Dark as Daylight Ch. 23

The middleweight I played with for a while, and beat him. Again, Mr. Zabo showed no interest.

The heavyweight showed off while he was warming up. He did handstands, multiple aerobic moves, and acrobatics to show how good he was.

The referee called us to the center of the ring, gave us our instructions, and we backed away from each other.

The heavyweight smiled at me as if I didn't exist. I stood there motionless, until he came at me like a freight train. I threw a right hand at his throat and connected with his windpipe. He went down like a ton of bricks, clutching his throat, unable to breathe. His men came over to him attempting to help him. I turned around, went to my corner, picked up my towel, went to the bench where my clothes were and proceeded to dress. William Zabo was standing up, applauding. I finally made an impression on the man, and it was a good one. He sent his man over to me and told me to see him. I did.

He said, "You just beat my best man in less than a second. I pay him $450,000 a year. I'm offering you a position as my body man for the same amount of money. Do you accept?"

I replied, "Since I just beat your best man so easily, make it a cool half-million, and I will accept your proposal."

He said, "Goodbye."

I didn't reply. I stood up and walked out of the gym. He never expected that to happen. He called his man over, told him to get everyone together, to find me, and get me back there. I wasn't hard to find. I was sitting one car down from the entrance to the gym. I knew he was going to send men out to get me, so I was going to wait until he did so. After that time, we became inseparable. Where William went, I was at his side. If I told him to do something, he did it, without question.

$500,000 a year, a clothing allowance, and I traveled the world in a private jet. What a terrible life he had me living. Of course, there were the times I had to stop bullets with my body to save his, but that's why they make bulletproof vests and suits. William never got a scratch on him when I was his body man.

After 7 years as his body man, William told me to train my replacement, because I was getting a promotion, whether I wanted it or not.

I started with 20 agents and I whittled it down to 6. I put the 4 men, and 2 women into advanced training. At the end of 14 months of training it came down to 2. I could not make a final decision, because the two agents were that close in talent. I had William come to the facility to watch them in action, and make the call between them.

I warned both agents, one week in advance, what was going to happen.

"Don't have a bad day. Don't leave your armor at home. Don't forget anything you've learned in the past year plus, because a big pay increase depends on your performance next Tuesday. Any questions?"

"No sir."

"Good, go to the range. 200 shots, 150 yards and closer. Anything outside the 10 ring is unacceptable."

"Yes sir."

*****************************************************************

William arrived 30 minutes early, which was unusual for him. The reason was obvious, he came by helicopter, and Patty was with him.

"William, please tell me she didn't fly you here."

"Lucius, I may seem crazy at times, but I am not suicidal, yet!"

"Thanks Dad."

"You are welcome, Patricia."

"Why are you here, young miss?"

"I'm hiding from tall dark and handsome."

"Very clever, he will never find you here."

"Shall I start the exercise now, William?"

"You're here, I'm here, if they are here, let the show begin."

"You will not be able to tell the trainees apart. They are in their black Nomex suits, including full bulletproof gear, helmets, dark glasses, visors, and gloves. She is slightly taller than he is. If you watch closely, you can tell the difference in their running styles, but it is only a slight difference. She does not run like a girl.

The operatives that are going up against them have no clue who they are, or what they are capable of. This is a real training exercise. The operatives have bulletproof vests, but not on their lower limbs or arms. If they get hit in those areas, they must go down. A referee will tell them if they are capable of resuming the fight, or not. The shooting exercise will last 30 minutes.

Then we will proceed with the hand-to-hand combat exercise. Hand to hand includes the use of knives, throwing stars, chairs, bows and arrows and any other item either contestant can get a hold of to get an advantage. This will also be a 30-minute time period.

At no time can either of our trainees help the other. They are on their own for the entire time. If the referee declares 1 of them out of the fight they lose, and their time stops. It will be deducted from their total score at the end.

We will proceed to the range, where each contestant will be given 100 rounds of ammunition and 100 pop-ups to shoot at. No target will be more than 150 yards away, and no closer than 5 feet away. Targets will stay up for 3 seconds before they are withdrawn.

