Be Gay Do Crime

Glancing around, the entire building looked like your typical twenty-four hour gym, with dozens of treadmills, weight benches and stationary bikes.  The bikes all had immersive displays, and the treadmills even had an area for your laptop if you wanted to work and walk.  The directory showed a matted room for gymnastics off to the left where the class she was to attend was being held and a running track to the right.  Another sign indicated that there was even an indoor pool near the back. 

It looked like a great place, and if it wasn’t for the fact she knew it was a gang front, she would have questioned how they stayed open on a thirty dollar monthly basic membership.  Even accounting for the no doubt dozens of people paying for a membership but not using it, the amenities didn’t add up to keeping a place like that running.  It was either a money laundering front, or a community initiative, likely both.

“Alright, what am I learning here?” Ashe asked. 

“You’ll be joining Kyle’s class,” Crystal said, walking up to the counter.  “He teaches Krav Maga while his boyfriend Eric teaches knife defense.” 

“They’re quite the pair,” the receptionist said, looking her over.  “It’s been a while since Crystal brought a girlfriend with her.  Decent catch, I must say.” 

Ashe sputtered, heat burning her cheeks as Crystal sighed.  “She’s not my girlfriend.” 

“Really?” the receptionist asked, then looked closer.  “I give it a week until she is.” 

“More like three months,” Ashe muttered, thinking of her looming birthday.  “I’m not eighteen yet.” 

“Ah, that explains it,” the receptionist said with a snap of her fingers.  “Well, in that case, I’ll refrain from teasing you for now and welcome you to our gym.  I’ll get you drafted up for a membership so you can swing by whenever.  We’re open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  The pool is only open nine to five, and requires an additional fee for those unaffiliated.” 

“Oh, I’m uh…” 

“She’s affiliated, just new,” Crystal said.  “She’ll get the tattoo once she’s of age and not under her parent’s roof.” 

“And until then she can pay the five dollar fee,” the receptionist said easily.  “You know the rules Crystal.  Now, if she makes a name for herself before then, we can reconsider, but until then, she pays.” 

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Crystal muttered.  “How much for her to attend the classes?” 

“Beginner courses are free regardless,” she said, her voice turning cheerful again.  “If they decide to move you up to intermediate or advanced courses, you’ll discuss payment with them directly.” 

“Got it,” Ashe said.  “I’m free to use the equipment with my membership?” 

“Yup!  You were recommended by a member, that entitles you to a few perks, just not all of them.” 

Ashe sighed, it was already more than she expected.  Hell, a gym membership wasn’t a perk she would have ever guessed came from a gang membership.  She followed Crystal through the main floor of the gym and into a more open room where the floor was covered in padded mats.  A dozen other women in various states of physical fitness were running through some sort of form. 

In front of them was a buff as hell tanned man, arms covered in tattoos, watching as they went through the routine.  One of the women stumbled and he broke away to check on her while the others continued.  He helped guide her through the shift twice before nodding and moving back.  It was then that Ashe noticed the other man in the corner playing with a rubber knife.  He was skinny and wiry, lean muscle and free of tattoos. 

He happened to catch Ashe looking and grinned at her. 

“Hey Kyle,” he yelled.  “Looks like someone found you some fresh meat.” 

Everyone in the room paused in their form and turned to look, Ashe glared at the grinning man who knew exactly what he had done.  Kyle took one look at the scene and shook his head. 

“Keep running the form,” he ordered, walking towards her.  “Don’t mind my other half, he did get the ass end of that agreement.” 

“Is that another way to say he’s the bottom?” Ashe asked before she could help herself. 

He blinked, and Ashe wanted nothing more than to hide away.  

Then he laughed.

“Oh, that’s good!  He is a bit of a bitch, so that fits,” he shook his head then held out his hand.  “Kyle Shaw, and that ass over there is my partner, Eric.” 

“Are you talking shit about me?” Eric called out.

“Only the best of shit,” Kyle answered.  “So, looking to join the class?” 

Ashe nodded, looking back at the shifting form that the class was attempting.  “I suppose I am.  Crystal seems to think I need to learn something better than what my parents taught me.”

“And that was?” 

