“That could be tricky. We might need two more on lookout and put one of us at each bridge. Do you think you can handle running up and back after work? We already know you can do it in the mornings.”
Kat smiled. “It will be good for my training. I could be attacked at any time, so I need to be able to be my best at any time.”
Damon nodded. “I like your way of…” A startled cry cut through the air.
They sprinted in that direction and briefly looked at the nearest bridge as they ran past it. Two female runners were approaching it from the other side of the creek and started looking around, but it appeared clear.
“Help me!”
“Maybe the next bridge,” Damon said just before he accelerated.
Kat matched his pace. They noticed two men in their late twenties wearing fluoro yellow singlets running casually towards them.
“That’s odd.”
Damon nodded. “They should’ve heard her. Are you okay to check on her and I’ll tail them?”
Kat waited till they were just running past them. “Thanks so much for the run. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hugged Damon quickly and kept running.
Damon took his earbud out of his pocket as though he were listening to music now he was running alone and stayed about fifteen metres behind them. The taller runner has a good style. I need to be ready to sprint if he picks up the pace.
“Help! Please, help me!”
Kat pushed herself to run even faster and stopped just near the bridge. She looked down the steep creek bank and saw a girl trying to drag herself up the dirt and rocks. “I’m here. I’m coming down. We can climb up together.”
“Thank you! I’ve hurt my ankle. I’m not sure if it’s broken or sprained.”
“Stay there. I’ll come down and have a look.” Kat started climbing down as quickly as she could while ensuring she was safe. I don’t want them to have to rescue me as well. A rock moved under her foot, and she slid down a few metres.
“Be careful,” the girl cried.
Kat got a better grip on the dirt wall. “I’ll be okay. I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. I don’t want you to get hurt too.”
“I’ll be fine. What’s your name?”
“Monica.”
“I’m Kat.” The ground moved under Kat’s left foot, but this time she was ready for it. She used her hands and other foot and proceeded even more cautiously until she reached the bottom. She turned to face Monica. “Solid ground is good. Let’s check out your ankle and decide the best way to get you up safely. What happened?”
Monica flinched as Kat’s hand approached her ankle.
“It’s that sore or are you scared too?”
“Um, both, I guess.”
“It’s really swollen. I’ll call an ambulance and see what they want me to do. What happened?”
“I was running across the bridge and came across two guys running towards me. They moved to a side each. I hate it when that happens. It feels so dangerous, and this time it was. They grabbed me on both sides and it was more of a throw than a push over the side of the bridge. I thank God it didn’t kill me.”
Kat looked up at the bridge. At that height, it should cause damage, not kill, unless they threw her head-first. “Do you remember how they threw you or what part of your body went over the side first?”
“One quickly grabbed my legs although I tried to kick. I couldn’t believe what they were doing. They kinda swung me over the bridge. My body probably went over first, but I didn’t want to break my back, so I tried to get upright. I guess that’s why I broke my ankle. I mean, I think it’s broken.”
“So do I. A broken ankle is way better than a broken back. Does anything else hurt?”
Monica nodded. “I’m kinda sore all over, but nothing like my ankle. I don’t think anything else is broken.”
Kat smiled. “That’s a good thing. Do you remember what they looked like or what they were wearing?”
“Fluoro yellow singlets. I can’t remember what they looked like, though. I would’ve thought they’d be wearing black.”
“That’s the guys we saw run past us.” Damon, beat the snot out of them. “We were surprised they didn’t stop to help you. We’d heard about the girl pushed off the bridge last night and thought it might be the same thing. I asked my boss to tail them while I helped you. We can’t let them do this to someone else.”
“Oh my God. They’ve done this before. That’s horrible. Once is bad enough. Let your boss know it’s them. Why did they wear fluoro? Doesn’t that make them stand out?”
Kat thought for a moment as she got her phone out of her pocket. “What do they look like?”
Monica’s eyes drifted to the side. “Um, I’m not sure. I just noticed the fluoro. Oh! Get rid of the shirts and they’re unrecognisable.”
