The Goodchild mansion was a beautiful château, perched on it's own in the middle of the countryside of Bordeaux, it stood, impressive and isolated, much like the man who inhabited it now. Originally created for a wine merchant, the estate was made up of twenty acres of lush, rich soil which once helped to produce a fine Merlot, although that was just over 150 years ago. Now, the grounds had been charmed into beautiful and decadent gardens, mirroring the pastel colours and winding staircases you could find inside the house. There was a lake winding gently through its gardens, the water was always still, giving the illusion that the entire estate was stood still in time. It's cream coloured stone walls, high-reaching turrets and the steeply-pitched roofs were similar to any other sixteenth century French home for nobility. The dark stone of the roof, with its differing levels and sharp edges, gave a nod of respect to its gothic and renaissance-inspired architect.
In the days when the château was predominantly producing wine, it was home to a wealthy French family of the aristocracy; their name was carved in stone throughout the building. Now, however, it was re-purposed; housing members of a criminal organisation and it's staff, the place had gained a new lease of life. Goodchild was not a fan of the French countryside, or any countryside, for that matter. He was raised in the concrete confines of New York city and even detested London on the occasion where English weather would upset his plans. It was beautiful here, undoubtedly, and he needed the space to house dark secrets of the criminal underworld, so he settled for it at an auction a few years ago.
Even his second-in-command, a young British spy, had grimaced upon entering the grounds. Hera had been raised in Southwark, South London, in apartment buildings by the river. She was accustomed to the fast-paced nature of a city and felt that she had no time for the idle days this mansion had to offer. Both her and her boss had entered the place with that same cold feeling of apprehension, of wondering if this were the right thing to do.
Their fears left them however, when they opened their eyes to greet the first morning spent in the château. The sunshine that lit up the place was unlike anything Hera had ever seen. It was golden and shimmering, glittering on the furniture, filling the rooms with warmth and shining brilliance. It was a single strand of this golden sunshine that fell onto Alex Rider's face as he lay, sleeping surprisingly peacefully, in his bed in the mansion. That strand of light became brighter as the sun rose higher in the sky and eventually, its brightness woke him.
Alex gently opened his eyes and shut them quickly as the light shone brightly through the crack between his curtains. Turning away from the window, he tried again, opening his eyes a little to spy the digital clock on the bedside table. It was 7:29 in the morning and he was completely exhausted- mentally and emotionally, that is. Alex had been put through his paces for most of the night, battling with himself to decide what to do, weighing up his options, becoming confused by thoughts of two different women, growing distracted by blue eyes and red lips.
"Ah." Alex jumped up as a phone on the bedside table began to ring as soon as the clock showed 7:30. Shaking his head to rid himself of the surprise, Alex reached over and picked up the phone. "Yes?" He answered hoarsely.
"Breakfast is served in the drawing room." Alex was surprised to hear a friendly, American voice sound from the other end. Before he could say anything, the line cut.
"Hera?" The girl turned from the doors of the mansion, which were open and inviting a wonderful summer breeze to fill the hall, at the sound her name being spoken. Daniel called to her from the downstairs drawing room; he spoke her name sharply like a headmaster calling an insolent student into his office. Hera turned away from the doors and, re-tying her hair into a ponytail, entered the drawing room. "Morning." Daniel spoke over his copy of the Financial Times. The creamy, slightly orange paper of the newspaper fitted in well with the decor of this room; there were long, low, cream sofas with white oak frames that Daniel had imported from Italy and small bunches of orange peonies filled up glass vases that were scattered around the room. "Not talking to me?" Daniel asked as Hera ignored his greeting and walked over the a long table set up by the window; tea and coffee was served in porcelain vessels along with delicious looking pastries and freshly cut up fruit. At the table, Hera poured tea into a china tea cup with a gold rim, and turned to him. She was stood in her running gear and had just re-entered the house when he had called her.
"What do you want me to say? Thank you Daniel for making me kidnap my ex-partner and forcing me to work with him? Thank you for blackmailing me into getting access to my father's work?" She asked scathingly.
"Don't be like that. I agreed to give you 48 hours; I never compromise for anyone." Daniel folded up his broadsheet and placed it on the seat next to him.
"You lied to me and I'm supposed to be the highest ranking officer when you're not around." Hera spat at him.
