Chapter 6 - Lunch With Thieves

"Careful. Aren't you forgetting something?" He looked her up and down and the coolness on her legs made her look down. Ainsley let go of her wrist as her face-tinged pink.
"Damn…"
His hardening length was becoming more obvious, and Olivia dropped to the ground in embarrassment.
"Where are my pants?!" She hissed at him.
"Hey! Don't sass me! You were the one who walked into MY shower, remember."
A sudden knock startled them both and Ainsley grabbed Olivia by her upper arm and pulled her to the door. Her heart rate quickened, and she was about to kick him before he pushed her against the wall, next to the door hinges. He placed a finger over his lips and smirked at her. She was definitely going to kick him later. He opened the door enough to stand in the opening and Christian's voice floated into the room.
"Hey, man. You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"
"Because it's just past 10am and you're not out of bed yet. You're always up before everyone." Olivia almost smacked Ainsley when a smile started to make its way onto his face.
"Yeah, I had a late night." He glanced at her, and Olivia dropped her head into her hands.
"Ainsley. You didn't."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ainsley waved a hand at him, but Christian smacked it away.
"No. No, no, no, no, no. Ainsley. What happened to whatever you had going with Miss Manager?!" Apparently, conversations had been going on without her.
Ainsley's expression dropped and his grip on the door tightened. He was about to speak when Olivia accidentally let out a laugh. His head whipped around the look at her before Christian's expression iced over.
"No fucking way." He pushed past Ainsley and stared down at Olivia. She looked down and gave him a small wave, playing with the hem of Ainsley's large shirt.
"Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?!" Ainsley pushed the door closed with a slight bit of force that made Olivia jump and took a small remote off of the little table next to it. He clicked a button and the curtains on the opposite side of the room opened halfway, letting some light in.
"Ainsley, her?! Seriously?!"
"Weren't you just upset because you thought it wasn't her?"
"NO, I was asking you a fucking question."
Ainsley ignored Christian, gently grabbing Olivia's wrist and pulling her back into the room. He grabbed her bag from next to the bed and handed it to her.
"I have a walk in through that door, you can go and get dressed in there. Just leave the shirt in the basket." Olivia nodded at him before scurrying over to the separate room Ainsley had pointed to. After she had disappeared behind the door, Ainsley turned back to Christian.
"Nothing happened. She was a little bit drunk last night after her shower and I helped her get to bed, that's it." Ainsley pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed.
"I guess I don't have to ask you who these belong to then." Christian put his hand in his pocket and pulled out Olivia's pale pink earbuds, handing them to Ainsley.
"You know it's going to be hard to hide from Miris, right?"
"I don't have to, it was her that insisted I let Olivia stay in my room. Did you know they were on friendly terms?"
Christian gave him a look worth a thousand words. 'That's a hard no, then.'
"Christian, why don't you just admit that you're starting to warm up to her?"
"Because I'm not."
"As your best friend, I'm going to have to disagree." Christian stared at the walk-in door for a moment before sighing.
"She's not so bad but it's been less than two weeks, let's give her a decent chance to fuck it up before we go saying 'I love you.'" Ainsley scoffed at him before the walk-in door opened and Olivia came rushing out.
"Christian!"
Both men turned to look at her as she strode towards them. Ainsley got that familiar chill of prey being stalked as she got closer, but it was gone in a second.
"Yeah?"
"I forgot the last time I was here, but I got something for you. You have today off as well, right?"
Christian eyed her cautiously before answering.
"Yeah, the whole team does today."
"Great! I'm making lunch but if its only just past 10 then we should have some time." Olivia mumbled to herself as she thought.
"Have you taken any pain medication today for your headaches?"
"…No?"
"Perfect! I'll meet you in the loungeroom in 10 minutes. I just have to duck back to my room."
Before Christian could disagree, she was already pulling Ainsley down closer to her.
"I'll make it up to you later?" Ainsley chuckled at her before nodding. Christian stayed silent, figuring he wasn't actually supposed to hear what they were saying. Olivia dashed out of the room after picking her bag back up and Ainsley went to the wardrobe to pick up a shirt and some skinny jeans, throwing them on as Christian laughed at him and his thankfully softening erection.

10 minutes later, Olivia was making her way back to the B-Force Unit base when she was blocked in the main room and dragged to a spare meeting space just off to the side. Nathan grabbed her arms to stop her from struggling as he hissed out her name.
