Chapter 10
"But... But..." I blabber like an idiot, unable to think of anything at the current moment. Is he out of his fucking mind?
"You can't win with her. When the school year starts, the twins can enroll" he says frustrated, no doubt
"Amar, what the fuck" I say as my eyes narrow and I glare at a smug looking tris "Are you out of your mind? Do you know how dangerous that will be?"
"I'm well aware of the risks Sergeant" He hisses and I wince. He only calls me that when he's super pissed or in front of the cadets "Hopefully by the time the school session starts , training can be done and you guys can move to a more permanent place until I can find what the fuck to do with Jeannine and Eric" he huffs and I mentally cringe
"Don't worry, I'll send in more officers to help when the time comes. As of now just focus on keeping them safe and training" He says "Understood?"
"Yes sir" I mumble and then hang up the phone, glaring at tris.
"You're evil" I huff and turn away and stomp down the stairs, smiling a bit when I hear her laughter. Beautiful
"Yo four, your cadets down for a match today?" Zeke bumps me on the shoulder and I roll my eyes at him.
"Give me a week, and then we'll start the real training. My recruits are getting there but I think I can show them a few more tricks." I say and then an idea pops into my head
"One on one?" I ask him and smirk when he shakes his head no
"Fuck no. Last time you broke my fucking nose" He says and I roll my eyes
"Come on. That was an accident. I just need to show them how it's done"
"Fine. But I swear to god if I have to go back to the medic I will kill you with my nine" He says and I laugh, heading into the kitchen.
"Shauna, me and Zeke are going to fight. You want to see" I ask and she turns around smirking at me
"Hell yeah" She jumps up and I can't fight off the grin as she rushes past me and into the gym. I turn to see that it's 2 on the dot and head down to the gym too.
I enter the gym and huff in relief that all the cadets are lined up and ready. All except Tris.
"All right cadets" I yell at them "You guys have been doing some hand to hand combat training for the last few weeks. I think it's time to shows you how to act in a real fight" I say as Zeke stands beside me. He has on his black t-shirt and some sweats. Shauna stands beside him in a black tank and some black pants.
"Now..." Before I can say anything the door to the gym opens and closes as Tris scrambles in. I raise an eye at her, as she makes her way and stands between Christina and Marlene.
"Nice to join us cadet prior" I say sarcastically. She doesn't say anything but her face turns red and I internally smile at her cute blush.
"As I was saying, today we are going to see a fight and then you guys are going to pair up and do some fighting as well. Now for today, I don't want you to copy what you see demonstrated. Just get used to actually having to hit skin. Trust me when I say it's a much different feel to it then a punching bag or gloves" I turn to Zeke, a smirk in place
"Officer Pedrad" I gesture to the ring. Well it's not really a ring. Its bunch of mats placed within a white circle. Zeke smiles and jumps onto the mats, shifting his weight between his feet.
"Sergeant four. It's going to be a pleasure to whoop your ass and not get in trouble for it" He says smiling and I hear a little laughter. I smile, getting into the ring and taking my over sweat shirt off, leaving me in my black pant and a white fitted t-shirt. I zone everything out and focus solely on my target, which at this point happens to be Zeke.
"Don't worry Zeke. You won't get in trouble, seeing as you won't be able to touch me" I smirk as he smirks back. Shauna comes and stands in the middle as a referee
"Alright the rules are simple. The goal is not to beat the living crap out of the opponent" She says, pointedly looking at me and I shrug in response "but to either pushes them out of the ring or make them surrender. That is the only way you win" She yells and I nod my head. Rules are simple and easy.
"Alright shake hands" She says and I smirk as I grip Zeke's hand hard as he tries to do the same. I pull my hand away, wiggling my fingers from the force of his hand shake.
"One, two, and three... GO" Shauna yells and Zeke and I start circling each other. He lunges for me but I dodge his hands, shoving hard on his chest and making him stumble. He smirks as he lunges again and grabs me by the arm, twisting it around on my back. I groan in pain. He pushes me to my knees, standing behind my back, laughing
"You can give up now sergeant" He laughs. I use my other hand to grab his leg and pull it out from under him, making us both fall on to the mats. I quickly jump to my feet as he does the same.
"Not a chance Pedrad" This time I rush him, tackling him to the ground. He bucks me off and climbs on top of me, giving me a good right hook. I shake my head to get my bearings and move my head away from another right hook at the last second. I use my legs and bring it over Zeke's head and wrapping it around his neck; I pull him off of me and flip us. I know that there is no way to make Zeke surrender, I may as well be trying to get a brick wall to talk to me so the only way to win is to push him over the line. I wipe the blood off my lips and smile at him
"Cheap shot" I say ,circling him
"Amazing shot" He scuffs and we circle each other. He lunges again and thanks to my fast reflexes I move at the last second, making him stumble and almost fall out of the ring. He jumps back in and knocks me to my feet. He stands over me smiling smugly
"and that is how a real take down works cadets" He says and I can head his recruits shouting and clapping for him and I use his distraction and punch his calf, making him crumble to the ground holding his legs in pain. I slowly get up, and pick him up by the front of his shirt and shove him hard as I can. His back hits the wall and he glares at me.
