you’ve heard that line before.”

    Jenna smiled. “Is your shoulder completely healed?”

    Ally shook her head no.

    “Then why would you expect to be over the emotional side of what happened to you? You suffered a very terrible wound and that takes time to heal. I know that in your line of work, you’re expected to be tough, but you must let your body heal. Besides you’re carrying around more issues than most agents.”

    “The transition?”

    Jenna nodded. “I know you’re doing great, but it’s stressful.”

    They talked for a nearly an hour. Ally agreed to see Jenna every week for a while.

    “This isn’t a sign of weakness, Ally. Rather it’s a sign that you’re healing.”

    “Changing the subject, is your team ready?” asked Ally.

    “Yes. I read up on Margo Simon. She had some radical ideas on behavioral conditioning. These kids are going to need long term extensive care. Even more so for the teens that have had their bodies modified. Some may not want to go back to their families.”

    “Will they resist rescue?”

    “Very possible. Margo wrote several papers on the Stockholm syndrome. Also if she is modifying these kids as sexual slaves, she would make them very obedient and dependent on her. I’ve already made contact with several colleagues concerning the long term care and reprogramming on them.”

    “I hope this is over soon,” stated Ally.

    “I hear that you and Beth are becoming good friends,” stated Jenna.

    Ally smiled. “Yes, she’s something else.”

    “She’s been through a lot.”

    “I know the whole story. Beth told me everything,” confessed Ally.

    “Amazing story,” remarked Jenna.

    “I feel much better, Jenna. I’d better get back to work,” stated Ally.

    They hugged for a long time.

    “You’re something else, yourself, Ally,” whispered Jenna.

    “Thanks,” replied Ally. She went back to work, feeling a little better about everything.

    Carol called an hour later. Ally was proud that she was able to keep her emotions in check! Although on the inside she was jumping for joy.

Chapter Thirty

    After lunch, Ally was making her tour of the operations room and was pleased to see Beth working with Donna. Beth looked up and broke into a huge smile when she saw Ally, and she immediately got up and walked over and hugged her.

    “I’m happy to see you too!” exclaimed Ally.

    “We had a half day off from school today, so I came by to spend some time here. You don’t mind, do you?” asked Beth.

    Ally smiled, “You’re an agent and on the team. Why would I mind you being here?”

    “Thanks, Ally,” replied Beth.

    “I have some things to do. But later I would like to talk to you for a few minutes,” stated Ally.

    “Sure, Ally, no problem. You know where I’ll be!” answered Beth.

    Ally smiled and finished her rounds. She then went down to the firing range. It was still a struggle to fire her weapon, and it was frustrating. She was hitting the target, but her shots weren’t grouped very well.

    Ally was about to give up when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

    “You’re too tense, loosen up,” said Tom.

    “How long have you been there?” asked Ally, as she turned around with a smile on her face.

    “We’ve been here for a few minutes,” smiled Madison.

    “I’m still weak in the shoulder, and it’s hard to keep my right arm steady,” stated Ally.

    “Try shooting from a lower position,” suggested Tom. “Lower your arms.”

    He walked over and stood behind her and helped her position her gun. Her arms were extended outward, but not high like before.

    “This feels odd,” remarked Ally. “I won’t be able to use my sights this way.”

    “Yes, that’s true, but you should have better control. Don’t worry about your sights, focus on center target. Squeeze off a few rounds,” stated Madison.

    The first couple of shots were off target, but soon she was hitting the target dead center.

    “See?” smiled Tom.

    Ally fired some more rounds. Tom was right; she was better able to hit the center of the target.

    “Thanks. By the way, I don’t believe in coincidences. How’d you know I was here?” asked Ally, with a smile.

    “See, I TOLD you she was a trained investigator!” exclaimed Madison to Tom. They all laughed

    “Steve asked us to give you a hand. The range master called us when you showed up,” explained Tom.

    “I appreciate the help, thanks,” replied Ally.

    “Hey, you every shoot one of these?” asked Madison as he held up a small, compact submachine gun.

    Ally smiled and shook her head no.

    Madison handed it to her and explained its operation. She held in and squeezed off a few shots. It was surprisingly smooth, she thought.

    “Try it on full auto. We call it the ultimate stress reducer,” announced Tom.

    Ally flicked the switch and in a few seconds emptied the clip into the target; she was surprised at how accurate her shooting was, soon ripping a hole through the center of the target.

    “Wow!” exclaimed Ally as she handed the weapon back to Madison. “That’s quite a rush!”

    “Yeah, it’s impressive,” added Madison, with a broad smile across his face.

    “I need to get back to the office, I’m meeting Beth,” announced Ally. “Thanks guys!”

    “Say hi to her for us,” stated Tom.

    “I will,” Ally replied. “Thank Steve for me the next time you see him.”

    Ally felt much better about herself. Jenna had helped her in the emotional department and now, thanks to Tom and Madison, she knew that she could defend herself.

    She swung by the operations room and waved to Beth. Soon they were sitting in her office, drinking Diet Cokes.

    “By the way, Tom and Madison say hi!” remarked Ally, as she grabbed a Diet Coke out of the fridge.

    “Really? That’s cool. When did you see them?” asked Beth.

    Ally told Beth about the firing range.

    “They’ve saved my life at least twice,” remarked Beth, almost nonchalantly.

    “Oh? That’s all?” smiled Ally.

    “Madison also taught me how to get out of handcuffs!”

    Ally shook her head in mock disgust. “How’re you doing?”

    “Not bad. It’s the waiting that’s tough,” replied Beth.

    “True. I’m not good at it either,” remarked Ally. “We will get you out safely.”

    “I know that, but thanks for saying it,” smiled Beth.

    “You know that we may not be able to get to you for a day, or maybe longer?” asked Ally.

    “Yes, Mom and Dad explained it all to me. The rescue teams will have to do surveillance first,” explained Beth.

    “When this is all over, we need to do something fun together,” stated Ally.

    “Shopping?” asked Beth.

    “Yep. A real girl’s day on the town, shopping, lunch, maybe get our nails done, the works!”

    “I’d like that, I’d like that a lot!” answered Beth. “I like hanging out with you. You treat me like an adult and not a kid.”

    “Hey, we’re sisters!”

    “That’s right!”

    There was a long silence.

    “This will be over soon,” stated Ally.

    Beth nodded. “What will happen to the other victims?”

    “I talked to Jenna, and she says that they’ll need a lot of recovery. By the way, don’t count on their help. They’re more likely to help the bad guys,” stated Ally.

    “Mom was telling something about that. It’s horrible to think how someone can twist another’s mind,” remarked Ally.

    “Just remember that they’ll be trying to get to you too,” warned Ally.

    “I know, but they’ll see me as a young girl and underestimate me. That should give me time to resist,” replied Beth.

    “I pity those who underestimate you,” smiled Ally.

Chapter Thirty-One

    Margo was monitoring her slaves. Monday, Marcus would grab the two boys and the girl, Beth. The delivery of the two finished slaves would occur the following week. Margo didn’t like having so many slaves at the compound at the same time, but there was nothing she could do about it.

    Thomas walked in and kissed her. “I’ll be waking up my whore tomorrow morning.”

    “You’re a little ahead of schedule, aren’t you?” asked Margo.

    “She’s healing faster than I expected. She’ll still be a bit fragile, so don’t hurt her,” explained Thomas, “well, don’t hurt her too badly!”

    They both laughed.

    “Don’t worry. I’m saving my strength for my new toy!” she remarked.

    “That’s nice, but don’t forget about the other two. We’re actually getting paid for them,” reminded Thomas.

    “Please! I would never confuse business with pleasure!” exclaimed Margo.

    Thomas leaned over and kissed her. “I found a nice little island in Greece. There is a large main house and  several smaller cottages. It would be a nice headquarters for us.”

    “How much?” asked Margo.

    “One slave,” he replied casually.

    “That seems fair,” laughed Margo.

    “The owner wants a feminized boy. His requirements aren’t too restrictive, either of the two boys we’re grabbing this week would do nicely,” stated Thomas, as he massaged Margo’s shoulders.

    “That would be acceptable. What sort of requirements does he want?” moaned Margo.

    “He wants a proper lady on the outside, cultured and refined. On the inside he wants a willing, sexually addicted slut. Totally open-minded to any sexual activity, and obsessed with satisfying any partner” explained Thomas.

    “Hmm, he sounds like our kind of person,” replied Margo. She was totally relaxed as Thomas worked the tension out of her body.

    “Yes, he considers himself a gourmet of sex. I checked him out and he’s legit. The island is worth much more that he’s offering. It’s a great deal and should we restart the school another day, it would be a perfect location. The local authorities are very corrupt and eager to protect local residents,” continued Thomas.

    “A change in location would be nice, besides I love Mediterranean food.”

    Thomas leaned down and they French kissed deep and long.

    “I’m happy you agree with me, Margo. I have a feeling that we’ve overstayed our welcome here,” explained Thomas.

    “That’s silly. No one suspects us,” replied a very confident Margo.

    “I’m not sure. I have a feeling that someone is after us.”

    “You’ve always been a worrywart!” stated Margo as she pulled Thomas closer.

Chapter Thirty-Two

    No one really relaxed that weekend. Ally was on edge, thinking about everything that could go wrong. The same sorts of things were running through the minds of Maggie, Steve, and Beth. Still they all did their best to get through the weekend.

    Of course, Carol sensed Ally’s emotional stress and took it upon herself to help her. Saturday evening, Carol took Ally out for a romantic dinner at one of their favorite restaurants.

    After dinner they were lying together in front of the fire. Ally clung onto Carol.

    “I know you’re worried about Beth. But that’s part of the stress that goes with leadership. It’s a bit harder because you’re so fond of her, but it won’t be easier when it’s Donna or David or someone else on your team,” explained Carol.

    “Does it get any easier?” asked Ally, looking up at Carol.

    “If you mean leadership, then the answer is no,” replied Carol.

    “I see.”

    “You could always give up being a leader,” stated Carol with a smile.

    “That would be worse. That would mean giving up.”

    “Yes, it would,” replied Carol, in an “I told you so” tone.

    “You sure you’re not a therapist?”

    “Just for you,” replied Carol. She then leaned over and kissed Ally.

***********

    Across town Maggie, Steve, and Beth spent the day together. They went out for a long drive. It gave them a chance to talk. Maggie saw that Beth was very much like Steve in so many ways. She was actually excited about the mission. Maggie wondered if Beth really understood the dangers of the mission.

    “Beth, there is a definite possibility that you may be sexually molested before we can get to you,” stated Maggie, bluntly.

    “I know, I thought about that after I talked with Jenna,” replied Beth. She truly loved how honest Mom always was with her.

    “No matter what happens, we’ll be there to help you,” stated Maggie. She wondered if Beth really knew the gravity of being sexual abused.

    “Thanks, Mom,” replied Beth. “I know that both of you will support and help me.”

    Beth felt good being with her parents. Yes, these people were her parents now. With their strength and support, she could get through anything, she thought.

Chapter Thirty-Three

    Monday was the day that everyone expected the kidnappers to make their move. Robert called the team together. The agency found that Margo Simon had apparently fallen off the face of the earth, and that no one had seen in her in over three years. She had disappeared right after her husband lost his medical license. They also found that Thomas Simon matched the drawing made from Sir Nigel’s description.

    “Seems the good doctor couldn’t help doing additional ‘improvements’ during his plastic surgery,” explained Steve.

    “So, we have a husband-wife team abducting teens and transforming them into customized sex slaves for the rich,” remarked Rich.

    “You mean filthy rich,” added Ally.

    “It’s not the sickest thing I’ve heard of, but it’s in the top five,” remarked Steve. “I’m going to enjoy taking them down.”

    They reviewed the basics of the rescue. They would try to confirm if the other teens were located at the same place. The surveillance could take several days, but it had to be thorough. A mistake could cost lives. The actual assault would be hard and fast. Overwhelm them, before they could respond. Once the facility was secured, Jenna’s team would have first contact with the teens.

    “I must stress that Margo and Thomas must be taken alive. Also all efforts must be made to secure their computer systems. We want to recover the slaves that are already out there,” stated Robert.

    “In addition to Beth, we think they’ve targeted two other teens. We have to let them abduct them so we can find their facility. The surveillance teams are to hang back. We can’t risk tipping off the kidnappers,” stated Ally.

Steve continued, “Thanks to Cathleen, we have a rough idea where the facility is located. She narrowed it down to somewhere within twenty-five of Frederick, Maryland. We already have an MCU stationed there. Maggie is up there with my tactical response team standing by.”

    “MCU” asked Ally.

    “Mobile Command Unit. On the outside, it looks like a RV or an eighteen wheeler,” explained Steve.

    “I doubt they’d be in an urban environment,” remarked Rich. “Most likely they’ll be out in a rural area, located away from nosey neighbors.”

    “I agree and we’ve already been checking out possible locations,” replied Steve.

    “What will happen to the teens?” asked Ally. “We can’t just take them home to their families. Some may not want to go home, especially those who have been physically changed.”

    “Let’s get them back first,” replied Rich.

    “No. We need to think about this now. The agency should be prepared to help them, even if it means giving them a new life. They have been violated in both mind and body, and we cannot treat them like regular crime victims,” argued Ally. “I’m sure that the Simons aren’t doing this for free. We should seize their funds and use them to help the teens.”

