by Anton Marks
Same way, Suzy would have said.
In the dimness Y had dropped low and delivered two more furious blows in rapid succession to her thigh and a point to the left of her groin. Elektra Blue let out a strangled yelp. Her eyes were wide as a wave of pain rippled through her shutting down her motor functions in stages. Struggling to maintain her body in an upright position and failing, she succumbed to gravity and fell under a long spouted drinks table.
Even with the blaring music her bodyguards still heard the body hit the carpet and turned to see the client writhing on the floor in a heap of elbows and knees.
The men turned only to see Y bent down beside Elektra Blue’s crumpled body and they snapped into action. They rushed at Y in unison fuelled by their obvious failings but Suzy wasn’t having that. She stepped into their path with her slight frame deflecting the first man and then using his weight and momentum against him. But she miscalculated the nimbleness of the second man.
The bald, tubby bodyguard was quick on his feet for his size and instead of committing himself drew back at the last minute then lunged forward, grabbing Suzy by the neck, propelling her off her feet. All her breath exploded from her lungs and she willed herself to go loose. Expecting a struggle Tubby tensed but Suzy did the opposite. She let gravity take her and fell forward out of his grip as he tried to compensate for her slackness, landing on her hands and knees. She swirled, her back to him and stared into the contorted features of Elektra, who had failed the eight count miserably and waited. In two heart beats, Suzy gracefully let her left leg swing back and up, the movement looking like a yoga posture, her heel slamming into her attacker’s crotch. Tubby reacted as all men do and reached down to protect his prized possession from further injury. Anticipating that, Suzy pushed back and rose up, the back of her head slamming into his nose and lips.
Tubby staggered back stemming the eruption of blood that had whipped out of his mouth with both his hands and spat out blood and shattered teeth.
“You fuss..king bi..sstch!” He bellowed just in time to see and momentarily experience a flying round house kick from Suzy that was a thing of beauty.
Medallion man hadn’t had time to intervene in his colleague’s ‘ass kicking’ but thought better of delaying his involvement any further.
Taller with more defined muscles and a dumb stare, Medallion man felt Suzy was fair game and was hurrying over to make his point, not seeing Patra who loved to be the centre of attraction as much as Suzy did, heading on an intercept course.
A mild discomfort at the back of her right ear that she was so familiar with, a prick and a tingle that indicated her Luck Factor was in play did not slow her down. Patra readied herself for whatever would hit the fan as probability distorted a single inconsequential aspect of this conflict tipping the outcome to her favor most times anyway.
She focused.
And. There. It. Was.
Medallion Man tripped on a portion of carpet the size of a hand that had nudged free from the otherwise neat uniformity of the floor.
Patra braked and saw opportunity fluttering her way and tensed.
Medallion Man only knew she had grabbed his tie when he was brought to an abrupt stop and only just saw what happened next. Patra wrapped the tie around her hand and before he could break free, took to the air. Gravity took her weight to the floor and so did Medallion Man’s head. He would have followed her down in a perfect trajectory if it wasn’t for the drinks table which his forehead hit with such force the glasses that had sat there, rose a good two inches off the surface on impact.
The casualties numbered three, with Elektra still squirming from muscle paralysis, Tubby still trying to stem the flow of blood from a possible broken nose and Medallion Man was as unconscious as an unconscious motherfucker.
Just like in the movies the cavalry came when it was all over.
“She was groping my tooshy, Mr Officer. What could a girl have done, sir,” Patra gushed, batting her eyelids and then breaking out into peels of laughter.
“The security guys believed every word that came out of your lying mouth,” Y said.
“And damn, did that feel goooood!” Patra whooped as the girls held their glasses for a boisterous toast.
“Yuh know I’ve always wanted to do that,” Y said evenly. “But thought it would stay on my wish list never fulfilled, like shagging Denzel Washington. But sweethearts,” she kissed Suzy and Patra on the cheeks, “you made it all possible.”
Suzy smiled.
“Normally mi would feel ashamed feh letting guh like dat. But that was deh sweetest buss ass, mi give in a long time.”
“Amen,” Patra said.
“Punany power,” Y pronounced, attracting a mock look of incredulousness from Patra and Suzy. They raised the glasses, clinking them together and sipped the sparkling wine, laughing.
Weirdly tonight had reinforced the rightness of what they were about to embark on. The word was out thanks to Mr. Patel but more importantly they experienced a sense that there was hope for them and whatever problems they faced they would overcome with a unique brand of determination only they possessed.
Everywhere they stood they became the focal point, the men gravitated towards them and the women made them the subject of their discussions. The message had been sent out that wherever these sisters went danger and excitement followed and the night was still young.
A solitary applause approached them from a thicket of dancers in a compulsory clinch brought on by a Beres Hammond track.
“Nice, nice, nice,” the man said approaching them, his palms slapping against each other sharply.
He was an older gentleman, handsome in a rugged mature way with broad hands that obviously were used to hard work. Dressed immaculately in a tuxedo, brilliant white shirt and a felt hat, he was obviously inspired by the same era the girls had decided to model tonight except for one blaring difference.
The man was wearing black snake skin boots.
