* 2022-12-28

Now that the setting is set, let's rumble! Or not… Either way. Enjoy!

I'm trying hard to keep this PG16 but be warned that my stories contain mature subjects. There is graphic violence, coarse language, sexual situations, and triggers as my characters deal with emotional, physical, or mental traumas.

The Arrangement

Chapter 05

Serena

The sound of a siren approaching spikes my adrenaline. It's stupid and a novice reaction. But I can't help it. Everything is off. I'm not in control of the situation and we aren't on a mission. I've been winging it since yesterday, and that's got me on edge.

Lita stops her reps to glance my way. The unease is mutual. Shrugging a shoulder, she gets back to her weights training.

Yes, it's stupid to feel apprehensive. Whatever situation the local police has going on doesn't involve us. We aren't criminals. Well, that might be debatable. But we haven't done anything wrong or out of line in this town and nobody knows us. At least we have that assurance.

The gym's door burst open, followed by Jack's bellow. "Serena!"

'Well, there goes my anonymity.' Ten ideas of painful retribution pop into my head as he runs to us.

The look on his face has my red flags up, Lita's at my back, and I'm running worst-case scenarios in my head. Did anyone provoke Rei? Did she shoot a civilian? Did someone touch Mina? Please let it not be the later…

"Is the ruckus necessary? If you care to remember, we're trying to keep a low profile," Lita drawls while I try to reign in my damage control assessments.

"Shit. Sorry. But you kind of blew that anyway when you picked Max's bag and went home on it. Now every single fighter in this place wants a round with you." His shrug earns him a growl from Lita, her annoyance almost palpable. But I can't understand why he's stalling.

"Spit it out. You've already made a scene."

"Let's take this outside, too many ears here."

I roll my eyes. As a former marine, he should have approached the situation better.

"Sorry, I was worried you'd left already as I didn't see your Jeep." That has me frowning, but Lita points to the side of the building as we exit. Amy moved our ride under the shade and canopy of trees. With the color scheme, it blends in with the forest.

"Yea, Amy likes cool. She wasn't going to bake in the sun. Now, stop stalling. What the hell is going on for you to be this riled up."

"I'm not riled up!" he snaps. I raise my eyebrow in challenge. He huffs and glares back. "I'm not! What I do have is a potentially volatile case on my hands, when you guys swore there were no loose ends left after your mission."

"Explain." My hackles are seriously up. Lita's already banging on the Jeep's roof to get Amy up as we approach. She lowers the window but doesn't even open her eyes. That must be some nasty hangover. And as much as I'd want to grill and tease her about it, I know she's paying attention because she's not flipping us off.

"Darien had a suicide case come in this morning. However, we're not convinced as the girl's covered in bruises. Like she took a severe beating."

"What does that have to do with us? We were at Keith's all night." Lita crosses her arms, offended.

"Max saw her and he swears she's one of the girls he saw you rescue yesterday."

That has Amy scrambling for her laptops, probably already hacking who knows which government system to find out if any of the guys we caught made bail. Which I doubt, because of the senator's involvement.

"That's not possible. All the people involved are still in jail, and anyone else involved was tackled and arrested after we handed the preliminary finding to our client. No one involved in that ring could have attacked that girl." Amy taps away, but I already know we didn't leave any loose ends. We helped the senator plan the takedown, creating a domino effect. We took the proof; she arrested the higher-up involved.

"What the hell's going on?" Lita grinds her jaw, not trusting the situation.

"Well, that's what I'd like to know?" Jack states. Now I get his unease. Unknown entities that we didn't neutralize, linked to the underworld that we aren't aware of mean one thing. Trouble. The dangerous kind. The kind that leads to body bags. I can't have that. He can't have that either.

"Room?"

"Get in my car, I'll take you."

"No, we'll meet you. Your coming to find us has already jeopardized the situation and compromised us. Fuck. Get to the hospital, stay with her until we arrive. I need to contact the rest of my team and set up a perimeter in case someone is stacking the place."

