When the three men got close they said, “How about giving us a kiss, then, lassie?” One of them reached out and grabbed Alice’s arm and pulled.
Immediately Andy said to him, “Let go of the lady!”
“And what if I don’t,” came the reply. “Yeah, what’ll you do against three of us?” asked one of his mates. The first one was still pulling Alice’s arm when she let go of Andy’s hand and swung a fist at her assailant. He let go of her in surprise but then got vicious and swung a fist at Alice. It never connected.
Andy’s arm swung across in an upward motion and blocked it. “Get back, Alice,” he said, for she blocked his line of action. Alice immediately stepped back and behind Andy. His left arm shot out and his fist connected with the man’s nose. The man staggered back and fell over. His two mates decided to join in. Andy turned and kicked one in the chest and sent him flying backwards. The third one attempted to kick Andy in the crutch and Andy pivoted, grabbing the ankle in one hand and then chopped the knee with the edge of his other hand. The man collapsed in pain, holding his knee. Meanwhile, the first assailant had got up and was coming back into the fray. Alice moved from behind Andy and closed with her assailant. She threw a right feint which made him pause and lean backwards. Alice then hooked a leg behind his knee and pushed him back at his shoulder, just as she was taught in judo. He overbalanced and went down again. The three men decided it was better to retreat and leave this couple alone. “Well done, Alice. Thanks for your help. That was good,” Andy said.
“Thank you for saving me,” she replied.
“Looks as though we make a good team,” Andy said. “I guess we had better get back to the hotel.” Holding hands, they walked back at a brisk pace. Back in the park, three young men were sobering up fairly quickly after their unexpected encounter and regretting their foolishness. Alice was all admiration for Andy and pleased with herself. She couldn’t wait to tell her sister about using the judo. “Better not say anything to our parents,” Andy said. “We don’t want them worrying about this and spoil their evening.”
“Well, not tonight,” replied Alice, “but I’ll have to say something sometime.”
“Okay,” said Andy, “but let’s wait until after tomorrow.” Alice nodded her agreement but she was also thinking about the power of Andy’s response to the attack. He obviously knew a lot more about martial arts than he was letting on. They crossed the bridge and in a few minutes they were back in the hotel. On seeing them, their parents got up and said their goodnights with promises to meet again in the not too distant future. “I’ll meet you at the station tomorrow, Alice,” said her father as he gave her a hug.
“Fine, Daddy,” she said. At their car, Tony Hill suggested Andy drive as he had drunk a little too much to feel completely confident about driving home.
“You sit in the front with him, Alice, and I’ll keep his mother company.” Margaret gave a little giggle at the thought of it. As they drove off, Andy thought that he’d never seen his parents like this before. It was a whole new experience. They had always seemed so serious. Back in Alnwick, Andy’s parents headed for bed shortly after they arrived home, having expressed their satisfaction at the evening. Andy and Alice sat together in the lounge with only the standard lamp on and played some music softly. This would be the last time alone for a while. In a low voice, Alice said, “You were awfully good at dealing with those men by the river. What martial art did you learn?”
Andy said, “We were taught some basics of unarmed combat in basic training and then I did a bit of karate afterwards to keep fit.” She sensed that he didn’t want to talk about it and decided not to ask any more questions just yet. Even so, Alice wondered what grade he had achieved to be so good.
“I’m glad that I was with you,” she said, with the emphasis on the ‘you’ and he took it as a compliment.
Andy turned her toward him and murmured, “You’re worth fighting for,” and he kissed her.
At about the same time, Andrei Garasov was with Janet McLaren at her home. They had had an enjoyable evening at the opera and he had taken her back to her home in Stockport. Yvonne had invited him in for drinks and he had accepted. The air was charged with expectation between them and Andrei decided to give in to romance and meet her desires. From their embrace in the lounge they moved to her bedroom.
In Harrow, a family were heading for bed after an evening out together. The Hamiltons’ two children were home for the weekend from university so that they could all celebrate the daughter’s birthday. Iain Hamilton felt very happy. He was proud of his children and proud of his wife’s achievements in doing most of the raising of them because he was away from home so much. Maybe it was time to get out of this work and spend more time at home. He wondered what other occupation would give him the enjoyment and the adrenalin rush that his present occupation gave. With those thoughts he cuddled
