Martini and Salsa 1.5: Sent a spy to catch a break

He could see she was planning something and in the moment she was distracted by her thought he lunged forwards his arms folding in as he barreled into her. Its wasn't a subtle tactic but it was effective. Bare your opponent to the ground and use weight leverage and gravity to force then to yield.


If it worked or it didn't the fight would be over soon then he would start showing her moves, and letting her experience then from both sides.
 
While she did have the drawstring loose and in her hand, that was as far as she got before she found herself on the ground. She knew how she got there and while she could curse her inattentiveness she chose to make her last attempt while she had her hands free.

Making like to strike at his neck she tossed out one end of the cord like string to her other hand as he intercepted the neck strike. As she pulled she realized her arms were not close enough together for an attempted strangle hold and his face was coming right up to hers. With nothing else left Salsa did the only thing she could do. She closed her eyes and...

... head butted Josh.

"Damn that hurts!"
 
The blow certainly caught him by hand instinct had him moving his hand to his nose and it came away bloody.

He let her go and got up holding out his other hand to help her up while he stanched the bleeding. Then he saw her face coming closer he had had a moment of excitement. Still he couldn't let his frustration show. "Thats enough for today." he said pulling the elastic from around his neck and handing it to her with his unbloody hand. "Do your workout, I'll be back in a second." It was broken he could feel that much but he has been setting noses for a long time, and he had to do it as soon as possible. The pain would remind him not to let his guard down. He left her in the ring and headed for the bathroom a light trail of red dots following him as he retreated.
 
Point for her? Cynthia didn't feel like it was cause for celebration though. She got out of the ring and found a hand towel. She also had no idea how to get the drawstring back around, so she placed it in her pocket for the time being. She got some arobics out of that bit of training and so she went for what she had originally planned to start her day off with, weights.

Cynthia set the weights lighter then she could do, but that was because she was going for maximum repetitions not for over all strength endurance. As she sat down to the machine she thought about the two rounds. There was a lot she could have done better. "Nothing but practice is going to fix that though," she muttered to herself. As she started to do her reps Cynthia figured it might be nice to actually know what some of the formal training would get her in regards to technique.
 
Nose held between two fingers he straitened is with a quick motion and winced in pain. then he pinched until the bleeding stopped and and washed himself off. Crude but effective. Still there were a few red specks staining his top but he ignored them.

He sat down on the bench and watched her work out his brow knitted. She was a wild card and he hoped sh wouldn't use that in training, it would only count in her favor. "Any idea what you want to have for breakfast?" He asked out of the blue. "I'll meet you there while I get this seen to." He was being curt but that was marked but the way his voice changed due to his injury.
 
Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen...

"Breakfast?" she asked as she pushed again. "Eggs, sausage or if they have it cooked ham." Another repetition went by. "Maybe something sweet too like a cinnamon roll or french toast." Cynthia didn't feel bad about eating a large breakfast in the morning. As long as she didn't stuff herself it was all good and having a good meal early in the day made everything else the rest of the day easier she noticed.

She also noticed Josh's voice. She probably should have done something else when she realized her mistake, but hopefully his nose would stop hurting him soon. She'd have to apologize when she finished up and met him for breakfast. Even if it was no holds bar, she still didn't want to permenately injure him. That wasn't the point of the excersizes.

That was something else she was going to need to learn, control. Cynthia was definitely going to practice that. Even if Josh was trying to push her to her limit, to judge where it was she needed to hold account to her actions.

Skipping the treadmill for the time, Cynthia felt she got a good morning work out. It was time to eat, then shower!
 
With his nose sporting a temporary brace he waited for her at as he waited for her at breakfast. He had taken a painkiller on the doctor's insistence and was regretting it. Usually you would have to strap him down before he took anything to ease pain. Morphine for a gunshot wound was another matter entirely.

He had the kitchen keeping her order, and his warm as he sat watching the sea slip slowly past. He had already decided there would be no more moment of weakness even if he had to treat vacation like any other mission.

"There you are." he said when Cynthia appeared and he signaled the waiter. "How was the work out?"
 
"Invigerating," she said as she sat down. Then she looked at him and sighed. "I'm really sorry about that. It shouldn't have happened." Seeing his nose like that she felt a twinge of guilt. It was written on her face and she didn't bother trying to hide it. There wasn't a need for a mask after all.

