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"Several thousand times. Sweet Jesus. Okay, you just sit tight, honey, they on their way." "Am I to understand that what my husband did was illegal?" "Honey, has he been keepin' you in a cave? Domestic abuse, assault and battery; hubby is an abuser, sweet child. You don't have to put up with this and I hope you don't. I'm glad you called. He could kill you, sweetie. I seen it happen. You just wait there, they on their way." "Thank you." "You gonna be fine, Tracy. Everything gonna work out." "Thank you very much." Interesting. So the punishments were actually illegal, not standard procedure at all! That was good information to have. Eerceon waited. She counted off 13 minutes. There was a loud series of whacks from the door. Someone's knocking, the simulation said. You gotta answer it. Eerceon went to open the door. She saw a tall man with a thin black mustache, dressed in some kind of uniform. A smaller uniformed person, a female with yellow hair, stood behind this one. "Missus Horndel?" "Yes. Hello." "Jesus," said the female. "I'm Officer Williams, this is Officer Sussman. May we come in?" Behind them, a white EMS ambulance pulled up to the sidewalk. * * * At 11:22 AM, there was another knock at the door. Tracy opened it to see Walt standing there. "You bitch. The cops came for me at work. But I saw them before they saw me. I can't believe you called the fucking cops on me!" "Yes. It seems, Walt, that the punishments you have inflicted on... me... are against the law. You have no right to-" "You fucking bitch! I'm gonna kill you!" Walt hit Eerceon in the eye with a right hook. Eerceon bounced back against the wall, then turned her rebound into a side-step, running to the center of the living room and turning to face Walt again. "Don't you run away from me!" He swung again, but this time Eerceon was ready for it. She caught his right fist in her left hand. With her right, she punched him in the nose, putting her full weight into the blow. Walt screamed as his nose was smashed. "I'm gonna kill you now! I'm gonna fucking kill you!" He tried a left uppercut. Eerceon turned left, catching the blow on her right shoulder. She stamp-kicked Walt in the shin. He roared and kept trying to hit her. She blocked every punch and kick and delivered one back for every one she got. They fell apart, breathing heavily. "I'm gonna kill you," repeated Walt. "I doubt that," said Eerceon. "Your reflexes are slower than mine; plus you appear to be poorly coordinated -- from ethanol intoxication, if the smell of your breath is evidence. Even if you were sober, however, I could very likely outfight you. You have the advantage in upper-body strength, but I am faster and have much greater endurance." He wilted suddenly. "What's got into you, Tracy? You didn't use to be like this. And how come you're talkin' like a professor all of a sudden?" "I am trying to be precise." "I want some lunch. Lemme see what's in the fridge." He walked into the kitchen. She followed. Walt went straight to a drawer and pulled it open. He turned suddenly. Eerceon caught a glimpse of metal just in time to catch his wrist. She tightened her grip until the steak knife dropped to the floor. "That was a mistake, Walt." She reached out with her free hand, gripping his throat. He pulled his hand free from her grasp and grabbed the hand on his neck, trying to pull it free. She added her other hand, pushing down hard on the carotid arteries. Walt drooped, becoming a dead weight. His eyeballs rolled up. She held him like that for several seconds; enough to ensure that he was unconscious and not faking. Then he let him fall to the floor. She went to the phone to call 911. Clearly it was impossible to live with Walt; she would have to go through the "divorce" procedure the cops had outlined for her. After that she would need to find some profession to support herself temporarily. With her mathematical expertise, there was no reason she could not find an academic profession of some sort. Tracy had wanted children; a more suitable mate might be a possibility for the future. She didn't have to decide anything right away. With her total control of her body, that body, 46 local years old, could easily live another seventy years. And there were other bodies out there, perhaps millions or billions of them. People must die on this planet all the time. She had all the time in the world.
*****END*****
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