Cody's POV
It was a normal night for Cody in the control room. He leaned back in his chair, eyes flickering to the cameras on his station. The control room was sparser than it normally was. Blake and Zeke sat next to each other, making a hilarious running commentary of some drama that was happening in the Pit. Four was in his office with the door open. Some others were standing around before the wall of screens, watching over the members.
Cody absently stirred the spoon in his tea as he stared at one of the screens. It flickered to a different camera and Cody took a note of the location, time and camera number. The camera was positioned in one of the empty corridors filled with red light on the edge of the compound. He frowned when someone walked down it, looking around almost cautiously…
Something was off…
"FOUR!" Cody yelled with his eyes stuck on the screen. The person looked around again before motioning something forward. Cody quickly typed in a code and started a screen recording to analyse later.
"What is it?"
"Look at this."
Four steps up behind Cody and they watched as a large group of people creep forward with guns raised, checking around them quickly.
"Nothing's scheduled for today in that corridor…" Four mumbles under his breath.
It's hard to see their clothing in the red light but Cody knows that Four sees something by the way his breath hitches. Four types another code and the camera zooms in.
There, on one of their arms is a white armband with a black broken circle imprinted on…
"That's –" Cody inhales sharply and his head snaps to his commanding officer.
The symbol of the Factionless…
Four snarls and runs over to a button in the wall. He flips the cover up and slams his hand on the red button. Alarms sound in the room and several people jump. "I want every abled body on a station following a group walking towards the Pit, south east." People start scrambling to stations and typing quickly. Four points to Cody. "Keep track of them!" Cody nods and watches them, flicking the two other screens to cameras near that location.
"Four! Another group have ambushed Tris –"
"WHERE?" Four shouts and the member gives him the location. "Zeke! Follow protocol 461!" When Zeke nods Four quickly takes off. The member keeping eyes on Tris pulls the camera onto the screen wall and the workers' eyes flick from the wall to the cameras on their station.
They watch as Tris is easily overpowered by three others but that doesn't stop her from kicking out and fighting with everything she's got. When one of them shakes out a large bag, their intent is clear.
They mean to kidnap Tris.
"Come on Tris!" Zeke yells at the screen.
Cody shakes his head and follows the group on his screen. Apparently there's also traitors in the Faction since the figure shakes hands with a small group of Dauntless, who take the white bands given to them and put them on.
"Zeke! There are traitors in Dauntless!"
"WHAT?" Zeke quickly moves closer and watches the screen over Cody's shoulder. "Isolate the images of their faces. I want to know who those fuckers are! Blake, take over Cody's station while he does that!"
Cody quickly copies the screen recording over to a monitor nearby and wheels over to it as Blake sits in front of the screens. Cody goes through the video and captures screenshots of the Dauntless traitors' faces before copying them into a new file. He tries to make the image clearer, but by the end of the process the shots are still a little blurry. He sends the file to Zeke, Four and tags Eric in the email along with the video.
"Done!" Cody calls out and Blake rolls away as Cody takes his place back behind the station.
Cody glances up to the wall and sees Four reach the scene and he tears into them. Four wasn't ranked first for nothing. Soon enough the three are layed on the floor with Four breathing heavily above them, fists bruised and bloodied.
Zeke picks up a phone and places it to his ear. "I want a set of eight guards to go to east bound corridor on intersection fifty-eight and fifty-nine. Take them to the cells."
"Why hasn't any of the Leaders called?" One of the staff members ask.
Zeke shakes his head. "Find the Leaders. Track their last known location."
Cody signals Blake to cover his station again when the phone beside Cody rings. Blake rolls back over as Cody picks up the phone.
"Cropper, Cody answering."
There's heavy breathing on the other end with gasps injected every few moments. "Cody." Cody perks up when he recognises Max's voice. Cody makes a quick hand gesture to Zeke, Head Leader found, waiting on condition. "Cody."
"What's wrong sir?"
"Cody. They took her – they – they took Livvie! They took my baby! Some fucker left a note and said I'll never see my daughter again… My baby…" As Max sobs quietly, Cody puts the phone against his shoulder.
"Zeke!" He hisses. "Livvie's been kidnapped!"
The whole room freezes, and the door opens to reveal Four carrying Tris inside.
Four frowns. "What?"
Cody clears his throat. "I have Max on the phone… Livvie's been taken."
Four's eyes widen and he lowers Tris to her feet. "Override all squadron alarms. Let them all know we have intruders. Blake stay at Cody's station; I'll take the phone." Cody hands over the phone and Four jerks his head. "Go to the nursery. Tell them of the situation but tell them not to panic."
