And Now, It's Time for a "Short' Story

Lethal things can come in small packages

By Mongoose750 (mongoose750@yahoo.com)

[This story came from an idea provided by B-36. If anyone has a story idea you would like me to use, just e-mail me at shrewsberry@juno.com. ]

The young woman sat on her knees on the floor in the middle of her dojo waiting for her guest to arrive. As she sat there waiting, she chose not to dwell on the fact that her guest would be late; his kind always are, no sense of time at all. Instead, she decided to dwell on the factors that brought her life to this point.

Chinese-Americans Fred and Christa Chang were happy parents when their fourth child came into the world. However, they appeared to have a small crisis on their hands when they realized they couldn't think of a name for the darling baby girl they held in their arms. Finally, going on Christa's fondness for romantic novels, Fred suggested they name the girl after one of her favorite characters. Christa, her mind still blank, still couldn't think of any characters, so she named her child the unusual name of "li#n #i xiǎo shuo," which in Chinese loosely translated means "love story."

Like most children with unusual names, Love, or LS learned to deal with and eventually learned to like her name. It was certainly very unique, and knew if someone called her name in a crowd, she knew the person was asking directly for her, and not a "Jenny," or "Lisa," or one of the more overused girls names. The downside of that is children, being children, would find an unusual name as a means of attack, especially if it can be referred to the victim's stature. LS, being shorter than the other children, was sometimes teased, being called the name, "Short Story."

As LS got older, she first got depressed at the fact she was shorter than her classmates were. Then one day, her parents sat her down and told her two things regarding her size. One was she can do anything she wants to, her height shouldn't be a barrier, and two, she was going to be enrolled in a martial arts class because there would be kids and later on adults who would try to pick on her because of her height.

LS found out later her own parents met at a dojo while practicing karate. She tried that, along with a few other disciplines, but she found the martial art she really loved was judo. The fact that a smaller person can throw or overpower others bigger than they were using this art was exciting to her. It wasn't long before she attained a black belt in the art at a young age. Eventually, she started instructing judo classes while she was in high school. This was a big turnaround in her life in many ways. The self-discipline that judo taught her helped her excel in her studies. It also made her respected and later on feared through her neighborhood in Central Indiana. LS, her cousin Kim who was equally skilled in Tae Kwon Do, and Kim's younger sister Jasmine, nicknamed "Xerox" because she could physically copy any fighting move or style by only seeing it once, took on the role as self-appointed "guardians of the neighborhood," taking on rival gangs, and anybody else who would mistreat others.

As they reached adulthood, Kim and Jasmine went away to college; Kim earning a business management degree and obtaining a lucrative career in that town, as well as running a dojo there, while Jasmine was still taking classes. LS stayed home and attended college in town, and received a degree in Political Science. Despite the fact that LS and her two cousins were separated, they still kept in close contact with each other by phone and e-mail. LS found herself constantly waiting for the latest e-mail from Kim on the exploits of one of her best students, Betty Conrad.

LS grew (?) to 5'2" inches, unlike the rest of her family who were at least five inches taller, and had a big-boned, stocky build, similar to a football player. She was not fat, as people would sometimes think when they first looked at her. On the contrary, her build was very muscular, and very powerful from years of participating in judo energetically. As she engaged more and more in the art, she realized that as judo was becoming increasingly recognized as a sport, its value as a martial art and an effective form as self-defense was being diminished. LS became more of a judo purist, not dismissing sport judo, but empathizing the self-defense aspects of the marital art to anyone who would listen, particularly the self-proclaimed karate and street fighting experts who dared to go up against her.

Despite the name, LS was somewhat of a sadist in combat. Being picked on because of her size, name and false perception of her build has made her a foe without mercy on the streets. It wasn't unusual to find dislocated arms and legs or broken bones among LS's victims.

As she attended college, LS saw that the streets that her cousins and herself once helped keep in order had once again became overrun with even more street gangs and higher rates of crime. She made a silent vow before she went anywhere else to live, she would help clean up these streets one more time. After college, she worked briefly at a politicians' office for a mayoral candidate who claimed to clean up the streets after he was elected. For LS on one level, this was the ideal job. Not one to wear shoes any more than she has to, it was an easy matter to go to work, kick off her shoes, and walk barefoot for the rest of the workday. However, what she discovered was once the candidate she worked for was elected, he only tended to issues that would keep him in good stead for his reelection. Upon further investigation, she found that the opposing candidate wouldn't have been much better in his promises.

LS realized that for crime to be reduced, the gangs eliminated, and the streets safe to walk again, she would have to do things from a grass roots level. In short, take things into her own hands. She remained working at the mayor-elect's office, so she could raise enough money to rent a building to use as a dojo. She finally decided to take her sensei's advice and open up a studio of her own. At that point, she had already attained the level of a tenth degree black belt. Through a heavy recruitment drive among the victimized and the youth, her dojo became rather successful. People liked LS's no-nonsense method of teaching, and those who saw that a woman her size was a powerhouse, realized that they had no excuse for not being efficient at the martial art themselves.

Once the dojo was making enough money on its own, LS quit the mayor's office and taught more classes during the daytime hours. The result had been pleasing, crime in the neighborhood had gone down, but gang activity was still in force. It was time for a new tactic.

