Chapter 27

Things then largely assumed a routine. I had gotten the newest HMMWV, and this time it had the doors on both sides as Lucy suggested. I was told that this was still a remodel of a military one because of my mass, but they were building them from civilian models for those that had increases in size but without the increase in mass that I had.

And three times I took Gabe out on patrol with me. I even showed him Riverfront Park, which he said he had heard of but never been to. I looked over at him, and he laughed. “Sensei, I do go to school. And hear the other kids talk about it. But as you see me now, I do not have much of a social life. Alicia, her and Eli do not have a car so we have places near home we can go to. But now I see what the other kids were talking about. Do you catch many here?”

“Oh, as of yet I have never interfered with any. At night I send out the drone as I park somewhere in the middle and check out each of the cars to make sure the girls are here willingly. If it ever appeared that the attentions of their dates were not welcome, or if one was underage with a large age difference I would step in. But that has not happened yet. Say if the girl was around 14 and the guy 24. If one appeared to be 15 and the other 16, I would let it go.”

We pulled into the middle picnic area, and as it was still about an hour before dusk we got out and took a walk. And there were no other cars in the area. I showed him the three picnic areas, and showed how each parking area had some separation and privacy. He asked if I knew any that came here.

I thought a moment, and nodded. “Actually, I caught one of our councilwomen here a few weeks back. She does not know that, but the guy she was blowing was one of her staff. She is married, which was likely why she came here instead of a motel. But an affair is not really illegal, so nobody else knows that. And I have caught a few of my students.”

He looked sharply at me when I said that, and I sighed in my head. “Gabe, this is just between us two. Back there in one of the picnic areas were eight kids, and two of them were Windy and Ice Girl. Windy was with her boyfriend, Ice was with her cousin. They were just talking and having some beers, no hanky panky at all other than a few of the girls were in the laps of their boyfriends. That would have been right before you met them, and they were both scared to death. But I will tell you what I told them.”

He looked into my eyes, and I nodded. “There were eight of them, but only two six packs of beer. Not even enough for two each. I do not see myself as the morality police. And even if underage drinking is illegal, they did not have enough for each to have even two. Now if they had cases up here or were obviously drunk, I would have contacted their parents to come and get them. Because that could have been deadly if they tried to drive home. But a bunch of sixteen year olds having a beer, not my concern. If I had caught them in differing cars and each couple going at it, so long as their ages were close to the same age and the girls seemed to be there willingly, I would do nothing. You see, I pull through here in stealth mode at night. All lights off, the electric drive engaged, and using the drone to look inside. But from a distance, not trying to be a peeping tom. I only know the councilwoman because of her car, the drone never got close enough to see her face. But as she is the only one I know that drives a late model dark green Chrysler 300 with a black vinyl roof.”

Gabe chuckled at that, and I joined him. “So nobody needs to be concerned up here, I really am looking for big things, not little ones. That is something you have to learn when you hit the streets.”

“Like Bo and Di. They both told me about that already.”

“Exactly. The lowest level of criminals know we will ignore them. Prostitutes especially, they know we will not bother them. And at most pick them up and take them to Sister Clarissa’s if they are under 18. The same with the pimps, so long as they are not abusing the girls.”

Gabe looked at me closely, with his head cocked to the side. And I remembered their background. “Gabe, this is for both of you. Yes, many pimps are absolute scum and I will take them out when I can. Those that beat the girls, use drugs to keep them in line, even who use underage girls or use them as slaves. Those are predators and I will take them down in a heartbeat. But many are actually boyfriends, or just act as protectors for part of the money. They protect and watch out for the girls, and the girls are free to leave at any time. Those we leave alone, because it is obviously something the girls want.”

Gabe nodded, and said that made sense. “With Alicia, it was kind of both. Her pimp controlled her, took all of her money, but did not use drugs or force on her. But she also started young, and at the time I appeared she was about to be forced to do something she did not want to do. And looking back, we realized that was only because she was underage. If she was still there when she turned 18 she would have really been a slave.”

I nodded, and we climbed back in my truck. “That is the kind of thing we will stop. A girl in a massage parlor that is from the US and working there because that is all she knows or what she wants to do with her life, I got no reason to interfere. But a girl brought in illegally from China and forced to work there as a slave, we will step in every time. The same with alcohol, I will bust a store owner if he sells to kids as he likely has no morals and can’t control how much they drink. But kids having one or two beers each, not a problem. Kids with a little weed, I will ignore. Kids with harder drugs or obviously high as a kite, I will step in.”

He nodded, and as I pulled back onto the highway he asked me about the party I had interrupted earlier. I grinned, and said it was just that. And after a bit of prompting, I admitted that Windy was sitting in the lap of her boyfriend, but Icy was sitting a foot or so away from her cousin.

“So Windy has a boyfriend?”

