"Grandpa, are you a superhero?" Mikey asked sitting in front of him two hours before they had to leave for the kindergarten graduation of his, his sister's, and his "cousins". Becca had just finished fixing his hair. He wore a blue and white sweater vest and tan khakis and nice dress shoes on his feet. He thought he looked like a monkey but Becca had been in control of their clothing for the graduation. He knew he was going to end up hating it in the first place.
Price looked at the boy's face with an arched brow and unbelieving smirk. "No, I'm far from that, son. We're only human," He said ruffling his hair as he walked by busy with something at the moment.
Mikey watched him and gasped softly. Price watched as the boy flew down the hallway and into the living room next to the door. As Price straightened his tie, Mikey came back in with Price's old boonie hat in his hands. "You can't forget this, Grandpa. It's like your cape!" He said with a toothy smile.
Price chuckled and placed it on a hook in the room. "No, not for tonight. Both your Grandma and mother will kill me," He said taking his shoulder and led him from the room.
"What are Grandma and Momma doing? They've been in there almost an hour!" Mikey exclaimed as they past Rachel and Price's bedroom where Becca was inside talking to her mother.
Price shrugged. "Don't know, kid. C'mon, let's go back in the living room with Michaela and Dunn," He said absentmindedly questioning himself but let it roll off his shoulders.
Mikey ran in the room and saw Dunn holding Michaela on his lap as she laid her head against his chest. Sometimes she acted as if she was grown but sometimes it was easy to see the little six year old girl come out as she cuddled against him.
He jumped up and sat on his knees beside them and hugged Dunn's neck before talking. "Can't we just leave, Daddy? I wanna graduate and go to first grade! Please!" He said impatiently and leaned against his shoulder pulling on his best pout like he had seen Michaela do when she wanted something badly from Dunn.
He arched an eyebrow at the boy. "We can't just yet. We gotta wait for your Grandma and Momma. Then we can leave, don't worry, Mikey, they won't graduate without ya," He said ruffling his gelled hair.
Becca and Rachel then walked in and Becca groaned and rolled her eyes as she saw Mikey's messy hair.
"There, the last curl. Now you're all ready for graduation," Melody said proudly smiling at her work as Jamie looked at herself in the mirror.
She gasped and immediately turned to wrap her arms around her mother's waist. "Momma it's perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I can fully look like a princess!" She said hopping down from the bar stool she had been sitting on and gave a twirl to see her skirt glide underneath her.
Melody smiled and took her hand. "Well we gotta get going, Jamie. Don't want to be late, now do we?" She said switching off the bathroom light and placed the un-plugged curling iron into the drawer.
Jamie gasped. "We can't be late, Mommy!" She said then sped down the hallway and disappeared behind the corner.
Melody laughed and looked at herself in the mirror. She bit her lip as she could still see the dark pink scar across her left eye. She hated the thing so much and the scars from Anatoly. She sighed remembering everything that had happened those years she was there.
"Mells, Jamie is commanding you to hurry up before they give her diploma to some other kindergartener," MacTavish said walking in with a crooked grin and looked at his wife. He saw her troubled face and he sighed as he watched her stare at her scars.
"You're fine, Melody. Come on, let's go enjoy the kids' graduation and mourn with the other parents," He joked taking her hand and pulled her close to him.
Melody forced her best believable smile and followed him out the bathroom and into the living room where Christopher and Beckham sat with identical dark blue polo shirts and tan slacks. The only thing that showed a difference would be that Beckham wore a black jacket and Christopher his favorite white coat.
She smiled at them as Christopher drew his hand back from his neatly combed hair. He hated his hair like that and preferred it messy so he wouldn't have to worry about it. Beckham smiled and ran over to his mother.
"I didn't have the dream last night, Mommy! Isn't it great?" He said happily.
Melody smiled at her young son and took his hand. "Of course it is! I think we'll all be able to enjoy ourselves tonight. Won't we?" She said and glanced over at Jamie who was holding Gracie's hand as MacTavish was outside and hadn't wanted Gracie to wander in the dark outside, even though she whined and pointed towards the door; motioning for MacTavish.
Melody walked over and picked up the toddler. "Don't worry, Gracie. Daddy will be back in a second. Can you see him?" She said holding her close and looking at her chestnut curls that were pulled up in a braided bun on the back of her head.