LS moved the few strands of her long black hair that was hanging in front of her face. For this meeting, she decided not to dress in her traditional gi. Instead, she wore a loose fitting black unitard with a spaghetti-strap tank top, and cut midway along her calves. She had a mental list of things to do for that day: take care of this meeting, have a little talk with her best friend about something important, and to have everything prepared for the arrival of her two cousins later that evening. LS knew looking at the clock would drive her crazy, so she decided to ignore it. Everything will flow in its own good time. Her patience was rewarded when the doors to the dojo burst open, and a 6'6" young black man swaggered through the doorway.

Jordan Michael Johnson was a star basketball player in high school when LS and her cousins attended. He was so good, talk of a possible scholarship to Indiana University and playing for the pros was a regular hot topic around the city's sports fans. As predicted, in his senior year, Indiana University (IU) offered him a full scholarship with the possibility of being one of the starting players that year. IU however, had a zero-tolerance policy for players who were caught using drugs, and that signaled the end of Jordan's college basketball career. Caught smoking pot only two months away from the new season to start, Jordan found himself back home, unwanted by any school who found out of his indiscretion. His basketball career put to an end, he became a successful gang leader of one of the biggest gangs in the city. LS sent a message to him to meet her at her dojo, and to leave his guns and knives at the front door.

After thirty seconds of swearing at everything in particular, Jordan shouted to LS, "So why am I here? You going to teach me some Kung Fu or something?"

After sighing inwardly, LS addressed Jordan calmly. "The other day, you threatened a ten-year-old girl. That is unacceptable."

The girl in question was Sally Xin, the daughter of David Xin a Chinese-American and Pam Roberts, an African-American and one of LS's high school friends. After the couple had their daughter, they named LS as the godmother. Though Sally was the daughter of a close friend, that was immaterial; LS wouldn't tolerate any possible danger to children in this neighborhood.

"The brat was in my way," Jordan said. "Is that what this is about, me dissin' some kid? I'll say anything I want to anybody I want, and no sawed-off, slanty-eyed, little bi-"

"Silence!" LS said. "You threatened a little child, that is enough. You did not stop with telling her to get out of your way; you also went ahead and insulted your parentage, calling her a "half-breed.' Again, that is unacceptable."

"Oh, it's "unacceptable,' huh?" Jordan said, placing a sarcastic emphasis on the word "unacceptable.' "I'm sorry that this is so "unacceptable' to you. Since this is so "unacceptable' to you, what do you plan to do about it, huh?"

"You've been the leader of the "Bulldogs' for a few years now," LS said. "That ends today."

"What?" Jordan laughed. "I'm not going to be the leader no more? Who's going to stop me, you?"

LS brushed back one remaining strand of long black hair from her face, and slowly stood up, her bare feet planting themselves on the dojo floor. She said nothing, but instead stood there, waiting.

"You've got a lot of nerve, I'll tell you that," Jordan said as he approached her. "Maybe after I'm through kicking your tail, you could be another filly in my stable."

Jordan swung his right hand to strike LS on the cheek with a hard slap when suddenly with lightning speed, LS grabbed his wrist, then swiveled into him, slamming her hip into his crotch, and delivered a two-handed shoulder throw. Jordan was sent sailing over LS's shoulder to land on the hard floor below; LS still hanging on to his arm as he landed. As soon as Jordan hit the floor, LS administered an arm bar and started pulling. She changed her grip as she started, pulling from the elbow instead of the wrist.

Jordan, despite having the breath knocked out of him and his back stinging like a nest of hornets hit it, still swore and threatened LS. "I'll kill you, you short ' aaah!"

He hollered when LS gave his arm a nice yank, then repositioned her feet, placing more pressure with her right foot in Jordan's armpit while she lifted the left foot and slammed the heel into Jordan's face.

"Shut up!" LS said. When Jordan was still cursing, screaming, and threatening, she raised her left foot again, but this time sent the heel crashing onto Jordan's throat. As Jordan flopped on his back gasping for air like a fish out of water, LS moved herself closer to him while still keeping a firm hold on the arm bar she was still holding. Once she was close enough, she snaked her legs around Jordan's throat in a figure-four scissors.

Too late, Jordan realized what was happening to him, but he was virtually powerless to do anything about it. His right arm was being hyper-extended while at the same time he was being strangled. All he could do was paw at LS's legs while the air was taken away from him. As the dojo started to become blurry, and slowly turn to black, Jordan's struggles became feebler until they finally ceased.

"You should've stuck with basketball, Jordan," she said.

LS gave a couple of extra squeezes with her legs to make sure he was still, then dropped his arm, unlocked her legs from her unconscious victim, then rose to her feet. That was one task out of the way; there was nothing more to do but to leave him to the cleaning crew. LS walked over to a corner of the dojo, picked up her cell phone, and called them. The "cleaning crew' were Rhonda Patterson and Sharon McBeal, two of LS's best students and believers in LS's cause. These students who help in LS's crusade usually hang around to help with LS's "meetings." Rhonda answered the phone.

"Another one to take to the hospital, sensei?" Rhonda said.

"No, this one is for the alley outside. Just drag him outside and leave him. He can find his way out when he comes to," LS said.

Over the phone, LS could hear Sharon remind Rhonda of something. Rhonda thanked Sharon for reminding her and told LS, "Uh, sensei, two of Jordan's lieutenants are standing out here. What do you want to do with them?"

He was supposed to come alone, LS thought. This was not in the plan. Suddenly, an idea came to LS. If she pulled this off, this would take care of a lot of problems.

