Chapter Twelve
Colt didn't mention to Rocky that he'd run into Darren and Darryl just before bumping into him and Jason. There was no point, he knew. No matter what he said, Rocky would immediately demand if he ended up fighting them. Completely ignoring the fact that Colt hadn't gotten into a fight at school in ages.
Especially as their mother had gone good with her threat of keeping him from his car, his computer, his telephone, and anything that'd ever make it so that he enjoyed himself. For a solid month he did nothing but schoolwork by hand, work on cars for hours on end, and watch as his soccer team managed to get to the playoffs before getting to play again. After that, he made sure to be on his best behavior, no matter how many times Darren and Darryl managed to poke and prick at him.
And for what, he wondered. There was nothing Colt could think of that he and his brothers had done to take on their bullies' ire. Other than continuously getting back at them when the time came. Multiple baseball games and basketball games they'd been challenged to, having to use their ninja skills against them once or twice.
Or else, Colt rationalized, they'd picked on the boys simply because of Colt's emotions. No matter what he felt, anger, sadness, anxiety, worry typically came out in aggression. He remembered a few times when he was young being told to sit outside the principal's office in that rickety chair as they called his parents, all because he'd get a little overemotional with his fear of public speaking and worrying that people were laughing at him. One whisper here, a quiet titter there, and he was yelling at the jerks to shut up and let him speak.
Once Darren and Darryl had noticed, they picked on Colt as much as possible. With Tum-Tum being a big mouth who acted bigger than his britches despite his small stature and an older brother who could be a bit of a stick in the mud who told him to run more than fight, it didn't surprise Colt that the school's bullies continued to mess with him. It all came to a head when Rocky became interested in Darren's on-off girlfriend, Lisa DiMarino, hopeful that things would work out between them once she realized how much of a jerk Darren truly was.
She didn't.
She and Rocky never happened and Darren had a bounty on the heads of the two elder Douglas brothers even more since then. Colt had hoped, in the back of his mind, that the first day would have had them mellow out a little bit.
But as he sat in his AP Geography class, Darren ran his hands over his man bun with a fade on the side—one of the douchiest cuts he could have, though Colt felt it made sense for him—and crumpled up a ball of paper before tossing it towards Colt where it soared past him and harmlessly bounced against Brett's backpack as he moved into the classroom.
Brett looked at the ball, at Colt, then at Darren who laughed and high-fived Darryl, palms collecting in a loud slap. "There's a reason you haven't made the basketball team man, and you just proved it."
Darryl, then, ran a hand over his face, scratching at the slight mustache that sprouted on his darker skin and let out a resounding, "Shut up,".
"Good one," Colt taunted back. "I'm glad all those years of summer school has managed to expand your vocabulary." Darren lobbed another paper ball toward him, all he could do while the teacher stood at the back of the class, ignoring their students in the last moment before class started, getting the lesson plan together. Colt knocked it down without a second of thought. "What's up?" He peered at Brett closely. "You look like shit, dude."
Brett briefly glanced at the ceiling, a sardonic expression that he used when he felt he couldn't openly roll his eyes or express displeasure—his parents had greatly instilled politeness in him from a young age—then leveled his eyes at Colt. "That's because I was up all night working on your computer."
"Is it done yet?"
Brett spread his hands. "Does it look like I am?"
"Well, what's taking so long?" Colt let out a heavy sigh, tilting his head back so far, he felt a crick in his neck. "My parents are going to kill me. I told them I'd keep up with my homework this year and I can't do it if I don't have my computer." He lowered his chin and added, "Dad doesn't let anyone in his office, mom's is always at work, I can't use Tum-Tum's without my hands having a layer of Cheeto dust on it and Rocky's really protective of his."
"Why? What does he have to hide?"
"Beats me. The last time I tried to use his computer, he practically bit my head off. And he has two of them, it's not like he needs the other one!" Colt threw his hands into the air.
Brett chuckled. "I just need to run one more program to ensure the firewall can't be breached and your computer will be good as new. Between you and me, you should be really careful of navigating to some sites you shouldn't be looking at." He laughed louder when Colt elbowed him in the side. "But seriously, what'd you do to shut your computer down so easily?"
Colt shrugged and gave a sly smile. "I guess I was looking at some stuff I shouldn't have been looking at."
He couldn't quite tell Brett the truth despite him knowing of what happened with Jack before. Hell, the moment Colt came back from that summer vacation he blurted everything out to his best friend. But with Jack now being back in LA, he couldn't just jump to conclusions and say anything was wrong. At least, he couldn't have until they asked their dad, who mentioned Jack was starting his empire once more.
