Moving Forward

The First Salvo

Shan's POV

"No."

"Mr. Maguire, you seem to think you can come into my school with your prep students and do anything you please." Mr. Hendricks glared at me. "Your students will wear uniforms and they will give interviews to the press."

I placed my hands on the front of his desk and leaned forward until my face was in his. "My students do not give interviews, nor do they wear uniforms. We may have to be here, but we will not dance to your tune. You want to see uniforms; I suggest that you have your own students start wearing them. Try to play games with us; I will gladly hang your ass from the flag pole."

"Are you threatening me," Hendricks tried to hide his shaking hands.

"I don't threaten, I only state facts." I straightened. "We have no choice on being here; it will be up to you on how much trouble we will cause you. Leave us alone and we will leave you alone. That includes your little grubs. They start something, we will finish it." I did not wait for him to dismiss me, as I was not a servant. I left him sitting there spluttering.

North's POV

This was a sorry excuse for a school. Half of Gabe's classes and mine were in the trailers. We spent most of our time running from one class to another, barely arriving before the bell rang. We were the last ones to arrive at the courtyard for lunch and I was starving. Uncle had told me to eat breakfast; I had been running late and ignored him. Now I wished I had listened to him. I pulled out the lunch he had packed for me and started demolishing it. The chicken and avocado roll-ups were squashed a bit but they were still edible and tasted okay. I continue to eat as I watched Kota divide his lunch in half and share it with Gabe. That made me feels guilty so I reached into my bag and grabbed the Sun Chips Uncle always bought for me and gave them to Gabe. Nathan gave him his spare bottle of water and some raisins, while Silas gave him a banana and peanut butter sandwich. We were going to have to remember that. Gabe rarely had more than cereal in his house and even that was not often. It would be up to us to make sure he ate now that Luke and Victor was gone. It was not his fault that his stepmother preferred drinking over food. He worked his ass off at odd jobs when he was not doing Academy work. He barely afforded the shabby trailer and utilities, now he would be attending school on top of it. I hoped that Colt and they got our money back soon; I was not sure how long Gabe could hold out.

Kota's POV

I was going to talk to Foxy about Gabe. I was concerned about him having lunch each day. He could be stubborn and I worried that he would refuse to accept food from us after a few days. He had his pride and he felt it was his duty to take care of Pam. Having my mother and Jess, I should be the one who understood his feelings the most, but I was not able to. Pam should be the one to take care of Gabriel, not the other way around. She did not try to help herself or him; most times, it was as if he did not even exist to her unless one of the utilities was turned off due to late payment. What little money she made she spent on booze. Mr. B had been unable to get through to her, maybe she would listen to Foxy.

Marc's POV

When I saw everyone giving Gabe food, I gave him my apple to snack on later. Kota and I were heading Corey's way after lunch, so I did not need it. Axel often got angry with Blackbourne for ignoring members of his teams situations. Gabe needed to be removed from his home and placed in a safe environment, one where he would not be beaten by whatever drunk his stepmother dragged home with her. Then there was Nate, no fifteen-year-old should be living by himself. That kid needed someone to care about him, to watch over him.

The mission was a revelation. We have never done this type before and I was pleased to be working with Shan and the Fox. Colt would have been frosting on the cake, while working with Sven would have been like working with a real superhero. Most teams tended to idealize the four of them and for a good reason. If your team needed help, they were there. The Fox always showed up first, quick to spot any trouble spots. Shan was next; he never let the Fox get far from his side. Colt would follow Shan, usually called in by one of the two. When Sven appeared, you know the shit just got real. If his baby bird was with him, run for cover because your mission was now entangled in some nasty shit.

We were one of the few teams who have spent any length of time with Baby Bird. We visited them for a week or two every summer, Brandon liked to call it Corey's play date. We rarely saw Corey the entire time we were there, Baby Bird kept him busy. Kevin called it geek bonding. We just left them to it and did whatever Colt and Sven had planned for us. We have never once regretted going, not even Corey. In fact, he seemed to enjoy his time with her. Brandon said it was because they were both geniuses, that they talked the same language. Maybe so, Corey never said but he was always eager to go. She did spend time with the rest of us, usually when she had Corey stashed somewhere secret while he worked on something new. We never knew which one she would kidnap or what for. She has personally dragged me to a strawberry farm to pick berries, to a Puppet Show, locked me in her tree house and made me go to a coffee tasting house with her. The coffee tasting, now that was something I enjoyed. Over a hundred different blends to choose from, I was in heaven and ended up buying a few of my new favorites. This was all this past summer.

>7W^H