"Have a seat, Miss Caufield."

"Thanks, Ma'am."

"Ms. Fordis doesn't believe in light workouts."

"No arguments there."

Ms. Worthington sat down in a chair next to Jan . "I just wanted to talk to you first. Graduation from this program is coming up. I wanted to talk to you about the next step of your training."

Jan shifted in her seat.

"I know you've been wondering about college plans and what not, but no need to worry. We have a finishing academy in a few places around the country. One of those is in Atlanta. We figured that we would keep you, Alisha, and Sara together. You, Miss Caufield, will be attending Emory University. We'll let you choose your course of study, but you'll definitely get some study with languages. The finishing academy will teach you some techniques to further your clandestine skills. Sara is going to be at Emory with you. Miss von Edder is going to be at Georgia Tech studying computers of course."

Jan nodded. "So what do we do over the summer?"

"Enjoy yourself. Get back with your family." Martha handed Jan a cell phone. "This is your new phone. It has security features in it that will allow us to contact you if we need you. More than likely we will call you sometime during the summer. Also, you earned this." Martha handed Jan a small brown leather wallet.

Jan opened it. She smiled broadly. Inside the soft leather wallet was a small silver badge that read United States Treasury Department on it. Opposite that was Jan's official ID card. "Is this real?"

"Oh yes. Who did you think you were working for? We're a government agency. Everybody has to answer to someone."

"I thought we worked for the CIA."

Martha laughed. "No, I work for the CIA. You can't. You've done operations inside the US. You work for Treasury. That gives you jurisdiction anywhere in the country and overseas. Its a big loop hole. Keep that ID close to you. You'll need it to get in some places, but you don't want everyone to know who you're working for." Martha pulled an envelope off her desk. "This is the bank account information where we've been sending your paycheck."

"You know I always wondered if we were getting paid for this."

Ms. Worthington laughed. "You have been since you turned 18 in November."

Jan just sat still for a while. She looked up finally. "I don't even know what to do now."

Ms. Worthington stood up and held out her hand. Jan stood up and took it. "Go get your things together and set up a flight home. Congratulations, Miss Caufield."

Jan turned to leave the room. "Oh wait, one more thing." She reached back on her desk and handed Jan a little velvet bag. Jan opened it. The Livingston class ring was a gold signet. Jan slipped it on her finger, it fit perfectly. "You earned that too."

A few of days later, after making reservations to go home, Jan, Sara, and Alisha met for the last time before summer.

"I have something I want to give you both. Wait right here", Alisha said as she hurried back to her room. She brought back two blueprint cases. She handed one to Jan and the other to Sara. They pulled the two rolled up canvases.

Alisha had painted portraits of each of them. They were beautiful paintings that were so artistic that Jan and Sara couldn't stop looking at them.

"Oh, Alisha, this is so wonderful. You never told us you were an artist."

"I hadn't painted in a couple of years. I just didn't feel like it, but I got the idea a few weeks ago. I got some time and well...there they are. You can do what you want to with them."

"Oh, Alisha, I'm going to frame this and hang it on my wall.", Sara exclaimed

"I'm glad you like it. So what are you all going to do when you get home?"

"Ride my horse, Winston.", Sara answered quickly.

"Winston?"

"Yeah", Sara began, "his daddy was from England."

Alisha shook her head. "What about you, Jan?"

Jan's smile dropped a notch or two. "I don't know. I haven't been looking forward to it really. I don't know if my parents are or not."

"You talked to them on the phone didn't you?"

Jan sighed. "Yeah, but they didn't sound much better on the phone than I did. Anyway, I'm heading home. I'll call you when I get there and tell you how it goes."

Jan pulled out her earbuds and grabbed her gym bag from the overhead bin. Her stomach was in knots as she stepped off the plane, down the jetway, and on to baggage claim. She saw her father as soon as she started down the escalator.

Jack Caufield was hard to miss at 6'4" and 230 pounds. He had thick coal black hair on his head with just a tinge of grey at his temples. His face was always clean shaven, but Jack Caufield was the sort who had a 5 o'clock shadow at 10 in the morning. Jack had a kind face, but serious eyes. People's glances always lingered at his eyes. They were the same deep blue eyes he had passed down to his daughter. Jan's mother was standing next to her husband. Carol was tall at 5'10 with honey blond hair, light blue eyes and at age 40 she still had her model good looks. Those looks had gotten her the modeling contracts that had paid her way through college. She saw Jan first.

