THREE

Flash back

"Lorenzo, they are ten prospective agents who have gone through various rigorous selections in Washington and Seattle."

Lorenzo nodded slowly to his father. He had read the profiles of the prospective agents sent to his office yesterday. Today the ten prospective agents will conduct their first training with him as their main mentor for the next twelve months.

"I will train them to be great agents. Don't worry."

"I understand. I trust you. Good luck."

James Maximillan patted his son twice on the shoulder before stepping out of Hall and letting his son do his job as a mentor to the new agent joining the bureau this year. They are all selected people from various backgrounds who have passed a strict selection.

“Welcome to the Quantico training center. Congratulations to all of you for defeating hundreds of great people who wanted to join our bureau. I'm Lorenzo Maximillan, I'll be your mentor from today on."

Lorenzo looked at the prospective agents one by one. Of the ten prospective agents, there is only one woman standing on the far right. The woman looked tough with a sharp look in her eyes as he stared at her intensely.

"What's your name?"

Lorenzo stood in front of a man with curly hair who stood in the far left row.

"Gunnar Lamar."

“Hmm, impress me with the skill you have.”

"I'm good at martial arts."

"Then show me."

Lorenzo asked Gunnar to duel with him and shows him all the martial arts techniques he has mastered so far. Gunnar then began to attack Lorenzo with the self-defense techniques he had learned over the years. Kicks and punches he aimed at Lorenzo, although at first he hesitated, but when Lorenzo also hit him hard, Gunnar finally started to put all the skills he had in earnest.

The agents who had not yet had their turn to show their skills looked enthusiastic when watching how their teammates acted against their mentors. Every now and then they clapped loudly to encourage Gunnar, who seemed to be trying to bring down Lorenzo.

Selena, who was the only woman in the line, also seemed so enthusiastic about Gunnar's skill to fight their mentor. He thinks Gunnar's skill is very good, he just needs to practice a little bit to be as great as Lorenzo and be able to attack with subtle movements. Their mentor's way of hitting and kicking was very subtle. Gunnar was barely aware of the sudden punch Lorenzo had aimed at his shoulder.

Bruk

Gunnar was defeated by Lorenzo in one landslide kick. He seemed to be panting on the mat while wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead. Soon Lorenzo reached out his hand right in front of Gunnar to help him up. Pulling Gunnar's hand to his feet, Lorenzo praised his skills and would add him to the execution team.

“Your martial skills are so great, you will be added to the execution team. After this seventy percent of your training time will be used to hone your martial arts skills. Are you ready?”

"Yes, I’m ready captain."

After Gunnar showed his formidable skill, Lorenzo's eyes moved along the line of nervously waiting agents. Their boisterous voices were gone, replaced by the sound of their heavy breathing and their stiff faces. Lorenzo looked at the tense faces with amusement. They were all so nervous that they could barely breathe when he stood in front of them. But he was then attracted to the only woman standing on the far right. The woman looked tougher than she looked. She was a beautiful woman with smooth white skin and shimmering dark hair. She would probably be better off as a model than an agent at the risk of getting killed and injured.

"You. You got a name?”

The woman turned, their gazes met and Selena was not at all afraid of being under the glare of her notorious mentor. She was ready to show her skills to this man. She even intended to impress Lorenzo.

"Selena Watson."

She answered firmly and clearly. Her voice was soft, but contained firmness. Her nine comrades turned to her with admiration that they couldn't hide. Lorenzo snorted as the men were stunned to see Selena. Didn't think that one woman could mess up nine men.

“You are the only woman in your group. Are you sure about your decision?”

“There is no reason for me not to be sure. I have chosen my path, and I will not back down.”

“Think about it, being an agent will be dangerous for you. You run the risk of being killed or you have to kill at the risk of feeling regret for the rest of your life. Think about it carefully. You—"

"I’m okay with that!" Selena cut off Lorenzo's words harshly. "This is my life, and I've made up my mind. Thanks for your warning, sir."

Selena's eyes stared at him intently, her jaw tightened and she tried to control her emotions that nearly exploded at Lorenzo's demeaning words. Lorenzo is not the only one who doubts her skills, but she still gets annoyed whenever she meets someone like Lorenzo who always looks at her based on her physical appearance.

“Hmm, then show me your skills.”

Selena walked forward and took out an FN 57 pistol which is a semi-automatic pistol equipped with a small bullet with a pointed tip. It was a special pistol made by an Austrian arms company for elite law enforcement circles. The bureau has quite a number of these weapons in its arsenal and every agent under the bureau is required to have them.

