by Carmen Faye
“All of this, for one plane?” she asked.
“Well, if it was easy, everyone would do it,” he chided her. “One plane is enough. It will be about five million out of his pocket. Plus, he’ll have to figure out how we did it, and then he’ll be questioning everything he does. It will hit him hard and worry him forever.”
Cyn played that through. “And then Knight declares the Howey and Margaret thing resolved, and that the club can move on and expel their grief. He didn’t get away with it: he paid.
“Won’t he be looking for you for the rest of your life?” she asked.
“Not if I’m dead,” Hank told her.
“You’re going to die?” she asked.
“Right in front of him actually, yes,” Hank agreed.
“Explain that to me,” she ordered softly.
He told her about how he was going to set up the false airstrip, and how the DEA would arrive, and the massive battle that would follow, and how he would look very, very dead.
“Hell, with that much going on, he might die — I mean really die,” she said once he was through.
“True. That would be against the directives, but true. Personally, I won’t feel bad at all if it happens.”
She sat up. “Okay, you’re dead and he’s wondering who sent you and how this was done and all of that — which is very cool by the way. But you can’t come back here, can you?”
He looked a little sad. “No, not for a long time, and maybe not ever.”
“But what about us?”
“Well, Knight is giving me a million to go somewhere and hide. You have said many times that you can work anywhere. So, I was kind of hoping you would want to come with me.”
This was not something she had expected to hear, so she needed time to think it through. Her first thought was for Daphne. Then another thought crossed her mind. “If I had said yes to waiting the six weeks so that you could get your life out of the shadows, I never would have seen you again, would I?”
“Not in the way you mean it, no. I would have disappeared a couple of weeks before that, and no one would know where I had gone. Also, we wouldn’t have been strong enough in our relationship where I would feel asking you to come with me would be wise.”
She let that sink in, and it felt really heavy on her.
“The first thing I think of is Daphne. Leaving her while she is still so vulnerable: That’s going to tear hard on me Hank, real hard.”
“Maybe you don’t have to come right away. I can get in touch with you, say, once a month, and see if you are ready.”
“Isn’t Skype encrypted? Couldn’t we use that?”
She watched him work that through his mind. “Yes, but not from your house or your office. Or any place that could be bugged. I’ve dropped the hint that you broke up with me because I wouldn’t let you call the cops after the attack — that the world I was in was too crazy for you. So, maybe they wouldn’t bother with you at all. But I wouldn’t want to bet your life on it.”
“Just kill him and be done with it,” she pouted, and then snuggled into his chest. “I know, I’m being a brat.”
“If I could take him and his five lieutenants, too, at the same time, I would. I wouldn’t even hesitate,” he told her.
“Even against Knight’s order?” she asked.
“Yes, even against,” he told her, and ran his fingers through her hair. “If I ever find out that Orlin did indeed tell those men to attack you, nothing will stop me from killing him. Nothing.”
CHAPTER NINE
“I love the idea of being roomies with you,” Daphne said with a smile.
“You sure, even after last night?” Cyn asked.
“Um, what last—”
“Come on, Daphne, someone had to have called you.” Cyn laughed. “I mean, it was probably hysterical to some people.”
Daphne smiled a sheepish grin. “Well, I did see the YouTube video.”
“What!” Cyn laughed. “No fucking way!”
“It’s on there, let me bring it up!” Daphne laughed, and it was the first time since the death of Derrick that Cyn had seen her laugh and smile like she once did.
Sure enough, someone had her at both fights. Rolling that big guy — “Big Ed” he was called — over her shoulders and then tossing him onto the table seemed to be the most popular. But she really liked the step-in sidekick that she did against the man known as “Train.” Her form was perfect, the extension of her hips was right on the money, and the power going through her boot into Train was very pleasing to see.
“I guess what happens at the club doesn’t stay at the club,” Cyn smiled.
“Well … most of it does, ‘cause it’s not anyone else’s business,” Daphne assured her.
“Let’s look up James, James Rath,” Cyn suggested.
“Well, you know, he’s married,” Daphne told her.
“Yeah, I know. Found out the first day I met him. Really a pisser,” Cyn said.
“Yeah,” Daphne agreed with a longing sigh.
After a while Daphne said, “Hey, I found some stuff. Some of these look like they happened in the club.”
“Cool, let’s check them out,” Cyn said.
