Veronica disappears again in the middle of the afternoon and doesn't return so Adrienne just works an extra half hour. "Enough of this for one day," she thinks. "It's so enjoyable doing something I love but I don't want to get ahead of my little schedule or I'll find myself back at Veronica's working that party. It will be hard on Sarah but I hope she understands I must have all the time I can get to help us both."

She hurries home to fix herself a quick meal and relax for a few minutes. Then she decides to try the number for the club again since she can think of nowhere else to start. To her surprise, the phone is answered on the second ring.

"Good evening," purrs a cultured feminine voice, "This is Vicki's Social Club. How may I help you?"

"I... um, I'm Adrienne. I got your number from a dear friend who thought I might enjoy visiting your club," stammers Adrienne, not sure how to start her inquiries.

"Well," the voice continues, "We are a public facility but I hope you understand that we cater only to a certain select clientele. Are you perhaps... gender challenged?"

"Wow, am I ever!" Adrienne laughs nervously.

"Then why don't you drop by tonight and we can continue our little chat?" the person says. "Things usually start happening around eight o'clock so you could drop by then. The address is 4819 Bruce Street. Just ask for Vicki when you arrive. Dress as you please, we're quite informal here. Bye for now!" The line goes dead.

Adrienne puts the phone down and lets out a sigh. "Let the games begin! I don't know how I'm going to pursue  this link to Veronica once I get there; I'll just have to play it by ear. I suppose I should change into something a little dressier. I might as well try to have some fun even if this leads nowhere."

Adrienne quickly showers and slips into her one and only party dress. After a few minutes to freshen her makeup and apply a dab of perfume she's ready to go. Since the club is within walking distance and she has no spare money for a cab, she takes off walking again. "If I keep up with all this walking, I'm going to end up with a great set of legs!"

She reaches the address shortly before eight and is pleasantly surprised to find the club is located in a quiet clean area of downtown. "Hmm, I expected this place to be located farther down by the docks and the Strip. I think there's a bit of money behind this operation." There's no sign on the brick building, just the number over an oak door which is locked. Adrienne looks around and finds a buzzer which she presses.

She must have been expected since the door automatically unlocks and she passes through a small vestibule into a elegantly furnished room, filled with perhaps a dozen people, standing around and chatting. They all appear to be women but Adrienne knows this to be a place of illusion and pursued dreams. She's been in them before.

An oddly familiar looking lady in a flashy polkadot dress separates herself from the small crowd and approaches Adrienne. "Hello," she says, "I assume you're Adrienne, the person that I was talking with earlier. Let me introduce myself. I'm Victoria Deville. Just call me Vicki."

Adrienne just stands there unbelieving for a few moments, totally stunned by what she's just heard. Then she buries her face in her hands. "De... Deville? This can't be happening! I must be trapped in a nightmare!" she stammers.

"Are you all right, Adrienne?" asks Vicki, looking very concerned. "Please sit down, you look like you're going to faint!" She asks one of the others to bring a glass of water.

"I'll be OK in a minute," Adrienne murmurs. "Forgive me, it's just that I've had some very bad experiences with a person with the name of Deville lately. I didn't mean to cause you any problems, I'll just leave."

"Wait a minute, don't run off," Vicki says, taking Adrienne's hand. "Have you by chance, had any dealings with a woman named Veronica Deville?" Adrienne looks up, startled. "Ah, I think you have!" Vicki says with a wry smile. "Well, welcome to the club. Unfortunately, she's related to me. In fact, Veronica is my twin sister!" 

If Adrienne was stunned before, she thinks she's going to have a stroke now.  Luckily, there's a chair behind her and she flops in it.  "I never knew she had any family in this city and now I run into her twin sister. What luck! Martha said there was a connection!" She wonders if she's getting herself deeper in trouble by coming to a sibling of Veronica, then she recalls something Vicki said. "Uh, you said 'unfortunately'. Don't you get along with her?" 

Vicki chuckles bitterly, "I believe you're mixed up in one of my sister's rotten schemes since you mentioned Martha; she was here a few months ago so I know about her troubles. Are you in a similar fix?"

