by Bella Lamour
She reacted before she could think. She slid down the side of the hill on her butt, then bolted towards the stream. Calling on every ounce of athleticism she had, she picked up a rock and threw it at the closest attacker. It beaned him right in the shoulder and he stumbled.
“Hey assholes!” She cried. “You’re so brave with five against one! Why don’t we even it out a little?”
A couple of the others slowed to look back, and that gave Julie enough time to pull ahead, away from danger. When they figured out they had lost their target, they started to close in on Yuki.
She reached down and grabbed two more rocks from the ground. Looked like it was time to see if all of McAnany’s self-defense lessons had done anything.
The one she had hit with a rock reached her first, and she dodged as he lunged at her, kicking at his side as he went sailing past. Unfortunately that put her off balance, allowing the next thug to backhand her pretty viciously. She went down to one knee, but used her disadvantaged position to slam the rock in her hand into his crotch.
She stood as he went down, only for strong arms to wrap around her waist and lift her up. She let out a cry and kicked wildly, but the arms only squeezed harder. That was, until there was a loud thud and the crushing grip fell away. Gasping, Yuki turned to see McAnany standing behind her with his ever-ready baseball bat.
“I am too goddamn old for this,” He spat.
Yuki didn’t have time to retort; the remaining two attackers where launching themselves at their targets. McAnany managed to fend his off with uncannily accurate blows to the hooligan’s shin and face, but Yuki’s didn’t even get to her.
There was a shrill cry, and suddenly Julia was on the back of the final thug, her arms wrapped around his neck in a triangle choke.
She was screaming a stream of curses so thick that even McAnany looked surprised, but Yuki couldn’t help but be impressed as the woman held on until the assailant passed out.
Now that the danger had passed, she got a good look at the red headed woman. Julie was sporting a pretty viscous black eye, cuts on her brow, and lip, rips in her shirt and jeans, as well as what looked like a very nasty gash on her collar. But her smile was still illuminating as she stumbled forward and hugged Yuki tightly.
“I thought I was dead.” She wept, burying her face in Yuki’s hair. “I thought they were going to catch me, and kill me.”
“You’re safe,” The Asian woman soothed, although inside she was raging. Dozens of thoughts and questions flew through her mind. How did they find Julie? How did they even know she was involved? Were they going to hurt anyone who ever helped Yuki? Could they be that powerful? “It’s okay now.”
McAnany was already picking over the groaning gangsters. When he found one that was suitable, he crouched over them and yanked them up by their collar.
“Why were you chasing this girl?”
“I dunno man. We were just paid to rough up some ginger chick.”
“Yeah? Who paid you? Huh?” He slammed the bat down next to the kid’s head for emphasis.
“Man, I dunno. Igs just tells us who we’re supposed to hit and we do it. I don’t know nothing.”
“Don’t know anything.” Julie corrected under her breath.
“Were there any other hits ordered?”
“Yeah, I think so. Maybe? Some broad downtown.”
Yuki looked sharply to Julie. “Do you know mother’s address?”
“Yeah, I’ve been there a couple times since everything went down.”
“Good. Let’s get there. Fast.”
“Yeah,” McAnany muttered before hitting the informant in the side of the head with the bat. The two women stared, surprised, but he just shrugged. “He had it coming. Let’s go.”
They peeled out in the van. There were only the two front seats in the surveillance van, not counting the rolling chairs in the back, so Yuki insisted the injured Julie sit up front to give directions while she crouched between the two of them, behind the gearshift. McAnany sped through the streets expertly, only slowing down in school zones. Within fifteen minutes, they were pulling up to a split house but each moment was drenched in painful anticipation. Was Rachelle okay? And what if she wasn’t?
They were pouring out of the car before Yuki really had an answer to that question, but her stomach dropped when she saw the door had been busted open. She dashed in, only to see an utter whirlwind of destruction. Tables were overturned, cabinets smashed, everything that could be broken was.
“Rachelle! It’s Yuki! Are you home?”
There was a faint, garbled cry from another room. Focusing, Yuki ran in its direction. She found the woman on the floor in the kitchen. For a moment, the med student’s heart stopped, but she quickly noticed the woman was breathing steadily despite her mashed face.
Yuki automatically slid into medic mode, kneeling down beside the battered woman. “Rachelle, we’re here. We’re gonna take care of you, okay.” Now for the orders. “McAnany, you call the cops and an ambulance. Julie, get me any sort of clean dish cloths lying around and ice packs.”
“Gotcha.”
“Now Rachelle, I know this is gonna hurt, but I need you to tell me if you can feel all of your limbs.”
“Yes,” She wheezed between badly split and swollen lips.
“Do you remember them hitting your back at all? Did you fall on it?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Alright, if you can, just wiggle each finger and toe for me. I know it sounds silly, but it’s important. Okay, honey?”
Her eyelids fluttered, but she managed to move them all. Concentrating, Yuki felt along her spine for any injuries. As far as she could tell, there wasn’t much trauma to the woman’s back. But if she was wrong…
There was no time to worry. Judging by blackish-purple bruising on Rachelle’s forearm, the woman had at least a fracture. And the side of her head was still bleeding too profusely to ignore.
