We left the suit shop, wearing the pieces of magnificence that we had bought. Even Mark looked impressed in his clean white suit. I smirked and James appeared beside me, buttoning his purple coat. I smiled at him and received a smile back. "You get taught how to dance in your private school?" Drake asked him, coming up beside us.
"Yeah, we did." James replied, smiling fondly.
"Bet you had your pick of partners, too?" Gabriel enquired, behind us. James blushed.
"Umm..." He gulped. I sensed it was time to change the subject.
"Mark, Daley's coming to the ball, yes?" I asked. Mark nodded.
"Yeah, he will be." He replied.
"Will he be in uniform? Isn't that sort of a tradition?" I asked. Mark thought a minute.
"I doubt it. Polk'll bolt if he sees an NYPD uniform." Mark told me and I nodded. Robert sighed.
"I'm gonna call and make sure." He said and stopped, pulling out his phone. "I'll meet you at the hotel." He said and Mark nodded.
"Alright. Daley said our car would be just around the corn-" He stopped as he rounded the corner. A grin broke out on his face and I looked where he was looking. I couldn't help but grin too. "Oh. My. God." Mark said, sounding giddy. He ran over to the Rolls Royce, mouth agape. I walked over, putting my hands in the luscious pockets.
"It's a good day." James observed, walking up beside me. I nodded.
"Yeah, it is..." I said then did a quick calculation. "Mark... Five seats, seven of us." I told him.
"Oh." He said. I smirked.
"How far is it to the hotel?" I asked.
"About... Seven blocks." He said. I nodded.
"Right... I'll walk. Who's with me?" I asked. James glanced at me.
"Erm, I'll come." Gabriel said. I smiled at him.
"Alright. We'll meet you there. I have the address and my phone. Call if something happens." I said and began to wander in the vague direction of the hotel, Gabriel beside me.
We wandered a bit, looking at the sights as we passed. We were stood on the pathway, when we saw the Rolls pass us. We both waved and smiled. After it passed, I saw a face. At first I thought I'd been seeing things. Still, I ban to sprint across the road. A car pulled in front of me, but I vaulted over the bonnet. I landed soundly and looked about. I ran down an alleyway, calling Mark's phone. "Mark! We have a problem!" I said, looking around for the figure.
"What? Wait a minute. I'll patch you into the car phone." He said and there was a click. "What problem?" He asked.
"It's him." I said, bringing out my gun from my shoulder holster.
"Polk?" He asked.
"No... Dunnington." I said.
"What? Josh, Dunnington's dead." Mark said, sighing.
"No, he isn't! I just saw him." I said desperately.
"They found his body. That explosion killed him." Mark said. I sighed and stopped.
"Fine... Sorry." I said.
"It's fine. You know where you're at?" He asked. I holstered my gun, lucky no-one had seen it.
"No..." I said, sighing.
"Hail a cab, then. I'll meet you and pay the fare." He said and hung up. Gabriel arrived next to me.
"What..." He panted. "What happened?"
"I thought I saw someone." I said, hailing a cab for us.
"Who?" Gabriel asked, as I opened the door for him. He got in.
"Someone I hope never to see again." I said, inspiring a look of confusion from Gabriel. He knew to drop it, however, and looked forward.
When we got back to the hotel, a lush, well-furnished room overlooking the skyline, Mark had an extra suitcase. He slid it under his bed and I sensed that it was secret. I frowned slightly. We only had one hotel room but there were enough rooms for us all to share, with two people in one room. We were talking and trying to figure out who was in which room when Mark checked his watch. We had all gotten changed into casual clothes so as not to damage the suits. Mark looked at the cupboard. "Get changed. We don't have long." He said, going to his and Robert's room. I looked at James, who was watching me.
"What?" I asked. He blushed slightly, shrugging.
"It's just... I'm glad to see you." He said. I smiled.
"It's good to see you too... Well, it looks like we might be sharing a room. That ok?" I asked and I saw something flash in James' eyes, though I disregarded it at the time. He nodded.
"Yeah, sure." He said, smiling back at me. I went into a room, choosing it as the one I would stay in. James followed. Gabriel went with Drake and Jake went with Harry. I got changed, as did James.
I stepped out of the room about ten minutes later, straightening my tie. James stepped out beside me. Gabriel and Drake were both sat on the couch near the window and Gabriel raised his eyebrows, though I sensed that it was at James, not me. Drake smirked and said "Looking smart, Conlon." I rolled my eyes, though I smiled despite myself. Mark came in.
"We should be getting to the ball. They gave Robert a car too, so we have enough seats." He said and looked at Jake, who emerged. "We should get off." He said, then looked at me. He frowned slightly, causing me to frown. He sighed wearily and said "Who's going with who?" He said, and we made the plans.
An hour later, we were on our way. I was sat in the car with James and Robert, a nice, comfortable saloon, less expensive that the Rolls, but still nice. We were cruising, James looking out of the window as they passed various buildings, illuminated by impossible light. James had lived there until he was eleven and, the first week he had moved to London, he had met me. I watched him, smiling softly. The light illuminated his features, delicate and breathtaking. I looked away quickly, blinking in the light. It was a warm night and I had to brush hair out of my eyes. For once, I allowed emotion to overcome me. I had held it back since... Since that day. But I didn't have to be strong here. I wasn't leading these people. Still, I tried to hide my tears from them. I cried for the pain of my kidnapping, for the pain of missing my friends, for the pain of losing my family. Robert noticed. Robert always noticed. It might have been from having a son, but he always knew when I needed a minute. Luckily, we had arrived. We got out and James went in. Robert caught my arm and studied me under kind eyes. "Josh... Sit down." He said, indicating a bench. I did and he sat with me. "You need someone to talk to?" Robert asked, keeping a kind gaze fixed on me.
