Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Getting Ready

When Rayne arrived at the gym, Brent was doing warm-up stretches, followed by some basic fighting stances.

Rayne watched in awe as he performed these movements with seemingly effortless precision.

"Ah, Rayne, you're here. Come on over, and let's begin from where I left off last week," said Brent, waving Rayne over to him.

She put her whole heart into today's lesson, engraving every movement and word Brent said into her memory.

Brent looked over at her, noticing the seriousness she displayed. He could see the fire in her eyes; she seemed almost desperate to improve with every motion.

"Hey, did something happen these last few days? You seem a bit different from last week."

Rayne paused and looked up at him. Although this was just her second class, she considered Brent her teacher.

She calmly recounted her experience on the mountain and how she narrowly escaped death.

Hearing the story, Brent's expression turned serious, even more so after he had Rayne describe what the two men looked like. She unfortunately never got a good look at the man who was restraining her, but she described the lawyer-looking man named Tek.

Brent's gaze turned cold. He knew this person. Tek was part of Damien's group, and although he wasn't someone high up in the rankings, he was still a small-time leader in the group.

"Rayne, you were smart not to report this to the park rangers or the police. Such people have no morals, and if they found out you reported them, the only outcome would have been your death," said Brent.

Rayne was a little surprised to hear this. Brent gave off a strong ex-military vibe, and she thought that he would have scolded her for not doing the "right" thing.

After hearing about the close call Rayne experienced, Brent changed a few of the moves he had been teaching her. He was originally going to wait longer until her muscles were more adjusted, but seeing her determination, he began to teach her ways to protect herself.

Rayne requested to learn how to break free from being held, so Brent spent the rest of the lesson demonstrating and teaching Rayne various ways of breaking free.

After the self-defense lesson, Rayne left feeling a little sore but empowered. She successfully managed to break free from Brent's grip, marking a success in having learned her first self-defense move.

She quickly went home to shower before heading to the salon for her beauty appointment.

Brent stepped into his office after Rayne left and called Ian.

"Hey boss, I have some new information. My self-defense student ran into Damien's men at Three Falls Park. Based on what little she heard, it seems like they're scouting land for something."

"Why would they scout land at a country-owned park? Something seems off," replied Ian over the phone.

"I am also curious about this, but if Tek is involved, then we can assume it's important," said Brent.

"Hmm, thank you for telling me about this. I will let Julian know," said Ian before hanging up the phone.

Ian grabbed the keys off the counter and left for REN Corp. headquarters.

The moment he arrived at the large office building, the experienced secretary had already alerted Noah of Ian's visit.

Ian curtly nodded at the secretary and stepped into the president's elevator, heading towards Julian's office.

Noah greeted his older brother as soon as the elevator doors opened. "Hey Ian, what brings you over today? It's unlike you to simply visit," asked Noah.

"I have some information for the boss. It seemed important, so I came here as soon as I got off the phone with Brent," replied Ian.

"From Brent? Interesting how he came across some information we haven't heard already," questioned Noah as he led Ian to Julian's office.

Julian was a little surprised to see Ian in his office but figured that only meant he had something important to discuss.

"Noah, postpone the meeting for another 30 minutes. I want to hear what Ian has to say."

Noah picked up his cell phone and stepped out to make a call, returning shortly after.

"Boss, Brent called me just now with some interesting information. He has a new student at his gym, and she had an encounter with Tek over the weekend at Three Falls Park," said Ian.

"How do we know it's Damien's Tek and not some other guy with the same name?" questioned Noah.

"Brent asked the girl to give a description, and what she described was undoubtedly that Tek. The thing I am more curious about is what they were looking for up in those mountains?" said Ian, glancing over at Julian.