“Daughter,” he took Suzy’s hand and kissed it, his Jamaican accent thick. “What you did to that blouse an’ skirt gal was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.” He shook his head as if to shake the fading mental image of the incident back into clarity for his continued amusement. “And you warrior princess,” he looked at Patra and shook his head. “You sister, are a dangerous woman to know, dangerous. Kiss mi neck,” he laughed out. “Where can three little bit a gal like you three learn dem moves deh?”
Suzy looked at him a weak smile forming, not sure wether to be gracious or cautious.
Her trepidation evaporated as the stranger’s adoration for her skills kept growing. She was forced to listen to him without being able to squeeze a word in edge ways.
“Excuse my manners, sisters.” He handed out some fancy gold embossed business cards to all three of them. “My name is Rupert Dobson but my close friends call me Spokes.” He grinned broadly.
“I have a proposition for yuh that I think you’ll want to hear.”
Y moved forward and Spokes surmised correctly that Y, the dark skinned beauty with the athletic physique was the spokeswoman for the clique. He must have also surmised she was a no-nonsense type of gal and any chance of holding their attention would depend on how she responded to him. He raised his hands throwing off her focus and spoke directly to her eyes.
“Pardon deh presumption ladies but I was checking yuh out as soon as I saw you walk in.” Patra leaned her head onto her thumb and forefinger and pouted.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Spokes added quickly. “I’m not in deh habit of voyeurism, if I like a daughta or three,” he grinned. “I will say. I saw what you did to that Elektra gal and her flunkies with my own two eyes. This is strictly business.”
He cleared his throat.
“Anyway from what I could work out, you’re not involved directly in the music or entertainment business which is strange for girls wid your profile. You must be connected to get into here in the first place, so mi figure you’re looking for exposure, some excitement
.”
He looked at Y.
She responded with a tight lipped, “Maybe.”
“Then I was handed a goody bag with your promotional bits and pieces. Yuh keep on impressing me sisters. Yuh just keep on. Bad II the Bone, wicked name.”
Spokes lowered his voice as he got to the point.
“Okay, hear what I’m proposing. Be my girls, like Spokes’ Angels.” He stopped to consider it and chuckled to himself. “That has a nice ring to it, nuh true? I want you to help me promote my dance in two weeks time and I will pay you ten thousand pounds each plus all expenses and I promise you won’t have to take a piece of clothes off, sell your body in any way shape or form or get into bed with me, unless yuh tink it is absolutely necessary.”
He grinned at his own joke and then at the slack jawed expression of incredulity on their faces.
Y had folded her arms, her face impassive and then she looked at the card he had handed her again.
Patra started laughing
“You wouldn’t try to shiest my crew would you…Spokes?” Patra asked glaring at him.
“Shame on yuh.” He shifted his felt hat from his right hand to his left and opened his arms in symbolic innocence.
“Hear what! Check out my website an mi Facebook profile, ding me tomorrow at my offices, we’ll link up, I’ll present you with further references, the itinerary, sign a non-disclosure contract and pay you five thousand pounds each in cash, as a down payment then we can do some shopping on me.”
Even in the dimness their eyes lit up.
“We’re going to have to think about this,” Y said. “Look over that contract you’re talking about.”
“Think about it as much as yuh want daughta but due to the urgency of this project, I can only give you forty-eight hours and then the deal is off the table.”
“Dat wil be fine,” Suzy jumped in with a hard-to-conceal eagerness.
Patra tried on her game face but wasn’t convincing anyone.
“Yeah! That’s more than enough time, Slick.” She said.
Y’s voice of reason on this matter seemed to have been drowned out.
Spokes grinned.
Hook, line and sinker ladies, he thought. Hook, line an sinker.
12.
Metal Works Gym
Wednesday, July 18th
10.45am
Bad II the Bone sat excitedly in the lair at the Metal Works Gym with reams of letter headed paper, compliment slips and boxes of stylish metal business cards. The girls’ excitement was a stark contrast to three weeks ago when they seemed to be at the lowest point in their lives. So much had changed and you got the impression they did not yet want to admit they were strangely drawn to this unknown territory.
Mr. Patel was not happy about the decision to take on a job so early into their development but to Bad II the Bone this was a straight forward gig, with the least risk possible, or so they tried to tell themselves.
Y played devil’s advocate as was usual, lounging on a massive bean bag. Suzy was sipping on a steaming hazelnut hot chocolate, legs crossed, lotus position on the carpeted floor while Patra sat on a traditional chair tapping away at her laptop with her back to them.
“What do we know, about being bodyguards?” Y asked.
“Close Protection Operatives,” Patra corrected.
“Okay what do we know about being CPO’s?”
“Enough,” Patra continued eyes still on the screen. “We’re skilled more than most in protecting ourselves, that we know. Can’t see why we can’t use those skills to protect others and get paid, too.”
“I could name one reason, at least,” Y said.
“Uh-huh, I bet you can. What you got girl? Lay it on me.”
“Experience,” Y said simply. “We may be able to look after ourselves but if we factor in other lives how effective can we be?”
“Better than most, sugah. We gifted, you forgetting.” Patra added without a hint of pretension.
