Night brought the temperatures down from a hundred degrees to a balmy ninety. It also brought lights, thousands of people and brand new challenges. People would bump into me, which did more than annoy me. I didn’t like to be touched, being touched by strangers was awful. Once in a while, someone would notice the gun and give me a wide eyed look before noticing the badge that was discreetly clipped to my jeans.
We’d eaten pizza over an hour ago. It had settled heavily on my stomach in the heat. Each of Gabriel’s attempts to buy me my first funnel cake had been politely declined. Watching the rides spin around made me feel worse. I finally found a picnic table and grabbed a seat. Gabriel came over with a cold soda for me and a lemonade for him. Lemonade was too sweet in this weather.
I sucked noisily on the straw. My nerves were frayed. It was times like these that made me wonder about my decision to join the Marshals Service. It also made me wonder why they had gone ahead and hired me. I was stand-offish on good days. Tonight was bordering on combative.
To his credit, Gabriel had sensed the change in my mood. He was reclined against the table, making it so we both faced the same direction. His eyes scanned the crowd as they moved. When someone went to sit next to us, he motioned that the table was taken. The group sought out a new table with some not so polite comments and grumbling that Gabriel dismissed with a wave of his middle finger.
My back was exposed and I felt vulnerable in this position. I stood and moved to the wall, leaning against it. This earned Gabriel more kudos. He moved the table so that I could sit with my back against the brick building. There was a lot of grumbling over that, but a flash of his Marshals’ badge stopped it pretty quickly.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out why Gabriel was our team commander. He knew all the right and wrong buttons to push. Lucas and Xavier were my friends and went out of their way to accommodate my idiosyncrasies, but Gabriel went the extra step. He didn’t baby me, like Lucas or try to make me happy like Xavier. He just let me be and made it easier for me to be me.
“Don’t I know you?” A woman in shorts two sizes too small and tank top three sizes too small walked over to us. She looked like someone had shoved a sunburnt hippo into clothing and flip-flops.
“No,” Gabriel told her.
“I’m sure I know you from somewhere, you both look real familiar. Do you live in Sedalia?” She pressed.
“No,” Gabriel answered more curtly. “We don’t live in Sedalia, we’re out of towners, enjoying the fair and trying to rest for a few minutes.”
“I’m real good with faces,” she started.
“You do not know us,” I barked. “Now move along.”
“You don’t gotta be a bitch,” the woman drew herself up, trying to make herself look intimidating. I giggled. She didn’t have a clue what we dealt with, if she thought she was scary, she was in for a surprise.
“You don’t know us,” Gabriel took control again. “I suggest you return to your table and go back to eating or whatever you were doing.”
“Is she famous or something?” The woman ignored his suggestion. “Are you her body guard?”
“No,” I answered. “I am not famous. He is not my body guard. Now go.”
“You’re awful mouthy. Let me tell ya something, bitch, being nice will get ya further in life than being a bitch.” Zen words out of the mouth of someone who looked like they belonged barefoot and pregnant in the house of someone who beat the shit out of them when he drank too much. I sighed.
“You should go,” Gabriel warned her. His voice dropped to that low tone. I felt the calm descending upon me. Becoming me, the real me, inside the gates of the state fair was probably not the best idea on the planet. Being a sociopath, like I was, was akin to being a vampire or some other beast that lurked in the dark.
“Not until she apologizes,” the woman told him.
Gabriel turned to look at me. He smiled.
“Do you honestly think you’re going to get an apology out of her?” He asked the woman. “It’s in your best interest to just go and enjoy the fair.”
“No,” the woman turned her full attention to me. She slammed her hands down on the table. People turned to stare at us. “I want an apology bitch.”
Gabriel shook his head and moved away from the table. I took my badge from my jeans and set it calmly on the table. I followed it with a set of handcuffs and a Taser.
“First, my name is not ‘bitch,’ it’s US Marshal Aislinn Cain. Second, I will arrest you without probable cause and hold you for the next forty-eight hours. Third, when the holding period is over, I’ll have you remitted for a psychiatric evaluation. If they find you a danger to yourself or others, I’ll make sure you get locked up in some crappy institution, like the Fulton State Hospital for the Criminally Insane for the rest of your miserable life. And finally, I will Taser you if you come even an inch closer to me.”
“Ah, you’re part of the death squad,” a man said, coming up behind the woman. “Come on Jeannie, let’s leave ‘em be, to enjoy their drinks. They’re probably working.”
“I want an apology,” Jeannie whined.
“Too bad,” I told her.
