Simmons Stituation Ch 4

Over the next hour, Shelly and I ate our breakfast as Michelle and Collette returned to room 317 to get cleaned up.  By ten o'clock that morning, Shelly had regained her legs and found a better way to sort her multivitamins and form maintaining pills from one another.  
Yet, nobody felt safe in that hotel for the time being.  Something was going on in this town, and maybe if we went around town, we might come across some clues.
Feeling the need to remove ourselves from the hotel for the moment, we all piled into my car and headed to the Golden Spike Visitors Center, where they had a tower that overlooked the world’s largest train yard.  And yeah, I hadn't seen a larger railroad yard, that was for certain.
Though Michelle and Collette were clearly anxious about who might be tracking them, I was enjoying myself.  As an old time train lover who had model trains back in the day, I was telling Shelly all about train operations as we looked over the many displays.
“Greg, will you quit wasting time and get over here, please?” Michelle fussed.
I sighed.  “You two said you wanted to get out of the hotel for awhile.”
“Yeah, because we thought we were being tracked,” Michelle said as she pulled me over to a table where they were gazing over tourist pamphlets, which was really more of a cover.  “Sit and tell me who was there last night.”
Begrudgingly, I did so as Shelly followed.  “I’ve told you all I know about the guy, okay?  He was obviously a guy that didn't want to be recognized.”
“Shelly, did you see him at all?” Collette asked.
She shook her head.  “I couldn’t even see the door.  All I saw was the quick purple light of the scan.  Luckily, my tail was safe beneath the sheets.”
Michelle crossed her arms, obviously upset that our information was woefully inept.  “Someone is tracking us... and I want to know who.”
“Maybe you can try calling Dr. Chase and giving him a full report.  And for that matter, find out if he was able to analyze that scan you sent him last night,” I suggested.
“Yeah...” Michelle tapped her wrist with her other hand.  “Except that it’s about six o’clock there.”
“No, North Platte is Central Time... it’s closer to seven probably.”  I checked my watch.  “Either way, we’re in for a wait.”
Michelle slapped the table.  “Fine.  I’ll send Dr. Chase a text and we’ll play the tourist route in the meantime.”

Picking out a few brochures along the wall, the four of us later headed to a local museum that held a few exhibits about the expansion of the railroads and the western expansion that preceded it.  Though Shelly and I found this all very interesting, Collette and Michelle were only partially interested, instead reminding us that we had work to do.  
I only began to realize that this might be true when Michelle pointed out something to me.
"Greg."
As Shelly and Collette were in another room, I regretted not keeping them near when Michelle came to find me.  I had been admiring a conductor's uniform when Michelle tapped me on the shoulder.  "What?"
Michelle pointed towards the hallway to the next exhibit, where the two blonde twins from the hotel's continental breakfast walked by.  They were wearing black jumpsuits, and did not appear to be actively engaged in the museum's exhibits.
"What do you suppose...?" I asked.
Michelle nodded.  "They do not seem like they're here for the tour.  And you heard the lady at the front lobby... this is an unusually quiet place today."
"Because of Prospector Days?" I asked.  Yeah, I had read the brochure on the local towns festival that embraced the dream of moving out west and striking it rich, and how most of those who wished to do so ended up riding the rails or getting lost in North Platte and getting rich gambling in the town saloons instead.  In fact, I'd read the brochure from cover to cover, and how the town festival lasted a week and brought out most of the tourists.  
Come to think of it, I wondered how we were able to book a hotel room with such a festival of shooting contests, pitchfork fondue, and cowboy games taking place.
"Greg, are you listening?  You're spacing out again.  I said they weren't here for that festival."
"Sorry."  I adjusted my glasses.  "Right, you don't normally visit museums wearing black jumpsuits."
"Exactly!"  She slapped me on the shoulder and pushed me towards the hallway.  "Go follow them.  Be invisible if you have to."
Invisible?  Really, Michelle, I had never been very good at maintaining invisibility for very long... well, maybe when I was hiding from males.
"Hey!  Stop daydreaming and go!"
"Michelle..." I turned.  "I've... I'm too nervous."
"What?"
"Those girls are practically models... they'll see me."
Michelle crossed her arms and nearly gagged.  "I'm giving you permission to watch girls, okay?  It's not like they're naked or anything, and this isn't exactly a locker room!"
