Teaching Her a Lesson Pt. 14

Part Fourteen: Sub Plans

During the summer months, it was easy for a single teacher's house to transition from a comforting retreat into a self-imposed prison. On the weekends, I still got out to see my friends, and otherwise there was the occasional errand to run, but as time passed, time increasingly lost meaning. Grocery shopping was as likely to happen at 3 AM as it was during daylight hours. It was liberating, in a sense, but simultaneously disorienting. One year I had managed to land a summer school position to help keep me grounded, but the others, I had needed to adapt on my own.

One of those adaptations had been Baxton Park. It was a decently sized public park, mostly a softball field and open grass but with a few pavilions and a wooded area at the east end. Squirrels and birds were in abundance, along with the occasional sighting of a raccoon or a hawk. One day, simply to be out of the house for a while, I took my lunch there and ate it sitting on a small grassy hill overlooking the field, leaning back against a perfectly angled tree trunk. It soon got so that I ate lunch there almost every day of the summer, and took my dinner there on occasion, too. It was an excuse to get out of the house, to be outdoors, to see people without having to interact with them. The park was a refuge from my home and the lesson planning and updating materials and renewing certification criteria and my oh so empty bed.

That last was in times during which I was single, which was more often than not. I'd always imagined I'd be married by now, settled down and starting a family of my own. It was hard to start dating when you worked eighty hours a week with next to no disposable income, much less find somebody to settle down and have a kid with. So instead I came here, where I could see other people's kids, then go back home and get back to prepping for the fall. It was balance. At the park, I could simply exist, let my mind wander and drift along without plan or purpose. It became a place where I did a lot of my most uninhibited thinking.

That night, it was where I did my scheming.

It was nearly eleven o'clock when I parallel parked along the street by Baxton Park, hand throbbing, mind ablaze with outrage. The latter was directed as much at myself as at Isa and Candy. How could I have been so careless? I had disarmed myself, been seduced with pathetic ease. By a pair of lesbians, no less! To think, it had been easier for me to believe that Candy wanted to play sex games with one of her athletes, that Isa was getting off flashing her admittedly spectacular tits, than to even wonder if they might be up to something. Hubris of the highest order.

I snatched the blanket I kept in my trunk for just such occasions and made my way up into the stands around the softball field, settling into the back row by the scoreboard. The night chill was more pronounced up here even this small distance off the ground, but previous late-night wanderings had taught me that on occasion, the police swung by the park, probably on the lookout for mischievous youths. My perch, however, was shielded from scrutiny thanks to the scoreboards blocking sight of me from the street.

I nestled in, leaning my head back against the wooden planks. It was a clear night. The stars were out in abundance. Somehow, that helped calm me down. There would be time later to kick myself for lack of foresight (a polite term for thinking entirely with my dick). For now, I had to start acting my intellect and get to work on next steps.

I needed the Serenex back. Whatever else I did, it had to start with that. What I'd do about my malefactors was secondary. Acquiring that precious white canister was the only goal. Not having much experience with the sort of tactical thinking required for such operations, I instead approached it like a learning objective. Ergo, first things first: outline barriers.

That was not a short list, unfortunately. They had the Serenex. That damnable taser. Isa's police training. They were intelligent. Whether or not their suspicions had been allayed, I had to assume they weren't stupid enough to be as complacent as I'd been. Ergo, they would be wary of me. The odds that the canister would be left somewhere I might easily burgle were low. They quite possibly had a gun safe for Isa's sidearm, which could well accommodate the Serenex as well. Not a certainty, but a good enough chance to rule out the approach. I'd kept it sealed in my briefcase, after all, and would surely have preferred a safe if I owned one. Besides, I hadn't had half as much cause to worry someone might try to come along and take it.

The problem looming largest, however, was my timeline. Tonight, I expected they were busy celebrating, or maybe sleeping off the wine I'd gifted them. Soon, however, they would set their self-righteous minds to "liberating" the young women from our arrangement - Megan, too, I expected. There wouldn't be an easy way to do that tomorrow, since Sundays meant conspicuous house calls and having to deduce the girls' whereabouts. Come Monday, however, Officer Barbour could easily call them to her office and dose them one by one. My theory about how conflicting inputs might interact under the influence of Serenex was just that, a theory. It could easily be that a new command would overwrite an old one. Even if it fucked their heads up in some unforeseeable way, Isa might consider that a risk worth taking. To their minds, the girls' heads alreadywere fucked up, after all.

