After Annie Barrett finished her briefing, they didn't wait.
They never waited.
"...Let's begin."
Marie felt the pressure—heavy pressure. Ever since Annie and Skyler left the room, she'd been under a barrage of stares aimed to crush her, and they weren't coming from the trainees.
No—it was her fellow professional.
The others had cleared out, leaving only Syd standing nearby, arms crossed, scrutinizing her every move. Annie had warned him: unless Marie did something wrong, he had no right to lay a hand on her. That didn't mean he couldn't make her uncomfortable, though, and she chose to ignore him as she began.
"This is the schedule you two will be following for the next 14 days."
Training Program:
5:00–6:00 — Morning run around the base
6:00–11:00 — Basic training session 1
11:30–13:00 — Lunch break
13:00–17:00 — Basic training session 2
19:00–21:00 — Evening run + endurance drills
At first glance, it looked deceptively light. But that was psychology. All the heavy work was buried in the two massive "basic training" blocks.
"Are you running them like Navy SEALs?" Syd asked dryly.
"Minus the screaming," Marie shot back. "I'm training two people, not a whole battalion. Two weeks is plenty."
"So we're really doing this all fourteen days?" Jody asked.
"Correct," Marie replied. "But since today's the first day, we'll start with basic evaluations this morning. We'll jump into the schedule properly this afternoon. Clear?"
She pulled a hair tie from her pocket. "You'll want to tie your hair back. And don't bother with makeup—it won't last."
"!"
Sera tensed. Was that a jab at her?
Oh, this girl...
Marie rolled her neck, then hopped up into the boxing ring with a practiced bounce.
"You're Jody, right? The one with the leg problem?"
"...Yeah."
"Heh. This might be harder for you, then."
Marie grinned.
That was when Sera's inner alarm rang. First the makeup comment. Now this? It wasn't just sass. This trainer had an attitude.
"Come on. Both of you. In."
Sera and Jody climbed into the ring.
"Try to hit me," Marie said, bouncing lightly on her heels.
"Huh?" Jody frowned.
"I said, hit me—"
WHAM!
Sera didn't wait. She came in from behind with a punch wound up from two kilometers away. She hadn't said a word, but the intent was crystal clear: she'd been waiting for this.
But in a flash, Marie turned with inhuman reflexes, dipped her head to dodge, locked both of Sera's arms, swept her leg out from under her, and drove her flat onto the mat. Then, with one bare foot pressing Sera's face into the floor, she grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked.
"OWW—OWW OWW!"
Sera slapped the mat in surrender, but Marie didn't let go right away.
It had taken only seconds. And now Sera was down, eyes wide, paralyzed under Marie's foot.
"At least you didn't scream and charge in," Marie muttered. "Shows you have a brain. Somewhat."
Was that... a compliment?
Jody stood, frozen. She understood one thing now:
Hurting Marie even once wasn't going to be easy.
The trainer finally let Sera go. The girl was fuming, clearly humiliated, but still in control—for now.
"Anyone can throw a punch. But getting countered? That's when the real training begins."
Marie turned to Jody.
"You. Your turn."
She held out her hand. "Hit me."
"Just... punch?"
"Yep."
Smack!
"Hmm. Not bad," Marie said, squeezing Jody's arm. "You've got solid muscle. Been doing strength work?"
"A bit," Jody admitted.
"No way it's just 'a bit'. Lift your shirt."
"...Excuse me?"
"Lift it."
"Umm..."
Jody hesitated, but complied.
Syd, watching from ringside, nearly forgot to blink.
She didn't have full abs, but the outline of toned lines—the beginnings of a defined "11"—was clearly there.
"You're staring, Syd," Jody said, amused.
"Was not."
She smirked. Of course she wasn't shy—why would she be? If you've got it, flaunt it.
Syd had definitely never seen this view before. That night on the plane, it had been too dark to notice details.
He quickly turned away, pretending to scroll his phone. Marie, meanwhile, looked genuinely impressed.
"You've trained before. That'll make this easier."
She folded her arms, satisfied.
"Alright... first lesson for today—"
Several hours later
Whoosh!
Roxxy Barrett stepped into the gym to check on the progress. Five hours had passed.
Jody and Sera were still in the ring, sparring under Marie's watchful eye. They were completely drenched.
She spotted her brother sitting nearby, absorbed in his phone.
"You're still here?" she said in Thai, sitting beside him. "Not bored yet?"
"Don't trust her," he said flatly, not looking up.
"But mom picked her."
"Good people don't get put on probation."
"You've been on probation."
"...Fair."
Roxxy grinned. "Weren't you in deeper trouble than she ever was? Back when you got caught with that stolen motorcycle?"
Syd didn't deny it. He just kept scrolling.
"You mad you're not their mentor?"
"Mom just had to make things complicated..."
"Mom is your mom, genius."
Roxxy gave him a playful kick.
"There's already four of us. Did she really need to bring in an outsider?"
"...She's not bad," Roxxy admitted. "But something feels off. I'll wait 'til class ends."
Syd glanced at the digital clock on the wall.
Almost 5 PM.
"Let's wait outside."
He tapped her leg and stood, heading for the door. Roxxy followed.
"Hup—hup—!"
Jody, still in her gloves and soaked with sweat, paused when she noticed Syd walking out.
Where's he going?
That distraction was all Sera needed to land a jab straight to her face.
"Ah!"
"Focus!" Sera snapped.
Marie clapped twice, calling their attention back.
Good thing they were wearing headgear—otherwise, Jody's jaw might've popped.
5 PM
It was brutal.
Sera could barely crawl. Her limbs throbbed, her skin flushed red like she had a fever. She collapsed face-first outside the gym, too drained to talk.
Jody wasn't faring much better. Her light blue shirt was so drenched it looked navy.
"Go... huff... take a break..." Sera wheezed, sprawled on the floor like someone dying in the desert.
Tap, tap, tap...
Marie's combat boots clicked as she strolled out behind them—cool as ever. Not a hair out of place.
She slapped Jody on the shoulder—maybe a little too hard, since it nearly knocked her into the wall.
"Good effort," she said with a smug smile.
She tossed a towel onto Sera's back and turned to leave.
But just then—
Out of nowhere, a figure lunged from the shadows, knife in hand!
"!?"
Jody and Sera saw it too—it was Syd!
He charged Marie with zero warning, throwing a clean, practiced strike. Her reflexes kicked in immediately, and she countered.
But Syd didn't stop.
He kept pressing her with advanced CQC moves, tossing the knife into the air and continuing the assault bare-handed before catching it mid-fall to strike again.
Marie blocked, dodged, locked arms. Their limbs slammed into each other—shoulders, elbows, knees—blades of movement colliding.
Sera's eyes widened. It reminded her of the Winter Soldier fight scene—fast, fluid, terrifying.
Marie managed to somersault backward, putting distance between them. Now safely apart, she growled:
"Syd!? What the hell is your problem!?"
He folded his knife and slid it into his pocket.
"Not bad." he muttered, eyes sharp.
Then he turned to the girls.
"Let's go."
He threw Marie one last look—cold and calculating—before walking away.