If Jacob had to spend one more hour in his room, he was going to lose his mind. He'd almost prefer to be back in that Cape Town hellhole he'd recently escaped. Pain he could handle, boredom he could not.
Bud had brought Jacob back to campus to recover from the injuries he'd endured at the hands of the South Africans. They'd posed as potential new clients, but in reality they'd had a contract of their own with Bill McCready's name on it. Fortunately Bud had a policy of bringing security to meets with first-time customers, and Jacob had been there to get him out. It had been dicey, but he'd had gotten his mentor to the extraction point where Gina had been waiting. Jacob had been captured holding off the assassins and had spent three days in their not-so-gentle care before the team came to extract both him and one of the mercenaries. Jacob only wished he'd been conscious when his former captor was tortured for information about who'd put the hit on Bud.
He'd woken up in St. Regis' infirmary four weeks ago and had since been confined to the instructors' wing recovering from a multitude of injuries. All told he'd had bruised ribs, a cracked skull, ten broken fingers, twenty stitches in his leg, and a dislocated collarbone. The doctor recommended at least one more week of rest, but if Jacob didn't see something beside the four grey walls of his quarters he'd put a bullet in his skull.
The doctor had finally seen fit to remove the splints from his fingers, as so he could finally hit the heavy bag. Jacob glanced at the clock. Students would be in classes, so the room should be open.
Ten minutes later Jacob was entering the large building housing the dojo and gym. He could hear the sounds of a martial arts classes underway. It was hard to believe it had only been six years since he'd been a student. It felt much longer. As he was approaching the door to the dojo he caught a snatch of conversation.
"-when the hell is she going do it?"
"Any minute now." He stopped. From the sound of it the speakers were a couple of females, probably grabbing a drink at the water cooler near the door. No doubt they expected the sounds of the fighting to provide adequate noise cover for anyone else inside the dojo. Apparently they hadn't thought to check the hallway. Stupid.
"We should have turned her in."
"No. This was the smart play: two birds eliminated with one stone. Can't be tied to us." Jacob moved into the doorway and the two recruits blanched.
"Actually it can. I suggest someone start talking now." One of the girls opened her mouth, only to be cut off by a whistle. Jacob turned and saw the instructor marching toward him. He immediately recognised the man as Tyler Morris. He'd been a mediocre student in Jacob's graduating class. If memory served, Morris had barely made it through the program. Bud must have been an advocate of the "those who can't do, teach" philosophy.
"What the hell, Phelps? I'm running a class here." Jacob ignored Morris and turned back to the girls he had overheard. Their eyes both darted to a pretty brunette standing about fifteen feet behind Morris. He looked intently at the girl, whose expression had grown dark with anger. Suddenly, as if she'd procured it by magic, there was something in her right hand. The girl charged at Morris.
"Knife!" Morris moved just in time to avoid being stabbed in the neck by the recruit's shiv. Undeterred, she swiped for him again. Morris leapt back to avoid her blade and kicked it out of her hand. Morris threw a combination punch, on fain to the right and a jab to the left that caught her squarely on the nose, which broke with a cracked. The recruit retreated a few steps, involuntary tears streaming from her eyes, and blood coming from her nose.
Morris swung again, but this time the girl ducked and swung a punch of her own into his ribs. He stumbled back and in a fluid move the girl swiped his legs out from under him. She aimed a hard stomp on his crotch, but Morris caught her leg and yanked her down beside him. He attempt to mount her, but she grabbed his shoulders and used his momentum to flip them both, until she was on top of him. The recruit landed two solid hits to the face before grabbing Morris' throat and squeezing. The man's eyes became wide and desperate as he flailed trying to get free, but the recruit's pin held. A few more seconds and the girl would kill him. Jacob was tempted to let her, this was after all not his problem. On the other hand the girl definitely had skill, and while Morris would be no great loss, squandering her potential would be a waste.
Jacob ran up from behind the girl and snaked his good arm around her throat. He squeezed and her hands instinctively released Morris and gripped his arm. He allowed himself to fall backward yanking with him. Morris' would-be killer twisted in Jacob's arms as he pulled her into chest. Jacob put his head next to her ear.
"Try anything and I will snap your neck, understand?" After a beat her head bobbed in a nod and he loosened his hold on her slightly so she would be able to breath. Jacob looked around at the teenage bystanders, "Class dismissed." The recruits filed out of the dojo, casting a backward glance or two at their retrained classmate. Morris angrily pushed himself to his feet and stepped toward Jacob and his captive. "You too, Morris."
"Are you kidding me? The bitch just-"
"What happens to her is McCready's call, not yours. If I was you, I be less worried about her punishment and more worried about the fact a recruit got the drop on you. It's the kind of thing that might make McCready wonder if you're really cut out to be a member of his organization. Now get out." After shooting dual dark looks to Jacob and the girl, Morris stalked out of the room. Once he was out of sight Jacob removed his arm from the girl's throat and stood up.
"You're welcome." The recruit remained on the mat, wiping blood from her nose, and not even bothering to acknowledge him with a look.
"For what?"
"For saving your life. If I'd let you kill him, McCready would have had no choice but to put you down." This way she actually stood a chance of surviving. Attempted murder of an instructor was pretty damn serious, but if Bud saw enough future earning potential he might be lenient. The girl scoffed at the suggestion that he deserved her gratitude.
"You should have let me finish him." Jacob cocked his head to the side, trying to understand her words. Clearly the murder attempt had been premeditated. The girl knew the rules; she knew that killing Morris like this would result in her own death. Was that all this had been: an attempted suicide by proxy?
"You wanted to die?" The recruit pursed her lips and glanced away. After ten seconds she turned back to him and he saw the saw the same fury in her eyes he'd seen during the fight.
"I wanted him not to live." There was something arresting about her eyes. The passion in them was...unusual. Wrong. Not something he expected to see from a St. Regis student. It disturbed him and yet he couldn't look away.
"Scott, You're coming with us." Jacob turned to the pair of guards who had appeared in the doorway.
"Guess I'm going to the principal's office. Wish me luck." The girl, Scott, popped up off the ground and sauntered over to the men, knowing full well they could be taking her to her execution. Jacob had to credit her with balls.
When she'd gone he scanned the empty dojo and his eyes fell on the weapon Scott had managed to smuggle in. It was a plastic shank, the kind you might find in a prison, which in some ways the school was. The instructors and guards were very careful not to give the recruits weapons while they weren't supervised. Just the act of making the shiv was a risk. It would have taken time and patience. Jacob picked up the weapon, turning it over in his hands.
Jacob recalled the conversation he'd overheard. The two other recruits had known what Scott was planning and had agreed to stay silent. The girl said, "Two birds with one stone." If Scott had succeeded she and Morris would both be dead. They'd wanted both their fellow recruit and instructor eliminated. The question was, why?