"Bring them in, and stick around," she said.

"Yes Sensei," Rhonda said, and hung up.

Shortly, two of Jordan's "lieutenants' James Patterson (no relation to Rhonda), and Ronald Smith came in. Ronald, a man LS also knew from high school, particularly as a man who had more of a bad temper than common sense and the brains to go with it, swaggered in. he stood 6'4" with blonde hair, and a similar basketball players build. James stood 6'2" with red hair and the same type of build.

Jordan must recruit former basketball players to join his gang, LS thought to herself.

"Well if it isn't Little Short Story," Ronald said, almost tripping over the body of his leader. James, a little brighter and a little cautious, didn't stand far from the door.

"What's this?" Ronald said.

"I defeated your leader in combat just now," LS said calmly. "That now makes me the leader of the "Bulldogs.'"

"No way, I'm the next in line! You're not going to be the leader of anything, if I have anything to say about it."

"You're welcome to try, and face the consequences," LS said. This time, she faced Ronald in a judo stance.

"You think you're so hot, karate mama? We'll I can kick too!" Ronald launched a high kick with his right foot at LS. She caught the kick at the ankle. As Ronald hopped around trying to keep his balance with his remaining foot, LS performed a simple foot sweep with her right foot, causing Ronald to have a rough landing on the floor below.

LS, dropped Ronald's leg, and then went over to Ronald's right side. She lifted her right leg high over her head, then with a loud "Ki-ah!" sent it crashing down. Sharon and Rhonda winced in unison before she even delivered the blow. They have witnessed LS use an axe kick before. Even though the kick was a normal karate technique, LS had put it to good use in her encounters. With it, she broke arms, legs, jaws, gave concussions, knockouts, and in this case, shatter a few ribs.

As Ronald howled in pain, James, who used his brain a little more than Ronald did, realized that escape may be the best move. LS briefly glanced at her two students and nodded. As James headed toward the doors, both Rhonda and Sharon moved in front of them, arms folded. As he saw James squirm on the ground and howl like a banshee in pain, he cursed the man for thinking with his fists.

LS walked away from Ronald and faced James, who held his hands in an "I give up' gesture.

"I need you to go and tell the rest of your gang that they have a new leader now, and they're to meet me here in this dojo at nine p.m. sharp. Is that clear?" LS said.

"Yeah," James mumbled.

"That's "Yes, ma'am,'" LS corrected.

"Er, uh, yes ma'am!"

"That's better, now run along now." LS saw James glancing at the two bodies. "Don't worry, we'll take care of your friend-in-arms and your former leader, now go!"

James ran out the door.

"What do we do with these two?" Rhonda asked.

"First, have Lena and Crystal load this fool into the minivan, and take him to the emergency room at the hospital. Give them the usual story, that he was a victim of gang violence. Since they supposedly fight each other all the time, nobody should ask too many questions," LS said. She had a few people at the hospital, particularly one at the reception area of the emergency room, who were loyal to her cause, and understand the reason for the sudden "mishaps" the gang members fall into.

"And what about him," Rhonda said, prodding the unconscious body with her left toe.

"Same as before, take him outside in the alley and leave him there. He doesn't know it, but when he awakens, his world will have changed."

"Yes, sensei," Rhonda bowed and left. Sharon went with her, then stopped and faced her teacher.

"Sensei, if you don't mind my asking, what are you going to do with a gang?" Sharon said.

"I don't know," LS said.

After her meeting at the dojo, LS returned home to her apartment. So far, she had one task marked off her list, and now was preparing for another one. Upon entering her apartment, she quickly checked her mail ' a few bills, some junk mail, nothing spectacular ' she jumped in the shower to rinse the days' battle off her body. Although she didn't work up a sweat in either fight, her two antagonists did. Besides, she wanted to look her best for this next meeting. After she showered, she toweled herself off and put on a black silk kimono, decorated with large red and white flowers. She tied a gold sash around her waist. As she looked in the mirror, she thought that she couldn't be any more of a cross-cultural person than she is right now. Here she is, a Chinese-American who lives in a neighborhood mainly populated with Chinese and African-Americans, a master and teacher of a Japanese martial art, wearing a Japanese garment, preparing to visit her closest friend, an African-American she knew since her freshman year in high school. On top of that, when her cousins come, the only "Chinese" part about this whole day, they're going to eat lasagna, an Italian dish! LS laughed to herself about the irony.

While she straightened her kimono, she looked down at her toes, pondering whether or not she should paint them. Black or red would be a good color, she thought. She then decided against it, figuring it would take too much time for the toenail polish to dry, and she usually doesn't put toenail polish on her toenails anyway. Tugging on her kimono one final time (even though it already was well-adjusted in the first place), she left her apartment to go upstairs to see her best friend.

Her best friend was Lewis Spaulding, a 6'5" black man who first met LS in gym class in high school while they were freshmen. Through all the years since that time, the two had been inseparable, with the rare exception of where they attended school after they graduated high school. While LS went to the local university, Lewis attended a culinary school. Even then, the two kept their correspondence through letters, phone calls, and the occasional visit to each other's dorm room or parent's house during the times when school was out or over the weekend. Lewis was good in his studies, and he participated in many athletic activities in high school, but his one true passion was cooking, particularly baking.

