Luckily for me, Jones put down his red flag in front of my bullish presence. He’d just sighed and opened his mouth to say something when two familiar heads of blond hair barreled through the open door behind him.
"This sounds like a fight," Jordan said loudly. The twins lined up beside me. Jessie placed her hands on her hips, glaring down at Jones. I inwardly groaned. No, no, no. I’d almost gotten this under control, and now it was about to escalate again. Sylas hovered in the doorway, bowing his dark head in a sheepish gesture of apology that wasn't needed, but which I appreciated. He was a great medic and a fantastic asset on this upcoming mission. It’s not his fault the twins are loud and blunt. I taught them that…
I lifted a hand to signal for the twins to stop their valiant charge for my honor. Realistically, it probably wasn't even for my honor. They loved me, but they also loved to fight. I regretted scheduling their briefing with Sylas immediately after my team’s. They would need more onboarding as newer members of the team, but that process wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped, after their behavior. Our mission on the horizon would be a big test.
"It's fine. I was just reminding Jones of a few things," I assured the twins calmly. Sylas didn't need any reassurance. As a seasoned member of the Bureau, he would be familiar enough with authority spats. My composed voice reminded me spookily of a sassier Lyra, like the tone was detached from my body. "We were just having a discussion."
"A discussion?" Jessie snapped with a little scoff. "We aren't stupid. You were challenging her authority." She pointed her finger at Jones, who rolled his eyes.
"Weren't you doing the same thing today, during our drill?" he pointed out gruffly. He’s technically correct. Jordan's face fell.
"Well, I mean… sort of," Jordan muttered. "But we would never challenge Roxy as the ultimate leader right before a big mission. A training drill is completely different." As they spoke, it struck me how young they sounded. Jones furrowed his brow in confusion. He was about to rise to the occasion of a giant debate, and none of us needed that.
"Jones, don't listen to them," I said. "You're dismissed. Rest up before the mission."
He stared between me and the twins. Could he see all the ways we were alike and different? They were mirror images of myself as a younger soldier. Except twice the trouble. Sylas stayed blissfully quiet as Jones muttered a brief goodbye and stormed out, his expression utterly deflated. It was a conversation we would have to revisit, but there was no helping that. I sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. A headache was beginning to form in my skull with a dull pulse of pain.
"Calm down," I told the twins. "I'm grateful, but I don't want to disrupt teamwork on our upcoming mission. Please." I added the last part purposefully. It was a game I had always played with the twins. When we used to fight as kids, the rough Taylor bunch could always use that rarely used word, "please," and ask to bow out of a fight without any questions. We watched way too much wrestling as kids.
"But what was that about?" Jessie demanded. "He was disrespecting you. How is that supposed to be good for the team morale you keep talking about?" Underneath her heated tone was a hint of genuine concern. She saw everything in my face that I wanted to hide.
“And what you two were doing earlier, that was supposed to be respectful, was it?” They deflated slightly, chagrinned but still mutinous. I pointed to the chairs for them to sit. "I appreciate your care, but it’s my job to handle it, not yours. I can take care of myself, and, as Sylas will tell you, such disputes are common in this line of work. You'll eventually come across this yourself."
Jordan peered at Sylas with a skeptical look, and the medic nodded.
"Power is hard to balance in times of crisis," Sylas said gently. "It doesn't even have to be a power imbalance. I've seen two medics go at each other with a syringe."
Jessie smirked. "Okay, put a pin in that story for our trip to the mission site. I definitely want to hear it."
A warm feeling of relief spread through my chest. With Jones out of the room and my siblings rooting for me in their own way, I was at ease.
"Let's discuss the mission," I told them. "Hindley has selected the three of you specifically for this job… but I have to warn you that it's highly dangerous. Two teams were sent out before us and failed. One soldier lost his life."
"Where?" Jordan asked, eagerness betrayed by the small pensive frown on his face.
"The Sierras," I said, and showed them the map. "It's a big step, to be sent on a mission like this." This, I directed to the twins, since Sylas already knew he was a capable medic. Hell, he’d served in the Immortal Plane, too.
Jessie and Jordan exchanged excited grins.
"Sorry about earlier," Jessie said lightly, apparently still smarting from Jones’s words. "You know, you're the one who always told us to point out illogical authority."
I snorted, amused. "Leave it up to you two to decide what's my fault, instead of taking responsibility for yourselves."
"We'll do our best on this mission," Jordan promised, and pressed a hand against the map. When he smiled, it went all the way to his ears. "It's our first mission as a family, after all."
They really knew how to work me. My annoyed heart softened completely at the mention of us fighting as a family, even if there
