Chapter Five

Sasoli led Uub to the security room, her thoughts were buzzing in her head. She was so intrigued by him. His rather mysterious aura compacted with his rather fascinating hair do, he was a yummy package. He was also unclaimed, or at least he was by human custom. She would have to research his availability with Pan later.

"You just might be the one I'm looking for," she whispered to herself as she opened the door to the Security Room. Quickly dismissing the guard with a wave of her hand, she turned to Uub and motioned for him to sit down. "I take it you wish to see Trunks' whereabouts the days of the murders?"

"Yes but I would also like to see what he was doing the week before," Uub nodded, "It's been established that if he is the killer, he isn't the only one."

"You want to see the tapes from a week before the first murder?" Amusement was clear in her tone and couldn't be helped. The week before was full of thwarted plots against Trunks and Maron as well as Goten and Bra. The footage was highly . . . it was funny as hell.

"Correct," Uub nodded. He was also enthralled with the female before him. She was just so different from anyone he had ever met before, who could go from professionally serious to flirtatiously interested to mischievous child in a heart beat.

"We're going to need some popcorn," Sasoli grinned and clasped her hands together. "Stay here I'll be right back."

His lips quirked at the sight of her dashing out of the door when his phone went off.

"Uub," he sighed to himself.

"What is going on?" The Chief demanded, "Are you still at Capsule Corp.?"

"Yes, I am still here. They have allowed me to work undercover as the head of security's assistant. Himbon and his partner will be allowed on the premises tomorrow to start the official investigation."

"The Briefs assume much if they think I can spare three detectives on this chase."

"I don't think we have a choice. Besides, I couldn't have asked for a better cover. All the employees think I am just the newest recruit of S-Ms. Briefs."

"Why did they ask specifically for you?"

"Ms. Briefs, actually, she saw me work and was very impressed." Uub was deliberately vague.

"Ms. Bra Briefs?" Disbelief colored the Chief's tone.

"No, Ms. Sasoli Briefs."

"I've never heard of her."

"Not all the Briefs are famous." Uub scanned the security monitors and found nothing amiss. Everyday people doing their everyday jobs. His eyes narrowed suddenly as he watched Sasoli come down the hallway with two bowls of popcorn. Sasoli wasn't what had caught his attention but the other women's reaction to her. Bright expressions turned to fear and then relief as Sasoli walked on, not even noticing the reaction around her. There was more here than met the eye.

"Name one reason I shouldn't pull you off the chase."

Uub rolled his eyes, the Chief's voice wasn't serious which meant he was putting on an act for somebody. "Himbon in there?"

"I am only going to let you get away with this once, Uub, and I expect you to make a full report when this is all over."

"Of course." Uub glanced up to see Sasoli enter with a questioning look on her face. "I am just going over procedure with Ms. Briefs."

Sasoli nodded and set up the popcorn. She picked a set of headphones and held up a transceiver to listen in on his call.

Uub watched her with rather wide eyes while she merely smiled at him.

"Hey Uub, I found a discrepancy in your latest report."

She lifted her brows at him.

"Oh?"

"Yes, in the other officers reports, they mention you spoke with a woman in a red dress and that she was taken hostage."

Sasoli smiled, amusement curled her mouth.

"She . . ." Uub licked his lips nervously, "She wasn't . . . She was just another bystander."

She pouted and batted her eyes at him.

"The other officers said you talked extensively to her." His voice turned stern. "To the point where you forgot about Thompson. It was also mentioned she slapped you. Why wasn't this in the report."

Sasoli was now laughing behind her hand.

"I didn't mention her because she was an ex-girlfriend who was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Uub used the same excuse she had used at the bar.

She blew a kiss at him.

"I see," the Chief's tone changed from angry to condescending. "That does happen from time to time. They mentioned she was quite the looker."

She lifted a brow at him.

"Why do you think I was talking to her? She's agreed to go out again. I got to go, Bye."

Sasoli laughed out loud and handed him his bucket of popcorn.

