Author's note: - This is a follow on to the previous chapter of Becca XXX Hard Time. Please read it before reading this or you will not understand the plot or characters
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Becca XXX. Hard Time. Ch 07.
I'd learned a long time ago that when you've got something frightening or difficult to do, there's no point in delaying it.
The human mind only dwells on the negative outcomes of difficult tasks, which sends you into a vicious spiral of even more worry and stress. Preparation is fine, but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it.
I was well trained in negotiation and martial arts and, as I left the rest of my new gang in Melody's cell, I had no fear of what was to come.
Melody and Naomi had both offered to come with me, but I'd talked them out of it. Turning up mob-handed outside The Crow's cell would only provoke the situation and, for now, that was what I was trying to avoid.
I had no weapons on me other than the ones I was born with. Almost every part of the human body can be used to inflict harm on another person if you knew how to. Fists, elbows, knees, feet and even your forehead can be used to take an opponent down in the blink of an eye, but I hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
The wing seemed to fall silent as I walked along the first-floor landing with purpose towards The Sisterhood's inner sanctum. People were going about their business, but moved out of the way and stopped talking as I passed them. Some nodded at me and some looked away. It was as though they all knew what was coming.
The whole of Bronzefield knew what I'd done to The Crow's goons and they knew not to stand in my way. I was a one-woman wrecking machine and if I took out more of The Sisterhood or even their leader, the rest of the prison would sleep easier at night.
I spotted the Crow's lookouts early on. There were two skinny girls standing on either side of the upper walkway who looked like crack whores. They were painfully thin, with eyes that were sunk into their skulls. Their only interest was where their next fix was coming from and The Crow must have been keeping them supplied in return for sentry duty. They certainly weren't fighters, but they'd been chosen to warn the rest of her gang if anyone approached their area of the prison.
As I got closer, one of them spotted me, but looked away and tapped something metallic on the railings.
Ting - ting.
I passed her unchallenged and noticed that she had a silver coin in her hand. The tapping noise echoed down towards a group of four larger women standing outside what I assumed to be The Crow's cell.
On hearing the warning, all four of them formed up on the landing as I continued my approach. I kept an eye on my periphery without actually looking at anyone, but I could see everyone around me. Some onlookers moved away and went into their cells, some actually ran past me in the opposite direction with their heads down.
They all knew what was coming and they didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.
I breathed slowly and deeply, trying to fight my body's natural reactions. The fight or flight response is built into all of us and dates back to the caveman era. It's there to fill our blood with adrenaline ready to either run for our life or fight for it. The problem with adrenaline is that it can make you freeze. The brain can't cope with a huge increase in the chemical and it gets stuck with the decision of running or staying still. Instead, it does nothing.
My yogic breathing and centring of my body kept me calm on the outside, but ready to unleash hell on the inside. I was like a coiled spring, full of potential energy waiting to be released if it was triggered.
I brought both hands up and patted the air in front of me as I got within eight feet of the girls and then I stopped.
Eight feet was my optimum fighting distance in a situation like this. I was too far away for any of them to strike at me without making a double movement. That would give me long enough to read the attack and counter it as it came in.
"I don't want any trouble," I said calmly. "I just want to talk to The Crow."
I glanced behind me to make sure my exit wasn't blocked and that no one had snuck up behind me. The whole landing had cleared, but there were still a few faces peering out from behind doorframes to watch it all unfold.
"She doesn't accept visitors," snapped a girl with a head the size of a pumpkin.
"Tell her Becca's here to see her. I'm sure she'll make an exception," I said.
"We know who you are, bitch. You've got a lot of nerve showing up here, I'll give you that," said her friend who had the physique of a Russian shot-putter.
"Thank you," I smiled. "Can you let her know I'm here to talk."
"She doesn't want to talk to you. You're marked for death in this prison. Whoever takes you out is going to be well rewarded, believe me," said Pumpkin-head.
I let out a long sigh of disappointment and dropped my hands to my sides. The sigh wasn't just for effect. The long in-breath and out-breath calmed me down and helped me to relax, but it ran deeper than that. Martial arts isn't about brawling and using muscle power. It's about being relaxed and using inner energy rather than brute strength.
Just the simple act of throwing a punch only required an initial twitch of the hips and glutes to send the fist on its trajectory. It remains relaxed during its flight and then the whole body tenses as it makes impact. That's what made it so deadly. It wasn't the fist that did the damage, it was the energy wave it threw off. I always likened it to a heart beat. The technique went from a flat line, to its maximum peak and back to a flat line in the blink of an eye. As you returned to the relaxed position, it made you ready for the next opponent before the first one had even hit the floor.
"Do you really want to do this?" I asked.
"Do you?" replied Pumpkin-head.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"Not for long," piped up another girl from behind who had blue hair.
"The last time I fought any of you fuckwits, there were six of you. Now there's only four. I can see that maths isn't your strong point, but do you really think you're going to stop me getting into that cell?" I nodded at the door behind them.
"We're The Crow's personal protection team," said Shot-putter. "You won't get past us."
"You couldn't protect yourself from pregnancy," I laughed. "Not that anyone would ever want to fuck you, you fucking rhino."
I watched her face screw up in anger and she tightened her fists. These girls were as stupid as the last ones I'd fought. I wasn't going to get anywhere by talking to them so I'd have to resort to plan B as usual. Naomi would be very disappointed, but I had a job to do.
"You won't be laughing when I'm fisting your corpse," she sneered.
"Awwww, is that the only way you can get any sex - by fucking dead bodies?" I made a pouty face at her.
The fourth girl at the back was unusually quiet. The Crow's crew were usually full of bravado and bullshit which was meant to intimidate any would be aggressor. This girl was slim and athletic and nice looking for a change. Her eyes were very pretty and she wasn't rising to any of my insults.
Pumpkin head, Shot-putter and Blue-hair had been picked by The Crow due to their size and demeanour. They were intimidating to look at, but that's as far as it went. Pretty-eyes was the real deal and was by far my biggest threat at that moment. I'd have to be careful with her.
I quickly glanced back to check I wasn't going to be attacked from the rear.
It was still clear.
Everything was now to my advantage. I'd planned it this way as I'd approached. The landing was narrow which meant they could only attack me one at a time; two at the most. They were practically lined up in front of me like four punch bags waiting to be dropped one by one.
Pumpkin-head would have to go first. She was so wide that the others wouldn't be able to attack me until she was out of the way. She'd be slow due to her size, which meant I had speed and aggression on my side.
"I'll ask you one more time and then you'll be off to the infirmary," I said. "Can you please waddle your big fat ass over to the door and tell The Crow that I'm here to speak to her."
"Fuck you, bitch. You're dead," shouted Pumpkin-head, a split second before she attacked.
She stepped forwards with her right foot to make up the distance between us. At the same time, she pulled her right fist back like a baseball player about to swing for a home run. It was so blindingly obvious what she was doing that I had all the time in the world to execute my counter attack.
As her fist started it's long swing towards me, I side stepped forwards with my right foot and punched her in the throat with my right hand as hard as I could. My body locked on contact and my first two knuckles projected into the target by about two inches. The Japanese name for my punch was Kazami Zuki or jabbing punch, but it was far more than a jab. It had my whole body weight behind it plus my enemy's forward momentum as she came towards me. That doubled the kinetic energy of the impact. Her head rocked back as though her neck had been broken.
Thwack. Snap.
I felt my technique finish and I then pulled my arm back and stepped away to where I'd come from as though nothing had happened. It took a second or two for her body to catch up with her brain and realise that she'd been knocked out from my devastating strike, but it eventually caught up. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the floor like a fallen tree in slow motion.
