Chapter 120: Matey
Officer Judy Hopps felt bad, but rules were rules:
If you do the crime you do the time. And much like her idol, Captain Amelia Doppler, Judy ruthlessly upheld the law —- from manslaughter to illegal parking.
So, following the arrest, she brought Gwen to the jail, read her rights, locked her up, and left her with the prison wardens – two vultures named Trigger and Nutsy.
"Bar fight eh?" Nutsy stuck his long neck into the cell. "We're no stranger to the ole' bar brawl, right Trigger?"
Trigger uncoiled a land line. "Button your beak, Nutsy. Stop bonding with the inmate. Here!"
He thrust an off-white phone at Gwen. "Ye get one call, kid. Have at it."
Gwen took the phone. Her hands were sore from the fight. Her hair was half-up where Rufio hadn't pulled it and half-down where he had. Her stage makeup was caked everywhere but the giant blood blister on her lower lip.
She was cold. She was hungry.
All she wanted was to go home.
Wordlessly, she took the phone and dialed the Ohana Homes. She prayed Aunt Lilo would pick up the phone. For some reason she had a feeling Aunt Lilo would be more receptive to please pick me up I'm in jail than Uncle Micheal.
The phone rang. And rang. And rang.
Peter answered.
"Hiya - Pelican residence."
Gwen made a face. Resisting the urge to correct his pronunciation of Pelekai, she hung up and returned the phone to Trigger.
Trigger raised a feathery brow. "Done?"
Gwen nodded. Bringing knees to her chest, she huddled into the wall. Officer Hopps had confiscated her high heels and it was freezing.
"May I have a blanket?" She massaged her toes. "Please?"
Trigger slapped his forehead. "Ohhhh excuse me Duchess, how silly of me to forget! Would you like a blanket made of kitten fur or flower petals?"
Gwen looked angrily away. She was really getting sick of people mocking her accent.
"Rot off."
"Excuse me?" Trigger clanked the bars. "Got something to say convic – "
"I said rot off!" Gwen snarled. She knew yelling wasn't in her best interest, but she was fed up. "It's not funny to mock my accent! It's not nice to berate me for asking a question! I'm tired of everyone and everything so just leave me alone!"
"You wanna be left alone?" Trigger slapped the bars. "Cause you're gonna rot in here kid! And when you're flesh is oozy and soupy, Nutsy and I will eat what's left of you!"
Nutsy smacked his lips. " 'Cetp the bones."
"C'mon Nutsy." Trigger yanked the phone cord. "Let's see what the Sherriff's up to. Sweet dreams duchess!"
Gwen glared at the prison bars long after the vultures had left. Her thoughts circulated from the events preceding her fight, to her apprehensions about the future. She agonized to the point of mental exhaustion.
Since childhood, she'd fought for control. Life had dealt her a raw hand but Gwen responded with a resilient heart. She'd been kidnapped and tormented. Underestimated and bullied. But one thing, and one little boy, kept her motivated and calm.
Until tonight.
Gwen shivered. Completely broken, she tried to curl into an invisible dot.
One thought lingered. And it wouldn't go away.
Jak had called her a kid.
"No Titania," he had said. "She's just a kid."
Gwen burrowed into her knees. Try though she might, she couldn't blot out the memory. Over and over, the entire evening boiled down to that moment, where Jak uncovered who she really was.
"No Titania - she's just a kid."
No, slim waisted, curvy hipped, full lipped Titania – she's just a kid.
Just a skinny...
...silly...
...helpless...
...kid.
"I know how I would kill her." The undead mermaid giggled, digging her nails into Gwen's stomach. "I'd open her up like a lobster!"
Gwen cried, nails stabbing her belly button. The mermaid giggled musically over her sobs.
"Gwen...Gwen wake up."
Gwen opened her eyes. She was on her side. Her bottom cheek felt like it had frozen to the floor.
Blinking awake, she focused on a pair of shiny oxfords.
She also smelled cologne. Like a summer ocean breeze.
Jak lowered onto his haunches.
"Come on. Get on your feet." He dropped her red high heels. "You'll need these."
Gwen gaped at the high heels, then at Jak.
"You've been pardoned." Jak explained. "We gave a testimony on your behalf. It was accepted so you're released from jail. So unless you want a formal order..." he tapped the heels. "Shoes on."
"And hurry up." Titania spoke from the entryway. Arms, legs, and wings crossed, she scowled alongside Trigger and Nutsy. "This babysitting is better than birth control."
Gwen clenched the the heel of her shoe. The urge to hurl it at Titania's was almost unquenchable.
"I'm not going anywhere with her." she said. " I'll get out on my own – "
"Nope." Jak cupped her arm. Escorting her from the police station, he brought her to a black jeep with monster wheels.
Gentlemanly, Jak held Gwen's heels from his fingertips. "Take the back seat. Mind the step."
