Chapter 23

[Faith] Early December

"I appreciate your calling me first, Mr. Charles," Julia said after taking a call from Max.

"Max, please," he said quickly. "I didn't know how Faith would take the news. I don't think we should keep it from her, but I'm concerned."

"You're right to be concerned," Julia assured him. "She needs to know, so I will tell her, and I'll be sure that Dale is with her. Max, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to forgo the visits. I did not think it would have to go on this long, but the chance for Faith to stay completely isolated has been just what she needed. I think you will be amazed at the change in her appearance. Let me go and talk to Faith and Dale, and we'll get back to you. Oh, how long do you have to comply?"

"Three days," Max answered.

"The Order of Protection application is ready to go, and Gerald tells me that the skids are all greased," Julia said. "Why do you think she bothered so close to Faith's twenty-first?"

"Even after all the years of our marriage, I wouldn't pretend to understand that bitch," Max said angrily. "I guess power and control are everything to her."

Julia had to wait until she had completed her appointments, then got Faith and Dale together at the Tee. In reality, Faith was marking time. In the three plus months of her stay, she had made every one of the dates she had written on her intermediate pictures, and she was almost back to her weight from the previous April. She actually looked even better because of her rigorous exercise, the excellent nutrition - and love. The only reason that Julia was keeping her sequestered was to keep her away from her mother.

"Your mother somehow found a judge to issue her crazy order," Julia told the couple when they met. Faith's face blanched and she had to sit down quickly. "Now remember, Faith, the order only forces your dad to reveal your whereabouts. We believe we have an impenetrable legal 'wall' to keep her from doing anything to you."

"Will it really work?" Faith asked fearfully.

"First of all, by tomorrow noon, you will have an Order of Protection against your mother and any of her agents. Tomorrow morning, you have an appointment for a complete physical and psychological exam."

"Can't you do that?"

"If it ever comes to a court battle, it will be good to have independent corroboration. You will actually be seen by two sets of doctors and psychiatrists. It will take all day, and yes, Dale will be right with you," Julia said reassuringly. "There will also be two Plonske agents escorting you."

"Wow!" Dale exclaimed. "You aren't taking any chances, are you?"

"You haven't heard all of it, yet," Julia said with a chuckle. "Now, you two have to decide if you want to do this, but we believe the final insurance against any of her interference would be for you two to get married."

Shock did not adequately describe the couple's reaction. There was silence for many seconds, and it was Faith who spoke first. "And it would be the ultimate revenge, taking away her chance at throwing a big society wedding," she said almost gleefully.

"But you would miss your chance for a nice wedding, too," Dale pointed out. "Besides, I can't support you yet."

"Honey, have you ever seen two people happier than Andi and Andy?" Faith challenged. "I've been doing so much thinking since I was rescued. I honestly don't care about all of the stuff I used to have. We could live for quite a while if I just sold my car and we bought something good enough to get us around. Dad wants both of us to work in his business. We'd make it."

"I don't want to leave the Tee, though," Dale objected.

"No, and you shouldn't, because of the scholarships and the way they've helped you," Faith agreed. "Dale, Honey, if we could be married, I honestly wouldn't care about any of the other stuff. In a way, the big wedding would be part of my old life, and that was mostly bad."

"Julia, could we organize something here, with the people I really care about?" Faith asked.

"Your Dad has to give up your whereabouts in three days, so we would have to scurry," Julia said thoughtfully. "Why not? We'll make it work."

"Um..." Dale started to say, but he looked in Faith's eyes and decided that whatever it was either was not important or was unwise. After a pause, he pulled Faith into his arms and said "This is wonderful! I thought we would have to wait years!"

Julia had thought that the quick marriage idea would be a non-starter, but as she watched the couple hugging, she chastised herself for misjudging young love once again. Faith's statement about old life and new was also very telling. It was the best evidence yet of the dramatic change that the Tee had once again brought about in a needy woman's life.

"Daddy, we're going to finally get to see each other!" Faith bubbled, having grabbed her phone as soon as the matter was settled. "You get to give me away to Dale! We're getting married!"

When Max had recovered enough to understand and absorb what she was saying, Faith explained the whole situation. At the time, she was sitting on Dale's lap, with his arms around her. Since Julia was still right with them, no one thought anything of the violation of the normal fraternization rules.

At least one woman was close enough to hear Faith's exclamation about getting married. That was tantamount to putting the news on the little-used public address system within the complex. Within what seemed like milliseconds, every woman in the place was hurrying toward the couple.