He doesn't answer, doesn't move. "Are you planning on disappearing and leaving me to clean this up?"

My jaw almost dislodges. "The fuck man!? Seriously?" He shrugs unapologetically. "No! I need to plan the best approach to the situation. We had a mission and it suddenly reopened. I'm not going in blind. Better, Jadeite dear?" I drawl, failing to circumvent my mounting irritation.

"Ja… How?"

"Please. I know all of your bios, remember? Hacker advantages. Plus, that old couple yesterday kept calling you those weird nicknames. You're going to have to explain that one to me at some point."

"When you explain why they call you Cresc," he counters but we're off-topic, and that's my fault.

"We're wasting time. See you soon." I get into the back as Lita gets into the driver's seat. She pulls out of the parking and heads to the hospital, but her frown and Amy's mumbling as she continues her search don't reassure me. Taking out my burner, I call Mina.

"I didn't forget your damn chocolate!" Mina snaps before I can even get a word in.

"We have a situation. Drop everything and head to the hospital. Set up perimeter." I offer the few details I got before hanging up.

"I've hacked the hospital security feed," Amy exclaims.

"We don't do follow-ups. We exterminate. The fallout is not our responsibility." Lita's words are the foundation of what Amara taught us. If we want to keep our anonymity and stay ahead of the underworld, we can't be tied to any of our former missions. Visiting the hospital, checking on the girl, and dealing with the loose end is the opposite of what we've always done. It's going to put the targets on our back. But…

"What's our motto?"

"No one's left behind." Both of my team members answer simultaneously. Like we practice that shit. Which we don't. Just live, breathe, fight by it.

And that's why, no matter how much we shouldn't get involved, we continue to the hospital because we'll not leave a victim in the underworld's grasp if we can help it.

Darien

"Isn't there another way to fix this situation without getting them involved?" I can't help asking even if I'm the one who asked Max to call them.

"What's your hold up? You've been set against them since you showed up last night?" Jack asks as he enters my office.

There's no way I'm going to tell him that I dreamed about Serena last night. X-rated style. Can you blame me? She's beautiful and pushes every single one of my buttons. It's probably my subconscious reminding my ego and libido that hey man, you got blue balls and the woman you were attracted to for once didn't give in.

I also can't get over her wounds. The ridiculous amount of scars that cover her perfect curves. And who knows how many more lay hidden under her clothes. In her line of work, it's probably normal. But everything in me screams none of those things should have happened to her.

Except, I don't get a say in that. Serena's going to keep to her calling and scar more of that perfect masterpiece… Until the light fades from her eyes… Until she gets killed… Because there's no other option in that line of duty unless you retire. Which I'm selfishly grateful Jack did. Even Max.

"Probably because what I feared would happen did. I wasn't thinking with my dick, unlike you guys."

"Oh! I call bullshit on that!" Max barks out a laugh. "You wouldn't be this riled up if you got some. But those girls last night, they didn't even beat an eyelash for the grand Doctor Shields. They treated you like a tool!" He laughs and Jack joins in, nodding.

"Yea. Serena tore the pedestal right under your ass and sat on your throne. All you're doing is whining like a fucking dog."

"You guys done?" I wait them out, keeping my expression neutral, bored, hoping they drop it. Because they're probably right.

A light knock precedes the entrance of my number one pain in the ass. "Dr. Shields… Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. But I wanted to offer my help with your patients before we head for lunch…"

"Miss Beryl. You have patients you should be checking on. And next time, wait for an answer before barging into my office!" I snap.

The red that paints her face could be either embarrassment or anger. I couldn't care less after another long voicemail from my father demanding I show up at his matchmaking lunch with Beryl's parents today. Like I didn't have enough things to tackle. I need to check on the star athlete, on top of a day full of patients, checking on the kid's wing, and now I have a potential threat in my hospital. I have no room for my father's machinations and Beryl's lack of professionalism.

