Eyeing the small shop in front of him, Ryan sighed and tucked his phone in his pocket.
"Should've listened to Tommy," he grumbled as he walked toward the door. "Should have just paid Jason the cash. But no. I'll just owe him a favor—no big deal. And now I'm here…"
Taking a deep breath, he pulled open the door and stepped inside. Not bothering to remove his sunglasses, he took a quick look around. The shop was empty except for four people, two of which he recognized from pictures.
"Ok, her hair was not pink in the picture," Ryan muttered to himself as he looked at Vida.
She was at the DJ booth, laughing as she danced to the music she was playing.
"What was that?" someone asked off to Ryan's right.
He turned to look more closely at who it was, looking the kid up and down and immediately dismissing him. Ryan hadn't seen any pictures of the boys, but he knew immediately that the kid at the counter wasn't the one he was looking for. He was wearing green under his uniform shirt meaning he had to be their green, Xander.
"Nothing," Ryan said dismissively, turning away again.
Scanning the store one more time, Ryan frowned when he didn't see the one he was looking for. Madison and Vida were both there with Xander along with one more boy with red hair. But he was wearing yellow which made him Chip.
"So, anyone else here?" Ryan asked casually, glancing toward Xander again.
Xander frowned.
"No, just us," he said slowly. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Ryan sighed.
"Maybe," he said. "Where's your boss?"
"Toby?" Xander said, sounding a little surprised. "He's not here today. But I'm the assistant manager so maybe I can—"
"Not that boss, kid," Ryan interrupted. "Your other one."
"I don't have another one," Xander frowned. "So what can I help you with?"
"Sure you do," Ryan scoffed. "And all I want to know is where I can find him—or at least when he's going to be back."
"What's your name?" Xander said. "I can try giving Toby a call—"
"Call me Ryan," Ryan said. "And no need."
Xander nodded and took a deep breath.
"Alright, Ryan," said Xander. "Why do you need Toby?"
"I don't need Toby," Ryan said impatiently. "I need the other one. Don't know his actual name. But I'm supposed to give this to him."
Ryan briefly held up the envelope he was holding—long enough for Xander to see it was a letter of some kind, but not quite long enough for him to read anything on it or see the seal. Xander sighed and held out a hand.
"I can give it to Toby when he comes in tomorrow," he said. "Or leave it on his desk. But he'll get it. You can trust me."
Ryan snorted.
"Sure, kid," he said. "But no can do. Has to go straight to him and no one else—boss's orders. And I am still not talking about Toby."
"Listen carefully," Xander said agitatedly. "The only boss I have is Toby. He isn't here today. If you won't give the letter to me, you'll have to come back tomorrow. If it's that big of an emergency I can call him, but—"
"You know what?" Ryan interrupted again, shaking his head. "I'll just wait. He's bound to show up sooner or later with the rest of you around. That's how it works."
Ryan turned and walked away from Xander, leaving the young ranger at the counter. Ignoring the stares of all four of the young rangers—the other three having been listening in from partway through the conversation—he stalked over to one of the armchairs where he would be able to see anyone coming in. Sitting down, Ryan made himself comfortable and pulled out his phone. After making sure the letter was tucked safely away and out of reach, he settled in to wait.
"Oh good," he muttered to himself, looking at his messages. "I haven't even been here five minutes and Rex is already texting me…"
Name Key
Jason~Big Red
Trini~Tiger
Carter~Fearless Leader
Dana~Sis
TJ~Chocolate Thunder
Zach~Zach Attack
Tommy~Dino Doc
Hayley~Tech Queen
Ethan~Dinobrat 2
Kira~Dinobrat 3
Captain Mitchell~Dad
Big Red: Have you given it to him yet? Don't stick around long. I don't want them cornering you.
Ryan: Nope. I'm stuck here. You really should have planned this better—like sending me when he was actually present.
Big Red: You mean none of them are there?
Ryan: Four of them are. But you told me to give it to the red. He's not.
Big Red: Well, make sure you give it to the red. I don't want it getting left around for someone else to see.
Ryan: And that's why I'm still here.
How long am I supposed to wait?
Big Red: Until he gets there.
