Sorry, this took longer than I thought. A recurring problem with my right wrist flared up again a few weeks ago and unless I keep it in a certain angle (which is helped with a cast), I have frequent, sometimes debilitating pain in it. And typing with my non-dominant hand is a chore -.-

Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that appeared in the show.


"Looking good." Penny grinned, holding her phone to film. "Although I can't see you at all through the camera."

"That's the idea." Howard said. "Leonard, does it feel different?"

"A bit." Leonard shrugged. "I feel the pressure of the pads on my knees and elbows."

"That's to be expected, since they essentially just slapped on to the suit." Howard sighed. "The batteries use the most space."

"Hey Howard, can't you put some energy source into the suit and use cables to supply them?"

"Then the cables would flop around outside the suit and the battery would have to be big." Howard shook his head. "I can incorporate everything into the bodyglove but I would have to make a completely new one."

"You can't just open the seams and put them in?" Penny asked.

"You see any seams on that?" Howard pointed to Leonard. "Even if there were, I would have to attach pockets to the insides of the glove but then it wouldn't fit anymore."

"Why?"

"The glove is tailored to your body." Leonard explained. "Before he makes it, your measurements are taken with a laser but it doesn't leave much room beyond the existing pockets for the standard gear, which are also made to exactly fit the particular piece of gear."

"So, the pocket for your knife only has room for the knife?"

"Or a smaller one in the same shape, yes." Howard nodded. "Same with the first aid package and so on."

"So, how hard would it be to incorporate those scramblers into the suit?" she wanted to know.

"That's tough." Howard hesitated. "The biggest hurdle is power and when incorporated into the suit, it needs to be a single battery by necessity because you can't really switch five batteries on the fly, not to mention that you'd need a way to figure out when they're about to be empty."

"Can you put that on the display of the glasses?" Leonard asked. "I wear them during most missions anyway."

"That's... actually a good idea." Howard nodded. "I'll see what I can do once I figured out how to incorporate the entire thing into the suit without it being a hindrance."

"How do you do that, actually?" Penny wondered. "You said that you don't sow these but glue them together."

"I do have a few suits lying around that are sown, for testing purposes." Howard explained.

"So, tomorrow is the day, huh?" Penny looked at Leonard.

"Unless Bernadette doesn't finish the poisons." Leonard shrugged.

"So, where do I fit into your mission?" she asked.

"As far away as possible." Leonard stated.

"Still having bad feelings?" Howard inquired. "Why not abandon the contract?"

"Everything about this missions screams that something is wrong." Leonard sighed. "But unless you can find something definitive, I will do it. I have a reputation to uphold."

"You mean I have to sit here and just wait?" Penny was incredulous. "How is that providing me with a learning experience?"

"You won't be sitting here." Leonard said. "You will go on the roof of the building we placed the camera on and you will take the camera off the wall and bring it back."

"That's it?"

"Howard, can you attach a small camera to the suit?"

"Why?"

"I want to give Penny the opportunity to watch." Leonard explained. "So I need a camera with a live, encrypted signal to a tablet she can watch on."

"That's easy enough." Howard nodded, grabbing a camera as big as a button. "Where do you want it?"

"Either upper chest or head."

"I'll put it on your cap." Howard said.

"A cap?" Penny chuckled.

"You don't want hair flying around." Leonard pointed out. "More importantly, in a fight, you don't want anyone to simply grab you by the hair and yank you around."

"Point taken." Penny nodded, never having realized the fight thing, especially given her own long hair.

"I'm home!" an appearing Bernadette shouted. "Oh, hey Leonard, Penny."

"Hey." Leonard waved.

"Looking good there." Bernadette grinned. "Howie did a good job?"

"He did." Leonard nodded. "The scramblers are working."

"I finished the poison." Bernadette smiled and produced a bottle. "Be very careful in handling it."

"Isn't that amount a bit... small?" Penny wondered about the small bottle.

"It's highly pressurized." Bernadette explained. "The contents of this could fill this apartment in two minutes if you opened it in here and keep the windows and door closed."

"So, Leonard has to hold his breath or wear a breath mask when he releases that into the warehouse?" Penny asked.

"No, I'll be doing that from the outside, into the air ducts." Leonard corrected her. "No need for a breath mask then, only when I check if the leader is dead. Bernie, what's the smell of it?"

"It doesn't smell at all." Bernadette told him and produced a second bottle. "So, after they're dead, you need to open this in the office after placing the barbecue with the faulty gas bottle in the room in order to produce a residual smell of gas."

