The next morning I awoke to a couple of messages from a few of my friends that I had sent some feelers out to. I didn't know bad people per say but I knew people who were connected and the ones I trusted came back to me. From all the messages there was only one promising lead. I messaged them and we organized a meeting for later that morning, central park, at 11am. I had to tell him that it wouldn't be me but instead the girl who had asked me for help. He wasn't happy with that but after I told him I was staying with my parents he seemed to understand.
I made a nice big breakfast. Last night was a quick and easy dinner so I woke up quite hungry. Eating a hearty breakfast of sausage and eggs made me worry for this body. I ate like I was a 28 year old man who was currently trying to pack on muscle. I hadn't been eating so much since my body changed, I simply hadn't been that hungry. I know I have to change my diet and exercise soon though to maintain this figure. People can be naturally beautiful but this body would take a lot of fucking work from me.
I spent the next couple of hours testing the strength of this body with bodyweight exercises. I was unnaturally strong, not lifting cars or anything but even pull ups were no sweat off my brow. After working out for an hour and a half I hardly broke a sweat and had tried every muscle group I knew. It was like I was peak of what a human could be, I didn't want to fuck this up.
Being so strong, at least compared to the size of my female body, was nothing without tools to make use of it. Women were weaker than men physically, women could be stronger than the average man, or most men even, with the right exercise, however the strongest woman would never be stronger than the strongest man. I was nowhere close to the strongest man but I definitely felt stronger than my male body.
When I was in my male body I had been a regular at gyms since my teen years. I had done a few marathons and loved being outside. I even had some experience with fighting, though I had never been in a match or anything, I at least knew how to throw a punch and could grapple well. I was confident in this body's ability to beat 90% of people 1v1.
It was getting closer to my meetup with my friend. We would meet in central park near a coffee stand and he would introduce me to his seedy connection. I decided I would need a few things before I went so I had to head out earlier than just the travel time would suggest. In the meantime I had been messaging Angela and Lillian throughout the morning. I wanted to see both of them later and had decided to meet up with Angela at hers and then go on to Lillian's. Angela lived in The Bronx with me, only a couple miles away, but Lillian lived in The upper west side, closer to central park. I would have thought she would live in Harlem but maybe that was the 1950's racist in me. It made me realize how much more I had to learn about my girls.
I left my apartment dressed in suitable clothes, thick jeans, the walking shoes from before and a long sleeve baseball style-t. That same stylish male coat kept me warm. I headed to the meetup but first I went and got some passport photos, hopeful that that might save me some time. It was a quarter to 11 when I got to the rendezvous point and I grabbed a coffee, my leg tapping with a nervous jolt.
I saw my friend and another man I had previously never seen before arrive at about 5 minutes to. They got in line for a coffee and I headed over to greet them. My friend, Daniel was his name, was an old pal throughout high school. He had become an army ranger and was one of my friends I trusted deeply. He wasn't my first thought for underworld connections but I was glad I had reached out to him. This could be a really big help if everything panned out smoothly.
I went up behind them and caught their attention before I even said a word. Both of them ogled me before they even realized what I was doing and I hoped I could use that to my advantage.
"Uh... Daniel right? John's friend? I'm Elizabeth. I'm sorry he couldn't be here to introduce me but I need help sooner rather than later."
He seemed taken back, a stunned expression I rarely saw from my usually reserved and stoic friend. He had always been someone to remain calm in any situation, something that probably served him well in the military, but seeming my perfect form, even with such casual clothes and no makeup, seemed to put him on the backfoot.
"Hi there... Elizabeth was it. Yes, yes I'm Daniel."
He was a bit lost for words. He seemed to catch himself and his brain caught up with himself.
"Yes. Sorry. Anyway this is my friend Conner. John told me a bit about what it was you needed but I was wondering if you could explain it to me a bit more?"
Conner nodded his head my way in greeting, his face hardening after the initial surprise of my presence. They were both back to their professional selves. They got their coffee and we sat down together at the most private table we could find. They didn't beat around the block as we dove right into the details.
"So Elizabeth, I'm not going to take words out of your mouth. John told me what you want and to my understanding Conner will be able to do what you desire. However we want to know more about you, so that we can trust you rather than just a word from john. I trust him not to do wrong by me but it never hurts to be sure."
"I understand Dan. I have no problem telling my story if it helps finish all this and allows me to move on with my life."
I had come up with a story to tell that was simple and hopefully wouldn't divulge too many questions. I told them I was running from my family, my dad was super over protective and religious and so kept me under lock and key. I told them I needed a new identity because he was a sheriff and would use his connections to find me again. I gave a side note on how I had met John (me) in a café near a bus station and that he had struck up a conversation with me and was worried about me after I looked terrible. John was kind and it was hard not to trust him, that I was staying in his apartment and the only reason he wasn't here was because I urged him to go back home after he got told that his mother was in the hospital. It was a sad story and hopefully believable enough to move forwards with things. Conner spoke up when I was finished.
"Ms Elizabeth I am very sorry to hear about your hardship and will do the best I can to help you. I can offer you full background and other information like a birth certificate, I have a connection who can give you federal records and other things like ID. I can't give you any other history though, like financial or education. I do apologize but that's not my speciality."
I thought for a moment and considered. I loved my previous job but figured that if my age had regressed I wouldn't have too much of a problem redoing my higher education. I wouldn't have a degree from such a good university at the end of it but a degree is a degree and it could open the doors for me to get back on track. It gave me a glimmer of hope for the future.
"Anything you can help me with would be amazing. Living life independently will be hard but rebuilding is a long process. With your help it might just be possible. Thank you both. I'm under no illusions though. How much is this going to cost?"
"The full package along with the passport is expensive. I take a lot of risk and I hope you understand that quality has a cost. These documents for all intents and purposes are legit, that makes them a valuable commodity. I understand you are hard out of luck right now but payment must be in full before the work moves forward. I am sorry but I can't make any exceptions."
"I completely understand. I have very little money, just what I could bury away before I left. John may be able to help, I think he is sweet on me, but just give me a number and I can work forward towards it."
"$30,000. I know it's steep for someone like yourself but it's worth it. If there is nothing else to say I think our meeting is done."
He got up to make a move, ever the professional. I grabbed his arm before he could get too far.
