Suburban Life, Part 4 (Thieves to Family TG AR AP)

By FoxFaceStories

A Commission for Flightychipmunk

Four criminals have made the ultimate score, but their identities are compromised. Thankfully, one of their members has a daytime job as a janitor, and knows a machine that can remake their DNA so that they can appear like a normal suburban family while they lay low. Of course, the one family on vacation that they can impersonate consists of a husband, trophy wife, and two very attractive college-age daughters. And all four criminals are men. There are going to have to be some changes . . .

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Part 4: Adjustment

The Havard household truly was something else. Located in a gated community, it was a veritable mansion, and even Carol had to admit to herself, as Leo got them inside, that this was one damn fine upgrade from their watery warehouse. The entrance room alone was vast, with impressive paintings and displays, and a double curving staircase leading up to the second floor. There was even a freakin’ chandelier, massive in size, hanging from the high ceiling, a display of opulence and wealth.

“Well I’ll be damned,” the young brunette said, formerly their boss and now their most junior member. “Frank, you really know how to pick them.”

“Uh, Leo now,” the tall, dark, and handsome patriarch muttered. “Mental change, and all.”

“Right, Dad. I mean, Leo. Shit.”

This caused a slight titter of amusement from Sabrina and even Veronica, though the formerly timid safecracker tried to hide her reaction by looking away. Their new dynamic was an odd one, and it was clear that they were all going to have trouble navigating it. Well, everyone but Sabrina, who took it in a strange stride. 

“Mom, Dad, sis, welcome to our new home!” She did a little twirl, letting her dress flutter around her legs, and gestured to the wide open space. “And we’ve got it for three entire months, I tell you!”

Carol frowned. “What’s to say the family won’t return?”

Leo coughed. “I’ve got tabs on them that automatically update on my computer. They keep tight schedules.”

“But won’t people notice their return?”

“They’ve very private. Don’t really socialise with people nearby at all. With Percy’s - uh, with Veronica’s help I’ve hacked their devices as well, and added some bugs that should automatically filter out any alerts to them. Even if someone does think something is odd, no word will reach that actual Havards, so we can easily explain the discrepancy. The same is true of any expenditures we make. We can’t use all of their money, but we should be able to use a stipend.”

Carol was astonished. She looked up at the man who was now technically her father. “Leo, this is . . . incredible.”

“Well, you always said I was your most reliable member. Frankly, I just wanted this.” He gestured, like Sabrina, to the wealth around them. “A place to be wealthy and carefree. So . . . I guess we can enjoy it for three months.”

“But there’s still the matter of fencing the diamond,” Veronica said, drawing closer to her ‘husband’ before she realised what she was doing and pulled away a little. “We still gotta fence it.”

“That’s the thing,” Leo continued. “As you can see, the Havards are private collectors, traders, and sellers in antique goods, artefacts, and works of art. It’ll take some time, but with Veronica’s help, I’m sure we can arrange a secret deal using their connections.”

Sabrina winked at this. “Oh, I’ll bet you wanna work with your hot new trophy wife, Daddy!”

At this, both older ‘parents’ blushed a deep shade of red that left Sabrina giggling. Carol smacked her ‘sister’ on the side of the arm, though it was weaker than she had hoped due to her reduced muscle strength.

“Leave off it!”

“Make me, sis!”

“God, enough of this. Just because you made us young doesn’t mean you have to act young. Look, I’m still in charge here-”

“Sure you are,” Sabrina teased.

“-and it sounds like we’ve got a plan forming, so everyone needs to read their dossiers and get up to date on who they are. Leo and Veronica, I’ll need you to take another look at all the security systems to double-check them, just in case. Sabrina . . . don’t make a mess of things. Find out what we need to be doing to keep up appearances, given our . . . new ages. I’ll read up on my own ‘character’ and get a sense of the local neighbourhood, and if there’s anything to be wary of. Got it?”

There was a slow murmur of agreement. As Gallagher, Carol was used to a more immediate reaction. Now, she could already tell that her innate magnetism had waned. She simply wasn’t as convincing, being the youngest in the room, not to mention a pretty little thing. Even Sabrina would have captured more authority, purely because of her confidence in her form and the way she showed it off. Something of Gallagher’s magic was gone, and it worried Carol. When Veronica and Leo dispersed together, she simply approached Sabrina and poked her in the chest.

“Hey, that’s my not-inconsiderable boob you’re touching there!”

“I know you took the Cipher Diamond,” Carol hissed. “I want to know why.”

