Disclaimer: The usual...I don't own Robin Hood!
Allan A' Dale looked around the house with a satisfied sigh as he slung his bag to the floor. He looked over to his right to see the serious face of his partner, Will Scarlett. "Well, whadda think, mate?"
"I think it a house."
Allan rolled his eyes even as a voice behind them spoke up. "I must thank you for your kind compliments then, Mr. Scarlett." The two heads turned to see the pretty face of Djaq Jay, house-owner and their newest partner. Allan gave a slight chuckle at Will's obvious embarrassment and helped himself to a seat at the counter.
"You'll have to give the youngster some slack," Allan winked at her. "Pretty faces make him nervous, plus he's under some sort of belief that he's funny."
Now it was Djaq's turn to roll her eyes, as she gestured for Will to also take a seat and walked around to the other side of the counter, placing down a thick folder. "First of all gentlemen, MI-6 would like to thank you for your help. We hear you are the best team the CIA has to offer, so let's see if you measure up," she said, throwing a look Allan's way. He responded to the challenge with a smile, but no words, prompting Djaq to continue.
"I am Dr. Saffiya Johnson from Sherwood Free Clinic, and currently renting out my house to you two. Allan, you will be known as Tom Black, an insurance salesman. You will be working at Clun Insurance, a known affiliate of the Black Knights. Will, or should I say Luke Carpenter, will be an engineering professor at Nottingham Community College. We want you, Will, to keep a low profile in case we need a face Vaisey hasn't seen, with me so far?"
The two Americans nodded, causing Djaq to give a tight smile and opening the folder to spread out various files on the countertop. "First, let me tell you about some of your new co-workers. Our boss on this project is Robin Locksley, known in the industry as The Arrow. You will more than likely never see him or talk to him, but he's the one giving out orders. If he needs to get in contact with you directly, he will more than likely send Bonchurch "Much" Miller, and yes that is his name. Here is a picture so you can recognize him, as he is a fairly decent "master of disguise" as you Americans like to say. His code name and/or word is 'Honey'." At Will's inquisitive look and Allan's bark of laughter, Djaq shrugged before pushing on.
"We do have a mole in the Sherwood police force, going by the name of Marian Knighton, code name of "Hawk" in your paperwork. She is Chief Constable Gisborne's assistant. It is a risky job, but she is one hell of an operative," Djaq told the two men, awe evident in her voice. "And that concludes your brief introduction to the good guys; now, we learn about the bad."
"We estimate that the Black Knights have been operating here in Nottingham for about five years, ever since Pippin Vaisey was elected to the city council. We have linked them to over ten million in missing funds as well as the suspected deaths of several officials throughout the city."
"Well, why don't you leak it out to the public, let them take care of it?" Will asked. "It has been done before."
Djaq bit her lip in silent thought before quietly admitting to her two new housemates. "We tried. They either have members in extremely high places or the best bribes and blackmail to be known. We fear even MI-6 is not safe from the Black Knights. The Arrow is doing this, let's just say, under the table. It is a mission of extreme importance and secrecy…"
Allan cut her off before she could continue her babbling. "Not being funny, miss, but are you saying that even the indomitable MI-6 are knocking boots with this, judging by the way they dress, Leather Mafia?"
"Well, that is a rather crude way of putting it Mr. A' Dale but yes, we fear they have infiltrated even our ranks. Mr. Locksley is putting himself in grave danger; he could lose everything if his superiors find out."
"Is the CIA aware of this?" Will asked, brow furrowed in thought.
"I'm not entirely sure of all the specifics to that question. The Arrow has a lot of contacts in the industry, which is what brought you here. That is all I know. You two have a reputation for using, what's the word, unorthodox methods and not always going by the book. We're hoping that will make you able and willing members of our little gang, so will you? Will you help us?"
The partners exchanged a heavy look before Allan nodded and turned to Djaq. "So basically, this Robin Locksley fellow wants to use us to go behind the back of the MI-6 to bring down a mob boss and fellow cohorts."
Will continued this flow of thought when Allan finished his sentence. "And we could both lose our jobs, not to mention our reputation…all for a cause that's not even ours to begin with."
The woman nodded, her eyes still glued to theirs in hope.
"Well, then," Allan continued. "It looks like this job is going to be even better than I thought!"
"What he means is that of course we'll help," Will said with a tiny smile of reassurance. "Crime is crime, and whether or not this is officially sanctioned, we need to take down the bad guys."
"Well said, my friend, well said," Allan exclaimed, clasping his friend's shoulder. "So now, Ms. Jay, what else do we need to know?"
Both men were momentarily blinded by the pure brilliance of her smile and couldn't help grinning broadly back. "Why don't we start with Chief Constable Guy Gisborne, Vaisey's right-hand man. Gisborne gained his position two years ago when the previous Constable was fired for unknown reasons. Since he's been in charge, there have been numerous cover-ups as well as a massive change in the roster until now practically everyone in the office is one of Vaisey's cronies- his own personal army. As to Gisborne's past, not much is known. He grew up at Holloway Orphanage and was taken under the wing of Vaisey at the age of seventeen. He has never been married and Hawk tells us he is prone to moodiness and desperate to prove himself. He seems a bit of a wildcard, and his next move is not easily predicted."
