Litha smiled knowingly and initiated a soft five.
"Is it occurrin’ to you that they're bein' too quiet?"
"It's your bedroom. You go check."
Ram opened the door and said. "Great Paddy loves a f**k. They're gone."
"What?" Storm got up.
"Gone. G.O.N.E. As in your wife always brin's an unknown factor to the mix. Great Paddy, I'm glad we were never assigned to hunt somethin’ like her." Ram ran a hand through his hair and looked at Storm. "So. Guess who's babysittin'?"
Since moving back to Jefferson Unit, Elora had settled into a comfortable routine that included the luxury of a balanced life - equal parts family, social and work. In her case, work meant passing on the rigors of her clan's semi-secret martial arts, acquired from her training as one of the king's potential bodyguards when she was growing up in Stagsnare dimension. She had always found it gratifying to work with the active duty knights, knowing that some little change in posture or delivery might save a life.
In fact, teaching had originally been her suggestion. But since returning to Jefferson Unit, she found that she liked working with the trainees even more.
When she looked at those kids, she couldn't help thinking about the fact that each of them was some woman's baby. Understanding what that meant ratcheted her desire to teach them everything she could to keep them safe. She came to think of it as a sacred duty. And every day she was glad that Helm was a first born and not a second son. Of course she knew that exceptions had been made to that rule, but they were relatively rare. Her son would not be one of those exceptions.
She worked the boys hard in hand-to-hand and also taught an elective on weaponry, modern and ancient, for those who were interested. Some of them used it as an excuse to spend more time in the company of the famous knight who was centerfold gorgeous. And fun. But regardless of motivation, the result was a better trained class of future knights.
Elora made no secret of the fact that she thought "her" boys were going to be so much better than the active duty knights because she had gotten them young. When Storm was available, she used her influence to persuade him to stop by her extra-curriculum class and give firearms instruction.
The Lady Laiken made people feel golden in a way that was natural to her personality. She bragged to Storm about what fine hunters the kids were going to be and boasted to the trainees that nobody anywhere was better with firearms than Sir Storm.
At the end of class one cold winter day, the boys followed Sir Storm and Lady Laiken to the Hub level. Storm was in the middle of saying goodbye by postulating his thoughts on the importance of discipline when the normally noisy Hub suddenly became all but silent. Storm, Elora, and their students looked up to see Glen coming toward them, trailed by four ruffians who could not possibly pass for Black Swan knights.
Without taking his eyes away from Z Team, Storm finished his thought. "If you don't believe what I'm saying about self-discipline, just take a look at the alternative."
Elora's eyes roamed over Z Team and they responded with conspicuous ogling. Glen headed straight to Storm with a big grin on his face.
"Signed, sealed, and delivered, sir."
Glen glanced behind him like he was making sure his charges were still following. Storm greeted his protégé with a warm smile and a handshake just before turning an icy stare on the misfits. "I thought I'd take them straight to the Sovereign and report."
Storm nodded. "That would be standard procedure. By all means, proceed." He hit the down button to call an elevator car and stepped out of the way. Noticing that the boys were still standing in the same place practically gaping at Zed Company, Storm turned to Elora. "Class is dismissed, isn't it?"
Pulling her attention away from the human spectacle Glen had dragged in, she addressed the little cluster of boys. “The big guy's right. See you next time. If you put in extra practice, don’t forget to log it. I want to know."
The kids started away slowly, making it pretty clear that the arrival of the exiled knights was definitely more interesting than anything else they might have planned for free time.
Storm leaned into Elora so that only she could hear and said quietly, "Think I'm going to accompany the circus to Sol's office and make sure he gives my boy the props he has coming." When he drew back, Elora nodded and Storm’s face broke into a boyish smile that was definitely mischievous. "Plus, I need to pick up the proceeds from a little wager."
Glen left Z Team waiting in the hallway outside Sol's office with their duffels. Storm glared at them on his way past. Glyphs shot a what-the-fuck look at Torn who just shrugged and shook his head with a minimum of movement.
Storm knocked once on the closed door and entered without waiting for an invitation, a move that would have earned him a severed head when he’d been active duty under Sol. He shut the door behind him with a quiet snick as Sol looked up and waved him in.
"Just telling Catch here that he performed adequately and can take the rest of the day off."
"Adequately?" Storm turned to Glen. "I think that's the Sovereign's way of saying that there aren't half a dozen men in the world who could have gotten those losers here on time and without incident. You should get a medal."
Sol gave Storm a dirty look. "Just because you're no longer on my payroll doesn't mean you can speak for me. I said what I had to say."
"Okay." Storm raised his brows in judgment.
"Catch. You're dismissed."
"Yes sir. What should I tell the, uh, Z Team waiting in the hallway, sir?"
Sol picked up his phone and pushed a button. "Farnsworth! Send me runners to escort the new arrivals to their quarters." He slammed the phone into its cradle.