    Steve smiled, “I agree.”

    “I’ll run that by the Director. I think he’ll agree with your plan Ally,” added Robert.

    “Thanks,” replied Ally.

    Steve stopped Ally on their way out. “I want you up there as soon as this goes down. I know you’re close to Beth. Be ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” instructed Steve.

    “My bag is packed and in my office,” replied Ally.

    “Too bad you’re so good at your job. I’d love to steal you for Spec-Ops,” stated Steve.

    “I appreciate that, but I also love my job and there are so many sickos out there that I don’t foresee being out of a job for a while,” replied Ally.

    Steve nodded. “You can ride with me.”

    “I’d like that,” replied Ally.

    “Okay, Protector!” smiled Steve.

    Ally laughed.

    “Seriously, I want to hear all about that sometime,” remarked Steve as he walked away.

    The rest of the morning dragged by. Everyone related to the operation was on edge. Ally briefed Donna that she was to be in charge of the office, once Ally left with Steve. She and David were also to monitor the Primus site and report anything suspicious or unusual to the team in the field.

    “I understand, but I’m jealous that you get to have all the fun,” replied Donna.

    “You’ll get your turn,” answered Ally. “It’s just that this one is rather personal with me. I also need to prove something to myself.”

    “I understand,” stated Donna. They hugged.

Chapter Thirty-Four

    Beth figured that they would make their move as she waited for her ride home from school. She had read the case files of the other abducted teens. All had disappeared on the way to or from school, so the idea that she might be abducted on campus never really entered her mind.

    There was a taste of spring in the air, and Beth was sitting outside after school reviewing her lines for the school play. She was sitting on a bench in the outside lunch area by herself. Beth heard a noise, almost like an arrow flying through the air and felt a sharp pain in her thigh. She looked down and saw a dart sticking out of her left leg. She tried to cry out, but was immediately engulfed in darkness.

    The team assigned to grab Beth moved quickly when they saw her sitting out in the lunch area. Marcus was supervising this one personally. From the time the dart hit the girl until she was in the van, less than a minute passed. The drug would keep her unconscious for many hours, more than enough time to drive her up to the farm and deliver her to Margo.

Chapter Thirty-Five

    Beth’s friends came looking for her and only found her backpack, purse, and script at the table. They immediately sought out a teacher for help. The police were contacted first and then Maggie and Steve. The surveillance team never saw a thing, as they were watching the front of the school. This gave the abductors nearly a thirty-minute head start. The tracking device confirmed that she had been abducted, as Beth was now located 15 miles away from her school and heading north.

    Steve was pleased to see that the tracking device was operating. Beth was heading north on I-495. So far so good, he thought. He called Ally. “They’ve grabbed Beth. Meet me in my office in five minutes.”

    “Roger,” replied Ally. In a flash, everything became very clear and focused.

    Ten minutes later they were on the road. Steve was getting a continuous update on Beth’s position. She was now on I-270 heading north. Ally checked in with the office.

    “The other two targets were just reported missing,” she stated.

    “I guess that’s good news,” answered Steve. “I’m a little pissed off that the team in front of Beth’s school missed the abduction.”

    “Sounds like the abductors were pretty good,” replied Ally.

    “Margo had access to personnel records and criminal records while she was at the agency. I’m sure she has some prime characters working for her,” stated Steve.

    They drove north, following Beth’s path. After another hour, Beth and her abductors came to a stop. They were twenty-five miles northeast of Frederick. Maggie called and said that that location matched a large isolated farm and that she was calling up data on the farm and its owners.

    “Now what?” asked Ally.

    “We check the maps and the data on the farm, and then send in the surveillance teams. They’ll see what we’re facing. At the same time, we’ll see if we can detect how many people are on the farm,” explained Steve, as they drove to meet Maggie at the MCU.

    “How do you do that?” asked Ally.

    “Various sensors and equipment. We have audio and heat detectors. If everything goes well, we can start the assault within twenty-four hours,” explained Steve.

    Ally didn’t ask more about the sensors and detectors, as well as infra-red cameras, as she figured that Steve wouldn’t tell her anyway.

    “What time will we strike?” asked Ally.

    “Early morning, two or three AM works really well. Most should be asleep by then, and those who are awake shouldn’t be all that alert,” stated Steve.

    “How do I fit in? I don’t want to cause a disruption,” asked Ally.

    “You won’t. I’m placing you with Maggie’s team,” answered Steve.

    “Okay,” answered Ally.

    “You’ll do fine. If I didn’t think so you wouldn’t be here. No offense, but I put the success of the mission over hurting someone’s feelings any day. I checked your records, both here and back in California. You’ve consistently shown that you’re an excellent
field agent,” stated Steve. “And, when you make a mistake, you don’t lose your cool.”

    “Ah, the opening of the door to the killer!”

    “Yes, we both know that was stupid. But you recovered from it and didn’t lose your head. You also know you screwed up. I like that too,” replied Steve.

    Ally smiled. “I appreciate your blunt honesty.”

    “When it comes to this sort of work, I don’t believe in pussyfooting around the main topic. I’ve rejected many good agents from my team. I have no doubt that you’ll do fine,” continued Steve. “Besides, you’ve earned the trust and admiration of both my wife and daughter.”

    “Thanks.”

    “Here we are,” stated Steve as they pulled into a parking lot near a shabby looking RV.

Chapter Thirty-Six

    Beth woke up and was initially disoriented and confused. Then it came back to her. She had been drugged and abducted. She shook off the cobwebs of the drug. Instead of feeling terrorized, Beth felt strangely relieved. The agency had been right, and now she was in the hands of the abductors. She had done the first part of her job and had been a successful bait. Now, she had to endure captivity until the cavalry arrived.

    Beth became immediately aware that she was totally naked. What was stranger was that someone had taken the time and effort to wax her body. Her arms, legs, and pubic area were all smooth and hair free. The smooth area around her vagina was strangely fascinating. She also avoided the temptation to run her hand over the area where the bug was located.

    She shook her head back and forth to focus. The room was more of a cell. The only piece of furniture was the cot she was sitting on. Beth automatically assumed that the room was bugged and that she was being watched. She got up and walked over to the door. Without even touching it, she knew it was locked, but she decided to give her captors a good show.

    She tried the doorknob and found it locked. So she began to beat on the door and shout. “Let me out of here!” screamed Beth.

    Initially, there was no response. Then the lights went out and Beth was plunged into total darkness. Beth fought her growing fear and slowly made it back to the bed. She sat on the bed and strained to see any form of light, there was none.

    At least Beth had an idea of what was happening. She shivered at the thought of going through something like this unprepared. The terror in the minds of the other captives must have been overwhelming.

    She then began to shiver some more and realized it was because the temperature was dropping. There was only a sheet on the bed, but it was better than nothing and she wrapped herself up in it.

    Suddenly, the lights turned on again and the cell was flooded with bright light. Beth covered her eyes and tried to focus again. Obviously, she had fallen asleep, but she had no idea how long she had slept. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the bright light. The temperature of the room was back to normal. She stumbled over to the toilet and relieved herself. Beth knew this must be part of the process used to break the will and spirit of the captives. A few days of this and they would be totally disoriented. She focused and tried to use her own body clock to tell what time it was. She felt very hungry and figured that it was around a day since she had been grabbed.

    Suddenly, a slot on the bottom of the door opened and a tray of food slid in. The flap on the slot immediately closed. Beth decided to put on a show and ran to the door and banged on it, pleading for release. Her attention was drawn to the food. There was a salad, a glass of juice, and a bowl of vegetable soup. Hunger got the better of her and she carried the tray over to the cot.

    The food was surprisingly good. Beth realized how hungry she was as she ravenously consumed the food. Maybe she had been here longer than a day, she thought. Maybe the agency didn’t know where she was?  No, get those thoughts out of your mind Beth, she thought. They’re out there, and they will rescue you. Mom and Dad have never let you down before. Focus on the task at hand.

    Beth regained her calm and stared around the room. She wondered where the camera or cameras were located. She also wondered how long it would take until her abductors made contact with her.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

    Beth was right about being watched. Margo was sitting back in her chair, watching her latest captives. It had been eighteen hours since they had arrived in the complex. The two boys were already showing signs of breaking. The girl was different. She seemed stronger than the others. That’s fine, thought Margo. She loved a challenge and she would break this girl, as she had all the others.

    The boys’ food had contained their second dose of the hormones. She had injected them when they first came in. It would take a week until she saw the first results, usually a change in their emotional state.

    Beth’s food contained a slight sedative and she would soon be feeling weary.

    She reached over to the control panel and turned off the lights in Beth’s cell. Once Beth was asleep, she would enter the cell and inject her with a stronger drug. Then the real fun could begin, she thought.

    “So, this is what you do with them,” stated Marcus as he entered the control room. “Quite an impressive set up.”

    “Each slave is kept in his or her own cell. Their quality of life depends upon their cooperation and submission,” explained Maggie.

    Marcus stared at the monitors and then focused on Beth. “I don’t trust this one. She’s trouble.”

    “What makes you say that?’ asked Margo.

    “Just a feeling. She’s not what she appears,” stated Marcus.

    “Nonsense! I checked out her record and there’s nothing in it that even hints of trouble,” stated Maggie, in an annoyed tone. She didn’t like anyone questioning her decisions.

    Marcus shrugged his shoulders. “It’s your decision. If it was me, I would kill her and grab someone else.”

    “You’d kill her, on just a feeling?”

    “Yes. In my line of work, you learn to trust your feelings,” stated Marcus.

    “Well, if she’s trouble, then I’ll work it out of her,” said Margo.

    “I hope you’re right,” replied Marcus.

    Margo thought about what Marcus had said and then she looked at Beth. I can handle a girl like that, she thought.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

    The battered, mud-splattered RV parked near the barn on the MacAllister farm didn’t draw any undue attention. Rob MacAllister told his neighbors that the RV belonged to his cousins from Ohio.

    Actually, the RV was the command center for the agency. When approached about using his land for a secret training mission, Rob had been a bit skeptical. The $2,000.00 a day “rent” they paid, convinced him that it might not be such a bad thing to do. He was surprised by the amount of paperwork he had to sign, just for a training mission. The government man who contacted him had emphasized that, if he violated the agreement, he would face prosecution. He suspected it had something to do with the people over at the old Lee place. He had complained to the police about them and their helicopter. The people over at that farm now were very unfriendly and threatened anyone who even came close to their property. Their damn helicopter spooked his cows constantly. Anyway, it was his patriotic duty to help the government, especially at a two grand a day!

    Inside the RV, there was a beehive of activity. Tom was conducting a brief on the first surveillance mission.

    “The perimeter of the property has a motion detection system installed, but it has been deactivated by them. We saw a lot of whitetail deer in the area, and I imagine they got tired of the constant false alarms,” stated Tom. “They have men walk the property several times a day, although they are rather slack in their duties. Two of them this morning just drove a pickup truck along the fence line. I guess they didn’t want to get wet.”

    It was raining hard outside, and the weather-guessers predicted rain all week.

    “How close did they pass to your position?” asked Steve.

    “Twenty yards. No big deal,” replied Madison

    “We then approached the main buildings. They all have alarm systems, but they seem to be more interested in keeping people in than out. The main farmhouse appears to serve as the home to the Simons. We identified Thomas Simon as he walked out this morning. He was with another man. We got photos and they have been sent to the ID center. I’m sure I’ve seen the second man before,” stated Tom.

    “They just identified the second man. His name is Marcus Castillo, mercenary. He quit college and joined the French Foreign Legion when he was seventeen, and he quickly rose in the ranks. Marcus was discharged and joined a paramilitary group in Bosnia. Within two months, he was the second in command. Then he went freelance and was believed to have participated in several conflicts in Africa and Asia. Most recently, he was part of a company that ‘retrieved’ kidnap victims in South America. He quit that three years ago, and hasn’t been heard from since,” read Maggie from the printout she was holding.

    “That’s where I met him! He was involved in the release of several mineworkers in Columbia. I met him at the US embassy; he’s competent, very business-like, and is very dangerous,” stated Tom.

    “Do you think he was in charge of the kidnappings?” asked Ally.

    “I’d bet my next paycheck on it,” stated Tom.

    “Better wait until you pay me for those horrible wagers you made on the basketball games,” quipped Madison.

    That broke a little of the tension in the RV.

    “The converted barn appears to be where they keep the victims. Beth’s signal is coming from inside there. We did a thermal scan and detected twelve people inside, in addition to the guards who kept coming and going,” stated Tom.

    “Did you see Margo Simon?” asked Maggie.

    “Just at the window of the farmhouse. We saw her on the second floor several times. Here at this window,” stated Tom, pointing to a computer generated model of the facility.

    In addition to their own surveillance, they had the latest floor plans of the house. The present owners had moved in three years ago. The main house had two levels, with a full sized basement. Upon entering the house, there was a large staircase that went upstairs. The room suspected of being the control room was on the left-hand side of the floor, overlooking the barn. The stairs to the basement were in the kitchen, in the back on the house.

    “Any indication of a tunnel connecting the two buildings?” asked Maggie.

    “No, but we can check, via a thermal scan, tonight. We’ll have a Cessna make a flyover tonight. If there’s a tunnel, we’ll detect it,” stated Madison.

