Let There Be Peace

Chapter 8

            "I do not have time for this shit!" Paz yelled in the empty studio. When she had arrived in the morning, she found that her front window had been broken by a rock that had been thrown through it. A note was attached to the rock that simply said, "Drop out of the competition."

Paz had for some time now suspected that the perpetrator of these acts of vandalism was Jeong and not Mishin, as she had first believed. Until today, she believed that the vandalism was only meant as a distraction, but with the note commanding her to drop out of the competition, she now believed that the stakes were higher. Never one to shy away from a fight, Paz decided to go to Mishin's studio to see if Jeong was there.

Not surprisingly, she found him staring at himself in the wall-length mirror as he did his stretches.

"Ah, nothing like a little narcissism to start your day," Paz quipped.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Jeong shot back.

"At least, this proverbial cat had the sense to hang onto me," Paz countered. She didn't miss much about Jeong, but one thing she had always enjoyed was his ability to engage in verbal sparring matches. Despite his flippant tone, Jeong's body language projected low confidence. He was standing with his arms and legs both crossed as if he were trying to make himself as small as possible. Paz, for her part, was in the Wonder Woman pose, with her feet shoulder-width apart and her fists at her waist with her arms making triangles on either side of her.

"Why do have your legs crossed like that? Do you gotta pee?" she taunted. "Be a big boy and go if you have to," she continued, hoping to get him stirred up. When he was upset, he lost focus and was a much easier foe to vanquish.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to sound intimidating.

"Mm, what do I want? Well, let's see. I want an exterminator, some paint remover, and a new front window. I assume I can send you the bills for all of that," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he hedged. "Maybe you ought to hire some private security. It sounds like your side of the street is pretty dangerous."

"¡Hijo de puta!" she screamed as she lunged at Jeong. He ducked and backed away, trying to avoid her as she followed him around the room. "Look, we both know I am both stronger and scrappier than your skinny ass. So, why don't we just end this now. You pay for the shit you broke and leave me the hell alone. It's simple, really," she explained. Every few seconds, Paz would lunge again, and Jeong would duck. What he lacked in strength, he made up for in speed. Finally, Paz caught hold of his thin arm. She twisted it behind his back and put him in a choke hold.

"Now, we can do this the easy way or the fun way," Paz said. "Well, fun for me anyway," she clarified. She tightened up on the choke hold. Jeong squirmed like a cat at the vet's office. Just then, Mishin appeared in the doorway.

"You know that's assault, right?" she asked Paz.

"Well, you know that this thing that calls itself a man vandalized my studio, right?" Paz countered.

"Let him go, and we'll talk about it," Mishin replied. Paz loosened her hold on Jeong, and he broke free and ran toward Mishin, hiding behind her small frame.

"Now, let's talk like civilized people," Mishin suggested.

"Alright," Paz said. "Jeong needs to pay for the damages to my studio or I'm gonna kill him," she asserted.