The Bridge - Ch 21 Becky the Biker

The Bridge - Chapter Twenty-One - Becky the Biker

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This work is copy written by the author. All characters involved in sexual activity are eighteen years of age or older at the time of portrayal.

This work will, at times, contain instances of lesbian sex, pregnancy, interracial sex, chastity, group sex, Dominance and submission, tattoos and piercings, slavery, intrigue, action, romance and affection. There are also threats of violence and a fair amount of heroism and family love and fun.

I have put this into the Lesbian Sex category because it is where I seem to be getting the most hits. Also, that's where the sex is in this one. Your positive ratings and comments, positive or negative, are welcome and appreciated. If you have read this story from the beginning, I would like to thank you. I hope someone is enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.

Chapter 21 - Becky the Biker

The twins have become the part of my daily routine I have somehow neglected, but I'm bringing that to a screeching halt. The kids were awake and Duanee was screaming his little lungs out. Becca was in early and she was feeding Dina, but Duane required special attention. We start with the tit, and move to the bottle. It's been working so far and with any luck we will have him weaned off it in no time. Les finished her shower and morning routine and came in to help me with the twins. Both Rebecca and I were happy to have the help of this experienced, no-nonsense mom.

Once we had the twins under control, I called Les into the video conference room. I closed the windowless door and wrapped my arms around her, and gave her a major league kiss. And she kissed me back and hit it out of the park. "You give him one of those and he'll kiss your feet."

"I really just want him to kiss my pussy."

"We'll get there. As we bring him into the family, he will learn our ways. He will also come to understand that if he does not take the job of keeping his wife pleasured seriously, there's a handful of people who would take exception to that. And one or two who might wish to step in."

"Oh, my God. You're not going to kill my husband because he won't fuck me, are you?"

"No. We may have to take him to where he thinks we're gonna, but he's family. We don't kill family around here."

"Always good to know."

"Come on downstairs and have the best breakfast you've ever had."

"We'll see."

When we got downstairs, Lizzie and Holly were there with the kids. Everyone was dressed and ready for school and eating their breakfast.

"Mmmmm. What smells so good?" Les asks.

"That's Bertha's scones. No matter what kind she makes, they are always amazing. What kind today, Berth?"

"Just picked a fresh load of blueberries, so I'm making a couple of batches. I had a special request, and I figured you would want to send some home with Mrs. McKelly."

"Les, Bertha. She's Les."

"Sorry, Les. I forgot you're now part of the posse. I won't let that happen again."

"No problem, Bertha. Can I have one of your scones for breakfast?"

"You're a skinny thing. Have two. And save room for the rest of breakfast."

"The rest?"

"Yeah. I got you scheduled for the full breakfast. Gotta keep you in shape."

"Full breakfast?"

"Yeah: two eggs, two pancakes, four slices of bacon, two pieces of sausage, one serving of home fries and toast."

"And the best coffee you will ever drink." I says. "And the wheat bread is made by Bertha herself."

Les asked if she could take the scones home and just have the full breakfast.

"I'll tell you what, missy, I've already wrapped up a half dozen scones for you to take. Just have the breakfast and we'll call it even. How do you like your eggs?"

"Over easy."

She took the order and added to Lizzie's and Holly's. Becca had hers when she got here and before she took over with the twins. She didn't have to ask me what I want. She's got me on a diet, the bitch, and she is very strict with me. I have to admit, though; she got me to take twenty pounds off since the twins were born. All I was getting for breakfast was a fruit cup, a poached egg and a single piece of wheat toast. Everything Bertha fed me was carefully weighed and measured. She wouldn't even let me have a scone, but Les let me sneak a bite of hers.

Bertha and I were both, actually, on the same protocol, but I had a lot more to lose than Bertha. She only put on fifteen pounds, plus the weight of the baby, and she was on course to hit her goal weight around Christmas. I told her that if she hit her goal weight by New Years, I would give her a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus. Talk about incentive. She and Mac had started something neither had done before and started a workout program. I had someone coming to the house for anyone who wanted the coaching, and Bertha and I were right there. I had to go more slowly because of the section and all, but we started off walking and now we are up to a light jog.

