Even The Devil Loves His Children

Chapter Three

Tayen was summoned to Abe's study early the next morning. When she got to the study, Terry, their butler, passed Tayen a coffee. "Good morning, Miss Farrah," Terry greeted. "Morning, Terry," Tayen yawned. "The Ivanovs seemed to like you last night," Abe said, instead of greeting her. Tayen hummed and sipped her coffee, waiting for him to continue.

When he didn't, Tayen raised a brow. "Is that a good thing or bad? I can't tell," she said hesitantly. Abe leaned back and stared at her, then sighed.

"Neither can I," he admitted. "They worked with Sirius's parents for the KGB, but unlike Mikhail and Nat, they continued working for the government after the Soviet Union dissolved. They only left because their children were being recruited," he explained.

"And you don't know what their plans are now that they've left," Tayen finished softly. Abe shook his head. "No. They came to me a month ago, wanting protection in exchange for ... helping us."

"Well, that's how Uncle Mikhail and Auntie Nat came to be apart of the family." Tayen reminded him. "Yes, but... I don't know, Albi. It's been a month and Terry can't find any history. It's like they don't exist," Abe huffed in frustration.

"That's to be expected of KGB turned TsSR, though." Tayen pointed out. "I want you to try to figure out ... anything, through the kids. Their son is twenty six, the daughter's twenty three," He told her. Tayen shrugged, "Okay. I'll drop by later and tell them about the mandatory training protocols."

"Not later. Now." Abe ordered. Tayen's head fell back and she groaned, "But I'm so tired!" she whined. "Shouldn't have finished that bottle last night," Abe chuckled. Tayen shot him a glare and growled. "Fine. I'll go visit them at six in the morning. I'm sure they'll definitely appreciate that."

......

"I'm sorry, Miss, are the Mister and Missus expecting you?" A maid asked her nervously. "No, just tell them Miss Farrah's here," Tayen waved as she sat down on the loveseat in the foyer. The woman's eyes widened when she realized who Tayen was, and scurried off.

Five minutes later, Alexei and Anastasia entered the foyer with polite smiles, though it looked like grimaces. "Miss Farrah, to what do we owe the honour?" Alexei asked.

"I'm so sorry for the wake up call," Tayen apologized as she stood up. "But my father wished for me to come and explain our training program for the younger members of our community," she explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Our kids don't participate in ... those types of activities," Anastasia frowned. Tayen gave an apologetic smile, "I'm afraid it's mandatory. Our entire community has enemies, some more powerful than others, and we need to make sure everyone within the gates can do their part to ensure minimal casualties. I'm sure you understand," she insisted.

The couple exchanged a glance, then conceded. "Marie, please go wake up Nikolai and Katya," Anastasia ordered in a defeated tone.

"I promise they'll be taken care of. I actually run the program." Tayen told them.

"Is everything okay?" a breathy voice asked. Tayen looked over and saw a young woman rubbing her eyes in the doorway. "Katya, this is Miss Farrah, Ibrahim Malak's daughter," Alexei introduced me. "Miss Farrah, this is my daughter Katya, and Nikolai is the one sleepwalking down the stairs," He laughed softly.

"It's a pleasure," Tayen chirped. "I was just explaining to your parents our required training program. After you guys wake up fully and eat, I will meet you at my house to begin. Today will be pretty easy, I'll just be seeing what can be improved, what natural strengths you have, and then you're done. You'll be free to come home or whatever, while I consult with Sirius and Yusuf to figure out a regimen for you both. Depending on what we learn today, you could be training with us anywhere from one to three times a week."

"Training?" Nikolai blinked. Tayen nodded, "Fighting," she said bluntly. "Our community is a family, we need to ensure that you'll all be prepared if someone attacks us."

