Chapter 5
After another day of avoiding each other except for meals, Jeremy woke at six the next morning. After dressing, he pounded on Avon's door. "Time to get up princess. The morning is mine."
Avon grumbled and pulled her pillow over her head to muffle the sound of Jeremy yelling. "I said get up!" Jeremy yelled louder. Hearing no movement inside the room, he pushed the door open and stormed to the bed. "Get up Cadet!" Jeremy barked out as an order. When Avon did not respond, he grabbed her by the arm and forcibly pulled her onto the floor.
"What the frack?" Avon screamed, staring up at Jeremy.
"I am your trainer for the summer; in essence your commanding officer," Jeremy growled. "Now get up! You have five minutes to meet me out back. For every minute you keep me waiting, I'll add a mile to the run. Five minutes," he repeated and stormed away.
"Asshole," Avon seethed under her breath as Jeremy left the room. After sitting on the floor for nearly a minute, she realized she needed to dress and meet the deadline. She wasn't sure what Jeremy had planned for the morning, but an extra mile of running was not on her agenda. She jumped into her PT uniform, pulled back her hair into a ponytail and ran for the back of the house.
"You made it," Jeremy laughed with a big smile. "Now I know how to motivate you. Tomorrow you will be dressed and down here by six. Every minute late means more miles, more sit-ups, more pushups, and more weight. So every additional stab of pain will be your own doing. Do you understand Cadet?"
"Yes," Avon replied softly.
"Yes what Cadet?" Jeremy asked with a menacing smile.
"Yes Sir!" Avon barked as she realized her three months of hell had commenced.
"I'll give you five minutes to stretch and then we start running. I need to know your current limitations. Then we'll do pushups and sit-ups. I'll grab some water for the run."
Five minutes later, Jeremy started jogging towards the main road. "Keep up Cadet or we go back and put on a full rucksack. I'm sure you don't want the added weight. Hell, a full pack probably weighs more than you do."
"How far are we going?" Avon asked, already breathing hard.
"As far as it takes," Jeremy replied.
"As far as it takes for what?" Avon asked stopping dead in her tracks.
"For you to fall to the ground unable to take another step," Jeremy shrugged.
"Then what?"
"Then you'll get your ass up and we'll run back. Now, let's go. I'll even let you set the pace. But you will run and you will not stop again until you can't take another step."
Avon started putting one foot in front of the other again. "You can't do this you know. I don't report to you. I can stop anytime I want."
"Wrong again Cadet," Jeremy smiled. "I talked to your father and the commandant of the Academy this morning. I am officially your commanding officer until the end of August."
Avon felt her world come to an end and fought to keep her knees from buckling. She started wondering if a trip to Hell would be more enjoyable. She fought to keep from crying; she failed. Silently, tears streamed down her face with each step she took. Failure to follow Jeremy's commands would result in her expulsion from the Academy for insubordination. Avon had no doubts he would follow through on any threat he made. He would win the battle even at the detriment of her career. He would ensure he got his assignment to a warship. As her anger mounted, she found it harder and harder to breathe. They were barely a mile from the front door of the mansion and Avon was about to collapse.
"Already?" Jeremy asked as he heard her breathing become more laborious. "I know you can run at least another mile or more."
Avon stopped. Bending over and placing her hands on her knees, she trying to control her breathing. She felt a panic attack mounting.
"You did this on purpose," she screamed. "You're just doing this to get back at me."
"Maybe at first but honestly, unless you are being commanded you don't respond. You don't respect me or what I am supposed to accomplish this summer. You fight me every step of the way; treating me as your subordinate. I am a Captain in ICE. You are the Cadet. Now it is as it should be. You are no longer in a position to dispute my demands. Your ass is mine."
Jeremy watched on as Avon's tears became more torrential. "You can cry all you want, but you better do it with your feet moving. So start running."
Avon stood up straight and glared at Jeremy full of hatred and disdain. With her teeth and jaw clenched, she inhaled deep and exhaled. She hoped her hatred would give her the motivation she needed to make it another mile.
Unfortunately, her anger betrayed her and used what little energy she had. Just a mile and a half from the mansion, her legs gave out. As she slumped to the ground, Jeremy could hear her mumble, 'I hate you'.
Jeremy looked down. "I don't care if you hate me, but you're wasting energy doing so. As if you had any to begin with. Your body can't build muscle and stamina without eating. Even in the slums, I ate more than you did all day yesterday. You won't survive the training. Hell you wouldn't survive a day in the rough. If we were being attacked and I had to count on you to cover my six, I'd have to shoot you myself and take my chances alone. You may know about military tactics and strategies, but you are not a fighter. As a soldier, you are nothing but a liability."
