Rather than join the rest of them in the mess hall, Deunan went off to find Jordan. It didn't take long, when he was upset she was almost always sure to find him at the gym tearing into a punching bag, and that was exactly where she found him. Leaning up against the edge of the boxing ring, she gave an exaggerated sigh. "So…guess this means we're stuck with him, huh?" she asked rhetorically.

"I'd imagine," Jordan said as he continued a barrage of punches and kicks at the hapless bag. "He's definitely got the skills."

"Yeah, but he's an outlaw. Seriously, how long do you think he'll last here?" she asked, lazily bouncing against the robes.

"Don't know," was all that he replied. He gave the bag a few more solid blows before grabbing it to halt its movements and turning to face Deunan. "I'm thinking of transferring," he said after a moment passed.

"You can't! Jordan, you can't go just cause Dad's gone crazy and hired some…"

"It's not that, Deu. It's not what he is; it's the damned lengths Carl went to to get him. I was right here, and he flew halfway across the globe to hire some guy he hardly knew anything about. You think he's gonna promote me… ever? No, he's not. If I stay here, I'll never move up. Never. I can't deal with that," he said, his shoulders bowed a little as though all his strength had left him. "I've gotten offers from other cities."

"You're gonna take me with you though, right?" Deunan asked, her eyes beginning look desperate.

"I can't raise you, Deu…"

"I don't need raising!"

"Yeah, you do, Deunan. Whether you want to admit it or not you're still a kid, and Carl, he's still your dad. You think he's just going to let me waltz off the base with you?"

"Dad doesn't give a damn what happens to me! Haven't you noticed! You're the only one he ever pays a sliver of attention to! Damn it, he'd probably be happy to get rid of me!" she almost shouted as tears filled her eyes.

"Come here, sis," he said wrapping his arms around her. "Look, I know the old man's been hard on you, but he cares, he really does. It hasn't been easy for him since mom died, and I think taking you away from him, that would just about kill him." Deunan scoffed at this, but he continued, "No, I'm serious. I think… maybe… if I leave, he'll go easier on you."

"I don't want you to go, though," she mumbled into his chest.

"Deunan," he said finally, rubbing her back a little. "It'll be a while yet, if I do decide to go, so let's not worry about it today. Deal?"

"Deal," she said, squeezing him tightly before she pulled herself away. "Maybe we'll luck out, and this Bree-o-whatever-his-name-is won't last long."

"Here's to hoping," he said without much hope in his voice. He knew that one day, and one day soon, he'd be leaving, but he just as soon not worry her any more about it until he got everything lined up. "Come on, I'm starving."

Being that it was Saturday, there weren't many people at the mess hall, and when Deunan and Jordan entered, Briareos looked up. Meeting his eyes, Deunan inadvertently blushed, casting her eyes downward and her mouth tightening into a scowl. Catching her action from the corner of his eye and looking up to see the direction she had been looking, Jordan's fist clinched.

After they grabbed their food and sat at a vacant table, Jordan leaned across and whispered to Deunan, "You'd better stay away from Briareos."

"What?" she asked pretending to be innocent.

"I saw that look, and I know you were ogling Carl or Verund," he said. "He's a grown man, and a dangerous one. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I doubt he'd even notice me," Deunan said darkly, which did not do anything to relieve Jordan's anxiety for his little sister's safety.

The truth was though, that Briareos had noticed Deunan, although not in the way she was hoping for. (He may have been a bit of a sex addict, but he was by no means a pedophile.) It was eerie the way she reminded him of Demeter. True, they looked nothing alike, and where Dee had been mostly a sweet and gentle soul, this little imp of a girl was all anger and sarcasm. He couldn't help but feel, though, that like when he was a child, most of her tough façade was just that, a mask to hide some deeper hurt. So maybe it was that she reminded him of both Demeter and himself. Whatever it was, he felt a connection to her immediately.

Deunan had been there for the rest of his tests, hanging about in the background pretending to be bored with the whole ordeal. But she enjoyed watching him fight, although she would never tell him that. He's movements were more fluid and effortless than any others she'd seen before, and she'd watched a lot of fights. Even before her mother's death, she'd always been Carl's shadow, happy to follow him around the base in Sacramento.

He fought first one opponent, then 2, then 3, and on until it was him against six. One of the six in the ring was Jordan, stretching out his muscles and glaring at Briareos with loathing. The other men in the ring didn't look much happier. They'd all heard about Briareos' sordid past, mostly gleaned from Deunan's eavesdropping, and were none too happy at the idea they'd be taking orders from someone like him.

As soon as Carl blew the whistle they attacked from all angles. Where he had quickly succeeded at all the other groups, this one was beginning to give him problems and it was no wonder, normally Carl didn't require them to spar against six opponents. He'd only done it this time only out of curiosity, seeing how far he could push Briareos beyond the normal four-opponent standard. Five had been a bit difficult, but he'd managed well enough. Now though, he was beginning to think that the addition of Jordan may have been a bad idea. At first it was the same story, but then one of the men was able to capture Briareos from behind, at the same instant Jordan slammed a punch across his jaw with force that was completely inappropriate for a sparring match. Deunan stood up, shocked that her brother would do anything so rash, in front of their father, no less.

"Time!" Carl shouted as Briareos, turned his head back to Jordan, a death glare in his eyes and spitting blood from a busted lip. "What the hell was that, Jordan!?" he demanded. Jumping up into the ring and he grabbed his son by the front of his collar, and hissed in his face, "You got a problem with another team member, you tell me! I fucking expected this kind of behavior from Deunan, but I thought you had half a brain in that goddamned skull of yours!" Disgusted he pushed Jordan backwards.

Behind him, Briareos was still fuming. He was beginning to wonder if this whole thing hadn't just been a big mistake. Besides Carl and Verund these men all obviously hated him, and holding back his rage at such a blatant attack went against his very nature. As it was now, his body trembled with rage as he forced his muscles to resist the urge to retaliate.

Carl turned to his newest team member and said, "That'll do, I'm sorry about the punk kid. Need some ice or something for your lip?"

"No, I'm good," he said darkly, and climbed out the ring. "If it's okay with you, I'm gonna hit the showers."

"Through that door," Carl said pointing to the back of the gym. "Look, I'm sorry, again. I should have never…"

"It's fine," Briareos growled, pushing past the other men and making his way back to the locker room.

Under the warm spray of the showers he punched the cool tiled wall. "God damn it, Dee," he muttered under his breath. "I never would have guessed this would be so fucking hard!" He had fought and killed mercilessly for years, but that one act of restraint seemed to have taken all the strength he could muster, and he was seriously considering hopping the next plane out of town.