“Sir, I don’t know what went wrong.” you say. You are a 32 year old female. You work for a chemical manufacturer as it’s legal team’s head, and recently proposed a new plan to secure a lot for a new plant. You did all of this legally, by the books, and with the precision of a surgeon. Some problems arose with this purchase, however, and millions of dollars seemingly just disappeared. You think someone with the Arizona government, in one of the bureaucratic institutions you had to go through, or some lackey of your firm or the company’s, fucked up. You know for a fact you are not the one who screwed up, you triple checked to make sure everything is in order, so it couldn’t have been you.
“I’m wondering the same thing.” Seymour Cowenberg, one of the partners of Cowenberg and Gottman, the law firm that employs you, says to you. He’s the less agreeable of the two lawyers, and is here to discuss with the company’s ceo.
“Honestly doll, we got an understanding round here, that if ya fuck up, ya own up to it.” says Joseph Mattock, the current ceo of the companyyou work for.
“Yes, I understand.” you say “But, I did my job and made sure that nothing could have gone wrong. All my copies of the documents, contracts, everything, it’s accurate, it’s correct, so why am I to blame for this?”
“Honey, you’re getting awfully defensive.”
“Because you’re accusing me of a multi million dollar fuck up!” you yell
“There is no need for that language!” Mattock yells
“Cool it.” Cowenberg says
“Sorry, but I am not going down for something I didn’t do!” you say
“Then who did it?”
“Sir, I am not sure, but it could have been anyone, like some record keeper in the bureau, or, some intern, or-”
“There ain’t no one below your pay grade that has any potential to cause this much damage.” Mattock says, and gets shot a look by Cowenberg. You try to process that exchange, but Cowenberg speaks up
“What we’re saying is, that the issue that occurred happened with something only you had access to.” Cowenberg says
“What went wrong?” you ask
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, and that’s why we called this meeting.”
“How do you not know what happened but know I did it.”
“Don’t play dum-”
“No, I have not been let into the loop about what went wrong, yet both of you are steadfast in your word about me being the cause of it. So what happened. I know money is gone, and I am being blamed for it, but you seem to not want me to know what I’m being accused of.”
“Are you suggesting that I, or mr Mattock had anything to do with this, because if so-”
“No-”
“IF SO, then you are a disgrace to this firm! You can not-”
“Let me-”
“You can not expect to stay-”
“Let me-”
“No, you listen here, you will not deflect this onto us or mr Mattock, you need to take responsibility for-”
“Fuck this.” you say and get up
“Excuse me-”
“NO! You are making allegations about my character and actions, yet refusing to share any indication of what I’m being accused of. This is unlawful slander, and I will not sit idly by and have these preposterous claims ruin my life, for unknown reasons. You tell me right now what I am being accused of!”
“Oh please, you know exactly what this is.”
“I’m starting to think I do. I think I’m being used as a scape goat.”
“No, you-”
“Then what. Say it, write it, tell me what I did.” you say, and then there’s a silence that lasts a minute. You then turn around and walk out the door.

Because of this interaction and the allegations, you resigned from Cowenberg and Gottman, and filed with a different law firm to start a case about defamation and scape goating. You didn’t plan to take this case far, you just wanted them to drop it and compensate you. You ended up settling this matter out of court. You were backed by the law firm: Tamboli and Associates, who offered you a job with better benefits, and slightly less pay than C&G, that you took, effective after the fiasco was settled. You were given a sum of 100k, as well as keeping the apartment provided by C&G, and the car, as long as you paid ¼ of the remaining payments. After the terms were settled, and everyone was roughly happy, paper work was signed, hands were shaken, and everyone began to leave. On your way out, you are stopped by Charles Gottman, your other former boss, who wishes to talk with you. You agree and he says he’s sorry about how his partner treated you, as well as how he didn’t wish for any of this happening. He says he’s also willing to tell you what really happened, but it needs to be in private. You agree to this, and he sets up a time to meet up at his place.

