After a couple of deep breaths, he was back in his right mind. The bell rang and Xavier took a stance combining Aikido and Jeet Kune Do. Hye was confused and paused for a moment, continuing to watch Xavier and looking for an opening. Xavier stared into Hye’s eyes and feigned an opening to his right leg. Hye took the bait. Xavier dodged and countered, catching Hye’s left leg. Before Hye could react, Xavier launched a blindingly fast combination, tagging Hye’s left leg with a series of kicks, chops, and elbows. It was as if Xavier had otherworldly speed. Hye was weakened. Xavier rolled over Hye, locking his leg into one of Hye’s own leg bar submission holds. Xavier held it and tightened it until Hye couldn’t stand it anymore. Hye tapped out to one of his own moves.
Xavier helped Hye up and gave him the respect tap. He impressed himself. He was grateful for the growth he had received in the last eight weeks.
Before Captain Stanley dismissed the recruits, he told them that the next round was going to be all about placement. This would be their last opportunity to impress and escape elimination. Xavier desperately wanted to face Oscar so he could fight for the number one spot. David was just hoping to place. And escape elimination.
Upon arrival the bracket seemed to shift. Ben had been re-entered into the final placement due to his impressive showings in the last three rounds. Due to the existing bracket style, Oscar would face Emily, David would face Charlie, and Xavier would be facing Ben. Xavier was disappointed, but his attention turned to David, who was really nervous. He knew how good Charlie was.
In the first round David and Charlie went back and forth. Charlie dominated the majority of the second round, but David began to mount a comeback in the last minute. Xavier could tell that Charlie had gotten in David’s head. In the third round, Charlie began to revert to his dirty moves, and David was unprepared. He was unable to recover and Charlie won by decision. David was heartbroken. Emily and Xavier tried their best to encourage him, but David kept staring at the ground thinking he was going to be sent home.
Next up was Oscar against Emily. Xavier didn’t like her chances, but he partnered with David to cheer her on. The first round consisted of Oscar playing mind games with Emily. She hesitated on several maneuvers and was barely able to survive. Xavier shouted some tips to Emily between bells. Emily took the tips and applied them. She was able to reverse several of Oscar’s moves and connected on some big hits. Once the bell ended the second round, Oscar glared at Xavier, infuriated.
“You might want to focus,” Xavier said to him, smirking.
Oscar changed his fighting style and overwhelmed Emily in the third round. She did her best to defend against his barrage of attacks, but he countered her every move. With a double move that threw Emily off, Oscar knocked her out with less than a minute left in the third round. David helped Emily out of the ring and they consoled each other.
It was time for the final match of the hand-to-hand tournament. Xavier was up against Ben, a fierce and powerful competitor who had flawless technique. The only reason he had been in the elimination round in the first place was because he had let nerves get the best of him and wasn’t paying close enough attention during his previous fights. Otherwise, he probably would have never lost a match.
Xavier used the first round to scout Ben’s moves, dodging and countering every attack. At the end of the first round, he began using his speed advantage to devastate Ben. Xavier had been quickly gaining a reputation of being an unrivaled speedster. In between rounds, Oscar pulled Ben to the side and whispered something in his ear. Ben turned to Xavier, looked him up and down, and then smiled and nodded.
When the bell rang, the two made their way towards each other. Ben attacked Xavier, backing him up to the line. Ben faked a move and then rushed Xavier, catching him off guard. He tackled him out of the ring and kept punching him as hard as he could. The referee struggled to pull him off and almost disqualified Ben. Xavier was bleeding from the nose and mouth, and his head was a bit foggy. He cleaned his face and spit out the blood, never breaking eye contact with Ben.
Xavier switched his style as the bell rang. He began jumping around the ring and mocking Ben with every move. Xavier’s stare was fierce, and he never looked away from Ben’s eyes. The intensity could be felt. Ben rushed again and Xavier dodged this time and continued mocking him. Ben attacked. Xavier reversed and launched a combination, insulting Ben as he took a step back. Ben began to rage. Xavier smiled at him, never breaking eye contact. Ben’s strikes were out of control and all over the place. Every move was met with a counter strike, a speedy combination, and an insult. Xavier knew he was in Ben’s head.
Xavier was in complete control and could make him do anything he wanted him to do at this point. Ben’s eyes struggled to focus. His breath was heavy and he was drenched in sweat. Xavier maneuvered to lure Ben into a strike. Ben swung. Xavier dodged and fired a long and blindingly fast combination. Ben fell back, but Xavier grabbed his arm and pulled him towards him. He dodged Ben’s momentum and flew into a fancy flip kick that sent Ben out of the ring. Xavier won, and the hand-to-hand tournament was over. The final rankings would be posted in two days at another large feast.
