31- Alexei

The second guy went for a low tackle, but Alexei dodged it and shoved his knee up between the man’s ribs.  Then the big one came at him, bellowing loudly and leaping into the air to throw himself at him.  An idiotic move.  Alexei ducked and turned, moving himself out of the way, then kept turning, swinging his leg out to take a hard sweep at the guy’s knees, kicking them up higher so that instead of landing on his hands and knees, he took most of the impact on his neck and shoulders.  Right then the smaller guy was starting to get his breath back and was pushing himself up onto his elbows.  Alexei shoved his fist into the man’s face, but he was still trying to fight back.  At that point he completely forgot his plan and just started raining punches down on the two men on the ground.  He ignored the guy on the other side of the alley.  That one had been all talk.  A punch in the face and he was done fighting.  But these two . . .  Alexei had planned to just knock them all down and run.  Get back to his hotel.  Stay in his room for the rest of the night and wait until tomorrow to go out again.  But the idiots refused to stay down.  They kept trying to get up and fight.  It was frustrating.  Alexei slammed his knuckles into the big guy’s mouth and felt a tooth come loose, then he shoved his other fist into his jaw.  He was just about to aim another blow at the smaller one when he realized he was being watched.

He froze for a moment, then turned to look, brushing his hair out of his eyes with the back of one bloody hand.  It was a tall, thin woman with espresso-colored skin and black hair the length of peach fuzz on her head, wearing a light grey suit with a pink blouse, dragging along a little rosy-cheeked caucasian child with short-cropped hair the color of dry dirt.  He recognized the woman, and by association he had his suspicions about the boy’s identity as well.  “Nadina?”

Nadina picked up the little boy and rested him on one hip, presenting a motherly image that conflicted with everything Alexei had ever known about her.  “Alexei,” she said in that stern, authoritative tone of hers, “What are you doing here?”

Alexei blinked.  What was he doing here?  He thought that would have been obvious.  The more important question should be, what was she doing here?  And was that kid really who he thought he was?  And if so, why couldn’t he sense him?  She couldn’t possibly be holding M’boku while he was still dormant . . . could she?  “Nadina,” he said softly, “who is that kid?”

Her eyes narrowed at him dangerously and he flinched back as she took a step forward.  “Come on,” she said, “This isn’t a good place to talk.”

Alexei looked around.  They were standing in a dirty alleyway between two casinos in downtown Macau, with three bloody men groaning at their feet.  But somehow it felt safer to stay here than to follow Nadina to wherever she might be taking him.  Still, he followed her.  It should be fine.  Nadina was a practical person.  And M’boku didn’t have many friends.  And as much as Alexei hated the guy, for some reason Mila was fond of him.  She was probably the only one who liked that psycho.  So it wouldn’t be practical for Nadina to do anything treacherous.  She and M’boku needed to hold on to any friendships they could get.

“So where are we going?” he asked.

Nadina looked him over for a moment, then reached into her bag and produced a package of disinfecting wet wipes and a box of bandages.  “Clean yourself up,” she told him.

Alexei took a wipe from the package and began cleaning his hands as they walked.  It stung at the broken skin on his knuckles, but it felt good to get the blood and dirt off.

The little boy was staring at him.  “Are you a good guy?” he asked.

Alexei took a second wipe from the package and considered that for a moment.  A child’s idea of good and bad was always so clear.  In reality, there was no such thing as good guys and bad guys– everyone was a little of both.  He looked at Nadina, holding this kid’s hand like it was the most precious thing in the world.  Even she had a soft side.  “Yeah,” he replied after a minute, “I’m about as good as your Nadina here.”

Nadina shot him an icy glare, and Alexei flinched.

He finished washing his face and hands and opened the box of bandages.  They were brightly colored, with Super Sentai heroes printed on them.  Alexei glanced at Nadina, then looked down at the child.  He smirked as he wrapped the Super Sentai bandages around his knuckles.  It was a good thing Mila wasn’t here to see this.

After a minute, Nadina stopped walking and looked down at the little boy.  “You’re hungry,” she stated, then she turned to Alexei.  “Have you eaten?”

Alexei shook his head.  He hadn’t eaten anything in days; he couldn’t afford to waste money on food right now.  But he tried not to show it.

Nadina let the boy pick a restaurant and twenty minutes later, they were ordering cheeseburgers at a McDonald’s.  Alexei tried hard not to show how hungry he was.  He took small bites and made them last.  He didn’t want Nadina thinking he was desperate.

“So how long have you been in Macau?” she asked him.

“Only a few days,” he replied.  “What about you?  What are you doing here?”

“I live here, for now.” 

“Oh?”

Nadina glanced at the boy and nodded.

Alexei stared at the child.  “Nadina,” he whispered, leaning forward, “Is that . . . who I think it is . . . ?”

Nadina smiled and ran a hand through the child’s ash-brown hair.  “This is M’boku,” she confirmed.

Alexei swallowed.  “But he’s not . . .”

“He’s still dormant.”

Alexei leaned back in his seat and watched M’boku for a few more minutes.  He was a cute kid.  But what was Nadina thinking?  Didn’t she realize how dangerous this was for him?  No, of course she did.  There must be more going on here.  Some extreme circumstance that would force her to take this kind of risk.

M’boku tugged at Nadina’s shirt.  “Can I get ice cream?” he asked.  Nadina gave him some money and he ran to place his order.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” she asked.

Alexei thought about that.  “Honestly, I’m a little jealous,” he replied.  “I would love to be able to have Mila with me right now.”

Nadina watched him in silence for a minute.  “Where are you staying right now, Alexei?”

“I have a room at the Sands.”

“Oh.  How long do you plan to stay in Macau?”

“As long as I can.”

Nadina nodded slowly and sat quietly, watching M’boku.  The girl behind the counter handed him a tray with three items on it and asked, in broken English, if he could carry it by himself.  M’boku smiled at the girl and replied, in perfect Cantonese, that he was strong enough to do it without help.  The girl seemed surprised, and Alexei laughed.  Nadina was teaching the boy well.

M’boku made it back to the table without spilling anything.

“What did you get?” Nadina asked him.  “I don’t think your little tummy is big enough for all of that!”

M’boku giggled.  “No way!” he said, then he handed her a small sugar cone with vanilla ice cream on it.  “This is for you.”

“Oh, thank you,” she replied with a nod.

“And this is for you.  It’s the same as mine.”

Alexei stared at the cup that had been placed in front of him.  “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s ice cream, silly!  It’s Oreo and taro flavor!”

Alexei smiled.  M’boku had never bought him dessert before.  He decided that he really liked the dormant, four-year-old version of M’boku.  He was much easier to get along with than the M'boku he was used to.

Nadina stared at Alexei as she nibbled at her ice cream cone.  After a while, she leaned forward.  “I have an idea,” she said.  “I think we can help each other out.”