When I don't offer anything in return, the pissed, yes, that's an angry frown, nods and exits the room.

Jack whistles low, and shakes his head. "Damn. Is that the one your father's trying to shackle you with?"

I nod, sitting back at my desk to review the file of the abused girl. The report proves that she sustained severe injuries before her wrists got cut. Who would be sick enough to do that to a thirteen-year-old kid?

"It could be worst. At least she's hot. And you guys got things in common," Max offers to lighten the mood as we wait for Serena and her team to show up.

"How's the family manacles feel?" I throw back at him. My dark mood getting the best of me. As Max's face shuts down, I want to bang my head on the table. "Fuck, sorry man. It's just been crazy. Have a star athlete's future in my hands with his whole possie breathing down my neck. Then there's my father trying to force me into this arranged marriage with a woman who's bound to bring heaps of lawsuits of malpractice. Don't even get me started on the Kid's wing project. And now, we might have a potentially dangerous criminal loose on our hands…"

He nods but doesn't meet my eyes. Jack is glaring at me. Yup, I hold the number one asshole medal. Now on top of everything else, I'll have to find a way to make my jab up to Max. He really didn't deserve it. His hands are literally more tied than mine.

"Call me later, I've been away from the gym too long."

As I watch him leave, I wonder if this day can get any more screwed up.

Serena

"Not you!" The teen snaps as soon as I enter the room with Amy. Lita stayed in the waiting room, scoping out the place before giving us the green light to enter. "You just had to come in and screw up everything!"

She throws the cheap hospital pillow at me. I sidestep it easily, grab the rolling chair, and bring it right next to the bed before sitting down.

"You sure you want to throw shit at me." I keep my voice calm but detached. The threat has her sliding back up in the bed and against the wall. "Who?"

I thought she was older the last time I saw her. But now, no make-up, no fancy clothes, I see my mistake. She's still very much a kid. A kid around the same age I was when my life went to shit. She averts her face and shuts me out.

"Cresc. Check this out." Amy hands me her laptop with a bunch of medical documents opened. This isn't the girl's first time being admitted to the hospital. There are files going back several years. Merc shows me other documents suggesting domestic abuse, but no charges were ever pressed.

"I'll ask you one more time. Who?"

"Like you care."

"Two shots as I was hauling a sixteen-year-old mother forced into prostitution and her newborn baby out of a bordello in the favela. Six stitches for pulling out of a shipping container seven children bound for organ trafficking. Fire poker stab wound just yesterday from closing down a child pornography production. Yes. No cares given!" I jest sarcastically as I point to some of my more prominent wounds.

Her focus is back on me, but so is her glare. "They didn't force me! And they paid me..."

"That doesn't mean that what they were doing was right."

"They were my ticket out! I'm not going into the system!"

And that, I can understand. Some orphans and unwanted kids get lucky. A lot more don't.

"Just because they were nice up front, didn't mean things couldn't turn bad on you. You could have been…"

"Nothing they could have done could be worst than what I lived through at home, done by…"

She doesn't finish as the doctor walks in. That can't be right. She's far too young. The redhead introduces herself, explains she's an intern, and is checking in. But I'm not paying attention to that. No. Her smile doesn't reach her eyes. She's pissed about something and my hackle raises as she flips through the girl's files looking for an outlet.

She's the kind of person I dislike the most. Doesn't matter if they're female or male, they're pampered divas who always look outward to blame everything and anyone instead of owning their shit. And I'm afraid that the teen, who's suffered enough, is going to be this redhead's prime target.

I nod to Amy, who pulls out her phone and smiles amiably as if she's texting someone. But as the recording starts, the light barely shows under Amy's finger.

"Now why would you go and cut your wrist and hurt yourself? Doing stupid things like that to get attention is ridiculous and gets people only to mock you instead of sympathizing with you."

I listen for two more minutes as the woman belittles the victim. Wait, let me repeat. VICTIM. Of an assault and possible murder. Because I still haven't ruled out that it wasn't whomever she lives with that cut her wrist.

