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Subject: {ASSM} NEW TG: DNA III Part 6 by Stephanie
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 20:10:05 -0400
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DNA III - Part 6
This is late even by my standards. I won't bother making
more promises I can't keep, though I will _try_ to get two parts
out within one week.
My website is at http://www.geocities.com/westhollywood/2525.
From there you can find links to all my other stories. If you want to
add your stories to the list of stories that can be posted by other
people on alt.sex.stories.tg please send me an e-mail.
This story is copyright 2000 by Stephanie. All rights
reserved. You may repost or store this story on your website as long
as the work is not altered or charged for.
As always, this is an adult story and it should not be read if
you are under the age of eighteen.
DNA III - Part Six
by
Stephanie
The pregnant young woman entered the room and looked at her
friends seated there. Anne was staring out the window, obviously still
very angry, while Paul and Jim were sat at the small table.
"What did Michael have to say for himself, Julie?" Jim asked
her.
Jim and Julie had been using the names of the bodies they now
wore instead of the ones they were born with for some time now, but she
still found it odd. Though she had got used to living with an exact
physical duplicate of her former body.
"He's protesting his innocence, vigorously." she replied as she
eased herself into a chair. Her pregnancy was just past the halfway mark
and she was beginning to feel the drain on her systems as the baby grew.
She didn't resent it and she hoped she would be able to handle it when
she was near full term. Jim had said several times that he was glad he
would never have to go through the 'beached whale' experience, but Julie
could detect a hint of longing in his voice. That was understandable,
Jim had spent most of his life as a female, growing up in expectation
that he would one day be a mother.
"He would!" Jim retorted bitterly. "We should never have trusted
him!"
Paul shook his head, "I'm not so sure it was him. The only
reason he's a suspect is that he has a less than unblemished past and
the opportunity to do it. You all know how lax security is inside the
base. Colonel Rigdon doesn't have the manpower to deal with the circus
outside the base and everything inside. Anyone on the base could have
done it. The camera crew, the base's medical crew, one of the soldiers,
anyone!"
Julie shifted to make herself more comfortable. "It won't be the
camera crew. They're CNN for God's sake! Maybe it was a spy for some
foreign government?"
Jim shook his head, "If that was the case then why did they draw
attention to themselves by switching the virus for Petrucci?"
"Maybe it's the government wanting to discredit us and take over
the virus?" Paul mused. "They wasted no time in getting the Petrucci kid
over to us and putting the virus in him."
"I don't think so," Anne said, continuing to gaze out of the
window. "They already have full access to it and if they want to stay
ahead of every other country they'll need my willing cooperation."
"It has to be Michael," Jim declared. "Maybe someone who worked
with Quince still has a hold over him."
"Michael would have told us," Paul said angrily.
Anne turned to face them. "I don't know why you're defending
him, Paul. You're the one who's suffered the most because of him. He
betrayed you to Quince and you almost died!"
"It wasn't his fault!" Paul retorted "He was forced!"
"And he's probably being forced now. It doesn't make any
difference. He should know by now that he can trust us. Now, because of
him, some kid is stuck in God knows whose body!"
"No," Paul said quietly, "we're missing something. I can't
believe he's behind it, in any way."
"You know, Paul," Julie remarked, "for a lawyer you are
surprisingly trusting."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Mandy, wait up!" Tanya called.
Mandy turned around and waited while the other woman caught up.
Since the two of them had broken the ice a couple of days before they
had quickly become friends. At first Mandy had been very suspicious of
the journalist, and had wanted to shield Jeff from her. After their
first real talk it had dawned on her that journalists were people too.
Tanya had been virtually excluded from anything to do with the
injured soldier. The colonel had wanted to keep the press at a distance
as much as possible and Arnold desperately wanted to keep the best parts
of the story to himself.
Mandy didn't want to have anything to do with Arnold Lester, but
she had quickly grown fond of Tanya. "Hiya," she said.
"I'm glad I found you," Tanya said. "No-one will tell me
anything."
"No offence, but I'm not surprised. Rigdon's absolutely furious
that his security was compromised."
"That's understandable. Lester's been in there all morning
trying to get clearance for us to leave."
"You're going already?" Mandy asked in a surprised voice. "I
would have thought this is exactly the thing to hit the headlines."
