Disclaimer: I'm sure you know it by heart by now! And big ta to all my reviewers
Yassen held out his hand and was surprised at how strong Rider's handshake was. Yassen looked up at the man, though tall himself, he felt dwarfed by this man; he was easily six foot six and his shoulders were broad and powerful.
And his eyes, Yassen couldn't meet Rider's gaze. His eyes were dark brown, almost black and totally serious. Yassen felt a huge respect and fear of the man well up inside him.
"You're the Russian kid?" Rider spoke with an English accent, surprising Yassen, his size had made him expect an American. "Nice to meet you. Spider said that you could be one of the best and he hasn't yet been wrong." Yassen smiled uneasily.
"Thank you, but I'm not sure I'm that good. But I'll try to be the best." Rider nodded thoughtfully and turned to Jack, talking in an undertone. Yassen recognised the dismissal and made his way into the hotel, still preoccupied by the new arrival.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of sweat and aching muscles as Jack put him through more training, while Rider watched intently. When the evening came, Yassen was exhausted, but filled with a sense of elation at completing his first full day of training. He retired to his room to have a shower but was interrupted by a loud knocking on his door.
"Yes?" he asked, opening the door a crack. "Sir," He added as he realised who it was.
John Rider smiled. "May I come in?" he asked. Yassen bit his lip.
"Could I possibly have one minute?" he asked, looking around his room and trying to reach his discarded underpants without leaving the door.
"Yes. And I'd shut the door if I were you." Rider smiled knowingly. Yassen grinned back nervously and the door clicked shut.
Two minutes later he pulled the door open again, fully dressed. "Sorry about that. I was going to shower before I went out again." Rider nodded and sat down on the bed.
"Don't worry about it. Now, I'm here to take your friend Holly to Malagosto. Only, obviously, she won't be able to come back for a while because she'll lose muscle condition from not training." He paused, expecting a response. Yassen was silent so he continued. "So I'm going to wait and take both of you at the same time. Is that ok?"
"Yeah! That's fantastic!" Yassen's eyes lit up and he could hardly keep still. Rider held up a hand and he spun around, his face alert and expectant.
"There's a condition." Yassen stiffened. He was suddenly tense, keyed for action. "I'll be the one training you from now on." Rider smiled as Yassen let out a yell of delight but kept his tone serious. "I don't know why you're so happy. You have it easy with Jack and Laura but I'm going to use Malagosto training, don't think this is going to be easy. It isn't going to be even remotely easy."
Rider stood up and walked to the door. Yassen opened it for him and he stepped out into the hallway.
"What time do you want me tomorrow morning, sir?" Yassen asked suddenly as Rider vanished around the corner.
"I won't want you until 7, but you should do your morning run and eat first. And call me Hunter."
Yassen nodded, even though Hunter couldn't see him, and shut the door again. He stripped and showered before leaving to buy some food. He walked past Laura's room and then stopped. He could hear voices and a moment's eavesdropping revealed the as speakers were Laura and Holly. They seemed to be getting on quite well after their argument earlier and Yassen made a split second decision. He turned back and knocked on the door.
"Hi, Laura, is Holly allowed out? Just for a walk." Laura nodded and ducked her head round the door to talk to Holly. Yassen stepped back from the doorway as Holly appeared. She was smiling.
"Hi, did you ask me out on a walk?" He nodded and smiled self-consciously. "Well, how can I refuse? Let me get my coat." She vanished behind the door again, and Laura stepped forward quickly.
"Both of you better be back by nine. Especially you, Yassen, Rider is tough, you'll be working hard from now on so make the most of this evening. And get some sleep." By the time she finished talking, the two teens were in the lounge.
Holly was wearing a thickly padded riding jacket, and was hugging it around her like a duvet. Yassen on the other hand, was wearing a light sweater and jeans and was perfectly comfortable. But then, it was colder than this in Russia.
They walked in silence, neither one wanted to break the stillness of the night. Holly was still in pain; her breath came in short gasps when the cuffs of her jacket brushed the gashes on her wrists and her eyes watered constantly.
"What's wrong?" Yassen asked finally as they reached the concrete bunker on the hillside, "Why are you crying?" Holly didn't answer. Yassen opened his mouth to press for one but changed his mind. Let her talk when she wanted to.
"I'm scared," She whispered after a long hush. "Just… scared." Yassen moved a little closer and tentatively placed an arm over her shoulders.
"You'll be ok, you will. You're stronger than you think." God he felt stupid. He didn't have a clue how to calm her.
"It's not me. Or, it is, but not like you think. I mucked it up for SCORPIA and they don't forgive mistakes. They'd kill, rather than forgive." She tried to say more but a sob rose in her throat and she broke down, pressing her face blindly against Yassen's chest, searching for comfort.
Yassen was shocked; he had expected a nice quiet walk with his friend… acquaintance? No, friend. And it had turned into another way for him to make Holly cry. He had to admit, he seemed to have the knack. It wasn't a skill he wanted.
