AN:
So this show has taken over most of my life and I just love these two so much. This is kind of like a theory on what might happen next episode, or what probably won't. I hope you enjoy reading it!
'Morning', Eve heard Villanelle speak to her through her earpiece. 'Did you sleep well?'
Eve smiled, Villanelle was so cute sometimes. 'Get yourself together, Eve' she told herself, before she got up. Completely ignoring Hugo, she got back to work. They had another interesting and hopefully exciting day in store.
Villanelle smiled. She loved being able to speak to Eve, knowing she'd hear her. She couldn't wait to see Eve again, to hear her speak, to tease her about all that probably, definitely happened last night. She got up, chose one of the fancy suits Aaron had selected for her, and walked towards the breakfast room. There Aaron was already waiting on her, probably already having eaten his breakfast. If he even ate breakfast. He might as well have been a cyborg at this point, it wouldn't really make any difference.
They didn't speak much during breakfast, but just after he finally got his laptop out.
'Buyers are coming by,' Aaron said, 'so I'm looking through their knicker drawers.'
Information. Villanelle imagined Eve focusing up again, sitting ready to take notes and really making sure she was updated on everything.
'Can I see?' Villanelle said, scooting closer to him and looking at the screen. She could not believe what she saw. 'Oh,' was all she could get out. On the screen, were Carolyn and Konstantin. That couldn't be right. They had both been the two who had sent them there. Why would they send Eve and herself into danger? Shit. She remembered something Eve had told her. Apparently that Kenny kid, who was Carolyn's son or somthing, had somehow tried to warn her. To not go. And he didn't seem to keen on Carolyn knowing that he was warning Eve. So he knows… She had to get to Eve. Somehow, though she didn't completely understand how, this was a trap. And Kenny might have information, so they needed to get to him now. And… Eve needed to be safe. She needed to know.
'What are the names of these two buyers?'
'Can't tell you that, that's classified information.'
'Classified information? There is such a thing as classified information?'
'Not really, but they specifically told me not to tell anyone.'
'Right. Excuse me, I have to use the ladies room.' Villanelle managed to say, quickly walking away to the toilet. Hopefully there wouldn't be camera's there.
Eve was confused. Villanelle was so close to getting more information now, and she was walking away? It was definitely an excuse, Villanelle could hold it up for days if she had to. So what was going on?
Eve only had to wait for an answer for about a minute.
'Eve?' she heard Villanelle say on the other side. 'You have to listen to me, and not let anyone listen this with you.' Villanelle paused for a second, giving Eve some time to put her earphone in again, as opposed to just playing it out loud in the room. Eve also turned of the recording button.
'The next two buyers are Carolyn and Konstantin. I don't exactly understand what this means, but this must be a trap somehow. Please contact that Kenny guy, securely, and try to figure out what's going on. Then, meet me at Quartiere Coppedè tonight, there's a bar there I've been to more often. No cameras or surveillance. I'll update you on a time as soon as I can get away from here. So, Quartiere Coppede, later today, call Kenny, and…'
'And what?' Eve said aloud, forgetting for a moment that Villanelle couldn't hear her.
'Stay safe. Please.'
Eve heard a toilet flush and a door click, and before long she heard Aaron Peel's voice again.
So it was a trap. Shit. Eve quickly unplugged the computer, connected the devices to her phone, and went to her room. She sat down on the bed and locked the door. Nobody could get to her now. She quickly texted Hugo, telling him that he had to go home effective immediately. She really hoped he wouldn't take it personally, but couldn't help but think 'so what if he does'.
After packing her basic, most needed, belongings in a backpack, she pulled a hoodie over her head, and she went out. She'd made a checklist of things she would do.
First, she was going to buy a burner phone. This was surprisingly easy, and within half an hour she had acquired three cheap, old, and untraceable phones. Eve put in Kenny's number in the first one. Luckily, Kenny picked up.
'Hello?' he inquired.
Skipping over all niceties, Eve asked: 'Are you alone in a non serveyd place?'
'Give me a second.'