"You," he pointed a finger at her, making her instantly uncomfortable; Daniel was an excellent judge of character, of playing on people's weaknesses. He could make her feel worthless in a twist of a few words. "You are the liar, baby." He said coldly. "You never told me you still cared about him. You never told me you had ulterior motives going in to this thing." Daniel stopped with a small smirk as Hera slammed her tea cup on the table beside her and walked up to him, fuming.
"How am I supposed to trust you when you're willing to put my life at risk?" The blue eyes beauty snarled, "I never went that far, Daniel. I would always protect you." Daniel, who remained seated, an unmoving tower of resilience, put a hand on his heart as though it ached.
"Well now you're just making me feel bad." He said with exaggerated sincerity, causing Hera to roll her eyes.
"Fuck you, Daniel." She spat at him and returned to her cup of tea.
"Stop it. Let me take you out, do you want to go to Paris, baby?" Hera laughed.
"I'm not one of your bimbo, size 0, notihing-between-their-ears, everything-between-their-legs, girls." She retorted. "You can't force me to make up my mind by spoiling me with a trip to Paris." Daniel sat forwards in his chair.
"To be honest, I'm offended that that's what you think I was doing. Firstly," Daniel touched the tips of his index fingers together indicating his first point, "I have made my feelings for you very clear, don't cheapen them by insinuating I think less of you. Secondly," his index finger tapped the tip of his middle finger, "get over yourself." Hera stared at him blankly, unfazed by his words. "I was going to tell you that Craft still has ties in Paris that you may want to take care of. So if your answer is a no, I'll go Natalya." Daniel glared back at Hera as she folded her arms and smiled.
"Is that supposed to make me jealous?" At this, Daniel finally lost his temper.
"Do not make me the enemy just because of your history with Rider." He said dangerously. Hera was about to respond when that very man entered the room. "Morning, Alex." Daniel said smoothly, recovering from his spat with Hera quickly. "Would you like some eggs, I can call down to Mer-?"
"No." The determined manner in which Alex spoke, captured Hera and Daniel's attention. They both looked at him, stood in his civilian clothes, looking his age beside Daniel who remained in his faithful white shirt and dark trousers. Alex looked to Hera who showed no trace of emotion, before he let his eyes flit back to her criminal employer. "I accept the mission-"
"Excellent!"
"On several conditions." Daniel, who had been ecstatic for a moment, simply smiled and, with a nod to Hera, signalled her to sit next to him. In the room, two low sofas with silk cushions, decorated with white and pale orange embroidery, were opposite each other. Hera walked to where Daniel was and sat next to him, putting her tea cup on the coffee table between the two sofas. Daniel gestured for Alex to sit opposite them. The blonde obliged.
"I have questions." Alex repeated. "My decision may rest on the answers to them." Daniel decided there was something about Alex he liked. This man was nearly seven years younger than him and entirely out of his depth; he had been out of this world for three vital years and yet he sat and spoke with such control. It was refreshing; usually the men Daniel dealt with cowered in fear. Alex didn't even flinch.
"Very well." Daniel indicated for Alex to continue.
"What is Swallowtail?"
"It is the name of my organisation." Daniel answered. "It is made up of Hera and myself. And six other individuals, one is staying here, you will meet him later. The other five are working regular jobs, they are not devoted to the cause full time as Hera and I are; they are in five different countries." Alex nodded, thinking up his next question.
"What is Swallowtail's goal?"
"Weapon attainment. We protect criminals against criminals, blackmail governments and stop wars." Daniel shrugged nonchalantly.
"Surely you start them too?"
"It is the threatening to start them that stops them from happening." A small smirk played on Daniel's face.
"Why did you need me?"
"There is a much richer, elaborate story behind the actions of Swallowtail."
"Indulge me." As Alex said this, the corner of Hera's mouth twitched into a smirk; she hadn't seen this side to Alex for a while now. The ambitious, driven side that she used to two well. Daniel lifted his hand from resting on the sofa ledge behind Hera and pushed her head playfully to indicate he wanted her to answer. She sighed and picked up her tea cup.
"Currently the criminal world is undergoing two massive movements, both of which are inextricably linked." She took a sip of her tea, looking a very odd picture; sat in her running clothes, drinking from a china cup in a room full of invaluable antiques, discussing the goings on of the criminal underworld. "The one most noticeable is weapon attainment becoming a top priority for all organisations."
"Why?"
"Because there is a rumour Il Generale is galvanising old and abandoned gangs in the East, he wants to start a war. This is the second and less impending movement." Hera and Alex shared a knowing look.