"I can't believe you were listening to my phone call," Uub accepted the bucket without noticing. "What is that?"

"A little gadget my brother cooked up," Sasoli took off the headset and placed it on the table. "I need to know everything that happens within this building in order for it to be safe."

Uub frowned at her, she could understand her reasoning but it violated everyone's right to privacy.

"So what's this about us going out?"

Uub ignored the way her eyes darkened and how her voice had the slightest amount of purr in it.

"I had to explain your presence in case some fellow officers saw us together in the future." Uub flashed his teeth in a smile, "Might require some acting on your part."

"Oh?" She glanced at him from under her lashes. "Elaborate."

"You know, act like I'm irrestable and you can't live without me."

They both burst into laughter.

"I like you," Sasoli ate a handful of popcorn. "You're ok."

"I like you too," Uub took a tentative taste of his bucket, "You're different."

"Ready for the entertainment?" Sasoli grinned as she waved a remote at him.

"Are they really all that amusing to need popcorn?" Uub started to eat it with gusto.

"You'll see."

She pushed play.

A couple hours later, Uub and Sasoli wiped the tears from their eyes. He couldn't believe the gall they had to do the thing they did on the tape. However, with the tapes came understanding about why they couldn't be shared and about Goten's comment freeing Trunks of any blame. The poor guy lived in hell, never knowing when he might be attacked and molested next.

"He should have gone to the police," he remarked to Sasoli.

"I can see the newspapers now, 'President Briefs claims to be under the constant barrage of female attention and would like it to stop.'" Sasoli licked the salt of her fingers, "The next thing you know, people would think Trunks had a thing for guys."

"Maybe, but the harassment would have stopped," Uub insisted as he inspected his empty bucket.

"Right," Sasoli scoffed, "Trunks handled it better. He passed new policies to prevent his molestation as well as any other employees. They've been on thin ice ever since."

"Can I have a copy of these policies?"

Sasoli handed him a bundle of papers.

"Prepared for everything?" Uub lifted a brow.

"As much as I am able," Sasoli took both buckets and tossed them into the trash.

"It's too bad we can't show this to the public. It would clear all suspicion of every employee in the building." Uub smiled at her, "The world would know that Trunks was too busy meddling in his sister's love life to be plotting the death of his employees."

"Oh here," Sasoli handed him a capsule, "This contains all the edited tapes for Himbon."

Uub took these as well though his expression was serious. "Won't he be able to tell?"

"I edit them all the time. It's part of my job." Sasoli lifted her nose at him.

"Oh, and about your listening device," Uub crossed his arms, "It's illegal."

"It's a prototype," Sasoli narrowed her eyes at him, "And I am the only one who owns it."

He just looked at her.

"I need it," Sasoli clutched it to her chest.

He sighed and tapped his finger on his arm.

"Uub," she whined.

He waited.

"You can't have it," she capsulated it and stuck the capsule down her shirt.

"Sasoli," Uub's mouth dropped open.

"It was a gift," her chin went up.

"I will go in after it," Uub dropped his arm to his sides and got to his feet.

She was on her feet in a second. "Try it." She snarled at him, her fingers curled into claws held at the ready.

Uub blinked at her transformation but was no less determined. He slowly slipped into a stance aware of her watching every move.

The door opened and Zarah stuff his head in, "I thought I felt some power levels rising."

Uub and Sasoli were locked in their positions.

"Foreplay," Zarah smirked, "I'll leave you guys alone."

They both went limp and watched him shut the door.

"Zarah!" Sasoli nearly ripped the door of the hinges, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Her brother just hummed and continued to walk down the hallway.

"ZARAH!" She roared at him.

Her brother just managed to duck under the flying kick at the back of his head. He dug his hand into her hair and yanked her back before she could land. She screamed in outrage and swung her legs into his face.

He grabbed her foot before it could make contact and dropped all his weight onto her body.

Uub grabbed a hold of them both before they hit the ground.