Jan approached slowly and stopped arms length from her parents. No one said a word. Finally Jack approached, opened his arms and wrapped them around his daughter. "Welcome home."

Jan teared up, dropped her bags, and hugged her dad back. Carol came around hugged her daughter too.

"Come on, you ready to go home?"

Jan was surprised at how glad she was to be home. She hadn't felt that she had missed home, but she had. Jan threw all her bags on the floor and fell on her bed. Her mom was a successful lawyer, but she loved to cook. Jan joined her family for dinner for the first time in nearly a year.

"I didn't know how you guys would react to me coming back home", Jan stated between forks of macaroni.

Jack and Carol looked at each other. "What do you mean?", Carol asked. "We thought you didn't want to come home. I mean you stayed out in Colorado for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's."

"I thought I would give you two some space and all that."

"Space?", Carol asked.

"Yeah, I mean you did send me off to Colorado. I just thought that you two wanted..."

"We wanted what was best for you", Jack interrupted.

"You sent me away from home. You thought I was dangerous. That's why you sent me away."

Jan's father dropped his fork. "Is that the reason you think we sent you to Livingston? Jan, its hard enough being a teenager, but having to grow up and mature with the knowledge that you are different from other people made things that much harder for you. As for you being dangerous", Jack laughed. "I'm not afraid of my own daughter, nor have I ever been. We had hoped to raise you without fear of us. We decided before you were born that we weren't going to spank you. No, the only fear we had was that you were loosing control and spiraling downward."

"Its the truth, Jan", Carol spoke up. "Your father and I anguished over that choice for weeks. We just thought that a change of scenery and people would help you in some way we couldn't."

Jan sat very still. "I love you both. I know I don't say that often enough. I never once had a thought... I mean I've never tried to hurt anyone. I just thought..."

Jack reached out and tilted his daughter's head up. "You're a good girl. Your mother and I know it. We are so thankful that you are a good person. You were a bit confused, but you had a lot on your plate. We just wanted the best for you."

Jan couldn't hold back the tears. They just started flowing, but she was smiling. She was so happy to let the emotion flow out. After that things went well. Jan was back at home and happy to be there.

"It worked", Jan stated after drying off her face. "I don't feel the same. I'm more focused now. I don't fly off the handle anymore."

Jan's parents nodded. "I can see that.", Jack began. "You don't look like you're trying to hold back a dam that's about to burst. You look like you're at peace with in yourself."

Jan laughed. "I've only been home for a couple of hours. You can tell all that already?"

"Jan, you're our little girl. Who knows you better than us?", Carol answered.

Jan almost teared up again, but she held it back. She wanted to tell her parents what she had done. She wanted to show them her badge and tell them how she had become a Federal Agent, but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't tell anyone.  Jan was good at keeping secrets.

Jan got in touch with some of her old friends after she settled back in. One of her closest friends was Sandra Grunberg. Sandra was a year older than Jan and was just finishing her first year at University of Maryland. She and Jan had been friends since grade school when they had lived next door to each other. Sandra came over to pick Jan up and take her out for a welcome home gift.

They had gone to a restaurant in the Inner Harbor that they both loved. There was good conversation and catching up. Sandra was studying to go into either law or law enforcement. She thought it weird that Jan was so interested in the subject. They laughed like only two life long friends could laugh until Sandra's expression changed. She turned her head and tried to hide her face.

"What's wrong?", Jan asked.

"Shh! Don't look back."

Jan reached across the table and took Sandra's wrist. "What the hell?"

"Remember when I told you that I got out of a bad relationship?"

"Yeah, you said he's a couple years older than you. Said it was kinda hard."

"Well, it was easy for me. He's a damn psycho. He's been following me. I didn't see him this morning I thought we would be safe here downtown, but there he is. Please don't turn. Jan, please."

Jan turned anyway. Sandra's ex, Colin, was about 5'11" and 190 pounds. He looked like he kept himself in good shape. He saw Jan looking at him and then saw Sandra sitting at the table. He approached, but Jan jumped up from her seat and stepped up to his face.

"Going somewhere?", Jan asked just above a whisper.

"Get out of my way. That's my woman over there." He looked up and met Jan's gaze.

