In Your Blood

CHAPTER ONE

"Okay, sit tight for a minute, Beezle Butt, Papa's gotta take this phone call."

Bandit Lee Way nodded at her father, watching him pull his phone out of his pocket and answer the call with a 'Yeah, 'ello,' stepping out of the dining room for a moment. Her mother was in the studio working on another art piece. Which meant Bandit, for the moment, was sitting at the dining room table alone. She fiddled with her pencil, staring down at the math worksheet that had her and her fathered stumped. They were trying to get it done before she had to go to bed, but it was an hour past her bedtime and she instead sat at the kitchen table in her pajamas. Then again, she was aware of the fact that her father wasn't the best at math. Her mother was the one to go to when it came to math homework, but that wasn't an option at the moment. So, instead, she would eavesdrop on her father's conversation.

"Yes, this is him...I haven't heard anything from you in a while, sir...They are going great, sir. I was just helping my daughter with homework...Yes, her...It depends on the situation, sir. What do you needs us available for?...A mission? Sir, we dropped out of the task force for a reason. Lindsey and I have a daughter and we both have steady jobs. We can't just drop everything and go. I have to respectfully decline, sir...I don't think either one of us classifies as a 'reserve agent', sir. We dropped out of the program entirely. We haven't had any training in years...Mmhmm...Yes, sir...Well, I was not notified of that when I signed up or when I dropped out, sir. I was told that if I dropped out I wouldn't be called on any more missions. I could like a normal life...Mmhmm...Sir, as I said before, I have to respectfully decline...Mmhmm...Well, she's working on a project, sir, so I'll have to go get her."

Bandit jumped as her father peeked his head around the corner.

"Hey, can you go get Mama? Tell her Daddy's on the phone with the commander and it's important."
"Who's the commander?" Bandit squeaked out.
"Mama knows who he is. Just go get her."

Bandit nodded and jumped up from her chair, skipping across the dining room to the hall where she broke into a dead sprint. She jumped onto the stairs, robin red tutu fluttering in the breeze, and slid down the bannister, landing on her feet. She looked around a bit, before dancing over to her mother's studio door. She lightly tapped on it in a little rhythm only she could understand.

"Mama! Papa needs you!"

Bandit paused and looked up at the door as it opened. Her mother peeked her head out.

"What does he want?"
"Papa said for me to tell you that the commander is on the phone and it's real important."

Her mother paled for a moment, looking down at Bandit.

"The commander?"
"Yeah. He said the commander."
"A-Alright."

Bandit squealed as her mother scooped her up, heading up the stairs two at a time. She set her down, before heading into the living room.

"Yes, sir. She's here now."
"I'll take it, Gee-bear...Hello...Yes, this is Lindsey...A mission? We're no longer agents, why do we need to go on a mission...Uh huh...Well, why can't you find different agents? You have tonnes...We were the best when we were younger. It's been a decade. That's no longer the situation...No, we aren't coming in. I don't care how you bribe us. I have work and Gee's got to take care of Bandit...I don't care...We aren't coming in...Goodbye."

Bandit heard the familiar sound of her mother pushing the 'END CALL' button on the phone before the two started talking.

"Do you really think he's going to force us to come in, Linds? We can't leave Bandit."
"He can't touch us, Gee. We're out of the task force. We signed the contract. We're out."
"But what if, Linds? And he's right. If the enemy has our information, they could easily find us. And then what?"
"We have the safety bunker, Gee. We'll just go down there and wait until the agency picks us up."
"I guess that would work."
"Yeah. Let's put Bandit to bed. It's her bedtime anyways."