Dashing devil 5 bold beg.., p.35
Dashing Devil 5: Bold Beginnings, page 35
She finally got her side set back up—holding onto the white king for a long moment before setting it down and then moving the pawn in front of it forward two spaces.
Boyd snickered when she did, then rumbled, “I was wondering if I shouldn’t ask if you and your king don’t need to get a room.”
“If that’s an option, why are we playing chess?” she retorted.
Boyd sputtered, coughing up the water he’d been taking a sip of. Finally able to catch a breath as he wiped his chin, the big demon scowled at his opponent. “Stick to the game, trainee,” he growled.
It wasn’t that she was bad at chess. In fact, she was proving to be a quick study. But the big demon had cut his teeth on the game at six against a man who had mastered it. And this chess master didn’t believe in going easy on children.
“Your tactical play is improving each round, and it looks like you picked up the Danish Gambit somewhere. Doing a little research on the side, are we?” Boyd asked with a smirk.
Laura leaned back in a leather armchair that was much nicer than the rickety classroom chairs Boyd had learned the game in. They were in his office—the ‘Big Guy’s Study’, as the floorplan labeled it. Two very comfortable chairs had been set up on either side of a chess table they apparently had on hand.
It was a hand-carved rosewood table, inlaid with a black and white marble board complete with intricate scrollwork around the border. It was a present from Mindy, and she’d saved it for whenever an occasion to give it to him arose. She counted taking on his first official Trainee as just such an occasion.
Unfortunately for the Mind Powered, it was far overshadowed by Tinker’s gift of the chess set itself. The chair he sat in was also a gift from Tinker, a custom-made chair constructed from the same materials as their smart beds and nearly as comfortable as the command chair on the Osprey. His tail lazily writhed on the floor behind him as his wings rested over the back of the chair.
His trainee sat across from him wearing a snug, sage green tank top that complimented her eyes and complexion with a pair of charcoal leggings with mesh paneling on the sides. Her medium brown hair was in a messier bun than the one she’d worn for her morning training. She’d changed for their chess matches after a practical skills session with Silvie.
“Maybe just a touch of research,” Laura admitted, then held her hand up with her thumb and pointer finger almost touching. “Not that it seems to have helped.”
“The Danish Gambit is very aggressive, and you aren’t an aggressive player,” Boyd said with his signature one-shoulder shrug. “It isn’t the right opening for you. Plus, as you learned the hard way, it’s easily countered by solid development.”
Laura at scowled him. “It seems like everything I try is countered by that solid development of yours. No matter what I do…” Her complaint trailed off as she took in the self-righteous grin on his face.
Her scowl faded into a small frown of resignation. “I’m starting to realize this was the whole point of playing chess, wasn’t it?”
“It is one of the first lessons chess can teach someone of our profession,” Boyd confirmed with a pleased smile.
Laura was officially a Hero Trainee at this point. He’d secretly registered her as an adjunct member of the Devoted, pending the completion of her training. She was no longer simply civilian base support.
“There are many more lessons you can learn from the game, so we’ll keep at it until you pick up a few of the more important ones. You don’t have to be a tactical genius to be a Hero, Laura, but you do have to grasp the basics. Chess is a great way to learn them.”
Still wearing the small frown of resignation, she nodded.
“For example,” Boyd brought them back around to the first real lesson she had learned from their matches, “by getting my knights, bishops, rooks, and queen to active, effective squares, I can use them to control key parts of the board. From those positions, they are prepared to both attack and to defend. To do that properly, I need to support them with a solid pawn structure. Because I know how to do that, neutralizing the initial surge of the Danish Gambit is simple.”
She recalled his opening moves in their last game.
He gave her another shrug. “Then, I pressed that advantage I earned through my solid development and mopped you up in the middle game.”
“And how does chess, with all of its strict rules, translate to real-world situations that are often chaotic?” Laura asked, her skepticism plain—both in her eyes and her tone. “I’m given to understand that Powered Criminal Events or incursions of Wild Lands’ creatures are fairly disorderly. There’s no taking turns, neat squares to stay in, or pieces that move in predictable ways.”
Boyd smirked. “It’s a Hero’s responsibility to restore order to whatever chaos something or someone with Powers causes. I would say that understanding what order should look like is fairly important.”
He let his smirk shift into a wry grin before he continued. “But no, learning chess is not considered a vital skill for a Hero. I thought it would be a good way to kill two birds with one stone—both as a good way for me to start converting some of the skills you’ve gained and thought processes to something that I can work with, and teach you the basics of tactics.”
“Something that you can work with?” Laura arched a brow dangerously.
“You’re an exceptionally intelligent and determined woman who isn’t afraid of a challenge, or the hard work required to master it,” Boyd said with a smile. “But as talented as you are, you would be a shit Hero as you currently stand. I don’t think you would survive your first encounter with a Powered Criminal, and you already used up your beginner's luck with that stunt the other day.”
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Laura grumbled and then sighed, giving him a small frown. She had stopped defending her actions after rehashing the argument for a third time.
