Ch 395 - Reinforcements

The students who had been so excited to ask Heidi for a date and show off their strength to her watched helplessly as she struggled against Micky's grip. None of them felt strong enough to help her at that moment.

It was incredible to them that Micky could still wield so much power even with a broken leg. By rights, it should have been easy to overpower him. But he had a wild, dangerous personality. Being injured didn't seem like an obstacle to him.

Heidi's face burned furiously. She was not exactly afraid of Micky. But the combination of his lewd suggestions and the staring eyes of everyone watching her being harassed made her freeze up. She felt as if she had never studied martial arts in her life.

Finally, desperately, she yelled for help. She didn't know who she was hoping would help her. The other students were useless, and her hero, Alex, had turned out to be a huge disappointment.

But then, suddenly, a cold voice said, "Let her go." 

It was Alex.

Everyone froze.

His voice was calm and unfussed, but it carried a great deal of power. It felt very different from his earlier attempt to intervene. This time, it felt like he meant it.

A few of the girls amongst the students exchanged knowing glances, though. It was clear to them that Alex had only stepped forward again because Heidi was in trouble. Maybe he was only willing to help if he got a pretty girl out of it.

Micky glared at him. He was terrified of Alex, though he could not quite explain why. He didn't recognize him from the fight on TV, and he didn't know about Alex's other exploits and triumphs. But something in the way he carried himself set Micky's teeth on edge.

But he also knew he couldn't back down. There were too many people watching him.

"So now what, huh?" He pushed Heidi toward his fighter so they could restrain her while he focused on Alex. He held his hand up to his ear as if he was struggling to hear Alex. "What was that you said? It seems to me that you just want to be a hero all of a sudden so you can get the girl!"

Micky laughed wildly, but Alex didn't bat an eye. He didn't seem to be too bothered by Micky at all.

"I said, let her go," said Alex. "And by that I meant, unhand her. Not hand her off to more of your guys."

A few of the fighters flexed their arms menacingly, but Alex wasn't interested in them. After the kinds of fighters he had faced and beaten, these people were nothing more than yapping dogs to him.

"I don't think you've really thought this through," said Micky. 

Alex shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'll just say this once. Forget the money. Leave the girls alone. Get out of here."

"Oh sure, we'll just leave!" Micky sneered. He waved a hand in the air, signalling to the gang members that it was time to attack. "All right, guys, you know what to do!"

He knew it was time to wrap things up. His boss was still watching from the car.

Several big men stepped toward Alex, but before the fight could begin in earnest, Heidi screamed, "Stop! Please, let me fix it!"

Everyone froze. 

Micky turned to her with a grin. "You're going to fix it? How are you going to fix it?"

He had some ideas of what he wanted Heidi to do for him, but he was curious to see what she was willing to offer.

Heidi took a deep, shaky breath. Even though she was still angry at Alex, she couldn't let him get hurt for her. She had gone to a lot of trouble to meet him because she thought he must be an impressive person. She had been thrilled by his fights on TV. She had been mistaken, but that wasn't his fault. In some ways, she felt responsible for dragging him into all this.

"Let's spend some time together," she said slowly, keeping her gaze fixed on Micky. "Away from everyone else. Let these people go so I can be alone with you. I have a lot to learn, but I bet you can teach me something, right?"

The students gasped. They were in awe of her bravery and willingness to sacrifice herself for them.

Some of the boys were ashamed. Heidi had turned out to be much braver than any of them.

Debbie watched Heidi's face carefully, deeply concerned for her safety. She was impressed by the girl's bravery, but she was horrified that Heidi felt she had to sacrifice herself in such a way to protect others.

"Done!" Micky said, unable to hide his excitement. "We're going to have a great time."

He turned and winked at the other members of his gang. They all started to step back, allowing the kneeling students space to stand up. 

A few of them glanced at Alex nervously, wondering if he was finally going to do something. He smiled back at them. Even though he wasn't moving a muscle, something about his confident stance calmed them.

Suddenly, one of the gang members shouted, "Look, Micky! Over there!"

Micky's head snapped up. "Oh, what now? It's all finally starting to get good!"

"But look!" the gang member called out desperately. "Over there! What is that?"

Everyone turned their heads to look in the direction he was pointing. A few of them had to squint against the sunlight. 

It almost looked as if a dark cloud was heading toward them on the horizon. 

Then a dull, repetitive thudding noise began to reverberate across the field. 

The dark blob spread, and as it drew closer it became clear that it was not a cloud, but an enormous group of people. The thudding noise was their footsteps.

The students' eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of the group approaching them. 

Debbie glanced down at Alex's phone. The message she had quietly typed and sent out was still visible on the screen. No one had texted back, but they didn't need to. The huge group of people coming out to help was their reply.