Breakfast was nice, but there are two packages on the counter that look like they must contain a dozen scones each. "Bertha, is that scones in the bags, and who are they for?"

"Now you mind yourself, missy. Not everything is your business."

"Au contraire, Bertha," Lizzie says. "Everything within a five-mile radius is her business."

"Aint that the truth." Bertha says.

"Hey, stop ganging up on the fat lady. No fair."

"You ain't no fat lady, and stop calling yourself that."

"Oh yeah. Haven't you seen me waddling around lately?" And I waddled across the room like a duck. Everyone got a laugh out of that.

I went to get myself another cup of coffee and as I was at the kitchen window; I saw a car pull up. But it wasn't just any car. It was Rhee Spanner, herself. I dropped the cup on the counter and waddled out to greet her. She had someone with her.

"Rhee, I'm so happy to see you. What a great surprise. I knew we were expecting a special delivery today, but not this special. Come in, have some coffee."

"Scones," she says. "Feed me scones."

"It appears Bertha's got a bagful for you to take with."

"Makes me feel guilty for billing you. But not that guilty."

"I know how hard you work for it, Rhee."

"Hannah, this is Gonzo. He is my tech wizard. I have several technical people working for me, but there is only one Gonzo. He breaks code, hacks systems, and can take a piece of tech apart and put it back together better. Gonz is not someone I subcontract, but a core part of my organization and vital to the missions we undertake. He's the guy who hacked the CockMates. And we brought with us a brand-new CockMate Six that Gonzo has hacked."

"It's a beautiful thing." Gonzo says, "Once the thing's on, it ain't comin' off for at least ninety days unless you say so. Only you and Rhee will have the codes to open the thing."

"Excellent. Is Domingo around, Lizzie?"

"He is. I think he is watching the construction of the addition and checking the grounds."

"I need him."

"Call Domingo." Lizzie says.

"Domingo."

"Domingo, it's Lizzie. Can I break you away, Hannah needs you."

"I will be there in less than a minute." And he was.

"Domingo, I'm going to give you a terrible job. And I want to apologize for this assignment right now. It's supposed to be Ronnie and Caroline's assignment, but they are still working on a piece of the Makoo job. Take Gonzo up to my office and he will give you the full rundown on this CockMate device. You're not going to like anything about it, but it's gonna be a pain for an hour and then we can all forget I ever asked you to do it."

"You're frightening me, Miss Hannah, and I don't scare easily."

"No, it's nothing like that. You'll see. Gonzo. Go with him."

"Go ahead Gonzo, but first I'd like you to do something for me." Rhee says. "Pull down your pants and show everyone what you are wearing."

He unbuckled his belt, without hesitation, and dropped his drawers. There it was, he was wearing a CockMate, but it was the CockMate Five. The last version.

"Gonzo, tell them why you are wearing the Five."

"Because the Six Rhee is giving you was supposed to go to me. I'll just get the next one. No big deal."

"Very good, Gonzo. How long since your last orgasm?"

"Seventy-two days, ma'am."

"And when will your next one be?"

"Upon the completion of the Makoo job. I'm actually hoping we can reclaim this one at the end of the job. One less CockMate I have to hack."

"That's a very real possibility, Gonzo, because I would like to conclude this case soon, with this in my hands and Makoo's dick in someone else's. Preferably separated from the rest of him."

"Pretty cold, Hannah." Holly says.

"It's cold times, Holly."

She just looked down and nodded her head. Was she thinking about Peace Dunbar? I hope not.

Gonzo went off with Domingo, and Rhee, Lizzie, and I went to the videoconference room. Holly wanted to visit with the twins and Becca.

Rhee had a satchel that looked like a small trial bag, one to fit letter sized binders rather than the legal sized. We lit up the station with Rhee sitting at the control. "Hannah, the first thing I want to show you is the ledger. Page through it and see if you can make any sense of it while I get this drive up. I believe it contains the most vital files regarding this guy, and it also contains the connections between him and Peace Dunbar.

I looked though the ledger, and it made little sense to me, but there were things that did that will have to be explored, like addresses and phone numbers. There were no names, other than those of the victims; but there was a way which I am sure will break the code and reveal the hidden names. Gonzo would be the key. All he would need is time.

