Chapter 49

Pat Clancy did not usually watch ISN, but his father happened to be home, and his father was a big fan of the local college team.

Pat was in an extended rebellious stage, at the point that many kids left at about fourteen or fifteen. Being a freshman at the U, though, he was savvy enough to realize that some minimum amount of acquiescence went a long ways to getting him the things he wanted from his indulgent parents with the least hassle.

Pat had his basketball scholarship, and that had scored him major points with his dad. Still, a little more cheap good will in the bank never hurt. "Hey, Pat, that kicker from the 'U' who wiped out Renton is going to be interviewed on ISN. C'mon and watch," came from the TV room. Pat did not particularly want to study any more, so he went along.

As soon as Pat sat down, he almost popped right up out of his chair. The kicker was none other than that hot shooter that had played with those chicks in that pickup basketball game where he got arrested. All of the anger came flooding back on him.

The stupid cunt with that guy, the one that had mouthed off at him, almost cost him everything. If his dad had not pulled out all the big guns, he could have lost his scholarship. Of course, there would have been no problem affording tuition, but the basketball coach would not tolerate any kind of criminal record on his team. At the best, he would have had to sit out for a year.

Harlan Clancy was so intent on the show that he did not notice his son's poorly concealed anger. Of course, Harlan rarely noticed anything that was not a grade, an award, or a win. When the clips of the tackles were shown, Pat had to admit to being impressed. The kicker was just a little shit, but he hit like a truck. Pat felt no awe, however. What he felt was the return of the rage that had caused him to stupidly expose himself that day.

Losing was always very hard on Pat. It was not just a strong competitive drive. His ego, his self-worth, was dangerously attached to whatever contest he was currently engaged in. His absolute fury at the thought of losing had made him a coach's challenge since his earliest days. At the same time, that fury, along with a generous supply of natural talent, had helped make every team on which he played a winner - frequently a champion. That winning ability is what had gained him the scholarship.

The horrible embarrassment that summer morning at the park was one of the biggest blots on Pat's life, and it was not the arrest that was the main problem. No matter whom he was teamed with, no team with three - or four! - girls could beat him. If he hadn't lost his cool, he knew they would have caught up, but...

After the TV show, the anger just kept building in Pat. By Thursday morning, he had hardly slept at all. He had two classes on Thursday and he hung around the stadium while football practice was on. With no real plan in mind, he wanted to follow the kicker. He had to park a ways from the stadium, but it looked like some of the players' cars were there, as well. Again, just reacting, he waited in his car.

Pat saw the kicker, whose name he remembered was Banner, walking out with a Hispanic guy who looked about as wide as he was tall. Since it was not his sport, Pat paid little attention to the names of the football players, so he did not recognize Padre.

Even though there was no reason to be on the alert, Cal's training and his experiences were just too deep. He did not notice Pat's BMW parked in the, probably because Pat had crouched below the window level. When he stopped by the gym to pick up Cheryl, who was already waiting, he happened to notice the BMW stopping back down the road. Given that he had just been on national TV, Cal made an assumption. He assumed that someone from the media was following him.

Pat could not believe his luck! The bitch who was the main cause of his near disaster was with the kicker. Of course, Pat could probably say with complete honesty that he did not recall purposely bouncing Cheryl off of the basket stanchion. If he had done something like that, it would have been with perfect justification, so it was not worth remembering. Nor could he recall his crack about 'that's how they play it in the NBA - man's basketball' when she complained.

Of course, he vividly remembered her crack about 'tiny dick syndrome', and that certainly justified any retaliation he came up with. Who would have guessed there was a cop on the sideline? Why didn't anyone have a sense of humor? Tiny dick - fuck that!

As they parked at home and went in to the apartment, Cal noticed the BMW again. It registered as a vehicle he had seen before, but he had no reason for any alarm or even suspicion, once again feeling only irritation at the pesky media. The smoked windows of the car did not let him see who the driver was.

Pat was almost beside himself with glee. The girl was the kicker's bitch! They lived together! He could just tell by the way they went into the house. At that point, he had no idea what he would do with that information, but a burning desire for revenge against the girl who had caused him so much trouble began to grow in his gut.

Elaine was staying until Sunday. Cal would have to leave Friday afternoon, but it was not a long flight to their game and they would return Saturday evening. It was such a unique chance to be around Cal, and she found Claire and Bert to be delightful company, as well.

