Chapter 16

8:30 on a Tuesday morning. That meant The 73 would be training.

Mara packed up her things and headed to E-Level, for no other reason than to watch them. And Pierce approved of and appreciated her admiration, so it wasn't suspicious to him at all when she was simply hanging around. She hadn't planned it that way, but it was working in her favor.

Oddly, Pierce and a few dignitaries were on E-level as well. The men were in suits, and seemed to be very important by the way Pierce was regarding them. Perhaps CEOs? Pierce was the Director, but there are always bigger fish.

Khan was on a far mat with one of the officers Mara had been introduced to… Kent was his name. They were sparring lazily, exchanging halfhearted kicks and punches, but their eyes were on Pierce. They were analyzing the dignitaries with extreme scrutiny.

"Mara, welcome," Pierce said with a smile, beckoning her closer. Mara could see a visible shift in Khan's attitude when he noticed her presence; he stopped scrutinizing the men so hard, and tried to focus on sparring with Kent. Although he kept looking at her, as if to judge whether or not she was supporting them.

"This is Jack Davidov, our Chair," Pierce said, and Mara shook his hand. He was a stout man, in his early fifties, with beads of sweat gracing his hairline. He was overall pleasant, however, as he was constantly smiling or grinning.

"And this is his son, Lewis, our Vice Chair," Pierce said with a happy but obviously eager grin.

Mara shook his hand, already pegging him for the condescending type. He was looking around at The 73 like he was afraid of them—like they were lab rats that could bite him.

"Lorran?" Pierce called, and the handsome blond stepped forward, standing just in front of Pierce at-attention.

"Lorran, I was wondering if you would demonstrate your abilities to my friends, here," Pierce asked.

Lorran looked them over once, and Mara could see Khan watching him from afar, carefully analyzing the situation.

"My pleasure, Director," Lorran said without smiling. "What would you have me do?"

Pierce thought for a moment, and before he could come to a conclusion, Khan stepped away from Kent, nodding to him as he did so, and approached.

"I think I have an idea, Director," Khan said with a sly grin. "Although, with any luck, I won't snap this one's tendon like a dry leaf."

The chairs and Lorran laughed together, but Mara sensed that they were laughing for completely different reasons.

"Alright, Khan," Pierce said, nodding. "Show us what you can do."

Khan stepped back, slapping Lorran's hand once in sportsmanship. Mara had seen Khan spar with The 72 before, but he hadn't been showing off. Khan felt that need—to display exactly how perfect he was. Although something inside her told her that Lorran wasn't about to go down without a ferocious fight.

Mara was expecting the slow build-up of the Jonathan Harris fight. She received nothing of the sort.

It started like a dog fight. They launched at each other, moving so fast that sometimes Mara's eyes couldn't follow them. They were on the ground within moments, and the way they went at each other was certainly reminiscent of a dog fight.

The viciousness with which Khan pummeled his first officer made Mara realize exactly how easy he'd gone on Jonathan Harris. Lorran was bleeding from the nose within seconds of hitting the mat, and soon after had a split in his eyebrow.

He wasn't exactly taking all the blows, however. On numerous occasions, Khan would sacrifice sure footing for a landing blow, and Lorran knew exactly when he did—utilizing it to sweep Khan's feet from under him and pin him.

He never pinned him for long, however. Khan always managed to grapple his way free, getting Lorran on the mat instead. It was a vicious match, but Mara could see in both men that neither was truly trying to hurt the other. Of course, with their advanced healing and capacity for pain, their definition of 'hurt' was much different than hers.

In a split second, Khan changed. He had shown what he could do, and Mara sensed he wanted to finish it… with a bang. He snaked a hand around Lorran's upper chest, yanking back hard and slamming him down on his back. Lorran choked once, but gave a quick, rushed laugh as he appreciated the savagery of the move. Before Lorran could recover, however, Khan leapt on top of him, pinning him by the throat and raising a first high in the air.

And that was when he stopped completely, paused in mid-strike like a statue. He and Lorran stared at each other with a mutual respect, but it was clear that Khan would not deliver the finishing blow.

Pierce looked around uncomfortably, then looked back at Khan. "Finish him," he demanded simply.

Khan looked stunned for a moment, pivoting to look at Pierce, but not letting Lorran up.

"He'll heal, finish it," Pierce said.

There was a deadly silence in the room, and Mara swore she could hear her own heart hammering against her chest. Pierce would never have demanded such a thing on a regular basis… this was to show off to the Chairs. But it was a terrible idea.

"I will not," Khan responded simply, leaning back and standing, allowing Lorran to lean up.

"I demand that you…" Pierce began, but was cut off.

Exploding like a gun shot, Khan bolted to stand before Pierce, pulling something from the back of his pants.

It looked incredibly like the gun design Khan had shown her. In fact, she was almost positive it was the gun he had designed. And he was holding it at arm's length, right at Pierce's heart.

There were seven technicians in the room, and every one of them pulled a pistol, aiming it at Khan. Mara's heart leapt into her throat as the nearly-twenty of The 72 present began slowly forming ranks behind Khan. Lorran leaned up, but did not stand. It was probably wise; one quick move and shots would fly.

"What was that, Pierce?" Khan hissed, a deadly venom in his tone. "You demand it of me?"

Pierce was unmoving, as were the chairs beside him.

"I hardly think you have any right to demand anything of me," Khan whispered, his eyes completely unworried about the seven pistols trained on him.

"Seven pistols says I do," Pierce retorted, but his voice was wavering.

"Tsk, tsk," Khan clicked his teeth in reprimand. "You made me to withstand things like that. I highly doubt seven bullets would kill me. Even if every… last… one… hit me in the head," he said with a sickening enjoyment.

"Are you willing to risk it?" Pierce asked, staring down the barrel of Khan's handmade but very lethal-looking weapon.

"Are you?" Khan growled, twenty of his finest lining up behind him.

Khan and Pierce stared each other down for what seemed like ages. Mara swore she could feel the temperature lower in the room as the ice in their eyes seeped out. The chair and vice-chair looked ready to flee.

Surprisingly, it was Khan who broke first.

He smiled, breaking the stare and lowering the gun. He spun it in his hand easily, like an old western, and held it out toward Pierce to give it to him. Pierce did not move, nor did the seven technicians and twenty AHLs.

"Your resolve is as thick as mine," Khan said through his obviously forced smile. "A 'phaser' gun," he said, nodding down at the weapon he was handing over. "Two settings; stun, and… well…"

The twenty men and women behind him laughed softly, and Pierce cautiously took the phaser gun.

"For future reference, Pierce," Khan began, taking a step back and offering a hand to Lorran, who took it.

"I will never harm a member of my family," he said as he pulled Lorran to his feet.

Pierce finally shifted his stance, relaxing his shoulders and putting his hands on his hips—as if unsure what to make of Khan's refusal.

"You have no family," Pierce muttered, peering down at the weapon.

Khan smiled dangerously. "Careful, Henry," he growled, and the way he said Pierce's name made it sound like he was marked.

Pierce narrowed his eyes, obviously angry at being talked down to, but didn't stare long. Khan turned his back, heading for the elevator and leaving Pierce and the two Chairs staring in bewilderment.