Shrunken women board

Back in Lucas’ room, Erica was sitting on Lucas lap, practically purring as he held her, rubbing her back and shoulders, running his fingers through her hair and massaging her scalp. She clung to him almost desperately with her face pressed against his giant, muscular chest. Erica hardly moved as Lucas ran his fingers and hands up and down her back, but as he would work his fingers up her spine, she would sigh inattentively.

“Are you okay, Kitten?” Lucas asked her. Erica simply nodded against him and sighed heavily. “How do you feel?” Lucas asked her. They sat in silence together, Lucas continuing to rub her back and head with neither saying another word. “Kitten?” Lucas eventually prodded.

“I feel safe,” Erica said quietly to him. Lucas grinned suddenly at her comment and kissed her on top of her head. For several minutes, Erica just remained curled in Lucas’ arms, enjoying the feeling of the closeness, then something stirred within her and she tipped her head upward, looking into Lucas’ soft stone eyes, smiling from above. They regarded each other, Erica staring deep into his eyes, a vague smile on her lips. She uncurled her body and leaned up, and up until her lips met with his, slowly, carefully, tentatively, her fingers quivering very slightly as they made contact with his cheek, as though she was a fawn, testing a clearing in the forest to be certain it was safe. The first kiss was gentle, like a soft breeze, but it lingered and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The second was soft and warm and lasted even longer. By the third, Erica was wrapping her arms around Lucas’ neck and had opened her mouth, reaching inside in search of Lucas’ tongue.

The temperature of Erica’s skin had increased, and her neck and shoulders had become flushed with red and it suddenly became clear that Erica was becoming overcome with passion. She kissed more and more fervently, while Lucas lifted her upright and held her watchfully in his hands. After a few minutes, Lucas turned his body and began to lay Erica down on her back. Erica grinned in the midst of her kiss, not bothering to open her eyes, and unwilling to fight Lucas as he lowered her to the bed.

Slowly, Lucas slipped three of his fingers underneath the bottom of her shirt, barely making contact with the skin of her tummy and causing Erica to twitch and squirm involuntarily at the ticklish sensations. Lucas then began pulling Erica’s shirt upward, slowly, tediously, Erica trembling ever so slightly in anticipation. Her shirt was pulled upward, past her belly button, upward to her ribs, then over her swollen breasts as they heaved up and down as Erica’s breathing took on an intense rhythm. She lifted her arms up and Lucas pulled her shirt up over her head, Erica grinning up at Lucas as he inspected her flush skin of the chest and shoulders he had just exposed. She reached up, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and yanked it pulling it upward, but couldn’t reach nearly as far as she needed to and stopped, looking at Lucas with pleading eyes.

“Can you take this off?” She asked Lucas gently.

Lucas leaned down, kissing her cheek, then her earlobe, then whispered back, “as you wish.” Erica grinned wider as Lucas pulled his own shirt off, exposing his chest for her, and then he leaned back down, kissing her passionately again, chasing her miniature tongue with his, his own breathing beginning to race somewhat now. Erica grabbed his hand and placed it against her right breast, and arched her back as he squeezed it gently, his massive fingers massaging at the mound of flesh through the fabric of her sports bra, and Erica’s nipple swelling and stretching out pushing right through the fabric that imprisoned it. Without warning, Lucas began to tediously drag is fingers away from her breast down her stomach, tracing her skin ever so lightly with Erica twitching again at the ticklish sensations. Eventually, Lucas reached the waist of her jeans and began the work of patiently unbuttoning them, one button at a time as he continued to kiss her from above and she ran her hands across the wide expanse of his chest.

Without realizing it, Erica found herself pushing her hips up into the air as Lucas unfastened the last button. He reached inside her pants, caressing the front of Erica’s hips and down between her legs before pulling his hand back and grabbing the waist of her jeans. Lucas began to slowly pull her pants downward, though Erica had become impatient by this point and released his chest, gripped the waist of her jeans with both hands and yanked down. Lucas had other plans, however and held onto them tightly, not allowing Erica to take them anywhere without his approval. She fought and struggled against his grip, even trying to pry his fingers free of her jeans, but finally relented, and broke the kiss, and looked up at Lucas, grinning.

She stared into his eyes lustfully, then bit down on her lip as he began to again slowly draw her pants downward. “Fuckin’ tease,” she whispered to him with a giggle. He smiled and leaned in again, kissing her passionately, her waiting with increasing frustration as her jeans went down her thighs, then her calves, and finally past her feet before he tossed them away absent mindedly.

Erica reached toward Lucas’ waist now, but found his belt beyond her grasp, then moaned in frustration. Lucas smiled and slipped two fingers underneath her bra and drew it upward, exposing her pert, plump breasts, then off of her. She tried to sit up, but Lucas gently pushed her back down, holding her on the bed in his grasp. Once again, Erica moaned in frustration as Lucas began tracing his fingertip lightly down from her collar bone, over her breasts, gently brushing over them and around in light circles around her areolas and nipples, causing them to stiffen achingly at his touch.

He continued down her body, Erica’s eyes locked in his, her mouth partially open and Lucas leaned down again and kissed her. She grabbed his head and kissed back like a hungry beast, desperately devouring the giant above her. Meanwhile, Lucas continued to slowly trace his fingertips down her body, over her stomach, down to her hips.

Lucas’ ran his fingers over her underwear, past her mound to her thigh, which he grabbed firmly. Erica moaned softly and opened her legs, pressing her hips up into the air, grinning as Lucas rubbed his whole hand up and down the inside of her thigh. Occasionally, he would squeeze his massive hand around her legs, exciting Erica as she split her legs further apart.

At long last, she exhaled in relief as she felt his fingers slide back upwards again, coming to a stop at the edged of her panties. Lucas gently began rubbing the skin at the edge of her underwear, causing Erica to subconsciously pump her hips up and down, trying to gain some friction against his hand. She spread her legs even wider, opening her pussy, which was still covered by her last remaining vestige of clothing.

Erica’s efforts were not in vain, however, as she managed to pull her legs wide enough that one side of her labia slipped past the outer seam of her panties and she gasped as Lucas’ fingers glided smoothly across the slick patch of freshly exposed skin. She turned her hips, pressing upward, purring as his fingertips slipped to the wet inner wall of her labia, but Lucas matched her movements, not allowing his fingers to go any further than very slightly deeper into her womanhood.

Erica’s heart raced, she looked up at her lover with a burning heat in her eyes. “How can you hold back so much? You know I want you inside me, how can you make me wait like this? I need you Lucas… How can you just hold back so easily?”

Lucas whispered softly into her ear. “Want to hear a secret?”

“Yes,” Erica gasped as Lucas sucked on her earlobe.

“It’s not easy. I’m about to climax right now just watching you. It’s so sexy watching you like this, I can barely contain myself. If I don’t go slow, there’s no way I could last for you.” Erica listened to his voice in her ear, gasping for air, and absent-mindedly reaching inside her panties, fingering herself as he spoke.

“Do you want me?” Erica moaned.

“Desperately.”

“Then take me.. please…” Erica asked softly, yet with a burning intensity in her eyes.

“As you wish, Kitten,” Lucas whispered in her ear. Lucas unfastened his belt as he kissed her and pulled it off. He then pulled his pants off, with Erica watching as her breathing raced and Lucas’ engorged and stiffened rod became exposed. While she waited, Erica grabbed her underwear and yanked them off, throwing them aside and watched as her giant lover rolled over, completely naked, looming above her. He placed his hands underneath her and slid her down the bed away from the pillows, laying her on her back and they stared at each other, he down to her, her up and up to him as his massive body lifted up above her, his cock sticking down, pointed directly at her waiting, soaking sex. She gripped it with both hands and stroked it, pulling down on it as she opened her legs.

He followed her lead, though at a snail’s pace, frustrating and delighting Erica as she squirmed, waiting anxiously for their bodies to make contact. With a tremor through her entire little body, she gasped as the head of his cock finally pressed up between the spread open lips of Erica’s waiting, soaked pussy. And finally she reached up to the base of his shaft, wrapping around it with both hands as she pressed her hips up in an attempt to open herself wide enough for him. Erica pulled down on Lucas with all of her minuscule weight and slowly Lucas pressed his rigid staff against her with more and more force as she tried her very best to force him inside of her.

As with their previous sessions, Lucas took his time, waiting patiently for Erica to be ready to accept slightly more of his cock, then pausing, then working what was inside of her in and out slowly, then pushing slightly deeper, and repeating until this time almost managing to push all of himself into her waiting vagina while Erica lay on her back, now clutching the covers in both hands, staring up at Lucas while biting her lip and panting heavily.

Once she felt she was at full capacity, she reached up with both hands and pushed against his stomach, which Lucas took as a sign to stop. She then placed her hands on Lucas’ hips and began pushing and pulling Lucas hips, guiding her slowly in and out of her as she gradually became accustomed to the presence of his cock filling her up from inside of her.

Once ready, she pulled down hard on his hips, and Lucas pushed deep within her, almost all the way in. Erica gasped and squirmed at the feeling as his cock slid slowly, inevitably deeper within her, her body twitching involuntarily and the moans escaping her lips frustrating her as she tried to maintain enough concentration so as to not disturb their neighbor in the next room. Just before the base of Lucas’ cock reached Erica’s labia, she stopped him again, her entire body stuttering as she realized she could go no further. She stopped him, then caught her breath before looking up at the wall of flesh in front of her that was Lucas’ stomach and chest, tightly flexed as Lucas held himself above her, while he clenched his own eyes shut, doing his best to remain in control of his own body.

Erica panted on and on, then finally began pushing and pulling on Lucas’ hips again, this time slightly faster, and Lucas followed suit, making sure to sometimes dip his hips a little lower to change the angle at which he entered her slightly, or shift to the right of left, forcing Erica to let go of his hips and clench the covers of the bed again. Lucas continued for several minutes, his own massive frame shuddering slightly occasionally from the intense sensations.

“Talk to me,” She pleaded, looking far up at the giant’s face. Lucas’ body shuddered a couple times, but he regained his composure and smiled down at Erica.

“Does this feel good?” Lucas whispered to her.

“Yes…” Erica panted.

“How about this?” Lucas asked as he twisted his hips slightly, changing the angle at which he entered her in a new direction. Erica opened her mouth wide and gasped, unable to keep her eyes open.

“U-u-u-u-uhhhhh, y-y-yeessss,” she moaned in response.

“Kitten, you feel so good, Kitten. I want to feel you around me, I want to feel your body. I want you, Kitten….”

“Y-y-y-ou d-d-doo?” Erica moaned, fighting to keep her voice down.

“Yes, Kitten,” Lucas almost grunted as he fought to control himself. “I want you so bad. Everything about you feels so good, Kitten. I just want to…” Erica looked up at him as Lucas struggled. “I just want to…”

“Y-y-yesss?” Erica whimpered, biting her lip.

“I want to make you climax, Kitten,” Lucas struggled to tell her. “I want you to cum with me. I want to feel your naked body thrust against mine, and I can’t hold it in anymore,” Lucas told her as he shook.

“U-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-uhhhhhhhh,” Erica moaned as she pulled the covers up and threw her head back. A moment later, she bucked her hips up at Lucas spastically, then fell back convulsing as she finally set Lucas over the edge and he caught himself, dropping to his elbows above her and involuntarily thrust into her repeatedly as he spilled his load deep within her. Both lay like this for a an extended time, catching their respective breaths before Lucas noticed the drop of sweat running down his cheek, then wiped his face with his fingertips and rolled off of Erica, who squirmed in place on top of the covers.

Lucas took a deep breath and grabbed Erica, lifting her up and rolling her over and onto his chest, and caressed her for several minutes as Erica’s tremors throughout her body faded slowly and she at last lay motionless on top of her giant lover. Once Erica had settled, Lucas began running his fingers through her hair and kissing her on top of her head, allowing her to take her time to fall back into reality.

“Good work..” Erica panted, grinning. “Do you think she heard us?”

“I don’t think so,” Lucas told her.

“This feels so good,” Erica said as she pressed her ear against Lucas chest above his heartbeat.

“It really does,” Lucas told her as he kissed her on top of her head.

“So really, didn’t you think I could have handled Alicia and Michelle on my own?”

“Of course I did, Kitten. We just have other issues we need to take into account now.”

“So what now? I’m still unemployed and shrunk and too small to get work elsewhere. What do I do now?”

“Well, I say we just take it one day at a time,” Lucas told her as he massaged her shoulders.

“Then what do we do tomorrow?”

“Already got it worked out, Lucas told her softly and kissed her on top of her head again. Erica pushed herself up and looked into his eyes.

“It is?”

“Yep. Already worked out, you won’t have to worry about a thing.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“You’ll see.”

“You know, I let you put your freakishly large thing inside me, I think I deserve better than ‘you’ll see,’” Erica taunted Lucas.

“Yeah, you were the one that started that, and you’re also the one that got to climax first. Nice try though,” Lucas joked.

“You are such a fucking tease!” Erica giggled.

“Would you have it any other way?”

“No,” Erica said, sticking her tongue out at Lucas. Lucas chuckled and rolled over, holding on to Erica, then pulled the covers up and slid beneath them, taking great care to cover Erica up, and then he switched off the light.

“Good night Kitten, Lucas told her softly.

“Good night,” Erica said back as she rested her head above Lucas’ heartbeat again and closed her eyes.

Quite some time passed by in silence with Lucas massaging away at Erica’s back before he finally gave in and asked her, “can’t sleep, Kitten?”

“No. You?”

“I can, I’m just holding off for you.”

“Why?”

“Rough day for you. I want to make sure you’re alright before I let myself sleep.” Erica smiled and looked up at the shadow of Lucas’ face in the dark. “What is it?” Lucas asked her quietly.

“Alicia…” Erica told him softly.

“Go check on her.

“Are you sure? What if she gets mad?”

“Go… The sweatshirt is sitting right in front of my night stand,” Lucas told her. Erica pushed herself up and crawled up to Lucas, kissing him on his lips then rolled over. Lucas slid his underneath her thighs then reached over the side of the bed lowering Erica until she could reach the ground. Erica stooped over, shivering in the cool air and found the sweatshirt where Lucas said it would be and slipped it on. She then left the bedroom and made her way over to the spare bedroom door, and stood for a few minutes, too nervous to go further.

Erica fidgeted at the door, trying to figure out what to do, then finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door gently and waited a moment. After there was no answer, Erica reached up with both hands and turned the door knob, and opened the door enough to peer into the dark room.

“Alicia, are you asleep?” Erica whispered. Before her, across the room, she could see Alicia lying on the bed, turned to her side, completely silent. “Alicia?” Erica whispered again. Once more, there was no answer. Erica waited a moment, then closed the door.

Alicia lay on her side in the dark, facing the wall, tears welling in her eyes, lying perfectly still. She swallowed hard, then held her breath, taking great care not to make a sound. When she was certain she was alone again, Alicia took a deep, quivering breath.

“You’re a terrible faker,” Erica said loudly hanging over the side of the bed just above Alicia’s pillow, inches away from Alicia’s face.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Alicia screamed out at the top of her lungs, jumping up and falling out of bed unceremoniously onto her rump. She looked up at the shadow of the miniature woman sitting on her pillow, giggling away. “Don’t do that!!” Alicia yelled at Erica, causing her to giggle even louder.

“Still jumpy,” Erica teased giddily.

“What do you want? I was sleeping,” Alicia said angrily as she stood and rubbed her bottom.

“No you weren’t. You were faking.”

“What do you want?”

“Can’t sleep?”

“No,” Alicia admitted, and plopped down on the bed next to Erica, causing the bed to sink down where she sat and Erica to tip over. Erica climbed to her knees again and fixed her hair, this time, Alicia giggling at her friend.

“Me either,” Erica told her. “Hey, can I ask you a favor?” Erica whispered.

“Fine. What?”

“Can I look at the website again you belong to?”

“You already have my password and username. There’s nothing I can do to stop you,” Alicia said back, grumpy.

“I know, and it was wrong,” Erica replied with sincerity. “I won’t go in there without your permission again. Can you… I dunno, show me around the website?”

“Why?” Alicia asked, uncertain how to respond.

“I dunno. I guess I kinda like this whole shrinking thing, and… can you just show me around the website? I wanna see the stuff you like on there.” Alicia sat in silence staring at Erica. “Please Alicia? I swear, I won’t go in again without your permission. Please can I see some of it?”

“Alright,” Alicia agreed and walked to the other side of the room, grabbing her laptop. She sat down and opened the lid, illuminating them both in a soft light and looked at Erica, trying to determine Erica’s motives. Erica just looked up at her, staring into her eyes, with a sincere expression. “You really want to look at a fetish site with me? I mean, there’s a lot of… well.. smut in there.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. It can’t be that bad, can it? I mean other than that one with the knives, and…”

“Yeah, we’ll stay away from the vore stuff,” Alicia reassured her. Alicia logged in and sifted through the site. I’ll show you my favorite drawing,” Alicia told her, searching through the site. Eventually, Alicia came across a link and opened it, finding a detailed black and white sketch of a woman standing behind a row of seats, her boots riding far too high up her legs, her skirt fallen to her knees and her shirt hanging around her like a dress.

“Oh, cute!” Erica giggled. “All her clothes are all baggy!”

“Yep,” Alicia told her. “I used to buy clothes that big and wear them around my apartment to try to feel like her.”

“It reminds me of Friday night,” Erica said, leaning in. Erica examined the picture for a moment, taking in all the details until Alicia went back to the previous page and selected another link. In this link was a colored drawing of two women, completely naked, trapped in a jar. Erica laughed out loud at them and the looks on the faces. Alicia went back again and found another picture, another black and white sketch, this one of a woman, about Erica’s size, sitting high up on a bed, her shirt falling off her shoulder, exposing her breast as her normal sized friend approached in a swim suit. Erica giggled again.

“I love this one. It goes with a favorite story of mine,” Alicia said with a grin. Erica leaned close over Alicia’s lap, looking the drawing over. The two of them spent almost and hour with Alicia flipping back and forth through drawings watching with intense interest at all the pictures Alicia selected for her.

“Hot,” Erica admitted as they came across a comic of a brunette woman shrinking out of her plaid skirt and sweater.

“I know!” Alicia agreed.

“And you kept this a secret from everyone?” Alicia nodded shyly. “Why?”

“I was afraid someone would react like you did the other night,” Alicia told her with a serious look.

“What about your ex boyfriend? You two were together for years, weren’t you?”

“No, I never told him. I discovered pretty early on that he seemed to be into women that were like… you, or how you were before, so I tried to live up to the role. Not very well though.”

“I think you’d be better minified anyways,” Erica told her with a grin.

“I wouldn’t get very far without the multiplier,” Alicia said with a sad look.

“True, but still. Imagine if your voice was as little as mine…”

“Oh my God! You have the cutest little voice now!!! So, you’re really enjoying being shrunk?”

“Sometimes,” Erica said, inspecting another drawing. “Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s frustrating, I feel so useless and helpless, like most of today, and sometimes, it’s really fuckin’ scary. But…” Erica started to explain, but her thoughts trailed off.

“But what?” Alicia asked, curious beyond measure.

“It all seems to go away when Lucas is there. Does that make me codependent?” Erica looked upward asked Alicia with deep concern in her eyes.

“I don’t think so. He’s really sweet, and he cares so much for you, and he really goes out of his way to make you feel normal, for the most part.”

“He seems to like picking me up though… a lot.”

“It’s hard to resist, Erica! You’re just so… CUTE!”

“I am, aren’t I?” Erica giggled.

“But come on, you like it when he picks you up, don’t you?”

“I guess,” Erica admitted, blushing. “But I’m so useless like this.”

“At least you managed to keep it together through all of this.”

“Not really. I totally freaked at Pfelcher. This hasn’t been an easy day for me.”

“I guess not. But you still handled it better than me. Do you really think Tom and Jerome can help us?”

“I hope so. They did really good at your apartment, so I think it’s worth a try.”

“Hey Erica?” Alicia said, looked at no where in particular.

“Yeah?”

“You’re hardly useless. When you were big, you never would have let me hug you, and earlier, when Tom got here? That really made it easier.”

“You squeezed a little to hard,” Erica told her flatly.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“You were already so upset. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

“Sorry Er-bear.”

“So am I like your stuffed animal now?”

“If you don’t like me hugging you, I won’t. Sorry,” Alicia said with a guilty tone in her voice.

“No, it’s fine, really, I didn’t mean to push.”

“Erica? Why did you come in here? Really?” Erica craned her head upwards and stared up at her friend, considering her question carefully.

“I was worried about you,” Erica admitted. Alicia’s expression melted to one of warmth and a genuine smile spread across her lips.

“So… you didn’t really want to see the shrinking woman site?”

“Well… Yeah I did,” Erica admitted shyly. “I’ve kinda been thinking about it since Saturday. Given my condition and all… So people actually find this attractive, huh?”

“Oh heck yes. There are guys out there that would give an arm and a leg just to meet you,” Alicia giggled. “Though, I think you’re still too tall for most of their tastes.”

“I’m less than three feet tall and there are people who think I’m too tall???” Erica asked, shocked. “How small do they need? How does that even work with… well, you know?”

“It works in their imaginations. There’s all sorts of types out there. A lot of guys seem to like their women around three or four inches.”

“Jesus. I like a challenge, but no thank you to that…” Erica laughed.

“Why don’t you go to bed, I think I’ll be alright now,” Alicia said with a smile.

“You’re sure? I can stay a while if you want to talk more…”

“It’s already late. Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m alright. If you still can’t sleep…”

“I can now, thanks Er-bear,” Alicia said and leaned over far, wrapping her arms around Erica and hugging her tightly. After a good long hug, Alicia sat upright and giggled to herself.

“What?” Erica asked, curious.

“Even shrunk, you’re still sticking up for me and looking out for me,” Alicia commented with a giggle.

“Well, like I’ve always told you. Someone has to stick up for the smart ones. I still expect to be mentioned in your Nobel Prize speech. You’re sure you can sleep?” Erica asked, fighting back a yawn.

“Yeah,” Alicia replied with a smile. “Go back to your white knight.”

“Okay. Good night. Come get me if you can’t sleep again, really. Okay?”

“I will. Thanks Er-bear.” Erica slid off the bed with Alicia’s help and left the room. Alicia turned her computer off and crawled back into bed, curling up in the oversized bathrobe she was still wearing and closed her eyes, still smiling.

Erica walked into Lucas’ bedroom and walked up her stairs onto the bed and over to Lucas, looking down at his sleeping face in the dark. She stepped up to him and knelt, touching his cheek lightly, smiling to herself. To her surprise, Lucas opened his eyes and yawned, then looked up at her. “Hey Kitten. How long you been here?”

“Just got here,” Erica told him.

“How long you been gone?”

“Not sure. A while?”

“What were you two doing for all this time?” Lucas asked, checking the time on his clock.

“Looking at porn,” Erica said with a smirk.

“Now I feel left out,” Lucas pouted.

“The last thing you need is to be looking at smut with Alicia.”

“I beg to differ…”

“I’ll be your own personal porn, how is that?”

“Best offer of my life,” Lucas grinned and chuckled. “Ready for bed?”

“Yeah,” Erica said softly. She unzipped the sweatshirt only slightly and it quite literally fell right off of her. Erica stood completely naked in the puddle of Lucas’ sweatshirt, vaguely lit by the moonlight that trickled in from the window. Lucas looked her over carefully, grinning to himself, while Erica struck a few mock poses for him, and then he rolled over, picked her up and took her into his arms.

Lucas drew her into an embrace and pulled her under the covers with him, only her head peeking out, resting on his chest.

“Good night Kitten. Sweet dreams.”

“Good night,” Erica said with a yawn. She closed her eyes and relaxed as Lucas’ tenderly massaged her back with his fingers and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

“What do you mean?” Erica asked, looking up at Lucas.

“Just give Alicia a hand with the mice downstairs. Make sure their cages are clean and they’ve fed, fresh water, you know.” Lucas told them both with an impish grin.

“What are you up to, mister?” Erica demanded.

“Nothing, just will you do this for me?” Erica rolled her eyes and grabbed Alicia’s hand, pulling her along and down stairs. Lucas wasted no time and went straight to the bathroom. In the basement, Erica took Alicia’s assistance to climb up onto a stool and look at their sleeping mice.

“Do you think that they’re okay living down here?”

“They should be fine,” Alicia replied unemotionally.

“Are you okay?” Erica asked, turning her attention to her friend.

“I’m fine,” Alicia said, unconvincingly.

“Yeah, I’m not feeling it,” Erica retorted back. Alicia just stood and stared at the mice, a couple of whom had gotten up and were inspecting the giants gathered around their cages. Erica crawled over to her on three limbs and placed her hand on Alicia’s. “Alicia…” Erica said, her voice trailing off into the air.

“What?” Alicia replied without any emotion. Erica sat up and took Alicia’s giant hand in both of hers.

“You know, I know that look that Lucas just had.” Alicia stared down to her but didn’t say anything in response. “Come on, you’ve watched him like a hawk for years now, you didn’t notice that smirk of his?”

“What about it?”

“He has a surprise for you,” Erica said, grinning up at Alicia.

“He has a surprise for YOU. You’re the one he wants to please.”

“You wanna bet?” Erica asked with bold eyes.

“I don’t need to bet. He wants to cheer you up after your bad day. That’s who he is.”

“I don’t need it as much as you do. He has a surprise waiting for you upstairs, I know it.”

“He won’t do that, he doesn’t want to make you any more jealous.”

“I’m already jealous. It’s okay, though. I think you need it more than I do.” Alicia looked her little friend up and down, evaluating her. “Come on, let’s take care of the mice, get them all settled and go find out what your surprise is.”

“I told you, he won’t do that because he doesn’t want to make you jealous.”

“So you keep saying,” Erica taunted her with a grin and pulled out a bag of cedar chips.

“Aren’t you going to get upset if he did something like that?”

“Yes,” Erica replied bluntly. “But, it’s okay.”

“He just got done scolding Michelle and me about him being with you, and I haven’t even done anything today!” Alicia complained, frustration evident in her voice.

“Yeah, you’ve been pretty good, other than your breakdown after we escaped Pfelcher. That’s why I’m worried about you.”

“What does that mean?” Alicia snapped with irritation.

“Are hugs the only thing getting through to you tonight?” Erica asked, after dumping an old pile of cedar chip shavings into the wastebasket.

“Excuse me?” Alicia demanded forcefully.

Erica walked across the bench to Alicia and knelt down, putting her a bit less than eye level with Alicia and then took her arm out of her sling and hugged Alicia hard with both hands. “You know Alicia… I really am sorry. If I hadn’t ever taken that serum from you, this would have never happened.”

Alicia stared ahead blankly and listened to Erica. “I’ve hurt you way too many times this weekend, and I’m really sorry, but you know I’ve always been here for you, right? And I’m still here for you,” Erica told her in a sweet tone.

“Stop pulling so hard. You’ll hurt your shoulder again,” Alicia reprimanded her.

“Then hug back,” Erica told her without moving.

Alicia’s expression softened and she wrapped her arms around her diminutive friend, squeezing her like a beloved stuffed animal. “How can you do this without being scared?” Alicia asked after a moment of silence.

“I am scared. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I’m half as tall as I’m supposed to be and a multibillion-dollar international corporation is after us both. I’m scared out of my wits.”

“But you don’t look like it.”

“I guess I’ve learned to hide it,” Erica reasoned out loud. Erica and Alicia remained in silence together for a few minutes before Alicia finally broke the hug and finished adding food to the mice bowls. As she dropped in the food, the mice in one of the cages came out and surrounded her hand, sniffing her, their tiny whiskers tickling her soft flesh. Alicia giggled and rotated her hand, watching with amusement as they ran around it, sniffing it and examining the giant body part that was invading their small home.

Finally, satisfied, Alicia looked to Erica, who covered up the cages and walked back, looking for Alicia’s assistance to step down from the bench. “What do you think his surprise will be for you?” Erica asked with excitement.

“I told you, he’s not going to have a surprise for me.”

“So you keep saying,” Erica said with a giggle as she led her giant friend upstairs. Both women walked out into the living room and looked around, but found no one waiting there. “Lucas?” Erica called out with no response. “Where’d he go?” Erica asked Alicia.

“I have no idea,” Alicia replied, puzzled.

“Lucas??” Erica called out again, this time louder. Down the hallway, Erica and Alicia could hear a door open and Lucas walked down into the living room to meet them.

“Hey,” Lucas said nonchalantly. “Just finishing up. Come on,” Lucas told Alicia, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward.

“M-me??” Alicia stuttered as Lucas pulled her along to the bathroom.

“Told you!” Erica said, gloating over her giant friend. Lucas brought Alicia to the bathroom door and pushed her up to it.

“Go on in, we’ll be right there,” Lucas told her with a smile. Lucas gave her another light shove, and she walked inside the dimly lit bathroom, which Lucas closed behind her. Alicia looked around at the scene. There was an oil lantern sitting lit on the back of the toilet and scented candles sitting on the counter beside the sink and at the head of the tub, which was filled with steaming hot water and bubble bath. On the shelf above it all was Lucas’ laptop, open and active, playing soft music with a visualizer running.

Alicia took in all the sounds and smells, the warm humid air and stood speechless in the migdle of the room. She looked at the tub and watched the hot water set to a trickle and leaned over seeing a green glow from the base of the tub under water. A brief moment Later, Lucas and Erica stepped in and closed the door behind them.

“Holy shit,” Erica commented, looking around at the scene in front of her. “Okay, I lied, I’m not okay…” She said to Alicia peering into the tub. Lucas took Alicia by the hands and sat her on the toilet, then sat on the edge of the tub, looking into her eyes.

“This would normally be something I would do for a girlfriend I’ve been with a while.”

“To get her in the mood?” Erica growled.

“To relax her, to make her feel special,” Lucas explained unemotionally.

“But you’ve done this before to get laid?” Erica snapped.

“I’ve done it before, but not to get laid. The goal then, and now, was to relax to the point where she is ready to just fall asleep.”

“Hmmm,” Erica said skeptically. Alicia continued to look around her, her spirits rising. Lucas took a folded cotton garment and handed it to Alicia. Alicia worked it through her hands and unfolded it to discover a thick, fluffy bathrobe.

“It’s not your size, but I’m thinking you can make it work for now,” Lucas told her with a smile.

“So it’s way too big for me?” Alicia asked, giggling.

“Afraid so,” Lucas said sympathetically.

“I suppose I can find a way to make due,” Alicia said, giggling and hugging the bathrobe to her ample bosom. Erica looked up at her friend with narrowed eyes, evaluating her sudden change in mood.

“Alright, why don’t you get yourself settled and relax for a few minutes. I’ll send Erica in for the rest shortly.”

“The rest? You mean there’s more?” Alicia asked, shocked.

“Yeah, there’s more?” Erica asked jealously.

“Go ahead and get settled,” Lucas told her softly as he let go of her hands and stood, leading Erica out of the bathroom. As they walked down the hallway, Erica glared up at Lucas angrily with a clenched jaw. “Just say it Kitten,” Lucas told her without looking down.

“Why are you putting all the get laid tonight moves on HER?” Erica demanded angrily.

“I’m not, she’s not getting laid tonight unless she goes somewhere else to find it. It’s like I said, I wanted her to feel special and to relax after everything she’s been through.”

“And what about me?” Lucas bent over, wrapping his arm around Erica’s waist and swept her up into the air, causing Erica to chirp in surprise. He held her up in the air and pulled her close, looking squarely into her eyes closely, a warm smile across his lips.

“What about you?”

“Aren’t you supposed to save that kind of stuff for me?” She whined.

“Yes, but this seemed the right time to bend the rules a bit. I am sorry, this is a little thing I really wanted to save for you, but I really felt like we needed to pull out the stops.”

“So no surprises for me?” Erica complained.

“Yes, there are.”

“There are? What’s my surprise?” Erica asked with newfound excitement.

“Well, you’ll have to share it unfortunately, but I think it will still be worth it for you.”

“Why do I have to share my surprise?”

“Because we can’t leave Alicia alone yet.”

“Fine, then show it to me.”

“I can’t yet. Patience, Kitten. It’s very special.”

“When do I get to see it?” Erica complained.

“Have I let you down yet?” Lucas asked her as he ran his fingers through her hair. Erica shook her head no. “Then just hang tight, you’ll know when. In the mean time, let’s make sure we enjoy what we have right now.” He told Erica as he ran his fingertip down to the tip of her nose.

Erica leaned down and wrapped her arm around Lucas’ neck and squeezed him tightly. “Lucas?” She asked almost absent-mindedly. Lucas leaned his head back and looked down at her as she rested her head on his shoulder. “You didn’t think I could handle Michelle and Alicia?”

“Of course I did,” Lucas told her as he made his way to the kitchen.

“Then why did you sit us all down for that talk? Why couldn’t you let me handle it?”

“This is exactly why I waited as long as I did. I thought you might react like this. Kitten, the risk is too high to wait for this to work out on it’s own, and we can’t take a chance of alienating Michelle and Alicia.” Lucas set Erica on the counter and started pulling out items from the fridge and cupboards.

“So you just didn’t think I could handle it well enough?”

“Kitten, I keep telling you this, I wish you’d hear it. Not everyone is as rough and tumble as you are. Sooner or later, odds are that you and Alicia are going to have a blowout, and the last thing we need is her stomping out when she’s in this much danger. Same goes for Michelle. I know you’re little miss ‘I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I’m all outta bubble gum,’ but someone is going to get hurt like that.”

Erica went into a fit of giggles, covering her mouth. “Did you just make that line up?” She asked in between laughs.

“No,” Lucas said, smiling as he started slicing up a log of summer sausage. “It’s from an old movie.”

“What movie? Fuzzy Pink Kitten Ninja Warriors from Omicron Persei Eight?” Lucas stood back amazed at what Erica had just come up with.

