1st April, 2027
R6 San Francisco Branch. Laboratory.
San Francisco, CA. America
I was busy working in the lab in the base when I felt my phone buzz. I took it out and looked at it. It was from Ela. She had sent me a picture of…oh scheiße…what is it called? Ultrasound? JA! That's it! She sent me a photo of her ultrasound. I couldn't make out anything in the picture (it looked like a black and white void) but she had circled one of the blobs in blue and the other in pink via a photo editor. I'll bet she edited the photo a little, taking out one of the blobs, and left the blue circled one to send it to everyone else. I smiled and put my phone down. I looked up at the sound of footsteps to see Derrick walk in with a grin on his face.
"Hey hey! There's the birthday boy!" I exclaimed. He turned toward me.
"Dude, I countered Megs's pie bullshit this year!" he said happily. For the past few years, Meghan has always found a way to slam a whipped cream pie in Derrick's face on his birthday.
"Really? How so?" I asked, still fiddling with my project. Verdammt circuitry needs to cooperate with me right now! I picked up my buzzing phone and answered the message that just came in before getting back to my project.
"Easy there Raijin," Derrick said. "Anyway, I was walking out of the bathroom and apparently Megs was standing off to the side because I saw her shadow on the wall. I crept over silently and then shouted 'CAN I HELP YOU MA'AM' right next to her head. She jumped 50 feet in the air and fell over onto the pie. It was high-larious!" I listened to Derrick recount his tale…but what he didn't know was that Tina, Meghan and Zoey were creeping up behind him. Tina had the whipped cream pie in her hand and Zoey was carrying a wrapped present. She was watching Meghan who had her finger pressed against her lips. After a few seconds, Meghan pointed at Derrick and whispered "Who's that?" to Zoey. Zoey turned in the direction of Meghan's finger and then shouted "DADA!" Derrick started, turned and got a whipped cream pie to the face courtesy of his loving wife. Meghan and Zoey laughed. I chuckled a bit myself. Unfortunately for you Derrick, you fell for Meghan's bait. She let you see her on purpose so you wouldn't see this event coming. I was in on it too. I texted Tina Derrick's whereabouts. Zoey walked over and hugged Derrick's leg as Tina wiped some of the whipped cream off his face to kiss him. He looked down at Zoey.
"Are you betraying Daddy? I thought we had something!" he said jokingly to her and used the towel Meghan handed him to get the rest of the whipped cream off.
"Dada!" Zoey said again and continued to hug Derrick's leg while still holding onto the package she had. Derrick picked her up and put her on his lap.
"What did you want to say to Daddy today Zoey?" Tina asked. Zoey looked up into her father's face and said "Berf-day!" I smiled at Derrick's stunned expression and then felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey Mon," I said, knowing who it was immediately.
"Oh scheiße! I missed it! Was it funny?" she asked me in German.
"Oh yeah," I responded. "Tina got him real good. Are you crying over there man?" Derrick, who was in the middle of hugging Zoey, sniffed and wiped his eyes with a free hand.
"You'll understand once your son is born Skywalker," he said. Zoey handed him the wrapped package.
"Thank you Snowflake! Is this from you and mama or just you?" he asked,
"Mama!" Zoey responded. Derrick opened it and pulled out a picture frame. I saw the front before he did. It was a photo of Derrick with his guitar looking down at a much younger Zoey and it looked like he was in the middle of singing. It was a screenshot from a video I saw about a year ago. Tina had recorded it on Valentine's Day after someone had tried taking Zoey away from Derrick on his own front lawn. The conversation between Jack, Jordan and Eliza was rather heated and I happened to overhear some of it (although Derrick didn't realize I already knew when he told me and the others). I'll quickly recount that for you because Derrick is in the middle of staring at the picture frame with Zoey still on his lap.
There I was sitting in one of the lounges watching some random bullshit on TV. No I don't remember what it was but I know it had something to do with food. Probably one of those "Best Burgers" shows. Eliza is here with me just reading up on some files and research documents on the Chimera Parasite. Both of us were sitting in silence when we both looked up at the sound of Jack's voice.
