[ussbansheec] Marines and Swiftwinds: People That You Should Not Mess With
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 07:46:12 -0400
_Marines and Swiftwinds: People That You Should Not Mess With
_by a lot of Swiftwinds
***takes place after 'Less Than Perfect'
He had always been the level headed child, the peace maker among the six
of them, but only a fool would have ever mistaken Ellison for a
pushover. His instincts screamed for him to go charging after Aiyana's
retreating husband but the instinct to see to his grandfather was even
greater as was, apparently, Aiyana's because instead of chasing after
the truck, there she was kneeling with Ellison next to the old man.
"Nameseme, are you alright?" she asked as she helped Andrew sit up straight.
"It would take more than some shove from a disrespectful punk like that
t' hurt me," the old man harrumphed though he did allow his two
grandchildren to help him up and to let Ellison dust him off. "He's a
disgrace to his family."
"You sure you're alright, Nameseme?" Ellison asked, wiping the blood
away from his nose with the back of his hand.
"I'm fine, boy," Andrew began. As Ellison nodded then turned to head
into the house, he asked, "Where you going, Elli?"
"To call Papa. He's gonna have a fit," the younger man growled as he
stomped up the stairs.
"Ellison," his wife fretted, running to him a cloth.
"Later, Luna." Later he'd apologize to his much adored wife for being
so short with her but things had to be seen to before they got more out
of hand. He plunked himself down in front of the comm and carefully
tapped in the code set he now had memorized. It took some doing but
there was no way he wanted to screw it up again, not after almost making
Kimi mad at him. He wiped at his nose again and hoped to hell his
mother didn't answer.
Kimi snorted as she dropped down at the view screen. "Don't worry, I
got i..." she stopped short when the bleeding face appeared on the
screen. "Whoa, Elli? What the heck happened?"
At any other time, Ellison would have smiled outright upon seeing his
sister. Now, though, he just shook his head. "Somebody got his ass
kicked," he growled, wiping at his nose again with his hand. "and y'all
are going t'be more pissed than me."
"Tell me what happened," Kimi said slowly.
Ellison barely glanced over his shoulder. His wife and his sister were
fussing over their grandfather and the old man was trying to brush off
the fuss. His daughter lay sleeping peacefully in her portable crib,
not a care in the world as Hakan's dog snored underneath. "John beat up
Aiyana, Kimi--bad. She wasn't gonna tell me but I found out. She's
gonna be movin' back with Nameseme but John came over here and tried
stirrin' stuff up. Let's just say him an' me had a nonverbal argument."
"He beat her up..." Kimi was seeing red and all she could think was that
there were several Marines back home that owed her favours. She'd be
calling them in. "Where'd he go, Elli?"
"Hell if I know," Ellison said heavily. "The son of a bitch shoved
Nameseme and it was either chase after 'im or make sure the old man was
alright. There was no choice there at all. I shoulda let Yaya shoot
the guy."
"Let me deal with that," Kimi said softly. "D'you want Papa?"
"What're you..." he began then he simply stopped. "You know what?
Don't answer that, Kimi. because I'm fairly sure I don't wanna know.
Uh, him an' Mama both might wanna hear this. He's going to break things
when he hears this."
"He is but I'm gonna get there first," Kimi grunted darkly. "Don't go
anywhere." Stomping to her feet, she marched over to the bedroom her
parents had been sharing since their reunion and walked straight in.
"Sorry, you're needed. Elli needs to tell you somethin'." Then she
span around and marched out again, disappearing into her room.
Ellison dashed from the screen to his kitchen, hastily grabbing a wash
cloth from the counter so he could at least wipe off his face. Neither
of them wanted their children fighting but he knew his father was a bit
more tolerant of it. Not like this, though. This was going to get
ugly. As he sat back down, he braced himself to tell his parents what
had happened.
JT blinked at the space where his youngest daughter had been standing
then looked at his wife. "What was that about?"
"I have no idea..." Kawee murmured, "but she didn't look well pleased."
He'd been perfectly content to be alone with his wife, sitting with her
in his arms, but something was starting to poke hot needles in his
temper. "Ellison wouldn't call if he didn't have to, Kawee, and neither
would Kimi just stomp in and then back out," he said with a sigh as he
sat up. "Let's see what's doing."
"Okay," Kawee said tentatively. She flopped to her feet and grabbed a
wrap to cover her shoulders then padded out to the view screen. What
she saw made her gasp. "Ellison, what happened?!"
"Elli, what's this?" JT demanded without giving the man time to reply.
Oh damn this is going to get ugly, Ellison thought with a mental sigh.
"John beat up Aiyana, she wasn't going t'tell me but I found out and her
an the boys are here with me. We--"
"He did what?!" JT hardly ever raised his voice, even as a Marine, and
he certainly didn't swear. "I'll kill the son of a bitch with my bare
hands."
