I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
I feel terrible for that long interlude between this chapter and the last one. School just let out and I had to do a lot of packing, traveling, unpacking, and sleeping and then I had computer problems that are thankfully now resolved. So rest assured, I have not forgotten you! I made this chapter a bit longer to make up for my absence and I'm really excited for the upcoming one. I hope you enjoy this section and, as always, reviews are my currency!
I also have been putting updates on my profile if you're curious as to my progress and don't be afraid to message me.
-Elizabeth
Elaine rushed to the location she was given. Oddly enough, it was just a minute or two from her apartment. It was in the later hours of the evening, so the restaurants were closing up for the night and the cool air raised the bumps on her arm. Chefs, tired off-duty waitresses, and late-night diners walked out into the clammy night. When she arrived in front of the bistro she was instructed to go to, it was empty save for one man at a table.
Elaine walked in. She could hear the staff closing the kitchen in the back and it was a bit surreal to be entering an empty restaurant; but in retrospect, it was surreal because she was in an empty restaurant because of a bomb threat. Swerving through the tables with their chairs turned upside down, Elaine approached the lone man. He stood up and pulled out her seat when she was near.
"Thank you," Elaine said, fidgeting with the hem of the tablecloth as Eggsy's Uncle seated himself across from her.
"Of course."
An off-duty waitress came out with two teas and set one front of Mr. Thomson and one in front of Elaine.
"I hope you don't mind; You sounded distressed over the phone and Eggsy mentioned you were partial to peppermint tea."
"Thanks," Elaine smiled before looking around. "Isn't this placed closed?"
Mr.s Thomson smiled.
"I'm a regular customer. What happened?"
"I'm sorry," Elaine apologized as she pulled at her sleeve. "I know it's late but I didn't know who else to call and it all happened so fast and-"
"And now you are here and safe. Tell me what happened." Mr. Thomson leaned forward and placed his hand over her fidgeting ones.
"Okay, okay. So this is going to sound crazy and… well, you're probably not going to believe me," she stumbled over her words.
Mr. Thomson leaned back again, his hand receding back to his side.
"I'll try my best," he said, looking Elaine in the eyes.
Elaine paused as some of the wait staff left through the front door. They wouldn't have been able to hear them, but her anxiety was nearing a spiral. Once the Bistro was silent again, Elaine focused back on Mr. Thomson.
"Uh, well, I guess I heard from a certain source that the houses of parliament will be bombed tomorrow."
He nodded, looking out to the front of the bistro window and across the darkened street. His reaction wasn't as panicked as Elaine expected it to be, but then again, he was the sort of person to deal with these things.
"Need I ask how you got this information?" he asked. This time when he looked her in the eyes, it was sharper.
"It's… complicated." Elaine said, shrinking. "I know you have no reason to believe me, but I wouldn't come to you if I didn't absolutely know it was going to happen."
He nodded, taking everything in for a moment. He sighed and the sharp edge to his gaze melted.
"What time tomorrow?"
"Um, 1800. So that's… 6 pm, right?"
Nodding, Mr. Thomson stood up and extended a hand towards her.
"Come on," he said.
Nervous, but unquestioning, Elaine took Mr. Thomson's arm and followed him out of the bistro to a cab waiting out front. Coincidentally, the cab looked almost identical to the one that picked her and Eggsy up in Kensington the night of the vinyl shop and Greg. It even had the horizontal golden 'K' within a circle. Elaine reasoned it to be a service that Mr. Thomson let his nephew use. Allowing him to open her door, Elaine slid in and tried to still her trembling hands.
"Where are we going?" Elaine asked, surprised when her voice was as even as it was.
"Scotland Yard."
Once the police station came into view, Elaine's heartbeat at an uncomfortable pace. Putting her hands against the rich leather below her, she leaned forward to get a better view. The cab rolled to a stop and before she had the chance to open her door, the driver opened it for her. He stood by waiting for her to step out and courteously addressed her as 'miss' before closing the cab door behind her.
"Um… Thank you," Elaine said.
Elaine had never known a cabbie to open doors for passengers.
