To Lady Jaye's surprise, Scarlett didn't engage her in hand to hand combat. Instead she spent the hour showing her Beach Head's fighting style—how he threw his punches, when he tended to move in for a throw, his strengths and weaknesses. When asked why she would do that, Scarlett replied, "Hey, someone needs to take him down a notch. I mean, the man's you're boyfriend and he's still acting like a jerk. I think he's picking on you just so the others don't think he's playing favorites. I can think of at least ten Joes you could take down, and they don't have to go to extra training."
Lady Jaye laughed. "Only ten? Thanks a lot. And for the record, he's still not my boyfriend."
Scarlett smiled. "Yeah, whatever. If it makes you feel any better, I can't think of anyone who could beat you at Trivial Pursuit."
"Oh, yeah, that really stokes my ego," she replied with a wry grin. "Nothing like challenging Cobra Commander to a game of TP for ownership of the world. So, technically, isn't this cheating? I mean, if you're only showing me how to beat Beach Head in a fight…"
"Don't call it cheating, call it stacking the odds," Scarlett said.
"Oh, don't tell me you entered Ace's betting pool?"
"Mmmm… I might have."
"Are you going to tell me what you bet on?"
"Nope."
Lady Jaye looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "And what are the odds right now, anyway?"
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Well, finding out about you two totally threw it all off… And I really shouldn't tell you anyway."
"Fine," Lady Jaye sighed. "Let's get back to work."
Over the next few days, Lady Jaye was in the gym more than she had been during her punishment PT. If she couldn't make a good show against Beach Head, she'd never live it down. She didn't expect to beat him outright, but she thought she'd made a lot of progress toward being able to give him a run for his money.
That night at dinner, Beach Head actually sat next to her at a table in the back of the cafeteria. She eyed him warily, but he simply gave her a smug smile and ate his dinner. Her other tablemates snickered and nudged each other, but she couldn't quite make out the whispered comments.
The drill instructor took a plate from his tray and set it down in front of her. "I noticed you didn't take any desert. I keep telling you you're not fat… go ahead and eat it."
Her mouth dropped open and she nearly shoved the cake in his face. Instead she smiled and replied, "That's a good idea—I don't think you need any more sweets." She reached over and patted his stomach.
She heard Flint give a small snort of laughter, and Duke shook his head, smiling.
"Cut it out, you two—I'm trying to eat," Scarlett reprimanded.
"Ready for your first match in two days?" Beach Head asked her with a smug grin.
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it." She pinched his cheek and ate his slice of cake, even though she didn't really want it. She felt a small flutter of nervous anticipation in her stomach. She wasn't sure she was ready to face him in a fight, despite the hours and hours she had spent preparing for just that. Scarlett and Snake Eyes had been more than helpful, but would it be enough?
Lady Jaye finished her meal, and Flint walked with her to turn in their trays. They went to her quarters, where she collapsed on the couch. Flint sat next to her, playing with her hair. "You know," he said, "I still feel kind of guilty about this. And I've been too busy to even help you train. There's still a little time if you want to hit the gym...I've sparred against Beach Head enough that I know his style."
She put her arms around him and answered, "It's okay. I've been working on it." She nudged him in the ribs and smiled. "Besides, wouldn't that be cheating?" She wasn't about to disclose her practice sessions with Scarlett or Snake Eyes, and she admitted guiltily to herself that she didn't want the others to know how seriously she'd taken Beach Head's reprimand.
They spent a quiet few hours simply talking—well, mostly talking—before she had to leave to practice again with Snake Eyes. She declined Flint's offer to accompany her to "lift weights" and headed for the gym.
Snake Eyes was setting out a long pole on the center of the mat. Lady Jaye knew that she and Beach Head would only be using padded gloves, so it made her curious. "What's that for?" she asked him.
He signed, 'That's for me. I'm going to test your balance.' He told her to begin the usual block, punch, and kick exercises, and she watched him warily when he picked up the pole. Even though she saw it coming, she barely managed to jump out of the way as he swung it at her knees. He admonished her for not finishing the punch and started in on her again. By the time their first hour was up, she had ducked, rolled, and jumped across the entire length of the mat, feeling like Jackie Chan in his pre-Hollywood days.
Snake Eyes gave her rare praise, insisting that she had made excellent progress. He stopped the physical work out after that and sat down with her on the mat. He told her to spend her extra time on the last day going through the upcoming fight in her head, playing it like a movie until she could see every move she made. He told her that she would be less surprised and more likely to be confident of her own moves during the real fight.
It sounded plausible, and thanks to Scarlett, she had a pretty good idea of how Beach Head would fight. She also had a few inside tips on his weaknesses…but Scarlett had said she was keeping the best for last.
Feeling her nervousness increase despite her apparent readiness, Lady Jaye found Flint in his quarters and spent the evening trying not to think about the upcoming fight at all. He did a wonderful job of taking her mind off of it, and she fell into slumber feeling rested and at ease.