Kawee placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him and rubbed gently.
"You'll do nothing of the kind. Elli, where's my daughter? I want to
see her."
Aiyana had heard her father's raised voice from clear across the room.
Leaving her boys happily playing in front of their great-grandfather,
she took a deep breath to steady herself then headed for the comm.
Ellison edged over so she could join him and it was all Aiyana could do
to not burst out in tears upon seeing her parents' faces. Grown woman
or not, the sight of them made her want to have Kawee's arms around
her. "Hi," she said in a quavering voice.
"He's a dead man," JT hissed. "I'm going to kill him for laying a hand
on my girl."
"And I said you're not," Kawee whispered. Then she turned to her girl
and pressed her fingers to the screen where the girl's cheek was. "Oh,
baby, are you okay?" Why do these things happen when I can't get to
you? she wondered silently.
"I'm fine," Aiyana said softly, her control only bolstered by the fact
that her boys were nearby and she didn't want to cry in front of them.
Not again. "Elli's got me and Tom and Arlen here and we're going home,
Mama, movin' back to your house."
JT sunk his head into his hands a moment, sheer rage tempered a moment
by relief. "It's your house, too, darlin', always was and will be.
Where're my boys?"
"Playing in the living room with Nameseme," Aiyana told them. "They're
fine, scared but fine."
Ellison sighed. He had to say it but he dreaded hearing his father
yell. "There's a bit more..."
"More?" Kawee nudged carefully.
"This," he began, waving a hand at his face and his generally bloodied
and disheveled appearance, "is from me beating him senseless, or tryin'
to, when he came over here."
Aiyana, well familiar with Ellison's way of avoiding conflict, cut to
the chase. "The only reason John got away is because he shoved Nameseme
and ran off."
JT's face darkened even further. "He..." He stared open mouthed at his
wife. "Tell me why I shouldn't wipe his existence out of this plane."
But it wasn't Kawee who answered, it was Kimi from behind them.
"Because you don't have to, Papa," she said softly, staring at the scene
with light-headed detachment. "You remember Gunny Jones from when I
trained as an officer? I saved his life and he's owed me for it. You
know Gunnies, they know everyone and everything. They know how to get
things done."
Aiyana shivered a little at that. "I swear I was going to shoot him and
he knew it. Oh god, Kimi, please tell me we aren't going to lose you
over this."
"Lose me? Nah, it's cool, Papa knows Jones as well as I do, there'll be
no trace," Kimi said with a wicked smile. "You okay, sis?"
"I feel so foolish," Aiyana admitted. "I'm supposed to be a cop and not
let this happen to me. I'm making you and Papa look bad in front of the
Marines."
"What?" Kimi said in total shock. "You seen my face, big sis?" She
tapped her eye-piece and smiled. "Maybe one day Papa will tell you how
I got it, what all happened. You can't make me look bad, you're my big
sister and I love you."
"Aiyana," JT said softly, "I might be a general and I might love being a
Marine but I do NOT, nor have I ever, loved that more than my family.
Ever. All your mama had t'do was ask me and I decided to call it
quits. Sweetheart, nobody messes with a Marine's family without fearing
the wrath of the rest of the Corps."
"Did you say quit?" Aiyana asked wide eyed.
"He said quit," Kawee said with warmth. "Your papa has agreed to leave
the Corps and come home with me."
JT slid his arm around Kawee, holding her close. "I love my family more
than I love being a Marine. It's that simple."
"I..." Aiyana wanted to cry again. She knew it grossed out her siblings
sometimes but she loved when her parents were so affectionate. "You
know John's afraid of you and Mahkah and Hakan. He must've thought Elli
was going to be easy pickings."
"Obviously not," JT snorted. "Good going, son."
"Swing a hammer long enough an' you'd be surprised how good a fist
swings in its place," Ellison said with a diffident shrug.
"And you're not going t'do it again," Kawee said sternly but sweetly,
"are you, Ellison?"
"He hit Aiyana, Mama, and he shoved Nameseme," Ellison explained. "I'm
not a violent guy, you know that, but it isn't happenin' again unless
somebody's stupid enough to look cross eyed at anyone."
"Be careful, Ellison," Kawee said softly, worry creasing her eyes.
Aiyana hugged her brother with one arm. "He's always careful, Mama. He
was more concerned about Nameseme than catching John."
Ellison was not used to overt praise. It tended to do as he did just
then: it made him blush. "It was the right thing t'do."
"Of course it was," Kawee smiled.
"Which one of you is going muzzle and or tie Mahkah and Hakan?" Aiyana
asked with a hint of a smile. "Both of 'em are stubborn enough to march
back here by foot."
