ABC - Penance

Alvarez Apartment Building, South Bank District

January 22nd V27 (2047AD)

I woke up with a woman draped across my chest, snoring gently. It took me some moments to make the connections that I was in my own apartment and the woman was Minke. Her open mouth was leaving a small wet patch on my right boob, seeping through the thin shirt I was wearing.

It felt kind of ironic that after so many years of sleeping alone, I now had to think carefully about which person was in my bed. Or which person’s bed I had ended up in.

I tried to slide out from under her sleeping form, my movements as stealthy as a one night standee trying to escape without waking her. She snorted, sniffed loudly then wrapped her remarkably strong arms around my shoulders. Minke had an arm strength that weightlifters would envy without the heavy muscles that typically accompanied such power.

“You told me you were taking the day off” she murmured into my armpit, having relinquished the territory of my boobs.

“You told me you were fine sleeping on the couch” I countered.

“I asked you if I could climb in and you said it was Okay” she mumbled back. Her eyes remained closed but those arms had not released her octopus grip on me.

“I don’t remember saying that last night”

“Yeah, you did” she asserted. “It was about three in the morning and I came in here and asked you”

“And what was my reply?” I queried her, trying to hide the smile on my face.

“Grizzle-flup” Minke said. “Which everyone knows is sleep-talk for Yes”

“Ah” I accepted gracefully. “There is no arguing with that evidence then” I pushed myself back into the warmth of the bed and Minke rolled over, pulling my arms around her so I was spooning her slender shape. I rested my chin into the nape of her neck, breathing in the scent of soap and shampoo that radiated from her.

“You smell nice” I whispered to her, watching the side of her face as she drifted back to sleep.

“Hush, Mama” she demanded softly. “It’s sleepytime”

I laid there for a long while, contemplating my future. The journey to Unity and the battles I fought there were fresh in my mind, as were the deaths I had witnessed. The Darwin Society were not pulling their punches, so I could not expect them to hold back against the women and children I loved.

There was no denying that I had a vicious animal living inside of me. She was brutal and ruthless, giving scant mercy to those who stood in her way. I had tried to suppress that side of myself, yet I knew the awful truth.

I needed Punching Judy, that cold-hearted killer, to help me through what was coming. As much as I despised what she represented, she was the part of me that kept me alive. Luisa Alvarez loved her family and friends, but it was Judy that kept them safe.

“Fuck my life” I told the bedroom, keeping my voice low. Minke stirred then snuggled against me, sending her warmth into my chest. The warmth penetrated slowly, finally reaching the inner bitch who dwelt in the darkness.

“Fuck them all” Judy spoke at last, her voice mine and mine alone. “No one gets to hurt us anymore”

=====

“What’s that?” Minke asked me as I was making breakfast. She pointed to a necklace I had been wearing when I got home last night, a teardrop shaped piece of red stone on a sturdy silver chain.

“A gift from someone I met up north” I told the young woman. I lifted it up and examined it, marvelling at how the stone looked almost translucent in the morning sunshine streaming in the unshuttered window. The stone was slightly bigger than the tip of my thumb with a set of Chinese ideograms carved on one side.

Minke came and stood in front of me, taking the stone from my hand and rubbing her fingertips over the smooth surface.

“It’s really pretty” she assented. “Feels warm too, like there is a fire inside the stone”

“Nah, that’s just my body heat being absorbed” I replied. “The woman who gave it to me called it a Beacon Stone. She said as long as I was wearing it, she would hear me call for her and could home in on my location”

“Sounds like a stalker” Minke observed. “You gotta watch out for those kind of people” She dropped the stone, letting it dangle from the chain between my breasts and leaned past me. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Porridge and coffee” I declared. “Breakfast of champions!”

Minke stooped to get a closer look at the two bowls I had prepared and wrinkled her nose.

“Why are there flies in the porridge, Luisa?” she asked curiously.

“Those are raisins, you awful child” I chastised her. “Trust me, they add a nice flavour and texture to the porridge”

She extended a scarred hand to point at one of the bowls, drawing my eye to where she was indicating.

“That’s a fly”

I picked up the bowl and scooped out the offending insect, flicking the struggling invader into the sink.

“Yeah well, this one’s mine anyway. Yours is all raisins and porridge, I promise”

We sat at on the couch and I flicked on the TV, choosing a news channel. Minke humphed dramatically but stayed seated, spooning grey porridge into her mouth with methodical regularity.

