Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 12:51:40 -0700
From: joanbanks@ivillage.com
Subject: TG: Absolute Power 8

Absolute Power 8
Lamp Quest

By Joan Banks

"Are you feeling better, honey?" The woman asked her 15-year-old son.  A
pre-teen girl fidgeted in the corner.  The doctor filled out a note on his
clipboard and pulled back the curtain to leave.

"Mrs. Robertson I can't explain how he got better but we'd like to keep him
for observation for the next hour." The doctor told her, "The nurse has
some insurance papers for you to sign.  She'll be by shortly."

"Thank you, doctor." Mrs. Robertson replied, running her fingers through
her sons' hair.  The doctor closed the curtain behind him.

"I hope it'll be Nurse Jenny." The boy snickered as she continued playing
with his hair. "She's hot." Mrs.  Robertson slapped her son on the back of
the head, hard.

"Ow!" He said, "Geez!  Child abuse."  He smiled at a private joke.
Mrs. Roberson and her daughter smiled along.

"You turd." She told her son. "I'll get you later." She said with an
ominous but playful tone.  They stared each other in the eye, sharing some
secret message.  She looked to her daughter and asked pointedly. "Do you
have to go potty now, dear?"

"Yes ma'am." She said to her mother.  For some reason this also elicited a
slap on the back of the head.  The little girl smiled and stuck out her
tongue.  She closed the curtain behind her as she left.

"Do not 'ma'am' me.  Do you understand, young lady?" Mrs. Robertson
threatened the closed curtain.  The boy just laughed.

The girl dawdled through the emergency room.  She stared at people and
their charts all the way across the room and mumbled to herself as she
walked.  Twenty minutes later she still hadn't made it to the bathroom and
many would have been surprised to see that her mother and brother had snuck
out of the hospital without her.

Noticing that her family had left she put a slightly panicked look on her
face and continued around the room.  Seeing that, contrary to initial
diagnoses, most of the patients were actually very healthy, the doctors
were starting to mill around looking for something to do.  As the girl
started to make her way towards the exit she felt a firm grip on her arm.

"I know what you are!" The middle-aged woman said, "We don't want your
disease here."

A crowd began to gather.

"You're hurting me!" The girl cried out. "Let go!"

"You're a Whisperer.  One of those vile creatures that pretends to heal
people and then infects them with a deadly disease."

"What are you talking about? Let me go!"  The child tugged at the woman's
grip, but didn't get free.

"My Johnny had a broken leg twenty minutes ago.  Now he's fine!  Explain
that, you monster."

"So you're mad because he's better?" The girl asked, still tugging
ineffectually.

"Because you've killed him!" The woman spat bitterly, "It's only a matter
of time before the sickness gets him now."

"That's crazy.  Why would anyone heal someone just to kill them later?  It
doesn't make sense."  The girl stood taller now.  The older woman tried to
squeeze with all of her might on the girls' skinny arm.  The girl ignored
it.

"I just know that if it wasn't for GeronTech and that saint of a man
Mr. Collins, we would all be dead right now."

"Oh that's it!" The girl easily extricated herself from the woman's
grip. "Casper Collins was the most evil man to walk this Earth.  He
engineered the disease.  He almost killed Denver.  I, for one, am glad he's
dead."

"Dead, he's not dead." One of the watchers said, "I just saw him on TV."

"You believe what you want to believe." The girl jumped in the air over the
crowd and landed hard on the other side.  "And you're welcome." A second
later, she was gone.

******

"I am so tired of being a nine year old." The girl said as she climbed into
the back of the car. "Next time, it's your turn, Deb."

"No way.  And get stuck like that?" Deb said.

"While we're talking about changing, how about putting us back?"  Bull said
from the passenger seat.  He was uncomfortable being stuck in the skin of a
fifteen year old.  He had changed into his sweats for the transfer back.
Debby started the car and began to drive.

"Fine.  Back to Bull." Sarah said.  Her friends' features changed and he
grew back into his old self.  The former gang-member sighed in relief at
being back to normal.

"What took so long, anyway?"  Debby asked.

"A crowd stopped me.  They accused me of being an evil whisperer.  They
wanted to kill me.  Eyes front Bull."  After her friend complied, Sarah
slid off her little girl clothes and into a pair of sweats similar to
Bulls.  She whispered and was back in her young adult form.

"So everyone still thinks Casper is a hero?" Debby asked.  Sarah grunted an
affirmative.

Sarah began to whisper again.  Debby felt the familiar tingle as she
changed back into a less matronly form.  Bull looked over at her and
suppressed a grin.  He glanced back at Sarah who was trying not to laugh as
well.

Debby noticed her friends and pulled the mirror over to look at herself.

"Sarah, do it right!" She said.  Debby looked like she was no older than
16.  Debby was perturbed; Sarah knew her fear of getting stuck in one of
these forms.