When it was discovered that Lewis loved baking, he became the victim of ridicule, and had his manhood and sexual preference questioned by many of the other boys in school and the neighborhood. The girls on the other hand, loved it. Lewis never lacked for dates as a teenager or adult, especially when he made it known that he personally knew a hundred ways to prepare chocolate. Public opinion eventually swung his way when one of the high school's star quarterbacks came to him in secret to ask how to prepare a dinner that his girlfriend would love. Through Lewis' tutorage, the dinner was a great success. It was so much a success, that Lewis still gets an occasional letter and Christmas card from the happy couple, who are now married with two kids and living in a town near Lake Michigan.

After Lewis graduated from culinary school, he started working for one of the finest restaurants in town. It was not a good experience because the head chef seemed to make it a point to downgrade his talents, and when a customer would taste any of Lewis' confections, he would take credit for it. The last straw came when Lewis made one of his best cheesecakes for a special event for a private party at the restaurant. The customers loved it, and came to the head chef to ask him who made it. Before he could take credit for it, Lewis interrupted and notified them that he made the cheesecake. After he received the praise, and the party was over, the head chef took him aside and proceeded to warn him about what he did.

"If you do that one more time, you're fired," the head chef said.

"But it was I who made the cheesecake, not you," Lewis said.

"That's not important, what's important is this is the best restaurant in town, and as the head chef, I can make your career or break it. You can't succeed here without me."

"We'll see about that. I quit." Lewis threw him his apron, and left.

After wondering what to do next, Lewis thought of the idea of selling his baked goods online. The online business was almost an overnight success. Several years later, business was still booming. He found himself having to hire a small crew from time to time, and made it a point to go running every morning just so he can leave the apartment for a brief time before he had to go back and work on filling the orders that sent to him from around the world.

Since he was also good friends with Kim and Jasmine, Lewis agreed to take time off from his baking business and prepare a special dinner for the four of them. He was in the midst of creating his special chocolate filled brownies for the desert when he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door to find LS standing there.

"LS, you're over awfully early," Lewis said.

"I had some extra time, so I decided to come over," LS said.

"Well come on in."

LS followed Lewis to the kitchen to continue working on his brownies, while LS found a stool and sat on it, watching him work.

"So how did your "meeting" go?" Lewis asked.

"It went rather well," LS said. "In fact, I'm going to have a "press conference" at nine tonight."

"Press conference?"

"Yes, it appears I'm a gang leader now. I'll be giving them my "inaugural address," as it were."

"What are you going to say?"

"I have no idea."

Lewis glanced at LS and noticed that she was wiggling her toes. From knowing her for years, he knew this meant whenever she did that, she had something important on her mind. The only time he couldn't figure out if something was on her mind was when she wore shoes, which wasn't very often. Perhaps one day he'll tell her about that habit.

"Is there something you want to talk about, LS?" He asked.

LS stepped down from the stool and walked toward Lewis. "Yes, there is."

She paused to smell the aroma of the batter that he was going to turn into brownies. She thought about how she was going to phrase the words she was going to say next, then realized that subtlety wouldn't be the best way to go about this. Then again, Lewis always encouraged her to speak her mind around him, so why should she fail him now?

"I'm looking for a companion, and I choose you," she said.

"Companion? Is this for a special event?" Lewis said.

LS placed her right hand on his lower back. "Only for the rest of our lives," she said quietly.

"Wait a minute, do you mean you want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Truthfully, more than that, but yes, I want you to be my boyfriend. We have been very close friends for years. We have shared everything with each other, even things we would not tell our own family. But now, I want to take it to the next level."

Lewis was stunned. "Wow LS, I -"

"Please, call me "Love,'" LS said with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye.

"Love, what makes you think we would make a good couple? I mean, I love you and all, but how do you know it'll work?"

LS was expecting this; she thought the news would floor him a little bit. "Do remember that one party we were invited to a few years ago, and we came there with separate dates?"

Lewis thought about the memory. "Yeah, I remember," he said.

"Do you remember how it ended?"

"Yes, we ended up talking to each other in the living room while everybody else was partying. We talked almost all night." Lewis laughed. "We forgot all about our dates."

"Not that they were good dates to begin with. Your date wanted to get a couple of recipes out of you, while mine didn't seem to be interested in my intellectual abilities."

"That's a nice way of putting it," Lewis said.

"Lewis, my point is I thought about that night, and other nights when we didn't have dates, and we would spend time talking and sharing with each other. I think I know you better than my sister and two brothers, and I grew up with them in the same house. For years, everyone from Kim - you know how "subtle" she is - from our friends to our next-door neighbor, our families, even my sensei of all people, have asked why we are not together. After all these years, I finally started to realize that they may be right. And you know what? I know you feel the same way."

"What makes you think that?"

"Think about it Lewis. You know why our dates and relationships never last long or go so well? It is because of us. We cannot seem to keep away from each other. Going to separate schools after high school almost killed us because neither one of us had available access to the other. I found myself dropping everything and rushing home to wait for your phone call or to give you a ring. I knew it was the same on the other end because you always called and you were always there when I called."

Lewis stopped mixing his batter and stared at LS thoughtfully. He knew that was true. He was ribbed by his roommates for staying by the phone at a certain time.