"Wrong. This is what's going to happen. You're going to turn around, get back in your car and go away. If you don't I'll call the police. I'll lie and make up some shit that you did just so they can put you in lock up for a while. Have you ever seen the people they arrest here in Baltimore. They'd love you." Jan smiled and curled some of his brown hair around her finger. He slapped her hand away.

The manager of the restaurant came over quickly. "Is there a problem here? Sir, you aren't a customer. I think you should leave now."

Jan smiled while Colin reluctantly left. She turned back around and sat down with Sandra who just stared.

"Didn't I tell you that he's a fucking psycho. He could have tried to do something to you."

Jan laughed. "Key word there is try. Besides, he's a coward. People like him don't like people like me. I'm not scared and I just turn it around and give him a taste of his own medicine."

"Maybe so, Jan, but cowards can be dangerous too."

Jan and Sandra spent time with each other every other day. They enjoyed each other's company. Sandra even fell asleep at Jan's house a couple nights. It was after one of those nights that the problem started.

It was so rainy that Carol wouldn't let Sandra leave. The wind howled outside and there was standing water at the base of the driveway. It was not the first time a storm had blown ashore off the Chesapeake in May and it wouldn't be the last. After a couple hours, the rain died down and Jan and Sandra decided to go the mall to see Troy. Jan hadn't seen a movie in forever.

They got into Sandra's '01 BMW and started out. Everything was smooth as they got onto the freeway. They turned the radio up real loud and laughed as they sang along to songs from the early 90's. Sandra checked her rear view and nearly jumped out of her skin. Riding close to her bumper was Colin's green F-150. He smiled as he saw her head rise and see him. He reached down on the seat and pulled up a rifle so Sandra could see. Sandra pushed the gas. The BMW accelerated quickly, but Colin kept up weaving in and out of traffic on the wet roads.

"Sandra, what the fuck?", Jan yelled.

"He's right behind me, Jan!. He's got a gun! I saw it. We have to get away!"

Jan turned back and saw the truck following them. Sandra was going past 80 mph heading towards 90 and beyond. She was a very good driver, but she was freaking out. Jan turned and saw the car chewing up road. Sandra was passing cars closely with only inches between them. Jan looked back and saw the truck falling behind. He couldn't keep up.

Jan looked over at her friend's panicked face. "Sandra", she said calmly. "Slow down and pull over."

"No! He's fucking crazy. I told you so! He'll shoot us both!"

"He won't. I promise he won't. Trust me, Sandra take your foot off the gas and let's ease on to the side of the road. We can call the cops. Matter of fact we'll call them right now."

"I can't stop! The police will be too late! He'll shoot us both!"

Jan took a deep breath and looked back then forward. The car was moving so fast. "Sandra, you'll hit something going this fast in this weather. He won't shoot us. I'm not afraid of him. I'll make him sorry he ever did this to you. Sandra, please pull over."

Sandra took a deep breath and realized what was happening. She eased her foot off the accelerator. "Jan, I'm sorry for scaring you. Call the cops now."

Jan reached down to pull her special cell phone from her small purse, but the car shook violently. Jan looked back and the big Ford and bumped the back of the car hard. He did it again and again. Sandra had been slowing down, but she hit the gas again. The car started to accelerate, but the truck hit the bumper again. The back end got loose. Sandra almost corrected on the slick road, but Colin bumped her again. The back end spun all the way around. The next few things happened very quickly.

A mini-van slammed into the passenger side of the BMW as it spun. It knocked the BMW into another car full of people. Finally a Mustang slammed into the BMW knocking it over and starting a roll. A few other cars hit each other and into the slowing down BMW knocking it threw the guard rail into the grass beside the freeway. The sounds of screeching tires, shattering glass, baby's cries and crumpling sheet metal lasted for only a couple more seconds. Only the baby's cries remained. Jan saw a man standing behind the overturned BMW. She couldn't see his face since the sun was right behind him. He turned and was gone. Jan wanted to ask for help, but she opened her mouth and nothing came out.

She looked around trying to make her mind focus. She could smell something burning, several things burning. She realized that the she was lying with her back on the grass. She was sticking out the window of her friends car and the car was lying on her chest. She was having a hard time taking a deep breath.

Jan pushed her hands under the car, closed her eyes and pushed. The car moved a little, but it was enough. She took a deep breath. "Sandra! Sandra!"

