Balance (11 page)

G
lanc
ing
over at Rena’s
photo session,
the
previously
stoic Sargent
raise
s
an eyebrow
.

C
atch
ing
the show of
fascination,
Michael remarks,
“See something interesting?”

“Wow, that’s a dress.  She’s going to raise some BP’s in field ops
tonight
. 
I would l
ove to be a fly on that wall.”

Michael regards Waters curiously
,
“Good to see you’ve got a heartbeat.  I was starting to think everyone
around
here was a zombie.”

Waters relax
es
,
“Don’t worry, thing
s
will lighten.  You two
…
,
”
g
lancing over at Rena,
“
kind of
made an impression
last night.  Once you start moving around freely, people will loosen up.  I do know you’ve already got a couple
admirers
looking forward
to meet
ing
both of you.
”

“Which reminds me, w
hat exactly does it mean to move around freely?” Michael asks.

“The
Protocol and Procedures manual will define it more clearly, but for the most part
,
anywhere you can gain access
.  Now
,
before you get to
o
excited,
a
ll the sensitive areas
are restricted
access. 
T
his
is all
explained in the manual, so don’t think I’m giving up secret information … We need to get going to your next appointment”

“I get the impression much of my day is scheduled.  How much time do I have to move around freely?”

“For the first couple weeks,
not much.  After lunch, you and Rena will have an hour of free time.  You can spend it in your quarters, in a common area or exploring. 
Although,
I would
n
o
t recommend exploring quite yet.  This place is expansive
and y
ou
can easily
get too far away to make it back to your next scheduled appointment
,
or worse,
get lost.  Do not be late to scheduled appointments. 
D
emerits.  Getting lost is worse,
as
they have to track you with your chip.”

“What about free time in the evening?
”

“
You hav
e one appointment after dinner
, p
sychologist
, at 7:30.
B
etween dinner and that
appointment
you
’
r
e
free
,
as well as after
,
until 10:00PM.  All trainees are due in th
eir
room by 10:00PM.  Do
n
o
t be late.  Demerits.”

“Where’
re we headed now?”
Michael asks
.

“The
C
ombine.
”

“The what?
 
A
s in the thing that strips crops?
”
Mic
hael asks
with
a tone of concern
noticeable in his voice.

Waters laughs.  “Well, I guess that might be kind
of
accurate.  We all think the name
originated from
the old NFL.  They used to have
an
event where all the new draft prospects were physically tested, poked and prodded. 
T
h
is
i
s
similar
. 
I think Chango was a big NFL fan.”

Michael and Waters work their way around the
Bunker
,
finally
r
eaching a set of double doors.

Waters stops Michael just before entering.
“Do you remember how the tryout worked last night, the commander and crew watching you from the balcony
?
  Wel
l
in here
,
you are on display. 
There
will be command personnel, doctors and other talents
present
.  Just
remember to
relax and focus.”

“Why are you telling me all
of
this?”

“Everyone here is always under evaluation. 
As
your handl
er, t
he better you perform, the better prepared, i
t reflects on me.  Understand
this Michael
,
the testing is
not
intended
to
make you fail
,
it’
s
to determine what you can do
.  Don’t
be afraid of making a mistake, b
e afr
aid of being caught sandbagging, also for these evaluations
…
creativity is a good thing.
”

Proceeding through the double doors,
a
large are
n
a open
s
up in front of Michael.  They stand on the
outer
perimeter of a
large
rubberized oval track; the area inside populated with
fitness machines and large mats similar to the ones in the
fight cages,
he
suspects used for sparring.
  At the far end
,
Michael
observes
the oddest sight.  From this distance, it looks like a giant, abstract painting
made physical,
with
large sections
that look like
toppled
building
s
complete with
walls,
windows and doors,
portions
of
natural
rock
and
artificial
climbing
walls
all
melded into the landscape.
M
onkey bars, sewer pipes, bridge trusses
,
tires,
and other objects
intermixed th
roughout the massive construct.

Michael looks
at
Waters; “What the hell is that?” nodding toward
odd monstrosity
.

“The Monolith.  Don’t worry, not
your problem today.  Sometime
,
when Takada’s
in there
training
, I’ll grab you to watch, g
reat entertainment.”

“Who’s Takada?”
Michael asks
.

Wate
r
s
turns,
look
ing
up to a
large
balcony area
overlooking
the are
na
.  R
ows
of
seats
ascend from the front to the back
wall
, many
already occupied
.  “
Do y
ou see the Asian guy
,
next to Commander Still?”

Michael immediately recognizes him from last night.  He was
the one
with Still,
watching
them during the tryout
.

“Dangerous son-of-a-bitch,
runs Infiltration,
handles advanced f
ight training,
c
razy with hand-to-
hand weapons.  He also teaches
parkour
.”

“Par
k
our?”

“Easier to show than explain.  The Monolith.  Think
of
a
squirrel on speed
,
running through
an obstacle course.  You’ve been summoned.  Let’s go.”

Waters walks Michael over
to a small contingent of people;
comprised
of
soldiers and
medical personnel
.

Michael notices
several more people have joined Still and Takada in the
bleachers
.

Over the next
hour,
the
medical
contingent
progresses
Michael thr
ough a
battery
of physical tests,
sprinting, jumping, weight lifting
and
conditioning
drills. 
Based on the reaction of his evaluators,
Michael feels hi
s performances were very good.

As the contingent prepares for the coordination testing
,
Michael notices a crowd
,
those from the weight
area
,
start
ing
to form
behind him
.
S
everal of the spectators in the
balcony
have
also
moved
down
to the railing to observe
,
including Takada and Still.

While
performing his other tests,
several of the
sparring
mats
were
rolled-
up
,
replaced
by an obstacle course, a
pprox
imately a hundred-
feet square.  The course
comprised
of
several
balance
beams
of different
shape
, height and length
,
intermixed
with
numerous
p
edestals
of
var
ying
configuration
dispersed
throughout the
field
. 
The obstacles located by m
arkers on the floor.

A
technician
in a lab coat addresses Michael.  “This course is designed to test your coordination and agility.  The first
sequence
is
a baseline test.  You
navigate
the course
chasing
a
tracer light.  Your objective;
get from where
you are on the course to where
ver
the tracer light illuminates
,
without touching the floor.  The light will remain on a destination until you arrive.  Do you understand?”

Michael nods.

“
This is a
timed
exercise with
penal
ty time added
for
touching the
f
loor.  As soon as you see
the
tracer illuminate
the first destination
,
the clock starts.
  Are you r
eady?
”

Michael positions him
self at the end of a low beam.

The tracer light
appears at
the far end of the same beam.

Michael quickly tiptoes down the
length
.  As soon as his foot b
reak
s the tracer
, it disappears,
reappear
ing
fifty f
eet away on top of a pedestal.

Jumping
to an adjacent waist high beam,
he
quickly
traver
ses
it
s length
, continuing
on
to a
series of pedestals.  He
skip
s
across three pedestals of increasing height unt
il he reaches his destination.