Extracted - Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 2 of 2

 

When the Marsh family arrived at their holding room, Doctor Montcliff was already inside, waiting for them.  Montcliff introduced herself to the family since she hadn’t met any of them yet, then she took just Stephen out of the room with her.  She hadn’t yet had a chance to sit down and meet Stephen Marsh, the mental Nancy Stiller, so she was taking this very brief chance now.

She led Stephen from the holding room into another room where they could talk privately.  As she walked the short distance with him, she sized the boy up.  He was certainly big, just like she had been told.  Even under the nice suit he was wearing, his muscles were very evident.  She had no doubt that he would drive all the girls crazy…if he wasn’t a little girl in his head.

“Hi Stephen,” she said as they finally had a chance to sit together.  “I’m Doctor Montcliff.”

“That’s what you said in the other room when you came and got me,” Stephen replied.

“Yes I did,” Montcliff replied.  “Stephen, I want you to know something right up front.  And this is something I told Nancy in one of the sessions I had with her as well.”

“What?”

“Whenever I talk to you, or about you, I’m going to call you Stephen, even though I have no doubt that you still think of yourself as Nancy.”

“I do!  I am Nancy.”

“Yes.  I know you probably think that way.  But I’m going to call you Stephen.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone who sees you is only going to see Stephen.  They’re not going to have a clue about Nancy.  So to avoid confusion, I’m going to call you Stephen, and I’m going to call…the other you out there, Nancy.  And I hate to say it, but you’re going to have to get used to being called that by everyone.  More importantly, you’re going to have to start thinking of yourself that way too.  You’ve got a boy’s body now, so to the world, you’re Stephen.”

“What if I don’t want to be?”

“I don’t think you’re going to have a choice.”

Stephen groaned.  “There’s too many things I don’t seem to have a choice about lately.”

“I’m sure there must be,” Montcliff agreed.

“Then what now?” Stephen asked.

“Now?  I just wanted a chance to meet and talk with you first.  I’ve already met Nancy, your…opposite.”

“The other me,” Stephen replied.

“That’s right.   Now it’s your turn.”

“Okay, so what are we supposed to do?”

“Nothing  Just sit here and talk for a few minutes.”

“Just talk.”

“That’s all.”

“About what?”

“What kinds of things are worrying you now.”

Stephen shook his head.  “Aren’t you going to ask me any questions about what I remember about being Stephen, or what I felt in the hospital?”

“Let me guess,” Montcliff said.  “In the hospital your head kept spinning and your confusion kept getting worse, and you’re still confused now about practically everything, and you don’t have a clue what to do about it.  And as to being Stephen, you don’t remember anything at all.”

“Yeah!  Exactly!”

“Then why should I bother asking you about those things?  I already know that much.”

Stephen had to take that in for a minute.  “Are you being tricky or something?”

“Why?  Because I can guess at how crazy this new life seems to be for you?”

“Yeah.”

Montcliff chuckled a bit.  “It’s my job.  So tell me, what’s your biggest problem with this new life?”

“The biggest one?”

“Yeah.  Tell me about it.”

“I’m bored!”

Montcliff considered that for a moment then asked, “In what way?”

“What the heck am I supposed to do with myself?”

“What do you mean?”

“The old Stephen was crazy into sports and stuff.  I’m not.  I like dancing, but he didn’t.  And really I love ballet.  I’ve been taking it since I was six.”

“Six!  And you’re still at it.  You must love it.”

“I do.  But now I can’t do that at all.  And I hate that!”

“I’m sure you do.”

“But I don’t really like sports.  Especially football, and that’s what…the other Stephen seems to like the most.  There’s literally nothing for me to do that I’m interested in.”

Montcliff nodded.  “Maybe it’s time to look around and develop some new interests.  There’s nothing wrong with doing that.  And I have no doubt that there’s a lot of things out there that can be interesting to both boys and girls alike.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.  That needs to be up to you.”

“Boys can dance ballet.”

“Yes, but not like a girl can.  And Stephen, I hate to say this, but take a good look at that body you’ve got now.  It’s not exactly ballet material.  It’s more like a bulldozer.”

“Yeah.  Ugly!”

“Ugly?  Is that how you see yourself.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe I would.  In fact, thinking about it, in your shoes, I definitely would.”

“See.”

“Okay.  The point is though that maybe ballet should be out.  But there’s other kinds of dancing.  And dancing is just one thing.  Find yourself something that interests you.”

“Maybe,” Stephen replied.

“Just look around.  Think about it,” Montcliff suggested.

Stephen’s only reply was to shrug.

“And you may think your body is ugly,” Montcliff said, “but the truth is, you’ve got a beautiful body.  Really…nice.”

“Not like my old body.  It’s not nice the way I want it to be.”

“You were a girl before and you’re still a girl inside.”

“Of course I am, and that’s not changing!”

“I didn’t say anything about worrying about changing yet.”

Stephen shook his head.  “You want to know something weird about this body though?”

“What?”

“I can’t get used to how big I am.  It’s crazy.  It’s like I’ve got…miles of body all around me.  Do you know I can reach absolutely everything in the kitchen?  Everything!  My…new mom back there can’t even do that.”

Montcliff chuckled a bit.  You’re bigger than she is.

“But I’m not supposed to be!”

Montcliff sighed.  “No.  You’re supposed to still be Nancy.  The problem is, that you’re not.”

“Just tell me what we have to do to fix it so I can be me again.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a clue.  I really don’t know.  But I can tell you, it’s the foremost thing on my mind.”

“Just find out.  Fast!”

“I’m trying,” Montcliff told him.  “Stephen, we can’t take much time right now, but how would you like a chance to get together with Emily again for a little while?”

“Emily!”  Stephen’s eyes lit up.  “Yes!  Please!  I miss her.  I think I miss Emily more than anything!”

“Easy Stephen.  Relax,” Montcliff told him as she stood up.  “I’ll have Emily brought in to you in a few minutes.  Thanks for this little talk.  I’ll see you in a little while.”

