Preparing for the next mission

When your eyes open to the daylight streaming into your room, the first thing you see is LT Mills still lying in the bed next to you. Gently shaking her shoulder, you say, "Time to wake up." She yawns and pulls the covers off. "Get cleaned up and dressed and have the squad meet me in the lobby in an hour. Let Jeremy, Walter, and Allen know to be there, too."

"Yes, sir. I'll let them all know." It's a shame watching her ass dissapear into her camo pants. Once fully dressed, she salutes and walks out the door. Time for you to get up, too. It doesn't take long to shower and get dressed, and you still have 45 minutes before you need to be downstairs. You decide to head down early. As you walk through the building, you smell something delicious. Tracking the source of the smell, you find yourself in front of the Carter's apartment. About to knock, you remember that you own the building, along with the residents, and just walk right in. You find Jeremy sitting down at the kitchen table with his son, Jonathan eating breakfast while Melissa is in the kitchen, cleaning up.

"Hey Boss," Jeremy starts. "I got the word from the Army lady. I can leave now, if you need me to." You wave him down.

"No, no, I was just interested to know who was cooking such a delicious smelling breakfast." Melissa smiles at your compliment. "Now that I know who the chef is, I'm even more jealous, your wife is gorgeous and a great cook. You're a very lucky man." Melissa blushes.

"That I am, Boss. I still don't know how I managed to find such an amazing woman."

"Oh, stop it. Both of you," Melissa says with a little wave of her hand, pleased with the compliments.

"You know, I've been eating mostly premade dinners for a while now, and I'm going to be a lot more busy now especially. Would it be too much to ask for you to cook for me? And my guards since they won't have time to cook either." You speak the words, knowing full well that nothing is too much to ask.

"I'd love to, Boss! Honestly, I should have offered way before now, I just never thought about it," she replies.

"Thank you. You're the best. If you could bring it down to the lobby when you're ready, that would be perfect. Jeremy, I'll see you downstairs." You nod at them and walk out the door. It took you this long to think about a way to use your possesions that wasn't sex or protection oriented. Tells you a lot about where your mind is at. You decide to make the rounds and check up a bit on some of the other residents.

On one your last check, Amelia answers the door. She has on what looks like a hunting jacket and cargo pants. Inside, you can see her husband still fast asleep. "Hey Boss. Can we talk real quick?" Amelia asks, walking out of the apartment and closing the door behind her.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I heard Allen say that there was a meeting downstairs with you, Jeremy, Walter, and that the soldiers would be there, too. I didn't hear anything, so I wasn't sure if I was invited..." Looking into her eyes, it seems almost a little hurt that you left her out.

"It's not that you aren't invited, I just figured you got your fill of adventure already. You're more than welcome to partcipate, if you'd like.

The hurt dissapears, replaced by a beaming smile. "Great! I'm ready now. Is it alright if I walk with you."

"Sure, I'm headed there now." The two of you walk downstairs to find the soldiers, Walter, Jeremy, and Allen waiting for you. You clap your hands together to get their attention. "Good morning, team. We've got some planning to do for the next couple of days." The group grabs whatever chairs are left and sits in a semicircle around you. "Let's start with a report from our sentries last night."

LT Mills stands up to speak, "Nothing to report from last night, sir."

"Good. In that case, let's talk about what we need." You start a discussion about what supplies are needed most. Allen and Mills argue for more weapons. Jeremy and Foreman argue for more food and water. Unsurprisingly, the medic, Zhang, wants more medical supplies and the building's mechanic, Walter wants more fuel and spare parts. Amelia and Garcia stay quiet for the most part. After letting the discussion run for a short time, you make a decision.