A/N: I apologize for the long time between updates, life got hectic and this was a difficult chapter. Thank you to Gardenhead for reading and giving advice, and to Kravn, for your support – happy belated birthday by the way, as well as those who took the time to read and give feedback on the last chapter.

Kenzi:

Kenzi leaned against the dark, well-polished wood, downing a shot with a movement so engrained that it was now almost a reflex. Just as she had done a thousand times before, the young woman slammed her glass down on the table and slid it toward the bartender. This is boring without Bobo. I need to find another wing man. One with girls large enough to make sure I don't wait ten years for another line of shots. After waiting an entire five minutes, Kenzi shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey, barkeep, a hottie like this shouldn't be waiting for her vodka! Line em up and keep em coming!" In a vain attempt to distract herself, the goth idly scanned the club,taking a moment to savor the feel of every solid surface in the room vibrating in time with the music, the motion accentuated by writhing bodies taking up almost every inch of spare space. Dude, when did I become the old maid sitting in the corner of the club? A year ago this would have been just my scene and now I feel as out of place as a nun in a sex club.

The brunette flicked a glance at her brand new designer wrist watch, wondering if it was physically possible for her boss to be late. She smiled to herself as she patted the large bag at her side, proud of what she had created. This shit if off the charts awesome! But why would Lauren of all people drag me here for a business meeting? Kenzi scanned the bar yet again, wondering why her boss wanted to discuss her new job at one of Vex's clubs.

The smooth surface of a glass abruptly resting against the back of her hand caused Kenzi to tense. Without thinking, she repeated her action from before, savoring the burning sensation in the back of her throat, all while turning to address the bartender. "Thanks dude, took you long enough."

The sound of Lauren's dry voice mere inches from her ear snapped her fully to attention. "You are welcome Kenzi, although I am decidedly not a dude." The doctor was almost unrecognizable to Kenzi dressed in skin tight black leather pants, a low cut pink top that showed off just the right amount of curves, and what had to be a custom-made jacket that perfectly matched the rest of her ensemble. Holy shitballs. I didn't know the doc even owned leather, not to mention boobs. The blonde's new outfit seemed to allow her to exude an air of authority that Kenzi had only had glimpses in the doctor before. Combined with her natural competence, everything about the doctor screamed 'mess with me at your own risk'. The goth's mouth dropped as she was held transfixed by this change in the woman. Damn, the doc must have been holding back on all of us. Did I ever really know her? Is this why Bobo acted like blondie had a magical vag?

Eventually, Kenzi snapped out of her shock and forced herself to roll her eyes at her boss to hide her embarrassment. "Geez Lauren, I wasn't checking you out or anything, so keep your lady fingers to yourself. You just look..."

"Different?"

Kenzi returned Lauren's smirk and slid a shot towards her. The two women lightly clinked their glasses together before downing their drinks. "Yeah, something like that. Damn girl, who knew you were hiding curves under your dumpy professor clothes."

"They are called work clothes, Kenzi, and speaking of which, it's time to get down to business." Lauren guided Kenzi toward a subtly decorated set of stairs, weaving among the crowd in the VIP lounge until the two women entered a concealed alcove that allowed them a perfect view of the dance floor and bar. In response to Kenzi's inquisitive look, Lauren merely smiled and shrugged. "Fae use rooms like these to determine which humans to…dine on. Apparently they prefer their meals filled with alcohol and adrenaline. It is rumored to give them a high after eating."

Kenzi couldn't believe that Lauren would carelessly talk about her own kind being dined on like hamburgers. Creepy! "Yes, well, I'll keep that in mind next time I decide to get smashed. No fae nightclubs."

Lauren laughed as she settled against her chair, taking the time to spread out and relax fully in to the leather cushion. Dude, the dark really did a number on her if she looks that at home in a place built to eat us. "Kenzi, where do you think Bo shopped for her meals? Besides, you and I are protected. We work directly for the most powerful fae in the colonies. And as long as we help her continue to show dominance over other fae, she will shower us with all the free booze that we can ask for."

Normally, the brunette would have made a snarky response, however in her shock, all the goth was able to do was to make a face. Does she seriously think I can be bought off by booze? "I'll have you know that I'm nowhere near that shallow. I've got feelings you know. Fears. MORALS. And nothing about this setup seems right!"