"Um..." There's a reason why I have never tried to be invisible in a place where I could use invisibility to my advantage.  I was too nervous and far too shy, plain and simple.  "But..."
"Just pretend you're watching TV and be invisible while doing it.  Go already!"  She pushed me into the hallway.
Okay, okay... I'll do my best, but if they catch me...

Holding my pearl tightly in my pocket, I took a deep breath and focused on being unseen.  I watched my hand as I became translucent, able to see through my own hand.  Watching myself in the reflection of an exhibit in the hallway, I watched as I completely vanished from view.  Feeling my mental energy depleting, I quickly headed in the direction that the two twins had proceeded.
Luckily, it did not take me long to find them.  
"Hurry up!  We're not alone in this museum, or did you forget?"
"All right, sis!  Keep your voice down."
I came around the corner to find another exhibit room, this one containing some of the mining artifacts that had been taken from several of the regional mines in the area.  Though most of the objects on display were common ores and rubble - that I would later learn did have a value - there were samples of much more valuable ores in the room.  Namely, samples of sapphires, rubies and emeralds that had been taken from mines west and north of the region.  Some that were very large, including one that was nearly 65 carats.
Located in the center of the room, the blonde twins were using advanced equipment to cut along the glass of the case that contained the Platte Ruby, the 65 carat ruby that was on loan from a museum in the area of Cheyenne, Wyoming.  I couldn't tell exactly what was taking place, as the one girl was in the way of the work, but it appeared that the glass cutter she was using was an etching tool on steroids, able to cut through the glass without leaving as much of a mark and doing so with very minimal noise.
As I continued gazing around the room, ensuring to breathe quietly and stay very still - even the sound of my sneakers upon the smooth granite floors would be heard - I took note of the absence of security personnel.  The cameras - and there were three or four in plain view - had not appeared to have been modified in any way.  
Then I discovered why.  Sitting atop the case that contained the Platte Ruby, there was a small box with an antenna sticking out of the top, much like an upside down lollipop-radio thingy.  It was pulsating slowly, which I interpreted as giving off some kind of interference signal.  Maybe I was no expert, but having spent enough time working on the CCC Radio and the communication equipment in my basement gave enough of a suggestion to believe it was disrupting the cameras, or perhaps even broadcasting a static image so not to set off the alarm of the camera operator.
A soft clinking noise returned my attention to the two twins, who were carefully pulling out the pane of glass with small suction cups.  Each girl wore thick leather gloves, perhaps to avoid casting fingerprints upon anything they were touching.
"Good.  Careful, Amanda.  Lay it down quietly, not like last time!"
"I am being careful, Ashley."  The blonde wearing a blue hair band which I had not noticed before had been removing the glass, which she laid flat upon the granite floors.  "There.  Now so long as that interferon keeps working.... and those tourists take their time..."
"You dolt, there are tourists in here?" Amanda snapped.  
I discovered that she had a red hair band... so there was a way to tell them apart after all.  
Amanda continued.  "Why didn't you say something?"
"I did say something!  But... I didn't want you to worry...."
"Forget it!"  Amanda snatched the ruby from inside the case, leaving the pedestal upon which it sat.  "We're done here."
"What about our stuff?"  Ashley put something resembling a laser pen into one of the many pockets upon her jumpsuit.  "We're supposed to leave all this?"
"I told you already.  We leave the cups, the glass, and the disruptor.  Nobody is going to notice the glass is gone until they realize the ruby is too.  And besides, they won't find our fingerprints.  Not unless we get out of here quickly.  Do you still remember how to do it?"
Ashley nodded.  "Of course I do."
"And so do I.  Let's go then."  She rose to her feet after putting the ruby into another of Ashley's pockets, one located surreptitiously near to her chest.  “You’ll keep that safe, won’t you?”
“Of course.”  Ashley rose to her feet as well, before inspecting the lollipop-radio thingy.  “And this?”
“That's the disruptor!  Leave it.  The batteries are only good for a few minutes... come on!  We have to go!”  Amanda pulled her sister out of the room.  Towards the door... towards where I had been standing.
I quickly moved aside, feeling the silkiness of Amanda’s blonde locks as she narrowly brushed past.  It was almost painful being this close, realizing how tight their jumpsuits were.  I wasn’t able to relax yet, though, because I had no choice but to follow.
