The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)

The Hand-Off

Previously: "Beware of Booby Traps" 

Cindy—Keith—doesn't have much to say on the subject of betas, and as you sit in the darkened cab of your car, waiting for the others to arrive, she just files and buffs her nails as you go over possible plans. Sure and Okay and Whatever are her only contributions to the conversation.

"Well if you're not going to help out with any ideas of your own," you finally explode at her, "then maybe I'll just make all the decisions myself!"

"Sounds fine to me," she replies in a voice faint with boredom.

"What's the matter with you, man?"

"Nothing. I just don't really care, you know?" She blows on her fingertips, and goes back to filing her pinkie.

"Look, I know you don't want to give up on being Cindy," you say, "but if you're going to do this with me I think you should be the one to decide who—"

"Oh, I'm not giving up on being Cindy," she airily replies.

"Beg pardon?"

"No, this second beta thing," she says, "I'm just going to do that for a day or two, just to give Philip something scientific to jerk off over, you know."

"Excuse me?" you bark.

"Tch. Think about it, dude. He just wants a second person along to help watch the new— What's his name? The guy who we're going to turn Gordon into?"

"Jack Li."

"Him. Philip just wants a second pair of eyes on him, in case you turn out to be a fuck up."

"Oh, fuck you!"

"We don't even need me switching, if this is about testing out a 'second beta'." She stops filing her nails long enough to hook a couple of finger quotes in the air. "We just need one of us to do that, and we've got you and Mike and Carlos doing it already."

"So what's that got to do with you running back to Cindy after only a day or two?"

"You know, I probably won't even need to do that."

Now you feel like punching her. "How come?"

"Because I'll just get you to introduce me—Cindy, you know—to this Jack guy and his friends, and Cindy'll start hanging out with them. Tch. It's just pointless busywork any other way."

Now you really do want to throttle her, but you can't, because what she's said actually make sense.

"Fine," you spit. "Then I'll be Leah, and I'll—! Well, we'll figure out something, I guess!"

"I'm sure you will. Is she really a dyke?"

"I don't know. She dresses like one."

"That could be fun." Cindy puts her nail file away and takes out her phone, which is buzzing. "I've actually had this deep, burning itch way up inside my pussy, but every time I think of Seth's bratwurst, I get bulimic." She reads the screen of her phone, then glances across the parking lot toward the street. "The guys say they'll be here in a few minutes."

* * * * *

It's three betas—beta-Carlos, beta-Mike, and beta-Philip—sent by their originals to help out. They pull up next to you and pile out, and Beta-Carlos and Beta-Mike leer and flirt until in disgust you roll up the car window and lock the door. You don't have to ignore them long, though, before a cherry-red minivan pulls into the lot and parks near the tennis courts, close to your old truck, where beta-Will is waiting. The other three betas sprint off to meet it.

A minute later Cindy gets another text: "They're ready for the next part," she tells you. You ask if you really need to help out. "Yes," she sighs. "I s'pose we better go supervise."

You move your car down next to the others and join your own beta who, hands on his hips, is watching as the other three crowd around the side door into the gym. "I didn't know they were coming," he tells you. "I thought it was just supposed to be—"

"I didn't know about them either." You walk over to the minivan. The driver's side door is open and an alarm is softly chiming. Jack Li, his head lolling and his limbs hanging, is splayed in the driver's seat with unseeing eyes.

"I told him it was Carson and James who were going to meet us up here," beta-Will continues. He sounds anxious. "But it was those other guys who—"

"It doesn't matter." You study Jack. His head is tilted at a sharp angle, and you push it so it rests more directly on his neck. "When we're done here," you murmur, "Jack's gonna have a lot worse to worry about than who he thought he was meeting up here."

A sound from the gym draws your attention, and you look over in time to see the other betas disappearing inside. You glance over at Cindy, and you and beta-Will hurry over to see what's going on.

You're stopped in the doorway by beta-Philip. "You need to remove the other subject's clothes from off him," he tells you. "Bring them in here when you're done."

"What's going on?" you ask. "Are you in charge?"

