Moonstrike 21: a new family business

CHAPTER 21

The siblings found the buffet in short order and started to fill up the tiny paper plates. Between the three of them, it was like a flock of crows had descended. Two women with superpowered appetites and a teenage boy could do real damage to a hotel spread.

Of fucking course she got a call from work first thing after they sat down.

‘It’s Saturday morning. What is wrong with him? Does the government not know about the 5 day workweek yet?’

Ji Min looked between the caller ID and her first bagel mournfully. “Work,” she said, “I need to take this. Do you mind?”

‘Actually, heroics don’t seem to have any boundaries. They have to respond whenever something happens. So this could be a departmental thing.’

When neither of them were opposed, Ji Min answered without moving. “Good morning, Alejandro,” she greeted. She kept her tone light. Internally, she felt suspicious. Had he found out who she was? Was that why someone had been creeping around her little brother?

“Good morning,” came the easy answer.  He certainly didn’t sound like he had any reason to believe there was bad blood between them. “I hope it’s not too early.”

Ji Min didn’t look at the clock, knowing damn well it was nearly 9 am. He had been around her long enough to know that she habitually woke up earlier than this. “No, you’re fine. Is there something going on?” She hooked a foot around the leg of her chair and surveyed the room for anyone or anything that was out of place.

“Well, there is a bit of a situation with Alex, but this is primarily a check-in,” Alejandro said. Then he paused, obviously waiting for questions.

“Go on.” She didn’t bother trying to sound too pleasant or interested. He wouldn’t expect it from her.

He huffed into the phone, lightly but audible. “Alex is fine, but he might have overstepped some procedural boundaries. So you get the first pick, if you’re interested in some one-on-one time with a mentor.”

‘...Is this a bribe to make me tell any dirt I have on Alex?’ Ji Min wondered. Out loud, she only said, “And who would that be?”

Alex hummed. “That’s the reason I’m calling,” he said. “Three of your seniors have volunteered. Red Wing, Ummidia, and Sugar Steel. I’m sure you know of them, but should I give a quick overview of their specialties?”

“Yeah, please elucidate.” Ji Min made the ‘t’ come out crisp and sharp.

Ari snorted. Ji Min frowned at her and narrowed her eyes. M. J. looked up from the toast he was devastating and made a questioning face.

“Red Wing is the long-distance lead. She’s primarily support; except when we’re performing a particular type of delicate operation. Ummidia is a hand to hand specialist. If you work with him, you’ll probably end up the heavy hitter on the teams you work with. Sugar Steel is a bit old fashioned with her tools, but she’s very effective. She’s willing to find you a sword to work with and train you up. What are your thoughts?”

“What happens with Alex,” Ji Min stalled. She didn’t know what to pick.

“He’ll be able to choose from the two that you didn’t select,” Alejandro assured. “He won’t be left out. He’s just unable to start training immediately while he’s under review.”

“I can’t drop what I’m doing, either,” Ji Min prevaricated. She had literally just made a two week commitment to Issa for intense training. It would be embarrassing for Issa to call in favors from professionals and then have to call them back and say the student flaked out.

“We don’t expect you to,” her handler reassured. “I’ll put you in contact with whoever you choose and then you can work around your own schedules. While you think about that, I’d like to ask about your personal development. Have you been doing anything since training ended?”

Well. Yeah, actually. “A few things,” Ji Min said cautiously. “I’ve found some tutors.”

Between Issa and that conference, she definitely hadn’t wasted her time. Defensive and evasive driving, parkour, and now laser accuracy and the ability to fix spaceship engines. That was a pretty good range of support skills. Oh, and what she was learning from Bengal couldn’t be dismissed that easily, either. There was no way it could hurt to polish up her gymnastics skillsets and learn to move more gracefully.

There was a pause while Alejandro waited for clarification that she wasn’t giving. He couldn’t be happy about her withholding information, but all he said was, “I’m happy to hear that. Let me know at any time if you’d like my help to connect you with training or other opportunities.”

“Thanks,” Ji Min said, meaning ‘when hell freezes over.’ “I’ll call you back when I’ve decided between those three. Is there anything else?”

“No,” he said. “That’s all. Have a nice morning.”

Ji Min hung up and finished spreading the cream cheese on her bagel, which was now a little cold and sad. “I need to look a few things up in the room today,” she said, to cut off any questions. “So that I can give my supervisor a good answer. I want to ask you two something, as well.”

Ari’s gaze sharpened. “Related?”

She nodded.

