by Drew Lindsay
A week of walking and running had left Ben exhausted and aching. He had blown a shoe at Lane Cove on the third day and had to limp back to his home in Roseville, around two kilometres away, in socks. That incident prompted him to get a more expensive pair of joggers and made all the difference to his daily exercise routine.
He walked and jogged north east to Frenchs Forest one day and then North West to Pymble the next. He knew that was more than a 10 kilometre round trip but nothing was showing up on the trip meter and he wasn’t inclined to mess with the 6 white buttons and blow 3 weeks of hard work when he handed the device back to Aka.
He jogged to North Sydney and back and then out to North Ryde and back. He took back streets and park tracks. He saw parts of the suburbs of Sydney he didn’t know existed. He was chased by dogs and bombed by magpies. None of that worried him because he found that he was really enjoying himself. The pressure of police work was off his shoulders and he was slowly getting fit and also losing weight.
Fay had disappeared. He didn’t know where she was and he didn’t bother to call her mobile phone. He figured she was off with the boyfriend. The nights in the house were quiet. Ben was feeling isolated and rather lonely and sleep didn’t come quickly. He tried to slow his drinking to aid with the weight loss but red wine made him sleepy so he felt he couldn’t cut out alcohol altogether.
No-one from the Police Department had contacted him, not even from his unit at the CIB. That saddened him although he had never gone out of his way to make friends with other Police, or anyone else for that matter.
One evening he noticed the pile of unwashed clothing building up in a corner of the bedroom. He decided to put on a couple of loads and use the tumble dryer. As he sorted out the whites from the colours, he found the business card given to him by the young female detective, in the pocket of one of his shirts. He examined it.
‘Security for Important People’
‘How stupid,’ said Ben softly but he thought about the statement some more and realised that it would be flattering for a customer to see, even if they weren’t important.
‘Rodney Reid’
‘Managing Director’
‘Never heard of him,’ said Ben to himself. The only other detail included on the card was a mobile phone number. The back of the card was blank. Ben dropped the card on the kitchen table and continued with sorting out the washing.
By 11 pm two loads of washing were finished and dried. Ironing his business shirts would be a challenge. Fay used to do all the ironing. Nothing else needed ironing as far as he was concerned and he bundled T shirts, running shorts, socks and underpants, into his bedroom drawers.
He had accidently washed one of his ties and noticed it was considerably shorter than before. He put that aside also for ironing. On his way to bed as he was about to turn off the kitchen light he noticed the business card on the table. He picked it up and slid it into his wallet.
The next two weeks went quickly for Ben. He put everything he had into the jogging and by the end of the third week was doing the ten kilometres with ease and in fact had begun to increase it to twelve.
Fay returned home in the middle of the third week and made comment as to how fit he looked and how much weight he had lost. Other than that she hardly spoke to him. Additionally she made it clear that they would not be sleeping together any longer and that she would use a spare bedroom.
Ben noticed that Fay seemed to have put weight on, but wisely, said nothing. She didn’t tell him where she had been and he never asked.
Akira Misaki was impressed. He looked Ben over and nodded in appreciation. Ben handed over the trip meter. ‘How much ground did I cover?’
‘I wouldn’t have a clue.’
‘What do you mean? You set the thing last time I was here.’
‘Doesn’t do anything, but you didn’t know that. I know if you’ve worked hard just by looking at you.’
‘Bloody hell, you old bastard.’
‘Not the proper way to address Hachidan.’
‘When did you get to 8th Dan?’
‘You don’t ‘get’ to 8th Dan my friend. You are promoted to that high rank by your elders, with worldwide recognition, after you are proven worthy.’
‘Congratulations Aka.’ Ben bowed low to his friend and he returned the bow with a nod. ‘You must be the only one in Australia.’
‘Yes. Now let’s have some green tea. You like green tea don’t you?’
‘You know I hate that…..’
‘Yes I know. Let’s have some anyway.’
Later, in the garden at the rear of Akira’s home, Bell served green tea on a tiny glass table underneath an arbour of bright red bougainvillea. Ben and Akira relaxed in patio chairs. There wasn’t a breath of wind but it was cool in the shade.
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Akira.
Ben sipped at the green tea and grimaced. ‘Not much I can do. They’ve got me suspended and I’m being told nothing.’
‘You might need a lawyer.’
‘Like a hole in the head. You know what I think of Lawyers.’
‘I know this young girl,’ said Akira, placing his green tea bowl back on the table. ‘She’s a partner in one of the largest law firms in Australia. Brilliant mind. Great body. Black belt. I train her.’
‘I’ll keep it in mind.’
‘I could arrange a date.’
‘Me and a lawyer on a date….right.’
Akira smiled. ‘You haven’t seen this lawyer.’
‘One of the detectives in my squad gave me the business card for a personal security firm. I might give them a call to pass the time.’
Akira frowned. He rubbed his bald head with the very large fingers of his right hand. ‘You can do better.’
‘I need you to assess my fighting skills again and I’ll see. There’s nothing else much to do until I get this departmental thing settled.’
‘You should take a holiday and relax. Go away somewhere.’
‘Yeah, I’ve been told that before.’
‘OK, we’ll do an hour each day for two weeks but we’re only going to assess Uchi Waza, Geri Waza, Tsuki Wasa and Hiji Wasa.’
‘I can’t remember what Tsuki Wasa is.’
‘Punching. You need to know how to effectively punch, right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You remember your weapons?’
‘Hands, feet, head.’
‘Let me see your hands?’
Ben held them out.
‘Soft as butter. You need to hit something occasionally, not blast away with your Glock. I’m not going to even ask to see your feet.’
‘They’re covered with blisters thanks to you.’
‘Good. That’s a good start. We’ll work on your hands next.’
‘What’s this going to cost me?’
‘A grand, and we’re only doing the basics again. You’ll have to practice like you did before. Remember….instinctively, automatically and if circumstances dictate, with utter ruthlessness and unbridled power. That’s how you must react.’
‘What about Uke Waza?’
‘You know how to block and you’ll get lots of practice at our sessions because I’m assigning you a partner.’
‘Anyone I know?’
‘Not yet, but you will on Monday evening. Oh by the way; did I tell you she’s a lawyer?’
‘Bastard.’
‘Respect Ben. Must keep respect.’
“****”
Chapter Eleven