ALL NOVEL Chapter 20
“You’re insane,” Robbie said.
Ashe winced, because he wasn’t wrong on that front, he just didn’t need to be so blunt about it. Keiko was still off to the side, having an argument with Crystal that Ashe couldn’t follow, she didn’t speak Japanese and apparently Crystal could. Just another fun aspect of her new friends that caught her off guard, but hey, at least it wasn’t murd—
She bit her lip, because she really needed to revise those standards. The only thing that could possibly make things worse would be if one of them abused kids, and Ashe wouldn’t tolerate that. She believed people that did that deserved nothing less than being fed slowly through a wood chipper. Even then, that was too good for them.
“I can’t just let this go,” Ashe said, meeting Robbie’s cold eyes. “These people are snatching girls, they tried with me, they’re going to keep doing it with others, and they’re pinning it on the Viuda. Are you just going to take that lying down?”
“Fuck no,” he spat. “But going to Alejandro?”
“At least we know he’ll fuck up anyone involved,” Ashe said. “The guy may have a few screws loose, but I can’t see him playing cautious when it comes to a legitimate reason to kick some fascists in the teeth.”
“He wouldn’t,” Robbie conceded before shaking his head. “You don’t get it. Alejandro won’t be gentle. Get him involved and I can promise you you’ll have blood on your hands within the month. Never mind that half the city will be a warzone.”
“He’s not wrong,” Keiko said sharply. “Alejandro just needs the barest excuse to go on a rampage. Just because he thought you were cute with that little display doesn’t make him the first choice on the list of people to approach!”
“Then who do you suggest?” Ashe demanded.
“Literally anyone else,” Robbie said, crossing his arms. “A landmine handles pressure better than that man.”
“Would kill fewer people too,” Keiko said. “Even if you made it nuclear capable.”
“Alright, if you have better ideas, we’re all ears,” Crystal said.
“Mercedes.” Robbie said. “She knows us, we trust her, and she has influence.”
Ashe admitted that was a good point, but Crystal was already shaking her head. “She’s not a fighter. Despite Merc being her street name.”
“Still a better first choice than the fucking Hacksaw,” Keiko said. Ashe didn’t even want to consider what he had done to earn that particular name. “I’ll give her a call, see about setting up a meeting.”
“You do that,” Crystal said, tersely. “Any other bright ideas?”
“I’m working on them,” Robbie said. “Please try to avoid burning down half the city while we explore literally every other option available to us.”
“Fuck you too,” Crystal said. “At least we didn’t suggest bringing Ashe’s parents in on this.”
“So there was a stupider option,” Keiko said, rolling her eyes. “Color me impressed.”
“Bite me,” Crystal shot back.
“Ooo, scathing,” Keiko said. “Your verbal judo is lacking, as always. I feel sorry for poor little Ashe, that she has to suffer a tongue so inexperienced.”
“Better inexperienced than barbed,” Ashe shot back.
“Ha! Hear that Crystal? She’s better at it than you. Maybe she’ll take pity and give you some personal lessons.”
Ashe flipped off the grinning girl and made a strategic withdrawal from the room, Crystal following behind her. Only once she was sure that they had some measure of privacy did Ashe turn back to her friend who was almost seething if her gritted teeth were any indication.
“I thought the two of you split on good terms.”
Crystal sighed, leaning against the nearby wall. “We did, she just doesn’t think bringing you on is a good idea anymore.”
“When did she say that?”
“About thirty seconds after she heard you float the idea of working with Alejandro.”
“We did work for him before!” Ashe exclaimed, throwing up her hands.
“No Ashe,” Crystal said, pushing off the wall before stepping right up to her. Ashe wanted to flinch back but she somehow stood firm. “We took a desperate chance to unload tainted merch rather than flush it. We’re lucky we found a buyer at all and the only reason we sold it to him was because we knew he’d find a way to kill a few fascists with it. Hell, a bunch will probably wind up in your school.”
“Lovely,” Ashe said with a huff. “Good thing I don’t have any friends there. Why is finding friends on this side of the law so much more difficult?”
Crystal huffed. “Dunno Ashe, how has working within the law worked out for you so far?”
“Touche,” Ashe said with a weak smile. “Okay, so we’re hoping Mercedes can help us?”
“We’re hoping that Mercedes knows some people that can verify what you found out,” Crystal corrected. “You have one source at present and were ready to run off to Alejandro. I’ll remind you I said it was a bad idea, and the others agreed. Let’s exhaust a few other leads before we jump onto that particular crazy train.”
