Liam
It was nearly one in the morning when we got back home, and I've never been more relieved to fall into bed. I had had fun, and met some really cool agents, but there was also a lot of pressure. It was like I could feel the weight of everyone's expectations crushing me the second I said my name. It's not my parents' fault that they're SHIELD legends, but every now and then I found myself wondering what it would be like to have parents who were accountants or history teachers.
By the time I woke up the next morning it was almost seven. I took my time going through my workout in the gym, before taking a quick shower and heading to the main kitchen to start breakfast.
"Morning." Sasha said, walking into the kitchen and making a cup of coffee. She must have taken a shower after her morning run because I caught the light citrusy scent of her body wash when I walked past her to get a mixing bowl. Not that I know kind of body wash she uses, I'm just assuming that's what it was.
"Good morning to you too." I said, pulling a box of pancake mix from the pantry and debating whether or not I could fit the whole thing into one mixing bowl.
"I never said it was good." She said, perching herself on the counter next to the stove. "And you don't have to make that much, nobody over the age of 22 is home."
"What do you mean?" I asked pulling the milk and eggs from the fridge.
"Pepper left for a conference in Beijing at 03:00 hours, and SHIELD requested everyone else around 05:00 hours for some sort of international catastrophe. Even Uncle Bruce went in. Andrew and Izzy are in charge."
"Is that really necessary? I mean, Sophie, Ella, and I are the only legal minors. How much trouble can we get into?"
"I think they're mostly concerned about leaving an engineering prodigy, three lethal teenagers, and a hacking expert together in one building with no supervision. I don't think Ella is even part of the perceived problem." She paused to take a sip of her coffee. "You know, when I was your age we didn't have fancy pancake mixes. We made them from scratch and cooked them over a fire."
"You were my age two weeks ago Sasha, not two centuries." I said, trying to be irritated, but I caught the glint of mischief in her grey-blue eyes that said she was just trying to get under my skin. Gosh, she has gorgeous eyes. Yanking my attention back to the task at hand, I began sorting out the ingredients. At which point I realized I was going to need the measuring cup that was currently in the drawer beneath Sasha's butt.
I came to stand directly in front of her, just an arms length away. She quirked an eyebrow over her mug of coffee. "Did you need something?"
"Measuring cup." I said, glancing at the drawer behind her legs. When I looked back up I couldn't help but notice the way the counter had evened out our heights. Usually the nine inch difference between us put her face level with my sternum, but now all I had to do was take take a step forward, tilt my head down a little, and I could… No you can't, she doesn't care for you like that.
She drained the contents of her mug. "Looks like you've got a problem."
"Can you please just move your legs for a second?"
I wondered if she could feel the way the air between us became electrically charged when she asked "And if I don't?"
"Then I'll move them for you." Had she gotten closer, or had I?
She leaned back on her hands, and I was equally disappointed and grateful that she had put a little more distance between us. "I kind of like the sound of that."
"Suit yourself." I said, immediately scooping her up and plopping her back down on the counter next to the sink as quickly as possible.
"That spot was comfy." She pouted.
Oh gosh, don't think about how cute she is when she's pouting. "Sorry." I shrugged and pulled out the measuring cup I had been looking for.
She refilled her mug before returning to her original spot, letting her feet swing over the floor as she watched me start mixing the pancake batter. Sasha is sort of difficult to explain. Despite her small size, she tends to have a very… commanding presence. It can be pretty intense sometimes.
Especially times like this when she's watching me like she's deciding the best way to tear me apart with her bare hands. "What?" I asked, after what felt like an hour. It had probably only been a few minutes.
"Nothing." She said shortly, still giving me that unnerving look.
I was about to press the issue when the elevator doors opened and Ella and Sophie walked in with Andrew and Nolan trailing behind them, bringing with them a flurry of conversation.
Ten hours later
Nolan
"So, are you gonna explain it to me?" I asked, hauling myself onto the balance beam.
"Explain what?" Kyler asked. I was currently having my butt kicked at a game called "sniper" which was basically Sasha and Kyler's version of dodge ball, involving two players, a gymnastics beam and a bb gun.