There was no reply. Jan looked over and saw her friend's head wedged between the deflated airbag and the side of the car door. Blood was all over her face. Jan pushed harder on what was really the side of the roof of the car, but it didn't move. She turned her head back and saw smoke rising from the back of the car. Finally she saw the gas leaking and mixing on the grass. It sizzled and burned. There was not enough water to put it out.

"My God", Jan exclaimed. She focused and pushed against the top of the car. The metal dented around her hands. It dented under her fingers. Jan's chest flexed hard, but it wasn't enough. Jan gritted her teeth and pushed again. Her muscles exploded. The sleeves of her shirt burst apart as her arms flexed with power. Her triceps were so striated and hard the metal had to yield. Jan's chest flexed and veins crisscrossed her chest as it more and more blood pumped up the already pumped muscle. The roof of the car protested, but Jan's muscles were already winning. The sunroof shattered as the roof shape distorted under Jan's power. One final push. Jan closed her eyes, pressed her back against the ground and shoved. The top button on her blouse flew off as her pecs flexed even more. Finally she was free.

Jan pulled herself from under the car and reached back in for her friend. The car was really burning now. Gas was leaking all over the place. It sparked and popped as it hit water. Jan reached in through the sunroof and tried to unbuckle Sandra's seat belt. It was stuck. Jan set her foot against the roof of the car and pulled. She leaned into it. Her back was a mountain range of deep hard muscle. Finally the bolt broke. Jan pulled it off her friend and gently pulled Sandra from the top of her car. Jan carried Sandra away from the car just as the fire reached the inside. Sandra was breathing, but that was all Jan could tell. She looked up at the carnage closer to the road. There were at least 8 or 9 cars piled against each other. There were some people out of their cars and passers by had stopped to help. Jan heard the baby cry again. She realized that it was from the rolled over mini-van. It too was on fire. She laid her friends head down and ran.

"Hurry!", a man yelled. "We have to get them out of there!" The van only had one sliding door and it was trapped under the van. The van was lying on an decline. Four men had tried to push the van over, but it was just too heavy. The father inside the van was awake. He pulled his baby from the middle seat near the fire and shielded his child with his body. His screams started getting louder, but he would not turn. He kept his body between his baby and the flames.

Jan got to the van and looked at the men. "Push!", she ordered. Jan turned her back to the van and worked her fingers under it. She leaned back. The men pushed, but they had only been able to lift the van a quarter of the way. Jan was going to make the difference. Her legs flexed hard and trembled as she powered up quickly. Her legs turned red as they quickly filled with blood. Her quads jumped out and hard as she started up. Her calves flexed as the van started over. The men next to her cursed as they too gave it all the had, but was Jan who got it over. Finally the van was past halfway and one more push got it over. It bounced as it landed. Jan reared back and punched out the passenger side window. The mother was slumped over in her seat. Blood ran from her nose and mouth.

"Here!", the father yelled and thrust his baby over his wife to Jan. Jan took the child gently and pulled her out of the van. The father unstrapped his wife and helped the men pull her from the car. He crawled out himself. His back was burned, but he took his baby back. Jan looked around and saw two cars almost hidden from view that were so wrecked it was hard to tell where one car stopped and the other started. One car was totally off the ground on top of the other. Two people were moving while the people in the cars were unconscious.

Jan tried to pull the car off the other by tugging on the bumper, but no luck. She went under the upper car and tried to pull them apart where they had hit. The frame from the car on the top was wrapped around car on the bottom. Jan steadied the car above her with one arm while she tried to pull the metal apart with her right hand. Her big hands started peeling the metal back. Oil and other fluids leaked down on Jan as she worked, but she didn't care. The people in those cars looked pretty bad off. Finally she couldn't work with one hand. She used both her hands. Her forearms were swollen with muscle as she worked to untangle the cars. Her hands were bloody with small cuts from the jagged metal. Finally she felt the car above start to sag downwards. Jan was crouching more and more as the car continued down. Jan reached up to steady it. It wasn't quite loose. The metal bent. Jan stuck both hands up. The car kept pressing down. It was a big Mercury full of people and luggage and Jan was trying to steady it with only her arms. They shook under the strain. Jan had to focus had to keep her elbows from bending. She had to keep her arms straight no matter what.