"Unbelievable, what kind of sicko tries to steal a baby? In BROAD DAYLIGHT!" he exclaimed as he and Jordan entered the lounge. Jordan didn't respond and instead looked at Eliza.
"Uh…you going to explain what Jack's talking about?" Eliza said.
"Look at the address we were sent to," Jordan said and handed Eliza his phone. Eliza looked at the screen and frowned for a moment.
"Hold on…isn't that Derrick and Tina's place?" she asked.
"Yep," Jordan answered.
"But…but it says you were called on a suspected kidnapping…what…WHAT HAPPENED TO ZOEY?!" Eliza shouted. I'll admit, that got me to look over too. Who the fuck would try to steal a baby.
"Nothing. Zoey's fine," Jack said. "Some asshole thought Derrick was stealing his own kid. I now believe you about Tina's rage. Hoo boy that was scary."
"Is he fucking with me Jordan," Eliza said menacingly.
"He is not," Jordan said. "We saw the ending part of it from a few houses down. I believe I heard Tina call the asshole a 'melon' or something. The officers who were dispatched believed us when we said we knew and worked with the Castellanos."
"I'll file the report. All this nonsense makes me want to check on Yumi and Maho," Jack said and walked off.
"Jordan….how…how cute was she…" Eliza said in a voice I could barely hear. Plus I don't think any of them even noticed that I was there. Odd, considering I am not very inconspicuous. Jordan sighed.
"Eliza, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't view Tina in that way," he said before I saw realization cross his face. "Oh! Zoey! That's who you meant! Right…she looks just like a mini Tina with Derrick's hair. Little girl stopped crying immediately after being given to Derrick. She even smiles just like Tina. What's that face for? Are you jealous?"
"...yes…wait who's texting me?" Eliza said and picked up her phone "Tina sent a video?" At that moment, I felt a buzz in my pocket and pulled out my own phone. I too had a video message from Tina. I pressed play and watched Derrick playing "Big Rock Candy Mountain" to Zoey. I smiled at Zoey's happy expression as she watched Derrick play. I proceeded to send Derrick a message that read "Come on man! How are the rest of the boys supposed to compete with that?!" Plus I forwarded it to Nate, Gav and Jackie.
"LOOK AT HER! LOOK AT HER LITTLE FACE! God dammit…Tina has every right to brag," Eliza exclaimed after watching the video herself. Jordan placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh no…Jordan I didn't mean…" she began before he squeezed her against him for a moment.
"I know. Luke's been teaching me some beginner versions of some of your favorite songs," he said and nodded in my direction. I took that nod to mean "Don't tell Derrick what you just heard." He and Eliza departed the lounge after that. I leaned back into my chair and felt my phone buzz again. This time it was from Ela.
Engel - "I better get a song later too. And it's Valentine's Day. You're MY valentine…please? ;) "
Me - "Any requests?"
Engel - "The one by that Spanish guy. Enrique something."
Me - "Done. Do I get anything special from you? You're my Valentine after all"
Engel - "Duh. You get this body…that is, if there aren't any mistakes ;) "
Me - "Challenge accepted."
I was brought back to the present by Elena's voice saying "Hey, who's that little girl in my lab?" Zoey's head quickly turned in Elena's direction and she shouted "LAYNA!" Then she climbed down from Derrick's lap and walked over to Elena to give her a hug.
"Dada sing!" Zoey said. Tina, Monika, Meghan and I smiled at Derrick who was looking a little embarrassed for some reason.
"Did daddy sing to you again? He's a great daddy isn't he?" Elena told her. Zoey giggled. I turned to look at Monika fully. She looked like she had been out on patrol or something. There was a layer of dirt on her gear and a few of her magazine pockets were empty.
"Eventful outing?" I asked her in German. I also finally got the circuitry to cooperate with me too. I had been trying to increase the sound wave frequency so that my grenades could disintegrate weak walls. I've made some progress and ran a few tests but I didn't want to do that at the moment as there was a baby in here…which I know is not ideal but there's a workbench area and an actual testing area in the lab. Monika grimaced and then responded to me in German. Also it was loud enough for Derrick to hear.