Not that she woke up that way. Lady Jaye slid out of bed early, making sure not to wake Flint. She breathed deeply and headed for the pool to take a few leisurely laps to calm down. Tomorrow would be the first match, and although she technically had three tries to win Duke's approval—or at least to win the bet with Beach Head—she knew that surprise was her best ally. Once Beach Head knew how hard she had been training and discovered her new skills and knowledge, she was sure she would lose the advantage it gave her.
The pool was deserted so early in the morning, and she spent an hour swimming, working the last of the kinks out of her shoulders and legs. She also worked on envisioning the fight, but that just made her feel tense all over again.
She showered and headed to the gym for her last practice with Snake Eyes and Scarlett. There would be no extra training that night; she needed to be able to rest and relax before facing the drill sergeant.
Snake Eyes spent the hour running her through shortened versions of their previous exercises, concentrating on balance and footwork. She did feel stronger and more confident, but wasn't sure that two short weeks could improve her enough to make a difference.
When they were done, she told her instructor, "Snake Eyes, I owe you big time for this. Thank you so much. If I manage to hold my own against Beach Head tomorrow, it will be because of you."
He looked around to make sure that no one could see him. 'Kick his ass,' he signed with a grin. He gave her a thumbs up and walked from the room, passing Scarlett on the way out.
The redhead smiled and asked, "Well, are you ready for tomorrow?"
Lady Jaye sighed. "No. But I've made progress. I just hope I don't embarrass myself."
Scarlett smiled enigmatically. "Oh, I don't think it's you who needs to worry about being embarrassed." She ignored Lady Jaye's quizzical look, and turned to the mats.
"Before we start working today, I'm going to tell you one last secret that might help you against Beach Head." They sat on the mats, and Scarlett leaned forward to whisper, "About a year ago, Beach Head got kicked really hard in the, uh, privates." She stifled a giggle. "Since then he's been really protective of that area. I guarantee if you try to kick him in the crotch, he'll drop all other defenses."
Lady Jaye laughed. "How do you know that?"
"I, um, was there when it happened."
"Wow. You kicked him in the jewels?"
Scarlett blushed. "It was an accident, I swear. He totally should have gotten that block up in time. Trust me, it'll work. I can see him cringe whenever we're partnered for sparring."
Lady Jaye shook her head. "I don't know… that might not be considered fair play."
Scarlett grinned. "I talked to Duke about the rules. Since Beach Head insists that you need to prove that you can fight Cobra, he agreed that the match should be as realistic as possible. And kicking a Cobra soldier in the groin is certainly realistic. So, basically, there are going to be no rules."
Lady Jaye considered that for a moment. "That means he's going to fight dirty…"
Scarlett stood and pulled her up. "Yep. So let's practice already."
By lunch Lady Jaye's mind was in a whirlwind. She felt like she had too much information to process before the next day. She hoped that all of her friends' hard work wouldn't abandon her when she stood in the ring tomorrow. She sighed and grabbed her tray, sitting down with Cover Girl and Shipwreck.
The sailor grinned at her and said, "Hey, doll. Ready for round one tomorrow?"
She gave him a smile, remembering that Shipwreck had bet that her extra PT would last two months before she lost it and went postal on Beach Head outside of the ring. "Oh, sure. No sweat. He's not that tough."
Cover Girl giggled. "He can't fight you seriously if he wants any action later. I think he'll go easy on you."
"He'd better not!" Shipwreck exclaimed. "That would throw off the whole pool—I mean," he shot a quick glance at Lady Jaye. "Uh, forget I said that."
"Only if you tell me what the odds are."
Looking glum, he replied, "Okay, but don't let on that I told you. Odds of you finishing off your PT tomorrow are currently at twelve to one against."
She raised her eyebrows. "And the odds of me being stuck with him for another two months?"
"Only two to one," he answered sheepishly. "But if it makes you feel any better, odds of you being in PT for four months are up to twenty to one."
"Only because everyone thinks you will have strangled each other by then," Cover Girl put in. "Now, the odds on your relationship surviving this are eight to one against."
Lady Jaye shook her head. "Did anyone bet for me tomorrow?"
Cover Girl shrugged. "Only Ace knows."
"Speak of the devil…" Shipwreck said. "Don't tell him I told you, okay?"
Ace sat down at their table and gave everyone a smile. "Well, Jaye, feeling lucky?"
"Luck will have nothing to do with it," she replied.
"Right. Little lovebunny isn't going to go easy on you, you know."
She smiled. "I may have a few tricks up my sleeve."
Before long, their table was filled to overflowing with Joes wanting to check in on her. It seemed like a lot of people must have entered Ace's betting pool. She wondered if any of them were on her side. Well. She'd find out tomorrow.