Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:24:47 -0400 From: numlfl C Subject: Lara's Story This story is the property of the author. You may keep a copy on your computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author. Lara's Story By Chris Gena sat in her patrol car about halfway down the mountain at the side of the four lane highway hidden yet not completely hidden from the speeders that she was hoping to get to slow down when they saw her patrol car. She had her laptop between her and the steering wheel trying to catch up on her paperwork. She had been with the Sheriff's Department for a little over ten years now. She had always wanted to be a cop and as soon as she got out of high school, she went to the local community college which had a great law enforcement department. She got her associate's degree and applied to the sheriff's department in the small rural county that she had grown up at the orphanage that served several of the surrounding counties. The sheriff at the time didn't believe in women serving as deputies but then he was being pressured to hire one and so Gena got the job. She, of course, got all the shit details until the old foggy of a sheriff finally was forced to retire, two years after Gena got hired, and most of the other deputies who were also getting old retired with him. So there was a new sheriff was elected and now Gena was treated like the rest of the deputies, no better or no worse. She was finally was able to prove just what a good deputy that she could be and was. So when the dayshift sergeant retired a couple of years later, she had earned and had gotten the job. The other deputies on her shift respected her because she had earned their respect. She was always there when they needed a backup and now when one of them needed a shift off, she would fill in so that no area was uncovered. So that was why she was out in her patrol car trying to do two jobs at the same time. The morning rush hour was over, not that they had much of a rush hour however this was the main highway in the county and it did have a lot of cars and trucks passing through going north to where the road split going into two different states or south to the interstate. It was now midmorning and Gena had just shut down her laptop having completed the paperwork that she had to get done that morning, the rest could wait until she completed her shift. This meant that it was going to be a long day but she didn't mind too much. The overtime would help her paycheck and since she worked in a small county, getting extra pay was very important. She was just getting ready to check in with the other two deputies on patrol when a white Cadillac Escalade went past her, speeding down the mountain, her radar went off and she saw that it was doing ninety, way over the posted fifty-five speed limit. Driving that fast was beyond speeding, it was bordering of suicide as the road may have been a four lane road and in good condition, however this section of the highway had lots of curves some of them being sharp. Gena turned on her lights and called in the speeder as she hit the gas wanting to catch up with the fool that was driving this recklessly before they killed someone or themselves. She had a big engine in her patrol car so it didn't take long to get up to speed but she figured that it would take a few miles to catch up with the Escalade. There was no one else on the road so she quickly got up to a hundred not feeling too comfortable going that fast herself. She got to the bottom of the mountain where there was a short straight stretch and she saw the white SUV just topping the next rise before disappearing over it. The road got very curvy once over the rise and she was afraid that the SUV would wreck before she could catch up with it. She was also afraid that this would turn into a chase but as she topped the rise, she saw that the SUV was stopped at the side of the road just ahead. Gena had to hit her breaks hard just to slow down in time and not pass the SUV up. However she did manage to do so, pulling in behind the White Escalade. Gena looked from her car into the Escalade expecting to see either a young man out in his daddy's car or possibly a business man late for a meeting. She didn't think it was a car thief since the vehicle pulled over as soon as the driver realized that they had been caught. However she was surprised to see what appeared to be a young woman who was staring back into the rearview window studying her as she was studying her. Gena kept her eye on the girl as she called in the plates. Normally people that she stopped either appeared nervous or pissed that they had gotten caught and was about to get a ticket. She found that the plates were good and belonged to a Ruby Benson. Gena sat there a moment more waiting for the young woman to look away but she didn't. This seemed strange to Gena and it made her natural instincts go on alert. Something was wrong with the way the girl was acting, she didn't think that the girl was dangerous but she wasn't going to take a chance so as she got out of her car, she unsnapped the band holding her gun in place. As she went up to the driver's door, she noticed that again that the girl was studying her now through the side view mirror and also that she hadn't bothered to roll her window down. Even though the girl had been watching her, when Gena pecked on the window, the girl jumped. But she didn't roll her window down for some reason. "Please roll your window down madam." Gena said feeling a bit funny calling someone who was younger than she was that. The girl almost appeared confused as she hesitated for a moment then she seemed to struggle to find the correct button to get the window to roll down. This made Gena think that maybe the girl was high on something. However when the girl looked at her, her pupils was normal size but that didn't rule out drug use. "I need to see your driver's license and proof of insurance." Gena told the girl as she tried to see if she could smell anything coming from the vehicle. "Yes ma'am," the girl said however instead of reaching for her purse, she looked up at Gena who felt like the girl was trying to look into her soul to see what was inside of her and this made Gena a bit uncomfortable. They both just looked at each other for a long moment before the girl seemed to make some type of decision. This worried Gena and she let her hand drop to her gun as the girl reached for her purse. Gena had every sense on alert as the girl reached into her purse however all she pulled out was her pocketbook. The girl opened one of the pockets and she turned the pocketbook so that Gena could see inside of it which was a bit strange in itself. The girl then let her fingers run across several driver licenses as if she was looking for the right one. At first Gena thought that they may have been old driver licenses that the girl had failed to throw out as she got older and she went from a restricted license to a full license. But something wasn't right in what Gena was seeing and it took a second before Gena realized that these licenses were from different states. She could only see a small portion of each card but with her experience of stopping people for years, she knew what some of the surrounding states drivers licenses looked like. The girl got to the last one, picking it out and then she looked up at Gena. She gave this surprised and fearful look came onto her face as she quickly shut the pocket on the pocketbook but something told Gena that the girl wasn't as scared that she had screwed up as she appeared to be. "Here you go officer," she said. Gena took the license waiting for the girl to say something about her being sorry for going so fast or even asking why she had been pulled over but she didn't say either of these things. Gena knew something weird was going on here but she didn't know what it was. After looking over the driver's license, which was a in-state license and appeared to be legit; Gena was left to ask the obvious questions that she had asked a million times before, "So why were you going so fast? Is there some emergency Miss Benson?" "No... there was no emergency officer." She said and then she paused as she said, "I don't know why I had to go so fast." Then she had a sort of sad expression come over her face. This, Gena believed, as the girl seemed to be confused as to what she was doing or why she was doing it. "Please stay right here." Gena said to her as she took the license and the insurance card with her back to her car. She kept an eye on the girl as she got back in her car and called in to see if there were any outstanding warrants on the girl and also to call in for a back up. She also requested that the DA call her as the licenses that the girl had was bothering her. Also as she walked back to her car she had looked into the back of the Escalade and she could tell that the side panels had been modified. This was something that she normally would not have noticed but she had seen one at a police auction and while it was still out of her price range, she did crawl around in it just to say that at least she had sat in one. All these things told her that there was something strange about this girl and her car. As she sat there waiting for her back up and also for the call from the DA, she watched the girl who was no longer staring at her through the real view window but was just sitting in her car staring straight ahead. All this behavior was just not right and Gena was determined to find out why. By now most people would want her to just hurry up and write them a ticket so that they could get on with their day but this girl seemed to be content to just sit there. Gena did get lucky and the DA was free to call her back in just a minute or so. She told him about the several driver's licenses that the girl appeared to have and also how the car appeared to have been altered. He thought about it for a few minutes as he asked her some questions wanting to make sure that he covered all the bases. That way if there something illegal going on the search would hold up in court and also if there was nothing wrong, they wouldn't get sued for an illegal search. He finally gave his okay, however he wanted to have the only drug dog that the department had take a sniff of the car first. Gena had already counted on this and that was the back-up that she had requested. Once she got off the phone, she got out of her patrol car, approaching the girl's vehicle. She watched the girl who seemed to be just staring at the dashboard. She didn't look up until Gena got to the driver's window. Gena watched her carefully as the girl slowly turned her head toward her. For just an instant, Gena saw a look on the girl's face that she had seen a few times over the years, the look of that of a victim that was begging for her to help them get out of the situation that they had found themselves in. However this look of desperation was quickly replaced by that blank stare that Gena saw when she had first came up to her. "Miss Benson, I need for you to step out of your vehicle and come to the back of the vehicle." Gena said stepping back. "Yes, officer," Miss Benson said. Then she picked up her purse and started to get out of the vehicle. Normally Gena would have the driver leave her things in the vehicle but Gena didn't think that there was anything in the girl's purse that would harm her and she was very interested in what was in that purse. About the time that they got to the back of the car, Gena's back up pulled in front of Miss Benson's car. Deputy Walt Kimper got out and his dog Ralph jumped out behind of him. Walt nodded at Gena before putting Ralph to work. Gena watched carefully while Miss Benson looked on barely showing an