Hello everyone! I apologize for the long wait, but I promise this chapter is going to be good! (although that's for you to decide, not me). This chapter was really fun to write and it's the longest one yet, but some of it was a little out of my normal zone of writing so I would deeply appreciate any and all criticisms!
William Myrtle stalked into the skyscraper on Wall Street with a heavy gait and clenched fists. It was after office hours, but there was still one lone executive sitting at his top-floor desk.
Antony Gunman buzzed William past security and as William walked, he made sure to give all the security cameras a death glare. The elevator doors dinged as they opened to the 23rd floor. William walked through to the office in front of him.
"Billy," Antony huffed, focused eyes remaining on the document in front of him. "I thought you would be in Minneapolis right now."
William stopped by the desk and kicked a chair out.
"I came here to ask why I have to do the rookie kills." He fell back into the chair, cracking his knuckles. "I'm past killing weak girls for threats and I don't appreciate being underused."
William was never one for small talk. He picked up the necessary charisma needed to lure weaker victims to their doom as an afterthought, but now these jobs were just tedious. He cracked his knuckles again and Antony looked up from his work only to frown in distaste.
Straightening, Antony pushed his papers to the side and folded his hands on the desk in front of him.
"Billy, I've already told you. Devron wants to kill Evie. And to get to Evie, we need to get Elaine and getting Elaine will be much easier than her twin." Antony stood up and walked around his desk. "It's not a hard job, a chance to take it easy. You don't even need to do anything too serious. Just pull a few teeth, rip out a couple of fingernails, pour acid in her eyes and call it good, I don't give a shit. This is your job, not mine. You deal with it."
Glaring at the man in front of him, William said nothing as he turned and left.
"Get it done tonight, Billy," Antony said just as William reached the door.
Stepping around his desk, Antony sat back down again and sighed.
"The game is coming to an end, Guinevere."
Overseas, in London, Elaine was boarding the private jet and blissfully unaware of the bloodbath waiting for her in Minneapolis.
A Caveat of flying on Savile Row's private jet was that another businessman from the company would be flying with her; not that Elaine considered that a caveat at all, but Mr. Brown made it sound like one.
Once she was settled in her seat, the businessman followed behind her and sat on the other side of the plane. The pilot came into the cabin and said a few words to Elaine, welcoming her, and then turned to the businessman. She caught the pilot addressing the other passenger as Sir Kay, which Elaine found odd, but then again, this was England and the English did weird things like call people sir and let new tailors (fabric purchasers) fly on private jets.
Ignoring both men, Elaine looked at her phone again. The text she had sent Evie had gone unread and unresponded. The pilot hadn't instructed her to turn her phone on airplane mode yet, so Elaine pulled up her sister's number. She looked at the man on the other side of the plane, but his eyes were on the paper in his hands. Why would he eavesdrop anyways? Her little problems meant nothing to him.
The phone rang several times. Evie didn't pick up. Then the generic voicemail picked up telling her the owner of the number couldn't take her call and that she should leave a message.
"Eve, hi," Elaine started, not really sure how to proceed, glancing self-consciously at the other passenger again and Elaine thought he turned his head an inch towards her. Ignoring him, she continued. "I, um, I sent you a text. I know you're still mad at me, but some crazy things have happened in the last month and I'm worried about you. You don't have to talk to me, just let me know you're okay. And that's basically what I sent you in the text, but… but whatever. Just… just give me a call when you can, please?"
Dejected, Elaine cut the message off and put her phone on airplane mode. Sneaking a look again at the other passenger, his eyes were still glued to the newspaper in his hands. Settling deeper into her seat, she leaned her head against the chair and tried to sleep through the flight.
By the 5th hour of the flight, Elaine was bored enough that she turned to the businessman next to her.
"How long have you been working at Savile Row?" Elaine asked.
He turned from the window and gave her a kind smile.