"If I investigated that crime, I would have questions." Penny said. "Like, why didn't they leave the room when smelling the gas."

"I know." Leonard nodded. "I have the hope that they won't look too deep into it given that the victim is a crime boss and the way I'm killing him."

"Yeah, law enforcement tend to be happy that they have one less problem, especially when the cause of death seems to be accidental or natural." Howard agreed.

"Bernadette, how is this bottle opened?" Leonard asked.

"Just point it into the direction you want the gas to go and pop the cap." Bernadette explained. "The pressure shoots it forward, away from you."

"Howard, can you build me something I can put the bottle in that pops the cap remotely with the press of a button?"

"Sure, why?"

"Well, the office has a door, right?" Leonard looked at his friends. "So, I have to make sure that for one, the door is closed and two, they can't get out once they notice that they can't breath."

"I'll get right on it." Howard nodded and left the apartment, presumably to get to his basement workshop.

"Bernie, how long until the bottle is empty?"

"Two minutes, give or take." Bernadette replied. "Inside the bottle is a plunger like in a syringe that moves up so it completely empties the bottle."

"Good." Leonard nodded, his mind already mapping out the exact plan, especially in regards to the barbecue grill and gas bottle had to take with him.

"Alright, now get out, I need to take a shower." Bernadette grinned and pushed Leonard towards the door.

"There was a time when you had no problem taking off your shirt in front of me." Leonard chuckled.

"Yeah, but back then, we both were single and I was trying to seduce you." Bernadette retorted and shut the door behind him.

"So, you got everything?" Penny asked as they walked upstairs.

"Almost." Leonard said. "I still need some dirty clothes and an old shopping cart."

"What for?"

"I need a way to transport the barbecue and the gas bottle without drawing attention." he explained.

"Ah, hiding it in a shopping cart with other stuff covering it and playing a hobo." she understood. "Nice."

"Glad you approve." he winked.

"Still having these nagging feelings about the job?" he asked.

"Yes." he nodded. "Hence me doing everything possible to make it as hard as it can be to be identified."

"So, what would happen if there's really some backlash?"

"We deal with it." he shrugged and began to peel himself out of the bodyglove, Penny seeing for the first time that it really was just one piece of clothing. "Now it's time for the boys."

"Ah, walking the dogs." she giggled and grabbed her jacket as Leonard changed back into his regular clothes, though she wondered why he used hoodies so often.

A whistle roused both animals, the dogs sitting down to wait for Leonard to put on the collars. He handed her one and she put it around Tyson, feeling touched that he was practically handing Tyson to her. A quick hand movement later and the collar was fastened, the leash in her hand and they were on their way downstairs with the elevator.

Tyson's leash in her left hand and Leonard's hand in her right, they strolled through the nearby park area. More people with dogs came across them, several of them who owned smaller dogs giving them a wide berth, probably thinking the Malinois were dangerous. After fifteen minutes, two guys approached them, and with some apprehension she recognized the left one as the guy who had assaulted her with his friends outside the gym.

For a moment, she wondered why he wasn't in jail but then she remembered that she hadn't pressed charges and if the police had, he might be out on bail. He clearly recognized her too, given the way he stared at her but he still gave her a wide berth when they passed each other, the dogs probably a good deterrent as well.

"What's with him?" Leonard asked, having seen the guy's look at Penny.

"Um... what do you think, he probably wants me." she chuckled.

"Penny, look at me!" Leonard suddenly barked. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No." she wondered why he was reacting like that.

"You know that I can read people's body language."

"I do."

"The guy was afraid of you." Leonard stated. "Not me, not the dogs. You. Not to mention that underneath his fear, there was also seething anger. Why?"

"When I was at the gym the first time, he came on to me." she sighed. "I rejected him and he became handsy, so I took him down."

"That's not all of it." he stated.

"Leonard, it's fine." she tried to end the discussion.

"Penny, tell me!" he became even more adamant, and Penny knew him well enough by now to know that Leonard would not back down.

"Fine." she rolled her eyes. "He and a few of his friends... accosted me outside the gym. I quickly dissuaded them from their endeavor and the police took him in."

"Did you press charges?"

"No, I didn't want the police to look closer at to how I was able to defend myself against them." she shook her head. "And Leonard, don't."

"Don't what?" he asked.

"I know that look." she pointed out. "You want to punish him for possibly trying to rape me."

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Because he didn't and got hurt when he tried, both in ego and body." she said. "I took a picture of him and threatened him with repercussions, I told him that my boyfriend could wipe the floor with him and that was it."

