"Top story tonight!....Those incorrigible construction workers, the gentlemen profiled on the "Up close and personal" segment we aired the other evening have disappeared, apparently having vanished without a trace. We now send you live, to Julie Peters, via WWWW cam for a full report."

"Julie, have you any clue as to what may have occurred out there?"

"Thank you Joe. I arrived moments ago, just a few minutes after the police." "Excuse me, one minute Joe."

Back to the newsroom........................

"Apparently, our correspondent Julie Peters is indisposed at the moment. We wish to remind you that we are first on the scene, making it an exclusive work of WWWW. While Julie continues to research the mysterious disappearance of the workers that we, also exclusively, had chronicled in our Tuesday evening segment, we urge you to remain tuned, and for those of you who missed our presentation Tuesday evening, we would like to recap the more significant representations made in that exclusive segment, hopefully to enlighten all of us, and to enable us all to make sense of this apparent, or should I say, potential tragedy."

"We now go live to Studio B, with Diedre Jenkins.......Diedre, can you give us a brief synopsis of the events which occurred on the "Up close and personal" segment you so graciously engineered for us the other evening."

Diedre, a tall, and though long legged and a rather attractive woman had a hard look about her. A look which indicated that, in spite of her natural good looks, she'd hit a few bumps along the road. A look that said she could dish it out, and take it in return. In short, a perfect look for the hard nosed, investigative reporter she had become, a no @!#$, I can take it and leave it look, matching her personality to a T.

"Wait just a moment Diedre"......."We're back live, to the site"......."Julie, do you hear me? Please come in."

"Joe, something very strange has happened here. The police have secured the area. I am going to try to stay on the scene as long as I can. They have compiled some rather strange evidence. There is clothing everywhere. It looks like the clothing that some of the workers may have worn, some with flourescent lighting, you know, the kind they wear at night, and the colors generally match those of the logo of the general contractor, and in fact many of the shirts are adorned with those sewn on name tags, to identify the workers. They are strewn about in the open, haphazardly, looking like they were removed, or possibly dropped without regard, the shirts typically lying over a matching pair of pants in many cases, strewn in a way that the police have surmised that possibly the men were running toward, or possibly away from something as their clothes were either removed physically or strangely, just fell off, their boots scattered haphazardly. The strangest part is that there is no apparent motive, neither for the way their clothing is strewn about, nor for their disappearance. Even stranger however, is the evidence I now find at my feet. You just wouldn't believe what appears to be lying at my feet, so small, so tiny, and so adorable, yet absolutely unexplainable at the moment"........."Billy, can you pan in here so that the people at home might get a look at these darling little............................Hurry Billy, I want the people to see these..................."

As the cameraman walked toward Julie, she continued her commentary.....

"Joe, this is unbelievable. At my feet are the tiniest little"............"Excuse me, what did you say detective? I'll be right back Joe".......................

Back to Joe in the newsroom....................

"Apparently we were cut off once again. Looks as though Julie has tripped upon a major discovery however. We again urge you to stay tuned as Julie Peters continues to try, in our exclusive endeavor, to unravel the mystery of the disappearing workers out at the McHenry Project. For an understanding once again, let us return to Diedre Jenkins in Studio B."

"Diedre, many of us followed your expose' on the workers at the McHenry Project the other evening, but I am sure there are a few in our audience who need to be enlightened. Would you please recap the events surrounding your investigation, and enlighten us as to the results so that we may get a better understanding of just what might be happening right now? Also, if it isn't asking too much, would you give us your best guess as to what might be happening out there at the moment?"

Diedre, with an incredulous look on her face responded much as a tough and seasoned interrogative reporter might respond, very dryly, "Well gee Joe, I'll see what I can do."

"Joe, the construction site is only about one-half block from the Upskirt Academy of Modeling. When the project began, the Company took a strange tack in re-cordoning the street so that, after classes ended, these hopeful young models had to transverse across the site to get to their cars, and/or to other forms of transportation. The men of course anticipating the girls' check out time, would schedule their breaks so that they were in position to observe "Quitting time." I swear Joe, you men are all the same."

Joe tried to respond...."Say Diedre, we are live here, and I'd like........

"Joe, please just let me finish my piece......"

