My father had called me the next day when he
was told that I had finished feminine training. He was pissed. He
ranted at me for an hour before I finally told him that it was my
choice to go through with it. Of course he knew what the training
entailed and was NOT happy about me no longer being a virgin, but I
think most father’s expect their daughter to be virgins well until
old age, children or not.
I shivered and realized that I no long stood
under hot water, but something closer to lukewarm. I got out and
dried off and went searching for clothes. I know I had told Kyle I
wanted to go shopping but suddenly I didn’t feel like doing
anything so I crawled into bed and fell asleep.
A knock at my door woke me up. Still dazed
from emotional overload I shuffled to the door, grabbing a shirt
and pants as I went and looked through the peep hole and saw my
brother and dad. I threw open the door and jumped into my brother’s
arms. “Byrant!”
“Harry!” I led them into the room and shut
and latched the door.
Then hugged my father. “Hiya daddy, how was
the drive?”
“I’m never letting your brother drive
again.” He hugged me back.
“You say that but you let him drive all the
time.” I said at the same time my brother said “I told you I saw
the truck well before he saw me.”
He put up his hands and we both stopped.
“Baby girl why is your bed all messed up like you’ve been
sleeping?”
“I was trying the whole lazy thing today. I
don’t have anything to do today till this evening.” I lied
effortlessly. Daddy bought it but my brother on the other hand eyed
me suspiciously that said ‘liar, liar pants on fire.’ I rolled my
eyes and looked back at daddy.
“So where are you staying?”
“At Delta’s she and I have things to talk
about.”
“Be nice daddy, it wasn’t her fault that
Marcus did what he did. If anyone’s it would be mine.”
“NO!” I jumped at my father’s raised voice.
“Never think for a moment you are in any way responsible for that
man’s behavior.”
“Yes, father.” I always felt like a child
when he yells at me of course he hasn’t for months. Not since that
fight with Marcus and he was angrier that I didn’t kill Marcus.
“Now, baby girl you know I’m not angry with
you. But hey, I have to go to a meeting with Delta’s troop before
it gets too late. I’m going to grab a taxi. Bryant you are to be at
the house in an hour.”
“Yes sir.” He replied dutifully and I stuck
my tongue out at him as my father turned his back and walked to the
door and Bryant returned the gesture plus one.
“You two knock it off back there.”
“Yes sir.” We answered together then
proceeded to push each other.
“See you soon baby girl.”
“Bye daddy and don’t worry I’ll be careful.”
I watched him take a deep breath and suddenly he looked twenty
years older. I shut and latched the door after he left then spun on
my brother. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Like you have room to talk?” He pointed to
the bed then to my clothing. “In ten years you have never taken a
nap!”
“And how do you know?”
“Where are they Harley?” he was angry,
automatically and correctly guessing what caused my mood.
“I’m not telling and you leave them out of
this. What is going on with Marcus that you’re not telling me?”
“It’s not that I’m ‘not telling you’ it’s
just that it has happened recently.”
“What has?”
My brother took a deep breath and sat on the
edge of the bed. “There was a break in at your house. By the time
security got there who ever-”
“Whoever?” I cocked an eyebrow at him
“Marcus was long gone he got through the
system long before he set the alarm off and cleared any and all
pictures of you in the house and burned them. He then…Harley, he
killed Captain.”
I fell to the ground. I think I may have
fainted. Captain was a mastiff that I had found as a puppy. He was
sickly and so weak; I had nursed him back to health and began
feeding him. He now stood at my waist and weighed over two hundred
pounds. He was only two years old. “Captain.” I cried then I was
furious. “He was the only thing I knew for certain that I loved.
And now he's gone because that short dicked motherfucker! I’ll kill
him. Tell me where he is and this shit will be over.”
“Harley, we don’t know where he is. Like I
told you yesterday we had information that he flew into Cali, the
night before your break in occurred. There’s also more. A note
found on site said he knew where you are and who to go thru to get
to you.”
The faces of all the people who mean
anything to me flashed through my brain. “Kari?”