Ryan: … Great… Guess I'm texting Carter to tell him I'm going to be late. Don't wanna get locked out of Aqua Base…
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: I'm going to be late getting home. Can you make sure they don't lock me out?
Fearless Leader: Of course.
Where are you? And why did you take one of my shirts?
Ryan: I didn't take one of your shirts.
Fearless Leader: We have you on camera, Ryan. You were in my room and when you left you were wearing a red shirt.
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: By the way Jase…
[picture message: shows part of Ryan in the bottom corner with Vida at the DJ booth in the background]
You didn't tell me your sister's hair was pink.
Big Red: I forgot she dyed it.
Ryan? Why are you wearing a red shirt?
Ryan: It was laundry day and all of my shirts were dirty. So I borrowed one of Carter's.
He had like 20 of them piled up.
Don't worry, I'm still wearing black.
Big Red: But black isn't even your color. It's silver.
Ryan: Titanium.
Big Red: Close enough.
Ryan: Fine, brass ranger.
Big Red: I'm gold, not brass!
Ryan: Close enough.
Big Red: Ok. I get your point. You still aren't wearing it.
Ryan: I look better in black.
NEW MESSAGE:
Fearless Leader: Are you going to answer me?
Ryan: No
Fearless Leader: But you just did.
NEW MESSAGE:
Big Red: Is he there yet?
Ryan. No.
Don't you think I'd tell you if I got to leave?
I'm bored already just sitting here. And Carter is starting to nag me about the shirt thing.
Big Red: Do you have any idea when he's going to get there?
Ryan: Not a clue. They wouldn't tell me.
Big Red: Great… Just keep an eye on them. If anything too suspicious happens get out of there. I don't want to have to come fish you out of a situation.
Ryan: Don't worry, I have my morpher. Never leave home without it.
And besides, you don't have to come fish my out. That's Carter's job.
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: You were right, Tommy. Next time I listen to you and just pay up. I am never owing Jason a favor again.
NEW MESSAGE:
Fearless Leader: Ryan, are you ignoring me?
NEW MESSAGE:
Dino Doc: Makng you do somthing painfull?
Ryan: Yeah. I'm here doing his dirty work for him.
Dino Doc: I trid t warn you
Ryan: And next time I'll listen to that.
Are you ok? You're spelling is a little off.
Dino Doc: Yeah. I'm fne. I dont' hav my glases on.
Ryan: Why?
Dino Doc: I don' usuall wear them t bed.
Ryan: Bed? What time is it there?
Dino Doc: 2:13am
Ryan: Oops. Forgot about the time change. Why are you answering a text at 2 in the morning?
Dino Doc: Jaes made me promse ot answer al messages right away aftr i ignored him.
Ryan: My bad. Go back to sleep.
NEW MESSAGE:
Big Red: You really shouldn't carry your morpher around casually like that…
But what's going on?
Ryan: They're working, I'm sitting, Tommy's sleeping.
Big Red: Yeah. He should be. It's nighttime wherever he is.
Ryan: Well I know that now.
Big Red: Ryan! Actually, I'm surprised he even heard the text. From what I've heard Anton has been keeping him pretty well drugged at night to make sure he doesn't go anywhere he shouldn't.
Ryan: Drugged? Why?
Big Red: He fell in a hole and sprained his ankle pretty bad. They could've gotten a cart, but with the letters and everything they decided the tent was better. Anyway he's fine now just easier to keep him confined.
Ryan: Sounds like Tommy to me.
NEW MESSAGE:
Sis: Ryan, stop ignoring Carter. We know you have your phone. Now where are you?
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: Zach, aren't you staying with Jason right now? Go tell him to stop bugging me.
Zach Attack: Oh! You're texting Jason? Call him Goldie locks. I wanna see his reaction.
Ryan: Alright. But if he asks I'm blaming it on you.
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: By the way, Goldie locks, I am never owing you a favor again. I'm bored and they keep staring at me.
Big Red: We'll see about that. Brb. I have to go kill Zach.
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: Run, dude. He's coming.
Zach Attack: Oh, I'm already outta there. If you need me I'll be at my parents'.
NEW MESSAGE
Sis: Ryan, this isn't funny. Answer one of us.