"Olivia! Stop struggling."
"Let me go, Nathan! I'm busy!"
"We both know it's your day off today." He smirked at her. "Come hang out with us at Thunder."
"I have plans. I'm busy." The amusement left his face as he glowered down at her. 'God I wish I was just a little bit taller.'
"You're getting awfully close with those useless clowns, Olivia." His grip in her upper arms started to tighten. "You are supposed to be getting rid of them. Not playing house!"
"I'm their manager! I'm literally doing my job!"
"Temporary Manager! Olivia. Temporary. You don't belong down there with them. You need to remember that."
"Maybe I like it better down there." Olivia regretted the words the instant that they came out of her mouth. Nathan let one arm go as he pulled his arm back, swinging it into the side of her head. She managed to turn her face enough that he missed her cheek, but unfortunately that sent the smack into her ear and the side of her eye.
"You keep testing my temper, Olivia, but I meant what I said to you the other day. The punishment you receive will be far worse than ruining your reputation. Saving them will mean ruining yourself. You won't be able to find funding while ever I'm involved. These are your only options Liv. Them or you?"
Olivia felt ice in her veins as she realised exactly what he meant. He had been blocking the sponsor opportunities using his family name! Nathan lifted her by her upper arm and held her against the wall with his body.
"You've only got two weeks left, baby. I suggest you make the most of it."
He let her crumple to the floor as he laughed and exited the room. Olivia just stayed there for a couple of minutes, thinking about what he had said. She felt tears prick at her eyes, but she refused to cry. Not over him. Never again. She picked herself up off the floor and checked her bag. Everything was still fine, but she was now late, and her ear was ringing. Great.

Christian sat on the couch with Ainsley, watching the TV. Ainsley noted the way he kept checking the doorway for Olivia.
"She'll be here." He chuckled at him.
"What if she like, fell over and died? She seems like the time to slip and break her neck." Ainsley rolled his eyes at his friend before he also glanced at the doorway. The sound of quick steps made them both look over and Olivia waved at them with a smile on her face. Ainsley's eyes darkened and Christian gave her a confused look.
"What the fuck happened to your face?" Christian looked genuinely confused but Ainsley hadn't missed the light finger shaped bruises that had just started to form, peeking out from under her sleeve.
"I tripped over." Olivia laughed sheepishly and Christian gave Ainsley a look. Ainsley simply rolled his eyes in response. Christian was brilliant when it came to things he actually focused on, but clearly Olivia was not one of these.
"Where is everyone?" Olivia glanced around. Elnath peeked out from the kitchen and gave a small nod in her direction when she waved at him.
"It's us three at the moment, Lady and Aquilan went out today, but they will be back for lunch and Miris is taking a half hour nap in her room. Our seventh member, Draco is on leave, but he'll be back in two months' time." Olivia nodded in reply to Ainsley and turned to Christian.
"You ready?"
"I don't really know what I'm supposed to be ready for."
"I'll take that as a yes then." Olivia beamed at him before grabbing a chair from the dining table and dragging it over to the loungeroom. She placed two pillows on it, one against the back of the chair and one on top of the back.
"Take your shirt off and sit backwards on this chair for me with your arms out on the table."
"Not a fucking chance I'm about to let you lean on top of me and massage me."
Olivia looked at him carefully for a few moments.
"…Christian, are you gay?" Elnath chocked on his drink from the kitchen and Ainsley barked out a laugh at the sudden question. Christan's rising anger quickly settled into shock when he realised her face held no traces of amusement at all and she was dead serious.
"No. I'm not." He rolled his eyes at her.
"Are you sure?"
He scoffed at her before standing and sliding off his shirt. He dropped into the chair like she told him to, resting his hands on the coffee table in front of him. Olivia took the remote from in front of Ainsley and turned the channel to YouTube, putting on a relaxation/sleep playlist and grabbing a cloth from her bag, which she tied over his eyes.
"This is a joke, isn't it?" He scoffed.
"Stop being so negative and just let me work." Olivia rolled her eyes at him. Ainsley watched as she pulled out a cylinder from her bag and removed the lid. Ainsley could make out a few hundred needles with different coloured markings on the top. Olivia glanced over at him and winked. Elnath watched from the kitchen counter as she traced spots on his shoulders. Christian flinched at the gentle touch and Olivia waited for him to relax somewhat before sticking him with the first needle. A dull ache erupted where Olivia's finger was before it faded to a light tingling and Christian groaned out in response.
