JD watched as the others dished out their punishment to Sarah and Craig. It was two against four and the two almost held their own. Almost, but not quite. Both would be nursing some bruises that evening.
It was interesting watching the six of them fight. They worked well together and he really needed to start thinking about making Sarah work with them more often.
You’re playing with fire
One Friday night, after dinner, the students got together in the dining room for a game of poker. JD banned them from gambling, so they kept quiet about how much real money they were associating with each chip.
Sarah was in a good mood. Her training had gone really well. Her attention to background noise was now so well developed that she had heard someone opening the door to the balcony before JD did and threw his sword to him before whoever was entering had walked into the room. She was using his swords, both the blunt and the live one, so often now that it was only a matter of time before they got caught. How JD would be able to talk his way out of it when they did she had no idea.
She was the first person to hear JD’s office door open and his footsteps approach and she decided to have a little fun with him. She would regret it later, but she wanted to see how much she could get away with before he reacted.
“What do you have when a lawyer is buried up to their neck in sand?” she said, loud enough for him to hear as he walked past the door.
Everyone in the room stopped looking at their cards and stared at her. By the time she finished her sentence, they all knew that JD was close enough to hear her and they wondered what she was up to.
She heard his footsteps pause, indicating that he was listening. “Not enough sand,” she called out. After a moment he carried on walking.
“You’re playing with fire,” Jonathon said as he started to sort his cards once more.
“No I’m not, I’m testing the water. Craig said he has no sense of humour. Let’s see if he’s right.”
“He’s going to make you pay,” Katie said. “You do know that.”
Sarah smiled at her. “I know. Want to hear some more? If I’m going to hell I might as well make it worth my while.” Nobody answered, just in case JD was still listening. Sarah was certain he was, so she fired off all of the lawyer jokes she could remember.
“How can you tell if a lawyer is well hung? You can't get your finger between the rope and his neck. What do you call one hundred thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start. You're trapped in a room with a tiger, a rattlesnake and a lawyer. You have a gun with two bullets. What should you do? Shoot the lawyer. Twice.”
By the time she finished the others were doing their best not to laugh. JD hadn’t reacted, so she tried one more.
“What’s the difference between God and a lawyer? God doesn’t think he’s a lawyer. Come to think of it, that one works for trainers as well.” This did get a reaction.
“I can still hear you you know,” JD called out.
Sarah smiled. Simon shook his head. “You really are insane.”
Craig looked at her thoughtfully. “I wonder if JD will let me attend your next one-on-one training session with him.”
“Why?”
“It’s going to be very entertaining to watch.”
JD left them to their game and went to see Doc. He was in his sitting room with Silvia. She asked if he wanted some privacy, but he waved her back into her seat. What he had to discuss could be said in front of her.
He took a seat on the sofa. “Can I ask for some advice? I’m having trouble with Sarah. She still keeps trying to defy me.”
“She’s an outsider,” Doc said. “The rest of us grew up knowing that a trainer is inflexible. He will not bend and he will not break. She has yet to learn that. She’s trying to chip away at your armour. Give her time. Keep treating her the same as you do the others, except with a little more patience.”
“I don’t suppose you will let me strangle her instead will you? I’m sure Sanctuary 1 will dispose of the body for us.”
Doc laughed. “I’m afraid not.”
Before the conversation could go any further, the alarm rang. “Duty calls,” JD said and went to get changed into his fighting suit.
The hunt was a good distraction for him and by the time he got back to the Sanctuary he had decided how to deal with Sarah. They weren’t out particularly late, so JD didn’t cancel the 5 o’clock session the next morning. He needed everyone to be present when he told Sarah of his plans for her and he was looking forward to seeing how she reacted.
Craig was the last to arrive and as soon as he walked through the door, instead of instructing them to collect their weapons, he spoke to them all.
“Before we start, we have a little problem. And by we, I mean you Sarah.” All heads turned to look at him. They had been expecting her to be punished, but not until later. “As your confidence has grown, you have developed a defiant streak, which needs to be removed. Not for my sake, but for yours.”
Everyone except for Sarah looked at each other with worried expressions. They did not like the way he had worded that.
“JD−” Craig started to say, but JD held up his hand, silencing him.
“But I’m not going to do it,” he told her. “They are.”
Now they were really worried. “What does that mean?” Katie asked. She wasn’t the only one to have gone white. Though Sarah needed to be punished, they didn’t want to be the ones to have to do it.
JD addressed Sarah when he answered. “It means that every time you run your mouth off, your punishment will take place at the next morning training session you attend so everyone will have to suffer.”
Sarah could not believe what she had just heard. “What? Wait. No way. That’s not fair. If I had thought even for a second that they would be punished I would never have said anything.”
“I know. That’s why I’m letting you off this time. But only this time. Have you got anything to say?”
