Operation: thieving Thunder

A night with the boys

Kye's POV
I stood in our small kitchen and started cooking Cherokee Succotash, "So Eliza, why do you and Zofia have problems?" She sighed before replying "I guess it's because our jobs are so similar, I think it's this subconscious fear that she'll do my job better than me" I nodded slowly as Zofia replied "you know that hasn't ever been my intention" Eliza sounded ashamed "I know, another thing that makes me so competitive with you is our gadgets, they're so similar but yours can do stuff mine can't. I always want to be the best but I just can't top you" I spoke again "Why don't you stop trying to top each other and instead do what Monika and I do and just try to figure out ways your gadgets can be used to strengthen the other. Monika(IQ) and I are rivals like you but it's a constructive rivalry, we want to be better than the other but offer advice and solutions so we both can keep getting better" Eliza replied "Mike told me to try that" Zofia nodded "I wouldn't be against it, I just need to know why there was a problem to begin with. I don't remember doing anything bad to you" Eliza looked at Zofia and rubbed her arm "I... it was the gadget, I wanted to prove I'm a better operator so I took every chance I could. Turns out it was only holding the team back, Mike made a point friendly rivalry is good but what's going on between you and I is dangerous" Zofia looked at me worriedly for a second "Did you hesitate to follow the hostage extraction order because it came from me?" Eliza didn't reply causing me to prompt "Liza, answer the question" she sighed "yes, I did" I asked "do you see why mike said it was dangerous?" She nodded "But I'm not the only one at fault here, Zofia does it too" Zofia got defensive "I do not"
        I spoke up "Hey, Hey, easy, it's not about who's right, it's about putting everything on the table so you can fix the problem" Zofia slumped a bit "I guess I do, I never noticed it, my father always taught me to follow orders but here I am ignoring yours" I chuckled "Your dad was brutal when it came to that, anyway what else is there that needs to be laid out?" Zofia shrugged "I can't think of anything, maybe I could start telling Eliza when I use my concussion rounds near her" I heard Eliza "yeah, you could, those things fucking hurt" Zofia laughed as I smiled to myself "another one down" I felt Zofia and Eliza's eyes on me "Hey Kye what're you making?" I glanced over "my favorite food from my childhood, I made mama teach me it before I shipped out last deployment" Zofia laughed before getting down "the way you say mama reminds me of my daughter" I looked at Eliza and saw she was getting uncomfortable before I spoke to Zofia "that just means she'll be a mama's girl for the rest of her life" Eliza asked "does that mean you're still a mama's boy? Huh?" I smiled faintly "you're damn right I am, I love spending time with my mom, she can make anything fun" Eliza laughed as Zofia replied "I can't wait to see my daughter, I miss her" I chirped "I miss my mom" Eliza replied "I miss my food" Zofia and I laughed before I asked "Zofia when are you supposed to see her?" She looked at the calendar "This Friday, she's gonna come and spend the weekend here" I glanced over "Do you want me to drive so you can sit in the back and talk with her?" She glanced up hopefully "would you? Really?" I nodded "It'll be fun" Eliza asked "how old is she now? 7? 8?" Zofia nodded "Just turned 8" I asked "do you want me out of the room for that weekend? I can go stay with someone else if I have to" Zofia shook her head no "Nie, she's pretty comfortable around new people. Once I introduce you she'll be fine" I sighed "if you're sure" I went back to cooking while Eliza and Zofia talked, occasionally tossing in my input.