Despite our actions last night, we seemed to be back to square one, teasing flirting, constantly teetering on the edge of something more. I wasn't going to push it though. If Kyler regretted what had happened last night, then we could go right back to being whatever we had been before, and I wasn't going to try to turn it into something else. Which probably would have been a lot easier if I hadn't become so hopelessly addicted to her.
"The tattoo."
She pretended to think about it. "Alright, if you can avoid my next shot, I'll tell you why I got the tattoo."
I watched closely as she took aim, somersaulting down the beam as soon as she went for the trigger. "Ha! You didn't get me!" I cried victoriously.
"Congratulations. You're finally on the board." She said dryly, putting the gun away. I hopped off the beam and sat down on the couch in the corner. "You sore?" I asked, noticing the way she rubbed her shoulder.
"No." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Okay, I'm a little stiff." She admitted.
"Come here." I said and she obediently settled herself on the floor in front of me. "How did this happen?" I asked, kneading at a knot in her shoulder. It felt nice to be in close contact with her again, making her inhale sharply as I worked out the knots I had created in the taught muscles of her back.
"Some jerk had me pinned against a wall last night."
"You didn't seem to mind." I said, working my hands up toward her neck. She closed her eyes, humming her appreciation, though I wasn't sure if it was for the massage or the previous night's activities. "So," I ran my thumb over the little arrow, "what's the story? I know about the delta tattoo, that one makes sense. But, what's with the arrow?"
She rested her head against my knee. "It's about choices; A reminder to myself of the impact that a single decision can make."I kept massaging her shoulders, hoping she would give a more detailed explanation. "Do you know how my parents met?" She asked.
That was a little out of the blue. "Yeah, they were 'STRIKE team: Delta, SHIELD's finest team of assassins.'" I said. "Everyone knows that."
"That's true, but it's not how they met. My mom wasn't always… the way she is now. I won't waste your time with details, but she had gotten SHIELD's attention in a bad way. My dad was sent to kill her." She paused for a moment, letting me absorb that little tidbit. "He told me that to this day he doesn't know why he didn't shoot her. By all accounts he should have let that arrow fly- he had no reason to trust her. Can you imagine if he had though?" I tried to wrap my mind around all the ways the world would be different. In the end it came down to one startling fact: Kyler would have never been born. "That's why I got the arrow." She finished. "As a reminder that our actions have consequences."
I was about to respond whenElla appeared in the doorway. "There you are! We're going to the movies in twenty minutes if you guys want to come."
Kyler rose to her feet. "Sounds fun, Ells. I'll be up in a few."
Ella turned her head towards me. "Yeah, same here."
"Great!" she said, heading back towards back into the elevator. "I'll go tell the others."
After hitting the showers ("Separately. We're on a schedule."), Kyler and I took the elevator to the garage.
Kyler was already pulling on her favorite leather jacket when I joined the group.
"That one's impossible to park." Andrew was saying. Apparently they were trying to decide which car to take.
"This one." Sasha said, tossing a set of keys to Isabelle.
Izzy's brown eyes glanced down at the insignia on the key. "But it only seats five."
Kyler picked up her motorcycle helmet. "Sasha and I can ride our bikes. Who wants to come with?" Nobody. "Ella?" She tried. "Come on, live a little. It'll be fun." Kyler persisted, handing Ella a helmet too. She carefully pulled it on, tucking her hair up into it.
"I guess that settles it then." Andrew said, and the rest of us piled into the car, leading the way to the movie theater.
Two and a half hours later
Kyler
We where being followed. We were just a few miles from home when I noticed the car that had been behind us for several blocks. "Sasha, we've got a tail. Black SUV two cars behind us." I said, knowing she could hear me through the bluetooth in the helmets.
"Copy that. Threat level?" I could feel Ella's arm tightening around my waist as she and Sasha awaited my threat assessment.
"Probably just photographers." I said, trying not to scare Ella. "We should split from the car just in case though. I want to see who they're after."
"Got it. We'll go right on the next side street."
