I apologize, again, for the long wait. With graduation, regionals for my sport, and life in general I've been struggling to find time to write.
Here's Chapter 4, enjoy!
"Where's the kid?"
"Something about helping with a bakery delivery. He'll be gone for most of the day." Matt informed Adam as he finished the repairs on the drone, he had named Hawk.
"Great. There's something I want to check out, feel like helping?"
"You're not still talking about breaking into that Galra General's headquarters, are you?"
"That'd be the one."
"I thought we agreed it would be too dangerous." Matt spun around in his chair to glare at the other man, it wasn't the first time that Adam had brought this up. That didn't mean that Matt liked the idea any more though.
"No, I said it was too dangerous for the kid. He's not here though."
"Oh, yes. Going in alone is so much better."
"Matt, come on. You've been on my ass about how the Galra are upping their game. Breaking into this Generals HQ would give us the answers we need! The evidence is sitting right in front of us, and without Lance I don't have to worry about his mental state or about keeping him safe."
"Yes, but this General is known for being especially brutal."
"I'm doing this. Help me or not, that's your choice." Adam finally tore his eyes off Hawk and locked eyes with Matt, he really was serious. They needed to do this. Bringing Lance would be a fool's idea, but waiting longer would lead to death and destruction, and it's not like they could just ask someone else for help.
"You'd do this in broad daylight?" Matt hated the idea, despised it really. Honestly, he was afraid the Galra would send him back home in a box, but, despite his fear, he would never allow either one of them to ever go in without his help. He knew that Adam really would go in alone, so he resigned himself to play his role as Watcher.
"It's the last thing they'd expect. At night they're heavily guarded, and doing their own business, but in broad daylight, they downsize to avoid detection from preying eyes."
"Fine. One condition though."
"Name it."
"Tell Curtis that you're going to do something stupid, and he needs to be on standby."
"Can't you do that?"
"I could, but I don't agree to this. You get to be the one to look him in the eyes and explain why he's most likely going to be needed yourself."
"Whatever." Adam wasn't sure why Matt was making him do this, maybe he thought that Curtis would be able to talk him out of going. That was unlikely to happen, but still; having the only medic who knew their secret to be on standby wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Lance! You made it!" Hunk's cheerful voiced greeted as Lance entered his bakery.
"Of course, I did! I said I'd help, didn't I? So, what are we moving today?" Lance replied just as cheerfully.
"First, is Mrs. Crawler's tiered baby shower cake, then we've got a few dozen graduation cupcakes for a party, finally a long sheet cake in the evening for a retirement ceremony."
"Sheesh you guys are busy!"
"Yep! Let's get going! I already loaded the cake with Allura and she's going to stay here and man the bakery while we run around."
"Sounds good. Speaking of which, where is Allura?" Lance questioned with a smile spreading across his face.
"In the back. NO! No, time for flirting! Let's go!" Hunk practically dragged Lance out of the bakery and into their delivery van, completely ignoring Lance's claims that he was just going to say hi.
The first delivery was easy, with the weight spread between two people, the cake could easily be carried into the spacious home. The majority of the people there were a little tipsy at this point, but they thanked them for the cake and remembered to tip them nicely before tearing into the sugary baked goodness.
The second delivery was more hectic, but nothing that they weren't prepared for. Since it was a graduation party, most of the people present were high school or college aged and were a little wild. Not very helpful when both Hunk and Lance were balancing large boxes filled with cupcakes. Thankfully, a couple of higher-classed college guys came up and shooed the others away while taking some of the boxes to make the load easier. The red-headed man who help Lance turned out to be the older brother of the party's guest of honor and spoke with Lance after pointing Hunk in the direction of the necessary adults.
"Ready to go?" Hunk asked after he returned.
"Yeah, in minute."
"Lance, you're flirting again."
"I am not!"
"Okay, sure. Here's the deal, you can stay here and flirt until it's time for our last delivery; or you can come with me and get lunch instead. I'll be in the van. Five minutes then I'm leaving."
Sure enough, five minutes later, Lance was entering the van with Hunk, the appeal of food was just too strong to ignore.