Sabrina actually looked surprised, but only for a moment. “I didn’t take anything. You didn’t lose it, did you?”

“No, someone took it.”

At this, Sabrina cooled. “I’ll look into it.”

“See that you do, and see that it comes back to me.”

“Will I? Should I? You’re not the boss anymore, Carol. You can’t just make decisions for everyone. Maybe it’s time you let an older sister be the one in charge.”

She walked off, swaying her hips deliberately and humming some silly tune with her slightly deeper voice. It only made Carol more infuriated. Someone had taken the diamond, and things were breaking down.

“And I’m stuck as a goddamn girl,” she hissed to herself.

The worst part was, thanks to Sabrina’s use of the mental change function, it was already starting to feel fairly natural to her.

***

Each of them spent the next few hours going over the information on their new selves. Well, ostensibly they did that, but the truth was the professional thieves weren’t so professional as to not obsess over their new looks and take a gander at ‘their’ new rooms. Each found themselves in front of a separate mirror, turning and inspecting their bodies, even changing clothes to suit themselves better.

Sabrina was most eager to do this; she absorbed the information about herself very quickly, and was ecstatic to remember that she would get to go to college. She’d been hungry to actually be social with her new form. Unlike the others, who were more slow to adapt, a night hadn’t even passed and she was already planning to have sex with her new body. Why not? It would be a unique opportunity to have sex as a woman, especially one as hot as this. She’d left herself bisexual just for the fun of it, too, though for Carol she’d made her purely heterosexual just like the real one, in order to make it all the funner for the former boss. And so she turned in the mirror, making sexy poses, playing with her breasts and getting all excited as she tried on increasingly sexy clothing. The DNA sequencer had worked a treat, and with each new article of clothing she put on, she felt a slight recall from the real Sabrina; little tips and tricks for how to settle her boobs into the cups, or how to deal with a particular clasp, or even how to style her hair. The makeup cabinet provided a deep fascination for the new woman. Just how slutty and sexy could she make herself look? Oh, it was going to be a very fun three months!

Leonardo Havard, the new patriarch of this literal crime family, acted quite differently. Yes, he checked himself out in the mirror, and yes, he went over the dossier that he himself had written up just to remind himself, but on the whole he simply . . . relaxed. All of his life he’d dreamed of becoming rich. It was why he’d manifested so many necessary talents, to try and reach success. But the ultimate aim was to work in order to truly live. He wanted that carefree life, one full of pleasure and relaxation and exceedingly little work. And because Leonardo Havard made his money now exclusively through investments and the occasional art or artefact trade, the truth was . . . he didn’t have to do anything at all! He could simply grin at his reflection in the mirror, ponder whether he should grow a moustache and beard like some captain of industry, and otherwise peruse the house for all its various entertainments. There was a pool, an indoor spa, an in-house cinema, even an elaborate kitchen that was begging to be filled with servants. In fact, he was already compiling a list of servants that the Havard family hadn’t taken with them, ones that he could call upon. What was the point of lying low if you couldn’t fly high, after all? He was now an alpha male, but the truth was, now he just wanted to be carefree and placid. If that meant leaving the others to do their thing, that was fine by him. Sabrina was running the show now, and that was no real issue. He’d done his part, and now he could rest on his laurels like he’d always fantasised about, and do it in a far healthier, happier, and handsomer body. Of course, he couldn’t help but appreciate Percy’s new appearance, more than a little . . .

Speaking of, Veronica was much more secretive than any other member. She was nervous, though not as much as she would have been as Percy. Sabrina had blessed her with greater confidence, but also a lot more daring. The real Veronica, apparently, was a woman with a taste for the finer things, and according to Frank’s dossier on her, she had a reputation as a fierce woman who was the true leader of the household behind her husband’s wealth. She was also, as was evident by her looks, a fantastic beauty, with perfect blonde hair and a figure that just couldn’t quit. Having born two children, she was more filled out rather than slender, but the ‘filled out’ parts had gone to all the right areas. Her boobs were full and round and hung perfectly off of her, both totally natural, and her hips were divine. It left her with a bombshell hourglass figure, and Veronica found herself proud of it, even trying on several dresses. She couldn’t stop thinking about that experience in the cylinder - was the real Veronica also a lustful type? God, she could just imagine feeling that again! Unfortunately for her, Leo was in the bedroom relaxing by the time she felt that aching need. He was . . . quite handsome. It was a distracting feeling, since as Percy she’d always lusted after beautiful girls but never known how to approach them. Now, her thoughts were filled with Leo. In the end, it was too much. Her horny MILF body was sending signals too powerful to ignore, so she moved rapidly to a spare bedroom, locked the door after going in, and laid down on the bed. She pulled at her dress, touching herself all over and moaning in her husky, sexy voice.