“That bodes something,” Min Joon said, and stuffed the rest of the toast in his mouth. He looked like a pelican when he swallowed. Ji Min kind of agreed with the disgusted sound that Ari made in the back of her throat at the sight.

‘I swear he knows about table manners. Was he raised by wolves? I’m pretty sure I’ve modeled better for him.’

“Maybe he’s some kind of snake hybrid,” Ari muttered.

Min Joon made a high, offended sound and swallowed again.

“Yikes.” Ji Min picked up her coffee and focused on it instead of the nightmare situation happening with the wet noises from her brother’s face.

‘Snake is an even worse thought than pelican. I see it, though.’

“I,” he said primly, “am a perfectly normal human child.”

Ari made a pfft sound.

“Saying it like that is suspiciously specific,” Ji Min agreed. “That makes it seem like a lie.”

M. J. opened his mouth to say something and then seemed to notice that they were in public. He closed his mouth and leaned back into his chair a little sulkily. “Whatever.” He peeled open one of the individual plastic cups of peanut butter and dropped the top onto his plate. “I just want to note for the record that I am being bullied and abused by two adult women.”

“Sister privilege,” Ari snipped, smiling crookedly. She closed her eyes in enjoyment when she took a bite of her waffle.

Ji Min reached over to pat his bedhead. “There, there.”

He made a disgusted sound and jerked away, but he was smiling.

They ate without much more conversation. There was plenty to say, but it didn’t belong in public. They cleared up the table and went back to the hotel room without needing to discuss it. Ari immediately flopped on her bed, arms spread out so wide that Ji Min couldn’t squeeze in. She sat on one of the two chairs instead while Min Joon hefted himself up to perch on the countertop.

“Meeting come to order,” Min Joon intoned.

Ari groaned. “I’m too full,” she complained.

He reached over with a foot to kick at her leg. She made an offended sound and grabbed at the foot, ready to yank him to the floor.

“Hey!” Ji Min barked.

Ari let go, hand splayed open in a dramatic show of innocence. Min Joon sniffed and tossed his hair like he hadn’t been starting shit.

She let it go. “The dumbass meeting begins now,” Ji Min agreed. At the twin offended looks she got, she shrugged. “I’m including myself in the council of dumbasses, don’t look at me like that.” She readjusted so that her legs were hanging over the side of the chair and an arm curled over the backrest. “I thought it over last night and I want to put cards on the table. I don’t know who is after Min Joon, but it could be connected to me. If it’s not, it could be connected to our genetic potential.”

“Could be both, right?” Ari asked. She opened one eye to peer at Ji Min.

“Maybe I’m just a very special little boy,” Min Joon muttered. They both ignored him. “I could be special. You don’t know that I’m not.”

“Yeah,” Ji Min agreed with Ari. She swung her legs. “I would be very surprised if there’s a scenario where someone would target Min Joon and not Ari, at the very least, if not me as well. So here’s the deal. I think that you two should get involved in my world and get some training.” She continuted over the interested sounds they both made. “At the least, situational, some tactical assessment basics, and some self defence. What do you think?”

“Is there anything about this that might get us in legal trouble?” Ari asked keenly. She partly sat up to look at Ji Min full on. “I don’t know what amount of risks you’re taking. I’m almost done with my undergrad and it would be a waste of my time if my application to medical school included a criminal record.”

“I take more risks than I’d want you to,” she answered honestly. “But I’m also… protected, by contacts and my specialities, and I’m lowering the risks I take now that I’m government. I wouldn’t get you involved in anything incriminating. There’s nothing legally dubious about taking classes, and I won’t expose you to anyone who is dangerous.” She paused. “Dangerous to you,” she clarified, to be fair. “Even I could be considered dangerous, in the right context, I guess.” Or Issa.

Min Joon leaned forward. “Could you train us?”

She nodded immediately. “I could do a lot,” Ji Min agreed. “I was hoping to start that way. I need to find a place I can rent for private use already, for some drills that I need to work on. We could do work together there. I agreed to be here for two weeks for some intensive training. I wondered about getting you two included in at least one of the things that I’m doing.”

“What are you doing?” Ari asked sharply.

“My physical focus is gymnastics for the moment, but I have a routine I need to work on for strength, balance, and some martial arts. And urban running. I’d love to teach you how to start that.” Ji Min sat up a little straighter, letting her legs fall where they were actually meant to off the edge of the chair. “My classes these two weeks are in spaceship mechanics and laser accuracy training. You’ve never had any weapons training, right?”