Not thinking too much of it, Elaine focused on the man standing next to her. Mr. Thomson turned and gave a reassuring gaze.
"I'll talk to the Chief once were in."
Elaine nodded and followed behind him. Once they were in, Mr. Thomson brought her to an interrogation room, promised her everything would be fine, and then left to find the chief.
An hour later, Elaine still gazed at her reflection in the mirror on the wall opposite her.
Little did she know she was being watched.
Merlin adjusted the glasses on his face and watched as Ms. Daniella set her forehead on the metal table in front of her. He had just arrived in Scotland Yard from a conference in Wales and didn't seem, to Gawain, overly surprised there were bombs planted in the parliament.
"What does she know?" Merlin asked, still watching Ms. Daniella through the one-sided mirror into the interrogation room.
"The only information she was willing to give was that the Houses of Parliament would be bombed tomorrow at 1800. I don't know if its the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the bomb squad has discreetly been sent to Westminster Palace."
"Very well, Gawain," Merlin turned to the door.
"I take it you knew about the bombings, sir?" Gawain suggested, keeping his eyes on the bored ones of Elaine.
"That I did, Gawain. What I would like to know, however, is how Ms. Gwenivere Daniella got the information."
"May I suggest something, Sir?"
Merlin nodded.
"Her history with our organization and her limited resources in mind, I think it prudent if I remain simply Mr. Thomson to her."
"Noted. Have you talked with the Chief of Police?"
"Yes. He is under the assumption we are MI5."
"Take her phone to tech. Perhaps we'll get a number to trace."
"And you, sir?" Gawain asked.
"I'm going to give Evie more time with her thoughts. If she is going to join us, now is the time to convince her."
Back at the evening party in Prague, Roxy had gotten Mr. Strome to buy her a couple of drinks. Little did he know how well she could handle her alcohol.
"What did you say your name was?" Chet Strome asked in a heavy Norwegian accent.
"Hannah. I'm a Londoner."
"Ah, these servers pour heavy, I remember your name now." He joked, his hand resting on Roxy's leg as he leaned into her. "What say we get out of here?"
As he leaned in, his hand slipped farther up her thigh and traveling dangerously close to her concealed weapon. His breath was all vodka and cranberries; he couldn't even handle a straight drink.
As Lancelot seduced the Callisto agent, Bedivere stealthily took surveillance photos with his glasses as he turned about the party. Walking over to the balcony, he observed the quiet streets below with the elite party to his back.
"Galahad. Status."
"I've hacked into Chet Strome's information. The company he works for is part of a long line of shell corporations all posing as a conglomerate of developmental sciences and advanced technologies. I had to do some diggin' but it's there."
Galahad's voice spoke through Lancelot and Bedivere's comms. There was a break as Bedivere assumed Galahad was searching deeper into Mr. Strome's secret life.
"Good news, the base of the shell conglomerate is here, in Prague."
Bedivere nodded, his back still towards the party. Taking a glance up at the rooftops where Galahad was positioned, Bedivere caught a fleeting glance at a computer glare from one of the uppermost, darkened windows.
"Galahad, watch the computer light. Lancelot, manipulate the asset into taking you to the base."
As Bedivere returned again to face the party, Galahad mumbled something about 'tossers' and Lancelot was feeling Mr. Strome up. From the looks of it, the unassuming man-turned-terrorist was ready to leave the party and seek other accommodations.
"Oi, I've found somethin' else. Looks like this shell conglomerate is closely tied to Calisto."
"That is the point, Galahad," Bedivere said, nearly rolling his eyes.
Lancelot chuckled, which she explained to Chet as her being ticklish.
"Well, yeah, obviously," Eggsy shot back. "But this is the central Calisto. From what I can tell, they're using this place to store all their hard-copy evidence and files along with the backup web-storage. Look, mate, I think we just struck gold."
"Lancelot," Bedivere mumbled as he walked out of the party.
"Let's get out of here, Chet," Roxy said, wrapping her arms further around the man. She was practically sitting in his lap and from what Bedivere could see, Mr. Strome was a few steps past tipsy.
"Helvete, where you want to go?" He slurred in his Norwegian accent which was getting heavier with each drink.
