relaxed half-Lotus pose. She followed suit. They were both wet from rain and sweat and covered in sand, but the warm-up had left her indifferent to any environmental factors.
“I will teach you how to deter attacks by hand, knife, and gun. Typically, when going after a woman, aggressors will not come heavily armed, or in large groups. Due to their reduced body mass and overall lower strength, women don’t seem as threatening. The bad guys are most likely to think you pose zero threat and will tend to underestimate any risk associated with you putting up a fight. We’ll learn how to make them regret it.”
“Will you teach me how to throw my legs in the air and kick them in the head?” She grinned mischievously.
“No, and please forget every single fight you’ve seen in movies. This is real life, not some carefully choreographed John Woo combat scene, where actors just fly through the air without any respect for the laws of physics.” He was not smiling anymore. “This is real, as real as it gets.”
“OK,” she said, her attention in full gear.
“The techniques we are going to practice are part of a family of combat techniques called CQC, or close quarters combat. Specifically, I will show you two different CQC techniques. One is borrowed from Krav Maga, the self-defense system invented by the Israelis, and the other from Systema, developed by the Russians. Between these two fighting systems you will have a good base of defensive and offensive strategies to counter an attack.”
“I see,” she said. This was getting serious. “Did you learn these when you were a SEAL?”
“Yes. There are many other combat techniques out there, but there are some reasons why I choose these two for your self-defense training. One reason is that no attacker would expect you to know either of them, giving you the benefit of surprise. Second is that between the destructive efficiency of Krav Maga and the fluid elasticity of Systema, you have the best mix of skills to be able to neutralize a threat with minimum risk for you.”
He sat up with ease and reached into his duffel bag. After helping her up, he offered her a training knife, painted to resemble a real knife but made of rubber. She took it, examining it closely.
“Come at me with that knife, and I will show you how to defend and disarm,” he said, making inviting gestures with both hands.
“You won’t slam me to the ground again, right? You promised.”
“Yeah, yeah, I promised. Just aim for my chest with that knife.”
She pounced and made a stabbing gesture aimed at his chest. Swiftly, he deflected her right arm towards his left and caught her arm under his, immobilizing her. Then he turned to his left, forcing her to kneel, while twisting her arm until she dropped the knife conveniently into his hand. The whole thing lasted less than half a second.
“Again,” she said, feeling challenged. “Not sure yet how you did it. Slow down a bit.”
“Having fun already? Good, because we’re training with guns tomorrow. Real guns.”
Alex was not smiling. Memories of being held at gunpoint clouded her eyes.
“What did you mean by forcefulness, and what was that of Krav . . . what was that name again?”
“Krav Maga. In Krav Maga the purpose is to deter the attack with maximum prejudice.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you will learn how to kill your attacker.”
...6
...Wednesday, December 23, 11:36AM Local Time (UTC+1:00 hours)
...Palais Hanses Kempinski Hotel
...Vienna, Austria
Vitaliy Kirillovich Myatlev, Vitya to his very few friends, one of the richest Russians alive and a former KGB agent, had become accustomed to the pleasures of luxury spa treatments. Taking the old Russian Banya tradition to the next level, he no longer considered a good massage to be an enjoyment reserved only for spoiled women. He liked to indulge in the spa suite for countless hours. He preferred to start with a cleansing sauna and continue with a relaxing massage performed by lovely young ladies with talented fingers. Then he enjoyed taking a nap on a slab of warm marble.
This time was different. Woken up from his nirvana by one of his bodyguards, he had to cut the blissful hot stone experience short and head straight for his penthouse suite. His two bodyguards followed closely, as they did most of the time. The three of them boarded the elevator hurriedly.
Vitaliy Myatlev had an important guest for lunch and wanted to make sure he did not keep his guest waiting. He