Chapter 15

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Caity had been living at the motel for a month. It wasn't very glamorous, but it had four walls, a bed, and most importantly, a hot tub. The motel was clean, the employees nice, although probably undocumented, but Caity didn't care. She had started working at her new office and already had many files to deal with. Luisa had spent the first day thanking Caity before starting to rearrange her office, HER office as she kept laughing. Her good humor and energy were a pleasure to see. Getting back to work after those few days was what Caity needed. Three weeks after her arrival, she had already won her first case. Orville had been accepted at UCLA, as well as Morgan at Miami. Everything was going well for everyone.

Krista had returned to work the day before, but had to settle for administrative work for the time being, the time to have the results of her psychological evaluation and fire test. During her break, she texted Caity, giving her news of her father and mother, which she managed to obtain by chatting. Sean was not fooled, he knew that Caity and Krista were in contact, and played the game. Kara had observed Caity from a distance, on her first day of work, then it was Bethany who stayed until she left her office, photographing her as she chatted on the sidewalk with a Latino-type woman, before following her to the motel where she was staying, photographing her as she returned to her room. For several days Bethany watched Caity then, reassured, gave her space, since that was what she wanted.

If Bethany had stayed in front of the motel, she would have seen Caity come out after dark, dressed head to toe in black and not come back until dawn. Perhaps she would have made the connection with men found in alleys, squats, savagely beaten, drugs or weapons left in evidence. Perhaps she would have made the connection with those whom witnesses called the ninja, dressed in black, his face covered, nothing suggesting the color of his skin, nor his gender. Caity, she, relieved to remove the vest that compresses her chest. If Bethany had waited a few more days, she would have seen her walk into a new gym.

It's in the second month of his new life that Caity receives an invitation to participate in an underground fight. She hesitated for a blink of an eye. Finally a place where she was going to be able to hit without fear. She entered the date into her calendar and prepared accordingly.

Dressed in yoga pants and a crop-top, she ties her short ponytail and looks in the mirror before going to position herself and waiting her turn, watching the other participants hit on each other with envy. At the call of her pseudonym, she stepped forward, not taking her eyes off her opponent. The other woman was a little taller than her and more massive, therefore heavier. At the sound of the siren, her opponent rushed at her faster than she thought she was capable of. Caity bent down and spun around to throw her leg which struck the abds, knocking her opponent back, giving her time to spin again to attack. Hitting fast and hard. The woman hold it, but weakened. Caity's punches were coming from all over the place, it was a regular beating. Her opponent, like a cornered bear, reacts with a final gasp, grabbing Caity and gripping her against her, lifting her up. Caity disoriented her by hitting her ears with her open palms, forcing the woman to release her. No sooner did her feet touch the ground than Caity leapt up, kicking again and again. Her opponent was trying to throw punches, but her vision was blurry, she was aiming off into space. Caity had beaten her badly, but she refused to give up the fight, relying only on her strength, hoping only to be able to grab hold of Caity. Tired, Caity grabbed her opponent's arm and, looking at the cheering crowd as they shouted her name, she twisted the woman's arm around and struck it with the palm of her hand, dislocating her shoulder.

The host announced the end of the fight and his victory, the crowd shouted his name, Wildcat. Leaving the improvised ring, Caity raised her hand in greeting to the crowd, she went further to wipe herself, breathe and wait for the end of the other fights before going to claim her money. She pocketed the sum without counting and agreed to come back the following weekend; she already had challengers who wanted to compete with her.

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