Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating. I'm trying to do at least one a week, but I have a messed up schedule and my wonderful beta-readers are busy peeps. Anyway, this one goes out to all the lurkers out there. I'll never know, but I'm hoping you guys are enjoying the story!
Thanks again to rabastan04, SGAConvert and eblane for helping me make this story what it is!
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Kenzi stepped out into the hallway.
The hair on the back of her neck rose in an uncanny warning and she instinctively twisted while allowing her legs to go to jelly. On the street she had honed her reflexes in preparation for the unexpected. She dropped, boneless, as the air above her head whooshed and the doorframe splintered beneath the sheer force of impact.
"What the—" Hale started as Kenzi shifted directions while rising from her crouch, planting both her hands firmly in the center of his chest and shoving him so that he staggered back into his borrowed accommodations.
Having created distance, the small woman allowed herself to relax a little. Slightly behind her, she felt Hale tense as his brain chugged up to speed. In the doorway stood a feral looking man, somewhat hunch-backed, grinning toothily at them. He cockily tapped a bat, which he had used to take a swing at Kenzi, on the palm of his hand.
"You're quick, Kitten," the man teased, the grin dissolving into a slimy smile.
Hale took a deep breath, but Kenzi reached back and touched his arm, giving a slight shake of her head. She needed another moment to think before he started up with his siren's call.
She looked steadily around the room and noticed Hale's service weapon on the table not even two feet away from her. Banking on Hale having some sense of ingrained, masculine hero complex, Kenzi feigned a terrified tremble. He got the subconscious cue and tried to move himself between her and their unwanted guest.
Later, she would kiss him for it. Right now, she grabbed the opportunity the distraction bought and picked up the gun. She held it in her weak hand, allowing it to wobble, and pointed it at the intruder.
As she suspected, he looked at the gun and the toothy grin was back. "Oh honey, this is gonna be such a treat," he said, obviously unconcerned.
She waved the gun a little and his gaze followed. "See this gun?" she asked. He laughed, entertained by her naivety. While she distracted him, she swiftly hefted the flower pot that had been on the table next to the weapon and launched it at his head. "Watch out for the flowerpot!"
He went down like sack of potatoes amidst bits of broken pot, clumps of soil and gorgeous hibiscus leaves. She flipped the gun, handing it grip first to a very stunned Hale. The siren's mouth was agape and she gave him a brilliant smile before hooking her forefinger beneath his chin, guiding his mouth shut.
"What the hell was that?"
"Don't you ever play video games? Guy was a berserker. Only way to take 'em out is with blunt objects," she explained, rolling her eyes. She marched over to the fallen man and grabbed the bat. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but we need to get out of here pronto. We gotta find our succubuddy. No doubt whatever is happening she's at the middle of it. Girlfriend always finds trouble."
This time before leaving the room she cautiously checked the hallway.
"Remind me never to tangle with you," Hale muttered, following Kenzi. Louder he said, "At least we know what those explosions were all about. Bastards were trying to create a way in."
Kenzi nodded, stalking down the hall with determination, the bat bumping against her thigh. "Looks like they succeeded."
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Lauren stood stock still, her head tilted while she listened. She could barely hear anything over her own frantically beating heart. Dyson had taught her that breathing was imperative to controlling fright, so as she listened she concentrated on regulating her oxygen intake.
Beside her, James trembled. If she hadn't been training for a couple of weeks for such an occasion, if she hadn't already had to test her skills within the last twenty-four hours, she might have felt the same. Being a lab geek tucked neatly away inside a supposedly safe compound tended to lend to a feeling of security. When something happened to upset that impression, unease easily seeded itself and began to sprout a feeling of helplessness.
Lauren needed to nip James' fright before it could permeate any further, ruining her stoic calm.
"James," she said quietly, grasping his hand. It was cold and clammy. "I need you to get the emergency medical kits. We'll take two each. Can you handle bringing all four here to me?" Giving him direction, something to do, would keep him from thinking about whatever might be going on.
He gulped. She squeezed his hand. He looked as though he might pass out.
"Breathe, James. You need to breathe. We're fine for now. Trust me, okay?"
He nodded, looking ashamed to be afraid when she was so clearly in control of her own dread. Taking a deep breath, seeing Lauren's nod of approval, he managed a tight smile. "I can bring four. Do you... Do you think people are hurt?"
Lauren chewed on her lip. "We need to be prepared for anything."
"Right. Okay." He seemed to make a decision to put on a brave front. He stood up taller and puffed his scrawny chest out. Bravado. Lauren was pleased. He moved away with a manufactured confidence to perform the task she had given him.
Taking another deep breath, Lauren focused her thoughts. She had no real way of knowing what was happening within the rest of the compound, but she did know that they couldn't stay here. The lab was in the middle of the compound with no access to the outside. It would not do to get caught here.
As the Ash's primary medical officer, Lauren decided that she should try to find him. Every fiber in her being told her to find Bo, but she actively fought to curb that idea. Bo would be able to care for her own self, and the doctor's duties were to the Ash first and foremost. Being torn by conflicting loyalties was an uncomfortable feeling, but she would endure. She had to. Resolve bolstered her courage and she began to make a mental list of things she would need before leaving the lab.
