Читать книгу The Legacy of Shadows - William Speir - Страница 13

Jamie’s plane touched down at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport just before 10:00 AM on Thursday. She had been traveling since 5:30 AM and had to change planes in Dallas-Fort Worth, but the flights had been smooth and uneventful.

After deplaning, she sent Hunter a quick text to let him know that she had arrived okay. Then she picked up her rental car and headed toward the Buckeye suburb of Phoenix.

She stopped to check in at her hotel and change into her martial arts uniform before heading to the combat martial art society’s main training complex. Even though she was traveling there for a business meeting, uniforms were required.

She arrived at the entrance to the training complex and drove through the stone gates and along the main drive. The training complex was comprised of several one-story stone and timber ranch-style buildings. The main building had offices, conference rooms, and classrooms, while the other buildings had gymnasiums well suited for the various martial arts disciplines taught there. There was also plenty of green space between the buildings, providing the option to teach classes outdoors when the weather was forgiving.

Jamie pulled up to the main building and parked in the front lot. She saw several other rental cars nearby. As she exited her car, Senior Master Frank Whitworth appeared on the veranda and walked toward her.

“You made good time,” he noted, bowing.

“No flight delays today,” Jamie responded, bowing before shaking Frank’s hand. Gesturing to the cars, she added, “Am I the last one here?”

Frank shook his head. “Malcom and Gunther are on their way. Gunther had to fly into Mesa, so he has a longer drive. Three of the instructors are also en route and should be here within the hour.”

Frank gestured for Jamie to follow him into the main building. “Hungry?”

“Starving.” Jamie hadn’t eaten since 4:00 that morning.

“Lunch is being set up in the corridor outside the classrooms. Help yourself.”

As soon as Jamie entered the main building, she saw Elias O’Rourke, Elliot McMullen, and Rutger Samson holding plates filled with sandwiches and fruit. Most of the society’s other instructors were eating their lunch.

“Good morning,” Jamie called out.

The masters and instructors all stood and bowed to Jamie before greeting her. Jamie was the only female master and was several years younger than everyone else in the room, but the other masters greeted her like an equal, and the instructors showed her the respect due someone of her rank.

Most of the furnishings in the main building reflected the architecture of the training complex. Chairs, made of raw wood cinched together with leather straps and covered with Navajo-inspired seat cushions, were located all around the main lobby and along the hallways. Chandeliers made of antlers hung from the ceiling at regular intervals. Rugs that matched the seat cushions covered the wood plank floors.

While Jamie filled a plate with food, Malcom Richards and Gunther Marshall arrived. Jamie bowed to them when they joined her at the food tables. They exchanged pleasantries before joining the others to wait for the last few instructors to arrive.

Thirty minutes later, after everyone had arrived, Frank asked the masters and instructors to move into the large classroom next to the food tables. The masters took seats at the table along the front of the room while the instructors sat at the tables running perpendicular to the masters’ table.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Frank said when he opened the meeting. “As you know, we’ve been contracted to provide combat martial arts training to the counter-terrorism and counter-espionage units of the military, Homeland Security, the FBI, and the CIA. Our training is being delivered as part of a larger training initiative that includes surveillance, target acquisition, and other services that we’re not privy to. Whatever is driving the need for all of this training is classified, but given who the students will be, I think you can infer that this is either in response to or in preparation for a rather serious threat against the United States.”

Jamie was intrigued with Frank’s comment. She had a general idea of who they were going to be training, but she had been so busy lately that she never stopped to think about the reasons why the training services were necessary. I wonder if the Order is aware of a threat. She was the only member of the combat martial arts society who was also a member of the Order, so she made a mental note to ask her parents when she got home.

Frank handed out stacks of forms to each table and asked that they be passed around the room. “These are confidentiality forms that you all must sign if you’re going to be part of this training. Nothing that you hear, see, learn, or guess can be shared with anyone outside this room.”