But Boyd kept bringing it back up, pushing the point until he was sure she’d learned her lesson properly.
“I’m counting it as a learning experience.” Boyd shrugged. “I’ll stop bringing it up once I believe that you aren’t defending the stupidity of the action in your head every time I do. And don’t bother denying that you still think you were in the right.” He leaned forward over the table, brows drawing together. “If you do, I’ll just go back to being pissed at your reckless behavior.” Boyd watched as Laura resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
She managed to limit her response to a scowl. “I acknowledge that what I did was reckless, but I still think what I did was right.”
“That’s a start,” Boyd allowed. “But it’s not enough to get me to stop using it as a learning point. Just like in chess, doing the right thing is crucial—but executing the right thing with precision after fully considering the timing and potential reactions to your action, is equally important. Acting impulsively or without assessing the risks causes more harm than good in real-world situations.”
“I did assess the risks,” Laura began to defend herself again. “I understood that I might die, but…”.
Boyd raised a hand to cut her off. It was rude, but she was still his trainee during these games. “You assessed the risks as a Trauma Specialist—one with a little too much courage than is good for her. You knew how to help the patients; all you had to do was get to them. You were confident that you could safely run that distance. You’d obviously watched the training video on how to run while under fire. You zig-zagged and everything.”
She nodded, frowning as she waited for the criticism.
“You got to the patients, helped, and were a good Trauma Specialist—which is the last thing a Hero wants in the field during an active engagement. Trauma Specialists belong in hospitals or field stations like the Osprey, well away from the danger. Heroes bring the civilians to you.”
Laura gave him an offended frown, but he pressed on with a stern expression.
“The only good you did was getting those kids treatment about a minute sooner than they would have if you’d remained safely on the Osprey. It took a lot longer than a minute to get them mobile after you initiated treatment. Even if they could have run, Raev would still have carried them for their own safety—kids trip all the time. In the end, the only thing you did was expose an extra civilian to danger and were lucky that there were no real consequences.”
Boyd sat back in his chair. “That there were no real consequences is why it was a learning experience instead of a tragedy.”
Laura deflated under his serious gaze the same way the kids back in the PAC always did when he pointed out the errors they’d made. “Well then… I guess I’m sorry.”
It was the first time she’d apologized, which meant he could stop bringing it up quite as often. He still couldn’t afford to be too kind if he was going to make her a Hero. Building her back up properly could only happen after he’d appropriately broken her and her stubborn walls down.
“Allow me to reiterate,” he said after studying her for a moment, “you are an intelligent, determined, hard-working, and courageous woman. You have all the makings of a Hero—if you didn’t, I wouldn’t be training you. It’s my job to get you out of a Trauma Specialist’s mindset and into something that works on a Hero team.” He gestured to the board. “Chess can help with that.”
Laura, who truly was a confident woman, perked right back up in response to the shift in the conversation. “Okay, but how can a board game help get me in the right mindset?”
“You’ll understand once you learn the rest of the lessons chess can teach you,” Boyd gave her his most devilish grin.
“Couldn’t you just tell me what lessons I’m supposed to be learning?” she didn’t quite whine.
Laura, like most competitive individuals, did not much enjoy the repetitive losses she had suffered after dinner each night for the past few days.
“And risk stunting my trainee’s growth?” Boyd asked, one big hand going to his own cheek as if the very idea appalled him. “Never!”
This time, Laura did roll her eyes.
“But I will give you a hint,” he continued after a moment. “We aren’t using a timer; slow down. We only play for half an hour and typically finish three games in that time because you move too fast. You’re still learning. Take your time to consider the full lay of the board.”
"How long do you think I should wait before making a move?" Laura leaned in, her eyes sparkling with a playful undertone, subtly suggesting there might be more to her question than met the eye.
Boyd chuckled, appreciating the shift in the atmosphere as Laura continued to challenge him—both on the chessboard and in their banter. “Don’t make your move until you have considered all the moves I might make in response,” he met her pale green eyes with a smirk.
Laura leaned back in her chair, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. “Consider all your moves, huh? That could take a while. We would certainly have to prolong these games and I might have to bring snacks.”
Boyd raised an eyebrow, playing along with her flirtatious tone. "Snacks might slow you down even more. You wouldn't want to lose because you were too busy enjoying a bag of chips, would you?"
"Oh, I can multitask," Laura shot back with a wink. "I've been known to make strategic moves while enjoying a snack or two. It keeps things interesting."
Boyd chuckled, finding her boldness both entertaining and refreshing. "Well, we wouldn't want the game to get too predictable, would we? I might have to start throwing in unexpected moves just to keep you on your toes."
Laura's gaze intensified; her pale green eyes fixed on his own golden gaze. "I like a challenge, Boyd. So, feel free to make your moves as unpredictable as you want. I can handle it."
Chapter 37
Boyd leaned forward, his playful demeanor giving way to a more serious expression. "Chess is about anticipating your opponent's moves and adapting. It's a dance of strategy and unpredictability. You'll need those skills in the field as much as on the board."
Laura smirked, undeterred. "Maybe we should take this dance beyond the chessboard sometime… see if you can keep up."