Gracie smiled and pointed out towards the car and looked up at her face to see if she had gotten it right. When Melody said yes, she beamed a toothy smile and happily laughed as she saw MacTavish come back up and kiss her cheek as he took her in his arms.
"Will Auntie Diamond be there, Momma?" Christopher then asked behind them as he and Beckham sat on the couch, messing with their toy cars.
"Yes, she wouldn't miss this for the world," She said reassuring the boy. He had always been close to Diamond as MacTavish had been. He was always watching MacTavish and taking notes on being just like him every day; Melody thought that he was going to get a Mohawk and turn it the same inky black as MacTavish's and Jamie's before long.
"Come on! Let's go, hurry; c'mon, c'mon!" Jamie called out from the front door impatiently.
Beckham frowned at her and hopped down from the couch. "If she says hurry one more time, I'm turning her into a boot!" He said under his breath at his older sister's annoying impatience.
"I just don't see why I have to do this, Mom. I don't want to," Kyle said looking straight at the parking lot in front of them and carefully spotting his mother's expression beside him.
She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are going to do this, Kyle! I'm tired of asking and to be honest, you're getting on my nerves with all this. Just do it, get it over with, and you can do whatever you want. I don't care what, you just have to do this," She said with an expression and tone that said she's explained the same story over and over again.
He sighed and looked at the model car in his hand. "Are you sure one of them like these kinds of toys? If not, then what do I do to lure him in?" He asked looking at the red sports car and the white pin stripes.
"Then you'll just have to figure out what they like. Just get one of them. It'll weaken them and we'll finally be able to kill them all. Or at least a few, I don't care," She thought aloud and inhaled a deep breath through the nose.
Kyle nodded to himself and thought about this mission his mother wanted him to do. It seemed wrong and he didn't want to do it. But, she would lock him up and he wouldn't see any of his friends or go to school for who knows how long. He desired times in school or with his friends because it was at least a few hours of peace. No talking of killing, plotting, and researching.
A thought then popped into his head. He wondered if his father had ever been in this situation and if he was, he wondered what he had done. He knew he had been corrupted by the man Anatoly; though Jenna denied it. He knew of the plan to blow up the school bus. He just couldn't believe that the man he remembered in faint memories could be so cold-hearted.
Jenna motioned him to lay low as more cars began to pull into the parking lot they waited in. He could see families with either old or young children. Jenna thought this to be the perfect night for them to strike. Everyone would be busy with the children or the event and with the big crowd it would be easy for a small boy or girl to squirm through and outside. She thought it to be a perfect way in revealing her existence and the existence of her revenge.
As she saw the group, she immediately glared at the chestnut-haired woman who held one of the boys in a dark black jacket. She watched them as Melody kissed his cheek and held him close. She knew she wouldn't have a favorite child and that anyone of them would've been perfect.
She leaned over and softly slapped Kyle's arm to get his attention and pointed at the family and the boy in her arms.
He arched a brow then slowly realized what she was motioning about. "You want me to lure that one? But, they're identical. What if I get confused?" He whispered staring into her light blue eyes with his identical crisp blue.
"The one in her arms is wearing a black jacket. Make sure when you have that he's wearing a black jacket," She said looking into his eyes.
He sighed and nodded his head in agreement. He didn't like it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to manage a way out of this plan this time. Not like the other times he had to do missions for his mother. Other times she had back up, now it was just the two on their own. He still didn't like the idea.
He rested his head against the seat and stared out the sunroof. It was already getting dark and a few stars were already peeking out of the gray clouds. He frowned; it was going to rain. He hated the rain; it was depressing and always made the day more solemn and slow. He looked forward to fast days.
He couldn't help but think about his friends and Avery at some point while waiting. He decided to pick at some memories. He thought about when he tried out for the football team and made a fool of himself. He thought about when he tried out for soccer; it was clear that soccer was meant for him. And he thought about the first time he met Avery when they were either about six or seven.
"Do you have you crayons?" The slightly elder woman asked tucking the backpack tightly on his shoulders.
"Yes, Mrs. Miller. I know the drill. I have all my stuff." Six year old Kyle said assuring the foster home owner he had lived with for almost three months now.
