To Find a New Dawn

Aurora auditions for the Elite Guard

By Mongoose750 (mongoose750@yahoo.com)

Hello, my name is Leonard Chamberlain (no relation to the famous basketball player). I graduated with a degree in economics and finance from the community college in my hometown, and at the top of my class, too. What else can I tell you about myself? I live with my widowed mother in a decent apartment, and let's see, what else? Oh yeah, I'm a leader of a gang.

Rather, that should be I used to be a gang leader.

I already know what some of you are thinking; what was a well-educated man like myself doing running a gang? As they say, it's a long story.

I didn't grow up in a ghetto; I grew up in the suburbs of Central Indiana. I wasn't the result of a teen pregnancy either; I had both a mother and a father, until my dad passed away from a heart attack when I just entered high school. And my parents had great jobs; my dad's workplace provided excellent benefits to my family after he died.

So that takes care of the typical profiles of gang members, myself fitting none of the qualifications except for the fact I'm black, and that means nothing because you see people of all colors running these gangs. The street doesn't always see color like you might think.

How did I get into a gang? I was "recruited." As I said earlier, my degree was in economics and finance. I was always good with numbers, and many teachers in high school saw this and encouraged me to pursue college and get into business. However, one of the gang leaders in school became aware of this too.

Jessie West, leader of the Dragons, rounded up his two lieutenants and made me an offer I couldn't refuse when I neared the end of my sophomore year. No, it wasn't any threats like "join us or we'll kill you," it was more along the lines of a lucrative "business opportunity." I kept the books, provided financial advice on how the gains, ill-gotten or not, could be used to make more money. By the end of my senior year, I couldn't tell you the Dragons were the biggest gang or the toughest, but we were the richest gang in town. In fact for that reason, Jessie made it a point to keep the gang at a reasonable size and a low profile so we wouldn't draw too much attention and to keep out those who may be too greedy.

When I graduated high school, I also earned a scholarship to the local college in town. As per our agreement, the Dragons allowed me to finish my education. After college, a got a part-time job at a loan company and returned to the gang, full of financial ideas.

While you're calling me an idiot, stupid, and a fool for returning to the Dragons, first let me tell you you're right; I was an idiot for returning. But also during my tenure with the Dragons, I developed several friendships with the guys there, including the leader, who appointed me as the new leader after he found out he was facing a possible five to ten years for possession of illegal drugs (his ex-girlfriend sold him out).

Now how did I leave this gang? It was nothing overly romantic, even though a woman had a lot to do with it. Quite literally, we got our butts beat and handed to us. It's an even longer story, so here goes.

One day I was on my way to a gang meeting when suddenly a woman dressed in black appeared. She startled me because she seemed to come from nowhere. She was a blonde my size (6'0"), and dressed in black sweats and black socks, no shoes. At the time, I assumed my reaction was because I watched a few too many of those kung fu movies late at night.

"Leonard Chamberlain?" The lady asked.

"Please, call me Leon," I said in a feeble attempt to sound cool.

"I have a lucrative offer that your group may be interested in."

"What is that?"

"All will be explained," the blonde said, handing me a card. "We want you and four of your best fighters to meet us at the community college library a week from today at this time. You will be taken to our facility in Indianapolis. You will be there a week until the day of the event arrives. All room, board, and expenses will be covered by us."

"How lucrative is this?" I asked her.

"Either $2,500 or $5,000 for your group."

That got my attention. "Sounds pretty good," I said.

"Call the number on the card as soon as you get your group together."

"Who are you with?"

"The DOA."

"The DOA?"

"Yes, we'll tell you the rest when you arrive. Good day, Leonard."

"Leon."

"I'm sorry, bye Leon." And she walked away.

You can guess what happened next; I told four of my best fighters in the gang the deal, and like any other person who needed or wanted money, they jumped at the opportunity, packed their bags, and got to the meeting point before I did. We had a nice trip, and later that evening, we had a meeting with the lady who arranged all this. Again, it looked like a scene from those late night movies.

We were in a large office with a real nice shag carpet. At one end of the office in front of a large window was a large desk with a middle-aged woman dressed in a white long-sleeved blouse and white slacks. She had short blonde hair that barely touched her ears. The way she had her hands folded in front of her on her desk made me think she saw a few of those movies too.

"I guess you're probably wondering why I called you here," the woman said, giving a slight smile.

"Yeah, we wondered about that," I said.

"Let's start with some introductions. My name is Olivia," she said, offering her hand. She had a pretty strong grip, stronger than I expected from a woman her age.

"I'm Leon, and this is Rico, Pedro, Jackie, and Paul."

The guys mumbled "hello" and "how are you," etc.

"I know why you're here, so let's not waste any time," Olivia said. "I am one of the local representatives for the Daughters of Athena or DOA for short."

I've heard a little bit about them, that they're some women's outfit. Past that, I didn't know much else about them except for a few rumors that I thought were a little crazy.

"To repeat what my messenger Dora said, you'll get at least $500 each if you do nothing, just show up; but if at least one of you is successful, you'll receive $1,000 a person," Olivia continued.

It sounded like it was too good to be true, like there should be a catch.

"What do we have to do?" I asked.

"Defeat one of our people in battle," Olivia said.

"Wait a minute; you're going to pay us to beat somebody up?"

"If you can. The next couple of days you can use to plan a strategy, work out, or to just take it easy. The fight will take place on Friday night. As we're covering your room and board, the DOA will also cover any medical expenses as a result of this conflict."

"Who's this group we're supposed to fight?" Rico, my second in command said.

Olivia leaned back and rested her feet on the desk. They were bare, and the soles were dirty. I thought it was a little strange, but considering what kind of carpet she had in her office, she probably loved the feel of the shag under her feet.

"Not a group, just one person," she corrected.

"Who?" I asked.

"Her."

She pointed her finger, and suddenly there was this woman behind us. What was it with women sneaking up on me?

The woman was black, or at least half-black; her skin was a light brown, and from the look of her eyes, perhaps the other half was Asian. She wasn't tall, only about 5'4" or so, and full-figured; that is, nicely proportioned. She wasn't top-heavy, and she wasn't carrying a wide load either. Her black hair was short and straight, not going much further than the nape of her neck. She was wearing an oversized purple sweatshirt, navy blue sweatpants, and no shoes. I guessed she liked the feel of shag carpet too.

But what really caught my attention were those eyes. Her almond shaped brown eyes were very expressive. As I found out later, they ran a wide range of emotions, from the cold stare of indifference to the laser-like look of anger. In this case, her eyes seemed to act like a microscope, examining us like dissected frogs in my high school biology class, seeing what made us tick.

As we looked over this woman, four of us looked back at Olivia with a look that said, "Her?" Pedro continued to look at this mystery woman. Olivia was unfazed by all of this.

"Her name is Aurora, and she is auditioning to be a member of the DOA's Elite Guard," Olivia said. "To become a member, the candidate must be able to effectively defeat at least five men in hand-to-hand combat. Her standing will depend on how well she dominates in that combat.

"As for you five, your task is simple, defeat her. It will not be necessary for you to beat her to a pulp, though that's what she will attempt to do to you. When it is obvious that she is defeated, the fight will be halted, and you will each receive your one thousand dollars.

"Now Aurora was kind enough to extend this offer to you. In fact, you two are from the same neighborhood. Some time this week, you may want to thank her for this opportunity, preferably before you attack each other."

After Olivia finished, we turned back to Aurora. Naturally when you hear a fantastic deal like this, you may have a few questions. I had a small truckload, one in particular. However, it looked like Pedro beat me to it in asking.

Pedro walked close to Aurora, looking at her like a visitor would examine an animal exhibit at the zoo. Finally, he pointed a finger at her and said, "To get our money, all we have to do is to beat this-"

The last word was in Spanish, and I'll spare you what the word was, but it is not a very flattering word for a lady.

After Pedro asked his question, he laughed, still pointing his finger. It was no secret to us in the gang that Pedro was a little rough with his women, and getting paid for beating one would make his day. I noticed Aurora didn't say anything, but turned and burned a hole through Pedro with those eyes of hers. Then suddenly, with the speed of a cobra, Aurora grabbed Pedro's index finger. She then addressed Pedro with a voice that sounded calm, but was as serious as death.

