"You see, ladies, it really doesn't matter how big they are," Alicia said
with a bright smile as she held her opponent down with one hand. Her
fingers were against a pressure point and he did not want those fingers to
come together again. Once was all he needed to understand that he would
spend the rest of his life in this position if that were what she desired.
"As we've been telling men for years, size really doesn't matter. It *is*
how you use it."
That got a ripple of laughter from the women in the room. Alicia let Paul up and thanked him for being a good sport. He was a police officer that worked with the self-defense portion of the community outreach program. It had started a few years after martial law had ended in Seattle as a way for people to start trusting police again. Paul enjoyed his extracurricular activity, but sometimes he wished he had gotten something else rather than working with Alicia Raleigh. He rubbed his arm dramatically and asked to be reminded to never volunteer again. That got another laugh as Alicia sat down on the mat, facing the semi-circle of women of the Hope Found Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence.
Alicia could pick out the newcomers immediately. They still had that hangdog expression like none of this really mattered. *He* was going to show up at any moment and take her away and beat the hell out of her again for daring to leave. The ones that had passed that point seemed a little dazed to be there. It was as if they had woken up that morning to realize that they were living out their best dream and their old life was a nightmare. The ones ready to leave the shelter smiled a lot during these sessions. They might not know if they would remember their lessons if attacked again, but that wasn't the point really. The point was to make them see that they didn't have to be victims ever again. They would never believe they deserved it. They would try to fight back.
"Women always have a major tactical advantage," Alicia continued. "Surprise. A man is not going to think that a smaller woman is going to be able to hurt him. But you know that you can. The knee. The eyes. People say the groin, but that's myth. It hurts them, but it might not disable. You take out someone's knee and they are not getting back up." She paused so that her next words would have greater impact.
"And the men that used to abuse you certainly won't be expecting it either. They'll expect you to yell out self-empowering slogans and that you don't have to take this anymore. They won't expect you to snap their knee without breaking a sweat. You've all been hit before. Most people are afraid to fight because they are afraid to get hurt. You ladies are one up on them because you know what it's like to take a punch. You know you'll heal. You'll heal and when you do, they'll be the ones afraid of you."
"Yeah!"
"Right on!"
"We talking serious payback!"
The women were encouraged to express themselves. Alicia was proud of the ones that would get fired up enough to shout out during these sessions. They had come a long way from the frightened little mice that crawled into this place, too afraid to speak their mind lest they be beaten for "being smart". It was amazing what a difference three months could make.
Alicia supposed that most of them thought she had been abused in the past and that was why she had started volunteering at the shelters in Seattle, teaching the women there self defense. They knew that she was married to a great guy now, but they figured that there must have been something awful in her past. Technically there was, but it wasn't abusive the way they thought of abuse. In any case, what they assumed was way off base. Alicia had started teaching when she met a woman that had finally been willing to fight back.
Tuesday mornings had always been her personal time. She had been taking them off for years so that she could get away from the kids and the house and even Zack. She needed time to herself and Tuesdays were the perfect time to do it. She supposed it was a lot like when she was at Manticore and would slip away sometimes at night and climb their tree and just watch the moon and the stars and not think about missions or training or the others. She would just be Alicia then, nothing more and nothing less.
About ten years ago, Alicia was at one of her favorite Tuesday morning places. It was a small café that served really good teas and pastries. Alicia would come in and read while enjoying a cup of tea. One of the waitresses there was a young woman that was always showing up with fresh bruises. Sometimes it would be just on her arms or she would walk with a slight limp. Alicia knew what bruises looked like when fingers caused them and she knew from painful experience that was exactly how one walked after taking a good shot to the kidneys. Sometimes the girl would be fine for several weeks in a row and she would be all smiles and sunshine. Then the clouds would roll back in and the rounds of bruising and limping would start up again.