Ryan: I'm sorry, but you have reached Ryan's automated texting. He is not available right now. Please leave a text and he will get back to you as soon as possible.
Sis: Ryan Mitchell! Answer me right now!
NEW MESSAGE:
Tiger: Ryan, what did you say to Jason? He's more agitated now than when Tommy was ducking his calls.
Ryan: Oh. Tommy is sleeping, he shouldn't be calling him right now.
Tiger: You didn't wake him up, did you?
Ryan: It was an accident…
Tiger: *sigh* So did you deliver the letter yet?
Ryan: No. He's not here!
Tiger: I told Jason he should have checked before sending you over there…
Ryan: No kidding. They're all staring at me…
Though it is kind of fun. I think I'm freaking them out. They don't know what to do with me.
Tiger: Please behave yourself and don't embarrass us. Good luck.
NEW MESSAGE:
Sis: Ryan, you are so immature! Quit ignoring my phone calls!
Ryan: No can do. Inappropriate audience for phone calls.
NEW MESSAGE:
Big Red: Did you warn Zach? He got away…
And has he shown up yet?
Ryan: Nope. Nothin.
Big Red: You know that's really unhelpful. When are you going to grow up?
Ryan: Don't know. Might not. It's more fun this way.
Angela said something about Peter Pan Syndrome once. But I stopped listening after she said syndrome.
NEW MESSAGE:
Dinobrat 2: Are you in Briarwood?
You're phone says you're in Briarwood and we're not supposed to be in Briarwood.
I'm tracking your GPS. Hayley has the computer programmed to go off if anyone goes there.
Conner wants to know if you really are in Briarwood.
And if you've seen the rangers.
Have you seen the rangers?
Ryan: Uh… What?
Dinobrat 2: Seriously, man. Jason is gonna be ticked if he finds out you're in Briarwood without his permission.
And have you tracked down where their lair is? Cause if it's outside of Briarwood city limits it's fair game.
Jason wouldn't give us the exact location…
So can you give us one?
We won't tell him you told us.
Ryan: No. I'm not there. Well, I am in Briarwood, but I'm not trying to find their base… Jason knows I'm here!
Dinobrat 2: Darn…
Conner wants to know if you're there to punish the rangers.
Cause if you are we're coming to help. We already called dibs.
And we have a whole list of ideas.
NEW MESSAGE:
Sis: Ryan, where are you that you can't answer my calls?
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: Jase, am I supposed to be talking to the Dino team? Ethan is spamming me…
Big Red: No! Don't talk to them. They aren't even supposed to know you're there.
Ryan: Well, they figured it out. Apparently Hayley has some kind of alert system set up to tell her if any of us come close to the city and Ethan and Conner saw me here…
Big Red: Great… Just what I needed.
NEW MESSAGE:
Dinobrat 3: Ryan, Hayley says I have to tell you to ignore Ethan and Conner.
And now that I told you that, please feel free to do whatever you want. We won't hold it against you.
Ryan: Jason already shot it down, kid. But nice try.
Dinobrat 3: *sigh* Worth a shot…
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: Jason, I'm bored. Do I really have to wait for their red?
Big Red: Yes! You know how this works, Ryan.
Ryan: Doesn't mean I have to like waiting.
Big Red: Play a game on your phone while you wait.
Ryan: Don't have any.
Big Red: I've seen your phone. You have like fifty games on it.
Ryan: Not this one. Standard issue, no extras.
Big Red: Since when do you have a standard issue phone?
Ryan: Well…Since I broke my other one.
Angela wouldn't put anything other than my contacts on this one… Says I have to wait until my new phone comes in for that.
Big Red: What did you do to it?
Ryan: Umm… Long story short it's at the bottom of the bay and Chad said he wasn't going for it.
Big Red: Somehow that doesn't surprise me…
NEW MESSAGE:
Tech Queen: Please disregard anything the kids may have said. I know why you're there and it would not be a good idea to instigate something when you're by yourself.
Ryan: Don't worry. I'm just sitting here being mysterious and freaking them out without lifting a finger. It's fun.
Tech Queen: By all means, then, carry on.
Oh, and by the way, don't text Tommy anymore. He really does need to sleep once in a while.