The drive was another story altogether. All the drives had been encrypted, but with the same code. Stupid bad guys. Break one and you break them all. Just like Barry and Dunbar. You could have clocked Gonzo with an egg timer by the time it took him to crack that code.

The drive we looked at first Rhee called the Red drive, because it was differentiated from the others by the color of the drive. Our, 'red' drive was grey, but contained everything their red drive contained. And one of those things is names. Some of them familiar. Some of them associated with Dunbar and some associated with George Barry. As the names appeared on the screen and we clicked on the directories it pretty much painted a picture of what the association Makoo had with these people. Guns, Drugs and Girls. And I do mean girls. And babies. Those motherfuckers.

"Hannah," Rhee says. "Is it time for Les to be wearing her big girl panties?"

"Yep. We have brought her into the fold. She may as well see why. Do you have anything in mind?"

"I do. It's vile, but ya gotta trust me. Our girl here is joining the 'A' team, so she has to know why. Down to the nitty gritty."

"Go for it," Les says. "If you got it, I can take it."

"Buckle your seatbelt, dearie."

And Rhee opened a file. It was a young girl holding up a non-drivers ID. She was totally bare.

"What's your name, slut?"

"My name is Ash Wilder, Master."

"How old are you, Ash?"

"Eighteen, Master."

"And what is it that you do, Ash?"

"I am the property of my Master."

"And what do you do for your Master?"

"Whatever he wishes. I am here only to serve him."

"Why are you here today?"

"To do a demonstration tape for my master. I am to be sold tomorrow, and he needs it to get the price up."

"Whoa." Leslie says. "My Shawny is getting close to that age. I am not seeing this. I can't."

"Wait." Said Rhee.

Ash was walked into a room that was empty but for a chain hanging from the ceiling. Two men walked her to where the chain hung. One put a collar around her neck, and the other cuffed her hands. Her right hand was drawn up in the air and linked to the chain hanging from the ceiling. Her left-hand cuff was linked to the collar around her neck and drawn tight behind her, so she had no use of her hands to defend herself. She was at the complete mercy of whoever walked into that room. And the man that did was a big, fat black guy. He wasn't handsome, nor was he built. But he appeared strong. With him, he carried a strap about three or four feet long. He swung it around and swished it in the air. Then one of the other men came up to her, put earplugs in her ears and a blindfold over her eyes. She had no idea what was coming. She couldn't hear it, but she could feel as he walked around with his heavy boots on the hardwood floor. Those boots were the only thing he wore.

After strutting around and flexing his whip, he lashed out and hit her on the buttocks. She jumped and cried out.

"Quiet," he says, and nothing more. He let his strap talk for him. And it did. She did everything in her power to escape, but she did not know what was coming or when. With all the dancing around she did, it did more to put her in harm's way than out of it. No matter how much she danced and how hard he hit her, he kept swinging and she kept screaming out. He finally stopped, and walked out of the room, leaving Ash hanging there from the chain hanging down from the ceiling. Then the screen went blank.

"Thank God that's over."

"Over?" Rhee says with a bit of snigger. "Wait. Your moral courage is about to be tested."

The screen lit up and there was Ash, in a swing hanging from the same chain hanging from the ceiling. There wasn't much to it, but her hands were up and cuffed above her and she sat in a strap around her thighs that exposed pretty much everything. And everything got used and abused. After ten minutes, we fast forwarded only to see more of the same with different participants. They took her mostly DP, to get as many cocks into her as possible. There were at least a dozen participants and it looked like some got seconds, even thirds. It was beyond awful. It was Holly all over again. But with a wrinkle. The timer on this video said that it was three hours and forty minutes long.

When all the men had departed, she lay there, cum and saliva covered, looking up at the camera.

"More, slave?"

"If you wish, Master."

"Clean her up and get her ready. Tomorrow, she goes on the block."

And the video ended. And Rhee put her hand on Leslie's arm.

"That's the last video of this gal we can find in the collection so far. But there are about eight months of prior videos that show the progression of how this poor thing was broken in and turned out. Are you willing to sit down and go through that one collection to see how it works? 'Cause there're hundreds, just locally, who have been put through this torture and we've got lots of proof here in this satchel. How it's used is up to you guys. My job is to get it to you and that's done."

