Thursday, March 9th, 2017
Chicago, Illinois
Eva had not been all that surprised to see Mindy and Saoirse shedding their United States Navy uniforms on the plane which was flying them home.
She knew that there was much to learn about her new world. She knew that it would all be very different, and she was glad that she had Ruth. They would both experience everything new, together. Ruth had spent a lot of the flight simply staring out of the windows of the executive jet while Mindy and Saoirse had slept. Michael Boone could not sleep; his head was raging with thoughts, amongst which he had yet to figure out what to say to his Dad, who was a man who disliked surprises.
The aircraft landed in Chicago and Michael picked up a rental to drive out to his home with the two girls while Mindy and Saoirse followed along in Mindy's Jaguar which Dave had left in the short stay car park, earlier that day.
South Park Avenue
Hinsdale, Chicago
"Oh my!"
Ruth was astonished as Michael pulled the rental into the driveway of his family home. Eva was just as wide-eyed. The property was simply enormous! Michael grinned at the girl's expressions as he stopped the car and he took a deep breath before pushing open the door and stepping out. Not surprisingly, his mother appeared at the front door as if by magic – she had an uncanny sixth sense telling her whenever he arrived home.
"Michael!" Martha Boone exclaimed.
The woman had seen her husband going off to sea and she had welcomed him home on numerous occasions over the man's forty-five-year naval career. Then it had been the turn of their only son. She was also sharp as a razor which had just left the factory, despite her advancing years. Her eyes instantly clocked the two young girls as they stepped out of the car, not to mention the second vehicle which had disgorged two young women.
"Let's speak inside, Mom," Michael suggested as he gave his mother a hug.
As the small posse trooped inside, retired Rear Admiral Thomas Boone stood watching from the doorway to the library. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the two younger girls gaze upwards at the two-storey grand foyer. He then looked directly at his son.
"I expect this is going to be good," the Admiral commented dryly as he turned back into the library.
..._...
Nobody said a word as the Admiral sat in his high-backed wing chair to the right of the ornately carved fireplace within which a fire crackled gently.
Martha fussed around, sitting Mindy and Saoirse down on a long couch with the two girls in between them while Michael pulled a chair around to sit beside Saoirse. Martha then sat down in a matching high-backed wing chair on the opposite side of the fire. Michael then stood up.
"Mom, Dad . . . this is Mindy Lizewski and Saoirse Hella. They flew out to the Lincoln after we happened across a vessel which had been pirated. These two girls, here, were recovered by the boarding team who retook the vessel. A friend of yours, Vice Admiral Rabb flew aboard with Mindy and Saoirse to investigate the girls' future. Those investigations discovered that this girl here, Ruth, is my goddaughter."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Martha as her hand leapt to her mouth. The Admiral simply nodded.
"I have chosen to honour my promise to Ruth's father by taking her in. I also extended the invitation to Eva to come live with me and Ruth as she has no other home."
"How old are you, Eva?" Martha asked.
"Thirteen, ma'am."
"I'm eleven," Ruth added.
"Welcome to your new home, girls," Martha Boone said happily, ignoring her husband's disapproving look.
The Admiral had commanded entire squadrons of aircraft, as well as entire ships, but in that house, Martha ruled supreme.
..._...
Mindy nodded at Michael.
"Ruth, Eva – why don't we go for a walk," Michael suggested, and he led the two girls out of the library.
Once the girls had vanished, Rear Admiral Boone turned on Mindy and Saoirse.
"Okay, what's the catch?"
Saoirse stood up.
"Sir, ma'am. I am Saoirse Hella. I am a Predator. I was trained from the age of nine to take lives in whatever manner would accomplish the mission. I am now fifteen, but I was rescued when I was fourteen. There are many more like me; most are dead, but others are still out there enduring the horrors of whatever direction their lives have taken. Ruth and Eva are the same. They have taken lives – how many, I have no idea. Are they bad children? I don't think so. Have they had a bad life? Yes, they have. They need care and love – that's from my own personal experience. They have witnessed horrors that go beyond anything I have experienced. We believe that they were being trafficked – to where, we have no idea."