Then one Tuesday, Alicia noticed that the girl had come in with a rather spectacular black eye. Alicia expected that the cycle would be the same, but this time it was actually different. As the bruise faded to green to yellow and then finally gone, she wasn't all sunshine and smiles again. She seemed more watchful and worried, and she wasn't being re-injured again either.
A few weeks later, Alicia found out why. A man came storming into the café, screaming and hurling papers at the young waitress. Alicia caught a glimpse at the header on one of the papers. Dissolution of Marriage. She had gotten the nerve up to file for divorce. He was quite obviously unhappy with the turn of events. The manager, a small nervous man himself, told the soon to be ex that he had to leave. He yelled back that he wasn't leaving without her or else. She cowered for a moment at the "or else" but then straightened her shoulders and yelled at him to go to hell.
He seemed surprised for a moment and that gave her the courage to continue. She yelled at him to get out. She hated him. She was never going back to him. He better get used to that. She was getting a divorce and never wanted to see him again. Alicia supposed he got tired of her audacity and drew back one heavy hand to slap her. A hand suddenly gripped his wrist, not letting him go.
"I believe," Alicia said calmly as if they were discussing the weather, "that the lady asked you to leave." She knew she shouldn't get involved. It wasn't her business. But the girl was trying. She should get some points for trying.
The man glanced down at the petite blonde gripping him. "Stay out of this, bitch, or you'll be getting some too," he spat at her. He tried to jerk away, but the gentle clamp on his wrist turned to iron, grinding the bones together.
He gasped at the sudden pain. "Last chance," she said with a little mocking smile, showing every bit of her confidence that he would be better off to back down at her command.
He swung around, his meaty fist aiming directly for her face. She wouldn't be so high and mighty when her nose was spouting blood. Alicia heard the little waitress scream, but it was all over in three seconds. Alicia sidestepped as she simultaneously spun under his extended arm, causing it to twist painfully. His momentum only served to get him off balance and bent forward. Alicia drove her leg brutally into his mid-section, knocking the wind out of him. She drew back rapidly, the second kick going square into his face. Alicia let go of him and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious.
Alicia was a little embarrassed by the incredulous stares that she was getting. The place was far from crowded, but the other server and the manager were gaping at her like she was inhuman. Well, she was, but she didn't want to draw attention to that fact. Staying in the background and not being the center of attention was a very deeply ingrained habit and a protection as well. Helping wasn't the wisest of ideas but Alicia just didn't want to see the girl get beat up when she was actually making a stand.
Alicia smiled at the waitress. "Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I needed to get my check. I have a few errands to run before I get the kids from school."
From that innocent start, Alicia had found something that she still enjoyed and found to be challenging. A few weeks later, Alicia went back to the café and the waitress had come up and sat down with her. She introduced herself as Trudy and told Alicia how she had left her abusive husband and went to Hope Found and how it had changed her life. She had been amazed that a woman could really get a man down, just like on TV. Would Alicia be willing to teach other women at Hope Found how to do what she had done to Trudy's ex?
It started out at HF and then went to other shelters. Alicia had taught hand to hand before to norms back at Manticore. There were lots of things that women could do that didn't require super strength. The shelter directors were told that she had been in the military and learned all of this there. They were just happy to have a woman coming in for free and teaching these women. The women at the shelter didn't trust male instructors and a woman with this kind of knowledge and self-confidence was hard to find. Alicia had gone from teaching self-defense to a de- victimization program where they were taught to stop thinking of themselves as victims, making them lose that self-image. And it was helping. Several women had come back and reported using what they had learned. Mostly it was how they weren't afraid to walk through a parking garage anymore. They were confident in themselves. One beaming woman told about how her ex came after her and he slapped her. That was it. She went off on him and two seconds later he was one the ground, begging for mercy.
It had been over ten years and Alicia found herself giving the same lectures over and over but they were always unique in a way, tailored to the group she was currently teaching. She sat on the floor and continued her lecture to them. "The best thing to do is to never get into a conflict. If you feel confident in who you are and what you can do, then there's a better chance that a conflict won't occur at all."
