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2 Chapter 084B
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2014 Banzai Ben and Amazing Anastasia
Flashback
- Ben – About another two months later, the end of his Chechen mission and the
return to Moscow
I
loved it when a mission went mostly right but I wish like hell it would have gone
totally right. I killed almost all the fuckers other than the most important
'ringleaders'. As much as I hate to admit it they were smart as hell and once
they found out all the other fuckers that helped with Beslan were dead, they
headed back to their Godforsaken country and went into hiding. Oh, I could have
gone in after them, but I was running low on supplies. Hell, it was my own
fault since I knew I should have resupplied when I was in Moscow but I needed
to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.
Shit
that reminded me. I told you how the mission was going, but I didn't tell you
about anything else that happened for the past two months. Let's see, I left
off on my trip to Oksana's house. Her fiancé Ivan Gregoravich showed up close
to dinner time. He was tall, easily over 6 feet, and looked like a fucking body
builder. I discretely remarked about that during our time in the баня (I said
discretely because I didn't want him to get the idea I was a homo) and Oksana
laughed like crazy and informed me that he looked like a string bean until he
started working at the quarry with Sergei. I was concerned at first that Ivan
Gregoravich might have been after the annuity I had setup for Oksana, but he
ended up being a great guy and really loved Oksana. Hell, he even helped her
with the dishes after dinner like I had done on my earlier visit (this is
almost unheard of for a Russian male).
She
asked me what I thought of him and I told her she had 'С милым рай и в шалаше' (love in a
cottage) and not to mess it up. After the баня, Ivan Gregoravich and I took a
walk: I put the fear of God (and perhaps even more the fear of Ben) in him
about ever hurting Oksana and he assured me he loved her with his whole heart
and felt lucky to have her as a fiancée. As I left I felt good about the whole
situation — no more than that, I wished someday to have a situation like this
of my own.
Ivan Gregoravich took over the still from Oleg
and continued to make vodka. He gave me a case of it and while it was good, it
wasn't as good as Oleg's.
Let's see what else did I forget? Ah, this one
will surprise the hell out of all of you because I know it surprised the hell
out of everyone else. Since I was headed the other direction from Moscow, it
only made sense for me to make a surprise appearance at Jack and Masha's
wedding to be the best man. Yeah, Yuri had the Spetsnaz team sneak me into the
church. The look on Tatiana's face was priceless when I walked up beside her in
the back of the church to escort her up to the front wearing my dress blues. She
cried the whole time and tried to talk to me but I shushed her and told her the
wedding was more important. And what a fucking wedding it was, I had never seen
better! Jack looked better than I remembered in a very long time. I guess Yuri
and the Spetsnaz training was good for him. I found out about the plan that
Masha devised to keep me (and Jack) out of trouble with the brass. Major M was
there and I made sure to glare at him every time I looked at him. As soon as
the wedding finished, the Spetsnaz team ran interference and I hightailed it
out of there before I was captured and unfortunately (as I mentioned earlier)
didn't resupply because I didn't have time.
I continued to lose weight, even though I ate
like a fucking horse. My strength was better than ever, my legs worked fine and
I could run, again albeit a little slower than before, but most of the time my
back hurt like a son of a bitch.
I killed all the fuckers in the other direction
from Moscow, other than the ringleaders who I mentioned earlier. Now it was
time to head back to Moscow and see how much trouble I was in. I set up a
meeting with Yuri and the Spetsnaz team so Yuri, the team and Jack met me on
the outskirts of Moscow in the early morning.
Jack grinned at me (and I knew something was
up), gave me a hell of a hug, stepped back and I couldn't believe it when the
old fart tried a leg sweep on me. I blocked it and demanded, "Jack, what
the hell was that for? And you're still too slow to catch me with my guard
down."
Jack continued with the grin and answered,
"Banzai, that was for you taking the hell off and not telling me about it.
I was trying to kick your ass."
I laughed and taunted, "Jack, you may have
trained with the Spetsnaz for the last three months but you're still no match
for me. However I'm your Huckleberry if you want to give it another try."
Yuri distracted me when he came up and ordered,
"Ben, we need all your uniforms and whatever equipment you have
left."
I glared at Yuri and replied, "Yuri,
thanks for everything but what the hell did you do to me? Everywhere I went all
the people thought I was a fucking hero."
