He tried to close distance.
She angled away.
Then Jake stopped chasing.
For the first time, he waited.
Emma noticed immediately.
His stance looked better.
His balance looked better.
His eyes remained on her rather than the spectators.
The change made him more dangerous.
It also made him calmer.
Emma almost smiled.
Almost.
Jake saw the hint.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You smiled.”
“Did I?”
“You did.”
Emma lifted her hands.
“Then earn another one.”
The whistle blew before Jake could answer.
Briggs stepped between them.
“Break.”
Emma lowered her arms.
Jake stayed ready for another second.
Then he slowly dropped his gloves.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody clapped.
The absence of both felt appropriate.
Jake breathed hard enough for sweat to shine across his forehead.
Emma’s breathing remained measured.
He stared at her.
“This isn’t over.”
Briggs looked at him.
“No one said it was.”
Jake turned toward the instructor.
Something in Briggs’s tone made several soldiers look up.
Emma did too.
Briggs held the whistle against his chest.
“Water. Two minutes.”
The room finally moved.
Soldiers stepped away from the boundary.
Conversation returned in low fragments.
Yet nobody sounded relaxed.
Daniels walked toward a bench.
Jake removed one glove and reached for a bottle.
Emma remained on the mat.
Briggs stayed where he was.
For one brief second, their eyes met.
Briggs gave nothing away.
Emma looked toward Jake.
He was watching them.
Confrontation
Jake took a long drink from his bottle.
His eyes never left Emma and Briggs.
Emma stepped off the mat and picked up her own water.
Daniels stood several feet away.
He looked as though he wanted to say something.
Then he noticed Jake watching.
His mouth closed.
Emma saw the change.
She walked toward him.
“You okay?”
Daniels glanced at Jake.
“Fine, Sergeant.”
Emma lowered her voice.
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
Daniels looked down.
“I’m fine.”
The answer came automatically.
Emma studied him for a moment.
Then she nodded.
“All right.”
She did not push.
Jake approached from behind her.
“Making friends now?”
Emma turned.
“I already knew Daniels.”
Jake looked at the specialist.
Daniels straightened.
Jake noticed the reaction.
For the first time, he seemed to see it rather than expect it.
His expression changed slightly.
“You can relax, Daniels.”
Daniels hesitated.
“Yes, Staff Sergeant.”
He still did not relax.
Jake watched him walk away.
Something unsettled passed across his face.
Emma caught it.
Maybe he had finally noticed what she had seen earlier.
Daniels did not merely respect him.
Daniels feared reacting incorrectly around him.
Jake looked at Emma.
“You trying to make a point?”
“You asked me onto the mat.”
“That isn’t what I mean.”
Emma capped her water bottle.
“Then say what you mean.”
He glanced toward Briggs.
The instructor was speaking quietly with another soldier near the equipment rack.
Jake lowered his voice.
“You think everybody here is scared of me?”
Emma considered the question.
“I think they watch you before deciding how they’re allowed to react.”
His jaw moved.
“That’s called discipline.”
“No.”
The word landed harder than Emma intended.
Jake stared.
She continued.
“Discipline doesn’t require everyone to study your mood.”
Jake stepped closer.
“You don’t know how I run my people.”
“I watched you correct Daniels for almost laughing.”
“He was being disrespectful.”
“He covered his mouth.”
“Exactly.”
Emma shook her head once.
“He erased his face when you spoke to him.”
Jake said nothing.
That silence lasted longer than any before it.
Across the gym, Briggs looked over.
He did not intervene.
Jake noticed.
“You and Briggs have some arrangement?”
Emma frowned.
“What?”
“He hasn’t said anything.”
“He is supervising.”
“He hasn’t corrected you once.”
“Maybe I haven’t broken a rule.”
Jake gave a humorless laugh.
“You walk onto my floor, challenge me, and now you lecture me about leadership.”
Emma looked around.
“It isn’t your floor.”
The sentence was quiet.
Jake looked toward the soldiers nearby.
Several had heard.
None reacted.
His old instinct returned.