An announcement went forward that tomorrow was going to be family day and that all the remaining recruits would get to spend a day with their immediate family. The Crimson Force paid for all their immediate family to be there first thing in the morning. It was tradition to have this event halfway through training every time they had a mass recruiting. The families would get a tour through the headquarters and be able to visit the city. Xavier had no living family, and the Dunn’s wouldn’t be able to come because they were not immediate family. Xavier wasn’t looking forward to it. The next phase of training couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter 17
October 3rd 2062 6:00 a.m. (Day Seventy) Crimson Manor, Berlin, Germany
An explosion echoed under the bridge, and the support beam began to crumble. Ethan sped the family car to the side of the bridge, weaving in and out of traffic in the opposite direction. When Mia was a safe distance from the blast, Ethan turned around to see a young woman with a baby in her arms falling towards the edge near the blast. He shouted back to his pregnant wife.
“Mia, everything is going to be okay. Stay here. I will be right back!”
Mia rubbed her belly, unable to hide her worry. Ethan leaned in and kissed her.
“It’s going to be okay. I’ll be right back.”
He whipped around and ran towards the woman that was sliding off the bridge. He grabbed her free hand and tried to pull her up. A couple more men ran to Ethan’s aid. Together they were able to pull the woman to safety. A terrified scream drew Ethan’s eye. As the men approached the woman, the bridge began to slide. Several cracks screamed all across the bridge, and the center collapsed. Both sides caved in towards the middle, and every car slid inwards on top of all the people that were running to safety. The bridge descended into the water as a cloud of smoke filled the air.
Xavier popped up with a shout, drenched in cold sweat. Another nightmare. He hadn’t had one in a long time. Every time he did it was the same scene; the day the bridge collapsed and killed his father, mother, and unborn brother. He sat on the edge of his bed, cupping his face in his hands. He ran his hands through his hair as he exhaled. These nightmares only came when he was thinking about his family, and it only made sense that on family day at the Crimson Mansion he would be missing his family.
Xavier looked over to David’s bed to find that he had already left. David had been going on and on for the last two weeks about being able to see his siblings. There was no way for him to know Xavier’s pain when it came to his family—Xavier never talked about it except with the Dunns.
With a large sigh, Xavier stood up and began working out. Physical activity is how he dealt with his problems; he wouldn’t talk about them, but he sure knew how to sweat them out. He ran several laps around the property of the mansion with the events of the last eight weeks replaying in his head.
He wondered how he would rank. He felt confident he would finish in the top ten. He knew for certain he wasn’t going to be eliminated, but his desire was to be in the number one spot. The only way he would be able to get everybody out here to respect him would be to finish in first. He had to finish in first. He wanted to be the best, and in order to be the best, he had to beat the best. He had to beat Oscar.
A few hours had past. The manor was completely barren, and the only people that were around were working vigorously to clean and set up the place for the big feast. Xavier made his way to the library that he and David had been studying in for the last eight weeks. Along the way, he and Commander Bertelli passed each other. She greeted him.
“You have been very impressive during this training and tournament. It seems to come natural to you.”
Xavier smiled and grew fidgety. He had a hard time looking Commander Bertelli in the eyes. Sweat began to build on his hands. “Thank you. It’s physical work, I can handle that.”
“But it is also quite mental. You really understand the flow of a fight.”
Xavier began to blush. He coughed for a second to regain his composure. “Thank you. Did you have to do this, too?” he responded, finally looking up into her big, beautiful brown eyes.
“Advanced hand-to-hand combat is something we all have to learn, no matter what squad we are a part of. Once a month we also have training with Commander Fernandez, Captain Cromwell, Captain Walsh, and whoever the Commander of the Honor Guard is going to be.”
“Who do you think is going to get that position?” Xavier asked, trying to bait the Commander into telling him.
“Whoever Captain Walsh recruited that makes the cut,” she laughed, seeing right through Xavier’s game plan.
They shared a laugh. “I suppose that’s going to be Oscar.” He looked back at the ground.
“Everyone else seems to think so. He was born for it. He is a truly impressive individual. Though I believe he needs to learn to temper his aggression.” She looked away realizing she may have said too much.
After an awkward pause, Xavier looked at Commander Bertelli. “Well, I’m sure you have a lot going on. It was a pleasure running into you again.”
As Xavier began to turn around, Commander Bertelli called out to him. “I am actually on break. Would you like to accompany me?”
“I would like that very much, Commander.”
The pair walked around campus for a while. Xavier was full of questions about Commander Bertelli, the Research and Development squad, and the Crimson Force. She answered as many as she could, but there were some that she was not at liberty to discuss with a recruit. To Xavier’s surprise, she really opened up to him. She spoke briefly about her family and how she wasn’t much of a risk taker. A couple of hours had passed and neither one of them realized it.
As they entered the dining room, Xavier saw Oscar talking to Captain Walsh, Advisor Kelly, and Advisor Johnson.
“Why are they here?” Xavier asked.
“The Advisors are always present for the Family Day Feast. They like to hear all about our progress and see if there is anything they can help with.”
