Chapter 2

Mike stepped out of the closet and noticed that all of his weapons were in a pile on the floor of the closet. He glanced over at the clock on the desk and saw that only fifteen minutes had passed. Cat had told him that would be the case, but it was difficult believe considering that an entire week had passed in Crossroads.

He bent down and picked up his gun belt, badge, wallet, and coins from the floor. It took him a couple of minutes to get presentable. Once he was sure that everything was in place, he walked out of the study and into the living room. He looked at Sid recalling the things that Cat had said about him. The very attractive woman in the room had to be his Companion.

Turning to Jim and Bob, he said, “There’s nothing here. Get Harry and meet me out at the car. I need to talk to Mr. Jones for a minute.”

The other two officers looked at each other with surprised expressions on their faces. Mike was a junior officer on the force and didn’t have the authority to tell the two senior officers to leave. Jim asked, “What’s up, Mike?”

“I’ll explain it later,” Mike answered. Wondering what he could say to them that they would believe, he decided that it would be better not saying anything. He rolled back his shirt sleeve to show the scar on his forearm. He had gotten it while on special assignment in Columbia. It seemed that there were some folks that didn’t appreciate having their drug crops destroyed. While he rubbed a finger over the scar, he said, “I need to talk to Mr. Jones.”

“Sure,” Jim said.

Sid had no idea what the scar meant, but he understood that Mike had decided that it was an easy way to get rid of the other officers. Deciding that it would be best to go along with the ruse, he smiled and winked at the two officers. He turned his head to watch Mike with small smile on his face.

Mike waited until the other two officers left the house. Once the door closed, he turned to Sid and said, “Tell me what I just experienced was true.”

“I take it you’ve been to Crossroads,” Sid said.

“Yeah.”

Cynthia asked, “What does your caretaker look like?”

“She’s gorgeous,” Mike said walking over to the couch to sit down.

“When will you be going on your adventure?” Sid asked.

“Noon Sunday,” Mike answered.

Nodding his head, Sid said, “I’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” Mike said. He looked down at his sapphire ring for a second. He said, “You asked about my ring.”

“Yes, I did,” Sid answered. He had known as soon as he had seen the ring that Mike was going to end up in Crossroads.

“It was given to my by the first woman that I ever loved two days before she was killed. It is kind of ironic that it would take me to the second woman with whom I’ve fallen in love,” Mike said. Cat was everything that a man could want in a woman. Not only was she smart, she was sexy. He’d never had a woman who was so responsive in bed.

Mike was at his locker changing out of his uniform at the end of shift. Jim called over, “Mike! Are you going to the range Sunday to show the new guy how to shoot?”

“No,” Mike answered without looking at Jim. He had forgotten about that.

“No?” Jim asked looking over at Mike surprised by the answer. Mike was always more than happy to show off what a great shot he was with a pistol. They always teased him about being Mr. Bad Ass, but the fact was that Mike was probably the deadliest man he’d ever met.

“I’ve got plans Sunday,” Mike answered as he pulled his shirt off.

“Okay. We’re all heading over to the bar for happy hour. Are you going to join us?” Jim said noticing a bruise on Mike’s back.

Mike shook his head and said, “No, I’m going over to the dojo tonight.”

“Getting back into the martial arts?” Jim asked with a frown. Mike hadn’t been the same since the day they answered that call about the woman screaming. It seemed to him that Mike was working out all of the time. The other day, he had discovered that Mike had jogged the ten miles to work rather than drive.

“That’s right,” Mike said pulling a tee-shirt over his head.

“What’s up?” Jim asked.

Mike shook his head. He had sparred with Sid Jones a couple of days earlier and had been handed his ass on a plate. It had been years since anyone had gotten the better of him like that. He answered, “Nothing. I just realized the other day that I was getting out of shape.”

“Are you kidding?” Jim asked looking over at Mike. The guy had muscles on top of muscles.

“I’ve gotten slow,” Mike said taking off his trousers.

“You’ve only been out of the service for a year,” Jim said. He didn’t know exactly what Mike had done in the service, but he did know that Mike’s service records were sealed.

Mike shrugged his shoulders and said, “You know. If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

Bob came into the changing room and said, “Hey, Mike? I was talking to David Lee over in the gym. He was telling me that some guy wiped the floor with you the other day with one of those staffs.”

“That’s right,” Mike replied thinking that he was going to have a long talk with David Lee. Although David Lee was the department’s unofficial martial arts trainer, he was basically loud mouthed jerk who shouldn’t have been training anyone. David Lee had bought into that whole martial arts is self defense story. Martial arts were the arts of fighting, not defense.

“Who was it?” Bob asked.