"Does it hurt?"
"Just a dull ache but it's gone now."
"Oh, good. That means it's working. It's been a while since I've done this."
Olivia pressed in the next few needles in and Christian stayed silent.
"What exactly are you doing to me?"
"Acupuncture."
"Are you joking?"
"No, I'm not. Shut up and enjoy it. It will help with your headaches."
"Fuck off. As if you just know that."
"Your headaches are caused by strained muscles in your shoulders and neck. Acupuncture will stimulate the nerves to relax the muscles. Not half assing your training would help as well." She scoffed back at him and he opened and closed his mouth, not able to say anything in response.
"Elnath?" Olivia called to him gently. His eyes flickered from Christian to Olivia when he heard her call.
"Can you make me a cup of Milo, please? With hot milk instead of water?" He nodded at her before moving through the kitchen.
Elnath brought the mug over just as she finished on Christians back and he and Ainsley watched as she pulled a box of sorted medications from her backpack. She opened one of the small boxes and 4 or 5 pills dropped into her hand. She swallowed each one down with milo before smiling at the two.
"Iron, Magnesium, heart pills and my happy pill. She laughed at them. "Don't worry, its nothing serious."
"Sounds pretty fucking serious to me." Christian scoffed and she rolled her eyes at him once again.
"Well it's not." She placed the final needle in between this fourth and pinky fingers. "10 more minutes and you'll be finished."
She set a timer and moved towards the kitchen to start preparing lunch. It was 10:30 so she had to be quick about getting it on if it was going to be ready in time. She pre-heated the oven and took out a huge pork roast and an array of vegetables. She cut the ties around the roast and sat it on the roasting rack. She cut the vegetables into proportional servings. Before coating them in a drizzle of oil and herbs on the bottom of the baking dish. She set that aside and put the beans and peas on a bowl to soak. Once she had done that and checked the temperature of the oven, she placed the roast in the middle shelf and set the oven timer for 30 minutes. She would need to adjust the temp after that. The timer went off in the living room and Olivia potted back over to the boys to remove Christian's needles. After she had done that, Christian flopped onto the lounge and the 4 decided on a movie. Olivia sat, curled up in the corner with a blanket over her lap and Ainsley sat on her right, leaning on their shared armrest with his legs up on the recliner. Christian spread out to the left of her across the three-seater portion of the large lounge and Elnath sat in a large, separate recliner that had apparently been custom made to accommodate his large size. Olivia had just nearly dozed off when the timer in the kitchen rang out. She shuffled to get up when Ainsley put a hand on her head.
"Don't stress, I'll go."
"Are you sure? I said I'd cook it, so I don't mind getting up?"
"Yeah, I don't mind. I have to go check on Miris anyway, it's been over half an hour since her nap." He sent her a gentle smile before pushing the recliner down and stretching as he stood.
"Just turn the dial down to 180*C and re set the timer for two hours." She yawned at him.
He nodded at her as her eyes fluttered shut and he brushed a bit of hair behind her ear.

When Ainsley came back to the lounge, Christian and Olivia were both deep in sleep and Elnath was looking between the three of them.
"What is it, Elnath?" Ainsley glanced at him, a small smile graced his lips.
"She's managed to win over the three of you in such a short time. Especially you." Ainsley turned to look at him.
"Bull. She hasn't done anything that makes her an outsider."
"I know. And she's been nothing but kind to me, but I was talking about the fact that I've never seen you so taken with someone before. I'm happy for you, but it's been two weeks. And I don't know anything about her so I can't speak for her but I'm sure her friends probably feel the same."
Bull," Ainsley chuckled lightly. "I'm not in love with her or anything, we're just good friends. Is she attractive to me? Yes, she is. Does her laugh give me butterflies? Yeah, it does. Does seeing her hurt make me angry? Yes. But it's an attraction, Elnath. I'm a grown man, it'll fade."
"Your 25, Ainsley. You're barely grown. I'm 54. In human years, that's about 40. I'm a grown ass adult. I know the difference between a crush and a love interest."
