Gary's shift ended at midnight. After a de-brief with his lieutenant, he walked out of the precinct to begin his weekend - actually a Monday and Tuesday - off. It'd been a tough day, and he decided to get in a workout; needing to burn off some energy before going home.
Arriving at his preferred gym, a 24-hour place not far from his apartment, he changed his clothes, and - wearing a pair of loose, dark gray, cotton shorts, and a light blue LAPD t-shirt - began warming up by jogging on a treadmill. Thankfully, the music coming from the ceiling speakers was set to a slightly more tolerable level at night, allowing him to think as he ran.
He noticed a woman working on the leg press. He'd seen her here a few times, and her outfits always reminded him of one of those wanna-be superheroes in the movie Mystery Men. Tonight, she wore an oversized, cut-up pink Hello, Kitty t-shirt - Gary could see the straps of a black sports bra wrapping over the top of her broad shoulders - black Spandex short shorts, and mismatched, white, thigh high tube socks - one with red stripes, the other blue. On her head, a neon-orange baseball cap, worn backwards, covered two purple-tinted pigtails tied with pink and purple ribbons.
Though he tried to keep to himself during his late-night sessions, he couldn't avoid forming at least minimal acquaintances with the other graveyard exercisers, and he tried to recall her name. Despite her outlandish clothing, and being bathed in sweat, he thought her gorgeous. She had a pretty face, and her skin possessed a deep tan. Gary guessed her to be about 5'2", and maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. He stole a few long glances at her well-toned body; even from across the large room he could appreciate the definition in the muscles of her legs.
He wasn't the only one watching her. On the opposite side of the gym, three more sets of eyes traced over her body as she picked up a pair of dumbbells and began doing squats. Gary slowed his pace to a walk for two minutes before he stopped; deciding to hit the circuit.
"Imogen," he said to no one. "That's it."
Raising his eyes to the mirrored wall, he looked at her as he confirmed her name in his own mind. Three men stood close - too close - to her. They were talking to her, but she didn't interrupt her workout, obviously doing her best to ignore them. Either they didn't take the hint, or didn't care that she wasn't interested. All three were huge; gym rats who seemingly lived here. Gary wondered silently why they were talking to her.
Their balls are probably so shriveled from the 'roids, they couldn't do anything with her, he thought.
Gary kept one eye on them as he began doing stomach crunches. The one who seemed to be the leader leaned back to ogle her ass as she performed another squat. Noticing this, she stood, and turned to confront him. Gary could hear her raised voice above the music and stopped exercising. He turned his head toward the attendant - back-up, he hoped. The kid sat at the front desk, facing the entrance, obliviously bopping his head to whatever forgettable Pop tune was currently pumping through the earbuds plugged into his iPod.
The two companions laughed at the woman's angry reaction and she turned to loose her venom upon them as well. Gary rose, and used a towel to wipe away the perspiration coating his face. He quickly traversed the space between himself and the quartet, sizing up the three men as he went. The leader, Gary remembered hearing someone call him Bar, was easily 6'4" - a full four inches taller than Gary - and his shaved head served to make him appear more menacing. A sleeveless, black, Affliction t-shirt stretched over his massive upper body.
Bar had been working out before approaching the woman, but Gary didn't see a bead of sweat on him. His buddies weren't as tall, but just as ripped. Though strong, and well-toned from his regular workouts, Gary realized that in a physical confrontation he'd be hard pressed to deal with any one of these guys, much less be able to handle all three at once.
"Something wrong?" he asked, trying to affect a reasonable tone.
As the four turned to face him, he watched their eyes trace over the letters on his shirt and hoped it might be enough to defuse the situation. The woman, a determined look on her face, stood her ground as the three men focused their attention on Gary.
"This don't concern you," Bar said.
Gary didn't retreat, even as the other two men each took half a step toward him.
"Of course it does, Bar," Gary said, hoping that letting this Goliath know he knew his name would help.
"I'm just trying to compliment this stuck up bit..." Bar began.
"Looks like she just wants to workout, dude," Gary said.
A four-way stare down ensued. Several seconds passed and Gary fought to keep his face and body from betraying the stress he felt. He couldn't show weakness or fear, nor could he portray too much confidence. Just as he was about to give up hope of a peaceful resolution, Bar gave in.
"Come on guys," Bar said, edging past Gary. "Let's go."
The three men walked away slowly - muttering to each other as they went. Gary watched them until they resumed their workouts, then turned back to the woman. She too continued exercising.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
She glared at him, as if trying to bore through his skull with her bright, pale-blue eyes.
"I didn't need your help," she hissed.
"What..." he began, caught off guard by her attitude.
"I don't need some knight in shining armor to save me," she said, pausing her exertions. "I do Tae Kwon Do, I was about to knock them on their asses."
"Really?" he said, more than asked. "All three of them?"
She stared at him defiantly, saying nothing.
"Well, OK then," he said, finally, as he turned away. "You're welcome."
He returned to the treadmill, deciding he'd cool down before leaving. Of course, he figured, even running at full speed couldn't make his heart beat any faster than its current tempo. Though sure they wouldn't bother the woman again - at least not tonight - he kept his eyes on the three lunks. Walking at a fast pace, he gripped the handles as the adrenaline pumping though his system burned off. 20 minutes later, he grabbed his backpack from his locker, and walked out the front door, still wearing his shorts and t-shirt. His car was barely 30 feet from the door
The main benefits of working out in the middle of the night, he thought, were the lack of crowds around the exercise machines and in the parking lot.
"Hey," said a female voice behind him.
Turning, he faced the woman.
"Yes," he said, unenthusiastically.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I just...I didn't mean to sound like a bitch in there."
"It's OK," Gary said. "I'll survive."
"No, it's not," she said. "I'm not always like that. I mean, it happens all the time. Well, not usually three of them, but guys harassing me while I work out. That's why I come here at night; there are fewer assholes...generally.
He remained silent.
"I didn't mean to bite your head off. I know you were just trying to help, but I don't need a man to step in and protect me," she said.
"I'm used to it," he said. "I run into a lot of less than appreciative people at work."
"What do you do?" she asked.
He pointed at the front of his shirt.
"Oh," she said. "I didn't know that was for real."
"I'm Gary," he said, holding out his hand.
"Gen, with a G," she said, taking it. "I've seen you around here once in a while."
"I come here after work a few times a week," he said. "It helps me decompress after a long day."
"Me, too" she said. "This and the martial arts. I wasn't kidding about that."
"I wasn't doubting your word," he assured her.
"You should try it," Gen said. "It's terrific."
"I tried Origami once," he said. "I wasn't very good."