So far, Jack hadn't said a peep in the press, but it was only a matter of time until he did something to get back into the spotlight, let alone potentially kill anyone else Colt surmised. Did he want his father to know he was looking into Jack through some shadier websites? No, definitely not. And it wasn't quite his fault, anyway. Between their father showing them sites they should avoid and many sleepovers with Brett laughing quietly at their searches on the internet, it was only a matter of time until Colt put the talent to good use.
Of course, Brett was better at that sort of thing, but if there was anything illegal Colt may have accidentally stumbled upon, at least he had his dad to help him get out of it. Brett wouldn't have that luxury. Colt didn't want to be responsible for sending his friend to prison.
Not that he thought it'd be so bad, having been held hostage on a navy ship and in a Japanese prison made things like that a lot easier to handle. But they'd never faced anyone form their past like that before…they'd never had any of them come back.
In dreams and nightmares, maybe, but never in reality…
After that, the class went along relatively normally. Colt didn't pay too much attention. There wasn't much to pay attention to on the first day. At least, for the first half of the class. The second half, the teacher had the students go to a map and explain where they were born, where their hometowns were, and trace their lineage back to the country that their parents said their relatives were from.
As per usual, Colt got the same question when he stated his grandfather was from Japan—why didn't he look Japanese? In always a slightly accusatory tone. Like he'd ever lie about his linage to be more interesting. Colt took the question with stride, explaining how his own mother was half-Japanese and was mistaken to not be. Darren and Darryl, of course, made low karate noises under their breath as Colt did his explanation. Brett's answer was simple, he was born in California, raised in California, and as far as he remembered, all his family was from California.
Then it was the new girl's turn to go—Colt was a bit embarrassed it took him until almost the end of the class to remember it was Rhuben, and that he'd seen her at the ninja tournament—and explained her family was from Australia—from her father, Japan—from her mother, as well as America—from her mother.
Explains why they were all at the tournament, Colt thought. Strange that she ended up here, out of all the high schools in the city… He wasn't vain enough to think it was for him. And while he—unbeknownst to him at the time—wasn't as suspicious as Rocky was—it was a bit of a weird coincidence how quickly they'd come face to face again.
Colt watched her as she moved back to her desk, not looking at him as she passed his desk. Not that she was the first girl not to be interested in him, there had been a few here and there. And while Colt would never consider himself a heartthrob in any way, the infamy of being one of the '3 Ninjas' did bring some wanted and unwanted attention.
The response from the class was fine, nevertheless. Everyone had a chance to speak about their family. And while thigs were relatively quiet, Colt knew it was only a matter of time until Darren and Daryl started up again. He was proven right when the second the bell rang Colt stood up to gather his things and leave the room and Darren sauntered to Colt's side.
Colt, half squatting over his seat, had to move quickly to keep falling on his ass when Darryl, hidden behind Darren, kicked Colt's seat out from beneath him. Colt glanced at the seat that skidded across the floor then looked back to the boys saying, "Really? Is that the best you can do?"
He didn't fight as much as he used to, but that didn't mean Cot could keep his mouth shut when being provoked. As it was, he could hear Rocky's warning "Colt," in the back of his mind, spurring him even further.
"You've got enough lip, pony boy," Darren intoned, folding his arms. Colt mentally rolled his eyes. How much longer would he have to be subjected to 'pony boy' before they came up with anything better? Even some of the mooks he and his brothers had come up against managed to come up with better stuff. "We were just wondering what else that mouth is good for." He nodded toward the chair. "How about getting on your knees."
Brett lifted an eyebrow. "I think that says more about you than it does about him," he pointed out.
Darryl placed his hand over Brett's face, pushing him back. "He wasn't talking to you, Poindexter! Stay out of it, alright?"
"God, you guys have been busting my balls for years," Colt remarked. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, sliding his free hand into the pocket of his jeans. The epitome of cool. "And yet, you still can't talk and back it up. You're going to be going to college soon—God forbid anyone actually take you—don't you think we're getting a little old for this?"
"What's the matter? Afraid you're going to get your ass kicked?"
"I'm afraid all this testosterone is going to make me choke," Rhuben mumbled from behind Colt. He glanced at her, she gave him a reproachful look in response, making him stand up straight and look around. Most of the classroom had emptied out, no audience.
Colt, unfortunately, knew firsthand Darren and Darryl didn't do anything without having an audience. Once all eyes weren't on them, their bravado went out the window. Darren, however, heard Rhuben's comment and turned to her with a withering glance to ask, "What was that?"
Rhuben looked back at him, her eyebrow twitching upwards, then smiled sweetly. "Nothing," she replied in a similar sugary-sweet tone that Colt was sure was fake.
