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“Strike Team Sierra, prepare yourselves. This is what we’ve trained for.” Caitlyn commanded her squadron. She had her back pressed against the wall of a building. She cautiously peeked around the corner into the courtyard.
“What do you see, Sheriff?” A voice piped up behind her.
Without looking back, she replied, “I’m still surveying. No sight of any hostiles yet.” After a thorough scan of the environment, she turned back to address the source of the question, her second in command. “I see a possible roost for you to get a better vantage point. Head due south and scale the wall. I’ll provide you with cover fire as needed.” She placed a firm hand on the shorter girl’s shoulder. “Remember what I taught you. I’ll see you on the other side.”
Satisfied with a quick nod in response, Caitlyn crouched and rounded the corner. She stayed close to the various planters and decorative structures to remain as stealthy as possible. When she reached a clearing, she paused to check for any signs of danger. Hearing and seeing nothing new, she looked to the rifle in her hands. She let out a weary sigh then gave the signal to proceed with the plan.
In the instant that she waved her hand in the direction of her objective, she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. These weren’t the steps of a cautious rogue assassin. No. These steps were loud and rapid. Whoever this was, they were approaching fast. Caitlyn readied her weapon and jumped out in front of her comrade.
She saw two flashes of bright colors, one pink, the other green. Before she could react, a projectile was hurtling toward her, released from the hand of the pink-haired assailant. It impacted directly on Caitlyn’s left shoulder. The balloon burst into a large splash of refreshingly cool water. She lifted the water gun and retaliated. A stream landed squarely on Vi’s chest. “Go! Go! Go!” She yelled out to the girl behind her.
Their oldest daughter, Sierra, wasted no time running to the garden wall as instructed. She was able to dodge the water balloon thrown by her younger brother. She couldn’t escape the barrage from her own mother, though. Vi’s next attack barely made contact with Sierra’s leg. The eleven-year-old stumbled slightly, but continued with her mission.
“You take mom. I’ll handle her.” Charlie’s squeaky voice rang out. He ran after his older sister, leaving his parents in his dust.
“Oh, I’ll take her alright,” Vi muttered as soon as he was out of earshot. She winked at Caitlyn who was rolling her eye and lowering her weapon.
“Careful with that kind of talk. Isn’t three children enough for you?” Caitlyn teased, pulling Vi in for a chaste kiss.
Before Vi could respond, they were interrupted by the shrieking of their children. They ran to see what the commotion was. Neither was prepared for the sight in front of them. Sierra was hanging one-handed from the top of the wall, water gun slung across her left shoulder (with a custom-made carrying strap of course) and water pistol holsters (also custom-made) on each thigh. The right water pistol was unholstered and currently being used to drench the boy clinging onto her leg for dear life. The thin strip of long green hair down the middle of his scalp, once sculpted upright from an overzealous quantity of gel, now lay nearly flush with the shaved sides of his head.
Vi ran forward to pull her underling away. “It’s time to regroup, Team Papa.”
Caitlyn scoffed. “Team Papa? Are you serious?”
“He chose the name,” Vi said as quietly as possible, hoping to spare the boy’s feelings.
Caitlyn hummed and nodded as the duo scurried off behind some bushes. She looked up to where Sierra had successfully climbed to the top of the wall and was now brandishing her rifle. If not for the light purple hair, she would be the spitting image of Caitlyn, right down to the slight tooth gap and look of pure focus. “Are you alright, dear?”
“I’m fine, mom. It’s about a million degrees, though. I wish he would have just thrown some water balloons.” Her daughter grumbled back.
Vi knelt in front of her son, who immediately mimicked her pose. “Well Charlie, they have the high ground. I think it may be time to call in the infantry for back up.”
A devilish grin formed on the nine-year-old’s face. “Great idea, Papa! I’ll hold down the fort.”
“Godspeed, son.” Vi tousled his hair (as much as you can tousle so little hair anyway) before running back to the porch. Sitting in a rocking chair, looking far too amused with the family’s antics, was Tobias. He was holding onto his youngest grandchild, a brown-haired eight-month old-girl. Vi held her arms out and said, “I’m here to relieve you of your duties.”
“If she gets a sunburn, you know you’ll have to face my daughter’s wrath.” Tobias warned, but he still relinquished the child.
Vi shuddered. “Understood.” She lifted her baby, Juliet, and shifted her weight until the girl was resting comfortably in the crook of her left arm. Bright blue eyes, a familiar shade, looked up into her own. “Alright baby girl. Time to teach mommy a lesson.” She took the gibberish response as confirmation of the assignment.
Returning to the fray, Vi was horrified to see her team being completely battered. Water was raining down from the sniper’s nest and he had been flanked by the other team’s leader. She knew what needed to be done to protect her crew.
Vi sprinted in front of Charlie to block the onslaught. Both opponents ceased their firing immediately when they saw the baby in Vi’s arms. Vi glanced at both of them, then shouted over her shoulder, “Now’s your chance. Unleash the artillery!”
She heard a giggle come from behind her before balloon after balloon flew past her head toward her oldest daughter. Unsurprisingly, not a single balloon was aimed at her wife. Also unsurprisingly, less than half of the water balloons actually reached their target.
After the fourth balloon splashed against the disarmed girl, Sierra whined, “Come on! At least move out of the way if you’re done playing.”
Vi threw up her free hand in a surrendering motion. She then turned and walked up to Caitlyn.
“Using a baby as a human shield seems a bit much. Don’t you think?” Caitlyn said before placing a kiss to Juliet’s then Vi’s foreheads.
Vi smirked. “You’re just jealous I thought of it first.”
Caitlyn shook her head, but said under her breath, “It
was
sort of genius.”