All three of them stared at each other in shock. Uub had just acted on instinct when he had grabbed and separated them. Zarah and Sasoli were stunned since the only one who had ever dared get between them when they were fighting was their parents.

"Let go of me," Sasoli's eyes were hot blue flames as her hand went to his where he gripped her shirt.

"This is a private discussion," Zarah glared at the outsider.

"Discussion?" His brows shot up.

"Let go," Sasoli raked her nails across his forearm while simultaneously kicking him in the shin.

With a small yelp of pain, Uub released both twins and pulled his forearm to his stomach in a protective gesture. He wasn't prepared when Sasoli jumped onto his back, hissing and snarling like a wild animal. Without even thinking, he reached back and snagged some random article of clothing and threw the woman away from him.

Like a cat, she landed on her feet and then took off.

Uub lifted a startled hand to his face where he now sported four shallow scratches.

"You must like you, she only went for blood and not chunks of meat."

Uub turned to find her brother watching him amused with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"She isn't completely housetrained yet," Zarah said by way of apology and turned to continue his journey down the hallway.

"Wait," Uub caught up with the male saiyan. "What do you mean?"

Zarah sighed and stopped. "If you're going to work with Sasoli, you need to know a few things about our family."

"Go on," Uub inspected the scratch on his arm to find the wound had clotted.

"We were raised in the wild, in a cave if you want specifics," Zarah was pleased to note he now had Uub's complete attention. "Our mother had trained us to be Saiyan Warriors since we were old enough to comprehend the spoken word."

"But your father . . . didn't he have anything to say about this?" Uub couldn't imagine what that had to be like, growing up like that. He hadn't started his official training with Goku until he was ten and that had been intense enough, though, it was mostly because Goku was so strong.

"He thought is was amusing," Zarah shrugged.

"Amusing?"

"You don't know my dad," Zarah smiled, "My parents suit each other. Sasoli doesn't understand because she isn't mated. They can't separate because they're bonded."

"Bonded?"

Zarah's eyes hardened as he realized he had lost himself for a moment. "Don't worry about it."

"So what just happened?" Uub changed the subject, knowing he wasn't going to get anymore information if he continued the thread.

"You just saw the real Sasoli, the one I grew up with anyway. She mentioned that you seemed to know when she was acting, correct?" Zarah lifted an inquiring brow.

"I guess," Uub shrugged.

"Let me put it this way," Zarah slashed the air in front of him with is hand. "Everyone she meets, she puts an act on so they think anything she wants them to but it's not her. The only people she doesn't do that with is her family and people who know what we are. You have suddenly joined this exclusive club but she probably doesn't trust you all the way so she will continue to act with you. Not as much as others, but enough to suit her purposes."

"And what are those?" Uub's eyes narrowed.

"To find the person who is killing Trunks' employees," the corner of Zarah's mouth lifted. "If she has to be your friend to do so then she will. Get in her way and you will be dealt with."

"That sounds like a threat," Uub unconsciously tightened his muscles.

Zarah just watched him blandly.

"This is her area and she is very good at it. If it were up to me, I would have rather just had her work the case by herself but she wanted you. If she thinks you will be a great help then so be it. She's very rarely wrong."

"But what if she is?"

"Then there is a first time for everything and Trunks will have to wait a while longer before we can get him out."

"You sound so sure that she'll find the killer. Cases have been known to go unsolved."

Zarah scoffed, "Not since you joined the force."

Uub opened his mouth to reply but surprise stole the power of speech.

"I have absolute faith in my sister. She'll solve this with or without your help, one way or another." Zarah was about to leave Uub alone with his thoughts when something occurred to the saiyan, "You should probably leave now. Sasoli won't reappear anytime soon."

"Right, I'll deliver all the documents she gave me to headquarters," Uub paused uncertainly, not sure where his place was anymore. "What time should I come back?"

"Tomorrow," Zarah nodded at him, "Like any other employee."

Zarah took a name tag out of his pocket and handed it to Uub.

"Just flash this at the guard and you'll have no problem getting in."