"Oh good, finally. Here I was thinking you were this submissive mouse willing to do whatever the big cheese told her to. That's more Bruce's style, isn't it?"

The mention of Kenzi's best friend cause the younger woman to narrow her eyes and speak in a low, menacing tone, "You leave Brucey out of this, ok? The dude is a sweetheart and the best companion a gal could wish for."

The doctor leaned against the table with her elbows, her eyes sparkling with humor as her gaze held the brunette's. Her dismissive attitude toward the brunette's threat caused Kenzi's aggrivation to grow. "Kenzi, I don't care if you have morals or not. I'm not here to change who you are. Neither is Evony. I am here to free you, and use you. You are a woman who connects with people using her heart and her fire. If either diminish, then you will be exponentially less useful to me."

A waiter appeared from the corner of the room and slid a few beverages to the woman. The Doctor nodded once and waved a hand in his general direction before calmly sipping on her drink. "It has been months since we hired you. I hypothesized that you would enjoy this change in scenery to discuss business rather than share your future plans in the office. I also have seen you sink in to a shell of the vibrant young woman you once were. You need to…loosen up, and I'm sure you'll enjoy the fact that Evony is picking up the tab. Now that we are somewhere we can both relax, fill me in on the direction you have decided to take my…investment." Beware the gift that is too good to be true. Doctor Frankennerd is really ratcheting up the schmooze for a simple business presentation.

Lauren's flippant tone finally snapped something in the brunette, causing her to stand and slam her hands against the table and shout at her boss. "Stop it, Lauren. For the last month I have been working my ass off on this mall project, and before that, as your lackey. People aren't your playthings. I'm not your personal toy. And honey, if you don't start showing me respect, I'll take your project and…"

A new voice piped up as Evony approached the duo. "Start the most useless statement of angst and drama? Come now honey, put up or shut up, don't be mean to your betters." The dark fae leader shrugged one shoulder in a sign of careless dismissal as she settled down gracefully next to Lauren. She began to gesture flippantly with one hand even as she held up some overpriced fruity drink with the other.

Lauren scooted just a bit further away from Evony and rolled her eyes, "Evony please. Do shut up, you know that Kenzi has increased the profit margin of the shopping mall by five percent."

"Oh, please. I can make that amount by screwing over and blackmailing a senator. So far, your 'growth' has been useless to me. Demolish the thing, at least the explosion will be fun. And watching all the little humans scurrying about trying to figure out what happened will be so amusing." The dark leader raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow and stared the Kenzi down. Show no fear, Kenzi. You are in the Lion's den. Not knowing what the fae leader wanted, Kenzi did her best Lauren impersonation and returned her stare, not breaking it for a second even though inside she was quaking in fear.

Lauren:

Lauren struggled to keep her lips from twitching upward as she watched Kenzi pretend to calmly meet Evony's smug scrutiny. She had seen this look a thousand times before in the mirror, but never expected to see it mirrored in the younger woman. Apparently I am molding her more than I predicted. She truly is becoming my young protégé. I look forward to see how my newest twist changes her. The doctor knew her boss well enough to pick out her subtle tells, detecting the same hint of surprise and admiration toward the brunette that she herself was feeling. The staring contest was eventually broken by Evony, who smirked and drawled out, "Well, this is as fun as watching the last act of Carmen. We can stare at each other all day long, or you can show me why Lauren insisted on paying you that ridiculous salary that you are earning. What, specifically are you going to do with my newest playground?"

It was clear that Kenzi's immediate reaction was to bristle and make an aggravating comeback. Evony has made an art of winning through losing. Something that has rubbed off on me, I suppose. Knowing that she needed to steer the conversation to productivity, the doctor piped up, "Kenzi, why don't you practice that tact I know you've been developing. And get to business. The music is giving me a headache."

With that comment, Kenzi rolled her eyes and pulled out several documents from her bag, revealing several charts, blueprints, and even some accounting information. Lauren was quite impressed by the detail of her proposal so far. She took me seriously when I stressed data would sway us. It looks like I found the ideal project to…mold her.

The young human's excitement was palpable as she took a deep breath and began to launch in to her proposal. "Bruce and I did a detailed audit of the mall. We decided that there are two areas that need to be fixed A.S.A.P." Audit? I wasn't even aware that word was in her vocabulary. Noticing Kenzi's pause, Lauren smiled at the younger woman and offered in the most gentle tone of voice, "Please Kenzi, continue. What specifically do you recommend?"