Her butt was against the asphalt only her arms kept the car off her head. She twisted while keeping the car above her head. She got her legs beneath her and started to stand up. The car began to rise. Her legs had flexed hard before, but now the exploded with power as Jan stood up with the car over her head. It was the heaviest thing she had ever lifted. Her arms shook, but her muscles were more than strong enough and hard enough. Her shoulders were such striated caps of muscle it was unreal. Jan tilted the car back and unhooked the cars from each other and now she had the full weight. She had to squeeze the undercarriage to maintain balance. She pulled the two cars away from each other about a foot and slowly set the Mercury down on the pavement. The people inside was still barely awake. Jan went to the other car. It was crushed. The people inside were lying in a pool of their own blood. She could see that one of them was breathing. Jan grabbed what was left of the roof and tried to pull it back. The metal was so mangled it was hard, but her muscles were harder. Jan's arms were so ripped. Her biceps flexed into twin heads of striated super powered muscle as the roof of the car broke away from the car completely. Jan tossed the ruined steel to the ground and pulled the people out of the car. One of them was alive, and had a chance, but the other, a woman was dead. Jan knew it the moment her hands touched the woman. There as no life in her. Jan laid her down gently anyway.

She could heard sirens getting closer. Jan hurried back to Sandra. Jan picked her friend up, and carried her towards the road. A fireman was there quickly. Jan set Sandra down and the medics started working on her immediately. One started working on Jan too. She had gashes on her forehead, her arms, and her hands. She told them she was ok, but they put her in the back of the ambulance.

Jack and Carol Caufield had hurried to the hospital as soon as the police officer had called. It had taken them thirty minutes to get there in the traffic. Jack had his arm around his wife's shoulder and she had her's around his waist as they turned the corner quickly. Mrs. Caufield had been crying. Mr. Caufield's face was serious. They saw Jan with bandages on her face and hands and a white blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her parents rushed over to her.

"Are you all right?", they demanded at the same time.

Jan was happy to see them. She smirked. "You both know I'm all right. I can't believe you were worried."

"All the bandages and stuff", Carol explained.

Jan shook her head. "They insisted on doing it. There's probably nothing under them now, but I won't take them off until we get home." The smile fell from Jan's face. She stood up. "Its Sandra. She hasn't woken up." The three went into Sanda's intensive care room. She was hooked up to all types of machines. Her parents were in there. Sandra's mother came over to Jan and hugged her.

"The firemen said you saved her life. She would have died in that car if you had not gotten her out."

"Yes", Sandra's father began. "Thank you."

"Is she going to be ok?", Jan asked.

"They said she had some bleeding on the brain, but it was not major. They aren't sure, but they think she had a chance. The next 24 hours is crucial." Sandra's father was a doctor.

They stayed in Sandra's room for a few minutes, but the room got too crowed as Sandra's older sister and brother showed up.

The police were waiting as Jan left the room. "Miss Caufield, we have to ask some questions if you are up to it."

"I am."

"What happened out there? We have reports that your friend was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic."

Jan's mood darkened instantly. The cop must have seen it on her face. He actually took a small step back. "Did those reports say that there was a green F-150 chasing us?"

"We did have reports. They said it was some sort of street racing or something. We have heard that your friend used to drive at a local race track and only stopped after going to college."

"Yeah, but she never street raced. Never!" Jack Caufield put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. She looked back, nodded, and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, Sandra's ex is a guy named Colin. He was in a pick-up truck chasing her. He's been stalking her. He showed her a rifle. That's what made her try to get away. I had convinced her to slow down, but he caught back up to us and bumped her hard twice. That's what made her spin out."

The cop wrote in his notepad and looked up. "Do you have a last name or a license plate number?"

"No."

"I'm going to check into what you said, but right now I'm leaning towards charging your friend in this and maybe you if your story doesn't check out."

"You have to be fucking kidding me! She's in there fighting for her life and you want to charge her?"

"Her parents have plenty of dough. They should be able to hire a good attorney."

Jan's face was unreadable as she looked at the police officer's eyes. Carol's face was red. It took her a moment to process what she had heard, but her legal mind had switched on. She was about to speak, but Jan spoke first.

"Take me home, please."

"But...", her mother started to protest.

Jan held up her hand. "Please take me home before I get arrested for ripping the head off a police officer", Jan said calmly.

