Cameron Andrews Box Set

Chapter 6-2

Maggie’s face became serious. “Alright. It will be a very rigid schedule. You’ll meet Michael at 7 A.M. every morning for physical training, then with me from eleven till one. We’ll include lunch in our session. Then Charlie will work with you from one till four and Michael again for martial arts until six. At six, we’ll break for dinner and at eight, you and I will meet again unless Charlie feels you need more time with him. Any questions?”

Cam thought it over for a moment, then shook her head.

“Good. Charlie will be working with you on the mental and emotional aspects of your assignment. He’s worked as a military drill sergeant and as director of several reform schools. He’s trained corrections officers and he’s been inside prisons. He knows what happens there. He will prepare you for almost anything you run into. He’ll keep you from making the mental mistakes that will get you killed.

“Michael, as you know, is a martial arts instructor. I just found out that she was the youngest person in Quebec to reach sixth degree black belt in Hapkido.” Maggie smiled broadly at Michael who bowed her head slightly, humbly. “It’s her job to give you the skills to keep you alive.”

“I will teach you a combination of different martial arts techniques,” Michael offered. “Mostly some Japanese Jujitsu and some Korean Hapkido, unfortunately, we do not have the time to explore the spirituality of the moves and that is its most beautiful part, but you can learn enough to protect yourself.”

I sure hope you do your jobs well, thought Cam.

“You and I have discussed this before but I want to make it very clear in front of Charlie and Michael. This is all up to you. They can take you only as far as you’re willing to go. They will not go easy on you; they will expect only the best. If you reach a point where you can’t go on, we’ll stop. That’s it. The end. You’ve got a very difficult job ahead of you and if you don’t feel fully trained, or one of us doesn’t think you’re ready, we’ll pull the plug. Craig and Richard are adamant, and frankly, I fully agree. If there’s any doubt, however small, by anyone, we stop. We’d rather try another approach entirely than see you end up the way those last two did. Do we agree?”

Cam looked her straight in the eye. “Totally.”

Maggie relaxed back in her seat. “Good,” she said. “Shall we begin? Charlie gets to start today.”

Charlie looked at her appraisingly. Cam almost began to become agitated under his intense gaze. Finally he spoke, “This will be more intense than Marine boot camp,” he began. “In boot camp you’d be only one out of forty or fifty people, so in twelve weeks, you’d get what amounted to maybe two days of personal attention. Unless, of course you were so friggin’ incompetent that your sergeant had to be on you every minute. I don’t think that would be the case. You’re going to get twenty-one days of very personal attention. We’ve got a lot of barriers to break down. In three weeks, we’ve got to turn you into a steely fighting machine that can withstand anything that’s thrown at you. We can’t miss any little c****s in the armor that could put you in danger. If you’re going to be in prison for any length of time, you will be completely alone. There’ll be no way to call anyone if you need help and even if you could, they wouldn’t be able to reach you in time. You’ve got to be completely self-sufficient. Maggie’s right. If you have any doubts, we stop. I’m not sure why anyone would volunteer for such an assignment but seeing that you have, I’ll make sure you make it. That’s if you really want to. It’s all up to you. Understood?”

At that, Charlie rose and walked over to Cam. “Stand up,” he said. Cam got to her feet.” Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked.

Cam nodded.

“Positive?” he asked again.

“Yes,” Cam said, a little annoyed and indignant at his insistence.

“Good. Let’s set some ground rules. First of all, don’t nod. Speak up. Loudly. Don’t take the chance that I won’t hear you or I’ll miss your gesture.” He continued as he paced in front of her. “Second, you will address me as Master Trainer. Master Trainer, sir. And you will address Michael as Mistress, as does everyone else.” He turned to Michael with a grin.

Michael shook her head with a smile, at their private joke. Charlie turned back to Cam. “Thirdly: What we teach you here in the next three weeks could save your life. Remember that. Remember it always. Forgetting any part of this for even one moment could mean the difference between success and death. Now, are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, sir. Master Trainer, sir.” Cam smiled, starting to get into the role play.

Charlie leaned forward until he was just an inch away from Cam’s face. “Then get rid of the attitude, maggot,” he stated firmly, his voice suddenly hard, with almost the tone of contempt. “And wipe that stupid grin off your face. This is not fun. It is not a game. From now on, you belong to me. You are mine. And you belong to the Mistress. If we say jump, you say, “Thank you, sir, Master Trainer, sir. How high?” Do you understand me?”

Cam glanced at Maggie. This was a new twist. She didn’t like being yelled at.

“Don’t look at her, scum,” Charlie’s face was right in front of hers. “She’s not going to be in prison for you. She’s not going to fight your battles or wipe your ass for you. You’re in this by yourself. It’s just you…and me, or you and the Mistress. Am I clear?”

