Chapter 98

word count 1156

Hank, Gil, and Mick arrived at The Pink Lady along with half a dozen other squad cars. An ambulance filled the spot in front of the bar. The trio arrived to see man on a gurney being lifted up and into that medical conveyance.

Hank grabbed a nearby cop. "What happened here?" he inquired.

"An assault. A woman attacked a man, that guy," he said, pointing to the fellow on the stretcher. "He's in pretty bad shape. There was no gun or anything, just a lot of bruises, scratches, and bite marks. But she did knock him to the ground and he hit his head pretty hard. Medics are worried about a concussion, and those bites are pretty bad. The woman must have been a real animal." He looked around canvassing the area. "We found drug paraphernalia on the scene. Its elevating effects probably made the attack all that more worse."

Gil stood back and studied the crowd, his eyes widening. "Oh my gosh, this is a gay bar, isn't it?" He asked in a surprised whisper.

"Yeah, the guy that was attacked claimed the dame who attacked him was, quote..." The cop paused and opened his notebook. "...the most beautiful set of boobs I've ever seen. I only asked when the rest of her change-over would be complete."

"Now wait, I'm confused. Was the assailant a man or a woman?" Mick asked.
The others looked and him and simply blinked.

***
Trudy ran through the streets in a frenzy. When that guy asked her about being in transition, something in her snapped and she jumped on him like a wild cheetah. Her teeth tearing into his flesh...oh, it was so delicious, practically a turn on. But she really hurt the guy, and when his skull smashed against the concrete, her blood ran cold with fear wondering what the hell was wrong with her. That's when she took off running.

How could things have gone so wrong? One minute she was basking in the warmth of camaraderie, and next the hard cold reality of where she was and what all that affection was about sent her into a rage. It was the drugs he gave her, buzzing her up, but there was more...a realization was eating at her...something she'd been hiding from for a long time, but now like an epiphany it came to be apparent to her. Nobody liked her, and all the men were more than happy to use her but despised her at the same time. They were all users, every stinkin' one of them. When they were done getting their jollies, they threw her away like yesterday's garbage. And the women, well, not only did they not like her, they detested her.

"Trudy, hon, let's face it. You don't have a friend in the world." She said the words out loud, throwing them out into the universe, cementing their truth in a solid, new and tangible existence. It was a depressing thought, a demoralizing thought, the kind of inkling that once it hit home, it changed a person forever. At the moment though, she was too worked up to get bummed about it, and she longed instead to rattle a few cages.  She was better than them all anyway. The krank had her on a high. And in an exhilarated way, she felt above them all, king of the world style.

Arriving on John and Lisa's doorstep, she was still crystal clear on how people felt about her. But poor Trudy was worked up and ready to put them in their place. Her legs felt wobbly from all the booze, but "tina" was still lighting her up like Christmas.

John opened the door and stood back in surprise.

"Trudy, what are you doing here?" He eyed her up and down.

"I have come to give ya a piece of my mind." Try as she might, the words still came out slurred as much as she didn't want them to. "Where's your stupid girl friend? I wanna say this to her, too."

Lisa arrived and upon seeing Trudy, that lady shuddered. Stepping behind John, only her peering eyes remained visible as she stole glances from her hiding place. Trudy was pleased, thrilled that she made them afraid. It was the first time she thought she ever felt superior.

"I just want ya to know that I realize ya hate me, and ya know what? I don't give a flying fuck. I never thought much of you either. From now on, I'll meet with Elly off the premises so I don't have to so much as set eyes on ya. You two think you're so much better than me, and you're mean in the process. You're animals, the way you chew up and spit out other people thinkin' you're all superior. Well, not any more! Not me!"

She turned on her heel and marched off, albeit not too steadily. Lisa watched her careening down the walk and whispered in John's ear.

"I don't know whether to be happy or sad. That poor pitiful woman!"

***
Buzz and Mrs. Dunn had quickly sculpted out a harmonious existence and each was enjoying the process every step of the way. Mrs. Dunn fluttered around the portly cop like a mother hen, seeing to his every need.

"Are you comfortable enough, Detective Miller? Let me fluff that pillow for you."

It got to the point where she anticipated his every whim and stood by ready to fulfill it. He'd gotten lazy, completely forgetting he had a job to go to. He'd told them at work he needed more recovery time and took a leave from the office. Now he was free to kick his feet up and relax and eat Mrs. Dunn's apple pie all he wanted. This was a contented soul with no worries, until a crazy lady showed up, that is.

When Trudy left John and Lisa's doorstep, she headed straight for Buzz's house. Mrs. Dunn answered the door. At the sight of Trudy, hair flying, eyes dilated, clothes rumpled, the stalwart Mrs. D. took a second look to be sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. When she realized who it was, she could barely contain a moan.

"What do you want?" she was demanding an answer rather than making simple small talk.

"You...the hell outta here! I've come back to claim the prize, baby!" The one thing that was solid and stable and clear was the glint in Trudy's eye. It was the kind of spark that has ignited epic wars and battles all through history, that light that blasts out from the eye with absolute fire when a decision has been made, a crusade taken on, a victory acknowledged to be won.

Mrs. Dunn stood waiting like knight in steel armor.