Summer Vacation Ch. 19

Tina's ex-husband had a baseball bat in his hand and an evil grin on his face. Tommy didn't want his parents' car damaged, so he got out and moved away from it. Actually, he had several reasons for distancing himself from the car. First, he wanted to draw the men away from the car; second, he wanted more room to operate and; third, he wanted to keep his opponents unaware of what they were facing. If they thought he was scared and trying to get away from them, they'd be more likely to be careless, which would make it easier for him.

"You little fucker," Ron growled. He held the bat in both hands and waved it menacingly - at least he probably thought that's what he was doing. "You hit me the other night and got me fuckin' locked up. You're gonna fuckin' pay for that. I brought some friends along to see you get what's coming to you."

"You look like the type who'd need help," Tommy said. He was surprised he wasn't very frightened. "A man with no courage needs someone else to carry it for him," Tommy said, repeating something Master Kwan told him once. He felt a sense of calm, a belief he would come out of this all right. "You can handle this, my son. Remain centered and use the skills I taught you," a voice inside his head told him. It was as if Master Kwan was there, guiding him.

Ron looked puzzled. "What the fuck are you talkin' about, kid?" he grumbled. "I got all the courage I need right here." He patted the bat. "You're gonna be sorry you started messin' around with that bitch I was married to. And you know what? When we're done with you, we're goin' over and pay her a visit. I been tellin' the boys what a good piece 'a ass she is, and they wanna find out for theirselves." He cackled. "I'm gonna let them find out, too."

Now Tommy was scared. If, for whatever reason, he failed, Tina would be in danger. Bobby, too. He had to best the three guys. One of the men moved behind him and the other stood off to the side, apparently watching for the police.

"What's the matter, kid?" Ron said. He poked the bat in Tommy's direction. "Can't handle it when the other guy's lookin' at ya? Fuckin' chicken-shit kid!"

He poked the bat in Tommy's direction again. What happened next occurred so quickly none of the three men could ever remember exactly how they wound up in the shape they did.

When the tip of the bat neared his stomach, Tommy's hand clamped around it and he gave it a jerk toward him, pulling Ron off-balance, making him lurch forward. The bully never saw the sweeping kick that landed behind his head and knocked him to the ground face-first, smashing his nose, splattering his blood on the blacktop.

Tommy let the momentum of the kick carry him completely around and, since he was now holding the bat, he thrust it into the stomach of the man standing behind him. The man made a woofing sound and doubled over. The edge of Tommy's fist landed on his neck and he collapsed on the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye Tommy saw Ron trying to get to his feet. He spun and landed another kick alongside the man's head. His second kick flipped Ron over and he crashed to the ground on his back, his head hitting the pavement with a sickening sound. Before the man could move, Tommy straddled him and landed a powerful thrust punch to his solar plexus. The breath rushed out of Ron and he lost consciousness.

"Hey!" the third man yelled. Things had happened so fast he didn't realize his friends were in trouble. When he realized his buddies were down, he made a huge mistake by starting toward Tommy. Before the advancing thug knew what was going on, Tommy was flying through the air toward him. The teenager's foot landed on the man's chest, forcing him over backward. He landed on the street, his head slamming against the pavement so hard he went out like a light.

Landing on his feet cat-like, Tommy turned to face his opponents. All three were on the ground, motionless. Now that he'd bested them, what was he going to do with them? He dragged all three men out of the road, checked in the trunk of his folks' car and found a roll of duct tape.

He taped the men's arms and legs and put tape over their mouths to keep them quiet. Luckily, nobody on the street appeared to be awake, so he had no audience.

Also fortunate was the fact there was only one streetlight at the corner, quite a distance from where the planned attack had taken place. Once the men were secure and unable to give him any more trouble, Tommy loaded them into their car, then drove out of town. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he figured he'd know when he got there.

About ten miles out in the country, he pulled into a dirt road, drove a little way off the highway, then stopped. The men had come around, and were moaning and straining against their bonds in the back seat of the car.

Tommy dragged them out of the car onto the grass next to the road. He took their shoes and socks off, then took a small knife out of his pocket and cut their clothes off, leaving them wearing just their underwear.

That done, he approached Ron, who stared at him wide-eyed. Tommy tore the duct tape off the man's mouth.

Ron winced. "You bastard!" he sputtered. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Tommy smiled. "I'm going to leave you here," he said. "Sooner or later, if you manage to get the tape off, you can walk back to town. Your car will be in the parking lot next to the police station."

"You fucking little creep!" Ron sputtered. "You ain't gonna get away with this!"

"What are you going to do?" Tommy asked. "Tell the police you and your friends tried to beat the shit out of a kid and that kid beat the shit out of the three of you instead? I don't think so." He grinned. "You really are a worthless piece of shit." He leaned down so his face was close to Ron's. "I'll tell you something and you better listen. From now on, you stay away from Tina. I know you have visitation rights, and I can't keep you from visiting Bobby, even though I doubt he'd miss it. But if you ever, ever bother Tina again, I'll come looking for you. If you think tonight was bad, you'll think this was play time when I get finished with you. You understand?"

"You fucking asshole! You think I'm afraid of you?" Ron blustered. "I get out of this, I'm gonna get me a gun. I'll fix your ass, you fucker! I'm gonna..."

He stopped talking when Tommy's hand clamped his throat, cutting off most of his wind. The man's face reddened and his body strained as he tried to get breath. Tommy's fingers tightened around his larynx and he winced and turned very pale.

"Listen," Tommy said, his voice a low growl, "if I wanted to, I could tear your throat out. I'm not nearly as pissed as I'm gonna be if you keep this up. You stay away from Tina!" He released Ron, turned, got in the car, and left.

As he drove away, he realized he was shaking. He'd never before struck anyone in anger. He was also scared by how close he'd come to doing Ron serious harm. He could have torn the man's throat out! He hoped Ron would listen. He didn't want to have to deal with him again.

He left Ron's car in the police parking lot and managed to get away without being spotted. He walked back to where he'd left his car, got in, and drove the rest of the way to his aunt's house. Tonight, if either Karen or Kim came to his room looking for sex, he was going to turn them down. Enough was enough.

The house was dark when he arrived home. He went inside quietly, undressed, and got in bed. In spite of how keyed up he was, he fell asleep quickly.