The next morning
Saturday
As we had discussed, before Christmas, Stephanie was getting her own room.
I was allowing her to decorate the room as she saw fit – within reason of course! Joshua was helping her, so I had given Joshua permission to use his 'emergency' credit card – whether that was a good idea...
Couriers had been delivering boxes all week and Joshua had threatened me with grievous bodily harm if I went anywhere near any of the boxes or Stephanie's new bedroom! I had complained bitterly and I had pointed out quite reasonably I thought, that her 'new room' was in my goddamn house!
"I want it to be a bloody surprise, Mum, so like it or fucking lump it!" Stephanie had said simply before slamming her new bedroom door in my face.
"Finally – a bitch that stands up to the queen bitch!" Dave chuckled as he headed downstairs with a smirking Danny.
I glared after them.
..._...
Joshua and Stephanie spent all weekend working in the room from six in the morning to almost midnight. I was seriously annoyed at not being allowed into a part of my own house, but I let it slide.
For the moment...
On Saturday morning, I had walked past the bedroom and I had heard Stephanie yelling at Joshua: "Hey, asshole, I'm a fucking girl and I have the cunt to prove it; so fucking live with it!"
"Whatever you say!" Had been Joshua's very defensive response.
..._...
Later that same afternoon, Chloe and I had been downstairs in the kitchen when we had both heard a loud yell and we ran upstairs to find Joshua on the landing, literally. He was on his knees with his hands clasped somewhere delicate and Stephanie was standing beside him trying, in vain I might add, to look innocent; she avoided our eyes as we looked questioningly at her.
At first, Chloe was glaring angrily, but then her eyes softened and she started giggling at her boyfriend's rather painful predicament!
"Laugh it up, bitch – you're back to two fingers tonight!" Josh groaned between clenched teeth.
Chloe stopped laughing, but only for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, Josh..."
"Like fuck, you are!" Josh complained as he rolled onto his back still grasping his obviously bruised manhood.
"It was an accident..." Stephanie began.
"Yeah, sure!" I chuckled as I headed back down the stairs followed by an unconvinced Chloe.
..._...
"You think those two are, you know... At it?"
Chloe looked at me and thought for a moment.
"Come on – Steph is far too young and Joshua knows that if he even points his dick at another anything, I'm gonna go Bobbitt on him which would also be the least of his worries!"
"Just asking..."
Sunday morning
Chloe and Josh had arrived early – before six, just as they had on Saturday morning.
Stephanie was already up and she was waiting impatiently for Josh to show up. The young girl did not look amused by his arrival.
"What time do you call this, cunt?" She demanded.
"Oh-five-fifty-eight!" He replied tiredly.
"Not good enough!" Stephanie replied without a hint of humour. "Move it – or I'll take the lash to you..."
Josh grimaced apologetically at Chloe before being dragged into the bedroom by Stephanie who slammed the door. Chloe and I were left staring at each other.
"I wonder if she really does have a lash," Chloe murmured as we both went downstairs for some breakfast.
..._...
We were soon joined by a very tired Anne-Marie.
"They're making too much noise..." She complained.
"Sorry – maybe allowing them free reign was not such a good idea..."
"Stephanie needs her space," Chloe reminded me.
"I know – but something tells me that I've just lost a chunk of my house!"
..._...
At lunchtime, I placed a plate of beef sandwiches and some cans of Coke outside the bedroom door and knocked. I heard furious scrabbling from the other side of the door and then it flew open a few inches.
"What?" Stephanie demanded.
"Food!" I replied with a grin.
"Oh, thanks..."
The door was slammed in my face as soon as the sandwiches and Cokes had vanished inside.
That afternoon
"Hello ladies!"
I looked around the kitchen and then back at Chloe.
"No ladies here, Josh!" I quipped.
"Too true – anyway, girls – m'lady upstairs, well, she demands your presence, Mindy."
"Demands?" I enquired.
"Sorry, Mindy..." Josh replied.
I got up, followed by Chloe.
"Sorry, beautiful, but it's Mindy only..."
"I know when I'm not wanted!" Chloe replied with a smile.
..._...
Joshua led me upstairs to Stephanie's new bedroom.
"Okay, my homicidal American friend, you are now allowed to visit..." Josh said with a flourish as he pulled off a white sheet that had been covering the doorway for two days. "... The British Sector!"
The door now had two signs affixed to the outside:
YOU ARE LEAVING
THE AMERICAN SECTOR
And more worryingly, under a Union Flag:
YOU ARE NOW ENTERING
THE BRITISH SECTOR
Josh then pushed open the bedroom door allowing me my very first look at Stephanie's new domain (or sector).
