Devil in Black
Chapter 2 : Wallace
The only light in the room was that of Josef's laptop, the only sounds were the clacking of the down button as he scrolled through information about Czarevna Military Production. Although he had been at the facility for the past five years, he had only studied what they gave him to. Now that he was about to be sold, he had decided to take a look on who Czarevna's common buyers were. He would do anything that he could to be able to pass the test that he would be taking tomorrow. That is, everything except sleep.
He although he hadn't gotten to sleep until late the last night, he still managed to maintain some semblance of being awake as he ate his breakfast. Having woken up at 5 a.m., a habit he wasn't about to kick, he had plenty of time to finish and work out for a couple hours in the gym. He was hoping to have it to himself, but, as always, Wallace was there, his dark skin rippling with muscle as he did a punching routine on one of the heavy bags. The exercise area was one of four, on each of the levels of the facility. The ceiling stretched up twenty feet and was lined with humming fluorescent lights. The force of Wallace's punches were turning the heavy bag into a lumpy parody of what its former self was.
"Haven't you wrecked that thing enough?" Josef said, smiling as Wallace turned and acknowledged his presence.
"Nah, I don't think so," he said, as he turned back to the bag and began another routine. Wallace wasn't as fast as Josef was, but he could punch through concrete. Josef walked to the wall where they stored the extra bags. Most of them were free-standing, but some, like the one Wallace was using, were connected to the floor and the ceiling. After rolling it into a spot where he could easily meander around it, Josef began his workout. It lasted for about an hour with two breaks. He hadn't started out going that hard, but he had worked to get that way in his journey to become the best of the best. It was this ambition which made him so valuable as a soldier, and he knew it: he would obey and order, without question, and he would obey it perfectly.
After he had finally ended on his routine, and had time to stretch and work out all of his joints, an hour or two had passed and the gym had filled a little more. Having finished, he put his regular shirt back on and began to walk out. Wallace caught him as he was leaving the gym.
"So," he said, walking alongside Josef, "I hear you're gonna be sold."
"Is it that obvious?"
"No, but word does get around."
"Don't worry, bud, your time will come soon," Josef said, patting Wallace on the shoulder as he turned the corner into a new hall.
"Don't get so conceited with yourself. Its not me I'm worried about. I hear their putting you through some sort of test," he said with a little trepidation. "That's never happened before."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Apparently the client was unimpressed with the last he bought from here, a pair of goofs who got themselves killed. So now they're taking some precautions."
"Tell me again how you know this." This was far more than Josef had heard. He wasn't nervous or scared, but he didn't feel quite as confident as he had falling asleep last night. No wonder Dr. Armitage had talked to him about it.
"It doesn't matter how I know. What matters is that you know. Good luck." Wallace turned a corner and was out of sight. Josef thought for a moment, and then regained his soldier composure. This was nothing to worry about. All that mattered was that he did not fail.
Author's notes:
Well, well! We're getting close to the first showdown! (Rubs hands in anticipation). I wrote this chapter mainly to introduce Wallace, a character not only to be noticed for his considerable fighting ability but for being perhaps more than what he seems. Ooooh!
More coming! I have no idea what's going to happen but I hope that it will be good! PLEASE review if you read, for the simple reason that if you do I will know you read it! And if you liked it then pass it on please!
Sayonara! --Green