"Good Morning , James Robinson, Ministry of Defence"

"Oh, Hello, Mr Robinson, I'm a friend of Angela.  I'm afraid she's not too well todayand won't be able to come in .. She should be fine by Monday.  Bit of a fall, and she's a bit bruised and shaken up.  She' ll be good as new in a day or two"

"Hello, Katie O'Brien's office, Jean here"

"Hi, Jean, Katie here.  I'm not feeling too well, I had a bit of a tumble, yesterday and I've a few cuts and bruises and a splitting headache.  I'll be fine by Monday. I can take calls at home, BYE!"

"That's that taken care of"  said Katie, replacing the phone on the bedside table.

"Darling Angie"

"Darling Katie, careful how you kiss me, but don't stop. My face is so sore, thanks to you"

"Mind how you hug ME, said Katie, my ribs are so bloody sore thanks to you"

"Katie"

"What, love?"

"Do you think we'll ever be better?"

"Cause we will"

"Katie?"

What, darling?"

"That beach gets awfully crowded in the summer.  Where can we go to fight, then?"

"We'll have  a truce for the summer"

"What a frightful bore!"

And Angie fell asleep in Katie's arms.

Katie looked down at her friend's naked body.  Her ribs were bruised and there were  some nasty cuts under her lovely,  battered breasts.  Those sturdy thighs and well turned shins  were covered in cuts and grazes,  her whole body was a mass of angry red marks and ugly bruises.

"Just like mine", thought Katie. "That was quite a day!"

And she fell asleep, still lovingly cradling Angie in her arms.

.......................................................................................................................................

"Back to normal today, eh?  Bozo.  Peace has returned"

John stood, exactly on the spot where yesterday's fight had taken place.  The sand was smooth, now, having been washed by the tide.  No more signs of blood, though there been plenty yesterday!  There were still a few drops on the shingle, where victor and vanquished alike had continued to bleed as the one carried the burden of the other up those steps and all the long, weary way to the car park. He had  half hoped that the girls would come to recuperate at his house, but they had gone straight home.

One of the two bikinis was still on the shingle, where the victor, in her triumph,  had left it after she  had very gently and tenderly helped her beaten friend to dress.

"What a strange pair they are, those two!  You like them don't you old boy?"

Bozo wagged his tail and barked his agreement.

 "I like, them too old boy. Specially Katie - but I'm a married man.  Oh well."
..................................................................................................................................

Katie alternated between sleeping and waking and in her waking moments went over all the details of that duel with Angie the day before.

..................................................................................................................................

As the two adversaries stepped back from each other after their last loving kiss,  Katie had time to admire her friend's face and body in the half second before Angie, impetuous as ever, struck the first blow and forced Katie to concentrate from then on,  on just staying on her feet and out of trouble.

Angie was the same height as Katie, but heavier, a long-haired brunette with a handsome, prominent nose and high cheek bones.  She had stronger and more muscular thighs than Katie and slightly larger, well arched feet with long, delicate toes. Angie could kick like a mule and had used that ability on a previous occasion to break Katie's  sweet little button of a nose.

Her body was thicker than Katie's and her stomach muscles could withstand a lot more punishment than our heroine's.  Angie's arms and shoulders were significantly the stronger of the two girls.  Angie's breasts were  bigger and  Katie resolved to make them one of her chief targets,  now that both  were totally unprotected.  All in all she was a bigger stronger girl and outgunned  Katie in every department bar speed.   Katie  had  always needed her superior speed to gain her victories over Angie.  She had only lost once against her best friend after an early kick had slowed her down and Angie had put her in bed for a week.  Neither girl knew the meaning of the word mercy and nor did they know the meaning of surrender. "That ref should have stopped us long before he did", Katie had said afterwards and a concerned,  remorseful  and contrite Angela had agreed.

No referee this time and no surrender and no mercy!

Angie's first savage kick was aimed straight at Katie's nose.  No originality, this girl!. Katie moved aside in the nick of time and the deadly blow hit her on the shoulder, spinning her around and causing her to stumble marginally out of the ring. "SHIT I'm going to have to keep at close quarters from now  on or I won't last five minutes.  Not a good idea, that circle - YOUR stupid  idea  and it's going to cost you the match!"

Katie came back nearer the centre, but Angie signalled her to go back and stay only a few millimetres inside.  "The bitch is going to try and push me out again.  This is not the way I planned it!"

Katie stood, legs apart and wondered where Angie would aim.  The higher up,  the better the chance of moving out of the way.  Bet she tries for my pussy!

 And so she did, but Katie was able to swivel around in time  and collected a painful bruise on her pelvis instead.

"Still inside the circle!  Well done Katie", she told herself and moved closer to her friend.  This of course meant that she was forced into a close combat exchange of kicks and punches out of which Angie was coming off appreciably the better.

One kick hit Katie square on the cheekbone and she tripped and fell.  She was up on her knees, when a kick in the mouth sent her  crashing back down on to the sand.  Ignoring the rain of kicks which Angie directed to all parts of her body, she rolled rapidly over and over  almost to the circle and was on her feet before Angie had time to kick her again.
 

"Got to make full use of the little space I allowed ouselves. WHY did I draw such a stupid little circle.
 Too many more blows like that and she'll be carrying me off in a few minutes."
 
