He walked inside and waved to Chen, who was behind the registration desk talking with one of his partners. Tech saw the frown crease his forehead but he ignored his teacher for now and went straight back to the locker rooms to change his clothes. It was five in the morning, so there were only a few people upstairs – that he could see – working on the exercise equipment. This was the only time he had available to do this training, which had now increased to three days a week. He’d come to observe after Chen’s demonstration at the precinct and had hit it off with him. He was honest with Chen when he told him he hoped to get in the field one day, but his bosses didn’t think he could handle himself. He wanted to prove to them that he could, but more than that, to prove it to himself. What if a suspect being questioned or a detainee on their way to the holding tanks got loose and tore through the station? What was he going to do – hide behind another officer? He just wanted to be able to contribute. Now, even more, with Steele coming in.
Damn. What was Tech going to say to him? He’d worked out a few tidbits in his head last night, after not getting near enough rest, but nothing sounded right. Sorry I brought up your deceased brothers. Sorry I made you snap. Ya know, it didn’t really hurt that much, so don’t worry about it. All of it sucked, and that move had hurt like a sonofabitch. He had dark purple bruises on both arms above his elbows and one at the base of his neck where Steele had grabbed him and growled in his ear. He’d been scared shitless then, and he still was. He brought a long-sleeved shirt so Chen wouldn’t see the marks and—
“What the hell happened to you?” Chen’s mild Asian accent cut through the silence, startling him.
Tech hurriedly finished putting on his Under Armour shirt, but he knew it was too late. “Nothing. Had a little accident. Hit it on the desk.”
“We have an understanding, don’t we, detective?” Chen stated, his voice a little sharper as he came around to face Tech. “I don’t have dishonest students. I can accept any truth, but I can never condone a lie. Real men don’t lie. I recognize those wounds, Shawn. Who did that to you?”
Tech slammed his locker shut, wincing at the soreness in his arms. “A man that my lieutenants interviewed yesterday. He was Special Forces and I ran my mouth about something I shouldn’t have.”
Chen looked disgusted. If he only knew the part that he’d played in it, he might see things differently, but right now Tech was too tired to get that deep into it. “It’s fine, okay. I’m ready to begin.”
“We’ll work again on leg training today, sweeps and knee blocks,” Chen told him, checking off a few items in Tech’s file. Chen had created an amazingly detailed plan especially for him. It included marksman training, martial arts, hand-to-hand, defensive and close contact maneuvers, and a core-strengthening regimen. He’d noticed results, too. He was more toned and defined. His endurance was a lot higher than when he began training, also. He couldn’t wait to show his skills, but he’d have to be patient. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself. If he couldn’t take the heat out there in the field and blew it, God wouldn’t give him another chance.
“Alright,” Tech answered. He couldn’t even begin to argue. His arms were too tender for the gun range today.
He was good at the leg sweeps. Tech was fast when he dropped to the ground to sweep Chen’s legs from under him. He wasn’t hurting him – Chen knew how to fall the correct way when sparring. Every now and then, he’d demonstrate other techniques and Tech would mimic them perfectly. Tech was sweating profusely by the time Chen wrapped up their floor training and told him to do his leg press reps and forty-five minutes on the treadmill at a five percent incline.
Shit.
Tech sat at his desk, chewing on the end of his pen while he looked through an on line catalog for a newer model switchblade for Ruxs. He’d forgotten to yank his last one out of his perp’s thigh before he was rushed to the hospital. So it was another one lost. Tech wasn’t paying attention to the comings and goings in the office. God and Day were in and out constantly, then there were officers and admin staff that would often breeze in to see if they needed any assistance. So he was surprised when he heard Steele’s voice.
He sat up but he didn’t turn around. He didn’t know why, probably because his pulse kicked up and heat slammed into him so fast he felt dizzy. He needed to get this over with. Tech swiveled his chair around and Steele’s intense gray eyes were staring right at him. Tech swallowed a gulp of nothing and stood, along with the rest of the men in the room. His legs were shaky but he didn’t waver, feeling a little proud about that. Two of the SWAT team leaders were sitting at the long conference table with Syn. They often used SWAT as back up when they did a big bust, so it wasn’t uncommon for Hart and his lieutenant to chill in their department.