66. Self-Defense

66. Self-Defense

A few minutes before 5 PM, Tim woke up, rested, and was invigorated. Then, he walked into the bathroom to make water and brush his teeth. He returned to the room afterward and began to dress up for the most treasured training from Samuel.
“Where will this training take place and what will he even teach me?” He asked himself
“Where is everyone?” He asked when he noticed that the house was quiet.
Nevertheless, he walked to the foyer and discovered that they were waiting for him in the garden. He joined them and was pleased with the temporary training ground.
“Wow!” He exclaimed and the boys were delighted.
Apart from George, no other person knew that the training was specifically for their boss. They thought that they wished to rehearse.
“Good evening, Boss,” everyone, including George, greeted him respectfully and the boys were confused.
They looked at his face as he responded and tried to get a clue as to who was truly the boss.
“Good evening, Brother-in-law,” they greeted him one after the other.
“Good evening, Gerald and Samuel. How are you?” He asked.
“We are fine. Are you ready for the training?” Samuel asked zealously.
“Yes, Coach,” he answered and George prepared himself for great entertainment.
“That is good. The lesson is chiefly for your self-defense,” he began and everyone paid attention.
“Self-defense? What does that mean?” Tim asked like a true novice.
Samuel, who felt that he should have known that gave him a questioning look and answered, “Self-defense is to defend yourself.”
“That's right,” George declared, and others, excluding Tim, laughed ecstatically.
The infamous teacher ignored their laughter, picked up his wooden gun, and instructed them, “Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.”
“Okay, Coach,” Tim answered.
Samuel was not distracted by the onlookers. He continued his coaching with zest.
“Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy or kill. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.” (GunSafetyNow.com)
“I got it,” he said with rapt concentration and Samuel was encouraged and continued.
Meanwhile, when he picked up the wooden gun, George felt that they needed a better instructional aid. He left for his room and returned with his handgun. To thrill them, he shot into the air and the two boys took to their heels without looking back. George was shocked and looked at Tim.
“What is that for, George?” Tim asked him.
“I felt that he should use a real gun instead of a toy.”
“And he ran away in self-defense,” Collins teased and they laughed heartily.
Nevertheless, the mix-up was to Tim's advantage. He sat down with George on the cane chairs and prepared him on how to answer the threat from the South Coast.
“Can you do it?” He asked him after the lectures.
“Yes, Boss. I can do it. In addition to what His Excellency has done, we should lend a voice too and let them know that we understood their body language and we won't take it anymore.”
“I like that. You are truly prepared. On Monday, you will strike.”
“Okay, Boss.”
They left for the house and Tim checked the boy's room. They showed shock when he opened the door.
“Why were you scared, coach?” He asked and sat on the couch.
“We heard a gunshot.”
“And we were scared.”
“So, you left your student and ran away. You don't even care whether he would be killed or not.”
Samuel was ashamed of himself and only apologized, “I am sorry, Brother-in-law.”
He looked at his innocence and recalled how he met them at the bank of the River Rakaia and sympathized with them.
“It is all right. Don't be hard on yourself. We will continue the lesson some other time.”
Samuel was thrilled to hear that he was interested in the training and asked, “Do you like it?”
“Sure. I do.”
“Where did the gunshot come from,” Gerald asked.
“Yes. Why were you not scared, Brother-in-law?”
“Which do I answer first? The gunshot came from George.”
“George? What for?”
“He wished to test your ability to defend yourself.”
“Ha! And we failed the test woefully," Gerald pointed out.
Monday -The Canterbury Defense Academy
It was a fruitful weekend and Tim was taking the fulfilled boys back to school. Apart from the good times and their healthy looks, their new phones were another source of joy.
“Thank you for everything, Brother-in-law.”
“We are most grateful.”
They appreciated him after he parked his car.
“You are welcome. Take your studies seriously. Okay?”
“We will. The training with the Brigadier would help us a lot.”
“I'm delighted to hear that. When are your exams starting?”
“Three weeks from now,” Gerald answered.
“It is all right. I know you will do well as usual.”
“We promise.”
“If you do better than the previous exams, I will take you to the Silver Bird Cinema,” he promised and they were bewildered.
“Are you pulling our legs?”
“No. Your legs are too tiny for me to pull. I will crush them if I do that,” he teased them.
They laughed happily at his joke and declared one after the other, “We will do well.”
“We will not let you down.”
“It's all right. Always call me if you need anything. If I don't pick up your calls, drop a message. Okay?”
“We got it, Brother-in-law.”
“Goodbye.”
“Bye,” they responded simultaneously and got out of the car.
He watched them walk to the hostel before he called the Housemaster. He picked up the call after the second ring and greeted him happily, “Good morning, Tim.”
“Good morning, Housemaster. I have brought my brothers back.”
“Yes. I have seen them. They look so healthy,” the Housemaster pointed out enthusiastically.
“Really?”
“Yes. What's the secret?”
“I wouldn't know. It may be their visit to the doctor that is responsible for it.”
“You are right.”
“It's all right. Kindly remember our discussion. No visit from anyone except me or the Head of State.”
“I will remember that.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
He turned on his ignition and left. Suddenly, he felt lonely and remembered that Laura had aborted his baby, and hated her even more.
“Killer. Apart from taking your brothers away from you, you will suffer for it. You will be working but all your salary will be coming to me,” he boasted and drove on.
He was glad to see his bus drivers and staff members going to work. The managers who lived on that axis were going to work too. Shortly, he was at home.

Laura's House
She had her breakfast with her parents and they advised her on how to get the President's contact.
“Just be nice to him. He may understand.”
“I doubt if he will understand. He is a stupid boy.”
Her parents looked at each other and stated, “What if you target his phone and fish out the President's number?”
“Target his phone? We don't even get closer. How do I achieve that?”
“That's serious. What about drugging his tea? With that, he will be unconscious of his environment,” her black-hearted father proposed.
“You are right. I can drug his tea. But let's see how it goes. He is an unpredictable human being.”
“It's all right. Start by being nice to him. The drug in his tea should be the last option. You don't even have any drugs? Do you?” Her mother asked.
“No, Mom. I will start with the first option.”
“It is all right.”
“Goodbye, Mom and Dad,” she said joyously and moved
“Bye, dear,” her parents waved at her.
After she left, her father became moody. Without delay, his wife sat beside him and asked, “What is the matter, Hubby? You look downcast.”
“Everything is just going south quickly. Our sons are missing. Our daughter is facing a lot at her place of work. What is happening?”