Meeting tonight, bring your squad. I'll bring mine ;)
I stared at the message on my phone that had come from the same unknown number I'd received the welcome back from. It was Kellen! It was 6:30, and I approached the Thunderbirds' lounge with nervous butterflies in my stomach. He'd asked for my rogue team to be there at 6:45, I was glad for one thing; if this was going to be us getting in trouble, it was clear I was taking the brunt of the responsibility.
I raised an eyebrow when I saw Jess hovering uncomfortably just outside the door, a nervous kind of smile on her face at the sight of me. "What are you doing here already?"
The door opened and Camille glared at us. "Get in!"
The Thunderbirds lounge was a fair sized room, with a long table at its center, several individual cubbies with device charging stations on one side and a plethora of single reading chairs at the other. Most everyone else was already there, all the couches already draped with people that glared at us.
Kellen stopped what he was saying and looked at Jess and I. "My Hero!" He batted his lashes at me in mock adoration.
"Uh..."
"Relax, have a seat," he drawled. As I glanced around for a seat, Kellen snapped his fingers and the others vacated the room. Jess plopped down into a cushioned chair quickly, pulling me down with her. I watched the Elite leave the room as I moved into my own chair, glad that the cowards that had the nerve to call themselves leaders weren't in the room.
"I don't think I actually said it last night, but thank you." Kellen said as he sat in the armchair across from mine; Jackson and Leon echoed him. I resisted the urge to look at Jess in surprise; gratitude was not something we were used to hearing from the Trifecta.
He cleared his throat when I said nothing. "The Core thinks you should be stripped. Of Hijinks privileges, I mean. Something about fucks and jokes and Dipshits? I don't know, sometimes they don't make a lot of sense. Also, apparently it's your fault for getting us captured with your awesome prank the other night? You distracted everyone so Katia could kidnap us?"
"She didn't-" Jess began but stopped when Kellen shot her a look.
"Like I believe either of you two helped Katia. What happened Jess? Why does the Core hate your friend?"
"Because they didn't want to do anything to find you guys. They said we should wait for your orders... which is the stupidest shit I've ever heard, I mean, how were you supposed to send them orders? Telepathically?"
"Jess!"
"Right. Nicole said they were fucking jokes, called them Dipshits, and told them to keep waiting for orders."
Kellen nodded, a very amused expression on his face, like he was trying too hard not to laugh. Leon ducked his head, his chin and mouth hiding inside his sweater and Jackson's shoulders shook with a silent laugh.
"And then?"
"So then Nicole recruited a squad to do recon, plant tracking devices on the Triad, map and plan out a rescue mission and blow up a couple of things that were in their way. And then she rescued your dumb asses." Clapping a hand over her mouth in surprise at her last words, Jess shot me a frazzled look.
Once again, Kellen only nodded, crossed the room and opened the door, the clock over it read 6:42. "Meeting resumed... you too."
My squad of new friends inched into the room cautiously, and crowded around Jess and I. Everyone watched the Trifecta with uncomfortable interest.
"You know what? I was going to drag this out and play with you guys a bit, but I don't feel like it. Core, meet our newest squad. The Aces, headed by Sergeant's Kemper and Kida."
My jaw dropped. Their jaws dropped. Emma squealed and Eddie's hands on my shoulder shook me around in some sort of victorious excitement. I slapped his hand away, and watched as a few of the Core nodded to Jess. I got only glares, but I'd been rude, so I guess I'd have trouble accepting having to work with me too.
"Are you serious? She directly disobeyed us!"
"And I'm sure Katia would have let us go eventually," Leon drawled to my amusement.
"I think that most of your ins came from showing us you had balls. You guys can leave now." Kellen dismissed them.
Balls. Such a typically boy way of saying it, but somehow it cleared a bit of the tension. Everyone left quickly, a mess of excitement from the Aces and annoyance from the Core. Jess and I stood where we were, both still a little shocked.
"Ahh, I'm so proud of you guys!" Jackson pulled us both into a crushing hug. "My little Shmuffins!"
I raised an eyebrow at his weirdly out of character outburst as Jess giggled. No one else was around, save the two of us and the Trifecta; I wondered how long he'd been waiting to do that.
Kellen chuckled, dropping his head tiredly into his hand. "Shmuffins, Jacks? You're weird."
Jackson dragged us to the door. "You coming, Kellen?"
"Yeah, Jacks. Go ahead, I'll meet you at dinner... Nicole?"
I whipped my head around to look at him, shocked that he'd called me by my name and not Natalie. I forced myself to take on a tone and stance I would with my friends, as the others left. "What's up?"
"You really pissed them off, Nicole."
"Does it look like I care?" I planted a hand on my hip.
"I can't believe they wanted to wait for orders." He shook his head.
"You're the one who wanted those idiots for your 'Core', Genius!"
"Yeah, well, thanks for having the balls to come get us."
"Again with the balls!" I scoffed. "It wasn't just me, you know?"
"I know. That's kind of why I'm letting you keep your 'rogue squad'. And it is your squad, Nicole. Jess is only your co-captain because Jacks would never forgive me if I sidelined her."
"What?"
"She told us earlier that she really had nothing to do with it, that it was all you and she wasn't going to take any credit for doing what you did. We told her she would share it whether or not she wanted it."
I nodded, but felt a little awkward with his admittance. "I don't know why I'm in charge, anyways. Emma did most of the planning and Eddie did most of the research. If anything, it should be them."
"I don't trust them, Nicole, I trust you." He brushed his hands over his face in an exhausted sweep, so he didn't catch the shocked way I stared at him. "Besides I think I need an insubordinate little snot like you around. God knows I'm sick of those damn yes men who wait to be told what to do. They're fun to hang out with, and great at parties, but it's so tiring having to figure it all out, all the time."
"I'll be reminding you of that when you're complaining I'm the worst decision you've ever made. So, the Aces?"
He nodded. "The Aces... will probably piss off the rest of the Core even more than you did, Hero."
"Because?"
"Because," he said, his hand hovering over the doorknob. "You guys can operate completely on your own, outside of Elite orders."
Stunned. That's what I was. As Kellen sauntered out of the room, I could only gape.
"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Jess exclaimed as she crashed into my side.
Jackson—who hadn't gone with Kellen and Leon—tucked us under each arm. "She looks like she just saw Santa, is what she looks like."
"I think, I just got what I wanted." I marveled as we headed out into the cold towards the dining hall.
"You did." Jackson said as if confirming that I had just seen a unicorn. "You're basically Elite now."
"Jacks, that's hardly what she wanted, she hates the Elite!" Jess laughed.
Jackson feigned being wounded. "But, how can you hate... all this?" I groaned as he guffawed after indicating his face.
"Ugh! Jacks, I'm your sister's best friend, I'm off limits."
"Whatever you say, Natalie..." As Jess and I both punched him, he laughingly threw his arms around us again. "I'm glad I can actually hang out with both of you now!"
I hadn't realized we were at the dining hall already, and when we entered, all eyes were on us. Jess and Nicole with Jackson Kida, not following him like a weird double shadow. Even Katia, Hadley and Vivienne took notice as we sauntered across the room. Things were changing.
As a hijINKs notice set the hall buzzing, I looked sideways at Jackson, who looked genuinely happy about being able to hang out with his sister and me. "Yeah, yeah, Jacks. Just don't expect me to change my dinner plans for you."
Thunderbirds Trifecta appoint new Sergeants Watson and Fuller to head special class task force, the Aces, after a daring and innovative rescue mission.