Finally, I finished Skeleton Key (well, by the time I published this, I was finished Eagle Strike.)! I'm on Eagle Strike, and it makes me wanna scream. /spoilers/ when Alex has the gun to Yassen's head, half my brain is like "No, don't do it! You're fourteen! Stop!" And the other half is like "C'mon, you're so close!" Basically, this book frustrates me. Whatever. Thank you all for the positive feedback and ideas. You may recognize some stuff from the reviews. So, in this chapter (next chapter), K-Unit tries to make a cake. Dun dun dun! Meh, whatever, enjoy.

K-Unit spent maybe twenty minutes planning how it was gonna go down. They'd already decided a cake was in order, after all, what else do you give someone on their birthday?

They were going to sneak into the kitchen after dark and make it then. It would be past the Sergeant's birthday by the time they were done, but that didn't matter.

Unfortunately, the kitchen was locked after everyone leaves, so they'd need to steal the key before the day was over, and they had the perfect person to do it.

"No," Cub said, crossing his arms. "Not doing it."

"Why not?" Snake asked. "You're Double-O-Nothing, right?"

Cub scowled. "Would you stop-" he shook his head. "I'm not getting in trouble for your crazy plan."

"C'mon, Cub," Eagle said. "Don't be a-"

"Cub," Fox cut in. "We're a Unit. We help each other out. We work together." he said. "You're part of the Unit, too, remember?"

Cub looked like he wanted to protest, but sighed. "Fine. I'll help you."

"Yeah!" Eagle grinned, patting him on the back. "Knew you'd come around!"

Cub rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Someone'll have to distract them, though."

So, later that day they began the plan. Once the kitchen was locked up, the staff began walking out to their quarters. They'd already picked out the one who had the key. A tall, dark-skinned man with close-cropped black hair and hazel eyes. He only spoke a little English, barely enough to ask the time. He was a Frenchman, but luckily Snake spoke French fluently.

Snake pulled him aside and began to chat with him, and from what Cub could understand, he was talking to him about one of the other cooks, some false gossip about another cook who was not following regulation.

Cub approach from behind, trying to reach the cook's jacket pocket. Luckily it was a loose jacket.

"Vraiment? Je vais avoir un mot avec lui." He heard the cook say as he reached for the pocket. He could see the keys glistening in the dying daylight.

Snake nodded. "Oui, je ne ferais pas confiance à ce qu'il cuisine. Je le vis commencer sans assainir ses mains."

Cub reached forward. So close...

Suddenly, the cook shoved his hands in his pockets. "C'est inacceptable. Cela ne sera pas toléré dans ma cuisine!"

Cub swore under his breath. He made eye contact with Snake, clasping both his hands in front of him, the gesture of a handshake. Snake understood.

"Je ferais attention. Il serait vraiment malheureux que quelqu'un soit empoisonné." Snake said.

"Merci d'avoir attiré mon attention ceci-dessus." The cook said. "Ceci sera traité."

Snake held out a hand for a handshake, a common gesture of courtesy in France. "C'était bon de vous parler."

The French cook reached out a hand to shake hands with Snake, leaving the lanyard hanging out of his pocket, dangling in the wind. "Tu aussi, mon ami."

Cub took his chance, and carefully grabbed the keys out of his pocket, slipping them into his own jacket. Success!

A second later, the cook turned around and saw him. He looked confused for a second but then nodded. "Tu ne devrais pas sortir ŕ cette heure, garcon."

The cook likely didn't expect Cub to speak french, but he nodded and replied fluently. "Je ne le ferai pas, monsieur. Je suis désolé." He turned away. "Passe une bonne nuit."

"Alright," Cub tossed the keys onto the table, "I did your dirty work. Now go."

Wolf nodded, picking up the keys. "Boys, we have our ticket in."

Eagle fist pumped. "Yes! The Sergeant's gonna love this!"

Snake patted Cub on the shoulder. "Thanks for doing your part." He said. "I didn't know you spoke French."

Cub nodded. "Yeah, my uncle had me learn it from, likely two years old."

Fox chuckled. "That was crazy but worth it."

Cub shrugged. "No crazier than some other stuff I've done."

"Well, now that we have our ticket in, we've gotta get to work," Wolf said.

"Hold on," Cub said, raising a hand. "Do any of you even know how to bake a cake?"

The men exchanged a look. "I'm an okay cook," Eagle said.

"I can make a good salad," Fox said.

Snake thought for a moment. "I know a specialty French recipe for pasta."

Wolf shrugged. "My cooking's never killed anyone."

"And if we can do all that," Eagle said, "how hard can a cake be?"

Great. Cub thought. They're going to poison the Sergeant.

French Translations:

Cook: Really? I'll have a word with him.

Snake: Yes, I would not trust what he cooks. I saw him start without cleansing his hands.

Cook: This is unacceptable. That will not be tolerated in my kitchen!

Snake: I would take care. It would be really unfortunate if someone was poisoned.

Cook: Thank you for bringing my attention to this. This will be dealt with.

Snake: It was good to talk to you.

Cook: You too, my friend.

Cook: (To Cub) You should not be out at this time, boy.

Cub: I will not, sir. I am sorry. Have a good night.

I thought it would be canon that Snake would know French. Also, I'm using the stuff I learned in French class! In France, it is common courtesy to shake hands.

So, this is part 2 of three. I just know people have been impatient, and I wanna get this out there, mostly because it'll be a while before I finish the final part. It's so hard to write the Sergeant's reaction. And, man, Google must think I'm crazy with how much I've been searching "how to ruin a cake". lol, anyway, I've been getting into TMNT lately. I love it! It's like Ninjago, but not nearly as stupid. I may write some stuff for that, but not likely. Anyway, keep reading!