by Angus McLean
Mike caught the first one across his jaw before he dodged back and sideways, blocking the rest as he moved. He whipped off his jacket and tossed it aside, bringing his fists up and assuming a fighting stance.
‘So you wanna party, mate?’ Mike said, watching as Ben ducked and weaved before him. ‘Is that the story?’
‘No story, straight to bed,’ Ben replied, still ducking and weaving like a dancing snake, ‘lights out!’
He came in for a big strike at the jaw but Mike caught it with a forearm and moved it past him, pushing Ben away as he did so.
‘Lights out,’ he scoffed, ‘your switch is broken, young fulla.’
‘Yeah? How about this?’
Ben came in with a jabbing left fist to cover a snap kick to the front, and again Mike caught it with a forearm, sidestepping at the same time so he took the force of the kick on his hip rather than his groin.
‘You’re pretty good,’ Ben acknowledged as he danced back.
‘I know.’ Mike sized him up, moving around him and looking for a weak point. ‘You know the cops are looking for you.’
‘I know. They’ve been to my house.’ He smiled. ‘I wasn’t there.’
‘I know.’ Mike feinted with a left cross and clipped him hard across the jaw with a right cross that rocked the other man back.
Ben hissed with anger and surprise, and darted in rashly. He landed a couple of left jabs to Mike’s torso and went for a right jab to follow, but Mike had anticipated that too. His left came up and swiped the cross down and away, pulling Ben in closer and off balance.
Mike’s big right uppercut came up and smashed into his nose, spraying blood across the floor and snapping Ben’s head up, perfect for the left hook that followed, thumping into Ben’s right ear and knocking him flat to the ground.
The younger man rolled sideways and Mike moved with him, ready to go again. Ben’s leg flicked out and swept Mike’s left leg from under him, dropping him awkwardly to the mat. Mike rolled and came up, straight into a front kick that slammed into his chest and sent him back down.
Ben moved in as Mike rolled sideways again, and a follow up kick caught him in the ribs, hard enough to empty his lungs with a hollow thud. Mike rolled again, and again, managing to dodge a stomp aimed at his head. He reached out and grabbed Ben’s right foot, digging his fingers in and twisting it savagely.
Ben cursed and turned with the move to save his knee, allowing Mike to push him away and scramble to his feet. Both men were flushed and breathing heavily now, and there was no backing down.
Mike edged around, bringing his breathing under control and watching the other man’s eyes. Some fighters watched the hands, but Mike had always worked on the basis that the eyes were the window to the soul. Most fighters broadcast a move through the set of their eyes, and Ben was no exception.
Mike saw the next move coming and had half a second to prepare before it even happened. Ben came at with him with a front snap kick towards the groin followed by a swinging back kick to the head, which would almost take the head off at the shoulders if he’d managed to pull it off.
He got the snap kick out but felt it get blocked low with crossed forearms, stopping the move dead. He tried to pull his leg back but Mike grabbed it, twisted and yanked to pull him off balance, and dumped him flat on his back on the floor.
Ben let out a loud explosion of air, tried to roll sideways, and got half to his knees before he got hit again. A big hook exploded stars in his head, then another came along and let off skyrockets. He shook his head and turned to look for the truck that had just hit him.
Mike hit him again, driving his fist square through the nose and flattening it across Ben’s face.
Ben dropped to the floor again, groaning with pain and blood flowing freely down his face and front. He rolled and tried to get up, breathing heavily, but the fight was gone from him and they both knew it.
‘Now,’ Mike said, standing over him, ‘you and me are going to wait here for the cops, alright? And when they get here, you’re going to tell them all about how you came round and assaulted my mate, aren’t you?’
Ben dribbled blood onto the floor mat and nodded his head weakly. He spat again and moved his jaw gingerly. He turned his head to look up at Mike, his eyes intense with sadness.
‘Why did you guys have to interfere?’ he asked heavily, ‘you’ve ruined everything. You’ve ruined my life.’
