It was 6. a.m. When Lincoln woke up, he could smell something cooking in the air.
"Ronnie Anne?" Lincoln said, realizing Ronnie Anne was out of bed.
To his surprise, Lincoln stepped out of the guest room to the kitchen. Ronnie Anne was there making breakfast, still wearing her sleepwear.
"Ronnie Anne?"
"Oh, morning, Linc,"
"Morning, I see you're still wearing that,"
Ronnie Anne blushed. "It's the only sleepwear I got, besides we slept in the same bed, so there is no reason to be so awkward,"
"Sorry,"
"Good, now sit down; breakfast is ready,"
Lincoln sat at the table while Ronnie Anne served breakfast chilaquiles to both of them while she sat across from him. As they ate, Lincoln noted the food tasted just like her Abuela Rosa's. Ronnie Anne was flattered since she had been taking cooking lessons occasionally from her Abuela. As Lincoln ate, he tried his hardest not to stare too hard at Ronnie Anne, the way she looked in her sleepwear, not to mention how beautiful she looked in general, so much so that a few perverted thoughts ran through his mind to his shame. Lincoln tried hard not to be noticed, not wanting to look like a creep, but Ronnie Anne did see and was flattered, so flattered that she started having her own perverted thought, most involved teasing, but she refused to do it. Lincoln still had a few questions that he wanted to ask.
"Hey, Ronnie Anne, were you serious about us trying again?"
"Well, yeah, that's why I asked. Why?"
"You're so attractive, and I have a lot of baggage to offload; I don't want to weigh you down with it, "
"Which is why I said I'm willing to wait till you're ready,"
"Ronnie Anne?"
"Linc, I know you got a lot on your plate, making up for the past six years, Lina and Sam, plus tracking down those assholes, but I don't want to put extra pressure on you. I am here for you, and while I won't intentionally put any pressure on you, I want you not to be afraid to show me more than friendship when you want to."
"Thanks,"
"Just don't expect any Lovey-dovey stuff from me like Bobby,"
"Ew, heck no; by the way, is it me, or did those two get worse?"
Ronnie Anne giggled but didn't answer. "So, have you thought of a cover story for when you make your big return?"
"Probably your classic origin story. I survived the crash, lost my memories, was raised by monks, and trained in mystic arts not known to western civilization. The usual."
"Well, comic books are more popular now, so I doubt anyone will complain. Though there most likely will be some skeptics."
Lincoln snorted. "What are they going to do? Prove me wrong?"
Ronnie Anne laughed. "Yeah, let them try and fail. that's for the best,"
After breakfast, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne got dressed and headed upstairs to the kitchen. To their surprise, Rita was there and was shocked to see Ronnie Anne.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Lincoln asked.
"Your father had to go to the police station to make a statement; what are you two doing here? I thought you took Ronnie Anne home."
"I was too tired to make the trip, so I let her stay with me for the night,"
"I hope you two used protection,"
"Mom!" yelled Lincoln, embarrassed "nothing like that happened!"
"To be honest, I don't think there's a condom big enough for that monster," thought Ronnie Anne.
"Mom, nothing happened, and I don't need "the talk" it's a little late for that,"
"and as much as I want to talk to you about having girls in your room, I don't have time," Rita added.
"What's wrong?"
"Since your father is at the station, he asked me to start the prep work,"
"What about Kotaro and Grant?"
"Grant no longer works here, and Kotaro is on vacation,"
"so, who's gonna wait tables?" asked Lincoln.
"Well, luckily, your father signed the restaurant up for a summer job program, so we're getting two interns for the summer,"
"What about the girls?"
"Your sisters are all busy with their jobs, and Lana and Lola took Lily and Lina to Camp Bluebell,"
"Lily and Lina are Bluebell Scouts?"
"yeah, and Lana and Lola work as junior councilors, so these interns are the only ones who can help,"
"Who are they?"
"not sure; your father didn't get the chance to confirm who signed up," Rita shrugged.
"I see,"
"Well, I need to finish the prep work before they get here,"
"Mom, let me finish the prep work for you,"
"Lincoln, you don't have to,"
"Don't worry. Dad said he was going to give me a job as a cook anyway, so consider this my first day on a job,"
"Oh right, your father mentioned that you have cooking techniques that would make this place more popular with women," Rita thought, briefly wondering if this was her chance to slim her own waist a little.
"And I'm ready to use them,"
Rita was still a little reluctant but really needed the help until Lynn Sr. came.