“Well, I think so. I have no idea how serious it might be, as there really is no need for me to talk about things like that with my students. In fact, I talked to both Di and Lucy about that later when I saw them both flirting with you. They told me that it is likely Windy was helping Icy as a ‘wingman’. But they both agreed that Icy was much more serious in flirting with you than Windy was. Ask yourself as Alicia if she would not do the same thing.”

He closed his eyes a moment, then nodded. “Yes, Ali would indeed do something like that for a friend. Likely so they could see who he was interested in. If the guy was curious about getting to know one, he would likely largely ignore the other. If he was a player, he would be trying to hit on both of them.”

“And what did you do?”

He looked at me then chuckled. “Well, I will admit I like Icy more. Not sure why, just something about her is more appealing to me. Maybe because she is a bit bigger. Windy is a lot like Alicia, small and compact. I can tell Icy was likely a big girl at one time when she was younger, but I think she looks amazing. Plus she has a wicked sense of humor.”

As we returned to dockside, I described what she looked like when I first met her. “She was maybe 50 pounds overweight then, and being picked on because of that when her powers first manifested. And she took to the training seriously, and has burned all of that off over the years. She is a few inches taller than when I started training her, but no excess fat that I can see. Oh, and in case you did not realize it she wears a wig.”

Gabe laughed, and nodded. “Oh, Alicia realized that immediately. Wigs just look different than real hair in person. You and I would likely not know that, but she did. Alicia sometimes wore wigs before she came up here, if a customer had a specific request. Like being with a blonde girl.”

We took a tour through the docks, and I pointed out the pimps and whores, along with the others we watch for. And I saw a new Chinese massage parlor had opened up on the second floor of one of the buildings. I pulled over and made an entry into the Control linked laptop to have them check it out. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, when we did the sweep through here we found several that used imported slaves. Somebody will check it out, and see if that is the case again. So long as the girls are there willingly, nothing will come of it. They will probably slip in one of our undercover agents to check it out a few times though to make sure.”

“What, have guys go in and use the services?”

“Yep, pretty much. Remember, we are not like most police. One of our agents can go in, hire the girl and have sex with her, then make a report. He will probably return several times, to see if the girl will loosen up and tell her more. So long as it is not a gang front or using girls against their will we will ignore it. But if one of those is the case, then a month or so later we will get together a team and fall upon them like avenging angels. We do not have the same rules as the cops do. In fact, remember back during the sweep. In almost every case, they themselves attacked us first. Doing that allows us to enter to search without a warrant. And trust me, most times if we enter and a place is seriously breaking the law, they either run away, or attack us. Either way, we accomplish our mission.”

Gabe slowly nodded and said that made sense. “Where I was, some of the girls were volunteers. They liked fucking for money, they made a lot and enjoyed the sex. But for those like us, that was not the case. We really were slaves I know now. And for those poor girls, it would have been worse. They could not even leave ever, as they likely had no passport and could not speak the language. Many of the girls like me left when they turned 18, as we could just go to a new town and start a new life. But they would be trapped, forever outsiders.”

I nodded and told him to talk to Di about that. “The Tong in her area is the same way. Brothels are allowed, but all girls have to be there willingly. Even before the Night of Madness, they would take down brutally any that worked with slaves or used force or drugs. I assume you know Rusty?”

She hesitantly nodded, and I smiled. “I met him also before the Night. Bo told me it is the same way in his area. Almost no massage parlors, most of the girls work the street. But all over 18, all there willingly, and what pimps there are keep a low key and are only there for their protection. We have no interest in ending the sex trade, we just want it kept clean without those that prey upon it.”

At that the tone on the radio activated, and switched from the classic rock station I was listening to over to the police band. There was a robbery in progress on Prospect, so I flipped a bitch and gunned it after I changed the radio to the local Control frequency. I then hit the hidden button and pulled out the microphone.

“OK, when we get there you are to remain in the car. Tell them on the radio if you see anything Control needs to know about. Only get involved if somebody is in danger of being killed, otherwise let me and the police handle it. Got me?”

“Yeah, I got you Sensei.” I got on the radio myself and told Control I was responding and had Gabor with me. I then had him get on the radio and identify himself so that the dispatcher would know his voice.

The rest was actually rather dull. The three robbers were leaving the bank as we were approaching and they were leaving in their car. The robbers had climbed into the back as the driver had been waiting for them at the curb. And as soon as they recognized my truck, they actually stopped. Then got out and all three of them laid on the ground as I pulled to a stop about ten meters in front, and the cops started to arrive.

The sergeant that came up to us after they were cuffed just laughed. “Sensei, as soon as they saw that monster you drive they got smart and decided enough was enough. One even shit himself, and begged us to not let you hurt him.”

I chuckled and Gabe shook his head. And after I asked he took us to the car where the defecating one was sitting. He tried to move away from the window, and did seem terrified. The cop in the front rolled down the window, and I smiled at him. “Just so you know, that was a good call. But so you know, so long as you harmed nobody and just surrendered I would not have hurt you. I only use as much force as needed, and never excess force. If the cops had not been there I would have cuffed you, but not harmed you in any way. No more than the cops here would have shot you if you had not resisted in any way.”

