The looks from the guests could be ignored. That wasn’t an issue. Owen simply asked that they be put in a room slightly away from the guests. This steakhouse was one that Owen had enjoyed since his college years, and they knew how to accommodate his needs. The sound of the girls eating was…a bit different. There were only so many ways he could beg Charlie and Delta to keep it down and not to make sounds while eating. Blue occasionally had to snap at them, and Echo just kept her eyes on her plate, not wanting to cause trouble or bring attention to herself. The waitress and waiter that were seeing their table were actually nervous to get too close, usually only gravitating towards Owen’s side of the circle booth that they shared.

Blue had her steak, Delta had her pork chops, Echo was chowing on a hamburger, and Charlie had a plate of kids chicken tenders…though Owen suspected she’d want more than the four she’d gotten. She had hardly touched the French fries. He just chuckled and returned to his own steak…was it inappropriate to say that eating steak just lost some of it’s luster when watching the way these girls could put away food?

“Alpha,” Blue spoke up, “do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Blue, please…just call me Owen, alright?” Owen laughed. “We’re not in the field.”

“Sorry, sir.” Blue blushed. “I…wanted to ask you…how did you find our performance in the mall?” This question caused the other girls, except for Charlie to look up at Owen.

“Well…all around it was a successful operation. All of you performed well and we got the criminals under control.” Owen answered.

“But isn’t there anywhere for us to improve?” Blue asked.

“Damn it, Blue…if he says we did fine, take the compliment!” Delta rolled her eyes.

“Well I was just thinking…maybe we should’ve tried to rally the targets into a kill zone and-”

“It’s not worth worrying about now.” Echo spoke up. “I mean…it’s over right?”

“Echo’s right.” Owen added. “Don’t try to overanalyze yourselves. For your first field operation, I couldn’t be more proud of you.” Blue and Echo smiled at this, though Delta just huffed and tore into the pork on her plate again. “Charlie, for the love of God, slow down! You’ll choke!” Charlie looked up from her plate, three chicken tenders shoved in her mouth at once. Echo sighed and plucked two out as Delta snickered. There were times Owen worried about Charlies, childishness.

“Excuse me, is everything okay over here?” Owen glanced up from the table to see the waitress enter, looking nervous once more.

“We’re fine, thank you. We’ll take the bill when you’re ready.”

“Actually…someone has already paid your bill.” The waitress giggled. “Um…that’s why I came to see you. You have a visitor who insists he knows you.” From behind her walked a tall heavy set man with a goatee and short cut hair. He adjusted his belt buckle and coughed into his fist to get my attention. The minute the girls saw him, their eyes snapped in his direction, and their expressions were unmistakably hostile. Delta nearly jumped out of her seat to punch him. Charlie growled and began wolfing down fries to calm herself. A flash of anger shone in Echo’s eyes and Blue herself clenched her fists tightly in rage. Owen was actually impressed by their restraint.

“Hoskins.” Owen muttered. “I guess I should thank you for paying for our meal?”

“Think nothing of it. Thought I could take the opportunity to chat with you about what happened tonight?” He asked.

“Go ahead.” Owen replied.

“More in private if you don’t mind. Join me outside for a smoke?”

“Whatever you have to say to the Alpha, you can say to us.” Blue snapped.

“Yeah!” Charlie agreed. “Don’t keep secrets, Hog-skin!”

“That’s Hoskins, Charlie…but I agree.” Echo snarled.

“Stand down.” Blue hissed. “All of you.”

“Blue, take charge…make sure the girls clean up and meet me by the truck when you’re done.”

“…Yes sir.” Blue nodded. Owen climbed to his feet and walked to Hoskins to step out into the back of the restaurant.

“Thanks for seeing reason.”

“I haven’t seen ANY reason from you yet…I’m hoping you’ll surprise me.”

While the front of the steakhouse was inviting and enticing, the back of the steakhouse was a junk pile. Two large dumpsters by the gated off parking lot, and several black bags of trash. Flies flew around in the back over old and spoiled meat. The smell was too much for the girls to handle, so it was a good thing they weren’t there. Hoskins leaned against the railing of the walkway down from the backdoor to the dumpsters. Owen leaned by the door myself and watched him carefully.

“Fantastic work today, Grady.” Hoskins smiled, smoke streaming from his nostrils as he fiddled with the cigarette in his fingers. “Your girls show real promise.”

“That they do.” Owen agreed. “So what do you want?”

“Lots of things, Grady. But for now, I’d like your help with something.” He laughed.

“And what’s that.”

“I’ve got a special project coming up…something that I think your girls are suited for.”

“Pass.” Owen snapped.

“Don’t be like that, Grady. You haven’t even heard what I have to say.” Hoskins argued, frustrated by Owen’s attitude.

“I know what you have to say…and I’ve told you before what I think of your pet projects.” Owen snarled. “You look at those four girls and see trained attack animals. They’re thinking, feeling, and growing girls. We taught them combat tactics and drills to help teach them social ques, discipline,-”

“AND for dealing with emergency situations.” Hoskins pointed out. “You did that just today, and they did it perfectly against ARMED enemies.”

“We were lucky tonight. The girls had the advantage of attacking at night and being in a confined location like a mall. They are not super soldiers!”

“I know.” Hoskins shrugged. Owen paused and blinked, surprised by his attitude.

“What?”

