Perfect School

Every game was different and took different skills and thinking to finish. My first attempt was almost always poor while my second attempt did better. Nothing held my interest though. Occasionally I would glance at the others. Paublo seemed to be having a blast in any of the games he played pulling Kyra or Andrew with him to try some game that needed two people.

But as my gaze focused on the pinball game in front of me I couldn't drum up the same excitement. "I don't know anymore." I told Jonah softly to his question.

Jonah:

“Hm, lets try something else then.” I took her by the wrist over to the table we had dinner at. After going over to a stand I had seen earlier, I selected a board game and called the others over.

“We're going to play an old fashioned game,” I told every one. Kyra happily set up the board for me and announced herself banker. “Does everyone know how to play?” I asked, suspecting not.

Kira:

I gazed over the board set up in front of me and the row of silver tokens we were supposed to use. Eventually however my eyes returned to the boardgame and my head gave a tiny tilt. Monopoly? I slowly gave my head a shake to Jonah's question.

"Oh I love this game! I'm going to own you all." Paublo settled into his seat with a tiny wince as the wooden chair creaked under him.

I glanced at him then shifted my green eyes up to Jonah, waiting for him to explain.

Jonah:

I sat close to Kira and explained the basic rules to her while Kyra dealt out everyone’s cash. I picked the top hat for my playing piece and laid my money out gesturing for Kira to do the same.

Once I had the rules I looked over the pieces and then selected the battle ship and placed it in front of me along with my money. After taking a look at Jonah's things I organized them similarly then focused on the board again.

Jonah:

I at least was having fun with the game. I was not winning, my dice rolls had been poor and I had ended up in jail twice, but I enjoyed watching how the others played. Kyra had landed on boardwalk her first go around and now she was trying to make a trade with with Paublo for park place.

Kira:

I settled my head in my hands as I watched the debate happening. Paublo was looking incredibly reluctant to trade the deed away though he had. I was still trying to understand the purpose of the game itself as I gazed down at the three deeds I had. I had the Power Station and both of the brown deeds. A trade had been more or less forced upon me for one of my red deeds and I had just gone along with it.

Jonah:

In the end Andrew pulled off the win by landing on free parking twice and putting hotels on a hole strip of the board. Kyra was not pleased by the outcome, but accepted her place as second.

“Your choice Kira, Pictionary or Charades?” I asked her as we put the game away. It was close to midnight, but Kyra had made us coffee.

Kira:

I came in last place but I still wasn't sure how the game was played and never bought either houses nor hotels. Paublo placed before me, only after Kyra used her charms to get the deeds from him. He'd looked stupidly happy after that incident and had played the rest of the game poorly.

Inspecting the two boxes I wasn't sure which to pick. I started to reach for the pictionary box it seeming like the more interesting and simpler of the two games but the Charades box was snatched up by Kyra with an excited declaration. The choice being out of my hands I only nodded and leaned back in my chair as she began to get everything out.

Jonah:

“Are you having fun yet?” I asked Kira while Andrew awkwardly acted out “Sugar Plum Fairy.” My entire goal was to get Kira to loosen up. We were out of the reach of Marie, Zero had turned off the cameras, there was no threat.

"I dont understand the point of this game." IT wasn't an answer to his question nor was it a good response but it was truthful. My turn had already come and gone, a round declared just for a pass as I'd just sat there instead of acting out 'making a pizza'.

Jonah:

“The point is to have fun. If you don't learn this skill I'm going to require mandatory fun back home,” I warned her playfully. I was teasing her for the most part but I would do it if necessary.

"Jonah I have never said I haven't found enjoyment in things. I just don't know how to find things fun. Besides mandatory fun seems like an impossible task. I might not understand fun, but I understand enough to know that it can't be forced. Someone will either enjoy themselves or they wont." I glanced at him through the corner of my eyes. But as Paublo very unsuccessfully tried to act out 'Dancing Queen' a ghost of a smile touched my lips.

Jonah:

I smiled as I watched every flicker of an expression on her face. “Kira, You know how I like a challenge. 'Impossible' is an enticing word, not a deterrent,” I murmured to her as Paublo sat down after the timer went off. Kyra was almost wheezing with laughter after reading the card he had picked.

I pulled “The Grinch” And Andrew set the timer. I put on my most grumpy face and went about sneaking around and tossing invisible toys into my invisible bag.

Kira:

I didn't have any idea as to what he could be acting though I made a half hearted guess at Santa Claus that Paublo picked up on and began to call Christmasy things instead. While they played I pondered his words and what he could mean behind them. Was it wrong of me not to know fun? Did it matter when it came to my training and usefulness? I couldn't decide, nor could I know just what it would mean to have fun.

Jonah:

The next round when Kira stood still instead of acting out her card, Kyra couldn't control herself and hopped up to help.  She looked at the card and whispered in Kira's ear as to what to do.  As amusing as it was, none of us were able to guess it before the timer went off.  We got back to our rented condo around three in the morning.  No one would have guessed we were killers, much less that we had killed someone earlier that day.  