"I'm not talking about this anymore. It's just a crush." Alnath huffed at him but let it go as they continued their movie. Ainsley waited until he felt like Elnath as distracted enough before looking over Olivia's sleeping form. He thought about what Elnath had said and what he had said back. He didn't lie but he wasn't being completely honest either. It had only been two weeks and this small woman had already uprooted his life. He wasn't really sure what he was feeling but he didn't want her to just be a temporary phase he was going through. He loved the reactions he got when he poked fun at her, how her ears tinted when he called her Darling or Sweetheart and the small glimmer that flicked through her eyes when he called her Mischief. He loved that she knew what she wanted and how to get it from them and he especially loved that she didn't expect any of them to change. She had her snarky relationship with Christian, she didn't expect Miris to just be grown up and she was sensitive to Elnath who she knew next to nothing about so she must just have keen observation skills. Ainsley turned his attention back to the Tv. He needed to stop thinking about it.

Shortly after Ainsley and Elnath's chat, Lady and Aquilan walked through the door with a look on their faces that means they've been up to no good. Ainsley sighed and Elnath shook his head.
"What did you steal this time?" Ainsley grumbled at the pair. They looked over at him, but their faces fell when they spotted Olivia curled up in the corner of the couch next to him.
"What is she doing here?"
"It's her day off and she is a member of this unit, so I suppose she's having a day off in her unit base." Elnath snorted.
"She's only a temporary member, and she has her own small room that she can be lazing about in."
"Actually," Everyone turned to face Miris who walked out, rubbing her eyes, and dragging her blanket. "She's a permanent member. She was reassigned to our unit after Delta requested her transfer. Some of the older girls were talking about it in the common space a few days ago. One old lady in the in-house store said that the Old Grandpa sent her here because she doesn't have a family and he wanted her to have someone when he died. Isn't that really sad." Everyone stared at the small girl for a few minutes before she commented again.
"People say stuff around me cause they think I'm too young to understand." She shrugged her shoulders.
"…Back to the original question." Ainsley turned back to the two members standing in the door. "What did you steal?"
The pair looked at each other before reluctantly pulling a couple books out of Lady's bag.
Christan who had woken at the sound of the commotion gaped at the pair.
"You two are a pair of dickheads. You seriously broke into Olivia's room and stole the training books she carries with her every single day, and you thought what? She wouldn't fucking notice?"
"Hang on." Ainsley held up his hand as Olivia began to stir. Miris padded around the couch to Ainsley, who helped her as she climbed on. She placed her small hand on Olivia's forehead, and she settled back into sleep. Christian glanced back to Ainsley.
"I'll take her to my room, so we don't wake her with our arguing. You deal with these two and I'll be back in a minute."
Ainsley thought about protesting but he let it slide knowing it was probably for the best. He waited until they had disappeared down the hallway, Miris following behind, before he stood up and motioned for the pair to take a seat. Lady handed Ainsley the books before she took her seat on the lounge. Christian appeared a moment later and dropped back down into his spot.

"I'm only going to ask you once. Why?"
"What do you mean 'Why?', Obviously so we can take a peek at it. I don't know about all of you, but I'd like to know how much longer I have left until I'm jobless." Aquilan quipped back.
"We all know that she's here trying to find faults so we may as well know what she knows so we can work out a plan. I didn't expect to see you all cosying up with her though." Lady scoffed. Christian laughed at the pair before Ainsley cut him off.
"I honestly don't think she is." Ainsley waited for any objection, and he got it. Both Lady Aris and Aquilan snorted at the statement.
"You can't be serious, Ainsley. You should know better than anyone what Managers are all about." Elnath decided it was time to speak up.
"Read it."
Ainsley glanced over at him.
"I actually agree with you on this. If she was so worried about out weaknesses, why treat Christian's headaches?" He shrugged his shoulders. Ainsley sighed and opened the older looking book. The writing was clear and neatly categorised. Little doodles that represented each team decorated their respective pages and she had fancy, bold headings, and subheadings. All in all, it was super easy to read. The two thirds of the book was all information from her time on Force Delta. A clear title page marked the beginning of her new job and information on all teams. Ainsley flipped to the page marked for his unit.
"B-Force Training Room – Day 1 – Observation Only. July 5th 2021 13:56."
"So, she starts the session at what time we walk in then. How very like her." Christian rolled his eyes.
"Unit Core. The unit seems to prefer training individually or in smaller groups rather than as a whole. This seems to work best for the team; however, core team exercises should be implemented down the line to accommodate new and strengthened skills. Team has strong negative relationship with Management. Will need the patience of a saint. Will need time to adjust.
Individuals: Team was affected by outside variables. Second observation session needed.
