Touche

“… Where do you think she’s going?”Jared asked the world after a moment.

Mimi gazed at her father in disbelief, “Um, quite frankly… I don’t want to know.”

“What about me?” asked a child’s voice suddenly.

Kevin, Joe, Nick, Mimi, and her father jumped and turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, Kathrin and Frankie standing on the lawn. Joe explained, “Nothing Tank, she said ‘Frank-ly not Frank-ie.”

A look of comprehension flitted across Frankie’s face, “Oh… gotcha.”

Kathrin glanced around before looking at her husband, “Hun, do you know where Jaden went? I was going to introduce her to Paul, Denise and Frankie.”

Jared’s expression was incredulous, “Do we ever know where Jaden is?”

She thought about it for a moment, “Good point,” Kathrin shrugged, “Oh well, hopefully she’ll come back.”

Denise was shocked, “You don’t care where your daughter went? In a town that you just moved to?”

The Stars laughed, humorlessly, “We care, sure,” Mimi said, “It’s just, Jaden herself couldn’t care less. Though she isn’t the safest person to be with, she’s very loyal to her families. Either she’ll come back alive, or she won’t come back, in which case it is safe to assume that she is dead.”

“Dead?” Kevin asked aghast.

“Ok…” Mimi paused, “I could be exaggerating. She’s either dead, “kidnapped, or others wise being prevented from returning to us.”

Paul’s eyes were wide with worry, “So… she could be dead?”

“Oh sure,” Kathrin said, unconcerned, “She’s come very close to death many times. Quiet often she’s gone missing for weeks.”

“And you don’t care? That one day she might not come home at all?” Denise looked close to tears.

“We’re all waiting for the day that she’ll be delivered to us by her brothers with the explanation of her death. Or the day we’ll be told that her contract has expired.” Kathrin said.

“Contract? With who?” Joe questioned.

“Her… I suppose you could call them a “gang”. She has a contract with ‘Firefly’s Grave’. They’re one of the most respected groups in the underground. The government contacts them if they need something done, under the radar. They all have nicknames that explain something about their character or job.” Jared explained.

Nick’s brow furrowed in slight confusion, “What do you mean?”

“You know like… um… Data Robber is in charge of the investigations, while Arrow Head works on strategy, and then Tomb Sweeper covers the tracks.”

“And… What is Jaden’s nickname?” Nick seemed apprehensive.

“Ha!” Mimi laughed, “It’s funny. Ok, so Jaden’s the only female in the group, the other two hundred something are all guys. They all respect her. She’s known as the Firefly. Sometimes you can see her and then sometimes you can’t. She holds the Beta position, the second in command, and has one of the most important and dangerous jobs.”

“What’s her job?” Kevin appeared genuinely curious.

Mimi grinned in a horrible manic way, “The Firefly handles infiltrations and assassinations.”

“You mean,” Joe paused, “she actually… you know… kills people?”

“Yep, well… she organizes it. I don’t think she’s ever actually delivered the final blow that killed anyone. I could be wrong, though, I also thought that her favorite color was lime green…” Jared was thoughtful then he shrugged, “Oh well. Anyway, Denis, Paul, this is my other daughter Mimi. Mimi, this is Denis and Paul Jonas and this is their youngest son Frankie.”

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Mimi smiled at them, “Hi there Frankie.”

“Hi!” He chirped, brightly.

“Guess what?” Mimi asked him seriously.

He gazed at her, entranced, “What?”

She pouted, “No, you have to guess.”

“I don’t know, um… a flying elephant?!” he tossed his arms up in exasperation.

“Not even close,” she laughed.

He crossed his arms, “Then what?”