Hayley's Party Ch. 07

In one instinctive reaction I followed him to the floor, pounding on his head, blackening his eye, smacking his head hard on the floor, flattening his nose. As I smashed his head into the floor one last time for luck, I saw the gun tucked in the back of his jeans, concealed by his jacket. Slipping it out, I tucked it into the back of my own jeans where my jacket would conceal it. Felt like a 1911 but I didn't look as I stood. I didn't think anyone had seen me remove the gun. I hoped not. It'd be hard to explain, but I figured that gun was better off with me than with him.

I doubted he'd notice though. He had other, more painful, concerns. Between him and macho-man thrashing around turning blue while he imitated a fish, the limited floor space was getting a little crowded. I gave macho man a quick tap to the head with the toe of my Doc Martens. It wasn't really a tap. It knocked him out. Which was what I'd intended. Hoped it didn't make a mess of my boots. That shade of pink was hard to polish. Still, it was only blood. Should wash of.

Standing, I didn't look at my Dad. I looked at Harry.

"Dad?" My Dad knew what I was asking.

"Harry?"

Harry paled. He knew what I was asking too. "She shouldn't have done that Eagle."

"You know this guy Dad?" My voice was a malevolent hiss. Harry's turn to step back. I edged towards him. He edged away.

"Yeah." Dad's voice was still icy. "And I better not see him again either." He peered down at macho man, then back to me. "Do you want him dead kitten?"

I blinked. Dad asked that the same way he asked if I wanted a plate of fried rice. Like it was no big deal. I wondered if he was serious. He looked at Harry. His voice turned to liquid nitrogen. "I don't like seeing my little girl threatened, Harry." Dad smiled at me, that fond Daddy's girl smile that I'd grown up with. The mask disappeared for a second. Just a second. Then the smile vanished, the mask reappeared, along with the ice. "I'm sure if I asked, Harry would take care of it. ... If he wanted to live. ... Wouldn't you Harry?"

I shivered, that sibilant hiss was terrifying from my Dad, as malevolent as my own had been. Worse, really. I knew. I knew my Dad. I knew he really was serious, that if I asked, macho man would be dead. That scared me; that my Dad would and could ask me that question. And make it happen. Part of me wanted to wail that my Dad was an Accountant. Accountants didn't threaten to kill people and mean it. Accountants didn't wear a face like my Dad was wearing. People like Harry didn't quail in terror when Accountants talked. Unless they worked for the IRS of course, but Dad certainly didn't.

Sometimes reality changes on you in an instant. Something happens and instantaneously, everything is different. Your whole world, your whole reality. Everything is the same but there's a moment in time when you realize it's not what you thought. The surface is the same but the structure, the reality that underlies that surface isn't what you'd thought it had been. You realize that the surface is an illusion, a mask. I had one of those moments.

Everything I knew about my Dad, his frequent trips away, not wanting me to be nosey, minding my own business, the tough looking Chinese businessmen that visited him from Los Angeles and San Francisco and Vancouver and Asia, the way he turned on the icy face and voice, the mask slipping from his face, the fear that he inspired, the calls he took, the tough guys working out the back of the Emerald Garden, the dragon tattoo's on his back and shoulders and arms that I'd tickled as a little girl, making him laugh, even Willie and Modesty and their business that they were selling to my Dad and Harry's involvement, all of it suddenly everything clicked into place in my mind.

I didn't take my eyes of Harry. My expression didn't change. I didn't twitch a hair, not a muscle. But I knew. Or at least, I thought I knew. I thought I knew why Harry looked so terrified. I knew why he looked far more terrified than I was feeling, which was probably good thinking on his part. I knew and I was afraid. I knew and I concealed that knowledge without a quiver, wearing my own mask.

"Wouldn't you Harry?" my Dad hissed again.

Harry nodded.

No, I didn't want anyone dead. My Dad looked at me. Harry looked at me. Willie and Modesty and Rachel and the three goons looked at me. Shit Dad, why ask me a question like that? Was I supposed to say yes? I mean, I didn't like him threatening me or mauling me. I didn't like macho man full stop. Asshole got what he deserved. But I didn't want him dead. Not for real.

"Ummm, no thanks Dad." My voice was still cold, cold but quiet now. I'd never imagined my Dad like this. Not ever. It rather frightened me. I sat back down in my chair, my eyes fixed on Harry. I still wanted to deal with him. Much the same was as I'd dealt with macho man. My own way. Not Dad's way. But now I was scared. "But what about Harry?"

I wondered what my Dad would say. I kept my mask, I smiled coldly at Harry. I didn't feel at all kindly towards Harry, mask or not. But Harry was my Dad's call, not mine, not now that Dad had stopped me kicking the shit out of him. Which now that I thought about it, probably hadn't been such a good idea. Not with a restaurant full of people all staring and watching, horrified. The noise around us was deafening. I could hear sirens in the distance. No, kicking the shit out of Harry had not been a good idea. I'd have to rein in that impetuosity. It'd got me in trouble in sparring competitions as well. I needed to listen to Master Kim rather better than I had been.

