CNC Machine Shop:
Mike arrives at Archie’s job and parks his pickup truck a couple of spots down from the front entrance. Mike knew Archie’s father had a surveillance camera aimed at the front door and another inside the shop. The shop had been robbed a few times in the past, and Archie’s father wasn’t taking any more chances of it happening again.

Mike approaches the front door with his head down, wearing a baseball cap that prevents the cameras from recording who he might be. He walks into the shop, keeping his head down, and enters through the employee entrance. He knew the code for the door from previous visits.

Once he enters the work area, he heads back towards the back corner of the shop where Archie’s workstation was located. Archie’s father had given Archie his own area to work. Just before he enters the area, he spots Archie machining something on the metal lathe. He stands nearby watching Archie work on cutting and forming the metal cylinder down into a driveshaft for a tractor. He has seen Archie do this type of work before and saw the original driveshaft he was copying sitting on Archie’s workbench.

Once the driveshaft was like Archie wanted, he turned around and looked at Mike. He removed his safety glasses. “What can I do for you, Mike?”

Archie knew the only reason Mike came by was if he wanted something done or made for him. He was getting sick of doing things for Mike and was trying to go straight. His father had already warned him about fucking up like he had been doing. One infraction, and his father would disown him.

“I need a silencer made for this Glock.” Mike shows Archie the Glock.

“If I do this for you, I’m done. No more favors and I don’t want to see you here again.” Archie wanted to get rid of Mike before his father found out.

“Why the attitude, Archie? I thought we were tight?” Mike was surprised by Archie’s attitude.

“Because each time you come around here and my old man finds out, he gives me a rash of shit. He finally said that if I get into any more trouble, he is disowning me. Do you know how hard it is for me to get a job with all the shit you and I did and got caught for? This machine shop is my last chance to prove I’m not a fuck up. I’ll do this last job for you and I don’t want to see you here again.”

“Fine, just make sure it fits properly.” Mike knew Archie could construct or build anything.

Archie gathered everything he needed to make the silencer and flash suppressor. It didn’t take him long to put everything together and test it out.
He handed it to Mike. “Here, don’t come back here.”

“Alright.” Mike shoots Archie and leaves before anyone can place him at the scene.

Mike makes sure that he isn’t caught on camera as he leaves the machine shop. He wanted to make sure Archie couldn’t snitch on him. Plus, he didn’t like the fact that Archie was ending their profitable partnership.

Mike leaves the machine shop parking lot and heads towards his storage locker, where he stores all his weapons and ammo. He needed to change clothes and freshen up some. He figures that Piper was still in the hospital. Normally, he wouldn’t chance doing her there, but he needed to end her life before Jeremy put a hit out on him. However, before he finished the job. He wanted to have a little fun. He drove towards his favorite place to enjoy himself.

First Health Montgomery Memorial Hospital:
Piper looked at her three visitors. She knew Officer Sterling, but she didn’t know the other woman and man with her. She looked at both of them and wondered what they wanted.

“Piper, I would like you to meet my best friend, Gloria Givens, and her husband, Deputy US Marshal Russell Givens.” Officer Sterling had noticed the puzzled look on Piper’s face when the three of them entered the hospital room.

“Hi, Piper. Lupe has told us about you. We’re sorry about what happened to you.” Gloria still didn’t know why someone would shoot Piper.

The background information they had been given about her showed that she was just an intersex girl who had a streak of bad luck in her life. Everyone they had managed to talk to about Piper had said a lot of nice stuff about her. Even the boys' home she had been placed in admitted that she really didn’t belong there.

A lot of the boys in the boys’ group home questioned why Piper didn’t look like a boy but like a young girl. She didn’t sound like a boy or smell like a boy either. Also, some of them thought they had seen her chest stick out a bit.

Russell looked at Piper and held his hand out to her. “Hi, Piper. I’m Russell Givens. It’s nice meeting you.”

Piper shook Russell's hand. She liked the way he shook hands with her. The handshake was firm and strong.

“I thought you might like to leave the boys' group home and be adopted by some people I trust with my life, Piper. Gloria and Russell can’t have children of their own, so they have been considering adopting instead.”

“Do you two live here?” Piper hasn’t seen either one of them before. She knew there wasn’t a U.S. Marshal's office near their town.

“Actually, we live in Billings, Montana. So, we would be moving you from here to Montana.” Gloria watches Piper’s face. Over the years, she has learned to read a person's expression and body language.

“Would the state allow that?” Piper was curious because she had never heard of that happening to a foster kid before.

“We’re in talks with Judge Reardon about this matter, Piper. Also, I know in this state you can’t have SRS surgery because of your age. However,
in Billings, you can have surgery to fix your birth defect, so you can feel more whole and not be judge by what is between your legs.”

“How about my birth certificate? Can that be changed?” Piper wanted her birth certificate to be fixed, instead of it saying she was born male.

“That is going to take a little longer to do. As it stands, if you were born male, you are recorded as male. If you’re born female, you are recorded as being female. The state officials here are rather stubborn. However, the company I work for has some really good lawyers, and they might be able to force the state to change your gender marker on your birth certificate.” Gloria knew the security firm she works for has some killer lawyers.

“I know this is a lot to think about right now, Piper. But it will give you the chance to have great parents who understand and are willing to help you through what you are going through.”

Piper looks towards Gloria and Russell. “It doesn’t bother you that I’m female, but have a male part?”

Russell looks at Piper and takes a deep breath before speaking, “Actually, no, it doesn’t bother either my wife or me. I have a cousin in Kentucky who was born female but is developing traits associated with being born male. She’s going through something similar to you right now.”

Russell was thinking about his cousin Tom/Tammy, who was producing so much testosterone that her body had developed like a male’s body would, instead of a female's. The only thing that made her a female was that, instead of having a penis between her legs, she had the bottom of a woman, but with no vaginal opening or ovaries. Even her facial features were mannish, and she had upper-body strength and a deep voice.

“I work with a few transgender people. The owner of the company I work for has a transgender daughter and niece.” Gloria met her once at a company function.

Rumor had it that she once was arrested and booked for a crime she didn’t commit. Later, after she was cleared of all charges, she was allowed to touch a computer again and given a job in the company’s IT department.

“But you guys don’t know anything about me. I could be a difficult child with a bunch of problems.” Piper watches Gloria and Russell for their reaction.

A sly smile appears on Gloria’s face. She figures Piper was testing them to see if they meant what they said about adopting her.

“According to everyone we spoke to who knows you, including your employer at the diner. They have said a bunch of really nice things about you. Even some of your teachers at school, who are concerned about you. The younger boys at the group home have said some nice things about you, and the cheerleaders at your school, who know you want to be on their team, have said nice things about you.” Gloria and Lupa had spoken with people who knew Piper, while Gloria’s husband had conducted a complete background check and spoken with Piper’s caseworker about her.

Lupe looks at Piper as she thinks about everything. She knew she would be spending a week in the hospital learning how to breathe with one lung.

“Can I think about this, please?” Piper wouldn’t mind thinking this matter over.

“Sure, I would be suspicious if you didn’t.” Gloria knew it was a big jump for Piper.

After Officer Sterling, Gloria, and Russell leave Piper’s hospital room. Piper stares at the space where everyone had sat and wonders whether she wants to leave and move to Montana. There were a lot of good things about moving to another state, but there were a lot of bad things as well.