Chapter 48: Old Wounds, New Beginnings

The asshole approached, carefully; perhaps he was still smarting from the easy way I had handled him the first time. However, considering the odds were three-to-two and all of them armed with something, he didn't seem scared. On the contrary, he looked more sure of himself. Quickly undoing my belt, I took a step toward him swinging the buckle to keep him away, while preparing myself for the fight. As I started my shallow breathing, a cool wind seemed to blow in my mind clearing up any clutter, letting my instincts take over.

"I've got these clowns covered, Pete. How are you doing?" I shouted, to goad the bastards.

Pete answered, "No worries, Mitch. I got your back covered."

The asshole was laughing, and joking, but the time he wasted was precious for me. Still I didn't hurry; I was almost there.

"Hear that, guys? The hot-shot and the other asshole got us covered."

My senses extended, probing, questing, alert to report any changes in my immediate vicinity. I felt myself sinking into that familiar place, into my center, and a peculiar calmness settled over me, the kind that I used to experience prior to combat during my practices with my sensei. As I watched my opponent move, it looked like he was moving under water, too slow. Time seemed to expand, and I could feel a warmth deep in my belly, ready to burst out at a moment's notice.

I angled to his left, and took a few steps closer, swinging the belt. I was planning to herd him close to his friend so that I could deal with both of them easily. He wasn't expecting the move, but after a pause, he came back swinging the tire iron. "You want a taste of it?" he shouted.

I swung the belt, aiming for his face with the buckle, as he expected. At the last moment, I flipped the buckle lower with a quick wrist action and swung it down, hitting him in the crotch. The buckle wasn't big or heavy enough to do much damage, but it hurt, and drew a grunt from him, followed by an angry shout.

"You son of a bitch! First, I'm going to mess you up, then I will let you watch as I fuck your bitch."

He attacked, swinging the tire iron. I saw it move, slowly, in an arc. My left hand contacted his wrist, guiding and sweeping the tire iron away from me, forcing him to turn half-way, and expose his right side. I hit him with a vicious kite; my right hand, palm open, made contact with his ribs. His breath whooshed out, and he dropped the tire iron. I stepped in, gripping his right wrist with my left hand, and reaching under his extended arm, my right hand locked around his throat. My thumb found the correct spot around his neck, and when I pressed, I felt a tremor go through his body. Part of me noted the clatter of tire iron as it made contact with the cement, seemingly reverberating for several seconds. Before his body collapsed completely, I pushed him back, while kicking his legs under him, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I had been careful to put him down such that he blocked the advance of his friend, which gave me the time to face the next threat. The first one was out of the fight for good.

Seeing how easily I had dealt with his friend, the second guy was being more careful. Instead of waiting for his attack I closed in on him, forcing him to swing the wrench, and feinting to my left, I ducked and slid to the ground. With a sweeping kick I cut his legs out from under him. As he fell, I rolled and hit him in the solar plexus with my elbow. He too was out of the fight. Springing to my feet, I took stock of the situation to make sure they wouldn't be getting to their feet anytime soon. They weren't in any shape to fight anymore, so I turned to check on the girls and Pete.

Pete had things under control as well, his opponent on the ground, motionless, but he was cradling his hand. I realized he was injured. A quick glance at the girls revealed they were all right, huddled around Sarah. Caroline was the first to collect herself, and she broke away from the group, hurrying to Pete.

"Pete, you OK?" I asked, as I made my way to him.

He gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Yeah. Just a scratch." With a grin he added, "You sure made quick work of them!"

During the short exchange, Dana had moved away from Sarah, heading for the two that were on the floor. Before I could react, she was by the first assailant-the one that caused all the problems at the club-and with a cry, she kicked him in the crotch. Semi-conscious, he cried out in pain, and then heaved up, vomiting, while clutching his injured private parts.

"You bastards. You were going to hurt us? Rape us? Take this," she yelled, kicking him on the chest, before I managed to grab and pull her several paces away.

She fought me like a hellcat, yelling, "Let me go, let me go." I tried to subdue her, but she seemed in no condition to listen to reason. I knew why she did what she did, even though I had not expected this violent reaction. I tried to hold her in my arms, but she kept fighting me, and shouted, "Let me go. Let me go. I'm gonna kill those bastards."

She kept up the struggle, yelling and shouting, and even trying to scratch me to free herself, but she was getting tired. Although her struggles got weaker and weaker, she kept yelling and sobbing in frustration. With my arms locked around her, I shook her, trying to get her attention. When her eyes found mine, I said, "It's over. You're safe."

But she shook her head, and cried, "Let me go. Let me go," then resumed her struggle with renewed energy. She still had that slightly feral look in her eyes. When I didn't release her, she pleaded, "Please, let me go."