She was looking forward to Friday night with just herself and Cheryl. She hoped Cheryl would be able to take some time off from studying for a little girl talk. Elaine really enjoyed the times with her probable future daughter-in-law, and Cheryl seemed hungry for any 'mothering' that she could get. Having had her around the house for many years as Rebecca's friend before she and Cal fell in love, Cheryl was very much a surrogate daughter to Elaine.

Friday evening, Maddy came home with Cheryl, and Claire was already there with Elaine. Bert had gone out with some friends, and Maddy's sister Rosalita had been asked to leave enough food for the four of them. Sharon did not join them this time.

The girls were barely in the door when Claire piped up "We need more sour cream. I can't handle Rosalita's spices without it, and I don't have any more in my fridge, either."

"Gringo pansies!" Maddy chortled. "I'll run down to the corner and get it." She had the car that night, so no one argued.

Claire, Elaine, and Cheryl were laughing about Maddy's cheekiness as they puttered around the tiny kitchen. They worked with the amazing dance that women always seemed to adopt naturally when sharing a kitchen. The chatter had just died down and they were all carrying things to the table in the living/dining room when there was a knock on the front door.

"Did Maddy forget her key?" Cheryl asked. "She couldn't be back already, could she? I'll bet she forgot money! Would you get it, please, Elaine? Claire and I have our hands full."

Not having any reason for extra caution, Elaine just opened the door, expecting to see Maddy. Instead, there were three young men standing there, one of whom stuck his foot in the door so it would not close.

Elaine had no idea who the boys were, but to her, the placement of the foot was a menacing move. No timid soul, she reacted quickly, slamming the door against the intruding foot as hard as she could. If the kid pulled his foot back, she would be able to close the door.

Instead of the reaction Elaine had hoped for, the largest of the boys put his shoulder into the door and sent it back into Elaine, knocking her sprawling. Claire dropped what she was carrying at the commotion. Cheryl looked up and recognized Pat and one other boy. She set her load down and made a dash for the kitchen and the phone.

The big kid who had knocked Elaine down saw Cheryl's move and beat her to the phone, grabbing it away from her. One of the other boys had been at the park the day of that basketball game. The big one had not, and he looked mean, so she decided not to confront him right away.

Both because of his personality and because of the money he could throw around, Pat collected followers quite easily. Those at the park for the basketball game had all been high school friends, two of them members on his high school basketball team. The big kid that broke into the house with him was actually a cousin, a year out of high school, not at all college material. He was a classic hanger-on, blindly following anything Pat wanted.

The other intruder was a teammate and classmate of Pat's, now enrolled at the college, but unlikely to make it in basketball. He was taller than Pat's 6'2" but more slender. While the big cousin was very aggressive, the slender kid was uneasy and uncertain.

Claire was a rather small person, but she was feisty. Knowing that there was another phone in the bedroom, she tried to move stealthily in that direction. Pat saw her attempt, grabbed Slender Kid by the arm, and almost threw him toward Claire. "Stop her!" Pat yelled.

"Claire! Just stay still!" Cheryl snapped. The last thing she wanted was for the older woman to be hurt. After her initial shock, Cheryl was starting to think about the things that Master Jessy had taught them. The first thing she had to do was try to talk them out of the situation. Part of her wanted to let the jerks have it. She was pretty sure that she could take them out, unless one of them was a trained fighter.

But what if one of them was trained? She could not risk either of the women getting hurt. What if rape was on the guys' minds? No, she had to buy time. Cal would not be showing up, so it was up to her. Somehow, they had to break someone away to the phone. That was what she had to stall for, maneuver for.

Maddy! She would be coming back soon. Cheryl could not put Maddy in danger. How could she warn her friend away? Would Maddy be able to go for help? Elaine was stunned, sitting on the floor and holding her head. Cousin was in the kitchen and Cheryl was between him and Elaine, so she went over and helped Elaine to her feet. The priority was to watch for Maddy and warn her off to get help. Helping Elaine was a natural thing to do, though, and it bought a little time.

Cousin was just coming out of the kitchen, holding the phone. Slender Kid was in front of the door to the bedroom, just blocking the way. Pat blocked the front door. As Cheryl helped Elaine up, she whispered in her ear. "Go be with Claire. Tell her not to say anything. We need to get to the bedroom phone. Watch for a chance."

