Yassen came back to himself with a sharp inhale, glancing down at the small hand clamped around his in a vice grip. His eyes tracked it to the back of Alex's head, realizing suddenly that Alex was leading him down the brightly lit steps of a subway station. Yassen glanced around. What street had they entered from? How long had it been since the park? And why in god's name was Alex not wearing gloves?

"Alex," he said, without thinking. What were they doing again? "You forgot your gloves. Do you know how cold it is outside? Even if you don't get frostbite, blood flow is extremely important-"

The boy glanced at him and sighed as he released his hand, shoving bills at one of the first ticket machines they encountered and yanking them out of the print-out with bright pink fingers. He shoved them in his pockets right away. "You know, it is a touch chilly, but I hadn't really stopped to consider it considering everything else I have to worry about."

Yassen rolled his eyes. "It's fine, it's fine. I'll fix it in the morning."

Whatever the mess, Yassen was confident he could sort it out. Make some phone calls. Bribe the right people. What mess was the boy talking about anyway?

Oh, yes. The tank.

Actually, that might be pretty difficult. Hm.

"How exactly?" Alex gave him an exasperated look, picking a train and hurrying towards it with Yassen trailing after. Fortunately, the crowds were thin and they had their pick of barely occupied cars. Alex dropped onto a seat and folded his arms, glowering up at Yassen. "You know what? It doesn't matter. In the state you're in, you'll just do whatever you want and not even warn me. Fixing things. Breaking things. Running over people. Who bloody knows. Can we just go? All I want to do is get home and take care of you so you don't do anything crazy on camera and you're just making things needlessly difficult by acting like an utter loon and-"

There wasn't even a warning snicker before Yassen found himself full on laughing. He braced himself against a pole, only dimly aware of the distant passengers giving him startled and annoyed glances from the other end of the car. "That's hilarious," he tried to explain to Alex, shaking with mirth and bobbing as the train took off. "Coming from you."

The boy's lips pinched together, watching Yassen trail off into snickers. He rolled his eyes a second later. "Okay, so maybe there's just a few lessons I'm getting tonight," the boy muttered. He flicked a mulish glance at Yassen before glancing away, watching the subway walls flicker past and sulking. "You're getting some too at least."

Lessons? Oh, yes.

"Don't worry," he assured the boy, wiping at his eyes. "I'll teach you everything I learned about driving a tank. It's kind of like steering a boat, only a bit not like flying a helicopter too. It was tricky, though. I never realized how odd hands are." He looked down at his own, wiggling his fingers.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He sat down next to Alex and patted his arm. "It's fine. I'll show you later."

Alex smiled at him, and it took a split second for Yassen to realize it was because Yassen had smiled at him first. Hands flying to his face, he tried to suppress the muscles' movement, aghast.

Oh, no.

"Alex," he asked, very seriously. "Is it obvious I'm high?"

At that, the boy laughed. "Yes, Yassen. I can very much tell that you're high."

Shit. A lance of anxiety stabbed through him, as it had at the store. When had that been? An hour ago? A year ago? He needed to stop forgetting things. Glancing around, he hunched his shoulders and lowered his voice. "Can other people see it too?"

Alex gave him a wry look. "I knew you were the paranoid type. My roommate Jean was like that too. You're going to spend the rest of your time high worrying that other people know, aren't you?"

"But do they?" Yassen demanded.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Not so long as you don't steal any more tanks," Alex said, settling into his seat and giving Yassen an amused glance. "You're more animated and expressive than normal, but that can be chalked up to personality. Also, we're speaking English, so people might assume you're foreign and not think much of it."

Yassen considered that, gloved hands still touching his face in the vain hopes that he could suppress any more unintended displays. Chert.

"How do you feel?" the boy asked him after a minute.

Yassen furrowed his brows, then made himself stop furrowing his brows. "It's hard to think, though I also feel much better at it than usual. More thorough. Just not in the right order. Also, my face feels like it's melting, even though I know it's not. I imagine this is what dying feels like, only it's both the worst thing ever and not that bad. I'm starting to think we should hide."

Alex groaned, rubbing his face and chuckling. "Yeah, you've had FAR too much. Let's get home."

Yassen went back to probing at his own face. His traitorous, traitorous face. It was worse than not being able to keep his mouth shut, because it was like his face was now his whole mouth, telling people what he was thinking without his permission only there was nothing to physically shut and make it stop. He closed his eyes. No, that didn't help, as suspected. One theory to cross off his list. He popped them back open with a scowl. How was he supposed to shut his face's mouth? Not just his actual mouth, of course, but his whole face.

