Notification Service

In every age, in every war, there have been casualties. And along with casualties, there are the loved ones left behind. In recent times, there has been a recognition that those families need help when the news is brought to them of the loss of the one they loved, and so each conflict had its own way to give the sad news, and help the families pick up the pieces afterwards, and have made a service to meet that need.

And now, with a new war waging, that service is needed again. The fact that the war is secret, that neither side is an official combatant, and that the casualties are mostly civilians is not a concern to that service. They are needed, and so they are on duty, for as long as the war lasts.....

The car driving up the street is not a remarkable one. Dark, four doors, mid-range in price. It would not attract any particular attention in this neighborhood, and that's the idea...

Three people got out, and they were a study in contrasts. Two woman, one man. Older, younger, and younger still. The man gives off the air of a soldier, even in civilian dress. The older of the two women is calm and professional. But the youngest person is a different story. Clearly agitated, with mood swings visible to the naked eye.

The older woman went to her, and said, “You okay with doing this?”

“I have to be, Karen.”

“All right. Let me know if it gets too much, okay?”

“Okay.”

“How about you, Colonel Griffin?”

“I have already stated my objections to Ann being here for this, but since she’s here, let’s get this over with.”

The three of them walked toward a particular house, and the man knocked on the door. A rather pretty young woman answered, and there was a small boy peeking out from between her legs.

“Mrs. Rachel Conner?” Karen said, “I’m with victims services. I’m afraid we have some bad news for you. May we come in?”

“Its about Tim, isnt it. I’ve been waiting for news since the word came he had been kidnapped.”

“Yes, mam. Come, lets sit down.”

They all went to the living room, and sat.

“Okay. Last I heard, my ex husband was kidnapped. They wouldn’t tell me any more because we aren’t family anymore, I guess.”

“Actually, they couldn’t tell you any more because it had to be kept from the public. But now that its over, we can let you know some of what happened.” The Colonel began.

“All right. I’m listening.”

“The person who was holding you husband was a woman named Dr. Laura Divine. She was a genius, but utterly mad.”

“I always thought the ‘mad scientist’ thing was a myth.”

“I’m afraid not. In any case, she took your ex-husband because he stopped her from attacking a physician at the hospital he was working at.”

“Why was she attacking the physician?”

“According to what we found out, she blamed him for losing her job at the hospital. He had reported her unlicensed human experiments.”

“So she went there to attack him. Then what?”

“She had a needle, and tried to stab the doctor. Somehow, your ex-husband got between her and the doctor, and took the needle in the arm.”

“Sounds just like him.”

“Once he was struck, she told the people around her that she was his only hope for survival, and they let her take your ex with her.”

“Why did they do that?”

“The doctor confirmed it. He said that if she claimed to be the only one who could cure him, that was the case.”

“And then?”

“She left and soon was out of sight. At was at that point that Colonel Griffin here was called in.”

“We had been trying to track her movements for a couple months, so when the report of the kidnapping came in, I mobilized our team, and tried to find out where she’ taken your husband. We found the site, but I’m sorry to say we were too late to save him. However we were able to rescue this young woman here, and she can tell you about his final hours, if you wish.” Colonel Griffin said.

“Please. I would like to know. And I don’t think I caught your name.”

“My name is Ann, and I was a prisoner there, just like your husband. I... got to hold him as he died, and he told me to tell you and his son he loved you both.”

Rachel wept, and Ann came over and held her.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Rachel.” she said.

The small boy crawled up onto his mother’s lap, and held her close. Ann put her hand on the boy’s head, and said, “I’m sorry for your loss too. But I know the two of you will make it, Pickle.”

The small boy looked at the girl, and said “Only daddy ever called me that.”

Colonel Griffin stood up and said, “I think we have taken up as much of your time as we should.”

Karen pulled out a card, and said, “Feel free to call me if you need to talk, okay?”

Rachel nodded, and the three of them left.

Once outside, Colonel Griffin said, “That’s exactly why I didn’t want you along, Ann. The fact that the substance Dr. Divine injected you with turned you into a young woman is not information that the world is ready for.”

“Sorry, Colonel. I.. I saw how much my son was hurting, and I just wanted to hold him so bad, the nickname slipped out.”

“Well, lets hope your ex is too grief-stricken to think about it.”

“Are you absolutely sure we need to keep the truth from her?”

“Some of Dr. Divine’s associates escaped our raid that rescued you. The woman we think was the second-in-command was one of them, and we’re pretty sure she has some of that formula left. Imagine the effect it would have if applied on a large scale, like put in the water supply. We could end up with a huge number of new women who don’t have a clue how to be women, and most of them will be a lot less happy about their sex-change than you are.”

“I know, I know. But I don’t think my ex would be running to the paper saying I had been turned into a girl. Come on, Colonel, have a heart. They are hurting over the loss of a husband and father in there.”

“They did lose their husband and father, Ann. The person you were is gone, whether you like it or not. Do you expect that your ex would want you back as a woman? That your son is going to be able to call a girl who looks like a teenager ‘Daddy’?”

Anne started to cry, and said, “Its not fair, Colonel.”

“No, its not. But it is what it is.”

Karen hugged Ann, and said, “I wont say that it will be okay, hon, because it may not be, at least not for a long time. But I’ll be with you and I’ll have professionals help your family, and they will be taken care of, that’s a promise. “

Ann wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, “Okay. Lets just get out of here.”

The three of them got back into the car, and carefully drove out of the neighborhood.

“So where to now, Colonel?” Ann asked.

“Back to the lab for more tests for you, I’m afraid.”

“You punishing me?”

“No, Ann. I think I would’ve done the same thing in your place. But we need to keep working on what happened to you, and we really need to prevent it from happening to any other man. Or there will be more visits like the one we just had.”

“And none of us want that.” Karen said.

So three lonely soldiers set off, to fight another day.

Fin