Mike sneered at him and made a scoffing sound.
‘Whatever, mate. You caused all this yourself. We got paid to do a job and we did it. Any fallout from that is nobody’s fault but your own.’
They eyed each other for a moment, the tension easing.
‘It’s time for you to grow up,’ Mike continued, ‘if you didn’t want to be with that girl, don’t be with her-simple. But once you start messing round with people’s emotions, you’re asking for trouble.’
A wan smile broke across Ben’s bloodied face.
‘You have no idea what you’re dealing with, do you?’ he said.
Mike scoffed at him again as he took his phone out, assuming he was talking himself up.
‘Why don’t you just shut up and wait for the cops.’
Chapter Eleven
As soon as the Police arrived at the gym, they took both Ben and Mike into custody. Ben was handcuffed and taken out to a patrol car once his ID was confirmed, while Mike was taken into an office and spoken to by a constable.
He explained the reason for his being there, and the fact that Ben had assaulted him when he tried to apprehend him, and the cop made notes in his notebook.
‘You tried to apprehend him?’ the cop asked, ‘for what?’
‘Assault, like I said before. He’s wanted for assaulting my partner.’
‘I know that, but why are you trying to apprehend him? I mean, why you specifically?’
‘Why me?’ Mike looked confused. ‘Why not me?’
‘You have no power of arrest, you’re just a civilian like everyone else. You should have called the Police.’
‘Yeah, well, the Police weren’t looking for him.’
‘How do you know we weren’t looking for him?’
‘Well, you were, but not very hard. I found him in no time, and I’m just one guy.’
The cop stared at him and Mike stared back, then figured he better not antagonise the cop any further and looked away. The cop made some more notes in his notebook.
‘And when he ahh...assaulted you...what did you do, Mr Manning?’
Mike didn’t like the way this was going now.
‘I defended myself. He’s some kind of a kung fu dude and he attacked me. I had to defend myself, and I did.’
‘So you’re responsible for his injuries then? The broken nose etc?’
Mike sat back and contemplated that one for a minute.
‘Am I under arrest?’ he asked, and the cop shook his head. ‘So I’m free to go?’
The cop shook his head again, with a slight smile this time.
‘Not really, no.’
‘What d’you mean, not really? Either I am or I’m not.’
The cop said nothing.
‘Then I’m going,’ Mike declared, standing up.
The cop also stood up, and put his notebook and pen away.
‘Just stay here,’ he said calmly, and Mike shook his head.
‘No. I’m going. Give me a business card and I’ll email you a statement.’
He headed towards the door and the cop took hold of his arm.
‘Look fella-’
The office door opened and Buck appeared. He looked at both of them, looked at the cop’s hand on Mike’s arm.
‘Tony, got a minute?’ he said to the cop.
They stepped outside the office and Mike could hear hushed voices for a minute. The door opened again and Buck gestured at him to follow. Mike ignored Tony and followed Buck out to the car park. They stopped near Mike’s WRX.
‘Are you an idiot?’ Buck asked, and Mike felt his ch
eeks flush. ‘Were you trying to get arrested in there?’
‘No...’
‘You need to learn that we’re on the same side,’ Buck told him firmly, ‘when the boys turn up to a job you’re at, you’ve gotta pull your head in and tow the line, understand? As far as they could see, you beat that joker to a pulp and broke his nose, so they could arrest you for assault.’
‘It was self-defence, Bucko.’
‘Yeah, I know, all you need to do is explain it to them. As soon as you start not co-operating, it looks like you’ve got something to hide. That’s when you end up in the slammer and lose your license. Get it?’
Mike’s cheeks still burned, but he nodded anyway.
‘Yep, got it. I did tell him though, I could email him a statement.’
Buck made an exasperated sound.
‘Don’t be an idiot. Just go home, or back to work or whatever, and I’ll catch up with you later for your statement.’ He shook his head with frustration. ‘As if I haven’t got anything else to do.’
