Page 35 of Savage Ruin
Ouch.“I have time,” I reply firmly. I lift her onto her feet, then vault up. We get back into position. “Ready?”
“Eyes.” I slowly push toward her eyes. So slow, she laughs.
It might be silly but getting her used to hands punching toward her is necessary. If she’s triggered during an attack, she’ll lose any advantage. I go through the rest of the spots using the same technique. Nose, ears, jaw, throat, groin, knees, Achilles tendon.
“Now, you do the same to me. Ten times. Go.”
She runs through each of the spots, thrusting her small fists forward, until I’m satisfied.
“We’ll go through this exercise every morning, too. Except give me your hand,” I order her. “Thumb stays on the outside. Try to use your knuckles when you hit. Punch straight forward, snap back quick.” I wrap her fingers into a correct fist and demonstrate how to punch, then make her repeat the maneuver over and over until I’m satisfied.
She places a hand on my arm. “Thank you, Thiago. I know how busy you are, and this only adds to your plate. Plus, it cuts into your workout time. I’ll try to be a quick learner.”
I clasp her hand in mine. “This is important. I can always get up earlier to get my workout done. Be here tomorrow at five-thirty a.m.”
She grimaces but agrees.
“Feel free to use the treadmill or anything else,” I tell her. “I’m going to shower and get ready for work. And I’ll bring your car home this evening. Good job today, Henley.”
She beams at me.
As I hit the stairs, I look back and find her practicing her kicks. I smile. She sees herself as weak, but she’s one of the strongest people I’ve met. We have to make her believe it, too.
CHAPTER19
HENLEY
My muscles protest loudly when I bend over the desk to look at the app. But I’m excited to learn something physical I can use. Given the lack of ability I’ve displayed in the past, he’ll never expect it, which already gives me a slight advantage. I can’t always count on my brain to get me out of a situation, and who knows if I’ll have a gun with me.
Another thing I’m going to need—a new gun. I wonder if Zane could get me one. I add it to the long mental to do list in my head.
My thoughts drift back to this morning’s session with Thiago. Yelling seems silly at first, and excessive. But if someone is trying to kidnap or assault me, don’t I want excessive? I never thought about it until today, but if I’m not going to go all in to fight for my life, why fight at all?
I take a deep breath to clear my mind and focus on the phone in front of me. The app is installed, and it’s time to put it into action.
I tap display and watch the 3D image appear through the phone and on the flat table behind it. Time for the second view. Setting the phone down, I slip on the headset and look at the same 3D image, but this time, I see it overlaid on top of the dummy we’ve placed on the desk.
It shows the exact size and location of the tumor in the patient’s brain along with the myriad of blood vessels and nerves wrapped around the tumor, which is something incredibly difficult to see on the 2D scan.
Both devices will provide doctors with something they can’t see today.
I pull off the headset and beam at Mateo.
He throws a fist in the air, then picks me up and whirls me around until we’re both dizzy. “You and Marcos built something truly incredible and life changing. The phone makes it accessible and portable for all doctors, and when paired with the headset or glasses, it can revolutionize surgery. Amazing.”
Grayson claps from the doorway. “Congratulations. I didn’t get to see it when Marcos did the original demonstration because I was out of town, but it’s truly remarkable.” He claps Mateo on the back, then leans down to pull me into a hug.
Startled, I return his hug. “I’m glad you’re here,” I state, much to his surprise, then look at Mateo. “I know we talked about pushing it live tonight, but this could be a huge opportunity for us to divide our enemies. When you broker technology, don’t you set up a live demonstration for the bidders?”
Mateo nods. “Yes, we usually show the demo, then open the bidding. Why?”
Thiago walks into the office and hands me my keys. He circles around the desk to look through the phone and view the brain. “Remarkable.” Dark eyes full of pride and heat catch mine. “You should be very proud of yourself.”
“Thank you,” I reply huskily, then turn back to Mateo. “What if we set up a live demonstration for our doctors? We could have them send CT or MRI scans to us in real-time and show how the software converts and displays the image in a matter of minutes. We let the solution sell itself,” I say excitedly. “At the end of the demonstration, we tell them the app’s available for immediate download in their preferred app store, give them the name and price. But until that moment, we keep it secret from everyone.”
Mateo thinks about it for a second. “We’ve never done anything in real-time with unknown data. It has a few risks, but if we pull it off, it could be the jumpstart we need. But what does that have to do with our enemies?”
“What if you told Carlton it’s a demonstration to kick off the bidding? Wouldn’t he run straight to our enemy and inform them?” I throw out the suggestion.