“I don’t want to do that,” Ari said immediately. “Count me out on that one. But I want to train with you. And I’d want to work with other trainers. But not weapons like that.”

Ji Min nodded, although she didn’t like it.

“You never have to use it,” Min Joon pointed out. “But it might be safer to do at least the first class and learn like, how to know if it’s engaged. I mean, that seems like it would be useful if you ever end up with someone pointing a laser at you.”

Ari tilted her jaw up stubbornly.

“You’re free to change your mind at any point, but that’s fine,” Ji Min cut in. She didn’t need an argument. Arguing didn’t work on Ari anyway. “You want to come with me, M.J.?” At his nod, she felt a littel flush of relief. “I’ll ask if we can include you.” She blew out air. “Alright. From now, I need to look at these three people who could be my mentors at work and pick one of them and get back to my supervisor on it. Then I’ll find us a gym to use. That’s my plan for the morning, at least. Can we stay in? Maybe you two can do homework or something?”

Min Joon and Ari rolled their eyes at the same time. It was uncanny.

“I can keep myself entertained,” Min Joon said, which notably wasn’t a promise to do homework. Ji Min decided not to fight that battle. “Who are these three people?”

Ari looked interested in that, too.

Ji Min craned her memory. “Red Wing, Ummidia, and Sugar Steel,” she recited. “A sniper, a brute, and a bladed weapon specialist.”

Min Joon hummed in the back of his throat. “I don’t see you as a sniper,” he said doubtfully. “I feel like you’re more of a brawler.”

Wow, okay. She didn’t come here to be attacked by oblique references to all the fights she’d gotten in with bullies while in school.

“I could be,” Ji Min defended herself. “That might be most compatible with my… professional skillset, honestly.”

She could be very quiet and sneaky and maneuver herself to vantage points unseen.

“That’s true, and that’s a reason not to do it,” Ari said. The other two looked at her without understanding. “That identity is a secret, right?” She sounded a little bemused that this had to be explained. “Especially now that you’ve got a different public identity that will get more scrutiny on you. You should be as distinct as possible so that no one makes a connection.”

That was a fair point. Ji Min grimaced. “There’s some appeal to keeping a lot of my skillset off the radar,” she said. Alright, fair enough. So. “That leaves martial arts or weapons.”

“I don’t like the weapons,” Ari said instantly. “That seems more brutal. It also seems like a bad idea to carry anything that you don’t want taken and used against you.”

“She doesn’t have to use them to like, stab people,” Min Joon pointed out. “There’s probably a lot of tactical uses. I’ve never heard of Sugar Steel killing anyone. Whereas there’s people out there like Loose Cannon out there using just her hands and fucking up a lot of people. It’s how you use the tool, not the tool itself.”

Ari pursed her lips in the way that meant she couldn’t disagree, but she still didn’t like it.

Ji Min stopped biting her lip and added her two cents. “My concern either way is control,” she said. “I’m a lot stronger than other people. I worry that the martial arts route is going to end with me inadvertently using a lot more force than I should when I misjudge or get caught up. I also think that maybe specializing in it could be the best choice for learning that kind of control. Whereas the weapons- assuming I’m not really using them directly on people, more as a flexible tool– that might be in some ways safer for other people.”

Min Joon grimaced and Ari made a ‘more or less’ gesture.

“I can see it either way,” she said reluctantly. “I guess they’re both good choices for you. So maybe think about if you actually want to carry around weapons.”

Ji Min huffed out a laugh. “I like the idea of having tools to keep the distance and control the field, especially if I ever get caught up with someone who is out of my league,” she pointed out. “And I’ll definitely need to carry tools on me, so it’s not like there’s a clear cut choice between being able to pass as a civilian or not.”

“I don’t think there’s a way to go wrong here,” Min Joon decided. “So maybe decide based on your teammate. They like, assigned you a buddy, right?” She nodded, trying not to snort at the idea of Alex being her government-assigned-friend. It made heroics seem kind of like an elementary school trip, but it wasn’t…inaccurate.

Min Joon was continuing, “What would he be good at? Is it the sniper thing?”

Oh. “Not in particular,” she thought aloud. Alex had some support skills with the tech stuff, but his most relevant background was all the wrestling. That seemed like a really good basis for him to pick a specialty. So it was easy to conclude, “Actually, he should be the hand-to-hand guy. He has a long background with that kind of thing.”

“There you go,” Ari said, palms up. “You need to be the weapons girl.”

That did make it simple to decide.

“I’ll make the call,” Ji Min said, feeling a wave of affection. “I’m glad I asked you two, thanks.”