"Call Nolan." I ordered into the speaker. He picked up after the first ring. "We've got a tail." I said without preamble. "Sasha and I are splitting off. Are you armed?"
"All good here. And you guys?"
"If one of us has to fight, the other will get Ella out." I said. "There can't be more than six assailants, we should be fine."
"Alright, I'll tell Andrew so we can reroute. We'll meet you back home." He agreed. "And you better be in one piece when you get there."
"Or what?" I smirked. "You'll spank me?"
"Don't tempt me." He said firmly before hanging up.
Sasha and I split off at the next side street as planned, and continued zig-zagging our way back to the Tower through alleys and side streets. Every time I thought we had managed to lose our tail, that black sedan would turn a corner and appear behind us again. They weren't even trying to be subtle anymore.
The fact that they had followed us and not the car was either good, or really bad. On the one hand, it meant I was probably right about it being paparazzi looking for easier targets than a car with tinted bulletproof glass. On the other hand, it meant that if I was wrong, there was going to be a fight before we made it home.
"You alright back there?" I asked Ella as we turned back onto a busier should buy us a little time to distance ourselves from them.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." She said.
"That's probably motion sickness." I replied. "Take a couple deep breaths. Trust me, you do not want to toss your cookies with that helmet on."
"Turn left up here." Sasha said. I did as she instructed, turning left, then right, then right again.
"It's a dead end." I said.
My sister swore under her breath as we both hit the brakes, coming to a stop at the end of the alley. Naturally, it was at that moment that the SUV rounded the corner, boxing us in.
"Guys," Ella whimpered. "I have a really bad feeling about this."
I took a mental inventory of the situation as the doors of the vehicle opened. "Ella, keep your helmet on, and follow me." I said as I took my helmet off, preparing for the fight ahead. Sasha already had her Glock drawn and aimed at the large men that were stepping out of the vehicle. I pulled my own gun from inside my jacket, covering Ella as I led her behind a dumpster. "Wait here." I ordered, not waiting for her to acknowledge the instruction before turning back towards our attackers. Six beefy guys with handguns had emerged from the car. Okay, so they weren't paparazzi.
The one in front leveled his weapon at my face. "Come with us and nobody gets hurt." He said.
"The gun pointed at my face doesn't really scream 'non-violent' to me." I said, aiming my own weapon at the space between his eyes.
"I don't wanna hurt you, sweetheart." That did it.
Ella yelped when the gun went off, but Sasha had been ready. As I launched myself at one of the other gunmen, she sprang forward as well, disarming one and landing on another. After that I was too caught up with the three men attacking me to keep up on her progress.
The one that I had shot was slowly crawling back to the vehicle, gasping in pain as his shattered kneecap dragged along the rough concrete. I ducked as one of my assailants kicked out at me, swiping his other leg out from under him. One of the others was on me immediately, but I blocked his hit and landed a hard kick in his chest. We were faring pretty well, until I felt a sharp prick in the side of my neck.
"Vous devez partir! Rentrer à la maison maintenant!" I called out, hoping none of our attackers spoke French. (You need to leave! Go back home now!)
"Je ne vais pas laisser sans vous!" Sasha said, throwing another punch. Of course she would refuse to leave without me. The edges of my vision were already blurring. Whatever drug they'd hit me with was working fast. If Sasha had any chance of getting out, she needed to do it now.
"Watashitachi wa ōku no jikan o motteinai!" I insisted, switching to Japanese so Ella wouldn't understand that time was running out. I was becoming less stable on my feet, slow and inaccurate in my movements. I looked over to her, telling her that she needed to leave in that language that only the two of us knew.
Finally, she understood. With one swift kick to her opponent's trachea she got back on her bike and pulled it up next to the dumpster. Ella was barely on the seat when she shot off, steering with one hand and preparing to shoot with the other.
The last thing I saw as a rough hand wrapped around my neck was my sister's red hair trailing behind her as the two of them rounded the corner and sped out of sight.