"Hi! Welcome to the Atlas Family Café, just one today?"
"Yes, is Curtis working today?"
"He is. Would you like his section?"
"Yes, if possible."
"Of course! Right this way." The perky employee led Adam to the small bar in the back of the restaurant. Curtis alternated between standing behind it and zipping around the nearby tables.
"First Matt, now you."
"Nice to see you too." Adam greeted as he slid onto the stool.
"Business or just here for the food?"
"Both." Curtis raised an eyebrow at him then, that sure was a first.
"Which one first?"
"Food. I'm starving. I'll explain after that."
"Usual then?"
"You still remember it?"
"Of course. Double bacon cheeseburger with just mayo, sweet potato fries, and a coke to drink, right?"
"Get to it then." Adam teased while Curtis went into the kitchen to get his order started. Curtis also got someone to take over his other tables, he figured this was going to be a long conversation.
"Alright. You've put it off long enough. Spill." Curtis ordered after Adam had finished his burger.
"I got one of my ideas again." Adam started, nibbling on his fries.
"Oh, God, what now." Adam's ideas were never good. They usually led to results that would help a halted investigation, but they were always incredibly dangerous and pretty much guaranteed that one of them was going to get hurt. Badly.
"I'm going to break into a top ranking Galra General's headquarters to see what they are planning." Matt's blunt words were like a slap to the face. Curtis was glad he didn't have to force the exact plan out of Matt, but at the same time, he could have softened it a bit. Now Curtis was having the expected heart attack.
"You're what? Which one?!"
"He's known for being 'especially brutal' I believe is what Matt said."
"Him?! But Lance-" Adam held up a hand then, cutting him off.
"The kid isn't coming." Relief flooded and fear clawed at Curtis simultaneously. Relief that Lance wouldn't be anywhere near that situation again, but terrible fear that Adam would be doing something this crazy alone!
"Alone?! Are you mad?! With all of their security you'd never get in!" Curtis realized that it was very difficult to both yell at Adam for his stupidity and keep his voice low enough that unwanted ears would be unable to hear their conversation. He settled for more of a stage whisper paired with a death glare that would have made anyone else fear for their life. It annoyed Curtis to no end that Adam simply sat there munching on fries like he didn't even notice the burning eyes directed at him.
"That's why I'm going during the day."
"How does that make it better?!"
"During the day, they halt what they're doing and ease up on the security to avoid detection, but they keep all of their plans and other information stored there."
"And Matt agreed to this?"
"He did."
"So, I'm going to assume you want me on standby for when you come back beat to a pulp."
"Preferably yes."
"Fine. Just do me one favor?"
"Sure. What?"
"Come back alive."
"Don't worry, that won't be a problem."
"Adam I'm serious."
"So am I." With that Adam set cash on the table and walked out of the café, and almost crashed into Lance and Hunk.
"Ah. Sorry." Adam said as he skirted around them, Crap! I was hoping not to run into him! His mind yelled at him.
"It's okay!" Hunk called over his shoulder to the other man, "Hey, did he seem familiar to you?"
"What? No, I don't recognize him." As per their agreement, Lance and Adam never interacted in public together and say that they don't know each other. That way, if one of their identities was ever discovered, they would have nothing connecting one to the other. Why would he be here? It was strange, sure Adam could have just been checking on Curtis, but it was unusual that he would go in person to the café instead of checking another way. What is he up to?
Adam sighed, that was a close one, it was pure luck that he wasn't alone. Hopefully, Hunk could keep Lance's mind distracted long enough for Adam to do his job. He pulled out his cell phone then and checked his surroundings using Hawk before ducking into a back alley and disappearing into the side of the wall. After Lance had been captured, Adam had installed secret stashes all over the city filled with weapons, armor, medical supplies, and anything else they could need while out in the field. He suited up there, taking a deep breath before exiting again.
"Get ready Sendak, I'm coming for you!"
Thank you so much for the phenomenal support of this story! Chapter 5 is in progress, and I promise to put it out as fast as possible! See you next time!
~Kiera540