Chapter 9
Tobin laid down onto her board and started paddling out at Latigo Beach. About ten other surfers were in the water. As she neared the takeoff zone she noticed a couple of the other surfers glare at her. One of them had piercing eyes, brown hair and a hard jawline. The other had darker brown hair and a serious look on her face. A couple other surfers glanced over at her with unfriendly looks on their faces. One was blonde with chiseled features. The fourth was shorter, with reddish-brown hair and a smattering of freckles across her face. Tobin stayed out of their way but took note of their faces. Maybe she would look them up later, try to identify them in rap sheet logs back at the office to see if they’ve had any prior arrests. Not that being unfriendly meant that they were necessarily criminals. They could just be hardcore locals, resentful of an outsider encroaching on their break. The other surfers in the lineup paid her no attention.
Tobin caught a few waves and was considering paddling back in when she saw a good set starting to roll in. She paddled back out and took off on a decent sized wave. She rode for about ten seconds and was just starting to congratulate herself when she heard a shout from her left. She saw the darker brunette coming towards her, yelling at her to get off the wave. Tobin wanted to pull out but didn’t have the skills to react in time, and the dark brunette plowed right into her. Both surfers went down into the water. Tobin came up, and when she did, she saw the brunette swimming towards her. “Hey! Watch where you’re fucking going!” she yelled.
“Sorry”, Tobin said. She stuck out her hand in apology, but instead of shaking it the brunette slapped her across the face.
“Fuck you for dropping in on me, you kook!” she said. She glared at Tobin. “Go back to the Valley, bitch!”, she spat as she collected her board and then paddled away. Tobin thought about paddling after her and then realized that she might not be alone, so she decided to head in instead. As she turned towards shore she noticed the brunette, now thirty yards away, talking to the other surfers who had glared at her and pointing in her direction.
Tobin paddled in and walked to the outdoor shower. She propped up her board next to the shower stand and then turned on the water. She stood under the falling water, closed her eyes and let the cool water wash over her head, down her face and over her body. She let her thoughts wander for a few minutes between the case and Alex and everything that had happened since she had started last week at the FBI, and she was just starting to think about her date last night with Alex and their kiss when she felt the water stop. She looked up and then around. And registered she was in trouble.
The four surfers who had glared at her in the water were now standing around her. The freckled one was an inch or two shorter than Tobin. The blonde with the chiseled features was about her height. The brunette who she had collided with had her hand on the water knob. She was a bit taller than Tobin. The brunette with the piercing eyes and hard jawline was even taller. All of the women had athletic builds. And all of them looked pissed off and ready to fight.
“Is this the bitch who dropped in on you?” the tall, muscular brunette with the piercing eyes and hard jawline asked, staring right at Tobin.
“Yup, this is her”, said the other brunette who had slapped Tobin in the face.
Tobin put her hands up and started to speak, hoping she could pacify the four women and get off with just an apology. “Alright, look, I’m sorry. It was my fault.” She looked at the four women in front of her. None of them said anything, just continued to stare at her, so she continued. “And I know – this is the part where you guys tell me all about how the locals rule, and how outsiders like me shouldn’t be surfing the break, right?”
“Nope”, the brunette who had slapped Tobin said.
“That would be a waste of time”, the freckled woman said, drawing mean laughter from the others.
“We’re just gonna fuck you up”, the big brunette said.
“Oh”, Tobin said. She stood there for a moment, then grabbed her board and swung it at the big brunette. The big brunette stumbled and went down, and Tobin shoved the other brunette in the face with the board. She went down as well, and then Tobin swung at the blonde. She connected with a right hand, but as she did, she felt a hard blow to her side from the freckled woman. She paused, stunned for a moment, and the blond, who had recovered from Tobin’s punch, punched her back. Tobin’s head snapped back, and as it did, she felt herself being grabbed from behind. The big brunette had a hold of her, and the other brunette drilled two solid punches into her stomach. Tobin doubled over and the brunette who she had cut off hit her again.
“That’s what you get for dropping in on me, you fucking kook!” she said as she hit Tobin again. Tobin shut her eyes and braced herself for another blow when she heard a scuffling noise and a familiar voice. She opened her eyes to see Ashlyn pushing the brunette away from her. Ashlyn glared at the blonde and the freckled woman, and they backed away. Then she addressed the big brunette who was holding Tobin.
“Back off Hope”, Ashlyn said. “She’s with me.”
“Stay out of this, Ashlyn”, Hope spat out.
“Back off Hope, seriously”, Ashlyn said again, with more force. Hope glared at Ashlyn for a moment and then huffed and released Tobin, shoving her aside.
“Thank you”, Ashlyn said to Hope.
Tobin, recovering, looked at the brunette who had been hitting her. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Carli”, the woman replied. “Why the fuck do you want to know my name?”
“Because I’d like to thank you”, Tobin said to Carli.
