Chapter 10

As they took a well worn shortcut through a corner of the State Park, Angel stopped so suddenly that Robin ran into her, and they nearly fell down. When Robin started to ask what was up, Angel just held up her hand.

Angel! Don't go home yet! Lena sent her.

Why?

The police are on their way to talk with you. They think you are involved with something very bad. A kidnapping, I think.

How do you know?

Cassie warned me, so I took a quick mental peek and called you. They're close.

Contact my mother and let her know. I won't go until you get back to me.

She filled Robin in, assuring her that she was not involved in anything like that. Then they waited.

Your mother is on her way home. So is a lawyer she contacted through me. I'll let you know when they get there.

Thanks.

Robin walked with her to the edge of the park, then Angel told her that she probably didn't want to get mixed up in all that. She agreed, and headed home alone.

A few minutes later, Lena told her that her mother had arrived. Angel started walking home. Lena told her that the police had arrived and were asking her mother about her. As she approached the house, a familiar car pulled up. David's father got out and spoke briefly with her mother. Then he turned to the police.

When she got within earshot, Angel heard " ... the young lady's lawyer. And I hereby notify you that these proceedings are being monitored by Helena Morgan, a registered telepath."

"What does Radar have to do with this?" Asked the female officer.

"You have not specified the nature of your business here, so I cannot properly answer that. However, she does have a personal interest, as a friend and neighbor of the young lady."

Angel noted the difference in the way he talked. This was not the informal, pleasant father of a friend who had made her the pendant. He was every inch the lawyer. She found that reassuring.

"Angel O'Connor?" the male officer asked her.

"That's me. What's up?" her attempt at a casual response was tinged with genuine curiosity and a little apprehension.

"We would like to ask you a few questions. What can you tell us about Elizabeth Wilson?"

"Who?" Angel glanced at her lawyer, who was wearing a neutral expression.

"A bio elemental, and officer of an organization of bio elementals."

"Oh. Betty Wilson." another glance, still a neutral expression. "Not much. She came to see me last Thursday. We talked, and then she left. Why?"

Lena, ask David's father whether I should volunteer the fact that I recorded the visit.

He says not yet.

"Please let us ask the questions here, Miss O'Connor."

"It was a reasonable question, officer." her lawyer interjected. "What is your interest in the woman?"

"She has been reported missing." the officer was looking directly at Angel as he said that.

He thinks you had something to do with that.

Angel reacted with unfeigned surprise. "When?"

The officer ignored her question. "When did you last see her?"

Angel looked at her lawyer, who nodded. "She left about 9:30, 9:45 in the morning. I didn't really look at the time."

"Can you tell us what you talked about?"

Another nod. "She told me about her organization, and the agreement they have with the AMA. then she told me I didn't qualify for membership, but I still fall under the terms of the agreement."

"And then?"

"And then I assured her that I would abide by the agreement, and she left." Angel shrugged.

"What was her emotional state?"

"I'm not Radar. I really couldn't say for sure. Do you want me to guess?"

"Just give us your best recollection." He was getting annoyed.

"She seemed a little annoyed. Like the whole thing was a waste of time."

"And how did you feel about it?"

She looked at her lawyer, who nodded. "Curious. I wanted to know more about the stuff she talked about. And relieved."

"Relieved?"

"She wasn't happy about being here, and it showed. After she delivered her lecture and left, I was relieved that we were both done with that shi ... scene." She caught the sharp look her mother gave her, and a brief mental laugh from Lena.

"Can you account for your movements the rest of the day?"

She looked again. Her lawyer held up his hand.

"That question sounds like you suspect my client of some crime. Is that the case?"

"We don't know that a crime has been committed. We are just covering the bases."

He frowned, then nodded for Angel to answer.

"I went to visit a friend in the MORFS clinic for a while, then I went swimming. After that, I was home the rest of the day."

"Did anyone see you at those places?"

"I can vouch for the clinic visit. She was visiting my son."

"The pool records can verify when I was there, and Radar and the girls saw me there."

Her mother spoke up. "And I can verify that she spent the rest of the day at home.

"And the rest of the week?"

"We have already allowed you some latitude in these questions. I must remind you that this conversation is being monitored by a registered telepath. You consider my client some sort of suspect, and are trying to avoid the legal requirements while treating her as such. You already have her movements for the rest of that day, and you have the report that Ms. Wilson missed several appointments the rest of that day and has not been seen since. You are fishing, based on some misplaced hunch. I will not permit such treatment of my client."

"If you have any more questions for her, I suggest you submit them, in writing, through my office."