Patty yelled, "Can I play?"

Lucius looked at William, who looked down at his daughter.

"Do you really want to embarrass yourself in front of experts?"

"Please dad, let me do this. I haven't had fun with a gun in some time."

"Lucius, your people go first; then Patty can go."

"As you wish, William."

"Number 1 and 2 assume the position."

"Exercise number 1: Begin.

From the interior of the prefabricated buildings, firing began. The 2 trainees took off in different directions attempting to find the multiple shooters, with automatic weapons.

If it weren't for their positions, high in the viewing stands, William, and Patty would have been splattered with paint from the exploding shells that seemed to come from every direction at ever increasing speeds.

About 10 minutes later, the report of a loud explosion caused everyone to look towards a building on the south side of the viewing stands. Smoke was billowing out of the front and rear of a building and 3 men walked out into the street, unarmed and with their hands in the air.

A referee dressed in battle fatigues, a white hat and vest, ran over to them and sprayed a white X across the front and rear of their uniforms. These men were dead, and out over the fight.

They ran over to a food truck for coffee and something to eat.

Other combatants decided to leave the inside of the buildings in favor of the rooftops and sidewalls. Believing they could see, and do more offensively, from these positions, rather than just look out of windows and doors, they decided to leave the protection of the concrete structures. They failed to use the motto, 'Safety in Numbers' as part of their offensive/defensive ideology. Scattering as they did, made this a 'man on man' fight, and the trainees were better in single combat.

At the end of the 30-minute time period, trainee number 1 had killed 5 of the 6 combatants, while trainee number 2 had killed all 6 on the south side, including the 3 bombing victims.

Lucius asked number 2 how a bomb was rigged to be used in this contest, when he had not issued 1 to either of them.

Trainee number 2 said, "1-pint diesel fuel, 1-pint gasoline, 3 or 4 ounces of automobile oil, and a little dried scrub brush. Mix the gasoline with the diesel fuel, combine them in a bottle and shake. Pour the oil on the scrub brush, and light it with a match or lighter, place it in the top of the bottle, and get out of the way. It won't hurt anyone, but it will make a lot of noise, and put up a lot of smoke."

Lucius nodded his head. "Very inventive, very good thinking."

Session number 2 was hand-to-hand combat and for this everyone moved to a makeshift arena. It was more than 200 feet long and 200 feet wide, with obstructions placed throughout the area. Poles, mace's, baseball bats, bows and arrows, tables, chairs, doors, windows, both open and closed, stairways that led up to ropes and to nowhere. Pits were filled with mud, sand, and water. Whoever made this place was evil, and he had a good time making this place up.

The 2 trainees were at the East end, one at the North edge, and the other at the South. The combatants were at the West edge spread equally from North to South.

Lucius yelled, "Begin."

Trainee North ran straight for a stairway, climbed to the top and lay down flat, becoming virtually invisible in black Nomex garb.

Trainee South walked slowly towards the medieval battle implements. He grabbed a Mace and a Morning Star ( a ball on a metal pike, with 6 inch metal spikes sticking out in every direction), and moved to the East side line 50 yards out. He didn't want anyone coming up behind him, but anyone that dared face him was going to be in for a great deal of spiked iron coming his way.

The 6 men approaching from the West knew immediately something was wrong. They could only see one trainee; where was the other one. 5 decided to go after South, while one of their number would stand guard at their backs so the other trainee could not attack from the rear.

2 of the 5 men took long lances as a method to attack South. One took the 4-foot long Broadsword, while the final one used 6 throwing stars to take South down. The man standing guard had a Celtic throwing axe and an 8-inch knife on his person.

From his perch, on top of the stairway, trainee North watched as South became surrounded. He/she could easily help his/her comrade, but the rules forbade it. He/she wondered whether it would be worth it to pick up a bow and arrows, stay concealed, and pick off several of the men harassing East/South.

As he/she slid down the stairs on his/her stomach, he/she said, "It's only a job, a really great one, but it's only a job."