"Il Generale is a joke," Daniel nodded as Alex spoke; this kid new his stuff. "He's not real."
"Yes but the power of information, Alex," Daniel interrupted, suddenly excited, he leant forwards and clasped his hands together. "The power of rumour and fear, can cause even the strongest of men to cower and hide. Once word spreads that such a formidable enemy is on the rise, it is only natural that terrorist groups should seek to weaponise and fortify."
"Is that what Swallowtail is doing?"
"Not exactly. I do not buy in to the intimidation of Il Generale and see him more as a symbol of war. While other organisations are busy scrambling for protection, we will offer it to them. All Il Generale means to me is a heck of a lot of money to be made." Alex nodded, Goodchild's actions suddenly making more sense to him.
"Swallowtail is after money? You're going to sell Nova?"
"Yes." Daniel answered. "But we are also after our own protection. Hence your abduction." Again, Alex nodded.
"You have leverage over the British government if you have me." It was not the first time Alex had thought about this; if anyone found out the Ministry of Defence had employed children, it would be the end of their reputation, they would be disbanded. A sudden thought occurred to Alex: "but you have Hera; she could be used for the same thing."
"I don't make a good story." The spy shrugged, "a half Indian, half British girl who happily agreed to work for MI6 and still does, does not evoke such a strong response from the public as: a blonde haired, blue eyed, British boy who was blackmailed into working for them several times and just wants a normal life."
"Also it seemed we had the perfect cover for your capture; we needed a secure angle to get to you before anyone else did," Daniel explained. "Who better than your ex-partner, working for the government, to keep watch over you while MI6 busied itself with threats from terrorist organisations who wanted to kill you?"
"Did you send threats to MI6?"
"We sent the first two." Daniel smiled a little; he knew what Alex was asking, he wanted to know how much of themselves they had given away to MI6. This boy was sharp. "The rest followed once everyone realised what a good idea it was. Once Hera was securely positioned as your bodyguard and Jones and Blunt were fully occupied with figuring out who it is that's after you. We snuck in." Daniel raised an eyebrow as Alex sniggered at him.
"I wouldn't take so much credit for that." Alex explained. "She was invited to dinner." Hera stirred upon hearing the condescending tone in Alex's voice.
"I would say that getting a dinner invitation from the enemy is a little more impressive than just barging in." She retorted.
"If sleeping with my best friend can be called impressive." There was a moment of silence in which Hera stared at Alex with such repulsion and her hand twitched towards her thigh, where she usually had a weapon strapped, that Daniel had to put a hand on her knee and squeeze to get her attention.
"Hera." Goodchild said in a warning tone. Immediately, Hera's look of utter indignation mellowed to a scowl. Alex was not about to back down so easily. Remembering Tom lit up something inside of him.
"So the cyclist and the waiter you killed were?"
"From other organisations." Hera responded quietly.
"And the night at Mrs Rum's house?"
"A colleague."
"A colleague did that to you?" Alex asked scathingly. Hera responded with a sweet smile and spoke like the voiceover on an advert for a holiday resort:
"We have fun here at Swallowtail."
"That should be your tagline." Alex didn't miss a beat.
"You two are going to drive me fucking insane." Daniel interjected before Hera could respond. He squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, looking exasperated. "How are you supposed to work together?" He muttered under his breath, suddenly re-thinking his whole plan.
"Why do we have to work together?" Alex asked suddenly. "Why can't Hera take someone else?"
"Two reasons: firstly, you know Nova, it simplifies things a little. Secondly," Daniel looked over to Hera with great affection, she kept her eyes cast downwards, staring into her tea cup, "I don't trust anyone else to look after her. I'm sending her into a hive of my enemies. I need someone I can trust-"
"Why would you trust me?"
"You don't need me to answer that, Alex." Daniel looked over to him, no sarcasm or malice entered his voice; he had explained it to Alex last night. Both men knew Alex would give his life for Hera, despite how much he was unwilling to admit it. The feelings of attraction and protectiveness were clear for Daniel to see, even if Alex could not face up to them. But there were other people in Alex's life worth protecting. Daniel could almost read his face and the question that was coming next.
"Where is Sabina?" Alex asked, all trace of the bitterness he had spoken with to Hera, was gone.
"She's perfectly safe, being kept out of harms way in a safe house provided by MI6." Alex raised an eyebrow as Daniel spoke; how could he be so sure? "Hera was not the only double agent at MI6; our people are watching over Sabina."