Before I can interfere, the door to the waiting room opens and another ghost from yesterday's mission appears. Molly takes a surprised step back as she looks from me to everyone.

"Hey Tina, I'll wait outside until the doctor is done then. We'll talk after, okay." She turns to leave, excusing herself before motioning for me to follow. It's the perfect exit that doesn't require me to leave an unconscious woman on the floor. I hear the attachment on my phone as I exit the room and catch Amy's nod while failing to drown out the intern's voice.

"… and instead of having your guardian's here to deal with this, you have friends bailing you out…"

That woman needs to be neutralized before she pushes the kid to finish the possible job she might have started. As what happened to her is still unclear.

"Hi… Um… Sorry, I never got your real name. Can we talk right now?" Molly is the last person I expected to see today. But so was the other kid from my last job.

"Don't have time, I need to…"

"It's about Tina, right?" She looks sheepishly at me. "Look. I just want to say thank you… For talking to my mom… You didn't have to. But I appreciate it."

"Did she listen?"

"Surprisingly, yes. I'm starting college in the fall. Business. Not sure how good I'll be… And I'm already signed up for private jewelry classes. But that's not why I'm here. I overheard my mom talking about Tina. It would be quite a scandal if she's linked to this, so I offered to visit my friend at the hospital... And pass to check on the Tina situation."

There's a deep worry that she tries to hide, as she looks all around the room instead of me. I relent and nod to the corner of the waiting room where there's less traffic.

"I know why Tina was doing the…" she doesn't elaborate, but I nod in understanding and motion for her to continue. "She needs to move out as her stepfather is abusive, like really sick… She needed the money… I didn't know she was thirteen! She was always so mature whenever we crossed paths and I… I want to pay for her treatments! And um… I was wondering if I could hire you to look after her until I get my mom's lawyers to work on the social services side…"

"Why?"

Her skittishness drops as her head snaps toward me. It takes her a moment, but she takes a long fortifying breath before answering.

"You're the first person who's taken my side… For no other reason but because it's the right thing to do. And you told my mom to look after those girls. She might not care… But I do! I want to pay back for changing the trajectory of my life."

Nothing in life happens without a reason. And us being grounded here was actually a blessing in disguise. Because now we have a chance to help finish saving the victims that the underworld touched. I realize at that moment that just pulling victims out isn't always enough. And suddenly a new plan forms.

I love the work at the shelter where we help and care for the victims and orphans more than the special ops mission. And yet this situation is actually a combination of both. It's a mission where we not only rescue a victim but help them reconstruct their life.

On one hand, it puts our anonymity at risk. On the other, it gives us an opportunity to work and see different angles. But the most important part, it gives us a purpose. A different kind of mission, but at least a mission where I can at least guide the team, focus their energies… Including my own.

The look of sheer apprehension and desperation as Molly waits for my answer cements my resolve. These girls didn't end in those bastards' hands for no reason. I need to make sure they are pulled out once and for all. But to do that, I need to approach the situation carefully. I can't jeopardize my team and what we've worked all these years to build and accomplish. I pull Luna's card out of my wallet.

"This is Luna's direct line. You need to call her and explain the situation. Set it up right away. When Luna calls me, I'll take over. Stay away until I contact you as I don't want you to get into any more danger." She tries to argue but I glare her down. She rushes to pull out her card and hands it to me. "Fine, I'll contact you with updates and set up a place where it's safe for you to visit Tina. For now, have Luna text me the details and call me ASAP."

Molly nods and starts dialing the number I gave her as she rushes out of the emergency room to get some privacy. Lita's glare deepens but I just nod for her to watch the room Amy's in. I stop a nurse, asking where Doctor Shields' office is. She starts to argue until I explain I'm the personnel security for a client and he's expecting me as well as officer Jack. That has her eyes bulging and she waves another nurse over to take me to his office.