Bull and Sarah broke out into howling laughter.  When Sarah could speak
again she asked her friends a question.

"So how do we get the truth out about Collins?" She asked. "Someone has to
know he's dead now. But how do we let the world know?"

******

Casper Collins sat in the lobby, waiting.  He hated waiting, especially
when he was the one doing it.  He didn't mind making others wait, however.

This lobby of Social Services was filled with the dregs of the world.  The
families looked like they made an attempt to clean up but failed miserably.
Casper tried to maintain his dignity in this setting.  Somewhat nervously
he smoothed his skirt and clutched his purse to his chest.

Being a woman is a nerve wracking experience, he thought.  His new body was
youthful and healthy but it was also female.  Instead of viewing the world
as a frail but powerful old man he was now a frail but powerful young
woman.  The difference in the two points of view was staggering.

He felt no guilt over his 'appropriation' of Molly Lawrence's body.  She
was a vile woman, he thought, coming to me to betray her husband.  Not that
Stan had been much better!

Nine decades of life had both helped him and hurt him in his adapting to
life as a woman.  Ninety-one years of life combated ninety-one years of
observation, which left him in constant fear of doing or saying the wrong
thing.  Nervously, he smoothed his skirt again.

"Mrs. Lawrence?" A woman poked her head out the door, "If you'll come with
me."

He followed the women into the bowels of the building.  He thought that
designing a semi-functional maze with offices would be impossible.  He was
wrong.

He was led into an office.

"Please, have a seat Molly." The woman said, "It's good to see you
again. Coffee?"

"Thank you.  Make it black please."

"No cream?  I guess your tastes have changed.  Now, Molly, what can I do
for you?"

"I'd like Sarah back." He said.  No use beating around the bush.

"Sarah's been placed in another home, Molly.  I'm sorry but that much
moving around is bad for the child.  I'm sure you'll agree."

"She's my daughter!  All I have left." He sobbed convincingly. "After I
recovered, she was all I could think of.  Is there anything that can be
done?"

He had to have Robert back.  Robert had the codes to most of the facility.
He may have betrayed me but damn it, he's my son!  I'll get what I want
from him and then I'll get rid of him.  Maybe I'll torment him a bit first.

"I'm sorry Molly.  Short of her new family dropping off the planet there's
nothing we can do. It's for the best. I'm sure you understand."

"I don't have to like it." He replied.

"We'd like to put some new children in your home.  We are desperately short
of beds, you know."

"Maybe later.  I really want Sarah back.  But I understand.  I'll see
myself out then?"

Casper rushed out the door and down the hall as quickly as he could.  His
frustration was rising as he searched for the door.

Drop off the face of the planet, eh? Well that can be arranged.

******

To: drwhisper@hotmail.comFrom: Professor Al-him

Deborah and Sarah,I have heard rumors of an archeological dig in western
Iraq.  My sources say that one item will be passed through customs WITHOUT
inspection.  The dimensions of the package as well as the archeologist who
is conducting the dig both lead me to believe that they are transporting a
Lamp of the Djinn.  Those transporting are no doubt unaware of the treasure
they are holding.

You probably think that this will not help but there are several things
about transport of magical items you may not know about.  Legend has it
that there is a charm on these items that will not allow them to be moved
without grave consequences.  I would expect that the lamp would cause
planes to crash and ships to sink if it travels more than approximately 100
miles a day.  For this reason I believe that it will be transported by
ground and very slowly.  I do not know where the ship will land but I
believe you have a suspicion as to where it is going.  It will be moving
east to west.

I pray that this information will help you.

Good Luck and God Speed,Al-Him


******

  "You are kidding, right?" Pete said into the phone. "100 miles a DAY?"
Pete was clearly perturbed.  "No...no...yes...YES sir.  We'll pick it up
this afternoon."

"You guys won't believe this one." He said as he got back into the
van. "Courier duty."

"Just as long as we get back to catching that bitch Whisperer." Bud
scowled.  His arm, still in a sling ached a little bit more every time he
thought about it.

"Why don't you study, Bud?" Tom suggested, tossing the data file back to
the convict. "Something to read while we get the van serviced."  Basically
it was a thick photo album.  Bud winced as he tried to catch it with his
bad arm. "Every person the whisperer has been in contact with.  Every
person that means something to her."

Always reluctant to study anything Bud still took the book.  He would do
what it takes to bring this whisperer down.  Whatever it takes.

******

"Mrs. Lawrence?" The social worker asked.

"Yes?" Casper tried to suppress a grin.  He had been expecting this call.

"I'm afraid there's been a terrible accident.  Can you still take Sarah
into your home?" Her voice sounded as if she had been crying recently.

"Of course." Casper said calmly-too calmly. "I'll be right there."