"Alicia?" Debbie, one of the other counselors, poked her head in the room. She continued when she saw that she had Alicia's attention. "Daniel's on the phone. He said it's very important." She held out a cordless phone.
Alicia jumped up and grabbed the phone. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked in greeting, hoping that nothing was wrong with Tanya or the baby.
The other women in the group saw their cheerful confident instructor turn a sickly greenish-white as she listened. "Oh, God," she whispered, taking a step back as her knees threatened to buckle.
"Alicia?" Debbie asked, thinking that she was about to throw up or faint. Alicia's eyes met hers for a moment and Debbie began backing off. The last time she had seen that kind of expression on a human face, it was when her ex-husband was strangling her after he found out about the restraining order. There was absolutely no mercy in those ice blue eyes that had always been warm and friendly at the shelter. She would have sworn the temperature dropped ten degrees. Debbie didn't get an answer. Alicia's fingers opened, releasing the phone. She was out the front door before it could hit the ground
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mr. Hamilton, I must say I am quite impressed. This kind of vision in a man of your age is quite amazing. I am expecting exceptional things of you in the future, you know."
Jon grinned at the head of a major English bank. "Mr. Dent, I can assure you that I am expecting exceptional things of me as well."
The dozen other suits in the room laughed. They were investors looking into the resort and the one that was in the process of being built. One of the bankers that were financing the construction of the new resort had been talking to him about the possibility of a third once the new one was up and profitable and he had gathered together some people that might be interested. There was a defunct place in Colorado and Jonathan Hamilton's genius at these places might be what was needed to bring it back. A lot of money could be made and they were all very interested in seeing what this young man was capable of doing.
"I am surprised you are willing to leave here," Mr. Sheron said, gesturing about to indicate the casual luxury of the resort. Sheron represented a Canadian investment firm and he was now thinking that since nothing was in concrete about Colorado, it would be very possible to encourage the resort location to be in Canada.
Jon smiled. "As nice as it is here, there's something waiting for me back in the States that I have had my eye on for a long time and will be worth the move."
Sheron raised an eyebrow. "Something? At your age, it should be a someone."
The other men laughed gently and Jon pretended to be embarrassed. "I have been trying to get the lady to marry me since I was sixteen," he said. His grin widened. "Negotiations have just about concluded on that contract and she's now waiting for me to get back so we can finally make it formal and probably get married this summer before the new resort officially opens." All of them men could respect a romantic notion combined with good business sense.
"Now, gentlemen," Jon said, standing, "I would appreciate it if you would all be my guests for dinner tonight. My head chef turned the restaurant here from a place where you could get a merely extraordinary meal into an gourmet's paradise."
The other men began to stand, quite pleased that Dent had convinced them to show up. This kid knew exactly what his priorities were and how to run a resort of this nature. There were still quite a few details to be looked over, but not one doubted that the place in Colorado would be a stunning success in a few years and not only would it give them a good return on their investments, but also a place where they could take their girlfriends and mistresses and get treated in style.
The conference phone beeped from the side table where it had been put out of the way for a reason and a receptionist's voice came over the intercom. "Mr. Hamilton, there's an important call for you. He said it's important."
Jon flushed slightly. "Charlotte," he said through gritted teeth, walking over to the phone so he could speak quietly. "I gave very explicit instructions. Was it not clear when I said absolutely no interruptions?" This was embarrassing. If these guys didn't think he could control his staff here, how was he going to be able to handle three staffs on two continents?
"Yes, sir," she squeaked, "but it's from America and he said it was an emergency."
Jon barely heard her. "Tell whoever it is that I'll call back."
She clicked off and then came back on a few seconds later, sounding exasperated. "Mr. Hamilton, he wanted me to give you a message and said he would hold for two minutes."
Jon almost groaned. Why was it when things went perfect, they had to go to hell over the tiniest little thing? The investors were looking at him curiously now on how he was going to handle the situation. "And the message is?" he asked sharply.