Colt quickly spoke up once more. Not that he thought Darren was that stupid—he'd been beaten up by Miyo to prove it—but gender was never a deterrent for Darren to keep from being embarrassed. "Tell you what," Colt said. "You let me know when the day that you actually will kick my ass, or put up some semblance of a fight, and I'll actually act like I'm worried. I'll even put on a good show for you." He started to leave the room, only to have Darren slap his hand against his chest and push him back.
Colt sighed, shoulders dropping.
Well, if they wanted a fight…
"You're going to be eating more than those words, pony," Darren spat.
"Oh yeah?" Colt taunted. He fell into a fighting stance, exaggerating the taunting wave of his fingers. "Bring it on."
Rhuben looked at him in disbelief. Her face screwed up as she asked, "What are you doing?"
Brett grabbed Colt's shoulder and hoisted him from the classroom with a sharp tug of his backpack strap, accompanied by the jeers, "Yeah, you better run! Run as fast as those horse legs can carry you!"
At that, Colt felt his face enflame and he yanked his arm from Brett's grasp. "What'd you do that for?" He demanded. "I can take care of myself."
"Which you've proven before," Brett agreed. "I know you can take care of yourself, bro." He paused at the fork in the hallway, taking him to his next class and Colt to his. "But it's the first day. At least try to relax a little before you have your name plate buffed off in the principal's office." Colt rolled his eyes. "I'm just looking out for you, man."
"I know, I know." Colt shoved Brett's shoulder and wandered to his next class.
He bumped into Jo along the way, who looked uncharacteristically down for being back in school. She wasn't Emily levels of enjoying school, but certainly enjoyed it more than he did. She barely glanced at him when she passed, saying she needed to talk to him, Rocky, and Tum-Tum at lunch and that it was important.
Then Rocky had run into Rocky and relayed the message. It was the only thing he looked forward to, that day, if he were being honest. Not that school was bad by any means, just that the first day was boring. The best part, of course, was being able to see his best friends and hang out with them for hours in a day. And, of course, was the events the school was putting on, the juniors and seniors got the better ones compared to the freshmen and sophomores. Then there were the parties, of which he'd heard Rocky, Emily, and Jason talk about enough that he couldn't wait to see for himself other than going as 'Rocky's little brother'.
Not to say he hadn't been to a fair share of them himself, he'd perfected sneaking out of the house and coming up with excuses for not making curfew when in his last years of middle school. He'd tried to teach Rocky his tricks of the trade and found himself turned down almost every time. That was fine, Rocky could be as much of a stick in the mud as he wanted to be.
Colt hardly paid attention in the rest of his classes before lunch, curious as to what it was Jo needed to tell them. They shared a lot of classes and sat together, but no matter what Colt tried to wheedle out of her, she'd only tell him that he had to wait for lunch and was as steadfast in her decision as she was everything else in her life.
Finally, it was time for lunch and Colt immediately went to the cafeteria. After getting his food, he swept his gaze over the faces of the students that crammed inside. He found Tum-Tum sitting with his annoying friends all laughing and talking loudly, shoving their phones in each other's faces, throwing food, and being overall obnoxious. Colt's eyes narrowed when he spotted Patrick and Noah sitting with Tum-Tum and his friends as well.
So they're all here, Colt thought. It wasn't too weird, why split up siblings to have them go to different schools? But they weren't kidding, Colt realized, when they said they couldn't be missed. With the shock of black hair and identical faces, they were easy to spot in the crowded cafeteria as they were at the ninja tournament. Colt remembered how intently they were watching the the tournament along with the rest of the crowd. And now to end up here?
Colt shook his head, watching with mild amusement as Tum-Tum, similar to that morning, stuck out his tongue as his friend took a picture of him. Rock said Colt was the same way when he was a freshman, but Colt didn't quite remember it being that way.
After all, Rocky always had a streak of maturity in him and for a long time didn't seem to know how to have fun without feeling guilt for it afterwards. Nevertheless, once Tum-Tum caught Colt's gaze, he calmed down said goodbye to his friends, and stood with his full tray to follow Colt to a quieter table in the corner of the cafeteria where Rocky and Emily already sat.
Emily looked up as they approached, said something Rocky, making Rocky glance at them, nod, then lean back. Colt knew what that meant, it was something they didn't want the others to hear about. A private conversation. Not that it didn't mean Colt couldn't wheedle it out of Rocky later, it usually had something to do with another conversation about why the two weren't together more than anything else. Emily seemed to be more persistent of answers lately and with Rocky easily sidestepping the conversation or not giving a direct response seemed to make things more difficult.
Colt felt bad for him, in a way. Rocky could be very straight forward with things that annoyed him or that he seemed to be an injustice, but he equally hated disappointing other people or making them feel badly about themselves. Rocky had never gone into specifics, but Colt knew there had been many times Emily's insecurities had gotten the best of her.