interest, at least her face showed little interest however her eyes were following the dog's every move. Ralph was one of the best drug dogs in the state and Gena knew that they were lucky to have a drug dog much less one so well trained and good at his job. The dog began to sniff at the sides of the Escalade, he didn't light on anything but he did begin to act funny. Gena looked at Walt who could only shrug his shoulders. When Ralph got to the rear tires he started to try to pee on it as if marking his territory. This was something that he was trained not to do and had never tried to do before. Deputy Kemper had to get Ralph back on track. The dog began to work again but still he was acting funny as he went around the car. Gena could tell that Walt didn't know what was going on with Ralph. Walt opened all the doors before letting the dog jump into the Escalade and he went from the front seats to the back and then to the rear. Again he was acting strange but still he didn't indicate that there were any drugs in the vehicle however something was up. Walt put Ralph back into his patrol car before meeting Gena on the side of the Escalade. "Well what do you think?" Gena asked. "I don't know, something is weird about this car. I can't say that there are drugs in the car but I can't say that there isn't. I've never seen Ralph act this way." Walt told her with some hesitation in his voice, as he was telling his supervisor that he didn't know something that he felt that he should have known. "Its fine Walt, I think there is something going on here too, the girl is acting funny. Let me see if she will let us search the car." Gena told him. "She'll never agree." Walt said confidently. "I don't know, I got this gut feeling about this girl." Gena told him. "I'll bet you lunch at Ruby's that she won't." Walt said with a confident smile. "You're on and just to let you know, I'm hungry as hell so it's going to cost you." Gena told him. Walt laughed before saying, "So am I and it'll be you the one treating. And I'll be able to tell everyone that I got treated to lunch by our penny pinching boss." "Hey my penny pinching got us Ralph." Gena quipped back. "He didn't do so well today." Walt said sadly. "Maybe he did better than you think, he told us that something's not right here which confirmed what I felt." Gena told him as she headed back toward Miss Benson who still had that vacant stare but her eyes were anything but vacant. Gena first checked to make sure that the video camera and sound was working in her car, another thing that her penny pinching and pressing the federal government for a grant got them, before she addressed Miss Benson. "Miss Benson, we would like to search your vehicle, would you give us permission to do so?" Gena asked of the girl, letting the girl think that maybe the dog had found something when he didn't. Gena watched Miss Benson as she seemed to go over this, she seemed to want to say no but then Gena saw her shoulders sag as she replied with, "Sure." Gena had to admit that she was both surprised and not surprised by the girl's answer. "Okay, stay here for a moment." Gena went to Walt, "She gave her okay, pay attention to the inside back side panels, there's something strange there." "Yes ma'am," Walt said all business with no mention of the lunch he would have to buy her. Now things turned serious and they had to do things and do them by the book. Gena came back to Miss Benson, "I would like to have a look at your purse." Gena told her. Miss Benson hesitated for only a moment before her shoulders seemed to sag a bit further then she handed her purse over to Gena who kept an eye on her as she opened it. Gena first looked for a weapon, not that she expected there to be one there, and there wasn't one. She then put the purse on the hood of her patrol car, taking the pocket book out. She rummaged through the first pocket finding several hundreds and twenties, more than most people would carry and definitely not a young woman. She saved the pocket with the driver licenses for last. Once she opened it, she saw several receipts from hotels from Florida up and into her state. She then pulled out five licenses, all of which were current, and each had Miss Benson's picture on them, however they each had a different name. Each license had her age different ranging from eighteen to twenty one. "Why do you have so many licenses?" Gena asked. The girl just looked at her but she didn't say anything. And before Gena could ask her again, Walt called out to her. She told Miss Benson not to move before taking the licenses with her going to the back of the Escalade where Walt was inside with the right side panel off. There Gena saw that it was packed with small bottles and packages. Walt had a couple of the packages opened with one containing what appeared to be pure meth and the other hundreds of pain pills in their original package from the manufacturer. "These can't be all for her." Walt stated the obvious as he pointed to the pills. "Nope," Gena said almost sad to see a pretty young girl like this involved with drug trafficking. Gena came back to where Miss Benson was standing, still having that blank stare yet her eyes had that victim's look of desperation. "Please turn around and put your hands on the hood with your legs spread." Gena told her forcefully. Once Miss Benson got in place, Gena patted her down as she read her rights to her. "Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?" Gena asked as she put the cuffs on the girl as gently as she could. "Yes," Miss Benson replied softly and she said nothing more. Gena helped her off the hood of the car and walked her to the back of her patrol car, helping her inside. She figured to see the girl crying or something but she just had that vacant look on her face as if she was resigned to her fate. Gena went up to where Walt was taking down the panel from the other side of the back of the Escalade, which revealed another stash of drugs. "What do you think?" Gena asked. "I think we're way over our heads, this isn't some junkie going down to Florida to get some pain pills to take and sell." Walt told her. "Yea I know. The DEA let out an alert a while back about a new distributor somewhere in the region, I think we just got them their first lead." Gena told him. "You had better call the Sheriff and let him get a hold of them." Walt told her. "No shit," Gena said as she took out her cell phone to make the call. She talked to him for only a few moments then she had to talk to the DA who told her to stop what they were doing until they could get there. Gena had Walt get out and they talked as they waited for the sheriff and DA to arrive. Gena kept her eye on Miss Benson who just kept staring straight ahead, not crying or moving, just staring ahead. Something wasn't right with this girl and it wasn't because she didn't understand what was happening to her. Gena could see that this girl was intelligent, but something else was wrong. It didn't take too long for the sheriff and DA to get there even though the county seat was about thirty miles from where Gena had pulled the girl over. Gena and Walt showed them what they had found so far and they all knew that as the Escalade was taken apart, there would be lots more illegal drugs found, probably millions of dollars worth as this was a large vehicle and thus had lots of places to hide the drugs. The few pills and meth that they had found was worth big dollars on the street. The DA and Sheriff told Gena that the DEA was already on the way and they would get the first crack at talking to the girl. Gena was instructed to take the girl to the station and wait with her until the DEA agents showed up. Gena got in her car starting it up and looking out for a clearing before pulling out. She went a short distance before finding a place to turn around and heading for the station. The girl didn't say anything, instead choosing to stare ahead. Gena was about halfway to the station when she heard Miss Benson say very calmly, "My father is going to kill me." "What?" Gena had to ask. Miss Benson looked up at her as Gena looked in the rearview mirror, "I said that my father will kill me." And she said it in a tone that meant that she was serious. "I'm sure that he will be pissed at you, what you have done was very wrong, but I don't think he will kill you." Gena told her. "You don't understand..." Miss Benson said looking at her with those eyes that seemed to be pleading for her help. "Well..." Gena said but then she saw that the girl was back to just staring straight ahead. So she knew that she had lost the girl's attention. When they got to the station, Gena helped Miss Benson out of the back of the patrol car. Miss Benson didn't say anything, just walking with her and staring ahead, not looking down as most people in handcuffs do as they are lead into the station. Gena brought her over to her desk and began to fill out the paperwork using the license that she had given her even though she figured that they would find out later that is wasn't her real name. Miss Benson didn't say a word as she just kept staring straight ahead not paying attention to what was going on around her or seeming to care what was happening to her. It took her about forty-five minutes to get all the paperwork done and then get her fingerprinted and her picture taken. "Do you need to use the restroom?" Gena asked as she stood up and before she was going to take the girl to their interrogation room. Miss Benson gave her a grateful look as she said, "Yes please." Gena started to take her to the restroom that they used for the people that they were booking but she decided to be nice, taking her to the women's rest room that she and the other women that worked there used. Since she was one of the four women that did work there, she felt like Miss Benson would have some privacy even though she would have to go in with her. "I going to take your cuffs off, I'm trusting you not to make me regret that decision." Gena told her sternly hoping that being a little nice would soften the girl up a bit. Miss Benson gave her a grateful look as she turned around so that Gena could undo her cuffs. Once they were undone, Miss Benson turned back around giving Gena another grateful look as she went to the center stall. Gena didn't even have to tell her to leave the door open as Miss Benson seemed to know that Gena wouldn't and couldn't allow that. She pulled her jeans and panties down with Gena trying not to stare at her but looking at her face. However she couldn't help to notice that Miss Benson didn't trim her black pussy hair and that she had a nice flair to her hips. Miss Benson sat down and immediately began to pee and she continued to do so for an extended period of time. Gena knew then that the poor girl had to be about to burst. Why the girl didn't say anything confused Gena and just added to the things that made Gena wonder just what was up with this girl. When she finally finished and had wiped her pussy clean, she got up going to the sink. As she was washing her hands, she looked at Gena through the mirror and saying as a matter of fact, "My father will kill me." Gena studied Miss Benson's face closely as she had said that and this time; it began to dawn on her that the girl was serious. She really believed that her father would kill her. In the back of her mind there was that thought that maybe the reason the girl's eyes told her that she was a victim was right. With the way that the girl said that her father would kill her convinced her of this fact. She knew that part of her thinking was coming from a woman's intuition but it was also coming from ten years of police work. "No one is going to kill you." Gena told her not knowing why she was making such a promise