Page 75 of The Fighter
Now it seemed like a dangerous plan. Not only was Khan the ruler of the country but he was an exceptionally sharp individual with a gift of getting people to tell him things that were secret. What if he didn’t know that he wasn’t Marcus’ son and I accidentally told him?
I wanted information from Khan, but I didn’t want to give him any information from the case yet.
The whole day, I thought about the best way to approach Khan and get him to squeeze me into his busy schedule. He was a good friend of my father and I’d known him since I was a child, but I needed more than a friendly conversation with him. When I made it back to the Gray Manor, I was determined to at least give it a try; and to pump myself up, I did fifty push-ups before I went to Khan’s office that afternoon. My plan was quickly crushed when his assistant stopped me and informed me that the Ruler was in a meeting.
Changing my strategy, I got up extra early the next day and was in the dining room at ten to six when Pearl and Khan came in for breakfast.
“Good morning dear.” Pearl kissed me on my forehead and Khan gave me a nod as he steered to the breakfast buffet and asked:
“What has you up so early?”
Already sitting at the dining table with a plate of food and a glass of juice in front of me, I smiled. “I’m waiting for Magni.”
“Magni – why?” Khan reached for an apple and threw it from one hand to the other.
“One of the guys at the station told me my high kick needs work. I’m not sure if he was just messing with me, so I thought that I’d ask Magni if he has time to spar with me today. He’s such a great fighter.”
“Honey, didn’t Magni leave already?” Pearl walked to stand next to Khan at the small buffet.
Khan nodded. “Yes, he’s off to plan Mila’s tournament. His first meeting was at six.”
I knew that but let my face fall. “That sucks. Who has meetings at six in the morning?”
“People with busy calendars, Raven.” Khan squared his chest. “But you know that Magni isn’t the only great fighter here, right?”
It was hard not to smile since my whole strategy was based on Khan’s vanity. With a shrug, I looked up at him. “Yes, but I haven’t seen Solo around lately.”
Khan went over to sit at the table with his cup of coffee and some fruit and bacon. “I was talking about me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that obviously, I would never disturb you about it. Not that I wouldn’t love to spar with a fighter as experienced as you.”
Pearl laughed and sat down with a plate of bread and fruit from the small buffet. “Flattery will get you far, Raven.”
“Please! It’s not flattery! Raven is just acknowledging that I’m a great fighter. What’s wrong about that?”
“Nothing.” Pearl looked amused.
Khan turned his attention back to me. “I was supposed to spar with Magni at seven but since he’s not here, you can take his place and I can correct your high kick if needed.”
I lit up. “Really?”
Khan nodded. “Meet me in the gym at seven, and you’d better fuel up because I won’t go easy on you.”
I almost jumped in my seat with glee and it made Khan and Pearl laugh.
The Gray Manor had a gym in the basement with a boxing ring. At seven I was ready and had all my questions lined up in my head. The hard part was knowing when to ask them. We sparred a few rounds with Khan correcting my kicks and teaching me a few new moves.
“Wow!” I burst out. “It’s funny because I’ve seen Magni fight plenty of times, but not you. I’d heard you were good from my dad, but it’s still surprising how fast and dangerous you are.”
Khan loved the praise. “Ha, you should have seen me when I was your age.” He jabbed in front of him.
“Speaking of that, I was wondering about something… that week when Dina got married did your dad act funny in any way?”
Khan lowered his hands. “There was nothing funny about my dad, Raven.”
“No, I meant did you notice any strange behavior?”
“How would I remember that? It’s so long ago and I was just a teenager.”