"It's not polite to point."

She then twisted her wrist slightly, and Pedro was cursing, screaming, and threatening Aurora in both languages. Somewhere in there he told Aurora to let go. Aurora looked at Pedro and said, "Be silent."

And he was. This was something in itself; there's been numerous times in our meetings where I spent half of my time telling him to shut up. Then Aurora spoke again.

"You can either stop pointing at me and treating me like a zoo animal or I can break your finger and your leader will be forced to choose another man to take your place. Your choice," she said.

Pedro, who never had a woman speak to him like that (except for his mother), stood there confused, not sure how to react. Considering how much trouble it would be to choose another guy, I made the decision for him.

"Pedro, stand down," I said.

Pedro looked over to Aurora; slowly nodded his head, and Aurora released his finger. Pedro didn't retaliate, but the two did exchange a look that said this wasn't over. Then she turned and looked at me. It was a look that said, "Can't you keep your dogs on a leash?"

Of our group, Pedro was the most undisciplined. His attitude has almost landed us in trouble a few times. That's why he's not second in command and Rico was, as much as he wished otherwise.

Olivia appeared to be enjoying the whole show. "Well if there are no more questions, I'll let you enjoy our facilities for the week. I'll see all of you Friday," she said, and stood up, indicating that the meeting was over.

In the spirit of proper decorum, or good manners, which is "fun" to teach to a gang, I walked over to Aurora and apologized for Pedro's behavior.

"Accepted," she said.

"So why did you choose us?" I asked.

"To crush you like the fleas you are," she said, and walked away.

As Aurora walked out the door, Dora came in. This time, she was dressed in a black leotard, black tights, and baggy white socks. She looked like she just finished a workout as she stood before us and smiled.

"I'm sure after a long trip, you must be hungry and tired. I'll give you a quick tour of the facility, and then I'll show you your rooms and the cafeteria," she said.

It was a nice little tour (though the way my men looked at Dora, they would've followed her anywhere). We were given three rooms with double beds. Since there were five of us, and I was the leader after all, I chose to have the third room all to myself. It would also be the room where we would hold any "war conferences" if we needed to. As soon as we settled ourselves in our rooms, we went to the cafeteria and got a free late dinner.

Now my mother was an excellent cook, but these ladies could have given her a run for her money. The food just melted in your mouth.

"I don't know what these ladies are about," Jackie said, "but they sure can cook."

"Hey Leon, when we get back, maybe we can hire ourselves a cook," Paul said.

It sounded like a nice idea as we stuffed ourselves. We didn't have any problems going to sleep that night. As my head hit the pillow, I had two questions nagging me; what does this "Elite Guard" do, and what grudge did Aurora hold against us? I swear I have never met the woman before.

The next morning I woke up feeling great. The beds were more comfortable than some hotels I stayed at. After we showered and shaved, and received an equally delicious breakfast, I gathered the boys together and told them this was a free day to check out the facility, take it easy, etc. After dinnertime, we would compile notes on what we discovered.

I decided to take a stroll through the gym; no reason, I don't work out that much, but it looked like a nice place to explore first.

The place was huge. It put my high school gym and possibly the gym at college to shame. Most of the floor was covered with padded mats, similar to what they have at wrestling tournaments (the real stuff like the Olympics, not the fake stuff on TV). On the mats, there were women punching, kicking, holding, throwing, and practicing every form of fighting known to man, or woman in this case. It looked like a feminine boot camp, all that was missing were the guns. What was the Daughters of Athena supposed to be, anyway? From the looks of things there, it looked like they were forming an army. If they were, it was no big deal to me, just as long as they didn't invade my turf.

On one side of this gym were weights, and a lot of exercise machines. Most of them I've seen or heard of before, others looked like they didn't belong on this planet. Like the mats, there were lots of women working out on the machines, and a few men too (I supposed they were here for the same reason my crew were).

As I walked along the side of the gym, close by the exercise equipment and staying a safe distance away from the amazons on the mats, I saw a familiar figure, and froze in my tracks. Seated at a Nautilus machine, pulling the weights to her chest, was Aurora. The night before, she was decked out in sweats. This time, she was wearing a red sports bra and charcoal gray spandex shorts. She was staring straight ahead, concentrating on her workout. Considering where she was, her outfit wasn't that unusual. What caught my attention was her body. She was built!

Not built as in a skinny supermodel type of "built," I mean built as in a pumping iron, body and buns of steel type of "built." From the top of her shoulders down to the toes of her feet (again, what is it with the women not wearing shoes in this place?), she had muscles like steel cables running through her body. Her chest alone looked like it was made of brick, bulging against her brown skin.

That explained what she did to Pedro the night before; she could've snapped his arm instead of settling for a finger, no question about it. She must have spent a long time working on that body. All that beauty, all that power, and she was going to take us on in a few days.

I must've been standing there a little longer than I meant to; she turned her head, those piercing brown eyes focused on me, and said, "Yes?"

"Er, hi," I said, feeling a little silly.

She nodded her head in greeting.

"Ah, how are you?"

"Fine. Is there something I can help you with?"

I knew that was a polite way of saying "What do you want?" Fortunately, I had a few questions to ask her, so I didn't look too awkward.

"Nice place you ladies have here, and thanks for inviting us, but what is this all about? I had a few questions I wondered about recently," I said.

Aurora nodded her head. "Fair enough. This facility is one of the training sites for the Daughters of Athena. They are a women's organization that stresses women's empowerment. It has been around for a few years, and the founder has plans of extending her operations in Indiana," she said.

I looked around. "He must be pretty well off," I replied.

"I've been told she has done pretty well," she said, putting emphasis on the "she." I got the message.

"I see. So what is this "Elite Guard' that you're trying out for?"

"The Elite Guard are the Daughter's finest group of soldiers and bodyguards."

I didn't intend to, but my skepticism and male chauvinism shown for a moment. "Lady bodyguards and soldiers?" I said, before I could shut my mouth.

Aurora didn't seem fazed by my question. "There was a tribe in West Africa that had their chief protected by female soldiers; the Dahomey, I believe. There are cases all throughout history of female warriors in many countries; and they've done rather well. You've heard of the Disney movie "Mulan,' haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"If you take out some of the cartoon elements, you'd find out it was taken from a true story."

"Oh. I'll never look at Disney the same way again." It was meant to be a little joke, but from the way Aurora looked at me, it fell flat.

"So uh, what does your Elite Guard do other than protect your boss?" I said.

She actually beamed at this question. "We participate in community projects," she said.

"Community projects?"

"Yes, such as cleaning up the neighborhood, getting rid of the garbage, and throwing it away."

It wasn't until much later that I understood what she meant by that.

"And to be a part of this, all you have to do is to beat me and my boys up? That's quite a lot," I said.

"Not too much, I've beaten men up before," she said.

With that body, somehow I didn't doubt it. She gave me a stare, daring me to challenge her, but instead, I shot her another question.

"So why are you trying out, and why did you choose us?" I asked.

"Does the name Kathy Frost mean anything to you?"

"No it doesn't."

"She overdosed on some drugs a month ago. Almost killed her. Somebody spiked her Diet Coke# at a party. We traced it to your gang being responsible."

It was true that some of my gang members sold drugs. I personally didn't want to be near the stuff, and I didn't want my gang to peddle it as a general rule. However, if one of my guys wanted to mess with it himself, that was his business. Of course, it's a little hard to explain that to someone on the outside.

"Uh, how is she?" I asked, deflecting the heat.

"She's doing fine now. That night, it was questionable," she said.

"That's good," I said, hoping to change the subject; more likely seeing this as my cue to leave.

Aurora cocked her head to one side and looked at me strangely. "You're different," she said.

"Different?"

"Your speech; did you attend classes at a college someplace?"

"Oh, yeah, I got a Bachelor's Degree at the community college some time ago." I glanced at my watch. "Anyway, I need to go meet up with the guys. Nice talking to you."