He was supposed to be good at it, but now he couldn't remember the trick.

Not entirely taking his eyes off him, Alex fished out his little iPod from the depths of his thick jacket and grimaced. "Damn. I forgot to turn it off. Now the battery is running low. Infrared drains it like nothing else, I swear to god-" he broke off, squinting at the screen.

"What is it?" Yassen asked him, leaning over his shoulder.

"It's just… there's this bright spot on you." Alex frowned and pointed the iPod at Yassen. The screen registered him as a warm shape, and this close up, captured the slight difference in the temperature of his firearm- Yassen would have to remember that detail later- but there, on his hip, was a bright flare. "What is it?"

Yassen dug into his pocket and pulled out his own iPod. He turned it on, pointing it at Alex. "Mine sees the same thing. I think it's the iPods," he said.

A slow smile spread across the boy's lips. "Wicked. I think Smithers added a secret feature. I didn't put it together before when we were in the tank, but I think the iPod reveals his own surveillance tech. Lights it up, so I'll always know who's MI6."

Yassen glanced down at his little screen. "He could have said something."

Alex chuckled, panning his iPod to the side. "Maybe he just forgot to mention it. It has a load of features already. Maybe he did and I forgot." Alex grabbed his arm, eyes riveted on the screen. "Yassen, they followed us."

"What?" Yassen had just enough presence of mind not to look around noticeably; slowly panning his iPod instead until he picked up faint flairs on the car behind them. "Are you sure that's them?"

"Yeah, like I said, I saw the flares when we were in the tank, I just didn't understand what they were." Alex bit his lip, obviously thinking. "No matter which stop we pick, they'll probably just follow us when we get off. They might have even called backup already."

Yassen snorted. "How long ago was the tank?"

"Fifteen minutes, at most."

"Really? It feels longer." Yassen grimaced. "I don't think they've called anyone. If they have, they're incompetent if they haven't caught up to us yet when they clearly know where we are. Besides, where we're going is pretty obvious. I'm more surprised they didn't try and beat us to the flat."

"Unless they already have people waiting for us there," Alex mused. He glanced at Yassen. "Which we've only seen half of K-Unit. I was wondering why it was taking the other two so long to show up. They're probably waiting for us there. It's just so odd. I thought they're here to watch us and low-grade harass me into going back to London. This is just a strange way to go about it."

"Hm." Yassen looked back at his hands before tucking his iPod away. "What were we discussing again?"

Alex sighed. "Don't worry about it. I've got an idea. Just follow my lead."


As soon as the train stopped at their station, Alex grabbed Yassen's arm again and steered him off the train. The brownie was definitely hitting in waves- even discussing their followers for more than thirty seconds at a time appeared to be beyond Yassen's retention at the moment.

Damn. Alex really wanted to be home already by now.

The paranoia was only just hitting Yassen significantly, if Alex's gauge of the contract killer's suddenly stiff features and darting eyes were anything to go by. Probably devoting the majority of his internal energy into appearing normal. Hopefully, it would keep him busy and out of trouble, not that Alex had high hopes for the evening. Ideally, they'd be back at the flat, watching telly and eating whatever the hell Yassen had managed to procure, but that was seeming more and more like a distant fantasy.

Time to figure out how to evade their two followers.

Alex really didn't want to drag the high, paranoid assassin around while he dealt with K-unit but now he realized he didn't have a choice. Yassen wasn't exactly capable of subterfuge at the moment, which would be enough of a handicap on its own. It couldn't be nearly as bad as leaving him unattended, though: Alex had no doubt if he sat the man somewhere and told him to wait, he'd wander off in a heartbeat and steal a zeppelin to crash into a hospital or a news station or something.

It was just that kind of night.

Grimacing, Alex led them both towards a side hallway where the entrance to the metro's bathrooms were tucked into a small tiled alcove. He pressed them both against the far edge and yanked his Bubble 07 gum out of his pocket, breaking off a tiny corner of it and chewing it delicately between his molars. Damn. He'd been hoping the alcove would be deeper or offer a better place to hide. They were too visible, even if partially concealed by shadow, so Alex was going to have to rely on his luck and hope they hurried into the men's room without much caution.

Yeah, that was probably asking a lot after chasing them with a tank.

Yassen leaned towards him, having obviously caught on to the sneaking around bit. "What are we doing?" he asked in a low voice.

Alex shushed him, listening and chewing. If Ben was smart, he'd put just a bit of distance between them. Hang back before confronting them or calling for support, if that was their aim. Maybe not even follow them in. "I'm going to lock them in," he hissed, jerking his head at the bathroom.

