I wake up the next morning with Thomas's arms wrapped around me and my face buried in the crook of his neck. I feel hot, the kind of hot that one would usually think is uncomfortable, but at the time being it's the perfect temperature. My palms, which are placed on Thomas's chest are the most warm and I can feel his heart beating steadily against them while he snoozes peacefully. His mouth is open slightly, so warm breaths fan across the top of my head every few seconds.
After I've contently remained in this position for several minutes, enjoying cuddling, as well as the feeling of being well rested and having an empty mind for once, I turn my head to look across the room at the second bed. Kaya is fast asleep, her dark hair covering most of her face. I hope she didn't feel uncomfortable when she came in last night and found Thomas and I in bed together. I mean, it's not like he and I had done or were doing anything but sleeping. All the same, I didn't want to cause Kaya any discomfort.
Untangling myself from Thomas, and trying to to wake him, I slide out from under the covers. The air in here is slightly chilly, so I wrap my arms around myself and cross the room, grabbing a sweatshirt that Asket has let me borrow and slipping it on. I quietly open the door, casting one last glance at Thomas, who still hasn't stirred.
The rest of the house is quiet. Every door is closed along the hallway. I make my way to the kitchen to see if anyone is awake, and when I get there I find Hero, leaning against the counter with a glass of orange juice in his hand. His eyes meet mine as soon as I enter the room.
He nods, as I step in, "Morning. You hungry?"
I shrug, looking around the kitchen, which seems different in the early-morning light. I glance at the clock to see that it's 8:00. "Yeah, I am a little bit."
"We've got muffins and cereal in the pantry." Hero says, "I'm just about to eat breakfast too. Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all." I shake my head.
Hero pulls the muffins out of the pantry and we both settle for chocolate. He places them on separate plates and hands mine to me as we walk towards the table.
He takes a bite of his muffin, humming, "So, everyone is still asleep?"
"Yes." I nod, "Yesterday was a long day. I expect they'll want to sleep in a little bit. Even Dylan, who seems to never run out of energy."
"You've made some interesting friends. Dangerous ones." Hero looks carefully at me, "Although, based off the way one of them looks at you, I'm guessing you've made more than just friends."
My eyes shift away from Hero to look out the window. I hope that he doesn't sense my embarrassment, but my lack of eye contact certainly doesn't help matters. He used to tease me about guys all the time when we were younger. I would never tell him who I liked, because he would always bother me about it after that. We were grown now, but that was still no guarantee that Hero would be mature about this.
"So, Thomas, huh?" Hero presses, the corners of his mouth twitching a little.
I force myself to look back at him, attempting a smile, "Yeah. Thomas and I are together."
Hero raises an eyebrow, "Thought so."
I expect him to continue, to say something embarrassing or gross. However, it never comes. Instead, he just stares at me, watching me from across the table.
I stare at him in anticipation, "What?"
He tilts his head, "Nothing, nothing."
Raising an eyebrow, I lean forward, "No way. I know that look. What are you thinking?"
He sighs, picking at his muffin, "Well, I can't say that I approve."
I blink, taken aback. Out of all the things I was expecting, I never would have expected this. Hero, disapproving? I never would have thought he would have an actual opinion about my love life.
"What?" I ask in disbelief.
"I just don't really approve." He shrugs.
I find myself lightly chuckling, "How can you disapprove of him - you barely even know him."
"He drug you into this whole thing, Steph!" Hero says defensively, "I heard the whole story last night. Thomas had total control over the situation. If he had just stayed away from you then you wouldn't even be in this mess."
Again, Hero manages to astonish me.
I frown, "Hero-"
"Also, he just seems like kind of a jerk. Just the way he acts. Arrogant."
I smile, "Okay, you're pretty right about that one. I'll give it to you."
Hero scowls at me, "It's not funny, Stephie. You're in a relationship with this guy. Have you even thought about that?"
"Of course I have, Hero. I'm not a child, I know how to be responsible for my own actions." I roll my eyes, "Thomas didn't drag me into this. I did. I brought myself into it. I was curious and I let it get the better of me. However, I don't regret it."
Hero raises an eyebrow, "Really? You don't regret that you could have saved yourself a lot of pain?"
"No, of course not." I shake my head, "Hero, someone has got to stop Anon. I want to be a part of that. I want to bring justice around. I want to help the people that Anon has stolen from. His actions have cost a lot of people to loose their lives. I don't want that to happen anymore. And if the crappy stuff that has happened to me hadn't ever happened, who knows if Anon would have ever been caught. The world deserves better than someone like Anon."
