A/N: Hi guys! I hope all of you are doing fine! This school year's coming to an end a lot sooner than I expected. Unfortunately, this means exams are coming up real soon for me. Luckily, I'm one of those people who doesn't stress about exams that much. Unfortunately, I have the awful tendency to procrastinate and keep myself busy with other, much more fun things than studying, hence the new chapter, yay! I hope you guys like it! If you do, let me know, if you don't, let me know as well!
Send me on my way - Rusted Root
"(On my way, on my way)
(On my way, on my way)
I would like to reach out my hand
I may see you, I may tell you to run (On my way, on my way)
You know what they say about the young
Well, pick me up with golden hand
Oombayseeyou, I may tell you to run (On my way, on my way)
You know what they say about the young
Well, I would like to hold my little hand
And we will run, we will, we will crawl, we will
I would like to hold my little hand
And we will run, we will, we will crawl
Send me on my way (On my way)
Send me on my way (On my way)
Send me on my way (On my way)
Send me on my way (On my way)
Send me on my way (On my way)
Send me on my way (On my way)
Send me on my way (On my way)
Mm hmm (On my way)"
When I wake up, it's already noon, the cheap curtains no longer able to hold the sunlight outside, the light waking me up. Tiredly, I open my eyes, and find myself lying right on top of Raoul, who's lying on his back. Apparently, he just fell backwards and both of us had fallen asleep like that. I'm a bit worried about my legs that no longer feel like they're mine, after having been bent painfully the entire night, but apart from that I'm fine. I can still feel the trails of now dry tears on my body. I sigh, trying to let all the sadness from last night behind and to live in the present. Often, it felt like it was the only way I could deal with life and all the awful shit that happened to me and those around me, just forcing myself to forget about the bad stuff.
To distract myself, I begin to trace invisible patterns on Raoul's bare chest, exploring his soft skin and the strong muscles underneath, moving my hair around where it's splayed against his skin. I notice that it helps and can't help but smile softly. Suddenly, Raoul shifts, slowly waking up. I wait, curious to find out what he'll do, feeling his body wake up. Subconsciously, he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. The feeling of his body pressed tightly against mine makes me close my eyes and smile. I lie back down, resting my head against his chest, lips accidentally touching his skin. When I lift my head up once more, I look straight into his dark brown eyes, a still sleepy look in them.
"Good morning." I whisper quietly. He lets out a tired groan as he raises his arms to stretch them, causing his stomach muscles to push me upwards. I giggle at it, but remain where I am, his muscles relaxing once more. " 'Morning." He grunts, closing his eyes for a moment. My legs are really starting to hurt, so I roll off of him until I'm lying on my back.
"Fuck!" I hiss, cramps shooting up my legs. I grab my legs, rubbing them in an effort to soothe the pain.
"Cramps." I grit out through my teeth when Raoul gives me a worried look. He sits up at it, and I freeze up in shock when his hands grab one of my legs, gently massaging it. Slowly, I lie down and allow myself to relax and close my eyes, the pain slowly disappearing. Soon enough, I find myself relishing the feeling of those strong, big hands touching my bare legs. Only barely, I manage to choke back a moan. Being massaged was one of my biggest weaknesses, dammit. Like that, I slowly wake up, Raoul's hands rubbing all my pain away, emotionally and physically.
When he stops, I open my eyes and find him looking down at me with a soft smile.
"I'll get us breakfast. You can shower if you want." He offers, surprisingly quiet. All I can do is nod. Raoul gets up at that, grabbing some fresh clothes out of his bag. Like before, I can't help but stare at his scarred back and like before, I find him smoking hot. This was so unfair! How could he be this sexy? Unfortunately, like before, Raoul catches me staring and smirks before leaving the apartment.
Unfortunately, he doesn't forget to lock the door behind him.
-3rd POV-
Raoul has only just left the room, when his phone rings. When he sees who's calling, he doesn't hesitate to answer the call.
"Silva." He speaks, as if the man on the other side of the line didn't know exactly whom he was calling.
"Are you still in the cabin?" the man asks, going straight to business.
"No. A doctor had to come check on the girl, he got suspicious. I bet the cops are on their way there right now." Raoul answers, knowing the other guy wouldn't like the news.
"The girl is hurt?" The voice sounds casual, as if they were only talking about the weather, but Raoul knew better. He was not pleased at all.
"She tried to escape and tripped." Raoul admits hesitantly.
"Typically one of James' women. They do seem to enjoy running from me." Raoul can't help but grimace at the giddy words. He knew exactly what had happened to the other women whom James had cared about.
"If the girl remains a problem, we'll have to get rid of her sooner than I thought." The man adds, Raoul freezing up at it.
"Get rid of her? I thought you needed her alive."
"What use is she to me alive, Silva? No, no, no. I need her dead. James has to lose everyone around him, it's only fair, after everything he did to my family."
"But… the girl is innocent."
"Don't you fuck it up, Silva. The previous guy I gave her this job only managed to mentally damage her. From you, I expect a little more. You'll kill her when I tell you to, understood?"
"Yes, Blofeld." Silva grits out, then ends the call.
This wasn't what he made a deal for. He only agreed on killing M and kidnapping Rhine, not kill her too. This was going to be much more difficult than he had expected it to be.
I give myself another ten minutes to wake up slowly, enjoying the warmth of the sun hitting my body. Then, I get up and make my way over to the bathroom. Quickly, I strip out of my clothes and hop inside the shower, turning it as warm as it can get. To my surprise, all the places Raoul and I had stayed at had warm water. During the few times I'd been on a mission with James, this hadn't always been the case. I shudder at the memories of some rather dirty hotels. At least James had been there with me to distract me.