"Can I talk to her?"
"I'm sorry, Alex," Daniel almost looked genuinely apologetic. "It's far too risky for us; how are we to know you won't give something away?" Alex's gaze lowered to the coffee table. Sabina was probably alone and scared, wondering where he was. It broke Alex's heart to think he had inflicted, even if indirectly, heartache on her. "I understand it must be difficult for you-"
"Can't we get a video message from her?" Daniel and Alex looked over in surprise at Hera who offered the solution. Goodchild considered for a moment; would it be unwise to have Sabina send a recorded message to offer Alex some closure? Surely it would boost morale and, even if it didn't, it would show Alex the kind of influence Daniel had.
"Yes, we could do that." Daniel nodded his consent. "How does that sound, Alex?" The blonde considered for a moment. It wasn't enough just to hear from her that she was safe and looked after. He had so many things to ask her. Things between them had become wrapped up in confusion over Alex's relationship with Hera, he had got the feeling Sabina was drawing slowly away from him. And if she was, wouldn't that give him a little more room to breathe around his ex-partner?
"I need to know certain things from her." Alex began, "how will I know you're not forcing her to say what you want?" Daniel put his hands in the air as though to signal surrender.
"She is protected by MI6, we can't touch her or manipulate her with any method that gives our agent away. It has to be safe and according to MOD protocol. We cannot force her answers." Hera thought for a moment.
"Jack and I can organise it." She suggested and Goodchild smiled at her; Hera's desire to have Alex speak to Sabina was indicative of the sweet and warm character he had caught glimpses of. The fact that she was still willing to do this after Alex's comment about Tom Harris, was indicative of how stupidly enamoured she was with Alex. "You can give us a list of questions you have for Sabina, we can create an interview scenario as a prelude to a video message." Often when MI6 would take in hostages or prisoners of war, they would conduct an interview in order to construct an appropriate video message to send to loved ones or enemies. It was a simple cover to get Alex to communicate with Sabina.
"How does that sound?" Daniel looked over to Alex who nodded "Very well, talk to Jack this afternoon."
"Who is Jack?" Alex asked suddenly
"He's the only other member of Swallowtail who resides here; a hacker from Chicago. He is our main means of communication between our members and access into top secret information." Daniel answered and brought forth another thought to Alex's mind.
"What about your staff here?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"What about them?"
"Do they know what you get up to?"
"Does my cook know if I'm a criminal?" Goodchild almost laughed. "Yes. They know what we do. They won't help you, I'm afraid, Alex." Shooting down any hope Alex had, Goodchild responded solemnly: "they're shot if they violate the terms of their contract." Alex looked over to Hera.
"How will I train for the mission?" Asking this was only to save face; Alex knew he couldn't show Daniel he had already decided to go ahead with the mission. It would look as though he had a weakness, a desire to protect Hera and he could not give that kind of information away. But it did not mean all was lost; Alex still had room to negotiate. Daniel knew this and he respected Alex's gumption so decided to let it play out. After all, Alex was a potential future employee.
"Hera will help you. We have everything you need. We have a gym, a pool, spa. A shooting range. Horses. Technology department- I don't think you're much of a hacker, you may want to check it out. There is a personal trainer here three days a week, a nutritionist, an ex-Navy SEAl comes whenever we ask to take us through weapons training." Daniel sped quickly through the list and at the end smiled a little. "Do you need anything else?"
"Decent clothes."
"I gave you a laptop, it's on the desk in your room. Shop online. Be aware that Jack watches everything that happens on the internet here so I will know what you're up to."
"Ok." Alex nodded slowly, thinking about the tasks to come.
"Hera, anything you want to add?" Hera looked at Alex.
"No." She responded.
"Alex?" The ex-spy looked up at Hera. That same, odd look of confused emotion.
"No."
"Do you have an answer for me, Alex?" Daniel asked. Alex looked over to him and nodded.
"I accept the mission."
"Good!" Daniel beamed. "This has been a productive morning!" He practically shouted at the two of them; he hated wasting time and had clearly thought this morning was going to go badly. He was relieved to find that Alex was as efficient and capable as Hera was. "How exciting!" Daniel grinned to a bored looking Hera before turning to Alex. "Breakfast?"
"I-" Before Alex could respond, Hera stood, still upset with her boss.
"I'm going to eat with Mercy. Enjoy." She muttered as she walked past Alex. Daniel sighed and watched her leave.