"What are you yappin' about?" Pat demanded loudly.

"Just seeing if she's OK," Cheryl said, surprising herself with her calmness. As she guided Elaine toward Claire, walking very slowly, she deliberated about what attitude to take, what to say, and how best to stall for time.

From Master Jessy's teachings, there were at least two ways she could play it. One was to be very passive and say little, making Pat take the initiative. That was probably the best way to kill the most time.

Another option was to try to goad the guys into taking some action that would give Claire or Elaine a chance to get to the phone. The downside was that any action on the guys' part had great potential for injury to one or both of the women. Also, once they got their adrenalin up, they might start thinking rape.

When Maddy returned, everything would be up in the air, Cheryl decided. Until then, the less action, the better. If there was no customer backup at the little market, Maddy's whole trip should take less than ten minutes. If the store was out of sour cream... that was not worth thinking about.

Cheryl slowly edged over so she was in front of the little cluster of the two women and Slender Kid. She was facing Pat and Cousin. Exerting every bit of self-control that she had, she stood with her hands loosely at her sides, staring impassively right in Pat's face.

While waiting for something to happen, Cheryl had a weird thought. The bastards could honestly claim that they were never asked to leave. "Please leave. Now!" she said as calmly as she could.

With a laugh, Pat demanded "Now, why the hell should we do that?"

"Because if you do that right now, you might get by without going to jail. I'm asking you. Please leave. You heard me ask twice, right, Ladies?" Both nodded." This was more conversation than Cheryl had wanted at that point, but she thought she had better get the demand on the table. "Now, if you don't leave, it's breaking and entering."

"But you opened the door," Pat said.

"But we never invited you in. In fact, she tried to close the door," Cheryl pointed out. This was stupid, kid-type arguing, but it was killing time and no one was getting hurt. "You broke in. That's a crime."

As nervous as she was, it was hard to move. Nevertheless, Cheryl somehow got herself bouncing on her feet and shaking her arms. "What the hell are you doing, bitch?" Cousin laughed.

"My sensei taught me to get ready this way if I think I'm going to have to fight." Cheryl replied almost gaily. Elaine and Claire were both staring at her in open-mouthed wonder.

Elaine was not open-mouthed for long, though. "I almost forgot that!" Elaine said as she mimicked Cheryl's bouncing action. She hoped her shaking was not too obvious.

"Sheee-ittt!" Cousin swore. "What you gonna fight with, huh? You hear that, Pat?"

"Well? What did you expect us to do?" Cheryl asked in a sarcastic voice.

"We expect you to just enjoy it," Big Kid snarled.

Cheryl had to work very hard at sounding calm when she said "Oh, so you came to rape us, huh?"

"Thought you were alone," Pat said quickly, showing some nervousness.

"So, you figured it would take three to do me?" Cheryl sneered, still bouncing and shaking her arms.

"Come on, Pat! Why are we standin' here jawin?" Cousin snarled.

At just that moment, they heard the key in the lock. Pat spun toward the door, and both the other boys looked there quickly. Cheryl had decided that Maddy's opening the door would be the signal for action. She would tell Maddy to run for help, then she would take out Cousin first.

Pat spoiled Cheryl's plan by reaching through the partially-opened door, grabbing Maddy's arm, and yanking her inside. Maddy, caught off-guard and off-balance, was unable to resist, and ended up sprawled on the floor.

Cheryl wanted to go to her friend and help her up, but she sensed that it was more important to maintain the illusion of being in charge of the situation. "Well, now you've done it, Pat! Both you and your pet gorilla here are guilty of assault. We'll still let you leave now, and you can avoid attempted rape charges."

"What attempted?" Cousin snarled. "If we want some, there's nothing you can do about it. I think some mother-daughter action would be just the thing. What do you say, Pat?" He apparently thought that Elaine was Cheryl's mother, an easy assumption to make.

By this time, Maddy was on her feet. Initially, she had felt panic, but when she saw Cheryl's remarkably calm demeanor, she remembered what she had learned along with Cheryl at Master Jessy's. She was not sure what to do, but she sensed that reinforcing Cheryl's command of the situation was important.