Boyd’s serious demeanor cracked as quickly as he’d summoned it and a hint of a grin danced across his lips. “You’ve seen me dance, Laura. I don’t think it’s me that has to worry about keeping up.”
Laura leaned even closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Oh, I've seen your moves, Boyd. But I'm not talking about the kind of dance you do with an audience watching, and you know it. I'm talking about the kind of moves all your lovers like to brag about when you aren't around."
Boyd felt his eyes widen ever so slightly, caught off guard by Laura’s directness—though after a moment he realized he shouldn’t have been. He chuckled to cover the moment of shock and let his devilish grin through, setting out just a little of the challenge she responded so well to in his golden gaze.
“If they’ve been bragging to you,” he said, “then you should know you should be worrying about keeping up even more with that kind of dancing… what do they call it… the horizontal mambo?”
Laura's laugh was genuine and bright, her confidence unwavering. "Oh, I'm always up for learning new moves, Boyd. Especially when it comes to dancing with someone as skilled as they’ve said you are."
Boyd leaned back in his chair, a playful glint in his eyes. "Careful now, Laura. You might find yourself in over your head. I've been known to lead quite... assertively."
Laura leaned forward, her tone teasing. "I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, Boyd. Besides, where's the fun in playing it safe?"
Their eyes locked in a silent exchange, tension hanging in the air between them. Each word spoken carried a subtle invitation, a flirtatious dance that neither seemed willing to back away from.
Boyd had to remind himself that he was a professional, the gorgeous slightly older woman across from him was his trainee and, while it was meant to be casual, these chess games were a part of her official training.
“It seems we’ve gotten off topic,” the big demon schooled his expression into his no-nonsense instructor facade. “Last night's reading was on the importance of operational planning, as well as its limitations. I provided you with a simplified version of our next mission’s ‘Plan A’ to reference after the reading. Tell me what you learned.”
“That you made things look very easy with the Last Dragon and the last mission.” She pursed her lips, thinking. “And that ninety-nine times out of one hundred, plans go to shit?” Laura made it more of a question than an answer.
To be fair, he had pulled a rather abrupt change in the conversation’s direction.
“Both of those mission’s plans did go to shit.” Boyd chuckled ruefully. “For the Last Dragon mission, two unauthorized S-Ranked Powereds invaded our engagement zone, one of whom attacked me. Then, during the last one, our Trauma Specialist abandoned her assigned position and exposed herself to pulse rifle fire part way through it. We were only just able to successfully adapt the plan to the changing circumstances and salvage as much of the desired result as possible.”
He arched his brows at her chagrined look. “The goal is always to return to the plan as efficiently as possible when additional variables drag you off it.”
Laura frowned and tapped her lip as she thought about what he’d said, then nodded in a subconscious display of understanding. He had picked up on the habit, and learned that until he saw that little nod, it wasn’t clear that the lesson had taken.
“Okay,” his trainee continued, “so what the reading said about planning being important but that, in most operations, it should be viewed as loose guidelines now makes a bit more sense. At face value, the statements seemed contradictory.”
Boyd gave her a grin.
“Then,” Laura said after a brief pause, “I reviewed your plan for the upcoming mission. Each step is clearly defined for The Devoted, but you only listed vague goals for the other teams. I’d assumed that was because you wanted them to do their own planning for their parts of the mission… but now I wonder if it wasn’t because you can’t predict the additional variables they might face?”
Her voice ticked up at the end to indicate it was a question.
“It was a little of both, actually.” Boyd waggled a hand back and forth as he eased back in his chair. “Davis is sending out Pinnacle Watch, who are veterans with a solid track record. Crimson Contender is a good captain and a decent tactician. I trust them to handle their own planning, so I assigned them some of the more important objectives that I know we can’t handle. They’ve got some NPO support to make the higher priority arrests and will be working the areas where our more vulnerable team members will be operating.”
Laura’s brows drew together as she considered this new information.
“Then, we will be working with the Quantum Guardians out of Nexusburg.” Boyd's voice carried a neutral tone. “They may be a solid team, stronger even than Pinnacle Watch with their triad—Quantum Blaze, Titaness, and Photon Striker—but they are still relatively new. They only formed a couple of years ago and they lack experience in handling intricate situations. While Quantum Blaze may excel at making split-second decisions, planning is not his strong suit. I have tasked them with a mission that is both straightforward yet chaotic in nature. They must quell the chaos and disorder within the general population and attempt to make arrests where possible but ultimately are primarily responsible for shutting down any disturbances that arise. The nature of their task won’t allow for detailed planning, so I’m not bothering putting one together for them.”
“I wondered about that as well,” Laura admitted. “Won’t that lead to a greater possibility of civilian injuries?”
Laura raised an eyebrow again, a bit of accusation in her eyes. She was now challenging his morals. And, being a healer by nature, it seemed she found them wanting. “Something like Heroes bursting in to arrest everyone in a crowded stadium tends to lead to people being trampled or blasted to pieces when a Powered or twelve panic. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more than a few deaths.”
