Thank you very much to The Walrus and the Carpenter for helping me Beta this document.
Disclaimer:All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 23.- England
Maya POV
"Here are our passport sir," Nessie says, handing over both our passports to the customs officer, who immediately puts the information in the computer.
I find myself fidgeting nervously; I'm certain the document wasn't obtained legally, and I'm afraid to find out how bad the forgery really is. Although, William assured me we wouldn´t have a problem with it.
Cabrera obviously doesn´t own a passport; as soon as she got off the plane she was determine to find an alternate way to get into the country—which meant running at full speed and jumping a few fences. Supposedly, she's meeting us at the baggage claim area.
"How long are you planning on staying in the country?" the officer asks as he continues typing information into the computer.
"We are not certain, Sir. We're planning to backpack through Europe," I answer amicably and sincerely.
Nessie thought it would be a good idea to pose as college students using a sabbatical year for traveling and "rediscovering the meaning of life".
Pfftt!
Honestly, I just went along, and our physical appearance did fall under the category of "college student"; although, in Nessie's case we might have been pushing our luck, but the backpacking story isn't a complete lie, considering our current situation.
The customs officer's attention finally leaves the keyboard and he takes a good look at us.
"Aren´t you too young to be on your own?" He glances suspiciously at Nessie.
Luckily, Nessie´s passport puts her at just over 18 years old; mine says 20 years old.
"Not at all, sir. I just turned 18 two months ago," Nessie answers.
He takes one final look at her and shrugs his shoulders.
"Just be careful," he warns, putting a stamp in both our passports before handing them to us. "Don´t get yourselves in too much trouble."
We nod our heads simultaneously.
If he only knew…
We walk away from the booth, without looking back to see if William or Jacob run into any trouble.
When we reach the baggage claim area, Cabrera is already there.
"Good morning, lovely ladies," she says, using a terrible English accent.
Nessie holds back here laughter at her poor attempt; I roll my eyes and shake my head.
The conveyor, that carries the suitcases, switches on, bringing the luggage in. Lucky for us, the first ones to come out are our backpacks.
"One out of four." I reach out and take William´s backpack from the carrousel.
"I believe, Madam, that luggage is mine," William says from behind me, his English accent in full mode, making my legs feel as if they were made out of rubber.
I turn around to see his seductive smile, showing me those beautiful pearly whites and sexy dimples that decorate his handsome face. I know if I could blush my face would be a lovely shade of red.
"Sorry, sir, my mistake." I hand it over to him, pausing to touch his hand; taking advantage of this small transaction.
Before the flight, we came up with the idea to pose as strangers to avoid unwanted attention; so, I'm not supposed to know William, Jacob or Cabrera.
"Ahem."
I turn around to find Cabrera approaching William, interrupting our brief encounter.
He immediately lets go of my hand, silently thanking me with a smile, before he turns around ready to leave the terminal. However Cabrera has a different idea; she intercepts him and puts her arm around his torso.
What the hell? What part of being complete strangers doesn´t she understand?
"Darling, shall we get going?" she says lovingly, pouting her lips.
William turns and smiles at Cabrera, and luckily for her he just does that.
Cabrera, you are going to pay for this unnecessary display of affection, I try to communicate with my eyes.
"Maya, let's go," Nessie interrupts my murderous thoughts, and unwillingly I turn around to find she's already recovered both our backpacks from the carrousel.
We continue with the plan we discussed prior to boarding, so Ness and I go to the taxi area and pay a driver to take us to the London eye, while William, Jacob and Cabrera do the same. I'm relieved to see the cars not too far apart from each other during the entire drive.
According to Cabrera, our current situation is somehow positive. She mentioned prior to landing that the Mermaids are not in the Atlantic ocean; which means all those weeks the teams have been scanning this area were a waste of time.
On a more positive note, once we're all together we could discuss her gut feeling and decide where our next destination is going to be along with the rest of the teams.
I look out the cab window for a small sightsee during the ride. Unfortunately, it's not much for a city as big and interesting as London; its history, museums and the activity the city has to offer are immense. However, our current circumstances will eliminate the possibility of any "fun" activities in the agenda.
When we reach the London eye, we retrieve our luggage from the car. I sigh at the sight of the majestic Ferris wheel standing tall just a few feet from where I stand. I try to picture the sight of the city while riding one of those modern pods, but my imagination probably doesn't do any justice to the actual scenery. This breaks my unbeating heart; to be so close and yet so far.
Disappointed, I follow Nessie to a nearby coffee shop, and am relieved to see the rest of our party already sitting in one of the corners booths, near the emergency exit. Exhaling the breath I didn´t realize I was holding, I let the coffee aroma saturate my system before it gets all screwed up with Stinkbomb's scent.