Mike nodded and got into his car. He watched the patrol car carrying Ben leave the car park, and fired up the engine. He thought about what Ben had said to him at the end there.
You have no idea what you’re dealing with, do you?
Was it just the guy talking himself up? he wondered. Or did it mean something else?
Mike pushed the thought aside and dropped the hand brake. The guy was a jerk, of course he was talking about himself.
Chapter Twelve
Molly brought a cup of tea to Dan’s desk, put a chocolate wheaten biscuit beside it on the blotter, and gave him a smile. He liked tea and biscuits, but he liked her smile better.
‘Mmm, chocolate bikkies,’ he grinned, ‘is that in the office budget?’
‘It’s in the treats budget,’ she told him, perching on the corner of his desk.
Dan took a sip of tea and patted her knee.
‘Oh, you’re a good girl Mol, you’re a good girl.’ He gazed at her for a moment. ‘I don’t know why you waste your time with a guy like me, but I like it that you do.’
She swatted his nose with her finger and scolded him.
‘Don’t say things like that, I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t love you, would I?’
He hiked his shoulders and grinned boyishly.
‘Now do some work while I pop down to the post box. Won’t be long.’
She scooped some mail off her desk and headed off, knowing that he was watching her backside as she did so. And she liked it that he did.
Dan took the first bite of his biscuit and dropped crumbs down his shirt, trying to grab the ringing phone at the same time.
‘Good morning, Chase Investigations, how can I help you?’
It was Mike. He quickly filled Dan in on the capture and arrest of Ben, with obvious pride in his voice, and Dan grinned to himself.
‘Good work mate,’ he said, ‘that’ll learn him. Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, no dramas mate. I’m on the way back now, you can buy me lunch.’
Dan laughed.
‘Don’t you worry about that, son. See ya soon.’
They rang off and he took another slurp of tea before returning to the computer. He had a couple of email enquiries to follow up on, then he would call Buck and get some more info on the arrest. One thing at a time.
Down at the Post Shop Molly dropped the mail in the slot, cleared the PO box, and headed back upstairs to the office. She heard footsteps on the stairs behind her but ignored them as she scanned the mail. Just a phone bill, a couple of bank statements, and what looked like a file from an insurance firm.
She opened the office door, stepped inside and said to Dan, ‘Did I miss anything?’
He started to reply without looking up, then she felt something nudge her in the back. As she started to turn the pressure increased and she was pushed into the office.
Dan leaped to his feet, seeing a young woman he didn’t know pushing her way into the office behind Molly. She gave Molly a hard shove and kicked the door closed behind her.
They both saw the steak knife in her hand and the wild look in her eye. She was well dressed but had mussed up blonde hair and no make-up, giving her a somewhat dishevelled look.
Dan knew immediately that she was mentally disturbed, and that they were in serious trouble. He came around the desk with his hands out in front of him.
‘What’s going on here?’ he asked softly, ‘who are you?’
He continued forward, even as she raised the knife in front of her, and he held her eye contact.
She didn’t reply, just stared at him with that crazy look in her eyes.
‘My name’s Dan,’ he told her, ‘what’s yours?’
‘I know who you are,’ she spat, gesturing with the knife at him, ‘you’re the man!’
‘Which man are we talking about here?’
‘You’re the man that ruined my life! You took away the only thing I love!’
‘Okay...’ Dan edged forward further, one hand out in front of him and the other gesturing at Molly to get behind him. She stepped around him, keeping an eye on the woman as she did so.
‘Now I have nothing!’
‘What exactly did I take away from you?’ Dan asked calmly.
‘Ben! You took away my Ben!’
It all dawned on him now.
‘You must be Kerry,’ he said, ‘I’ve heard a lot of lovely things about you.’
‘Shut up!’ she screamed suddenly, waving the knife in front of her and taking a step towards him.
