G-Pol Ch. 05

Chapter 5

Karl was disappointed. He'd hoped to have a little more time with Natasha, but he'd found she'd departed well before he woke up. He guessed he was a bit lazy or something. Apparently she'd gone down to the surface to work on the case that had brought her here. He didn't know what that case was, and he might or might not be of any help to her.

The image of her in his mind was more than distracting too. The feel of her curvaceous body against him last night had strained his self control to its limits. He wanted her like he hadn't wanted anyone in a long time. He didn't want to ruin it by pushing her too fast though. He realized he wanted more than to date her. There was something magnetic about her and it drew him as if he were made up of iron filings.

The tension made him restless and he couldn't settle down no matter what he tried. He decided to head for the grav gym and put the pent up energy to good use.

When he walked in, he saw the place was practically filled with women! There were plenty of men too, but this wasn't going to help with his frustration much. He knew once he got going though, the people around him would for the most part fade into the background. He made his way to the locker room and changed into his workout clothes, a pair of knee length bike shorts and a close fitted tank shirt that would give him the greatest freedom of movement. Then he slipped on a pair of thin soft shoes that would offer good traction on floor mats without damaging anything. They were often used by collegiate wrestlers and the occasional male gymnast. He found them comfortable durable and versatile enough for most of his workouts. He put his other clothing in a locker and secured it with his own lock.

When he emerged back out into the gym, he immediately saw several sets of eyes turn to examine him. Many female wondering at his prospects, others male, checking out the potential competition. Most of the men dismissed him out of hand. He was tall and he'd been told good looking, but slim in comparison to most of these brutes. By no means a body builder, he did have good muscle tone and was far stronger than he looked. Most of that bulk in the larger men was scar tissue from the damage done to their muscles by the workout regimens they practiced, and for just that purpose. Not the damage, the bulk.

Karl had always been more interested in strength and endurance, so hadn't gone the same way. Instead he'd done quite a bit of bicycling, hiking, climbing and taken a real interest in the martial arts. He'd taken the ever popular taekwondo classes as well as some Krav-Maga, both of which had served him well in his short military career as a recon scout. He and His best friend Melissa had joined right out of high school, had applied for the same MOS and been accepted at the same time. They proved themselves an excellent team and worked well with their other team mates, scoring well and eventually were assigned to the same unit.

Melissa had definitely been straight and they had fooled around a little back in high school, but it hadn't felt right so they'd dropped it and just remained friends. Their friendship had often led them to double date which their parents heartily approved of because it kept them out of trouble. They'd often found themselves helping one another with boy or girl troubles brought on by whoever they were dating at the time. Their friends all said they'd end up married one day, but they knew better. They would be best friends for life and that was all they wanted. He let that go there. He didn't want to think about losing her the way he had again.

He made his way over to the exercise bikes and waited patiently near one a girl was nearly finished with. She saw him waiting and smiled as she finished up and turned it over to him. He thanked her with a smile of his own and manually entered his private program code from memory. The girl looked as if she might be one of the fitness instructors. She stayed nearby to watch and whistled softly when she saw what he'd entered. Apparently she knew more than the average user about this equipment.

The bike was a sim model with all the controls of a normal off-road design and was fully articulated to simulate riding over any kind of terrain a bicycle could navigate. This meant it could tilt forward and back as much as eighty degrees, could lean side to side and even simulated bumps and rough ground reasonably well. It also offered a VR helmet or the option of a neural link patch that could link it into a person's cybernetic computer port if they had the proper audio and visual implants. Karl did, but didn't like to connect to equipment he wasn't intimately familiar with. Who knew what some psycho might load into a public computer system and for what reason? So he usually opted for the helmet. It would have the added benefit of blocking out the sights and sound of the people around him.

