evilpii

Will Pii stepped from his ship and cracked his neck.  While the bounty hunter had seen far more difficult targets, this one had been particularly elusive.  Stretching, he groaned a bit, feeling the bones of his back and arms pop.  Regardless, he was home now and planned to put his work troubles behind him for the night.  As the Terran ascended the stairs to his family's residence, he welcomed a nice sit in his favorite chair.

Glancing to the side, he noticed some other vehicles resting nearby.  He recognized the Omegus's hover-car, which did not surprise him.  Not only were Kyle and Kyoko Omegus old friends to both Pii and his wife, but their daughter Angelica had taken a liking to Kyle and Kyoko's son, Christopher.  As such, Chris regularly borrowed his parents' conveyance to visit.

However, he had not expected to see the vessel next to it.  While the Omeguses owned a tan-colored sedan with four doors, the other machine was a white van-type unit, equipped with sliding side-panel doors.  Such a craft was usually more appropriate for hauling a small group of people, rather than individuals.

Nerti Ro Pii, Will's wife, had numerous colleagues at the Science Academy campus, but he could not place this particular vehicle among theirs.  Considering who he and his wife were and had been, his mind immediately leaped to suspicion as he approached the door.  Still, the possibility did exist that this visitor was merely some visiting lecturer for the ethereal kinematics department.

Yet, the stillness disturbed him further.  As the sun set, usually the occasional bird would chirp a tune or the squirrels would running around the trunk of a tree.  The silence was dual-edged:  no sound of conflict, but also no sound of peace.  Pii pulled his trench-coat close and tipped his hat's brim lower over his visor.

Something's not right, the hunter thought to himself.

His visor remained alight with his targeting HUD while he opened the entrance to his home.  On his first step over the threshold, two little ones darted at his legs, putting Pii off-guard.  Looking down, two cherub-like faces smiled back at him as they giggled and clung to his shins.  Laughter filled the room as the Terran scanned over the occupants.

Nerti smiled widely, her arms folded.  The affection in her gray eyes had not dimmed in the 16 years of their marriage, nor had the nostalgic humor she had scrawled on her face.   They grew up together, two sides of the same coin, and knew one another intrinsically:  the fighter and the teacher.  She has been wanting to pull him into more social gatherings, “for his own good”.  Admittedly, doing so would help her career, though Pii doubted his social failings would be any benefit.  Still, he agreed to it.  She had some hand in planning this little ambush without a doubt.

Angie and Chris were kneeling on the floor, definitely the teenaged instruments of Nerti's plan.  Their daughter used to grab onto his legs just this same way when she was little, and likely roped her “boyfriend” into child-wrangling.  While Chris Omegus was proving to be a good young man, Chris and Angie's relationship seemed a little too close for the father's liking.  Yes, Angelica could handle herself just fine, but that does not mean he would accept this upstart stealing his little girl away.

Behind the two teenagers, Kyle and Kyoko sat on the couch, Kyle's arm around his wife's shoulders.  Seeing hard old Kyle Omegus belly-laugh at two kids rushing the bounty hunter made Pii roll his eyes.  Of course, demure Kyoko just covered her mouth as she giggled.  They were fitting spectators for this spectacle.

Yet, the attendees still left one question unanswered.

“Who's kids are these?” Pii asked, leaning on the arch of the doorway.

Nerti strayed around the corner into the kitchen as she replied, “It is your birthday after all, dearest.”

“I'm pretty sure these two aren't ours,” he wryly stated while his head turned to Kyle and Kyoko.

“Don't look at us,” the elder man answered, raising his hands defensively.  “We've had our one, thanks.”

His eyes then turned sternly to Angie and Chris, who both blushed brightly.

“No no no no, Dad!” Angelica stammered.

“Mr. Pii,” Chris eked out from his constricted throat, “you don't think that we…?!”

Peeking back around the corner, Nerti smiled coyly, playfully, as she teased, “Will, Angelica and I ran into a couple of old friends the other day.”

Pii sifted through the different faces he had memorized, but naturally, many of their old friends had slipped from his head.  Time had slowly weathered those images from his mind, and his current occupation left him little time to raise those dead bridges.  He did carry that shame, having left so many friends behind as other events pushed him forward.

Yet, as Nerti lead two people from the corner, his face lit up with recognition immediately.

“Jonathan Gadimma?” he asked with a quirk to his brow.  “You old bastard!”

The red-bearded fellow chuckled, “Yep.  Been some time, Will.”

Next to Jonathan was another familiar face, the one who always tended to break up the fights in school.

“Rei Zai?”

“Well,” she corrected, “it's 'Gadimma' now.”

Smirking, Pii looked back to Jonathan.  “You dog.”

Jonathan just rubbed his beard and chuckled while the two children spun to their parents and rushed to them, Jonathan and Rei picking up one each.  Kyle and Kyoko rose and joined Angelica and Chris in cheering “Happy Birthday” to Will Pii, as well as welcoming their old friends into their midst.

However, while everyone was sitting down around the dinner table to chat, a shadowy figure slid by one of the windows.  Kneeling just under the window, listening, was a young woman.  Her dark auburn hair fell around her face, masking her identity while her body was concealed beneath a layer of black metal armor plates.

Her orders were simply to observe Angelica's mannerisms with her family and friends, but this festivity gave a better opportunity.  The convert operative brushed the hair from the left side of her face, revealing a perfect copy of Angelica's visage.  With a smirk characteristic of Will Pii, she scoffed to herself.

“Happy birthday, indeed.”