How the news leaped from the Tee to Lindsey's was never determined. It was unfortunate that Muriel heard before Dale had the chance to tell her. However, when she came flying toward where Faith was still on the phone with Max, there was nothing but joy in her reaction.

As so often happens in rush situations, making the decision is actually the easy part. It would be a near thing to take care of all of the legalities and make the wedding official by the time that Max had to give up Faith's location. Fortunately, there were a lot of resources and influence available to them, and it appeared that everything would work out. As a backup, the Magnuson Foundation's plane was scheduled to fly the couple to Las Vegas for a quick wedding. They would be in the air when Max gave up the information, meaning that they would be married before Mercedes could possibly get to them. All that Max had to surrender was her current residence address.

Faith felt like a character in a spy movie the next morning. She was heavily disguised and riding in the back seat of an SUV with heavily darkened windows as she went to her examinations. Both she and Dale were disappointed when told that he would not accompany her, but would catch up with her later.

As soon as Faith had left, Paul brought Dale one of the Trak phones, and Max was on the line. "Dale, I sincerely hope that you won't fight me on this. Without you, I don't know what would have happened to Faith. I know that you are going to be successful, and I don't believe it will take you very long. I have set up a credit at this jeweler," and he gave Dale a the name and location. "I want you to go and pick out a nice ring set. This is a long-term loan from a grateful father-in-law."

Dale's immediate impulse was to refuse. The problem was that he could hear the sincerity in Max's voice. Also, Dale knew that just that one piece of a normal wedding would go far toward making their hurried nuptials more memorable for Faith. "Thank you so much, Max. Can I take Mom along to help me?"

Max could not hold back his sigh of relief. He knew there was another crisis coming when Dale saw the price range of rings that the jeweler had been instructed to show them, but a little behind the scenes price 'adjusting' had already taken place.

Another darkened SUV with two Plonske agents was waiting to take Dale and Muriel to the jeweler's and then to catch up with Faith.

Shopping for the rings was quite emotional for Muriel. Not just because of joy for her son, but because it reminded her of the good days in the past when such nice things were common for their family.

Dale did indeed have serious qualms about the size and quality of the rings that were shown to him. Not being knowledgeable about diamonds, he was still very suspicious of the prices quoted. Muriel, being much more knowledgeable, knew that something was amiss, but decided to ally herself with Max on the issue.

Max had found out Faith's rings size and the jeweler insisted that Dale and Muriel wait the short time it took to have the selected set sized.

Just as they were pulling up to the private clinic where Faith had her current appointment, the male agent, who was in the passenger seat, let out an angry oath. "Oh, sorry, Ma'am," he quickly apologized, "but I think we have a tail."

"Oh, no!" Dale exclaimed. "How?"

The female agent speculated "They must have had a constant tail on Mr. Charles and somehow deduced that you would show up at the jewelry store."

"More likely bought the information from a store employee," the male agent said glumly.

"I can't believe they would go to those lengths!" Dale exclaimed.

"I think," Muriel answered, "Faith's mother is not used to losing. When you have unlimited money..."

"They probably know that Faith is here, then," Dale said.

"Not necessarily," the female agent countered. "We have to make it look like one or both of you are here for attention. There is no way they could know that Faith is here. Remember, they still have no connection between any of you and Transformations."

"We can't assume that," Dale objected.

When they got into the clinic, where a full physical exam was being done on Faith, Dale made himself quite unpopular by insisting that he had to see that she was actually there and actually being examined. When he was finally shown to an examining room, the nurse cracked the door just a bit and Dale could see Faith talking to a doctor. He could also see that she was very nervous.

"You go in there and tell her that Dale and Muriel are here and that we will be with her the rest of the day," Dale said firmly. It was a tone of voice that he rarely used, and the nurse decided that there was no harm in complying.

The nurse came back to Dale and said "I'm afraid we'll have to wait to take her blood pressure. She got pretty excited at the news."

Dale called Paul because Julia was in session, and told him that they would have to abort the rest of Faith's schedule and come home.

"Dale, I'm not sure that is wise. The legals have set up this 'wall' that they think is impenetrable, and these multiple medical opinions are an important part of it."

"But they've tracked me, and they'll find Faith, too," Dale complained.

"There is no more risk of her being found if you go to the next appointment than if you come home," Paul pointed out. "Let me talk to Plonske, and we'll get you out of the that clinic and on to the next one undetected."

Dale did not like it, but he could not find a strong argument against it.