"Do you work in an office?"
After Roxy had successfully convinced Chet to take her to his office, Eggsy looked up the address and confirmed it was the conglomerate they were searching for. Bedivere stayed on the street corner outside as Galahad broke in and Lancelot distracted the Calisto agent.
"I'm in position." Eggsy said as he picked the lock and crept into the file room.
"Lancelot is distracting Strome. You have 10 minutes to retrieve the file."
Not wasting a second, Eggsy found the aforementioned file. Opening it, he saw a profile of a Gwenivere Daniella. Before he had the chance to close the cabinet and leave without a trace, Eggsy spotted a second file directly behind Evie's.
Elaine Daniella.
"Galahad, have you found the file?"
Eggsy stuffed both the files in his jacket and informed Bedivere the mission was a success. Down the hallway, the sound of a door drunkenly being slammed open echoed through the deserted building.
"Lancelot, Galahad has the file," Bedivere said through the comms.
"You know, Chet, I better be leaving." Roxy's voice rang through Eggsy's earpiece.
"Darling, no, no. How about more wine? Hmm? Red or white or both? I think you'll have both."
Ignoring the interaction between Chet and Roxy, Eggsy made his way out through the labyrinth of cubicles and office rooms, hoping Roxy would do the same.
"Meet me at the rendezvous point, Galahad," Bedivere ordered.
And so Eggsy did. When they met up on the street corner, Bedivere was coordinating with the pilot on the estimated time of departure. Staying hidden in the recesses of the shadows of the night, Eggsy waited next to Bedivere for Roxy to extract herself from the situation, and from the sounds of it, Chet was about to have his drunken arse handed to him.
Bedivere sighed, turning off the receiver of his comms, Eggsy did the same as he expected Bedivere's next words, but Roxy's voice still sounded in his ear.
"Is there anything new on Evie?" Bedivere asked, distracting himself with the wiring of the laptop Eggsy had used for search and surveillance.
"Nothing much," was Eggsy's reply.
"Lancelot mentioned you stayed overnight with her," Bedivere looked up from the wiring and stared directly into Eggsy's eyes, a slight accusing look irradiating from the Kingsmen's countenance.
The comms had been muted on Bedivere and Lancelot's end during the beginning of the party, so Eggsy was naturally caught off guard with this turn in the conversation. It was at that moment Eggsy realized the man in front of him was also in love with the petite flower girl. Eggsy liked to think of Elaine as his Elaine and his flower girl, but no amount of charm could ever truly make Elaine confined into a box that small, but it seemed to Eggsy, at that moment, that Bedivere had every intention of cutting her down and placing her in a vase to set in a window sill.
"And what's that to ya, mate?" Eggsy challenged, returning in the subtle accusations swimming in Bedivere's eyes.
Scoffing, Bedivere set the laptop on a bench next to him.
"I just would like to be assured that she's in the hands of a gentleman," Bedivere said. The subtle hint of accusations grew into a glare, to which Eggsy forcefully returned.
"Trust me, I'm handling her jus' fine and being with a gentleman isn't something she's normally accustomed to."
Just as he ended his rebuttal, Eggsy saw he had added the final straw to the camel's back. There would be no coming back from this point and oddly enough, as Bedivere's fist landed on Eggsy's jaw with a violent crack, there was a satisfaction in him at winning the battle of the gentlemanly composure.
Knocked back a couple steps, he straightened up. Wiping the blood that oozed from the corner of his mouth, Eggsy contemplated the man in front of him for a moment.
"Right," Eggsy said, flashing forward to return the punch.
Before they knew what was happening, both the Kingsmen were tumbling in the streets of Prague during a sensitive mission, dishing out blows that could break bones. Dodging a punch, Eggsy kicked Bedivere's knee and when he fell to the ground with a pained shout, Eggsy raised his fist.
Breathing angrily through clenched teeth, Bedivere grabbed Eggsy's foot and tugged him to the ground, as well. Eggsy, while Bedivere was attempting to stand up on the knee Eggsy had kicked, lifted his leg up and hit Bedivere in the nose with his heel.