but had to make it all the same. Miss Benson tried to give her a grateful smile but Gena could see that Miss Benson didn't believe her in the least. She just turned around allowing Gena to put the cuffs back on her wrists. Gena then led her to the interrogation room where she took off her cuffs before having her seat in the proverbial hot seat. She then asked her if she wanted anything to drink with Miss Benson requesting a Mountain Dew, to which Gena had to smile at that request as that was a very popular drink around that area. Gena went and got one from the machine. When she brought it back, Miss Benson took a long drink thus indicating how thirsty she was and also showed that that Miss Benson could control her thirst as well as the need to pee. Gena went on out of the room going to the room in which she could observe Miss Benson who did not look around but just stared at the mirror in front of her not even taking another sip of her Mountain Dew. Gena got out her laptop and wrote up the arrest and everything that she did at the scene as she kept an eye on Miss Benson who just sat in the chair in that lonely room, a room where you have no friends. The time slowly ticked by until she heard some noise outside of the room and then the door in which she was in opened. In walked the DA, the Sherriff, and two young men in suits who were obviously the DEA agents as they had that better than anyone air about them. Kurt, the DA, introduced the men as Agent Walter Simpson and Agent Harold Stone. The men shook her hand very quickly as if they were afraid that they would catch something horrible from her. The agents let it be known that this was now their case and the rest of them would not be needed. This ruffled Gena's feathers and she could see that both the Sherriff and Kurt were very put off and an argument ensued with no one really coming out ahead. However the Agents stated that they would win in the end with the amount of drugs found in the car and was still being found. As the car was now in the impound lot and was being carefully being taken apart with the whole thing being filmed and cataloged. In the end Kurt agreed to let the agents have a crack at the girl but he was going to be in the room too. This started another argument but in the end, the agents relented. Gena knew that her job was done at this point but she felt a need to stay and watch a little of the questioning. The agents with Kurt following them left the room and a moment later Gena saw through the mirror them entering the room. Gena saw that Miss Benson did look over at the men entering and then she turned her head back straight and Gena could see that vacant stare come over her eyes only this time, it was like the vacant stare seemed to reach down into the soul of the girl. Gena knew right then that the agents weren't going to get anything from Miss Benson. Agent Simpson sat directly across from Miss Benson so that she was staring straight at him but Gena just knew that she wasn't seeing him. Agent Stone sat to her right with Kurt, the DA, standing in the back of the room. "Do you want a lawyer?" Gena heard Kurt ask the girl and she did respond to him with a "No." Gena didn't think this was such a good idea but it was Miss Benson's decision to make and not hers. "Miss Ruby Benson, or shall we call you, Judy Johnson, Jeannie Genson, Betty Robinson, or Robin Reddy; we found each of these valid licenses on your person, which is the correct one or do you have yet another name?" He waited for an answer but none was forthcoming from Miss Ruby Benson. "Well if you aren't going to answer that one then can you tell us why you have all those drugs in your car?" But again no answer was forthcoming from the girl. The agents began to batter the poor girl with question after question but Miss Benson was in her own little world. The agents threatened her with all types of punishment but they got no response. Miss Benson seemed to just go deeper into her own little world and Gena knew why she didn't want a lawyer, she wasn't going to talk. This went on for two hours and Gena just wanted to go in and tell them to give the poor girl a break. At the moment that Gena was thinking this, Miss Benson looked up at Kurt and said, "May I go to the bathroom?" "No you may not!" Agent Stone said angrily. "Okay then I will go in my pants and you can clean it up." She told him and Gena almost wanted to cheer for the girl. "Yes you may, I'll get someone to escort you." Kurt said getting angry looks from the DEA agents. "Can the officer that arrested me take me?" Miss Benson asked. This shocked Gena and she now wished that she had left the station and go back on patrol instead of staying at the station. "I'll get her for you." Kurt said as Gena just knew he would. She went on out of the room meeting Kurt halfway there. "She wants you." Kurt said to her. "I heard, but I don't know why she would, I'm the one who arrested her." Gena said and then she opened her mouth saying, "You know she's never going to open up to those agents." And as soon as she said it she wanted to take it back. She had a good working relationship with Kurt and she knew that he would make her say why she thought that and he did. "I know that but you obviously know something or think you do. What has she told you?" Kurt asked her or rather told her. Gena hesitated before saying, "In the car coming over here, the only thing that she said was that her father was going to kill her. I told her that I was sure that he would be angry with her but not kill her. Then when I took her to the bathroom when we got back here, she said it again and she was deadly serious. I believe her when she says her father is going to kill her." "So you think her father is making her bring these drugs in?" he asked and she knew that he was interested in this line of thinking. "I'm almost sure of it. You noticed her ability to shut everything off like she was doing in the room there?" Gena asked. "It was hard not to notice." Kurt stated. "Maybe she learned that ability from an abusive father?" Gena asked. "Maybe..." Kurt said and he paused to think for a moment. "Think you can get through to her?" "I have to have a better chance of doing so than those two assholes in there." Gena said hoping that she didn't cross the line with that comment. Kurt laughed, "Go get her and see what you can do but remember everything you say to her, I don't want to lose the case in court by something you said." "Yes sir," Gena said wishing that she had kept her stupid mouth shut. Gena went into the room where the agents were still shouting questions at the poor girl. Miss Benson turned toward her holding out her arms to be cuffed. Gena put them on her and then led her out of the room and away from the hot room. As they walked to the bathroom, Gena saw that Miss Benson still had that vacant stare but not to the degree that she had it in the room. Gena didn't say anything until they got to the bathroom, where she locked the door behind them before taking the cuffs off of Miss Benson. "Thank you," Miss Benson said giving her what could almost be called a smile. Gena waited until Miss Benson had pulled her jeans down and was sitting on the toilet before saying anything. She wanted Miss Benson in a bit of a vulnerable position before she tried to get through to her. "You were serious in the car when you said that your father will kill you weren't you?" Gena asked. Miss Benson looked up at her and Gena could see that she so wanted to say yes but couldn't. Gena took the reaction as a yes so she continued, "Okay then I assume that you are not doing this by choice, you were forced into running drugs for your father." Gena stated. This time Miss Benson almost nodded her head. "Okay then maybe you need to do something about him, maybe he needs to be the one answering the questions from those two assholes in there." Gena told her. This time, Gena got a positive response when Miss Benson grinned at her. "Okay then you need to make a deal, I think those two asshole can give you protection if you give them a reason to." "It doesn't matter if I talk or not talk, my father will kill me or have me killed. He has done it before." Miss Benson said sadly. "You are looking at a dead person and maybe that is what I should be for what I have done and been doing for as long as I can remember." That statement about broke Gena's heart as she knew that the girl was telling the truth and she couldn't let that happen to her, she had to do something to protect this girl and get the bastard that made her think that way. Gena went to the girl, kneeling in front of her as she sat on the toilet. "Honey, we won't let him get to you. We can protect you from him but you have to tell us what you know." "But I was still running drugs and I have to go to jail for that and that is where he will have me killed. He will hire someone to kill me or pay off their family so someone in the prison will kill me." Miss Benson said with a sad voice but she didn't cry, she just seemed to accept that this was what was going to happen to her. "There are people who have done lots worse than you, that are out there walking free. But let me ask you something. Is what you're involved with big, does your father move a lot of drugs?" Gena asked of her. Miss Benson hesitated for a moment as she looked into Gena's eyes, studying them. Gena looked back at her not looking away, letting Miss Benson study her and see if she could be trusted. "I don't know but there are millions of dollars coming in." Miss Benson said. That much told Gena that her father's operation was very big. "Do you know much about his operation?" Gena asked. "I do his books; I know almost all of it." Miss Benson stated, "That is why he can't let me live." "Well he isn't going to touch a single hair on your head, I promise you that." Gena told her. "I wish I could believe you," Miss Benson stated. "You can, you can." Gena said as she took Miss Benson's hands in hers giving them a squeeze. She then got up and said, "Now finish peeing, we got work to do." "I didn't really have to pee." Miss Benson said. "I know." Gena said giving her a smile. "You just wanted a break from those assholes." "I did." Miss Benson said. "Well pee anyway, it's going to be a long day." Gena said going to the next stall so that she could pee for that very reason. She sat down and began to pee when she asked, "What is your real name anyway?" "My father and brothers call me "Bitch or The Bitch"" was Miss Benson's reply. "Oh god," Gena said mostly to herself. "What is your given name?" "I don't know, I don't think I have one that is all I have ever been called." Miss Benson told her. "What does your mother call you?" Gena asked about half afraid to ask. "I never knew my mother. My father killed her when I was just a baby. He was pissed that she gave birth to a girl. I guess I got unlucky in that he didn't kill me at the same time." Miss Benson told her. "Fuck!" Gena said wanting to beat that man to death at that very moment for doing that to this girl. Gena was so pissed by this time that she didn't bother to wipe herself clean, she just pulled her pants and panties up going to Miss Benson's stall seeing that Miss Benson was putting her clothes together. "Well what do you want to be called?" Gena asked. Miss Benson gave her a shy smile and she said softly, "I loved the movie Tomb Raiders, can I be called Lara Croft?" "I don't see why not, we may have to make up a middle name to make it a legal but for now it works. We'll call you Lara for now." Gena said. "Thanks," Lara said with a shy smile and then she added, "And thanks for being so nice to me when you didn't have to seeing how I am so bad." "Lara, I am the first to hate people who deal drugs, I see every day what