Chapter Eighty Eight – Danger Zone

Smiles were hardly scary things, but sometimes they could manage to be unsettling for a variety of reasons. The size of Ben's grin was the scary part at the moment. He was beyond excited, almost mad scientist like. There had to be something he wasn't telling her. They were heading off to Clarissa's house for some kind of water event that Ben hadn't truly explained. All he'd told her was to wear something she wouldn't mind getting wet and to bring an extra set of clothes. With how hot it was outside she was rather looking forward to getting wet, but she wanted more details.

"Alright, Ben. You look like you're ready to burst. Talk. What are we doing today?"

"Something we do every year."

"That tells me nothing."

"Does knowing that Suvi will love it help?"

Olivia rolled her eyes at him. Of course Suvi would enjoy it. Whatever they were doing would involve water. For Suvi that pretty much guaranteed enjoyment. She dropped her elbow onto the edge of the window and rested her head in her hand so she could stare at him. Ben's eyes flickered toward her and his smile grew to jack o' lantern size. Olivia had to bite back her annoyance. He was an absolute master at driving her nuts by simply keeping silent.

"No," she shot back at him with a bit of a bite.

"What if I told you you'll probably be good at it thanks to your previous skill set?"

Olivia frowned and her forehead wrinkled as she tried to figure out what that meant. She didn't even understand a piece of it. What skill set was he even talking about?

"What does that even mean?"

"Guess you'll just have to wait and find out."

He fell silent for the rest of the trip and simply grinned at her. She didn't try to get any more out of him since there was no point. No matter what she did he wasn't going to spill. When they pulled up to Clarissa's house Olivia saw Tommy and Chase running back and forth from the house to the yard filling up a kiddie pool with buckets of water. Both of them were already in their swim trunks and ready to go. Thrown in a pile near the pool was a stack of water guns. They weren't the little basic kind either. Ben's cryptic hint finally clicked. It was her marksmanship Ben had been talking about. They were going to have a water gun fight. A big one from the looks of things. A flicker of excitement flashed through her. She'd never had a water gun fight before, either big or small. Hopefully Ben was right and her skill with a real gun would translate to skill with a water gun because she totally needed to take him down.

Ben stepped out of the car, threw his arms wide, and called out, "Bring on the super soakers!"

Tommy and Chase instantly dropped their buckets and raced over.

"Uncle Ben!"

Ben immediately became engaged in something that resembled a hug and rough housing. Olivia didn't understand it at all, but the boys were certainly enjoying it. Based on Suvi's excited tail wagging and perky ears he thought whatever Ben was doing looked like fun too. Or it could have been because of the water. Olivia wasn't really sure. They were still busy messing around when Clarissa stepped out of the house.

"Did Ben tell you what you're in for?"

Olivia chuckled softly and shook her head.

"No, but I think I have it figured out."

"Good. You might be at a slight disadvantage though. We do this every year."

Before Olivia could answer Kinsey came jogging out the front door, letting the screen slam closed behind her.

"The backyard is all set. Are they done up here?"

"Good enough, I think," Clarissa confirmed after she checked the depth of the water.

That was all Kinsey needed to hear. She headed for the pile of guns and started digging through them to find the one she wanted.

"Come and pick your weapon, Olivia," she said before calling out to warn her brothers. "Guys, if you don't come soon you're going to be stuck with what's left over."

Tommy and Chase scrambled over at breakneck speed, determined to get the super soakers they wanted. Olivia and Clarissa weren't anywhere near as picky and simply waited for the kids to hand them whatever guns they didn't want.

"Ben?" Olivia said to draw his attention as she held a gun out to him.

He shook his head and jiggled a bucket he was holding, making the handle rattle against the side.

"I'm good."

"You're using a bucket?"

"Uncle Ben always uses a bucket," Chase confirmed in a tone of voice that said he didn't get it but knew he wasn't going to be able to convince his uncle that the super soakers were better.

