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The clock tower tolled 3, startling the birds from their roosts and sending them off in a flurry of feathers up into the clear blue sky. They flapped their wings furiously, swooping through the air. The pigeons soared over the squat buildings until settling on the roof of a wine shop. Inside the particular shop, the store-hand slid the last of the bottles onto the shelf and untied his تہبند, برساتی from his waist.
"Señor Romeno, I'm leaving. See آپ tomorrow!" he called in Spanish to the old store keeper. The teenager trotted out of the دکان and down the busy streets of Rio de Janeiro.
As he neared the outer parts of the city, a soccer ball rolled out of an alley, nearly tripping him.
"Perdón!" yelled a boy from the alley. The store-hand rolled the ball under his foot, then looked up at the dark skinned boy and his companions.
"Podemos tener nuestra bola de nuevo, por favor?" a girl standing among the team of children asked.
The teen smiled and kicked it past them into a basket laying on its side. One of the boys laughed. "Gol!" he shouted and the others joined in the laughter. The store-hand smiled and waved, then jogged past them through the alley and out to a near empty dirt road.
He continued running at an even pace until he was jogging across a sandy trail along the waterfront and reached a small ساحل سمندر, بیچ house. To his surprise, the door was unlocked.
"Guys, I'm back-" he stopped when he reached the kitchen. Sitting at the میز, جدول was an older male, mid-thirties. He typed away furiously on the computer, the figures on the screen reflected in the lens of his glasses.
"Good afternoon, Alek," he greeted in a Russian accent without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Hello, Sasha," Alek said. "Are the others home?"
"In the backyard," Sasha said. He paused his typing and set one gloved hand on the arm of his wheelchair and rubbed his scruffy beard thoughtfully with the other. "Alek, if آپ will, do آپ know how much longer you'll be staying in Rio?"
"Hopefully not too much longer," he responded in a polite tone. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
The teen walked out the screen door to the backyard. Alek immediately ducked to avoid getting his head taken off سے طرف کی a آگ کے, آگ ball. The flaming projectile hit the sand at the base of a mound of rocks and extinguished.
Alek straightened and brushed off his cargo pants.
Nix chuckled from the other side of the clearing, near the trees.
"Sorry, mate" the Brit yelled, not sounding the least bit so, "I was aiming for her!"
Alek looked over his shoulder as Aryess stood from behind the rocks. She was completely clothed in a black bodysuit- especially آگ کے, آگ resistant and too hot for the baking weather of a city in Brazil. Her left arm was in its sling, as it had been since the motorcycle "accident" four weeks before. She pulled down the bandana that covered the lower half of her face and slid off the black sunglasses.
"Hey, Alek!" she said, much مزید excited to see her partner than Sasha had been.
"Hello," he looked between the fire-caster and the blade handler. "Where's our miss-" Alek yelped as he was tackled from the side. He landed on his back in the sand and stared up into two glowing golden eyes and just below them, razor sharp teeth.
"Vika [vee-ka]," he greeted her calmly. The بھیڑیا seemed to almost grin as it backed off the boy. Aryess laughed and offered him her free hand. He took it, stood, and ruffled the snow-white wolf's coat.
"Aw, what a sweet Kodak moment. The children and their کتے dog," Nic cooed mockingly, earning him eye rolls from the three, "I hate to break up the love fest, but... Heads up!"
Vika and Aryess braced themselves as a volley of آگ کے, آگ balls hit Alek's force-feild. Nic paused, open palms steaming, panting slightly, realizing that he had just pitted the three others against him.
"Er, truce?" he requested nervously.
The two teens and بھیڑیا looked at each other. Then shook their heads.
Nic ducked behind a درخت as a energy orb flew at him. A dagger embedded itself in the tree. And a howl rose into the air, declaring war.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nic fell back onto the couch. He sighed and looked out the window where the sky was darkening. He could hear the waves crashing on the ساحل سمندر, بیچ in a steady rhythm, the دل beat of the ocean. It was soothing and helped him relax after practicing for 5 hours. A moment later Alek sat beside him and passed him a ginger ale.
"Are the girls upstairs?" Nic asked, raising the bottle to his lips.
"Yes. Freshening up before we make dinner."
"We?"
Alek nodded. "I planned on helping them tonight." Nic chuckled. "You find my intentions to help prepare our meal humorous?" Alek asked.
"No, no, not at all," his friend muttered.
"There is nothing wrong with wanting to be helpful," Sasha کہا as he wheeled into the room.
"We're آپ eavesdropping, Sasha?" Nic asked.
"It's hard not to when آپ speak so loud. And in that horrid accent..." he added under his breath.
"Horrid accent? You're one to talk, Sergeant Reznov*"
"What's wrong with his accent?" Alek asked, layering his own accent.
"Yes, what indeed?" a third Russian tinted voice asked. They all three looked toward the staircase where a 15-year-old stood. She was dressed in a pale rose بلاؤز, کمری and light blue mini skirt, perfect light shades to match her pale skin and long snowy white hair. She had one hand on her hip, glowing golden eyes narrowed at the boys and her father.
"I simply meant..." Nic searched for an excuse. "He started it!" He pointed to Sasha accusingly.
"Oh, yes, blame the cripple," Sasha said. Nic threw up his hands in annoyance. Alek sighed, then turned his attention to the girl as she strutted over to Sasha and kissed his cheek.
"Hello, Vika. آپ look refreshed after our long training session."
"Indeed she does," Nic remarked, setting down his beverage on the coffee table. "You have a fine fighter there, Sasha. She'd make a grand addition to Double Helix one day."
"Oh, no," the man disagreed. "Not my girl."
"Papa!" Vika said, "I will not always be a child."
"No, sweetheart, but آپ always be my child," Sasha said, smiling at his daughter.
Vika smiled and Nic pretended to gag, receiving eye rolls all around. At that moment, Aryess trotted down the stairs, freshly showered and changed, saving her mentor from another منٹ of the emotion of the scene.
"Sorry too keep آپ waiting," she said. "Now, who's hungry?"

*yes, a Call of Duty reference