Page 70 of Blackstone's Heart
She moved a few feet away and began some simple stretches. As she stretched, she closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds around her, blocked out the emotions that were coursing through her mind. She needed to stay focused and keep her mind clear and on the task at hand. After about ten minutes she felt limber and ready to get to work. She hopped into the ring and faced the two men.
"Okay, boss man said when you were kids he and your brothers taught you how to fight. What did they teach you?" Gage began.
"They taught me a little boxing, typical brawling fighting style, that sort of thing. I took to the boxing part and stayed with it. Even in college I did boxing. Jerry was a martial artist and he taught me a little jujitsu and Tae Kwon Do." Krista answered as she finished wrapping the boxing wraps around her hands.
"Well, that's a start then. You'll start with Tony. He's the martial arts guy on the team. After him, you and I will go at it." Gage instructed.
Krista gave a curt nod. She and Tony took to the center of the ring as Gage moved to the skirt. He gave the bell a ring and the two began. In a flash Tony came at her. She was just as fast and blocked his move while countering with one of her own.
Outside the ring Gage watched. He lifted a brow when Krista easily executed a perfect hip throw, landing Tony flat on his back. He had sparred with Tony several times and knew the cocky bastard was fast, but he had to admit Krista was just as fast. As his teammate and Krista sparred, Gage studied how Krista moved. Already thinking of things he could teach her based on what he was seeing.
She was agile, quick and used her height to her advantage at every turn. When Ethan said she could fight, he didn't quite believe him. Now however, he saw he had underestimated her. For nearly fifteen minutes the two fought before Krista delivered a swift kick, followed by a leg sweep and had Tony rolled onto his stomach and locked in an arm bar.
"Shit!" Tony gritted.
Gage saw the moment when Krista lost this match. She gave a little smirk and Gage could see that her grip shifted. Not much, but it was just enough for Tony to capitalize on that. Krista cursed when Tony managed to switch his position. In a flash, Tony was out of the arm bar and had Krista flipped onto her back with his weight pinning her legs and his hands pinning her wrists to the mat. Gage rang the bell ending the match.
Calmly Krista stood and offered the Marine a hand. "You're good."
"Thanks." Tony shook her hand. “You’re not so bad yourself. You almost had me there.”
The two moved out of the ring. Krista grabbed her water bottle and took a long swallow as she faced Gage. "Well, what do you think?"
Gage dropped to the floor next to her. "I think you've got the martial arts bit covered. I've watched Tony fight for years. He was a champion fighter in the Corps and you took some of his best moves like a champ. I don't think there's much you need to work on. What do you think Tony?"
"There were only a few things I saw you might really want to work on." Tony stated.
"What's that?" She inquired.
"Your left side is your weaker side. If you ever come up against someone who is left dominant, you'll really need to guard yourself from punches or other attacks to that side." Tony explained.
"Got it. Anything else?" Krista nodded.
“You got too cocky. Once you had Tony in that arm bar, you lost your focus. It wasn’t long, but it was long enough. When you’re fighting, never assume you’ve won a fight until you’re actually standing. Tony was able to break your hold because of that.” Gage explained. Krista nodded in understanding.
" Let's take a five-minute breather. Then you're in there with Gage." Tony said.
***
Ethan, Cain, Jimmy and Grant stood in the conference room at Blackout going over the blueprints of the event center for Krista’s book release. "Okay, here's the room at Capital. The main doors, two fire exits to the left, two at the rear, one to the far left corner and on to the far right."
"According to Krista and her publisher there will be a small raised stage, here up against that back wall. Krista will be giving a little speech as will Stacey. I'm guessing it's during her speech that she'll announce that she's really Krista Jameson, so we'll have to watch the crowd closely there. Against this left wall here will be the food. The event is being catered by Stubb's. The right wall will house the booth with her books and stuff." Cain said.
"After the speeches, will be the lunch. Next is the Q and A session. After that Krista is having the book signings and photo ops portion of this whole thing." Jimmy added.
"Doesn't seem like it will be too hard on a security standpoint. Between us, PD and I'm guessing the Feds are sending a few of theirs?" Grant asked looking a Jimmy and Cain, who nodded. "Plus, add in the five or six of Wilkes men and we've got the security covered."
Ethan rubbed his chin. "Yeah. However, tell our teams that I still expect them on high alert. This fucker has walked right into two secure locations and broke into her house without being seen."
Cain frowned at that comment. Jimmy noticed first. "What is it Cain? I see your gears grinding."
"I've been thinking about who this guy could be." Cain stated.
"What are you thinking?" Ethan pushed.
"Well, now this is just a theory mind you but, at the agent's office we figured he cased the place right? What if he didn't?"
Grant frowned. "What do you mean?"