Yassen nodded very seriously and set his grocery bag down. How had he still managed to hold onto that damn bag when he couldn't even keep track of his own damn face?

Ugh. It didn't matter. Alex doubted he'd remember in a moment what they'd been talking about.

"-trapped in there with him," Wolf said, voice growing only slightly louder. "He's probably the type to kill us first and ask questions later."

"It's a public toilet," Ben countered. "And this station isn't nearly as deserted as that street was. He won't do anything right away and we'll have a chance to explain if we play our cards right. Just follow my lead."

"We're going to get shot," Wolf bit out, voice growing steadily closer.

"If he were armed, why didn't he shoot us before? Why chase us with a tank of all things-" Ben halted as he rounded the corner, spotting Yassen and Alex. He halted two steps from stepping through the doorway, Wolf on his heels.

Damn. He'd needed them to step inside.

"Alex. Wait, we need to-"

Sober, high, or dead, Yassen could be counted on to default to combat. He swept his left leg in a neat arc, whip kicking Wolf in the hip hard enough to send him staggering backwards into Fox.

They both slumped to the side, though Fox got his arms up and grabbed the door, managing to brace himself from falling backwards and preparing to counterstrike. There just wasn't time: the assassin flowed through moves without pausing, years of experience manifesting in an economy of movement that was hard to rival.

Yassen stepped forward and drove an elbow into Wolf's nose before shifting his weight just enough to Spartan kick Fox the rest of the way through the door, pivoting to shove a now stunned Wolf in after him. Sweeping the doorstop up, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it with his whole body weight.

A loud boom sounded as one of the two operatives on the other side rammed it.

Yassen flopped his head to the side to look at Alex. "Was this the plan? I can't remember."

Nodding vigorously, Alex yanked out the tiny piece of gum from his mouth and shoved it into the keyhole of the lock. The gum began expanding almost immediately, quickly growing far larger than its original size- a fact Alex had carefully considered when he'd picked such a small piece. He didn't want to break the lock so much as jam it in place.

Perfect.

Alex grabbed Yassen's arm and took off again, hurrying through the station at a moderate jog. "Almost there," he said, glancing back at the man. Yassen seemed spacey, but otherwise alert as he glanced around the beautiful station with a stiff 'not-high' expression, otherwise content to let Alex pick the direction. Somehow he'd grabbed the damn snack bag. "Almost home."


Yassen chuckled quietly to himself as Alex navigated them down a small paved path that ran between apartment buildings and offered foot access while remaining largely sheltered from the road. It was a bit of a longer route than taking the main street, but that didn't seem like much reason to worry since Alex probably wanted a good look at any possible surveillance before they made a dash for the building. Yassen didn't mind much of anything, at the moment. Something within him had shifted and suddenly the world was bright and engaging and not very stressful at all. A little clearer, too. In fact, should he be inclined to find it any one way, it might be entertaining or funny.

So this was why Alex liked drugs. It made much more sense now.

The boy really must be impatient to get home. Every time Yassen blinked, it seemed like Alex had increased his speed. Impressive, for one with such short legs. Part of him knew he should speed up himself to match the kid's pace, but Yassen really liked his current one, though he knew he shouldn't lose track of Alex.

Struck by a sudden stroke of genius, Yassen hooked his forefinger into the little loop created by Alex's clumsy bun and tugged. The boy yelped and leaned back, forced to slow or suffer a yank. He twisted slightly to give Yassen an irritated glare as the man burst out laughing. "Look, little Alex. Your head has a handle."

"Quit it," Alex huffed, swatting at Yassen's hand until the older man got distracted looking around again.

The walking detour wasn't unwelcome in and of itself to Yassen; this was actually a part of the neighborhood that he'd never really strolled through before, since he tended to stick to the main street with it's restaurants and easy access to the metro. It was nice back here. Twinkle lights wrapped around some of the trees, neatly trimmed back for winter and giving the place a pleasant sparkle. Gated courtyards for nearby apartment complexes surrounded them, some offering small play structures for children now empty and silent and dusted in snow.

He'd researched all the areas nearby shortly after moving in and signing the contract within Scorpia's files, of course. This might not be a job, but the subject of their permanence had made it a bigger concern that he have as much information on their environment as possible. Given the opportunity, he'd even asked Dima in passing what illicit business moved in the area. Obviously, it paid to be aware of the going ons in one's own backyard-

Alex stopped short at the top of a set of stairs that would lead them onto the street that ran behind the apartment complex across from theirs. He pulled out his iPod. "Shit. That's them. I was hoping they'd be in a car or something. I could have locked them in with my gum too."