With that she walked out.  It was time for the next round of meetings.  Three at once.  She knocked on the door to the holding room where the Marsh family was waiting.  Detective Nolan answered the door.  “It’s time,” she told him.

“Finally,” Nolan replied before closing the door again.

Montcliff continued on to another room where she opened the door and walked in.  The Stiller family was waiting anxiously.  “Okay,” she told them.  “Mrs. Stiller, if you’ll go with Agent Rosenberg there, she’ll introduce you to Mrs. Marsh.  Mr. Stiller, if you’ll wait right here, Mr. Marsh should be with you momentarily.”  She looked to Emily.  “And Emily, if you’ll come with me there’s someone else I’d like you to meet.”

“Henry Marsh will be here?” Mike Stiller asked for confirmation.

“Yes.  Just give him a moment,” Montcliff confirmed.  As she saw Mrs. Stiller getting ready to leave with Agent Rosenberg she turned to Emily.  “Emily.  Ready?”

“I guess,” Emily replied.  “Who am I supposed to talk to?”

Montcliff ignored her question and led her down the hallway to the door where she had just left Stephen.  “Right in there,” she told Emily.

Emily wasn’t sure what was going on.  Who was she meeting?

She opened the door and saw a large boy inside.  Only then did it dawn on her who that boy had to be.  Her eyes went wide.  “Nancy?  Is that you?”

Stephen saw who it was and immediately stood up.  “Emily!  Emily, it’s me.  Yes, it’s really me, Nancy!  Oh wow I’ve missed you.  I’ve missed you like you wouldn’t believe.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Emily told him as she moved closer.  She couldn’t stop looking at the big hulking body that claimed to be her little sister.  “Damn.  When I first looked at you I was hoping it wasn’t you.”

“Me too.  I don’t want to be stuck like this.  I want to be me again.”

“No, not because of that,” Emily told him.  “Nancy, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“More than a few times,” Nancy replied disgustedly.

“Nance, I’d give my right arm to just have a date with you!”

“A date?  But Emily!  You’ve got the hots for Jacob, remember?”

“What Jacob doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Emily replied.

Nancy giggled, despite the body she was in.

It was only then that something hit Emily.  The only person in the world that knew she liked Jacob was her sister, Nancy.  In amazement she said, “You really are my sister in there.  It’s so hard to believe.”

“Yeah.  For me too.”

The two of them hugged each other for dear life.  Both of them started crying.

“Shit!” Emily finally said, pulling away from him a bit.  “Man do you have muscles.”

“Tell me about it,” Stephen said.  “I hate it.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Em, I don’t want muscles like this.  It’s awful!”

“Maybe for you, but…damn you’re hot!”

“Em!  Please!”

Emily laughed and hugged Stephen again.  “So how are you?” she asked as the two of them sat down together.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Agatha and Wanda actually met each other in the hallway, just outside of the room where they were supposed to meet.

“Wanda?” Agatha asked.

“You must be Agatha,” Wanda replied.  She quickly moved in for a hug.  “Sorry,” she whispered.  “After talking to you on the phone, I feel like I know you already.”

“Me too,” Agatha replied.

Agent Rosenberg held the door open for them.  “Ladies?  Why don’t you get comfortable.  There’s coffee available inside.  As soon as the two women were in the room, she left and closed the door.

Inside, Wanda picked up a coffee cup.  “Coffee?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” Agatha replied.

Wanda filled the cup from the coffee urn and handed it off.  Then she got herself a cup.  The two women sat together.

“I’m glad they finally gave us a chance to meet,” Agatha told her.

“Me too,” Wanda agreed.  “How the heck did we wind up in this situation?”

“Heaven only knows.  But you’ve got to admit, we seem to be stuck in the strangest position on earth.”

“Maybe in the history of the earth,” Agatha agreed.

“How are you managing having to deal with a son who’s in reality, my little daughter?” Wanda asked.

“I won’t lie to you, it’s difficult.  I literally yearn for my Stephen…all of him.  But overall, at least your Nancy seems to be not only bright, but a whole lot cleaner and easier to deal with than my Stephen.  Compliments to you for raising such a good girl.”

“Thanks,” Wanda replied.  “I certainly know what you mean about yearning for your real child.  I do the same for Nancy.  But I have to say, Stephen has been interesting.  Very different, but interesting.  I had to sit down and explain bras to him recently, along with having the period talk.  He didn’t exactly take that too well.”

Agatha laughed.  “No.  I imagine he wouldn’t.  At least that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about on my end."

"No.  Still, at least I’ve got Emily to help me.  Although for some reason, Emily has been avoiding Nancy like the plague.  That’s one of the most disappointing things about this situation so far.”

“I’ve only got the one child, Stephen, so I don’t have that problem.  But at the same time, I have no other kids to hang onto.  It’s like…my Stephen is dead, even though technically he’s still there.”

Wanda grabbed Agatha’s hand.  “I’m so sorry.  I can’t imagine.”

Agatha nodded.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Doctor Montcliff watched the video monitor carefully.  Henry Marsh had just entered the room with Mike Stiller.  This was one of the meetings she was the most worried about.  Two dominant males together.  She was surprised however by how easy the two men seemed to be with each other, right from the start.

“Henry?” Mike Stiller said as he entered the room.

“Mike?” Henry Marsh returned.  “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“If I recall, this was supposed to happen over a good bottle of Scotch.”

“True.  I found the bar earlier.  Maybe we can find it together later.”

“That’s a plan,” Mike agreed.

“So I guess we’re supposed to be talking about…something or other,” Stiller noted.  “And something tells me you don’t want to discuss politics right now.”

Henry laughed.  “Not really.  Although another time it might be interesting.  We both have to worry about keeping our jobs.  And that means being elected for us both.”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed.  “We’ve got a few things in common.”

“Speaking of things in common,” Henry said.  “I guess there’s still the big elephant in the room.”

“The kids.”

“That would be it,” Henry agreed.

“Yeah.  It’s my…our…biggest concern.  I’ve got to be honest.  My job is immensely important, and I can barely think about it right now.  Knowing that my daughter has been…ripped apart and done…who knows what with.  It just makes me so angry!” he suddenly roared.