“An’ with some training, who knows, maybe we could be deh best?” Suzy added smugly.
“Training?” Y questioned.
“Damn, I forgot to tell you about the training.”
Patra laughed and so did Suzy.
“What training is this?” Y asked.
“Yow, sis we got this all covered. Mr Patel has our back, on all things legal. Of all things, we need training and a license to work. Isn’t that a bitch?”
“When was I going to be told?” Y folded her long elegant arms around her chest.
Suzy was chuckling to herself and sipping on her hot drink, savoring Y’s surprise at being the last to know for once.
“You’ve just been told so chill.” Patra teased. “It was on a need to know basis sugah and you didn’t need to know.”
“We knew yuh had concerns so we wanted to have all deh facts ready. Patra is just pulling your chain, sis.”
“Great to know I can be a source of fun for you two.”
“We glad too girl, believe me.”
“Ha-ha!” Y glared at Patra signalling an explanation with her fingers drumming on the corner of her mouth, locked into that sexy stance she had.
“It starts in three weeks and it’s a ten weeks full time course approved by the SIA and held by the foremost CPO training group in the world. It will qualify us for the industry and give us the finer ass details of being professionals. You feel mi?” Turning away from the laptop for the first time Patra extracted a folder from one of the draws in the desk and handed the white envelopes contained in it, to Y and then Suzy.
“It covers law and legislation, surveillance, armed, unarmed protection and everything in between. From a freshman’s point of view it looks pretty damn good to me.”
Y looked through the paper work and nodded with approval.
“But can we do this? Are we meant to do this?”
All eyes were on Suzy as the silence wasn’t filled with her words of wisdom yet. She had placed her mug beside her and was twining her pony tails between her fingers contemplatively, her eyes off to the middle distance somewhere.
“I tink we looking at this opportunity all wrong.”
“Here we go,” Patra teased. “You got this shit worked out right, Suzy?” She looked over to Y triumphantly. “It’s in the cards, baby. We got no choice but to follow the path.” Patra said grinning from ear to ear. “Ain’t that the truth?”
Suzy ignored her fake passion for her gift, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose at Patra.
“I know where you’re vibing from Y. And you gal,” She set her gaze levelly on Patra. “Don’t fake your bravery because I know you have yuh doubts too.”
“I ain’t gonna front,” Patra said. “I do have my doubts but not about whether we can pull this shit off. This I know we can do.”
Point taken. Suzy looked at Y.
“We are at our best when we righting some wrong inflicted on us or inflicted on others. Deh only times we can truly say we are happy is when we are in the midst of crisis and working towards solving a problem with our fists or minds. Check yourself Y because that is the God truth. If we want any kind of stability or peace of mind we have to tek the path shown an’ embrace deh gifts we have.”
“How do we deal with Mr Dobson?” Y asked. “He needs our help now and we’re not really prepared or ready.”
“Then shit girl, prepare. We being offered ten thousand pounds each for two weeks work, do the maths.”
“All we gonna do is keep him close an mek sure no harm comes to him,” Suzy said. “I sense he’s a good man, serious about what he wants.”
“I kinda feel the same way,” Y said. “But I get a feeling he isn’t telling us everything. Not outright lying but keeping some vital details to himself. What do you think Suzy?”
“Yuh could be right but the vibes him a give off is not getting me concerned or edgy. So he is either sincere in his actions or him believe whatever he’s doing is the right thing.”
“You had a good talk with him before we ar
rived. What is your gut telling you?”
“He was harmless enough, checking out my backside every opportunity he got.”
“Can’t blame a nigga for looking.” Patra said.
“I suppose,” Y grinned.
“He was sincere and reminded me of a horny uncle from my mum’s side. He was an old school gentleman, ladies man, my dad’s generation with the same principles about keeping your word.”
“He is kinda cute.” Patra said nonchalantly.
“Gal he could be yuh daddy.”
“I know and I could be his mammy.” Patra laughed.
“Don’t even go there P, this is all about business.”
“Chill, I’m just saying.” Her hands raised in mock submission. “We might talk after bizniz is complete, though.”
Suzy rolled her eyes.
“What we need to rememba is that this is not a formal arrangement. Everyting has been handled with a handshake an’ our word. He’s just a man who tink him life is being threatened by some bad minded competitors and we can put him at ease. If he delivers on the money he promised then...”
“We in bizniz,” Patra completed.
“So okay we going to have to keep a low profile now that we are minor celebrities and just hope nothing leaks out.”
“Underground.” Suzy responded to Y’s statement.
“Under wraps.” Patra elaborated.
“Pick our fights with care next time.” Y added.
“Amen.” Suzy said
“I guess you want me to put a plan of action together?”
Patra asked.
“That’s what you do, sugah.”
“Yeah that’s what I do. But until then?”
“We wait and see.” Suzy said sagely.
“Well while we’re waiting and seeing, I’ve got something that can keep you focused. Yuh gonna lurrrrve this!”
Patra went back to pecking away at the keyboard, leant back into the chair and then suddenly sat up. Y came over and stood behind Patra resting one hand on the back of the chair and the other gently massaging her neck.