“Alright Rachelle, I need you to take a deep breath. I need to roll you onto you back, okay?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She took in a long exhale and Yuki used all of her strength to gently rock the woman prostrate. Even still, Rachelle let out a terrible wail of pain.
“I know, I know. It hurts. But we’re going to start fixing that now. Okay? We’re gonna make it all better.”
Yuki moved her injured arm into as natural a position as possible. Rachelle winced slightly, but the med student was able to gently adjust the limb without causing too much discomfort.
Julie crouched down beside her, setting down a bowl full of ice packs and dish cloths. Yuki wrapped one of the cold bags in the protective fabric, and set it on the swelling arm as softly as she could.
“Alright, Julie, I need you to find me two long wooden spoons. Or any sort of utensil really. Just make sure they’re at least eight inches long and roughly the same size.”
She scurried off to do that, and Yuki busied herself with tearing one of the cloths into long strips. When Julie returned, Yuki asked her to hold the spoons on either side of the broken arm, and began trying them in place in a makeshift splint. Once it was secure enough, she padded the splint with the rest of the dish rags to prevent skin injury.
“I don’t know how you’re staying this calm,” Julie breathed, her voice shaking.
“I’m not calm,” Yuki hissed. “I am so angry, I’m having a hard time not biting through my lip. But now is not the time for that. This is Rachelle’s time. We owe that to her.”
The woman muttered something that sounded a lot like you better believe it, and Yuki gave her the warmest smile she could muster.
“You did amazing, Rachelle. Now your only job is to just lay here, nice and still until the ambulance comes. Think you can do that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Awesome. Now Julie is gonna get a nice, cool damp cloth for you, and we’re gonna try to get all this blood all your face so you don’t feel so gross. Okay?”
She breathed out
heavily in response.
Julie jumped up, rushed to the sink, and was back within a breath. Slowly, Yuki dabbed at the worst of the stickiness. She revealed a few deep gashes as she went, that must have been where all the blood was coming from. Yuki nodded to Julie, who took one of the few remaining dish cloths and pressed them to the wounds while the med student continued to gently clean.
Finally, the faint echo of sirens sounded in the background.
“Do you hear that, Rachelle? The medics are here now. They’re gonna take care of you.”
Even still, it was hard to let go of her as the actual medical professionals streamed in. It wasn’t until they put her on a stretcher that Yuki relinquished her grip.
“What if they target her in the hospital?” Yuki murmured. “She can’t be alone.”
“I’ll ride over with her, then make sure she has only officers I approve of on guard.” McAnany offered.
“Really?”
He nodded. “You girls jump in the van and drive straight home. Lock the doors. Don’t answer them for anyone but me and White. It’s not gonna be long before they figure out who I am and where I live. Your plan is working, but we have to finish it fast before they finish us.”
Yuki nodded. “Please, be safe.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m too old and too angry for this cowardly assholes. I’ll be fine.”
Yuki stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, before grabbing Julie’s still bloody hand and pulling her to the van. They peeled out despite the shouted protests of the ambulance staff, and headed straight for McAnany’s brick home.
Now that Rachelle was safely being transported to the hospital, Yuki’s tears started flowing freely. She was so infuriated, she could hardly think. How far were these cretins willing to go? Every time she thought they had done their worst, they just did more.
They didn’t deserve the police sting she had been planning. They deserved pain. They deserved to be tortured and hurt like they did to everyone Yuki cared about. Her hands gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles cracked. Something within her snapped. She no longer wanted revenge through justice.
She wanted blood.
They pulled into McAnany's driveway, and Yuki helped Julie out of the car. She barely got the injured girl in and seated on the couch to be treated when Detective White burst in.
“McAnany just called me. They attacked your coworkers?”
Yuki raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. But when there was no continuation, she figured that the retired Detective had kept true to their plan and not divulged that they had been antagonizing Buck and his crew.
“Only the two who stood up for me at the club.” She answered half-heartedly, heading to the kitchen to get some ice packs and a damp cloth.
“We couldn't just stand by and see them malign her character and pander to those rapists.” Julie supplied. “That seemed to make them think we were worth hurting.”
“I'm so sorry,”
“Don't worry about it. Kinda makes me feel like an action hero or something. Wait until my little brother hears about this.” She winked. “Besides, now I get to be taken care of by you, so that's a definite perk.”
Yuki rolled her eyes. “Just shut up and put these ice packs where it hurts. I'll get all that blood off your face.”
“Finish up with that and then I'm taking you out to the countryside.”
Their heads both snapped to Detective White. “What?”
“You heard me, it's too dangerous here. They're escalating at a rate that we can't react fast enough to. You're endangering everyone you know and yourself. I'm taking you to a hideaway where you can lay low until I can crack the stone wall they’ve built.”
“But-”
“No buts. I'm drawing a line, Yuki. It's too dangerous here.”
