Chapter 20, Russian Recall
Alex's eyes flew open. It was six in the morning and the sun was barely rising. Stretching, he sat up and looked around him. A modern but rather plain room greeted him and for a split second, Alex missed his Chelsea room. The nostalgia was short lived; his eagerness to begin the day soon took over. Yawning, Alex headed into the ensuite attached to the bedroom. As he showered, he decided the scratches and bruises from the night before mightn't be too bad, he wasn't in a lot of pain. Feeling very refreshed, Alex made his way out to the landing to go downstairs. At the foot of the left hand staircase, Laura waited with a slight smile on her face. Her auburn hair glinted in the early sun as she gestured to Alex.
"Ivana sent me to come get you; she said you have a terrible sense of direction."
Alex chuckled and pursued a different topic as they walked through the manor.
"Where are you from? You don't have any sort of strong accent."
Laura's smile widened a little.
"That's because I've lived in a lot of countries over the years, I've had to learn how to fit in. I was born in Australia though, Sydney specifically."
Alex half nodded to himself, the tiniest trace of an Australian accent still clung to Laura's voice. As he reflected on that, the pair reached a large door, Laura opened it.
"Enjoy your breakfast, try not to annoy Ivana. She is not a morning person. I may see you later; I have work to do now."
Walking into the dining room, Alex saw the table was occupied by Yassen, Ivana and Jason. All three of them, assassins. Stepping forward, Alex thought to himself,
'No… not three, four. I'm the fourth assassin, guilty by association.'
Yassen glanced up as Alex entered the room, but resumed his conversation with Ivana. Jason greeted his warmly however.
"Ah, Alex! You just made me a hundred US dollars! Ivana bet that you wouldn't be up before 8, at the earliest."
Alex glanced at Ivana, who merely shrugged, a little awkwardly in his opinion.
"Well, I'm up now…"
Once he sat across from Jason, Yassen spoke suddenly.
"You may not have been aware of it, but Jason will be the one training you."
Confused, Alex helped himself to some fruit before answering.
"Why? What sort of training do I need?"
Jason thought for a moment, then said,
"Yassen tells me you've undergone both MI6 and Scorpia basic training. I intend to test those skills and work on them."
Yassen nodded.
"It's not so much you learning new skills, I know you're proficient in all the skills you need. All of us, me included, keep ourselves fit through constant training. It's a basic necessity; being constantly combat ready may well save your life." He said calmly.
Alex shrugged.
"Okay, suits me fine. I've been doing nothing for two years; this'll be a welcome change."
Smiling, Jason turned to Ivana.
"Speaking of training, I heard a lot of noise up in the gym last night?"
Yassen glanced at Alex as he reflexively put his hand up to the cut across his cheek.
"It's nothing." He muttered awkwardly.
"Alright, I won't ask then." Jason said with a slight frown on his face. Yassen turned to Ivana.
"You and Alex fought? Both of you are bruised…"
Ivana answered simply.
"Yes, we fought briefly. It was a quickly resolved matter though, to both our satisfactions."
Yassen raised a brow at that.
"I'd appreciate a more helpful answer then that. Am I right in guessing that you finally answered all of Alex's questions on why you've treated him so badly?"
Ivana merely shrugged, so Yassen turned Alex.
"Tell me Alex. Will I get a slightly more useful answer from you, or will I have to appear for now as a control freak?"
He blinked unsure at the Russian man; Alex didn't know what the safer answer was. He glanced to Ivana who tried to discreetly signal to Alex to stay silent, but as soon as she raised her arm, a tiny hiss of pain worked its way out from between her teeth. Yassen and Jason noticed immediately.
"A couple of your stitches broke?"
Ivana nodded grumpily, annoyed at being caught. Jason noted that with a laugh.
"Oh come on, that wasn't exactly very subtle. You're above that, so why sulk? I need to stop by Dupont's office anyway, you can come with me." He stood, brushing non-existent crumbs from his lap. Ivana stood as well, smiling regretfully to Alex. Oddly, he felt a brief moment of attraction. Then, he silently berated himself. He was just enjoying the company of someone his own age. At least, that's what he told himself. Yassen glanced at the door that the other two had left through, and Alex's mind turned to something Ivana had said last night.
"No one truly understands the man except himself…"
"Ivana said that about me?" Yassen asked, looking amused. Alex jumped; he hadn't realized he'd been speaking aloud. Yassen noted his startled reaction.
"That's what I mean by training, being able to control or mask your emotions is important. It is not something you were ever good at though."
Alex blinked and tried to settle down.
"You've always been able to…'read' me then?" he asked, not sure wether he truly wanted an answer. Yassen gave an appraising look.
"Yes. For instance, on my yacht, I was able to make more sense of your emotions then you were probably."
Alex shuddered, that whole evening had been a terrible experience, one that still haunted him. Yassen obviously knew that, in any case, he didn't push the issue.
"So Ivana said that about me?" He asked again, still amused. Alex nodded slowly.
"Yes… Ivana said that."
Shrugging, Yassen pushed the food around his plate with his fork.
"It took a lot to convince me to take in a child…"
Alex tried to interrupt, but Yassen held a finger up.