"Okay, sweetie, but just until your father gets here,"
Lincoln nodded before getting ready to start the prep work; Rita went into the dining area to wait for the interns, with Ronnie Anne following.
"Uh, Mrs. Loud, if you want, I can help today, " Ronnie Anne offered.
"Why thank you, Ronnie Anne, the more, the merrier," replied Rita. "Are you sure you two didn't do anything?"
"Yes, Mrs. Loud," replied Ronnie Anne blushing.
"But not for lack of wanting, am I right?" Rita teased, resulting in a blush. "Relax, I believe you, 'cause if Lincoln is anything like his dad, if you two had been together, you'd be glowing right now. I didn't have eleven kids because of a bad sex life, you know," Rita joked.
Ronnie Anne blushed at what Rita said, but it also made her wonder, considering Lincoln's mom is a mother of eleven kids, there had to be some truth to her statement. Suddenly the two heard a knock at the door. As Rita went to answer, Ronnie Anne was surprised to see Stella and Girl Jordan walk in. The years were kind to Stella too; her figure was similar to Ronnie Anne's though her figure was more slender though she had large breasts due to Lina and Lily's mishap. Girl Jordan changed over the years too; though her breasts were big too, they weren't as big as Stella's or Ronnie Anne's though her butt was bigger than Stella's.
"Stella? Girl Jordan?" Thought Ronnie Anne.
"Hello, Mrs. Loud," said Stella.
"Hello Stella, it's been a while; you girls are the summer interns, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Girl Jordan.
"Okay, you girls, sit tight. I'll be right back with some uniforms," Rita said, heading back into the kitchen.
"Oh hey, Ronnie Anne, what are you doing here?" Asked Stella.
"I'm visiting my brother; gotta say I'm surprised you'd be working here,"
"Well, I was going to intern with Katherine Mulligan, but then I realized I'd run into Rusty, and I didn't want to deal with that," replied Stella
"So she decided to join me here, I love Liam, but a girl can only take the smell of manure for so long," finished Girl Jordan.
"Besides, I feel like I owe Lincoln's family," Stella added
"Stella, we talked about this Lincoln's death is not your fault," Girl Jordan assured.
"If I had just listened to him and not bought into that picture Rusty made, maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to leave,"
"Look, what Rusty did was horrible and messed up, but it wasn't bad enough that he had to jump on a plane and head straight to Asia over it,"
Ronnie Anne almost felt the urge to curse out Girl Jordan but quickly remembered that neither she nor Stella knew the whole story of why Lincoln left. Coming back through the door, Rita was now carrying three uniforms, which consisted of a white shirt, black pants, and a white apron, which she handed out.
"Okay, ladies, here are your aprons, and we have an hour before we open, so let me give you the basics,"
The three got dressed in the women's bathroom; thankfully, the uniforms fit them all perfectly since Lisa made them one size fits all. After explaining the basics, the girls went to work; Lincoln stayed in the kitchen, putting on a mask and cap to hide his identity. During the morning rush, Girl Jordan and Stella both questioned the cook; however, Rita covered for her son, claiming he was a relative earning college credit and his name was Abraham. Ronnie Anne gave Rita a hard "really" look, much to Rita's embarrassment
"Thanks, mom,"
"No problem, sweetie, but eventually, you're gonna have to come out and reveal you're not dead,"
"I know,"
By noon Lynn Sr. was back in the kitchen with Lincoln making orders; things went smoothly until someone walked in. A man about Lynn Jr.'s age with a handsome face and long blonde hair wearing fancy clothing consisting of a ruffled shirt and fancy boots, but he wasn't alone; he was accompanied by Hank and Hawk, the two bullies from that Halloween. Rita recognized and rushed to tell Lynn Sr.
"Honey, that Man's son is back, and he brought company,"
"Edgar Allsand?"
"Yes,"
Lincoln became curious as he looked out the serving window to get a look.
"So that's the guy, and is it just me, or did those two get bigger and dumber," thought Lincoln.
Ronnie Anne also got a bad vibe from the group as she quickly brought Stella and Girl Jordan, who seemed to know him, into the kitchen already.
"Oh no, not that creep," said Stella.
"He lives in Huntington Oak; why does he keep bothering our town?" Groaned Girl Jordan.
"So you guys know?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
"After what he did to Chandler, we all do," said Girl Jordan.
"What happened?"
