The Medusa Deception

Chapter 13

MANDY ENTERED A small reception room. A fit, young gal about her age wearing a yoga style outfit eyed her from behind the counter. "You must be Mandy. Sam's expecting you. Head straight down the hallway to the last door. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." She turned and took a calming breath, trying to calm her jumpy nerves. "I can do this," she whispered under her breath.

Opening the heavy steel door, Mandy stepped into a large gym brightly lit with rows of fluorescent lighting, surrounded by white walls, one of which featured a ten-foot tall expanse of mirror. She walked across the bright red floor toward the man at the back. The floor was springy and padded. The bounce in the floor was a welcome distraction, easing her tension.

A tall man, mid-forties with spiky sandy blond hair, thick neck and strong jaw looked over and strode purposefully toward her. His form fitting, black T-shirt bulged at the biceps and clung to his pectorals. Matching track pants accentuated his slim waist. They met in the middle of the gym.

"You must be Mandy. I'm Sam." He reached his powerful hand out to shake hers.

"Very nice to meet you, Sam. Thanks so much for setting up this special training session."

"My pleasure. Ryan's a very good customer. He's brought in quite a few referrals. Let's jump right in, shall we? You can put your stuff over there."

Mandy stashed her bags by the wall and returned to where the instructor was standing.

"What kind of fitness training have you had in the past?" Sam asked.

"Karate, brown belt," she said.

"Excellent. I'll quickly review some of the basics, then we'll get right to the good stuff."

Sam proceeded to point out the weak spots of the human body that would inflict the most pain with the least amount of effort, highlighting the eyes, nose, throat and the top of an assailant's foot. He then described how to evade capture when someone tried to restrain you. "Now come at me, as if to grab me, and I'll demonstrate. Then we'll reverse roles."

Mandy bent her knees. Weaving back and forth in front of him, she looked for an opportunity to lunge and made her move.

Sam handily spun her around, restraining her like he probably had, hundreds of times with other beginner students.

With a surge of adrenaline and snake-like reflexes, she spun out of his grasp and pinned him in a headlock. Her legs wound tightly around his torso; her arms squeezed relentlessly at his neck.

Sam pulled at her arms but his airway was restricted. His face turned red and he dropped to his knees.

Finally, she came to her senses and stopped. She scrambled over and kneeled in front of him. "I'm so sorry Sam, I don't know what came over me. I just kind of snapped. I had no idea I could even do that!"

After a few gulps of air, his toned and healthy body recovered from the assault.

He rubbed his neck and smiled a wide grin. "Are you kidding me? That was incredible! Brown belt you say? Unbelievable."

Mandy fell back on her butt, relief washing over her. She inhaled sharply and exhaled a long, drawn out breath. Thank God he wasn't hurt. She looked over at him. He was still smirking. Lucky his appreciation for fitness seemed to outweigh his sense of pride. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what the hell just happened."

"You appear to be a lethal weapon. What brought you to self-defense training, anyway?"

"Well, I might be traveling to some dangerous places. I want to be prepared for anything."