In the facility’s training room, David and Kyle were both facing each other, with dual short hardwood staffs for each of them. They both stared at each other, before they ran straight to start their sparring session. Kyle swung first, but David slid down on the floor, hitting Kyle’s foot, causing him trip. Before he could lose his balance, Kyle used his other staff for balance, before turning to David. The man saw his opponent running back towards him, before David flipped over, swinging his staff over to Kyle. He blocked it, making a cross with his staffs, but David, with his smooth footwork, turned around, hitting Kyle from behind. Kyle fell to the ground, as David walked around him.

Kyle caught his breath, before flipping over and attacking David once more. Kyle did another flip, but David saw an opening from Kyle’s leg. David threw his baton in the air, sliding down from his opponent, appearing from behind, before he grabbed the staff once more, and swinging it to Kyle’s leg. The man fell to the ground again, as David stood on his feet. Kyle chuckled, as he looked up to David, who was staring at him.

“I should’ve guessed this would be easy for you.” Kyle stood up, before picking up his batons. “One more round?” he smirked.

Michael was walking towards the training grounds, with a woman beside him. Denise Wu, a Vietnamese descent agent, with long black hair, and older looking than Michael, was conversing with the man. “I guess if we could somehow make him feel more welcome?” Denise gave a look towards the man. “Oh come on, what else could we do for him?” he waved. “The man has been through a lot. We can’t blame him for being—”

They suddenly heard Kyle screaming, before he flew out from the training grounds. He landed in front of the two agents, as he groaned, clutching his stomach. “Dear god.” He grunted. Michael and Denise glanced at the grounds, where David tilted his head over to his opponent. “Okay…” Kyle struggled to get up, before Denise helped him. “Training’s good for today.” He told David, before the man walked out of the room. “Man.” He sighed, as he turned to Michael. “You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“I warned you that he had extensive training from the program.” Michael sighed, before glancing at Denise.

“Got any better ideas?” Denise raised an eyebrow.

In the cafeteria, David was sitting alone in a table, while eating his meal. Michael, Denise, and another agent walked inside, with trays in hand, before noticing the man. Michael pointed his head over to the table, before the agent, Cain Jacobs, shook his head, denying the gesture. “Do you have a death wish, Michael?”

“Oh come on, guys.” Michael smiled at them. “He’s not so bad if you get to know him.”

“Do you know him?” Denise emphasized.

“Well…” Michael shrugged. “I know he won’t kill us.” He said. “I mean, I’m still here after infiltrating his hideout like three times within the month.” He pointed out, before walking over to the table. Denise and Cain sighed, before following their friend. Michael placed his tray down in front of David, as the man glanced up at him. “Hey. Enjoying the food?” David watched as Denise and Cain sat beside Michael, as they gave a nod. David sighed, before picking up his coffee cup. “The coffee here is better than what we could get at a—” David stood up, leaving his tray, before walking away from the table. Michael sat down, sighing, as he watched the man leave. “Baby steps…” He mumbled to himself.

“I told you.” Denise glanced at Michael, before she started eating.

“Mikey,” Cain called. “He just placed Kyle in the infirmary from a sparring session. He’s not like us.”

“He’s different.” Michael tossed his food around. “But I know there’s good in him…”

“Okay, right.” Cain waved his fork around. “He may be helping us with this Nighthowler case, but that doesn’t mean he has the same interest as us.” Michael glanced at him. “Don’t force yourself to see something that isn’t there, Mikey. You’ll just hurt yourself.”