Kenzi shot Lauren a quick smile of thanks before nodding and continuing, "Area one: layout. This hot chica walked around the mall and found only a few places where friends could hang. If we change the layout to a more open one, and encourage snack chains to spread out to different areas, friends will be encouraged to loiter. And thus buy." Kenzi slid a few drawings over to Evony and Lauren, causing the doctor to raise her eyes in surprise.

"These are very good drawings Kenzi, who did you hire?"

"Doc, don't take this the wrong way, but don't think you know all my skills." Kenzi continued in a businesslike fashion. "Area two: stores. The shops that rent from us are the same shops that are in every other mall. We need an array of trendy, unique, affordable stores where teenagers and young professionals will be attracted to. Here is my list."

Yet again, Kenzi slid several pieces of paper toward her two bosses, prompting Lauren to ask, "Zara, Weekday, Uniqlo, Topshop? I've never heard of any of these."

The raven haired woman shot Lauren a cheeky, smug look. "Well that's because you are boring. And because they are picky as to where they set up. Some haven't exactly…everopenedastoreinCanada."

Evony rolled her eyes and emitted a faux yawn in reaction to Kenzi's nervous cover up. "BORING. Darling, these are all pipe dreams. How are you doing to make them a reality? So far all you have is an outline with no real teeth or ways to make them real. Get these stores on board then we'll talk."

Kenzi's jaw dropped as she gaped at the woman. Lauren knew Evony was pushing the other human, but decided to see how she responded to the challenge. "Dude, do you know how much work went in to this? I'd need help to.."

Evony merely took a sip of her drink while refusing to deign to make eye contact with Kenzi. "What? Be incompetent? Show me results."

For someone as small as she was, the former thief was able to puff herself up quite a bit when she was indignant. I will have to work on her pride. She needs to be able to listen to her superiors . The younger human continued her argument, almost shouting at the Morrigan, "Look, it's not like I can easily get these shops in the mall. So far none of them have been persuaded to hop on board."

Evony sighed and rested her drink on the table, leaning forward slightly before speaking in a no nonsense tone, "I don't care what it takes, if you think you need these stores, then get them on board. I want to see young butts filling that space by the end of the year. Or you will have shown me what a complete waste of…"

Lauren decided it was time to pipe up before her protege said or did anything stupid against her boss. "Evony, why don't you give me a few minutes alone with Kenzi?"

"Fine, doctor. Get your pet ready to do her actual job. I'm done with work for the evening, although I do believe I spied a tasty little morsel with a yummy eight pack." As Lauren struggled to hide her growing amusement, Evony gracefully rose and sauntered out of the room, not sparing a glance at the humans behind her.

With a sigh, the blonde stood and casually rested her elbows over the railing. "Kenzi, do you know why we met here?"

Lauren pretended to ignore the quiet grumble emitting from her companion, even as Kenzi shrugged once before replying, "Because you wanted a beer? Honestly, I'm still trying to compute you and this place together."

This time, Lauren did chuckle. "Come join me, and tell me what you see."

Kenzi stood next to Lauren and awkwardly cleared her throat. If she is going to become upper management, I need to train her to not give herself away so easily. Our enemies will rightly see her as the weak link in the chain. "Uh...people dancing, drinking and generally having fun? You do realize that normal people need to unwind rather than science themselves to death right?"

Lauren forced herself to smile and turned so that she was facing away from the railing, affecting a gentle look as she looked at her young protégé, No reason to intimidate her. Perhaps pretending to be her friend will net better results. "True, but why do they unwind?"

Kenzi gave the doctor a look of disbelief."Dude, life sucks. It's stressful. Why not party to remind yourself of the good times?"

"Exactly, Kenzi. Somewhere down there a man, or a woman, is getting someone else drunk in order to use them for sex. To have a good time. Somewhere down there someone is getting drunk and hoping for a quick lay to forget their problems. Somewhere down there someone is desperately looking for a semblance of companionship. Those people will use others to meet their goals. Oh, and every single person down there is being scoped out for a meal by a Fae in an alcove much like ours."

"Well that's a depressing view of things."

