Die Hard - The Female Version
By M.C.
When a ruthless gang takes over her high school, it's up to a pretty 18 year-old girl to save the day; and her social life.

Gina just couldn't believe her luck that day. The student assigned to assist
her in cleaning up the storage room in the basement of her high school's
athletic department (the job that Gina does once a week for extra credit)
would be Steven Rice who, in addition to being the star quarterback of her
high school football team, was also her next door neighbor and the boy that
the pretty 18 year-old girl has had a secret crush on ever since she moved
into his neighborhood four months earlier. And although Steve was always
polite to her and would say "Hi" whenever they passed each other in the halls,
outside of that he never expressed any more interest in her. Being a new girl
in a new school without any friends when all of the other students had already
established a circle of friends can be a real bummer for a high school girl.
But who knows, Gina thought to herself, maybe her luck might change today; at
least she hoped it would.

After explaining to her handsome but totally disinterested neighbor what their
task that afternoon was, Gina and Steve got down to work; cleaning and
straightening up the large athletic storage room which was located in the
basement directly underneath the gymnasium. And as they did so, unbeknownst to
them, a dramatic event was about to unfold in the main part of their school
above them - an event that would change the course of both of their lives.

BANG! BANG! Several gunshots rang out as a group of well-armed men overwhelmed
the lone security guard at the gate of the school and burst inside (though
injured, the guard would, fortunately, recover from his gunshot wounds). Upon
entering the school the gunmen began to round up all of the students and staff
and corralled them into the gym above the storage room where Gina and Steve
were working, threatening to shoot anyone who tried to escape or call for
help. Meanwhile, down in the school's basement one floor below ...

"Gee, I wonder what all of that noise upstairs is about," Gina said to her
co-worker. Steve however, totally bored with the work he and Gina were doing,
seemed totally disinterested at first. All he seemed to want to do was finish
cleaning up the storage room as fast as possible and get the hell out of
there; a fact that wasn't lost on Gina. "I guess this just isn't going to work
out between Steve and me," she thought to herself and added with a sigh, "he
barely even knows I'm alive." Just then they heard another gunshot, but this
time it was much closer. In fact it came from the gym right above them. BANG!
Gina went over to the wall and switched on the intercom so that she and Steve
could hear what was going on.

"Don't anybody try to run away or use your cell phones," a man's gruff voice
was heard barking out. "That way nobody will get hurt. But if anybody does try
to escape or call anyone for help - BANG! - (another shot rang out which was
immediately followed by the sounds of many students screaming and some
crying). Did I make myself clear?"

"Gee Steve, it looks like they're taking all of our fellow students and the
school staff hostage," Gina whispered to her neighbor as they listened to what
was going on over the intercom. And then she surprised Steve by adding, "This
can't be allowed to continue. I've got to do something about this."

"You? What can you do about this Gina? You're just a girl. They sound like
very tough and desperate men armed with guns. And we don't even know how many
of them there are. I think we should call the police and let them deal with
this situation."

Gina thought for a few moments. "No Steve, I don't think that's a very good
idea. If we call the police then there might be a shootout inside the gym and
many of the kids could get hurt. I'm going out to investigate and see what the
situation is. If you don't hear from me in ten minutes, then you can call the
police. In the meantime stay in here and lock the door after I leave. I'll tap
lightly three times on the door when I come back so that you'll know it's me.
But (Gina became very forceful now) under no circumstances are you to leave
this room Steve! Do you understand? And while I'm away, I want you to
carefully listen to the intercom and see if you can determine how many of
these bad guys there are. It would help me to know that."

The force of Gina's request (demand was actually a much more accurate
description of what she said and the way she said it) caught the high school
football star completely off guard. He didn't know what to say, so he said
nothing. Before leaving the storeroom Gina removed her shoes and socks so as
not to make any unnecessary sounds. Then she quietly opened the door, poked
out her head and, after looking from side to side to make sure that nobody was
lurking in the hall, stepped out.

As she stealthfully crept along the hallway, Gina heard the distinct sound of
footsteps coming down the stairs. So as not to be seen, she hid behind a tall
wall locker and waited to see who it was. In order to do so and not be seen in
return, the resourceful girl reached into her pocket for the small mirror Gina
always carries with her whenever she wants to brush her long, pretty honey-
blond hair. "It's a good thing I brought you with me," she smiled as she took
it out. Gina held her mirror out so that it only protruded about a half an
inch beyond the locker which was enough to allow her to see who was in the
hall and not be seen.

