One Week Later

Zoe’s been reserved with me since I arrived last week. She mostly keeps to herself and doesn’t respond with more than one or two words when I try to engage her in conversation. I’m aware of her situation and what she’s been through, but I really didn’t expect her to be so stubborn after being around me for a while. I figured I’d wear her down and she’d naturally warm up to me...I figured wrong. Zoe’s a tough customer and all the charm in the world is wasted on her.

The sound of harsh breaths greets my ears as I walk down the hallway. When I reach the spare room, I find Zoe practicing punches and kicks and her form looks pretty good.

“Have you had formal training?” I question, interrupting her.

Ignoring me, she continues, and I lean a shoulder against the door jamb to observe. Focused intently on what she’s doing, I don’t think she realizes I’m there. Crossing my arms over my chest, I notice her long, lithe limbs and the natural athleticism she moves with. She’s petite and muscular - lean, but gently curved. Her hair is twisted into a knot on top of her head and a headband is holding back the bangs that normally fall across her eyes.

Her movements are graceful and strong. She snaps out punches in a fierce and steady rhythm, mixing in a series of spinning heel and jumping crescent kicks, as she whips around the room in a frenzied assault against an imaginary opponent.

Zoe stops dead in her tracks and her eyes widen when she finally notices me standing in the doorway. She opens her mouth to speak, only to close it again seconds later and turn away in awkward silence.

“Not bad, Taekwondo?” I see a small opening and try to engage.

“You train?” Zoe spins around, facing me. “Never mind. What am I saying? Of course, you train.” She talks fast and smiles nervously. “You all have to be super dragon grandmasters or something like that, right?”

“I do like the sound of that.” I smile, and she laughs.

“Next time throw those kicks lower.” She looks surprised at my observation. “Here to here...” I motion down from my sternum to my knees. “Where they might actually connect and do some damage.” I shoot a quick wink her way, turn and leave the room. Making a connection will take time and I want to give her space. I don’t want to push her. She’ll come to me when she’s ready.

“Hold up.” Apparently, Zoe isn’t interested in space right now. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with my kicks?” She follows me from the room and down the hallway.

“I don’t think you’re kicking high enough.” I keep walking through the kitchen and into the living room without looking back.

“Wait.” Zoe stops and sounds confused. “What?”

It takes a moment before she gets the sarcasm and appears at the door behind me. “Ha ha and fuck you too.” She plops down on the couch across from me, with her legs propped up on the coffee table. It’s hard not to notice the sweat soaked t-shirt, clinging tightly to the small amount of her body it’s covering. And those legs… my God, those legs. The Almighty himself couldn’t resist a pair of legs like Zoe’s.

I suddenly realize I’ve been staring at her far too long and by the look on her face, she knows it. I cough to break up the silence. “Excuse me...” This is awkward.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong with my kicks or not?” She smirks a little and I can’t help but like this girl’s style.

“I meant just what I said.” I stand and begin checking the windows throughout the room; partly out of habit but mostly to distract myself from the way she looks right now.

“Here to here.” I motion from my sternum to my knees again. “Where they might actually connect and do some damage.”

“Might actually connect?” Zoe sounds disgusted. “I’m a second-degree black belt.”

“That’s very impressive, I just meant...” I try to explain but she’s not hearing it.

“Well, what belt do you have?”

I stop and turn to face her, bowing at the waist and performing what I feel is a solid imitation of Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid. “JC Penney, you like?”

“What the hell?” Zoe obviously doesn’t get the reference. “Are you on drugs?”

“Listen, your form looks amazing.” In more ways than one. “And I’m sure you’re a very strong girl, but those high kicks aren’t going to work on anyone who knows what they’re doing. You need to focus all that speed and power toward the lower, softer targets. They’re a much safer bet; easier to connect, harder to defend.” I can see the wheels turning in her head as she thinks about what I’m saying. “Add in all that jumping and spinning around like a little F5 tornado and I’d say you’ll have a fairly lethal combination.”

Zoe’s face lights up. “Show me.”

“What?” I’m surprised by her question.

“Show me.” She’s determined.

“I can’t. I’m on duty.”

She rises from the couch without another word, stalking down the hallway and back into the spare room.

Within a few minutes I hear her working out again, but I don’t see her for the rest of the morning, or until Agent Smith returns mid-afternoon to relieve me for the night watch.

Karyn Smith is a genuine old school badass - a true legend in the Bureau. Stories of her undercover work as a rookie agent in the months leading up to the end of the Cold War are still whispered throughout the clandestine services.

“Agent Smith,” I greet her at the door.

“Agent Garrison.” She’s all business, dropping her bag and checking the place as she heads for the kitchen. “How’s our girl doing?”

