"Progress report. My office. After dinner," Mitchell said as he walked up to Thomas after his evening training station and Thomas gave him a confused look, but nodded. He had thought his dad would never ask about Kimberly, but that was too good to be true. Of course, he was going to want to make sure that Thomas was doing the job properly. He had a feeling that they had different ideas of what 'properly' entailed.
"Progress report on what?" Jason asked as Thomas looked over at him and shook his head. His close friends knew about this assignment, but didn't know the exact details. It had been too much to keep it a secret from everyone he knew and Theo had agreed that having a few friends to talk to would be smart. "What have you done now?"
"Hopefully nothing, but knowing him- I didn't make my bed correctly this morning," Thomas muttered as Jason let out a sigh. Over the last several months, he had gotten to witness firsthand just how horrible Mitchell could be to Thomas. To all of the other cadets- he was this amazing, mythical ranger. To Thomas' classmates- he was an asshole who had it out for the most talented cadet in their class. And that wasn't something that Thomas said about himself, it was something that all of them recognized about him. Jason was pretty sure if anyone asked Thomas, he would just say that he was a normal cadet, but everyone else knew otherwise. Everyone else knew that he was going to be a special ranger when he got powers. "Don't worry about it- it's a school night. He can't do that much."
"Does anyone else know?" Jason asked as Thomas looked away from him. Everyone in his family knew, to a certain extent, but he had never talked with any of them about it. Theo and Amelia had constantly had him over when he was younger. Robert and Tasia had had him babysit their kids as he got older. He always wondered why they never did anything, but he also saw how his father treated them. Everyone walked around on eggshells with Mitchell- except his older brother and mother. "Why won't they do anything?"
"You've seen him. Would you go against him?" Thomas asked as Jason shook his head and Thomas just looked at him for a bit longer. "C'mon- I need to eat."
"Sit," Mitchell forced out as Thomas saw that Atlantis and Amelia had joined them for this conversation. At least whatever his father did- it wouldn't be too bad with them there. He had to keep up some sort of act in front of Atlantis. He was the one being on this world that could neutralize and take out his father. "How is your charge doing?"
"My charge?" Thomas asked as he looked around at all of them. "I thought I was here to talk about Kimberly."
"She is your charge. You do not need to form any more of a relationship with her," Mitchell said as Thomas looked down at the floor before he nodded. This was the first time that he knew he would go against his father and he did not care about the consequences. Mitchell could take everything away from him and that would be okay if he had her. "Are there any signs?"
"So far no. She seems normal, but I only see her for small snatches of time at the Juice Bar or when we go to the park," Thomas stated as he met his father's gaze head on. He knew he might be pushing his luck to insinuate he needed more time around her, but it wasn't a lie. For what they were looking for, she needed to really trust him. That required time and he was already at a disadvantage because he attended the academy and she went to a normal high school.
"You cannot neglect your duties," Mitchell said as Amelia held up her hand. Mitchell ground his teeth together as he shook his head at her. "Yes."
"His duty is also to keep her safe and to get her to the Academy as soon as her powers come in. We need her to trust him so much that he's the first person she calls or thinks to tell," Amelia said as Mitchell glared at her. This was why he didn't want Thomas to take the job. It gave him far too much freedom. "He has done nothing outside of your rules. Giving him a bit more time to see her only helps us."
"Atlantis? Do you think I'm doing this incorrectly as well?" Mitchell challenged and Atlantis gave him a droll stare.
"You forget who you're talking to, Mitchell. I am not some child you can admonish and you know exactly where I stand on how you have handled this situation," Atlantis retorted and Thomas glanced over at him to see that Atlantis had pegged his father with a glare. "What he says is valid. He does not have enough of an opportunity to see if she is showing the early signs."
"So what do you suggest?" Mitchell ground out as Thomas looked at the ground. He had ideas, but he was not sure his father wanted to hear them. "Yes, you Thomas."
"The simplest thing would be being able to spend some time with her on Saturday or Sunday. Every once in awhile. It wouldn't raise any red flags with her and she can learn to trust me more," Thomas said as he watched Mitchell grind his teeth again. He couldn't understand why he had even been given this assignment if his father wouldn't let him do what he was supposed to do. It was important to keep prophets safe. "You gave me this assignment. The least you could do is let me do it."
"You do not tell me what to do," Mitchell growled as Atlantis shook his head.
"How else do you want him to do this?" Amelia exclaimed as she stood up and started pacing around the room. "It is your job to keep the future prophets safe. He is willing to do his job. Why won't you do yours?"
"Thomas, why don't you step out for a minute?" Atlantis suggested and Thomas gave him a thankful nod before he walked out of the office. "What's the real story? He wasn't who was originally assigned to her and I told you of my concerns then."
"Yeah, because the guy he assigned her nearly raped her," Amelia ground out as she glared at Mitchell. "He should have never made it to the Upper Academy and everyone knew that."
"Is that true?" Atlantis asked as Mitchell gave him a terse nod. "Why were we not informed?"
"We immediately removed him from the ranger pipeline. There was no need to bring in a Guardian," Mitchell stated as Atlantis shook his head.
"But you left him in the Academy. Thomas was the best fit, from the beginning and you…you risked…" Amelia trailed off as she glared at him. "Your hatred for that boy is going to get someone hurt. At the very least him."
"Amelia, why don't you let Thomas know that we've all agreed he can spend some time with her on the weekends. He just needs to put in an off campus request with Theo," Atlantis said, calmly, as she looked up at him and nodded. Amelia quickly left the room and Atlantis turned his full attention back to Mitchell. "The day they say you no longer need to be a part of this academy- I will remove you."
"Lucky for me- Thomas won't be a mentor for at least another ten years. I guess you'll have to deal with me until then," Mitchell retorted as Atlantis shook his head. They just needed some leeway to get rid of him and he hoped they would be able to find it soon.