"You want more proof? Look at us! When we decided to go out on our own, we could have picked any number of apartments in this city; but instead we picked this one. Why? Because our apartments are close to each other. We can come see each other at any time. I know when you call your parents, one of the first things they say is, "Are you seeing that Love girl, yet?' When you say no, they ask, "Well why not?' That's what I'm asking you now regarding us, why not?"

Lewis looked down at his apron and his hands, covered with chocolate batter. I guess I can't see why not," he said slowly. "But, what'll we do now?"

"The same thing we always do, along with a few fringe benefits," LS smiled, and then took his left hand that slightly covered with batter. "Come on, you know I'll always take care of you, besides, you know how much I like the taste of chocolate."

She took Lewis' index finger and put in her mouth, sucking the chocolate batter off, then she took the hand and rubbed it against her cheek. Besides LS's love of chocolate and her attraction to men of the same color, she had wondered, more often than she cared to admit, how the taste of Lewis' lips would be against hers. Unfortunately, these thoughts would come to her while she was dating other men. Out of fairness to them, she hardly dated at all. As a result, when she was not working, she would find herself spending even more time at Lewis' apartment. Lewis didn't seem to mind; his dating life was nonexistent, and he would find himself downstairs at LS's apartment when he wasn't baking.

"Okay, let's do it," Lewis said. "At least it'll make my family happy for a while."

LS walked up to a framed picture of Lewis' sister, Joanne, with her husband and three kids. "Your sister has beautiful children," she said. "Our children will be more beautiful than these."

Lewis rose up his hands. "Whoa, I think we need to take it slow, Love. We just came out of the starting gate."

LS laughed quietly. "Of course, Lewis, whatever you say," she said, but she was already thinking again about the taste of chocolate against her lips.

Jasmine and Kim arrived an hour later, and after hugs were exchanged, they sat down to an early dinner at LS's apartment. They each shared the events that happened where they lived.

"So your student Betty and her assistant took on a whole gang by themselves?" LS asked.

"Yes they did," Kim said. "It would've been more exciting if this gang could fight their way out of a wet paper bag. There was only one good fighter out of the group, and Betty eventually knocked her out. You would've loved to have seen Irena in action, too."

"I need to take a trip and visit this "Betty." You tell me so much about her adventures, I feel like I know her already," LS replied.

They all sat at a round table in LS's dining room eating a meal consisting of a delicious salad, broccoli casserole, lasagna, and Lewis' special drink, raspberry lemonade tea. For desert, they had Lewis' famous chocolate brownies. While they were eating and chatting, Jasmine, who was sitting on LS's right side, noticed LS's hand resting on Lewis' leg. The gesture caught her attention, so she felt compelled to ask.

"So LS, are you and Lewis a couple now?" She said.

LS made a quiet smile and said to Jasmine, "Yes, we are."

Kim, who is normally about as subtle as a freight train, said, "Well it's about time!"

"Sister!" Jasmine said.

"Well everybody has been getting on them about being a couple since ninth grade. I haven't seen too many couples or even some married couples as close as these two. You can't put these two in a crowded room without them finding each other and gabbing all night," Kim said. "Do you remember that party we were invited to a few years ago? These two went to a separate room and talked all night, forgetting about their dates. They didn't even notice when their respective dates left them at the party, leaving with each other."

"I wonder how Rich and Crystal are doing," Jasmine said.

"They'll be expecting their third child in January," Lewis said.

"Have you told anyone else yet?" Jasmine asked.

"We just made the decision earlier today," LS said.

"So, have you two picked a date?" Kim said.

Lewis brown skin started turning slightly red while LS sadly nodded her head.

"Kim!" Her sister scolded.

"They already know everything about each other, and if they don't love each other by now, they've got me fooled. I say forget about this courtship nonsense and get hitched already!" Kim said, pointing her fork for emphasis.

"Lewis said we should take it slow," LS said, rubbing Lewis leg with her hand.

"Great, and you two will be approaching early retirement by the time you decide to do it. You need to get it over with."

"Jasmine, I'm a little surprised you haven't found someone by now," LS said, smiling. "You have such a sweet and gentle spirit. Your sister I'm not surprised about since she's a little, a believe the word is "ornery.'"

"At least I know a good thing when I have it," Kim said, giving a playful wink at Lewis.

"How's the business going, Lewis?" Jasmine said, drastically changing the conversation.

"Oh, it's going great," Lewis said, grateful for the change of topics. "I just keep gaining customers. I received an order from Switzerland the other day."

LS wasn't listening to the news on Lewis' business. They talked so much about that and other things, she almost knows about the business as much as he does. Instead, she contented herself with subtly rubbing her bare toes across the laces of Lewis' running shoe. She was happy that she had so much -freedom to fully express her feelings for her longtime friend. And Kim ' as much as she hated to admit it ' had a point. With all that's gone on between her and Lewis, how much they feel for each other, and so on, why go through a drawn-out courtship to confirm what they know already? She barely snapped out of her thoughts in time to catch Kim's question.

"Anything new with you, LS?" Kim asked.

"Well, I'm a gang leader now," LS said.

"What? When did this happen?"

"Earlier today. I defeated Jordan in combat and one of his "lieutenants" at the dojo. I'm supposed to have a meeting with them tonight at nine as a matter of fact."

"What are you going to tell them in the meeting?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm not sure yet."