Yuri laughed and answered, "Ben we gave
you the order of Zukov and first class order of St. George the highest and next
highest awards in Russia. So tell me, did anyone bother you when they saw the medals?"
I continued to glare at Yuri but had to admit,
"Hell no they were all polite. Even the officers I encountered treated me
with respect."
Yuri smiled, nodded his head and answered, "Now
Comrade, you know why we did that."
I countered, "I should still kick your ass
for it."
Jack tried to calm me down by changing the
subject, "Banzai, don't you want to know how much trouble you're in?"
I turned my attention back to Jack and stated,
"It can't be that bad because you're still here. And I know the gist of
the plan but yeah I would like to know how things went."
Jack
laughed like crazy, then began to brag on Masha's plan and the effect it was
having on Major M...
Flashback
– Major M – About another two months later
I
was thoroughly fucked! There was a slight reprieve in the Old Man finding out
about Sergeant Blaine going AWOL, which was helped by the fact that the bastard
showed up at Jack and his bitch's televised wedding. I tried in vain to catch
Sergeant Blaine after the wedding but the slippery son of a bitch was helped by
the Spetsnaz team. He escaped through doors that went through all the icons in
the front of the church. When I tried to follow him, some old as fuck priest
with a beard, which made him look like Methuselah, stopped me and yammered at
me in Russian. I didn't bring Victoria with me so I couldn't understand what he
was saying. I went to grab him and move him aside when the Spetsnaz team came
to his aid and stopped me. I complained like hell for them to get their hands
off me but they just laughed.
I
knew I lived on borrowed time and then some bastard (or bitch because I was
sure it was Sergeant Reynolds' wife) sent the Old Man all the information about
Sergeant Blaine going AWOL, including the date it happened and included all the
fucking psychological tests they did on me. The Old Man placed the blame
squarely on my shoulders (in my opinion incorrectly because I was sure it was
some evil plot hatched by Sergeant Reynolds' bitch).
Now
I was headed back to the States to answer to the Old Man and to undergo more
fucking tests. I hated like hell leaving Victoria. Shit, she even cried when I
left, but in one way it was good because lately I hadn't been able to 'get it
up'. I blamed this latest problem on all the stress the fucking Sergeant Blaine
had caused me. Some day and someway I was going to make him pay...
Flashback
– Tatiana – About another two months later in Moscow
As
Ben would say, “Life for me sucked!” Yes life was worse than ever - it was so
bad I even contemplated suicide and for a nurse suicide was easy. Only my
Orthodox religion kept me from killing myself because if I did kill myself I
would go to hell forever.
First
was the biggest surprise ever. Ben showed up to the wedding to be Jack's best
man. He looked incredible other than he had lost some weight. I tried to talk
to him to ask his forgiveness for being such a сика (bitch), but he shushed me
(yes, I couldn't believe that he shushed me) and told me the wedding was more
important. I cried during the whole wedding, so much that I ruined my makeup. I
knew that Ben was very angry at me and possibly hated me because he wouldn't
look at me. When he wasn't looking at Jack and Masha, he was giving the stupid
Major the evil eye.
I
planned on talking to Ben after the wedding and doing anything and everything
to get him to forgive me and take me back as his girlfriend, but I was
distracted helping Masha (because I was the maid of honor) with her beautiful
wedding gown and when I finished he was gone!
Yes
my whole life sucked! Ben was still gone, my job was still terrible and I,
unlike Ben, had gained weight, probably from all the ice cream and chocolate I
was eating…
Flashback
– Masha – About another two months later at Jack and Masha's flat
Life
was so very wonderful for me. Married life was so much better than living
single and I now understood the happiness of my many married friends. To know
that I would never again be alone because now I shared my life with my husband
who was loving and caring and so very helpful.
The
wedding was like a dream for me. Ben even attended as Jack's best man which I
thought was a mistake because I was sure the Major would catch him. I wanted to
thank him for the wonderful wedding but when the time came for the reception
line, he had already departed and Jack didn't even know when or where he went.
The only sad part of the wedding was Tatiana's response to Ben being there: She
cried and carried on like a little girl which ruined her makeup. Her makeup was
so bad another friend took her into the bathroom (after Ben had left), cleaned
her face and helped her apply new makeup for the pictures after the wedding.
