Maybe it was the reflection on his cornea, or... perhaps the desperation in his washed-out eyes, or ... telepathy?  ‘cause she envisioned it so clearly, like watching on a screen, the powerful kick from behind, coming for her head with lightning speed.

She ducked to the side just a split second before it flew over. At the same time, her leg stretched back to push the Smiley Mask’s standing leg. That attempt barely made him budge, and there he was right back at it. It only gave her the time to get in a defensive stance, before he lurched towards her with an avalanche of punches and kicks, like an unleashed Rodtang: right jag, left round hook, low round kick, right cross, stormed abruptly towards her with impressive technicality. His stance - orthodox, his guard - tight, his jaw - tucked at all times, good footwork and powerful throws...  He was trained!

She had to pull off some serious slick Lerdsila moves to barely evade his strikes, leaning back and ducking while sliding to the side, and bouncing off as far away from him as possible.

“Woow, woow, easy there, tiger,” she rashly tried to calm him down, taking cover behind the couch and making peace signs with both her palms open in front of her.

The sudden withdrawal seemed to have stopped him in place, on the other side of the couch.

“So, you’re a pro... Kickboxing, ha... Nicolina Club? … or perhaps Scorpions?”

Silence...

“But I’m a cop!  You don’t wanna assault a cop, do you?”

This made him recoil for a second - it was barely noticeable, but it was there. That was the cue. She had to keep pushing, not giving him time to think.

“Look, I have no business with you,” she continued with an honest confessional tone, “but I can’t let you kill him‚ ‘cause I wanna kill him myself. My way! Now, I’ve already called back up!  They’ll be here in, like… 2 minutes. So, how about you call it a day and leave his sorry ass to me...”

Fainted sounds of sirens made him turn his head towards the door behind him. Meanwhile, she was watching his every move with hawk eyes. Good. He’s evaluating his options...

“I suggest you hurry! Your job here is done anyway…”

He turned back to look at her, still not fully convinced of her good intentions, but the approaching sirens finally made him back down.

“If you pull anything funny again...”

“I’m not,” she reassured him with innocent eyes, putting her hands up. “Consider it as my gift. And kid, take my advice and get out of this sh!t before you f#ck up your life! Stick to training, enter competitions, make something good out of yourself! You got good skills! Don’t waste it!”

After a quick moment of hesitation, he busted out the door - a wild engine roar, violent tires screeches, and off he went.

She turned back to Dante and untied him without saying a word.

“Thank you,” he said, standing up after finally being released.

Her “You’re welcome” was a well-placed cross jab in his left jaw that made him stumble to the side.

“That’s for Amy!” she thundered.

“Oh, my God! Amy! How is she?” he mumbled with half a mouth while caressing his burning cheek. He seemed genuinely concerned, though...

“She’s fine now,” she answered hesitantly, avoiding his gaze for some reason, before walking away. 

                                                                               End of Scene 

Author’s Thank You Note

I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Please look forward to the next episode.

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I’ll be waiting for your feedback, comments, and theories.

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