Chapter two
/
"Dan, would you turn that music down," yelled Amy above Dan's favorite song, "Inner Ninja."
"No!" He yelled back in response. "Amy, one doesn't turn down a song about ninjas." He then continued to sing(just as badly as Nellie) along again.
He's just as bad as Nellie when it comes to singing, thought Amy. She looked out the rental car's window where there was a seemingly endless meadow where cows were munching on the lush grass and wild flowers. Flowers . . . "Dan!" screamed Amy suddenly. "Stop the car! We forgot to get flowers!" Dan's driving skills were apparently also like Nellie's because he swerved dangerously, and screeched to a halt next to a very startled cow.
"Amy, how could you forget?" said Dan. "I'm supposed to forget stuff, not you!" Amy burst out crying, there was so much that had happened since the Vesper attack. Amy still had trouble getting over the deaths. Countless unnamable memories came to mind of Evan. The same of Alistair and Natalie. Natalie had no trouble springing back from being evil. But what was truly heart breaking was that she still missed her mother. Ian had told Amy countless times that she had been found in her room and had fallen asleep in her closet. Natalie denied that she missed her, but she was only twelve when her mother was sent for life.
Amy had stopped crying now except for the occasional sniffle. Alistair was who Amy really missed. He faked his own death and got arrested by the man who murdered his father(only to escape) to honor the promise he had made to Hope and Arthur to keep their children safe. Amy though about how he had helped them in the gauntlet and before that translated Chinese for them to help find Dan. He also helped them in Korea and Indonesia. At the mention of Korea, Amy stopped her thoughts. I won't let Ian get to me like he always does, she thought. It's sort of creepy in a way like the time he gave me the bracelet, and he thought I didn't notice the tracer on it. Amy still wore it all the time, and hadn't even bothered to disable it, she had later reprogrammed it so it would beep if Ian was anywhere near her.
She felt slightly nauseous and realized that Dan was not swerving around other cars like a mad man again. 5 illegal U-turns, 2 wrong ways on a one-way street, and 6 near crashes later they had made it to a florists that was connected to a Harolds. The very same Harold's Natalie Kabra had been kidnapped in. Dan know had his bravado back and was now teasing Amy about Ian. "This is a pretty nice florists," he said.
"Yeah, it is," said Amy.
"So, when you get married to Ian Cobra, will you buy your wedding bouquet here?" He asked innocently and sweetly. Amy had now turned a dark red, and was about to say something to Dan when a worker saved his life.
"Excuse me, but did you say Kabra?" said the posh woman's voice. She was an elderly looking woman and she bore a certain resemblance to a certain older Vesper they knew. Before Amy could say anything, Dan cut in.
"Yeah, he finally proposed to my sister here, and we're looking for flowers for the wedding, and we need some for Natalie Kabra." He said the last part in a smaller voice.
"That would make you soon-to-be Mrs. Kabra, right?" She asked. "By any chance is your name Amy Cahill?" the worker asked.
"Yes it is," said Amy.
"He speaks so lovingly of you," said the worker. Amy blushed at this. "Why, just the other day he camie in here, and ordered the largest amount of arrangements in history. He said that they were for making the mansion look nice when you came. He also said something about you taking her out to lunch? I certainly hope you like lilies of the valley, and roses." Amy could see that Dan was using his pocket recorder to get all of what she was saying. The worker then went to get an arrangements of flowers that would suit Natalie. She came back with a frown. "I'm sorry, but there are none currently made. It will take a few hours to make one from scratch."
"Oh, that's ok, I'll go to Harold's next door while I'm witing-" Amy paused for a second, and frowned. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."
"It's Isabella Anne-Maria Anglia, Repsev." She noticed Amy and Dan's expression at sucha long name, she added, "but you can call me Bella."
After paying ahead of time, Amy headed for the book-sore next to Harold's, and Dan headed to the Kabra Mansion. Amy loved any type of book store, the inky and coffee smell, the soft rustling of pages. But this book store was completely different. Being in the rich part of London, it was ridiculously elegant. But were the jewel encrusted gold plated lamps really needed? Amy was slowly walking as she browsed through books. Then she accidently walked into someone.
