Balance (22 page)

“Not many know the secret of that wea
pon.  A
s I
said …
the element of surprise
.
”

“Tell me about it.  I almost lost a hand.”

“I had confide
nce in your remarkable reflexes
.”
Takada
comments
.

“And if I d
idn’t have remarkable reflexes
?”

“
Then, w
e probably wouldn’t be talking.  I’m not going to lie
to you Michael
, your abilities intrigue me.  I want to understand how
you do what you do.
  I haven’t f
igured it out yet, but in time …
“ He insinuates before his focus shifts, “W
hich reminds me,
I have something for you.”
 
Directed
to the weapons
rack
, Takada
offers
a
wooden
box to Michael.

Opening it, he finds
a rather peculiar bladed weapon.
L
ook
ing
like a cross between a knife and brass knuckles, semi-circular in shape
,
t
he circumference honed to a razor sharp edge
.  A
pocket cut into the body
along the straight edge running the diameter
forms
a
handle
for his fingers to
grasp
. 
E
xamining the
weapon,
Michael
discover
s
the object is comprised of two mirrored blades fastened
together by
a
pin mechanism at the radial center. 
He
turns the device over in his hand, noticing
its
excellent balance
.

Takada
reach
es
for the
piece
, “H
ere let me show you something.”
H
anded the weapon,
he
turns it over and d
e
press
es
a
release
button
midway along the handle.  T
he mirrored blades
separate
,
rotating
about
the pin
mechanism
, sliding along their
mated
surfaces. 
Carefully opening
the
mirrored
crescents
,
Takada
lock
s them
into place, for
ming a complete circular object.
He
hand
s
the disc-shaped weapon
b
ack to Michael for examination. 
“I had it made specifically for you.  We call it a Switchblade-Glaive, effective in hand-to-hand combat,
it can be used
as a short range thrown weap
on.
Please,
g
ive it a try. 
Alt
hough, I
recommend closing it first, to get the full effect”

Michael depresses the button, releasing
,
th
a
n
rotat
ing
the blades
back
to their original orientation
,
forming the
half moon. 
M
ov
ing
through several fight sequences,
he
check
s
its balance and wei
ght.

Takada instructs, “When you’re ready to throw
it, depress the release button.  The blades, spring loaded
,
will
expand
during delivery. 
I
apologize in advance if you lose a finger, we might have to
make some adjustments
.”

Michael abruptly stops his shadow f
ighting and turns to
T
akada for
sign
s
of levity.
A
s expected, absolutely no indication of
emotion.  Undeterred, he r
eturn
s
to his simulation
.
I
dentif
ying
a target
, he
performs a sequence of wheel kicks
,
concluded
by
a right hand roundhouse
.  At the onset of
his arm
sweep
, he
depresses the release
. 
T
he weapon slides
effortlessly off the tips of his fingers
,
the
glaive
launched
at the outer most position of his
arm
’s
arc
. 
Michael
observes
, as if in slow motion
,
the mirrored blade
s
slide apart and
reconne
ct, forming the
disc-shaped
object.  It speeds
away
,
like the saucer during
the tryout
,
striking
the wooden post twenty yards away, embedding several inches
deep
.

“
Holy crap!
T
hat’s
insane
.”
Michael
proclaims
with excitement.

Takada responds, “As I said, the element of surprise.  I thought you’d appreciate it.  You will find it in the armory for your use
.
”  He looks at the clock on the wall, “
We should wrap
this up.
W
e’
re expected in
Ms. Smith
’s
offices
shortly.”

They
quickly
clean up the dojo
, Michael replacing the glaive in the wooden
box.

Discussing the finer points of combat and surprise techniques, Michael and Takada
leave
for
the
I
mmersion
Offices
.

A
rriv
ing
at the Immersion offices
with Takada
,
Michael
find
s
Ms. Smith
, Waters and Rodriguez
in an observation
room,
their attention focused on a wall of
mon
itors.  Each display showing
various points of view
of the same locale,
what
appears
to be an empty saloon.

After
a short wait
,
Michael watches as
three soldiers enter the
establishment
.
The
rowdy
looking
trio
help themselves to
the inventory
, each
grabbing
a bottle of beer
from behind the bar
.

A
lone in the saloon for
over
an hour
the
cadre
are well on their way to
full blown
intoxication
.
  Studying
the
soldiers
and
those accompanying him
in the room
,
Michael
grows
confused as to the purpose
of their
vigil …
th
e
n he sees her …
Rena walks into the saloon, alone
.  Michael’s heart stops, he understands immediately,
he’s
witnessing
an immersion …
Rena’s first immersion
…
without her
Dispatch
. 
Fear sweeps him, his worst fear … Ren
a immersed in an environment he’s unable to
protect her. 
He
reacts
protectively
,
as any Dispatch should,
as someone in love would,
“What the hell is
she doing immersed without her Dispatch
?
…
Without me?”
He demands.  Scanning the room
, Michael
can see
Ms. Smith
visibly un
comfortable with the situation,
Waters
and Rodriguez,
behind
him
;
appear
to
be at attention, unflinching.

Takada,
his attention fixed on
Ren
a
, responds in an even, callous
tone, “Michael, for her safety
,
and your own, you
shall
remain calm.  I appreciate your regard for Rena’s safety.  She is not entirely without support.  All
will be explained in due time.”