    Maggie nodded.

    “The guardhouse is located here,” stated Tom, pointing to a small building to the left of the barn. “There is a large open hanger that serves as a storage area for the vehicles and the helicopter.”

    “They have twelve guards that we’ve identified. They seem to work in four man shifts. They’re armed with standard nine-millimeter handguns and shotguns. I imagine they have some more impressive hardware in the guardhouse,” stated Madison.

    “They’re lazy and bored. I imagine that they are there to scare away the locals and to keep the kids in line. They shouldn’t be any problem. Marcus, on the other hand, could cause some problems,” described Tom.

    “When will you be ready to launch a strike?” asked Steve.

    “We could hit them tomorrow morning just before dawn, although we can strike earlier if you feel the need,” stated Tom.

    Steve nodded. “You know that I want to get Beth out of there as soon as possible, but I’ll go with your suggestion, Tom.”

    Tom nodded and smiled. That was the highest compliment that Steve had ever given him. “We’ll hit them an hour before dawn. The next shift doesn’t come on until 0800, so they’ll still be asleep and the team on duty will be sleepy. I’ll have the plan ready for your approval and review in a couple of hours. We won’t let you down.”

    “Thank you, both,” stated Steve.

    Maggie and Ally sat down at the table and reviewed the layout.

    “When do we bring in Jenna and her team?” asked Ally.

    “As soon as we secure the area,” replied Maggie. “They’ll be in MCU #2 and will be waiting nearby.”

    “I don’t envy her job. In many ways, we have the easy job,” stated Ally.

    “I know what you mean,” agreed Maggie.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

    Inside the complex, Margo was watching Beth with great interest. She knew that the girl must be getting very disoriented by now, due to the use of light and dark and the sedatives in her food. She thought about what Marcus had said and again dismissed it. How could this girl be dangerous?

    Margo examined the outfit that she had selected for Beth. She knew it would fit her, as she had measured the girl while she was drugged. Margo ran her hands over the fine leather of the corset and held it up to her face and inhaled. She felt shivers of joy through her body as the aroma of leather filled her nostrils. There was nothing like the smell of new leather to get her aroused. The corset would look lovely on the girl’s body. She loved how the corset was designed. In addition to the laces, it had straps that would allow her to lock it. Normally Margo didn’t corset a slave until she broke her spirit, but she couldn’t wait for that with Beth.

    She then looked at the boots. They were thigh-high leather boots with spike heels. Like the corset they had been fitted with locks. She would enjoy watching the girl’s frustration at not being able to take them off.

    Margo placed a collar and leash next to the corset, along with a ball gag. They were both good training devices. Eventually she would behave without either, but every new pet needed training, intimidation, and humiliation, thought Margo.

    The last piece she examined was a bondage item that would allow her to keep the girl’s arms bound behind her back. Both arms would be fitted into a leather pouch. The pouch would then be laced tight, pulling both arms close together behind her back.

    The bondage device would allow her to control the girl as she gave her a tour of her new world. She planned to lead the girl around by a leash attached to a collar around her sweet neck. The girl would find it hard enough just to maintain her balance, let alone struggle or resist.

     “Having fun?” asked Thomas, as he stood in the doorway.

    “Yes, I am,” laughed Margo.

    “I was just talking to Marco, he’s very unimpressed with our security. He would like to bring in some of his men to upgrade it,” stated Thomas.

    “I don’t think that’s necessary. We’ve had no real problems, besides we’ll be out of here soon,” replied Margo.

    “That’s true. Maybe, we should put him on designing a security plan for the island. At least there we won’t have the damn deer to deal with,” suggested Thomas.

    “I agree. Oh, Thomas, I’d like to use the playroom later on. I want to do a little training with my new pet,” requested Margo.

    The playroom was a dungeon, located in the basement of the house. It was connected to the barn by a long tunnel. They had spared no expense in making sure it was fully equipped.

    “Sure, I’ll make sure everything is set up. What time would you like to use it?”

    “I’m thinking around 4:00 AM. That will work nicely with her present sleep cycle,” stated Margo as she reviewed a clipboard.

    “Do you mind if I watch from up here?” asked Thomas.

    “No, not at all. In fact, I’d like you to record it all for me,” stated Margo.

    “That’ll be a pleasure,” replied Thomas.

Chapter Forty

    Beth knew that she had to stay alert, but she was beginning to slip. The dramatic cycles of light and darkness were taking their toll. Also, she wasn’t sure, but she was beginning to suspect that they were drugging her too.

She played mental games to keep her mind occupied. She went through the alphabet and tried to recall as many places she had been that started with each letter. She was halfway through the letter M when the lights went out again. Beth had thought she knew what darkness was, but this was the most extreme darkness she had ever experienced.

    She continued with the mental exercise. Beth included places from Ben’s past; after all it was her game, so she could make up the rules. Her mind wandered a bit and she wondered how Ben’s life might have turned out. Would he have stayed in the Navy? Would he ever have gotten serious with anyone, or would he have used excuse after excuse to avoid a meaningful relationship? Maybe Ally and Mom were right, and she should start dating more, she thought. Yes, when this was over she would start dating!

Hopefully, this abduction and captivity would end soon, she thought. She knew that she would be rescued, but where were they? She then realized that she had lost track of time. That scared her, as she realized that they were getting to her. She rubbed her leg near the bug, as if it was a talisman that would protect her. Sleep came without warning and she drifted off into dreamless sleep.

Chapter Forty-One

    “What’re you working on?” Maggie asked Ally.

    Ally looked up from her laptop. “A little proposal. When we recover the teens, we obviously cannot release them immediately. So we need a place to help them heal. If Bradley is any indication of what they can do, then we must assume that many of the captives have been modified,” explained Ally. She picked up her can of Diet Coke and took a sip.

    “And what is your proposal?” asked Maggie.

    “Sir Nigel admitted that he paid a hefty sum for Bradley. I’m suggesting we confiscate their funds and use them to deprogram and heal the captives. We could buy a sizable facility that would allow them a safe place to recover and to be reintroduced to the world,” explained Ally.

    “I like it,” stated Maggie. “We’ve done similar things with captured funds, but nothing so grand.”

    “I think that the facility could eventually become a fulltime clinic for helping kidnapped and abused teens,” stated Ally. “I imagine the males transformed into girls will have the hardest time adjusting. Some may not be able, or even want to make the switch back.”

    “You might be right. And we haven’t even gotten to the teens we will have to recover from their depraved ‘masters’,” stated Maggie.

    “That’s true. We must secure their computers, so we can find all the abductees!”

    “I agree,” concurred Tom. He then pointed at Ally. “That’s why you’ll be assigned to the team hitting the control room.”

    They called the room they had seen Margo in the control room. Scans had revealed that there was a large amount of electronic equipment located inside the room.

    “He means my team,” stated Maggie.

    “I appreciate that you’re including me, but I don’t have a lot of experience in these sorts of the things,” reminded Ally.

    “Bullshit!” exclaimed Madison.

    “What my eloquent partner is trying to say is that you have earned a right to be here. The team that backed you up during the MNF killer case spoke very highly of you,” stated Tom.

    “Yeah! Ally, you have nothing to prove to anyone. You’ve got balls!” exclaimed Madison.

    There was a deafening silence. Everyone stared at Madison and then at Ally, wondering what her reaction would be. Madison, realizing what he said, tried to speak, “That’s not what I meant…. I mean……”

    Ally interrupted him. “Don’t apologize, I know what you meant and I take it as a compliment.” She then broke out laughing and got up and hugged Madison.

    Everyone else began to laugh. It ended up being just the tension breaker the agents needed.

    “Okay, now that my partner has gotten everyone’s attention, we’ll be holding the initial assault brief in twenty minutes.”

    The RV was crowded as the assault teams arrived for the brief.

    “This will be a coordinated strike. All teams will be in position at 0500. Tom’s team will hit the guards, striking both the on-duty guards and the guardhouse simultaneously. Jackson, you’ll take out the helicopter and all their vehicles,” stated Steve.

    The man called Jackson nodded.

    “Who’s he?” whispered Ally to Tom.

    “Our sniper. He has a 50 caliber sniper rifle that can cut through an engine block like a hot knife through butter,” answered Tom.

    “Madison, your team will secure the hostage area. Avoid direct contact with the hostages if at all possible,” continued Steve.

    “Maggie, your team will take the control room, and my team will take the rest of the house. Deadly force is authorized, if necessary, for all guards. However, we need to take these three alive, if at all possible,” stated Steve, holding up photos of Margo, Thomas, and Marcus.

    “We’ll be getting our confirmation on the tunnel shortly after dark,” stated Tom.

    “If it does exist, we must identify it quickly,” replied Steve.

    “Who’s going to be in the MCU?” asked Maggie.

    “That would be me,” stated Robert Ledyard as he squeezed through the crowd. Ally was very pleased to see him.

    “Steve, who will be covering the perimeter?” asked Robert.

    “That would be Kate’s team. They are already in place,” stated Steve. “No one will escape.

    “Good choice,” answered Robert.

    Kate was the newest team leader on Steve’s squad.

    “Jenna’s team should be arriving shortly and will be standing by in MCU #2. They’ll be there within ten minutes of the facility being secured,” stated Robert.

    “Okay, we’ll hold another brief at 3:00AM. Until then, make sure everything is ready to go, eat and get some rest. Team leaders, report to me when everything is ready,” stated Steve.

    Maggie took Ally and two other agents aside and conducted a separate brief. Their job was to secure the computer area and protect the data from being destroyed.

    “Jo, take Ally and get her outfitted,” stated Maggie.

    Jo was a young woman with short red hair and beautiful green eyes. “Come with me, Ally, I’ve got everything that you’ll need.”

    They went outside. It was gray and raining. The temperature was hovering in the forties.

    “I feel sorry for Kate’s team. This is crappy weather,” stated Jo.

    They walked across the muddy yard to the tractor barn, which had been taken over by the agency. Rob MacAllister didn’t mind as the “rent” had increased appropriately.

    In twenty minutes, Ally had been totally outfitted. The insulated, dark blue coveralls were designed to lower her thermal signature, and they were also fire resistant. The boots had steel toes and had special soles to reduce sound.

    Ally didn’t argue with having to wear a vest this time. Jo explained that the vests had a new ceramic plating to make them bulletproof up to very high caliber rounds.

    “What’s new about them?” asked Ally.

    “They’re sixty percent lighter than the old ones,” explained Jo.

    Jo asked Ally what kind of sidearm she was using and provided an appropriate holster and belt. There were all sorts of accessories, including a flashlight, knife, flash-bang grenade, gas mask, and a two-way headset radio.

    “These gloves are great. They’re really flexible and will protect you from slash wounds,” stated Jo.

    Ally tried everything on and was impressed with how comfortable she felt.

    “Here’s some extra clips for your nine millimeter,” stated Jo. “The gas mask is most comfortable on your hip. Trust me!”

    “Thanks,” replied Ally as she placed the spare clips in the holders on the belt.

    “Oh, I almost forgot! Here’s your hat,” she stated, as she tossed Ally a plain, dark blue ball cap.

    “Thanks for everything,” stated Ally

    “We’ve got some cots set up in back. It’s not too bad, you should try to get a few hours of sleep,” suggested Jo. “There’s a Portajohn out the door to your right.

    “I will, but I have to finish something first,” remarked Ally. She had brought her laptop and she finished up her proposal and sent copies to Jenna and Robert. She then found an empty cot, laid down, and grabbed a few hours of sleep.

Chapter Forty-Two

    Beth slowly woke up. Her mind was foggy. They must have drugged me again, she thought. She tried to move her arms but couldn’t. They were stuck behind her back. Her mind slowly cleared and she became aware of the rest of her outfit.

    Her waist was very constricted and her legs were snugly covered with something. She struggled to sit up and found that she was dressed in some sort of leather outfit. Beth glanced over her shoulder and confirmed that her arms were bound behind her back. There was no way she could get out of it by herself. Then she looked down at the corset that surrounded her waist. It made her waist was much smaller and it also pushed up her exposed breasts, making them look even bigger.

    She had to admit that the boots were pretty cool. They were thigh high, black leather boots. The heels looked a little extreme and she wondered if she would be able to walk in them. The locks on the boots were a little bit of overkill, she thought. She decided not to try to walk in the boots, because if she fell she would be as helpless as a turtle on its back.

    Beth sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the cell. There was now a chair in front of her bed. Sitting on the chair was a black leather collar, a leash, and a gag. Beth focused on the gag as it was a red ball gag and the red was the first bright color she had seen since her abduction. She shuddered, knowing that the gag would probably soon be in her mouth.

    Beth found that the corset, while restrictive, wasn’t too uncomfortable. She tried to take her mind off what was happening and played another mental game. This time it was books she had read in the last year, in alphabetical order.

    Suddenly, the door opened up and a very tall woman dressed all in black leather walked into the room.

    “You will only talk when addressed and you will address me as Matron or face severe punishment,” she stated.

    Beth felt a chill run up her spine.

Chapter Forty-Three

    The second brief started on time. Ally looked around and saw that everyone was dressed as she was. She had to admit to herself that this was pretty exciting.

    “The flyover confirmed that there is a tunnel running between the barn and the main house,” stated Steve, as he pointed to the computer display screen.