Cody nods, picking his pair of guns from his draw and holsters one, keeping the other in his hand. Without a backward glance, Cody runs from the control room.
xXx
When he nears the nursery, his breath catches at the sound of fighting. He rounds a corner and he exhales deeply at the sight of Dauntless protecting their young. As Cody nears, he sees Noah and Bree in the mix of the other staff.
"Bree!" Cody calls, shooting a guy that had come up behind his small friend.
"Cody!" Bree yells and Noah turns his head, nodding to him.
Cody moves into the havoc until he stands beside his friends. "Looks like I'm too late to give you guys warning."
Bree winks before spinning out of the way and shooting a Factionless point blank in the head.
The three of them protect each other's backs while also keeping Factionless from getting into the nursery. Cody keeps the wave down back taking them out with well-placed bullets. Not that Cody well ever admit it out loud, but he's thankful that Flare made him train with her. Noah fights with nothing but his brute strength and pummels them into the ground. Bree… Well, Bree seems to revel in the chaos…
Cody stops momentarily to watch her fight. "For a small woman, you're a scary ass mother fucker... Hell, you're a little bit evil too..."
Noah, who has his arms bulging around a traitor neck, pants. "How can you say Bree is evil?" With a quick effortless jerk, Noah snaps the guys neck and drops the body, kicking it away. "She's the most precious soft little soul."
"YEAH!" Bree tries to wipe blood from her face but ends up making a mess. Though it doesn't seem to bother her, instead Bree wears it like war paint. "I'M ADORABLE!" She throws a knife at a traitor trying to run and the knife hits him in the nuts. Even as Cody cringes, Bree lets out a loud, evil cackle and claps her hands together happily.
Cody gestures to where the guys in crying with a knife in his balls. "Point," He gestures to where Bree is still cackling. "Evidence," Cody glares at Noah, who's still glancing at Bree with a loving expression. "Do you really think I need to explain?!"
Bree sighs and wipes the hairs out of her face. "Don't be such a nose." She carries on in an annoying obnoxious voice. "Point, evidence and explain the reasons why I'm trying to survive. We're not in lower levers anymore kiddo!"
Cody puts on the same annoying obnoxious voice, adding extra snobbishness to it. He cocks his hip out and pouts. "Oh darling, I just have to know! What perfume are you wearing? Rose and gun powder? Or is it Factionless blood and the stench of death?"
Bree flips him off.
Noah snickers. "You know Cody, I reckon with that voice, you'd be able to pull off drag." When Cody flips his imaginary hair behind him, Noah and Bree laugh, despite the situation.
"Cropper, Cody!" A soldier announces and Cody turns to see two soldiers leading about four others with them. "My name in Gabriel, this is Rex. We are commanders of units 002 and 005, and a part of Eric's squadron."
Cody isn't inclined to believe them since he's seen other Dauntless turn on their own Faction. Before he can open his mouth to question them further, Bree's phone rings and she picks it up. She eyes Rex and Gabriel before nodding her head and puts the phone away.
"What he says is truth." She says. "Eric just called and said he's sending some of his squadron to protect the children."
Gabriel inclines his head towards her. "Four also asked if the three of you could return to the control room. He needs some extra eyes there."
Cody glances to Noah and Bree before nodding. "Alright."
xXx
On the way to the control room, they passed the door to the garage but stopped when the door flung open. Neither of them had time to prepare when a young lad, probably a year older than them, ran out of the garage clutching a small cat to his chest.
Cody, Bree and Noah watched incredulously as he ran past them.
Cody points after the lad. "Was that Remmy?"
"With our resident ball of fluff?" Bree stares down the corridor. "Yes."
After a moment, they continue their journey, keeping an eye on the shadows just in case they get ambushed. Just as they were about to pass the corridor leading towards the Chasm, someone barges into Noah and sent them rolling onto the floor. As Noah quickly pinned the guy to the ground, Cody noticed a large sack moving.
Cody gasps and quickly moves towards it.
It was the same kind of sack that the Factionless had tried to get Tris in.
Cody's fingers shake as he tears into the sack and it opens to reveal a small crying child.
Livvie!
Max's daughter fights Cody's arms, pushing them away from her as she screams.
"Livvie! Livvie! It's Cody, your sister's friend – Lilah's friend!"
The little three-year old immediately stopped fighting and sagged into Cody's body at her sister's name. She continued to cry though – which was completely understandable given the events.