This new tactic worked for a while and Katie was able to keep out of harm's way and kept darting kicks and tapping in punches, restoring a bit of the balance and turning her friend's body into the same hurting aching mass of bruises that hers already was.

Half an hour had passed and neither girl was getting on top, when Katie did something very stupid and stepped out of the circle again.

For her free shot, this time Angie swivelled around and aimed a very low kick that swept Katie's legs from under her and sent her falling out of the ring again.

And so Katie  stood again, awaiting the next blow, which was aimed at her stomach and caught her a fearful thudding blow ,  once more sending her reeling out of the ring.

Five times this was repeated before Katie realised she had to stand perfectly  still and keep her body and  feet firmly anchored or she would never get back ino the fight. "Just got to take this one and hope it doesn't land anywhere too sensitive"

Fortunately, Angie slipped on her left foot and the right kick missed its mark.

Katie moved nearer to Angie again and circled around  dancing out of her reach and keeping well inside the circle.  She could feel the blood trickling down her face and knew she must have been quite badly cut under one eye. Angie's face was a little marked, but she was not bleeding - "Not yet, she isn't, but she will be", Katie determined.

She was getting used  by now to evasive  manoeuvring, whilst keping inside the area, managing to dodge a tiring Angie's kicks and punches and peppering her face and body with a steady rain of blows, which were slowly bringing her friend to a standstill. Blood was beginning to come out of Angie's mouth and then Katie produced a master stroke, wheeling around and bringing her heel right up  four square against Angie's nose.

"That's paid you back, hasn't it" she shouted in the only exchange of words so far.

"Gosh, she looks a boody mess, now" thought Katie.

The pain caused by  this wicked kick must have been all but unbearable, but it only seemed to goad Angie into more action and her ebbing energy returned, as Katie found,to her cost, seconds later, when a dazzling display of concentrated aggression left her with her nose broken AGAIN and this same,lovely feature was battered twice more, sending waves of pain all through her.

Katie dropped onto one knee to recover herself and was sent reeling by a powerful kick to her belly. As Angie stepped back for a second , Katie, still on one knee wheeled round and kicked straight up into Angie's ribs, catching her just below her breasts. Her foot had been stretched straight out and her toenails buried themselves in Angies skin causing blood to flow.

"That showed her"

It only seemed a few minutes since they had embraced so tenderly before the fight, but two hours had passed and both girls were terribly tired, their faces a bloody mess and blood seeping out of a dozen assorted cuts and abrasions.

The heavier Angie was slowing down faster  than Katie and the last twenty minutes witnessed her gradually wilting under a fusilade of punches and lightning kicks as Katie's slender, strong legs, and athletic arms  flashed  one kick and punch after another into Angies poor body.

Finally the girl stumbled and fell and Katie aimed kick after kick into her, systematically working over her entire body.  Then she stepped back.

"Get up, Angie. This is it and I want you standing before I knock you out"

A quivering  Angie struggled to her feet.

Her eyes seemd to be saying "Please don't hurt me any more, Katie" but her bruised and bleeding mouth uttered no sound, as she stood bravely  to await the final blow.

"Please, God, let Angie be OK"

Then the final kick, which was a carbon copy of the one which had felled  that bastard, Evans.

 Angie crumpled to the ground and Katie saw John and Bozo departing, without a backward glance, just as he had promised.

Werariness overcame Katie and she collapsed on to the ground next to her best friend whom she had just so terribly beaten.

She soon came round and lay beside her late oponent , her tears mingling with her blood and falling onto Angie's dear battered face.

"Oh, my darling, darling Angie, I'm so very, very  sorry, my sweetheart.  Why do we do these AWFUL things to each other when we love each other so much. WHY? WHY ?WHY?"

"Cause we're who we are you old silly." said a recovering Angie in a very quiet voice "Stop blubbing and carry me back to the car.  I don't think I could make it on my own" And she said not another word until they were back in London.  She was much too tired and felt far too ill.

 And so Katie's arduous trudge back to the car began with her heavy and precious burden.  Angie, with a little help, painfully pulled her bikini back on before they left the beach, but Katie decided to stay naked. She felt she had earned the privilege.

One or two walkers passed them, and pretended not to notice this exraordinary scene of a naked
bleeding and battered red head carrying  a near naked, bleeding and battered brunette on a cold January day.  People don't like to get involved.

Katie was terrified for her friend in the awful cold and kept massaging her and clasping her as close as she could all the way to the car.  She put on the car's heater and watched with relief as Angie's terrible shivering eased and she was finally  able to smile weakly at her victorious friend.

"Let's go home Angie. You're not going to be any help against Ford and Evans in this state. Or me. We're both sitting ducks at the moment, both weak as kittens.  What a mad pair we are,  half killing each other for nothing "

Angie managed a weak shadow of a smile and her nude chauffeur drove off.

As soon as they got home, Katie turned on the heating and ran a hot bath for the two of them. Within seconds of their immersing themselves, the water was pink.

"Look, Katie. Isn't that lovely - your blood and mine mingled together.  It's so beautiful!"

The bath worked wonders for both girls and they went up to bed in the now warm house and slipped under sheets for the first and last time.  "We deserve a little treat after today," they both agreed, before falling asleep so lovingly entwined together  that it was difficult to be sure where one body began and the other ended..