"Fuck you bitch." Black-eyed raccoon guy on the floor was hissing up at me from where he huddled, cradling his broken elbow and his ribs, his face streaked with blood. Well, we could fix that little attitude problem quickly enough. I gave him the cold face. He recoiled as my Vipertek came out of my pocket. My Dad saw the movement, gave me an approving smile. Definitely I was still Daddy's little girl. I was still being a little too impetuous too. Damn!

"What would you like to have done with Harry, kitten?" My Dad wasn't looking at me anymore; his eyes were on Harry, who'd paled as I smiled.

"I think that's enough Hayley, Eagle." Ms. Burns hand on my arm wasn't forceful, just a touch. I turned the cold face on her. Her eyes met mine.

She smiled, her expression peaceful, her voice a whisper only she and I could hear. "I can do that face too Hayley, let it go. Let Harry go, it's finished. That's not a path you want to go down."

I looked into her eyes, serene and placid the way a tiger's eyes are serene and placid. There was a long moment where I looked into her eyes, saw that she knew, that she'd been where I was, that she understood. I nodded, once, turned the cold face on Harry instead. "I don't want to see you again Harry. But I don't want him dead, Dad."

"She's your daughter alright Eagle." Harry's voice was shaking, a shadow of his former arrogant confidence.

"She is Harry, she is. It'd be a good idea if Kuang-nan remembered that. It'd be a good idea of Kuang-nan remembered me too. Just because I live out here doesn't mean I've changed Harry. It doesn't mean I'm anything other than what I am. You tell Kuang-nan that Harry, tell him not to make any more mistakes."

"I'll tell him."

"You be sure to Harry, I'd hate to have to take this further. You wouldn't want that."

Harry's face said he agreed. He didn't want that at all.

Which was when the cops arrived. I tucked my Vipertek away, made sure my new gun was safely secured in back of my jeans. Willie saw what I was doing and blinked. I don't think he'd seen me lift the gun.

Then I started to cry.

It was actually rather easy. I was starting to shake, the way I always did after a tough bout in a tournament. I'd never taken out someone like that before, not so brutally. Even if he did deserve it. I felt slightly nauseous. I really felt like crying. It wasn't an act. I let the cold face go, put that mask aside, completely.

It's amazing how solicitous everyone is when a pretty girl sits there crying and shaking. Especially after they'd all seen macho man in my face mauling me. Andrew had his arm around my shoulders, Rachel was passing me tissues. Everyone around at the tables around us was busy trying to tell the cops how the guy had assaulted me openly. There was no issue with a lack of witnesses that was for sure. We had dozens. The paramedics turned up. Macho man's gun, which I hadn't noticed, and I knew I should have, fell to the floor. Miraculously, everyone remembered seeing him threatening us with a gun. Nobody seemed to remember me slamming macho man's head into the table or kicking him on the floor or breaking his fingers.

Or if they did, they didn't think it was worth mentioning.

Even better, one of the cops was Bethany's Dad. He knew me. Of course he knew Dad pretty well too. He and Dad played cards together one evening every month at the local Post. Before I knew what had happened, Harry and the other two had been arrested while macho man and black-eyed raccoon guy headed off to hospital with their own escort. Black-eyed raccoon guy was totally helpful, spitting and cursing and threatening me.

Bethany's Dad laughed at him. "You assholes sure picked the wrong girl to assault." He was still laughing as he finally left the restaurant – but only after a quick whispered conversation with my Dad.

Two waitresses cleaned up the floor and our table while Young Freddie personally brought us fresh tea and bustled around organizing replacement dishes. The restaurant more or less returned to normal, although everyone kept looking our way. Old Freddie came over, pulling up a seat. "My apologies Eagle, Ms. Burns, Willie, Hayley, Andrew, Rachel." He really did sound mortified. "They came in so quickly, we saw them but didn't have time."

Dad held up his hand. "That's okay Freddie, it happens."

"Not in my restaurant. Not to you and your guests, Eagle."

"I know it won't happen again Freddie." My Dad sipped on his tea, eyeing Old Freddie, who still looked shaken. "All's well that ends well." And now my Dad smiled at me. "Hayley certainly dealt with it rather well I thought."

Everyone looked at me. Yeah, maybe I did, but I was still shaking inside. What if I'd missed that strike to macho man's larynx? What if something had gone wrong with my Vipertek? What if one of the three stooges had intervened before I could take out macho man? What if... what if? So many what ifs. So many things that could have gone wrong. One hit from macho man would have torn me in half. But that was all underneath, in my head.