"Sir...these were his exact words and he insisted I give this to you exact," she stumbled out and then took a breath. "He said, 'Jon, it's Daniel, pick up now'." She winced on the other side. Her boss was a very nice man usually, but he did not like anyone to shorten his name and would correct anyone, no matter who they were, and ask that he be called by his given name.
The investors were expecting a scathing retort and then an escort to dinner among sighs of annoyance that it could be so hard to get good help. They weren't expecting him to hit the line button, cutting off the receptionist and picking up the blinking hold light. He didn't even waste the time to take it off of speaker.
"Daniel?"
"Jon..."
"Where's Heather?" Jon interrupted before Daniel could say another word.
"We're at St. Luke's," Daniel answered quickly. "Aunt Jhondie's hospital. Heather and Cole were brought in a few minutes ago. They...they, uh..."
Jon wasn't aware that his skin color was now the same as the snow outside. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?" he yelled into the phone.
"She was shot," Daniel said bluntly. Jon grabbed the wall, for a moment thinking he was going to be sick. "Jhondie said she wasn't critical, but she was taken up to surgery a few minutes ago. We're not sure about Cole yet, but Heather's not going to die, and I wanted to let you know what was going on."
"I'm on the next flight," Jon muttered, clicking the disconnect button. He dialed his secretary's extension. Thank God she hadn't taken the day off like she thought she was going to.
"This is Ruth," she answered pleasantly.
"Ruth, I'm going to the airport now," Jon said. "When I get there, call me and tell me what flight I'm on to New York City."
"Oh," she said, surprised. Jonathan didn't just take off wildly. Ever. Even when he was dating that obnoxious model, he didn't just go running off with her. The only time he had ever come close to doing that was with his current girlfriend and that had only been once almost a year ago. "Well, okay. But don't you need to pack?"
The question didn't surprise Jon in the slightest. Ruth probably could tell him how many pairs of socks he owned. She was getting a huge raise and bonus to move when he went to the new resort mostly because he didn't know how he could run a business without her. "That's what FedEx is for," Jon answered and without a word to any of the investors, walked out of the room. A few minutes later he was in the garage, spraying gravel as he tore out of the resort, heading for the airport.
That got a ripple of laughter from the women in the room. Alicia let Paul up and thanked him for being a good sport. He was a police officer that worked with the self-defense portion of the community outreach program. It had started a few years after martial law had ended in Seattle as a way for people to start trusting police again. Paul enjoyed his extracurricular activity, but sometimes he wished he had gotten something else rather than working with Alicia Raleigh. He rubbed his arm dramatically and asked to be reminded to never volunteer again. That got another laugh as Alicia sat down on the mat, facing the semi-circle of women of the Hope Found Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence.
Alicia could pick out the newcomers immediately. They still had that hangdog expression like none of this really mattered. *He* was going to show up at any moment and take her away and beat the hell out of her again for daring to leave. The ones that had passed that point seemed a little dazed to be there. It was as if they had woken up that morning to realize that they were living out their best dream and their old life was a nightmare. The ones ready to leave the shelter smiled a lot during these sessions. They might not know if they would remember their lessons if attacked again, but that wasn't the point really. The point was to make them see that they didn't have to be victims ever again. They would never believe they deserved it. They would try to fight back.
"Women always have a major tactical advantage," Alicia continued. "Surprise. A man is not going to think that a smaller woman is going to be able to hurt him. But you know that you can. The knee. The eyes. People say the groin, but that's myth. It hurts them, but it might not disable. You take out someone's knee and they are not getting back up." She paused so that her next words would have greater impact.
"And the men that used to abuse you certainly won't be expecting it either. They'll expect you to yell out self-empowering slogans and that you don't have to take this anymore. They won't expect you to snap their knee without breaking a sweat. You've all been hit before. Most people are afraid to fight because they are afraid to get hurt. You ladies are one up on them because you know what it's like to take a punch. You know you'll heal. You'll heal and when you do, they'll be the ones afraid of you."