    There were symbols marking the present location of all people in the facility; red for known bad guys and blue for those presumed to be hostages.

    “We’ll be updating the locations of the personnel, if there are any changes. The rain is keeping the on-duty team here,” stated Steve, pointing to a truck, located 100 yards from the farmhouse. “They’ve been there for the last hour.”

    “What’s the latest weather report?” asked Maggie.

    “Rain, rain, and more rain,” stated Steve.

    “Good,” stated Madison. “That’ll muffle any noise we make.”

    “Will the rain affect your shooting, Jackson?” asked Robert.

    Jackson cracked a thin smile and shook his head no.

    Ally couldn’t ever remember seeing him talk. She wondered if he could.

    There were a few last questions and the teams were ordered out. “Be in position by 0500,” reiterated Steve.

    “Ally you want one of these?” asked Madison, holding up a submachine gun. The gun had a long silencer on the barrel.

    It was tempting, but she shook her head no, “Don’t think I’ll need it, after you get done with them,” she replied with a smile.

    “We’ll have a cold one after this is over,” he stated.

    Ally looked outside at the cold rain coming down. “I’d settle for a big cup of hot coffee.”

    “Nope, gotta be beer, it’s a tradition!” injected Tom. “And you don’t mess with tradition!”

    Everyone in the RV laughed at Tom’s comment as they walked outside.

    She was a little relieved to see that they had waterproof parkas for them. Maggie told her team that they would conduct a weapons check and then head out. Ally noticed that Jo and the other agent, named Miguel, were carrying submachine guns. Like Ally, Maggie just had her sidearm.

    Jo tossed Ally a pair of goggles. “These are our latest in night vision. Try them on.”

    Ally stepped outside, put on the goggles, and turned them on. It was like midday instead of 0330. The main difference was that everything was green.

    Ally looked around and watched as the other agents moved off into the darkness.

    “Ally, you ready?” asked Maggie.

    “Yes, let’s go get them,” she replied. The only regret Ally had was that she couldn’t call Carol. I’ll call her afterwards, Ally told herself.

Chapter Forty-Four

    “Do you understand, GIRL?” threatened Margo.

    Beth fought back her temper. Play it calm, you’ve been in situations like this before, she thought. “Yes, Matron.”

    Margo smiled slightly, “Very good. Cooperate and your training will be much easier.”

    Beth studied the woman. She was tall and quite beautiful. Her black hair was pulled back into a long braided ponytail. There was something odd about her hair, thought Beth. Her hair looked too perfect.

    The woman was dressed in a leather top and short skirt. She was also wearing thigh high boots. Her makeup made her look quite stern and dangerous, thought Beth.

    She also looked like the woman in the drawing Dad had shown her. So this was Margo Simon.

    “I am about to give you a preview of your new life. Do yourself a favor and forget your previous life. From now on, you are my property, and I will shape you to serve me,” stated Margo. “Stand up.”

    “Yes, Matron,” replied Beth, as she struggled to stand up.

    Margo felt chills of excitement as she watched the girl try to stand up. Eventually the girl was standing on her heels, although she was a bit wobbly.

    “I expect you to move faster in the future, slave,” exclaimed Margo. She wanted to keep the girl off guard and confused.

    “Yes, Matron,” replied Beth.

    Margo walked over and inserted the gag into Beth’s mouth. She was surprised that the girl wasn’t resisting more. Maybe she was actually enjoying this? That would be too good to expect, thought Margo.

    Next, Margo slipped the collar around Beth’s neck, locked it, and attached the leash. She then inspected the girl. Yes; she would make an excellent slave. Margo reached up and began to gently touch the girl’s nipples. They began to harden to her touch.

    “You like that, don’t you?” asked Margo.

    Beth nodded yes.

    Margo then pinched both of them hard. Beth winced in pain and buckled at the knees, but stayed on her feet. Interesting, this girl has a pretty high tolerance for pain, she thought.

    “That’s just a taste of the pain, my sweet,” whispered Margo into Beth’s ear. She then slipped her tongue into Beth’s ear.

    Beth tried to pull back, but couldn’t, as Margo held the leash close.

    “Well, I see that my touching you bothers you. Soon, my sweet, you’ll beg to pleasure me. You will willingly offer your body to me without any resistance.”

    Beth struggled to maintain her composure as Margo continued to touch her.

    “You look so much nicer with your vagina smooth and hairless. The chemical I treated you with will leave you smooth down there for months. A second treatment will leave you permanently smooth down there. I like my lovers smooth and hairless all over,” explained Margo, as she ran her fingers through Beth’s hair.

    Beth’s eyes opened wide in fear.

    “That’s right, my sweet. I will soon be shaving and treating your scalp too. You will look like such a doll - make that a mannequin,” laughed Margo. “Don’t worry, you’ll have a lovely selection of wigs to wear, when I permit them.”

    Beth began to send her parents a mental message. Please get here before this psycho bitch shaves my head!

    “Let me show you one more thing, before I start your tour. Look at these lovely rings,” stated Margo, as she held out some steel rings. “I will soon be inserting these into your lovely body. These will pierce your nipples, and these will pierce your labia.”

    Beth was genuinely frightened now.

    “It will hurt initially, but you’ll learn to love them,” explained Margo. She stepped back and lifted up her skirt, showing her vagina. It was also smooth and hairless, like Beth’s. There were several rings through Margo’s labia.

    “I might even pierce your nose, so I can lock you down here,” Margo laughed as she pointed to her vagina.

    Beth felt sick at the thought of sexually pleasuring this woman.

    “Well, let me show you my playroom. You will get to know it quite well by the time your training is finished,” explained Margo. “Now come with me.”

    Margo led the leashed Beth out of her cell and down a long hallway. There were many locked doors. This must be where the others are kept, thought Beth. They exited the cell area and passed an armed guard. Margo then led Beth down a flight of stairs and through another door. Beth struggled to maintain her balance as she walked down the stair. Margo led Beth through the door into a long tunnel. The sound of their heels clicking on the tile floor echoed down the hall. It was the only sound. Beth wondered where she was being led.

    Margo opened up the door at the end of the hallway and led Beth into a large room. Beth’s eyes opened wide as she absorbed everything that was in there. Directly in front of them, on the far wall, was a large four-poster bed. Beth glanced up and saw that the ceiling was mirrored.

    Beth scanned the room and saw all kinds of bondage equipment. There were hooks and pulleys on the ceiling and walls. There were two racks, mounted on the walls, on either side of the bed. The floor was marble and polished to a high shine. There were several sawhorses in the center of the room, along with a large table. The wall behind them was covered with whips, canes, chains, cuffs, and sex toys too numerous to count.

    “It’s impressive, isn’t it?” stated Margo proudly. “You’ll eventually crave coming in here.” She then picked up a remote control and turned on a stereo; soon the room was filled with classical music.

    Beth felt herself trembling slightly from fear. Please, get here soon, she thought.

    Margo walked around her and smiled a smile of pure evil and lust.

Chapter Forty-Five

    They came out of the woods and slowly worked their way across the wet muddy fields. The rain was still coming down and it muffled any noise they made. They approached the farmhouse on the opposite side from the guard truck. Ally looked out and saw that there was one light on in the house. It was on the second floor, and it corresponded with the room they had seen Margo in earlier. Ally looked over and saw that one of the teams was slipping around the barn. That must be Madison’s team. She looked beyond them and saw the guardhouse and figures surrounding it. She was very glad these guys were on her side. They were good!

    Over the headsets, they got an update from Robert. He told them that Beth’s signal now showed her to be in the main house with one of the abductors. Ally couldn’t imagine what was going through Maggie’s mind at this moment.

    Ally glanced at her watch. They had fifteen minutes until the operation began. They would enter right after Steve’s team. Ally pictured the stairs in her mind and the location of the door. She was convinced she could find it with her eyes closed.

    They moved up closer and were soon in position. Ally looked over at the guard truck and it looked like two of the four were sleeping. One was standing outside smoking a cigarette. He wasn’t wearing any night vision gear and might as well have been blind. He had no idea that there were armed agents less than twenty feet from him. Ally watched in fascination as the agents crept up on the guard. It reminded her of watching the Discovery Channel and seeing a lion creep up on an unsuspecting gazelle.

    Ally felt a bit stiff from the cold and dampness. Her right shoulder was aching, but she wasn’t about to complain. In a few minutes, they would be inside and it would be all over.

    The last five minutes passed very slowly. At 0500 sharp, the teams went into action. Ally moved with her team, glancing over to see the agents neutralize the guards in the truck. Steve’s team had the front door of the farmhouse open in a flash and poured in. Maggie and her team quickly followed and moved swiftly up the stairs.

    Ally’s headset was filled with short, calm, concise reports of the teams’ actions. She heard “Target neutralized, area secured.” many times. She focused on the task at hand and burst into their assigned room. There were two men inside.

    Ally immediately recognized them as Thomas Simon and Marcus Castillo. They both looked as though they were caught completely off guard.

    “Freeze. You’re under arrest!” exclaimed Maggie. All four members of the team had weapons drawn on the two men.

    Marcus smiled and, in a flash, reached for a gun in a shoulder holster. Maggie put two silenced rounds in him and he fell to the floor, his gun falling to the floor next to his lifeless body.  Thomas made a lunge for the computers but was blocked by Jo and Miguel. They knocked him to the ground, but he refused to give up. He struggled to get away and was about to reach Marcus’ gun when Ally stepped on his hand and aimed her gun at his head.

    “Move and you’re dead!” she exclaimed.

    Thomas stared at her and surrendered. He kept his eyes on Ally as Jo and Miguel cuffed and searched him.

    Ally looked at the monitors and saw what had the men so distracted. Beth was in some bizarre S&M dungeon with a woman dressed all in black leather. “Maggie! Look at this!”

    Maggie stared at the monitors and her eyes opened up wide. “That must be the basement. I’m going down there. Ally, secure this room and these computers!”

    Before Ally could say yes, Maggie was gone.

    “Marcus is dead,” announced Jo, crouching down by his body.

    “I’ll report it,” stated Ally. She was pleased to hear that all the guards were either captured or dead. Madison’s teams had secured the hostages and were waiting for Jenna’s team to arrive.

    “Steve, Maggie is heading to the basement. Margo has Beth down there,” reported Ally over the headset. “Marcus is dead, Thomas is alive and secured.”

    “Roger,” replied Steve.

    Ally looked at the monitors and saw that they had several cameras in the room Ally also noticed they were recording the events. Next to their chairs were an open bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers. It was as if they were watching a show. She glared over at Thomas. “We’ve got you, you sick bastard.”

    He stared back at her with pure hatred. Ally just smiled back at him, which only made him angrier.

    “Ally, this is Maggie. I’m just outside the basement. Is there anyone else in there besides Margo and Beth?”

    “No, the room is clear. Madison’s team has the tunnel side secure.”

    “Okay, I’m going in.”

    “Steve will be there soon,” informed Ally. She knew telling Maggie to wait was pointless.

Chapter Forty-Six

    Margo had run a rope, through a pulley, down from the ceiling, and had attached it to the leather sleeve securing Beth’s hands. Beth was standing on her toes, fighting to maintain her balance. This position kept the girl in place as Margo played with her.

    Margo then pulled out a sawhorse with a strange saddle on it. There were both a butt plug and a dildo mounted on it. Beth’s eyes opened up wide as she realized what it was for.

    “The nice thing about this is that both the dildo and the butt plug vibrate and can be controlled by this wireless remote,” Margo explained to Beth. “I know it looks scary, but you’ll crave it someday– after I take your virginity.”

    Ally watched as Margo mounted the device and slowly slipped down onto the sexual toys. Beth was both disgusted and amazed by the device. Margo balanced on the saddle and turned on the sex toys. Beth noticed how Margo was soon in a state of sexual bliss.

    “Hmmm, this feels so good,” moaned Margo, as she adjusted the vibration of the plugs.

    Beth just stared at her and tried not give away the fact that she could see her mom, dressed in agency field gear, standing in the doorway behind Margo.

    Maggie had her weapon drawn and slowly inched her way silently across the floor. 

    Beth felt as if she was watching some sort of bizarre movie. Margo was pleasing herself, oblivious to the fact that an armed agent was creeping up behind her.

    Maggie was only a few feet away when Margo finally sensed that something was wrong. Margo turned around and saw Maggie.

    “Who the fuck are you?” screamed Margo as she struggled to get off the device.

    “I’m her mother, you twisted bitch,” replied Maggie.

    Later, Maggie wrote in her after-action report that she just reacted and that her actions were not premeditated.

    Margo was trying to get off the sawhorse when Maggie kicked it, causing it to fall to the side. Margo fell to the ground and struck her head on the marble floor, rendering her unconscious. The devices were still in her and the impact caused them to shift to high speed. What shocked both Beth and Maggie the most was that, upon impact, a black wig came off Margo’s head, revealing that her head was completely bald.

    Maggie quickly checked that Margo was still alive, then she cuffed her and turned off the devices. Then she shifted her attention to Beth.

    Within a few seconds she cut Beth loose and removed the gag. Beth was crying tears of joy as her mom released her.

    “Is she okay?” asked Steve, anxiously as he entered the room.

    “I’m okay, Dad!” cried Beth.

