Witness Relocation - Part Three

My jaw drops as I stare at my feet, wriggling my toes in disbelief as I stare in awe at the familiar sight beneath me. Gone are the sweaty old sneakers, the only pair of shoes I had worn for the past few months suddenly being replaced with strappy sandals, the expensive slender leather bands in pristine condition.

I'm immediately forced to reach back, the padding on the makeshift bed thankfully straining at my hands but not causing them to pop like my feet had. I'm left teetering, the surface area and support I am standing on having diminished by multiple sizes.

The sandals have a slight heel to them, the solid block perfectly carved and curved wood causing my feet to point down as a tension builds in my calves. A pair of delicate sun-kissed feet rest inside the supple leather, the numerous light brown straps wrapping around the soft flawless flesh before being held tight with the occasional tiny gold buckle.

I let out a series of gasping breaths, my eyes going wide as I wiggle the cute toes at the end of the footwear. A shimmering layer of varnish catches the emergency lights, the freshly trimmed and professionally done nails being a far cry from what I had grown out over my months in the office.

 

"Fuck..." I wheeze, staggering up and wobbling in place as I struggle to merely stand in the off-putting footwear. Despite the tight squeeze around my toes it doesn't pinch or pain me at all, the outstanding workmanship in the likely jaw-droppingly expensive shoes leaving them beyond comfortable.

Wit my first stumbling step forward I'm forced to hold out my arms for balance, my steps only carrying m a short distance as mince awkwardly towards the fact shelves near the from door. As I pass by the lead-lined bunker something catches my eyes, causing me to freeze up as I delicately spin inch by painful inch to face the open doorway.

Sitting on a tiny shelf inside sits a little birthday card, a big button resting pinned to the pink cardboard reading

'Be Nice To Me

Its My Birthday' 

I swallow hard as I waddle and stagger my way over to the card, clutching the doorway of the booth for support as I lean over and snatch up the card. I feel my center of gravity quickly pass over my toes, the only thing keeping me standing being my hand on the wall. Looking over I watch as my fingers and palm bulge like balloons under strain, the skin pulling taut as I see red lights bounce around and flick beneath the surface.

Out of fear of what was about to happen I lurch back up, stumbling backwards as my arms wave about with the card in hand. Thankfully, I manage to slow my staggering before I collide with anything, my stomach sinking at the thought of what could happen if I'm not careful.

Taking a deep and shaky breath I look up at the dim light above me, softly biting at my lip as I try to gauge if I can read by it. Swallowing hard I simply flip the card open, my eyes dating over it as I try to read in the terrible light above me.

 

'Hey Jordy, thanks for the help with the case'

'Enjoy the new life Jordan, I wish I could get some years back myself <3'

'Hopefully this'll make up for being stuck in here for the past 3 5 7 months'

'Found some ways to add funds to help with your new you - Michelle' 

'We couldn't have done it without buddy, we got that bastard - A. R.'

'Have 'fun' ;) You'll need to 'try' to have any more problems in romance department now'

 'They veto'd letting me make you my assistant, you're welcome I guess - Wendy' 

 

Glancing over each note I can't help but feel myself get a little worked up. My heavy breathing turns to sniffles as I fight back tears, the memories of all the late nights talking with everyone in the team over such a turbulent period rapidly working to leave me on the verge of tears.

At the bottom I spy something with a little more substance, the block of text sitting beneath a shower of well wishes and cute comments.

'Happy Birthday Jordan, hopefully starting off this new life with a bit of a party will help make up for everything. Again, thank you for everything you did for us with this case, we've been trying to get the Douglas' for years and decades in the case of Max but they've always managed to get away.

So, as out way of saying thanks, we put our heads together to try and build a great life for you. Wendy promises us she won't follow through on her assistant idea but I apologize profusely if she's done that (she takes her coffee with triple sugar and oat milk)

The rest of us decided on giving you some time back, a decade or so should make up for the months you had to put up with all of us. Michelle and Charlie went through the catalogue of unclaimed items in our archives and figured, if it hasn't been claimed yet, then we may as well see if we can give it to the new you. We're not quite sure 'how' that'll effect our new self, but we're thinking it might have a bit of a ripple effect to make sure you could have lost it in the first place.

Running out of space, need to try and save some for

thank you - Carl Davies'  

 

Reading over the blocks of text I choke up, a spluttering laugh escaping my lips as I finish the card as see Carl's tiny sloppy hand writing squeezed haphazardly at the very bottom. Inhaling with a deep breath I wipe at my eyes, swaying a little as I try to stay on my feet despite the tiny shoes I'd been forced to wear.

"Stupid fucking..." I chuckle, sniffling as I wipe away the last of my tears before flicking them to the ground. Turning the card over in my left hand I notice the florescent pink button on the front, cocking my eyebrow a little. "Did they plan to make me..."

"Ms. Hale!" calls a familiar voice from the hallway, the low and jovial tones having to belong to the walrus mustached agent who had left the largest section of the card. "Ms. Hale, we still need your signature!" Carl shouts, looking for this mystery person.