"Dana, look at me," I said firmly. "They are not going to harm you. They can't! Not now, not ever," I added with a gentle tone, but she kept on fighting me and pleading.

With great trepidation, I released her from my hold. "OK. You're free," I said, and took a step away from her.

She wasn't expecting that, and for a moment stood there with a confused and dazed look in her eyes. Then, she turned to the two guys on the ground, and walked toward them, while I followed one step behind her like a shadow. With each step, her pace was slowing down. She passed the first guy who was laying in his vomit, hardly moving at all, curled in a ball. I saw the other one was trying to crawl away from Dana, as she approached him. I followed her to prevent her from doing something terrible, hoping she would stop. I noticed Sarah running toward us, and before she could reach Dana, I grabbed her, and pulled her back. "Let her be, Sarah."

"Mitch, she might really hurt that guy," she warned.

"Let her be," I said sharply, before turning my attention back to Dana. I still hoped she wouldn't do anything to him.

When Dana reached him, she stopped. I heard the guy cowering, pleading not to be hurt. She took a step toward him, and I closed in on her with the intention of pulling her away. To my utter surprise, she just stood there, looking down at the pathetic figure on the ground for several long seconds. I felt tense, wondering what I should do. If I touched her I could set her off, which meant I would have to grab and pull her away, fast! But I was scared of hurting her. If she hit that guy she could seriously hurt him. After what seemed like ages, she spat on him, then turned away, and walked past me and Sarah, with unseeing eyes. Sarah made a move after her, but I held her back. "She'll be all right, Sarah. Just let her be for a moment, will you?"

She gave me a searching look, when suddenly, her eyes widened, as if-

I knew... I felt it even before I heard her voice... before I heard her words... because I recognized it on her face. It was there as if written in bold letters... all the emotions... shock, disbelief, hurt... you name it. It was all there.

"She... she was..." she started, but was unable to complete what she wanted to ask.

I could hardly answer her, because I was shaken by what I had seen on her face. When I nodded, her expression changed to one of sadness. She freed her arm from my hold. After a moment of silence, her eyes hardened, and she turned, walking toward the two on the ground. Before she could take another step, I caught her and pulled her back, but not before she yelled, "You bastards. I'll cut your balls off. You hear me?"

None of the assholes were in any condition to answer, and gently, but firmly, I steered her away from them. "Check on Pete. I'll take care of Dana," I said to give her something to keep her busy.

"No, Mitch. I'll take care of Dana. You check on Pete."

I knew I couldn't argue with her. "Are you OK?" I asked hesitantly.

She nodded, before she walked away. I stood there, undecided. I didn't want to leave the girls alone, but I was feeling out of my depth, and sensed it would be better if the girls had a bit of time together, so I walked over to Pete. Caroline was already there, looking at his hand, and when I asked how he was doing, he told me it was just a scrape. He had caught the tip of the wrench during the fight. Taking out my pack I offered a cigarette, and lit one for myself, asking what we should do with this bunch.

"We could call the police, but it would be a hassle. We could get them thrown in jail, but I don't know for how long," Pete said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much experience with these things. What do you suggest?"

"It really doesn't make any difference to me, Mitch. I can handle the police. It was three to two and they were armed with a tire iron and wrenches. They might do some time, but the hassle of going to the court would be too much. I doubt they would go to the police about this. We could just leave them here, and forget about them, or we could make an anonymous call to the police."

I thought about my options. I had never been involved in something like this before. "I think I'd like to leave them here. Sarah is going to leave tomorrow, and Dana and I will be going off on a vacation. I don't want to spend time dealing with the police, or in a court."

"Sure, Mitch. How's Dana doing?"

"I better check on her. Caroline seems to have things under control here," I said, and putting my cigarette out, I left them.

We were still busy trying to collect ourselves, so we didn't notice the arrival of Ulysses; not until we heard him call out, "What the hell happened here?"

Pete and I turned to the sound, and found him hurrying to us, with Amy following behind him pushing a twin baby buggy. Pete told him what happened, and after he finished, Ulysses shook his head and told us we should call the police. He mentioned that he knew the precinct commander, and he could sort this out cleanly. I was worried about Dana and pulling him aside, I had a quick word with him about what she did, and he nodded his understanding, but told me not to worry. Even though I didn't explain why Dana did what she did, I got the feeling he knew about Dana's history. But since I wasn't sure what he knew or how much, I didn't dare ask. In the meantime, Amy joined us, and Ulysses talked with her about the situation. Amy suggested taking the girls back to the club with the babies, and calling the police from there, while we waited here for their arrival. Before Amy and Caroline joined Sarah and Dana, Ulysses asked to talk to Sarah.