Eve heard some doors opening and closing, and the closing of what sounded like a toilet lid. It seemed like the bathroom was the universal go-to private place.
'What's going on?' Kenny asked.
'Okay so, you were right. I already figured you were, but I couldn't pass up a chance to come to Rome now. Anyway, this is a trap. So, what do you know about this? Please I need all the help I can get.'
'So first you fire me and then you need my help?'
'I'm sorry about that Kenny, that was a weird day. I'd rehire you if this investigation still existed after today, but I somehow feel like that's not going to happen.'
'Okay, whatever. Anyway, all I know is Carolyn and Konstantin having been planning more than they let on. They are also in Rome, and have been communication for years, not only those letters I showed you in Russia. They never stopped communicating.' He paused for a little, before he dared continue. 'I think Carolyn has been a part of the Twelve for years, and has been sabotaging investigations from the inside.'
'Honestly that could make sense, now I think of it. Thanks…'
'Eve?'
'Yeah?'
'Find out what's going on, please?'
Eve hung up.
Villanelle was assessing the situation, wondering how she could get out without alarming Peel. She settled on the bored, uninterested, and in the way method.
'Aaron?'
'Yes?'
'Would it be okay if I go for a small bar crawl this afternoon? I'll just distract the buyers during this meeting, and frankly I really can't stand being in here for much longer.'
Aaron seemed to think about this for a moment.
Villanelle quickly added: 'And if these buyers value their privacy so much, they won't appreciate intruders.'
'Fine, but be back by nine. We're having dinner together.'
'Okay, see you then!' Villanelle said happily, before walking, and soon sprinting out across the street.
The first thing she did was go out into a shop and get some other clothes, choosing a cheap hoodie. She'd throw it off as soon as she entered the bar. She couldn't meet Eve in this garbage. But she had to stay safe.
After that she continued to the bar. It was pretty empty, so it was easy to find Eve, hidden in a hoodie. She walked up to her, quickly checked if it was her, grabbed her hand and pulled her along. Eve was slightly startled but followed her quickly. Both were, unknown to the other, smiling.
Villanelle pulled Eve along to a back area of the bar for more premium members. There they could actually talk.
The talking didn't start too soon however, as the first thing Villanelle did when they arrived in a completely private and hidden place, was hug Eve. Eve had not been expecting this, but quickly fell back in her arms. They both rested for a moment, feeling a long wanted and needed peace in being relatively safe and close to the person they cared about most in the world. Then she moved her body back slightly, resting her forehead on Eve's.
'I missed you.' she whispered, the intimacy of the moment overwhelming all of her senses.
'I missed you too.' Eve whispered back, captivated in the same way. Eve leant even closer to Villanelle, slowly and gently kissing her. After a moment that felt both like an hour and a millisecond, they broke apart and sat down next to each other, still incredibly close. Not wanting to break the perfect peace they had found, they both sat there, in silence. Enjoying each other's company.
Inevitably this had to come to an end at some point. They were in the unfortunate position that was this trap.
'I wish we could just stay like this for longer,' Eve started, 'but we have to talk about this problem. Kenny said Carolyn might be a part of the Twelve, who of course are definitely interested in the software. When they discover you're not there during the buy, they'll know we know something is up, so we have to act fast.'
'We have to find a way to shut the software down whilst simultaneously getting out of here as soon as possible.'
'No-one else has access to the software except Aaron right?'
'Yes. He hasn't sold it yet, and doesn't like people, so doesn't have anyone he's shown much of it too. He only let me in because he likes to watch me eat.'
'Oh man, that guy's really a psychopath! Yes yes, I know I should never call them that but he's just so…'
'Them? Not 'you guys'?' Villanelle paused for a while. 'Or… us?'
They were silent for a while, before Villanelle continued with a smile: 'And you don't like watching me eat?'
Eve rolled her eyes and smiled. She wasn't wrong, Eve'd watch her all day and love every minute of it. Anyway…
'What if we killed Aaron Peel?' Eve asked.