James. My thoughts take a darker turn as his face pops up into my head. He would be so worried right now. Guilt hits me hard, for I hadn't exactly been treated like an actual hostage, and neither was I acting like I was one. It would've been so much easier for me to hate Raoul if he'd ever been mean to me, or even hurt me. Instead, he was rather funny, and gentle, even sweet sometimes, making it hard for me to remember that he was the same guy who bombed MI6 and killed M, and who'd caused James so much mental torment.
Last night was the first time that I believed this whole ordeal had affected Raoul, unlike what he tried to convince me of. My guess was that he'd either dreamt about killing M or his imprisonment by the Chinese, perhaps even a mixture of both. I recognized the horrible pain in his eyes, had dreamt the same nightmares, felt the same emotions and trust me, it wasn't nice to be tormented like that. Still, despite having done horrible things and having gone through even worse ones, he still acted rather normal to me. He was like any other person I'd met, but at the same time he was the most unique one I'd ever come across…
Letting out an annoyed huff, I turn off the water and get out of the shower. As I'm drying myself off, I realize that the shampoo and soap smell just like Raoul, an odd but intoxicating smell I can't recognize as anything else but him. I take a deep breath, finding the scent oddly relaxing, then walk back into the bedroom. I rush over to the bag, considering the fact that I'm naked and he could return any minute, then grab a clean red shirt to put on, grabbing my pants from yesterday. I cringe at the fact that I've been wearing the same underwear for two days, but try not to think about it too much. I'd ask Raoul for new underwear when he returned. After brushing my hear (the hotel room even has a blow dryer, yay!), I'm busy brushing my teeth when I hear the door unlock. Just to be sure it's him, I tip toe out of the bathroom, just in time to see Raoul enter, carrying a bag in his hand.
"Hello, love." He says with a grin, chuckling at the sight of me brushing my teeth. I probably wasn't elegant or sexy at all right now, but I couldn't care less.
"Whehhoh." I try to bring out, making him laugh harder. I shrug at it, retreating back into the bathroom.
When I return, there's a strawberry smoothie and a cheese sandwich waiting for me on the table. Raoul's sitting opposite my place at the table, his food already gone, only a bit of his drink left (I think it's a banana milkshake). I eat in peaceful silence, Raoul watching me. When I finish, he's already packed our things, and I follow him out of the room, down the stairs, through the lobby, onto the parking lot, into the car. Once more, he holds the car door open for me, and I smile at the gentlemanly gesture, getting in. Leaning against my seat comfortably, I look at him as he starts the car. It's silent on the road, not many cars driving around right now. When I look at the car's display, I see
it's already 2 in the afternoon, which surprises me. I had no idea we'd slept so long! Then again, we did have a rough night, so I suppose it wasn't that odd after all. After a while of driving, Raoul turns on the radio, and I curl up against the passenger's window, slowly falling asleep.
-3rd POV-
James was currently driving one of the fastest cars in the world, yet he still felt like he wasn't going fast enough. Every time he glanced down at his watch, another minute had passed, another minute for Silva to keep his Rhine from him, another minute for him to escape James' clutches once more. Before, James might even have slightly sympathized with the villain, but now that he'd taken her, James was outraged and beyond reason. The thought alone that Rhine was injured that badly that Silva risked calling in a doctor made his blood boil. He swore to himself that he'd find Silva, and this time he wouldn't miss when he pulled the trigger.
-3rd POV-
'Knock. Knock. Knock.'
Gareth Mallory jolts awake, looking up in a daze.
"Come on in." He calls out, voice still filled with sleep. He forces himself to sit up straight, quickly hiding a yawn behind his hand as Q enters his office. He'd fallen asleep right on top of his desk and now he definitely felt it, his back aching, joints popping in protest.
"Q." Gareth acknowledges him, the young man awkwardly sitting down in the chair opposite him. The youngster's eyes meet his, and he knows Q can see the sleep in his own.
"Sir, I-I've studied Silva's escape, and I noticed something odd… It's not much, but I thought it might, perhaps, be useful…" Q begins to stutter, very nervous indeed. In the beginning, Gareth hadn't been sure why they'd hired the young boy to be the Quartermaster, but after seeing him in action, Gareth had soon realized why. Despite the boy's rather… awful social skills, he was incredibly smart and creative, solving problems and finishing new projects in no time. In his eyes, the boy was a genius. He'd simply learned to be patient with his stuttering and shyness. He figured that, in time, it would diminish slightly.
"Anything can be of use, Q. What did you find out?" Gareth asks him kindly, unable to prevent the spark of hope from glowing up in his chest.
"Bond found the place the doctor called about. It's somewhere near the border of the UK, Sir." Q explains, a new excitement in his eyes, reassured by Gareth's interest. Gareth sits up straighter at that. Finally. This was what he had been waiting for. No one could do something when they didn't even know the direction Silva chose to run off.
"Where are they?" He asks curiously, now on high alert.
"They're now on their way from Scotland to England, Sir."
"Why come back here?" Gareth wonders out loud. Q doesn't give him an answer, for he doesn't know it either.
"Do we have their exact location?" He asks after a moment, looking out the window.
"No, Sir."
"Well, do everything you can to find them. Good work, Q." M orders.
"Yes, Sir. Thank you." Q says, standing up and leaving the office, closing the door behind him.
Sighing deeply, Gareth Mallory opens his laptop. Pulling up a map of the United Kingdom, he studies it closely, following an invisible trail from Ireland to England with his eyes.
Where could she be?