On the surface, I was calm. All I said was "Thanks Dad." Feeling proud that my voice wasn't shaking. The breathing helped. I calmed myself consciously, focusing on the breathing, slowing my heartbeat, relaxing muscles which I realized were still ready to react instantly. Calming my mind as well, thinking of sunlight on grass and the river and smiling with Joe as we relaxed. Thinking calming peaceful thoughts. Happy thoughts. I smiled.

Willie nodded, his eyes on me. Those eyes were disconcertingly knowledgeable, as if he was reading me. Ms. Burns was looking at me as well, watching me, her expression thoughtful. She looked at Willie, raised one eyebrow. He nodded. She glanced at me, then back at my Dad. "That favor you asked us for Eagle, we'll do it."

My Dad nodded. "Thank you Modesty, Willie." He didn't say anything else. I had no idea what they were talking about and no, despite everything that had just taken place, I wasn't going to ask. Dad would tell me if I needed to know.

And okay, I was starving. Shakes or no shakes, I was always starving after sparring. Macho man had been a bit more than sparring. Now it was too much talk-talk. I didn't want to even think about my Dad. Not like I'd seen him a few minutes ago. Eating would take my mind of things I'd rather not think about. I couldn't wait. Those fresh dishes smelled great. I started serving myself. Everyone looked at me. "What?"

Dad laughed, then Ms. Burns and Willie. Rachel joined in but hers was rather more forced. Even Andrew was grinning.

"I was going to ask if you were okay Hayley, but obviously you are." Rachel sounded a little sour, but hey, I was used to that at least. Water of a duck's back.

"Happens every week at sparring." Inside, I was still shaking, but nobody except me needed to know that. Happened every time.

"You spar with gorillas then?" Ms. Burns was laughing at me now. The mask slipped. I had to grin.

"Well, two of the guys I train with are ex-cons, not quite that guy's size but close. They don't pull it when we're sparring." They didn't either. I had to move like lightning when I sparred with them. Forget grappling. They were a pair of complete assholes that way. The bruises I'd collected. I suspected Master Kim put them up to it but I never asked. They never said. They kept me on my toes. Cliff and Trey were still assholes.

Rachel looked horrified. Dad looked a little surprised. "Hey, they're bikers but they're on the straight and narrow now, more or less, really." They weren't, but that was need to know stuff. No-one here except me needed to know. Time to change the subject. And no, maybe I didn't need to know but those three guys? I'd better tell my Dad what had happened, and Harry obviously had something to do with it. "So who's Harry and why's he pissed."

Dad's face went expressionless. Not the cold look. Just blank. He glanced at Ms. Burns and Willie. They both looked at me. I looked back. "Hey, those other three guys with him tried to grab me a few weeks ago. I want to know why, okay."

Now my Dad looked upset. "You didn't tell me that."

I shrugged. "Thought it was three pervs. Joe and Barry sorted them out."

Ms. Burns looked at my Dad. "She's right, she should know in case something happens again." She looked at me. "I think that's a good idea, Eagle."

My Dad just looked at me. I looked right back. I wanted to know.

"Okay," my Dad said at last. He looked ... sad. "But I don't think it's that urgent, not right now. Next weekend if you don't mind, Hayley. Not before, Willie and Modesty and I have a lot to get through this week." He looked around the restaurant. "And I'd rather not talk about it here."

"Next weekend, sure." I was okay with that. This weekend had been something else. Anything more and my head was going to explode.

"Dinner with us, Eagle," Willie chipped in unexpectedly. "We're involved as well. Hayley deserves to know from all three of us. We can talk about that favor you asked for as well. Hayley should know about that. Before we start."

My Dad thought about that, then, slowly, he nodded. "Agreed."

Jesus, they all looked so serious. Even Rachel the airhead. I'd known her since I was five and I still had no idea what Dad saw in her. Okay, she was good looking, but she was a complete airhead. With no taste in boots or jackets. Whatever, that was Dad's business. Next weekend was fine with me, I'd just reschedule Mark. I was totally fine with that. But not Brad. Definitely I did not want to reschedule Brad. I was going to see if he was as good as Joe. Oh yes I was. Friday night was going to be Brad's lucky night. He just didn't know it yet. The thought warmed me right through.

"How about Saturday night?" I asked. I hadn't said yes to Mark, I could push him out.

My Dad, Willie and Modesty all looked at each other. Modesty nodded. "Our ranch," she said. "We're moved in. It'll give me a chance to have Soo try out the kitchen."

Dad nodded. "Thanks Modesty."

That sounded just fine to me. But right now, I was starving and I needed to eat.

Tomorrow, I'd introduce Andrew to all my friends at High School. I couldn't wait to see their reactions when they heard that accent. And then training at Master Kim's. This was going to be totally fun.

And shit! I was going to have to fit in another quick trip to the Drug Store.

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Next: Hayley's Party Ch. 08 – Working Out at Master Kim's