Monsters - Chapter 5 – Dinner for Two – Part 1 of 2

Monsters

By Karen Singer

Chapter 5 – Dinner for Two – Part 1 of 2

The hotel in Vegas was certainly nice.  Brandy had no doubt that Ralphie had done his best to book her a nice room.  In this case, Ralphie had gone overboard and booked her the best suite he could find.  Top floor.  As she rode up in the elevator with the bellboy and a luggage cart holding all her bags, her mind turned again to the strange woman she had met, Judy.  Judy…for now.  They were alike in so many ways.  But that one single big difference they had found, the love of their mothers, she envied her for that.

The bellboy opened a door for her to a room at the end of the hall, then turned the key over before going back for the luggage.  She looked around.  Beautiful.  Sumptuous.  Better than most places she had stayed in before.  And two bedrooms.  She didn’t know why Ralphie had gotten her a place with two bedrooms.  The room was far more than she needed.  Probably far more than she wanted to pay.  But now that she was here and seeing it, she wouldn’t give it up for anything.  She tipped the bellboy generously and closed the door behind him.  The nice room was certainly an unexpected treat, but she had work to do.

As she unpacked her bags, her mind tried to figure out where to start.  Someone was causing trouble.  Killing people.  But she had nothing to go on yet.  She had no place to look yet.  Not even a single name she could talk to.

She had phoned Uncle Vinny earlier from the airport in Dallas, but he had no leads for her to look into yet.  He told her to check in with Johnny Morrow who had requested that she come in to help.  But he also knew that Johnny was in New York for a meeting there and wouldn’t be back for another day.  He suggested she might possibly start with Romo Geovelli, the biggest mafia boss in Vegas.

Romo Geovelli.  In the past she had done two different jobs for him.  Vinny’s suggestion to try him first was the only thing she could do so far.  She called Geovelli’s office, but he wasn’t in.  Not even for her.  Ten minutes later, she got a return phone call.  Geovelli would be back in Vegas tomorrow morning.  He would be more than happy to meet with her then.  She was guessing he was in New York too along with Johnny Morrow.  She was stuck until tomorrow.  Oh well, a little R&R in Vegas wasn’t going to hurt her.

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Carol turned the key to her bike over to the parking valet and carried her small bag into the hotel.  Nice place.  Ritzy!  But then almost all the hotels in Vegas were like that.  Still, this one seemed better than most she had been in.  She checked the front desk for a reservation for Judy Cunningham.  The reservation was found immediately.  When the desk clerk asked her if someone could help her with her luggage, she declined, holding up her small bag and her helmet, the only things she had.  “I’ll be doing some shopping,” she told the desk clerk.

She took the elevator up to her room.  Top floor she noted.  Wu Enterprises had certainly gotten her more than was necessary.  Her room was at the far end of the hall.  She walked in and looked around.  Beautiful.  More than beautiful.  What was she going to do in a place like this?  But still, she was grateful.  And now that she was there, she decided a little bit of luxury might be nice for a change.

She needed a good long bath.  She had worn nothing but her riding suit for days now.  But she also needed clean clothes to put on…among other things.  Because she felt so filthy, she took a quick shower before getting dressed again.  While she was in the shower, her mind went back to work on her current problem.  Where should she start?  She knew already that the Wu’s had moved a lot of people into the area.  And that was on top of the permanent office they already had out here.  An office she had been to a few times before.  While still in the shower, she decided her only choice was to call the office to see about any updates. 

With that decision made, her mind turned again to Brandy.  Brandy had been on her mind for much of the long ride here from Dallas.  She might never see Brandy again, but she had felt something different with her.  Something she had never felt before.  A kinship of sorts.  The two of them were alike in so many ways.  Except…for their mothers.  She was lucky enough to have a mother who loved her.  Brandy had basically grown up with a mother who couldn’t have cared less about her.  She couldn’t help it, she felt sorry for Brandy because of that.  She felt something else for Brandy too.  An attraction like she had felt for few other women in her life.  She wondered how Brandy would be in bed.  She had a feeling that Brandy would be sensational.

She turned the water off and dressed in just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.  The only clothes she had other than her riding suit.  Shopping time.  And after looking around at such a nice room, maybe she would indulge and get some…nicer things for a change.  That would be different.  A pleasant change.

