perhaps are the closest thing in existence to the missing link with their deep set eyes and thick foreheads.
Tom recognised a couple of the Neds from when he was younger and knew they were a couple of years older than him. However, he was not going to stand back and let them insult one of his friends.
“What did you say?” he shouted back.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing Tom?” asked Lela.
“We said, ‘Hey Raghead’, you got a problem with that?”
“Damn right I do. Why don’t you come here and say that to my face?” Tom was now furious and could not contain himself.
“Stop it Tom, they’re idiots. Just ignore them and come on,” said Lela grabbing Tom’s arm and dragging him towards the kiosk.
The group started walking towards Tom, Lela and Ahmad.
“So what’s your problem then?” responded the biggest Ned, walking towards him.
“TOM, leave it and let’s go.” Lela was now pushing Tom and Ahmad out of the way.
“Aw, are the boys frightened and need their little cutie to protect them,” said the big Ned.
“She’s really cute, wonder what she’s doing with those losers, huh? Bit young for me but I bet her mum’s really hot!” he said loudly to his friends causing a roar of laughter.
At the mention of her mother, Lela’s mood changed instantly. Tom saw the anger well up and the tables turn. He grabbed Lela’s arm and pulled her towards him.
“Lela you’re right, let’s ignore them, come on.”
Lela didn’t move. She stood firm, her petite frame belying her hidden strength.
“What did you say?” said Lela to the Ned in a tone which chilled Ahmad and Tom.
“Lela, please!. Let’s go!” said Tom.
“I said, I bet your mum is a real hottie. In fact, I’d really like to meet her. Is she coming to pick you up?”
“Lela, please leave it. They’re idiots, let’s go!”
Lela was not listening to Tom. She was totally focussed on the Ned who continued to make reference to her mother. She felt Tom’s hand on her shoulder and brushed it aside. She stepped towards the oncoming group.
“What did you just call us?” said a few of the Neds looking at Tom.
Tom was beginning to get scared, not of the Neds but of Lela. He had never seen her like that before. As she looked at the Neds, he could see no expression or emotion in her face. Her eyes had become very dark but incredibly alert.
“Tom. Ahmad. Stay behind me.”
They both moved behind her. The tone of the instruction was cold and direct.
The biggest Ned paused to look at the scene in front of him.
“Look at them! They’re pathetic, hiding behind their little girl-friend! Come on, they’re not worth the hassle of getting barred for another month.”
Tom breathed a huge sigh of relief. Although he had stood up to them, there were eight of them and they were all bigger.
“What? You scared of a little girl are you?” taunted Lela. She couldn’t help herself, any mention of her mother stirred a deep and painful emotion within her. This guy was going to pay.
“What the hell are you doing?” said Tom, his relief evaporating as he tried desperately to grab hold of her arm and calm her down. There were eight Neds, what was she playing at?
“I’m going to teach these idiots some manners!” Lela said angrily avoiding his grasp.
”What the f*** do you think you’re doing little girl?!” exclaimed the biggest Ned, looking down at the small girl squaring up to him and his mates.
Lela struggled to control her anger. She had never felt like this before, the Ned had made her snap, insulting her mother and threatening Tom.
“Well, asshole, last chance to apologise?” her eyes blazed with anger. She desperately wanted to make the big Ned feel the pain she felt inside.
Sinead had caught up with Kevin who had managed to see the last of the kids disappear into the cinema as he had drawn up into the car park.
“Did you see them?” she asked hopefully.
“No, they sprinted off the bus and ran straight into the cinema. The little Asian guy’s just standing by the entrance behind me,” replied Kevin, indicating over his shoulder.
“Damn,” she replied watching Saki stand nonchalantly by the door. Sinead was no fool and had met some very experienced people. That level of nonchalance was well practised, the little Asian knew exactly what he was doing.
“Did he make you?” she asked.
“What, the little guy? No way!” replied Kevin insulted at the suggestion. But Sinead was not convinced. Through the corner of her eye, she had seen him look over at them twice. If he had made Kevin, he had now made her. This was not good. She called Conor and explained the situation.
“What do you think we should do?” she asked.
Conor took a second to consider what she had just told him.
“Send in the boys, you and Kevin stay back. If he’s made you, you’ll just blow the whole thing.”
“OK, good idea. I’ll call them and tell them what to do.”
Sinead hung up and called the three crew members waiting in the car.
Tom and Ahmad followed Lela, they had to stop her. She was nearly at the Neds and was staring unblinking into the face of the biggest Ned. As they approached her, she put her hand out behind her back and raised her palm.
“Stop, Tom,” she commanded. “Don’t come any closer.” The tone was such that both Tom and Ahmad involuntarily stopped. Their hearts said keep going but the message delivered to the brain, overwhelmingly overrode them.
The biggest Ned towered over Lela and was becoming increasingly irritated by this girl. He was also beginning to lose face in front of his gang. This was totally unacceptable. He unzipped his white shell-suit jacket and held one side open long enough for Lela to see the handle of his knife.
“Back off and I won’t carve up your boyfriends,” he threatened with a knowing smile. His gang laughed.
Lela snapped and punched the big Ned so quickly that nobody knew why he suddenly winced and grabbed his nose, blood pouring down his face and ruining his best white jacket. She grabbed the knife from his belt, as his hand made towards it, spun it round and holding the blade, threw it with such precision and force into a nearby door frame, it would take a hammer to remove it. The Ned tried to lunge at her but before he had moved an inch, Lela delivered a massive disabling blow to his groin.
Tom, Ahmad, and the gang of Neds all winced as the big Ned gasped and fell to the floor, his face turning white. The other Neds looked at each other; they couldn’t run from a girl so they lunged towards her in unison.
Lela spun round and caught the first Ned with a high kick to the chin, lifting him two feet off of the floor and depositing him against the wall. The next received a kick to the stomach which slammed him through to the female toilets. This was Lela’s first real fight and although she knew every pressure point and nerve ending in the body, she had no idea how hard she should punch or kick. Her hands and feet were used to punching and kicking boards and bags. She realised from the first three blows that she was hitting too hard. She wanted to hurt the Neds, not kill them. She blocked a punch and delivered her own, this one was about half the power she would normally manage against a block of wood but it was still too hard. The Ned lifted two inches from the floor before dropping to the ground, knocked out. The power, speed and accuracy of her movements were astonishing.
The speed with which she had dispatched half the Neds was such that the others had not had the chance to re-evaluate their situation, they just kept coming, their momentum driving them forward to an inevitable beating. Lela took the next two out with a sweeping high kick, leaving only two to deal with, She spun round and caught one with the back of her fist as he tried to come up behind her on her blind side. He dropped to the floor. Lela cursed herself again, she needed to hit more softly. The last Ned stood before her.
“Not so funny now, is it?” she asked menacingly. That Ned had laughed the hardest at the Big Ned’s comments about her mother.
