Thanks for reading!
3
Two clicks of empty guns rang out in the room.
Eggsy let out a breath and looked at the damage.
"Dammit, we tied again?!"
Amelia laughed and pressed the buttons to bring their practice targets forward.
"Looks like it," she said, shaking her head.
Eggsy unloaded the magazine from his gun, grabbing a new one to reload and turning on the safety before holstering it.
"Can we get anything on the boyfriend?" he asked.
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"It's already getting personal for you?"
Eggsy looked away as he shook his head, turning to unclip his target.
"Course not. She showed somethin' the other night. It could be cause of him, or she knows about her parents and what's comin'."
Amelia stayed silent until he looked up, and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll look into it," she said, holstering her weapon and unclipping her own target. They folded them up and tossed them into the bin, walking out of the shooting range at Headquarters.
Roxy was waiting for them.
"I might've found a lead, come on," she said, linking her arm in his as they walked down the concrete hall.
"That was quick," he muttered.
Roxy only smiled.
"Always look to the competition for suspects in a case of murder. And you moved quickly yourself. Even made it to the asset's bedroom, I heard."
Eggsy faltered in his step.
Amelia laughed.
"You had your glasses in your shirt pocket."
He sighed. Sometimes he loathed those glasses.
Roxy punched his arm.
"You need to keep JB in line, you've slacked off discipline."
"Oh please, Athena jumps at me every time I see her," Eggsy retorted, and then frowned. "Wait, so you guys saw how she freaked out about the door, then?"
Roxy and Amelia nodded.
"Didn't handle that very well, but it did raise Merlin's suspicions. She really could know something," Amelia said.
"Or she's scared of her ex," Roxy added.
"But he put a restraining order on her, not the other way around," Amelia replied.
Eggsy frowned.
"She wasn't just runnin from the loss the loss of her parents. She's running from him as well."
They made it to Dining room and sat down with Merlin, at the head of the table.
"All yours, Lancelot."
Roxy nodded and tapped on the table, dragging up photos to the main screen on the wall in front of them. They were of a stout man with round glasses and a prominent moustache; even looked shaped at the ends, with a small curl.
"This is a long story short, I've reported to Merlin already, but this is to fill you in, as we're all on the same mission. This is, Dr. Pheno. Head of the Chemistry Department at Oxford. Colleague of Dr. Renzella, the mother, for quite a few years – even helped the initial tests of 'the concoction', before the husband stepped in and added his Neurological expertise. First few Scholarly Journals they submitted of their works had Pheno and Renxella as authors, but a few years after, it was Dr. and Dr. Renzella as the only authors.
"As soon as he was kicked off of his own research team, Dr. Pheno started dealing in the Black Market to bring in money, selling rare chemicals and concoctions to whoever had a better price. Such things are only accessible to Professors at a University, or a high security lab."
Roxy nodded to Amelia, who stood up, and continued.
"He worked the books himself, it was only lucky our tech caught the discrepancies – but he was definitely selling anything he could get his hands on."
"D'ya think the ones that killed 'em were hired by this Dr. Pheno?" Eggsy asked.
"It's a possibility. Its cliché, going the revenge route, but putting over three years into research to only be cut out of the project itself… there's resentment that grows," Roxy said.
Merlin nodded.
"Lancelot has registered to Oxford for a few classes, but she'll be attending his only. Then she'll get into a position at his labs, and keep track of any discrepancies."
Roxy gave a nod, confirming it all.
Then Merlin looked at each of them, a slight frown on his face.
"This will do for now, but we can't consider him an only suspect. We need to stretch our imaginations, bring any inklings you might have who is involved with this – we cannot allow ourselves to be in the dark for too long."
Merlin turned to Eggsy.
"I saw we had a quite a scuffle last night."
Eggsy looked down, tapping his fingers against the table, which he saw had it going haywire through his glasses, so he drew his hand back.
"JB's not used to cats…"
"Ariel's fear of her door being left open shows us something. We need to press further, as do you. Find a way in," he said in finality, standing up. "This will not be an easy mission, nor will it be quick. We can only hope the bastards come knocking on our front door, but it would be better if we started the fight. That is all."
Merlin quickly left, and Eggsy let out a breath.
