"...and that's when Valmont's men escaped with the Talisman," Jackie apologized, brushing the soot from his half scorched off clothes as he walked carefully along the metal floors of Section 13. While the cool metal was comfortable to his slightly burned soles when flat, there were too many floor grates for a truly comfortable walk.
"And you didn't follow or bug them?" Captain Black demanded insistently. "It could have led us to Valmont himself!"
"They had a helicopter!" Jackie countered defensively. "Does it look like I have wings? And all of Audrey's thorns got toasted, as I nearly did!" He lifted his foot to show how little of his shoe and sock was left.
Captain Black sighed ruefully. "Sorry Jackie. Valmont's men have escaped our grasp that closely too many times for my comfort or pleasure. With how skilled you are, it's easy to forget you're not a professional field agent."
"I've noticed," Jackie observed dryly, making Captain Black wince. "But that's not important. The Dark Hand has the Dragon Talisman now, and if they discover what magic it has..." His voice trailed off as he noticed Captain Black's eyes turn skeptical and judgmental. Jackie frowned irritably, remembering how determined Captain Black was to not accept the idea of magic. He decided to make an attempt to find some other explanation his friend could accept. "Captain...could you accept the idea that ancient civilizations had developed scientific ways of doing things that we are unable to fully understand now due to the loss of records?"
"Easily," Captain Black responded immediately. "Kepler has seven of those things he's actively researching between his new inventions. But the Talismans are much too small to be anything like that. Even a communications device - modern or ancient - is bigger than that."
Jackie groaned as his hand met his face. So much for that idea, he thought to himself.
"Jackie!" Jade called out. Recognizing her excited voice, Jackie turned and caught her as she leapt up to wrap her arms around his neck and slip her legs under his arms as he returned the embrace. Not far behind her, Uncle, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo followed along, the three fillies watching with amusement while Uncle looked grumpy. Jade quickly pulled back from the hug as Jackie held her up. "I missed you so much! You look like you had a rough day. Can I get you a cup of tea? Maybe some cookies?" As she dropped down, she noticed the state of his footwear. "...new shoes?"
Jackie gave her a suspicious look. "Jade," he began softly, "I would love to believe this is a sign of your growing maturity and the consideration you showed after we retrieved the Rabbit Talisman...but the fact that your cousins are so amused at your antics rather than pleased tells me that you're buttering me up for something. What is it?"
Jade gave the fillies a dirty look, making the trio giggle. "Traitors," she grumbled.
"Jade is in trouble at school," Uncle spoke up. "Cup of tea sounds good, thank you."
To Jackie's surprise, Jade rushed off to make tea. He found himself feeling a bit guilty. Just because she was trying to butter him up didn't mean she wasn't also trying to be genuinely considerate. He made a mental note to give her a bit more benefit of the doubt in the future.
"One more thing!" Uncle called out, turning to Captain Black. "Your place is too big! I have to walk very far to find a bathroom!"
"We gave you a room with an attached bathroom," Captain Black pointed out.
"And I have three girls!" Uncle pointed out logically, gesturing to the fillies. Captain Black groaned out at the logic of that, nodding rueful assent.
"Wait..." Jackie began in confusion. "Uncle, why are you and the girls here?"
"The landlord made us leave the shop for three days," Scootaloo offered quickly.
"Apparently, it needs to be sprayed for bugs," Sweetie explained.
"Pfeh!" Uncle snapped irritably. "This is how Uncle sprays for bugs!" He stomped the floor with his booted foot.
"Why didn't Audrey eat the bugs?" Jackie asked curiously. Audrey promptly made a very realistic vomit sound, despite the total absence of the digestive tract aspects required for such things. "...never mind..."
Captain Black rolled his eyes as he took it all in. "A real family affair here at Section 13," he mumbled to himself. "Hope my superiors never hear about this..."
As Jade came back with tea and cookies for everyone, Jackie knelt down beside her. "Jade, what kind of trouble are you in at school, exactly?"
"Mrs. Hartman wants you to come to a Parent-Teacher Conference," Jade explained, handing over the note.
As Jackie took the note, an agent approached Captain Black. "Sir, the US Mint's under siege."
"Patch me into their surveillance!" Captain Black snapped back immediately.
The group followed to the screens, where Valmont and his men could be seen marching into the Mint, somehow blasting their way in.
"Valmont," Captain Black growled out. "Mobilize!" he ordered his agents. As he saw Jackie starting to move, Captain Black stopped him. "As you've reminded me today, you're not a field agent," he pointed out softly. "Take care of your niece." With that, he rushed off.
Nodding, Jackie knelt beside Jade. "Now...why exactly does Mrs. Hartman want to speak with me?"
Jade chuckled nervously.