“Again,” Nate said. Arena swept her foot back and tried to clip his ankle as he held her shoulders, then she tried to drop straight down through his arms. They were practicing holds and how to escape them, which was tiring and sometimes confusing. He claimed that her size had advantages, and she might be able to wriggle out of holds easier than someone taller, but he was immovable.

That morning, she ran three miles on a treadmill, then lifted weights before he taught her a few basic holds. He told her that they would have to accelerate some of her physical training, but surfing gave her a strength advantage in the upper body that many women were lacking during physical training. Hopefully, room service included a professional masseuse, but she would settle for a bath and some ibuprofen.

He’s a good teacher, though, Arena thought. Fair, straightforward, and notices when I’m not getting something quite right. He’d probably be good at teaching kids.

They did the hold one more time, and afterward she collapsed to the mat in exhaustion. Nate sat on the mat, cross-legged. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. She wondered what he did to stay in shape. He was ripped, though slim like martial artists in action movies.

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“What kind of martial arts is this?” she asked.

“Mostly Judo,” he said. “Judo is mostly about holds and how to get out of them. Everything is close contact. Many martial arts that deal with kicking are simply not practical in most combat situations. They look cool, but are not too helpful against people with guns. Some of the moves are traditional, and some are more modern combat variations.”

“Guns? How does Judo protect against guns?” She didn’t want to face any more guns.

“When your opponent has a hold on you, they are paying more attention to you than their gun. It’s easier to get it away from them, or at least the gun away from you. I’ll be teaching you some of that later.” He stood and offered her a hand. “Ready for dinner? You’ve got time to shower first.”

She let him pull her up. “You said I would usually met with someone after dinner? Who will I meet with tonight?”

“Tonight, Lorna is going to teach you a little about covert operations. I think it will be Anita tomorrow night.” They walked through the hallways toward their rooms.

“Anita?” Arena was puzzled. “What will Anita teach me?”

“They need to get you tech’d up. Get your stats, teach you to use the comms, things like that. Some of that you’ll need for training, and also in case we have to run out fast.”

Arena hoped Anita would at least talk to her, but she’d worry about that tomorrow.