“No, but that would be an epic movie name. I forget the name. It was a movie that starred a pro wrestler.”

“So it sucked?”

Lucas laughed out loud. “No, well yeah, it sucked, but it was the kinda thing where they knew it would suck so they made it work for the movie. It was cheesy and fun.”

“What in the world are you making?” Erica asked as Lucas started dropping crackers onto a plate.

“Snacks for you and Alicia.”

“Is that… meat?”

“Yes…”

“Ummmm, no thank you…”

“You don’t like summer sausage?” Lucas asked, befuddled.

“What sausage??”

“Try it,” Lucas told her, giving her a piece with a slice of cheese on top and sandwiched between two crackers.

“Oh…” Erica replied as she tasted the snack cautiously.

“You like?”

“I do… Where do you keep coming up with these foods?” Erica asked as she nibbled away at her snack.

“Here and there. Are you ready to go back in there?”

“Where?”

“The bathroom, with Alicia.”

“We’re going back in, already???”

“I’m not, you are.”

“Don’t you want me with you?”

“I do, but we need to keep an eye on her, make sure she’s feeling better.”

“So… you want me to baby sit her?”

“If that’s how you want to look at it, sure. Either that, or I can go in there while she’s completely naked in the tub…”

“I’ll go,” Erica snapped.

“I thought you might. I have one more thing to add for you, Lucas told her. He grabbed a basket from under the counter and set it on the counter top, then placed the plate full of snacks inside. Once all packed, Lucas reach inside the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine and finally added two wine glasses from the cupboard behind Erica. Lucas then helped Erica down from the counter gently. “I’m guessing you’d rather brave the injured shoulder and carry this in with you rather than have me walk inside there while Alicia’s in the bath?”

“Do you seriously even need to ask?” Erica snapped back. Lucas knelt and grabbed her, turning her around to face him.

“Kitten, I just told both of them in front of you that I’m yours, isn’t that enough?”

“I.. I guess,” Erica replied, struggling for an answer.

“I’m not even kidding, both of them could throw themselves at me at once, believe me when I tell you it doesn’t matter. I want this,” Lucas told her placing his hand very gently against her cheek. As usual, Erica leaned in to his touch without thinking and hugged his massive hand to her cheek, nuzzling it affectionately.

“Damnit! You’re too smooth for your own good. That’s why I have to watch those titanic whores,” Erica griped.

“Hey, go easy on them, especially Alicia. She’s hurting in a real bad way right now. She needs us both.”

“Alright, alright.”

“You really think they have a chance against you?”

“I dunno… I’m so small now…”

“I know, a little package of ultra concentrated hotness.” Erica giggled and blushed. “I need you to stick it out, Kitten. I’m here for you and I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not going to betray you. You’re too valuable a prize to let go through stupidity.”

“Who taught you that one? Jerome or Tom?”

“That one’s all mine,” Lucas said smiling at her. He then took her in his arms and lifted her up, kissing her slowly, gently and sweetly, over and over until he could feel Erica’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Hang in there, Kitten. I’m really worried about Alicia, I’ve got a really bad feeling about how things have been turning out for her.”

“Alright,” Erica agreed.

“Stay with her ‘til she’s ready to get dressed, talk to her, try and enjoy yourselves, just don’t over do it with the wine, okay?”

“Why? You afraid I’ll get all sloppy drunk and want to hump on you tonight?” Erica asked with a naughty grin. Lucas laughed and held her closely again.

“No, I just don’t want you two to have a hangover tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big day.”

“Why? What’s tomorrow?”

“Your surprise.”

“You’re kidding, you’re going to make me wait that long?”

“I have to. I can’t share it with you until then. Have some fun, lighten the mood a bit, and don’t over do it. I want to talk to Alicia when you both are done, if that’s okay.”

“Alone?”

“Just for a minute.”

“Alright, but this surprise had better be good.”

“I think so,” Lucas told her with an impish grin. Erica lifted the basket with a strain and a grunt, then glared at Lucas, who just smiled and opened the door for her, letting her inside and closed it behind her. Alicia was lying in the tub with her head back, relaxing and half asleep from the music.

“Hey,” Erica said as she stumbled forward awkwardly with the massive and bulky basket.

“Hey, what’s that?”

“The rest of your surprise, I guess,” Erica said as she set it down by the side of the tub. Alicia sat up a little, exposing enough of her shoulders to reach over the side of the bathtub to inspect the basket.

“Wine?” Alicia asked looking it over. Erica nodded with a grin. “And a glass for each of us?” Again, Erica nodded. “Oh, and snacks!” Alicia said gleefully.

Erica giggled profusely and pulled the plate out. “He gave you cheese to go with your wine!” Erica teased, pointing to the slices of cheese laid out for them. Alicia joined in the giggles and made a couple cracker sandwiches for them both.

“He’s so thoughtful,” Alicia said as she poured a glass for them both. “He even uncorked it for us.”

“Yeah, he is,” Erica admitted quietly as she sipped her first drink of wine. “So you’re feeling better?”

“I am. I haven’t had a hot bath in a long time,” Alicia said, leaning back and enjoying the tub, holding her wine glass casually in her hand and taking an occasional sip. Erica walked over and climbed up onto the edge of the tub. “Careful, don’t hurt your shoulder,” Alicia told her as she started to sit up towards Erica.

“I’ve got it, I’m being easy on that arm.”

“You don’t have to stay, I’m fine being alone.”

“Well, you’re not alone,” Erica told her as she looked at her giant friend mostly submerged in a pool of bubbles.

“Sorry he did this for me instead of you. I know it must be burning you up inside that he would do something that would look so romantic for me instead of you.”

“It’s alright. He actually did something similar the other night to help be fall back asleep again.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he brought me in here and ran a hot bath and just massaged me until I was falling asleep. He had those candles and that lantern going then too. How did he make the tub glow?”

“He put some glow sticks in the bottom of the tub.”

“Oh, he owes me…” Erica commented dryly, causing Alicia to giggle.

“So what do you think of this Michelle?” Alicia asked Erica as she laid back and closed her eyes.

“She wants Lucas. She said so during my appointment Saturday morning after I told her Lucas wasn’t my boyfriend.”

“Maybe she’ll back off if you just give in and commit to him.”

“I don’t think she will. She’s a lot more aggressive than you are.”

“Sounds a lot like a little munchkin I know.” Erica smiled at Alicia’s response. “Seriously, Erica, why don’t you just commit to him? He’s obviously devoted to you, and I can totally see it on your face. You’re in l…”

“Stop.” Erica ordered Alicia in a stern voice.

“Alright,” Alicia replied after looking at her friend, startled after her curt warning. Alicia lifted her hand out of the water and rested it on her small friend’s hand. “You know, you’re really happy with him. Happier than I’ve ever seen you before. I know it’s only been a few days, but you definitely have a connection.”

“Says the woman who wants him for herself.”

“I want him to be happy, and I want you to be too. You do that for each other.” Erica lowered her head and stared at her dangling feet. “What’s holding you back? Really?”

“It’s… complicated.”

“Everything with you is. If you’re happy together, then be together.”

“I didn’t expect advice like this from you,” Erica replied after looking into Alicia’s warm smile for a good couple minutes.

“I’m having a lot of trouble with this,” Alicia admitted, “but you’re my best friend. He’s been there for you and he obviously wants more with you, and I just want you both to be happy.”

“You were really listening when Lucas told us to stop the fighting, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I came to this conclusion before that.”

“Why did you get so excited when he handed you his bathrobe? Because you’re going to get to wear something of his?” Erica asked, changing the subject.

“Honestly?” Erica nodded. “Okay, I’ll admit that I enjoy the thought of having something of his on me, but that wasn’t really what got me excited.”

“Then what?”

“He’s so much bigger than me, so.. his robe is going to be completely over sized on me…” Erica looked at Alicia, puzzled. Alicia sighed and sat up slightly, looking at Erica closely. “Okay, you know how you wear his sweatshirt around, and you’re like drowning in it?”

“Yeah…”

“I love that feeling, wearing clothes that are way too big for me, it makes me feel like…”

“You’re shrinking,” Erica replied, finishing her sentence for her, Alicia giggled and nodded in response. “You are so weird,” Erica said, laughing.

“I think I was meant to be three feet tall,” Alicia said, giggling.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Erica told her with a smirk.

“Liar!” Alicia blurted out. Alicia and Erica both giggled together enjoying each other’s company, and Alicia becoming more and more relaxed. Alicia remained in the tub another twenty minutes before she finally felt the water getting cool enough that she decided her bath time should be over. She sat up slowly, letting the water rush off over her shoulders and down her soft, plump exposed breasts, trickling over her light pink puffy nipples and stood up. Erica looked up at the giant above her, a perfect view up the creamy, soft white skin of her legs to a well trimmed bush of perfectly red pubic hair, partially, but not totally, obscuring her slit and up above that, two enormous breasts that jutted out from her chest.

Erica leapt off the side of the tub, jumping clear of her giant friend. “Ack!” Erica practically yelled. “Your fiery red pubes do not belong in my face!!”

“As many times as we’ve seen each other in the locker room, I’m surprised it bothers you so much, especially given how you like to strut around,” Alicia said, grabbing a nearby towel and wiping herself dry.

“Well, your gigantic cooter wasn’t directly in my face at the time,” Erica retorted back. Alicia stood in the tub as it drained thinking for a moment.

“Fair point, I guess.” Alicia finished drying off and stepped out of the tub, then put on Lucas’ bathrobe, giggling profusely at how loose it was and how the sleeves dangled past her hands.

“Yep, you’re just like me,” Erica told her, giggling.

“I wish.”

“Come on, Lucas wants to talk to you when you’re done.” Alicia nodded and packed up the basket again, taking it with her, then followed Erica out into the hallway.

“I’m in here,” Lucas said from his bedroom. Erica and Alicia paused and turned and Lucas stepped out to greet them, pausing only for a second to walk into the bathroom and grabbing his laptop. “Alright, want to call your parents still?” he asked Alicia. Alicia smiled and nodded and Lucas led her to the dining room where he set the laptop down in front of Alicia. Alicia sat next to Lucas, while Lucas pulled Erica up to his lap, then ran Skype and called Alicia’s parents through the computer.

Alicia’s parents were in a near panic, but greatly relieved to finally hear from their daughter as Alicia explained that she had had trouble at work and her boss was trying to frame her for stealing company secrets. They didn’t take the news very well, but Alicia assured them she was fine, and with friends who were helping her lay low for a couple days while her lawyer started a case for her, and asked for them to not take any more calls from Pfelcher.

This was enough to calm their most pressing fears and Alicia assured them she would call again when she knew more, but until then she would be just relaxing and laying low. Alicia’s parents gave Alicia their love and best wishes and let her go for the night after Alicia explained that it had been a long day and she was exhausted from all of the events that had transpired.

With their call finished, Lucas turned to Erica and asked her, “How about you, Kitten? Do you want to call your mom and let her know you’re okay too?”

“No, she should be fine,” Erica said casually.

“Why’s that?” Lucas asked her.

“I doubt they have my mom’s number.”

“And why would you say that?” Alicia asked, intensely curious.

“Well, I never gave it to them. Pfelcher probably had your parents’ number because you put them down as your emergency contact, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I never gave them anything like that.”

“They may have found her anyways Kitten. Are you sure you don’t want to check in?”

“She’ll notice the change in my voice. I’m not ready for that,” Erica said with conviction and her head tipped downward.

“I know of some software we could use to disguise your voice, set it back to it’s normal pitch for the call,” Lucas offered. Erica looked at Lucas with hesitation.

“Erica, what if your mom is worried about you? You really should call her,” Alicia prodded.

“Not tonight,” Erica said with uncertainty in her voice. “Even if she was called by Pfelcher, she’d want me to handle this on my own.” Lucas nodded and sat back.

“Lucas, are you seriously going to let her ignore her family?” Alicia asked angrily.

“It’s her choice, Alicia. We’ve given her options and she doesn’t want to. I’m not going to try to force her into something she doesn’t want,” Lucas told Alicia sternly.

“But they want her! What if they go after her mom?” Alicia cried out.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Erica agreed angrily.

“Kitten, you don’t have to if…”

“I’ll do it,” Erica grumbled.

“Is that what you want?” Lucas asked her, putting his hand on hers.

“Yeah, I’ll do it,” Erica agreed.

“Do you want me to set up that software?”

“Yeah,” Erica told him with frustration and hopped down from his lap. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.” She said and walked away.

Once she was out of hearing range, Alicia looked at Lucas with disapproval. “I know you want to be Mr. knight in shining armor, but sometimes you can’t just go with what she wants,” Alicia scolded him.

“I’m not forcing her to do things she isn’t comfortable with,” Lucas argued back.

“It’s her mother,” Alicia argued back angrily. “You just gave us this big pep talk about our safety, and now you’re backing off when Erica’s mom could be in danger because your precious little lady might not like it. She’s Erica’s only family, how could you just let it go like that? And now I get to be the bad guy for trying to get her to do the right thing!” Lucas stopped and thought over Alicia’s argument, uncertain of what to say, he looked downward for a moment, beyond words.

“Alicia, she’s really afraid of dealing with her mom, there must be a reason,” Lucas eventually told her.

“It’s. Her. Mother.” Alicia argued back boldly. Lucas sat still and stared off at the wall, clearly torn. “Lucas, you can’t just do everything that makes her happy. Sometimes you have to stand up to her. You’re already doing too much…” Alicia paused and looked around, making sure they were completely alone. “You’re already doing too much by hiding her nightmares from her. You can’t fix all of her bad feelings, Lucas.”

Lucas nodded and looked up at Alicia finally. “You’re right,” Lucas admitted. In the bathroom, Erica stood on the over turned trashcan, staring at herself in the mirror with the water running. She reached up to the faucet and stopped, looking around the bathroom, then took a deep breath. She leaned over the counter, turned off the water, then left the bathroom after hopping down from her perch and rejoined Lucas and Alicia in the dining room.

“You said you can disguise my voice?” Erica asked, seriously.

“Yes,” Lucas answered, working on the computer as she approached.

“Can you make me sound like normal again?”

“I think so,” Lucas told her. Erica stepped up and motioned for Lucas’ help. He helped her up onto his lap and finished working on the software he had just downloaded. After quite a bit of work, Lucas sent Alicia to the bedroom with his cell phone and called his phone with Skype, and allowed Erica to talk into the computer to Alicia, working diligently, raising and lowering the pitch over and over again until they were confident with the results. Once ready, Erica took a deep breath and dialed her mother.

“Hello?” came a confused voice over the speakers.

“Hi Mom, it’s me.”

“Erica?”

“Yes.”

“Oh this is a surprise. Are you alright, you sound… different.” Her mother said back to Erica. Erica looked up to Lucas in a panic, and Lucas sat back startled as well, but he motioned her to continue as he checked the program again.

“Different? How?” Erica asked, trying to hide her panic.

“I don’t know, I guess your voice sounds a little low…” Erica sighed in relief and sat up again.

“Maybe it’s the phone, I’m borrowing one.”

“I saw that, I almost didn’t pick up. Why do you have your number blocked? Why not just call me on your regular phone?”

“I just… had a rough day, and, it’s tough to explain,” Erica told her.

“Is everything okay sweetie? How’s work?”

“Work is why I’m calling you. Things aren’t going like we’d hoped.”

“I see, you called for advice? Tell me what’s going on…”

“No, I’ve got it covered, but Pfelcher is a dead end, there’s a VP there that is playing hardball with me. Apparently he has a problem with me doing something about his little piglets feeling up my ass.”

“Don’t use their language, dear. You’re above that.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“So what’s your plan? I can talk to a lawyer. She’s very good and…”

“No Mom. I’ve already contacted a lawyer and I’m going to take a break for a bit until we get our case filed. Pfelcher has been making harassing calls to me and a coworker, and her family, that’s why I called.”

“Honey, I’ll get a flight up there, and settle this for you,” Erica’s mother said, rage evident in her tone of voice.

“Mom, I have this covered, let me deal with it.” She looked at Alicia and then to Lucas, who rubbed her shoulders, causing Erica to slump over slightly, relaxing considerably from her tense posture. “I’ve got a good plan, and I think I’ll come out ahead, it’s just that I’ve already done all I can for now, so I’m just going to take some time away from work until the next step is ready.”

“You’re sure you have everything under control?”

“Yes, I’m positive. In fact, I sent a pretty strong message tonight they were messing with the wrong woman.”

“That’s my girl. What can I do then, sweetie?”

“Just blow off any attempt Pfelcher makes to contact you.”

“Alright, sweetie, will I hear from you this weekend again? I missed your call yesterday.”

“I know Mom, I’m sorry. Things actually… went off the tracks Friday, and this weekend was really busy.”

“Went off the tracks? That’s a very colorful expression.” Erica looked up at Lucas and smiled.

“I guess I borrowed it from someone I know.”

“I see,” she replied in a flat tone of voice.

“If it’s alright Mom, I’d like to get going. It’s been a really long day, and I’d like to get to bed.”

“Sure sweetie. Please call me if there’s anything I can do to help you; anything at all. I can be on the first flight up to see you. Get some rest. I love you.”

Erica blushed and looked at Lucas and Alicia with embarrassment, then leaned into the computer and softly replied, “Love you too, Mom, have a good night,” then ended the call. Once Skype was closed, Erica let out a huge sigh of relief and leaned back.

“What were you so worried about? That went just fine,” Alicia asked Erica.

“I dunno,” Erica said with little enthusiasm as she lay against Lucas. Lucas rubbed Erica’s shoulders for her while she sat relaxing, trying her best to forget her troubles when Lucas’ phone rang again.

Lucas looked at it and recognized Michelle’s phone number. “Hello?” Lucas asked, picking it up on speaker mode.

“Hi Lucas, it’s Michelle, just checking in.”

“Hey Michelle, you’re home?”

“Hey Michelle,” Erica sniped in with a grin, reminding Michelle she was being listened to by more than just Lucas.

“Hi Erica,” Michelle said politely. “Yes, I’m home. I came in and nothing is out of place. I also called my home security place to check, and they didn’t notice anything while I was gone either.”

“That’s good,” Lucas said with cheer. “Okay, so how hard did you look everything over for tampering.”

“Just quickly once, but I’m going over everything again ore closely now. Oh, and Tom called me on my way back home.”

“Oh? What did he say?” Lucas asked.

“He said one of his other friends knows my sheriff and talked to him for me. He’ll issue an emergency permit to me tomorrow and Tom emailed me the form, and Tom promised to get me started on the class tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s good news!” Lucas said.

“Tom also said that he wants to take me out to the range every day this week to make sure I learn to be proficient as quickly as possible. He said he’s going to ask you to join us on Thursday, and that Diane wants to spend some time with Erica and Alicia anyways, so it works out well.

“What if I want to go to the range?” Erica asked, irritated.

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” Michelle asked with a giggle.

“Oh, I’m up for it!” Erica snapped back.

“She actually did quite well this afternoon,” Lucas said in support of Erica.

“So are you going to bring them both on Thursday?” Michelle asked eagerly.

“I don’t want to go,” Alicia jumped in suddenly.

“We’ll work something out before then. Let’s let it be and I’ll let you know, alright?”

“Alright,” Michelle agreed.

“Not to be a nag, but going over the Glock again…”

“Insert the magazine, pull the slide back to load one in the chamber, with my finger away from the trigger, then put it back in the case, always pointed at the ground.”

“And make sure it’s latched shut,” Lucas added. “And in the morning when you leave?”

“Remove the magazine, pull the slide back, let the bullet in the chamber fall out, then lock it in the case, separate from the ammo.”

“Good, sorry to nag.”

“No, it’s fine, thank you!”

“Can you call again when you get up so we can be sure everything is going alright?”

“Of course!” Michelle agreed happily.

“Have a good night, Michelle!” Erica chirped enthusiastically, though she wore an irritated look.

“You too Erica!” Michelle replied cheerily. “Good night, Lucas!” Michelle said softly. “And you too, Alicia,” Michelle added in. Both Lucas and Alicia offered their good nights in return and ended the call.

“Okay, Kitten,” Lucas told her rubbing her shoulders for her, helping her relax. “Can you go ahead and get ready for bed? I want to talk with Alicia for a minute then I’ll be right there.” Erica nodded and slipped off of Lucas’ lap and left the room. Once alone Lucas turned to Alicia. “You were right,” Lucas said with a smile. “I overreacted and you were right.” Alicia smiled and leaned forward on the table. Lucas then took her hand and looked her in her eyes. Alicia suddenly found herself feeling self-conscious again and blushed slightly.

“I just want to say I know this is hard for you, and ask you to hang in there again. I know today was a really bad day.”

“That’s an understatement,” Alicia grumbled, looking at the table again.

“Tomorrow will be better. Much better.”

“How? How is tomorrow going to be better?” Lucas gave her an impish grin and squeezed her hand.

“It will be. I’ve got this covered. I’m not concerned about tomorrow, just tonight. There was a time in my life when I was going through some things, and nighttime was the worst, when you’re lying there and you should be asleep and you’re alone with your thoughts, and everything that’s gone wrong is washing over you and it’s overwhelming. If that happens, please come and talk to one of us, okay? We’re just one door away.” Alicia leaned forward and hugged Lucas hard, while Lucas sat still and rubbed her back for her. After a moment, She stood and left for the guest room and found it prepped and cleaned for her, the bed ready for her to climb in with the covers folded partially back. She sat for a moment by herself just looking around the plain room, then flipped off the lights and climbed into bed.

Lucas and Michelle drove along ahead Jerome’s car, Lucas looking ahead somewhat longingly in silence, every once in a while looking closely in the rear view mirror at Jerome’s Mercedes sedan. Michelle sat uncomfortably in the silence.

“Is the permit class hard?” she asked after several minutes. Lucas became more alert suddenly and looked her, thinking about her question as his mind became re-engaged.

“No, not hard at all. Tom will help you through everything you need to know, and between you and me? Women are often better students because they aren’t usually there with something to prove.”

“I was wondering if maybe you would help Tom teach the class,” Michelle said with a certain level of hope in her statement. Lucas looked at her and smiled.

“If you’re going to get the emergency permit, you won’t want to wait long enough for me to do that,” Lucas told her.

“Why is that?”

“Permits can take a while to process, and if you get an emergency one, it’s only as good as long as they have to process your application.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Michelle replied.

“If Tom gets you going on the emergency permit, you’ll be ready to go by as early as tomorrow, but then you need to complete the training and get your application in to your sheriff right away if you want to be sure you don’t have a lapse. Basically, you will want to take the course in the next day or two from Tom if you go the emergency permit route.”

“Well, you’re still taking the whole week off, right?” Lucas nodded. “So can’t you help teach me then if I take the class in the next two days?”

“Probably not, sorry.”

“Why? What’s going on? Someone else can watch Erica for you, can’t they?” Lucas looked at her, with a somewhat unhappy expression. “What?” Michelle asked him, wondering what she had said wrong.

“The way you said that, made it almost sound like I was looking for a baby sitter for Erica,” Lucas replied.

“Aren’t you?” Michelle asked. Lucas gave her a puzzled look.

“I thought you wanted to shrink yourself too,” he commented lightly. “Did something change?”

“No, though it doesn’t sound like Alicia wants to accommodate me on that.”

“So you do want to shrink yourself…” Lucas confirmed.

“There’s… an appeal to it,” Michelle admitted. “Why?”

“An appeal? What does that mean?”

Michelle sighed and dropped her shoulders. “Yes, I’m jealous of Erica. I wish I was in her place. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Not really, that wasn’t quite the answer I was looking for. What I mean is, you’re an adult, you’re intelligent, you’re educated, you have a career, respect from others, far better than average pay, and you would want to be in a position where you were treated all the time like you’re incapable and have to be babysat all the time?”

“Yes,” Michelle replied with little thought. Lucas looked at her in surprise. “What? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, it’s just not what I expected to hear. You’re basically saying you want to give up all of your adulthood to be a pet or something.”

“Well, isn’t that what Alicia and Erica want?”

“I didn’t think so with Alicia, but definitely not with Erica. Erica wants to be independent still, to be treated like an adult. I’m pretty sure she’d be pissed if I started making decisions for her and treating her like a child.”

“Well, she has all the adult parts still, but she’s not big enough to be independent anymore.”

“I think you might be underestimating her, and yourself if you were in that position.”

“She’s just bucking against the inevitable. I don’t see why she doesn’t just go with it.”

“You would just give up all the independence in your life? Just like that?”

“Why not? What good has it brought me?” Michelle argued.

Lucas stared ahead and drove on in silence for a couple minutes thinking her comments over. “What has it brought you?” Lucas asked her. Michelle looked back at him and nodded. “Six new friends in a single afternoon, that’s what.” Michelle turned and looked at Lucas, who was smiling to himself.

“But I didn’t do anything that was…”

“Sure you did. Pets that are dependant on others don’t drive across the city to help complete strangers, and they don’t go on covert missions to setup spy cams.” She stared down at her feet, deep in thought.

“For how long, though?” She asked after some thought.

“How long for what?”

“How long will you be here as my friends? I mean, it’s not like my other friends don’t like me, we just don’t have much in common anymore, and they’ve moved on. How long before you move on too?”

Lucas laughed. “Really?” He asked her. Michelle simply nodded seriously in response. Lucas shook his head and told her, “you think that Tom and Jerome haven’t had changes in their lives too? They never moved on. I’ve known Jerome since I was three, he’s like my big brother, and Tom has been almost as much as a father to me as my own, and my dad was a pretty good dad.”

“What’s your point?”

“Jerome is married now, and has a career in law, and Tom has had his kids grow up, he’s retired, his own kids have kids now, and they’re both still here the instant I asked for them. They didn’t even ask why I needed them, they just came. I’m sorry you’re social life isn’t what it used to be, but not everyone makes friends just because it’s convenient.”

“But how many do you know like that?”

“Come to the bon fire this weekend and find out,” Lucas said, challenging her.

“Bon fire?”

“Yep. We’re trying to get as many of the old group back together as we can for a get together.”

“Back together? So they have split apart because life pulled them apart.”

“Sort of, but not like you’re thinking.”

“Why then?”

“They’re grieving.”

“Over what?”

“My dad. He was a central figure in their circle. When he was gone, they didn’t have all the same events anymore to pull together, and they didn’t have anyone to organize them anymore. My dad was the kind of guy that touched a lot of lives, and it left a huge hole when he was gone.”

“Touched lives, like you?”

“I’m no where close to what he did. The one good thing about this whole affair with Pfelcher is that it’s giving Tom and Jerome a cause to rally around like they used to have when my dad was organizing things. Now, they have a cause for the first time in a long time, and I’m betting most of the others will want to fall in now with them.”

“But you’re dad was the leader, so how will they stay together?”

“Someone else will have to step up to fill the role.”

“Who? You?”

“I’m not qualified, or experienced enough.”

“Then who?”

“Not sure, only time will tell. I’ll tell you something, though, were you impressed with how organized Jerome and Tom were with this excursion?”

“Holy shit, yes! It was like you three were reading each other’s minds!”

“Tom and Jerome are rusty. Just you wait till the others get involved and they get on a roll.” Michelle grinned and looked ahead at the cars ahead of them. After a short silence, Lucas’ phone rang. He looked at it, recognizing Jerome’s phone number. “Hello?” Lucas asked, putting the phone on speaker mode for Michelle to listen in.

“Hi!” Erica chirped in happily.

“Hey Kitten, something wrong?”

“Yeah. Jerome has only a little more than a quarter tank of gas left.”

Lucas’s face contorted and he stared at that phone. “Ummm, okay, well that should be more than enough to get us back to my house,” He said, both he and Michelle looking at each other in confusion.

“Well I thought you should know, just in case. You know how these foreign cars are…”

“It’s a Mercedes, Kitten, it’s a top of the line luxury car,” Jerome could be heard making a deep belly laugh in the background.

“You’re really going to trust a car from a country that killed that many Jews? I’m surprised, Lucas,” Erica said cheerfully.

“That… I’m really not sure where to start with the wrongness of that statement,” Lucas said, struggling to find an answer. Michelle gawked at Lucas, speechless.

“Whatcha doin?” Erica asked cheerfully.

“Just driving, talking.”

“Whatcha talking about? Me?”

“Yes, Kitten, we haven’t been able to talk about anything other than you since we left. You’re all we can think of.”

“All good things, I’m sure,” Erica replied. “So what’s Michelle saying about me?” Erica asked, her voice louder now, indicating she was sitting closer to the microphone on the phone.

“She wants you. She totally wants you. She wants to jump your little bones and rock your world because she wants you so bad.” Michelle dropped her jaw and glared at Lucas, utterly shocked at his response.

Erica sighed on the other line very heavily and leaned in. “Everybody does,” Erica replied in an exasperated, exhausted tone. Lucas laughed loudly in response, with Michelle joining in after a few seconds.

“We’re behaving ourselves,” Michelle replied. “You’re right behind us, you can see that, can’t you?” There was a pause then Erica replied once more over the speaker.

“Can you sit a little more to your right?” Erica asked Michelle.

“I’m already leaning against the door!” Michelle hollered back.

“I know. Just a little farther that’s all.”

“The only way I can lean farther is if I open the car door, Erica,” Michelle replied angrily.

“Yeah, if you could go ahead and do that, that would be just great,” Erica said back smoothly. Michelle sat upright and leaned over toward Lucas, face first. “No, no, I was wrong! That spot was perfect for you!!” Erica yelled as Michelle moved.

“But it’s so much warmer on the other side of the car!” Michelle teased as she leaned closer to Lucas.

“Lucas!! Turn on the heat!! Michelle is cold!!!”

Lucas laughed loudly and Alicia and Jerome could be heard doing he same on their end of the line. Lucas held his hand up, signaling Michelle to stop. Michelle went back to her relaxed spot and grinned at Lucas smugly. “We’re most of the way there Kitten, it won’t be long. I’ll see you at home, okay?”

“Alright,” Erica said with disappointment and hung up the phone.

“You still didn’t tell me why you can’t help with the class,” Michelle said after a break.

“I’m taking Erica and Alicia out of town. We won’t even have phone reception where we’re going. In fact, Tom is talking to someone right now to see if we can work out being gone until Wednesday.”

“Can you help out on Wednesday then?” Michelle asked again with hope in her eyes. Lucas smiled at her and thought.

“We’ll be coming back from a few hours away, not only that but I have a friend coming over Wednesday night that I need to be ready for.”

“Oh,” Michelle responded dejectedly. Lucas chuckled again. “What? What’s funny?”

“It’s gonna piss Erica off, but we still have enough time. Have you ever shot a gun before?”

“No, why?”

“That’s kinda what I thought. When we get back and get them settled in, Tom and I will take you to an indoor range and I’ll teach you how to shoot.”

“Tonight?” Michelle asked, excitedly. Lucas smiled and nodded. “Isn’t that what the class is for?”

“The class is mostly about legal ramifications of carrying and self defense, though Tom will be covering a lot more than that. We’ll teach you how to shoot because it will make Tom’s job easier, and because you need to learn how to handle the firearm before you leave tonight.”

“Why tonight?”

“Because I’m sending you home with one of my pistols,” Lucas told her directly.

“Is that legal? Am I allowed to have a gun? Don’t I need a background check or something?”

“You need one of those if you buy from a dealer, someone who sells as part of a business. You’re not doing that here, you’re just borrowing, and I want you to know how to use it.”

“And that’s okay?”

“Yes. You saw how quickly things went hardcore at Alicia’s…” Michelle nodded with a sullen expression. “I think you are safer than Erica and Alicia, but there’s still an increased threat. We’ll show you how to handle it and use it, and how you’re allowed to transport it, and I’d really feel better if you take it with you when you go home tonight, and keep it close by in your house.”

“Under my pillow?”

“Ummm, no, please don’t do that,” Lucas told her sincerely. “I’ll send it with you in a case, just keep it in there unless you need it. Also, do me a favor, will you?”

“What’s that?”

“Please call and check in when you head out or when you get to where you’re going? It would really make me feel a lot better knowing nothing had happened to you.”

“How is Erica going to take me calling you multiple times a day?”

“I’ll figure that out later. Until we get back you’ll have to check in with Tom, though. But I really would feel better knowing you’re safe.” Michelle grinned and blushed slightly.

“What if I got my hands on some serum, though? How would I be safe then?”

“You have some lined up?”

“No, but what if?”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Lucas told her. Michelle found herself laughing at his comment. “No pun intended,” Lucas told her, catching the joke.

“But I would need someone to take care of me, no more defending myself with borrowed guns,” Michelle concluded.

“By myself I would be challenged in this situation to stand alone too if I was under the same threat as Erica and Alicia. That’s why I’m not standing alone and I went for help, and that’s why we’re here for you too.”

“But I’d be helpless if I was Erica’s size,” Michelle reiterated.

“You’re really liking that idea aren’t you? Even with all the danger we’ve got on our hands, you’re really getting off on it.”

“I dunno,” Michelle responded shyly. “I guess I’ve had my fill of taking care of everyone else. I wouldn’t mind being someone’s pet for a change.”

“I bet you’d make a fantastic pet,” Lucas said as they took the off ramp and slowed down. Michelle looked over to him with excitement. “But as great of a pet as you might be, it would be an incredible waste of potential if that’s all you wanted to be.” Michelle stared at Lucas, uncertain of what to say. “Don’t underestimate Erica. She’s far more capable than you’re giving her credit for. I think she’s going to amaze you, and don’t underestimate yourself, either.”

The car started to move down successive streets drawing closer to Lucas’s house. “One more thing,” Lucas said to her.

“Yes?”

