We were leaving today, no closer to getting Polk than we were before. We all knew it. We could all sense the urgency to find him. We all knew how paramount it was to get him. It was no longer about revenge or politics. It was about protection. Polk knew who we were now. He may have before, but he definitely did now. We were briskly walking down the street, towards the designated space. We were being flown to the airport by helicopter, then jetted off back to England. Simmons was with us. Him, Robert and Mark were discussing business and talking about keeping in contact, as he may have been a valuable asset. I kept glancing at Harry, who was talking to Jake. He had really impacted me the night before. James walked over to me. "You alright?" He asked me. I nodded slightly.
"Fine, yeah." I said, smiling softly at him. I turned to Simmons. "How's Daley?" I asked.
"Recovering. He'll live." Simmons said and smiled softly. I nodded and turned back to face where we were walking. A man was walking towards us, rather quickly. I moved out of the way as he passed. The man had grey eyes, brown hair and a scar above his eyebrow. He walked into Simmons, who turned as he passed. "Watch where you're goi-" He paused, as did Mark and Robert, but only for a second. Despite that, they were too late. The grey-eyed man shot three times, each puncturing Simmons' torso. One in the chest, one in the stomach, another near his kidney. Simmons grunted and fell, and Mark and Robert killed the guy quickly.
"No!" I shouted as Simmons fell. It had all happened very quickly. I ran over to him. He was bleeding badly, pooling around us. Mark was on his phone, calling the police. Simmons groaned.
"Damn..." He said weakly. "I'm dying, huh?" He smiled softly, weakly. "Never thought I'd go out like this." He said. I shook my head.
"No, no, no..." I repeated. "You'll be alright." I said.
"Get out of here. There'll be more coming." He said. We all looked at him. "Go, now!" He said, then breathed no more. I looked up at Mark, who sighed. I looked down at Simmons, dead eyes still open. I closed them.
"Rest in peace." I said, then looked at them all. "We need to go, now." I told them, then looked at Gabriel, who looked pale. So did Harry. Drake seemed sad, but not ill. He seemed to have adjusted well. Jake just looked tired. James turned away.
"He's right." Mark said. "It's just around the corner. Keep your eyes peeled."
We got to the helicopter and were flown to the airport. There had been no more resistance and no more hostility as we left, almost running. I felt guilty that we had just left him there. I knew the officers would pick him up. Still, I had been shaken by the rather sudden death. We were on the plane and I walked over to Mark. "Paris next, yes?" I asked.
"I'm going to Paris alone. You all have a few weeks at school ahead of you. You'll be staying with James for about a week too, Josh." He said.
"Why's that?" I asked.
"Because my family's going on holiday and we'd planned it before you moved in... Sorry." Drake said. I smiled at him.
"It's alright. Have fun!" I said, then turned to Mark "How's the planning for Tobalco going?" I asked.
"It's going well. I have the Royal Marines on board. So we'll have backup. After Dubai, we'll be going there a week after, maybe." He said.
"Are you expecting trouble?" I asked.
"The Marines have wanted this place for years. We provide an opportunity." He said.
"So, in other words, it's gonna be open warfare?" I asked. Mark nodded.
"Yep. We need a plan. I'll draw one up after I get back from Paris." He said. Robert walked over.
"Have you told him? About the holiday?" He asked.
"Yes. He knows he'll be with you." Mark said and Robert smiled at me.
"Just like Scarlet Tiger, eh?" He asked. I laughed.
"Just about." I said. Drake walked over.
"What's Scarlet Tiger?" He asked. The others came over to, watching us. I smiled.
"A mission we had... Me, Mark, Robert, James and about twenty other agents." I said, smiling.
"Tell us about it!" Harry said. Jake glanced at Mark, who shook his head slightly. I frowned slightly, but disregarded it.
"You wanna hear about Scarlet Tiger?" Mark asked, smiling softly. "Well, it was two years ago..."