Both girls wasted no time making an exit, but they didn’t leave through the lobby.  Instead, they headed towards the gallery where I knew Shelly and Collette had been.
Shelly was admiring a painting of a wagon train while Collette was glancing over a diorama depicting a battle of claim jumpers and Native Americans, who were feuding over the dispersion of traded goods.  Neither one of them noticed the girls in the jumpsuits casually walk by towards an emergency exit.
I tapped Shelly on the shoulder, who looked around bewildered.  “Huh?”
Collette did the same, and instead of seeing me, they saw the girls apply a small sticker-like device to the emergency exit door before heading outside.  “Hey!”
“Shit!  Run!” Amanda cried as she pushed her sister outside.  
I immediately became visible and delivered a zap towards the emergency exit, missing the girls and frying the electronics inside.  The alarm failed to go off as the girls emerged into the bright sunshine.
“Greg!  What’s going on?” Collette asked.
“They stole a ruby!  We have to stop them!” I ran for the door.  “Shelly, call the police!”
“Okay!”  Shelly pulled out her cellphone.

Outside, I was met by the sudden punch of a leather glove.  Though knocked back momentarily, it did not prevent me from seeing something that... well, it was very Michelle-esque.
“Hurry up!” Ashley screamed as she attempted to punch me again, this time unsuccessful.  I blocked her punch and gave her a severe shock.  
“Give up that...” I began, before turning towards her sister, who was kneeling on the ground.  Amanda’s hands, however, were shaped like a tire, but not quite.  Her arms were metallic, and her hands were forming into a single tire, while her body began to arch and form into a motorcycle.  Her legs and knees had already bent and combined around a large rear tire, perhaps from her feet, and were reshaping and moving to accommodate a seat upon her back as the profile of her butt vanished into the leather.  Her face and ears formed into a headlight and handlebars, brakes and shifters, where her stomach and breasts had formed into an engine and a fuel tank.  Finally, a small stand formed from her new struts, as the woman had vanished and been replaced by a nimble, powerful Harley Davidson motorcycle.
“You’re a...?” I began.
Ashley delivered another punch, knocking me back and forcing me to catch my glasses as I fell against the open door of the museum.  Collette came out to catch me, but by then Ashley had mounted Amanda, or the motorcycle, and drove off.
“Greg, get up!  I’m going after her!” Collette cried as she began to ran.
“Collette, you can’t drive, remember?” I did my best to follow, and caught up to Collette who had ran a short distance before realizing that I was right.  It was around that same time that her hands had also turned into tires.  
“Dammit... they’re gone, aren’t they?”  She looked up at me, showing me her tire as she kneeled to the ground.
I put my hand on her shoulder and quickly delivered a cold snap, even though I suddenly felt light headed.  Her tires suddenly shrunk and reformed into hands at once.  “If there’s any consolation, we do know one thing.”
Collette rose to her feet.  “What’s that?”
“Their names.  Ashley and Amanda,” I replied.

When we returned to the museum, two patrol cars had already arrived.  Michelle had been speaking with a police officer and the museum caretaker as Shelly rushed over to me.  “Greg!  What happened?”
At that very moment, the officer that Michelle was speaking to turned to me.  “This young woman said that you saw the thieves?”
“Officer, they’re on the move... a blonde riding a gray and black Harley... the one was wearing a black jumpsuit...” I stuttered.
“Black jumpsuit, blonde, gray and black Harley... got it.”  The officer stepped away and began delivering the report to a dispatcher.  As he did so, Michelle came over to me.  “Greg, didn’t you say there were two of them?  Where’d the other one go?”
I gave the officer a glance, and then held Michelle’s hand.  “Take a guess.”
“What?” She shrugged me off.
I took her hand again and shook it suggestively.  “Listen.  Think about it a moment.”
Michelle glanced towards her hand, and then glancing towards me.  I patted her hand several times, hoping to send the message.  I didn’t want to say what I saw in front of the cop.  As one last attempt, I rubbed my fingers across the top of her hand, hoping to send a signal that resembled tire treads.
Finally, it hit her, and she nodded quietly.  “Understood.”
Another cop from across the room came towards the four of us.  “Folks, did you say that there were two thieves?  You did, right?”
The four of us exchanged glances, even Shelly, who hadn’t seen or caught wind of the one’s transformation into a motorcycle.  “Yeah.”