“You’re not alone anymore. Tom doesn’t just do emergency permit classes, he refers them to others. He values his down time too much to get bogged down with that kind of spur of the moment drama. This group that’s reassembling? It’s a rare one, and pretty exclusive, and you’re becoming part of it. And I hate to say this, but these old guys are going to need some taking care of from you, but I think you’ll be surprised at how much we’ll take care of you too.” Michelle sat in silence, a contended smile across her lips as Lucas pulled up to his garage. Lucas parked the car inside with Michelle’s help and went inside to find the others waiting in the already lit living room.

Erica sat on the couch, staring with an anxious expression at Lucas as he entered. As he walked in, the worry on Lucas’ face melted and he stepped toward her but not before Erica jumped from her seat and ran to Lucas, jumping up to him with her arms out. “Easy, Kitten! I don’t want you to hurt your shoulder any more.” Erica giggled and kissed Lucas passionately.

The rest of the room sat by awkwardly before Jerome interrupted coughing out with a loud “ahem!”

“Deal with it,” Erica scolded him.

“Luc, I need to get going. I’ve already got a Mrs. that’s gonna be cheesed off that I ditched her last minute like I did,” Jerome told him.

“I understand; thanks for everything,” Lucas said, setting Erica down and then hugged Jerome.

“No thanks necessary. Felt good, and it’s been way too long.”

“Definitely,” Lucas agreed. “Tom tell you about the bon fire?”

“What? No…”

“Alright, bon fire at his house on Saturday. Bring your lady.”

“Just us?” Jerome asked Tom.

“Whoever we can get,” Tom replied.

“So the others will be there too?”

“Not sure, but Kevin is in.”

“I’m in!” Jerome said with a grin. Jerome walked over to Alicia who was sitting with her head down staring at her feet. Jerome knelt in front of her and looked into her blue eyes.

“Please don’t hit on me,” Alicia told him with a fearful look.

“No, that’s just playin’ and I can see you’re not in the mood for that. I just want to tell you I’ll get to work on your case right away, and don’t worry that beautiful little head of yours. We’re not going to let anything happen to you, I promise you that.” Jerome told her sincerely. Alicia looked up at him, uncertain of herself.

“This is rough, I know, but you’ll get through it, I know it,” Jerome insisted. “I can’t wait till you do so I can see that lovely smile again,” Jerome told her gently.

Alicia grinned unexpectedly and giggled, shying away from Jerome. “I thought you said you weren’t going to hit on me.”

“I’m not, I just think you deserve to feel good about yourself. I’m just callin’ it like I see it. Take care, Alicia, I’ll talk to you soon. You keep an eye on my boy Luc here, alright?” Alicia nodded and Jerome grabbed her and hugged her. Alicia sat wide-eyed for a moment, then hugged him back. Jerome waited a moment, rubbing Alicia’s back then stood and turned to Michelle.

“Good luck doc, we’ll see you soon?”

“Sure,” Michelle replied back grinning. Jerome then looked down to Erica.

“My little deity,” he began to tease.

“You’re deity has decided she will allow you to leave her presence. For now, but you are required to return post haste,” Erica told him in a regal tone.

“Oh, I like this one,” Jerome said with a wink to Lucas. Jerome bent over, taking Erica’s hand and kissed it gentlemanly on the back. “Until we meet again, my deity,” He told Erica with a wink. Jerome then made his way to the door and hugged Diane, shook Tom’s hand then made his way out the door. “Find me more assholes to knock out,” Jerome called out as he stepped out of site chuckling.

Lucas knelt and looked at Erica while waving Tom over. “We’re not quite done yet, Kitten. After what happened at Alicia’s, no one can debate the stakes here are seriously high here. Tom and I need to take Michelle to the range and get her up to speed with a handgun. I’m sending her home with one of mine, just in case.”

“She had you the whole trip up here!” Erica protested.

“And you’ll have me all night and all day tomorrow,” Lucas promised her. “Stay here with Diane and Alicia, okay? They’re only open another hour or so, so we won’t be long, but we have to move fast.”

Erica grunted in frustration and glared angrily at Michelle. “No touching,” she ordered Michelle as Lucas left and went downstairs.

“Me of him or him of me?”

“Neither!!” Erica yelled, the blood vessels in her forehead popping out.

“Awwww, are you…”

“Enough Michelle,” Dian warned. “Go do what you need to, and stop antagonizing Erica.” Michelle took a deep breath and turned around. Tom walked up to his wife and she whispered up to his ear while Diane watched Erica closely. “You know who she reminds me of?” Diane asked him as softly as she could.

Tom chuckled into Diane’s ear in response. Lucas returned quickly and looked at the angry expression on both ladies’ faces. “Oh come on,” Lucas bemoaned. “Isn’t it bad enough I have to settle these arguments between you and Alicia, and now Michelle too?”

Erica dropped her jaw and stared at Lucas, insulted. “She’s the one that…”

“I think you both can share the blame here.” He grabbed Michelle’s arm and tugged her down to kneeling at Erica’s level. Alicia looked in, curiously. “Kitten, I’m here for you, understand?” He told her as he hugged her gently. “We’re doing this for Michelle so that we can make sure she can defend herself if the need arises, and that’s it, nothing else is going to happen. We can’t afford to be at each other’s throats over things that are so petty, especially not now.”

“Lucas, come on! Can’t you just take my side for once???” Erica complained.

Lucas smiled softly at her and placed his hand against her cheek. Erica settled slightly and looked up at him, expectantly. “Kitten, I’m always on your side. You need friends, and you need a doctor, and now? Now we need allies, and we can’t have that if we’re always fighting with each other. Same with you, Michelle. If we are always bickering with each other, sooner or later we’re going to make a mistake, and you saw at Alicia’s apartment what that mistake could mean. Kitten,” Lucas said as he looked back to Erica, “the only side I’m on is yours, I swear.”

Michelle looked at the floor, while Erica took Lucas’ hand and held it to her cheek. She rested her head in his giant hand for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll be back soon,” Tom said, turning and grabbing the door. Michelle stood and removed her wig, letting her hair down, and running her fingers through it, and Lucas and Michelle followed Tom out to his car, where Lucas loaded up his shooting gear into the trunk. They then quietly loaded up into Tom’s car and drove off, with Erica kneeling on a chair on the porch, watching them pull away with sad eyes.

Diane walked up from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone so lovesick,” she said softly.

Erica jumped to her feet and stared at Diane fearfully. “What did you call me?”

“Love sick. It’s written all over your face dear…”

“I am not… that…” Erica stammered with resolve and hopped down from the chair and walked away. Diane looked at the diminutive woman with a furrowed brow, then followed her back inside. Inside the living room, Diane caught up to Erica and stopped her. “Don’t,” Erica warned her in a cautious tone.

“I just wanted to help you with your sling,” Diane explained. Alicia stared at the two women, confused and Erica looked up at Diane hesitantly, but nodded her head in approval. Diane then grabbed her sling and began wrapping it under Erica’s arm and around her neck. “How’s that?” Diane asked with a warm smile.

“Good, thanks,” Erica grinned back.

“Can you help me get Alicia cleaned up? I don’t want her getting too attached to being a brunette.

“Sure,” Erica agreed, and pranced over to Alicia, grabbing her hand. Erica pulled hard, with Alicia still looking her little friend over, assessing her. She then stood and followed Erica down the hall to the bathroom. Inside, Erica climbed on top of the overturned garbage can and stood, looking over the counter with frustration. With her back turned and her head down, Erica asked Alicia in a timid voice, “can you help me up?”

Alicia suddenly became excited and placed her arms under Erica’s armpits, then paused. Erica stood with her head down still, not moving. Alicia nodded and took a breath, then stepped around Erica, taking her right hand and placing her other hand underneath Erica’s foot, allowing Erica to step up to the counter the same way Lucas had done earlier in the evening. Once standing on the counter, Erica turned to her giant friend gratefully and told her, “Thanks Alicia.”

Diane walked in and started the water, standing on Alicia’s other side, then helped remove Alicia’s wig. Erica meanwhile went to work dampening a washcloth to wipe the thick layers of makeup off of Alicia’s face.

“I kinda liked being tan,” Alicia complained, looking over her fake skin color.

“Maybe you could work on that this week, but you have lovely skin dear. I think you should be happy with it the way it is.,” Diane told her as she ran a hair brush through Alicia’s crimson locks.

“How am I going to find time for that?” Alicia asked, frustrated. “Besides I always burn out in the sun.”

“Fair skin works for you, Alicia. It works really well. Why do you always have to be so hard on yourself?” Erica asked as she rinsed the thick sludge of makeup off the wash cloth.

“It didn’t work out tonight for me..”

“That’s because we didn’t want anyone to recognize you, and you’re very recognizable,” Diane told her. “Don’t worry about it so much. There’s always makeup around. You can always try out new looks whenever you’re in the mood,” She told her as Erica worked hard thoroughly scrubbing her face clean. The process took several minutes, but with both Erica and Diane working together, it went by fairly quickly, leaving Alicia staring back in the mirror at her freshly cleaned, gleaming fair skin and crimson hair flowing behind her.

“Okay girls, how about we play some cards before the boys get back?” Diane asked cheerfully.

“Cards?” Erica asked skeptically. “Like actual, real made of cardboard cards?”

“Yes, honey, cards. What games do you ladies know?”

“I used to know cribbage,” Alicia replied.

“I don’t have a board with me, and I don’t think Lucas has one. How about you Erica, know any card games?” Erica shook her head with an unemotional expression. Diane thought for a moment then beamed back at Erica and Alicia. “How about screw your neighbor?”

“What?” Erica asked, shocked.

“You’ll love it,” she beamed at both ladies and led them both into the dining room, taking a deck of cards from her purse, and a roll of quarters. She helped Erica up to a chair with some pillows sitting on top and then divided the quarters up equally amongst the three of them.

At the indoor range, Michelle stood holding Lucas’ handgun, trembling as Tom stood behind her and Lucas beside her watching her form. Several seconds passed before Lucas lifted his hand to the top of the slide and pushed down on it gently. “Put it down,” he told her as softly as he could.

“No, I can do it,” Michelle protested.

“You promised you would do everything we asked when we came in here. Put it down.” Michelle sighed and set the pistol down and looked back at Tom. Tom pointed over to Lucas, and she turned to face him. “You’re dry firing was perfect, now you’re just psyching yourself out. You don’t have to take the shot if you aren’t ready, just set it down, take a deep breath, and relax.” Michelle nodded and took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“I think you’re building this up too much in your head,” Tom told her. “Relax, squeeze gently back on the trigger and let the shot surprise you. The gun will jump, but as long as you have your arms straight out, it’s not going anywhere. If you’ve gone ten seconds without getting your shot off, just let go of the trigger, set it down and start again.”

Michelle nodded and grabbed the gun again, still trembling. Lucas took her hand and pulled it away. “Take another deep breath,” Lucas told her. Michelle nodded and closed her eyes, jumping as another gun at a lane several places down from them went off several times in a row in rapid succession.

“I’m sorry, Michelle, I’d give you a lower caliber, but I’m really a forty five kinda guy. This is what I have.” Lucas told her apologizing.

“No, I can do it.”

“Look, it’s not a big deal,” Lucas told her. “Come to one of our matches and you’ll see all of us doing the same thing, even high masters like Tom here. They will aim and wait for the shot to present itself, then set it down. It won’t hurt you.”

“What if I drop it?”

“You’re using two hands, just hold it like we showed you and it will workout fine.” Michelle nodded and turned, facing down the range twenty-five yards at her target again. Lucas stepped behind her and rubbed her shoulders and neck, surprising Michelle, but it was quickly apparent she enjoyed the attention. “You’ve got this, just take your time,” Lucas told her gently.

Michelle relaxed for a moment, closing her eyes, then lifted her head and nodded. Lucas let her go and she stepped up to the bench again, taking the handgun in both of her hands. She lifted it and began squeezing back on the trigger. Several seconds passed and Michelle’s trembling increased again. This time, she set the pistol down and took another deep breath.

“Good,” Tom told her with a positive tone. “Very good.” Once more, Michelle raised the gun at her target and squeezed down gently on the trigger slowly. A few short seconds passed and suddenly the gun went off, exploding into action, startling Michelle, but she stared down through the sites with wide eyes. Once more, Lucas rubbed her shoulders and complimented her.

“Six,” Tom reported after looking through the scope. “That’s a good start,” he told her with a grin. Michelle’s surprise was quickly replaced with a grin and she looked at Tom happily.

“Can I do another one?” Michelle asked eagerly.

At Lucas’s house, Erica and Alicia were giggling uncontrollably as they stared at their cards. Diane looked at Alicia, who was sitting to her left trying to determine her next move. After careful consideration, Diane handed a card to Alicia, who looked at it and rolled her eyes, then handed it to Erica, and drew another for herself.

Erica looked at her new card, then screamed loudly. “No fair!!” She giggled.

“Come on, Erica,” Diane told her. Erica grunted and giggled, then slapped the card down and drew one from the deck in front of her. Her eyes went wide and she slapped her hand down.

“Pair!” She yelled gleefully, showing the nine of spades and hearts.

Diane grinned and set down her cards, revealing a king. Alicia set her cards down revealing a pair of tens. “No fair!!” Erica screamed, giggling uncontrollably and tossed one of her coins into the pile in the center of the table. Lucas entered in the front door, with Michelle and Tom close behind, drawn to the commotion of Diane, Alicia and Erica laughing and screaming together.

“Lucas!!” Erica squealed and leapt off of her chair running to the gigantic man as he set down both his black box and his bag and knelt to embrace the elfin woman.

“Well, someone is in a better mood,” Michelle commented dryly. Tom placed his hand on Michelle’s shoulder. She turned to look at him and he shook his head. Michelle nodded in understanding and stepped back.

“How did it go?” Erica asked happily.

“Pretty good, she did great!” Lucas replied.

“Better than me?” Erica asked with a steely look in her eye.

“No, you shot better,” Tom confirmed, chuckling from above. Erica grinned smugly to herself.

“Whatever!” Michelle argued. “You were shooting a twenty-two!!”

“Yeah? I’m betting that twenty two has more of a kick for me than that forty-five has for you!!” Erica gloated back.

“Excuses, excuses,” Michelle taunted her.

“And you say it was like this all weekend with Alicia too?” Tom asked Lucas. Lucas sighed and nodded his head. “Boy, I can see why that would be frustrating.” Michelle and Erica both looked at Tom, the attention now drawn away from them. “Well, here’s some new food for thought for both of you,” Tom said disapprovingly to Michelle and Erica. “While you both are picking fights to see who’s top dog, Alicia is sitting there and the fact that her lost career, her invaded home and the people who want to forcibly abduct her is sinking back into her head. So I’m happy you two can keep this all about you at her expense.”

Erica and Michelle both turned to Alicia who was shocked to have her name injected back into the conversation so suddenly. “A little rough, dear,” Diane told her husband.

“Thanks,” Erica said gratefully to Diane.

“I didn’t say that for your sake, dear, I said it for Alicia’s,” Diane explained.

“Rough seems to be all that’s getting through,” Tom told his wife.

“I’ve got Alicia covered,” Lucas said, standing up. “I already have a plan worked out for her,” Lucas said as he walked over to Alicia and placed a hand on the back of her neck. Alicia stared up at him trying to discern the meaning of his statement.

“Alright,” Diane interrupted again. “Lucas, we’re going to get home since you three will need your rest. Stop by first thing in the morning for those things you asked for. We’ll be ready for you,” Diane said, giving Lucas a big hug.

“Thank you Diane. You two are life savers,” Lucas told her warmly.

Tom walked over to Alicia and kissed her on top of her head. “I know this is rough for you, but hang in there. You’ll be safe with Lucas and well cared for. So glad I met you sweetie,” Tom told her with a smile. Alicia perked up at the warmth and attention at Tom and stood, hugging him. Tom and Diane then went to Erica and offered a quick hug, kneeling down to her, and a final hug for Michelle. Lucas saw them to the door and watched as they entered the car and went back into the living room to find the three remaining women sitting quietly with sullen expressions.

“Sorry,” Michelle told Lucas as he came back in. Lucas waved her apology off, and took both her and Erica’s hand and led them to the couch. Lucas took his time helping Erica step up onto the couch and smiled into her eyes. He then retrieved Alicia and sat her down next to Erica and found a place on the coffee table facing them all.

“I don’t mean this to talk down to you all, but I think it needs to be said.” Erica lowered her head bracing for what was to come. “This is all more than any of you are ready for, and I seriously doubt any of you had ever thought you would be in the positions you’re in. Tom has more than thirty years on the police force to draw on, and Diane has years of being his wife to know what’s coming. Jerome has life on the streets, and I grew up being trained by another cop, as well as being in real danger more than once myself. This is all experience we have that has helped us prepare to deal with this. If you don’t have anything like that, then you’ve got quite a learning curve coming up. We’ll help you with that.”

All three women looked up at Lucas quietly, uncertain of what to say. “You all know the danger is real here, and let’s just get something straight. Arguments about commitment, in fighting, trying to show each other up? Let it go. I’m with Erica. I will be as good a friend you both as I can be,” Lucas said, looking to Alicia and Michelle, “but let me be blunt here. Erica was the first to take a chance on me, Erica was the first to open up to me and Erica was the first to place her trust in me. I will not disappoint her,” Lucas told them both in a stern voice. Erica sat up confidently, grinning happily at Lucas.

“Good or bad, we’re all in this together. More help is coming, I promise you that, but we are still in this together. All of my energy right now is going into providing security for you three, but that isn’t going to last. You are each going to have to learn to conduct yourselves differently in this new reality we’ve been dumped into. Every time you turn around, there could be someone waiting to take advantage of the situation, and any time you let yourselves get caught up in meaningless cat fights, you are letting yourselves get distracted from what really matters most here: your safety. Michelle…” Lucas said, looking at her.

“Yes?” she asked, hopeful.

“Do you feel safe going home tonight? Be honest.” Michelle sat for a moment considering his question, then nodded her head. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. I haven’t heard one word from Pfelcher all day, I don’t think they’re onto me.”

“I’m guessing they haven’t had time yet,” Lucas told her. “So, you’re going home tonight?” Erica snapped to attention and looked at Lucas, irate.

“Do I have a choice?”

“You do, but it all boils down to what you are comfortable with.”

“I’d rather go home,” Michelle responded seriously.

“Alright, then do me a favor?”

“Anything,” Michelle told him.

“Call me when you get there, and check in again before you go to bed. I’d also like to here from you before you leave for work and when you get there.”

“You already told me that,” she protested.

“I know I did, but it’s a very stressful situation, and really easy to forget little things.”

“Alright,” Michelle agreed with a smile.

“I don’t want to be a nag, but like Tom and I told you earlier, lock everything tonight, doors, windows, look around for any sign of tampering, anything that is out of place that might tell you someone might have been there. Any problems, then call Tom or myself, and keep the Glock by your bed in the case.” Michelle nodded.

“I should get going then, it’s starting to get late,” Michelle said, looking out a window at the summer sun dipping below the horizon. Michelle turned and looked down at Erica. “Thanks for trusting me,” she told Erica, whose angry expression melted away in surprise.

“It’s fine,” Erica said, trying to brush it aside.

“No, it’s not just fine. Lucas is right. If they can’t find you two, they may come after me. If you both hadn’t come to me today…” Michelle said, her thoughts trailing off.

“Thanks for making a house call,” Erica told her, placing her small hand on Michelle’s arm. Michelle wrapped her arms around Erica hugging and surprising her. “Everyone here is so into hugging… is it the house?” she asked with a stunned expression. Alicia giggled down to her petite friend.

Lucas led Michelle to the door and opened it. Michelle paused and looked back at Erica and Alicia, then to Lucas. “Are you sure you can’t just keep all three of us?” She asked with a wink.

“Only if I get to keep you at half of MY size!” Erica to her grumpily.

“That doesn’t sound too small to me,” Michelle replied with a grin and left. Once more, Lucas saw her out to her car and then down the road. He locked the porch door, then the front door and looked down to Erica and Alicia. He grimaced and nodded, then took a deep breath.

“Alright,” he told both ladies, adopting a smile, “it’s been a rough day. What do you say we end it on a good note?”

“We’ve reached our exit,” Jerome said in a serious tone over the speakerphone in his car.

“Jerome, let me see the picture of Lucas with his fake goatee again!” Erica hollered from the back seat. Erica laughed hard, and dropped the phone with a loud clunk over the speakers. “Hahahahaha!! Oh my God, don’t ever grow one of these for real, Lucas!”

“I think it looks sexy,” Alicia said, picking up the phone again. “Kinda like evil Spock.”

“I should have never sent you guys the picture,” Michelle complained.

“Alright, cut the chatter,” Tom told them all. “Diane and I have reached our exit as well. Alicia, guide Jerome in from the North, we’ll circle around and come in from the East.”

“Understood,” Jerome said again in a serious tone.

“No jokes?” Alicia asked with surprise in her voice.

“Soon,” Jerome promised with a smirk. Each car approached Alicia’s street from a distance, starting from different exits off the freeway, and went across preplanned routes coming up to Alicia’s apartment complex from different directions.

“What’s your twenty, Tom?” Lucas asked over the speakers in an official tone one would expect of a fighter pilot.

“I’m guessing about three minutes out,” Tom answered.

“About five minutes here,” Jerome answered back.

“We’re closing in too soon,” Lucas explained. I’m going to circle for a moment and cut my speed a bit, let me know if you make it there ahead of schedule.

“Picking up the pace,” Jerome answered back.

“Lucas, I want you to be the first in anyways. Keep your eyes peeled,” Tom ordered over the speakers. A couple minutes passed with silence over the speakers, while Erica sat on the floor behind the front seats, staring intently on the phone, waiting for the next person to report in. Alicia looked over her shoulder at Erica nervously.

“Calm down, don’t get too excited,” Erica whispered. “If you sweat too much it might ruin your makeup.” Alicia nodded and took a few deep breaths.

“What was that, Kitten?” Lucas asked, somewhat concerned.

“Nothing, just talking to Alicia.”

“We’re here,” Lucas reported. “Making our first pass.” Erica perked up and stared closely at the phone, even though the sound was being transmitted over the car’s speakers. A few tense moments passed before Lucas reported again. “We’ve completed out first pass and didn’t spot anything.”

“I’m further away than I thought,” Jerome said as he pulled up to a stoplight and came to a complete stop. “I’m not going to be able to catch up.”

“Understood,” Tom replied logically. “I’ll make the second pass. We’re almost there.” Again, Erica stared closely at the phone while Alicia gripped her seat. Jerome reached over and took her hand holding it and smiled at her. He then turned up the air conditioning and proceeded on down the road. Alicia smiled and relaxed somewhat.

Time seemed to stretch on for what seemed like several minutes until Tom finally reported back again. “Second pass complete, no joy.”

“No joy?” Alicia asked in a whisper.

“He didn’t see anything,” Jerome whispered back.

“We’re almost ready for another pass,” Lucas replied. “Jerome, what’s your twenty?”

“Almost there. We’ll make this one.”

“Alright, we’ll circle away from the scene,” Lucas replied back.

“Alicia, I want you to put your sunglasses on, and I want you to look around, but do it as much as you can without turning your head,” Jerome whispered softly. Alicia nodded and fumbled her sunglasses on and looked around. Erica remained crouched behind the front seats looking up at the giants as they casually drove by Alicia’s apartment building. Jerome made a turn to his right, drove on, then another turn, not saying a word. “Third pass complete. No Joy.”

“We’ll make the fourth,” Tom interjected and the speakers went quiet again. Again, the car went quiet and the tension rose, higher and higher until suddenly Tom’s voice erupted over the speakers again, though in a calm tone. “Got him, silver late model Ford Fusion, northeast corner from the destination. Ha! I know this guy, he’s a PI I’ve run into before.”

“Yes!” Jerome whispered with intense excitement. Erica and Alicia stared at each other, wide eyed.

“We’re set up, we’ll get a second look at him,” Lucas replied again. Jerome went to work zooming in his GPS unit on his dash and pinpointed Alicia’s apartment building, looking the scene over.

“Where is he, exactly?” Jerome asked. “Corner of fourth and Gervis?”

“Yes,” both Tom and Lucas replied.

“Alright,” Tom stated confidently. “Diane and I will distract him, the rest of you can enter from the back and west side of the building.”

“Tom, let me get this one,” Jerome replied quickly.

“Absolutely not!” Diane hollered back. “You have both Alicia and Erica!”

“I got this, let me do it, Tom! He knows you, so I’m the best choice.”

“Tom, no,” Diane complained.

“Lucas? What do you think?” Tom asked after a moment of silence.

“He’s using a decent telephoto lens, he can get good shots of anyone entering from the main door, or get anyone going in the back.” Lucas reported calmly.

“You can’t be seriously considering this!” Diane argued.

“Diane has a point,” Michelle piped in. “Can’t we send Erica and Alicia in from the back?”

“I think that will be too much of a tell,” Jerome argued. “Come on Tom! When have I ever let you guys down?”

Tom sighed and there was silence. “What do you think, Luc?” Tom asked after a long pause.

“I think they’ll be made either way. I saw something on the back end of the building my first time through. Thinking about it now, I’m betting it’s another camera. I think a more direct approach might catch him off guard more.”

“I see. Okay, Jerome, go for it, but if I wave you off, you leave immediately, you understand?”

“Yes sir!” Jerome exclaimed back enthusiastically. Erica and Alicia gawked at each other in shock and disbelief.

“Alicia, follow Jerome’s lead, do as he says,” Lucas said over the speakers. “I’ll be close by to intervene if I need to.”

“First sign anyone is made, we all break off and return to Lucas’s house,” Tom told everyone. Jerome pulled down the street from the building and parked off the street. He was chuckling away, practically giddy as he pulled a hooded t-shirt over his head and a stocking cap that covered up almost all of his Bluetooth earpiece.

“Okay,” Jerome said, staring at Alicia with his pearly white teeth in a full ear-to-ear grin. “Erica, into the bag, Alicia, you carry her.” Erica grunted in disapproval, but did as told. “Alicia, I need you to hang all over my arm as we walk up. He’s gonna look at us at some point, that’s when I’m gonna do this. Grab my arm, but I’m gonna pry you loose, go ahead and try and stop me, but I’m still gonna approach him, so stay behind and wait. When I come back, just grab my arm again and smile, laugh if you can, and we’ll go inside together.” Alicia and Erica both stared numbly at Jerome, with Erica peeking out from the top of the large backpack she had climbed into.

“Erica, just stay quiet and still,” Jerome told her trying not to laugh too hard.

“What are you going to do?” Erica demanded. Jerome just laughed in response.

“Don’t over do it Jerome,” Tom warned over the speakers just before Jerome switched to his earpiece.

“I got this,” Jerome said as he climbed out of his car. He met Alicia on the curb after Alicia pulled Erica and the backpack out of the back seat and carefully put the straps over her shoulders.

“Are you okay, Er-bear?”

“Yeah,” Erica replied without any enthusiasm.

Jerome wrapped Alicia’s arms around his arm and they walked together, Jerome steadily working to wipe the grin off of his face as he went. Ahead of them was a small hill that the sidewalk wrapped around and by the time they made it to the hill, Jerome’s expression was one not only serious, but irate and angry as well.

“Smile up at me,” Jerome told Alicia as his adopted his intimidating look again. As they came around the hill, the silver Ford Fusion came into view, only slightly off of their path. Jerome walked along, having now adopted a rather awkward yet laid back saunter, his shoulders slumped forward, and his free arm swinging back and forth slightly in front of his body. Alicia smiled up at him as best as she could, but was having difficulty making herself look relaxed. At about fifty yards distance, the occupant of the car, a middle aged man, thin brown hair and an equally thin mustache turned and stole his first glance of them, but went back to observing the building again almost immediately.

As they approached within twenty yards, the man looked again at them, this time his gaze lingering, first on Jerome, then on Alicia. “WHUT?” Jerome bellowed out in a deep voice that didn’t seem his own. The man sat back, stunned for a moment, but looked at Alicia again.

“What you be lookin at mah bitch foe, BITCH?” The man again sat back, clearly intimidated, then looked ahead, though Jerome glared angrily at the man. As they closed in even closer to the car, the man began to roll up his window. “Whut da fuck, nigga?!?!” Jerome hollered. The man reached over and grabbed his camera, lifting it within view towards Alicia and Jerome.

“Whut yo prob’em, bitch?” Jerome hollered out, now walking ahead of Alicia. Alicia, clearly scared witless, clung on to his arm, though not because it was what she had been told to do, but simply because she was too scared to let go. As promised, Jerome pried free of her grip and stomped up to the car, swaggering heavily to and fro. “Fuckin’ cracker ass bitch! Whut you think this is? Disney Land? Who the fuck you think you taking pictures of?” The man, now scared out of his wits, finished rolling up his window, and sat, staring at Jerome, wide eyed.

Back in the cars, listening in, Tom and Lucas were laughing hard, trying their best to not laugh so loud as to distract Jerome. Michelle covered her mouth and listened in, fighting back giggles of her own, while Diane just sat and shook her head.

“You lookin at mah bitch, bitch? Whut yo problem? You got a problem wif a brotha bein wif his white bitch? That it? Racist mutha-fucka! Git yo ass out the car!” Jerome hollered, stomping up to the door and slamming the window with both palms.

“WHUT? You doan undastan English? Git yo mutha-fuckin ass out da kah!! Git yo mutha-fuckin ass out da kah foe I make you suck mah dingleberries clean off, cracka!”

Tom and Lucas both erupted into brief laughter, then fought it back, trying their best to listen in. Back behind them, Alicia stood, dumbstruck, her mouth hanging open. In the backpack, Erica whispered up “Did he.. just… say dingleberry?”

“Shhhh,” Alicia snapped without budging and inch.

“Did you just say… dingleberries?” The petrified man asked through the window with a very confused expression.

“Whut you say to me?” Jerome hollered back, hitting the window with his palms again. “You think dis funny? You think I’m jokin roun here? You starin at mah bitch like you wanna stick yo dick in her an’ you got the stones to make jokes at me? You wanna stick yo lil white boner in mah bitch?” Jerome hit the window with his palms again, this time rocking the car a little.

“You think you got what it take to please mah bitch? She MAH bitch, bitch!! I got sumpin foe yo ass,” Jerome hollered, reaching down the front of his sweatpants. The man, in a cold panic, turned the ignition to the car and slammed it into gear, tearing off in a puff of smoke. Tom and Jerome broke out into full laughter roaring over the line.

“Where you goin, bitch? Where you goin?” Jerome hollered, waving his hands forcefully up as the man sped off at over fifty miles an hour down the residential street. “Yeah, you betta run!”

With the interloper now gone, Jerome turned around and swaggered back to Alicia, suppressing a smirk. Alicia stared at Jerome, dumbfounded as he approached, but Jerome motioned with his arm a bit and Alicia snapped to slightly and wrapped her arms around his and followed him up the steps to the building.

“What the hell was that?” Erica whispered from the bag.

“Shhh,” both Jerome and Alicia hushed her. Jerome and Alicia walked in the front door where Jerome looked around.

“Clear,” Jerome said aloud.

“Good,” Tom chuckled in response. “Get inside and buzz us in when we get there.” Alicia unlocked the door with her key fob and led Jerome up the stairs to the second floor and down the hallway to her apartment, while Jerome looked around suspiciously. Once inside the apartment, Jerome reported back once again.

“We’re in.”

“Good,” Tom replied again, this time with more earnestness in his voice. “Diane and I are just about to come in. Lucas, you wait a little over five minutes, then follow us in.”

“Understood,” Lucas replied, still laughing.

Inside the apartment, Erica was being let out of the backpack by Alicia on her couch while Jerome was looking around the apartment at every detail he could find. “What the hell was that? What happened to keeping a low profile?” Erica demanded as she climbed free of her fabric prison.

“Didn’t really say we were keeping a low profile, we said we were going to get you in with no messy stuff, and we did.”

“How was that not messy?” Alicia argued.

“He didn’t make us as his targets, and we managed to scare him off. Sounds pretty clean to me.”

“What if he didn’t drive off?” Erica demanded.

“You know, that’s never happened before, so I guess I’ve never thought about it,” Jerome said, switching his phone’s speakers on again and setting it on the coffee table.

“What do you mean, it’s never happened before?” Erica asked suspiciously.

“Well, somethin’ about a black man reaching down his pants for his balls always makes them run as fast as they can go. I dunno,” Jerome replied with a cheeky grin.

“How many times have you done that?” Alicia asked, aghast.

“I’ve lost count, actually,” Jerome replied laughing to himself.

“You’re crazy,” Erica said giggling as she sat down and Jerome laughed with her. Alicia scowled for a moment, but found herself unable to resist smiling and broke out giggling herself before too long. Erica looked around at the apartment, looking up and down the walls and over the side of the couch, with a bewildered expression.

“What’s wrong?” Alicia asked, kneeling down in front of her little friend.

“Nothing. Everything just looks so different than the last time I was here.”

“I haven’t changed anything since then, though,” Alicia said confused.

“I know. I’m the only one that’s changed, I guess,” Erica replied back, looking behind her at a poster above the back of the couch. They sat in silence for a moment before there was a sound of a buzzer and Alicia stood and walked to an intercom and pressed a button.

“Hello?” Alicia asked into the intercom.

“Hi, we’re here for the party?” Tom asked with cheer in his voice. Alicia giggled and pushed another button and walked away from the intercom. A moment later, there was a knock at the door. Jerome answered it and returned with Tom and Diane in tow.

“I swear you boys are never going to grow up,” Diane moaned.

“Why would we?” Jerome said, laughing.

“You there, Luc?” Tom asked into Jerome’s phone.

“Yeah, we’re here.”

“Alright, we’re in. Wait five minutes, watch the property to see if our friend comes back and then make your way to the door.”

“Got it,” Lucas replied back.

“Is Michelle there?” Erica asked, leaning over the phone.

“Yes?” Michelle replied.

