"Best two out of three," Owen suggested, gathering the deck of cards and shuffling them.
"Fine, but I will show you no mercy," Alex teased.
Nikolai Udinov knew his daughter had to be taught ways of the Americans, but he wasn't always around to make sure she was practicing her English. He decided to hire a bodyguard from the States; Owen Elliot.
Owen wasn't like the other bodyguards. For one, he was much younger, barely past age 20. He was also a lot kinder and treated her as a person, not an assignment. Her father hired him not just to protect her, but to teach her English and learn things that would ultimately help her when she took over Zetrov.
Owen taught her important things, but he also kept things light, like today. Today he was teaching her Slapjack, a silly card game where you try to be the first person to slap the Jack cards. He tells her it's good for her reflexes, just so she can give her father a peace of mind when he asks what they did that day.
"Can I ask you something?" Alex questioned as Owen began to divide the cards evenly between them.
"Sure. What's on your mind?"
"Why did you choose to work here in Russia, rather than in America?"
Owen slowed to a stop before answering. What Alex didn't know was that he was there on a mission, working for Division. He was there to gather intel on the Udinov family. What she also didn't know and what Division would never know was that he had grown quite attached to a sweet young girl; he'd made a friend.
"That's easy. Your father pays really well," he joked, smirking and dealing out the rest of the cards. "Ready for round two?"
"I'm serious. Why Russia? Why here?" she asked.
"I don't know. The opportunity came up and I needed some different scenery," he told her. He wasn't given a choice with this assignment. You never have a choice at Division.
"Well, I'm glad you did. I don't have a lot of friends. My father doesn't trust very easily."
"I get that. With my job, you can't… get attached. You can't make friends. It gets lonely," he told her in full honesty.
"No one to kick your ass at card games," Alex teased, laughing.
"Hey, now your dad cannot know I taught you an American swear word," Owen laughed.
"I won't tell if you don't," she promised.
"What are we keeping secret?" Nikolai asked, entering the room and standing beside the table where they sat.
"Now it wouldn't be a secret if we told you, Papa," Alex answered.
"Mr. Elliot, you are free to go. My work day has ended early and I'd like to spend some time with my daughter."
"Of course, Mr. Udinov," Owen said, getting up. He looked at Alex. "We'll continue this tomorrow," he said with a heavy heart.
That night, Alex's house was burnt down, her family being killed by a Division strike team. It killed Owen that he wasn't on that team, or else he would have saved Alex. Percy knew better than to trust him to go into such a chaotic mission; there would be too many chances to let people slip through the cracks.
Nikita Mears saved Alexandra Udinov that night, and Alex went on thinking Owen was shot or killed in the fire.
Owen heard that Alex's body was never found. He went on thinking that she was dead, but always holding onto hope that maybe, just maybe, she survived.