Yelling, Bedivere was forced to back up several unstable steps, his injured knee obviously throbbing. By the time Eggsy had gotten back on his feet, Bedivere was already wiping the blood pouring from his nose. And Eggsy's face was no less bloody. Shaking the pain away, he put up his fists and was ready to go another round.
"What the hell is happening!?"
Breaking away from the brawl and catching their breath, Eggsy turned to find Roxy furiously glaring at them.
The silence was only broken up by the heaving breaths of the two of them. Eggsy said nothing, just wiped more blood from the side of his mouth.
Bedivere was the first to move. Slowly, and obviously trying to hide the limp of the knee he was favoring, he walked to the curb and picked up the bag carrying the laptop and surveillance equipment. Taking a moment to level out, Eggsy followed, ignoring the glare he was still receiving from Roxy.
The drive to the airport was silent.
Roxy glared at him as she sat down. The pilot had finished her report on the plane and left for the cockpit. They would be taking off soon and still, little to nothing was spoken since the fight. Nevertheless, Roxy continued to glare at Eggsy as she sat directly across from him.
"Wha'?" Eggsy said indignantly, holding the pack of ice to his jaw.
"You just had to go and stir up trouble," Roxy said, crossing her arms.
"Well, he was the one who started the whole feckin' fight! And it's his own bloody fault."
Roxy scoffed and leaned away from him, a scowl trenched deep into her expression. She had convinced Bedivere to explain himself and all he said was 'Evie deserves better than him'. Roxy could only assume one thing.
"You swore to me that you didn't sleep with her." She thought her glare was at full force, but she wished it would go a shade more intense.
"And tha' was the bloody truth!" Eggsy answered louder than he had meant.
Roxy stared down Eggsy for a long moment. Looking back at Bedivere, who was still nursing a broken nose, Roxy sighed and turned back to the blonde Kingsmen sitting across from her.
"You cheated."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did, Galahad. The rules of the Knights are strict and you broke them. You've lied to your fellow Kingsmen, became infatuated with a mission asset, and fought one of your comrades. This behavior goes against everything you swore to be when you took the oath to be a Kingsmen. Now you tell me, are you a cheat?"
Eggsy tossed the ice pack to the seat next to him. He guessed he had better be thankful it was Roxy dishing this out to him instead of Merlin.
"I'm a bloody cheat." Even to his own ears, Eggsy sounded utterly dejected and about as un-knightly as a bloke could be. Too defeated to meet Roxy's eyes, Eggsy stared at the discarded ice pack on the seat next to him as Roxy walked to the opposite end of the plane. When she settled in, Eggsy sighed and picked up the two files he swiped from the Conglomerate file room.
The first was Gwenivere/Evie Daniella, and the second was Elaine Daniella. Upon closer inspection, both were listed on each document as sisters.
Twin sisters.
Eggsy looked up and took a deep breath, realizing what the full implications of this would be. The Kingsmen had the wrong sister, Evie was out in the world with dangerous information and Elaine was back in London with a potentially deadly target painted on her back. Below Evie's name, a LOCATION UNKNOWN was marked in red. Below Elaine's name, the location given; LONDON. Callisto had the intel the Kingsmen lacked, and there was without a shadow of a doubt, a very serious threat against Elaine this very moment.
As the plane that carried the three Kingsmen taxied, Elaine sat in the interrogation room in the London precinct unsure of what was happening.
Standing up for the third time, Elaine approached the mirror and thought about banging on it. Each minute that passed felt like hours and she wasn't entirely sure if she was in trouble or not, though she had faith in Mr. Thomson to defend her. However, the door finally opened and a suited man in black horn-rimmed glasses entered.
"Good evening, Ms… Daniella, is it?"
Elaine went back and sat in her chair. The man did the same.
"Have you found anything?"
"Yes, fortunately, we were able to find and disarm the bombs."
Elaine leaned back in her chair, able to breathe freely for the first time in hours.
"What I am more concerned about, however, is you."
The man pinned her down with his sharp gaze. Something told her that the last thing she wanted to be was his enemy.
"Me?" The restricting rush of panic coiled around her chest once more.