“Can you wait in Lucas’s back seat?” Erica asked in a polite tone. She was met with a moment of silence, then a short response from Michelle.

“No.”

“Please?” Erica asked politely.

“No, Kitten,” Lucas said back curtly.

“Awww, come on! I had to ride in in a backpack!” Erica pleaded.

“And it looked very nice on you,” Michelle taunted back. Erica scowled and plopped down in her seat again.

“Jealous little thing, isn’t she?” Jerome commented wryly.

“Well, I suppose she has reason to be,” Diane replied casually as she helped Tom unpack a wrapped box full of electronic gear in the kitchen. Alicia dropped her head.

“Alicia,” Tom said softly, noticing her change in mood. “Could you help Diane with this? I want to check your apartment over.” Alicia nodded and walked to the kitchen, but Tom stopped her halfway there and hugged her gently. Alicia smiled and went on her way, while Tom went about looking in any nook and cranny he could think of around the apartment.

A few more minutes passed by in relative silence before Michelle’s voice could be heard snapping over the phone’s speakers. “I swear, if you embarrass me in there, you are going to regret it, you filthy slob!” Erica scowled at the phone while Tom chuckled to himself.

“She’s too believable,” Erica complained.

“Shhh,” Diane and Alicia hushed her.

“Quit shushing me!” Erica argued back.

“Erica, let her do her thing and be quiet,” Tom told her.

“Quit dragging your fat ass and hurry up!” Michelle ordered. “God, you are so fucking slow!”

“She doesn’t have to yell at him like that,” Erica complained angrily.

“Shhhh!” Alicia and Diane hushed her again.

“And if I catch you staring at the little bitch’s tits again, I will slap the stupid right off of you, do you understand me?”

“Excuse me?” Erica said out loud.

“Shhhhh!” Diane and Alicia once again hushed her, this time joined by Jerome.

“Always checking out that damn short bitch, you better keep your eyes to yourself you pervert! God, how sick are you?” Erica clenched her fists and her jaw, and her face turned red.

“You made your point Michelle,” Tom said softly into the phone as he walked up. “Hurry it up.”

“Michelle?” Erica whispered up to Tom. “She can hear me?”

“Who do you think is wearing the Bluetooth? She can hide it under her wig, Lucas can’t,” Tom explained.

“Come on you slob, get up here so you can enjoy your goddamn circus sideshow action!” Michelle ordered again. Once more, Erica clenched her jaw and fists and glared at the phone in a near rage. She took a deep breath and then leaned over the phone.

In a sweet, polite tone, Erica told her softly, “Michelle, if you keep yelling at him like this, I will rip your pubes out right through your jeans. Don’t think I can’t do it just because I’m less than three feet tall,” She told Michelle with complete confidence. She then smiled smugly to herself when she heard a gasp over the speaker. A short moment later, there was another buzz and Alicia answered on the intercom.

“We’re here for the party,” Michelle said into the speaker and Alicia unlocked the door allowing them in. Erica sat down again and looked up to Tom, quite pleased with herself while Tom looked down at her laughing softly. A moment passed and there was another knock at the door. Jerome stood and answered it again and returned with Lucas and Michelle.

As Michelle entered the living room, she spotted Erica scowling at her. “He told me to chew him out like that! I was just doing like I was asked!” Michelle said defending herself.

“Yeah? Did he tell you to call me a circus sideshow or call me that ‘short bitch?’”

“You were distracting me!! I couldn’t just tell you to be quiet! I don’t enjoy calling Lucas those kinds of things!”

“Alright,” Tom interrupted. “Michelle was doing her best to play the part we gave her, let it go Erica.”

“But…”

“No buts. We all had our parts to play, and Michelle did the best she could with hers.”

“She didn’t have to say those things about me,” Erica sulked.

“Maybe there’s better ways for her to handle herself next time,” Tom told her as he took the wrapped box from Lucas and set it down on the table with his. “I’m proud of you for wanting to stick up for the lad though,” Tom said with a smirk to Erica. Erica smiled back, pleased with herself again.

“How’s everything in here?” Lucas asked Tom.

“We can’t find any evidence of tampering. It looks clear.” Lucas nodded and walked over to Erica, looking her over.

“Everything go okay for you on the way in?” Lucas asked, his concern evident in his voice. “Were you okay in that bag?”

“I’m good,” Erica said with a grin and climbed up into his arms. “So now what?”

Lucas stood and walked into the kitchen. “Well, now that we’re here, I suppose we set up the cameras and head out. Tom, can you sort this stuff out for a minute? I need t talk to Erica,” Lucas said after glancing over the contents of both boxes and walked out of the kitchen to the bathroom. Lucas walked in and closed the door, then set Erica on the counter beside the sink.

“What’s wrong?” Erica asked nervously.

“Nothing, Kitten, I just need to ask your permission for something.”

“Permission? For what?”

“We can’t let Alicia be alone tonight,” Lucas told her gently.

“What are you saying?” Erica asked with suspicion.

“I’m saying she should stay with us this evening.”

“You want her to sleep with us?” Erica asked, irate. Lucas shook his head.

“I have a spare bedroom, Kitten. You’ve seen her, she’s having a really hard time with all of this, and not everyone is as resilient as you are. Heck, even you’re having a hard time with everything that’s happened today.”

“Well, we can talk to her in the morning then…” Lucas shook his head again.

“She’s probably going to cave again and turn her phone on again. Not only that, but what if someone shows up here looking for her? She isn’t ready for that yet. If we’re her friends, then we have to see her through this.”

“Having her spend the night seems like overkill,” Erica argued.

“Kitten, she needs you. We have each other to help get through this, who does she have? She’s all alone, and I’m worried about what will happen if we leave her here all by herself all to dwell on everything that’s gone wrong for her.” Erica stared up at Lucas uneasily.

Lucas placed his hand gently against her cheek, and Erica leaned into it instinctively, then grabbed his hand and held it against her. “I want some alone time with you too,” Lucas told her softly, and Erica looked up at him without letting go of his hand. “I really do, Kitten, but this is all happening because of us. If we hadn’t had that night on Friday together or gone into the doctor the next day, none of this would be happening.”

“So you regret it?” Erica asked with a concerned expression.

“No. Never. I couldn’t be happier than I have been since Friday, but we made choices, and it’s one thing if we are paying the price for those choices, but we’ve dragged Alicia in too.”

“It’s your house, you can do what you want,” Erica told him gloomily.

“It’s your home too as long as you need it. We need to make this decision together or not at all.”

“Can I think about it?” Erica asked weakly.

“Alright, but we only have until we get everything here set up and we’re ready to leave. She needs time to get whatever she needs to get through the night.” Erica nodded in understanding.

“Is that all?”

“Pretty much, but I do want to take advantage of the time to ourselves,” Lucas said with a smirk.

“What do you mm…” Lucas leaned down in the middle of her question and kissed her with an open mouth, running his fingers through her hair and lifting her up off the counter with his other hands. Erica was stunned at first, but quickly melted into a grin and kissed back, opening her mouth invitingly for him. She waited, as she kissed him, disappointment building as he didn’t accept her invitation until suddenly his large tongue reached in and began caressing the tip of hers playfully.

Erica sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up now. The pair remained in their embrace for a few minutes, kissing and caressing each other before Lucas slowly withdrew from their kiss.

“I needed that,” Erica told him while giggling softly.

“Me too. But we have work to do, Kitten, come on.” Erica pulled herself up around his neck and Lucas smiled, taking Erica in his arms once again and they left the bathroom together.

As they walked out together, Michelle looked to them and asked with a smug grin, “did you finally get in trouble for that little mouth of yours?”

“Yep!” Erica chirped happily in reply. Michelle’s smugness faded after seeing the glee in Erica’s eyes. Lucas brought her back to the couch and set her down where she found Alicia sitting with a despondent look on her face. Erica observed her quietly, unsure of what to say while Lucas, Tom and Jerome went to work running various small cameras around the apartment to inconspicuous places. They had laid out most of the cameras, including one onto Alicia’s deck outside and Lucas was working on setting up an old laptop and hard drive enclosure in the dining room to control the cameras when there was a sudden loud knock at the door.

Tom immediately drew his gun and crept up to the door, looking through the peep hole. Outside, a large man dressed in black stood with an unhappy look, and a toolbox in his hand. Tom watched him then turned to Alicia who stared fearfully at him and mouthed, “expecting someone?” Alicia shook her head violently in response. Tom motioned a cutting sign in front of his neck and looked out the peephole again. Lucas and Jerome quickly went to work shutting off any light that was on and everyone waited in darkness

The man outside had now adopted a wicked grin, and knocked again. Tom remained quiet, watching him, and his eyes went wide when, after a moment of pause, the man set down his tool box and bent over. The man took out what Tom recognized as a lock pick set and quickly motioned to Lucas and Jerome, pointing to the bedroom and bathroom. Lucas and Jerome grabbed the ladies and led them quickly to either place, tucked back hidden behind the walls.

In the bedroom, Jerome took quick notice of Alicia’s monogrammed scarf and motioned for Alicia to give it to him. Abject fear written all over her face, Alicia obeyed and gave it to Jerome, who quickly wrapped it around his face and turned to leave.

“Stay here,” he whispered, leaving Alicia and Diane alone together. Diane nodded and drew her handgun from her bra holster. Jerome quickly joined Tom in the entry way and pulled him back, listening to the clicking of the lock pick in the door. “Let me handle it,” Jerome whispered as he pulled his stocking cap down leaving only a small portion of his face exposed. Tom looked at Jerome in frustration, but quickly nodded and left to join his wife.

Outside, the man finished picking the lock relatively quickly and smiled, clearly quite happy with himself. He picked up his tool box, turned the door handle and walked inside, quietly closing the door behind him. He looked down the hallway into the dark apartment, and again grinned to himself. At the end of the hallway was a light switch, and the man stepped forward toward it. As he walked in front of the entryway to the kitchen, the man paused sensing another presence.

Shocked, he turned to his left to see a massive figure, shrouded completely in shadow and opened his mouth. In an instant, the shadowy figure launched a devastating right cross, knocking the man back against the wall and he collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Jerome stepped out into the hallway, flipped the light on, and stared intently at the unconscious man lying on the floor before him. “I need a handkerchief,” he said in a loud whisper. A moment later, Tom returned with a large handkerchief in his hand and he and Jerome went to work blindfolding the man. As they were finishing, Lucas emerged from the bathroom, gun drawn and held in two hands, pointed at the floor with his trigger finger pressed firmly along the frame of the gun.

Tom looked through the toolbox, finding various types of surveillance equipment, but also several yards of chord, which Tom used to bind the man’s hands and feet. With the man completely bound and incapacitated, Lucas flipped the other light back on and the ladies emerged to see what had happened. Erica was the first to open her mouth to speak, but Tom held his finger up to his mouth to let her know to remain silent. Tom then looked to his wife and motioned for her to watch the man while Jerome, Lucas and Tom left for the bedroom and stood in a circle speaking softly to each other. Erica and ran after them, while Alicia and Michelle stood in a near panic staring at their captive.

“From Pfelcher?” Lucas asked.

“Definitely. He’s here to bug her apartment,” Tom replied.

“Didn’t take them as long as I thought it would,” Jerome added.

“So now what?” Erica whispered up to them.

“Break the equipment and put him somewhere for his associates to find him,” Lucas answered with an impish grin.

“Sounds good to me,” Tom replied. Jerome pulled down the scarf, revealing a giddy grin across his face.

“I’ll find his car,” Lucas said quietly. Erica tugged on his pants and shook her head no, but Lucas rubbed her shoulder and pushed her to Tom. Lucas rummaged through the man’s pockets and found a set of keys, then re-holstered his handgun and left the apartment quietly. With Lucas gone, Tom and Jerome went to work searching the man and relieving him of the possessions in his pockets. Alicia looked on in horror as the Jerome pulled out multiple knives and even a handgun. They then rummaged through his toolbox, finding small surveillance cameras and an unlabelled bottle. Tom opened the bottle and took a sniff.

“Chloroform,” he said with a cold look on his face. Alicia began shaking violently while Diane and Michelle rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her.

Several tense minutes passed with the entire group watching of the bound man in silence while he remained completely motionless before Lucas returned and nodded. Jerome found some trash bags under the sink and ripped a few holes in them, then they wrapped the man inside the trash bags as best as they could and Jerome lifted the man over his shoulder with only modest effort.

Lucas and Jerome then left the apartment together and walked quietly down the hallway, Lucas scouting out the path ahead for any residents. They took the back staircase down to the parking lot behind the building and came to an older sedan. Lucas unlocked the trunk and Jerome dumped the man inside, then quickly returned to Alicia’s apartment.

Inside, Lucas and Jerome found Tom sitting on the couch rubbing Alicia’s back as she cried and Erica sitting on the coffee table looking at her friend with deep concern.

“Alicia,” Erica said with a calm voice. Alicia raised her head and stared at her friend through tear soaked, red eyes. “Would you please stay with us tonight?” Alicia stared at her little friend quietly, and her tears began to subside. “Please? I would feel better if you would just stay with us for a night.”

Alicia looked at Erica, then to Tom, who nodded in agreement, and then to Diane, who did the same. She then turned to Erica again. “Thanks Er-bear,” she said in reply.

“Alright, Kitten, why don’t you help Alicia pack and we’ll finish up the cameras,” Lucas said with a satisfied grin.

“What about me?” Michelle asked.

“It’s up to you, you can help them, or you can help us finish setting up the security,” Lucas told her.

“Security,” Michelle opted with excitement.

“Alright, we’ll work on the cameras, Luc, you get to work on the storage and transmission.”

Lucas nodded and went to work at the dining room table. “Don’t forget the door,” he added. Tom walked over for a moment and leaned in to Lucas’ ear.

“Are you going to tell them about the trip tomorrow?”

Lucas shook his head and softly replied, “No, I’m going to surprise them. Any chance you and Diane could do me another favor?”

“Name it.”

“Can you swing by a store tonight and see if you can find a swimsuit in Erica’s size? Nothing too childish, though.”

“Given the way that parents are dressing their children these days, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Tom agreed.

“Thanks Tom. Also, see if you can get Diane to track down one of Alicia’s swimsuits without tipping her off, since we’re here anyways.”

Tom chuckled to himself. “Sure, ya little shit. I’ll tell you what, this has been much harder on them than I originally thought, and poor Alicia is just getting worse. I’m gonna call Kev on the way back up to your place and see if we can’t get you the boat overnight. I think it would be good for all three of you, and next to no chance of anyone finding you out on a lake that big.”

In the bedroom, Erica and Alicia were looking through her dresser drawers, picking through clothes while Alicia stared at her selection, unable to make anything resembling a decision. “How about this one?” Erica asked.

“That’s fine,” Alicia said with indifference as she dropped a suitcase onto the floor.

“You’re not even looking.”

“It doesn’t really matter.”

“Yeah it does, come on Alicia!” Alicia sighed, and knelt down, looking into the drawers and pulled out a blouse.

“This will be fine.”

“I like that one. Here, how about this one too?”

“I only need one. I’m just staying one night.”

“What if you change your mind tomorrow and want to wear something different?” Erica asked in a serious tone.

“I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“But it might. Better to be safe than sorry,” Erica reasoned. “Here, I think you’d look great in these two as well,” Erica added as she pulled out another couple of shirts.

“Erica, I only need one,” Alicia argued.

“Well, like I said, what if you changed your mind tomorrow? Here, let’s pick just one more…”

Alicia sighed and agreed, throwing all the shirts into her suitcase, while Erica started pulling out pants, a couple pair of shorts and some Capri pants as well. “Erica, what are you doing? This is like a week’s worth of clothes, I only need one change,” Alicia complained as Erica started grabbing multiple pairs of bras and tossing them in as well. Alicia grunted in frustration and grabbed Erica by the shoulders, looking down with anger into her eyes. Erica, however just offered a weak smile and sad eyes in return.

“Are you… trying to trick me into staying longer than a night?” Alicia asked, somewhat puzzled.

“No, no, just one night, I just want you to have a few options,” Erica said as she turned and climbed up the pulled out drawers to Alicia’s underwear drawer and started tossing in several pair of panties one at a time.

“I have to come back here,” Alicia said as she grabbed Erica and picked her up, pulling her away from the dresser.

“You will, it’s just one night,” Erica assured her with a weak smile.

“That’s not what you’re packing for, Erica.”

“No see? I’m just giving you some options,” Erica said pointing to the underwear. “Red, pink, white, blue, depending on what you’re in the mood for tomorrow.”

“There are three pair of black in there…”

“Well yeah, but one is lace, the other two aren’t,” Erica argued.

“Why? Why Erica?” Alicia asked, confused.

Erica smiled harder and finally gave in. “You’re not alone. We’re going to get you through this,” Erica assured her, placing her small hand on Alicia’s shoulder. Alicia grinned whole heartedly, staring closely at her friend, Alicia’s eyes filling with tears again. Alicia then wrapped her arms around Erica and hugged her hard, crying into Erica’s petite shoulder. Erica held Alicia’s head in her little hands and rubbed her head for her. “Shhh… you’ll ruin your makeup,” Erica warned her gently. Alicia giggled and then lifted her head again and wiped the tears from her eyes, smiling to Erica as Erica comforted her.

Once Erica and Alicia had managed to pack a full suitcase worth of clothes and bathroom items, they walked out into the living room to find the others finishing up, though Tom was working carefully on something with the door.

“What’s he doing? Alicia asked.

“We’re putting a camera in the peep hole,” Jerome answered.

“You can do that?” Erica asked in surprise.

“Yeah, but you won’t be able to look through the peep hole until the camera is out. You’ll have to use the surveillance system from now on.”

“K, Luc, try it now,” Tom said standing back from the door.

“Looks good Tom. She’s all set.” Alicia came over and looked over Lucas’ shoulder at the laptop. “It’s pretty simple,” Lucas explained. All the cameras will feed through this laptop, which will sit in your closet. The laptop is hardwired into the internet and some external disks. All of the cameras are motion sensitive.”

“Where did you get these?” Alicia asked, trying to grasp what was happening.

“Some are old hunting cameras, others are through away’s from old phones, and I have software on the laptop that recognizes movement on them. The laptop is set up for remote, either from my place, or you can access the remote storage at my place from here.”

“This is… awesome. How did you know how to do this?”

“I’ve tinkered with it before, though most of these cameras are better than what I used back then.”

“So is your whole house wired like this too?”

“No, I was living in an apartment at the time, and it was a fun project, but not really practical for my needs at the time, so a couple months after I set them up, I took them down. I’ve learned a couple things since then, though.” Lucas handed Alicia a sheet of paper.

“This is the password for the system, and I have instructions on how to construct a new one so you know that I won’t be spying on you,” Lucas added.

Alicia grinned and hugged Lucas, while Erica tried her best to suppress the look of jealousy on her face as she watched the two giants embrace above her. “This one is fine, I trust you,” Alicia said as she squeezed him hard.

“Keep that safe then, and change it if you feel the need,” Lucas told her in a comforting voice.

“Alright, so we head out then, but first we have to finish dealing with our interloper,” Tom told them all.

“What are we gonna do with him?” Michele asked, looking at the pistol they took from him that was now sitting on the table.

“We’ll drop him off at an empty parking lot a few miles from here. Luc, you think you can find someone to message to pick him up?” Jerome reasoned out.

“Gimme his phone,” Lucas ordered. Lucas sat at the dining room table and went to work, plugging the phone into his laptop and working his way through the password security. “Yep, he was definitely sent by Pfelcher,” Lucas commented angrily as he started searching through the phone’s list of messages.

Diane and Tom were the first ones to leave the apartment, taking time to dispose of the boxes in the garbage chute, and then strolled out together, surveying the landscape casually. “Clear,” Tom said over his Bluetooth earpiece. Jerome and Alicia then readied themselves to leave, while Alicia handed her keys off to Lucas, and Erica tugged on Lucas’ sleeve.

“Can’t I go with you this time?” She pleaded.

Lucas knelt and whispered in her ear. “I need you to keep an eye on Alicia, okay?” Erica nodded in understanding, then climbed into the backpack. Once secured, Alicia lifted Erica up again onto her back and Jerome and Alicia made their way out of the apartment building to Jerome’s car.

“We’re ready,” Jerome said a few minutes later over the speakerphone.

“Okay, Tom, you’re taking that dudes car?”

“Yep, Diane will follow me,” Tom replied back.

Michelle smiled and hit the mute on her phone. “Guess it’s just you and me now,” she told him with a grin.

Lucas smiled warmly back at her and motioned toward the door. “After you,” he said warmly. Michelle put her Bluetooth on and unmuted the phone.

“We’re heading out,” Michelle reported back. Michelle stormed out of the building like the wicked witch of the west with Lucas moping behind in tow. Erica watched them from a distance making their way to his car, peeking over the edge of the window.

“So not fair,” Erica commented angrily as they disappeared behind a hill.

“Well, you’re the one he’s going home with, so it all balances out,” Jerome told her softly over his shoulder. Erica thought his comment over, then smiled to herself. Once in his car, Lucas reported in again and they waited for Tom to report in that he had the man’s car.

“Shouldn’t we just report him to the police?” Alicia asked meekly.

“I doubt it will make a difference,” Tom replied back. “This way we send a message to Pfelcher that they’re out of their league,” Tom told her. “Alright, here’s the order: Diane will follow me, the rest of you fall in behind her and keep your distance. The trip back to Lucas’s house, Lucas will take point, Diane and I will take up the rear and Jerome you take the middle because you have our package. We’ll stay in close convoy for that leg.”

“Understood,” both Jerome and Lucas reported back.

“Find some place really quiet,” Erica said into the phone. “I know what kind of message we need to send them.” Jerome looked down at Erica who was holding a mischievous grin, and grinned himself.

“I’m in,” Jerome told her, chuckling. They drove several miles to a quiet area with lots of trees and pulled into a dimly lit parking lot in an empty industrial area. The cars all surrounded the man’s car and everyone climbed out and approached Erica.

“What you got in mind, Kitten?” Lucas asked her.

“Do we have more of that cord?” She asked with a mischievous grin.

“Sure, I have some,” Tom told her, and fetched it for her. They met briefly while Erica instructed them all in detail on what to do. Once ready, the group gathered around the trunk of his car and opened it to find the man struggling and squirming, still blindfolded in the trunk of his car, and trying to yell, though his mouth was gagged.

Erica climbed up onto the bumper and surveyed the scene. She then reached in and unbuckled the man’s belt while Jerome laughed in as deep a voice into the man’s ear as he could make, “he, he, he, he, he.” The man then gasped and went silent as several hands grabbed the waist of his now unbuttoned pants and yanked them down to his ankles. The man shook fearfully, now too afraid to make a sound. Tom, Jerome and Lucas all went to work grabbing and holding the man’s hands while Michelle, Erica and Alicia stood back at a distance snickering with each other. Even Diane was grinning and fighting back laughter.

Tom untied the man’s hands while Lucas and Jerome held them in place and forced them together around the man’s penis while Tom and tied the man’s arms and hands tightly into place in this position, and tied his feet back so he couldn’t curl up into a ball. Once he was fully secured, and unable to let go of his penis, Alicia stepped forward holding Erica up, Erica took a bottle of Curel, and pumped several squirts over the man’s face, hands and arms. Their mission accomplished, Tom slammed the trunk shut, while Lucas messaged his employer with the address of their location.

“Come and get me
keys in the rear driver side wheel well”

Lucas then tossed the phone inside the car and locked it, while Jerome put the keys up inside the wheel well. Finally, the entire group piled into their cars and headed back to Lucas’ house in convoy.

Michelle sat outside on at the picnic table with Jerome and Tom as Lucas grilled the chicken and Alicia and Diane went about setting the table. Erica stood on a chair next to Lucas, her arm in a little sling.

“So what if there was a van full of some kind of SWAT team or something, ready to raid the house?” Michelle asked, stupefied.

“Tom used to train the SWAT team downtown,” Lucas replied from the grill, answering before Tom could.

“You did??” Michelle asked, looking the overweight old man over. Tom simply nodded and took a drink of his beer. “And you think the three of you could have really taken on a team like that?”

“Four,” Tom corrected, pointing to his wife.

“Sorry, four. You really think the four of you could have stopped a team of commandos raiding this house to take Erica and Alicia?”

“Not sure I’d use the term commando… but if we couldn’t stop them, they would have taken heavy casualties, at the very least. Lucas is no stranger to those kinds of tactics and training, and when he’s fired up, he’s a force to be reckoned with. And Jerome here grew up in the inner city and has seen his share of trouble too. Jerome is the kinda guy where any asshole who would try to shoot him needs to understand, if you shoot him, you’re just gonna make him angry.”

“I ain’t angry! I’m just a big cuddly, fluffy, fuzzy teddy bear!” Jerome hollered, drinking his own beer.

“The fluffiest,” Diane replied sarcastically.

“Diane, you beautiful angel, what on this Earth would I do without you?”

“Learn some effective pickup lines?” Erica replied, equally as sarcastically. Jerome turned his attention to Erica with a mischievous grin and stood, walking toward her in a deliberative fashion. All eyes turned to Jerome, wondering what amusing spectacle was about to occur, while Erica stepped back towards the back of her chair, fearful of what was to come.

Jerome then knelt in front of Erica, staring up at her with warm, excited eyes, took her elfin hand and told her softly, “what a gloriously stunning example of a fine goddess of a woman you are. Why, if it wasn’t for my good friend here, I would sweep you off your feet and rope the moon itself for you. No feat would be too great for a goddess such as yourself,” he told her with a grin.

Erica stood, stunned into silence, turning a deep crimson red, barely able to stand anymore and feeling the eyes of everyone upon her, while the crowd grinned and chuckled in amusement, while Erica struggled to find even a single syllable to utter.

Alicia giggled profusely at the site of Erica being so dumbfounded by a display of affection and nearly fell over laughing at her small friend. “Tell me, my glorious little deity, what unimaginable exploit must I accomplish to earn your favor?” Erica still stood stunned, and looked to Lucas desperately for help, though he just laughed and flipped a piece of chicken. “If you don’t see me worthy to name it, I will wait until you deem me worthy, my precious deity,” Jerome finished.

He stayed in position for a moment waiting, before Erica finally managed to stare at him with wide eyes and deep read skin and pointed towards the picnic table. “Go… go… over there,” she stammered.

“By your command,” Jerome replied obediently and returned quickly to his seat. Erica stared up at Lucas again, who just laughed, and Diane shook her head.

“Jerome, you know how your wife will react when she finds out you’ve been pulling this crap again,” Diane scolded him with a smirk.

“I ain’t scared a that big ol’ bitch,” Jerome declared confidently. Erica finally gained Lucas’ attention who just smiled at her.

“He’s scared shitless of her,” Lucas replied with a smirk to Erica.

“Luc, why you gotta be stepping all over mah balls, bro?”

“Dude, your balls are all over my lawn. How am I supposed to NOT step on them?”

“Well, yeah, I do have that problem,” Jerome joked back.

“Classy,” Erica said, rolling her eyes. “So what happens when his wife finds out he’s acting all Casanova?” Erica asked Diane. Diane just grinned and took a potato chip from her husband.

“So anyways, dear,” Tom said turning back to Michelle, “and this goes for you as well Alicia, you’re going to have to learn to be very vigilant from now on. No walking around after dark on your own, and you’re going to have to learn to be very aware of your surroundings at all times.”

“Can’t I just carry a gun, like you all do?”

“That’s you’re right,” Jerome said, leadingly.

“What does that mean?” Michelle asked, not understanding.

“Well, first you’ll need a permit to do it legally,” Tom explained. “But more importantly, if you are not familiar with firearms, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you get training on how to handle and use them.”

“How do I get a permit?”

“Tom, are you still teaching permit classes?” Lucas asked, as he stared down into Erica’s eyes, holding her hand.

“I am,” Tom said. “Doctor…”

“Michelle…” she corrected him.

“Michelle, it isn’t that I question your right, or your need, but I don’t want you getting a false sense of security from just having one. Pfelcher’s behavior up to this point has been to escalate at every step in this, and your legal obligation as a permit to carry holder is to de-escalate, do you understand?”

“I guess,” Michelle responded weakly.

“If you want to get your permit, I’ll do a special class and we can try to get you one immediately because the danger is real here, but you really need to learn how to use that firearm well.”

“And you don’t think I can do that…” Michelle said, trying to finish his thought.

“I think you can do that and more,” Tom corrected her. “My job is just to make sure you learn how to handle this responsibly. Even in this case, nine times out of ten, situational awareness is going to get you out of most bad situations, not the gun. The gun is only really there for that one time where situational awareness isn’t enough.”

“But Lucas didn’t de-escalate at Pfelcher, did he?”

“Well, why don’t you see for yourself…” Tom said, getting up and walking into the house. A moment later, Tom came back out with Lucas’ laptop in hand and opened it in front of Lucas. Lucas typed in his password and Tom brought the computer over to Michelle and sat down, everyone watching the screen as Tom played the video of the confrontation again. He paused at the moment the first security guard approached and tried to grab Erica’s arm. “Now, you saw how Lucas stepped forward to block him from getting to Erica?” Michelle nodded and Tom played the video forward again, “now watch as soon as the man is blocked from getting to Erica, Lucas takes a step back.”

Michelle watched as the camera subtly moved back away from the man. Tom went on with the video. “Now watch where Lucas goes when he enters this conference room, around the table to the back…” Michelle watched. “His alarms have already been set off, he’s intentionally using the table as a barrier from anyone coming at him, and he’s keeping his back to the wall.”

“Why not sit by the door to get away?”

“You’ll see why.” The video went on and they listened to the conversation going on. “Notice how Lucas is voicing Erica’s rights specifically. That’s to cover himself legally, and you hear how he asked Erica what her wishes are? He’s getting her consent, something that Pfelcher isn’t even asking for. Lucas is doing all these things because he can sense everything going south, and it isn’t easy keeping this cool of a head in this kind of situation.”

“No, these guys are really creeping me out,” Michelle agreed.

Tom continued to play until big Tony entered the room with a pitcher of water. “There,” Tom said, pointing to the open door. “That’s why Lucas wasn’t close to the door.”

“Because there’s someone there?” Michelle asked, squinting at the vague figure there.

“Yes. I doubt Lucas knew at the time he would be there, but the point was he knew this man could be there. And in this case, he wasn’t alone.” Michelle watched the video play until big Tony lunged at Erica then screamed in surprise as the scene of the first attack played out in an instant. Tom paused the recording.

“That was so fast,” she gasped. Tom nodded.

“Lucas’s entire time there up to that point was spent preparing for that moment. You never know if it’s actually going to happen, though. As tense as everything was up to this point, though, you see he hasn’t revealed his handgun yet. Lucas is still waiting for the attackers to escalate to a level that warrants it, and you can see now that there is no simply walking out of that room. You saw that there were people waiting for them outside the door, and their escape is blocked by these morons.”

Michelle sat back and thought the situation over. Tom appraised her expression and went on, “You were already thinking well before this that you would want to draw your gun, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Michelle admitted.

“You might be able to get away with that in court, but then again, you might not be. It really depends on the personal views of the judge you get. This is the kind of thing I’m trying to warn you about with getting a permit to carry. You need to be ready to use it in an instant, and you need to stay on the defensive, otherwise you could end up easily dead or in jail. And if you shoot someone, even in self defense, expect the police to arrest you, always. They still have to investigate to cover their own butts.”

Michelle sat, looking at Tom soberly. “It’s not the cure all you thought it was, is it?” Tom asked.

“No, I guess not.”

“The movies and TV glorify this kind of thing. The reality is a lot more difficult, and not always as clear cut as what you see here.”

“I still want to take the class,” Michelle said with determination.

“I knew you’d be a good student,” Tom said with a grin. “Here is the catch though- permits take time to process, up to thirty days. Depending on where you live I may know your sheriff, or one of the guys might, and we might be able to get you an emergency permit issued, but that’s at your sheriff’s discretion.”

“Okay, where can I take the class?” Michelle asked, excited.

“Let me see what I can round up for you later tonight,” Tom told her, grabbing some more appetizers for himself while Lucas began setting out the main course on the table. Erica dropped to her butt and slid off the chair she was standing on and walked over to the table.

“Want me to put you in your chair?” Alicia asked with far more enthusiasm than anyone expected. Erica paused and looked at her and scowled.

“I can climb up myself,” Erica argued back, irritated.

“Erica, if you keep using your arm like that, it won’t heal,” Michelle told her gently. Without a word, Lucas walked up behind her and knelt down beside her. Erica looked up at him, surprised, and Lucas simply held his hand out to Erica’s right hand, and she took it. He then held his other hand down in front of her leg, offering it to her as a step.

“I’ll get your hand dirty, though…” she complained to Lucas.

“Then I’ll wash it,” Lucas replied gently. Erica smiled and was briefly overcome, but then stepped up onto his hand, using it as a step to walk up onto her chair and sit on the cushions already set out for her. Alicia looked on, smiling, while Michelle did her best to try to hide the jealously in her eyes. Diane gripped Tom’s hand and smiled into his eyes, inspired by the care shown by Lucas. Meanwhile, Jerome just leaned back and rubbed his belly.

As everyone relaxed and began filling their plates, Michelle again started the conversation asking Tom, “so what now? Where do we go from here?”

“Well, after we finish dinner, we’re gonna go over the Alicia’s place and secure it, get an idea of what kind of surveillance they’ve set up on her.”

“What about where Erica lives?” Michelle asked, curious.

“I can’t live there on my own anyways, and since my car has been there ever since we escaped from Pfelcher, we think they’ve already bugged it.”

“We’ll get in there after things have calmed down a bit,” Lucas added.

“After that,” Tom added, “We’ll get Alicia in touch with her family so that she can let them know she’s fine.”