"It's a realistic view of things. Every person uses other people, whether they realize it or not. Morals, respect, caution, those are merely words constructed by society, but when you take a deeper look, everyone sheds those oh so important ideals if it means getting something they think they need."

Kenzi sighed as she continued to peer at the crowd below her. "What's your point Lauren?"

"You are constraining yourself. You have these ideas but you are holding yourself back. Morals and business ethics are for those who are content with second place, and pretty soon you'll be living in the same box as everyone else. And for someone as talented as you, that will be a shame. "

"I'm not Evony or you Lauren. I won't hurt other people, and I'm not buying in to your…people suck theories. They do suck, but there is more to them. There HAS to be."

"But you are fine with stealing. You are fine with doing what it takes to survive. You are fine with manipulating and threatening other people to get what you want. I've seen all of these first hand. And these are skills that you can use – because it puts you at a disadvantage when you don't use them."

"What are you telling me to do Lauren? Blackmail the CEOs of these companies?"

Lauren held Kenzi's gaze for a long time before responding, making sure that the younger woman knew the importance of her words. "If that what it takes. Blackmail, threats, bribery. We have fae at our disposal as well. I can get you a list of abilities if you think you can use them. But you are playing in a different world, Kenzi. And sometimes you have to unsavory things to survive."

Kenzi narrowed her eyes, "And what if I don't want to?"

Lauren shrugged, "Then we have no use for you. You used to have a realistic view of the world. It's time to shove your head back in to the icy water that is our planet. Kenzi, the dark are very much focused on the logic behind the phrase 'the ends justify the means', so use whatever means you need. If you don't, and fail, then you will see much more from Evony than boredom. And honestly, there wouldn't be anything that I could do to help you."

The doctor stared Kenzi down for a full minute. Eventually, tears began to well under the younger woman's eyes. And at the moment, her blood pressure is rising. Pretty soon, she will need to alleviate her anxiety through movement. Sure enough, the brunette finally yelled, "Fine!" The blonde smiled to herself, knowing that she saw a determined look on the younger woman's face before Kenzi turned and stalked out of the room. Everything is going to plan. Lauren waited a minute before speaking out loud. "Did you catch all of that Bruce?"

Lauren didn't know how the giant concealed himself so well, but the large man took a few steps away from the shadowed corner and towards the doctor. Although he was resigned to his fate, the blonde could tell that he was a bit hesitant to move along with her plan. "Yes Doctor. But what do you want from me? It looks like Kenzi will do what she needs to."

Lauren merely raised an eyebrow at Bruce and slid the paperwork from Kenzi's earlier presentation his way. "Yes and we both want her to succeed don't we."

Bruce nodded several times as he examined the documents on the table. "Of course. She can do this Lauren, she's good at…"

Lauren raised one hand up in the air to interrupt the man from wasting her time. "I know what she's good at Bruce. What I need from you is to ensure a win. She will stop at physical harm, kidnapping, murder, or similar tactics. I need you to discreetly make sure that what needs to be done is done."

Bruce's frown and sad eyes showed his disapproval, although Lauren knew that the submissive man would never argue with her, especially if it appeared that she had Kenzi's best interests in mind. "Kenzi wouldn't like…"

"Does it look like I care what Kenzi will like? I care about what Kenzi needs. Now go. And if you fuck this up, both of you will be deemed redundant."

"Very well Doctor." It amused Lauren how the large giant bowed his head in subservience and backed away from the room. She would make sure that Kenzi would succeed at all costs.

The sound of her phone blaring interrupted Lauren from her soothing, dreamless rest. She had arrived at home from the club later than planned, and did not appreciate being called before the sun came up. Who in the world can be calling at this time? The doctor's hand blindly patted her night stand before grasping her cell, turning it on and mumbling with sleep heaving in her voice, "This better be good."

Evony's drawl on the other end of the line made her internally groan. "Darling, have you received all of your beauty sleep? I hope so. Listen, I hate to interrupt what was probably a riveting dream of science, but I have some news for you. "

Lauren cleared her throat before murmuring in to her phone, knowing there was nothing she could do to keep the sleepy tone away from it. "What is it? And can it wait until the morning?"

"I'm afraid not, doctor. You see, my spies at the Dal have reported a few long lost visitors. Namely a wolf, a valkyrie, and a succubus. And Lauren, Bo has been asking about you."