"It is, but Lester and the cameraman are the only witnesses from
the media to actually see and record what happened yesterday. Because
the base is locked down he can't even report outside." She smiled. "He
was really indignant when they confiscated our mobile phones. As he sees
it, we have to get out now and run with what we have before someone else
gets to the big scoop."
"So it's all been a bit of a wasted trip for you then? I noticed
how he kept freezing you out of the big stuff."
"I'm lucky to be here at all really, but he's a typical ultra-
vain reporter I suppose. Anyway, maybe it wasn't a complete waste. Give
me a call in a few months and I'll help you write up your experiences
into a book. You'll make millions."
Mandy looked dubious. "What? A kiss-and-tell book?"
"Yeah, why not? Was there a lot of kissing?"
"Argh! You're worse than Lester!" Mandy declared laughing.
"Hey," Tanya said with a shrug, "worth a try. I was being
serious though. You've been a victim in all this, and if you cleared it
with your friends first then you wouldn't have to risk alienating them."
"I'll think about it," Mandy said. She secretly quite liked the
idea of seeing her name on a book. "You deserve something to put up with
that odious toad, Lester."
"I'll see you around, then."
They embraced. "I'll give you call in a few weeks when this is
all blown over."
Tanya gave Mandy her phone number and then hurried over to the
colonel's office. By the time she arrived things had quieted down. When
she had left Rigdon and Arnold Lester were bellowing at each other.
Arnold left the office as she approached. "Well?" she asked.
"We'll have to submit to a body search before we leave, but I
managed to talk him out of taking x-rays and doing a cavity search."
"Euuuu! That's good news at least."
"He also wants to strip down all the equipment and give our bags
a thorough search. That'll drive Mike to hysterics, but I think we're
lucky to get off that lightly."
"I'm surprised he's letting us go at all," Tanya said. Despite
herself she was impressed that Arnold had negotiated their way off the
base.
"Never underestimate the power of the press. He knows just as
well as I do what the rest of the media would say if we were stopped
from leaving. Plus we did a quick interview that showed him in a very
positive light. At a time like this he knows he needs good PR."
"Are you going to use that interview?" she asked.
"Why not?" he replied. "If I really wanted to I could twist his
comments any way I wanted to, but I don't want to do that. Despite
what's happened here, the DNA virus is a fantastic discovery! Even now,
it could double anyone's lifespan! Just think of that. Anyway, you go
get packed. Every second we delay could mean we get beaten by another
network."
Tanya could almost see the awards he hoped to get for this story
flashing in his eyes. Typical, he was thinking of just himself again.
She hadn't had that much contact with the big guns of national news, but
even she had been surprised by the backstabbing she had encountered.
She headed back to her room. She heard raised voices coming from
behind one door where Anne and the others were clearly arguing over
Michael's guilt or innocence. She had been surprised by the way nearly
everyone had turned on him after Petrucci had been turned into a girl.
Mind you, his shady background would always make him the prime suspect.
The bed in her room hadn't been slept in as she had spent each
night in Lester's. She quickly packed her three small suitcases and then
headed out to the van. Mike was almost finished loading his equipment
into their van. Tanya added her suitcases to the pile and then climbed
into the van. Lester was inside already, dictating some rough notes for
his exclusive.
When the van was loaded they drove a short way across the base
to where the inspection team were waiting. There they were stuck for
well over one and a half hours as the team worked their way through
every piece of luggage. Tanya found herself wishing she had brought a
book. Eventually Mike, Lester and Tanya were summoned in turn to a small
white room where they were thoroughly searched. As Lester had promised
they stopped short of a cavity search, but it wasn't that far away. Two
women were waiting specifically to search Tanya. She was glad that it
was women rather than men doing the search, but even she felt almost
violated by the intimacy of their search.
Finally, however, they were give the all clear and escorted to
the gate. The circus of media and lunatics were still outside the base.
Tanya could see why the base had been empty enough for the sabotage to
take place: Half the base had to be out there keeping order.
The soldiers had kept the road clear and the van had no trouble
in sweeping out the base and onto the long journey home. Tanya let her
breath out in a long sigh. Lester looked at her and smiled. "You look
relieved to be out of there," he said. "Is there something you're not
telling me?"
She smiled, "No, but the way they looked at me made me feel
guilty as hell."
"I know what you mean. Once you've been through it a few times
you'll learn to shrug it off."
Tanya nodded, but kept her thoughts to herself. He's trying to
show off his experience again, she thought.
