“You wanted an answer.”
She settled her stance.
“I’m giving you one.”
Briggs looked toward the floor.
His jaw tightened.
Jake noticed.
“What?”
Briggs did not answer.
Jake moved closer.
“What is it about that stance?”
Emma’s eyes moved toward Briggs.
He met them.
Something passed between them.
Recognition.
Memory.
Perhaps caution.
Jake saw only enough to become more frustrated.
“Briggs.”
Briggs finally looked at him.
“Finish the round.”
Jake spread his arms.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“You know something.”
Briggs’s voice hardened.
“Finish the round, Staff Sergeant.”
The use of rank changed the tone.
Jake stared at him.
Then he looked around the gym.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody called out another time estimate.
Nobody offered imaginary bets.
Jake faced Emma again.
“Fine.”
His voice was lower now.
“Let’s finish.”
Emma nodded.
“Okay.”
Briggs signaled.
Jake advanced more carefully.
His first movement was slower.
He feinted left.
Emma did not bite.
He shifted right.
She adjusted.
He jabbed.
She parried.
This time, he did not overcommit.
For several seconds, they moved without contact.
Jake’s breathing settled.
His anger retreated slightly.
He began watching instead of performing.
Emma noticed the difference.
“So you can be patient.”
Jake did not answer.
He jabbed again.
Emma slipped.
Jake followed with a measured right.
She blocked.
He stepped away before she could counter.
Briggs gave a small nod.
Jake saw it.
“Was that approval?”
Briggs almost smiled.
“Don’t ruin it.”
A few soldiers chuckled.
Jake ignored them.
That was new.
He focused on Emma.
For the first time, he treated her like an opponent instead of a joke.
The change mattered.
His next combination was disciplined.
Emma defended cleanly.
He moved away.
She followed one step.
Jake feinted.
Emma adjusted.
He tried to draw her forward.
She refused.
Jake lowered his lead hand slightly.
Emma did not chase the opening.
His eyebrows tightened.
“You never take bait?”
“Not bad bait.”
A quiet laugh moved through the circle.
Jake almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he caught himself.
He moved again.
Emma’s feet remained measured.
Briggs watched them closely.
Every few seconds, his expression tightened with familiarity.
Jake was no longer missing those reactions.
However, he stopped asking.
He wanted answers from Emma now.
He tried another jab.
She parried.
Then he stepped away.
“Where did you train?”
Emma remained silent.
“Seriously.”
“You asked that already.”
“And you avoided it.”
“I answered what I wanted to answer.”
Jake nodded slowly.
“That’s fair.”
The admission surprised several soldiers.
It surprised Emma too.
Her eyes changed slightly.
Jake saw it.
“You didn’t expect that.”
“I didn’t.”
He gave a short breath.
“Good.”
Then he came forward again.
Emma blocked.
Jake moved right.
She matched him.
Their pace became controlled.
The earlier spectacle faded.
What remained looked like actual training.
Briggs’s shoulders relaxed.
For nearly a minute, nobody laughed.
Nobody mocked.
Nobody shouted predictions.
The soldiers watched.
Jake eventually stepped back.
Sweat formed along his forehead.
Emma’s breathing had deepened slightly.
She still looked composed.
Jake looked at Briggs.
“How long?”
Briggs checked the wall clock.
“Enough.”
Jake frowned.
“That means?”
“It means stop.”
Briggs stepped onto the mat.
“Round.”
Emma immediately lowered her hands.
Jake did the same.
The tension did not disappear.
It changed shape.
Jake looked toward the audience.
Several soldiers avoided his eyes.
The ones who had laughed loudest now looked especially uncomfortable.
Jake wiped his forehead with his shirt.
Nobody said twenty seconds anymore.
Nobody said thirty.
Emma walked toward the mat’s edge.
Jake watched her.
“That’s it?”
She stopped.
“What?”
“You’re leaving?”
“The round ended.”
Jake looked toward Briggs.
“You letting her walk out without explaining?”
Briggs frowned.
“She doesn’t owe you an explanation.”
Jake pointed toward Emma.
“You recognized something.”
Emma remained still.
Briggs looked at her.
Jake followed.
Again, there was that silent exchange.
He had seen enough.
“You did.”
Briggs sighed.
“Jake.”
“No.”
Jake stepped closer.
“I spent the last ten minutes looking stupid because everyone knew something except me.”
A corporal near the benches muttered.
“Nobody knew.”
Jake turned.
“What?”
The corporal raised both hands.
“I didn’t know anything.”
Another soldier nodded.
“Me neither.”
A specialist added.
“I thought Carter was about to get smoked.”
Emma looked toward him.
He immediately looked embarrassed.
Jake stared around the circle.
“So nobody knew?”
Several men shook their heads.
Jake looked at Briggs.
“You knew.”
Briggs remained quiet.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
Briggs glanced at Emma.
She gave no permission.
She gave no refusal either.
Briggs chose his words carefully.
“I knew I had seen something familiar.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed.
“In her stance.”
Briggs nodded.
“In several things.”
Emma lowered her gaze for one moment.
Jake looked at her.
“What things?”
Briggs did not answer immediately.
The gym seemed to contract around them.
The ventilation hum sounded louder.
Someone dropped a towel onto a bench.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Briggs looked toward Emma.
“Your lead foot.”
Emma’s expression remained unreadable.
“Your guard.”
Briggs continued.
“The way you watch the chest instead of chasing the hands.”
Jake turned toward Emma.
Briggs’s voice became quieter.
“The way you leave exactly enough distance.”
Emma said nothing.
Jake looked back at Briggs.
“You’ve seen it before.”
Briggs nodded once.
“Years ago.”
A murmur moved around the room.