"Is it just me or is he even more of a hard-ass than before?"
Roxy shook her head.
"What do you expect? He's the new superior. Valentine did more damage than we thought… we all know that," she said.
He winced and gave a curt nod, standing up, but then shaking his head.
"How am I supposed to approach her? She showed a weakness, and she hated that she did – I could tell."
"We all could, Galahad. But she still tried to smile at you as though nothing happened, despite her quick let-down… small steps," Amelia said before she left, leaving Roxy alone with him.
"You should know more than any of us here how a victim of… well, how they react. Solidify safety. Show her you're there. A good neighbor, someone that you know and can count on, is an entity," she said, standing and walking to the door.
"What if I can't do it?" he blurted out. Roxy stopped at the door, and turned, smiling.
"You showed me how good of a friend you can be in only a few days. If she doesn't let you in, then for a fact I know you will let her in. I'm not sure which one would be for the better though, for all of us."
She had her TV set up that day and was lounging and enjoying an episode of Arrow when she heard Sydney meow loudly, followed with the sounds of her scratching at the front door.
Ariel frowned.
By now Sydney knew to go to the back door to go outside… not the front. Ariel stood and walked to the door, checking the peephole, seeing a flash of movement from the corner. She frowned and moved to the widow next to her door, pulling her curtains back a slight inch to peek through.
It was Eggsy, in a suit, walking up his stairs with a concerned look on his face. He stopped, and then turned to look directly at her door.
She gasped and dropped to the floor immediately, holding her breath, hoping he didn't notice her. Sydney continued to scratch and meow at the front door, and Ariel held her breath.
She heard the faint opening and closing of a door and let out her breath, sitting up from the floor. Sydney meowed once last time, pawing at the door a few more times before turning around and slinking away in defeat.
Ariel took a deep breath before standing up and moving to the kitchen. Before she knew it she was making coffee cake, muttering the ingredients and their measurements as she mixed them together and poured it into a pan. She put it in the oven, and stepped back, leaning on the counter, catching her breath.
She shut him out, blew him off… he should have no reason to talk to her, to even think of her.
So why did he look over at her door?
And did he see her watching?
Her breath caught at the thought, embarrassment flooding her. She shook her head roughly, and moved to her timer to set it for the cake.
She stood in the kitchen, listening to the 'click-click' of the timer when the shrill ring of her phone disturbed the silence, making her jump. She sighed, and moved to her machine, checking the Caller ID. It was a number she didn't know, so she let it ring, waiting for the voicemail.
The ringing stopped, and there were two beeps.
"Uhm, Ariel, hey. It's me. God, I hate that I have to be the one to make this call, but your parent's things are all packed up here at the University. They've given you two weeks to come pick it all up, it is quite a load. But… just call me, okay, Ariel? I need to know you're okay. If you need to talk, or just cry… I mean if you want to see their lab, I can make arrangements for you… Ariel, call me, okay? I need to know that you're okay, you just disappeared after their funeral-"
He was cut off short, and a robotic voice saying that their voice message was recorded and to either press a button to approve or press another to re-record rang out.
There was a beep of a button being pressed, and she was graced with silence.
Ariel took in a shuddering breath as her legs abandoned her and she sunk to the floor, shaking.
Sydney's meows, along with her occasional swats at Ariel's face woke her up. She moaned, pushing her cat away. Sydney only meowed again, and lingered by the doorway.
Ariel sighed, throwing off her covers, removing her earplugs and eye-cover and resting them on her bedside table before she stood up.
"What, what is it, damn cat," she muttered grumpily, rubbing at her eyes.
Sydney meowed and led her downstairs and to – surprise – the front door. Ariel stopped, eyes wide, having an inkling to what Sydney was so interested in.
She sighed, and walked to the window next to her front door, tucking the curtain back slightly to peek out.
Eggsy, at her front door, turned his head and met her gaze before smiling.
She gasped and drew back, dropping the curtain.
"Shit!" she said under her breath, looking down at herself.
Sesame Street pajamas, of course. Her pants had a cookie design and her shirt was blue with the Cookie Monster's eyes.
"Fuck," she whispered, shaking her head. He saw her; she didn't have time to go change. It could've been worse; she could have been wearing her Spongebob set.
