Page 34 of Viral Justice

She blinked, genuinely confused. “Why not?”

“Because,” he told her, “that’s one thing no man of moral character ever does.”

For a moment she stared at him as one of the pieces of Max’s puzzle finally became visible.

He’d been hurt.Badly.

This was a man with bruises on his soul, bruises so deep it was going to take a lifetime to heal them.

How could she train a man whose immediate and unconscious response to violence, even controlled violence, was to avoid it completely? How could she keep him safe?

If something happened to him, she’d never forgive herself.

Chapter Eight

Alicia turned to leavethe office, then stopped with her hand on the doorknob. She paused there for several seconds. “What if you looked at what you’re doing in a different light?” she finally asked. “Change your perspective.”

“To what?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Think of it like this—you’re not attacking anyone or defending against them, you’re getting them out of the way. Removing them from the field of conflict.”

Now it was his turn to blink. “How do you mean?” Max stared at her, trying to comprehend her idea.

“I mean, when we spar—you’re not attacking me, I’m not attacking you. You’re removing both of us from the fight.”

“As in...prevent the fight from even starting?”

“Sure.”

Avoid the fight.

“Run, Max,”his mother had yelled.

“Come back here you little shit,”his father had shouted over her. A gunshot punched through the house.

For a moment Ali’s face was overlaid by his mother’s. Screaming echoed from the dark hole where he’d buried those memories. Then the screaming stopped and all he saw was his mother’s death mask.

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