Three.
The alarm on the bedside table began to blare at 8am, jarring Gendry out of sleep and slowly bringing him back to reality as he looked around him, recognizing the peeling wallpaper and musty basement smell that was the Peach's signature. It was then when he realized why he wasn't sleeping in his own bed and remembered the events of yesterday. Shit. I was really hoping this was all some dream. He slowly rolled over from his right side to his left and saw the other half of the bed with Arya still asleep, curled up on her side and beginning to stir. Nope, definitely not a dream. You've really gotten yourself in deep this time, haven't you, Waters?
He slammed his fist down on the alarm clock to stop its beeping, and quickly hit the bathroom, brushing his teeth and getting dressed in the same clothes as yesterday. Seeing that she was in the same position as before, he left the room and walked to the gas station on the corner, returning with two Styrofoam cups of brown water disguised as coffee and two packs of strawberry pop-tarts. When he opened the door a few minutes later, she had moved from her spot on the bed and was sitting in one of the chairs next to the small dining table, aimlessly braiding her long mousey brown hair back away from her face, not sure what she was really supposed to do with herself. It's not like this is some vacation road trip we're on. She's not going to wake up, watch Good Morning Westeros, and then go lay by the pool. He shuddered for a second when he thought of the pool at the Peach.
"You're up. Here, breakfast of champions," he said, sitting down next to her and placing one of the cups of coffee and one of the pop-tart packets in from of her. "Hope you like coffee."
"It's fine."
They ate in silence for while, though oddly enough it wasn't awkward for them not to talk. Not sure what we'd talk about anyways, he thought, watching her slam what had to be about half the coffee and practically inhale the pop-tarts.
"Were you serious?" Arya asked, breaking the silence, as she brushed the crumbs off her mouth with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "Ya know, about what you said last night."
"I am if you are."
"Good," she replied, nodding once affirmatively.
"Good," he echoed back. "Now finish that breakfast and get a shower. Probably can't stay holed up in this pit for too long and gods knows how long it'll be before we have a proper place to stay. Better take a shower while ya can. I'll call my guy."
She tore through the last pop-tart and immediately grabbed the bag she brought, heading towards the bathroom. Once he heard her turn the water on, he grabbed his cell phone off the table, flipping it open and dialing the number, listening to two rings, hanging up, waiting. Same as always.
Not thirty seconds after he shut the phone it began to buzz.
"Well done on the Monday job, Mr. Waters," the Spider said in his signature calm voice, not giving Gendry the time to say anything. "My little birds said it was very… discrete. You have our boss' thanks for eliminating that particular headache. But now, I must ask the reason for your call. We don't have another assignment for you quite yet."
"Well, I'm not sure how exactly to explain this. You know how the Starks were living next to me in the building on East 12th? Dunno if your spies have told you yet or not, but they're not there anymore. Lannister men came in late morning and as far as I can tell, took all of 'em out, save for the youngest girl."
"Arya."
"Yea, Arya."
"I am well aware of this situation. Power comes to families and power leaves families just as easily. The Reynes were once powerful too but now they're gone. The Targaryens have only one or two surviving members. A bit before your time, but I digress. So, pray tell, what exactly is the problem then?"
"The youngest girl, Arya. She's my problem. She wasn't there when it happened and came home when it was being cleaned. Hid out in my apartment and then we packed our shit and ran. The both of us. I couldn't just leave her there," he explained.
"And you want to know what to do with her?"
"I know what I'm doing with her. I need to know if you're on board with it. If he's on board with it. She wants them gone, the men who did this, their bosses, whoever was involved. She wants to do it herself, to do what I do, and she asked for my help." He had heard the shower turn off a minute or two earlier and found himself lowering his voice. He had been hoping she would be one of those girls that spent forever in the shower, but he should've known better.
"You agreed," the Spider said immediately, not as a question, but a simple statement of fact. There was no change in his voice, no way Gendry could tell what his agreement to help her would mean.
"I agreed," Gendry confirmed, looking over in time to see Arya leave the bathroom, clothes changed and toweling dry her hair.