Adrienne realizes she has nowhere else to turn so she might as well tell all. She gives Vicki a quick review of all that has happened to her since meeting Veronica, including what she found out about the cab company.

"I thought it would be something like that," Vicki says, shaking her head. "Dominion Taxi? I didn't know she still had that little outfit.  Well, I'll tell you the sad story of my life with Veronica, although I did manage to come out of it a bit better than others!"

"I haven't had anything to do with my sister in years, except in a court of law. I was born as a boy named Victor, Veronica's twin as I mentioned.  We got along well enough as kids until we were teenagers, then things started to change. I started to realize that I wasn't like other boys, I was more interested in feminine things. Meanwhile, unknown to me, Veronica became really interested in things feminine, other girls! We sure were a mixed up couple of kids sexually."

"I started borrowing Veronica's clothes to wear and of course she caught me one day.  She really changed after that. She would force me to dress up however she wanted, threatening to tell my parents and my friends at school if I refused. It was like men were objects of contempt to her, to be used as she pleased."

"Shortly after we turned twenty, I got up my courage and told my parents about my life as Victoria and that I was going to transition. They weren't happy about it but seemed to accept my decision. Veronica was furious because she was losing her control over me. A few months later, our parents were killed in a car accident. I was terribly upset by this and trusted Veronica to take care of settling the estate, which was fairly extensive. Big mistake! All of a sudden another will appeared, giving nearly everything to her! So we ended up in a big court battle over which will was valid. I won back some properties but Veronica still ended up with most of it. There are some lingering issues still dragging on in the courts. So now you see why I have very little to do with her any more."

"Hmm, that cab company still strikes me as being odd," Adrienne mutters. "I just can't see Veronica running a business like that. I think I'd like to have a look at that location; it just seems so out of place in this whole scenario."

"I'd like to know what she's doing with that old building too," Vicki wonders. "However I don't want to be seen down there while there are still court issues between us." She thinks a minute then grins. "I'll ask one of the girls; I know one who's always ready for a little adventure!"

Vicki soon returns with one of the ladies Adrienne saw earlier. "OK, this is Gloria and she's agreed to go with you," Vicki states. "I'll leave you two alone to make your arrangements. I'd like to hear about anything you find."

Adrienne thanks Vicki as she leaves then turns to Gloria. "Thank you for offering to help me out. This could be risky though so if you want to change your mind I'll understand... "

"Oh, don't worry about me backing out," Gloria says, smiling. "I've hung out in that area for a while and I know nearly everybody around there. Besides, if we do run into trouble, I know we can get out of there in a hurry!"

"OK," Adrienne says, "I'll take your word on that! Now when would you like to go? I could meet you here tomor..."

Gloria interrupts, "Why wait? Let's go right now! I'm going to a Halloween party tonight near that area so we have a cover story if we need one. I left a couple of costumes in my locker here that would be perfect for a little cloak and dagger work. Come on, let's do it. It might be fun!"

Adrienne wasn't too sure about Gloria's idea of fun but she couldn't fault her enthusiasm. Maybe it would be better to get it over with before she started having second thoughts. "Alright, let's do it. What kind of costume do I get to wear now?"

Gloria leads the way into a locker room at the back of the building. "We can change in here," she says, opening one of the lockers and pulling out a couple of bags. "Here, I think this one will fit you."

"Oh Lord, what in the world is this thing?" Adrienne asks, unfolding something made of black PVC.

"It's a catsuit, silly!" Gloria says, laughing. "Haven't you ever worn one before? It's almost guaranteed to make you look ultra sultry! Now here's a great pair of boots to go with it... oh yes, gloves and a cute litlle cat mask! All set to go prowling, dark kitty! Teehee!"

"Oh my goodness, it's so tight!" Adrienne says as she wiggles into the stretchy suit. "I see what you mean now!" As she laces up the boots, she sees Gloria squirming into a suit that's absolutely skin tight. After fastening up the waist cinchers that Gloria has stashed in the locker and donning their masks, they regard themselves in a long mirror.

