Thank yall for the encouragement! And don't worry, everything will be explained! (: but heres the next chapter, hope yall like it!(:
The rest of the day went by in a blur. I reluctantly left Anna to go to my job (I worked at one of the few remaining successful grocery stores in our area, and I was one of the bodyguards) and got paid (they paid us daily, since no one really knew when they were going to come back) and I went home. One of the few benefits of my job is that it was fairly close, only two miles from our apartment, and I was allowed to carry as many concealed weapons as I could carry. I held two small pistols in these secret pockets in my hoodie, and multiple knives. Some in my boots, one in my sleeve, another in a different secret pocket in my hoodie. I would have loved to carry a bow, but they were supposed to be inconspicuous weapons, so that was a definite no.
I was the only girl working as a security guard, and at first none of the guys took me seriously. They were big, bulky, and had multiple scars. Even my boss first laughed at me when I applied.
"What's a pretty little girl like you gonna do? Charm them away? Nah, go find a job as a stripper. A girl like you could make some big bucks." He took another drag of his cigar and gave me a sad smile.
Knowing him as I do now, I know he's a good guy, and didn't make that remark as a sexist, lustful pig as most guys would. He genuinely thought it was a better path. And if I was a different girl it might have been.
"Let me fight one of your guys then. Any one of them. You pick. No weapons, and if I beat him, I get the job. Do we have a deal, Amos?" I crossed my arms, giving him a look I adopted from my dad. One that gave the impression that I was in charge, one that made most people give me what I wanted. My family called it my queen look, and called me "You Highness" when I used it unknowingly on them.
He laughed, then stopped when he noticed I wasn't joining in. I hardened my look from regal queen to badass chick that was ready to beat you up.
"You really wanna do this?" Amos held his cigar between his fingers, letting out smoke as he spoke. It blew in my face, but I held my ground and didn't try to fan the smoke away. I nodded, and he sighed. He turned and motioned for me to follow, while mumbling something about too many broken ribs in his day.
He'd been talking about me, but I smirked because I intended to give the guy I fought them instead.
We walked into the break room, and he made the announcement to the guys on break. As I expected, they laughed. I gave them my stare while Amos assured them I was serious.
"I'm not going to pick the guy, you get to volunteer." They seemed reluctant, until I taunted, "Wow, some security guards. They're too scared to take on a girl."
I smirked as one of them stood up, a guy probably in his late twenties, with a scar running from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth on the right side. He had close cropped dark brown hair, with dark eyes to match.
"Fine, I'll do it. Show this bitch some respect." Some of the other guys looked at little uneasy, while some others laughed. But my smirk only widened. I stored the anger from his last remark away.
"Alright, you two in the back then. There's more space. Ben, Gabe, come guard. The rest of you, all off break. If anyone hears a fight going on there could be trouble." Amos flicked his hand and everyone moved to fulfill the command. I followed Amos and the guy who challenged me to the back.
Once there, I took off my hoodie, and we both took all our weapons out. We set them down on the floor in the corner. I noticed the two other guards, Ben and Gabe, making bets.
"Alright, let's get this over with." Amos sounded like he didn't want this to happen.
The whole fight was over in two minutes. My opponent, Achan, was strong, but was about all. I turned my emotions on, and motioned him to come over with my finger. It probably could have been considered flirty, if we weren't in the position we were in.
He ran at me swinging, but I easily side stepped and turned and kicked, my heel clipping his temple. I was careful where I hit though, I needed to beat him, not kill him. While he was stunned, he only stumbled, so I flipped, wrapping my legs around his neck in the process and slamming him down. I twisted, so that he ended up taking the whole force of the impact, and I was lying on top of him. I sat up so I was on top of him, and jabbed my finger into his collarbone, making him jerk sideways. I flipped him over and wrapped my arm around his neck and pushed my forearm to the side of his throat, right where the pulse was, slowly cutting off his circulation.
His hand that wasn't trapped underneath his body tried to reach and hit me, but I grabbed his elbow and dug my thumb right in his pressure point. His arm went limp and he was gasping for breath.
"You surrender?" I asked, barely out of breath. He tried talking, but it only came out as a wheeze.
I let him go, while saying, "I'll take that as a yes." I stood up, brushed the dirt off of me, and calmly walked over to my things.
Gabe and Ben looked at me like I was an alien. I walked over, and asked them, "So who won the bet?" They suddenly looked at each other, and Gabe looked Ben before looking back at me and said, "Uh, no one. We bet on times. Not… not you winning."
I sighed, and said, "Well, teaches you guys to be so cocky. And such asses." I was about to walk over to Amos and ask him when I started, when I heard "I didn't say yes," behind me.
I turned to see Achan using the side of the building to get up, panting hard. His fists were clenched and his body language read "I'm pissed," but his eyes were wary. I didn't have the element of surprise anymore.
He motioned toward me, but I slid the knife hiding in my sleeve out and threw it with accurate aim. It snagged his shirt, and the blade sank into the wood he was leaning against, trapping his shirt (loosely) to the wood. He looked so stunned, he didn't even try to pull the knife out.
I walked over there quickly and grabbed the hilt of the knife and pressed the blade against his throat.
"Now do you surrender?" I wasn't joking anymore. His comment earlier and him still being a jerk after I clearly beat him wasn't the kind of humor or sportsmanship I was into. Besides, I just wanted to get this over with and get the job.
His eyes weren't wary anymore, they were plain terrified. He made no move to try and move the knife, or me away from him. But then, he blinked, and his eyes changed from terrified to admiration. He slowly smiled.
"You are amazing." He was staring into my eyes, and I stepped back from confusion. It wasn't the response I was expecting.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere." I slipped the knife back in my hoodie and turned to Amos. I shook of his comment, and said, "Now, when do I start?"
Amos looked warily at the sleeve my knife disappeared into. Then he looked at me and smiled too. "Now! Come on, Gabe, Ben, Achan, let's show her around!"
They showed me how to work the ropes and what exactly they did in about an hour. By the end of the hour, I got a very sincere and overdone apology from Achan, the story about me completely besting Achan spread to all the guards, and I gained the respect of everyone.
That was about a year ago. By now, I was friends with all of them, but like everyone else, I kept that friendship at a safe distance.
By now I had given all of the guys a lesson at fighting, since they were mostly just muscle. They were like bulls. They could charge pretty hard, but the matador won because he was smarter and quicker.
The only reason none of the muggers had succeeded in actually mugging the store was because they had so many bodyguards. But after a few lessons, they picked it up pretty quick. Nowhere near as good as me (not to be cocky), but still pretty good.
I also had to reject Achan multiple times in the past year. I didn't know why he didn't seem to listen the first few times, but it seemed like a pointless circle.
It seemed that the way to a man's heart was not his stomach, it was kicking his ass.
Review what you thought?(: always good to hear feedback! And btw, Jack is coming, just in a few more chapters! Just makin sure yall know I didn't forget about him!