Free Kingmaker by Christian Cantrell

business account for everything and make sure I get receipts.”
    “Thank you. Your trip has been booked. Would you like to hear your itinerary, or shall I forward it?”
    Alexei took a final drag from his cigarette before crushing it out in the ashtray on his desk. “Forward it.”
    He took the back stairs down two levels to the basement. Like most of the areas of the house, the lower level was biometrically secured, and Alexei waited for the camera to complete its scan. When the LED in the wall transitioned from red to green, he pulled the heavy door toward himand stepped out onto the catwalk. He put his hands on the rail in front of him and looked out over the playroom.
    There were at least twenty-five children below him, most in groups of two or three. Their teachers were small, shirtless Thai men whose bodies were all compact glistening ripples. Most wore pads on their forearms and midriffs which they used to absorb the sharp, slapping blows from the children’s feet, knees, fists, and elbows. The center of the room was a raised platform on which two small groups trained, and the rest of the room contained arrangements of mats, heavy bags, cubbies of pads and gloves, full-body dummies with impact sensors built into their noses, throats, solar plexus, and groins, and tennis balls suspended so high from the ceiling that the children had to launch themselves into the air to strike them.
    Alexei located Ki’s group in a corner. She was training with the twins—two young Cambodian boys—and they were taking turns striking the throat of a dummy, then receiving instruction from their teacher after he checked the corresponding readings on his handset. Ki wore loose shorts that were cut high in the thighs for maximum mobility and a tight black tank top. Her hands and wrists were wrapped, and her hair was pulled back in a long ponytail.
    They stopped training when they heard Alexei on the metal steps. They watched him descend, and the instructor gave a sharp bow as his employer approached.
    “What do you think?” Alexei asked the fighter. The man was short and thin, but as fast a man as Alexei had ever met. “Are they ready?”
    “Yes, sir,” the instructor reported. “They are small, but they are strong, quick, and they are fierce.”
    “Good.” He looked down at Ki. “I just got the call. We leave in the morning.”
    Ki looked up at Alexei and tried not to react. She gave him a single stern nod, and he could see that she was making fists beneath her hand wraps. Alexei got down on his knees and when he opened his arms, she broke from her stance and fell into him.
    “It’s all going to be OK,” Alexei told the girl. “Nobody will touch you. You will be very well cared for.”
    Ki’s chin was on Alexei’s shoulder and he could hear her sniff. “Where am I going?”
    “I don’t know,” Alexei said. “There’s no way to know where you’re going, who you’re going with, or how long you’ll be gone. But that’s why I need you, Ki. You’re the only one who can do this. You’re the only one who can get close enough.”
    He felt her nod. He rubbed her back, then pulled her gently away.
    “No more crying,” he told her. “From now on, you must turn your fear into strength. Do you understand?”
    There were tears on the girl’s cheeks but defiance in her eyes. “I
will
come back,” she told Alexei. “I
will
see you again.”
    “I know you will,” Alexei said.
    He stood up and looked down at the twins. They wore long pants that came down over the tops of their feet and no shirts over their skinny chests. Their hair was long and heavy with sweat.
    “What about you two?” Alexei said. “Are you ready?”
    The twins looked at each other, then back at Alexei. One of the boys let his mouthguard drop into his wrapped palm. “Where are we going?”
    “I have a very special mission for you two,” Alexei told them. “How would you like to go live on a boat?”

PART TWO
    DON’T BLINK

CHAPTER