What she saw was a large, masked man armed with what appeared to be a
semi-automatic assault rifle (possibly an AR-15) going room-to-room in the
basement, checking, no doubt, to see if any of her fellow students were hiding
inside. And as he made his way towards her, Gina prepared herself. But what
chance could a mere 18 year-old high school girl who stood all of five-feet
six inches tall and weighed just 130 pounds have against a large, armed man
who appeared to be around six feet tall and weighed perhaps 200 pounds? What
chance indeed.

THUD! THUMP! THUMP! POW! Gina, taking full advantage of the element of
surprise, struck suddenly and with lethal precision. First with a hard kick to
the large man's groin and immediately followed that up with two hard thrusts
which went deep into his gut before finally finishing him off with a
devastating roundhouse kick to the side of his face; sending her assailant
down for the count. Years of intensive martial arts training have enabled Gina
to be able to shatter thick wooden boards and bricks with both her hands and
feet. And in just ten seconds, the "mere girl" knocked the large man out cold.

Gina picked up the semi-automatic rifle and slung it over her shoulder. Then
she grabbed the unconscious man by his ankles (one in each hand) and began
dragging him back to the storeroom. "It's a good thing they waxed the floor
down here earlier today," Gina thought to herself as she dragged him along the
floor with relative ease, "or else this would be a lot more difficult for me."

Tap, tap, tap. Gina tapped out the code on the storeroom door and, after Steve
unlocked and opened it, she dragged the battered man inside (the look on
Steve's face when she entered caused Gina to giggle). "What's the matter
Steve? You look like you've just seen a ghost; tee, hee, hee." She placed the
still unconscious man in one of the corners of the storeroom and leaned the
assault rifle up against the wall. "Come and help me tie up this sleeping
beauty so he won't be a bother to us anymore Steve. Then I'll be free to deal
with the rest of these bad guys."

Because she knew the athletic storage room like the back of her hand, Gina
took out several jock straps from one of the lockers and tied his arms
together at the wrists behind his back while Steve tied his ankles together.
And to prevent him from shouting out and alerting the other members of his
gang when he came to, Gina rolled up one of the dirty socks which was due to
be laundered the next morning and stuffed it in his mouth. "There," Gina
grinned at Steve as she admired their handiwork, "we've neatly giftwrapped him
so that he'll be ready for the police when they arrive."

At first Gina's neighbor was completely speechless. So much so that he hadn't
said a single word since Gina dragged the battered man into the storeroom
several minutes earlier. He just stood there and stared, first down at the
large, still unconscious man that lay tied up before them, and then at the
pretty girl standing next to him. "How Gina?" he finally managed to ask her.
"How could you take down this big, tough man all by yourself? And he was armed
too. Have you ever studied martial arts or anything like that?"

"Oh, I've taken a few lessons once upon a time Steve," she grinned. "And I'm
glad that I was still able to remember a few things." The truth is that Gina's
parents are both martial arts experts and began training her in hand-to-hand
combat literally since she was able to walk. They wanted their daughter to
grow up to be a strong and confident female who would be able to deal with the
world on her terms. And what better way to instill confidence in a girl than
to teach her how to defend herself? So after more than fifteen years of
intensive training, Gina, in addition to being a normal schoolgirl, can also
be an incredible fighting machine when the need arises.

But as Gina was to discover as she got older, being able to easily beat up the
roughest, toughest guys in school is a surefire way not to get dates. So she
tries to keep her awesome fighting abilities a secret as much as possible.
Sometimes however, like today, it becomes necessary to use them. And when it
does, Gina is not shy about doing so. "So Steve, how many more baddies do you
think I still have to deal with now?" Gina asked as casually as if she was
asking him what he wanted from the store.

"I did what you ask me to do Gina and listened to the intercom while you were
out. There seems to be two more kidnappers inside the gym and one more
guarding the entrance outside. I guess they're holding them hostage for money
or something. As you know, there are some very rich people's kids that attend
our school."

"Hmmm, that's pretty good there Sherlock," Gina mused. "It won't be too much
longer before this guy is missed by the others. I shut off his phone so that
they won't be able to contact him. But at most that will only buy me a little
bit more time. So I guess I'll have to come up with some sort of plan pretty
quickly now. Won't I?"

"But Gina, why don't we just call the police and tell them what's going on
here? After all, that's their job; isn't it? Why don't we both just stay down
here where we'll be safe and let the police handle this situation?"