"Sit down, Saoirse," Mindy said as she took over. "My name is Mindy Lizewski. I have been helping to recover as many Predators as I humanly can. I also offer support for the damaged boys and girls who are now able to enjoy as normal a life as they can. I won't lie to you – those two girls have a difficult time ahead of them. They will get angry. They will swear and curse. They will cry. They will be scared. They will wake up screaming for somebody to be close. I have known dozens of scared youngsters who were forced into a life of killing and maiming. They are highly skilled, all of them, no matter what their age. One thing most have in common is that they desire love. They will give that love back in spades. But be warned, should you have a break in, the thieves will be ripped limb from limb without a moment's conscious thought. Predators are protective to a fault and incredibly loyal to those they care about. We will be around to give you support, should you need it."
Martha Boone looked across at her husband who nodded.
"Sounds like a challenge to me," the Admiral chuckled. "I never back down from a challenge. The girls have a home here and they will be looked after."
"Thank you, sir," Mindy said.
..._...
The girls were in the garden when Martha found them.
"You have an amazing place, here, ma'am."
"Eva, isn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Call me Martha, Eva, and thank you, we love it here."
Eva blushed as Ruth came running up from the farthest point of the garden, down by the lake. The eleven-year-old was red in the face from the exertion and grinning happily. Michael followed along at a more sedate pace.
"Okay, girls," Martha directed. "Follow me, please."
The girls dutifully followed Martha back into the house, entering via the family room and passing through to the grand foyer before heading up the winding stairs to the landing above.
"Okay," she stated. "This bedroom, at the top of the stairs, is reserved for guests. The Admiral and I share the bedroom through those double doors, just there."
Martha turned right, and she walked down a long corridor with the two girls following along behind.
"I think you two girls should have these rooms," Martha decided as she opened a door to the right. "Ruth, in here, and Eva, you'll be next door on the right at the top of the backstairs. Michael is in the room just across the corridor from Eva."
The two girls stepped into their new bedrooms and looked around. Each bedroom had a double bed and a set of drawers, but not a great deal else.
"Cool!" Ruth exclaimed as she passed through a door in the corner of her new bedroom and found herself in Eva's new bedroom.
"Neat," Eva commented.
"You can decorate your rooms how you wish – within reason," Martha went on. "Do you both need clothes?"
"We only have two changes of clothes," Eva explained. "Admiral Rabb sent some sailors ashore in Gibraltar to go shopping for us, so yes, but we don't have any money."
"Let me worry about that, young lady!"
With that pronouncement, Martha left the two girls alone.
..._...
Neither girl had been alone in days and it felt good, especially as nobody was trying to kill them, rape them, or do anything else nasty to them.
Both had eaten and drunk more in the past few days than they had in the proceeding months put together. In fact, Eva was worried that she might be getting fat – actually, she was far from it; but the teenage girl, deep inside, was finally beginning to take control.
"This is awesome!" Ruth exclaimed as she lay down on her new bed which was softer than anything she had ever slept on.
"It's like a dream," Eva admitted. "I just hope I never wake up."
In fact, the two girls were so tired after everything which they had endured, including the long flight, that they both dozed off on the beds.
That afternoon...
The Admiral had been pondering his next move as far as the two girls were concerned.
Ultimately, he decided that he needed more information than he had, so he checked through a notebook which he had pulled from a locked drawer in his desk before dialling a number on his desk phone. the number rang for precisely five seconds before being answered.
"Webb."
"Webb, it's Thomas Boone."
"Admiral! How is retirement?"
"Slow."
"What can I do for you, Admiral?"
"I need to know some more about a defunct CIA abortion called Urban Predator."
"No idea what you're talking about, Admiral," Webb replied smoothly without missing a beat.
"Yes, you damn well do! My son has just returned from his latest cruise with two young girls in tow. I believe they are called Predators. They came with a young woman called Mindy Lizewski and she explained to me and Martha what they are. I understand that Rabb was aboard the carrier to sort out this mess. Does any of this ring a bell, Webb?"
Webb knew exactly what was going on, and he had spoken with Rabb just the previous week, but he was careful about how easily he released information.
"Okay, Admiral, you win," Webb sighed. "Yes, there was a heinous program called Urban Predator. Yes, those two girls with you are the results of that program. Yes, they are killers. Yes, they are known as Predators. Yes, I know all about Rabb's visit to that carrier and what followed. Admiral, I won't lie to you. That program was abhorrent in every way. You can trust Mindy Lizewski one hundred per cent – she will not lie to you. I don't envy you taking those two girls on – it will be hard work – but I know that you never turn away from a challenge, Admiral."
"Thank you for your candour, Webb."
"Anytime, Admiral."
Boone replaced the handset back onto his desk phone and leaned back in his chair for a moment, pondering everything which he had been told.
Later that evening...
