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(( Occurs shortly after Ahead of Schedule and prior to the museum raid. ))

Nadja's days began near dawn. When most of the base was hushed and quiet, still waiting half asleep under the covers for the cafeteria to open, the elite was alert, uniformed, and in her office going over e-mails and the day's itinerary as rosy streaks of light not yet sharpened by the midday desert heat reflected in the polished curves of her samovar. It was a peaceful, private start to the day.

Most days, at least.

When the elite entered her network ID and password and clicked 'Login,' her brows arched at the message that popped up: 'Access denied.' "Mmh?" she murmured over her teacup, and tried again.

Nadja narrowed her eyes at the screen. "What is this."

After a third, carefully entered attempt yielded the same result, the elite clicked the 'Forgot your password?' link at the bottom of the window. Instead of producing a password retrieval form, it spawned a cheery little error message.

'Authorized personnel only, Agent Volkov.'

"I am authorized!" Nadja exclaimed irritably at her computer, prompting her Arcanine, who was sunning himself on the carpet, to roll his head back to see what the fuss was about. "At least I should be." The redhead frowned at the machine's oddly personal address and, very carefully, entered her password again.

'Access denied.'

"Damn him."

Her morning quite disturbed, Nadja rose from her chair with an irritated huff and strode for the door. The redhead reached the elevators, pushed a button with some vehemence, and glared at the shiny metal doors as the car rumbled down to the lower levels.

No doubt this was retaliation, incredibly childish, for the increased security in the labs. She would deal with his tantrums later; doubtful he was even up at this hour.

Right now, she needed a swim.

The elite didn't think much of it when she heard a door thump shut as she headed down the hall, and she had been on base long enough that her path was routine - into the women's locker room, stripping off her gloves as she went, and briefly pausing to remove the rest of her uniform before a five-second shower sent her on a dripping beeline for the water, already in swimwear. The redhead's footsteps echoed in the tiled chamber; light flashed and water splashed.

Nadja floated on her back and breathed, watching ripples of light reflected off the pool bottom dance across the ceiling.

Then she twisted and dove, cutting through the water in the smooth strokes of her morning workout. A few moments in the cool liquid dissolved her tensions, and she smiled at the sight of her Kingdra resting on the bottom. Ophion opened a single red eye as his trainer turned and kicked off the deep end.

Nadja was an efficient swimmer, and a graceful one. Each stroke was a long extension of her arm that brought the blade of her hand slicing under the water's surface. Her back arced briefly above the surface as she neared the wall and flipped forward, pushing off in a streamlined silhouette. She was inwardly focused, her vision filled with tiled lane lines and strings of bubbles.

At the bottom of the deep end, Ophion snoozed.

He was a vague flash in her vision when she lifted her head to breathe, tall and imposing. Nadja turned one more time, letting the momentum carry her out a few yards, and surfaced. Beads of water streaming down her form glinted in the overhead lights.

The redhead studied her interruption, treading water with smooth motions of her limbs as her grey gaze traveled down to the angry scar on his side. Since presumably Seth would have entered another lane if he only wanted to swim, the woman cocked her head and gave him an mildly expectant look.

"Something for you?" she asked over the quiet lap-lap of little waves at the walls.

"I'm always here at this hour," Nadja answered, accompanying her direct reply with a little quirk of her brow. Her daily visits gave her more claim to this place than he had. "Usually I have the place to myself."

The redhead's expression turned to a look of appraisal as Seth turned and walked away, taking in the long line of his back and above that, spikes of dark hair trickling rivulets over damp shoulders.

Pity about that scar.

Noting the disruption in the water currents, Ophion raised his head.

"I'm sure I can manage," the redhead smirked. The tips of her hair fanned out where they met the water as her chest rose and fell. She had already exerted herself quite a bit, and was treating the disruption like a break.

"Were you going to make this a regular thing?"

Voices, distorted and muffled, and another body in the water. The Kingdra blew a series of bubbles that popped on the surface.

The weedy-finned dragon gave Seth a look as he passed overhead. It was unimpressed. He blew a particularly large bubble at the elite, fins waving in the slow current.

Nadja caught that smirk as she leaned against the wall, elbows hooked over the side. Her workout was over; a pleasant burn coursed through her muscles and she kicked her legs lazily, cooling down. "Really," she mused with a vague curve to her lips, watching Seth's form with an experienced eye. "So you're seeing the benefits."

"Mostly physical, but there could be others." Nadja slipped off the wall and drifted closer. Her smile was faint, but undeniably coy as her voice dropped to a murmur. "Use your imagination."

Several feet below, Ophion cocked his head at the movement, then snorted another bubble. So that's what she was doing. The Kingdra uncurled his tail and sent himself drifting, keeping an ear to the tones of the conversation.