"You..."

"John!" his partner barked. "You are out of line. Drop it. Now!" She turned to face Angel, and handed her a card. "If you think of anything else, please call me." She turned again. "Counselor, Ma'am" She nodded to Angel's lawyer and mother, in turn.

As they pulled away, Lena told Angel that the cops were arguing. The woman was reminding her partner that he could not afford another complaint about his disregard for procedure. The man was thinking Angel kidnapped or killed Ms. Wilson, and was thinking some very uncomplimentary things about Lena. The woman had worked with Lena a couple of times, and had a better opinion of her than of her partner.

Angel, her mother, and David's father went into the house. As her lawyer, he wanted to see the recording of the meeting. As a friend, he wanted to make sure she was all right. After sharing a cup of coffee and a snack with them, her mother went back to work.

After watching the recording, and being told what Angel later found, he offered to research the real legalities for her. He also asked to take a copy of the recording with him for safekeeping. She agreed, and he made the copy.

After he left, she made herself a sandwich and flopped down in front of the screen to watch a little mind rot. At one point, she stumbled over a news report about the chip problems.

The report prominently mentioned her theater chain's lack of problems. They went on to say that the chain had reported the problem to the vendor on Friday, but that communications problems kept some other sellers from responding to the recall action until now.

They had a clip of a spokesperson from the chain crediting their discovery to their "exceptional and dedicated quality control staff", and the quick action to "one of our theater managers" and other staff. She ended with a statement about their focus on the well-being and enjoyment of their customers.

Out of curiosity, Angel used her tablet to check her email. There was a note about the press release and statement, and an explanation of the wording. Two potentially awkward issues came up, and they chose to avoid them. The first was her age, and the second was her status as a morf. Rather than subject her to the possible consequences of raising the issues, they were deliberately vague about who did what.

They assured her that the company recognized her actions, and her value to the chain. She was to get a commendation at the next managers' meeting. So would Mr. Moore.

She decided she had a couple of hours before she needed to start dinner, so it was a good time to go out for a swim. After changing, she walked over and thumbed in. As she walked up to her friends (were they ever anywhere else?), Sherry was laughing at something Robin said.

She saw Angel, and repeated the information. "Robin found an appropriate place for the party. An empty house, with a pool. But in keeping with the theme, the house and pool need work, which we will be exploited to provide."

Angel grinned. "Sounds appropriate, all right. Who benefits?"

"Robin's uncle, who owns the house and uses it as a rental property."

They all had a good laugh about that. Angel went to work on her diving for a while. After the practice she had been putting in, she was getting better at adjusting to her new form. But mostly, it was fun.

When they were resting in the shade for a little bit, Angel talked with Star Dawn. She was curious about her elemental perceptions. It turned out that Star had not spent much time on that aspect of her new nature. She had been concentrating on power and control.

Angel asked whether she could radiate in the ranges beyond human perception. Like the infrared and the ultraviolet. Star conceded that she wasn't really sure. She thought she probably could, but she had no real feedback that she could use to tell.

Sherry wandered up during the last part of the discussion, and had an idea. "I have some old black light posters you could use. Put them up in a dark room, and if you radiate in UV, parts of them will glow."

They thought that was a good idea, and Star accepted the offer. That whole discussion brought Angel back to her earlier thought. She asked whether Star could see into the IR and UV. Star thought for a moment, then said that she probably could. But she hadn't worked on that.

From her own experiences, Angel suspected that Star could learn to recognize a range of interesting things. She suggested that Star try some exercises, to learn to recognize and use different frequencies (and combinations) of light. Unlike Angel, Star was not a particularly weak elemental. But, she conceded, she could always use an edge.

When Angel got back home and started getting dinner ready, she started thinking about school. She had a flash of annoyance that the school Penny and Jerry went to, Smokey Hills, started a week later than hers. They were in the same district, but there was some sort of bureaucratic thing that made the difference.

That got her thinking about her mother. Her jobs with the schools had already been useful, and she seemed to like the people and the work. It just struck Angel that her mother was capable of so much more. She was strong, well educated, and generally as competent as anyone she'd met. It was obvious to Angel that there was something she just wasn't seeing.

That made her think about David. She wondered how long it would take him to get over the novelty of easily seeing inside the girls' locker room and shower. For that matter, easily seeing through anyone's clothes wherever he looked.

Then she started wondering about herself. While she had been in store and pool changing rooms, there was still an element of the unknown about the locker room at the school. If she wasn't over that yet, maybe it would take David a while, at that.