Gwen ascended, snatching her heels along the way. As Jak and Titania boarded, she noticed her backpack stowed between them in the front seat.
The jeep rumbled all the way to the military barracks. No one spoke to Gwen the entire ride. Her only interaction was catching Jak's gaze in the rearview mirror.
They parked outside the barracks gate. A young serviceman was halfheartedly patrolling, clearly on his phone. Magical, frosty spirals crystalized under his combat boots.
Titania softly snorted.
"Another sleeping beauty on CQ." She shook her head. "This would be fantastic time for Oogie Boogie to pull his kidnapping bullshit."
Jak peered. "Who's that? Frost?"
"Yup. Airman First Class. First name Cole. He's my platoon – Air Force meteorologist." Titania snapped a picture. "Definitely not Air Force material. He's a cowboy - doesn't like to follow rules. I'd love to kick his ass into correctional custody but his daddy is an Otherworld guardian so..."
She glanced back at Gwen. "This generation sucks."
Gwen wanted to point out that Titania was only three years older, meaning they were the same generation, but she refrained. Titania was probably about to kick her ass into correctional custody.
Jak waited as Titania enlarged the picture of Cole on her phone.
"Titania?"
"Busy."
Jak touched her hand.
"Thank you for coming." He titled his head back at Gwen. "Thank you for testifying against Tinkerbell."
Titania shrugged. "My mom's a bitch. It's her fault Pigtail got canned. I was obligated."
Gwen's feathers unruffled. Actually touched that Titania had helped her, she started to say thank you, but Titania harshly cut her off.
"Even though a pantsing would have been hilarious and some people can't take a joke."
Gwen's gratitude turned into a scoff. "Ugh!"
Titania spun. "You got something to say to me Pigtail?"
"Titania stop it." said Jak.
"No – she can say what she wants. She's not in uniform. She's in costume but not in uniform, so whatever the little dipshit has to say it's off record. So come on Pigtail! Where's that fire? What are you scared I'm going to pull your up skir – "
"Okay – " Jak opened the door. "Time for you to leave."
Leaves crinkled as Jak walked Titania toward the barracks. Breathing in the autumn air, he turned.
"Why do you have to treat her like that?"
"Like what?"
"Do I really have to say 'like a mean girl?' Are you trying to finish what Tinkerbell started?"
"Life is tough." Titania spit toward the jeep. "If Pigtail is going to be in the military she better get used to mean girls and mean boys. Being a girl in the military means you're a disposable bomb shield – unless you can ignore the harassment of a thousand wipeass dicks."
"Like Aelius and me, right?"
Titania's wings lowered.
"Maybe like Aelius. But not like you." She held his cheek. "You're one of the good ones, Master Sergeant."
Jak steely expression softened. As Titania lowered her hand, he gently saluted.
"As you were, Airwomen."
Titania's wings shimmered. "Night Jak. Now...time for Frost ..."
Jak watched as Titania brutally apprehend the patrolman. A little concerned that she would start kick-boxing, he observed until his jeep door suddenly opened and closed.
Gwen had grabbed her backpack, thrown on her sneakers, and was walking away.
"Hey –hey – hey!" Jak quickly intercepted. "Come on, you're not walking home. Get into the jeep."
Gwen pulled free. "I'm fine, I've gone this way before."
"In broad daylight, yes, but not at night when the Crawloween Circus could be – "
"Thank you – " Gwen side-stepped. "But I'm – "
"Would you stop being so stubborn?!" Jak jerked an arm. "It's the dead of night and you're a little girl in a skin tight dress! Get in the jeep – I'm taking you home!"
"And that's an official order!" he added, in case she had any doubt.
Jak didn't know what he said to persuade her, but whatever it was, Gwen flinched. Strangely, she then followed his instructions. She got in the jeep, buckled her seatbelt, and sat quietly the entire ride.
She was seething. But she was quiet.
A block from her aunt and uncle's house, Jak turned off the engine. The street was dim. The air was calm. The Black Hole was hovering over Center Point like a sleepy head. Even the corner lamppost had gone to bed for the night.
Gwen glanced at Jak. He was grim. Certain a reprimand was coming her way, she waited for Jak to dole out her punishment.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Jak sighed. "You are not making it easy for me to protect you."
Gwen really didn't know what to think. "Protect me?"
"Yesterday, I convinced Admiral Triton to give you second chance. Tonight, I had to convince him to give you third."
Jak turned. "Your minor associates you with Fantasia's military. Like it or not, everything you do is a reflection on the whole service. Your reputation is the military's reputation. If you can't get that through your head then you better start thinking of a different career path. To be a girl in the military – "
"Like Titania?" Gwen sneered. "I'm supposed to just sit back and let Tinkerbell insult everyone?"
"Leave Titania out of this." Jak warned. "She testified against Tinkerbell for you."
