Chapter 6

 

After school, Emma drove up I-80 northbound out of Berkeley and up through Vallejo until she could jump on California State Highway 29 to enter Napa Valley. Emma parked in the Burlington Winery lot and headed for the gift shop entrance. A small bell rang when she opened the wooden door. Emma kept her head down through the wine-tasting area, which was for twenty-one and over only, until she slipped through the Employees Only door that Aardvark had let her through the other day. Emma searched the vast collection of gigantic wine barrels and realized she didn’t remember which one they had come out of.

“Can I help you?” A man with a beard approached. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

“I know. I’m lost. I’m looking for The A—” Emma stopped herself. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to say the name. Maybe this guy was a normal employee and didn’t know about all the secret spy stuff. “Do you know where I can find a hollow barrel? One that has a ladder inside it?”

The man cocked his head. “This area is only for employees. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”

“Can I call someone quick? It’ll just take a moment.”

“I insist that you leave, miss.”

Emma turned on her phone. “Seriously, it’ll take like two seconds.”

The man with a beard pulled his smock back to reveal a gun.

Emma froze as the man snatched her phone.

“Back the way you came, miss. Nice and easy. I’ll give your phone back when we reach the parking lot.” The man turned over his wrist and spoke into his watchband. “Echo six. UV detected. Escorting to PA. Transportation required.”

“Hey, wait a second. I’m on the same side. I’m—”

“Stop talking and walk.”

“But I know about everything. Give me a sec—”

“Move,” the man grunted in a voice that would not tolerate another word.

Emma bit her lip and headed for the door while the man followed.

When they reached the Employees Only door, it swung open to reveal a long-haired hippie with round glasses. He shut the door and looked over Emma. “Is this your UV?”

The bearded man confirmed.

“I saw this girl with Aardvark yesterday,” the hippie said.

Emma jumped on it. “Aardvark! Yes, he’s my friend. He drove me home yesterday. Can I speak with him? Okay…crap…I know I can’t literally speak with him, but if you could just go get him, please? I’m supposed to be here for training.”

The bearded man put away his gun. “You’re supposed to tell me a code word.”

“I am? Nobody said anything to me about a code word.”

“Take her to the gift shop while I call CAC,” the hippie said.

It took twenty minutes before Aardvark came up to collect Emma and take her back down to the offices. Typing on his own tablet, Aardvark conveyed his apologies for not telling Emma about the official secret entrance near the Burlington Winery Mansion.

After providing Emma with her credentials for getting in and out of the facility, Aardvark led her down into the labyrinth. They followed the glowing signs pointing the way to the TR division and stopped at a sealed door. Aardvark had Emma swipe her new card to make sure it worked. A seal popped and air escaped as the door opened automatically. Aardvark didn’t move, only gestured for her to go through. Emma did and the door sealed back into place.

Emma was on her own.

The TR division was a massive area carved out like a giant cave. There was a full gym, an indoor gun range and an area of mats where some men were wrestling each other as an instructor shouted at them. Another section had three large cubes balanced on heavy-duty metal pistons. One of these cubes moved and swayed as the large pistons hissed. Emma looked closer at the lettering on the cubes.

 

Flight simulator.

Evasive-driving simulator.

Submarine simulator.

 

Also, there was a rock-climbing wall from hell. Bigger and badder than anything Emma’s school had.

A large woman with blond hair noticed her presence. “You look pretty. Are you here to pick up boys?”

Emma balked at her comment. The woman had a thick accent so maybe she’d just misunderstood her English. “Hi, I’m here for my training?”

“Name?”

“Emma.”

“Nyet, we don’t use real names here. What is your code name?”

“I…uh…I don’t think I have one yet.”

“Everyone have code name.” The large woman sighed and pointed her phone at Emma. She snapped a picture and touched a few buttons. The woman waited and her phone dinged. She looked over the result. “Black Opal. That’s what it says here…ah…you are part of the Gems Project, interesting.”

“Black Opal is my code name?”

“According to your bio, da.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Tough cookies.”

“Is there somewhere I could go to, like, get it changed?”

“You can’t change it.”

“It has to be a precious gem, right? So why can’t I be like…Turquoise? Pearl? Diamond? Oh, Diamond would be sweet.”

“Don’t care if you want to change it to Pig Dung. It says Black Opal, so that is what I call you in training.”

“What’s your code name?” Emma asked.

The woman swelled. “Lioness.”

 

***

 

The first two weeks of training with Lioness were intense. She made Emma run two miles every morning before school. On weekends Emma did four. Mondays and Wednesdays after school Lioness had her do upper-body weight training. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons were lower body. Every night they ran through self-defense moves at half speed. On weekends they went at full speed on the cushions inside the training, or TR division. (Emma wondered why they always said TR instead of the word.) Between running, weight training, and self-defense training, Emma somehow had to find time to keep up with school. She picked up the habit of bringing her backpack with her to headquarters so she could sneak in homework during breaks and meals.

