Rogue Alliance

THIRTEEN



Shyla woke to what sounded like a brawl just outside her second storey bedroom window. She glanced at the luminescent red digital numbers of her bedside clock. 12:30 AM. What was the deal? What was she going to have to do to get a solid night’s sleep?

At least this time she didn’t have a hangover. She’d made herself stay away from the liquor cabinet all evening, just to prove that she could. It was the first sober night she’d had since she found out she was relocating to Redding.

There was one solid bang, like something solid had been rammed into metal. The rumble of loud voices reached her ears. It sounded like a group of boys arguing.

Untangling the sheets from her legs, she stumbled out of bed. Peeking through the shades, she gave a few hard blinks and tried to focus her sleepy eyes.

There were four teenage boys surrounding a smaller form near the garbage dumpsters. She squinted and caught a brief glimpse of their captor, a girl with mid-length, dark hair and thick legs poking out from a very short mini-skirt. They were taunting and poking at her, grabbing her from both front and back.

Shit. I’d better get out there, she thought. Quickly pulling on a pair of jeans, she skipped shoes then rushed out the front door and down the flight of stairs.

“Hey,” she called out, “let her go.”

All four boys turned but held their positions encircling the girl.

As Shyla approached, her earlier suspicions were confirmed; the girl they were harassing was the very same one she’d busted the other night at the Walgreens. Figured.

Two of the boys looked startled, maybe a bit frightened and they took a step back as Shyla approached. One boy seemed indifferent, as if this were just an everyday occurrence in his boring life. But the fourth, the shortest one who had a tight grip on the girl’s upper arm, gave an amused grin.

“No,” he said simply.

Shyla wished she had her gun and badge. They often spoke louder than words.

“I said let her go. Now,” she warned.

The boy’s smirk faded.

“F*ck off, lady. Turn your ass around and go back up to your apartment or you’re gonna get a little piece of us, too.”

Shyla ignored his warning and stepped forward. She knew her action would cause his reaction. She was counting on it. When he let go of the girl, stepped forward and grabbed Shyla’s t-shirt, she mirrored his movements and grabbed him by the front of his thin jacket. The sound of his nose breaking when she head-butted him in the face didn’t faze her. In the blink of an eye she, she had him on the ground face-down, blood gushing from his nose, his arm twisted behind his back.

His friends stood back, their faces gripped in shock and awe. They hadn’t had the time or the wherewithal to react.

The girl looked half terrified, half delighted. She stood shaking with an odd grin on her face and both hands to her cheeks.

Shyla sat on top of the boy, one knee digging in at the spot between his shoulder blades.

“I warned you, buddy,” she said, “now are you going to bug this girl anymore or are you just going to be smart and go home?”

He struggled beneath her weight.

“Jesus, lady, we were just messing around. I’m going to call the cops and sue your ass. You broke my goddamn nose.”

Shyla dug her knee in a bit deeper.

“You know what? I don’t think that you are going to call the cops, because my version of what was going on out here will be a lot more interesting to the authorities than you having a broken nose.”

She looked up at her audience.

“Don’t you think?” she asked them.

They all stared at her like she was the anti-Christ. She looked back down at her captive.

“But, if you really want to go that route,” she said, “feel free. I have no problem telling the cops what you boys were doing to this girl and the threats that you threw at me before you attacked me. I was just defending myself. You see?”

“Attacked you? You attacked me!”

“What? That’s crazy. I was going to help the girl and you grabbed me by the shirt. Isn’t that what happened?” She looked to her audience again. This time there were a few hesitant head nods.

She felt the boy’s body slump as he realized his defeat. He would not be saying anything to make this already embarrassing and complex situation any worse. Satisfied, she slowly stood up and stepped toward the girl protectively.

“Go ahead. Get up and go home. This has been fun and all, but I have to work tomorrow and I’m tired.”

The boy jumped to his feet and wiped the blood from his nose. It was already starting to congeal and crust up around his nostrils. He straightened his shirt and jacket then gave one final look in Shyla’s direction before he turned away. She could see the mix of anger, confusion, and bruised ego in his eyes.

She watched the small group slowly walk off with their shoulders slumped. She knew the dynamics between them would change after a night like this.

“Holy shit! That was awesome.”

Shyla turned toward the girl. Dark mascara and eyeliner encircled her wide eyes. She had a hand on her jutted out hip and looked at Shyla like she was waiting for answers or an explanation.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Shyla asked.

“Not really,” the girl shrugged, “a couple of them pinched me pretty hard but it’s nothing that won’t heal. They’ve bugged me before but never like that. I think they were going to…”

“Don’t worry about that,” Shyla said. She knew what those boys had intended to do, “they won’t be bothering you again anytime soon.”

“Dang right they won’t,” the girl scoffed, “not after that. Where did you learn to do that?”

“I’m a ninja by night,” Shyla quipped and turned toward her apartment. She suddenly wanted to get away from the girl’s curious and perceptive gaze. She had already seen too much.

She heard the girl’s hurried footsteps as she followed after her.

“Hey, wait. I’m serious. How do you know how to do that stuff? Who are you? Where did you come from?”

The barrage of questions made Shyla nervous. She paused and turned toward the girl again.

“It’s really not a big deal. I took a couple of self-defense classes in college. Anybody could do it. I’m just a secretary. Now you need to be scootin’ and get your butt home. And speaking of home - why aren’t you there now? Why do I keep finding you out in the middle of the night knee-deep in trouble? Don’t you have school or something tomorrow? Do your parents know where you are? Do I need to make a phone call and have them pick you up?”

The girl rolled her eyes.

“Like they would give a shit where I am or what I’m doing. Go ahead. Call ‘em. They’ll be pissed at you for waking ‘em up. And no, I don’t have school tomorrow. It doesn’t start till next week.”

Shyla cocked her head and looked at the girl closer. She was trying to act like she didn’t care about her parent’s indifference to her well being, but Shyla could see the underlying pain. It lay just under the surface of all that bravado and heavy make-up.

“What’s your name?”

The girl looked at Shyla with trepidation.

“It’s Carmen. What’s yours?”

“Shyla. Come on upstairs for a minute. I’ll get some shoes on and drive you home.”

Again, Carmen hesitated.

“Sure,” she said, “but only if you teach me some of those moves.”

Shyla wanted to laugh out loud. This girl had spunk. She wanted to spank the little twerp.

“Fine,” she sighed, “but you have to promise me that I’m not going to catch you out past nine o’clock at night anymore. You’re thirteen. Your butt should be in bed. Not mingling on the streets with boys five, six years older than you.”

“Deal. You won’t catch me out anymore,” Carmen gave Shyla a clever little grin.

“Very funny, but I’m serious. I’ll turn you in next time.”

Carmen’s smile faded slightly.

“Aww, gee. You’re no fun. Fine. It’s a deal. I’ll stay in at night. And you’ll teach me kung fu or whatever.”

Shyla finally cracked a smile.

“Come on. Let’s get this show on the road. My feet are freezing.”