Chapter 12: The Man From San Francisco
Of course, Nicki hadn't come to the realization that she had to avenge her mother's death on that day. On both a conscious and subconscious level she had been arming herself for the conflict since the day it happened.
She began by renting Enter the Dragon, against her father's wishes. After he went to his job she watched it twice in one night, purely looking for the ways in which Bruce Lee was able to channel his energy and will into an indomitable force. She even practiced some of his moves,, though she could muster nowhere near the power he could. To help with her training some more, she rented some of the books Lee had written about the art of Jeet Kune Do, and memorized the passages that seemed best suited to her plan. She made sure to place an emphasis on practicality; she wasn't studying martial arts for fun or to look good, she was doing it so she could kill a person.
Eventually Dr. Bell had caught on, and forbade her from continuing. She didn't know why at the time, but knew she had to keep going. Luckily, his heavy work schedule meant that in the short periods when he was at home, he was sleeping. Whenever she had time, Nicki would stretch and practice in the backyard.
Then came the day she knew her training had paid off. A pair of bullies approached her in the school hallway. No one else was around, so they thought they would have an easy time. They were wrong. As soon as one of them approached her, Nicki put her fists up. It was only as a warning; she knew her father would find out if she attacked anyone. However, this boy didn't listen to it.
He put both his hands up, intending to push her to the floor. Instantly, she fell to the side and kicked the back of his knee, adding to his momentum and sending him crashing down. The second boy now came up, intending to do more damage. As his arm came out in a punch, she grabbed it and twisted it behind his back. Nicki was prepared to hold this position, and even the first boy recovering couldn't stop her; she lifted her foot up, stopping just before her leg reached his throat. He took the hint and ran off.
The remaining boy screamed in agony, and begged to be let go. However, Nicki wasn't letting him off so easy. "I don't want to ever see you again," she said. "I won't be so merciful next time." With that she let him go, and he ran off to join his partner.
For the rest of her time in that school, Nicki never saw the boys again. She took pleasure in knowing they were probably running whenever they either saw or thought they saw her coming. It made her feel very good to know she had that kind of power, and could use it. In fact, the two of them must have spread the word around, as quite a lot of people gave her a wide berth after the incident. She didn't care; as long as her father didn't find out, she was happy.
All that was in the past now, and she could focus totally on the task at hand. She sent out a general message through the entire Internet, asking anyone who knew about Beatrix Kiddo to write back to her. She knew it was a flawed tactic, and would likely only result in a bunch of hoax letters, but she didn't know what else to try. If it really was Beatrix Kiddo she was after, the woman likely wouldn't be known by that name wherever she was.
Indeed, in the next few days Nicki received quite a few hoax letters, but was determined to wade through them until she found some clue. It came a week later in the mailbox. Nciki found a letter with no return address, addressed to her. Before her father could see it she took it to her room and opened it. It began, "I assume you are the daughter of Vernita Green. In this case I desire very much to see you." After that came directions to a trailer outside of Austin, Texas. The letter was not signed, but the mention of her mother's name showed that this was no prank. Whether it was Beatrix herself or simply someone who knew where she was, Nicki was closing the gap.
Of course, Nicki hadn't come to the realization that she had to avenge her mother's death on that day. On both a conscious and subconscious level she had been arming herself for the conflict since the day it happened.
She began by renting Enter the Dragon, against her father's wishes. After he went to his job she watched it twice in one night, purely looking for the ways in which Bruce Lee was able to channel his energy and will into an indomitable force. She even practiced some of his moves,, though she could muster nowhere near the power he could. To help with her training some more, she rented some of the books Lee had written about the art of Jeet Kune Do, and memorized the passages that seemed best suited to her plan. She made sure to place an emphasis on practicality; she wasn't studying martial arts for fun or to look good, she was doing it so she could kill a person.
Eventually Dr. Bell had caught on, and forbade her from continuing. She didn't know why at the time, but knew she had to keep going. Luckily, his heavy work schedule meant that in the short periods when he was at home, he was sleeping. Whenever she had time, Nicki would stretch and practice in the backyard.
Then came the day she knew her training had paid off. A pair of bullies approached her in the school hallway. No one else was around, so they thought they would have an easy time. They were wrong. As soon as one of them approached her, Nicki put her fists up. It was only as a warning; she knew her father would find out if she attacked anyone. However, this boy didn't listen to it.
He put both his hands up, intending to push her to the floor. Instantly, she fell to the side and kicked the back of his knee, adding to his momentum and sending him crashing down. The second boy now came up, intending to do more damage. As his arm came out in a punch, she grabbed it and twisted it behind his back. Nicki was prepared to hold this position, and even the first boy recovering couldn't stop her; she lifted her foot up, stopping just before her leg reached his throat. He took the hint and ran off.
The remaining boy screamed in agony, and begged to be let go. However, Nicki wasn't letting him off so easy. "I don't want to ever see you again," she said. "I won't be so merciful next time." With that she let him go, and he ran off to join his partner.
For the rest of her time in that school, Nicki never saw the boys again. She took pleasure in knowing they were probably running whenever they either saw or thought they saw her coming. It made her feel very good to know she had that kind of power, and could use it. In fact, the two of them must have spread the word around, as quite a lot of people gave her a wide berth after the incident. She didn't care; as long as her father didn't find out, she was happy.
All that was in the past now, and she could focus totally on the task at hand. She sent out a general message through the entire Internet, asking anyone who knew about Beatrix Kiddo to write back to her. She knew it was a flawed tactic, and would likely only result in a bunch of hoax letters, but she didn't know what else to try. If it really was Beatrix Kiddo she was after, the woman likely wouldn't be known by that name wherever she was.
Indeed, in the next few days Nicki received quite a few hoax letters, but was determined to wade through them until she found some clue. It came a week later in the mailbox. Nciki found a letter with no return address, addressed to her. Before her father could see it she took it to her room and opened it. It began, "I assume you are the daughter of Vernita Green. In this case I desire very much to see you." After that came directions to a trailer outside of Austin, Texas. The letter was not signed, but the mention of her mother's name showed that this was no prank. Whether it was Beatrix herself or simply someone who knew where she was, Nicki was closing the gap.