they do to people but I also have a heart and I feel for people who are used and abused. You fall into that second category. Come on, we need to talk to Kurt and see what you can work out." Gena said and then as she got to the door she stopped. "Oh sorry," Lara said as she held out her arms for the cuffs to be put on them. Gena just pushed Lara's hands down and she looked into Lara's eyes as she said, "When you talk to the DA, you must tell him the truth, even if it makes you look bad. You lie and any deal that you might be able to make will go straight out the window." "I won't lie," Lara said simply and Gena believed her. When they got outside of the bathroom, Gena nodded to Kurt and headed to the office that he used when he was at the station. Gena then headed in that direction taking Lara with her knowing that Kurt would be right on her heels. "We' don't have much time before the DEA agents come looking for Miss Benson here." Kurt said as he closed the door behind them. "She wants to make a deal." Gena said quickly. "And she wants to be called Lara Croft." "Are you her lawyer now, I didn't know that you got your law degree." Kurt said and Gena knew he wasn't trying to be funny. "I'm sorry sir." Gena said knowing that this should come from Lara and not her however she was afraid that Lara would chicken out. "But she is being forced to do this... by her father." Kurt gave her a look that he reserves for witnesses when he wanted them to shut up and listen to the questions that he was asking. This always worked in the court room and it usually worked on Gena. She allowed it to work this time too but she knew that she would speak up again if need be. "So is what Office Tucker telling me the truth?" he asked Lara and Gena was so afraid the Lara would retreat back into her comatose state so she tried to give her a reassuring smile, however Lara wasn't looking at her but at Kurt and her eyes were clear. "Yes sir, he did force me but I also knew what I was doing was wrong." Lara freely admitted. "Do you fear for your life from him?" Kurt asked him. "I know that he will kill me even if you put me into jail, of that I have no doubt." Lara told him. "Final question and you had better give me the truth, I don't take kindly to being bullshitted. And I know when someone is bullshitting me." Kurt told her and he had this tone in his voice that said he meant business. "Just how much drugs does he move in a year? Is he one of the bigger distributors of drugs in the US?" "I don't know if he is one of the biggest or not, I don't know anything about any of the others, but there are millions of dollars going through his hands in a given month." Lara told him just as confident in her answer. "How do you know that?' He asked her. "Because I do his books and hide or wash all his money to make it appear legal." She told him. "Just how can you expect me to believe that? You're still a kid; it takes accountants with years of experience to know how to hide that kind of money." Kurt said in almost a laughing manner but Gena had seen this ploy used before by Kurt. He was testing her. "Sir, I may not have ever stepped a foot in any school but I have been trained by the best in the world on laundering money. That is what he trained me to do and why my father can't let me live." Lara told him as she stared Kurt down which was something very few people could do or had ever done. "What's your father's name?" He asked her quickly. "Ben Walter," Lara said and Gena knew that name was familiar but not sure why. "Ben Walter... he's owns most of the businesses in Concord county. He has a hand in everything that goes on in the county. You telling me that he's one of the biggest drug distributors in the US?" Kurt said as if he didn't believe a word that she was saying. "You give me my laptop back and I can show you that all those businesses don't make as much money as the IRS thinks they do." Lara told him. "We've already had our best computer guy take a look at your computer; there is nothing on it but songs and some sappy writing by a young girl, I'm assuming is you." Kurt told her. "He just doesn't know where to look, it's well hidden and it would take a super- computer years to unlock it." Lara told him. "I told you that I may not have a formal education but I do know how to work numbers and computers." "You hungry?" He asked Lara. Gena could see that Lara was taken by surprised by Kurt's sudden change of questioning but Gena knew that Kurt had been convinced that she was telling the truth or at least convinced enough to take a chance that what he was being told was correct. "Ah... yes sir. I haven't had breakfast." She told him. Kurt looked over at Gena and said, "Go take her to Ruby's and get her fed. Be gone an hour." He then turned on his heels and strolled out of the room and once outside, she heard him let out a whistle so she knew that Kurt was convinced. "You got Kurt on your side; you can't do much worse than that." Gena told her. "But he can't stop my father from killing me." Lara said sadly and Gena could see the fear in her eyes. "You're father is not going to kill you. We'll protect you but you got to give us everything you know." Gena told her. "I wish I could believe you." Lara said. "You can, I promise you." Gena said. "Does anyone know you're here?" "No, the only time I am allowed out of the house is to do one of these runs, which is usually about once a month, and I have never stopped here before." She told her. "Okay, but I'm going to put you into a police trainee uniform so that if anyone asks, you're a trainee from the local Community College." Gena said as she opened the door and snuck Lara out and into the small locker room for the officers. She found a uniform that would fit her and then turned her back to Lara as she dressed quickly into the trainee uniform. Gena didn't feel like she had anything to fear from her and she hoped that showing her trust in Lara would make Lara trust her more. Once Lara was dressed, Gena took her out the back door and down the street to Ruby's which was only a couple of blocks from the station. Once there, she guided Lara to a back booth. It was still too early for the lunch crowd so they had the place pretty much to themselves. There were only a couple of older farmers in the restaurant and they paid them no mind as they talked about the issues with their farms. "So what you want to eat?" Gena asked. "Do you think they still serve breakfast?" Lara asked. "They serve breakfast anytime of the day." Gena told her with a smile. The waitress came over bringing Gena her coffee as that was what she always had. She then asked Lara what she wanted and another Mountain Dew was what she ordered. "You love those things don't you?" Lara gave her a little grin, "Yea, they're great. I never get these at home so I drink as many as I can when I am allowed out." "Well we got plenty at the station, so don't worry about running out." Gena told her smiling. "Okay," Lara said as her face turned a bit red from embarrassment. "I must warn you that until you can make a deal, everything you say can be used against you." Gena had to warn her turning serious."Including everything you say to me." "Then maybe we need to talk about something that won't get me in trouble." Lara told her. The waitress then came with Lara's Mountain Dew and they ordered. Lara got eggs, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits while Gena ordered a BLT sandwich. "So how old are you?" Gena had to ask. Lara looked down as she put her lips to her straw getting a drink of her Mountain Dew. She swallowed before she looked up at Gena saying, "I'm not sure. I don't know when I was born and I don't think that there is a birth certificate, I think was born at home." "Didn't they report your birth?" Gena asked not believing in this day and age that someone could be born without one. "Not that I'm aware of," Lara said sadly. "And you don't remember your mother?" Gena asked remembering what Lara had told her before. "All I know about her is what my brother Johnny told me. He said that not long after I was born, my father took her into the mountains and my father was the only one that came back. He always alluded to that happening because my mother gave birth to a girl and not a boy like my father wanted. I know my father thinks women are only good for fucking and giving him boys. She obviously failed at that second one when I arrived." Lara told her. Gena could see that Lara tried not to let this bother her but she could also see that Lara's eyes were telling her something else. "Doesn't he know that the male decides the sex of the child?" Gena asked. "I don't know." Lara told her. "I just know that he doesn't care much for women and he doesn't like me but once he figured out that I was smart with numbers, he had me trained by the best so that he could keep all the money and keep it within the family. And he made sure that I knew that if I fucked up, I would end up with the same result as my mother." "I am sorry you had to have such a bad childhood." Gena said feeling sorry for the poor girl. "I don't know, it wasn't so bad for the most part." Lara told her. "Yes it was, you just don't know what a real childhood could be." Gena told her and then their food arrived. "So is Kurt telling the DEA agents what deal to make?" Lara asked. "No that is up to you or your lawyer to make a case for that." Gena told her, "You might want to think about getting a lawyer, you know." "No, I can't do that. I know my father will find out even quicker than he will already. I don't want anyone else to know where I am or what I'm doing here. My life is over anyway but I don't want to give my father any help in finding me." Lara told her and then she paused for a moment before saying, "He needs to be stopped." "Yes he does and we're not going to let your father get to you." Gena told her before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Yea..." Lara said with a disbelieving look on her face. "So what do I ask for?" Gena knew that she was in a bad position. Her job wasn't to advise criminals; her job was to arrest them and put them in jail and then do everything she could to make sure that they stayed there. However she couldn't just let this poor girl end up with nothing. She had done wrong and she knew it but still, she didn't have much of a chance to choose the right path in life. Gena looked over at Lara who seemed to be waiting on her answer and she could almost see that Lara wasn't expecting to get any help from her. No one had ever helped her or looked out for her before and she didn't expect that to change now. "Well I guess I set myself up on this one, I can't turn my back on her now." Gena thought to herself as she looked at Lara whose disappointment in her grew with every second of her silence. "Tell them that you want all charges dropped and none to be levied against you in the future. You also want a new identity and to be moved to where no one from your family can ever find you." Gena told her. "You think that they'll go for that?" Lara asked. "Well I would guess that they will laugh in your face and tell you that you're dreaming. And then they will say that they plan on throwing the book at you and you'll be lucky to ever get out of jail." Gena told her honestly. "So there's no hope of avoiding jail, not that it matters anyway, he will kill me whether I am in jail or free." Lara told her as a frown came over her face and to Gena; Lara seemed to be content to let her death happen. "I am tired of hearing you say that, he isn't going to get to you now." Gena told her trying to assure her the best that she could. "Yes he will, and he will kill me." Lara told her firmly with full conviction in her voice. "Well I don't want to hear you say