Free Mina Cortez: From Bouquets to Bullets by Jeffrey Cook

little less.
    If that was what they thought, they were to
be disappointed. She ended up making a delivery to the clinic she
was told about and was directed downstairs. There, Agent Park was
waiting for her. The basement itself had a few high-tech workout
machines, as well as an old school treadmill with some sort of
suspension device set up over it. Most of the weights were set up
over some type of raised plates, partly set into the floors.
    “This is where your transformation into a
superhuman begins,” Agent Park offered as soon as she laid eyes on
the set up, with a wave of his hand. “We're going to take it easy
on you today and tomorrow while you adapt to your chip. You
shouldn't be jarring it too much ‘til everything heals entirely.
Still, we can get you used to the routine. I'll be here to
supervise, at least for now.”
    He moved her to one of the raised plates,
tapping a button. The ground under her feet started to vibrate,
causing her to almost lose her balance a couple times before she
found her equilibrium. Then he guided her through stretches while
still on the plate. “Everything here is designed to create the most
efficient workout possible. You have two types of muscles:
slow-twitch and fast-twitch. The first get used for endurance; the
second get used for sprinting and bursts of activity. We're
building up both at the same time, but especially the
fast-twitch.”
    Mina listened while going through the
warm-ups, trying to keep her balance. “So working on these muscles
will get my body closer to catching up with my chip's processing
speed for physical information?”
    “Oh, good. You remember more from that
briefing than just 'Director Richter isn't easily interrupted.'
That's the goal, yes. You hear stories about how when professional
athletes are really on their games, everything slows down for them.
When you get adrenaline going, your chip lets you see the world
like that full-time. Because we were all on Inquisitor chips, that
test-fight would have seemed normal to you, but I suspect it didn't
last near as long as you think it did. We'll outdo that.”
    Mina grinned at mention of the test fight.
“Yes, but I hit ... I think that was you, and disarmed agent Hall,”
she answered.
    “Well, yes,” he agreed, his own cheerful
expression not fading. “That was the idea. When you're a little
further from your surgery, we'll try some sparring matches and show
you what it looks like when we're not walking you through it.”
    Mina's grin faded. “I'll be looking forward
to it,” she answered as any elation from her small victory
faded.
    From the stretches, she moved onto weights.
Squat press, military press, bench, each time on one of the
platforms, stressing muscles each time, especially in her calves
and thighs that the weightlifting itself didn't bring into
play.
    “You're going to notice drastic jumps in your
weightlifting maximums, your muscle endurance, and especially your
reaction times within a fairly short period. The training regimen
you've been under already did wonders for you, or you wouldn't have
been a candidate. Now, we're moving you to the type of training
you'd be under if you were going into professional sports, except
your chip is a lot more complex than any athlete's.”
    As she lifted weights, Agent Park started
telling her stories of his own years as a spy. Despite the fact
that, as a personal trainer, he was a sadist, Mina found herself
liking the man. He'd seen a lot of cases come and go. Some of the
stories weren't even about his Inquisition cases, but just his work
as a policeman, then as a detective on the force.
    They moved to the treadmill eventually.
Expecting to end up jogging or something for an extended time like
some of the warm ups she was used to, she was surprised when he
helped her into a vest attached to a suspension harness. “If you
fall, the machine will catch you. Because you will fall,” he told
her. “You're right-handed. Stand, facing me, to the