"How did you manage to retrieve such information, Ms. Daniella. I find it unlikely a flower girl has the connections needed to know when and where a bomb is going to be."
Elaine stuttered but fell silent. As she faced down the man, she got the distinct feeling she was definitely in trouble.
"Like I told Mr. Thomson, I got a call."
"From who?"
"I don-I don't know."
For a moment, Elaine thought her stutter gave her away, but the man across from her seemed to let it slide.
"What do you know about Callisto?" He said suddenly.
Elaine scoffed at the idea she could provide information on anything he didn't already know.
"They're a terrorist group. Bad stuff."
"Tell me everything you know; your connections, alliances, locations, and I'll offer you full immunity for any case built against you."
"I'm sorry?" Elaine scoffed, staring down the suited man. "You what me to… spill information on terrorists?"
"Ms. Daniella," The man in the horn-rimmed glasses said, "we know who you are and your unfortunate history with Callisto. As I said, I am offering full immunity and asylum to you and in the wake of current events, you'd do best to accept. We both know what you're up against."
Elaine gaped at him in bewilderment. She shook her head and laughed uncomfortably as she stood up and walked to the door.
"You have the wrong girl."
Just as she opened the heavy metal door, the man spoke up behind her.
"Gwenivere, you'll never survive out there."
Elaine's hand froze on the door handle. For a moment, all she could see, all she could feel, was the cold metallic bite of the handle she had her hand on.
This is what happened to Evie. This is the Birchwood her sister was warning against. Though Elaine couldn't figure out if Birchwood was the terrorist group or the man sitting behind her.
One of them meant death.
Elaine's hands shook as she turned back. The cryptic eyes beneath the dark horn-rimmed glasses saw through her, waiting for an answer.
"Stay away from me," Elaine said harshly. She walked out of the interrogation room as calmly and confident as she could, trying desperately for her hands to stop shaking.
"Elaine," Mr. Thomson stood and stepped towards her.
Determined and unable to stop lest she cry, Elaine ran past Eggsy's Uncle and pushed past the entrance into the streets. Once she was out of the Precinct, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her.
Turns out her legs carried her to the piers. There were a couple of people walking around, but Elaine felt like every single passerby could see her lost eyes. After a moment or two of worrying about everything, terrorists included, Elaine deflated and walked to the edge of the pier.
Taking her shoes off, Elaine sat at the edge and dangled her bare feet over the edge. The water below her was gray and cold and the autumn wind made her shiver. Resting her chin on the lower railing, she looked out into the Thames. The rusting metal below her chin felt the way her heart did: gross and flaking apart. What was Evie doing? Thousands of miles away caught up in something as dangerous as terrorism. It didn't make sense.
"Elaine?" A voice called behind her.
Bringing her feet up from dangling over the water, Elaine shifted to look back and find an elegant woman in a deep red velvet dress and overcoat staring back at her.
"Stacia," Elaine stood to face her.
She had been so caught up with the sea of thought that the approaching click of Stacia's Louis Vuitton heel slipped past Elaine's notice.
"I haven't seen you at Vafara's. Feels like a fortnight."
"Oh… well," Elaine began lamely, "I guess I've been busy with this and that."
Elaine's bare feet shifted on the pier's wooden boards, the loose pebbles squishing between her toes.
"Where did you run off to? That day you came in?" She asked. She wasn't harsh, exactly, but Elaine saw the disappointment slopped in Stacia's shoulders and eyes as she crossed her ballerina-toned arms and stared Elaine down.
Elaine attempted to step back, but the metal railings of the pier stopped her. She tugged at the hem of her sweater.
"I guess I got cold feet."
"Cold feet are for weddings, not wedding designers." Stacia's hands came down to rest on her hips as the scowl became more prominent on her face. "Elaine, you embarrassed me. Mrs. Tulle doesn't waste her time and I talked you up like the bloody tosser that I am."
"I'm sor-"
"No," Stacia said. "No, I… oh, forget it."
Stacia stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and walked off into the twilight streets.
