DISCLAIMER:  UC:  Undercover and its cast of characters belong to the writers, creators, NBC, yadda yadda yadda.  However, the author would like to borrow several cast members [the author promises to give them back, well, maybe not ALL of them] for a few pages!  There is absolutely NO infringement intended.  All other characters belong solely to the author.

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THE PLAY

She was many things to different people.  Today, she was a meek librarian named Samantha Crump.  It was a frumpy name, but that was okay.  She liked playing different roles, just to see how many men she could attract.  Not many people knew of her secret life.  Only a few knew her true name.  She had never spoken it aloud.  She created her own characters and played them to the hilt.  Once she had a man frothing at the mouth for her, she would strike.  She took everything from him:  money, cars, jewelry, furs, and his life.  She had been working on her next target for quite some time now.  He had no idea what his little girlfriend had in store for him.

Cedrick Clawson, better known as 'Ced,' had been dating Sammie for a while.  Ced Clawson was a popular and well-known owner of several used car dealerships.  He was a shrewd businessman and never sold lemons to any of his customers.  If he ever found out one of his employees cheated a customer, he saw to it that they never worked in the auto industry again.  He was a sucker for a pretty face, and he had a tendency to be a wild man in bed.  He was as surprised as anybody when he met and was instantly attracted to the frumpy little redhead named Sam Crump.

Ced rarely went to the library, but he desperately needed to do some photocopying.  Normally, he would have taken care of the job at his office, but he was avoiding the sweet little gal who worked for him as his Girl Friday.  She was a bit more than that, of course, and had developed an unhealthy obsession.  She followed him wherever he went and called his house at all hours of the day and night.  He didn't like that.  He was dodging the office until his second in command could fire the kook.  Since he didn't do much of his own copying, he had no idea how to operate the damn copy machine.  It was unlike any he had ever used.  He refused to ask for help.  He wasn't about to allow a copier to best him.  He stood and griped under his breath for thirty minutes or more.  Ced was about to give up on the whole deal until Sam Crump entered his life.

She was tall, lean, and had outrageously long red hair.  Her porcelain skin shined with health.  She had hidden her green eyes behind a pair of glasses.  It was a shame.  She was too pretty to be working in such a boring job.  He envisioned her sprawled naked atop the hood of a car.  Oh yeah, that would be the job for her, he thought.  When she spoke, her voice was light and airy, her pitch neither too high nor too low.  Her only flaws were her thick glasses and a front tooth that lapped over the other.  Otherwise, she was a red haired Goddess.

He stood and gazed at her lustily while she showed him the fine art of photocopying.  He couldn't take his eyes off her full lips; they were red like strawberries.  She wore not one touch of makeup on her face.  He preferred women who didn't tart it up too much.  He had the greatest desire to touch her hair [whore's hair was the term his mother used] during her tutorial.  He hated to see her leave.  When she completed her task, she started toward her place behind the information desk.  He took her by the arm and drew her back before she could make her escape.  Just like that, he asked her out, and just as Johnny-on-the-spot, she accepted his invitation.

The first night they were together, they had very hot, wicked sex.  Sammie may have looked like a prude, but once away from the stuffy library, she let it all hang out.  Gone was her timid persona.  She seemed to become someone different altogether.  Ced didn't mind.  He was into all kinds of kinky things and Sammie shared his liking to whips and chains.  She even had an affinity for S&M.  The new girl was right up his back alley.  Before long, they were seeing each other every night.  Within a month, Sammie moved in with Ced and became his willing full-time love slave.  It was a beautiful thing.

Since Sam was so good to Ced, Ced was extra good to Sam.  He gave her anything she wanted.  He set her up with a car, credit cards, a generous allowance, replaced her glasses with specially made contact lens, and made sure she never wanted for anything.  Sammie had never had it so good.  She had given Ced this horrible story about her family.  She had told Ced she was beaten, raped, and starved by her father.  She was kicked out of her house by the age of fourteen and lived on the streets most of her life.  She also confided in him that an elderly couple had taken her in and straightened out her life.  Of course, this was only a fantasy constructed to deepen her bond with Ced.  It worked like a charm.

After several months, Ced decided it was time to settle down.  He wanted to marry the little gal who fulfilled every fantasy he had ever had.  He wanted to ensure that no one else could come in and sweep away his little love machine.  Of course, Sammie was just as anxious to marry him as well.  Against the advice of his attorney, he had Sam added to his will.  He wanted to leave everything to her in the event of his death.  Ced didn't expect to die any time soon; he was healthy as a stubborn mule with the tiniest of exceptions.  He hardly thought about that 'exception.'  He was anxious to get on with his life.  Little did he know that he didn't have long to live.