The main stories were all about the growing unrest in the Euro-Bloc, with fighting between civilians and government forces now occurring in Greece, France and Germany. Spain and Italy were likely to explode into violence any day now, with big protest marches and riots at some of the anti-government rallies.

Private drone footage that was leaked into the network showed long lines of fleeing citizens, some trying to escape by sea to the United Nations of Africa in the south or across the Channel to the RUK. At this time of year, the seas were rough around the European coast and a number of the refugee boats were floundering, some sinking with the loss of many lives.

The only good news was a report that one of the Japanese Home Islands, the Iruka, was nearing the outer limits of the territorial waters. Their governing council had declared they would accept any refugees that made it to the open sea. Such an offer was generous if not for the danger of making it that far into storm lashed waters.

“That’s a big risk to take, sailing out into the ocean and hoping they can reach the Home Island” Minke observed, laying down her empty bowl.

“They aren’t saying it openly, but the Iruka is sending rescue boats inside the territorial waters to pick up anyone they can reach” I told her. “The Dark Net is praising the Free Island States for their humanity, pointing out how the big nations are sitting on their hands while Europe burns to the ground”

Minke took her bowl and mine to the sink, giving them a quick rinse to stop the remnants setting like concrete.

“Luisa” she said with her back to me, gripping the sink edges. “Will that happen here? There have been attacks in Pan City already, so it could break out here too”

“Nah, not with Archimedes in charge” I assured her. “He’s way smarter than the Euro AI and he has much more reliable Guards to protect us. Besides, the Zone has its best asset to keep the peace right here in Spitfield”

Minke turned to face me and she had a tentative smile on her face.

“I hope you aren’t going to claim that is you, Luisa?” she asked me.

“Hell no!” I laughed. “I meant the Police Auxiliary. There is no-one tougher than them and they are sworn to uphold the peace”

She regarded me with bright eyes, her youth never more apparent than when I looked at her now.

“Aren’t you part of the Police Auxiliary?” she said, tilting her head.

“Well yeah, but I am just the cherry on top” I agreed. “So don’t worry, we’ll keep the Zone safe no matter who tries to fuck it up!”

“Thanks Luisa” she replied. She came to sit down and finish her coffee, so I quickly changed the TV channel to a sports feed showing highlights of last night’s Gravity Ball game. Minke didn’t need to see the footage they were now showing of fighting in the Eastern Bloc, as the HEx outbreaks were spilling across the borders.

“You’re welcome, kiddo” I answered her at last.

=====

Alvarez Gym, South Bank District

It was early afternoon by the time I rode the big blue bike into Papa’s parking lot, situated at the rear of his gym. Minke was snugged up against me, dressed in a new reinforced bike jacket and boots. I had purchased a similar jacket for myself, as well as some other essentials.

It had been an expensive morning and I had yet to enquire about a new bike to replace my previous one. The wreck had been left in Unity, with a promise from Wade that he would get as much as he could from a local salvage yard for the parts.

One unexpected bonus this morning was the phone company had been able to extract most of my old contact register from the lost phone. They transferred the available data into the latest model that matched my previous one, the same kind that Minke had purchased for herself.

As to the whereabouts of my original phone, the company was at a loss. No calls had been made that they could detect and the device itself was untraceable. I had even called Georgia about it, after having made apologies for taking so long to call her. Since I had activated the kill switch on the tracking program, the phone was officially MIA.

On a related note, Georgia had some success unscrambling the data packet from Charlie and wanted to discuss it with me, face to face. I had promised to go see her tomorrow, as I expected today’s meeting with Papa to run into the night.

We strode into the gym, Minke racing ahead of me like some shorter, skinnier version of Bingo. I smiled at the memory, wondering not for the first time where my kids were and what they were doing for Jericho-Three. They had been off the emotional suppressants for a while now as well, which led me to wonder what they might have been doing with each other.

“Luisa! Why is your face red?” Papa called to me as I entered the sweaty main room of the gym. Minke had already made her greetings and was grappling good naturedly with a resigned looking Hanna-Lei.

“What?” I mumbled and pushed the lewd thoughts I was having back into the depths of my imagination. “Nothing, Papa. I was just a bit hot from the sun” I lied to my father.

He didn’t question me any further, just engulfed me in his strong arms and lifted me off the ground like I was six years old again. I kissed his bristly cheek and he smooched my ear then dropped me lightly onto my feet once more.

“You look good, Luisa” he declared, holding me at arms length to run his eye over my body, checking that all the limbs were still were they belonged. “The air up north must agree with you. I’d swear you look years younger!”