"Oh your dead" He says and I smile at him, shaking my head
"I win "I say smugly and indicate to his feet. His right ankle is over the white line and he turns to me with a glare
"That doesn't count" He protests. I walk over to him and hold my hand out, smiling and smirking at him
"Rules are rules officer Pedrad" I say, as I offer him a hand. "A strong opponent can accept defeat, right?" I ask him and he huffs, garbing my hand and shaking it
"Yeah yeah" His mumbles as he pushes himself off the mat and I laugh at his facial expressions. I turn to the cadets "Anyone wants to try "I say offering a go at me. I wouldn't really hurt them badly but maybe enough to make them actually pay attention and try harder. . No one raises their hands
"Alright let's do this sergeant" Shauna pipes up and I smirk, raising an eye at her as she climbs into the ring
"You sure?" I ask her as I wipe the sweat off my forehead "I'm not going to go easy on you"
"I'd be insulted if you did" She smirks at me and I raise my hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, Zeke be the referee" I say and Zeke jumps into the middle of the ring
"Same rules apply. Ready. Set. Go" he leaps out of the ring, as we start circling each other. Shauna and I circle one another for a few minutes until someone, I think Peter yells at us to do something. Shauna finally lunges for me but I move out of the way. Unfortunately her elbow makes contact with my jaw and I know for sure that there will be a bruise there. I hold my jaw in pain as Shauna smirks at me, bouncing on the front of her feet. She holds her hands in a defense position. I tackle her to the ground lightly and land onto of her, shifting my body so I don't hurt her too much. In a real match I wouldn't care about the gender of my opponent but seeing it's a training session and that it's Shauna, I can't bring myself to hurt her. However, I guess Shauna doesn't feel the same way as she brings her foot up and smashes my stomach. I groan rolling off of her and stagger to my feet as Shauna smiles at me
"That's what you get for going easy on me Serge. Come on, do it again and I'll make you regret it" She smirks as I glare at her. I lunge for her and grab her arms, pinning it against her back. She tries to bring up her foot again but I switch so both of her arms are in one of my hands and grab her foot before she can make contact with my dick. My hand stings from where her foot makes contact and wince, thanking god I caught her foot before it gutted me. The force behind it would no doubt leave me on the floor for awhile. I push her forward, me still holding on to her arms and leg and I fall top of her as she tries to buck me off.
"Fuck! Four! My fucking arm" She cries out and I immediately fall back, jumping off her.
"Shit! Are you ok?" I walk towards her and get down on one foot. She clutches her hands and leg and hides her face, sniffling "You told m not to hold back!" I protest at her glare but before I can say anything a smirk replaces her glare and she uses her elbow and knocks me onto my back. I clutch my stomach in pain, unable to get right side up. She stands above me smiling smugly and I use the last bit of power I have to try and knock her feet out. She catches my hand and lets it drop. I don't try to attempt a second time, my arms feeling like lead.
"Like I said cadets. Never ever under-estimate your opponent. Looks can be deceiving" She looks down at me and smiles in my direction. She uses her feet and starts to push me to the edge of the mat. I decide not to fight, letting her have this win as she pushes me out off the circle and a chorus of cheers and applause start for her. I smile behind my pain as she helps me to my feet. I know this will earn her some major respect with the cadets. Not that she's not lethal when she wants to be but because she's a girl a lot of time people tend to underestimate her and it drives all 3 of us fucking insane. Just cause she's a girl, doesn't mean she can't kick some ass and you better believe if need be, she can bring down a fucking mammoth with her hands. I have seen her do it and let's just say it's fucking amazing and scary as hell to watch
"Alright alright. I'll get you next time" I smile as I limp my way back to stand in front of the cadets. Zeke smiles and puts an arm around Shauna
"That's my girl. Fucking strong as nails" He smiles and I roll my eyes at him.
"Alright, partner up. The rest of the day you will be honing in your combat skills." I yell at them. They start to walk away
"I didn't say dismiss yet" I glare at them as they freeze in place
"I'm going to give a rundown of the next few days" I look at zeke and he shrugs his shoulder and I continue on "Now I plan to be done training within 2 weeks. Today you guys are going to do hand to hand combat. Tomorrow war games. Then the next few days will be gun training again. I know we already practiced it but I feel like another few days will get you more prepared. The finally week will be your assessment. You will be ranked on your strength, determination and efficiency in getting the task done on time. You're assessment will include everything we have been doing so far. From how fast you are able to run to your defense and offence strategies and hand to hand combat, even how well you can handle a gun. Everything. Now I suggest you take a little bit of time before next week to find a strategy. Your rank here will determine your rank in the force so I suggest you take this seriously. Any questions?" I ask them. No one says anything but as I look over to Tris, I see that she's frowning and looking at me worriedly. What is she worried about? I mean none of what I say apply to her.
