Identity Zero novel · Chapter 4 of 32

Chapter 4: The Ring

Jesse didn't sleep.

He lay on his bunk with the photo flat against his chest under his shirt and listened to the rain.

THE BEST I EVER HAD.

At 0800 the whole class went to the gym for combatives.

Strake stood in the middle of the ring in a black T-shirt and wraps.

Without the jacket and plate carrier he looked even bigger.

His forearms were scarred. There was a white line through one eyebrow Jesse hadn't noticed in the rain.

"Pairs," Strake said. "Nobody taps unless they mean it. Nobody hits a man who's tapped."

He didn't look at Jesse once.

That was how Jesse knew he'd checked the drawer.

Ollie got paired with Twenty-Two, who outweighed him by fifty pounds.

"Tell my mom I said she was right about the Navy," Ollie said.

Twenty-Two put him on the mat in four seconds.

When it was Jesse's turn, Strake pointed him at a tall cadet from Boise.

Jesse didn't move.

"Seventeen. Go."

"No," Jesse said. "You."

Forty conversations stopped at once.

Somebody's shoe squeaked on the mat.

Strake turned his head slowly and finally looked at him.

"Cadets don't spar instructors."

"Why not? Scared one of us might be the best you ever had?"

Strake's face didn't change.

But his hands, at his sides, closed.

Behind Jesse, Ollie whispered, "Oh, he's dead. He's so dead."

"Get in," Strake said.

Jesse ducked under the rope.

Somebody tossed him wraps. He didn't bother.

"Here's the deal," he said, loud enough for the bleachers. "I put you down, you answer one question. In front of them."

"You won't put me down."

"Then it's free."

Strake stepped into the middle.

"Fine."

The class crowded the ropes.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Identity Zero from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.