My Covert Bodyguard

59: Welcome to the Scarlett Legion

four weeks later

"We're doing all we can here in New York, but we also have a lot of other things we need to do." Theo spoke from the TV in the video conference, but even with the shitty quality recording I could tell he was preoccupied. His video paused for a few seconds, and his audio cut out. When he returned, he was finishing a sentence.

"Theo, you just cut out for a few seconds, can you repeat that?" Kyle said.

Theo sighed. "Look, Helen, Kyle, Cass, I trust what you are doing. If you need more reinforcements, let me know, but otherwise you're on your own."

"Alright, thank you Theo. For everything." Aunt Helen said before she hung up. 

Most things at the Scarlett Legion Headquarters were cooling down. We instituted a system quite similar to what we had before, where trainees went back to training and officers went back to work, but we lowered the workload of trainees by almost half, and instead of physical training swapped it with academia.

"They're agents, not an army. We need them to be able to think for themselves." Aunt Helen had said.

After the meeting, I made my way to the training gym, as had become routine. Food, meeting, gym, food, meeting, gym, food, meeting, sleep. As much as I loved seeing the progress made and the trust gained as slowly more members were released from prison, my packed schedule was getting to be a lot. I almost longed for the days when I was still in training and I didn't constantly have to put a "reliable, understanding leader" front 24/7. 

I walked up to Lei, who was in the midst of teaching a group of trainees aikido. We had gotten rid of the alphabetical skill-based grouping system in fear that it seemed too elitist. We were trying a new system where everybody learned from each other, and were mixed together for that reason. Among the trainees I saw Dylan, the 12-year-old boy who's personal belongings had almost been taken by the Shadow Legion all those weeks ago. He was just as agile as I remembered him being, but his face looked so much more alive now. His eyes lit up as he saw me and I waved back, a proud look flushing his face.

Lei saw us, and didn't stop her fluid movements as she said, "Hi Cass, hi Kyle."

She called over Trevor and Julianna who were giggling and flirting as they practiced a kickboxing drill. "Can you guys fill in while I talk to Cass for a bit?"

Without skipping a beat, they took her place, not missing a single move in the flow. Lei walked over to an empty corner of the gym.

"What's up, Lei? Something wrong with your family?"

Lei shook her head. "No, they're good. Great, actually. They love the apartment you gave us, because we can actually all live together for the first time. My grandma can't stop saying that you're our guardian angel and that the Scarlett Legion is restored because of you."

I smiled, but looked at her worriedly. "So what's wrong?"

"Well, it's kind of personal and selfish of me..." She glanced at me and Kyle, looking sheepish and apologetic. "I want to compete in the Tokyo Olympics."

I grinned excitedly and clapped my hands. "That's amazing!!"

"The thing is, I have to train and compete for the next two years, and more, I suppose if I want to continue as an athlete... I don't know if I could work here for a while."

I hugged her, relieved that this was what she was worried about. "God, Lei. You've given the Scarlett Legion way more than I could ever ask. Go, and make us proud. And come back anytime, even if it's just to visit your family."

She squeezed back tightly. "You're among that family, you know." She glanced at Kyle who was semi-awkwardly standing next to us. "You get in here too." We all laughed as Kyle joined the hug.