    “I’ve secured the room. Don’t worry, no one else will see you like this,” stated a much relieved Steve.

    “Steve, Maggie, this is Ally. I found some clothes up here that should fit Beth. Jo will run them downstairs to you,” stated Ally over the two-way radio.

    “Thanks,” replied Steve.

    Beth’s arms were now free and she was trying to remove the corset. “Damn, she locked it!”

    “I have the key,” quipped Maggie, who pulled out her knife and cut the leather straps and laces off.

    “Oh! That feels so much better!” exclaimed Beth, as she flexed her arms, stretched and breathed deeply.

    “Here, let me do the same to the boots,” stated Maggie.

    “Too bad, I kinda like them,” remarked Beth.

    “There is no way I’m going to let you wear something like that, young lady,” quipped Steve.

    Once free from all the bondage gear, Beth hugged her parents. She didn’t care about being naked.

    Jo dropped off the clothes, a mismatched collection of sweats, but it was better than nothing.

    As Beth dressed, Steve examined Margo. “She’s alive. We’ll take her out of here shortly.”   

    “Did we find all the captives?” asked Maggie.

    “Yes, Jenna’s team is getting ready to make contact. Fortunately, Margo had charts for each captive by their cell doors. So we can tell who’s who and which kids have been here the longest.”

    “She insisted that I call her ‘Matron’,” stated Beth.

    “That might help, I’ll pass that on to Jenna,” stated Steve.

    Once Beth was dressed, Margo was placed on a gurney. The agency medical people had to first inject her with a muscle-relaxant to get the sex toys out of her body. They quipped that they had another strange story to add to their collection.

    “I have some of your own clothes for you back at the MCU, Beth,” stated Maggie. She was sitting next to Beth on the bed, her arm around her.

    “I’m okay. How long have I been here?” asked Beth.

    “How long do you think you’ve been here?” asked Steve.

    “A week, maybe longer,” replied Beth.

    “Less than two days,” replied Steve.

    Beth looked to Maggie for confirmation, who nodded in agreement.

    “Damn!” exclaimed Beth. She watched as they wheeled Margo out of the dungeon.

    Now that she was in the arms of her loved ones, Beth could relax and the stress was released in a long, satisfying cry as Maggie held her.

Chapter Forty-Seven

    Up in the control room, Ally watched the rescue of Beth and then turned her attention to the computer on the desk. From what she had heard about Margo, she knew that the woman was extremely self-confident, bordering on arrogance. So Ally wasn’t that surprised to see that the computer lacked a password and that the files weren’t encrypted.

    As she looked at the files, she was stunned by the information that she was accessing. The Simons had money in three banks, two in Switzerland and one in the Bahamas. Their account numbers and passwords were all in the files in Margo’s computer. A quick look showed that they had over 40 million in the three accounts!

    Ally then found something more valuable than money, the identities, owners, and locations of all the teens they had sold into captivity. Ally was stunned as she reviewed the names. Many were in the US, and several of the owner’s names were well known men. Others were located in Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the Middle East.

    She turned around and glared at Thomas as he was led out. “There’s a special place in hell for scum like you.”

    “We have friends in high places, and we’ll be out before you know it,” replied Thomas with a laugh.

    “Your friends are going to have enough troubles of their own without worrying about you,” replied Ally.

    Cathleen and her team arrived in the control room.

    “You mean that they had all this out in open files? What am I doing here?” laughed Cathleen.

    “You got a nice drive in the country, what else do you want?” quipped Steve as he joined them in the room.

    “My god! Did you see these names?” asked Cathleen.

    Ally nodded and felt a bit ill thinking about it. She walked out of the room and downstairs.

    Steve followed and put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll do our best to get them all back.”

    “I know that. What sickens me is that these bastards just filled a need. The real monsters are the ones buying these kids.”

    “I just talked with Jenna. You’d better not go into the barn. Some of those kids are really damaged,” stated Steve. “There’s also an adult who was one of our missing Primus representatives. He was worked over pretty thoroughly by the Simons, both mentally and physically.”

    “What will happen to the Simons?” asked Ally.

    “We’ll try to hold them incommunicado until we can recover all the abducted teens, although that will require a judge’s order. Then they’ll be charged with a litany of offenses, just beginning with kidnapping. There’s almost no chance of them being granted bail. Unless they plead guilty, the trials will become a media circus. I imagine they’ll spend the rest of their lives behind bars,” stated Steve

    “That’s not good enough,” grumbled Ally.

    “I know. I wish we could just take them out back and shoot them. But we can’t.”

    “How’s Beth?” asked Ally.

    “Tired and a bit shaken, but okay. She’s downstairs with Maggie,” answered Steve, pointing towards the stairs.

    “Do you think they’d mind if I stopped by to say hi?” asked Ally.

    “Ally, you’re her big sister, she’d love to see you,” smiled Steve.

    “She told you that?” asked Ally.

    Steve nodded. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to call me Dad!”

    Ally laughed and walked down the stairs to the dungeon.

    Maggie and Beth were still sitting on the bed. Beth saw Ally and smiled and began to get up.

    “Stay there,” stated Ally who walked over and hugged Beth.

    “It’s so good to see you again,” cried Beth as she held Ally tight.

    Ally didn’t say a word and let Beth hold her for a long time.

    “You haven’t forgotten about our day out on the town, have you?” asked Beth.

    “Nope, I’m looking forward to it,” replied Ally. “I think you’d better get out of here and unwind.”

    “Sounds good,” replied Beth. “I’m so tired.”

    “The doctors will need to see you first, and then we’ll leave,” stated Maggie.

    “Okay. See you later, Ally,” stated Beth.

    Ally smiled and nodded. She walked over to the tunnel entrance and walked down the long tunnel to the cells. She saw Jenna talking to her staff and waved.

    “I heard you were here. How’re you doing?” asked Jenna.

    “Mixed. I think I’m over my earlier doubts. I’m sickened by what I’ve seen here,” replied Ally.

    “I know what you mean. Some of these kids will need a lot of therapy and even then I doubt they’ll all return to normal. Especially the boys. Some are so feminized that I doubt they could return to life as a male,” replied Jenna.

    “Did you get a chance to read my e-mail?” asked Ally.

    “Yes, and it has already been approved. Robert Ledyard passed it up the Director, who approved the plan. We’ll use an off-season resort up in the Pocono Mountains for now, but it will be wonderful to have our own facility,” explained Jenna. “Thank you.”

    “I didn’t do anything. I just wrote it up,” stated Ally. “Oh, we have the locations for the other teens.”

    “They will be very difficult to help,” stated Jenna.

    “You don’t sound optimistic,” observed Ally.

    “I’m not. They might not get the happy ending they deserve,” remarked Jenna.

    Ally nodded. “I’ll see you later.” They hugged and Ally walked outside. It was now light out. It was still raining.

    Ally walked over to MCU #1, now parked in front of the barn.

    “Ally, good to see you. The Director just called and wanted to me pass on that he’s very pleased,” stated Robert.

    Ally sat down and, for the first time since the operation started, she felt real fatigue. She rubbed her right shoulder. “Does he know about the teens and their owners?”

    “Yes. Steve briefed him and we’re already making plans to recover them. Rich’s team will start on organizing that task this morning,” replied Robert, as he handed Ally a steaming mug of coffee. “It may be necessary to do a number of the recoveries simultaneously, given the likelihood of publicity on some of the arrests.”

    “That’s good. What about the overseas cases?” asked Ally. She took a sip of the coffee and then looked up in surprise at Robert.

    “Rich figured that there was a slight chance you might have been bitten by a snake,” smiled Robert.

    “Thanks,” smiled Ally, who took another sip.

    “A bit more touchy. Europe shouldn’t be a problem, but the Middle East and Japan may be difficult. Don’t worry, we’ll eventually get them all,” stated Robert.

    “By the way, thanks for forwarding up my idea. Jenna told me that the Director already approved the use of the funds,” stated Ally.

    “It was a very worthwhile proposal. When you’re done debriefing here, you’re ordered to take the rest of the week off,” ordered Robert.

    “Yes, sir! As soon as I make sure that Donna has everything under control. I want to make sure that Donna gets credit for this case. She’s the one who initially made the connection between the missing teens” replied Ally.

    “Don’t worry, Ally. I know what Donna did and her name will be prominently mentioned in the final report to the Director.”

She nodded and set down the half-finished mug of coffee and got up. “Thanks for the snake bite medicine.”

    Ally walked outside and was spotted by Tom and Madison.

    “Hey, I heard that you did pretty well in there!” exclaimed Madison.

    Ally nodded.

    “You’re welcome on our teams any day,” stated Tom. “Debrief is this way. Afterwards, we’ll have a beer together by MCU#3.”

    The debriefing lasted two hours and Ally would have been content to just slip quietly away, but Steve walked over to her.

    “You have to attend the post-mission party. It’s a tradition.”

    Ally yawned but nodded.

    “Just so you know, you impressed the hell out my teams tonight. They’re not being polite by inviting you here, they see you as one of them now,” explained Steve.

    Ally blushed. “I’m honored.”

    The rain let up as they walked over to MCU#3. A trashcan was set up with ice and beer. Steve explained that this was a necessary event to allow the agents to “come down” after the mission.

    “Here she is!” exclaimed Miguel. He tossed her a beer. “MOVE AND YOU’RE DEAD!”

    “It worked, didn’t it?” laughed Ally. She was pleased with the genuine acceptance by these elite agents. She opened the beer and took a sip. It did taste good going down.

    “Too bad he didn’t move,” uttered Madison.

    They all nodded, as they all understood the severity of the Simons’ crimes.

    After a few beers, Ally was ready for bed.

    “We have rooms rented at a local motel. Maggie and Beth are already there. You can ride back down to DC with us later,” offered Steve.

    Ally didn’t argue.

Chapter Forty-Eight

    The motel room was nothing special but that suited Ally just fine. She had changed back in the MCU and was wearing jeans and a sweater when she checked in. The first thing she had done was to pick up the phone and call Carol. Granted Carol was at work, but even getting her voice mail would be wonderful. Luckily, she caught Carol in her office.

    “Hi,” greeted Ally, who was suddenly at a loss for words.

    “Hi there! I can’t tell you how good it is to hear your voice!” exclaimed Carol.

    “I feel the same way. I’ll call when we leave. I’ll be riding home with Steve, Maggie, and Beth. Beth is okay, but I can’t the say the same for the others,” explained an exhausted Ally.

    “I understand. Look, get some sleep and you can tell me about it when you get home. I miss you and love you,” stated Carol.

    “I needed to hear that. I love you too!”

    “Sweet dreams, dear,” replied Carol.

    Ally hung up the phone and decided to take a long hot bath before going to bed. As she soaked in the tub, she thought about the case. It wasn’t over, but at least the Simons had been stopped. Ally also thought of the monumental task for Jenna and her team. Sometimes, it was better to be ignorant and to not know about the real evil in the world, thought Ally. Then she thought about the satisfaction she had felt seeing Thomas Simon on the ground. Like it or not, she was on the frontline and there was no way she could walk away.

    Ally got out of the bath, dried off, and climbed into the bed. She was asleep within seconds.

    Early in the evening, Ally woke up and got dressed. She felt refreshed and very hungry and was about to call out for a pizza when Maggie called.

    “We saw your lights on and wondered if you wanted to go home tonight or stay here?” asked Maggie

    “I vote home,” Ally replied quickly.

    “That’s what we thought. Meet you in the lobby in ten minutes,” stated Maggie.

    Ally was there in five minutes and eager to hit the road. She was pleased to see Beth and they hugged again.

    “I just have one request, that we stop for something to eat along the way,” remarked Ally.

    “That sounds good,” stated Steve.

    They picked a truck stop diner on the way home. Ally ordered breakfast, as she always did when eating in a truck stop. The scrambled eggs and bacon really hit the spot.

    Back on the road, Ally and Steve talked a little about the case while Maggie and Beth slept in the back of the car.

    “How long do you think we can keep the story out of the press?” asked Ally.

    “I hope that we can recover the teens first. I don’t want to think about what might happen to them if their ‘owners’ know that they’re about to be exposed and arrested,” stated Steve. “Rich’s teams are already moving out to recover the teens here in the United States.”

    “I’m available if he needs help,” stated Ally.

    “I was hoping you’d say that. I’m leaving for New York City to recover a teen tomorrow. You want in?” asked Steve, knowing the answer.

    “What time are you leaving?” asked Ally, feeling immediately refreshed.

    “We’ll be flying up tomorrow afternoon. I can pick you up in the office,” smiled Steve. “I thought that Robert told you to take the rest of the week off?”

    “I don’t think he’ll mind,” stated Ally.

    “I know he won’t,” replied Steve. “Now, tell me about The Protector.”

    Two hours later, Ally was dropped off at her home. She could ride in with Carol in the morning. She hugged Beth, Maggie, and Steve.

    “Call me anytime, Beth,” offered Ally.

    “Same here, big sister!” replied Beth with a smile.

    Ally walked into the house and was greeted by Carol. They hugged and kissed for several minutes before either said a word.

    They walked into the kitchen and Carol put the kettle back on the stove. Once they had their mugs of tea, Carol let Ally release and tell what had happened. It was far worse that Carol had thought, and she felt nauseous over the idea of the rich and powerful doing things like that.

