Genomorph

Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

It was early Monday morning as shadowy figures began taking positions near a condominium building in Las Vegas. The sun would be up in about two hours, and the street was quiet and deserted. Petty Officer First Class Mark Lewis peered through the scope of his weapon at the black sedan parked outside the condominium complex. The Condor air rifle was a far cry from the weapon he generally used, but it was up to the task at hand. Capable of launching a twenty-two caliber pellet at over twelve hundred feet per second, it was more than enough to puncture the tires of the car without making a sound or the risk of over penetration or ricochets that could endanger innocent civilians. Three more of his platoon mates were in concealed positions around the vehicle and on his command they would disable it.

Inside his condo, Ryan Sanders woke to the sound of his phone ringing and looked at the clock. It was just after four in the morning and he muttered angrily, wondering what was wrong at the lab now.

“This better be good,” he grumbled as he picked up the phone. “Yeah what is it?”

“Ryan there’s no time to explain,” Susan’s voice said in his ear. “You know you’re being watched. I need your help. A black Excursion is pulling up out front right now. Move!”

Ryan dropped the phone and quickly donned a pair of jeans and a shirt, and then slipped on his sneakers. Rising he grabbed his laptop computer and a brown leather duffel bag; he had kept the bag packed and ready for weeks now, and sprinted out of his condo. He ignored the elevators and took the stairs, flying down three flights and out of the building.

The black Ford SUV was pulling up just as Susan had said. It slowed to a crawl but did not stop as the back door opened. Ryan launched himself and was pulled in by strong hands. The door slammed shut and the SUV sped away. Ryan’s shadows started the engine of their car to pursue.

“Take ‘em.” Lewis whispered into his radio. The car had barely begun moving when all four of its tires went flat. By the time the two agents were out of the vehicle, the four SEALs had disappeared into the night.

*****

Brandi, Melissa and Karen entered Keller Karate Tuesday evening and immediately drew stares from all the men who were working out. It was much later than Brandi’s usual workout time and there were more people there, but tonight she was not here to work out. Dylan had called her the day before and asked if she could fill in for his women’s self defense instructor, who was out with the flu. Brandi had been reluctant at first, but Melissa and Karen had convinced her it would be good for her to interact with other women and that she could provide them with information that would be very valuable to them.

“Don’t worry about the boys, they do that all the time,” Brandi said. “Just smile and try not to make eye contact.”

“Speak for yourself, kiddo,” Karen said. “There are some real hunks here.”

Brandi was about to reply when she saw Dylan approaching. She held her comment and smiled as she greeted him.

“Well you are certainly raising the class of this place, Brandi,” Dylan said. Melissa and Karen shared a look as Brandi greeted Dylan with a warm hug.

“These are my friends Melissa and Karen,” Brandi told him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Dylan said, flashing them his roguish smile. Brandi felt a tingle rush through her, and fought the sensation down. She really liked Dylan, and her growing friendship with him was making her sexual urges even harder to resist. Besides Arnie Belcher, she had not developed a close relationship with any man since her transformation until she met Dylan.

“I really appreciate you taking Jenny’s class tonight, Brandi,” Dylan said. “Jerry will be your ‘dummy’ tonight. He’s getting suited up now.”

Brandi led Melissa and Karen to the smaller room that Dylan used for private workouts and small classes. Her friends both began giggling as they entered at the sight of Jerry, his six foot frame encased from head to toe in red foam padding. Brandi explained that the protective suit allowed the class members to practice on the ‘dummy’ as though it was a real attack, without actually hurting him.

Brandi stripped down to her sports bra and tights and began limbering up as several women of various ages slowly filed into the room. When the time for the class to start arrived, there were twelve women there including Melissa and Karen. Dylan came in to start the class off and introduce Brandi to the women.

“Our regular instructor, Jenny is out with the flu so Brandi here has graciously agreed to take over for tonight,” Dylan told them. “Now you may think she looks like a model and not a martial arts instructor, but I can tell you she has taught me a thing or two, most importantly to never underestimate someone based on appearance.”

Brandi blushed slightly and thanked Dylan as he turned the class over to her. She then had everyone introduce themselves and passed out a handout them that listed some basic tips and the defensive moves they would be learning over the course of the class.

“The first thing I want to stress, before we talk about anything else or learn any defensive techniques is preparedness and awareness,” she told the class. “I’m not trying to scare you, but we are all targets. There are predators out there, and they see us as prey; weak and vulnerable. The plain fact is that it’s true; the average woman is smaller and weaker than the average man. The trick is to turn that against an attacker, because he won’t be expecting you to fight back.