Ced was a man who liked to do things up nicely and big.  He was a pure Texan at heart and went all the way.  He didn't get a church for his wedding; it wasn't good enough.  He got a cathedral.  His wife-to-be didn't have some simple frumpy little wedding gown; she got one designed by the people who made Princess Diana's.  He didn't plan a simple honeymoon trip to Hawaii or the Bahamas.  No sir.  Ced went all out and booked a cruise to take them around the world.  He was happy, in love, and oblivious.  With all the money he was tossing around, his family urged him to hire a private detective to investigate her background.  Ced was rich, oblivious, and stubborn.  He wouldn't dare hear of it.

Of course, within two weeks of the wedding date, Sam already had her plan in place.  Although her fiancé was more than dense, she was not.  She had researched Ced's background thoroughly before even approaching him.  That was just her way.  She had to have the upper hand in everything, and this time, she surely did.  Ced was a strong man, gregarious, extremely tall, and a bit on the heavy side.  Despite all that, there wasn't much that could bring him down.  He didn't have any health problems common in men his age and size.  However, there was one little problem that hardly anyone outside his family knew about.  He was deathly allergic to red wasps.  One sting and he would be a goner if he didn't shoot up with his allergy medication.  Although he had never allowed Sammie to see it, he carried around a kit that would take care of him nicely.  It didn't matter, because Sam already knew.

She had dozens of connections in the medical field.  She normally eliminated the men in her life medically if at all possible.  Once upon a time, she had been a nurse, but a few packages of stolen narcotics found in her possession had ended her career.  What she couldn't find out by asking, she discovered through seduction.  She was very good at that, too.  She had gone to the doctor Ced used complaining of migraine headaches.  While the doctor chatted her up, she mentioned seeing Ced.  At first, the doctor didn't say much.  He understood patient/doctor confidentiality.  However, Sam was pretty slick.  All she had to do was touch a man, breathe on him, or act innocent and naïve.  It worked every time.  Before long, the doctor was spilling all of Ced's medical secrets.

Sam was aware that Ced wanted to take her on a cruise immediately following their reception.  But she managed to sweet talk him into staying one night at a local hotel.  Of course, he consented to it.  He would give Sammie the moon and stars if he could reach them.

The day of the wedding dawned warm and cloudless.  Ced wouldn't have had it any other way.  There were more than four hundred wedding guests, and most of them had to crowd into the cathedral to get a seat.  Even though Ced's family didn't trust Sam, they attended anyway.  They all loved him, and didn't want to rock the boat.  Besides, he could take them out of his will.  Ced was a happy man.  Gussied up in a black tuxedo with matching cowboy hat and boots [true Texans couldn't do it any other way], he stood around beaming.  He was so ecstatic that he wanted to hug everyone, even his enemies.  He had gotten five of his closest friends to serve as attendants.  Sam didn't have anyone she knew as her bride's maids.  Most of the women were the wives of Ced's friends.  He thought nothing of it, because he knew of her disadvantaged background. 

The ceremony went off without a hitch.  Ced half expected his family to speak up during the 'objections' part of the wedding, but no one did.  He was grateful.  He didn't care what he had to do, even if it meant eloping to a sleazy Vegas chapel, he was intent on marrying his fantasy gal.  The reception was like the biggest party of the century.  Food and booze filled the room.  Just about everyone got drunk, with the exception of Sam and Ced.  Sam wanted to keep her mind clear and focused on her plan.  Ced didn't want whiskey dick to ruin his wedding night.

By three in the morning, Ced was literally aching for his little gal.  He was a gracious host, however, and didn't want to be rude.  But to his relief, the guests began drifting away little by little until they were all gone.  The two of them quickly retired to their luxury suite where all their dark fantasies awaited them.

It had been a full twenty-four hours since Ced had had Sam, and on their wedding night, it didn't take long for him to explode.  He felt like a goofy little kid, but Sam understood.  Their appetites often led them to make love three or four times a day.  And after very good, very nasty sex, it was standard for Ced to pass out.  Any average woman might have become frustrated with this behavior, but Sam was no average woman.  She didn't particularly like sex; she used it as a tool to get what she wanted.  Tonight was no exception.  She stood and gazed in disgust at Ced as he slept.  To her, he looked like a beached whale.  She couldn't stand for him to touch her, but she was a good actress.  It was time to put her plan into action.

