Grices washed and dried his hands. He covered Stacey with the blanket.
"Let's go to the lounge," he said, glancing at the team of guards who had been arriving in small groups. "There's more space there."
Once in the lounge, he gestured for them to help themselves to the water in the water cooler.
"I'm not letting you take her back yet," he said directly. "She said there was someone who keeps hurting her. I don't feel that she will be safe if she goes back with you. The kid that's a fan of hers over there says she wasn't like this before she stopped participating in the program."
Ning took a breath.
"Firstly, it's none of your business," Ning said in a flat voice. "We're her bodyguards. We won't let anyone hurt her. Secondly, there's probably a misunderstanding if your information has all come from one of her fans. There's a lot of disinformation out there. Thirdly, whether you let her go or not, we'll still take her home. She's not well and she has a medical team taking care of her there. You don't need to worry yourself over her health and safety."
"I'll be frank. She looks like a girl who was captured and broken by the Ancients. She's not completely broken or she wouldn't still have some awareness of danger. I want to know how she broke under your watch if you guys really care about her," Grices crossed his arms across his chest.
Shame and guilt washed over the faces of most of the guards. Ning's face, however, remained unperturbed.
"That wasn't our fault," Ning said. "Her mental health was already hanging by a thread after her stroke."
"She had a stroke?!" the young man leaped up with a shriek.
Grices glared at him and the young man sat back down, fidgeting in agitation.
"We don't need to tell an outsider like you what happened to her," Ning said. "We don't need anymore rumours spreading through her fandom. Things have been bad enough already."
"You could have at least given us a statement that she's seriously sick," the young man mumbled. "She disappeared so suddenly after the live stream got cut off. We heard the punishment officials arrived. It was them, right? They're the ones who hurt her this badly."
"Shut up," Grices glared at him. "If you can't shut up, go home and keep your mouth shut if you don't want to get into trouble."
"Her situation is complicated," Ning looked at the young man. "The government are watching her. If you leak any information or leak any suspicions, you might disappear. My lord's enemies are looking for a chance to knock him down and I will not let anyone jeopardise him or my lady. If you are a threat, we will lock you up or make sure that you are not a threat. Do you understand? Don't be used as a chess piece by their enemies."
"Un-understood," the young man stood up and hurried from the room.
"I think we'd better take him with us," Ning said and the young man was blocked from leaving the room. "I can't risk things."
Grices stood up.
"We'll keep him in our Huo Guard Training Centre. He'll be taken care of there," Ning told Grices.
Grices sighed and sat back down.
"Might be an opportunity for him too," Grices nodded. "He needs some opponents his age to teach him not to be so arrogant. Maybe you all can suggest the trainees in the centre help me beat him back down to size?"
"We can arrange that," Ning nodded.
"Bo-oss! What about my parents," the young man wailed.
"I'll tell them I sent you to a training camp to blow the air out of your big head. They'll even thank me for it. When you come back out, perhaps you'll be smarter. The Huo guards are among the best of the best in martial arts. It'd be hard to say who would come out on top if I went head to head with Ning here, and he looks like the best among this lot."
"But Boss..."
"But nothing, brat. Even I can't trust you to keep your mouth shut. It's better that you go with them for all our safety."
"Bo-oss," the young man whined.
"Take him away," Ning nodded and the young man was led out.
"Enjoy your training camp," Grices called after him. Then he told Ning, "Don't worry. He was sent to me because he was a troublemaker and his case worker wanted to find a way to keep him out of juvenile detention. His parents will thank anyone who can help put him back on the strait and narrow. I'll call and tell them later. If anyone can motivate him to behave, your young lady might."
Ning nodded.
"Noted. Her doctor is on the way, so you can rest assured. To be honest, I'd rather she stayed here until we can catch whoever was trying to kidnap her in case there are more people hiding in the dark."
"No worries," Grices nodded. "We don't close until late, so if any of your boys and girls want to make use of our gym while you're here, feel free. Some of our people could do with some new opponents to fight. None of them are anywhere near the level of you guys, but some new opponents would be good for them. What do you think?"
"We're on duty," Ning shook his head. "Can you tell us about the security of your premises? Just in case. I don't want anymore mishaps. She slipped out of our view while all the trainees and staff were celebrating on stage earlier. There were too many people. She's already suffered enough. I don't want her to have to suffer any more."
"Understood. I'll show you around," Grices stood up with a firm nod. "Follow me."