“All aboard,” Ashe muttered, turning away.
“Hey, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Crystal said softly. A firm, yet gentle, hand came to rest on Ashe’s shoulder. “Don’t take this as a setback just because we aren’t going with your idea first. We’re a team, and that sometimes means someone else comes up with something else that we end up going with.”
“I guess,” Ashe said. Crystal was right of course, but that didn’t lessen the sting of being overruled. Then again, she was the unblooded new girl that still needed to earn a name for herself. That should simply be expected. “Anything I can do in the meantime?”
“Well,” Crystal said, tapping her chin with a mischievous smirk. “We could always stake out your other attacker, see what we learn there.”
“Pretty sure Mother has a team on that already after the other dipshit got shanked,” Ashe said. “Doesn’t mean I can’t ask for updates though, you know, for my peace of mind.”
“Not bad thinking,” Crystal said, bumping her shoulder. “Alright. So, we’re in agreement. Information gathering for the time being, and no running off to rope an insane man into helping, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ashe grumbled. “I’m still new to all of this, alright?”
A sigh followed. “You are, and I consider you my responsibility. I sort of roped you into this life, and I need to do a better job of making sure that you’re ready for what might come.”
“Please tell me I’m not about to go through all the boring parts hidden behind the scenes of a training montage,” Ashe grumbled.
“Okay, I won’t tell you,” Crystal replied.
Ashe shoved her.
“Of course the Viuda own a gym,” Ashe said, looking up at the Health and Wellness Center. “Let me guess, they also offer self defense lessons.”
“Obviously,” Crystal said. “Women are especially vulnerable, so they offer lessons taught by volunteers. I’m actually one of the instructors.”
Ashe raised an eyebrow. “So, why can’t you teach me one on one?”
“That eager to get down and dirty with me?” Crystal asked, popping her hip out and resting a hand on it. Ashe looked away to hide the rising heat on her face. “I teach basic breakaway and defensive tactics. You’re going to be taking something a bit more intensive since I’m sure your moms already covered that much.”
She wasn’t wrong. Ashe could vividly recall many of those lessons as her mom did not hold back just because she was a child. Ashe appreciated it, because it meant she could take a hit, and likely saved her life during the kidnapping attempt, but Crystal wasn’t wrong. Her mom insisted that she was given the same training as a SWAT officer, and got regular refreshers.
That didn’t mean she could just throw down in a fight like Crystal probably could. She also didn’t know how to fight with a knife, or how to handle a gun in close quarters during active combat. Given her hand was messed up, learning to work around it would also be necessary.
“I’ll need an excuse for why I’m going across the city to find a gym,” Ashe said as they stepped through the front door.
“This was the closest one you could find that was women friendly,” Crystal said with a shrug. “Most of the gyms around downtown all have subtle Nazi imagery if you really look. My donor liked to show the undesirables that they weren’t welcome. Just look around the restaurants and bars too, it’s there if you look.”
“And why aren’t the Viuda firebombing these establishments?” Ashe asked.
“Optics,” Crystal answered. “It looks bad if we’re torching businesses for ‘no reason’.”
Ashe groaned, because it did make a sick sort of sense. The police would take it as an excuse to fall upon them with all the force they could muster, all to enforce order. Never mind all the lynchings that went ignored every month because someone with the wrong skin tone was too close to one of the ‘good’ neighborhoods. Stand your ground laws were helpful at times, but all too easy to abuse.
Jericho even made national news a year prior due to an honest to god cross burning on someone’s lawn, all because they moved into an area that was ‘too good’ for them and neighbors were worried about their property values.
And of course the police investigation into that incident turned up nothing, because there was enough political pressure from the capitol to make the problem disappear. Ashe could still remember how thunderous her mother was at the time, fighting to prevent the injustice. Shit, thinking back on everything, Ashe really had bought into the whole police propaganda hook line and sinker, all because of her parents.
They fought to do what they could, but the system was so opposed to actual justice that nothing ever came of it. It didn’t matter if they were good apples, the rest of the bunch was rotten and there was nothing they could do about it. It only served to reinforce Ashe’s resolve to work outside the law, because it was clear the same thing was going to happen with her case, especially after one of the idiots was killed in a clear sacrificial play. Blame it all on him, then quietly close out the case claiming it was solved.