"Hey," Emily greeted, brushing her hair back from her face. "How's the first day going?"
"First day, what do you expect?" Colt shrugged and dropped into the seat next to her, almost dumping his tray as he did so.
He kept his head down, scanning the food over his plate. Like most schools, the cafeteria food wasn't amazing, but it wasn't terrible either. It was the only time he didn't have to worry so much about his mother's assurance of healthy foods she gave them. It might be when they had to start making their own lunch or buying it, but that didn't stop them from trading for something better once they got to school.
Colt tried to focus on his plate, but couldn't help but sigh heavily and lean back, lifting his gaze to meet Rocky's. "Go ahead and say it," he groused.
Rocky blinked in surprise, lowering his carton of milk from his mouth. His eyebrows knitted together in a blank expression. One that was so carefully crafted, Colt knew from experience, that he wasn't quite sure if his older brother was being sincere in the moment. "Say what?"
"That it's only the first day and the year will get better," Colt replied.
"I wasn't going to say that." Rocky carefully put his milk aside and picked up his fork to pick at his salad. "I was just going to ask if you ran into Darren and Darryl today?"
Colt's eyes narrowed. His lips parted, ready to ask how Rocky would know that. And so quickly. It wouldn't have been a rumor, things like that hadn't been interesting years—near daily occurrences like that were never gossip. Then Colt closed his mouth again. "What? Were you checking up on me?"
The irritation that immediately came to his voice was mirrored in Rocky's face. "I don't have to check up on you, Colt. You do a good enough job of making sure people know when you're around."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Please," Emily interrupted. "Can't you ever go a day without fighting?" She pointed towards Rocky. "He was asking because Darren and Darryl were messing with him today and he wondered if they messed with you, too."
Colt looked at his brother closely. Rocky shot Emily a disapproving glance, making her roll her eyes. Figures, Rocky never would've said anything if it were happening to him but he'd make it his business if it were happening to his brothers. "What'd they do to you?"
"Nothing," he replied quickly with a wave of his hand. "The same old thing."
Tum-Tum grunted, shoveling a cheeseburger into his mouth. "Just let them come to me and I'll handle them for you," he said. "I'm not scared of them."
"No one is scared of them, Tum," Emily reminded him. "We're all annoyed of them." She cleared her throat, changing the subject. "So, how's your day been going so far? Do you like your classes?"
"Yeah, everything's so cool!" Tum-Tum crowed. "I don't know why you guys are always complaining, high school is awesome!" He beamed. "You get more freedom, more events to go to, and what we're learning is more interesting."
"Just wait until you get hit with all that homework, Tum," Rocky said dryly. "You'll get tired of it real quick."
"I know! It's the first day and I already have homework in most of my classes," Colt agreed. "I've got a math test at the end of the week."
"History project next week," Emily agreed, motioning between herself and Rocky.
"And that's not including what I've got to do for AP English," Rocky groused.
Colt smirked. "I'm sorry, did Rocky actually complain about his homework for once? I mean,"-he placed a hand to his chest-"I think it's the end of the world. He actually showed some emotion other than acting like everything's okay!"
Rocky gave Colt a withering look which easily translated to, "Shut up."
Colt held up his hand and did as he was nonverbally told. He didn't need to deal with Rocky's wrath so early in the day. And, if he were to do it, he would at least have Tum-Tum by his side so that he wouldn't have to worry about all the anger being put directly on him. It was more fun for the anger to be spread to numerous people.
"Well, good luck on your test, Colt. Just don't let dad find out," Tum-Tum said with a smarmy smile. "I don't think you want to start off the school year with an ass kicking when you inevitably fail."
Colt's smile faded and he glared, pointing a finger at his younger brother. "You know what—"
"—Sorry, I'm late," Jo interrupted, stopping at the table. She sat on the other side of Emily, carefully pushing her tray onto the table. "I had to talk to some of my teachers to make sure I can work out my homework if I ever have to stay on the reservation."
"That's alright," Emily said quickly. She cast her friend a reassuring smile. "We just hoped you were okay."
"I'm fine," Jo said quickly. She cleared her throat and leaned forward motioning for the others to do the same. Even Tum-Tum pushed his tray aside—not before taking his slice of watermelon off the tray, sticking it to his lips in a noisy slurp—and leaned forward with the others.
Colt shot him a glance and Tum-Tum quickly set the piece of fruit aside. Though his appetite hadn't waned much over the years, Tum-Tum's manners had at least progressed. And, Colt noticed whether his younger brother did or not—that Tum-Tum cared more about how his brother's saw him, often asking for subtle advice on the way he was dressed or how to handle things when he showed his seldom insecure side.
