Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) by Adrian D Roberts Page B

possible.  Their best couldn’t hurt Valerie, so she let them give their all and she would work on their control later. 
    Hanna recovered and tried to attack from the side.  Valerie kept moving, constantly turning the girls back towards each other and stopped them from surrounding her again.  She fought mainly on the defensive, with only an occasional light punch or kick to make sure they kept their defences up.  In the hot sun, the swift back and forth was hard work.  After the sprint runs, the girls were drained and Valerie could see it in their faces and movements.  The attacks were coming less often now and slower. 
    Their last move would be soon.  The two of them would have come up with something, they always did.  The first one was a feint to get Valerie to lower her expectations.  She did not think they seriously thought it would work.  The question was, would it come from Hanna or Deni?  Who would be the distraction and who the real threat?
    Breathing heavily, the girls broke off and put some distance between themselves and Valerie.  She didn’t press them and let them go.  Maybe they really were as tired as they looked and couldn’t carry on.  It was possible, but Valerie still thought they were planning something, they were too smart not to.  She could easily imagine them staying up late last night in their flat, to find some way to win this.
    Deni and Hanna suddenly darted forward.  Valerie stepped in to meet them, but it was another feint.  The two split.  Running to either side of Valerie and this time she did not turn to meet them.  Expecting a normal attack, she was pleased to see them try a different tactic.  They simultaneously charged at her full on. 
    Mind racing, Valerie was torn between letting them get to her, or showing them what was wrong with their move.  She wasn’t ready to let them have a day off from their punishment.  Valerie spun and stepped to the side, slightly towards Deni.  Grabbing the charging girl’s arms, she pivoted and redirected Deni’s momentum straight into Hanna.  The two went down in a tumble of limbs onto the hard roof.
    After waiting for their thrashing to stop and satisfied there were no injuries above a bruise or two, Valerie crouched down next to the plainly exhausted girls.
    “Not bad.  It would have probably have worked in nine out of ten times.  Maybe next time.  We start again at seven tomorrow morning on the range.  Don’t be late.”  Valerie held out her hands to them.  “I believe Frank has some ice-cream in stock down in the bar.  What do you say?  My treat?”
    Five minutes later the three of them were sitting at a booth in the Dawn Sun, a large bowl of already melting ice-cream in front of each.  Hanna and Deni were tucking into theirs with a gusto of someone more than half their age.  It was another reminder to Valerie, neither one had enjoyed a normal childhood and probably hadn’t had an opportunity like this very often.
    “How did it go with Sneaker earlier?”  Hanna asked.   “Any news of when and how we’re going to get to Olympus?”
    “Not yet,” Valerie told her.
    “Why’s it taking so long?”  Deni said, clearly exasperated by the delay.
    “These things take time.  Sneaker needs to connect with his contacts on Olympus and, even for a Courier, it’s a fifteen day round trip.”  A civilian courier left Blaze for each of the other twenty four worlds in the Pantheon once a day.  They carried private citizens mail, along with most other non-urgent and unclassified messages.  The military, news networks, banks and big corporations used their own Couriers.
    “Sneaker can’t use those,” Valerie continued.  “The security services monitor all messages.  His had to go through the actual channel we’re going to use.  It’s a civilian freighter and will take about forty days.  That includes the time to reach the planet from the gravity shadow and the unloading and loading of the cargo.  Our