"Is that –" Bree gasps as her eyes settle on Livvie. "Oh Livvie…"
Cody begins to pulls away so Bree can offer her comfort, but Livvie clings onto him and refuses to let go. He looks up to Bree with a clear help expression, but Bree just pats him on the head. He's never really been around children before since he was an only child. Cara was the first time he'd been around someone younger than him, but even for a fourteen-year-old, Erudite made them act like adults…
Seeing no way out of this, Cody hands Noah the gun before picking the child up and cradling her carefully against his chest. "Oh Liv…" Cody sighs as she grips his jacket in her tiny hands.
With Livvie tucked in his arms, he nods to Noah and Bree, and they quickly jog back to the control room. Neither of them wanted to get caught in a fight with a child.
"You know, you look pretty hot with a kid, Cody." Bree comments casually as he swipes his keycard on the pad.
Cody shoots her a strange look as the door opens, and they step into the control room.
All three of them freeze, eyes glued to the wall of screens.
Cody clutches Liv closer to him as Bree gasps.
They watch helplessly as a Factionless man pushes Issy off the bridge along the Chasm and –
Several people yell out when every single screen cuts off and turns blank.
"ISSY!" Bree lets out an ear-piercing scream and Cody covers Livvie's ears. "Get it back! Get the cameras back!"
From his left, Cody watched as Four slumped to the ground and burrowed his head in his heads. Four shook his head slightly as if he refused to believe the sight they just saw.
Cody swallowed and moved to sit in one of the large bucket seats before pulling his legs up and clutching Liv tightly.
It felt like time seemed to slow down.
Tris fell to her knees between Four's legs and cradled his head into her chest.
Noah guided a distraught Bree into one of the wheelie chairs as Blake and Zeke tried to restart the generator.
Cody didn't want to believe it – he wouldn't!
He'd been friends with Issy and the rest of her family since they moved into an apartment complex closer to Erudites main compound when he and the twins were ten, nearly eleven. They lived on the same floor and often walked to and from school with each other but didn't strike up a friendship until Cody corrected an error on a formula the twins were working on. What Cody didn't know at the time was that it was actually a recipe for an exploding powder for one of their pranks. And then… Well… Cody's new friendship quickly spiralled from there and they continued to get into heaps of trouble until their Choosing Ceremony.
Oh shit! Cody suddenly thought… Who the fucks gonna tell Alec?! Cody winced as the thought spiralled further. Who's gonna tell Eric…? Please, for the love of god, don't let it be Four…
Eric would pummel him into the ground.
Bree starts mumbling words between sobs as Noah wraps his arms around her. "My sister! I can't – I won't! She, Issy can't – Issy!"
"Bree," Tris called quietly from Four's arms. "I'm sorry, but no one can survive a fall from the Chasm –"
Bree lets out an anguished yell.
Noah sniffles and quickly wipes at his eyes, before holding Bree closer.
Cody bites his lip and shakes his head. Liv grips onto him and he holds her like a lifeline.
"Is there any hope that she could've…?" Zeke's voice breaks and the question hangs in the room.
"She's dead?" When no one says anything, Bree breaks down again. "She's dead, and, and the last thing we, I did was shout at her and I, I'll never get to –" Bree continues to cry into her hands with Noah hushing her gently.
"Bree?" A voice calls out cautiously and every head but the woman in question snaps to the door.
Cody's breath hitches at the sight of Issy standing in the doorway with Uriah. There's blood seeping from a whole in Issy's patrol jacket and there's dried blood on her neck.
Noah's hands fall from Bree and she cries harder, still not aware of the new additions in the room. "I –" Bree hiccups. "– I can still hear her now!"
Issy frowns, eyeing the blank screen, before they dart to each person in the room. When her eyes land on Cody and Liv, her eyes focus on the little girl before glancing up to Cody.
He almost laughs but he's thankful to see the signature blue of her family staring back at him. The white-gold her eyes had been for the past week had honestly freaked him out. They were ghostly, almost soulless, but the blue scattered with gold before him sent him back to the mischievous glances just before a prank went in motion.
Instead, Cody smiles, his lips wobbling as he tries not to cry.
Issy smiles back, albeit a little confused before walking right up to Bree and kneels down. Issy pulls Bree's hands away from her face. "Bree." Issy calls softly. "I'm okay."
"NO!"
"Bree, when would I ever lie to you? Open your eyes."
