A Navy SEAL, crippled by wounds, is given a chance to be whole again … but at what price? |
CHAPTER 10 Arnie had dropped Brandi off at a hotel near the late in the afternoon and then driven to a truck stop a short distance away. She had offered to get a room for him, but he had refused, saying he was sure Brandi needed to watch her money. She didn't what to advertise the fact that she was carrying nearly ten thousand dollars in cash, so she let it go. Once she was in her hotel room, Brandi had realized she needed some things. She had left the lab with very little to start with, and some basic toiletries would make life more bearable. There was a shopping center not far from the hotel that had a drugstore, one of the big chains, and she knew it would have everything she needed. It didn't take her long to find everything she needed; she simply replaced all the items Susan had gotten for her. The transformation had enhanced many things about her, and one was her memory. Brandon's had been very good; he picked up on details many people would miss. It was even better now; she recorded every thing she saw, heard, smelled and felt and could recall any of it at will, even if she hadn't really been paying attention to it at the time. Once she had her purchases, she paid for them and left the drugstore. She was very restless, and it had little to do with her sexual desire. In the four months she had been in the lab, she had undergone almost daily testing. Many of the tests were sparring matches to track the development of her combat abilities, and they were the one thing that had kept her sane. Though she had only been gone for a day, her last match had been the week before, and the tension of her escape was only making matters worse. She really wanted to blow off some steam. And her sex drive did figure into it in a way; the training had always helped her release some of that tension. It provided her with a chance to flirt with her partners without the risk of it going too far, and the satisfaction she got after defeating a group of guys much bigger than her was almost as good as what she felt when she pleasured herself ... almost. Arnie had warned her not to stray far from the hotel; the area to the south was gang territory. An idea formed in her mind and she smiled. It was a little out of character; she would be technically picking a fight and that was not her style. Then she realized it was not Brandon’s style…but she was not Brandon anymore. She looked at her reflection in the window of the store she was passing. Even in the baggy t-shirt and BDUs she knew she looked hot ... but she could look hotter. The proper attire would make her look like more enticing bait. There was a Target store in the shopping center and she started towards it but stopped suddenly as she was passing a small store called Sassy. She gazed for a moment at the tight, sexy clothing displayed in the window and before she knew it she was inside. Thirty minutes later she was in her hotel room, dressed in a neon pink lycra crop top with a scooped neck. It was the largest size they had carried, and it stopped well above her navel, exposing her slim waist and tight stomach and emphasizing her large breasts as it clung to them. Across the front the word ‘Tease’ was emblazoned in glittering silver. Her BDUs had been replaced by a pair of black spandex pants that looked like she had applied them with a brush, and she wore a pair of short leather boots with wide three inch heels. She found she could walk with no problem in the heels after a few minutes of practice, though she dreaded the thought of wearing stilettos. A small black purse completed the outfit; she would need it as there was no way to fit anything in the pockets of the skin tight pants. She stared at herself in the mirror for a few minutes, and then looked at the pink makeup kit she had purchased. She opened it with all the care she would have used with a suspicious package, and then sighed and went to work. “I look like a clown,” she moaned after her first attempt. Fortunately she’d had the foresight to buy some makeup removal clothes and she cleaned her face thoroughly. Her second attempt was little better, but by the third she managed something that was passable. “Now I only look like a hooker,” she giggled. Still she expected the look would work for her plan. Now came the hard part. She spent several more minutes staring at her image in the mirror, working up the nerve to follow through. It was not the danger that bothered her; it was walking out the door looking so obviously like a sexy girl. And there was a part of her that was reveling in the look, the feel of the material against her breasts, the way her nipples were so visible and obvious through the thin top; the way the tight pants and high heels emphasized her round ass. “All right, girl,” she said to the image, addressing herself by that pronoun for the first time, “let’s go find someone to play with.” She hailed a cab and once inside asked the driver “Is there a park nearby, something south of the interstate?” “Yeah, the rec center has a park,” The man said. “That ain’t no place for a girl like you to be this time of night though Miss.” Brandi pulled a hundred dollar bill from