Michael led the trio of agents through the drab halls of the facility. Li followed closely behind Michael while Dan and Angie hung a bit further back.

“Ugh, no artwork on the walls? Seriously? Not even a few signs,” Angie said.

“I guess they’re reliant on our HUDs to map out the sections instead. Still, it removes all the personality out of the interiors,” Dan said. “I once suggested it to my squad leader but she shut me down.”

Angie huffed. “You would think a fashionista like Jane Sunheiser would approve of giving the walls some color around here.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at Angie’s candid observations.

Michael looked back at the three young agents and interjected. “Before we start the team exercise, I think it would be proper for you three to get to know each other. And what would be a better ice breaker than some sparring sessions.”

Angie sighed. “I missed when ‘getting to know each other’ involved a few games and maybe a date or two.”

“No objections here,” Li said. He glanced back at Dan. “I’ll be looking forward to facing a protege of Ms. Sunheiser. Don’t disappoint me.”

Dan grinned underneath his mask. “Oh I won’t, Mr. Stealth Specialist.”

Angie slapped him on the shoulder and let out a boisterous laugh.

“Just a reminder Angie,” Michael said. “This will be hand to hand combat.”

“Ah shit,” Angie said. “I prefer guns.”

The veteran agent led the trio to a closed metal door. The slab slowly slid aside and they all stepped into the training arena. A box with glass walls dominated the center of the room with a few benches surrounding the arena.

“We’re stepping into the glass box,” Michael said. He pointed his finger at a table in front of the glass wall ahead of them. “Leave all your guns on the table over there.”

Dan and the others approached the table one by one and left behind their equipment. He watched the other two as they placed their gear into their own piles on the desk. Once it was his turn, Dan walked up to the table and placed down his looted ZK-77 rifle along with his dual initiate pistols and whatever few grenades and spare magazines he had left in his coat pockets.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. “Good,” Michael said. “He inside the arena. You and Angie will be sparring first.”

“Yes sir,” Dan replied.

He section within the glass wall slid open and he stepped through with Michael right behind him. Immediately Dan caught a whiff of the sterile scent in the air with a hint of bleach.

“They really need some air freshener in here,” Angie remarked. She stood in the center of the arena with her hand on her hip.

Li who stood a few meters from Angie gave her a sharp glance. “If you spent as much time sharpening your hand to hand skill as much as you do complaining, maybe—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Angie snapped.

Michael gave a thoaty chuckle. “Nice to see you’re both bonding. Li, get over here by my side. Dan and Angie are up first.”

“Understood sir,” the stealth specialist said.

A waypoint on his HUD placed the exact spot for him to stand before he and Angie could begin the sparring session.

Li crossed his arms and slowly walked toward Dan as he moved to the center of the arena to meet Angie. “Good luck, but you don’t need it.”

“Uh thanks?” Dan replied.

Dan made his way toward the floating waypoint and stepped onto the exact spot his HUD mapped out for him. Angie stood a few meters in front of him with a smirk on her face.

“If I whoop your ass, don’t hold it against me, okay?” she said.

“If it’s all the same, then sure,” Dan said.

“What?”

“I mean if I whoop your ass, you won’t hold it against me either, right?”

Angie huffed. “Yeah, yeah.”

Dan’s mind recalled back to when he scanned the stats of both his new companions. Both Li and Angie were higher level than him, Angie by a few levels. Li was six levels higher and a separate beast entirely.

He and Angie were both equal in strength according to their stats. Dan had the leg up in intelligence while Angie had him outclassed in agility and endurance. On paper, Angie held the advantage by virtue of being a few levels higher than him and speed generally considered as the larger benefit to have in a one on one fight.

But after the messy situation in the Amethyst raid, Dan was secure in his own chances of victory. He had faced numerous enemy Kodak agents and lived to be standing where he was right now. He also had to be at his best to represent Jane to these two new companions.

“Alright you two,” Michael said. “Begin!”

Angie rushed him with surprising speed. The strawberry blond winded her arm back and got the first punch, striking Dan. But thanks to his gruelling sessions fighting against Jane, Dan shifted his body enough for the fist to hit his upper arm rather than his face.

While Angie had the advantage in her agility stat, Dan had seen both Jane and Allen in action so many times during his training that Angie’s movements appeared sluggish and less refined to his eyes.

Dan quickly backhanded Angie’s arm away and followed up with a quick jab to Angie’s midsection.

Angie staggered back. “Ughh.”

It wasn’t enough to do any meaningful damage but it forced the strawberry blond to back off and put some distance between the two. Dan rushed in and smashed his elbow into Angie’s throat before grabbing one of her arms and and throwing the agent over his shoulder, recounting the exact demonstration of a Krav Maga move in his flash training.

