Location: ONYX CORE Stealth Jet – En Route to Louisiana – Time: 6:33 a.m.
Holly looked out the window, blinking at the sunrise over Louisiana. "Wait... we were in Melbourne last night. Are we time travelers now?"
Ryan, strapped into his seat and sipping black coffee from a tactical thermos, shook his head. "Nope. Just ONYX CORE's fastest stealth jet. Top speed: classified. Bathroom size: unfortunately also classified."
Emily groaned, massaging her temples. "I still feel like I got hit by a ravioli truck."
Faith stirred from her nap across the aisle, mumbling in her sleep, "Tortellini... surrender now…"
Tony the drone beeped in protest from under her arm.
Ryan pulled up the holographic briefing. "Bella's targeting Willow Creek Elementary. Which means we've got 48 hours to prep before she launches an operation during Tuesday's Parent–Teacher Pizza Night."
Emily blinked. "That's not a joke?"
Ryan looked at her grimly. "It's on the school calendar. Right between 'Book Fair' and 'Dodgeball with Dads.'"
Location: Willow Creek Elementary – Louisiana – Time: 8:02 a.m.
Principal Harmon was halfway through his breakfast donut when the school's front gates opened—and in walked the Bruce family.
Well, stormed in.
Ryan wore aviator shades and a blazer over his ONYX CORE jumpsuit. Emily walked beside him with the confidence of a woman who'd disarmed a landmine with a wine opener. Holly was skipping like a normal kid. Faith was chewing on a breadstick. Somehow.
Principal Harmon blinked. "Uh… Ryan? Emily? Is there a reason you're arriving with military luggage and what looks like… a sentient tortellini?"
Tony chirped and launched a hologram of Bella Castini's file mid-air.
Emily cleared her throat. "We'd like to volunteer for extra parent involvement."
Ryan whispered, "Preferably the tactical kind."
Holly grabbed her dad's sleeve. "Can I still go to art class, or is this a Code Red day?"
Ryan hesitated. "We'll play it by ear. But if your art teacher starts acting like a mafia capo, run."
Location: Bella's Hidden Café – Louisiana – Time: 9:01 a.m.
Bella Castini stepped out of a hidden elevator that opened inside an old Italian bakery downtown. Her boots echoed across tiled floors as Enzo trailed behind with a tray of freshly printed fake student IDs.
"Operation Lunchbox is on schedule," Enzo said. "Our agents are enrolled as substitute teachers. You're booked for 'History of Culinary Warfare' at 10:15."
Bella adjusted her scarf and picked up a school lunch tray. "Perfect. By the time the first bell rings… Willow Creek's secrets will be mine."
Location: Bruce Home – Living Room – Time: 10:33 a.m.
Ryan paced in his living room war room, a map of the school sprawled across the coffee table beside a tray of emergency snacks.
Emily emerged from the hallway, buttoning up a cardigan. "I'm undercover as a PTA parent. God help them."
Ryan glanced over. "You look like a threat to gluten and injustice."
She smirked. "You better believe it."
They kissed—briefly, urgently—as Faith toddled in dragging her backpack.
"Mommy, why does my lunchbox smell like a spy gadget?"
Ryan shrugged. "Because it is a spy gadget."
Emily winked. "Smile for the teacher, sweetie. And if anyone asks about the lunchbox laser grid, just say it's a fancy thermos."
[TO BE CONTINUED...]