"Wow," Adrienne sighs, quite amazed. "Is that really me? I look like a completely different person!"

"Tonight you can be anyone you want," Gloria giggles. "Come on, Catwoman, lets blow this popcorn stand!" She turns and leads the way out the back door.

Parked by the door is a powerful looking motorcycle with a purple fairing which Gloria hops on and then pushes the start button. It roars to life then idles with a low rumble. "All ready to go," yells Gloria, "Hop on!" 

Adrienne nervously crawls onto the seat  behind Gloria, wondering if she should have made a will before she agreed to this adventure.

"A... are y... you sure this is really safe?" stammers Adrienne, as she wildly looks for something to hang onto.

"Of course!" Gloria says. laughing. "Don't worry, Feline Girl, you've got nine lives tonight! Hang on, away we go!"

Suddenly Gloria guides the big bike into an alley and slows to a crawl. "We'll leave the machine in this alley," she says quietly. "According to Vicki's directions, we should be able to see the taxi stand around the corner."

Gloria guides the bike to a stop behind some garbage cans and sets it on it's stand. Together they peek around the corner and spot their intended target immediately.

They see a cab and another smaller car parked near the office and two people talking out in the street. Seeing a dumpster between them and the scene down the street they maneuver a little closer, keeping to the shadows.

"Oh my Lord, that's Veronica and the man is one of those repairmen I saw at Veronica's!" mutters Adrienne. "She keeps showing up like a bad debt. I'd give my new Victoria's Secret Catalog to know what they're talking about!"

"Shhh! Keep it down," Gloria whispers. "Let's just wait a few minutes and see what they do. I don't think they will notice us here if we stay here quiet."

The man she was talking with checks the office door, then sits in the cab and motors off at a more leisurely  pace.

"Well, that was disappointing!" states Adrienne, stretching and standing up behind the dumpster. "We sure didn't find out much here!" 

"Don't be so hasty, girl," Gloria says with a little smirk. "We might find out a few things yet! Let's take a peek at that office. Come on!" She jumps up and quickly runs out into the glow of street lights in front of the cab stand.

"O - O - OK, " Adrienne mutters as she slips through the doorway. Once she's inside, she realizes that there is some flickering illumination. A couple of tired florescent lights display a dismal scene before them. 

"Wow," she mumbles, "If these wrecks are running a trip soon, I'm the Queen of Sheba! I worked a few months as a cabbie before I decided to go femme full time. No top lights, no antennas and I bet no radios, and I see no inspection stickers. There's something really fishy going on here!"

"Yeah, you got that right sis," Gloria breathes, "Um, there's a light coming from under that doorway over there.. Let's check it out!"

"Well, OK," Adrienne murmurs, picking up a dirty wrench off a work bench. "Just in case!" she says nervously, holding her improvised bludgeon in both hands. "You just never know!!"

Gloria carefully opens the door a crack, then swings it wide. "All clear, nobody home. Just as I suspected!" She strides into the room and looks around. Well, look at this, a real classy setup!"

What they see before them is a room completely at odds with the area behind them. A neat little carpeted area that could have been an entertainment room in an average suburban dwelling is revealed to them.

"Wow, nothing but the best for the chump drivers in this elite outfit!" Gloria chuckles. "Maybe I should apply for a job here!"

"Yeah, Adrienne says, "It's just a little too classy for anybody trying to make a buck in the hack business. Most cabbies wouldn't be sitting here, they would be out cruising the streets, looking for a fare!"

"And look at this desk!" Gloria says excitedly, "Just like an accountant's setup!"

"You're right, girl," Adrienne states. She quickly scans  the desk setup, then focuses in on a large notepad to one side. "Um, Gloria dear, just what do you make of all this stuff? There's some very large numbers here and I don't think these are your average cab fares! And I don't think I have much of a future as a domestic by the looks of this! MV Morning Star... What in the world could that be?"

"MV could stand for 'Merchant Vessel' if I'm not mistaken," Gloria mutters as she carefully peels off the next sheet on the notepad. "Have you got your bags packed? I think your Mistress is about to surprise you and Sarah with a free one-way vacation!"