“Sid Jones,” Mike answered. He pulled on his pants and put his wallet in the back pocket.

“You mean that guy with the screamer?” Bob asked with a laugh. The guy didn’t look that tough.

“That’s right,” Mike answered irritated at the man. He glared at Bob and said, “Cynthia is a friend of mine. Don’t talk about her like that.”

Jim had locked up Sid’s aunt and mother for assault, disturbing the peace, and trespassing. He didn’t know too many of the details about the history behind it all, but it didn’t bode well when a guy had to get restraining orders against his own relatives. Looking worried, Jim said, “You know that we’ve gotten a couple of calls to that house in the past.”

“Don’t worry about him. If anyone is breaking the law, it won’t be him,” Mike said in a tone of voice that suggested arguing would be a waste of time.

Bob looked at Mike and compared him to what he remembered of Sid. Sid wasn’t nearly as muscular as Mike. Confused, he said, “That guy didn’t look that tough.”

“I have friends that know all about him. There’s a lot more there than meets the eye,” Mike said. He closed his locker and picked up his gym bag. He looked over at Bob and Jim for a second. They were both watching him with a frown. Knowing that there was nothing he could say that would change their impressions, he said, “I’m off to the dojo.”

It was a few minutes before noon Sunday and Mike was pacing around Sid’s study. Taking Sid’s advice, Mike had changed from his street clothes into a tee-shirt and a pair of exercise shorts. Sid had warned him that he was liable to return from Crossroads wearing nothing but a bathrobe.

Sid was seated in his desk chair looking somewhat amused by the big man’s nervousness. He knew the reason why Mike was pacing around like a cat in a cage and it wasn’t because he was worried about his adventure. Grinning, he asked, “Worried?”

Mike looked over at the younger man and said, “I can’t wait to see Cat.”

“I know how you feel,” Sid said with a knowing nod of his head. He sighed and said, “I don’t know which drives me through that gate more: Sally Caretaker or the adventure.”

“What is it like on Chaos?” Mike asked.

“I like it there a lot, but it is a dangerous place. You’ll be walking around unarmed when you get there. Some of the bad folks will think that makes you weak so you better watch out,” Sid said. He was pretty confident that Mike would be able to take care of himself there. His martial arts skills were excellent. Of course, in the artificial world of the dojo there were rules that didn’t apply in Chaos. He hoped that his training as a policeman wouldn’t prevent him from using the full force necessary to end any confrontations as quickly as necessary.

Mike was well aware of the fact that he would have nothing when he arrived in Chaos the first time. Cat had warned him that he’d have to get armed as soon as possible. He said, “I was thinking I’d try to make a staff.”

“Until then, you might want to pick up something that you can use as a club,” Sid said. He had made a staff at the first opportunity.

“I can do that,” Mike said thinking that it was good advice.

“You’re in for one hell of an adventure,” Sid said with a grin.

“I hope so,” Mike said. He glanced at the clock and saw that there was still a little time before he was to step through the portal. Showing up on a new world with absolutely nothing was intimidating. He wouldn’t be able to buy food or weapons. He asked, “What about money?”

“You’ll have to work until someone with money attacks you. Don’t fool around when it comes to fighting. The winner gets all,” Sid said.

“I’d rather work,” Mike said.

Sid said, “You might not have a choice about it. Keep your eyes open at all times. The Heroic code says that you don’t start a fight, but remaining a Hero requires that you end it. When it comes to fighting, you need to use every advantage that you have. There are no rules or laws. There is nothing dictating what constitutes a fair fight. You can’t hold back at all. If the guy’s back is turned to you, then that just makes it easier to stab him.”

“I’ll do that,” Mike said.

“You aren’t a law enforcement officer on Chaos. You are a warrior. You aren’t there to defend yourself. When it comes to a fight, you are in combat for your life,” Sid said.

Mike understood exactly what Sid meant. He had been in the situation where fighting had come down to surviving rather than winning. There was a huge difference. He glanced at the clock and said, “It’s time.”

“Good luck,” Sid said.

“Thanks,” Mike said as he stepped through the portal in Sid’s study. There was a kind of twisting feeling and then he was in the plain white room that he had experienced the first time. Rather than prepare for the unknown, he faced the door anticipating a wonderful reunion with Cat.

It seemed that almost too much time passed before the door swung open. Standing a few paces from the door was Cat. She was wearing a long red gown with huge sleeves that was almost in the style of a Kimono, but the front was open to well below her navel. Her breasts were covered as were her legs. It was an incredibly sexy outfit. Although only a week had gone by, Mike swore that she had gotten even prettier. He stepped forward and said, “Cat.”