"And quite superbly, I might add," I says. "So, Les. What do you think? What you just got is a light dose of what Recovery and the Hit Squad is all about. We believe prevention is the best cure. If there is an infection, you gotta cut it out. If someone is bringing the disease of slavery and violence upon others, let us be there to stop it."

"I'm so in." Les said. "I can't believe I get to take part in these kinds of missions and make the kind of difference you guys do. It's a real honor."

"Good, then. Let's go down and see what surprise Bertha has cooked up for lunch. I can already smell it."

"Me too." Les said. "Does she do that on purpose?"

"What's that?"

"Make the house smell so good all day. From the scones in the morning to whatever that delicious smelling thing is she's cooking now. And her coffee? Jesus, it's good."

We headed down, laughed all the way. That McKelly girl is a cutey."

As we were sitting down at the table, I got a call on my supercell. It was Caroline. "What's cookin' Car?"

"Just wanted to touch base. The doctor just got here, and I figured you may wish to talk to her."

"As usual, you figured right. Hang in there and let me know when it's a good time to talk to her."

"Be ready and I'll call you back as soon as I can get her to the phone."

"Excellent. I'm coming to see you guys this afternoon, but I'll hang back to talk to the doc before heading out.

"Yes, ma'am."

Lizzie, Les and I walked Rhee and Gonzo out to her car to said goodbye, scones in hand. When I asked Gonzo how his session with Domingo went, he said he was scared to death the whole time. "He's one scary looking dude, Miss T."

"But a teddy bear when he is a friend. Be thankful you are on the same team."

"Amen to that. My hands are still shaking."

"Come on Rhee, for all this guy does for you. You won't let him get his dick sucked. Just do it."

"Are you saying that as a client or as a friend?"

"I'm saying that as a loving, feeling, empathetic human being. And I feel an affection for Gonzo as I would any of my valued employees. Lizzie, do I love my employees?"

"Nobody loves their people more."

"Here, here." Les said.

"Well, your people are loyal. And it takes a special person to command the respect of individuals of the caliber you employ. Don't worry about Gonz. He knows the time is growing short. I'm ready for the caging of the other cock whenever you are. Before you get any wild hairs up your ass, though, run 'em past me."

"Always. Safe journey home, my friend. Talk to you soon."

"I'm counting on it. I'd like to take a couple of my boys to Transylvania and it ain't a cheap trip."

"Transylvania?"

"Don't ask."

"Take care, my dear. Ladies, with me." And we went in, peaked in on the twins who were peacefully sleeping, thank God, and headed back to the office and into the video conference room. I lit up the works and video called into R F S. As usual, they let me take the lead.

"Royce Field Services." A pretty brunette with one of those earpieces with the microphone that sticks out, said. "I'm Tilly, how may I help you?"

"Tilly, my name is Hannah Todd."

"Yes, Miss Todd. How can I help you, Miss Todd. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Tilly, lighten up and call off the cavalry. I just need to speak with Mr. Royce."

"I'll get him for you right away, ma'am. Please hold."

"No, Tilly. I want you to let him know I want you in his office when he takes the call."

"Y-Y-Yes m-m-m-ma'am."

Silence for a solid minute and then Duane pops up on the screen. Next to him is Tilly.

"Are you badgering my people, Hannah. You know I will not stand for it."

"Badgering? This little girl is so scared of me and I'm just me. Tilly, I'm just another chick, just like you. What am I some dragon lady? Are you married, Tilly?"

"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Kids?"

"One. A little boy. He'll be eight next month.

"Yeah, I've got four and the littlest is still on my tit. Goodness, and look at you. You don't look old enough to have an eight-year-old. And very pretty."

"Thank you, Ma'am." She was starting to lighten up just a little."

"How long have you been with Royce?"

"S-S-Six w-w-w-weeks."

"New kid on the block. How are you finding it?"

"It's been great, Miss Todd. And Mr. Royce has told me there are so many possibilities."

"Have you ever thought about being a field agent?"

"Oh no. Danger is not my beat. I like to read crime novels, but I don't want to live one."

