Expiration Date (Books 1 and 2)

51 Let's Try This Again

Erik~~

The eight of us wait in the rebel's van for the Rosens to arrive. Vienna hasn't spoken, instead tapping her foot and bouncing her knee. We're parked down an abandoned dirt driveway enclosed by trees. The six of us, who will be going in to retrieve the targets, have the masks strapped to our side. We only plan to use three but there's no guarantee who will be the ones to place the masks on the targets.

I hear the soft purr of an engine, and a burgundy car rolls up to us, its cleanliness stark against the dirt road. This is a car made for only the freshest of pavements.

Vienna's leg stops fidgeting.

I hop out the back of the van, and Mr. Rosen steps out of the driver's seat of his car, his brunette hair combed and blazer firmly pressed. His eyes land on his daughter.

"Vienna."

She rushes past me, borrowing herself against him. As his arms close around her, Vienna's mother and younger brother step out of the car.

I turn away from their union and join the huddle of which L, Anya, and Afreen are a part.

"How is the Society treating you?" I hear Vienna ask them.

"There are those who want nothing to do with us," her mother says, "and those who do speak to us only do so to have something to gossip about." She turns to us. "We should get going."

Afreen and Anya take the trunk. The rebel that will be partnered with me later, Pascal, lays down in the compartment underneath the floorboards in the back row. Two of the rebels hide in a compartment inside the back row of seats, and Vienna and I squeeze into the compartment in the front row.

Vienna's boots are in my face, and I try not to imagine where they've been as they press against my cheek.

L stays behind in the van.

As the Rosens' car starts moving, the heel of my shoe digs into Vienna's ear, and she kicks my forehead; I think on purpose. I hold in my grumble. Fifteen minutes and then we'll be there.

And at least there's air being pumped inside here.

This whole evening will be an exercise in waiting.

Waiting to reach the Estate.

Waiting for the Society to go to sleep. Waiting to be back at the base.

Pascal and I will be going after Jonas. I've identified for the others two of the unmarried

Amoris that have rooms on the first floor.

The car comes to a stop, and I hear Mr. Rosen and another voice speaking. We're at the guard gate.

Soon the car starts moving again, and my body pushes against the wall as the car drives downhill. I never expected to be smuggled into my home.

When the Rosens park, they don't say anything to us. I hear them exit the car and then silence. The only sound is the air pumping in, albeit less than there was when the car was on.

Once the clock on my phone shows dinner would have started, I message L to turn off the motion sensors on the lights in the garage, and when she sends the all clear, Vienna and I

climb out, taking it slow to make the least amount of noise and in case someone is outside the car. The lights are turned off in here, and when I open the door, they remain off.

Vienna and I keep our phones on dim, using them to see by. While the rest of the team climbs out, I head toward a van, one that's near the entrance that leads up into the house.

The lights inside it turn on when I open the door. I quickly locate the off switch, but that brief flash of light should be enough to lead my team to me.

There isn't a console between the front two seats. Instead, the space is empty, and I sit down in it, stretching out my legs. Jonas is usually asleep by midnight, but to be safe, we'll be waiting until 1 AM. It's a little after seven now. I don't want to think about what we'll do when some of us will have to use the bathroom.

When my team enters the van, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. There isn't anything in here we can use to restrain the targets, but in the back of the van L's tucked in are shackles with which we will chain them. It's going to happen. I'll make sure of it.

I know some of you expressed an interest in writing the holiday FanFictions again, and you seemed to like the Father's Day idea. In the Mother's Day ones, you showed me who Iris and Vienna married and what their life as moms on Mother's Day would be like. How about the boys? How are they as fathers? You showed me how cute Colton is as a dad, and I think I need more of that. The feels were too much. If you are interested in writing a Father's Day FanFiction for Expiration Date, message me and let me know. I'll be on my side of the computer being overwhelmed by how amazing you all are.