Alnath Mantivao, The Minotaur, obviously has massive strength in him but he was hesitant to use it and the way he exerted the force wasn't as practical as it could be.
The little cat girl, Miris, had showed great agility and balance, even when she was just playing around, stealth, and gymnastics training would be best for her for now as well as Brazilian Jui Jitsu or Krav Magas these don't require a great deal of physical strength in close combat.
Aquilan Conell needed magic training. He should focus on broadening his perception skills as they would be a great asset. Physical notes to come later.
Lady Aris: Strong willed and focused. Aikido could make her an extremely useful intel agent/spy. Yoga and other non-impact exercises should be considered for optimum positioning.
Christian Wells: Strong posture and fiery attitude. Clear, concise movements. Most likely an excellent combat fighter. Could make an equally excellent undercover agent. Shoulders were stiff this session. Consult training guide.
Ainsley Hill: Strong posture, confident demeaner. Most likely an excellent combat fighter like Christian Wells. Near perfect core strength and centre of gravity. Extremely useful in variety of placements." Ainsley finished up the page and they all glanced between themselves.
"There's detailed graphs on the page next to that one with where she thinks we are at with 7 different aspects of training. Something like a growth tracking chart, I think. Theres one for the team as a whole and little individual ones. I'm not reading every single one. I'll just skip through."

"B-Force Training Room – Day 4 – Observation (Again). 8th July 2021 14:08."
"Wait! She wasn't there that day, She had a meeting with the Go Team Commander!"
"Apparently not." Ainsley chuckled to himself before continuing.
"Unit Training: Commander Ainsley Hill led drills today. Past records indicate a 97% success rate to their missions and it's easy to see why. Unit communicates well together, and plans are clear and easy to follow. Members were assigned positions that utilised their strengths and each member performed efficiently.
Notes: Alnath needs training to better harness and release his strength in a more effective way. Perhaps some sort of traditional martial arts training that relies on strength?
Christian's shoulder's still stiff – Need's new training regimen ASAP.
Try age-appropriate brain games with Miris to try to improve focus. I.E: Memory or Puzzles.
Lady needs core training.
Aquilia needs magic training if he wants to progress. Magic teachers in the academy with too much free time?"
Ainsley flicked through the pages. He saw various meeting entries but there wasn't any new information in those, so he put the book down and grabbed the second one off the coffee table. It was newer and had obviously only just been started. Tabs poked out of the edge, making it easy to flip to the information they were looking. Ainsley found the yellow tab with a Bee doodle on it relatively easily. He smiled to himself before flipping it open.
"B-Force relation's Diary – Day 3 – Entry 1. 6th July.
When General Alfred said he could 'seriously unalive them' I laughed. I fucking laughed. I'm now sure he was dead serious. Previous records indicate a bad relationship between the previous manager and the unit, who didn't have issues with that cow, but this is some next level bullshit. I can't find any communication records for the team; files are missing and I'm pretty sure the unit just decided to bullshit their way through it in retaliation. Can't exactly blame it though, I really thought about doing the same. I may have made some progress today in an unexpected way though. I saw Miris when I left the shower, she scared the crap out of me, but she said she liked my singing, so there's that. Captain Wells is taking pain killers for persistent migraines, but I think the root of the problem is the stiff muscles in his shoulders and spine. I tried a cold compress with Aloe and Magnesium, and it seemed to have some effect at least. He wasn't as snarky over the last couple of days, so I'll take it. Ainsley Hill. Where do I even start? Granny Wellfordshire used to have a saying for men like him: Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. In three days, this man has rattled me more than nearly anyone in my life with one exception. Shit."

"B-Force Relation's Diary – Day 10 Entry 3. 14th July.
I have just over two weeks left to find a solution to my problem. I took Alfred's advice and tried to make a home, but I think very soon I might be left down to one very desperate option. I don't even know how it might go yet and I've already considered it just for the chance to keep them around. My god. I sound just like the old man. I've actually started to look forward to the time I spend in the unit for the first time since I joined the force. From Miris scaring the life out of me when I'm in the shower and asking me a thousand questions while I put her back into bed to Ainsley's playful banter and the annoying way he calls me 'love' in his little accent when he thinks he can get away with it. Even the other three have their charms-"
"Like Christan's fiery attitude, Lady's constantly changing hair and the way Aquilia thinks I can't see through his illusions."