The Twelve Bitches: The Road Not Taken: Chapter 10

 

The girls barged through the door and slammed it shut behind them.  Emma threw the bolt to lock it, then leaned heavily against the door.  The false dawn was beginning to sift through the windows, highlighting her tired face.  She put a comforting hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “We should be okay in here.”  No sooner had the words left her mouth than the sounds of gunfire erupted from the far end of the building.  Someone was shooting their way through the other door.

“Can’t a person catch a break?”  Exasperated, Emma nudged Rachel to the stairs.  “Top of the stairs, first door on the left,” she whispered.  “That’s my room, I’ll be right behind you.”  She watched as the younger girl moved up the stairs, then went to the com panel by the door.  “Cerberus, turn off the lights in the Residence please.” 

The lights flickered off, and the calm voice intoned, “There are four intruders in the Residence.”

Her eyes darted down the hallway.  “Oh great…”

 

She met Rachel right inside her door.  “We got to get you to a secure room.”  Emma reached into her closet and pulled out a tactical vest.  “There’s one under the other set of stairs,” she whispered as she slipped into the vest.  “But there’s some people in the way.”  Her throwing knives came out next, and she started slapping them onto the vest. 

Rachel watched, dumbfounded.  “Why don’t they fall off?  How do they stay in place?”

“Hmm?” Emma looked puzzled for a moment and glanced down at her vest.  “Oh…Magnets.”   She froze as she heard footsteps outside her door.  “Quick!  Get in the closet,” she hissed.  Rachel melted into the closet and closed it just as the bedroom door creaked open.

The barrel of a long gun pushed into the room as the door slowly swung open.  Emma, hiding behind the coat rack in the corner, watched as a shadowy figure poked its head into the room.  It scanned the room, then paused, pointing the rifle at the closet.  The intruder took a step into the room and reached for the door.  At that moment, Emma leapt from her hiding place, a knife in each hand.

From inside the closet, Rachel heard the soft thump of something hitting the floor.  She held her breath, her phone clutched in her hand, ready to defend herself.  There was a tap on the door, then a whisper.  “Rachel?  It’s me.”  Relieved, she opened the door to find Emma offering her hand.  “Don’t trip.”  There was something on the floor covered by a blanket in front of the closet.  A dark stain was slowly spreading under the material.

“Hey, look at me.”  Emma’s voice cut through Rachel’s rising panic.  “Look at me,” she repeated, “We’re okay.”  She gently touched Rachel’s cheek and turned her face to look into her eyes.  “We’re going to leave this room, turn right and go down the hallway to the other stairwell.  There’s a secure room under the stairs.”  Checking her resolve, Emma asked, “Are you ready?”

Rachel’s voice was shaky, but her gaze was steady.  “I’m ready.”

“Okay, follow me.  Let’s go.”  The two girls stepped over the body and exited the room.  As they made their way to the stairs, Emma spotted someone peeking from behind the corner.  She whipped out a knife and threw it down the hallway, watching it curve around the wall.  A dark form fell into the passageway, the knife handle protruding from the victim’s eye.  Emma ran toward the intruder, “Two in the body, one in the head.  Two in the body, one in the head.”  She pounced on the man, driving two knives into the quivering figure.  Footsteps were racing up the stairs.  “Kore ga watashinoiedesu!” she screamed, and two more knives found their mark.

An eerie stillness descended on the hallway, and Emma leaned against the wall, catching her breath.  She turned towarrd Rachel and motioned her close, “We’re almost there-”

At the other end of the corridor, Bobby was dragging Rachel forward.  “You shoulda just given her back…”

Emma’s shoulders dropped in resignation.  “Rachel,” she sighed quietly, “what’s the first thing you learned?”

Her protégé’s eyes grew wide, then, “NOOOOO!”  She screamed and drove her cell phone into Bobby’s forearm, breaking his grip.  She ran to Emma who grabbed her and shielded her from the attacker’s furious gaze.  Keeping her focus on Bobby, Emma murmured to Rachel, “Under the stairs, push on the wall, lock the door behind you.  Go.”  She felt a quick squeeze of her hand, and then she was gone.

“I told you to leave her,” Emma shouted, “You shoulda listened.”  Bobby raised his rifle; Emma flung a knife toward his head, nicking his ear.  Throwing herself down the staircase, she muttered, “Come on, follow me you bastard.”  There was the satisfying sound of boots crashing down the stairway as she dashed from the Residence, followed by the sound of bullets whipping past her as she wove back and forth across the courtyard towards the dojo.

She crashed through the double doors and spun around, backing up as Bobby burst into the gym.  He was cursing and working the bolt on his rifle, then thew it aside in disgust.  His eyes fell upon the swords on the rack near the door, and with a grin, snatched one off the wall.  “You cut me, you bitch.  Now I’m going to cut you back.”

Emma backed away, her hands behind her, searching for something, anything.  Her hands brushed against the wall; a smooth handle of a bokken settled in her grip. 

He laughed as she whipped the bokken in front of her; her hands shaking, the tip of the wooden practice sword wavering.  He grinned and slowly drew the katana to meet the quivering bokken.  Suddenly, he slapped it aside with the flat side of his sword then watched as it flew off to the side, shattering one of the dojo’s mirrors.

He turned to look back at Emma, feeling a bit puzzled.  She was standing in front of him still, but there was a knife in her hand that was stained with blood.  He started to say something to her, but the words wouldn’t come, and the room was starting to spin.  He toppled to the floor, too late to realize his mistake.

She took a deep, ragged breath and knelt next to the sprawled body of her enemy.  Emma shook her head. “A weapon can hurt you,” she admonished, “but it is the person who will kill you.”

 

Miss Lena was racing to the Residence when Cerberus proclaimed, “We’re clear.  All buildings are secure.  All intruders are neutralized.” 

“Casualties?  Is everyone okay?” asked the house mother, her voice tinged with worry.

“Twenty enemy casualties,” the computer intoned.  “Zero friendly casualties.”

Miss Lena sighed with relief.  “Cerberus, locate Emma please.”

“Miss Couteau is in the dojo.”

When the house mother made her way into the training room, she found Emma sitting quietly on the floor, a body crumpled next to her.  She stopped, carefully studying the young girl’s face.  “Are we good?” she asked quietly.

Emma took a deep breath.  “We’re good.”

 

The sound of helicopters arriving greeted the dawn.