that again, as I don't plan on letting it happen," Gena told her even more firmly and with a stronger conviction in her voice. But then she thought for a second, "However I would let the DEA agents hear that a few times just so they will know that their star witness does need some type of protection." This brought a smile from Lara, "Okay... do you think they'll go for it?" "No not at first but after you give them something concrete to go on then they'll jump at it." Gena told her. "You do have something concrete in that laptop of yours don't you?" "Oh yes, I got enough to put my father and brothers away for a long, long time." Lara told her. "Good, now hurry up and eat, we got to get back real soon. Kurt is going out on a limb here for you and when he says an hour then he means exactly an hour." Gena told her. "Okay," Lara said as she began to eat a little faster. They quickly finished eating and Lara got a cup of Mountain Dew to take with her. They made it back just in time and Gena didn't want to take the time to let Lara get back into her own clothes before going back into the interrogation room. They had barely settled into their seats when Agent's Simpson and Stone entered into the room with the DA following close behind. "What's she doing in that uniform?" Agent Stone demanded. "I took her to get something to eat and I didn't want her to be recognized. That was all I could think to put her into sir." Gena told him. "Where I work, we put our drug dealers in prison strips and not police uniforms." Agent Simpson said sarcastically. Gena wanted to come back with just as a sarcastic remark but she kept her mouth shut and then she saw the look on Kurt's face and she knew she was right to let the agent's remark pass. "We don't need you here anyway, go back to do whatever you do." Agent Stone said to Gena. Again Gena wanted to say something but she kept her mouth shut. She started to get up when she heard Lara say forcefully, "I want her to stay." Gena looked at Kurt and he motioned for her to stay put for the moment. "I don't care what you want. We're in control here and not you." Agent Simpson said to Lara. "She leaves and I shut up and we're back to where we were before, you shouting at me and me keeping my lips closed." Lara told him. Gena was proud of Lara for standing up for herself; probably the first time she had done so with a man who had some power over her life. "Whatever," Agent said as if it wasn't a big deal that he was letting her stay, however Gena could see the strength grow in Lara and she knew that Agent had lost the first big battle without really knowing that he had done so. "The DA here says that you want to make a deal, well you can forget that, I don't make deals with drug runners." Agent Stone told her as he leaned down putting his face close to Lara but this time Lara didn't go into her comatose state, she stared back at him. "Well then you have just lost your chance to shut down a big drug distribution operation. I don't think that will make you look so good." Gena said before she could stop herself. Gena saw Kurt give her a disapproving look as Agent Simpson said, "You her lawyer now too." "No sir, but I think if you give her a chance and stop trying to intimidate her, then I think you'll get more than you could ever hope for." Gena told her knowing that she was putting her job on the line for coming to Lara's aid. "So far she hasn't shown us jack shit. Other than give us the name of the most respected man in Concord County." Agent stone told her. "Give me my laptop and I'll give you something to go on. Then we'll talk a deal." Lara told them. "We've already hooked your laptop into our computer in the office, there's nothing there." Agent Stone said. "Like I told the DA, you didn't look in the right place. I know ways to hide things from even the best computer hackers in the world." Lara told the agents. "You're a kid, don't try to bullshit me." Agent Simpson said. "Let her prove it, then see if she is bullshitting you." Gena said knowing that she had already crossed the line so she may as well go all the way. Both agents gave her a dirty look then they looked at each other for a moment, "Get the laptop in here." Agent Simpson said to Gena. "It's in my office." Kurt said. Gena got up and went around Lara, giving her a discrete pat on the back to encourage her before going out of the room. She quickly went to the DA's office getting the laptop and hurrying back to the room. She placed the laptop in front of Lara then she plugged it in not wanting to let the battery run out just at the wrong time. Lara opened the laptop, turning it on and letting it warm up. Once it was going, she did a lot of typing, more than Gena ever did to log into her computer. Lara's fingers worked quickly typing away and using the remote mouse. Her brow was knitted as she worked and Gena began to worry as she saw the DEA agents getting impatient. "Here look at this." Lara finally said turning the laptop around for the agents to see. They both huddled around it at first not looking too impressed but then their eyes went wide as they looked at each other. Gena was dying to see what they were seeing but what she thought of what they were seeing wasn't important, only the agents were being impressed was important. And they did seem to be impressed. Agent Stone then grabbed the mouse to look at more of what was on the computer but then his eyes went wider. "Where did it go?" Agent Simpson asked looking a bit pissed. "First the deal then you can see what's on the computer and what I know." Lara said firmly. "Well there wasn't much there to really be of use. Maybe we can ask for a reduced sentence of twenty years instead of life." Agent Stone said as if he was unimpressed but everyone in the room knew he was the one bullshitting now. "I want all charges dropped and none more to be added. I get neither jail time nor probation. And I want to have my birth made real with a name of my choosing and protection from my family who will kill me once they know I squealed on them. You may see him as a great kind man but he's a killer, he killed my mom for having a girl instead of a boy so he'll kill me without a bit of remorse." Lara told them. "You got to be kidding, there's no way we'll give you that. We can get whatever's in your computer now we know it's there. We don't need you." Agent said proudly. "It'll take you twenty years to get the information out of there and by then my father will be long gone and I'll be dead. You'll lose your chance to get him." Lara told them and then she added what Gena thought was the clincher with, "I'm supposed to be home by Friday so that gives you four days to get enough evidence to nail him." "Why Friday, you're only an hour or so away." Agent Stone asked of Lara and Gena also was wondering that. "I'm supposed to take a direct route to the meeting place but I have to take a different route back. I have made so many trips now that I have to go way out of my way to get back to my father's place. So he gives me a week to get back. I usually take a different route back but not as far as I tell my father, that way I have a few days of freedom. This trip I decided to go back the way I came thus that leaves you four days." "I see." Agent Stone said. "So do I get the deal?" Lara asked him. "We'll have to discuss this and make a few calls." Agent Simpson told her. "Okay," Lara said as she logged out of her laptop and then closed it down signaling that she was done talking for the time being. The agents then got up leaving the room. "Am I in trouble for speaking up?" Gena asked as Kurt got to the door. "Not if she comes across with the goods." He said leaving out that if Lara didn't have anything, she was in big trouble. "Do you think the DEA will go for the deal?" Gena asked Kurt as she could see that Lara really wanted to know this. "I don't know what she showed them but the fact that they are out there talking about it means that they are seriously thinking about it." He said then he pointed to Lara, "Get her out of that uniform, I think that will put them in a better mood." "I didn't mean to get you in trouble." Lara told her after Kurt had shut the door behind him. "You didn't, I said what I wanted to say. If I was more concerned about keeping my job and not doing the right thing, I would have kept my mouth shut." Gena told her which brought a shy smile from Lara. "Why are you helping me, I do traffic drugs which is very wrong?" Lara asked. "Come on, let's get you out of that uniform and I'll answer your question." Gena said as she got up. Gena wanted a moment to think over her answer as she wasn't completely sure what the answer was. "May I use the bathroom while we're at it?" Lara asked. "Sure," Gena said as she opened the door letting Lara out. Gena took Lara to the bathroom so that she could pee. Lara kept the door open as she went into the stall. She pulled her pants and panties down as she sat down on the toilet. "So why are you helping me?" Lara asked again. Gena thought for a second before she said, "I don't know, I just feel like I should be helping you." Then Gena decided to add, "However if I find out you are playing me for a fool, you'll regret it." "I'm not; everything that I have told you is the truth." Lara said as a sad look came over her face. "I believe you and that is why I did what I did." Gena said. "Thanks," Lara said as she finished peeing and wiped herself before getting up to pull her pants and panties up. She washed her hands and they went to the locker room so that Lara could change into her own clothes. Then on the way back, Gena decided that maybe she should also visit the restroom. She figured that she was going to be stuck with Lara and the agents for a while. She knew that she should cuff Lara while she was sitting on the toilet and thus could stop her from running but she didn't. However she did make her stand in front of her while she peed so at least she could yell if Lara did run. Not that she was that worried that Lara would as she seemed content to watch her as she peed. Gena had watched many a prisoner go to the bathroom but this was the first time she had one watch her. It did feel funny but it didn't bother her to let Lara watch her for some reason. They had to wait over an hour back in the room before the DEA agents and Kurt came back into the room. Gena tried to determine from the Kurt's expression as to what was going to be offered but she couldn't read him. "Well, it appears that today is your lucky day Miss Walters. We argued against giving you anything but our bosses seem to think that you can help us. So you get your deal but that depends on you giving us enough to shut your father down and get him into prison." Agent Simpson told Lara. "So you had better tell us everything we want to know and let us into your computer." Agent Stone told her. Gena let out a sign of relief that she hoped that no one else noticed and she saw that Lara was breathing a little easier too. "Would you please call me Lara, I don't want to be associated with my family anymore." "We can do that Lara, so let's get down to business. We want everything that you hold in your head and what is in your laptop." Agent Stone said and Gena noticed that there was a change of attitude from him and she knew why that was. They all knew, including the agents and their bosses that Lara was the key to shutting down a big drug operation and that made Lara a very important person. "Okay and may Officer Tucker stay here with me?" Lara asked, surprising but then again not surprising Gena as she had pretty much put herself in this position. "Honey, I have a job to do. I think that these Agents and the DA will treat you well now. They'll look out for you." Gena told her hoping to get herself