“Knock it off, Papa” I begged him. “It was a tough trip so I thought I’d be even more haggard than usual?”

“Your eyes do look older” my father agreed. “Was there fighting up where you went?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later” I promised him. “For now, how about you get Minke to show me what you have been teaching her?”

Minke loved the idea and cajoled Hanna-Lei to join her in the ring once they had changed into their sparring kit. I stood with Papa to one side, enjoying the easy banter of the two girls as they dashed about getting ready.

“They are getting on really well” I observed and Papa grunted in agreement. In no time at all Minke was facing off against Hanna-Lei, the pair of them swapping half-strength punches and kicks, circling the ring and making disparaging comments about each other’s fighting skills.

They showed off their moves, Papa adding comments and suggestions, constantly refining their techniques under his tutelage. In the end he clambered into the ring with them, moving his body into the different positions and guards like a man half his age.

I was content to watch from outside the ropes, smiling as Papa pushed and prodded his students into the right stances. Inevitably he saw me grinning and told me to put on some gloves and a headguard as well. Despite my protests, five minutes later I was in the spare gym clothes I kept in a locker, facing off against Minke.

She had a grin from ear to ear, eager to show me her skills in person. For all that we had been through so far, I had never actually fought against her and I was intrigued to see what she could do. I adopted my basic guard, right leg forward and leading with my right glove, the left held back and close to my head to shield my jaw.

Minke mirrored my stance, leading with her left glove and foot, hoping to put me off balance by coming at me like a southpaw. I gave her an easy grin and switched my feet, bringing myself into a left handed guard too.

“I’ve been playing this game longer than you have been alive, kiddo” I growled, dropping my voice a few octaves. Minke stepped back once on her left foot, looking like she was changing her stance while out of striking range, then spinning fast and lashing out with her right leg.

Damn girl was fast, I had seen that before from the sidelines. Experiencing her speed up close was another thing altogether and I barely pulled my left leg out of the way, leaving me momentarily off balance. I was already moving to keep out of range when she planted her right foot and drove her hip and shoulder into me, knocking me backwards onto my fat ass.

I turned the fall into a roll and catapulted onto my feet, just in time to see her spin and drive her right glove at my head. Both elbows locked together in front of me, using my forearms to block her strike. Minke only put about half her strength into the punch and I was still rocked on my feet.

With a half-skip I gained some distance from her, my spine nearly touching the outer ropes. Minke grinned at me like the evil hell-spawn she was and squared up, gesturing me to come and meet her in the middle of the ring.

“Whassa matter, Loosa?” she mocked me past her mouthguard. She was still green enough not to speak clearly with the bright blue guard covering her upper row of teeth.

“You’re fast, Minke” I acknowledged. “But I’ve worked out your moves now”

She frowned at me, adjusting her stance to lead with her right leg. I smiled my own evil grin and mirrored her guard, my left foot nearly touching the toes of her right. Our gloves were about a forearm length apart, each of us keeping our other glove close and high up to ward a sudden head strike.

“Be gentle with her” Papa reminded me from the ropes. Or I assumed he meant that for me, because if it was for Minke I was going to be really pissed.

I stepped off, bringing my right leg forwards and swinging my prime hand in a big arc at Minke’s head. She reacted exactly as I expected her too, spinning away from my punch by drawing her left leg back. The girl was countering with a jab to my stomach using her right glove, knowing my own momentum was driving me onto her.

My right leg slammed down hard, braking my forward momentum as I used the energy to rake my extended glove laterally, knocking her punch onto my left thigh. The impact was powerful, but my thigh muscles took the hit without complaint.

Even as she was registering my unexpected change of direction, the left glove I had kept raised delivered a short jab to her face. Her head slammed backwards and she fell over like I had hit her with a battering ram.

“Luisa!” Papa shouted. “You shouldn’t have used your Ability on her!”

Minke looked up at me from the well sprung canvas floor, her face creasing into a huge smile.

“I didn’t Papa, I swear” I told him. “That was all your training, nothing else”

I extended my gloved hand to Minke and she grabbed it, letting me haul her back to her feet. She spat her mouthguard into her left hand and regarded me with delight.

“How did you do that, Luisa?” she demanded. “It was like you literally stopped moving forwards and transferred that momentum into your arms!”

