"Orders?"
"If you want them in writing, I can certainly do that."
Lilly toyed with the edge of the bottle's label and thought for a moment. "I want a raise," she told him without looking up. "And I want full expenses for moving on such short notice. The AEDA will also buy out my house and put me up in one of my choosing in New York. And don't say that it's not in the budget, we both know what a load of shit that is."
Thinking for a moment, the new director said, "Fine, deal. But you have to be there and ready to work by this time next week."
"No problem."
"Really?"
"Yep, because you are going to have movers move my shit, too." She looked up and saw him gritting his teeth together and had to let her hair fall to hide her face and her grin when she caught him grinding his teeth. Nodding, she added, "Good, we have a deal. Good to be a part of the AEDA." She stood and held her hand out to him.
"And no going to try to track without backup. You are a weapons maker."
"Who started as an agent, who has several black belts in many different forms of combat."
"Who wouldn't stand a chance against a Werewolf, Vampire, or Warlock."
"Awe, listen to you. You actually sound like you might give a good hot damn about me."
She watched the glint of his eye when he said, "I care about all of my agents. Don't make me regret this."
"No problem. Looks like I'm all yours now."
"God help me," he said and shook his head. "Don't make me regret this," he added.
"Don't worry. I might be an adrenaline junkie, but I'm not stupid. Believe it or not, I actually really freaking love breathing."
"Yeah, all of the stitches that you have had over the years really proves that point."
"All learning curves, I assure you."
Heaving a deep sigh, he slid his hands through his hair and shook his head. "Lord, they warned me about you, but I never thought it was true." The grin on the curves of his lips spoke of his amusement. "Please try not to have everyone in New York ready to strangle you."
"Who, me? I'm a totally lovable and adorable person," Lilly said with a smirk.
"I better leave before I hear you saying something that might actually be true." His smile was broad now, and he added, "You are something else, Agent Webb. I now see why Ramirez and Honeywell wanted to keep you on the team."
"Nah, they only wanted to keep me because I make some awesome damn toys. And not the kind that vibrate either, although that one year Honeywell had me-" She was cut off by a hand to her mouth and a shake of the new director's head.
"Please don't finish that statement. I don't think I want to know."
Lilly's brown eyes danced in amusement. Nodding, she waited for his hand to be removed before she added, "His wife loved it. Okay, right, you got it, boss man. I will head toward New York, just make sure that whoever packs my house is really damn good or I might have to get cranky."
Snorting, he shook his head. "God help me."
"He did. He sent you me," she teased and then headed for her door. "And look, he just opened a door for you. Good-bye, Director Atwell. Don't worry, I won't make waves, promise."
"Why is it that I'm having a hard time believing you?" he asked, and folded his coat over his arm. "After the way you carried on at Morgan, I thought you were seriously deranged."
"The bitch took my chocolate. No one touches my chocolate without losing a hand or getting a smack upside the head."
"God help the people of New York," he muttered and passed her a card. "Here is a lovely chocolate shop. I suggest that you go there anytime you get some urges to hunt and kill. Get your chocolate fix and try to be good," he said and then added, "Director Viator was a close friend of mine. He thought the world of you. He believed in you and that's why you are getting the promotion as young as you are. Don't fuck it up."
"Don't worry, I won't," Lilly said seriously. "Thank you. For giving me the chance." She might be a kidder of epic proportions, but she was very, very good at her job and when needed, could be serious. "I will leave the keys to my place on your desk. Just text me and let me know when my stuff will be in NYC?"
"You got it," he said with a smile and walked out the door, whistling as he walked away.
Lilly watched him and shook her head. Closing the door, she grinned. "Damn, looks like I'm moving." She had lived in DC all her life. She didn't have family but she had friends, hella good friends, too, but this was a career move of a lifetime, one that she would be a fool to turn down. You weren't just asked to join the AEDA, it was an honor, and one she was totally stoked about, too.
Heading up to her room, she packed a couple bags of clothes, tossed them into the trunk of her Porsche, and headed out, stopping by HQ to drop her keys and alarm codes for her home and trusting that it would be packed and moved quickly. Humming to herself, she drove out of town after seeing a few friends, and toward her new life.
* * * *
January 2, 2035
"I will take it," Lilly told the realtor with a grin. "It's perfect," she said as she looked out the large floor-to-ceiling glass walls and nodded. "Can we go to your office and do the paperwork?"
"Of course." The woman was taken aback. She hadn't thought for a moment that this property would move, but here this woman stood, ready to take it. "There was a murder here, I have to tell you that."
Lilly shrugged. "It's not the dead that I'm worried about," she admitted. "I will still take it, and for the price, you can't beat it with a stick."
"True." The price had been dropped significantly because of the double homicide in the home, and the bank was just ready to move the property. "All right, we will go to the office and we can draw the paperwork up. There has been regular maintenance on the property, but we can still have an inspection."
"That would be nice," she said and smiled. "Let's do this. I need to report to work today. Maybe." She shrugged. "I should. I mean, I'm due in today to meet with my contact there and all."
Grinning, the realtor shook her head. "That's right, you are the new AEDA agent, aren't you?"
"Yep, I'm the new toymaker." Today Lilly's eyes were blue, due to her colored contacts, and they sparkled with amusement. "I can't wait to get in there and see what I have to work with."
"Well, I'm sure that you will find a great deal," the woman said with a nod. "All right, let's get you all taken care of, and while the paperwork is processing you can head into work."
"Sounds like a plan," she said with a grin. "I will follow you." She looked out the windows once more and sighed. She felt as if she was finally home. This place was, well, perfect, and fit her to a tee.
* * * *
January 2, 2035 - later in the day
Opening the door to the AEDA office, Lilly had a myriad of emotions running through her. She was nervous, excited, and worried. Worried that this would be some kind of crazy dream and she really wasn't here, wasn't in this new place and new job. First-day jitters, she tried to tell herself.
Walking up to the security desk, she grinned. "Hi. Agent Lilly Webb. I'm honestly not sure who it is that I'm supposed to be meeting here? I'm the new weapons maker from DC," she added with a smile.
Chapter Two
July 2015
Gavriel looked up briefly before looking back to his friend. "You realize that if we get involved in this it will be all or nothing, right?"
His friend gave a shrug. "Not like we have much of anything else to do. Why not get involved and show those humans, who think we should be enslaved, what we think of the idea? I mean, not all humans think that way, but those that do, that are trying to kill us, need to be shown we don't lay down for anyone."
"My mother will have your head if anything happens to me," he pointed out with a grin. Though Artaxias was as high-born as he was, his people, the Vhampire race, were mercenaries, soldiers, guns for hire, basically. Because of his own circumstances of birth, Artaxias was highly in demand. While older than Gavriel by more than a few years, he was Gavriel's best friend. Not just his bodyguard.
"She says she'll have my head over anything I let you do. Even eating something from the marketplace is nearly a guarantee for my head to be on a platter. She can just suck it up and realize her son is like the man who gave him life. If she doesn't like it, then she may actually give in to that threat of hers and disown you."