Masters Ring

Chapter 48
	
	My martial arts instructor and I were given a tour of the new
school site by Michael. The Sibling had interesting ideas for the space,
which impressed the instructor.
	"This is more than I expected, David," the instructor said when
Michael finished.
	"Importing wood from Japan for all the structures except the main
building is excessive," I agreed looking around the tree-enclosed
property. "But I trust that Michael's designs will create a pleasant
environment in which to teach and learn martial arts. A school like this
can be a different world from the one on the other side of those trees."
	"It will be beautiful," he said staring at where Michael planned
to place a wooden bridge over a man-made pond. "I cannot repay you."
	"I will be taking private lessons here with other instructors," I
told him.
	He nodded accepting it.
	"There is no need to repay silence," I told him. "It is enough to
maintain its creation."
	"She is very beautiful," he said looking at the approaching Doris
Alex.
	She had prepared herself carefully putting the beauty the
Brotherhood made her birthright on display. Doris Alex walked up to us,
and bowed to me then to the instructor respectfully.
	"[Excuse me, sir,]" she said in Japanese. "David, it is time to
go."
	"Very respectful," the instructor commented to me. "You are a
lucky man."
	"[I am the one who is blessed, sir,]" Doris Alex told him.
	The instructor bowed to her and walked back to Michael.
	"I did not know you spoke Japanese," I said to Doris Alex as we
walked to her car.
	"Bloodlines may choose the Brothers on their tour," she told me.
"I wanted to travel the world."
	"So you chose Japan?" I asked.
	"No," she said. "I chose the world."
	"I do not understand?"
	"Twenty-two countries in two years," she told me. "It would have
been twenty-four but my tour was shortened by two months so that I could
prepare for your arrival."
	"Why did you choose to learn Japanese if you were only going to be
there for a month?" I asked her.
	"I did not choose to learn only Japanese, David," she responded.
"I learned all of them."
	I froze in the process of opening the car door and looked at her.
	"You can speak twenty-two languages?" I asked.
	"Twenty-four," she corrected. "The native language of every
Brother I planned to visit. Siblings serve Brothers and intelligent
conversation can be a pleasure. It would have been rude to expect them to
learn English or cause them to struggle attempting to communicate their
desires. Actually, I can speak twenty-six languages if you count English
and American Sign."
	"Fluently?" I asked.
	"Of course," she replied snappily.
	"I was not questioning your competence. I've never met anyone that
spoke more than three languages fluently," I said when we were in the car.
"I thought there weren't that many Brothers; twenty-two countries seems a
lot."
	"There were plenty of languages in Europe," she told me. "I simply
picked whom I could from the rest of the world first, and then filled in
the rest with European Brothers. I did not plan to visit twenty-four
countries on my tour, David, only twenty-four Brothers with different
native languages."
	"Twenty-four languages is still a lot to learn," I said.
	"Unlike my sisters, there has never been any doubt that I would
become a Sibling. I had years to prepare for my Brother tour so it's not
like I learned each language in a month," she told me.
	"How intelligent are you?" I asked setting myself for the answer.
	"Not as smart as my sisters," she said shamefully.
	"I thought you were the best representative of your Bloodline," I
said. "Isn't that the reason you were chosen to have my children?"
	"The best representative of a Bloodline generation is chosen by
the Council," she answered. "They decided I was more attractive and
exhibited behavior closer to the desired standard than my oldest sister or
cousins."
	"You said sisters," I said. "But that they decided you were more
attractive than your 'oldest' sister."
	"My middle sister, Jasmine, is not Sibling," she told me.
	"How is that possible?" I asked.
	"Don't you remember, David," she said looking at me. "Part of the
reason the Ekaterina is the standard comes from every child of your
Bloodline choosing the Society."
	"But how could you be trained with a sister that wasn't a Sibling
living in the same house."
	"It was easy for our family," she answered. "Rebecca, my oldest
sister, and I never let anyone outside the Society know that we were
almost as intelligent as Jasmine. We went to a normal school and had
sessions with private tutors at home while Jasmine progressed as far as
the school system allowed. My family is very proud of her achievements."