While Amy and Caroline took care of Dana, Sarah joined us, and Ulysses asked her to check the assailants' injuries, explaining to her that we needed to know how badly they were hurt. She understood what Ulysses was getting at. When I accompanied her she said, "I'm a doctor, Mitch. I'm not going to hurt them."

"Sarah, I know you're a doctor. I just don't want any surprises from them."

"Oh! OK!"

The guy that Pete handled wasn't in too bad a condition, with only a dislocated shoulder. The guy Dana kicked was in pretty bad condition. He had cracked ribs, probably from my palm strike, maybe from Dana's kick to his chest. We didn't know how extensive the injuries to his genitals were; that had to wait until he was taken to a hospital. The second guy I handled seemed to be in better shape than the others. He had crawled away while we were talking, and I had to grab the bastard and drag his ass back. When he tried to resist, I hit him in the solar plexus again, lightly, as a warning. After a quick check, Sarah told me he was OK, except for a bit of trouble breathing. The checks done, Sarah joined the girls, and with the babies in the baby buggy, they all headed back to the club.

The next hour was hectic. The police arrived, and so did an ambulance. The presence of Ulysses helped a lot, since the officers seemed to know him well. Pete and I gave an account of what happened, and the officers were sympathetic and polite, especially after hearing from Ulysses that two lady friends and one of his waitresses had been targets for rape. The tire iron, the wrenches and the drunken condition of the 'victims' spoke volumes. The officers might have seen many fights, and they usually didn't care for any parties involved, but if their attitude to the bastards was any indication, when it came to attempted rape they had no tolerance or sympathy for the offenders. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel relieved when I saw how differently they treated us.

Once the crime scene pictures were taken, and the offenders put in the ambulance, Ulysses came back with two cops, one of them a female officer, and told us they would accompany us to the club to finish their report. I pulled Ulysses aside, convinced that he knew something about Dana; the inclusion of a female officer seemed more than coincidental.

"Is there a particular reason for the woman officer?" I asked pointedly.

"Women usually talk more comfortably with a woman officer. That's why I asked them to send at least one," he replied casually.

From the way he answered the question I was suspicious, and I suspected he was perhaps trying to keep Dana's past a secret. "Ulysses, when I met Dana, she told me some things about her past," I said. He gave me an appraising look, then he nodded his understanding. "And Sarah apparently figured out some things from Dana's reaction, but she doesn't know exactly what happened. She loves Dana very much, and I think the girls will talk about it later. Don't worry, Ulysses. We'll take care of her."

"You really care for Dana?" he asked.

"No, Ulysses. I love her. Very much."

He gave me a surprised look. "I thought..." he said, but didn't continue. I knew what he was thinking, he thought I was Sarah's boyfriend.

With a nod, I said, "I know. Sarah's a good friend. She's my sister's best friend, and we've known each other for a long time."

"I see... I'm glad Dana has somebody in her life." He didn't say anything else. He didn't have to.

"I'll take good care of her, Ulysses. Sarah will, too. Did you talk with the woman officer about Dana?"

"Yes, I made a brief, general reference to Dana's history. She understands the delicate nature of the situation. I've seen her with other female victims. She's good," he answered.

"Thank you, Ulysses. I owe you one."

"No, you don't. You and Pete protected the girls. One of them happens to be a good employee, another a very good friend, and of course, there's Sarah, the singing angel. That's the least I could do. Don't you worry about the police or the court. I have a good lawyer, and we'll handle this," he replied.

Back at the club, the woman officer wrote up Sarah's account. When it was Dana's turn, Amy wanted to accompany her, but Dana asked for me and Sarah. I pulled Dana aside, asking if she really wanted Sarah.

"Mitch, I'm all right. Amy and Ulysses know about it, and I know Sarah suspects something... if what I've seen in her eyes is any indication. So, there's no point in hiding it from her. She's part of our lives and I love and trust her."

While the woman officer asked questions, Sarah and I sat with Dana, holding her hands. I was impressed with the woman officer, and how she handled the questioning, going over the relevant points efficiently, and as painlessly as possible. In the meantime, Amy had been busy with Caroline preparing sandwiches and coffee for all of us, including the officers, and they appreciated the hospitality very much, staying for a cup of coffee while finishing their reports. Caroline, Sarah and Dana opted for a glass of cognac, and I joined them, while Pete and Ulysses had coffee, since they would be driving. Ulysses and Amy didn't miss how we kept Dana company at all times. Amy was glancing at us quizzically, especially after Dana requested our presence when the woman officer was questioning her, but I saw Ulysses whisper a few words to Amy, and her expression took a note of surprise, before it changed to a soft smile. When I was getting myself a sandwich from the small banquette set up on a small table, Amy walked by and said, "I'm glad Dana has such good friends to care for her."