Sasha
Liam and Nolan were waiting in the garage for us. Ella had barely been able to make the call to her brother, telling him where to meet us, and by the time we pulled in she was visibly shaking and on the verge of tears. They rushed up to us before I even killed the engine, Liam taking off his sister's helmet and helping her off the bike, and Nolan looking lost for words. "Take her to Andrew, make sure she's not going into shock. Then get Sophie and meet us in the office." I said to Liam.
"What happened back there?" Nolan asked, following me into the elevator.
"It was six on two. They drugged her and she told me to get Ella out." I said, slamming the button for the floor that housed the private labs. "They would have taken the three of us if she hadn't stayed behind."
"Do you have any idea who's behind this?" He asked. The elevator doors opened and we both stepped out, walking briskly to the room at the end of the hall.
"Nope, but we're going to find out." I said as we reached our destination. The office had been our classroom once upon a time, and it was exactly what we needed. "Jarvis, secure the room and get my mother on the line." I said, switching on the holo-table and firing up the monitors against the far wall. Almost instantly the room was plunged into darkness as the blinds slapped shut and the door locked from the inside.
Light washed over us as my mother's figure appeared over the holo-table. "Mom, are you with Dad?" I asked, cutting off her greeting.
"Yes." She said calmly. "Why?"
"Where are you guys?"
"You know I can't tell you tha-" She started, but I cut her off again.
"Kyler's just been drugged and kidnapped. Where are you guys?" I repeated firmly.
She knew I was really asking how long it was going to take them to get back. She tucked her hair being her ear. "We're grounded. I'm assuming you haven't seen the news?" I shook my head. "We'll be home as soon as possible, I promise. In the meantime, you need to do what you can. Do you understand?" I nodded. "Alright." And with that she was gone.
Sometimes I wondered if when she looked at me, my mother still saw the scared little three year-old that would run into her room after every nightmare. But now I was living one, and that girl was gone - she had learned that Mommy has nightmares too. She had become me, and I had learned how to face my nightmares.
As soon as the image disappeared, the door unlocked and Liam came bursting in with Isabelle and Sophie right behind him. "You need to see this." Isabelle said, handing me her tablet. The screen was flipping between multiple newscasts, all of which read 'breaking news' somewhere on the screen.
"… has been deemed an act of international cyber-terrorism. Sadly, the hack has already resulted in three fatal plane crashes, and airlines are scrambling for a solution before more lives are lost." I flipped the tablet off.
"I don't think there's a connection, but stay up to date just in case." I turned to Liam. "Ella?"
"Andrew thinks she'll be okay once she gets the adrenaline out of her system." He didn't mention the wet spot on his shirt from where his sister had been crying on his shoulder.
"Okay, Sophie I need you on every traffic camera within ten blocks of here." I said, pointing to the map on the holo-table. She nodded, brushing her ginger hair behind her ears and settling in front of the screens across the room. "Nolan, you need to get whatever you can from the audio and video feeds in our helmets. Liam, stay here and help them." I turned to Isabelle. "Grab a jacket and a field kit. You're coming with me."
"Where are we going?"
"To get answers." We needed to get whatever evidence we could from the scene of the attack before it was compromised.
The alley was eerily quiet for New York. "Here." I said, pulling a flashlight from the glove compartment. I handed it to Izzy before pulling my own from my jacket pocket. The two lights swept slowly over the shadowy area, sliding over the walls, the dumpster, and the mess on the ground. I could hear Isabelle's sharp intake of breath when her light found the thick smear of blood on the concrete.
"It's not hers." I assured her. Nodding, she got to work, slipping on latex gloves and opening up the field kit she had brought while I did my best to light up her current workspace. They hadn't left much behind other than a decent sized blood sample,a couple of bullets and casings, and Kyler's bike and helmet.
"It's a good start." Izzy said, squeezing my shoulder. She got back into the car as I mounted Kyler's bike. "Stick close to the car okay?" I wasn't sure if it was so I could watch her back or so she could watch mine. Maybe it was a little bit of both.
Okay, if you haven't visited the Q&A blog yet, you're missing out! Please head over to tlosad . tumblr . com (there's a link to it in my bio too) and ask some questions and check out chapter previews and Asset Profiles. And of course, if you've got a minute to review it would make my day!