Ryuu cleared his throat. "I believe she is referring to the inference that in the movie Despicable Me, the minions were actually the ones responsible for helping to carry out the nefarious deeds."
Aiden looked adorably confused. "I thought they were just the little yellow guys in overalls."
Meryn shook her head. "I told you they were helping me take over the world."
Aiden ground his teeth together and, with a clenched jaw, asked, "Why would Noah do something like that? Does he understand the implications of one of the unit leaders being pulled into a human law enforcement environment? What would happen if he had to shift?"
Meryn held up a hand. "He did it in retaliation."
"Retaliation for what?" Aiden asked.
"Sascha set up a fireworks display in the center of town."
"And?" Aiden asked, looking confused. "That sounds festive."
"All the fireworks were purple," Meryn informed him.
Kari watched in fascination as Gavriel lost all sense of composure. He leaned back so far in his chair, it tipped backward. Bethy stared down in shock. Adriel was laughing openly, and Declan wheezed at her side, pounding the table.
"What?" Kari asked. She would have felt like a total outsider, but she noticed that neither Eva, Broderick, Caspian, nor Magnus looked like they knew what was going on.
Declan caught his breath first. "There's been an ongoing prank war between Sascha and Keelan. They, of course, pulled in their units to assist as the years went on. Alpha Unit warriors would electrocute the members of the Gamma Unit, and the Gamma Unit would find ways to turn the members of the Alpha Unit purple.
"How could they possibly do that?" Eva asked.
Meryn turned to her. "Well, one time they put purple dye in the shower head after setting up fireballs in the house. Keelan ended up looking like a plum." She giggled. "Then there was the time that they dropped purple glitter on Keelan during the Midwinter Solstice ball; he complained he had glitter in his unmentionables for days."
"But why fireworks? Would that not be for everyone?" Kari asked.
Her question seemed to kill the laughter. It was as if someone had just turned off the faucet, and the joy dried up.
Meryn looked at Aiden, who shook his head. He turned to Kari. "Members of the units know what has happened to Keelan, but for the most part, his sacrifice and what he has done remains a secret. Let's just say that Sascha's fireworks was a huge display taunting the Alpha Unit."
"So why did Noah get involved?" Eva asked.
"Even though no one has officially been assigned as Alpha's sixth man yet, Noah has been living at the Alpha estate. So when Sascha set up the fireworks display, I'm sure he felt like it was his responsibility to react."
"I see," Kari said.
"Man, I can't wait to get home to talk to Sascha." Meryn rubbed her hands together in glee.
"Can you please get him released?" Aiden begged.
"Fine." Meryn hopped off her chair and looked back at Ryuu. "Can you make me a plate with some pudding and bring into the communications hub? I have to up my game to make my minions proud." Whistling, she walked past Kuruk and left the dining room.
Aiden sighed. "At least she is feeling better."
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Magnus shook his head in disbelief. "She is so little."
Adriel nodded. "She is too little to cause so much trouble."
Eva met Kari's eyes and winked. Kari felt a sense of camaraderie with her. There was just something about being mated to one of the warriors and keeping them on their toes that seemed to bring people together.
"Well, I am sure you gentlemen can help keep her in line," Kari said magnanimously. All the men looked at her, their gazes shooting daggers. Beside her, Declan chuckled. "No one can control the menace."
Everyone was in high spirits for the rest of the dinner except for Aiden, who poked at his food, looking slightly ill. When dinner was over, she thanked Sebastian, and she and Declan walked hand-in-hand to the telecommunications hub to get Avery. Declan told her that her and Avery's things were forwarded to his house when it became general knowledge that they were mates, so if they needed anything to settle in for the night they would have to make a trip to the Unit Level.