Chapter Ten

IVY

"Well, there's not much more we can do about the bug problem from last night; You should've destroyed the thing elsewhere, and we don't have anything to analyze either." Secretary states solemnly, her baby pink pantsuit expressing the opposite of how she looks. "Unfortunately, you were distracted with more important things. There is a chance they'll think you purposely are trying to throw whoever did this off track. At least you discovered it before returning to headquarters." Secretary rubs her face with her hands, brushing back her long black hair.

"What about Aria and Mr. Shirogane?" I question, worried about any innocent bystanders getting involved in personal affairs.

"After you informed them, they notified me that they would shut down their place for a week or two. We have scouts in the area to see if any unwanted visitors come by." That means we'll be down a unit for the next two weeks. We only have six active crews, and we have about three teams worth of recruits in training, but they're not ready to handle any field missions. Even spying could be too dangerous for them, especially since we don't know who is doing this yet.

An awkward silence follows; Ashe and I were expecting a more extensive lecture from Secretary, but she appears too stressed to even do that. I think that worries both of us even more.

"You're not disappointed in us?" I pipe up, ready to be yelled at.

"Well… I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I'm not upset with how you followed through. You did the right thing, even though you didn't execute the plan like I would've liked to see from your level of experience. Both of you." She sighs out, long and exhausted. "You're positive you weren't followed to the warehouse location? But you said you felt like you were being watched as you left?"

"I'm sure of it. Neither of us sensed anything or anyone suspicious until after the mission was completed." I firmly say.

Silence follows from Secretary as Ashe nods his head to agree with my statements. "In that case, I have nothing to be upset over with the assigned mission… however, I am irritated that you didn't take more precaution with the feeling of being watched."

"I would've checked the area more, but…" I look over at Ashe, but not for long. I can't look at him too long without feeling guilty.

"So, not great, but not terrible," Ashe interjects, stretching his arms behind his back, trying to end the subject. He looks a lot better after getting some rest, but he still leans on his right leg; he refuses to walk with any help from crutches or people.

"You did your job, but it does concern me. Is this the government's doing? Or could it be…" Secretary seems lost in thought, placing her fingers under her chin.

"Be what?" I ask.

"Nothing, but I'll be sure to look into everything. Ashe, you're dismissed, Ivy, I'd like you to stay behind."

"Sec, none of this is her fault if you're gonna–" Ashe attempts to defend me but is cut off.

"That's not what I wish to discuss with her. It's other private matters. Personal." She waves her hand up so he doesn't press any further.

"...Oh… well, I'll… I'll see myself out then." He looks back and forth between Secretary and me before limping out of the office.

"Ivy, has your family started packing to move to that new house yet? We secured it for you yesterday while you were out on assignment." She organizes more papers on her desk, cluttered with documents as usual.

"Ah, no, it's kind of slipped my mind because of everything from the past few days. It's already–"

"Yes. All good to go; you just need to move there to turn it from a house to a home." Secretary files away some of the papers, still looking troubled.

I clench my fists; her tone makes her sound bitter rather than joyous. It makes me feel like she's saying, 'I was able to do everything for this agency and for my agent's personal lives, yet you can't be bothered to secure your surroundings?' But it's not like she's wrong. "...You sound tense. Are you sure you're not upset with my performance yesterday?"

She lets out a heavy sigh, and her dark eyes cut into mine. "I'm tense because there could be government agents on your trail, a gang dealing trying to get even, or an old problem coming to bite me in the ass. I need to figure out what's going on and how to best protect everyone under my surveillance."

I swallow the dryness in my mouth. I need to stop being so conceited; not everything is about me or my performance; there's more than that at stake here. "I– Is there anything I– or the team can do to help?"

"The best thing you can do is help your family and be vigilant of the people surrounding you. Go. You should help your family pack up. Moving to a new place might be good for all of you."

I shouldn't press any more for now; she already seems stressed, and I know she's doing everything she can to ensure we're safe. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you for everything so far."

***

I carefully set everything aside, having packed all that's in my room except for the secret compartment since that will need a safer moving method. Dad is, of course, upset that I didn't tell him about this surprise, but seeing the look on Luke's face and how happy he and the twins are, throws that out the window. Sorry, I'll make it up to you, Dad.

I stroll to the shared bedroom, all boxed up except for the furniture. Angela and Chloe bounce up and down together, singing about having their own rooms. "We're gonna have sleepovers all the time, though! We can switch rooms every night! My room, then your room, then back to mine again!" They giggle excitedly, and it brings a broad smile to my face. I look over at Luke sitting on his bare mattress, who finally went back to school today. His black eye is still healing, but he manages to put on a genuine smile while looking at the girls dancing around clumsily.

