The Legacy of Shadows. William Speir

over his body, landing behind him with her hands still on his arm. She pulled his arm inward until his fist was in the small of his back and the baseball bat was pointing downward.

      “Wha…?” He cried out in pain as she wrestled the baseball bat from his hand. When he tried to spin around and face her, she shifted his arm and forced him to his knees.

      “Get her!” he shouted.

      The other thugs ran at her with their weapons raised. Jamie released the first man’s arm and jumped up, landing on his shoulder. Then she leaped to the left. The man on his knees pitched forward, and he face-planted on the concrete. He lay there — stunned — as Jamie confronted the next attacker.

      Jamie swung the baseball bat, catching the next attacker in his shoulder. He dropped the pipe and fell backward.

      Jamie grabbed the pipe and attacked him with both weapons. He tried to block her blows, but he couldn’t; they seemed to come from every direction. Blood spurted from his nose and mouth, and he couldn’t lift his right arm. Jamie kicked him in the head, and he lost consciousness.

      Jamie shifted the direction of her attack to the right, stepping on the first man as she leaped at the attacker holding a wrench in his left hand. She landed with both feet on his chest, forcing him backward into another man running forward to help him. Both attackers fell onto the concrete. Jamie kicked their weapons away and changed directions again, stepping on the first man again as she attacked to the left.

      She swung the bat and pipe in her hands like swords as she attacked the remaining thugs who were still able to fight. Ribs cracked, bones broke, and wounds opened up and bled from a dozen blows that the attackers never seemed able to block. Soon, only the first man was still conscious.

      She moved toward him. His face was cut, and his nose broken and bloody from the times Jamie had stepped on him to propel herself into an attack against one of his buddies. His right arm appeared to be broken, and he was having trouble breathing.

      Jamie placed the pipe under his chin and lifted his head so he could face her. “I could have killed you all,” she told him, “but I held back. Your wounds will heal. But if you ever try to hurt me or any of my students again, I’ll give you a beat-down that you’ll never get up from. Do you understand?”

      He spat at her and said nothing. Jamie stepped back and then spun around, delivering a kick to the side of his head. He pitched forward and lay there – bleeding and unresponsive.

      Looking around, Jamie was satisfied that none of the men was still able to fight. She secured their weapons and retrieved her phone from her gym bag. She called 911 and told the dispatcher that she needed the police and multiple EMTs immediately.

      Jamie sat down on the sidewalk outside the dojo and waited. In less than ten minutes, she heard sirens approaching. Sergeant Myerson arrived first, followed by three police cars and four EMT ambulances.

      “What now, Miss Anderson?” Myerson asked when he saw the men sprawled on the concrete.

      “They’re friends of the guy who attacked my student last week.” Jamie gestured at the pile of weapons in front of her. “They wanted to teach me a lesson.”

      Myerson chortled. “I see that didn’t work out so well for them.”

      “No, it didn’t.”

      The EMTs began examining the thugs, and their list of injuries was extensive. When they reported their findings to Myerson, he just shook his head.

      “Are you trying to keep us busy?” he asked.

      Jamie shook her head. “I didn’t ask them to come here and try to hurt me. But I’m not going to let people like this intimidate me or my students, and I’m not going to back down from a fight that I didn’t start.”

      Myerson finished taking Jamie’s statement as the EMTs lifted the thugs onto stretchers and loaded them into the ambulances.

      “The detective may need to talk to you.”

      “I’m flying out of town tomorrow morning, but I’ll be back Friday night. They can get me over the weekend if they need anything.”

      Myerson made a note of that. Then he asked, “Do you think you’ll ever find yourself in a position where you can just talk yourself out of a situation instead of having to crack heads?”

      “That depends on who I’m talking to,” Jamie said grimly. “I don’t actually like hurting people, but I’m not going to let anyone hurt me. You know I carry a gun; I could have just shot them. But if they’re dead, they don’t learn, and I want them to learn from their mistakes. Do you think they’ll learn anything from what happened tonight?”

      Myerson just stared at her. “Remind me to never piss you off.”

      Jamie smiled a tired smile. “That could never happen, Sergeant. I consider you a friend.”

      Myerson looked surprised. “Thank you for that, Miss Anderson. And as your friend, let me give you some advice. Be careful. The people who work for you and the people you teach watch everything that you do. Be sure that what you’re showing them is what you want them to see and what you want them to learn. You’re responsible for them, too. Don’t forget.”

      Jamie nodded.

      Myerson and the other police got back in their patrol cars and left the parking lot to follow the EMT ambulances to the hospital. The thugs would all be placed under arrest for assault… as soon as they regained consciousness.

      Jamie retrieved her gym bag, got in her car, and drove home.

      The more I step in to help people, the more people want to prove that they’re better than I am. I’m starting to feel like the gunslingers of the old west that all of the young punks want to fight to prove that they’re faster on the draw. I’m glad Hunter isn’t like that. He loves me for me, and we never compete against each other.

      She drove home, looking forward to spending time with Hunter before she had to head to the airport in the morning.

The Coming Darkness

      5

      Jamie’s plane touched down at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport just before 10:00 AM on Thursday. She had been traveling since 5:30 AM and had to change planes in Dallas-Fort Worth, but the flights had been smooth and uneventful.

      After deplaning, she sent Hunter a quick text to let him know that she had arrived okay. Then she picked up her rental car and headed toward the Buckeye suburb of Phoenix.

      She stopped to check in at her hotel and change into her martial arts uniform before heading to the combat martial art society’s main training complex. Even though she was traveling there for a business meeting, uniforms were required.

      She arrived at the entrance to the training complex and drove through the stone gates and along the main drive. The training complex was comprised of several one-story stone and timber ranch-style buildings. The main building had offices, conference rooms, and classrooms, while the other buildings had gymnasiums well suited for the various martial arts disciplines taught there. There was also plenty of green space between the buildings, providing the option to teach classes outdoors when the weather was forgiving.

      Jamie pulled up to the main building and parked in the front lot. She saw several other rental cars nearby. As she exited her car, Senior Master Frank Whitworth appeared on the veranda and walked toward her.

      “You made good time,” he noted, bowing.

      “No flight delays today,” Jamie responded, bowing before shaking Frank’s hand. Gesturing to the cars, she added, “Am I the last one here?”

      Frank shook his head. “Malcom and Gunther are on their way. Gunther had to fly into Mesa, so he has a longer drive. Three of the instructors are also en route and should be here within the hour.”

      Frank gestured for Jamie to follow