We ended up on a blacktop road for about ten miles and then turned right again on a narrow dirt road. There weren’t many trees but a lot of weeds and bushes, some growing over the road in places and I knew this road hadn’t been used much.
The one lane road ended at a huge mansion. I was hoping this was where she had Julia and that Julia was all right.
She held the gun on me and told me to get out of the car. I cut the engine and she held out her hand for the keys. I dropped them in her hand and got out of the car.
This house was even bigger than ours and looked new. There was a huge foyer open all the way to the roof with skylights above. There was a spiral staircase that she shoved me up and into one of the bedrooms about halfway down the hall.
Julia was lying on a king-sized bed with her hands tied behind her back. She wasn’t gagged but she was blindfolded. She was facing away from the door.
I ran to her and put my arms around her and she started crying. I pulled the blindfold off and was surprised when Jupiter didn’t try to stop me. I then untied her hands and we hugged.
I looked over at Jupiter and she laughed and said, “Aww, how sweet.”
“Are you all right?” I asked Julia.
“Better than the last time you rescued me” she said.
I didn’t see any bruises or abrasions anywhere on her and no burns like when I had found her after Mr. Lessiter had captured her.
Jupiter paced like a wild animal and her eyes darted from us to the window. “What’s keeping that bitch?” she mumbled to herself.
We heard a car drive up but couldn’t see who it was from where we were. “It’s about time,” she said and ran down the stairs. “Get your fucking ass in here,” I heard her scream.
We heard them coming up the stairs and when they came in Julia and I both gasped. We couldn’t believe who walked in. It was Tracy. Jupiter giggled and bowed, “Agent Carr, I presume.” She then took Tracy’s chin in her hand and turned her face from side to side. “They did a good job. I’m impressed. How do you feel?”
As soon as she spoke I knew it wasn’t Tracy at all but someone with her face.
“I feel damn good and look good. But these contacts are killing me.”
Her voice was not Tracy’s. It had a foreign sound to it and as soon as she spoke Jupiter drew back.
“You got to work on that voice, Mar…Tracy. Agent Carr’s voice is very refined.” She turned to us. “There will be more folks you know joining us later today.
“You will get started right away.”
Julia and I looked at each other, “Started on what?” I asked.
“Come on, Dr. McCain you’re the one with all the education. You can start by helping Tracy here get rid of her accent. You will prepare her psychologically to take Agent Carr’s place also. You will teach her everything she will need to know to fit into society. When the real Tracy Carr gets here she will teach her all about the FBI.”
“I won’t co-operate, and neither will Tracy, if you’re lucky enough to capture her.”
“Oh, you’ll both co-operate. I have my insurance sitting right next to you. That’s why I’ve taken such good care of Julia, even though I really wanted to have some fun with her. She would be such a fun victim to enjoy. Oh and, by the way, we already have Tracy.
“As soon as she realized you were missing she ran outside the agency alone to see if she could spot you. All we had to do was to grab her, chloroform her, and put her in the back of the van.”
She clapped her hands and grinned, “Okay, let’s get everyone settled in. If you’re a good girl,” she said to me, “You will have every comfort. You know what will happen if you’re not.”
She took my arms and pulled me off the bed, “Come on, I’ll even give you your choice of bedrooms.”
I looked at her and tried not to show how much I hated her, “If I do have a choice, I’ll stay here with Julia.”
“Oh, I see, ‘my sister, my lover?’ I think I read the book.” She laughed, “Sure, why not. Whatever floats your boat.” I heard the lock click in the door as the two left.
CHAPTER 30
Julia chatted a mile a minute like she always did, explaining about being picked up at the airport. It was things I already knew and while she was talking I looked around.
The room was pure luxury, but it was a cell nevertheless. It had two bathrooms so we could each have one and the two closets were filled with clothes. But when I parted the curtains to look out there was only a brick wall.
As I let the curtain fall back into place, Julia stopped talking, “We’re not going to escape this time are we Judith?”
“Tracy will think of something,” I said.
“No, Jupiter explained it to me. If any of us escapes, the others will be killed.” She hesitated like she was debating on whether to tell me something. Then she continued, “They’re going to grab Mimi and Brad, Judith,” she said. Her shoulders shook as she cried.
I was so angry I couldn’t comfort her. Mimi was the most kind and generous person I knew and she had been through so much and had only found us about fifteen years ago.
Brad was a sweet little boy who didn’t need to know about this part of the world. I vowed then and there that when I got a chance, I would kill that bitch.
There was no TV in the room but there were books. We each took a book and propped up against the headboard to read while we waited. We must have dozed off because we were woken up by a noise coming from the hallway.
There was no way to see what was going on since our door had been locked but we went to the door and put our ears against it.
Several people were arguing. “No, you cannot have her. You can’t have either one of them. Our mission is far greater than you satisfying your damn sexual needs,” It was Jupiter’s voice.
Then I heard a man’s voice, “What’s it going to hurt, one way or another, just a little fun, huh?”
“I’m not arguing with you, you lay one finger on either one of them and I’ll pull your eyeballs out the back of your head.
