Katy laughed. “Great. Then let me work my magic.”
After two hours of washing, foiling, cutting and drying, Katy finally let Alex look in the mirror again. She was stunned by what she saw. Her hair was cut just above her shoulder, streaked with delicate blonde highlights. There were some shorter pieces around her face and it looked so much fluffier than it did before.
“What do you think?” Katy said anxiously.
“It looks…amazing!” Alex said. “I can’t believe…I mean, you did such a great job!”
“Good! I told you not to worry. With your hair texture, cutting it shorter gives it more body. And these highlights really soften your natural color.”
“They really do!” Alex mentally scolded herself for not having done this sooner. It looked great!
“Oh, the agents got your eyeglass prescription and ordered you some contact lenses.”
Alex frowned. “But I love my glasses.”
“Hand ‘em over,” Katy said, hand outstretched. “Do you know how to put contacts in?”
Alex sighed, removing her glasses. “Yes, I just don’t like contacts. I haven’t worn any for years”
“These are the same kind I use, you’ll like them. They’re new. They don’t dry your eyes out as much.”
Alex looked at the box of contacts. Well, everything about this trip couldn’t be perfect. She’d make do.
Next, she met with Marshal Perez again. She provided her with documentation and a full history for the fake medical trip that she would tell everyone she was taking. The fake organization for the trip had a website, a working phone number, plus pictures and tons of information. Alex was really impressed with what they managed to build in such a short time.
Perez sat with her as she called a handful of people to let them know that she was leaving immediately. It all went a lot better than she expected. Though she felt guilty lying to her parents, she knew that she could tell the truth once it was all over. It wasn’t like she had a choice – if she refused the help of WITSEC, she would be on her own. That didn’t seem like a smart choice. She knew that once her parents heard the full story, they would agree with what she chose.
By the end of it all, she felt exhausted. Perez told her to get some rest, because next she needed to memorize her new identity and prepare to fly out in the morning.
Perez had one last piece of advice before she made her exit. “Remember – no harm has ever come to anyone in the witness protection program who followed our rules. But if you leave your designated area or contact anyone from your previous life, we won’t be able to protect you. Do you understand?”
Alex nodded. “Of course! Why on earth would I want to break the rules?”
With that, she went back to get some sleep and prepare for the next steps of her journey.
Chapter 5
“Mr. Aiken?”
Jason spun around. He was still getting used to being “Mitchell Aiken.” He had to start thinking of himself as Mitch so he wouldn’t make any mistakes once he got to his new witness protection location in Cody, Wyoming.
Initially, the plan was that he would drive into Cody in his new pickup truck and move into a rental house. However, the U.S. Marshals wanted him to wait until they could bring both him and his dad’s Heimlich maneuver savior into town.
He thought that he’d have to wait for at least a week, but the Marshals worked astonishingly fast. They located her and then made her a new identity in a day.
Apparently, she was given two choices: join him in Cody, which was already a prepared and secure site, or wait out the next six weeks in the holding facility. The Marshals explained to her that they wouldn’t have another site approved and prepared for her quickly enough otherwise.
She picked Cody. Mitch hoped she’d like it.
“Hey, good to see you again,” Mitch said, once he realized he was being addressed. It was funny to see Agent Simmons in anything but his usual suit – now he really just looked like a happy dad, wearing faded jeans and a t-shirt.
“Good to see you too. I’d like you to meet Deputy U.S. Marshal Turner. This is where I take my leave.”
Mitch shook Marshal Turner’s hand. He too was dressed casually. Jason felt disappointed that he wouldn’t get to spend more time with Simmons.
“Nice to meet you.”
Agent Simmons saw the confusion on Mitch’s face. “Only the U.S. Marshals will know where you’re hiding. It’s for your own protection – but I’ll see you in a few weeks at trial.”
Mitch nodded. “Well – thank you for everything.”
Turner shifted towards the door. “Ready to head out?”
“Sure.”
Mitch felt nervous. He wondered if this woman who saved his dad would be angry with him. Of course she would be – who wouldn’t be angry about being ripped away from their home?
Once they got into the car, they could speak more freely.
“You guys work fast,” Mitch said.
Turner smiled. “We do what we can. So about your dad’s savior. She – ”
“Wait,” Mitch interrupted. “I don’t think that I should know anything about her real life, right? In case I mess up and blow her cover?”
Turner shrugged. “Normally I’d tell you a bit about her, but if you’re worried, that’s alright. You should know that she’ll be going by ‘Kayla Smith.’ We explained the rules of the program to her. Our plan is that she will only need a few weeks of protection, so her identity doesn’t need to last as long as yours does. She is very anxious to get back to work.”
Mitch felt the guilt creeping in about bringing this woman into his mess. “Does she have a family? Is she leaving children behind?”
“No. No husband, no kids. If she did, we would take them in as well. So that makes it easier.”
“Oh, okay.” Mitch sat for a moment. He debated if he should ask any more questions – surely Turner wouldn’t tell him more than he was supposed to know. “What does she do for a living?”
