Just Try It

Chapter 18- Undercover Blues

Monday, February 13th 6:00pm

Seymour Dojo and Fitness Center

As soon as Sondra finished her lesson, she scanned the dojo.  She spotted Sean in his office, hunched over his computer.  It was tempting to see if he was working on one of his own programs or if he was researching, and maybe "testing" security for their business, Seymour Security.  With the excited voices rose behind her, Sondra gave up that idea and turned to help get all of the kids off with the correct parent.  After most of the little kids were gone, there was a short down time before the policemen from the advanced group arrived. 

She smiled as Korbin's twin sisters darted up the stairs to check out supper before they decided where they wanted to eat.  There was no doubt in Sondra's mind that Moe would get them set up with little plates if they liked what he had made.  He had always been good with little kids. 

Before she knew it, Moe had slipped downstairs, and set up the end of the counter with schoolwork and a couple plates of spaghetti.  There was still ten minutes before the next group would start, so Sondra took a quick break to cleaned up before she joined Moe at the counter.

A few minutes later, Sondra left the bathroom with her face scrubbed clean and feeling refreshed.  The door was just closing behind her when a new customer walked through the door.  She paused as she recognized the tall blond with colorful blue spikes on the tips of his hair.  It seemed strange that an ex-bartender from downtown would find such a little dojo this far away, but it was good to see him again.  Just as she began to move forward with a smile and was about to comment on how it was a small world, she realized that she wasn't the only one that seemed to know him. 

Several of the police officers called out a friendly greeting.  For a moment, she thought she had just had a case of mistaken identity, and was glad she hadn't greeted him like an old friend.  Who knew that spiky blue tipped hair was so popular, she thought to herself just before she she saw the Celtic tattoo on his arm.  The intricate Celtic tattoo couldn't easily be copied. 

With her cheeks flushed, Sondra stumbled to a stop briefly.  As her gaze landed on the various police officers that made up the advanced class, everything clicked.  With a small sigh, Sondra rolled her eyes at her own gullibility before she smiled and followed him to the counter.

As Sondra came up behind him she overheard him saying, "I would like to start a membership here, and join the advanced class."

Moe smiled and took the papers the man had already filled out.  He said, "Sure thing.  This is a great place.  I'll see if I can answer any questions until the admissions expert gets back."   Moe looked down and got the name from the papers as he said, "You seem to have all of the papers filled out, Paul.  Did you train with Jamie?"

The guy shook his head and said with some regret, "No, I worked a different shift, and wasn't able to.  I heard a lot about those sessions from Lieutenant Kastigo.  He recommended this place after it opened. I wasn't able to make it until now."

Maybe everyone was right about me being naive, Sondra thought as she listened in.  She took a deep breath, gave a little shrug, and went around the counter as she said, "Hi, Paul."

Moe stiffened and looked at the Celtic cross, and the hair again as the name clicked.  "Ex-bartender Paul?" he asked cautiously.

Sondra nodded and kept a level gaze as she gave a professional smile.  "How can I help you?"

Paul's piercing eyes scanned her freshly scrubbed face and looked slightly panicked as he muttered, "I knew you weren't close to twenty-one."

Sondra blushed, but reminded herself that she hadn't done anything wrong.  She wondered why he looked panicked, but she just replied, "I knew that you were a good guy," as she typed in his information. 

Paul stared at the hair and face that looked so similar to the one he had booked early this morning.  Then his gaze shifted to the page with all of his personal information on it.  His hands itched and he couldn't stop himself from snatching it back. 

Moe's hand slammed down on counter, trapping the admission page halfway across, and drawing the attention from Lieutenant Kastigo and a business man that looked like he knew his way around the dojo.  Both dropped what they were doing and approached from opposite sides of the dojo. 

"What is wrong?" asked Lieutenant Kastigo in a casual voice as he watched Moe and Paul fighting over the admission page.

Pamela's daughter looked relieved and said, "Hi Sean," as the man leaned on the counter opposite of Paul.  Paul edged a little closer to his Lieutenant even as Sean asked in a professional tone, "Is there a problem?"

Paul kept his hand on the page and turned to his lieutenant as he explained, "This is Tony Salvador's step-daughter."

Lieutenant Kastigo straightened as his eyes turned serious.

Sean was watching them closely as he asked, "Who is Tony Salvador?"

Paul ignored him and waited for his lieutenant to take the lead, but he wasn't the one that answered.  The kid trying to grab the paper from him was the one that answered with a sneer,  "He's the psycho that Sondra's mom married in Vegas." 

Paul appreciated the kid's accurate assessment, but even as he was starting to smile the kid took advantage of Paul's distraction to yank the paper away.  He even gave a victorious, "Ha!" that had Paul scowling, but then he didn't seem to know what to do with the crumbled mass. 

Sondra sighed and took the abused application as she chastised, "Moe," and shook her head.  She smoothed it out,  before handing it back over to Paul.  Moe gave a small frown, and crossed his arms as he shrugged and glared at the paper Paul now held.

Paul couldn't help feeling stupid as he looked down at the wrinkled paper in his hand, and it made him remember how impressed he had been when they had met before.  Reluctantly, he switched his attention back to Sondra and gave a cautious nod of thanks.  She hadn't seemed to be interested in the lifestyle her mom had chosen, but she still might resent him after she found out that her mom was in jail... and that he had put her there. 

Lieutenant Kastigo finally seemed to get over his shock, and he said, "Sondra is a good girl and I have known her since she was in grade school."  After a short pause, he added pointedly, "She lives with her grandmother, who is my son's tennis coach.  She volunteered lessons with him and several others when they were still little.  I have no doubt that you can trust Sondra, but it is your decision to sign up or not."  With that, he backed away and rejoined the others gathered around the teenage dojo master he had heard so much about.

The guy called Sean also backed away.  Right before he left, he locked eyes with Moe and asked, "Tony Salvador?"  After Moe's confirming nod, he disappeared into an office. 

Paul was left with just the two teenagers staring at him across the counter.  He ignored them as he tried to make up his mind.  Sondra might resemble her mom, but he had really liked her, and she had Lieutenant Kastigo's positive reference.  Besides, his bank account was pitifully low, and his credit score was rock bottom from when he had missed a few bills while undercover.  The other officers hooted with laughter as the petite girl demonstrated a difficult throw and a friend of his went flying.  It really wasn't a hard decision to make.  He handed the application back to Sondra and said politely, "I would like to join the gym and the advance class, please."

Sondra smiled and pretended everything was normal as she said, "Why don't you join the others while I put in the information?  Just check back after class to make sure I didn't have any problems."

What do you think?  Would you have signed up at a gym that employed family of someone you put in jail?  Any guesses to what Sean is going to do next?  Share your guesses and thoughts.  I LOVE feedback, even if you just point out grammer errors and typos.  If you liked the chapter, please consider tapping the little star to vote.  Thanks.