Jack
and I had a wonderful honeymoon in Sochi at a very exclusive resort. Jack used
the rest of the money we didn't spend on buying back 'my car' to pay for it. It
seemed that we 'owed' Ben's generosity for much of our happiness. I asked Jack
how Ben was able to afford such lavish gifts and Jack mumbled something about
how Ben seemed to have more money than Carter had Little Pills; which I
understood to mean that Jack didn't know any more than I did.
My
team continued the search for Ben without having any success. However it
appeared that his mission to kill all the Chechens associated with the Beslan
incident was going well. Almost all of them were dead.
With
Victoria's excellent help, the Major was no longer a problem. However, I did
need to reprimand her slightly for one incident with the Major. Sex with the
Major was majorly revolting for her and she reached a point where she could not
stand it anymore. She therefore drugged his food and drink with enough estrogen to prevent him from obtaining
an erection.
My
only continuing concern was Tatiana, she was becoming irrational. She was
certain that she was the reason Ben left even after we gave her proof of the
Chechens being killed. She would not listen and had stopped taking care of
herself. Most days she looked and acted like a zombie, I was concerned she
would do something stupid…
Flashback
– Jack – About another two months later meeting Ben
I
began to tell Banzai how well Masha's plan worked, "Shit Banzai, because
of Masha's plan I don't think we will ever have to worry about the Major
again."
Banzai
shook his head and taunted, "Jack, we all know how you feel Masha is
supposedly 'perfect', but you didn't give me any information at all about the
Major or her plan. Does she have anyway figured out for me to come back?"
I
was offended and slightly bothered by Banzai's attitude toward Masha, but I
knew retribution was coming. I glared at him and answered, "She sure as
hell does and your return right now is the perfect time. You see the Old Man
finally got wind of you going AWOL and recalled the Major…"
Banzai
interrupted me, "Great so with Major pain in the ass leaving, if I show
back up at the hospital they will assume it's because he was recalled which
further reinforces that he was the reason I left."
I
continued grinning at Banzai because I knew what was coming (and I also knew he
would extremely hate it) and answered, "That's right Sherlock, now we just
need to make it look like you lived on the streets for the last three
months."
Banzai
looked surprised and asked, "What in the hell do you mean?"
Yuri
laughed and added, "Ben, we have to give them a plausible excuse of where
you've been for the last three months that won't get the team or anyone else in
trouble. So we have decided you were homeless and lived on the streets. Now
take off your clothes and put on these."
Yuri
handed him some nasty scrubs that looked like hell and smelled like shit!
Banzai gave him a look that said, are you fucking kidding me and complained,
"What the fuck are these and don't I have any say in this?"
Yuri
looked at him and ordered, "Sergeant Blaine, do not make me pull rank on
you! This is your new uniform until you arrive at the hospital and are examined
by the doctors. Now put them on and act like you have been homeless for the
past three months."
Banzai
began to take off his clothes, I noticed his weight loss and commented,
"Well, you sure have the weight loss look of a homeless person nailed to a
T. What happened didn't you like the officer rations the team gave you?"
I
could tell that Banzai fought retching as he put on the scrubs because he held
his breath. He turned his head away from the nasty scrubs, took a deep breath
and answered, "Hell no, they were great and I ate almost everything except
for the nasty dried fish sticks and gelled pork that seemed to be in most of
the officer rations. Something must be wrong with me because I still kept
losing weight."
I
smiled at Banzai and consoled, "Well don't worry, the weight loss makes it
look even more realistic." I glanced at Yuri and asked, "Should we
add the finishing touch?"
Yuri
and the rest of the team laughed, dumped a couple buckets of swill on Banzai
and he swore…
Flashback
- Ben - About another two months later, the end of his Chechen mission and the
return to Moscow
Son
of a fucking bitch! It was bad enough having to wear these nasty assed scrubs,
now Yuri and the team covered me in buckets filled with some sort of nasty slop
that was some of the worst smelling shit I had ever smelled! I complained,
"What the fucking hell did you do that for! The scrubs are bad enough! I'm
going to kick your asses."
Then
Yuri pulled rank on me, "Sergeant Blaine, you will do no such thing. Now
stop complaining like an officer, wait for the ambulance to take you to the
hospital and remember your story about being homeless on the streets of
Moscow."
The
ambulance arrived and I gave them one last barb as the EMTs loaded me,
"Laugh all you want now fuckers, but when I come back to training I'm
going to kick your asses so hard you'll have to use a dentist for a
proctologist."
