Balance (47 page)

He smiles his
approval,
“I think that is an excellent idea.  Please have
Ms. Smith
work it out.”

“
M
ight
I
ask one more
favor
?” Rena politely inquires
.

“Certainly.”

“To look less obvious and to help keep an eye on Meg, can I request an a
dditional resource, preferably m
ale and moderately good looking.”

“
Have you a
nyone in mind?”  Takada
inquires,
expecting
the answer, but not clear
the intent
,
thinking
many factors could be in play here.

“
Waters
, sir?”

“Makes sens
e.  By all mean,
make the arrangements.”

Ren
a excuses herself and departs.

Recognizing
he had just played an excellent game of chess,
Takada returns to his desk
,
feel
ing
that this match ended in a draw.
 
Taking
a moment
to reflect on the last few months
,
he
whispers
to himself, “Most definitely a diamond.  Well played
my dear
.”

Rena leaves Takada’s office
concluding
that she played Takada exactly as she intended. 
Michael was right,
Takada at least sus
pects
they
are
aware of Meg
’s
predicament
,
al
though
she’
s always impressed with
hi
s ability to spin a logical reason for everything. 
That
inherent
trait
can be very dangerou
s in a man of Takada’s means.

She needs to make sure
Michael realizes the dangers associated with people like Takada.  If cornered,
he
would likely find logical reason for any retaliation.  Rena wonders if Takada realizes how much he and Meg potentially have in common.
 
The information regarding
her
survival instinct
is
concerning.  Before pro
ceeding or
passing judgment,
Rena wi
ll need
to see the extent of this
characteristic herself
,
just
n
ot tonight
.
Tonight is about
assessing Meg’s
other
skills.

R
eturning
to the
Immersion Offices
to
coordinate
the evening,
Ms. Smith
is
excited to see Rena out under her own power. 
She
explains the
plans for that
night, going
as
far as affirming
Ms. Smith
’s suspicions regard
ing Meg
’s future
.  The information seems
to cool her
excitement;
confirming another of Rena’s suspicions
;
Takada and
Ms. Smith
a
re
not an entir
ely unified front. 
Rena suspected
Ms. Smith
m
ight
be aware
of
the term
inal nature of Meg
’s role,
her
reaction,
confirmed it.

As
she
leaves
,
Rena reminds
Ms. Smith
,
tonight
’
s
activities are
about Meg, needing
her to be the center of attention.

After leaving
the
Immersion Offices
, Rena heads
to
the private dojo Takada has reserved specifically for Michael’s training
. 
As
she
walks in
under her own power,
Michael and Meg’s
spirits lift
,
marking the
closure on the
ordeal involving Meg
’s
introduction
.

An
elated
Michael
races
across the room
,
wrapping
the woman he loves
in his arms and spinning around
,
relieved that
she’s
whole
.

She kisses him on the forehead and whispers, “Now you can relax, please.”

He
smiles
, “I will.”
s
etting
her
back on the floor.

Meg, standing to the side, watches the display
with
admiration.

Rena
turns to address her, “So how’
s the training going?”

“We were just
finishing up with the throwing stuff.”

L
ook
ing around the dojo,
Rena confirms Meg’s assessment,
short-range weapons
,
shuriken and knives
litter the floor, several more
protrude from
a wooden
manikin standing at the far end
of the room
.

“And?
” Rena qu
estions,
scanning from
Micha
e
l
to Meg
.

“Well, barns have to fear me, but people … not so
much.” Meg
responds,
noticeably
disappointed
.

“She’s being modest.
I
t’s
her
first time throwi
ng anything, so it’s both an un
natural motion and difficult to
understand
. 
All things c
onsider
ed
, she
did alright.” Michael consoles
.

Rena
considers
his
assessment
,
“I wonder.  Do you mind if I watch you train hand-to-hand?”

Meg replies
,
“
Please, another set of eyes could help.
  I know it can’t hurt.
” He
r tone dejected.

F
or forty minutes
,
Rena watches Michael and Meg practice various combinations
.
Michael
does
an excellent job explaining the intent of the movements, focusing on the Jeet Kune Do principles of punching, kicking and blocking.  The form meant to be fluid and
explosive
, close proximity and powerful.  Her individual movements are
superb
, displaying flexibility,
understanding,
and focus
.

W
orking
on combat sequences, i
t doesn’t take long for Meg to get frustrated in her inability to either hit Michael or b
lock his advances.  This is what
Rena wanted to
observe
.

W
atch
ing
carefully,
Rena pays
close attention to
Meg’s
emotions
,
to see if
she
lo
ses composure, does her form break down, revert to
a
feral
style
lashing out without control.
As expected,
Meg’s frustration escalates, but to Rena’s surprise, her
technique seems
to refine, evolve.  Her focus increases, she doesn’t lash out or get feral
, she gets creative
, and if possible, more precise
.  Now
Rena
understands Alexander’s
assessment,
‘creative survival instincts’.
 
As much as Rena would like to see how far this woul
d progress, there’
s no benefit;
the circumstances are survi
vable
, as Michael cannot be beat,
not head-to-head on
equal terms.  She wonders if Takada has come to realize that. 
However
, fo
r the moment Meg is her focus.

Rena stops the
sparring
;
knowing that if it continues Meg’s confidence w
ould
be the only casualty.  Stepping within their
combat
circle, she addresses both of them.
 
“First I want to tell you, Meg,
your form is excellent.”

“But I can
’t hit or block
him.
” Meg exclaims
,
frustrated
and winded
.

Rena smiles warmly,
“Meg
… no one can.  You haven’t been
here long enough to understand.  T
here isn’t a person in this
building that can best Michael.  In fact,
in the last half-year,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get hit where he didn’t intend
it.  Most wouldn’
t even get on a mat to find out
… That said, I think I can help some.”

Michael looks at Rena with interest.

“Meg, when you
fight Michael, you’re throwing punches at him
,
you
’
r
e
blocking punches thrown at you.  Your mind is
operating
in the ‘now’, reacting to
what’s
transpiring in front of you
,
real time.”

“I don’t understand
.
” Meg
responds
.

“Nor do I
.”
Michael
concurs
.

Rena turns to
face him, smiling, understanding his confusion
.
Without warning,
she
throws a right
cross at his head
.

Instinctively
, Michael dodges to his left,
avoid
ing
a blow
intended for
face
.

Rena antic
ipating his defensive move,
harnesses
the mome
ntum of her punch and
follows with
a right
roundhouse
kick to the left side of his hea
d … stopping inches
before
impact
.

Michael
,
unprepared for th
e
kick
,
bumps into her extended
foot.
“What the hell
!
” He exclaims, as
she
gracefully
drops her leg back to the ground, smiling in defiance.

“How’
d you do that
?
” Meg questions
, her voice betraying her excitement
.

“Well, a couple things
were in play.  The first
,
Michael did
n
o
t expect
me to throw a punch at him.  I’
d
disarmed his defens
es, allowing me
the element of
surprise.  N
ever underestimate the element of surprise, and never squander it.  You
only get one chance to use it. 
The second aspect
in play is the most important.
I didn’t limit my actions to the ‘now’
.  I knew
when I threw the
punch
Michael would
react in
one of two
ways
, defend or attack.  I knew his defense would be to move away, to his left.  I also knew
if he chose offense, it’
d have to be quick, because an
offensi
ve
would have to impact before my punch.  The offensive didn’t come, so
I knew
the defense was his play. 
M
y combination
was intended to
use my momentum, to throw a second
strike
where
Michael
would move to
.”