"They're gaining a lot of steam these Fallen people. Eliza, Jordan and I managed to complete our objective but there was more opposition than expected." she said.
"What were you guys trying to do? Counter recon as well? Find out where some of their bases are?" I asked. Monika nodded.
"I managed to swipe a file which shows us some of their members. Wasn't even digital. It reminded me of the time Tina and Derrick went to Seattle." Monika pulled out a manilla folder and handed it to me. I opened it and examined the few pieces of paper in it. Each paper contained a photo and very basic information. These guys apparently went by codenames too. These 3 were named Artillery, Fear and Bane (yes, like from Batman). All three were wearing broken looking masks reminiscent of the old White Masks. I stared at Artillery's page for a few moments. The person looked female and looked like she had a swagger that reminded me of someone.
"I see your problem Lukas, you set the amplification too high on these. The grenade itself will disintegrate before the wall does. Hold on, let me clean myself off and I'll help you," Monika said after examining my grenade. She walked over to Meghan and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the lab.
"Ookuss!" Zoey's voice said. I looked over to see her looking at me with a happy expression. Then her face fell a little bit. She looked over at Tina and asked "La?" Aww! She was looking for Ela! She's smart enough to recognize some of the couples around here. Her best being Jack and Yumiko as I've heard Maho and Zoey are essentially best friends forever.
"Ela's not here Mini Me. She's at her house. She and Ookuss are going to have a little baby soon too! You'll be his friend right?" Tina told her and shot me the slightest wink.
"Ya!" Zoey said before reaching her arms toward Derrick again. "Uppie Dada!" Derrick lifted Zoey into his arms and she giggled again.
"Go to lunch, birthday boy. I'll work on that new project for you," Elena said. Before Derrick got out the door I remembered that I too had a birthday present for him.
"Oi, Zoolander. Hold on a sec," I called. Derrick turned to face me as I pulled out the perfect replica Wing-Ding (Nightwing's version of a batarang) from one of the drawers of my desk. "Catch this, Bird Boy." Derrick handed Zoey to Tina (she said "Mama!" again) and I lobbed the Wing-Ding to Derrick. He caught it with excitement in his eyes.
"Sweet! Thanks Skywalker! This is going right on my desk at home!" he said and left the lab with his family.
Monika returned about 10 minutes after Derrick left and started to help me with my sonic grenade project. This took up the rest of both of our days and it columnated with a successful test on a soft wall at around 8:00 that evening.
"Thanks for the help Mon," I said.
"Anytime Lukas, I'm going to go over the files with Eliza quickly before I go home to Meghan," she said.
"You're actually going to go home right?" I asked jokingly. She shoved me.
"Yes. I will. I promise. You looked as if you recognized one of them."
"I mean, they reminded me of someone else."
"Who?"
"Can't place it quite yet. But it rings a rather loud bell," I said. I honestly was having the biggest mind-fart ever. That Artillery person reminded me of someone. I just can't fucking remember who! Dammit, this is going to bug me! A vibration in my pocket jolted me out of my frustration. Ahh yes, it was the wife.
Engel - "Take out tonight?"
Me - "Sure! I was feeling lazy myself. What do you want? Pizza? Fast food? Mexican?"
Engel - "Surprise me. I don't care. Seriously. Thank you Lukas. I 3 you"
Me - "Love you too!"
I arrived home about 30 minutes later with some burritos from a local place. Ela had been waiting on the couch reading as per usual. She was dressed in casual attire and had her hair tied in a ponytail. Honestly, I would have her right now if I wasn't so hungry myself. She looked up at the sound of my arrival.
"Yes! Burritos! I knew I loved you!" she said and struggled to get up from the couch a little. She was about 3 months pregnant with the twins right now. Due to that, her hours at the base had been cut and she had started working from home a lot more. Apparently, this was the new policy for those who got pregnant. Fine, works for me. Ela does a lot of mission planning and security. She's a very good tactician. I often say that she would be very good at those strategy video games I'm not very good at.
"Which one did you go to?" Ela asked after giving me a welcome home hug and kiss.