“I know what you mean,” Henry told him, his voice growing in intensity too.  “I look over there and see my son, but it’s not my son.  My son is somewhere else instead.  In one way, it’s like there’s two of him, but the reality is that it’s more like…”  He looked straight at Mike.  “They murdered him.  Murdered my son.  And I’m the D.A..  It’s my job to put people who do things like that away.  Permanently!”

“And that’s just what I want done with whoever did it,” Mike agreed.

To Montcliff, secretly watching from another room, for a moment there she had started to get worried.  It had been like two bull moose going at each other…except they weren’t.  She was glad to see the tempers of both men settling down a bit.  Hopefully, they would stay that way.  At least their tempers hadn’t been aimed at each other.

In the room, the two men looked at each other for a moment.  “Damn,” Henry said.  “Some Scotch right now would be really good.”

“We’ll complain to the management as soon as we get out of here.”

Henry chuckled.  “What do we do about the kids?”

“You’ve got me, and I’m supposed to be the guy everyone counts on for answers.”

“Something tells me I’d hate your job.”

“In some ways, I happen to know yours is worse than mine.”

“Sometimes it seems that way,” Henry agreed.  “Damn, I miss my son though.  Yes, his physical body is living in my house, but he’s not there.  He’s just…gone.  Would you believe that since this happened, I miss football more than ever?”

“Oh, I believe it.  You want to hear the really funny part?  I miss all the ballet music.  Nancy loved her ballet.  She was good at it too.  And ballet music seemed to be always echoing through the entire house.”

“Hm!” Henry grunted.  “You mentioning that just stuck a picture in my mind of something I don’t think I’d ever want to see.”

“What’s that?”

“My son, as big as he is, dancing ballet.”

Mike laughed.  “How much you want to bet our wives would love it.”

“No bet!  I have no doubt they would.”

Their discussion was interrupted by the door opening.  Doctor Montcliff entered with both of their wives.

“Speak of the devil,” Henry noted.  “We were just talking about you two,” he said as he went over and kissed his wife.

Wanda went to her husband and gave him a light hug.  “What were you saying about us?” she asked.

“You probably don’t want to know,” Mike told her.  “But it mentioned Stephen and ballet in the same sentence.”

“Oh lord!” Agatha replied with a roll of her eyes.

Doctor Montcliff took that opportunity to move closer.  “I need to know how all of you want to proceed with our next meeting.”

“Another one?” Wanda asked.

“One of the more important meetings Montcliff told her.  How do you want to go about getting together with your…mental children?”

“Finally!” Mike Stiller exclaimed.  “What do you mean by how we want to do it?”

“Would you Mr. Stiller and Mrs. Stiller, rather see Stephen separately, alone, or would you rather be together to…meet him.”

Mike and Wanda looked at each other.  “Together!” Wanda decided.

“And how about you Mr. and Mrs. Marsh?  How do you want to meet Nancy?” Montcliff asked.

“Together!” Henry declared.

“Yes,” Agatha agreed.

“But…” Wanda said.  “Emily is dying to meet this Stephen.  She should be here too.”

“Emily has been with Stephen since before you all met.  The two of them seem to be getting along amazingly well.  Not only is Stephen ecstatic over seeing his sister, but I almost get the impression that Emily is developing a bit of a crush on him.”  She noticed a few bulging eyeballs at that one.

“Uh…that could be awkward,” Agatha noted.

Montcliff nodded, then said, “Come on.  Mr. and Mrs. Stiller, I’ll take you to Stephen.  Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, Agent Rosenberg will escort you to Nancy.”

The four parents looked to each other as if for courage, then they all turned and trooped out of the room.  Rosenberg led the Marshes one direction, while Montcliff took the Stillers in the opposite direction.

Extracted - Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 15 – Have You Met Yourself – Part 1 of 2

 

“No!” Nancy protested.  “I’m not wearing a dress!”

“Yes you are young lady.  You’ll wear it and like it!”

“Why?”

“Because we’re meeting your other mother today and I won’t have her think that I don’t care about how you look!”

“My mother is used to seeing me all dirty and sweaty.  That’s how she usually sees me.”

“Not anymore.  Especially not in that body.  I won’t have it.  Now what earrings do you want to wear with it?”

“Earrings?  You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Earrings!  You should have been wearing them every day.  I’ve just been slack about making you.  Now it’s time you started getting used to them.  Not to mention a million other things.  Now put that dress on and let’s get you ready.  And no more complaining.  Get used to it!  And we’ve still got to do your hair.”

Half an hour later, Nancy sat on her bed and glanced at the clock.  It was only eight thirty, but the entire family had already had breakfast, gotten packed, and her dumb new mother had literally attacked every inch of her with a different hairdo including a big hairclip, earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, sandals on her feet, and of course, a dress!  She felt completely humiliated.

Emily leaned into her room from the hallway.  “All ready?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Nancy replied sullenly.  “I still don’t see why I have to wear…all this.”

Emily laughed.  “You look nice…finally!  You…I mean the old you, loved getting dressed.”

“I’m not the old me.”

Emily shook her head.  “Unfortunately.  By the way, did you pack your pads?”

“My pads?”

“In case your period starts.”

“I’m not bleeding!”

“Not right now maybe, but what if it starts while you’re on this trip?  Nancy, you better start getting used to these little things immediately.  From now on you never go anywhere without some kind of protection for things like that.”

“Never?”

“No. You never leave the house without them.  I’m sure Mom told you that.  Now make sure you’ve got some in your bag.”

“My bag?  Mom already packed it full of stuff.  Too much stuff.”

“No dummy.  Your purse.”

“Mom didn’t say I had to have one.”

“Nancy, your bag goes without saying.  Now check it to make sure your pads are there.”

Nancy got up from her bed and opened her closet.  There were two different hooks that had a lot of “bags” hung on them.  “Which one?”

“Whatever one you want.”

“I don’t want any of them.”

