Free Hostage by Chris Bradford Page A

a whiney petulant voice. ‘
He pushed
me, Officer!
’
    The class laughed at this. Then, putting on
chest pads, they began practising the two techniques on one another. Connor was
partnered with Jason.
    ‘That looked like it really
hurt
,’ said Jason with the trace of a smile.
    ‘Felt like he cracked a rib,’
Connor replied, still rubbing his chest.
    ‘Well, I’d better let you go
first then. Give you time to recover.’
    Connor got the distinct impression Jason was
implying he was weak, rather than making the offer out of any friendly concern.
Just
you wait
, Connor thought, holding out his arm to fend off his partner.
    Jason strode forward, utterly confident of
overpowering Connor. Then he grimaced in pain and frustration as he failed to push past
Connor’s finger.
    ‘So it really
does
work!’ he exclaimed.
    ‘Oh yes, but not as much as this,’
replied Connor, copying his instructor’s movements for the second attack. Letting
his arm flex like a spitting cobra, he one-inch-pushed Jason in the chest.
    Even with the protective pad, Jason grunted
in shock and doubled over.
    ‘I see … what you mean,’ he
groaned.
    ‘Sorry,’ said Connor, surprising
even himself with the force of the strike.
    ‘Don’t worry … mate,’ said
Jason, standing upright. ‘Now it’s
my
turn!’
    Jason didn’t bother with the
single-finger technique. He went straight to the one-inch push. Connor flew backwards,
barrelling into two students from Delta team.
    ‘I
like
this attack,’
said Jason, cracking his knuckles. ‘Move over, Bruce Lee!’
    Apologizing to the two recruits, Connor
returned to face his partner. Although his chest throbbed madly, he tried not to show
any pain.
    ‘Not bad,’ he wheezed – then
one-inch-pushed Jason.
    Jason fell flat on the floor. Gasping for
breath, his face contorted in fury, he leapt to his feet and immediately took his turn,
striking even harder this time. They continued to exchange pushes, their chests becoming
more bruised and battered with every attempt to outdo one another. Then, without
warning, their training suddenly escalated into a full-blown fight and Connor found
himself tussling with Jason on the gym floor.
    Two meaty hands seized them by the scruffs
of theirnecks and pulled them apart. Their instructor lifted them off
the ground until they were at his eye level.
    ‘Anger is only one letter away from
danger,’ Steve warned them sternly. ‘Control your anger, otherwise anger
will control you and you’ll lose focus. As a buddyguard, you want to fight smarter
not harder. Do you two understand?’
    Chastened, Connor and Jason nodded their
heads in response.
    ‘Good. Now shake up and make
up,’ he ordered.
    Still dangling off the floor, Connor offered
his hand to Jason. He had no idea who’d started the fight, but he knew the last
thing he needed was an enemy in the team. ‘Sorry. Looks like we got a bit carried
away.’
    After a moment’s hesitation the other
boy shook it. ‘No worries. At least we’ve battle-tested the
technique!’ he grinned.
    With the apologies made, their instructor
seemed satisfied and dropped them both to the ground.
    ‘Well, now you’ve
mastered
the one-inch push,’ he mocked. ‘We’ll finish
with one last technique – the head twist.’
    This time Steve selected a tall lad from
Delta team for his demonstration.
    ‘Again, there is very little to this
defensive attack. That’s what makes it effective. Lift the chin, twist the head
and simply push down.’
    Steve grabbed the boy’s jaw and, in an
effortless push and twist, he collapsed the boy like a concertina.
    ‘Basically, where the head goes, the
body follows,’ he explained.
    Connor was impressed – the move utilized the
same principles as jujitsu in exploiting the weaknesses of the human body. With it, he
should be able to take anyone down in a few seconds.
    ‘That’s fine if you’re
similar heights. But how’s Charley going to manage that one?’ questioned
Amir, indicating