Where am I? What am I doing here? All I remember is walking. Why am I naked? I’m, I’m a girl? Why is a naked girl walking all alone in the middle of no where? How did I get here? I can’t remember! Do I remember my name? Amanda? That sounds right. Why can’t I remember anything else? A road! Maybe it will lead somewhere. Somewhere I can get answers. An old pick up truck is stopping. An old man is getting out.
“Mam, Are you all right? “
“I think so. “
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere all alone?”
I don’t know. I can,t remember. Where is here anyway?”
“Mam, we’re in Montana. The closest town is about a hundred miles back that away and it ain’t much of a town. Maybe you better come with me. My place ain’t far. Here, put this on.”
I put on the old jacket he handed me and got in the truck. They were both old and worn and smelled sort of, masculine. Like the man. Why was I, a naked woman not afraid or at least embarrassed in front of him? He made me feel, safe. I looked at him again. He wasn’t as old as I first thought. Just worn down from life like his truck and clothes.We soon stopped in front of a house. It was old and small, but in good repair.
“Here we are Mam. It ain’t much,but come on in.”
I smiled for the first time. “It’s nice, but please don’t call me Mam. My name is Amanda.”
“Well Amanda, Come on in and my name is Buck.”
The inside was old but very neat and tidy. He didn’t have much, but he obviously took care of what he had.
“You hungry? I ain’t got much, but sit down and I’ll cook us some supper.”
I stood up and said “Let me.” Do I know how to cook? Yes I do! And I did.
“Amanda, that was great! I don’t remember the last time I didn’t eat my own cooking and nothing this good. It’s getting late. I only have the one bed so you take it. I’ll bed down out here.”
I frowned then smiled at him. “Buck, I’ll not take your bed, but I’ll share it with you.”
Meanwhile, in a secure room at the head quarters of the U.S. Marshall’s Service in Washington, two agents stared at a bank of computer monitors.
“Where did you drop him?”
“Montana. An area with a low population density and one of the poorest areas in the state,”
“He, He. It Sure isn’t New York. You sure he’ll be all right?”
“Yeah. With the skills and attributes we programmed into that female body, SHE will be just fine. In fact, she’s all ready been picked up by a local and imprinted on him.”
“Already? Are you tracking her by satellite? Do you know who picked her up? Do you have anything on him?”
Yes, yes and yes. His name is Buck Wilson. No criminal record. He’s a small time rancher and laborer. Whatever it takes to make a living.”
“And she’s imprinted on him!? Oh, this is too much. Big Jim Calabreasse, the flashiest gangster in New York, now the loving girl friend of a small potatoes hick rancher in middle of nowhere Montana!”
“Ha,Ha. Well we did promise him a new life in a place no one would ever find him. Honestly, I was never comfortable about the way we used to set these scumbags up in witness protection. They would get off scott free just for being the first to rat out their cronies and they were usually worse than the ones we put behind bars. At least with this new body morphing technology, they don’t get off totally unscathed. Now Big Jim, or rather Amanda, will be a productive member of society.”
“Yeah, she’ll produce ole Buck a passel of kids. Well shut it down. It’s my turn to buy the beer.”