    “How do you feel about this?” asked Carol.

    “This transition is hard enough to go through when it feels right. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a forced gender change. It’s different making the change to the gender you feel you were born in. These kids have been mind-raped and that will be hard to overcome. From what Jenna said, some of those kids have been dramatically changed physically and it will make going back very difficult, if not impossible. She said the changes are pretty extreme,” explained Ally, fighting off a yawn. “Did that make sense?”

    Carol smiled. “Yes, it did. Let’s go to bed.”

    Ally smiled and nodded.

    Carol took Ally’s hand and led her to bed.

Chapter Forty-Nine

    Ally arrived in her office and was warmly greeted by Donna and the rest of her staff.

    “I was told that you weren’t coming in today,” stated Donna.

    “Actually, I’m not here,” smiled Ally. “Can you get everyone together in the operations center for me?”

    “Sure thing, boss!” smiled Donna. “Give me ten minutes.”

    Ally called Robert and explained why she was in the office and that she wanted to go with Steve to New York.

    “Steve already called and requested you. Promise me that you aren’t jumping to Spec-Ops! I can’t afford to lose you.”

    “I promise. It was exciting, but I have a job here. I know that more than ever,” replied Ally.

    “That’s what I wanted to hear. Good luck in The Big Apple,” stated Robert.

    “Thanks,” replied Ally, as she hung up the phone.

    A few minutes later, Donna appeared at Ally’s door. “They’re all in there.”

    “Good,” replied Ally. On the way to the center, she informed Donna that she was going up to New York to help recover one of the teens.

    “How many are out there?” asked Donna.

    “From what we can tell from the computer records, there are fourteen still with the original buyers. Two have been re-sold and they may be more difficult to recover,” explained Ally.

    “Re-sold? My, god!” exclaimed Donna.

    “One may be in a brothel in Morocco, and the other was sold to a private club in Tokyo,” explained Ally.

    They walked into the operations center. Ally was pleased to see her staff all together.

    Ally sat down on the table in front of her agents and set her open can of Diet Coke down next to her. “I just wanted to thank all of you for the great work you’ve done in helping us break the teen abduction case, and I do mean everyone. Some of you were directly involved in the case and you’ll be pleased to know that we’re in the middle of an operation to recover all the missing teens. But I want to thank the rest of you too. You took up the slack and carried a heavier load so we could focus on the teen case. Thank you. This was a true team effort and a joint department effort. I hope that we can work with MI more and start breaking down departmental walls.”

    There was a round of applause.

    “Donna will continue to be in charge for the next few days,” added Ally. “I don’t want to hear any bad reports when I get back.”

    “Yes, MOM,” chorused the department.

    Ally smiled and whispered to Donna, “Someday you’ll have to tell me who started this whole ‘Mom’ thing!”

    Donna just smiled.

    Ally went back to her office, then got up and walked over to Rich’s office.

    “Hey, there you are!” exclaimed Rich.

    “Morning!” stated Ally.

    “I’m jealous that you got in on the big bust up in Maryland. Good job!”

    “How’s it going here?” asked Ally, as she sat down.

    “We made our first recoveries this morning. Britain also recovered the two there. We’re hoping to get them all back this week,” stated Rich.

    “What if they don’t want to be recovered?” asked Ally.

    “That’s a possibility. They’ll have to pass a psych screening by Jenna’s team first. Regardless of how the teen feels, the person who bought them will be prosecuted. At least those here in the US,” explained Rich.

    “What about overseas?” asked Ally.

    “Up to the specific country. I’ll settle for the recovery first. We know who they are and will put out warrants. They’ll be caught eventually.”

    “I was shocked at some of the names on the list,” stated Ally.

    “I wasn’t. I guess I’m more cynical than you. By the way, did you hear about Sir Nigel?” asked Rich.

    “No, what he’d he do now?” asked Ally. Men like Sir Nigel disgusted her.

    “He committed suicide, but he left a stipulation in his will. If his name is never mentioned publicly concerning this case, his estate will make a restitution to the family of Bradley, and to a fund set up to assist abused teens. The amount would be quite substantial,” informed Rich.

    “Ahhh, protecting the ‘good’ name of his family!” quipped Ally.

    “And maybe buying his way out of hell,” added Rich.

    “I doubt there is enough money in the world for that,” stated Ally. “I need to go. I’m heading up to NYC with a team to recover one of the teens.”

    “Lucky you! Good luck, and you’re always welcome over here, Kid,” stated Rich.

    “You never know when I might be bitten by a snake,” replied Ally.

    They both laughed.

Chapter Fifty

    Ally was sitting next to Steve on the flight up to New York. They were reviewing the file on the teen they were about to recover.

    Jeremy Green was one of the first teens to be sold. He had been abducted three years earlier from his private school in Arlington, Virginia. He was seventeen at the time of his abduction. His father was a Colonel in the Air Force, and his mother was a professor at Georgetown.

    He was sold to a wealthy Wall Street investor named Sherman Farnsworth.

    “Farnsworth comes from old money, but he also made a killing in the early days of the Internet investments. He got out before the fall and is worth millions. He’s 63 and has never been married,” read Steve from the report. “Each year he gives large donations to local charities.”

    “Guilty conscience?” asked Ally.

    “Maybe. We’ll find out soon,” explained Steve. “One of the therapists from the New York office will meet us at the airport.”

    “Any other back up?” asked Ally.

    Steve smiled. “Why? Between the two of us we should be able to subdue an older man!”

    Ally stared back and smiled.

    “There will be two agents from the New York office along for support,” stated Steve seriously

    “So who’s the therapist? Do you know her?” asked Ally.

    “Her name is Dr. Nancy Chen. I don’t know her, but Jenna has highly recommended her and has briefed her on the case.”

    “That’s good,” replied Ally.

    Dr. Chen met Steve and Ally as soon as they got off the jet. She was a pleasant, young Chinese-American woman.

    “Pleased to meet you, Dr. Chen, I’m Special Agent Steve Williams, and this is Special Agent Ally Burns,” introduced Steve.

    “Please call me Ally,” stated Ally as she extended her hand.

    “Pleased to meet you, Ally. I’d prefer that you call me Nancy,” replied Nancy.

    “And I’m Steve,” he smiled.

    “Jenna told me a lot about both of you. I feel like I already know you. I must admit that I’m impressed with the way you broke up the abduction ring,” remarked Nancy.

    “We’re not done yet. We’re still trying to recover all the teens that the Simons sold. We have two addresses for Sherman Farnsworth. His records state that he maintains a luxury penthouse overlooking Central Park and a house out in the Hamptons,” stated Steve.

    “His office reported that he’s still out at his mansion in Southampton. If we tried to drive out there, it would take hours. The New York agency office arranged for a helicopter to fly us out there,” remarked Nancy. “Two agents are already waiting for us at the Suffolk County Airport, which is about a 25 minute drive from our destination.”

    “Sounds good,” stated Steve.

    On the flight they discussed their plan. Nancy suggested that they just walk in and question him. If he resisted, they could always arrest him and conduct a search.

    “I met him once at a charity fundraiser and I am shocked that he would be involved in something like this,” stated Nancy.

    “The data from the Simons’ computer has already led to the recovery of six teens and six arrests. One of the men we arrested is a former senator and ambassador,” announced Steve.

    “The teens we’ve recovered will need a long recovery, and even then they might never lead a normal life,” added Ally.

    “I know. Jenna has ‘borrowed’ two of my staff for the recovery facility she has set up. I want to do whatever I can to help,” remarked Nancy.

    They arrived at the airport and were whisked away by the two waiting agents. The agents were named DJ and Sally. They both seemed in awe at the idea of working with Steve.

    A short time later, they arrived at a large waterfront mansion. Steve let out a long whistle.

    “This is it?” asked Ally, looking at the huge beautiful house. It was a large piece of property and was very isolated from its closest neighbors.

    DJ nodded.

    The plan was for Steve, Ally, and Nancy to enter the house, and for the two agents to standby.

    They rang the doorbell and waited. A short, attractive young woman, dressed all in black, answered the door. She was wearing a simple black dress, stockings, and heels. Ally noticed that it was a designer dress that probably cost more than her entire outfit.

    “Hello, may I help you?” she asked in a very pleasant, cultured voice.

    Ally immediately recognized her as the feminized Jeremy Green, but she kept her mouth shut. She would wait until they met the man who owned her.

    The girl was around the same height as Ally and wore her auburn hair in a fashionable up-do. Her ears were pierced, and she was wearing simple pearl post earrings. Ally also noticed that she wore a wedding ring.

    “Yes, we need to see Mr. Sherman Farnsworth,” stated Steve, extending his badge.

    The young woman looked surprised and a little embarrassed. Not the shock that Ally would have expected.

    “Oh. I’m sorry, but Sherman died two days ago. He had a massive heart attack and died in his sleep,” replied the young woman.

    Ally noticed that tears were forming in the young woman’s eyes. Ally glanced over at Steve and he nodded. Ally would take the lead in interviewing the girl.

    “Were you once Jeremy Green?” asked Ally.

    The young woman turned her head towards Ally. “I was Jeremy Green, but that was a long time ago. My name is Celeste Farnsworth, would you please come in?”

    “Thank you,” replied Ally.

    Celeste led them to a room overlooking the water. “This is my favorite room in the house. The views are so peaceful.”

    “Celeste, we need to talk,” stated Ally, as she sat down. The girl was right; the waterfront view was lovely. They introduced themselves. Ally noticed that the girl didn’t seem worried or upset.

    “I understand. Sherman and I expected this one day. Would you like tea or coffee?” she asked. “I’ll call Ina and she’ll bring it here.”

    A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman brought in a cart with tea and coffee. Ally was impressed with the bone china teacup.

    “We arrested the Simons two days ago. They were the couple that abducted, transformed, and sold you to Mr. Farnsworth three years ago,” informed Ally.

    “That’s wonderful news!” smiled Celeste. “I suppose that you want to know about me. I am fine. Sherman always treated me like a lady.”

    “Celeste, I know this is difficult, but we need more than that,” stated Ally.

    She smiled at Ally. “I understand. You think that I’m suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe I was when I was first delivered to Sherman, but that has all changed. He truly loved me and did everything possible to make me happy.”

    “Except let you go,” stated Nancy.

    “Why would I want to leave?” smiled Celeste pleasantly. “He brought in therapists to help me get over the trauma of being abducted and abused by those two perverts, the Simons. He then gave me anything I wanted. He brought in tutors and they have given me the equivalent of a MBA.”

    “But you were kept here as a sexual object for him,” interrupted Steve.

    Celeste laughed. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. Sherman didn’t want a sex slave or an object. He wanted an understanding companion, a kindred spirit.”

    “A companion?” asked Ally.

    “Yes. Sherman was transgendered. Here is a photo of him. You can see that he wasn’t exactly feminine in his physical appearance,” stated Celeste, as she held up a photo of Sherman. He was a large barrel-chested man, with a rugged handsome face. He was very masculine. “But she was very sweet woman.”

    Ally looked at the picture and nodded.

    “He told me that he wanted someone to dress with and help him become more feminine. He never touched me sexually, until we got married. By then I was deeply in love with him,” stated Celeste, as she looked at the photo. A single tear ran down her face.

    Ally put her hand on Celeste’s shoulder.

    “He truly loved me. I could have left anytime, but why? I had the life that I never had back when I was Jeremy. I’m willing to bet that my parents haven’t been searching all that actively for me. Am I right?”

    Ally shrugged. “We haven’t contacted your parents yet.”

    “Don’t bother. I don’t think they’d be happy to see me. I’m sure they discovered my secret when they cleaned up my room after I was abducted,” stated Celeste.

    “What secret is that?’ asked Ally.

    “I was transgendered, even before the Simons abducted me. I had a hidden wardrobe in my room. My father thought I was a sissy and was constantly pushing me into more masculine activities. He wasn’t impressed with my academic achievements. Mom didn’t think that I was fully applying myself academically. She went ballistic when I got an A- on a final exam. I don’t think that my present appearance would make them happy,” stated Celeste.

    Ally was holding Celeste’s hand, as she felt a sudden empathy for her.

    Celeste continued. “I didn’t mind at all that the Simons feminized me; I cooperated willingly with that part. I hated the sexual training and the abuse. When I was delivered to Sherman, I was very confused. I thought I was there to sexually please him and instead he just treated me nicely. Gradually, he had me deprogrammed and gave me the choice of staying with him or leaving. He even offered to pay to have the physical changes reversed., if I wished. I decided to stay.”

    Celeste went on to describe her life with Sherman. He would spend the weekends dressed as a woman with her. Eventually they feel deeply in love and after Celeste had her SRS, they married.

    “The house is in my name, and Sherman left me everything in his will. I am set for life, and I owe him a great deal. He truly cared about me. If you want to test me and see that I am telling the truth, that’s okay,” stated Celeste.

    Steve looked at Ally and then Nancy. “If Nancy believes that you are doing this of your own free will, then I will follow her recommendations.”

    “Thank you,” stated Celeste. She had a look of total relief on her face. “You have no idea of how happy I am now.”

    “I think I do,” smiled Ally, thinking of her own situation. “Why don’t we take a walk?”

    Ally wanted to leave Steve and Nancy to discuss Celeste. She also wanted to talk with Celeste.