"You know where our lines our drawn, who our allies are. The Stark and Baratheon alliance goes way back, much farther than you could ever imagine, and if this girl really is the last one, the appropriate people need to be informed." Gendry could hear him on the other end of the line, take a breath and then whisper something, but it was too low and muffled for him to make out what it was. He figured he was covering the receiver. "You're staying at the Peach?"
"Didn't know where else was safe," Gendry answered, totally unfazed by the fact that the Spider knew where he was.
"No, you're right there. There's an underground parking garage down the road, at Madison. You know the one?" Gendry answered that he did. "Good. You'll be there in forty-five minutes, level B2, section 3. There will be a black Mercedes waiting. Walk, bring the girl, and all of your things. You can leave your car at the Peach, my people will make sure it is returned to you. Do you understand?"
As soon as Gendry replied that he did, he heard the Spider hang up on the other end.
"That your boss?" Arya asked, sitting down on the corner of the bed as she re-braided her hair.
"Of sorts. He's the one who calls with the info, assignments. Only met him once, when they recruited me. It was at this hotel, actually," he explained, laughing to himself a bit and seeing how Arya eyed him suspiciously. "Never met the big guy though. In any case, get your stuff together. We've got our first appointment."
Four.
Forty minutes later, they rounded the corner from section 2 into section 3 of the parking structure on Madison. It was mid-morning by then, so it was fairly quiet. It didn't take a genius to guess that most of the people who worked and used the structure were already in their offices.
Exactly five minutes later they both turned when they saw the headlights of a car coming around the corner into the area they were standing in. Arya stood still with her black backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder and Gendry's 'laptop' case in her right hand, as if waiting for a mysterious car in an underground parking structure was a normal Wednesday morning activity for her, and Gendry, large duffel bag at the ground by his feet, holding onto his briefcase and houseplant, much more nervous than her though trying desperately not to show it. There was normally much more information
The car, a shiny black Mercedes sedan, pulled up alongside them and Gendry heard the click of the doors unlocking, yet no driver came out of the car to greet them.
"Well, I guess we just get in," Arya said, walking around to the other side of the car. He watched as she opened the door and sat down inside before doing the same. It wasn't noticeable until they were inside, but the interior of the car had been customized to be like the insides of taxis or limos, with a wall shielding them from whoever was driving and a little pane of tinted glass at the top that would slide back and forth if need be.
They sat in silence for the better part of a half hour, mostly staring at their hands in their laps, though Gendry was glad that they were able to see out the windows.
It was Arya that spoke first.
"I know this area," she said. For the first time there was some real kind of emotion in her voice that wasn't anger. "I've been around here before, not for a long time though." She sounded almost excited, maybe thinking she was helping by recognizing where they were, as if they had been kidnapped.
Well, we kind of have, if you think about it.
"We're definitely not in Flea Bottom anymore," Gendry said in return. "Probably close to the Red Keep Compound, if you can judge by these gated houses and fancy shops. Makes sense you'd have been 'round this area before, what with your family being so rich and all."
"We're not rich!" She snapped back at him.
"You're not? Seems everyone else must think differently then, eh? What with the two Escalades your parents rolled around in, or that big merger or whatever it was you moved down here for. Not to mention the fact that back home your house was called the Stark Estate—"
"Would you shut up?" Oh, there is that temper coming out again, he thought. We'll have to calm that if she's gonna succeed at this job. "You were living in the same damn apartment as my family was, so I don't wanna hear about how rich my family was. Least we got our money through lawful means, unlike someone else I can think of."
They had turned now, facing each other instead of staring out the windows as the houses gradually got larger, the cars more than gradually got more flashy, and the car they rode in climbed higher and higher up the hill towards the Red Keep Compound. He watched her narrow her eyes at him and say those last few words insinuating what she thought of his jobs.
"Well, milady, I guess you better get used to that way of life. Yours ended yesterday and you're quickly heading down the path of mine, so try not to be too much of a hypocrite," he told her, just then noticing how tightly his hands were gripping the terra cotta pot the houseplant was in and loosening them slightly. "You're the one that asked me to help you, remember?"
