Jan

After she left, I got ready, and went to bed. Before long, I was fully asleep – and nobody woke me during the night.

The next morning, I woke up well ahead of them, and only a little before Leo and John got up. The boys were content with oatmeal and a toaster waffle each for breakfast. They watched cartoons for a while, but when the girls finally started to get up, the boys decided they didn't want any part of it, and left, each to a different friends house.

It was probably ten o'clock by the time the girls were all awake, if not functional. Eventually, though, they were redressed, and all swarmed into the kitchen to scrounge up some breakfast. Once loaded, they flowed into the dining area, and proceeded to demolish Paul's groceries. When they were done, though, they were all good enough to clean up after themselves without being told – always a good sign in a teenager.

Following breakfast, they all headed out to the patio to enjoy the unusual weather, and generally sit around.

It was shortly before noon when I heard a bit of shouting outside, and then a scream. In a matter of a couple seconds, I was out there to see what had happened. As it turned out, it wasn't a 'what' that had happened, but a 'who'.

There was a largish young man out there, and behind him, a couple of smaller obvious hangers-on. I could see that his attention was on Susan, who was crying, and trying to hide behind the other girls.

When I asked what was going on, Jan told me that the character in front was Phil, a member of the wrestling team, and he was there to get Susan.

Except that Susan didn't want to go – they'd been boyfriend/girlfriend for a while, but she'd broken up with him a few weeks before.

Once I understood what was going on, I turned to Phil, and said, 'Looks pretty simple to me, Phil. She doesn't want to go with you, so you might as well leave.'

He took a couple of steps toward me, which allowed me a good look at his eyes: bloodshot, and the pupils dilated. Uh-oh. Either this kid's really, really drunk or hung over, or he's engaging in some street pharmacology. Not good. He verifies his bad judgment by telling me 'Fuck you, man! That's my bitch, and she ain't dumpin' me like that! She ain't leavin' me until I tell her she can leave! Now grab your shit, Susie, and let's go!'

His buddies are smirking, and looking like they're willing to back him up – though from the look of them, I doubt they'd try anything like this on their own.

'Phil, is it?' – he focuses on me, and nods – 'I wasn't asking you to leave, I was telling you to leave. If you don't, then there's going to be some serious trouble here, either with the cops, or if I have to, with me.'

That seems to get his attention, and I hear Susan say, 'It's okay, I'll go with him. I don't want any trouble.'

Keeping an eye on Phil and crew, I told her 'Susan, there isn't any trouble, but if you go with this character, there will be. He's either drunk, or on something, and if you go with him, you'll probably wind up in the hospital. I'm not going to force you not to go with someone who wants to force you to go – but I really, strongly suggest that you stay. He's not going to hurt anyone, least of all, you.'

He looked at me again, then as Susan, who was crying on Kim's shoulder while Kelly whispered in her ear. After a few moments, Susan spoke up again: 'If you say it'll be okay, then I'll stay.'

That seemed to enrage young master Phil, and he took another couple of steps, more toward me than the girls.

I looked at his traveling companions, and asked 'Are you two his keepers for today? If you are, you'd better get him out of here, NOW, before somebody gets hurt.' and then to Jan 'Jan, go inside and call the cops.

If they get here in time, they can probably keep somebody from getting dead.'

Jan gave me a strange look, but went inside.

That seemed to be all that Phil needed, and he charged toward me, with his little buddies behind him.

Now, I'm a coward. I don't want to fight. Fighting hurts. So because I don't like to fight, I took some Judo and Karate when I was younger (like in middle and high school), so that if I did have to, it would be over faster. And when I went in the Navy and was stationed in Asia, studied a couple more things formally, and learned some other stuff after being trapped in a few bar fights. Mixed all together, it made up my 'style' – Godzilla-jitsu. So, when Phil got close enough, I used some Aikido to redirect him – with a little extra push – into the brick wall of the house. Then I turned, and Karate kicked the dipstick on my right in the kneecap. His buddy on my left tried to grab me, and got a leg sweep that dropped him on his back. Phil had bounced, shaken his head, and was headed for me again, swinging at me in the process. I dropped under it, and gave him a straight shot into the solar plexus, which stopped him cold. Not wanting to dance any more, I side kicked him in the knee, and heard it crack as it broke. Dumbshit 1, who I'd kicked in the knee, wasn't standing so good, but still wanted to play. When he swung at me, I applied a Judo throw, and kind of forgot to lay him down the way I'd been taught; instead, I dropped him halfway through it, so that he landed flat on his back, knocking the air out of him, and taking him out of play for a while. Dumbshit 2, who got the leg sweep, had bounced up, and rushed me just as I was finishing with his buddy – I didn't have enough time for anything but a roundhouse kick to the stomach, followed by an elbow to his short ribs when he folded. I heard one of them crack, and he stayed down that time. Start to finish, the whole thing didn't take but about 15 seconds.

A couple minutes later, we all heard the sirens as a couple police cars showed up; a few moments later, Jan came around the side of the house, leading the cops. My youth not having been all that angelic, I was careful to stand there with my hands in plain sight, not moving. The girls seemed to be in shock, as was Jan when she saw the 3 Meatheads laying on the ground. One of the cops came over to me, and asked me what had happened; I carefully explained what had gone on since my arrival in the back yard, through the time they arrived. The cop kind of gave me the fisheye, and asked me to stand next to the house while he and his partner talked to the girls.

Several minutes later, the second cop came over, and told me that the girls had verified my story, and that I could relax – I wasn't in any trouble. His partner had gotten on the radio, and it wasn't long before there was an ambulance parked out front, too. The medics loaded Phil onto a stretcher, and got the other two mobile enough to ride with him as they took the whole crew to the hospital. There was a little more paperwork with the cops, but it didn't take long for them to lose interest. From what I could tell, they figured the kids got what they deserved, and were just as happy that the situation was as straightforward as it was: less paperwork for them.

As they were leaving, the first cop came over to me, and asked, 'Why did you break the kids leg?'

'He pissed me off. I didn't want him getting up again.'

'And the other two?'

'They got in the way.'

He laughed, and followed his buddy back to their squad cars. He must have told his buddy what I'd said, because I heard them both laughing, briefly.

When they were gone, I went over to Susan, and gently asked her if she was okay. To my surprise, she launched herself into my arms, and started crying and blubbering. Nothing more for me to do but stand there and hold her, caressing her hair and making reassuring noises until she got it out of her system. While I was doing that, I could see some of the other girls looking at me like I was Batman and Superman and the Incredible Hulk, all rolled into one. It was embarrassing.

After several minutes, Susan had finally calmed down enough that she was able to talk. She softly pushed herself out of my arms – I was holding her just enough so she'd know someone was there – and looked up at me.

'Dan?'

'Yes, Susan?'

'Thank you. I was scared of him when we broke up, and I was afraid that he was going to do something stupid like this. But it's been long enough that I thought he'd gotten over it. I really didn't want any trouble, or for anyone to get hurt, and I'm sorry, and…' With that, she was back in my arms, crying again.

I stroked her back a bit, and told her 'Susan, there's nothing for you to be sorry about. You have acted like a decent human being, and I cannot imagine you ever being any kind of trouble for anyone. Phil, there, is the one that should be apologizing, and I expect that he *is* sorry, or will be before long.' – she laughed a bit into my chest – 'And there's nothing to thank me for. Taking dipshits like that off the streets is a public duty.' She laughed again, and just stood there for a bit, letting me hold her. That seemed to be the cue for the rest of them to start crying, and bunch up around me and Susan, hugging us.