CHAPTER EIGHT: MAJESTIC TWELVE

They were all gathered in the living room, a weird sort of silence had settled over the group. Diego and Lila were on the couch, she was changing the bandage on his stomach while Elliott sat in a chair across from them. Five paced around the furniture, and Lotus sat on the floor with her knees to her chest. They had discussed Five's journey to find Vanya, and how he had let her go.

"So, what, you just let her go?" Diego asked again, a slight annoyance laced in his voice.

"Well, Vanya has a lot to process. She'll come around, I know she will."

"What about the guys that went after her?"

"The Swedes?"

Lotus glanced up, "The what now?"

Elliott pulled himself up and disappeared into the kitchen, Diego shook his head. "How do we know they won't come after her again?"

"We don't."

"Any idea who sent them?" Lila inquired as Elliott returned with two mugs of coffee, handing one to the woman and the other to Five.

"Oh, I have my suspicions." Five said, "But right now, our priority is finding Dad and getting answers, 'cause everything else depends on it."

Diego sighed, "Which, for the record, I found him already."

"And you let him go." Lotus chimed in, "But he did stab you, so."

"That's no excuse. You let him go before we could have a meaningful conversation."

"No excuse?" Diego scoffed, "He stabbed me."

Five leaned forward and raised his yellow mug, "I'm surprised he waited this long, Diego. We've all had the urge."

Lila and Elliott both started cackling, earning a glare from Diego. Lila extended her hand towards Five, "Good one."

He only shot her a weird look, placing his mug down. "Good thing I know where Dad's gonna be tonight." He pulled out the folded paper they had taken from his office building and handed it to Diego, who forcefully swiped it away. "Where'd you get this?"

"Found it at his office while he was busy stabbing you."

Diego glanced up at him with a sarcastic laugh, eyes going back to the sheet. "Hoyt Hillenkoetter and the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas cordially invites you to a gala."

Elliott rocked back and fourth on his heels, "Woah, wait. Hoyt Hillenkoetter? Are you serious?"

"You know him?"

Lila gasped, "We should go. Says there's gonna be a seafood tower."

"No, no... Hillenkoetter is, he's one of the Majestic Twelve."

"The hell is the Majestic Twelve?"

"What? It's a... a secret committee. Uh, scientists, military, uh, deep state. No one knows what they really do."

Diego pulled himself up higher on the couch, "Wait, so they're government?"

"Shadow government. Yeah, Kennedy was the first president to try to push 'em into the light, but these guys are not to be trifled with." He made a beeline for one of his many desks, he dug through files before pulling out a photo and walked back towards them. "Oh, here we go. Right here."

He pointed at it, only Five could really see the photo. "That's Hoyt right there."

Lila leaned forward to take a peak, "I only count eleven."

"Well, that's because they've only identified eleven so far."

"Who's the twelfth?" Diego questioned.

They all shared a look, Five was staring at Diego as if he could write the answer in his head. Lotus groaned, flopping onto her back. The floor was cold, and honestly quite comfortable. "It's your Dad, isn't it?"

Five stood up, "The Gala's tonight, and we have to go. We can ask him then."

"As if he's gonna tell you anything." Lila chimed in, "He doesn't even know who you are."

"We have to dress the part." Five ignored her.

Diego rolled her eyes, "And where are we gonna dress clothes?"

"You can borrow what I have." Elliott shrugged, "I have a few suits, and Eleanor left most of her stuff behind. I'm sure we can make it work."

"Time to suit up." Five nodded, "We leave in twenty minutes."

Lotus pulled herself up to her feet, "I thought it wasn't until tonight?"

"We need to take a cab there. It's probably somewhere uptown, off the beaten track. These are all people with money, it's gonna be fancy."

Lila jumped up, she walked over and linked arms through Lotus' before pulling her in a random direction. Five sent the woman a glare as she dragged Lotus away, not saying anything until they found Elliott's bedroom. She walked over and shoved the closet door open, scowling at the clothes inside.

She pulled out four dresses, throwing them along the bed. One was a green colour, two were shorter with a mix of boring colours and the last one was a light blue. Lila grabbed the green, discarding her clothes and jumping right in. Lotus looked away, scanning the last dress.

"How do I look?" Lila questioned, giving a little spin. Lotus nodded, "Good."

The dress was ridiculously wrinkled, but they'd also been stuffed away for who knew how long. Lila sighed, smoothing the skirt down.

Lotus grabbed the blue one, as quickly as she could, she shimmied out of her own clothes and into the dress. It was a little tight, but the zipper went up all the way so she called it a win. Lila's was bigger on her, but still managed to pull it off.

"It's cute."

Lotus sighed, staring down at the fabric. The top was blue and white in a stripped pattern, but at the waist it disappeared under a matching blue bow belt, followed by the long skirt that ended at her ankles, showcasing her scuffed up black vans she took from Allison's closet back home.

"Oh yes, shoes." Lila said, noticing her stare. She turned and dug through the closet once again, protruding with two pairs of heels. One red and the other black.

"I am not wearing heels." Lotus protested.

"Um, yes you are."

"I don't know how to walk in them."

Lila's brows furrowed, placing the shoes at her feet. "It's like normal walking. Plus, you'll get a taste of being a normal height. What's with the clown feet?"

"Hey." Lotus huffed, jamming her feet into them. They fit perfectly. "If I didn't stop ageing, I would probably be like, 5'3 or 4, so, don't make fun of my feet."

Lila snickered, "I don't think Elliott's got any makeup, so your eye's gonna stand out a bit."

Lotus frowned, quickly remembering getting punched multiple times. Her eyes throbbed at the thought. They had just discussed how she'd gotten it when they all first gathered in the living room, before going back to what they were supposed to do.

There was a knock at the door, "We gotta go!"

Lotus sighed, walking over and swinging the door open. Five stood on the other side, and with her shoes, she was almost eye level with him. His face was a better view than his chest.

"Oh." He muttered, staring at her. "You- you look good."

Lila snorted from behind her, bumping past them. She leaned over Five's shoulder from behind him, "You're ogling, old man."

Five blinked, "You're taller."

She nodded, moving past him and towards the living room where Diego stood in a suit and tie. "Don't get used to it."

Lotus stumbled a few times before she made it to the living room, she decided she hated heels.

"I called a cab." Elliott said, "Should be here in a few minutes."

Five appeared at the front door, eyeing everyone down. His gaze lingered on Lotus, a hint of his smile on his face. He gave a nod, "Let's go."