"One more thing."

"What's that?"

One corner of her mouth turned up, making it look like a cross between a sneer and a cruel grin.

"Tell Lenny I said hi," she said.

I tried not to have any expression show on my face, but as I saw Aurora's half-sneer turn into a full-blown grin, I realized I wasn't successful.

Lenny was one of my gang members who got into the selling of drugs, and I think he may have taken a few himself. He didn't deal with the "regular" stuff, like pot, or even crack, but more of the "party" drugs, like ecstasy. Sometimes he would drop in at parties, sometimes unannounced and uninvited, and drop a little of the stuff in someone's drink. "Boosting up business" he would call it. I guess at this one party, he dropped a little too much in that woman's coke. Two weeks ago, Lenny was literally dropped at our doorstep one evening, severely beaten. He was rushed to the emergency ward with a number of injuries, broken bones, and a concussion. According to what he said, a rival gang beat him up, but that was where the facts conflicted. The other gangs, who were in good standing with us, denied any involvement, and their alibis were airtight. Besides, they had no reason to do it. Lenny said he couldn't come up with a good description, telling us it was all a blur. It made sense in a male ego sort of way; to admit that some gang beat you up instead of saying a woman did it.

I remember a few of the guys involved, Pedro especially, vowed revenge on whoever did that to Lenny. If what I think is true, they'll get his chance for retribution in a few days.

I left, seeing Aurora's grin turn into an evil smile out of the corner of my eye.

The next day, after we had breakfast, I suggested that we could go to the gym and hit the weights to get ready for Friday night.

"We don't need to lift weights to fight that chick," Pedro said. "As a matter of fact, I'll do all the work for you. In two minutes, I'll have her begging for mercy."

"I think all the women here are dykes, man," Paul said. "I tried to talk to a few of them, and they wouldn't even look at me."

"Man, every woman in the world doesn't want to talk to you," Jackie said.

"Why not?"

After we stopped laughing, I told them what I learned about the DOA and the Elite Guard. This gained even more laughter.

"Women soldiers? Yeah, put them out in pink uniforms with matching handbags. Oops, I can't fight, I cracked a nail!" Paul said.

"I don't know man; wait until it's that time of the month, and they'll be dangerous," Jackie said.

"Hey, I'm not afraid of any women soldiers. I'll take them all on," Pedro said.

"Well all we need to do is to take care of one," I said. "Hey, you want to see if they have a basketball in this place? We can shoot some hoops later tonight."

We all agreed on that plan. Since there wasn't anything else to do, we decided to have another free day. Paul went off in search of other women who haven't turned him down yet. Pedro changed his mind on working out, but he was going to wait until later that day, when not so many people were in the gym. Rico was planning on talking to some of the other men who he saw the other day. He wondered if they knew what was going on. Jackie decided to sit in his room, eat, and watch satellite TV. As for myself, I decided to go wandering around the place again. And once again, I ended up in the gym. Just as well, I had a question for Miss Aurora.

I didn't tell the men that she knew what happened to Lenny, mainly because I want to know who actually done it. If it's somebody Aurora knew, we'll need to get that information from her one way or the other. If on the oft chance Aurora did it, well we'll earn our money that Friday.

It didn't take me long to find her at all. She was working out on a punching bag. Dressed in a red tank top and black spandex shorts (still no shoes; I was starting to wonder if she owned any), she had the bag swinging with a nice series of punches, then she suddenly snapped a left kick out of nowhere into the center of the bag. She gave another series of quick punches, then jumped in the air, and gave the bag a flying kick with her right foot. As she landed, she pivoted her left foot so she faced me.

"Yes?" She asked me. Again, it took me a moment to snap out of it, seeing those taut muscles move as she punched and kicked had me mesmerized. It took me another moment to remember what I was going to ask her. Instead, the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "What was that?"

"That was boxing, mixed in with some kickboxing," Aurora said.

"So that's what you're going to use on us, huh?"

"Some, but not all. I also plan to use some judo too. If you like, I could demonstrate a few techniques I'll be using Friday night," she said, her eyes flashing flame.

"No, that's okay; I don't think they would allow us to fight before we're supposed to."

The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly. "Yes, you are right," she said.

"Where did you learn all that?"

"My father, who is black, was a boxer in the Marines, where he was an officer. My mother, who is Japanese, was a black belt in judo, and participated in international competition. When they married and had children, they understood that there will be people who will attack us because of our mixed heritage. Instead of debating which skill to teach us, they decided to use both," she said.

"So where does kickboxing come in?"

"My days in college. I found out that there was a very active kickboxing league, the Tri-State Amateur Kickboxing Association. I also wanted a discipline all my own, so that's why I chose it. I almost went into competition."

"So what happened?"

Aurora slammed a hard right jab into the punching bag. "Recent events," she said, glancing at me. "So what did you major in at college?"

"Economics and Finance. Aurora, about Lenny, who busted him up?"

Aurora stopped hitting her bag and looked at me.

"Leonard, a word of advice. Sometimes it's a silly and wasteful thing to ask questions you already know the answer to."

It dawned on me what she meant.

"So it was you! Aurora, there were several of us who vowed to take revenge on the person or persons responsible. As soon as they find out, they won't have any mercy on you," I said. "You shouldn't have said anything."

"Leonard, you don't understand, I wanted you to know. I wanted to leave your gang a message of what I'm capable of. If you'd like, I'll go and tell each one of your men personally what I did. I would love to see the look on that punk's face, Pedro, when he finds out a mere woman put Lenny in the hospital."

"You're playing with fire."

"No, you're playing with fire! My friend, who doesn't even smoke, almost died because a man, one of your men, thought it would be "cute' to drop some acid in her Diet Coke! It's by the grace of God I didn't just snap his fool neck!"

I was slow in responding, mainly because she was right. Lenny had no right to do what he did. If the tables were reversed, I don't know. I just knew I overstayed my welcome and it was time to go elsewhere. I turned and started heading for the exit.

"Will you tell them?" Aurora asked behind my back.

I was stumped, or stuck between two places would be more like it. If somebody did to any of my friends what Lenny did, I would be calling for vengeance too. But Lenny was one of my crew, a Dragon, and we stick together, no matter what. So why do I feel like dirt all of a sudden?

"I don't know," I said as I walked away.

Later that evening, I played referee for a two-on-two basketball game with my men. They enjoyed themselves, but I was still trying to work out the junk I had in my head. After we finished, some of the other men who were invited here saw us and asked it we were still up for another game. While the teams were being formed, I took the opportunity to sit on the bleachers to watch for a while, then go back to my room, watch TV, and go to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, I realized it was already Wednesday, the middle of the week, and two days before we earn our money. I finally decided that what's done is done, and nothing can be done about it to change what had happened. Aurora had gotten her revenge by beating up Lenny, and we will get ours by beating her, though I have the suspicious feeling that it may not be as easy as it looks. Lenny was no weakling; he was as tall as I was, and about the same weight. He knew how to handle himself in a fight. I had a hard time believing that a woman could do that to Lenny, but Aurora looked like someone you don't want to mess with. God help her boyfriend if he ever messed up with her.

This time I went to the gym, on purpose this time. Not to talk to Aurora; I believed we already said more than we needed to. Tomorrow I plan on giving a basic strategy to take her out. That's part of the deal.

When I got to the gym, I found a basketball, and shot hoops for a half-hour or so. The shooting baskets made me feel better. I started to think of things I could buy with the money I was going to make.

As I was dribbling, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw it was Aurora talking to another woman. This woman was four inches taller with a medium complexion, and long light brown hair. I saw her face also had some Asian features to it. I quickly remembered that there are a few areas in our neighborhood where those who were of Chinese or Japanese decent lived with white and black folks. From the look of things, they've gotten along very well. Both women were wearing workout outfits, the taller woman wore a red outfit while Aurora wore one in blue, and like Aurora, this woman didn't have any shoes on her feet either. I made a mental note to ask someone before I left if it was against the law for women to wear shoes here.