Yassen followed his gaze. The final two SAS men were standing on the sidewalk, near a streetlamp. Both of them were obviously shivering and the way they shifted on their feet suggested they'd been out here for some time and were getting tired. Of course, there was a certain jumpiness to them as well, an alertness of one warned of trouble.

Come to think of it, the two stuck in the restroom probably had cell phones on them.

They'd have to find another way. The apartment did have a back vendor entrance that was mainly used by maintenance vehicles, but not only was it likely shut for the night, residents didn't have access to it in the first place. The security features were decent on it too. Controlled exits and entrances were one of the initial draws of the place for Yassen. No, if they wanted to sneak in, they'd have to go through the front door.

Alex sighed and crossed his arms. "I'm going to have to use the gum again, somehow. Find something to disturb that's big enough that they check it out while we make a run for it."

"Hm." Yassen shook his head peaceably. Alex really was quite clever, he just lacked experience when it came to some of these things. It was fine. He did decently on his own and would hopefully grow up into a normal adult before having lots of experience mattered. "It's a good instinct, but I don't think it will work. It'll be an obvious distraction attempt, which means they won't look into it unless they have to. They've been warned."

"I gathered as much." Alex glanced at him consideringly. "And it's probably not a great idea to leave a string of property damage that leads back to our flat."

"You make a wonderful point," Yassen agreed, patting his shoulder with his free hand.

Alex fidgeted, eyes still on the building. "I can't believe they're just standing there. They're not even trying to hide. They look so strange and suspicious, just staring openly at our apartment building like it might explode at any minute. Is it supposed to intimidate us?"

Yassen snorted. "Perhaps. If anything, they've probably made our night security nervous."

"Wait." Alex blinked. "Our building has guards. Do you think we can get them to ask K-unit to leave so we can sneak in?"

"That's not a bad idea," Yassen assured him. "But I doubt they can. They're not on the property and technically not causing trouble. A police drive by can be requested, but unless they make a scene or disturb the peace in some manner-"

It came to him suddenly.

Yassen started walking, gesturing Alex to wait where he was. The boy didn't, brows furrowing suddenly as Yassen began moving. Of course. Alex really needed to work on his listening skills. Maybe he just needed something to keep him occupied in case he got bored. Childcare really was a full time job. "Call the apartment and complain. See if they've already been approached by security. If they have, they'll call the police to take a look once a resident gets upset. We want to expedite this."

Alex gave him a dubious look. "What's your plan?"

Yassen burst out in a peal of laughter in lieu of a proper answer. He wasn't entirely sure why, since this was a fairly standard tactic of distraction. It had just taken him awhile to realize it was viable at this time of night in their neighborhood. Soldiers probably didn't have the specific training to deflect it the way spies would, and K-unit's only spy was locked in a metro bathroom at the moment, but that wasn't funny in itself per se. Everything did feel awfully amusing, though. Maybe it would be fun.

Yes. The night felt very fun.

Alex sighed and grimaced, obviously giving up on getting an answer. He pulled out his phone and dialed the front desk. "Okay. I guess it can't hurt. I'll do it now- just try to breathe, Yassen."


Alex watched dubiously as Yassen led him another block and a half away from their apartment, into a slightly less affluent street in the neighborhood. A few businesses were open here still- a 24 hour convenience store, an internet cafe, a small bar, and a massage parlor were the most obviously lit from the interiors. People hung around the sidewalks in small groups, bundled from the cold and smoking, for the most part. Everyone not addicted to nicotine had the sense to stay inside, apparently. It was a quarter to nine, so night life hadn't quite gotten into swing but most normal business had concluded.

What was Yassen planning? Alex watched him out of the corner of his eye. The man was obviously making an effort to compose himself after his sudden bout of laughter. At least he was getting to enjoy some of his high and would hopefully remain this way for the rest of it, rather than return to his previous paranoia. While he was clearly getting a little better at stringing together thoughts for more than a minute at a time, Alex didn't want to rely on the man's planning so soon- it was pretty much a given he was still far too high to be of much help.

Hopefully, whatever he was planning was something harmless and would keep him busy while Alex tried to come up with a plan.

Getting the cops to distract the men would be a decent idea (maybe even get the arses arrested and deported before they could even start their mission properly, wouldn't that just show them), but here Alex was at a loss. He could phone the police directly with something completely made up, but building security was already watching the two SAS men and possibly might ruin any police action before it began. As probably the only resident to complain, Alex's name would come up fast and then he'd have to explain why he'd lied. A distraction a la Smithers' gadgets would be pretty obvious and he couldn't figure out a way to force them to respond without attacking them directly. Again, security's attention would not work in his favor if-

Alex's brain stuttered to a halt as Yassen strolled into the massage parlor.

