I paused hearing the tell-tale silence. The calm before the storm that was sure to follow. In 3, 2, and 1:
"What the hell is wrong with you!"
And there it was. Every day for the last two years had consisted of the same thing: An epic screaming match at breakfast, the silent treatment at dinner and a tantrum for dessert.
Rolling my eyes, I slipped out. I had to hustle to make it to school because the fifteen minutes before the bell was the only time I got to hang out with my best friends.
My name is Michael Gibbs and I am best friends with Jacob DiNozzo as well as Christopher and Caitlin McGee
I rolled in on my skateboard and stopped short of my group. Jacob, Christopher, Caitlin and I were best friends since diapers. Recent years have forced our friendship to remain confidential but you shall soon see.
"Mikey!" Jake greeted happily as he munched on a cupcake
"I'm guessing you guys experienced a hurricane P too," I laughed as I snagged a cupcake off of Christopher.
"Oh yeah!" Caitlin chuckled, "It is getting annoying."
"Tell me about it!" Jake groaned, "I'm afraid that one day I'm going to be a witness to murder,"
Our topic of conversation is currently our parents or as we have term them collectively: Hurricane P.
Our parents were family and we grew up as cousins. Every weekend, holiday or days off, we were together. Two years ago, things changed and suddenly everyone was at war.
Uncle Tony and Uncle Tim do not speak to each other. Aunt Abby and Aunt Ziva each try to persuade their husbands to patch things up but so far all it does is aggravate them further. Then there are my parents who fight continuously about the same incident which we know nothing about.
"Thing still tense?" Victoria asked as she walked pass
Caitlin nodded and Victoria gave a sympathetic smile, "My dad says that the only way to work that out is to lock 'em in a closet. Later!"
That flattering girl is Victoria Palmer and her dad is a close ally that occasionally gets caught up in our schemes.
"Lock 'em in a closet," I repeated in wonder, "Think we can meet tonight?"
"Sure," Chris affirmed, "Tree house?"
My confirmation was not needed. Everyone met at the tree house. When annoying relatives came over or when the fighting got particularly bad, that is where we congregated.
Till today, our parents do not know. Actually they know very little about us, fighting seems to consume them these days.
"Six?" Jacob asked finally as the bell sounded and we all dashed off.
I yelled my response and took off.
At 14:00, I dashed home after a rather distracting day at school. All that consumed my mind was visions of basements, locks and docile parents.
Ditching my back-pack in the living room, I headed to the kitchen for a sandwich. I was home alone until 7 or maybe 8 when my parents decided to come home.
Eventually the television couldn't hold my wandering mind and I took a trip to the basement. I rooted around carefully and make careful note of the tools and sharp objects. I knocked around the walls a little. They seemed sturdy and there was an absence of hidden entrances.
I headed back to the dining room where I dug out a pencil and paper, trying to think of a manner to lure all 6 people to the basement. Ideas floated and soon I did too, only to be awoken by a sharp knock on the window.
Checking my wrist watch revealed the time to be around 18:05. I dashed out the front door and toward the tree house. Jake was waiting at the foot and I assumed he was the knocker.
"Sorry," I huffed as I climbed the rope ladder.
"So what are we doing here?" Kate asked as she looked up from the homework she was working on.
"Well, is anybody sick of this stupid rivalry?" I asked finally
"I was sick of it two years ago," Chris muttered
"I have a way to patch things up," And with that one sentence, I held the attention of everyone up there.
"We need them to work things out, forcefully." I explained, "But we need to find out what happened two years ago."
"Uncle Jimbo?" Jake questioned
"Nope," I answered, "We need a higher authority,"
We all currently stood on the porch of a rather fancy house known to us as Mallard Manor.
"Ah Michael, Jacob," Ducky greeted as he opened the door, "Christopher and Caitlin?"
"We need your help," I voiced
"Come on in, kids," Ducky held the door open and we entered.
"Ducky, we need to know what happened between our parents." Jake spat out hastily
Ducky looked taken aback before sighing, "I assumed this day would come one day."
"Will you tell us?" Caitlin asked hopefully
"I suppose you do deserve to know. You are all rather intelligent and mature." Ducky rambled before motioning for us to sit down. We complied and listened intently.