Sarah glared at him, not daring to open her mouth. There was obviously a lot she wanted to say, but she wisely chose not to.
“I didn’t think so,” JD continued.
Suddenly Craig burst out laughing. “That is brilliant. You have effectively shut her down without doing a single thing. If ever I doubted you are a genius, I don’t now.”
“Thank you for your seal of approval,” JD said sarcastically. “Now get your swords.”
Sarah didn’t say a word during the rest of the session, but continued to glare at him. He actually started to feel a little uncomfortable and was glad when the hour was up. She refused to speak to him during breakfast, much to his amusement.
As soon as he left, however, she began to communicate. “Why did everyone look so worried when JD talked about me being punished?”
“History,” Craig said. “JD became the trainer here when he was only twenty five. Scott was just seventeen at the time and was an obnoxious brat. He didn’t know JD like the rest of us did and didn’t treat him as a trainer should be treated. He was used to trainers being much older so refused to show him any respect. He talked back to him, didn’t obey his orders, that sort of thing.”
“I bet that didn’t go down well with Jason.”
“You’re damn right it didn’t,” Simon took over. “He made him fight him one-on-one and didn’t hold back much. He basically beat the shit out of him. He only stopped when he broke his arm.”
“Jesus,” Sarah exclaimed. “And you were worried he was going to do the same to me?”
“Oh it gets worse than that,” Katie said. “He made us all watch. When he heard the crack of Scott’s bone breaking, he stood over him and told him to never make him do that again because next time he wouldn’t hold back. Until that moment, we all thought that he had lost control and this was his way of letting us know that he hadn’t.”
“I bet Doc and Silvia went mad,” Sarah said. “I’m surprised they allowed him to stay.”
“Dad did ask him if what he did had
really been necessary,” Scott said. “JD said yes and that was the end of the conversation. I stayed in bed for three days, mostly because I was feeling sorry for myself. Then JD came to see me and told me that if I didn’t attend training in the morning my training was effectively over and I could say goodbye to any hope I had of ever becoming a hunter. Of course I turned up and he went easy on me until I fully recovered. I have never disobeyed him since.”
Sarah turned to Craig. “And you didn’t think it a good idea to tell me this BEFORE I agreed to train with him?”
“No. It was a long time ago and JD now finds ways to avoid having to do what he did to Scott. As he demonstrated today.”
“You were still worried though.”
“Yes, we were still worried.”
————————————-∞————————————-
When Sarah arrived for her session with JD later in the morning, it was obvious that she wanted to say something to him.
“Go on. Say it. You know you want to. I won’t hold it against you,” JD said, knowing they were alone and couldn’t be overheard.
“I didn’t realise you were such a devious bastard.”
“I didn’t realise I would have to be.” He sighed and softened his tone. “You need to behave, especially in front of the others. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be.”
“I know,” she said. She sounded so sad that JD looked at her to see the expression on her face, but it was unreadable.
The training session did not go well and after just half an hour JD called a halt. “I don’t know where your head is at today, but it sure isn’t here.”
“Sorry. I just can’t seem to concentrate.”
“Get out of here. Go do whatever it is you need to do.”
She left without saying another word. Something was bothering her, but JD had no idea what. He didn’t think it was her punishment, as he had effectively let her off. Maybe it was the fact that he had well and truly outmanoeuvred her, but he didn’t believe it was that either.
He bumped into Craig as he left the arena. “You finished early today.”
“Sarah had something on her mind. I was worried that if we carried on she would injure herself.”
“That sounds serious. Any idea what?” JD shook his head. “I’ll see if I can find out.”
Sarah, however, refused to speak to Craig and wouldn’t let him go with her when she left the house.
“If you take one of the hunting cars, can you follow her without being seen?” JD asked him.
“Probably. Why?”
“I want to know exactly where she goes and what she does.”
“Isn’t that invading her privacy?”
“Right now, I really don’t care.”
Craig was as concerned as JD was so he didn’t argue any further.
An hour later he returned. “She went to visit Alex,” he informed JD. “She does that whenever she has a problem she needs to sort out for herself. Somehow talking to him always seems to help her find an answer.”
“What does that actually mean?”
“It means we should stop worrying. If she’s talking to Alex, she won’t talk to anyone else about what is bothering her. If it was really serious, she would be talking to one of us instead.”
Sarah turned up the next morning on time for her training session and acted as though nothing was wrong. JD watched her closely, but her focus was back and she worked hard, so he put his concerns to the back of his mind, at least for the time being.
————————————-∞————————————-
A few weeks later, on a Saturday morning during breakfast, Sarah tried to get out of training again, though she didn’t sound enthusiastic about it.
“I need to skip training next Friday. I have to go on a date.”
“No,” JD said casually.
“Not optional I’m afraid. My mother has organised it so either I get to skip training or you get to explain to her why I can’t make it.”