"Like I said the men scheduled their breaks to accomodate their taking in the fresh young, relatively innocent ladies who paraded before them. Initially the girls enjoyed their cajoling and progressively rancorous remarks, but over time they became offended, especially since there were a few who just didn't seem to be able to control themselves verbally. I want to say that it never went beyond that, it never became physical, but we became involved when we were approached by a few of the girls in an effort to try to apply some pressure to the management of the Company, which we did only three days ago. Well Joe, you saw the fruits of our labor, management essentially telling us that men will be men, and to back off, and let the natural course of events flow. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't surprised, and for the time being we left it at that. As to your question about what might have happened to the men at the site, I haven't a clue, and don't even want to speculate. Back to you Joseph."

Joe, a bit taken aback by the caustic remarks of Ms. Jenkins, appearing live of course, responded, "Well, we've all got our opinions Ms. Jenkins." And then, back to the scene of the crime, so to speak...........

"Julie, you're back. You were about to tell us something before you were cut off."

"Yeah Joe, it's unbelievable, but at my feet are the cutest, tiniest little footprints I have ever seen. They are perhaps only one third the size of even the tiniest of infants, hundreds of them, scattered about, I not being allowed to proceed while the detectives take castings, none of us able to begin to comprehend or explain such a phenomenon. They're kind of short and stubby little prints, absolutely darling, the cutest little human footprints I've ever seen, but seemingly male, rather shorter and stubbier in nature. In addition to the strangeness of these incredibly small prints, after examination, they seem to be scattered about in an incredibly random order, as though they were being chased, or herded together against their will. In fact, the random order of these tiny little prints suggests that some sort of culminating event occurred just outside the entrance of the facility, hopefully providing us with some sort of incentive to decipher what might have happened here. That's all for now Joe. The police, while extremely generous up to this point, have decided that they are not willing to provide continuing commentary until they analyze the results of their investigation into this scene. Back to you Joe."

"So there you have it folks. A mystery. Diedre, having heard all the foregoing, and having had a chance to make a preliminary analysis of the information Julie has provided us with, do you have anything to add to our award winning, exclusive presentation?"

"Only one thing Joe........If everything adds up the way I seem to thinks it's adding up, I can't wait to see the results of this investigation. In fact, I hope to receive a personal assignment, and will be most diligent in my coverage."

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your viewing pleasure to bring you another exclusive update. This is Joe Donahue coming to you live from the WWWW studios. Diedre Jenkins has graciously decided to join me in an effort to further unravel the mysterious disappearance of the ten workers from the McHenry project nearly two weeks ago. You will remember that Diedre was the lead investigative reporter on our "Up Close and Personal" segment which aired just a few days prior to the disappearance of these men. Diedre, welcome and thank you for joining us in this exclusive report."


"Well thank you Joe, and I hope we're not taking our viewers away from anything too important. I just want everyone to know that a lot of work went into our original expose' into the accusations made by the young models attending the Upskirt Academy of Modeling, and that we're here hopefully to provide an explanation for the disappearance of the snotty catcallers, those testosterone rich young punks, who so arrogantly, and not too discretely told me....Well, since we're on live, I must modify my response and leave it to the viewers' imagination as to what the original words might have been......But they essentially told me where to stick it, and what I could with it once there......Back to you Joe.....


"Whoooeeee, Diedre we're not getting personal here, now are we? You had hoped that we were not taking our viewers away from anything too important, but Vanna sure looked good in that gown....Hey, just kidding......That aside, we now take you to Julie Peters, who is at the scene of the Upskirt Academy of Modeling.......Julie, can you hear me.........(Fading out, Joe could be heard "Diedre, why are you looking at me like that?")........


"Joe, I'm here live. The police have cordoned off the area, and are diligently searching for evidence relating to the abduction of these men."


"You say the abduction Julie?"


"Yes Joe, it's very strange. They have begun to assimilate the evidence, and it appears that somehow these men spent a considerable amount of time here, although the evidence they have gathered does not necessarily corroborate their allegations."


"Can you tell us what those allegations are Julie?"


"Sure Joe, the police allege that somehow, and in some manner, these girls kidnapped or somehow drew the men from the site. There is evidence which matches their DNA profiles in all ways but one."


"And what might that be Julie?"