"So, my house now has a Cold War Era British Sector?" I enquired.
"Yes, it does..." A smirking Stephanie replied. "... British laws begin at the threshold and the US Constitution ends, full stop!"
"The British have invaded and taken control..." Josh quipped as he saw my expression after Stephanie's pronouncement. "... We'll work on the rest of the house, over time!"
"Like hell, you will!" I replied as I ran my eyes over the rest of the room.
"Insurrection sucks, huh!" Stephanie smirked as I rolled my eyes at the obvious dig towards the American Revolution against the British.
I turned my attention back to the room.
..._...
The walls of the room had been tastefully painted in lilac, while the ceiling was a very pleasant sky blue. The carpet was the same cream colour and had not been changed. To my immediate left, past the walk-in closet, there was a new, and enormous, king-size bed against the wall with a Union Flag quilt, and pillows to match – they were taking the British theme thing just a tad too far I thought!
In the large bay window before me, were a pair of comfortable looking chairs and a low table on which sat a lamp and Steph's new Samsung tablet that she had been given for Christmas. Over against the far wall beyond the bed, was a desk with several shelves above. On the desk, was a brand new laptop (and her school homework) and around the room were several strategically placed wireless speakers. Stephanie had a liking for 1980s music and currently a track I actually recognised was playing: Tubthumping by Chumbawamba:
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
Pissing the night away
Pissing the night away
He drinks a whiskey drink
He drinks a vodka drink
He drinks a lager drink
He drinks a cider drink
He sings the songs that remind him
Of the good times
He sings the songs that remind him
Of the better times
Oh, Danny Boy
Danny Boy
I walked around the bedroom checking out the selection of British themed pictures and posters that adorned the walls, plus one or two of Rainbow Dash. Overall, I had to admit that I was very impressed by what the two of them had accomplished in just the one weekend.
..._...
"Well done, Steph – I am impressed, you too, Josh."
Stephanie was beaming with pride at the praise and Josh seemed pleased too.
"What are you looking for?" Stephanie queried as she saw me checking out the walls again.
"A picture of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second!" I chuckled.
Stephanie scowled.
"We didn't want to go too far!" Josh explained.
"That bed is enormous, Steph – we might actually lose you in it!"
"Cool, huh?" Stephanie replied and then she came over and hugged me around the waist. "Thanks, Mindy – you don't know what this means to me, letting me have my very own space..."
I could see the tears spilling over and down my daughter's cheeks.
"I do, Steph, I do..."
Then the track changed and I cringed...
"Jason fucking Donovan and Kylie fucking Minogue!"
It was time to go!
..._...
I went to leave and that was when I saw the inside of the door.
On the back of the door were two signs. Firstly, under a Union Flag:
END OF BRITISH SECTOR
DO NOT PASS THIS POINT
And then beneath that:
YOU ARE ENTERING THE AMERICAN SECTOR
ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE
"Oh, very fucking funny!" I muttered.
That Night
I was out on my own – well, sort of...
My Fusion Honda CRF250L was red over blue and at the rear it bore the registration plate: PSYCH. I had nagged and nagged (to the point that I thought Mindy might actually punch my lights out) to be allowed out on the machine and finally Mindy had given in – I had also wanted to be 'alone'. Therefore, as a result, I was cruising down the street while Shadow rode two blocks over and parallel to my direction of travel. Jackal was also on the prowl within a mile or so of me – and of course my overprotective mother was watching from Safehouse F!
..._...
I was on the lookout for trouble and to be honest, I was not as focussed on my surroundings as I should have been; I was too excited at being out on my motorcycle and out on my own as the vigilante Psyche. I may not have been concentrating, but I quickly slammed on my brakes at the sight of a man being assaulted on the pavement outside a 7-11. I parked beside the curb and dismounted, removing my helmet before taking control of the situation.
"Okay, you fucking cunts!" I growled and the two youths turned away from their human punch bag.
The idiots had been so intent on their attack that they had neither seen nor heard my approach – their loss, my gain! I drew my Sais from the tops of my boots and approached.
..._...
"Aren't you a little short to be a vigilante?" One of the youths laughed sarcastically causing the other one to chuckle as the man who was being hit struggled back to his feet.
The other cunt kicked him back down again, "We aren't finished with you yet!"
That just made me angrier, "I may be short; but I can take you two fuckers on, any day or night!"
I flicked a Sai and it flew through the air, striking the cunt who had kicked the man down, in the left shoulder. He went down, a hand to his wound and he yelled out in pain.