Eva awoke first.
At first, she was confused, but then as she peered through an open door, she saw Ruth asleep on another bed. Then the memories came flooding back – they were both safe . . . and they had a new home. Eva took a few steps into her own personal bathroom and she washed her face. After making use of the toilet, she walked through to find Ruth just emerging from her own bathroom.
"You okay?" Eva asked.
"Yes, I am, for the first time in ages."
"Is this for real?"
"Yes, Eva, it surely is," Ruth replied.
"Girls!" a female voice called out. "Are you two hungry?"
Downstairs, Martha Boone smiled as she heard the pounding of feet converging on where she stood at the bottom of the staircase. The two girls ran down the stairs before slamming on the brakes as Admiral Boone stared up at them.
"There is to be no running in the house," the Admiral proclaimed.
"Ignore the grumpy old man, girls," Martha chuckled. "Have you both washed your hands?"
The ashamed looks she received told her otherwise.
"Bathroom is down there," Martha indicated.
The two girls grinned as they vanished from sight and Martha gave the Admiral a withering stare before she headed for the kitchen.
..._...
"Oh, wow!"
Eva was astonished by the spread laid out in the kitchen, both on the long wooden table and the kitchen counter. There seemed be some – actually, quite a lot – of every food she could think of and some she did not even recognise.
"I had no idea what you girls liked, so I thought a buffet was a good idea," Martha said. "Help yourselves!"
The two girls were overwhelmed by the spread and it was several minutes before they had stacked a plate each and then sat down at the kitchen table. The Admiral was grinning as he sat down with his own plate stacked high – he was obviously enjoying the larger-than-normal meal.
"It all looks so good!" Ruth exclaimed.
"My Mom is an amazing cook," Michael advised the two girls, making his mother colour slightly.
Eva said nothing as she crammed succulent juicy steak into her mouth, feeling like she could not be happier, before she started on the giant jacket potato on her plate. Ruth was busy tucking into a pork chop with unconcealed gusto, grinning with every bite.
Watching the two girls eat, Michael struggled to see them as the killers they were – both having slaughtered a hoard of armed men less than three weeks previously. Michael was still unsure about what he was letting himself in for, but he intended to discuss that with Cammie when he saw her in a few days' time. As for the Admiral, he watched his son interact with the two girls and was impressed by the way Michael was taking the change to his life. Becoming a parent was a giant responsibility, one which Michael was throwing everything he had into, which was very reassuring to the Admiral.
Earlier that afternoon, Admiral Boone had called a past acquaintance who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency – a Clayton Webb – and the Admiral had found out a lot more about what the two girls were and how they had become what they were. Boone had always been suspicious of the CIA, so finding out about the clandestine program called Urban Predator had not been an enormous surprise as it was most probably one of a thousand different warped ideas created over the years by those in Langley, Virginia. Webb had been apologetic about the girl's experience, but he admitted that the perpetrators had been killed by their very own creations. Poetic justice, the Admiral had thought. He was pulled from his thoughts as he was approached by Eva, the older of the two girls.
"Admiral?"
"Yes, Eva."
"Thank you for taking us both into your home. We promise to behave, and we promise not to let you down."
"A word of advice, young lady," the Admiral responded. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
"Sir?"
"You are thirteen, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Be a kid and enjoy yourself – you will misbehave, and you will make mistakes . . . that is all about being human and growing up. Don't rush to change who you are inside. No one here is going to force either of you to do anything, but I expect you to make an effort to follow the rules set down for you."
Eva grinned – it was just the response she had been seeking.
"Thank you, sir, we will."
Martha Boone had watched the exchange and she was very pleased that her husband was getting into the act.
The following morning...
Friday, March 10th
South Park Avenue
The two girls were making use of the swimming pool for the first time.
As with most of their kind, they had been a little uncertain, at first. Then, with coaxing from Michael, they had proved to him that they could both swim better than a dolphin. It was not until forty minutes of shouting, screaming, and laughing had passed, that the two girls had finally emerged at the behest of Martha to get something to drink.
"Oh, my, God!" Martha had exclaimed on seeing Eva's stomach. The teenager wore a one-piece swimming costume which showed off most of her stomach and Martha's wyes had focussed on the many cuts and fading bruises on the girl's skin, not to mention one or two older scars. "My poor girl!"
Eva felt slightly ridiculous as Martha turned her this way and that before ruth was then studied.
"You two have really been in the wars," Martha commented.
"It's in the past," Eva commented.