"Pancho Villa. Didn't feel like waiting at some of the other places." I said grinning. I saw the excitement in my wife's eyes. She loved that place.
"Did you get.." she began but I stopped her by pulling out her favorite item from that place. The Baja Fish burrito on a whole wheat tortilla with no guacamole and extra sour cream.
"Of course I did. Got us some nachos too," I said and pulled out my own burrito. Ela looked pretty ravenous for both the burrito and me if you know what I mean. "Easy there hon. Let's get some plates." I plated both the burritos and the nachos and both myself and Ela ate on the couch and watched TV.
"I'm surprised the kiddos like the fish. They must get that from you," I said as I watched Ela finish the last bite of her food. She exhaled contentedly and then rested her head on my shoulder.
"Are you off tomorrow?" she asked.
"I believe I am yes," I answered. "Why?"
"I just…want to spend time with you…I don't get to much anymore because of this," she said and pointed to her stomach.
"I do believe you are the one that wanted me to give you a baby, no?"
"Fair…but still…I miss you when you leave… Sometimes I think…" she began but stopped herself.
"You think what? It's ok. I'm not going to be angry," I responded and took her hand.
"I think…that you're going to go do that lone wolf thing again sometimes. These Fallen people are actively spying on some of us or so I've been told. I don't want to lose you again…not again."
"Hey. Ela. Look at me. I swear to you right now that I will never leave you alone again." I said firmly. She looked up into my face and I could see a few tears forming in her blue eyes.
"Promise?" she whispered. I kissed her softly and went to pull away but she pulled my head closer to her and kissed me harder. I didn't even mind the fish breath.
"Good boy," she whispered after she finally stopped, "My Weiss-enheimer. Mine."
4th May, 2027
Derrick and Tina's House
San Francisco, CA. America
I found myself standing in the living room of Derrick's house about a month later. I was wearing a white long sleeve shirt over a light blue collared shirt with an orange scarf. Yes. Blue jeans too. You guessed it. This was a costume party for Tina's birthday and I was Fred from Scooby Doo. Ela was wearing a more modern take on Daphne's attire. Light purple skirt, green shirt and light purple jacket. She even wore a wig to complete the outfit. In Ela's arms was little Zoey who was dressed like Scooby Doo, her favorite cartoon character. She had a brown spotted onesie on with Scooby's collar and some dog ears. A few other people were here too like Tina's parents and her sister. All of them were dressed in costumes as well. Why do you ask? Well, Tina's favorite time of year is Halloween and she had once mentioned to Derrick that she always wanted one of her birthday parties to be a costume party. She and Derrick were currently out enjoying some alone time which was the perfect cover for the guests to arrive and set up for the surprise. Zoey had been looked after by Tina's sister Cindy so don't worry, she wasn't left alone for a few hours. Some of the others weren't able to make it here. Today happened to be another of my days off but none of the usual suspects were able to come. Sanaa was able to get here however. She was dressed as Indiana Jones. No Monika or Meghan though. I know that would bum Zoey out a little but she had her other aunt she loved just as much. Plus Ela. It looked like Zoey had put 2 and 2 together and realized who Ela was dressed as.
"Af-nee!" she said and giggled.
"That's right Zoey! You're so smart! Just like your mama!" I said. Ela gave me a "this will be us soon" look.
"Hey! I see them! Everyone get ready!" Cindy's husband Ken called from the window.
"Ok Zoey, in a second there's going to be a loud noise but there's no need to be scared ok? We're just going to surprise your mommy," Ela said sweetly to Zoey.
"Mama!" Zoey said and pointed to her mother that I saw was getting out of the car. She was wearing an orange sweater and some jeans. Nice Derrick. I see what you did there. Sure enough, Derrick was wearing a green shirt and some beige pants. He even had Shaggy's goatee. We all waited in silence as Derrick and Tina opened the front door.
"You still haven't told me what this orange sweater is for. What's this other surprise you have planned for me?" Tina's voice said.
"This," Derrick said. Tina stumbled around the corner (looked like Derrick had given her a small shove) and saw us all standing there. We all yelled "Surprise!" and Zoey laughed. Tina didn't say anything at first until she saw her daughter dressed as Scooby. She spotted me and Ela and then turned to her husband who was standing behind her. She had the biggest smile on her face.