    “Do you believe me?” asked Celeste, as they walked outside.

The weather was clear and spring was in the air. The light sea breeze smelled wonderful. A heron flew across the water. Ally couldn’t believe that just two days earlier she was shivering in a Maryland field.

“Yes. I do. I understand the inner conflict that you’ve had,” stated Ally.

“No offense, but you could have no idea of the struggles that I have had,” replied Celeste.

“Don’t be so sure, I’m planning on my SRS this year,” confessed Ally.

Celeste froze and stared at Ally. A smile slowly appeared on her face. “That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Celeste, hugging Ally.

They walked out to a gazebo that overlooked the water, and talked for over an hour. By the time they walked back to the house, Ally was convinced that Celeste was telling them the truth.

“I wish all the cases were this happy,” stated Ally

“I know. Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Celeste, as they entered the house. “Sherman made many charitable contributions, and I want to continue his legacy.”

Ally nodded. “I’m convinced that there will be other feminized teens that won’t want to return home. They will need help.”

“Why not here?” asked Celeste.

Ally froze and stared at her.

“This place is beautiful, but way too big for me, now that I’m alone. I’d love the company. Sherman bought this place for its isolation. I could easily accommodate several girls and their therapists,” announced Celeste, “and I have contacts with tutors who could help them get restarted on their educations, as well.”

“You don’t mind?” asked Ally.

“No, not at all. I loved helping Sherman with his feminine side,” confessed Celeste. “Besides, I need something to do with my life, now that Sherman is gone.”

Ally looked at Celeste and saw the tears forming in the young widow’s eyes. She could sense that Celeste had truly loved Sherman and was hurting emotionally. Without a word, Ally pulled Celeste close and hugged her and let her cry. Ally had to admit that she really liked Celeste, and she hoped that the agency would leave her alone.

Celeste stopped crying and wiped her eyes with a dainty linen handkerchief. “Thanks, Ally.”

“No problem, Celeste,” replied Ally. They walked back to rejoin Steve and Nancy.

Steve and Ally departed, leaving Nancy and Sally to stay with Celeste. DJ drove Steve and Ally back to the airport. He would then return to the house. Until they were totally sure of Celeste’s story, Nancy would require protection.

Ally didn’t worry. She was convinced that Celeste was telling the truth. She told Steve all about their conversation. She was pleased that he agreed with her recommendations.

“I like the idea that she wants to help the others,” he replied.

“At least we have a happy ending for one of them.”

Chapter Fifty-One

Ally was in bed snuggling next to Carol late that evening.

“Celeste sounds like a lovely young woman,” said Carol.

“I like her a lot. She’s also extremely lucky,” answered Ally.

“Is that what’s bothering you?” asked Carol.

“Yes. Some of these kids we’ve recovered are shattered. Then there are the three who were found dead. I look back and wish I had shot that bastard when I had a chance,” stated Ally angrily.

Two of the teens were already dead by the time the agents arrived. They had been killed by their owners, who were now facing murder charges. The last one was killed in a murder suicide, as the agents tried to arrest the suspect.

“We can’t save the world. You did well on this case,” comforted Carol, as she brushed the hair out of Ally’s face.

“Thanks,” replied Ally, as she scrunched up closer to Carol. She really needed to be held. Thankfully, Carol read her mind and held her close. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Chapter Fifty-Two

    Ally was back at work the following Monday. Robert called the team together to update everyone on the status of the abducted teens.  Ally looked around the room and began to examine the charts. They listed the abducted teens, their location, and present status. Ally felt a chill seeing “DECEASED” next to some of the names. A total of five were dead. Two had been killed by their owners in a vain attempt to hide the crime. Several of the teens were recovered without arrests of the men and women who had held them captive. Ally wanted to know why and planned to ask Robert at the meeting.

    The list of arrested slave owners was impressive, a real who’s who of the rich and famous. The list included a former Senator, an award winning movie director, a retired pro football player, and a TV talk show host. The overseas list was equally impressive and included several government officials and a Catholic Cardinal.

    Only two teens were presently still with their “owners.” One was on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea and the other was in France. The one on the yacht was due to be apprehended soon. Apparently the man had been tipped off and was trying to escape the authorities. The other one was more complex. The man claimed the girl was his daughter and had refused any test of her identity. So far the French Government supported his claim.

    Ally was pleased that the teen in the Moroccan bordello was recovered, as was the teen in the Japanese club.

    “Okay, everyone, take your seats,” announced Robert.

    Ally looked around and saw Jenna, Donna, David, Steve, Rich, Maria, Michelle, Cathleen, and Bob. Just then Maggie walked in with Beth. Ally smiled, everyone was here now.

    “I have some updates for you on the last two abducted teens. The US Navy just apprehended the yacht in question. They were doing a boarding exercise with the Coast Guard, and someone told them that the yacht was a suspected drug runner. They didn’t find drugs, but they did recover the teen. The owner is also in custody and will be transported back to the US. The arrest was in international waters, so there is no extradition issue,” announced Robert.

    “Who sent them the fake drug alert?” asked Steve with a knowing smile.

    Robert shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

    “What about the teen in France?” asked Ally.

    “The French Government initially refused to apprehend the man, being he was a former high ranking minister in the government. However, the Director persuaded them to assist us,” stated Robert.     

    Steve cracked a small smile. “And how did he do that?”

    “He just told them he understood their desire to keep the issue quiet. But that the press would eventually get the story and that he was sure that it would cause quite a scandal,” replied Robert.

    “I’m sure he was the one who was going to the leak the story,” added Maggie.

    “So, did we get her back?” asked Ally.

    “Yes. She’ll be arriving at JFK in two hours. The ex-minister in question committed suicide,” added Robert.

    “What about the other slave owners that haven’t been arrested?” asked Ally.

    “We have warrants out for all of them,” replied Robert.

    “That’s it?” asked Ally angrily.

    “For now, yes. We know who they are, and we will track them. Eventually they will cross into a country that will honor the warrant. That’s all we can do for now,” stated Robert.

    Ally sat there and seethed.

    “We’re making some progress with the teens we’ve recovered. Naturally, those in captivity longer will have a longer recovery time. We’re running into a language problem with several of the teens, as they were programmed to speak other languages,” replied Jenna.

    “By the way, the funds in all of the Simon’s accounts have been recovered,” added Robert.

    “Has a decision been made concerning Celeste?” asked Ally.

    “Yes. She will be allowed to stay where she is. Nancy and I agree that would be for the best,” answered Jenna. “Her offer to assist us has been very generous. She has already hired a very well respected therapist to be on the staff.”

    Ally smiled, at least some good came out of this mess.

    “When will the reunions start?” asked Beth.

    “Those will be done on a case-by-case basis. The two boys abducted at the same time as you have already been reunited with their parents,” stated Rich. “As we have now recovered all of the teens, secrecy isn’t an issue anymore. The Simons will be arraigned this week. They face a multitude of charges. I doubt they’ll ever see the light of day again.”

    “They’ll live?” asked Ally.

    Rich shrugged. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any charges that rate the death penalty.”

    “What about the surviving Primus rep?” asked Steve. He was referring to the partially transformed man, who had once helped Marcus identify the teens.

    “Mentally, he’s a basket case. The physical changes inflicted on him by Thomas Simon apparently caused his mind to snap,” answered Rich.

    “Thank you for that caring diagnosis, Doctor,” interrupted Jenna with a smile. “He’s undergoing therapy, and if he wishes we will provide surgery to make him masculine again.”

    “Sorry, I’m not more sympathetic, but he did sell out many of the teens we’ve just recovered,” added Rich.

    “Regardless of what the Simons did to him, he’ll be charged,” stated Robert.

    “I have a question,” said Cathleen. “There’s a file on the computer titled ‘Bid list.’ Apparently the Simons increased their profits by putting each newly abducted teen up for bid to potential customers. The high bidder got the teen and could specify the training and modifications of the teen. There are names and addresses on that list of another dozen people who wanted slaves, but hadn’t won a bid yet. They technically can’t be charged, but isn’t there something we can do to prevent them from going to another provider?”

    “Good question,” said Rich. “What can we do besides get warrants to search their homes and businesses for possible criminal evidence?”

    “Excuse me,” said Beth, “don’t you have a computer list of suspected sex offenders, as well as the list of known offenders?”

    “Yes, we have a list of suspected offenders,” answered Robert. “What are you thinking of, Beth?”

    “Well, I just thought that you could put those bidders names on that list, and then tell them that you’ve done so, and that they’ll be questioned and perhaps have their places searched every time a teen goes missing. That ought to be a pretty effective deterrent.”

    Ally beamed at Beth. “That does sound good. Is it possible to do that, Robert?”

    “I think that you can consider it already done,” Robert grinned. “When can you start working full time?”

    “Ask Mom and Dad,” said Beth, “I wish I could.”

    “I think you’d better wait a few more years, and finish your education,” said Maggie.

    “May I at least offer her a summer job in my department?” asked Ally. “I know she can do the work.”

    “Oh, Mom, may I?” Beth’s eyes lit up with excitement.

    Maggie looked at Steve, who nodded. “So long as there’s no field work involved, I think that would be an excellent arrangement. Is it OK with you, Robert?”

    “Far be it from me to go counter to all these scheming women,” he grinned.

    They discussed the case for another hour.

    “I just want to say that I’m very impressed with what I saw during this operation. The cooperation between the departments represented here today should be a model for all future operations. Donna, when this meeting is finished, I need you to accompany me. The Director would like to talk to you for a few minutes,” announced Robert with a big smile on his face.

    Donna was speechless as the whole room broke out in applause. Ally was perhaps more happy than Donna. She was excited to see her top agent get the recognition she so richly deserved.

    After the meeting they stood around and talked. Ally hugged Beth.

    “You look a lot better than the last time I saw you,” stated Ally.

    “I’m doing better. So, when are we going shopping?” asked Beth.

    “Is this Saturday good?” asked Ally.

    Beth smiled and nodded yes.

    “By the way, Donna is going to join us, if you don’t mind,” stated Ally.

    “Donna too! That’s cool!” exclaimed Beth.

    “Is that okay, Maggie?” asked Ally.

    Maggie smiled and nodded. “Just don’t overdo it with the credit cards!”

    Steve was standing with Robert and Rich and he waved Ally over. “We’re wondering, do you want in on the interrogations of Margo and Thomas?”

    “Absolutely. And don’t worry, I’ll control my temper,” stated Ally, with a sly grin.

Chapter Fifty-Three

    Margo was sitting in the interrogation room with her lawyer. She was wearing a bright orange prison jumpsuit and leg restraints. Her bald head was covered by a knit watch cap, as she wasn’t allowed a wig in prison. It was seen as a security risk. Both Margo and Thomas were kept in the high security wing of the prison. They were both kept in solitary confinement, for their own safety. The news of their crimes had made the rounds, and they were not thought of very highly by the rest of the prisoners.

Ally walked in with Steve, Rich, and a federal prosecutor, named Todd Krenzel. Margo looked bored with the whole proceedings.

    “Again, I want to protest this miscarriage of justice. My client is totally innocent of the charges you have filed against her,” stated her lawyer.

    “Have you seen her video collection?” asked Todd. “Your innocent client left a videotape collection of her actions, going back three years.”

    Her lawyer began to look worried, he looked over at Margo. “They have videos?”

    “And computer files,” added Todd, with a sly smile.

    Margo yawned. “Let’s just cut through this nonsense. What am I looking at?”

    “Life, without parole,” answered Todd, not missing a beat.

    “Fine,” she replied. “I need a little vacation from men anyway.”

    “Ms. Simon, I think you should be quiet. I can beat these charges!” interrupted her lawyer.

    “Shut up. They won, I lost,” she snapped. “I’ve looked over the charges and I’ll plead guilty to all of them. I will also testify against that moronic husband of mine if you want. If he had been more alert, I never would have been caught! Still, it was fun while it lasted!”

    Ally felt her temper rising. The woman was totally unrepentant.

    “I’ll arrange the hearing,” stated Todd, not believing his luck. He knew he had a strong case, but this was too good to be true.

    “Will you also testify against those who purchased the kids you abducted?” asked Ally.

    Margo turned and glared at Ally. “Who’re you?”

    “I’m one of the agents that caught you,” replied Ally. “My department discovered your operations through the Primus site.”

    Margo examined Ally carefully. “You pass pretty good. I’m impressed. I imagine you fool most people. They wouldn’t detect that you’re a man.”

    Todd and the other lawyer turned and stared at Ally.

    If this was meant to get under Ally’s skin, it failed.

    “Is your head cold?” replied Ally with a grin.

    Margo’s hands went to her head involuntarily and she glared at Ally. “Fuck you, bitch!”

    Ally just smiled and walked out with Steve, Rich, and Todd.

    “What did she mean in there?” asked Todd.

    “I’m transsexual,” stated Ally, in a matter of fact tone.

    “Oh,” replied Todd. “Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. I’m gay!”

    They all laughed.

Thomas also pleaded guilty to the charges, after hearing of Margo’s admissions.  The cases of the ex-slave owners would be handled separately. Margo’s detailed records would be very useful in their prosecution.

Chapter Fifty-Four

    Donna, Beth, and Ally were having a great time Saturday and they ravaged the stores. They had an appointment for facials and to get their nails done after lunch. The only item that Ally had to get was a bathing suit. The weather was wonderful and it appeared that spring had arrived for good.

