The Place Beyond by Ryan Lohner

Author:Ryan Lohner [Lohner, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78279-913-9
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Published: 2018-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

“Morning, one and all!” said CJ as the three kids entered the gym. They had decided to stay out of the planning phase currently going on, as they all agreed they probably wouldn’t be welcome and were all sure they wouldn’t have much to contribute anyway. These people had been working together for years; they knew each other, and they knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and who would be best for what job. The best any of the three friends could do would be to look at a map and point out a good spot to meet and pass the phones around, and there were probably plenty of people in the room who could have that covered anyway.

Though that wouldn’t include Mike and CJ, apparently. “Not joining in the big think tank?” said Jim.

Mike glared and said, “Is that some sort of wisecrack?” But then he brightened. “Yeah, be honest, when you think of us, do you see someone good at that sort of thing?”

CJ smiled alongside him. “We’re part of the muscle. They know it, we know it, and we’re fine with that. We still serve an important role, just not one that’s very much in demand at the moment.”

Mike continued the thought with, “But our time will come again, trust us! It always does.”

Jane quickly interjected, “Yes, I’m very happy for you two.” After theatrically looking around she continued, “But I notice Lilah isn’t here, which I guess means she is one of the smart people around here. Which I could have guessed, really. So that means I’m out an instructor. So, what do I do?”

Jim put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, almost as impressively as Mike and CJ. Suddenly she was reminded of how they first met. “How about we all stick together today? After all, it’s probably going to be the last time, one way or another.”

Now Matt seemed excited too. “Yeah, let’s all show each other what we’ve got.”

Jane wasn’t quite so sure. “Well, that will be fine for you guys, sure, but I’m pretty sure the stuff Lilah’s been teaching me won’t go very well with what you’ve been doing.”

Mike cut in with, “And do you think the people you’ll be going up against will all be using your own moves? It’ll be good for you to see how you stack up against someone with a more physical style.”

The point was taken.

“Well, it beats sitting around all day. All right, let’s get started.” Matt and Jim nodded, but then simply looked at each other. Jane was confused for a couple seconds, and then realized what was going on. “Oh for God’s sake, I trust you both not to beat me up. So, Matt, you go first. Let’s get this going.”

Matt said, “All right,” and then swung a wide, clumsy punch at her, quite a bit more slowly than she suspected he was really capable of. After waiting for it to arrive, she quickly ducked under it and weaved to his side.

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