“Tough!  Choose.  Quickly.  Before we leave.”

Nancy grabbed the one that was on top of one of the hooks.  It felt heavy.  She opened it and saw it jumbled with all kinds of stuff.  “What’s in here?”

“I don’t know.  It’s your purse.  Just make sure your pads are there.  Oh, and maybe your wallet would be a good idea too.  Is your cellphone in there?”

“My cellphone is in my dresser.”

“Are you bringing it?”

“What for?”

“Up to you kid,” Emily said.  “Better get with it.”

Emily was about to leave when Nancy quickly called, “Emily!”

“Yeah?”

“Did Nancy have a favorite stuffed animal or something?”

“Why?”

“I just thought that, if I get to see her, she might like to have it again.”

Emily stared at Nancy for a few moments, then said.  “Yeah.  She did.”  She went over to the shelf and selected a stuffed dog and handed it to this new Nancy.  “She called her Miss Barkey.”

“Thanks,” Nancy told her.  “I just thought it might be nice.”

“Yeah.  It would.”  She suddenly reached down and hugged Nancy.  “Thanks,” she said softly.

Nancy watched as Emily left and went back to her room.  She glanced over at her suitcase that her “mother” had packed for her.  It was full of more clothes like she was already wearing.  Girly stuff.  She wasn’t girly.  Even if she looked like a girl.

A car was supposed to pick them up at nine and take them to someplace that nobody knew about.  So far, she had already been transported to crazy-land today.  She looked down at the stuffed dog in her hand.  Something just told her that even as a boy now, the real Nancy would appreciate having it.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

“Dad,” Stephen said as he stood in the doorway to his new parent’s room.

“Yeah Stephen?”

“Can you help me with something?”

“Sure, what?”

“Steve!” his mother said, looking at him.  “That suit looks very nice on you.”

“Thanks.  But now I need help tying this tie.”

“What do you need a tie for right now?” Agatha asked.  “We’re just riding in the car.  You really don’t need to be wearing a suit right now either.  Your father isn’t.”

“I just wanted to…look nice,” Stephen replied.

“For your mother?”

“Yeah.  Maybe.  I don’t know.  Besides, I never get a chance to wear interesting clothes, and this is the first real chance I’ve had.”  It was all true.  Including wanting to look nice for his mother.

“Maybe leave the tie off for now and just leave the top button on your shirt unbuttoned,” Agatha suggested.  “If you want, you can wear the tie later.  Your father will help you with it then.”

Stephen nodded.  “Okay.  Thanks.”

“Are you all packed?” Agatha asked.

“You packed for me last night,” Stephen reminded her.

“Okay.  Just checking.”

“Do you really think I’ll need that bathing suit?” Stephen asked.

“They said it would be someplace nice, like a vacation.  I would think there’s a good chance that wherever it is could have some kind of pool.  You said you love swimming.”

“Yeah.  But not in this body.  I’ll be…pretty much naked.  At least on top.”

“Darling, naked on top is perfectly fine for a boy.  You know that I’m sure.  And Stephen, trust me, even fully naked that body of yours is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t the body I want to show off.”

Agatha stopped getting ready and stared at him for a moment.  No, I guess it wouldn’t be.  But don’t sell yourself short.  Did you grab your wallet?”

“It’s on my dresser.  But without a purse, where am I supposed to put it?”

Henry was startled by the question.  “In your pocket of course.  And keep it there!”

“What for?”

“I’ll give you some money in case they have things you can buy when we get there.  A wallet is a good place to keep it.”

“I know that.  It’s just…”  He sighed.  “Everything is all different!  I can’t get used to any of it!”

Agatha went over and hugged her son, who was in reality a little girl inside.  “I know dear.  But now it’s time to be brave and push your boundaries a bit.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend to be big.  And a boy.  Get used to it.”

Stephen rolled his eyes and walked out.  He didn’t want to be a boy.  He wanted to be Nancy again.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

The Stiller family arrived first, taking up three rooms in the east building of the resort.  There were agents staying in all the rooms around them for their protection, even though they would hopefully never know it.

The Marsh family arrived thirty minutes later, and were driven directly to the west building on the opposite side of the resort.  This was now one of the times that the agents were the most concerned with, because both families were given time to freshen up and wander around a bit before they needed to be back in their rooms to be escorted to the proceedings.  Both Rosenberg and Doctor Montcliff considered it amazing that neither family noticed the other in the small amount of wandering around that they did.

Neither family had much time to explore though since they were both warned to be ready soon.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Detective Nolan knocked on the door to Henry and Agatha Marsh’s room.  The door was opened promptly.  “Are you ready?” he asked.

“All set,” Henry told him.  “Let’s get these questions out of the way.”

“Um…about that,” Nolan said.  “It seems our team of government experts decided to spend the day researching things at the two hospitals instead.  So they’ve asked us to put your interviews off until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!  But we’re here now.  Today!”

“Yeah.  Sorry about that.  In the meantime, we thought we’d give the two families a chance to meet each other.”

“Oh good,” Agatha said quickly.  “And how about our Stephen?”

“That too of course,” Nolan confirmed.  “But I need to warn you, we’re a bit worried about how these meetings between you might go, so we’ve arranged to kind of introduce you all slowly.”

“What’s that mean?” Henry asked.

“A few at a time.  Especially between Stephen and Nancy.”

Henry shook his head.  “Whatever.  I just want to meet this Nancy and see if it really is my son inside her.”

“And I’m sure the congressman wants to do the same with Stephen,” Nolan countered.

Henry stared at him for a moment, then nodded.  “I’m sure he does.  Let’s get on with it then.”

“We just need Stephen now,” Nolan replied.

Henry pointed at the door next to his.  “Right there.”

A minute later, Nolan led them all to a temporary holding room.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Agent Rosenberg went to get the Stiller family to bring them to the arranged meetings.  She had to apologize to them however, because it seemed that the government team that was supposed to question them had decided to visit the medical personnel at the two hospitals first to get their take on what had happened.  While they were in Philadelphia, they also planned on meeting with Doctor Faucet, Stephen’s psychiatrist that the family had dropped.  The congressman was angry at being put off, but at least he and his family could finally see Stephen and get a chance to see for themselves if he was really their Nancy inside.