There was a knock on her door.
"Ariel?" Eggsy's muffled voice pierced through.
She sighed, running a hand through her hair, grateful at least that it wasn't a mess - a pro of her short hair - and she turned her locks before swinging the door open.
No time for hiding now.
Eggsy opened his mouth but stopped when he looked at her, a smile growing on his face as he looked at her pajamas.
"It fits you," he muttered.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a reason you're here at such an ungodly hour of the morning?" she asked.
Eggsy looked up to meet her gaze, raising an eyebrow.
"It's nine."
"Yeah, still too early."
He laughed, shaking his head. She shrugged.
"I'm still only part-time, so I don't start till later in the afternoon. But even full time I'll have off hours."
"Oh? And which establishment has the grace of the Cookie Monster working for them?"
She stopped, blinking.
"You're teasing me."
Eggsy's eyes grew wide as he clutched at his chest.
"Me?! While I never," he said in a mock 'posh' accent, different from his own.
She sighed, shaking her head.
"A receptionist job at a Photography Art Gallery."
He stopped, raising an eyebrow.
"A genius at an Art Gallery?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"It's just… dunno. I see you workin' in a lab somewhere, in one of those white coats, goggles and the like, you know. What are those weird glass cups called?"
She tilted her head, smiling.
"Beakers?"
"Yeah! Beakers…"
"Well, what do you do in these suits of yours?" she asked, eyeing his current one, a grey tweed three-piece.
He actually looked flushed and he cleared his throat as he looked down and fingered a cufflink. She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a… tailor."
She laughed, but then realized he was frowning and stopped.
"Oh, you're serious! Sorry… it's just when I think of a tailor I think of an old scraggly man, or the mafia for some reason. I wonder how that stereotype started…" she faded off, but then smiled. "Sorry, again. I actually thought you were joking… so you made that?" she asked, looking him up and down – more for herself than anything.
"No… I uhm… I work mostly in… fabric! Yeah, I work on orders and such… which is why I'm here, listen," he said, straightening his shoulders and holding out his hand.
She glanced down to see he was holding out a key.
"I'm gonna be away for a day or two. Work trip. I've got somethin' arranged for JB, so he's taken care of, but just check him out in case he starts barkin' or howlin' or the like, don't want the other neighbors getting tiffed."
She tilted an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure how long it will be. I just wanted to make sure we were okay before I left…" he continued, fading off.
She froze.
He meant when she freaked out about the door and basically kicked him out.
She took in a shuddering breath, but smiled and shook her head.
"Why wouldn't we be okay?" she asked.
He stared at her for a beat before he smiled.
"Good, good," he said, fingering his cufflinks again, "I'm still waiting for us to break open the bottle you gave me. Maybe when I come back?"
She froze again, completely taken aback. Did neighbors drink together?
"Uhm," she cleared her throat, but found herself nodding, "Uhm yeah, sounds like a plan."
His smile blinded her.
"A plan it is. See you soon, yeah?"
Soon?
"Uh, yeah…"
He nodded and turned, taking a few steps down. But then he stopped, turning back around and jumping back up the steps, standing close to her.
She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat but kept his gaze, looking up at him.
"What did you bake the other night?" he asked softly.
She stuttered.
"Uhm. Coff… coffee cake…"
He grinned, but shook his head.
"It's torture, y'know that? It's like the smell seeps through the walls," he said, taking a small step closer, making her breath catch.
"I almost burned it; it wasn't even that good-"
"Don't. Don't undermine yourself… just…"
He stopped, looking flustered, which calmed her down though she didn't know why, and he took a small step back.
"Just… can you warn me next time?"
She blinked.
"Warn you? What, should I fax you a memo?"
His face twisted before he laughed.
"A fax?!"
"People still use them…" she muttered.
He shook his head.
"I meant more like knocking on the kitchen wall between us, leave a note on my door… hell, just knock and tell me."
She frowned.
"What, knock on your door before I put it in the oven, or should I tell you before I mix the ingredients? Honestly, I should warn you halfway through the baking time, that's when the smell so called 'seeps' through the walls-"
He took a step closer, and she caught her breath again, her sentence falling short. He smiled down at her.
"Whichever means you find most… logical, just lemme know," he said.