The Asian girl glowered at him. She couldn't have her revenge in the middle of nowhere! Running with her tail tucked between her legs was just letting them win and go one to terrorize another woman. But she recognized a battle she couldn't win and her mind spun with a solution. Looked like it was time to call upon all her hostess-bred lying skills. “Fine. But can we at least wait for McAnany to come home? I...I need to say goodbye to him. We've grown close.”
White's permanently professional expression faltered. “Fine. I think I can allow that.”
Yuki gave him a blinding smile. “Thank you. There's leftover meatloaf in the fridge if you're hungry.”
“Oh, grab me a plate!” Julie called after him. As soon as he was out of the room, she dipped her head next to Yuki's. “If I know you, which I do, you just lied straight to his face.”
“Shh, be quiet.”
“What are you planning, you devious little devil?”
“Remember how I was going to show you how to break into a cadaver lab?”
“Yeah?”
“That's going to happen tonight.”
The microwave dinged from the kitchen and they pulled apart as Xavier walked in with two loaded plates. “Did you want anything Yuki?”
She shook her head. “I'm busy tending to our patient here. I'll eat later.”
“I, however, am plenty hungry,” Julie said. “And will eat for the two of us.”
They settled into a comfortable silence, Yuki clearing away dirt and blood from Julie's cuts then applying band aids while the other two ate. At one point she took a break to go up to her bathroom, but she was back before too long.
She could tell that Detective White was getting anxious waiting for McAnany. It started with him glancing out the window every fifteen minutes, then it evolved to tapping his foot. Then checking his watch.
“How about a cup of coffee?” Yuki suggested as she finished up the last bandage on her friend.
“How did you know?” Xavier said with a smile.
“Oh, me too!” Julie chirped yet again. Yuki laughed, and took both of their plates into kitchen. She set McAnany's kettle on the stove and assembled the peculator like he had taught her to. While the water was boiling, she took the sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed to her and crushed them with a spoon. While overdosing was dangerous, she gave him a larger amount than recommended.
It only took a few more minutes for the coffee to finish, and she poured it into two very different mugs. “Hey guys, sugar or cream?”
“Black.”
“A whole ton of sugar and some milk if you got it!”
That made it even easier to remember which was which. Quickly Yuki wrapped up preparing the two drinks and took them to her friends.
They both drank contentedly, and Yuki busied herself with warming up a plate of leftovers for herself. She sat down on the couch and tried not to stare obtusely at Detective White.
“I'm going to miss you,” Julie murmured, looking over the edge of her mug forlornly.
Yuki blushed slightly. “We'll still see each other, when this is all over.”
“Will it ever be over?”
“Yeah. It has to.”
“Do the two of you have so little faith in me?” Xavier asked.
“It's not so much a lack of faith in you, as a lack of faith in a system so easily corrupted.” Yuki supplied. “The powerful seem to be untouchable, and the weak must break the law themselves to get justice.”
“That sounds very defeatist.”
“But do you think they're wrong?”
“Who're wrong?”
“The weak, who break the law to get the justice they deserve. The powerful people who hurt them break the law all the time. Is it wrong for their victims to do whatever they need to survive?”
“That's a dangerous road you're treading down, Yuki. If we sink to their level, are we any better than them?”
“Depends on how you look at it. They've assaulted at least three innocent women, you and killed a domesticated animal. Serving in kind to them is more like dispatching of dangerous monsters with a taste for blood.”
He leaned forward, as if he was going to stand. “Now listen here, Yuki...�
�� He trailed off, then looked to the coffee in his hand. “Did you...did you drug me?”
“Sorry,” She apologized, tears pricking at her eyes. “I couldn't have you stop me.”
“Don't do this Yuki. Please, don't become like them.”
“I have to, so no one else becomes like me.”
The expression on his face was one of sadness and utter disappointment before he slipped into unconsciousness.
“Holy shit, Yuki. I can't believe you did that.”
“I know. He's never going to forgive me.” She let out a long sigh and stood. “Are you sure you're up for a college heist?”
“Are you kidding. I wouldn't miss it for the world.”
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath, clearing out the fear, weakness and regret. “You won't be there for the end, you know. You can't. If this goes right it's just going to be the three of them, and me.”
She nodded. “I understand. As long as I get to help you pull off whatever it is you're planning, I'm down.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Now let's go get everything you need, nerd.”
*
Rape Victims are 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Yuki looked up at the science wing of their building. It wasn't unusual for cramming students to spend overnights in the labs. But it was unusual for a student on medical leave to be lurking around campus at night.
“Wow, fancy place here. You never told me you were going to be a doctor.”
“I didn't tell you a lot of things.”
“True. So what are we waiting for?”
They were both leaning against one of the weeping willows on campus, watching the south entrance intently. “My student card won't work. We just have to wait for a guy to head for the same entrance, make sure we approach at the same time. Chances are he'll hold the door open for us.”
“Smart.”
“I've been accused of that before.”
Then again she wasn't sure how smart it was to rely on the probability that a male student would be crossing by. Luckily, she didn't have to run the chance statistics too many times in her head before someone came along.
