The teams gather

Valerie stood in front of the entrance to the arena. She had chosen another recent recruit, Hawk, as her handler - mostly because he was the only one who volunteered. Nobody really wanted to help the rookie against someone like Anya. Hacking wasn't exactly his specialty, so their plan was for him to try and provide recon on Anya's location by going to high ground and spotting her visually. Valerie didn't feel very confident about it, but it was the best shot she had.

Meanwhile, Anya and Iris stood silently, confident. They didn't need to discuss their strategy, for they had done this countless times before.

"Here's how this works.", said Anya. "Both our weapons shoot rubber pellets with sensors. While they won't hurt, they will sting - keep your helmet and glasses on at all times. You can also touch your opponent with the blade of your knife, which counts as a hit."

"Handlers will be located in the same arena. One hit is enough to eliminate them, so they will need to balance their recon with survival. Once eliminated, they cannot provide any assistance in the contest."

"When an agent is hit, the contest is paused. The agent who got hit must put all weapons on the ground and stand with their arms behind their head. The agent who scored the hit will approach, and choose an item of clothing worn by their opponent, who will take off that item and present it to them."

"Once this exchange is made, both competitors have a minute to change their positions and get their bearings. The contest ends when one competitor is naked or unable to compete."

Valerie nodded. She had done a few exercises like this, although never with stakes this high.

"I'll give you a final chance.", said Anya, approaching Valerie. "If you surrender right now, I'll let you off with just a couple of laps around the arena - naked, of course. You can continue being a field agent."

Why does she want to see me naked so bad, thought Valerie. "Respectfully, ma'am, your ego is out of control. I think being stripped naked will do you some good.", she countered.

"We'll see about that.", said Valerie, as she put out her hand. Valerie shook it, and both teams entered the urban training center.