28. Asking for Weapons

"Okay, Anna," he smiled inwardly as he really loved the name he made to call her. "So, here is our arrangement..." Lucien started to brief Bianna. He could no longer avoid it as he noticed she had been impatiently staring at him. Not saying anything but obviously waiting for something he felt like he was expected to tell her. 
She nodded to confirmation. She felt like, "Finally!" but she did not voice her thought out loud. H is still her employer. Although she really needed to know the details of their arrangements, she could not blatantly order him around to tell her whatever she was supposed to know. She just made him feel the urgency of telling her everything there is for her to know. She was feeling like she was walking in blindfolds while waiting for him to speak out. So when he started to open the discussion, she clearly implied that she was all ears.
"You are my secretary, so you have to stay around me at all times," Lucien didn't know what exactly to say so he briefed her regarding her actual role.
"When we're in the office," Brianna clarified. "How about when we're out? What do I have to watch out for?"
Lucien scratched his unitching forehead in distress. He didn't know how to answer her question.
"Okay, let me know the problem as for the reason you hired my services," Brianna was feeling impatient. "I feel like you are sending me to a war without telling me what to expect about my enemies or opponents." She spoke her complaints straightforwardly. She was being honest in her opinion. But Lucien was beyond astonished to hear her say such words which sounded like she meant all of them without pretense. As if her job description was actually to be his bodyguard, not his secretary. He was sure she applied to be his secretary yesterday and has the incident not occurred, nothing would have changed. She will be his on probation secretary. 
"For the meantime, let's observe the surroundings first," he helplessly replied. He was totally lost for words to say to satisfy her questions. 
"And I need weapons," she declared. "I cannot remember where mines are so please lend me some of yours," she continued. The flow of her words is very casual to her. "I feel naked without even a knife with me," she added.
"What kind of weapons do you prefer?" Lucien tried to ride along.
"Whatever you have that you can lend me will suffice, I will try to recall where I keep mine and choose whatever is efficient to bring around."
While the two, Lucien and Brianna, were discussing her job and duties, Tatum noticed something strange in their route. A road accident must have happened as a police officer stood in the middle of the road and directing motorists to take a detour. The lane after the last traffic sign looked jammed and not moving so the police come to organize the flow of traffic.
Tatum had to turn to an alley to avoid getting stuck in the heavy traffic. When he checked his rearview mirror if the bodyguards made it to follow his taken route, he noticed he was almost in the middle of the narrow one-lane alley but no sign of the bodyguards' car behind them. His vigilance mode activated. He looked around, he noticed this was a neighborhood with fewer people walking around on the streets. But there were cars parked on the sides of the road, a parking space allotted for residence with vehicles. Tatum saw an empty spot and he parked with ease. 
Lucien noticed they stopped but when he looked around, he realized they were in a strange place. he knocked on the partition window and Tatum opened it to answer his boss.
"Why are we stopping here? Anything wrong?" Lucien asked.
"I am waiting for our security team, they must have lost their way as I had to change the route, but I made sure they could easily follow my lead with the distance when I lit my signal light, it's odd they are not behind us. I don't feel good about this," Tatum seriously answered.
"Do you have any weapon with you?" Brianna directed her question to the driver.
"I have a thirteen-round magazine Glock 23 in the compartment," answered Tatum. He felt the authority in the tone of the lady that he was not able to resist responding accordingly as she inquired. 
"Anything else?" Brianna frowned. That was too foolish to be here in the open without enough weapons to protect their lives. If this man hired her, she was sure to say his life is in great danger. It wasn't easy to hire her in the first place. Her fee alone would define his ability to provide weapons for himself to secure his life, what protection can she provide with her bare hands if the enemy has flying bullets to attack them?
"I always carry an ankle gun with me," answered Tatum. 
"Can I have one?" Brianna lend her hand forward to receive what she was asking for. 
Lucien and Tatum exchanged glances. Tatum was asking for his boss' approval while Lucien was not sure what to say, he can tell Brianna is already upset with their situation. The young Michaelson had no choice but to stiffly nod with a deep sigh, agreeing to Tatum's asking for a confirmation look.
"And anything we can improvise?" Brianna asked again as soon as she secured the Glock and checked its bullets' count. She was thinking outside the box of facing more than thirteen heads to plant a bullet into. She needed to prepare for any surprises.
"Aside from car tools, in the toolbox, nothing really more," stated a distressed Tatum.
Lucien was silently observing the two. they were like soldiers preparing themselves to battle. They seem to know what they are doing while he is feeling clueless. He can tell this is not the first time Brianna had been into such a situation. 
He was curious but he was feeling more amazed at how she was so familiar with her every move. She was graceful doing things with extreme seriousness. He should be wondering who she really is but knowing she is so busy trying to make sure he was safe, he didn't want to ask anything. She can do what she thinks she should do. he on the other hand, was feeling so proud and safe that Brianna is his protector. His personal bodyguard.