As Elaine watched Stacia walk off, she knew she should have chased after her. She should have begged her to listen and ask for a second chance at an interview but it had been weeks since that day and there were bombs in the Parliament houses and terrorists disguised as twin sisters.
Deflating with every breath, Elaine walked over to the pier railing. Her canvas shoes still sat at the edge. The cold water still brought the cold breeze.
Elaine didn't feel any of it.
Grabbing her shoes from the ground, Elaine yelled nonsense as she threw them into the water below. They were light and didn't make the satisfying splash she was hoping for.
So she kept walking. She didn't know where she was going but she hoped her feet would be fine. But unfortunately, she wasn't alone long after the confrontation with Stacia.
"Elaine?"
She turned and found Eggsy standing behind her dressed more casually than she had ever seen him. He was only wearing a pair of standard black sweatpants and an old black zip-up sweater.
"How did you find me?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"My uncle called and said you jus' ran off! Elaine, what the hell were you thinkin'?! Tha's dangerous and immature."
Maybe it was just her projecting her craziness on the man standing in front of her, but Eggsy seemed more serious than she had ever seen him. His hair was tousled and a light bruise was darkening on his forehead and there was something about seeing him in sweats that made Elaine want to curl up and run away from the world. But, it looked like he wanted to run away, as well.
Nonetheless, Elaine was reeling internally. Her night was seven different kinds of crazy and she didn't need her confusion with Eggsy added to the list no matter how good he looked. And she didn't care what he said, she knew he was in a relationship.
"This is none of your business and why should I care what you think?" Elaine huffed before turning and walking away.
She continued walking along the path, ignoring the way her toes were losing sensation and how the bottoms of her feet were scraping against the pebbles.
"Tell me what happened," Eggsy said, catching up to her with a few easy strides.
"Nothing," Elaine was going to sock him in the jaw if he didn't leave her alone.
Eggsy let out a humorless laugh and ran his fingers through his hair.
"You're unbelievable! Can you, for one second, stop being so feckin' stubborn an' talk straight to me?" He said, stepping in front of her and not letting her pass.
"Like you're one to talk, asshole!" Elaine yelled. She stood up on her toes to drive her point in. "I know you and Roxy are together."
"We are not together!" Eggsy yelled back.
"Alright, Galahad!" Elaine scoffed, shoving him away. It was petty of her, but Elaine ignored the heavy feeling inside her and walked past him.
"Wait, jus' slow down, what can I do to help you?"
"You can tell me what the hell you want from me!" Elaine yelled. Her feet were cold against the London streets.
"I want you to stop runnin' away! You're better than tha' and you know it."
"Excellent plan, call me a coward and then I'll listen."
"I'm not callin' you a coward!"
"Yes you are, you-"
"Stop puttin' words in my mouth!"
"Stop interrupting me!"
"Oi!"
A light turned on in one of the darkened windows along the street. The pane was opened and an old lady with curlers leaned out and gave them both a dirty scowl.
"Stop ya yellin' or I'll call the Bobbies!"
Eggsy reached up and ran a hand through his hair again.
"My apologies, ma'am," Eggsy called up.
"Yea, apologies my arse, you toff."
The window slammed shut and the light dimmed back to darkness like the other windows.
Elaine stood for a long time in silence. Neither of them brave enough to break the tension so Elaine turned and walked away again.
"Wait."
She ignored him and kept walking.
"Would you jus' listen to me?"
Elaine kept the wall of silence up.
"What's your plan, Elaine?"
Unable to let his words go, Elaine kept walking away from him but answered with a scowl he couldn't see.
"My plan is to do what I do best and run away," she said.
"Then run away with me."
Elaine turned.
Eggsy, who was following her a few yards away, stopped and stood there looking at her, waiting.
"Sorry?" Elaine said. She must have heard him wrong.
"Run away with me, Elaine," Eggsy said, closing the distance between them. Even though he had traded his tweed suits for the plain black sweats he was currently wearing, Elaine got the same warm butterflies in her stomach and the sudden urge to be wrapped him in his arms again. "Rome, Paris, Vienna, Lima. Christ, I'll even follow you across the pond to Minneapolis. You pick. Let's just run."