"Gods, you're such an ass." She shook her head and continued to look out the window. "Looks like this is it," she said a few moments later. They both watched out the window as a large iron gate swung open in front of the car and they pulled up and around a circular driveway, slowing to a stop in front of what had to be the most impressive house that Gendry had thought he'd ever laid eyes on. Of all the powerful men he'd taken out in their homes, all the extravagant palaces and temples he'd seen in Dorne and across the Narrow Sea, he decided that this was definitely the most grand.
The doors to the car were opened simultaneously by two doormen in chauffeur uniforms who quickly divested both Arya and Gendry of their belongings, ushering them out of the driveway and in through the large double doors. The outside of the house was not very modern, but that old style popular in the Red Keep neighborhood – large white or beige earthy-toned houses with dark red brick and terra cotta accents that looked like they rose out of the very hill that they were built into. Gendry watched as Arya craned her head around at the front door when they entered. It was the same style as what you'd expect, with a large cursive capital B that split in half when both doors opened.
They quietly followed the same doormen further inside, taking notice that the inside of this house was much different than the outside. Dark walls, mostly with either very dark burgundy colored paint or equally as dark patterned wallpaper, hardwood floors, and walls lined with large portraits of men in suits, full families perfectly posed, or landscapes of stormy seas, all in ornate gold gilded frames. One room they passed looked like the sort of men's lounges out of old movies, pool tables with low hanging Tiffany stained glass lamps, overstuffed leather chairs, and heads of deer and other animals displayed proudly on the walls.
They turned a corner and the doorman opened a large wooden door, gesturing and nodding for them to enter. The office found themselves in was equally as dark as the rest of the house, neat and tidy, with floor to ceiling bookshelves along the walls that only stopped for the windows, all which still had the curtains pulled tightly shut. A fireplace burned lowly in one corner with a sitting area surrounding it. The light overhead came from a number of large ceiling fans. Directly across from the door was a large mahogany L-shaped desk with a mess of papers strewn about, a laptop open with a large monitor next to it, and two bankers lamps with green shades on either side. Whoever they were here to meet was sitting at the desk, facing away from them in a wine-colored leather office chair.
"Well, well, well," the man said, turning around in his chair, this one a rotating office chair. Gendry almost felt sorry for the chair for having to carry the burden of this man's weight, adding to his inability to keep a straight face. It wasn't lost on him that it seemed like they were in a cliché. He half expected the man to turn around and 'make him an offer he couldn't refuse.' He was dressed finely, that was for sure. When he stood up out of the chair, Gendry could see the man was about the same height as he was, but he wagered he was roughly three times his size. Paying no attention whatsoever to Gendry, his sole focus was on Arya standing next to him. "If it isn't Miss Arya Stark. I'd say you've gotten a lot bigger since the last time Ned had you here in my study, but I see that isn't the case."
Gendry heard her scoff under her breath, not trying to disguise it. "Well, I can't say the same thing about you, can I, Mr. Baratheon? You've certainly gotten a lot bigger since the last time we met." Oh, shit, Gendry thought. He knows her, but I hope she knows what she's doing right now, if he's the Baratheon that I think he is.
He watched her step away from his side and close the gap between herself and Mr. Baratheon, leaving about five feet separating them. Gendry waited and watched her as she raised her head to confidently meet the much larger man's eyes. He stared back at her, as if not sure what to make of it, before throwing his head back and erupting in a deep laughter. Arya quickly turned her head back to Gendry and flashed a smile, but before she knew it Mr. Baratheon had closed the space and threw his arms around her to hug her tightly, enough so to make Gendry unsure if she could still breathe.
"Don't just stand by the door, Waters," he said when he finally let go of Arya. "Come join us by the fire. We've got plenty to discuss." He motioned them towards the chairs by the fireplace and nodded at the doorman, who left and returned minutes later with a rolling drink cart topped with three short glasses and various crystal containers of honey-brown colored alcohol. They watched as the doorman poured all three and passed them around.
"Fifty-year Scotch from up north. Got it last time I was up there visiting the Starks. Been saving it for gods knows what, but I figured right about now we could probably all benefit from some," Mr. Baratheon explained.