Jack
climbed in the ambulance with me so I asked, "Jack, what the hell are you
doing?"
He
answered, "I get to be the hero this time for finding you."
The
EMTs sure weren't happy about hauling me to the hospital. I noticed they pulled
out masks, put some liquid on them and covered their faces. Jack motioned to
them, they understood and made a mask for him. Thank God the ride to the
hospital didn't take long because it was still early morning. We arrived at the
hospital and I had a hell of a surprise…
Flashback – Tatiana – About
another two months later in Moscow at the hospital
I
was sitting in the hospital during my morning break, playing with some food
from the cafeteria on my plate when an ER nurse walked by and taunted me,
"I guess you didn't hear, your American boyfriend is back in the
hospital."
I
had been on the receiving end of taunts like this before so I simply said,
"Oh yeah! Prove it to me."
She
grinned and answered, "No problem." Then she pulled out her mobile
phone, unlocked it and showed me a picture of my Ben in the ER, he looked
terrible.
She
continued being evil as she said, "With the way he looks and the way you
look, you two will make a perfect couple."
I
looked down at myself and realized she was correct, I looked terrible today! I
didn't shower this morning and my uniform was a huge mess from the patients I
had been taking care of.
She
laughed as I jumped up from the table, but I thought, some day bitch you will
get yours. I dashed to central laundry, acquired some clean scrubs to replace
my soiled uniform, ran to the nurse's locker room, took a short but effective
shower making sure to wash my hair, put on the scrubs and ran to the emergency
room.
I
found the room that Ben was in, took a deep breath and silently prayed that he
would still love me. I went inside, pushed the other nurses out of the way and
stood beside his gurney.
He
saw me, gave me his special smile and held out his arms! Even though he smelled
terrible I hugged him and gave him my biggest and best kiss. The doctor
interrupted, "Nurse restrain yourself, I need to finish taking his medical
history and then give him a physical."
I
pulled away and impatiently waited for the doctor to finish. Ben motioned with
his head, I then noticed Jack in the corner of the room so I moved over beside
him and whispered, "So what is the plan."
Jack
replied in a whisper, "We are telling everyone that Banzai lived on the
streets of Moscow for the past three months."
I
nodded in affirmation and commented, "Well he sure looks like the homeless
men I've seen as they them bring into the hospital.
Jack
laughed, "Yeah, Yuri and the team did a great job. By the way Banzai is
madder than a wet hen."
I
wasn't familiar with the saying but from Ben's expression and Jack's laugh I
figured out Ben was upset. I secretly hoped he would be distracted by his
condition and forget about his anger at me.
I
continued watching as the doctor finished taking Ben's medical history, then he
started an very abbreviated physical (probably because of the smell). I moved
back to the side of the gurney, the doctor finished the physical and ordered,
"Take him to his room, get him cleaned up and put him into some new
scrubs."
I
volunteered, "Doctor, I was his personal nurse and would be more than
happy to give him a sponge bath."
Ben
looked at me and made me sad when he answered, "Sorry, but I can walk now
so I would prefer to take a shower."
I asked Ben the question I had been
dying to ask him and held my breath as I waited for the answer, "Ben, do
you still want me for your personal nurse?"
My
heart did flip-flops when Ben smiled at me and answered, "Tatiana I sure
as hell wouldn't have it any other way."
I
smiled and said, "Ben, let me get you a wheelchair."
He
gave me a dirty look and I realized our relationship was going to be very
different when he answered, "Tatiana, I can walk and I sure as hell don't
need a fucking wheelchair. But I sure would like some new scrubs and some
food."
I
took his arm, we walked out of the ER together and I said, "First Ben, we
will get you to your room and into the shower. While you are showering I will
get you some new scrubs and also new blue booties for your feet." Then I
questioned, "And are you sure you want hospital food?"
Ben
never got to answer because we were interrupted…
Flashback
- Ben - About another two months later, the end of his Chechen mission and the
return to the Moscow hospital
Tatiana
and I needed to have a talk about what she did right before I left. I found out
from Jack (if the old fucker was correct) that she blamed her lie to me for me
leaving, even after Masha showed her the results of my mission. I needed to set
things straight with her and we also needed to deal with the lie that she told
me. I also realized she needed to unload on me for leaving the way I did. But
first I wanted to get cleaned up. I was almost persuaded not to kick Yuri's
ass, but after these scrubs and then throwing the nasty shit on me, I was
pissed and he was going to get the ass kicking he deserved.