"Going on six years this September," he said, pleasant enough for a boring plane ride. Elaine was glad he humoured her and indulged in conversation. She never made a point to talk to fellow passengers on a flight, but being one of two passengers on a private jet felt completely foreign. That being so, the man sitting on her left was bound to have a few interesting stories or wise words. Honestly, Elaine would welcome both.
"Six years? Really? So you must like working as a tailor," Elaine felt lame about her small talk, but why not?
"It does have boring moments, but overall, it's a very exciting line of work." He stood up and walked towards the seat across from her. "May I?"
"Of course," Elaine nodded.
He settled down in the seat and gave Elaine another warm smile. Honestly, Elaine worried she might develop a gentleman-complex seeing as how she somehow managed to be entirely surrounded by them lately.
"It's always a pleasure to travel with another passenger; it's such a waste when there's only one passenger on a flight. My name is Kay." Kay extended his hand towards her.
"Elaine," she offered and shook his hand.
"How long have you been with Savile Row, Elaine?"
"Um, well, a few months. But roughly speaking…" Elaine didn't even know how to describe her situation. Maybe she should just go with the theme of her troubles and forget them. "About 3 months." Elaine straightened, determining to tell no one else about her amnesia. She was just a fabric purchaser doing her thing.
"Are you a tailor?" Elaine asked.
He nodded.
"Yes. It's a family tradition. I thought I wouldn't like it, but every day is an exciting experience," he said, smiling as if there was a joke to his words.
Elaine had noticed that a lot; tailors of Savile Row speaking in a weird subtext when talking about the job, a familiar mischievous smile following the assurance that the job was actually quite adventurous. Elaine stored the suspicion in the back of her head.
"That's what I've heard from a lot of tailors here, I never thought of tailor as such an exciting business." She had hoped for another insight of subtext, but Kay only nodded with a kind smile.
"I trust that you're enjoying your work here, as well?" He asked.
A pang of guilt ran through her. Looking away from Kay, Elaine studied the private jet Mr. Brown set up for her and thought of all of the good things (including an infuriating tailor Elaine couldn't get out of her head) that had come to her because of this job. Was she really going to give it all up for a less prestigious designer?
She hesitated before answering.
"I love it there and even in so short of a time, I've learned a lot… but," Elaine paused before looking away from the man sitting in front of her, not sure of herself.
"But what?" Kay asked, his eyes narrowing in worry.
It was silly, though, that Elaine was telling him all this. It's not like her little troubles meant anything to him.
"I've accepted a different job. Just before leaving London, actually." Elaine felt better telling someone, the guilt lessened a little. "Vafara Tulle offered me a position. I never intended to go into men's wear. I'm a dressmaker, really. I feel bad leaving, though. I'll miss all the people," Elaine absentmindedly said, looking out the window, then smiling at her situation. "And the perks."
Kay nodded but didn't say anything for a moment. Following her gaze, he looked out the window as well.
"I'm sure you will be sorely missed, Elaine," Kay said.
She nodded with a quiet thanks and wondered again if she was making a huge mistake.
On the seventh hour of the flight, Elaine closed her eyes. Kay had since moved back to his own seat and picked up his paper again and the quiet flight plummeted Elaine into boredom. She had already taken a nap and even if this was a private jet, it was still not the best situation for a nap. So, Elaine reached into her bag and pulled out her book.
She just finished the first page when an attendant approached her.
"A package for you, Miss Elaine," the attendant said as he set down a sturdy box in front of her.
"From who?" Elaine asked, caught off guard, dropping her book onto the seat next to her and pulling the box towards her once the attendant leaned back.
"Mr. Brown on behalf of Savile Row," he said.
Shrugging, Elaine thanked the attendant and opened the box. Inside was a pristine, expertly tailored suit of brown tweed, just for her.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Elaine mumbled to herself. Kay glanced at her so Elaine turned the box so he could see.
He smiled.
"I'm surprised you haven't already got one." He dropped the paper to turn his full attention on her.
"But… how can I afford this?" Elaine asked, going through how much the fabric and crafting of such a beautiful suit cost.