Kat nodded. “I’ll call triple zero now.”
“Text your boss too. Will he be able to handle both of them?”
Kat smiled. “He’s my karate instructor.”
“Hello! Are you two okay? What can we do to help?” The two girls from the other bridge just made it to this one and were peering over the edge.
Kat smiled. There are good people in this world. “I’m calling an ambulance. Can you make sure they find us, please?”
Both girls nodded. “We’ll wait and show them where you are.”
Damon was listening to Kat and Monica’s conversation while he jogged ten to fifteen metres behind the two suspects. The instant he heard fluoro yellow, he closed the gap.
The slightly taller one’s pace increased as his stocky friend turned around, “What the fuck?”
“I’m Special Agent Knightly. You’re under arrest.”
The taller guy looked as though he were about to take off as the stocky guy laughed. “Good luck. It’s two against one.”
Damon sniggered. “Yeah, the odds aren’t exactly fair. I’m military wearing a karate singlet.”
The stocky guy turned to the taller guy, “Fuck. He’s the competition!” and threw a punch at Damon.
Damon caught the punch, held his opponent’s arm firmly by the wrist and brought his palm heel into the attacker’s upper arm, breaking the humerus. “That’s for the girl last night.” He turned to the other guy who was pulling off his singlet. “Now for the ankle.”
He threw the singlet at Damon’s face and took off down the path, leaving his injured friend.
Damon blocked the singlet and sprinted after him. The man could run. Damon was running his fastest but wasn’t gaining on him. The shirtless man just managed to swerve out of the way of a little girl riding her bike with her mum jogging next to her with a baby in a three wheeler pram.
“Keep going! You can beat him!” The mum yelled at Damon as he sprinted past them, thinking it was some sort of race.
Damon tried to accelerate, but this was his top speed. His opponent was about thirty metres in front of him. Lucky, I can hold a pace. The moment he slows down, I’m on him.
The runner increased the gap in the two kilometres to the end of the path and needed to stop for oncoming traffic. He had to wait for one more car and looked around to see Damon sprinting behind him. He took off to his left across a side street and down the footpath. Damon pushed himself to stop his opponent from extending the gap. He was now running about fifteen metres behind him. Damon pushed himself to run faster but couldn’t. His opponent started increasing the gap. Fuck! Sweat stung Damon’s eyes as he continued at his top speed. Damon saw an opportunity as the runner approached a road with several cars driving through. His opponent didn’t look back this time but turned to his left. Damon followed. Fuck. He’s even further away. Damon pushed himself to keep going and didn’t lose any distance when they turned the next corner. Damon’s face lit up as he saw a group of six women about sixty walking side by side. He knew by experience; women this age didn’t normally move out of the way for runners. They would need to run on the road. Two cars drove past making that impossible a
nd allowing Damon to close the gap.
“Excuse me, ladies, may I get through? We’re racing,” the runner asked much less out of breath than Damon expected.
“Certainly, young man. Good luck.” They moved out of the way.
“Thanks,” the runner called.
Damon gave the ladies his best smile and panted, “Thanks.”
“You go get him, sexy man.” That always made Damon feel uncomfortable, especially when they were in that age group.
Damon tried not to lose any pace and pushed on.
The runner turned another corner instead of crossing the road. “Fuck.” He had run into a court and needed to turn back. A four-wheel drive followed by a moving truck stopped him from crossing the road.
Damon took that opportunity and tackled him.
The runner felt the air leave his body as he hit the ground hard. “Please, don’t break my leg! I was paid to push runners off bridges,” he gasped.
“Who would want you to do that?”
“Fit and Fighty. A new gym planning to open in Lorikeet Meadows. They want the locals too scared to run outside. They offered us manager jobs and money if we pushed four runners from the bridges. I said no at first. I should’ve stuck to that.”
“Yeah, you should’ve. Did you say four?”
“We’ve pushed two off so far. I won’t be pushing anymore off. I doubt Ty will be able to with his broken arm.”