Once they understood what was going on, Rosenberg led them all to a holding room and asked them to please be patient as some of the Marsh family were already involved in things.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Extracted - Chapter 14 – Like Sheep to the Slaughter

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 14 – Like Sheep to the Slaughter

 

The Deputy Director of the FBI looked around the table.  He and a number of other people had flown into New York earlier that morning, just to handle this problem.  “How soon can we get these assessments underway?” he asked.

“I would think, fairly quickly,” Rosenberg’s boss replied.

“Sir!” Agent Rosenberg said.  “It might be easier to get them all together in one place to do it.  That would save a lot of time.  We already know we’re going to need to do that anyway, why not now?”

“Okay,” the Deputy Director agreed.  “Whatever can get it done the fastest.  This is national security we’re talking about.  We can’t mess around.  Can we bring them all here?”

“We probably could,” Rosenberg’s boss told him, but for security purposes, it might be better to do it somewhere else.  We don’t need to have a congressman bringing his entire family here to Twenty-Six Fed.  Add one of the more important district attorney’s in the country into the mix, and that could bring up a lot of questions.”

The Deputy Director nodded.  “I agree.  Good thinking.  Where do you suggest?”

“I don’t know yet,” Rosenberg’s boss admitted.  “Maybe someplace midway between here and there.”

“I suggest somewhere in the mountains,” Rosenberg threw out.  “Less news people and it’ll be easier to hide who’s there.  And if he’s seen, who would question the congressman taking a few days off for a break in the mountains?”

“Do you know a place?” the Deputy Director asked.

“We can have our people find one pretty quickly,” Rosenberg suggested.

“Okay.  But make it fast.  And maybe see if you can book as much of the hotel as possible.  Keep as many people away from this thing as we can.”

“More than likely,” Rosenberg told him, “most people wouldn’t recognize Congressman Stiller by sight anyway.  And even fewer would recognize Marsh.”

The Deputy Director shook his head.  “Stiller’s been in the news too much over the last few years.  He’ll be recognized.  I like the out of the way place idea.  Someplace secluded.  And we’re talking about a congressman and a major D.A..  It’s going to need to be someplace nice, worthy of their status.  Find somewhere fast, and make it happen.  And make sure you keep me informed.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Doctor Isabella Montcliff wasn’t exactly upset, but she wasn’t happy either.  Agent Rosenberg had just left her office, but she had left behind nothing but problems.  At least she had confirmed that Stephen Marsh actually did have the identity of Nancy Marsh living inside of him.  That was something that she had feared.  Now that she had confirmation that she had been correct, all her worst predictions seemed to be coming true.

And now the damn government was demanding that she clear her busy schedule for the next few days to attend some kind of meeting in the Catskills, and the only reason they wanted her there was so that the government knuckleheads could question her at length about the entire situation.  Except that Agent Rosenberg had requested that she drive to wherever it was with her early tomorrow morning so she could be there to help assess the place.  Whatever that was supposed to mean.  At least she was told she might get a chance to actually meet Stephen and talk to him one on one for a few minutes.

Rosenberg had also hinted that there was also a chance that she might have some insight into how they should handle both families meeting each other for the first time.  Although the agent had mentioned something about a one-minute phone call.  Why just one minute?  She couldn’t fathom that.

As much as she was anxious to meet and talk with everyone involved, especially the two kids, she was aware that this little meeting could be nothing but a big headache, especially if she had to talk with some government types who thought they knew everything, even though she was sure they didn’t.

A meeting between the families.  What problems might that bring up?  In truth, it wasn’t the families that worried her, it was the kids.  Stephen was supposed to be a big kid.  A senior in high school and a football player.  She had no doubt he was probably fairly strong.  If Nancy inside that big strong body saw her real body and got angry over the issue, what could happen to the real Stephen inside little Nancy’s body?  That could be a catastrophe waiting to happen.  Not only that, but the little girl currently inhabiting Stephen’s body was only twelve.  Plenty young enough to be unable to control her emotions and strike out, causing some major injuries.

And then there were the fathers.  Two men who held important positions.  It would be like pitting one alpha male against the other.  She needed to watch out for that as well.

She shook her head.  What were these government knuckleheads doing, trying to put these people together so soon?  It was all nothing but a disaster waiting to happen.

And if she was in the middle of it all, she herself could get hurt!

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

“When?” Michael Stiller exclaimed in disbelief.  “You want us to be there the day after tomorrow?  So soon?  I was supposed to go to Washington.”

“Sorry,” the Deputy Director of the FBI told him personally.  “We’ve got to get this done immediately.”

“Yeah,” Stiller agreed.  “As much as I hate to say it, this is too important, and not just because they’re our kids.  Where are we going?”

“I’m sorry.  I know you’re a congressman, but for security reasons I can’t say.  We’ll provide a driver and a car for you though, so you don’t have to worry.  All I can tell you about the place is that it’s someplace secluded, and I’m told quite nice.  It should be like a little vacation for you and your family.”

Congressman Stiller had no doubt that even though he was a congressman, he wasn’t going to have a choice in this.  “What time do we need to be ready?”

“I’m afraid that early would be best,” the Deputy Director told him.  “You, your wife, and your two daughters.  All of you.”

“Yeah.  Of course.  We’ll be ready.”

“Thank you congressman.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

“Who’s calling?” Henry Marsh asked his secretary who had run into his office interrupting things.

“The Deputy Director of the FBI himself!”

That information sent Marsh’s head spinning, even though he had a pretty good idea as to why he might be calling.  He looked at everyone in his office.  “Out!  All of you.  Out, now!  If this guy is calling me here, then it must be something important.  He picked up the phone and said, “Deputy Director?  Hold a second until my people can get out of here.”  A moment later, he said.  “Okay, I’m alone.  What can I do for you?”