Ashe grimaced, wondering if the truth would shoot her in the foot before deciding to risk it.  “SWAT standard.  My mom is an instructor and runs me through everything she requires of her squad.” 

“That’s better than most get,” he acknowledged.  “Crystal, she cool?” 

“She works with my team,” she answered.  “So I would say so.” 

He nodded.  “Good enough for me.  Fold in with the rest of the line, I’ll walk you through the forms and techniques then we can meet up after class and see what you can do.” 

Ashe grimaced, but followed along, stepping into line with the other women.  She was surprised when Crystal joined her.  Sure enough, he began to adjust her posture as he demonstrated each step of that particular form.  It was a stumbling affair, but by the time the lesson ended, she had the gist of it down. 

“Alright, I’ll see everyone back here on Thursday,” Kyle said to the class.  “Ashe, Crystal, hang back for a bit.” 

The class didn’t take long to clear out, though more than a few women lingered to give Ashe an appraising look.  She did her best to not shrink under their scrutiny, as well as to push down the worry that they might think she was intruding upon their space.  Ashe knew she passed, at least on an intellectual level.  That didn’t stop the fear she felt anytime someone’s eyes lingered just a bit too long on her. 

Crystal reached out and grabbed her hand and squeezed, she felt it despite the numbness and tried to squeeze back.  She could tell it wasn’t as tight a grip as she wanted it to be, and once more cursed what had been taken from her.  Once the room was clear, Kyle clapped his hands. 

“Alright, you mentioned Ashe is someone joining your crew?” 

Ashe glared at him while Crystal looked between the two men.  “Keep that to yourselves please.  Her parents would flip if they knew.” 

“I know how to keep a secret,” he answered.  “You certainly made an impression on Alejandro, he kept going on about that ‘crazy gringo chick in red’ that put a gun to his jaw.” 

“Never seen that asshole so enamored with someone who isn’t currently letting him snort coke from their tits,” Eric added. 

“I did not need that mental image,” Ashe muttered.  “Ignoring that, why did you want me to stay behind?” 

“Ah,” Kyle said, snapping his fingers.  “I want to put you through a few mock fights and encounters, see how you react.  Are you up for that?” 

Ashe considered that, as she had come to learn how to handle herself better in a fight, and the pair did seem to know what they were doing.  She had kept an eye on Eric as well, and the way he liked to play with the knife showed a level of familiarity that suggested he knew what he was doing. 

“That’s why I’m here,” Ashe said, tossing her water bottle to Crystal.  “Where should we start?” 

Ashe barely had time to blink as Eric’s blade lashed out, aimed for her throat.  She brought both arms up instinctively, the rubber knife catching across her skin.  Eric didn’t stop there, pulling back as he went for another strike.  Ashe was forced to step back even as he closed the distance, this one aimed at her ribs.  She dropped her arms, and grabbed his own. 

He grinned, as he didn’t break the motion, his foot slid forward and her footing came out from under her and Ashe fell to the mat.  Before she could even blink from the impact, a rubber knife was pressed against her throat. 

“Better than most on their first attempt,” Eric said before standing and offering her a hand up.  “Your right hand is a bit weak, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah, nerve damage,” Ashe said as he pulled her up.  “Knife injury, actually.” 

“You did good not to freeze then,” he acknowledged.  “Most that get injured by a blade develop a fear of them.  You have a bit of that in how you stepped back rather than to the side when I tried to stab you.” 

Right, she had messed up that part.  Ashe was so used to just trusting her instincts to guide her after her mom’s training that she didn’t even consider she might have some form of aversion that could influence it.  Well, that was something she could work on with any lessons at least. 

“I’m also assuming you weren’t taught to fight with a knife,” he added, walking back over to a bag near where he had been sitting.  “I figure, given the shit this crazy bitch can sometimes get up to, that you might want to learn.” 

“Hey,” Crystal protested, getting a laugh from the two men.  “Not my fault that guy fell into a riptide.” 

“You were the one to push him over,” Kyle said.  “We’ve all heard the story, shit like that gets embellished and your legend only grows.” 

“Here we go,” Eric said.  When he returned he had a second knife as well as a rubber gun.  “I’m going to show you some tricks for using a knife in your off hand.  It will help hide your debilitation from others as well.” 