"I got news before I left this morning," Jo explained. "There's going to be a protest. My dad, my mom, and Chief Roundcreek are going around the tribe and drumming up interest. They want to go to the courthouse and lodge a protest against Jack."
Colt made a face. He wanted to say something that'd reassure Jo, that told her things would work out. But he really didn't know what to say. Didn't know what was true. Jo, as he learned, was very strong and did while she had moments of worrying, she continued to explain herself and her emotions strongly while doing so. Colt suddenly flashed back to when he first saw her, chanting and yelling with the rest of her tribe, despite being thrown to the ground and mistreated while doing so.
When she then later went to the pizza parlor to confront the man there who may or may not have had something to do with the disappearance of her father. The same girl who then told Colt and his brothers the story of what had happened to her tribe, with tears collecting in her eyes for the lives that had been lost, but still with a quiet yet forceful tone as she explained she would never give up until her father was found and her family was restored.
Jo didn't need reassuring, he knew. She needed her friends to support her.
"What do you want us to do?" Colt asked. He ignored the low, "Colt," Rocky murmured out the side of his mouth.
Jo gave him a reassuring smile. "Thanks, but I don't need to get you guys wrapped up in this."
"I don't know if you've noticed, Jo, but we're already wrapped up in it," Colt reminded her. He ignored Rocky's continued burning gaze into the side of his face. Geez, I'd hate to see what'd happen if I ever actually made him mad, Colt thought. "And we have been, this isn't just going to go away."
"But this protest," Emily spoke up, eyes filled with concern for her best friend. "Is there anything we can do to help? Or…" he lowered her gaze for a second. "Do you think it will help?"
Colt had initially been surprised when they started to hang out together; Jo, while capable of a quiet fury, was very outspoken and driven, unafraid to get into trouble when needed, while Emily made sure to get on everyone's good side and show her concern, often letting the chips fall where they lay before leaping in to attack.
Opposites attract, as it were. But it seemed to hold them together.
"It's going to do something," Jo said with a firm nod. "It'll let Jack know that we're not going to let him get away with what he did."
"But…he already did," Tum-Tum pointed out. He looked almost queasy at the thought. "I mean, he did? Didn't he? Dad says he can't be tried for anything else now that he's been released."
"He just means that he can't be charged for murder, Tum," Rocky pointed out. "Or for the bribery, defamation, and aggravated assault charges that he was sent to prison for." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking pensive. "They'd have to find other charges to implicate him with to bring in another trial and send him back to prison."
"So, who's to say it doesn't happen?" Colt asked. "Who's to say the police or the FBI don't open his case again and see if there's anything else that can be done?"
"Dad's already watching him closely," Rocky explained, easily batting away the question like a pesky fly. "The second Jack steps out of line, the quicker he'll be sent back." He shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. "Besides, you know he wants to do things right this time…"
Rocky trailed off meaningfully and Colt and Tum-Tum nodded in understanding. There had been a brief period where their father had been even more on edge than usual, when it came to the press that the local police had been bribed by Jack and his goons to continue letting him dump his toxic waste. It had been to be investigated, how far back the bribes went, and even their father had been questioned. It was found to be untrue very quickly, but the backlash from the city of Los Angeles couldn't go by unnoticed.
Most of the police force was fired, with replacements hired quietly, all that were deemed suspicious were questioned, sidelined, or suspended. And Sam was put under heavy scrutiny.
"So, what's the protest going to do?" Emily asked slowly. Jo glared at her, making Emily squeeze her friend's shoulder. "I just mean, you all protested the last time he came around and no one listened until these guys came along." Jo lifted an eyebrow, eyes shifting as she took on Emily's words. "It'll bring attention, yeah, but—"
"—And that's all we need to get things rolling," Jo insisted. She shook her head. "My dad still works with the Mayor, and that gives him an in for any new information he can find out. But for everything else…well…" she shrugged. "Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results makes you insane."
"Yeah, and Jack is a businessman," Colt agreed. "He's an industrial tycoon."
"So?" Tum-Tum asked bluntly.
"So, pizza brains, it means that the only thing he cares about is money. He can't live without money. And, he's proven before, that he'll do anything to make sure he keeps making money. So, something like a little protest form the same tribe he hurt before isn't going to stop him." He looked to Rocky for backup, but he continued to listen to the conversation around him, fingers laced, chin resting atop his hands. Frustrated, Colt bristled slightly. "Dad says he's starting his empire again! Rocky, you know we have to do something?"
"I know," Rocky finally replied, tone even. "I just don't think we should jump to conclusions. We don't know what he's doing."