"Do I get to join these sleepovers?" I ask from the doorway, my favorite sweater dress clinging to my body.

They all turn to look at me, and the girls rush up in their pajamas, hugging me and pulling at my clothes. "Really??? You want to have sleepovers with us??" Chloe looks up at me with her bright brown eyes.

"Of course I do." I squat down, embracing both of them tightly. "Who in their right mind would reject having a sleepover with such adorable little monsters?"

"Monsters?!?!" They giggle as we bury our faces together. "You're always so busy, though; when will you have time?" Angela asks, her blonde hair standing out from mine and Chloe's brown hair as we huddle together.

"I promise you, the first night there, we'll have a big sleepover. Movies, snacks, pillow fights, you name it." I'm not one to break a promise with anyone, especially family.

"Yay!! I can't wait!" Chloe squeals in excitement.

"Me too! Me too!" Angela concurs, her green eyes sparkling.

"Pretty rude of you guys to talk about all this fun stuff in front of me." Luke chimes in. He's back to joking around more, a smug on his face and mischief behind his own hazel eyes.

"Aren't you the one who wanted his own room in the first place?" I poke back at the young brunette.

"Yeah, but who in their right mind would reject having a sleepover with such adorable little monsters?" He recites what I said earlier.

"Monsters?!?! GURR!!" The girls growl as they run over to tackle Luke on his bed.

"Ahhhh! Oh no! Help me, help me!" Luke pretends to fall victim to the two troublemakers, squirming around as they 'attack' him. In reality, their attacks are pretty weak… it's a bit concerning, but maybe I'll wait until they're a bit older to teach them anything. They haven't even reached double digits yet.

I sneak over myself, waiting to plunge into the action as well. "Gotcha!" I shout as I tickle Chloe and Angela; they laugh uncontrollably as I lay on top of all three of them. I miss this. God, I wish it could just be like this forever.

"Sis!!! We can't breathe!!!" Chloe breathlessly shouts, the whistle clear in her speech in between laughter fits.

"Wait!" Angela yells, a severe tone in her voice. I get up instantly, worried that something occurred.

"What is it?" Luke asks, also concerned about the young girl's well-being.

"For our birthday, can we still get the paletas here? I don't know how far the new house is; I don't want to move if it's too far from the paletas." The older twin begins to tear up. It's something so trivial to me as an adult, but I know it means a lot to her and Chloe; even Chloe now shows an uneasy expression.

"Of course, we can still get the paletas here. It's not like we're moving cities. Don't worry; in nine days, you'll have those paletas in your hands." I rub my nose against Angela's, giving her reassurance. Chloe is smiling once again, reaching over to hold her sister's hand.

"What is going on here?" My Dad's cheerful voice enters the room, smiling at the scene before him. Chloe is smiling while holding a half-crying Angela's hand, Luke is still buried under the girls, and I'm kneeling by the bedside. "I didn't realize I had such crazy children living here."

"They're crazy, alright." Luke declares, crushed underneath their weight. "Bunch of locas. Crazies."

"Es cierto?"

"No!" The twins shout loudly, jumping out of my hug, off the bed– and Luke, and into my Dad's arms. He laughs as he picks them up, struggling a bit to do so.

"Okay, okay, keep it down. We may be leaving, but let's not leave the neighbors with bad impressions." I brush myself off, the floor a bit messy from moving so many things around while packing. "The moving truck is here tomorrow, so let's make sure everything is packed and ready to go. Double check that everything is put away in a box!" My siblings will all be at school, and Dad will be at work while the truck comes by. Dad isn't too keen on me moving everything alone, but I told him that's what the moving team is hired to do, let them do their job. Besides, I won't have too much trouble if, for some reason, they need extra help with any heavy lifting. Shadow is an intense trainer when he wants to be, but it's definitely helped build up the strength I have today.

As the sun sets, my Dad calls us to eat dinner. It's rare for us to all eat together since I'm usually still at the office at this time of day. The kids all rush out, hungry, I'm sure from a long day of packing. I smile, and before exiting the room with them, I walk up to the window to close the blinds. A figure catches my eye before I pull the string to block out the front path of the complex; a woman wearing an orange sweater and brown pants, her blonde hair up in a messy bun. It's the neighbor from right below us, Kaylee Cline, but she looks very distressed. Poor thing, she always looks so put together, so something must have happened to make her look so distressed. But it's not like that's any of my business; my priority is my family, and tomorrow we'll be saying goodbye to this community.