The Courier

By Ed Carlson

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This story is purely fictitious. The names used herein are for character

identification and should not be construed as real people, alive or dead.

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It was eleven o’clock in the evening when he boarded the big KLM jet in New York for the all-night trip to Europe. The rear of the plane was crowded, and he was glad that he had been allowed to ride in first class. It was his first time riding up front in the big 747. He had been waiting for a trip like this for a long time, and he never expected to be riding to Europe in luxury. The company was buying, and he was happy to be going.

Bob put his carry-on and jacket in the overhead bin and settled back in the large first-class airline seat. The only seat next to him was empty. He was reading the safety placard in the seat pocket when he noticed her walking down the aisle. What really caught his eye were her beautiful long legs that seemed to go on endlessly and disappear up into a short leather skirt. The black high heels she wore helped accentuate them. She was also wearing a dark blazer and white blouse. Her hair was impeccably done in a current style, her complexion was flawless, and her makeup was perfect. In a word, she was a knockout. She carried a thin attaché case clamped in one of her split hooks in place of her hands, and her other hook contained her ticket jacket.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, one of the most gorgeous women that he had ever seen, with hooks, walking down the aisle toward him. She paused when she was opposite him and brought her ticket jacket up in order to read it.

“Excuse me,” she said in an angel voice, almost melodic. “May I sit down?”

“Certainly,” Bob replied as he got up to let her get into the window seat. “Let me get out of the way.”

Bob stood up, and they were almost eye-to-eye. He noticed the beautiful blue of her eyes—a light blue that was almost iridescent.

“Would you like the window seat?” she offered.

“No, aisle is all right,” he said. “I need to stretch my knee once in a while.”

She stepped in by her seat and set her attaché case on the seat and released her hook by hunching her opposite shoulder. Using the same hook, she deftly opened one latch, then the other, and opened the lid. She held her ticket jacket over the case, which contained several papers, and dropped it inside, then closed the case. Using one hook and then the other, she closed the latches. She placed the attaché case on the floor and gently pushed it under the seat with her foot. She used her hooks to move the seatbelts over the arms of the seat, then sat down. He sat down and fastened his seatbelt. She was struggling getting hers fastened.

“Do you need some help?” he asked.

“Thanks. I think I do,” she replied. “I can’t seem to get the right angle to do it.”

She released her grasp of the seatbelt with her hooks. Bob fastened it for her and tightened it a little.

“Thank you,” she said. “By the way, my name is Dawn. We might as well introduce ourselves; we’ll be here for the next eleven hours.”

“Nice to meet you Dawn,” he replied. “My name is Bob. Bob Hanson.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she said. “Is this your first trip to Europe?”

“Yes. I’ve never been there before,” he said. “What about you?”

“This is a weekly event for me,” Dawn replied. “I’m an expediter for an import company, and I need to meet clients on regular basis.”

The engines started, and the stewardesses began the preflight scurrying around. Soon the plane was taxiing while the stewardesses gave the seatbelt and oxygen mask demonstration. When they were finished, they started up and down the aisles doing the final check. One stopped by Bob and Dawn.

“Hello Miss Jamison. I didn’t see you get on today,” the stewardess said.

“Good evening,” Dawn replied. “How are you?”

“Fine thanks,” the stewardess said. “Are you fastened in OK?”

“Yes. Bob was nice enough to help me,” Dawn replied.

“Thank you sir,” the stewardess said to Bob. “Could you do me a favor and take care of her if there is an emergency?”

“No problem. I’ll be glad to,” Bob replied.

The stewardess walked on and Dawn said, “I hate it when she does that.”

“Does what?” Bob asked.

“Treat me like I’m some kind of invalid, just because of these damn hooks,” she replied with disgust. “I’m capable of taking care of myself. Hell, I do it every day.”

The plane left the ground, and they were out over the Atlantic in no time.

“How long ago did you lose your hands?” Bob asked.

“About ten years ago now. I lost more than just my hands though. I lost both arms about here,” Dawn said, pointing to about mid upper arm with one of her hooks.

“How did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?” Bob asked.

“I was in Lebanon during a terrorist attack,” she began. “There was shooting everywhere. I was hiding behind a large column and had my arms wrapped around it when a hand-grenade was tossed on the other side of it. When it went off, my arms were gone, and my stumps were shreds. My ears were ringing so loud, and there was so much smoke that I didn’t know they were gone for a minute. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital and it was three days later.”

“Wow, that must have been pretty traumatic,” he observed.

“Traumatic isn’t the word for it,” Dawn said bluntly. “I was scared to death. Here I was, eighteen years old, in a country hostile to American citizens, and lying in a hospital with both arms blown off well above the elbow. They were stingy with the pain killers, and all I had were two large bandages on my stumps.”

“What did you do?” Bob asked. “How did you survive?”

“A French news crew spotted me in the hospital,” she said. “A blond in the Near East is easy to spot. They told the Red Cross, and the Red Cross negotiated my release. They took me to France, and then the U.S. government got me back to the States where my real hospital time started.”

“How long were you hospitalized?” he quizzed.

“Probably about six months all together,” she replied. “They had to do some surgery to get me ready for my prosthetics, and I had to heal up from that. During that time, I went home to recuperate and wait for the swelling to go down so they could fit me with my arms. That’s when the fire in the house my parents were renting occurred. Somehow, I managed to get out of my downstairs bedroom, but my parents couldn’t get out of the house. They were asleep upstairs. The whole place was tinder dry and went up in this huge inferno.”

“Gosh, what happened next?” he asked.

“Well, everything was gone. I mean completely gone—my things, my pictures, everything that meant anything to me was gone. Dad had been in the service, and we had traveled over most of the world; all my mementos were gone. But worst of all, my mom and dad were gone, and I was left standing out in the middle of the street crying with just a long T-shirt on. Hell, I didn’t even have underwear, just the wraps on my arm stumps, and they were all torn up from where I worked at getting the window open.

“When the rural fire department finally got there, they wet down the foundation and called the Red Cross. The Red Cross had some clothes and put me up in a motel in town for a couple of days until I made other housing arrangements through the hospital. One of the fireman’s wives stayed with me because without arms and hands I was, and still am as far as that goes, pretty much helpless. I really rely on these hooks a lot to be able to do anything at all. She was a great comfort and put up with my screaming and crying.

“The hospital found me a place to stay near the prosthetist’s office. They were used to dealing with amputees but had never dealt with someone who had lost both arms and had only very short stubs. The swelling had gone down enough so that they could start making up my new prosthetic arms. It took a while for me to get used to them. My stumps still hurt a lot because we were rushing it, and they hadn’t completely healed. I worked hard at learning to use my new, shiny hooks, and after some refitting, I was pronounced to be as good as I was going to get.

“The proceeds of my family’s estate pretty much offset my medical bills. I found a job working in an office where I could develop my skills using my new hooks. This courier job came along, and I decided to take it. So now, once a week, I go to Europe. Now aren’t you glad you asked.”

“Frankly yes,” Bob replied. “That is a story of real courage. I bet a lot of people would just sit there and let someone take care of them.”

“I know,” Dawn said. “I met some of them in rehab. Their attitude probably spurred me on. It’s really easy to sit there and feel sorry for yourself.”

“Do you miss your parents?” he asked.

“Yes, I think about them every day,” Dawn said as she swallowed hard. “What about your parents?”

“My dad was killed in the war in Vietnam,” Bob replied. “My mom just passed away. She had Alzheimer’s disease before she died.”

“I’m sorry,” Dawn said compassionately. “How bad was she?”

“She was getting progressively worse,” Bob said. “Some days I thought she recognized me, but most times I don’t even think she knew I was there.”

“That must be tough to deal with,” she observed.

“Yes. I don’t even know that she realized that I told her that I loved her before she died. The whole thing is the main reason for my trip,” Bob said. “I just needed a change of scenery for a little while—maybe a little adventure. I don’t know.”

“Where are you going to stay?” she quizzed.

