Violation

 As my street came into view, I sighed slightly.  It was good to be home.  The
warehouse loomed into view, my trusty VW Van parked next to it.  It was a pretty
consistant lifestyle, my employees came in to take care of the bookstore on the first floor,
and I lived on the second.  From what I’d been able to listen on, I was considered a pretty
good boss, although from time to time, they wondered exactly how much money I had.
Not too much, I’m hear to tell you.  Fortunatly my investments in Chicago had served me
fairly well - especially during my graduate work.  My bones were tired, and I was still
nursing a few brusies, not to mention the gunshot wound of a week or so ago.
 I slipped toward the side door, and instead of taking the stairwell, I climbed up the
trellis.  It was a lot stronger than it looked.  That stairwell always creaked and groaned.  I
thought that one day it would collapse.  I slipped open the always-cracked window and
Max came scampering up.  He mewed happily, and wagged his stubby little pit-bull tail.  I
was still furious at the bastard in Chicago for cutting his vocal chords out.  I went into the
bathroom.
 There was a suitcase which held the apparatus of the Cat.  Gauntlets, and then
surgical gloves off first, then the contacts, then the ears and fangs.  They each had their
own special case and slipped into personal compartments that looked a lot like contact
lens care items.  The entire unit could go through an x-ray machine in an airport without
any difficulty.  As I’d already wiped off the makeup, I simply tossed the bandages in the
garbage, and peeled off the leather boots.  Catsuit, custom-sewn was next, and I turned on
the shower as I finished stripping.
 The steam curled up, and began to open my pores as I tossed the blonde wig into
its case and then into the suitcase.  The whole thing slipped into a cubby hole underneath
the sink.  I quickly washed my hair, turned off the shower, and allowed the hot water to
fill.  I welcomed it like an old an dear friend, who gently massaged my shoulders and neck.
I close my eyes.  Sleep came.
 An annoying beep-beep first burdened my dreams and then brought me mercilessly
to consciousness.  The cooled water told me I’d been resting for quite some time.  I sat up
with a start.  The noise came from the lower door, where the bookstore was.  I couldn’t
believe I had been in the tub from four in the morning to ten-thirty.  I stood, quickly dried
myself off, and tossed on a bathrobe.  I walked out, stretched my arms, and looked toward
my bed in happy anticibation of another three or four hours of sleep.  The clock read
six-thirty.  Still darkness.  An intruder.  I heard a crash, probably a cash register being
broken into.
 Immediatly I was torn.
 A part of me simply said to call the police.  They would be here in a matter of
minutes.  Another part of me wanted to drop through the passthrough and abuse them in
ways they never thought conceiveable.  My mind fogged, I pulled on a pair of sweats,
gloves, and a ski mask and went to work.
 The window that viewed in the back of the building slid open - it was the one that
was next to the trellis and had accomodated my entry.  I lept fearlessly through it, and
landed on my feet, like my namesake.  Barefoot still, I snaked around the side, toward the
service entrance, and slipped toward the opening they had left.  Quickly, I hand sprung
past the jagged glass, and into the store, easily following the path of carnage from these
most unpleasant intruders.  There were two, one with a crowbar, he was busily destroying
a display case.
 As the crowbar swung upward, a knife-handed strike shattered his wrist, and sent
the crowbar flying.  When he yelled his ally turned.  He I simply backfisted to his nose,
blood pouring.  My attention occupied, my initial opponent swung and connected, a
powerful left arm striking solidly to my midsection.  I was unceremouniously dumped
upon my butt, wounding my pride as well as my midsection.
 He moved in, his right foot swinging back, broadcasting a kick that a neonate
could see coming a mile away.  Since he was so courteous, I simply took the opprotunity
to shater his other kneecap with my left leg.  He went down like a ton of bricks, while I
bounced back up, and thrust a kick to the midsection of the other thug.
 It was at this point, I lost control.
 I grabbed the crowbar and began to hit.
 I struck bone after bone.  Kneecap, elbow, rib, wrist, foot.
 No one, no one ever violates me again.  Once was too much.
 Only when one of then began to sob for mercy did I cease.  I took a paper towel,
dialed nine-one-one, put it to the man’s face, and let him sob into it.  I calmly walked out
the back door, and went back upstairs, and waited.
 “Detective Aadams.  Please, call me Roger.” He introduced himself.
 “Jessica Melmack.” I said.
 “So what can you tell me, Miss Melmack?”