The waiter came by with their orders and Cynthia was glad for the distraction. The aroma was enough to wake up her stomach fully, not that she wasn't already hungry after her workout. Picking up her fork she glanced at Josh. He seemed out of sorts. Must have been the pain. "So the wine tasting isn't until the afternoon. Any plans between now and lunch?" On one hand she wouldn't mind doing nothing but relax, but she wouldn't be surprised if Josh had something up his sleeve.
 
He played off the injury focusing on the food. After his workout he needed the food. "I've had worse." he started shoveling food into his mouth without savoring or worrying about table manners much, like he usually did in the cafeteria, an slight indication he was back in work mode. "I'm expecting a call soon.. family.. they'll want to know how we're getting along."

He dropped his fork into his empty plate and started on his orange juice. "I was going to show you come moves but that will have to wait until my face heals in the mean time the next choice activity is yours."
 
"They are? Well tell them I said 'hi' I suppose," Only a day into vacation and Josh was going to be checking in. Was Daddy keeping him on a short leash or was it his own preference? Then she realized it might have less to do with Martini and more about her. There was so much she still did not know.

Cynthia kept her leisurely pace as she ate, not allowing Martini's pace influence her. The food was perhaps a bit too salty for her liking, but over all it was very tasty. She was also enjoying the fresh squeezed juice. She griminced slightly when he mentioned that his injury took out his next plans. She really managed to put a dark cloud on Josh's vacation. No wonder he was going back into work mode. Except, wasn't he already doing that since last night?

"I suppose it would be nice to tour the ship. The whole thing. Might only be a short cruise, but I'm curious. After that there's the library." More importantly to Cynthia was the large cataloge of language tools there. There was a curiosity that she wanted to satisfy after all.
 
His phone rang at the moment and he stood pulling it out and heading to the side of the ship. "Daddy, so glad you called, thing are going great on the honeymoon." he said loud enough for the staff to hear as he walked over to the side of the ship. "Two days from landfall, your friend called and wanted to meet up, no idea how he knew we were coming?"

He listened to the other side of the call "You're joking, but closer to the truth than you know. No I won't let it get in the way of out life together." A full five seconds on the other end and Martini, Josh, smiled a little "Understood dad. I'll talk you you and mom real soon but we are on out honeymoon."

He moved to sit back down "They're missing us, you must have made an impression on them."
 
Cynthia grinned despite being mostly curious as to what was really relayed on the phone. "I'm so glad to hear," she took another sip of her juice and pushed back her plate, nibbling on a last bite of sausage as she did so. "I'm going to go freshen up, then we can start our tour?"

As she stood up she glanced around. People in the dining room really were paying little to no attention to them. It was interesting how everyone seemed to be in their own little bubble, barely aware what was going on around them. It was easier that way of course.

Once back in the suite Cynthia didn't take any time to grab a change of cloths for the day and escape into the bathroom, the shower was very much needed and desired.
 
He followed her but not closely as they went back to the suite. He needed a quick shower too and changed into jeans and a short sleeved shirt. He never really wore t-shirts unless the cover demanded it. As he was waiting he looked at his phone, then on impulse he turned it off and put it down on the table. No interruptions.

It would give him time to think, time to prioritize and find the best course of action. His mission, his priority was to mold Cynthia into the best agent she could be. He could do it best because he knew her best. But there was something else something that if he couldn't block it it would lead to him having to get her re-assigned to another partner. So that he could let it die or pursue it. They were not the KGB.

Yes he could recognize it for what it was, but what it would mean he couldn't say. One things for sure, it was one of the most dangerous things he had ever faced. And it would take everything he had as a spy to figure out what to do with it.
 
Cynthia felt refreshed as she stepped out of the shower and troweled off. She wouldn't bother drying her hair, the warm tropical air would see to that, even if it meant a bit more bounce in her hair then normal. Another sundress was put on. While Cynthia did bring shorts with her, there was something very relaxing about being in a dress. It was perhaps because it was slightly frivolous.

Walking back out she headed into the living space with a few cosmetics to free up the bathroom. "So what did Daddy say," she asked as she looked at the small selection of make-up. Cynthia wasn't big on make-up, but figured the trip gave her time to practice. She was likely going to need to get better at that as well, and this was one thing she doubted Martini would be a good instructor on. If she didn't get the right information she needed during her formal training the only person she knew right now to ask for that sort of help from was Daddy Dearest. The very thought made her both cringe and mentally chuckle.
 
He stood and offered her his arm again, it was part of the cover after all. "Just checking in, I don't think they believe I can take a vacation." he smiled since he knew Cynthia had similar doubts. "And yet here we are about to tour the ship. And how long in this corridor?" he asked starting the next, how long is this ship and approximate crew compliment?"