"Yeah!"
"Right on!"
"We talking serious payback!"
The women were encouraged to express themselves. Alicia was proud of the ones that would get fired up enough to shout out during these sessions. They had come a long way from the frightened little mice that crawled into this place, too afraid to speak their mind lest they be beaten for "being smart". It was amazing what a difference three months could make.
Alicia supposed that most of them thought she had been abused in the past and that was why she had started volunteering at the shelters in Seattle, teaching the women there self defense. They knew that she was married to a great guy now, but they figured that there must have been something awful in her past. Technically there was, but it wasn't abusive the way they thought of abuse. In any case, what they assumed was way off base. Alicia had started teaching when she met a woman that had finally been willing to fight back.
Tuesday mornings had always been her personal time. She had been taking them off for years so that she could get away from the kids and the house and even Zack. She needed time to herself and Tuesdays were the perfect time to do it. She supposed it was a lot like when she was at Manticore and would slip away sometimes at night and climb their tree and just watch the moon and the stars and not think about missions or training or the others. She would just be Alicia then, nothing more and nothing less.
About ten years ago, Alicia was at one of her favorite Tuesday morning places. It was a small café that served really good teas and pastries. Alicia would come in and read while enjoying a cup of tea. One of the waitresses there was a young woman that was always showing up with fresh bruises. Sometimes it would be just on her arms or she would walk with a slight limp. Alicia knew what bruises looked like when fingers caused them and she knew from painful experience that was exactly how one walked after taking a good shot to the kidneys. Sometimes the girl would be fine for several weeks in a row and she would be all smiles and sunshine. Then the clouds would roll back in and the rounds of bruising and limping would start up again.
Then one Tuesday, Alicia noticed that the girl had come in with a rather spectacular black eye. Alicia expected that the cycle would be the same, but this time it was actually different. As the bruise faded to green to yellow and then finally gone, she wasn't all sunshine and smiles again. She seemed more watchful and worried, and she wasn't being re-injured again either.
A few weeks later, Alicia found out why. A man came storming into the café, screaming and hurling papers at the young waitress. Alicia caught a glimpse at the header on one of the papers. Dissolution of Marriage. She had gotten the nerve up to file for divorce. He was quite obviously unhappy with the turn of events. The manager, a small nervous man himself, told the soon to be ex that he had to leave. He yelled back that he wasn't leaving without her or else. She cowered for a moment at the "or else" but then straightened her shoulders and yelled at him to go to hell.
He seemed surprised for a moment and that gave her the courage to continue. She yelled at him to get out. She hated him. She was never going back to him. He better get used to that. She was getting a divorce and never wanted to see him again. Alicia supposed he got tired of her audacity and drew back one heavy hand to slap her. A hand suddenly gripped his wrist, not letting him go.
"I believe," Alicia said calmly as if they were discussing the weather, "that the lady asked you to leave." She knew she shouldn't get involved. It wasn't her business. But the girl was trying. She should get some points for trying.
The man glanced down at the petite blonde gripping him. "Stay out of this, bitch, or you'll be getting some too," he spat at her. He tried to jerk away, but the gentle clamp on his wrist turned to iron, grinding the bones together.
He gasped at the sudden pain. "Last chance," she said with a little mocking smile, showing every bit of her confidence that he would be better off to back down at her command.
He swung around, his meaty fist aiming directly for her face. She wouldn't be so high and mighty when her nose was spouting blood. Alicia heard the little waitress scream, but it was all over in three seconds. Alicia sidestepped as she simultaneously spun under his extended arm, causing it to twist painfully. His momentum only served to get him off balance and bent forward. Alicia drove her leg brutally into his mid-section, knocking the wind out of him. She drew back rapidly, the second kick going square into his face. Alicia let go of him and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious.