“Quiet. She’s been in the empty back room most of the day.”

“Why?” Agent Smith stops walking and turns back to face me. “Doing what?”

“She’s been working out most of the time. It’s actually pretty impressive.”

Karyn marches down the hall to the back room and I trail behind. She stops to listen outside the door. We both clearly hear Zoe breathing hard in a distinct pattern, as if training. Karyn quietly backs away and motions for me to follow.

“How long has she been in there like this?”

“She’s been at it for a little over four hours now.”

“Agent Garrison, you want to tell me what I’m missing here?” She looks annoyed.

“I mentioned something about her training and it appears as though she’s taken my comments seriously.”

“Explain.”

“Zoe was training earlier, and I mentioned her kicks were too high to be truly effective. She questioned me about it and I explained. She then asked me to show her and I informed her I could not as I’m on duty. I believe she’s been in there practicing to prove me wrong ever since, ma'am.”

“Really?” Karyn smiles.

Before I can respond Zoe appears outside the door at the other end of the hallway. She sees us and starts forward. “Hello, Karyn.” She passes Agent Smith and walks straight up to me. “Show

I’m not sure what to do here and I look to Agent Smith for guidance. She nods her head twice to both Zoe and me. Zoe quickly bounces back down the hall to the spare room.

“Agent Smith are we sure this is the right...”

Karyn cuts me off. “Zoe’s been dragging around here lost for a week and after what she’s just been through, I can’t blame her. But this is different; this behavior is focused, determined, she’s taking action. She looks like she really wants to whip your ass.” Karyn pats me on the back. “I think this is a good thing.”

“Good for who?” I mumble as we walk down the hall together. I shove my phone into the front pocket of my jeans as we approach the doorway.

We find Zoe standing in the center of the spare room turned sideways in a fighting stance, every muscle in her body appears taut and ready to explode. Her eyes are narrowed, and laser focused on me. She looks as if she could run straight through a brick wall right now.

“Definitely not good for you.” Karyn laughs.

The instant I step inside the room Zoe charges and attacks, leaping forward and throwing a front snap kick directly at my face. I barely have time to react before she spins into a heel kick, which breezes past my temple a little too close for comfort. Zoe continues around and throws a second, even faster, heel kick at my head. This time I slip to the side and allow her momentum to carry her into the wall behind me. She turns back to face me as I slowly back into the center of the room, smiling.

Zoe takes two quick steps forward and jumps into another combination of spinning kicks, all aiming to take my head clean off. By the third kick I have her rhythm down and I step in and catch her leg on the fourth, stopping her mid spin and forcing her back a few feet.

“Take it easy Zoe.” I try to settle her down. She looks pissed.

I look to Karyn, who’s smiling ear to ear. “All right now, playtime is over.”

Zoe ignores us and springs into a series of jumping and spinning kicks with a renewed fury I wasn’t expecting. She grunts with every attempt and seems to be getting faster with each strike.

“Are we done here?” I ask Agent Smith as I continue to play cat and mouse with Zoe.

“Zoe stop,” Karyn shouts. “Zoe enough.” But she just keeps coming. “I said to stop.” Karyn has seen enough. “Secure her,” she orders.

Stepping inside Zoe’s range, I secure her kicking leg and sweep the other out from under her. I snatch her up and pin her against the closest wall, so she can’t move.

“Settle down.” I try to sound calm and relaxed. She struggles a bit and then surrenders. I release my hold on her and back away.

“You’re wasting your time and energy,” Karyn speaks up. “And you’re kicking too high.”

We all laugh dispelling the tension.

Karyn gingerly steps in close to me. “Besides, the last thing you want to do is tangle with a big, strong, handsome man like Nash,” she speaks slowly, with a hint of seduction in her tone. The expression on her face and the look in her eyes is very unprofessional. She runs her palm gently along my chest and clasps her hands tenderly around the back of my neck, as if she’s going to stretch up and place a soft, wet kiss on my lips. It occurs to me she’s in what they liked to call intimate proximity back in the academy. She’s close, too close and by the time I realize what’s coming it’s too late.

In a moment too brief to react, I feel Karyn tighten her grip as she drives her left knee up into my ribs and then repeats the same move two more times. As I fall forward she kicks my back leg out and uses the wall as leverage to spin over my back and roll me down into a leg triangle choke on the floor. Within seconds I’m tapping the floor and she releases the vice like pressure on my neck and throat. “You good?” Karyn slaps her palm down on my chest and laughs as she unwraps her legs from around my neck and over my head. She rolls back and up on to her feet then smiles at Zoe as she leaves the room.

“And that’s with heels on… you should see what I can do in bare feet.”