out of this mess that she had gotten herself into. "Your job from now to the time that Lara is given her new identity and location is to look after her." The DA said firmly leaving no doubt as to what her new job was. Gena could only say "Yes Sir", though she did try to make one last attempt to get herself out of her new job. "But what about my men, who will keep up with the assignments and covering when someone is out, plus making sure that that everyone is in court when they are supposed to be; who will be doing that?" "I think the sheriff can handle things for a week or so and since I'll be here with you, I don't think there will be any court dates to attend." The DA said with a smile thus sealing Gena's fate. "Yes Sir," Was all Gena could say as she sat back in the hard chair. Lara gave her a grateful smile before the DEA agents drew her attention back to the job at hand. They first had her reopen her laptop so that they could both download the information from her computer to their computer which was not connected to the computers in their office. As Lara downloaded the material, Lara gave them a general overview of what she was giving to them. It was for the most part a long boring afternoon that went well into the evening. The only breaks that they took were the bathroom breaks that Lara demanded as she went through several Mountain Dews. Gena did get out of the room so that she could pick up their supper, which was a welcome relief, as she got out of that stuffy room. The DEA agents didn't even stop to eat, but had Lara talk as she tried to eat her sandwich and drink her Mountain Dew. It was nearing midnight when Gena could see that Lara had enough. She was barely keeping her eyes open and she was taking longer and longer to come up with the answer to the DEA's Agent's questions. "Gentleman, how about we take a break for the night, I think Lara has had enough for today." Gena said getting a grateful smile from Lara. After a moment's hesitation, Agent Stone stretched and said "Okay but we start back at nine in the morning. That will give our office time to work over some of this data." "Where shall we put Lara up for the night?" Gena asked thinking that they could put her into the small motor lodge that the town had. "Let her stay in the jail, it'll be good for her, give her an incentive to keep her talking." Agent Simpson said with a big grin like he was more than happy to make Lara spend at least some time in a jail cell. "No sir, we can't do that. You agreed not to charge her or put her in prison." Gena said quickly. "So I did, but I never said I wouldn't put her in jail for her own protection." He told her smiling. "But..." Gena said as she looked to Kurt. He shrugged as he said, "We don't have the men to put her at the lodge and keep her protected, unless you want to take her home with you." Gena glanced over at Lara and saw the desperate look on her face so Gena knew that she had painted herself into a corner once again. "Okay she can come home with me. I'll look after her." "If she leaves here for the night, she'll do so in leg shackles and cuffs and will stay in them until she returns. I don't want her to even think about running now." Agent Stone said with a voice that indicated that he was completely serious. Gena was about to protest as she knew that the last thing that Lara would do now would be to go warn her father who would kill her before high tailing it out of town never to be seen again. However Lara spoke up before she could, "Okay, I'll wear them." Gena was surprised that anyone would agree to this but Lara seemed content to do it, "Are you sure?" "Yea, I'm sure, if it gets me out of here for a few hours then I'm fine with it." Lara said as she stood up holding out her hands to Gena. "Okay," Gena said as she reached to her belt to get the cuffs and hating the smug smiles on the DEA agent's faces. The agents then went out of the room with the DA following and Gena hated him just as much for putting her in this position. Gena went to the door to go get the shackles and she no more had the door open when one of the deputies appeared with the shackles. He didn't appear to be too happy either as it seemed that the DEA agents had made him do it. Gena saw that the DEA agents were still there to make sure that Gena did as she was told. Gena so wanted to tell the agents to blow it out their asses but instead she gave them a smile as she took the shackles. Gena left the door open so that the DEA agents could see her putting the shackles on Lara's feet. However the agents couldn't hear her as she said, "I'll take these off of you when I get you to my house." "No, I'll keep them on all night as they wish." Lara told her. "But why, it's silly and they are just trying to make a big show as to who is in charge." Gena told her putting the shackle on Lara's left ankle. "They're in charge and they're the ones who control what will happen to me. If we piss them off and word gets to my father that I am squealing on him, then he'll kill me before they get to him. He'll probably get to me anyway and that is okay as long as they get him and my brothers. Besides I would rather have you looking out for me than them. I don't think they'll care what happens to me once they get all the information they can out of me." Lara told her and Gena had to admit that what Lara was saying was making sense. "Still I'm taking these damn things off of you when we get home." Gena said as she locked the right shackle in place. "No, the first thing that they will ask me is if I kept these things on the whole time I was away from the station and I want to honestly say yes." Lara said to her. "What about changing clothes and taking a shower, I know you want to do both." Gena said standing up. "Mmmmm... you got a point as I do want to do both. I'll let you take them off when I get undressed to take a shower then put them back on as I shower. That'll give them a cheap thrill as they think that one over." Lara said with a giggle. "I do believe that it will." Gena said as she too laughed drawing the ire of the agents who was watching them laugh. "Would you please take me out of here, I'm so tired." Lara said after their brief moment of laughter. "Okay, we both need some sleep." Gena said as she took Lara's elbow to help her walk with the cuffs on and the shackles around her ankles. Gena decided to leave her personal car there at the station and drive her patrol car for more than one reason. The first being that it was parked just outside the back door so she could get Lara out quickly and into her car, secondly she wanted anyone who happened to come by to see a police car sitting in her driveway. Plus she figured that she was still on the job so she would use the county's gas money instead of her own. She first cleaned out the front seat, putting all of the stuff in the back as she didn't want Lara to feel like she was a criminal even though by all rights, she was but not by choice. She helped Lara into the seat before going to the other side and driving them to her house. Gena started to talk about nothing much but she saw that Lara was pretty much out of it and was not really responding. She lived about a half hour from the station and she saw as she was pulling into her driveway, Lara was more asleep than awake. She shook Lara awake telling her that they were home and Lara only mumbled in response. Gena managed to get Lara into the house and back to the spare bedroom, which had only a twin bed and one dresser. She sat her on the edge of the bed, telling her that she would be right back with something for her to wear to bed. "I found you an old nightgown to wear, it may not look like much but it is comfortable." Gena was saying as she reentered the small bedroom. She was going to say that she wished that she could have given Lara a more comfortable bed to sleep upon however Lara didn't seem to mind as she was sound asleep with her feet still on the floor and her torso lying back on the bed. "You poor thing," Gena said as she put the nightgown on the dresser then going to the bed. She went over to the bed putting Lara's feet onto the bed, pulling her tennis shoes off, and then she pulled some covers over the sleeping young woman. Gena went on to the bathroom after first putting her weapon in the nightstand. Normally she would lock it up but tonight, she wanted it close by. She didn't think that Lara's father could have gotten wind of what Lara had done but she wasn't taking any chances. She then took a shower as she was tired and the stress of the day needed to be relieved by the hot water before she would ever be able to go to sleep. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. It had been a long day and the hot shower had done its job relaxing her enough to enable her to sleep. It seemed like she was asleep for only a few minutes when she heard the toilet flush and then the rattle of chains. She was confused as first like she had woken up in the middle of some old horror flick. But then she realized what or whom those chains were attached to. Gena expected to see Lara come to her door as the bathroom was across the hall from her room, however the chains went on down the hallway. Gena got up and headed to the bathroom, looking to see if she would see Lara entering the spare bedroom but she didn't. Gena went into the bathroom, first to pee then she washed her face and brushed her teeth, before running a brush through her short red hair. She didn't bother with any makeup as it would take a gallon of the stuff to cover up her freckled face. Once she was as presentable as she was going to get, she went down the hall, checking the spare bedroom again for Lara but not finding her there. She began to wonder where she had gone when she smelled coffee brewing and also bacon frying in the kitchen. Gena had to smile to herself as she was hungry and needed a cup of coffee. "It smells good." Gena said as she entered the kitchen seeing Lara at the stove, still in the clothes that she had been wearing the day before and her hands cuffed in front of her and still wearing the shackles. "Thank you, grab yourself a cup of coffee, I'll have breakfast ready in a moment." Lara said with a smile. "I think I could get used to this." Gena told her. "Do you want me to remove those cuffs and shackles while you cook?" "Nope, I can manage just fine wearing them. I've gotten used to them now and besides they present me with a challenge." Lara said with a little laugh. "Okay but I still think they are stupid, I know you're not going anywhere now." Gena told her. "I can fix us breakfast tomorrow too." Lara said showing that she was eager to please Gena and ignoring the comment about her constraints. "Oh I didn't mean it that way; you don't have to do this every day that you may end up here." Gena said quickly. "I know but I like to cook." Lara told her as she turned giving her a genuine smile. "Who taught you to cook?" Gena asked as she leaned against the counter with her cup of coffee. "Oh Nana did, she was our cook when I was real little. She was the closest thing to a mom that I had." Lara said and Gena could sense a bit of sadness in her voice. Before Gena could ask anything more, Lara went on, "She was from Honduras and was probably illegal which means that she worked cheap and was willing to keep her mouth shut. But anyway, my room was just off the kitchen, probably an old pantry, so I spent most of my time with Nana. I think I learned to speak Spanish before I did English. But anyway, she was the one that took care of me when I was small and raised me until I was about ten or so. She was about the only one to show me love and I adored her. If it wasn't for her, my father probably would have taken me the same place that he took my mother. But