Gina sighed. "Because like I told you before Steve, that strategy could very
well lead to a shootout and endanger our classmates. For the time being the
kidnappers don't know about me so I still have the element of surprise on my
side." Gina paused for a few moments before continuing. "Look Steve, just give
me ten minutes; that's all I'm asking. And if I don't come back within that
time, then go ahead and call the police. O.K?"

After Steve reluctantly agreed, Gina smiled and said, "Good. Now I'm going to
go out again. Lock the door as soon as I leave and please, under no
circumstances leave this room (Gina resisted the urge to say that she'd never
forgive herself if anything were to happen to him). You have a semi- automatic
rifle over there against the wall. But use it only if it becomes absolutely
necessary. Understand? Guns are dangerous things."

Before she left the storage room, the pretty 18 year-old girl felt the urge to
give the boy that she's had a secret crush on for the past few months a hug.
But again Gina resisted the urge. "What's the point?" she thought. "I mean
it's not like he gives a damn about me." But just as Gina opened the door to
leave, she heard Steve say, "Gina, be careful ... please." Unable to contain
her smile, Gina turned around and replied, "Don't worry Steve, I will." And
then, in the best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression that she could muster, Gina
added in a deep, fake German accented voice, "I'll be back." And then she left
the room.

As Gina again quietly crept through the basement and then stealthfully began
to walk up the stairs, she couldn't help thinking, "How ironic that it took
this kind of situation to get Steve to finally notice me. Well, better late
than never I suppose. I wonder where this might go from here." Her schoolgirl
fantasies ended however when she reached the top of the stairwell and saw
another large and tough-looking masked man guarding the entrance to the gym;
also armed with a semi-automatic rifle. "I guess it's time to go to work again
girl," Gina sighed to herself.

As Gina was pondering how she could overcome the large, armed man that was
guarding the entrance to the gym where her classmates and teachers were being
held without him alerting his co-conspirators on the inside, a surprising
thing happened which would greatly assist Gina in her endeavor; and it
couldn't have come from a more unexpected source.

Sherry, the beautiful and pompous head cheerleader who, being the stuck-up,
self-centered bitch that she was and who always thumbed her nose at people
like Gina whom she considered to be her inferiors, came walking down the
hallway towards the gym. She appeared to be totally unaware as to what was
going on (Sherry had been in the ladies room straightening her hair and
applying her lipstick before cheerleading practice while her fellow students
were being rounded up and herded into the gym). Gina felt that her neighbor,
the star of her high school football team, had his eyes on the beautiful - and
very rich - head cheerleader.

But this was neither a time for petty jealousies nor settling high school
grievances. As far as Gina was concerned, at this crucial time Sherry provided
a useful distraction to the guard who she would need to take out in order to
rescue her fellow classmates. So when the guard moved forward to grab Shelly
and force her into the gym to be held alongside the other hostages, Gina saw
her chance to spring into action - and spring to action she did.

Gina quickly leaped out behind the guard and wrapped her surprisingly strong
left arm tightly around his neck, then locked her grip by firmly grasping her
left wrist with her even stronger right hand. Then she began to squeeze with
all her might. The suddenness of Gina's attack caught the unsuspecting guard
completely off guard, forcing him to drop his gun. And as Gina continued to
squeeze the now helpless man into submission, she whispered to the stunned
cheerleader, "Don't you dare make so much as a single sound Sherry. There are
still two baddies inside the gym and they've taken almost our entire school
hostage."

After a brief struggle, the large man succumbed to Gina's powerful neck lock.
And when his arms fell limply to his sides, the powerful girl released her
python-like grip around his neck and gently lowered the unconscious man to the
floor. "Well, that's two down and two more to go," Gina said to herself. The
question for her now was, how can she enter the gym and overpower the
remaining two armed men without any of her fellow students getting harmed in
the process? But first she'll have to take her new victim downstairs to the
storage room to join his friend.

Fortunately they were right next to the service elevator so Gina wouldn't have
to drag the heavy man down the stairs. She pressed the button and when the
elevator door opened dragged the unconscious man inside and motioned for
Shelly to follow. Tap, tap, tap. Once again Steve stood in shock disbelief
when he opened the door and Gina dragged yet another bad guy inside; this time
accompanied by Sherry. Gina placed the man alongside his partner in crime and
grinned at Steve. "Another sleeping beauty for us to tie up Steve. I believe
you know the drill."

"What are you going to do now Gina?" Steve asked when he recovered from the
shock of seeing yet another large, tough-looking man completely overpowered by
this pretty 18 year-old girl. Gina glanced up at the ceiling of the storage
room and suddenly an idea came to her. "I think I just figured out a way to
enter the gym without being detected so I can deal with the remaining two bad
guys Steve." (Sherry was so totally overcome with fear at the events that were
happening all around her that she remained completely silent. Something that
Gina found very welcoming as the last thing she wanted to hear at this point
was the stuck-up cheerleader's winey, bitchy voice).