TWO YEARS PREVIOUS - H.M.S BULWARK - SOMEWHERE OFF THE COAST OF CUBA
'Come gather 'round people, wherever you roam,
And admit that the waters around you have grown,
And accept it that soon, you'll be drenched to the bone,
If your time to you is worth savin',
Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone,
For the times they are a-changin'.'
Josh turned the radio off. He was reading some adventure novel that he felt was grossly unnecessary. He was on his way to Cuba to set up surveillance for an arms dealer, with almost twenty other agents. He had been doing it more than two years but the excitement was still there for missions like this. He put the book aside, laying on the bunk he was sharing with James. James was out on deck at the moment with Robert, and Mark was with them. He swung his legs out and planted his feet on the floor, getting up and walking out of the cabin. He had rather sturdy sea legs and, unlike James, had slept well their first night there. James had gotten better, but still stumbled a bit. He had stopped being sick, so that was good at least. Josh wandered the corridor, passing several men, agents and seamen alike. He had a soft smile on his face as he climbed to the deck, shielding his eyes from the sun. The first thing that hit him was the heat, sweltering. He took a deep breath, then wandered over to the railing on the side of the ship. He leant on it, looking over the side thoughtfully. He hummed softly, watching the waves and the beautiful water. He entered a trance, almost hypnotised by the waves. All that broke him from his reverie was a voice. "Josh?" Mark asked, from behind him.
"Oh, hello." Josh replied, smiling at Mark. Mark looked at him.
"Missing you friends?" He asked, seeing the slight distance in Josh's eyes. Josh nodded, glancing behind him at James.
"Something like that, yeah." He said quietly. Mark leant on the railing, next to Josh.
"We've worked together for about two years now, Josh. We've been through a fair bit, haven't we?" He asked, looking at Josh.
"Yeah, we have... Comes with the territory, I suppose." He said, smiling slightly.
"You enjoying it? The job, I mean." Mark asked. Josh looked at him.
"Yeah. I am. I've got friends out of it... A lot of experience as well." He said. Mark chuckled.
"Would you call us friends, Josh?" He asked. Josh blinked.
"Yeah, I would, I guess." Josh said, looking away. "Why, would you?" He asked.
"Yeah, I would. You sort of have to be friends with someone you share a room with for a few days a month and, sometimes, my flat." Mark said. Josh laughed quietly.
"Fair point. How's Lucy?" Josh asked.
"She's good... I'm thinking of asking her to marry me." He said. Josh blinked.
"Wow. Good luck, mate. She's a lovely girl and you deserve her." Josh said. Mark laughed.
"Thanks. If she says yes, you'll come to the wedding of course?" He asked. Josh nodded.
"Of course, it would be my honour." Josh said, smiling. "We should arrive soon, yeah?"
"Yeah, I think a few hours. The agents are going out for a drink when we get there, I think."
"You joining them?" Josh asked, looking at an agent talking to Robert, an agent called Hunt.
"No, I'm not. Neither's Robert. We're taking you and James out." Mark said, looking at the sky.
"You've been landed with babysitting? We can take care of ourselves, Mark." Josh said.
"You sure?" Mark asked, snapping his gaze to Josh.
"I'm sure. We'll just get a bite to eat." Josh said.
"Hmm..." Mark said, considering it. "Alright." He said. Josh laughed.
"Alright. Don't get too drunk." He jested. Mark laughed.
"I'll try." He said. "No promises, though."
"Of course, no promises. I do remember Madrid, you know." Josh laughed.
"Of course you do, how could you not? I don't, for some reason." Mark smirked.
"Yeah, that's 'cos you were drunk!" Josh laughed.
"Probably. Go and start packing, we'll be in port in a few hours." Mark said, smiling. Josh did as told.
Author's Note: Horizontal Line=Change of POV/Person (1st/3rd)/Flashback/Dream. Also, this flashback doesn't end here. The next chapter will be all about Scarlet Tiger.