Episode 5: Bunnies in Black
Part 3
Footsteps resounded throughout the seemingly calm halls of Himitsu Takana. Agents below 00-rank milled about, eyeing the three people who had entered the headquarters. Rumors about the incident had been buzzing around the building. The secretaries couldn’t keep anything quiet — especially Lancy. So there were whispers and looks as Officer Littrell once again headed down to the office where he’d said he would meet his cousin.
It amazed Brian sometimes how different he and Kevin were. Most of their family had gone off and joined the military. By the time he and Kevin had reached that age, both wanted something beyond that. Brian had slowly worked his way through the ranks of the CIA, while Kevin struggled with another job until the day Himitsu Takana — the true “Big Brother” of the world — recruited him. The public didn’t know about HimTak and credited their protection to America, the secret agency’s host country for now. Eventually, there would be a relocation; there always was to keep people guessing. The main reason — the only reason — Brian knew the current location was because he was related to K. K wasn’t stupid; he knew he had to work with the US government, so he always called Brian, whom he could trust. Regarded as the most “open-minded” officer in his department, Brian often dealt with “special projects.”
At the moment, Brian regretted having that reputation. He had just barely made it back from the mission from Hell with the most irritating, poor excuse for an agent that he’d ever met. Brian had been promised time off for taking that extra mission with Himitsu Takana. When he’d gotten back to DC, however, he had received orders to investigate a mysterious incident at HimTak with two FBI agents.
“See, I told you the truth was out there!” said one of the feds, Special Agent Mulder.
His partner, Special Agent Scully, rolled her eyes. “They could drop you in the middle of the desert, tell you the truth is out there, and you’d ask them for a shovel! I’m waiting till I see.”
And that’s basically what they did, thought Brian, who resented being dragged back to the middle of the damn desert to see what had his cousin so worked up when he could have been spending time with Opal. It was hard enough maintaining a long-distance relationship already. Opal was usually in LA while he was across the country in DC, so they looked forward to spending time off together. He had been yearning for this time with his girl, and now it was gone.
Slamming against another body snapped Brian out of his reverie.
“You?! Watch where you’re going! Fuck, you’re supposed to LEAVE after you try and fuck up the world.”
Brian clenched his jaw in annoyance. He was not in the mood to deal with Nick again. He stepped up to the taller blond without hesitation, meeting him nose to nose. “And again, people like y’all can’t handle it, which is why I got MY orders!” he shot back, his country twang in full effect. The two FBI agents behind him had gone on ahead without his notice.
“All you’re gonna do is cover it up! Hide it; use it somewhere to make the world worse…”
“We ain’t on a mission anymore, pretty boy. I could-”
“Oh yeah? Bring it on, you damn hillbilly!”
“Hillbilly?! Hillbilly?! This hillbilly has more brains than you, you poor excuse for an agent. No wonder you were on hiatus before!”
At that, Nick shoved the CIA officer against the wall. He didn’t care what K said. He could care less that the CIA would be pissed off if he beat up the one officer willing to deal with them. America hated anyone taking away the Big Brother role the way HimTak did. But all he could think of was how badly he ached to beat Brian to a bloody pulp, even if he was K’s cousin.
No one mocked Nick’s hiatus, not with what had led to it. No one. It was a sore spot that never went away. “You know SHIT. Back the HELL off!”
Finally, he felt a pair of hands pull him roughly away and shove him back against the wall. An angry pair of green eyes met his gaze. Brian just smirked defiantly. “So Kev, is it time to fire him yet?”
K just rubbed his temples. “I’m gonna go gray trying to keep the peace between you two,” he remarked, running his hand through his full head of black hair. “008, this is exactly why you’re not going on this mission. And Brian, he’s one of my best, so back off. I’m sick of the bickering. Both of you are acting like immature brats.”
Nick scowled, looking every bit like a spoiled child who was being scolded. But Brian felt guilty. Why did this kid always seem to bring out the worst in him?
“Carter, go to Pearl’s lab as planned,” K continued. “Brian, follow me to containment; your FBI agents are already there. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut.”
Both of them rolled their eyes, but did as they were told. K turned and walked further down the corridor. Shooting another glare at Nick, Brian took a deep breath and hurried after his cousin.
***
After debriefing, Brian found himself delayed, but for a good reason: the mission was located in LA. He couldn’t believe his good luck. It was nothing compared to the time off he could have had, but at least it was something.
He had told Agent Jay and Agents Mulder and Scully that he would meet with them at the destination but that he had a meeting he had to attend first. And it was true, sort of. He had caught the first flight he could to arrive the first chance he got.
With Opal in his arms, they lazily watched the sunrise on the balcony of her luxurious studio apartment. Her jade eyes gazed up at him with love as he threaded her silky, dark hair through his fingers. Brian couldn’t think of a better way to spend a mission, especially after his last one. She just didn’t know he had another assignment yet.
“This is so nice,” she said softly, as if not to ruin the tone of the newly born day. “You, me, the sunrise, and no one is trying to kill us.”
The Southern gentleman placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead. “Perfect.”
“I can’t believe we’ll be free of that for two weeks… I love my job, but it’s good to have a break.”
Brian subconsciously released a sigh at the thought. His superior officer owed him big time. “About that.”
She stiffened slightly. “You got another assignment, didn’t you?”
“Darling, I didn’t want it…”
“Which means it involves Himitsu Takana again because that’s the only reason they’d take your vacay away.” She pouted slightly. “That stinks. What’s time off without your boyfriend?”
