Page 9 of Tactically Acquired

“Liar, you just want the last of the omelet.”

Thumper jumped over the counter and rushed over to me, snapping the ties behind my back. “Fuck! He’s really choking!”

“Does that mean I can have the last of the omelet?” IRIS asked.

My hands broke free and Thumper spun me around, thrusting his gathered fists up into my chest. The omelet popped free, spilling onto the floor in one sad, pathetic clump. I fell to my knees, gasping for air as I stared at the lump that nearly took me down.

Then I fell to my back and stared up at the ceiling, breathing in large gulps of air as Thumper kneeled over me, wincing as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

I nodded, knowing he would never intentionally kill me. But fuck, I really wanted that omelet. IRIS strolled around the counter, scraping the last of the omelet onto his fork before shoving it into his mouth.

“Mmm. That was really fucking good, man.” He twirled the fork around and pointed it at me. “You should really consider opening a restaurant.”

“I’ll get right on that,” I muttered.

He slid the plate onto the counter, leaning against it. “I wouldn’t be opposed to having another omelet.”

I craned my neck up to look at him, narrowing my eyes. “Dude, I almost just choked to death.”

He glanced at the clock. “So…another five minutes?”

I rolled my eyes and pushed to my feet.

“What? Some of us are hungry.”

I flipped him off.

“I’m a growing boy!”

I grabbed the cookware and tossed it in the sink, being way less gentle with it than I normally was. Something had to change. I was at the end of my rope. My teammates crashed my breakfast, I never got a moment’s peace, and when I did, there was no fucking satisfaction in it. When was it my turn for a little fucking happiness?

I glanced around my rather empty house and sighed.

“Uh-oh,” Thumper said, his eyes wide. “He’s got that look.”

“What look?” IRIS asked.

“You know…that wide-eyed look of wanting more.”

“Who wants more?” IRIS questioned. “Shit, you mean…like, more more?” IRIS ran over to me, grabbing me by the arms. His eyes were comically big and scary as fuck. “Don’t do it, man. You got out. You still have a chance.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

He looked left and right, then lowered his voice. “She got to me. Hell, they all got to us. There’s no escaping for us. We’re trapped. But you…you still have an out.”

I tore my arms from his, backing away from his crazy ass. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he backed up, jumping when his ass hit the counter. “You don’t get it. You don’t know what it’s like.”

I stared at him for a moment, then turned to Thumper. “What the fuck is he talking about?”

He shrugged. “Not sure. Hell, it’s IRIS. What did you expect?”

IRIS spun around and glared at Thumper. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?”

“Put who up to what?”

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