She nodded.
"Okay," she whispered.
"See you, Ariel," he said, giving her a wink before he walked down the steps.
"See you," she said softly as she watched him get into a taxi and drive off.
It was a simple bomb disarming. Australian Rebels who wanted to split the parties into two countries, each with their own party, planted a bomb underneath the orchestra pit at the Sydney Opera House, which would be filled with high ranking members of parliament.
He, Percival, and Roxy took care of the insurgents quickly, and Roxy dismantled the bomb, which even ticked like in the movies. She got it with almost thirty seconds to spare. The opera started on time, and nobody else knew the better of it.
Roxy broke down her findings with Dr. Pheno on the flight home, in a conference call with Merlin.
"It's a dead end," she sighed in defeat, "he is definitely selling his materials illegally; however no terrorist connections or connections with the Renzella's were found."
"I'll keep an eye out for him, anyways. If he was a colleague of theirs, then he had to have known Ariel," Eggsy said.
"Good thinking, Galahad," Merlin's voice filled the cabin. "He might be hiding something else – we'll wait until we hand him over to the proper authorities for his activities. But we can't take that chance if he's linked to the Renzella's deaths."
Eggsy only nodded, looking down as he fingered his cufflinks. He initially accepted the job, liking that he would get to know his spitfire but overall shy neighbor. But under the guise of a lie – that's what he hated.
"Do we have any other possible leads?" Roxy asked.
Merlin shook his head on the screen, sighing.
"Unfortunately not. This is going to be harder than we thought. Anything else that Ariel might've revealed?" Merlin asked.
Eggsy raised an eyebrow.
"It's only been a week or so, give me some time, yeah?"
Merlin blinked, but frowned.
"You know this is all time sensitive, Galahad," he said sternly.
Eggsy winced, but muttered a sorry.
"That's it on our end, have a safe flight home, Kingsman," Merlin finished before disconnecting the conference call.
Percival let out a large sigh and moved to the back of the plane.
"Wake me up when we land," he muttered.
Roxy smiled, but then rolled her eyes when he turned his back, which had Eggsy grinning. Percival was the one that brought Roxy in as a recruit. She never talked about their relationship, but he felt as though it was a rather familial one, the way they talked to each other so casually and played around.
Roxy sat down next to Eggsy, stretching out her legs.
"How is it on Ariel's end?"
He stopped, frowning for a moment.
"I don't like it."
Roxy shook her head.
"It's for the better. It's close to a miracle, the happenstance that she moves in next to you at Harry's flat."
Eggsy nodded, and fingered his cufflinks again.
Harry had amended his will the same day Eggsy passed the loyalty test with the threatening oncoming train - leaving everything to Eggsy, including the flat. When Merlin gave him the job as Harry's predecessor, he got a house with the title of Galahad and lived with his mom and sister for a while before the paperwork arrived in the mail. His mom was reluctant at first, but Eggsy was grown enough, and at Harry's old flat he found comfort he didn't know he would find. He definitely got rid of the stuffed dog, though. And he moderned the place up a bit – Harry was almost too much of a classical man.
"She's not what I expected…" he muttered.
Roxy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Expectations… after only a couple of days?"
He shook his head.
"When she was movin' in, she was yellin' and screamin' at the movers. Knocked one of them on their ass after they threatened her. They left her with all her stuff on the sidewalk, but she kept goin', as though she could do it all herself. That's when I intervened to help… but even after I knew who she was, what I needed to do… she's just… she doesn't act like she's lost her parents… lost everythin'."
Roxy stayed silent.
"Sometimes women are stronger than you think," she said.
He shook his head, sitting up in his seat.
"You know I know that, Rox. It's just she's completely alone… and she doesn't even let it show. I guess… I dunno, could it be the fact she's American that has me all confused?"
She laughed at that.
"Well, they are a peculiar breed," she said. He shook his head, laughing as he lightly punched her shoulder.
"Hey, did you know our accent is the origin of 'Southern Drawl'?" he asked, and she froze, turning towards him and raising an eyebrow.
He shook his head.
"Ariel knows a lot of things. Maybe even too much."
She continued to stare at him, her eyebrow raised.
"And how much time, exactly, have the two of you spent together?"