"This is dumb." Kenzi called from the couch, not taking her eyes off the television screen as she mashed buttons on the game controller in her hands in an effort to shoot oncoming zombies. "Bo, remind us how dumb this is. She's not even going to show up."
"It's not dumb, Kenz." Bo insisted loudly from the far end of the kitchen where she was keeping an eye on Tamsin who was searching through the bottles of liquor on the counter. "And she'll be here." She lowered her voice to normal volume so Kenzi wouldn't hear and directed a pointed gaze at the valkyrie though she wasn't looking at her. "You did tell her what was going on, right?"
Tamsin yanked open the cork on a bottle of cluricaun wine and peered inside to see how much was left and let out an exasperated sigh. "Will you chill out? God, for a succubus, you're really wound up." She stuffed the cork back in the bottle and turned so she was facing the brunette. "If she doesn't show, she doesn't show. No big deal, we'll think of something else." She threw a glance towards the couch where Kenzi was shouting frustrated obscenities at the TV. "Maybe we can bug the brat."
"I heard that!" Kenzi shouted, turning away from her game long enough to launch a couch pillow towards Tamsin though it landed pitifully short of its intended target.
"I'm serious, Tamsin." Bo warned. "I know you don't trust humans, but I trust Lauren and we need,"
"Oh my god, save the speech." The valkyrie interrupted, rolling her eyes and pulling out an unmarked bottle from the back of the collection that she recognized as the scotch Kenzi had talked her out of. "You don't know shit, Nancy Drew. I told her yesterday." She said, casually pouring the contents of the rum bottle into a flask she procured from the inside of her jacket. "I also told her to be here by twelve thirty and if she didn't want to do it I wasn't going to make her and I doubt you would. The wolf might." She threw a pointed glance over at the dumbstruck succubus. "You seem to have him on a pretty tight lead though so maybe pull the leash a little if it comes to it."
"That's…that was thoughtful of you." Bo replied, clearly taken aback but obviously suspicious. "Why did you…"
"Why do I do anything I do?" Tamsin interjected again, thinking not for the first time that she'd like Bo a lot better if less words came out of her mouth while taking a long draught directly from the bottle before corking it and putting it back where she'd found it. "Leave a girl to have some mystery, whydontcha?"
Bo narrowed her gaze at the blonde, feeling herself stiffen in annoyance but before she could say anything, there was a tentative knock at the door.
"She's got a selfless sense of morality, you gotta hand her that." Tamsin murmured towards the door. If Bo heard her, she didn't say so though when she left the kitchen to answer the door, she wasn't surprised to see the human doctor on the other side.
"So we're knocking now?" Bo teased gently, smiling brightly when Lauren chuckled.
"I lost the key." She admitted sheepishly, returning the smile hesitantly as the brunette continued to stare at her intently.
"Just break it down like everyone else does." Kenzi announced from behind Bo, having slid up behind her best friend without either of the other two women noticing.
Bo shook her head and made a sweeping gesture for the human to enter the clubhouse. She glared at Kenzi's retreating back as she followed the two humans into the living room, immediately noticing something she really didn't want to. Seeing people's auras was something Bo was used to, she didn't even remember what it was like not to, there was always a sort of greyish light around people's frames. Normally, she didn't pay it any attention as it only indicated a low level of interest; it was when it started to appear blue, which indicated sexual and even romantic interest that it ever caught her notice and when it began to grow in size was when it would hold her attention.
She liked being around Kenzi not just because the younger human was basically her surrogate sister, but her aura never flashed blue for her. It was a nice break if she was being honest with herself. Being surrounded by blue hues hovering around people all the time did awful things to her need to feed. Some, she definitely savored, though. Like Lauren's. She had grown so terribly used to the intense blue Lauren had that even when she saw it diminish, she told herself that because it wasn't gone, there was nothing wrong and she still had time to make things right. Even when she'd started seeing Lauren's aura flash blues when Tamsin was near her at the Dal, she wrote it off rather quickly. After all, she was probably fueled by alcohol and Tamsin was very attractive, though Bo liked her even more so when she wasn't being a snarky bitch. And Bo could certainly admit that entertaining the idea of the three of them together wasn't exactly horrible.
But that day at the lab she had seen Lauren's aura spark in a way she didn't realize she'd missed until she saw it and then registered that she wasn't looking at her, but past her. She was more than a little crushed when she turned to see who was there and saw the Valkyrie, burning just as bright. She had decided then to reassert herself as a romantic constant in the doctor's life but even though that had less than desirable results, she wasn't ready to let go. But now, watching the two acknowledge each other, it was all she could do not to shuffle her feet across the room and pout while doing it. Their greeting was innocuous enough, Lauren saying hi, Tamsin nodding her head and giving her a half-smile, but Bo could see what they felt and it was undeniable and although she'd known about it, it didn't mean she had to like it when it was being rubbed in her face.