"Last month, we had an end-of-year party when he and those goons showed up, crashing it. The perv then came onto Chandler's new girlfriend, and when Chandler confronted him, he sicked those goons in him," Stella explained.
"That's terrible,"
"Yeah, Chandler may be a jerk, but he didn't deserve that," said Girl Jordan.
"Didn't he press charges?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
"Because technically through Chandler threw the first punch, so legally it was considered self-defense,"
"Okay, was this before or after he made passes at Lincoln's sisters?" Asked Ronnie Anne
"Before," said Rita. "He almost did the same thing to Bobby, but his father stopped him,"
"Okay, I'll handle this; you guys deal with the other customers," she said, leaving the kitchen.
Ronnie Anne walked out and tried not to make it look like she wanted attention. Walking to the group, Ronnie Anne performed her best act as she approached the table they were sitting on.
"Good afternoon, My name is Ronnie Anne, and I'll be your server today,"
"It's about time," said Hawk.
"We're hungry," complained Hank.
"Gentlemen show the proper respect for our beautiful waitress," he said, shooting Ronnie Anne a flirtatious smile.
Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes inside her head, seeing right through him.
"What can I get you?"
"We'll take three cheeseburgers and cheese fries," he said. "And maybe your number," he flirted.
"So that's three orders of cheeseburgers and cheese fries and one order of YOU'RE NOT MY TYPE!" She said, walking off.
Edgar's expression turned sour, especially when he saw Girl Jordan and Stella snickering. Later Ronnie Anne returned with three disposable containers in a plastic bag.
"Here are your orders, gentlemen," she said, placing the bag on the table.
"I didn't order this to go,"
"Trust me, I think you should," she replied.
"You know, masking your attraction to me through hostility is not a good look," Edgar advised.
"What makes you think I'd be attracted to someone like you?"
"Why wouldn't you be?" He asked. "I'm rich, and I'm handsome; you should be grateful I wanted to show you a good time, certainly a better time than working in this shitty restaurant,"
Ronnie Anne took a chair and sat down. "Can I share something with you?"
"Depends. Is it your panties?" Edgar remarked, making Hank and Hawk laugh.
"I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and try this like you can actually learn. You may think you're some kind of ladies' man casanova, and we're all eager to be hanging off your arms. But here's a little lesson, mister, we don't like being seen as nothing but a set of breasts that can talk. Me saying you're not my type is not me asking you to try harder to impress me. You're asking me to give you my underwear is not flattering. And you may brag about your wallet and looks, but I bet you've never been on a date with a girl that you didn't pay to be with, haven't you?"
"Please, like I want to waste time with that, I'm only interested in one thing, and after a night with me, so will you."
"You know, with an attitude like yours, you must be overcompensating for something," mocked Ronnie Anne, sticking up her pinky.
"Why you-!" Edgar angrily retorted, looking like he wanted to hit her for that.
"You know, what you're offering isn't anything special. Do you think you're the only male trying to get me into their bed? If I wanted to get laid, what would make you so special that I'd pick you? What do you have that I would actually want? Speaking of which, what are your standards? You probably think I should be over the moon that I got you stiff, but that's not exactly hard for a woman to do for you now, is it? You'll take any woman who says yes and isn't related to you, won't you?"
"You little,"
"On second thought, I bet you'd bang your own sister if she had a nice body,"
Edgar was starting to become furious, especially when everyone in the restaurant began laughing at the verbal ass-whooping he was getting.
"Now, as much as I like to see you fail at getting me to play 'Guess That STD,' I gotta get back to work, so thank you for coming to Lynn's Table and be sure to tip your waitress on the way out, byeee!" She said, getting up and walking off.
Edgar was now furious as he snapped his fingers; Hank and Hawk immediately got to their feet and approached Ronnie Anne.
"Hey, the boss didn't appreciate your insult,"
Ronnie Anne readied herself for a fight, but then Lincoln stepped out of the kitchen. "Sir, I'm afraid you and your party are going to have to leave,"
"And who are you, you masked freak?" Asked Edgar.
"Well, I'm actually the new cook, but today I'm the bouncer,"
Edgar then smirked cockily and crossed his arms. "You think you can force us to leave?"
Hank and Hank cracked their knuckles, looking like they were just dying to break a bone or two. Like they wanted that even more than the food they had ordered.
"Yes, I can. And if the three of you insist on making this hard, mind if we take it outside first? Just so I can use my best moves without damaging the place."
"What do we care what happens to this dump?" Hank asked.