“She’s a doctor. Family medicine, I think.”
“Ah,” Mitch replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess that explains why she was able to do the Heimlich without even thinking.”
Turner laughed. “It does, doesn’t it?”
Mitch didn’t know what else to say. It was good that the woman – er, Kayla – decided to accept the protection of the Marshals. Even though he felt bad that her good deed landed her in harm’s way, he was glad that they were able and willing to bring her into witness protection. After a few weeks of inconvenience, she could go back to her normal life like nothing ever happened.
Turner spent the car ride explaining what would be expected of both of them.
“We decided that it would be safest to keep you both around Cody. We’ve mapped out the location and know that neither of you have any ties to the area. The risk of being recognized is low. She’ll be staying at a nearby ranch as a guest under the guise of writing an article about tourism. Her cover is that she’s a journalist.”
“Makes sense.”
That seemed like a decent cover job, especially compared to what he ended up with: insurance salesman.
It wasn’t as easy as pretending to be a salesman – he actually had to learn about insurance and try to make a living that way. He wasn’t allowed to work as a carpenter anymore. Even if he wanted to, all of his credentials were under his old name – the name that he can never go back to. In his new life, Mitch Aiken was an insurance salesmen.
Turner continued. “We would like the two of you to meet at least twice a week. Don’t make it suspicious, obviously. You will need to make it look like you have formed a casual friendship. That way, you can both discuss any unusual activity or suspicious people that try to contact you.”
“Should we expect that someone will try to make contact with us?” asked Mitch.
Turner shook his head. “I don’t expect it, no. We’ll be on the lookout as well, of course. But it’s helpful that both of you remain alert.”
“Yeah, agreed,” Mitch replied.
“You can contact us at anytime, just like we discussed. And if you feel that you’re in danger and you cannot get a message to us safely, we will send agents to help you.”
“Thank you.”
Mitch set a reminder in his phone to send the Marshals a regular signal that all was well. If he missed it, they would come to the rescue.
The thought of being in danger wasn’t what worried him. What made him most uneasy was that there were so many resources dedicated to protecting him. He couldn’t help but feel like it was a waste – not just because he didn’t think anyone would find him, but also because the U.S. Marshals were so talented that he couldn’t believe they had to waste their time monitoring his safety.
He expressed these thoughts to Agent Simmons and Marshal Perez when they first approached him. They assured him that the government was more than happy to offer him protection in exchange for his testimony. From their perspective, it was extremely rare for any white collar criminal to get jail time – let alone several of them at once.
“Rob a bank? You might get away with 10, or maybe 15 thousand dollars,” Marshal Perez told him. “If you get caught, you could spend the next 40 years of your life in prison. But these scam artists – what we call white-collar criminals – these guys steal millions, sometimes billions of dollars. They really hurt people. And most of them? They don’t even get a fine, let alone any jail time.”
Agent Simmons added, “This is one of the biggest cases that we’ve handled in the last 10 years. I’m happy to work day and night if that means justice for these crimes.”
Mitch pulled himself out of his thoughts and tried to make conversation for the rest of the drive. They mostly chatted about Cody – Mitch couldn’t wait to get there. When the Marshals offered him a spot in WITSEC, they first asked him where he’d like to go. He named a handful of places, and once he was done, they told him that he couldn’t go to any of the places that he just said. Their reasoning was that if he wanted to go there, he likely had some connection to the place that could compromise him.
Fair enough. They then told him they’d move him out West. He was glad that he didn’t think of naming anything there – there was something so freeing about moving out West.
He’d never technically been west of Cincinnati before, but he always suspected that it would suit him. So far he’d only seen bits and pieces while flying and going to and from the hotel – everything was bigger and more beautiful than he even imagined.
The only thing left to do was to meet Kayla before heading into town. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too much of a know it all since she was a doctor. Mitch hoped that she understood the seriousness of being in hiding. If she blew her own cover, it would leave him vulnerable as well.
Marshal Turner and Mitch arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 that evening. It was relatively empty, and Mitch was glad that they still had the Marshals with them to ensure that there was no suspicious activity before they headed to their final destination.
Mitch spotted Marshal Perez first – she looked very unlike herself in blue jeans and an interesting shirt with a large picture of a horse on it.
“Nice horse, Perez,” Turner said as they sat down.
Perez stared at him with narrowed eyes. “Thanks, the wardrobe girls really got a kick out of this one.”
Mitch said a quiet hello and stole a quick glance at Kayla – she looked different than he remembered. For some reason, he thought she had really long hair. She stood up to shake his hand; here his memory served him well. He remembered thinking that she was unusually tall. He could now see that she was almost as tall as he was.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “My name is – Kayla Smith.”
“Hi,” he replied. “I’m Mitch. Mitch Aiken.”
“Wait,” she dropped her voice, “is that what I’m supposed to call you?”
Was this some sort of joke? “Yes.”
Turner laughed. “That’s a good one, Kayla.”
Mitch sat down without saying anything else. It didn’t seem like a good time to crack jokes.
