Yassen looked at the beard on Alex's face, making him look so much like John, patches of red hair in all the same places. Yassen inclined his head in greeting, never taking his eyes off Alex
"On holiday or working?" asked a shaken Alex.
"On holiday. I wished to sail my yacht, but the weather is not so nice."
"I think that storm has followed me from Greece." complained Alex
"Have you been busy?"
"I had a lovely job on Corfu. I modeled for an artist for two months."
"Nude?"
"Yeah." Alex finished his coffee and his stomach rumbled. Alex was saving his euros for Paris so had not eaten today.
"You are hungry?"
"Very. Food is so expensive. I paid ten euros for a crappy salad yesterday." Alex did not mention the main problem was finding food was making sure that it was dairy free.
"Salad does not fill you up. Come I will buy you dinner." offered Yassen.
"Right. Thanks." Alex followed, picking up his ruck sack. Who in their right minds would disagree with a paid killer.
Within two streets, Alex followed Yassen into a small, plush boutique hotel. Yassen's room was at the rear of the hotel, next to the fire escape. Alex stood and listened to him order room service. Yassen's french was a fluent as his english. Yassen ordered a variety of foods stipulating the need for no dairy.
"You know about my allergy?"
"I know you swam very well in Athens, two gold medals and a sixth place. You no longer live with your adoptive father, Tony Fletcher. You have a place at Cambridge to read maths next autumn after completing four A levels this year. You have had three bouts of pneumonia and you have a major allergy to milk protein."
Alex looked stunned. Yassen continued "Hunter would have been very proud of you."
"Really?" said Alex as he looked at the ground.
"Now Little Alex, you are in need of a bath. I shall run one for you. Then you shall shave. Beards are for disguises and traveling."
"Umm I thought I looked distinguished." The beard also meant no one paid him a second glance at passport control.
Yassen helped Alex into the bath. He already seemed to know that Alex had problems climbing in and out of bathtubs, but left him to soak. He came back in after 20 minutes and helped Alex out. Alex sat on the toilet as his face was lathered and then Yassen pulled out a razor and meticulously shaved off Alex's facial hair.
Alex sat in a luxurious robe on the edge of the queen sized bed. His belongings had been unpacked by Yassen and his clothes had all been sent to the hotel laundry. Alex's two medals were on view in their cases, as was his wallet, his Paralympic pass and his passport were on the bedside table.
The food arrived and the waiter gave Alex a strange look. Alex had lost quite a bit of muscle since September with reverting back to picky eating. His beard had disguised how young he really looked, still visibly not quite an adult. Yassen gave the waiter twenty euros and dismissed him without a second glance. Alex ate with genuine gusto for the first time in a week, surprised by his appetite. Yassen only spoke once to remind Alex to slow down, eating too fast would make him sick.
Alex gulped down water and sipped the red wine Yassen had poured. Yassen laughed when Alex stated he didn't really drink. After Alex's second glass, Yassen started asking inane questions about Athens and swimming. After Alex's third glass, Yassen homed in on the fact Alex was wandering around Europe on his own and without parental approval.
"Tony was destroyed by Jon's death. He coped the only way he could by working, becoming super ambitious again. So Broadway called. I've read his notices. He should get some more film and TV work. I guess he'll moved to LA."
"Are you not part of Tony's future?"
"No. I want Tony to be happy. Hard to be happy with me about. Sad, crazy Alex."
"You no longer see a psychiatrist. You have lived independently for over eight months, with no problems. You are a very bright, driven young man."
"Do I look driven? I did what I had to do to fulfill my promises to Jon... Jonathan and I did my team proud." Alex ground out defensively, then deflated as all bravado bled out of him. "I have felt so empty since April. I thought I'd feel fulfilled and ecstatic qualifying for Athens but all it meant was just more practice, more work. I thought by copying Tony's modus operandi I'd find it easier to cope, so I trained harder, worked harder. Fulfilled my goals, just to still feel so alone but with two shiny bits of metal for all the work."
Yassen looked at the boy, no young man. Alex was now older than he had been when he himself trained with Scorpia. Alex needed to be shown that the world was one of possibilities. John Rider had trained Yassen to be the best, how to be independent and how to excel. Living on the streets in Russia had taught him all the hard lessons of life. Scorpia had just been a continuation of these lessons. John had taught him how to open up, trust, be a team, how to survive in every sense. Rider's favourite expression had been no man is an island. John had been open and free in many ways, sly and calculating in others. Alex was so like his father.
The assassin watched Alex as he looked out of the window at the bright moon. "Come we should sleep. It is late."
Alex thought it crazy that they had talked into the night like two friends on a sleepover. This was completely bizarre. Alex lay prone and completely still as Yassen settled in he bed beside him.