Uub nodded and pocketed it. When he looked up, he realized he was alone. He turned on his heel and made his way back to the security room to collect the items so he could be on his way.

His first day working on the Capsule Corp. case had left him . . . confused and oddly used. Sasoli had yanked him off his regular detail and thrust him into this one where it was thought by many that he wasn't needed. And, after meeting the woman in charge, he had a hard time disagreeing with them but he couldn't think of a way for her to handle this situation by herself because, despite everything, she was only company security.

Being a saiyan might be an asset but really didn't give her anymore power in the legal world. There was only so much she could do.

Another thing, Uub realized, was something was bothering him about the whole situation. The employees were terrified of her, she had trained Goten to be something, and the way her brother said she would fix the problem, 'one way or another.' What did that mean?

The pieces weren't making any sense in the frame they gave him and that meant, they weren't giving him all the pieces. They had only given him enough to see what they wanted him to see.

"She probably doesn't trust you all the way..."

And that's why, Uub concluded as he exited the building and kept on walking. If Bra had been left in charge, Uub had little doubt that everything would have been revealed but these two didn't know him and he didn't know them. He didn't trust them either.

He had known from the get go that Sasoli was going to be a handful and he had only been interested in her safety at the time. The second time, she'd pulled the flirty act and he knew he would have to tread very cautiously around her. Now, he was working with her.

And damn it all, he was attracted to her. She had an exotic quality to her, he now knew had come from her alien heritage, and she was strong.

Uub paused in front of a random shop. His mind wondered through the few girls he had dated in the past and then been dumped by because of his job. They hadn't understood his need to fight the good fight and wanted him to cater to their every little whim.

Sasoli probably wasn't capable of leaning on someone else for support, due to her training. She would provide but not cater to, she would demand but not ask, and she would attack if need be to get her way.

Uub studied the angry lines on his face in the reflection of the store window and was relieved they didn't stand out too much against his dark skin.

He trudged the rest of the way to the station with only one thought on his mind. Maybe, when this is all over, he would ask her out.

Zarah entered his office to find his sister furiously filling out paper work.

"I was wondering where you went," he remarked wryly and sat in the visitor's chair.

"Don't start with me," she growled at him, "It's all your fault."

"You were about to tear apart the security room by the time I got there," he reminded her. "How is it my fault?"

"He didn't give me any information to work with," Sasoli pouted.

"He just got the case this morning, Sasoli, he'll have information tomorrow." Zarah glared at her, "Why did you want him anyway?"

"He's a good detective," she replied sharply, "I gave you his file."

"And I read it. Now, give me the real reason," Zarah met his twin's eyes head on.

"That is the real reason."

"Bull."

"He caught my attention, all right!" Sasoli threw a pile of papers at her brother and started pacing the room like a tiger in a cage.

"Caught it, how?" Zarah's tone was concisely mild.

"I can't describe it," Sasoli stopped in front of the window. "I was doing my job and then he was there. He made me forgot about my target."

Zarah frowned but didn't interrupt.

"That's never happened before," Sasoli glared at her reflection.

"So you recruited the one male who could distract you to work on, probably, the most important case ever?"

"It's not like that," she placed her hand on the glass. "He played along when I covered for Mom and Dad. He didn't fall for my flirting routine and gave it right back."

"So you've met a male you," Zarah went to his sister and stood behind her. His reflection gave him away but it was meant to, to show he was there and always would be.

"Yes and no," she met his eyes through the glass, "He's a cop."

"And you're a spy," Zarah pointed out softly. "Opposite ends of the same light."

"He tried to take away the listening device you made me," the hand on the glass curled into a fist and dropped to her side. "Said it was illegal."

Zarah shrugged, "Then give it to him."

"What?" Sasoli spun around to face him, "But I need it."

"I'll make you another one," Zarah smiled at her, "A better one. He will never know you have it unless you tell him."

Sasoli smiled and nodded her thanks.

