So you make the effort.
A year and a half later, you’ve passed SQT, along with four others: Helene Lagdamen, Dorian Michaeli, Dayana Copeland, and Luci Ousmanova. The congresswoman has her fire team.
Grandmaster Ken had looked dubiously upon Lydia when she arrived at the dojo and gone straight to the changing room. Upon seeing the symbol of Kaicho Bill’s dojo on her gi, he was even more dismissive. “This is a fight class, not a ballet class like what that old man taught.”
“You know what else he taught? Respect.”
“Respect is earned, little girl.”
“Call me ‘little girl’ again, and I guarantee you won’t earn mine.”
There were an even number of students, so Ken didn’t participate in the fighting, though he did put on protective gear anyhow.
At first, he paired her up with low-level fighters, white belts and lower belts who were new to sparring. They were all long on enthusiasm and short on technique, and Lydia worked with them, encouraged them to throw combinations and keep their hands up.
By the halfway point, one of the purple belts was limping and needed to stop fighting. At that point, Master Ken started joining the fights.
She overheard several people talking about what a strong, smart fighter this Lydia woman was.
So finally, Ken teamed her with Ethan.
“Your turn to go the fuck down, cunt.”
Lydia somehow managed not to laugh in his face.
She spent most of three minutes of fighting on the defensive. Ethan was fast and strong, but had no discipline, and telegraphed every move. Lydia saw every long punch, every awkwardly set-up kick, and every unimaginative combination coming a mile off.
Ethan grew more and more frustrated, because his techniques got sloppier. He also tried shin kicks and knee kicks and groin kicks, as well as punches to her head.
Nothing landed.
Ten seconds before the buzzer would signal the end of the round, Lydia finally went on the offensive.
Two seconds before the buzzer went off, Ethan was on the floor clutching his belly and trying very hard to breathe.
Ken went to check Ethan out, but after a quick glance, he bore down on Lydia. “Lucky shot.”
“He was lucky he didn’t try to duck. I was going for his solar plexus, and if he ducked, my kick would’ve cracked a rib.”
Snorting derisively, Ken said, “You’re fighting me next.”
Lydia just smiled.
Ken was a much better fighter than Ethan. His punches were shorter and sharper, his kicks faster, his combinations more imaginative. Lydia struggled to keep pace, popping a few jabs and moving around quickly.
Then she went on the offensive.
First was the right hook punch toward his head, which he easily blocked, then she followed with a left uppercut to his solar plexus and a joint kick to his right shin.
Grandmaster Ken fell to the floor, sweat pouring from his face, teeth gritted in an obvious attempt to not scream in pain.
“She cheated!”
“How’d she do that?”
“That wasn’t a fair fight, she must’ve done something.”
“Stupid twat!”
Lydia turned to the men gathering around Ken with concern and said, “That’s Chief Petty Officer Twat to you. It’s the rank the navy gave me when I joined the SEALs.”
“Fuck you, bitch, you ain’t no SEAL.”
Several of the fighters then started to move toward her.
She caught her breath, trying very hard to psych herself up. The fight with Ken was brutal, and even though these guys individually were no match for her, if they all ganged up on her, particularly as tired as she was…
But then the door to the dojo opened and six police officers walked in.
“Everybody hold still, don’t move!” one shouted, holding up a piece of paper. “I’ve got a warrant for the arrest of Kenneth Coffey and Ethan Shaw.”
When you pass SQT, there are four congratulatory emails waiting for you. One is from your former bunkmate, Taylor Benson, who washed out of SEAL training. One is from Kaicho Bill. One is from the congresswoman.
But the one that matters is the one from Yona. It just reads, I always knew you could do it, chica.
Yona came into the Schooner Wharf, where Lydia was waiting with a tequila and a strawberry margarita. To Lydia’s relief, Yona did not reek of cigarette smoke, though she did light up when she sat at the bar.
“How you doing, chica?” Lydia asked.
“I had to change my cell number and get a new email address because of all the death threats. I can’t even look at the Internet right now. Congressman Nieto has hired security for me.”
“I saw his press conference.” Lydia smiled. “Told you that would work.”
“It’s a nightmare. It’s a fucking nightmare.” She licked the salt and then gulped down a quarter of her margarita. “But I feel better than I’ve felt since Kaicho died. It’s gonna suck, but it sucked before and nothing was getting done. Now, at least, people know just what kind of man Ken is. And maybe more women will come forward.”
“I hope so.” Lydia sipped her tequila. “I gotta get back to D.C. I got a call from my boss this afternoon, and they’re sending a private jet to come get me at the airport.”
“Fancy.” Yona dragged on her cigarette, then put it out unfinished. “Thank you, Lydia.”
“Just doing the same thing some fucking crazy lady did for me once upon a time.”
“Watch your language, chica.”
“Don’t call me chica, bitch.” She raised a glass. “To Kaicho.”
“Osu.”
They clinked their glasses and drank.
Keith R. A. DeCandido is a second-degree black belt in karate (he both teaches and trains) and has spent an inordinate amount of time in Key West, so this story comes from the heart. Other tales of his taking place in the Keys include “We Seceded Where Others Failed” in Altered States of the Union, the Mack Bolan, Executioner novel Deep Recon, “Raymond’s Room” in Doctor Who: Missing Pieces, and a series of stories featuring Cassie Zukav, weirdness magnet, in the anthologies Apocalypse 13, Bad-Ass Faeries: It’s Elemental, A Baker’s Dozen of Magic, Out of Tune, Tales from the House Band, vols. 1 and 2, and TV Gods: Summer Programming, the online zines Buzzy Mag and Story of the Month Club, and the collections Ragnarok and Rolclass="underline" Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet and Without a License: The Fantastic Worlds of Keith R. A. DeCandido. Other recent work includes the Marvel Tales of Asgard trilogy, featuring Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three; Stargate SG-1: Kali’s Wrath; Heroes Reborn: Save the Cheerleader, Destroy the World; A Furnace Sealed; Mermaid Precinct; three novellas in his Super City Cops series; and stories in Aliens: Bug Hunt, Baker Street Irregulars, Limbus Inc. Book III, Nights of the Living Dead, V-Wars: Night Terrors, The X-Files: Trust No One, and others. Find out less at his cheerfully retro website, www.DeCandido.net.
EDITORS’ NOTE: This story is a crossover between the Joe Ledger series and James R. Tuck’s Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series. In the Deacon Chalk series the titular character, Deacon Chalk, hunts monsters of all sorts in the South with the help of his adopted family, a crew of misfits, and monsters themselves.