Even though I had been teasing her when I suggested it, I did enact mandatory fun after our daily training sessions.  The others thought it was odd but they played along and were good sports about it.  Often I picked activities that weren't related to training, but every now and then I would choose on that was just to see how they acted when they didn't know it was an exercise.  Kira was best at those.

Every few weeks I arranged an outing for us with Zero's help.  I found that it improved my relationship hugely with the group that I was interacting with them like normal people and not just their leader.  Kyra warmed back up to me, even when it was just the two of us together.  And while Kira was her usual reserved self for most of it, there were occasional flickers of enjoyment.  

I found out more of what she liked and catered to her pleasure as much as I could, though not always, the rest of my team mattered too.  I was done restricting myself with Kira, for a while I had been indifferent to her because of Marie's influence, but I had broken free of that.  Every chance I got, I worked with Kira to open up her emotional side, not so much that she would feel the need to tell Marie, but enough to force her comfort level.  I was obsessed again, for better or worse, and I was walking a tight rope balancing everything to get what I wanted.  

We had a couple more missions, both went as well as the first and after each one I had Zero set something up afterward for us to celebrate and relax as we were.  The next one we had would be the most difficult one yet.  We were supposed to infiltrate a compound and kill the leaders, there would be something for each of us to do.  I was working Andrew and Paublo especially hard to prepare them for the task.  There were likely to be trained body guards and other obstacles we would have to deal with in order to get the job done.

The whole event at the arcade left me feeling...strange. Was there some part of the world I had been missing? Was it something I was supposed to know of or would it interfere with my training? It was something I pondered over the coming days.

Jonah had been true to his teasing threat, mandatory 'fun' was in effect and it wasn't easy to understand the point of it all. At times I found small semblances of enjoyment in what we were doing but I also at times felt like I simply didn't belong. But as days turned to weeks I noticed how close everyone got. While I did my best to hold everyone at bay it was hard not to be swept up in the excitement.

Even the missions we went on seemed to be going well with little outings after every one of them to unwind. But our next mission was going to be the hardest one yet. We all had our parts to play, and it was easy to see the tension riding on everyone's shoulders as I watched them prepare for their roles.

Jonah:

Due to the scale of our next mission, I had Zero send all possible supplies that we might need straight to the house. I had personally inspected each item and ran through all the possible uses however unlikely that they might be needed. Together, we all loaded the utility van and afterward I had everyone familiarize themselves with the arrangement. I wasn't nervous about the job, I was simply being cautious to ensure our success.

We had a full day of driving to reach our lodgings, then another whole day before the job to get us all on par. That night I laid a map of the compound out on the table and had everyone mark their positions in each different scenario I gave them. They each had their own map, supplied by Zero. Everything was set, my team knew their place well and what to do if we had to make changes in the field. I was confident in them.

There were seven targets, for which I was responsible since they would likely be in the same location. Kira was outside sniper coverage for anyone who escaped the building. Kyra was in charge of clearing out the security with Paublo as back up. It wasn't necessary to kill the guards, merely incapacitate them and, if needed, to cause a distraction for which Paublo would be perfect. Andrew was to remain in the van unless he was absolutely needed. For fear of having our communication hacked, we didn't have a direct link to zero other than through Andrew who would relay any thing should we need it.

We arrived at our concealed location close to the compound before dawn and hiked on foot to our various posts.

Kira:

I settled into my spot, ignoring the stone and rocks that dug into my chest and legs. Laying prone with my rifle set up and scope aimed towards the commpound I relayed brief numbers and locations of guards into my mic so Andrew could transmit it to the others. Slowly I pulled out the cartredge and began loading it with rounds while keeping an eye down my scope. Once six rounds were slid in, I loaded the magazine and pulled back on the bolt to chamber the first round. "A2 ready." She murmured before cutting the mic. Slowly she breathed in and out, stilling her heart and her hands while she aimed down the scope. She settled her cross hairs on the center of a guards chest and slowly curled a finger around the trigger.

Paublo:

I knelt behind the cover of a fallen tree that leaned haphazardly into another of its kin. My eyes were focused on the pair of tube launchers before me and I was checking the rounds inside. I had to force my hands to stop trembling, and to keep from looking at Kyra beside me. Zero had gone all out with our gears, and even our suits were tailored to our positions. Mine was thick, providing plenty of protection from small arms fire as well as leaving me free to swing my fists if the need came. Kira's had a mottles pattern, and didn't look like it would protect her at all but after seeing how quickly the woods had swallowed up her cloaked figure I knew it's purpose. I didn't want to look at Kyra in hers, unsure if it would be utterly form fitting like Kira's and unsure if I would be disappointed to see it not should the case be.

Kyra:

My suit clung to my body to gave me full range of motion. All the gear I would need was aligned in the belt around my waist. Jonah said to use knives or tranquilizers first and only open fire if it came to that, though he suspected that it was. Paublo and I were to await his instructions before moving in, he was to get as far in as he was able first.

“Left entrance, six guards down the hall,” Jonah said through the headset to me and Paublo.


