LAURA SLEPT on her hospital bed. The comatose woman has makeup on her face and was wearing a bridesmaid dress, with a small crowd gathered around her in the single room ward.

A chaplain conducted a wedding ceremony from one side of the bed overlooking the bride and groom at the other side—Roberta Jensen and Lilya Devon.

A handful of guests were present in the hospital wardroom in Columbus; among them were Sargent Wanda Callahan, Roberta's Aunt Flo and her husband Dr Emma Rickman who was standing nearby the chaplain who solemnized their vows before proclaiming the nuptial...

"You are both now husband and wife—Lt. Jensen, you may now kiss your bride."

Roberta was in her police uniform. She lifted the veil and kissed her nineteen-year-old albino bride who was wearing—an all-white wedding miniskirt dress with a single sleeveless arm that displaying her full arm of her peacock plume tattoos, and she stood tall in her white knee-high boots.

Everyone clapped when the couple locked lips.

Aunt Flo was the first to kiss them both before Roberta went towards the bed, bending and kissed her elder sister Laura's forehead and she whispered...

"Laura, this is the happiest day of my life. I am so glad you are here with me today, I love you." Lilya followed next, placed her bouquet of flowers into her bridesmaid's hand and kissed her sister-in-law who was in a coma...

"Mimi, I love you too."

**

House music with a mixture of African drums and rhythm blared and a large crowd dance wildly at the wedding reception hall—Roberta danced the free-wings with her bride who was twerking in her short white mini bridal skirt.

It was the terpsichorean mix-dance mania of the era that has swept the world.

**

Hours later, they ran outdoors into the hotel's garden, laughing in frivolity and both coquetted under a hidden dark tree. Roberta and Lilya began kissing vehemently. The lascivious bride took Roberta's hand and placed it under her miniskirt...

"I am so horny—put your finger inside me." Roberta retrieved her hand away hastily while she looked around. "Are you crazy Snowie, someone might see us." Lilya was lustfully torrid after loading up with their wedding banquet booze and some recreational drugs—she put her consort's hand on one of her breasts. "Squeeze me then," they continued their vigour kissing.

Roberta took out an envelope from her pocket and she stopped smooching, "Hey, I got a surprise for you." The obdurate Lilya then teased back...

"Now what is that? Is it that the bribe to get me married to you?"

Roberta was slightly obfuscated and offended by her who poked fun frequently of her outside the police-work activates, "don't talk crap, open it, this is for our future."

Lilya looked at the content—it was a certificate that entitled her to be inseminated with authentic pre-Medusa male semen at a fertility clinic. The albino girl replied indistinctly, "what's this?"

"Can't you read, you southern-inbreed idiot?" the grinning husband said. "Snowie, I thought, now that we are married—let us quickly start a family."

"I know what it is but why so soon—can't it just be the two of us for now?"

Roberta was disheartened by her spouse's reply; she rambled with ire and turned her back. "If you don't want me to be the father of our kids—that is fine! But I want you to remember that had I went through all of the trouble for it—I had to pull a couple of high-level strings to obtain that fucking certificate so that you get the genuine male-semen—and not that shit that other women get pregnant with these days with that shemale pus-ridden cum..."

Lilya affectionately touched Roberta's troubled face.

"It is not that, Rob, I am more than happy to be the mother to our children but—I don't think I can be a good Mama when I look back on my own shitty past."

She too felt cornered by the maternal responsibilities at nineteen—and her husband had now burgeoned her with plans of starting a family without any prior discussion.

"Come on, let's put all our past aside, and listen to me—we are now married, Lilya—let's move on, okay?" Roberta was about to kiss her but was interrupted by a voice calling her name out in the dark...

"Yeah, what?" Roberta hollered back. It is Wanda Callahan and her 'tree-surgeon' boyfriend coming towards them.

"Rob, you got a visitor."

Roberta had intended to commune further about their shared hymeneal future in starting a family with her liaison paramour of six years whom she had just married today—the cynosure groom ached for not to be interjected by another well-wisher at that moment. "Wanda, go and tell to whomever that is to wait, I will come in a bit, okay?"

"You better come now, Rob—she said that she is from the Whitehouse."

*

Roberta paced pass the reception hall with the partying guests in full swing, she headed towards the quieter patio where a lone figure stood. She recognized meeting her five years ago at the convent/monastery raid in Cleveland. Agent Agatha Wolfe was cheery and she greeted the groom with laughter.

"Rob-Rob-Rob, congratulations that you now got hitched." They both shook hands.

"Thank you, Sir—this a surprise seeing you here on my wedding day, can I offer you some champagne?"

Roberta was perplexed when Wolfe handed a file. Roberta checked out the content while the Secret Service Head diverted her...

"I heard you requested a transfer to DC—so here is a gift from the President of The United States herself."

Roberta looked back and forth between the file perusal and glancing back at Wolfe in incredulity.

"But I just recently got promoted to be Lieutenant, Sir... and this states that I am now made Captain?"

Wolfe chucked out at the lien of what she had just offered Roberta on an auspicious day...

"Yes, you lucky 'boy'—a jackpot of a double promotion and a lovely bride—that is one heck of a threesome stiffy for a guy like you to handle on your honeymoon night?"

"It says here that I am transferred into the elite SWAT Force division—but that is part military but I am just a city cop, and our training is different altogether—and it is a different ball game too."

The older agent grinned while nodding at the nervous and rambling Roberta who was acting histrionic...

"Look here, 'son'—the President had personally handpicked you based on your illustrious street gang war successes which seem to be your forte—what matters now is your ability as a strategist in running a team. Just keep the same mindset that you have now once you are serving the e-SWAT, and you be at the top of your game as always—then you can end up fitting into any outfit anytime—and who-knows—into the Secret Service too someday."

Wolfe tapped with the reassurance on Roberta's arm—while Roberta still stood apprehensive with the métier proposal. Wolfe lighted a cigarette and handed the pack to Roberta.

"Right now, you are fighting street crimes which are small fries compared to the new eminent and incipient threats that are now brewing—I am referring to the local bred terrorist groups whom you are going to face now onwards at a larger and grander scale.

"All you need to do is to use your same street strategy and you then lead a battalion against those adversaries—and then you crush them dead, yeah—are you clear now, Rob?"

Roberta nodded in limpid and she began liking the challenges ahead which she kept hearing while smoking her cigarette...

"Yes, thank you Agent Wolfe—this is indeed the greatest gift I have received so far in my police career."

"Don't worry, 'boy,' the perks get better when you are in the big boys' club. By the way, we have also been going through your profile in DC and we have learned that you have a sister in a coma, is that so?"

Roberta was dumbfounded a moment when Laura was mentioned; she nodded and listened closely to the agent's intent...

"There is a hospital in California that specializes in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation which has a high rate of patients with brain injuries who have actually recovered after some period of treatments over there. It is really really expensive but I will look into it and will arrange that for your sister—with all the expenses paid by the US government, of course—all you have to do now is to accept your new promotion as a Captain...

"Can I have your John Hancock here?"

Wolfe dangled a pen which Roberta gladly ratify the dotted line to get her second wedding bonus-bribe. Wolfe shook her hand again and left in the dark, Roberta heard her laughing and saying out aloud...

"Capt. Roberta Jensen, just keep soaring higher in our club coz you are now a rising star!"