I shouted my goodbyes to the boys, then stepped out of the door

Hey guys, I don't own holes, but that would be cool though. I just wanted to wish you all happy reading, and ask that flamers please keep their comments to themselves. Enjoy!

I shouted my goodbyes to the boys, then stepped out of the door. My equipment bag was digging a ridge in my shoulder, but I was all smiles, a good work out did that to me. Currently, I was exiting one of the more accredited Krav Maga, Muay Thai dojos in general Los Angeles area. It was my third workout so far this week, and today was Tuesday. My senseis were trying to get me shaped up to fight in an MMA tournament in seven months. I was promising, that much I knew. Today had been a basic conditioning workout, followed by three rounds with one of the guys that worked there. Training was always exhausting, but it was worth it. I turned a corner, only four blocks from my parent's apartment now. Right now, I was in work out sweats, and I had the hood up to hide my gender. Some parts of LA were always risky, even with cops around. My heart rate had slowed already, and I was nearly humming. Fighting, as ironic as it may be, put me in a good mood. A man in black jumped out of the alley, and I dropped my bag on the sidewalk as he grabbed me in a carotid choke. Reflexively, my muscles responded to the threat accordingly. I jabbed him in the eyes with my left hand, then grasped his arm with both hands. Smoothly, my legs bent, and I leaned forward. Smiling in anticipation, I straightened my legs and sent him flying over me. When I got to him, I stomped on his face, groin, throat, and kicked him several times in the general torso area. I knew what the bad guys used that choke for. He wanted to knock me out and take me somewhere. I'd teach him.

The jury let out a few shocked gasps at my testimony. I hadn't wanted to share the secrets of the fight, but the attorney for that worthless excuse for a human being questioned me about the man's injuries. He smiled; it was a gotcha smile, the kind that people only make when they know they've won. He was probably right too, the jury was wearing general expressions of horror when they looked at me, and pity when they looked at the man. I wouldn't blame them, except I was the one on trial. The attorney paced across the floor, "what happened next?"

I sighed, "A police came around the corner and stopped me."

He nodded, "how would you have continued if you had not been stopped?"

I set my jaw. If I told them what the extent of my training was, they would never let me out of here without putting me on a bus to juvie. "I plead the fifth."

Whispers flooded the crowd before me, and I struggled to keep the case blank. I remembered the headlines even now. "Promising MMA fighter puts LA man in ICU".

That had been my favorite, because it was the only one that hadn't been shocked at my gender. The attorney smiled like a fat cat, "no further questions, your honor."

Then my attorney stood up, and I had to smile. I liked this woman; she was smart and believed me. Her brothers both did MMA, and she understood my training, and my curriculum.

"Red, can you tell us why this man attacked you?"

She gestured vaguely to the man swathed in various casts and bandages. The other attorney stood up, "objection"

The judge sighed, and I could tell he didn't like this guy any more than I did, "yes?"

"Red is not the defendant's real name"

"Sustained"

I nearly groaned, I hated my name more than anything. My attorney knew it. "Lacey, why did he attack you?"

"Beats me."

"Did you do anything to incite this man?"

"Nope"

"What conclusions might his random attack lead you to draw?"

"That he was gonna knock me out and rape me in the back of a truck."

"Objection!"

The judge banged his gavel to gain control over the clamor that rose in the wake of my answer, "over ruled"

My attorney smiled, "Thank you your honor. Now Lacey, you would describe these injuries as a product of your self defense?"

"Objection, leading the witness."

"Sustained."

She tried again, "how would you describe this man's injuries?"

"I was just trying to defend myself from what I thought was attempted rape."

She nodded and winked at me, "Defense rests."

The attorney stood up, "Miss Lacey, you said you were defending yourself?"
"Yes."

"Don't you think that these injuries might go beyond the realm of self defense?"

"No."

He cleared his throat, "five broken ribs, a broken tailbone, cracked skull, bruised throat, cracked larynx, broken nose, bruised groin, punctured eyeball… am I forgetting anything?"

With this he turned back to the client, my attacker, and the disgusting man cleared his throat, "Collapsed sinuses."

The words came out raspy, and I sank in my chair. That was the first time they'd read the injuries out loud. Each one came back with stunning clarity, and I could guess which blows caused what. "Prosecution rests."

Finally, the grilling was over and I went back to my chair next to my lawyer. She nodded, and handed me a water bottle, "you did well"

"Not well enough, the jury hates me now."

"It's not that bad."

But I could hear the lie in her voice. The detestable attorney stood and called one of my sparring partners to the stand. I liked this guy, he was honest, great at grappling, and had a soft spot for me. He'd actually been my grappling trainer from the beginning, and was now a sparring partner as well. He took the stand, grinning easily. His very presence set me at ease a bit; after all, he was one of the five men in the world I'd have walk into a bar fight with me.

"You've worked at the East Side Dojo for how long now?"

"Five years."

"Do you meet a lot of talented fighters?"