"So you think if we crack Gisborne, we can crack the Councilor?"
'We believe so. The Councilor is a man who believes in sacrificing anybody for whatever he wants; he's not really big on relationships of any sort. But the closest anyone has been ever to get to him is Gisborne, so he's our best bet."
"So what do we know of Councilor Vaisey?"
"Pippin Vaisey, the entrepreneur playboy turned politician. Son of Philip and Geraldine Vaisey, both deceased, he was educated at Eton and has run several businesses before turning to politics. He is a favorite of Deputy Prime Minister John Princeton and has a sister, Davina, who occasionally makes an appearance here in Nottingham. Outwardly, he appears as clean as a fresh wash but the Arrow has made some interesting connections linking him to various unsavory crowds as well as fraud, embezzlement, and murder."
"He sounds like a smashing guy," Will muttered.
"The specifics are in your folders, you each have a copy in your room. I will also show you the safes in each room where you can put the information when you are finished and keep your own notes. This is sadly not a government controlled or watched house due to the secrecy of this operation, so we have to make do with what is available. Would you like to see your rooms now?" Djaq asked while stretching to relieve the kinks built up while she was leaning on the counter.
When both nodded, she led them down the hallway and up the stairs. "The whole of the upstairs is for the two of you. You have your own small den and a bathroom to share."
"Don't want to share a bathroom with two men, Ms. Jay?" Allan asked breezily.
She just let out a light laugh and opened the door on the right. "Here is said bathroom." It was a tiny room but did include a shower, which Will was thankful for. That meant at least two showers in the house, and with his partner's known love of long, hot showers, he was hoping Djaq wouldn't be averse to sharing at least her shower with him.
Djaq then opened the door across the small hallway to a pleasant little room painted a light blue. It had a small bay window overlooking the street and a little bookcase in the corner just waiting to be filled. "I wasn't sure what room to appoint to whom," Djaq began. "So I'll let the two of you fight it out. Now this room is tinier but…"
"I'll take it," Will said, interrupting her. "I like the location."
Whereas she gave him a blank stare, Allan gave a knowing glare. By location, Will meant the bathroom, and Allan knew there would be some fights in the upcoming days over who got there first. Will threw his bags on the bed and followed the other two down the hallway and into the small den. It had a comfy looking couch as well as a decent sized flat screen television. On the opposite wall was a door, which led to the second bedroom. Allan's new room was indeed bigger, but had only a tiny little circular window almost at the ceiling, which let in little light. Will held back his snigger when the shorter man tried to look through the window but was unable to and cheerfully told Allan that the view was quite nice as it looked out into the backyard. Djaq led him to the closest and opened the door before reaching onto one of the shelves and opening a small compartment. "Here is where you can store any confidential material," she said. Just stack some shoes or something in front, and no one can tell anything is there. Will, since I forgot to show you yours, it is a loose floorboard under the bed. If you come with me now, I'll show you, and then I'll leave you boys to unpack."
Will followed Djaq obediently out the door and Allan got to work unpacking his few possessions and hanging his suits in the closet. Thumbing through his folder when he was done, Allan made a few quick notes in the margins before putting the information away; there would be time to look at it more closely. Now, he was tired and hungry; not the best state to be in when going over such important information. Deciding to check in on his partner, Allan walked down the hall and into Will's new room without a single knock or announcement. He found the younger man seated on the window seat, hands already occupied with a pencil and some sketch paper. Allan lay down on the bed, silent, and waiting for Will to speak first.
"Is it weird that my name is to be Luke?" were the words that left his mouth.
"A bit," Allan replied, eyes glued to the ceiling as he relaxed with his hands behind his head. "But then again, maybe they know how crap you are with aliases and so they thought to give you one you know."
"But my brother's name?"
"Are you going to be okay with this?" Allan asked, sitting up and casting a concerned eye to not only his partner, but his best friend.
"Yeah," Will replied softly, green eyes still staring out the window, seeing something beyond the cars and other houses Allan knew. Allan knew once his partner got into this funk, it would last awhile, so he was thankful for the cheerful voice of Djaq which permeated through even Will's haze.
"Are you guys hungry, because I'm thinking about ordering a pizza if you're interested?"
Allan bounced off the bed like a child, yelling downstairs. "I'm always interested in a pizza!! How does pepperoni, bacon, sausage, onions, peppers, and pineapple sound?"
Will smiled at Djaq's audible snort of disgust and allowed Allan to drag him down the stairs. He couldn't dwell on the past; he had a big mission ahead of him and the even more urgent goal of protecting Djaq from Allan's taste in food. But Djaq could stand up for herself, he learned, and as the bickering over veggie versus a heart attack escalated, Will finally stepped in, ordering a compromise between the two. And as the two agreed with an exasperated mutter from one and a pout from the other, Will couldn't help wondering if he would be able to survive these next few months.
A/N: Tada!! And that concludes the 1st chapter of my 1st attempt at an actual story for Robin Hood...as opposed to my usual one-shots. I hope you enjoyed and Reviews are extremely welcomed and wanted...thanks :D