"Hera is just not the kind of woman you want to piss off." He said under his breath. Alex watched as Hera disappeared from view.
"Don't I know it."
The morning passed with no significant event for Alex; he ordered clothes online and explored the mansion. Now that Alex could see out the windows, he found the view of the gardens and countryside beyond was breathtaking. It was also clear that they were far from civilisation and escape was near-impossible. He had visited the gym where he and Hera exchanged a quick glance at one another while she carried out her pilates routine. He also spied her at lunch, eating in a room separate to Daniel; clearly the two of them had yet to reconcile from the right before. The ex-spy chose to eat with the billionaire who continued to expand on Swallowtail's operations. And to Alex's surprise, the two were able to speak on almost friendly terms, discussing football and good London restaurants, Goodchild had even made some teasing comments towards Hera as she past them on her way back to her room.
After lunch Hera found him in the library and appraised him as she leant against the door frame.
"Come on," she said lazily, making him jump. He was surprised to see her in jeans and a t-shirt, looking at home in this massive house. "Let's go meet Jack."
On their way to meet the hacker, Alex reflected on all he thought about people who spent all their time in front of computer screens and tied up in the deep web. He shamefully assumed that Hera would lead him to a dingy basement or foggy, messy bedroom. Instead, she took him into the gardens and he was surprised when they entered a massive greenhouse. Usually, it would be humid and hot inside but all the windows and doors were open, inviting a fragrant breeze to run through the glass building, for it was the size of a house to Alex. Inside there were all kind of plants, overgrowing, running along shelves in an untidy manner, practically bursting out of their pots. In the middle of the greenhouse was a desk packed with screens, keyboards, a microscope, lamps and the distinctive smell of marijuana. Sat at the desk, hunched over a small circuit board, was a boy, a few years older than Alex and Hera. He wore a black t-shirt and ripped jeans, and had a mess of black curls on top of his head.
"This is Jack." Hera said as they approached his work bench. Jack did not look up from his work.
"You're late." He muttered in his pleasant Chicagoan accent to Hera who did not even flinch.
"You're high."
"Touchè." Jack said and finally looked up to watch her walk past him and over to a line of roses behind him. Alex watched as she tied up her hair and, to his surprise, began to tend to the roses. Finally, the black haired boy looked over to Alex who held out a had.
"Hey, I'm Al-"
"Yeah yeah, I know." Jack interrupted, taking his hand. "Famous Alex Rider."
"I don't know about that."
"Well, to me you are," the boy smiled up at him knowingly, "I designed the Stormbreaker." He winked.
"What?" Alex's eyes widened in surprise. "You're barely older than me!"
"I was a child genius-"
"Was!" Hera called from behind Jack.
"And I worked on the Stormbreaker in my first few years of High School," he explained, "when I went to present it at a convention in New York, it was picked up by a college student from England- Daniel." Again, Alex had to double take before he called out to Hera.
"Daniel was involved in the Stormbreaker case?" As Alex asked, Hera shrugged.
"It was before my time."
"He's what we call in the criminal world a slut." Jack suddenly interjected as though this explained it. "Just got involved with everyone and everything." The hacker noticed Alex's eyes flit over to Hera. "Oh Hera's not a slut." He smiled broadly, "she's just a good-for-nothing cheat."
"Is that's a good thing?" Alex asked.
"I like cheats. You know where you stand with them." To answer Alex's silent question, Jack leant forwards as though to whisper a secret answer: "Nowhere." The boy batted away a leaf that fell onto his head from a vine that was growing along the glass ceiling.
"So you met Daniel when you were in High School?" Alex asked suddenly.
"Yeah-"
"Pretty young to get involved in this kind of work?"
"I got involved with him when I left College." Jack corrected him. "I owe Daniel my life. Literally," he sniffed, "I lost my dad when I was young, Ma worked two, sometimes three, jobs. I had to fund my way to college. In my second year my younger brother was killed-"
"I'm so sorry." Alex interjected, shocked by the sudden unravelling of information. Jack nodded in thanks at Alex's comment.
"I took a turn for the worst; got involved in all sorts of shady shit. Ended up in trouble with the police for possession of class A narcotics." His face screwed up softly as though cringing at his own behaviour. "They gave me one phone call and I thought: do I really want to bother Ma with my messed up life? I just phoned for the guy I met five years prior in New York."
"And Daniel helped you?"
"Yep. Funded me through College, made me clean up my act. Got my mom a new place in The Loop."
