Balance (17 page)

“Yeah
,
you’re right.
I’ll see you in the morning.” 
Michael
leaves without
looking at Rena, his mind somewhere else.

Rena
sits down
on the couch
and
cr
ies
. 
She hadn’t expected this, wasn’t supposed to involve him.  This was her ordeal, now she’s pulled him in.  Hell, she can’t deny it, they’re pulling each other in, they’re linked … whether she wants it or not.  Maybe there’s still a chance, a way to protect him.

After
several,
fruitless minutes of deliberation, she gives up, her mind a jumble of too many consequences. 
Exhausted, she goes to bed.

…

Over the following
two-
weeks,
Rena and Michael are tested, poked and prodded. 
F
ree time together limited, their schedules tend to mirror e
ach other more often than not.

Rena performs several exercises intended to test her
cognitive
and
rapid problem solving skills.  One
such
test called ‘
the
B
ridge
’,
a large mechanical arched construct bridging two platforms built with inter
connect
ing blocks.  T
he goal, collapse the Bridge
by removing a single block,
displacing
as many of the
interlocking
blocks as possible.
  Rena is able to collapse the bridge
displacing
all of the blocks, a
feat
only accomplished a couple
times
, ever
.

Michael and Rena
’s
rapid memory and identification
skills
are tested.
O
ne
such
test requiring them to walk into a
simulated
bar
setting for sixty-seconds
, exit
and
then
recall everything they saw. 
T
he same environment
used to test their threat identification skills
,
Michael and Rena both perform
superbly
.

H
is
scheduled
hand-to-hand combat
testing
cancelled
due to his per
formance in the cage and tryout, Michael
still
has
the pleasure of
watching Rena
demonstrate
strong
skills
in her
sparring
session
. 
He
concludes
,
worrying about sui
tors
is
p
robably pointless, teasing
that she should probably have ‘her fierce’ tested for rabies.  Others in the
Bunker
st
art to acknowledge ‘her fierce’
and avoid confrontation.

Rena complete
s
the balance of her physical testing,
postponed
due to the incident with the coordination and agility course, performing exceptionally
, not surprising anyone, especially Takada
.

Both
maintain
regular appointments with the psychologist.  Rena
assumed
specific traits
are
desirable
in the psyche of Infiltration
T
eams.  She
suspect
s
,
the development of
her and Michael’s
relationship
,
might
have
bearing on the
continued visits and
likely,
the
timing of their assignments.

At no point during the two weeks of testing
,
after discover
ing
their intended future, did anyone definitively proclaim
they were to form an Infiltration Team. 
In an effort to ignore the possibility, they
refrai
n from revisiting the subject.

Rena
acts
more
inhibited
around Michael, hoping to cast doubt on the potential of a lasting bond forming between them.  Michael, suspecting her intent
,
acts
more confused and frustrated in dealings with her
,
hoping to sell
the ruse
.
 
They
assume
Takada has
final say in their placement,
confirmed by his
increasing
interest in the
ir
testing.  They
suspect
a point whe
n
a d
ecision
is imminent
, fast approaches
.

Starting their third week in the Bunker,
Michael and Rena meet
in the dining hall
for breakfa
st
.  Like most morning
s,
Waters and Rodriguez enter the hall and proceed to the balcony.  Michael identifies Takada and Still a
mong the people in attendance.

Part way through their m
eals,
Michael
notices Mr. Black
leave his customary breakfast company of Ms. Pearl, Mr. Grey and Ms. Gold and join the congregation on the balcony. 
N
ot surprised by the development,
Michael, on several
occas
ion
s,
has
seen one of the four See
rs join the group in the balcony.  Rena
concluded
those meeting
s
likely
coincide with
field assignments
or active operations
.

Their meals finished, Rena and Michael wait for Waters and Rodriguez to join them with their schedules for the day. 
Rena
tries
to
preoccupy herself by
reading a book
, appearing completely disengaged from the activities going on around her. 
This morning, as is customary
, the hall
vacate
s
before t
heir handlers leave the balcony.

Waters and Rodriguez exit t
he meeting along with Mr. Black,
the three having
a short conversation at the top of the
stairs.
 
Mr
.
Black glances
briefly
at Michael and Rena
before
descend
ing
the stairs and exit
ing
the hall.

Looking
at
Rena
, trying to gain her attention,
Michael
nods toward the balcony,
“Something’s up.”

Waters and Rodriguez
descend the stairs and
approach the table. 
“You both need to come with us
.” 
Waters instructs
.

Michael regard
s
them
warily
.

S
ay
ing
nothing
,
almost overlooking their presence
,
Rena
simply clos
es
her book and ris
es
from the table, never once acknowledging
any of the men in her company
.

L
ed
up to the b
alcony
,
the small cadre walks
into
the glass meeting room.  Takada, Still,
Angela
,
Alexander
and
Ms. Smith
are all standing
in a group
as they enter
. 
Angela
directs
the new arrivals
to
the
rectangular
conference table
.