******

"Shouldn't you be in school, young lady?" A male voice shocked Debby from
behind.

"Um....er." Debby said eloquently as she turned around. "Uh...no."

A police officer was staring down at her.  He judged that the girl was no
more than 16, probably 15. He had a stern expression on his face.  He
stayed silent, trying to get a better answer.  As an interrogation
technique, silence usually worked with kids.

But silence is all he got in return.  Debby stared back up at him with no
fear on her face at all.  She was merely window-shopping.  Is that a crime?

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?" The officer asked.

"Am I under arrest?" Debby replied snottily.  This was harassment, plain
and simple.

"You are now.  Come with me."

Debby considered running, but she wasn't enhanced right now.  This cop
would catch her easily.  Complaining about his hard grip on her arm, she
went along.

******

"This town is a shit hole." Debby whispered to Sarah.  They were sitting in
a small courtroom with several other people.  The others looked like they
were in a hurry.  They were, no doubt, caught in the city's infamous speed
trap.

The judge poked his head in the door after his lunch to see if anyone was
waiting.  He smiled and closed the door.

"It's in just the right place.  If they have to stop every hundred miles
then they HAVE to stop here.  I-80 is the main corridor to whoever is
impersonating Casper."

"And Bull has the teams running the highway?"

"Every inch of it.  Shh...here comes the judge."

Debby smiled.  She didn't look like a teenager anymore; Sarah had aged her
face subtly and advanced her into her early twenties.  Bull had provided
the proper ID and had resumed his watch on the freeway off ramp.

The judge handed out harsh fines to the other people in the room and
finally called Debby forward.  Without looking up from his paperwork he
started into a speech.

"This state believes in educating our young people.  Truancy is considered
a crime here carrying with it a very harsh punishment.  Young lady..." The
judge looked up to give the full impact of the sentence.  He shook his head
as if to clear the cobwebs. "Jack," He said to the officer "a word please."

"Sure thing." The officer walked up behind the bench and they started
arguing frantically.  Eventually Jack was sent back to his normal courtroom
chair.

"Young lady, how old are you?" The judge asked.

"22 your honor."

"Do you have proof of that?"

"Yes."

"Did you show that proof to the officer?"

"He never gave me the chance, your honor.  I have it here if you'd like?"

"Please." Debby handed the card to the judge.  It was a very good forgery.
He banged his gavel.

"Case dismissed.  Jack you get your eyes checked.  We'll see you for supper
tonight, son?"

"Yes Pa."

"Good.  I'll have your mother put out a setting for you."  The two walked
out the back of the courtroom together, leaving Sarah and Debby alone.
Just before the door had closed behind them the Officer glared at Debby.
The message was clear, watch your back.

Free on the streets of Gothenburg, the two women made their way back to the
hotel.

It was a nice enough town, Sarah thought.  I little like Langley, but
smaller.  She thought back to the small town, not so far away, that they
had lived in for several weeks.  Everything there was going well until
Caspers' goon Stan arrived.  Stan had turned out all right in the end.  In
a short time he had become a good friend.  Sacrificing himself for Debby,
Stan was a hero in her eyes.

Wham! Something small and alive threw itself against her legs.  Assuming it
was a dog, Sarah was ready to kick it into oblivion when she saw who it
was.

"Corey!" Sarah detached the small child from her legs and held him in a
strong hug. "What are you doing here?  Where's your Daddy?"

"We got your message." A woman's voice said from behind. "And I get my hug
next."

Sarah turned around and saw a gorgeous brunette woman standing behind her.
Debby was several feet away hugging Ted, Corey's father.

"Do I know you?" Sarah asked.

"You should." The woman said holding her hands wide. "I'm the woman you
made."

"Freddy?"  Freddy used to be Ted's transsexual brother and was now, very
obviously, his sister.

"The one and only."  Freddy hugged the woman who made her dreams come true.
Corey complained of being squished and squirmed his way to the
ground. "Thank you." Freddy said emotionally.

"My pleasure."  Ted had left Debby and was now standing directly behind
Freddy.

"Do I get a turn?" He asked.  Sarah flushed.  She had never felt this way
about anyone before.  Ted made her stomach do flip-flops.

"Definitely." Sarah put her arms around his neck and kissed him.  Why does
he do this to me, Sarah thought?

"Ahem." Debby coughed.  The three of them were standing off to one side,
pointedly trying not to watch them. Corey was giggling. "I need to check on
Bull." She said, and walked off, "it's really great to see you again."

"Maybe we should talk." Sarah said. Together, they continued to the hotel.

******

"There's no such thing as a curse." Bud said in a mocking tone.  He and
Tony carried gas cans back into town.

"The gauge is wrong." Tony joined in.  Tony was a blond woman with a buzz
cut.  She only wore men's clothes.  She was not happy being a woman and
planned on killing the Whisperer because of it.