    “You going for a bikini or a one piece?” Donna asked Ally, as they walked down the sidewalk..

    “You should get a bikini!” interrupted Beth.

    “I’m not sure. I just need to make sure that it hides certain things,” replied Ally.

    They arrived in a shop that had a wide selection of suits. Donna and Beth picked out several suits for Ally to try on.

    “What’s hiding your maleness right now?” whispered Donna.

    “A gaff,” replied Ally.

    “What’s that?”

    “It’s like a really tight panty that keeps things hidden,” replied Ally.

    “Oh! Do you think they could sew one into a bikini bottom?” asked Donna.

    “I guess so,” stated Ally.

    “I have a friend who’s a seamstress, and she could do that for you,” replied Donna.

    “Cool, thanks,” stated Ally.

    Ally tried on one of the suits and was pleased that the gaff worked. She was less than pleased with how visible her scars were.

    She stepped out of the changing room and showed off to Beth and Donna. She had her top draped over the scars.

    “New fashion statement?” asked Donna, as she lifted the top off Ally’s shoulder. “It’s not that bad.”

    “I guess you’re right,” replied Ally as she looked at herself in the mirror.

    “You have a nice body, Ally. Don’t worry about that,” stated Donna, pointing at the scar.

    The saleswoman came over while Ally was modeling her third suit.

    “Sports injury?” she asked, as she looked at the scar.

    “No,” replied Ally. She glanced over at Donna who motioned her to tell what happened. “I’m a federal agent and I was wounded in the line of duty.”

    The woman nodded and looked very impressed. “If you need any help at all, please ask.” She then walked away.

    “See that wasn’t so bad,” whispered Beth

    Beth picked out two suits and a matching beach jacket. When she went to check out, the saleswoman who had talked to her earlier rang up the sale.

    “That will be $1.00,” she stated with a big smile.

    Ally shook her head and began to protest.

    “I thought you looked familiar. I remembered that case from the news last fall. Please, let me do this for you,” replied the woman.

    Ally reluctantly agreed and thanked the woman.

    On their way to lunch, Beth suddenly laughed. “Ally, all you need to do is to wear that bikini top and we can get a free lunch too!”

    Ally and Donna laughed.

    Right after they ordered dessert, Donna excused herself. When she returned, she was wearing a gorgeous diamond engagement ring.

    “Well?” she asked, as she held out her hand for Ally and Beth to admire.

    “Donna! When did this happen?” exclaimed Ally, as she stared at the ring.

    “Last night! Ed proposed to me after dinner!” squealed Donna.

    “It’s beautiful!” exclaimed Beth.

    They all hugged and cried.

    “How could you keep this secret all morning?” asked Beth.

    “I’m a trained agent!” laughed Donna. “It was really hard, but I wanted to wait until we were sitting down, and I wanted you two to know before anyone else!”

    “I’m so happy for you!” smiled Ally. She leaned over and hugged Donna.

    “Well, I have some more news. We’re getting married in September, and I want you, Ally, to be my maid of honor and you, Beth, to be one of my bridesmaids!”

    “Oh, my god! That’s so cool! Thank you, Donna!” exclaimed Beth.

    Ally looked shocked “You must be joking? You want me to ruin your wedding?”

    “Ally, I want you. I can’t tell you how much you have done for me. I know that you had a hand in the Director knowing about my contributions to the last case,” explained Donna.

    “I’ll do it one condition. Tell me the story behind why you call me Mom!” exclaimed Ally.

    Donna laughed. “Before you arrived, the department was the proverbial redheaded stepchild in the agency. You came in and gave us a purpose. Additionally, it was obvious that you really cared about us and were interested in seeing us excel. One day, someone called you the ‘mother duck’ and it was shortened to Mom,” explained Donna.

    Ally beamed and felt her eyes watering up. “Thanks, I think I’m going to cry!”

    The waitress walked up and interrupted. “Will you ladies be needing anything else?”

    “Yes, some champagne!” ordered Ally. She then looked at Beth. “Make that two glasses of champagne and a glass of sparkling grape juice. Sorry, Beth!”

    Beth shrugged her shoulders, she was too happy about the prospect of being in a wedding party to care.

    “What’s the occasion?” asked the waitress.

    “She’s getting married!” stated Beth loudly, pointing at Donna.

    “Congratulations! I’ll be right back with your order,” stated the waitress.

    “By the way, Ally, I’m the only daughter in a family of six brothers. My dad is going to throw a huge wedding!” informed Donna.

    “Well, I’d better do a good job on your bridal shower then!” replied Ally. This was a challenge that she hadn’t expected, but she was so excited about being picked by Donna.

    The waitress returned with the glasses and, as Ally made her toast, the rest of the restaurant broke out in applause, making Donna blush. Ally was pleased to see someone else blush for a change!

Chapter Fifty-Five

    “Come on! Trust me, you look great!” exclaimed Carol as she coaxed Ally out on the pink sands of the beach near their guest cottage in Bermuda. It was a bright sunny April day, but a bit cool as a light breeze was blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean.

    “Okay, here goes nothing!” replied Ally. She was wearing a light aqua colored bikini. She walked over to Carol, who slipped her arm around Ally’s waist.

    “Well? What do you think?” asked Carol, as they looked at the beach and the ocean.

    “It’s more beautiful than you described. The sand really is pink!” remarked Ally.

    They sat down on a blanket and watched the waves.

    “I know that it’s not really all that warm yet, but I figured that you’d prefer less of a crowd for your first time out on the beach,” explained Carol.

    There were only a few other couples on the beach and they were far more interested in each other.

    “It’s perfect!” remarked Ally.

    “I knew you’d love it,” added Carol.

    “I love that you brought me here.”

    Carol smiled and looked Ally over. She was really developing into a beautiful young woman. She was such a far cry from the young man she had first met in California a year ago. Ally was becoming confident and comfortable as a woman. Still, she had a very vulnerable side and Carol loved that.

    “You want to rent a couple of those scooters and drive across the island tomorrow?” asked Carol.

    “That sounds like fun. You’ve got to love a place that doesn’t have rental cars,” smiled Ally, who was now lying down on her back with her eyes closed, soaking in the sun.

    Carol was also pleased that Ally was slowly becoming less conscious of her scar. It ran along edge of the material of her bikini top. The physical side of the scar was fading, and with it, Carol hoped the mental side was likewise diminishing too. She smiled at the fact that Ally hadn’t had any nightmares since the raid on the farm in Maryland. Things were definitely looking up.

    “I told Donna I’d scout this place out as a potential honeymoon spot. So far it seems like a great place,” remarked a very relaxed Ally. “The sound of the waves is very soothing!”

    “I can’t wait to see you in a bridesmaid’s dress!” quipped Carol.

    “I’m really looking forward to it,” replied Ally. “By the way, Donna promised that we wouldn’t have dorky dresses!”

    “Either way, I am just happy that you’re so accepted at work!”

    “I owe it all to you,” answered Ally, who looked up and smiled. “I love you, Carol.”

    They spent the afternoon on the beach, and as they walked back to their cottage they were met by the resort’s Concièrge. He was a distinguished looking light skinned black man.

    “Excuse me, ladies, I have something to give you,” he stated in a pleasant voice.  He handed Carol an envelope.

    Carol took it and opened it up, “Well, it seems that someone is buying us dinner tonight. We have reservations at the Waterlot Inn, at 7:30.”

    “Who is it from?” asked Ally.

    “All it says is ‘a friend’.”

    “Ladies, your cab will be here at 7:00. The Waterlot is one of the finest restaurants in Bermuda. You will have a lovely evening,” informed the Concièrge

    “Well, if it’s one of the finest restaurants, then we’d better look our best!” quipped Ally.

    The mystery behind the dinner bugged both of them the rest of the afternoon, and continued until they arrived at the restaurant. They were both wearing their best dresses. Carol loved seeing Ally dressed up. They were both wearing black, and Ally stated that they looked “stunning!”

    The Concièrge wasn’t exaggerating about the Waterlot Inn, it, was a lovely restaurant. The building was over three hundred years old! The Maitre D’ treated them as if they were royalty. Ally got a kick out of the rest of the guests staring at them, trying to figure out who they were and why they were getting the royal treatment.

    Right before their main entrées arrived, a bottle of wine was presented to them. Ally recognized the vintage and her eyes opened up wide.

    “There must be some mistake,” Ally said to the wine steward.

    The Maitre D’ glided up and smiled, “Is there a problem with the wine selection?”

    “The wine selection is magnificent, it’s just that it’s very expensive. I don’t know who our benefactor is, but I doubt they wanted to spend a fortune on us,” explained Ally politely.

    “Ahhh, I forgot to give you this. Maybe it will put your minds at ease,” replied the Maitre D’, handing Ally another envelope.

    Ally opened up the envelope and read the note. A big smile broke out on her face as she read the note out-loud to Carol.

    Dearest Ally,
           I just wanted to thank you for the way you handled my ‘delicate’ situation. Enjoy the dinner. I heard from a friend of yours that you enjoy a good bottle of wine. I hope that you and your friend enjoy my selection; it was one of Sherman’s favorites.
                                  Your Friend,
                                       Celeste

    Ally felt her eyes tearing up as she turned to the Maitre D’. “The wine is perfect. Thank you.”

    “What a lovely gesture,” replied Carol.

    As expected, the wine was magnificent and Ally savored every sip. It was perfect, just like the entire evening.

    “This is all like a wonderful dream,” smiled Ally.

    Carol reached over and took Ally’s hands in hers. “It’s not a dream.”

    Ally smiled.

    Carol then reached into her bag and took out two small boxes. “I wanted to give you this as a symbol of my love for you.” She then handed Ally one of the boxes.

    Ally opened it up and found a simple diamond ring.

    “I have its partner,” stated Carol as she placed a matching ring on her own finger. “I know that our present situation is rather complicated in the eyes of the law, but I want you to know that I want you in my life forever.”

    Ally was now trembling and struggling to put the ring on her finger. Carol reached over and took the ring and slipped it on Ally’s finger.

    “There. What do you think?” asked Carol.

    Ally could only nod and beam her happiness as she was so overwhelmed by emotions. Her eyes were welling up with tears.

    “I think we should go back to our cottage now,” stated Carol and she led Ally out of the restaurant to a waiting cab.

    “This is better than a dream,” stated Ally as they rode back to their cottage. “Thank you, I couldn’t be happier.”

    Carol leaned over and kissed her lover.

Epilog

    Jenna sat at her desk reviewing the progress of the ex-captives. Four of the feminized boys wanted to stay as girls. They had been sent to live with Celeste. Their therapists stated that all four were making great progress.

    Not all were doing well. One slave, who only answered to the name Bébé, resisted all treatment. She was content to be a maid. Jenna doubted that the teen would ever return to being a normal boy. Jenna had to admit that Margo’s techniques of mind control were extremely effective, even if morally corrupt. She had conducted several interviews with Margo in an attempt to get help in deprogramming the ex-slaves. Margo offered no help and seemed to be happy that some of the teens were resisting treatment. Jenna hoped there was a special place in hell for people like Margo.

    The girls seemed to be more resilient than the boys. Even those girls with modified bodies seemed to recover quickly. Several top plastic surgeons were brought in to correct some of the changes inflicted on the captives by Thomas Simon.

    Reintroduction to their families was also a challenge. Some teens were readily accepted back into their families, others were rejected by their families, and some had no desire to return to their original lives. The teens who had been treated as actual slaves seemed the least likely to reunite with their birth families.

Jenna cursed the Simons and their customers for the damage they had done. At least their money was doing some good. Funds were provided to all the teens, to aid their recovery, and in some cases, provide a new life. Part of their rehab was to restart their educations. Jenna hoped that most would go on to higher education. They needed goals in their lives.

    The hardest part of Jenna’s job was selecting someone to oversee the rehab of the teens. She wanted the job for herself, but knew that she was needed in the agency. Her recommendation to the Director was to appoint Dr. Nancy Chen as the lead therapist.

    Beth went back to school. She began to date again. Maybe it was for the best, she thought. She was presently seeing a nice boy named Kevin. He was the editor of the school paper and she found that she really liked him. He was a bit taller than her, wore glasses and made her laugh. She found herself concerned over when he would invite her to the prom and not fighting crime. Ally was right; she should enjoy her second chance. Still, she couldn’t wait until summer and her job working for Ally!

    Donna was officially promoted to second in charge of the department. While it was merely a formality, Ally was pleased that the Director had rewarded her protégé.    

    Over in her office, Ally was catching up on her paperwork. Actually, there wasn’t that much to do, as Donna had done an excellent job in her place. Every time she thought about Donna’s wedding in September she broke out in a smile. The wedding would be just a month prior to her SRS.

Ally was about to make her rounds when a gift box was delivered to her office. The gift card was from Tom and Madison and the rest of the Spec-Ops team. She opened it up and found a dark blue ball cap with SPEC-OPS embroidered on it in yellow letters. On the back was her name. It was a great honor and the hat would have a treasured spot in her office.

    The other gift caused Ally to break out laughing. She reached into the box and pulled out two round objects, mounted on a wooden plaque. The engraved plate read;

    She couldn’t wait to have it hung on her office wall.

The End