"Earth to Bobo." Kenzi said, pulling her from her thoughts by waving her hands in front of her face. A look of concern crossed her features and she gently grabbed Bo's arm, pulling her into her personal space. "Are you okay?" she asked in a hushed tone.
Bo shook her head and shrugged. "Don't worry about it." She replied, smiling as best she could to ease her friend's worry. "We've got to go over the plans and we've not got a lot of time." She said louder, stepping away from the slight human who flopped on the couch between the doctor and the Dark Fae.
"Well someone was cutting it close." Kenzi said, holding up a hand to block Lauren's vision and pointing at the other human with her other hand. Shrugging guiltily and mouthing 'what?' when Bo glared at her.
Bo shook her head and paced slightly in front of the trio, slipping into work mode. "So, Dyson's at the warehouse already, keeping track of who's coming and going. He's staked out by what seems to be the main entrance. When we get there, we're going to seal the side entrance and me, Tamsin, and Dyson are going to have eyes on it at all times. You two," she continued, gesturing towards the two humans. "Are going to be posing as buyers, specifically an artifacts dealer and her associate."
"Ooo! Can I be the dealer?" Kenzi asked excitedly, earning incredulous stares from the other three women. She frowned and crossed her arms indignantly. "You guys suck."
"Anyways, you're going to be an artifacts dealer and her associate. Kenz, I want you to make the rounds, see who looks like a buyer and who looks like a seller. Talk people up, okay?"
"Can do." She replied, saluting Bo.
"And don't touch anything." Tamsin asserted firmly.
"How many times are you guys going to tell me that? I only grabbed a fae thingy that one time and I do not want to get my hand stuck to another Staff of Righteousness. I'm not gonna touch anything… even if it does give me super cool Matrix ninja powers."
"What do you want me to do?" Lauren asked.
"Try and see if there's a way to disable the ward on the main door." Bo explained. "Don't spend too much time on it, though. You've got to check out what they're selling, take a mental inventory. Maybe the type of stuff they're selling will give us a clue as to whose running this thing. Once the bidding starts, I want you guys to stay together. Lauren, I want you to bid on something. Anything as long as it looks important enough to where you're going to have to deal with someone high on the food chain to collect. Try not to win, but if you do, let Kenzi talk your way out of the building. If anything happens, if something doesn't feel right, I want you guys to get out of there right away. Understood?"
She waited for them to nod their understanding before glancing over at Tamsin, who nodded as well and rose off the couch. "Come on, kids." The Valkyrie said on her way towards the door. "Auction starts in an hour and I'm not getting paid for this so I'd rather we get it over with as soon as possible."
ooo
Bo wrung her hands and shifted her weight from side to side while craning her neck to peer between Dyson and Tamsin's shoulders as they stood in a tree line off to the side to see the simple looking metal door set into the side of the warehouse.
"I swear on every being in the nine worlds that if you don't stop fidgeting, I'm going to lose my shit." Tamsin muttered, not tearing her eyes away from the entrance.
Bo made a face behind the Valkyrie's back but balled her fists at her side in an attempt to keep still. "I'm just worried." She defended herself, her tone annoyed. "How are we going to know they're okay in there?"
Dyson turned slightly so he could see her and smiled gently. "It's only been five minutes since they closed the door." He informed her softly. "They're going to be okay, Bo. They're smart, they'll be careful."
"I know, I know but I just…if anything happens to them…"
"If anything happens, we'll be here." He reminded her.
"You people are too much." Tamsin said grumpily after turning to roll her eyes at the doe eyed expressions on their faces. She pulled a hand through her ponytail and straightened her jacket. "I'm gonna go see if the ward is still up."
"Is it bad that I'm kinda hoping it's still up?" Bo asked when the valkyrie was out of earshot.
"You don't mean that." The wolf shifter replied, but he was chuckling.
"…I do a little." She admitted, but she winced when the blonde was forcefully and violently jerked backwards, landing several feet away on her back so hard that Bo felt the air leave her lungs out of sympathy. She started to rush out of their cover to make sure the other woman was okay but Dyson pulled her back just as she was passing him, shaking his head.
"Still up?" Dyson asked mirthfully as Tamsin tromped back to where they were standing.
"Go catch a rabbit or something." The valkyrie responded sourly and leant against the closest tree, waving Bo off as she hesitantly advanced on her with a concerned look on her face. "How long have they been in there, anyways?"