Molly let out a shriek as well, recoiling with fear.
‘You took my life away from me, and I hate you! I hate you!’
‘Hey, look,’ Dan said softly, ‘you need to talk to your Dad about all this, okay?’
‘I hate you!’ she screamed, and lunged forward with the knife, slashing at him.
Dan weaved and caught her wrist with both hands, twisted it around, and tried to shake the knife from her grasp. She arched around and grabbed at his face, screaming like a banshee, and dragged her fingernails across his face.
Dan pulled his head back, increased the pressure on her wrist, and saw the knife drop free. He grabbed her elbow with one hand and held the wrist with the other, locking her arm straight, then drove forward and down, using his body weight to drive her down across the back of one of the soft chairs.
He twisted her arm up behind her back and locked it in tight beneath his chest, her screams almost deafening in the confined space. Her free hand scrabbled at him but to no effect.
‘Stop struggling,’ he said calmly in her ear, ‘if you don’t stop struggling you’re gunna get hurt, okay? Stop fighting me and just behave.’
Molly was already on the phone to 111 and as soon as she was finished, she came over.
‘The Police are on the way.’
‘Good, ta. Can you just get me some string or something to tie her hands please. Try that duct tape in my drawer.’
Kerry Standen’s screams began to ease off into sobs, at first small sniffling ones then big choking ones that wracked her frail body.
Dan held her arms while Molly strapped her wrists together behind her, then they sat her down in the chair and Dan stood over her.
The Police arrived at the same time as Mike, who ran in looking worried. That changed to confusion when he saw the small, crying woman wrapped in tape.
‘Kerry Standen,’ Dan told him, and Mike’s eyes widened. ‘She came in with a knife.’
Mike nodded slowly as things fell into place.
‘Did she get you?’ he asked, pointing towards Dan’s face.
‘Fingernails.’ Dan touched his face and his fingers came away bloodied. ‘Man, I was having such a pretty day today, too.’
He stepped back as a couple of uniformed cops hauled Kerry to her feet and started to remove the tape to handcuff her.
Molly stood aside, holding herself and watching nervously as the cops arrested Kerry and walked her from the office
. It seemed so surreal; such a bizarre, extraordinary thing to happen in the place she came to work every day, the business she had built with her husband.
Dan and Mike were acting almost normal, as if this happened every day to them, which just added to the bizarreness of it all. She watched as Dan wiped his face carefully with a hankie and touched his strapped ribs briefly, wincing as he did so, then pulled a straight face before turning towards her.
He took her in his arms and pulled her close, protectively, letting her feel the safety and warmth of his body. She stayed there, feeling his heart beating in his chest and his breathing still recovering to normal, and let herself be protected.
Chapter Thirteen
‘Kerry Standen has a history of mental illness,’ Dan said, easing his legs out in front of him on the couch. He was just back from the Police station, and ready for dinner.
‘Really?’ Mike said with more than a touch of sarcasm, ‘you don’t say.’
‘Yes,’ Dan replied, frowning, ‘I do say.’
Mike grinned as he crossed to the back door with a plate of chops in one hand and BBQ tongs in the other.
‘She’s supposed to be on medication but doesn’t always take it apparently, and has self harmed before.’
‘You could see the scars on her wrists,’ Molly said, coming from the kitchen with a glass of Riesling for herself and a Corona for him.
‘Apparently old Ben was her first serious boyfriend for a while, and the family were basically all hoping they’d get married and settle down and that would help her keep on track. Obviously he wasn’t the right choice, and when she realised he was in trouble and probably going to jail, it flipped her out.’
‘Did it what.’ Molly sipped her wine and let the smooth fruitiness envelope her tongue before sliding down her throat.
Mike came back inside with an empty plate, the BBQ sizzling and smoking behind him on the deck.
‘And old man Standen obviously knew about all that, but didn’t bother telling us?’ His lip curled with disdain. ‘It might’ve been nice to know, aye?’