       An hour and 53 minutes later there was a knock at the door, I called "Doors open, come in!" I heard the door open and saw a nervous Ela walk around the corner I gave a kind smile "Let me finish up dinner and then I'll be out of your hair for the night" she seemed shocked at the kindness before nodding, Zofia stood "Hi elzbieta" Ela replied quietly "Hello Zofia" Eliza leaned into the counter "Hi Ela" Ela waves as I turned "Eliza I just cleaned that!" She looked at me "Fight me!" I chuckled "I would but then it'd just be 2 ass kickings. I can't beat Zofia and you're just behind her and Ela in the standings, I'd fucking die" Zofia replied "tutsihusi(he will die)" I looked at her "So where'd you learn Cherokee?" Ela nodded confirming my question as Zofia grew her signature grin "The Cherokee nation" my eyes widened as my expression went slack "Vtla(no) you didn't" Zofia grinned evilly "I did" Eliza asked "what'd she do?" I turned my attention to the stove "she went to the Cherokee nations website and started getting lessons, evil woman" she grinned her victory as I hummed some tunes my mother hummed to me when I was a kid until Ela asked rather grumpily "when are you leaving?" Zofia gasped lightly "Elzbieta, -" I replied "A couple minutes I'm just finishing up now" I heard Eliza "How do you do it?" I hummed in question "Hmm?" She clarified "You're always so calm and kind to people here, it's rare I see you upset like you were on the mission" I replied "I'm a war chief Liza, I have many meetings when I'm on the reservation, I have many annoyances too. I have to remain calm and level headed when I'm making decisions on the council, I keep my pillars wherever I go"
         Zofia asked "what does she mean upset on the mission?" Ela nodded in question as I turned off the stove and got some bowls as Eliza answered for me "When you got captured he was full force about to storm the house to find you, even when we thought the house was going up he didn't stop searching for you. I could literally hear the anger in his voice when he gave orders" Zofia sighed "you should've left and stayed safe" I glanced back as Ela incredulously said her name and I replied as I placed three bowls in front of the women "how do you figure? What was lost? A house that can be rebuilt. What would've been lost if I did like you said and left you? A mother, a teacher, a friend, YOU cannot be replaced like that house." She seemed shocked at my words as I wiped my hands dry from washing them "I've just gotta grab a few things and I'll be off"
       Ela nodded as I walked to the closet and grabbed my lightsaber, airsoft gun, and prank supplies. I spoke as I headed for the door "if you need a drink there's wine and vodka in the pantry, I'll be back at around 11, is that enough time?" Ela replied curtly "Tak(yes), it should be" I smiled "have a good one" as I walked out the door and headed to julien's(Rook). I walked through the halls holding more toys than an 8 year old could dream of only to get stopped by Dominic(Bandit) "Hallo(hello) Owl, why do you have so much.... random stuff, in your arms?" I turned and looked at him "Ela and Zofia are having a sit down and trying to make up in our dorm, one of the conditions was that I'm not there so I'm out of the room until 11." Dominic nodded "So where are you going? Are you gonna prank someone, like Mike(thatcher)? it's always fun to prank Mike" I shrugged "I'm heading to Juliens dorm, probably gonna be kids for a bit. Maybe prank some people" Dominic got excited "Mind if I get Ryad(Jackal) and Marius(Jager)? They like pranking people and its always fun when we all get together" I nodded getting excited too "Go ahead, I'll let Julien know" he took off running as I continued on my way.
        I arrived at Juliens room and knocked on the door, he opened it and saw the things in my arms "So how long this time?" I chuckled while replying "I didn't get kicked out, I'm just here until 11. Ryad, Marius and Dominic are joining us for a boys night" julien smiled as he ran to his closet and dug out his lightsaber, "I've waited a long time for this" I placed down all my prank supplies and board games before lifting my lightsaber "Shame it shall end in a few seconds" before I ignited it and watched the blade turn crimson, while julien did the same and his turned golden "You will lose Darth" I rushed forward with a mighty battle cry and swung, just barely missing his head as he used his saber to block before I spun and tried hitting his leg only to have to roll backwards so his blade missed. I pushed forwards before swinging my blade from the right, feinting it as he went to block only to whack his right arm, he fell over-dramatically and held his arm crawling back and away from me as I slowly walked forward. I readied to smack him one more time only for the door to burst open and a wild Ryad appeared holding his brilliant blue saber staring at me before rushing forward setting off another round of battle, I noticed Marius and Dominic had started fighting and then I saw Monika(IQ) enter, holding her two ended Red lightsaber as Julien stood. I smiled as I focused on Ryad "You cannot defeat me, Jedi scum" he chuckled "Only the weak fall to the dark side" I scowled "I'm more powerful than you could ever dream!" As I spun barely missing his head and he fell to a crouch stabbing up and towards my head causing me to lean back and spin making him miss before I reversed the grip on my saber and jabbed backward gaining purchase as I felt it hit him. I turned and saw him holding his left hand, I spoke "I told you master Jedi, you cannot hope to defeat me" he looked up and gripped his saber before rushing forward and viciously slamming his blade against mine "Yes! Yes! Fall to the darkness! Let it empower you! Hahahaha!" Suddenly their were two groans, Monika had won her fight against Julien but Marius had bested Darth Battery. They went to square up to each other only for all of us to freeze when we heard the door open, we slowly looked and saw Miles(Castle) staring at us gobsmacked.