Angie hit the floor, and to her credit, she rolled away from Dan and staggered back onto her feet. He didn’t give her any room to breathe as he ruished her once more and delivered multiple jabs to Angie’s upper midsection before kicking her ankle, causing her to trip and fall. Dan kicked her over onto her stomach and dropped down with an elbow onto her neck. Since this was just sparring, Dan didn’t put his all into the final attack. Just enough of his elbow for Angie to feel it and keep her pinned.

“That’s it. Match goes to Dan,” Michael shouted.

In the Amethyst raid alone, Dan had been shot at, backhanded and choked by agents stronger and more ruthless than him. It was disappointing that Angie didn’t bring much that he hand’t already experienced.

Dan took his elbow off Angie and got back up. He extended his hand out to the strawberry blond still on the floor.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“I should have guessed this outcome,” she said. “Jane Sunheiser trained you after all.”

“Hope I didn’t hurt you too bad,” Dan aid.

She grabbed his hand and gave him a coy smile. “I wouldn’t mind taking a bit more abuse from you.”

“Angie,” Michael’s voice cut through the weird tension between the two. “In the future, always keep in mind that the raw stat differences between two agents doesn’t necessarily determine the victor in a fight.”

Angie sighed. “Right.”

The tier four agent glanced at Dan. “As for you Dan, I can see how you survived that mess in Amethyst. Excellent work. You were relentless and didn’t give your opponent any chances to recover and counter.”

“Thanks sir,” he said.

“Alright then. Our next match will be Li against Angie,” Michael said. “Dan, clear the center.”

He nodded and stepped away from Angie. Li began walking and the two crossed paths. “Not too shabby, Orion. Be seeing you.”

Dan give his new companion a respectful nod, anticipating that when the two of them spar, it would be a difficult match for him to win.

Dan reached Michael’s side and stood beside him. He watched as the silver-clad agent stepped in front of Angie. Li lowered his arms and held them straight at his sides. He recalled that Li had the highest stats between the three of them. His agility stat was substantially higher than both him and Angie. After Li bragged about his need for a higher agility stat, Dan was curious how this match would turn out.

While Michael stated the stat difference alone doesn’t determine the victor, Dan had a feeling that Angie was in for a shit time against the stealth specialist.

“Alright you two. Begin!” Michael said.

At first, neither agent made the first move. Angie had fallen back to a basic defensive stance, holding both her raised fists in front of her. Li also maintained his current positioning. He kept his arms by his side. But Dan could tell that Li was poised to attack at any time.

“You seemed so confident throwing the first punch at Dan,” Li said. “What happened to it?”

Angie’s face twisted into annoyance as if Li had body odour that reached her nose. “Okay tough guy. Just for that, you’re going down.”

The strawberry blond rushed the stealth specialist. Dan didn’t get the chance to see what attack Angie would open up with.

Li freezed her in her tracks.

The silver-clad agent let out a sudden high kick that caught the entire arena off guard. Angie flinched at the kick and backed off. Li put his superior speed to work and crossed the short distance between him and Angie. The stealth specialist dropped down and performed a sweeping kick that swiped her legs out and she unceremoniously landed flat on her ass.

She had no chance as Li quickly got back on his feet and stomped his boot onto her midsection.

“I win,” Li said flatly.

“Alright then. That’s the match,” Michael said.

Dan struggled to get any words out from what he just saw. Li whooped Angie’s ass in far less time compared to his sparring session. The silver-clad agent would be a tough opponent to beat.

Li wasn’t just quick on his feet. His moves had a degree of efficiency and elegance Dan knew he didn’t measure up to.

“Li, you performed as I expected,” Michael said. “As for you Angie, take this as a lesson and work to improve your hand to hand skills. You never know when you’ll have to grapple with a Kodak agent up close.”

“Yes sir,” Angie said in a low voice. She got herself back up and walked toward Dan and Michael. Li stood at the center waiting.

The veteran agent glanced down at Dan. “That leaves you and Li against each other. Now this should be interesting.”

He curled his fists and left Michael’s side. As he passed by Angie, she tapped him on the shoulder. “Break a leg out there,” she said with an edge behind her voice.

“Don’t be too pissed off,” Dan replied. “At least this is just training instead of an actual deathmatch.”

Dan followed the waypoint that designated his starting position in the arena. Li stood in place with his arms crossed. Once he reached the waypoint, Li let down his arms.

“I expect a better challenge from you, Orion. But we both know I have the advantage,” the stealth specialist said.

Dan found it difficult to argue against that. Li was six levels higher than him and his agility stat was second only to Michael in this ragtag team. His movement and fighting technique had a grace and elegance to it that made Dan apprehensive about his odds of winning this sparring match.

