Chapter 32: 59 Seconds

Major Hunt was looking at the cafeteria’s footage in his office. An amused smile was on his face as he turned around to look at his subordinate’s stern and stoic face. He had been warned, by one of his Team members who was on surveillance duty, about the incident that had happened an hour earlier.

“Any thoughts about this, Teresa?”

Never breaking character, the brunette answered professionally. “Private Wald didn’t start the fight but ended it, sir. Thoroughly. He asserted his dominance and the other candidates will keep themselves in check regarding him from now on. He identified a threat and neutralized it before it could become a problem. It was well done.”

Major Hunt didn't lose his smile. “That’s not what I meant and you know it, Teresa.”

The captain took a deep breath. “He sees me at the top because of my professional attitude, sir.”

“Probably.” Hunt nodded then turned to his sister. “Lieutenant Tyler?”

“Fractured wrist, forearm, nose and a severe concussion.” Mia reported matter of factly. “Each one of them is clean and will heal perfectly without any issues, complications and long term effects. The Lieutenant will be able to return to active duty at a hundred percent. In a month.”

“So the kid didn’t mindlessly strike. He was precise and attentive.” The major scratched his chin.

“It seems like it.”

He turned to his sister standing next to Teresa. “What about his examination this morning? Do you already have the results?”

Mia nodded eagerly. “I haven’t had the time to properly analyze them yet but I can tell you that he’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. He ran for thirty minutes at a speed of 20mph and he barely even sweated. For the benchpress, he pushed up 120kg without even trying or showing signs of being tired. For his age, build and weight he shouldn’t be able to lift anywhere close.”

“Too soon for the blood work?” Her brother asked.

“Yes. They’ll be done by tomorrow. One more day for me to make sense of it.”

The Major’s smile turned into a grin. “Was I right or not?”

Mia sighed in surrender. “Yes, I did see something that shouldn’t be possible.”

“And?”

“And you’re a prick.” Her eyes narrowed at his smugness. Mia sighed again. “I’ll prepare for the supplementary test you’ve asked but I need to have a talk with him to know what I’m even searching for and studying to be efficient and effective.”

Ethan glanced at Teresa who nodded. She would take care of this. “I got word from a trustworthy source that information was available out there. I’ll see if I can get it to you. In any case, keep up the good work, both of you.”

“Aye, aye, sir.” both ladies answered before vacating the office.

While Major Hunt picked up his phone to make Jill a call, Rick was at his desk in his room, finishing with his book. On his bed, Rachel was lounging around with a fashion magazine. She was humming a little tune to herself and from time to time made a short comment about something she’d seen on the pages.

Rick didn’t know why she was there, invading his private space, beyond the fact she had found a particular interest in him. It didn’t matter to him, she was leaving him alone and to his studies so he didn’t bother dealing with her.

The sound of a bell told them it was time for them to go to the training area. He closed the thick manual and stood up, Rachel already walking out of his room and ahead of him. It gave him the opportunity to observe her. What he saw confused him.

Rachel gait wasn’t looking anything like military. It wasn’t stiff, it wasn’t measured, yet Rick could tell she was ready to strike or at the very least to spring into action at any time. Despite her hips swaying and her ass shaking from right to left, he was certain that any attack aimed at her would hit empty air.

His eyes went up from her ass. Its round shape reminded him too much of Claire’s for his taste. His ex-girlfriend was still a very sore spot and no matter how much Jill had tried to help with the heartbreak, it was too recent to not hurt. At least he wasn’t an angry mess anymore. The less he thought of the girl he risked his life so much for, the better he would be.

“Having fun looking at my— You’re not looking.” Rachel had turned around to catch him peeking but was utterly disappointed that Rick’s eyes had been fixed on her head the whole time.

“At?” Rick feigned being ignorant but Rachel knew he wasn’t.

She simply gave him a coy smile. “We’re going to get along just fine, you and me.”

“If you take the free spot, maybe.”

“Oh, I will, you don’t have to worry about that.” Rachel slowed down a bit so they would walk side by side. “The others are just soldiers. But you and I? We’re survivors.”

That actually intrigued Rick. With his interest picked he asked a question. “What makes you think the Major is looking for survivors?”

“Really? No asking how I know you’re one?”

“That’d be too stupid a question.”

