Rough Diamond
Ernest Bywater
Rough Diamond
All rights reserved copyright © 2009 by Ernest Bywater
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. All rights are reserved by the author, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
Product names, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this book are the property of their respective trademark holders. Unless otherwise specified there is no association between the author and any trademark holder, nor are any expressed or implied. Nor does it express any endorsement by them, or of them. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, service mark, or registered trademark.
Cover Art
The image used is from the www.lulu.com cover art page. The cropping, size adjustment, and text are by Ernest Bywater. All rights to the cover images are reserved by the copyright owners.
12 February 2022 version
Published by Ernest Bywater
E-book ISBN 978-1-312-13243-6
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Note: Due to the main character and the narrator being Australians UK English is used in this story, except for dialogue by a US character where US English is used in the dialogue and some nouns.
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The title styles in use are a chapter, a sub-chapter, and a section.
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News
There are times in my life when I wish my parents were in a different line of work. They're both well regarded professors in great demand by the universities because they're the very rare type of teacher who can do innovative research while they also teach well. Thus all of their post graduate students do good work with them as their mentors. This is good news for when my sisters or I reach university, and great news for their students. However, it's often bad news for us kids right now because our parents get many offers of jobs at other universities. We don't move often because our parents are very choosy about which of the job offers they do accept. Money isn't their major consideration and they do try to stay at each university for a reasonable length of time as they don't like to have our schooling being disrupted too much. Even so, I've been to three schools so far, and it now looks like I'll soon be making it four schools.
I suppose I shouldn't complain too much because we'll get to finish the current school year before we go, unlike with our last move. The shift to New South Wales from Queensland was in November just before the end of the school year, which matches the calendar year in Australia. We left Queensland just before their end of year exams to arrive in New South Wales in time for their end of year exams on a different syllabus. Despite all of us being very smart the new school administration refused to put any of us into the new grade because we couldn't pass their end of year exams for the grade just done.
We failed many of the subjects in the exams they gave us because of the syllabus differences. Maths and English were OK and we passed them with ease, but I'd studied Deserts as the main area for Climates and New South Wales was testing on Rain Forests which I hadn't done yet. The same was true of some of the other subjects, like Geography being all about Europe instead of Africa, etc. Thus we're forced to repeat the year, grrr. It wasn't so bad since we didn't know anyone and we'd be making new friends in whatever grade we're put in, but it was very annoying because we'd all been ahead of our age peer groups and we enjoyed the company of the one year older students much more than the company of our age peers, due to their more mature attitudes.
Both of my sisters and I were born in November and our parents put us into school as soon as possible. It meant we were months younger than most of those in the same year as most kids born in the later third of the year usually don't enter school with the other kids born in the same year, because they usually start their schooling the next year. When we moved from Queensland to New South Wales I did Year Six, Cadi did Year Three, and Bron did Year Five; the years we'd just finished up north as top of the class in the most advanced classes. To say we were not happy about the situation is an extreme understatement.
Although this shift will have us leaving after we do the end of year exams the bad news is this shift is to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Since their school system is July to June we'll be arriving there in the middle of their school year. At the moment it looks like we'll be starting in the same school years we'll be finishing here, so we'll be repeating half of the year. Dad is looking into us doing a few months of home schooling with tutors to bring us up to date with the differences in their syllabus.
We'll manage, somehow, because we always do. But we're going from living in a city of fifty-five thousand people to one of around six hundred thousand people. That's going to take a lot of getting used to for us, but it'll be an interesting time while we do settle in there, and afterwards.
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The Family
I suppose I should tell you about us: we're the Evans family. Mum is dual nationality, American and Australian. She was born in the USA while her US born mum visited her family in San Diego, California, and her dad was an Australian. So she has two passports, neat. They named Mum Ruby, and she's a real gem. Her parents returned to Longreach, Queensland, to run the family property because he was the only son and his sisters left the immediate area to live with their husbands on their properties. Mum has three younger brothers and two of them run the property now their parents are dead. Dad was born in Wales in the United Kingdom and his father migrated to Australia when Dad was nine years old. He has two passports too, British and Australian. Dafydd 'Dave' Evans is his name and he has a very strong affinity with Wales, his first name means beloved as many Welsh names have meanings.
When us kids came along Dad insisted on Welsh names while Mum insisted on names related to jewels, which explains why I'm named Anian Cartier Evans: Anian means nature, temperament, power. It′s why my eldest sister is named Bronwyn Tiffany Evans, 'Bron' for short: Bronwyn means white breasted, I get plenty of laughs over it along with lots of bruises from her for laughing. My other sister got lucky as she's Cadi Ruby Evans: Cadi means pure. Mum and Dad couldn't agree on the name of another major jeweller, so they went for a gem and used Mum's name to keep it simple. With my initials I usually get 'Ace' or 'Card' as nicknames, but I use 'Diamond' as my nickname on the Internet.
All of us know Taekwondo because Mum's third brother is a sensei who teaches us at his dojo for free, and Uncle Rob moved with us to NSW. We haven't done any formal recognition of our skills, but he tells us we all rate as a black belt standard and I'm the best of us kids. All of us are about a hand's width over average height for our ages, slim, well muscled, and fit. We're what Uncle Rob calls 'all wiry muscle.' We play various sports, like to run, and to swim. Mum is a brunette and the rest of us have dirty blond hair like Dad's. We're all of average looks. Mum and the girls have nice sized breasts as they're all about the size of oranges.
One area where we do differ is both Mum and Dad have IQs in the 170s while Cadi and Bron are in the high 180s but mine is 203. I'm a member of Mensa Australia and the Prometheus Society, joining both at fifteen. To keep my IQ a secret from the government I avoided doing the usual state IQ tests by not turning up at school on the day they ran them. Very early on I realised I was smarter than average and being a very high IQ can see you pressured to push ahead way too much and too fast. Also, too many prodigies burn out far too quickly. But, more importantly, they don't have a real childhood while I intend to enjoy mine. This is why I keep my IQ secret from the departments of education, and my sisters have done the same for similar reasons. They asked me why I did it, and they agreed with me when I told them why. Due to our IQs and martial arts training all three of us kids are very self confident in our dealings with others. We're not brash, nor are we shy or reticent in any way.