	"I don't imagine the Brotherhood likes having Jasmine out there
like that," I said staring out the window.
	"Her husband was carefully selected," she said happily. "Jasmine
works at a cancer research center. It wasn't difficult to parade good
husband material in front of her. Her son is the cutest little boy!"
	"Are all the Bloodlines as gifted?" I asked softly.
	"Brothers measure the Bloodlines differently," she replied. "They
measure attractiveness, adherence to the Ekaterina standard of submission
and obedience, and how much of the Bloodline's gift a Sibling exhibits.
Brothers also focus on individual representatives of the Bloodline as a
way to advancing it. Siblings judge the Bloodlines as a whole; the
Alexander Bloodline is considered more genetically gifted than the others
because a high percentage of our children exhibit genius or over-genius
levels of intelligence. In the Brother view, Ian gifts are more developed
than the Alexander gift. While Iane is two steps higher on the eugenics
ladder than even Jasmine, she is five steps higher any other Ian. We will
have to see what happens with her children before we decide how the Ian
Bloodline really stands."
	"That doesn't answer the question," I pointed out.
	"Brothers believe the gifts are objectively comparable, David,"
she explained. "Siblings do not hold the same position; as talented as
Iane is, her gift has limited utility. On the other hand, the Elizabeth
line has so much potential that even at the beginning stages of their
gift's fruition, Siblings prize it above all others."
	"The Alexander's gift seems extraordinary, and you say two other
Bloodline's may have even greater gifts," I said softly. "No wonder, all
the other Bloodlines looked down at the Ekaterina,"

						-----

	I woke up when Doris Alex parked the car outside of a martial arts
school I did not recognize.
	"We're here, Brother," she said.
	I nodded and opened my car door. Looking around, I did not
recognize the town but shrugged the detail away. Jeremy's choice of
neutral ground was far enough from my home to make it nearly impossible to
trace where I lived without following us back.
	Doris Alex walked around the car and brushed imaginary lint from
my sweatshirt before nodding towards the back door. I followed inside
feeling uncomfortably heavy in my groin. The thought had crossed my mind
to take relief from Doris Alex when she showed off her idea of 'dressed to
impress'. I should have gone with the instinct, if not with her then with
an available Sibling that did not mind being mussed. I smiled thinking
that Doris Alex's slight air of disappointment probably had to do with a
belief that no look could be complete without the accessorizing glow that
surrounded a Sibling after sex with a Brother.
	Iane's eyes were polished silver.
	"What is she doing here?" Doris Alex exclaimed violently.
	"So that's Iane," I said.
	"That bitch!" Doris Alex answered taking a step towards her rival.
	"Doris Alex," I said freezing her in place.
	"I notice every Brother brought a Sibling with them," I said
looking around the room.
	Iane dimmed the presence of every other occupant, even Doris Alex.
The silver-eyed Sibling managed it while looking like she rolled out of
bed late and had to run out of door in whatever clothing lay nearby.
	Jeremy approached us looking annoyed.
	"I did not know she would be here," Jeremy told Doris Alex bracing
for the fireworks.
	"She's been told then?" Doris Alex asked gritting her teeth.
	"Iane did not have to be told anything," Jeremy said looking over
his shoulder. "She was moving in this direction. We only had to tell her
that we hoped motherhood would suit her."
	"She must have taken that well," Doris Alex said with a sardonic
laugh.
	Jeremy stared at Doris Alex for a couple of seconds before turning
to me and raising an eyebrow.
	"Samantha did a very good job with Doris Alex," I told him.
	"I'm sure that's it, David," Jeremy answered before turning to
Doris Alex. "Robert said Iane threw the mother and father of all tantrums.
He was amazed how expensive breaking everything in a four-star hotel room
is. Iane didn't even get to dig her claws into him since he's gay. I think
that's what pissed her off the most; she would have enjoyed taking strips
off the messenger."
	"Another thrower," I sighed.