"Two years ago, there were a string of murders across DC. NCIS had jurisdiction due to the 3 Navy victims which outnumbered the 1 civilian victim. Now, only the finest were sent to handle the matter. That team consisted of your parents.
The murdered could not be caught and eventually we came to the conclusion that there was the involvement of some hypnosis of sorts. It was all rather interesting. It reminded me of an ancient Scottish tale…"
"Uhm Ducky, our parents and their feud," I broke in gently
"Right. Director Shephard had finally decided to carry out an undercover operation. Anthony and Timothy were to go in and hope for the best. We had a lead on a man that worked at a circus. All of the victims had been to the psychic at the circus shortly before their deaths.
Agent Gibbs was dead set against it but after another body, he relented and allowed the operation to proceed. Anthony and Timothy went in and the plan was set in motion perfectly. The killer took the bait and lured them to his trailer. When they went in, their earwigs were cut. We had no contact with them. They were lead underground.
It turns out that Anthony and Timothy was his grand finale. They were to kill each other. He used a truth serum on Anthony and things spiralled out of hand. Timothy was given the special task of repairing the computers in MTAC by the director and it seemed that Anthony was secretly afraid that Timothy would outshine him.
The truth serum had him fighting Timothy over it. The video was streamed online on a website of some sort.
Timothy was deeply upset and refused to speak to Anthony. Anthony never saw the video and he remembered nothing when he awoke after the fight. The killer was apprehended but Anthony tried provoking Timothy in hopes of revealing what he had done. Timothy insulted Anthony and the two have barely spoken since. Gibbs feels responsible and blames Jenny. And that is the story of the feud…"
"So it was all a misunderstanding then," Chris practically yelled
"It is now far greater than that." Ducky said sadly, "I suppose you must be off before your parents search for you."
Caitlin scoffed but no one said anything further as we filed out.
"I have a plan that will be emailed to you shortly. Read it memorise it, then destroy it. We set in motion tomorrow afternoon," I informed as we separated.
There was a nod from everyone. The days of the feud were numbered.
At 19:30, I heard car doors slam and counted the seconds until the front door would open. Eventually, it did. Dad looked exceptionally worn out and Mom looked defeated. The two headed straight for the stairs and their bedroom.
That was unusual. I decided to get started on some of the homework that was due. Tomorrow was a day off of school due to a teacher conference. It was a mutual agreement that we not inform our parents in order to carry out our plans.
The minutes dragged and from sitting around wondering, I transitioned to lying around wondering. My phone vibrated on the nightstand and I accepted the distraction to a conference chat.
Caitlin, Christopher and Jacob were already on and active.
"We went over your plan and have an idea on getting them down," Chris said finally, his voice sounding robotic
"He has a plan. I don't think it will work," Kate huffed
"Let's hear it," Jake grumbled
"I could rig an automated message that sort of orders them to the basement without argument or else we end up dead." Chris revealed
"That would work!" I exclaimed in joy
"Chris! You happen to have hidden cameras and listening devices?" Jake said thoughtfully, "We do need to keep one step ahead of them."
"Give me a couple hours and I will," Chris laughed
"We also need a quick way to shut the door." Kate mused, "Uncle Tony could just kick it open."
"Or mom would shoot it," Jake whimpered
"Not if we were standing behind the door," I put in, "They'd never take the shot,"
"We could reinforce the door with a piece of metal." Kate threw in, "Or fix magnets to the walls which would hold the metal slab in place."
"The magnets would not be strong enough," Chris hissed
"I happen to have spent three years of allowance on Neodymium Magnets," Kate boasted, "Once fixed to the wall, that metal sheet will go nowhere."
"We can meet at 8." I suggested
"It will take us close to three hours to clean out the basement thoroughly and prepare for our captives," Jake giggled maniacally
"Another 30 minutes to fix up the magnets," Kate chipped in
"So at 12 we send the message." Chris concluded
"We hide in the kitchen until they all are in the basement then we shut the door. Jake and I carry in the metal and block of the exit." I reminded
"We are going to need to dupe the agency into believing we sent them off on a group therapy session," Jake said finally
"I can handle the electronic trail," Chris agreed
"Well then, sleep well," I smiled, "We have a big day,"