I felt flustered by her remark. She patted my arm, and said, "I'm pleased to meet you and Sarah. Dana is a very strong woman, and a good friend, but I guess you knew that."

When I nodded, she continued, "Good. Thank you for protecting them all."

"I wasn't alone. Pete was there," I replied, finally finding my voice.

"I know. But, still. Thank you," she said, and kissed me on my cheek, before she returned back to her seat.

After the officers left, Ulysses had a few words with me, giving me a general outline of plans for tomorrow; he would call his lawyer to go over what happened and then call us at Dana's to arrange a meeting. He also mentioned that he was planning to contact several clients who were at the club tonight, and ask them if they would be willing to talk to the police-perhaps, even testify-about the behavior of the assailants in the club. He seemed sure that a few of them might be willing to help out-regulars, who enjoyed special privileges at the club.

"I'll invite them for free drinks, and also get an officer to meet them here. That way they don't even have to visit the precinct," he said with a grin. "That would really help the police establish the motives and help the DA in court."

I told Pete and Caroline we would take a cab, but both were adamant that they would give us a lift, and when I objected, mentioning Pete's injury, he waived it off.

It was getting to half past three when we left the club. Dana was back to her old self... well, almost. When Sarah and I tried to position her between us in the back seat, she objected.

"Oh, no! We're going to sandwich him between us, otherwise he would feel out of place," she joked, drawing a giggle from Sarah and a chuckle from me and Pete, while Caroline colored up.

It was good to see her joking like that, and that little quip helped some to alleviate my anxiety about her state of mind. The girls chatted a bit for the rest of the trip, with Sarah and Caroline doing most of the talking, however we were all subdued, especially Dana, who joined in now and then. I got the feeling she was making an effort to put me and others at ease, so I gathered her in my arms, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

It was very late when we arrived at Dana's, just past four o'clock. Even though we were tired, the events of the night had us still on edge and we all needed to wind down. I asked if anybody wanted something to drink; I had in mind a stiff drink, but Dana made a better suggestion, mentioning she had some herbal tea. I turned to go to the kitchen, but Dana said she would prepare it. Before I could say another word, Sarah shook her head at me, and went to help Dana.

"Why don't you draw a hot bath for us?" Sarah asked.

I went to the bathroom, and turned on the water, adding bath foam. Then I went to the bedroom to take off my jacket, and noticed a tear at the shoulder seam. Both the jacket and the pants were soiled from the fight. I wasn't sure if the jacket could be salvaged; it looked like it would need a good tailor and dry cleaning, and the pants looked worse. In the excitement I hadn't noticed. I changed into jeans and a shirt, and went back to the bathroom to check on the tub. Once it was more than half-full, I closed the taps, and went to find the girls. They were in the living room, having their tea.

"The bath is ready," I announced. "Leave your cups; I'll get you refills."

Putting her cup on the nearby table Sarah stood up, pulled Dana to her feet, and they left the room. I collected their cups, and went to the kitchen. To calm myself, I lit a cigarette and drank a cup of tea, finally releasing the tension of the night. I was still worried about Dana, but knew she was in good hands. Perhaps she would talk with Sarah about what had happened to her before, now that it was out in the open. Putting out my cigarette, I filled the cups, put everything on a tray, and took it to the bathroom.

Sarah was sitting with her back against the end of the tub, and Dana was sitting between Sarah's legs, resting against her chest. Sarah had one arm around Dana's belly, holding her, and with a sponge in her other hand, was washing Dana's neck, shoulder, and chest. It was a beautiful scene, like a picture of a mother taking care of her daughter, except, in this instance, it looked like the daughter was taking care of her mother. Dana looked really tired, and was showing her age, but at least she looked at peace. She had her head resting on Sarah's shoulder with her eyes closed, and seemed relaxed under Sarah's tender ministrations. Quietly, without disturbing the peaceful scene, I closed the toilet cover, put the tray on it, and turned to leave.

"Mitch? Aren't you going to join us?" I heard Dana ask.

I realized she must have felt my presence. I turned and saw both girls watching me. "I... The tub is quite small, and I want you girls to have some privacy. Would you like some tea?"

The tub wasn't that small, but I didn't want to disturb the peaceful scene or break the girl-bond that seemed to be forming between them. I also thought that Dana might be more comfortable if she wanted to talk with Sarah without my presence. I was feeling out of my depth. What's more, the scene was very loving and caring, and the girls looked beautiful, which was having an effect on me. I realized, with a start, I had the beginnings of a stirring, and I felt ashamed with the way I was reacting.

How can you think of something like that at a time like this?

"Nonsense! There's enough room," Dana said.

"I don't want to intrude, Dana, and I'm feeling pretty much out of my depth," I replied feeling very uncomfortable, and trapped. I wanted to make a quick exit.