Chapter 10
A few nights later, all of the members of the Good Guys except Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha were meeting at Mr. Snake and Rani's home. They were gonna discuss the elephant in the room, TWO elephants to be exact.
"Is everyone here?" asked Rani as she was pouring drinks for everyone before sitting next to her husband. Mr. Snake was glancing at the small terrarium that was close to the corner of the living room with the little albino corn snake, Sol. Besides her, there were other rescued snakes that were in their care that needed to be cared for before they were sent back to the zoo. Rani held Mr. Snake's coil to assure him that their children will be okay.
"Yep, looks that way," Mr. Wolf nodded with approval as he closed the blinds. He sat on one of the chairs while Ms. Tarantula was sitting on his shoulder. "Okay, so do you guys want to share anything about seafood?"
All them them knew what the word seafood meant. It was a code for their fish members, who were purposefully excluded from this meeting. Nothing good could come to them knowing about this. Mr. Snake flickered out his forked tongue to signal first.
"Piranha was shaken up since the raid at the hair salon," he reported, taking off his hat. "It's like he was stunned when we snuff out the criminal activities behind the scene. You saw how shaken he was at the zoo, Rani?"
His wife nodded and sipped her drink. "Not even a steak taco could calm him down. In fact, I've never seen him that upset. Has this happen before?"
Mr. Wolf shook his head, tail drooping out of guilt. "No. When we first met him, he was ready to attack anything on sight. Hell, I remember he tried to bite my tail off!" A few laughs were shared until the wolf sighed and said, "I didn't think these missions would scare him. We did have briefs before splitting up, so why does this concern him?"
Ms. Tarantula was typing on her laptop, not looking up from her task. "As far as I know, Wolfie, Piranha has a big family in Bolivia before he moved to Brazil, then we kinda hired him through a phone call."
Silence. It was hard since Mr. Piranha was the youngest member of the former Bad Guys and seeing him froze up was concerning. They can't just leave him in the hideout and watch wrestling channels all day.
"What about Shark?" Rani asked the gang. "What do we have on him?"
It was Ms. Tarantula who filled in by telling everyone about Mr. Shark's browser history. The great white was searching up dating tips, how to dress best for a date and how to make a move. This made Mr. Snake and Rani exchanged knowing looks. Mr. Wolf arched a brow at them. "Got an idea, you two?"
"Why don't we split up and set those two up? But in terms of Mira, she's not comfortable with crowded places or stuffy buildings. I swear to god, my sister's a mermaid in disguise. But, I will let you guys in on a secret."
Gesturing all of them to come closer, Rani whispered the words which caused the three of them to grin. It was official: Rani will go with Mr. Wolf to handle Mr. Shark while Mr. Snake and Ms. Tarantula will deal with Mr. Piranha. After the meeting was adjourned, Mr. Wolf caught both Mr. Snake and Rani's attention. Mr. Snake rolled his eyes as Mr. Wolf puts on his best puppy-pleading eyes. "Can I stay at your place tonight? Your home's kinda cozy."
"Wolf, not tonight. As much as we both don't mind you around, there's something I need to do with my wife," the serpent told him firmly. Ms. Tarantula covered her mouth to stifled her laughter as she took out her phone to film her teammates' shenanigans. "Rani and I just need some time to be together."
"Uh-huh," the wolf nodded, still having those hopeful eyes. Rani giggled as Mr. Snake hissed out the word, "Alone."
...
Mira's heart was pounding at the thought of seeing either Mr. Shark or Mr. Piranha again. However, she had to put those thoughts aside whenever she was around her family. Her mother and her grandparents in particular.
"Must you eat that much, my dear?" her grandfather asked, pointing his spoon at her direction. They were having porridge with fried eggs for breakfast. As much as her mother had cooked for all of them, Mira was told not to eat too much.
It's bad enough that he was sitting opposite her, feeling his wrinkly feet stroking her thigh, No matter how much she pushed it away,
"Your body is a temple after all," her mother crooned as she poured coffee in front of her. Mira spooned her plain porridge and ate only two spoons. Conversations at the table made her lose her appetite. When she was in university, she always kept things at minimal for her swimming and snorkelling activities.
"If Mira can't finish it, can I have the rest of her porridge?" her brother, Karim asked. Before she could answer, her grandfather had beaten her to it. "Of course you can! As a boy, you must grow big and strong to protect your sisters. It would be embarrassing if your sisters have to protect you."
Her stomach rumbled as she glanced at the door. She was done with most of her assignments and exams were only going to be held next year. Most people would've have told her to just go for it but if they only knew her family, then a simple thing such as going out would be like diffusing a bomb.
'Then again, those Good Guys have done something like that in the past,' she thought to herself with a small smile. She quietly texted Rani under the table, wanting an excuse to get out of the house. Except her father, her family seemed to treat Rani as if she never existed in the first place.
A vibration was felt in her pocket. Seeing that her family was occupied with some kind of discussion, the young woman skimmed through her phone's text message. 'Finally, a small release from this hellhole,' she thought to herself with glee.
She excused herself, going to her room to gather her swimming gear into her bag. Just before she sets foot out of the door, a hand grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" her mother asked. Mira couldn't help but detect accusation in her tone.
"S-swimming," she stuttered those words. Although university was fine with her not talking, her family kinda gang-pressed the words out of her throat. Her mother gave her a disapproving look. "This early in the morning? You will have dark skin being out so much in the sun. How will you ever find a husband?"
Mira wrenched herself free of her, torn with what she had done. Without saying another word, she ran out of the house, praying her mother doesn't call a search party to look for her. While scrambling to the bus stop, she immediately blocked her family's contacts except for Rani.
She would know what to do.
She found the gym where she would have her shower and knew that Rani would be there. When she entered the premise, Mira's eyes were greeted to her sister boxing with a buff-looking woman with red hair. 'How could she survive that?! That woman looks like she eats tanks for breakfast.'
"Well, well," the redhead placed both her hands on her hips. "You're starting to improve on those kicks. Don't tell me that snake of yours has been-"
Rani shook her head with a smirk. "I've had plenty of private lessons with him but I also prefer the energy in this gym. Plus, you're here too."
Mira covered her mouth to smother her giggles as she signed into the gym as a guest. She approached the two, who stopped to stare at her. Rani clasped her hands in hers. "Mira! I'm glad you're here. I'm sure you remember my friend, Chief Misty Luggins?"
The young woman stuck out her hand and was surprised by how large the chief's hand was. The officer offered a friendly smile to her. "Rani told me that you need a bit of training. Don't worry, it's nothing too serious! It's just something in case someone's giving you unwanted attention."
Mira blinked and glanced at her sister. Does Rani know what's going on in their family?
Well, well, looks like the gang are doing a secret mission for our two fishies. I wonder who will Mira choose and spend the most time with? Can you predict the outcome?