“Ohhhhh, Leo,” she moaned, beginning to explore her nethers once more. “Mmhmm, yessss.”

It was an alien sensation, but so very pleasurable. She was certain the other girls would be doing the same. Her daughters. Who could blame such beauties? Yes, there was nothing wrong with this. Just like there was nothing wrong with the fact that she’d hidden the Cipher Diamond away in her purse. A diamond was a girl’s best friend, after all, and a good mother should make sure her bickering daughters didn’t do something foolish with such a valuable prize . . .

Carol, though, searched for that prize in vain. Nothing turned up, and each member denied having it. She didn’t buy their bullshit, and in the end was forced to consider that they could all be in on it. Had she fomented such distrust so easily, or was this Sabrina’s doing? In the end, she had to retreat to her own room. It was far girlier than she would have liked, though at least it was a large and stylish room with a comfortable bed. Posters and artwork of slender models and darling outfits lined the walls, and there were fashion magazines by her bedside table. She found herself drawn to them, and despite herself, began to read a couple, just to calm herself. Little memories emerged from the real Carol, and she could feel what it was like in previous days, weeks, months, and years, the young woman aware of her own slender, model-like beauty, and listing off future purchases for ‘Daddy’ to take care of. Outfits that would make her look even more elegant and beautiful. She bit her lip, annoyed at this, and even more annoyed at the poster of the Fanfour boyband on the wall. Why did she have to be straight for boys? And why did these young men have to look so handsome? Her dossier said that she was taking a Psych major at a prestigious college, and information around the room confirmed that she’d had boyfriends in the past but was currently single. It stirred . . . certain thoughts within her.

“Goddamn Sabrina,” she murmured to herself. She was frustrated and humiliated, and Gallagher sometimes had to indulge himself when he was feeling such. Carol felt no differently in her new form. She would never tell anyone what she was about to do, but she slipped her fingers down to play with herself, while raising a hand up to her lovely breasts to squeeze and touch her nipples. The new woman kept her moans quite, but still made them all the same as the pleasure flowed. When she finally came, the orgasms flowed beautifully, and she hated herself for feeling them so strongly. She would never, ever admit to doing this.

Damn Sabrina for all of this. Damn her!

***

The next couple of days were the settling-in period, though the mystery of the diamond hung over the group until the end of the second night. Veronica knew she had to come clean, but wanted to bask in her new feelings of confidence and daring a little longer, allowing them to hopefully win out over her former self’s natural nervousness. Memories from the real Veronica were stirring in her mind as she explored the house and its expansive and rather private gardens. They were like ripples, or perhaps echoes, ones that cascaded through her mind and gave images, feelings, sensations, even portions of knowledge. They didn’t override the impersonator Veronica’s personality, but they did . . . attach themselves to it, and she took what she wanted, allowing herself to absorb the parts she liked.

And my, there was a lot to like.

All her life as Percy, she had been a timid and unsure figure. Percy had never truly understood people, and he had obsessed over systems instead. To crack a safe was a lot easier than cracking the human heart, or mind, or the complex array of emotions that seemed to dominate both. But Veronica, the real Veronica, she was a master of people. She had cracked the system, and not for nothing did the former male come to realise that it was Veronica who was the real master - or mistress - of the household, not Leonardo. The man was successful and rich, yes, but she was the Lady Macbeth spurring him on. As she moved through the halls of their generous estate, she received memories of the real Veronica egging her husband for more aggressive moves in business, for involvement in the underground art trade, for more risky investments that paid off in massive dividends. She had him curled around her finger, but it was not a relationship of pure manipulation; it was clear she deeply loved her husband, but also that she recognised a woman’s power in the relationship. With the right dress, with the right sway of her hips or heavy breath or flutter of her eyelashes, she could make him do anything for her. And if he wanted sex in return, well, she could provide.

Like Carol, and certainly like Sabrina many times by this point, Veronica succumbed to the feelings of her new body, and more than once too. It was hard to avoid her fake husband, because the more she indulged in feeling her large breasts and caressing her womanhood, the more she found herself desiring the attention of Leo. It was a strange mix of her bodily needs, her memories of such passion (particularly up against the wall in the living room, by God!), and the fact that she was getting . . . curious. For the first time in her life, she was attractive, and she had a libido, and Leo was right there, perfectly relaxed and rich and carefree. Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, this was just like the real Leo. 