"Like Happy Birthday Velma. Have you seen Scooby Doo?" Derrick said in his Shaggy voice. Tina gave Derrick what looked like a rib cracking hug.
"I love you so much," I managed to hear her say. Tina released Derrick and walked over to Ela and Zoey.
"Aww, you are so cute Zoey! What does Scooby say?" Tina asked her.
"Woof!" Zoey responded.
"Can you laugh like Scooby Zoey," I asked. Zoey attempted to do Scooby's laugh but it sounded way more like just her laughing at something she found amusing. Derrick supplied Scooby's laugh though.
"Mama Birfday?" Zoey asked her father.
"Yes Snowflake, today is Mama's birthday!" Derrick responded. Tina took Zoey from Ela and gave her a big hug and a kiss.
"Thank you sweetheart! Mama loves you," Tina said.
"Pez-ent!" Zoey said.
"Weren't you telling me and Ookuss about a present you made for Mama?" Ela asked Zoey. Zoey then pointed at Derrick and said "Dada!" Tina turned around and was handed something. From over her shoulder I could see that it was framed baby sized handprints along with 2 pictures of Zoey off to one side. Ela inhaled slightly and shot me a look. I responded with a "of course will do that for our kiddos too" look.
"Did you make this for Mama?" Tina asked Zoey.
"El-mah!" Zoey responded and hugged Tina.
"I'm going to put this right on my desk later so I can see it everyday and be reminded of how cute you were at this age!" Tina said. She then walked off with Zoey in her arms.
"The hell?!" Derrick whispered just loud enough so Ela and I could hear. "I didn't get a hug! This is bull dingys! This whole thing was my idea!" Tina meanwhile was talking to her parents and Cindy. Cindy and her family had moved closer to Tina within the last few weeks. Now Cindy was in a closer vicinity to help with Zoey if Tina decided to go back to work full time. I don't think she was planning to at the moment.
"That is going to be you in a couple of months Ela," I said after noticing Ela was watching Tina and Zoey. She turned to face me.
"What…what if they don't like me?" she said softly.
"One of them is a boy right? Little guy might take after his father and I clearly like you," I whispered back and placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Why do you always know just the right thing to say?" she said after placing her own hand over mine.
"Helps that I grew up with Monika. She and my dad essentially taught me how to treat women," I said.
"Same. My dad might have been a loud dude and always wanted things done his way most of the time, but he never forgot his anniversary or my mom's birthday. I mean…it helps that it was in the same month as his," Derrick added. "Oh yeah, Ela, your tactical strategy worked flawlessly on that Fallen outpost. They never even saw Bandit or Blitz coming."
"Oh? Dom and Elias got a transfer here too?" I asked. Bandit (Dom) and Blitz (Elias) were Monika's co-workers at the GSG9. Marius (Jäger) was currently working in the Midwest as he was needed there for lab assistance.
"I believe they're going to be filling in for you and Ela. I'd imagine they'd stay for 9 months to a year," Derrick answered. "You do realize that having a kid is not all sunshine and rainbows all the time right? Zoey likes to get a little fresh with me and Tina sometimes. I deal with it to an extent but Tina isn't having it in the slightest. Sometimes I have to remind her that Zoey is still a baby. And in turn, I have to remind Zoey and myself that Tina still loves us."
"I know. I've seen Jana act fresh with Zofia," Ela said. Derrick nodded.
"Next question. Which of you is handling what bodily fluids or type of excrement?" he asked. Both of us looked confused.
"Allow me to explain. Between Teen and I, there are some bodily fluids that neither of us can handle. I am a sympathy spewer which means that I can't see puke without wanting to myself. Tina handles that. In turn, Tina has a weak nose compared to me so when Zoey has a blowout or a little accident that's more solid if you catch my drift, that job is on me. Those are the two things we decided on before Zoey was born. Boogers, phlegm, blood and pee we handle as a team. Get it?" Derrick explained. I nodded. Ela still looked confused.