I take the short distance to compose myself and plan things out. But that seems to go out the window as I enter his office to see a glare standoff between Jack and Darien.

"Am I interrupting you love birds or something?" I can't help myself. It's just so easy to rile these guys up.

"Seriously!? I have patients to see and things to deal with and you're joking after making us wait almost half an hour!" The doctor's glare is actually on point. I'm pretty sure it has all the nurses and staff running for safety. But when it's directed at me, I can't help but see a big teddy bear growling and feel like petting him on the head. Yes, my mind has some weird ideas and I'm completely sidetracked, but sue me. I've dealt in the past hour with lots of unexpected shit.

Pushing buttons is therapeutic for me. So yes. I push his buttons. I advance to his desk where he's leaning over it, his hands splayed on the surface in frustration, and tap his cheek mockingly. "Now, now. As a doctor, you should know that stress causes high blood pressure. And that's not good for your health, Doctor."

He stumbles back as if I slapped him, but as he opens his mouth, I silence him as I answer my ringing phone.

"Luna, the verdict?"

The explosion heading my way from the doctor is instantly distracted by the mention of my lawyer's name. It has also Jack standing at attention.

"Send me the details. And have the malpractice lawsuit forwarded to the hospital. I'll call you back for an update in two hundred hours when I've got everything sorted. The funds available? Understood." I hang up in a room turned cold and forbidding.

"What the FUCK do you mean by lawsuit?" Doctor Shield's voice has dropped to a dangerous octave. 'Hm, interesting.' The guy actually has bite.

I don't bother to explain, just find the file Amy send and push play. The intern's voice fills the room and the anger bleeds from both their faces to incredulity. I don't bother to play the whole thing. The first minute is incriminating enough.

"The lawsuit is due to my client being harassed and verbally abused by a member of your staff when she's in an unstable mental state after suffering an assault. Luna and Associates should be forwarding the documents at this very moment." Just then the doctor's pager, cell, and office line ping.

The door to the office is thrown open so hard it hits the wall. An elderly man stacks in, shaking in rage.

"What is the meaning of this Darien? Why is the hospital being sued and why is your fiancé Beryl the one being accused?"

"One, she's not my fiancé or anything to me. And second, if you'd listened to me the first ten times I warned you this would happen, we wouldn't be in this situation!" the way the doctor snaps back tells me the elder isn't just a superior but someone familiar to him. There's no family resemblance between the two men. Darien is a super specimen of the male physic. The elder is short, bulgy and his shiny scalp is barely hidden by what I can only describe as a Trump toupee.

"You do not raise your voice at me, boy! You forget your place!" Oh, so I was right. Family. I almost feel like cracking open a chip bag and sitting down on the office couch to watch the drama unfold. But I reign in my entertainment needs to focus on the mission at hand. Which is to get this Beryl as far away from my new client and anyone else for that matter. Before her words or actions from what Darien insinuated harm a patient permanently.

"No, I know exactly my place. And as head of the emergency, I told you and the chairs that Beryl needed to be removed from the hospital. She had how many staff complaints against her and how many written complaints from patients. You reap what you sow! Now your greed has put the whole hospital's reputation in jeopardy!"

"The hell it has! Who's the patient? I'll deal with this!"

"And how exactly do you plan on doing just that?" My demand startles the man, making him realize there's an audience in the room.

"I… Um… Who are you? You're not staff!"

I extend my hand and shake his hand firmly. Maybe a bit too firmly. "Cresc, commander of the Scout Special Ops Security Firm. Private security to the patient who just got verbally abused by your intern. And from what I can surmise, not the first. It's a good thing then I guess that I contacted Luna and Associates."

"You called them… You're… Don't be preposterous. You can't be security. You're too tiny. And you're not…" Thankfully his sexist criticism is interrupted by a nurse running in.

"Doctor Shields, Miss Beryl is throwing a tantrum in the emergency as another woman is keeping her from seeing a patient. It's startling the people in the waiting room!"