 “Well I couldn’t sleep, so I was taking a warm bath.  I must have dozed off, and I
heard the alarm.  By the time I got up, I heard this horrible crashing noise, and a lot of
other noise.  I got scared that it was that ‘cat’ creature was downstairs, and would attack
me if I did anything, so I waited until all the noise was gone.  I was going to call
nine-eleven, but I already heard sirens in the distance.”
 “I see.  Did you actually this, ‘Cat’ creature that you feel that you heard?”
 “No.  I saw no such thing.  I just, well, the papers saw that it’s violent.
Dangerous.”
 “Do you have a gun, Miss Melmack.”
 “Please, it’s Jessie, and no, I don’t believe in the use of guns.”
 “Okay, Jessie.  Do you know the people that were breaking into your store?”
 “I haven’t been downstairs.  I thought it would be best to wait until someone came
up here for me.” I replied timidly.
 “Do you recognize these individuals.” He produced two polaroids of the men that
I encountered downstairs.  My mind no longer faded by hatred and rage, focused upon
their faces.  The second one, whose nose I had crushed initially was quite familiar.
 “Yes, that fellow on the left, I think his name is Leon, Leon Baxter.  He was the
first assistant manager I had here, but I caught him stealing.  I couldn’t actually say that,
of course, without bringing charges, but I had a professional auditing team brought in.  As
memory serves he paid back every dime.”
 “And obtained a grudge in the process...” The Detective continued.
 “Apparently so.”
 The questioning seemed ceaseless.  We had migrated upstairs, and into my living
quarters.
 “May I use your bathroom, Jessica.”
 “Certainly.” I said, without thinking.  It was ten-thirty by this time, and my normal
employees had come it - I gave them the day off, paid of course, and had my manager see
about reporting the damage to the insurance company.  Roger came back into the room.
He looked, well, odd.  He hadn’t had any sleep since I’d spoken with him as the Cat in the
prior day.
 “Is there something wrong?” I asked.
 “No, not a thing.  In fact, I oughta be letting you go.”
 “As you wish.” I replied.  “Will there be anything else.”
 “Well expect a phone call in the next few days.  I’ll have to tighten some details
up.  Oh, yeah, this sounds pretty corny, but don’t leave town, ‘kay?”
 “As you wish.  Good day.”
 “’Bye.”
 I sat back upon the futon and wept for a good hour.  Sleep came, and night fell.  I
awoke at eight, and decided that the cat needed a night of rest.  The ribs where the guy
had slammed into me hurt really bad.  I wondered if he broke one.  I decided to strap it up,
and then prephaps something to eat.
 The compulsion struck.
 I had anger in my soul.
 A fury, a boiling rage.
 Fishnet stockings, spiked heels, leather mini, push-up black leather bra.  First the
Cat makeup, and then a heavy pancake, and after that, I looked like Tammy Fae worked
me over with a spackleing knife.  The blonde wig, ears and eyes.  The trench.  As a
precaution, long, french black silk gloves from the roaring twenties.  A slut waiting to be
had.  I walked to a pay phone, and called the cheapest cap company in town.  I gave the
man directions to a corner in a very bad neighbourhood.  He didn’t bat an eye.  I tipped
him, and began to walk around as if I were high, and looking either to trick, or to fix.
 A young male in a bright new truck drove by and stopped.
 “Hay, hon, you looking to take a load off?” He jeered.  I flipped him off.  Not
what I was looking for, not tonight.  His truck screeched as the light turned.  I supposed
he might take comfort in the fact that he knew where the gas pedal was - I most certainly
was not impressed.
 Deeper into the bowels of the neighborhood I wandered, I was accosted a few
more times, and with each time I made it quite clear that I wasn’t interested.  I had ducked
into an alleyway as I noticed I was being followed, and, lo and behold, three men followed
me in.
 “Hey sister, I don’t care if you sellin’ or not.”
 “Nope, in fact”
 “We just gonna take it.”
 Adreneline pumped into my veins, my eyes dialated, and the frenzy came.
 Bones broke.  Blood poured, and as I spun toward the alleyway I heard the click
of a hammer being pulled back.
 “’fraid we gotta problem, darlin’.  Ah think you’ve gone a bit outta control.”
 Lieutenant Roger Aadams was pointing a three fifty-seven police python four
meters away.  Too far away from me to get it out of his hands, close enough that he was
able to draw an accurate bead.
 Deadlock.