she kept me out of sight and quiet when he was around so I guess I was allowed to live. When my father found out that I had a thing for numbers and could speak Spanish, he found that I could be of some use to him and his business. He didn't want my Nana to come between me and his need for what I could do, so she was sent on her way. I was alone to deal with him and that is when I discovered another ability that I had..." "The ability to zone everything out, yet still be aware of what was going around you." Gena said more than stated. "Yea that one," Lara said. "How did you know I still knew what was going on?" "Just from watching you and how you dealt with me and then the DEA agents," Gena replied. "You're very observant," Lara stated. "It comes with the job," Gena told her with a smile. Gena went over helping Lara to finish the cooking and getting her to talk a little more about her youth. It was a wonder that Lara came out of her childhood halfway sane but then children had the amazing ability to adapt to their surroundings. That is what Lara did, finding ways to survive. She found out that Lara didn't know what Nana's real name was, that was just what she called her and Lara got her to promise to help her find out what happened to her Nana as well as what happened to her mother or at least where her father had disposed of her mother's body. Gena pried a little to find out if Lara was sexually abused by her father and brothers. She figured that she probably was and was a bit surprised that no one was allowed to touch her, including her brothers. Her father would smack her around a bit but that was it. It was the mental abuse that kept Lara under her father's control. And it was her father that started to call her "The Bitch" and that is what everyone that was around her called her, which was mainly her father, brothers, and the servants. If someone came over, she was locked in her little room until they left. That meant that it could be several days that she was stuck there, so she had learned to store food in there as well as plastic bags to dispose of her waste. Gena wanted to cry at hearing this but she kept a straight face just as Lara was doing. However she noticed that Lara talked of this as if it had happened to someone else and not her. Gena figured that it was just Lara's way of dealing with her past and living with it. That is assuming that you could call what happened to Lara as living. Gena promised herself that she was going to look out for this girl for as long as she was there and make sure that the DEA agents kept their promises. Once they finished eating, they put the dishes into the dishwasher before heading to the bathroom. "I'm going to let you out of the cuffs and shackles so you can take your shower." Gena said hoping that Lara had forgotten about doing exactly as the DEA agents had requested. "No, just take them off long enough for me to get undressed then put them back on." Lara said as she held out her hands. "You know this is a bit ridiculous." Gena said with a sigh. "I know that and you know that but that is what they want so we'll do it." Lara told her. Gena let out a sign as she unlocked the hand cuffs. "We're not doing this tomorrow, I promise you." Gena told her as she got down on her knees to unlock the shackles around Lara's ankles. Gena sat back on her ankles as Lara undid her jeans then pushed them off her hips. Gena saw that Lara was wearing a pair of plain cotton panties, nothing like what a girl her age would wear. Lara stepped out of her jeans then she put her hands at the edge of her panties. She hesitated for a second and Gena started to look away. Although Gena had seen Lara pee and thus partially nude, however that was under different circumstances in that Lara was still more of a prisoner then, while now she was just an informant. That made everything just a little different. Before Gena could turn her head, Lara went ahead and pushed her panties down to her knees then letting them drop down to her ankles. Gena got a close up view of Lara's hips and at her pussy covered by the thick black hair. She so wanted to look down and get on with putting the shackles back on Lara's ankles but she just sat there for a second looking at the flair of Lara's hips and the slight belly. She stared for a second more before looking up at Lara seeing that Lara was watching her and seemed to be wondering just what she was thinking about what she was seeing. Gena gave her a slight smile before she got her hands to work again. She reached down to Lara's panties holding them as Lara stepped out to them. Gena quickly put the shackles back around Lara's ankles then she stood up not allowing herself to look at Lara's pussy again. When she was back on her feet, Lara reached down pulling her tee shirt up and then off. This time Gena wasn't surprised to see that Lara was wearing a plain while cotton bra, again nothing fancy. Lara pulled the straps of the bra off her shoulders and took her arms out of the straps. She bit her lower lip as she pulled the cups off her breasts. Gena couldn't help but to look at Lara's breasts which was about a C cup and were topped with light colored areoles and small nipples. Lara then pulled the bra around so that she could unhook the bra and thus get it off. She was now completely naked as she stood in front of Gena. She held out her arms allowing Gena to put the cuffs back on her. Once the cuffs were on, Lara turned to face the tub which was also a shower. This gave Gena a good look at Lara's butt and it was a nice butt, a very nice butt. It was large enough to grasp yet not to large, just the type of butt that got Gena's juices flowing. Gena tried to make herself stop staring at that ass as Lara wadded over to the tub. "I think I got a problem." Lara said. "What's that honey," Gena said as she got her mind off Lara's ass to whatever her problem was. "The side of the tub is too high for me to step into." Lara said pointing to the side of the tub. "Those fucking agents!" Gena said aloud. "Here let me take these things off of you so that you can take a decent shower." "No just help me in the tub." Lara told her. Gena knew what she should do but that wasn't what she did. She should have taken the damn things off and be done with it but she let Lara maneuver her over so that she was behind of her. "Just grab me around my waist and lift me high enough so that I can get my feet into the tub." She told Gena. "This is crazy." Gena said as she put her hands around Lara's waist, feeling her soft body and feeling Lara's back press against her chest. Gena lifted her up enough for Lara to slip her feet into the tub and then she helped her regain her balance. "Thanks," Lara said as she bent over to turn on the water. She stayed bent over as she felt the water warn up. Gena saw Lara's C cup breasts hanging down with those light colored nipples. Gena knew she was looking too hard at this girl that she had already began to care for and wanted to help get out of her situation. Gena kept staring until Lara got the temperature right and she stood up as she turned the water up to the shower nozzle. "I'll let you shower, call me when you are done." Gena said as she began to back toward the door, but then she stopped. "You don't have any clean clothes do you?" "No, you all have all my clothes." Lara said as she peeked around the shower curtain. "I'll go find you something to wear until we get back to the station. Then I'll get your clothes for you." Gena said as she turned to the door. "Thanks," She heard Lara say as she went across the hall to her bedroom. Gena began to look for something for Lara to wear but that was proving to be difficult for her to find. First as she tried to picture Lara's body to find something to fit her, the image that she had in her mind was that of Lara standing there in her bathroom naked and looking so innocent for more than one reason. She kept trying to compare her own body to that Lara's but she could never get past Lara's damn naked body. She wished that Lara had any other body shape than the one that she had, the one with a flair to her hips that she could grab onto and those wonderful full breasts with the light colored nipples. Even her black hair looked cute even thought it was just cut straight across the back going about halfway down her back and bangs that went to her eyebrows. Gena was just glad that Lara would be there for only a few days and then the DEA would send her someplace far away with a new identity and all ties cut. Gena shook her head free of Lara and her body, going to her dresser and finding a pair of sweats that she figured that Lara could wear. She then went to her panty drawer, pulling out an older pair of her panties. Gena was a little taller and more firm than Lara; however with the flair of Lara's hips, she figured that Lara could wear them in a pinch. Now the bra was a whole different matter, she had a bra that would fit Lara however the cups would be much too small with her breasts being a B cup at best. She checked the sweats and found them to be thick enough so that no one would know that Lara wasn't wearing a bra, besides, Lara's breasts were more than firm enough that she could go without one. As this thought went through her head; she was stuck with those breasts staring right at her. She had to shake her head to get this image out of her head before she left the bedroom. "Here's you some sweats and a pair of panties to wear until we get you back to the station." Gena said as she came into the bathroom, laying the clothes on the edge of the sink. She was about to back out of the bathroom when she heard Lara turn off the shower, "Can you hand me a towel?" Lara asked as she pushed back the shower curtain. Gena knew that her jaw dropped to the floor as she saw Lara standing there with her fine wet black hair plastered down to her head. Her pale skinned turned a slight pink color from the hot water. All Gena could think was how cute the naked shy girl who was biting her lower lip was as she was standing there naked dripping from her shower. "You already finished your shower?" Gena finally asked once she got her jaw off the floor. "You've been gone a while..." Lara told her as she stood there and began to shiver. "Oh sorry..." Gena said smiling as she got a big fluffy towel, handing it to Lara. "Thanks," Lara said as she began to dry her front off. Gena knew that she should leave but she just stood there. But then she realized that she was staring and she started to turn to leave. "Can you dry my back? With these cuffs, it makes it hard." Lara said holding out the towel until Gena took it then she turned around. "How did you wash your back with those damn cuffs on?" Gena asked as she began to rub Lara's back down with the towel, getting it dry. "It wasn't easy, that's for sure, I am flexible but I would say I missed a spot or tow." Lara said with a giggle. "Well tomorrow, you will be able to do this on your own." "Gena said meaning it now for a different reason as she didn't need to be this close to Lara when she was naked and vulnerable. "Okay," Lara said with a bit of disappointment in her voice. Gena moved her hands down to Lara's cute little bubble butt and she made sure that she had plenty of towel between her hands and Lara's skin. She moved on down to Lara's thighs getting them dry. Then she pulled the key for the shackles from her robe pocket and she unlocked the shackles around Lara's ankles as she didn't want a repeat of her having to help Lara out of the tub. She had made that mistake once and she didn't want to do that again. She brought the shackles up as she stood up and then she unlocked the cuffs thus freeing her prisoner. "I'll go get dressed as you get dressed; we need to be on our way soon. We