"Well said."

"I have, however, taken courses and would like to find myself on the cyber-crimes team at some point. I've always been good with computers. That's my big goal."

Hmmmm. When our receptionists are this exceptional, I can't imagine some of the operators. Time to test the waters. "Duane, we're meeting at the Navy Yard on Tuesday. Would it be a hardship if we can bring in as many operators as possible and reserve the conference room. And give each of them three hours to attend the meeting. Let me know how many will be attending. My portion of the meeting will only take an hour. I want to look into some eyes and press some flesh. Tilly, can you help make that happen?"

She looked over at Duane, her legs undoubtedly shaking, and he nodded in the affirmative. "Yes, ma'am. I'd be honored to help."

"Excellent. You'll be there too, Tilly?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Spread the word. Refreshments will be served."

"Tilly, please leave us."

"Yes, Mrs. Royce." And she fled. It wouldn't surprise me if she hit the door and kept on going.

When the door closed behind Tilly, I directed my stare right at my lover's eyes. I gave him the look that lovers give before they kiss. "I love you, Duane. No other man has ever come close to you."

"Okay, Hannah, cut the bullshit. Why do you wanna come in here and go over my head with MY people, making me look pussywhipped? It ain't right. Don't go on some runaway power trip. It ain't gonna end pretty. You have the respect of a shitload of people. Don't go fuckin' that up."

"You're right. You're always right. Sometimes I lose perspective. Call Tilly back in and let me apologize to her and to you in front of her. It's time to be the humble Hannah."

"Mr. Royce?"

"Tilly. Miss Todd has something she wants to say to you."

"Tilly, I'm sorry I put you in a precarious position. I'm afraid I sometimes let my ego get the best of me. There was no good reason for me to put either you or Mr. Royce on the spot and for that, I am deeply sorry."

"Oh, Miss Todd, you don't have to..."

"Please, Tilly. I want you to look into my eyes. Do I look like a serious person?"

"Oh, yes, Miss Todd. Very serious."

"Tilly, I like you and I want you to be a friend to me at RFS. Go about your work life and if at some time, either business or personal, you find yourself in a place you cannot extract yourself from, call me. Duane, make sure she has my personal supercell."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

"Okay, Tilly, thanks for putting up with me."

She smiles and headed out, maybe a little more than slightly confused.

"So, when are you going to be home, MISTER Royce?"

"Shooting for earlyish if I can. Did Lizzie and McKelly leave yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to check with you first and let you know that Rhee came up here personally to drop of the ledgers and drives. Les got her first taste of a trafficker's rape porn."

"How'd she hold up?"

"Surprisingly well."

"Thanks, boss." She called out from behind me.

"Duane, I've got to go to the Bridge this afternoon."

"What's up?"

"The Gaffney girl. I've got her stashed there for now till we can get her out of town, and I'm going to need ID and a passport and whatever else it will take."

"I can handle that." Les said. "Fake IDs and passports are something that goes way back in my family."

"Oh?"

"We'll sit down and talk one day soon, and I will fill you in on all the sordid details."

"I can help with that, too." Lizzie says. "Ten years in the photography business, you meet a lot of people. Some are not exactly who they seem to be."

"Excellent. You have a nice relaxing ride to Philly and discuss. Rhee is working on the travel end and Dr. Como is trying to find us a suitable psychiatric facility. One of the one's that the rich folk go to. The Gafney girl will be treated as one of my people until she no longer is."

"Alright. Everybody, go forth on your appointed rounds. Duane, I'm looking forward to you bringing them chocolate kisses home to me."

"My lips are here for you alone, my dearest. Be careful going to Bridge House."

"I think I'm going with Domingo. Avi and Caroline are already at the Bridge, so one of them will probably come home with us."

"That would be my preference."

"Yes, my lord."

"Hannah, what am I gonna do with you?"

"I know what I want you to do with me."

"Just send Lizzie and Les down here. I'll see you at home before dinner. We'll take some time with the kids."

"The kids?"

"All the kids."

"I love you, Duane. You are my soul."

"And you are my heart, Hannah Todd. Love you."

I cut the connection and looked around and both the girls were cried. Crying.