Bree shakes her head again but when Noah rubs her back gently, her eyes blink open. Bree squints, her breathing coming out in heavy jagged pants. "Issy?"
Issy smiles so brightly, so full of emotion that Cody's almost blinded. He hasn't seen Issy look like that in a while, as sad as it is. "Yeah, I here, I'm not dead." She smirks, her eyes shifting colours. "They're gonna have to try a lot harder than that."
Bree just stares at Issy, cataloguing every part of her like Issy might actually die… Then Bree darts forward and throws her arms around Issy, making them topple to the floor. "ISSY! Oh my god! I, I –" Bree hiccups again. "I thought you died! We all did! You fell off the Chasm and then the cameras cut out an, an, and the last thing I did was shout at you and not take your feelings into account and I'm sorry!"
Issy rocks them back and forth, hushing Bree gently. "Shhh, it's okay." She smiles at the rest of them, grinning almost sheepishly. "So, long time no see?"
There's silence and nobody knows what to say. There's so much that's happened that people are lost on what to say.
The silence is broken when Four starts laughing like the question is the funniest thing in the world. He just laughs until it breaks into little sniggers.
"You alright there Four?" Cody asks, his eyes narrowed slightly at his commanding officer. There had been something wrong with Four for a while now. Sometimes he'd flinch heavily when someone suddenly entered his office, other times Four blanked out when Tris was talking to him and then brushed her off when she tries to ask him if he's alright.
Four sighed heavily, eyes glazing over. "I'll be okay."
Well, that didn't sound ominous at all…
Tris frowned up at him, tugging at his top to get him to look down at her, but when Four didn't, Tris sighed and nuzzled into his neck.
Cody frowns when Four moves away. While its more or less common knowledge that Four was a stiff – well, to those that know and talk to Eric – Four's been acting very out of character for an ex-Abnegation.
A whimper comes from Liv and Cody frowns. "Has anyone called Max yet?"
"Why?" Blake asks and Cody's frown deepened.
"Uh, I don't know," Cody starts sarcastically, rolling his eyes that hardly anyone notice Cody came in carrying a child. "Maybe because I've got his daughter?" Liv's head popped up from Cody's arms.
Blake pauses before nodding. "I'll get on it." He moves to pick up a phone and begins to dial the Head Leader's number.
As he does that Cody's head ducks down. "Don't worry Liv, I'll get up back to your family."
Silence settles in the room as Issy and Bree quietly talk between themselves before Uriah moves a step forward.
"Um," Uriah looked to Issy and she gave him a firm nod of support. "My squadron has decided to transfer over to the Front," Zeke and Tris gasped but Four shook his head, frowning. "We made the decision today as a team and due to the current circumstances, I don't think it's that reckless compared to what happened today."
Zeke stared at Uriah before pulling him back into a tight hug. "You be careful out there okay? Try not to do anything reckless."
Issy smiled and nodded at Zeke. "I'll look out for him if we're on the same missions."
Zeke shot her a thankful smile. "Thank –"
The door was thrown open and Max strode inside with his wife, Lilah and Alec following on his heels. The Leader's eyes were glassy, and his eyes fixed on Blake. "Where's our –"
Cody uncurled his body from around Liv and she shot over to Max.
"Papa! Mama!"
Max fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around Livvie. Marissa let out a sob as she kneeled on the floor next to them and hugged them both. Lilah fell down too, hugging her family, as Alec tore his fingers through his hair and looked around the room.
When his golden eyes settle on Issy, Bree stands, and move back over to Noah, sitting in his lap. Issy stays on the floor and stares back at her twin.
"Issy?!" Alec closes the distance between them. What are you – what were you doing on the floor with Bree?"
As Issy glances to Bree, Noah and Cody share a worried look, unsure how Alec's going to take the news. "Um," Issy bit her lip and frowned. "They, ah, they thought I died?" She winced slightly when she said died.
While Max sent a concerned frown in Issy's direction, he turned to Four and nodded to all of the monitors. "Why aren't the screens on?"
Zeke and Blake quickly scurried back to work trying to reboot the back-up generator. "We're working on it sir." Zeke said as his brother lent a hand too.
"They cut out." Four explained to the Head Leader as Four stood. He motioned to Issy as he moved to the panel of buttons. "We thought Issy had died when an intruder pushed her off the Chasm bridge and then the cameras cut out."
Cody turned to look at Issy again, as did everyone else. Issy smiled tightly, looking incredibly uncomfortable under everyone's gaze. "So, yeah, uh, that happened… Next subject please?"