Ryan: Sorry, Hayley…
NEW MESSAGE:
Dad: Stop ignoring your sister and Carter.
Ryan: But I'm busy.
Dad: Sure. Because it's that time consuming to drop off a letter.
Ryan: Dad, I'm still here! Their red hasn't shown up yet…
Dad: Alright, finish what you're there to do and then call your sister to apologize.
I should not have to do this. You are both adults, not children.
Ryan: Aw, come on, dad. This is how we play. You missed this while we were growing up, so we're just making up for it now.
NEW MESSAGE:
Chocolate Thunder: so did youg ive them the leter yet
Ryan: Who is this?
Chocolate Thunder: tj
Ryan: When did you have my phone?! I did NOT set your id to Chocolate Thunder.
Chocolate Thunder: but thats what i am :)
Ryan: Don't touch my phone.
Chocolate Thunder: so did ya give it 2 them
andros wants 2 kno
Ryan: Nope. Their red isn't here and Jason says I have to give it to him.
Chocolate Thunder: well they better hurry theyre runnin out of time
Ryan: I know. I'll tell you once I deliver it.
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: Ok. I'm sorry. I promise I won't steal anymore of Carter's shirts.
Sis: Thank you.
Ryan: Unless I really, really need one.
Sis: Ryan!
Ryan: Ok, ok. Geez. I thought siblings were supposed to share.
Sis: They should also ask permission instead of just taking something that doesn't belong to them. And stay out of other people's rooms.
Just ask next time. Please.
Ryan: Alright. I will.
NEW MESSAGE:
Ryan: You know, next time I'm doing you a favor we need to plan this ahead. He's still not here…It's been two hours.
Big Red: Oh, suck it up. I could've made you do something a lot worse.
Ryan: Oh yeah? Like what?
Big Red: I could have sent you to keep Tommy's kids busy while someone else delivered the letter.
Ryan: NO! You know what, this is great! No problems here.
Big Red: That's what I thought.
Ryan: Someone just came in the back. Aha! He's here and I'm out!
"That guy is seriously starting to creep me out," Vida muttered, glancing at the stranger in the chair again.
The other three nodded in agreement. They were all crowded around the front counter, talking quietly as they tried to decide what to do with Ryan. It had been just over two hours since he arrived and he hadn't moved from his seat—or even taken his jacket and sunglasses off.
"What do you think he wants?" Madison asked quietly, looking at Xander. "You talked to him."
"I don't know," Xander said, shaking his head. "All he would tell me is that he had a letter for our boss—but he won't let me take it. And he kept insisting it wasn't Toby. I think he's just crazy."
"But this is the only place we work," Chip frowned.
"And I told him that," Xander said. "He wouldn't listen."
"Should we ask him to leave?" Madison asked hesitantly.
They all paused, looking over at the man in the chair.
"Great idea," Vida said. "Xander, why don't you try? You're closest in size."
Xander scowled at her.
"Not a chance," he said. "Not by myself."
They all heard the back door open and turned.
"Nick's back," Madison said quickly. "I'm going to tell him what's going on."
Darting away, she went to intercept Nick before he came all the way inside. She found him hanging up his cloak in the breakroom and grabbing his uniform shirt.
"Hey, Maddy," he smiled as she came rushing up to him.
Seeing the look on her face, he frowned.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked, glancing behind her.
"It's nothing too serious," she said. "At least we don't think so…"
"Then what is it?"
Madison took a deep breath.
"There's a man here," she said, starting to explain as they headed out to the shop. "He says his name is Ryan and he got here about two hours ago insisting on talking to our boss."
"But Toby isn't here today," Nick frowned.
"And we told him that," she said. "But he claims it isn't Toby he wants. And he's just been sitting in a chair on his phone since—he hasn't even taken off his sunglasses. The guy is starting to creep all of us out…"
Walking out into the main shop, Nick nodded, his gaze quickly falling on the one person he didn't recognize, meaning he had to be the Ryan Madison had been talking about. To his surprise, the stranger was looking straight at him. Standing abruptly, he walked straight toward Nick.
"Took you long enough," Ryan said. "I was beginning to think you'd never show. Here—delivery for you."