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At seven thirty in the evening, Brandy stood in front of the big full-length mirror in one of the suite’s bedrooms and stared at her reflection.  She was dressed to the nines…and then some.  Only because for once in her life, she wanted to.  Maybe it was the elegant room.  Maybe the nice hotel.  Or maybe, she just needed a change from all the dirty work she usually did.  But as long as she had the time, she had decided, why not, and she had gone shopping and bought the beautiful gown and the overly extravagant jewelry to go with it.  A gown she knew she didn’t need just to go to dinner, then do some gambling.

She checked the black sequined purse that matched her gown.  Everything was there including the gun that had been in the package that had been waiting for her when she checked in.

After one last long glance at her strange reflection, noticing again how her one leg teasingly exposed itself through the slit in her skirt, she headed for the door, hoping to get a seat in the award-winning restaurant downstairs. 

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Carol almost didn’t recognize herself.  For all the money she had, she dressed up so rarely.  But tonight…for some reason, she couldn’t help herself.  She had seen the gorgeous gown and had bought it…along with the shoes, the jewelry, the purse, the makeup…everything!  It was a stupid indulgence because she knew that, like most of the clothes she bought wherever she went, it would all only get left behind when she was done in Vegas.  But why did she really need to care about something like that?  According to her mother, she could buy her own airline if she wanted it.  That didn’t make it seem any less strange to her though.

She checked her shiny gold purse that went with her dress.  Her room key, her credit card, some cash, her gun, and her smallest knife were all there.  The only things she should need just to have dinner downstairs and then do some gambling.  She was overdressed for dinner and she knew it, but she rarely ever had a chance to dress up anymore.  Almost never.  At home, on the island off the coast of Columbia, bathing suits were what she wore mostly.  Other than that, it was work clothes.  Clothes she could kill people in.  Not that she couldn’t kill someone while wearing the dress she had on.  She had made sure to get one with a slit that went all the way up the skirt so she could still fight if she needed to.

After shaking her head at her own figure in the mirror, she left her room to go to dinner.  Her room was at the end of the hall.  Walking in the high heels felt strange, but nice.  She felt nice.  She felt different.  She noticed the woman walking toward her from the end of the hallway on the far side.  She was wearing a beautiful black gown.  Carol felt a bit better.  She wasn’t the only woman in the hotel who was dressed so nicely.

The closer she got to the other woman, the more she slowed.  She couldn’t take her eyes off her if she wanted to.  It couldn’t be!

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Brandy stared as her steps grew slower.  She didn’t know if she should feel angry or what.  Angry absolutely!  In front of her, wearing a gorgeous gold gown, was Judy.  The two women stopped about ten feet apart.  Both women said exactly the same thing, at exactly the same time.  “What are you doing here?”

“You’re following me again!” Brandy said angrily.  “Why?”

“I’m not following you,” Carol replied.  “I had no idea you were staying here.”

“Isn’t information the biggest thing you people deal in?”

That stopped Carol.  “Yes, it is.  But I swear, I had no idea you were staying in the same hotel.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“I find it hard to believe we’re both in the same place too,” Carol told her.

“And both on the same floor?  That’s a bit too much of a coincidence.”

“Yes, it is,” Carol replied suspiciously.  “I’ll look into it.”

“So will I.”

Their eyes seemed to roam all over each other.

“You clean up nicely,” Brandy told her.  “I love your dress.”

“I love yours too.  With your black hair, it makes an incredible impact.”

“And the gold goes perfectly with your brown hair.”

“You know,” Carol said, “I liked that red mask you wore last night too.  Very cute.”

“Yeah.  I’ve got a number of different ones that I wear.  I like that one with the red wig.”

“Of course.  Red on red.”

“I like that riding suit you wear,” Brandy told her.  “And it seems to have some handy little pockets for things.”

“You have no idea.  I can get you one if you want.  Do you ride?”

“Not much, but I’ve ridden.”

“Maybe sometime….”  She stopped.  “What are we doing?  I swear, I had no idea you’d be here.”

“Me either,” Brandy replied.  “Where are you off to?  A party?”

