Chapter 32 - Takedown

“WHAT?!?!” Jon’s eyes flew open wide and his shocked exclamation came out as a half-laugh. He couldn’t believe her brazenness. He stared at her, wide-eyed, his mouth agape.

Cate threw her head back and let out a long, hearty laugh at Jon’s deer-in-headlights stare. Her ponytail swung a bit from side to side as she laughed, and her chest bounced enticingly. Given the offer she had just made, Jon was ready to grab her right there…if only he was able to move. He was frozen in shock.

Cate brought her face back forward, grinning at Jon’s priceless expression. She giggled again and her eyes sparkled merrily. Jon gave her a sheepish smile, but she could see he was hoping she was serious.

“You heard me,” she chuckled. “Let’s get through these takedowns, then you’ll see what I mean.” She pursed her lips slightly into a small pout, mimicking the one he had given her yesterday. “Who says cop training can’t be fun?” she purred playfully.

Jon nodded eagerly. Now that he had recovered from his surprise, he realized what Cate was doing. She was trying to distract him from his discomfort with her tease. He hoped she was at least partly serious, that he’d get to lay his hands on her in a more pleasurable way than throwing her to the floor.

But he appreciated her lightening the mood. It was certainly a much nicer distraction technique than she had used during their first DTs session. He hadn’t much enjoyed her goading him in her attempt to piss him off.

Cate took a deep breath then started her explanation of resistance control. “I’m going to teach you how to respond to and control an uncooperative suspect. As you can imagine, not everyone an officer attempts to handcuff is thrilled about the idea. Sometimes the suspect is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or he or she might be an experienced criminal. Or sometimes people just freak out and try to get away.” She saw Jon smile at her description.

“Most suspects who resist do so as or after the first cuff has been applied. That means the officer is in close contact with the suspect, and has some control over him or her. It is also potentially dangerous. So, it’s really important that the officer be able to get the suspect immediately under control, with the minimal amount of force necessary.”

Cate paused and took another breath. “The technique we use to subdue a resistant suspect during handcuffing is…?” She waited for Jon to finish, to see if he remembered from his reading.

“The iron wristlock takedown,” Jon answered promptly. “Sounds unpleasant.”

Cate chuckled. “Well, it ain’t fun for the suspect. For the officer, not so bad.” She pulled her cuffs from their case at the small of her back. “Ready for a demonstration?”

Jon nodded and again took his place in front of the mirror. He assumed the suspect’s position, his hands behind his back, as Cate stepped behind him. “Now,” she said. “I’m going to move in and begin to cuff you. As soon as you feel the cuff touch your wrist, try to get away.”

“How?” Jon asked, looking a bit confused.

“Just do what you think you would do in real life. Try to run; pull your hands away and try to take off,” Cate answered. “Don’t worry, you’re not going anywhere.” She smiled slightly, knowing what was coming.

“Okay…” Jon sounded reluctant, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Here we go,” Cate announced. She stepped up behind Jon and grasped his hand, swiftly snapping the cuff onto his wrist. As he was instructed, Jon tried to jerk his hands away upon the cuff’s contact. He leaned forward, trying to pull himself away from Cate.

Suddenly he heard Cate shout “STOP!” and felt her wrench his hand around, the metal cuff biting into his wrist even through the tape. “GET DOWN!” she barked as she swiftly stepped backward and yanked upward on Jon’s arm, causing him to stumble and pinwheel forward as he fell to the floor.

Jon dropped face-first onto the mat with a heavy thud, pain shooting up his right arm as Cate manipulated the cuff. He felt pressure on his neck and shoulder as Cate knelt beside his head, pinning his upper body to the ground with her knee between his shoulder blades. She moved his cuffed hand to the small of his back and ordered Jon to place his free hand there as well. He immediately complied, and she quickly applied the second handcuff.

As soon as Jon was restrained, Cate moved off him and stood. “You okay?” she asked as Jon lay breathless on the mat.

“Well, THAT sucked…” Jon gasped. He raised his head to look at her, straining to do so as his hands were shackled behind his back. “Ow,” he grimaced.

Cate gave Jon a sympathetic smile. “I know, it hurts when that cuff twists, doesn’t it? But as soon as you felt that pain you immediately focused on relieving it, rather than on running away or attacking me. And you did exactly what you were told as soon as I put you on the ground. “

“Yeah,” Jon breathed. “I was ready to do anything you told me to do,” he added sincerely.

Cate chuckled. “Well, you’re lucky I’m a by-the-book cop. I could so totally take advantage of you!” she teased.

“You wouldn’t need handcuffs to do that,” Jon responded, flirting with her despite his discomfort. “But I’d play along if that’s what you’re into,” he winked at her and gave a strained grin. “Can I get up now?”

Cate crouched beside Jon and removed his handcuffs. He pushed himself up to his knees, then climbed to his feet, rubbing his wrists. “Ready to try it on me?” she queried.

Jon frowned slightly, but he nodded. He pulled his cuffs from their case and listened silently as Cate walked him through the movements, step by step. He mimicked her demonstration as she showed him how to step back and to the side while pulling up on the arm, causing the suspect to spin toward the ground.

By the time she was done with her instruction, Cate saw that Jon’s lips were pressed together in a firm line. He was clearly unhappy that he was going to have to treat her so roughly, but he was keeping his displeasure to himself.