The masters and instructors reviewed the paperwork and then filled in the requested information. Once all of the forms had been signed and returned, Frank turned on the video monitor behind the masters’ table. A map of the United States appeared.

“Each master will be assigned to a region, and a cadre of instructors will be assigned to each master. The units being trained will rotate in and out of a central training facility in each region.”

Frank reviewed the locations of the training facilities and which master would be responsible for each region. When he got to Jamie, he said, “Master Anderson, you will handle region three, and your training facility will be at Fort Benning just south of Columbus, Georgia.”

Jamie smiled. Her father had been stationed at Fort Benning just before he left the Army, and he had continued working there as a civilian contractor until he moved back to his hometown.

Once Frank had finished presenting the assignments for the masters, he reviewed the instructor assignments for each region. Jamie was pleased with the team of instructors assigned to help her. She had worked with each of them before and knew their strengths.

“You will have all of next week to prepare for the training and to get yourselves and your equipment to your assigned training facility.” Frank handed each master a thick packet of materials. “These packets contain the specific details of which units you will be training and the types of training to be provided. It also contains all of the contact information for your liaisons at each training location. For those of you who will be training on military bases, you will be staying in on-base housing.”

Frank then asked each of the masters to meet for the rest of the day with their instructors to work out any details and to identify any questions, concerns, or issues to address in the meeting the next morning.

Jamie and her five instructors met in one of the sitting areas on the veranda at the back of the main building.

“Are you planning to have all of your video equipment there?” one of her senior instructors named Saudis Bhandari asked. Saudis had been a Gurkha in the Indian Army until he retired and moved to the U.S.

“Absolutely,” Jamie replied. “The best way to address mistakes is to allow the students to watch themselves making them.”

“So you’ll need help getting all of that equipment to Fort Benning?” Saudis pressed.

Jamie nodded.

“Then I suggest that we all meet at your dojo next Friday, load up the equipment, and travel to Fort Benning together. That way we’ll all arrive at the same time, and we’ll know that we have all of the equipment there and can get it set up before the first class begins.”

The other instructors on her team agreed.

Jamie smiled. “Thank you. If you don’t mind going out of your way, I’d appreciate the help.”

“We’ll even pick up the vans we need to get us and the equipment to Fort Benning,” Saudis said.

They talked for the rest of the day, reviewing training schedules and assigning specific roles for each of the instructors. Jamie wanted to rotate her instructors through several different training positions to improve their skills and prepare them for when they’d be running training courses like this on their own.

Jamie had dinner that night with the other masters. When she finally got back to her hotel, it was after 10:00 PM. She took off her uniform and sat on the edge of the bed. Then she called Hunter to say goodnight.

The next morning, the masters and instructors met at 7:30 to review any questions or concerns raised the previous afternoon. After a lively discussion that lasted nearly three hours, there were no questions left unanswered or issues unaddressed. Frank adjourned the meeting, wishing everyone a safe journey home.

Jamie raced to her hotel, changed clothes, checked out, and drove back to the airport, hoping to catch an earlier flight back home. She arrived at the departure gate with five minutes to spare and was soon buckled into her seat, waiting for takeoff. A few minutes later, the plane was in the air.

Changing planes turned out to be easier than expected. The departure gate for her connecting flight out of Dallas-Fort Worth was right next door to her arrival gate. She sat in the departure lounge and sent a text to Hunter letting him know that she’d be home early.

“I can’t wait to see you,” he texted back. “Let’s go out tonight.”

“Okay,” Jamie replied. “As long as I have time to shower and change before we go anywhere. Are you thinking fancy or casual?”

“Your choice.”

“Surprise me.”

“Okay. See you when you get home. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Jamie turned off her phone and put it back in her bag.

He’s the best! I wonder what he’s going to plan for tonight.

Jamie pulled out the packet of information that Frank had given her and the notes she took at the meeting. She wanted to review them again before her next flight took off.

It’s going to be a busy couple of months. I know there are a couple of interventions that the Order wants me to lead, but I can’t do that and be in Georgia every week. I’d better alert the Order that I can’t accept any interventions until this training contract is completed.