Safehouse F
"She seems to be doing well..." Shadow commented.
The image on the large screen was coming from the HD camera mounted on the front of Shadow's Suzuki V-Strom and it showed Psyche's performance from Shadow's hidden location a few dozen yards up the street.
"She could be doing better..." I growled. "She never checked in to say she was taking on those two idiots..."
"Go easy on her, Hit Girl!" Shadow replied as she continued to watch over the younger vigilante out on the street.
Southern Chicago
I followed my Sai in and flipped the first cunt onto his back before he could react.
My boot pushed down on his neck, hard enough to stop him breathing which scared him enough not to move.
"You need help, sir?" I asked the cunt's victim.
"I'm fine, thank you."
The man got to his feet, wiping blood from his face as I glared down at the cunt beneath my foot, the tip of my other Sai resting on his forehead. I stepped back and ordered him to flip over onto his stomach. I zip-tied his hands behind him before kicking him, accidentally on purpose, in the side as I stepped over him.
I yanked my Sai out of his colleague's shoulder, wiped it off on the cunt's top and returned both Sai's to their slots in my boots.
"You might want to get that looked at – but for now..."
I yanked him down onto his face and zip-tied his hands behind him so he matched his pal. Then, as the adrenalin rush began to ease, I had a sudden and unwelcome thought: oops; I had not checked in...
"Hal, Psyche – I need somebody to pick up two idiots at my location..."
"Better bloody late than bloody never..." Hit Girl growled back.
"Sorry..." I began.
"Don't apologise – just get out there, Psyche!"
..._...
"I'm rolling..." Shadow called as she watched Psyche pull on her helmet and mount her motorcycle.
Once Psyche had started the engine of her Honda and moved off, Shadow vanished down an alleyway.
I turned right and cruised up South Marshall Boulevard towards Douglas Park.
Something caught my attention, soon after I passed beneath the railway lines. It was a black motorcycle; I could not recognise the make or model but it was larger than mine and being ridden by a female dressed from head to toe in black. The rider wore a full-face black helmet and she stuck up the middle finger of her right hand as she cut me up.
As I followed South Sacramento Drive up the east side of Douglas Park, I saw red and gave chase – which in hindsight was probably not the best plan!
..._...
The black rider veered off to the right and onto the pavement towards the Flower Hall just before the junction of South Sacramento Drive and West Ogden Avenue and that was when everything went bad – very bad. Something in the back of my mind, a little voice kept telling me to just ride away, but I ignored it – however, I did check in, at least I tried to...
"Hal, contact...!"
The rider ahead of me slammed on her brakes and stopped broadside, directly in front of me. I tried to avoid her but between being distracted by calling in to Hal and surprise at the manoeuvre, I fucked up my braking, I skidded and that forced me to dive off my motorcycle just before it careered into a tree with a resounding crash. I rolled across the grass and came to a halt lying on my back. I was bruised, I knew that, but otherwise I seemed intact – then I heard movement and pulled off my helmet just as I saw a face appear above me.
Actually not a face, as all but the eyes was obscured by a ninja-style mask.
..._...
"Well, well, well – Stephanie Walker, we finally meet in person. You've actually not done half bad for the scratty little kid who cried every night for fucking months keeping us all awake and who most of us expected to be a worthless reject!"
It was Foxtail!
She was trying to bait me – okay, I cried a lot when they first took me, who wouldn't! She was relishing in the fact that she had caught her prey and that she was about to kill me. She knew all about me, only she had no idea what I knew about her…
She had a weapon pointed at me – my trained mind recognised it as a SIG of some sort. I ignored it while I rapidly arranged my thoughts before responding to the girl standing above me.
"Well hello, strange black girl – or should I call you: Foxtail – it is so good to finally meet you!"
I saw the eyes go wide as my comment struck home.
What the hell?
How could she know who I was? So much for having the upper hand... Psyche took advantage of my shock and before I recovered, the pistol was pushed away and a boot took me in the groin; the bitch fought dirty which made something, deep in my memories, resurface. I had a good few inches on the girl so I was determined to win – the easy option would have been a stabbing move or using a pistol, however, it was obvious that the girl had full body armour which would change how I fought and eventually killed the girl.
Yes, I had known the girl – in as much as we had known anybody that we trained with – we had been encouraged to see the other kids as competitors which meant that there had been very few, if any, friendships. I had remembered Stephanie Walker – she had been small and she had been teased mercilessly by the other kids for being British, for being small, and for crying all the time. I had enjoyed making the girl cry; it had made me feel good inside at the time...
"This ain't the fucking showers and I ain't a push over like that girl you killed..."