Jonah:

I had already taken out several of the guards along the way, only tranquilizing then unless I had no other option. I made it to the computer room where I would wait until Kyra and Paublo cleared the hallway. I logged on with a card from one of the guards I had taken. I skimmed over files looking for anything useful. Something popped out that was enough to cause me discomfort.

“Recent guard orders,” I spoke into the mic for all, “trippled.”

Kira:

I counted silently back from fifty. At twenty five seconds I heard a few explosions. Like a hive kicked everything went into motion at once but with my sights already centered on the farthest tower guard I completed my count and sent a single shot to end each of the nine guards in the towers. When my clip emptied I simply switched to a new clip.

I crawled behind the rocks I'd been laying among and then disppaeared into the forest to take up a new vantage point. I kept my rifle held in the crooks of my arms while I loaded my pair of clips with fresh rounds. My next vantage point was in a tree and I settled my back against it with the barrel propped up on my knee. Taking stock of the situation I relayed to the team, "They are organizing. Someone is calling the shots here. Not someone we planned for."

Jonah:

I pulled up surveillance and spotted many of my targets and where they were in the building. Be fore I left the room I took care to identify the one Kira spoke about. He was a big man in his early forties. I gave a brief description to the others and a location. He was on Kira's side, so I gave her the responsibility of taking him out if he came in view.

With my gas mask on I ran through the halls, hindered by multiple pockets of hired help. Our already difficult mission just turned into a literal blood bath.


Kyle:

I was hired in anticipation of an attack like this. I had studied the surroundings and marked out where snipers where likely to set up. Where they not only had the best vantage point, but the most coverage. When the tower guards were hit, I sent up more in their place with instructions to oped fire upon these places without cease. There was no end to weaponry here.

I stayed carefully hidden to avoid becoming a target for the sniper while calling orders though my headset.

Kira:

I couldn't do anything as I witnessed each of the vantage points offered to a sniper underwent a hail of bullets. And no matter how fast I dived out of the tree I couldn't help but hiss in pain at the impact and what I knew was a through and through shot in my arm along with a half a dozen other grazes.

Panting I took cover behind a tree before looking over my injuries. The grazes bled lightly, but weren't pressing. IT was my arm however that needed the most help. Digging into a pouch at my waist I tied a bandana over the wounds, knotting it tightly. With injuries taken care of I checked my gear. Ending up tossing aside my headset as a lucky shot had taken out most of the electronics. It was also lucky that such a shot hadn't simply impacted into my head. And between the fall and a few other shots my rifle was out of commission. Field stripping it I abandoned the useless components and slung the remaining rifle over my back so that the strap crossed my chest. I checked my pistol and knife and with both in working order I looked down at the compound. Who ever had been leading the guards knew to take out the snipers vantage points. Even identifying the likely targets.

Jonah had given her the task of removing the obstacle. And yet she hesitated for a few seconds. In the end though she began to jog down towards the compound. She would fulfill her objective then retreat. The others would have to make due on their own.

Kyle:

I assumed the sniper had been shot as there was no returning fire. I returned to the control room to figure out where the other assailants were in the compound and to give orders to terminate them. I sat in the char working quickly to find them all. From what I could tell, there were three of them, two male, one female all wearing gas masks. I didn't get a good enough look at them, but I knew where they were.

I gave orders into my mic before preparing to go into the fray myself. On one of the surveillance screens I saw a quick flash of something. It was the one from the hallway outside the room. I gripped my gun and turned around in my char to watch the door. There was already a figure standing there.

I drew my gun but the girl was already flying through the air with a quick kick to disarm me. I blocked a slash of her knife and reached out with one big hand and roughly grabbed her knew and threw her one handed to the side. It didn't give me enough time to get out, or to seek the gun, but I was able to stand up and draw a knife before she was at me again. The fact that I was several times her size didn't give me as much advantage as one would assume.

Kira:

I adjusted the knife in my grip, holding it point down, my thumb resting over the butt of the knife. I kept the other hand open as I shifted into a ready stance. My gaze wandered over him, seeking the best points of attack. The last thing I needed was for him to hit an alarm. Fighting by speed and just letting him bleed out wasn't going to be enough.

But then my brain made me pause. The man seemed familiar. Something I couldn't quite place about him that made me want to lower my weapon. The thought only lasted for a fraction of a second before I began to prowl forward, adjusting the grip on my knife. There would be time to figure this out after he was dead.

Words were meaningless, waste of time, energy, and breath. True fights between skilled opponents never had a sound and as he lashed out first we both proved it. The man was stronger than me, but not quicker. And where I excelled simply by instinct he made up for it with experience. The two of us exchanged blows, thrusts, parries, blocks, and jabs in a varied range of martial arts and training.

During one such transition I gained the upper hand. A slash he aimed with his knife was followed up by an elbow blow. I was sure he was expecting me to block the slash but I let it fall, simply turning my head to the side so it scored my cheek in a thin line. Hooking my arm around his, I jerked it using my weight while my free hand grabbed at his hip fingers closing around his spare knife. The actions of both had me dancing away with an extra knife while the one he'd been holding hit the ground. I recovered quicker, keeping the reverse hold in one hand and the traditional way in the other as I watched him again.