“Awareness is your number one weapon. By being aware you can avoid potentially dangerous situations. Always be aware of your surroundings and if a situation feels wrong, get out of there. Think about where you park your car, where you are going. Look around before you get out of your car, even if it’s at home. Never park in a dark, secluded area. When walking out to your car, have your keys ready in hand. If you can, get a remote keyless entry system.”

Brandi saw several heads nodding, knowing she was relaying information many of them had heard before. It was really no different than what Brandon had learned as a SEAL, only he had always known when he was going into danger. She felt a bit awkward preaching to them about the importance of awareness; with her enhanced senses she did not have to think about it, her mind was aware on a subconscious level constantly.

“With awareness you can hopefully avoid getting into a situation,” she continued, “but even if you can’t, it can give you enough warning to allow you to react. That’s where being prepared comes in. The moves you will learn here are part of that, but they won’t do you a bit of good unless you make up your mind, right here and now, that you will not be a victim.”

For the next two hours Brandi worked with the women, first demonstrating a technique with Jerry and then allowing each of them to practice it several times. She stuck to Jenny’s outline; the moves were basic enough to learn easily but very effective. She also stressed that the goal of each was to stop the attacker long enough for the woman to make an escape and that she was not teaching them to fight it out with a man.

“Once you put him down, don’t give in to the temptation to kick him while he’s on the ground,” she told them. “Run as fast as you can and scream as loud as you can. In most situations, the combination of your unexpected resistance and the commotion you make as you flee will convince him to retreat.”

Brandi was quickly over her initial nervousness and actually had fun. By the time the class was over she felt truly sorry for poor Jerry and was certain he probably had a few bruises despite the heavy padding; some of the women had been quite enthusiastic. Brandi could tell, thanks to her enhanced sense, that many of them had very personal reasons for taking this class.

“I’m glad I told Dylan I would do this,” Brandi told Melissa and Karen after the class. “It felt really good.”

“You did a great job,” Karen told her. “I think you made a big impression on everyone. Of course, we already know you’re wonderful.”

“It makes me think,” Brandi said. “I’m really lucky; I’ve never had to deal with that kind of fear. The one thing I wasn’t worried about when I came to LA was being attacked.”

“Well that’s obvious,” Melissa giggled. “You are the only woman I’ve ever met that came to LA looking to be attacked.”

Brandi blushed at the reminder of her first night in Los Angeles, when she had taken a taxi to an area virtually controlled by street gangs to basically pick a fight. She realized now how foolish that had been; though not because she had been in any real danger of being hurt, at least not physically. Instead of helping her resist her growing sexual urges however, the fight had very nearly caused her to give in to them.

Dylan was working with a group of young boys as the three girls entered the main room. Brandi waved and smiled as they walked towards the door, and Dylan left the group and jogged over to catch them. Brandi felt a definite thrill run through her as he neared, followed by a surge of fear and apprehension. She could feel her mind ‘changing gears’ as her anxiety tried to shift her into ‘bimbo mode’, but she took a deep breath and fought it off.

~ Calm down, you can handle this. ~

“Jerry tells me you did a great job,” Dylan said as he neared them.

“It was fun,” Brandi told him.

“Well you know we have a lot of interest in the class,” Dylan said. “I wouldn’t mind starting one on another night.”

“I’m happy to help if I can like I did tonight, Dylan,” Brandi said. “I couldn’t commit to anything more. For all I know I could be gone tomorrow.”

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Dylan said, leaning forward quickly and kissing her on the cheek. “That would be a very sad day.”

Dylan said goodnight and returned to his students and the three girls left the gym. As soon as they were outside Brandi reached into her purse and took out a cigarette. Melissa and Karen both notice her hands trembling slightly as she lit it.

“I win,” Melissa said. “It was under five seconds.”

“You’re right,” Karen said. Brandi looked at them both in confusion.

“We made a bet about how long it would take you to light up once we were outside,” Karen explained.

“Very funny,” Brandi said, exhaling smoke in their general direction.

“You have been smoking a lot more lately,” Melissa said.

“I know,” Brandi said. “It’s not even like I really enjoy it that much. I mean I get a sense of satisfaction because it's programmed into me, but I do it mainly as a distraction. I can focus on that rather than … other things.”

“Dylan is very handsome,” Melissa said. “It’s obvious he likes you a lot.”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Brandi said, her voice betraying a hint of bitterness. “I was made to be desirable. That is the hardest part about the feelings I have, and the attention I attract; I don’t know if any of it is real.”

“Brandi, listen to me,” Karen said. “What you are feeling is nothing new; we women face the same questions all the time. Is he interested in me or my body? The trick is to give it time, get to know a guy. If he’s just after a quick tumble, he’ll lose interest if you don’t put out fast enough. If he really cares, if he really wants to know you, he won’t give up.”

“There’s more to it for me though,” Brandi said.