"Pete's an idiot." Bud said. "I can't believe he wanted to push through to
Denver tonight.  He knew about the curse!"

"How far?" Tony asked, switching the can to her other hand. "What town was
it?"

"Gothenburg. Twelve miles I figure we stay for the night and head back in
the morning with the gas."

"Pete'll be so pissed. Havin' to sleep in the van." Tony said, "Bet he wets
himself."

******

Watching the freeway off ramp had to be the most boring thing in the world
to do.  Cars came in waves and none of them that left the freeway matched
the description of the black van.

The sun was starting to set and there was a cold breeze starting up.

Bull really felt sorry for the couple that walked down the ramp carrying
gas cans.  If I could, I'd offer them a ride, he thought.  But that was
impossible, he had to stay put until Debby or Sarah relieved him.

"Rough day?" Bull asked the man.  The woman looked like trouble, some kind
of killer lesbian.

"Yep. Ran out about 15 miles that way."

"Station is right in town.  Nice motel too, if you aren't heading back
tonight."

"Thanks."

******

"So what are you doing here?" Sarah asked Ted excitedly.  She hadn't left
his side since he found them.

"We got the email asking us to look.  It seemed like this was the best
place to wait." He lifted the excited Corey onto his lap, "And when this
little monster..." He roughed up his sons' hair which elicited a tired
giggle, "...found out we'd be helping you there was no leaving him behind."

"I missed you, Corey." Sarah said to the sleepy 5-year-old.  He held his
arms out in an obvious plea to be held.  Sarah lifted him over to her own
lap and was rewarded with a kiss and a tight hug.

Several quiet minutes later Corey had fallen asleep.  They placed him into
his bed and walked quietly outside.

"Truth be told, I really missed you too." Ted told her.  They had gotten
close over a brief period of time, months and months before.  Sarah was
confused by those events, but she never forgot it.  Ted was never really
very far from her thoughts.

Still, somewhere deep inside, there was still conflict.  Sarah was actually
Larry, and Larry called out to be noticed at the most inopportune times.
Larry knew it was wrong to feel this way about another man.  The woman
Sarah ignored the tiny voice of the male part of her conscience.  It was
getting easier to do all the time.

They sat on a bench outside the door.  Sarah cuddled against him wanting
nothing more than to be right here, right now.

"I have to go soon." Sarah told him finally, "It's my turn on the off
ramp."

"Will you be okay?" Ted asked, he laughed a little "Look who I'm asking."

She smiled and snuggled a little closer to him.

"I'll see you in the morning, right?" she asked.

"Of course." He replied, shifting his arm so it wouldn't fall
asleep. "First thing."

They stayed that way, entwined in each other's arms until it was time for
Sarah to go.  As she walked away, Ted watched.

"I love you, you know." Ted said softly, much to quiet for any normal
person to hear.

At the end of the block, Sarah smiled.

She was no normal person.

******

"Considering the circumstances, we need to see how she reacts to your
return." The psychologist told Casper. "She's been through quite a bit."
It was very early in the morning at the Social Services Office.  Casper
insisted on taking 'Sarah' home as quickly as possible.

They looked at the child through one-way glass.  Robert was playing with a
baby doll.  He was changing its diaper and mothering it to the best of his
ability.  Casper smiled.

"She was having a psychotic episode just a few short months ago.  She
stampeded around this place like she owned the place." The psychologist
explained with a sense of awe, "We had her on quite a strict regimen of
medication and psychotherapy."  Robert was now putting the doll in a
crib. "A remarkable child.  Quite intelligent, but also teetering right on
the edge of reality."

"So what kind of medication is she on now?" Casper asked.  He wanted to
burst out laughing at what his adult son had become-a little sissy girl
playing with dolls.

"None, whatsoever." The doctor said proudly, "She is a normal five year old
now.  She's as good as new."

******

"Sarah?" The psychologist knocked on the door as she entered. "I have
someone here to see you." The little girl looked up.  After a moment where
she had a completely blank face she broke into a calculated little girl
smile.  She grinned from ear to ear and held up her doll to the
psychologist.  "Wanna play with my...."

She fell silent.  A dead woman walked into the room.  Casper entered with
an ingratiating smile and eyes that feigned a warmness he didn't feel.  She
looked at the doll and dropped it.  She ran to the psychologist and hid
behind her.

"I won't hurt you, dear." Casper said.  The little girl clung to the
Doctor's legs. "We all miss you.  You remember Montgomery and....Robert?"

The little girl loosened her grip on the woman's legs.

"Yes, you remember Robert, don't you?  Well he can be back to his old self,
really soon.  Are you ready to come home, dear one?"

The child looked at the woman with a hint of recognition in her eyes.  She
assessed the risk and made her decision.

