Chapter 19

As Ven sat in the back of the car he started thinking about how he would approach Nikita and Brutus, he had never met them before and had no idea what their personalities were like. It also irked him that their gifts didn’t match what they looked like at all. Nikita looked like a petite and dainty girl in her ID photo, but her gift was that she could go into a battle frenzy which made her reflexes faster the longer she fought. Brutus on the other hand looked like a large well-built man in his mid-thirties but his gift was that he could speed up the recovery time of people from injuries. The gifts just didn’t match their personas!

On top of that, he had no idea why they had not joined the UTF on their own. Even though their gifts didn’t match what they looked like, the recruiting rules of the UTF were clear, as long as a person had a gift, they could sign up. It was the most prestigious job in the Kingdom, why wouldn’t they take it up?

“Sir, we have almost reached Ms. Nikita’s address,” said Frank from the driver’s seat, “I must say this doesn’t look like the safest neighborhood.”

“No, it doesn’t,” said Ven as he looked out of the window at the rundown neighborhood they were in, if he didn’t know any better these were modern day slums, they had them back in his time as well.

“So, slums managed to survive all these years as well.”

“Sir, while I am fairly certain no one would dare vandalize a UTF car, is it alright if I stay in the car to make sure no one gets any unwise ideas?” asked Frank as he pulled over in front a rundown building.

Ven nodded his agreement to Frank before getting out of the car. It was a little after noon, so the sun was still high in the sky, which was a good thing as he had a clear view all around him. He regretted not having a sword with him, Rendall was right, it was as if he was walking around naked. He hoped that his UTF uniform would be more than enough to deter any potential troublemakers.

He eyed the house where Nikita lived, it was a two-story building which needed some renovation. All the windows were boarded up, probably as a safety measure to keep people from breaking in, thought Ven. As he reached the front door, he knocked on the rickety door and took a step back. Not hearing any movement, he tried again, this time louder.

“Go away! We’re not buying anything!” came a shrill voice from the other side.

“I am not here to sell anything; I am from the UTF and I am here to meet a Ms. Nikita. Her ID says she lives here,” said Ven.

“UTF? That better not be a lie,” shouted the same voice.

Ven closed his mouth and stopped himself from saying anything as he heard footsteps inside the house. After a few seconds, the front door opened an inch and an elderly lady with unkempt hair and cracked glasses peeked out.

“What do you want?” she asked rudely as she looked Ven up and down.

“My name is Ven, I am a Knight in UTF, I am looking for Ms. Nikita,” said Ven with a smile.

“What do you want with my daughter?” asked Nikita’s mother.

“Well, can I come inside and tell both of you together? I would prefer if we could talk over things privately,” asked Ven.

“Okay, but you must leave after you have said what you wanted to say,” said Nikita’s mother.

“That sounds reasonable,” said Ven as he walked through the front door.

The inside of the house looked in much better condition than the outside. He could tell they didn’t have a lot of money with how sparse and old the furniture looked, but the house was not dirty it was extremely neat and clean.

“It’s not much, but we don’t steal like the rest of the neighborhood,” said Nikita’s mother as she noticed Ven looking around the house, “Now, what do you want?”

“Ma’am, can I meet your daughter first?” asked Ven patiently.

“Ma’am? Do I look that old to you? Call me by name, Lydia! But meeting my daughter, that is not a good idea, she has problems, she can be dangerous to people she doesn’t know,” said Lydia.

“Dangerous how?” asked Ven.

“First, tell me why you’re here,” said Lydia stubbornly.

“Ma’am, Lydia, I am here to give your daughter a job, no, I think it is better to call it an opportunity. I want her to work for me, I believe your daughter has a truly wonderful gift which can be used to help people,” said Ven confidently.

“Thank you for coming all this way to offer us this opportunity, but it doesn’t interest us,” said Lydia as she pointed to the door.

“You said I could meet your daughter,” said Ven.

“You’re wasting your time, she will say the same thing,” said Lydia adamantly.

“Ok, then tell me why she’s dangerous?” asked Ven politely as he sat down in the nearest chair.

“Didn’t your mother teach you that you don’t sit down until you’re told to?” asked an irritated Lydia.

“She didn’t, she died when I was a baby,” said Ven.

“Oh. Well now you know, so don’t do it again,” said Lydia uncomfortably, “Look, you don’t want my daughter, she already tried once to get accepted into UTF, she was rejected.”

“Why was she rejected?” asked Ven.

“Obviously, you already know what Nikita’s gift is. When it was first found out she had the gift to get exponentially faster reflexes, there was a lot of excitement, and her gift was given the name Battle Blessed. The UTF was very kind to us during those days, Nikita’s place in the UTF was certain, all she had to do was turn eighteen and apply,” said Lydia with a faint smile.

“Clearly that didn’t happen,” said Ven.

