I'm so sorry it's taken me forever to update. A lot has been going on in life and at school (I'm a film student currently dealing with directing a senior thesis).
Thank you so much for the reviews and the support! Please know I have not given up on this story, nor the other story I've been writing and will publish once this story is done.
Seriously, thank you. It's not only my passion for the story and the characters that keeps me writing, it's knowing that you as the viewer enjoys it. Thank You.
25
Eggsy held her hand tightly as they rode the silver tube towards the Headquarters in silence. She stared out the window, watching the lights flash by.
Once they got out, he kept silent, which she appreciated, as they walked the halls, his hand still tightly holding hers. She wasn't much for talking right now. Her heart was still beating overtime and even though she had calmed down from her panic attack, she still felt short of breath.
Eggsy slowed down as they approached the doorway of the Dining Room. He turned towards her, wrapping her in his arms as he held her tight for a second or so before letting go, his lips brushing her temple as he whispered, "It's gonna be okay."
The room was already filled with other agents; to her, it seemed, they were all there, she'd never seen the room so full, some sitting, most of them standing. Maybe the recruits were even there…
She only recognized Percival and Roxy, sitting and talking with the others. Amelia was standing next to Merlin at the head of the table, their heads close together as they talked, Amelia's hand flying over the clip-pad she held.
It was such chaos that the others didn't even realize she and Eggsy had come in. He pulled her to the first chair on one of the sides of the table closest to Merlin. Instead of taking the seat and bringing in another chair as she thought he would do, he guided her to sit in his seat and he stood behind her.
She tried to comprehend any words said around her, but she was still shaking; it all melded together into incomprehensible nonsense. Eggsy's grip around her hand tightened before he dropped it, moving his hand to her shoulder.
Suddenly Merlin stood up and cleared his throat, making the room fell silent.
"This has been enough," Merlin said loudly. He took in a deep breath and continued, "Agents not assigned to this mission, you are dismissed."
Ariel looked around as many agents left – though she noticed a few empty chairs. The men in suits surrounding her cab, falling down with bullet wounds…
She waited until they all left, leaving Roxy, Eggsy, Amelia and Merlin in the room with her before she spoke.
"How are the three agents? They fell, and it was all so quick I don't know-"
"They are all alive, Ms. Renzella, and will pull through," Merlin said solemnly.
She let out a shuddering breath, closing her eyes tight. She felt Eggsy rest his other hand on her shoulder.
There was a beat of silence before Merlin spoke.
"Ms. Renzella… I have no other option but to sanction you to a safe house."
"What!?" she cried out, however it was ignored.
"Galahad," Merlin continued as though she hadn't said anything, "with your close… connection, you've been compromised as well; I won't be taking any more chances. You'll be joining Ms. Renzella at the safe house."
Eggsy silently nodded, and Ariel blanched.
"But my job… you can't-" she started.
"We can, and we will, Ms. Renzella. Especially when your life is at stake. Do I need to remind you that you were just taken on a high risk 'joy ride' throughout London, yet another attempt at your kidnapping? Thankfully with the aid of the authorities and even help from MI6, we were barely able to contain it. I swear, our lives have been made harder with 'smart' phones," Merlin muttered.
"But-"
"I'm sorry, Ms. Renzella… we gave you a choice before, but now you have no say. You are a critical asset, and we will do everything we can to keep you that way. And that no longer means you waiting in your flat for more men to come. They came; they almost got away with you – twice, might I remind you. We won't be taking anymore risks," Merlin said sternly, staring down at her.
She gulped, but didn't say anything. She couldn't.
Merlin took her silence as a sign of acceptance, and gave a curt nod.
"And to think, just a while ago, you were coming to me complaining that nothing had happened yet," he said. "Well, it happened. And we can't take any more risks."
Ariel was as silent as ever in the cab. She had barely even looked at him when Merlin dismissed them. The first red flag.
When they exited the headquarters through the front door, Mr. Brown was already waiting for them with the cab, his own face solemn. There wasn't any small talk with him today.
They drove to the city, stopping in front of their apartments so they could pack their bags. Ariel didn't even ask about Sydney, or even JB; the second red flag. However, Eggsy realized too late after they had come back with their bags now packed in the trunk, that Mr. Brown was driving further into the city rather than out of the city; the third red flag.
He tapped on the partition that was closed, but he saw Mr. Brown give a small shake of his head, meeting Eggy's eyes in the rearview mirror before he glanced at Ariel.
Eggsy turned looked at her, her head turned away, her gaze glued to the window, her arms across her chest, her fingers tightly grasping at her suit jacket from work.
He then noticed the street they were driving on, and it clicked.
She'd convinced Mr. Brown to drive her to the gallery.
And he had a feeling she was going to quit. Time at a safe house had no distinct timeline. It would be too many personal days for her to keep the job…
They stopped outside the gallery and Ariel opened the door and stepped out, not even looking back at him as she walked towards the front door and entered the Gallery.
"I'd question your loyalty, Mr. Brown, but I wholly understand, mate," he muttered as he brought out his phone and called Amelia. Mr. Brown cleared his throat, but said nothing.
"You're smarter than this, Eggs," Amelia answered, "what the hell-"
"Have Merlin call her boss, I think Ariel's about to quit her job. You guys must've planned for something like this, call now."
"What do you-"
"We're currently parked outside the Gallery this second; I think she somehow bribed Mr. Brown. Call now."
He heard a soft laugh from his cab driver as Amelia cleared her throat.
"Right, then, I'll let him know ASAP. But seriously, turn off your phone once you leave the city, and hers too – tracking will still be in effect but only to us."
"Understood. See you later,"
"See you, Eggsy," Amelia said softly before the line cut off.