One thing that's odd about our family is Dad and us kids are all very good about sensing how other people feel about things and sensing their emotions when they're strong. Mum explained it's a form of empathy. We're very good at it, and we have been all of our lives.
I also do one thing none of us have been able to explain. I'll be doing something, usually reading a book, and I'll put a drink or plate of food down near me. When I reach for it again my hand goes straight to it without me looking for it, even if one of my sisters shifts it on me. Mum and Dad even tested me with a newspaper and the blind moving of the drink, but my hand always goes straight to the drink. If they shift it from the left to the right I'll change hands to get it with the nearest hand, even when they shift it without making any noise. Also, just before my fifteenth birthday I had an interesting incident I think is related. I'd put down a text book while studying and thirty minutes later I reached for it to compare the text with material in another book. It was real interesting because I'd moved across the floor while reading and the text book I wanted was a metre and a half away. After I reached out my hand for it I remembered the distance and I turned toward it in time to see the book sliding across the floor to me. I was a bit shocked. I experimented, and I soon found I could cause anything up to twenty kilograms (about forty-five pounds) to come to me by simply thinking for it to do so. I soon realised I'm telekinetic, and I decided to keep it a secret. I named this skill Calling to disguise it from everyone else if I accidentally mention it.
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Another Skill
Since learning of my Calling skill I've done a lot of secret testing and I can now move up to sixty kilograms (about a hundred and thirty-two pounds) with ease. A year after learning about the Calling I get another shock which starts a second testing program I really like, and enjoy a lot.
We're out shopping on a Saturday morning when Mum tells me to keep an eye on my sisters while they try on some new clothes, and I'm to pay for the clothes when they're finished. She gives me her purse after she takes out her credit card and driver's licence. Nothing new in this action because she often parks me to look after the girls while she does something else instead of waiting around for them. She often says I'm their protector. But this is the first time she does this to me in a lingerie store. I'm standing near the change rooms with Mum's purse slung over my shoulder while my sisters are about a metre away from me looking at very skimpy underwear. They realise I'm a bit embarrassed by this so they take lots of time with their selections, even holding some choice items up to ask my opinion of the item. They stop that when I say, “Look, Cadi, if you want my opinion on how you look in that bra you'll have to put it on and show me.” I was correct in thinking neither of my sisters are going to do that, not at thirteen and fifteen years old. Being sixteen I'm interested in the differences between guys and girls, so when a lovely young lady about twenty years old picks out a few very skimpy outfits then goes to the change rooms you can bet I'm very much aware of her actions. Especially when she sees me standing there with the purse and my sisters nearby. She smiles and winks at me while she holds up her choices of skimpy underwear for my inspection.
The change rooms have short doors that only cover from the knees to the neck on an adult, and I'm leaning on the corner of the entryway to the four rooms. When she passes me I smile back while thinking, Damn, I'd love to be able to look over the door to watch her without her screaming. I lean back and close my eyes to imagine what it'd look like if I did look over the door. The next thing I know is I've got a very realistic image in my mind of the young lady while she turns the lock on the door. She hangs up the underwear then undoes her dress before slipping it off over her head to reveal her current underwear.
I smile while I think my imagination is improving in quality of image as I watch her remove her bra and panties to try on the new ones. She puts her dress on and walks out to see how they fit while moving. Now this is all well and good, but I get one hell of a shock when she brushes my shoulder just when I'm imagining her doing so. This makes me open my eyes to watch her take a few paces. When she turns I smile and ask, “Trying the see-through set or the white lace first?” In my imagination I'd seen her put on the see-through set.
She laughs and says, “The see-through set. How's it look?”
“Very good, so far. But for a more definitive answer you'd have to show me what it looks like without the dress.” She giggles as she goes back to the change room. Both my sisters shake their heads while looking at me. I close my eyes and I think to follow her in my mind. I watch while she enters the change room, strips, and puts on the white lace set. With a cheeky grin she starts to walk out in just the underwear.
Having a crazy thought I open my eyes and I turn to look down the short hall between the change rooms just in time to see her step into the hall in only the white lace underwear. She winks when she sees me watching her. I hold my hand up and make like I'm stirring with my finger. Her grin widens when she turns around then bends a little. I smile as I say, “Very nice. Whoever you're trying to impress with that outfit will be putty in your hands.” She grins and bows before going back into the change room.
I lean against the wall while I think on what just happened. Both Cadi and Bron pass me on their way to the two rear rooms where they leave the doors open so they can talk while showing each other what they look like, as usual. They make a point of telling me to stay where I am and to not let any males into the hall. I promise not to move.
The woman walks out and we exchange another round of smiles while she pays for her clothes, and then she leaves. I close my eyes and I picture myself in the corner of Bron's change room. In a moment I see her taking her bra off while Cadi does the same in the room across the hall, a very nice view in both of the change rooms. The way they keep turning while moving their mouths makes it clear they're talking, and I can just hear a very low murmur of their voices coming up the hall. I think, I sure wish I can hear what they're saying.
Suddenly I can hear Bron say, “Can you believe Ani flirting with that girl from the university. Way out of his league and age. But she was nice, and she didn't seem to mind.” Cadi nods as she replies. I smile while I enjoy the view when they change to model a few outfits for each other while they chat about me and the young lady. I stay there thinking about the possibilities of what just happened, unless it's all a dream.
Several minutes later they walk out and I pay for the clothes they want, three sets of underwear each. After paying I drop Mum's wallet back into her purse. I swing the strap over my shoulder and we walk to the exit on our way out of the store.
Just as we reach the doorway some girls from school walk in, and they giggle about me having Mum's purse over my shoulder. What makes it real bad is both Mum and I are in dark tan clothes today, so the purse goes well with my outfit as well as hers. One of the girls, Jan, wiggles her hips and cocks a limp wrist at me while she says, “Oh, look girls, he's out shopping with his handbag today.”
Playing up to Jan I sashay over to give her a very light slap on the hand while I say, with a lisp added, “Oooh, you're so naughty and nasty.” While the rest laugh I'm quick to slip one hand behind her back to pull her to me to kiss her. She's so surprised her mouth is still open when our lips meet. I take the opportunity of her distraction to slip my tongue into her mouth to start a deep probing operation while slipping my other hand under her short skirt and inside her panties while I kiss her.
