Free Operation London by Elle Hansen Page B

basically what you need to do to be a good fighter. You want to stay very loose and relaxed even while you focus on pummeling the other guy."
    Ava was ready to practice her basic movements . She had to basically dance with herself, keeping her steps short and quick and moving forward and backward as well as left and right. Cormac yelled encouragement as she kept her pace up.
    "Good Ava!  Keep your hands up!  There you go! Careful not to cross your feet now!" 
    Ava knew from long years of experience that cementing any habit in good form was essential, so she focused close to an hour on her stance and basic movements alone. She could feel the sweat begin to build on her face, dripping off the tip of her nose, welling in between her breasts. It was an excellent feeling, a cleansing feeling. There was nothing Ava loved more than hearing her own heart pounding and in action.
    Cormac finally called her out of the ring.
    "Brilliant, Ava. Are you planning to come for lessons regularly?" he asked.
    "I would really love to," Ava said, mopping her face and neck with a clean white towel . She drank a long draught from her sports bottle, enjoying the cool water. Her eyes scanned the gym, looking around for Miguel.
    She found him alright . Found him and almost choked on the mouthful of water she was trying to down. He was soaked in sweat, shirtless, moving lightly back and forth on his feet. Ava would have expected such a big man to be clumsy moving so quickly, but he was the most graceful figure she had ever seen. Time seemed to stop as she watched his lean, washboard abs bend and move to avoid punches. His arms burst with muscular power, moving with a snakelike precision as he jabbed and blocked. Shaking his sweaty black hair, he turned to look at her, his clean lined face distorted with a mouth guard. Suddenly his opponent caught him on the side of the face. A look of shock registered on his face as he hit the mats like a ton of bricks.
    Ava screamed and ran across the length of the gym, hoisted herself into the ring to kneel beside him . He was blinking quickly, trying to regain his hold on reality.
    "Miguel . Look at me. Look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?" Ava asked, pushing his sweaty hair off of his face frantically, holding his face steady with her other hand.
    "Nine," he said, looking past her three fingers and into her worried gray eyes . He spit his mouth guard out and shook his head. "One, four, seven, eight, four, six, six, four, four," he grinned.
    She punched his arm hard . "You shouldn't joke like that," she said, frowning at his disregard for his recent fall. His smile suddenly faded, and he moaned low and long. "What?  What do you need?" Ava asked, checking his body for any signs of injury.
    "I need...owww....I need...ohh nooo......I need dinner with you," he said .
    She didn't know whether to burst out laughing or pummel him for his sudden idiotic behavior . The problem was solved when her stomach growled on its own.
    "Dinner it is," Miguel smiled.
    At that point Miguel's opponent made his way towards them guiltily. He eyed Miguel warily before approaching. Miguel growled at him for a minute before smiling.
    "Jackson, you're damned lucky a beautiful woman came to console me and made that punch worth it, or I'd have to beat the crap out of you," Miguel smiled.
    "Hey, if you'd been focusing on your blocks instead of pretty girls, we could have avoided this whole thing," the man grinned back .
    Ava stared at the man for a minute . He looked so familiar, and he seemed to be looking at her with the same misplaced interest. Suddenly it dawned on her.
    "Officer Denson!" she cried .
    The officer raised one eyebrow at her, mimicking his earlier rigidity . "It's Jackson here, ma'am."
    "Ava London," she said, extending her hand.
    "You two know each other?" Miguel asked from his position on the floor.
    "I almost gave your lovely friend a ticket for excessive speed on the road earlier today," Jackson said . "But she was