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indicator, I ducked, just as Ledbetter’s clenched fist swiped over my head.
    A gasp squeezed out of the circle around us.
    He’d attacked me, now I could legally defend myself. Finally.
    I spun round. He was close, but busy regaining his balance from the missed swing. I said, ‘You can’t hit me with my back turned? And from only three feet away? Impressive.’
    He snarled again, trying a two-finger eye strike, but I ducked to the side before he’d finished.
    I backed away, saying, ‘Still no sense of humour, Ledbetter? You should get one; it makes life sooo much easier. Trust me.’
    There were some scattered laughs, but most of the cadets were uneasy, surprised.
    I pointed at Ledbetter, now glowering in the centre of the room. He couldn’t believe I wasn’t taking him seriously, and didn’t know what to do about it. ‘Here we have a prime example of your regular street thug. Stupid, violent. With bad technique.’
    I walked over to the only brick wall in the room, and waved the cadets away from it. They were puzzled, but moved anyway.
    Watching Ledbetter I said, ‘In the following weeks, class, you’re going to learn some Aikido, the ultimate martial art.’
    He screamed, ‘Shut up!’ and charged. As he reached me he jabbed his right hand, heel of the palm first, up towards the centre of my face.
    He’d really lost it. He was trying to shove my nose backwards into my brain.
    I slid sideways — to the outside of his arm — so he hit dead air and fell forward in the direction of his strike. I grabbed his wrist and swung it down, using his own momentum to flick him into the brick wall, upside down.
    Ledbetter hit it hard. Hard enough to knock the breath out. His own momentum held him pinned against the bricks for a fraction of a second, then he slid directly down, headfirst.
    Crunch.
    He fell over to his side, dazed, still breathing, but finished for tonight.
    I turned back to the shocked faces. ‘Aikido is the world’s most lethal dance. It was created by one of the last samurai. He knew that if you completely blend with your opponent’s attack, then you can take control of their force and redirect it. The harder someone attacks, the harder they fall.’
    I looked down at Ledbetter. ‘I call it instant karma.’

2
DES ARRIVES
    It was dark by the time all the students had gone. The last to leave was the sweet-faced cadet who’d warned me of Ledbetter’s punch. She’d stayed on, just talking and talking. She was an idealist. Going into the force because she believed it was a vocation, not a job. She kept apologising for Ledbetter’s behaviour. Said she was going to report him to the first-year coordinator. Said he’d tried to bully the other students as well, and this had to stop.
    I’d agreed. That certainly sounded like him. God knows he was the last person I’d like to see wearing a police badge.
    Ledbetter’s two mates had put him in his car and driven him away. I’d called an ambulance from the dojo office, but his bruised ego had got him moving before they could get here. He was a little groggy, but I’d checked his eyes while he was still on the floor. He had a thick skull, so he’d have a headache, but probably no concussion. It’s hard to seriously hurt your brain when it’s the size of a pea.
    He’d left swearing I’d lose my contract and my dojo.That he’d sue. That he’d get me. That he’d … The threats had only stopped when they’d driven off.
    Either way, my next meeting with the first-year coordinator at the College was sure to be more interesting than I could deal with at the moment.
    I pulled at the neck of my gi; the heavy cotton was damp and sticking to my skin.
    It was a hot night, too hot. I was used to wearing the full gi and hakama, freezing cold or boiling hot, but I could sure use a shower now, and I had to eat something