You arrive at his house two days later. It’s a large mansion with a gothic look to it. You could have sworn this wasn’t his house, as you thought he had some villa instead, but this place is more fitting of Batman than the fun loving lawyer you know. You approach the door and use the odd snake shaped door knocker. After a moment, the door opens, and you enter, noticing some nervous looking hispanic lady opened the door. She leads you into the dining room, where you find Gottman and Devon Cedric sharing a drink.
“Oh, sorry about all this.” Gottman says, walking over to you, “My friend Devon stopped by for a drink unexpectedly, and how could I turn him away. He shouldn’t be much of problem, will he?”
“I don’t know.” you say “Not sure what the nature of the incident is. He’s a client right?”
“Yes, that he is.”
“And does the matter concern him?”
“Sort of. Listen, follow me to my office, and it will be only about thirty minutes or so, then maybe we can share a drink.”
“Depends on what the reason is.”
“Alright, that is fair.” He says and then leads you to his office. You enter and find many odd artifacts around it, satanic symbols, and a lot of other disturbing imagery. You also find a picture of Cedric on the wall, as well as a bunch of odd women, some not human. You decide you’re not gonna question what all this is. You know Gottman is Jewish, but you don’t know how Jewish, or if any of this isn’t a sinister as it seems.
“So, where should we start?” Gottman says
“What happened.”
“Ok, so the building was never going to get built, it was a fake building for tax dodging and other fake things. The money lined out pockets and was used as bribes.” he says with a straight face
“Excuse me? Is this some kind of joke?”
“Nope.”
“So you just admitted to fraud, bribery, and a slew of other offenses?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, so, besides all that, why am I getting blamed?”
“You’re a much more competent lawyer than expected, and a much more honest one then we’d want. You did do everything right, and that’s the problem. You’re too good, and that was a liability.”
“So… you just admitted this all to me.”
“Sorry about all this, truly, you are an amazing lawyer and it’s a shame that we lost you.”
“That’s the shame? The real shame is coming from the lawsuit that’s gonna be filed against you for this slew of legal violations. I mean, what the fuck? I get why you kept a secret, but you are a moron to tell me any of this.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s going to ruin you, I’m going-”
“You’re going nowhere.” you hear a voice say from behind you. You turn around and see Cedric standing behind you.
“Did you know about this?”
“I orchestrated it.”
“Why?”
“Simply put, I got a lot of government officials on my ass and I need dumping grounds for stuff.”
“And you’re gonna be going down too-”
“Oh please, if it’s me dumping chemicals that fucks me over in the end, I’ll clean my own ass with my tongue. The amount of bad shit I do is far beyond polluting the environment.”
“Like?”
“Slavery, human experimentation, torture, murder, rape, the list goes on.”
“Oh really now. Thanks for the in-”
“You know you’re not gonna just walk right out of here. Right?”
“So, you’re barring me from leaving?”
“Did you miss that slavery part?”
“People will look for me. I’m not worried.”
“They will, won’t they? So we’ll give them you.” Cedric says, and then walks out of the room. You stand there confused for a second and then he comes back with your sister Carlee.
“Carlee?” you say
“Hi sis.” she says with a smile. Carlee is your identical twin, and someone you’ve been at odds for as long as you can remember. She was a nasty sibling, and would constantly belittle you and blame you for stuff. You never had a good relation, but things boiled when she was caught with heroin. You were at first going to represent her, but she kept pissing you off, and it got so bad, that you went and pulled some strings in the court, in order to then prosecute her. She became a felon and served 5 years due to other things you dropped on her. She got out a year ago and never talked to you.
“What’s she doing here?”
“Well, she’s gonna be you now.” Cedric says
“Me now?”
“Yep, you see, they’re gonna get rid of you, and you’d be missed, but I wouldn’t if I disappeared. That said, I always envied your success, and now I can have it.” Carlee says
“That won’t work! You don’t know the law-”
“Don’t have to, just gotta look the part. I can keep losing, make it look like you ruined your own life, then I’ll just be me, but with your name and your money.”
“So, what? You’re gonna fucking kill me?”
“No.” Gottman says “You don’t deserve to die, I talked Carlee, Joseph, and Seymour out of it, and that’s where Devon comes in. See he can make you disappear, but you can go on with your life, a new life-”
“What he’s trying to say is, you’ll have a new identity, and can’t come back to bite us in the asses.” Cedric says
“Bullshit.”
“I’m a miracle worker, but let’s just say, you’re not gonna be a work of pleasure, like most of my works. So, let me go and ask you this? Any last words?”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“Trust me, I can’t not.” Cedric says, then throws some powder in your face. You cough a bit, and it gets in your eyes and mouth. It tastes like sand, and then you feel a prick in your shoulder. You rub the sand out of your eyes, and see you were just injected.
“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!” you yell, and then feel intense changes in your crotch. You fall to your knees, sticking your hands into your suit, and feel yourself growing a cock. You begin to panic, as you feel your breasts smooth over, your feet enlarge slightly, fingers round, and shoulders widen. You feel an itch as a long and buch beard forms on you, and your hair changes. As soon as the changes started, they stop, and you’re left with the feeling of being lost in yourself. Cedric leads you out of the office, grabbing the back of your suit and dragging you to a mirror. You look completely homeless. You don’t look like yourself, with your suit barely hanging onto your larger frame. You stare in shock, and do not resist as Cedric calls over two house keepers to undress you and dress you up in a coat and ragged clothes. He then calls over a big guy in a suit, who carries you off in a car. You don’t speak during your ride, and then he eventually dumps you in the middle of some slummy part of Flagstaff. You sit there for a minute, trying to process everything. Everything was just taken from you…