Here we go…. thought Cate as she turned her back to Jon, assuming the suspect position.

“We’re going to do this first one in slow-mo,” Cate said to Jon, looking into the mirror. “Remember how I had you do the punches on Wednesday?” When you got all pissy and wouldn’t hit me…. she finished in her mind.

“Yeah, I remember,” Jon replied, his tension evident in his voice. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and blew it out, then opened his eyes to meet Cate’s gaze in the mirror. “Let’s do it.”

“Okay, go.” Cate called out narrative as they slowly and deliberately moved through the exercise. “Grasp the thumb…apply the first cuff… I pull my hands away, hold on to the thumb... bend my thumb back toward my wrist and angle the cuff… harder than that, you have to really torque it to get the suspect to respond… I lean forward to try to get away….. step back, pivot, pull up on my arm and swiiinnng……”

Cate slowly spun herself around in response to Jon’s pressure on her right arm, went down to her knees on the mat, then caught herself with her free hand before easing down to the prone position.

“Good!” she praised Jon as he moved in to kneel on her back. “Now finish the cuffing…” She smiled to herself as Jon gave her the correct commands to position her hands, then completed the exercise.

When he moved off her back, Cate turned her head to see the relief on Jon’s face. You’re not out of the woods yet, Jonny, she thought. But at least you’re keeping your mouth shut.

Cate gave Jon an encouraging grin. “Great! Now we just add some speed and you’ve got it.” She wiggled her fingers, and Jon leaned down to remove the cuffs. He helped her up, then waited silently for her cue to repeat the exercise.

Cate was a little surprised Jon was so quiet. Not that she wanted him to argue with her, but Jon’s demeanor was not what she had come to expect in her few short days with him. Maybe he was having a harder time with this than she thought.

“Just a few more times,” Cate said quietly, reading his thoughts. “Trust me.” Jon raised his eyes to hers and nodded.

Cate turned her back to Jon and assumed the suspect position once more. Again they walked step-by-step through the iron wristlock takedown movement, more quickly this time, Cate calling out instruction. Jon was silent other than issuing the commands required of the exercise. Recognizing that Jon needed the communication break to help him focus, Cate spoke only to give him direction and evaluation.

Cate made Jon take her down five more times, each with increasing speed and force, and with fewer instructions from her. By the fifth time she hit the floor, Cate was sweaty and her breathing was labored. Jon was certainly responding to the training; he was less tentative, handling her more roughly.

As Jon fully engaged, Cate found herself getting more and more turned on by his strength. She stole a glance at his face, admiring the strong set of his jaw and the intense blue of his eyes as they narrowed in concentration. Let’s see if he’ll go all out, she thought.

Cate assumed the suspect position and gave the “go” command. Jon swiftly stepped in to cuff her, and Cate made a lunge forward. In a flash, Cate felt herself spinning, pain shooting down her right arm, then landing with a thud on the mat. She grunted involuntarily as the impact pushed the air out of her lungs.

As she tried to clear her head from the momentary stun, Cate felt Jon’s knee on her back and she heard his voice, sharp and demanding, ordering her to move her hands. She complied and he snapped the cuffs closed, then lifted his weight off her.

Cate lay panting on the mat for a long moment, her breathlessness more from the surge of desire she felt as Jon man-handled her than from her impact with the floor. Then she turned her head to look at Jon. She was surprised to see him kneeling beside her, a grim but satisfied look on his face.

“That was perfect,” she said, still breathing heavily. “Great job.”

Jon gave her a pained smile in return. “Thanks,” he replied quietly. “Please don’t make me do it again.”

Cate’s heart melted at the earnestness in his voice. “Okay,” she agreed softly. “No more.”

Jon nodded and moved closer to unlock the cuffs, freeing Cate’s wrists. Still kneeling, he helped her sit up then took both her hands in his. Cate’s pulse raced at the gentleness of his touch. She stared at him, wide-eyed, as he soothingly massaged her tender wrists through their battered tape bindings.

Jon brought his eyes up to meet Cate’s. I’m sorry… his remorseful gaze said. Again her heart swelled at his kindness.

Cate sat there for a long moment, allowing Jon to hold her hands. Then she reluctantly pulled them away and stood. Jon followed her, and they regarded each other. “You did fine.” Cate said quietly, giving him a gentle smile.

Jon nodded. “Yeah. Guess I did.” He was silent for a pause, then he smiled back at her. “Now can we please get to the fun part?”

Cate laughed. “Yes. Yes we can,” she agreed. “But first let’s take a break. I need a drink.” And a minute to calm down, she thought, still feeling her blood rushing. “Wait here – I’ll grab us something from the instructor’s lounge.”

As Cate hurried down the hall to the fitness center offices, she felt like skipping. She was SO glad that Jon had worked with her today instead of fighting her. Every little touch and look he gave her made her heart sing. When he handled her more forcefully during their training, little shock waves ran through her as she remembered the feel of his powerful arms and legs wrapped around her body.

And when he held her hands so gently in his…talk about a high! She could understand how junkies couldn’t kick their habits, if they felt half the euphoria from their drug of choice as she felt at Jon’s touch. Got a jonze for your affection like a monkey on my back…. she thought with a giggle.

She could hardly wait to get back to Jon and continue the training. She had SO much more to teach him...