“I’ve had a lot of experience fighting with my feet and hands, way more than you Minke” I consoled her. “Give it time and Papa can teach you all those tricks for moving and changing your momentum”

Hanna-Lei had been watching our fight with interest, standing on the outside while leaning on the big padded corner post.

“Why not show her your knife fighting technique, Minke?” the teenager called out. “That’s where your real skills are”

Over my loud objections, Papa decided this was an excellent idea and went to the weapons locker against one wall. He returned with two hard rubber training knives, the edges and points safely rounded to prevent serious injury.

By now of course the other gym patrons had totally ceased their own training, gathering in ones and twos around the perimeter of the ring. One wag started calling out betting odds and two of the regulars were exchanging money before Papa bellowed out a reminder that no gambling was allowed in his gym.

Not that it mattered, but I was inordinately pleased I got lower odds than Minke.

We took a knife each, the whole weapon roughly as long as my forearm and open palm. They were designed as double edged blades with a strong thrusting point and narrow crossguard, more akin to a short sword than a true knife. These were uncomfortably close to the kinds of knives used in Arenas, except those were razor sharp and made from tempered steel.

I went to one corner and dropped into my usual stance, the long knife held point forwards in front of me to maximise my reach. Minke strode to the opposite corner, the one where Hanna-Lei was calling out encouragement to her friend. My opponent chose a reverse grip, letting the blade sit flat along her forearm, the rubber pommel facing me.

There is a lot of debate amongst Arena knife fighting fans about which is the best grip to use. I always maintained that leading with the point gave me valuable extra reach on my opponent, especially since such close quarters combat can be won or lost by a bare centimetre or two.

On the other hand, the reverse grip allows a fighter to try and conceal the true reach of their weapon. It also allows a powerful blocking action, letting the forearm brace the flattened blade against a strong attack.

Its main use was to allow an overhand strike, leading with the point to stab downwards into the neck or exposed back. This move required the attacker to be very close to their target, often chest to chest as they struggled to fend off the other’s knife.

I didn’t plan on letting Minke get that close to me, at least not while she was holding a knife!

“Begin!” Papa bellowed and Minke stepped into the middle of the ring, eyes watching my face, trying to judge where I would choose to strike.

Instead of walking forwards, I shuffled sideways, making her rotate slowly to keep me at her front. My eyes focussed on her chest, not because I have a boob fetish but because I let that tell me how far away her body was from me.

Like every fighter I knew, we used different methods to gauge what our opponent was planning on doing. Minke was wary, having seen how I could alter my movement in unexpected ways. She was following my eyes, hoping to tell by how I shifted my focus where I was aiming to attack.

Truth was, I let my peripheral vision plot where her arms and legs were moving. My primary target was her torso, with everything else just a secondary concern.

I had completed a full circuit of the ring, tracking every step that Minke made to follow me as she spun around in the centre. With the same apparent motion I took another step as if beginning another circuit. Minke obligingly began to rotate too, then in a single instant she realised I had used a feint.

My step in was as fast as I could make it, the rubber knife describing a twisting arc to confuse her about where it would strike. Minke yelled a battlecry and flung her left arm out as a blocking move, trying to knock my blade off course.

Everybody shouted out loud, filling the gym with roars of approval and groans of dismay. Minke and I stopped moving, holding the tableau of our final strike.

Her blade had rotated outwards in her grip, the rubber edge nestled against my exposed neck over a major artery. If it had been a committed strike with a real blade, I would be bleeding out in mere seconds.

“I told you Minke was a great knife fighter!” Hanna-Lei crowed from the corner. “She always wins her knife fights!”

“Nobody wins a knife fight, Hanna-Lei” I called out over Minke’s shoulder to her friend. Minke looked down at my knife, pressed into her ribs just below the heart. “It’s just about who dies first from their wounds”

A sudden hush descended over the onlookers as they realised what had happened.

“Let’s call it a draw, Luisa” Minke said and I nodded my agreement. We stepped back and I gave her a salute with the rubber knife, the same one I remembered giving at the passing out parade from my Police Auxiliary training.

She gave me an imitation salute in return then we locked arms and marched over to Papa. He beamed at both of us and gestured us forwards. I know I was smiling like a loon as I leaned towards him, waiting for a hug from my beloved father.

“You dummy!” he chided me. “I lost ten Pandas because you wanted to teach her a lesson!” He rapped me on the forehead with the back of his knuckles and strode off, leaving me to watch as he grumpily paid out his lost wager to one of the gym regulars.

“I really like Papa” Minke told me.

“Yeah, he’s one of a kind” I agreed.