	Jeremy laughed at my tone of voice. The Siblings in my house were
under strict instructions to keep Stephanie supplied with things to
express her displeasure with. It looked like I would have to maintain
those instructions for Iane.
	"Leon has been working out for us?" I asked staring at the Brother
that Leeann and Krista recruited during my visit to Stephanie's rapists.
	"His Firsts said he was ready for a trip out of isolation," Jeremy
told me.
	I nodded studying the other Brothers.
	"How did the asshole Iane is with ever get a black ring?" I asked.
	Jeremy's smile dropped instantly. Doris Alex looked around Jeremy
to see what I was talking about.
	"He..." Doris Alex said but could not complete the sentence.
	"Politics, David," Jeremy answered finally.
	"Does someone expect me to be gentle?" I asked.
	"Accountability is your job, not mine," he told me. "Would you
like me to introduce you?"
	I nodded removing my shoes and stepping onto the mat. Their names
blended together as they were meant to; this was the Foot and the
individual pieces were interchangeable.
	The asshole was the first to speak.
	"Do you know which of us you would like to match up against?" he
asked with measurable snide.
	"I thought it best to allow volunteers," I told him.
	"There's going to be no conversation," one of the two female
Brothers asked.
	I did not like her tone.
	"You are hunting dogs," I told her. "There is no need to talk. I
point and you chase the sanction to me. I need to know you can take
commands, and you need learn the consequences of choosing not to."
	"In that case, I'm bitch number one," she said angrily stepping
forward.
	"I guess that makes me bitch number two," the other female said
standing next to the first woman.
	"Growl," the large black Brother said taking a step forward also.
	"Uh... bowsie-wowsie," a lank Latin Brother said raising his hand.
	Most of them laughed.
	"Anyone else," I asked turning to look at the door I had walked in
through.
	Anna, Robert, Roderigo, and two other Brothers entered the school
followed by Siblings. Each Sibling grabbed a chair for a Brother as
Leonard placed Anna's wheelchair at the edge of the mat.
	I turned back to the Foot, but no one else had stepped forward.
Iane stared at the back of the asshole's head as if she was considering
pushing him forward.
	"Who's first?" I asked.
	It did not go well.
	The black Brother was selected as their first. He moved lightly
relying on intimidation and size to back people up. His weight regimen
must have been very good because he had a tremendous amount of applicable
strength.
	I gave him the wrestling lock he sought. He smiled widely and
pressed me with strength that must never have failed him. His brow
furrowed when he could not gain any advantage. I felt him set his feet and
build towards a huge effort to topple me. He was taller, more massive, and
had position advantage but could not make my body do what he wanted.
	"That's not right," he said letting me go.
	I shrugged.
	He extended his hands towards me for the classic teenage boy test
of strength. I gave him the grips and we pressed against each other as he
tried to force my wrists to bend backward.
	"Are you done yet?" I asked two minutes later.
	He released my hands and took a step back.
	"I'm eight inches taller and outweigh you by eighty pounds," he
told me.
	"Closer to a hundred," I said looking him up and down.
	"You're not even breathing hard!" he complained in a voice no one
else could hear.
	A fine sheen of sweat covered his face from the effort he had put
into besting me strength for strength.
	"Are you done?" I asked again with a shrug.
	A nod was all the response he gave me before turning around and
walking back to his Sibling. There was a loss of respect in a few of the
eyes that followed him back to his position; the asshole smirked.
	The Latin Brother took too much time setting me up so like his
predecessor I gave him the position he wanted. We were on the ground with
his legs around my arm as he attempted to lock the elbow out. It would not
have worked anyway, but I was annoyed at the time it took him to exercise
control.
	I turned my hand in his grasp and grabbed his forearm. I squeezed
and snapped my wrist up.
	He grunted in pain when the bone broke. He released me to roll
away cradling his arm. He turned over on his knees and bounced his
forehead off the floor a couple of times to focus his pain reception away
from the arm and let him adjust to it.
	"It's broken," I told his Sibling. "He needs medical attention."
	He rushed forward and helped the Brother stand up. The Brother
turned and bowed to me before walking out the front door with his head
high.