On the Monday of week three, they skipped the weights. Lioness and Emma stepped inside another elevator which deposited them inside a shoddy-looking woodshed above ground. Lioness opened the door and they were outside in a field near one of the vineyards. The sun hung low over the horizon as Emma followed her instructor up a grassy hill that overlooked the Burlington Mansion, which was another part of the gigantic estate and winery.

Lioness pointed at the ground. Her way of saying stand here.

Emma complied.

Lioness faced her, backtracking several paces. “Today, show me all you have learned. Do not hold back. I expect you to commit fully to each move, regardless of consequences. Understand?”

Emma nodded.

“I have a surprise for you.” Lioness glanced up into a nearby tree. Something rustled in the branches before dropping down to the ground with a thud.

It was Aardvark. He grinned and bowed his head towards the two ladies.

Emma waved at him like a best friend.

“Today,” Lioness said, “Aardvark will be your attacker.”

“What?”

“Silence.”

Despite his scary looks, Emma knew Aardvark was a kind man and she didn’t want to fight him.

“Wrist sweep. Go,” Lioness barked.

The grin left Aardvark’s lips. His eyes concentrated as he grabbed Emma’s shoulders and forced her backwards.

Emma tried planting her feet, but couldn’t.

Aardvark threw her to the ground, where her teenage body buckled under his heavy weight.

“Wrong! Wrong!” Lioness yelled. “Your hands were inside his arms. You could have attacked. Why didn’t you?”

Aardvark released Emma.

“I…I didn’t want to hurt him.”

“A man attacks you and you don’t want to scratch out his eyes?”

“But I can’t hurt someone who—” Emma couldn’t help but gawk at the scar running along Aardvark’s neck.

“Someone you pity?” Lioness asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Lioness faced Aardvark. “Do you want her to pity you?”

A shyness came over the large man as he pointed his eyes to the ground.

Lioness got into Emma’s face. “I teach you self-defense. Not love your enemy. Here, you are expected to either neutralize or incapacitate your opponent.” She shoved Emma forward. “Do you get angry?” She shoved Emma again. “Huh? Is there a point you’re willing to strike back to save yourself?” Lioness spun Emma around and threw her to the ground.

Emma’s body tensed. A flash of anger bubbled up her neck.

“Pretty little blond girl. Daddy’s little pet poodle. Do you have an edge? Where is it? Can you fight back? Do you have the will to fight back? Do you need a prince to come save you? Reality check. There will be times when there’s no boy around to save you, and with this training, you won’t need one.” Lioness pulled Emma up to her feet. The woman gently raised the girl’s chin. “Focus on the goal and take the necessary actions. Repeat them if necessary. Strike as hard as necessary. Do what it takes to make your opponent retreat. If he doesn’t retreat, neutralize him. It’s either him or you. Understand?”

Emma nodded as Lioness withdrew to the side.

“Again.”

Aardvark grabbed Emma’s shoulders and pushed her back once again. This time, Emma shoved his face to the side. But Aardvark was strong and he forced his neck forward even though Emma pushed against it with all her might. Emma’s feet dangled from the ground. Aardvark held her up so high Emma couldn’t touch the ground.

Emma kicked his knees, but Aardvark still wouldn’t let go.

This was hopeless. Emma was like a dog’s chew toy.

Emma then realized her hands were still inside Aardvark’s arms, which meant—she stabbed his eyes with her thumbs, pressing in as hard as she could.

Aardvark grimaced in pain and stopped.

Emma used the hesitation to plant her feet and break away from him.

“Again,” Lioness said.

Aardvark came forward. This time Emma locked her arms with his and kicked his shin over and over again. Emma didn’t stop until he broke off the attack. Aardvark hobbled to the side like an old man, Emma’s kicks having done damage to his legs. The bald man dropped his butt on the ground and relaxed.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked.

Tears streamed down from his eyes. The pain must have been horrible. But Aardvark nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

“You made a man cry. Excellent,” Lioness said. “Now I teach you how to make all men run away from you in terror.”

 

During week three Lioness taught Emma basic karate strikes. They drilled every afternoon and night until Emma could do her punches fast and aim them. Lioness went over some leg strikes, which Emma was much stronger at.

On week four, they went over everything again. The self-defense moves were honed to perfection. Every karate move was judged until Lioness was satisfied with the results.

“Tomorrow will be your final exam,” she said to Emma. “You will face attackers positioned at three corners of the fighting area. Each attacker is a black belt with years of practical experience in hand-to-hand combat. Your goal is to prevent yourself from being either knocked out or dragged out of the ring. Good luck.”