Are you sure you don’t want to share a cab with us? Ralph and I are going out for a drink.” Martha asked Gabriella as they left their self-defense class. “It’s only been three weeks since the jerk attacked us. I’d feel better if we went out together. I don’t like you out here alone.”
“No thanks, Martha,” said Gabriella. “I’m fine walking. It’s such a beautiful night I have to get out and walk for a while. Tell you what, if I get nervous I’ll hail a cab. How’s that?”
“That’s IF you have time to hail a cab!” Martha shot back in frustration. “Look, I know you’re too stubborn to change your mind on my say-so. Be careful and use your head, okay?”
With a wave of an arm, a cab pulled up and swept Martha and Ralph away.
Martha was silent for a few moments. “Ralph, I know she can take care of herself, but she’s my friend, and I care a lot about her. Am I doing wrong letting her walk home alone?”
“No. She’s a big girl and can take care of herself. Besides, what’s the chance of her being randomly attacked twice?”
Gabriella hoisted her small gym-bag to her shoulder and started walking home, enjoying the warm night. She wore a wine red, thigh-length lace beach cover-up dress over her workout tights. Her arms swung freely as she walked the small, quiet streets.
I’ve been thinking about Paul a lot. Guess I’ll invite him and Alexi to my apartment for dinner. It’s nice when we’re together.
Gabriella was lost in thought and didn’t notice when the three men half a block away on the opposite side of the street crossed to her side. When she saw them several yards ahead, she moved closer to the curb to let them pass on the building side. The three men moved closer to the curb. Gabriella stepped closer to the building.
Please don’t move to my side again. Hell. Doesn’t look like it will play out that way.
All three men were looking straight at her as they approached.
They drew near and fanned out, blocking her way. “Hi honey,” sneered the leader of the group, flashing a fake smile. “Looking for a date tonight?”
“Let me pass,” Gabriella demanded. The men moved to form a semi-circle around her.
I can’t let them get behind me. She backed into the building to prevent them from circling around behind her. And I can’t run through them without exposing my back!
Gabriella flashed a brilliant smile and dropped her gym bag onto the sidewalk. The men tensed up, expecting her to fight. Without a word, she bent forward slightly, crossed her arms one over the other in front of her body, and grabbed the bottom of her cover-up. In one smooth movement, she pulled it over her head and removed it.
“Okay! Hot momma likes us!” shouted one man.
“It’s party time,” replied another. “Oh, she’s going to be so much fun to do. Come to papa. I’ve got something for you,” he said as he grabbed his crotch. “I never had someone who looked like a model. Honey-blonde, honey-sweet.”
Gabriella smiled sweetly again to play up to him while she wrapped the dress around her left forearm as padding. Somebody might land a blade on me. Gabriella assessed her situation. They aren’t all equidistant from me. I have a little extra space to my left.
She moved a couple of steps to her left. This positioned the first attacker closer to her, with the second and third further away by a few feet. Now I only have to worry about one at a time.
“Okay, let’s do this!” she shouted. It surprised Gabriella when the first guy in line, the biggest of the three, snapped into a fighting stance. Uh-oh. Looks like he knows what he’s doing.
Gabriella stepped towards the first one and threw a series of three punches. Left, right, left. The attacker threw his hands up in defense. She threw another left. As he reacted to the blow, Gabriella stepped in and delivered a palm strike to the side of his chin, dislocating his jaw.
The other two men, stunned by the speed of what happened, watched for a moment without joining the fray.
Gabriella kicked the man in the groin. He bent toward her. Grabbing the hair on the back of his head, she smashed his face into her rising knee. He’s out of the way for a few seconds. Here comes number two at me.
Number two knew how to fight. He directed quick punches toward her face with his left hand to see how she defended against them. Gabriella’s right arm parried the blows away from her face. He delivered a sharp strike with his right fist into her lower left side. Gabriella spun as the blow landed, turning what would have been a rib crusher into a glancing blow. She delivered three sharp punches to one of his ribs and felt it break under her attack. Gabriella pushed him to the side, moved quickly behind him, and kicked him into the wall of the building. His head struck the bricks forcefully, sending him to the ground. She kicked the broken rib to ensure he stayed down for a moment.
She expected the third man to run after seeing his two friends disabled, but he pulled a knife and ran at her.
“Give them an opening to attack,” she remembered Ralph saying, “that way, you know where the next blow will be aimed.”
Gabriella put her hands up in front of her, off-centered to the right. If he knows what he is doing, he’ll go for my left.
Number three saw the opening and thrust the knife at the left side of her neck. Gabriella parried the knife thrust using her padded left arm and grabbed his wrist in her left hand as the knife hand flew by her. She caught the hand and pinned it to her hip. He reeled from a head-butt to the face. His nose broke with a snap. Keeping the knife hand pinned to her hip, she delivered multiple punches with her right fist to the same spot on his ribs.
The attacker channeled the strength of his rage into trying to free his hand. “I will finish you,” he shouted in his fury. Gabriella grabbed the knife hand with both of hers and twisted the blade towards her attacker. She grunted and pushed the knife to the hilt into his lower left abdomen. He screamed, released the handle, and ran down the street and into the night.
He’ll recover if he gets medical help soon. Idiot!
The other two attackers were trying to stand. Gabriella gave each one a kick to the side, breaking several more ribs apiece, to ensure they stayed down. “You’ll be sore, but you aren’t badly hurt,” she said to them as they groaned and fell back onto the sidewalk.
“That was fun. Oh crap, my cover-up is all wrinkled,” she said aloud, pulling it back on. Shouldering the gym bag, Gabriella calmly walked home.
The AI Concepts, Inc. supercomputer stored the entire event.
A printer in Lance’s office spit out a similar detailed record.
“Damn, she’s good,” Lance said. “Those were three of our trained people she took care of.”
“Sergeant Miller, have you ever met the Gabriella android?” queried Lance.
“No, Sir, I have not. I’ve only seen photos and videos of her.”
“What do you think of her, Sergeant?”
“Well, Sir, it’s hard to tell she’s an android. She can certainly take care of herself. Why do you ask, Sir?”
“I’m intrigued. I think it’s time to meet our android in person. We should get to know her.”
“We, Sir?”
“Well, me, actually. What bar or restaurant does she visit regularly, and what’s the frequency of her visits?”
“Let me check the stats sheets.” Computer keys clicked as the Sergeant performed his query. “Okay, here it is. She doesn’t hit the bars regularly, but she does go to a coffee shop on Fifty-Seventh Street with Martha a couple of times a week, usually around lunchtime.”
“Not bad, but still too hit and miss. Sergeant, give Ralph Thornton a call and ask him to contact me. I’d like him to set me up in a double-date with this droid.”