"The answer is obvious," Kim said, as Lewis got up and delivered the brownies. Kim grabbed one and spoke between bites. "Instead of having the bunch of thugs push drugs and all that, you make them a force for good, like the Guardian Angels in New York. That means you'll need to train them, and keep a short leash on them, but considering all the classes you teach at your dojo anyway, what's one more going to hurt? Hmm, great brownies as always Lewis. If someone didn't have a claim on you, I'd marry you myself."

Jasmine smirked. "Can we go with you to the meeting?" She said.

"I was going to ask you as a matter of fact, if you had time today." LS said.

"We can fit that in. First, we'll need to go to our parents and tell them the news," Kim said.

"Can't we do that ourselves?"

"You had a few hours to do that, now it's our turn. I think we have time to visit your parents, and Lewis' too."

"Cousin, you're too good for me," LS said sarcastically. "I guess we better get started then. I'll grab my gym bag."

"You two go ahead and see your folks, we'll clean up here and catch up to you later," Lewis said.

After Jasmine and Kim left the apartment to go to their car, LS stood up. "I apologize for my cousin's behavior. She can be so brash at times."

"Love, I've been used to Kim's behavior for years. She's as rough as sandpaper, but she can be a real sweetheart."

LS moved the dining room table a foot away from Lewis and sat down in his lap.

"Speaking of sweetheart, there's something here that I've been wanting to do for years."

She took Lewis' face and pulled him forward to give him a long kiss. LS breathed heavy with anticipation, as their lips were about to touch.

"LS? Lewis? You two coming? We can all go in my car," Kim yelled from the doorway.

The mood completely broken, LS sighed, the growled about the interuption. "We'll pick this up later. Let's get the announcements out of the way. I'll clean up when we get back."

After LS grabbed her gym bag, with the other she grabbed Lewis' hand as they left the apartment.

After visiting everyone's families and hearing the expected remarks of "It's about time," and "I knew you two would be together," etc., the four arrived at LS's dojo. It was approaching nine p.m., and they saw some of the gang members being escorted in by a few of LS's students. They entered through a side door and entered the dojo, sitting on their knees facing the gang members. LS was still changing in her office.

"Well if it isn't the wimpy sissy baker," Bob Armstrong said, another of the gangs' "lieutenants." He was white, stood 6'6 and was 130 pounds. He was another former basketball player who was kicked out of college because of drug use. He was known as "The Stick Man."

Lewis just smiled and said, "Well, at least I'm a well-to-do wimp who has someone."

Bob just glared at him. "Maybe I should come over to your place and see how well off you are, you and your fat friend."

At about that time, LS strode into the dojo. It was about ten minutes after the hour she told them to meet, but she figured she would use this as a show of power; after all, their leader made me wait, so why not make them wait? She was dressed in a red tank top that was cropped enough for everyone to see her well-muscled abs, and black tights that were cut at the calf. She purposely wore this outfit, for red and black were the "Bulldogs" gang colors. She walked in front of her cousins and Lewis, and sat down on her knees before the gang. She stared at them for a few moments.

There were a few murmurs between the fifteen men and women who were standing there. One man quipped that it is where LS belonged, on her knees, then made an obscene gesture regarding what he meant. Others were skeptical that this "little woman" beat up their leader and a lieutenant, despite what they were told. If LS was offended by any of these remarks, she did not show it. Finally, she spoke.

"Silence!" She said. When two of the men ignored her order, LS nodded to one of her students who decided to stay around and help. He walked over and tapped the two men on the shoulder. They turned and glared at him, but the man gestured toward LS and walked away.

"As you have heard today, I have defeated your leader and one of your lieutenants in fair combat. That makes you my gang now. Is their anyone who disagrees with this?" LS asked.

Bob spoke up, walking toward LS. "You mean to tell me a slant-eyed, fat little woman like you beat our leader? What makes you think we'll follow you?"

"You will follow me," LS said in a neutral tone. "Or face the consequences. As for beating your leader, it was quite easy. It's easy to beat anyone who can't fight."

"Can't fight? He could kick your-"

"He tried, and he failed. If he tried again, it would be the same result. Do you wish to challenge me on this?"

Bob shook off his blue-jean jacket and handed it to one of the gang members standing by. "After I beat you, and kick your sorry but all the way to Japan, I'll be the leader of this gang. Then you'll be in my stable."

"I join no one's "stable," my ancestors are from China, not Japan, I and my family were born here; and you'll try and fail, like the other two who fell before you."

LS rose to her feet and stood before Bob, who got into something resembling a boxer's stance, and bounced on the soles of his feet. "Let's do it, fat lady," he said.

LS said nothing; she just stared at Bob, and effortlessly blocked Bob's first two punches. After she blocked the second punch, she grabbed Bob's wrist and twisted slightly. The pain drove Bob to his knees. Then as simply as she grabbed it, she let go of his wrist and stepped back.

Bob took the opportunity to send two punches into LS's stomach as he rose to his feet. He stood there for a moment as LS stared at him, his blows having no effect on her belly.

"That would hurt, if I was fat," LS said. "This is over 180 pounds of muscle, no fat. Now it's my turn."

LS sent a quick shot to the belly that bent Bob over in two. Instead of finishing him off, she waited until he recovered. For a few minutes, that was how the fight went, Bob would sent a blow that would be blocked or turned into a throw or joint lock, then LS would let him go for him to try again.

Lewis leaned over and asked Kim, "She could have finished this a long time ago. Why is she drawing this out?"