"Hold on little Alex, let me rephrase that. Child, perhaps, is not the correct term, but you know what I mean. Sixteen is hardly an adult, especially in this world. You can't deny that, you know what I say to be true better then most would."
Alex gave a reluctant nod. Yassen continued with what he was saying before.
"It took a lot to convince me to take Ivana in, but the fact that she's very smart and an excellent reader of people definitely helped her case."
Alex smiled at that and decided to ask a few questions.
"So, you believe what she said was true?"
Yassen nodded and answered.
"Yes, you can't be in this job and survive for long if people can second guess you."
"So that's why you nearly died two years ago, because Cray could predict you?" Alex asked this last question quickly, unsure wether pushing this far was a smart idea. Yassen was silent for awhile, then, he placed his fork down and looked him in the eye.
"Perhaps… You seem to be enjoying asking personal questions. Most would consider it an unattractive aspect of a personality."
Determined not to be intimidated, Alex shook his head.
"No, I just like to know what sort of person I'm working for."
Looking faintly surprised, Yassen replied rapidly.
"Work for? No Alex, you don't work for me. You and Ivana both work with me. There is a difference."
Raising an eyebrow, Alex asked,
"Then doesn't that entitle me to answers all the more?"
Yassen gave a short chuckle at that.
"I don't give you enough credit. You and Ivana are both quite smart, although, I must say, Ivana generally doesn't have the patience for intellectual sparring like this."
Alex gave a crooked smile and settled down as Yassen considered.
"Most of my history is unimportant and even if it was otherwise, I'd be inclined to share little of it with you."
Alex grunted reluctantly.
"Fine, I'd still like to know more about the person I'm working with."
Yassen nodded in agreement and begun after a brief pause.
"As you know, I am originally from Russia, although by no means does that mean I spend most of my time here. I was born into a wealthy family, most of which was rather shocked by my choice of career."
Alex listened closely, but couldn't detect any distinguishing emotions in Yassen's voice. It was obvious that his history was no more then memories to him, he didn't have any particular feelings about what he was saying.
"I don't believe in coincidence, so it didn't altogether surprise me that my family was killed in an accident at the same time I began to take jobs from the Mafia. A rival gang was responsible and they sent a hit man after me as well. However, like you, I was trained and knew how to defend myself."
Alex took it all in silently, not quite able to picture it fully.
"The man who came didn't expect me to be a threat so it was an easy enough matter to kill him. A week later, a woman came to the house. She said she represented an organization called Scorpia that recruited those who'd…displayed… sufficient talent. Apparently they wanted to offer me a job."
Alex's mind raced.
"So you...?"
Yassen nodded humourlessly.
"At age 17, I was trained by Scorpia. When I was 23, I 'negotiated' my departure the organization using some hostages. Truth be told, once your Father was killed, I didn't want to stay. After that, I went solo. Jobs are easy to get if you've got the right 'credentials' as it were."
He finished, shrugging nonchalantly. Shaking his head incredulously, Alex gestured to the house around them.
"A result of your business then? Ivana mentioned you were incapable of getting yourself anything but the biggest and the best."
With an amused expression, Yassen nodded.
"Yes, I know how to use my money. I enjoy living in comfort in-between jobs."
Alex made a wry face.
"Yeah I bet you do." He muttered, "A cultured assassin, figures…"
Suddenly, another thought occurred to him.
"Scorpia must really hate you; I bet they have a big, fat bullet with your name on it."
Smiling faintly, Yassen stood and he did likewise.
"Many people hate me Alex, what difference does a few more make? They say the more the merrier, and personally, most of my adversaries are half trained fools who let their emotions stop them from posing any threat to me."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"So you're saying anyone who has emotions is a half trained fool? I was under the impression Ivana and I were rather intelligent, otherwise you'd never have put up with us."
Yassen shook his head, sounding slightly annoyed.
"I never said that at all. Believe it or not Alex, I even have emotions. What I actually said was that these people let their foolish desires for things like revenge overrun their sense of reason. You must remember, when you're an assassin, things like revenge should never become your life's purpose. It truly does destroy a person, makes you incapable of sound judgement. I think you'd know something about that, look what happened with Scorpia. As much as I despise the woman, it's much better you never let your thirst for revenge get to the point where you could really kill Mrs. Jones. MI6 would have never let you leave the building alive if you're actually shot the Deputy Head."
Alex nodded reluctantly, what Yassen said was true and made perfect sense. Then, he swallowed gingerly, throat giving a quick twinge of pain. Yassen frowned at Alex's expression.
"You should see Dupont about that. The scratches on your face could use attention as well; infection is just as dangerous as a bullet you know."
Alex grimaced and ran a finger along the scratch on his cheek. He could only imagine what he looked like.
"I suppose so, you're probably right." He muttered. There was no reply, when Alex looked up, he realized Yassen had disappeared. Shrugging, he left the room and headed down a vaguely familiar staircase. Reaching the bottom of it, Alex nearly cheered. After constantly getting lost in the manor, he'd managed to find the right way to Dupont's office. Walking slowly towards the clinic, Alex guessed the Spaniard wouldn't be happy to see him. His knuckles brushed briefly against his Glock, the cold metal cheering him a little.
'Let him try to annoy me,' Alex thought to himself, 'Let him try…'