Jamie arrived home a few minutes before 6:00 that evening. Hunter’s car was parked in the garage when she pulled in. She called out his name when she entered the house, and she heard his voice coming from upstairs.

She entered the bedroom and saw Hunter coming out of the bathroom. He had a towel around his waist and was drying his hair with another towel.

“Welcome home.” He kissed her. She reached for the towel around his waist, but he intercepted her hand. “We don’t have time for that. Later.”

Jamie nodded. “I’ll grab a quick shower.”

“The bathroom’s all yours.”

Jamie undressed as she entered the bathroom. In record time, she had showered and washed her hair. As she was drying off, she asked, “So what are we doing tonight?”

“Dinner, dancing, and if you’re not too tired after that, I have other things in mind for us.”

“I’m never too tired for that.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Jamie put on minimal makeup and put her hair up into a high ponytail since it was still damp. Then she put on a hunter green mini-dress and her brown suede leather boots that came above the knee. This was Hunter’s favorite outfit of hers, and he could barely take his eyes off her when she wore it. She wanted to keep him stimulated until they got back home.

Hunter took her to her favorite restaurant and then to one of the trendy dance clubs that featured live music every night. The band was good, but Jamie didn’t really pay attention to the sounds or the people around them. All her attention was on Hunter. The longer they danced, the closer she got to him and the more seductive her dancing became, until it became evident that if she danced any longer it would attract unwanted attention.

“You ready to get out of here?” Jamie whispered into Hunter’s ear.

Hunter nodded enthusiastically. He led Jamie off the dance floor and out to the valet parking stand.

He made impressive time getting home with no speeding tickets, and they were undressed before reaching the top of the stairs. It was nearly three hours later before they were both exhausted and satisfied. Jamie snuggled close to him as he pulled up the covers on their bed.

“Thank you for tonight,” Jamie purred softly.

“Anytime, Babe.” Hunter nuzzled her ear softly.

In spite of the workout they had the night before, Jamie rose at her usual time Saturday morning and got ready to head for the dojo. Hunter rode with her. He spent most Saturdays at the dojo with Jamie, helping her open and close while he studied for his 2^nd degree black belt.

There was a small crowd waiting for her when she arrived, and they all wanted to see her fight against multiple opponents like she did every Saturday morning.

She unlocked the doors, turned on the lights, and motioned for the crowd to come inside. Then she removed her uniform and began warming up. When she finally turned toward the mats closest to the front window, she saw ten senior black belts and instructors waiting for her. They were wearing safety gear, and their headgear made it impossible for Jamie to identify her opponents.

Tobias was there as one of the referees, with two other instructors helping him. Jamie noticed that one of the racks of wooden practice weapons had been brought from the weapons training room upstairs. This was unexpected. Jamie bowed to her opponents and to the referees, and then she took a ready stance, noting that none of her opponents held any weapons.

That changed quickly.

No sooner had the match begun than five of her opponents ran to the rack to secure weapons while the other five opponents kept her distracted. Then the five opponents with weapons attacked while the other five moved toward the rack to get their own weapons.

Jamie was unarmed and fighting ten armed opponents. The crowd gasped, but Jamie knew what she was doing.

When the first attacker lunged at her with his practice sword, she disarmed him and sent him flying with a sweep of his legs. She disarmed the second armed attacker a moment later. Armed with two practice swords, she attacked the other opponents with a relentless fervor.

One of her attackers succeeded in knocking one of the swords from her hand with a long bo staff, but she simply dropped the other sword, grabbed the bo staff with both hands, and yanked it free. She maneuvered the bo staff at blinding speeds, knocking weapons from hands and striking her opponents in their torsos and shoulders while sweeping their legs.

It didn’t take long for her opponents to begin withdrawing from the match. When only two opponents remained, Jamie retrieved her swords and moved around her opponents, who were also armed with two swords apiece.