"It's a show of dominance," Kim said. "LS is letting this boy, and the rest of the group that he is no match for her, no matter how hard he tries. When she thinks she's brought her point across, she'll end it."

The end came when Bob reached to his right foot, where he had a knife hidden in his sock. He knew that the gang members would be checked for weapons in the usual places, but he counted on the fact that his socks and high-top basketball shoes would go unexamined. After he reached for his knife, he brought it up in an upward motion that would at least give LS a small cut to distract her enough for a more vital blow.

LS's foot sweep to the left leg sent Bob off balance, sending him to the floor, his knife hand cutting only empty air. She then grabbed Bob's wrist, and gave it a quick twist, sending the knife to the floor.

"There are to be no weapons in this place!" she said as she kicked the knife toward her cousins and Lewis, who promptly picked it up and handed it to one of LS's students.

Bob squirmed on the floor, still a victim of LS's wrist lock, then stopped squirming when LS placed the toe of her right foot on the tip of Bob's throat. She pressed down a little bit for Bob to get the message.

"There's a number of things I can do to you right now from this position," she said. "I can break your wrist of course, and make so you couldn't shoot a basketball nor handle a knife in the same way again. I could go down further and break your arm. I can smash your throat with my toe; if that does not kill you, you will probably have to use one of those instruments to talk with that you have to press against your vocal cords. I can also kill you by caving in your face with my foot."

"You, you can't do that," Bob said, gasping for air.

"Oh, there are a lot of things I can do with my foot. I can stomp down, smashing your nose first, and not stopping until I hit the floor. I could be a little merciful and slam my bare heel against your temple, killing you instantly. Do you understand this?"

"Y-yes," Bob said.

"Then this fight is over," LS said, pulling Bob to his feet. "Is there anyone else who wants to challenge me?"

This time, the gang was silent as Bob staggered back to them, holding his throat and breathing heavily. The other gang members looked at each other, none of them willing to go through the demonstration their lieutenant had just encountered. Finally, a 5'7" blonde woman wearing a gray tank top dress, kicked off her shoes, walked over to LS, kneeled down, and kissed her feet. The gang members wasn't phased by this, but LS, along with Jasmine, Kim, and Lewis, not to mention LS's students were surprised.

"What is this?" LS said.

"I am Veronica, head consort of the Bulldogs," she said. "As the new gang leader, I, as well as the rest of the stable, are at your disposal." As she said this, four other ladies walked to LS and repeated the same custom.

LS was momentarily speechless. The brief idea of reversing this and having the men come to kiss her feet upon greeting her went through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. Instead, she came up with another idea.

"Veronica, I would like you and the rest of the ladies to go and stand over by Rhonda. I will talk with you five privately after this meeting is over. One thing though, you are now "ladies." Stables are for horses. We'll talk more on this shortly," she said.

"Sensei!" Dave, another one of LS's students said as he came into the room. "I am sorry, sensei, but he was very insistent, and ran in here before we could catch him."

Before LS could ask who it was, one of the other doors to the dojo burst open, and Jordan emerged, his chest heaving from running into the dojo and evading LS's students at the same time. He pointed a long finger at LS.

"That's my group!" He said.

"Was your group," LS said. "I won them from you in fair combat. They are my soldiers to command. Even your "stable' belongs to me now." She said "stable" with an extra bit of disgust.

Jordan yelled to the gang members, "You all belong to me! All of you who are with me come over here."

Out of all the gang members, one started walking over to Jordan, then motioned for his friend to come with him. The friend refused, and the gang member changed his mind and walked back to the gang. The "stable" stayed where they were, loyal to their new leader.

Jordan, shocked by the turn of events, starting coming toward LS. "I want a rematch, girl, and this time, I'll have you kneeling before me, for real," he said.

"You shouldn't have come back," LS said, solemnly. "Now a point needs to be made." She then turned to the gang members. "For those of you who had doubts before, watch as I defeat your former leader for a second time."

Jordan wasted no time with his attack. Knowing better than to attempt to throw a punch like the last time, he charged LS, with the intention of tackling her down to the ground so he could be able to get a few blows in. What he didn't realize however as he descended on LS, was he became the victim of a textbook perfect tomonage, or circle throw. LS grabbed Jordan's arms, put her bare left foot in his crotch, and fell backward, using her momentum and strength to throw Jordan over her onto the dojo floor, holding on to his left arm as she did so.

Jordan, who had his back injured earlier that day in his last clash with LS, received even more pain as he was slammed to the floor. His pain was increased by his left arm feeling like it was torn out of its socket. LS stood over him, her right foot on the side of his neck, with a tight grip on his left arm; every now and then, giving it a good yank.

"I told you that your days of leading this gang are over," LS said. "And yet you come back and pretend to be leader, despite the fact that I won it by right. Must I rip your arm out of your socket for you to get the point?"

She yanked even harder on Jordan's arm, causing him to cry out.

"We've fought earlier today with only a few of my students to witness your defeat. I was easy on you. Now, I defeat you in full view of the ones you used to lead."

LS took her right foot, put it on the side of Jordan's head, and pushed it down so his face was facing the former members of his gang.

"Look, look at those who see your fall!" She said.

Wincing from the pressure on his head and his outstretched arm, Jordan saw the empty stares of the gang he used to lead. Even his "stable" regarded him with no more than a slight glance before they focused back on their new leader. The pain and humiliation started to bring tears to his eyes.