Tatiana
asked me a question about the hospital food which I prepared to answer but as
we walked out into the hallway I was shocked because it looked like all the
press in Moscow blocked the hallway and waited to talk to me. They all started
shouting questions at once and I quickly looked for an escape route when I saw
the stairway wasn't blocked. The last thing I wanted was to speak with the
press so I looked at Tatiana and ordered, "Make a run for it."
I
hit the door for the stairs with her right behind me. I started running up the
stairs and Tatiana yelled, "Ben, you do not know where your room is."
She
was right - I didn't know which floor my room was on. I stopped, she ran passed
me on the stairs and teased, "See if you can catch me."
I
bounded after her, easily caught her, smacked her on the ass and demanded,
"I caught you! Now what is my reward?"
She
continued to run and answered, "That will have to wait until we get in
your room."
But
what she didn't know is 'that' was going to wait until we had talked about our
problems.
We
hit a landing, Tatiana opened the door, I zipped past her into the hallway and
stopped as fast as I could to keep from running over a fucking Russian Colonel.
Tatiana didn't stop as fast so she ran into me, which knocked me into the
Colonel and we all ended up in a tangled mess on the floor. I thought my ass
was grass until the Colonel began to laugh and said, "Welcome back to the
hospital Sergeant Blaine. I am Colonel Maxim Gorky and I am here to make sure
your stay and continued rehabilitation is not interrupted as before."
I
jumped up, assisted the Colonel, stood at attention, saluted and apologized,
"Forgive me Colonel for knocking you over, I was just... just... just (I
couldn't think of an excuse)."
The
Colonel surprised me when he interrupted, "Sergeant calm yourself! I am
not like your Major. I am here to be your friend and to make sure that
everything at the hospital meets your standards."
I
couldn't fucking believe it: An officer, a Colonel no less, was concerned about
how I was being treated at the hospital! I decided to call his bluff and asked,
"Sorry Sir, but I find it hard to believe that an officer, especially a
Colonel would be concerned with my impression of the hospital."
He
laughed and answered, "Well Sergeant Blaine, the problems you had before
you left reflected poorly on this hospital and the entire Soviet medical
system. I am here to make sure you do not have any problems with your stay this
time. Now if you wouldn't mind, why don't we let Tatiana, your personal nurse,
get you cleaned up and fed and then seeing as you avoided the press below I
would like you to hold a press conference."
I
wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but I figured I'd dodged a hell of a
bullet. To run a Colonel over, knock him on his ass and have him laugh about it.
Things were strange and I needed to ask Tatiana about it.
I
saluted and answered, "Yes Sir! I would be glad to talk to the press
however I am not sure I would like to eat the hospital food."
The
Colonel gave me a smile and said, "Sergeant Blaine, I am afraid I must
insist that you eat only the hospital food."
He
turned to Tatiana and ordered, "Tatiana your orders are to make sure that
Sergeant Blaine does not receive any outside food from anyone including
yourself. I will talk with Sergeant Reynolds and the Spetsnaz team to make sure
they do not bring him any outside food."
Tatiana
replied, "Yes Colonel."
I
became brave and asked, "Excuse me Colonel, permission to speak
freely?"
He
gave me his affirmation so I continued, "Sir, I am puzzled by the sudden
change in how I am being treated. Sir, it doesn't make any sense to me so if
possible could you please explain?"
The
Colonel smiled at me and explained, "There is a simple answer for this
Sergeant Blaine: When you were in the hospital before, it became obvious that
we, that is the hospital, let you down. Oh you had the best doctors and your
personal nurse Tatiana is one of the best, however there were several areas for
which we failed to provide even adequate care. The two areas we identified that
were the greatest failures were the quality of the food and adapting the
physical therapy programs to your individual needs. We are concerned that our
failures in those areas, combined with the arrival of your annoying Major,
forced you, a hero of Russia, to abandon the hospital. We want the world to see
that our hospitals are on par with any hospitals in the world so I have been
tasked with making sure any and all problems you experience in the hospital are
rectified."
I
nodded my head and continued, "Do I still have permission to speak
freely?"
He
again gave me his assurance so I continued, "Sir you make it sound as if
the motivation behind this publicity?"
