Grady's Awakening (34 page)

“That’s a good idea. Do that,” Mick directed. “Once you have your own domain mapped out, we’ll consider where to look next. There’s a lot of frozen tundra north of us. I’d hate to send anyone out into that, but there are mountain men who live there already. If we could contact some of them and ask if they’ve seen anything…”

“That’s a good idea,” Dave answered, then straightened. “Mick, Jim is here, if you want to deliver Caleb’s advice.”

Jim and Mick exchanged greetings. “Caleb and I had a lot to talk over last night. If there really are dudes with wings flying around, as my good friends assure me there are, then you need to know they’ll be both real and symbolic help in spreading news among the different enclaves of humans around the continent. They are working for their own agenda, Caleb says, but in this case, their cause runs parallel with ours. They can be trusted to have only our best interests at heart in the coming confrontation.”

“Is it going to be all out war then?” Jim steeled his spine. He didn’t want war, but if there was no other way, he’d lead his people through it as best he could.

“More like an underground movement. A bloodless coup would be the best result, but if things go wrong, they could go terribly wrong. Caleb sees all the possible futures in this case because a lot hinges on decisions made by those who lead. You among them. If you work together, the likelihood of success is greater than if you go it alone.”

“I’ve already decided to recommend ongoing communication with this facility to my people. I think we could help each other a lot. If Mike and Dave agree, we can start slow, but I hope to keep the tunnels open and possibly send small groups back and forth to work with each other.”

Mike and Dave were nodding. Dave spoke for both of them. “We want to visit your place first, but we’re leaning in the same direction. Isolation is no way for humans to live—or succeed.”

“Good,” Mick spoke through the crystal. “That’s the first step. Now for the rest. Jim, you may not like this next part, but there’s an alien in your future. A big guy who loves your girl.” Jim could tell Mick was trying to soften the blow with humor, but it didn’t really help. “I’ve known Grady Prime for a long time. He’s a good guy, but in addition, Caleb foresees that he’ll be helpful in the coming confrontations. He’s one of their most respected Primes. He can argue for our side very effectively with his people, and his words will sway a lot of regular Alvians. We need him on our side—sane and whole. That means you either need to cede the field to him, or learn to share.”

The gym was packed. In fact, the bleachers had been pulled out from the wall on one side and were filled with people watching the central matted area where one small human woman held center stage.

When Jim arrived, Gina was warming up, running through progressively more advanced
kata
. He joined her, standing a few feet away, running through the same
katas
he’d learned from her father years ago, in parallel with her, much to the audience’s delight. He could feel their interest, their admiration and their fascination. Good. He wanted them to realize that others could replicate what Gina could do. It might give them the desire to try it themselves.

It felt good to be working side by side with her. Her skills—which had been world class to begin with—had only improved with time. Jim enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with her in routines he had first learned from her father. It brought back old memories in a good way.

When she completed a final, very complex
kata
, she bowed to him, a tentative smile on her face. He hadn’t said anything to her since her desertion in favor of Grady the night before, and he assumed she had to be wondering where they stood with each other. This wasn’t the time or place to get into it, but he left her with a wink and a grin that seemed to put her at ease. He wasn’t sure where they would go from here, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he wanted—no, needed—her in his life. They’d figure out the details later.

As Jim left the main area, Bill was already setting up to challenge Gina. They stood facing each other across the mats and Jim turned to watch, eager to see how the winged warrior would do against Gina’s skill.

Bill wore loose clothing, his wings out of sight and apparently off limits during this bout. Jim was glad. Those phenomenal wings would most likely give the big alien a huge advantage over any normal human being. Even one as skilled as Gina Hanson.

Gina took over the role of teacher, explaining the rules of the bout to the people in the stands. She did it with style, humor and grace, easily winning them to her side. When they were ready, she faced Bill with an eager light in her eyes.

The match began with a flurry of lightning-fast strikes. Jim held his breath at how rapidly the alien warrior moved in on Gina’s much smaller frame. But she met him, move for move, blocking and parrying, evading and counterstriking with blindingly fast movements. Jim remembered how she had moved in the past. This was unlike anything she had been before.

A gifted student at the top of her rank then, she was now, without a doubt, a grandmaster. Every move was breathtakingly beautiful to watch and deadly accurate.

To say she ran circles around Bill would be overstating it—but not by much. Bill was talented and skilled as well, but Gina outclassed him. After the initial contacts, he was unable to get in even one glancing blow.

The
coup de grace
came when Gina sidled in beneath Bill’s reach and laid him out flat on the ground. A collective gasp went up from the audience, followed by raucous cheering as she helped Bill to his feet. The alien warrior was gracious in defeat, bowing to his opponent as Gina bowed in return.

“You have only gained in skill since last we sparred, Gina.” Jim heard Bill’s compliment as he and Gina walked off the mats.

“I think you went easy on me, Bill, but thanks.”

Bill winked at her as he left her at Jim’s side.

“Nice work out there,” Jim said, hoping to bridge the gap between them.

“Thanks. Same to you. I’m surprised you remembered all those
katas
. Seems like I learned them a lifetime ago.” She snagged a glass of water from a nearby table, drinking daintily.

“It was a lifetime ago. But sometimes the discipline your father taught me was all that kept me going.”

“I know what you mean.” A tense moment passed between them. Jim looked around, noting the crowd was beginning to disperse and the large matted area was filling up with people. Bill led a group in one corner. They were learning a
kata
Jim had never seen before. Jim looked farther and saw Grady Prime standing along one wall, his gaze steady and proprietary on Gina. Jim’s anger flared, but he tamped it down. He had to be cool.

“Look, about last night…” Gina was uncharacteristically hesitant. “I’m sorry I didn’t leave word. I didn’t want you to worry about where I was.”

