Chapter 2
Day 21
Taryn strode into the training room. Averin was already there, but he wasn't alone.
"Taryn – glad you're here early. Meet Osborn."
Taryn nodded politely, but showed no sign of friendliness.
"Osborn is a CIA agent – a personal agent of my direct superior."
"What are you doing here?" Taryn asked.
"I was sent to assess your potential and improvement." Osborn replied. "Ready to fight?"
Taryn nodded and they moved onto the mat.
Osborn jabbed forward.
Taryn shifted out of the way.
Osborn feinted with the other hand.
Taryn moved again, but Osborn knocked him over with a kick.
Taryn rolled and came up in a crouch. He tried to dodge the next kick, but it was too late. He was knocked to the mat again, and Osborn stood over him, hand drawn back for a killing blow to the temple. He stopped.
"You're not very good, Taryn."
Taryn shrugged. "Seems so because you are."
Osborn walked back over to Averin as Taryn sat up. "He's learning quickly. I'll assign Belikova as your backup. Call her when you need her."
"That was a short fight." Averin said, disappointed. "Not even an offensive blow."
"He's out of my league." Taryn admitted. "Not for long, though. Let's start training."
Day 26
Averin moved forward slightly, and Taryn changed his stance.
"Why haven't you been correcting me lately?" Taryn asked, as he watched Averin's moves closely.
Averin feinted and tried a right hook.
Taryn dodged.
"What are you talking about?" Averin shrugged. "I've been normal."
"No, you haven't." Taryn took a step and kicked forward. Averin blocked him. "Usually you're always talking 'wrong foot forward' or 'keep your fist higher' or 'watch your opponent'. What's up?"
Averin pulled an unloaded gun from his holster, but Taryn stepped forward and kicked it out of his hand.
"You're doing everything well." Averin explained. "You know exactly how I fight, and exactly how I want you to fight. We're good at training together. We're too good."
"Too good?" Taryn asked, pausing.
"You spar with me for practice, but you don't see it as a challenge." Averin picked the gun up and slid it back in the holster. "We're going to try this spar again, Taryn. You fight me like a real opponent. You beat me, and we'll level you up."
"How so?"
"Never mind that. Just know that you're on a mission, and I have a loaded gun in my belt – and if I get you I will kill you. Got it? That's the scenario. You need to take me down. Ready?"
Taryn nodded.
Averin immediately went for the gun again.
Taryn kicked it from his hand.
Averin grabbed Taryn's ankle, keeping him off balance.
Taryn slammed into the ground, rolled to a crouch, then stood.
Averin stepped forward and struck with a palm, but Taryn stepped back and snapped his leg out in a side kick. He knocked Averin off balance, then, stepped forward and jabbed to his sternum, taking him down. Averin landed on the mat, hard.
Taryn snatched up the gun and pointed it at Averin's head. "I win."
"You sure do." Averin wheezed. "I'll level you up – you get a new instructor this afternoon."
Taryn smiled and helped Averin up. "I'll help you to the office. Then I'm going on lunch break until the new instructor wants to start." He slung Averin's arm over his shoulders and started toward the door.
Day 26
"Taryn, your new trainer." Averin ushered a woman in the door.
Taryn glanced over at her.
"So you're Taryn." she looked him up and down. "I'm Varvara Belikova. I'm going to improve your fighting skills."
"All right."
"Let's start out by sparring. I need to know what skills you have."
They moved out onto the training mat.
Taryn waited for Belikova to start.
"Why aren't you trying to make the first move?" Belkova asked, as they circled.
"I don't know your fighting style yet." Taryn pointed out.
"Yes, but you're adaptable. And if I'm stronger than you are, my first blow could hurt you. As soon as you know there's a fight, you always should give the first blow. To knock a little bit of fear into your opponent, and tell him that you aren't scared."
"All right." Taryn moved in with a punch toward her throat, but she blocked him and kicked him lightly in the shin.
"You left yourself wide open for a kick. I could have knocked you down and killed you." she said. "Try it again, but get ready to block my kick."
Taryn moved in with the same punch, and got his foot ready to block her kick, but she swung the other foot this time. His back slammed into the ground.
"Don't start moving until you see what I'm doing." Belikova told him. "Don't assume anything."
He tried to roll to his feet, but Belikova stopped him with a light kick to the stomach. "Don't try to rectify the situation." she said. "You're down now, while I'm still up. Try to get me down on your level so that we can grapple."
Taryn swung both legs around and grabbed her ankles. She slammed onto the ground with him, but she held a tiny silver knife pointed at him.
"Now, can you get yourself out of this one?" she asked.
He reached for her knife hand and pushed it away, but some how she rolled and ended up kneeling beside him, with the tip of the blade on his throat.
"You did pretty well. I've seen worse, but I will make you much, much better." Belikova sheathed the knife and stood up.
Taryn climbed to his feet. "What did I do wrong?"
She faced him. "You let your guard down."