“I have reservations at a hotel in Amsterdam for one night. Then I thought I’d see the country a little before I have to head back,” Bob replied.

“I stay at a cozy little inn out of the city away,” Dawn said. “I have some things to do when we get there in the afternoon and evening, but tomorrow if you’d like to meet me there, I’ll show you around some of the quaint places the tourists never hit. Besides, I speak the languages.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Bob said.

The stewardesses began to serve beverages. Dawn and Bob each ordered similar drinks. He was intrigued with the dexterity of the way she used her hook prostheses to do things. Soon they were being served a meal, and he was even more intrigued to watch her eat. When the meal was done, the stewardesses cleared the dishes. Dawn put her tray table back up.

“Excuse my staring, but I’m amazed at the way you use your . . .” He paused at a loss for words.

“Call ’em hooks. That’s what they are,” she said.

“OK, hooks then. I’m amazed at the way you use your hooks,” he finished.

“Thanks. It’s taken a lot of hard work for me to learn to use them effectively, and I don’t mind if you stare,” she said with a smile and a wink as she crossed her legs seductively. “Don’t stare only at my hooks though.”

“All right. I’ll enjoy the entire view,” Bob said as he returned the smile and glanced down at her beautifully long legs.

They continued to talk, watched a movie, and the time went by quickly. When they landed, it was a little after noon the next day. After all night on the plane, the two of them were thoroughly acquainted and discovered that they both had a lot in common. Before the plane landed, Bob helped Dawn refasten her seatbelt. When they landed, Dawn was able to release the belt by herself. Bob stood up and retrieved his jacket and carry-on from the overhead bin while Dawn retrieved her attaché case from under her seat.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked if you wanted that case stored up here,” he said.

“No, that’s fine,” she replied. “I try not to let this case out of my sight. Besides, working overhead is something I can’t do.”

Bob stood aside and let Dawn get out, then he followed her down the aisle. The view from the rear was spectacular. When they got into the jetway, she waited and they walked side by side down to baggage claim. Announcements were being made in Dutch, and Bob didn’t understand. Dawn saw the puzzled look on his face and said, “That one said cars parked on the drive will be towed.”

They continued on to baggage claim and waited for the luggage to arrive. Bob quickly found his bag and retrieved Dawn’s when they found it. It was a roll-around that Dawn could manage easily with one hook. They walked outside. A car and driver were waiting for Dawn.

“Do you know how to get out to the inn now?” Dawn asked.

“I think so,” Bob replied hesitantly.

“Tell you what, why don’t I just pick you up at your hotel? I have a car available,” she said.

“OK,” Bob replied sheepishly. “Maybe that will be better.”

“It’s better if you don’t drive until you know what the signs say,” she said with a smile. “I’ll pick you up at ten.”

“Great, I’ll see you there,” he said.

Dawn gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and got into her waiting car. He was so surprised by her action that he just stood there as she got into the rear door that was being held by the driver. He again was mesmerized by the view of her long legs swinging into the car. The driver closed the door as Bob just stood there dumbfounded. As the car pulled away, she mouthed a kiss. Still in a daze, Bob found a cab. The driver spoke English, and they quickly arrived at the hotel.

Bob checked into his room and freshened up. He was tired from the long flight and lay down on the bed. When he opened his eyes, it was late afternoon. He got up and went downstairs, then out onto the street. They were close by, so he walked to the royal palace and then to the old church. He caught a cab and had the driver go to the Rijks Museum. He spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring it until closing time. Bob found a little café where English was spoken and had dinner. He decided to walk back to the hotel. Even though it was early, he was still tired, so he turned in. He had a hard time getting to sleep, so he got back up, dressed, and went down to the bar off the lobby. He drank several beers and then went back to his room. He still did not rest well and continually thought of Dawn as he had done all afternoon.

The next morning, he awoke early. He did his usual morning routine, including a shower, then went downstairs for some breakfast. He found a newspaper printed in English and sat in the lobby and read it. He couldn’t concentrate because of his thoughts of Dawn. He wondered what she would look like without her prosthetic arms and only her arm stumps hanging by her side. He imagined her sitting nude beside a lovely stream. He, of course, would be there with her.

Bob went back upstairs and repacked his bag. He walked down to the desk clerk and settled his bill. It was about five minutes to ten when he walked out onto the street. There was no sign of her, so he sat down on one of the benches and waited. He had waited until ten-thirty and thought that Dawn had forgotten about him when she came around the corner in a small European car. She stopped the car and had him put his bag in the back seat. He got in beside her, and she took off at a high rate of speed.

“Sorry about being late,” she said, shifting gears with one hook and steering with the other. “Something came up at the last minute that needed my attention.”

“I had about given up on you,” Bob replied jokingly. “I thought you were going to stand me up.”

“Before we go too far, I want you to know that I did something that I wasn’t supposed to do,” she said. “There might be trouble if they find me.”

“What kind of trouble will there be?” he asked.

“They’ll probably kill me,” Dawn said. “It will take them a while until they realize what I have done, then they’ll be after me. Do you still want to see the countryside with me?”

“Hell yes. I was hoping for a little adventure,” Bob said without hesitation. “Where are we going?”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Dawn replied. “This will be an adventure all right.”

“So what’s the plan?” he asked.

“It will be better if you don’t know. That way if they catch us, you won’t have any information that they could use against us,” she said. “You’ll just have to trust me. You do trust me, don’t you?”

“Oh yes, I trust you,” Bob said. “What do I have to do?”

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I’ll tell you what to do when the time comes,” Dawn said confidently. “These are the famous tulip fields of the Netherlands. Off in the distance is one of the old windmills. That one isn’t used anymore, but the one up the road is. We’ll stop there for an early lunch.”

They continued on across the countryside. Bob enjoyed the scenery both outside and inside the car. He continued to marvel at the way she used her hooks to handle the car. They stopped by one of the old windmills that was still in operation for tourists and sold lunches. They sat down at one of the little tables by the window. Bob looked at the menu but couldn’t read a thing.

“Would you like me to order?” Dawn said.

“Please. I only want a sandwich,” Bob replied. “Maybe tuna fish.”

“One of my favorites too,” she replied as she got up.

She walked over to the counter and ordered. When she came back, she said, “It’ll be a few minutes. I’m going to change clothes; why don’t you look around?”

Dawn went out to the car and retrieved a small bag. It wasn’t the roll-around she had on the plane. She was carrying it with just one hook under the handle. She disappeared into the restroom, and Bob looked around at all of the old wooden gears and machinery.

When Dawn emerged from the restroom, she was completely transformed. The business look was gone and she was now dressed casually. Her blouse had been replaced by a snug fitting T-shirt, which left very little to the imagination. It showed off her grapefruit sized breasts nicely and was short enough to reveal her navel. The short sleeves allowed most of her arms to be seen. Her skirt was replaced with cutoff blue jeans and her high heels were replaced with socks and tennis shoes.

“You look comfortable,” Bob remarked.

“I am,” she replied. “It always feels good to get out of uniform. Besides, now you can see how my prosthetic arms really look.”

Their food was ready, and Bob carried it over to the table. They enjoyed their lunch together while Dawn kept a sharp eye out on the road and Bob watched her use her hooks. When lunch was over, they continued their journey across the vast fields of the lowlands and to a German border crossing. The guard examined their passports and let them through. As they drove away, Dawn watched the two border guards carefully in the rear view mirror.

“I don’t like that,” she said.

“What’s the matter, they let us through, didn’t they?” he asked.

“Yes, but as soon as we were past, one of them got on the phone right away,” she said. “We need to keep a sharp eye out now. They know where we are.”

“So what do we do?” Bob asked.

“Nothing for now. We’ll just keep on driving like nothing has happened,” she said.

They drove through several small villages and made a stop at a clothing shop. Dawn found a wig that didn’t look too hideous. With the wig and sunglasses she looked completely different, except that her artificial arms with the shiny hooks still remained. Bob made a comment about it, and she said that she had it covered. They drove on into the mountains. Suddenly, she stopped the car.

