The Eyes of Fate (Currently in Rewrite)

Undercover at Home

Chesyr

The Train Depot

Laine, Oklahoma

December 17, 2019

"Fang, are you sure this is a good idea?" Vyper asked, shooting a sidelong glance at the captain.

"Probably not," Fang admitted, giving him a smile that was trying so hard to be genuine. "But since when is anything we do?"

Fang could cover with jokes all he wanted, but Chesyr could tell he was nervous. He had been pacing, constantly rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles. On the rare occasion that he sat down, he bounced his leg constantly for a few minutes until standing up again. It had been obvious that something was bothering him since they showed up at his parent's house, but it had only gotten worse as the day of the party approached.

While Chesyr and all of the others had excitedly planned what they were going to wear and what gag gifts they were going to bring, the captain had merely followed them around and indulged them. He had seemed subdued, his usual warm energy replaced by a dull silence that he tried to hide whenever Chesyr or one of the others looked at him. She had talked with Oracle more than once about how Fang was going out and sleeping in the truck rather than in the bedrooms or even the couch in the living room, but whenever they confronted Fang about it he just said that he slept better alone.

Now they were all sitting outside of the train depot where the party was supposed to take place. The building looked nice, clearly something built long before any of them were born. There weren't even train tracks running to the depot anymore, and according to Fang the place was mostly just used for parties like this. They had already scoped the place out before guests arrived, helping the Diamonds with setup, and the inside had looked as vintage as the outside. The main area had been set up to hold at least fifty people, and according to Fang's mom, pretty much every spot would be filled. That had only seemed to ramp up Fang's nerves, and he had practically got into a shouting match with his mother about the number of people being more than she had said originally. After that, they had all left to cover up any lingering traces of their injuries. Now they were back at the depot, with long sleeves and makeup hiding scars and bruises so nobody would know what they really did for a living.

"What if one of them recognizes us? Wouldn't that put us on the run again?" Sentinel spoke this time, and Chesyr felt pride blossom in her chest that he was willing to voice his concerns. He had been as excited as any of them for this party, but seeing Fang so tense was definitely affecting the rest of them too.

"Nobody should know us on sight." Fang said matter-of-factly. He and Oracle had watched every person that arrived at the party, and none of them were former customers. "We're still going to stick with our old names, though, just for caution. Treat it like we would any other undercover op ,just adapt to your persona, and we'll be just fine."

Fang's phone buzzed, and he looked at it once before shaking his head. "That's our cue."

Without another word, Fang began trudging towards the front door of the building. As Chesyr fell in step behind him, she pondered Fang's words. Did he see this as being undercover, rather than getting to see his family after so long? Just how different was he now from how he was back then?

When the door opened, Chesyr saw that the room was indeed as packed as Mrs. Diamond had said it would be. There were easily fifty people in the room, and some of the extra chairs had already been pulled out for more. The tables, which had been arranged into a giant horseshoe, were full, though one table near the opposite end of the room had conspicuously been left empty. Almost nobody had turned around when the door opened, too engrossed in their own conversations to wonder who had come or gone. Those that had looked up had looks of confusion on their faces, except for Fang's parents.