"Think about it this way, would you rather fight me at my best or when I have one hand tied behind my back?" Lincoln asked.
"These guys have literally kicked puppies before and posted it on Youtube; they don't care one bit about a fair fight." Ronnie Anne warned, careful not to mention Lincoln by name.
Hank and Hawk smirked as if she had just praised them, which bothered Lincoln greatly.
"Then, in that case, I have no choice," Lincoln said, sticking his left hand into his pocket and fumbling around for a few seconds before pulling it out. He then went right up to Hank and put his left hand on the boy's shoulder, and the next thing everyone knew, Hank fell to the ground asleep.
"What the heck?" Hawk asked, not seeing what could possibly cause that. In that confusion, Lincoln touched his arm, and he, too, collapsed to the floor.
Edgar's anger gave way to surprise and caution. Lincoln turned to him, and Edgar had enough sense to step back. "I don't know how you're doing that, but you lay a finger on me, and I'll have you locked up for assault."
"Maybe you should sleep on that," Lincoln remarked, moving too quickly for Edgar to react, and touched his chest. Edgar was immediately knocked out.
"You've got to share the details later." Ronnie Anne told Lincoln.
"No problem, but first, let's get them out of here."
Ronnie Anne helped Lincoln move the three men back to their car, though Stella, Girl Jordan, and a few friendly customers also provided some muscle. They put the three in, making it look like they just took a nap there, and Ronnie Anne went and put their food in the car, too, and took some money out of their wallets to cover their bill. Along with a small tip.
"How did you do that? Did you use pressure points?" Girl Jordan asked Lincoln.
"Yeah, something like that."
"What about when they wake up?" Stella asked.
"We'll call the cops and tell them our side first. If those three have a problem, they're going to have to justify why they thought threatening staff in front of witnesses was a good thing."
It took an hour for Edgar, Hank, and Hawk to wake up, and when they got their bearings, they were unhappy. However, cops were already on the scene and took statements from the employees and customers who stuck around, and the cops asked them if they had anything to say about it.
"Just wait; my father has the best lawyers in the state. I'll be out in half a day!" he yelled as he was taken away.
With the disturbance dealt with, Lynn Sr felt relief knowing that the troublemaker was gone for the time being.
"Thanks for that, Ronnie Anne; it's too bad you're not here all the time,"
"Well, I could be Mr. Loud,"
"Huh?"
"I could ask my mom and see if I can stay for a while; Bobby and Lori have a guest room I could use, and my mom said I should get a summer job,"
"Won't your family need you at their bodega?"
"Bobby and my Abuelo run it; they don't really need me; besides, aside from Sid, who won't be back from her family trip for a few days, the rest of my friends are already out of the city for most of the summer, so I actually have a lot of free time,"
Lynn Sr smiled a little. "It would make Lincoln feel more comfortable, as long as the two of you don't get too comfortable on the job."
"Why is everyone in your family obsessed with sex?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Don't knock it till you try it." Lynn Sr advised. "Just remember to exercise caution. My wife and I have gotten into trouble more than once by being a little too eager to have fun."
While Ronnie Anne tried her hardest to stop blushing, Lincoln was dealing with someone else, keeping him in a conversation.
"You're pretty brave standing up to those creeps," Stella said with a smile.
"I've dealt with worse." Shrugged Lincoln.
"You know, I don't know why but it feels like I know you," Stella thought out loud, trying to get a better look at him through his covering.
"Unlikely; I've been out of the country since I was a kid," Lincoln said.
"Really? Where did you live?"
"Far away, I don't think you'd recognize the name; the locals called it something others didn't."
"I see; well, if you like, maybe we can go for some coffee," Stella offered.
"I appreciate the offer, but I came off a bad breakup, and I'm not too interested in relationships right now," Lincoln said gently.
"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"
"She accused me of cheating on her and broke up with me," Lincoln said with a sigh, careful not to look at her.
"Well, if you're the type of guy that I think you are, she made a huge mistake," said Stella.
"Oh, she did,"
Stella then left, heading back inside the restaurant with Girl Jordan; once gone, Ronnie Anne punched Lincoln.
"What?"
"Why not just come out and say you're Lincoln Loud?"
"Relax, at least this way; she won't bug me about dating for a while."
The rest of the day went smoothly, and everyone enjoyed their time. Finally, the restaurant closed. Stella and Girl Jordan left first while the rest stayed to finish the cleanup.
