Breaking the Habit - The Devereaux Case Files, Book 7

Chapter 12

The training of the new recruits was going well. Muhammad and Elodie quickly showed themselves as the best of the lot, with the most potential, while Atticus still displayed a distinct lack of respect for authority. Sammy had petitioned to have him removed from the training regime altogether, but their boss thought it was best that he continue. He knew about the agency now and they could find somewhere to utilize him. Even if he was only placed in an office, his skills wouldn't go entirely to waste and he would have no choice but to get along with his authority figures. Gideon wasn't happy either, but since there was nothing they could do, he decided to just accept it and save the aggravation of getting mad.

"No, do it again." Gideon shouted as Elodie and Muhammad practiced their close combat fighting. Elodie had attempted to grapple with Muhammad and throw him over her back, in a classic wrestling move, but it hadn't gone quite to plan. She had got halfway, with Muhammad leaning into the move to make it easier for her first attempt, when she had lost balance and lost her footing. Elodie had slid onto her butt on the floor, while Muhammad struggled to regain his balance. He ended up standing on his tip toes, flapping his arms, trying to balance himself, and finally falling on top of Elodie anyway. The pair managed to laugh about it as they helped each other up, but Gideon didn't find it very funny.

"If you had completed the strength training I had set you, Elodie, then you wouldn't be on your butt right now. Get up and try again." He ordered, knowing fine well from the usual gossip that a few of the recruits had abandoned their strength training, to be done as homework. Away from the trainers watchful eyes, they had instead gone out for meals and socializing at bars and clubs. He was all for them bonding and getting some down time, but he wouldn't accept sloppy work because they had failed to do as they had been instructed. It was their own fault if they got hurt because of it.

"Sorry." Elodie giggled to herself, getting to her feet and taking up her stance again. She planted her feet, gave her knees a little bounce to test that she was fully rooted to the spot and nodded to Muhammad to try again. He advanced towards her as planned, faking a punch so that she could catch his arm and use the momentum of his swing to pull him into the move. Elodie bent into the move properly this time, wedging her shoulder into his chest, turning her body away from him and pulled with all her might to get Muhammad's immense weight over her body. She gave the move two or three attempts but it was obvious that she was never going to get it right until she had put more effort into her strength training. Gideon was about to call the whole thing to a halt when Muhammad grunted.

"Come on El, this is starting to hurt." He complained. He pulled his whole body back to step away from her and out of the move, trying to make her loosen her grip on his arm. But she was determined.

"One more minute." She asked. But the combined force of Elodie trying too hard, and Muhammad getting fed up of the constant tugging ended in disaster.

"Let go!" He shouted at her, giving his arm one last pull, which set them both off balance. Elodie fell, trying so hard to regain her balance that she ended up kicking Muhammad as she went. Muhammad flew backwards, over Elodie's training bag, which she had carelessly left lying around. Gideon rushed over to inspect the damage but it was too late. He had twisted his ankle with the pull, been kicked in the shin by Elodie and his stumble over her bag left him tripping and twisting to try to grab onto the wall to stop his fall. By the time he hit the floor, there was a resounding smack as his back hit the floor, and his head bounced off the wall.

"Everyone stop! Sammy, call an ambulance." Gideon shouted immediately, having to ask the whole lot of the trainees to shut up and stop moving, so that he could lean over Muhammad and check his vitals. A finger to the pulse on his neck said that he was still alive, but a small groan that escaped him said that he was in pain. "Don't move." Gideon ordered, not even to lie down properly, since no-one knew how his neck might have been injured from the fall. Elodie hobbled over, rubbing her knee, that had been scraped along the hard wood flooring during her own fall.