Angel shook her head. Grasshopper thoughts like that were not her usual style, but she had been doing that more and more often. She wondered whether it had something to do with being a girl. Maybe the hair color change - was she blonde through and through?

Then she wondered whether she had forgotten to set the oven timer.

After dinner, Angel spent some time on her eCom, talking with Lena. She found out that Lena would be spending the next couple of days with David, helping accelerate his training. For some reason, she seemed to really want him finished in time to start school with them.

For some reason, Angel had the impression that there was something more to it than that. She wasn't sure what, and Lena wasn't saying anything about it. Strange.

As usual, the next morning came much too soon.

She had to leave early enough to get to the light rail, and get to the theater on time. And she had to do so looking like a manager. What a way to start one of the few, precious, remaining days of summer vacation.

Her mother dropped her off at the station, then headed off to work. Angel was a little nervous, traveling alone like that. Before the change, she had thought nothing about traveling alone on a bus. But now that she was a girl, it was different, somehow. She didn't like that feeling.

She was still strong. She still knew how to fight. But the posturing and bluff that had helped a situation keep from becoming a fight wouldn't work in her new body. Her only remaining bluffs were making herself look like she knew martial arts, or perhaps like she would scream her head off.

Or maybe, just maybe, she could use her abilities as a bluff. Maybe making her hand go as dark as her melanin could manage, in front of their eyes, and warning them that she was a morf would work as a threat.

In the end, the whole thing was pointless. Nobody bothered her, and certainly nobody threatened her. In fact, other than her own musings, the trip was comfortable and pleasant.

The theater inspection itself was unremarkable. She found a few things that needed routine cleaning, and a lot of indications that her earlier reports had been heeded. In fact, the only part of the whole thing that was at all memorable was when she stumbled across a stack of movie posters.

"What's the policy about those posters?" she asked the manager.

"They're available to all the employees, on a first come, first served basis. Of course," he allowed himself a small smile, "I get first choice. RHIP and all that."

Angel returned the smile.

He continued. "Just check the backs. If there are initials in the corner, it has already been chosen by someone on-shift. It cut way down on arguments."

She acknowledged the information, then went back and sorted through them. They were all for movies that were no longer at the theater, but she found some that would make good decorations for the party. She was about ready to leave anyway, so she went up to the office for a rubber band and sticky note. After banding and labeling the posters, she wrote up her report.

When it was done, she sent the usual copies to the office and the manager. She went looking and found him, to ask whether there was anywhere else he wanted her to look. There wasn't, so she thanked him for the posters, thumbed out, picked up a snack, and left.

When she got back to the station, she realized the one hole in her plan. She didn't have a ride from there. It was only a couple of miles to home, and the uphill bits were not at all steep, so it wouldn't be that bad. But it was still summer, and she was dressed for work rather than for exercise.

She shrugged, and started off. She quickly realized that the distance was a lot longer on foot than it seemed in the car. What took less than ten minutes driving ended up taking an hour and a half on foot. After the first few blocks, she remembered something that had come up in her girl training. The notion that it was common practice for women to bring a pair of walking shoes with them when they would be wearing more formal shoes to work or an event. That way, they could change shoes before going on long walks or driving.

At least she wasn't wearing heels.

By the time she got home, she was as hot, tired, and sweaty as she could ever remember being. She dragged herself up to her room, kicked off her shoes, and peeled off the damp, sticky layers of clothes that were clinging to her. When she was done with that, she threw herself down on her bed, spread her arms and legs, and just reveled in the feeling of the relatively cool air all over her body.

The next thing she knew, it was two hours later and she was a little groggy from her extended nap. She wasn't sweaty any more, but was conscious of the uncomfortable residue that the sweat had left behind on her skin when it evaporated. A cool shower sounded like just the thing.

The shower revived her, but she decided her little hike had given her enough sun and exercise for the day. Besides, she needed to finish her summer reading. After all she had been through, it was strange to think that in a matter of days she would be in school again. In a way, it seemed appropriate that she would be starting at a new school - it went together with the new sex, new powers, new home, new job, and all the rest.

After drying off and dressing comfortably, she used her eCom to call her next theater. She verified that she could get a ride from the assistant manager again, but she would either have to stay to the end of the shift or make other arrangements for a ride home.

She called the office, to see if they could help her make any arrangements. She ended up speaking to the woman she met the day of the attack.

It turned out that she had been just about to call Angel. There were some specific spot checks they wanted her to make that week, and Wednesday would be a good day for them. The good news was that the woman, Amanda "call me Mandy" Harrison, would provide transportation in a company vehicle. The bad news was that she would be working most of the day.

