No more wiggle room

Sarah walked out of the tiny room feeling very exposed. This was supposed to be a cursory inspection. Instead she found illegal activity the second she walked through the door.

Four or five large men casually drifted her way to stand in front of her. Damn. She put her hands on her hips, fingers tickling the hilt of her gun, and tilted her head. "Well what do we have here?" She asked them. "Do you really think this is a good idea? Ambush a marshall and then what? You don't think they would send me here alone do you?" They did but who was she to tell them that. A few men shifted nervously. The leader crossed his arms and smirked. He was short, latino and buff. Too used to getting his own way, that's what his problem is, Sarah thought. The leader kept staring at her. With a jolt, she understood why. He was trying to seduce her. Or intimidate her. She would laugh if it wasn't so serious. "Look," she said. "I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll report back to my boss, let him fill out the paperwork and you won't have to go to jail. Sound good?" She looked into each man's face and waited for them to look away before nodding once, sharply. "Great. Y'all have a nice day." She started to walk past the small group when the leader stuck his hand in front of her chest. She sighed exasperated and rolled her eyes.

The leader looked her up and down. "You are going to have to do better than that little speech chica," he said.

Sarah was angry and scared, but mostly angry. She grabbed his arm. She twisted, hard until he bent forward. There he stood. Pushing against her. Resisting. She kicked the back of his knees. They buckled. He lurched forward. Almost there, she thought. She stepped on the small of his back. He went down. Almost too easily. She bent forward with him. Keeping him immobilized. It was all over in fifteen seconds flat. She pulled the handcuffs from her belt and slapped them on his wrists. Hard. "Now if there are any other objections?" she asked standing up. "I would be happy to address them." The other tough guys refused to meet her glare. "Hmph," she said. Then bent down and jerked the once fearless leader to his feet. "This," she said pulling him along behind her. "Is getting old."