“If you think her house is under surveillance, how do you expect to get in?” Michelle asked, before starting her dinner.

Jerome leaned forward with a wild and playful look in his eyes. “We’ve got a plan,” he told her cryptically.

“They’re going to disguise me and smuggle Erica in, in a bag,” Alicia told her.

“And Lucas?”

“Disguise,” Lucas said, cutting up his chicken.

“This all sounds like a spy movie,” Michelle observed.

“Uh huh,” Jerome replied, still with that wild eyed look.

“Can I come?” Michelle asked, meekly.

“Could help provide some cover for Lucas,” Tom said, in between bites.

“She should totally come,” Jerome said, grinning at Michelle, who was now feeling a little self-conscious.

“Wait,” Erica replied angrily. “She’s going with Lucas???”

“Well, he can’t go in there with you. They’re way more likely to make him if he does.”

“I’d rather be dressed up as a two year old than let her go in by herself with him,” Erica protested, while Michelle fought back a smirk.

“Careful what you wish for,” Alicia teased.

“She could go as our adorable little baby daughter!” Michelle told Lucas gleefully.

“You mean after I scratched and clawed my way out of your vaj?” Erica told her angrily.

Tom and Lucas stared at each other. “Alright, alright,” Tom said, trying to calm the two ladies. “Erica, we need you with Jerome. Each of us will be positioned strategically to converge on you as fast as possible, and if we separate you and Alicia, that will make our job that much more difficult. We just don’t have the numbers to do it that way,” he explained.

“Now, here’s the good part,” Tom went on to explain, looking directly at Erica as she sulked. “Thanks to Lucas’s bright idea of using Bluetooth headsets, we can do this over our cell phones and use the Bluetooth sets to stay inconspicuous as we communicate with each other. We’ll be on the phone with each other the whole time, so we’ll be able to hear what each of us is doing.”

Erica seemed to relax a bit as Tom explained his plan, and offered Michelle a smug grin. Michelle went about putting on her best poker face.

“We’ll go in as couples,” Lucas said, stepping in. “Alicia, you’ll pose as Jerome’s girlfriend, so just play along with whatever he asks you to do.”

“Why? He doesn’t know as much as Lucas does about his stuff. Lucas at least was a soldier, Jerome is a lawyer..” Alicia argued to Tom.

“Oh, I know how to do this,” Jerome declared confidently.

“Jerome acted as a decoy for us on more than one occasion when I was on the force. Don’t tell his mom that, though, she’d have a stroke. He started assisting us when we were working plain clothes when he was a teen. He definitely knows how to handle this,” Tom told Alicia.

“Diane and Tom will go in as a couple together. They’ll likely be the only ones who won’t need to disguise themselves.”

“We’re too old, no one is going to look at us funny, and no one will expect us, or Jerome,” Tom added. “Diane and I will just stroll in together, looking elderly.” Michelle giggled. “That leaves Lucas and Michelle,” Tom concluded. “Lucas already tried the redneck look earlier, so he’ll need to try something different this time. Michelle, you can provide excellent cover for him by being his bitchy girlfriend. Throw a tantrum, walk ahead of him, scold him, belittle him, so it takes focus off of him as he mopes in with his head down.”

“How confident can you act?” Jerome asked Michelle.

“What do you mean?”

“How confident? Can you look people in the eye, even give them flirtatious looks?”

“I guess…”

“They will be looking for someone of Lucas’s height and build, so anything you do to gather the attention of anyone in the area, the better. It shouldn’t be a big deal though.”

“Why not?”

“Tom will go in ahead of us and spot anyone who might be watching the area. Then we’ll figure out a way to ferret him out and distract him. One of us will have to step up to do that, and that’s when the fun starts!” Jerome said with wild playful eyes.

“How is this fun?” Alicia demanded.

“You’ll see,” Jerome told her wit a wink.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, Jerome lost in the delight of imagining the adventure to come, while jokes were bantered back and forth between the remaining members of the group. Alicia’s spirits seemed to improve noticeably, while Michelle relaxed more and more, listening to stories that Tom and Diane told about their children. As Alicia remained the last one finishing her meal, Lucas watched Michelle with interested as she stared down at her lap, smiling gently with a contented look. Tom stood and started to walk toward the house with several dishes in hand and Lucas called out to him.

“No Tom, not this time. My house, I’ll clean,” Lucas said adamantly.

“I was just gonna rinse them a little,” Tom said, not slowing down.

“Bull. Come on, Tom, I’ll take care of it, you’ve done enough,” Lucas said, offering Erica a hand to help her down from her chair. Erica looked to Lucas, and took his hand, while Lucas offered his other hand to help her step down.

“Thanks,” she whispered gratefully to Lucas.

“We’ll get you a better solution soon,” he assured her. Erica and Lucas ran after Tom, taking as many dishes as Lucas could carry. Diane smiled and sat chatting quietly with Jerome while Alicia began to take on a despondent look again, which Michelle noticed, as she listened to Diane and Jerome with a gentle smile. After a moment, Alicia stood and went to the garage. She knelt down in the middle and started sorting out the pile of items left there from their trip to the fabric store a couple days before.

Michelle came to the door and looked at Alicia, who didn’t seem to notice her and waited, trying to find some sort of ice breaker. “So you’re the one that made the miracle shrinking drug?” She asked.

“I guess,” Alicia said, looking over her shoulder.

“And you’re also interested in Lucas?”

“I guess the whole world has to know about it, so yeah,” Alicia answered in a sullen tone. Michelle walked inside and sat at a stool next to the work bench as Alicia went to the task of moving spools of fabric to the bench and organizing them.

“He’s really sweet. I’ve only met him once before and I could see it, right away,” Michelle said. Alicia stopped what she was doing and looked at Michelle, the wheels in her head spinning.

“Yeah, he is,” Alicia replied softly.

“Have you known each other for long?”

“A couple years now, but we never actually had a conversation really until this last weekend.”

“Was he that hard to approach?”

“No, I was just scared,” Alicia replied, now looking at Michelle with intensity. “My secrets are the serum and my crush on Lucas, what are yours?” Alicia then asked bluntly.

“I don’t have any secrets…” Michelle replied defensively.

“Yes you do. What did you say to Diane to earn her trust?” Alicia asked her bluntly. Michelle didn’t say anything in response and just looked at her nervously. “There was something Erica said this weekend about Lucas catering to every woman that wanted to dwindle in his arms. She wasn’t just talking about her and me, was she?”

“I… just… I might have said something about it while they were at the clinic, but Lucas and Erica aren’t in a committed relationship…”

“I might be jealous, but as long as my secrets are out to complete stranger, I might as well tell you Erica is my best friend, and she is more in love with Lucas than I have ever seen her be before. And I may love Lucas, but I love him enough that I want him to be happy, and I know he’s happy with her. If you get in their way, I swear you’ll have more of that serum than you know how to deal with,” Alicia said spitefully.

Michelle stared at Alicia, stunned and somewhat pale. After a long tense silence between them, Michelle responded, “I wasn’t going to try to steal him from her.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’re educated, you took psychology in college?”

“Yes…” Alicia replied, uncertain where Michelle was leading her.

“Relationships formed in the wake of traumatic events rarely work out. They are intense because of the emotional intensity shared during the event, but then they burn out quickly when both parties start to realize they actually have nothing in common.”

“Don’t diagnose them! You’re not a psychiatrist!”

“I’m a general practice MD, and I diagnose these kinds things all the time and refer them to psychiatrists.,” Michelle told her firmly. “Don’t tell me you haven’t had the same thought. You know this as well as I do.”

“Lucas loves her, he’s not going to…”

“Yes, he does. But does she? After everything he’s gone through for her, she is still not ready to commit to him.”

“I’m not going to hurt her like that!”

“You don’t have to. She’ll come to the same conclusion as we have sooner or later. Probably sooner. You might want that cure ready for her when she decides to move on with her life.”

“Then what? You think you can just walk in there and take him?”

“I can actually talk to him,” Michelle said confidently. Alicia stood back, now her turn to be stunned. Michelle developed a smug grin and helped Alicia by moving a few more items to the work bench. After a moment in silence, Alicia reached a realization and looked at Michelle again.

“Whatever makes him happy, that’s all that matters,” she said with a soft smile. “But if you think you’re going to get some serum if Erica leaves him, you’re sadly mistaken. It will never happen. If you get in their way, or you try to sabotage them before that, though, I promise you, you’ll get so much that his dick will look like the empire state building to you.”

“What if he wants his woman shrunken? What if that makes him happy?”

Alicia grinned and looked at her with confidence for the first time. “You don’t know him at all, do you? None of the three of us wins here.” Alicia declared confidently. “Not you, not me, not Erica. The only one who gets to win is Lucas. I promise you that I will see to it.” Michelle stood quietly, speechless in the middle of Lucas’ garage. Alicia turned and headed to the door.

“Wait,” Michelle called out just before Alicia left her view. Alicia turned back and looked at her impatiently. “This isn’t what I meant to do with this conversation, really.”

“Then what?” Alicia asked with impatience, stepping back inside.

“I’m not sure, I just didn’t want to start a cat fight, I just… I guess I thought we might have something in common?”

“Lucas,” Alicia stated plainly.

“No, I mean other than that. I’ll do the right thing with them, I promise,” Michelle told her sincerely.

“But?”

“When Erica leaves Lucas…”

“IF she leaves him…”

“If… I’ll still be respectful of you and your feelings,” Michelle told her.

“Why?” Alicia demanded forcefully.

“Because this was nice today, really nice. I haven’t gotten to hang out and joke with people in so long… I was supposed to work a twelve hour shift today, then go home and run on the treadmill, and go to bed alone. I just… I don’t want to lose this.”

“What about friends? Don’t you have any?” Alicia asked.

“Married, and kids. And too busy. The last dinner I had with other people was almost six weeks ago, and it was a work related banquet. And between you and me? Doctors can be serious assholes!”

Alicia laughed and looked at Michelle with softer eyes. “Yeah, I’ve met more than one like that,” she admitted.

“I guess… It would be nice to have someone to talk to again. That’s why I came in here. I didn’t mean to start a fight.”

“It’s okay, Erica starts them with me all the time,” Alicia replied casually.

“I thought she was your best friend…”

“She is. She’s kinda my only friend.”

“What about Lucas?”

“I guess him too.”

“You’re not going to shrink me to micro size if I make another mistake like I just did again, are you?”

“Depends on the mistake, I guess,” Alicia said with a smirk. Alicia walked back in and sat on a stool beside Alicia. “It’s not a cure,” Alicia corrected Michelle.

“Excuse me?”

“It won’t be a cure. Erica isn’t sick, she doesn’t have a disease. It will have to just be a new serum that does the opposite for her as the original.”

“I see. So how exactly does it work anyways?”

“I don’t think I want to be sharing that with anyone right now,” Alicia told her sullenly.

“I guess I understand. Do you think it’s scary being like that? I keep wondering what it would be like looking up at ten to twelve foot people everywhere.”

“I think it would be exciting,” Alicia said with a grin.

“What if someone normal sized attacked you? I mean, it would hardly take any effort to serious hurt someone Erica’s size.”

“That’s why you choose someone like Lucas to do it with,” Alicia explained.

“You’ve… thought a lot about this, haven’t you?”

“Haven’t you?” Alicia asked eagerly.

“Not really. I guess the first time I ever even considered it was Saturday. Do you think this is really that hard for Erica? She seems so confident and independent, especially compared to Saturday.”

“Yeah, it is. In the past she would stick up for me at work. Guys have always fawned over her, gawked, made lewd comments, but she would just put them in their place, and if that didn’t work they were seriously screwed.”

“Why?”

“There was this one guy at work that used to just creep on me all the time, even grab me and stuff, and Erica put him in his place, but he just grinned and grabbed her butt when she turned around. She put him flat on his back. I think she’s always relied on her size to get people under control when she felt like she had to.”

“Maybe you are both better off not working there anymore. I can’t say I’d ever want to set foot in that place.”

“I guess work sucks no matter where you are.”

“Ladies, it’s time we got you both ready,” Tom told them from the doorway. Alicia and Michelle both turned, startled by his sudden presence.

“You mean to make Alicia’s disguise?” Michelle asked.

“And yours,” Tom added.

“Mine?”

“Yep, Diane thought you would be great as a blonde. How does that sound?” Tom asked with a grin.

“Ummm, sure… I guess. Does she just have wigs lying around?”

“No, Jerome and her went out a few minutes ago to get you something. She’s out picking up some clothes and wigs for you both. Meanwhile, Erica said she can help with starting your makeup before she gets back.”

“We’re really going to do this?” Alicia asked, still a little surprised.

“We are if you want your apartment secured,” Tom told her flatly. Alicia hung her head and stared at the floor. Tom waited a moment, watching her expression and walked over placing his hand on her shoulder. “I understand sweetie, better than you know. The first thing you need to know is that you’re going to be safe. Jerome is a loud mouthed smart ass, but I can honestly tell you that the only one who cares more about your safety right now is Lucas, and Lucas trusts Jerome to do this.” Alicia lifted her head and stared into his faded blue eyes. Tom smiled back at her warmly.

“The next thing you need to know is that me and Jerome have done this before. We’re getting you into your home with no messy stuff. Once we make sure your place is clear, then you should be able to go in and out without worrying too much. But I’ve got some stuff for you for that too,” Tom told her.

“They’ll know my car, though…”

“Lucas and I talked about that inside. He wanted to give you his car so you wouldn’t be pegged when you went in, but I’m going to let you trade with Diane instead.”

“You would really do all this for me?”

“I’m doing it,” Tom told her gently. “You ladies are going to be just fine. Now just relax. We’ve got the situation well in hand, so sit back, and enjoy the ride.” Tom told her with a grin. Alicia smiled up to Tom, then leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Tom, hugging him. Tom smiled and held her head against his chest and rubbed her back. “What do you say we go make a mockery of these ass hats now?”

Michelle and Alicia both giggled and followed Tom up to the house. Tom led them back to the spare bedroom where Erica was already sitting on the desk finishing setting out her makeup in preparation for Alicia and Michelle.

“About time,” she griped.

“You’re not even ready for them,” Tom corrected her with a smirk.

“Hush you,” she commanded Tom while fighting back a smirk.

“So you know what you’re going to do with them?” Tom asked her as Lucas set the two chairs in front of Erica.

“Yeah, make Alicia look like a total slut and Michelle like a complete bitch,” Erica replied with a grin.

“Hey!” both woman yelled back.

“Don’t worry Alicia, I’ll make you look like a hot slut.”

“I am not a slut!!” Alicia argued.

“Duh!! It’s a diguise!!” Erica said back sarcastically.

“Kitten, maybe you’re enjoying this a little too much.”

“Nope, pretty sure I can enjoy this a bit more,” Erica said grabbing her foundation.

“Erica…” Tom said in a disapproving tone.

“I know, I know, don’t worry. I’ll make the both look great.”

“Maybe we should wait for Diane to get back and do this,” Tom said to Lucas.

“No really, I can do this at least as well as Diane. I’ll do it right,” Eric promised. Tom looked at Lucas skeptically, but Lucas waved him off. “Come on, sit down you two; let’s make you pretty!”

“Kitten!” Lucas scolded her. Alicia and Michelle both looked at each other with insulted expressions.

“Sorry, that came out wrong… Really. Come on, sit down,” Erica said, trying to coax Alicia and Michelle. Alicia sighed and shrugged her shoulders to Michelle and took a seat in front of Erica, while Michelle watched suspiciously. “No makeup today?” Erica asked as she inspected Alicia’s skin.

“I was working in the lab today. I didn’t want to risk contaminating my work.” Erica smiled and went to work carefully and meticulously applying the first layers of makeup. Michelle continued to watch carefully as Erica worked carefully and Lucas and Tom took their place leaning against the wall, trying to hide their amusement. Almost twenty minutes passed before Erica paused to examine her work, studying it closely.

“Wow, you completely changed her skin tone,” Michelle observed.

“She’s very pale” Erica explained, and Alicia shot her another insulted expression. “No, no, it’s not a bad thing, you have beautiful skin. Much better than the color I’m giving you, it’s just that your pale enough that it stands out. If someone is looking for you, they won’t be looking for someone with this much color in their cheeks.”

After a moment inspecting her work, Erica started again and eventually finished. By this time, Lucas was sitting on the bed, working on his laptop, while Tom stood around playing with his phone. “Alright, what do you think?” Erica asked, holding up a mirror.

“Oh wow,” Alicia commented in surprise. “I look totally different.”

“Just some tricks with the color,” Erica told her.

“This looks way better than I do naturally,” Alicia said looking closer.

“No it doesn’t,” Erica argued. “I’d kill to have your skin. I said I would make you look good, but you definitely don’t look better than normal,” Erica complimented her.

“Oh nice work!” Diane said, commenting from the doorway with Jerome.

“Thanks!” Erica chirped happily. Diane walked in with a few plastic bags in her hands and pulled out a couple of wigs. Diane took the darker of the two and put it over Alicia’s head, carefully working her hair in and concealing it.

“Definitely beautiful, though I agree with Erica. You look better naturally.” Diane said, holding the mirror up to Alicia. Alicia grinned admiring her new image and smiled over to Lucas, looking for his appraisal.

“I agree with both of them,” he said plainly.

“Michelle?” Erica asked leadingly. Michelle stared at Alicia, then grinned at Erica.

“Alright,” She conceded and sat down, leaning in to Erica.

“Let me help you this time,” Diane told her eagerly. Erica giggled and started working on Michelle’s face.

“I want to make her more pale to go along with the blonde wig.”

“Sounds good,” Diane agreed. Erica and Diane worked together for about twenty minutes then finally showed the results to Michelle, who was giddy at her appearance, and then they helped Michelle with her wig as well.

“Can you see well enough without your glasses to get inside the building?” Diane asked.

“I think so,” Michelle confirmed.

“Okay, good, I think you should take them off when we get there and keep them in your pocket.” Michelle grinned back and nodded in agreement.

“Are we ready then?” Tom asked while Jerome stood by grinning at the adventure to come.


“Ready,” Erica replied loudly. All stood, while Lucas offered a hand to assist Erica as she stepped down from the desk. “One more thing,” Erica stated boldly to Lucas before they left the room.

“What’s that, Kitten?” Lucas asked her.

“Don’t you even THINK of driving her down there in the Cutlass,” Erica warned Lucas.

CKent45 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 7:08 pm

Raso719 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 5:07 pm

It's really great to see you writing again.
Is there any intention to continue When the Peaches fell? The world building was great and it seemed like it was building to some of the ladies ending up really small if certain events went wrong in just the right way....

Ever since the lockdowns, I've been struggling to separate work and personal life as each successive job I've had since then, they have an attitude that they are entitled to pretty much all my time. For instance, I regularly am supposed to get off at 4:00pm, and usually I will get a call less than 5 minutes before that that there is some incident I need to stay on for. There are other examples of this kind of thing, but absolutely eats my personal time up, especially since i have other things I have to get done on a regular basis around my home.

Long story short, I am really, really struggling to get any writing done. It's really frustrating because ideas continue to fill my mind and without focusing on stories I already have in the pipeline, my imagination continues to just let these ideas run without any outlet to get them out of my head.

I have gotten a little more work done on When The Peaches Fell, but the last time I was able to sit down and have a really good writing session a couple weeks ago, the next day I had work breathing down my neck over their stuff that's always changing.

I mean, it's not as bad as it was three years ago. At that point, I was spending about 14-16 hours with work most days and most of that time being largely idle, but also not so idle that I could get to writing or doing anything else, really. I really do believe in that story, and want to get to where it's resolved, but... life. I've even toyed with the idea of seeing if I could use AI to help me write it, but I hadn't really gotten anywhere. My ideas with my stories are very specific, and writing them out enough that the AI could finish it would probably take more time than just writing it myself.

Hey, man, you do what you gotta do to keep safe and sane. I get that. I haven't had time to write much either. AI is out here writing poetry and fetish fan fics while we humans toil in the spice mines.

Raso719 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 5:07 pm

It's really great to see you writing again.
Is there any intention to continue When the Peaches fell? The world building was great and it seemed like it was building to some of the ladies ending up really small if certain events went wrong in just the right way....

Ever since the lockdowns, I've been struggling to separate work and personal life as each successive job I've had since then, they have an attitude that they are entitled to pretty much all my time. For instance, I regularly am supposed to get off at 4:00pm, and usually I will get a call less than 5 minutes before that that there is some incident I need to stay on for. There are other examples of this kind of thing, but absolutely eats my personal time up, especially since i have other things I have to get done on a regular basis around my home.

Long story short, I am really, really struggling to get any writing done. It's really frustrating because ideas continue to fill my mind and without focusing on stories I already have in the pipeline, my imagination continues to just let these ideas run without any outlet to get them out of my head.

I have gotten a little more work done on When The Peaches Fell, but the last time I was able to sit down and have a really good writing session a couple weeks ago, the next day I had work breathing down my neck over their stuff that's always changing.

I mean, it's not as bad as it was three years ago. At that point, I was spending about 14-16 hours with work most days and most of that time being largely idle, but also not so idle that I could get to writing or doing anything else, really. I really do believe in that story, and want to get to where it's resolved, but... life. I've even toyed with the idea of seeing if I could use AI to help me write it, but I hadn't really gotten anywhere. My ideas with my stories are very specific, and writing them out enough that the AI could finish it would probably take more time than just writing it myself.

It's really great to see you writing again.
Is there any intention to continue When the Peaches fell? The world building was great and it seemed like it was building to some of the ladies ending up really small if certain events went wrong in just the right way....

The tension builds...

Dr. Hanson pulled up to Lucas’ house and looked around. A few cars already sat on the curb ahead of her, but she could still see the house. She stepped out of her car and looked down both directions of the street and waited a moment before taking her bag and walking slowly, nervously up the sidewalk to Lucas’ house. She rang the doorbell and was surprised to see Lucas arrive almost immediately, but she also smiled with some relief.

“Hi Lucas,” She said, still a little jittery.

“Thanks for coming Dr. Hanson.”

“I have a name, Lucas,” she replied disappointed.

“And I have a very jealous tiny woman to deal with that seems to feel very threatened by you,” Lucas replied with a slight smirk.

“Ah… Well, if you decided you were in a position to call me by my first name, I’d really like that,” she said in understanding.

“Come on in Michelle,” Lucas said very softly. She smiled with a wide grin and followed him in and found Erica sitting on the couch with Diane, who was gently rubbing Erica’s shoulder.

“Hi Erica, how are you feeling?” She asked with genuine concern.

“Doing fine, all things considered,” she replied, looking at the doctor with narrowed eyes.

“Shall we get started?” Dr. Hanson asked with a weak, nervous smile.

“Can we talk about what happened with my disability claim, first?” Erica asked, the irritation evident in her voice.

“That’s fair,” Dr. Hanson replied soberly. Lucas waved her to a chair across from Erica and Diane, while Lucas sat adjacent to them.

“So how again did everything about my shrinking get in to their hands first thing Monday morning?” Erica asked angrily.

“I had back to back appointments all morning long,” Dr. Hanson began and looked to Lucas. Lucas took a moment to think, then stood, left the room and returned after a moment with his laptop. He went to work, while Dr. Hanson continued her story. “Anyways, before my first appointment, I faxed in your claim and then went to see my first patient. Pfelcher called back a few minutes later, they got Marcie, the woman you talked to and they weren’t happy with the claim we sent them. They said it was too vague and they demanded more data. Well, like I said, I thought about what you had said before you left on Saturday, so I adjusted the comments in your records and tried to take out any mention or hint of your shrinking as best as I could. I forgot to take anything about your height and weight out, though,” She admitted, dropping her head.

“This parts checks out,” Lucas said flatly, still working on his laptop.

“How do you know that?” Erica asked, shocked.

“I’m looking at the log of times your records were accessed or modified right now. How long did you spend on the file?” He asked Dr. Hanson.

“I’m not sure… Maybe an hour or an hour and a half? I did it after the clinic closed. I stayed late to work on it.” Erica looked at Lucas for confirmation and he nodded. Dr. Hanson developed a fearful look, and fidgeted in her seat at the realization Lucas and Erica were fact checking her every word. “You’re in her records right now?”

“No,” Lucas said flatly. “I’m not medical personnel and I don’t have a business reason to be in there. If I was in her records themselves, I would be setting off security flags. I’m just looking at the times her records were accessed. I’m assuming this ID number here is Marcie’s?” Lucas showed the screen to Dr. Hanson.

Dr. Hanson looked it over and replied, “I’m not sure. Probably? Mine is that one there,” she replied, pointing at another ID number.

“I know, I already looked it up,” Lucas said unemotionally.

“Marcie Andersen?” Lucas asked, digging deeper through his computer access. Dr. Hanson nodded. “She’s been in Erica’s records all day long. Several times. The last time was just a few minutes ago,” Lucas commented.

“What? No! I had a long talk with her supervisor. She’s still on shift. I promise you, it wasn’t me! Keys to all of the rooms are kept in a lock box in the employee area, that’s how she got into my office. My best guess is that they saw Erica’s height and weight and that was what tipped them off,” Dr. Hanson argued.

“Or they weren’t paying that close attention and they really weren’t happy with how vague the claim was,” Diane interrupted.

“Are you… Erica’s mom?” Dr. Hanson asked, trying to put the pieces together.

“No, I’m a friend of Lucas’s. Lucas, can you see call logs?”

“Good idea,” Lucas replied. It took Lucas a few minutes, but after a short time, he sat up alertly and examined the contents of his screen. “Nothing from Dr. Hanson’s office phone to Pfelcher. Three calls to my phone, though,” Lucas informed them.

Dr. Hanson began to sweat, clearly nervous about the interrogation going on in front of her.

“What kind of notes were you keeping on me in your notebook?” Erica asked.

“Mostly calculations. I scaled down your caloric intake as best as I could, dosage requirements for any drugs or medications you might need, and any notes I could think of for how you appeared to be handling yourself psychologically.”

“And how am I handling myself psychologically?” Erica asked with narrowed eyes. Dr. Hanson reached down and took her notebook out of her bag and handed it to Erica. Erica paged through the notes, reading, looking the information over, while Diane read over her shoulder.

“Any mention of the serum?” Lucas asked, still parsing through computer files.

“Not that I see. She talks about how fast acting the chemical must have been and there are several scenarios on possible shrinking rates. I don’t see any mention of Alicia,” Erica responded.

“No, I was looking at it more from a clinical perspective. Most of it was just running through my mind how it would feel, how the world would look from your eyes now. I had a lot of questions about how it would have affected your brain physiology and memories.”

“Yeah, I see that…” Erica said quietly.

“Guess we know where Jimmy came up with his too small to think theory,” Lucas said, wrapping up his work on the laptop and closing the lid. “Everything so far checks out, Kitten.” Erica nodded in response.

“Lucas,” Dr. Hanson said with apprehension. “Do you really distrust me that much?”

Lucas sighed and thought for a moment. Then he looked at Dr. Hanson with a grave look in his eyes. “When we got to Pfelcher, they were ready for us. All they wanted was to take her away immediately to some unknown place. When she just flat out told them no, they brought in five men with clubs and tasers and they went after me. This was of course after I just barely managed to stop one from yanking Erica out of her chair by her arm. Now, they are leaving threatening voicemails with Erica’s friend’s phone and even calling Alicia’s parents, threatening them. Eventually, they are going to find us, and they are going to try to take Erica by force again. We don’t know who to trust yet.” Dr. Hanson sat in stunned silence while the others let this sink in.

After a moment, Diane stood and walked over to Dr. Hanson. “Well, I’m Diane,” she said, offering her hand to Dr. Hanson and shook it, with a confused look on her face. “I
used to be an MA, so I’ll be helping you through this examination with Erica. Lucas has a spare bedroom down the hallway here, so why don’t you come with me, and we’ll call Erica in when we’re ready.” Dr. Hanson looked to Lucas, then nodded and took her bag and followed Diane to the spare bedroom.

Inside the bedroom Dr. Hanson looked around, taking particular note of the sewing machine. “Lucas sews?”

“No, they bought it for Erica. She didn’t have anything to wear anymore and they didn’t want to shop in the toddler aisle for everything,” Diane said, closing the door and walking to the windowsill and leaned against it. “Dr. Hanson…”

“Michelle. We don’t work together, you can call me by my name.”

“Alright then, Michelle. I’m going to be blunt. Michelle, why are you doing this?”

“Doing… this?” Dr. Hanson asked nervously.

“Why are you making a house call for Erica? Physicians don’t do house calls anymore.”

“No, but I felt horrible about what happened, and I feel responsible. It just felt like the right thing to do.”

“Why?” Why is it the right thing? You don’t know Erica or Lucas. You’re not her regular doctor.”

“I just.. wanted to help, after everything that’s happened. Do you really think I’m helping Pfelcher with something so… illegal?”

“Pfelcher is a drug company, and they do like to court doctors…”

“The company Lucas and I work for doesn’t contract with physicians. We’re employees of the company just like Lucas is. I don’t have a say in what drugs we have contracts for. I’ve never met with anyone from Pfelcher before, I swear.”

“So then why?”

“I told you, I’m just trying to do the right thing. When Lucas brought her in, I just… feel badly for…”

Diane sat still for a moment, watching Dr. Hanson’s expressions carefully and her struggling, and a realization seemed to dawn on her. “Michelle, why don’t you sit down?” she said in a compassionate tone. Dr. Hanson pulled out the chair at the desk and looked at it, puzzled, noting the books and pillows set on top of it. She cleared these items and sat. “Are you doing this for Lucas?”

Dr. Hanson was startled, and looked up into Diane’s eyes, afraid to speak. “You are, aren’t you?” She asked, a grin developing across her lips.

“I’m…” she started to say, then dropped her shoulders and sighed heavily. “He’s just so sweet, and caring, I just… I dunno…”

Diane laughed and sat across from Dr. Hanson. “Tom and I have been worried about that boy for at last a couple years now. We kept trying to find him dates, his love life was just in the toilet, and he didn’t seem to be able to find even a single date for months now, and all of a sudden, there are three women all vying for his attention…” Diane laughed.

“Th-three?” Dr. Hanson stuttered.

“So what is it? Is it just him? Was it his eyes? He does have very nice eyes.”

“Well, yes. And the way he treated Erica on Saturday. When they first came in, she was so scared, and looked so alone, like a lost, battered animal, and Lucas just stood by her, and he treated her like she was so precious and special. He even stood toe to toe with me trying to protect her when she panicked after I asked him to leave the room.”

“That’s Lucas,” Diane giggled.

“I guess… She seemed to draw strength from that, and I dunno…”

“But you know those two are close, and you’re stepping in on Erica’s territory.”

“Erica said herself they aren’t in a relationship,” Dr. Hanson argued back.

“No, they aren’t but watching those two I think there’s something holding Erica back. She’s scared of something, but I don’t know what. She acts like they’re meant to be together though, so what she says and how she acts are two different things here.”

“Even so, if she can’t commit, then why does Lucas need to be off limits?”

“I’m not sure you want to pick a fight with Erica. She may be reduced, but from what I’ve seen of her so far, she’s still formidable. Not only that, but I can see that Lucas is already attached to her.”

“Relationships that are formed in the wake of traumatic events rarely work out,” Dr. Hanson said professionally.

“Ah, so that’s it. You want to just put your signals out there that you’re available and be waiting when things fall apart between the two of them?”

“Well… I’m not sure that I would say it like that…”

“But that’s it, isn’t it? So what makes you think he’s going to treat you the same as he treats her?”

“Wouldn’t you know? If you’re a good friend of his, wouldn’t you be able to say if he would or not?”

“I think Lucas has always wanted someone he could treat like Erica, but no, he hasn’t had that before. She’s vulnerable to him in a way that his other girlfriends have never let themselves be, and she needs trust in a way that he’s never been able to take advantage of before.”

“Because she’s shrunken, I know,” Dr. Hanson said, finishing her thought in a manner that expressed a great deal of consideration on the topic.

“No.. you too???” Diane asked, shocked.

“What? Me too what?”

“You want the serum too, don’t you?”

“Well, I might be able to help her friend reverse the effects. I thought I might be of some help…”

“Bullshit! You want to use the serum just like Alicia does! Good lord, what is it with you ladies? I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life!” Dr. Hanson blushed and sat looking any way she could other than Diane’s direction. “Just tell me, Michelle: what is so appealing to taking an unknown drug and shrinking down to less than half your original height? Even after everything Erica has been through, even she seems to be living the life like that. What is it?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Seriously. Out with it. We’re playing with some seriously high stakes here, and we have the safety of two women to worry about. We’re not moving ahead at all until I’m sure it’s safe.”

Dr. Hanson sighed and stared at her feet, fidgeting, trying to think of an answer. A moment passed, and Dr. Hanson could see the serious look on Diane’s face that indicated she was stuck answering her question. Dr. Hanson took a deep breath and began to speak.

“I worked so hard for years, getting top grades in high school and college, and med school, skipping events and not taking vacations over summer break, and then residency where they treated us like slave labor, working us day in and day out, often times days before I even got to go home to sleep for just a single night. I kept telling myself, I would become and MD and it would all be worth it, all the sacrifice, and hard work, and lonely sleepless nights, and then I got there, and there was nothing. No great place healing the sick, no accolades or recognition, nothing. No one was waiting for me. The pay was really good, but nothing like what I had been promised all that time, and private practices are drying up everywhere, so I can’t even get work anywhere but as a common employee. All this education, all this hard work, and I’m still just as liable for even the tiniest mistake personally and my career is on the line every time I walk into a patient room!”

“No, I can’t say I would have wanted any of our kids to be doctors either…” Diane commiserated.