“Jeannie,” the man said her name like he was pleading with her. Gabriel kept his distance. His hand was near the hem of his shirt, but he hadn’t actually reached for anything yet.
“Federal cops,” Jeannie spit on the table. “Fat piggies getting fatter off the backs of hard working Americans.”
“Is she drunk?” Gabriel asked.
“She’s had a few beers,” the man admitted.
“My partner really will Taser her,” Gabriel told him. “You should get her out of here.”
“Fuckin’ cunt,” Jeannie spat on me. I lunged over the table. My badge skittered across the wooden surface. The Taser went in another direction. I could deal with a lot, but the “c” word was not one of them. Spitting was also bad. My hand went around her throat and I lifted her bulk an inch or two off the ground while squeezing.
“I will not apologize. You will, when and if I allow you to breathe. I could rip your throat out with my bare hands and everyone would have to testify that you assaulted me first. Do you understand?” I dropped her.
She wheezed and coughed. Gabriel stepped up next to her. He pulled out handcuffs and put the woman in them. She didn’t resist, which was good. I wiped the spit off my face with the sleeve of my shirt. Both guns were now fully exposed and I had the attention of every person there. They stared at me, their eyes wide and wild, unsure what to do. The male instinct was to come to the aid of the woman I had been choking, but it also told them not to mess with me.
“You’re under arrest for assaulting a federal officer,” Gabriel told her. “You have the right to remain silent. I suggest that if you wish not to exercise that right, you offer Marshal Cain an apology. You’ll be remanded to the custody of the local police department. They will process you and Mirandize you.”
“You don’t need to do that, we’ll take her home,” the man said.
“If I let her go,” Gabriel said. “Do you promise to immediately leave the fairgrounds?”
“Yes, sir,” the man said.
“What about you?” Gabriel asked Jeannie. She had gained some of her composure back. She answered by spitting on him.
“I am willing to bet this is not her first brush with the law,” I said, taking her from Gabriel. I took her to the ground, my knee planted in her back while I held one of her hands at a painful angle. She swore like a sailor and wriggled under me.
“Jeannie, just stop,” the man looked desperate.
“We’ll leave,” another man stepped forward.
“I think not,” I told him. “Do not come any closer.”
Gabriel was busy making a call for back up. It was more for the protection of the people that had begun to circle us than for our protection. I’d seen Gabriel in a fight, he could take any of these guys, probably more than one at a time.
“Since you ain’t from around here, I’ll tell ya what’s going to happen,” a large burly man moved in closer.
“Clive, let it be,” the man said.
“Yeah, Clive, listen to your friend. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders.” I released Jeannie’s hand slightly, ready for an attack.
Clive didn’t disappoint. He grabbed the base of my ponytail, pulling me off Jeannie. I retaliated by turning and using my favorite defensive move. My work boots slammed into his knee. There was a noise, but not the popping noise I was used to or the screaming that followed the dislocation of a knee. Clive lost his balance and still holding my hair, we both began to fall to the ground. I didn’t fight against his grip, I put all my weight into my elbow, slamming it into his cheek. He screamed then and let go. My head bounced off the concrete a moment later. For a moment, my vision threatened to go black.
The screaming man was all that kept me from passing out. Jeannie suddenly stood over me, her hands were still cuffed behind her back. It took practice to stand with handcuffs on. I kicked out at her, catching her in the gut. The force caused her body to vibrate for a moment. She doubled over again, I struggled to get to my feet.
Gabriel was being pinned by one guy while another moved in for a good solid blow to his face. Gabriel used the leverage offered by the guy holding him to pick up both feet and mule kick his attacker. The kick caused the guy holding him to stumble and they went to the ground in a heap with Gabriel on top. I turned my attention back to the woman in front of me.
Using my forehead, I met her face to face, feeling the bridge of her nose break under the attack. Immediately, I crouched down and took her feet out from under her. Handcuffed she couldn’t catch herself. Her head crashed against the concrete and she didn’t move. Her chest heaved up and down. When she woke, she was going to have a hell of a headache.
My eyes searched for the Taser, badge and handcuffs that had been on the table. They found an artificial limb, just the ankle and part of the calf was visible beneath Clive’s pant leg. I would have to remember that for later.
Before I could find either, my body jerked. My knees gave out. The electricity coursing through me caused the muscles in my back to spasm hard enough I thought my spine would break. I had been Tasered before, but never at full strength. It was dangerous to say the least and only used in the most dire situations. I was the only one I knew that kept my Taser set all the way up. Someone was Tasering me with my own weapon. I face planted onto the concrete. I felt another tooth chip. Drool and blood leaked from my mouth as my body twitched.