The waitress made her way to their table. “Hi there, my name is Alex and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”
Kayla gasped. “That’s my name too!”
“Get out!” the waitress said with a wide smile.
No really, Mitch thought. Kayla should “get out” of the restaurant after blowing her cover with literally the first person she met.
“Excuse me,” Mitch said as he stood and walked to the front door. Marshal Turner hurriedly followed him.
Once they were outside, Turner said, “Come on Mitch, don’t let one little slip up bother you.”
“One little slip up?” He shook his head in disbelief. “It’s literally the first thing you’re not supposed to mess up.”
Turner shrugged. “What can I tell you? There’s an adjustment. It’s not a big deal. That’s part of the reason why we didn’t just drop both of you off in town on day one.”
“Maybe she needs a few days to learn the basics.”
“Nah, she’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out.”
“If she’s not smart enough to remember her name, how smart can she be?”
Mitch heard the sound of the restaurant door closing behind him. He turned around to see Kayla standing there, staring at him.
Chapter 6
“Do you boys mind coming back inside? I don’t want to keep Alex waiting.” Kayla smiled before turning around and walking back into the restaurant.
It was weird referring to the waitress with her real name while thinking of herself as “Kayla.” Perez told her it would take some getting used to.
Sure, she shouldn’t have told the waitress that her name was Alex too. But it was an honest mistake, and it didn’t give Mitch the right to call her stupid. He was the stupid one! He probably got caught committing some dumb crime and now they both had to pretend to be new people.
They followed her into the restaurant and took their seats. Kayla was determined to act perfectly pleasant to Mitch, even though she now knew he was a jerk in addition to being a criminal.
Alex (the waitress) came back and got their orders after a few minutes. Since they were in public, they couldn’t talk about anything related to the witness protection program or to the real identities.
Instead, Marshal Turner led much of the conversation discussing the history of the nearby national parks. Kayla was fascinated. She always wanted to visit the national parks, but prior to this, it seemed like she was destined to only see them in pictures. This was going to be incredible.
The only annoying thing, she now realized, was that she’d need to check in and meet with Mitch two to three times a week. When she first heard that she would have to do this, Kayla didn’t think it was a big deal. But now she was dreading it. She’d have to make sure that she didn’t say anything silly in front of Mitch and prove him right.
They ate quickly and Turner paid the bill.
“Well fellas,” Perez said as she stood from the table, “safe travels.”
“Hope to see you again soon,” Kayla added with a smile.
“Yes, definitely,” Mitch said a little too quickly.
He seemed uncomfortable. Good! He should be. Kayla made a mental note to be sure not to see him more than necessary.
When they got to the parking lot, Perez handed Kayla a set of car keys. “Here’s your new rental.”
“This is so exciting,” said Kayla. “What kind of car is it again?”
“Nothing fancy,” replied Perez. “Just a little Toyota. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s decked out with gear so you can contact us anytime. Oh, and the glass is bulletproof.”
“Of course,” Kayla said with a smile. She couldn’t believe how casually Perez added that – oh, just a partially bulletproof Toyota. No big deal.
Kayla spotted it quickly; it was the cleanest car in the parking lot. She hopped into the driver’s seat
and made herself comfortable. She had to push the car seat all the way back to fit her legs in, but it worked.
She turned the key and got started. Perez followed her out of the parking lot; the plan was that she’d supervise her to make sure she got to the ranch safely, and after that, she’d be on her own.
Kayla found the drive enjoyable, but it was too dark to really admire the landscape. Also, she felt like she should focus on the road – she didn’t know the rules around crashing a car that the government loaned her, but she couldn’t imagine that they would be very pleased if it needed any repairs.
She arrived at the New Morning Ranch just after nine that night. The staff knew that she’d be arriving late, but she still felt bad for whoever had to wait up for her. She rushed into the main lodge, apologizing profusely.
“Don’t you worry one bit,” said the young woman standing behind the counter. “I don’t mind at all and I’m happy that you made it safely. Welcome to the New Morning Ranch!”
“Thank you so much, I’m excited to be here.”
“You’re Kayla, right?”
She nodded.
“Nice to meet you Kayla, I’m Isabelle Conner. My dad and I run this ranch.”
Kayla looked around admiringly. It was a truly stunning lodge. “It’s very nice to meet you Isabelle. And the ranch is gorgeous.”
“Thank you kindly! If you follow me, I can show you to your cabin.”
Isabelle led her through the back doors of the lodge, down a winding path, and to a cabin nestled beneath a mammoth tree.
The cabin took her breath away when she first saw it – it looked so magical under the moonlight. There was a covered porch with rocking chairs in the front and warm lights poured from the windows. The only sounds around them were some crickets in the distance. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, taking it all in, before following Isabelle inside.
“This looks even more amazing than the pictures online!” said Kayla.
A smile spread across Isabelle’s face. “Thank you, that means a lot. If you have some time, I can go over some of the activities that we have here at the ranch.”
Doctor's Date with a Billionaire Page 4