	"I apologize," I said to the rest of the Foot. "He was being
annoying."
	"It's okay," the asshole answered. "That faggot annoys all of us."
	I did not think a response was expected so I signaled the women
forward.
	They had promise; well balanced, worked together enough to come at
me from different directions, and both were quick. The two bouts taught
them enough respect that they took their time.
	Like the black Brother with his strength, they relied on their
speed too much. The women were fast but Jason would have made it look like
they were standing still.
	Unlike the men, I tested their aggressiveness by refusing to allow
contact. They exhibited patience in letting the right moment come.
	Unfortunately, there was no recognition that I chose that moment.
	Bitch #1 came high from my left but Bitch #2 was a step out of
position. Worse for them was the measurable hesitation in the decision to
strike and the strike itself.
	I stepped into the hesitation, clipping Bitch #1 perfectly on the
jaw. She had not hit the ground before I sunk a chokehold deep on Bitch
#2. Immediately recognizing the futility of a struggle, she tapped out.
	The unconscious one's Sibling held a small tube under her nose
causing her to jerk awake. The Sibling helped her up and back into
position.
	"Did anyone change their mind?" I asked.
	"Practice knives?" one asked.
	He looked as if someone defined average and created him from the
template. Brown eyes, brown hair, a slight tan to his skin color; he could
have faded in a crowd of two.
	"You may," I said taking a couple of steps back and putting my
hands behind my back.
	"What about you?" he asked stepping onto the mat and pulling out a
pair of plastic knives from his belt.
	"Soon enough," I told him.
	Average Brother did not appreciate being put down with what he
brought to the match. Knives were Jason's preferred weapons; I had thought
taking Jason with me one out of three times a lucky day when we practiced.
	No one else stepped forward after that display. They looked
questions at each other but no one volunteered to ask me.
	"We're done then," I told them.
	"What did you think?" Robert asked after I was done with the towel
Doris Alex handed me.
	I looked back at the assembled Foot Brothers; they were staring at
us curiously.
	"They are not killers," I said finally.
	"The Hunt is not meant to be," a female Brother almost as old as
Anna said smartly.
	"The Hunt?" I asked.
	"Each small branch has a different name for them," Robert
explained.
	I nodded and looked at the Foot Brothers again. Iane took a step
towards me only to be stopped by the asshole grabbing her wrist. Iane spun
around quickly and had some choice words with him. They got louder and
louder until Iane got a grip on herself. She walked out the door followed
by the Brother. She turned when they were far enough away that we could
still see the action but not hear it. The argument resumed with a lot more
arm waving and finger waggling.  Asshole did not realize she was
performing.
	"Is it always that bad?" I asked Doris Alex.
	"He is definitely different," Doris Alex said worriedly.
	"Iane is Iane," Robert told us. "She bites but her gift is worth
all the trouble. If not for her gift, she would not have been allowed a
white ring."
	"She is a Sibling," Doris Alex said shaking her head in
disagreement. "No matter how many tantrums she throws at being told to do
something, Iane cannot live outside the Society."
	"Iane does not behave as if she understands that," Anna said
through her teeth.
	"You don't have to know about oxygen to breathe it," Doris Alex
answered.
	"Anyway!" the old female Brother asked. "So what, that the Hunt is
not composed of killers, you are the killer we require. From what I've
read, you do a good job."
	"What is their purpose?" I asked.
	"To assist in sanctions: surveillance, boxing people in,
distraction, whatever is necessary to get you to the target," she answered
snidely. "The Hunt is your eyes, and ears so that you are not seen with
the sanction."
	"Is that it?"
	"They're supposed to kill you if it becomes necessary," Anna said
with a smile at everyone else.
	"Except for Leon, these are fucking idiots who did not consider
that I might be letting them have the advantage for a reason. They could
not kill me right now without weapons of collateral damage," I said. "They
would be better off shelling my house than going in after me."
	"Artillery is not a very sure way of killing someone," Anna said
to no one in particular.