A faint crease shows in his forehead. "I thought you'd be fully briefed," he says. "We're performing an identity switch on the two subjects."

"I know that! But what do we need to take Jack's clothes off for? And what do we need all you guys here for?"

"I've been given a full set of instructions by my original," beta-Philip replies, "and authorized to improvise if necessary. Would you please bring me the other subject's clothes."

You make a face, but retreat. "I guess they think a couple of silly girls can't handle it," you grump at Cindy.

"Oh, shut up, Will. They've got a plan, they know what they're doing. And stop trying to be so much like Jenny, okay?"

Now you give her a dirty look, but you say nothing.

Jack is dressed in dark brown khakis and a black polo shirt. You have to push him onto his side and half pull him from the car to get his shoes and socks and pants off. Cindy crawls in through the passenger side to yank his shirt off. They body you uncover is smooth and hairless and well proportioned, with strong legs, and a flat, taut stomach with some faint ridges. It gives you a warm flush to look at it, and you're glad of the excuse to hustle the bundled up clothes into the gym.

There you find the three betas straining to haul a naked Gordon Black across the gym floor toward the door. Beta-Mike and beta-Carlos each have Gordon by one arm, while beta-Philip, puffing hard, shuffles backward while carrying the basketball player by the knees. Chelsea Cooper waddles along after, holding up Gordon's head. All are grunting and straining, which isn't a surprise as Gordon is nearly six and a half feet of solid muscle.

They get him out through the door before they are obliged to drop him. Then they pull the naked Jack out of his car and carry him (more easily) into the gym. "Get him into Gordon's clothes," beta-Philip orders you after they've laid him out on the basketball court, and points toward a wadded up pile of dirty-grey workout clothes nearby.

"What's with all the moving and clothes swapping?" you ask. "Why can't we just leave them naked and where they were?"

"We want to make it look like a body swap," beta-Philip says. "So they have to be where the other one was when they wake up, and dressed like them."

"We mean we have to carry Jack upstairs to the loft?"

"We were down here when I hit him with the mask," Chelsea tells you with a waspish look. "Don't be a dingbat."

"Well, excuse me for—"

"Shut up, Will," Cindy says. "God. I hope Leah doesn't turn out to be a pushy cunt too."

"Leah?" beta-Philip says, and looks between you and Cindy. "Is that one of your second betas?"

"She's mine. At least, that's the plan. Keith will pick one after that." You frown at Cindy, who returns you a dirty look of her own. Beta-Philip nods, and leaves.

Together, you and Chelsea and Cindy succeed in getting Jack into Gordon's sweat pants and sleeveless shirt. The shoes and socks stay off, though—Chelsea tells you he was right in the middle of getting undressed when she hit Gordon with a blank mask. You bite your tongue rather than ask why Gordon was getting undressed in the middle of the gym floor.

Outside, you find that the others have only sortof-kindof squeezed Gordon into Jack's much smaller wardrobe, and he's so heavy that they've left him on the ground next to the minivan. "We could probably get him into the car after we got the other guy's mask onto him," beta-Philip says, "but he'd wake up pretty quick. We could do this much only because the masks keep them unconscious while copying them."

Cindy punches you in the shoulder. "You should've picked someone smaller for us to switch."

"Me?" You rub where she hit you. "It was Josiah's idea!"

"You seconded it."

Beta-Philip bends over to scoop something up off the ground. It's Jack's cell phone, and the glow of the screen reflects dimly off his glasses as he swipes the screen. His eyebrows go up, and he looks at you.

"Phone's unlocked," he says. "You could send a text, pretend to be Jack, and get Leah out here."

"For what?"

"Dur," Cindy says. "You said Leah's your second."

"You mean make the switch tonight? Now?"

"My alpha sent me with four masks," beta-Philip says, "and everything else we need. We just need your second to meet us here. If you don't mind me advising you," he adds, "I think it would be a good idea. Josiah can keep, uh, 'Gordon' from panicking. But 'Jack' should have someone on hand as well."

You glance around the circle of faces, feeling cornered.

Next: "A Fairy Tale for Jack" 

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 4)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)"