Staying very low to the ground East/North moved 15 yards towards the center, and 20 yards west to get to the bow and quiver of arrows. However, from this position, launching them was not advisable. Moving towards the mud pit was a great idea, because it had a high bank on the east and west side.

The arrows wouldn't hurt anyone, they would only impact, and send an electronic signal to the person's vest that he was dead or severely wounded. The referee would make the final decision.

East/North had 6 arrows ready to fly in very short succession. He wouldn't wait to see where the 1^st one landed, before sending off the 2^nd, it would be on its decent, as the 1^st one made contact.

Bedlam would be breaking out by the time the 3^rd arrow past apogee, and the 4^th was in flight. The 5^th was nocked on the string of the bow, ready for its skyward flight of fancy.

The five men were ducking and covering their heads as the 3^rd arrow arrived, trying to see where their attacker was. The 4^th arrow was in decent mode, as the 5^th arrow was on its way. However, with the last arrow, aim was taken at the man who was guarding the rear of the 5 attackers of East/South. This man would have the only possibility of knowing which direction the arrows came from, thereby giving away the attackers position.

East/North realizing his attackers were no longer paying attention to him attacked carefully, not wanting to be hit by a stray arrow. One by one, the Morning Star was used, hitting each man that was still standing on the back of his vest setting off the alarms that declared them dead. The only man left standing was facing away from him, for the moment, but that didn't last long. An arrow hit him in the abdomen setting off his alarms. He was dead and this 30-minute time segment was completed in 12 minutes.

East/North looked around to see who it was that was assisting in the fight. It was against the rules for anyone to do it.

When South stood up, clasping the bow and arrows, it didn't make any sense, because it was a clear disqualification.

Why the hell was everyone applauding?

As they approached Lucius to hear his decision on the matter both had their doubts.

"Good job trainees. South why did you assist North?"

"I did no such thing, sir."

"Don't you lie to my face. We watched you shoot those men in the back, from a fair distance, with your arrows. They were no threat to you, at that time, they were only threatening North."

"You are correct, as always, sir. However, they were my enemy, and it was my duty to kill them, as quickly as possible, without risking my life. I didn't care what happened to North, as long as I remained safe."

"That was an excellent lie, and I will accept it, because in a court of law you could get away with it. Don't you ever try that garbage with me again, is that understood?"

"Understood, sir."

"Take a 2-minute break and meet us at the range."

"Sir, yes sir."

North clapped South on the back thanking her for her intercession. "I didn't know you were that good with a bow and arrow."

"You can't grow up in western North Carolina, and not know how to use a bow and arrow. They put one in your crib the day after you're put in it."

"I thought they put a rifle in your crib the day after you were put in it."

"No, they put a rifle in your hands while you're nursing at your mother's breast in the hospital. You never know who might try to steal you away from your mom, and you might have to defend yourself."

"I take it that it is a semi-automatic rifle?"

"It might have been, at one time, but since a baby's fingers are so tiny, and the pull on the trigger is so hard, they make it fully automatic before they give it to the child."

"You are too funny, Claire."

"I was telling you the honest to God truth, Steve."

"Just for lying to me, and bringing God into it, I'm going to beat you at the range."

"You've never beaten me at the range to date. Why do you think you're going to do any better today?"

"You're all tired out from using your expertise, and arm muscles on your bow. I will get the benefit out of that."

"We will see what we will see in less than one hour."

*****************************************************************

"Are you two finished playing grab-ass?"

"Yes sir."

"South, here is your weapon and your belt containing 6 clips, with 15 rounds each. You have 90 seconds to complete this task. Assume the position."

South stood as if she were blocking a person behind her, waiting for Lucius to say the magic word.

"Begin."

She turned as the 1^st target popped up 5 feet away from the shooter, and although it surprised her, but she shot it square in the center. The targets that popped up seemed to be destroyed instantaneously, as the shooter continued her lethal task. She was even counting the shots as they left her weapon. At number 14, her left hand moved to the belt, took a fresh clip, and moved it towards the weapon. At 15, the shooter ejected the spent clip, and shoved the new one home in one motion. She moved the slide, putting a shell into the chamber and continued shooting, without losing concentration.

