“Oh, totally. Got her right where you want her,” Sam replies.

“I was about to make my move, you know. Biding my 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 Sam are laughing hysterically.

“That was only round one,” I say, climbing out. I peel off my shirt and slap it to the concrete. “You caught me off guard. 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’m just giving Six a false sense of security, then when she gets comfortable I’m going to pull the rug out from under her.”

“Ha! Yeah, right,” Sam says, then adds, “God, I wish I had Legacies.”

Six stands between us in her solid black one-piece bathing suit. She’s still laughing, and water runs down her arms and legs as she leans slightly 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. Sam and I are both mesmerized.

“So, training this afternoon then?” Six asks. “Or do you still feel like I might get hurt?”

I puff my cheeks and release the air slowly. “Maybe I’ll take it easy on you. I mean, that scar on your leg still looks kinda nasty. But, yeah, we’re on.”

“Sam, is that a yes for you, too?”

“You guys want me to train? Seriously?”

“Of course. You’re one of us now,” Six says.

He nods, rubbing his hands together. “I’m in,” he says, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. “But if you just want me for target practice, I’m going home.”

We start at two o’clock, but by the look of the gloomy sky I don’t anticipate training for very long. Sam bounces on the balls of his feet, wearing gym 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.