“But only one escaped on a Harley?  You’re absolutely sure.”
All four of us nodded.
“Right.”  This second officer began talking frantically into his radio.  “I need backup at the Elstree Museum of Railroad History, full sweep of the area.  Also, I need a fix on a gray and black Harley Davidson, allegedly ridden by a blonde woman...” The officer turned to me.  “Can you describe either of the thieves?”
“Wearing tight jumpsuits... black... both women were fairly tall, perhaps six one, silky blonde hair to about the middle of their back... oh, I’d say about 38D...”
“Gregory!” Michelle and Shelly snapped.
“It’s all pertinent data...” The male officer muttered as he made a few notes in a small notepad.  “Carry on.”
“They answered to the name Ashley and Amanda... but you might only find Ashley... she was carrying the ruby they took, I’m sure of it,” I concluded.  “She might’ve been the one riding the bike.”
“Good then.”  He walked away and continued barking orders into his radio.  
In the meantime, the other officer returned towards us.  “May I have your names?”

After an hour, the better part of the compliment of the North Platte Police Department were combing the museum for any signs of the second robber, which had believed to still remained within the museum at some point.  They could not find this Amanda, but they did locate the suction cups used to move the glass from the case, as well as the small lollipop shaped transmitter that was responsible for disrupting the communications from the cameras.  I had overheard the museum caretaker, who was apparently responsible for monitoring the cameras, report that she had not realized that the camera had displayed a still image for the ten minutes that the twins had used to claim the ruby as their own.
By one in the afternoon, the police were convinced that we had intended to aid the police as best as we could and that we had done all that we could, which of course was not entirely true.  If Collette wasn't able to drive away, why could the Amanda-cycle?
As soon as we could get away from the museum, we went to find a place for lunch, which happened to be a KFC along US 83 just a short distance from downtown.  Since it was hardly a place to hold a quiet conversation, we opted to pick up a 12 piece dinner and return to the hotel by the interstate.
I had hardly taken a bite of my extra-crispy drumstick when Michelle made me talk.  “So you’re sure what you told me in the car, Greg?  She transformed into a motorcycle?”
“Amanda did, I’m sure of it.  If that was their real names, I’m sure it was Amanda... weirder still, though, Amanda seemed to make sure that Ashley was able to... how did she put it... ‘remember how to do it.’  As if she could change into something too.”
“You’re sure she transformed into a motorcycle, a Harley, right?” Collette asked.
“Positive?” Shelly asked.
I nodded.  “I know what I saw.  It would have been all too convenient for one to vanish into thin air while the other escaped on a conveniently placed motorcycle, wouldn’t it?”
Collette shrugged as she swallowed a spoonful of wet coleslaw.  “Not at all... heck, I invented that move.”
“Here here,” Michelle said as she held up a chicken wing in salute.
Shelly dished up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy onto her plastic plate.  “I thought you were on a diet?”
“I am.”  Michelle broke apart the wing.  “It’s not my fault you guys insisted on stopping at KFC.”
“All the same, we’ll want Dr. Chase to know about this right away... I should really call him first...” My eyes glanced towards the rest of the chicken on my plate, even though I was quite torn.  “Hmmm...”
Shelly put her hand on mine, which was holding my fork.  “Since you were punched by a girl, maybe you should eat first.”
“I’ll leave that out of the report, I think,” I replied.  “Though she delivered one hell of a right hook.”

None of us were sure why Dr. Chase was taking so long to respond, but as we mulled around the hotel - the police asked us to remain there in the event we needed to be an identifying witness - we all became rather bored with ourselves.  There was a gym and a pool on site, but everyone wanted to keep a low profile.  Gathering in room 317, Shelly and I managed to entertain ourselves with a deck of cards while Specter and Michelle did their best trying to map out all the possibilities that could cause their engines to fail while a different changer, possibly two, could avoid the limitation.
"It has to be something in the CCC radio... because unless the girl doesn't possess a similar system, there's no way for me to track them."  Collette sat up straight upon the couch.  "Unless...."
"Yeah?" Michelle asked.
"I haven't ran a scan with my tracker system... it might be worth a shot."  Collette stood up and moved aside the coffee table.  
"Is it too warm in here?" I asked as I looked up from my cards.  Shelly and I were sitting around the dining area in the small kitchenette.  "What are you two up to now?"