her purse and passed it to the driver. “Ok honey, it’s your funeral.” Brandi lit a cigarette and settled back for the ride. She studied every detail of the route, committing landmarks to memory in case she had to make her way back on foot. As Brandon she had always had a good memory for detail. Now she had a true photographic memory. Her brain recorded everything she saw down to the minutest detail, and she could recall it at any time like bringing up a file on a computer. It was one aspect of the change that had made things particularly difficult for her, because she could access Brandon’s memories just as clearly, even those he had long forgotten. Often all it took was something that triggered a memory from long past and she practically relived it in a flash. The cab pulled to a stop at a small park and Brandi got out, then turned and leaned in to speak to the driver, giving him a clear look down her top. She felt a thrill run through her as his eyes seemed unable to tear away from the sight. “There’s another hundred for you if you meet me right here in one hour,” Brandi told him. “If I don’t show within ten minutes, leave.” “Lady you are certifiable, but I’ll be here,” The cabby said. As she started walking, Brandi began humming a tune. It was ‘Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun’ by Cyndi Lauper, and though she had heard the song many times as Brandon, it was never a favorite. But she found she could recall any song she had ever heard, even if it was only once, as perfectly as though it was playing on a radio in her head. Before long she was singing softly. I come home in the morning light, my mother says when you gonna live your life right, Oh mother dear we’re not the fortunate ones, And girls, just wanna have fun Oh girls just wanna have fun... She detected her playmates for the night just ten minutes after the cab dropped her off. There were six of them, and she could feel their excitement as they shadowed her at a distance. She left the sidewalk and cut into the park like she was trying to cut the corner. The shadows closed around and she knew they were moving up on her. She started singing louder. That’s all they really want... Some fun... When the working day is done, Girls, they wanna have fun, Oh girls just wanna have fun. “Yo baby, we got your fun right here,” A voice called from behind. Brandi whirled, a look of abject terror coming to her face. The six looked to be in their late teens and early twenties. None of them appeared to be wearing anything readily identifiable as gang colors, but she knew that many of the gangs had stopped displaying colors in recent years in order to avoid the attention of the police. “Wh..whada you guys wa..want?” She stammered, playing the part and drawing them into her web. “Whoa, look at the rack on this biatch,” the largest of the six said. He was at least six four, and looked like he worked out. Brandi was surrounded now and she looked wildly about for a way to escape. To the punks she seemed like a frightened girl but she knew she was the predator and they were the prey. “Yeah cuzz,” a pimply, vole-faced youth said. “I bet she lookin’ to machine. I got what you want right here baby.” To emphasize his words the youth grabbed his crotch and howled. Brandi fought back the urge to laugh. “Yeah, we can party good with this bitch,” the one that appeared to be the leader said. He looked to be the oldest and the others kept glancing at him. “You wanna play, dontcha ho?” Brandi dropped the frightened girl act and smiled sexily as she dropped her purse to the ground. “Well I think we’re all kinda big for the swing set,” she purred. “Did you, like, wanna do something else? I mean I was kinda scared you wanted to hurt me, but if all you wanna do is play I’m up for it.” “It ain’t gonna hurt baby,” the older one said. “You gonna love every minute.” “Well, ok. But if you really wanted to play you shoulda brought some more friends, ‘cause I’m, like, used to real men, not boys,” Brandi told them. “If you try real hard maybe you can satisfy me ... I doubt it though.” “I’ll show you a real man!” The big one said as he advanced towards her. Brandi attacked, launching a lightning fast spinning back kick that drove her foot into his diaphragm. His lungs emptied in a whoosh and his feet actually left the ground, his two hundred twenty pound body knocked back several feet. He hit the ground hard and lay there, struggling to draw breath. His friends stopped, stunned. “Well come on boys, aren’t we gonna play?” Brandi asked, her eyes dancing and her face lit by a mischievous grin. “Get the bitch!” The leader snarled. The others produced a variety of weapons from their baggy clothing. She did not see any guns, which was good since she really did not want to get shot. “Aww, are you guys, like, too young to be given guns?” She dug at them. “I bet all the really cool gang bangers have guns.” Deciding to show off Brandi leapt straight up, kicking out with both legs to catch two in the face, one in front and one behind her. Then she shifted her momentum into a back flip while still in the air, landing on her feet clear of the encircling gang members. “Look, no wires!” She giggled, waving her hands around her body for