Both their eyes widened in excitement, but Tayen was continuing. "We will also be finding a job for you both today, but that's with Leanne. While I work with one of you, she'll be interviewing the other to see where you'll excel most. If needed, she may help you fill out an application to UCLA, but the tuition and such will be covered by Abe." she added. She grabbed her purse from the couch and pulled it up to her shoulder.

"Alright... I guess that's it. My house is just down the street, five minutes away. You have an hour to get ready and eat."

.......

Tayen unceremoniously threw open Sirius's door and threw herself onto his bed, ignoring the yelp of surprise. She sat up and met the eyes of the waitress from last night, then Sirius's annoyed gaze. "What the f***, Demon?" he grunted. Tayen pulled her legs underneath her and waved a hand.

"The Ivonovs have offspring, Si. Abe needs us to place them today." she told him. "It's... six forty five in the morning!" Sirius groaned as he laid back down. "Yeah. They'll be here in about an hour."

Tayen left the room and went to her own, to shower and get herself ready. After she stepped out of the shower, she halfway dried her hair and put it into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Once that was done, she changed into grey yoga pants and a white tshirt. It was slightly chilly in the house that morning, so she threw a grey cardigan on and went downstairs.

Sirius was waiting in the gym, already showered and in his work out clothes. "Tayen, can we talk?" he asked. Tayen swallowed and started setting up. "Nothing to talk about," she shrugged. "Please don't be like that." he pleaded as he pulled her close to him. She turned her head and stared at the floor, "I... We have to work, Si." she murmured as she pulled away.

Sirius heaved a sigh and released her. They finished setting up just as Terry lead Nikolai and Katya in.

"Hey guys, this is Sirius, he helps me run the program. Sometimes Abe has me leave the country for a while, so he takes over for me. Si, this is Nikolai and Katya Ivanov," she introduced. Sirius nodded and shook their hands.

"Aren't you a little... young?" Nikolai asked hesitantly. Sirius let out a loud laugh, "Trust me, Nicky, better men than you or I have tried to take down my Demon, and all have failed," he bragged as he held Tayen's waist. Tayen bit her lip and pulled out of his grip, "What he means is that Abe's had me fighting since I could walk, and I took over this part of the program from Yusuf a few years ago."

Katya stared at Tayen in awe, and Tayen flushed. "Okay. Nikolai, Leanne's waiting for you in the room down the hall, Terry will show you. Katya, we're going to start with some stretches and a warm up."

By lunch time, it was clear Tayen and Sirius had their work cut out for them. Katya was insecure, so while she could throw a decent punch and dodge well enough, she second guessed herself constantly. Nikolai, on the other hand, was stuck between wanting to show off and not wanting to fight a girl. So Sirius had taken over, but there wasn't much improvement.

Tayen and Sirius let them go, and went to Tayen's office, where they met with Yusuf, and Leanna.

"So what's the verdict?" Yusuf asked, but the glint in his eye said he already knew. "They know absolutely nothing. She's too nervous and he's too eager," Tayen grumbled as she sat in her chair. "Leanna?" she prompted.

"Katya seems very interested in nursing. I'll make a few calls and have her put in the program at the college instead of the uni. She had a 3.5 GPA in high school, so it shouldn't be too hard to get her in next year. Nikolai wanted a trade job, so I'll set him up with Joey." Leanne told her. Tayen nodded, "I'll talk to Abe about Katya doing her practical with Mel at our clinic instead of the hospital."

"And what about their training?" Yusuf asked, looking very much like he was holding back laughter. Tayen sighed and spun her chair. "I have no idea," she groaned. Yusuf laughed at her, stood up, and stopped her chair. He leaned on her desk and grinned at her. "I'll get them started. Sound good?" He offered. Tayen grinned, "That sounds amazing. Thank you," she gushed.

"I wanna meet them. Drinks tonight?" Yusuf asked. Tayen nodded, "Yeah. We can meet in my sitting room. I'll let them know after dinner."

Tayen didn't see Sirius glaring at Yusuf, but Yusuf did, and he almost laughed again.