His answer made her giggle. “It would, ain’t it?” Then her tone changed. “As for how I know… Well, you’re here when for all reasons and purposes, you shouldn’t. We all have completed a three year contract at the very least but it’s painfully obvious you enlisted recently. Meaning it’s not really about our experience as a soldier. Despite your young age, you’re calm, collected and here. When you looked at us yesterday it wasn’t a single glance, you were evaluating us. How high a threat we were. The two put together means you clearly are a kid who went through some shit so nasty your name was put forward. That the Major didn’t dismiss you but make sure you’re being trained properly to be a soldier means that what you have, what you are, is probably what he’s looking for.”

“Interesting idea you have there.” Rick’s tone was neutral and didn’t let any information slip from it.

Rachel shrugged. “We’ll see if I’m right or wrong depending on the criteria of the tests. Anyone can fire a gun, not everyone has the instincts to crawl til the end to survive.”

“I agree with that statement.”

Rick had seen multiple people die that were well trained in the Spencer Mansion. Half the STARS lost their lives there despite their training. He, who didn’t have any, was still alive however. It had been the same in Raccoon City. Plenty of police officers, Umbrella’s mercenaries or agents lost their lives when he hadn’t. This was proof.

The conversation stopped when they entered the training area. Everyone was giving them, more specifically Rick, a wary look. Major Hunt and Captain Walker came soon after and everyone stood at attention.

“You’d be happy to know that you have one less competitor. Lieutenant Tyler, due to his injuries, had been forced to go on medical leave.” Ethan let that sink in and watched a few of the candidates looking sideways in Rick’s direction. “However, even without those injuries he would still have been sent away. The US army has a zero tolerance policy for bullying and assault. We’re the military, not a damn public high school. Is that understood?”

“““““Sir, yes, sir!”””””

“Good. Now let’s start the training. Captain.”

Teresa Walker walked to the side and signaled the candidates to follow her towards the mats. She removed her heels then her skirt, revealing sporty shorts under it. Her military vest and white shirt below were removed too to display a very tight fitting white tank top and her dog tags. She got on the mat and took position on one side.

“The exercise is simple. You get in there and you last as long as you can. We’re starting in alphabetical order. Bastila, you’re first.”

A man of African descent in his late twenties, got on the mat after removing his boots. He stretched his body and faced the Captain. When Major Hunt gave the go, Bastila charged forward and feinted with a right hook. Teresa dodged and grabbed his arm pulling him forward while at the same time she swept the back of his feet.

The man fell face first on the mat. Before he could react, Walker had one of his arms behind his back and twisted. The Major called it.

“Seven seconds. Next.”

One by one, they went and got their ass handed to them. Rachel, whose last name Rick found out was Foley, succeeded in passing the thirty second bar. The blonde focused more on her defense than offense. It was the point of the exercise after all. Not attacking, not defeating the Captain and not proving how good a fighter you were. It was about staying as long as you could and Rachel understood that perfectly. When she had an opening to attack, she simply put some distance instead of seizing the opportunity. Everyone else ranged from ten to twenty four seconds.

W being far down the alphabet, Rick was the last one to go. Inwardly, he was impressed by his opponent’s stamina. She made quick work of everyone and hadn’t gone easy, yet she wasn’t even winded. It was clear to him that the woman was an expert in hand to hand combat.

When the spar started, he attacked. Rachel’s method was good but it was a defensive one. Rick didn’t like that, it wasn’t his style. His style was similar to his adversary: attack first and keep attacking. His aim was really good. Joints, weak spots like the throats, ears or eyes. He was restraining himself a lot and Walker was such an expert that she could deal with every blow. Neither hers, nor his landed. They blocked, they parried, they dodged but they didn’t hit. Rick could follow up because he saw her move in slow motions and while he wasn’t reacting faster than a normal human, it was enough to give him the ability to deal with the blows. It wasn’t something he was doing on purpose, it was just his body doing it on his own but it was a lifesaver. He would have been down long ago by now if not for it.

Experience showed however. The Captain went at him harder and despite seeing the movements, he wasn’t able to react. The reason was simple, Teresa was hitting two different spots at the same time and Rick wasn’t able to decide which to deal with first.

It cost him.

Soon enough, she hit the back of his knee, breaking his balance and the next thing he knew, her thighs were around his neck and his arms locked.

“59 seconds.” Major Hunt called out. “We’re doing two more rounds. With a five minute break.”

Somehow, Rick doubted the Captain needed that break.