“She’s here, safe. We’ve closed the Phoenix
office and brought Kari, we took her directly to the safe
house.”
“And you and Daddy will be there as
well?”
“Yes, we want you to come with us?”
“No!”
“I knew you were going to say that. Why? As
if I didn’t already know.”
“One, I am here for my reunion, and two, I’m
pretty sure my future is a few doors away from here.”
“Are you really willing to risk them for
this?”
“Are you saying that I just leave them
unprotected?”
“They were both Marines, I’m pretty sure
they can take care of themselves.”
“When did you run the background?” I asked,
not even pretending to be shocked, I knew he’d do it, I also knew
he knew I wouldn’t, so if he found something he didn’t like I’m was
positive he would have told me.
“When you got the invitation.”
I stood, not knowing if I wanted to laugh or
hit him. “Bryant, look, I have spent roughly twenty-four hours in
their presence. Nothing has changed in my feelings for them.”
“Both of them? Harley?” He’s a smart man but
even this one blindsided him.
“Yes, no, look I don’t know. There was a
problem this afternoon, everything maybe ruined anyways, but I
think I’m going to like trying to find out where this goes.”
“But Harry, both of them, what’ll dad think,
what would have mom said?”
“Well I wouldn’t really know, but I’d hope
she would say ‘Do whatever makes you happy’ and as for daddy I hope
he and
MY brother
will be happy with whatever I choose to
do.”
“You know I will for a couple of reasons;
one, I know my baby sister can take of herself, and two, whatever
she leaves behind I’ll pick up.”
“Bryant, I know you will.” We hugged and it
was his way of saying he trusts me.
“Hey you never did open your presents?”
“Yeah it was a late night and how did you
know?”
“Open the one from me.” I grabbed the
presents and found the one from him.
I ripped into and “OH! BRYANT!!” To say I
was excited was an understatement. I was ecstatic. “This is the
phone I wanted. I was thinking about buying one before I left and
you and dad had me so busy…”
“Yes, yes you may love me now.” And he held
open his arms.
“I love you brother.” And I pounced into his
arms.
“Love you too. Now I have to head out, are
you sure you don’t want to come with me?” The worry back in his
brown eyes I shook my head. “I didn’t think so, but I told dad I
would ask.”
“Love you!” he just smiled and walked to the
door.
“Oh I almost forgot, here.” He handed me a
brief case that was similar to that of what a doctor would use.
“The full package?” He nodded, “it was
unnecessary but thanks.”
“I wanted you to be prepared.”
“Yes thank you.” I walked him to the door.
“One more thing…” I hesitated and I guess he read my mind.
“We are not supposed to say until after the
wedding.”
“But I don’t what them to fall in love with
a lie.”
“Well since we’ve know them since you guys
were young dad may let it slide, but you have to talk to him.” I
bit my lip and batted my lashes at him. “Yes, yes, I’ll bring it up
and see what he says.”
I smiled and pulled him down into a big hug.
“Thanks big brother.”
“You.” Was all he said as he walked out the
door, I laughed and skipped to the bed and opened the case. Inside
were two Glock .40s with five additional magazines and holsters,
and thigh straps, another set of throwing knives and beneath that
was a removal bottom hiding my range of poisons. Cyanide and
Arsenic of course, along with some rarer ones, ricin, three types
of nightshade belladonna, jimson and mandrake, rosary pea, hemlock
and odollum, they all were familiar to me and all very deadly.
I closed up the case and placed it in my
suitcase. I sat on my bed staring into nothing, but seeing
Captain’s big ole’ mug staring back at me; my eyes blurred with
tears then I lost my breath with despair and anger rolled into one
giant knot at the base of my throat.
I needed to hit something. I needed to kill
someone – Marcus!
So I tore opened the phone book and tried to
recall the name of the gym Carson had mentioned earlier, “Tom’s,” I
spoke as the name came back to me.
I found three Tom’s gyms nearby, so I sat
and made calls.