Just when I was thinking about making a visit over to that woman's neighborhood sometime, both women turned in my direction. It then became obvious that they were talking about me, and they made no effort to hide it, either. When they saw I was looking their way, the other woman started to leave, but not before giving me a look with a scowl on her face. Not as bad as Aurora's piercing gaze, but bad enough.

Now that the show was over, I went back to shooting baskets. I didn't have anything else to say to Aurora, and I figured after she said her piece to me, that was it. After Friday, we'll just get back to our lives and leave it at that.

I shot a couple more shots, then I dribbled, turned to my right, and there was Aurora right beside me. I almost dropped the ball from being startled. How did she move so fast without me noticing? Why didn't I hear her?

"Hello," she said.

"Hi," I said curtly.

"A bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance, and at the top of your class, too. Pretty impressive."

"What? How did you find that out? Did that woman tell-"

"My turn," Aurora interrupted. "This time I'll ask the questions. It appeared that your professors had some flattering things to say about you."

"Yeah, they said some nice things."

"One of them said there would be a lot of open doors for you after you graduated, especially if you attained a master's degree."

"Yeah, I remember that professor," I said, inwardly winching at what was coming next.

"So why have you took all that talent and wasted it by being a gang leader?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Explain it to me."

After all the questions I asked her, I might as well. So I went ahead and explained how I was recruited into the Dragons, what I have done for the gang, and how I eventually became the leader. If I expected Aurora to be understanding or sympathetic, I was wrong. In fact, it was the opposite. Those eyes bore on me with even more intensity. I almost thought she would burn a hole through me.

"So instead of having a good career with a great future, on the request of a friend, you chose instead to work a part-time, dead-end job, and become the leader of a group of losers that's going nowhere. You're right, I don't understand at all," Aurora said, not in a loud voice, but in a voice that was so intense, you might as well be yelled at.

"Hey, Jessie was my friend. You don't understand what it's like out on the streets," I replied. "How would you-"

"Oh spare me the "life on the streets' garbage. You've never been anywhere near the streets. You were born into a middle class family with a loving mother and a father who died when you started high school. What would he think of what you're doing now?"

"You tell me, since you seem to know so much about me. Did you do your homework on the others too?"

"Yes I did, they're all losers; you're the only one that has something going for you, the only one who can turn his life around. I'm trying to understand why you're wasting your life."

"You don't know anything about my life!" I said, though she pretty much nailed everything on the head.

"I do know this: when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas," she said in a stead voice.

"You know what? I already have a mother, I don't need another one."

I dropped the basketball and walked away.

"It's not too late, Leon," Aurora said as I was leaving. "It's never too late to change."

I wondered how she knew my family background and other parts of my life, but at that moment, the only thing I wanted to do was get away from her, from everything and everybody. This was supposed to be a simple job to make some nice money, not a time to be asked twenty questions about what made me tick.

This place seemed to have a little bit of everything. I ran across a small arcade where I spent at least three hours playing video and pinball games. Later that evening, I ate dinner alone, then shut myself up in my room, where I watched TV, then went to sleep.

On Thursday, over breakfast, I told the guys to go out and enjoy themselves like they had the last few days, and then we'll have a conference later that evening.

On my wandering through the facility, I made it a point to not go anywhere near the gym. I hung around with the guys some, played some more games at the arcade, talked with some of the other men who were invited there, and even did a little girl watching at the cafeteria. But under no circumstances was I going to set foot in that gym and possibly get questioned about what I do or don't do.

At one point, I saw Aurora's friend, the longhaired brunette walking down the hall. Not taking any chances, I hid in the arcade until she went by. A little while later, I saw Aurora walking down the hall. There was a spare room nearby, so I hid in there. That was a good thing for me, because she stopped by the arcade and peeked in. There was another time I saw both of them walking down the hall together. Fortunately, I had to use the bathroom, so they went by without seeing me. They were nearby my gang's quarters, which made me a little suspicious. In fact, they probably were not looking for me at all, but when you do what I do, you learn to trust your paranoia, so I didn't take any chances.

My gang and I met for dinner that evening, and we decided that it was as good a time as any to discuss our battle strategy, such as it was.

"I thought we were going to just grab her and slap her around a few times, until she gave up. That, or leave her to Pedro's "tender mercies,'" Rico said.

"Yes, let me earn your money for you," Pedro laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds too easy," I said. "We wouldn't be offered this much money if there wasn't a catch to it."

"I think he's right," Paul said. "One of the women talked to me today, man."

"Oh yeah?" Jackie said.

"Yeah, she said if I'm still in one piece, she'd like to keep me as a pet."

"A pet?" Pedro said. "What did this woman look like?"

"She had short black hair, about 6'3" or 6'4", and has a body like She-Hulk," Paul said, suppressing a shiver.

"So what did you do?" I asked.

"I got out of there man. If I stood around any longer, she would've grabbed me. Be glad we've got a smaller target, man."

Rico looked around and pointed. "Is that her?"

We saw the woman fitting Paul's description. She sat at a table eating her dinner. She had to be one of the largest women I have seen in my life. Her short black hair was in bangs, similar to Aurora. She had a fair complexion, and was rather attractive. Her build was tall and powerful; her muscles looked like marble, solid and smooth. She was wearing a black sports bra and black short shorts that shown everything off. She realized we were staring at her and looked back at us and winked, particularly at Paul.

Even Pedro was speechless.

"I propose we continue this meeting in my room," I said quickly.

We picked up our trays, put them up, and left the cafeteria a little quicker than normal.

"Thanks man," Paul said.

"Don't mention it," I said. "What's her name, anyway?"

"Her name is Tara; she said she's from the Ukraine, I think."

"Must be something in the water over there. What did you say to her, Paul?" Jackie asked.

"I didn't say anything, man! I was playing a pinball game when she started hitting on me. She said she liked the way I moved my butt."

"My man Paul is a real ladies man," Pedro said as he went into my room. We couldn't help laughing.

"She said she needed a new man, because she broke the last one," Paul said.

I wasn't even going to ask Paul what Tara meant by the word "broke." That woman gave me the creeps, and I was only four inches shorter than her. Paul was 5'7."

"That proves my point, there's more to these women than meets the eye," I said.

Somewhat relieved that our target was more "bite-sized," I came up with a plan that should take Aurora out quickly, so we could get our money and go home. The stay was nice and the food was great, but it was time to get back home to the rest of the gang and not get the third degree from Aurora, and so Paul won't have to keep looking over his shoulder for women who were big enough to climb skyscrapers and swat down small airplanes.

The following day, it was Friday, the moment of truth. All the guys (including myself) were a little keyed up, so we went to the gym and played some basketball with the other men who were there. That helped relax us a bit, but then we realized we were being watched.

From the bleachers, the area where the exercise equipment was, even the matted area where they were sparring, most of the women who were trying out for the Elite Guard were observing us. Among the many who were watching us were a few candidates I recognized; Tara, Aurora's friend, and of course, Aurora. Seeing how they were observing us was in itself a study in the different ways a person studies their opponent. Some of them had a casual approach, doing other things, but partly paying attention, some like Aurora and her friend, watching in indifference, but probably mentally taking notes, or as in the case of Tara, like a hawk watching her prey. I can see why Paul didn't want to waste any time leaving this place. Since Tara met him, he didn't want to go anyplace by himself.

After the game was over, I had my group leave the gym. I didn't want to allow Aurora to take any more mental notes on us than she's done already. We went back to my room, reviewed our plan, and waited. According to the general schedule, we would fight Aurora that night; however, we weren't told when it would be. Since there were a number of women trying out, the order was determined by random drawing. The fights were to start at seven o'clock that evening.

At seven, a host came and got us and brought us to the gym. The gym was transformed into a type of gladiator arena. I kept on thinking of those Roman movies I've seen on Sunday afternoon and that one I've seen every Easter. What was it? Oh yeah, Ben Hur.

The men were sent to an area that was separated by a heavy curtain. It was only pulled back when it was time for another team to go in. I noticed the teams would go in, but no one came out. They probably were led out a separate exit, considering that it was rather crowded where we were. We weren't able to see a thing, but the same can't be said for the women. Their cheers could be heard every time one of their numbers did something to the opposition.