Brute force and aggressiveness won’t work on an opponent like Li. While he was easily able to put pressure on Angie and force her on the back foot, he doubted he could pull off the same trick against the stealth specialist. On paper, Li outclassed him in all the stat categories. Plus, he had experience fighting constant skirmishes against Kodak along the border between the shards. An agent like Li would not be intimidated by Dan’s usual tactic of simply striking hard and fast.

Dan narrowed his eyes at his opponent. If a direct approach wouldn’t work, then he had to rely on a fakeout.

“Alright you two,” Michael shouted. “Begin.”

Between the two, Dan was the first on the move. Li took up a defensive stance, keeping the same incredulous expression in his eyes as he charged right at him. Dan winded back his fist and as expected Li responded immediately, raising one of his forearms for a block.

Nice, Dan thought.

He twisted his body for a punch that never came. Instead, Dan lashed out with a kick to Li’s leg, specifically the spot to the side of his knee. The bizarre attack pushed Li off balance, causing him to stagger.

Recalling a move he had seen during flash training and practiced against Jane and Allen, he grabbed Li’s arm, the same one he used to block Dan’s fake punch. He slammed down his boot behind Li’s leg while pulling his arm toward him. With this move, Dan used his boot and forcibly dragged the stealth specialist into tripping onto the ground.

Dan didn’t realize the mistake he made. The moment he let go of Li’s arm, his opponent already had a counter attack up his sleeve. Li lashed out with his own kick, using his superior speed and strength to swipe out Dan’s legs. He landed on the floor and a sudden impact from a boot to the face caused his head to smash into the floor.

He willed himself back on his feet. He had survived far worse hits during the Amethyst raid. Li had gotten back on his feet first and had already taken up another combat stance. This time, the silver-clad agent had his legs spread out more and both his hands up. Instead of fists, Li had his palms open with his fingers curled.

“Good,” Li said. “But not good enough.”

Dan rushed Li once more. When Li sidestepped his fist, Dan used his other elbow and caught his opponent in the face. The attack caught him off guard and Dan found another opportunity. He shoved his knee into Li’s midsection. He raised his knee again for a second strike, causing Li to stagger back further.

“Woohoo,” Angie said. “You got this!”

Dan initial plan was smashing his knee into Li a third time before he threw the stealth specialist over his back and then pinned him onto the ground. He raised his other knee for the third strike to Li’s midsection.

A wrench found its way into his plan.

A pair of hands stopped the attack. He looked down and saw Li’s gloved hands holding his knee in place with surprising strength. Dans first instinct was to power through and push his knee against Li’s hands. But it was no use.

“This stops here,” Li declared.

Li’s hands wrapped around Dan’s leg and he threw the limb to the side. He was thrown off balance and that gave the stealth specialist all the time he needed for a counter attack. In just a split second, all Dan saw was a silver blur that rushed past his eyes and an arm wrapped around his neck.

Dan felt the grip of Li’s gloved fingers around his throat before the stealth specialist crouched over and forced him onto his back. He flipped over and slammed into the cold hard floor. The attack was so sudden that Dan couldn’t recover from being thrown onto the ground. A kick to his side forced him onto his back.

Li dropped down to the ground with him and grabbed him by the arm. The stealth specialist stretched out his arm, removing one limb from the fight. Dan tried to raise his other arm. But Li extended a powerful leg and stomped on his other forearm. The stealth specialist had one of Dan’s arms stretched out and his other arm pinned. Li’s superior strength meant that no matter how much Dan struggled, he wasn’t going anywhere.

His lower half was still functional as Dan tried to use his legs. It was no use. Li was positioned right beside him keeping one of his arms immobilized. There was no way any of his legs were reaching him. His legs could only flail about uselessly in this position.

“That’s it,” Michael said. “The winner is Li.”

Li immediately released his grip on Dan’s left arm and lifted his leg off his other arm. He was the first to stand up and then extended his hand out to him.

“Hmm, adequate,” Li said. “You’re about what I expected.”

Dan looked up at him and grinned underneath his mask. “Next time, I’ll exceed those expectations.” He grabbed Li’s hand and got himself back up.

“Those are some moves you got,” Dan said.

Li nodded. “When you fight along the border as regularly as I do, you learn more creative ways to outmatch you enemies, even if they’re stronger than you.”

“Excellent match you two,” Michael said, walking over to them. “You both put up an amazing show for us. Li, good of you to put your skills and technique to use.” The veteran agent glanced over at Dan. “Jane Sunheiser has taught you well Dan. But know that there’s a whole world out there of harsh environments and agents like Li have to adapt and use different skills to to survive and thrive. It pays to expand your skillset.”

“Thank you sir,” Li said.

“Understood sir,” Dan said.

“We have one more exercise to perform before we get this heist underway,” Michael said. “This time, you’ll be working together as a team.”