Net Force - Tom Clancy [13]
Manhood was a tricky business. She ought to know better than to mess with it by now.
So, what is that little shuffle thing you were doing? Spandex said. He and Eyebrows grinned at each other.
Little shuffle thing. Oh, boy.
She turned back to face the pair. Its called a djuru, she said. The style is Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara-Serak.
Spandex gave her a big grin. Sounds like some kind of Thai food with peanut sauce. You, uh, have any rank in it?
We dont have belts. Youre either a student or a teacher. Im a student.
Well, it looks very nice, Spandex said. Even though I never heard of it.
Nice.
Toni smiled. There were a lot of things she generally let pass when she heard them from obnoxious men, and condescension had to be high on her list, since she got so much of it. She was only twenty-seven-that got comments, a woman-more comments, and Italian-that one was usually good for three or four Mafia jokes. She wondered why it was men felt the need to behave with her as they sometimes did. Not all men, not all the time, but enough so that it was sometimes a chore dealing with them. More than sometimes, it seemed to her.
Another day, in a better mood, shed have smiled and shaken her head and turned away, let the boys have their fun. But right now, she didnt much feel the milk of human kindness flowing through her. It had been a long, crappy night, and was shaping up to be a long and crappier day. She didnt need this. And know what? She didnt have to take it.
So she said, Im sorry your education has been so narrow.
Spandex frowned. He knew an insult when he heard it. Excuse me?
She smiled wider, as sweet as she could make it. Which part didnt you understand?
Look, maam, theres no reason to get snotty.
Oh, I agree. So, youre a black belt, is that right?
Thats right.
Tell you what. Why dont you come over here and see if you can hit me? And Ill show you how my little shuffle works.
Spandex and Eyebrows exchanged glances. Spandex hesitated, and she knew why. This was a no-win situation for him. If he whacked her, he was a big bully picking on a little woman. If she whacked him, his manhood would be in great jeopardy.
I dont think so, maam. I am an expert. I wouldnt want to hurt you.
I wouldnt worry about that, she said. I dont think its likely.
She knew this was not a good thing to be doing. Her guru would be irritated in the extreme to know she was egging this guy on, but she couldnt seem to help herself. The trainee was so arrogant it rose from him like steam from a fresh-cooked hot dog on a winters day in the Bronx.
Eyebrows waggled the hairy bar at Spandex. Hey, you dont have to hit her hard. You can pull it. Just show her a couple of your moves.
Spandex grinned. A chance to shine? How could he pass that up? All right, maam.
He walked closer. When he was about three meters away, he stopped. Bowed. Dropped into a narrow horse stance and edged forward, hands lifted, one high, one low. You ready?
She almost laughed. Might as well send her a telegram. Oh, yeah.
He was fast-and he was smarter than he looked. He didnt try one of the flashy and stupid high kicks. He scooted, stepped in, and fired a quick, hard right punch at her chest, right leg leading. It was a good shot, in balance, aimed where it wouldnt cause her any great damage if she missed deflecting it. Kept his other hand up to cover.
Perfect.
He probably expected her to step back and parry, but that was not how it went in her version of silat, not in this situation. She double-blocked with both hands open, stepped toward him, set her left foot down in a front stance and ducked under his outstretched arm as she swung her right elbow into his ribs under the armpit. Made a nice hollow thump when she hit him. Stopped him cold.
Surprised the hell out of him, too.
Her feet were already in place. Base-
She reached up behind him fast, caught his left shoulder with her left hand. Angle-
At the same time, she reached up and across with her right hand and laid it on his forehead, elbow down. Leverage-
Those things