While we were waiting, I was able to find out a few more things about the Daughters of Athena. Upon the time a woman joins them, she is urged to either seek an education or to finish their education, no matter what level. The education was funded free of charge. Besides the schooling, each member is required to go through a year of intensive exercise and weight training. It was no wonder that every woman I've seen looked like someone from an exercise video or diet commercial. During that year of physical training, they also receive a year of intense training of the martial art of their choice. This covers a wide variety of fighting skills, including some the founder of the group made up!

The "graduation" for that candidate consisted of that woman defeating multiple opponents in combat. So what was the difference between a "regular" member of the DOA and the Elite Guard in that contest? Whereas someone on the ground level just had to outfight several people, the Elite Guard were judged on intensity, style, and - execution. In short, it's not just the fact they beat you, it's how well and how much they beat you.

In the DOA, the Elite Guard was considered to be the best of the best, sort of like the Navy Seals. Generally, those who try out for the position are either those who had been with the DOA for a while and honed their fighting skills, those who were phenomenal quick studies, or those who were already a master of a martial art to begin with . . . like Aurora. Suddenly I remembered what she said that past Tuesday; her dad taught her boxing, her mom taught her judo, then she took up kickboxing - a triple threat. A clear win for us seemed to be getting farther away.

The Elite Guard were given primarily two assignments; to be bodyguards for the leader and other officers, and to go on "missions," which still had not been made clear to me. How did I find out all this? While we were waiting, I asked Dora, one of our hosts about the organization, and with the exception of the "missions," told me everything. She explained it to me like it wasn't a big deal, which made me a little concerned. What were these missions? Well, as long as they didn't intrude on my gang's territory, I didn't care what they did.

We sat or stood there waiting for our turn, hearing the occasional cheers and shouts of encouragement when suddenly we heard the sound of a woman roaring? This caught everybody by surprise, including Dora, who pulled the curtains open to see what was going on. We saw a tall black woman, maybe an inch or two shorter than Tara, but about as muscular. Her hair was arranged in short dreadlocks that hung from her dark face. She was dressed in a white sports bra with a light blue and a dark blue stripe along the bottom, and white bikini shorts. Besides her battle cry, and how well built she was, the most fearsome thing was that her whole outfit, along with her was covered in blood. When the curtain was pulled back, we saw this woman facing us roaring. We didn't see any men or any bodies anywhere close to her.

"Where are the guys?" I said.

"Maybe she ate them," Rico said.

The woman proceeded to march toward us roaring all the way. I didn't think she was heading the right way out of the arena, but somehow I don't think she cared at the moment. The crowd parted like Moses with the Red Sea, giving her as much room as she needed. She stood there and roared again. She then turned and faced my gang and roared. We all jumped back. She walked around and roared at everybody else for a minute until Dora meekly pointed in the direction she was supposed to go. She left, but not without facing the remainder of the group and roaring one more time. The women audience gave her another hand of applause when she reappeared and headed toward the dressing rooms.

"I'm glad she's on our side," I heard Dora mutter to herself as she closed the curtain.

"I wonder if she knows Tara," Paul said.

"Just be glad she doesn't know you," Pedro said.

No one doubted she won.

Eventually, things finally settled down for a little while as there were a few more "auditions," for lack of a better word, then it was finally our turn. Dora, ever the graceful host, escorted us to the area on the mats where the challenge was to take place, and then asked if there were any last minute things to take care of, like questions, trips to the bathroom, etc. When it was confirmed that there was none, she didn't wish us luck exactly (she was one of the DOA after all); instead she said to us, "Fight well." She turned and walked back toward the curtain. I wondered why she didn't watch the fights, then I realized she had probably seen so many, it got to be routine.

Before the action started, I looked around to see how the place was changed since we were there that morning. The exercise machines were gone, as if they were never there. Instead of several mats on the floor, there were only a few large ones that covered the center of the gym floor. There was a large white circle with an "X" in the center, similar to what they have in collegiate wrestling matches. On one side, the bleachers were filled with women. Some were friends and I think female friends of the family, some were contestants still waiting their turn, and some who already competed. I saw Aurora's friend with a towel around her shoulders, seated on the front row, so she must have already done her thing. I wonder how well she did? I also noticed there were a large number of bald-headed women wearing what looked like black swimsuits among the spectators. What's with that?

The sight I saw on the bleachers on the other side looked like a cross between a scene from those Roman movies, a scene from Star Wars, and the Olympics. In front of the bleachers stood a table where seven older women were sitting with pens, notebooks, and laptop computers. I thought it was safe to assume that they were the judges. The next row up had five women sitting behind them. They were dressed in colorful spandex outfits, like what pro wrestlers or superheroes would wear. I assumed these were those who were already members of the Elite Guard. Upon taking a closer look, I saw that Tara was one of the five. Yeah, she would be someone I'd hire for a bodyguard; she just looked intimidating sitting there. I hoped Paul didn't see her, the man was nervous enough. I promised him that we'd leave the place as soon as we got paid. Not that I blamed him, I was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

On the row behind them sat two women who were wearing something that looked like a cross between a uniform and athletic wear. They looked like officers or someone important. But what really caught my attention was who was sitting behind them, a woman who must be the leader of the whole thing. She wore a rose colored robe that had a hood that hid her face. I was hard pressed as to which it reminded me of; a monk, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or the Grim Reaper. If the robe was meant to be mysterious and a little intimidating, it was working.

As I walked in, I saw at least three video cameras trained on us. I almost asked if they sell tapes of each event. Who watches this stuff?

My thoughts were interrupted by Rico, who tapped me on the shoulder.

"Man, I feel like I'm in one of those gladiator movies," he said. "You sure all we have to do is beat this girl up?"

"I hope so, otherwise we're trapped in a large building by beautiful women," I laughed.

"Women who can tear you in two. I saw some of them at the cafeteria, they're big."

"Well if we stick to the plan, we'll each be a thousand dollars richer, and we'll never have to mess with these women or see this place again."

"Amen, brother."

The silence that surrounded us was replaced by enthusiastic applause. After we looked around, we found out what the ovation was for. Aurora had just emerged out of the dressing room.

I just realized I was the only man in our gang who had seen Aurora when she was not wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants over her body.

"Look at that!" Jackie said.

"Interesante," Rico said.

"She, she's built," Paul said.

"Look at those muscles, she looks like a man!" Pedro said.

Pedro's remark fell on deaf ears. We saw that she had muscles, but we knew for darn sure that she didn't look like a man. She was wearing a navy blue tank top and navy blue spandex shorts with a white stripe down each side. Her feet were bare, as usual, and she was pulling on some fingerless gloves as she made her way to the "X" on the mat. After she pulled them on, she posed in a boxing stance.

I snapped my fingers, and the men went to stand on the rim of the circle, surrounding her. My idea was to surround her, so she wouldn't be able to tell who would attack first, and since we weren't sure what she's capable of, we would let her make the first move, then close in on her. It might make for a bit of a waiting game, but as long as we stuck to the plan, we shouldn't have a problem.

A woman wearing a black and white striped leotard, similar to the pattern referees wore, asked everyone if we were ready. We all nodded our heads.

"Very well," she said, lifting up a cordless microphone and speaking into it. "Begin!"

We stood in our spots as Aurora looked around, waiting for an attacker to make his move. It was more important for her to fight us than it was for us to attack her. She had to prove she could beat us. We could've stood there all day if we had to, but we weren't moving until she did. I thought it was a pretty good plan.

Aurora looked around, realized what was going on, and smirked. Then she spoke in that quiet, but seriously intense voice of hers.

"Hey Pedro, would you like me to show you what I did to Lenny?" She said.

Oh no.

I forgot to mention that Lenny and Pedro were close friends. Pedro took Lenny's beating pretty hard. The two men were like peas in a pod; both liked wild parties, fast women, and both were quick tempered. That temper was a flaw that made my plan fall apart.

"What are you talking about, woman?" Pedro said, followed by some more words in Spanish that are better left untranslated.