My sisters are laughing real hard while the other girls are in shock. Jan is still stunned when I let her go and withdraw my hand. Because Jan is leading the pack none of the others saw my hand in her panties. I smile at her when I say, “Enjoy your shopping, or do you want me to help you choose items and adjust the fit for you?”
Jan shakes her head no and she's very quick to move further into the store with her friends following her while we leave. Bron and Cadi are almost wetting themselves laughing at the encounter because I just put down the biggest put-down artist in the school. Jan's family is very rich and she has quite a few airs. We can't understand why she goes to our school at all. With her family's money we expect her to be going to one of the very top boarding schools, not a local church run school. Oh well, not our worry, and not worth worrying about.
Bron turns to me, “Ani, what's gotten into you? First you flirt with a woman four or five years older than you are, then you grab Jan to kiss her and slip your hand into her panties. Yes, I saw where your hand went, but I don't think anyone else did.” Cadi gasps about me slipping my hand into Jan's panties then she laughs harder.
“I don't know, Bron. The woman smiled and winked at me when she went in to change, so I flirted with her. As for Jan, she really pissed me off just then. So I grabbed her to kiss her to put her in her place. When I found her mouth was open I tickled her tonsils, and decided to cop a good feel at the same time. She hardly responded at all.”
Cadi says, “I'm not surprised. According to her sister Jan is a dead-set lesbian and guys do nothing for her at all.”
“Well, that's a first for me. I just kissed and felt up a lesbian.” Some minutes later we're still laughing about this when we catch up with Mum as we near the food court for a bite to eat. Naturally we have to tell her what's so funny while I hand her back her purse. She has a good laugh about it too.
During the following months I practice all of my new skills in secret. I find it very interesting to listen in on the girls gossiping when they get changed for PE or sport, before and after - especially in the showers after their exercise. I do a lot of practice at home of an evening by creating a point of view and then moving it around. It was frightening the first time I moved it through a wall. I soon found out I can do that, but I do need some light to see by as I can't see what's in any solid material, closed cupboards, or darkened rooms.
By moving my Third Eye, as I call it, I can look at things up to about two hundred and fifty metres away. The house blocks in the estate we live in are all twenty-five metres wide and I can see into the house ten buildings away, but not quite into the next one after that. So within a fortnight of practising I've enjoyed watching all of the women and girls in the neighbourhood getting changed and having their baths or showers. Though I'm surprised at how often they masturbate and how some do it. I do pick up plenty of pointers on how to please a girl by watching them please themselves.
I also listen to anyone I'm watching, but I can't concentrate enough to watch someone properly if my eyes are open at the same time, which is a great pity. However, I'm very happy with what I can do and I enjoy using both skills during the year, then we move to the USA.
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The USA
Mum and Dad decide it isn't worth taking most of our gear to the USA so the little amount of gear we want to keep is shipped to the family farm in Longreach. The rest is sold or is given away to friends or to organisations to help the poor. We keep just enough clothes to see us through until we get settled into our new home in the USA then we'll buy more once we get there. The university is providing us with a furnished house for us to live in: it has four bedrooms plus two studies. As the house is furnished we don't need to take any furniture with us.
We spend Christmas at Longreach with the New Year in Los Angeles to arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the week before school restarts. The first day is spent shopping for clothes and things. Mum is happily surprised when I offer to look after Bron and Cadi while they shop for clothes in the many teen fashion stores as she shops for her and Dad at the other stores in the large shopping centre we're at.
I don't mind being a pack mule for my sisters now. Do you have any idea on how many good looking teen girls are in those stores while they try on various tops, shorts, skirts, and underwear. So I'm just leaning on the wall watching all of the lovely scenery while they change. After we get half a car load of clothes for the girls they insist on seeing I'm properly dressed too. I'd been hoping to do a quick clothes run through a cheap market. But they soon put a stop to that and we end up in the boys fashion section of a major department store while they play dress up the 'Ani boy doll' with me.
I won't say the females in our family went crazy clothes shopping, but when we get to the car with all of the shopping their eyes are a little glazed over. The car is full before we even try to get in, so I unload all of the gear to give it a close examination. Shoes, purses, and the other things we shouldn't crush because they need to lie flat are stacked in the car's trunk and the rear passenger foot-wells with great care. The better tops and dresses are laid over the stuff in the trunk until it's full, then over the stuff in the rear foot-wells. The rest is laid down, layer by layer, on the back seat and the foot-well until it's all in. It's now packed to a height level with the top of the front bench seat. After shutting the rear doors I sit in the front to take my shoes off. I'm careful when I climb over the seat then I lie on the stuff on the back seat as I tell Mum and the girls to sit in the front seat while I shift a couple of things over my body to cover me to make it seem like there's only clothes in the back. Laughing, they all climb in and we go home. I've a nice nap while we drive home.
The rest of the day is spent packing everything away before the ladies put on a fashion show for each other while Dad and I rearrange some of the furniture to how we, as a family, want it placed.
The next few days are spent getting to know the neighbourhood, the city, and our close neighbours. They're nice folks, but most of the area is university owned housing rented to university staff with families at a low rate, and few of the staff have kids in their mid-teens. We do get to know the several in our age bracket well. This will help when we get to school because we'll all be going to the same school and they'll show us around the school.
Bron and I see about getting our driver's licences, much to Bron's delight because she wouldn't be old enough for one at home. She can get a Restricted Licence after six months while I can get a Full Licence. At home I'd still have a restricted 'P' Plate licence. Cadi is happy because she can start Driver's Education soon and be able get a Learner's Permit before too long. So there are some advantages for us to be in the USA. Dad is so confident we'll pass he's already looking to buy a car for me to drive us all to school in. I think he just wants to not have to drive us around by having me drive the girls around to events and activities in our own car.
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School
The first few days at school are a bit up and down because we can't be put into classes until after we're assessed. So we spend the week doing exams or sitting in the library reading up on the subjects we've not done before, like US History. By the end of the week they've got us all placed in the advanced classes for most subjects and we've some time each day for individual tutoring on our knowledge gaps. The staff and tutors are sure we'll be up to speed by the time end of year exams are being held.
Although we're all repeating half a year, again, most of it is different material so we're happy to learn something new, despite having to do another six months of a year of schooling we just finished. I'm in Year Ten with Bron in Year Nine and Cadi is in Year Seven. We do get some ragging over our accents and our names, but only for a little while.