The Admiral had appeared after hearing his wife's exclamation and his expression had darkened considerably as he had taken in the newer and older injuries.
"I'm sorry, girls," Martha said. "I have never seen such things."
"We're not in any pain, anymore," Ruth advised. "Our bodies heal, and the scars are reminders."
"Anything you need, you ask," the Admiral ordered.
As the two girls went back into the pool after a drink of juice, he was resolutely happy that he had taken the two girls in where they would forever be safe.
Two days later...
Sunday, March 12th
South Park Avenue
The two girls had been slightly worried to find packed bags awaiting them at breakfast.
"We are going on a trip," Michael elaborated. "I want to introduce you to my fiancé. She lives in San Diego."
"Are we flying?" Ruth asked.
"A long way to walk, honey," Michael chuckled.
Eva laughed as Ruth scowled.
Two hours later...
Chicago International Airport
The jet was beautiful, Eva thought.
The silver paint made the aircraft appear sleek and powerful. Eva observed everything, right down to the registration pained on the tail-mounted engine: N345AF. The jet had just finished taxiing in from the runway and was being rapidly serviced by the groundcrew. Two girls were vanishing into the main cabin as they pulled up in the car. Neither of the two girls had the slightest idea what was awaiting them aboard the jet as they climbed out of the car and then up the steps up to the main cabin of the executive jet.
"RUTH!"
Ruth cringed as her name was bellowed by two familiar voices. The youngster was then almost crushed as she was grabbed by four arms and squished by two squealing girls. Eva grinned as she watched her friend being swamped by two girls the same age as Ruth. Eva figured that one of the two girls had to be Stephanie and the other was probably Yvette – Ruth had explained about both girls in great detail during their trip across the Atlantic Ocean on the aircraft carrier.
"I think you might be squashing her," Eva pointed out. "I also think she needs to breathe, too."
"Oh, sorry," the taller girl with blonde hair commented as she released Ruth and stepped back. "Hi, Eva, I'm Stephanie Lizewski.
"I'm Yvette," the other girl with black hair commented.
Ruth was grinning from ear to ear and tears were running down her face. Eva noticed that Stephanie and Yvette were the same. As Eva looked beyond the girls, she saw another girl and a boy...
"Owen," she said.
"Hi, Eva," Owen grinned.
"You know each other?" the girl asked. "I'm Abigail, by the way."
"Yes," Eva growled. "Me and Owen are well acquainted."
Owen simply grinned.
..._...
Once everyone had calmed down, they took their seats and the aircraft took off, turning southwest towards the west coast, fifteen-hundred nautical miles away.
Eva had never seen Ruth happier and she left her friend chatting away with Stephanie and Yvette towards the rear of the aircraft. Eva sat with Michael, Abigail, and Owen. Abigail and Michael were listening to Owen tell stories about Eva's time in Toulouse – embarrassing stories!
"I was not naked!" Eva tried.
"Yes, you were. You were naked and letting the boys get a good look," Owen persisted with a grin. "And enjoying it."
"Okay, I was enjoying myself," Eva admitted, somewhat reluctantly.
"Eva was a little ahead of same of the other girls in the, err equipment department," Owen reported as Eva blushed furiously.
Abigail laughed and Michael chuckled. Further forward, Yvette was busy informing Ruth about all the shit Stephanie had been getting involved in. Ruth gave her friend a withering look.
"What is it with you?" she asked.
"Shit just finds me," Stephanie replied wretchedly.
"Fucking shit excuse, if you ask me!" Ruth commented.
"Tell me about it," Yvette responded. "Girl can't wipe her own fucking snatch after taking a damn piss without getting into a life-threatening situation."
"Am I really that bad?" Stephanie asked resignedly.
"Oh, yeah!" Abigail chimed in. "She fucks up my life almost as much as she fucks up her own."
"Thank you, Abigail," Stephanie responded sarcastically. "I wish I'd cracked your backside so much harder back in that forest."
"You two into BDSM?" Ruth queried.
"What!?" Abigail exploded as Yvette burst out laughing.
"No – you remember when I . . . oh, never mind," Stephanie growled as her three friends all laughed till they could laugh no more. "Funny cunts!"
Michael observed everything and was amazed that there could be more children like the two girls he had taken in. He also observed how they all interacted. They might crudely rib one another, but Michael could tell that there was a chemistry between every one of them which was like a bond. Abigail had already explained how she and Stephanie had once been bitter enemies trying to kill one another, but that they were now firm friends, although Michael sensed that Abigail thought more of Stephanie than she was actually letting on.