There was no waiting. In all probability, the Serenex would leave with Isa for work Monday morning, at which point I was officially screwed. Even if they continued to maintain our secret, they would take away everything I'd gained and then destroy the rest of the canister's contents. Whatever I did, it had been soon.

An owl landed nearby atop the chain link fence separating the benches from the field. It hooted softly. I nodded a greeting to it. It went unacknowledged.

Next step: what assets did I have? A shorter list to be sure, but not nothing. First and foremost, I had the girls. To various degrees, at least. Each had their shortcomings as allies. Abbie had her tendency toward overzealousness. Taylor's dedication was suspect. Cassie was... well, Cassie. None of them were exactly covert ops material. They were, however, each invested in the new status quo in their own way. I had no doubt they would each take issue with Candy and Isa's characterization of our affiliation.

As for other assets? Beyond the three of them, there wasn't much. The element of surprise was a maybe; Isa had been awfully suspicious right up to the end. Did desperation count?

As the owl and I took our time sussing out our respective problems, I considered that there was still one thing I had going for me. I simply needed to identify a means of exploiting it.

Time to rally the troops. If there was one thing I could count on to at least cheer me up, it was Abbie, Taylor and Cassie. Now I only had to hope I could count on them for a little bit more.

________________

Come on, come on, pick up pick up pick up!

"Hello?"

"Candace! Oh thank-"

"What in the name of all that's unholy are you calling me for at this hour, Canon?"

"Look, I know it's late, I'm sorry, but-"

"Late? Christ, it's after two! You have some nerve."

"I really am sorry, I swear. Now just shut up and listen to me - there isn't much-"

"Did you tell me to shut up? Don't youdare tell me what to do, buster! After what you pulled, you're lucky you aren't on your way to prison. Believe me, if we could have found a way, you would be."

"Yes, you made that very clear earlier, and I didn't mean to be rude, but please if you'll hear me out for just a-"

"Great, now you woke Isa." Her voice through the phone was suddenly muffled. "No, mama, it's that asshole again... Idid have it on vibrate, but he must have called a hundred times... We can't tell him to go fuck himself, because he might actually try to do it... I know you meant it metaphorically-"

"Figuratively," I mumbled.

" -but maybe you should go back to bed and let me handle this, OK?" The phone returned to her mouth and she was addressing me again. "Now you pissed off Isa. She's come up with some very creative yet safe-and-free ways to occupy your time, you know that? You're lucky I told her to go back to sleep."

"Don't!"

Finally, she took a breath. "What do you mean, don't?"

"Thank you," I shot, sarcasm heavy. "Are the girls there? I don't hear them, but... are they?"

"The girls? Who, you mean Cassie and the Sterns?"

"No, the fucking Spice Girls. Yes, those girls!"

"Watch your tone, Canon."

"Sorry." It wasn't easy, feigning deference with my heart pounding this fast. "But... you should know, I think they might be, um, on their way to your house. Shit, I'm a little surprised they aren't there now. Must've stopped somewhere."

"On their way here? Why in god's name would they be on their way here at this hour? What the hell did you do?" She spoke aside again. "No, mama, he said... look, I got this. Now shh."

"I didn't do anything! Or I didn't mean to anyway. They were waiting up for me - a sleepover next door - and... well, long story short, they figured out something was off, and I figured, you know, rip off the bandaid or whatever, get it over with. So I told them. Everything."

"OK, and...?"

"And, they flipped out, just like I told you they would! I know you think I'm some evil mastermind, but you have to believe me, Abbie is the one pulling the strings. I thought maybe you were right, that she'd be happy to be released, but she went freaking ballistic!"

"Define 'ballistic.'"

"Well I didn't get locked in a trunk, quite, but I may as well have been! She and Taylor wrestled me down and tied me to my own goddamn bed!"

"Look at you, managing to have some kinky fun after all. Don't you worry, Canon. We'll take care of everything soon."