Ashe grimaced, her right hand flexing reflexively.  “If you think it will help.” 

“Learning how to handle a gun up close is always useful,” Eric said, taking both in hand.  He held the pistol in his right hand, and the knife in his left and brought both up into a shooting stance as he looked her right in the eyes.  “Most people when using guns first instinct is to put distance when someone gets up close, but I’m going to show you ways to work that to your advantage.  Up close and lethal.  I’m not going to teach you defensive tactics, I’m going to teach you to kill.” 

Ashe swallowed, because she could see the conviction looking back at her, the eyes of a man who has killed before.  Ashe mirrored his stance and began to follow along with his demonstrations.  After about twenty minutes, a question bubbled up that she felt the need to ask. 

“Where did you learn all of this anyway?” 

Eric and Kyle shared a look before they nodded to one another.  “We both served in the Israeli armed forces when we were young and stupid.  Eric here was an instructor at boot while I taught the recert classes.  We’ve both seen active combat and have used these techniques in a life or death situation.”

“Oh,” Ashe said, because what else could she say? 

“We left the country a decade ago,” Kyle said, holding a hand up.  “Eventually the propaganda got to be too much, even for us, and we retired.” 

“And somehow wound up in a brand new level of hell,” Eric muttered.  “If Kyle wasn’t such a little bitch about the cold, we could be somewhere much nicer, but nooo.  The little drama queen needed the warmth, so we got Nazi wannabes instead.” 

Ashe refrained from voicing her thoughts on that given the events of the last decade.  She wasn’t a fan of the country and didn’t want to lose out on two instructors because she mouthed off.  She needed to feel them out first, before she let her mouth run wild. 

There was no doubting that the two were some of the best she could have ever asked for to train with, and apparently they knew Crystal well enough, which begged the question of how many favors she was calling in just to help Ashe get on her feet in this new career path of hers.  Had Keiko done something similar for Crystal when she was just starting out?   

Ashe had so many questions, but for the moment, she would take whatever training she could get.  “Then stop babying me and treat me like one of your recruits.” 

“You asked for it,” Eric said, then Ashe watched as her world spun and the breath was driven from her lungs by the mat below.  The tip of a rubber knife held to her chin.  “Get up, the enemy won’t wait for your mommy to come coddle you.” 

Ashe grimaced, but forced herself to her feet.  She’d feel it in the morning, but she refused to bitch out.  This was exactly what she had hoped for when Crystal first suggested the training, to learn from people that knew what it took to put one’s life on the line in a fight.  She needed to pick up every dirty trick she could from them, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much she bled. 

She brought the gun and knife back up, a grim determination filling her as she moved back into position, ready for another punishing round. 

“That’s the spirit,” Eric said even as Kyle shook his head from where he was running Crystal through her own set of grapples and techniques.  “Now let’s see if I can break it.” 

That continued for a solid thirty minutes, and Ashe didn’t land a single hit during all of it, but she hadn’t given up, and that had to count for something.  Right? 

“Good showing,” Kyle said.  “Now, put the weapons away because it’s my turn to work on your hand to hand skills.” 

Gulping, Ashe shot a pleading look back at Crystal who gave her a weak smile and thumbs up.  She was swapping over to Eric and didn’t look too pleased about it.  Well, she hoped that because he was the instructor that refreshed the already enlisted that he would have a gentler touch. 

That hope was dashed the moment she squared up with him and tried one of her mom’s takedowns only to have it rapidly reversed.  Ashe hit the mat hard and found herself in one of the most excruciating joint locks she had ever experienced. 

“Do note that I have three different ways I can inflict an injury that wouldn’t heal from this position,” Kyle said.  “I’m going to teach you how to fuck up anyone’s day, but getting to the point you can do it on instinct lies down a road of pain and suffering.”  He stressed one of her joints just a touch further until she cried out in pain then let go, helping her back to her feet.  “I’m your guide on that road, and by the end of this lesson you’ll be wishing for my boyfriend’s tender attention instead.” 

Ashe found herself letting out a quiet whimper at the thought of what she had signed up for, but she refused to back down.  She brought her hands up in a defensive stance and braced herself for the pain to come.  One day, she hoped, it would prove to be worth it. 

“Fucking bring it!” she yelled back.

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