"He begged for mercy a few times before I really hurt him," Aurora said. "After that, he squealed like a pig when I finished with him."

Pedro hollered a curse at her as he charged forward. That idiot, that's just what she wanted!

"Pedro, wait! She's a boxer!" I yelled at him, but by the time I said the word "boxer," it was too late.

Pedro ran into a classic one-two combination. She hit him in the jaw with a left jab, then hit him in the same spot with a right jab, and then finished it off with a left kick again to the jaw. He fell back, seeing stars. I kept wondering if she pulled that kick, because I expected Pedro's head to be flying off after that exchange. It turned out she did, because she had more things in store for him.

Paul approached her from one side, while Jackie approached her from the other side. They might as well be moving in slow motion. Aurora grabbed Jackie's arm and threw him over her shoulder, landing him on top of Paul. While they were trying to get untangled, Rico and I attempted an attack. Aurora kicked me in my left thigh with her right shin. It stung a little, but that was all. The force of the kick however, caused me to stumble over Jackie and Paul, who were finally able to separate themselves. The crowd had a good laugh at the three of us tangled up in each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aurora give Rico a side kick into his gut. He bent over, and she gave him a left knee to the head. The blow stood him up again, and Aurora gave him a left jab and a right cross to the face. She then grabbed one of his arms, and gave him a hip throw.

Things were not going well. In the space of ten to fifteen seconds, this woman took the five of us apart like we were nothing. I thought the fight might be over, but from the way Aurora was shuffling her feet and shadow boxing, she was just being gracious enough to wait for us to get up so she could punish us some more. I found myself growing angry at Pedro because I thought if he didn't charge her half-cocked, we would've had a chance of winning this contest.

Pedro had gathered his wits by this time, and feeling angry, he called Aurora a few choice words in English and Spanish (it didn't make a difference what language they were in, they were all bad) before he advanced on her again. Aurora just gave him a wide grin. This time he had his fists up, ready to do some boxing. What he wasn't ready for though, was a flying right kick directly in his face. She didn't pull her kick this time.

Pedro's head snapped back so hard, I thought for a moment his neck would break. He almost fell to the mat again, but he was still standing, clearly stunned. Aurora grabbed his right arm and threw him over his shoulder.

Contrary to what it looks like in movies, judo exhibitions, and pro wrestling, those throws hurt, especially the way she did them. Instead of letting Pedro's body go flying, she held on to his right arm, nearly dislocating it. Pedro was on his back, moaning from the pain of the throw's impact and his right shoulder joint.

Aurora pulled up Pedro's shirt, exposing his bare chest. Holding on to his right hand with her left, she moved her right hand down his chest until it was over his stomach. She rested her hand there lightly, like a lover's caress, and then she slowly curled her fingers into his belly, and squeezed. Pedro screamed in agony. It dawned on me that Aurora placed a claw hold on him. I always thought they were fake, like the pro wrestling shows they were on. Pedro tried to grab at Aurora's hand with his free left hand, but each time, Aurora intensified the pressure of the hold. He tried to pull his right hand loose, but Aurora held it firmly, looking at his fingers. She moved her hand over to his index finger, and said, "This is the finger you pointed at me the other day, wasn't it?" She quickly bent it backwards.

I have never heard Pedro scream like that before.

It took me an extra second to realize we were watching the show, staring like deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. Watching us, she got up, releasing her claw hold. Pedro curled up in a ball, face pale, moaning and crying softly.

"Rico, Jackie, get her from both sides!" I yelled shaking loose the horrifying sight I just witnessed and trying to get back to the business at hand.

Rico paused long enough to wipe the blood from his nose that was either busted or broken. The second it took him to do that was a second too late as Aurora ran up to him, and punched him hard in the stomach. As he bent over, she spun around on her right toe, and delivered a vicious kick, her heel hitting Rico's jaw. Rico fell to the ground and didn't move. He was out cold, and out of the fight, at least for a while.

I had to maneuver around a couple of bodies to get to her, but all I received for my trouble was another kick that hit me in the left thigh again. And again I tripped over one of my men from the force of the kick. This was becoming embarrassing enough having my men getting thrashed by a one-woman army without having to trip over my own men every time I got kicked.

Jackie ran up to Aurora, and thinking turnabout is fair play, threw a side kick of his own. It was a big mistake, for Aurora caught the slow, clumsy kick, and rammed her elbow into his knee joint. Again, I heard a blood-curdling scream as Jackie crumpled to the ground clutching his leg. He was definitely out of the combat; he would not be much use with a broken leg.

Aurora walked over to Pedro, and grabbed his shirt, pulling him up. She looked at Pedro's face for a moment, like she was looking for the best way to rearrange it. She raised an open palm, and it looked like she was going to smash his nose with it. Paul was closer, but he seemed to be in shock, unable to make it in time.

I was too far away, and for some reason, it was getting harder to walk. The only thing I could think of at the moment was to yell, "Drop him!"

Aurora glanced my way, looked again at Pedro, and shrugging her shoulders, did what I said; she dropped him. He fell hard, putting more pain to his shoulder, finger, and it probably didn't do his stomach any good either. He screamed in pain again.

Feeling like an idiot for giver her that order, I made my way over to her. Finally, I had a chance to strike. That really didn't mean much as my right fist met empty air because of her stepping aside, avoiding the blow. I was finding it hard to move around for some reason. Aurora didn't seem to have that problem. I saw her spin around on her foot as she prepared to give me one of those powerful kicks. Seeing what one of those kicks did to Rico, I froze in fear of what that kick would do to my face. But instead of a high kick, she aimed it low, hitting me again on the left thigh.

It's amazing how a little adrenaline can block out what's really wrong with you. The blow to my leg really hurt, and I could barely move it. I realized that Aurora had a purpose to her attack on me other than to do me harm. My leg was severely bruised, and I felt it throbbing. There was too much going on for me to pay attention to it before.

Somehow I was still standing, mainly on one leg, and Aurora quickly walked up to me, placed her hands against my chest, and pushed me. I fell down, landing next to Rico. I glanced at his face, and saw that the area around his jaw was getting swollen. The jaw probably was broken too.

Paul was literally the only man left standing. From the look on his face, it was apparent that earning a thousand bucks was the last thing on his mind. He seemed to have one objective, and that was escape. I knew Paul wasn't a coward, but he wasn't a fool either, and he probably figured that there wasn't any more he could do for us here. He glanced at the nearest exit and prepared to run out that door and take his chances. Unfortunately, Aurora knew what he was thinking, too.

The woman cut off Paul's way of escape. Undaunted, Paul saw a door much farther away, like the far side of the gym that said "Exit," but Aurora moved quickly enough so that he was cut off from that as well. Finally Paul looked at the entrance where we came from, figuring he could fight his way through the crowd of remaining contestants and lose her there. However, with each time Aurora cut off a way of escape, she cornered Paul at the same time. From what he saw, he had no intention of taking her on. I planned on warning Paul of what she was doing, but it was too late.

Paul nearly stumbled over Pedro, who was still whimpering from Aurora's earlier attack, and that distracted him for a second. That was all Aurora needed. She hit Paul hard with a flying tackle that sent them to the mat. They rolled a couple of times until Aurora was on the bottom, and Paul was on top ' sort of. Paul was on top with his back facing Aurora. She had him in some kind of judo hold that had his legs and an arm trapped. Paul squirmed and complained until Aurora gave him a chop to the throat. While he gagged, she positioned her arms in around his neck and squeezed. It looked like some type of choke or a sleeper hold. Whichever it was, it was effective as Paul's struggles became feeble, and then stopped entirely.

Aurora pushed Paul's body off of her. When I saw Paul's chest slowly rising and falling, I was relieved, though I was now scared to death. Yes, I admit I was scared; this woman had beaten and in some cases literally broke my gang with almost no effort at all, plus she so injured my leg, I can barely crawl away.

