"What have we got here?"
The door to Victor's simple barrack room burst open and the three men who had been tormenting him since his arrival crowded into the tiny space already occupied by Viktor and his sister Samara.
Terrified, Victor leapt to his feet and stood between the bullies and his only living relative. Samara was dressed as any boy from the streets of Odessa in eighteen ninety eight might, but her disguise wouldn't withstand close scrutiny, she was too delicate and feminine looking for that.
"Are you feeding street rats, conscript?" Kirill was a former street thug sent to the military as punishment for the crime of being poor, same as Viktor and the two others Orest and Marko.
Viktor was indeed feeding a street rat; his sister was still homeless as Viktor had been before being arrested and sent here.
"It's my family..." Viktor said weakly, mind racing to find a way out from the looming threat of violence.
For two weeks Viktor had been trying to avoid these three who seemed to immediately hate him for no reason Viktor had been able to determine.
"No, we are your family now. You're a soldier just like us."
They were wards of the state not actual soldiers yet, but after they were trained they would be sent to a regular barrack just like soldiers. Then on to war.
Kirill stepped closer in the small space and Viktor was forced to hold his ground or else fall onto Samara's lap where she still sat on the foot of his small cot bed.
Each court mandated conscript was given their own cell and locked in at night, Viktor's room was an individual cell with a small cot, footlocker, two by two table and wash basin with one wooden chair. His room was on the third floor so it had a window. That was where Samara had climbed in. No-one could climb like Samara. Viktor would never dare make that climb.
"Why are you feeding him when your brothers in arms are going hungry? Aren't you hungry Marko?"
"Always!" Marko was big and thick so presumably consumed a lot more food than the leaner, wirier Viktor.
"Hey Viktor, don't you think Marko deserves food instead of that piece of shit you brought up here against the rules?"
"I apologize Marko." Viktor said smoothly. Both Viktor and Samara knew how to appease bullies after a year on the streets. "Sam give these soldiers the food."
Samara's thin arm reached around from behind Viktor holding out the plate with a few remaining morsels of food. Viktor took it and passed it to Marko who grinned and ate the meagre offering greedily.
"What about me?" Orest grumbled. Orest was the smallest of the three, but he was still significantly bigger than Viktor.
"What about Orest?" Kirill asked ominously. Kirill was the median between Orest and Marko, but he was still muscular and worse, clever.
"How about I give Orest my breakfast?" Viktor offered helpfully in spite of the empty rumble of his own belly. Viktor was strong and athletic but his training in swordsmanship would do little for him in close quarters with three bigger men.
"Orest? You want little Viktor's breakfast?" Kirill inquired.
"Sure, I suppose."
"Orest accepts." Kirill said stone faced. "But... Now we have to punish you for breaking the rules." The man saying that to Viktor's face was a known member of a violent, criminal street gang
Orest shut the door to the small room making it feel drastically smaller all of a sudden.
"Sam, its getting stuffy in here, would you open the window?"
Taking the hint Samara got up on the bed behind Viktor and opened the window in the hopes of climbing out. When Kirill realized what she was doing he reached for her but Viktor blocked him with his body, watching for the coming blow he anticipated.
When Kirill predictably reared back to punch Viktor the dexterous man swiftly jabbed Kirill in the throat. Kirill recoiled bumping into Marko who caught his leader before they both fell.
Orest had been eager for violence so he managed to avoid becoming entangled with the other two and stepped around them, reached for Viktor. Snake-swift reflexes helped Viktor bat away Orest's attempts to grapple with him while Samara wriggled out the window.
Viktor held Orest at bay, the two now boxing with each other. Slipping and dodging wide punches Viktor returned jabs that hurt Orest enough to make him hesitant to come in close.
Marko rushed past Viktor and grabbed Samara's ankles before she got out the window. The small woman in disguise kicked her booted feet at Marko while half out the window.
Kirill engaged with Viktor and the small man was unable to keep two bigger men off for long. Even as Marko hauled Samara back in the window Viktor was stunned by a punch from Kirill that connected with his temple.
Orest and Kirill pummelled Viktor brutally as he curled up tight, hopelessly trying to protect his head and sides at the same time.
"Holy shit!"
The beating stopped and Viktor struggled to clear his head, knowing the danger his sister was in.
"This is a female!" Marko exclaimed.
Orest and Kirill forced Viktor to the floor and Orest leaned heavily on him. Speed and agility were Viktor's best physical traits, brute force had him pinned.
"Keeping even more from your brothers I see." Kirill murmured, only halfheartedly teasing Viktor. The big man's attention was focused elsewhere. "Don't you think we would like a little female company too?" He echoed his earlier question.
The other thugs chuckled their agreement.
"I apologize." Samara's lovely soprano voice sounded too pure for the horrible atmosphere of Viktor's dismal cell. Every man in there went still when her beautiful, incongruous voice cut through the menacing laughter. "If there is something I can do for you, please allow me to provide that service."
Even Viktor heard the blatant sexual offer hidden in her tone.
It may have helped disguise her tell-tale vocabulary even if Samara attempted a lower class accent than she had been trained to speak with.
"Oh you can services us alright, lass." Kirill's sneering voice made Viktor attempt to rise once more, but Orest used a knee to thump Viktor in the side making him grunt as all the air was driven from his lungs.