"What the fuck's the matter with you two?"

"I love how you flirt with him. You really lay it on heavy. And the way he looks at you. Uchh."

"Uh," Lizzy says. "It's so hetero, but you two are so romantic."

"If you want results, you got to put in the work. I'm eating like a fucking bird, I'm lifting weights, light Pilates, just jogging a little, doing what I can to look like a woman my man would want to fuck."

"Is that what it takes?" Les asked.

"Not for lesbians, Lizzie said. All we do is walk up to her and ask if she wants to fuck. If she says yes, cool. If not, lots of fish in the sea."

"Yeah, but I've only got one husband. And no lesbian's got what he's got."

"Flirt girl. Let him know that there's nothing you won't do to suck his dick. Once ya got 'em by the dick, they ain't got a chance. But you gotta treat him like every woman on the block is after him. When I'm done with my man, ain't nothin' left to suck."

"I hope it doesn't upset you when I say that you are a total bad ass."

"Oh no, on the contrary, I think of all the things people have said about me I like that one best."

We secured the documents and drives, and decided to all walk out together, me with Domingo and the girls with Ronnie headed out to our destinations. As Domingo drove to the Bridge, I went to lift my arm to call Gloria when my supercell buzzed in.

"Hannah Todd."

"Miss Todd, it's Caroline. I have Dr. Como for you."

"Luiza. How are you?"

"Fine, Hannah, yourself?"

"Almost six months post-delivery, so I'm not one hundred percent, but I can still take on most contenders."

"Where are you now?"

"Domingo?"

"About twelve minutes out, Miss Todd."

"Domingo tells me twelve minutes, and he tends to be very precise. So, I hope you'll hang around and we can chat about the Gaffney girl."

"Done. There are several girls Missy has me lined up to do group with, so I'll be here a while. Maybe we can have tea when you get here."

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

I was keeping an eye on my supercell and didn't want Domingo to know I was checking his time, but wasn't he right on the button? Maybe we went fifteen seconds over. I'll take that.

Whenever I pull up the drive at Bridge House, I get hit with a wave of nostalgia. So much of my life is rooted in what was born at the Bridge. Today was no different. Once we parked, I was headed to the front office, but had to walk by the common room and Luiza was conducting a group with four girls. There was clapping and hooting and it sounded like they were having a grand old time. That's Como for you. I didn't want to disturb a group, so I went to the office and saw Mr. Schaefer and Missy, who was working hard to take his place. It was the usual great greeting. It's always wonderful to see my Missy and happy she has found a place here at the Bridge. We were worried about her for a time, but she's right on track. And Missy, being Missy, was representing with her Bridge House Alumni Sweatshirt.

Missy walked me down to the suite where they had placed Becky Gaffney. She was lightly sedated and still hooked up and taking in fluids. I walked through the chart Dr. Como and the staff nurse started and made nurses' notes of my own about the status of the patient and changes in vitals, anecdotal progress and impressions. Caroline was keeping a close eye on her and Avi was also looking for signs of life in those crazy eyes.

Despite all that, she was also attended by one of the Bridge girls, a six months pregnant Winifred Oats, who was one of those take-charge gals, like Holly was. Winnie said that the girls were taking shifts and stroking Becky's arm and hair, and making sure she was comfortable and mostly that she was not alone. I love me some Bridge girls.

While I was checking up on Becky, Dr. Como came into her room to check on her. The tiny redhead was in and out right now, but the doctor is going to wake her and see how she responds. When the doctor turned the juice down on her and let her awake the first thing out of her mouth was, "Quay!" And she said it over and over and over again. And she cried and wailed. She didn't get violent or even physical. She just fell into a deep depression.

The doctor says she has a deep-seated case of PTSD and is easily rattled. "She's been totally broken by the people she's been with for the past couple of years. For a little thing like she is, it's amazing she's even alive. I've done a full physical and her vagina looks like you could drive a train through it. Since Quay Wilkes picked her up off the street when she was young, she's been giving her little kitty quite the workout."

"Yeah, I figured that would be the case. I haven't taken a look down there. I think I'll save that for the G-Y-N."

"Definitely a wise decision. You're a nurse, and a good one. But you're not a doctor."