Cautiously, the little girl stretched her hand to the dead woman.

"Momma..." she said.  The psychologist smiled.

******

Sarah's heart raced as she saw the trio walking towards her that morning.
Ted, Corey, and Freddy were carrying bags and cups.  Obviously they were
supplying breakfast.

Ted and Corey were greeted with kisses and Freddy with a hug.  Freddy had a
bemused look on her face as she watched her brother and Sarah.  Obviously
she approved.

"What brings you here?" Sarah asked happily.

"We're taking Bulls' watch.  He's not feeling so well."  He handed Sarah a
danish and coffee.

"How bad is it?" Sarah asked.  Ted shrugged.

"I'll go back after breakfast and fix him right up."  She took a huge,
masculine bite out of the danish.  After she realized what she had done,
she turned a pretty pink color and chewed more slowly.  Her next bite was a
dainty one.

Still embarrassed, she looked back towards town.

"I guess I'll go take a look at Bull." She said, still slightly pink from
her unladylike behavior, "Uh....bye.  I'll be back in a while."

Ted tried to suppress his laughter as he saw her slapping her forehead as
she walked away.

Twenty minutes later, Freddy announced that she had to use the bathroom.
No longer having the equipment for a clean outdoor urination, she elected
to go back to the café.


******

Sarah was a little surprised to find the door to her room locked.  She
jiggled the doorknob and quickly produced the key.

"Bull!" She called out, "Oh my god, I'm sorry. Wrong room." She stepped
back outside quickly.  She had caught a couple in the middle of the act.
Confused, she looked at the key again and then at the number of the room,
116.  Tentatively, she knocked and stepped back in.

Bull and Debby were in the bed, sheets pulled up to cover themselves.  Both
of them looked incredibly embarrassed.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Do we really have to explain it to you?" Debby said, pulling a t-shirt on
as she slipped out of bed.

"Headache Bull?" she asked, "I take it you feel better now."

"Uh...yeah." Bull said, "Is that what he told you?  I said make up an
excuse!  Don't go givin' a stupid excuse like that to you."

"So how long...." Sarah was

"Months, more or less." Debby said, slipping out of bed and throwing a
t-shirt on. "We..."

"I don't...I....I need to think." Flustered, Sarah slammed the door as she
left quickly.

"Then I couldn't wish for better people for either of you." Sarah said to
herself as she walked away.  "But what's going to happen to me?"

******

Much to the chagrin of the agent, Bud rented a car.  The man looked like a
criminal, that was true, but a check of his credit card brought up a red
flag on his terminal.  It was a 'please this guy at all costs' flag, so he
accommodated.

Bud laughed.

"Think we shoulda done this last night?" He asked Tony.

"Then they would be in the motel and we'd be sleeping in the van watching
that stupid package." Tony snorted, "Right! Like that would happen." She
took a drink from her beer.

Bud slammed on the brakes.

"You asshole!" She yelled at him, "I spilled my beer!"

"Would you look at that?" Bud said, gesturing to the man and child sitting
at the freeway off ramp.

"What?" She asked, trying to dry the beer off her shirt.

"Pay dirt." Bud said, "The kid, that guy, they're in that picture book.
Real close to the Whisperer."

"All we're s'posed to do is get that package back to the boss." She said
reproachfully, "But this is way too easy to pass up."

******

Freddy wandered back to the freeway.  She was somewhat annoyed at the
limitations of her new 'plumbing' but wouldn't change back for anything.
Becoming a complete woman was just a dream for her before, but now it was
reality.

Her heart stuck in her chest at the scene before her.

"Aunt Freddy, help!" Corey shrieked.  Some little blond guy was forcing the
young child bodily into a running car.  Or was it a woman?  Her brother was
nowhere to be seen. Before she could get there, the car squealed away.

Panting from the exertion, Freddy tried to remember everything about the
car.  She started to make her way back to the motel as fast as she could.

Cursing her own slowness, she made it there in an agonizing 10 minutes.
Bull and Debby saw her as she made her way into the lot and rushed to help
her.

Freddy was trying to get into the pickup when they got over to her.

"What's wrong?" Debby asked.

"Car....Corey.....Ted......gone.....kidnapped." Freddy replied
breathlessly.  Somehow, Debby made sense of this.

"Find Sarah." She told Bull. She turned to Freddy, "I'm driving."

As they pulled away, Bull screamed one more question.

"Which way?"

"West." He heard Freddy yell as they screeched their own tires in pursuit.

Sarah was nowhere to be found.  Bull started searching the town, the
hospital, even the jailhouse.  No one had seen her and few people even knew
who she was.

******

"It was a Blue Ford." Freddy said finally. "Corey was screaming!" She
started to cry.