"Are you sure this isn't some deeply rooted desire to avenge mom? Because she wouldn't want that Stephanie. She wouldn't want you to throw your life away for this."
I roll my eyes, "Hero, it's not about mom anymore. It's about doing the right thing. This is the right thing to do, and I'm one of the few people who knows about it, so why wouldn't I do something?"
After a few moments of staring at me, Hero shakes his head and sighs, "I understand what you're saying. I think if I were you I wouldn't feel the same way though. I would be thinking about all the pain that I've been through could have been avoided. I suppose that's terrible, right?"
I shake my head, "No, Hero. That's not terrible. That's human. It's always okay to have human reactions to things."
He shakes his head, "How have you gone through all this? With Red, finding out about Clear Heart and then being captured and tortured...it's a lot to take."
"It never seems like it's too much when actually dealing with things. It's only after they've happened that you really notice the scars that they leave."
He sighs, "I respect you and your choices. However, Thomas still just doesn't seem...good enough. I mean, when we were younger you used to hate people like him."
I smirk, "He is the kinda person I hate. Except I'm in love with him."
Hero laughs, "Sounds like a nice, healthy relationship the two of you have."
I find myself chortling with him, "We're all right, really. We look out for each other. We infuriate and annoy each other beyond belief, but we still love each other. That's what's important."
Hero shrugs, "Well, you're right about that."
We sit in silence for several seconds. I stare at the table, deep in thought. Hero taps his fingers methodically on the table.
"Hey, Stephanie," he says, causing me to look up at him, "I...I'm sorry about mom...and what I did. I know I've said it before, but-"
I sigh, "Hero, it's all right."
"No, it's not." He says, "I shouldn't have listened to mom. You deserved to know what was going on. Mom just was so worried about your education-"
"Hero, you did what you thought was right." I say quietly, "It wasn't right. But you thought it was."
"I just don't want you to leave here and have things go back to the way they were." Hero mumbles, "We haven't been friends in a while. It's nice to have my sister back."
I smile softly, "It's nice to have my brother back too...Even though you're still pretty annoying."
He glances up at me, chuckling, "The same can be said for you, ugly."
"So, when --" I start, but stop when I hear quiet footsteps.
Asket steps into the kitchen, already dressed and wearing makeup. She notices us in the kitchen and smiles, as she starts to open the blinds, allowing more morning light to illuminate the room, "Good morning, you two. Did you sleep well, Steph?"
I offer a small smile in return, "I did, thank you."
Asket steps over to the fridge, peering inside, "Pregnancy cravings are the worst. Nothing sounds good except for pickles and mango's."
Hero stands up, stretching slightly before he takes our plates off the table, "I just bought you a jar of pickles the other day. What happened to those?"
"I ate all of them already." She sighs, closing the door to the fridge and looking at her husband with a pouty expression.
Hero chuckles, stepping over to her and placing a quick kiss on her forehead, "I'll go out later and buy you some more."
"Thanks, dear." She beams.
Hero steps over to the sink and begins washing our dishes as Asket takes his seat at the table. I stare at her protruding belly, remembering the short conversation that Hero and I had eight months ago when they found out that they were expecting a baby. It didn't go very well. Of course, I was happy for them, but Hero and I still weren't on great terms. Luckily, the conversation ended before too much damage was done. I mean, obviously not too much damage was done, since I'm here, sitting at their breakfast table.
I look at Asket, "When are you due?"
She smiles, "Next month. On the twenty-fourth."
I smile, "That's awesome. Is it a girl or a boy?"
"A boy." She says, glancing over at Hero, "I want to name him after his father, but Hero objects."
Hero chuckles, glancing over at us, "I don't know what inspired my parents to name me 'Hero', but I've always questioned their judgement. Stephanie got a normal name, but me? No, they decided to give me a weird one."
I roll my eyes, "Hero, your name is perfectly fine."
"My name," he says, setting our dishes in the drainer to dry off, "is perfectly weird. I will not subject my boy to having a weird name. His name will be normal, like Spencer, or something."
"Something. What a lovely name." I mumble.
"Not Spencer." Asket shakes her head, "Never Spencer. I cannot imagine calling my baby Spencer."
I laugh, "Sounds like you two will have a difficult time naming your baby."
Hero shrugs, smirking, "We'll come up with something we both agree on eventually."
"You guys should name him Stephan. After me." I say playfully, "Better yet, name him Stephan Something Bennet. It has a nice ring to it."
"Oh, abso-freakin'-lutely." Hero says sarcastically, "I'm gonna name my child after my sister."
"I literally just said your child's middle name should be 'Something', and you're still hung up on naming him after me?"
Asket looks thoughtful, "Actually, it'd be a nice sentiment to name him after your sister."