emphasis. Then she placed her hands on her hips and pouted severely. “Like, I don’t think you guys are givin’ me your best effort,” she scolded. “You’re never gonna attract the tourist crowd if ya don’t put on a good show. Maybe I shoulda gone to Disneyland. Those seven dwarves could probably do better.” The gang bangers regrouped, and a pair with chains rushed forward, swinging simultaneously. Brandi caught the chains, allowing them to wrap around her wrists. Then she planted her feet hard and pulled with all her strength, which was considerable, pulling the two boys off balance. As their momentum carried them towards her she jumped, her legs coming up as she released the chains, her feet catching them each under the chin, snapping their heads back. They flopped to the ground on their backs, unconscious. “They look so cute when they’re sleepin’!” Brandi giggled as she landed. She knew she was having far too much fun with this exercise, and that point was driven home as she felt a slashing pain across her upper right arm. She turned towards her attacker just in time to catch a return slash from his knife across her right cheek. “Owww!” She cried, her hand reflexively going to her face. The cuts were deep and blood was running down her face and arm, but already the wounds were tingling and she knew they were healing. “How do you like that bitch?” The knife wielder snarled. “This?” Brandi touched her face again. “It’s not even a scratch.” Before the eyes of her formerly jubilant opponent, the wounds stopped bleeding and closed until they were just red lines. Within an hour there would be no trace they had ever been there. “H..holy shit!” He cried, and then threw the knife to the ground and ran. The one she had pegged as the leader and the sixth gang member came in, knives slashing. Brandi deflected or avoided each of the attacks laughing all the while. Then she very narrowly avoided a vicious slash that would have opened up her belly quite effectively, and decided that play time was over. She disarmed the two and threw them to the ground then danced lithely out of their reach. “Well you guys have been moderately entertaining,” she smiled sweetly. “Now run along before I, like, really have to hurt you.” She heard a roar of fury and turned in time to catch a full body tackle from the first gang banger she had put down. She hit the ground hard on her back and kicked upwards with her legs, flipping her attacker over her head and continuing the motion to bring herself back to her feet, twisting around to face him. He was definitely big; Arnie’s height though not as burly. As she turned to face him he charged again, swinging with both fists. Brandi ducked below the fists, bending her knees and lowering her center of gravity before hammering his already bruised diaphragm with a series of powerful jabs. Then she hopped back and jumped into a round house kick that smashed him across the jaw. She heard the crack of bone, and blood and teeth sprayed from his mouth. He too dropped to the ground and did not get up. Turning back to the two remaining, conscious gang bangers, she saw that only the leader remained, the other having taken her advice and run. The leader too decided that discretion was the better part of valor and scrambled to his feet, sprinting off. “Not so fast cutie,” Brandi giggled. He was kind of cute, and she was still feeling a little frisky. She snatched up one of the chains, whirled it over her head and threw it. The chain whipped through the air and caught the fleeing youth at the knees, wrapping around his legs and bringing him to the ground. As he rolled onto his back, Brandi skipped over to him, dropping to her knees and straddling his hips. “You are kinda cute,” she said dreamily, then bent forward and planted a warm, wet kiss on his lips. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, probing, darting. Then she broke the kiss and straightened up. “Time to play that game you wanted to from the start lover,” she said breathily, her hands rising to fondle her breasts. There was no mental conflict now. She had fought and won, and now she wanted her reward. She began pulling the lycra top up slowly, teasingly, as the young man struggled beneath her. The sound of a horn broke her from the moment and she looked up to see that the cab had returned. He was early, thank God, and she hastily pulled the top back down, her mind snapping back to clarity, horrified at what she had been about to do. “We’ll get you bitch!” The youth beneath her snarled. “We’ll come back with our homies and you’ll be sorry!” “Yeah right,” Brandi laughed. “Like you are really gonna tell your homies you got your asses kicked by a girl. They’ll laugh you out of the club house. You guys do have a club house, right?” Without another word, Brandi crossed his jaw with her right fist and put him out. Then she hopped to her feet, retrieved her purse and ran to the cab. “You’re early,” she told the driver as she climbed in. “Well I felt kinda guilty leaving you here,” He chuckled, looking out at the comatose forms of the gang members. “I guess you had the situation under control.” “No, I really didn’t,” Brandi muttered as she lit a cigarette. “Thanks for saving me from a really bad mistake.” |