Wait. What?

At the tinkling of the bells, the woman behind the desk glanced up at them, gesturing to the clock and snapping something in Russian, too fast and irritable for Alex to accurately make out the distinct sounds. Her gist was clear: obviously they were closing in a few minutes and uninterested in new patrons for the night. Alex glanced around, feeling his eyebrows climb his forehead. It was a pretty standard looking place with pale green and blue walls, cheap rock and water features, and the heavy scent of incense.

The staff photos of what appeared to be entirely young female employees is what really made him on , and the way the woman took one look at Alex, and said something angrily and gestured for them to leave.

Obviously, this was no place for a child.

Oh, no.


Tatiana wrapped her fur coat closer around her body and glanced over at her new Big Sister, Veronika. She'd only been on the job for four weeks, but Veronika had been working for Milana for two years and had already taught her more than her previous Big Sister, who had gotten her Dental Hygienist certification and quit unexpectedly. So far, Tati's time at the parlor had been fine overall: the clients weren't exactly the best, but Milana didn't put up with much nonsense from them. The pay and hours weren't terrible either and the demands of the clients fairly reasonable, if occasionally specific. She'd heard of worse.

Veronika noticed her look. "What is it?"

"Are you sure this job is legitimate?" Tati asked her, as they crossed the street again. "It's just that Milana hasn't sprung a client on me this late and at the last minute before. I have a test in the morning."

Veronika gave an annoyed sigh. "It's legit, it's just a pain. This happens sometimes. Some rich businessman had clients stop in Moscow at the last minute and wants us to show them a good time. Milana told him to fuck off, but he paid double rates for four hours in cash upfront and told her we can go in one hour if we find them distateful. They're foreigners, apparently."

"Oh." Tati frowned. "Are we taking them back to the main parlor or the basement?"

"Basement's the plan, unless they suggest the normal rooms. We'll need to call ahead so they can prep those for us if they do."

"Right." Tati sighed. "Another BDSM thing. What is it with all these businessmen and BDSM? I'm so sick of having to make my best scared face and pretend to plead. It's degrading. I'm going to be a nurse in three years. If I ever encounter one of these assholes on a gurney, I'm going to make sure they remember who the fuck I am and understand which one of us is in charge now."

Veronika chuckled and shifted her purse on her elbow. It really was an elegant white thing. Tati wished she could save up enough for one as nice. "Well, practice your mean face, because these gentlemen like it the other way around, apparently."

"Really?"

"It's not that odd. You just haven't been here long enough, I guess. These acting jobs can be fun, if a little draining, and they pay much better." Veronika shrugged. "Apparently, these two are really into the idea of strong women approaching and dominating them. Mr. Moneybags said to be as aggressive as we're comfortable with, so long as we give them the full fantasy of being so attracted to them just by walking past that we won't take no for an answer until they come away with us. I've done similar at my job before, just not on the street."

Tati bit her lip, stopping as she realized she was probably smearing her lipstick all over her teeth. Fumbling with her own purse, she dug out a mirror to check. "I've never acted out anything like that. One man wanted me to talk like a schoolteacher, but I don't think that's the same thing. What do I do?"

Her Big Sister puffed out her chest a little. "Just follow my lead. I took acting classes for years, you know. Even got a lead role in two commercials." She waved a well manicured hand. "Just act cross and displeased, as though he is a misbehaving puppy. It sounds a little ridiculous and cliche, but it's worked fine for me. These types are mostly the same; they want to feel both desired and controlled. Come on strong and don't take no for an answer. It's annoying, but saying no and having you push is half the fun for them." Veronika halted and glanced around. They were about a block away from where they were told to retrieve the clients. "Here. I'll show you a trick. Quickly now."

Tati winced as a hand reached for her hair. "Don't muss the curls, I just fixed them before we left-"

"I won't, I won't," Veronika assured her, rolling her eyes and grabbing a small fist full at the base behind her ears.

"Ow, stop it."

"Don't be such a baby, Tati, it doesn't hurt that bad. That's the point. Now, here, do me." Veronika carefully picked out a few strands of her own hair for Tati to grasp. "Perfect. Do that if they argue with you. Every client I've used it on loves it. No marks for the wife to find. Just remember, you're the boss. Saying no to you isn't an option. Now let's go. Remember, they're foreigners, so with any luck they'll do something rude at the parlor in front of Milana, get tossed out early, and we'll get paid for the whole night."

"Please, god," Tati responded with a scowl. "It's such an important test…."