The first one was James asking two large men to leave the building. He was very polite the way he normally was, and he was not hyped up at all. The two guys, and they really were big — thick, just fucking thick — told him to fuck off, and then the one on James’s left took a swing.
It was kind of like the camera couldn’t keep up with James’s speed. Like maybe the frame rate was too slow. James didn’t bother to block the punch. He attacked the man on the right, moving out of range of the punch. James dealt this man two savage blows to the gut, and then one to the side of his head. Then he spun, coming up into the air, and sidekicked the first man in his neck. And it was over. Just like that.
The last shot had James walking away, saying, “Get those wimps out of here.”
“Wow,” Cyn said.
“Yeah. That was serious,” Daphne agreed.
They made popcorn in the microwave and sat down and watched James flicks. There were several one-on-ones and a few less two-on-ones. There were only a couple of three-on-ones, and then there was a four-on-one where they saw James get serious.
This last video they played over and over, watching James moving from one man to the next, and around them, passing between them, and then, like a storm hits them, all four of them fell down. They just collapsed, like someone had cut their strings. James stood there for a minute, looked around the club, and said, “Next?”
“I can’t figure out what he does to make them all fall down like that,” Cyn said as she stuffed more popcorn into her mouth.
“It doesn’t look like he does anything to them. They just pass out,” Daphne suggested.
“Yeah, but look. James knows it’s about to happen. See how he comes out of his fighting stance and just stands up straight, just before they all collapse? It’s really weird.”
“Weren’t you going to get some work done?” Daphne asked.
“What are you, my mother?”
“I just don’t want this to not work out, because I really want you here.”
“Shit, baby, I’m not going anywhere. So, let’s set up my WiFi router with your connection and we can both play on the computer at the same time.”
“Sweet,” Daphne agreed.
Half an hour later, they were settling back to their computers when Cyn said, “I’m supposed to call him and ask him to go to the range with me today.”
“Who?” Daphne asked without looking from her computer screen.
“Him. You know, HIM.”
She turned to look at Cyn. “HIM him?”
“Yes.”
“He’s married, you know.”
“Yes, you mentioned that already. But Hank told me it would be a good idea after last night. So, I’m going to call him. Would you like to come with us to the range?”
She thought about that. “C
ould I ride behind him?”
“He’s married, you know,” Cyn laughed.
She sighed. “Men like him shouldn’t be allowed to be married. They should be national treasures, and open like national parks. It’s really a shame I like Sally so much. She’s such a great person.”
“So, is that a yes? Or a very whiny no?” Cyn asked.
“It’s a whiny yes, and I really don’t like to shoot guns. They scare me too much. But it would be nice to get out. Maybe we could get some lunch after?”
Cyn picked up her phone and dialed the number Hank had given her last night. “Sounds good. We can stop off at Maison’s Hall as well and check it out.”
“Hello?”
“Um, James? It’s Cyn. Hank gave me this number and suggested that I call you. I hope this isn’t too forward.”
“Not at all, Cyn. What can I do for you?”
Oh god, you could do whatever you wanted with me, that’s what you could do.
Cyn pulled herself together. “I asked Hank for a gun, and he gave me one on the condition I hit the range and get familiar with it. Then he said that you knew where one was close by, and that you could perhaps give me some pointers.”
God, I sound like a robot!
James was quiet, and she pictured him snickering with his phone muted. “Yes, I’ll do that for you if you in turn do something for me?”
“For you? Um, sure. What?” she asked, surprised.
“Spar with me three times. Maybe more if we enjoy it,” he told her.
Her mouth went dry, and her eyes rolled, and her brain was absolutely blank for at least five seconds. “Yes?” she managed.
“Perfect! Where are you?”
“Daphne’s. She would like to come, just to get out of the house, if you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. It would be good for her. I can be there at three?”
“That sounds good,” Cyn said automatically.
“Great. See you then, and thanks for calling.”
Then he broke the connection.
“What did he say? You went white. I don’t mean that like an expression. I mean, you went white!” Daphne said with true concern.
“He said yes, he’ll be here at three, so we’ll go get lunch before he arrives,” she told her in a breathless voice.
“That’s not all he said,” Daphne pressed, coming to sit with her on the couch.
“He said that he wants me to spar with him three times, and more if we like it.”
“Spar? You mean, like, fight him?”
“Yes, but not to hurt each other, just to improve our skills.”