“I could bend him around my finger,” she whispered to herself as she saw him relaxing by the pool. The thought aroused her. “God, I could . . . I could really do it.”

But her confidence wasn’t there yet, and the Cipher Diamond was weighing heavily in her purse. She had to come clean about it; even Frank was starting to get a little concerned, while Carol was bouncing off the walls in anger, an amusing sight, given how slender and beautiful she was, and yet possessing Gallagher’s rage. Yes, it was time to come clean.

As a family. 

For this, Veronica drew upon the knowledge of her female self, the way she was able to set the right party, the right tone, the right kind of social diplomacy. It was amazing, and it really was like cracking a safe: one had to know the components and then just apply the right tools to get the job done. 

In this case, the tool was a family dinner, one that she organised personally. The family usually had servants, but the thieves obviously couldn’t risk having them now, but Veronica was no slouch when it came to cooking; it was a wonderful hook to manipulate her husband and reward her children. So Veronica worked to make a deeply impressive lamb shoulder roast and brought some of the family’s best aged wine from the cellar. She buttered each of them up with compliments - Sabrina was most accepting of this - and convinced them that they needed a ‘meeting’ to sort out their plan. This appealed to Carol. The dinner, of course, was Leo’s main interest. The man had been complaining about the lack of good food while they ensconced themselves away, and it was clear that he wanted to sample the rewards of the lives they had stolen. Now, along with a marvellous panna cotta dessert, he would have exactly that.

But before they could even eat, Carol was at the table, frowning. “Thank you for calling this meeting, Veronica. And thank you for the food. But really, we need to discuss the Cipher Diamond, and where-”

“Dinner first, darling,” Veronica said, making Carol frown.

“Did you just call me-”

“We’re keeping up appearances. I cannot be Percy, the timid safecracker. I am your mother right now. And business comes after the food, as is proper.”
“I’m fine with that, ha!” Sabrina said, licking her lips at the food. Unlike Carol, who had dressed plainly in a blue t-shirt and jeans, Sabrina was wearing a crop top that exposed her midriff and a pair of short shorts. She was loving her form, and was already indulging in memories to help her style her makeup and her lovely golden hair. “Dig in, everyone!”

Leo grinned. “Finally, a damn good meal. We deserve this. I deserve this.”
Carol eyed him suspiciously, but could see that the group was against her in this. With a sigh, she began to eat. Her stomach was, like the rest of her, much more petite now. She found that she couldn’t finish her portion of lamb, despite how delicious it was. Memories flashed of the real Carol, who made sure to carefully curate her intake of food and follow her diet strictly; she was protective of her beautiful ballerina’s figure and wanted to preserve her remarkable cheekbones. It left Carol pushing away her plate when she was done.

“Dessert next!” Veronica declared, pleased at how everyone was playing their roles. Leo was even looking at her in admiration and - was that interest? Certainly, the blue dress she’d worn had a low cut, and her necklace pendant fell between her marvellous breasts. Leo had been enjoying the fruits of his success lately, but now he found himself truly taking in the beauty of his fake wife, and considering the enjoyable memories this brought to him.

“Veronica. Mom! This is amazing,” Sabrina said. “Fucking A, I tell ya. I think I’m liking you like this more than when you were Percy. He never made panna cotta.”

“Don’t eat too much,” Carol snapped. “It’ll go to your thighs.”

“It better go to my ass and boobs first. Wouldn’t that be a treat?”

Veronica actually found herself laughing. “Now, now, you two. Settle down. God, I really am playing the role of the mother, aren’t I?”

Leo was still staring at her, then blushed as she looked at him with an amused smile. She truly was . . . radiant. He was seeing a side of Percy he’d never imagined, and he was rather liking it. It was like a quiet theatre kid unleashing his energy on stage at last; Percy was adapting faster than anyone, and it was beautiful to behold.

“You really are,” he finally said. “And playing it quite well, my . . . dear.”

Carol frowned, and Sabrina just giggled. They were on opposite sides of the table, just like they were on opposite sides of the argument. Carol only ate a small bit of dessert, and Sabrina scoffed much of it down. Everyone was sufficiently buttered up by this point, and that meant Veronica was finally free to take care of the situation.

“Now,” she said. “We can have our family meeting. Right, Leo?”

Leo was glad to be deferred to. He was the master of the house, wasn’t he? He almost instinctively took Veronica’s hand under the table to squeeze it, but instead squared his shoulders and assumed a more patriarchal posture.

“The Cipher Diamond is missing,” he said. “That’s our first-”

“Hang on, I’m in charge here,” Carol said.

