Cloak and Dagger

chapter eleven

By the time the sun dropped below the treetops the following evening, I'd managed to build up a small amount of courage. Not enough to talk to Catherine, but certainly enough to make my way down to the training barn to find Beckett.

It wasn't extremely late, just past eight 'o'clock, meaning that the grounds were still quite lively with people squeezing in their evening training. People milled around the training barn specifically – almost too many people, and when I squeezed my way through the small crowd, it didn't take me long to realize why.

With my eyes wide, I watched as Finn and Beckett stood in the center of the room, their steps calculated as they sized each other up and prepared to fight. Before I knew it, Finn stepped forward and aimed a punch at Beckett's stomach, quickly following it up with another towards his jaw. Beckett's reflexes were sharp however, and he made the work it took to dodge the hits seem effortless. Quick to retaliate, Beckett shifted sideways before aiming a hit at Finn's upper body and a kick towards his ankles.

The back and forth went on for what seemed like forever – both fighters skilled in their movements as I stood at the forefront of the crowd, entranced with the fluidity of the moves and the underlying anger that each attack held. Realistically, by the time Beckett had finally managed to manipulate Finn's stance to his advantage, landing a particularly hard kick to his upper thigh and grabbing a hold of his arm to twist it behind him, only a few minutes had passed. Holding my breath as I watched Beckett tighten the hold he had on Finn, I didn't know whether I was routing for a win or hoping for Finn to escape.

Although it appeared to an untrained eye that Finn had no option other than to tap out and admit defeat, I hadn't noticed the slight movement in his feet as he inched his right backwards slowly before twisting his ankle around Beckett's. Finn sunk to the ground and slipped from Beckett's hold as he stepped backwards to regain his balance, and as Finn rose to two feet, he appeared confident with his fists clenched and ready to go, the last few moments pushed from his mind.

"Is that all you've got?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow tauntingly as a smug grin appeared on his lips.

A fire ignited in Beckett's eyes as they narrowed and he clenched his jaw. Slanting his body away from Finn, he didn't attack right away, instead waiting with his arms lifted in a defensive position as he tracked the small movements of the man that stood across from him. When a small area on Finn's side appeared open, Beckett's reaction was immediate. He ducked into a squat as he threw the hit, hoping to avoid a counter shot, however, I doubt he expected Finn's elbow to lift out of position.

Landing a cheap shot on Beckett's jaw, Finn took advantage of having the upper hand by lifting his knee and slamming it hard into Beckett's chest before he could stop him. The only sound that could be heard as Beckett stood tall and took yet another hit from Finn was a small gasp, and only when the eyes of others momentarily turned my way, did I realize that it'd come from me.

As I watched Finn step back and Beckett regain a secure position, I pulled the corner of my bottom lip in between my teeth, feeling a rush of nerves flow through me as my eyes flitted between the two of them. I was waiting to see what the next move would be – waiting to see how this fight would end.

My eyes were drawn to Beckett as I noticed the slight shift in his position. I wasn't skilled enough to take a guess at what his attack would be – an uppercut punch, a roundhouse kick, or a combination of the two, but what I wasn't expecting was for him to take two steps back, lift his hands up in a surrender position, and bow his head in defeat.

The silence that had settled over the crowd was broken in an instant as everyone around me swarmed to the center of the training barn. What was just moments ago seen as a space to beware of was now a free for all. I was jostled from side to side as people pushed past where I stood, unmoving while I tried to follow the craziness. Both Finn and Beckett were stuck in the center of it all, but as they were approached by other agents, I noticed, and not for the first time, how different the two of them were.