'Wow I was right, we are both psychopaths.' Villanelle said, with only a slight air of a joke.
'No seriously. He is the only way we can keep other people from using the software. It would solve most of the main problem.'
'I have been telling you that since the beginning, so yes I agree.'
'So, how do we avoid Carolyn and Konstantin?'
'I have a plan, but it's risky. You'll have to trust me.'
'Just tell me what to do.'
'Hi Aaron!' Villanelle called as she walked back into the eating room. 'How was the sale?'
'Nothing interesting really. They were really interested but couldn't buy it yet because they got called away. Something they had to deal with first apparently. They'll be back tomorrow'
'Ah. I just want to change, I'll be right back.'
'Be quick. We have a restaurant reservation in fifteen minutes.'
Villanelle walked towards her bedroom, choosing the most covering clothes, and hiding a knife she'd gotten from Eve in her jacket.
'Eve, can you hear me?' She said, seemingly to the empty room.
'Yes, I'm here.' Eve replied, also talking into an empty room, albeit a different one.
Eve had taken another microphone set to the bar. Now they could both hear the other, which was a big improvement on the earlier situation. This couldn't go wrong, could it?
The restaurant Aaron had chosen was an old, cute looking restaurant, that he had yet again hired in its entirety. This could only be a good thing, because this meant there weren't a lot of staff present. And no onlookers. Villanelle figured this must all go smoothly. Eve had urged her not to make it too extravagant, and to just get out of there quickly. Villanelle wasn't too happy with the notion, but she had agreed to keep the planned flair to a minimum.
Aaron wasn't the least chivalrous. Not that Villanelle had either wanted or expected that, but it just felt notably interesting. He sat down across from her, on the other side of a big table.
If anything was going to pose a problem, that was.
'How was the… bar… crawl?' He spoke those two words with a slight disgust, but also something which sounded like interest.
'Was fun, but it wasn't too exciting. I mean what is anymore?' Villanelle replied.
'Figures.' Aaron replied.
'Aaron?' Villanelle asked him, in the kindest voice she could possibly muster. 'Can I show you something?'
Aaron shrugged. Villanelle took that as a yes. She got up and crouched down next to him, holding a knife in her hand, holding a firm grip on the handle herself.
'Why are you showing me this?' Aaron asked.
'Because it's an important object in your life!' Villanelle said mockingly in her own accent, as she stabbed the knife into his chest.
Or at least, that's what she thought she'd done. What she had actually done, was stab a knife against a thin metal plate. He was protected. She hadn't seen this coming, so didn't have any other weapons with her. So this whole thing was going to be hard. Some of the kitchen staff were already coming her way. It appeared there were at least two guards on the spot too. Trying to get out of there alive without Aaron getting out of there first was going to be hard.
Eve meanwhile was still doing fine. Still. She had called Carolyn about an hour ago, and told her what she thought she knew. Eve also put in some un-truths, such as the fact that Villanelle could come out and kill them any time. This of course didn't happen, but they couldn't be sure. So they had immediately left the meeting with Aaron, and came to find Eve. Eve wasn't sure if they were still anywhere near her good side. Probably not. They had sent her there, knowing they would be coming there to meet Aaron anyway. How they wanted to rid of her she didn't know yet. Maybe they'd instructed Villanelle to kill her? No they wouldn't do that, would they? Villanelle would never kill her. But did they know that? Would Villanelle tell her if someone had asked to kill her (again)? She couldn't ask her now, it would disrupt her conversation with Aaron. And if it hadn't been Villanelle who was supposed to kill her, who was? She should watch out. And so should Villanelle.
Villanelle was already having a hard time, without having extra assassins after her. She had managed to kill or 'capture' (put in the freezer) all of the personel, but the guards were still there, trying to carry Aaron out. Luckily for her, Villanelle had managed to close the door of the restaurant. They couldn't just run out without a fight.
She didn't only have luck though. The guards had guns. And she was not wearing a bullet free vest. She had to get rid of those guns as soon as possible. One guard was easily rid of his. Villanelle tackled him, throwing him and the gun across the floor. She grabbed said gun, and shot a bullet through the guards head. Easy peasy.