“And now? Now I just get up every day, I spend my whole day taking care of everyone else, and seeing to their problems, and they come in with every kind of problem, no matter how small or stupid it is, and two months ago, I was going to take my first vacation since high school,” Dr. Hanson said, starting to tear up. “I’m thirty years old, and I haven’t had an actual vacation in fifteen years, what does that tell you? And I cancelled it, because as I was going through all the cruise line pamphlets and resort brochures, I realized… I have no one to go with. No one to share that time with. What kind of vacation is that?” Dr. Hanson told her, her voice shaking.

“No friends you could go with?”

“They’re schedules don’t work with mine anymore. I don’t even remember the last time me and my girl friends went out together for a night, and I haven’t even talked to any of them in weeks. Everything is this never ending suckfest of taking care of everyone else in the world and seeing to every last child a freaked out parent brings in because they can’t handle the idea of taking their temperature every hour or two and giving them an ibuprofen for a low grade fever!”

Diane sat, listening closely to Dr. Hanson, her expression softening and she took the young woman’s hand. “I cried myself to sleep last Thursday night thinking about all this, then, Saturday morning, after one petty problem after another the whole morning with the staff that I have no control over because I’m just another employee of this damn company and people who can’t even apply a simple bandage anymore, in walks Lucas and Erica, and she can’t do anything anymore! She can’t drive, she can’t go to work, she can barely operate doors anymore, and she was timid and scared and vulnerable, and Lucas is just standing there, like she is the most precious, bravest most fantastic woman in the world, and listening to every last word out of her mouth as though it’s the word of God. And he would smile at me, like he just seemed to understand, and he’d listen, unlike almost all my patients, and he’d think about what I was saying or doing.”

“And you wanted that too…” Diane said softly, a compassionate smile on her face. Dr. Hanson nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You know, back in my day, we did that without shrinking ourselves to a fraction of our original size…”

“How though? With who? I went to my ten-year high school reunion, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Most of them made it through college, but they were in dead end jobs that really, why did they have to rack up sixty thousand in student debt for? The men were all either married with children already, or married and still playing the field like dirty mutts, or they still lived at home with their parents smoking pot and playing video games all the time.”

“Alright, sweetie, I get it. Just do yourself a favor and watch yourself around that Erica. She’s not as helpless and vulnerable as you think she is. You want to be the third woman jumping into this thing with Lucas and the room was already full with little Erica.” Dr. Hanson sat quietly for a moment staring at the floor, nothing to say.

“Alright, just so we’re clear, I warned you to watch your step. If anything happens, I have no part in it.” Dr. Hanson took out a kleenex from her pocket and blew her nose, then nodded in understanding to Diane. “Let’s get set up,” Diane told her, and both ladies stood and went to work preparing the room for Erica to be examined, laying fresh white sheets over the bed, and Dr. Hanson removing her typical physician’s accoutrements from her bag. As they were wrapping up, Diane stopped and turned to Dr. Hanson. “Are we just about ready?”

“Almost, she said, putting a pair of tweezers on the desk on a clean towel.”

“Alright, would you mind if I left you alone for a minute? Lucas said he wanted to speak to you as well.” Dr. Hanson gave her a look of shock, but agreed and went about setting out her things again. Diane found Lucas holding Erica on the couch, Erica happily wrapped in his arms, nuzzling his neck as though she hadn’t seen him in several months. “She’s ready for you,” Diane told Lucas.

“Alright. Stick to the plan and stay on your toes,” Lucas said softly, and set Erica down, who gave him a rather sad look, but sat and watched Lucas walk away. At the entry to the hallway leading to the bedrooms, Diane grabbed Lucas’ arm and whispered quietly into his ear.

“Are you going to tell her that you were listening in on the whole conversation through my cell phone?” Lucas took off the Bluetooth earpiece he had been wearing and shook his head no, then proceeded down the hallway to the spare bedroom.

Lucas entered the spare bedroom, startling Dr. Hanson and took a seat. “I know you got attacked, but aren’t you being a little paranoid? You have to interrogate me again?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, if there was anything to worry about, Diane wouldn’t have sent me in here. I’m not here to interrogate you.” Dr. Hanson looked at him confused, then sat at the desk trying to appraise him. “I don’t enjoy this, not one bit. There’s the issue of Marcie. It looks to me like she’s been going in and out of Erica’s records looking for things to gossip about.”

“That’s what it looks like,” Dr Hanson said, hanging her head.

“Is this a continuous problem with all the staff there?”

“Not all of them, but… The managers there are extremely catty, and they hire staff that fit in with that mentality. I’m not management, Lucas. They do what I tell them to because they’re assigned to set up for the physicians, but I’m not in charge of them. I talked to Marcie’s manager already, and I even told her that I don’t want Marcie ever in my office again or rooming my patients.”

“And what did she say?”

“I got the feeling that she was just telling me whatever she felt like she had to in order to get me to shut up and leave her alone. She seemed to be blowing me off.”

“We’re filing a complaint. Before you leave. The two on Saturday were bad enough, but this is a HIPPAA violation, no ifs ands or butts about it, and she has royally fucked Erica over. Not only that, but we still don’t know the extent of the damage she’s done. And then there’s the issue of Alicia’s career being in ruins too over this.”

“Her manager was adamant, and even made a call to their union, arguing that it was part of Marcie’s job duties to provide information to Pfelcher, so she was justified going through my files. She even threatened to report me for not tracking my patient data in EPIC.”

“She’s been accessing Erica’s medical record all day long. That isn’t her job duty. We’re filing a complaint. And this time, I’m sure we can see her fired over this.”

“What if I get reprimanded for improper record keeping?”

“It’s a risk, but to be honest, given what’s happening, it was definitely the right thing to do. I’m just disappointed it wasn’t enough.”

“And if she’s fired, what if she goes to Pfelcher, looking for revenge?”

“I can’t waste all my time worrying about what might go wrong. She’s already given them all the information she has on Erica. She doesn’t have anything more to give them. If we don’t deal with this now, she could get more information, and this could get worse than her just giving data to Pfelcher. I’m not playing around this time. Erica and I have already discussed it. She will be calling to register a complaint, and I’ve already warned some friends of mine to expect the ticket.”

“So why are you telling me?”

“To give you a chance to get on board. Michelle, you’re a physician, and you’re spending all your time worrying about what your own staff is going to do to you over this. It’s bullshit. We’re taking this bitch down. Are you in?”

Dr. Hanson gulped and sat quietly staring into Lucas’ stone-like eyes. After a moment, she nodded. “Is that everything you wanted to talk about?” She asked, expectantly.

“No… Erica will likely ask you to measure her height. She’s afraid she’s still shrinking. I’ve told her I’ll only do it once a day, in the mornings because our spines compress a little every day. I saw you’re notes said that she seems to be handling this with only minor difficulty. She’s actually having a lot of trouble with it.”

“She almost seems to be enjoying it,” Dr. Hanson argued.

“Yes and no. There’s some kind of battle going on inside her head right now. I’m not totally sure what. If you cave in and measure her and her height has fluctuated at all, it might freak her out. I’m not telling you what to do, it’s your decision, but I at least want you to know what the result could be.”

“So.. are you done testing me?”

“Not completely, no. There is still some vetting to be done, but all of the biggest things we were concerned about don’t seem to be happening, so I’m not concerned anymore. We’re grilling some chicken and kabobs, why don’t you stay for dinner?”

“Dinner?” Dr. Hanson asked, shocked. Lucas just nodded. “I… I don’t want to be in the way,” she stammered.

“You’re not. You’re not the only person who will be staying with us for dinner. At the very least, if you aren’t in bed with Pfelcher, then you’re a potential target for them. I’d like a chance to sit down and talk with you, make sure you’re going to be safe.”

“I’ll be fine,” Dr. Hanson said, brushing his suggestion off.

“I don’t want to take any chances, Michelle. None. We lucked out down there, and I don’t plan to rely on luck again. Stay for dinner. Would some home made ice cream help sweeten the deal for you?”

Dr. Hanson blushed. “No, you don’t have to go to that kind of length over me…”

“But it’s settled? You’re staying for dinner?” Dr. Hanson stared at Lucas, shocked and beyond words.

“A few minutes ago you were giving me the tenth degree, and didn’t trust anything out of my mouth, and now you want me to stay for dinner?”

“I told you, we don’t know who we can trust yet. Can we trust you?” Lucas asked with a serious look in his eye.

“Yes,” Dr. Hanson said without pause, staring into Lucas’ eyes.

“Alright, then you’re staying for dinner,” he said with a smile.

“Alright,” she agreed, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“Erica will be right in,” Lucas said, standing and walking out of the room. Dr. Hanson sat quietly, grinning to herself. Out in the living room, Diane was rubbing Erica’s shoulder again for her when Lucas joined them.

“So?” Erica asked.

“She’s ready for you,” Lucas said with a warm smile.

“You trust her?”

“Yes, but what matters is do you trust her?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Erica answered with hesitation.

“Good answer,” Lucas said, kneeling and wrapping his arms around her. “Diane will be right there with you, and she has the experience to know if she is trying anything odd. I’ll be right outside. Everything is going according to plan, and the answers we’ve gotten so far are as good as we could have hoped for,” Lucas told her softly.

“If you feel for any reason you want her visit to end, just say the word and help will be there immediately, assuming Diane doesn’t get the situation under control before anyone else can even get in there.” Erica nodded and leaned back, looking into his eyes.

“What did she say?”

“She’ll join us tonight after she’s done seeing to you.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Diane asked skeptically.

“I think it’s necessary,” Lucas told her with a somber look. Diane nodded and led Erica into the spare bedroom, where Dr. Hanson was still sitting at the desk with a happy grin on her face, which she fixed as soon as Erica and Diane entered the room.

“Hi Erica,” Dr. Hanson said softly as Erica climbed up onto the bed.

“Hi,” Erica said indifferently.

“So what do you say we take a look at your shoulder first?” Dr. Hanson asked. Erica nodded and Dr. Hanson approached, pulling the chair up close and leaned down. “Which shoulder? The left?” Erica nodded and held her arm forward, which Dr. Hanson took and moved around gently, feeling around the joint, carefully, pulling and pushing it back and forth. She then took Erica’s arm and bent it ninety degrees and pointed it up. “Push my hand,” Dr. Hanson ordered, which Erica did, wincing at the pain. Dr. Hanson watched very carefully then released pressure. “You have a slight subluxation of your shoulder. But only slight, even for your size.”

“I don’t know what a subluxation is,” Erica admitted flatly.

“A partial dislocation. You said that someone yanked you out of your seat?”

“Yes, he lifted me right up into the air over the table.”

“He must have yanked you pretty hard,” Dr. Hanson replied.

“I weight less than twenty pounds. I’m not sure it was much effort for him,” Erica replied dejectedly.

“Good point. Well, the good news is that the damage isn’t too bad, probably because you are in such great shape. I thought it might be something like this, so I came prepared. I can give you a cortisone shot, and some ibuprofen for the swelling. I have a pill slicer to make sure you don’t over do the pain killers, and there are notes in my notebook on how much you may want to take. If you want help going over it, that’s fine.”

“Will that fix it?”

“Probably, but I suggest you help it along. I’ll show you and Lucas how to make a sling. I want you to sling your arm when you can, and go easy on use of your arm.”

“How easy?”

“Easy enough that I’d rather you not be climbing furniture like you did just now. You may need help getting up and down from chairs and beds for a few days.”

“So you want people lifting me up onto the couch like a baby…” Erica replied dejectedly.

“I wouldn’t look at it like that. Ordinary furniture to you now is like a jungle gym. Where you can, I suggest finding ways up onto furniture that won’t require using that arm to climb up. If you come up with a better way than someone helping you up, that’s fine. Meanwhile, I have a list of exercises for you, and I’d like you to ice it during the next couple days, twenty minutes on at the max, then leave it be for a while unless the pain of swelling is too much to handle.”

“How much do I have to keep it in the sling?”

“I’d say just when you aren’t using it. It isn’t necessary to keep it slung all day, just do it when you can to give your shoulder a rest.” Erica nodded without looking at Dr. Hanson. Dr. Hanson went to her bag and pulled out a needle and held it up. Diane stepped forward, looking at it closely. “It’s just cortisone,” Dr. Hanson replied in a worried tone.

Diane held her hand out and Dr. Hanson turned the needle around, handing the butt end of the needle first to Diane. She looked over the needle and the labeling, then handed it back to Dr. Hanson and stepped back, watching closely. Dr. Hanson took the needle, removed the cap and injected it into Erica’s shoulder, after lifting her sleeve, then pulled it out, pressing a cotton ball against the injection point in its place. She taped the cotton ball down then sat back and looked Erica over.

“Alright, now the implant… I take it you want to keep using one?” Erica nodded in response. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I found your records and I was able to calculate how to adjust an implant for you.”

“That’s it? You just need to adjust it?”

“I could do it with the one you have, but I took a fresh one from the clinic and cut it down to size. The surface area now is sized for you, and it will release the medication at a rate that works for you. You’ve been through getting the dosage correct before, right?” Erica nodded. “And you remember how all that works?”

“My memory is just fine, doctor. I know you have a hard time believing that, but it is.”

“No, I believe you. I would ask this of any new patient. Just make sure you call me if you feel any side effects. Early or late menstruation, more than is typical.. I guess from your point of view, any unusual cramps or side effects you wouldn’t normally expect from your period.”

“I know the drill,” Erica told her flatly.

“Bear with me, Erica. I’m a doctor, I don’t have the luxury of assuming you know everything you’re supposed to. I didn’t mean anything by those notes. I can see that your mental acuity seems fine.”

“You called me a scared, timid little bunny rabbit.”

“That was a poor choice of words. I’m sorry. Doctors don’t write their notes expecting their patients to read them. Sometimes we write things in a way that maybe isn’t very considerate. I’m sorry.” Erica nodded quietly.

“So you see me as some kind of lab rabbit?” Erica asked, looking at Dr. Hanson with angry eyes.

“No, it was just a poor choice of words. I was looking for a way to describe how scared you seemed when I first entered the room, that’s all. Given how quickly you started standing up for yourself, though, I really shouldn’t have said that. At the time, it didn’t occur to me how scary that morning must have been for you. That started to dawn on me as I thought about it over the weekend.”

Erica sat, listening to Dr. Hanson, and seemed to accept her response, finally nodding. “Shall we change that implant out?” Dr. Hanson asked, after making sure that Erica seemed to be more comfortable. Erica nodded in response and Dr. Hanson told her, “Alright, could you remove your shirt for me?” Again Erica nodded and lifted her shirt up and over her head. Dr. Hanson paid little attention as she started pulling a tray of instruments over, but then looked at Erica, sitting in front of her and commented, “Oh, you have a bra now…”

“Well, yeah. Did you expect me to just let my girls just flop around all the time?”

“Well, no, I just… Where did you find one so small? It seems to fit you perfectly.”

“Oh, I made this one,” Erica replied, looking up at Dr. Hanson with puzzlement.

“Wow, it looks just like a store bought one, only smaller.”

“I actually made a lot of mistakes on it,” Erica complained.

“I can’t tell from here,” Dr. Hanson complimented. “Did you make everything you’re wearing?”

“No, the shirt is from Target. Alicia picked it up for me.”

“But everything else?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, you did a really nice job on these jeans…” Dr. Hanson said, picking away at Erica’s leg, examining it.

“I needed help with those. I’m still learning how to do this,” Erica complained again.

“Wait, so you’ve never sewed before this?”

“No, why?”

“Erica, I can’t believe these are the first things you’ve ever sewn, you did a really nice job.”

“I had to get a lot of help for most of it,” Erica replied sullenly. Dr. Hanson looked Erica over, uncertain how to respond, and gave up.

“Apparently she has a couple nice dresses she put together as well,” Diane interjected.

“As good as these Jeans?”

“That’s what I hear,” Diane replied.

“Well, at least she’ll be dressed well while she remains like this,” Dr. Hanson said with a smile. Erica smiled softly at the compliment and held her arm out. “I’d like you to lie down for this, Erica,” Dr. Hanson explained.

Erica lied down and held her arm out. Dr. Hanson took out a large q-tip and spread on a liberal dose of numbing agent around where Erica’s implant was. Diane stepped up and watched closely as Dr. Hanson worked slowly and carefully, and then carefully used a scalpel to cut a small opening in Erica’s skin. Diane handed Dr. Hanson a pair of forceps, which she used to carefully and slowly pull a matchstick sized object out of Erica’s arm, continually using a tissue to wipe up any drops of blood that seemed to be bleeding out.

The process only took a couple of minutes, and Erica watched, somewhat nervously as the implant was removed from her arm. Once finished, Dr. Hanson tossed it into a plastic bag and looked down at the diminutive woman.

“How are you feeling so far?”

“I’m good…”

“Are you sure? We can take a break if you want…”

“No, let’s just get it over with,” Erica said, swallowing hard.

“You have more guts than I do,” Dr. Hanson commented softly. Dr. Hanson pointed to a plastic, needle like device and Diane handed it her. Dr. Hanson then too from another plastic bag a new, significantly shorter object that looked very much like the one that had just been removed otherwise. She put the new implant in it, and Dr. Hanson carefully went to work injecting the device into Erica’s arm. Once in her arm fully, she pushed a button on the device, and carefully removed the device. Finally, she probed Erica’s arm with her fingers, finding the new implant, cleaned the area again and took out an adhesive bandage, applying it to Erica’s arm.

Once that was in place, Dr. Hanson wrapped around rolled up gauze around her arm and taped it in place. “How do you feel?” she asked Erica.

“I’m fine,” Erica replied simply.

“Are you sure? You look a little pale…”

“I do?” Dr. Hanson nodded, holding Erica’s tiny hand in hers. “Those things just look so much bigger than the last time I did this, that’s all.”

“I understand. Why don’t you lie still for a moment? Do you want some water?”

“Alright,” Erica agreed. Diane walked to the door and opened it, and spoke to Lucas, who was waiting outside, and asked him to get a glass of water, then closed the door.

“As long as we’re here, is there anything else you need me to look at?”

“Aren’t you going to take my vitals?”

“I suppose we could, let’s wait until you feel a little better before I take your blood pressure, though.”

“What about my heart rate and my weight? My height?”

“Your height? We just took your height a couple days ago. It’s not necessary to measure that again.” Dr. Hanson replied as innocently as she could.

“Bullshit! Lucas talked to you, didn’t he???”

Dr. Hanson sighed and nodded. “Yes, he did, and I think he has a point. He measured you already today?”

“Yes, but how do I know if he’s telling me the truth??”

“He doesn’t strike me as the type to lie like that. He’s very concerned about your well being, and if he thought you were still shrinking, I think he would have mentioned it. I’ll tell you what, I’ll take your weight and some other measurements, and we’ll use those as a baseline for the next time I see you.”

“The next time? So you’re coming back??”

“If you’ll let me, yes. I mean, would you rather see another doctor?”

“Not really, no.”

“Alright, well given everything that’s happened, it might be a good idea if we do more checkups on you over the next few weeks.”

“We aren’t sure if it’s safe to go back to your clinic again.”

“No, I know. I’ll make the trip to see you.”

“Why?” Erica asked skeptically. There was a knock at the door, and Diane fetched Erica’s water from Lucas.

“Be honest with me, Erica, do you feel threatened by me? Like I’m going to try to steal your man?”

“Yes,” Erica blurted out.

“I won’t try to steal him from you, I promise you that. Truth be told, I’m a little jealous of you. Not just over your boyfriend…”

“He’s not my…” Erica began to argue, cutting Dr. Hanson off.

“Not just because of Lucas, then. I guess I wouldn’t mind being in your little shoes, so to speak,” She said smiling at her.

“Well, I am pretty cute,” Erica retorted with a smirk, and sat up, sipping on the water she had just been given by Diane.

Diane and Dr. Michelle laughed together and Dr. Hanson admitted, “yeah.” Erica sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, catching her breath, then nodded that she was ready to get up. “Let’s just wait a moment for Diane and I to clean up, then we can head out, okay?” Erica nodded again in understanding.

Dr. Hanson and Diane went about cleaning the room up and packing all of Dr. Hanson’s things while Erica put her shirt back on, then Diane walked over to Erica and asked if she could help Erica down. Erica nodded and Diane picked her up and set her on the ground. “What about my vitals?” Erica asked with impatience.

“We’ll get them before I go. I want you to settle down a bit before taking your blood pressure.”

“Alright,” Erica agreed, staring up at the giant woman. “Thanks for doing this for me, Dr. Hanson. I really appreciate it. Really, I can’t thank you enough.”

“Michelle,” Dr. Hanson corrected her. Erica smiled and nodded in understanding. The three walked to the door and opened it, finding Lucas standing outside, leaning against the wall with his hand on his right hip and a concerned expression on his face.

“Everything went fine,” Diane said with a smile as Dr. Hanson and Erica walked out ahead of her. Lucas nodded and followed them out to the living room, where Dr. Hanson stood looking to her three hosts, uncertain of what was to come next.

“What do you think?” Diane asked Lucas in a straightforward manner. Lucas walked to the dining room table, where Erica’s netbook sat open and active. He pressed a couple keys and a Skype window appeared. He pressed a button and spoke to the computer.

“Any change since I last checked in?” Lucas asked.

“No,” Alicia responded over the speaker. “Tom and Jerome are still keeping an eye out, but they’re almost certain she wasn’t followed at all.”

“And her car?”

“Tom said it’s clean, no tracking devices.”

“Good,” Lucas responded stoically.

“Do we have a decision yet?” Alicia asked, the curiosity evident in her voice. Lucas looked to Dr. Hanson who stared in shock at Lucas, her mouth wide open.

“Yes. Trust but verify,” Lucas stated plainly.

“Sounds good,” Tom replied back. “You want us back yet?”

“Yeah, come on back,” Lucas told him.

“Can I come up now?” Alicia practically begged.

“Of course, come on up and meet our new guest,” Lucas said with a smile.

“Finally,” Alicia said, exasperated.

“You had people watching me the whole time?” Dr. Hanson asked, stunned.

“No, just Diane. Jerome and Tom were out on the street and Alley, watching for any other guests, and Alicia was tucked away safe and sound in the basement, coordinating our communications.

“Well.. what if I tried anything on Diane and went out the window?”

“This,” Diane replied, taking a handgun out from underneath her bra.

“Holy shit! You weren’t kidding about not taking any chances, were you?” Dr. Hanson exclaimed, stepping back.

“Nope,” Lucas said plainly. “But if you’re not with them, you can be with us, and I can promise you that you’ll get the same kind of attention to your safety.”

“My… safety? You don’t really think I’m in that kind of danger, do you?”

“Not as much as Erica or Alicia, but yes. I think Pfelcher will want to have words with you, with or without your consent.”

“Holy shit,” Dr. Hanson muttered, catching her breath.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. We’ve got the situation well in hand,” Lucas said confidently. Dr. Hanson nodded, still stunned and stared at Erica who was holding a smug grin next to Diane. “Are you alright?” Lucas asked her as she gathered her senses.

“Yeah, I just suddenly feel like I just found out I was being hunted…” Diane and Lucas smiled to each other.

“Welcome to the pack,” Alicia said, smiling from the entry to the kitchen.

Alicia, Diane and Tom sat in the kitchen together slicing up vegetables at the table quietly, with Tom and Diane looking up frequently to check Alicia’s emotional state as inconspicuously as they could. Her spirits seemed to be up somewhat, but she was still noticeably less cheerful than her normal self.

“Do you think if I had actually talked to him, we would have had a shot?” Alicia asked as she started dicing up a fresh tomato. Tom looked up, and Diane took on a sad, concerned expression.

“Honey, I think he would have been lucky to have someone like you,” Diane told her in a sweet tone of voice.

“Diane, it’s probably best we not encourage that kind of thinking,” Tom said rather bluntly. Alicia lowered her head and avoided his gaze. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Alicia. You’re admitting how you feel now, which is good. It’s a good step in the right direction,” he told her, sliding the pan of cookies Diane had brought over to Alicia. Alicia looked, then took one and thanked Tom.

“The thing is, Lucas is going to follow what he thinks is right, and leaving one girl for another isn’t going to sit well with his conscience. It’s alright, though. You know, before I met Diane, I had the biggest crush on another girl, and she shot me down in flames, I was devastated.” Alicia looked to Diane who just smiled as she went about her work. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me, though I couldn’t see it at the time. I had some growing to do yet, and I wouldn’t trade my life with Diane here for anything. That other girl was the best I could think of in a woman, but Diane? She’s that AND she makes me a better person.”

Alicia stopped and stared at the tomato cut up in front of her, lost in thought. Tom continued to talk to her, “doors close all the time in our lives, but look around. You’ll see where life has closed one door, it’s opened another. That doesn’t mean it will be easy, but just don’t waste your time on what could have been, because what we’re going to do is going to be so much better anyways.”

Alicia looked at Tom and stared at him thoughtfully. “Are you sleepy yet, Alicia?”

“Huh?” Alicia asked, puzzled.

“Tom is quite the chatter box, he certainly does love to hear himself talk. Sometimes I just get him started on any old topic so he can drone on and it helps me fall asleep at night,” Diane said dryly. Alicia sat back, surprised, then laughed out loud at her comment.

“Much better,” Tom commented. “Dear, don’t you think she has the prettiest smile?”

“She does,” Diane agreed. Alicia blushed and tucked her head down in embarrassment. Diane finished her current vegetable, then wiped her hands and stood. “I’m going to check on Lucas and Erica. Do you think they’ve had enough sleep, Dr. Alicia?”

“I’m not a…” Alicia began to argue, but stopped short, staring at Diane as she smiled down at her. “Yeah, I think Erica should be recharged by now,” She agreed. Diane took her leave and walked down the hallway to Lucas’ room and looked in on the duo, sleeping blissfully away with each other. Erica lay across Lucas’ chest, covered in one of Lucas’ sweatshirts, her head directly over his heartbeat and her right arm draped up over his shoulder, while her left arm was tucked in close to her little body. Lucas held her gently with both hands, and Diane stopped at the doorway, caught off guard by the tenderness shown between the two disparately sized lovers.

She just watched, smiling to herself until Erica twitched suddenly, then again, and gripped his shirt tightly, and as if on cue, Lucas fingers went to work, carefully and gently kneading her shoulders and back for her for a moment until the violent tremors in Erica’s body faded away.

Diane struggled for a moment, clearly trying to make a decision, then tip toed over to the desk and sat on it’s edge, and waited a while longer, smiling at the scene in front of her. A few moments of silence passed before Erica slowly began to stir. Her left arm began to slowly stretch out, and she yawned, then pressed her face into Lucas’ chest. After a moment, she lifted her left arm up to his neck and slowly pulled herself forward, burying her face into the base of his neck and hugging him tightly.

Diane struggled to keep from gasping at the affection showed, and raised her hand covering her mouth, as she became slightly teary eyed. Erica curled her body up in Lucas’ arms, and continued to hug him with her arms around his neck. Finally, gradually, her breathing seemed to shift as she drifted into full consciousness and looked up at Lucas, reaching up and delicately touching his cheek, almost as though she needed to confirm he was real to her. Another moment passed before Erica became aware of the presence of another person in the room and slowly turned her head to see Diane leaning against the desk, beaming at her with empathetic eyes.

Embarrassed, Erica slowly retreated back into the sweatshirt, her skin turning a rosy red.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you, dear,” Diane whispered as softly as she could. “I was just checking to see if you two were up yet.” Gradually, Erica came out of her shell and looked up at Lucas again, then carefully wormed her way out of his arms and off of him, keeping the sweatshirt wrapped around herself. Diane watched with amusement as Erica tiptoed across the bed and down the set of makeshift stairs made from overturned boxes and around the bed to meet her.

The two walked out of the bedroom together before Diane spoke a little more loudly. “I am sorry, Erica, I was just checking on you two, and you both looked so sweet and peaceful. I didn’t mean to stare.”

“It’s alright,” Erica replied, holding Lucas’ gigantic sweatshirt close to herself. “You’ve known Lucas a long time?”

“We’ve known him his whole life,” Diane replied happily.

“Has he always slept so much? It’s crazy how much he seems to sleep,” she complained.

Diane looked down at Erica, surprised, then looked ahead, befuddled and lost in thought. “Well… he works a lot, and I don’t think he takes many days off. I think when he does have time off, he catches up on what he’s lost in between.”

Erica thought Diane’s answer over then looked up at her. “How much does he work?”

“Sometimes they keep him late at his work, or call him in on the weekends. I think he’s been doing so many of these extra hours binges that that’s the reason he hasn’t been able to attend matches lately,” Diane fibbed.

“Oh…” Erica said, mulling it over. “Well, maybe he could find a way to not work so much? I’d kinda like to see him…” Erica replied sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. I’m pretty sure he wants to spend time with you.” Diane and Erica walked into the kitchen where Tom and Alicia was still preparing food.

“Hey,” Erica said to Alicia, somewhat hesitantly.

“How’d you sleep?” Alicia asked, barely looking at Erica.

“Really good. Are you feeling any better, Alicia?”

“I am,” she admitted. “Tom and Diane were really nice, we talked a lot.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“A couple hours almost,” Tom answered. Erica walked up to Alicia and placed her hand on her knee, still concerned about her giant friend.

“I’m fine, Er-bear, really. And I’m sorry. I said some things I really shouldn’t have said.” Alicia continued to stare at the plate of vegetables that she was dicing.

“I guess we’re even then,” Erica said with a weak smile

“I don’t see how..” Alicia argued.

“I said a lot of things this weekend I shouldn’t have either.”

“You’re not mad at me?” Alicia asked, puzzled.

“A little, I guess. It was the last thing Lucas and I talked about before I fell asleep. It’s alright, though.” Erica offered genuinely. “I’ve known that my career was at risk since I woke up on Saturday, but you, it hit you like a ton of bricks today. I understand, I really do.”

“Are you gonna get me back for it?” Alicia asked fearfully.

“No.” Alicia smiled at Erica and dropped to her knees, hugging the miniature woman in her arms, practically enveloping her small form and startling Erica.

“Get her back?” Diane whispered in Tom’s ear. Tome waved her off.

“How long are we going to let Lucas sleep?” Diane asked.

“I kinda thought you were going in there to get both of them,” Tom replied. “Well, let’s give him another few minutes then go get him.”

Erica climbed up onto and empty chair and knelt at the table. “What are you working on?” She asked with intense curiosity.

“Dinner,” Diane replied, handing Erica a plate of chicken and a couple bottles of seasoning. “Care to help?” Erica grinned and accepted the seasonings and went to work helping prepare dinner for another twenty minutes or so, when Tom stood and walked away, pleased with how everything had turned out.

“Where are you going?” Erica asked.

“Just to get Lucas,” Tom replied casually.

“Can I go get him?” Alicia asked in a weak voice. Erica glared at her, her temper flaring, and Alicia looked at her with guilt ridden eyes. “I owe him an apology too. A really big one,” she explained.

“I’d feel better if you didn’t…” Erica replied coldly.

“That’s what I need to apologize for, and something else too. Please Erica?” Alicia asked.

Tom stepped up and placed a hand on Erica’s little shoulder. “She told us what she said to you two. I think it’s a good idea. In fact, I kinda encouraged it,” Tom said encouraging her. Erica scowled, then sighed deeply and waved Alicia off. Alicia took the opportunity and quickly exited the room, with her head tucked down and made her way to the bedroom.

At the door, Alicia stood and looked in, watching Lucas sleep, staring at his chest as it rose and fell, and focused on his sleeping face. She smiled to herself, then looked and took notice of Erica’s luggage, still sitting at the foot of the bed, and the make shift stairs on the other side of the bed. She took a deep breath and walked in, sitting at the foot of the bed and hung her head and waited a moment. Without moving, she softly called out Lucas’ name. Lucas didn’t move, so she spoke a little louder this time, Lucas began to move and began his journey to consciousness. The first thing he did as he opened his eyes was to feel around his chest, probing for the missing elfin woman that had been there a short while before. As he began to become aware of her lack of presence, he sat up suddenly, looking for her, in a near panic.

“She’s fine, she’s in the kitchen,” Alicia said, looking at him with sad eyes. “They sent me in to get you.”

“That’s… a bit of a surprise,” Lucas managed, as he sat up in the bed.

“It was so I could talk to you about what I said earlier.”

“It’s alright, Lucas said, brushing it off.”

“No, it’s not. Tom told me some stories about you growing up, and I really hurt you, didn’t I?”

“I’m fine Alicia, really.”

“Tom didn’t think you would be,” Alicia said. Both stared down at the floor.

“What did he tell you?” Lucas asked flatly.

“About what happened with your girlfriend from high school.”

“Everything?”

“I don’t know. I guess?” Lucas sat, staring at the floor. “He said she ruined your life at school and you had to leave there. Was there anything else he would have held back?” Lucas sat, unresponsive. “Did she call you a trained killer?

“She told all of our friends I was a cold blooded killer, and a monster.”

Alicia swallowed hard, and fought back tears as best as she could. “I was wrong, I was so wrong, Lucas, and I’m sorry. You’ve done more for me than any of my supposed friends in just one weekend. I’m really sorry.” Lucas looked at her, a somewhat unfeeling look in his eyes. “I won’t leave unless you want me to,” Alicia told him softly.

Lucas looked at her and nodded. “You’re welcome to stay,” he told her with a weak smile.

“What I mean is… it never occurred to me that you would be afraid of anything, let alone that. I’m sorry I went off like that, and I want to stand by you as much as you’ve stood by me. What you did was really brave.” Alicia told him, her voice shaking.

“Crippling those guys in high school or trying to kill the ones earlier today?” Lucas asked coldly.

“I mean it, I was wrong. You came through both times, and it was really brave. Can I make it up to you?”

“It’s fine, Alicia, don’t worry about it,” Lucas sighed.

“No, I judged you so wrong, and it’s not okay, and that part about her stealing the man… you…”

“Did you mean it?” Lucas asked, looking into her eyes.