The Program started with an easy relatively even and level path giving his muscles time to warm up and prepare for the more vigorous exercise ahead. The trail in front of him began to climb a low hillock that hid the rest of the terrain. As the trail got steeper, the pedaling became harder and the angle of the bike changed to simulate what he was seeing, bumps and all. He had to downshift here and there on the climb to be able to maintain forward motion before the slope and the gear ratio exceeded his body weights ability to turn the pedals any further.

When he crested the top of the hill, he was able to se more of the trail ahead and below him and climbing up the next hillside. He knew the deceptively easy looking trail below wasn't easy at all and his senses were tuned to maximum efficiency. The gym had gone away as far as his mind was concerned. The descending trail was both steep and treacherous with several drop-offs landing him on the next part of the trail and several sharp turns that, if missed would end the ride and in real life probably the riders life, or at least his fine day. One might have thought the descent would be easier, but in truth it only changed the stresses. Instead of taxing his brute strength, it forced him to pay close attention to his surroundings, to push his reflexes and timing to their limits.

When he got to the bottom there was a narrow creek which had to be jumped to continue the ride and he managed it with ease, then began his ride up the next slope. This one was as steep and treacherous as the one he'd just come down and required skill and close attention to his shifting to keep moving upward. Partway up, there was a minor peak that dropped off the other side into a deep half pipe gully which helped to build a little momentum as he pedaled hard as he could down one slope and rocketed up the other to fly over a meter into the air, landing gently on the ascending slope again before switching back and leveling off somewhat in a long straight shot. Then it was another steep treacherous climb to the top.

Once on the top, the trail joined a paved road that ran along the ridge and slowly downhill with a few uphill sections that didn't let the muscles cool too quickly. Karl finished the ride at the point where it had started, the road leading back to the trail head and discontinued the program.

When he got off the bike and took off the helmet, the fitness instructor was still there and looking very impressed. She'd been watching the screen which showed the action from his point of view as he rode as if he'd been wearing a helmet cam. She looked up at him and smiled. "That was impressive! Especially for a warm-up?"

Karl laughed. "You wouldn't believe how long it took me to be able to finish that thing. I know it by heart now. If it was real I imagine I could do it in the dark and blindfolded! NO... actually I'd probably kill myself on it! The guy who created it calls it the suicide run. I threw in the long slope at the end for a cool down. His goes right back to the beginning again."

The woman laughed. He must be either obsessed or crazy!"

"A little of both and all the same!" Karl laughed with her, "He makes a comfortable living on the professional tour though, so I can't criticize too much!"

"I'm Janice." she said holding out her hand, "Are you looking for a workout partner this morning? I could use someone who can keep up with me!"

"Muscle heads!" Karl joked, "No endurance!" That got him more than a few nasty looks from some of the guys using the equipment around them. Many of these were eyeing Janice with more than friendly interest too. "Sure, I wouldn't mind the company. So what's on the schedule? I'm Karl by the way."

"Well, we've both got a start on the cardio part." Janice said, "I see a few weight machines open, why don't we start there?" Karl followed her over to the first machine and they began their workout in earnest. They made use of every type of machine there, then moved to the free weights, taking turns spotting one another. She too proved far stronger than she looked.

Periodically they' stopped to stretch out to keep themselves loose and prevent injuries. Karl wasn't exactly a gymnast, but he was more flexible than most men he'd known in his life and proved it, producing involuntary winces in many of the watching men. They also took frequent breaks to get something to drink.

When they moved to the heavy punching bags they attracted a bit more attention from some of the men there. Most of those looked to be hard types who probably thought of themselves as fighters. Some of them eyed Janice with avarice in their eyes while ignoring Karl as insignificant. After all, they were all far heavier than him and far more powerfully built.

Janice volunteered to hold the bag for him and he asked her not to at first. He told her to watch a moment so she would know what to expect when she got back there. He threw his first punch aimed at the core of the bag and not its surface and hit it hard with his bare knuckles. The forty kilo bag jumped away from the point of impact as if electrocuted and began swinging wildly as he continued to pour blows into it at a rapid pace. After ten seconds or so he stopped and caught the bag to stop it's swaying.

