Junior Year Box Set

Al staggered back and tripped over his friends. He hit the back of his head on the pavement and didn’t move. I quickly checked to see if he was still breathing and was relieved to confirm I hadn’t killed him.

I called 911 and said I’d been attacked and that I’d subdued my three attackers. The first car on the scene was a woman officer, and she had me lay on the ground and handcuffed me. She then put me into the back seat of her car so she could direct traffic. Fritz was alerted to the trouble when he saw all the vehicles with flashing lights stopping in front of the beach house.

I watched as the ambulances came. The boy whose friend hit him in the back was put onto a backboard before they took him away. Al’s other friend was put into a brace for his leg, and the paramedics worked to get his nose to stop bleeding. I watched as Al came around and pointed at me when talking to one of the many police officers who’d quickly showed up. I didn’t like the direction this was going. It would be the three of them claiming I’d assaulted them, if I weren’t careful.

They finally pulled me out of the car and offered me the opportunity to tell my story.

“May I talk to my security?” I asked as I nodded towards Fritz.

They agreed. I made a point of having Fritz take off my sunglasses for safekeeping. I really didn’t want them to disappear while I was in police custody.

“Look, they’re going to say I started this. Call Frank Ingram and get him the video from the car. I need this in the hands of every news outlet in LA in the next hour, or this could get ugly.”

Something I learned from the rape allegations was that you wanted to get ahead of the story. I needed my version of what happened in the hands of the media before a smart lawyer twisted things. The best way to do that was to show the public what happened. If the police seized the video, it might be months before it saw the light of day, if ever. This was the very reason Fritz and his team wore video equipment when working. It eliminated a lot of the bullshit.

I told my story to the detective who showed up.

“Mr. Faulkenburg tells a different story. He said you attacked them and they had to defend themselves. He said it was all over a surfing incident and that you were out for revenge. Did you and Mr. Faulkenburg have an altercation surfing today?” he asked.

“Al jumped three of my waves. Instead of letting things get out of hand, I decided to stop for the day. Was I irritated? Yes,” I admitted. “I would bet that if you interviewed them separately, their stories don’t add up. The three of them were waiting for me when I stepped out the front door. As I said, Al and his two friends attacked me.”

“I’m going to need you to come downtown until we straighten this out,” the detective said.

“You should think long and hard about that. I would hate to see you tarnish my reputation by making it look like I was guilty when I’m the victim.”

Of course, that all was caught on tape from Fritz’s bodycam. They put me in the back of a squad car, and I was taken in.

Frank would later almost kiss Fritz for his foresight. The two videos were on the air before they could question me. The police weren’t happy the footage hadn’t been turned over to them. I missed going to the dojo but made it home in time for Rosy to feed me. The police no longer looked at me as a suspect.

◊◊◊

After dinner, there were a couple of scheduled interviews Frank had set up. Neither of the interviewers had seen the fight video, so we just talked about my movie premiere and the one I was working on. Frank promised me talking points for the fight because he was sure it would come up in the other interviews that had been scheduled.

After I was done, I was told to call home. Luckily, my dad answered.

“Are you okay?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, it could’ve been worse,” I admitted.

“Where was your security? I thought Rita had someone with you at all times.”

“He was here. I just ran out to the car because I forgot my iPad. I never imagined they’d be lying in wait like that. It wasn’t his fault,” I said.

“Your mom wants to talk to you,” he said.

“Tell her I’m in a coma and can’t talk right now,” I begged.

“He says he’s in a coma.”

“Give me that phone.”

“We keep having these discussions. Do I need to give you a lecture?” Mom asked.

“Only if it would make you feel better. I was only protecting myself,” I said.

“How’s your coma?”

“It’s getting better. I’ll be fine,” I said.

I missed my parents.

Then my mom ruined my day.

“Call Cassidy,” she ordered.

I contemplated not doing it but was afraid of what she might do if I didn’t call her.

“Hey, it’s David,” I said with a little cheer in my voice.

“Before we talk, are you all right?” she asked.

“I’m good. My stomach and ribs are tender, but nothing serious. I got off easy,” I admitted.

“Good,” she said and let a long breath out. “I’m embarrassed to let anyone know I’ve been working with you. Have you not listened to a word I’ve said during your training? Do you know how lucky you are to have walked away from that attack?”