Rena sits down
,
across from the assembly
,
center
ed
on
the long
side of the
table
.  Michael
takes the chair
next to her.
Waters and Rodriguez take seats
flanking
the pair.

The
conclave
considers
them for a moment
before making
themselves comfortable along the opposite side.  Only Takada takes a seat at the end
.

Angela
speaks first.  “
Over t
he last two
-
weeks
,
you have been subjected to a series of evaluations and tests, both physical and psychological.  The
evaluations
based on
Alexander
’s
initial recomme
ndation
,
having observed
each of you uninhibited.  He
felt you had qualities that could
prove
suitable
for
a special t
eam.”

A
s if
a
baton
passed,
Alexander
supplants
the conversation
from
Angela
.  “Michael, you will likely assume my assessment was based purely
on your performance in the ring.  Though
a
contributing
factor, several other aspects came into play
as well
. 
You see,
I had done some research
on
you
...”

Michael
suddenly
becomes
uncomfortable.

“I learned
you only fought
occasionally, at multiple cages, never
visiting the same cage
twice in a
row.
  You always chose
lower level competition
.
 
Your fights tend
ed
to be short
and
unmemorable
, with the exception of the last one.  This told me you were considerate of your anonymity.
You
also
presented yourself as unassuming in order to drive the odds against you, which means you were cognizant of the value of surprise.
I will say Michael, your good looks work
against your
obscurity
, as y
ou had a small group of
female
admirers more than willing to share information.
” 
Alexander explains, glancing at Rena.

E
xpecting
Al
exander
’s
attention, Rena
remains emotionally
detached for Michael’s sake, hoping for a last-minute reprieve on the final decision.

“
N
ow
,
your fight was most impressive, as much as what happened afterword was
most revealing.  Your fighting skills, though on exhibition only briefly, were unparalleled. 
Y
our g
amesmanship following was
telling
as
well,
as
you pretended to be surprised
by the
outcome
. 
T
he moment your opponent made his move,
you knew
the
result
.  You’ll
need to work on your poker face
.
Although
,
the most important thing I discovered that night
,
was not your fighting skills, but
your protective nature.  I had just watched you dispatch a mountain of a man in seconds, yet give
n
an
opportunity for an
easy escape
,
you chose to remain
… remain,
because of a young woman you had just met.”

Everyone on Alexander’s side of the table
shift
their attention
to
Rena,
c
a
using her to
blush
,
before
quickly
regaining her composure.

Alexander continue
s
.  “Micha
el, I don’t blame you one bit.
Rena, my dear, you are
absolutely
,
captivating.  I say this, because
,
the moment I walked into the cage arena, my eyes gravitated toward you.  It takes special presence to do that.  You
also
had several
male
admirers on hand
as well
, many I’ll
bet,
considering the brief nature of Michael’s fight, missed it entirely.  That told me you could command and distract a crowd.
P
hysical
ly, your features
appeared suitable
, even desirable
for
our needs as well
.  Your face
is
quite beautiful
while
having
soft
features
, which are easier to alter
and disguise
.  You have an athletic figure
, telling me you might be physically c
apable.
 
My dear, I had no idea
.
”
 
Alexander pauses to consider
Rena, looking
for any indication of surprise.
D
isappointed by
her
tepid reaction, he continues.  “
I did some research on you
as well
.  It
seems
you had
attended
several of Michael’s fights and
he
too had been distracted by your presence
…
It always surprises me how perceptive young women are
,
especially where competition is concerned.”

For the first time
since entering the room,
Rena’s expression change
s
, regarding
Alexander with a
puzzled
look.

“Ah yes, I also noticed your
sense of
vulnerability
, which softened your air of confidence,
making
you approachable, a very r
ar
e
trait in very attractive women
, indeed
.”

Ms. Smith
smiles and
nod
s
at Rena
in
concurrence
.

Alexander continue
s
his assessment.  “I was also impressed with the way you manipulated the promoter in order to
defend
Micha
el.  You may not have known him
,
but you knew he was reliant on the fight for survival, so you
acted on his behalf
.  That indicated
there might be reciprocated
, even elevated,
inte
rest on your part
.  The fact
you two were constantly stealing glances at each other in the car and
the
plane, but refrained from conversation, confirmed my suspicions
…
you
were attracted to each other.
”

Michael a
nd Rena look at each other.  Q
uickly averting their eyes
, they
fail
in an
attempt to dispel the notion
, embarrassed by the outward proclamation of their innermost thoughts
.

Alexander
noticing their discomfort
,
clarifies; “I felt you two had chemistry.”

Ms. Smith
interjects
vehemently
,
“Chemistry
…
chemistry
…
you two have more chemistry then a
Ménage à Trois
with hydrogen and oxygen.”

Shocked,
Rena
blushes
crimson
.
Michael
, surprised by the awkward comment,
starts coughing.  Alexander
is
rendered speechless
, while
Takada, normally
stoic
, smiles
, chuckling into his hand
.

“You two
are
beautiful
together,
just
look at these
.”
Ms. Smith
states,
pass
ing
around
the photos of
them in their formal attire
.