"Should you really be working with him if he can distract you?" Concern was clear in his blue eyes.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I couldn't handle it," Sasoli chewed her lip, "I just want . . . I don't know what I want."

"You're considering him for a mate," Zarah concluded and sat down at the desk.

"What?!" Sasoli's mouth fell open, "No, I'm not."

"The signs are obvious. 'To capture a saiyan's interest is to capture a saiyan's heart.'" He quoted their mother. "'Saiyans are not known for their courtship rituals but for suddenly being mated.'"

Sasoli sat down with a pout, "'When a saiyan is about to choose a mate is when a saiyan is the most uncertain.'"

Zarah nodded and continued the quote, "'A saiyan is never wrong after the choice has been made, the hard part is making it and then convincing your partner to accept the inevitable.'"

A reluctant smile curled Sasoli's lips, "'Even if your choice is an idiot and doesn't understand the magnitude of what is happening.'"

The twins both chuckled weakly as they remembered the argument that followed the lecture.

"Now Ava, that's not fair," 17 glared at his wife, "How was I to know about saiyan rituals?"

"Quiet, 17, I am teaching our offspring something important." Ava dismissed him.

"Your teaching them rituals nobody else knows," 17 crossed his arms, "Now who's the idiot?"

Ava turned to face her mate. "You can't possibly understand the instincts I am explaining."

"They don't understand either," 17 gestured to them, "How could they? They're only ten years old."

"Don't undermine me, 17," Ava growled at him.

"Or what?"

The rest of the argument was lost but the message was clear. Sasoli was unconsciously considering making Uub her mate but time would tell what the decision would be. Until then, it was best for her to spend time with him so uncertainty would no longer cloud her judgment.

"Are you sure you can handle the distraction?" Zarah inquired softly.

She snorted at him.

"As long as your sure," Zarah rolled his eyes, "Whatever choice you make Sasoli, it's going to have to wait until Mom can approve him. You haven't claimed adult rights."

Sasoli slumped in her chair, disgruntled. Adult rights, the right of a saiyan to live, act, and say anyway that saiyan deems fit. A saiyan living under this act had to live on one's own and prove to the planet that the saiyan was a worthy warrior and able to defend it to the death. They also had to find a mate and ensure the warrior's legacy.

Only Zarah had claimed adult rights and had paid for it when he had mated Pan. She hadn't claimed the right to live the way she wanted to and had needed to gain her parents approval before mating Zarah. However, it had been Zarah's fault since he knew the rules and Pan hadn't even realized she was mated until he told her.

Sasoli had never expected adult rights to work against her but then, she had never expected to be mated either. All the strong males were either related, mated, or too old for her.

Then one night at a bar a man with a mohawk was trying to warn her away from danger, never knowing she was more dangerous than Billy Joe Thompson could ever hope to be.

"Don't brood, Sasoli, it doesn't become you."

Her gaze narrowed, "When do the secretaries get off work?"

"Anywhere from two to five, why?" Zarah glanced up from the form he had started to fill out.

"Because I have work to do," Sasoli studied her outfit before she shook her head. "I am going to have to change. There's no way I can pass for a secretary wearing this."

Zarah tapped his chin and then grabbed the phone, "Bra? Yes, do you still have the Saiyaman watch schematics? . . . You do? Great, I need you to reprogram it so it can display several different outfits. . . Clothes that secretaries would wear . . . Yes, it's for Sasoli . . . She's needs it by two o'clock. . . All right . . . All right . . . Thanks," Zarah hung up the phone. "Bra says it will be tight but she can make the deadline."

"It's so much easier to work with you guys," Sasoli smirked and relaxed into her chair. "You just saved me hours of shopping for useless clothes."

Zarah's expression was smug, "Anything else?"

Sasoli shook her head, delighted; for at least this one mission, she wasn't going to have to work alone and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

End Chapter Five

AN: ::Looks despairing at the reviews:: Where have all my readers gone? ::Sigh:: Just wanted to thank those of you out there still responding to my story. It helps to know that there are people out there who are interested. Thank you. Michelle