“You can get you, your wife, and of course your son Stephen ready to travel someplace the day after tomorrow.  A car will be sent to pick you all up fairly early in the morning and take you there.”

“A car.  I’ve got my own car.  Why can’t I drive myself?”

“Not this time.  This time the FBI will be transporting you all.”

“My son was abducted.  How do I know this isn’t another attempt at something like that?”

“I assure you, it isn’t.  Your driver will have FBI credentials, as will all the agents who will be with you.”

“All the agents?”

“Yes.  A protection detail for you and your family.”

“And why are we going?”

“To give testimony.  All of you.  I’ve been told you should already have a pretty good idea as to why.”

“Yeah.  I’ve got an inkling.”  Another thought hit him.  “How about being able to see my real son?”

“That much I can assure you will happen,” the Deputy Director told him.

“In that case, we’ll be ready.”

“Good.  Since you’re concerned, would it help if I had Special Agent Rosenberg confirm all of this with you?”

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Marsh agreed.

“I’ll ask her to call you personally.”

“Good.  Um…where exactly are we going?”

“I can’t say.  I’m told it’s someplace very nice, that your family should enjoy.  As I told Congressman Stiller, you might think of it as a small vacation for you and your family.”

“A vacation?”

“Of sorts.  The testimony is the important thing here.”

“Maybe for you,” Marsh told him.  “I’ve got other things I’m interested in more.  Like my son!”

“Of course,” the Deputy Director replied.

“Day after tomorrow.”

“Yes.  Early that morning.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Detective Nolan walked into the police station and headed for his desk.  He was stopped before he got there by his boss, the Chief of Detectives.

“Nolan!  Someone high up in the FBI has demanded that you attend some kind of meeting to testify on the Marsh case.”

“When?”

“It was supposed to be the day after tomorrow, but they called again just a few minutes ago and asked if you could go tomorrow morning instead.”

“Okay.  Go where?”

“The man refused to say.  Evidently it’s very hush-hush!  You’re supposed to call Agent Rosenberg for the details.”

Agent Rosenberg.  Yeah, he’d like to call her.  And he got the impression that she was interested in him too.  Was this her way of showing him how she could get away with things?  He hoped so.  It sounded like fun.  “Okay,” he told his boss.  “I’ll call her and take their little trip to…who knows where.”

“Good!”

With thoughts of Ellen Rosenberg on his mind, Detective Thomas Nolan turned around and headed back to his car.  He didn’t pull his cellphone from his pocket until he was alone.  He could have called from his desk upstairs, but he was hoping this little trip might be for more personal reasons than his boss upstairs knew.  A few button presses later, he said, “Ellen?  Tom Nolan.”

“Tom!  How are you?”

“A bit curious.”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you much right now,” she told him.  “I guess you got the word?”

“That I’m going somewhere tomorrow?”

“Yes.  The families aren’t coming until the day after, but they’re sending us as part of the advance team.  I’ll be taking Doctor Montcliff with me so we can rely on her insight for help setting this up.  We’ve got a lot to look over before then.  Not to mention, I just thought that since you need to talk to whoever shows up just like I do, that you might like to get there a little earlier for some…R&R.”

“When you put it that way,” Nolan replied.  “How can I refuse?”

“Good.  Try to get there early.  We should be there mid-morning sometime.  See you there.”

“See me where?”

“I’ll text you the directions.  And Tom, keep it all under your hat please.”

“Yeah, I got the word already.  Hush-hush.”

“Exactly.  See you there.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

The following morning, fifteen people, most of them FBI agents descended on the sumptuous resort in the Catskill mountains.  The people who weren’t FBI agents included Detective Nolan, Doctor Montcliff, and several experts in logistics who all had an open government checkbook and a lot of blank checks to pay for it all.

The moment they arrived, they went to work helping the resort to relocate all the guests who were either at the inn at that time, or who were scheduled to arrive there in the next few days, and send them all to other hotels, all at the government’s expense.  With the government suddenly funding their get-aways, very few people put up much of a fuss.  In hours, the entire mountainside resort belonged to the government alone for the next few days.

Doctor Montcliff somehow found herself at the forefront of many of the decisions as to what needed to be done.  Arrangements were made to send the Marsh family to one building in the resort and the Stiller family to an entirely different building as far away as possible.  The government personnel would be housed in rooms surrounding both families.  The rest of the resort was dedicated to the resort’s conference center.  Exactly what they needed for the events to play out over the next few days.

The one biggest thing that Doctor Montcliff kept stressing to everyone was protection for the family members, but not protection from anyone outside the conference.  She was far more concerned about the families being attacked by members of the opposite family.

Late in the afternoon one final crew of six people showed up.  Experts in surveillance.  They began outfitting every place needed with hidden cameras, microphones, and monitoring equipment.  The crew also wanted to bug the family rooms, but Doctor Montcliff put her foot down firmly enough to prevent it.  In her opinion, those families needed and deserved their privacy.  She only hoped somebody listened to her enough that they wouldn’t plant any listening devices or cameras without telling anyone.  She wouldn’t put it past them, especially since they were government people.

After a busy day, Ellen Rosenberg, Tom Nolan, and Isabelle Montcliff had a late dinner together in the resort dining room.  Dinner was first class all the way.  So was the entire resort.

After dinner, they each retired to their rooms to rest up for the day tomorrow when the families would arrive.  Thirty minutes later, Tom Nolan left his room and made his way to Ellen Rosenberg’s room.  She was waiting for him, a bottle of wine and two glasses were ready for them.  So was she, in her fanciest lingerie.

Tom Nolan didn’t leave her room until six the next morning.

Extracted - Chapter 13 – How Many Eggs Does It Take – Part 3 of 3

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 13 – How Many Eggs Does It Take – Part 3 of 3

 

“This is Henry Marsh.  What can I do for you?”

“Henry Marsh?  This is Congressman Stiller.”

“Stiller!  Wait a minute.”  He looked up.  “Out!” he shouted to all the people in his office.  “Everyone out.  Now!”  He watched as they all hurried out.  “And close the door!”  A moment later, he was alone.  “Sorry,” he said into his phone.  “It gets busy here.”

