Session 5

The days cycled onward, unbroken in their tedium. Breakfast, training privately with the sensei, orders to stay on that side and meditate, ignoring that order and picking the lock to eavesdrop on the other boys' advanced lessons.

But today Spike's attention turned elsewhere. Outside the sun shown down on the water. It'd been well over a week since he'd arrived here. All that time he hadn't set foot outside the building. The lure of a breeze against his skin proved too great to resist. He turned his picks to another door. It yielded to his deft fingers as though he had the actual key.

A warm breeze toyed with his hair as Spike wandered through the aromatic gardens. Flowers were such a novel thing. So many colors and scents as he drifted through the winding paths. Hands in his pockets, he followed the most likely path down to the sparkling lake, drawn by the powerful scent of lake water. It spoke to him, though he didn't understand its language. Patterns twisted in the light, dazzling as he tried to follow them.

Crouching on a wall, he dragged his hand in the cool water and studied the way it sent out ripples. Above him the branches of a tree stretched out, casting shadows for the waves to play with. He stared up into the foliage touching the leaves. Another thing he hadn't seen. So little green in the dreary crater of his birth. None of it natural like this. The leaf fell into the water, floating in a circle. Spike poked at it, watching it resist sinking.

The snap of a twig caught his attention. Spike spun on his heel, instincts flared. He hadn't been out of the frying pan long enough for their effect to quell.

The threat; a girl, close to his age, maybe a touch older, peered around the tree trunk. Confusion in her eyes, but not fear. She wasn't dirty, or scrawny like the kids Spike was used to. More like the boys in the dojo. Clean. Well fed. Her brown hair combed and brushed. She wore a simple dress with a sash at the waist. Granted, Spike's jeans, shirt and vest had been properly washed, but they were still quite shabby compared to her cloths.

"Who are you?" She stayed partially behind the tree as though it could protect her.

Spike blinked and lowered his hands into his pockets. "Why should I tell you?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Cause, I asked. And you should tell me."

What kind of logic was that? "Says who?"

"Well … " She stepped out from behind the tree, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's good manners."

Spike laughed. "Yeah, well, I ain't got those. So, no dice, toots."

"That's not my name. You should always use a girl's proper name."

"Sure, whatever. But I don't know your name. So I kinda can't."

"Oh." She chewed on a finger, glancing back towards the mansion in the distance before her gaze met his. "Annie. Now you have to tell me yours."

He heaved a sigh. "Spike."

Annie cupped her hands over her mouth and giggled. "No seriously."

"I am serious. That's my name." It was his turn to cross his arms over his chest.

"What kind of a name is Spike?"

Heat rose to his cheeks. "The name my parents gave me! What kind of a name is Annie?"

She forced herself to stop laughing and shrugged. "It just sounds silly, that's all."

Kicking a rock into the lake, Spike huffed. "Well … I guess I never thought about it. But it's not like I chose it or anything." He bent down staring at the ripples as the rock vanished. "Whoa … "

Annie leaned over the edge to see what he was looking at. She chuckled. "You've never seen a lake before?"

His reflection settled on the surface. A scruffy young boy, thin-faced and pale. The faint line on his forehead where the boys' hazing had marked him remained. He wanted to reach into the depths, beyond the surface of the water. "No … there wasn't anything like this. Lotsa dirty rain. Puddles in the alleys here and there. But nothing this size." A bird swooped down and landed on a water-rimmed rock. Green plumage gleaming on its long neck, it cocked its head back and forth, long beak primed.

Annie pointed. "That's a green heron. Watch. Looks like it's spotted a fish."

A moment later the lanky bird launched itself like a spear. The water swallowed it in a series of ripples. The surface stilled. Spike fixated on the point. Birds flew in the sky, not the water. Unless he was wrong.

Walking further along, Annie pointed to a subtle wake. "Watch."

A moment later the heron bobbed to the surface, a large fish clutched in its jaws.

Spike stared in amazement as it threw its head back and gulped it down. "How deep is the water? How did it do that?"

Annie shrugged. "Deep enough to dive." A knotted rope swung from the tree where she pointed now. "And herons can swim."