He relaxed and waited, keeping his eyes on the front glass doors to the Gallery.
"Safe house, Mr. Galahad?" Mr. Brown said, breaking the silence, "things have mightily taken a turn. I had to sign a few more contracts before I was even allowed to know the location."
Eggsy sighed, clenching his fists – not at Mr. Brown but more so the situation. And at Ariel's silence. He just knew that she was blaming herself for the three injured agents. Even though Merlin had assured her they were going to live…
"Indeed they have, Mr. Brown," he muttered.
Thankfully, Mr. Brown stayed silent after that. Eggsy didn't know how long it was but soon enough Ariel was exiting the doors and climbing into the cab, her shoulders drawn tight, her mouth in a grim line.
Without a word Mr. Brown drove off, and after a few moments she turned to face him.
"Merlin called, didn't he? You told him where we were."
He only gave a curt nod.
She sighed, and turned to look out the window.
"Cantrell wouldn't let me quit; told me to take an extended vacation. I'm not sure if I should be glad or mad."
"Vacation sounds nice," Mr. Brown said, and Ariel laughed, though not with mirth. She sighed.
"Well, the safe house better have some amenities and a hot tub," she muttered to herself.
Eggsy stayed silent and watched her as the cab drove through the city. He expected an outburst… and this blasé approach to being holed up for an intermittent amount of time was something different – she usually approached things head on.
But he didn't know what to say. What could he say?
They sat in uncomfortable silence - a first for them - the entire ride.
She dozed off for a while but jerked up when the road suddenly turned from nice and smooth to rough and bumpy. She looked around and only saw trees passing as they drove down a dirt road. She looked over at Eggsy who was looking out the window.
"Should be there soon," he said softly, not looking at her.
She stared at him. Why was he being short with her? She shook her head and glanced over at Mr. Brown.
"Hey, we're not going to have to hike there, are we?" she asked jokingly; she'd rather have the tension of an awkward failed rather than the type that was currently filling their cab.
Mr. Brown smiled and met her gaze in the rearview mirror.
"No hiking today, Ariel. However I've been given instructions to drop you off…" he faded off as a chain-link fence came into view, "here," he said, slowing down.
Ariel got out and Eggsy did the same, leaving a scrambling Mr. Brown flustered as he closed Eggsy's door and rushed to the trunk to get the bags she and Eggsy had packed before coming here.
She threw her duffel onto her shoulder, Eggsy taking the handle of his black rolling suitcase from Mr. Brown.
"Well, uhm," Mr. Brown started, but Eggsy clapped him on the shoulder, giving a grim smile.
"Sorry to put you out of work for a bit."
Mr. Brown shook his head.
"I've got a civilian cab license too, though not sure if the wife is gonna even let me."
"I'm sure she'll be happy to have you home, Mr. Brown," Ariel said, and he turned and nodded at her with a soft smile.
"Indeed, Ariel."
They said their goodbyes and she and Eggsy stood side by side, watching as Mr. Brown reversed down the road, giving a last wave of goodbye through the windshield.
Eggsy sighed, muttering for her to follow him as he started walking along the fence.
She stayed silent as they walked, glad that she skipped her comfy flats and chose her running shoes as they walked the uneven earth, stopping at a big cluster of trees and bushes.
Eggsy walked forward, grabbing the branches and pulling the brush away to show a large hole. He turned to her, grabbing her duffel bag without saying anything, pushing it forward before his, and then turned and held out a hand.
She gave him a quick glance, taking his hand which wrapped tightly around hers as he helped guide her through the hole in the fence, holding her as she bent down to avoid the poking pieces of metal.
He turned, reaching through to grab the brush and tree branches to cover to hole back up.
It was so… simple.
She expected to come upon a key pad or something that would show a tunnel to the safe-house, not just a hole in a fence covered by a bush.
"This is considered private and Natural Historic land," Eggsy said, barely out of breath as she was struggling for it on the soft incline, "so trespassin' charges are a bit tougher than others. Higher security ain't needed," he said as they walked.
They stayed silent, tense as ever, and she let out a happy sigh as a small house appeared in the distance.
It surprisingly homey, with a front porch and even green shutters on the windows. The complete opposite of what a safe house would be, at least of what she thought it would be.
Eggsy dug into his pocket and brought out a pair of keys as they climbed the few steps and walked to the front door.
"Home sweet safe home," he muttered as he swung the door open to a large living room. She walked through, checking out the interior – designed to feel like a log cabin - and walked down the only hall.
She chose the furthest bedroom, throwing her duffel on the bed as she used the heels of her feet to slip off her sneakers.
She heard him clear his throat and turned to find him in the doorway.
He stared at her for a beat before speaking.
"You 'kay?"
She nodded, taking in a deep breath, clearing her mind, her fast beating heart finally calming down.
"Yeah. It's just… I…"
"It's a lot to take in, I know. I'm… rattled myself, though I can't-"
"It's okay, Eggsy. Just got to…" she faded off, and he nodded, stuffing his hands in his suit pocket. She wondered why he even wore one here.
Not that she was complaining.
"Not much here to give a tour, but lemme know if you need anythin'."
She nodded, not sure what to say, or even do.
They stood there, silent, awkward, and she wanted to let out an angry scream.
How had this happened them? After everything… here they were, standing around, unsure what to say.
"Alright," she said defeatedly; at least it was something.
He gave a silent nod and walked away, leaving her alone. She tiptoed to the door, closing it slowly.
She sighed as she turned and jumped facedown onto the bed, her face landing in a pillow as she let out the angry scream she had been holding in.
Please leave a review! If I didn't get your language in the last chapter, let me know! I want to include all of my amazing readers.
As I've said before, I have another Kingsman story in the works, based in the American Branch, and would love someone to bounce ideas off of.