"What?" I asked, trying to discreetly wipe tears from my eyes. "Oh, no... I'm fine." I said and forced a smile.
"Josh... You've been through a lot." He said.
"Listen, Robert... I know you're trying to be nice." I said, sighing, "But I can't open up about what's happened. It's nothing against you. Mark's asked and I said the same. I'm a spy. I'll survive." Robert nodded.
"I understand. If you ever need to talk..." He said.
"I know... Thanks." I said, smiled, then stood. I went into the hall and was immediately surprised by the music. Classical. We had definitely dressed right. James was stood at a bar with Jake and Drake. Gabriel and Harry were stood a little away, and Mark was with Officer Daley, who glanced at me. I quickly rubbed my eyes as Drake excused himself and came bounding over.
"Hey!... You ok?" He asked, looking at me concerned.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said, smiling quickly. "Having fun?" I asked.
"Yeah, actually." He said and looked around. Mark was gathering us all. We went over.
"Right," He started, "Find someone to dance with or act inconspicuous." I noticed James glance at me, quick as light. "We need to blend in." He said and went over to the bar with Robert. Jake smirked and went off into the crowd. Harry sighed and turned, to find a girl stood there. He looked at us, blinked and went off dancing. That left me, Drake, James and Gabriel. Drake sighed.
"I'm going to find something I can drink." He said and went off.
"I'll go with him." Gabriel said and glanced at James who smiled quickly. I smiled at James, who looked at me nervously.
"What?" I asked, confused. James shrugged.
"I..." He started, then looked around. A girl was making a beeline for me. I sighed.
"Hey, cutie." She said, looking at me. I rolled my eyes. "Wanna dance?" She asked. She was a fairly attractive girl, dressed in a pristine emerald dress.
"No, thanks." I said, unintentionally glancing at James.
"Oh..." She said, looking at James. "I see." She smirked. "You boys have fun." Then walked away.
"Wait, n-" I stopped protesting when James rounded on me. "Wh-What?" I asked, gulping.
"Dance with me." He said, urgently.
"What?" I asked, blinking.
"There is a man on the eastern balcony watching us." He said. "He's armed. Now dance." He said and took my hand, putting one of his hands on my waist. I put my free hand on his shoulder, glancing at the man. He was bald, with some stubble. Mark had spotted him too. I slipped my earpiece out of my pocket discreetly, then put it in my ear.
"Mark?" I muttered into it.
"Yeah, I see him." Mark said. I glanced at the man, leaning on the balcony.
"Is he Scorched Leaf?" I asked, turning my gaze to James as the man looked at me. I met James' sapphire eyes, steady and deep.
"No idea... Why do I have a feeling this place is going to get shot up?" Robert piped up.
"I do too... Good job we brought our guns." Mark said. "Find the others, tell them something's going on." He said and I nodded. I broke away from James, who looked slightly disappointed. I frowned but I had to break my concentration when I heard a scream. Mark came out of nowhere and put his hand on my arm when I went for my gun. "No. Don't. We can't show our hand yet. Someone just fell." He said. I looked at the man on the balcony above. Mark saw me looking at him. "Deal with him. I can see more on the ground floor." He said, then turned. I nodded.
"James, go with Mark." I said to him and he nodded, going off. I found the stairs and went over to the man. I leant on the railing next to him. "Nice night, huh?" I asked, not looking at him.
"I suppose. Tchaikovsky was a master. The orchestra have nicely redone it." He said. He had a slight European accent. I nodded.
"I don't know much about music but that was masterful." I said. I turned to the man. "So, who are you with?"
"My company. You seem to be having a nice night." He said, smirking. "Then again, you're here with your 'company' too, aren't you?" He asked, then went for his gun. I kicked out as he brought it out, sending it over the railing. I went for my own but got shoved back, sending my own skittering down the stairs. He advanced and I jumped up, spinning my foot around to strike him in the jaw. He grunted and fell back. I threw a punch but he dodged, then threw me into the railing. I grunted and span, just before he kneed me in the stomach. I fell to my knees, gasping. He smirked and looked over the railing. We were fairly high up. I felt hot blood trickling down my face. I sighed and stood, facing him. He punched me in the jaw, and I groaned. He threw another, but I caught it. He blinked at me and I moved my hand swiftly upwards, breaking his wrist. He gasped and I grabbed his shirt, yanking him. He went over the railing, clinging on desperately. "Are you going to kill me, Conlon?" He asked.
"No, take my hand." I said, holding it out for him. He looked at it a second, then somehow threw another punch. Instinctively, I stamped on the only hand clinging on, sending him plummeting below. He landed on a table laden with food, with all of the others stood around it. They immediately went for their guns and looked up. They froze when they saw me, bleeding and gasping. James, Drake and Gabriel immediately ran for the stairs. Harry, Mark, Jake and Robert looked at the man in front of them. He was dead. Daley ran over. He looked up at me, just before I collapsed.