Perfect School

That Jonah gave a near identical account was a surprise. He had ever chance, every reason to toss me aside further. And yet the differences and matches that I had doubts on set me further on edge. I gave whatever answer she needed in the extended questioning.

Being released wasn't much of an improvement to my mood. There was no verdict given to us beyond her displeasure. It left too many questions, too many uncertainties about the future. As it was I didn't look at Jonah after leaving the training room.

I went to the infirmary first, letting them treat and deal with my wounds. After the clean bill of health I returned to my rooms on one of the top floors. I took a long bath, letting it ease my body even more than the simple trip to the doctor's had.

Dressing nicely like I always did when staying in Marie's building I ordered my meal to be delivered on a public balcony I was known to frequent.

Jonah:

Instead of going to the infirmary like Kira did, I asked for a few supplies to be brought to my room so I could tend to my wounds myself. I had a nice purple scar on my abdomen that hadn’t been there the last time Maire’s doctors had examined me. I didn’t want to have to explain that.

The food tasted like nothing. Not even the treat tasted good to me. Dutifully I ate every bite, and yet it was disappointing. After finishing it I sat at the table, looking out over the city, hands folded in my lap. I was the picture of what I was supposed to be.

But I wasn't content.

I felt the need to talk to someone, someone I was close too but no one seemed right. Zero didn't have the ability or attention to help me. Kyra would fight and rush into the middle of danger if I told her what happened. Telling Andrew was about as good as telling Kyra. Krissy was off the table as I couldn't trust her not to cause more problems. Michael would be a good choice, but I didn't want to have him get in trouble either. I couldn't trust Jonah at all anymore. I was left with no one.

But someone came to mind then, and I nearly laughed at the insanity of picking them. I left my dishes behind, trusting that someone else would deal with it while I returned to my room and grabbed up my phone. I hesitated only a moment before dialing, sitting slowly on the edge of the bed as a male voice answered.

"Kyle? I need someone to talk too."

Kyle:

“Kira? Are you safe?” I asked immediately. I would have asked about the twins too but I had talked to them just a couple hours ago and knew they weren’t with Kira. I would never have expected her to call me unless she was calling about one of my family members.

"I....I think so." My voice got thick for a moment and I took a moment to make myself relax. To breath slowly until I felt steadier. "I'm in Marie's tower. We just got back from a job. Jonah and I."

I pressed the palm of my free hand to my forehead for a moment then sighed. "I didn't have anyone else I could trust with a call..."

Kyle:

I paused for a moment, thinking through what she had said. “So, you chose me?” I didn’t think Kira particularly liked me. We had very few moments when we were even alone together. But there must be reasons why she chose me over the rest of the family. “What’s going on?”

"Kyra came to mind first. But she'd have run here immediately. Wouldn't have cared what stood in her way or the danger. Andrew I might as well have been telling Kyra. I don't trust Krissy. Michael has enough to deal with and I'd rather respect his wishes of being hidden no matter if he'd be willing to get to me." I spouted off at his first question.

I neglected to add that out of everyone I'd named, he was last on the list of people I wanted to protect. "That left you. Since you seem least likely to do something stupid."

Picking at the edge of the sheets I sighed through my nose. "The mission was botched. I wanted it to go perfectly...after Krissy's mistake I wanted things to be perfect so she wouldn't suspect anything. And yet I failed."

Kyle:

I was grateful for her reasoning, but it did sadden me that she couldn’t talk to her parents about such things. “How did you fail?” I asked. I knew Kira could be hard on herself if she didn’t do things perfectly. “Tell me what happened.” I knew the she was Marie. I hoped my aunt wouldn’t be punishing Kira for anything. In that case she might be wrong about me doing something stupid for her sake.

Kira:

"We were tasked with extracting a high value target from an enemy city. Marie wanted information from his head. He did not make it to the boat." I gave the short version before giving the longer version. I held back just enough of main details to not be specific on where we had gone, but I also gave enough that I was sure with some digging he'd find out.

Laying back on the bed I pressed my free hand to my eyes. "I came close to dying."

Kyle:

Anger bubbled in my stomach.  Both Marie and Jonah were using her and she was paying the price.  “But you didn’t die, Kira.  It sounds like you did everything you were supposed to but you were set up to fail.  Jonah should have had your back.  That’s what a partner is for,” I said.  I would never have left Krissy or Lexi in a situation like that.  Doubtful I would have done it to even Will.

I sighed, feeling a weight shift off my shoulders. Such simple words were everything I needed to hear, that this wasn't my fault. That I did what I was supposed to do. "I...needed to hear that...to feel less crazy..."

Kyle:

“You aren’t crazy. You’ve been let down by people who should have looked out for you. It’s okay to be upset. It’s okay to be angry. Just know you have people who do care and will support you no matter what happens,” I said.