“What’s wrong?” Bob asked.

“They’ve set up a checkpoint up ahead,” she said in an almost panicked voice. “Tell you what, you drive. Go through the checkpoint and wait for me around the next bend in the road.”

“But I don’t speak a word of German,” Bob protested.

“That will probably work to your advantage,” she said as she got out of the car.

Bob got in the driver’s seat and drove up the road. He joined the end of the line of cars and trucks. The wait was agonizing, but the line did move ahead slowly. When he finally got to the guard, Bob made him understand that he didn’t speak any German at all.

The guard, in almost understandable English said, “Do you know Dawn Jamison?”

“I don’t think so,” Bob said nervously. “What does she look like?”

The guard made an outline sign of a curvaceous woman. He pointed to his head to show hair length, then said, “Hooks on hands.”

“No,” Bob said, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anyone like that.”

The guard looked in the back seat and then waved him on through. Bob drove carefully away. This time he looked for a guard on the phone. He spotted one picking up the phone in his rear view mirror. He stopped the car on a wide spot around the bend in the road from the checkpoint. He waited for what seemed like forever. Dawn startled him when she tapped on the window with a hook. He got out of the driver’s seat.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“It’ll be better when I clean my pants out,” he joked. “I got through fine. They’re looking for you all right. The guy didn’t speak much in the way of English, but he did know how to describe a curvaceous knockout looking girl with hooks. He also knew your name.”

“Damn,” Dawn said as she started the car. “If they’re on to me, we need to go to plan ‘B.’ ”

“What’s plan ‘B’?” Bob asked.

“We’ll abandon the car and take alternative transportation,” she said. “Can you pear your stuff down to a smaller bag? We can come back and get the rest later.”

“Sure, I can get rid of some stuff,” he replied. “What did you mean by alternate transportation?”

“We’ll take the train or a bus for a while,” she replied. “They can’t hold up public transportation. It’s too vital to the European economy, and too many people depend on it.”

They drove on until dark. They found a small country inn. She talked to the innkeeper, and he let her park the car in the barn. The innkeeper fixed them some dinner, and they sat in the corner and watched the locals carry on. It was around ten p.m. when they went up to the room.

“Are you going to tell me what is going on and why everyone is chasing us?” Bob asked.

“Just trust me,” Dawn said as she put her prosthetic arms on his shoulders.

He drew her close and kissed her. She kissed him back very, very passionately. There was absolutely no doubt in each other’s minds as to what the other was thinking.

“Bob, you trusted me; now I’m going to trust you,” Dawn said with a serious look on her face.

Bob was puzzled. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I want to take my arms off and have sex with you,” she said. “If I take them off, usually I can’t get them back on by myself. Promise you’ll help me.”

“I promise,” Bob said as their lips met again.

Dawn locked the door, and Bob pulled the curtains. Only a small bedside lamp illuminated the room. Bob removed his T-shirt and then hers. Dawn was not wearing a bra, nor did it feel to Bob like she needed to. He removed his blue jeans and her cutoffs. Bob sat on the bed and removed her shoes and socks. He was now in only his briefs, and she was only wearing panties. Dawn sat on the bed, and Bob began removing her shoes.

“One other thing about me,” she said. “I don’t want you to be too shocked.”

“What’s that?” Bob quizzed.

“I don’t have any toes,” she replied. “When we lived in Alaska, they were frostbitten. They had to amputate all of them when I was five. It’s the reason I’m so helpless without my hooks. I don’t have toes to pick things up with.”

“Wow,” Bob said.

“The upside is I get to buy smaller shoes,” she said with a smile.

When he removed her shoes, he could easily see that her toes were completely missing and her socks just bunched up at the end of her feet. He removed her socks and saw her toeless feet.

“See, they look funny, don’t they?” she said.

“Hey, it’s you,” he replied. “I think they look sexy that way.”

“If you think that’s sexy, wait ’till you see my arm stubs,” she said.

“OK. How do we take your arms off?” Bob asked as they stood up.

“Simple,” she said. “I’ll raise my arms, and you just lift them off.”

He did as she had instructed, and suddenly he was holding both of her prosthetic arms, arms connected by several straps that made up the control harness. Her stump socks covered her arm stumps—stumps that only came down to the line of the nipples of her fine breasts.

“Put them under the bed over on the window side,” she said. “Try not to jostle them too much.”

Bob carefully slid them under the bed as he was told. When he turned back to her, she had removed her stump socks and was standing there in only her panties. Even without arms, her figure was stunning.

“Don’t look at the scars on my stumps. They’re pretty ugly,” she said.

“Why didn’t they perform plastic surgery on them?” he asked.

“Cost,” she said. “I could just barely afford the prosthetics. Hell, I was broke as well as armless. Besides, they would have needed to do a skin graft from my legs, and I didn’t want them carved up too.”

Bob removed her panties and held the bed covers back while she slipped in. He removed his shorts and followed her onto the bed. After more kissing, they were soon involved in much deeper sex. They discovered that the scars on her arm stubs were particularly sensitive to the touch of Bob’s tongue. She had several orgasms as Bob touched them and other sensitive parts of her beautiful body.

They were both exhausted when they finally went to sleep. Both were thoroughly satisfied.

It was about six in the morning when they heard a knock on the door. Bob was just getting up to answer it when suddenly two men came crashing in. Dawn screamed, and a blow of a gun butt sent Bob to the floor.

“What do you want?” Bob demanded while Dawn was huddled in the bed.

“You know damn well,” the taller man said.

“If you’ve come to rob us, we don’t have that much money,” Bob said. “My wallet is in my pants.”

“I don’t want your wallet. I want what we came for,” the taller man, obviously the leader, said.

The shorter man held a gun on Bob and signaled for him to get up on the bed where he held the gun on both of them. The taller man looked through their luggage. Bob was a nervous wreck, but Dawn remained calm. That is, until the taller man looked under the bed and saw her prosthetic arms lying there. He picked them up and looked down into the sockets and laid them on the bed.

“There’s nothing here,” he said to the shorter man. “Maybe they were wrong?”

“They’ve got to be the right ones. How many women do you see without arms?” the shorter man said.

“They are around. Remember the thalidomide kids,” the taller man replied.

“Look at her stumps, and you can tell,” the shorter man said.

The taller man grabbed Dawn by the stump of one arm and pulled her out of bed. Dawn felt terribly humiliated standing naked in front of the two men, unable to cover herself, while they examined her arm stumps.

“Look at those scars. She’s not a thalidomide,” the shorter man said.

“OK, where are they?” the tall man shouted at her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dawn said forcefully.

“Why weren’t you in the car when it went through the checkpoint?” they demanded.

“I took a walk, OK?” Dawn countered sarcastically.

“Around the checkpoint?” he said.

“That’s it,” the shorter man said. “There’s nothing here, and there’s nothing in the car. She must have hid them on that trail around the checkpoint.”

“Is that what you did?” the taller man demanded.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dawn said in a pleading but, at the same time, demanding voice.

“Let’s just kill them and get back,” the shorter man said.

“That wouldn’t help find what we came for. Tie him up, and we’ll go back to look along the trail. It’ll be daylight by then,” the taller man ordered. “We’ll come back and kill ’em if we don’t find the package.”

“What about her?” the shorter man questioned.

“She’ll be all right. She doesn’t have any arms. What can she do?” the taller man said. He moved her arms to the top of the wardrobe. They proceeded to tie up Bob, then left the two of them, locking the door behind them.

“What do we do now?” Dawn asked as she started to cry.

“Start by untying me,” Bob said calmly. “Then we can figure a way out of here.”

“How do I do that?” she sniffed. “They put my arms up out of reach.”

“Use your teeth to untie the knot,” Bob instructed.

Bob stood up, and Dawn got on her knees. She began working on the knot with her teeth. It took her about fifteen minutes, but she eventually had Bob free.

“What’s this all about?” Bob demanded. “What did they want?”

“I asked you to trust me,” Dawn replied. “Please get my arms down.”

