The recruits began to trickle in and once again, Oscar noticed that Xavier and David looked like they had been there for awhile and shared it with Charlie. The group went straight into partner work and critiques. After breakfast, Commander Fernandez took center stage.
“Good work. How you remember all that you have been taught is up to you. We are moving on to the next style.”
The group began to murmur. They had to learn and develop a whole new style in two and a half days. Commander Fernandez called for their attention.
“The next style you will be learning is silat, also known as pencak silat. It is all about limb strikes and is especially useful in tight quarters.”
She continued talking about the history and evolution of silat, and then demonstrated motions and stances. The method in teaching was the exact same as it was with kalaripayattu, stretching and conditioning with the group mirroring her every move. The remainder of the day was spent learning the techniques, maneuvers, and stances.
The two continued their routine of waking up two hours earlier to go over everything that they were learning. Commander Fernandez continued to come out an hour before training in order to display moves and techniques from time to time that they would mirror. The silat training lasted two and a half days. The third technique they were taught was Muay Thai. Every discipline they were learning seemed to be building on the last one they learned. After six days of training, the recruits were given Sunday off to rest and heal.
Early Sunday morning, as David and Xavier were sleeping, two Crimson Force members arrived to wake David up. They were silent, but Xavier opened his eyes upon their arrival. He could tell they were trying to not wake him up, so he pretended to be asleep so he could see what was going on. David threw on a t-shirt and jeans and went with them willingly. Xavier surmised he wasn’t in trouble. He was curious and tempted to follow them, but he was far too tired, so he elected to fall back asleep.
Xavier’s body tried to wake him up at three in the morning, but he fought it. He was exhausted. He had never trained this hard in his life. After a couple of hours, David returned and dropped in his bed immediately. At the sound of David’s collapse, Xavier popped up. He had less than an hour until breakfast.
Xavier took his time getting to breakfast. He felt like every muscle in his body was ripped to shreds. He loved the training. He took his time slowly performing the stretches of the disciplines he had learned that week and felt more flexible and agile than ever before.
Today was supposed to be Xavier’s first history of the Crimson Force lesson, but he knew David would be awhile. Meals on the day off were an hour long. There weren’t too many recruits around, and Xavier assumed most of them were still sleeping. Training had certainly been rough this week, but he’d enjoyed every minute of it. It reminded him of sports when every work out, practice, and lesson resulted in a better version of himself. He found great pride in personal growth and development. He only hoped that by him pushing himself and helping David it would be enough to get him in the top spot. It was first place or nothing at all in Xavier’s mind.
After breakfast, David still hadn’t shown up, so Xavier decided to walk around and learn a little bit more about the mansion he was living in. Xavier wandered around for an hour looking at all the intricate decorations. The mansion was truly stunning. He climbed the stairs up to the third floor where he ran into Lieutenant Commander Ribeiro, who was reading to the children.
She looked up and saw Xavier and waved him over. Children were not his specialty, and he began to turn around to leave when two kids ran up to him asking questions.
“Are you a hero like all the others that live here?”
Xavier couldn’t help but smile. He got down on his knee to look the little blonde four-year-old girl in the eyes. He smiled at her. “Not yet, but I hope to be one soon.”
The boy grabbed Xavier’s arm. “Will you come play with us?”
The two children drug Xavier over to the Lieutenant Commander. “This is Ms. Cecilia. She’s the best!” the little boy said.
He sat down with the rest of the kids and let Lieutenant Commander Ribeiro finish her story while the kids climbed all over him.
“This is pretty great. Why do you do it? Are one of them yours?” Xavier asked.
“No, not at all,” she laughed.
Xavier turned beet red, feeling embarrassed. She finished laughing and began explaining why she did it.
“Actually, Captain Cromwell requires us to do this whenever we are not in the field. There are those on our team who hate it, but they had very troubled childhoods so I think this just reminds them of it. Commander Bertelli, Fernandez, and I really love it. We do it whenever we can.”
A couple of the boys were grabbing Xavier’s arms trying to pull him down, but he just lifted them like they were dumbbells.
“Why does the Captain require it?”
“Captain Cromwell is a truly great man. He loves doing it, too. I think he would adopt them all if he could,” she said with a giggle. “His philosophy is that if we work with these children, the ones that need it the most, we will always remember the future we are fighting for.”
As she finished, all the kids worked together to tackle Xavier. He fell down to appease them. They wrestled and played for a few more minutes when David darted up the stairs. He was extremely apologetic. Xavier started down the stairs as he shouted back up to the children.
“Hey guys, I have to go study to be a hero, but I had a lot of fun with you today.”
Commander Fernandez witnessed Xavier’s interactions from around the corner in the orphanage and watched him in admiration.
“He is an intriguing one, is he not?” she asked.
“Stanley seems to think so. He is different. He kind of reminds me of you,” Cecilia said nudging Violet with a smile.