He walked with her and listened for her answers as they emerged onto the deck "And how many stairs in that staircase we just used?"

He was flooding her with questions it was true but she needed to remember detain under pressure "How many painting of Neptune did we pass last night?"
 
As Cynthia took Josh's arm she noticed he wasn't really relaxed. She knew that she wouldn't have even noticed if it were not for the fact that they'd strolled together last night. The differences were minute, but they were there nine the less. Cynthia filed the information away for later as they walked along, Martini quizzing her along the way.

Cynthia took it all in stride. Memory, attention to detail, in their business it was the stuff that could save your life or turn a mission. It was also the same sorts of games she played as a child. As they paused on an upper deck overlooking the water, after she answered a trickier question from Martini she looked over at him. "I'm starting to wonder if sometimes my father's games were because he didn't know how else to interact with us girls," she hadn't meant it to be so, but it was actually a somewhat sad thought now that she said it out loud. Cynthia regretted mentioning it now. This was suppose to be, no matter what else Josh was doing, a vacation. It was suppose to be happy.
 
Josh stopped and turned to look out into the sea "Are you saying I'm acting like you father?" he asked in a voice that betrayed nothing of what he might feel. "Cynthia have you thought about what you want to do while you're working for us?" he kept his eyes strait ahead. "Not about work about your personal life, don't tell me just, think about it, you don't want to end up married to the job like me do you?"

He smiled then turned back along to walk along the deck Getting back to questioning her.
 
Cynthia hadn't meant to compare the two. There were of course similarities, though it was hard to tell with Josh always hiding behind the job and her father hiding the job, but it was hard no to get nostalgic when she realized her father had been drilling her and her sisters in a very similar way. Cynthia also idealized her father in a way only a child could. She knew he wasn't perfect, but she felt like he had been. Josh on the other hand she had very different expectations and experience with. Like he said, he was married to the job. It was ashame.

As for what Cynthia wanted, she wasn't sure. Though this wasn't anything new. She hadn't been sure what she wanted to do for a very long time. Josh wasn't the first to pose the question to her either. At least he didn't expect an answer from her right now.

The tour and the quizzing went on for some time until they'd seen everything that was public access. Cynthia was a bit mentally drained after all of it and was half tempted to say she wanted to go out on deck and sunbathe. She didn't however. Instead she went with her first choice earlier that morning. "I'm headed to the library now. Should be nice and quiet there."
 
Throughout the tour Josh kept staling glances at Cynthia reading her expression. Even in the engine room as the group passed through it he discreetly caught sight of her face.

"Strange that you'd look something up in the library. I would have though you'd bring your own books." he remarked "A blown up apartment is no excuse." He walked with her still on his arm as they entered the library and then released her. "An impressive collection." he said not sounding too impressed. "I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for."

He went to the fiction section and examined the titles. "Pity we're only aboard for a couple more days." He was back to himself with only the brace on his nose to show any difference. It would take more than an attraction to shake a trained agent for long. Cynthia however was not trained, she had an approximation of training but she was a civilian. And she showed no sign.. Josh only allowed himself a sigh. "A great pity."
 
The library was more or less what Cynthia expected it to be. It was not large by any stretch of the imagination, but it didn't really need to be. The library after all catered to what a tourist might want to read, fiction, travel stories, histories, and language learning packs. Cynthia wouldn't have bothered coming in here, except she had the desire to find out something.

Cynthia closed her eyes for a moment to try to get a clear recollection of what she heard. She knew what it was not. She could widdel away a lot of false leads quickly. Yet there was still a lot it could be.

"Maybe, but I'm looking forward to some beach time," and maybe getting off the boat would give him fewer distractions that looked like good practice for work. She enjoyed the time he was taking to see that she knew what she was going to need to know, but she was going to get formal training and this was their vacation.

She went with a hunch, and grabbed a particular refrence. Yes, there it was, and if she looked at a few different pages. Cynthia was starting to get the idea and she grinned to herself. Oh, but she couldn't just leave it like that. No, this deserved more then she had first thought. She then looked for another book, but was having trouble finding exactly what she wanted. She finally came to one that was close enough and opened it. Cynthia frowned, she could pull it off. Now she just had to find the right time to do so.

"Alright, I'm ready to go. Did you find anything?" Cynthia had come around to the fiction section to find Josh. She had no books in her hands however. Absently she rubbed her forehead then gave him a grin. Of course she had been smiling for most of the vacation.
 
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