Re: Edwards Manor, Hinsdale Illinois

[Pockets]

Jessica's eyes widen in fear.

Jessica: You... will?

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: Yes Jessica..... you have to be able to take a hit..... the fear of it is the worst part....

[Pockets]

Jessica tries to steel herself.

Jessica: Al... alright....

She squeezes her eyes tight shut.

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: Open your eyes..... ehale hard on the moment of impact.... relax as much as you can.

Alex gets into a fighting stance and kicks Jessica in the thigh..... hard.

[Pockets]

Jessica tries, with some nervous difficulty, to do as instructed. When he kicks her she lets out a cry of pain and drops to one knee.

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex gets to one knee and hugs Jessica.

Alex: Sssssh.... shhhh it's OK..... you did it Jess.... you took your first shot.

[Pockets]

Jessica gives a proud little smile, as she hugs Alex back.

Jessica: ...ow

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: ..... that was a big step for you..... and it took a lot of courage..... I think that's all I need to see from your initial assess ment.... tomorrow I can start teaching you how to do the hitting.... ok?

[Pockets]

Jessica nods and gets up... then steels herself again, squinting.

Jessica: Ok, ready for the next one.

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex laughs.

Alex: Actually I was saying you're done with your first session.... There's plenty of time to practice your new "getting hit" skill.

[Cryonix]

Meanwhile...over in London....

Jayden: No sir...I think you have the situation figured wrong. If we were to add more pressure to the issue of population control to the opposite party, there would be a huge political backlash...the likes of which I don't believe you'd be able to recover from..............................yes......................................of course, I understand the risk, but in your current condition, it's worth taking......excellent....excellent, I'll let the Prime Minister know.........You're too kind, sir. I'd like to think I'd be in that position sometime in the future........thank you again....I'll make sure to call within a week to help walk you through the speech......Yǒu yīgè hěn hǎo de zǎochen.

Jayden hangs up the phone and leans back into his office chair. The Assistant to the British Prime Minister is exhausted, working his twenty first day of eighteen hours or more. He rubs the back of his neck, going over his to do list....which is three weeks ahead of schedule....

Jaden: I...got that done...and this....hmmm...there's got to be something else I can....Ugh...I can't even think straight....

[Pockets]

Jessica relaxes.

Jessica: Oh, that's it?

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: Like I said .... I think you just took a big step.... I want to let that gigantic brain of yours process it for a while..... fighting is just as much mental as it is physical....

[Pockets]

Jessica: How should I mentally prepare for it then?

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: Nothing consciously...... you're hard wired to do all the hard work..... everything I teach you will be replayed a thousand different times applied to a thousand different variables......

[Pockets]

Jessica: Like what would happen if you hit me in a different part of my body... how I would likely react to it... how I should react to it?

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: Exactly.... now you KNOW what it's like to be hit..... you have some data to play with.

[Pockets]

Jessica: Now, I'll be ready for tomorrow.

[Cryonix]

Jayden comes back from getting coffee and sits back down at his desk, looking over his papers again. He's about to make another phone call when....

Voice: You work entirely too hard, you know that?

Jayden looks up and smile...

Jayden: Uncle Ewan! What are you doing here?

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: Good girl.... now.... time for your first salt bath....

[Pockets]

Jessica: I have heard so much about those.

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: They're something else alright.....ok I'll mix you up a batch and.... hmmmn.... I'll have to get Lexi to supervise you.

Ewan: Just making sure you're doing OK son....

[Pockets]

Jessica: To supervise me?

[Cruel Britannia]

Alex: If you're not accustomed to the salts.... or even if you are really.... they can be a little intense..... you may fall asleep....we'll need to keep an eye on you.....

[Pockets]

Jessica: Oh, wow. Yes, that might be a good idea.

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