"How Gina? How are you going to sneak into the gym without being detected and
overpower two armed men without anybody else being harmed?" Then Steve added
something that disturbed her. "If you don't want to call the police, then at
least take one of these assault rifles Gina also brought her second victim's
weapon down to the storage room) so you'd at least have a fighting chance."

Gina sighed. "No Steve," she replied. "I won't do it that way. It's just not
my style. This may seem like the movie Die Hard, but that was just a movie;
this is real. Those kids in the gym are our classmates, our friends, players
on your football team. If I go in there and shoot it out with them, somebody
we know might very well get killed. And I'm afraid that I just wouldn't be
able to live with myself if that were to happen. No Steve, I will handle this
my way. And besides (despite the gravity of the situation that she now found
herself in, Gina somehow managed a little bit of wit), I haven't done too
badly up until now; have I?" And then she added with a smirk, "For a girl that
is."

Steve lowered his head and in a low and humble tone of voice said, "No Gina,
you haven't. In fact what you've done so far today is amazing - and not just
for a girl; but for anybody." Then, after a lengthy pause, he said the words
that Gina had been longing to hear, "You're amazing, and I'm sorry about what
I said to you earlier about you being just a girl. Is there anything I can do
to help you Gina?"

Despite the pressure she was now under, Gina was completely caught of guard by
what Steve had just said, and the way he said it. And she would have loved to
explore this breakthrough; but unfortunately she was in a race against time
now and Steve would have to wait. Gina knew that the absence of the two
members of the gang that she had taken out would not go unnoticed for long, if
indeed it hadn't been noticed already. So she had to move quickly if her plan
to dispatch the last two bad guys and rescue the hostages was going to work.

"No Steve, I'm afraid not." Then Gina smiled and added, "But thanks for
asking." Gina walked to the door. But before she left the storage room this
time, as opposed to the previous one, the pretty girl turned around and gave
Steve a hug. "Wish me luck. O.K?" The smile on Steve's face when she said this
was all Gina needed to see. She smiled back; and then she was off.

Knowing that she had to act quickly, Gina climbed up the stairs to the level
where the gym was and went inside one of the empty classrooms. She put a chair
up on top of the desk that was located directly below a large air-vent, pushed
up the grate and hoisted herself inside. Crawling along inside, Gina soon
found herself above the gymnasium, looking down at her frightened classmates
and teachers that were being held at gunpoint below. And what Gina saw
infuriated her.

"Shut the fuck up and sit down!" one of the hostage takers screamed at Mrs.
Simmons, Gina's history teacher. "You'll be released when we received our
money and a plane to Mexico; and not a minute before!"

"Jake! Larry! Where the hell are you? Answer me Goddamn it! The police are on
their way and we need you here right now!" Gina grinned when she heard this
and was glad that she made sure to shut off the cell phones of the two baddies
that she had dispatched. But as she gazed around the gym and saw the looks of
panic that her classmates had on their faces, Gina knew that she would have to
act soon. And the sounds of the approaching sirens off in the distance getting
louder by the minute only reinforced that view.

As quietly as possible, Gina lifted the grate to the air-duct and placed it
off to the side. She was now located directly above the person who seemed to
be the gang's leader. And because she still had the element of surprise on her
side, Gina felt that she was as ready as she would ever be to strike, just as
soon as the opportunity presented itself. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait
too long for that opportunity to come about.

"Jake and Larry aren't answering their phones and the police are on their
way!" the exasperated leader screamed to his partner who had now moved next to
him. Both of them were standing directly below Gina now so she prepared to
strike. "Jake! Larry! What the hell is going on?"

"This is what's going on," Gina said as she leaped down from the air- duct.
And just she had planned, Gina landed directly on top of one of the
kidnappers. And from a height of twenty feet, the force of her momentum
slammed his head to the floor and knocking him out immediately. Then, before
the stunned gang's leader even had time to react, Gina whorled around and
kicked his rifle out of his hands and sent it sprawling across the floor of
the gym.

Now with just one assailant left for her to face - and an unarmed one at that
- Gina felt that she could take her time and give the leader of the gang that
had caused so much stress and anguish to her fellow classmates and teachers
the beating that he justly deserved. And in that, Gina took great pleasure in
doing. For despite him being much larger that she was as well as an
experienced brawler, the hardened criminal was simply no match for Gina's
amazing martial arts skills.

