"She's been safe since we first partnered with her," Zhubin said quietly as his Luhpyne side slowly faded from his eyes and demeanor. "We knew who she was right off but as we've got a non-interference policy with potential mates who may have other commitments, we had to wait until she gave us the sign otherwise."
"And she, and I as well, were bound by fucking magic, dictates, and orders," the captain said, his tone clearly pissed off. "Don't let them play political roulette with your lives, they will fucking want to try and you know it. There is another team under my command that is much like yours, only the men are simply waiting. Well, hell, I don't know what they are waiting for," he added with a shrug. "Whatever it is, I hope that it's worth it. Anyway, get out of here. Stop by the weapons locker and get Agent Rose hooked up with the weapons she will need as well as armor and then make sure that she sees medical, and that is an order."
"I know who they are, Captain, and for them, it's necessary," Zhubin said, getting to his feet. "They can play their games all they want but they know they can only push so far. We have no compunction of tearing out their whiny little throats if they give us just cause." Turning to Lacey, he held out a hand. "Come, the captain is right, you need to be outfitted for what is to come."
Lacey nodded and took a breath. She followed Zhubin out of the Director's office. After they were away she finally asked, "What was he talking about? I knew that they had bound him with magic, I think that they might have with me as well but who was the other team that he was talking about?"
"Later," he said under his breath steering her by the elbow toward an elevator. Getting her inside, he punched the button to take them up two floors. "Not in the building," he murmured for her ears only. His eyes on hers he lifted them to where the camera was and then looked to her once more. "Some things can't be spoken of in all places with all people."
Lacey nodded and understood immediately. "Later I will take you up on that," she told him smoothly and exited the elevator as soon as it came to a stop. Moving swiftly toward the weapons locker, a massive room filled with weapons and protective gear, she called over her shoulder, "I will check in with medical after I have the weapons you think I will need for this little party."
"Damned straight you will," he muttered on her heels. "Had I not been a little more worried about you being perforated I would have protected your head when we had to make a dive." Zhubin moved in closer and touched her cheek, "I am sorry I wasn't more careful with you, Lacey."
"It's all good," she assured him and shook her head. "You have told me time and again that I have a hard head, just proved it when I simply bounced instead of being smashed." She waited until they were in the room and began pulling down weapons. She couldn't let him be close, not here where so many were watching. Turning back to him however, she heard herself saying, "Would they separate us if they knew?"
"Not that," he said, putting the large bulky weapon back on the wall. Tugging her along, he paused and passed her body armor that would mould to her shape. "Put that on under your clothing, and this." He handed her the bottoms to the piece. "Go and get that on while I pull you weapons that will actually work. And if they knew, which they probably do, they could try to separate us. But a Luhpyne is at his most dangerous at two points, the first being the mating dance and the second during his mate's pregnancy. We're brutal on the best of days, but catch us during that time and you're asking for death."
"But we aren't at the dance yet," she spoke softly. "We won't be until after I've spoken to Ansell, right?" Reaching out, she touched her hand to his arm, her finger running over the marking that was hidden under the golden cuff and watched him carefully.
"I'm not your typical Luhpyne, Lacey, never have been, never will be," was all the answer he gave to her. Turning her, he bum-rushed her into the changing room, passed her the undergarments and shut the door. "Change," he ordered before there was another sound.
"Oh, bossy." Lacey snorted. "I will change only because I know that I need the extra protection but seriously, mister, less bossy maybe?" Although if she were honest she really, really liked him being as bossy as he was being to her.
He was standing there, arms crossed, when she came out. "Now we'll outfit you for weapons," he told her. "The right way. First, put this on." He handed her a shoulder holster and then one for her waist that hooked at her thigh too. "Guns and blades." He moved in then and started to fill the empty slots up before kneeling and strapping another blade and smaller gun to her ankle and calf. "You're proficient with them all, so that's why they were picked. Plus they are slightly smaller which means any Luhpyne or Vhampire is going to have a bitch of a time turning them on you to use, so don't get all affronted at the size."
"I'm not worried at all about the size, as long as they are deadly. That's what I'm looking for. Size doesn't matter, how you use it does." She then groaned. "Good lord, I can't believe that I just used that line. Shoot me now please," she muttered and shoved another weapon at her back holster. "All right, any more for me?"
"Uh-huh, I'm going to remind you later you used that line," he said, straightening up and passing her an arm guard. Zhubin walked around her and nodded, "Now you're ready," he told her as he moved to arm himself. Pulling on his holster he withdrew his blade, spun it around and slid it into the sheath on his spine. Sliding his guns into place and then his other, smaller blades he looked to her. "Let's go and see what they managed to salvage from the warehouse and find out what we can, we need to figure out where this asshole is and end him."
"And let's go and let the medical team poke and prod me so that I can get my clearance to go back out on the field." She hated going to medical. Truly hated going to medical because they liked to poke and prod and hurt. She hated it.
Frowning, he touched her arm when she was close enough, "What's going on in that head of yours, Lacey?" Catching her hand, he pulled her to a stop when she would have gone past. "Lacey, why are you making that face? What are you not telling me?"
"I hate medical," she admitted. "You know that I bruise easily, well they tend to poke, prod and I end up with more bruises when I leave medical than before I was in there. They will also likely want to run a CAT scan or MRI which always give me headaches. Just par for the course, right?"
"They poke you once and I'll rip them to shreds," he said with a shrug. "Problem solved." He smiled slightly and moved her toward the door. Punching the button for the elevator he walked in with her and they went up the three floors. Moving right at her side into medical, he looked around and singled out a doctor. "Clear her, yesterday," he said, eyeing the female with a clear warning not to waste time written all over his face.
The doctor nodded and looked to Lacey. "Yes sir," she said and then looked to Lacey once more, "All right Agent Rose, let's have a look at you shall we?" she asked and led the woman to a medical bay bed and then began to check and test her. "It says that we need to run an MRI and CAT scan, are you going to be okay with that?" Lacey nodded and she gave her ear plugs. "Put these in and we will go ahead and get you ready okay?"
Standing to the side, Zhubin shook his head as he took all the weapons he'd just strapped on her. "This is not exactly what I had in mind." He growled softly, eyeing the doctor. "You'd better give her something for the headache you're about to create by doing this. Because I really don't want to have to put up with her when she's bitching you all out for the rest of the night. Not that I won't put up with it, but I won't be very happy the next time I come in here."
"Right, I will give her a painkiller but with her allergies it wouldn't be a good idea for her to take what I would typically give, so what I have to give her will make her very sleepy. I would suggest that she go home for the day and sleep them and the headache off."