The first one I called would be pleased to
get me in, but they don’t have sparring abilities, the second one
was a boxer’s gym but had no woman to spar with me, and wouldn’t
even speak with me about sparring with a man. That one I thought
about going too just for spite.
The last one was apparently the right one.
“Yes, I know Kit Carson, he used to come in here a lot.”
“Great, I was hoping to find the right one.
He said you have sparing on site?”
“That is correct.”
“Great Tom, see you soon.” I hung up on
whatever he was going to say and grabbed my messenger bag and
headed out.
Then I stopped as I passed the mirror and
decided getting dressed would be the important part at this
particular moment. I quickly grabbed and threw on jeans and a tee
and strapped my tennies to my feet. My hair, unfortunately, can
never be rushed; I brushed it out with a wet brush so the curls
wouldn’t frizz and then pulled it all up in a pony tail that sat on
the top of my head.
Finally I was ready to go and I glanced at
the clock, only twenty passed two, I have been on an emotional
rollercoaster for the last twenty minutes and for someone like me
that’s not good. I grabbed my purse again and slid the key into the
pocket and left.
I had
hailed a cab and given him the address and sat back trying to see
the path we took, but being blinded by tears and anger. My new
phone was in my pocket; my brother had already seen to it that it
was activated as of this morning that would explain the lack of
texts and calls, but since my brother told me about Captain, my
phone has been blowing up with his texts. He was worried he said,
wanted to know if I was alright. I simply wrote back, ‘going to
blow off steam, no bullets here.’ Needless to say he’s called me
twice since that one. I finally told him I was alright and heading
to a gym, he said he’d come and fight with me.
I accepted the challenge.
For thirty minutes as I awaited my brother’s
arrival I had been hitting the same spot on the huge punching bag
and never once feeling better, I needed flesh to hit, but whether
it was the look in my eye or the simple fact that I was woman had
all the men keeping their distances.
As the punching bag swayed under my assault,
I thought back to when I got Captain and how tiny he was.
I had found him and three siblings during my
morning run out in the desert. It was already pushing eighty-five
at six am and when I saw the bag wiggle I knew something was
terribly wrong.
I heard the whimper as I approached the bag
and when I opened it there were four tiny little puppies inside. I
looked around for any other puppies but didn’t see any; I also saw
nothing but a set of tire tracks. I snapped a quick picture of the
tracks and grabbed the bag and ran back home.
I wasn’t sure of the breed, but I could
tell they were
very
young and not in a good condition. I
grabbed my phone book and found a vet near me and asked what to do
with abandoned puppies. She told me that I needed to bring them in
and so without hesitation I took them up to the vet’s and
waited.
It took them twenty minutes to get me in,
but the bad news was a very slim prognosis for all four. ‘I’m sorry
Ms. Shelton, but I don’t see how any of them will survive.’
‘
I don’t care; I’m willing to take the
risk. Tell me what I need to do.’ She gave me a list of products to
buy and a timing chart for feedings and how to keep them
clean.
Then wished me good luck with a sad
face.
I went to the pet store and left with four
hundred dollars’ worth of puppy milk and bed pads and then headed
to the home store to get a heating lamp and a box.
I got home with my haul and the little
puppies and I set out to create a place for them. I opted for my
closet, as it could be closed off if need be and it was close to
me. Then called my father and requested a few weeks off from work
and then had to explain the situation to him. He just chuckled
sadly and wished me well.
But the wishes fell on fates deaf ears.
By the end of the first night I had lost
one, the second and third ones didn’t make it to the end of the
first week.
I had buried them in my back yard.
The forth one I knew I over babied but I
wasn’t going to lose him, no siree.
By the third week I knew I had won and he
was going to be fine. The vet on our weekly appointment had even
congratulated me on my success on getting him to survive. She
simply said, ‘He’s stubborn like a captain on a sinking ship.’ And
the name stuck. Captain.
When I took him in for his shots at six
weeks I met my neighbor, who apparently had had a few mastiffs made
a comment ‘my he’s a handsome mastiff.’