“I’m sure it does.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I really just wanted to talk.  Nothing more.  Right now, I’d really like to pour you a drink and sit down with you to try and get to know you better.”

“Huh!” Henry replied.  “Tell you what, I’m opening my desk drawer right now and pulling out a bottle of Scotch.  Hang on a minute while I pour myself a drink.”

“In that case, I’ll do the same,” Mike Stiller told him.

The two men poured their respective drinks, and took a sip before sitting down at their desks to talk.

“What’s your take on this situation?” Stiller asked.

“Other than it being a huge mess?  Other than making me feel like my life has been ripped out of my body, leaving nothing but a huge hole?  I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Yeah.  Agreed,” Stiller replied.  “My daughters mean everything to me.  Now, for all intents and purposes, my youngest one is dead.  Murdered!  That…hurts.  And I don’t mind telling you that.”

“Murdered is exactly the right word,” Henry agreed.  “You’re a congressman though.  What do you think is going to happen?”

“Humph!  Need you ask?  The rest of the government is going to go crazy to get their claws into this thing in every way they can.”

“That sounds like…”

“Like shit!” Mike finished.

“Pretty much,” Henry agreed.  “I was hoping to keep this as quiet and easy for my family as I could.  I’ve suddenly got a stranger living in my house.  A stranger that looks like my son, but who isn’t.”

“And I’ve got the opposite right here.  My daughter, isn’t my daughter.  And we were going out of our way to keep this as quiet as possible too.  I’ve got to think about how this can affect the confidence the people have in me.  My enemies will go to any length to stop some of the things I’m working for in congress, not to mention possibly trying to get me out of office.”

“I hadn’t considered that for you,” Henry told him.  “But you’re right.  It is a problem.  I hope it won’t affect my position here.”

“We both may have to keep the optics of the situation in mind,” Mike told him.

“Yeah.  Thanks.  I’ll be doing that now.  Congressman, do you mind if I call you Mike?”

“Please do.  In this case, we’re just two fathers who are concerned about our families.  Nothing more.”

“That’s the way I see it,” Henry agreed.  “But as a father, you’re a man, and I’m a man, how is my Stephen coping up there.  No matter how I try, I can’t imagine how he’s feeling.  I can’t imagine his situation at all.  I’m just…beside myself.”

“Yeah.  I’m sure you are,” Mike replied.  “Henry, I’d like to say that your son is happy, but you already know that he’s not.  From everything I know, he was someone who loved sports, and he talks about football all the time.  He’s stuck now in a world that he doesn’t even understand.  I’m the only man in the house with three females, one of those females is now your son.  To be honest, I haven’t got a clue how to help him.  We don’t have a football in the house, and even if I buy one, he’s a girl now.  As I see it, he should be doing girl things.  Except, I already know he doesn’t have the least bit of interest in any of that stuff.”

“Yeah,” Henry agreed, realizing that everything Mike had said would be true.  Disappointing, but true.  “And I don’t know how to help your daughter.  Steve was…a big strong kid.  He played sports.  He had a bunch of friends, and they were always doing things.  He’s got his own car so he can go places.  Which reminds me, I need to get his car keys away from him…at least for now.”

“Might be a good idea.  Nancy wouldn’t have a clue as to how to drive.”

“Yeah.  In fact, when we’re done, I’m going to call my wife and have her go get them.  I don’t want her to take a chance and decide to try driving by herself.  It might be better to be on the safe side of that one.”

“Do it!  Nancy was a good girl.  Real good, and real bright, but…well, she’s a kid.  And I know from experience that you never know what one of them might get into their heads to try and do.  Especially when they’re bored.”

“Consider it done!” Henry assured him.

“Thanks.  Look.  Henry.  I don’t know if that’s somehow really my Nancy that you’ve got down there or not.  It just seems a bit too far-fetched for me.”

“Yeah,” Henry agreed.  “I feel the same.  I don’t know if you’ve got my Stephen, or if the Stephen I’ve got now really is your daughter…or…if they’re both really dead.”

“That’s the one that worries me the most,” Mike admitted.

“Me too, but at this point I don’t know what to do about it.  To be honest, I’m so desperate to hang onto the hope that Stephen really is alive, somewhere…somehow!  Even if it is in the body of a little girl.  I just want him to be okay.  Somehow.”

“My thoughts exactly.  Listen, Henry.  I don’t keep secrets form my wife…unless they involve my job.  I’m afraid I’ve got to deal with more than a few of those.”

“Me too in my job,” Henry agreed.

“Yeah.  But I’m not planning on telling Wanda about this call.  What you tell your wife is your business.  I really just wanted to touch base with you and at least start to get some kind of idea of who you are.  I mean, my daughter’s life is literally in your hands.”

“I understand.  Fully!” Henry replied.  “And I feel pretty much the same way.  But Mike,”

“Yeah?”

“I look forward to a day, soon I hope, when the two of us can sit down with these drinks, in person.”

“Yeah.  Me too.  Let’s try and make it happen.  Soon.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

“Mrs. Marsh?  This is Wanda Stiller.  Congressman Michael Stiller’s wife.”

“Wanda!  I know who you are.  We…almost talked last night.”

“Yes.  Since your Stephen tried to call you yesterday, I got his phone here and found the number that he called.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind?  I’m so glad you called.  I was trying to figure out how I could get in touch with you.”

“Good.  Do you have time to chat right now?  If not, we can try again later.”

“No.  Now would be good.  Great really.  Steve is out moping on the back patio right now.”

“I really just wanted to talk to you,” Wanda told her.  “I thought that maybe we could keep this conversation between just us ladies.”

That sounded either suspicious or ominous to Agatha.  “Sure,” she agreed.  “Fine with me.  Steve may not need to be part of this anyway.”

“Yes.  As much as I really want to talk to him again, this time, I thought that maybe you and I should touch base for a bit.”

“As I said, it’s sounds good to me.  What did you have in mind?”

“You’re my daughter’s new mother,” Wanda said.  “As a mother, how do you feel she’s doing?”