“Indeed he does.”
David continued to apologize all the way down the stairs. Xavier wasn’t even a little mad at him anymore. Part of him wanted to ask what David was doing last night, but he figured he would tell him when he was ready to. The two recruits made their way to the research and development department. As they delved into the depths of the concourse they entered into an archive room, and in the corner of the room there was a library. The walls were covered in shelves with an endless amount of books. There were labels from all sorts of things varying from science to history, to martial arts and weaponry books. Xavier was drawn to the weaponry books.
As he looked on he saw books on the engineering of the original stun weapons all the way up to the weapons they use now. Further down the aisle he came across books on ancient weapons such as bows, swords, knives, and other unique weapons. A red leather bound book lured Xavier in, titled “The Bushido Blade: The Art of the Samurai.” Without hesitation, he picked it up and skimmed through it. In it he discovered some incredible swords being wielded by guys in peculiar armor. Further into the book he saw soldiers handling two swords. Xavier was captivated. David called out to him.
Xavier made his way back to David and saw a giant stack of books. Xavier stated the obvious.
“There are quite a few books here. I thought everything was automated.”
“It was…until the war. It took a financial toll on every one. Governments couldn’t afford to maintain the software. Eventually it was rendered useless. Now it no longer exists. Before long everything will be fully automated again. But until then, we are reading.”
He pulled the seat out, inviting Xavier to sit down. They spent the remainder of the day studying the mission and goals of the Crimson Force. Xavier had no idea there was so much to it, and he couldn’t believe they didn’t teach these things in the SEALs. He was haunted by the thought, wondering why America had been so purposefully left out of this organization that ruled the existing world. After dinner, the two recruits prepared their bodies and minds for the upcoming training. As he drifted off to sleep, one thought lingered: Why was America being isolated from the Crimson Force?
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br /> Chapter 15
2:00 a.m. Crimson Manor, Berlin, Germany
Training flew by. They had learned a total of fifteen different disciplines. The following Sundays David would study with Xavier and teach him the ins and outs of the Crimson Force. Xavier learned the three core goals during his research and with every passing week, he found himself in greater support of all that the Crimson Force was doing for the mission of world peace. He started believing that he could actually be a part of instituting true justice in a world that had been devastated by corruption, manipulation, and greed.
After the first six weeks of learning the different martial arts, the next six days consisted of choosing a few of them and combining them for the tournament. During the seventh week of training, Commander Fernandez partnered every one up to test their new methods on each other. Oscar and Xavier had been the obvious stand outs throughout training, and all the recruits were hoping they would be partnered together so that they could enjoy the show. Commander Fernandez sensed their hostility towards one another and decided to try to keep them apart as much as possible; it was too likely that they would severely hurt one another. The purpose of this training wasn’t to inflict injury, but to test the recruits and help them become better.
Xavier chose to combine Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Keysi, and Aikido. He preferred the defensive methods. David chose to combine Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Keysi and Jiu Jitsu. Each day the recruits would have the opportunity to test their methods on three different recruits. Commander Fernandez walked around, observed, and offered pointers and advice. The recruits that took her advice saw a great improvement, and the ones that ignored it seemed to struggle. The one exception was David, who was a wonderful student; he learned quickly and applied all critiques but just seemed to lack the physical ability to excel like so many of the others.
The end of the week had arrived, and Captain Stanley emerged to give his final remarks before the tournament.
“Job well done. We have been following your training for the last seven weeks, and we are tallying all of the hard work and discipline that we have seen. These will play a role in your final rankings. The greatest test for your skill and training will take shape next week during the tournament. Allow me to remind you that only two recruits will be kept for each of our five divisions. Do not forget that. The brackets will be based on your Survival Training Rankings. This is a double elimination tournament, but two losses do not guarantee you a position in the bottom. The first twenty recruits to find themselves eliminated twice will be judged based on technique, reaction, ability, and work ethic. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
David and Xavier made their back to their rooms upon dismissal. David was staring at the ground and was uncharacteristically silent. Xavier picked up on this and encouraged him.
“You’re gonna do great, David. You have worked really hard.”
“But I am not as athletic as you, X. What am I going to do if I have to face Matheus, Ben, Hye, Oscar, Charlie, or you? You all were born for this. I am always struggling to keep up.”
“If you end up against one of us, then you are going to fight harder, more fiercely, and smarter, and you’re not gonna give up. If you have to fight one of us, you are going to remember your training. Your body will tell you what to do next and you are going to impress the Commanders and Captains. Tomorrow we’ll go for a run, then we’ll eat breakfast and go through your technique. You will be fine.”
“What about checking out Berlin for the last time?”
“We will have plenty of time to do that when this becomes our new headquarters,” Xavier responded.
He paused, realizing it was a statement that David always made. His optimism was infectious. It was the first time Xavier said it and believed it. He was glad to have a friend like David. He fully believed that together they would overcome the odds and make a positive impact on the world through the opportunities afforded by the Crimson Force.
