Page 12 of Summer Heatwave
Mike mentally tuned out the chief of police as he bragged about his department’s slice of the operation, and how they looked forward to working with other federal agencies.The man sounded more like a politician than a cop.And he certainly wasn’t a good leader.He never once mentioned anyone’s name or specific department.This time when people clapped, Mike suspected it was because the blowhard was finally finished.
On television, the vice admiral stepped onto the stage and strode purposefully to the podium.Everyone in the room fell silent.
“When this situation was brought to my attention, I was appalled.”Vice Admiral Maddox got right down to it.“I couldn’t believe that men in my command, enlisted as well as officers, U.S.Navy SEALs, could be any part of human trafficking.I was wrong.I saw my men as highly trained warriors, not as men with frailties as old as Adam.But as Adam learned in the Garden of Eden, choices have consequences.The United States Navy will not go easy on those servicemembers arrested as part of this operation.They will be punished to the fullest extent of the law because we expect more from those who have taken the oath to defend this country.They know the difference between right and wrong.They will pay for their choices.We intend to find everyone involved and remove them from the service once they have served their sentences.Actions such as these will no longer be ignored or tolerated.As Special Agent Hood and her team continue their investigation, there may be more military arrests forthcoming.”The vice admiral stepped back and strode off the stage.
Fuck.Mike had hoped that Group 1 Navy SEALs had moved beyond and had started the healing process.Like the captain had said in his phoenix speech, they would rise from the ashes stronger than before.
The snick of the rear admiral’s door closing told him the senior officer was gone.No surprise there.
“Gentlemen, I believe the vice admiral’s message was clear: this investigation is not over.I strongly suggest that you tell your men that if they are currently, or have been in the past, involved in any way with women from Miss Nami’s party house, they need to turn themselves in immediately.If they give testimony that leads to convictions, the JAG office will take their surrender under consideration during the punishment phase.
“Aye, aye, sir,” echoed around the small room.Nothing was said as they walked back to their team’s headquarters.
Four days later, Mike sat in his big SUV and watched women of all ages and sizes stream through the glass doors of the strip mall that had peaked two decades ago.Most were dressed in stretchy workout clothes.If it weren’t for the sign over that section of declining stores declaring it San Diego Academy of Martial Arts, he would’ve thought he was in the wrong place.For a few minutes, he thought someone had played a joke on him and sent him to a yoga studio.
Three men with an obvious law enforcement swagger headed to the establishment.Like him, they were wearing shorts and T-shirts, so he quickly jumped out of his vehicle and locked it before he followed them in.
The reception area was extremely crowded as mothers pressed against windows on the right watching elementary-age children swing nunchucks.Some of the kids were very good.They had obviously been taking lessons for years.He would have loved to be involved in something like this at their age.
Unfortunately, his single mother could barely afford to feed him and his two brothers.He had to be happy with school sports.Recreational leagues were even out of their price range.When other kids were playing Little League baseball all summer, he was mowing neighborhood lawns while his brothers weeded landscaping to earn a few bucks.
After working in the sun all day, they would ride their bikes down to the lake and jump into the cool refreshing water.He’d learned to swim in that spring-fed lake.His mother saved enough money to put all three boys in the class taught annually by the Red Cross.She was adamant that they learned to swim well.She couldn’t have known where that skill would eventually take him.
Thanks, Mom.His eyes moved heavenward.She had tried so hard to give them a good base for their lives…before she was suddenly taken from them.
When his eyes dropped down, yells and thumps from the class on his right caught his attention.A dozen men who looked like they spent a great deal of time at a gym, sparred in headgear against the man in the middle of the circle, tapping in and out.The two wearing all black loose-fitting gi-style clothes, obviously the instructors, took on challenger after challenger.They were fast, never repeating the same combination of kicks.They could all easily be mixed martial arts competitors.
At the far end of the lobby, several women browsed through the small store while others sat on benches taking their shoes off and chatting.
He could no longer hear grunts and groans from the adult class as they went through several stretches in what Mike thought of as cool-down exercises.The kids, on the other hand, invaded the small lobby, quickly finding their parents who shuffled them out the door.
A man dressed in black with the school emblem embroidered on the right side of his chest emerged from the store.“The Brazilian jujitsu class will be taught in Gym A.Tonight, kickboxing will be in Gym B.Please enter the gym now so classes can get started on time.”
The large room reeked of sweaty men.That was nothing new for Mike.Navy SEALs were pushed to their physical limits every day.It was actually kind of comforting in its familiarity.But when several women entered, light fragrances intertwined with the dirty jock smell, disturbing his chill.
Mike took off his shoes and set them along the side wall with the others then sauntered his way in to find a spot in the middle of the floor.As he glanced at the two instructors, he realized how slight the one was, yet they had both been throwing around huge men easily weighing fifty to a hundred pounds more.
When the smaller of the two removed the headgear, Mike gasped.
Kam Hood slid off the rubber band holding her hair and massaged her scalp before she scraped her hair up into a high bun.She wiped the sweat from her face and neck with a black terrycloth towel before grabbing a light purple water bottle.
Mike almost laughed.It looked so feminine and incongruous with the kickass woman holding it.Wouldn’t that be great if she were staying for the Brazilian jujitsu class?He glanced to his side and saw there was room for her next to him.
When the tall man with broad shoulders and ponytail grabbed his gear and started to leave, Mike scanned the lobby for the instructor.
“Everybody, find a place on the floor where you have room to move.We’ll begin with warm-ups before we pair off and practice the basic moves and counter moves.”Kam stood at the front of the class facing the two dozen students, who were an interesting mix, from petite women to the large men he’d followed into the facility.From the tiny bit of conversation he caught, many were in law enforcement.
Mike knew the moment she saw him.Their gazes held a bit too long before she gave him what he thought was a small smile.It could also have been a devilish grin.He certainly didn’t know her well enough to tell.
Ten minutes later, though, he was positive.
“Comman—" she stopped mid-word and corrected herself.“Mr.Mike Gallagher, would you be my partner tonight?”
He couldn’t say no.Instead, he gave her one of his most panty-dropping smiles as he made his way to the front of the classroom.Although he was used to balls-to-the-wall hand-to-hand with his SEALs, he’d go easy on her.
For the next forty minutes, he was her test dummy.She had taken him down from a standing position to the ground so many times, in different ways, he’d forgotten the count.The fascinating part was, she always ended up on top.He wondered if that was her preferred sexual position, but since she was wired with a microphone, he didn’t dare ask.What he disliked most was that she had forced him to submit by tapping out every time.
When the class was over, Mike was sure he’d never spent so much time on his ass in the arms of a woman without getting laid.
