**
The next morning Hugo swung by CJ’s room, she came out of it, grinning, “What’s up today?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.
Hugo shrugged, “Christian will be able to tell us.”
CJ pointed down the hallway enthusiastically, “To the security center!”
The duo passed several people in the hallways as they wound their way to the security center, receiving smiles, good mornings, and the occasional curious glance. So far as Hugo had seen, CJ was the youngest person in the facility and the questioning looks were directed at her. What could a teenager possibly be doing for the company? Shouldn’t she be in school? Hugo glanced at the girl with the ginger hair bouncing alongside him and wondered where she’d come from, what her life had been like before powers. He doubted it was pleasant, but maybe this company…Hugo shook his head, drawing her attention.
“Hmmm?”
Hugo glanced away, “Nothing.”
CJ opened her mouth, but then they were at the security center and instead she flung the door open and marched right in. Hugo peeked in behind her before stepping through the door. There were two men talking with Christian, both tall and imposing figures. They immediately stopped talking when CJ burst into the room. Hugo slipped his hands in his pockets.
Christian turned towards them, “Hey.” He motioned towards the tan-skinned man with short-cropped black hair, “This is Sol.” The man nodded once, a precise gesture. Then Christian motioned towards the blonde-haired man who looked like a bodybuilder, “And this is John. They’re part of the security team, so they occasionally escort recruiters like you guys.”
John stretched out a hand, which CJ shook vigorously. “A pleasure. You’re CJ, right? What does that stand for, if you don’t me asking?”
CJ cringed slightly, “You don’t want to know.”
John chuckled at that. Then his eyes drifted over to Hugo and he extended his hand again. Hugo hesitated, and then pulled his hand out of his pocket, and thankfully, there was no vision there when they made contact. The man’s grip was incredibly strong, nearly crushing. “And you’re Hugo right?”
Hugo put his hand back in his pocket, trying not to wince as he nodded his head. “Hi,” he said quietly.
John raised an eyebrow at him, but then shrugged, “We were just talking about you guys.”
Hugo looked up sharply.
Christian smiled, “I thought we’d get in some training today. Recruiting is easy, you just tell the person about Gideon Enterprises, and see if they want to join. But as you’ve seen, it doesn’t always go smoothly. So the real training is for when things don’t go smoothly.”
Hugo’s heart squeezed in his chest. Was Christian suggesting they’d have to fight people as part of recruiting? The talking was bad enough, but now…now Christian was talking about hurting someone. “I…”
“I’m not saying it happens very often. But you have to be prepared.”
Hugo swallowed, CJ grinned. “Like that giant guy in the parking lot? I can handle that!”
Christian smiled, “Then let’s head downstairs. John, I’ll see you later.”
John nodded once, smiling, and then the three of them, followed by Sol, took an elevator down to a floor that held some of the labs, a gym, and a basketball court. Without saying anything, Sol, and Christian laid out a bunch of blue mats on the basketball court, transforming it into a dojo.
CJ grinned at the proceedings, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This is so cool!” She burst out, the sound echoing in the large room.
“We’ll start out with no powers,” Christian announced, “Sol, you’re with CJ, Hugo, you’re with me.”
CJ bounced on the mats, moving in front of Sol, a wild grin on her face. She crouched down slightly, hazel eyes gleaming. Hugo turned away from her to find Christian in front of him.
“Ok, try and hit me,” Christian simply stood there, his expression serious.
Hugo backed up a step, “I…don’t…you…”
“Oh come on Hugo! It’ll be fun! It’s not like you can hurt Christian!” CJ prodded.
Hugo’s stomach flopped. Why was this so hard? He’d sparred before, but this was different somehow.
Christian sighed. “Fine then,” and then he was swinging a fist.
Hugo side-stepped the deliberately slow attack and then shuffled back a few steps, “Wait! I’m not ready!”
Christian grunted and took another swing, exaggerating the movement. Without thinking, Hugo slid to the side; another step took him behind Christian. It was a perfect opportunity to put pressure on the back of the knee to cause the security officer’s leg to fold, but Hugo hesitated and Christian almost caught him in the face with his elbow.
Christian took a few steps away from Hugo before turning around. “Aikido? How long have you been taking it?”
Hugo squinted, “Since I was nine.”
Christian grinned, “Well then, I don’t have to go quite so easy on you.”
CJ giggled as Hugo blanched at that.
But then Sol cut in with his flat, stony voice, “I think you should be paying attention to what’s in front of you.” And then CJ was dodging an attack.
Hugo wanted to protest, but suddenly had his hands full avoiding getting hit. The more Hugo dodged, the faster Christian’s attacks came. Hugo lost himself in the rhythm and soon was sparing in earnest.
Christian was good, very good. And while Hugo managed to get him to the mat a few times, he was having a harder and harder time dodging the man’s attacks, and soon found himself on the mat, coughing from an elbow to the stomach.
After Hugo stopped gasping, Christian offered him a hand, pulling him to his feet. “Not bad,” Christian said, but then his mouth quirked slightly, “You never actually hit me though.”
Hugo looked away, his face red and trying not to look like he was out of breath still.
“Ok, that’s enough,” Sol said flatly, and CJ backed up a couple steps, still grinning and not breathing heavily at all, in fact it looked like she hadn’t engaged in more than brisk walk. Hugo’s face got even redder. He was pathetic.
CJ turned towards them, her mouth wide in a grin, “What’s next?”
Christian’s mouth quirked in a smile, “Lunch.”