There were no cars on the road at all. No sign of the kidnappers at all.
About 15 miles up the road there was a small campsite set up, but no
vehicles to be seen at all.  They continued on.

******

Sarah was sitting in front of the hotel room when Bull got back.  Quickly
he explained the urgency of the situation.  She disappeared into the room
and returned within seconds.

"You drive." She said, getting into the back seat.

******

"I can't believe you idiots did this with no planning at all." Pete snarled
at Tony.  She and Tom had swapped vehicles so both could be filled in on
the story.  Pete frantically dialed the phone..  When they finally picked
up the phone he started snapping orders.

"We need transport at the nearest airport ASAP.  Thirty minutes?  We need
it in five!"

Pete pulled the van over and signaled the other car to do the same.  He met
them carrying the ever present package under his arm.

"Okay, they know what our van looks like." Tom said, "I got that much from
him."

"Fine, let them catch the car, but give them a good chase.  We'll be at
Warwick Airfield.  Put 'em in the van.  Tom and Bud you go in the car.
Tony, you're with me."

Tom let them go into the distance before he started the car again.  He
started down the highway, staying just below the speed limit

******

"That's them!" Freddy pointed frantically.  Debby pushed the car just a
little harder, a little closer to a loss of control.  Upon seeing the car
approaching fast behind them, Tom floored the accelerator.

"Move it, man." Bud said, turning in his seat to watch the approaching car.
Tom noticed that far ahead a cloud of dirt was being thrown in the air in a
perpendicular track to the highway.  The van was clear of the highway.  The
plan was working.

******

"Just keep your face forward, Bull." Sarah said, as she lay flat on the
seat. "I don't want you getting any ideas about me." A shirt and jeans
flipped up into the passenger seat.  Quickly after, Sarah reappeared
climbing over the back of the seat.

"Sarah, Debby and I Lov...." he stopped short and stared at her.

She was wearing a cowl mask on her face and what looked like an armored
leotard.  She started pulling the boots on and tucked a pair of gloves into
her belt.  Bull kept stealing glances over at her.  He was preparing to
speak when she stopped him.

"Not one word." She told him seriously, "Or I'll break your neck."

Bull smirked silently as he prodded the car into a faster pursuit.

******

 Debby's driving was aggressive and dangerous.  When she finally caught up
with the fleeing car she tried to force it off the road.

"Careful!" Freddy complained, "Ted and Corey are in there!"

"Well, I have to stop them." Debby replied, "Any ideas?"

"No."

"Listen, if they are just hurt then Sarah can heal them good as new.  But I
have to get them to stop!"

"Just try not to hurt them!"

Just as Freddy was saying this, Debby knocked the other car off the road.
Ahead of the car was a telephone pole and a huge ditch.  Freddy screamed in
panic until both cars stopped.

The kidnappers car was pinned between the pole and Freddy's car.

"What now?" Freddy asked, suddenly realizing that they were two unarmed
women pursuing criminals.

Surprisingly, it was answered for them.  Two men got out of the car, hands
up in surrender.  One held a set of keys over his head.

"Don't kill us!" they pleaded.  Debby and Freddy stared at each other a
moment and shrugged.

"I don't recognize them." Freddy said skeptically.  They got out of the
car.

"Hands on the hood and drop your keys." Debby said authoritatively, her
hand in her pocket imitating a gun.  They complied.

Freddy started looking in the car.  She saw no sign of Ted or Corey.  Debby
kept an eye on the men and tied their hands behind their backs.  They stood
on either side of the car facing each other.  One was a regular looking
businessman and the other looked like some kind of biker-an unlikely pair.
Cautiously, Freddy opened the trunk.

"They aren't here." Freddy said, completing her search.  Suddenly the biker
guy started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Debby demanded.

"The bird has flown, man.  The bird has flown." The unkempt man laughed.
At these words, the businessman's head snapped up.  He stared a warning at
his partner.

Freddy and Debby also shared a knowing look.

"The airport." They both said in unison.  They jumped in their car and sped
back in the direction they came.

"Idiot." Tom said to Bud, who was struggling at his bonds.

A few minutes later, a dust cloud could be seen behind them.

The chase was back on, this time in reverse.

******

Bull and Sarah sped along the highway, not knowing what they were looking
for exactly.  Roils of dust clouds were on the horizon. The stirred-up dirt
confounded their vision and made them more nervous after each mile.

"Stop the car." Sarah finally said.

"Here?" Bull asked, even as he was doing it.

"This'll do.  Get out, I need your help with this one."  She stepped out of
the car.  Sarah felt ridiculous in the outfit but they knew they were going
into danger.  If they could only find where it was.

"I'll put you back afterwards.  Long arms." Bull's arms stretched.  They
nearly reached the ground.  "Strength."  She stared at her own legs.