Aurora got up, and walked over to Pedro, who had managed to get to his feet; his good left hand holding his injured stomach, his legs still a little wobbly. He was bent over, and his face was a little pale. Aurora kicked Pedro in the face, knocking him back down to the floor. She then took his right arm, planted her bare right foot on the side of his face, and pulled upward. Apparently she wasn't successful in dislocating his arm the first time, so she came back to finish the job. Pedro howled and screamed loudly, then his cries became quiet as he passed out from shock. Aurora tugged at his arm a couple more times, and then she dropped the arm and turned toward me.

Being on the verge of panic, I frantically looked around for something, anything I could use as a weapon. The idea was to fight hand-to-hand, but she was tearing us apart! I wore a royal blue jogging suit and white Nike's, so I was empty-handed. Pedro always carried a switchblade in the ankle of his Converse high-top sneakers, but there was no way I could get to it in time. Rico wore a leather belt in his jeans, but it would take forever to get it off.

Aurora casually looked around at the others as she strolled in my direction. Why not, she had all the time in the world.

The only courses of action I had left was either to stand and fight or to make a break for it. It was obvious I couldn't fight her, so I tried to get on all "threes," and hobble or crawl away. Aurora walked up to me, put her foot against my side, and pushed. Not able to help myself, I fell over on my back. She knelt down on me, pinning down my right arm and staying out of range of my left. Her eyes were calm, neutral as they stared down at me. I barely saw the blur of her right fist before it made impact, and all went black.

When I came to, I was lying on a cot in a makeshift room again covered by curtains. I heard loud cheering in the background. I saw a few other guys lying on cots, but none of them were my men. There were two women tending to us. One was a blonde woman with long hair dressed in a white leotard, and the other woman obviously of oriental descent, was tall with long black hair, wearing a white sports bra and white spandex shorts. Neither one wore any shoes, of course. I guessed these were the "nurses." Even they were buff with their pretty muscles. I addressed the oriental woman who was closest to me.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're in our convalescent tent," she said. "You were just knocked out for a couple of minutes. Boy, that woman really clocked you one."

I rubbed my jaw. "You're telling me."

"You also have a pretty large bruise on your left leg. You'll be hobbling around for a few days, but you'll be fine."

"That's good. Where are my men?"

"Well I believe they were taken to the emergency room of the nearby hospital," she said. "There were broken bones, a dislocated shoulder, a broken jaw, and some other injuries that were too extensive to treat here. As soon as their injuries are treated, they'll be taken back home. Right now, they'll need to stay an extra day or so. The DOA will take care of all medical expenses. Meanwhile, just sit back and rest, you've earned it."

I remember having my tonsils taken out a few years ago. If the hospital I was at had nurses like these, my stay would have been much more enjoyable. These ladies were more pleasing to look at than those grouchy old prunes I had to deal with.

I was hearing more cheering in the background while I laid there. Probably another woman who just beat up a couple of guys. I hope they came out of it better than we did.

I leaned my head back, turned it to one side, and almost jumped off my cot. Aurora was standing beside my bed. She had a blue towel draped around her neck. I didn't think she needed it, she barely broke a sweat. She probably needed it to wipe our sweat and blood off her.

"Hello," she said.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked her.

"Only a minute or two, not long."

Not long? If I didn't turn my head, I would have never known she was there. After I calmed myself down, I spoke again.

"I suppose you passed the test?" I asked.

"With flying colors. One of the judges said my performance was the most efficient, next to Black Diamond," Aurora said.

"Black Diamond? Who is that?"

"The tall black woman who went to your area and roared earlier tonight."

"Oh, her. What did she do? No, on second thought, I don't want to know."

The image of her roaring while covered in blood still carried a gruesome sight in my mind.

Aurora paused, took a look at her handiwork (the big purple spot that was my bruise on my leg; the nurses put ice on it to ease the swelling), then looked at me and spoke.

"The only reason I didn't break your face is because you have too much going for you," she said.

"Gee, thanks," I said.

"Listen to me; I want you to contact your remaining gang members and break up your gang, close it down, dissolve it, erase it from existence," Aurora continued.

"What?"

"Your days of being a gang leader are over. You've been given a second chance. However, if I hear of you being involved in any gang activities ever again, or of you leading another gang, the next time we meet, I will destroy you. Even if we just happen to run into each other on the street, I will not hesitate, I will destroy you."

She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. Her expressive brown eyes stared intensely at me.

"You've seen me in action, you know what I'm capable of. If you persist in this nonsense, then what I've done to Pedro, or even Lenny will be nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

I tried to think of a response, or even a word of bravado to counter her threat, but the seriousness in her voice and those brown eyes seeming to burn into my soul kept me from saying anything. Plus, I was very aware of what she was capable of.

"There is a phone nearby that one of the nurses can bring to you. You can contact your men from here," she said, then she turned and left.

I let out my breath, realizing I'd been holding it since I saw her. She was right, of course, my gang leader days were over. Even if I resumed leading this gang or even started a new one, if word came out that five of our best fighters or rather four of my best fighters and myself, because I didn't feel like a fighter at the moment, were demolished by a short woman, I'd be ruined. Most gangs are very sexist. That's not even including what Aurora would do to me if she found out.

Suddenly it hit me. Aurora planned on killing two birds with one stone. I realized what she did was known in military terms as a surgical strike. By inviting us, to compete, she already split the gang in two, making us weaker. And my group was the half that had the best fighters. If she or a group of women like her take on who's left, they won't have a chance. Some of them have weapons, but short of a tank, that won't help them. Even if our "stable" (our name for the women who hang around my gang. Some are girlfriends, some have their own gang, and some are just available for the "needs" of the men) got involved, it would still get nasty. Aurora could snap those girls in two. She already took care of the major forces, this would just be clean up, or "cleaning up the neighborhood."

Breaking up the gang would be a good idea, and yet, I couldn't do it. This group of thugs had become in some ways like a second family to me. It was probably a case of foolish pride, but I also knew if I didn't do something, the Dragons will be destroyed. It wouldn't surprise me if Aurora had plans of arriving at our headquarters the next day, and having a repeat performance of what she did to us, except she would not hold back, like she did with me. I came up with an idea that would avoid bloodshed.

I looked around for the nearest nurse, time was of the essence. A black nurse dressed in a white leotard and white fishnet hose (still no shoes) had just walked in. I caught her attention and asked to use the phone. She brought me a cordless unit, and after I thanked her, I dialed the next person who would be in charge because he thought with his head and not his fists, Jake. He was even thinking of attending college, so I made sure to encourage him. This would be a difficult phone call. He answered on the second ring. After we did the usual greetings and stuff, I told him a little of what happened.

"You all got wiped out?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, but we'll live. Jake, I don't have time to give you all the details, but there's two things I need to tell you," I said.

"Yeah Leon, what are they?"

"First, as soon as we hang up the phone, you're in charge."

"Me? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm alright. It's another long story, but I can't be leader anymore. It would damage the group. Remember what I taught you, and get in school, all right?"

"Yeah," Jake said.

"Okay, my last and final order I give as the soon-to-be former leader of the Dragons is to move, now."

"Move?"

"Yes, get the rest of the gang together and move to another location as fast as you can."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Somewhere between now and tomorrow, the same group that wiped us out will be gunning for the rest of the gang. They're too powerful; you'll need to move and regroup. That empty warehouse we scoped out should be a good spot. Get going and do me proud, okay? I'll keep in touch," I said. I couldn't tell him that one woman trashed us or she may possibly be a part of an all-woman destruction team to the rest of the gang. If I didn't experience it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it either.

"All right, I'll start moving right away, Leon. Thanks for the warning, and thanks for the promotion."

"Take care of yourself, man."

After I hung up, I then was able to relax. It was sort of a bittersweet victory, I thought. I saved the remainder of my gang from complete destruction, but I would not be able to come back to it, without endangering it or myself.

I lay back on the cot, listening to the cheering and applause of the women outside. After a while, Dora dropped by.

"Here is your check for $500, Leon," she said, handing me the check. "We appreciate your participation and your . . . sacrifice."

"Yeah, thanks," I said.

"Believe it or not, not all our competitions end as brutal as yours. Sometimes our contestants get a little carried away."

That tall woman with the blood on her clothes roaring at the top of her lungs I can believe getting carried away. Aurora knew exactly what she was doing.

