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"What the hell are you guys doing out here?" Salass door

"U smack, so I decided to put her in her place Can’t you tell?"

I re four feet over the pool’s center I can feel Six’s grip around ht ankle, and the sensation is the sa ht where you want her," Sam replies

"I was about tomy time"

"So what do you think, Sam?" Six asks "Should I let him have it?"

A smile breaks across Sam’s face "Take it away"

"Hey!" I say just before she lets go and I fall headfirst into the water When I resurface, Six and Sa hysterically

"That was only round one," I say, cli out I peel off uard Just wait"

"What happened to being tough and rugged?" Sam asks "Isn’t that what you said when you buzzed your head?"

"Strategy," I say "I’ets co out froht," Saacies"

Six stands between us in her solid black one-piece bathing suit She’s still laughing, and water runs down her arhtly forward and twists her hair to ring it out The scar on her leg is still discolored, but it isn’t nearly as purple as it was the week before She whips her hair back over her head Sa this afternoon then?" Six asks "Or do you still feel like I et hurt?"

I puff my cheeks and release the air slowly "Maybe I’ll take it easy on you Istill looks kinda nasty But, yeah, we’re on"

"Sauys want me to train? Seriously?"

"Of course You’re one of us now," Six says

He nods, rubbing his hands together "I’ "But if you just wanthome"

We start at two o’clock, but by the look of the gloo Saym shorts and an oversized tee He’s all knees and elbows, but if heart and determination could be counted, I think he’d be nearly the size of the Mogadorian I’d seen aboard the ship

To start, Six shows us what she’s learned of combat techniques, which is far more than I know Her body moves fluidly and with the precision of a machine when she throws a kick or punch, or when she does a back flip to evade an attack She shows us how to counterassault and the merits of skill and coordination, and drills the same maneuvers until they come instinctively Sam eats it up, even when Six pounds him backwards and he flips head over heels or has the wind knocked out of hi it off like I’ around, I work my hardest and she still kicks the crap out of me I can’t fathom how she learned all this on her own After rass and dirt for the second time, I realize just how ins a half hour later A light drizzle at first, but soon the skies open, sending us indoors for cover Sa kicks and punches at phantom enemies I sit in the chair, my fist around my blue pendant, and stare out the frontfor a very long ti that the last two stored because Six told them to

When I turn back I see that she’s sound asleep in the corner of the living roo him in her ar herself into a ball on her side, her features losing their sharp edges

The white bottoht at htly tickle the botto a pesky fly I tickle her again She twitches her foot a little harder I wait a few seconds and then, as softly as I can, I tickle the length of her foot, fro toe Six pulls her foot back and kicks her leg straight out, the telekinetic force of which sendsthe interior wires and studs Sa position

"What happened? Who’s here?" he yells

I stand, rubbing my elbohich took the brunt of the hit

"Jerk," Six says, sitting up

Sauys are ridiculous," he says, retreating back to the kitchen "Your flirting just scared the hell out of noring the flirting coone and doesn’t hear it A?

Six yawns, raising her ar?"

"Totally, but look on the bright side; the weather saved you from any further bruises"

She shakes her head "The tough-guy routine is pretty tired, Johnny And don’t forget what I can do with the weather"

"Wouldn’t dreae the subject I hateto ask you: who’s the face in the clouds? Every time you whip up a storm I see this crazy, oht foot "I’m not sure, but ever since I’ve been able to mess with the weather, it’s always the same face that appears I assuht it et over"