✓ ❘ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃, 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐄𝐑 ─ 𝐁. 𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐄

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ: ʜᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ: ʜᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ

❝ ɪ ᴀᴍ s.ʜ.ɪ.ᴇ.ʟ.ᴅ's ʙᴇsᴛ ᴀɢᴇɴᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴ. ❞

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       "LET'S START WITH THE BASICS," BRENDON SPOKE, FLEXING HIS JAW AS HE ROLLED UP HIS SLEEVES AND TOOK A FEW STEPS BACK, "REFLEXES."

"I already did reflex training with Corvey," you sighed while rubbing your face; you were still half-asleep.

"Yes, but," Brendon moved too fast for your lethargic brain to comprehend, and you weren't aware of what was happening until you spotted the flash of light being reflected off of the airborne blade. Gasping, you managed to duck down right in the nick of time; the dagger embedded itself into the wall padding behind you. "I'm not Corvey."

Shaking slightly from the shock, you breathed heavily as you picked yourself up, glaring hatefully at your bodyguard. "You're right. You're not Corvey. You're a fucking maniac. What the hell was that, Brendon?! You almost killed me."

Brendon rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've aimed lower – for your heart. That way, if you ducked, the dagger would catch your head; you would've died either way," he shrugged casually.

"Wow, okay. Thanks. Thank you for that," you remarked sarcastically, irately ripping your jacket from your body and aimlessly tossing it to the side. 

"It's a pleasure."

The next forty-five minutes were spent working on your reflexes in hand-to-hand combat. While training with Corvey, you were under the impression that your reflexes were up to par – you had injured the unfortunate agent multiple times during the session, after all. But training with Brendon, you realised just how wrong your impression was.

Every move you made, he countered effortlessly, while you were hardly able to reverse any of his. Most of the time you felt apathetic to even continuing on, but his words of encouragement along with his unrelenting tenacity revived your confidence and compulsion to prove yourself.

Brendon was a fighter unlike anyone you'd ever come across. Both figuratively and literally. He was disciplined, skilled and physically stronger than any of the other agents – even those with a bigger build than him – and even though he was holding back (and not even using a quarter of his strength, you were sure), he still pushed you to your limit.

You landed on the ground with a hard thud, knocking the wind from your chest. Although you'd landed rather harshly, you didn't feel any pain. It was more like discomfort. Clasping the side of your ribcage you had landed on, you coughed for air as you hoisted yourself up.