don't want to keep the DEA waiting." Gena said as she took the cuffs and shackles with her as she left the bathroom and heading into her bedroom. Once Gena had her uniform on and everything in place on her belt, she went to the living room where Lara was waiting. Lara put her arms out and Gena put the cuffs on and then she shackles. She had thought about just waiting until they got to the station to put them on but she feared that the DEA agents would be watching for that, it was something that she wouldn't put past them. On the way to the station, she called Kurt, and got him to release Lara's suitcase. There was nothing of importance to their case in it so he didn't have a problem in letting Lara having that back. When they got to the station, Gena deposited Lara in the locker room, after taking the restraints off, and then she went to get her suitcase. She gave that to Lara, and then she stepped outside to let her change. A moment or two later, Lara walked out however she was still wearing Gena's sweats. "I thought you were going to change." Gena said. "These sweats were so comfortable; I just decided to keep them on. I did put a bra on through." Lara said with a giggle. "Well that's good, let's get on in there; Kurt said that the DEA agents will be here in a minute." Gena told her as she escorted Lara to the interrogation room. They had just sat down when Agent Stone and then Agent Simpson walked in with a older gentleman coming in behind of them. Gena noted that both agents looked like they had been up all night and she figured that they probably had been. They had gone over a lot of material the previous day and they had taken Lara's laptop with them. Kurt then came into the room bringing in a chair for the older gentleman. No one introduced him but Gena knew that he was someone important, someone very important. Agent Stone looked to the older gentleman who gave a slight node of his head and Agent Stone began, "We have gone over everything in your computer and have a basic understanding of the money flow that you controlled. However there are a few issues that we need to clear up." "Okay, what do you want to know?" Lara said. To Gena's surprise, it was the unnamed older gentleman who asked the first question, "Who taught you to wash the money like you did, that's very professional work, work that someone your age couldn't know how to do, if you did it..." "Oh I did it, I handled every dime that came in and I am more than smart enough to do something like that, if that is what you are alluding to." Lara told him and that made Gena smile. Lara might be meek when it came to men who control or had control over her but she was proud of her own abilities even if they were illegal. "As to who taught me, it was a guy named Buster, though I don't think that was his real name. He was short pudgy man in his forties or fifties, and he had long gray hair that he kept in a pony tail. He showed me how to go about setting up the accounts and how to move the money from one place to another. I took it from there and as I learned I found new ways to move the money without anyone noticing what was going on. Does that answer your question?" Lara asked. The older man just sat there for the longest time then he broke out with a deep horse laugh, "Yes it does young lady and Buster's real name is Ray Vaugh. He is now serving twenty years in a federal pen." "Is that where I will be when this is over, assuming that my father doesn't get to me first which he probably will." Lara told the man. "I believe that a promise was made to you and that promise will be kept, including the part of protecting you and hiding you away when this is done. That doesn't mean that what you did was correct, it only means that your father and brothers are more important to us than you are." He said. "I understand that. So what else do you want to know?" Lara asked. Now that Lara had gained the older gentleman's respect, the questioning began. Agent Stone and Simpson asked most of the questions however, Gena noted that it was the order's gentleman's questioning that was the most probing. Gena was again reduced to getting food and drinks however during one of the breaks, she was able to find out from Kurt just who this strange guy was. His response was surprising but yet not so surprising. He was actually the director of the DEA who had flown in from Washington the night before when they had realized just what Gena had stumbled upon when she pulled Lara over. Gena was also able to leave the room for short periods of time to get back to her own job. The agents were now treating Lara with a lot of respect though having their director there had a lot to do with that Gena surmised. Since time was against them, they again worked late into the evening. Gena had wanted to go home and get some sleep and she could see that Lara was also looking a little worn when ten o'clock rolled around. Since the director of the DEA was now in the picture, Gena wasn't sure what they would do with Lara, in fact, she was surprised that they hadn't already taken her to their regional office but they hadn't, preferring this small county station figuring that no one would notice what was going on and that was true except for the people that worked there and they all had been warned to keep their mouths shut. As they shut things down, the director started to bring up where they would put Lara for the night and how they would protect her when Lara spoke up. "I want to stay at Office Tucker's house. I feel protected there," Lara told them. "You okay with that?" the director asked of Gena. Gena knew that there was only one answer that she could give and she gave it, "Sure that's fine with me." "Good, have a patrol car go by her house a few times a night." The director said to Kurt as he walked out the room. The agents immediately followed their director out. "I guess I need to arrange for the patrols." Kurt said as he went out the door. "Do you mind that I said that... you know wanting to stay at your house?" Lara asked. "No that is fine. I'm cool with it." Gena said giving Lara a smile. "At least they didn't mention using cuffs and shackles this time." "I think they were afraid to with that man with them. He seems to be important." Lara said and Gena realized that Lara still didn't know who he was. "That gentleman, my very important witness, is the director of the DEA, he is the top dog so they are scared shitless of him." Gena said with a laugh. "I figured that he was someone important. Is my father that big of a drug dealer?" Lara asked. Gena thought that was a weird question seeing how much money that Lara moved around but then as sheltered she had been from the outside world, the money didn't mean that much to her. "Honey, he is one of the biggest drug dealers in the US and how he has gone undetected this long is unbelievable." "I guess I am partly responsible for him not being caught, I was too good at the small part that I played." Lara said sadly. "But you're doing the right thing now... that is all that matters." Gena told her. "Then I guess it is worth losing my life over it, if he gets stopped." Lara said sadly, almost like she feared dying now where she didn't seem to before. "Lara, we're not going to let him get to you." Gena told her. "Yea..." Lara said in an unbelieving voice as she walked toward the door. Gena then drove them home with Lara looking out the window and not saying much, not that Gena blamed her as she was so tired too. "Do you have something to sleep in?" Gena asked as she put down the suitcase that she was carrying for Lara who appeared to be at the point of exhaustion. "Ah no..." Lara said as she sat down on the little twin bed. "Well don't go to sleep on me like you did last night until I can get you something to sleep in." Gena told Lara as she hurried back out the door. Gena rushed back to her bedroom, finding an old long cotton nightgown that she knew would fit Lara. When she returned she saw that Lana had, like she had the previous night, laid back on the bed and was sound asleep with her feet still on the floor. "That poor girl..." Gena said in a sigh. "Well girlie, you're not going to sleep in your clothes again." Gena said as she went over to the bed. She put Lara's legs up on the bed, and then proceeded to untie her tennis shoes and take them off. She then took off her socks putting them on the floor. She moved up on the edge of the bed putting her hands on Lara's hips and began to pull the sweats off. "Lift your ass up dear." Gena said softly. Lara let out a mumble but then she did raise her hips up just enough for Gena to get the sweats off her hips. She pulled them down and then off leaving Lara in her panties and sweat top. She saw that Lara still had the pair of panties that she had given to her that morning. That made her smile for some unknown reason. She then reached to Lara's arms, "Sit up for me dear and let me get this top off of you." Lara didn't provide as much help in doing this however Gena was able to get her to sit up. Gena pulled the top up and off leaving her in a plain cotton bra. Gena wondered if Lara owned anything other than plain white cotton bras and panties. Gena put the top with the sweat bottom on the floor. She started to go ahead and take Lara's bra off but then decided that she really didn't need to see any more of Lara's body than was necessary. So she just pulled the straps down and got Lara's arms through them. She picked up the gown and slid it over Lara's hands and got her arms through the arm holes. This reminded her of helping to dress the younger girls in the orphanage. Sometimes they would cooperate and other times they would make a game out of frustrating her as she tried to get them up and ready for breakfast. While Lara didn't fight her, she also wasn't providing her much help in getting her arms through the holes. She did get that accomplished and she pulled the gown down to Lara's waist. It was only then that she reached around Lara to unhook her bra through the material of the gown. She let the bra come down and she was able to reach to Lara's stomach to retrieve it. Gena then eased Lara down in the bed. Gena got up, but before picking up Lara's dirty clothes, she moved the pillow up under Lara's head and then she covered her up. Gena got to the door when she heard Lara say in almost a sigh, "Thank you..." then Lara turned onto her side. Gena smiled as she turned off the light and said just as softly, "You're welcome." Gena took Lara's clothes into the bathroom, putting them in the dirty clothes hamper before going back to her bedroom to put up her gun and police belt. She then returned to the bathroom, starting the water as she got undressed. She thought about her day and how hard it had been for her and more so for Lara. And as soon as her mind thought about Lara sitting at that table all day long, her mind then latched onto that morning and Lara pulling back the shower curtain. Gena found that she was smiling as she pictured Lara all wet with her hair plastered to her head and the water dripping off of her. She could see Lara's light colored nipples with the water running down across then and then dripping off. "Damn... get your fucking mind out of the gutter girl!" Gena then said to herself and she shook those thoughts from her head. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and jumped into the shower making the water as hot as she could stand it. She forced herself to think about all the work that was piling up on her as she babysat Lara. That seemed to do the trick, at least long enough for her to get through her shower and into bed. Once there exhaustion took over and she was asleep. End of Part One. To be continued... Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com