In the first week the school bullies try to push me around but they get a surprise when they find they can't grab me. Instead of fighting them I use my martial arts training to avoid their attempts at contact. Eventually they give up on trying to bully me.
Many of the other students aren't sure about what school cliques we should be in because we all join some of the nerdy after school groups like the Science Club, but we also join some of the sports teams. The three of us join the school swim team and basketball team appropriate for our year and gender. Also, the girls join the gymnastics team. Due to my skill at dodging the bullies and people on the basketball court I'm asked to join the football team - several times. When the requests get too insistent I check with the school counsellor then I sign up for the soccer team since its schedule clashes with the American Football team. In the US football is what we Aussies call Gridiron, not Soccer or Rugby or Aussie Rules. The next time one of the football jocks pulls me up to tell me to join the football team I say, “I've already signed up for football.”
He says, “Idiot, you signed up for the Soccer Team, not football.”
“Look, mate, where I come from football means Soccer or Rugby. No Rugby here so I signed up for Soccer. If you meant for me to join some other sport you should have identified it better. I'm part of the Soccer Team now and I'm already doing more than enough sports.” That ends their attempts to get me to be a running back. I don't want to do that because I've seen how hard they get hit when they have the ball.
The two subjects we've tutors for are US History plus Civics and Government. Since we all know nothing about these we start at the same point for these tutoring lessons and we work on them together. With the three of us working very hard to get up to speed we race through the subject material. We've no need for constant repetitions the way they do in class, and we even do all of the in-class assignments the students do in each year. When we reach the syllabus point where Cadi is in both she leaves us to join the regular classes for those subjects for her year, the same happens when Bron reaches her current class point. The students get one period a week of each, but while we're with the tutor we get a few more because two of our free study periods are given up to this and a third of our choice for our other free study period too. The tutors are amazed at how quick we go through the courses. It takes only two weeks to get Cadi up to date, another two weeks for Bron, and by the seventh week at the school I'm up to date and heading back to the normal classes for both of the subjects. We'd been studying the text books before we left Australia, so it we just needed a little clarification and to do the exams.
We keep up with our Taekwondo by practising with each other.
It doesn't take us long to settle in to get used to most of the school life and the local social life. The hard part is the school dating system as it seems every guy my age has to have a steady girlfriend and I don't know any of the girls while many of them are already involved with someone.
Socialising
While we're catching up on the subjects we don't have much time for socialising. But during my last week of tutoring I'm close enough I can start spending some free study periods as real free study periods.
There are two girls in all of my classes that no one goes near. They're identical twins who are reasonably good looking with nice figures. Some people are put off by the loose clothes and the large unfashionable glasses they wear. The few times I get to speak with them they seem nice, so I can't work out why the rest are shunning them. I ask one of the other boys from the Science Club about them and he says, “They're not bad to look at, but they're sure-fire status death. They've got put downs that'll knock a plane out of the stratosphere, and you'll never recover from being put down by them. They're uncool, very uncool.”
Having been duly warned I approach them at lunch one day. Walking up to the table they sit at in the back corner I just put my tray down and sit opposite them. One looks up and says, “It's rude to sit down without asking for permission first.”
I smile at her as I reply, “And it would've been ruder still to sit down after you said no. So I took the option with the lower level of rudeness because I intend to sit here to talk with you two.” They look at each other and make a few facial muscles twitch before they turn to stare at me. “I'm fully aware being with you is death to my status in the school, and I don't care. However, we have to submit a major assignment project for the classes of both US History as well as for Civics and Government. The requirements of both projects are for them to be done in teams of three or four. Everyone else is in a team except you two and me. I suggest we make our own team and do a ripper joint project to get an A plus or double plus in both subjects. What do you say?”
After more face twitching one asks, “I hope you've a project idea in mind, because we don't.”
“Both are looking at the lead up to, and the start of, the War Between the States. So let's do a major project that goes into the fine detail on the political activities for a ten year period starting eight years before it started. We also include a full analysis of the governmental actions plus how the politics and actions were shaped by the economics of the period. That should do for both of the subjects.” They both smile and nod to me. “Good, that gives us a very good reason to spend a lot of time together at both of our houses, so I'll have plenty of opportunity to seduce you both and to talk you both into being my girlfriends.” This surprises them, then they look at each other and laugh - very long and very hard.
After a moment one says, “OK, you get your chance. But by the end of the project you have to be able to identify each of us and call us both by our right names all of the time. Do that and you've got two lovers.”
I smile, “Let me get this straight. If I can correctly identify you both on sight you'll both go steady with me as my girlfriends and lovers, and that includes sex?” Both nod in reply while they give me knowing smiles as if they already know I can't do it. “Are you on the pill?” They nod again. I point at the one on the left, “Mary,” switch to point at her sister, “Peg, and I'll do the same again tomorrow because I already know how to tell you apart.” They both look very shocked at my statement.
Mary says, “Well, you got us right today. But we'll see if you can do it again tomorrow. Meet you in the library during Free Study with some notes and a basic layout of what you see as the project. We can then sort out who'll do what part.” I nod agreement. Having finished the food while we talked I stand and leave them to chat.
Stopping at the table where a few of the Science Club members are sitting I say, “Mary and Peg aren't that unapproachable if you smile and speak nice. I think I'll make them both my girlfriends.” They all stare at me with wide open mouths while I walk over to dump my rubbish, put the tray in the returns stack, and leave. Due to my lunch encounter I'm the centre of a lot of gossip in the classes for the rest of the day.
Every time we meet I correctly identify the girls, and I upset them by doing so. I don't tell them, but their earlobes are a little different. We soon start work on our joint project as well as going out as a group of three.
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First Trouble
Just after school on the Wednesday of our tenth week I'm leaving school when I see a few of the football players from Year Ten blocking Bron's path and not letting her pass by them. I walk up and say, “Hi, Sis, any problems?”
One of the players butts in with, “Move along, nerdy, we're just making sure this girl doesn't go anywhere until after she agrees to go to our party on Friday night.”
Bron says, “I've told you four times, I'm not going to any party with any of you this Friday or any other day, ever. Now move aside and let me go.” Bron tries very hard to avoid confrontations and fights.
One of them reaches out and grabs her arm. I immediately grab his thumb and apply pressure to make him let go of her. He gives a squeal at the pain and he pulls his hand back.