"Power, speed. Lighter" She said, careful not to take a step. "You have to
catch me." She crouched down and jumped.  She took off like a rocket.  She
kept going higher...

And higher...

At ground level the horizon is only 3 miles away.  Double that and is
raises to four miles.  Double again and it is six.  When your eye level is
at four hundred feet, and the surrounding terrain is relatively flat, you
can see for almost 25 miles.

Sarah felt her ascent slowing.  She peered over the dust cloud that
surrounded them.  Whipping her arms in a twisting motion, she started a
slow rotation.  She found the source.  About five miles ahead two cars were
speeding towards an airport on a dirt road.

She started to fall.

Without the power of her upward thrust, she was at the mercy of the winds
and gravity.  She started tumbling.  Splaying her arms, she stopped most of
the motion and found herself face down to the ground.

"Feet heavier."  Her body reoriented to a feet-down position.  She directed
her fall towards Bull as well as she could.  She estimated her weight at
nearly fifty pounds; even at that lighter weight she quickly reached
terminal velocity.  Without a parachute, there was nothing more she could
do to slow her fall.

Thirty feet above Bull and aimed inexorably toward him, she shouted.

"Child...lighter."  Her size and mass reduced once again.  She struggled to
keep her now oversize costume covering her.  Her boots fell off.

She heard a crack and a scream as she hit Bull at full speed.

"I'm so sorry Bull." She said. Sarah had landed unharmed but Bull's arms
popped out of the sockets at the shoulders.  He dropped her instantly,
screaming.

"Pain, arms, strength."  Bull's screaming stopped instantly.

"Adult." Sarah said, "Normal weight."

"They're about five miles behind us." She told him, searching for her other
boot. "Heading to an airport."  She found it on the roof of the car where
it had left a healthy dent.

"Let's go." Bull said.

******

Pete eyed the horizon.  The dust cloud was getting closer.  Someone was
coming.

"Where is that damn plane?" he started pacing, eying his watch while trying
not to drop the package and keep his gun out.  Tony kept scanning the
horizon.  The prisoners were tied up in the van.  The little boy kept
saying he had to pee.

"Just piss your pants, brat." She told him. She slammed the door of the
van.  The whining was much quieter with the door closed, Tony thought.

The sound of a jet engine stopped Pete's pacing.  The cloud of dust was
really close now.

"There!" Tony shouted.  Approaching the edge of the runway, a small
commuter jet was just about to land.

They gathered the prisoners from their van.  Ted and Corey's legs were
untied from the van floor. Pete led the child towards the plane and held
the securely wrapped package in the other. There was a sound of tires
screeching to a halt just as the plane started to taxi towards them.

Several people stood at a nearby hangar and watched the drama.

"Corey!" Freddy yelled as she ran towards them.  Tony pulled out her gun to
aim at the woman who was sprinting towards them.

"No, you idiot." Pete yelled, turning towards Tony, "Get him in the plane."

He lost his grip on the package.  In trying to recover, he lost his grip on
the child.

"Run, Corey, run!" Ted shouted. "Go to the buildings!" Tony hit him with
her gun.  He shut up.

Corey did as he was told, he ran.

Pete recovered the package just before it hit the ground.  Dragging a
struggling Ted, Pete and Tony started making their way back towards the
aircraft.  The second car pulled up almost immediately.  Debby and Freddy
kept inching forward only to stop whenever Tony turned back towards them.
Attentive to their goal of freeing Ted, they never noticed the pair coming
up to them from behind.

They weren't making much progress.

Danger loomed up at them from behind.

The sirens surprised everyone.  Every eye turned to the entrance road where
several police cars were speeding towards the scene of the kidnapping.

Debby and Freddy saw their pursuers, they started to run.  Tom and Bud
caught them quickly and carried them into the plane.  Everyone on board,
the door closed and the plane started to taxi once again.

>From the top of a tall hangar a lone figure dropped sixty feet and landed
lightly on the ground.

A blur of black streaked towards the moving plane.

"Tango Delta One Niner, you do not have permission to take off. I
repeat..." the radio in the cockpit squawked.

"Turn it off!" Pete yelled at the cockpit.  Ted took the opportunity to
head butt Tony in the gut and try to make a break for the door.

Bud and Tony jumped him immediately.  Bud held him down and Tony held a gun
to his head.  The plane started bouncing as it gained speed.

They were at 70 knots and accelerating.

A head appeared in the window.

"There's another one.  She's trying to get away!" A cop yelled and raised
his pistol at the woman in black.

The gunshots happened simultaneously.  Tony shot Ted just as the police
officer shot Sarah.  Sarah saw Ted's head loll forward just as she fell to
the ground.

"No!" Sarah screamed, another bullet entered her leg. "Head wound!" She
yelled at the plane, thinking only of Ted.  She looked at her own injuries.
The police were racing up to her, guns aimed at her from the windows.