“Not until you tell me,” he said as he started getting dressed.

“Bob please,” Dawn begged as she stood there stark naked. “I need my arms. Come on, I’m helpless like this.”

Bob quickly finished dressing. He pulled his pocket knife out of his pants pocket and used it to open the door. He went over and packed his things in his bag. He picked it up and started for the door.

“Where are you going?” Dawn asked.

“Back to Amsterdam,” Bob replied.

“Bob,” Dawn’s eyes became very wide with fear. “You’re not going to leave me like this. At least get my arms down off the top of the wardrobe.”

“Why don’t you do it?” he said sarcastically. “You know last night meant a lot to me. More than I’ve ever felt about anyone. I was really beginning to fall for you. But a relationship is built on trust, and if you can’t trust me, then no relationship. Goodbye.”

“OK, but not in here. They probably left a bug,” she said. “Last night meant a lot to me too. I do want our relationship to develop. Bob, please don’t leave me.”

He helped her put on her panties and shorts. He retrieved her shoes and socks, had her sit on the bed, and put them on her. He picked up her T-shirt and started to put it on her.

“My arms on first,” she said.

“After we talk,” Bob said forcefully and pulled the T-shirt down over her head, trapping her arm stubs beneath the shirt.

He started for the door holding her by an arm stub through the T-shirt.

“Bob, please bring my arms,” Dawn said. “I don’t want to leave them. Please Bob.”

Bob continued to escort her out of the room and down the hall over her continuous objections and pleading for her prosthetic arms. When they got down to the inn, it was deserted. The innkeeper was unconscious on the floor. Bob checked to see that he was breathing, then continued to escort Dawn outside. He led her out behind the building and stopped under a large, spreading linden tree.

“OK. Now what the hell is going on!” Bob said.

“I stole something they want,” Dawn said with her head hung.

“What did you steal for Pete’s sake?” he quizzed.

“Ten million in diamonds,” she whispered.

“Did you say ten million?” he asked.

“Yes. I wanted to get them to Switzerland to sell them,” she said in a whisper. “That’s why I asked you to trust me.”

“Where did you hide the diamonds?” he asked.

“It’s better if you don’t know,” she said. “They looked right at them and didn’t see them. Now will you help me put on my arms?”

“OK, lets go,” Bob conceded.

They walked back into the inn. The innkeeper was not there. They went to the room where they found the innkeeper holding Dawn’s prosthetic arms.

“Thank you for getting my arms down for me,” Dawn said. “Just put them on the bed. Bob will help me put them on.”

The innkeeper didn’t move. He just stood there holding the arms and not saying anything. Finally he said: “I don’t know what’s going on here. Someone hit me over the head, and I not sure what kind of damage they maybe do. I just hold these until the state police come.”

“We’ll be glad to pay any damages,” Dawn said in a panic.

“I just hold on to these until the police straighten the whole thing out,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I go make the call.”

“Can’t we make some kind of a deal?” Dawn begged as she started to cry. “Please mister, I need those arms awfully bad. Please, I’m completely helpless without them. Please.”

“No deal,” he said as he started for the door. “I go now.”

“NO, PLEASE GIVE ME MY ARMS, PLEASE!” Dawn pleaded, obviously shaken by the situation.

Bob blocked the door and said calmly, but in a tone of voice that sounded like he meant business: “The lady asked you in a nice way to give her the arms. She needs them to function. Now you’re going to give them back, or you’re going to have to deal with me. And right about now, I’m angry enough so that you don’t want to deal with me. Understand?”

The innkeeper stopped dead in his tracks. From the look on Bob’s face, he could tell that Bob wasn’t fooling.

“Tell you what,” Dawn said. “If you give me my arms and promise not to call the police, I’ll give you the car that you let us park in the barn.”

It didn’t take the innkeeper long to decide to take the deal. They agreed to it, and he laid her arms on the bed. Bob stepped out of the way. The innkeeper left with a smile on his face.

“Bob, hold up my arms so I can check them for a bug or tracking device,” Dawn asked in a whisper and exaggerated mouth movements.

She looked the arms over carefully. She spotted a small tracking device in the hollow of one of the lower arms. She used head signals to have Bob put the arms back down on the bed, then walked to the corner of the room.

“There’s a bug in the hollow of my lower right arm. Don’t say anything. They’re probably listening right now,” she whispered.

Bob removed her T-shirt and helped her put on her stump socks. He held her arms up so that she could slip her stumps up in the sockets. She lowered her arms and made both of them operate. Bob helped her put her T-shirt back on. They packed in relative silence.

“So how long do you think it will take us to get back to Amsterdam?” Bob said in a loud voice.

Picking up on what he was doing, Dawn replied, “Probably about five hours if we don’t run into any more checkpoints.”

They took their luggage downstairs and settled up with the innkeeper. Out on the street was a truck with a sign that indicated it was from Amsterdam and was pointed in that direction. They walked over to the truck, and Bob quietly removed the bug from Dawn’s prosthetic arm. He put it in the driver’s compartment, and they walked away in the other direction. When they had walked about three blocks through the quaint village that looked like it should be in a postcard, they stopped by a bench. She had him leave the luggage on the bench, and they walked away.

“They might have planted more bugs in our luggage,” Dawn said. “I suspect that they put a homing device on the car. That’s standard procedure. They probably did that yesterday at the border.”

“That sounds like spy movie stuff,” Bob scoffed.

“Movie stuff or not, it’s for real,” Dawn said. “That’s the way these guys operate. Hell, they could be watching us by satellite right now.”

“So what do we do?” he asked.

“Let’s go into that shop and get new luggage and clothing that doesn’t look like we just stumbled out of a tourist bus,” she said calmly. “If you take any of your personal things, just be sure they’re not bugged too.”

They went into the shop and found what they needed. Other than the fact that their clothes were new, they looked like the locals. When they left, they circled around and worked their way back around to the barn where the car was parked. They put their old luggage in the back seat. Dawn led Bob to the other side of the barn.

“The clothing disguise won’t work as long as I have these hooks,” Dawn said.

“I bet you have a plan,” Bob said.

“I do, but it will require your helping me with everything until we can put my hooks back on,” she said.

“The last time I was in Germany, I found a set of passive hands. They’re only cosmetic, and I won’t be able to grasp anything. The only problem is that they might be metric or something. I haven’t had anyone to help me so that I could try them.”

“What do I do?” Bob asked.

“Let’s try my right side first,” Dawn said. “When I pull back my left shoulder, the terminal cable on the right side will go slack. Good, now disconnect the cable from the actuator arm. Good, now screw out the hook terminal. I can’t believe I’m telling you to do this. I won’t be able to do anything. Open up my bag, and you’ll find the hands. See, they don’t do anything. They just sit there. I won’t be able to grasp anything. OK, now see if the threads are the same size.”

“It looks like it’s going to fit,” Bob said.

“Great. Tighten it on down, then push that little button to rotate the hand until the palm is facing my body. Good. Now the skin coating is in the bag in that little pouch. Put it on like a rubber glove and just slip the terminal cable inside.”

“How does that look?” Bob said as he rolled down her sleeve.

“Perfect,” Dawn said as she admired her new hand. “I only wish that it worked.”

“Don’t they make them that do?” Bob asked. “I thought I saw some on the Internet.”

“Probably what you saw was the myoelectric kind,” she said as he began removing the hook from her left side. “They operate by signals that muscles send out. You flex a muscle and something moves.”

“Why don’t you have those kind of arms?” Bob quizzed as he began installing the second hand.

“The doctors didn’t think I had enough muscles left in my arms to make them work,” she replied. “They could make up a clumsy harness that would encapsulate most of my upper body except my boobs. They say they’re heavy and hot, plus they need to be recharged at least every night. The other thing is that they’re terribly expensive. There was no way that I could have afforded them.”

“You can afford them now,” he quipped.

“Not quite yet,” she countered. “We still have to get to my buyer in Switzerland. Put the hooks in my bag and put the strap over my shoulder.”