“Oh, I knew where you were.”

Gina had the grace to blush. She perused her toes for a moment before meeting his gaze. “I didn’t plan for it to work out that way. Things just got…out of hand. Before I knew it, I was with Grady. I’m sorry.”

Jim sighed, striving for calm. “Can we discuss this someplace else?” He looked pointedly at the people filing past on their way out the door and those who remained, all eyeing Gina with interest.

“You’re right.” Gina shook her head. “We’ll talk after we’re done here okay?”

“Sounds about right.”

Gina looked relieved. “Then how about sparring with me? We never got to see who would’ve won that night I showed up on your doorstep.”

Jim smiled, on surer ground as he followed her back onto the mats. They took positions opposite each other and it was game on.

If Jim had any idea of going easy on Gina because she was a girl, it was gone within the first few moments when she scored more than one point off him with quick jabs and a kick to his middle. She pulled her punches, as he did, only hitting with minimal force. Still, they moved like lightning and garnered attention from those around.

Jim had perfected situational awareness in his years with the CIA and it had only improved since. Even as he spun into an attempt at a leg sweep, he caught sight of Grady moving closer, his expression like thunder as he watched them. Others gathered round, varying degrees of interest and respect on their faces as they watched Jim and Gina spar.

Gina jumped clear over his leg sweep, into a dive roll and up to deliver a counterstrike that he just barely evaded. They were both back on their feet, facing each other milliseconds later, and the game continued.

Grady drew closer.

“Your boyfriend looks like he wants to knock my block off,”
Jim observed to Gina privately.

Her reaction was not what he expected. She gasped and looked away to find Grady just as Jim launched an attack sequence. Too late, he realized she wasn’t evading as he’d anticipated. She was going to get clobbered, but it was too late to pull back. He was already in motion and unable to redirect, though he tried like hell to alter his own trajectory.

A displacement of air was all the warning he got as another body blocked him. A bigger, more solid, masculine body protected Gina, who stood motionless behind the newcomer. It was Grady. He had put himself between Gina and Jim, taking the blow for her, blocking but still receiving quite a hit even as Jim tried to pull back.

It all happened in less than a second.

Jim’s momentum, arrested by Grady’s intervention, took him off to the side. He landed hard, rolling away, regaining his feet seconds later, breathing hard. His heart was in his throat.

“God, Gina!” Jim moved toward her but Grady stepped between them menacingly.

Jim assessed the competition, looked Grady up and down. “Thanks for intervening, but I had it under control.”

“It didn’t appear that way to me.” Grady folded his arms, implacable.

“She took me off guard. I didn’t expect her to stop dead.” Jim sounded defensive even to his own ears, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“So now it’s her fault? If this is the way you treat women, I’m surprised any follow you.”

Now
that
was a challenge if he’d ever heard one. The sneer that accompanied the blond giant’s words cinched it.

“First of all—” Jim poked Grady in the shoulder with one pointing finger, “—nobody
follows
me. I’m not a tyrant. I may lead my people, but it was by their choice and I never make unilateral decisions if there’s time to consult. Second—” he jabbed Grady again. “—I did
not
blame Gina. I merely stated that I made a mistake. I didn’t expect her to lose concentration like that. The old Gina never would. It was my fault for baiting her telepathically.”

“Of course it’s your fault.”

Grady sounded really angry as he stepped forward, advancing threateningly on Jim. But Jim wasn’t backing down. He’d love to get a piece of Grady Prime. A good ass kicking is just what he needed—whether it was his own or Grady’s ass that would ultimately get kicked, he wasn’t sure, but either way, he was spoiling for a fight.

“I just said that, didn’t I?” Jim shouted.

“Guys.” Gina tried to intercede but she couldn’t get between them. They kept her off to the side while they stared each other down, in each other’s faces. “Please don’t do this.”

Jim was aware of the gym around them going quiet. Only Bill had the guts to come up to them, putting one arm around Gina’s shoulders.

“They need to get this settled.” Bill guided Gina away. “Just don’t kill each other,” Bill threw back at them as Grady backed off and Jim went to stand in opposition across a section of cleared mats.

Spectators vanished, making room by climbing into the bleachers, out of harm’s way. This wasn’t going to be an exhibition bout. No, this was going to be the real deal.

Within certain bounds. Jim bowed, never taking his gaze from Grady’s. This was a formal challenge, and both men knew it. If there was ever going to be peace between them, they had to settle this. They had to know who was stronger, who was faster and who could or should take the lead in their odd, forced partnership.

Grady opened, stepping up to Jim and allowing his first blow to be easily blocked. It allowed him to grab Jim’s arm in a hold, but Jim had the same leverage and realized it was because Grady wanted to test his strength. Jim learned Grady had a punishing grip from the brief hold before they broke apart.

Jim launched a lightning-fast volley that Grady just managed to evade. The Alvian fighting style was different than what he was used to, but Jim had mastered many different forms of martial arts in his years of study and practice. He adapted. And he discovered he was just slightly faster than Grady, though the alien was stronger.

They circled and it was Grady who made the next foray, landing a series of blows to Jim’s midsection. Jim countered, using his legs and speed to advantage, tripping Grady up and throwing him down on the mats with a resounding thud. Jim hoped he’d stunned the big man, but no such luck. Grady popped back up ready for more and the game was on again.

This went on for some time while they tested each other’s weaknesses and strengths. Jim learned a great deal from their fight and earned just as many bruises as he dealt. Little by little strategy overtook anger and fatigue slowed response time. Grady landed a lucky final blow that knocked Jim flat on his ass but Jim managed to drag Grady down with him and neither man got up right away.