Gendry took a hesitant sip from his glass. "Listen, Mr. Baratheon -"
"Call me Robert, would you? I think with the situation we've got ourselves in we can drop the formalities."
"Um, yes, of course... Robert. It's just that I thought it might be good if I explained what happened..." Gendry started, mentally hitting himself for being nervous. He's just my boss, right? Gendry asked himself. No, no he's not just my boss. He's the boss, the man who decides what calls the Spider makes and who is on my list next. There's probably enough security detail in this house to surround me before I even realize what's happening.
"I know why you're both here," he started, leaning forward in his seat to face Arya. "Seven hells, girl, I always thought it'd be me the Lannisters would get to first. Ned Stark was an honorable man, you've got to believe me. He only got involved in any of my work because I'd asked him, damn near begged him to move to Kings Landing to help me and now look where it's gotten us." He sat farther into the wingback chair and took a long drink out of his glass. "I never thought I'd outlive Ned and I sure as shit never thought that Arya Stark, the child that played with her siblings in these rooms ten years ago would be sitting in my study asking for my help to avenge her family. But such is the situation we find ourselves in and we - all of us - are going to have to deal with this."
Suddenly Gendry realized exactly what the ties where. For gods sake, Gendry, did you even pay attention to what the Spider said? Baratheons and Starks go way back. It shouldn't be a surprise to me at all that Arya would've met them before.
Arya opened her mouth as if to respond, but instead watched as Robert pressed the read intercom button on the phone set sitting on the side table next to his chair. "Meyers, please send him in now."
There was a bit of static before a man's gruff answered, "Right away, sir."
The large doors they entered through opened a moment later and Gendry watched, part surprised, as the Spider calmly walked through the door. His steps were soft and made almost no sound on the hardwood floor as he padded across and took his place standing next to Robert's chair. He made quick eye contact with Gendry and nodded his acknowledgement of him.
"I'm going to make myself perfectly clear. I want her good at this, boy, do you understand me? No botched jobs, no messes, no trail leading back to us. You got that?" He listened as Robert listed off his expectations with the Spider standing silently at his side, slightly bristled at the uncalled for familiarity in the way he referred to him as 'boy'. "We'll get you everything you need, but you're gonna take your time. You'll teach her to be perfect. Clear?"
"Crystal, sir."
"And Arya," he said, turning towards her again, "I'm sorry but we're going to need to change things up quite a bit. My men are already working to find a place for you and Gendry to stay. It won't be what he's used to and it certainly won't be what you're used to but it'll have to do. We need you both to be able to relocate at a moment's notice from now on. Mr. Varys here will help to set you and Gendry up with an apartment as well as a small allowance. Of course, you will also have whatever payment Gendry receives from his normal jobs, which he will continue to do. If I cut to the chase, you'll have to lay low. The Lions are well aware that one young she-wolf was out of their reach and you can bet your life they'll be looking for you."
"I understand," Arya replied slowly, calmly. "Nothing will get done unless I disappear, become no one for as long as it takes... How soon do we start?"
Robert laughed. "How very eager you are. I think I've got operatives more skittish than you. Still, you've got to be patient, girl. Mr. Varys?"
The Spider took a single step forward before speaking. "You'll start today. Both of you." He turned his gaze over to Gendry and then back to Arya. "My little birds are our scouting as we speak, making arrangements. You both will disappear for a while , giving your enemies a chance to think Arya is no longer a threat. I expect you to train her so she is as talented as you are. Make no mistake, this is not a task that will be over in a few months or even a year. This is a long job and this will be done right. Do you understand, Mr. Waters?"
"Yes, sir."
He eyes shifted back to Arya.
"And you, Miss Stark, do you understand?"
She stood and faced him, head tilted up to look at him.
"Yes. Yes, I do."
"Very well," the Spider replied.
He reached into the left side of the khaki trench coat, pulled out a manila envelope, and held it out, offering it towards Arya. A faint smile played across his face as she reached out instinctively to grab it.
"Welcome to Baratheon."