“And why is he with them?”
“They know him from his service in the SAS. He is quite the hero.”
Xavier found his jealousy growing. Everyone seemed to know and love this guy. They viewed him as a hero and a leader, but all Xavier could see him as was a pompous, snobbish brown-noser. Commander Bertelli turned to Xavier.
“It has been a true pleasure, Mr. Phillip. I wish you the best of luck. Do not tell anyone, but I am rooting for you.”
“The pleasure was all mine, Commander,” Xavier said, bowing a bit. Commander Bertelli jokingly curtsied in response, and the two went their separate ways.
Commander Bertelli watched Xavier walk away with a smile. She was deep in thought when she was interrupted by Captain Walsh calling to her. Xavier turned around and watched Commander Bertelli walk away with a large smile on his face. He turned his gaze towards Oscar. He wondered what everyone saw in him that he kept missing. He then wondered where Oscar’s family was. He shrugged it off and made his way to the library.
In the library he studied the history and development of the European Special Forces. He wanted to know where Oscar came from. During his studies he remembered that Captain Stanley came from the Mountain Men in the Royal Marines. There seemed to be little difference between American Special Forces and the UK’s Special Forces; there were a few differences in duties, but for the most part they seemed to have the same function. His thoughts lingered on his promised rematch. He bet he could take Captain Stanley now; he had grown significantly in the last eight weeks.
The time was drawing near for Xavier to go and get ready for the feast. As he exited the concourse, he saw Oscar walking alone. He decided to follow him at a distance. There was something he didn’t trust about Oscar, but he couldn’t figure it out. After a few minutes of following him, Xavier found Oscar heading into the orphanage. Xavier overheard one of the workers welcome Oscar back. According to the conversation, Xavier pieced together that Oscar had been an orphan and visited often.
Xavier walked away with his head low. He was ashamed of himself for passing such judgment on Oscar. Maybe he had been wrong about him the whole time. As he made his way down the stairs, he was stopped by David, who couldn’t wait to introduce his siblings. Ava was twenty-one and had just graduated university, Lila was sixteen and an aspiring dancer, and Asher was eight and wanted to be a superhero. Asher was excited to meet Xavier.
“Davie says you are a super ninja warrior.”
Xavier couldn’t help but laugh. “Your brother taught me everything I know, Asher.”
Asher was a ball of energy and enthusiasm. Ava and Lila were quiet but sweet. They all laughed together for a few minutes, and then Xavier dismissed himself so he could get ready for the feast.
At the dinner, Asher saved Xavier a seat. He made a big sign saying that the seat belonged to the super ninja warrior, Xavier. Xavier laughed hysterically. All of the recruits were surrounded by their families, and the officers sat at the head of the table. Captain Walsh led the ceremony. Xavier and Oscar were the only two alone. It was a bit odd, but Xavier felt connected to Oscar in this way.
Once all of the traditions were completed, the countdown began to light up on the big screen and proceeded exactly like the one prior. Eleven through thirty showed up right away, then ten down to one, and thirty-one up to forty were being bounced between. David finished in ninth. Charlie finished in third. The only spots left were first, second, thirty-ninth and fortieth. The names began to flash, and Xavier felt like his heart was stuck in his throat. His only desire was to finish in first and show everyone that he belonged there. Xavier reeled like he had been punched in the stomach when his name came up in second; Oscar had finished in first. Xavier stared at his plate in disbelief.
Captain Walsh offered his sincerest apologies as well as his congratulations. He proceeded to explain the next level of training that would take place. The remaining thirty recruits would be competing against their own squads in specialized training. They would be divided into four groups. Research and Development would have eight weeks of advanced training followed by a series of creativity tests. The Human Resources and Support would receive advanced training in presentation and program design and execution, followed by large presentations. Scouting would receive advanced training in tracking and would endure major tests. The Honor Guard and Strike teams would be working together to learn how to use weapon disciplines and would compete in a tournament much like the hand-to-hand combat tournament. Two recruits from the remaining six on each squad would be eliminated.
Asher was full of joy and couldn’t wait to meet Oscar. Xavier could see where David got his enthusiasm from. He decided to suck up his pride, hang back, and congratulate him. As Oscar left, Xavier chased him down.
“Hey, Oscar!”
Oscar turned around, obviously irritated by Xavie
r’s presence. Xavier stuck his hand out. “Sorry about everything. I’d like to bury the hatchet.”
Oscar rolled his eyes but grabbed his hand hesitantly. “I don’t trust you, American, and I don’t like you. But you are a fine warrior.”
He squeezed Xavier’s hand and pulled him a bit closer.
“I will be finishing in first place.”
Xavier squeezed his hand back. They engaged in what seemed like a contest of strength. “Very well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They stared at each other with intensity for another few seconds, both focused on finishing in first. And neither one was willing to back down to let the other get that spot or interfere with their pursuit of it.
Dawn of a New Era Page 13