Alec stuttered. "No, n-no, wait! Why didn't you say that first? Issy, you can't just brush these things under the rug."
Issy stood up and stared back at her brother. "And what the hell am I meant to say? Oh hey Alec, so in the midst of today, I took a short trip off the bridge and nearly fell to my death if Eric hadn't been there." Ohh! so that's how she got back up… "Then we proceeded to fight for our lives as Factionless swarmed from either end of the bridge and I got shot in the shoulder. How are you today? Got any plans?" Issy threw up her hands and Cody caught her wince as she rolled one of her shoulders. "Because that's a great conversation starter!"
Alec quickly starts firing back, concern filling his features over how numb Issy is. Cody's worried too, Issy nearly died and she's acting like it was nothing. They stop though when every monitor turns back on. Cody crosses the room to his desk and quickly logs in while the other guys clap and laugh.
"That's it!" Four claps Zeke's hand before nodding to Cody. "Cody, turn your station on and see if you can retrace the group's movements." Already on it. "Zeke find if there are any other groups that were around the compound. Start from the Pit and move out. Blake –"
The door is slammed open again. "FOUR!" Cody almost cringes at the rage in Eric's voice as he strides into the room. "I need you to find –" Eric pauses and Cody stare's into the screen to see Eric's reflection glaring at Issy and Uriah. Where the hell have you two been? Nobody's seen you since you were in the cafeteria and when Harrison called rollcall, you weren't there!"
Cody shakes his head as he gets back to the work he was doing earlier. When he goes back a few hours and finds the groups again. When he begins to follow their movements Issy calls out.
"Oh! Go back to when the patrol alarms went off. I kinda got ambushed by whoever's leading this shindig…"
Four turns to her in disbelief. "You're only remembering this now?"
From the screen, Cody sees Eric's reflection snarl at Four and the Leader edges closer to Issy.
Issy scoffs a little. "It's not like I saw her face, I got attacked from behind."
"What?" Eric, Alec and Bree shout at her.
Cody snorts into his hand but does as Issy says and pulls the camera feed up onto the wall. Those that pay attention to the camera feed watch as Issy is hit from behind with a bat before the group leave Issy on the floor, bleeding out.
Cody hears Issy giggle behind him and then Eric hissing about the infirmary. That's probably a good idea… Cody thinks as he watches the female direct the group of Factionless and they split off in separate ways.
Four makes a quiet order for Zeke and Blake to pick a smaller group and follow them. Cody's follows the female run through the compound, going up the stairs before stopping at a door. He inhales sharply, recognising that door…
"Issy!" Zeke shouts. "That's your apartment!"
"What?"
Silence settles over the room as they watch with bated breath as the female kicks Issy's door open and wanders inside. Four moves to one of the stations and pulls up three more cameras onto the wall but none of them are angled directly into Issy's apartment.
When the female wanders back out again, she turns to the camera and Cody inhales sharply.
Max swears loudly.
Eric snarls and tugs Issy closer to him.
Kim bows to the camera with a wicked grin on her face before running off.
"TRACK HER!" Max bellows with a furious expression.
"Issy!" Eric yells and Cody turns to see the young Leader charging out of the room after Issy.
Blake quickly follows Kim's movement, jumping from camera to camera until Kim disappears. "I don't – she should be…?" Blake turns to Four. "I don't understand. There's no hidden tunnels there."
"Kim wouldn't know of the tunnels anyway." Max said, glaring up at the screen. "She had no reason to. Eric and Harrison only know about them because of their involvement in the army. Winnie knows so she can smuggle children out of abusive homes. The other Leaders know of them but don't know where."
As Max works with Four and Blake on where Kim could have disappeared to, someone pokes Cody's side. Cody turns away from his desk and smiles when he sees Liv. She climbs onto his lap without a word. Livvie turns to face him and holds his cheeks in her hands.
"Thank you." Liv leans forward and places a loud kiss on his forehead.
Cody chuckles quietly. "You're welcome little warrior." Livvie blushes.
A hand gently leans on Cody's shoulder and someone kisses his cheek. This time its Cody's turn to blush as Marissa smiles down at him. "Thank you for saving our daughter."
Cody clears his throat as his blush deepens.
Lilah presses a kiss to his other cheek, laughing as his face darkens. "Thank you for saving my sister."
A heavier hand settles on Cody's other shoulder and he looks up to see Max staring down at him. "Don't worry lad, I ain't kissing you." Marissa and Lilah laugh as Max squeezes Cody's shoulder. "But thank you."
