Now there was fresh anger in his eyes, and that was precisely what she wanted. He would overcompensate now, and that meant he would make silly mistakes. This time he came at her and attempted to grapple. He took hold of her arm, and she let him. He was close enough for her to use leverage. Tessa seized hold of his wrist and dug her fingers into the soft spots, exploiting pressure points. From that position, she twisted his elbow and slid to the side underneath his arm. With the right pressure and leverage, she flipped the beast of a man over and onto his back. He slammed to the mat with a thud, and Tessa moved in with an axe kick to the stomach.
He rolled to the side, avoiding her kick and jumping back to his feet. The fight was on now, and her opponent came at her with a fury. The blows came faster, and Tessa countered as she weaved in and out of his strike zone. She still held the upper hand, being able to move quicker, both avoiding hits and landing them. Her opponent landed a few decent blows, but she was careful not to open herself up to too many. He was large enough that if he got a lucky hit, he could very well knock her out cold.
Tessa maintained the status quo making sure she landed as many hits as possible, concentrating attacks on vitals and vulnerable areas such as the face, kidneys, and groin. She varied her attacks between punches and kicks to keep her opponent always guessing.
After some time and enough spilled blood, the guards called the fight declaring Tessa the winner. It upset her opponent that a woman bested him, but they weren’t a good matchup. Their fighting styles were incompatible, and she explained it to him. She didn’t want to destroy his ego, but he needed to understand why he lost. His power attacks were slow and left him open for her lightening precision attacks.
Tessa shook the guards’ hands, and they congratulated her. They were surprised by her success and impressed by her skills. They agreed not to judge a book by its cover. They also agreed to grant her access to the military wing as long as Sam accompanied her.
Tessa waited while Sam collected his winnings, and then they headed off to complete their mission. Tessa had to ask. “Why collect on a bet when you will not enjoy the spoils? When we leave, those ration tickets are worthless.”
Sam grinned, “It’s the principle, Tessa. They lost.”
He pointed out the locker rooms and snuck in to snag some military clothing. Tessa searched around for a lower-ranking soldier’s uniform so she could blend in as Sam’s subordinate officer. Once she found suitable attire, she changed and met up with Sam.
Then he escorted her to the equipment room where he submitted their fake acquisition request. The man behind the counter was a squinty little stick of a man who seemed to be in a foul mood. Tessa tried to smile and wink at him, but it seemed to make his demeanor even worse. He read through the document eyeballing them both as he evaluated the authenticity of the request. Tessa’s heart was beating hard in her chest doubting if this ruse would work, but eventually, he allowed them through.
Tessa and Sam grabbed sizeable black duffle bags and stuffed them full of armor suits and weapons. She grabbed other tertiary equipment they might need like comms, rope, and a grappling gun and also picked up first aid kits and flares. She wasn’t sure what they might need, so she picked up a bit of everything. They stocked up on plenty of ammo and a few grenades, including flash grenades and smoke bombs. They would need an arsenal.
The two checked out their equipment and left the military wing avoiding the guards who let them in. At this time of night, the hallways were relatively quiet, and Tessa remained disguised as a military officer. Tessa and Sam headed toward the rendezvous point outlined in a previous escape meeting, a storage room near the Director’s private elevator. Tessa would store their equipment there rather than attracting attention by carrying military equipment to her flat.
The storage room was secure, and Tessa used her card decoder to gain access. She could lock the door behind them and keep their supplies hidden by scrambled the lock. Tessa wasn’t expecting anyone to access the storage room at this time of night but would not take any chances. A sloppy plan with holes could spell disaster.
Once they collected supplies and everyone met back at Tessa’s flat, it was time to prepare for their escape. Arica had successfully synthesized an antidote for the blue pill, and after some time, Tessa had full access to her Evo powers. She had a feeling she would need them.
Everyone suited up with the black suits of H.I.V.E tech armor. Everyone except Sam pulled their lab coat over the armor. The idea was to blend in as long as possible. They double and triple checked to make sure they had everything before executing the plan.
When Tessa and Sam agreed they were geared and ready, everyone inserted comm earpieces and tested the frequency. Tessa hot-wired her original comms, which were part of her goggles, into the newly gained comms so Finn could join in on their conversations. He would be the eye in the sky, and they all needed access to his knowledge.
Tessa instructed Finn to scramble the cameras and start feeding loops. From there, everyone left Tessa’s flat behind.