“No, it didn’t. As she got older, she was often taken by UTF soldiers to these courses they have for children with exceptional gifts, to help them master their gifts. As she kept going to these training sessions over the years, it became clearer and clearer that her gift had more to it than just getting stronger. The longer she uses her gift the less control she has over herself, she loses the ability to distinguish between friend and foe. Once that was discovered the name of her gift was changed from Battle Blessed to Berserk. It was decided that someone who might attack her own allies had no place in UTF,” said Lydia with a sigh, “She was seventeen when they told her that, can you imagine what it’s like to spend your life working towards a goal and then have the rug pulled from under you at the last moment?”

“Do you think your daughter is dangerous because of what they told you or is that your opinion?” asked Ven as he looked Lydia in the eyes.

“She is my daughter, how could I ever believe she is dangerous,” said Lydia as she took off her glasses to clean them.

“Ma’am can I meet your daughter?” asked Ven politely again.

“You are a stubborn man,” said Lydia, “Which is a good thing, if you want to convince her, you will need to be stubborn. Nikita, come down here, there is a nice man here to meet you!”

Nikita’s photo was the right one, coming down the stairs was a petite and dainty little girl in a white skirt and blue blouse. She had shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. As she took a seat next to her mother as she smiled and curtsied at Ven, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“How can I help you?” asked Nikita.

“My name is Ven, I am here to offer you an opportunity to work for me in UTF,” said Ven as he repeated the words, he had told Lydia earlier.

“You have already told my mother this?” asked Nikita as she gave her mother a sharp look.

“Yes, and she has told me about your past experience with UTF, as well details about your gift, Battle Frenzy,” said Ven.

“Then you know it isn’t safe to work with me,” said Nikita in a matter of fact manner.

“Who decided that?” asked Ven as he scratched his chin.

“UTF,” said Nikita coldly.

“I am from UTF and I am saying you aren’t dangerous,” said Ven resolutely.

“You don’t even know me! And yet you come in here with that arrogant and smug face of yours! What right does UTF have to throw me away and then take me back whenever they like? Am I nothing more than a toy to them?” said Nikita with a raised voice.

“That’s true, I don’t know you. But then again you don’t know me either, so it is a little harsh if you lump me in with the rest of UTF. I suppose maybe I should have introduced myself a little more accurately, well, I’ll give it another try then. My name is Ven, the first giftless Knight,” said Ven.

“You’re in the Honour Guard? Giftless!” muttered Nikita and Lydia in shock.

“Yup, that’s me,” said Ven with a smile.

“You’re lying, a giftless in the UTF is already impossible, but you’re going so far as to call yourself a Knight of the Honour Guard!” said Nikita in an irritated tone.

“It is impossible to be a giftless in the UTF, but that’s because they only recruit gifted individuals. On the other hand, has there ever been any such requirement to join the Honour Guard? So, please don’t lump me with the rest of UTF,” said Ven.

“Congratulations on that,” said Nikita sarcastically. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I am dangerous.”

“Nikita, my whole life people told me it was impossible for a giftless man to join the UTF but look at where I am now. I am not the first giftless to have this dream, but I am the only one who kept pursuing it, even though everyone told me it couldn’t be done. So, Nikita are you going to give up on your dream to be in UTF just because someone decided your gift is dangerous?” asked Ven as he once again lied about his past.

“But what if I kill one of my teammates?” asked Nikita with clenched fists.

“You and your family were taken off UTF support and that’s why you moved to this rundown neighbourhood. Since the time you have moved here, crime has gone down, now did you know quite a few young men have been admitted into the hospital with bruises, cuts and broken bones since you moved here. The fun fact with all of those cases is that all of them claim to have not seen their attacker,” said Ven, “You were the one who sent them to the hospital, weren’t you?”

“What if I was? They all deserved it, they were committing daylight robbery,” said Nikita proudly while not looking in her mother’s direction.

“I am not questioning what you did. I am just pointing out that during your years here, you’ve done such things quite often, and not once did you lose control and kill someone,” said Ven.

“Those were short fights with a bunch of punks, they did not drag out long enough for me to lose control,” said Nikita nonchalantly.

“Which means you’re not dangerous as long as you use your gift for short durations,” said Ven.

“And you’re saying you can promise that all combat engagements we will have in the field will be short and sweet?” retorted Nikita.

“I can’t promise you that, but what I can promise is this, you will always have teammates you can rely on so you won’t have to use your gift for long durations,” said Ven although right now his team consisted only of him, “If that isn’t enough for you, think of your mother, do you really want her to stay in this neighbourhood forever?”

“What will you do if a situation comes along where I lose control?” asked Nikita as she stared at Ven.

“I’ll take you out myself before you hurt anyone,” answered Ven calmly.

Although those words came from a giftless, both mother and daughter could sense the sincerity and strength behind them. This man would do what he had just said.

“Can you promise that my family will still be taken care of if that happens?” asked Nikita.

“I promise,” said Ven firmly.

“When do I start?” asked Nikita as she held her mother’s hand in hers.

The team is getting together! The first recruit has joined the team! Onwards to the next potential recruit! Will be at easy and straightforward as Nikita? Find out in next week's chapter :)

As always, stay safe out there.

Anderoth