"Well I hope you're ready, because the way she was talking, they're on their way over therenow. Tonight. Do you hear me?! They took my car, and any minute now, they could be kicking in your door and... fuck fuck fuck! Are you hearing me? The Sterns, they're not exactly what you might call 'restrained,' understand? You and Isa could be in serious danger!"

This time it was harder to hear them; Candy must have set the phone down. I ran through the math. The girls had left my place about twenty minutes ago. Ten minutes to Candy and Isa's place. How much longer if they stopped at the Stern's? Maybe their workout clothes and bikinis had been deemed a poor choice for clandestine activities? Or shit, maybe they really were getting a weapon! That had been the first place both Sterns girls' minds had gone the moment I'd tried to explain the situation. I'd begged her not to, but Abbie really was insane. Her reality had realigned around being my fantasy slut; finding out Candy had tried to oust her from that throne had been tantamount to an assault on her innermost sense of self. Taylor might be marginally less affronted, but she'd been nursing a grudge over Isa's casual taser abuse all week, and this was the excuse she'd been waiting for to exact her justice, as she saw it.

There seemed to be a lot of that going around.

"Why are you warning us?" Isa's voice? Yes, a little deeper. More guarded, less flippant.

"Look, say whatever you want about the shit I've done, but... I don't want anything to happen to those girls. Or you two, frankly. Abbie locked Taylor in the trunk of her car only last week, remember! If I hadn't talked her down, I think she might have been seriously about to do something drastic to her. I don't know what she's capable of. Plus I know you're so damn trigger happy with that stun gun of yours, which is a whole other risk factor."

"It's a taser, not a stun gun. Tasers don't have to be close. I just don't like to miss."

"Yeah, well, I googled that crap, Hawkeye. You can really hurt someone with that, you know? People havedied! And I can't get that image out of my head, that shit-eating grin on your face - no offense - when you zapped Taylor. And I've made a mess enough out of things without being an accessory to giving an eighteen-year-old kid a fucking heart attack when you lose your cool and fire a few thousand volts into her!"

It was quiet again. Before I got a response, the call terminated.

Shit. Shit! I called back, but nobody answered. Same with Isa's phone. Were the girls there now? It seemed so improbable that a police officer slept with her doors unlocked, but anybody could get sloppy about a window. I forgot to lock the door between my garage and the back yard all the time.

If I hadn't, Abbie might never have gotten the drop on me last weekend, and I'd be at home in bed right now, sleeping easy. But I'd never have landed myself in a locker room orgy either.

I paced. Back and forth, back and forth. I called again. No answer. More pacing. Should I try the girls again? They could still be in serious danger. Isa might be Officer Barbie to them, but all one had to do was open a news site and there was a story of a cop using excessive force against some unlucky kid. None of the commands I'd given Isa would do a damn thing to keep her from hurting those poor kids. None of the commands I'd given those kids would keep them from doing anything horrible to Candy and Isa.

I called again. No answer. Six calls later, dizzy from about-facing, someone finally picked up. "Stop calling, Canon!" Candy yelled.

I froze. I was supposed to obey her commands. Though technically, she hadn't ordered me to hang up. "Are they there? Is everyone OK? You have to give me something, Candace. I'm losing my mind over here! If somebody gets hurt, or... or..." It was too dreadful to put in words.

There was a ghost of sympathy in her voice. "Take a breath, all right? No, they're not here. Isa's went ahead and unlocked the doors so they don't do anything stupid and smash in a window or something. Hopefully they'll-"

The phone left her mouth, and I could just make out her voice addressing her girlfriend. "No, it's him again. I know. I told him not to call. Yes, I know he could be... look, I am not an idiot, all right?"

Smart of her to be suspicious of foul play. Would that I'd been that alert. It had been half an hour now. Where the hell were those girls? Had Cassie talked them down? Or were they duct taping her mouth shut and gearing up for war?

Candy returned. "We're handling this. You stay wherever the fuck you are, hear me? So help me, if you already found a way to slither out of this, I won't be able to rein Isa in next time. I don't think I'd even try."

"Paranoid much? God, Candace, I... ya know, fine. I won't call again, but keep me in the loop, OK? I'm halfway to shitting myself over this. Promise me you'll tell me once everything is under control."

"We're going to get them back under theirown control, Canon. Don't you worry."

