Pavel and Dmitri were lucky as the Afghan soldiers and FS operators treated them as typical criminals with the privilege of defending themselves in court instead of terrorists without civil rights.

The soldiers zip-tied the Bratva members while waiting for military trucks to arrive and transport the criminals back to base.

Ryder Irving initiated a private voice channel and connected with Director Price a few seconds later and said, “The Afghans killed a few of the targets, but most have been detained. The young soldiers did well holding off the assault. Their training has paid off quite a bit.”

Price wasn’t surprised with the victory as the threat assessment provided by Holo and the recon team was detailed enough, allowing the operators to plan for a proper strategy and utilize appropriate equipment for the mission.

The FS Director replied, “President Karzai will be glad to hear about it. Extend our gratitude and pay the family Bitcash for property damages using the budget while I speak to my Interpol contact. Take charge of the prison transport in case anything happens on the way back to Kandahar. Excellent work, Spectre Irving. Price out.”

Peace was restored in the agricultural community as all the assailants were defeated by the Afghan armed forces, with some help from Future Security.

The local populace was amazed to watch the effectiveness of a new breed of defenders dedicated to protecting Afghanistan’s civilians and its national interests.

———

Vince attended a Sunday morning session at the Fury Gym, but Hailee wasn’t feeling too well and decided to schedule an appointment with Dr. Sera at the Austin Future Med Hospital.

The young CEO arrived with two of his typical FS escort joining him in entering the building.

The Fury Gym looked completely different than the one Vince used to visit after meeting Tom Fury almost two years prior.

His father purchased the entire building complex in Downtown Austin to expand the gym’s services, including five full-size UFC octagons featuring logos of various Future Tech products, as Vince was its primary sponsor.

Tom Fury was doing very well by winning his first four fights in the UFC the past year, resulting in a growth of regular gym members and aspiring prizefighters who wanted to follow Tom’s example.

Mr. Fury had to hire more kickboxing, wrestling, and BJJ instructors to meet the demands of his clients, but his lack of resources and funds was no longer an obstacle.

He didn’t want to abuse his son’s friendship with Vince Dalton, so he only requested a reasonable sponsorship amount and a business management contract from Future Tech.

The megacorp didn’t provide management services to the mass market and instead was only available to close partners like Hyundai C&E, SpaceX, Tesla, Koenigsegg, and Fury Combat Sports.

These businesses would pay an annual fee for legal, human resources, accounting, and operational support from Future Tech.

Mr. Fury took full advantage of the deal to focus primarily on training his son to become UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and teach his other loyal students like Vince Dalton.

His gym’s popularity attracted fighters from across the globe as it employed ex-Muay Thai, Pride FC, and Boxing champions, and representatives from prestigious lineages like Kron Gracie of the famous Brazilian family seeking to improve his MMA skills while teaching BJJ.

Vince changed into his kickboxing attire, began wearing shin guards and other protective equipment for sparring, noticed a familiar Italian-American in his late 20s, and teasingly asked, “Marco, how was your date last night?”

The FS Overseer grinned and replied, “It went well, if you get what I mean. So which class are you attending?”

Vince wasn’t surprised as Marco was a handsome young man and said, “My man! I felt like going for an MMA sparring session while Hailee isn’t around bugging me to play guard to practice her top game.”

Marco’s interest was piqued, and he replied, “She’s doing well in training and absorbing the lessons quickly. It won’t be long until Mr. Fury promotes her to blue belt in BJJ. I’m down to spar if you’re up for it.”

Vince cynically said, “No way I’m gonna exchange leg kicks with your cybernetic leg. Fuck that.”

Marco compromised and asked, “How about I spar with you with a handicap? Don’t worry; I’ll reduce my leg’s energy output to human levels while we’re fighting. I wouldn’t want to hurt my CEO too much, or else I risk getting fired.”

Vince understood Marco had a good heart and only wanted to pass down his fighting experience and replied, “That’s agreeable. I’ve been meaning to test out a few MMA techniques if you don’t mind.”

The pair rented an octagon for private use and began playing around with sidekicks, jabs, and takedown attempts.”

Though Marco was much older than Vince, the young man had grown much larger compared to his previous life due to improved nutrition and almost daily sessions at the Fury Gym, instead of studying overnight and eating junk food like instant ramen noodles every meal.

Tom Fury recommended a daily supplement regimen vetted by Future Med and even the UFC that Vince had been consuming for almost two years.

The connection of the body and mind was evident when Vince noticed higher work efficiency in his current life in contrast to his adult self in 2021.

Vince was 5 foot and 10 inches the last time he checked a few months back, but he was definitely still growing.

Marco didn’t seem as imposing sparring against the 15-year-old in the middle of the octagon.

The pair found themselves scrambling as Vince went for a relentless single-leg takedown, focusing on the cybernetic leg and leaving the normal one vulnerable for a leg sweep.

Marco was surprised to feel how strong the younger man exerted himself to successfully execute the technique while defending a guard pass by punching Vince’s sparring helmet and fighting for hand control.

The young CEO practiced a dominant MMA style popularized by the future undefeated UFC Middleweight Champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Dagestan-based fighting style was a mix of Sambo, wrestling, and cage abuse. Vince vividly remembered it from the time he watched Khabib versus Connor McGregor at a house party during college.

Vince was around the same size as Khabib and thought it would be a good idea to explore the fighting style of the rising talent who’d only entered the UFC recently in January 2013.

Marco refused to play guard in the middle of the octagon, so he struggled to get back on his feet as Vince forced him against the cage and postured his head underneath Marco’s chin.

The US military veteran was accustomed to fighting hand-to-hand, but he didn’t expect how effective the cage was in reducing his tactical options in the spar.

Vince released his grip on Marco’s wrists and transitioned to a collar tie.

The young man snapped both his arms down to force the US military veteran closer to the mat as he struggled with his back against the fence.

He attempted to wall climb by wiggling his back up the cage but suddenly realized his legs were trapped by Vince sitting on his knees and securing both legs in between his thighs.

These few techniques were textbook Khabib moves, and Vince had plenty of opportunities to strike with his right hand as Marco was stuck against the cage and under the knee-mount, but Vince decided to practice more of the style’s controlling aspects until the round bell rang.

His BJJ experience lent itself well in executing the complicated yet easy-looking movements, and Marco curiously asked, “I’ve never seen anything like that, Vince. Did any of the new instructors teach you those moves?”

Vince modestly replied, “I doubt I could have held you in that position for long if you used the cybernetic leg at full power. Though the techniques I picked up by watching a UFC rookie, Khabib. You should look up his Sambo fights. The guy is a beast.”

Marco nodded his head and honestly said, “I’ll check out his fights, but seriously, though. Weren’t you a little too strong in holding me against the cage? I know we haven’t sparred in a while because of my new duties at the FS Barracks, but I don’t remember you exerting that much pressure a month back.”

Now that Marco mentioned it, Vince felt his top game was more dominant than usual and chalked it up to Khabib’s superior cage style and replied, “Nothing too drastic has changed in my training and diet program.”

Vince had always been disciplined with his food intake in respect of his new chance in life. Still, he pondered, [The only significant difference I can tell is drinking a few bottles of Future Med nutrition fluid a day to cope with the stress of physical training and mental fatigue from working.]

Marco was content with the young man’s answer and said, “Hmm. Maybe I’m just getting older. I assumed I’d be giving you pointers during our spar, but do you mind teaching me those techniques? It might be useful if I ever get into a scuffle in a narrow corridor or something.”

Vince decided to brush off the issue for the moment and schedule an appointment with Dr. Sera to determine if the nutrition fluid was affecting his physical performance.

—

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