“Do you think they’ll get someone else to finish the job?”
“I don’t know. I hope not.”
Damon jumped to his feet and offered the guy a hand up. “Run with me back to the bridge. I don’t know where Ty would be by now. My partner would’ve called the police. Try to escape me, and I’ll take out your ankle.”
He shook his head profusely. “I won’t. Please, don’t break my ankle. I’m Mal. You can certainly run.”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t catch you until you paused for traffic.”
“Not many can. I was on the national team until I screwed up and tried performance enhancers so I couldn’t get beaten. That’s why I needed the job.”
Damon sighed. “You’re lucky Angel’s rubbing off on me.”
“Huh?”
“He’s a friend who encourages me to help people become better rather than hurting them. Do the right thing here and keep doing it, and I’ll help you get a job in the fitness industry.”
Mal looked at Damon. “Really?”
“Even if I have to give you something part-time to start off with. You need to prove yourself first, though. No woman bashers in my gym. Reformed ones, maybe.”
“Oh my God,” Mal said more to himself than Damon. “I’m a woman basher. I never thought of it that way. Jeez, what have I become?”
“You can be better. That’s your choice.” Damon started running at a pace more suitable for distances although still fast.
“I want to be better. I’m probably going to jail. I’ll start making it better every way I can as soon as I get out.”
“They should grant you bail. You can start then.”
“I’ll start now. If we can’t find Ty on the way back, his last name’s Peirce, and he lives in Cranbourne. I’ll give you everything I know on the gym owners too. Were you guessing the girl today has a broken ankle or do you know?”
Damon frowned. “My partner’s pretty sure it’s broken. It’s badly swollen.”
“I hope it’s not. I know some exercises that can help strengthen it. She should be able to get back to where she was or even better. It’s just harder with elites. God, I sound arrogant.”
Damon shook his head. “I’ve seen you run. I thought I could run myself, but not as well as you. I used to think I was the fittest around. You had me hurting. Prove yourself, and you can train me. Maybe a few other people too.”
Mal smiled. “You’re on.”
They ran towards the spot where they last saw Ty. He was no longer there. Damon shrugged, “I was hopeful, but didn’t expect him to still be here.”
“I’ll give you everything I know to help find him.” Mal noticed the flashing lights at the same time Damon did and felt Damon’s eyes upon him. “I’m not going to take off. I’ll cooperate and hopefully train you one day.”
Damon smiled. Angel is rubbing off on me. “I’d like that.”
They ran towards the ambulance and two police cars and saw Kat talking with two police officers and a paramedic.
Mal nodded. “Let’s go over to them.” He increased his pace and got to the police officers before Damon. “I’m Mal Joiner. I helped push the two girls off the bridges. I’ll cooperate and tell you everything you want to know.”
“You keep your fucking mouth shut!” Ty yelled from the back of one of the police cars.
Mal looked at the police officer, “Hasn’t he got a broken arm? I’m surprised he’s not in an ambulance.”
“We’re not putting him in the same ambulance as his victim. He can wait for another, or we’ll take him. Why did you do it?”
“Shut the fuck up, Mal,” Ty screamed.
Mal ignored him. “Fit and Fighty offered us a thousand dollars each for every girl we pushed off bridges in Lorikeet Meadows and offered us management jobs afterwards. I was a runner on the national team but took performance enhancers and was thrown off the team. I said no at first. They convinced me that it was the only way a cheat could get a job in the fitness industry. I shouldn’t have listened and want to make it better. I’ll plead guilty. I’ll also write out tips to improve ankle and bone strength that are usually only kept for top athletes. I hope she’s just sprained it.”
The paramedic tilted her head and looked at Mal to see if he were lying. “I think you’re telling the truth. Her ankle’s badly swollen, but the bone doesn’t appear to have moved. I’d say it’s a simple fracture. She could use your notes on how to strengthen it, though. My cousin’s boyfriend actually replaced you on the national team. It’s such a small world. He was glad he got on, but said you were heaps better and wish they’d given you a second chance. He said there was a lot of pressure on you to keep winning.”