"You say that like she shouldn't have. You say like it wasn't the descent thing to do." Gwen sliced her hand. "Titania sat there the entire time, laughing at Tinkerbell's jokes. If that's how military women act, then I don't want to be a part of it. Tinkerbell has no right to belittle people just because she hosts a silly little talk show."
"Gwen, I know you were embarrassed by the things Tinkerbell said – "
"I wasn't embarrassed!" Gwen said, a little too strenuously. "I'm not ashamed to be a virgin. I don't need to have sex to feel confident. I don't need a boyfriend to feel pret –"
Her voice caught. Head shaking, she continued.
"But that doesn't matter. Tinkerbell can objectify me all she wants. I don't care. But -- she crossed a line when she attacked my brother."
Gwen gazed down the street. She could just see Michaleen's night-light glowing through the window.
"He's just a baby..." she said. "And he doesn't know how to be mean. So when people try to hurt him...I just..."
She trailed off. There was no way to explain how heart-stricken she became when Michaleen was bullied.
"Am I expelled from the minor?" she asked.
"No." Jak was candid. "But one more transgression and you will be. Titania's testimony got you out of jail, but the military can't ignore the fight."
Gwen's blood blister throbbed. "It was worth it."
"Oh really?" Jak leaned. "You do understand that one more transgression means you are expelled? And it won't matter if it's worth it or not."
Gwen pressed her lips. "Rufio had it coming."
"Be that as it may, you can't just lose control like that."
"I was completely in control."
"You completely lost your temper."
"I did what I had to do."
"Not after the first strike." Jak raised a finger. "Strike one was self defense – you got out of danger. But strikes two, eight, and twenty were pure anger. You weren't ending a brawl. You were after blood. Rufio was defeated long before you – "
"Don't you understand?" Gwen felt her cheeks flushing. "I was alone! There was no one helping me! No one. He and Tinkerbell were trying to hurt me and I just...I just hate..."
Haggardly, she brushed a hair from her face. "I hate being a victim. I just want to take care of myself. So I had to beat him. I had to win. It's the only way."
"Only way to what?" said Jak.
Gwen's baby blue eyes lifted to the Black Hole. "To stop feeling afraid."
Jak's grip on the steering wheel relaxed. Heavily, he reclined, also looking at the Black Hole.
For a moment they just stared through the Black Hole, into their childhood.
Finally, Jak spoke.
"Who taught you how to fight?"
Gwen rubbed her knuckles. "No one."
"I can tell." Jak restarted the car. "You punch like a girl."
"Ummmm...." Gwen angled the rearview mirror on his black eye. "The evidence suggests otherwise."
"Well a marine would tell you – " Reaching down, Jak curled Gwen's hand into a fist. He pulled, drawing her knuckles into his palm. "To punch through. You aimed for Rufio's nose, but you should have been aiming for the back of his skull."
They held the position. Jak could almost hear Gwen's brain committing the instructions to memory.
He released her wrist.
"We're both going to be targeted because of our parents, especially after Tinkerbell's interview. I think it's wise that you want to defend yourself, but you won't learn how in medical school, even with the military minor. Hand-to-hand combat is reserved for the infantry. So unless you plan to strangle enemies with your stethoscope...."
He flipped on his high beams, lighting the path to her house.
"Then you better meet me at the beach at sunrise."
Gwen hesitated. "Pardon?"
"You didn't want to meet at the library." Jak opened his door. Exiting the jeep and crossing to the passenger side, he offered her a hand. "So we'll meet by the ocean. I'm going to teach you how to fight."
Gwen stared at his hand. Astounded, she looked into his fiery blue eyes.
"Why are you doing this for me?"
Jak's icy exterior melted. For a second, Gwen thought she saw little Jon Hawkins in his pajamas and space hat.
"Because Gwen, before we were prisoners on a pirate ship..." He took her hand. "We were shipmates. And like it or not..."
He eased her from the jeep. "I'm still the second captain."
Gwen fought a grin. Second captain. Ha. Indeed.
Jak rolled his eyes. "I know you've never liked the title."
"Still don't. But..." She gently slid her fingers from his. "It's nice to have a mate."
"It is."
Friendship mended, Jak straightened his uniform in a satisfied, every-thing-is-ship-shape sort of way.
"Well then...I'm due at the barracks. And we have a training date at the beach." He motioned to the stars. "Only a few hours until dawn. Sure you can hack it?"
"Are you?" Gwen countered.
Jak laughed. Climbing into his jeep he replied, "You have not changed one bit."
He nodded westward, towards the ocean. "See you at dawn. Matey."
The door shut. Gwen watched the jeep reverse. Then, she headed for home.
"See you there." she said, headlights throwing her shadow as Jak circled around. "Matey."
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sultal's note:
I've actually met a military meteorologist (I didn't make that up, they exist). I asked him to explain his job and he said "I'm a weatherman with a gun." Savage. Love it.
keep writing -
sultal