"Bullet wound." She screamed at the window of the plane, not knowing if it
would be enough.  Ted might be dead already.

Her raw fury was apparent even through the half mask she wore.  She stood.

"Hold it right there!" The bullhorn blared.  The sound of multiple weapons
cocking was intimidating.  She walked towards them.

"This is your last chance.  Drop to the ground or we open fire!"

"Blind." Sarah said. "You killed him.  You stupid, incompetent..." A police
officer groped for his radio.  "Mute." She said.

All the chatter between the police officers stopped.

In the distance she saw Corey wandering around by the hangar.  Bull was
pulling into the airfield.

At a normal person's pace she ran to Corey, leaving the police to their
fate.

"Are you okay?" Sarah said, removing her mask.  The child was scared.

"Sarah!" Corey flung his arms around her neck.  Bull pulled up to them.

"What about them?" Bull asked, gesturing to the silent group of police
officers who were groping their way around the airstrip.

"Who cares?" Sarah said.  She held Corey on her lap as she got into the
car.

She held the small boy against her chest and cried, perhaps her first real
tears of mourning since the loss of her family.

******

Safely airborne, the small jet started flying exceptionally low.  The pilot
secured the transponder and concentrated on not crashing.

Essentially invisible to air traffic control, they proceeded with the plan.

The co-pilot pulled a circuit breaker and the skin of the plane containing
its unique identifiers simply fell off.  The crying in the passenger
compartment was getting very annoying.  The co-pilot closed the door.

Within 20 minutes, the small passenger plane was coming in for a landing on
a small road.  A black van pulled up to the door.  A man in a suit similar
to Pete's stepped out and held out his hand.

"I'll take the package from here." He said.

"Like hell." Pete said, tucking the package under his arm.  He climbed into
the van and waved the plane away.  The first man got back into the van and
sat at the drivers seat.  Pete's shirt was stained with blood and his face
had barely any color to it.

"What happened back there?" The driver asked.

What the hell am I risking my life for? Pete thought.

Pete felt he had nothing left to lose.  He grabbed a pocketknife and cut
the package open.  He snorted and dumped the contents on the floor.

Packing peanuts and fishing weights.

"A mistake." Pete said, "Just drive."

******

Epilogue

The local police were more interested in finding out what happened to their
men than about the abandoned vehicle left at the airport.  Since six
officers had been blinded and could no longer speak, every available hand
was on patrol.

It was janitors that inspected the van.

Pete's black van was towed to an impound lot.  Three men entered the
vehicle, casually looking for some clue as to the identity of the
kidnappers and maybe as to who got kidnapped.  Most of the van was full of
garbage, and what kind of clue was garbage?

The most likely victim was the owner of the pickup, also found abandoned at
the airport.  But there was no motive for that whatsoever.

The luggage area behind the seats was packed with fast food wrappers and
various pieces of tourist junk.  One of the fast food wrappers stuck to the
carpet.

"This is gross." He said, tugging on the stuck bag.  A moldy soda spilled
on the carpet where he was working.  As he tugged a little harder and
section of floorboard came up with a good-sized chunk of carpet.  The
remaining trash and souvenirs flew into the lot, scattering all over the
floor with a smelly crash.

"Screw it!" the man said, "There's no clues here!  I'm going to wash up."

His partner brought a snow shovel and scooped all the trash into a large
dumpster.

No one noticed the beat up brass lamp as it clanged against the side of the
dumpster.

No one cared.

******

Casper led Robert into the building, holding his tiny hand.  They looked to
be the perfect mother and daughter.  Robert maintained his 'child-act' even
when they were alone in the back of the limousine.  Now the man in a
child's body was strangely silent.

He entered his office and sat at his desk, the very same desk that Robert
had appropriated all those months ago.  Robert climbed onto the couch.

"Robert? Are you all right?"

"Yes Mommy." Robert said, absentmindedly preening his doll.

"Then stop this.  Do you want to get back to your normal form or not?  I
know I do."  She sat at the desk and lit a cigar.

"Yes, Mommy....Casper." Robert said, trying to maintain an adult frame of
mind.  He still held his doll and had an overwhelming desire to put his
thumb in his mouth.

"That's my boy." Casper said.  Roberts' attention had wandered.  He was
busy scolding his doll for wetting the diaper he had started to
change. Casper shook his head, "My dear boy."

******

Sarah sat in the backseat of the car while Bull drove.  She no longer wore
her costume for fear of scaring Corey more.

A phone call to Z had shown that the plane had dropped off the face of the
planet.  For right now, all she was concerned with was the small child
asleep in her lap.

Bull pointedly stared forward.  He hadn't said a word to her since the
airport.

He was still angry about the police.

Sarah didn't care.

******


End Part 8