"She's going to try running a CCC scan," Michelle said as she went over to her suitcase for a red hot.  A moment later, I turned away from my cards again to see Collette on all fours, her hands and feet morphing into tires.  "Hopefully this will work."
"And if not?" Shelly asked as Collette finished transforming into Specter, who now filled the room.
"We'll have to see if this Amanda and Ashley still have a room here.  You did say you recognized them from this morning, right, Greg?" Specter asked.
"Right."  I laid down my hand.  "Gin."
Shelly grumbled slightly before counting up her score.  
Michelle's telephone began to buzz as she checked the text.  It was from Dr. Chase.  "Listen to this, it's from the doc.  He says he is contacting his partners regarding a CCC signal in the area."
"Let's scan for that first," Specter said.  Her computer went to work, and Michelle climbed inside Specter's passenger side as the computer decoded the message.  "There is an active signal in the area.  You seeing this, Michelle?"
Michelle's eyes widened as she read the message off Specter's computer screen.  "You have got to be kidding me."
"What?" I asked after writing down the score for the cards.  "What's going on?"
"The CCC message is gibberish... it's all code.  Even the computer cannot translate it," Michelle grumbled.  "If there's a message there at all, instead of telling what it is saying, it must be causing your transmission to fail."
I came over to Specter's fender.  "Can you localize it?"
"Not without a point of triangulation.  Greg, take Michelle outside and make her change," Specter ordered.
I nodded.  "Come on."
"I'll keep my room key, you bring your cell," Michelle said.

Michelle and I took the elevator down to the lobby and headed outside into the heat of the great plains.  Finding a spot well outside the view of any potential onlookers was hard, but once we did making Michelle transform was easy.
I didn't have to hardly do anything, she kneeled to the hot concrete and her hands changed almost instantly.  "Sometimes I forget that I don't need you to transform on my own," Michelle quipped.
"You need me to change you back," I replied as I glanced around the area.  We were in the clear.  Michelle's feet changed into tires next, and her hips stretched and flared out as she grew a pair of fenders.  Next her stomach and chest formed into the mid section, doors and seats of the convertible, before her head and face stretched and expanded into the hood.  Now a convertible, Summer moved her key to the accessory setting and activated her computer monitor, which slid out of the radio.
"Take a seat," Summer said as she pushed her driver's door open.  
I did so, adjusting myself before checking the computer.  "You've got the CCC signal decoded, but there seems to be an error."
"As I would've guessed," Summer replied.  "Specter, can ya hear me?"
"I'm here, Sums.  How do you like the computer upgrade?" Specter asked through the CCC Radio.
"It's nice to finally be above the curve," Summer replied.
"Sure is.  I'm starting the triangulation for the source of that code," Specter said.  "Hang on a moment..."
It happened so fast, I wasn't sure what had happened.  Four black sedans had pulled into the corner of the parking lot and surrounded us.  Summer started her engine, but as expected, couldn't shift into gear.  "It's no good!"
"What's no good?" Specter asked.
"Freeze!  Hands up!" A man in a suit and tie was pointing a gun at me.  "Shut off your engine!  And don't try any funny business!  We know who you are!"
"You mean what I am," Summer replied.  She shut off her engine.
"Open your driver's side door.  Slowly!"
"Do it, Summer... I have a feeling we'll be okay," I said.
Summer did so.  The man apprehensively dove for my arm and pulled me out of her cabin, as I struggled to find my footing.  "Who are you guys?"
"That's for us to know.  You two are under arrest for theft of the Platte Ruby."
I scratched my nose before putting my hands back into the air.  "Um, if you'll check with the police office..."
"Shut up!  Come with us!"   They directed me into the nearest black sedan.  "Get the foam on her!"
One of the four suits removed a small spray bottle, containing a blue liquid inside.  He sprayed several blasts of the blue liquid onto Summer's hood, which foamed up into a thick blue foam that cooled her down instantly.  She began to shrink at once, her human features returning a moment later.  Once her hands and shoes had returned, she stood up.  "What is this all about?"
"Put her in with the other one.  Give us your room key."
"We're here alone, don't be silly..." Michelle began.
"Shut up!  Give up or I'll rip your pants off!"
Michelle reached for the room key in her pocket.  "That'd be a lawsuit!"
"Slowly!  Hand it over!"
Reluctantly, Michelle did so.  They tossed her into the back of the sedan with me.