"Complimentary, I'm sure," Kay said, amused at her disbelief.
Elaine ran her fingers over the suit, admiring the stitching and lay of the patter. She was too stunned at the gift to recognize the feel of kevlar in the lining. The one thing running through Elaine's mind was how undeserving she was for such a gift, complimentary of the job or not. And even if she was staying, she had only been at the job for a little over two months and of those two months, she only remembered a week of it. No. It was too much.
Tucking the tweed suit back to the fold in which she found it, she closed the sturdy box, stood up and headed in the direction of the cockpit.
"Where are you going?" Kay asked, remaining in his seat.
"Returning this," Elaine said. Kay stood up and respectfully blocked her path.
"And why are you doing that?" he asked.
Elaine laughed in disbelief.
"I'm leaving for another designer. How can I accept a gift like this?" Elaine gestured to the package in her hands.
"With all due respect, it might be more rude to decline," Kay said carefully. "It's already tailored to you, and you never know what you'll end up deciding. I'm not telling you to keep the job, but wait until you return to London to make any decision final."
Looking at the box in her hands, Elaine nodded and sat back down, placing the boxed tweed suit on the seat next to her.
"I've never been this pampered before," Elaine said to Kay, who stood next to her.
The two of them were out of their seats and waiting for the stairs to descend to the tarmac below and the doors to open.
He gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Flying in a private jet caught me off guard my first time, as well," he said. "You'll learn to expect them if you stay."
Elaine took his words to heart, thinking of the complementary suit, as well.
Bouncing on her toes as the door opened, Elaine laughed as soon as she caught sight of Maisey and Daniel. Not caring about composure or the opinion of the man next to her, Elaine openly laughed and waved her hands.
"After you," the man said.
"Thank you," Elaine beamed as she walked down. The pilot had said that he would get her luggage for her.
Elaine's face broke into a smile that stretched from ear to ear and waited for Maisey to reach her, knowing that if she ran towards her, they would only get hurt (she had learned from experience multiple times). Laughing, Maisey ran up and jumped on her, wrapping her legs around Elaine's torso.
"Hey!" Elaine laughed as she almost fell. "I'm the shorty, why do I always have to be the one to catch you?"
Maisey let go of Elaine, her feet against the floor again.
"Right," Maisey nodded. "Fair is fair." She opened her arms.
Elaine giggled and jumped up the same way Maisey had, both of them ignoring the stares from the other travelers.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" A voice came from behind them.
Elaine let go of Maisey and looked around her to find Daniel, unaware she was being watched.
Up in the first class lounge of the Minneapolis airport, a sleek woman stood looking out at the private jet on the tarmac and the civilians greeting each other.
"Is she here?" Leonard asked from across the room.
"Yes. There's a Kingsman and two civilians with her," Siobhan said, checking her hair in the reflection of the window. "I talked with Antony and he begrudgingly mentioned he's sent his guy already. He's always such a damp rag."
Leonard grumbled, agreeing with her sentiment. He got up and walked to the window where Siobhan was standing.
"Then we need to act now," Leonard said, annoyed at the mention of Antony. "If we kill the Kingsmen while we're at it, then bonus. I don't care who we have to go through. Kill the civilians for all I care. I want Elaine Daniella dead."
Elaine's chest lit up on the way back to Maisey's apartment. Perfectly content in the back of the car watching the city fly by her, she listened to the lovebirds in the front seats bicker like an already elderly couple.
"I missed this," Elaine said, smiling when Maisey paused her argument and looked back at her.
"We missed you, too."
Nothing could go wrong, could it? Here Elaine was, in her city with her best friends. No more drama or pain or tailors that seemed to be covering up some hidden job. Nothing could go wrong.
Leaning her head back, Elaine closed her eyes and listened contently to the city.
Unfortunately, Eggsy wasn't having as much fun as Elaine was. Kay had filled him in on his conversation with Elaine and it was about what Eggsy was expecting. She was never going to stay with Savile Row. Nor with him either. Eggsy just shrugged off the disappointment and drove to the designated location for the mission.
