the final mission

11

"I don't see any You's over here, do you guys?" Roddy cracked up at her dad joke and sat down on the floor in front of the door. Her friends rushed to her assistance and helped her take her shoes off. Roddy hated wearing shoes in the house.

"Now, where were we? I'm Roddy." The black haired girl shot the boys a toothy grin despite her condition. Her breathing came out ragged and her bottom row of teeth were clenched, but she kept her spirits up nevertheless. "I'm sorry we had to meet in these conditions."

"Roddy! What were you thinking? Why didn't you take anyone with you" Ziva was pulling on her hair, pacing the floor. Raina asked Brody and Cale to carry Rody to the elevator, which they hadn't even realized was in the house.

The group of eight traveled to the basement, where there seemed to be some sort of medical office. Roddy was laid on the table and Raina started treating her wounds. Roddy held in her flinches to the best of her ability. She didn't like showing other people her pain.

While Brody might have been goofy, he was also quite intelligent. He had studied sports medicine as well as therapy, so he was more than qualified to help if any of the boys were ever in trouble.

"Roddy? You gonna explain what happened?" Roddy nodded, but was holding in her breath as Brody checked out her leg. She had fell down the stairs and twisted her ankle, but she knew she would be back on it by later that night. The missions never stopped for anyone.

"By the time I had gotten to the franchise, they had already been waiting for me with backup. I didn't bring nearly enough bullets with me so I had to use my knives. I ran upstairs so I could get higher ground and someone shoved me down the stairs." Roddy said this as if she didn't have a care in the world, but Diego and Brody flinched at the thought of it. Her injuries weren't looking too good.

"You're not coming with us today, you know that right?" Ziva always tried to keep Roddy safe, but sometimes it was difficult. While Roddy was a calculative and organized leader, she tended to not care for herself as much as she should have. Roddy could be a little too selfless.

"You think a few ouchies are going to stop me?" Roddy laughed at the thought. She got up and went to go eat lunch. She looked at the meal and smiled, knowing that Kai had probably made it out to be a coincidence. Just like the baby blue tie he wore yesterday. Roddy shook her head and dug in, nothing but happiness seeping from her body.

"Is no one else going to join me?" Roddy pouted. The rest of the people around her tentatively took their seats and finished the rest of their food. Roddy finally acknowledged the elephant in the room when she couldn't play the "let's all stare at Roddy until she's uncomfortable" game anymore.

"Yes, Kai. That was me that night. Going to your parent's party was one of my missions that day. I did what I was supposed to and left." Kai was very unsatisfied with that answer. It gave nothing away.

"Did you have anything to do with killing my parents?"

One side of Roddy's mouth raised, almost taunting Kai. Her dark blue eyes glistened, as if telling Kai to challenge her. While Kai liked challenges, Roddy liked them much more.

"Why were you on the guest list? How did you know my family?"

"My date that night had been very," Roddy paused to think of the proper word to use, "close with your father. They were work associates." Kai remembered seeing a man in a tailored suit sitting next to Roddy, but he hadn't spoken with her very much that night.

"How are you not dead?" Roddy suddenly remembered that she had pretended to die so Kai wouldn't go looking for her. It worked to a certain extent. Kai's eyebrows were furrowed when she smiled at him.

"How are you not dead?" Roddy shot back, rendering Kai silent. Kai still hadn't known who carried him to his bedroom. He wondered why save him out of everyone there.

"Watching you two talk is fun and all but we have places to be. Everybody please make their ways to the viewing room." Ziva spoke, her voice full of authority. They cleaned up the table and made sure the kitchen was spotless before heading up to the room with a large smartboard in the middle. Ziva was stoked when Roddy bought it one year for Christmas.

"Today," Roddy glanced at the others sitting the conference table, "we will be robbing a bank."

Roddy smiled jauntily, dimples on full display.

Kai would've found her adorable if not for the glazed, adventurous look in her eyes. He could tell that she was yearning for fun. He didn't know whether or not to be scared.

"Here are your masks. Now let's begin."