When she was done with that, she called Sherry. It came as no surprise that she was at the pool when she answered. Angel let her know about the posters, and asked how preparations were coming. Sherry told her that preparations were in place, and replies were coming in to the invitations. She had even spoken with David's parents about using both their elemental and professional abilities, and acting as chaperones. They had agreed, on the condition that David was home from the clinic and up to partying. Apparently, they had strong views about exploitation of various sorts.

Later, her mother came home to the smell of dinner cooking. Angel was sitting in the kitchen, reading. She looked up from her book to greet her, and let her know that she would be working late the next day. Other arrangements would have to be made for dinner.

And while they were at it, new arrangements would need to be made anyhow. Between school, work, homework (for both) and the like, she wasn't likely to have the time and energy to make dinner very often.

"Sounds reasonable." Her father's voice made them both jump. Neither of them had heard him arrive or noticed him standing there until he spoke. He greeted them properly, then suggested that his wife accompany him upstairs to change. She raised her eyebrows at that, but followed.

Angel was shaking her head at their antics, when she got a call on her eCom.

"Hey, working girl," an all too cheery Lena said. "I thought they'd never leave. Got plans for tonight?"

"Not really. Just dinner, and maybe some more reading."

"Good. How about taking me to a movie after dinner?"

"You have your own passes now, you know." Angel was amused.

"Yeah, but I wanna save them for later. Besides, you can get better stuff from the concessions than I can."

"Let me check with my folks."

"Uh ... you don't want to disturb them just now. Trust me."

Angel was startled. "O ... k ... Uh, that's an awkward thought. Hmmm. What movie do you want to see?"

They discussed movies, times, and theaters. Lena's mother was willing to drive them, if Angel's folks would pick them up. Angel was embarrassed to realize that Lena knew more about what was playing when than she did - and she worked for the chain.

By the time they settled on a choice, her father had wandered into the kitchen and started setting the table. Her mother followed shortly. When she asked about the movie, a look, and brief smiles, passed between them. They agreed, and agreed to pick the two girls up after the movie.

Once they were in the car, Angel noticed the excited look on Lena's face. She doubted it was about the movie. She was right.

Aren't you going to ask why I'm saving my passes?

Ok. Why are you saving your passes?

For my date with David!

"Really?" Angel blurted, out loud. Then Oops. Sorry. When? How? What?

We got really close while I was helping him at the clinic. And he'd been wanting to get together with me even before, but thought he wouldn't have a chance, Silly boy!

All that wasted time? Angel grinned.

Yeah. Oh, Angel, you have no idea how much this means to me.

Do your folks know? Do his?

Mine know a little. I don't know how much his folks know. Oh, God! How will they feel about it?

They like you. His father does, for sure. I think they'll be happy for you two.

After Angel got their tickets, they headed for the concessions area. The college girl who had first noticed Angel's promotion grinned and commented to her coworkers "Watch out! The brass is here!"

"Shhh! You'll blow my cover. We're here undercover, disguised as high school girls." Angel grinned back.

"Anything you say, boss." She dropped a small mock curtsey. "What can I get you?"

Opting for the classics, they got some popcorn and drinks. The girl processed Angel's card, and wished them well.

Once they were in their seats, they alternated between silently conversing about Lena's love life and paying attention to the screen. Even without her powers, Lena's excitement would have been infectious.

When she got home, Angel realized that she would have to do something about her outfit. Her next theater was managed by a woman, and while she was a good sort, she would readily notice anything wrong with such things. Angel had long since learned that was a woman thing.

She took her things down to the laundry room, and put them through the special clean cycle. While she was waiting, she mused about another thing the manager would notice: that it was the same outfit. Unfortunately, she didn't really have anything else that was appropriate.

When she was a boy, she had been amused by all the attention girls seemed to pay to clothes. For the second time since she went to "bump into" Jerry, she found that the clothes issue didn't seem so trivial - or so funny - from her new perspective. She was going to have to spend some of her hard earned salary on clothes. And not cheap clothes.

Thinking about clothes, she noticed the boxes stacked in the corner. She had never gotten around to visiting the swap shop. She had hesitated, not wanting anyone she knew to see her there and figure out how she had changed. Enough people had done that all ready.

On the other hand, she would be going to Boulder on Saturday. They were sure to have a shop there. And it was far enough away to limit the exposure.

But not eliminate it. There was one person who would know. Mandy. And with her coming from the office, a bad reaction could be really bad. She would have a chance to sound her out while they did the spot checks.