“Hush, Carol,” Leo said. “The adults are talking.”

Carol seethed.

“Now, once we find the diamond, we can begin discussing how we plan to adjust to our lives as the Havards, how long we plan to stay as them, when we are leaving this house and finding ‘our’ underground connections, and so forth.”

“Perhaps, dear,” Veronica said. “We could discuss the latter first, since the diamond is still missing. That was your idea, wasn’t it?”

It wasn’t, but Leo picked up on it anyway. Frank had always desired praise and recognition for all the damn hard work he put into their team and the multiple roles he had to take on. In this way, some subtle encouragement only aided his more Leo-like thoughts.

“Of course, I misspoke,” he said. “Look, to be Frank - ha! - I’m loving this house. I’m loving relaxing by the pool, loving how I can siphon some bits of their wealth into my bank account without any of them noticing, I’m loving the food now - thanks Veronica - and the wealth. It’s what we all deserve. But I’d also love to go outside, as I’m sure we all would.”

Carol frowned. “We can’t risk-”

“There’s no risk. Besides, we need to be visible and seen in order to set up a buyer - I’ve blocked all communication to and from the real Havards anyway. And that means, I think, that we need to resume our roles. We need to play our parts.”

“Which means,” Veronica added, cracking the safe that was the situation, “we need to send you two back to school!”

Even Sabrina gasped at this. “What!? No way!”

Carol gaped. “You can’t possibly expect us to do that? We’re adults, not kids!”

“Please,” Leo said. “You’re in college. You’re adults, and will be around adults. But you need to be seen there for a sense of normality and appearance. Besides, it will help trigger more memories and knowledge so we can fly under the radar. We may be taking on the bodies of neighbourhood reclusives, but word will trickle out to our actual social connections soon.”

Carol folded her arms beneath her slim chest. She knew they had a point, but this was humiliating. Even Sabrina looked a bit annoyed. She was about to argue that this was still her plan, and that she should do what she wanted, but then a few little memories bloomed in her mind, pieces of Sabrina’s experience that rippled into her awareness.

Parties on campus.

Hot hunky boys looking at her with interest.

Girlfriends and boyfriends and the delight of social contact.

The college scene, in all its glory and amusement.

She bit her lip, considering this. It wouldn’t be the worst, would it? Sure, lectures might be a chore, but if it also meant dragging Carol out there to do her psych degree . . .

“Fine, I’ll do it,” she moaned. “But Carol will be there too.”

“I don’t see why,” the younger sister said. “How can I lead the team on this if I’m doing damn psych lectures?”

“You’re not the lead on this, remember, sis? Your plan failed, and ours will succeed. Isn’t that right, Mom? Dad?”

Leo and Veronica exchanged a smile. It was as if they were acknowledging their old dynamic, how they had once been the outsiders of the team, the ones told what to do. Now, they were the ones in charge.

“Indeed,” they said together.

“Fine, fine! But now, cough it up,” Carol said. “I’ll only go to college for a short time if someone here admits what’s been done.”

To the surprise of everyone, including Leo, Veronica withdrew the immense Cipher Diamond from her purse, and placed it on the table with an easy smirk.

“Here, I did it,” she said.

Everyone gaped. Of all the suspects, Veronica had not been one at all. She was too . . . timid. Too shy. Too unwilling to make waves. But now Carol could see that, more than anyone, she was embracing her new self, and the dopamine rush of confidence and control that came with it.

“You,” she said.

“Yes, me, daughter,” Veronica replied easily. “The diamond needed to be secured away until we all knew what we were doing and had a real plan. I think we can all admit emotions were running high with our new dynamic, and it was a risk to have the diamond about in the open. I, more than anyone here, have no opportunity to smuggle it or sell it. So it was safest with me.”

Carol couldn’t even argue with that. “You should have told us.”

“Sabrina would have taken it. Or you. Now, we know where we stand. And Leo can have it.”

“Leo!?”

“He’s the new master of the house, and he deserves the honour after doing so much for the team. And besides, his connections will sell it.”
She patted his thigh under the table. Leo’s member stirred, and he blushed a little. He wanted to be angry at Veronica, but how could he? He was finally being recognised and praised.

“Exactly,” he said, smiling.

Even Sabrina didn’t know what to say, except: “Well done, Veronica. Well done. Player recognises player. Game recognises game.”

Veronica giggled a little, then stood. “Now, with all that sorted, let’s finish this dessert and enjoy a relaxing evening. Tomorrow, our new lives begin.”