“They aren’t super soldiers. But you can’t pretend they’re normal girls either. These girls WANT action. We should give it to them.” Hoskins added. “C’mon Grady, you were in the Navy! You know what it’s like in combat. Men and women in our armed forces and in our own police forces die every day from criminals and terrorists with new and improved technology. I just saw four raptor girls show that they could overpower a larger force that was armed. These girls…this form of combat. It’s the future.”

“If the only future for those girls is to be mindless killers in your screwed up agenda, then you can go ahead and shoot me, because I really don’t wanna be around to see it.” Owen leaned back up and turned to go back inside.

“Grady, you can’t stop progress.” Hoskins argued.

“Turning those girls into killers isn’t progress, Hoskins…it’s evil.” Owen snapped. “Thanks for the meal…and let us know when you’ve got another extra species emergency for us to deal with.” Owen didn’t let him respond. He simply walked through the door and back into the steakhouse. Hoskins stood there and shook his head in disappointment.

“Sorry to say Grady, but those girls are going to be part of this project…with or without you.” He pulled out his phone, pressed in a speed dial number and held up the phone to his ear. He waited and then spoke when it answered. “This is Hoskins…we’re moving forward with the project.”

Owen hurried outside, overcome with the urge to take a shower after having to deal with Hoskins for so long. The man was hateful…and ambitious. He knew that Hoskins wouldn’t let up…and that would become an issue later on down the road. He walked to the parking lot and saw that the girls had all already piled into the back of the truck…all except Echo, who was standing just a few yards away, brushing her hair back. When she saw Owen coming, she ran to him quickly.

“Is everything alright?” She asked. “He didn’t want anything from us did he?”

“He did, but I won’t give it to him.” Owen answered. “Don’t worry about Hoskins, alright? That goes for you and your sisters.”

“…I don’t like him.”

“I got that impression.” Owen teased.

“No I mean…He’s a cruel person…and I don’t think he cares about how we feel about…anything.”

“Echo, what’s going on?” Owen asked curiously.

“It’s…nothing.”

“You’re not usually the one waiting for me outside the truck. You have something on your mind, so tell me what’s wrong…do I need to make that an order?”

“No sir…I’m sorry sir but if the others knew about it they’d…laugh.” Owen groaned and scratched the back of his head. This was the one thing he dreaded most about dealing with four raptor girls….drama. However, as caretaker, he had to bare this burden.

“BLUE!” He shouted. She poked her head out of the truck just in time for Owen to toss her his keys. “Get the engine started and play the radio or something. Echo and I need a minute.”

“10-4!” She called back, returning to do as ordered. Owen took Echo’s arm and lead her further away from the truck.

“Now, no one can hear…let’s talk. What’s wrong?”

“…I only helped near the end of the mission today. I only took down one target.”

“It’s not a competition.”

“But it’s not because I was too slow…it was…because I was nervous.” Echo confessed. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be an operator.”

“What’re you talking about Echo? You perform fine in simulations and drills. And rumor has it you were contender for Beta of the pack.” Owen argued. “I’d say your perfectly qualified.”

“That…was a long time ago. And performing in drills is easy. But out there the idea that I could lose…the thought of messing up and putting my sisters in danger…”

“You wouldn’t let that happen.” Owen pointed out.

“You don’t know that. You don’t know about…”

“…Yes?” Owen pressed. Echo hugged herself a moment and looked away, pulling down her bangs to hide her scar.

“I haven’t…haven’t been that confident in years…not since…”

“Echo, you may not realize it about yourself yet, but you DO have what it takes to be part of this pack. You’re a sharp, intelligent, and beautiful girl. You have talent, and I saw it tonight.”

“But I hesitated!”

“You were patient.” Owen corrected her. “You were smart and knew not to move needlessly. Delta is just naturally more aggressive and went in guns blazing, so to speak. That’s good in its place…but she could stand to learn a thing or two from you and Blue in terms of patience.”

“…Owen, are you sure about me?” She whispered. “I don’t want to drag my sisters down…”

“Echo, if I thought you were a threat to the team or a hinderance, I wouldn’t even be having this conversation. I’d have already decommissioned you and told you to stay home next time. I care about all four of you, and I won’t let anyone endanger you….not me, not your sisters, and DEFINITELY not Hoskins.” Echo smiled softly when Owen insulted Hoskins. He reached over and very, VERY lightly touched her head. Unlike Blue and Charlie, who didn’t mind physical contact, Echo was very fragile…she would often shrink back from the slightest touch. But Owen knew just where to approach. He rubbed her head and Echo, though tense now, seemed more pleased.

“Thank you, Owen…”

“Let’s get you girls back home. Tomorrow is ‘Hide and Seek’ day.” Owen winked. At this Echo gasped a glint of excitement in her eyes.

“Really!?”

“I’ll bet that’ll cheer you up…and might even get Delta to simmer down.” Owen muttered. As they walked back to the truck, Echo had a slight more spring in her step…but her hair still covered that scar. Owen made a mental note…he would need to ask Blue about that scar….it might go a ways to finding out what broke Echo’s spirit. Despite taking care of them…he knew so little about them. Could he really be so critical of Hoskins for not knowing about these girls when HE himself didn’t know that much either? A question he’d save for another day as he climbed in the truck to take his dysfunctional squad back home.

“Alright, buckle up you four! We’re rolling out!”

“YES SIR!”