Cody cleared his throat again but blushes again when his voice comes out rather high. "You're welcome."
Max, Marissa and Lilah all laugh and Liv giggles, smiling toothily at him.
xXx
It didn't feel like a day had past to Cody.
Even as he sat pouring over old blueprints of the compound, it didn't feel like twenty-four hours had passed…
Little under twenty-one hours ago he and the rest of his initiation class found out that Sam's girl had died in the attack. Kylie, while quiet for a Dauntless born, certainly contrasted Sam nicely. Her presence helped him to mature a lot since initiation.
Cody and Luke had been especially heart broken for their friend, since they both had met with Sam and Kylie several times over the past few months. Luke and Sam had always been joined to the hip through initiation, and after it – and from what Cody has heard from the pair, it was very much the same when they were growing up too. While during the start of initiation, Cody was more the twins', Bree and Noah's friend, Cody quickly got attached to the two very chill lads that let Cody relax without having to keep his guard up, waiting for an attack from the crazy antics of the twins.
Cody, Luke and Sam had become so close within the last few years that Sam turned to the pair for advice when Sam had decided that Kylie was the one. Cody had helped him pick out the ring, while Luke helped boost Sam's confidence and took him through examples of when would be the perfect time to propose. Luke even set up a hypothetical plan for how and when to propose that Sam seemed adamant he go by.
Of course, both Cody and Luke are single as fuck, so neither of them are quite sure how much help they actually were…
And now, Cody finds out that Luke's plan – which would have happened in a week or so, on one of the rooftops under the stars with a picnic set out – will never be happening, because Kylie was dead and Sam was being kept under anaesthesia for his own safety.
As Cody leaned back from the blueprint he had been looking at until her spaced out, he began to wonder what the hell was going on with their city, and how many more of his family would die before it ends…
xXx
Cody stood with his family on the slab of rock that jutted out of the edge of the Pit, giving them a full view of the Leaders' balcony and the crowds on the ground floor. While Lilah and Eric left the faction trembling with pure determination, Cody couldn't help but think how a gathering such at this left Dauntless' defences open for another attack… All of the faction in the compound apart from those in the infirmary were in the Pit and it left Cody twitching.
He wanted to get back to the control room and find the entrances and tunnels that Kim used to get in and out without getting detected until she and her group were already far into Dauntless.
He wanted to block it up so it couldn't be used by anyone ever again, or even place a coded lock on it so the Leaders could be alerted if anyone tries to get in or out again.
Cody shakes his head and tunes back into the speech to find that Max is now speaking, and everyone is staring at Cody. He swallows as a blush crawls up his neck and blooms into his cheeks. Cody hadn't heard what Max just said, and by the vague twinkle in the Head Leader's eyes, he knows it too.
"– for apprehending a traitor that had kidnapped my youngest, Livvie, from our home." Cody finally understand what's going on, but it doesn't stop his blush rising to the tips of his ears. "Cody not only took on a man that was twice his size but also took him down without any harm coming to my daughter." Max smiled in Cody's direction. "Thank you."
The faction cheered and hooted, pushing their fists up into the air and next to him he could hear Issy laughing at his discomfort.
It's a while before Max gives the signal to disperse and even as Cody moves through the crowd, he gets slapped on the shoulder and congratulations for his brave actions. Oddly, the crowd parts for him as he makes his way to where Marissa sits with Livvie. Lilah and Max arrive at the table just as Cody does, and there's little time to prepare before Livvie threw herself into Cody's arms. Cody nearly fell over from the sudden weight but managed not to drop her.
He grins as he pretends to topple over with Livvie hanging from his arms. Livvie giggles when he straightens back up and she tucks herself into Cody's chest.
"Sir." Cody says respectfully but Max just shakes his head.
"That's not necessary lad, not anymore." Max motions towards his daughter and Cody grins.
"Well actually I'm partly here on a work-related topic. Sir, would you be able to give my superior permission that I can be assigned to watch my fellow initiate Sam."
Max frowned while Lilah's expression scrunched up with obvious pain. "His missus died in his arms, didn't she?"
"unfortunately, yes."
"Permission granted. I'll email Four, and Zeke as his second, with your new task tomorrow." The serious expression slowly pulled away from Max's features. "What else was there?"
Cody perked up slightly. "Oh, I was wondering if I could visit Livvie in my down time? I'm afraid she already has me wrapped around her finger…"
Max boomed out a laugh as the rest of his family wore amused smiles. "Sure you can lad. No problem."