"Show me."

"No." she refused. "Leonard, nothing happened. Let it go."

"You know I can't do that." he directly looked at her.

"Leonard, promise me you won't do anything on your own." she looked straight back.

"Fine." he said after a few seconds of silence. "I promise that I won't punish him."

"Thank you." she nodded. "Could you tell me why you get so worked up and aggressive towards rapists or those that tried but failed? Is it all because of what almost happened to Bernadette?"

"No." he shook his head. "At least not completely."

"Tell me." she said. "If you want to."

"The people who were responsible for the attack on my family at the gathering all those years ago were criminals. What kind of criminals we only learned later." he remembered. "And when we hunted them, we found out just how depraved they really were."

"Let me guess, they raped people?" she hazarded.

"They raped teenagers." Leonard clarified. "And one looked like Jenny. I became so enraged, I killed them in a way that wasn't dispassionate. I butchered them. My dad had to physically pull me back from one because I kept punching his face even after all of his teeth were already gone and he was dead."

"Jesus!"

"And that's why I jumped at the chance when the call came to rescue the granddaughter of one of our elders and to dismantle the trafficking ring." he continued. "Hence me being in Omaha at the time. And I will keep doing these kinds of jobs with relish, even for free if the people in need can't pay of even when I find out about it and nobody made a contract."

"But that can be a detriment for you, can it not?" she asked. "Someone could set a trap for you by offering a contract to destroy a child trafficking ring or kill a child rapist."

"Yes, someone could, but remember, I approach all my jobs methodical and with background checks." he reminded her. "Sure, when it comes to children or anyone being kidnapped and raped, some urgency is warranted but I don't go running in blind."

They finished the walk, Leonard scooping up the poop both animals expelled. After they returned, Leonard let the dogs rest before dinner, Penny having never known that dogs shouldn't eat right after a walk. Since they had settled in, Leonard had returned to feeding the dogs real raw foods, ordered from a specialty vendor and some other things she never thought about feeding to dogs.

Penny went into the kitchen to prepare the food for the two. She unwrapped a pound of turkey patty, cutting it in half and putting the halves into two bowls. Next she added five dried sprats to each bowl and a couple of blueberries for the antioxidants and rounded it out with two quirts of salmon oil into each bowl.

The dogs had of course noticed what she was doing and were sitting behind her, watching intently as their mistress prepared dinner. She took both bowls and turned around, the dogs perking up their ears and looking at her expectantly. She lifted her eyebrows and waited until the dogs' ears went down again before putting the bowls onto the small stools. On a word from her, and not before, the dogs almost jumped forward, both tearing into their food.

"They really like the new food." she commented.

"Yeah, they're used to that kind from home." he nodded.

"It's quite expensive though."

"It is, but I can afford it and it makes them healthier." he said. "I know that people who can't afford that kind of food for their dogs love them just as well."

"So, what do you wanna do tonight?" she asked.

"I have an idea." he smiled at her.


"Oh wow." she giggled when she stretched, the towel around her body slipping off from the movement. "That was something."

"Yeah, that's kinda my pre-job ritual." he shrugged. "I usually go to a gym, either mine or another when I wasn't home and pounded the equipment."

"So, now that I'm here you decided to pound me?" she smirked as she put on her pajamas.

"Seemed to be more fun." he chuckled.

"It is." she nodded and got into bed next to him. "Makes me wish you're going on a job every day."

"I don't think I could keep that up." Leonard laughed.

"Come on, you've amazing stamina." she poked him with her elbow.

"I'm not talking the sex, I'm talking about a job every day." he shuddered.

"How many do you do in a year, on average?" she wanted to know.

"Depends on how difficult they are." he shrugged. "That one last year took me three months, living a different life altogether. Others I was able to do in a few days. So, on average, for years I did ten to twenty a year, but I have cut that amount in recent years. Last year, I did four jobs. The one where we met, the one in Omaha, then the one in Colombia and the one to get that billionaire into jail."

"Do some of your colleagues do more?" she asked.

"Plenty." he nodded. "Some do a hundred small jobs a year, like a contractor building a fence or a shack for people in a few days and do that all year long."

"I wonder how I will start." she mused.

"You will most likely have to do some small jobs yourself." he said. "We may be able to get some bigger ones where two people are required."

"Well, I hope I won't just be known as your sidekick." she huffed as she got underneath the comforter.

"Once you make a name for yourself, you won't." he chuckled. "Not to mention that we don't need to tell everyone in the business that we're together."