Lorenzo watched Selena's fluid, but nimble movements. She chose the gun carefully and gripped it like she was a pro. There was no doubt at all on her face. Her steps were steady as she walked towards him.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready, captain."

Lorenzo crossed his arms across his chest, one eyebrow raised at the sight of Selena walking to base to shoot.

“Now you shoot the six cans, if you can drop the six cans smoothly, I will place you in the sniper group, but if you don't… you have to get out of this building and resign as an agent. Can you do it, arrogant girl?”

Selena's eyes glared at Lorenzo with an angry glint. She didn't like the way Lorenzo had treated her. He's a sexist. He had blatantly underestimated her shooting skill. He had even been determined to kick her out of this building right after she showed her skill.

“Don't worry, you will still see me tomorrow and so on. I would never leave this place unless I had full recognition for being a great agent.”

“Shoot the cans. Now."

Selena snorted in annoyance and positioned herself in front of six rows of white cans twenty yards in front of her. Of course this shooting challenge will be very difficult, because she has to shoot at a very close distance. Normally the closest she'd shoot at was forty-five yards to fifty yards, and now she had to shoot at twenty yards. She really thought he was crazy. She was sure that Lorenzo must have done that on purpose to get her into trouble and failed this shooting challenge, so she would be kicked out of the organization easily. But of course she would not give up so easily, because she was very confident in her shooting skill.

Selena started to raise her arms to shoulder level and stretch them forward, right in front of her eyes. One of her eyes narrowed slightly to estimate the distance between the tip of the gun and the distance from the first can that was in front of her eyes. This time she had to calculate the accuracy of the bullets very precisely, because otherwise the bullets would fly too fast and not hit the cans at all.

With a steady stance, Selena began to count one to three silently. While praying, she began to move her index finger to pull the trigger of her first gun.

Bang

The deafening sound of gunshots immediately burst into the eardrums of each prospective agent and Lorenzo who was in the room. Selena slowly began to open her curly eyelashes to see the result of her first shot. And how disappointed she was when it turned out that her shot missed. The bullet she fired hit the wall behind the can. Wearily, Selena walked over to Lorenzo and handed him the gun.

“I have failed. And as you asked, I'm going to get out of here right now."

“So you gave up so easily?”

Lorenzo looked at Selena blankly. He thought Selena would be as arrogant and confident as before. But she didn't. She gave up too quickly and lost her confidence in one failure. Lorenzo smiled lopsidedly at Selena and immediately pulled her hand to stand where she had been standing. He then grabbed Selena's hands and positioned them right in front of the second can. His hot palms on her waist. He restrained Selena from moving an inch because she needed to shoot accurately. This time Lorenzo was kind enough to give Selena a chance and teach her how to shoot the can with accuracy.

“Before shooting, your legs and arms must be spread equally wide. Then the position of your eyes must be straight parallel to the muzzle of this gun. After that you have to look at your target shot seriously. This time targeting your shots is much easier because they won't run or dodge. What if your target shot is a human? An agile and armed criminal. If you don't do it quickly and accurately, you could be killed at their hands. Now take a good look at the cans, imagine this hot bullet going to shoot, hurtling into the cans and tearing its contents to pieces. If you've figured it out, then now is the time to pull the trigger and shoot.”

Selena squirmed once. She restlessly felt Lorenzo's hot breath against her ear as he taught her to shoot accurately. She was sure her finger was shaking on the trigger. But Lorenzo held her finger and pressed it to shoot.

Bang!

The bullet shot from the muzzle of the gun and moved very quickly to hit the surface of the can with accuracy. Selena's eyes glazed over at that. She had managed to do it and she would not be kicked out of this place.

But she felt an emptiness when Lorenzo stepped back and gave her room to breathe.

“Now relax.”

The sound of applause from her colleagues immediately echoed in the soundproof room, encouraging Selena so she wouldn't give up and just stop her desire to become a great agent. Selena turned to Lorenzo and mumbled thanks for the second chance he had given her.

“Thank you for the opportunity you gave me and the amazing short training. I will always remember it.”

"Good, now drop the rest of the cans and impress me with your talent."

Selena smiled sweetly at Lorenzo and immediately positioned herself to shoot back at the remaining four cans. This time she vowed to do her best for the captain who had given her a second chance.

Meanwhile Lorenzo secretly smiled a little as he watched Selena getting ready to shoot at the four remaining cans. He thinks after this he will volunteer to be her personal mentor. Apart from the fact that Selena is a talented woman, there is one thing that has always piqued Lorenzo's curiosity. She made him very curious about the mysterious side hidden behind her beautiful face.

Selena.... I think you managed to push me to get to know you better.

Flashback end