"Well, the samples they have gathered match up, except for one thing....That being that such samples are inconsistent with normal sized human beings. In other words, the samples they have gathered match in all logical ways, except that they are much too small to be those of those of the muscular, well built......Er, I mean normal sized men who worked on the McHenry Project. This apparent discrepancy is in effect stalling their efforts to ascertain the reasons for their disappearance approximately two weeks ago. "


Diedre broke in......She a seasoned investigative reporter who, in her no nonsense way had apparently heard enough. She had been adding two and two together, and in her own intuitive way (Her intuition being what made her the best investigative reporter in the city), surmising that the girls did indeed have something to do with the disappearance of these men, knowing or having heard of devices which had the ability to shrink men through her prior travels, and considering the miniature footprints which pervaded the original construction site, but thinking that her thoughts were preceding her, not wanting to jump into that arena without further information, especially while on the air, asked "Julie, what samples have the police gathered.....These samples you have mentioned which apparently match up.....What are you talking about? Can you enlighten us?"


"Well Diedre, I sure can, but it's not pleasant."


"That's OK Julie, we are investigative reporters and our listening public has a right to know. Wouldn't you agree Joe?"


Joe, taken aback at having Diedre take control, stammered "Well, yeah, sure, Of course Julie, please tell us what you've uncovered."


"Please know that what I am about to tell you is graphic, and to date uncorroborated. In other words, there may be another logical explanation."


Diedre encouraged "Tell us Julie."


"Well, the police have scraped samples off the burners on the oven. Not just one or two, but several..........................They.................have been confirmed ................as samples of .............................burnt human flesh Diedre. It's incredible, as I said, not just one or two, which might indicate that someone burnt themselves in error, but truly the tissue of several human beings, most likely male. In addition, a pot of water sitting on the stove provides evidence that human flesh was placed into extremely hot, possibly boiling, water. It's absolutely incredible, and for now, almost impossible to explain."


Joe looked at Diedre, who seemed lost in the moment and, incredibly, appeared to be fondling herself, this snapping him back into the reality of the moment.......


"Julie, have you had a chance to interview any of the young ladies?"


"Why yes I have Joe. For the most part, they deny any involvement, however there are one or two who seem very distraught, and refuse to speak with me. One kept murmuring, "They're so small, innocent and helpless. Sure they were little pricks, but they didn't deserve this @!#$." I asked her what she meant by that, but she only blubbered, "Poor 'lil guys," and before I could pursue my next question I was was whisked away by a girl who seems to be a leader among the group, she affirming that they had no idea what might have happened to the workers who disappeared from the site on the McHenry Project. I was alos informed that I had already asked too many questions, and that they had given their answers, and that my presence was no longer desired. I do have my suspicions Joe, but with their attitude, I may have reached the end of my rope. I think they may know something, but are reluctant to discuss it with me. The other girls are very protective of them, and are making it difficult for me to approach them."


"Thank you Julie. Diedre, what do you think?"


"Well Joe, I have my ideas. But I gotta tell ya, Julie's probably in just a bit over head at the moment. Maybe I'll just take a swing out to that little sorority house, and see if I can shed a little more light on this issue."


"Well Diedre, you have that award winning intuitiveness about you, and I can see that it has kicked in once again. Care to share any of it with us?"


"No Joe, I do indeed have a feeling. There is a "little" something going on out there, I can feel it. And I'll give you a "small" clue...............The girls are not entirely innocent, but at the same time, the men might possibly be getting what they deserve..."


Joe, with a chill running up his spine concluded, his eyes wide open....."Ok D-D-Diedre, that c-c-c-concludes this s-s-s-s-pecial rep-p-p-ort."

"Sorry to interupt your viewing pleasure this evening, but this is Joe Donahue coming to you live from the WWWW studios with a special report on the strange disappearance, one month ago, of the ten men who had worked the McHenry project. We wish to inform everyone in our viewing and listening audience that the ten men have been found and are in relatively good health although, it appears (He-he) that most have lost a bit of weight. We now join our continuing correspondent Julie Peters, and our lead investigative reporter, Diedre Jenkins live at the scene of their rescue. .....Diedre?"