“For what? Kicking your ass?” Carli said, and Hope let out a mean chuckle.
“No. For letting me know who you are”, Tobin said, and with that she reached back and punched Carli square in the face. Carli screamed and grabbed her nose, and Tobin kicked her in the stomach. She went down, and Hope stepped in to grab Tobin, but Ashlyn hit Hope with a right cross. Hope stumbled and went down onto one knee, and Ashlyn delivered a fierce kick to Hope’s face, putting Hope on her back. The blonde tried to step in, but Ashlyn blocked her punch and landed two jabs and then a left hook, sending her to the ground. Meanwhile, the freckled woman had grabbed Tobin from behind, trying to apply a chokehold, but Tobin hit her in the face with a reverse head-butt, then planted two elbows into the freckled woman’s solar plexus. The freckled woman doubled over, and Tobin spun around and then delivered a knee right into her face. The freckled woman fell over backwards, leaving Tobin and Ashlyn as the only two women standing. They looked at each other as their four opponents laid on the ground, moaning.
“This is stimulating, Tobin, but we’re outta here”, Ashlyn said. She grabbed Tobin’s board, handed it to her, and the two of them made their way to the parking lot.
“So who were those chicks?” Tobin asked as they walked to their cars.
“Just some crazy assholes. The one you dropped is Carli Lloyd. The big one is Hope Solo. The other two, I don’t know, I think the blonde is named J.J., and the fourth one I think is Kelley, some little grom with a chip on her shoulder. They think they’re some kind of ‘locals only’ beach patrol gang or something”, Ashlyn said.
“What’s their problem?”
“Who knows. Too many drugs, not enough attention when they were kids, I don’t know”, Ashlyn said. “All I know is that their brains just aren’t wired right.”
“Huh…” Tobin said. “Think they deal drugs? Or maybe get into some other kinds of crime?” she asked, trying to probe a bit. These four women could definitely be potential Queen Team candidates.
“No idea”, Ashlyn said. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. They just don’t get the ride. They’re so jacked up and pissed off that they just don’t understand the spiritual side of surfing.”
“Sure”, Tobin said, even though she wasn’t quite sure what Ashlyn was talking about. She and Ashlyn walked for a few more feet and then Tobin stopped. “Well, this is my car”, she said.
Ashlyn turned and looked Tobin straight in the eye. “You still haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”
“Figured what out?” Tobin asked, confused.
“What surfing is all about...” Ashlyn let it hang.
“Well, um…” Tobin began, but Ashlyn cut her off.
“It’s a state of mind. It’s that place where you lose yourself and you find yourself, at the same time. It’s about feeling free, about being free. It’s about searching for the ultimate ride. That’s what surfing is all about.”
Tobin stared back at Ashlyn, taking that in. Then she stuck out her hand. “Well, thanks for stepping in today.”
“No problem”, Ashlyn said, shaking Tobin’s hand. She started to walk to her car and then said, “Hey, I’m having some people over tonight. You should come by.”
“Sure”, Tobin said. “Where do you live?”
Ashlyn paused for a moment and then said, “Come with Alex. She knows.” Then she gave Tobin a small smile, turned around and walked to her car.
********
Tobin waited in her car until the four women that she and Ashlyn had put down left the beach and got in their jeep. Tobin followed them as they pulled out of the parking lot and then called Abby.
“Abby – I’m leaving Latigo Beach right now. I just had a run-in with four women. I’ll give you the details later, but right now I need you to run a plate.” Tobin gave Abby the license plate off the jeep and then headed into the office. She arrived 20 minutes later and went straight to Abby’s office. “What do you have?” Tobin asked as she entered.
“The jeep is registered to a Carli Lloyd. She’s got an extensive rap sheet. Drug trafficking, felony assault, petty theft”, Abby said.
“These gals fit the bill”, Tobin said, and she told Abby about her run-in.
“Yeah, they sound like trouble. Can we make the leap to them robbing banks?” Abby asked.
“I wouldn’t put it passed them. I mean, they were going to put me in the hospital over a wave. What do you think they’d be willing to do for thousands of dollars in cash?”
“Good point”, Abby said. “I’ll run it by Jill and have her call for a warrant.”
********
Tobin, Abby, Shannon and Lauren were staked out down the street from Carli’s house. Carli’s jeep was parked outside in the driveway. Abby went over the game plan.
“Alright, the warrant should clear tomorrow morning. Tobin and I will sit here until tonight, then you two”, she said, pointing at Lauren and Shannon, “will have the overnight watch. LAPD SWAT will arrive right before dawn, on my call, to back us up. We raid at first light.”
“This better be the right crew, if we’re pulling an all-nighter on your suggestion”, Lauren growled at Tobin.
“These girls fit the profile”, Tobin said. “They’re mean, and they have prior records.”
“Alright”, Abby said. “You guys get lost. You’re back here at 9pm.” Lauren and Shannon left, and Tobin turned her attention back towards the house.