Turning to me with a menacing look he says, “OK, shit for brains, that hurt so I'm going to really hurt you.” Both Bron and I step back a couple of paces to give him time to rethink his behaviour.
I look about, and I see one of the parents watching us real close while she holds the door open for some kids from Years Seven and Eight to get into the car. I touch Bron's arm and I hand her my bag. She takes it and backs up another four steps while I move back two more steps to be a barrier between them and Bron. I see the woman tell something to the kids in the car when she shuts the door. She reaches in the car front window to take something out of the glove box while the goon in front of me produces a knife and the others reach into their pockets too.
When he steps forward he waves the knife while he tells me what he intends to do, so I wave Bron back to give me more room while I get set to deal with his attack.
The woman is about halfway to us when I can see a gun in one hand and a small wallet in the other. I think she intends to help, but I know I'll need to deal with this first idiot because she's still too far away.
The goon swipes the blade across in front of him, going from his right to left in an obvious attempt to cut my stomach a bit. I don't know what sort of people he's fought to make him think such a move would be any good. Instead of jumping back, which is most people's first reaction to such a swipe, I move to my left to avoid it then I step forward with my left foot while I turn the right side of my body a little away to bring my right hand up and across. The knife slices air just a hand's breadth clear of me while my right hand passes over his right hand. I move my arm down to grab his right hand at the wrist with my right hand then I pull him forward and a little to my right. This pulls him off balance. When his arm reaches full extension and just before he moves his feet to stop from falling on his face I'm very fast to bring my left arm up and forward to hit his right arm very hard right at the top of the arm, just at the shoulder joint while still on the arm. He screams beautifully when my strike punches the arm joint out of the socket. I pivot as I transfer my weight to my left foot to bring my right foot through to kick him hard on the outside of his right thigh. This causes another scream and he drops down, twisting the arm to force it further out of the socket. By twisting the arm more I cause the hand to open and the knife to drop out. As soon as the knife falls free I let go of him while I kick the knife out of his reach. The whole thing is over so quick the others still have their hands in their pockets.
From a few metres away the woman shouts, “Police. Barnes, you're under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. If I see anyone else waving a knife around they'll get arrested too. Nice disarm, son. Miss, will you run inside and ask the staff to call the station for a car, please?” Bron nods then she dashes off. She leaves our bags on the ground.
A few minutes later Principal Jensen returns with Bron, followed soon after by a police car and an ambulance pulling up in the car park.
The paramedics check the goon over and take him away with a police officer in the ambulance to keep an eye on him. The other officer takes statements from the other goons, Bron, the woman, and myself. I'm last. The officer taking the statements says, “Funny how these things go. The other two boys say you attacked them. Your sister and you say they were harassing her and then attacked you. Officer Mills says she heard voices, then she saw you and your sister backing up as the other three advanced on you. She saw Barnes draw a knife while she was on her way over to see what the trouble was and you neatly disarm him, almost removing his arm in the process. I think we'll believe Officer Mills and your sister on this. Watch out for yourself as those boys are known to hold grudges and to do some real damage to people they don't like.” I thank him, and we go to where Cadi is waiting for us. We've missed our bus so I use my cell phone to call us a taxi to go home because I don't feel like waiting around for the next scheduled bus service.
Flow on Effects
Barnes is in hospital for some weeks and he's out of football for the rest of the year because the doctors say they won't pass his shoulder as fit to play for several months. The football team is upset at losing one of their best linebackers, whatever that is. When Barnes is let out of hospital he goes to court for a preliminary hearing, and he's still limping. His whole thigh came up in a big bruise in the days following the incident.
A few weeks later the case goes to court for a full hearing where he's found guilty of various charges, fined, put on a good behaviour bond, and sentenced to one hundred hours community service. He also cops a mandatory six weeks suspension for having a weapon on the school grounds.
I get hit with a mandatory three weeks suspension for fighting. I get legal advice then I sue the school district for denial of my basic human rights because I'm being punished by them for being a victim who defends himself when faced with a dangerous situation after the school failed to provide Bron and me with proper protection on the school grounds while walking to the school buses. If they'd let the matter alone as a case of self-defence my parents wouldn't have supported me in any action against the school. However, with the school punishing me for not becoming an injured victim of an assault they're as angry as I am over the suspension given out due to their stupid Zero Tolerance policy to punish all involved without any regards as to what actually happened.
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Life Goes On
I continue with my schooling because Dad hires tutors. We keep a record of the costs for the court case. I also get some more driver training. When I went for my licence in Australia Mum and Dad paid for an Advanced Driver Training Course for me. But over here they drive on the wrong side of the road, so I use that as leverage to get them to pay for a new Advanced Driver Training Course.
The good courses aren't cheap, but I notice the Evasive Driver's Course is only a couple of hundred dollars more so I add some of my own money to do that one. It takes up two weeks of my suspension, so it helps to fill in the time. Boy was it a fun course to do and I learned a lot while gaining confidence as a driver. The third week is all studying.
I never tell my parents, but the reason I want the additional driver training is one of the cops who interviewed me later told me the group Barnes was part of were suspected of having forced two cars of teens off the road in the last few years, thus putting the kids in them in hospital for many months. He'd heard Barnes is talking about killing me for hurting him and embarrassing him so much. I don't know how true that is or how much danger there is, but I'm taking the warning very seriously, so I'm doing what I can to ensure our safety when I'm out driving.
I'm soon back at school and things go on with a few changes. Bron, Cadi, and I are persona non grata to the football crowd, which worries us not. The bulk of the school thinks I'm a hero for dealing with Barnes as he was the school's worst bully, but not now as you can't bully if you can't use your arm and you limp a lot. His crowd loses a lot of status and the groups I hang out with gain a lot. A very funny thing is school status.
Mary, Peg, and I finish our joint combined project and lodge it for both subjects. We get an A plus in Civics and Government with an A plus plus in US History to make all of our parents happy with the marks.
We all do well in the end of year exams and the family celebrates by spending the Memorial Day long weekend at the Ohkay Casino Resort in San Juan Pueblo. It takes nearly two hours to drive north through Santa Fe as it seems as if half of the city is heading north in the afternoon and traffic is heavy until we leave Santa Fe. The pool and whirlpool are great and there's lots of local attractions in the way of scenic and historical things to see during the day with plenty of good entertainment at night.
