Little Fury: Book 1 of The deadly Little Thing Trilogy
Little Fury: Chapter 15

The trip back to the ranch is very quiet, neither guy was willing to risk my wrath on the plane. I sit in the back on the drive to the ranch, and the guys sit upfront talking quietly to each other.

It’s not lost on me that the music is predominantly mine playing during the 3-hour drive. “Girl from the North Country” by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash is playing. I always like this drive. Montana is beautiful in any season. But spring is on another level. Everything is turning green; flowers are blooming everywhere. I love the way Montana smells in the spring.

After the NEW YORK incident, yes, it sure fucking was an incident. Things are a little tense on the ranch. Beth didn’t speak to Harry for a week when she saw me and heard the story. Harry just threw his hands up and stormed out. He didn’t come to dinner that week either. Marcus and I went to school and continued training like we always did. But Harry was less involved. He was there watching us but was not as hands-on as usual. The ranch and everyone on it are tense, and a few people are chilly when they speak to Harry. Theo and Wes, especially. Both held nothing back in the ring with him.

By Sunday, Harry was done with the “shite” (his words, not mine) he was taking. He called an all-hands meeting in the mess hall before dinner.

“This week has been rough. And that stops now. This is my job. This ranch is mine. You all are here because I allow you to train, or I hired you to do a job. This will be the one and only time I will say something like this to any of you. If, after today, you still have a problem with me or how I choose to run the business or train people, you are free to leave. Is that clear?”

He waits to let people nod or say yes before he continues.

“What happened in New York with Ava is not something that hasn’t happened to every single person who has been trained at this ranch since my father started this place. Every single one of you who works for me has had this kind of test administered to you, correct? ‘ Again, he pauses to let everyone nod or say yes.

“While Ava is younger than any of you were when this test occurred in your training she was just as prepared. I would never put her or anyone in my care into a situation if I weren’t 100% certain they would prevail. I will not apologize for what occurred. And I owe none of you any explanation.

“Ava and Marcus are here under very different circumstances than any of you were or are. Ava and Marcus both have people I must answer to about them. While I think it’s shite that I answer to anyone about anything, I gladly took the two of them because I believed this was their best chance. You all know the reality of their situations, so please tell me what you think was a better option.”

There are a few murmurs in the room, but Harry talks over them. “I will say this one time and one time only. How I train my students is my business. If you have an issue with something, my door is always open, and I will hear you out, but my decision is final, and you will accept it, or you will move on to a different place of employment. Are we clear?”

“ARE WE CLEAR!” He shouts. Everyone in the room says yes.

“OK then, is anyone leaving? Cause now is the time to move along. I’m hungry, and the chefs have made us a huge family dinner.”

I walk over to Harry, giving him a nod. It dawned on me at that moment, something I had never realized before. My mum is part of this life. She trained here. She learned all the things I’ve learned and will learn here. I shake my head at myself, blown away at the fact that it never once occurred to me that my birth mom had been here before me.

You can feel the room take a deep breath, waiting to see what I’m going to do. “Well, let’s fucking eat then,” I say loud enough for the room to hear me, leaning in and kissing the red haired asshole on the cheek. Beth shakes her finger at me but smiles. And just like that, the bubble that the ranch was encased in all week pops, and everything feels right again. The food is brought out and served family-style on the tables, and everyone digs in.

The sound system plays “Night Moves” by Bob Segar, followed by “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osborne. I look over at Parker. “Is this your playlist? “

“No. Why?’ He asks.

“It’s a little interesting?”

“Hey! It’s mine. What the fuck is wrong with it?” I turn my head to see Sebastian looking at me with what I think is real hurt on his face.

“Nothing, it’s great! I love how… eclectic it is. Everything flows so well,” I reassure him. The table is quiet as we all eat. But when the song changes, everyone loses it. “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson plays, and the entire table and room erupt in laughter.

“Laugh it up, mother fuckers. I’m here for the next two weeks, so let’s see how funny you think my music is when we’re in the ring or on the range. yeah?” That makes everyone stop laughing quickly, but you can still hear the odd chuckle over the din of utensils and plates.

After New York, things changed. Training was harder and longer. Pre New York-Marcus and I never sustained any injuries from training. Sore muscles, sure. After New York, though? We had bumps and bruises, bloody noses and stitches, dislocated shoulders and fingers.