“You know Matt? Give him my best. Tell him I’m an idiot and he deserves the spot. I’ve made some bad choices but this was the worst. I deserve what I get.” Mal turned when he heard a car approach. “Fuck. I had to say it, didn’t I?”
Damon glared at him. “You need to stop swearing around women too, especially if you’re going to work for me later on.” Damon watched the Channel Seven News van drive in. “I do agree with your sentiments, though. I saw her report the earlier attack.” I hope my smile works on Meredith Wright.
Meredith waltzed over with a cameraman behind her. “I’m Meredith Wright from Chanel Seven News. I believe a young woman has just been rescued after being pushed from this bridge.” She flicked her flame-red curls. “Our hair’s almost the same colour. Did you rescue her Mr?” She gave Damon her best smile.
His was better. “Damon Knightly. No. My colleague, Katerina Chase, rescued her.”
“Oh, I’ll need to interview her. I was sure you’d be the hero in the story somehow, Damon.”
Mal nodded. “He is. He apprehended the bad guys. He defended himself against a professional boxer and chased down a disgraced Olympian runner who together pushed the two girls off the bridges.”
She smiled sweetly at Mal. “And how do you fit into this story Mr?”
“Mal Joiner.”
“Oh.” Wow! This story is bigger than I thought. “Did you push the girls off the bridges, Mal?”
“Yes. I shouldn’t have done it. I was offered a thousand dollars for each girl I pushed off the bridge and a managerial job at Fit and Fighty. I shouldn’t get away with it and neither should they,” Mal said looking directly into the camera.
“Strong allegations, Mr Joiner. Do you have any proof?” Meredith purred.
“A thousand dollars was transferred into my bank account last night and I have correspondence with them via text and email.”
&n
bsp; “There are many things I’ll need to talk with you about later, but first, tell me, Mal, how did Damon catch you? You were known as the fastest man in Australia. If you didn’t get greedy and want to be the fastest in the world, you’d still have that title.”
Mal flinched at her words. “That’s probably true. Damon is one of the fastest non-professional runners I’ve ever met. I couldn’t lose him although I tried. He stayed behind me until I ran into a dead-end street where he tackled me. He should be commended on that.”
Meredith pushed a flame red ringlet behind her ear. “Why the sudden change of heart, Mal?”
Mal looked into the camera again and not at Meredith. “I was going down a slippery slope; one bad decision after another. I feel dreadful and want to make it up to the world and to myself. If you’re an athlete and you cheat, even if you win, you haven’t. Don’t be tempted. Don’t make the mistakes I have.”
“Thank you, Mal.” Meredith turned to Damon. “Chasing down a former Olympian. You really are the hero, Damon.” The ambulance starting its engine took Meredith’s focus from Damon. She ran to the ambulance. “I need to talk with the girl.”
The driver shook his head. “She doesn’t want to talk with you at the moment. We’re taking her to hospital.”
Meredith huffed, “Fine. I’ll make an appointment to see her shortly.” She turned to Kat. “What can you tell me about the situation, Katerina?”
“Kat. Damon and I heard cries for help. We saw your previous story and believed another girl may be in danger. Two guys in fluoro singlets were running towards us and must’ve heard her cries too but ignored them. We decided that I’d help the girl and Damon would keep an eye on the runners. I climbed down the creek bank when I found her, called an ambulance and texted Damon.” Well, that part’s a lie. “I waited with her until the ambulance arrived and helped get her up.”
“Do you think this would’ve happened to her if she was running with a friend?”
“No, but…”
Meredith cut Kat off. “There you have it. It’s much safer to run with a running buddy than to run alone.”
“That is not what I said!” Kat glared at Meredith and turned to the camera. “This was not the runner’s fault! The people who pushed her and those who paid them are responsible. Please, don’t let the fear of being attacked stop you from doing something you love that is your right to do. You shouldn’t need to change your behaviour!”
Our Cause (Let the Monsters Live in Fear Book 1) Page 28