"Hi Joe. A remarkable story is in the works here. An incredible story actually. To recap, we first were called onto the scene approximately four to five weeks ago, when we were contacted by the modeling academy to speak to the management of the construction company in an effort to apply some media pressure to try to curtail some of the harassing comments being made to the young ladies as they passed by the construction site on their breaks, and after their school day had concluded. Our investigation provided fairly conclusive evidence of the harassing nature of the comments, and one or two of the perpetrators even admitted jokingly that they had indeed reconfigured the walkways leading out of the academy, so that the young attendees would be left with little choice but to parade by the construction site after their day had concluded. Of course, it seemed rather convenient that the men's breaks were scheduled to coincide with such quitting time."


"Well, if you followed our story, you know that, even though there was never any physical contact, the verbal harassment had progressed to a point where some of the girls actually feared for their safety, the men referring to some of the women in derogatory, much less than flattering terms, and when we asked management to step in they essentially laughed in our faces explaining simply that there have been things that have been accepted between men and women since the beginning of time....Essentially they explained that boys will be boys, and that the women of the academy should just grow up and learn to take it accordingly. Off the record, the owner took me aside, and made a nasty little proposition of his own which I will not go into here, but it did help to explain the attitudes of some of his workers. Ooh damnit!!! Excuse me for one moment Joe," nodding toward the cameraman as she did so


And with that, Diedre turned at an angle from the camera, and thinking that she was off air pulled her skirt up to make an adjustment, exposing the sheer outline of her panties momentarily, still holding her "mike" in her hand, unfortunately thinking it too was off air. For just a moment it appeared that something was moving, or squirming frantically inside her panties, a tiny outline appearing to wriggle through the sheer silky fabric, and she appearing to push it back into place, giving it a sharp snap as she did so, stopping the frantic wiggling, at least momentarily, and exclaiming "Don't you dare move you little prick, or I'll tear you a new @!#$," smoothing out her skirt, raising her "mike" back to her lips and nodding once again at the cameraman, a gesture to indicate that she wished to be back on the air. But when the cameraman shrugged his shoulders, and displayed a look of shock on his face, she intuitively put two and two together realizing that her brief interlude, during which she thought she was off air had been captured by the viewing audience. However, you don't become an award winning investigative reporter without learning how to dance a bit, and she recovered beautifully.


Smiling demurely at the camera she explained, "Well, I guess we all have our moments. This has been such a highly charged story, from the initial lack of response from the Company, to the disappearance of the men themselves, and now having found them in relatively good health although changed a bit in appearance, we are so relieved, but it has been a long, emotionally draining story, and I guess we all have our ways of relieving our tensions. I thought I was off air, and given the hot and humid nature of the weather, I was simply trying to make an adjustment to relieve my discomfort, certainly not wishing to do anything which might be considered offensive to the viewing public. You have my sincere apologies.....Joe?"


"Certainly no one can fault you Diedre for having a human moment. We all havethem. Not what have you and Julie uncovered?"


"Well Joe, like I said this story is incredible, a remarkable testament to the human spirit. It has developed into more of human interest story, as not only were the workers all found alive and well, it is also apparent that they have made major changes in their temperaments, adjusting rather remarkably to the changes which have occured in their lives over the past four to six weeks. I'd like to switch us over to Julie now for the rest of this....Julie?"


"Thank you Diedre. Well, as Diedre said, this has developed into quite a remarkable, and emotionally charged story. When I first appeared on the scene, there was much which could not be explained and the police, although cooperative for the better part of that day, understandably had to restrict media access to the area to allow them to make a more thorough and comprehensive examination. Remember the tiny little footprints I had mentioned?...............Well, those were the footprints of the workers, post shrinkage. In other words, the men were subjected to a shrinking device of some sort, a device which, by the way, has not been found, and were shrunk to heights ranging from about four inches to about sixteen inches tall, most in the area of eight to ten inches."


"Julie, this is Joe. Do you know how incredible this sounds?"


"Yes I do Joe. It's absolutely incredible.....Hold on Joe......Say Joe, one of the ladies is approaching with.....I believe.....yes it's Danielle approaching with Thomas, the tallest of the group at sixteen inches." Then waving, "Over here Danielle. Joe, you're just not going to believe this, they are just so small and adorable......"Danielle, it looks like Thomas is just a bit shy"......"I agree Julie. I knew that you wanted to present one of our little charges to your public, so I thought I'd just grab Thomas. You'll remember that he was probably the most outspoken of the men before the shrinking....In fact, I ran home in tears after one of his nasty little comments. But now look at him, so sweet and innocent, hiding his little face behind the safety of my breast, a mountain to him, the one he so rudely commented on a few weeks ago, now too shy to even face the camera. Come on Thomas (Reaching to tickle his chin with her index finger, smiling maternally) "Kootchy, kootchy koo, I love you."