“How’s that?” Bob asked.

“Let’s get out of here before those goons get back,” she said.

They went out the back of the barn and out into the woods. They walked along a little path until it ended up between two buildings in the village. A bus stop was about a half a block away. They waited until the bus got to the bus stop and unloaded its passengers. When most of the new passengers were loaded, they walked at a brisk pace to the bus and boarded it quickly just before the bus pulled away. Bob paid the fare, and they sat all the way in the back where they could see if the bus was being followed.

“Where is this bus going?” Bob asked.

“It should get us to Frankfurt,” Dawn replied. “I think we should be able to make train connections from there to Switzerland. Sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery. After all, it’s what you came for.”

“That and some wonderful company,” he replied. “Did I ever tell you that you were fun to be with?”

“You are too, except when you wouldn’t give me my arms,” she said. “I didn’t like that feeling at all. It really pissed me off.”

“It’ll never happen again,” Bob said as he kissed her. She kissed him back as passionately as she dared on the bus.

The bus lumbered on along what seemed like all of the back roads it could find. It was slow going, but the scenery was exceptional. As they drove through the small villages, Bob wished that they could stop and explore around. Bob looked down at Dawn’s ineffective hands and wondered where she hid the diamonds. He wanted to know, but at the same time he didn’t. He had trusted her so far, and he knew that he had to continue to trust her if this relationship was to develop. She had always led a life of modest means and traveled a great deal. Bob wondered how the sudden infusion of wealth would affect her.

The bus began to make one more of its countless stops. Dawn looked around at the nearly deserted street, then said softly to Bob: “Let’s get off here. Wait until everyone else is off, then go.”

When the two other passengers got off, the bus almost started when Dawn darted to the front and spoke to the bus driver in German. He quickly opened the door, and she got off. Bob followed, carrying their bags. The two of them slipped between two buildings, and the bus drove away.

“What did you tell him?” Bob quizzed.

“That I was going to be sick to my stomach. He was going to wait for me, but I told him to go on without us,” Dawn replied.

“Where in the hell are we?” Bob asked.

“Siegen,” Dawn replied. “I think we should be able to catch a train on into Frankfurt. The train depot is right over there.”

“Let’s go,” Bob urged. “There’s no traffic out there.”

“That’s what bothers me,” she said. “We’ll be pretty conspicuous. Let’s split up and meet in the train station in fifteen minutes.”

“Will you be OK without your hooks?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine for a little while,” she said, then gave him a kiss. “Thanks for thinking about me.”

“I think about you all the time,” Bob said.

“I know the feeling,” she replied before she walked out on the street.

Bob waited a few minutes and then went out on the street too. Dawn was nowhere in sight. Bob walked up to the intersection and crossed the street. He walked quickly to the empty train platform. He sat on the bench and waited.

“You waiting for me?” Dawn said in a melodious voice as she mysteriously appeared on the platform.

“You’ll do,” he replied. “How long of a wait do we have?”

“There’ll be a train to Frankfurt in ten minutes. Let’s go get tickets,” she said.

Bob got up and followed her into the depot. Dawn spoke to the ticket agent, and Bob paid him. When the ticket agent passed them the tickets, Bob quickly grabbed them. They walked back out onto the platform and sat on the bench. Soon the train was at the station. A few passengers got off the train. Dawn and Bob boarded the coach and found seats before the train pulled out. They looked around. No one seemed to be watching them.

“Don’t get too comfortable. This is just a short ride,” Dawn whispered.

Soon the train was pulling into the station. They got off the train with all of the rest of the passengers and walked into the station. Dawn had Bob pick up a timetable. They walked on to one of the little cafés. The waiter came over, and Dawn ordered for them. They looked at the timetable.

“We should probably take the night train,” Dawn said. “We’ll get a private compartment where we can be by ourselves.”

“That sounds good to me,” Bob replied.

“If we leave about seven, we’ll be in Bern about midnight,” she said. “We can get a hotel room there.”

“Is that where the purchase is to take place?” he asked in a whisper.

She didn’t say anything, but nodded her head affirmatively as the waiter brought their food. Bob cut her food and fed her while he interspersed feeding himself. All the time, Dawn’s passive hands were resting on her lap. When they finished and the waiter brought the check, Dawn interpreted the bill and told Bob how much to leave.

They walked out on the street and explored some of the small shops. “Shouldn’t we be getting our tickets now?” Bob quizzed.

“Not yet,” Dawn replied. “If they are watching, and I’m pretty sure they are, I don’t want them to ask the ticket agent which train we’re on.”

They went into another small shop and looked around for a while, then went out the back door and into the alley. It was deserted. They ducked under a small cornice and waited. Soon someone ran hurriedly into the alley and looked frantically in both directions. He ran the other direction to the head of the alley and stopped, then looked both ways before heading for the front of the building.

“Damn it. They’ve spotted us,” Dawn said. “We’ve got to get out of here. Come on.”

They began running the opposite direction from their pursuer as fast as they could. As they neared the end of the alley, two gunmen appeared in front of them. They turned around to see a large black car coming down the alley. They looked for a place to run, but they were trapped. One of the gunmen grabbed Dawn while the other continued to hold a gun on Bob. The first gunman pushed her into the back seat and got in with her. Bob made a lunge for the second gunman but missed. He was felled with a blow to the back of the head. The big black car sped away.

When the car was out of sight, the second gunman helped Bob get up. “I told you to make it look good, but you really didn’t have to hit me,” Bob said.

“Bob, what did you find out?” the gunman asked.

“She stole the diamonds all right,” he said. “I’m not sure where she’s hidden them though.”

“Whose diamonds are they?” the gunman quizzed.

“She didn’t say,” Bob replied. “She said they were worth five million though. Why don’t we try this . . .”

------------------------------

“WHAT DID you do to Bob?” Dawn screamed at the gunman next to her.

“Bert probably shot him. He likes to shoot people,” the gunman said, sneering as Dawn stared to cry.

“Why’d you have to shoot him? He didn’t do anything to you,” she sobbed. “I finally found someone I wanted to love, and you killed him. Why?”

“Because he was helping you,” the gunman replied. “And you have something our leader wants back.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she cried.

“How about the ten million of my leader’s prize diamonds?” the gunman said forcefully.

“I don’t have any diamonds!” Dawn said defensively. “The last time I saw them they were in the safe in Amsterdam. I watched Bjorn put them in and lock the safe.”

“This morning they were gone. You and Bjorn were the only others who knew they were in the safe. Bjorn was with us; that only leaves you,” he said. “It must have been quite a feat for you to crack that safe with your, shall we say, ‘handicap.’ ”

“Ya! Thanks to your so-called leader,” she snapped back.

“How do you mean?” he said.

“I was caught in the middle of a firefight between your leader’s thugs and some wonderful people who were fed up with his oppression,” Dawn blurted. “Your leader’s thugs blew my damn arms off, and that’s a memory I live with every day of my life asshole.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he said sheepishly.

They rode on in silence. The windows were blacked out. Dawn had no idea where they were taking her.

-----------------------------

“WOW, THAT’S a strange twist,” Bob said as he listened to the receiver from the transmitter in the car just ahead of them, “I can see why she would give up a career to pull off the heist. Hell, she gets his diamonds and her revenge at the same time. Let me think about this.”

“Are you going to change the plan Boss?” Bert asked.

“Yes. We’re going to scenario three. I’ll call the director,” Bob said, reaching for the secure cellular phone. After a brief conversation, Bob hung up and said: “He agrees. They’d been monitoring the conversation too. You make a full report when you get back to Langley.”

They continued to drive along. Bob was deep in thought. He had Bert stop the car while the black limo pulled into an old castle. They watched from a distance as the other two men escorted Dawn, now blindfolded, into the castle.

“OW! YOU’RE PULLING my hair!” Dawn complained as they pulled her along.