	"You would be more likely to kill Doris Alex or Melisa while
letting me survive," I said agreeing with her.
	Roderigo sucked in a painful breath snapping his head to look at
the members of the Foot that had not left.
	"That would be bad," Robert whispered.
	"It would be a good idea for you to start praying if that
happens," I assured them. "Pray that I think killing some of you slow is
more important than killing all of you."
	"Not likely," Roderigo snorted.
	"No, it is not," I said. "But people pray in the face of death all
the time."
	"You're not that good," the old female said confidently.
	"Good enough to survive having his house bombed?" Robert asked
her. "Or good enough to redefine our concept of a Brother purge."
	She pursed her lips studying me.
	"These are meant to be in my face controls against going too far.
They would have to get very, very lucky to kill me, Brother," I told her.
"When you decided to use me as a control for Roderigo's ambition, what did
you think the odds were that he would survive if I made the decision to
kill him?"
	"Oh," she whispered.
	"I've been trying to tell you people!" Anna exclaimed.
	"Yes, you have been, Anna," Robert admitted. "We thought it would
take a miracle for Roderigo to survive, David."
	"Somewhere after I retired, the Foot was chosen for how well they
would work together with the Enforcer," Anna said with exasperation. "Why
didn't you just ask each of the Foot to suck off the Enforcer, too?"
	"You don't need to be offensive, Anna," said the Brother that had
not spoken to that point.
	"Yes, I do," Anna insisted loudly. "Why in my day, every Foot
Brother stepped forward to challenge the Enforcer in these meetings? I
lost the last three matches from exhaustion. David would not have lost
any, but they could have forced him to TRY!"
	"They might not have wanted to show all their cards," the old
woman suggested unsurely.
	"Leon suggested that they should all fight David at the same
time," Anna told her. "They did not care for their newest member
suggesting strategy. The only one who had contact with David, and they
chose not to listen. Who picked these idiots to be in the Foot anyway?
There's that... that..."
	"Asshole," I suggested.
	"Thank you, David," she replied politely before returning to her
rant. "That asshole that I wouldn't let Leonard bring a drink of water. I
have enough problems with Leonard to allow him near a Brother that is so
clearly inadequate."
	"That is being taken care of, Anna," Robert warned.
	"Being taken care of," she said angrily. "It should never have
been allowed to happen."
	"The Council has decided that a lesson in the 'sins of the child'
has become necessary, Brother," Robert answered formally. "The selection
committee is being interfered with too much."
	Anna sat back in her wheelchair and stared at Robert curiously. He
raised an eyebrow at her study. Anna looked away for a moment and narrowed
her eyes.
	"You are a bastard, Robert," she said with heartfelt admiration.
"Study what Robert has accomplished, grandson."
	"What?" Roderigo asked confused.
	"I didn't even see it coming, Robert," Anna said.
	"What is she talking about?" Roderigo asked Robert.
	"I'll tell you if it happens. There might not even be a need
though," Robert answered. "There are a lot of variables and things may not
go as planned."
	"While I'm sure this is wonderful, and deeply meaningful," the old
female Brother said. "Did we achieve what was desired here?"
	Robert, and Anna answered with firm nods.
	"Who is going to make it so that I believe these Brothers are a
danger to me?" I asked. "There's no point to the Foot as a control
mechanism if I think they are more likely to kill me by accident than on
purpose."
	No one answered my question for a while.
	"Some older Brothers, like Anna, believe that we became less after
your Bloodline was lost," the old woman said staring at me. "I was not one
of those until today. I understand now; Ekaterina loyalty was something
for Brothers to live up to."
	"The Foot can wait, David," Anna said generously. "You have made
the right people aware of the problem. A few other things must come to
pass before we can resolve it to my satisfaction. You have accomplished
much, leave the rest to me."
	I nodded accepting that.
	"This sanction will require you to work with four of them," Robert
told me. "Do you have any preferences?"
	"The two females, the asshole, and the average looking one," I
answered without hesitation.
	Robert and Anna shared a secret smile before the Siblings were
asked to leave so I could be told more about their plans for the reporter.