We spend most of Friday night in the water: pool and spa. Most of Saturday we're out walking around the various historical sites and great scenic wonders then we watch the live show at night. Sunday is a repeat of Saturday with a new list of historic sites and of natural beauty. I don't know about the oldies, but the girls and I have a great time. Sunday night Mum and the girls watch a singer the ladies love but us men find not so good a singer, so we men visit the casino.
We're asked for identification and I'm allowed in with Dad, but I'm not allowed to make bets because I'm under age. I've no intention of betting so I don't mind. But having the security staff constantly watching me is a bit upsetting. I fully understand why, but I still don't like it.
We watch the games for a bit and Dad makes a few bets, losing a little at the roulette. I soon work out I can make his bets win with my Calling skill, but it will sure look odd at the roulette. When we move on to the dice tables, I think they call the game Craps, I see I can use my special skills to make him a winner without it looking odd. So I take time to learn the game rules then I use my Calling skill to see the dice come out with a win for Dad. We leave there about twelve hundred dollars ahead and Dad is happy. Mum is of mixed emotions as she's happy he won and unhappy he gambled. However, she settles down when I say I'd stop him if he went too far. Gambling is an addictive behaviour and some of Dad's family are addicted to drinking alcohol or gambling or both, and Mum worries Dad may go that way too.
Monday we attend the local Memorial Day events then more sightseeing followed by another great meal and entertainment. Over all it's a great weekend for us all. Mum is very relieved when Dad expresses no interest in going back to the casino's gambling tables before we leave.
After four days of school we're on our Summer Break. I skipped our Spring Break activities since we spent it checking out Albuquerque and its surrounds by visiting some local tourist spots as a family group. The Summer Break for most of June and July is mostly great fun for all of us.
Our Car
I best back up a few months here. Mum and Dad got us a car in very good condition. They selected a car and I asked one of the teachers who teaches how to be a mechanic to look it over. My parents aren't happy when I veto the car they want to buy until I give them the mechanical condition report from the teacher. After that they give me a budget and let me look, with advice from the teacher. Hey, why do a course like that if you can't put it to practical use to get professional help while you do. The funny thing is he sees the activity as a teaching experience so he organises permission for the twenty students in my class to go out car shopping with me during school hours on two school afternoons. We also shop on some Saturdays on our own time.
The teacher has all of us doing condition reports on each vehicle I'm interested in then he points out things we miss. As we go on we miss a lot less. The car yards owners' reactions are funny as some won't let us look at the cars that closely so we walk out, while others shake their heads and let us go crazy looking the cars over in fine detail. What's interesting is one yard asks us for copies of all of our reports, which they then use as independent reports on the condition of the car. I often wonder if the reports helped their sales.
The kids in my class who don't already have a car end up buying cars from amongst the better ones of those we inspect.
I buy an older family car in great need of some serious body work and a paint job but is mechanically perfect. The engine is a four and a half litre six cylinder V6 with a lot of power that replaced the original basic three litre four cylinder motor. A five speed manual gear box with plenty of power in all gears and extra high ground clearance due to special shock absorbers. It's a station wagon type back with a high roof. The interior is nearly in showroom condition and it has a good sound system with individual DVD players for all of the passengers.
It takes time, but I do find out the history of the car. The previous owner got caught in the middle of a multi-car accident on the highway. The car was under-insured for all of the extras and the repairs were high. The insurance company paid out the policy then they let him buy the car off them for next to nothing because they didn't know about the extras he'd installed. He got more for it as a trade in on a new car at the yard than he paid the insurance company for it. The used car sales yard we buy it from is in a partnership with the new car yard he traded it to, so here it is and available for us to buy at a low price because they haven't repaired any of the body work yet.
Mum and Dad like two things about it. Plenty of room for us kids and friends to seat a total of eight between the front seat, back seat, and two fold out seats in the rear storage area. Plus it's bought for less than the budget allowed me. They let me use the spare money to give it a paint job. I talk the shop teacher into organising for another school's shop class to do all of the body work and painting as a class project for triple the cost of the materials as they do car-body repairs and spray painting as shop subjects. I'll get the panels fixed plus a great paint job, and all for a fraction of the usual commercial costs. Plus they get money to do a few more jobs. It takes a few weeks to organise and it can't be done before Summer Break, so it'll be done in the first few weeks of the new school year. Over summer the students are to work on paint designs for it. So a lot of them come to look at the car, and they ask Bron and me for our opinions on what we'd like to have. All of the people involved in the project have great fun working on the car as it's a real practical project they can see the end result of and know it's being put to use.
We get a few laughs from our friends when they first see it, but not after they go for a ride in it. When Summer Break starts it still looks like a late loser in a demolition derby, but we don't care because we don't look at its outside while driving around in it in comfort.
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More Trouble
The second week of Summer Break Bron, Mary, Peg, Bradley - Bron's boyfriend, and I are driving out to spend a few days at a camping spot in Cibola National Forest. The spot is a little remote camping spot which is reached by an old winding and narrow road that's just enough road for two cars to pass each other. However, it must get enough use since it's a surfaced road. We have our hiking gear and two tents: a four person one for Mary, Peg, and me, with a three person one for Bradley and Bron. Plenty of food and drink for the few days we'll be away. Cell phones, a GPS, and Personal Locator Beacons too - beacons by parental command. Our entertainment will be the electronics in the car of radio, CD player, and DVD player; the guitar Mary brings; each other; and the forest.
Where we're going to camp is only about twenty-five kilometres out of town by driving out toward Tijeras and then cut back into the National Park. But it's a long drive due to the road conditions over the last half of the trip being so poor.
We all have plans for the weekend so we set out early Monday to drive during daylight. While I'm out getting Mary and Peg from home Bradley turns up in his car after collecting the camping permit on the way over. When I get back we put his, Bron's, and my gear in the car while the girls bring out the food and drinks for loading. We're ready to go by mid-morning, then we wave to Mum and Dad when we head out.
Due to the extra driver training I got I'm very aware of all of the cars around me for several vehicles, including those behind me. After a few streets I start to worry about a vehicle, what some call a muscle car, a few vehicles back because it just sits there in the same spot. When we stop to top up the tanks at the discount petrol station we use I look back down the street and I see the muscle car pulled up to the kerb. I can see three or four people in it. When we leave I mention it to my companions. They all tell me I'm being paranoid. But I worry a lot more when the car is still behind us as we leave town on Route 66.