William raises his arm, inviting us to join them.
When we reach them, I sadly realize there are only two open seats, both next to the shape-shifter. I bite my tongue to avoid insulting him—I did promise William I'd behave—and sit down nice and quietly next to the stinky guy.
The table they chose is far from ideal; its location doesn´t allows any kind of privacy, thanks to the window located at my right. It goes from one side of the store to the other, letting passersby appreciate the inside of the coffee shop. It's good for business, but terrible for undercover operations.
My only comfort is having a clear sight of the entrance door.
"As I was mentioning to Hot stuff, the Atlantic is clear of mermaids," Cabrera´s voice interrupts my analysis, bringing my attention to the conversation, "from the North pole to the South, and from America to this current position."
"Are you certain, Cabrera?" I stare straight in her eyes, giving her a threatening look in case she gets the idea of lying.
She rolls her eyes.
"They're not there, but they're close," she immediately answers, crossing her arms in a protective mode. "I can feel it in my bones."
"How close?" William asks seductively—or at least that's how he sounds with his English accent.
Cabrera smiles, noticing how her words have a positive effect on William; he smiles back at her.
"They're close—north from here." She continues to smile at him, loosening her guarded pose.
It seems I am not the only one in the group falling prey of his wonderful voice.
"Could you be more precise? How many miles? Is it only north, or should we head north-east?" Stinkbomb bombards her with questions, his voice and attitude bringing back the guarded position she was using.
"It doesn´t work that way, mutt," she snaps back at him. "I feel a pull, and the closer I am the stronger it gets, but I am certain there isn´t a mathematical equation that translates the force of the pull to the distance of the objective."
Jacob huffs, annoyed at her.
"Having direction helps a lot, Cabrera. We really appreciate your help," William steps in, once again softening her attitude.
Better to have her in a cheerful mood and cooperating, I keep telling myself in order to control the jealous strike daring to sift out.
"I knew you would understand, handsome." She puts her hand on top of his, intertwining their fingers.
I grab the edge of the chair, poorly trying to redirect my anger at it. The chair, not able to resist the strength of my hold, crumbles beneath my fingers. William ignores the breaking sound; however, Cabrera subtlety lets go of his hand.
"We should then take the train north," Nessies says, her attention focused on her phone. "We're close to Waterloo train station, so we can review the schedule and decide from there."
She closes her phone and looks at the rest of us.
I feel ashamed; the baby of the group, the one we're supposed to be protecting, is in charge of keeping our head in the game. I needed to learn a thing or two from her.
"Sounds good to m…"Jake stops midsentence, his eyes fixed on a woman at the other side of the window. She is beautiful and young, probably around seventeen. She could easily pass as a runway model; her perfect olive skin is a good match to her dark locks, and her eyes are covered with modern sunglasses.
My eyes move from him to her.
Did he imprint on the woman? I thought he imprinted on Nessie?
She stops briefly to look behind her shoulder, bringing her sunglasses down, and revealing the crimson color of her eyes.
A vampire.
Her eyes suddenly widen, her face no longer calm, with terror in her eyes.
I quickly turn towards William; with the window at their backs, he and Cabrera are oblivious to what is happening. However, it doesn´t goes unnoticed by Nessie, and her hand quickly reaches Jacob.
Without another word Jacob jumps to his feet and darts to the emergency exit door of the coffee shop, leaving us behind. The whole scene only takes a couple of seconds, and it takes another two for me to do the quick math. One less shape shifter + one William = Demetri able to find us now.
Without waiting for any answers, I get on my feet to follow Jacob, trying as best as I can to contain my speed. William reaches the door first.
We are both outside, sniffing the air, trying to locate the direction where the Mutt run.
I pick up the scent of more than one vampire—at least four additional to us—and my stomach goes to my feet.
"Hide them," William orders hastily before he runs towards the direction where the scent is stronger.
"NO!" I scream, following him. A couple of arms wrap around my waist, stopping me before pulling me to an unknown location. My mind is in a frenzy trying to follow the disappearing silhouette of William.
I don´t realize I'm fighting to get loose from the grip.
I can´t lose him! I need to help him!
A strong slap across my face makes me stop, and my hand reaches for my aching cheek. I look up, with a murderous look, ready to growl at Cabrera for such audacity, but stop myself when I realize Nessie is the one responsible.
She gives me a strained smile.
"Maya, stop making a spectacle," she adds firmly. "You won, okay? We won´t ride the London Eye."
I turn around and find we're surrounded by humans.
"You should have mentioned you were afraid of height before we made the trip." She shakes her head, keeping up with the façade.
I look at my surroundings, realizing we're at the train station. Cabrera approaches with three tickets in her hand.