Ryan thrust a letter toward Nick, which he grabbed to keep it from falling on the ground.
"Sir, I don't own this shop—" Nick started to protest.
"I'm aware of that," Ryan said.
He lowered his sunglasses for just a moment, peering over them to look Nick up and down. Nick scowled back.
"But I never said I was looking for the shop owner," he continued, settling his sunglasses back in place. "I said I was looking for their boss—that's you. And now that you have the letter, I'm out of here."
He turned, starting to head toward the door.
"I'd read that somewhere private," he said over his shoulder. "And as soon as possible. It's your last chance, so don't screw it up. You've already made yourself enough enemies for the moment. The Power protect you."
"Now wait a minute," Nick snapped. "What is all this about?"
Ryan paused in the doorway.
"Think it through, rookie," he smirked, giving them a quick two-fingered salute.
Then, without another word, Ryan slipped out and let the door shut behind him. For a moment, none of the young rangers moved. Then, suddenly, Chip snatched the letter out of Nick's hands.
"This is it!" he exclaimed excitedly, closely examining the back. "Guys, this is what we've been waiting for!"
"Chip, give that back," Nick said, taking the letter. "Now what are you talking about?"
He frowned as he looked over the envelope.
"It's addressed to Mystic Force…" Nick said slowly.
Chip nodded, bouncing in place.
"And the seal on the back is from the original Mighty Morphin' red!" he said triumphantly. "He finally answered!"
Everyone crowded closer to Nick as he flipped the letter over to see for himself.
"Wait a minute," Madison said, her head shooting up. "But Ryan was wearing—you don't think it was him, do you?"
They all exchanged looks and then all five darted for the door. Crowding out onto the sidewalk, they all looked around for any sign of Ryan. But he was nowhere in sight. Disappointed that they'd let him walk away, they all moved back inside.
"Open it, open it," Chip said excitedly.
"Alright, give me a second," Nick said, starting to open the letter.
Then he paused.
"Actually," he said, turning to Chip. "Why don't you read it? After all, this whole thing was your idea."
"Really?" Chip said, taking the letter.
"Go on, Chip," Vida smiled. "Read it."
Nodding, Chip quickly finished opening the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. Taking a deep breath, he started to read it out loud.
Mystic Force Rangers,
Your persistence in continuously sending letters has finally demanded my immediate attention. Despite what you may believe, I have not been idle in my observation of your team. I am aware of what you have accomplished in your short time as rangers. But, despite your familiarity, it was not your move to contact us. It has always been our right to approach new teams when we were ready, but now you have forced my hand.
Therefore, in the interest of preserving our identities and resolving all issues, I have decided that it is time you finally meet us as we truly are face-to-face as a team—no more secrets. I will not, however, reveal the details of the meeting here. There is always a chance this letter could fall into the wrong hands and I will not compromise my teammates in such a way. To that end, if you still wish to meet with us, be at Rootcore in one hour. If you are not there I will take it as a rejection of my offer to meet. This is your only chance—I will not offer a second one.
Do not take this meeting lightly. I will be waiting for your answer.
May the Power protect you all,
Mighty Morphin' Red
Chip finished reading and looked up at his teammates, not entirely sure what to think of the letter. It said they were going to get to meet him, but didn't really answer any of their questions. For a moment no one said anything.
"Guys?" Xander said, glancing at the clock. "He said one hour. We close in three…"
All of them whipped around to look at the clock.
"So what do we do?" Vida asked, looking around. "No one else is here…"
"Relax," Nick said. "Just close up shop. We probably won't have anymore customers tonight anyways and if we do we'll deal with Toby tomorrow. So lock up fast and let's get out of here."
Nodding, the five split up to lock the shop and get to Rootcore before they missed the deadline.
Soon as Ryan left the shop, he made a beeline for his car. As slow as the new team appeared to be at moment, he knew it wouldn't take them long to figure out he had to be involved in the rangers somehow once they got a good look at that letter—and he didn't want to be here when they did. Jason had been adamant that Ryan speak to them as little as possible. Speeding off down the road, Ryan pulled out his cell.
Andros? The package has been delivered. Start the countdown.