"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was go-" She never finished what she was saying. Amy looked up into two unforgettable amber eyes.
"Ian?"
"Hope?" Amy fainted.
Vikram wondered why Hope fainted. Stupid, he thought. You poisoned her with your poisonous cufflinks. These happened to work in a similar fashion to Irina Spatsky's poison finger nails. But he had other things to think about. Like why Hope Cahill, who was supposed to be dead, was in a high end book store in London, England. Vikram's crazy psychopathic mind realized she could be hiding from another Cahill team. That means she could be in danger! So he picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the store.
Dan and Ian: Kabra mansion:
Dan made it to the mansion with minimal illegal U-turns. When he rang the doorbell, a very obnoxious and elegant chime sounded. Dan was surprised when not Bickerduff or another servant answered, but Ian.
"Hello Lov-" Ian paused, slightly embarrassed at the fact that he had nearly called Dan 'love.' Dan burst out laughing, Ian was totally confused and he knew when Dan was happy, Ian was miserable. "What are you laughing about, Daniel?" asked Ian. Dan just laughed harder, Ian knew when Dan didn't get mad at being called Daniel, there was something up.
"W-well w-w-we went t-to t-the florists hahaha and t-t-then," Dan couldn't contine in any comprehensible language.
What Ian could make out was : 'Florist. I said Amy was married to a Cobra. Lady asked for Kabra. She. Thinks. You and Amy are married. You bought new flowers just for Amy? And you speak lovingly of her?' Dan's laughing fit died down now but Ian's rage (and embarrassment) had built. This was not good.
"What Bella told you about me buying all those flowers for her and planning on taking her on a date?" yelled Ian. He looked comical in his non-Lucian state, but he found it anything but funny. Dan was now dead silent.
"What was that last part, Cobra?" He said in a deathly calm voice that Ian was currently oblivious to.
"I said I wanted to take her on a date!" yelled Ian. As soon as he finished, Dan attacked him, telling about betrayel of trust, Korea, and breaking the 'Guy Code.'
"If you try anything with my sister in the small time frame that we are here I will have a team of Yakuza come to assassinate you!" Dan said to a now pinned-down Ian. Ian had been no match for Dan as he had actually taken martial arts so he could become the "Ultimate Ninja Master."
"Ok, Ok, Uncle or whatever you Americans say," said a now-disgruntled Ian. Dan stopped his ranting and let Ian stand up. Dan checked his cell-phone, and Ian took his chance to regain a respectful and dignified (as respectful and dignified as you can look with wrinkled and dusty clothes) posture.
"Strange, Amy hasn't messaged me back and its almost been 3 hours." Said Dan. "I guess we better go look for her, but no trying anything, and I mean anything on my sister. You hurt her enough in Korea."
Ian was now back to his cold self, but the last few words Dan said echoed in his mind.
"Didn't you say she went shopping in the bookstore next door? I know for a fact it's a Lucian hot spot, she could have found the strong hold there," said Ian. Dan who was so disgusted with Ian decided to hiss at him (mimicking a snake). While Ian was preparing a driver (because Kabra's don't drive themselves, and Dan was a psychopathic lead foot at the wheel), Dan was thinking about Bella the florist worker. There's something off about her . . . He thought. Was it the strange resemblance to Luna Amato, who he knew was dead (because no one, not even Alistair Oh can fake a death of five bullets to the chest and an explosion. Or was it her name? Dan started to play around with her name to look for anagrams. He took a paper out of his pocket and this is what he wrote"
Isabella, Anne-Maria, Anglia Repsev
I.A.M.A.R
Respev Vesper
I.A.M. . .
"Ian," said Dan.
"Oh, so you're done hissing at me now?"said Ian.
"Ian, we need to get to that florist. Now."
A/N: Ok, I know you're all mad at me, and I totally understand! I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, I truly am! So, to make it up to you, I'll post another chapter tomorrow!