"Alright. Dismissed" I say and they all spread out, walking to different areas of the padded gym to start their fighting. I see Christina walk up to Tris and I frown. I have seen Christina fight. She is good and strong, she can probably take Tris down without a hitch because Tris has had no previously training. I can't let Tris get hurt and I decide to take her out for today.
"Cadet-"before I can call Tris over, Zeke puts a hand on my back.
"I know what you're going to do four, but don't" He whispers so only I can hear. I shrug his hand off my shoulder and fold my hands on my chest, watching Tris as she and Christina get ready to fight. I wince as the first blow makes contacts with her stomach and she retreats, with Christina following her every move
"I know you want to keep her safe, but like you said she needs to learn. If you keep taking pity on her and taking her out of a match just because you're scared she'll get hurt, she will never learn." He says and I don't look at him because I know he is right. Anytime I think about Tris being in any sort of pain makes my stomach lurch
"She'll be fine. She's tougher then she looks" He says and I sigh finally turning to look at him and then turning back to their fight and I have to physically stop myself from going over there and stopping their fight. Christina gets in a good kick and an upper-cut and I cringe. I watch as Tris moves around Christina, dogging few more punches and kicks and an idea hits me. I smile as I come up with a strategy for her. She's fast and if she goes on defense and strikes first with enough force and keep the blows coming she can win. Unfortunately, Christina's blows are hard and it knocks her to the ground. I turn away from the fight and start up the stairs, not wanting to watch the rest.
"I'm going to do a perimeter check and then monitor the surveillance. You can finish up here right?" I call back to Zeke. He frowns but nods his head and I continue on, not wanting to explain my feelings about Tris to him because quite honestly I'm not sure myself.
I have been alone for so long that I honestly don't know what it actually feels like to care for someone. Yeah I found Zeke, Shauna and Amar but that's more of a sibling love. Would I die for anyone of them? Obviously with no questioned asked but with Tris it's more than that.
I rub my hands over my face and start into a jog, going around the house, making sure that everything seems to be in order. My mind keeps drifting back to tris and at the end of my run I hit the brick wall out of frustration. Why can't I fucking get her out of my head? I make my way into the surveillance room and sit on the chair, watching the monitors. After a few minute of silence, my mind starts to wonder again.
What is it with Tris that I can't seem to leave her alone? Not even in my own thought. I've had details like this before. Where I was forced to take people in hiding for whatever reason and at the end set them up with new identities and a new life. From little kids to adults, I've done details for all of them. To me, it's just a job. Protect them, keep them safe, create a new life for them and then leave and start on a new case. That's it. But with Tris it's different. It doesn't feel like it's just a "job". I want to do more for, help her in any way I can and not just to keep her safe but also with relocating and helping with the twins.
I have no fucking idea but all I know is every time I'm around her my mood shifts and a huge ass smile is embedded on my face and I just feel better. There is an ache in my chest every time she's not around or when she is hurting and I'm starting to think that it has nothing to do with my health and everything to do with Tris and the twins.
She gets my heart racing and my mind all clouded and jumbled and that NEVER happens to me. In my line of work, I am trained to be rational, super observant and always on the lookout. I've trained myself to lower my heart rate for moments of extreme pressure so I can think straight but every time I'm with Tris all that shit goes out the window.
And then the twins. I have never liked kids. They are loud, annoying little eating machines and I don't have the tolerance for them. But the twins? They actually make me want to spend time with them. There both extremely smart kids and I don't know how they have gotten this far without breaking down. They are so calm and collected that they even put amar to shame. They are also super observant, more observant then I like. With just one slip up of a word or sentence they can tell something not right. And god do they try and put on brave front for Tris.
I actually witnessed it. One time Lizzy and Izzy where talking in the bedroom and I heard sniffling. I walked into see that Lizzy was crying and Izzy was holding her, shushing her like a grown up would to an infant. When Tris asked what was wrong, she made up a lie claiming that Lizzy got hurt. You could tell that Izzy had cried to because she had tear strained cheeks.
I walked away, leaving Tris to comfort them, seeing as it was probably a private moment but in all honestly I wouldn't know what to do even if I was given the chance to stay.
This whole situation is so fucked up
"Four!" I am brought out of from my day dream to Shauna calling my name. I look up and am surprised to find her leaning against the desk with the surveillance monitors. When the fuck did she gets in here? I didn't even hear her.
"I've been calling your name for the last 2 minutes" She says and I look at her sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck.
"Sorry. Busy thinking" I say as I focused back on the screens. How long have I been in here?
"Four, you have been getting distracted a lot lately" she starts off but I zero in on the screen; my jaw drops as Shauna continue to ramble on. How the fuck did I not notice this shit before?
"I know you will deny this but you needs to focus on your work and not Tris" She suddenly jumps up as I stand up quickly. I go to the cabinet and unlock it, pulling out my shoulder holster and extra key to the office by the gym. I grab my badge and let it hang around my neck.
"Four what the fuck is going on?" She asks her eyes wide. I indicate the screen to her and her eyes widen as she curses
"I think they found us"