He
laughed and answered, "Sergeant, I would be lying if I said there wasn't
some publicity involved. However you being a guest in our hospital has given us
a unique opportunity to evaluate our level of care compared to the care you
have received in American hospitals. We, that is the Kremlin, feel this is an
educational opportunity for us. Now Sergeant, if you have no further questions
I would suggest we both get cleaned up."
I
noticed for the first time that when I bumped into the Major I got some of the
slop that Yuri poured on me on his uniform so I apologized, "Sorry again
Sir for getting your uniform dirty."
He
laughed and said, "Sergeant, do not worry! You will find that Russian
officers operate differently than the American officers to which you've grown
accustomed."
I
saluted him, he returned the salute then turned and walked away.
When
he was out of earshot I asked Tatiana, "Tatiana, what do you know about
this?"
She
took my arm and answered...
Flashback
– Tatiana – About another two months later in Moscow at the hospital
It
was so good being with Ben again and thank God he had not noticed my weight
gain. He asked me about what the Colonel had said so I took his arm, we walked
toward his room and I answered, "Ben, because you left I have not been my
normal observant self. Even though I have been working as a floor nurse in
multiple rooms I therefore haven't noticed many changes."
Ben
gave me a funny look and got ready to say something until we walked into his
room. He stopped, looked around, grinned at me and said, "Damn this is
nicer than some of the hotel rooms I've stayed in!"
I
was also amazed by the changes as Ben continued, "Tatiana, please tell me
if this is representative of the rooms you have been working in?"
I
continued to observe the room then I realized the truth of the matter, smiled
at Ben and answered, "Yes Ben, now that you are back I must say this room
is similar to the rooms in which I've been working. I am sorry again that I
didn't notice it before."
I
took Ben into the bathroom, thought for a few more moments and gave additional
information, "I vaguely remember some news reports that inferred you left
the hospital because it wasn't as good as the American hospitals you had been
in."
I
was shocked as Ben began to close the bathroom door before he took off his
dirty scrubs and questioned, "Ben, there is no need to close the door
because I was looking forward to seeing you again."
Ben
smiled at me and apologized, "Sorry Tatiana, but our relationship isn't the
same as before I left. In fact we need to have a long talk about the 'meal' you
brought me."
I...
I... I... was shocked beyond belief! I did not expect our relationship to be
the same but I did expect more than this. I bit my lip to keep from crying and replied,
"Yes Ben, I understand that you are still angry at me. Please understand I
will do anything to ensure you will forgive me. I will leave you alone and get
your clean clothes."
I
turned and left the room before I broke down in tears in front of Ben...
Flashback
– Glen – About another two months later at the home
Jennifer's
ordeal with Katie ended and mine had just started. Jennifer took a look at me
today and complained, "Daddy! What in the fricken-fracken heck did you do
to yourself while I was forced to stay at Katie's?"
I
glared at her and lied, "Young lady, I have no idea what you are talking
about."
Jennifer
got on high horse and raced on with her complaints, "Daddy, I don't know
how much weight you gained for the two months I was gone but I bet it's twenty
pounds. Your uniforms look terrible on you since they no longer fit."
I
looked down and lamely countered, "Jennifer they look fine and I sure as
hell don't know what you're complaining about. And now that you're home you
need to cut out the bitchy attitude."
Yeah Jennifer was back and
unfortunately had picked up some bad habits from staying at the bitch nurse
Katie's house.
Jennifer continued, "Daddy I am
not bitchy; I just worry about how much weight you gained when I was
gone."
I
smiled at her and answered with something I knew would piss her off (just to
change the subject you understand), "Don't you have ballet today?"
She
gave me a dirty look and declared, "Daddy, I thought with mother still
being in the hospital I wouldn't have to attend ballet."
I
laughed and taunted, "Well Swan Lake is over but you know how watching it
affected her."
Jennifer
looked down and answered...
Flashback
– Jennifer – About another two months later at the home
OMG
what a two months I'd had! Let's see when I last talked to all of you, I was
still practicing for Swan Lake – now it was over. But not before
Ro-fricken-bear had a huge nervous breakdown and ended up in the hospital
because he couldn't dance his part correctly. Olga was going to cancel it
(yeah!) but then fricken Katie got the principal male ballet dancer from the
NYCB to come and dance! The good news was, unlike Ro-fricken-bear, he was gay
so I didn't have to worry about his hands. Even better news was that he was a
really good dancer and we had a fantastic performance that went on for five
nights. Mother was allowed to attend all the performances but had to return to
the hospital each night. And mother was different than she'd been before: She
praised me like crazy and never voiced even one complaint. The bad news was she
had decided, along with fricken Olga and fracken Katie that I should be a
ballerina full time. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that I
shouldn't have tried to dance my best. I should have just continued with my
normal intentional mess ups. However, I just couldn't do it with all those
people watching me.
