up into the early morning sky. Large crows spiraled in the air and came in low across the grass, landing periodically to snatch up a tidbit or two wherever they could. The walkway leading away from the building was slick and coated with a thin veneer of moisture. A shimmer of morning dew threw a patina of frost across the heavy, metal doors which led back into the building.
Cleese had risen at first light and left his crib long before any of the others were awake. He’d wanted to get into the gym earlier than usual since the machines and workout spaces always got more and more crowded as the day wore on. There was nothing worse than building up a good head of steam only to be brought up short by someone who was moving along through their workout at a snail’s pace. He liked to do what were called 'super- sets' which meant jumping from one machine to another quickly in an effort to shock his muscles. Fucking around and wasting time were two things he could never stomach much.
As he stepped into the building, the door closed loudly behind him. The smell of the place, in some weird way, made him immediately feel relaxed and welcomed. It had been a while now since he’d come to the compound and its sights and smells were already making the necessary connections in his brain to equate this place as 'home.' The whole concept of feeling comfortable, much less 'at home' anywhere, was still new to him. Hell, he’d never stayed put in any place long enough for that to happen.
Bit by bit though, this place was becoming something different.
As he entered the open space of the Hall, he was surprised to find a group of people already training out on the mats. From the look of things, they were going over some close quarter combat maneuvers; what Monk called 'snatch and strike' drills and established martial arts like Wing Chun called 'Pak Sao.' He saw, even at a distance, that this wasn’t just any group of fighters: they were Chikara’s Budo Warriors.
~ * ~
Cleese had wanted to get a closer look at their workout for some time now, but they did most of their training under the cover of secrecy with late night sessions and, from the looks of things, pre-dawn gatherings as well. He had to admit it—Chikara was doing a fine job of honing her fighters into something very special. Their abilities were evident in their matches and their cohesion as a team could be seen in their tightness as a group.
As he got closer, he could see the admiration for their leader in the fighters’ eyes as they carefully watched Chikara explain a technique or concept. It was obvious that, to them, she was more than just a leader. Through her philosophies and training such as this, she’d managed to keep all of them alive in a sport where death was pretty much a given. For that, they were understandably grateful. Cleese figured all of this samurai 'I live to die' shit was just that—shit. No one wanted to die and anyone who said they did was a goddamn liar. Chikara was someone who’d kept them upright and fighting and so anything she had to say was worth giving their utmost attention—and their respect.
As Cleese got even closer, he saw Chikara in the middle of the circle of men doling out her knowledge like it was mother’s milk. She looked even better than she had when he’d last seen her meditating on the hill out by the Firing Range. Her hair was just washed, her skin showed the blush of exertion. He saw for the first time a bit of the tattoo he’d heard so much about. The intricate lines were visible around the neckline of her shirt and at the bottom leg of her training pants. The tattoo’s colors shone brightly and as a result, Cleese’s curiosity sat up and wriggled at the back of his skull.
'Now remember,' she said as she paced back and forth within the confines of the circle of men, 'the UDs will, based on their instinct, want to swarm you. The idea is to let them. They will want to come in close but will be hindered by their own numbers. Jacobson, what is our credo here?'
She looked over to a fresh-faced kid who appeared to be in his early twenties. From what Cleese could see, it looked as if Opie had done some growing up the hard way before leaving Mayberry.
'‘They are many, Sensei,' the kid recited. 'We are one. They are hampered by their numbers and therefore cannot attack effectively. We can strike from any angle, from any position since we stand at the center of the fighting nucleus. We are able to react to the threat around us with im… with im…’'
'With impunity. Correct. Now, the trick is…' she explained as she gently drew one of the other fighter’s into the center of the circle. '… to keep your center line constant. You must pull them into your ‘sphere’—the circles of influence that whirl around you at all times—in order to control them.'
Cleese knew what she was talking about. It was the Aikido concept of 'circuits of neutralization.' That is to say, every fighter has several spheres which rotate around him at all times: a vertical one, a horizontal one, then two oblique angles. The sphere’s energy went in whatever direction the threat was coming. Draw your opponent into one of those spheres and you control his actions. To suddenly reverse that flow could oftentimes be… damaging.
Chikara stepped across from the fighter next to her and dropped into a loose fighting stance.
'Come…' she said to him.
The man took two quick steps forward and made a swift reach out for her throat. In an instant, she grabbed hold of his wrist and spun around in a tight circle, effectively pulling the man’s arm around her. She wriggled within his grasp for a moment, did something Cleese couldn’t quite see, and then, the other fighter was flipping through the air and landing on the mat with a painful sounding
Cleese had to admit, it was pretty damn slick.
'Very nice,' he said in a raised voice pitched so that Chikara would be able to hear him across the Hall. Immediately, all of the fighters turned and glared at him. Two of largest started across the mat, looking downright pissed. Cleese laughed and absentmindedly scratched at the back of his head.
'Easy boys…,' he said, raising one arm like a traffic cop.
'Teiryuu!' Chikara shouted at the approaching men. They immediately came to a halt, but he noticed they did not retreat. She turned from her group and directed her attention toward Cleese.
'Cleese… You are interrupting an important training session. This time belongs to my fighters. If you would like to talk with me, you will have to wait. I would appreciate it if you would move along.'
'Hey, no problem,' he said as he continued moving toward her, 'I was just admiring your skills.'
'Well, thank you,' she bowed slightly at the waist as she spoke. 'Coming from a man of your reputation, I appreciate the accolades.'
'I was only wondering though,' he said having now come within normal speaking distance, 'if it would work on someone a bit bigger than your man on his back over there.'
'Like you, for example?' she said with a wry smile.
The Warriors all smiled and stepped back. They’d been around Chikara long enough to know an accepted challenge when they heard one. They also knew when an ass kicking was about to be doled out. Each of them had been easily beaten by her in one previous training session or another. They were all glad that today’s punching dummy was to be Cleese and not one of them. What the outcome would be if these two ever were to brawl had grown to be a hot topic of discussion with many of the men in the compound.
In fact, there was even a clandestine pool being pulled together.
'Well, yeah…' Cleese answered, scratching himself behind the ear. 'Simple physics contradicts the theory behind your technique.'
'Well, come then,' she answered and extended her right arm as if to say,
Cleese strolled across the mat and stepped into the widening circle around Chikara. Once he got to within an arm’s reach of her, he was once again stunned by her sense of power and the way she seemed to occupy one hundred per cent of her body space. With her Warriors gathered around her, she seemed a lot more dangerous than she had previously.
'Ok, Tough Guy, go ahead.' She spread her arms out as if she was going to hug him, but her eyes said the polar opposite. 'Hit me.'
Cleese smiled, shook his head in amusement and then stepped forward. Chikara remained motionless, merely waiting for what she knew was inevitable. Cleese stared deeply into her eyes and saw her eyebrows lower in concentration. Despite all of the bravura, he could tell even she wasn’t completely convinced of the outcome of this. Once he caught her attention, he winked at her quickly and then bobbed to the left, caught himself, and then weaved to the right. As his body moved past Chikara, he flicked out a powerless right jab. He didn’t want to really hit her, merely to touch her so that she’d know he could have.
Chikara caught the force of the blow with her left hand and, just like before, spun into it. She whirled in a