During the long drive back to the airport Arnold began typing up
his report on his laptop. He suggested Tanya should work on her own
article on Jeff, but she didn't see a point. With no interview footage
there was no way her story would make it on air and she felt Mandy and
Jeff had suffered enough at the hands of the virus without her adding to
it. After half an hour watching the scenery go past, though, she did
finally get out her own laptop and began typing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Michael looked up when there was a knock at his door. "Come in,"
he called.
A small, black woman walked in. "How are you holding up?" Paul
asked.
Michael could tell it was Paul almost instantly. You could put
Paul and his now-identical twin Jeff in the same clothes and they would
still be obviously different. "Fairly well, I guess. I should have known
something like this would happen. Everything had been going too well
recently."
"The reason I came is to offer my services."
"What?"
"As a lawyer. You're probably going to need one. As it stands
the case against you is fairly flimsy, but it's best to make sure."
Michael gave a sour laugh. "We're back where we started. You
defending me. The only difference this time is that I'm completely
innocent."
Paul sat down on the end of the bed. "I believe you."
Michael arched an eyebrow, "You do?"
"Yeah. Me, Anne and the others were all arguing earlier and it
occurred to me: If you were being leaned on, and that's the only reason
we think you'd do this, then why didn't you confide in us?"
"Like I did the time you defended me?"
Paul nodded, "Exactly. The worst sort of client is the one who
will never be truthful with me. I'm not allowed to tell anyone and it
means I go to court unprepared. But you always told me everything."
Michael sighed. He was extremely glad he had at least one person
willing to believe him. "Thanks, you don't know what this means to me."
"It's okay. I'll turn detective now and see what I can dig up."
Paul left and walked over to the lab. It now had a guard on duty
twenty-four hours a day. A little late, he thought, but welcome. Paul
surveyed the scene. This was the only way into the lab as all the
windows were wired with sophisticated intruder-detection equipment.
He looked up at the ceiling and a small surveillance camera in
the corner staring blankly back at him met his gaze.
Paul eventually found the colonel in his office. "Mr Roberts,
come in."
"Could I have a word with you?"
"Sure, but I hope you don't mind if I keep it brief. This whole
incident has generated a lot of paperwork."
Paul was sympathetic. The colonel was probably getting plenty of
heat off his superiors and the press over what had happened to the young
private. "I won't take up much time. I noticed you have a security
camera outside the lab. Is it in working order?"
"Yes," the colonel replied, "and it did catch Michael when he
sneaked into the lab the night before Petrucci was... transformed."
"Why didn't you tell us?!"
"The picture quality wasn't good enough and there wasn't enough
light to positively identify him from it."
"So you don't know it was him?"
"Not from the video, but I'm still convinced it has to be him.
It all fits, he knew there was a camera there and another in the lab.
We've reviewed the footage from the day before with Dr Chamberlain and
he didn't swap the vials then. He knew we'd see any substitution, so he
sneaked back in the dark and did it then."
"Can I see the tape?" Paul asked.
"Sure, but you won't get anything out of it."
Colonel Rigdon summoned a soldier to escort Paul over to the
security block. Soon he found himself alone in a room with a small
combined TV and video set and the tape from the camera.
The colonel had been right; it was almost impossible to see the
figure, let alone work out who it was. Paul let the tape run on as the
view switched to the interior of the lab. The indistinct figure moved
quickly over to the vials containing the DNA virus based on Petrucci. No
matter how closely he looked he couldn't see the actual swap of vials
taking place; the picture was far too indistinct for that.
After just two minutes in the lab the ghostly figure headed to
the door and then out into the corridor. Whoever it was had clearly
worked out which sections of the building was covered by security
cameras and which parts weren't.
Paul watched the tape several times and then sat back with a
frown on his face. His feeling that this wasn't Michael was now stronger
than ever, but he couldn't say why.
The door behind Paul opened and a young soldier looked in.
"Excuse me, miss, uh... I mean, sir. Sorry."
Paul waved away the soldier's embarrassment with a smile. "Don't
worry about it." Many people had been unable to decide which terms to
use with Paul. He himself didn't know and he had long ago dismissed it
as the least of his problems.
"Thanks, Dr Stracken is looking for you."
"Okay, tell him I'm on my way."