She also tried to aim for Aaron's head, but the other guard was blocking him and hiding with him behind tables.
Deciding she'd better hide behind a table herself, she crouched down, and held the table sideways. The guard was moving towards her, slowly but steadily. It seemed like they were telling Aaron to stay back, but Aaron was too intrigued, so he followed. Villanelle aimed towards them again, trying to hit Aaron's head. There was a spat of blood, but it wasn't what Villanelle had wanted. His ear had been grazed. Nothing more, nothing less. The only reason this was notable, was the fact that a small earphone had fallen out of his ear. Looking closely, Villanelle could also spot a tiny microphone in his shirt. He'd been in league with someone.
'Eve?' Villanelle whispered softly. 'Are you alone?'
'Yes.' Eve said.
'Aaron also had an earphone in, and has a microphone…'
'Carolyn and Konstantin were listening in?'
'Probably. Try to find that out.'
'Okay. And, I heard gunshots. Are you okay?'
'Yeah, of course.' Villanelle said. Eve could just hear the smirk.
'Just... keep my updated. And come back safe.' Eve wasn't sure if Villanelle's reaction to that was something akin to in-love-smile or if she was rolling her eyes. Maybe she was doing both. Eve hoped both.
Villanelle had, in fact, been lying. It was not going too well. The guard was getting closer to her, and she was running out of bullets. Aaron wasn't advancing closer to her anymore either. He'd finally gotten a sensible insight in the danger that he was in. Sadly.
Carolyn and Konstantin arrived at the hotel room Eve had reserved. She wanted a secure and non monitored setting, and this seemed like the only kind available except the bar. Not knowing what to expect, Eve had hidden both a gun and a knife in her pockets. With a little luck neither would be needed. She positioned herself on the only chair in the room, and sat facing the door.
Carolyn was the first of the two to walk in. 'Good evening, Eve.' she remarked, rather coldly.
Konstantin directly followed her, acknowledging Eve with a small nod. The two members of the 12 sat down next to each other on the bed.
'Why did you send me?' Eve asked.
'To keep Villanelle in check.' Carolyn answered.
'Why did you send Villanelle?'
'To investigate Aaron Peel.'
'Why send us if you were coming later?'
'We wanted to know more about other potential buyers.'
'You had contact with Aaron anyway. You had a special communication. Why?'
'What do you want us to say? Your research got too close to our interest so we sent you on a dangerous mission to make sure to get you killed? God, Eve.'
'So that's not true then?'
'I'm not saying that I'm just saying you have an active imagination.'
'So it's true?'
'Well yes, but that's besides the point.'
'How?'
'You're right. It's pretty relevant, seeing as we're going to kill you now.
And Villanelle, when we're done here.'
The guard was FINALLY getting within stabbing range. They were wearing protective layers, but that didn't matter. Villanelle clamped firmly to the knife handle and started slashing around her. Trying to stab the guard's head was harder than planned. Their face wasn't protected, but they had been well trained. And they still had a gun. That was when Villanelle heard Konstantin and Carolyn in the background. They were threatening to kill Eve. They couldn't do that? Could they?
They wouldn't. Not on her watch. Not that she could watch them now with this situation unhandled. So, this should be handled then.
Using the new found anger, she punched the guard. Hard. In the face. They had not been expecting this. Tripping over the table behind them, they fell over. This way Villanelle could easily rid of them. She put a bullet through their head with their own gun. Good riddance, she thought to herself. She walked towards Aaron, who was finally the only person around.
'How do you want to die, Aaron?' Villanelle said. 'Shot, stabbed, strangled?'
'I'd prefer to live, if that's an option?' he replied, trying to get away from her.
'Well, my girlfriend's in trouble so you're going to have to settle with shot.' Villanelle said, before shooting him in the head once, and then in his body multiple times. Or, in his bulletproof vest multiple times. Either got the job done.
'Kill me? Now?' Eve asked. 'You are going to kill me, Carolyn?'