Michael then went back to considering how he was going to explain Ruth and then Eva to Cammie.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
San Diego, California
Captain Cameron Gale, United States Marine Corps, was twenty-eight and she had been a United States Marine for five years, and a pilot for three of those years.
She had met her perfect man, just over two years previously, but their military careers routinely sent them to opposite sides of the globe. However, just for once, they were going to be together in the same part of the world, and apparently, he had something to tell her . . . and show her. So, after a shower and a change from her flight suit, she dressed and headed outside. There, she climbed into her pride and joy, her bright-red 2015 Chevrolet Corvette.
The car would power her up I-5 towards Los Angeles in a trip which was expected to take about an hour and a half.
That afternoon...
Los Angeles International Airport
The Gulfstream G650 shutdown its twin engines and the airstair was lowered by Amy.
Waiting on the tarmac were three vehicles and three women. Stephanie and Abigail easily recognised two of the women: Chrissy and Sky, and they led their group over to them, first. Owen groaned when he saw the twins. Though it was his second trip across the Atlantic Ocean in as many months, he had yet to meet those two demons from his past. The same applied to Eva and she scowled as she saw them smiling happily. Chrissy moved first, approaching Eva.
"Hello, Eva. I hope you can forgive..."
"Can it, Chrissy," Eva replied a little coldly. "The past is the past."
"Let's just look to the future, shall we?" Owen added.
"Thank you," Sky said to them both.
"It's nice not to have someone try to murder you the very first time they lay eyes on you, isn't it?" Stephanie quipped and Sky nodded. "Guys," Stephanie went on, "this is Ruth, a good friend from the past."
"Translate that as being another long-suffering Psyche protector," Yvette grinned.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "This is Michael Boone. He is Ruth's Godfather and Eva's guardian. Michael, please meet Chrissy and Sky Abbott. Yes, they are Predators."
"Hello," Michael said. "Ruth, Eva. I want you both to be with your friends while I talk to Cammie. Okay?"
"Yes," Ruth replied.
"No problem," Eva added. "Is that her?"
"Yes," Michael replied as Cammie walked over from her Corvette.
"Mike – she is hot!" Ruth commented much to Michael's annoyance and Cammie's pleasure.
"Cammie, the loudmouth is Ruth and the polite young lady is Eva," Michael introduced. "Let us both go and talk. See you later girls."
Cammie was a little confused as she watched the two girls run off with their friends.
Cammie & Mike
"Where are we going?" Cammie asked as she drove out of the airport.
"Marina del Rey, just off Lincoln Boulevard," Mike replied.
They chatted about Cammie's life for the next twenty minutes before they arrived at the large marina and they pulled up in Burton Chace Park. Cammie parked her Corvette and they both climbed out. As they strolled through the park, they talked.
"So, what's with the two girls?"
"You remember Tom Peters?" Mike began.
"Yes, I do – it was a great loss."
"You remember I was godfather to his daughter...?"
Cammie's mind reeled for a moment as she rapidly pieced together all the small bits of information and she came up with one result.
"One of those girls...?"
"Ruth – the youngest girl. She's eleven-years-old and she moved into my father's house, just this week."
"You're taking on an eleven-year-old!?"
"Yes..."
"There's more!?"
"Eva – the older girl; she's thirteen."
"Mike!"
"That's why I needed to come and see you – to explain about the girls."
"Why do I think there's more to those girls than you are letting on." Cammie responded.
Her mind was reeling, yet again, as she processed the information. She kind of understood Mike living up to his responsibilities of being a godfather, but taking on the other girl?
"What next?" Cammie asked as they walked back to the car.
"I need you to meet with someone," Mike responded, somewhat cryptically.
..._...
Ten minutes later, Cammie pulled up outside a houseboat, on the opposite side of Basin H.
"What is this?" Cammie asked as Mike guided her towards the gangway aboard.
"Not sure," Mike responded truthfully. "I was told to come here to meet someone who would help brief you on the two girls."
"Brief me?" Cammie queried with a chuckle. "What are they, for goodness sake? Pint-sized assassins?"
Mike said nothing as they headed aboard the houseboat. As he reached out to open the door, it flew open and they were both met by a woman, no more than four-and-a-half feet in height and who was grinning broadly.
"Miss Lange?" Mike ventured.
"Henrietta, but please call me Hetty, Captain, Lieutenant."