The next morning, the two ran together and worked through the kinks in David’s technique. David felt more confident, and Xavier felt confident. They were ready for the tournament.
Chapter 16
September 28th 4:00 a.m. (Day Sixty-Five) Crimson Manor, Berlin, Germany
All the recruits flooded to the Training Hall. Tension and nerves were higher than they had ever been. All the recruits knew they were in complete control of their destiny. The training hall was set up very different than what it normally was. The stage where Commander Fernandez taught had been transformed into a judge’s table, and a few feet in front of the table where the recruits stood and trained had been turned into a large circular ring that was thirty feet in diameter. Just a bit further out from the ring, forty chairs were lined up, and the recruits were instructed to sit in the order of their Survival Training Rankings.
Xavier furrowed his brow as he took his place next to Oscar. David sat between Charlie and Emily as he attempted to ease the tension with a joke. As Captain Stanley stepped out to address the recruits, they all stood in respect. Once everyone sat down he proceeded to lay out the rules. Each match would be three, five-minute rounds. Winning would be decided by tap out, knock out, technical knockout, stepping out of bounds, being forced out of bounds twice, or by a points decision. He named every round that would take place that day.
Xavier’s first opponent would be Franco from Argentina, who was recruited by Captain Walsh for the Honor Guard. He was also one of Oscar’s cronies—he followed him everywhere and often joined in on him and Charlie picking on people. He never questioned Oscar. He was a formidable opponent, and from what Xavier could tell, he leaned heavily on Jiu Jitsu.
David’s first opponent was Martin from Kenya, who was recruited by Captain Brown for Support and Human Resources. He was one of Xavier’s sparring partners in the previous week. He advised David that his discipline of choice was Krav Maga and Tae Kwon Do. Oscar’s first opponent was Seth from Egypt, also recruited for Support and Human Resources. Out of the corner of Xavier’s eye, he saw Oscar laugh to himself. Charlie’s first opponent was Liam from Australia, and once his name was called, Oscar whispered something to Charlie. They would be starting with the lowest ranked opponents. Lewis and Hye were going to fight first, and Xavier would be fighting last. Xavier knew that it was going to be a long day. He decided to use every match as a scouting opportunity.
Hye was a technical fighter who spent the majority of his time attacking one body part. For the entire first and second round, Hye attacked Lewis’ right leg. In the third round he locked Lewis in an ankle lock that nearly broke his ankle. It wasn’t the most interesting match, but Xavier was impressed with Hye’s clever tactics.
Most of the matches went deep into the third round, many of them won by decision. Emmanuel from Nigeria was an exception. He was a burly guy who he combined boxing and Muay Thai, and his entire offense was made up of intense punches and elbows. He knocked out his opponent in the second round with a flying elbow. He would be a fun challenge.
Emily was called up to face off against her opponent, Matheus from Brazil, who was vying to be on the Honor Guard under Captain Walsh. He was often with Oscar and Charlie; Oscar seemed to have a pretty solid entourage. As Emily was called up, David got very fidgety, rubbing his pant legs and constantly moving. The match went the full length and Emily was awarded the victory in a very close decision. As she stepped to her seat, she whispered something to David and they both smiled. She seemed to encourage him.
David and Martin circled each other, both of them taking a Krav Maga stance. David attacked and Martin dodged. Martin lunged and David sidestepped. The first two rounds looked exactly the same and seemed to drag on. Before the start of the third round, David remembered Xavier’s coaching: Your body will know what to do. David took a few deep breaths to calm himself and get focused. Peace fell over him like a warm blanket. He knew he was going to win this round.
As if he had been saving up all of his energy, Martin launched like a rocket and showered a flur
ry of attacks. David kept his composure, dodging all of them. With a cry of frustration, Martin flew at David, but David reversed it. After two swift motions, David was mounted on top of him, firing a relentless barrage of punches. Martin’s defense fell and called for a technical knockout. David won his first match. He jumped up and down, full of excitement and adrenaline.
Now it was Charlie’s turn to impress the Captains and Commanders. He walked with arrogant swagger, but based on what Xavier saw from him, he had every right to be confident. Liam was a solid competitor but Charlie did excel in combat. Charlie struck a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stance and Liam used Krav Maga. They both attacked. For two rounds the fight went back and forth, but Charlie had the edge in points. At the start of the third round, Charlie led with a well-hidden long knee. He followed up with a quick elbow to the back of Liam’s head. These moves weren’t illegal but were dirty tactics in a tournament style fight. Liam was reeling, and Charlie leaned in with an impressive combo. Liam tried to respond, but Charlie reversed it into an arm bar. Liam tapped out. Xavier was disgusted by Charlie’s lack of respect. They weren’t outlawed, but no honorable fighter would have used some of those moves in a tournament.
Dawn of a New Era (Crimson Blue Book 1) Page 11