He was still shaking as I walked away, maybe so terrified that nothing I said sank in. But you never know, he might understand better once he calmed down.

I drove us home as it was getting late, and we had training the next morning. And after exchanging a hug Gabe went ahead and headed to his house as I went into mine.

The students all loved the new Danger Area, and had a blast checking out what all I had added. Steel knockdown targets that could be reset remotely for those that could fire or throw some kind of projectile, and many other toys. And when we broke for lunch, they all admitted that this facility was much nicer. Even an inside seating area and hot dogs instead of just sandwiches. Lucy and some of the parents volunteered to run that, as I had gotten a hot dog cart cheap and put it inside.

During lunch one of the students put on one of those cheesy 1980s action movies on the big screen TV. “Hey Sensei, could you do this?” One of them called out, so I moved over to take a look.

“Do what, stand there frozen like a statue?” They all laughed, and Ryan rewound the movie. He then forwarded it again, and the big bulky action hero snuck up behind a bad guy, and placing each hand on the side of his head broke his neck with a simple twist. I shook my head and sighed. I then saw that all of them had joined me, in addition to Bo.

“OK, now let me rephrase that more accurately. Could I do that as I am now, maybe. Just so you know it takes almost a ton of force to break a neck so cleanly that you have a spinal cord separation. And that is what they are trying to imply in that scene. Tell me, do you think anybody who is not a mutant can apply over a thousand pounds of force on each of their hands?”

They all shook their heads, like most not understanding what all was involved. “No, it takes less force to break a neck, whiplash like in a car accident is most times a form of broken neck. But that is almost never a severing of the spinal cord. And that is what you need to have somebody drop like that. And without that severing the spinal cord, the other person would be in a lot of pain but still likely able to fight back.”

I saw Ryan and a few others nod at that. He then asked me if I would ever do it, and I shook my head. “No, I can’t see me ever doing that. You see, there are two possible outcomes in that case. The spinal separation would be so high that everything below that would stop working. And that includes breathing. If they did not go unconscious from the shock, they literally would lay there for several minutes as they suffocated. Unable to breathe or talk, unable to move, I could not think of much worse of a torture than that. Knowing you had minutes to live, and being able to do nothing about it. Not even say a prayer or give a message to a loved one.”

And I saw at that several did look horrified. “Now so you know in the event you come across somebody like that, you can save them. Give them mouth to mouth until medical personnel arrive, they can put them on a respirator and get them to a hospital. They will still be paralyzed, but like that actor from the movies who broke his neck in a horseback accident, they will still be alive. They will just be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives on a respirator. But you can save them.”

After the session was complete many of the kids went exploring. Some checking out the area closer, even firing flame and ice at the targets and laughing. Bullseye was picking up rocks on the ground and throwing them, hitting each target he aimed at. Some were walking the little subdivision, amazed that there were four streets, complete with stop signs and names. And I told them that all were welcome to come here at any time, but that the Danger Area was off limits other than for training.

And I did notice that Icy and Gabe were together most of the time. I headed over to the dojo as some wanted to see that, and they all loved it. “I will be doing all my classes here from now on, for those that I train outside of these classes. So you can either come here, or to the old dojo. Whichever is easier for you.” And several liked that, some saying they would stick to the old one as it was closer to their homes.

At just after 5 Di came up and said she could not find Gabe anywhere. This was her last session as the next week she was going “on assignment” for the remainder of her pregnancy. I went looking, and was back at the Danger Area when I saw Fang crouched on his belly in the grass on the side of what we were now calling the “Clubhouse”. He looked at me, and did not seem excessively alert so I quietly crept up to join him at the corner.

And oh my. Gabe and Icy were not quite making out, but it looked to be a bit more involved than just kissing. His hands were on her hips and hers around his neck, and just maybe tongues were involved. But they were sitting and turned to face each other with their upper torsos touching. I watched for a few minutes, then slowly backed up. I was about to head for the road when I saw Di walking towards me.

“I have a feeling that Fang found him, and to come over here. Is everything OK, Clint?”

I chuckled, and told her to go peek around the corner. I could see her jerk a bit when she did, then she came back laughing softly. “Well, I can see it did not take long for her to get him. Oh my god, Clint. What do we do about this?”

“Well, how about this? Come on back tonight, say at around 8. I will tell Bo to come by also and we can talk about it. But I know that all I saw was some kissing, nothing wrong with that. But maybe another time after we had talked it out let each of them know the rules. I already told Alicia no bringing boyfriends or girlfriends to the house here. But since technically back there is not her house, she is following that rule.”

Di nodded, and said she would be there. We moved about 50 meters away towards the center of the subdivision and Di called out Gabe’s name. And a few minutes later he came out from the other side of the Clubhouse. I did not see Ice Girl anywhere, but soon the two of them were heading back to the dojo. And when I was half way back I glanced over my shoulder, and saw Icy coming around the other corner.