Pulling on her bottom lip while deep in thought, Lauren startled when she heard a muffled voice say, "Yer nancy-boy's a bloody coward."
She craned her neck to see over a monitor. The little sprite that Dyson and Hale had brought in for questioning stood in his cage, leaning against the bars staring disinterestedly at his fingernails. He picked something out from beneath one of them and flicked it away. Lauren wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"He's not a 'nancy-boy'," Lauren found herself distractedly saying. She hadn't thought to argue that he wasn't a coward.
"Blimey, I forgot he dreams of cattle trucking with the likes of you," he muttered. "Not that I blame the bloke." His gaze travelled hungrily over Lauren. "Mmm. Bang-tidy fer a human," he said, tiny hands gripping the bars as he stuffed his face in the space between them, his tongue wagging crudely. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and Lauren scrunched her face, incapable of completely ignoring his lascivious nature.
When it was obvious he couldn't goad further reaction out of her, he huffed and said, "Ye gonna release me?"
"I can't just let you go. If you hadn't noticed something is going on. It could be dangerous."
"Does the Morrigan know yer holding a dark fae hostage?"
The sprite was obviously unconcerned with whatever danger they might face. His cockiness irritated Lauren and her eyebrows knit together as she lifted her chin. Making a snap decision, she went to his cage, opened the door and grabbed the little man around the middle. She stuffed him deep into the pocket of her lab coat and used several straightened-out paperclips weaved through the fabric to button it up. As long as she was careful he would be unable to escape, yet relatively safe. She could hear him hollering angrily while he struggled.
By the time she had finished, James had reappeared struggling under the weight of the medical bags. They would not be able to maneuver quickly, that much was for certain, causing Lauren to wonder if the decision was wise.
She was about to tell him they should abandon two of the kits when the lab doors opened and Lachlan staggered in. He leaned on a mobile cart in an attempt to keep himself upright, but it wheeled away and he crashed to the floor. By the time Lauren reached his side, he had managed to make it to his knees.
"Don't move," she said, but he clutched her forearm as she bent forward and almost unbalanced her as he dragged himself partway up. It looked as though his body had been beaten by a blunt object. Somehow he had succeeded in protecting his face, but an arm hung uselessly at his side and his left foot was bent at an odd angle. It was any wonder he had made it here at all.
"Get—vials," he demanded.
Lauren searched his face, saw how ashen it was and snapped her fingers at James. He brought her several vials and laid them in her palm. Lachlan labored to breathe. Staring into Lauren's face, he opened his mouth wide and she heard a slippery ripping noise as multiple rows of glistening teeth unsheathed.
Understanding dawning, Lauren motioned for James again. "Shit. Get some rubber caps for these. Fit them all. Quickly, James," she commanded when he hesitated. "Lachlan let me help you," she whispered to the Ash who was clearly dying.
"Already dead," he croaked around the mass of teeth. "Need—need to take venom."
Lauren nodded. Lachlan may not have been her favorite person, but she still couldn't stand to see him suffer.
James came back with the caps and they hurriedly applied them to the vials. When that was done, Lauren gestured to James and put her lips close to his ear as she whispered another set of instructions. He nodded sharply and scrambled away, leaving Lauren with the dying Ash.
"Bo must—"
"Shh, Lachlan. We will make sure," Lauren assured him. He seemed to relax, the tension in his face easing slightly. She held one of the vials up. With one hand beneath his chin, she massaged the side of his face near the temporomandibular joint. Two fangs unhinged from their seat at the top of his mouth, extending down to protrude menacingly. She fitted the vial over them and the milky venom leaked in. She repeated the process until Lachlan's eyes rolled back and his head lolled. His breathing changed, becoming shallower than before.
"James, bring me those needles," Lauren said, her voice quivering. Her assistant was at her side immediately. He uncapped the first needle and offered it to her. After, he bent to Lachlan's arm and rolled his sleeve up. He used a rubber hose around the Ash's bicep to tie off the blood circulation and then swabbed the crook of his elbow with an alcohol wipe. Lauren nodded her thanks and injected the site with the first needle, filled with pentobarbital. Next she took the pancuronium bromide needle and injected that. Lastly, she accepted the potassium chloride.
"Go in peace," she whispered, and kissed Lachlan's brow before pushing the plunger. She held his wrist until she was certain his heartbeat had ceased.
When she released him and shifted away, there were tears glistening on her cheeks. James held his arms open for her and she stepped into them and allowed herself to be comforted by the closest thing to a friend in that moment. He patted her back gently, awkwardly, as she closed her eyes.
Seconds later she felt a brightness dance against her eyelids, but it was the whooshing sound that accompanied the light that made her stiffen. She opened her eyes and watched in horror as a blast of hissing, popping fire swirled above Lachlan's body.
"Holy fuck!" James exclaimed.
Lauren felt nauseous.
Holy fuck was about to become the understatement of the century.
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