I
looked down and replied to Daddy, "Daddy, I know it made her really happy
to see how well I did, and I know her doctor told both of us we shouldn’t do
anything to stress her..."
Daddy
interrupted, "So Jennifer tell me what will happen if you don't go to
ballet school?"
I
shook my head and dejectedly answered, "Fricken Olga and fracken Katie
will tell Mother and then Mother will ask me why I didn't go. I will be forced
to lie to her which will then add to her stress. So I guess I am forced again
to go to ballet school."
Then
I came up with an idea, smiled and continued, "But I also know that Mother
will be stressed when she sees the weight you've gained so if I have to go to
ballet school, you need to go on a diet and start an exercise program."
Flashback
– Alexi – About another two months later at the laboratory
I
had settled into a routine at the laboratory that was very enjoyable because I
received much more love and attention from the staff than I did from my
'parents'. Both 'mother' and 'father' still stopped by daily to visit and of
course they still performed their tests on me, but I had no interest in going
back to their house. I call it their house because it certainly had never been
a home for me. We had started 'family' counseling sessions with the
psychologist, which I despised - but endured.
My
newest game was to test the limits of the psychologist's patience. It produced
a battle of wills that I found most exhilarating.
Flashback
– Safia – About another two months later in Japan
What
an intense two months I had endured! We made it safely to Japan but then all
heck broke loose. The twins began to look for a Sensei to train us and were
rejected by so many of them they began to take it personally. We went to a new
dojo and they entered and obeyed all the crazy customs. The Sensei walked
toward them, approached closer than I would have dared and hurled an insult,
"What are you geishas doing in my dojo?" He turned to his class and
announced, "I think they are here to service us."
Ira
kept her head bowed as she answered, "Excuse my corporeal self Sensei, but
you are mistaken. We have come to study under your leadership."
I
knew Ira had chosen the incorrect words after she said them since the Sensei
laughed and replied, "The only studying fitting for you to do under me is
to spread your legs and feel my manhood inside you!"
Ira
looked at him and questioned, "Excuse me Sensei, did you just insult
me?"
He
laughed and answered, "No! You three street whores have insulted me by
defiling my dojo with your entrance."
Ira
slapped him across the face and the fight was on! When it was all over, once
again we had won the battle and lost the war.
We
walked outside of the dojo and Mira lamented, "It is a conundrum of the
highest priority since we cannot find a dojo to accept us."
Ira
added, "Yes, this culture appears to be most backward in their treatment
of women. I am at a loss for a method to ensure our training at a suitable dojo."
Then
I noticed a sign, pointed and answered, "Girls, it is simple. We disguise
ourselves as men, enter the tournament and when we win it we will have our
choice of dojos."
Mira
and Ira discussed the merits of my idea and finally decided they liked my
plan...
Flashback
– Todd – About another two months later on the island
I knew that Liu must
have had a way to contact people off the island. I determined this because the
ships came for the women after we rescued them and they had to be notified.
Finally my perseverance paid off and I was able to follow Liu to a cave I had
never seen. Perched above the cave hidden in the tall trees I saw an antenna,
this had to be the place. I planned on contacting my people, telling them I was
alive and having them come and rescue all of us from this Godforsaken island. I
waited patiently until Liu left, then I waited an additional hour in case she
looped back to try to catch me. Finally I slowly and carefully slipped down to
the cave making sure to avoid the many traps which Liu had placed around the
cave for protection.
Yeah, since I had been
on my own I had really honed all my skills, not just in discovering Liu's many
traps which covered most of the island, but also with the bow, katana and
woodcraft. Shit, I had to get better otherwise I would have spent my whole time
tangled in one of Liu's traps.
I made it to the cave,
slowly slipped inside and found the radio and a bank of batteries. It was an
old as hell radio, the top was off and then I realized that it wouldn't work
since more than half the tubes (hey I did say it was an old radio) were
missing. Yeah, once again Liu had outfoxed me, however I still had another plan.