They went down a long hallway that sounded hollow to her and down some steps—then another hall and down some more steps. Dawn heard a door creak and then was led down more stairs. It smelled musty and damp to her. She struggled to get away as the men started unbuttoning the blouse that she had bought that morning. She struggled even more as they lifted her arms over her head and slipped her prosthetic arms off up over her head. She wanted to fight them, but because she was still blindfolded, she couldn’t see them. She heard another rusty door or gate swinging, and she was led further. The grasp on her arm was released, and she heard the gate swing closed with a clang. When she heard the sound of footsteps fading away and the door shut, she began working at taking the blindfold off. With only her short arm stubs to use, it took her a while to remove it. When the blindfold was removed, Dawn found herself standing naked from the waist up in the middle of a dungeon cell in a medieval castle.

Dawn looked around the cell, then looked through the door. When she couldn’t see her prosthetic arms, she sank down in the corner and began to weep.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dawn heard the wooden door on the stair open. She looked out through the bars in the iron door to her cell to see two men bringing Bob down the stairs. He was tied and blindfolded. They opened the door to the adjacent cell and pushed him inside. They shut the door and left. The two cells were separated only by iron bars.

“Bob, what happened to you? Your mouth is all bloody,” Dawn exclaimed.

“Nothing much. I think I bit my lip when the guy slapped me,” Bob replied. “Can you untie me?”

“We’re in separate cells, and they took my arms,” she said. “But if you back up to the bars, I think I can use my teeth again.”

Dawn directed him to back up to a spot where he could stick his bound hands though the bars. He did as she instructed, and she sank to her knees. This time, because of the bars, it took her longer to untie him.

“So how do we get out of here?” Dawn asked as Bob removed his blindfold and looked around.

“This place looks pretty solid,” Bob said. “Maybe one of the guards will get careless.”

“Can you see my arms anywhere? I feel naked without them,” she said.

Bob pressed his face against the bars in the door to his cell, then said, “No, they’re not where I can see them.”

“Damn,” Dawn mumbled, just barely audibly. She looked at Bob in the other cell and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Ya. I’m fine; they just slapped me around a little,” he said. “Thanks for not telling me where you stashed the diamonds.”

“Bob, I’m sorry that I got you into this mess,” she said very apologetically.

“Hey, I told you I was up for a little adventure,” he replied. “But maybe not this much adventure.”

They both heard a guard coming.

“Can you loosen these ropes?” Bob said from the back of his cell with his back to the wall and his hands behind his back.

“Don’t see why not,” the guard mumbled as he unlocked the cell. “You sure as hell can’t dig your way out of this place.”

He walked toward Bob, and Bob surprised him with a sudden move that had the guard face down on the floor. Bob used the rope to tie him and the blindfold as a gag. He went out of the cell and locked the guard in. Bob unlocked Dawn’s cell, and they met for a quick kiss.

“Where did you learn to do that?” she quizzed in a hoarse whisper.

“Something I picked up from watching wrestling on TV,” he quipped.

They looked around for Dawn’s arms. The arms weren’t in the dungeon, and Dawn suddenly had a look of panic on her face. They went up the stairs and slowly opened the door. This time it didn’t squeak. They continued on up the stairs.

Their things, including Dawn’s arms, were sitting on a table. Bob slipped the blouse over Dawn’s shoulders and only buttoned two buttons. He put the strap from her bag over her head. He slipped his own bag over one shoulder and draped her arms over the other suspended by the harness.

They started down the massive hall that had sounded so empty. They saw the massive front door start to open and heard two men talking. Bob and Dawn ducked behind two of the large pillars that lined the room. The two men walked by them on the way to the dungeon. Once they passed, Bob and Dawn made their way between the pillars and the wall until they were at the end of the large hall. Dawn was lookout as Bob crept over and slowly opened the massive door. He signaled to Dawn, and she led the way out the door. They found themselves in the middle of a large courtyard. They dashed across the courtyard, through the main gate, and over the drawbridge that crossed the now empty moat. They continued to run down the road a way, then ducked into the trees and a thicket of brush.

“Let’s get these arms on you,” Bob said.

“Please do,” Dawn said, still out of breath.

Bob unbuttoned her blouse and slipped it off her shoulders. They hadn’t removed her stump socks that connected with the panel of material across her back. He straightened out the now twisted straps and slid the arms over her uplifted arm stumps.

“What about the hooks?” Bob asked.

“I’d love to have them. I feel so helpless with these worthless passive hands on,” Dawn said. “But let’s leave the hands on the arms for the disguise.”

About that time they heard the cars starting. They ducked down so they were both flat on the ground until the cars roared by. When the cars were gone and out of sight, Bob got to his feet and helped Dawn to hers. He brushed the leaves and dirt off the places of her body beyond her easy reach, from her breasts to her shoes. He slipped her blouse back on, and buttoned it up. He put her bag strap back over her neck and did the same to his.

“Which way?” Dawn wondered out loud.

“That way,” Bob said as he pointed in the direction that the cars went. “Those guys wouldn’t head off into the countryside; they’d head for town. I wonder where we are?”

“Look, there are signposts up ahead,” Dawn said. “Maybe I can figure it out.”

They walked briskly to the signpost at the intersection of the country road. Dawn concluded that they were somewhere near Heidelberg.

“Can we catch a train to Bern from Heidelberg?” Bob asked.

“If we can’t, we should be able to catch one from Mannheim,” Dawn replied. “They’re both good sized cities.”

They started walking toward Heidelberg. They had only gone a few hundred feet when an old truck came lumbering toward them. The truck slowed to a stop. The driver said something in German that Bob did not understand. Dawn replied in German. They got in the back of the truck and resumed their journey. They remained alert for their enemies. The truck quickly made the journey to the train station. After Dawn thanked the driver, the truck continued on its way. They walked into the train station and over to the bulletin board.

“It’s seven o’clock now. There’s a train leaving in ten minutes,” she said. “We’ll have to change trains in Karlsruhe. But we only have a ten minute layover there. We should be in Bern by quarter after eleven if we don’t get hung up at the border.”

“Let’s do it,” Bob said as they walked over to the ticket counter.

Dawn told the ticket agent what they wanted, and Bob paid. He took the tickets and escorted her to a quiet corner of the terminal. It seemed like hours to them, even though it was only ten minutes, for the train to arrive. According to the clock on the station platform, it was seven-ten. They were right on schedule.

They boarded the train on platform 9a. Bob held up one of the tickets, which was written in German, so that she could read it. They went back one car and found their compartment. They had not expected to be alone in the compartment; it just worked out that way. They were comfortably seated when the train pulled out with the door locked. They had about a forty minute ride to Karlsruhe before the train change. Dawn settled back in Bob’s arms.

“I haven’t had time to properly thank you for getting us out of the dungeon,” she said.

“I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been able to untie me,” he replied.

Soon they were engaging in some passionate kissing—very passionate kissing. They both wished that they were not on the train.

“Where are we going to stay in Bern?” Bob asked one time when they came up for air.

“Eric made reservations for the two of us in the hotel across from the train depot,” she said.

“You said the two of us. How did you know I’d be with you?”

“I’ve known ever since we were on the plane over the Atlantic. Call it a woman’s intuition if you will,” Dawn replied.

“Too bad he reserved two rooms,” Bob said.

“Who said he reserved two rooms?” Dawn said with a smile. “I want to play the same game that we played last night.”

“Just as long as we don’t have early morning visitors again,” he replied.

“I hope so too. I think we’ve given them the slip,” she said as she relaxed in his arms, and the kissing started.

Forty minutes after the train pulled out of Heidelberg, they pulled into Karlsruhe. They had been through several other small stations with stops of less than a minute. They gathered their things and got off the train. They were on platform 6 and had ten minutes to walk over to platform 2. The train for Basel and the Swiss border was waiting by the time they got there. They found their compartment. This time, they weren’t as lucky. They shared the small compartment with an older woman and a child. The train pulled out on time. Dawn huddled in Bob’s arms again, hiding her passive prosthetic hands from the prying eyes of their compartment mates.