I knew what I was doing here, why I was sent to the ranch instead of being adopted by another family or put into the foster system. I was sent here to learn how to break into places, learn surveillance, learn how to evade capture, drive a getaway car, steal things, kidnap people, and rescue kidnapped people.

Kill.

After New York, any training wheels we had were removed. I wasn’t ignorant or oblivious to the inner workings of the ranch or why I was sent here; I was being shielded by the people here. But that was over now. Hell, even Sebastian trained us now.

We decided at the end of Grade 9 that juggling school and the ranch was too much. So, we both chose to accelerate our high school education. We spoke to the school board and were granted permission to complete grades 10, 11 & 12 as quickly as possible. The only stipulation was that we had to maintain an 80% or higher-grade average with the caveat that all classes had to have an 80% or better grade. We weren’t allowed to bomb one class with a 50% and get 98 in another to balance it out.

We agreed, and our guardians signed off on it. Honestly, I think everyone in Glasgow, Montana, has an inkling about the ranch, but they all embrace the theory of willful ignorance. I think that fact had a lot to do with the school and school board agreeing to our accelerated graduation plan.

Once we got the OK, it was straightforward. All the teachers had two weeks to prepare their entire year’s curriculum, assignments and tests. We finished Grade 10 in four months. We didn’t do anything except school and training for those months, but it was fine. Marcus and I were used to doing what was required at this point in our lives.

Harry and Beth never asked this of us; no one did, but after New York, we decided it was time to embrace who we were. No longer pretending or choosing to ignore the paths our lives are on, regardless of what put us here.

It turns out that if you put your mind to it and have the money to hire some of the best tutors in the world, high school (well, grades 10, 11, and 12) is pretty easy and can be done in 8 months.

Once school was done, Parker started upping our computer training as well. We started learning more complex coding. We learned about firewalls and how to identify and remove them. He taught us how to hack phones and how to clone them. How to you get into CCTV systems to see what’s going on, and how to you loop or delete as the situation dictates. We learned about biometric scanners and electronic password keys. Parker also taught us how to pick locks, crack safes and even how to get into the traffic light systems of cities.

The biggest difference came with guns and explosives. This was all new for Marcus and me. It started with learning what everything was and what they did best. Then we learned how to disassemble and re-assemble each item until we could do it blindfolded. We learned how to clear buildings; we learned best vantage point strategies; we learned strategic planning for hostage-taking, as well as being able to extract a target being held by others. We were taught how and where to place explosives to do maximum or minimum damage, depending on what’s needed.

“Ava, Marcus, let’s go,” Carter calls us after lunch one day. Carter trains us daily with all kinds of firearms. Both Marcus and I are proving to be excellent shots. For small firearms, I prefer the G48. It’s a slimline Glock that works for my smaller hands and doesn’t lose any accuracy. The one downside is its magazine only holds 10 rounds. So, I always have to have extra magazines with me. The Glock that Marcus, Harry, Wes, Parker and Theo all favor is the original Glock 17. I can use the 17, and my accuracy is just as solid, but I can’t handle it as well or as quickly as I can the 48.

Small hands are why slim lines were made anyway, right?

“How did she do?” Harry asks Sebastian.

“Good, Ava is small, but she’s kind of deadly. It doesn’t matter what scenario we put her in. She just fucking goes for it. She has the mentality that she either succeeds or she dies. There is no in-between with her. It’s a little scary because we’ve known her since she was a little kid. But It’s also impressive, Harry. Scary and Impressive.”

“But?” Harry, pushes.

“Yeah, what’s the BUT there, Sebastian?” I ask them.

“Ava, mind your own business,” Harry tells me.

“Ummm, how is you talking about me, not my business?”

“Because Little Ava, we are the adults, and you are the child,” he reminds me.

“I turn 18 in four days!”

“Exactly. Still. A. Child.” Harry tells me punctuating every word with a tap on my nose.

“Whatever, Sebastian’s just mad ’cause I laid him out.”

He raises a red eyebrow at him, and Sebastian nods and bows his head.

Harry barks out a peel of laughter at Sebastian’s expense. “Whatever, old man, you get in the ring with her and see how you fair. She’s a little ball of fury.”

“Little fury,” Harry muses.

I sigh, realizing a new nickname has just been christened.