Her opponents attacked, and she defended herself with her two swords, looking for opportunities to disarm them. Using both swords, she lifted the swords of one opponent high above his head and kicked him in the stomach. He went flying across the mat and was forced to withdraw, giving Jamie an opening to focus all of her attention on the last opponent.

Jamie tried to guess who the final opponent was. She could tell it was a woman, but the opponent’s protective gear covered her face. Jamie and her final opponent fought furiously until it was nearly impossible to see the practice swords as they moved through the air.

Jamie managed to hit her opponent’s wrist, and one of the opponent’s swords went flying. Jamie pressed the attack, and soon her opponent was on her knees as Jamie continued to strike at blinding speeds. Then Jamie knocked her opponent’s remaining sword out of her hands, and Jamie brought both of her swords down on either side of her opponent’s neck.

Her opponent signaled that she surrendered, and Jamie removed the swords and stepped back, bowing to her opponents.

“Who are you?”

Her opponent removed her proactive headgear and stood. Emily Anderson bowed and smiled at her daughter.

“Mom?!” Jamie hugged her mother and the crowd applauded and cheered.

Both mother and daughter were breathing heavily. Hunter brought both of them towels and bottles of water so they could cool off while the referees gathered the weapons and returned them to the rack.

“That was a good match,” Emily said after wiping the sweat off her face and tucking her graying strawberry-blonde hair back behind her ear. “I thought I had you at one point.”

Jamie glanced at her other opponents. “How did they talk you into being part of this today?”

“Actually, I volunteered. I don’t get over here as often as I’d like, and I wanted to see if I still knew my way around a practice sword. Besides, it’s been ages since you and I have sparred. I guess I’ll never know what it feels like to beat a master.”

“Well, you were a great teacher, Mom.”

Emily smiled. “And you were the best student. Now you have students of your own.”

Tom walked into the dojo. He saw Emily and Jamie sitting together and moved toward them.

“Sorry I missed the match. Alasdair needed to meet with me. Who won?”

“She did,” Emily said, gesturing at Jamie.

“What a surprise.”

“Any chance of getting together this week?” Tom asked Jamie.

“What day were you thinking about? We start training at Fort Benning next Monday, and I have to get everything ready by Friday when my instructors arrive to help transport the equipment to the training center there.”

Tom smiled when he heard Jamie mention Fort Benning. “Sounds like you’re swamped this week. What about tomorrow?”

“I think I’m free. I’m sure that Hunter is. What did you have in mind?”

“A little shooting and a little eating?” Tom suggested.

“Twist my arm,” Hunter said as he walked up to Jamie and her parents.

“We’ll see you at the gun club at ten,” Tom said.

“We’ll be there,” Jamie promised.

Jamie and Hunter met Tom and Emily the next morning at the gun club. They decided to just shoot for fun and not keep score. Despite being in his late 60s, Tom was still an excellent shot. Emily, who was in her early 60s, was also still a great shot. Jamie was as good as her parents, and Hunter was getting closer to their level each year.

They ate lunch at the club, and Jamie told her parents about the training that the combat martial arts society was delivering.

When neither Tom nor Emily seemed surprised, Jamie said, “Why do I get the feeling you both already knew about this?”

“Because SignalCorps is also delivering training as part of the same contract,” Emily explained.

“Are you going to have people training at Fort Benning?”

Emily nodded. “We’re using the same locations for our training as you are. We’ll just be on different parts of the base.”

“Will you be visiting any of the training?” Jamie asked.

Emily shrugged. “I don’t know if I’ll be going out into the field or not. We’re going to be using the new surveillance system, so I might go out just to check on how it’s performing, but apart from that, I don’t think there’s any need for me to interact with the staff providing the training or the people being trained.”

“Well, if you do get to Fort Benning, let me know so we can get together.”

“I will,” Emily promised.

“Are you coming to the Commandery meeting on Thursday?” Tom asked.

Jamie nodded.

“Good. You probably won’t want to miss this one.”

Jamie asked why, but Tom just smiled cryptically and said nothing.