Paul could tell the instant that he entered the medical wing why
Dr Stracken had called him. Robert Petrucci's parents were there, both
looking tired and drawn.
Dr Stracken walked over to Paul. "Glad you're here. I need you
to talk to Robert for me."
"What for?"
"He won't see his parents. I think he's too ashamed. So I'd like
you to talk to him."
"Me? What can I do that you lot can't? I'm not trained for this
sort of thing."
"Robert's current form distresses him and he's equally
uncomfortable around men and women, but you he can trust. I can tell by
the way he talks about you."
"Well... okay. I'll see what I can do."
Paul knocked on Robert's door and then slowly entered the room.
Robert was up and standing by the window, dressed in pajamas and a robe.
Paul shut the door behind him and then walked over to the transformed
soldier.
"Hi," Paul said, "how are you doing?"
"Fine, considering what's happened to me." he walked over tot
the bed and sat on it. A strange look crossed his cute asian features as
he sat down. "How do you get used to having a pair of... those on your
chest? They shift and move with the slightest movement I make."
"I've been there!" Paul told him. "I couldn't get used to it at
first and even now I get these moments when I catch myself just staring
at my own breasts. You might not like it, but you are going to need some
sort of support in that area."
"You're talking about a bra?!" Robert looked at him shock. "No
way! I'm not stuck like you are, am I? I have the weaker form of the
virus." A look of uncertainty crossed his face. "Do I?"
"Yes you do, but think about it before going for the stronger
cure. You'd have a good chance of dissolving. I've seen the results and
it isn't pretty. You should give Dr Chamberlain a chance to work on
improving the virus. In time I'm sure you'll be able to revert to your
old self without risk."
"Yeah, but how long will that take?"
"No-one can force you to stay the way you are. If you want to
risk the stronger virus we'll understand. But take your time, don't rush
into anything." Paul looked at the door remembering why he had come in
to see Robert. "Your parents are outside, they want to see you. Dr
Stracken told me you didn't want to see them."
Robert was silent for a moment, a look of despair on his face.
"It's not that I don't want to see them," he said, "it's just that I
don't want them to see me like this."
"You can't hide from them. They won't like to see you in this
form, but excluding them will only make them feel worse."
Robert was fighting to hold back tears now. It was obvious to
Paul that Robert was truly terrified by what had happened to him. "My
father really wanted me to join the army. He often says that he enjoyed
his time in the army more than any other part of his life. He always
treated me differently from my sisters. He loves them, but he had a
special place for me, because I was going to follow in his footsteps.
Now I have tits and a pussy! How can I see face him like that?"
"He'll see his son going through a bad patch," Paul replied
carefully, "but he'll know that his son will pull through. He's not
going to reject you because you're temporarily stuck in the form of a
woman."
"Okay," Robert replied quietly, "let them in."
Paul nodded and placed a hand on Robert's shoulder. "It'll be
okay," he said. Robert nodded and gave a sad smile.
Outside, Robert's parents were getting anxious about the delay.
"Well?" the father asked sharply. "Will he see us?"
"Of course he will," Paul replied. "He's just embarrassed about
being in the form he's in."
"I'd be too, in his position." Robert's father said. "It's not
permanent though. As soon as we can be certain Chamberlain won't fuck it
up again we can get him changed back to normal."
Before Paul could reply, Robert's father had ushered his wife
into Robert's room and closed the door behind them.
Paul was speechless for a few moments before turning to Dr
Stracken. "He does know how dangerous using the stronger virus is?"
"I've spent the morning explaining every aspect of this as best
I can." Stracken replied.
Inside the room, Robert was hugging his mom. If she felt any
discomfort in hugging a physical stranger she was able to hide it.
Robert's dad held back until they broke apart before asking, "How are
you holding up, son."
"Okay, I guess. I still can't believe this is happening."
"Don't you worry. I'm going to have another set of doctors
administer the stronger form of this virus to get you back to your
normal self. I won't let the quacks here get anywhere near you."
Robert brushed a long strand of hair out of his eyes. He
couldn't get used to the silky mass on his head, but he had been too
distracted to ask about getting it cut. "If you think that's wise, Dad."
"Why wouldn't it, boy? You don't want to spend the rest of your
life looking like a geisha girl, do you?"
"No, sir!"
Robert's father nodded. "Good. Just hang in their, son. This
nightmare will be over soon. Just think about the large compensation you
can expect for this mess!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
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