Amazonia - The Athenaeum

"We're going in there today and give him what he wants. That means all our training will be done
without clenching our fists. Not once. Do you all understand me?"
Beth looked miserable. "Not even if they're aggravating as hell?"
"I didn't say we couldn't bruise them up a little, just do it with an open hand. In fact, if anyone
walks out of there today without a fresh set of fingerprints on some part of their anatomy I'll see
it as a personal failure." She bit into a strawberry with an evil glint in her eye that made the
others laugh. A challenge to Bebo was like waving red meat in front of a hungry bear.
"How bruised?" asked Max.
"Enough so that it makes an impression. The second lesson will come when we take to the field,
but a good ass kicking will do for now."
"That should be easy enough," said Beth.
"Don't take them too lightly. They are after all good enough to make it to this level, and for the
most part, they seem to be people I could see myself fighting beside. It's just the couple of bad
apples we need to pick apart. But as in all things in life, the good must suffer for the bad."
The facility they would be using for the weeks to come was just outside the capital and the
contingent from Amazonia had to go through three check points before they were led to the
buildings the Cobra Unit utilized as their command post.
When they stepped into the gym, the whispering among the Americans had gotten to a level that
Bebo and her companions could hear the comments without straining too much. To add to the
hot pink tight t-shirt and white shorts Bebo had chosen, the girls had put her hair up in a ponytail
and clipped a feather to it. If the team had been smart they would have looked past the clothes
and concentrated more on the body they highlighted. Most of the men were, but their study had
nothing to do with wanting Bebo to teach them any fighting moves.
"General Paddio, how are you this morning?" Bebo held her hand out and smiled.
The older man ran his eyes from her head down to her feet before shaking her hand. Philip
Moines would pay for this if it was the last thing he did while serving in the military. "Let's get
this over with so we can go back to the business of defending our nation." He was so annoyed
that he skipped any type of salutation.
"How about we just go a few rounds without any type of set format and just feel each other out?
That way you can see what we have to offer and we can see where you and your men are in
different levels of hand to hand combat."
"In that outfit, highness, it's more than easy to see what you have to offer," Patrick added without
any type of humor. "How do you want to do this?"