Elaine's suit had a tracker in it, but since there was no way of knowing if she wore it, Kay placed a tracker on her before she got off the flight. Two trackers were more than enough to keep an eye on her but, still, anxiety grew in Eggsy stomach when she wasn't immediately within reach. So, he opened up the tracking log on his glasses and kept a close eye on it.
Once Eggsy got to his hotel room, there was nothing better to do but clean his gun. Every now and again, he would check the tracker on Elaine (feeling reassured and guilty about it every time) then return to the care of his weapons. By the time he'd reassembled the handgun and moved on the make sure the umbrella was working, he'd checked Elaine's tracker about 2 dozen times. She was en route to the address listed as Maisey's, but he wouldn't calm until she reached the location unharmed. Even then, he would be lucky if his heart calmed down.
It was going to be a long night.
Once they got the Maisey and Daniel's apartment, Daniel was promptly sent elsewhere while the tailoring of the wedding dress started.
"My gosh, Mais, this dress is beautiful!" Elaine admired, circling the dress. Off-white, Maisey's dress was a light champagne hue and, true to what she said, didn't have any beading or lace.
"That's why I picked it out. Cost an arm, though," Maisey joked, running her hands down the front as if to smooth down the fabric.
Elaine's thoughts turned to her own suit. Looking at Maisey and her dress, she felt the excitement that came with making and adjusting a gown. If she stayed at Savile Row, she wouldn't have that. She'd likely remain a fabric purchaser for years. With Vafara, however, her dream was within her reach. Elaine's mind was already decided.
Returning her attention to her friend, she pushed the gown into Maisey's arms.
"What are we waiting for? Put it on!" Elaine said, excitement running through her. Maisey looked just as excited as she grabbed the dress and ducked into the next room.
Once she came out, Elaine was circling the dress again. Poking and pulling at the dress, she saw only a few things that needed to change.
"I'll have to take the shoulders in a little, but there's no beading up there so that'll be easy. And then you'll need to wear the shoes you're wearing for the ceremony so I'll know how much to take in the hem. The waist is perfect on you, but the bust will need to be taken in a little. But other than that, you look like an angel," Elaine said.
"And you called me crazy for waiting for you," Maisey said. "This is going to be a piece of cake for an expert like you."
Elaine rolled her eyes, trying to hide how she was about to cry tears of happiness knowing these next few weeks would be some of the happiest of her life.
Just as Roxy was making the call for reinforcements in London, Elaine was circling the wedding gown Maisey was currently wearing in her living room talking about the upcoming wedding without an inkling of the bloodshed that would soon befall her.
Adjusting the pins in her mouth, Elaine carefully gathered and pinned the fabric as she listened to Maisey ramble on about whatever came to mind. And what was currently on Maisey's mind was her mom. If there was anything worse than a bridezilla, it was a motherzilla trying to plan the wedding.
"I actually expected you to get a black wedding dress," Elaine said through the pins in between her teeth.
Maisey rolled her eyes, moving in a way that almost got her stabbed with a pin.
"I wanted one! Except my parents threatened not to pay for anything if I didn't get a white wedding dress. So, here we are. Although, me and Daniel are paying for the brunch tomorrow."
Elaine chuckled as well as she could with pins in her mouth. Pinching the shoulder strap, she took one out and stuck it through the fabric. Going to the other side, she did the same to the other shoulder. The last two pins were put in the back to take in the bust.
"Alright, now time to stand on the stool," Elaine instructed, placing the stool in front of Maisey. She did as she was told and Elaine took out more pins.
Folding the hem, Elaine started placing the pins in the fabric.
"How's Eggsy?" Maisey asked.
"Who?" Elaine asked, she'd heard the name before, but she couldn't quite pinpoint where she'd heard it.
"He has another name… but I can't remember. Gary? How's Gary."
Elaine stopped pinning and looked up at Maisey. Dropping the pins into her palm, she looked up at Maisey and shrugged.
