Alex sat with his arms around himself in the passenger seat of Jack's car, he could still feel the man's probing fingers encased in latex touching his skin and… He shivered.

"Are you okay Alex?"

"Yeah, just not very nice feeling having a guy taking pictures of your entire body and… Ergh."

Jack nodded and sighed. "But you're off the hook."

"Yeah, I am. And they can't send me anywhere till my leg's healed."

"A break, and you don't even have to go to school. We could plan some things… we can't go abroad but… you know. We could have some fun."

"I'd like that." Alex smiled.

After six weeks his cast came off having been replaced three times so his stitches could be checked and cleaned. Alex walked gingerly on his thin leg finding that it clicked and protested in the first week but began to become stronger with more use. He'd put on most of the weight he'd lost in Lybia and walked around the block twice a day in the sun. More fun were Jack's planned outings that were always outrageously silly and effortlessly entertaining.

They took the train down to Brighton when the waves were predicted to be two metres high and then took the bus to Rottingdean, the name of which Alex wasn't too fond of. The town itself looked sleepy and as they got off the bus it was deserted.

"Jack why are we here?" Alex shouted over the wind.

"You'll see!" she shouted back and led him down a street towards the beach.

The shops he walked past looked a little run down and the café on the end was empty apart from the girl who worked there who stood, sullen, behind the counter, flanked by the prices for different coffees.

"A guy took me here the other week, it's great!" Jack led him down some steep steps and they emerged onto a concrete walkway that lined the white cliffs, the waves hit the concrete hard and sent sprays of water high into the air.

It was a game; could you time it right that you could walk along the edge without getting wet, how long could you stand leaning on the railing while a wave approached ready to soak you.

One part of the concrete walkway extended out twenty metres into the sea, Jack dared him that he couldn't get to the end and survive one wave without getting wet. He ran down the concrete and stood at the end watching the next wave coming towards him.

It looked huge. He turned to run but his arm was attached to the railing, fucking handcuffed? He realised that Yassen stood there in half a second and what he meant to do, unbelievable as it was. He grabbed him, arm around his waist and used everything he had to slam him against the railings and pin him there with his body using him as a shield for the huge spray of water that hit them.

Looking up after the deluge through his wet fringe Alex couldn't work out what to do for a second when their eyes met, then he started patting his pockets franticly trying to find the key. Yassen tried to push him away but he threw his body at him and they crashed back into the railing. The key was in the outside pocket of his jacket, he pulled it out and shoved his shoulder into Yassen's chest as he unlocked it. He didn't even realise he'd been laughing like a maniac for the entire time until he skipped out of his reach and Yassen stood there handcuffed like he'd been. Still laughing he made out like he was going to eat the key and then started running when the Russian drew a handgun.

Jack was half way up the concrete walkway looking confused and worried.

"Who is that Alex?"

"Run; he's wet and pissed off."

There was a shot and he flinched running with Jack to the main walkway yelping when an arm wrapped around his waist and his own move was used against him, he was swung around and hit in the face with a whole load of sea water. Spluttering he found himself backing into Yassen who was laughing in his ear, arms around him.

"Revenge is sweet."

Alex spat out the sea water and turned, Yassen's hands slid from around him to his arms where he held him loosely just above his elbow. The way he was looking at him scared him a little, his icy eyes studying him, but he couldn't help but smile; even the idea of the assassin doing something so childish was funny.

"Alex? What's going on?"

Had Yassen seen Jack? Had she just been another person in a raincoat? They'd never met… Yassen would know what she looked like Alex had no doubt about that but… Of course he knew she was here, he'd probably followed them here from Chelsea. Still, he didn't like Yassen being around Jack, he might hurt her. He stepped out of Yassen's grip towards Jack, standing between them, standing in his way. He read the move straight away, Alex knew he did because he backed off slightly.

"Jack Starbright Yassen Gregorovich."

Her mouth dropped open and she stepped forwards as if to pull Alex away from him, then she set her jaw.

"You killed Ian, but you also saved Alex… Thank you."

She extended a hand and Alex found himself staring at it, what the hell was she doing? Yassen stepped forwards and shook it and it seemed like the most socially bizzare thing to do, not something that normal people did every day.

Yassen didn't reply, he was watching Jack with an expressionless face. Alex couldn't think of a thing to say but wanted to break the silence.

"Err… Shouldn't we go?" he said to Jack.

"Yes." She turned slightly to allow him to fall into step beside her, Alex froze tense beyond anything as he felt Yassen's hand curl around his wrist and hold it while he spoke in his ear. He'd kissed him back!

"Be in on Tuesday evening."

The words made his blood run cold, Tuesday evening, that was only the day after tomorrow. Yassen let go of his arm but let his fingers trail through Alex's as he walked away in the opposite direction. His skin shouldn't be tingling, his stomach shouldn't tighten at that. What the hell? Just because it was the first time in months someone had touched him apart from Jack…

"Alex are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just he comes out of nowhere." Alex shivered. "The bastard got me wet!"

"You were laughing…"

"Yeah, I know…" Alex glanced behind him but the assassin was gone. "It's screwed up."

"Has he given you any idea why he does it?"

"It's something to do with my father, he thinks he owes him… Owes his memory…"

"Are you scared of him?"

Alex looked at his feet. "A bit, yeah. When I see his gun or when he's close enough to kill me with his hands." When he looks at me like he'd like to kiss me, when he speaks in Russian and I don't know whether he's saying the weather's nice or if he likes my eyes.

"Alex I wish you could just leave all this behind."

"So do I."

"I'm grateful but… I don't like the fact that he should have to save your life."

"Sorry Jack."

"It's not your fault." She wrapped an arm around him.

"I had fun today, the waves were amazing."

"They were pretty good…" She smiled. "He gives me the shivers Alex."

"Who? Yassen?"

"Yeah, the proper bajeezers."

Alex laughed. "Let's go home, I need a shower."

On the way back they almost fell asleep on each other while the train rocked from side to side, Alex staring out the window into the sunny countryside. He could still feel his touch on his skin as he ran his fingers over his wrist, it didn't look any different but it felt like it'd been charged. He couldn't stop looking at it even when he was lying in bed that night, he held it up in the yellow of the streetlamp and examined it before letting it drop to the pillow beside his head and closing his eyes to the sight of it.