'No, of course not! I won't get my hands dirty here. We've hired someone to come in here, in…' she looked at her watch, '50 seconds.'
Eve heard Villanelle taunting Aaron in the background. Alliteratively mentioning ways to die. Nice. Eve couldn't help but be distracted by Villanelle doing what she did so well in the background. Konstantin and Carolyn didn't notice until Eve suddenly started smiling to herself.
'What are you smiling at?' Carolyn asked her.
'Nothing.' Eve said, gathering her thoughts together again. At least if she'd die now, she'd heard Villanelle call her 'my girlfriend'.
What she heard next was even better, and gave her a hard time to suppress her smile.
'I'm coming, baby.' she heard Villanelle said, also hearing her fast breathing combined with fast footsteps. She was running. 'Only a few blocks from where you are. I'll run you through what you have to do, my love.'
The assassin came in soon after that. It was someone Eve had never seen before. A man. So, not interesting. Not really. Carolyn and Konstantin left, telling the assassin to keep Eve alive for about a minute. 'Let her feel the fear.' Carolyn had said. Eve couldn't help but wonder what Kenny would think if he'd hear this. He probably knew already.
Communicating through humming, Villanelle discovered Eve was well prepared, but she warned her.
'Best not to pull out the gun first thing, it'll set him off. Go along or hide first, then get him.'
Eve did as she was told, and crouched behind the bed, trying to get away from the assassin.
'Are you hidden now?' Villanelle asked
'Hmmm.' Eve hummed.
'In the bathroom?'
'Hmm hmm'
'Behind the bed?
'Hmmm'
'Do you think you could shoot him from there?'
Eve hummed an unsure 'Hmmm.'
'That's all you need. Shoot, him baby! Go get him.'
So that's what Eve did. She pulled out her gun, aimed it quickly at his head, and shot. Then shot again, and again, and again. The first few she missed, but with the last shot she hit… something. She'd shot him in his upper leg. This stopped him for a second, but wouldn't stop him for long. Eve shot tried to shoot him again, but this bullet only grazed his arm. He was fairly weak now, but nowhere near weak enough. Aiming again, she pulled the trigger yet again. However this time nothing fired. She was out of bullets. Already. They really should give more bullets with these guns. Killing people would be a lot easier.
Now, her only option was the knife. She scooted closer to the assassin, trying to get close enough, whilst still hiding behind something so that he couldn't just shoot her.
Lunging forward all of a sudden, she knocked him over. He screamed as he landed on his shot leg. Eve quickly grabbed the knife from her pocket, and shoved through his ribs, aiming right for his heart. It seemed like she hit something right, because the guy started squealing in pain. She stabbed him multiple times more, just to be sure. She saw the lift slowly drain from his eyes. She began to see why Villanelle liked it so much.
'Villanelle?' she said.
'Yes Eve, I'm there.' Villanelle replied, bursting through the door. 'Woah, good job!' Villanelle said, actually impressed by what Eve had done. 'Those are firm stabs! The one near the heart was the first one? You hit the sweet spot immediately!'
Villanelle walked towards Eve and high fived her. 'Good job partner!'
Outside they heard sirens. The two woman looked each other in the eye and smiled. Eve grabbed Villanelle's hand and pulled her out of the hotel room, to the street. Once they got to the street, Villanelle took the lead. She knew all the streets of Rome, and in fact of every major city in Europe, by heart. The police stopped at the hotel, not noticing them as they ran off into the night.
They collapsed on Eve's bed in her hotel.
'Last time we laid together like this you stabbed me.' Villanelle said with a smile.
'I know! I won't do that this time, I promise.' Eve said with a giggle.
Villanelle moved her hand over Eve's face, moving in to kiss her.
'I've never done this before.' Eve said, this time actually meaning what Villanelle hoped it did.
'It's okay. I know what I'm doing.' Villanelle replied.
That night they didn't get much sleep. Nor most of the nights after that, for that matter. The thing that did matter was that they were together now. They could face the whole world. Or at least, all of the world that needed to be killed.