“Alright.”
“Thank you. I’ll make up the time, I promise.”
“No, I think you have misunderstood. I meant alright, I will meet your mother and explain why you can’t go on the date.”
Sarah stared at him. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Craig started laughing. “This isn’t funny,” Sarah snapped at him.
“Yes it is. You made the suggestion, you have to suffer the consequences.”
“I wasn’t serious.”
“When and where?” JD asked
“Not going to happen. I said explain to her, not meet her.”
“Yes, it is going to happen.” There was no way he was going to give up the opportunity of meeting her mother.
“No it’s not. This is not up for discussion.”
“You’re right, it isn’t. Craig, have you got a number for Sarah’s mother?”
Still smiling, Craig searched through his phone until he found the one he wanted, then he handed it across to JD.
“Craig!” Sarah said in shock as she watched JD copy the number into his own phone.
“Now are you going to make the arrangements or am I?” JD asked her.
“I hate you both,” she said, but was dialling her mother’s number as she left the room.
“You get a kick out of annoying her, don’t you?” Jonathon asked once she had closed the door behind her.
“What makes you think that?” JD asked in a serious tone, hiding the amusement he was feeling. “I’m only doing what she asked me to do.”
Jonathon wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not.
“This afternoon at two,” Sarah said as she walked back into the room.
“Give me the address.”
“I can drive you there.”
“Oh no. We are definitely going to be arriving separately. I’m planning on leaving a long while before you I’m afraid.”
Sarah growled at him, then texted him the address.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked when they were alone in the arena. “You could have just let me skip training.”
“You don’t want to go on this date,” he said. ‘And I don’t want you to,’ he mentally added.
“How do you know?”
“You said you ‘have’ to go on a date not that you ‘are’ going on a date.”
“Well spotted. I keep forgetting you’re a lawyer as well as a torturer.”
“You are so going to regret that comment. Get your sword.”
————————————-∞————————————-
That afternoon, JD felt strangely nervous as he knocked on the door of the address Sarah had provided.
“You’re late,” she hissed at him when she opened the door. He looked at his watch. She was complaining about just five minutes? She must be more stressed than he realised. That was nothing compared to how she would be later.
She led him through an under-lit hallway to a small but neat lounge. A short slim lady with a sour face sat on the couch. She did not smile as he entered.
“Mom, this is Jason, Jason, this is my mother.”
“Pleased to meet you,” he said and held out his hand. She ignored it.
“So you are the personal trainer,” she said with distain. He took an instant dislike to her. He took a seat opposite while Sarah sat on the sofa, as far away from her mother as she could.
“Among other things.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked waspishly. She was making him feel very unwelcome.
“I’m also a lawyer.” This statement had a profound effect on the woman.
“A lawyer,” she said in glee. “Sarah forgot to mention that.”
“I don’t see how it’s relevant,” Sarah mumbled.
Her mother smiled at JD. “So you’re here to explain to me why my daughter cannot miss one of her training sessions with you, is that correct?”
“Not e
xactly.” Out of the corner of his eye, JD saw Sarah mouth ‘what are you doing?’ at him. “I’m afraid your daughter has not been telling you the full story.” He saw her go pale as she stared at him in shock. “I’m not just her trainer. We have been dating for a few months now, but she’s unwilling to go public yet.”
As he said the last words he pressed a button on his phone, sending a text to Craig. It was a prearranged signal. Any moment now his phone would ring.
Sarah was openly gaping at him.
On schedule, his phone rang and he made a show of looking at who was calling. “Sorry, this is the office. I have to take it.” He left the room and went into the hall, shutting the door behind him so he wouldn’t be overheard.
A few minutes later he stepped back into the lounge. Sarah was glaring at him. “Sorry sweetheart, it’s an emergency. I have to go.”
He walked out of the room once more, Sarah hot on his heels. “It was nice to have met you,” her mother called after him.
“You’re leaving me alone to deal with the fallout of what you just said?” she asked incredulously when they reached the front door.
“Yes,” he said calmly.
“I am going to kill you for this.”
He smiled at her. “No, you are going to thank me.”
Over her head, he noticed that her mother had moved into the hall and was watching them, so he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before walking away. He could feel her glare stabbing into his back and was glad she didn’t have a knife on her. He was not looking forward to her arriving back at the Sanctuary.
“Come inside and tell me all about that nice young man,” he heard her mother say before Sarah closed the front door. He actually felt a little guilty about the interrogation she was about to receive and wondered exactly how she would get her revenge.
————————————-∞————————————-
“Where is he?” Sarah asked as soon as she entered the Sanctuary.
“If you mean JD, he’s in the arena with Katie and Jonathon, I think,” Scott said. “Why?”
“Because I’m planning on removing parts of his anatomy.”
Vampire Hunters, #1 Page 18
