Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the end
The soles of her shoes were warmly greeted by the thick freezing snow that densely covered the ground it had been like this for a several days now this area of London, it had looked like an idyllic scene from a Christmas card. Aimee was determined to arrive at the destination of her cousin's house he is formally known as Eggsy to his friends and Kingsman colleagues.
She continued her journey down the street towards the pub which was called The Black Prince, where she saw Dean and his group of friends who were enjoying their alcoholic beverages and smoking their cigarettes. From Aimee's perspective they were drinking away their sorrows because they didn't have the intentions to get good qualifications whilst they were educated at school. Then Dean noticed Aimee trudging through the snow.
"Oi! Aimee tell that cousin of yours Eggsy he's dead because he stole my car" Dean shouted
"Dean that incident was five years ago the past is the past" remarked Aimee
She knew that the polite manner would be just to walk away from the situation, but she recalled the countless times when Eggsy used to tell her the story of how he became a Kingsman, being taken under the guidance of Harry Hart "Gallahad" who died nobly outside a church in Kentucky by the infamous Richmond Valentine and his evil henchman Gazelle. Aimee always anticipated the part when Harry caused sheer mayhem in the pub; by only using his trusty charcoal coloured Kingsman umbrella as a weapon in front of a stunned and shocked Eggsy.
Aimee picked up a chunk of snow once it had encountered her hand it was so freezing I'm not surprised it caused her to get symptoms of hypothermia! With ease Aimee threw the snowball which knocked Dean's glass of beer over; the glass shattered all over the floor.
"You bitch; you'll be buying me another pint!" Dean snapped who was as vexed as a raging bull in a bullfight.
Aimee was now confronting five men who was roughly the same age as her who could easily win this fight no doubt the only solution to this problem was to run away from them. Aimee was not one of those people who was committed to sport and athletics at school. Aimee darted down the street with the infamous Dean and his gang in hot pursuit it felt like Aimee was one of the characters in "Temple Run" who was being chased by those feral monkeys in the game. Her heart continued to pound constantly she tried to catch her breath.
As Aimee continued to run at a steady pace her breathing became more constant she could hear Dean behind her yelling her name and swearing often the situation had become extremely chaotic, it felt like she was competing in the Olympics 100 metres sprint while also trying to dodge pedestrians and also calculating the best route to take to outsmart Dean.
Dean was catching up with her following her every move like a hawk as he sprinted down the alleyway which mostly consisted of broken bottles, cigarette packets and dirty rubbish. Aimee then saw a dim lamppost, in which she grabbed onto with her hands, jumped and swung around the lamppost 180 degrees anticlockwise she managed to kick Dean in the mouth resulting in him losing a tooth and his gum bleeding.
"Manners Maketh Man" Aimee grinned like a Cheshire cat with the satisfaction of teaching Dean a lesson!
Phew! Thank goodness for that Aimee thought and she was relieved that was over she always knew the tricks that Eggsy taught her from his gymnastics classes would be useful in the future. As Aimee headed home she thought about Eggsy who was on a Kingsman mission in Budapest. She always knew a Kingsman mission would last several weeks or months depending on the situation. But today especially was the day Aimee longed to see her cousin because it was Christmas Eve. Eggsy and Aimee were extremely close they were more than just cousins to Aimee it felt like he was an older brother to her. They were inseparable.
During her years at school Aimee was motivated to achieve good qualifications so she could be enlisted into Oxford University when she was older. From an early age Aimee was a driven young woman, Eggsy cold see some characteristics in Aimee like he did in his Kingsman colleague Roxy.
Once Aimee had entered Eggsy's house she place her rucksack on the carpet and empted the contents of the rucksack which was neatly wrapped Christmas presents with decorative labels which read –
Dear Eggsy,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love from Aimee.
Aimee placed them under the glistening Christmas tree which was situated in the living room. The silence was then disturbed by the knock on the door Aimee hoped it was Eggsy she was desperate to see him, she rammed the key into the keyhole and opened the door and before her stood a gentleman outside. The man was quite tall he wore thick black glasses that fitted perfectly, even for this weather he was wearing a bespoke suit tailored made for his need obviously a Kingsman agent thought Aimee.
"Are you Miss Aimee Pemberton?" The man inquired in a Scottish accent
"Yes I am sir how I may help you" replied Aimee in a polite manner
"We have some news regarding your cousin Gary Unwin. I'm one of his collegues Merlin" he smiled
Oh god thought Aimee once Merlin had said this sentence her mind was then filed with a thousand thoughts could it good or bad news? She tried to think positively about it and let Merlin into the hallway of her cousin's house.
From the expression on Merlin's face it was going to be bad news indeed.
"I've come to inform you about your cousin Miss Pemberton" Merlin paused "Unfortunately a few days ago Eggsy was still completing his mission in Budapest when he got shot in the back by someone who we have not identified yet. Last night he passed away, I'm sorry for your loss Miss Pemberton" Merlin sighed.
Aimee could hardly speak her mind was filled with a million emotions all whizzing round her brain at a tremendous pace. She tried to convince herself that this was all a dream and that this scenario was just a nightmare. But this was the harsh reality of being a Kingsman agent it could result in you losing a member of your family within the blink of an eye. Merlin comforted Aimee he knew what this situation was like the day when Harry died is a day that will always be encrypted in Merlin's memory.
Then Merlin took out from his suit pocket a medallion that was so shiny you could see your reflection it was the exact same medal that Harry gave to Eggsy as a child seventeen years ago. Aimee knew what the purpose of this medal was for and what it meant to Aimee to be receiving one personally.
"I would like to present to you Miss Pemberton, this medal of valour and if you look closely there is a number on the back. As a more friendly gesture of our gratitude, we are offering you a favour it is your choice. Just tell the operator..." Merlin instructed Aimee
"Oxfords not brogues and they will know it's me" Aimee interrupted
"Precisely my point Aimee" Merlin grinned "And you never know when you're older I'll be working alongside you as the next Gallahad in a few years time"
Next time On Manners Maketh Man and Woman - Aimee achieves her life long ambition to become a Kingsman for her cousin's sake and meets a familiar face in the process.