It takes a while for the team to haul the specimen- ah, Maka- out of the tub. The team wraps her in soaking wet blankets until she looks like a grumpy, blond, fish burrito. She struggles, and while she is still weak, her wiggling makes the small patient lift unstable. She falls out twice, landing with a sharp hiss as her head bangs against the tub, and then as her tail slaps the stained tile of the bathroom floor, the thin rug offering her no protection. Finally, Soul just lifts her into his arms, burrito blankets and all, and carries her down stairs. It was completely against protocol; Kid starts blowing up his cell phone less than thirty seconds Soul gets out the front door. Maka is surprisingly placid against his chest as they make their way out of the cramped apartment. She only moves when she shrinks into him, pressing her face against his collarbone while they walk down the hallway, protecting her eyes from the harsh lights of the hallway.
Maka shifts as his cell phone vibrates in his breast pocket. She mumbles something, but doesn't lift her head from his shirt.
"She's awfully comfortable," smirks Liz as they lumber towards the apartment gates. "I'm kind of jealous."
"Don't be," Soul grunts. "She's heavy as fuck."
Maka squawks at that, twisting in his arms. Soul stumbles, trying to keep a good hold on her.
"She didn't like that too much," observes Liz. "At least we know for sure she understands English."
"I will drop you," Soul threatens, and Maka settles down, glaring at him, though the intensity is lost as her movements cost her more energy than she has. "Did you call Kid?" asks Soul. "He's the only one who refuses to stop calling until I pick up."
"Wasn't me," Liz cocks her head behind them, where a man in glasses mutters darkly. "Ox, probably. He doesn't like you damaging his evidence."
Ox, taking his cue, speeds up, pushing a gurney in front of them. "You can't take her out there," he huffs. "There's a crowd. Here," he pulls back a long zipper, opening a black bag large enough to hold a person.
Maka grabs a handful of Soul's shirt, putting distance between her and the body bag.
"That's so morbid," Liz grimaces.
"There's no other way to get her out of here undetected," Ox says, motioning to Soul to put Maka on the gurney.
Maka claws at Soul, making him take a few steps back. "Yeah, she's not going in there," Soul says, wincing as Maka's nails dug into his chest.
"It's this or the sewers."
Soul sighs and dumps Maka onto the gurney. Maka gives an exaggerated pout, and twists on the gurney, her tail swinging wildly.
"Cut that out," snaps Soul. He grabs the end of her tail and stuffs it into the bag, ignoring Maka's screeching protests.
"Careful!" Ox exclaims. "Any damage caused post-capture will adversely affect our research."
Soul stops and stares Ox dead in the eye. "She's not evidence. We have to get her back to her home. That's our job."
"We're investigators. Scientists! We're here to learn about it."
"Is that anyway to talk about a lady?" Soul gripes, zipping Maka up. She puts her hand over his before he covers her face, pleading with her eyes.
"Do you know what sewers are?" he implores.
She hisses one last time, and settles in.
Soul turns to Ox and says, "We're not going to keep her trapped like a zoo animal. She's sentient. She has a home. And a tank in your office isn't it."
"It's not in my office," Ox says defensively. "We have a lab."
Soul straightens his back and steps forward, looming over Ox. Soul's not much taller than him, but Ox fights a cower, his shoulders working their way up to his ears.
"We're fixing her up," Soul steps forward again; Ox stumbles back. "We are returning her to her home." Another step. "She was in that bathtub for who knows how long. We have to help Maka."
Ox's shoulders drop. "You named the puppy." He sounds disappointed.
Soul blinks. "She came with a name."
"You named the puppy," Ox repeats, shaking his head pityingly.
"Stop saying that," Soul says flatly.
"Soul, she's weak. We don't know what she eats, if we can even get it for her, we don't know if we can give her a blood transfusion if she needs one, we're not sure if her scales will grow back, if she has magic, if she needs it to live, or if she's even from any body of water around here. Soul," Ox drops voice and turns away from the gurney. "She might not even make it."
Soul glances over Ox's narrow shoulder. Maka waves at him from the little crack in the zipper.
"We need to study her, so we can help the next one." Ox ignores Soul's blithering objections, and says "There will be another one. The whole set up- Kilik said it was ritualistic. He's done it before, but we didn't find any trace of the asshole. No DNA, surprisingly. Either he did a good job cleaning up after himself or he's smarter than we are. For her sake, her safety, we need to get her back to the lab."
Soul glares at his shoes and pushes past Ox, taking the gurney with him.
"And about the lab! It's roomy!" Ox calls after them. Soul picks up his pace, gesturing to Liz who opens the complex gate. A small crowd has gathered there, drawn by the flashing blue and red lights of the Investigative Unit car, and the yellow caution tape. Soul tugs the zipper closed, shutting Maka completely in the black bag.
"Sorry," he mumbles to her. He doubts he could hear him, but he felt better, as if comforting her would comfort him.
Small flashes from cell phone cameras burst all around them as they push out of the apartment gates. It takes all of Soul's hard won self control not to hiss at them.