"I don't care about any of that any more. I just don't want anyone to... crap, I'm repeating myself. Let me know? And... you know. You two be careful too."

"Yeah."

The phone went dead.

Minutes passed like hours.

Candy had said don't call, but she hadn't said don't text. I could still do that without letting her know her plan had failed as badly as mine.

I know you said not to call, but... anything yet?

Don't be a little bitch. Candace is seeing if they're parked on the street. Might be lurking, she said, freaked by the lights on. Chill tfo

I had texted Candy, but it wasn't surprising that Isa answered. Anticipated, really. She'd be an idiot not to be wary of me. I texted back a quick thanks to keep the line of communication open, and went back to waiting.

What felt like a thousand years later, my phone rang again.

"Heya, Mr. Canon. It's Cassie."

"I know. I have caller ID. What the heck is going on?"

"Taylor and Abbie went home to get changed. All black and stuff. I'm not sure how much it helps. I could see them really easily. But the street light is on and it's really bright over there."

"The light's are on? At Ms. Salata's house? Is that where you are?"

"Yeah. I was getting really scared so they told me to wait in the car, like a getaway driver in a heist movie or something I guess. I tried to tell them it was a bad idea, but they didn't want to listen. It is, though. Honestly, I'm not a very good driver. I just learned two weeks ago that blinking red means stop, not slow. I always wondered why people got so honky at them." She paused, for once realizing how far off topic she'd wandered. "Is this a really bad idea? The lights are on! I think they're awake! I have the window down so I can listen for gunshots or screams or, I don't even know. I'm so scared, Mr. Canon. I don't like this."

"It's going to be all right, Cassie."

"You say that, but... Abbie has a bat, and Taylor had her hand in her hoodie pocket like she was holding something, and... I'm really worried. They'reso mad, Mr. Canon. I mean, I'm not happy about what they did to you either, but they'rereally mad."

"Me too. And I'm proud of you for keeping an eye on them. You're being a good friend, and right now they need good friends more than ever. I've had some time to think, and I have a plan."

"Thank gosh."

"Cassie? Taylor and Abbie are in trouble, and I need you to help them, all right?"

"All right. But... how?"

"That's my girl. Are they in the house now?"

"I don't know. They went around to the back yard, I think. They were actually pretty tough to see once they got out from under the streetlamp. Do you think they've done this kind of thing before? Because they seemed to really know what to do."

I disregarded the question. "Look, I need you to go inside. OK? Nice and slowly, just go inside and see what's going on. Right through the front door, because you don't mean anyone any harm. Nice and slow, no sudden movements."

"I dunno... you're making this sound really scary..."

"It's Ms. Salata. You know her. Do you really think she'd let anything bad happen to you?"

"She let something bad happen to you!" she pointed out.

"Well she likes you a lot better than she likes me, I promise. Now please, Cassie. It..." I winced at my manipulation even as I said it anyway. "It would give me a lot of pleasure if you went in there."

"It... it would?"

"Yes."

"Oh. I never thought you'd want me to... Oh boy. Ham and crackers, this is scary."

"You can do this. You're kind, and you're smart, and you're going to help everyone stay calm. All right?"

"I feel like you're just saying that to get me to go in there."

How honest of her. "I'll say it again later when I don't want anything, all right? We can assess my integrity in the morning. But there's one more thing, hon. I want you to leave the phone on in your pocket, OK? We'll stop talking, but don't hang up. I want to hear what's happening. But you can't let them know about it. They're really mad at me, remember? Just tuck it in your pocket, and make sure the light isn't showing."

"If... if you're sure. I guess I could do that. I'm so freaking nervous right now, my gosh. My mom wouldkill me if she knew I was doing this."

"She'd kill you if she found out I told you to do it and you didn't."

"Yeah, probably. All right. Here I go." A pause. Some noise. A seatbelt? "OK. Going now." Another pause. "K, actually going now." And then it stayed quiet.

I minimized the phone conversation and brought up my messages, texting Candy again.Are they there? Any word?

I heard faint noises from the speaker. It was muffled, but once I cranked up the volume, I could hear it well enough.Oh please don't let me hear a taser being fired. Or a gun.I braced myself, heart hammering. What in the hell had I set into motion?