"How dare you threaten and frighten my friends," Gina scolded the totally
outclassed man as she mercilessly battered him around the gym with her strong,
well-placed punches and kicks. "You really ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
And while the pretty 18 year-old girl beat the gang leader to a pulp, all the
other students that had been trapped inside the gym - the very same students
that barely knew that Gina even existed only a few short minutes earlier -
cheered her on by chanting Gina! Gina! Gina! It was a sound that warmed her
heart and one that she would never forget.

WHACK! And with one final roundhouse kick to the side of the battered man's
face, Gina spun him completely around and sent him down for the the count. She
had done it! In less than half an hour this amazing girl had singlehandedly
taken on a gang of four vicious, hard-core criminals and wiped them out! And
although Gina never bragged about her awesome fighting abilities (her parents
had always taught her to be humble about it), caught up in the spirit of the
moment, she succumbed to the urge to show off a bit.

Gina place her right foot on the chest of the man she had just battered,
fluffed up her long, pretty honey-blond hair and flexed her muscles. Then she
flashed her fellow students her prettiest smile. "Not too bad for a girl, eh?"
she asked rhetorically. And after what this amazing schoolgirl had just
accomplished, could anyone really blame her for a little bit of showboating?

Epilogue: A few minutes later

Tap, tap, tap. "The coast is clear, you guys can come out now," Gina said to a
very relieved Steve and a still stunned Sherry after Steve opened the storage
room door. "I took care of the rest of the bad guys and none of the students
or teachers were hurt in the process." Unable to contain himself, Steve gave
Gina a long and passionate hug. "Gee," Gina thought to herself, "if all it
took to finally get Steve's attention was to beat up a gang of vicious
kidnappers, then I should have done it a long time ago." Then she added with a
giggle, "I guess in an ironic sort of way I owe those kidnappers a debt of
gratitude. Tee, hee, hee."

"What's so funny Gina?" Steve asked when he heard her giggling. "Oh it's
nothing Stevie (it was the first time that Gina had ever called him that).
Just a funny thought I had." Then she looked up at Steve (he stood a good six
inches taller than she did) "The police will be here soon and they'll begin
rounding up all the baddies. I told one of the teachers about these two down
here. So what do you say we sneak out of here before they come and walk home
together? I think it's about time that you and I had a little girl-to-boy
talk."

Gina just barely resisted to urge to smirk at Sherry as she and Steve left the
storage room; hand-in-hand. When they got to the ground floor where the
school's exit was located, they saw that the police had already arrived and
were questioning the students and faculty about what had happened at the
school that day. They also saw news crews beginning to arrive. Hiding her face
so as not to attract unwanted attention to herself, Gina quickly led Steve out
of the schoolyard and they began to walk towards their homes. And although
Gina was well aware that she would be outed soon, right now her mind - and her
hormones - were definitely somewhere else. Namely with the handsome next- door
neighbor that she was walking home with.

"Hello sweetie pie," Gina's mother greeted her daughter as Gina and Steve
entered her home. "I see you brought a friend home with you. And how was
school day honey?"

"Oh, nothing special mommy. You know, the usual school stuff." Gina looked at
Steve and winked. "I guess you could call it a typical day at school. Nothing
out of the ordinary happened."

"Young lady," Gina's mother said in a firmer tone of voice with mock
sternness, "you may be able to fool most of the people with that B.S. of
yours, but this is your mother you're talking to now. I do listen to the news
from time to time you know." She went over to Gina and gave her daughter a
loving hug. "I'm so very proud of you honey. You did exactly what your father
and I trained you to do with your fighting skills; protect the innocent." Then
Gina's mother looked over at Steve, smiled and proudly asked, "My daughter
sure is something; isn't she? Will your new friend be staying for dinner
Gina?"

"I'm sure he will." Gina glanced up at Steve. "You will be staying for dinner;
won't you Stevie?" To Steve, Gina's request seemed more like an ultimatum and,
after seeing that day what Gina was capable of doing, he wisely nodded his
head. Gina grinned at her mother and said, "Yes mommy, Stevie will be staying
for dinner. And in the meantime we'll be in my bedroom - Stevie and I have
some rather important issues to discuss; don't we Stevie? (smirk). Just give
us a ten minute warning before din-din is ready. O.K mommy?" After Gina's
mother gave her the thumbs up sign, Gina took Steve firmly by the hand and led
him into her bedroom. Then she closed and locked the door behind her.