There was a pause. I knew what Greg was thinking; I’d thought the same.
“Okay, I will. How’s your trip?”
“I wish you were here. It’s been great stress relief. We should do a guys’ week this summer.”
“I could use some guy-time,” Greg said. “I’ll call Mom, and I’ll be over in an hour to see you, Pam.”
Greg hung up.
“Better?” I asked.
“But I won’t get my happy ending.”
I snorted at the little hussy.
“If you ask, you might,” I said.
“Oh … but I want you.”
“I’ll be home on Sunday, and I promise to come see you.”
That seemed to make Pam happy.
I decided to text everyone else back and tell them I’d be home Sunday.
◊◊◊
Sophie had given us a list of activities available in Trinidad. Brook, Cassidy, and I combed through the list to see what we hadn’t done yet on our trip. Four items jumped out at us: jet skis, helicopter ride, pulled behind a boat while attached to a giant parachute, and horseback riding. The dads decided they would join us on the first two, but after that they had a couple of golf courses calling their names. The moms wanted to do the helicopter and horseback riding. They felt another trip to a day spa was in order as well.
We figured out the logistics for the next two days.
We decided to take the helicopter ride first. Sophie arranged for a cab to pick us all up and drop us off. It was kind of fun to be all riding together in the big taxi. Everyone was in high spirits, because our vacation adventure was ending, and everyone had seemed to draw even closer together because of the time we’d spent on the boat.
As the taxi drove off, we were suddenly accosted by five men ranging in age from fifteen to twenty-five. It was as if they appeared out of nowhere. They were dressed nicely enough for natives, but they looked meaner than hell. No, that wasn’t right. They looked like they didn’t care one way or another what happened.
“Give us your money,” the leader ordered.
“You might want to run away while you can,” Cassidy said, stepping forward.
She started that quiver she gets when she’s been given permission to hurt me. I don’t think I’d ever been so glad to see it as now. I took a step to her left so she could see me, but gave her enough room to act if needed. At the same time, I motioned for everyone else to get well behind us.
Ian began to step forward, looking every bit the blustery tourist. Luckily for him, Dad grabbed Ian’s arm, and forcibly pulled him back.
Their leader was visibly pissed that a girl would stand up to him. He motioned for his wingmen to start spreading out, which they did, and then he reached into his pocket. Our training kicked in. Cassidy didn’t give him a chance to pull out whatever it was. And I sure wasn’t going to give them the opportunity to surround us or to get between us and our loved ones. We both attacked at the same time and caught the thugs completely by surprise. Cassidy was a blur.
She stuck the heel of her foot into the leader’s temple. He stiffened with a sharp grunt, then keeled over and began to twitch.
I hooked the knee of my first opponent to unbalance him and then did a front kick to his chin, resulting in a sickening crack as his jaw broke. He didn’t do anything like fall back or stagger; he just dropped as blood gushed out of his mouth.
The other three froze for a moment, then one of them smiled evilly and pulled out a knife. I heard the ‘snick’ as the switchblade flipped open. He started advancing on me, twirling the blade in his hand, clearly thinking he had the upper hand. He also ignored Cassidy, apparently believing her putting his leader down was a fluke. That was a big mistake … BIG mistake!
His eyes might have had time to register a blur coming in on his right, and then there was a crack and two thuds. I was sure he didn’t see the hits, they were so fast; all he did was hear them.
He must have been in shock because he didn’t react until he looked stupidly down at his forearm, which was bent about 30 degrees at an unnatural angle. I would have been screaming my head off. I think he was lucky because when he saw his broken arm, it was as if the lights went out. It was either that or the result of being hit in his temple. He sank into a puddle with a gurgle.
I turned to the other two who looked at their wounded companions as if the world had just ended. They looked up at the two of us and then turned and ran.
Dad and Ian hustled our moms and Brook inside the building, and I called out to him to call the police.
After that, I looked over at Cassidy, who remained on the balls of her feet. All of a sudden, I felt the energy just drain entirely out of me. I leaned against a wall and started shaking. I recognized it for what it was: the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush I’d just experienced. Cassidy, on the other hand, seemed like she was on high-alert guard duty. She was clearly in her element!
We heard a European-style police siren, and an old-fashioned police car pulled up in front of us. Two officers exited the car. The one from the passenger side quickly checked the three men on the ground, as the other pulled his revolver and trained it on us.
Cassidy started to react, still in combat mode. That had to be averted quickly.
“Cassidy, stand down!” I ordered.
She stared the police officer in the eye for a moment. Her sudden relaxed attitude reminded me of a panther as it eyed its prey. I could tell it unnerved the poor guy. My little ninja could do that to you.
The first officer, checking on the downed men, made a motion to the other who visibly relaxed. Even so, he didn’t put his gun away. He just dropped it to his side so it was pointing at the ground.
Fortunately for us, English was the official language of Trinidad and Tobago, although most locals also spoke some sort of creole. So when the first officer calmly asked, “Would you care to tell me what happened here?” it was actually somewhat soothing to our frazzled nerves.
There are times to keep quiet, as any lawyer will tell you, but there are also times when a little information can nip things in the bud. I decided this was one of those latter times.
I walked him through the fight, making sure to include describing the first man reaching for something in his pocket after demanding our money. And the third man pulling a knife on us. It was hard to miss the switchblade lying on the street right next to his unconscious form. The officer stepped over to the leader’s body and patted down his pockets, coming up with a small revolver.
The second police officer was on his radio, and a couple more sirens joined the party as two ambulances and another police car pulled up. In the meantime, our crew had come back out of the helicopter tour building, and a small crowd had started gathering. This could rapidly turn into a shitstorm.
Dad asked the officer if he would interview us somewhere more private.
“Of course. Let’s go to my car.”
Uh, oh! Dad looked pissed.
“This is my son and his friend. They’re both minors, and I don’t want them interviewed without me present.”
The officer looked at Dad.
“Sir, you forget this is not the States. Our laws are different here. I am taking them to the station now, and you can make your way there,” he said with exaggerated politeness and patience.
When Dad started to protest, I held my hand up to him.
“Dad, let’s try not to make this any more complicated. Call Frank, Fritz, Ms. Dixon, and a taxi.”
I turned to the police officer.
“Sir, do you have a business card for my father so he will know where to go and who to call?”
The officer got a thin smile on his face, but it seemed to be a smile of respect more than anything else. He pulled a card case from his shirt pocket, extracted two cards, and handed one to me and one to my dad.
“Sir, we’re reasonable people. We must question these two. I do not plan to charge them. The issue I’m facing is that you will only be here for a short time. I would hate to have to detain them as witnesses if they don’t cooperate. I would much rather get their statements and let you enjoy the rest of your vacation. Let me take them to the station, and we’ll wait for you to arrive. I’ll personally make sure they are taken care of. I have children myself,” he told my dad.