Moving Forward

Shall We Try Again

Foxy's POV

I explained to them the mix up in their files. That it had been done intentionally. That because of the fraudulent files, they had been doing more missions than was allowed for their age. It had also created problems with figuring out their favor tally and monetary payments. This confused the five youngest members. They hadn't known that they had earned real money, along with favors, with some of the jobs they completed.

The money had been withdrawn from the three teams' accounts and their personal ones, it was up to us to find where the money went and why someone else had been able to take it. Colt would most likely assign that duty to someone else. The someone being his kitten.

While we were meeting with the boys, Rolf Ericson, Sven's father, was meeting with their parents. Their complaints had to be addressed. He was telling them exactly what the Academy was and how it didn't replace regular school. He would tell them how we helped the kids and their families, from helping them to escape an abusive home to providing them with opportunities that would allow them to have a better life. How we taught them to help others in need.

I wrinkled my nose. Good thing I wasn't the one to explain it to them, I could never make them understand. I wasn't an Ericson, I didn't have their charisma that drew people in and made them want to listen to what I was saying. I did great when talking with fellow Academy members, I only had problems talking to their parents. Colt said it was because I never had real parents of my own and had grown up with Shan being my authority figure. Maybe he was right. Shan wasn't one for talking and he had been more concerned with keeping us both alive.

I didn't think the meeting would go over well with several of the parents. Their children lied to them for several years now. They were going to want someone's blood. I had a good idea of who they would go after and I had no intentions in warning that person. We didn't teach our members to lie. We taught them to become responsible and avoid turning out like their abusive parent. To rise above their past and make something of themselves. We taught them that the sky had no limits when you were willing to apply yourself and reached out to others. That life wasn't meant to be solitary or confined to be shared with just a select few.

I prepared for the coming battle. I had been warned that Owen Blackbourne was very protective of his team. He wasn't going to be pleased with the changes being made to the Ashley Waters job. It couldn't be helped. He carried particial blame. Only a fool kicked two of his most skilled members from his team just before a big mission.

A common mistake made by our younger teams were that they valued strength and fighting skills above technical skills. Yes, both were important, but it was the technical skills that gave a team an advantage. Anyone could learn to fight, very few could learn to master the more rarer skills.

Colt's POV

Colt: I have a job for you. Need it stat.

Kitten: Okay. What am I doing?

Colt: I'm in a meeting right now. I will call you later

with the details.

Kitten: Will I need Web?

Colt: Yes. Maybe Charlotte and Wilbur too.

Kitten: I've been planning on giving them a tune-up.

I'll do it now.

I couldn't help smiling as I returned my phone to my pocket. Kitten was the best computer hack we had in the Academy, not even Corey Henshaw could keep her out. She would find the missing money for the lads and restore it to their accounts. I would hate to be the person who had taken it. She could be quite ruthless at times. Especially when she was snooping to help one of our younger teams. Once she determined who it was, she would start freezing every account in their name. Their entire life would be investigated and the information turned over to the High Council. She detested people who took advantage of kids.

Kota's POV

It didn't make sense. Yes, Victor had been team lead when we joined the Academy. I didn't become team lead until two years later when Mr. Blackbourne took over the team. While I was smart, I wasn't the leader that Victor had been. He was good with strategy, I wasn't. He was good at gathering Intel, I wasn't. He gave us all a say in planning our missions. We all had our strong points and he used them, trusting our judgement. Me, I was great at organizing and anything to do with numbers. I was also good at creating distractions with Nathan. He depended on me to figure out the timing and then made sure we stuck to it. He believed in me.

Huh, I had forgotten that.

Truthfully, I missed the days we just hung out and acted like a normal kid. When we attended public school and helped our fellow students. When we could talk freely and make our own decisions.

I had a long talk with my mom last night. I told her everything. I refused to lie to her any longer. I didn't care if Mr. Blackbourne became angry with me. She was my mother. I hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes and knowing I put it there.

We discussed college. I intended to apply to several. We went over what I needed besides good grades to get accepted. I needed activities. Meaning school clubs and community service. I needed letters from teachers and people I worked under in volunteer work. I wouldn't be able to do any of it while we were at Ashley Waters, so I would have to accomplish it in the two years I had left.

Talking to her helped me to understand better. While I liked being a part of the Academy, there were things I didn't like about it as well. There was more to life than one job after another. I used to be close to my little sister. I rarely had time for her any more. The sad thing was that my friends and I used to do things with her, keeping her from being so lonely. I had promised my mom that I would paint the house and clean the attic this summer. School started in two weeks and I didn't do either. I have been so busy with the Academy stuff, that there hadn't been time to keep my promise. I felt guilty. It was like all I had to do was start drinking and swinging my fists, I would be my dad. I didn't want that, ever. The problem was that we were all becoming grouchy. To much work and not enough down time. We were burning out. It would be worse when we started the Ashley Waters' job.

She helped me understand that I was jealous of Victor and Luke. It wasn't just because they were going to college. I felt they had abandoned us. They escaped and left us behind without a care. They got to be normal teenagers and only had to concern themselves with homework. They could go out on dates, have a girlfriend, do what they wanted. They no longer had to report their every move to someone else.

Mom had been blunt with me. She made it clear that we were the ones in the wrong. Five of us had been close friends since we started school. We didn't protest when two of us were thrown off the team. We let an interloper, my mom's word, take complete control. She said there was no "I" in team. That it should have been a group decision. Just because they were attending college, it didn't mean we wouldn't see them again. There were long weekends, holiday breaks and summer. We could have gone to visit them for some of it and spend time with them when they returned to Charleston. That it wasn't the all or nothing situation that we had turned it into. She was very firm in stating that we were the ones who were in the wrong. We acted like spoiled children when we turned our backs on them. She said true friends supported each other, like Luke had done. Meaning we screwed up and she expected us to fix it.

The last part of our conversation still haunted me. Mom explained that a part of becoming a man was learning to make our own decisions, learning from our mistakes and forming our own opinions. That it was a part of growing up and becoming the man I am meant to be, and when we allowed someone else to make the decisions for us, we were cheating ourselves.

I didn't care if it made me a pansy. I loved my mom and was grateful to have her. She always had my best interests at heart. I needed to be a better son.