When Faith was given a blond wig, fake glasses, a leather coat, and crutches when it came time to leave the clinic, she did not think too much of it, given the 'cloak and dagger' atmosphere of the entire day. She was not even too surprised when a different vehicle, a minivan, pulled up to the door for her.

Dale and Muriel were already in the van, having left the clinic from the service entrance in a delivery truck to meet the van. The original two SUVs were standing by to block the tail if necessary. There had been some fear that more units might be called in by the pursuers. Apparently, though, there were either no more resources readily available or they did not suspect that Faith was present.

As they all drove to another clinic for another independent physical, Dale complained to Faith. "I wonder if this is all really necessary. I mean, two physicals and two psyche exams?"

"Honey, it's alright," Faith tried to soothe him. "If Julia thinks it's wise, I'm not going to argue. I know what mother is capable of. I'm glad you're here, but where did you go earlier?"

Dale hoped that she did not sense his hesitation. He covered it with a grin and the admonition "Hey, you shouldn't be too nosy. There's a big event coming up." That earned him a quick kiss and a cuddle.

Faith's mood, in particular, was much more upbeat when they arrived at the second clinic. Dale, however, felt a strange sensation in the hairs at the back of his neck. There was no obvious reason for it, but he was uneasy. By plan, one of the agents, a woman, would come into the clinic separately and pretend to be a patient waiting for care. The other agent, a man, would keep watch on the outside.

Dale waited patiently with Faith until she was called. Without alerting the assistant who escorted Faith away, he followed enough to see which room Faith was taken to. It was a large, busy place, so no one questioned his action.

When Faith was in her exam room, Dale came back and told the agent "Something doesn't feel right. I'm going to guard whichever room she is in."

The agent nodded, then pulled a whistle from her pocket and gave it to Dale. "It's old-fashioned, but effective. Keep me apprised of which room she is in so I can get there in a hurry, if needed."

Dale saw that the escorting assistant was returning and he hurried to catch her before she reached the main area. Standing right in her path, he told her "I'm am going to be right outside whatever room Faith is in. You will introduce me to anyone who is going in that room, even the doctor. If anyone else tries to get in, all hell will break loose."

"But ... but that's not..."

"That's not negotiable!" Dale snapped. "I will in no way interfere with your work. If everything goes perfectly, Faith will never know that I was nearby. If she is moved between rooms, you are to tell that woman the room number." He pointed to the agent.

"Is there some kind of a threat?" the very nervous assistant asked.

"She is in a situation where we need to be extra cautious. We are being married in two days and I will not allow anything to happen to upset her." News of the impending marriage brought about a big change in the assistant's attitude. She assured Dale that she would help him out.

The assistant was as good as her word. She even alerted Dale when Faith was brought out of the exam room for weighing and taking a blood sample. He had to scurry to keep Faith from seeing him, to avoid alarming her unnecessarily.

The doctor had just left Faith when a man dressed in what looked liked a repair service uniform approached Faith's room. Dale was between the man and the door in a flash, with a hand firmly on the man's chest.

"What's wrong with you?" the man demanded. "I need to fix an electrical problem in there."

The assistant just happened to come down the hall just then, and Dale threw her a questioning look. She shook her head hard, then hurried away. Dale hoped that she was going to get the agent. If at all possible, he did not want Faith to know that there was a problem, and blowing the whistle would give the threat away.

The man had made two moves to try to get around Dale when the unmistakable feel of a gun barrel pressed against his head froze him. The agent was very well trained. Two seconds later, she had one of the man's arms pushed sharply upwards behind his back and was leading him back toward the waiting room.

Dale stayed by the room for another twenty minutes until the assistant let him know that Faith would be coming out shortly. As Dale walked back to the waiting room with the assistant, he asked her "Do you like Jenny Ballard?"

"I love her, and Lindsey and the others, too," the woman bubbled.

"Give me your name and address, and I will see that you get tickets to her annual concert here in town? And backstage passes. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

"The others told me what happened," the woman said. "That's scary. I'm glad I could help, and thank you for the tickets."

When Dale got to the waiting room, the agent was on the phone. Getting off, she said "I'm ashamed to admit this. We did not give those people credit for being smart enough to do what we would have done. Someone apparently figured out that Faith would be visiting more than one clinic and they looked for another one similar to the first one. It's my guess that a couple of other clinics have their people hanging around."

"Wow!" Dale exclaimed. "I still can't believe it."

"We found out who your guy works for, and they are a top dollar outfit. In our experience, their ethics aren't quite as high as their prices, though. Faith's mother must be throwing them a pile of dough!