Alicia was a little embarrassed by the incredulous stares that she was getting. The place was far from crowded, but the other server and the manager were gaping at her like she was inhuman. Well, she was, but she didn't want to draw attention to that fact. Staying in the background and not being the center of attention was a very deeply ingrained habit and a protection as well. Helping wasn't the wisest of ideas but Alicia just didn't want to see the girl get beat up when she was actually making a stand.
Alicia smiled at the waitress. "Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I needed to get my check. I have a few errands to run before I get the kids from school."
From that innocent start, Alicia had found something that she still enjoyed and found to be challenging. A few weeks later, Alicia went back to the café and the waitress had come up and sat down with her. She introduced herself as Trudy and told Alicia how she had left her abusive husband and went to Hope Found and how it had changed her life. She had been amazed that a woman could really get a man down, just like on TV. Would Alicia be willing to teach other women at Hope Found how to do what she had done to Trudy's ex?
It started out at HF and then went to other shelters. Alicia had taught hand to hand before to norms back at Manticore. There were lots of things that women could do that didn't require super strength. The shelter directors were told that she had been in the military and learned all of this there. They were just happy to have a woman coming in for free and teaching these women. The women at the shelter didn't trust male instructors and a woman with this kind of knowledge and self-confidence was hard to find. Alicia had gone from teaching self-defense to a de- victimization program where they were taught to stop thinking of themselves as victims, making them lose that self-image. And it was helping. Several women had come back and reported using what they had learned. Mostly it was how they weren't afraid to walk through a parking garage anymore. They were confident in themselves. One beaming woman told about how her ex came after her and he slapped her. That was it. She went off on him and two seconds later he was one the ground, begging for mercy.
It had been over ten years and Alicia found herself giving the same lectures over and over but they were always unique in a way, tailored to the group she was currently teaching. She sat on the floor and continued her lecture to them. "The best thing to do is to never get into a conflict. If you feel confident in who you are and what you can do, then there's a better chance that a conflict won't occur at all."
"Alicia?" Debbie, one of the other counselors, poked her head in the room. She continued when she saw that she had Alicia's attention. "Daniel's on the phone. He said it's very important." She held out a cordless phone.
Alicia jumped up and grabbed the phone. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked in greeting, hoping that nothing was wrong with Tanya or the baby.
The other women in the group saw their cheerful confident instructor turn a sickly greenish-white as she listened. "Oh, God," she whispered, taking a step back as her knees threatened to buckle.
"Alicia?" Debbie asked, thinking that she was about to throw up or faint. Alicia's eyes met hers for a moment and Debbie began backing off. The last time she had seen that kind of expression on a human face, it was when her ex-husband was strangling her after he found out about the restraining order. There was absolutely no mercy in those ice blue eyes that had always been warm and friendly at the shelter. She would have sworn the temperature dropped ten degrees. Debbie didn't get an answer. Alicia's fingers opened, releasing the phone. She was out the front door before it could hit the ground
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mr. Hamilton, I must say I am quite impressed. This kind of vision in a man of your age is quite amazing. I am expecting exceptional things of you in the future, you know."
Jon grinned at the head of a major English bank. "Mr. Dent, I can assure you that I am expecting exceptional things of me as well."
The dozen other suits in the room laughed. They were investors looking into the resort and the one that was in the process of being built. One of the bankers that were financing the construction of the new resort had been talking to him about the possibility of a third once the new one was up and profitable and he had gathered together some people that might be interested. There was a defunct place in Colorado and Jonathan Hamilton's genius at these places might be what was needed to bring it back. A lot of money could be made and they were all very interested in seeing what this young man was capable of doing.
"I am surprised you are willing to leave here," Mr. Sheron said, gesturing about to indicate the casual luxury of the resort. Sheron represented a Canadian investment firm and he was now thinking that since nothing was in concrete about Colorado, it would be very possible to encourage the resort location to be in Canada.
Jon smiled. "As nice as it is here, there's something waiting for me back in the States that I have had my eye on for a long time and will be worth the move."
Sheron raised an eyebrow. "Something? At your age, it should be a someone."