“True, you have an artificially elevated sex drive,” Karen said. “Men are largely driven by their bodies when it comes to sex, where women are more driven by their emotions. But you are driven by both, and it causes conflict. I can’t tell you how to balance the two, but I believe you will find a way.”

“You’ve lived with those feelings for months now,” Melissa added. “If you were going to be ruled by them, it would have happened by now.”

“It’s come close,” Brandi said. “Fortunately I have people looking out for me.”

Brandi’s head snapped to the right as a sound reached her hyper sensitive ears, and she began walking purposefully up the sidewalk in the opposite direction of their house.

“Trouble,” she said as Melissa and Karen followed.

Soon they could hear a young woman’s loud protests and ahead they could see the altercation. One of the girls from the class, Sally Prescott, was being confronted by a man who was yelling at her angrily. As they neared the scene, he reached out and grabbed Sally’s wrist and started pulling her towards a car.

Sally dug the nails of her other hand into the back of his hand and with a cry of pain he released her. She turned to flee but he quickly wrapped an arm around her throat and pulled her roughly back.

“I suggest you let her go,” Brandi growled as they reached the scene.

“Get lost, this is none of your business,” the man shouted back.

“I disagree,” Brandi said. “You are on a public street assaulting a young woman. I’m making it my business.”

The young man sized Brandi and her friends up and did not seem terribly impressed. Brandi knew she could step forward and take him down in less than a second, but she saw something in Sally’s eyes, a very deep fear. She knew this was a crucial moment for the young woman.

“Sally, it’s time to make your choice,” Brandi said softly.

Sally’s eyes hardened at her words, and she acted. She smashed her right foot down on his toes even as she snapped her head back into his face, squarely on his nose. His grip loosened slightly and she grabbed his thumb, prying it away painfully and twisting free from him as he tried to balance on one foot. He lost the fight and fell to the sidewalk as Sally rushed away, stopping when Brandi was between her and the man.

“You bitch!” he screamed. “You broke my fucking thumb!”

“I seriously doubt that,” Brandi said. “At the most she dislocated it.”

“It’s over Craig, why can’t you get that through your head?” Sally said.

“It’s over when I say so!” Craig shouted, rising to his feet and taking a step forward.

This time Brandi did step in; Sally had done what she had been taught. She had acted to defend herself and stopped the assault, and then gotten clear of her attacker and found help. He would not touch her again. Brandi did not try anything fancy; she simply punched him in his already bloody nose hard enough to send him staggering back. Craig snarled in rage and launched a punch of his own. Brandi caught his fist and twisted, forcing him down to his knees and then shoving him away. He sprawled to the sidewalk once more.

“You’re lucky, a few weeks ago I would have broken your arm on principle, but I’ve grown since then,” Brandi said. “If you try to touch her again though, I will put you in the hospital.”

“I’ve already called 911,” Karen said, wiggling her cell phone for him to see. “I can call an ambulance while I’ve got my phone out too if you want.”

A look of fear crossed Craig’s face and he scrambled to his feet and got in his car. With squealing tires he sped away from the curb. After he was gone Brandi turned to Sally.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes,” Sally nodded. “He didn’t hurt me…this time.”

“We all saw the assault,” Karen said. “When the cops get here we can give them a statement.”

“I already have a restraining order against him,” Sally said.

“Good, that means they will pick him up with no problem,” Brandi said.

The police arrived and twenty minutes later had taken their statements. Brandi was able to give them a detailed description of Craig’s vehicle and the tag number, and within minutes of putting out a bulletin on the radio the officers informed them that Craig had been picked up a few blocks away after running a red light. He was being taken to the emergency room to have his injured thumb treated and then would at least be spending the night in jail.

“I’ve seen you at Keller Karate, haven’t I?” one of the responding officers asked Brandi. His name tag said Montoya on it.

“Yes I work out there a few times a week, Officer Montoya,” Brandi said. She had thought he looked familiar; he was one of the regulars at the dojo.

“Yeah I heard you put Dylan on his butt a few times,” Montoya laughed. “He’s a great guy but he can be a little cocky at times; I would have loved to see his face when that happened. Were you the one who messed up this guy’s hand?”

“No that was all Sally,” Brandi said. “She showed him a few things she learned in tonight’s self defense class. I only stepped in when he didn’t get the message.”

“Well with the prior incidents and his violating the restraining order the judge will probably throw the book at him on this assault charge,” Montoya said, turning Sally. “If he gives you anymore trouble be sure and call us.”

“Thank you officer, I will,” Sally said.

“You know I could go for a drink,” Karen said after the police had left. “Why don’t you join us, Sally?”

“That sounds nice,” Sally said. There was an air of confidence about her that had not been there before. “We aren’t going to be picking up any guys are we…I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”

Brandi put her arm around Sally’s shoulder and smiled, “You and me both, Sally.”