Dawn napped a little as she nestled in Bob’s arms. She had a feeling of safety with him, which she had not experienced for a long time. In an hour and forty-five minutes after boarding the train, they arrived at the border town of Basel.

They got off the train and waited in line with the other passengers while passports and papers were examined. The train had not been full, and the line moved fairly quickly. The border guards looked in Bob’s bag, and they were now officially in Switzerland—the last leg of the odyssey.

Approximately twenty minutes had elapsed since arriving in Basel and the time their train for Bern departed the little station. The last leg of the trip would last less than an hour. This train did not have compartments, and they sat huddled inconspicuously in the corner of the coach. Soon they were arriving in Bern. They got off the train and walked quickly to the hotel. Dawn spoke to the desk clerk in German, and he answered in English.

“I hope you find the room to your liking,” he said. “The stove and pot that were requested are in the room. If you need anything else, let me know.”

Bob signed the register, and the desk clerk gave him the key. Bob looked at the room number. They were on the third floor. Dawn smiled at him and started for the stairway. Bob followed, and three floors later, they had found their room. Bob unlocked the door, and they went in. Bob locked the door behind them and fastened the door chain. They looked around the relatively spacious room. The room also had a bath and a small kitchen area. A large pot was sitting on a small butane stove.

“Why the stove and pot?” Bob asked. “Are you going to boil us some breakfast?”

“In the morning you’ll see. Right now, I’m ready for a shower and bed,” she said. “You’ll need to join me.”

“In bed, or in the shower?” he quipped.

“Both,” Dawn replied. “With these little stubs I have for arms now, I have problems washing. Then I want you to do me like last night.”

He undressed her partially and himself likewise. He was just wearing his shorts and she just her panties when she raised her prosthetic arms so that he could easily remove them. This was the third time that he’d seen her that way and realized that it really turned him on.

“Where do you want me to put these?” he asked.

“Just put them under the bed. We’ll put the hooks back on them in the morning,” she replied.

He carefully slid them under the bed as he had been directed, then removed her stump socks. They walked into the bathroom, and he started the shower before he removed his shorts and her panties. The warm water felt good after what they had been through. Dawn enjoyed being washed thoroughly by him. Bob enjoyed thoroughly washing her. There was of course some kissing and fondling that needed to be done to complete the process. When they were finished, Bob thoroughly dried her off before he started on himself. Because he was the last to be dried, Dawn was waiting for him in bed.

Lovemaking was pretty much like the night before except that Dawn was more turned on when Bob used his tongue on her amputation scars. Bob was turned on by the way he was able to turn her on. Again when sleep came, they were both very well satisfied, as well as excited by each other.

In the morning, Bob was up first. She looked beautiful as she slept peacefully. He was contemplating what it would be like to be with her all of the time. That was something he would need to think through thoroughly. After all, he had a lot of time invested with the company and didn’t want to mess up his government pension.

Dawn stirred awake and sat up. Right away, she noticed Bob watching her. She slid out of bed and slipped into the bathroom. From behind the closed door, he heard the toilet flush. She appeared again and, still completely nude, came over to him and put her arm stubs on his shoulders. He held her tight for a long good morning kiss.

“Thank you for last night,” she whispered in his ear.

He held her sides at arms length, looked deep into her eyes and said: “Thank you. I hope it won’t be the last.”

“I’ve been thinking,” she said. “You and I make a pretty good team. I’ve never been more comfortable around anyone before than I am around you. Yesterday, when I thought that they shot you, I didn’t care if I lived or died. When they shoved you in that other cell, my heart just jumped.”

“I feel the same way,” he replied. “I thought that I had lost you for sure when they drove off with you.”

“Can we stay together for a while to see if this really fits?” Dawn asked.

“I’ve got about six weeks on the books for vacation. Will that do?” Bob said.

“Perfect,” she said. “Start a pot of water on to boil, and then we can get dressed.”

Bob filled the pot with water and set it on the stove. He rotated the little stove handle, and suddenly there was flame beneath the pot.

“Now get me dressed,” she said. “Long blue jeans and a T-shirt in my bag.”

Bob straightened out the bed and opened her bag. He removed the blue jeans and T-shirt, as well as clean panties. He helped her into the panties and jeans.

“Arms next?” he asked.

“No, do the T-shirt. I’m not ready for arms yet. I’ve got you,” she joked.

“Yes, you have,” he said as he fondled her breasts while he put on the T-shirt. Bob dressed himself in a similar manner, then said, “Now what?”

“The water’s boiling, get out my arms,” Dawn instructed. “Now take the hands off, but don’t put the hooks on yet.”

Bob quickly removed the passive hands and laid them on the bed.

“Put the wrist end of both the lower arms in the boiling water,” she instructed. “Then we wait a few minutes for them to heat up.”

Bob did as he had been instructed. He couldn’t quite figure out why she was boiling the fiberglass portion of her lower arms. About ten minutes went by, then she looked closely at the arms.

“I think we’re about ready,” she said. “We’ll need a hand towel.”

Still not completely sure of what she was up to, Bob retrieved the towel. Dawn looked closely at the arm.

“OK,” she said. “Get one of those bowls. Lift one of the arms straight up; grab the hot end with the towel. Good, now rotate it so that when you straighten out the arm, the large hole where the upper arm folds is over the bowl.”

He did exactly as she had instructed, and a flesh colored liquid began running out of the arm.

“Now take the fork and see if you can fish out a piece of cotton,” she instructed.

He picked up the dinner fork and managed to fish out a large wad of cotton, much of which was covered with the flesh colored liquid.

“Now lay that arm down and do the same to the other,” she said.

He proceeded the same way with the other arm until all of the flesh colored liquid and the cotton was removed.

“Now what?” Bob asked.

“What time is it?” Dawn asked.

“Five minutes until nine,” he replied.

“Great,” Dawn said. “Eric will be here in about twenty minutes. Let’s put my arms and hooks on while we wait.”

“Boy. I really got the straps messed up,” he said, laying the prosthetic arms on the bed and straightening out the harness.

“I do every time I try to put them on by myself,” she said. “Then they won’t work right and sometimes hurt.”

He removed her T-shirt and slid her stump socks over both stumps, being sure that the part across the back lay flat. She held her arms over her head, and Bob slipped the prosthetic arms over her short stumps. She dropped her arms and scrunched her shoulders to seat them properly. He put the T-shirt on her and picked up one of the hooks.

“Which side does this one go on?” he asked.

“Think of the actuating lever as a thumb,” she said. “You’ve got to learn to do this right if I’m going to keep you around.”

He put both hook terminals on and connected the actuator cables to the actuator.

“Thanks Bob; it feels great to be back in business again,” she said, giving him a very passionate kiss.

She turned off the stove and poured the boiling water down the sink. Then she went into the bathroom and did her makeup. Her natural beauty was fine with Bob, but when she was made up, she looked great. They sat down on the couch. Dawn nestled next to Bob with her hooks lying in her lap. They both jumped when they heard a sharp knock on the door. Bob got up and looked through the door peephole.

“He’s slim, about six feet, with a mustache, and partially bald,” he said. “He’s alone.”

“That’s Eric,” Dawn said. “Let him in.”

Bob unlocked the door and let him in, then locked the door behind him. Eric looked surprised to see Bob. He was wearing a heavy overcoat and carrying a briefcase.

“It’s all right, Eric,” Dawn said. “Bob is my partner and knows about the diamonds. Take off your coat and relax. Can we make you some tea or coffee?”

“No thank you,” Eric said as he took off his overcoat and laid the briefcase on the bed. “I have an appointment before too long.”

“So how have you been Eric?” Dawn asked.

“I’ve been fine, but work is hectic,” Eric replied. “You do have the diamonds?”

“Oh yes,” she assured him. “I’m assuming that you brought the cash.”