"It's more fun this way," Ben confirmed. "More water to dump over someone's head."

Olivia could picture him catching someone off guard and simply upending the bucket about their head. It would definitely be an effective weapon. That was if he had the opportunity to use it. She was going to have to be alert enough to make sure she never gave him the opportunity to use it against her. Sure it was nice outside, but the thought of someone dumping a whole bucket of cold water over her head was not totally appealing.

"Can we start now?" Chase whined.

"Once everyone is filled up and ready," Clarissa told him.

While the kids filled their guns Olivia removed Suvi's leash and vest so he could enjoy the day too. He immediately made for the full kiddie pool. Poking his nose into the water and taking a sip was all the warning those gathered around the pool were going to get. A second later Suvi jumped in and basically took over. There wasn't much room to fill up water guns anymore. Olivia and Ben burst out laughing while the kids looked slightly indignant.

"Ten seconds," Clarissa called before beginning to count down.

"This is where you run and find where you want to start," Ben explained.

Olivia nodded and quickly realized she was the only one left in the front yard. That suited her just fine. She was going to make use of the fact that everyone would eventually have to return to the pool to refuel. A spot behind a tree would keep her partially hidden while still giving her a clear view of both sides of the house. Apparently more than just her marksmanship skills would come in handy. She knew how to shoot from cover, which was a skill she was definitely going to use. For a few moments there was silence, and then a scream rang out. Kinsey had been hit. She came pelting around the near side of the house with Tommy in hot pursuit. He kept pumping his super soaker and hitting her in the back. While she was trying to drench him in return, she had very little aim shooting blindly over her shoulder. Tommy looked perfectly dry to Olivia, but that wouldn't last for long. She took aim and fired.

Apparently her marksmanship with a super soaker was just as good as it was with a handgun. She hit Tommy dead on, dousing him in an unexpected stream of water. Kinsey grinned at Olivia in thanks and whirled to face her brother to begin her own assault. It was at that time that Suvi realized what was going on. There was more water than just the pool, and he was missing all of the fun. Suvi jumped out of the pool and raced toward Kinsey and Tommy, water running off his fur in a hundred little streams. He leaped upward taking a jet of water meant for Kinsey almost right in the mouth. Both kids kept trying to shoot around him, but Suvi hadn't given up on trying to intercept every blast of water.

Olivia was so distracted by her amusement with watching Suvi that she didn't notice Ben sneaking up behind her until it was almost too late. She darted to the side as he went to dump his bucket over her head. Thankfully she was quick enough that his attack didn't hit dead on. It did, however, land on her shoulder and go pouring over her back, front, and arm. When she'd reached into the pool to fill her gun she'd realized the water was cold. At the time it had felt rather refreshing. Now that it was dripping down half of her body she was changing her assessment of the water. It was absolutely freezing.

"Ben!" she screeched.

He took off toward the pool to refill his bucket. Now that he was unable to defend himself Olivia took the opportunity to pelt him with as much water as she could. Just as Ben bent over to scoop more water into his bucket Suvi dove back into the pool, essentially blocking Ben from reloading. Olivia grinned maniacally and hit Ben in the back of the head from only a foot away.

"Suvi, come on! Move!" Ben cried as Olivia continued her assault.

Instead of moving out of the way Suvi sprawled out even further. Realizing he was never going to get water with Suvi in the pool, Ben headed around to the back of the house. Olivia remained in hot pursuit, hitting him with water without fear of reprisal. At least none yet.

"You and Suvi are cheating!" Ben screamed over his shoulder.

"It's not cheating if I didn't ask him to do it!"

She pumped her gun in preparation for another shot and realized with great disappointment that she was out of water. Since there was no point in chasing Ben anymore she turned back and went to refill. Ben was definitely going to be coming after her every chance he could get now. She was going to have to come up with some kind of plan. An idea popped up, and she grinned. Without realizing it she'd already laid the groundwork for what could be the perfect plan.