“I shouldn’t have said it, it was wrong, it put you both in a really bad position, and I shouldn’t have said it.”

“But did you mean it?” Lucas asked again.

“I… I just… it’s my fault that things turned out the way they did. I won’t hold that over your heads,” Alicia replied, her voice shaking. Lucas nodded and put her arm around her, hugging her gently.

“I am sorry things didn’t turn out the way you wanted. I never knew how you felt about me, you always seemed so… I dunno…”

“I was scared. I was afraid to talk to you, and I just froze any time you were around me. But it doesn’t matter. You have Erica now, and I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine, but thanks. This means a lot.” Alicia smiled at him, and Lucas took her hand and stood, leading her towards the door. “Come on, let’s see what everyone else is up to,” Lucas said confidently. Alicia followed him and they joined the others in the kitchen. Tom was nowhere to be seen and Lucas looked to Diane for guidance.

“Tom had some phone calls to deal with. He’ll be right back. Lucas nodded and looked over the table with guilt written all over his face.

“Is there anything else left I can do?”

“Got it covered, Lucas, don’t worry about it.” Lucas looked around and found Erica kneeling on a chair, partially obscured by a mixing bowl, looking up at him expectantly, an excited, but somewhat worried smile on her lips. As he spotted her, his expression melted into one of warmth and he grinned fully at her.

“Hey,” she mumbled.

“Hey Kitten. I missed you,” Lucas said in return.

“Well, I was pretty far away,” Erica replied back, a smirk on her face.

“You might as well have been,” Lucas retorted back, stepping toward her slowly. Alicia sat back at the entry to the room with an unconvincing smile, staring at the floor, while Diane did her best to fight back the grin that was creeping across her face.

“Awww, we you scared, big guy?” Erica teased.

“Petrified. Ask Alicia.” Erica giggled.

“Oh you poor thing, here let me make it better for you,” Erica said in a motherly tone and jumped up from the chair into Lucas’ arms, and hugged him, her arms wrapped around his neck. “Is that better?” She teased.

“It is, thanks,” Lucas told her sweetly. Erica giggled and ruffled his hair.

“You’re just a softy, aren’t you? You poor thing! Well, I’m here now and I’m gonna keep you safe.”

“You know just the right things to make me feel better, Kitten. I’m still scared though, see?” Lucas held his arm out and shook it intentionally.

Erica fought back her giggles as hard as she could, then looked up at him. “Don’t worry, big guy, I’ll keep all the bad, bad people away from you; I’ll keep you safe.”

Lucas smirked slightly and looked into her eyes sadly, and asked in a weak, high pitched voice. “But what if you can’t stop the bad bad men, Kitten? I soooo scared!”

Erica doubled over, laughing and giggling in his arms. “Damnit! Okay, fine you, win!” Erica yelled out with her head buried in his shoulder.

“Quite a prize, if I’ve won you,” Lucas told her softly in her ear, just below the hearing of Alicia and Diane.

Erica giggled and then sat up and slapped Lucas on his shoulder. “Lucas! Not in front of Diane’s virgin ears!!” Diane erupted into an infectious laughter that even Alicia couldn’t resist joining in on. As the room settled, Lucas went about looking over all the food set out, ready to grill, when Tom popped his head in the door.

“Hey Luc, I’ve got Kevin on the phone, he wants to talk to you,” He said excitedly.

“Sure,” Lucas replied and set Eric on the floor and went outside to join Tom. Lucas stepped outside to see Tom sitting at the picnic table under the parasol he had set up, and sat at the table with him. Tom nodded and set his phone on the table, switching it to speak mode.

“Hey Kev, here’s here.”

“Luc! How are ya, ya little shit?!?!?” The voice chirped over the speaker.

“Doing fine, Kev, how about yourself?”

“Doin well, thanks. Tom says things are a bit rocky for you right now.”

“That would be an accurate statement,” Lucas admitted.

“So you have two ladies that need some armed protection?” Lucas looked at Tom, his curiosity evident in his expression. Tom just smiled and nodded Lucas on.

“Yeah. They’re in a bit of a tough spot right now, and we’re not sure how long it’s going to last like this.”

“Alright, alright, well you know I’m a tad limited, living out here now, but I think we could find a reason to swing down to that area a little more.”

“That… actually thanks, Kev. That’s a big help!”

“Sure, sure. Tom also says you want to borrow the boat?”

“Well, yeah, I had considered asking you. But I know it’s summer and all and…”

“Just one condition,” Kevin bellowed back.

“What’s that?” Lucas asked, eagerly.

“I wanna meet this new lady of yours. If Tom gets to meet her, I wanna too. He seems rather taken with her.”

“She’s one of a kind,” Lucas admitted, chuckling. “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, the boat’s docked a ways away from us, and if you’re going to be out on it all day, I don’t see you getting up here tomorrow. Can we swing by for a while and visit later this week? Darla’s been wanting to a do a bit of shopping down there anyways.”

“You know I could make room for you here if you wanted to spend the night,” Lucas told him.

“We don’t want to be trouble,” Kevin voiced back.

“Fuck, Kev, come spend the night at my place. We’ll get a few of the other guys together and have a fire. We’ve got a queen bed in the spare bedroom for you.”

Kevin could be heard laughing in the background. “This little stop over seems to be growing already on us.”

Lucas and Tom looked at each other, and seemed to share the same idea. “Well, why not?” Lucas asked Kevin.

“Why not what?”

“Why not go all out? When was the last time you guys did that?”

“Oh, not since before… you know…”

“What do you think, Tom?”

“Fuck it, let’s do it! Kevin, spend the weekend at my place, we’ll get the as many of the others together as we can. We’ll make it a whole affair this Saturday,” Tom said with excitement in his voice.

“Geez, Tom… I was gonna try a new hardball gun, and Darla has a threshing show she’s been looking forward to.”

“Oh come on,” Lucas moaned.

“Kev! Come on! There’s a range down here, and you think the rest of us would be against a couple hours down there? Jesus, come on! If Darla is that set against it, she can stay up there anyways.”

“Who else you think you can get to come?” Kevin asked, still hesitant.

“You learned to puss out of everything in your retirement? Who gives a shit how many make it?!?! Diane!!” Tom yelled towards the door. A short moment passed and Diane appeared at the door. “Seems this might have created a great opportunity to have a bonfire this weekend, what do you say?”

Diane looked at her husband with shock stared at him. “A bonfire, you mean with all the guys?” Erica and Alicia walked up behind Diane and listened in.

“Yeah,” Tom blurted out with a grin.

“Well, you guys haven’t done that since…”

“Exactly, whaddya say?”

“Alright dear, we can do that,” Diane agreed.

“Okay Kev, quit dinkin’ around on this and just get your ass down here!”

“Alright, I’ll meet your little lady this Saturday then, Lucas,” Kevin laughed. “See you then! Oh yeah, keys will be waiting for you, I’ll call ahead and make sure they know you’re coming.”

“Thanks Kev, I owe you,” Lucas replied in a grateful tone.

“You don’t owe me shit. See ya this weekend!” The three men said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.

“Keys?” Erica asked, curiously.

“We’ll talk about it later, Kitten. We’ll be inside in just a minute.”

Diane nodded and led Erica and Alicia back inside, while Tom and Lucas grinned at each other.

“Like old times?” Lucas asked.

“Fuck old times! This can be a new time! New friends, new jokes, and new laughs!” Tom said, laughing. “Alright, no worries, I kept those two ladies’ secret to us. Kev doesn’t need to know, neither do the rest of the guys, at least not right now.” Lucas nodded in agreement. “Okay, so you’re get away is all set for tomorrow, you just need to take care of food and drinks and get them both up there. Don’t go gettin’ stupid up there though, kiddo. It’s still a good idea to carry. I suggest one in the trunk, one with a lock under the car seat, one on your person, and one in your bag in a safe place on the boat.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about using one of my dad’s for this…” Lucas said with hesitation.

“It’s what they’re for,” Tom stated simply. “He’d be fine with you using the snub nose or his Magnum.” Lucas nodded, and lowered his head. “Good idea to just get whoever we can together for a party,” Tom complimented.

“Well, we haven’t seen everyone together in so long. I hope Erica and Alicia take to them though.”

“How could they not?” Tom asked with a grin. Lucas and Tom both got up and pushed their chairs in and were walking to the door when Tom’s phone rang again. He looked at it and smiled. “Our lawyer friend,” he explained. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up.” Lucas smiled and went back inside.

Inside, Lucas was surprised to find no one in the kitchen and began to look around. He found the three ladies in the dining room gathered around Alicia, who was crying again. “What happened?” He asked, shocked.

“She turned her phone on again,” Erica explained, standing on a chair and rubbing Alicia’s back.

“What? Why??”

“I just had a bad feeling…” Alicia explained.

“Alicia, Tom asked you to turn the phones off…”

“I know, but… Lucas, I had to check.”

“Check for what? For more threatening voicemails? We already know they’re gonna do that.”

“She had a voicemail from her parents. Pfelcher is calling her parents now, demanding they tell where Alicia is,” Erica explained.

Lucas took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “Okay, is the phone off again?” Erica nodded in response. “Alright, Alicia are your parents on Facebook?”

“Yes, why?”

“Your laptop is set up with enough security now, you can leave them a message there and let them know you’re alright, and that you can explain everything later.”

“You want me to tell my parents about the serum?”

“Probably not, but we’ll figure out exactly what to tell them later. For now, just let them know that you’re fine, you’re dealing with the problem and you’ll talk to them when you can.” Erica hopped down, and ran to Erica’s bag, retrieving her laptop, which once it was brought over to Alicia, and she used, still weeping openly, to message her parents.

“Is it safe for Alicia to message them like this?” Erica asked, concerned.

“Yes, but Facebook is horrible for the amount of data tracking they do to your computer. Once you’re done, I want you to log off and disconnect from the internet so I can make sure your computer is clean before you go back on again,” Lucas explained. “And make sure you use that new browser I installed. It will help keep your access anonymous.” Alicia quietly did as told while Erica and Diane stood by trying to comfort her as much as possible before Tom stepped back in.

“Something happened…” he observed soberly as he came across the rest of the group. Lucas recapped the missing events quickly for Tom who nodded and sat next to Lucas. They all sat at the dining room table, Alicia still staring down at the table while Diane rubbed her shoulders and Erica held her hand. Tom and Lucas sat beside each other, lost in thought.

"First thing, we'll need to set up security cameras at Alicia's place," Tom said, lost in thought.

"I don't know if we want that data stored locally," Lucas replied back.

"I don't like adding complexity if we don't need to to these systems," Tom answered back.

"True, but we've already got her a secured network to my servers here. I'm sure we could piggy back security on that as well."

"And if the internet is cut off?"

"I'll run it into a local backup there too. It will give us redundancy." Lucas replied thoughtfully. Tom nodded and considered the situation further until the doorbell rang unexpectedly.

"I'll get that," Tom replied, standing and walking to the front door without bothering to conceal his handgun. Lucas nodded and looked over to Alicia with concern as she continued crying. A moment later, Tom reappeared with a guest in tow. "Your lawyer's here," Tom announced cheerfully. All heads, including Alicia’s turned to see the new guest. Right behind Tom walked in a large African-American man with dark complexion and a short, faded military style haircut. The man was very tall, and though he was wearing a full suit, it was clear he was hiding an extremely muscular physique beneath.

Lucas' frown melted as he looked up in relief. "Jerome..." he grinned happily. Erica watched curiously as Lucas rose and met the man with a firm handshake then a strong hug.

"Hey Luc, hear you got some trouble," the imposing man said with a grin.

"That's an understatement. Tom, you didn't say you were calling in Jerome," Lucas said with a smirk.

"We weren't sure we could get him. But who knows, at the rate we're going maybe we'll be able to get the whole gang back together."

"I could only hope," Jerome replied, grabbing a seat and looking at Erica and Alicia appraisingly. "I see the quality of company you keep has gone up," Jerome said to Lucas with a grin. He took Alicia's hand and held it delicately. "And who might you be?" he asked with a glint in his eye.

Despite herself, Alicia found herself smiling and blushing at the attention, and unable to speak. Jerome's eyes remained locked with hers, despite her best attempts to avoid his gaze.

"That's Alicia," Erica answered for her.

"I see, and you must be Erica?" Jerome asked now looking at Erica with a playful spark in his gaze. Erica giggled, then straightened herself out.

"I am."

"Never been into the petite ladies, but I can see what has Lucas all aflutter."

"You're married, Jerome," Diane scolded in disapproval.

"But not dead," Jerome grinned back. "You're looking fantastic, as always. Such a shame this old bastard has a lovely lady like you tied up all these years." Jerome told Diane with a wink.

"Jesus, and here I was thinking that Lucas learned this crap from Tom," Erica added, rolling her eyes. Tom and Jerome looked at each other knowingly and laughed heartily out loud.

When the room settled, Jerome looked to Lucas again and said, "It's been a while, Luc."

"Yeah, well someone doesn't like to return calls," Lucas retorted back with a smirk.

"Sorry, I'm on the damn thing all day, I just keep putting it off. And, it's hard sometimes. I really miss Sarge."

"We all do," Tom chimed in with a smile.

"So what kinda shit you gotten yourself into now?"

"Boy, where do I start?"

"Start from the top," Tom said, patting Lucas on the back.

"Alright," Lucas said, taking a moment to think to himself. "Kitten, could you get your purse for me?" Erica nodded and hopped down, scampering toward Lucas' bedroom.

"Kitten?" Jerome asked incredulously. Lucas simply looked at Jerome. "Kitten? Good lord, son, what kinda voodoo you been hittin' her with?"

"The good kind," Lucas said with an impish grin. Erica came trotting back in with her mini purse in hand and handed it up to Lucas and climbed up onto his lap. Jerome let loose a chuckle then settled down after a glance from Diane. Lucas then took out Erica's wallet and phone, and Erica nodded in understanding. She pulled out her license and then opened her photo book on her phone and reached out, handing them both the Jerome.

Jerome looked at the items and nodded, asking "okay, what am I looking for?"

"You'll see," Erica replied. "Just look closely."

"Well, I like what I'm looking at I just..." Jerome's expression changed to one of confusion and he looked up at Lucas. "Is this photoshopped? Some kind of joke?"

"No," Lucas said flatly. "That is Erica prior to this last weekend."

"But she's... That's not right, she looks like the same person, but... She is not six one," Jerome explained as he stared at the license.

"Not anymore," Erica explained.

"Goddamn. What happened?"

"The genius biochemist sitting next to you happened," Lucas stated simply. Jerome stared at Alicia, trying to make sense of the situation. Alicia sat with an uncomfortable look on her face, fidgeting under the attention.

"So... You can shrink people?" Jerome asked her.

"It depends on the person, but... yes. That's not what was supposed to happen with Erica, but I... made an assumption I shouldn't have."

"I see. So why the need for a lawyer? Sounds like all you need is our mad scientist here."

"Lucas, show him the video," Tom instructed. Lucas took out his laptop and played the video recorded from his shirt pocket. Jerome watched with interest from beginning to end, showing surprise each time the incident would escalate. When finished, Lucas asked for Alicia's phone and played the threatening voicemails back to back for Jerome. Once finished everyone sat quietly again, sobering up from what they had just watched and listened to.

"They'll be stupid to try that again, but I wouldn't rule their stupidity out.” Jerome told them with a stern expresson. “Alright, first thing’s first. No question, neither of these two ladies can't go back to that company. Employment law isn't my area, but I know a couple people who will do it pro bono. My guess is they will fight it on both of these ladies, but we should file immediately just the same. Erica will be the tougher one, since neither we nor Pfelcher would want that video discussion of Erica's shrinking brought into court, but we should be able to make a case for her just the same. Alicia will have a better case. Those messages are clearly demeaning and threatening. Tom, I'm glad you were able to talk her out of caving in to their threats. That should deal with the more immediate problem."

"You can't be serious, how could they even think of challenging an unemployment claim after that?" Diane asked incredulously.

"They don't care about the unemployment claim. What they care about is running both Erica and Alicia down and wiping out their finances so they have to give in. My guess is they will try to drag this into an intellectual property rights suit as soon as they have enough to file with. That one will be tricky, but I will talk to a couple guys on the down low and see what I can find for you. I don't think it will be a problem, though."

"What about surveillance?" Tom asked, stroking his beard.

"They're probably still setting it up, but we'll want to treat them both as though they're already under thorough surveillance." Jerome switched Alicia's phone off. "You'll want to shut both of these down for the time being. Once Pfelcher gets their surveillance net up and running, they will be drawing in both of their call records and monitoring their phones. My guess is they'll dump in the resources they need to get a GPS location on both as well."

"Our thoughts as well," Lucas concurred. "We're going to have to start from scratch," Lucas reasoned. "Social media, web browsing, phones, everything, we're going to have to start them both off with fresh systems and make sure we layer on the security to avoid tracking if they're going to avoid being found."

Tom nodded. "I know a company that can help wipe as much of their data from the data brokers as we can. We can also expect them to bug Alicia's car once they catch up with her. They've probably already gotten Erica's car." Erica jumped up alertly at the last point Tom made.

"What are the odds they have her apartment monitored already?" Lucas asked in a matter of fact tone.

"With this company? Low. What we want is to beat them to the punch." Alicia sat nervously watching the three men discuss surveillance tactics and shivered slightly.

"You're scaring her, dear," Diane reprimanded her husband.

"We have to go over this Diane, and she needs to know what we're talking about and why."

"Can you do it without scaring the bejeebus out of her?"

Tom sighed. "Alicia, we want to put up security features around your apartment. We think at some point that your workplace will try to bug your apartment. Lucas and I know how to do this on the cheap, and we'll do it with no cost to you, and we want to do it so that if and when Pfelcher comes snooping around, we'll at the very least know."

"But you'll have video feed of me all the time?"

"I can route the data directly to a drive that you password protect yourself. No one will get to see the video of you unless you want them to. And I'll teach you how to choose a password Erica isn't going to just guess," Lucas explained. Tom and Jerome both looked at Erica with raised eyebrows.

"Hey!" Erica protested. Alicia stared at Lucas nervously, considering his proposition.

“We’re not doing this without your permission, Alicia. All we’re saying is that Pfelcher probably will.”

“Okay,” Alicia agreed.

“So what do you think, Tom?” Jerome asked stoically.

“I think I‘d expect a PI to be sitting outside of her place by now, waiting for her to get home.”

“You wanna try that play we did on that house on Adams Street back in the day?” Jerome asked with a grin.

Tom laughed out loudly. “Yeah, why the hell not!”

Alicia and Erica looked to Lucas for explanation, but Lucas just shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, we’ll go after dinner,” Tom explained.

“So you think they’re watching for Alicia, and you’re just going to walk in there?”

“Yep,” Tom said with a grin, while Jerome laughed to himself. “That beautiful red hair of yours is a dead give away, though. We’ll need a good wig.” Alicia looked at him in confusion. “Diane, you’re good with the makeup, you think you make her look like a different person?”

“Sure,” Diane replied, catching on. “Do you really think that would work?”

“Yeah, I do. They’ll be looking for Alicia, the redheaded super genius, Lucas, the gray eyed redneck, and tiny Erica. So, we can send in a curvy brunette with Jerome, and smuggle Erica in… well, I hate to say this, but maybe a backpack?” Tom asked, looking at Erica.

“So… we’re gonna walk in disguised, like spies or something?”

“Yeah, exactly,” Tom beamed.

“Do I really have to go in someone’s bag?” Erica complained.

“Do you have a better idea?” Jerome asked with a serious look. “Even if we dress you up as a child, I’m doubting that glorious physique of yours will go unnoticed by anyone paying close attention.”

“Not really…” Erica complained.

“We’ll send Erica and Alicia in together, so Alicia, you’ll have to carry Erica.”

“Are you okay with this plan?” Alicia asked Lucas. Lucas considered the question and nodded in agreement. “I’m surprised. I thought you wouldn’t want Erica to go anywhere without an armed escort.”

“What makes you think I’m not armed?” Jerome asked her with a smirk.

“What? You too???” Alicia asked, aghast. “Is Diane the only one of you that isn’t carrying a gun?!?!?” Tom, Diane, Lucas and Jerome all looked at each other, Lucas with his eyebrow raised. “Diane???”

“Sweetie, I’ve been around these things as long as I’ve known Tom. As long as he was always carrying one, it seemed a good idea that I learn to as well.” Alicia sighed, clearly frustrated.

“I think she’s just freaked out about a black man with a gun,” Jerome teased.

“Always teasing about that crap, aren’t you Jerome?”

“Someone around here has to have some fun!”

“Alicia’s been through enough already today. How about we leave out the fun at her expense?” Diane told him sternly. Jerome sat back and crossed his arms, soundly defeated.

“Do I really have to be escorted in with Jerome?” Alicia asked, irritated.

“Afraid so. Jerome is a smart ass, but he’s also as sweet as they come. He can’t shoot like Lucas, but he can hit like no one’s business.”

“Madam,” Jerome said grabbing her hand again and staring into her eyes, “I can assure you that you are safer with no one on this earth. If I offended you, I’m deeply sorry, but I can make it up to you by putting your precious life before mine.”

Alicia stared wide-eyed back, uncertain of how to respond while Erica gawked with her mouth open before she shook it off and glared at Lucas. “Okay, who the hell started this crap with these cheesy pickup lines?” Lucas just sat smiling, not saying a word. As Tom and Diane sat quietly laughing to themselves, Lucas’ phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the number.

“It’s Dr. Hanson,” he said, waving everyone to remain quiet. Lucas picked up the call and answered, “This is Lucas.” Erica sprinted over, climbed up his lap and pressed her ear to the phone, listening in.

“Lucas, this is Michelle. I left work early, and I’m on the way. Do you still want me up there?”

“Yes. We’ve been helping Erica with her shoulder, but we could still use an expert opinion, and there is the implant.”

“Traffic is heavy already, I should be about an hour, maybe a little longer.”

“That should be fine. Just park out front. If you have any trouble finding us, just call and I can talk you in.”

“That sounds good. I have a fix to her implant issue with me.”

“Thanks for doing this for us. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem, I feel like I really owe you anyways after everything that’s happened,” she said in a sullen tone of voice. I’ll be up soon.”

“Sounds good, see you then,” Lucas said, hanging up.

“Good call, not calling her ‘Michelle,’” Erica said with spite in her voice.

Lucas set the phone down and hugged her tightly, whispering gently into her ear. “This is all that I want, Kitten.” Erica gasped and blushed as she settled into his embrace briefly before Lucas slowly released her and she climbed down and walked back to Alicia.

“So what now?” Jerome asked.

“Well, I suppose we start grilling, and get ready for our new guest, and whatever is coming with her,” Lucas said confidently.

Alicia remained on the floor, with Erica standing next to her with her hand on Alicia’s shoulder while Lucas sat on the floor in front of her holding her hand.

“Alicia, what happened? What’s wrong?” Erica begged. Alicia sobbed for a few moments, then lifted her head and handed Lucas her phone. Lucas and Erica looked at each other, and then Lucas looked at the phone, and the list of voicemails from a number he didn’t recognize. Lucas picked a random one and tapped it, playing it over the speaker.

“Alicia,” an unfamiliar male voice yelled into the phone. “This is the fourth time I have had to call your lazy fat ass, get your ass back in to work right now or I swear to God, we are going to ruin you! I demand you call me back and tell me who was supposedly so goddamned important that you had to run out of here without permission! I’ve already had enough of your lazy assed research, and now this shit! Get the fuck back here! Now!!”

Lucas clenched his jaw and looked at Alicia. “They’re all like this?”

Alicia nodded, tears streaming down her face. Lucas played them, one after another. All of them angry and demeaning, most threatening to sue her, to block her from employment elsewhere, and accusation after accusation of Alicia stealing various patented research from her workplace. With each angry voicemail, Erica looked at her friend with greater concern, while Lucas’ expression turned more and more enraged.

“He’s got some balls, doing this to her,” Lucas growled in a low voice, squeezing down on Alicia’s phone as the plastic creaked in his tight grip.

“Who? Jimmy?” Erica asked, trying to determine what Lucas was getting at.

“Who else?” Lucas growled. Erica gulped, and then turned to Alicia again, rubbing her giant friend’s back. Alicia cried on for several minutes while Lucas and Erica attempted to console her before she finally sat up and looked past Lucas with red, tear soaked eyes.

“I’m going back,” she told him wiping her nose.

“The hell you are!” Lucas snapped back.

“Lucas, they’re going to ruin me! At least this way I’ll have a job!”

“Alicia no!” Erica yelled, grabbing Alicia, but Alicia stood as though Erica wasn’t even there until Erica finally let go and fell onto the couch. “Alicia, you can’t go! You don’t know what they’ll do to you!” Erica pleaded.

“I know what they’ll do to me if I don’t.”

“Lucas! Stop her!!”

Lucas stood and looked at Erica, then back to Alicia again, and took her hand, though Alicia turned away. “Alicia, they’re just trying to scare you. Stay here, please! We have friends coming to help. They’ll be here soon, I promise!”

“What can your friends do? Can they get me my career back?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out. Alicia, you can’t go back down there. We have no idea what they’ll do if you do.”

“You don’t even know?? I’m better off just taking my chances with Pfelcher!!”

“Alicia, Tom is contacting a good lawyer for us. It’s going to be okay.”

“How?? How is it going to be okay? This sucks!! This totally sucks ass!! My best friend shrunk with MY serum! She was supposed to turn into a giantess, not a cuddly little munchkin!! I was supposed to be the cuddly one!! ME!!!! My work found out the first day they opened back up for business because she squealed to the world about it AND she stole the man I’m in love with right out from under me and left me with no job, no shrinking, and no career!! And on top of it all, YOU’RE A TRAINED KILLER!!! HOW IS IT GOING TO BE OKAY?????” Alicia shrieked.

“The man you WHAT???” Erica demanded, jumping to her feet.

“KITTEN!” Lucas bellowed out. “For God’s sake, take one for the team, will ya?” Erica’s jaw dropped and she plopped down on the couch cushion again, glaring angrily at Alicia. Lucas grabbed Alicia by her shoulders and faced her to him. “Alicia, please don’t go. PLEASE! If you go down there, I don’t know if you’ll be able to come back!”

Alicia stared at him, still weeping openly. Erica looked up, aghast as Lucas pulled her in and hugged her close and spoke softly into her ear. “I’m begging you, Alicia! Help is on the way!”

Alicia paused and looked up into Lucas’ eyes and waited, her thoughts racing, and her body trembling in a flood of emotions. “You just want me to stay around so I can fix your little girlfriend,” she muttered.

“He’s not my…” Erica began to argue back, but sat on the couch again after an angry look from Lucas.

“I want you to stay because I’m worried about you. Alicia, I said you wouldn’t be alone, and I meant it. I don’t have a plan yet, but one’s forming. Tom is coming, and he was on the police force with my dad. He knows people, not just other cops, he has connections in the business community and he’s bringing a lawyer with him, hopefully today. He’ll be here soon. Alicia, just stay, please…” Lucas pleaded.

Alicia stood in Lucas’ arms, trying desperately trying to make up her mind. With no answer forthcoming, Lucas led her back to the couch himself and sat her down next to Erica. Lucas then crouched in front of them both and held Alicia’s hands.

“Alicia, they’re just trying to scare you. They want to get their hands on the serum, and they either think you can give away where Erica is, or they’ve figured out you made the serum and they’re after you.”

For the first time since Lucas and Erica got home, Alicia looked into Lucas’ eyes. She still didn’t speak, but her lip quivered as she looked at Lucas with pleading eyes. Erica stood and leaned against Alicia’s back, trying her best to rub her massive shoulders. Lucas squeezed her hands and looked up at her.

“Alicia, all of us; we’re in this together. Good, bad or indifferent, we’re in this together. Don’t go down there. We have no idea what they’ll do to you, and we need you here. You need us too, Alicia. Just hang in there, I won’t let you down.” Lucas promised her. Alicia continued to stare at Lucas, uncertain of herself still.

“At least wait ‘til Tom gets here,” Erica added. “Hear him out, Alicia. He really seems to know what we should do.”

Alicia turned back and looked at Erica, then down to Lucas again and nodded her head, but continued crying. Erica looked at Lucas in both concern and frustration, and Lucas nodded to her. He sat up on the couch and pulled Alicia into a hug. Erica scowled at Lucas, but he simply grabbed Erica and pulled her into the hug with him. The three sat like that with Alicia crying into Lucas’ shoulder for a while together until the doorbell rang. Lucas sat up, alert and looked to the door. He released Alicia and pulled Erica into Alicia’s lap.

Alicia squeezed down on Erica as though she was a precious stuffed animal, but Erica endured and hugged back, while they both stared at Lucas. Lucas walked to the front door and pulled back the blinders there to look across the porch in and attempt to see who it was while he placed his hand in the small of his back, gripping his gun.

The air hung around them all hung in a thick tension until Lucas turned and told them, “It’s Tom.” Erica sighed in relief, although Alicia still clung to Erica desperately.

Lucas opened the door and walked across the porch, letting Tom and in with his wife. “Wasn’t expecting you so fast,” Lucas said with a weak smile.

“Well, the stakes seemed a little too high to doddle,” Tom replied. “Something happen?” He asked, looked at the strained expression on Lucas’ face.

“We got back and Alicia has been run through the ringer. Pfelcher has been sending her threatening voicemails ever since we left,” Lucas said, the rage in his eyes building again.

“Calm down, kiddo,” Tom told him, patting him on his shoulder. “We got this covered. Come on, Diane brought some cookies for you kids.” Lucas nodded and let them both in. Tom and his wife followed Lucas in, Tom focused mostly on Lucas. Upon entering into the living room, Diane looked over to Alicia and Erica, giving Erica a warm smile, apparently well prepared for Erica’s small stature, but upon turning her head and looking to Alicia was suddenly startled. Tom turned to look at Alicia and Erica and received the same start, but recovered quickly and squeezed Diane’s shoulder, helping her to come to her senses. Lucas and Erica looked at each other in confusion, while Alicia hunched over, tucking her shoulders in like a withering flower.

“You must be Erica and Alicia,” Diane said approaching them and kneeling in front of them. Erica looked her over carefully, an elderly woman, of a little less than robust figure with grey, medium length hair with a few strands of dull black remaining. “Tom told me all about you Erica! I can see he wasn’t lying about what a gorgeous little thing you are.”

Erica blushed at the compliment and found herself shrinking from the attention as well. Diane turned to Alicia and took her hand. “And you’re Alicia?” Alicia nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I’m Diane, and that old fart over there is Tom,” She said introducing her husband who seemed less than impressed with the attention. Alicia managed a small giggle, but slipped back into crying again quickly. Diane gave Alicia a sympathetic look, and climbed up to the couch and hugged her gently.

“It’s okay sweetie, you want to tell us what happened?” Alicia looked up to Lucas for direction, and Lucas simply nodded his head.

“We didn’t tell them,” Lucas explained. “And you don’t have to either, but the more we tell them, the more they can help us out.” Now Tom walked over to Alicia and knelt in front of her, taking her hand.

“I understand you want to keep some secrets, and I get that. We all have somethin’ we’re keepin’ bottled up inside, but if this secret of yours is what is causing your employer to come down on you all so hard, it would be a big help to know what it is.” Alicia looked at his faded blue eyes through his glasses and his warm smile and listened closely.

“I’m no stranger to keepin’ secrets, dear. I can keep yours, I promise. I know you don’t know me, but me and Lucas go way back. I was even there in the waiting room when he was born. I want to help you out, and if you let me, I promise you, I’ll do ya proud,” Tom told her, holding her hand.

Alicia considered his comments carefully, still uncertain of what to do, then looked to Lucas, who simply nodded from afar. “I’m a biochemist,” Alicia began. “And I’ve had a personal project I’ve been working on for several years.”

Tom nodded in understanding. “Okay, so they want the project for their own purposes?” Tom concluded. Alicia nodded slowly. “Can you tell me what kind of project it was?”

“Three days ago…” Alicia began, looking to Erica for support. Erica just grabbed her arm and squeezed it, smiling up to her. “Three days ago, Erica was six feet tall. That’s what my project did.”

Tom and Diane both suddenly stared at each other in shock, then up at Lucas, who kept a serious expression and nodded. “Is that possible?” Tom asked Lucas, struggling to comprehend what he had just been told.

“Apparently so. I saw it first hand. That’s the part I mentioned where things went of the tracks.”

“I would say so,” Tom agreed. “So you…” he looked at Erica, struggling for words.

“Shrank,” Erica confirmed, finishing his thought for him.

“So it was some kind of lab accident?” Diane asked, still flabbergasted.

Alicia shook her head. “It was a serum. It was pretty much done, and Erica insisted on taking it, so I let her have a vial, for her date last Friday.”

“She wanted to shrink… just for a date?” Diane asked, perplexed.

“Well, yes, and no,” Lucas answered vaguely.

“The serum isn’t a shrinking serum, per se,” Alicia explained. “We were expecting a different result with Erica. But… I guess she had her own secret, and the serum ended up backfiring.”

Tom chuckled to himself and grinned to Erica, catching the gist. “Bit off more than you could chew with Lucas, eh?” he kidded her.

Erica smirked at Tom and pointed a finger at him. “I’m still more than big enough to handle him,” she taunted back.

“I’m sure you are,” Tom chuckled. “Luc, you certainly have gotten yourself in it this time,” Tom told Lucas, shaking his head. Lucas took a seat across from them, leaning on his knees. “Well, I can see why they’re so eager to get their hands on these two now. They know all of this?”

“I’m not sure,” Lucas replied, causing Tom to look at him askew. “We went to the doctor Saturday, to try to get Erica short term disability paperwork started. So far, what we know for sure is that Pfelcher got a lot more info than we agreed to provide, and they bought into it immediately. After that, they tried to lure us into a trap, but they weren’t keeping their cards too close to their chest.”