"Hon, he's saying if Zoey threw up really bad, Tina would clean it up instead of him. And in turn, he handles all the shit. Literally." I explained.
"Not all of it. Teen still does diapers. It's more a Derrick Problem if Zoey say poos the bed," Derrick said. Now Ela nodded. Derrick was waved over by Tina's dad Kevin and they started talking.
"That seems like a good idea don't you think? Didn't you want to do the thing Derrick and Tina did with Zoey right after she was born too? You handle the kiddos at night while I sleep and then I watch them in the morning," I asked.
"Yeah, I think that makes perfect sense. I better not see you playing any violent games in front of my babies. Understand me?" she threatened.
"Yes ma'am. Does Spider-Man count as violent?" I responded. She rolled her eyes, shook her head and pecked me on the cheek.
"Good boy. As for that bodily fluid thing, I don't like urine. At all. The smell or the color. I could do diaper changes but not like a bedwetting accident," she said.
"Done. As for me, I too am not a huge fan of puke if that's ok with you." I said. Ela nodded.
"I've had to eat Zofia's cooking when we were teenagers before and it looked and tasted like puke most of the time so I'm used to it," she said. "She's better now but still. That's a memory I'll never forget." Ela proceeded to watch Zoey walk around in her Scooby costume "talking" to all of her relatives.
"You think little Izabela is going to be Zoey's best friend?" I whispered.
"Isn't…isn't Maho Zoey's best friend already?" Ela asked softly.
"You can have 2 best friends, Ela. You and Derrick are mine," I said. I know, you probably thought Monika was up there too. She's number 3…but don't tell her I said that. She'd kill me!
"I'm sure Zoey would love another friend," Tina's voice said from off to my right, startling the both of us. Dammit Derrick, stop teaching your wife your tactics!
"I'll also help you adjust to being a mother. You also have Zofia. I'm sure she'd be happy to help you too," Tina said after taking a sip of her newly acquired drink. She then frowned. "Really? I expected that to be spiked by my doofus husband."
"I think you have a pass for today Teen, no sorry, Velma," I said. Tina smiled.
"Don't worry so much Ela, the moment the nurse put Zoey in my arms I knew the love I felt from her was immediate. The first night after she was born, I held her in my arms while Derrick was asleep on the pullout chair in the room and I could just tell that she knew I was her mommy. She might have said Dada first, but she spends a lot more time with me. We have our own mother daughter rituals too. Zoey likes watching the weather channel with me," Tina said. "When are you due?"
"October," Ela whispered. Tina sighed.
"You honestly think I'm mad at you for conceiving your child on or around Zoey's birthday?" Tina asked. Ela nodded. I raised my eyebrows. I had no idea she'd been feeling bad about that.
"That day is special in this house. Not everyone's house. I don't need everyone I know to put their lives on hold for my daughter's birthday. That's my and Derrick's job," Tina said consolingly. That seemed to cheer Ela up a little.
"Come on, I'll tell you some new parent tips I've learned," Tina said and pulled Ela aside and they began talking. I decided that it was time for a drink and I walked over to the nearby cooler to grab a soda. I looked outside the window as I popped my can open to see that Eliza and Jordan were standing outside with a few more masked FBI SWAT members I didn't know. Derrick saw too because I heard him say "What the heck," from behind me. I turned to Derrick who motioned to me that we should go see what was going on. I caught the worried expressions on Tina and Ela's faces. Zoey said "Dada" but Derrick didn't respond.
"Zoey, Daddy has to see what's going on outside ok? He's coming right back," Tina's mom Laura explained calmly.
"Gamma!" Zoey responded happily. Derrick and I walked outside and approached Eliza and Jordan. Eliza looked up at our approach.
"Don't get mad," she said fearfully.
"About?" Derrick asked and narrowed his eyes.
"Meghan and Monika's house was attacked. Viciously. Both of them are fine but there was a big struggle," Jordan explained. "It was just Meghan there. She apparently was getting ready to come here." I felt an immense spike of rage go through my body. Someone attacked my sister in law?! For what reason?!
"Derrick. She's fine. The idiots must have forgotten that she was a trained NAVY SEAL and that her brother had taught her some of his own moves," Eliza explained.