It’s been several months. You’ve tried to tell people your story, but you’ve only been met with laughs and people assuming you’re high. Your life is over, and the heat of Arizona is brutal. You survive off scraps and change, a massive difference from your old life. You didn’t try to stay homeless, you applied for jobs, but you lack all forms of ID and any records of you ever existing. Trying to use your old life has only had you get met with police action, and disappointment. You’ve given up, you simply can’t get back your old life. Your sister ruined your old life if you could get it back, anyways. You heard she did what she said, took your money, spent it on drugs, blew your career, and leached off your work like a maggot, devouring the festering corpse of what was once you. Right now you’re drinking water from a dog bowl that people left outside a cafe, that banned you from entering. You finish and then go into an alley to sleep. You lie there a few minutes and then get interrupted by a black man, who offers you food.
“Hello my friend, are you hungry?” he says in a thick african accent
“Yes. Thank you.” you say as he hands you a sandwich that he got from the shop across the street.
“I seen you drink from the dog bowl. Not very fun times, dirty water, so I get you some too.” He says, handing you a water bottle
“Thank you.” you say again
“May I ask what is your story?”
“My story?”
“Yes, the path to atonement for your sins begins with admittance.”
“Ain’t really sins for me.”
“Born poor die poor then? Tragic tale, but one that will end when you meet Allah’s judgment.”
“Not that either, got fucked over and everything was taken from me.”
“How so?”
“Well, I used to be a lawyer, used to be a woman, used to be fairly wealthy, but I got screwed over and it was all taken from me.”
“Used to be a woman?”
“Yeah, this guy named Devon Cedric, the big tech guru from silicone valley who does all the body modification shit.”
“Interesting, so who were you before?” he says, less friendly
“All you’d find is my junkie twin sister, who took my life, because I’d be missed if I disappeared.”
“So they’re covering up something?”
“Yeah, money funneling, maybe human trafficking, Devon admitted to that, but I think this was more of an irs/fda issue, than an fbi one.”
“He does human trafficking?”
“He said he did.”
“Interesting, interesting. I know you americans love your guns and violence, so have you killed before?”
“Fuck no, I’m a lawyer, I prosecute those people. I don’t think I ever could.”
“That’s a shame. Pray that you can, or else you’ll remain this vagrant mess on the side of the roads in the sweltering desert heat.”
“Thanks for the advice, man.” you say sarcastically
“Take my advice or not. But do take my charity.” he says, giving you around fifty dollars, before walking away
“Thank you sir, for the food, for the money, and for listening to my tale.” you call after him
“No problem.”
“And you asked about me, who are you?”
“My name is Muhammad. And I will right the wrongs for many. You will see me again, as charity, as a hero, or as a martyr.” he says and turns a corner disappearing. He’s an odd guy, but then again he’s a foreigner, which begs the question about what he’s doing in Flagstaff, of all places. Regardless of his odd personality, he was the most generous person you’ve met since being damned to poverty. Hopefully this means your luck is turning up.

To be continued


Original Image credit: Peter Stewart