Chapter Thirty-Two - Game Plan
"Have you guys ever worked a dossier before? It can be a little overwhelming at first." Tyler asked, passing a small file to each of the team. Charity looked raring to get started, whereas Ava and Elvie looked nervous; Max was almost unreadable, his body language refusing to match his face, showing all sorts of joy.
"We've had basic training on identifying and surveying our targets, but this is the first time we will use it." Charity explained calmly.
"Right then, let's get straight into it. The target is Sir Carl Gord. Our mission is to protect him. Touching down at 2000 hours. we are to meet him at Bournemouth airport and escort him to his vehicle, then follow him on our own to the destination, which is here." Tyler pointed to a poorly drawn map hung on a whiteboard. The map showed the layout of the coast and all the surrounding towns and cities; Tyler had drawn a red ring around 'Poole Harbour.'
"Our mission from there is to escort him onto his boat, where he will be safe and carried onto his next destination where we can leave freely knowing that we did our job." The team looked stressed; this was a demanding first mission for them.
"I cannot stress this enough," Tyler said with authority, attempting to regain their attention, "you do not leave the group no matter what. If we get fired upon, it is our responsibility to keep Mr Gord safe, so we get him to safety, then we worry about the shooter. Understood?" Charity and Max nodded, filling Tyler with the slightest confidence in them.
Ava looked down at the grey robes she once trained with. "I guess this is it then." She quietly told herself before fixing her gaze upon a stone-green wooden box on her bed. She untied the buckles and flipped the lid open with power; inside was a neatly folded leather jacket, shaded in a lighter red than Roxy wore, two leather bracers and a black face mask. Tying up her hair, she formed it into a ponytail and slid the facemask over before fitting her new leather jacket. Then, she walked to the mirror in the corner of her bedroom, posing and giggling like a school child. After she regained her composure, Ava left her bedroom to wait for the others in the common room, where Tyler intercepted her.
"You look good!" Tyler exclaimed, causing Ava to blush a little.
"Thank you! I wish Roxy could see me now. I'm all grown up and a real Hunter now! How is she? I haven't seen her in a little while! Is everything okay with the baby?" Ava became flustered, panicking the more she spoke. Tyler placed his hand on her shoulder, calming her nerves.
"We're fine! The baby's healthy and is due pretty soon! You should come over sometime now you are free to leave the Sanctum. Rox has just been a little preoccupied with school, and the pregnancy has driven her insane. She's just struggling to juggle everything. Not to mention that the Hunters won't allow her to do any work until the baby's born." Tyler explained.
"I've been meaning to ask, do you guys know the baby's gender? Roxy always said she wanted to find out after the baby is born. And she also told me she wanted to be at least engaged before the baby was born." Ava sounded cocky like she was teasing Tyler.
"Well, that's quite funny, A. See, I already picked this up on my way here." Tyler presented a beautiful red box, no more than the plan of his hand in size. He carefully opened it, revealing a beautiful golden engagement ring with a sizeable diamond perched at the centre. Ava let out a squeal and began to hop up and down on the spot, bursting with excitement.
"Oh my god, Tyler! That's truly beautiful! When are you going to, you know, pop the question?" Ava excitedly asked.
"I was thinking after this mission. I want you to come over and stay a few nights so you can be there when I ask."
"You know I was only joking about wanting to be engaged before the baby, right? She's going to love this. I have never seen something so pretty in my life! Granted, in only sixteen, but..."
"Look, let's just get this mission over and done with, then we will talk about you staying a couple nights with us and the proposal. Deal?" Tyler asked. Ava didn't respond with words; instead, she latched her arms around Tyler and squeezed him tight, much like her sister would.
"Ah, there's Max! I'll be right back. I need to have a private word with him before we set off. Go chill out with the others for a minute." Tyler began to briskly make his way to Max, who was stuffing his face with a bag of sour patch kids. "Hey man, have you got a second?"
Max looked confused, his mouth and mask lined with sugar from the sweets. He threw a red candy into his mouth before responding, "Of course, dude. What's on your mind?"
"I just want to reinforce what I said before. I know you can be a bit strong-willed, so I just want to have your word that you will stick by us if something goes south. No heroic shit. I don't know what I would honestly do if something happened to any of you. Hell, I don't even want to think about it."
"I give you my word Tyler. I've changed a lot since we last did anything together. Besides, I don't think it's me you need to worry about."