“No.  Just dinner.  I just got into the room and…  I don’t know.  I’ve only had a reason to dress this nice maybe two or three times in my entire life.  I saw the dress and…”

“And you just had to buy it.  Just like me,” Brandy finished.

“And what party are you going to?” Carol asked.

“Like you, no party.  I saw the dress this afternoon and had to have it.  I was going to dinner, then the casino afterwards.  I’m a bit overdressed, but damn, I never get to dress up.”

“So we’re both over dressed for dinner, then the casino.  This is getting a bit awkward.”

“Do you think?”

“Dinner?” Carol asked.

“Why not?”

Monsters - Chapter 4 – Two Firsts

Monsters

By Karen Singer

Chapter 4 – Two Firsts

Early the next morning, Brandy got out of the limousine.  Six other men, all with guns were already there.  Brandy looked the situation over.  “This is it?  This is the best you could do?”

“This is as good as we could arrange and still make sure you’re not seen,” one of the men told her.

Brandy wasn’t happy, but she knew she’d have to live with it.  In truth, it was no worse than any of the other times they had let her see Bobbie.  She was at least a hundred yards away.  As close as she would ever get to him again.  One of the men handed her a pair of binoculars.  She put them to her eyes to study the people on the other side of the school playground.  Bobbie was easy to spot.  She was the only adult out there amid about twenty kindergarten kids.

Bobbie had become a teacher.  Word was that Bobbie seemed to be very happy doing it.  More information than that, she couldn’t get.  Especially no information about other aspects of her life.  But here, she got to stand and watch from a distance as Bobbie took care of all her kids on the playground.

She was fascinated by how caring Bobbie was with them.  How she played with them and laughed with them.  Almost like a loving mother to each of them.  Her mind went back to high school when she had secretly watched Bobby and his mother.  The two of them had been so close, so loving.  Her own mother had barely ever talked to her. In high school, she had her own wing upstairs in the big house with everything she could ever want.  But her mother had never bothered with her much at all.  What was it like to have a mother who was that caring?  She had secretly watched Bobby and his mother.  She had done things to Bobby that should have permanently torn the two of them apart.  But as she watched, day after day, the two of them had managed to mend all their differences, and their love for each other kept them together.  The result…Bobby, was now Bobbie, with a bunch of her own kids in her charge to spread her love on.

The sound of a motorcycle driving up behind her caused her to look.  All the men had their guns out and were pointing them at the rider.  “Put your guns away!” she told them quickly.  Then a bit softer she said, “You probably couldn’t hit her anyway.  And I know for a fact she could kill all of you before any of you knew it was happening.”  She saw the men were still hesitant about lowering their guns.  “Let her through!” she told them all.  “She’s good!”  She watched as reluctantly the men did lower their guns.

Carol took her hand off her gun and removed her helmet.  She climbed off her bike and walked toward Brandy.  She was more than aware of all the men watching her closely.

“Give us some space,” Brandy told the guys.  “A lot of space.”  The men backed away.  Some.  “What are you doing here?” Brandy asked.  “I thought you’d be long gone by now.”

“I’m on my way out of town now.  I just thought I’d stop one last time and check to make sure you haven’t changed your mind.”

“So you followed me again?”

“It was on my way.”

Brandy didn’t reply to that.  Instead, she turned and faced the children in the distance.  “What if I called someone about your offer last night?” she asked.

“I’m guessing you called Vinny.”

“Yes.  I did.  Does that get me in trouble with you?”

“With me?  No.  Probably not with anyone.  Did you mention to Vinny that we were going to offer the service to him too?”

“I did.”

“And what did he say?”

Brandy turned to face Carol.  “Before I told him you were interested in him too, he started ranting and raving about how he’d give his eye tooth to be on your client list.  Evidently, it’s some kind of honor to him.”

“I guess, some people might see it that way.  It’s not intended to be.”

“Well he thinks it is.  He told me I was crazy to turn you down.  And then when I told him you were going to offer it to him too, he suddenly got real happy.  I got the feeling he can’t wait to hear from you.”

“Good.  Let him know we’ll be in touch.  And you?  Are you still not interested?”

“Vinny said if I ever got the chance again, I should go for it.”

“Then you’re interested?”

“Yes.  But only since Vinny said I should.”