"Well judging from the looks of that one woman, it doesn't sound like we got the worst of it," I replied.

Dora suppressed a shudder. "Oh, you don't want to know what she did to the five men she fought," she said.

"No, I probably don't."

She chuckled. "Well, I'll need to get back to my post, but I came by to give you your check, and to tell you that I'll be giving you a ride back home tomorrow at your convenience. The bad news is it may be a lonely ride."

"What do you mean?"

"Everybody else in your group had to be sent to the emergency room at the local hospital. They'll receive the best of care, and will be held over for a day or so, depending on the injury. If you like, you can wait here until they're all released so you can ride home together."

Normally I would've said as leader that I would stand with my men until the last one recovered. Then I realized I wasn't the leader anymore, I gave it up to save the gang. There was no longer any reason to display a proper example.

"I'll be ready in the morning," I said.

The ride home was long, but not too bad. I spent most of the time talking to Dora. It turned out she was studying architecture with plans of owning her own firm one day. A representative of DOA came to her, told her what they're about, and offered to pay for her schooling, plus assist her with her fledgling business when she's ready. Since that time, she graduated, had taken an apprenticeship with one firm, in the process of studying for a test to get her license as an architect, and had attained a brown belt in Kempo Karate, all due to the DOA. I considered asking for her number, but I just wasn't in the mood, having mixed feelings over leaving my men. I did take the time to ask her one question that was nagging me; how come none of the women wore any shoes?

Dora giggled while she glanced at her own bare soles working the gas pedal and brake while she was driving.

"A number of reasons. Some do it as a form of rebellion against society and its expectations of femininity. Some do it because of the freedom that being barefoot allows you. But I suspect most of us does it because we enjoy it. There's quite a few of us who don't like shoes anyway, and I think they joined the DOA for that reason alone," she said.

"What's your story?" I asked.

"I was like everybody else, wearing shoes most of the time. After I hooked up with this group for six months, I was "converted.' Now I only wear shoes to special occasions and to work. Even then, I only have them on when I get in the office and when I leave. Most of the time, they're off."

"You must save money on shoes," I joked.

"I now have pairs of shoes I haven't worn in years. Some women emptied their closet of them completely. I don't even wear shoes on dates. It takes me less time to get ready, since I don't have to match any shoes with an outfit or purse. Feet go with everything."

"What about when it gets cold outside?"

"Except when it gets below zero, it's not that bad at all. I walk around barefoot in winter all the time, even in snow."

"Even in snow?"

Dora laughed at my shocked expression. Before I could ask how such a thing was possible, we arrived at our destination. As I stepped out of the car, she gave me her cell phone number if I wanted to talk some more. As we said our goodbyes, and I hobbled to my own car, I thought why not give her a call, I have plenty of time now since I don't have a gang to lead anymore.

Two weeks later, on a Saturday morning, I was with my mother in the dining room eating breakfast and reading the paper. It was a regular ritual with us. While my mother (from who I miraculously concealed any knowledge that I was involved in a gang) fixed breakfast, I went out and bought a copy of the Saturday paper to bring back, so we could read our respective sections while we ate and drank coffee. My mother was a busy woman, and until lately I usually was running a bit myself.

None of the other four guys I fought with kept in touch anymore. Three of them had quit the gang, and Paul hasn't been seen or heard from since. Myself, I've been looking for a more substantial job, and whenever her schedule had an opening, Dora and I would go out. Life seemed normal for the first time in a long while.

This morning was a little different, for the paper was already there before I went out to get it.

"Leon, did you buy a subscription to the paper?" My mother asked.

"No mom, why?" I said.

"Well I know neither of our neighbors subscribe to the paper; but when I stepped out this morning to get the mail, there it was, rolled up and placed on our doorstep."

I shrugged. "Maybe the paperboy made a mistake."

My mom shrugged as well. "Well at least you've saved a trip and fifty cents. Here's your breakfast. The paper is all yours, I've already read it," she said as she handed me a plate of French toast, link sausages and scrambled eggs. Then she stepped into the kitchen to clean up. I picked up a piece of French toast and started munching on it when I picked up the front page of the paper. I almost choked. On the front page was a photograph of the bodies of wounded gang members lying on the floor of an abandoned warehouse. When I took a closer look, I realized that they used to be my gang members. Somehow Aurora found them and wiped them out. She wasn't pretty about it either; bloody faces, probably broken noses, arms and legs twisted in positions they weren't meant to go.

I took a gulp of coffee to wash down my food, and then I almost spit it out when I glanced over to my left, and saw Aurora standing there. She was dressed in her usual casual garb; a purple pullover hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and no shoes, but by this time, it wasn't a big surprise. She had a large manila folder tucked under her left arm.

"Hello Leon," she said.

"How did you get in here?" I said.

"Your mother let me in."

"Oh. So, you here to finish the job?"

"Nope, it's already been done. You told them to move to a new location, pretty sneaky," Aurora said with a slight tilt of her head and a cruel smile on her face. "It took us a whole week to find them."

"'Us?'" I said.

"Yes, Tanya and I. You saw her that day while you were shooting basketballs."

"Oh." A deep dread crept in my belly. Man, two of them. Five of us couldn't handle one, two was unthinkable.

"Yeah, Tanya would've killed me if I tracked your gang down without her. She was mad at me for recruiting the five of you all to myself. Kathy was a close friend of her's too."

All I could do was nod my head. I thought about asking her how they found the gang, but they clearly had plenty of resources at their disposal. Aurora walked around to my side of the table and opened the envelope. Inside were more pictures of the conflict in vivid color. She pointed out each of the victims along with the war story behind each one.

"This guy swings a mean switchblade," she said, pointing to an unconscious figure with a twisted the wrong way.

"Yeah, we called him Zorro," I said. "However he's not much of a fighter without it."

"We found that out after Tanya kicked the blade out of his hand. It got ugly after that." She pointed to another victim. It was Jake. "We didn't beat him up too badly. It looked like he learned some things from you. Was he your successor?"

"Yeah. Who took the pictures?"

"I did. I needed some form of proof."

I waved the paper in front of her. "So you went to all this trouble just to show me that you wiped out my men?" I said.

"It wasn't hard. The local paper paid a nice sum for those pictures," she said.

Thinking of something, I looked at the written story. "A rival gang was suspected," the paper read. She guessed what I was thinking.

"It's not a total untruth," she said. "In a sense, it was a rival gang who got them. Either way, newspaper sales were very good today."

I laid the paper down. "So I guess you took care of everything," I said. "You avenged Kathy, and with the exception of myself, sent everybody to the hospital."

"Not everybody. There was one other."

"Who?"

"The one you call Paul."

"Paul? No one has been able to find him after that night."

"When I was in the dressing room preparing, a woman came by and asked me not to hurt him too much. I asked why, and she replied because she wanted him. I thought about it and I knew you wouldn't need him anymore, so I said sure. After it was over, she thanked me, told me she owed me one, threw Paul over her shoulder, and took off. She didn't even stay for the rest of the fights."

"I believe her name is Tara, otherwise known as the Russian Bear."

Oh no; so she got him after all. "Where did she take him?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure he's in a much better place," she smiled, patting my shoulder.

I sighed. The past was gone, no doubt about that. "So now what?" I said.

"You now have a clean slate, Leon. It's up to you what you want to write on it." She started gathering the pictures and putting them in the envelope.

The next thing I said jumped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"When will I see you again?"

"Again, that's up to you and what you do. It's up to you whether you'll see me at a civil meeting or in one of your nightmares."

Then she turned and left.

I sat there for a moment and thought, looking at what was left of my breakfast. I had to grudgingly admit she had a point. Then I looked up.

I have a clean slate now. It's time to start writing a new script for my life.

For any comments, suggestions, or story ideas, send e-mail to shrewsberry@juno.com

[Author's Note: If you want to read more about women bodyguards, soldiers, and their participation on the battlefield, check out the book Women Warlords: An Illustrated Military History of Female Warriors by Tim Newark & Angus McBride, available at your local library or at a bookstore near you. Hey, I can't make all of this stuff up!]