"Got It? Just keep it from swinging is all" he said. Janice nodded understanding. If she'd leaned her weight into the bag as usual and expected to let the bag absorb all the energy, she'd have been rudely surprised. His punching style was very different from that of most people.

They took turns punching and kicking the bag and even attracted a little more attention from those around them. There were several rude comments made about Karl's style, but he ignored them with a smirk that made Janice laugh. This of course brought grumbles from some of the onlookers.

They finished their workout by walking and jogging on the track for half an hour. "Thanks," Janice said as they finished and headed for the locker rooms, "That was fun. Maybe we can meet again here sometime. I'm always on the lookout for a good workout partner."

Karl nodded agreeably. "Sounds good. Until the next time then." She nodded smiling and went into the ladies locker room without another word. Karl was satisfied. She had trusted him not to make any moves on her and she'd returned the favor. The gym was a place to work out, not get laid, despite what many seemed to think.

He was just considering heading for the spas when someone grabbed him by the arm. "I heard you were a fighter? You wanna spar a little?"

Karl looked at the man a moment. He was about the same height but quite a bit bigger. He had the look of a typical body builder type and a fighters aggressive stance. He didn't really look threatening, just curious, so he decided it couldn't hurt. "Sure, why not. Lead the way."

He was led to one of the side rooms set aside for aerobics work, martial arts classes and sparring. Once inside he quickly spotted several of the men he'd seen around the heavy bag area. Some of these had been the ones making snide comments and the like. Most were arranged around the room's perimeter and watching a sparring match. There were two men in the center of the room wearing the required headgear and boxing gloves. The rules were apparently simple. You won the match by either knocking down your opponent or forcing him out of the circle marked on the floor. This had to be done three times in any combination. If it couldn't be done in five minutes, the one with the highest point total was called the winner. If they were tied it was considered a draw. There was a staff referee for safety sake and the forms weren't limited. If one of the opponents was bare handed he wasn't allowed to strike with a closed fist. But otherwise there were no real rules unless agreed upon by both opponents.

Karl chose the standard martial arts competition safety equipment which included headgear and pads for the fists and feet. He also had a mouth guard of his own from when he'd trained in the CAF. His opponent chose similar equipment and they waited their turn.

The three matches before theirs went quickly. Karl decided most of these fighters were at most partially trained, and many were entirely too predictable to be any good. His opponent seemed to agree, shaking his head sadly at many instances in each of the matches. When their match came up and the others saw who was in it, the room went quiet a moment. Then, it was filled with hushed murmuring and whispered speculation.

Once in the ring, Karl took up a loose relaxed stance. To the untrained observer it looked as if he'd left himself wide open. His apparent mistake drew a few derisive snickers from among the audience. When the match began, his opponent led with a snap kick aimed at his lower chest. Instead of attempting to block the move, Karl simply turned aside letting the kick pass, then grabbed the leg and swept the supporting leg out from under his opponent. It was the first fall of the match and the crowd went silent. Apparently this skinny man wasn't helpless. Karl reached down and helped the man back to his feet easily. The rest of the match was quick with Karl winning after taking one fall to his opponents three when he was forced out of the ring in a moment of inattention to his position.

He was immediately challenged to another match by one of his earlier detractors. He was tempted to turn it down, but suspected he wouldn't be allowed to do so without facing him and several of his cohorts later. They looked as if they were hoping he'd do just that, so he disappointed them and accepted. He knew he would have to face several of them in this way, but it was better than having to face them in a group later. He wasn't about to let that happen. That would be stupid and he would probably end up killing one or more.