At home in her room Jan had taken off the bandages. Only one cut on her forehead was still slightly red. She paced back and forth as she thought what to do, then it came to her. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.

"Hello, Jan", Martha Worthington's voice seemed cheery on the other end on the line.

Jan's was anything but. "I need a favor."

"Umm ok", Martha answered reluctantly.

"I need an address for a 21 year old man named Colin. He attends University of Maryland and drives a green 2002 Ford F-150 with Maryland tags."

"Is that all you have?"

"Afraid so."

"Ok, call you back in a few minutes."

Jan closed the phone and sat at the foot of the bed waiting. The phone rang.

"Ok, his full name is Colin Mark Ferris. He lives at 1854 Long Oak Rd."

"Thank you, Ms. Worthington."

"Jan", Martha said loudly. "What are you going to do?"

"Better you didn't know."

"Jan, I can't protect you if you don't tell me anything."

Jan was quiet for a moment. "I'll call you back if he dies."

"Fair enough", Martha said finally.

Jan hung up the phone. Ms. Worthington sat down in her chair with a deep sigh. She wondered what was going on. She sort of wondered what this Colin Ferris had done.  Whatever it was, he was going to wish he had never done it when Jan was finished with him. Martha had a couple of people to call to be ready if Jan did kill this Colin Ferris. Martha trusted Jan's judgment and didn't care if she did kill him, but the cleaners usually liked at least a couple hours notice before they were going to be needed.

Jan had taken a shower and changed clothes before driving down to Long Oak Road in her father's black Tahoe. She had figured her anger would subside as she drove, but it hadn't. The anger was bubbling just below the surface. Jan knew she had to decide what she wanted to do. If she wanted to kill him then that was one thing, but that might not be good enough.

Finally she was there. He lived in one side of a nice duplex. Jan pulled the Tahoe into the curved driveway right behind Colin's dented Ford. Jan got out slowly and went to the front door. She hoped he would be the only one there. She knocked.

"Who is it?", a voice asked back. It sounded like a man's voice. Jan had only heard Colin speak once and she wasn't sure if it was him.

Jan kept her head down and pulled out her brown wallet. She flipped it open careful to keep her i.d. picture covered. "Federal Agent", she replied. "Colin Ferris, I have a few questions to ask."

She heard the door locks open and the door opened a little. "Can I see that closer?", Colin asked.

"Sure" Jan handed him the wallet. He opened it and looked. It looked real. The badge felt real, but that picture. He had seen her somewhere. He realized who it was and started to push the door closed, but Jan pushed harder. He was off balance. She stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"What the fuck? I'm calling the cops. You're trespassing and... and impersonating a police officer."

Jan bent down and picked up her id wallet. "Oh, no. This is real. And I do want you to call the cops. You're going to confess to running us off the road."

"You're crazy!", he yelled as he backed up. "I saw you! The car was on top of you. Your face was all messed up!"

"Yeah, thanks to you. That was you standing over me then."

He stopped backing up. "Get out of my house!" He stepped closer and pushed her. Jan reared back and punched him in the stomach. He doubled over and stepped back. He straightened up and punched at her head. Jan let the punch land. Her head turned. He threw another and another.

"Finished?"

"What the fuck? Who the fuck are you?" Colin was backing up again.

"I'm Sandra's friend. The police want to charge her in this wreck and I'm not going to let that happen. You're going to confess and clear this up."

Colin rushed Jan. She punched him in the jaw. It rocked him down to his toes. He nearly fell. She threw another with her left and hit him in the chest. He coughed and fell on his back. He scrambled to his feet, turned and ran. He jumped on his couch and pulled out a .22 rifle.

"Is that the rifle you showed Sandra? Nice rifle if you want to kill squirrels. I didn't think a punk like you would even know what a real firearm is."

He pointed it at Jan's head. "Take another step and I shoot."

Jan shook her head and started towards him. Colin bit down hard and pulled the trigger. Jan threw up her hand as she saw his finger start to pull the trigger. She jumped at the sound of the shot. He shot again quickly.

Jan felt the two slugs slam into her hand. They pushed it back, but the shots had struck bone and her bones were harder than any rifle bullets. She smiled and turned her hand over so she could see her palm. There were two small red holes. Jan looked up at Colin and took her right hand and started digging into her palm. She grimaced once and pulled the ruined slug out and dropped it on the floor. She reached in deeper and pulled out the other slug.

