Isn't "SMOSH" A Dumb Name For A Criminal Syndicate?

Anthony's Our Boss Again!!

Courtney has prided herself on the notion of being the new soldier on the team to continually shoot down Ian's (less practical) ideas. And, she's awfully tempted to say her piece on this, his latest one. But, seeing that Ian has already gone through with it, Courtney can only conclude that the boss feels really good about whatever he's cooked up this time.

Admittedly, Courtney and the rest of the crew knew Ian allegedly had "big news" that he couldn't divulge for what was assumed to be the secretive restraints of mafia business practices. Usually, though, he'd reserve important, but non-dire information for the evening debrief after an uneventful workday. Ian was adamant that meetings at any time other than morning and evening wasted unnecessary time and energy, breaking the momentum of the day for things that could easily be communicated through Smosh's mission directors.

It's half past one. Courtney skipped lunch to scurry back to the main facility at Ian's beckoning over the main radio circuit. That's how she knew that the remaining soldiers would be crammed in the small, repurposed conference room Sarah Whittle took pains to deck out with the best illegal hardware the black market had to offer at the time. Sure, twenty soldiers (excluding recurring associates) sounds like a small, manageable number. But, from where Courtney sits at the oval table-crammed shoulder-to-shoulder between Damien and Shayne-she thinks she should be forgiven for feeling a little antsy.

Amanda, sitting pretty at her spacious corner as everyone waits for the "news" to break, snickers at Courtney. Courtney sticks their tongue out at her.

"Actually, we don't even know if this is about whatever the Boss has been hinting at since a few weeks ago." Damien muses to Courtney and Shayne, blinking hard as if to snap himself out of his thinking. "Could be something more important."

Shayne re-tousles his hair and stares up at the ceiling for answers it'll certainly never give. "Don't know what else it could be then. I thought he preferred to pass things along to us and the other mission directors. If he's interrupting noon patrols for this, it has to be big."

"Maybe it's another big heist. Garrett's been getting us really good jobs lately." Courtney wonders aloud, craning her head back to watch the stairwell doors open and shut with soldiers trickling in one-by-one. Kiana, Spencer, and Tommy come in together, looking a little too unacclimated to the overhead lights of the conference room. They must've been holed up in the surveillance loft again, guided only by the fluorescent blue-light of monitors.

"Maybe...?" Damien's face scrunches in an unsure cringe. "But, I think we're still tying up loose ends on the last one. At least, that's what I heard from Erin, and she's always talking to the associates that handle that stuff."

Shayne shrugs, mostly unbothered. "Well, I guess we're gonna find out soon enough." He trades a resolute sideways glance with Courtney and Damien, seemingly giving a definitive punctuation to the topic. Courtney is more than happy to move onto other things while they wait.

"What were you guys doing before the summons? We got here around the same time."

Damien brightens at Courtney's offhanded question, quick to answer with enthusiasm. "Angela and I got to front the ticket booth at Dropout's theater while Grant went to help 2nd Try with something. Apparently, Angela's old troupe was doing a matinee there."

Courtney chuckles beneath their breath. "Damn, I forgot StarKid doesn't just deal narcotics."

"Not just drugs!" Angela, across the table from Shayne, quickly leans over to butt into the conversation. "They run an organ circuit too."

"Do you want us to be impressed or deeply unsettled by that?" Shayne fights out between a strained, sqeaking giggle. His disconcerted laughter is contagious, roping in Courtney and Damien as well and prompting a defensive look from Angela-slack-jaw and all.