Lacey's Luhpynes(2)

Pushing open the door for her, he held it and rolled his eyes when she  went through. She'd given him a look of death. Sue him, he had manners.  He believed chairs and doors should be held for a woman. He believed a  man should pick up the check or, at the very least, offer to do so. He  also believed that a man should protect those smaller and weaker than  him even when they didn't like the idea.

She on the other hand, ballbuster that she was, seemed to believe men  were good for nothing. No, he didn't think she was into other women. She  seemed to appreciate the male form well enough and even had, a time or  two, been seen checking males out. By him at least, not that he'd ever  said anything to alert her to the fact he'd caught her mentally  stripping down a male. He wasn't an idiot.                       
       
           



       

Following her to the car, he resisted the urge to open the door for her,  barely. It went against every single fiber of his being but he knew  she'd just shred him with her razor-sharp tongue if he did. So when she  passed him the keys he was shocked but he climbed into the driver's seat  and pushed it back as far as it would go. Thankfully all the AEDA  vehicles could accommodate his larger frame so he gained plenty of leg  room. She, on the other hand, had to scoot the passenger seat forward, a  lot, just to sit comfortably.

Turning the onboard computer to face him, he punched in his code and  pulled up the information on where they were going. He happened to love  New York, loved the scents, the smells, the energy the city seemed to  vibrate from its very core. It was nothing like it had been before the  war the humans started, but it was still a lot the same in the little  ways.

"East side harbor," he told her. "We're heading for the McKinley  warehouses near dock eighteen. Looks like there are six dead with  another three currently being rushed to the hospital. The uniforms have  two potential witnesses they are holding until we arrive. The coroner is  on scene and starting to work. As well, looks like the crime scene  techs are there too and are getting started."

He punched on the keys and frowned, "No IDs on the bodies and … " He fell  silent as he read what was still coming in on the system. One of the  technological advances the Veil dropping had given to the human world  was interfaced computers on a whole new level.

Things like cell phones were a thing of the past. Everyone now had a  chip behind their ear that worked as a cell phone and recorder as well  as ID, which made this unusual. A second chip at the inner wrist held  personal information like allergies, medical history and also worked for  paying for things. No more cards or cash, everything was now fully  integrated into a new version of the Internet. So secure that even  hackers couldn't break through, there was no more identity theft, no  more need for banks or financial institutions of any sort. Everything  flowed on the new Net system, no glitches, no mistakes.

"Their hands were all removed. ME says that she'll likely have to do  dental records if not DNA," he added in a low murmur. Odd, very odd.  Switching to live feed of the scene, he watched as the Medical Examiner,  or ME, moved to another body and bent to pat him down, looking for  anything of significance.





Chapter Two




She had to get her shit together, Lacey thought to herself. She had to  get herself together before she revealed something that she couldn't,  shouldn't reveal. "How long has it been since the ME has had to try to  ID a body by dental records?" she asked quietly, simply trying to keep  her shit together as she did so. "Because I can't recall the last time  that we went to a case where the hands had been taken as well as the  chips in the back of the ears. What the hell?" She shook her head and  sighed. "What the hell is going on?"

Anger, she hid behind her anger. It was the only thing that she knew,  the only thing she could think of. Taking a deep breath Lacey closed her  eyes when Zhubin got behind the wheel of the vehicle and thought about  the first time she had met them.



* * * *



Five years earlier



Fresh from the FBI, Lacey had thought that the world was truly a wonder,  even with knowing that there were other beings in the world she was  happy to have the life that she had. She had a great family that stood  behind her, even when she made the choice to go into the FBI, a family  that had given her hope when she had felt as if she had bitten off more  than she could chew. No, she truly believed that life was good, that it  was perfect. She had truly believed in what she had done … Until the day  that she met her first Vhampire, a man that had wanted to take her head  off simply because she was a human.

"Hello, pretty one." The voice whispered from the shadows. It was purely  cliché since most Vhampires didn't have to remain in the shadows, it  was more the element of fright that made some sadists want to retain  that age-old mystery about them and lurk in the shadows.

Lacey had turned when she heard the voice, her hand going to her weapon  automatically. "I'm Agent Lacey Rose. Step from the shadows and identify  yourself." When he did she gulped, she hadn't been able to help it. She  was not a short woman, not by any means, but the tall and far-too-lean  and pale man that stepped from the shadows was like the Slender Man of  nightmares.

"Oh come now, darling. Rose fits you however," he said softly, his voice  seemingly caressing her face, cheeks, neck. "You are a beautiful Lacey  Rose. So lovely. So perfectly splendid. Too bad that you are human, my  darling girl." He inhaled and then laughed, "Oh my, this is even better.  Oh this is too delicious."                       
       
           



       

Flipping the release on her weapon she charged the ultraviolet on the  piece which would also automatically start recordings both vocal and  visual. "Again, I am Agent Lacey Rose of the FBI. I demand that you  identify yourself."

"Oh, darling, I'm the one that is going to tear your head off. Don't  worry, though, I know just who to deliver it to. They will be so  surprised that I was able to find you before they could. This is truly  priceless. I was able to be rid of The Alpha Prime's before he could  seal the deal and now, oh this is too glorious. The new Alpha Prime will  also be rid of you before he even meets you. I am truly a wonderfully  blessed man."

"You are no man, and what the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh darling, darling girl. You have just gotten out of the Academy and  they have not briefed you? You poor, dear, and very dead child. Too  bad." He moved quickly, his hands wrapping around her neck and pressing  her so hard to the brick wall at her back that she heard her skull  crack. "You see, the animals that walk the world, Lhupines"-he spat the  word-"are given a pair of mates. A man and woman, two women, three men,  but it's always in threes. And I love depriving those bastards of their  mates. It's a great pleasure to me to cause them harm."

"Yeah? Well not this time." Lacey was able to get the gun up and between  them, pulling the trigger. As the blast hit the Vhampire that held her  she heard his laughter, his mocking derision as he tossed her to the  ground.

"Well played, pretty little human, but I will be back." Lacey watched as  he disappeared and her partner finally come running, weapon drawn but  far too late.

Falling to the ground limp as a noodle cooked far too long, Lacey looked up at her partner, and blacked out.



* * * *



Today



Unconsciously Lacey rubbed at the holes that scarred over on her neck,  holes left not by fang but by nail from her assailant, a man she had yet  to catch. Her headache was starting again, typically did around her  partners, not because of anything they did, but more of what her  traitorous body did when they were near. She had thought of asking for a  transfer, but that would be allowing a sadistic bastard to win and that  just wasn't in her vocabulary.

"All right guys, where are we headed again?" she asked and pulled out  her mini tablet, shooting off a message to her doctor so that she could  get a refill on her meds, meds she had been steadily increasing dosage  on for the last five years. Then again she had nearly died from that  asshole's hands on her neck, as it was it was a miracle that she was  walking and not paralyzed from the ears down. Yep, sometimes you just  had to let go of what might be and focus on the truth, on what was. And  what was, well that was that these strong, amazing and virile men didn't  want or need her in their lives. She was assigned to them simply  because the AEDA demanded that a full human be paired with all their  Alien operatives. Yep, bully fucking rah for her to be paired with two  men that she knew were destined to be hers, or vice versa, and yay for  her for having the only two men on the planet that seemed not to realize  said fact. Wonderful. Just. Fucking. Great.