Book 1: What We Had in the Beginning

Chapter 18: Four

His metal arm is pressed against mine as we stare up at the cracked ceiling. His arm isn’t cold anymore, the heat from my body warming it. It was a last minute decision to go to the training room and I was grateful to find the Soldier waiting for me. A couple officers are still awake, walking aimlessly around the building. Ivan probably told them to keep an eye on us but sneaking past them was easy enough. I know we can't stay up here for long but whatever time we get is enough. Turning my head to look at the Soldier, I find him with his eyes closed and I admire how peacful he looks. If I didn't know better, I would think he was asleep. The stubble on his face is more noticeable and his lips are dry and pale. I find myself liking it. My eyes move lower until they land on the red star on his upper arm. Without thinking, I turn over onto my side. Placing my right arm under my head, I begin tracing the star with my left index finger. The Soldier snaps his eyes open, obviously startled by this but his face soon relaxes and he ends up just watching me trace my finger over the design. The metal is smooth and still warm from my body pressing against it. The feelings bubbling in my chest makes me feel angry and disappointed in myself but at the same time excited. I've never felt this way before, it's new and confusing to me. We lay like this for a few more minutes until I sit up. The Soldier sits up too, getting the hint that it's time to go back to our rooms. I don't want to leave but we don't have much of a choice. Walking out of the training room, I feel the Soldier’s eyes on me as I make my way down the stairs and out of sight. As I reach the 1st floor I find an officer standing with his back facing the basement. Quietly sneaking behind him, I make my way down the few stairs into the basement and back into bed.

**

No one talks during breafast, just the sound of forks against plates filling the room. Ivan’s still upset, I can tell by the way he keeps clenching and unclenching his fists. Pouline now sits in front of me and her eyes are still red from crying.

The day drags on slowly. We have our class with Mr. Leonov, which he goes over encrypting and how to infiltrate a database. We then go to Madam Oksana and practice our routine for a few hours. We eat lunch and now we're in the training room getting ready to do more shooting. We've been told that the Black Widow will be more of a hand-to-hand assassin, so most of what the Black Widow is going to do will be close range. But learning how to shoot, especially from a distance, is important. We’re not using the assault rifles today, much to my dismay, but it's still nice to have a weapon in my hand. We practice our shooting for a little more than an hour. All of us doing pretty well. We’re all able to hit the target, however me and Yelena are the only ones who manage to hit the center of it. Halfway through our target practice, Ivan and a couple officers leave the room. The only ones left being Mr. Leonov, Sadovsky, 2 other officers and the Soldier. None of them commenting on our shooting. Afterwards, we clear away the targets to make room on the training mat to spar. Wendeliena gets paired up with Sadovsky, Yulia with a Red Room officer, Yelena with the Red Room officer that punished me who's name I discovered is Anton. Pouline is with the Soldier and I get paired up with Mr. Leonov. We each pick a section of the mat that's a good distance away from each other to give everyone room and we begin to fight. Yulia and Yelena are holding their own pretty well with the Red Room officers. Wendeliena is struggling to keep up with Sadovsky but still manages to get hits in here and there. The Soldier is going easy on Pouline but she has yet to actually hit him.

Turning to face Leonov, I find him smirking at me. He has a unhinged glint in his eyes that unsettles me but I make sure he can't sense it. He makes the first move much to my relief. Catching his punch, I flip him over and onto his back. Leonov quickly recovers and gets back onto his feet. His smirk still isn't gone as he runs towards me again. I dodge his punch again but just as I do that he kicks my feet out from under me. Instead of getting on top of me like I expected, he grabs the front of my shirt and forces me up onto my feet. Pushing me back a little, he gives himself room to try and kick me in the stomach but I manage to grab his foot and twist it. Leonov let's out a painful grunt. Pulling on his leg, I throw him to the ground and start to punch him one after the other. His nose starts to bleed immediately but I don't stop. Suddenly, I feel his hand grab a fist full of my hair and yank my head back. He flips us over so he's on top and manages to punch me in the jaw, a coppery taste filling my mouth. Before he can get another one in, I spit blood in his face momentarily distracting him. This gives me a chance to jerk my knee up to connect with his crotch. Leonov let's out a painful groan and falls to the side, clutching between his legs. Sitting up, I wipe the blood from my mouth and find Ivan and the other officers watching us. Swallowing the blood that keeps building in my mouth, I cross my legs and watch the others fight. Yelena and Yulia are doing pretty well against the Red Room officers. Wendeliena however is still struggling against Sadovsky, both of their faces are covered in cuts and bruises. Pouline is also struggling with the Soldier as well. Though he’s going easy on her, she’s still having a hard time. Her nose is bleeding, her bottom lip is swollen, a bruise in the shape of a hand print is already starting to appear on her left leg, and the Soldier has yet to break a sweat. Out of nowhere, I feel someone grab a fist full of my hair and pull me back. Biting my tongue to keep myself from screaming, I hold onto the person’s arm and dig my nails into him. Trying to turn my head back, I catch a glimpse of Leonov with a sadistic grin plastered onto his face. The blood from his nose has run down onto his teeth making him look insane. He releases my hair but before he has a chance to do anything else, I quickly get to my feet. He rushes at me and grabs a hold of my neck, slamming me to the ground. His grip tightens as he chokes me and I can feel my face begin to heat up from the loss of oxygen. He's looking straight down at me, his smile not wavering for a second. Bringing my legs up, I wrap them around his neck and begin to choke him as well. Moving the lower half of my body up, I then jerk my hips back down to the mat. His head comes down to connect with mine and he lets out a pained yelp. His grip on my neck loosens and I kick him off of me. Sitting up, I try to catch my breath as Leonov holds his head as it begins to bleed. I don't waste time and tackle him down, putting him in a headlock. Tightening my hold on him, he struggles and kicks trying to get me to let go. Leonov then starts to swing his fists behind him to try and punch me but I move my head away each time. I squeeze my arm tighter against his neck until he stops struggling and goes limp. He's not dead but he is unconcious. Laying my head back against the mat, I closing my eyes and try to even out my breathing. After a few seconds, I finally push him off of me and stand up. Everyone has stopped fighting and is now staring at me and the unconcious body on the floor. The girls stare at Leonov sprawled out on the mat in amusement. Walking over to them, we watch as a few officers rush to Leonov to make sure he isn't dead. Lifting him up, they carry him out of the training room. The taste of blood lingers in my mouth, the saltiness of it making my mouth tingle. Ivan and some of the officers are talking and we just stand to the side and wait until we’re given instructions on what to do now. Looking over at the Soldier, I find him staring at me. I'm surprised he’s doing it so blatantly but no one's really paying attention. His face is blank, no surprise there, but the way he's looking at me makes me feel self conscious. Is there something on my face? I'm sure I look a mess. Covered in cuts, bruises, and blood but nothing he hasn't seen before. Glancing over at Pouline, I find her looking pretty beaten up. Her nose is bleeding, her eye is already swollen, as well as her lip, and she's now limping a little bit on her left leg. But all in all, the Soldier went fairly easy on her. That thought sends shivers down my spine. What damage can he really do? What if he doesn't hold back with me? I’d surely be dead in no time no doubt about it. But I would like to see the Soldier fight with out having to use restraint. I'm sure it’s a breathtaking sight.