The other men laughed gently and Jon pretended to be embarrassed. "I have been trying to get the lady to marry me since I was sixteen," he said. His grin widened. "Negotiations have just about concluded on that contract and she's now waiting for me to get back so we can finally make it formal and probably get married this summer before the new resort officially opens." All of them men could respect a romantic notion combined with good business sense.
"Now, gentlemen," Jon said, standing, "I would appreciate it if you would all be my guests for dinner tonight. My head chef turned the restaurant here from a place where you could get a merely extraordinary meal into an gourmet's paradise."
The other men began to stand, quite pleased that Dent had convinced them to show up. This kid knew exactly what his priorities were and how to run a resort of this nature. There were still quite a few details to be looked over, but not one doubted that the place in Colorado would be a stunning success in a few years and not only would it give them a good return on their investments, but also a place where they could take their girlfriends and mistresses and get treated in style.
The conference phone beeped from the side table where it had been put out of the way for a reason and a receptionist's voice came over the intercom. "Mr. Hamilton, there's an important call for you. He said it's important."
Jon flushed slightly. "Charlotte," he said through gritted teeth, walking over to the phone so he could speak quietly. "I gave very explicit instructions. Was it not clear when I said absolutely no interruptions?" This was embarrassing. If these guys didn't think he could control his staff here, how was he going to be able to handle three staffs on two continents?
"Yes, sir," she squeaked, "but it's from America and he said it was an emergency."
Jon barely heard her. "Tell whoever it is that I'll call back."
She clicked off and then came back on a few seconds later, sounding exasperated. "Mr. Hamilton, he wanted me to give you a message and said he would hold for two minutes."
Jon almost groaned. Why was it when things went perfect, they had to go to hell over the tiniest little thing? The investors were looking at him curiously now on how he was going to handle the situation. "And the message is?" he asked sharply.
"Sir...these were his exact words and he insisted I give this to you exact," she stumbled out and then took a breath. "He said, 'Jon, it's Daniel, pick up now'." She winced on the other side. Her boss was a very nice man usually, but he did not like anyone to shorten his name and would correct anyone, no matter who they were, and ask that he be called by his given name.
The investors were expecting a scathing retort and then an escort to dinner among sighs of annoyance that it could be so hard to get good help. They weren't expecting him to hit the line button, cutting off the receptionist and picking up the blinking hold light. He didn't even waste the time to take it off of speaker.
"Daniel?"
"Jon..."
"Where's Heather?" Jon interrupted before Daniel could say another word.
"We're at St. Luke's," Daniel answered quickly. "Aunt Jhondie's hospital. Heather and Cole were brought in a few minutes ago. They...they, uh..."
Jon wasn't aware that his skin color was now the same as the snow outside. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?" he yelled into the phone.
"She was shot," Daniel said bluntly. Jon grabbed the wall, for a moment thinking he was going to be sick. "Jhondie said she wasn't critical, but she was taken up to surgery a few minutes ago. We're not sure about Cole yet, but Heather's not going to die, and I wanted to let you know what was going on."
"I'm on the next flight," Jon muttered, clicking the disconnect button. He dialed his secretary's extension. Thank God she hadn't taken the day off like she thought she was going to.
"This is Ruth," she answered pleasantly.
"Ruth, I'm going to the airport now," Jon said. "When I get there, call me and tell me what flight I'm on to New York City."
"Oh," she said, surprised. Jonathan didn't just take off wildly. Ever. Even when he was dating that obnoxious model, he didn't just go running off with her. The only time he had ever come close to doing that was with his current girlfriend and that had only been once almost a year ago. "Well, okay. But don't you need to pack?"
The question didn't surprise Jon in the slightest. Ruth probably could tell him how many pairs of socks he owned. She was getting a huge raise and bonus to move when he went to the new resort mostly because he didn't know how he could run a business without her. "That's what FedEx is for," Jon answered and without a word to any of the investors, walked out of the room. A few minutes later he was in the garage, spraying gravel as he tore out of the resort, heading for the airport.