A cold smile spreads on my face before I fold my arms. "Either you have that woman escorted right away off the premises with her walking papers, and have my client moved to the best private and secure room and looked properly after or the lawsuit is going to destroy this hospital. You're choice?"

The nurse pales, grasping the doorframe, as Jack storms past her, properly to try to calm the situation. The nurse follows him on wobbly legs. That leaves the father and son in a glaring war. For which I have no interest. Or patience for. I believe in action more than words.

As I make my way out, the elder man grabs my arm. I grab his hand and remove it, with just the right amount of force to make him flinch.

"How dare you do this to my hospital!? Who do you think you are? I'll make sure you never get another client, you stupid girl!"

My grin turns feral, and he steps back. "And your words are proof that I made the right decision. You aren't a doctor. People who follow that calling put their patients and their well-being or health, whether emotional, mental or physical above all else. You're nothing but a greedy unreliable buffoon who belittles others to hide his own insecurities. People like you have no room in the medical field. I'll be sure to tell Artemis to look into whatever practice you have."

"Father, enough! Get out, and get Beryl out of the hospital now! I'll deal with this."

The older man looks ready to protest and fume, but my glare and threat keep his lips sealed. Not for long though. "Now you're going to have to marry Beryl to make this up to her family! And fix this. Or they'll pull the funds from the hospital!" He stumps out of the room, slamming the door so hard I'm surprised the plaster doesn't fall off the walls.

"Interesting family," I offer to break the strained silence that fills the room.

He sighs deeply before slumping back into his chair. He buries his head in his hands, scrubbing his face several times before studying me.

"Adoptive father. Not that it's important…"

Well, I never imagined I'd have something in common with the man. But this just proves that you can't judge people.

"Are you really going to sue the hospital?"

I pull a chair to his desk and sit across from him. "Why haven't you fired her yet? I wouldn't need to go to such lengths if I didn't think my client needs protection from your staff."

He slumps back in his chair, taking several moments before answering carefully.

"I've tried on several occasions. But it's hard when her parents are on the hospital committee and are the biggest donors to this hospital. Do you think we could have these amazing amenities and programs if not for their support? This year alone, their fundraiser is paying to add a children's wing…"

"So why the pressure for marriage."

"While her family has money and an old name, they have lost some of the prestige… Plus, Beryl has a hard-on for marrying a doctor. Not that it matters who. She was after some of my more prestigious colleagues before directing her attention my way. Even married ones…"

"Do you think they'll pull the funds if Beryl is fired?"

"No doubt. But as my father said, I might be able to save the situation if I marry her."

"I didn't take you for the martyr or sacrificial lamb type," I tap my lip thinking of a solution. "Why not find better donors or do a fundraiser just to pay for the children's wing? From what I can tell of your neighborhood, there are a lot of rich people living in the area."

"No, they vacation here. That's why they rarely invest much."

"Because you've just never pulled the right strings. Amy hacked your system. It seems you have a star athlete getting treated here while on vacation. Accidents and sickness can happen anywhere, so why not invest in the hospital where they are vacationing? Make sure the best care is available to them whether they're in the city or on vacation."

I stop my rambling as he's leaning over the desk, his intense stare scrutinizing me so intensely I want to fidget. A habit I was sure Amara knock out of my system. How many more surprises and damage control can I take in one day?

"First you sue me, and now you're offering advice. Like really good and sound advice… Why?"

"Right thing to do. Duh!? It's not like I get a kick out of lawsuits. I just want to make sure my client stays safe and somehow gets out of this situation. Maybe gets a happy ending. Isn't that what everyone wants and deserves?"

His stretches of silence as he considers my words make me want to pace. I don't wait him out this time, I get to my feet to check on Tina. But my hand stays frozen on the handle at his next words.

"Thank you for giving me the answer then. Marry me?"

* Please, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear what you think of the story and this new twist. Take care! Till next time lovelies!