Excerpt from Gateway: Pioche Chapter 3

“No, Judith. We have to go,” fired off Larry.

What’s wrong with Larry? He is never this demanding, thought Judith.

“No? No? Who the hell are you, to tell me no? You’re not my mother or father. Where do you get off telling me what to do, anyhow?”

Her voice was getting louder as she started berating Larry. “Let me tell you something, you juvenile delinquent, that is my car...”

Larry couldn’t help but feel the eyes (especially the two pairs in question) staring at the four. Katie hurried to the table and offered the regulars a free refill. They declined her request, got up from the booth and started approaching the students.

“...and if you don’t want me to leave your ass in this shit-hole of a town, you’ll show me some respect or I’ll kick your ass all the way back to Stanford.” The men were now three feet from the four.

The largest man, probably in his mid-forties, with a beer belly that would make Miller proud and a physique to match, chimed in. “What’s wrong, sonny? Having a little trouble with your wild filly? My buddy Ray and I got just the cure for breaking her. I think we’ll take her outside and teach her some manners.”

Ray joined in. “Yep, Billy boy and I got just what she be needing to learn her elders some respect.”

“Look guys, we don’t want any trouble. We’re passing through and need to get back on the road.” Larry tried to push by the men, but they set up a formidable barricade.

“Not so fast. We’ll let you go just as soon as we had our dessert.” They stared straight at Judith’s chest.

“By looks of it Ray, I’d say she’s got plenty for each of us. You take the right, and I’ll take the left.”

For the first time in her life, Judith felt true fear. Nothing like crashing in a race car. That came with the sport. This was different. The men were directly threatening to rape her.

“Tell ya what Billy, I don’t mind sloppy seconds, so while you’re knocking her front out, I’ll be in the back getting some of that split end while you bronc and tame them melons. We can test out that new full-sized bed I installed last month in my Peterbilt.”

“Sounds good to me, Ray. We gonna split her real good and maybe teach her a thing or two.”

Katie was attentively listening to the men. She knew they were capable of pulling it off. No one ever stood up to them, and when a police report was filed, no one dared to show up and verify the charges.

“Come on boys, sit down and have some more coffee, let these nice folks go about their business. We don’t want any trouble and Katie can’t wait to be a sandwich with you two.” She hoped her offer was enough to allow the kids to be on their way—unharmed.

Ray glared at Katie. “When we’re finished with her, you’re next.”

Judith’s gut tightened at the thought of being manhandled by them. She was infuriated, yet refrained from inflaming the situation.

The next words spoken were quiet and specific. “Gentlemen,”

“Well lookie here Ray, we’ve got us a little egg roll. Tell ya what, when we’ve finished polishing our rods with ‘Miss July’, I think we need us a slant-eye as an encore.”

“Hell yeah, Billy. I always heard it was horizontal.”

Muki stood her ground.” Will you please let us pass? We have a pressing engagement and would hate to be late.”

“Billy, I’d hate for them to be late so let’s split the egg roll first. Be a good tune-up for the little princess. I bet this one’s so tight, she’ll be screaming for a month.” The men let out a deep, evil laugh as they rubbed their crotches.

Larry attempted to pull Muki back; she held her ground.

Ray attempted to push Larry out of the way. As his hand grabbed Larry’s, a slender brown arm redirected Ray’s hand and arm and spun him 180 degrees. The next few seconds were a blur to the untrained eye. Muki spun Ray around, planting her left hand in his lower back. His size was perfect for the moves the neighborhood kids had shown her. Using Ray as a workbench, she planted her right foot just above Billy’s tibia and shattered the patella. He went down in a moaning heap.

She turned 90 degrees to her left, and let out a small cry as her right elbow crashed into the soft joint between Ray’s radius and humerus. She quickly moved her right foot onto Ray’s right patella and dropped it three inches. She held on to his left arm as his massive weight pulled him to the ground. With one good jerk, the sound of tendons and ligaments snapping was loud and gruesome (it would take more than Tommy John surgery to repair the injury).

Billy turned over, whimpering in pain. “You little Asian bitch; when I get up—”He never finished his sentence as she thrust her foot squarely into the area he had so recently described to her.

Judith, Larry, Abdul and Katie stared in awe; first at Muki, and then at the two not so imposing figures on the floor. Muki took stock of the situation and smiled as if she’d just aced a history exam. “Okay, I think we can go now,” and moved towards the counter.

Larry agreed. “Oh yeah, that’s a good idea. Come on guys, let’s go.”

Katie (in shock at the current events) gladly rang the ticket up and took the money from Larry. She couldn’t help but ask Muki a question.

“Little girl, I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my life, but I’m here to tell ya, that beats all I’ve seen in these parts. Where did you learn to do that?”

“Yeah,” said Judith. “I’d like to know the same thing.”

She looked at her friends then turned to Katie. “Never enjoy the cookie, until the fortune is read.”

“What the hell? Excuse me. What does she mean by that?” asked Katie.

Larry and Judith had a good idea what she meant. In a hushed tone, Larry bent over an inch or two as he handed Katie at ten-dollar tip, “Don’t fuck with an egg roll you didn’t order.”

“Amen to that, Mister. Amen to that.”

Katie turned and picked up the phone and dialed the sheriff’s office.

“Dale, you and Jimmy need to come down here. You won’t believe what just happened. Billy and Ray are messing up my mopped floor and are bleeding all over the place.” A noticeable smiled surrounded her mouth.

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