Sammie had gotten stung about three times when she captured the wasps' nest.  She put the fuckers and their muddy looking nest in a plastic baggie and poked holes in it so they wouldn't suffocate.  Dead wasps would do her no good.  That thought was deliciously funny, and she had to stifle a laugh, even though her new hubby slept so soundly an explosion wouldn't wake him.  She carried her million-dollar baggie of wasps into the room.  She went to the window and opened it just enough to make it believable.  There was an awning over the window, and it would appear that the nest had perhaps fallen loose from it.  She was careful to hold the top of the baggie because the little fuckers could sting right through the plastic.  Slowly, she opened the baggie, holding the edges closed until she could position her body.  She stood as close to the door as she dared.  She shook the nest loose and punted it as if it were a football.  She was stung during the process, but she had learned at a young age to stifle pain.  She could hear the wasps as they left the nest.  She opened the door and stepped out as quickly as she could.           

Ced was brought out of his sound sleep by an unmistakable pain.  He didn't have time to think about it, although he knew what it was.  His throat had already begun to close up and swell.  He had to find Sam.  She had to help him get his medication.  Before he even knew what hit him, he was swarmed by a dozen or more of the little red menaces.  At that exact moment, Sam returned to the room.  The wasps were swarming crazily about, stinging anything they touched.  She had to hide a grin as she watched the awesome display.  She stood and allowed the wasps to sting her a couple of times before she lifted her head to scream bloody murder.

Chaos ensued.  Several hotel workers were stung during their battle with the wasps.  The new Mrs. Clawson was hysterical.  Emergency personnel had been summoned, and they worked desperately to save his life.  The hotel manager stood in the room peering sadly at the awning.  He wondered what could have disturbed the wasp nest enough to allow it to drop in the room.  It was particularly windy that morning, and perhaps, just perhaps, the wind was the culprit. 

When the guests heard the screaming woman, they had called the police.  Several officers and detectives entered the room and gazed down at the dead man.  His neck was swelled up like an inner tube.  Disgusted, one officer watched as a wasp crawled out of the dead man's mouth.  It flew toward him and stung him.  With a painful cry, he crushed the wasp and threw its corpse onto the floor, stomping it for good measure.  They dug around Ced's personal belongings and found an allergy kit.

The young bride was inconsolable.  She couldn't stop crying or moaning her husband's name.  "Did you know your husband was allergic to stings," an approaching detective asked.

Sam looked up at the cop while tears streaked her face.  She gazed at him incredulously.  "No," she spat in shocked tears.  "He never told me."

For now, the detective would take her answer at face value.  However, he intended to find out more about this woman.  It looked set up to him.  Of course, he was suspicious of everyone.

A few days after interviewing Ced's grieving widow and other family members, the detective decided to mark Mrs. Clawson off his list.  What it had boiled down to was that Mr. Clawson had been at the wrong place at the right time; so cliché, but so true.

Cedrick Clawson didn't do anything small in his life, so it was apt that his funeral was large and overflowing with mourners.  The family who had virtually ignored Sammie became her foundation.  They hovered over her tirelessly.  She didn't believe for one second that they were really interested in her.  She knew they were sucking up to her just as they had sucked up to Ced before his death.  Inherently, they knew she held the power now.  She liked having the upper hand, but as soon as the will was read, she was cutting them all off and leaving for parts unknown.

The reading of the will was conducted immediately following the gravesite service.  All the members of Ced's family, including Sam, were crammed into his attorney's office.  The family wasn't shocked to hear that Ced had left nearly everything to Sam.  He left enough to take care of his family, but the biggest chunk of his fortune went to his young wife.  His family vowed to contest it, but their arguments were weak.  It didn't matter to Sam, she had formulated yet another plan.

Within two weeks, Sammie had sold all of Ced's car dealerships to his competitors.  She wanted to liquidate as many of his assets as she could.  His family was horrified, but there was little they could do right away.  She sold the family home, all of Ced's cars, but she retained a beach house he owned in Florida.  Everything he owned, with the exception of that house, was sold or given away.  When Sam had accomplished every task she set out, she bought a plane ticket and left town.  It would take a couple of months to create a new identity.  She had no particular target in mind, but she was sure to find someone soon.  She never had any trouble in that department.

*  *  *

She spied her next victim as he walked briskly down a busy city street.  By that time, she had changed her identity again and had taken a different name.  She didn't have to work since Ced had been so generous to her, but she needed a job for cover.  Ironically enough, she was working in a library again, but she was no frump Crump.  The day she saw her handsome new victim, she had been having lunch and hunting at the same time.  His dark hair and broodiness intrigued her.  She wasn't sure if he was wealthy, but he carried himself with the demeanor of a very important man. 

She quickly threw some bills on the table and jogged to catch up to him.  She followed him for a long time at a safe distance.  She watched from afar as he approached a building and went inside.  She slowly approached it and stood outside for what seemed like two hours.  This game would be difficult to bring down, but she sensed she could do it.  She had succeeded at bringing down one of the most influential men in Texas history, and if she could do that, she could do anything.