…

S
tand
ing outside on the gravel parking lot,
Rena
stares at
the entrance. 
Ms. Smith
w
as
specific
,
today’s lesson
she would
be
performing an immersion
.  The
local
e
,
a saloon
constructed for
training exercises where
she would be under co
ntinual
observation
. 
Inside, she will
encounter
three sold
iers. 
Ms. Smith explained that t
hey are aware
they’re to
be joined by a fourth
,
an
I
nfiltrator
,
with an objective to accomplish.  They do not know
the
objective
, only that
she
will be attempting to influence them
.

The objective
,
get the tallest soldier to climb up on the bar
… Rena knows
it’s too easy
.  Rodriguez requested Michael’s attendance, Takada’s order.  Michael wouldn’t be here, watching her for something as trivial as coaxing a horned up soldier onto a bar. 
She knows t
here’
s
more to
this exercise
than that.

D
ressed in her best bar whore outfit,
Rena wears a
short
flirty
mini-skirt
, white blouse, too much make-
up and wild hair.  Definitely, not a look she would
consider
without provocation.
 
T
ak
ing
a deep breath
and undoing another button on her blouse, Rena
walks
into the
saloon
.
 
I
nside,
she finds the
music
loud,
too loud
to
talk
over
.

T
he th
ree soldiers
spot her immediately.
  A
lone
for over an hour
,
their inebriation a
pparent, they’re a little slow on the up take
.
 
So
,
a
fter a brief moment of
apprehension
spent
survey
ing
the
saloon’s
new
est
patron
,
the soldier
s
glance at each other
articulating
their collective approval
with
lewd
comments
.

Rena handles it with gusto, sauntering around the bar, getting the lay of the
land
.  L
-
shaped
bar
island
, fully stocked rail, pool table
and
cues, four bar
height
tables
with
stools
. 
She
locates
at least
five
hidden cameras.

Turning to the trio, Rena
identifies the
mark.  Taking a steadying breath, committed to the task at hand,
she
glides over to one of
the
other soldiers,
slithering past
, grazing up against him.
  He howls with delight.  She turns away, and
approaches the second, walking right up into his face,
her
striking turquoise eyes
mesmerizing
him
, holding him enrapt
.
S
he slide
s around him, her hand trailing
,
touching
his body as she circles
.
  The soldier turns to his friends, his eyes wide with excitement.

Moving on, s
he heads to the third, the ma
rk.  D
ancing slowly
,
her
hips
gyrating
to the music
,
toned arms
snaking
bewitchingly
over her
head
, she
weav
es
a hypnotic spell in the air. 
Her dark red hair, light tan complexion and shaded jewel-like eyes, Rena is a vision of pure exotic fantasy. 
She dances in behind the mark,
sliding
up against his backside, using her body to le
ad him in
rhythmic motion.

His
companions
start cheering
, offering vulgar
remarks
.  The two mov
e
in unison. 
Unable to
take
the innuendo
a
ny longer, he turns to face her, but
the temptress
is
just
out of his reach.

Rena
gracefully
ascends
the bar
; first
s
itting
, she folds her long legs up beside her, and then turning like a coil of smoke rising from
a
flame, she’s
dancing
seductively
on top
.

All three soldiers
, entranced,
move and sway
as if dancing with her. 
Rena points to the mark,
suggesting he
join her.

His friends
goad and
taunt
,
urging him on
.  He gets his courage and
clumsily
mounts
the bar
, the effects of the alcohol impairing his agility
.

Putting
her hands on his hips,
Rena
guides
his body
in
tempo
with her
s
.  She looks at his face,
sheer ecstasy
… her objective accomplished
.

Then it happens, time stops.  Rena hears the
distinctive sound, like a
burst of a
ir
forced through a straw …
than the upper right side of the soldier
’s head
explodes out. 
A look of
confus
ion
,
he
do
es
n
’
t register the event imme
diately
and then
his eyes
roll
up
as
he collapses backward off the bar.

Rena’s mind goes blank, a kaleidoscope of bright lights, her brain’s synapsis fire off randomly … mental
white noise
.

Michael can
only
watch
as Rena reacts to the chaos.
H
er
eyes
go
wide
with
shock
and fear
. 
Instinctively
, protectively,
he
r hands go up to her
face
as she
scream
s.  Then
dropping to a crouched
position,
Rena
cower
s
on the bar, looking around
, searching
for something.
Michael
knows
, she’s
searching
for him.
 
Tensing
, the color drain
s
from his face, his hands clinch into fists at his sides.
 
Q
uickly restrain
ed by
Waters and Rodriguez
, Takada turns and stands before
him
, his words lost
in the thunderous rush of blood
.  On some primal level, Michael
understands,
he’s
to remain calm.

Momen
ts pass.

Michael watches as t
he two remaining soldiers,
after the initial shock of
witnessing
their
colleague
crumble
off the
bar with half his head missing
,
instantly
go into defens
ive mode.  One
seizes
a pool cue.  T
he other reaches over the bar
,
snatching
a bottle of liquor
from the rail
,
smashing the body of
f
on the countertop
, leaving a jagged-
edge
d
weapon in his hand
.

After a moment to get their bearing, t
he one with the cue yells something to
the other
, pointin
g a
t Rena,
still
crouched
on the bar.
 
The
second soldier run
s over
and
pull
s
her
to the floor.
F
acing forward
in front of him
,
his
left
arm
over
her shoulder, down across
the chest
,
he uses
Rena as a shield.  T
he
lethal
end of the bottle
held precariously
close
to her face and neck.