Chapter 3.

Bette was second too late with her recognition of the intruder.  The ammo already left her hand and hit the trespasser squarely in the head. “Fuck” Bette heard the victim’s last outcry as the body stumbled forward and landed face down.  “Shit” Bette shrieked, tucking away the other weapon in the back of her waistband and rushed to the intruder’s side.

“Dana…Dana” Bette elevated the woman’s head and patted her face repeatedly to gain alertness.  It was a direct hit evident by the golf-sized bump forming on the semi-conscious woman’s forehead.  Bette threw a mean fastball, not major league speed, but with enough momentum in a confine space to caused a minor concussion.  The young woman’s life was spare by the split decision Bette made with her choice of weapon. 

“Wha….ouch….Bette….what happen?” The young woman named Dana cried out in pain as she came to, saw Bette’s face, and felt the excruciating pain in her head.

“You almost got yourself kill sneaking in here.” Bette helped Dana to sit up on the bed “Stay, I’ll be right back” and instructed the dazed woman before heading off to the kitchen.

“Oh…okay…ow.…” Dana was roused enough to remembered what she did.  She felt a little embarrassed at first but the throbbing on her head made her winced in pain.

“Here…put this on.” Bette came back and handed Dana an icepack.  While Dana tended to her injury, Bette did a quick clean up of the area, making sure the slide door closed before turning on the light.

“What the hell are you doing here Dana?” Bette came to Dana’s side to check on the injury and questioned her intention.

“I have the news you’ve been waiting for and got too excited to wait for you to come to work.” Dana said, sheepishly while pressing the cold pack to numb the pain.

“Why didn’t you use the front door or call me ahead of time instead of climbing down my patio like a thief and almost got kill?” Bette placed the icepack back on the lump and admonished the young woman.

“I did call but your phones were busied so I stopped by but you didn’t answer the door when I knocked or buzzed the doorbell so I figure, why not…lets climb down her patio.  How hard would it be…I thought since I had the training why not try it out…where else or when would I get an opportunity if not now…and well…here I am.”  Dana was rambling on and on about her misadventure and did not notice the disapprovingly look on Bette’s face.