“He wants you to help him improve his skill,” Daphne said slowly. “Won’t that mean a lot of body contact?”
Cyn felt her eyes go wide, and she stuttered quickly, “Um, well, but not like that, you know, nothing sexual or familiar or anything like that. He’s married, you know.”
“He’s just going to throw you to the mat and pounce on you a few times, is that it?” Daphne asked.
Cyn grabbed a pillow off the couch and threw it at her. “You’re horrible! Why do I like you?”
Daphne batted the pillow away and danced out into the room, laughing. “You don’t, you love me, and that’s a whole different thing.”
“Got that right, brat!”
“Slut.”
“Oohh, come here!”
CHAPTER TEN
James arrived at three. Daphne chickened out, and she got on Cyn’s bike with her instead of asking James. The ride was only two miles, and they pulled into a strip mall that had a liquor store, a Mexican food place, a church, and the gun store.
Daphne looked at the selection and said, “Perfect, really, if you’re a hick.”
“Welcome to Lakeside,” James smiled. “It is a good range, though. So, how long has it been?”
“I think I was nineteen the last time I fired a gun.”
“Did your dad teach you this as well?”
“How did you—?”
“Your style of fighting is obviously Recon Marine: very aggressive and powerful with the absolute goal of ending the fight quickly in an undisputed fashion. I’ve fought enough Marines to recognize the style. Since I doubt you were a Marine, and you fight too well to be taught by a brother or sister, that leads me to father. Yes?”
“Yes, and he remembers you from your gun tournaments,” she told him.
“What’s his name?”
“Richard C. Palmer, Master Sergeant.”
“The hand-to-hand instructor out at Camp Pendleton! Yes, I have serious respect for your father. What a small world.”
“He has the same for you,” she told him.
“That’s very flattering to hear. Thank you,” he said. “So, did he teach you combat style?”
“No, not really. He taught me the knife and some basic hand-to-hand, focusing on larger, more aggressive opponents, but for guns — just how to fire them and clean them, really.”
“He focused on the knife? That’s interesting. You know that is one place I’ve never been good at. Perhaps we could begin there with our sessions?”
She nodded, feeling much more comfortable picturing herself with a blade in her hand against this man. “That would be good. Yes.”
“Then I’ll start you on combat training.”
Once they were in the range, James told her, “Ok, first of all, aiming sucks. Fuck aiming. Forget the gun even has sights.”
“Ok?” Cyn replied.
“Your hands and your eyes work together and will improve with practice, but they will also adjust rapidly if the eyes see where the hands have to move. So in combat, you practice for three-round bursts. The first shot is your marker, and the second and third shots will adjust your hand from the mark point without being asked to. They’ll just do it, if you give them the chance. So, this is how we fire,” he said. He pulled his gun and fired three shots so rapidly the blasts melded into each other.
“You can fire that fast,” Cyn asked, “and your hand will still adjust?”
“Faster,” James agreed. “The brain is incredibly fast.”
Cyn looked at the target that was only about fifteen feet away, and the center looked like it had one hole. “Wow.”
“Don’t be too impressed. Anyone can kill paper,” James said with a smile. “Now, your turn.”
James taught her for nearly two hours. His hands were all over her, adjusting her stance, her arms, and her waist, but his demeanor was so professional, and what he was saying was so valuable, she forgot to get turned on.
At the end of the session, James said, “You really catch on fast. I can’t wait to see you with a knife. That, I believe, is going to be a treat. I’ll pick up some practice knives on my way home. Friday? Is Friday good?”
“Friday sounds perfect. About one-ish? Where?” she asked.
“Hmm, that’s a good one. How about my house? We can use the garage. I have mats. Sally will have lunch, so don’t bother eating. Just arrive a little early. Trust me, she’ll make it anyway,” James said with a warm smile.
“Would you mind it if Daphne came along?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then we’ll try to make it by noon so we don’t waste food,” Cyn said with a grin.
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
James walked toward his bike, and they watched him get on and drive away.
“His hands were all over you,” Daphne said with such jealousy Cyn had to grin.
“Yes, they were, and it felt amazing. I think I got off three times. The fourth didn’t really count, I don’t think. Too small,” she said casually while getting on her bike.
Daphne was frozen, looking at her dumbstruck.
“Come on, brat,” Cyn told her.
“Really?”
“No! Now get on. I was so tuned in to what he was teaching me, I didn’t even think about it until we were done, and then I felt cheated.”