        I waved causing him to laugh before speaking "Can y'all keep it down? I'm trying to watch this show with Masaru(Echo)" I asked "which one?" He spoke "I think he said it was Shingeki no kyojin?" I nodded "Attack on titan, good show, anyway well tone it down" Ryad nodded "I just have to kill Darth Infernum" I smiled and whacked him on the ribs with my lightsaber he spun "Not fair!" I cackled "the sith do not play by your rules of fairness Jedi" just then Monika whacked Marius's saber away as he tried to defend himself only to get cracked across the face by the second blade. I walked to Monika "Kneel" she did and bowed her head as I spoke "You will now be known as Darth.... Minerva, rise my apprentice" she stood "thank you, master" I cackled as the rest of the group stood with Dominic sighing "back to an assassin I guess" I shook my head "we have won my inquisitor" he smiled as Julien picked up my monopoly "wanna play?" I nodded as Monika and Ryad cleared the table, I helped Marius and Dominic clean up the mess we made before sitting down and grabbing our pieces.
        I picked the thimble with the decree "The Mighty Thimble will be victorious" Julien glared at me "In you're fucking dreams!" I sat down as Dominic asked "Got any drinks? I'm thirsty as shit after getting smacked around by Marius" Julien nodded "In the fridge there's some sodas" I asked "where's Gustave(Doc)? Still at the medbay?" Julien nodded "he's been obsessing over the samples of that sedative they got from Zofia's bloodstream" I sighed as Monika asked "how is she? She seemed out of it when you got back" I nodded "She's doing better, currently eating dinner with Eliza and Ela." Monika recoiled as Marius asked "Eliza and Ela? What kinda world did we enter?" I chuckled "mike talked with Eliza and got her to try to make up with Zofia. Eliza somehow got Ela to be willing to make up with Zofia hence why I'm here" Monika asked "So you made dinner and left?" I nodded as she laughed "sounds like you're a stay at home husband" I replied "I've been a husband, never a stay at home one before. I might have to try it some time" Marius spoke "You never told me you were married" I shrugged "never came up in conversation" Julien asked "how long were you married?"
        I though about it "11... no, 12 years" Dominic asked "Do you have any kids?" I heard Monika "Kye you owe me 60 monopoly dollars" I sighed as I handed her the money "No, I don't. I've wanted to but never really committed since I'm always on deployment" Ryad nodded "that makes sense, is your wife ever gonna come visit?" I laughed "Oh no, you guys have it all wrong. My Ex and I divorced in 2011" Ryad asked "Any reason?" I shrugged "Just fell outta love I guess, she turned into a witch halfway through filing the divorce and tried taking the rest of my property with her." Monika asked "Did she get it?" I laughed before replying "Once the judge found out she was trying to take stuff that wasn't hers from an Active Duty soldier she lost most of the stuff she had gained from the divorce" Marius suggested "why don't we change the subject?" I nodded as Dominic suddenly asked "So how about them Mets?" I laughed at the sudden u-turn of topics.