I rubbed at my eyes, feeling a rather familiar stinging threatening to spill over. But I refused to cry over the phone. "How is the rest of the family?" I surprised myself with how calm my voice sounded even though the tears nearly won their battle.

Kyle:

I sighed. “Fine. Your parents had to relocate, you know. They no longer have the sheep. Closer to a beach though. I can’t exactly say where over the phone. They would love to see you. Maybe it would do you good too to get away for a little while.” Perhaps if she could be convinced to spend time with her family now, shortly after this failed mission, then she could be convinced to try to leave Marie for good. Marie and Jonah.

Kira:

"I liked the sheep." I frowned briefly at the loss of the fuzzy animals, while also feeling slightly vindicated that Krissy had to lose something she enjoyed for the entire mess she'd started. "I wish I could but...I can't disappear for a little bit. Maybe if the mission had gone well but right now I need to be on my best behavior."

Kyle:

“I understand. But Kira, don’t forget that you’re not alone. If you need help, or even jut advice, please don’t hesitate to call, okay? If you don’t want the rest of the family involved, then just contact me. I hope you know, you’re like a daughter to me,” I said. I felt responsible for Kira in a way her parents didn’t seem to. And I did bring her into the family loop in the first place.

Kira:

"I won't...and I'll try to see if I can come for a visit. But it wont be for as long and I wont know when." I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a moment. Kyle was closer to what I pictured a father to be. Michael wasn't a bad one, but there was this aloofness there. "Tell everyone I said hello if you talk to them. And I'll try keeping in contact more..."

Kyle:

“Okay, take care, Kira.  And I may not be the most likely to go off to do something stupid on a whim.  But, if you were to ask for my help, I wouldn’t hesitate to come,” I told her.  There was nothing I wouldn’t do for my children, and I counted her as part of that.

"Don't be getting sappy on me Kyle. I get enough of that from the other adult family members I've got...but I apprecite it. Really." The quip fell from my lips before I could stop it and it was followed by a small quirk of a smile. "Goodbye Kyle. Hopefully I'll talk to you soon."

Jonah:

Marie kept us for a couple more days until she sent us back to the school. I was questioned more but I kept to my story, only adding a few details here or there to make it more believable. On the flight back to the school, Kira nad I sat at seperate sides of the plane. Only in the car when it was just the two of us to I speak up.

“Do you hate me, Kira?” I asked her, my tone neutral. I knew she didn’t hate me, but stil I asked the question to better gauge her response.

I had done my best to disregard and distance myself from Jonah while at Marie's. I only had one more meeting with Marie in that time and was otherwise left to my own devices. But when the order came along to send us back to the School I knew that my ability to keep away was going to be tested.

The plane was simple, I put on headphones and dozed off, but when we went to the car I knew something was going to come to a head. With our stuff tossed into the back and my gaze out the passenger window I was fully prepared to become a statue until we arrived.

Nothing prepared my however for his sudden question. My brow furrowed for a moment, and I was pulled from my thoughts. I turned over the question in my head before settling in my seat and looking out the front windshield.

"I don't hate you Jonah. But I'm sure you knew that." There was nothing in my voice, no emotion or inflection. But as I continued a tired note began to seep into it. "I can't trust you anymore. You knew what I wanted, knew what I needed. I can accept some of the things that happened. I don't expect perfection to the plan and know you needed to gain something to be content with it all."

I glanced at him finally, a single look from the corner of my eyes. "But you lied to me. I don't care about your personal war with Marie and your drive to stand on top of everything. I hope what you gained was worth it, because from where I am sitting I didn't gain anything from that mission. I can only be glad that things didn't become worse."

Jonah:

"You could have gained something from it. You chose not to. You had your objective, I had mine. I am sorry that it meant one of us would fail. I would have preferred to work with you," I said, glancing at her then back to the road. It was the honest truth. I would have liked it better had she been on my side. She would never know how close I had come to forsaking my plans for her.

"You give me so many reasons not to work with you. I asked you, begged you for this one time to help me. But you decided your own goals were more important after agreeing." I countered. "So how many times did you lie to me for the mission Jonah? So I know how much you really wanted to work with me."

Jonah:

"If I had begged for you to help me instead, would you have agreed? Would you have gone against Marie for me?" I asked, ignoring her question. Her situation was not that different from mine. Only I was doing something about it. She served someone who abuses her purely out of loyalty. Her cause was not better than mine.

I sighed and shook my head. Everything was about Jonah. Nothing he did didn't ever benefit him in some way. Even this conversation was probably just another way for him to get what he wanted. "We will never know will we. I asked and you didn't. We both know what happened after."