"What is this place," Cammie asked as they were waved inside the houseboat.
"NCIS," Hetty responded as they entered a large space with various boating paraphernalia scattered about. "This is Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, and she has something to speak with you about, Captain Gale."
Cammie smiled as a woman, wearing the uniform of a US Marine colonel, stood up and smiled.
"I figured that you might prefer to hear the truth from a fellow marine, Captain. Please sit down and I will let you know all about the world of the Predator."
"What is a predator?" Cammie asked as she sat down.
Colonel Mackenzie spoke with Cammie for a solid hour and by the end of that time, Cammie was totally speechless, which was a state that Mike had never seen his fiancé in before.
"Those two young girls," Cammie finally managed. "They are like those you described?"
"Inside, yes," Mike admitted. "Outside, they are both loving girls. They endured hell before they were rescued but they now have a home."
"So, you're saying that they're now well behaved?"
"They've been perfect little angels," Mike grinned.
Several miles away...
Montana Avenue, Santa Monica
The Predators
Not surprisingly, those 'little angels' were in trouble.
The Los Angeles Police Department cruiser had disgorged two officers, both of whom had taken one solitary look at the smashed store window and then another look at the three girls, one of whom held a large rock, before coming to a swift, if wrong, decision.
"Stop right there!"
"I think we fucked up," Ruth commented dryly as she turned to run.
"Ya think!" Eva groaned as she raced after Ruth and Stephanie down an alleyway.
Electra and Abigail were waiting for the three girls to catch up, wondering where they had gone.
"What did you do?" Electra demanded.
"You know that wrong-place-wrong-time thing I suffer from?" Stephanie said as she came running out of the alleyway.
"Yeah?"
"I think we might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time – RUN!" Stephanie shouted as she shoved Electra ahead of her.
The group of five girls swiftly caught up with the rest of the party. Owen and Yvette frowned as Stephanie and Electra sprinted past them, closely followed by Abigail, Eva, and Ruth. Yvette was very astute, and she quickly figured that there was something wrong.
"Stephanie?" Yvette asked Electra.
"Do you really need to ask?" Electra growled as she raced past the twins who were busy talking together.
"What's going on?" Sky asked.
"Police. Window. Trouble." Stephanie commented somewhat cryptically as she bolted past.
"What police?" Chrissy asked.
"Stop!" a police officer shouted.
"Oh!" Sky exclaimed as she and Chrissy stood back out of the way while the police officers chased their friends on foot.
"Never a dull moment when Steph's in town," Chrissy commented dryly.
..._...
The girls and the boy ran for quite a distance with three police officers close behind before Owen suddenly groaned.
"Why the fuck are we running?" he demanded as he looked over at Electra.
"Good point, Owen!" Yvette grinned as she stopped dead, leaving Eva, Ruth, and Stephanie to their fate.
Yvette was joined by Owen and Electra and they watched the fleeing girls as they raced towards the California Incline, racing across the pedestrian bridges and over towards the beach. All three grinned as they watched the inevitable occur and the police officers ran down their perps. Electra laughed gleefully as Stephanie was grabbed and shoved into the sand on the beach. The same fates met Eva and Ruth, both of whom struggled for a moment before cooperating as Stephanie was hauled to her feet, her wrists cuffed behind her back.
"I think we need to make a phone call," Yvette commented as Eva, Stephanie, and Ruth were pushed into the back of an LAPD police cruiser.
Electra was still grinning as she thought it all very funny.
Two hours later...
Santa Monica Police Department
Stephanie was very annoyed.
It was not the wrongful arrest or the interrogation or the humiliation of being handcuffed. It was the grinning bitched sitting across from her. Electra was enjoying every moment of Stephanie's humiliation, as was Abigail. Finally, came the ignominy of the adults arriving to face the three miscreants. Stephanie winced as she saw the look on Erika's face, and Stephanie knew that she was in for it. As for Eva and Ruth, they both felt intense shame for the first time in years as Mike and Cammie entered the room.
"Perfect little angels, you said!" Cammie grinned.
"They're girls," Mike responded smoothly. "Girls cause trouble!"
Cammie laughed as Eva and Ruth looked at each other and shrugged.
"A case of mistaken identity," Erika advised everyone. "The LAPD have found those responsible – let's go!"
"Hey!" Stephanie exclaimed as Electra took a sly photo with her mobile phone of Stephanie in handcuffs.
"Just for future reference," Electra grinned.
Eva and Ruth were horrified as Cammie did the very same with her own phone.