The Mission That Wasn't
Act I — The Lie That Got Them Moving
TF141 had been deployed for six months. No breaks. No contact. Just mission after mission.
The last one was brutal—two months of silence, no comms, no comfort, no family.
Even Laswell felt the ache.
So she made a call. Reserved a park. Organized food. Contacted every family member she could.
Then she lied.
Told the team Shepherd had scheduled a last-minute briefing.
No one was happy.
Price grumbled. Ghost stared out the window. Soap muttered curses. Gaz forgot how to sit still. Roach hummed off-key. Farah didn’t look up. Alex kept checking his phone.
Laswell drove. Calm. Smiling. Humming under her breath.
Because she knew what was waiting.
Act II — The Ride That Didn’t Feel Right
The car was packed. But quiet.
Soap barely spoke. Ghost wouldn’t stop muttering. Price kept shifting, sighing. Gaz asked about snacks, then forgot. Roach hummed louder. Farah slouched. Alex checked his phone again.
Laswell drove. Calm. Smiling.
Nikolai blinked slowly. Kamarov played “I Spy” alone. Alejandro whispered about ducks. Rodolfo tried to climb into the trunk. Krueger narrated the ride. Nikto giggled once.
Laswell didn’t explain.
She just drove.
Act III — The Park That Broke Them
They pulled up to the park.
Wide fields. A shimmering lake. Picnic tables. Smoke curling from a grill.
And then—voices. Laughter. Family.
Soap stepped out first. Celeste was already laughing with Leila and Mira. Rhea handed him a juice box.
Ghost lingered. Maren met him halfway, warm and open. Tommy argued with Derrick at the grill.
Gaz exhaled. Amira waved him over. Sofia and Anya traded toddler tactics. Layla and Leila built something strange.
Roach blinked. Mira organized snacks. Nia told a story with her whole body. Brigitte handed out candy and warnings.
Price didn’t speak. Elizabeth handed out sandwiches, laughing too loud. Camila and Vera flanked her. Daniel offered her a drink. She took two.
Farah stretched. Idris set up a chessboard. Zari and Lucia debated glitter. Teresa told a story about a snake and a pie.
Laswell parked. Daniel stepped out with a cooler. June handed him a teacup. Zahra saluted them with a glitter cannon.
Alejandro laughed. Rodolfo helped. Sofia told a story that made no sense and too much sense.
Kamarov stood quietly. Yelena sang. Ayla handed out sunscreen.
Nikolai grinned. Vera reorganized the cooler. Lian passed out napkins like classified documents.
Krueger watched. Anya laughed with Maren. Viktor failed at teaching chess. Kenji sat silent.
Nikto didn’t speak. Elira helped someone wash glitter off. Trinh read. Milena sharpened a stick and smiled.
The kids were everywhere—running, shrieking, building forts, launching glitter, declaring war on the snack table.
And for the first time in half a year—
They weren’t soldiers.
They were home.