"Julie, this is Joe once again, we need to move along on this. Can you update us on what's happened since the initial shrinking?"


"Well Joe, we've questioned all of the men, and they don't seem to remember anything relating to either the shrinking or for the next several days. We also questioned the women from the modeling academy who explained that after our initial report into their little guys' disappearance, they left for a period of ten days on a photo shoot up in the mountains. It's a bit strange that we cannot confirm the details of their trip, but they have explained that they drove three or four cars, and simply backpacked in to the hills, sleeping in tents. In fact, the region into which they ventured was so remote that they scarcely recall running into any other human beings. When we questioned them two weeks ago, they seemed just as shocked at the evidence we uncovered relating to what may have happened on the stove, and have now explained that it was entirely possible that someone else may have occupied their home for the ten or so days they were gone, but none has indicated who, or whom, those other persons might be."


"The most remarkable part about all of this Joe, is the way in which these wonderful young ladies have worked with these little men over the past two or three weeks, assisting them to become compliant, contributing members of society, in spite of their diminished stature. The change in their attitudes is remarkable Joe. They have gone from the brawny, loud mouthed, arrogant and disrespectful brutes they were only a little over a month ago, to the compliant, and totally respectful little beings they are today. I tell you Joe, it's amazing.....There isn't one thing that any one of these little darlings wouldn't do if asked by any of the women who have taken care of them over the past two weeks. In fact, to be honest, they volunteer most of their services without ever having to be asked, trying in most cases to anticipate the wishes of the ladies in advance. The typical day begins at four or so in the morning for the men, no exceptions, the ladies sleeping in of course, well, except for one each day, who rises with the men to be sure that the wishes of the ladies as a group are carried out properly, and to assist the men with chores that they are either too small, or otherwise incapable of handling. With assistance from the female volunteer, they are herded into the bathtub and, this is so sweet, it's big enough to accompany all of them, saving a bundle on the water bill."


Once showered, they climb into these tiny little uniforms, consisting of a clean, white, pressed silk shirt, with ruffly sleeves of course, jet black pants, and matching black booties.....Oh OK, shoes...ha ha....I just couldn't resist, so that by 4:30 they are set to begin their hectic little work schedule, which consists of starting breakfast for the early risers. Joe, they have constructed roll out scaffolding to help them accomplish this task, their former skills coming in handy in this area. They even prepare fresh squeezed orange juice.....Joe you ought to see the littler ones trying to tackle some of those big Florida oranges, but to their credit they do it all by hand, a personal gesture to show their appreciation to the ladies, most of whom think it so sweet that these little guys would get all oranged up just for them. And their day progresses Joe, they performing most chores expeditiously and without ever uttering a complaint. They nap in the afternoon, two of the men explaining that such a rest helps to rejuvenate them for the rest of the day and early evening, allowing them to attack their remaining chores with renewed spirit."


"Joe, I'll be spending the night here, and hope to witness a perfect day here tomorrow. I have been promised an opportunity to arise with tomorrow's designated female volunteer, and will be allowed to witness their bathing, and to take part and assist them if I choose to do so. I have also learned that the police have mandated that a physician examine each of the little guys tomorrow, which for some strange reason has made a few of the ladies nervous. But other than that, the ladies have informed me that the little guys love having guests, especially of the female variety, and that they generally will go out of their way to make our stays pleasant. In fact, Danielle told me how they just love to clean and massage feet, usually two or three will simultaneously volunteer for this honor, while some of the former painters delight in painting the nails once the cleaning has been satisfactorily completed. I'll tell you Joe, after being on my feet all day, that sounds rather inviting. So until tomorrow evening Joe, we're off the air."


Before walking off, Julie couldn't help but notice how Diedre kept fidgeting with her panties, and approaching her from behind, heard her exclaim "All right, that's it, get up there and stay up there you little bastard." Julie backed off but made a mental note to keep a better eye on Diedre from here on in....