Hero laughs, "Babe, I think I might take away your rights to name our child. You consider every option no matter how hideous the name."
"Except for Spencer." I mumble, bemused.
Hero chuckles, "Except for Spencer."
We all sit in Hero's study. Everyone wears their clothes for the day and serious expressions. Hero, Ki Hong and Thomas all crowd around a phone that sits on the desk, listening to Jacob give a report on the events in Seal County. He's on speaker phone, but so far the only ones who have spoken to him are the ones around the desk. The rest of us just stand about anxiously.
"Anon is planning a huge fundraiser." Jacob says, "This is going to be the one that ends everything, so this is going to be our last chance. I don't think he's worried about any of you anymore. I mean, his plan is already in motion and it will be finished by this weekend."
"This weekend?" Thomas says sharply, "That barely gives us any time to organize ourselves."
"It's more complicated than that, too." Jacob says, "He's bringing out all the big guns for this one. He'll have maximum security at this party he's having. There's no way that we could divulge him at this thing, with or without the files we need. Speaking of which, did you guys ever manage to crack the code?"
Ki Hong sighs, "I don't know. We tried about a million things, but then the access sent us a message saying that we would need to hack it from the base location."
"You mean-" Jacob starts.
"I mean that we'd actually have to be in Anon's office." Ki Hong says lowly, "Where the files are actually stored."
We hear Jacob sigh dejectedly, "So, that's it then? We can't do anything? We just let him go?"
"No." Ki Hong says, sharing a look with Thomas, "Thomas had an idea."
Thomas looks around the group, who all stare at him curiously. He shrugs, "Well, the solution is simple, isn't it? We break into Anon's office."
Will laughs immediately, "Simple? That sounds like the opposite of simple."
"Listen," Thomas says, "It's risky, no doubt about that, but literally everything else we've done so far has been risky too. We already decided ages ago that we were going to see this through, so that's what we're going to do. Now, from what Jacob is telling us, Anon is going to have as much security as possible at this fundraiser party, which means that security at base will be really lax. Jacob, do you think that you could spread a rumor to Anon that we'll be showing up at the party? If he thinks we're coming, he'll get all hands on deck for this fundraiser and he'll have as little security possible at base."
"I can do that." Jacob says on the other end.
"Okay, but what about us?" Kaya asks, "We're only so many people, and if one of the security guards at base manages to get a hold of Anon while we're infiltrating then he'll send all his security to us and we'll stand no chance. We need more people. Our team is too small."
"I'll come." Hero says immediately, "I can help, I'm a member of the FBI. I can tell my superior about what's going on and we can-"
"No," Thomas say quickly, "No FBI."
Hero frowns, "What? Why not? Who better to help us."
Thomas shakes his head, "They'll have to jump through a million hoops before anyone will let them even investigate a company like Clear Hearts. Besides..." he adds, "There are good people who have been blackmailed into working for Anon that will need to get away before the FBI comes in. They won't be as understanding about letting these people go without interrogations or trials."
Hero frowns and I can tell he's unhappy with this response. However, he locks his jaw and nods, "Fine. But, I'm still coming."
"We're happy to have you." Ki Hong nods.
"Who else could possibly help us then?" Hero asks, "We don't have a lot of options."
Thomas sighs, "I don't know. I'll think of someone."
The gears in my mind turn as I try to think of any possible solution. Suddenly, something clicks, "Has anyone ever escaped Anon without Anon trying to track them down? Someone that knows what they're up against?"
Thomas looks at me and I can practically see the light bulb turn on in his head. He snatches his cell phone, typing quickly and mumbling, "Of course, Stephanie, you're brilliant."
Everyone watches in excitement, waiting for Thomas to explain what's going on to them. Kaya is a little less patient than everyone else and finally, she snaps, "Well, come on, who is it?"
Thomas's eyes flash around the room before they land on Ki Hong, "Most of you don't know him, but Ki Hong does. He used to work with us folks near the top, right with Anon. He got into this mess because he was a heavy gambler and had a lot of debts, but he was an excellent strategist and he could shoot the nuts off a squirrel from fifty yards away."
Ki Hong seems to figure out who Thomas is talking about and he stands up quickly, "No way, I haven't talked to him in ages, he was the coolest person ever - wait a minute, you have his number? I want his number, I can't believe you-"
"Ki Hong, focus please." Kaya rolls her eyes, "You can freak out and have your little man crush later. Right now the rest of us would love to know what's going on."
Thomas's phone buzzes, and an enormous smile spreads across his face, "They call him Kick. And conveniently enough, he's on a business trip in Florida right now."