Chapter 6

Chris walked in not long after I got back from changing into my full sparring uniform. Sensei Douglas met him, and they had a short conversation that I could not hear. Sensei Douglas said, "Chris, I have a rare treat for you. By coincidence, my best pupil is here for a workout, so I thought you might like a workout with somebody who does not know your every move. I can guarantee you an interesting session."

"OK, Doug, that sounds great. I'll be right back as soon as I can get changed into my outfit."

Sensei Douglas walked back to where I was standing and said, "I didn't tell Chris that you were a woman. He is the macho type that would back off for fear of hurting a woman, so we won't tell him until later."

"OK, that sounds good to me. When he gets here, I'll try to catch him by surprise."

I had to wait for about 15 minutes. These training outfits are so heavily padded that they are hard to get on, but they don't interfere too much with movement once you have them on. Chris walked up to us and started to say something to Sensei Douglas, but he didn't get the chance because I attacked immediately.

There was no question that Chris was caught by surprise, but he recovered so fast that he was able to block my first thrust. After that, we laid into each other hot and heavy. I was able to hold my own for a while, but Chris gradually wore me down with his superior size and strength. I was just about to collapse under the strain when Sensei Douglas shouted, "TIME!" Thank God, he saved me in the nick of time.

I was puffing and blowing so hard that I had trouble getting my helmet off so that I could breathe more easily. I wish I had a picture of Chris' face when he recognized that I was a woman. Sensei Douglas laughed and said, "I told you she was good, didn't I?"

"Dammit, I have never had to work so hard in a sparring match. You are so good that I would swear that you had been stick fighting for years. Oh, by the way, I am Chris Jenson. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you, I'm Helen Ashcroft, and you seem to be just exactly the man I am looking for. I have a sort of business proposition to offer you. However, I must swear you to secrecy, since what I am about to say could get me into a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry, Ma'am, Doug can vouch that I am the soul of discretion."

"Excellent! Then I will tell you that I am Nyx, and I am looking for a partner. I need a man to back me up on the next stage of my campaign against the Tom Cats gang. Perhaps you have heard of them. I want to drive them out of existence. When that is done, I want to look for other fields to conquer. I hear that you are bored by being retired and also are looking for new worlds to conquer. If you join me, I can guarantee that you will not be board again, and we may be able to do something to improve society."

"That's the best offer I've heard since I left the Army! Count me in! Where do I sign up?"

"As far as I am concerned, you are signed up. However, there are several thing that we have to discuss. Sensei Douglas, do you have a room we can use to talk in where we won't disturb your classes and we won't be disturbed?"

"Sure, you can use my office. I won't need it for at least another hour."

We went into the office and took some comfortable seats. I said, "Chris, as you may know, though I have inflicted considerable pain and bodily harm to my victims, I have made a point of never killing anyone. I have several reasons for that. The first is that if they are dead, then they no longer feel the pain that I have gone to the trouble to set up. Also, killing would put me on the defensive with the police, and I don't want that if I can possibly avoid it. Third, I am afraid that killing would lose me the public support that I have generated so far, and I value that public support very highly. I have a feeling that it will come in very handy some day."

"I agree completely, Helen. A man can't appreciate the nuances of losing his penis if he is too dead to know about it."

"That, really, is the only point that I wanted to make. We do need to have a name for you. The right name is a big psychological plus with the public and with crooks, too. I propose to call you 'Phobos.' He was the Greek god of fear and horror. How does that sound to you?"

"Hey, I like that. Together, Nyx and Phobos can play hell with the crime in and around Boston."

"Do you have any questions? We still need to get you fitted with a uniform like mine, and we will need to get you guns, a knife, a stick, and spikes. I'm most concerned about the guns. I use the .32 caliber Walter PPK/S because they can cause a lot of pain, but won't kill if used with care. What sort of gun do you want?"

"As far as the gun is concerned, I have been using the 9mm military Beretta, but that is a killing machine. I think that you are right, and I will drop down to the .32 PPK/S. I have a preference for the combat knife that I trained with, if that's OK with you. I have my own stick, and I'll leave the spikes up to you.

"I don't have any questions right now, but I am sure that some will come up. I am unreservedly on your side, so any questions will be in the nature of simply looking for information to help us work together better."

"Great, that's all I have for here. Let's go to the shooting range and work there for a while. I would like to show off a bit, and I am sure that you would like to show me what you can do. That's where I picked up my untraceable guns, but I expect to have to look elsewhere to get your guns."

I drove us to the range and introduced Chris to the manager/instructor. We played around with a number of guns of different calibers. Chris could out shoot me with the larger calibers on sustained fire simply because his wrist was stronger than mine, so he could hold better against the recoil. With the small calibers, we were virtually identical in accuracy and speed. That was something that was very gratifying to both of us.

I brought up the subject of orphan PPK/Ss, and the manager was not so hopeful. He did have one PPK/S in .32 that a customer had traded in. The manager had "forgotten" to do the paperwork on the gun, so it was now an orphan. Chris tried it out and thought that it was adequate for our needs, so we bought it. I paid cash to keep the trail hidden. With this and my third gun, Chris could have the two guns that I thought would be appropriate.

I said on the way back to the dojo, "I have a social commitment tonight that I can't get out of. Can I pick you up tomorrow to get you fitted for your fighting uniform."

"Sure, I live in a one-room apartment in Boston. Here is my address. Suppose you pick me up at 1000 hours and we can have a late breakfast before doing whatever you want to do about the uniform. I, too, have a social commitment tonight, so I'll probably want to sleep late tomorrow. My mother wants me to meet some society chick, and I don't want to hurt Mom's feelings, so I'll have to show up. If there is anything I hate, it is empty-headed society chicks, but Mom means well."

I dropped Chris off at the dojo and drove back to Boston. All of the rush hour traffic was in the other direction, so I was able to get back home without much hassle. I had promised Martha that I would be home for dinner tonight so that I could meet her son. I think that she was match-making, but Martha is such a lovable person that I could not possibly turn her down. Anyway, I got home in plenty of time to shower and put on an appropriate party dress for the occasion.