"Yes, we do! He's trying to make money again. And he'll do anything to get that money. If he's starting a new empire, then he's starting a new business. We have to do something."
"I agree with Colt," Tum-Tum piped up. He looked surprised when Rocky and Colt both turned to him, patiently waiting for his suggestion. "I mean, it's just…" he seemed flustered. "I think we can't sit back and wait for something to happen and regret it later."
"What if we're wrong?" Rocky said patiently. "What if he's not doing anything."
"And what if we're right?" Jo shot back.
She didn't say anything after that, simply looked at Rocky, eyes blazing with the fiery passion to protect her people. Colt looked at her and knew right then, no matter what, she wasn't going to give up on her family. No matter what he and his brothers decided to do, she was going to follow her heart.
Rocky looked back at her, twisting his mouth to the side. Colt held his breath, waiting for what Rocky had to say. In that sense, he didn't envy Rocky's position with them; being the oldest, being the leader, having to make tough decisions, even if it made him unpopular with other people.
"Is everything alright over here?"
At the same time, Rocky, Colt Tum-Tum, Emily, and Jo all leaned back to face Mrs. Klaus, the freshmen and sophomore English teacher. When she wasn't teaching her classes, she sat in the receptionist's office, taking down students' names and ailments if they were trying to get out of their class, giving guest passes to those visiting the school, and otherwise being the one thing standing between students who wanted to sneak out and freedom.
Colt stiffened, wondering how much of the conversation Mrs. Klaus heard. Their teachers didn't say much when it came to his and his brothers' ninja abilities. But if they knew anything about their plans of going to his protest, of seeing what was going on, then they more than likely would be stopped before the day was even out. Not to say that their parents donated a lot of money to the school—his mother seemed to roll her eyes every time there was a new PTA fundraiser of sorts, mumbling something under her breath about the salaries of teachers needing to be raised—but it did say something that one of the parents of the children at the school was an FBI agent.
Their parents seemed to know everything the boys did long before they walked through the front door of their home. And they'd suffer the consequences in only the creative ways Sam Douglas Sr. could come up with. Colt still worried about any permanent damage he may have had to his back from the time he made them go up to their grandfather's cabin to clear out the woods, carrying large logs over their backs for days on end.
Even their mother thought it was a bit inhumane. And that was on top of not being able to use his computer, phone, tv, or have any friends over for a month. Though Sam always said, "Yardwork never hurt anyone."
But Colt was sure never to take the car without permission ever again.
Who knows what he would do if they decided to skip school and get mixed up in a protest that had the chance of becoming violent? Especially when, if what his father had been saying over the last couple of days have been true, he was tangled up in the case with Jack Harding as well.
We could probably work on this together, Colt thought. But knowing dad, he'd still tell us to sit back and wait.
Rocky, as quick as ever, put on a friendly smile and reassured her, "We're just talking about our parents' anniversary," he said smoothly. "It's a pretty big one this year and we're trying to figure out what we want to do to celebrate. We've known Emily and Jo forever and they said they'd help us out." He subtly angled his head to the side. "Is something wrong?"
Colt did his best not to snicker. Tum-Tum was already failing, doing his best to cover it up by shoving another hamburger in his mouth. Be more obvious, why don't you? Colt thought, doing his best not to roll his eyes. The teachers may not say much about their ninja abilities and their adventures, but they did treat the boys a little differently. Anytime they huddled together, seemed to isolate themselves, or look like they were planning something, it would only be seconds later that a teacher could come by an ask them if anything was wrong.
If their parents said anything about added security around their children—having decided not to tear them from their school—they boys didn't know. But that didn't mean they didn't notice any out of the ordinary behavior that came around them.
Especially when Darren and Darryl were involved. Colt had almost expected his teacher to have escorted Colt from class earlier that day when, chances were, it was just going to be another note added to their files in the principal's office.
"No, nothing," Mrs. Klaus said quickly. "I hope your parents enjoy their anniversary."
"Thank you." Rocky kept the smile on his face as Mrs. Klaus walked away. "We'll pass on the well wishes."
"Teacher's pet," Colt sing-songed, finally making Rocky drop his smile to a small, shy one, and shrug modestly while the rest of them around the table started to laugh. The tension around the table broke for the time being.
Emily was the first to calm down from her laughter. She ran a hand through her hair and turned a knowing glance to the eldest Douglas brother. "It's not your parent's anniversary is it?" She asked, pointedly.
Rocky looked his best friend in the eye. "Their anniversary's not for another six months," he replied.
Colt exchanged a glance with Jo and the two started to laugh again. Colt had to admit, as much of a 'big brother' that Rocky could be, as much of the teacher's pet, as much of the 'golden child' that he could be, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
That was one of the things he did envy.