Divide and conquer! The situation was at a bit of a standstill, and Cheryl decided to work on Slender Kid. From what she remembered of him at the park and from his demeanor at the moment, she could not believe that he was a threat. She believed that he would take any opportunity to get out of the situation. He was the weak link. Purposely turning her back on the other two, Cheryl said to him "I don't know who you are. So far, the only thing you've done wrong is to follow this asshole and break into the house. If you walk out right now, we'll forget that. This is your chance to keep from screwing up your life big time."

They could all see the fear and confusion on Slender Kid's face as he thought about Cheryl's words. Not wanting to give him time to reconsider, she snapped "Go now, or you take your punishment with these two."

She had guessed right. Slender Kid was not of the same ilk as Pat and Cousin. "S... sorry, Pat. I don't want any part of this," he mouthed as he headed for the door.

The desertion by their young cohort did not please Pat and Cousin at all. Both of them lunged to stop Slender Kid from leaving. Cheryl had not planned on the action starting that way, and she was inclined to just let the three sort things out among themselves. Maybe they would all leave.

Pat's and Cousin's attention was not on Slender Kid for long. As soon as Slender Kid moved out of the way, Elaine nudged Claire, who head for the bedroom and the phone. Cousin saw what Claire intended and shouted "Stop her, Pat!"

As Pat moved toward the bedroom, Slender Kid shouted "No, Pat! That's enough!" and reached out to grab his erstwhile hero. Reacting instinctively, Pat swung his elbow back hard, connecting with Slender Kid's temple and knocking him senseless.

Cheryl's shock at the sudden action was short-lived as she saw Cousin closing on her, intent on heading off Claire before she could call 911. Cheryl had hoped to avoid a physical confrontation with the big guy, but that was no longer an option.

Master Jessy had drilled the girl's over and over on the ways to stop a larger, stronger opponent. One of the potentially deadliest ways was a blow to the throat. It could stop even the most dangerous threat if delivered properly. The downside was that it could cause asphyxiation by completely cutting off the air passage.

There was no time for Cheryl to deliberate. No other 'certain stop' target area of Cousin was exposed. He was straight on to her and his neck was exposed and unprotected. She struck, having to stretch upward to do so, thinking only of hitting hard enough to protect her friend.

As Cheryl was dealing with Cousin, Pat was back in motion toward the bedroom. Without either one knowing what the other was doing, Maddy was about to attack him from behind and Elaine was steeling herself to keep him from getting to Claire. Elaine was very afraid, but she was also angry enough to provide the courage to hold her ground.

Maddy scored first, delivering a hammer-like blow to his kidney with side of her closed fist. Just as he reacted to the pain, arching his back and reaching his right arm behind himself, Elaine caught him in the groin with her knee.

Pat's body had just begun to reverse itself and double over forward to protect its wounded jewels when Maddy grabbed the arm that had reached behind his back. She pushed it upward with all of her might. Considering the difference in their heights, she had to reach high. Still, she felt a 'pop' and heard a scream that was perversely satisfying. At the point, she did not know that he had two sources of severe pain to scream about.

Cousin was still collapsing to the floor when Cheryl picked up the phone that he had kept in his hand. When she pushed talk, she heard that Claire was already dialing 911. "We'll need an ambulance, Claire. Tell them it may be life-threatening," Cheryl said.

Pat was curled into a ball and moaning pitifully. His right arm flopped around as he writhed on his left side and an acrid urine stain spread over his shorts. Cousin was having great trouble breathing. Slender Kid was slumped against the wall, conscious but disoriented and holding his head.

The instinctive healer part of Cheryl hated the thought of inflicting damage as she had done, and she began to feel nauseous at the thought and at the ebbing of the adrenalin rush.

Elaine reached Cheryl as she was starting to wobble and kept her on her feet. "Hang in there, Honey. You did what you had to. I'm proud of you!" That bit of reassurance seemed to help a lot. By the time they heard distant sirens, she had regained most of her composure.

"What was this all about - who are these guys?" Elaine asked.

Seeing that Cheryl was still unsteady, Maddy explained. "One morning, we were shooting baskets at the park and these guys game up and wanted a game. Pat - the one you castrated - and the tall kid were two of them. Well, Call, Bud, Robin, Sharon, and the two of us were kicking their butts, with quite a few people cheering on the sidelines.