I mention our tail again when it's still there and it's the only thing in sight after we take the Cedro Canyon Road turn off. A little way down it we take another right, with the car still there.
Being a worrier I'd bought and checked the detailed road and terrain maps of the area during the week, and I have them in the car. I ask Mary to get the road map out of the glove box and to describe the road ahead while I watch the tail in the mirror.
A couple of turns later the tail car increases speed to catch up to us. When it pulls up alongside I see Barnes at the wheel with three of his closest mates with him in the car. The windows are down and the two on our side reach out with baseball bats to hit at our car. I add some more throttle so we start to pull away, they speed up again. It's not long before we're both flying down the road at an unsafe speed.
Due to the speed and poor road surface, it's sealed but bumpy, it's hard for them to continue hitting at us with the baseball bats so they start trying to force us off the road. We're all buckled in so I don't mind doing some hard driving after the girls confirm the doors are locked shut. Where we are now is a good section of road that's straight with a few light curves while it goes up a hill, down the other side, then a steeper rise to rougher terrain with some sharp corners.
I really enjoy the look on Barnes' face when I put the pedal to the floor and we pull away from his muscle car. I think, and hope, it hurts his pride to see my foreign family car leave him behind. We soon hear the sound of his car engine over our own when he pushes it to the limit to catch up. Which they do when we head up the steeper rise to the first of the sharper turns, which is to the left at about forty-five degrees off straight ahead.
When we approach the bend Barnes is beside us and grinning. It's clear he intends to keep straight until he's run me off the road. About thirty metres from the bend I stand on the brakes while I drop a gear and release the clutch to use the car's weight to help with the braking.
The look of shock on Barnes' face when we suddenly drop behind him is priceless, he even half turns his head to watch us. I reach out with my Calling skill to turn the wheel of his car to the right a little so his car starts to move back into our lane just in front of us while I continue to brake hard. I watch when he jerks his head back to the front to start heaving on the steering wheel while I continue to hold his steering wheel over to the right. His car continues to float across the lane. I let him take control when his car nears the barrier rail. The car straightens up in time to go straight ahead and out over the edge of the cliff just as I stop braking to use the engine and gears to go into a controlled slide before I power around the corner, then I go into heavy braking again. Stopping in the middle of a nice straight stretch I pull right over, park, turn the engine off, and we all get out of the car.
Everyone bails out and we race back to the break in the rail. We're careful to hold on to things while we look down into the valley. We can see where the car hit about twenty metres out and several metres below the road because the trees and ground there are torn up a fair bit. Bradley spots the wreck well down the valley about two hundred metres out and around three hundred metres down, it's off to the side at about thirty degrees. I guess it hit the sloping ground near us with its nose or front wheels and then bounced off at an angle. No way we can get down there from here.
I go back to the car to use the GPS to get a reading while I call the emergency services on the cell phone. To keep the call simple I first tell them the location with the GPS reading and about a car leaving the road at high speed. I also ask for police and rangers to stop to talk to us about it. They pass on the requests and ask why I want the cops. I confirm they've the proper services heading our way before I give them a quick run down on what happened. All about the tail, the attack, and my evasive action. The operator is surprised, but stays with me until the first of the Park Rangers arrives and confirms he's on site over their radio. He came down from the area where we're going to, so he's quick to arrive.
A little later a couple of helicopters arrive and hover over the area. One drops down to near the wreck and a rope drops, followed by a fellow sliding down the rope. We watch this until a voice says, “Care to tell me about it.” I turn around to see a group of several cops with more Park Rangers standing there. I half smile as I nod to them.
They're quick to split us up with a cop and a Park Ranger paired up to do each interview. After giving my version of events to the senior cop and a ranger I take them to our car to show where they hit it. The Park Ranger says, “How the heck can you tell where you got hit, and how can we prove the new hits, if you can?”
I smile while saying, “This car is going to be a student shop project at the school of a friend of my shop teacher. They'll be doing all of the panel beating and paint it while I'm paying them for the materials for this and two other projects. They've photos and detailed records of every mark as it was two days before the end of school. So they can be used to prove the new damage, which is,” and I point to each new dent and mark. Some are very obvious because the hits scrapped off the red anti-rust paint to leave shiny metal showing. They make notes on everything I point at.
The cop says, “We're not sure who'll be handling this because this is a mixed jurisdiction area so we're doing a joint investigation. In case you were wondering why the mixed teams.”
I nod, “The driver of the other vehicle, Barnes, assaulted me some months back and he got hurt when I took the knife off him. He wasn't happy. Since then I've heard rumours he's out for payback. I think this was his attempt at that. But he found out, the hard way, I'm no easy hit.” Both of them slowly nod as they note this down in their reports.
We return to the broken rail to join the rest while we watch the action around the wreck, there's about a dozen people moving about it now. One of the cops walks up and says, “Four dead older teens in the car. All identified from the driver's licences on them.” We nod to show we heard.
A little later four Stokes stretchers are lifted out and a heavy duty helicopter lifts the wreck out. The men at the site check over the ground with care and they pick up a few things before they walk off down the valley. A Park Ranger says, “They'll go down to the end of the valley and up the next. There's a hiking trail back up to the road there. Much easier doing that than to try and climb back up here. This isn't the first car to go off along here while speeding.”
Turning away I notice a bunch of cops measuring the skid marks and taking photos of everything. I ask if they can be quick to finish with our car so we can go on with our camping holiday. One of the Park Ranger asks to see our permit while another talks to the forensic team. Bradley shows the Park Ranger our permit while I call Dad to tell him about the events and reassure him we're OK. I laugh when Bron's phone rings while I'm talking to Dad, as it's Mum reacting to what she can hear at Dad's end. I hang up while Bron is still calming Mum down. I take two steps and Cadi is on my phone, so I go through it all again. By then Mary is on the phone to her mother and Bradley is telling his parents. Half in jest I say, “I figure half of Albuquerque will know about this before tonight's news.” I get a lot more laughs than I expect. So I turn around to see most of the cops and Park Rangers are within earshot, and they all agree with me due to the heavy cell phone usage going on.