“After they’ve served their usefulness, you can do what you want with Julia, but Judith is mine. I have very special plans for her.”
I looked at Julia and her face reflected the panic I was feeling. I knew we had to escape somehow and hoped Tracy in all her experience with the FBI would have some tricks up her sleeve.
We dozed off again and at around seven we heard a key being turned in the lock. We jumped off the bed just as a man in a uniform walked in. It was Burt Jamison.
The uniform was bright pink and was made up of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt with much braiding in white. He had sneakers on his feet and pink socks. I almost laughed out loud and I heard Julia snicker.
It was the craziest uniform I could have ever come up with in a nightmare. It would take a mind as sick as Jupiter to come up with it.
He smirked, “You didn’t think I was going to waste my time guarding your sorry ass, did you? Jupiter offered me this wonderful job after the FBI fired me. They didn’t deserve me anyway.”
I couldn’t help myself, I knew there would be consequences but I had to say it, “You look really cute in your little pink uniform.”
He slapped me across the mouth and split my lip. I ran into the bathroom and got a washcloth and held it to my mouth. When I came back out he said, “I was sent to take you down to supper. Just keep your mouth shut.”
As we were going down the spiral staircase I counted seven guards standing in the foyer talking with drinks in their hands. None of the other’s had on pink uniforms but wore different shades and hues of a different color for each one.
Burt led us into a huge dining room with a long mahogany table that seated twenty four. None of the guards sat at the table and there were a lot of empty chairs. I assumed more would be joining us later. Tracy came in and…Tracy. They were dressed just alike in tan colored silk pants and white silk long-sleeved blouses.
The only way I could tell them apart was that one
of them kept blinking her eyes and I remembered the fake Tracy telling Jupiter that the contacts were driving her crazy. The guards seated them side by side across from us.
I started to speak to Tracy but one of the guards said, “You will not address each other.”
Several other men and women that I recognized from the funeral came and took what looked like their regular place. No one spoke.
There was no food on the table and not even water. As we waited, several other people joined us. I didn’t recognize any of them. We waited some more and then the president of the United States came in. I started to stand but the same guard said, “You will remain seated.” I realized it couldn’t be the real president.
Next a man wearing a general’s uniform came in. There were several government officials and I looked at Tracy and could see she was getting worried.
I was beginning to get it. Last time Jupiter ruled a pedophile ring, now she wanted to rule the country. She was not only a sociopath but a psychopath. She had completely gone round the bend.
We waited some more and no one said anything. Then Jupiter made her grand entrance. She had shaved her head and had spirals tattooed on her head. She had on so many gold chains around her neck, I thought of Mr. T. She had rings on every finger and was wearing a long metallic gold gown.
One of the guards shouted, “Show proper respect,” and I noticed most of the people had gotten up out of their chairs and were bowing to Jupiter. We did the same and waited for Jupiter to be seated.
She was wearing tons of makeup and her lips were bright red. The guards hurried around filling everyone’s wine glasses. Jupiter raised her glass and licked her lips and said, “I announce tonight the beginning of the reign of Jupiter.”
As we raised our glasses, Tracy looked at me and shook her head. There was much more at stake here than what we had dealt with before. I hoped she had a plan.
CHAPTER 31
I saw part of Tracy’s plan as we were eating. We had been served gourmet food, that rivaled anything in New Orleans, and expensive wine. The fake Tracy watched the real Tracy and I noticed that Tracy was eating weird. She asked one of the waiters for ketchup and put it on everything on her plate and then shook salt over the whole thing.
The fake Tracy did what Tracy did and I put my head down to keep from laughing. I don’t know how Tracy did it, because it must have tasted awful, but she grabbed her fork and started shoveling food into her mouth like she was starving to death.
The fake Tracy look at Jupiter, who was talking to the president of the United States, and then forced herself to follow Tracy’s example.
I noticed some of the other people at the table watching Julia eat and trying to copy her. I looked down at my plate. It was still almost full. I had been busy watching everyone else.
We had a choice of dessert: cherries with cream, peach cobbler or chocolate cake. Julia, of course, got the chocolate cake. I didn’t think she had been paying attention, but she took her knife and spread some of the chocolate from the cake on her thumb and stuck it in her mouth.
I looked around and saw four people do the same. I had ordered the cherries jubilee and I took one of the cherries and put it in my fist then put my fist to my mouth and sucked the cherry out.
Jupiter still didn’t seem to notice what we were doing and several people did what I did.
It wasn’t until Tracy stirred her coffee with a fork and the fake Tracy followed suit that Jupiter screamed, “You fools. Can’t you idiots see what’s going on here? They’re making fools out of you.
“I have been watching and I can’t believe you’d blindly follow the prisoners. As for the rest of you, you try to pull something else like this again and your time will be shorter than I had planned.
“Dinner is now officially over. Everyone had better get a good night’s sleep because tomorrow is a long day, beginning early.”
When Julia and I got to our room, I put my finger to my lip and started moving around the room. I had taken a crash course at the FBI about spotting bugs and hidden cameras.