Time skip 4 hours
     I checked the clock and saw it was 11:13 "Shit, I should head back so Zofia doesn't get woken up by my return" Julien stood "Here, take a soda for the road" I chuckled "Like I need more shit to carry" as I watched him pull out a can of Dr. Pepper and toss it to me, "Bro it's gonna explode now" he laughed "it's to make sure you keep moving" I scowled "Oh eat a dick you baguette lover" he waved as I disappeared from his view and entered a brisk walk trying to make it back to the dorm before the soda explodes. It was a short walk saying hello to a few operators I saw before I reached the familiar wooden door that bear both Zofia and I's names and call signs, I walked in and saw Eliza, Ela and Zofia still sitting at the table except they were all in different clothes, Zofia work a blue oversized tee shirt that I noted was mine and grey yoga pants, Ela was in green yoga pants and a white sports bra, Eliza wore her typical grey shirt with black short shorts. I froze as their eyes locked on me and the laughs stopped "Am I early?" Ela shook her head no "Do you want more time? I can drop my stuff off and leave again"
        She sighed as Zofia nudged Ela with her elbow causing Ela to stand and walk toward me, her body language clearly showed the uncomfortableness as she spoke "Hey Kye... I... I'm uh..." I asked gently "Are we gonna have any problems in the future?" She shook her head no as I asked "Are you gonna have any problems with me being friends with Zofia?" She shook her head no again as I finished "Are you gonna diss my culture again?" She looked down as she shook her head no again I smiled and rested my hand on her shoulder "then we're all good" she looked up hopefully as Zofia smiled faintly "Is there any leftover dinner?" Zofia replied "no, sorry, we didn't think about saving some for you" I waved her off "that's fine" Eliza asked "so how was the boys night?" I replied "Well Monika joined us so it was more of a game night, anyway I got a new apprentice and inquisitor, I lost every monopoly game we played and had half the deck in my hand when we played Uno" Zofia asked with intrigue "Who's you're new apprentice?" I replied "Monika, Dominic is my inquisitor" Ela asked "what are you all talking about?" I asked "you know how Monika has a lightsaber?" She nodded "well Dominic and Marius have one two, so does Ryad, Julien and I." She nodded "that still doesn't explain it"
        I continued "We have formed sides, I'm the Sith Lord, Monika is now my apprentice, Dominic is my inquisitor. Julien and Ryad are Jedi masters, Marius is a Jedi knight. Whenever we have game nights we start it off with a battle to see who has trained the most" she looked at me "Can I join in?" I nodded before looking to Zofia "Come on, you should do it too, it's so fun, I could use another sith on my side" she sighed before Ela turned "you should do it so I can kick your ass with a lightsaber too" Zofia seemed to alight at the challenge "Alright, I'll join in. What do I need?" I cackled as I went and grabbed my laptop pulling up the website to start the process of designing their lightsabers. "Eliza are you gonna join in?" She sighed before sitting behind me and waiting. I spent the next 20 minutes picking the options that they wanted, before placing the orders, I started designing a second short saber so I could dual wield until I heard Ela musing with a twinge of teasing "I didn't know you were such a nerd Kye"
        I chuckled "You can blame my Ex for that, she wanted to learn Lightsaber fencing so whenever I was in leave we took the lessons. She won my sabers in the divorce since she bought them for me" Ela leaned back as Eliza asked "So you got divorced too? Why doesn't anyone know?" I replied "because the divorce was 9 years ago, I don't really care anymore" Ela nodded as I added my finished short saber to the cart "They should be here by Friday" Zofia stood and yawned "Alright, everyone out I'm going to sleep" I stood and followed Eliza and Ela to the door only to hear Zofia "Kye you stay, you live here" I straightened "oh yeah" before turning and walking back into the room. I heard the door close as I sat on my bed and asked "So why are you wearing my shirt?" She looked down "My bra was biting into my sides so I wanted to take it off but I don't have any oversized shirts anymore since I got rid of my Ex-husband's so I improvised, I hope you aren't mad" I laughed "no, I was just wondering. You can keep the shirt, it doesn't get worn much" she smiled as I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into the hamper before walking into the bathroom and doing my routine "dzięki(thanks)" I replied "nie ma problemu(no problem)" I heard her cough before I wiped my face clean and heard her "You've been studying" I nodded as I collapsed on my bed "vskaga(yes)" she laughed at my sudden face plant before she spoke "Sleep tight" I popped up and looked at her "just because you said that I'm gonna sleep loose" she gave me a look of confusion "how? How do you even do that?" I replied "observe" before I pushed myself up and spread my arms and legs wide before impacting my bed and bouncing a couple times, Zofia shook her head at my antics before turning out the light and placing her phone on the nightstand playing recordings of rain impacting an aluminum roof with the occasional thunder clap.