"What did he want in return?" Alex, who was still very cynical about anything Daniel did, folded his arms, ready to judge the billionaire.
"I helped him hack into MI6's database so he could get in touch with a certain spy." Jack shrugged. "After that I called him again when I graduated to ask if he had any work for me. All of a sudden I live in the South of France, I can send enough money back home so my Ma doesn't have to work. Life is good. Plus Hera and I have a movie club, you know like a book club." There was a sweet, very warm and open manner with which Jack spoke. It was entirely unlike anything Alex was expecting. "We're always looking for new members." For the first time in days, Alex cracked a genuine smile; with only five people living at the mansion, looking for new members was a fruitless task. Hera approached, wiping her hands down with a cloth.
"Come on, Jack," she said, elbowing him in the ribs, "we have to get into MI6 again." Hera pulled up a stool beside Jack.
"Oh yeah, I hear we're trying to get in touch with your," Jack slowed down to guess, "girlfriend?"
"Fiancè." Alex corrected him.
"I'll get on it now." He said kindly. "You writing the questions?" He asked Hera who sat next to him, she nodded.
"Thanks." Alex said to the both of them, although Jack noticed Hera did not respond. "Do you mind if I hang around while you do it?"
"No problem, man." Jack replied. "There's a soccer ball around here somewhere, warm up, I'll join you in a while." Alex smiled in thanks and walked away. Jack and Hera set up their usual routine when it came to hacking into MI6's system. Of course, Hera knew nothing about hacking, she was just there to help Jack navigate the system she knew well, and she had inside information to help them. Currently, her task was to create the interview questions for Sabina, based on the information Alex provided. After five minutes of working in silence, only the sound of the birds outside the greenhouse and the clicking of keyboard keys, did Jack whisper to Hera:
"Helping your ex talk to his fiancé? Ain't you a saint?" He teased her.
"He's not my ex." Hera's eyes did not leave her laptop screen. "But yes," she chimed, "I am the embodiment of saintliness, leave your prayers at the door and I'll be sure to get back to you." Jack frowned.
"He's not your ex?" He stole a quick glance up at Alex. "Why's he making eyes at you like that?" He watched closely as Hera looked up at Alex for a second who, it turned out, was not looking at her at all. Jack had only said that to see her reaction. But there was the manner in which she did it, trying not to get caught, but desperate to know, that indicated a lot to Jack. He could barely conceal his smirk. "Oh my God, you guys never…?"
"Shut up, Jack." Hera snarled as quietly as she could.
"You are one fucked up assassin, you know that?" Jack started to laugh, "ain't you never seen a James Bond movie? He slept with all the right women. Didn't leave a single one of the good ones out." Rolling her eyes, Hera eventually looked over to him. "He even threw in some of the ugly ones for good measure. You're just sitting here, letting them all pass you by. Why don't you just go the whole nine yards hook them up with other women? Oh wait," he said with fake-surprise, "that's what we're doing." Hera breathed in deeply as though to stop herself from shouting.
"Are you done?"
"I'm just saying, as a big brother-type figure; go out into the world and sleep with the right people."
"Thank you, Jack." Hera went back to work, clicking away at her keyboard.
"Got any little sister advice for me?"
"If you say anything else about Alex and I'll cut you." Hera said to a very confused Jack. "So when I say shut up, it's really good advice." The black haired boy simply smirked.
"You sure are protective over not-your-ex-boyfriends." They went back to working in silence. After half an hour, Jack stopped for a cigarette. Before he went outside he appraised Hera. "I need cover tonight."
"Why?" With a stretch, Hera looked over to him.
"Going to the town centre tonight to have a drink with Monsieur Durand." He replied cooly.
"Why do you need cover?" The spy repeated herself. Jack looked to the floor and mumbled:
"Because Durand is a drug dealer that I owe money."
"For fuck's sake, Jack!"
"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" He pouted at her, making Hera laugh at his ridiculous face. "But this is the last time, I swear." With a stern look, Hera folded her arms at him but was worn down as he made is face slowly more comical until she gave in.
"Fine." She muttered.
"Last time, I promise." Jack reassured her before coming in close and surprising her with a kiss on the cheek. Hera almost fell of her seat.
"What the f-"
"Yep," Jack whispered and Hera noticed he was looking ahead of them, "he's definitely looking." Jack muttered but Hera shook her head in annoyance.
"Go away."
I feel like this isn't going well. What do you guys think? TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS READER.