PART 4 - VALKYRIE

“That scroll belongs to the 75th Ranger Regiment,” the stranger said.

A murmur moved through the tent.

Ethan glanced at my shoulder, then back at me.

“So?”

The veteran’s expression hardened.

“So you should reconsider.”

I placed my jacket on an empty chair.

“Sir, it’s all right.”

He studied me for another second before nodding.

Carlos called us onto the mat.

Ethan bounced lightly on his feet, grinning for the cameras.

I stood still.

“No striking,” Carlos reminded us.

We touched hands.

Ethan immediately shot for my legs.

He was fast, exactly as I expected.

I stepped aside, redirected his shoulder, and let his momentum carry him past me.

The crowd gasped.

Ethan recovered before hitting the mat and turned with an embarrassed smile.

“Lucky.”

He came forward again, slower this time.

His right hand reached for my wrist while his left searched for my collar.

I gave him both.

The instant he committed, I changed levels, trapped his arm, and

took his balance.

He landed on his back with me beside him, controlling the elbow.

For one breath, I could have forced the submission.

Instead, I released him and stood.

Carlos raised an eyebrow.

Ethan’s face darkened.

“You think this is funny?”

“No.”

He charged before Carlos could reset us.

This time, there was no technique in it.

Only anger.

I caught his weight, turned my hips, and placed him facedown on the mat.

His arm folded safely behind him.

My knee settled beside his shoulder.

“Tap,” Carlos ordered.

Ethan refused.

I applied a fraction more pressure.

His palm slapped the mat three times.

Silence swallowed the tent.

Carlos pulled me back and declared it over.

Richard Caldwell stared at his son as if he had never seen him before.

Then Walt Griffin stepped onto the mat.

He wasn’t looking at Ethan.

He was looking at me.

“Victoria,” he said,

his voice trembling, “what was your call sign?”

Every muscle in my body tightened.

Nobody on Larksburg Court knew that name.

Nobody except the men who had been there the night my unit disappeared.

Before I could answer, the older stranger whispered it for me.

“Valkyrie.”

THE END.