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“Keep me posted, Doc.”
“You know it.”
“Anything?” Raketa asked.
Gunner hadn’t realized she was standing right behind him.
“No, but since when are you stealth-girl?”
“I’ve been watching you.”
“Yeah? Think you’ll best me?”
“Never, but I’d be happy with number three.”
“Not two?”
“You’re two.”
Gunner put his hand on his heart. “You wound me, woman.”
“We both know that you’ll never best Shiver.”
“That may be right, but you could at least humor me.”
Raketa tilted her head like she didn’t understand.
“You know, play along to make me feel better about myself.”
“I knew what you meant, Gunner.”
“So why do you look confused?”
“Not confused. Just thinking.”
He waited for her to go on.
“If you trained me, I might be able to get to Topor before he gets to me.”
“Your dream really rattled you. Why Topor specifically?”
“I don’t know. Just a feeling. Every time Petrov summoned me, he was the one to escort me to his office. Each time, I wondered if that would be when he’d kill me.”
Gunner understood. In their line of work, it was essential that they took any feeling, premonition, whatever one wanted to call it, seriously. “Let’s get to work, Rocket Girl.”
* * *
The island was the perfect place for Gunner to mentor Raketa in the same way Shiv had done for him. It offered a combination of wide-open spaces and concentrated forest. He worked her, day and night, to the point that they ended each session physically spent.
He pulled two troughs from one of his storage buildings, filled one with ice-cold water and the other with warm water.
“I know cold therapy is the rage right now, but I’ve been practicing contrast therapy for years. We’ll do one minute in cold followed by three in warm. We’ll repeat this four times,” he explained.
“Why?”
“Faster recovery. Reduction in tissue swelling. Decreased inflammation.”
Raketa studied him. “Is this really necessary?”