His experiences of comforting people were extremely limited, as the youngest child, he had always been the one being comforted. But it was so long ago, so distant. That was part of another life, one he would never have again. So he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and let her cry.
Ten later Yassen stood up, pulling Holly with him; he released his hold on her shoulders and grabbed her arms.
"Holly! For God's sake, calm down! You're better than this, now calm the hell down!" and she did, instantly. Her violent sobs subsided to small hiccups in a matter of seconds and she brushed the tears from her face.
Yassen smiled down at her. "That's better. Come on, we're going back and you will be fine. You're not leaving for Malagosto until I finish my training. They might not forgive, but I'll bet they forget. And Rider seems fair; he's doing all of my training from now on. Wish me luck, he's meant to be really tough." Holly smiled weakly and followed him down the path, noting how gracefully he moved, like spilt oil.
They got back a little before nine and Yassen waited outside the pub toilets while Holly tried to clean herself up. They walked back up to her room in companionable silence. She thanked him for the walk and vanished through the door with a small smile. Yassen grinned back, even though she couldn't see him, and went into his room.
He flung himself onto his bed and was asleep in seconds, dreaming of Russia and his dead family.
The next morning was cold and clear, frost had formed on the sand which crunched as his feet thudded down on it. He had taken the torch from the desk again but was surprised to find that he didn't need it, the sky was brightening already. He followed the same path he had taken the day before, pausing at the top of the hill to watch the sunrise. He jogged down the steps in the pale sunlight and sprinted across the car park when he realised that he was late for his training with Rider.
"Sorry I'm late si… Hunter." Rider looked at him coldly, all traces of his friendliness had vanished and he looked like the man he truly was, a ruthless assassin. Yassen felt his awe of the man rise another notch. He stood as straight as he could and looked straight ahead.
"Don't do it again. You also seem to have missed breakfast so you'll be working on an empty stomach until midday." Hunter spun on his heel and set off across the car park. Yassen hesitated and then followed, anticipation building in his chest as Hunter marched over the sandy path. They reached a barbed wire fence and Hunter leapt over in and waited while Yassen stumbled over it, tearing his combat trousers on the sharp metal.
They set off again and then Hunter stopped, looking all around, he led the way into a hollow between sand dunes. It was strung with nets and ropes. Metal and wooden posts rose out of the ground and a huge wooden wall blocked the rest of the area from view.
"It's an assault course. Start here, go around there, over there, under the net…"the instructions continued and Yassen followed the course with his eyes, already trying to work out the best way to get through it, "and finally, up over the wall and back to here. Got it? Good, five times round, go."
Yassen leapt forward, scrambling under nets, along ropes and planks and then up the wall. He hated that wall, after just one circuit he had developed a burning desire to knock it down. He didn't try and pounded round and round, Hunter gave him an extra five laps each time he finished the previous set. His legs burned. He could scarcely feel the ground under his numb, freezing feet, but he refused to give up. He refused to give Hunter the satisfaction.
Yassen lost count of the number of times he was forced round the course. It felt like fifty, but was probably more. On his last lap, he reached the foot of the wall and stopped. He stared up at the daunting shape, the sheer, closely fitted boards offering no hand or foot-holds. And he gave up. His whole body ached and pain filled his mind with defeat.
"I can't do it sir," He said quietly. "I can't." Hunter came around the side of the wall and leapt. His fingers curled over the top and he heaved himself up.
"You can. And you will, come on, jump." Hunter leant down, placing a hand on Yassen's shoulder. "Come on kid; one more time."
Yassen turned and looked up at the older man, then backed away a little and jumped. He felt his hands grab the top of the wall and pulled his protesting body over the top.
"Thank you," He murmured as he stumbled back to the start. Hunter nodded silently and marched away. Yassen followed obediently, dreading the afternoon.
Lunch consisted of fruit and salad, chicken and, bizarrely, four bars of chocolate. "For energy," had been Hunter's response. Yassen had quickly learned not to ask too many questions.
That afternoon, Hunter drove Yassen to a deserted stretch of moor land with his pistol. Hunter handed him a silencer and proceeded to teach him the basics of firing and cleaning his weapon. They set up a few targets and Yassen watched, stunned, as his aim improved steadily.
"You're a natural," Hunter informed him, handing him the pile of targets. "We should go soon, but do you want to try one more?" Yassen nodded eagerly and reloaded as quickly as he could. This was something he could do. This was easy! Hunter returned and knelt beside him. "Ok, I'm not expecting you to do this, and I haven't asked anyone else to do this on their first try, but try to get them in an inch spread. Take your time."
Yassen nodded and aimed carefully, curling his finger around the trigger. He squeezed off the ten shots and watched as Hunter went to retrieve the target.
"You did it. Like I said, you're a natural." Yassen smiled at the compliment but didn't look up from cleaning the pistol.
The drive back to Sennen seemed much shorter than before; Hunter was impressed by Yassen's skill. He had also noticed his easy grace and his air of confidence. He could tell the boy was going to be one of the best. And that scared him.