“No, I’d imagine they weren’t. Glad you started carrying again before you went down there.”

“I didn’t. I only took it because something didn’t feel right. They were too eager, too willing to please.” Tom nodded.

“So how did they get more information than you wanted?”

“The doctor we saw on Saturday claims that one of the workers down there was kowtowed into searching her office while she was in an appointment. We can ask her more when she gets here later today.”

“Lucas, are you sure it’s wise bringing her here, if you don’t know if she’s the one that leaked to them? You know those drug companies really go out of their way to woo doctors.”

Lucas nodded. “It was Erica’s call, and Erica needs to see a doctor, and soon.” Tom gave Lucas a perplexed look.

“I have a birth control implant that didn’t shrink with me, so I need to get it out or something figured out as soon as we can. And… the guy at Pfelcher hurt my shoulder. It’s kinda getting hard to lift my arm now,” Erica told him.

“There could have been a better place to meet her than here…” Tom argued.

“She knows my name, my real name, and Pfelcher doesn’t. Not only that, but I screwed up. I used my cell to call her this morning to deal with the information leak,” Lucas said, dropping his head.

“That’s alright, Luc. You really did a fine job planning your way through this, it’s just one mistake, and you’ll learn from it. I’m sure ya did your dad proud.” Lucas looked up at Tom, somewhat relieved. “Alright, then you’re right. It’s the right call. If she’s leaking information, either way, your location is compromised, so dealing with it here is as good a place as any,” he told Erica in a warm voice, and patted her on the back gently.

“Okay, well, Luc, what say we get to work?” Lucas nodded and stood, then went through the kitchen and downstairs. Tom watched him, a raised eyebrow but turned and looked at Erica and Alicia. “How about that shoulder?” Tom asked.

“The ice pack is refreezing,” Erica replied.

“Diane?”

“Sure thing, dear,” she said and stood, going to the kitchen. Tom took a hold of Alicia’s hands and looked into her eyes.

“You’ve never been in danger like this before?” Alicia shook her head. “You’re scared, sweetie?” Alicia nodded in response, more tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Tom smiled and wiped them away for her, then squeezed her hands. “That’s good, it means you’re thinking, and that’s how you’re going to get through this.”

“Lucas and Erica aren’t scared…” Alicia complained.

“Yeah they are. Especially Lucas. He’s scared shitless.”

“No, he’s mister trained killer, ready for anything,” Alicia argued. Tom shook his head. “I’ll tell ya a thing or two about Lucas in a few minutes. Just know, I know that boy, I know how he was raised, and I know what he’s been through, and he’s scared.” Alicia looked at Tom, perplexed. “Okay, first thing’s first, turn those phones of yours off, take out the batteries if you can. Erica and Alicia looked at each other confused, but did as asked, Erica fetched hers and shut it down, and Alicia did as well.

“Don’t you want to listen to the voicemails?” Alicia asked as the phone blinked off.

“I will soon enough. Meanwhile, I’m afraid both of you will have to start settling into the idea of saying goodbye to those phones. Lucas will use his tech voodoo to make sure you don’t go completely without, but those two phones are going to have to be discarded soon. Second, Erica, did Lucas bring that spy cam of his with him to your meeting?” Erica nodded vigorously. “Good. That boy did a fine job, we’re off to a good start.”

Diane returned with a bag of ice she cobbled together with household items and placed it on Erica’s shoulder, then gave her a small cup of water and some pain relievers. “I can handle the pain,” Erica argued, but Diane shook her head.

“It’s not for the pain, it’s for the swelling.” Erica waited a moment, then nodded her head and took the pills.

“Diane, I’m gonna go check on Lucas, can you see to these two?” Diane nodded and kissed him on the cheek before he stood and left to track Lucas down.

“Alicia, hold this against her shoulder, apply a bit of pressure, but not much,” Diane told her, and Alicia took the ice pack from her, while Diane took Erica’s arm and gently raised it out from her side. Diane went slowly until Erica’s arm was out to shoulder height and she started to cringe. “You poor thing, they really did a number on you,” she said in a soothing, motherly voice.

Tom found Lucas in the basement digging rifles out of his gun safe. “What are you doing Lucas?” Tom asked in a serious tone.

“Getting ready,” Lucas replied flatly.

“Ready for what?”

“For whatever is coming up here with Dr. Hanson.” Tom walked up and pushed the safe door closed.

“Lucas, use your head. Erica is still new to this gun thing, how you think she’s gonna react when you come walking up there locked and loaded with your MAK 90?” Tom asked, pointing at a semi automatic rifle.

“These guys are willing to do just about anything to get those two. I can sort the rest out later,” Lucas said in a cold tone.

“You’re already armed, Lucas. So am I, and so is Diane. Adding a pile of rifles up there isn’t going to add to the security much, but it certainly is going to rile Erica up. And how about that Alicia? How is she with these things?”

“Not too happy. She’s not a fan of guns. At all.”

Tom nodded and put his hand on Lucas’ shoulder. “Alright, look, we have handguns, which we can conceal better, which means that they may know you’re carrying, but they won’t know for sure where, and they won’t know if I am or not, and my bet is they won’t expect Diane to be armed at all.”

Lucas leaned against the safe and listened to Tom as he reasoned the situation out. “Keep those things down here. You’ve got two women here who know nothing about guns, and they’re not ready for this, so just keep the one that’s on you ready, and the others locked, but easy to get to. Next, I want you carrying your Kimber around the rest of the day.”

“The Glocks hold more ammo…”

“You’re more familiar with the Kimber, it’s more accurate and with the work you’ve put into it, it’s more reliable. You have other magazines you can switch out you can keep on you. I think it’s the better choice.” Lucas nodded and climbed the stairs, grabbing his black box, while Tom started putting Lucas’ arms back in the safe. When Lucas came back down he took out a new holster from the safe and switched guns, taking great care to make sure the smaller Glock 30 was cleared of any ammunition, then slipped on a trigger lock.

“Listen Lucas,” Tom continued as Lucas finished holstering his new pistol. “Your dad and I wanted you to carry so you’d be used to it if a time like this ever came. Getting out there and having it on you wasn’t the end of your training.” Lucas looked to Tom and leaned back, listening closely. “You can shoot, and you know how to handle yourself. What you’re not used to is being defensive minded for the people close to you. You’ve been on your own since you left for the Army. Your dad and I learned a lot of this the hard way, but we also had the force to teach us. I’ll be here to teach you, but you need to keep in mind, that as much as you know, there’s still more to learn. These assholes are going to look for any excuse to land you into trouble.”

“Tom, you know they’ll eventually show up here one way or another looking for Erica. And we’re in the dark here. We might end up with them here busting down my door in a couple hours.”

“I doubt it. You gave her your address before you came out to the range?” Lucas nodded. “If they were rounding someone up, they could have been here by now. We’re not out of the woods yet, but there’s no cause for added concern just yet.” Lucas nodded in understanding. “I know everyone talks to you about those Tupperware guns like you thirty and twent-one, and yes, they are more reliable out of the box. But that Kimber has been broken in and you’ve had a fair amount of work on it. I want you to carry it whenever you can and rely on the smaller one only when you really need extra concealment. Or just somewhere else on your body as a backup.”

“Maybe the latter?” Lucas concluded.

“Calm down, Lucas. I know you’re worried, but this isn’t like…” Tom sighed. “It’s gonna be fine, and you know us old timers are here for you.”

Lucas smiled and nodded to Tom. “Thanks, Tom. I just… I thought I was going to lose her back there. What happens if I’m not ready the next time this happens?”

“We’ll work on that. Meantime, keep in mind, we need to de-escalate this. I’m glad to hear you got video of what happened. I wanna see it. We’re gonna play this out with intel and stealth, so make sure you keep that pistol holstered until you really need it.” Tom said, patting him on the shoulder. “Now cover your Kimber up and let’s go check on the ladies.” Lucas shut and locked the safe, and followed Tom upstairs.

Back in the living room, Diane was still rotating Erica’s arm around gently while Alicia held the ice pack in place. Erica’s range of motion had improved, but she still cringed as Diane moved her arm around. “You’re doing fine, dear. We’re almost done.”

“Can this be the last time?” Erica asked, recoiling again from the pain.

“I think so. Your motion is almost back to normal, and I think your shoulder could use a break for a while,” Diane told her with a smile. “I can’t imagine how bad this hurts,” Diane told her diminutive woman in an encouraging tone. Erica smiled up at Diane, then winced again as Diane lifted her arm up.

“Why not just wait for the doctor?” Erica asked Diane.

“The doctor’s not here, and we don’t know when she’ll get here. You want to waste your whole life waiting to feel better?” Diane asked, surprising Alicia with her question. Diane smiled and lowered Erica’s arm to her side again then reached under the ice to rub Erica’s small shoulder for a moment. “How’s it feel now?” Erica looked up at Diane and moved her arm around, testing it, then looked up at Diane and nodded to her with a smile. “We’ll keep the ice on for a few more minutes, then we need to take it off,” Diane instructed.

“Where’d you learn this?” Erica asked Diane in a curious tone.

“I used to be an MA at a clinic, and then I worked for a chiropractor. I picked up a few things here and there.” Diane took Erica’s hand and smiled down at her, rubbing the top of her hand.

“Do you think you fixed her shoulder?” Lucas asked, standing several feet away.

“Fixed? No, but I doubt your doctor knows too much more than I do about this problem. It should heal on it’s own. She’s lucky he didn’t yank her whole arm out of her shoulder.” Lucas balled up his fists and clenched his jaw at the mention of what big Tony had done to Erica. Tom watched from beside Lucas and patted him on the back.

“You said something about a lawyer?” Erica asked, trying to change the subject.

“I did,” Tom confirmed. “I got hold of someone who would be my first pick. He’s gonna try to shuffle some things around and meet us here, but no promises. I’ve got messages to a couple other guys though just in case.”

“What good will any of this do?” Alicia asked despondently. Tom and Diane looked at each other, and Diane turned her attention to Alicia who sat, still hugging Erica like a security blanket.

“Alicia,” Tom told her, “I normally would tell someone in your position to take some time off and get their head together before looking for another job, but you’ve got reason to worry about finding work elsewhere, don’t you?”

Alicia looked up to Tom and nodded, fighting back tears again. “Alright, sweetie. I want you to start looking again today, see if you can get ahead of the curve before they can blacklist you. But more than that, I can tell you this much. We might not be able to find you a job in your field, but I’m confident we can get you another job without too much difficulty. If our friend can make it down here today, I’m guessing he can lend a hand with that as well.”

“So what? You’ve got the whole city rigged with people that owe you favors?” Alicia asked skeptically.

“No, but Lucas’s dad had a way about him with building networks. Connections we could use to help people out. It’s how he managed to keep most of the crime on his beat, and a lot of ours, under control. We lost a lot of that after he retired, and a lot more when he died, but some of it is still there for us. And where there aren’t people who owe us favors, there are those who will remember that goodwill Davy built. How are your finances?”

“I was saving up to buy a house,” Alicia whimpered.

“So are we talking weeks of savings? Months?”

“I guess I could stretch it out to almost a year,” Alicia told him, wiping a tear from her cheek, and squeezing Erica. Erica looked up at her friend and then hugged her arm trying to show her support.

“You’re going to be fine, dear. You’re gonna be just fine,” Tom said, sitting beside her and rubbing her back. Diane grabbed Alicia and hugged her closely to her and rubbed her head while Tom stood and walked Lucas into the kitchen and started pulling drinks from the fridge and handing them to him.

“I’m glad you were coming to look for some help. It looks like things weren’t going to hold together any longer here,” he told Lucas softly.

“I’m in over my head,” Lucas admitted. “I thought I could keep it together long enough to find a way to restore Erica, but everything is falling apart faster than I can put it back together again,” Lucas said, hanging his head.

“You’ve done fine, just fine. Better than most, and dare I say as well as your father when he was your age.” Lucas looked up at Tom, staring into the man’s eyes. “So what was your plan before you got attacked?”

“Erica’s having a lot of trouble adjusting to her new size, and Alicia brings in.. complications, though she’s as good a friend for Erica as you could hope for. Erica’s also afraid of the outside world, more than she let’s on. She’s petrified to let anyone from her social circle in on this. The plan was to build her a new network she could rely on. We were going to take the whole week off, and I was going to try to give her a mini vacation.”

“Good plan. Very good. Alright, I think most of it we can stick to. Any ideas on what you two were gonna do?”

“I thought about asking Kevin to borrow his sailboat, and just go out on the lake for a day.”

“Fantastic! I want you to do that tomorrow. I’ll talk to him myself, and I want you to take Alicia with you. I’m sure Erica would want something more romantic and intimate, but Alicia really shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“You’re not kidding. Those voicemails we told you about had her in a full panic. She was about to go back down there before you arrived,” Lucas told Tom.

“That would be a disaster. You need to stick with her and keep her convinced not to do that, understand?” Lucas nodded. “You’re a far more patient man than I was at your age, Lucas, and a lot more compassionate. I know we ribbed you a lot about it growing up, told you that you were a softy, but I can tell you that you’re the right man for this job. None of the rest of us old timers could have done what you’re doing right now, and I can see it in your eyes. You’re comparing yourself to him, and to us.”

“Yeah,” Lucas admitted.

“Keep the course, kiddo. We’ll get some other hands on deck and help you out. Now this Erica, you’ve never mentioned her before…”

“No, well, she’s always been a little playful and flirtatious, but aloof and kept me at a distance. She completely caught me off guard last Friday when she said she wanted to go out with me. I guess I can honestly say I didn’t expect anything that happened that day.”

“How you feel about her?”

“It feels… right,” Lucas told him.

“Oh yeah?”

“Definitely. No doubt.”

“I’m glad for ya,” Tom told him, patting Lucas on the shoulder.

“What about Alicia? You told her to job search. We can’t do that from a boat…”

“She can work on her resume, and I’m sure you can use that tech voodoo of yours to download some data for her to work with away from the internet. She’s going to need to decompress,” Tom explained. “And besides, you need someone around to make sure you don’t get caught by the DNR skinny dipping all day with that little lady,” Tom teased Lucas, who chuckled at his comment.

Tom and Lucas carried the drinks back into the living room where Diane and Erica were still trying to sooth Alicia. Lucas set down the cans Tom had selected on the coffee table for the ladies to take their pick, and stood back, observing Erica, who was still locked in Alicia’s grip as she clung to Erica as though she was a beloved pet. Erica’s eyes were beginning to fade a bit and her head was nodding occasionally as she struggled with greater and greater effort to maintain concentration needed to console Alicia. Lucas knelt in front of Alicia, considering the situation and stared at the vacant expression on her face.

“Alicia,” Lucas told her softly. Alicia turned and looked at Lucas. “I’m really sorry, but she’s hit the wall.” Alicia sat up alertly, trying to determine what Lucas meant, then looked down to Erica, noticing the sleep in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Alicia apologized profusely.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Alicia.” Alicia nodded and wiped more tears from her eyes. She let go of Erica, who looked up at Lucas somewhat confused.

“I’m good,” Erica protested.

“For how much longer?” Lucas asked. Erica sat with a frustrated expression. “They’re not going anywhere, Kitten. We have to see to your needs too.” Erica nodded and slipped off of Alicia’s lap and followed him down the hallway to the bedroom. Alicia tried her best to regain her composure.

“Where are they going?” Diane asked, still rubbing Alicia’s back.

“The shrinking process was a huge drain on Erica, physically. She needs rest, so Lucas is taking her to lay down for a little while.”

“Ah, well, I guess it will be good to catch up with Lucas while she’s down,” Diane mentioned casually.

“He’s probably going to nap with her,” Alicia added.

“That’s not like him when he has guests here,” Tom jumped in, also sitting beside Alicia and holding her hand.

“Erica has been having night terrors ever since she shrank. Every time she falls asleep. Lucas thinks something has torn her up psychologically, and the bad dreams are because of that.”

“So… what exactly is he supposed to do about that?”

“He’ll stay with her and calm her before she wakes up from the nightmares. Plus, he’s probably exhausted too,” Alicia explained.

“Why is that?” Diane asked, not following.

“He was probably up all night fighting off Erica’s nightmares again and didn’t get much sleep,” Alicia told her.

“That sounds like Lucas,” Tom said, shaking his head.

“And Lucas doesn’t want Erica to know he’s doing it too, so don’t tell her,” Alicia said, dropping her head.

“Luc, Luc, Luc,” Tom continued, shaking his head. “Alright then sweetie, I guess it’s just you and us. Come on, it’s a bit dark in here. Let’s go onto the porch, where there’s a bit more light. Go ahead, pick a drink you’ll like,” Tom said, patting her hand. Alicia nodded and Tom took her arm, leading her out onto the porch. Alicia and Diane took the swinging bench while Tom took a chair across from them. “Are you feeling any better, dear?” Tom asked with a genuine look of concern towards Alicia.

Alicia nodded. “Everything has just gone so wrong. We couldn’t even keep the serum to ourselves for a single day.”

“You said you weren’t expecting Erica to shrink from your serum. What did you expect to happen?” Diane asked her.

“I expected her to grow. The serum responds to hormones in your body. Erica has always been so aggressive, I assumed she would grow because of it. What we didn’t know what she was covering up a strong docile streak.”

“So you didn’t know it could shrink people,” Diane concluded.

“I had a pretty good idea it did. I didn’t know yet if it was safe to give the serum to someone it would shrink though.”

“Yet?” Tom asked.

“I guess that part I’m better off. I’m learning that he isn’t who I thought he was,” Alicia said, hanging her head.

“Who? Lucas?” Diane asked, confused.

“Alicia, were you planning to shrink yourself for Lucas?” Tom asked with a look of concern. Alicia popped her head up in surprise.

“Yeah, I was,” she answered with a look of shame.

“I thought I saw something in the way you looked at him. That’s pretty extreme, isn’t it? You and Erica both know Lucas from the gym?” Alicia nodded and both Tom and Diane looked at each other in surprise. Tom then shook his head and considered his next question. “Why do you think you’re better off now? Who do you think he is that’s so bad?”

“He’s a trained killer. He has a safe in the basement, did you know that?” Tom nodded. “I saw it while they were gone. And those machines down there, they have brass pieces sitting in them, they’re for making bullets, aren’t they?” Alicia asked with fervor. Tom nodded once again.

“That safe is huge! How many guns is he hiding in there?” Alicia asked, on the verge of tears again.

“Not as many as I have,” Tom replied softly. Alicia looked at him in surprise.

“You too?!?!?” Alicia whined.

“Alicia, I was a police officer, with Lucas’s dad, and we competed in the shooting sports. We taught Lucas to do it too.”

“But he chose to go into the Army! He’s a trained killer! He went there, and he was in combat! How many people has he killed with those… things??”

“None,” Tom answered simply. Alicia looked at him with skepticism. “Alicia, he’s never shot anyone. Never.”

“But he’s a combat veteran, he told us this weekend.”

“I don’t know all the details of what happened, Alicia, sorry, I can’t answer all your questions about that. He just doesn’t talk about it, but I can tell you that he wasn’t even holding his rifle when that happened. He’s never shot anyone, and he doesn’t want to. The thought scares the bejeebus out of him.”

“But he was ready to kill those people this morning!”

“They were ready to do him in, or he wouldn’t have even shown his gun. He was only looking to defend Erica, I can promise you that.”

“Then why does he carry it everywhere?” Alicia asked in frustration. “People don’t just walk out everywhere trying to kill each other! Why did he need it to begin with?”

Tom shook his head. Diane rubbed her back and took over. “He used to make the same argument with his dad,” Diane told her. Alicia looked up at Diane in disbelief. “Alicia, this was a sore spot between them. His dad wanted his kids to be safe, and so he taught them to defend themselves, and he got them in permit classes as soon as they were old enough. And Lucas carried for a while, but then he stopped, and it caused a big rift between them.”

“So he’s only carrying for his dad now? Why did he start again?”

“For Erica,” Tom Explained. “He hasn’t carried since before his dad passed. They would argue about it, and his dad won all the arguments except one, and on this one he couldn’t figure out an answer.”

“What one?”

“Lucas would tell his dad that it’s just him out there, no one relies on him, and if he was hurt or killed, there’s no loss, because it’s just him. Not what a father wants to hear his only son say, but… He said that if he didn’t have anyone to protect, what was the point? The only times he’s started carrying at all again is when he’s been dating someone, and those relationships didn’t seem to last. Not only that, but his last girl was so volatile and jealous that he thought it best to just keep all of them locked up all the time, cuz he was afraid what she might do with them if she got her hands on them.”

“So.. he’s not a trained killer?”

“He’s taught to defend,” Tom said, grabbing her hand, “and he took those lessons far more seriously than we expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me tell you about Lucas. We would tease him as a boy for being too soft, too emotional. We gave him hell over it. His dad taught them in a few forms of martial arts, and he knew a couple guys with more training than he had that helped, and he would have him spar with his sister a lot. It drove his dad nuts. His sister would mop the floor with him, sometimes even hurt him badly. She was aggressive, she would go in for the kill and she never hesitated, while Lucas got all the moves really fast, but he always held back, he didn’t have that aggressive instinct, and he just wouldn’t drive in any of his hits and always held too loosely, He always held back, and he didn’t have the ability to defend himself, or so we thought.”

“What do you mean?” Alicia asked, sitting up, intrigued.

“Lucas was a junior in high school. I was the second one on the scene. He had taken his girlfriend at the time downtown, against his father’s express wishes I might add, but she had boobs, and Lucas loves boobs, and she had that wonderful female gadget, and Lucas loves those too, and she wanted to go have a night on the town, so Lucas tried to please her. He just followed her around like a little lost puppy dog, and he just wanted to make her happy. They got jumped by two thugs. They pulled a knife on them, and demanded his wallet, which Lucas gave, because he didn’t think it was worth fighting over. They took all her jewelry, which she spat and cussed and derided him over it because she said Lucas was such a pussy for not standing up for her. Then these two punks got emboldened, because he just gave them everything they wanted. So one stabbed him,” Alicia jumped at the mention, “while the other decided to take advantage of his pretty girlfriend while he had the opportunity.”

“Oh my God… How did he get out of that?” Alicia gasped.

“Lucas wasn’t dumb, he was stabbed, but he saw it coming and deflected the knife down to his gut, and took it to the stomach. When he saw the other guy throw his girlfriend down, he flipped the switch. I’ve seen fights before, and I’ve seen brutality, and what Lucas did was something we never thought he was capable of, because he always got mopped so easily in his martial arts training. Well, all of us were surprised except Steve. I’m still not sure why he seemed to know what Lucas could do. His girlfriend said he attacked so fast she couldn’t see everything clearly. He broke his hand crushing the one guy’s skull. He hit the guy so hard and so fast that he didn’t even have time to fall, so Lucas just kept going until the guy crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.”

“The next guy came at Lucas with his own knife, but Lucas was engaged in the fight now, and on a tear. That guy, he broke both of his knee caps and completely snapped his arm in two places before he managed to knock the punk out and leave him lying on the pavement. Then Lucas went down to his knees and lied down, and accepted that he was just going to bleed out. We managed to get to him in time, and to the hospital, but it was a close call.”

“So he is a trained killer..” Alicia gasped.

Tom shook his head. “Both of those guys lived, though one is permanently brain damaged from the fight he picked. Last I heard he was still learning to walk again. I asked Lucas what happened, how he could be so vicious, and he told me ‘there wasn’t any more time. I had to give Monica a chance to get away because I only had a few seconds left.’”

“I can’t believe he could do something so horrible!” Alicia said with her hand over her mouth.

“Alicia, he got beaten up all those times growing up because he saw his sister as someone he needed to protect at all costs. My guess is that he had what he needed to take her down before he even caught up to her growth wise, but we’ll never know for sure. Lucas’s whole mindset is set to protecting. He doesn’t attack, though I’m pretty sure he holds regrets for the couple times he waited as long as he did to jump into action. Now here is the saddest part: one of these guys was a career criminal. Had been in and out of jail since he was ten years old, and at twenty-one already had four felony convictions under his belt as an adult. Both of them were on a path to destruction when they picked that fight, but obviously, neither ever recovered enough to be running from the law anymore. Lucas probably saved them both from a life in and out of prison.”

“What happened to his girlfriend?”

“She left him. She didn’t even wait for him to get out of recovery from surgery. She couldn’t come to grips with what she saw and how brutal he had been. I mean, both of these guys were hospitalized from the beating Lucas dealt out. Ironic, since she got them into that situation to begin with and he only did it just to give her a chance to run. And he’s lived with it ever since. I know for a fact it weighs heavy on his heart. He takes no pleasure in hurting others, Alicia, none. Most of what’s down there in that safe is for competition, the others are for defense, and defense only. That’s how I know he picked that gun up again for Erica. He saw a potential threat. He would have gladly taken the fall for her if it would have meant she would have been safe, but they were after her, so he was left with a choice. He chose to protect her.”

“Tom you can’t tell me you’re proud of him for something like that…” Alicia argued.

“You’re goddamn right I’m proud of him, but not for the brutality, or the violence. Lucas did what he had always been taught, mostly by his teachers; give crooks what they want. Let them steal and take, and they won’t have a reason to kill you. Lucas learned the hard way how wrong those lessons could be, and I’m not sure you catch the drift here. That stabbing was a near fatal wound. He literally had seconds to act before he was out of commission, and he knew it. When I got on the scene, the ambulance wasn’t even there. We loaded him up in my squad car in the back, another officer held pressure on the wound and we drove him straight to the ER, and he almost didn’t make it.” Alicia sat in stunned silence.

“I didn’t notice that scar yesterday,” Alicia eventually muttered.

“Excuse me?” Tom asked in surprise.

“Yesterday, I saw the scars on his chest, I didn’t see one on his stomach.”

“Why were you in a position to see the scars on his chest?” Diane asked, shocked. “ I thought he and Erica…”

“I… it was nothing bad…I was treating a wound on his chest for him.”

“What kind of wound?” Tom probed.

“A…” Alicia sighed, frustrated. “Erica scratched him really badly when she was having one of her night terrors. I saw it because he was bleeding through his shirt, so I treated it.”

“Good grief,” Tom said, face palming. Diane shook her head in disbelief. “Well, I guess it just goes to show you how Lucas will take a hit for the ones he cares about. He was probably covering that scar up. He doesn’t like to talk about his old wounds.”

“Why not? Is it a secret?”

“It’s not something he likes to relive. Some of them were just simple accidents, others were pretty intense events in his life.”

“So what events were that bad that he won’t talk about them?”

“We don’t know all of them, Alicia. Tom knows about the stabbing because he was there, and Lucas never talks about it with him either. He just doesn’t like to relive those things in his head.”

“What about the others? You know at least some of them…”

“It’s not our place to tell, Alicia,” Diane explained. “He’ll open up when he’s ready.”

“Lucas has taken his share of heavy hits in his young life.” Tom went on to explain. “With the stabbing, Lucas wouldn’t speak to his dad or even look him in the eye for two weeks. He was so torn up about it, he stopped coming to the range, skipped a match, and would duck out of the house before anyone was awake, because he felt so much guilt over what he had done. Not only that, but I think he was afraid of the anger his dad would have with him, not just over how badly he hurt those men, but also because he had disobeyed his dad. He couldn’t see that his dad was just completely torn up watching his son come so close to death.”

“Davy came to me and one of his oldest friends that he knew in the Army, and talked to us about it, and we reasoned out how to deal with him. His dad woke up at two in the morning and just sat at the foot of Lucas’s bed waiting for him to wake up so that he couldn’t just sneak out of the house again. Then he just told Lucas how scared he was when he was in the hospital, and how he was as proud of him as a father could be. It took some time, but that helped break the ice and get Lucas to open up with his dad over the whole affair. That’s how shaken up Lucas was over that whole thing. It was totally necessary, but that’s not who Lucas is, or who he wants to be.”

“So why did Lucas go into the Army then?”

“To protect people. To protect our rights. Those were his words, almost exactly, at the time,” Diane replied.

“So then everything turned okay then…” Alicia said, offering a weak smile.

“Eventually. There was a bigger price to be paid for that whole event.”

“A price?” Alicia asked, confused.

“His ex girlfriend went back to school and told everyone what had happened, from her point of view. She didn’t stick around long enough to find out both of her attackers had lived. She told everyone in the school that Lucas had flown into a rage and killed them both with his bare hands. Lucas was on the soccer team and the track team, and he got ran out of both because of all the gossiping. His teachers judged him on that. This happened spring of his junior year, so they decided to keep him at that school to finish the school year, but the next year, his parents pulled some strings and he went to a community college and got college credits while finishing his high school degree. His social life was destroyed over that. Alicia, you’re so worried about him being violent? You want to know what he’s thinking right now? I can tell you.”

Alicia nodded and looked at Tom, afraid to hear his answer. “He’s scared shitless. He did what he had to to protect that young lady, and he’s doing what he has to to protect you two. He’s scared shitless he’s going to lose Erica, and you over this. Not just because Pfelcher could take you both away, and he’d feel like he failed you, but because you could just up and leave him. He’s scared because he knows how bad things can get, first hand, he’s scared because he could lose people he cares about, because it’s happened before. If you go and say that trained killer shit to his face, I guarantee you’ll break his heart, and it will eat him alive from the inside.”

Alicia gasped and lowered her head in shame, and started crying again. “Oh dear, you did say it already, didn’t you?” Diane asked, rubbing Alicia’s back again. Alicia nodded, confirming Diane’s suspicions.

“What else did you say honey? Be honest,” Diane said, encouraging her as much as she could.

“I told him he only wanted to keep me around to restore his little girlfriend and I yelled at them both because…” Alicia paused, getting her breath as she wept openly again. Tom just grabbed her hands and held them while Diane hugged her from the side. “I said that Erica stole the man I loved from me.”

“You kids sure have outdone yourselves for just one weekend,” Tom said, sighing heavily.

“You… love him?” Diane asked, perplexed.

“I shouldn’t have said it, I know. I really, really shouldn’t have said it, I was just so scared, and angry, and I just… I shouldn’t have said it.” Diane held her and took a deep breath.

“How long have you felt that way?” Diane asked, trying not to sound judgmental.

“I’ve always felt strong about him, for a couple years now.”

“So why didn’t you two go out?” Diane asked, looking at her husband.

“I couldn’t talk to him! I tried and tried, but I couldn’t. He even used to come up and talk to me, ask me about my day at the gym, make cute little jokes to try to get me to smile, and I just stared at him like an idiot. I just couldn’t say anything, I was too scared! And I finally thought I worked up enough courage to ask him out last week and I found him talking to Erica, and she had just finished setting up a date with him!” Alicia explained, crying openly again.

“Oh my,” Diane said, looking at her husband, while Tom shook his head.

“And now, those two have fallen completely in love! It literally seemed to happen overnight. Friday afternoon, they were just going to go out, and Erica was going to become a giantess to manhandle him for a one night stand, and when I saw them the next day, she was half sized and they were completely in love!”

“It’s only been a few days, Alicia, you don’t know that…” Diane argued, consoling her.

“I can see it in their eyes. You can’t tell me you can’t see it. They’re both head over heels for each other,” Alicia whimpered.

“Well, Alicia, I’m not sure what to tell you. I don’t mean to be blunt, but you missed your shot. He tried to get close to you, and you didn’t let him, and someone else took your place.”

“I know,” Alicia replied, wiping her nose.

“You’re going to have to come to grips with this some how. And you can’t hold it over Erica’s head. You three need each other, so whatever it takes to get past this, I suggest you do it.”

“He only needs me to grow Erica back,” Alicia replied sullenly.

“Lucas doesn’t think that way honey,” Diane told her in a soothing tone. “He isn’t going to go through all of this just over that. Tom told me all about their time at the range before I came over here. He’s happy with her just as she is, and I’m not sure it matters much to him if she grows back. He’s only worried about her safety.”

“Good or bad, Lucas is like his dad in this regard. He’s a pack animal, and you’re part of the pack now. So are we. I can tell you’re a sweet young thing, and a gentle soul, and that this gun thing makes you squeamish. Still, stick with us. We’ll do right by you, and we’ll help you through this.”

Alicia stared at Tom with questioning eyes. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough. Lucas wouldn’t just do this for anyone. I’ve met only one of his girlfriends, and that is the bitch who he protected in high school. He doesn’t bring his other friends by the range either. You both are special to him. Maybe for different reasons than you’d like, but you still are. That’s all I need to know. Welcome to the pack,” Tom told her, smiling warmly.

“Put that worry about this going all nuclear out of your head, honey,” Tom concluded. “Lucas is scared to death about that happening, and that’s why he came to me when he did. He’s ready for a war, but he knew I would help him find a way to bring us back from the brink. If it was that dire, he would have picked someone like Steve.”

“Who is this Steve you keep mentioning?”

“Steve is… one of a kind,” Diane told her cryptically. “He’s one of Lucas’s dad’s oldest, most trusted friends and he and Lucas are especially close. You’ll meet him soon enough, just… well… there’s no preparing for Steve, so just relax and enjoy the ride,” Diane said, giggling.

“Well put dear,” Tome agreed with a loud chuckle.

“We’ve been out here for some time, Tom. How about we go in and check on Lucas and Erica? Maybe get started towards dinner?”

“Sounds fine to me,” Tom agreed. He groaned as he got to his feet and smiled at Alicia. “Perhaps you could do this old man a favor and escort him inside? It would certainly do my self esteem wonders to have such a lovely young lady as yourself do such a favor for me…”

Alicia went into a fit of giggles and blushed before standing.

“You old pervert,” Diane reprimanded him. “And in front of your own wife, no less!!”

“Well, you know who I’m taking home with me tonight, so maybe you could just let this old pervert indulge himself for a moment,” Tom said, wrapping Alicia’s arms around his, and the three walked back inside together.