She smiled and patted his cheek. "Just want to make sure everything's perfect for your first day of first grade." She said mainly to herself as Kyle looked back at the school bus rounding the corner.
"Thanks, Mrs. Miller. See ya later!" He called waving to her as he ran over to the bus stop.
The bus was full with children of all ages. The older gentlemen that sat driving the vehicle looked down at him with a scornful frown. Another rowdy kid to yell at. Kyle looked upon the endless aisles and children sitting side-by-side chattering loudly with each other and he noticed that the farther down it went the older the passengers became.
"Well, you coming or not!" The older man said clearly annoyed as the boy stood only a foot from the doors.
Kyle felt his cheeks warm. He was nervous about being on the bus with the other kids. His last foster parent used to drive him to school instead of taking the bus. He gulped and slightly jumped as the doors behind him slung shut.
"W-Where do I sit?" He whispered to the bus driver nervously.
"I don't care! Just find a seat and sit down!" He said waving him off in an aggravated tone.
Kyle nodded stiffly and immediately set off slowly down the long, narrow aisle. He looked left and right and noticed that they were all full or some sat there backpack on the seat, claiming they were saving it for someone else. He wondered if he'd been able to even sit with someone his age as he looked down the aisle of the younger kids.
"You wanna sit here? Plenty of room." He then heard a voice come to his left as he passed by one of the seats.
He looked over and saw a small, thin girl in a pair of denim jeans and a bright pink shirt. Her eyes were a blue-green and he thought her encouraging smile was inviting. He gave her a nervous grin then plopped down beside her which made her giggle.
"My name's Avery." She said offering her small hand to him as he laid his backpack down by his feet.
His hands felt sweaty and her grinned and took her hand in his. "Kyle. Nice to meet you, Avery." He murmured and drew his hand back after two shakes.
Avery smiled and tried to hide that she was wiping her hand on her pant leg then leaned back to look at the window. "Is this your first time on the bus? It's my first. My Daddy or Auntie would take me to school in their car." She said starting conversation with him.
He played with the loose thread at the hem of his blue T-shirt. "Yeah, it's my first. My foster parents used to take me by car too. What about your momma? Didn't she take you?" He asked wondering if she didn't have her mother around like his mother.
Avery's welcoming smile then faded into a look of despair and depression. "No, she died when I was just a baby. My Auntie took care of me and my Daddy since I was about three. What about you? Does your momma come and pick you up?" She asked clicking her heels together and hoped to move the topic from herself.
He shared the same expression as Avery shown and looked down at his backpack between his knees. "My mom and dad took off about a couple years ago for some kind of recruit thing. They'll be back though, so I can't wait for that." He said hoping she wouldn't pity him.
She smiled warmly. "That's great. It's awful to have missing parents." She said matter-of-factly.
Kyle smiled back.
Their conversation was the regular six year old talk after that. The newest toy in the stores and what was to be in store during first grade. Kyle smiled as the school bus had stopped; school hadn't even started yet and he already had a friend. He was glad and hoped they would be in the same class.
Kyle smiled at the memory. Thankfully, they had been in the same class and things had been good for the two until they were about in third grade. Things were complicated after that for both of them and he hadn't seen her since. He wished he could, but he knew how much his mother would hate that.
He closed his eyes and tried to catch some sleep before he did this minor mission Jenna was making him do. Jenna looked at him as he slowly fell asleep and placed a hand on his shoulder softly.
"I'm sorry, Kyle. I never wanted this kind of life, but you're the only one I trust." She whispered, barely audible, towards him knowing he was already out to even hear.
Kyle stared at his eyelids as he took in what Jenna had just said. He wanted to wake up and turn and hug her neck. He knew that was the old Jenna inside and he hadn't seen her in years. But, she only said so because she thought he was asleep. It would probably make her mad that he wasn't really asleep. He just sighed quietly and finally let sleep take him for just a couple hours.
A/N: Poor Kyle, Momma's still there. Deep down, yes but she's there. The graduation is finally here and Jenna is dragging Kyle into another of her missions.
Chapter Question: What is Jenna plotting and why is Kyle so scared? Will all go well for the Task Force and family and will Beckham's dreams stay away, along with the others?
Stay tuned and review please!
Thanks for reading!
