She adjusted.
He tried to overwhelm her with speed.
She refused to fight at his pace.
Finally Marcus shouted, “Fight me!”
Elena answered, “I am.”
He charged.
She moved.
He missed.
He stumbled.
She caught his arm and stopped him before he fell.
The arena reacted with a collective gasp.
Elena released him.
Marcus stared at her.
“Who trained you?”
She looked at the notebook outside the ring.
“My father.”
“What's his name?”
Elena didn't answer.
The event organizer suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Marcus noticed.
“What is going on?”
A senior instructor stepped onto the floor.
His name was Daniel Shaw.
He had trained elite fighters for more than twenty years.
Daniel looked at Elena, then at Marcus.
“You don't recognize her?”
Marcus shook his head.
Daniel smiled sadly.
“You should.”
The room became tense.
Daniel explained that Elena had once been one of the most promising defensive fighters in the country. But she had disappeared from competition after an injury and years of discrimination within the sport.
She had not returned to prove she was better than Marcus.
She had returned because she had been invited to evaluate the training program.
Marcus looked at her notebook.
“You've been evaluating us?”
Elena nodded.
“For three weeks.”
His face changed.
“And you wrote all that down?”
“Yes.”
“What did you find?”
Elena looked around the arena.