“Good enough.  I’ll have whoever contacts your uncle, get in touch with you right afterwards to give you all the access information.  I don’t carry that stuff.  Like I told you last night, I don’t do this stuff anymore.”

“I’ll let my uncle know,” Brandy told her.

“Good.”  Carol nodded towards the kids in the distance.  “You thinking about kids?”

“Me?  Heaven forbid!  No.  See the woman with them, the only adult out there?”

“Yeah.”

“He…was my first.”

“He?”

“My first…victim.”

“Ah!  But you said he.  So he, is now a she?”

“Yes.  He was my junior year high school project.”  She handed over the binoculars to Carol.  “At the beginning of the school year, I took one of the boys in the school…he was just an average kid, nothing wrong with him at all except that he was a year behind me…and I manipulated him like you wouldn’t believe.  I forced him to wear and use diapers at school for the entire school year.  After a while, I had him wearing them at home too.  And all the while I was gradually making him wear more and more feminine stuff at school, then later at home too, right in front of his mother.  Now…he…even though he didn’t want it at all, is stuck as a she.  But he was my first.  Unfortunately, now Uncle Vinny won’t let me get anywhere near him…or her.  He’d skin me alive if he even knew I was this close.”

Carol kept looking at the woman through the binoculars for a moment more before she handed them back to Brandy.  She pulled out her cellphone while Brandy watched the woman in the distance.  She sorted through what few pictures she had.  “Here,” she said to Brandy,” as she held the phone out for her to take.  “She’s my first.”

“Your first?” Brandy asked as she took the phone.  “This woman?”

“That woman used to be my high school math teacher.  His name used to be Roger.  Now he’s known as Candy girl the handy girl.”

“You took your high school math teacher and turned him into a woman?”

“Well, my mother was mostly responsible, but he was all mine to play with first.  And what you see in that picture, is the result.”

“Your mother?”

“Mom doesn’t like men, and she raised me to be the same way.  According to her, Roger was one of the few decent men she had ever met in her life.  But she couldn’t leave him that way.  Turning him into a woman was in her opinion a major step up in his life.  A reward of sorts.  But even though she made sure it happened, he was still my very first.”

“So we both got started in high school,” Brandy noted.

“Both of us in our junior year,” Carol added.

“And both of us, one way or another, turned our first victims from men, into women.”

“Something like that,” Carol replied.

Brandy studied the strange woman next to her.  “We’re more alike than we thought.”

Carol nodded.  “Strange, isn’t it.”

“Yeah.  It really is.”

Brandy turned and trained the binoculars on Bobbie in the distance again.  “Did your mother love you?” she asked as she continued to look.  “Did she really love you?  Did she spend any time with you?”

Carol considered it an odd question.  “Of course she did.  She still does.  Mom and me are very close.  She’s dedicated her whole life to me.”

“I can’t even imagine what that’s like,” Brandy told her.  “Bobbie out there, was incredibly attached to his mother too.  What I did to him somewhat pulled them apart for a while.  They both seemed to cry over it a lot, but they still got close again.  He refused to give up on her, and she refused to give up on him.  They had each other, and I never knew what to make of it.  I never understood how they could be that close.”

“What happened to your mother?” Carol asked.

“We may have lived in the same house, but I barely knew her.  She never spent any time with me.  I was raised more by our servants than by her.  When my father was murdered, it got worse.  Uncle Vinny took real good care of us though.  Especially me.  I have him to thank for everything.  He’s more like my father than an uncle.”

“Hm!” Carol chuckled.  “Finally, we found one way that we’re not alike.”

Brandy turned and smiled at her, but it was a very muted smile.  She turned back to looking through the binoculars.  “Have you ever been back to see your first?”

“Just a few days ago.  But like you, it had to be only from a distance.  I didn’t dare get much closer than you are now.  I kept my helmet on and my face shield down.  She never knew I was there.”

“So you’ve never talked to her?”

“I dare not.  It’s too dangerous for me.  If anyone ever found out I was even in this country, it would most likely start a major manhunt.  I don’t need that.”

“So one way or another, you can’t talk to your first either,” Brandy noted.  “Once again, we’re alike.”

“Once again,” Carol had to agree.