We're soon allowed to go on our way and we're quick to reach the camp-site, set up, and have a late lunch. The next morning we're up but not out when a Park Ranger calls out near the tent. We ignore him since I'm busy making Mary very happy and I'm sure Bradley is doing the same for Bron in the next tent. After the Park Ranger's fourth call Peg sticks her head out and says, “Please piss off for an hour. Give our boyfriend time to finish fucking my twin sister and do me good too.” She tells us he's quick to leave while trying not to laugh.
During the course of our stay we see Park Rangers around once or twice each day and we run into a couple at road junctions when we leave just after lunch on Thursday. They all smile and wave when we go by.
It turns out to be a good thing we stayed away as Tuesday morning the media were on the doorstep wanting to interview us, so we missed the media circus. Cadi told them we went away for three weeks, which is why they left after not seeing us for a few days because they think she told them the truth.
I find out the Park Rangers had spent a lot of time keeping the media out of our hair while we were in the park, so we send the Park Rangers two vouchers for portable spit roasts of a whole head of beef for use at their staff picnics, or the like. The head Park Ranger comes by to thank us for the thought, but he explains they aren't allowed to accept such gifts and he hands the vouchers back. After a few questions I find out the Park Rangers support a particular local charity for children. So I hand the vouchers to him while I ask him to pass them on to the charity. He smiles when he accepts them for the charity. A few weeks later we get invites to a summer luncheon by the charity when they put on a big party for their kids. Having the bulk of the food already organised made it easier for them to get others to donate for the rest of the party. The Park Rangers are well represented as well, and we all have a good time.
There's a Coroner's Enquiry with an official verdict of Death by Misadventure, that means an accident. The friends of the dead became angry about their deaths, so do the football team because it lost four of its linebackers, I must find out what they do to be so big and so dumb. The families grieve. They accept the deaths because they know their boys were violent and they expected such an end, just not so soon an end.
We get hounded by the media and I strike a deal where they'll leave us all alone if I do an interview. I make them pay up before I do it. I get fifteen thousand dollars toward my university costs and the others get five thousand dollars each as well. I get the extra because I also go on television and I'm subjected to the questions on the matter by their reporter for the exclusive with the local television station. The others only give out individual prepared printed statements to the media people.
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Interesting Times
The new school year starts well with us all looking forward to what we'll learn. Then the remaining football team members start to express their displeasure at losing an important part of their team which they're having trouble to replace. It seems without the four dead idiots they won't be able to win any games because the school has no replacements who're interested in being on the team. The players lose a lot more status in the student body and they get angry about that too. Some are dumb enough to try to take it out on me.
Lunchtime on the Wednesday of the first week a few of the football team are hassling Bron at lunch. I approach them and I tell them to lay off her. On seeing one of them looking over my shoulder and smiling I duck while I grab Bron as I move fast to my left three paces while pushing her along as well. The goon trying to hit me from behind staggers forward and into his friends when he gets no resistance from the punch which misses me. Two more of them move in on me while we back away. This time I keep backing away while I use my Calling skill to make trouble for them by pushing them off balance or stopping them from moving their feet to exactly where they need them for a proper balance. It takes about a minute for a couple of teachers to appear and get them under control. There's plenty of witnesses of them harassing Bron and me, but since no contact was made they just get a talking to. I complain about that, and I get told off for complaining.
We've our car for getting to school for the first week, but the next week the car is over at the other school for some weeks to fix the body panels and to paint it. So we're back to catching buses to and from school. Bron can't wait for us to get the car back because she now has a Full Licence. She was old enough for one when she did the test. Then she was upset about having to do the compulsory six months as a Learner, and she was happy when that ended during the Summer Break. Bron even talked Mum and Dad into paying for her to do the Evasive Driver's Course during the Summer Break. She loved it and she passed well. I think Mum and Dad only agreed to Bron doing the course due to my saying how it helped me deal with Barnes and his mates and how it gave me the skill and confidence in handling the car so well.
More Trouble
On the Tuesday of the third week I arrive near the school buses to find a couple of the football team harassing Cadi and Bron with more of them lounging about nearby, yet none of them catch these buses. Cadi says something and one grabs her. He bodily lifts her up to hit her against the side of the bus. The noise of the hit causes the driver to get out of the bus just as I rush up to kick the arse hole in the balls as hard as I can.
He lets go of Cadi and she drops to the ground, shaking, when he drops to the ground, moaning while holding his balls. Bron races over to Cadi, holding her tight while she hits a speed dial on her phone. I turn to face the seven other football players moving in for a fight.
I see another mandatory few weeks suspension for fighting coming my way so I figure on taking all of them with me. The one nearest me swings a punch so I duck and I use my right foot to sweep his feet out from under him at the same time. He hits the ground, hard. When I step over him toward the next player I take time to stomp on his leg, and I smile when I hear the bone snap. The next one has some training so he throws a straight punch, a perfect boxing jab. I sway away from it while raising my right hand to grab his wrist, I swing my left hand up and across to hit his elbow. I hear a crack and he screams while his forearm takes on a most unusual angle when the elbow breaks. I think he's out of the fight for right now, if not fully out of it for today.
The driver is yelling at us to stop when the next two come in together. The one on my left has a knife and is slashing at me with it. I use my Calling skill to push it to my right a little more. Grabbing his right wrist I turn the hand back toward him and shove hard while I swing a left at his arm. The action results in the knife plunging into the belly of his mate beside him just before I break his forearm in half. Both of them give a nice scream.
The last three move to come at me from three sides while one tells the driver, “Shut up and fuck off while we kill this mother fucker.”
All three have knives out and are weaving them before them: it looks like they know how to use them too. Sliding to my right I weave my hands about when I move in on the one at my right-hand end of the line. Striking fast I grab the inside of his right wrist with my left hand at the same time as I grab his belt. I'm quick to move back to my left while I use all of my strength to lift and pull him to me. I pivot on my left foot, my back foot, while I take most of his weight and throw him at the one on my left. When I let him go I drop to the ground and I swing my right foot at the left knee of the one in the middle. He screams when his knee shatters. The fellow I tossed screams too. I jump up again and I move toward the last one just as I hear sirens approaching. The last goon is part turned away while the guy I tossed slides off the knife he's holding. When the knife comes free he turns to me just as I let him have a kick in the knee. He drops the knife when he screams and falls to the ground.