He finished the first match quickly, putting his opponent down in less than forty five seconds with three knockdowns. The last of which left the man seriously dazed and his friends had to help him off the mat. For the second match he was well warmed up and ready. His opponent was a bear of a man who must've weighed half again what he did at ninety kilos. As he expected, the bigger man tried to use his size and weight to his advantage. Karl applied the principle that if your opponent can't breathe, he can't fight. He hit him hard several times in the solar plexus, driving hard and deep and finishing him with a kick to the chin that knocked him unconscious, despite the headgear and the pads on the tops of his own feet. The last man he faced looked to have learned to fight by watching boxing on vid. He had some of the form right, but obviously didn't understand the intricacies and subtleties of the sport. The man was strong though and the blows he landed hurt. Still, Karl beat him within three minutes with three knockdowns and no falls. That put an end to the challenges and he'd earned at least some respect from most of the people in the room. Now all he wanted was to sit down and relax awhile. He really was tired now.

Without thinking about it, he walked out into the main gym area and showered off quickly before he climbed into the spa. Janice showed up a minute later and took the spot next to him. "So why did you get into that mess?"

He looked over at her and shook his head. "I wasn't thinking. One of them, a smarter one than the rest, asked me if I wanted to spar a little. I think he was curious so I went along like a lamb to the slaughter. Once I got in there, I found I wasn't getting out until I'd earned their respect or I would face them in an alley somewhere soon. I didn't want to have to explain any bodies."

His blunt answer caught her off guard and she paled slightly. "You're kidding right?"

"Uh, no." he replied hesitantly, "If faced by more than a few of them, I'd have to take them out as fast as I could to stay alive. In a situation like that, someone could get killed pretty easily, including me if they got the better of me. I'd prefer not to give them that chance or take a chance of it happening in the first place. So, I went along with their little game. It was safer for everybody that way. If I'd been thinking, I'd have turned down that first invitation. It might've been a setup in the first place to teach me my place as it were. Who knows."

She nodded at that. "Makes sense I guess. So you didn't want to get in on that little testosterone party?"

"Not at all." he answered honestly, "It doesn't prove anything even if you beat up the whole crew. They just keep wanting to push the limits, keep testing you. They're like a bunch of little boys bragging and trying to prove who's toughest. It's just not my thing."

"Well, that's refreshing." she said with a smile, "at least you came out of it ahead."

"It wasn't a setup you know." a familiar voice said from behind him. It was his first opponent from earlier.

Janice sat up with a bright smile. Hey Mike, this is Karl. He came in and worked out with me when you couldn't make it this morning. Karl, this is my husband Mike!"

That made sense. Karl held out his hand. "It's good to meet you Mike, we never introduced ourselves earlier. So, do you both work here?"

"Yeah, Jan got me the job a few years ago." Mike answered, I'm one of the martial arts instructors. I don't usually meet too many guys that can beat me. So what do you do Karl?"

Karl laughed. "I'm a freelance law enforcement officer. Translated, it means I'm a bounty hunter and sometime merc for whatever agency needs a little extra muscle. I do a little work for G-Pol once in a while."

"That explains a lot." Mike said, "That's a tough business, and you don't get far if you can't handle yourself. You're right about those clowns too. You probably would've had to kill one or two of them if you hadn't done things the way you did. Half of 'em are in the sparring room right now trying to figure out your style. It looked like Taekwondo mixed with something else."

"Yeah, Its Taekwondo Krav-Maga and CAF Comjuko." Karl said with a shrug, "A little of this, a little of that, a little of whatever works. It keeps me alive and that's the point isn't it?"

"Well said!" Mike agreed with a snort, "One of my buddies up at the G-Pol office said you were the one that brought in those four pirates yesterday. Those guys aren't happy campers right now. Three of them are facing murder charges and the death sentence in a couple of systems. They were some pretty serious characters."

"That's why I came here." Karl said, "Guys like that shouldn't be running around free. You might wanna tell the G-Pol guys they might as well slag that ship of theirs. Noone in his right mind is going to buy that thing! Most dealers wouldn't take it for spare parts if you paid them, it's so filthy."

Mike laughed. They might just take that advice! The guy they sent in to start cleaning it up refused to go back in without a hazmat suit."