"Swim?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You're pretty clueless."

"I am not ! Just … uhhh … well, never see it before."

Reaching down, Annie pulled up her dress and revealed a one piece swimming suit. "Watch." She kicked off her shoes and ran down the dock, diving into the water.

Spike dashed after her, panic thrummed as the water closed over her head.

Moments later, her head bobbed up and she waved at him, kicking her feet. "We float. Come on. Jump in."

Staring down, the water lost the welcoming blue color. Darkness swirled below him. Spike tugged the laces of his canvas sneakers loose, remembering the squelch from the puddles in the alleyways. He discarded his vest and shirt on the dock, leaving his jeans on. Standing at the edge, his toes curled. She floats, so I should too. Right?

"Go on. Feet first it you like. Take a deep breath and just relax. You'll come right back up to the surface."

Spike swallowed a huge gulp of air, filling his lungs. He had, after all, been held face down in a puddle before. Steeling himself he couched down and jumped. Gravity seized him. The cold embrace of the water closed over his head. Every sound become a low thrum, almost a crushing silence. For a moment he panicked as he kept sinking into the black abyss. Until … he didn't. His descent stalled and gravity reversed, pulling him upward toward the daylight. Breaking the surface, Spike wobbled awkwardly onto his back, sputtering and trying to rub the water from his face.

"See? Told yah!" Annie splashed water over him.

Trusting this odd sensation, Spike swiped his arm through the water and sent a wave over her. He attempted to turn over, unable to touch the bottom. The moment he tried his head slipped under. He came back up coughing out a mouthful of the lake.

Annie laughed. "You can't breathe water, stupid!"

"I know—" He gasped, laying back in the float. "I know that now."

The light danced closer to the horizon by the time Spike and Annie dragged themselves from the water, fingers and toes wrinkled from their long stay. Annie smiled. "You're really getting the hang of it."

"You see that marker out there?" He pointed to the channel depth marker, a fair distance from the shore. "I'll swim out and touch that!"

"Tomorrow?"

He snapped a nod. "Tomorrow!"

She folded her arms. "You're not that good yet. And the current around the lake gets pretty rough that far out."

"Oh yeah? Wanna make a bet?"

Annie grinned. "Yeah! See you tomorrow, Spike."

Mao stood beside the desk, glancing over the details. "Gates, these little uprisings are annoying. They need to be buried."

Lee Gates, one of his trusted ranked enforcers, lifted a shoulder. "I have my men spread out all over. We peg the rats as soon as they enter our territory. But it seems that the tower in Tharsis has garnered attention we don't want. We're trying to pin down their source, but they don't seem to have an effective base. At least not a single one."

"Do we know which syndicate they're from?"

He shook his head. "Despite our best interrogation, none have uttered a word who they work for. We have yet to see anyone particularly skilled. They aren't cream of the crop, though. Mao, some of your boys in training could probably take on these grunts. It's like they're trying to overwhelm us with easy hired goons. It's possible these sacrifices don't even know who hired them."

Mao heaved a sigh. "That would explain the lack of strategy. Well, keep me informed. And keep trying to get … " Gate's head snapped up, staring behind him out the window. "What is it?"

"Is that your niece down by the lake?"

That alone wasn't unusual. She liked to swim. But Gates had been here enough to know she had Mao's blessing to roam his estate.

He turned in time for Gate's second question. "Who is she with?"

Another figure, close to her size stood on the edge of the dock silhouetted against the water.

"I have no idea, no one is supposed to be." Mao dashed for the door, his heartbeat pounding. All of the boys should be in training right now under lock and key. No one else was permitted on his fenced off estate. If anything happened to her … standing on the rise of the hill above the water, Gates just behind him, he growled out, "Anastasia!"

The boy on the dock had been reaching down, helping her out of the water. At Mao's voice he froze, half glancing his way. Instantly Mao recognized him. Though a week and half's worth of good food had helped, Spike was still thin as a rail. His soaked jeans clung to his legs as he braced himself, Annie's hand in his as she climbed onto the dock. Water pooled around the children's feet, they hung on the end of the dock, Spike with his hands rammed in his pockets, and Annie standing with her arms splayed as if to hide Spike's already obvious presence.

