The Soldier

A Change of Plans

The first punch landed on my ribs and left me breathless. I inhaled quickly and coughed out a breath, the pain that pierced my side now shot up into my chest. I blocked the next fist with a forearm and began my attack, I found my mark on his stomach and side before I leapt out of his reach.

"Again." He commanded as we broke apart, his fists coming up into position. I lifted my hands in response and closely observed his body language, anticipating his next move. His tongue became visible as it pressed down into his lower lip. His face was full of concentration as we slowly circled each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. He had the advantage in height, towering over me by almost a full foot, which would have been intimidating if I didn't have full knowledge of how to counter his moves from our months of training.

His right leg shot out to kick my side. I grabbed his ankle with both hands and tugged, causing Braden to lose his balance which allowed me to pull him harshly to the ground. He landed unceremoniously on his backside, a large breath was exhaled through his teeth. I remained tense above him, keeping my position as he pouted for a moment at his defeat before an easy smile flashed across his face. "Good," he commented, "you're learning more each day."

I grimaced in response, relaxed my stance, and pushed a piece of hair that had managed to escape my pony tail behind my ear before I extended a hand to help him up.

"But clearly not enough."

Braden's tone changed just as fast as his actions. He yanked down on my hand while simultaneously slamming his feet against my thighs, causing me to flip over his head and land harshly on my back. He was quick to pin both my arms above my head while using the weight of his torso to constrain my body, both of his legs stretched out on either side of my hips. "Give up?" Braden teased, his voice and breath warm and close to my ear.

"Never!" I gasped, struggling to find a weakness in his tight grip, kicking my legs in an effort to gain any purchase on the ground to throw him off and relieve the pressure on my chest.

"Hmm," He mused, "we'll see about that." Braden gave a wicked grin and my shrieks filled the room as he started tickling my sides.

"If you two are done messing around, Anderson wants to see both of you in his office." The voice at the door stopped Braden's actions and he rolled off me, the grin quickly disappearing from his face. Veronica, Anderson's assistant, stood in the doorway with pursed lips, crossed arms, and disapproving eyes. Embarrassed to be caught in such an awkward position, I shot to my feet and rearranged my clothing, brushing off the non-existent dirt. We followed Veronica out of the room without a word or a glance at each other.

We walked down the long halls to Anderson's office. My bare feet stuck to the tile floors and made a suction noise with every step. The low, constant murmur of voices and fingers against computer keyboards in the control and observation rooms we passed sounded muffled compared to the harsh clacks of Veronica's stilettos. She strode before us a few feet ahead, leading the way.

Braden could sense my nervous silence. "I'm sure it's nothing." He tried to reassure me. "We're still a long way away from entering the city. You're not ready. We still have time." I nodded but was not comforted at his words. Meetings with Anderson had become a rare event since Braden had been put in charge of my training. Whatever was happening, it was something important and nothing he said could make the restless butterflies in my stomach go away.

Sooner than I would have liked, we arrived in a familiar hallway. The heavy wooden door was an unwelcome sight and a reminder of the past interrogations and uncomfortable conversations that had taken place inside that room. Veronica softly knocked on the door and a deep voice responded, telling us to enter. "Sir," Veronica informed the man behind the desk, "they're here."