“Something told me you’d want to know that.  I have the same concerns about my Stephen.  But to be honest, I’m not sure how your Nancy is.  Physically, she’s fine.  Perfectly fine.  It’s just that…mentally, I’m not sure how she’s coping.  And to tell the truth, if I were in her position I don’t think I’d be able to cope any better.  In fact, so far, she’s probably surviving this better than I would, so I’ve got to give her a lot of credit for that.  Mrs. Stiller, I think you’ve got a pretty brave little daughter there.  I just hope my Stephen is half as brave.”

“I think he is,” Wanda told her.  “In fact, I have no doubt he’s probably braver than my Nancy.  There’s no doubt he was a pretty tough kid.  His bigger problem I think is that all that toughness doesn’t really translate into the life of a twelve year old girl.”

“No.  It wouldn’t,” Agatha agreed.  “We got a surprise visit from Stephen’s football coach a little while ago,” Agatha told her.  “He came by just to see how he’s doing.  I’m afraid I needed some excuse for how Steve is behaving so I told him Steve has amnesia.  Total amnesia, and that he doesn’t remember anything at all about his entire life.”

“Oh!  That sounds like a great idea.  I’ll have to keep it in mind.  How did it work?”

“As far as I can tell, pretty good.  Except that the coach seems to think I should have some of Steve’s old friends from the team around to maybe help jog his memory, or at least try to cheer him up.  Sorry, but he is feeling rather lost right now.”

“I have no doubt,” Wanda replied.  “So are you?  Are you going to start bringing in some friends?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe later, but not right now.  Look, mentally my Stephen is a young girl.  I’m not sure how well he’s going to fit in with a bunch of rowdy high school football players.”

“Yeah.  That sounds frightening.  I’m not sure I would want to be in that position.”

“Have any problems come up on your end?” Agatha asked.

“Huh!  A few.  Nothing major.”

“Like what?”

“Last night I caught Nancy in the kitchen trying to make some eggs.”

“Stephen did that all the time.  He ate…quite a bit.”

“So I found out.  I had to explain that a sixty pound girl doesn’t need to eat half a dozen eggs at one time.  We had ice-cream together instead.  Oh, and he decided he likes chocolate better than he used to.”

“Hm!  A lot of women I know like chocolate,” Agatha noted.

“Nancy may become another one.  She’s young yet though.  Her tastes will change as she grows.  And speaking of growing…”

“Yes?”

“I had to sit down with him this morning and have that little talk.”

“Little talk?”

“About bras and periods.”

“Oh.  Goodness!  He would be about that age, wouldn’t he.”

“Yes.  Nancy has only had a few periods so far, and it was all fairly new to her as well.  But in my Nancy’s case, she’s had her sister living right across the hall all her life.  She pretty much knew what to expect.  This Nancy, your Stephen…well…”

“He didn’t have a clue,” Agatha finished for her.  “I’d like to laugh, but I can’t.”

“Yeah.  Oh, he knew some of it, but not the details.  I can tell you though that he knows a lot more now than he did before.”

“It won’t kill him,” Agatha told her.

“No.  And he could very well need to know all that fairly soon.”

“You mean she’s due?”

“Maybe.  As I said, Nancy just started having her periods.  She’s only had a few so far, which means they haven’t settled down into a predictable pattern yet.  Which means that it could happen today, tomorrow, or two months from now.  We simply don’t know.”

“Poor Stephen,” Agatha said.

“He’s stuck being a girl for now,” Wanda said.  “He’ll have to learn to deal with it like every woman in the world.”

“True.  Who knows.  Maybe he’ll learn something from it.”

“I’m sure he will.”

“Maybe this little talk between us was a good idea,” Agatha told her.

“Yeah.  And maybe we should do it again sometime.”

“Absolutely!”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Doctor Faucet rang the doorbell to the large house of Doctor Judith Rameriz outside of Philadelphia.  He had noted several other cars in the driveway, so he was guessing he wasn’t the first one here.  The door was opened by a woman he recognized from her picture on the internet.  “Doctor Rameriz?” he asked.

“Doctor Faucet,” Judith greeted him happily.  “Come in.  Come in.  Meet the…eccentrics.”

Faucet realized that eccentrics was probably what he should expect.  He was soon introduced to everyone.  They all seemed to be a congenial group and only first names were used.  They all sat around with drinks and talked or argued over their separate opinions on various aspects of what the souls, or ghosts as he thought of them, were capable of doing.  What traits they would most likely have.  Surprisingly, Faucet found the discussion to be the very thing he himself had always found to be the most interesting.  He joined in wholeheartedly, enjoying the give and take of all these learned people.  The only strange thing he found was that they mostly called ghosts, souls.  But then, wasn’t a soul the very definition of a ghost?  He really had no problem with that.

It was later in the evening, while one of them was arguing a particular point with him, when that person asked a strange question.  “But what if we could somehow capture someone’s soul?  What do you think might happen?”

He found himself feeling like he had been put on the spot, with everyone paying more attention than usual.  “Capture a soul?” he asked.  “I can’t even conceive of such a thing.”

The man waved his concern aside.  “But what if we could?  What traits do you think you might find in it?”

Sometimes the science minded people could put the simplest of questions in the most awkward way possible.  “You mean somehow hold the spirit captive just for the purpose of studying it?”

“Something like that,” the man confirmed.

“I don’t know,” Faucet replied.  “We all seem to agree that ghosts somehow carry the memory of their original person, if only to a very small extent.  We all would love to know how it’s possible since there’s no physical brain to hold that information.”

‘Yes, but most ghosts also retain the original shape and face of the person they used to be as well.  Even their clothes.  How do they do it?”

“As always, that’s the twenty-million dollar question,” Faucet replied.  “I simply have no idea, even though I’ve tried to figure out just that.  How do the spirits of the dearly departed, hold so much information…without a physical brain?   We may never really know.  Especially since, as you proposed, it would be impossible to really capture one to study it.”

And then one of the men in the group asked, “But what if it’s already been done?”