She called Lena. As usual, just the thoughts were enough to produce the answers.

"I like you calling him my boyfriend." Lena giggled. "And yes, I can spare some time. He will be doing some flying practice around that time, and they don't need me for that. But I might be a little distracted. You haven't seen his new muscles ripple when he uses those wings."

Angel swore she could hear the sigh without using the eCom. No question, Lena had it bad.

"Yep. No question about it. And there is nothing in the world like a hug when you're being wrapped in his arms and those wonderful wings."

Angel found the image striking, but remembered the other part of her question. "How far can you do your thing?"

"With loud thoughts and someone I know, I've done 35 miles with no real problem. I've done 10 miles with unfamiliar and faint. I haven't tried anything beyond that."

"So as long as we stay within the Denver area, we should be good?"

"Easily. I've met her, and can focus on you, so I might even be able to reach Boulder."

"Thank you so much."

"I understand how much it means to you. She doesn't seem to have any problem with you being a morf, or an elemental."

"But the other part..." Angel began.

"Yeah, it's hard to guess how she'll take it. Give me a shout when you're ready."

They said their goodbyes, and hung up. Angel realized that she had one more person to tell.

Her mother wasn't entirely happy that she would be going so far away for the shopping, but agreed with the reasoning. She also wasn't happy that Angel would be doing it all without her. Angel promised that she would save most of the credits for a time when the two of them could go.

Her parents were ambivalent on the whole issue of the swap shops. They were too much like thrift shops. They had nothing against thrift shops. Far from it - they regarded them as an unmitigated blessing for poor families. And that was the problem. They were not poor, and tended to think of shopping at a thrift shop in terms of depriving some poor person of whatever they were buying. It just seemed not proper to them. They made an exception when they were looking for something hard to find, especially if it wasn't something likely to benefit a poorer buyer.

Angel pointed out that the swap shops did not operate quite the same. They were private companies, rather than fund raisers for some charity, and they sold the secondhand clothes (and the new clothes) at a higher price than thrift shops would. The used clothes were still substantially less expensive than they were when they were new, and the new clothes were at about the price you'd see at a discount retailer. The big draw was the credits. Not using the credits would be wasteful.

That proved to be the telling argument. They viewed waste as a terrible thing.

Wednesday morning came much too early. Next time she saved the chain's bacon, she vowed, she'd negotiate better hours. Of course, school was going to start soon, so her work hours wouldn't be the problem. Her school hours would take their place. And those were not negotiable.

Bleh.

After showering, she went downstairs to have breakfast with her parents. She reminded her mother that she would be working late, doing the spot checks. After breakfast, she went back up to change.

Lena carefully got ready, taking the time to make sure she got her makeup right as well as everything else. She would be meeting - and making an impression on - more managers after her reinspection of the fifth theater. And sounding out her coworker about her attitude toward gender morfs.

When her ride arrived, she made sure he wouldn't have to wait. She was sitting in the living room, listening to the radio, before he was due to arrive. She heard his car pull up, so she turned off the news and was out the door before he was even out of his car.

When they got to the theater, she thumbed in and got right to work. She hadn't found a lot the first time she was there, so there wasn't much to recheck. When she went through the unchecked places, she found some problems in a supply closet. Ironically, there was an active spot on the wall behind the shelf holding the bottles of disinfectant. For the rest, there were just the usual low level things that would be handled by routine cleanings.

She found the manager, told her about the one spot in the storage room, then went and wrote her report. She called the office to let them know she was done, then settled in to wait for her ride. It would be a while, since she had finished earlier than expected.

She had loaded her summer reading into her tablet, so she used her time productively. After checking her company email, and finding nothing interesting, she picked up where she had left off in her reading. She smiled at the thought that it made her look like she was dealing with official business.

When Mandy showed up, Angel blanked her tablet and followed her to the car. As they were driving to their first theater, Mandy explained that she would be checking some of the theater's paperwork while Angel went through and looked. Angel should plan on not having more than about an hour in each theater, so she was really just shooting for a quick overall impression and any really obvious, major problems.

They were soon there, and Angel got to work. She found a couple of overlooked hot spots, and quickly documented them. She had the manager's email, so she sent him a brief report. She followed up when Mandy was done with him, using her tablet to display the images and pointing to the problem areas.

On the way to the next theater, she got a mental contact from Lena. She was ready.

Angel casually brought up the issue of morfs and people's attitudes toward them.

"I can't say I'm entirely sorry that I was skipped, unless I get hit by that new thing, but my husband is a morf, and a lot of my family went through it."