Eve stared at her clotheshanger inside the locker she'd been assigned for the conference.
"...Ma'am, if I may—will I not be wearing BDUs for this assignment?" Eve asked, lifting the hanger slightly.
Captain Nia made an 'Oh' shape with her mouth. Or at least Eve presumed she did. It was hard to gauge her handler's expressions with the black face mask on—which was probably one of the reasons that Nia had been issued it.
"That decision wasn't made on my part. I can't do anything about it. I think there were some political issues regarding SF operators in BDUs at the press conference."
Eve paused, then turned and gestured to Taeyeon, who had brang along her BDUs and was getting dressed alongside them.
"The Spec Corporal's different. As a sniper, she'll be placed where the public and conference-goers won't see. There will be some visible units as threat deterrence in BDUs, but as my escort who'll be going to the conferences with me, they ruled against having you in BDUs for diplomatic reasons."
"...And they didn't want me in full dress because I still need practicality as a bodyguard."
"Correct."
Eve eyed the clothes she'd been issued as she slipped into them. They looked like something a cliche bodyguard would wear—a sharp black two-piece suit paired with a raven-dark tie.
At least it looks kind of nice, Eve thought. Doubt I'd ever be able to comfortably afford one of these ever in my life.
She tightened the knot against the crisp white dress shirt beneath and shifted her shoulders, testing the fit. To her surprise, it wasn't nearly as restrictive as she'd expected—of course, it was stiffer than BDUs or even regular combats, but they were still easily workable.
The jacket's hem hung loose by design. Her sidearm was cleared for an appendix carry on her right hand side, making it easy to lift the jacket and shirt in one motion and draw her weapon cleanly from its concealed holster.
Looking at herself in the mirror at the back of the locker, Eve tugged on modified oxfords and tied up the laces. With her jacket done up, it was extremely difficult to make out that Eve was concealed carrying, much less make out that she was wearing body armour.
Having the body armour right up against her breasts was… certainly a new sensation, but Eve got used to it. It didn't really impede on her movement or chaff her in the slightest.
She did have a tank top on as an underlayer, so that helped in that matter a bit.
To complete the look, Eve tied back her hair into a low ponytail, which she certainly didn't do often. However, having her hair hang loose in a diplomatic and formal conference was completely out of the question.
Then, there was one last thing in the abovehead cubby of the locker.
She reached up and retrieved it.
…?
Nia noticed her fiddling with the object. "That's a mask. Sorry, I forgot to mention it."
That much Eve had figured out on her own. The mask was different from everything that she'd worn up to this point. It still covered the lower half of her face like usual, but it wasn't made out of cloth or plastic—instead, it was made out of rubber and metal, mostly black with some small light grey highlights.
Slits ran on top and around the contour of the sleek and lightweight mask with a matte finish.
Nia continued. "They have pretty much all of the bodyguards wearing these. They're slim-fit tac masks."
Eve slipped it on and took a test breath. The rubber formed a comfortable seal around her face as she fastened it in place and adjusted the straps to better fit around her head.
"They wanted something done for the occasion, so this is what they came up with, though apparently they've had this in the works for a while now. The slits around the edges allow you to breathe easily while also containing filters for most known chemical weapons."
Considering all of its functions, this thing is extremely compact… How much does one of these cost to make? Eve wondered.
"It'll keep your face hidden if you ever are on camera or on TV. It also has comms and a mic. I've linked yours up to my own earpiece as well as your squad's—though they'll be busy doing their own duties, so don't disturb them. You can switch on, through, and off comms via tapping the slightly raised bit just above your cheekbone."
"Yes, ma'am."
Eve looked herself over in the mirror.
The suit fit extremely well over her shapely frame. Its form still fit function as she could move around in it easily. With her bangs pinned neatly back, Eve's eyes were on full display like deep pools of dark polished mahogany.
In the light of the changing room, they caught faint glimmers like embers dancing across enkindled ashes.
With the mask on, Eve cut quite the sharp silhouette… which a certain someone was more than happy to tell her.
"You look nice," a low, soft voice said in her ear. Eve whipped around.
Elisa.
Heat came to Eve's cheeks immediately. She was glad that the mask obscured her face.
"You—why are you here?"
Elisa ignored the question. "Nice to see you too." She turned and bowed to Captain Nia. "Captain. I heard about your promotion—congratulations." Her voice was neutral and evenly measured.
"Likewise, Ms. Nymera. I look forward to working with you again."
"Of course, ma'am."
Elisa was dressed pretty much one for one like Eve right down to the mask, only she had a pin of the Seaward Wolves' coat of arms on her lapel. Still standing a head taller than Eve, Elisa carried herself with a poised elegance.
Her long obsidian hair was swept into a sleek low bun, emphasizing her features while her amethyst eyes glimmered frostily.
"I'll see you later, Eve," Elisa said as she was called by a coworker. She waved goodbye, leaving without giving Eve time to respond.
"Wai—sigh." The fact that Elisa had shown up here frustrated Eve. Sure, they were technically girlfriends, but having her here was going to make Eve's job a lot harder, especially concentrating on the task at hand.
The fact that she left without giving her more time to talk also infuriated Eve. Elisa was back to her usual cold ice queen act again with Isa in control for the time being.
She just wished that they could—
"I didn't know that you two were on such close terms."
Eve turned back to Captain Nia.
"Oh—yes," Eve said, careful of how much she revealed to Nia. "We used to play the same game before all of this came together, and after talking, I guess we kind of just hit it off."
Nia looked at Eve as if she'd grown a second head. "Game as in… video game?"
Eve cocked her head to the side. "Yes, ma'am. I used to play this one called Undertaker when I had time during uni. I was obsessed. It was a first person shooter. I was pretty good at it, too—ma'am?"
Eve stopped as Nia burst out into a bout of laughter. "The Sergeant Glen plays video games."
"What's so funny?" Heat rose to Eve's cheeks as she flushed with embarrassment. "I haven't had much time to play recently, but—"
"No, no, no. It's not that. I just have a hard time believing that the girl who scored top marks on the active marksmanship module got her aim and discipline from playing a shooter."
Eve grinned sheepishly underneath her mask. "I mean… it doesn't exactly translate like that. Clicking on a mouse and pulling the trigger aren't quite the same…"
Nia just stared at her, stifling more laughter. Eve could imagine the biggest grin ever on her handler's face underneath that black mask.
"...You know what, please forget I said anything," Eve pleaded. "Where are we off to now, ma'am?"
Nia was still shaking slightly. "Let's head down to security. We need to pick up your carry. After that, we'll head up to prep for the press conference."
"Yes, ma'am."
- - -
The handgun that Eve had been given was a five-seven.
Actually, it was her five-seven.
The underbarrel flashlight that Eve ran had been taken off to fit inside her concealed holster.
The gun was still standard and just how Eve kept it; twenty rounds in the magazine with a plus one capacity in the chamber. Two additional mags meant that she had sixty rounds in total.
Eve raised the pistol, sighted briefly downrange, then racked the slide to chamber a round. After snapping on the safety, she holstered the weapon and secured the two spare magazines she'd been issued in the hidden magazine pouches next to her holster at her waist.
Along with the gear, she'd been provided a bodyguard ID. Most of the card's details were deliberately redacted, but it carried an embedded chip that, when paired with her fingerprint, verified her identity as an added layer of security.
Captain Nia glanced at Eve. "Ready to go?"
Eve nodded, her ponytail bouncing. She breathed through the matte black face mask, her sleek suit flashing as she concealed her weapon with a flick of her wrist. "Yes, ma'am."