ENTANGLED STRINGS OF PAST

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Aiden Williamson

We reached the warehouse slash our training center. It was a huge warehouse built isolated on the outskirts of the city. It is surrounded by two more buildings for the men to stay after training. My uncle trains more than a hundred youngsters here every year, after leaving New York, Terry and I take care of his business and his mob. We train people to strengthen our grip on the underworld and sometimes export our men to our alliances.

This was the best place to train Hazel; she should know what she is going to deal with.

She was in her silent mode as usual, throughout the drive and now too while following me from the parking area to my world of darkness.  She silently hide her emotions in the most hidden place inside her, hoping no one to notice.

We reach the main entry area nodding to the guard's greetings. "Welcome to your new heaven angel," I said to her seeing no reaction I continued, "You will get training here" While walking more into the house I told her my plans about her training, "You will be taught how to handle deadliest of the situation. You we learn how to fight and how to kill anyone without flinching", I paused to observe her but strangely there was no ounce of fear on her face, just a strange calmness, so I continued again coming on the main topic, "you will be trained to handle weapons like guns, but today we will start with basic fighting and self-defense training, okay" I completed.

"Okay," she finally broke her silence and followed me to a separate practice area, personalized for Terry and me. Our uncle use to teach us here when we were young.

It was a small area separated in the corner of the warehouse, with all the needed gym equipment and a boxing ring. "You will practice here with me and sometimes Terry," I said while walking. "Your self-defense training will include some parts of MMA and boxing. After that, we will continue with weapon handling, including knife fighting and shooting. With this training, Terry will also be teaching you some technical work like basics of computer." I explained to her. "Any doubt?" I asked.

"When we will start?" she countered and I smirked.

"Let's first test you strength," I told her while standing in front of a punching bag. "Show me your hardest punch," I added. First, she looked at me, then moves her right leg behind and punched the bag with her right hand, strong enough to make the bag swing. "Good" I whispered. "Now kick," I said and she kicked with the leg behind which was a strong one too.

"Fine, your strength is okay, it will not require much training. You will only have to work on your techniques. Now come in the ring" I told her my observation and entered the boxing ring.

I started circling and begin speaking, "Fighting includes physical strength but it is not the most important thing, to win a fight you have to use your mind more than your body" She followed my steps and listened attentively, so I continued, " guards up hazel, never let them down." She held her hands up. "While fighting you always have to be aware of your opponent's next move and be ready with your counters moves. Always play with your opponent's mind," I started coming close to her. "Confuse them and then attack once to finish the fight. Now attack Hazel!" I shouted when I was fairly close to her. She tried to punch but I ducked, held her hand, and twist it behind her back without hurting her, now her back was touching my chest. "Never let your opponent know what you are thinking," I whispered in her ears. "Now try to free your hand, without letting it break," I told her, she started twisting herself but her efforts were of new use because I held her hand firmly in place.

"Let me tell you, first try to look for the weak points of your opponent. Try to hit his with your head if your heights are almost the same then turn and twist your hand from back to front and at last kick to free yourself. However, if the opponent is larger or stronger than you are, like in our case then look for legs hit him on his legs near the knees, and kick to misbalance him, if this fails then look for something in front of you like a wall or something than kick the wall hard to apply equal pressure on you. This will also misbalance him. Now try" I explained her techniques and held her hand again. This time she knew that kicking me will not be sufficient so she kick the pole of the ring hard enough to make us both fall onto the mat and she suddenly freed herself and pinned me by climbing on me. We stayed like that for a moment, "good, you learn fast" I said disrupting her stillness. 

Feeling a sense of calmness in her, I finally asked her, "Who are you Hazel?"

However, I was wrong, it was just for a moment, and she again hid her truth behind her guards but only one thing she can never hide, was her eyes. Her eyes staring me.

We stayed like that for some moments, may be trying to find each other's hidden, bleeding scars; trying to find the truth in each other's eyes which our mouth were scared to tell.

"Hey Sweetie! Don't you dare kill my boy!" I heard someone shouted from a corner. Hazel and I turned our attention from each other to the source of voice.

"Mariana!" I exclaimed.