Spy Games, School Plays, and Yor’s Accidental Knife Ballet

Loid was having a relatively normal morning.

By which he meant:

• Anya was dramatically rehearsing lines for a school play about "Peace and the Power of Vegetables."

• Yor was sharpening her "cooking knives".

• And his latest mission briefing involved intercepting a smuggled dossier hidden inside a rubber duck in the men's bathhouse downtown.

Yes, relatively normal.

[Mission Alert: Intercept Intelligence Package Hidden at Civilian Location.]

[Timeframe: Before 4 PM.]

[Side Objective: Don't Miss Anya's School Performance or Face Emotional Devastation Level: MAX.]

Loid, adjusting his tie with clinical precision, muttered: "Of course it's today."

"Did you say something?" Yor asked cheerfully, balancing a full tray of apple slices on one palm and a paring knife in the other.

"No," he said, watching as she sliced apples into origami cranes mid-air. "Just… scheduling."

Anya appeared, arms out, wearing a cardboard tomato costume.

"I AM THE FRUIT OF UNITY," she declared. "AND I HAVE LINES."

"You're not a fruit, you're a vegetable," Loid corrected automatically.

"Tomatoes are BOTH," she snapped.

"…She's not wrong," Yor added.

[System Alert: Domestic Chaos Level: 41%. Emotional Stakes: Rising.][Note: If you miss her play, there will be tears. Possibly yours.]

The Plan:

• Infiltrate bathhouse.

• Retrieve duck.

• Drop off intel at WISE dead-drop.

• Return home, change into civilian dad attire, and attend Anya's school performance by 3:45 sharp.

Easy.

In theory.

In practice?

The bathhouse was swarming with low-level Ostanian agents also tracking the duck.

Loid, soaked to the knees in steam and lies, had to outmaneuver two security guards, one suspiciously nosy retiree, and a teenage attendant who kept asking why he was holding the same duck for twenty minutes.

Eventually, he slipped the duck into a towel and exited with all the grace of a man pretending he wasn't smuggling national secrets in poultry.

[Intel Secured. Time Remaining Until Play: 34 Minutes.]

He changed in a utility closet, jogged five blocks, and arrived at Eden Academy's auditorium with exactly six minutes to spare.

He opened the auditorium door just as the lights dimmed.

And there—onstage—stood Anya, in a costume held together with tape, sheer confidence, and dreams.

Loid sat down, breath catching.

Just in time for the curtain to rise.

The Play: "Peace Through Produce: A Vegetable Allegory."

It was... surreal.

Children dressed as vegetables danced slowly across the stage while a narrator intoned lines like:

"And the lettuce said unto the carrot: 'Let us be friends, not soup.'"

Loid blinked twice. Yor dabbed her eyes like she was watching Swan Lake.

Then came Anya's big scene.

She marched center stage, arms out, cheeks puffed, and shouted:

"I AM THE TOMATO! I UNITE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. I END ALL WARS WITH SALSA!"

The audience erupted in confused applause.

Loid stood.

Clapped.

Felt… proud?

Yes. Proud.

And then came the knife incident.

It was after the play, at the "Family Snacks Reception."

Yor, ever helpful, offered to slice the celebratory cake.

With a knife she definitely shouldn't have brought.

"I'll help!" she said cheerfully, pulling out a blade so shiny it reflected the startled face of the PTA president.

One unfortunate flick of the wrist—and the knife embedded itself perfectly in the fruit punch fountain.

Direct hit. No casualties.

But also… no more punch.

[Social Panic Detected. Deploying Cover Strategy…]

Loid stepped forward.

"Ah, my wife. Always dramatic with her… culinary passion."

Yor bowed slightly. "Sorry! I just get so excited about refreshments."

The other parents stared.

Then someone muttered, "At least she's not boring."

[Yor's Reputation: +5 Charisma, +10 Fear. You are now known as 'The Knife Mom.']

At home that night, Anya skipped through the apartment with her crumpled bouquet of victory dandelions.

"I WAS THE STAR," she declared.

"You were the entire produce section," Loid said.

"You were wonderful," Yor added, cleaning her blade. "I'm so proud."

[Bond Increase: Anya +2, Yor +1. Domestic Fulfillment: 73%. Emotional Stability: Fragile But Functional.]

As Anya fell asleep under a blanket of toy veggies, Loid stood at the window, watching the city breathe.

Mission: complete.

Secrets: safe.

Family?

Somehow, still intact.

Loid sighed. Another day...