Balance (27 page)

Michael scans the entire dwelling
, searching for their host, looking for threats
.

Rena more reserved appears relaxed and unimpressed
.

Their companion guides them to the
lounge
area
.

Sitting
down cautiously on the edge of one
of
the leather couches
,
Rena
quietly commit
s
to memory everything
in the suite.

Michael slowly prowls
the perimeter
, scanning the entire office
, protecting his charge
.

The ass
istant
, stepping to the bar, pours a glass of champagne
,
placing
it
on the table in front of Rena.
Pouring a second for Michael,
s
he hands him the glass, again glancing over his body, more obvious this time.  She smiles at him,
then
relocat
es
to the
outside
edge of the sitting area, between them and the elevator.
 
“Mr. Takada will join you shortly.  Please make yourselves comfortable.”  She turns and departs
.

Michael, remaining quiet until he hears the
foyer
doo
rs close, turns to Rena, “Wow
,
were you expecting this?”

Looking around more freely,
“I don’t know what I was expecting. 
This morning
,
when you said we were to have a private dinner with Takada, I
envisioned us dressed in workout clothes,
eating in the balcony of the dining hall.”

“Then Michael and I
,
would
not have had the pleasure of
admiring
you in that amazing gown, would we
,
my dear
?”

S
tartled
,
they both turn
to find Takada stepping
down a spiral staircase tucked-in
next to the
elevator
-
lobby
structure. 
Michael’s
eyes narrow, a
ngered with himself for not walking around the room
more
thoroughly
before Rena enter
ed.  He’
d not seen the staircase,
intentionally
hidden from view,
when
entering
from the
lobby
.

“My dear.
”
W
alking confidently past Michael, Takada approaches Rena,
“
P
lease
,
if you don’t mind?
I always look forward
to
Ms. Smith
’s skill at fa
shion.  I am guessing
,
she’
s absolutely beside herself with
visions of elegance
planned
for you.”
Reaching out his hand, gentlemanly,
offering
to help her rise.

Rena
stands
,
Takada helping
her with the shawl. 
He
steps back next to Michael, so he can consider her
visage
fully.  She spins slowly so he can take in the entire ensemble.

“My dear … you are breathtaking.  I dare say
Ms. Smith
has outdone herself.  I can only guess how angered she must be that I did not let her get any pictures of you two together.”

Rena b
lushes, while Michael considers
Takada carefully.

Still gazing at Rena, “I must say Michael, when I
made the decision to
expand
your
amazing fighting
skills
, I
had
not fully
appreciate
d
the necessity of
those skills
i
n
the
protect
ion of
this
heavenly creature.”
 
Takada turns to regard
his protégé
with a
n
honest fatherly look of
satisfaction
.
 
“Please
,
sit, both of you.  You are safe
,
and in the company of someone
…
truly thrilled by all you have accomplished.  So relax,
I insist
.”

Michael sits down on the couch next to Re
na, their bodies lightly touching.

Takada notices the
ir proximity, and subtly smiles,
“I must admit, I am not one to enjoy the sweet tastes of champagne. 
Michael, c
ould I interest you in a single malt scotch?”

Recognizing,
with Takada
,
everything is a lesson or
a test
;
Micha
el
complies.
 
Pouring two doubles, Takada
hands one
tumbler to Michael.  He
steps
back to
study
them together
, smiling with pride. 
“Yes, I agree with
Ms. Smith
, you two are a magnificent couple.”

Michael
,
a little uncomfortable
,
takes a pull from
his
drink.  H
aving
never really drank any alcohol, most definitely not scotch,
he’
s unprepared for the bold taste exploding in his mouth and the searing fire rolling down his throat.  He starts to cough
.

Rena
,
setting her flute on the table in front of
her
,
helps him regain his composure
.

E
yes water
ing, he timidly looks
up.

Takada
grins,
“Excellent.”

C
onfused
,
Michael
glances at
Rena, than back to
their host
, sitting
down in the
couch
opposite them.

“I invited you here
,
to explain some things to the two of you.  Hopefully, after that
,
you will relax enough to enjoy a delightful dinner
,
prepared b
y me.”  Takada smiles
at the two,
sincerely
.

Michael and Rena, now both confused and
apprehensive,
slide forward to the edge of the couch to imply interest and make sure they did not miss any of his disclosure.

“If you would be so considerate, please wait until the end of my explanation before asking question
s
.”

They both nod in agreement.

Takada begins,
“It was already explained
we had recognized in the two of you
,
qualities that made you potentially excellent infiltration assets.  I personally identified traits in each of you that set
you
far apart from any candidates we had previously trained.

Obviously
,
Michael
’s
physical uniqueness made h
im an excellent candidate for
Dispatch
.  I took it upon myself to see how far those abilities could be pushed.  I was surprised to see how fast you picked
up the various fighting styles we
exposed you to.  You took everything you
absorbed
and blended it into something far more dangerous than the sum of the individual parts.  You have become the ‘perfect storm’ in hand-to-hand combat
.
A
weapon, I dare say, I myself would not
seek
confron
ta
t
ion
.

Rena, you
are
unique as well, maybe more
so
than even Michael.  Your appearance may have caught Alexander’s attention
but
your other gifts have gotten the admiration of the rest of us. 
Y
our physical
skills are quite extraordinary.
I sense some ballet and gymnastics in your history.  You can handle yourself quite w
e
ll in a confrontation.

Although,
the
skill that has surprised us the most has been
your
perception
and understanding
of
an
environment
.  You have excellent memory and attention
to
detail. 
Ms. Smith
, on several occasions
,
has mentioned your skill at developing and refining immersi
on
profiles
. 
She
regards you
as much
a peer as she considers you a
protégé
.

You are both excellent students, effectively
assimilating
all you
are exposed
.
 
This brings
me to the dilemma of the
exercise.”
 
Takada
pauses
to study Rena,
observing
, as he expected
,
considerable
uneasiness
and
Michael’s
veiled
effort to comfort her
.  He
regards
both politely with a smile
.

“You see, my dear.  You had prove
n
yourself
extraordinary
.
S
o much so
,
Ms. Smith
and I discussed reassigning you from the
role
of
Infiltrator
, considering a
Seer
position
or a specialist in immersion.
  We felt that without true field experience, you might not be able to handle Seer responsibilities
.

Th
e exercise you
participated, tests the Infiltrator’s field skills
,
as well as provides a means of teaching and
assess
ing the team
as a unit
.
 
I need to make this clear.  The
exercise
is standard
protocol
for all Infiltration Team
s
.

The exercise
helps
to
ascertain
the
I
nfiltrator
’
s problem
solving
skills
.  P
laced into an environment with hostiles that know you have an ulte
rior motive, w
e
observe
how
effectively
you formulate and execute a
real-time
strategy to accomplish your objective.  Rena,
you performed that aspect fabulously
.

The exercise
also
test
s
the
I
nfiltrator’s
problem solving
under duress, as well as their moral fiber.  Some candidates simply shut down, or worse.
  You, Rena, identified the terms of the altercation and executed, no pun intended, a resolution to the situation in a manner we’ve not experienced.

As a team, t
he
exercise expose
s
both of
you to the real dangers
present
with
in
an immersion
, especially where the objective is termination.  You must understand that when immersed, there are real consequences to your actions. 
The exercise
educates the
Dispatch,
demonstrating
the
sensitive
environment
the Infiltrator
resides
while
immersed.  How
the Dispatch
facilitates the
objective
,
or effect
,
can have dire ramifications on
the Infiltrator
.