"Sandra told me you were a coward, but I didn't think you'd shoot an unarmed woman. I don't know what she could have seen in you. I have no respect for cowards."

Jan charged him. She knocked the rifle from his hands and elbowed him in the face. They both fell over the couch. Jan was up first and punched him in the jaw twice. He spit blood and landed on his side. He started crying as he dug at the floor trying to get away. Jan grabbed him and jerked him off the floor. She shook him.

"Call the cops and tell the truth."

"Never, you fucking bitch. If they're going to charge Sandra then so be it. She fucking deserves it!" Jan didn't see Colin reaching on his desk. He finally wrapped his hand around his letter opener. He stabbed it deep into her upper thigh.

Jan's eyes squinted under the sharp pain. She didn't drop him, instead she threw him back across the room. He slid on the hardwood floor. Jan pulled the letter opener from her leg slowly. Thick blood dripped to the floor and on her pants leg. Jan stood up straight and faced Colin. She took the letter opener and stuck it into the small bullet wound on her hand. She frowned and her muscles expanded as she crushed the blade of the opener against the bones in her hand. The opener finally snapped into two pieces. Jan tossed it on the floor. She approached Colin who just sat there.

"You're either going call the police and confess or the police are going to find your rotting body here after it starts to stink." He just stared at her wide eyed. "Did you hear me!?!" Jan reached down with her right hand and lifted Colin and his 190 pounds off the ground. His face was white. Urine rolled down his leg dripping off his shoes onto the floor.

He didn't say anything. Jan threw him down to the floor hard. She bent down and put her face right in front of his. She couldn't take it. The image of her friend in the hospital was too much. Jan put her hands flat against either side of his head. She started to squeeze. Jan was so angry and so focused that her super strength hadn't gone away for hours. Her muscles were so pumped and so cut as she easily began to crush Colin. The pressure increased on his skull quickly. His eyes were open wide and they started to bulge from their sockets. Sweat dripped from her arms to his shirt as her biceps swelled up again into vascular twin peaks. The pressure increased slowly. Jan knew she could have squashed his head flat, but she wanted him to feel it. Her pecs expanded stretching her blouse once again. Blood started to run from Colin's nose. His legs spasamed as the bones in his skull started to grind against one another.

Colin gagged and coughed. He couldn't control himself. He was in so much pain. He had never seen muscles like this girl had. Her arms shined with sweat and almost sparkled as they got harder and harder. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He wanted to scream, but he realized that only one thing could save him. With the last breath in his lungs and with the last strength in his body he yelled one word. "YES!"

Jan stopped squeezing, but part of her wanted to finish the job. After swearing he was telling the truth under punishment of death, Jan let Colin take a double dose of motrin. She made him clean up the house before he called. Jan had brought a change of clothes just in case and she changed into them now. She changed while Colin cleaned. He stole glances at her body, but was too scared to look for long. She had him bag up all the bloody towels, the slugs, and broken letter opener and put it in the back of the Tahoe. Finally he called the police and they took him down to the station.

Jan drove back home. Her parents didn't say much over dinner. They hadn't asked her where she had been or what she had done. After the quiet dinner, Jan picked up her phone and called Ms. Worthington.

"He lived", she said simply before hanging up.

Ms. Worthington exhaled in relief and called off the cleaners.

The next day Jan went to Sandra's hospital room. Her parents were there and her siblings. They spoke for a while. Her parents had already hired an attorney for Sandra. Jan started to tell them what she knew, but then the news came on.

"I want you all to see something."

The reporter explained how Colin Ferris had confessed to causing the wreck that had injured 24 people and killed 2. As the report was nearing and end Sandra coughed and then opened her eyes.

"Mom", she managed through dry lips. "Dad"

Jan went to the other side of the bed. Sandra's hazel eyes darted back and forth between faces. She saw her parents and her brother and sister and then she saw Jan. The doctors came in and did all sorts of tests, but after another three days Sandra went home. The doctors said that she would make a full recovery. Jan and some of the other people from the wreck scene received civic awards from the county for saving lives. Jan had a chance to speak at the podium. She said simply that she wished she could have done more, but she would always do what she could to help people who couldn't help themselves.

to be continued...

Look out for more coming very soon!!