Ashe’s fists clenched painfully, despite the numbness in her right hand. “Alright, let me make a call and we can go in. We don’t need my moms sending a squad car after me, right?”
“Okay,” Crystal said.
Ashe pulled up her contacts and dialed the department’s number, she had some questions and needed to give Mom something to keep her from worrying too much that was at least truth adjacent. She entered her mom’s extension when the automated system prompted her to do so.
“Hamilton,” her mom said tersely.
“Hey mom,” Ashe said, leaning against Crystal’s bike. “Just checking in.”
“Thank you for that,” her mom answered, her voice softening as she spoke. “Anything I need to know?”
Many things, not that she would tell her. “I actually had a question. Is there anyone watching the other guy that attacked me?”
“I think he has a protective detail at the moment due to the death of his associate,” her mom said. “Why do you want to know?”
“Just making sure someone is keeping an eye on him,” she said, glancing over to Crystal. “That was the last lead Crystal and I could come up with that we could safely look into.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t tell you, but we called in Jessica’s boyfriend for questioning, not that we’re likely to be able to detain the Mayor’s son without solid proof.”
“You should question his new girlfriend too,” Ashe said. “She seemed to know more than a girl her age had any right to.”
“I’ll pass that along to Cat,” she said, then after a moment’s pause, asked the dreaded question. “How are you holding up?”
Ashe let out a shaky breath, the weight of recent events settling upon her all at once. “I’ve been better, but I’m making do.”
“I just worry about you.”
Ashe cracked a weak smile. “I know, and thank you for actually giving a damn. I just wish more could be done.”
“Due process must be followed,” her mom grumbled. “Much as I want to take a zamboni to it at times.”
Ashe snorted. She was far too young the first time she saw that movie, but watching a guy in a red costume riding a zamboni as an injured thug crawled away was one of her mom’s favorite movie moments, and she was just a touch eager to share the love for that movie with her newly adopted daughter.
“I’m partial to the woodchipper scene from the sequel myself,” Ashe added with a grin.
Chuckling could be heard over the speaker for a moment before office chatter continued momentarily. “Any other plans for the day?”
“Well, the afternoon is still free so we spent our lunch break looking into places that I could learn to hold my own a bit better.”
“Ashe,” her mom said sternly. “Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Crystal and I looked over half a dozen places before deciding on this one,” she lied. In truth, Crystal recommended it solely because it was a Viuda front and wouldn’t ask questions. “It’s female friendly, has no affiliation with the Nazis, and has free basic self-defense classes for women in general.”
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t gang affiliated,” her mom said sternly. “You know there’s other groups out there.”
“And only one of them actively wants me dead,” Ashe countered. “Look, I’ll be careful, but I need to regain some self confidence. I can’t stay afraid of anyone who might attack me, and while the training you gave me did save my life, more couldn’t hurt.”
“No, I suppose not,” she said. “Crystal will be going with you?”
“She will.”
“Is she listening now?”
Crystal looked up from her phone and grimaced. “Ashe put you on speaker but I haven’t been intentionally listening in if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Well, listen now. Ashe means everything to us, so if you put her in danger, that’s on you. Believe me when I say this, if you do anything to hurt her, they won’t find the body and the investigation will be quietly buried. You have my word on that.”
A month earlier, that threat might have held more weight in Ashe’s mind, but after watching two people get away with everything they had and it taking illegal actions to see something done, well, her faith in her parent’s ability to get things accomplished was thoroughly shaken. No, she would rely on her own two hands and will to see things through.
“Alright,” Ashe said, looking off to the side. “I’m gonna let you go, the class is starting shortly and I’d like to get there a bit early if possible.”
“Stay safe, that’s all I ask,” Mom said. “I’ll let you know if we make any headway in the case.”
“I appreciate it,” Ashe said, then ended the call. She slumped back against the bike and ran her hands over her face before tangling them in her hair. She wanted to scream, the stress of all the deception weighing upon her, but not as heavily as the thought of being powerless in another confrontation again. “You sure this place is my best bet?”
“They taught me to fight,” Crystal said, offering a hand.
Ashe accepted and got back onto her feet. “Is there a reason you’re not the one that’s teaching me?”
“Because I’m a shit teacher and these two are damn good,” Crystal said. “I get the apprehension, but at some point you’re going to need to start trusting me on this stuff without all the second guessing.”
Ashe looked up at the wellness center. Well, if there was anything to start with, it was the thing right in front of her. “Alright, lead the way.”
Crystal smiled and took her by the hand as they entered.