He gave her a gentle squeeze, nuzzling her neck and inhaling the sweet, vanilla fragrance of her skin. “The good news is that this mission is here in LA, so I won’t be far, and I’ll take a day or two extra with you after it’s done.”
Opal smiled. He may have been a workaholic at times, but she gave him points for trying. In their business, it came with the territory, and she had long ago accepted that. When they’d first begun dating, she’d had a hunch he would love his country more than her. He was loyal to a fault, but she respected him for it. “This better be some mission,” she teased.
He nodded. “Huge. K actually had to call us because he wasn’t sure how to go about it without a little help.”
“That big?”
“Yep.”
She grinned even more, with a twinkle in her eyes. “Fine. I guess I’ll let you save the world.”
He chuckled as he stood, scooping her intohis arms. “I’ll save the world later. Right now, I have a new mission.” With that, he carried her off to her bedroom.
***
“I can’t believe I’m wearing this,” Pearl groaned, letting out a soft squeal as she tripped in her stilettos. “I’m going to kill myself trying to walk in these shoes, let alone try to run or kill things.”
“Just think of it like this: the sooner we get in, the sooner we can get out and out of these get-ups. Does this tail make my ass look big?” Red inquired, turning to look at the white ball of fluff on her butt.
Groaning, Emerald gave Red a slight push. “Let’s move it, girls.”
Jay shook his head. He couldn’t help but laugh; this was going to be interesting. Part of him was sorry that he had to subject the ladies to this, but the other part of him… well, he was a guy, after all.
They made their way up to the entrance of the Playboy Mansion and pressed the elaborate doorbell, which played a horrible rendition of “Don’t Cha.” Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at Jay.
“What? I didn’t pick the doorbell music.” He smirked.
There were assorted groans just as the door swung open to reveal a huge, muscular guy with an unsmiling face.
Jay took a step forward, offering his hand to the guy. “My name is Rico.”
The guy stared at Jay’s hand, then at Jay, then at the girls. A hint of a smile formed on his lips.
Jay cleared his throat. “These are my girls. That’s Cookie…” He pointed to Emerald, whose eyes widened in shock. “That’s Candy…” He pointed at Pearl, who whirled around to look at him. “This is Cocoa…” He pointed to Diamond, who stiffened slightly. “…and this little lady is Muffin,” he finished, resting a hand on Red’s shoulder. She jerked out of reach, and his hand fell back at his side.
“Muffin, huh?” The guy grinned.
Red swallowed hard, batting her eyes. “I hope you like muffins.”
The guy chuckled. “You have no idea. Why don’t you ladies come on in?”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that; that’s exactly why we’re here. I’d like to donate these lovely ladies…to you! Well, to the man of the house… might I have a word with him so we can work something out?”
The guy stared at him for a moment before shutting the door.
“Way to go, Jay, now we’ll never get in!” Pearl groaned.
“I had to say something! It’s weird if I’m offering you guys and don’t ask for anything.”
“Now what do we do?” Diamond sighed.
Just then, the door opened again, and they all turned.
“You ladies can come in. You… Rico, you leave.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Where they go, I go.”
The guy crossed his arms over his chest. “Then no deal. It’s either only the ladies or you all can leave.”
Red slowly made her way closer to the man, bringing her hand up and rubbing his chest lightly. “Aww, c’mon, it’s no fun without Rico.”
The guy raised an eyebrow. “Rico would be too much of a distraction. The ladies around here get distracted too easily, and we don’t need another guy around here. Boss’s orders. Your choice.”
Jay hated to do it, but they needed to get inside. “Fine.”
“What?!” was the collective response from the four women.
“I want you ladies to do what you’ve always dreamed of, and that’s to be Playboy Bunnies. Who am I to stand in your way? Don’t forget me, okay?” Jay sighed before turning and heading off.
They stood there, stunned.
“Ladies, won’t you come inside?”
***
Jay quickly made his way down the driveway and over to the van waiting a short way down the street. He pounded on the door and hurried in once the door slid open.
“This isn’t good. I can’t believe they wouldn’t let you in,” Brian sighed.
“I tried, but the ladies are okay. They can handle themselves,” Jay said, giving a small nod to Mulder and Scully, the FBI agents.
“I know, but we don’t know what we’re up against. I mean, we handle this kind of thing a lot, but this is just… I don’t know. It’s crazy. We haven’t seen this kind of activity in years, and all of a sudden, it’s starting again?”
“Mr. Littrell, we’re starting to get a feed,” Mulder announced, turning the volume up and flipping a few more switches.
“Great.” Brian put a pair of headphones on and handed another pair to Jay. He was worried; they had to stop this, and they had to stop it fast before it became a world takeover.
Jay shook his head. “I can’t hear a thing.”
“Here, let me adjust your settings,” Scully suggested.
Suddenly, Jay could hear several different voices all at once, but he made out Emerald distinctly. He hoped they’d be all right in there.
***
“Please, ladies, make yourselves at home. Hef will be down shortly to introduce himself and help you get better acquainted.” The security guy smiled, running his hand over Red’s shoulder lightly. “And maybe I can have a muffin for dessert.” He winked before walking off.
Pearl pretended to gag. “I may throw up. I can’t believe this,” she whispered harshly.
“You’re telling me,” Red groaned, rubbing at her shoulder.
A few girls standing around eyed them wearily.
“Okay, ladies, let’s split up. We can cover more ground that way. Get any information you can get from the women, but don’t be too suspicious,” Diamond announced.
“That won’t be too hard,” Emerald groaned.
They all went their separate ways.
***