"Well, this has been some day," said Lynn Sr.
"Should we worry about anything happening?" Asked Rita.
"They can't do anything considering the numerous witnesses and dad filing the report and restraining order. If anything suspicious happens to the restaurant now, they'll be the prime suspects, and it will be considered retaliation,"
Suddenly, the group heard a knock at the door; Lincoln was immediately ready to summon his gear; however, it was Lisa on the other side.
"Greetings, family, here to drop off the supercomputer I made for Lincoln," said Lisa, presenting a metal box the size of a fist with a red button on top.
"Uh, sweetie, I highly doubt that thing registers as a computer,"
"That's because it's in travel mode; once it opens up, you'll see,"
"Will it make the transformer noises like when Autobots and Decepticons transform?" Lincoln asked.
"No, but I see no reason that feature can't be added," Lisa replied.
"Well, the cleanup is done; I say we fire this baby up," said Lynn Sr
Agreeing, everyone went downstairs; Lincoln led the way. Rita was speechless, like everyone who saw Lincoln's base for the first time. Back in the workshop, Lisa walked over to the open area.
"Okay, stand back,"
Placing the box down, Lisa pressed the button before quickly backing away. Everyone began to watch as the box expanded before it began unfolding, sounding like a transformer in the process. The computer was fully revealed in a matter of seconds; it resembled one you'd find in a superhero comic book. Lincoln surmised that Lisa took at least some inspiration from his Ace Savvy comics.
"Lisa, this is amazing, thank you," said Lincoln.
"Aw shucks, I'm glad you like it,'' she said, blushing. "Oh, I almost forgot I also made you this," she said, pulling out a brand-new orange and black smartphone.
"Thank sis,"
"Everything is connected to the family's extranet, The Loud Cloud 2.0,"
"You guys have an extranet?!" Said a shocked Ronnie Anne.
"I created it last year after I launched my satellite into space; if you want, I can install it into your phone too, Ronnie Anne,"
"I'll think about it,"
"You launched a satellite into space?" Lincoln asked.
"It's me, brother. Is that really that surprising to you?" Lisa asked back.
"Now that you mention it, no. Well, thank you, sis; now I can look into finding out why this is so important," said Lincoln, making the tablet appear.
Everyone was surprised the table started flashing, confusing everyone.
"Why is it glowing like that?" Said, Ronnie Anne.
Later That Night,
After bailing out Edgar, Richard Allsand dragged him back to their manor and yelled at him for at least an hour.
"You worthless spoiled brat! Do you have any idea what your little tantrum has done?!"
"But dad, that girl, and cook, they-"
"I don't care; you put us on their radar! Now, if anything happens to that restaurant, we'll be the prime suspects!" he yelled. "You literally jeopardized my chances of gaining all the rights to that restaurant, you damn fool!"
"Well, why do you want that shitty restaurant to begin with?"
"That 'shitty restaurant' is a gold mine in disguise,"
"What?"
"Lynn's Table has the potential to be a restaurant franchise greater than Burpin' Burger and Burger Blast, yet it's wasted, being run by that idiot Loud and his family," he explained. "I won't allow such money to be wasted when I can have it; once I gain the rights, I'll turn it into a franchise unlike any other; there will be a "Lynn's Table" in every major city within a few years, I'll make billions and make back the money I've already wasted on this project,"
Suddenly Allsand's phone rang; upon seeing the name, he groaned.
"Hello, yes…I know you need more supplies…look, this is costing me a lot…fine whatever…my part will be done on time; you just better keep your end of the deal!" He said, hanging up. "Now, back to you, it's time you start earning your keep,"
"What do you mean, Dad?"
"Since your actions have limited my options, you're going to find a way to make Lynn Loud turn over the rights to his restaurant," he said. "I don't care how you do it, just do it,"
"How am I supposed to do that? They're a pretty close family, and they only became closer after the death of their son,"
"No matter how close they are, every family has their buried secrets and their skeletons; all you have to do is start digging. You might as well start looking into their dead son; maybe it wasn't an accident."
Edgar nodded and left, hating how his father made him feel small and unimportant. Allsand grumbled and sat down after getting himself a drink.
"How did one chef take down three men without using violence? What secret does he have? And how much will it take to buy him off Loud's hands?"
End of Ch. 7
Author's Notes
I did go into detail about Lincoln's new computer cause I was being lazy (LOL); however, I am working on a visual with editing later, so you'll see it on my Deviantart later.
