Red Phoenix

eight, and obviously still had some growing to do. He moved with muscular grace as he kicked off his shoes, but the first thing I noticed was his hair; he had dyed it blond.
    ‘Michael, this is Miss Donahoe,’ Leo said pointedly.
    Michael bobbed his head. ‘Ma’am.’
    I nodded back. ‘Mr MacLaren. Leo’s told me good things about you. How about we go into the dining room together and talk?’
    ‘I’ll take Simone,’ Leo said. ‘Where’s Mr Chen?’
    ‘In the shower,’ Simone said. ‘ Again .’
    Leo grinned. He held his hand out to Simone. ‘Come on, Simone, let’s play on the Playstation while we wait for Emma and your dad.’
    ‘It’s your day off, Leo,’ Simone said, concerned. ‘You don’t have to work.’
    ‘This isn’t work, sweetheart,’ he said. He nodded to Michael. ‘You’ll be fine.’
    ‘Come with me, Michael.’ I opened the dining room door and took him in.
    He sat at the table, carefully serious and respectful. He was obviously very nervous. His half-Chineseheritage gave him golden skin under his blond hair. His eyes were a light shade of brown, and his Eurasian features were stunningly good-looking.
    I sat across from him. ‘Leo tells me that you might be suitable for an opening we have here. We’re looking for a trainee bodyguard, full-time, live-in. Could you do that?’
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    I leaned back. ‘Tell me about yourself.’
    He paused and looked down at his hands where he had them clasped on the table. ‘I finished third form, and I don’t want to go back to school. I want to do something with martial arts.’
    ‘Well, you’ve come to the right place. Why do you dye your hair blond?’
    He grimaced. ‘I don’t. Sometimes I think I should dye it black or brown instead. It’s natural.’
    ‘You’re a natural blond ?’
    He nodded.
    ‘Well, that’s not unheard of, I suppose. I’ve seen other blond half-Chinese kids around. Have you been looking for work? Have you had any previous jobs?’
    ‘I wanted to work at Mr Pak’s martial arts studio when I was able to leave school, but times are tough and he can’t pay me. My mom won’t let me work for nothing, otherwise I would. I go in there and help anyway, but Mom says I have to find a real job that pays.’
    I didn’t say I agreed with her. ‘Have you asked your mother about moving in here?’ He shrugged. ‘Not yet.’
    ‘I suppose we can cross that bridge when we come to it. How good are you at the Arts?’
    Michael shrugged again. ‘Leo says I’m good.’
    ‘How about we see.’ I rose and gestured. ‘Come with me, I’ll try you out.’
    ‘You’ll try me out?’ I smiled grimly.
    When Michael reached the training room he stopped and stared at the weapons on the wall.
    I moved to the centre of the room and gestured for him to face me. ‘I’ll try you. Ready?’
    He moved about a metre away from me and stood uncomfortably. ‘I’m not sure about this, ma’am.’
    I straightened. ‘Are you worried I’ll hurt you?’
    He grinned, he was confident. ‘No, ma’am.’
    ‘You’re worried you’ll hurt me?’
    He nodded and his blond hair flopped over his forehead.
    ‘Good.’ I moved into a standard short defensive stance, left guard. ‘All I want you to do is pin me. See if you can have me immobile on the floor. You’re taller than me and stronger than me; if you have a reasonable amount of skill it shouldn’t be a problem. If you can do it you have the job.’
    He hesitated, unsure.
    ‘Don’t worry about hurting me. If I’m injured I’ll take full responsibility.’
    He shook his head. ‘I won’t hurt a woman, Miss Donahoe.’
    ‘If you’re a good student of Leo’s then you can probably best me.’ I waved a come-on. ‘Try me.’
    He was lightning fast. Leo had taught him well. He dropped to perform a spinning kick, trying to take my feet out from under me.
    I just stepped over it.
    I rose and he hesitated, then lunged and tried to grab my arms. I twisted my arms up and away and stepped back out of his grip. I dropped and spun and took his feet out from under him. He fell on his behind with a thump.
    He flipped back onto his feet; strong abs. Good. He was obviously feeling inadequate, because for the next move he just threw a fist at my face.
    Extremely bad idea. I grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and threw him over my shoulder onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. He lay on the mats and panted for about half a minute.
    ‘All you have to do is pin me,