Cam nodded. She wasn’t used to being spoken to like that. Her first reaction was tell him to go take a flying leap, but knew she had to get used to it, no matter what.

“Am I clear?” Charlie repeated, almost threatening.

“Yes.” Cam acknowledged, taking a mental breath and remembering to speak rather than nod.

“What?” he shouted in her face.

“Yes, sir. Very clear,” she repeated firmly.

Charlie took a step back. “Now. Your skills. Number one: trust no one. Is that clear? What’s skill number one?”

“Trust no one,” Cam repeated. “Does that include you?”

“Judge for yourself. You wouldn’t need to ask such stupid questions if you used your brain. Think it through. Why are you here? Why am I telling you this? What’s rule number one?”

“Trust no one,” Cam repeated.

“Do you trust me?”

“I trust no one.”

“Do you trust your Mistress?” he asked.

“I trust no one.”

“What about Maggie? Do you trust her?”

Cam stopped. Her eyes went to Maggie who watched her from across the room.

“What about Maggie? Do you trust her?” Charlie repeated.

Cam looked him in the eye. “I trust no one,” she said clearly.

“Do you believe that? Do you believe what you just said?”

Cam wet her lips. Didn’t she trust Maggie? Did she believe that?

“Not yet,” she admitted.

“Then you’d better give it some hard thought. Remember this: it’s better to trust no one, to question everyone, than to trust the wrong person and end up with a shiv in your back. Do you understand that?”

Cam started to nod, but remembered in time. “Yes, sir. Master Trainer, sir.”

“Skill number two: always be alert. Don’t ever let your guard down. Mistakes happen when you’re not paying attention. What’s skill number two?”

“Be alert,” Cam stated.

“And number one?”

“Trust no one.”

“Skill number three. Don’t get into debt to anyone. Owe nothing. Don’t ever put yourself in debt to anyone over anything because if you do, someday, damn it, they’ll collect. Payback can be a real b***h. Stay loose. Always be alert. Mistakes happen when you’re not paying attention. You can’t afford to let anyone sneak up on you. Do you trust me?”

Cam looked at him, momentarily bewildered, it seemed like a non sequitur.

“Do you trust me?” he demanded.

“I trust no one,” Cam repeated, determined.

“Do you trust these skills?”

Cam stopped. Was this a mixed message?

Suddenly it made sense. The skills she learned could save her life. She just couldn’t put her trust in the people who taught them.

“Yes. I owe you nothing. I’ll be alert,” she stated firmly.

“Do you trust Maggie?”

“I trust no one.”

“Skill number two?” His questions were fast and furious.

“Be alert.”

“Skill number three?”

“Owe no one.”

“Skill number one?”

How many times was he going to ask this? “Trust no one.” She could feel sweat breaking out around her eyes and over her upper lip.

“Skill number three?”

“Owe no one.” And five times eight is forty and use “i” before “e” except after “c” and all the other things you learned by rote.

“Do you owe me?”

“I owe no one.”

“Skill number one?”

Yet again. “Trust no one.”

“Go with your Mistress.”

Cam was almost stunned, but she turned and followed Michael out of the room.

* * * *

At eight that night, as Cam sank down into the big chair in the living room, she involuntarily let out a sigh of pain.

“Sore?” Maggie asked from her seat on the couch.

“Battered. I ache in places I didn’t know I had,” she answered, letting her head fall back.

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Maggie smiled. “It’ll get worse. How are you handling today?”

Cam looked at her for a moment. “So far, Michael’s just been testing me on what I already know. We haven’t started any new stuff yet. A lot of push-ups and crunches and running on the sand, my calves are killing me.”

“What about Charlie?”

“Skill number one. I don’t trust him. This afternoon, we got to skills four, five, and six: Don’t divulge information that isn’t asked for, Keep your ears open, and stay in control.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Do you trust me?”

“Oh, f**k,” Cam just let out a long exasperated sigh.

Maggie sat forward. “You know, down deep, that you can trust me, don’t you? If you trust no one else, you can trust me.”

“Maggie, I imagine that by the end of this I won’t even trust my own grandmother.”

Maggie watched as a very tired Cameron sank deeper into the chair. Cam and Michael had worked outdoors that afternoon and Maggie could see the glow of a wonderful sunburn shining off Cam’s face. “Tell me about your grandmother,” Maggie said, tossing a tube of aloe vera lotion to Cam.

“Which one?” Cam asked, opening the cream and smoothing it gingerly across her nose.

“Your favorite.”

“That would be Mom’s mother,” Cam said without hesitation. Being with Maggie and answering her questions seemed like a reality check. “Anne Bennett Loring.” Cam stopped. She didn’t want to talk about her grandmother. Not just yet. Not until she’d figured out what she was going to tell her about this. “Have I told you how we all got our names?” Cam asked, sliding away from the subject.