Slowly and carefully I begin to approach the door, lightly gripping at the metal frame of the shelf as I waddle and mince my way around the imitation structure towards the exit. As I reach for the handle I freeze up listening as he mutters under his breath while walking past.

"Where did they girl go? To think she got this lost looking for the bathroom" he sighs, the heavily clomping of his footsteps carrying through the wooden floorboards as he passes by. "Jordan! Ms. Hale!"

"Jordan... Hale?..." I croak out, my body running cold as I realize the different family name I had found myself with. My eyes dart to the button and the shoes, the reality that they'd made me some young woman sinking in fully for the first time. "God damn it" I hiss through clenched teeth, stopping as I feel a searing hot pressure build in my jaw.

With a low and slow exhale I pull at the door handle, mincing my way out through the gap as it forms before quietly closing the door behind me.

"Agent... Davies?" I chirps nervously, looking at the back of the rotund man plodding his way down the halls. In an instant he perks up, spinning around with remarkable speed as he face me with a wide grin.

"There you are Ms. Hale, did you find the bathroom okay?" Carl asks, his beady blue eyes darting to the door to my side with no small amount of concern.

"Uh... yeah, just got lost on my way back" I lie, shifting nervously and struggling to stand on the narrow shoes on my shrunken feet without grabbing a wall or flailing my arms. The older man chuckles in response, quickly disarming the worry he had been displaying.

"This place can sure be a maze" he states, waddling his way over to me with a few sheets of paper in hand. "You can't imagine how easy it is to get lost here when it's late at night" he jokes, eliciting only a nervous chuckle from me as I'm forced to remember all the times I'd gotten hopelessly lost when navigate these halls.

"So... I..." I begin to mutter, fidgeting and looking between the card and the forms in his hand. The man perfect up, fishing a small blue pen from his breast pocket before holding out the pen and papers in his pudgy hand.

"Just an acknowledgment that the vehicle is yours and that you've picked it up" he explains, waving them a little bit. "It's sad, no more joyrides with the team after..." he begins to say, pausing as he misinterprets the source of my nerves. "Just joking Ms. Hale, no one's driven it since we arrested the thief and brought it to the garage I promise."

Blinking rapidly I try to catch up, my mind turning to my shitty beat up sedan that I'd owned for well over a decade. Who would even steal that? It'd barely be worth it's weight in scrap metal.

"Here" Carl chirps, reaching down for the card in my hand and exchanging it with the papers before holding out the pen. "You'll need two hands for..." he continues, pausing as he spies the theme of the card. The gears turn in his head, whirring as his face contorts through a series of odd expressions at the sight of the small piece of cardboard.

Eager to get out of the building I had spent the better part of a year in I quickly pivot around, placing the papers against the wall. Holding the pen tentatively I quickly scrawl out my signature, pausing as I make an active effort to change the 'Hughes' to 'Hale'. The second I lift the pen the paper, turning back to Carl to hand them to him, I feel something tug at my shirt. 

My eyes go wide as Carl swiftly pins the pink badge through my sweaty and stained black t-shirt. The cold steel seems to flex and bend against the cotton for a moment, something inside the fibers fighting back valiantly before breaking with a loud crack. The hallway fills with a burst of bright orange sparks, the bounding motes of light spraying out far more aggressively than when it was merely my shoes and feet.

I'm immediately met with a squeezing sensation, my upper arms and the top of my belly quickly finding a light and tight material digging into them. Looking down through the hail of embers my eyes go wide, the searing light not deterring my stares as I find myself clad in a tight and form fitting tan crop top that was several sizes too small for me.

My hairy stomach appears to bulge out, the painfully tight cotton pinning back my chest and accentuating what fat I have around my belly. My arms fair little better as red lines begin to rapidly cut into my flesh just below the shoulders as the sleeves threaten to cut off my blood flow. As the top pulls against me I watch as below the skin I can spy a familiar set of sparks racing about, the aching tightness against my sensitive and breakable facade seeming draw them to the surface.

 

"There we go" Carl chirps, please with himself as he marvels at the badge. "Now everyone will know to say Happy Birthday!"

Gasping with shallow breaths, unable to inhale deeply lest I cause my body to break and reveal more of this new person beneath, I hand back the forms with a shaky hand. Carl barely seems to notice my distress, either lost in thought about his 'good deed' or by some other means. He quickly takes back the forms, squinting a little at the signature as he passes the card back to me.

Leaning in, he scrutinizes the signature, finding something wrong with it. Reaching up he flicks the paper, brushing something off as the signature too explodes into a small shower of delicate confetti like flames.

As the tiny lights burn themselves out in a matter of seconds I'm left staring at the sight of what had been my altered signature, now fully replaced with a cutesy series of hearts and loops.

"There we go" Carl coos, fishing around in his pockets before pulling out a tiny bulging envelope. The sound of jangling metal reaching me in the otherwise quiet hallway. "Here you are Ms. Hale" he continues, passing me the envelope with a broad grin. "If you'd just follow me to the elevator we can head to the garage without getting lost again."