"Where is she," Derrick growled. Dude sounded a little bit like Batman to be honest.
"At the base. She only took a few minor scrapes and lacerations. Shards of glass in one of her legs too," Jordan said. Derrick still looked angry. I understood why. Only about a year had passed since he and I had saved Meghan from the Chimera Parasite. He was not about to lose his big sister.
"Where's Monika," I asked, almost as angry as Derrick. Someone was going to pay for this.
"I will give you one guess," Jordan responded. I mean, that essentially answered my question but now I was more concerned about Monika's safety. A quick check from my phone showed me a few missed messages from Monika. All of them confirmed what I was hearing. I responded to her quickly.
"What's with all the SWAT guys and gals here?" Derrick asked.
"Well, the Fallen seemed to know exactly where Monika and Meghan lived. We know one of them was here back in January judging by that note you found Lukas. So as a precaution, we're posting some people here to act as guards to Derrick's place. Most of these houses around here are vacant because, you know, a military base is nearby. Some are going to your house too, Lukas," Jordan told me. Good. That actually made me feel a little better.
"Squad leader is named Cobra. She's got your number if anything happens and she'll be posted in the house across the street," Eliza told Derrick and pointed out a slim woman with a snake styled face mask.
"And Meghan and Monika?" Derrick asked.
"Bandit and Blitz. They've got it. Figured we'd put them near the ones that were actually attacked. Monika always got along with those 2 and they volunteered almost immediately," Jordan said. Derrick seemed to relax a little more but still looked on edge.
"Right, thanks guys. I'll check on Megs," Derrick said and turned to walk back inside while texting someone. It was most likely Meghan.
"Costume party for Tina's Birthday? Lemme guess, Zoey is Sco- OH MY GOODNESS!" Eliza shouted. I turned to see Tina outside walking to Derrick with Zoey in her arms. Ela was right behind her. I heard Zoey say "Za!"
"Hah, the Scooby gang. I was wondering why you were wearing a scarf Luke," Jordan said while chuckling. Eliza and Jordan relayed the same information to Tina and Ela. Ela didn't take the news well.
"We're moving," she told me defiantly. "I will NOT have my baby be threatened by maniacs like these."
"Ela, one of the people stationed near you is Zofia. Andrezj is military too remember? He's been briefed and was on board to help at once," Eliza explained, cutting me off. Good thing too. I don't want to move. I liked our house. It's about 10 minutes from Derrick's and only about 5 from Monika's.
"But…what about Jana?" Ela asked.
"I don't think the Fallen actually know where you or Zofia live yet. If we can tear this cell down before they do, that would be ideal. They still seemed confined to this area. Jäger said that the Midwest team hadn't heard of them at all. Castle is in a similar boat," Jordan said. "Your son also has 2 trained counter terrorism operators as parents that would protect him at all costs." Ela nodded in agreement.
"Oh yeah, there was also this," the SWAT officer named Cobra said and handed me a slip of paper. "The Navy SEAL said she found this right before she was attacked." I looked at the paper. It was a handwritten note. I read it…and promptly crushed it in my hands. Why? WHY?! Because this verdammt einzeller had the NERVE to write the words "Fags die first" and attack my sister in law at her own house! Derrick saw me crush the paper and picked it up from the grounds as it had fallen from my shaking hands. Derrick too looked just as angry.
"I will find who ordered this hit and make them pay," Derrick growled.
"Wrong." I said. "We. We are going to find them, Loki." Derrick nodded his approval and held out his hand for a hand shake. I took it and we bro hugged. I caught Zoey's eyes and she looked a little scared at the fact that Fred and Shaggy didn't look happy anymore. It looked like she thought she was in trouble.
"That is, after Velma's birthday party. Right Scoob?" I said smiling at Zoey. Zoey smiled back and said "Ookuss Fed!" We walked back inside (while Eliza and Jordan attended to the SWAT team before leaving) and proceeded to enjoy Tina's party. The news of the attack on my mind every few minutes however. I was right about what I had said though. Derrick and I were going to find who was responsible for this and make...them… pay.