Julia saw what I was doing and joined me. We didn’t find anything but that didn’t mean they hadn’t planted anything.
We talked while we got ready for bed, about ways to sabotage Jupiter’s plans. We had watched Burt Jameson walking around like he owned the house all during dinner.
Jupiter had made him the head of the guards and I thought it was her idea of a joke. I mean, come on. He looked ridiculous strutting around in his pink uniform.
The next morning they got us up at six thirty a.m. and fed us a big breakfast. Then they led us into a large room that must have been a ballroom. Tables and chairs had been set up with various activities going on.
There was a TV in the corner and that’s when I realized that these people must be from some third world country and had never seen a TV before. A large sectional sofa had been put in front of the TV along with several other chairs and loveseats.
A group of people were sitting there arguing about something in a foreign language and I realized what they were arguing about when I saw one of them jerk the remote control out of another one’s hands.
All of a sudden a full-fledged fight broke out and Jupiter motioned for Burt to break it up. He had been right when he had bragged to me about his skills. He moved with lightning speed and did some fast kicking and punching and grabbed the control.
He handed the remote control to Jupiter and she put the TV on the old show, Three’s Company.
“This will teach you about relationships in this country,” she said, “and you can learn to speak without an accent. Besides, it’s funny.”
She motioned to Julia and me, “Julia, you will sit here and watch TV with them and explain what’s going on. They can speak a little English but I expect you to teach them more.
“Judith, you will sit here with Tracy and Tracy,” she paused to laugh. “You will help her learn to fit in with your home life and with the FBI. You will not use this time to plot an escape.
“If I see any hint of this I will separate you and you will have no contact from here on out. You will be searched from time to time so don’t try to pass any notes either.”
I noticed Tracy was chewing gum and I had never seen her chew gum before. In the limited training I had gotten from the FBI, I knew it meant something.
She handed me and fake Tracy a stick of gum and Tracy and I sat there and popped it and the fake Tracy followed suit.
I heard Julia laugh and saw the others laugh after looking at her. I had seen that episode before. It was one of the episodes that had a sad part.
In this episode, Janet had just auditioned for a dancing part in a play and the producer had told her she didn’t have what it took to be a dancer.
I remembered having tears in my eyes in that part, but Julia and the group were laughing.
“Good job, Julia,” I thought.
On the other side of the room the guards were playing cards. They had drinks in front of them and were smoking cigarettes.
I watched Jupiter, noticing that her appearance was different today. The night before I had thought her shaved head was tattooed but today I realized it was painted. It was painted with swirls of metallic blue and silver. She was dressed in a metallic silver robe and lots of silver jewelry.
I noticed her feet for the first time and she was barefoot with toe rings and anklets in silver. Her earrings were long, wide, and silver. They reached her shoulders.
She evidently hadn’t planned on doing any fighting and was depending on her guards to protect her. I began to wonder if they could be bought or bribed in some way.
“You will be expected to wear fatigues at all times in the office,” I heard Tracy say and I turned around and noticed the fake Tracy taking notes. “You’re allowed to hit anyone who works for you who displeases you in any way. That’s the beauty of being in charge,” she continued.
I looked down trying not to laugh and all the while the fake Tracy was taking notes.
“Vot elze,” The fake asked and looked at me.
I looked at Tracy, “Did you tell her about Mark?”
“Oh Yeah,” she said, “You have to bow down at his feet when you’re near him.”
“Ah, jest like en my country.”
I didn’t try to correct her speech in any way.
There was a loud bell and Jupiter announced that it was lunch time. Everyone stood and bowed until Jupiter left the room.
Tracy took out her gum and stuck it under the table and walked out without looking at me. On the way past her side of the table I quickly reached under and retrieved the gum. It was holding a piece of paper, just the corner.
I stuck the note in my jean pocket and added my gum to Tracy’s and handed the wad to the fake letting her see what I had done with mine and Tracy’s. She added hers to ours and walked off with the wad.
After lunch we were given another hour to rest before the afternoon session began but we were restricted to our quarters.
Julia and I stretched out on the bed and I unfolded the paper Tracy had given me. We read it together and it read:
Don’t give up, not hopeless as it seems. There is a plan. Stay dressed tonight and don’t go to sleep. Mimi and Brad will not be taken.
When we went down for the afternoon lessons, Jupiter told me to sit with the president of the United States. Of course he wasn’t really the real one and his accent was so thick I could have cut it with a knife.
Right away he started flirting with me and it made me mad, but I pretended to enjoy it and flirted back. I didn’t understand what I supposed to be accomplishing with the jerk but then Jupiter came by and smiled at us, “You two seem to be getting along very well together,” she said.
He winked at me and I didn’t like where my thoughts were going. I was still grieving Ben for one thing and there were thousands of reasons I could never be interested in him.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” I said under my breath, “President Obama would never wink at some female who’s not his wife.” Then I started thinking, “We don’t need to try and sabotage this operation. There’s no way in hell this plan could work.”
Peggy Holloway - Judith McCain 04 - Jupiter Returns Page 10