Five Years Later…
I stayed close to Jimmy after from then on. He watched out for me, like none of the other bothered to. He taught me English, he taught me how to fight (I think mainly to defend myself from Viktor, though he never said) and above all, he taught me never to lose my compassion. Apparently, it was easy to do in our line of work.
I tried not to think about my mother too often, or else I would be consumed with thoughts of her and my brothers. It was hard in the beginning; I would begin to cry which resulted in a good slap to the face. I learned to control my feelings during the first few years. Apparently I was a quick learner, which was good I suppose.
When I was thirteen, I had been a part of Colonel Stryker's Team for four years, though it seemed more like a century. I was obviously the youngest, but I was also the only girl. Wade came next. It was odd though. Despite the fact that he murdered my brother, if Jimmy wasn't around it was Wade I clung to. He seemed to be the only one that ever legitimately stood up to Stryker, something that never ceased to impress me.
Looking back I probably developed a crush on him. He was in his early twenties, handsome, and horribly clever. He wasn't like the rest of us though. He had no extra powers. He was a mercenary…a highly trained, highly skilled paid assassin. I would never see anyone handle swords the way he had. He was an artist with those blades, much more impressive than Zero and his guns.
Zero was the first one who spoke to me the night I was taken. I still don't know how many languages he actually speaks, for he always seems to spew out another one at random times. Zero was a mutant who had an inhuman sight perception, giving him unparalleled skill as a sniper and marksman.
Chris Bradley, the man who had tried to speak out for my mother against Viktor, had, if possible, less authority than I did. He was a technopath. His purpose seemed to me little more than to flying the plane and lighting up dark rooms. Unfortunate, I always thought. He was kind to me and stood up for me to the men in the troop who held either no respect for my abilities or unbridled contempt for me in general.
Fred Dukes was the polar opposite of Bradley; big, muscular and dumb. His power? He was basically a giant unmovable mass. I watched him face off against tanks, semis and more. The only reason I was scared of him, I think was his size. And, if Viktor could have any friends at all, Dukes had to be one of them. They had the same "I don't care, I like to kill" attitude. Stryker liked that about them. It explained his preference of them over guys like Bradley and John.
John was another of the few decent men in the group. He was a teleporter. I remember asking him once why he didn't just poof and leave our horrible life of killing behind him. I'll never forget what he told me. "Nadya, as long as I keep this up, I don't have to look back at all the bad shit we've done. That's the trick little girl, always look forward, never back." He was right though. At night and when I was left to myself, I caught myself remembering the faces of the people whose lives we destroyed. I heard their pleas and saw the children reaching out. Ever since then, I've taken John's warning. I don't look back. Never.
And so I come to Viktor, Jimmy's brother if you can believe it. Viktor was something else entirely. He terrified me in a way nothing else ever would. Jimmy could barely keep him in check, despite the fact how they obviously respected each other. Viktor's powers were much like Jimmy's. They couldn't be hurt, or as far as I know, killed at all. Viktor could also extend the bones that were his pointed nails to become weapons like no other. I tried to avoid him, but somehow he always managed to be around to torment me. If it weren't for Jimmy's obvious protection over me, I wouldn't have lasted a year.
But I did have Jimmy and I lasted five years. I was fourteen and used to the scene in which I worked and to the men I worked with. We move onto the night Jimmy left the team and made the decision to take me with him.