By the 5^th clip, she began missing targets, and was using 2 bullets to hit them. Her arms were shaking and growing weary. By the end of the 100 rounds, the weapon was handed to Lucius, her head was bent and her movement was slow, as she moved away from the shooting area. Reaching the grass, she fell, stretched out her arms and rested.

"How could 9 pounds of gun be so heavy, after such a short time?"

North did not fare much better than South did. The first 4 clips flew by with nary a miss, but the 5^th clip felt like it contained lead. Arms drooped just a touch and instead of hitting center and destroying the target, the bullet grazed the bottom, leaving the target intact. A 2^nd bullet was required to destroy it.

Realizing his strength was going, he aimed higher than normal. The targets began to disappear once more. Sliding the 6^th clip home took all the effort that was left. The 1^st target that popped up was a mere 20 feet away and he missed it completely. Another shot grazed the bottom and as the target was being removed, a 3 shot destroyed it.

5 more targets popped up and he destroyed 3 of them. No other targets were shown. His time was up and he had run out of ammunition.

Lucius took the gun and walked to the computer to see the results. He shook his head when he tore off the paper.

He looked at the 2 contestants lying on the ground and screamed at them.

"Are you 2 for real? You use the same gun, from the same position, on the same course, and you shoot the same score. 87 each. How am I supposed to tell Mr. Zabo, who is better to serve him as his body man?"

Patty raised her hand. "I have the answer."

William said, "Lucius, you ask her. I know I will regret this answer for the rest of my life."

"Trust me, dad, this is a good answer."

Lucius said, cautiously, "Alright Patricia, who should I hire, North or South?"

"Lucius, I've known you for many years, and my father trusts your judgment implicitly. This time I think you've gone over and above your job requirement. Hirer both of them, because one person cannot be with my father 24 hours a day. He keeps the weirdest hours of anyone I have ever known. He can have a breakfast meeting at 8 AM, do nothing during the middle of the day, and then have a dinner meeting at 8 PM that will last until the wee hours of the morning. How is one person supposed to cover him, and be totally alert for all those hours?"

"I did it."

"I know you did, and look how short you got." She hid behind her father for protection.

"Patricia, he has a gun in his hand and he knows how to use it."

"I was just trying to make a point, dad. It's not like 1 of your companies can't afford it."

"She has a point, William."

"Okay, you're both hired. When my wife finds out I hired a female body agent, I may not live long enough to explain to her how it happened."

"Tell her about it when you're in bed, dad. She won't kill you there."

"Are you going to shoot, Patty?"

"Absolutely. Did you mess with the sites when I wasn't looking?"

"I did nothing to the gun except hold it. Here is your belt with 6 magazines, here is the 7^th magazine, and may the good Lord have mercy on all of us standing behind you."

"You don't know who taught me how to shoot, do you, Colonel?"

"No I don't, and I don't care. I will be amazed if you hit 60."

"I will be disappointed if I don't hit 88 or above."

"If William wasn't here, I might have said a very bad word."

"I've heard that word before, and you're full of it. My gun is now loaded, there is a round in the chamber, and you may begin when ready."

Lucius went to the computer and started the game and pressed the button. He watched the timer countdown and said, "Begin!"

Patty waited for one of the targets to pop up, but it didn't. 3 seconds went by, then 5, then 8, then 10, then 13, then... Then they began. However, they didn't begin one at a time as it had for the other shooters. They came up as two and three targets at a time, and they weren't placed together. She slaughtered each of them in turn. She was so busy shooting targets, she lost count of her bullet usage. To be safe she grabbed her 1^st clip, and held it close. Soon she fired, and nothing happened. She ejected the clip, and slid the 2^nd one home. She missed her 1^st target and she cursed. She settled down and began destroying each dead center. Her hand eye coordination was flawless.

She continued through the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th clips without missing a target, when the dreaded 6^th clip was shoved home. She knew her arm was tired, but couldn't understand why the others just didn't adjust for it. She aimed higher and to the left 3 inches, and destroyed 14 targets in a row. The 15^th target refused to go down, even though it had a hole in the center.