Viviane passed under a sign.

Hyperextension – For Extreme Athletes*

*no place for wimps

As she ran inside to find her kickboxing class, she passed by a glass room filled with a row of brand-new StrainMax elliptical machines. A lone, middle-aged woman wearing headphones stood next to one of the machines. She had a low center of gravity, so to speak.

Looking through the glass wall, Viviane saw that the woman was not running on the StrainMax machine but fiddled with her headphones. She happened to look up from her fiddling to see a perfectly proportioned runway model looking back at her making eye contact. The middle-aged woman gasped and jumped back. Viviane averted her eyes.

“Sorry about that! Didn’t mean to scare you,” she said before she ran off.

The woman with the headphones collected herself and glanced up and down the hall making sure that Viviane had gone. Keeping her eye on the glass wall, the woman put on her headphones and turned them on. The headphones she wore blocked out all outside sounds as if she was in a virtual reality. They also prevented anyone near them from hearing any leaked voices. She grabbed onto them to make sure they were secure. A mysterious voice on the other end of the line gave her goosebumps whenever it spoke.

“I told you not to call on the encrypted channel unless it is a Level One Emergency.” A computer distorted the voice.

“I can’t do this anymore!” the woman whispered, straining to keep her voice quiet. She tried to hide her face by looking down at the ground. “The authorities have raised the threat level to HIGH, don’t you know? They’re going to find out!”

“That will not happen. We’ve taken care of the authorities. You have to stay committed to the end. It’s already too late for you change your mind.”

“But what will happen if I get caught? What will happen to my daughter? Melina doesn’t know a thing. She’s innocent!”

“Remain focused,” the voice in her head warned. “Everything is proceeding according to plan. Continue with your mission and do not call on this line again.” The unidentified voice terminated its transmission and the normal sounds of the gym returned.

The middle-aged woman started to exercise on the StrainMax elliptical. She knew that in order to lose inches off her hips and thighs, she would have to run on this elliptical for at least half an hour if not more. She also knew that exercise was the best way for her to deal with her anxiety and to forget about the risks she took for her and her daughter’s sake.