"Anastasia, get up here now. Both of you!" Mao pointed at a spot in front of him. To his relief both children climbed up the path, gravel crunching beneath bare feet.

Annie came to a halt before him. "Uncle Mao."

Spike visibly stiffened, glancing between Annie and Mao fast enough that droplets of water flung from his hair.

"You said I could swim!" she protested.

"I did." Mao shifted his gaze to Spike, the boy had sense enough to look down. "What I want to know is what he is doing here?"

Spike bit his lip, one hand rubbing his arm.

Annie stomped a foot in the path. "We've been playing. Don't you dare punish him! At least someone pays attention to me while you're busy all day."

"Playing?" Mao's expression darkened, he addressed Spike. "That's not what you are supposed to be doing. Why aren't you in the dojo with the others?"

"I'm not with them, yet. Sensei's working with the others right now." Spike's voice gained a little confidence as he peered up through the tangled mass of his hair dripping with lake water. "I got bored, wanted to explore a little bit. Never seen a place like this, Yenrai."

"The door is locked."

Spike shrugged and wriggled his fingers, a brief flash of something metal appeared and disappeared. "Not very well. Besides, these last three days she's been teaching me how to swim."

The door locks? Not very well? The boy had unlocked the door … Rubbing his chin, Mao glanced between the two. Annie was indeed a gifted swimmer. If the story was true … "Show me."

Spike blinked and glanced between Mao and Gates. He turned on the ball of his foot and to Mao's surprise took a running start for the knotted rope. He grabbed onto it and swung out high over the water. Releasing his hold he flailed in the air, coming down feet first in a hard splash. The circle closed above his head.

Mao and Gates darted forward, he expected they'd need to retrieve a drowned boy.

But a moment later, Spike surfaced and stroked for the dock. Coordinated, and fairly efficient he dragged himself onto the dock. Sauntering back to them with his jean's askew. The right pant leg pushed up to his knee. He turned and pointed out to the channel marker. "Made it halfway out there this afternoon. But Annie's right, the current's a bitch! I'll need to work at it a lot more to reach that."

Mao glanced down at the boy's calf, a ragged patch of scared flesh showed several recently healed puncture wounds. The pattern seemed to be obvious, and matching the frayed tear in the pant leg. "There's no way you could have learned that where you came from."

Gates cocked his head. "Sir?"

Turning up to the enforcer. "Deseado."

Instantly Gates shook his head. "Oh hell no. The deepest water in that pit is in a bathtub. Looks like the story adds up. Annie had to have taught him."

Spike glanced at Annie and muttered. "If I had known she was your niece—"

Annie socked him in the shoulder shutting him up. "What difference does that make?"

Mao took a step toward his naive charge. "Every difference."

Thrusting her finger up at him, she spat, "Don't you punish him, Uncle Mao. I've had more fun over the last few days than all the time I've spent in this cold place."

He heaved a sigh, releasing what would have been a sentence separating the youths. She had taught Spike a skill he would need anyway. Leonard taught all the boys to swim so they wouldn't drown. "Fine … as long as he isn't busy with his own lessons."

Annie went up on her tiptoes and kissed Mao. Fetching her dress and shoes she danced up the path to the house. Spike's pensive stare followed her.

Mao clamped a hand on his arm. Spike practically jumped out of his skin. "Let me make this abundantly clear. My niece is everything to me, boy! If anything happens to her when you are around I will make you wish you had never left that cesspit you were born in. Do you understand?"

He nodded rather swiftly.

"Go on, back to your room and lock the door you picked behind you. It's nearly dinner."

After Spike had collected his shirt and shoes, vanishing up the path, Mao sighed. "I indulge that girl too much."

Gates took in the lakeside garden. "It's a lonely place. I take it that boy is newly arrived?"

"Yes, just shy of two weeks."

"He lacks discipline and a number of other things."

Mao started up the path. "He'll learn. Or he'll find his welcome worn out, be damned my niece's wish."

See You Space Cowboy