"Who says I want to go into battle," Avon cried. "Just hide me away in some office and let me do my job."
"Your job right now is to pass your evals. It's your only job. You are a disgrace to the uniform. If it were up to me, I'd process your resignation myself, right here, right now. Except your father would have my ass and yours. Now stand up and let's head back."
The two walked back to the mansion in silence. Entering, Avon saw several men moving exercise equipment into one of the spare rooms on the main floor. "What the frack is that?"
"We will work out every day. And I'm sure you don't want to run in the rain, so I've ordered two treadmills, weights, and a few other things. After breakfast, we'll start on weight training. We need to build your overall strength."
Jeremy ushered Avon into the kitchen for breakfast. After ordering up his usual three egg omelet, he ordered Avon's breakfast. It was the same as his but half the amount.
"I can't eat all that," Avon disputed, looking at her plate.
"Yes you will and before you ask, yes, it's an order."
Iramy glared at Jeremy both surprised and appalled. Just as she opened her mouth to utter her protest, Jeremy stared at her. His eyes told her to back down.
"You will eat it all and you will finish by the time I do. We will not sit here all day waiting for you to finish breakfast. For every extra minute, it takes to finish, it will be another pound of weights."
Avon's eyes opened wide. "You're going to punish me, like a child?"
"Not like a child but you will quickly come to realize there are consequences for your actions. You will follow my commands to the letter," Jeremy explained.
Not waiting for Avon to reply, Jeremy started eating. He glanced over and saw Avon take her first bite. He nearly laughed seeing her grimace. Within minutes, he finished his breakfast. Avon had barely eaten half. Silently he marked the time and waited.
It took Avon another fourteen minutes to force the remainder of the food down. She looked as if she was going to vomit.
"Fourteen pounds of weights today and fourteen pounds in your rucksack tomorrow for the run," he smirked.
"You didn't say anything about a rucksack," Avon cried out.
"Oops. It must have slipped my mind. Weight training starts in thirty minutes. Be on time or I'll double the weight."
Jeremy knew Avon wanted to protest, but she knew she couldn't; not without the possibility of repercussions. Silently, she stood and walked away. Once Avon had left the kitchen, Iramy spoke up. "Captain Hanson, I will not undermine your authority but I will go on record that I don't approve of your methods. They are cruel
and demeaning."
"Duly noted," Jeremy replied succinctly as he walked outside for some fresh air. He didn't want to say it out loud, but he agreed with Iramy. His tactics were cruel and demeaning, but he knew of no other way to deal with Avon. He was not going to coddle her. It was evident, even at the Academy, Avon had never been held to the minimum standards. Had she been someone else's daughter she would not have lasted the first month let alone the first year. Jeremy was not proud of his actions but now that he had drawn the proverbial line in the sand, he could not back down or retreat.
Jeremy entered to exercise room ten minutes early to set up and found Avon waiting for him. She was early. While stoic on the outside, inside Jeremy, was smiling. He was one step closer to his goal. "You still have ten minutes," he said softly.
"I'd rather get this over with."
"We're going to work on your upper body. Your arms are as skinny as my thumb. We'll start with two sets of ten; fourteen pounds. It should be easy enough."
Jeremy demonstrated each exercise. He nearly smiled again as Avon completed each set flawlessly. When she was finished for the day, Jeremy grinned. "Good job Cadet," he told her sincerely. "Go clean up, I'll meet you later for lunch." After Avon had left, Jeremy added more weight and worked out for an additional hour.
Lunch was quiet, not a word spoken by anyone. Jeremy headed outside and to the vegetable garden after helping Iramy clean up the kitchen. He waited for Avon to join him. He had agreed to help her in the garden in the afternoon and learn about farming. Avon never showed.
Jeremy strolled through the rows of vegetables, picking a few for dinner and a few for breakfast the next morning. Then he walked back to the house. He handed his harvest to Iramy and tried to smile. "Is she okay?" he asked genuinely.
"It was a tough morning. Give her some time. She's not use to being spoken to the way you did and especially not in her own home."
"I'll keep my distance," Jeremy responded. "I'm going to set up everything for tomorrow, wipe down the equipment and do some reading. Would it be okay to read one of the books in the library?"
"Of course," Iramy smiled. While she was a bit upset with Jeremy's actions that morning, she knew deep down he was a good person. "Please make yourself at home."