"I didn't see any notes from Dr. Rubin. I guess she hasn't been around today."

"No. She'll be in tomorrow. Talk to Missy. She'll make sure the doctor sees her then."

"Can I try to talk to her? Have a conversation with her?"

"Hard to say. Right now, she is in and out and up and down. I managed to find a window in there for about twenty minutes where I thought I was reaching her, but it's like something inside her keeps jumping out and grabbing it away."

"And where do we go from here?"

"Hard to tell in such a short period of time. There's another thing, Hannah."

"What's that, doc?"

"I'm having a hard time finding placements in Europe. But I found a place in Western Maryland that could be perfect. Peaceful and protected. She needs to find her place in the quiet. But first she needs the quiet. And that's what she'll get in that facility. But it's gonna cost you a pretty penny."

"It's not about the money, it's about doing what's right for this girl, and trying to make her whole. Get me the name of the facility and I will have it checked out."

"The facility is called Indian Springs Country Estate. And it's easy to miss going down the road. The surroundings are lush, but like I say, you're gonna pay for it."

"Can you make the hookup for me?"

"Consider it done."

"Thanks, Lu, that takes a lot of the heat off me. But I need to stir her up. They are going to be burying this guy soon and when she shows up, it's gonna be a big deal."

"I don't know, Hannah. She could fall off a cliff. Aren't you concerned about violence at the funeral?"

"Not even a little bit. If there's one thing I've learned about these guys, it's respect. You give it and you get it. When she shows up at that funeral, and I will do everything in my power to see that she does, the seas will part when she walks through the door and she will be led to the best seat in the house. After which her escorts only need to get her two miles and there will be a helicopter waiting for her to bring her back to us. But first we have to get her ready for it."

"What if it all goes wrong?"

"Then my chopper releases drones and heads to the fight. From where it will be waiting it will take three minutes to get up and over to where the funeral is taking place, and he can land right in the cemetery where he will be joined by a dozen of my agents. It will be ugly, but it will work."

"You folks really have this worked out. Don't you?"

"At RFS, we cover every angle. We have to."

"Good for you. Let's see our patient."

"Between a nurse, two Bridge girls and a guard, they managed to calm down little Becky Gaffney. By the time Luiza and I showed up they were helping her with lunch, but I stopped them. I gave one of the girls one of Bertha's scones and had her heat it up and butter it.

I introduced myself to Becky, then shoved the scone under her nose. She grabbed it and the thing disappeared in a minute. "Another, Becky?" She nodded her head, vigorously. So, I launched another scone, and she ate this one more slowly, savoring it.

"You like, Becky?" And she nodded her head. "It's really good," she says.

'Well, Becky, my cook makes them. We're gonna bring you up to our place, and my Bertha can cook for you. I guarantee you'll never have a finer meal anywhere."

"Really? You would..."

"Done. We are just working on the schedule. Probably Thursday. We may even have to go into overdrive. But there are some things we need to talk about."

"What kind of things?"

"Well, first of all, Quay. You know about Quay."

She said nothing, as if refusing to said it wouldn't make it true. Her eyes teared up and her nose started to run. She looked straight at me and nodded her head. That was as far as she was willing to go right now, and that would be as far as I would push her. It would have to be enough.

Rhee had somebody dedicated to the disposition of the Soul Riders' deceased, including Quay Wilkes. Maybe most especially. He was the toughest bike gang enforcer in western Pennsylvania. And when he came east, he faced little competition. Our guy would let us know what the funeral arrangements were as soon as the gang did.

"Becky, do you want to attend his funeral?"

She jumped up, as if three feet in the air, and says, "I have to. It's Quay, the love of my life. Everyone knows that, and the Soul Riders will know it when I show up."

"That's very brave of you, Becky. We're going to do everything in our power to see that you can do it safely. Please lie back down."

"I'm not brave. I'm scared to death. But I'm gonna do it."

"And I'll be right there with you, sister. Speaking of sisters. I am in the midst of my sisters. Bridge House girls are all sisters."

"You're a Bridge House girl?"

"Three kids worth."

"You must have an amazing story."

"Yeah. Well, I'm just starting to write it."