Rocky tapped his fingers against his chin, staring at the empty word document to his computer screen. Well, empty except for Jack Harding, written at the top and Motive: Revenge just underneath it. Everything else was empty. Every and all searches he'd done for Jack's name in terms of patents or new companies came back with zero results.
Even stranger than the first time he'd looked for Jack. It hadn't been long since his first search, when he'd shown Colt everything—or in his case, nothing—he'd found on Jack, before they asked their father about him. He looked over the same websites, same searches, and nothing.
Nevertheless, there were still a lot of things swirling through his head. Number one being that the Tawanka tribe were going to go ahead and do their own thing to reveal their presence to Jack. Number two was that Jack probably wouldn't care. Number three was that Jack, he was sure, was going to do something to exploit people to regain his wealth.
A tiger can't change its stripes, Rocky thought. Or as his grandfather would say, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks about changing himself, a ninja must be prepared for all areas of change." (Rocky was sure his grandfather had stolen that quote from someone else and twisted it to bring his grandsons some advice as the summer wound to a close).
And number four…there were no such things as coincidences as far as he was concerned. He'd even said as much to Colt as they got warmed up at baseball practice that night, tossing the ball back to each other. They reunited with Emily and then got kidnapped by Snyder, with her targeted as well. They met Jo and was wrapped up in Jack's scheme for illegal toxic waste dumping. They met Miyo and were then targeted by Koga and his henchmen. And they met Amanda and became stuck in a ransom at an amusement park.
Colt had laughed, lifting his baseball cap up his forehead. "And the next thing you're going to tell me is that grandpa actually was going to double cross us on Snyder's ship."
Rocky ignored Colt's taunting laugh, catching the ball Colt whizzed to him in the palm of his catcher's mitt. "I'm just saying that every time we meet someone new, trouble isn't too far behind, whether they help us or not."
"And you think these new guys, the Jacksons, have something to do with Harding?" Colt asked. He barely shifted his hand before catching the ball Rocky threw back. "That's crazy!"
"'Is it? Our track record speaks for itself."
"Or it proves we need to mind our own business." Colt shook his head. "I'm starting to sound like dad, thanks a lot." He thought for a moment, pursing his lips. He tossed the ball up and down a few times, then spun it in his fingertips, throwing a glance in Rocky's direction. Tossed the ball back over. "Maybe you're more like dad than we thought," he mused.
Rocky tilted his head as he caught the ball. He slowly smiled, turned, lifted his foot—moving into a pitcher's stance, and dropped his leg to the ground, snapping his arm around. Colt, moving as quick as his namesake, stuck his arm out and caught the ball.
The brothers grinned at each other.
Colt didn't get it. Nevertheless, Rocky couldn't help but laugh and agree that, maybe, they really did need to learn to mind their own business sometimes. So he focused on baseball. Rocky loved to play baseball, though a part of him did wonder if he truly did love it of if it was another thing that made him 'Sam Douglas Jr.' a mini-me of sorts of his father, as he'd been told since birth.
Rocky sighed. He steepeld his fingers and looked out the window that overlooked the backyard, smiling when he saw grandpa slowly walking the perimeter of the fence, watering the flowers his mother planted. He seemed to be spending more and more time out there as of late. I wonder if he misses his cabin? Rocky thought.
"Hey," Sam greeted, walking into Rocky's room, simultaneously knocking on the doorframe.
Rocky's shoulders tensed at the sudden noise, though he didn't jump. He shifted his eyes to his computer screen and minimized the word document, while keeping an eye on his father as he entered the room in two long strides. Rocky faced his father, surreptitiously lowering the lid of his laptop at the same time.
Just in case.
"Hey dad," Rocky greeted. He watched as his father perched on the end of his bed, loosening his tie and the cuffs of his dress shirt. A far cry from the well put together father he saw on nearly a daily basis. Rocky felt himself relax. "How was work today?"
"Not so eventful," Sam replied.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"In my line of work, that's a very good thing," Sam agreed, making Rocky laugh. "Believe me, doing paperwork is some of the worst days to my co-workers. But it can be one of my best." Sam draped his loosened tie around his neck and said, "What about you? How was your day? First day of the last year."
Did everybody need to remind him of that? He got the message loud and clear when he parked in the senior parking lot. He didn't need every teacher to say the same, "It's your last year of high school, but it's the only year that matters."
Rocky wanted to say as much, but not wanting to be hit with a lecture he instead said, "Yeah, it was…something."
Honestly, he wasn't sure how much he was able to say about his day without going into what Jo told them. If anything, his father already knew. Not that Rocky enjoyed keeping secrets from his father, it seemed to have gotten them into more trouble than it was worth. But a part of him found a sense of satisfaction of there being something they knew their father didn't. He'd heard enough of certain cases from his father to know some things that couldn't be said in the chance it was let out to the public.