"Well, when I go to tournaments, but there were only a few at our dojo."

"Is the defendant one of them?"

"Red? Yeah, lots of talent. Very promising fighter."

"How good would you say she is?"

"Well, standing up she's great, very fast on her feet, strong, killer left hook."

"How about on the ground?"

"Well, she's not quite as good there. She doesn't like going to the ground."

"Would you say she puts others on the ground?"

"Yep. Throws and sweeps. She learns them faster than we can teach her." So much praise made me smile. I'd never thought of myself like that, I'd known I had talent, but I didn't know the things he said. They made me blush.

"Would you say that she's lethal?"

"Yes."

"What is her fighting style like?"

"It's aggressive, fierce, and strong. Very good."

"Prosecution rests."

My lawyer stood up and I straightened in my chair. The praise was great, but I knew how it would be received by the jury.

"Pat, would you say that Lacey is abusive?"

"Never"

"Tell us, how long have you known Lacey?"

"As long as I've worked at the dojo."

"What's her personality like?"

He thought for a moment, "Well, she's a sweetie. Always smiling, joking. Very caring, once a boy had a bloody nose and she patched it up for him. She's very sportsmanlike. Responsible, mature, strong."

"Would she ever put an innocent man in the ICU?"

"Objection, leading the witness."

"Overruled, Miss Lacey is the one on trial, not your client."

"No. She would probably err on the side of not injuring enough to stop the attack."

"Would she put them in the hospital if necessary?"

"Yes. If she felt like her life was in danger, she would."

"Defense rests."

Pat was let off the stand, and he waved. I grinned, and then looked at my attorney, "will we win?"

She took a sip of water, eyes steely, "we have a fifty fifty chance. I think we've shown that you're loveable, and that you were defending yourself. But his list of injuries is impressive. Plus the policeman's testimony from earlier was damaging."

I groaned in remembrance. He'd said that when he rounded the corner, I'd been attacking the man like a wolf. Only twice as vicious. The jury had frowned at that one. My attorney listened carefully to the other's closing statement, but I didn't. I watched the faces of the jury. I was good at reading people, and I was trying to now. Some stared at me, disgust on their faces. The women in the group were glaring at the persecution attorney. Liz, my attorney, was right, it was pretty dang even. Finally she stood, and walked calmly to the front of the jury. I was so scared that I barely dared to breathe.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have presented my case as well as I possibly could. I have explained to you the situation. Lacey," here I knew she used my name just to soften the jury, "was coming home after an exhausting work out, when she was attacked. Notice even the prosecution has not denied she was attacked? That's beside the point. She was attacked, and five years of self defense training kicked in. She reacted in a way that disappoints the men of her dojo. One of her instructors said that lacey doesn't attack her attacker as much as she should. He also said that she was sweet and kind, ready to help anyone. When she was attacked, she responded with due force. When the police man happened upon the situation, he wrongly assumed that Lacey was the instigator. When the attacker was rushed to the hospital, he decided to charge the girl he'd attacked with undue force.

"This case is nonsense. Lacey acted in a way that everyone hopes their daughter will when met with an attack, defending herself. Now, simply because of her years of experience, her assailant is trying to put her in prison. You all know the facts. You will make the intelligent decision to let this girl walk free. It is the assailant that should be put on trial, for attacking with intent of rape." Voices and shouts rose at this word. The prosecution lawyer was on his feet, shouting, face tomato red. People were shouting, and I heard some cheering, others straining towards me. The judge smashed his gavel down again and again, finally gaining control over his courtroom. Liz smiled up at the jury, "Thank you for listening to this farce of a case, I trust you will make the right decision."

The jury deliberated for two hours, two stinking hours that I spent in the company of my parents, Pat, Liz, and my other instructors Bert and Kirk. Two hours that I spent sweating it out, worried over the verdict. They'd each told me a thousand times the jury would find me innocent, but I wasn't sure. The injuries were long and numerous. Bert patted me on the back, "Either way, I'm proud. You showed that sucker what's up. Even if you go to jail, I'm proud."

I rolled my eyes, "thanks Bert."

Finally the jury exited, faces masks of stone.

"Has the jury come to a verdict?"

"Guilty."

My world shattered. There was no way.

One by one they read off their decisions, and I counted, body shaking. We lost by two votes, and I could tell right now who voted me guilty. That bald man, that fat man, the black man, all men as far as I could see. The judge tapped his gavel to quiet the hum that arose in the courtroom, "Lacey Swanson, you are found guilty by a jury of your peers for undue force. You can now choose between One year at a juvenile corrections facility, or Six months at camp green lake for boys."

I wondered openly, "Why are you giving me the camp option if it's for boys?"

He sighed heavily, "Since you've proved you can take care of yourself, we're giving you that option as well. Juvie is dangerously full, and we don't know if they could take you."

I sighed, "Camp it is then."

Criticism is welcome!! Please review! Also, I need a beta reader, if you're interested, PM me!