"I will leave your father to deal with his boys," Kawee said innocently,
"he understands them. Then, if that doesn't work, I'll bribe them to
stay." She winked at JT though the worry was clear in her eyes that her
boys would do something foolish.
"They're both reasonable," JT said mildly. "They'll behave."
"Who'll behave?" Mahkah asked as he padded in, his arm around Netha.
"You and Hakan," Aiyana said from the screen, offering a little wave.
"Aiya," Mahkah said slowly as he put a hand on his mother's shoulder.
"What... what happened?"
"John hit her," Ellison explained, "and I hit him back. Harder. He
took off though."
"I'm going t'kill him," Mahkah growled. Then he glared at his father,
"Why're you even still sitting here? We have to go back, right now."
"Because I trust Kimi at her word," JT said mildly, refusing to give
into the rage that was still simmering inside. "I can't just go,
Mahkah. Not when somebody's still after Kimi here." Then he snorted
rudely. "And your mother has refused to let me kill anyone with my bare
hands."
"I forbid you to even think it," Kawee said, pointing a finger at
Mahkah. "Think of your wife, your family, and then breathe. You've got
a hot head but you're sensible."
"There will be no bare handed killing," Netha said softly.
Aiyana stared at her eldest brother. Hard. "Listen to her, Mahkah.
Please. Bad enough Ellison's gone and tried to get his head dented.
Not you, too."
Huffing softly, he folded his arms over his wide chest and stared at
her. "You're family, you're my little sister, aren't I meant to protect
you?"
"Dopey bastard thought I was going to be easy pickings," Ellison told
him, grunting just slightly after his sister jabbed him with an elbow.
They weren't supposed to talk like that, especially not in front of
their parents. "I'm filling in, big brother. He got away but he got a
message any way."
"Next time you see him, tell him her brothers will be calling," Mahkah
said with a grunt.
"And then me if he still has the gall to be around when we get home," JT
added. He winked at his wife then hugged her. "Then I'll be a plain
old civilian and just keeping an eye out, right?"
"Then you'll be plain old civilian and rushed off your feet with all the
work I've got planned for the house," Kawee warned. "I know how to
distract my husband from getting mixed up in things he doesn't need to.
Because my girl is staying at home. Isn't she?"
"I'll be in my old room but...Mahkah, the boys want yours if that's
alright. Tom's got the idea that it'd be cool to be where big uncle
used to be," Aiyana said.
A bright smile spread over Mahkah's lips and he nodded, "Sure! Tell him
I'll be round when we get home t'tell him all the little hiding places."
Aiyana turned slowly, achy still from her encounter with John. "Tom,
come here a second please."
The five year old scrambled to his feet and plopped onto his mother's
lap. He broke out into a toothy grin when he saw all the others but his
attention lit on Mahkah. "Did Mommy ask you, Uncle? Is it okay?
Because I told Arlen your room's safer than our house and it is, isn't it?"
"Way safer," Mahkah nodded, his eyes alight for his nephews. He adored
his brother's and sister's kids, they were probably as close as he and
Netha would get to children of their own. "Y'know, your Uncle Hakan put
a spell over the whole house? It's protected by the Great Spirit."
Tom stared wide eyed. "Really? Wow that is so cool. Can we bring
Olivia back with us or does she have to baby sit Mimi?"
"She's under orders from on high," Mahkah said, pointing a thumb at JT.
"She's on guard duty, right papa?"
"That's right, little warrior, Uncle Hakan's dog has orders and she
knows she has to watch the baby. You two can always play with her at
Elli's til Hakan gets home," JT said with a warm smile.
"Just be careful and stick close to Uncle Ellison," Kawee added with a
smile.
"Can you guys all hurry up and get home then?" Tom asked. "I want to
sit on your lap and hear stories and play with Nameseme and go hunting
with Uncle Mahkah and Uncle Hakan and..."
Kawee let out a soft laugh, still tinged with worry but easier than she
felt. "We're coming soon, little man, we promise."
JT looked at his middle daughter then back at his wife. "Kawee, you
sure I can't..." he began leaving off the rest in consideration of their
grandson's presence.
"I'm sure," Kawee said firmly, her hand on his knee and squeezing it
lightly.
"Fine," he grumbled with a tinge of good nature. He glanced at his
youngest daughter, sitting next to him. The look was brief but full of
meaning. If she'd started something rolling, he had every bit of faith
that she'd see to things properly.
Meeting her father's eyes, Kimi nodded just once. It was done. Things
were set in motion. It would be seen to.
He couldn't say anything without letting on what he might know was going
to happen. Instead, JT simply reached over and squeezed Kimi's hand.
"Tom, you take care of your mama for us til we get home, okay? Help
Uncle Elli and Great Grandpa."
Tom, from his perch on Aiyana's lap, nodded with the importance only a
little boy could show. "'kay but hurry up."
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