And it cut down on the suspects they may be working to bring into custody.
"Did you meet anyone interesting?"
Sam's question caught Rocky off-guard, making him look at his father with slightly crazed eyes. Sam leaned back, laughing loudly. It took a few moments for Sam to compose himself, all the while Rocky blushed outward, but inwardly scolded himself. "You're acting like I just told you we're going to be moving again."
"Well, it's about that time of year, isn't it?" Rocky joked in response. His father looked away, tugging at the collar of his shirt. Guilt rocked Rocky's stomach. What a dumb thing to say. The only reason they moved so much…well, it was because of both of them if he were being honest. "That's not what I meant, dad, I just—"
"No, it's alright," Sam said quickly. He ran a hand through his hair, in much of the same way that Rocky would've done. "You're right." He nodded once. "We've moved a lot. And maybe there were times your mother and I should've explained things more, even though you were right in the middle of those things." He let out what sounded like a strangled laugh. "But at least we decided not to let you move schools. They were really good at listening to our concerns after everything that happened with Snyder."
Rocky nodded then smiled wickedly. "I don't know, I think some of our teachers could've used some time with Snyder to mellow out a bit."
Now Sam smirked. "I can same the same about some of the agents I've worked with." He shifted to rest his arms on his thighs, clasping his hands together. He looked Rocky in the eye. "Don't think I didn't notice you didn't answer my question."
Rocky'd hoped he didn't. "Did you do a lot of interrogations today?"
"No. I just like to think that I know my sons better than they know themselves. You think I don't know when Tum-Tum is trying to hide that he broke his diet? Usually he has some chocolate somewhere on his face, but he does have a guilty look he doesn't hide very well."
I wonder if he can do the same thing with me, Rocky suddenly thought. He watched his father as closely as his father watched him and said, "School was great. It's good seeing our friends again. Classes weren't too hard."
"AP Government didn't give you any trouble? Did you like it?"
"No, I mean, yeah, it was fine." They hadn't done much in the class yet. He wasn't exactly a lie. "Should be an interesting class."
"Any new kids?"
"A few," Rocky said slowly.
Sam's lips then pulled back into a knowing grin. "Any new girls?"
"Dad."
"Hey, it hasn't been too long since I've been in school, I know what it's like. New faces, new people to meet…interesting people." Sam continued to study his eldest son, his smile growing wider as Rocky's face turned red. "And by senior year I had a string of girlfriends behind me."
"Mom says you didn't date when you were in high school," Rocky reminded him.
"Your mother lies." Sam leaned forward and whispered, "She likes to think she was the only one I noticed."
"I heard that," Jessica's voice came from down the hall, where the master bedroom was. Sam and Rocky both laughed.
"So?" Sam pushed. "The new kids in school…I heard the Jacksons' kids were attending your school now." He paused, waiting for any sign of recognition on his son's face. "You know, that family we met at the ninja tournament?"
"Yeah, they were there," Rocky agreed. A thought suddenly came to him. "Did you investigate them or something?"
Sam made a face. Almost as if he were offended. "No. I was just talking to their mom and dad at the tournament and they were saying they were sending them to your school."
"Uh, yeah, they're in Colt's and Tum's class. Sydney's a bit young, I didn't see him around." Rocky scratched at the side of his head. "Why?"
"Just wondering if you ran into them, that's all. It's hard moving to a new place, let alone going to a new school."
"Yeah, I think I got that, dad." Rocky glanced back at his laptop. "Look, uh, I have a lot of homework I need to do—"
"—On the first day? That explains Colt's bad attitude."
"Colt has a bad attitude when it's cloudy. And I have to read all of Scarlett Letter by the time our class meets again. Believe me when I say I'm not really looking forward to it."
"If I remember that book the way I do, I don't blame you." Sam got up and started to leave the room. He paused at the doorway and asked, "How's Emily doing?" with a smile so cheeky Rocky couldn't help but groan and roll his eyes.
Besides, Emily wasn't the one he was thinking about.
A/N: Longest chapter to date! Well, it looks like Rocky's not the only one that's a little suspicious of things. And go, Jo, wanting to defend her family! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I aim to show them being teens as much as they are ninjas so there will be plenty moments of them hanging out compared to them consistently trying to figure out what Jack is up to.
Let me know what you thought.
Oh, and you're definitely going to see other POVs as the story goes on, despite the story being centered on Rocky. I realized as I was writing out more of the story/story plots that certain things wouldn't happen without it so there you go.
Cheers,
-Riley