LS removed her foot from his head, and kneeled down, taking another grip on Jordan's already hyper-extended arm. "It's a shame, really," she said. "We all expected to see you on television leading your team to victory. Instead, here you are, laying on the floor as a common thug."

Jordan with no better response, said, "I'll tell my dad." His father was a local politician in the city.

"If your "dad" was more of a father, perhaps you wouldn't be in this mess," LS said.

Time to end this, LS thought. While kneeling down, with her right hand she delivered two blows. The first bloodied Jordan's nose, and the second knocked him out. Hmm, two blows; it normally takes me one, I am getting soft, she thought. Kim will get on me for that.

As she rose, she beckoned for two of her students to come and take Jordan's unconscious form to the emergency room. Dave and Rhonda came forward to collect the body.

"What do we tell them this time?" Dave asked.

"Tell them that he ran across two members from a rival gang. He managed to fight them off despite becoming injured," LS said.

"That's a nice story," Rhonda said.

"It's more than he deserves," LS said. "Take him away."

While Jordan was being carried away, LS addressed the gang. She told them that they are still a gang, but they'll be a gang for good. Instead of looking out just for themselves, they will be looking out for the whole community. Their name will no longer be "Bulldogs," but "Angels."

"Angels help people, and that is what you will do," LS said. "Your old headquarters is no more. Your new headquarters will be here. You will meet here at four o'clock sharp every weekday. We will promptly start lessons at that time. I will expect you to dress respectively and appropriately, as there will be a lot of physical activity. If I am not here, one of my-lieutenants will be here to instruct you. Their voice will be my voice in my absence."

LS walked back and forth, looking dispassionately at her gang.

"I understand most or all of you take drugs on a regular basis," she said. "That ends now. I also understand that takes normally takes detoxification and treatment. Here's my detox treatment: if I catch you using or I see any evidence of drug use, I break your arm. If you continue, I break your other arm. If use continues, I'll start on the legs. Between being unable to use drugs with your broken limbs and extended stays in the hospital, I'm sure you'll be able to kick the habit."

She paused, looking to see if her words sunk in.

"The first month of your classes will be free. After that, you will pay a nominal fee each month. That will mean several of you will need to get a job. If you don't have a job, I will find a way for you to earn your keep. You can clean the dojo, tend the garden outside, straighten the equipment closet and such.

"You might be concerned about what the other gangs are going to think. Do not worry, because by the time I'm through, we'll be the only gang in this neighborhood. I will take over the other gangs the same way I took over yours. Eventually you will be working side by side with former rival gang members. I'll expect you then to behave like they were your best friend. You leave the other gangs to me; I will take care of their "conversion.'

"Finally, as some of you know, my name is LS Chang. Only my family and friends call me LS, and you have not earned that right. You are to call me either "teacher,' "madam,' "mistress,' or "ma'am.' Preferably, you can call me "sensei.' Is that clear?" She paused, putting her left hand up to her ear. "Is that clear?" She repeated.

"Yes, sensei!" The gang said.

"You are welcome to leave this group if you wish, but remember, if you join another gang or participate in behavior contrary to how you're instructed, you will be treated as an enemy and will be put down. That is all for now. We will discuss more in our next meeting tomorrow. Remember, dress athletically. Except for the ladies, you're dismissed."

LS then turned her back and walked over to the women. The male gang members shuffled around at first, not sure what to do until one of LS's students opened the doors of the dojo. They slowed walked out, contemplating their new gang status.

LS beckoned the other students to come to her as she addressed the women members of her new gang. "Your rules for the "Angels' will be the same as the men. I wanted to address you on a few extra things, among them regarding proper behavior as a "woman.'"

After her meeting with the women and her students who stayed for the meeting, LS, Lewis, Jasmine, and Kim went back to LS's apartment.

"It took you two blows to knock that boy out?" Kim teased. "You're not losing your touch, are you?"

"Maybe I was thinking of what he could've been, instead of what he is now," LS said.

"I'm sure he may be thinking that same thing, since he's now in a hospital bed with one arm longer than the other," Lewis said. The group laughed.

"Well I will give you a word of caution, cousin," Kim said. "Jordan's father is a popular politician around here. You may not get any flack over this, but you know how they can be over their spoiled brats."

"I will keep that in mind, and thanks for the advice on what to do with the gang," LS said.

"No problem, you would've figured it out anyway. Anyway, Jasmine and I have been on the go since this morning with the drive over and everything, so we'll going to go to our mom and dad and convince them that we did come to see them longer than five minutes. We'll have lunch tomorrow you two, okay?"

LS and Lewis gave the two women an embrace before they left for the evening, leaving the two alone in the apartment.

"The sneaky buggers left before cleaning up," Lewis said as he started to pick up the dirty plates and silverware.

"Oh, forget cleanup, I will take care of that in the morning," LS said as she moved Lewis' hands away from the plates and instead took them as she led him to the sofa. "There's something else I have in mind."

"What would that be?" Lewis said as he sat down on the end of the sofa.

"More desert," she said, sitting down.

"More desert?" He said, still thinking of his brownies.

"Yes," she breathed as she came over to his side of the sofa, straddling him, and holding his head in her hands. "A taste of chocolate."

Then LS gave Lewis a long passionate kiss, a kiss that has been too long denied.

For any comments or suggestions, send your correspondence to shrewsberry@juno.com.