"Are other assassins together?"

"The majority are men, so it's rare, except if they're gay." he shrugged. "Otherwise, there have been relationships between assassins, though most stay strictly sexual and not like you and I."

"Isn't that a bit sad?" she wondered.

"It's a matter of practicality." he countered. "In our business, you can always get killed during a job. Attaching yourself too deeply to someone leaves you open to grief and of course, if someone finds out about you and your life, they could simply kidnap your better half. Assassins also get together or even marry people outside the business and most that do keep the business secret from their families. Other relationship can be between assassins and people like Howard and Bernadette, who help in the business but aren't assassins."

"I can't imagine how a relationship could work if you have to keep what you do secret from your partner." she mused and then yawned. "Oh, you did good tonight."

"Why, thank you." he smirked and turned off the light.

Penny snuggled against him and closed her eyes. Leonard watched her face, waiting for the moment she would fall asleep and soon after, it happened, Penny nodding off. As she usually did, she turned away after a few more minutes, wrapping herself inside her comforter. Leonard began counting the seconds and when he reached almost fifteen hundred, he heard the telltale snoring of Penny reaching deep sleep.

He kept counting until the full hour had passed and then slowly and quietly got up. He silently walked around the bed until he reached her nightstand, where he found her phone. He took it outside the room and activated the screen and, having read Penny's finger when she swiped it active, repeating her motion to unlock it. He went into her pictures and smiled at the ones she had taken of them and his dogs, scrolling further until he saw the man he didn't know.

Pride welled within him when he saw the bloody nose and the frightened expression but one thought about the guy trying to rape the woman he loved lit the fire of rage inside him. He quickly sent the picture to his own phone, the notification chime of the received message suppressed by his thumb over the speaker. He brought her phone back to the nightstand and left the bedroom once more, quickly putting on some pants and a sweater before leaving the apartment and walking downstairs, where he knocked on Bernadette's and Howard's apartment and waiting several seconds until the door opened.

"Leonard, what are you doing here at this hour?" a ruffled Bernadette asked. "Something wrong?"

"You can say that." he nodded. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Bernadette nodded, making room.

"Thanks." Leonard said quietly. "Howard already asleep?"

"No, he's still awake." Bernadette shook her head.

"Leonard, not the best time for a visit." Howard shouted from the bedroom.

"Sorry, but this is important." Leonard yelled back. "Can you come out here?"

"No, he can't." Bernadette shook her head. "He's currently tied to the bed."

"Oh, did I interrupt...?"

"Yes, you did." Bernadette nodded.

"I can come back." Leonard turned to leave.

"Leonard, stop!" Bernadette snapped. "Tell me what's wrong."

"This guy." he showed her the picture.

"Who's that?"

"No idea." Leonard shrugged. "But he and some friends of his tried to assault Penny after she rebuffed his advances at the gym."

"Oh my god, is she okay?"

"Yes, she took him down easily." he nodded.

"So, what do you need from me?" Bernadette asked.

"I doubt that he assaulted her because he wanted to invite her to a drink." Leonard said.

"You think his assault would have been sexual?"

"I do." Leonard nodded.

"So, you need Howard's help to find him?" she mused. "Got it, I'll untie him."

"Actually, I might need your help too." Leonard stopped her. "I promised Penny that I wouldn't punish the guy."

"You're breaking a promise?" she was shocked. "That's really not who you are."

"No, I don't." he shook his head. "I promised that I wouldn't punish the guy. Never said anything about someone else doing it."

"Sneaky." Bernadette grinned. "Sent me the picture. I'll have Howard find out who he is and where he lives and I'll think about something to make his life hell. Maybe some chemical castration. A young, virile man who can never have an erection again, even if he pops entire bottles of Viagra."

"I will go now." Leonard said. "Penny was right, you really are kinda scary."

"Meh." Bernadette shrugged.

"Thanks, Bernie." Leonard smiled and turned to leave.

"Howie, I'm coming back, get ready." Bernadette singsonged, skipping towards the bedroom area as Leonard opened the door to leave. "HOWARD, WAKE UP!"

Grinning, Leonard closed the door and returned to the apartment, taking off pants and sweater and returning to the bedroom. Penny was still gently snoring, not having moved at all while he was gone and he quickly got back into bed. Knowing that the issue with the guy would be taken care in probably the worst possible way for him, he closed his eyes to get some sleep.

Tomorrow would be a tough day.


Chapter ends here. Hope someone read it after that long ^^

Review please :)