He nodded yes and patted the briefcase. Dawn sat down at the table and bent her left arm to almost a right angle. She positioned herself so her forearm was vertical. She lifted her upper arm and brought it down sharply on the table. A small pouch fell out of her lower prosthetic arm and onto the table. She used the same procedure for her right arm only she had to hit it twice for the packet to break free. She used her hooks to deftly open the drawstrings on the pouch and pour the contents onto the small table. Bob looked in amazement at the size of the diamonds. Eric pulled out an eye loupe and closely examined several of the diamonds.

“Well?” Dawn asked.

“Just as you said,” Eric replied. “These appear to be flawless.”

“Matched for size and color too,” she said.

“That appears to be true,” he said. “We have a deal. Ten million U.S. dollars.”

“Agreed,” Dawn said as he began putting the stones back into the pouches that she had guarded so dearly.

Eric opened the briefcase. It was filled with cash, all neatly bundled. He counted out twenty bundles marked five hundred thousand dollars each. Bob picked up one of the bundles and removed one of the bills. He examined the bill closely and held it up to the light, then nodded affirmatively to Dawn. Bob slipped the bill back in the bundle—20 bundles of 500 $1000 bills

“Do you have a buyer for these?” Bob asked.

“Oh yes,” Eric smiled. “A very anxious ruler will pay handsomely to get his pride and joys back. I will make a profit.”

“He wouldn’t happen to be from Lebanon?” Bob quizzed.

“I usually don’t discuss one client with another,” Eric answered. “Let’s just say you know your diamond legends.”

“The Eastern Sunrise diamonds,” Bob said.

“Most people have only heard about them, fewer have seen them, but only a very few have ever had them in their possession,” he said with a smile. “Consider yourselves among the few.”

Eric put his overcoat back on and put the two small pouches in his inside pocket. He thanked them and went to the door. Bob opened it for him. When Eric had gone, Bob locked the door again.

Dawn’s face was radiant when she said: “Wow, we pulled it off. Can you believe it, ten million dollars! I was so nervous that I could feel my knees knocking. Ten million dollars.”

“I’m happy for you,” Bob said. “You deserve it after all you’ve been through.”

“Thanks. Revenge is sweet,” she replied. “It’s taken me a long time, but I got back at him. Part of this is yours too.”

“I really didn’t do anything other than keep you company,” Bob continued. “You’re the one that had the guts to pull it off.”

“But I want to share with you,” Dawn said. “I want you to stay with me. I’ll be glad to pay all our expenses.”

“I want to hang out with you for a while to see how our relationship develops. I’ve got about six weeks of vacation on the books. I don’t want to make any commitment that I can’t or don’t want to keep,” he replied.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Dawn agreed. “That way, either one of it can break it off with no hard feelings. By the way, what time is it?”

“About a quarter to nine,” Bob answered.

“Good, we only have fifteen minutes to guard the money,” she said. “As soon as the bank opens, I’d like to get the money deposited.”

“Excellent,” Bob replied. “Having that much cash sitting around makes me nervous as hell. How far is the bank that you want to deposit in?”

“Just across the side street,” she said as Bob sat down on the couch and she sat down beside him and nestled in his arms.

“That was a clever way of hiding the diamonds,” Bob said. “How’d you think of it?”

“I’ve hidden things in there before. You know, papers that customs shouldn’t see,” she said as she straightened her arms out so that from the way they were sitting they both could look down the hollow spaces. “I got the idea for the paraffin when one of my friends gave me some jelly that she’d canned herself. The coloring to match the fiberglass came later. I used the same colors that you use for tinting oil base paint. It must have worked, because those guys didn’t find anything when they had me in the dungeon cell.”

“I’m sure they didn’t, or we wouldn’t be here now,” Bob said. “We’d probably be floating down the river by now.”

“One thing,” Dawn said, sitting up and turning to look him straight in the eye. “Maybe you’re thinking that I panicked when I didn’t have these arms because the diamonds were in them.”

“Yes, the thought had occurred to me as you were emptying the diamonds out of them,” he replied.

“Well, that isn’t true,” Dawn said with a very serious look on her face. “I’ve come to rely heavily on these arms and hooks. I was seriously upset when you wouldn’t help me put them on. I’m practically helpless without them. If you want our relationship to end quickly, just deny me my arms again.”

“I got that message yesterday, and it won’t happen again,” Bob said apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

“OK. Enough said,” Dawn replied. “What time is it?”

“Five after nine. We can go anytime,” he said.

They got up and decided that it would be easier if Bob carried the briefcase. They walked down the stairs and through the lobby. Bob waited inside while Dawn stepped out on the sidewalk and surveyed the street. When she was sure that it was clear, she signaled to Bob with a nod of her head. Bob stepped out onto the sidewalk, and they walked briskly to the corner. There was hardly any traffic on the street, so they were able to cross right away. Once across the street, they ducked quickly into the bank. The bank was practically deserted as they walked to the receptionist.

“Mr. Ambrose, please,” Dawn said. “I spoke with him the other day.”

“And your name please,” the receptionist asked.

“Dawn Jamison,” she replied.

The receptionist picked up the phone and dialed, then began talking to someone.

“He’s tied up for a moment. Won’t you please have a seat?” the receptionist offered.

They sat down. Dawn couldn’t help but notice the glances that the receptionist kept giving at Dawn’s hooks. It was the same multiple quick glances without staring she’d gotten ever since she’d been wearing the hooks. In a few moments, a tall, slender man in an expensive looking suit came out to greet them. He introduced himself as Mr. Ambrose and showed them to a large office on the second floor.

“Now Miss Jamison, what can I do for you?” he asked with a stuffy air that neither one of them liked.

“I want to set up an account in your bank, if you have the ability to wire money to other banks,” Dawn said.

“Yes, we wire money daily,” he replied. “Approximately how large will the account be?”

“Ten million,” Dawn said nonchalantly.

“Did you say ten million?” he quizzed.

“Yes,” Dawn replied curtly.

You could almost see the compound interest grinding in his brain. He went to work on his computer. He asked her a few questions as he typed.

“Do you have the money?” he asked.

Bob put the briefcase on his desk and opened it. Mr. Ambrose’s eyes got wide at the sight of all the money. He counted the twenty stacks in the briefcase. He picked up the phone and talked to someone. In less than a minute, a teller with a green eyeshade appeared at the door.

“I need to have the count verified,” he instructed.

The man with the green eyeshade took the briefcase and left the room.

“Now what do you want done? This is a great deal of money,” he stated.

“I’d like all but fifty thousand wired to my bank in the Grand Cayman Islands,” she said as she produced a small piece of paper. “Here is the account number and the routing code.”

The dejected look on the banker’s face was almost laughable. He was about to let nine million nine hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars slip through his fingers.

“Are you certain you want to do that?” he asked forlornly.

“Yes. They’ll be expecting it within the hour,” she said. “I’ve left them instructions to call me when the money arrives.”

“Very well Miss Jamison. It will be taken care of,” he said. “What about the fifty thousand?”

“Set up a checking account with that please,” she said.

He turned back to his computer and typed in more. Soon, the printer was spitting out paper. He handed her the paper and a pen. Dawn grasped the pen in her left prosthetic hook and positioned it properly in her right hook. She signed the form with a beautiful well-practiced signature. She used her left hook prosthesis to pass the paper back to him.

“Mr. Isely will have everything ready in the lobby in about five minutes,” Mr. Ambrose said.

He stood up, and Bob and Dawn did likewise. He offered his hand to Bob and shook it limply. When it was obvious that he was not going to offer his hand to her, Dawn stuck out a hook to him. He nervously shook it like you would a conventional handshake. They walked out of his office by themselves.

“I bet if I’d left all the money in his bank he’d be falling all over himself,” she said. “I really didn’t like that pompous ass.”

“Too bad this is the only bank near the train depot,” Bob said.

“If there would have been another bank anywhere close, we’d be there,” she said.

“Well, at least we don’t need to hide anymore,” Bob said as Dawn took the new account checkbooks from Mr. Isely, and they started toward the door.

When they were outside, Dawn asked, “What would you like to do now?”

“Let’s talk about our future over breakfast” was Bob’s reply.

E N D