“Speaking of my sister. Will she be joining us today?”
“Not today. Mila is in New York at the moment, but sends her regards. She’s very adamant about your training, though, and plans to be present for as many sessions as possible so she can personally monitor your improvement.”
“Great,” I mumble as Misha leads me deeper into the house.
“Today will be a light one. We’ll start with a tour, then move on to some physical assessments so I know what I’m working with.”
He takes me through the house, quickly giving me a rundown of each room. It’s overwhelming. Each seems grander than the last, and my mind refuses to believe that this all officially belongs to me now. Especially when he shows me my own wing. He insists they’ll hire someone to come in and decorate to my tastes, but as it stands, it would be the nicest space I’ve ever had.
I lived a modest life growing up, and my frugal mindset has stayed firmly in place. Even after making a prime NHL salary for five years, I haven’t had the urge to spend much money, exceptfor whatever my grandma’s heart desires. My apartment in New York was nice, but this is something else entirely.
I’m still in awe as Misha leads me out the back of the house to what could only be described as a colosseum. It’s as large as any athletic facility I’ve trained in, and by my glance around, it houses professional-grade equipment. Well, at least the things I’m familiar with, like weight machines. There’s a whole other section of the space filled with what looks like straight-up torture devices, and I’m none the wiser about the top brands in that department.
The place is almost empty, sans half a dozen men almost as large and intimidating as Misha. The black combat outfits definitely help with the whole “I’m a big bad Bratva soldier” look, that’s for sure. I’m a little embarrassed that I showed up in my gray sweats and white T-shirt. It’s what I would normally wear for a workout session, but I feel like a sheep in a den of wolves.
“Are you ready for the fun?”
Misha stops in the agility area, and I breathe a sigh of relief that he didn’t lead me to the black leather and chains. In fact, I’m a little excited to show off. It seems like everything I do or say around these guys is a joke to them, but if there is one thing I’m sure of, it’s my fitness. A lifetime on the ice will whip you into shape.
“Mila and I have watched film from your past several seasons of games. We think we have a good sense of your strengths and weaknesses but need to put those theories to the test with an evaluation of our own. This will be the same semiannual assessment we require all of our men to perform…”
He looks around the room before calling out something in Russian. At his command, a man jogs in our direction. He’s one of the larger men in the room with a build close to mine. Hestops a few feet from Misha and stands at attention with perfect posture and hands behind his back.
“Teddy, this is Rusev. Rusev, Teddy. He is one of our best men and one of the few included in Mila’s inner circle. Along with his devout loyalty, Rusev is one of our most impressive physical specimens.”
My confidence quickly falters as I watch Rusev perform a series of agility movements with speed and grace that an Olympian would covet. His form is impeccable from start to finish as he moves through the course without a single bead of sweat.
“Thank you, Rusev. You may go now.”
I’m still frozen in place, my mouth wide open in awe of his display of athleticism. I haven’t taken my eyes off the Bratva god as he jogs back to the sparring ring, where the other men are practicing, when Misha turns to me with a smirk on his face.
“Don’t be so intimidated. He’s one of our best men. There aren’t many in our group or the world who can top him.”
“Not many?” I scoff. “You mean to say he’s not even the best one inour group?”
Misha winks. “Who do you think trained him?”
“Jesus Christ.”
“And your sister can run circles around every one of us.” He chuckles. “Now, are you ready to get started, or would you like to stare at my men some more?”
I snap out of my fanboy daze and straighten up. “I’m ready, sir.”
“For starters, you never call me or anyone else ‘sir.’ You’re the boss of this entire operation, including me and your crush Rusev.” Misha chuckles. “I may be your trainer right now, but I’m still in service to you. Your number one lesson is to never let anyone doubt your authority.”
I nod.I’m the boss. Big bad Bratva boss. Got it.
“Now, do you recall all the steps, or were you fanboying too hard to remember them?”
“Ummm…”
“I’ll take that as a no.” He sighs. “Alright, I’ll take it from the top, then.”
Misha guides me through the course several times, each pass increasing in speed until I’m able to go through it alone. If I was impressed with Rusev before, it’s tenfold now. The line of obstacles proves to involve a level of fitness even I’m not used to. And after what feels like days of training, but is in reality only a few hours, I’m completely spent. I can tell the group of henchmen has somehow migrated closer to us by the volume of the collective laughter as I collapse on the floor.
Thankfully, Misha maintains his composure as he stands over me. “You did well, Teddy. You should be proud of yourself. Trust me, it took all those assholes years to get to where they are. You did excellent for your first day. It will take some time, but now that I have a more accurate idea of what we are working with, I’ll be able to create a plan to help us accelerate your improvement.”
I hum my agreement as he reaches an arm to help me up. To add insult to injury, I stumble on my first step, and Misha wraps his arm around me for support, like some idiot who can’t walk.