"I wouldn't know. We're not exactly friends." Elaine pushed the pins around in her palm, looking away from Maisey.
"What? Why not? What happened?" Maisey asked.
Elaine hesitated. Just like the ordeal with Savile Row and Vafara, Elaine thought she had everything decided. But every time she thought she did, fate would throw her a card to remind her of all the good the life she was trying to leave could offer her. Attempting to steer herself in the direction she wanted to go, Elaine told Maisey what only half of her believed.
"I realized he was manipulative and selfish," Elaine said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Gary? No. Not a chance," Maisey said, shaking her head.
Once Maisey formed an opinion about someone, however, it tended to stay there forever, so Elaine didn't take too much influence from her words.
"It's true," Elaine said, trying to not be affected by the topic. "I asked him out and he said no. But when he found out I was going to Minneapolis, he freaked out and tried to make me stay."
It was Maisey's turn to shrug.
"He probably just wants to keep you safe."
"No, he doesn't, mais. He only thinks about himself." Again, only half of her thought that was true.
Maisy bent down and made Elaine stand up to meet her eyes.
"Ellie, when you got in that car crash, Gary stayed at the hospital through your entire surgery and then stayed another three days. Three whole days, Ellie. And then he only left because me and Daniel practically forced him to go get some rest. He was devastated when you were in that coma, Elaine. Maybe you should consider he's just scared you're going to get hurt again."
Elaine looked away, knowing deep inside that Gary didn't deserve the anger she was throwing at him. Saying nothing, Elaine knelt down again and resumed pinning the hem up.
Brunch the next morning was everything Elaine expected it to be. Held in downtown St. Paul at Hyatt Place Hotel, the events room was decorated with flowers and balloons in Maisey's wedding colors (rose gold and cream) and Maisey's snobby mother paid for the expensive champagne. Theoretically, the brunch would be calm, lovely, and civilized. It really was such a shame that it was turning into such a disaster.
But it was a disaster that Elaine expected.
Maisey's mom was barking orders at the poor hotel staff, Stephanie was being passive aggressive towards Elaine, and one of Maisey's aunts was asking her condescending questions about the 'artist's way of life', whatever that meant. But, nevertheless, Elaine persevered through the turmoil.
By the time the mimosas were passed out, the hotel manager asked Maisey's mom to stop bullying his staff and almost kicked them out, Stephanie was already crying about Elaine being the maid of honor, and the aunt that had previously been questioning Elaine's side jobs (Elaine repeatedly informing her she had no side job) had gone into a full attack on Elaine to Maisey.
Across the room, Maisey gestured to the kitchen and Elaine nodded. Escaping the grasp of drama around her, she slipped into the kitchen and found Maisey sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl of alfredo pasta.
"I don't think you're allowed to do that," Elaine said, walking over the stand by her. Maisey silently handed the bowl over to Elaine.
"This is about what I expected, right?" Maisey asked.
"It's exactly what I expected," Elaine shrugged, leaning against the counter Maisey sat on. She took a bite of pasta and handed the bowl back to Maisey. "Although I did expect Stephanie to hold herself together better."
"Really? That's optimistic of you," Maisey scoffed.
The manager walked into the kitchen at that moment, took one look at the two girls on the counter, sighed, and walked back out.
"Your mom's done a number on him," Elaine said, watching him walk through the swinging doors.
"How long do you think we'll be allowed to stay here?" Maisey asked, taking a bite of food after asking.
"You mean the two of us or the party as a whole?"
"The party as a whole," she clarified, mouth full of pasta.
"Ten minutes, tops," Elaine said, looking at the clock on the wall to the left of the swinging kitchen doors.
"I give it five." Maisey twirled her fork in the pasta.
"Loser pays for pedicures?" Elaine suggested.
"As usual," Maisey said, smiling at her. Becoming more serious, she looked down at the pasta and tapped her foot against the leg of the counter. "I'm sorry things are such a disaster."
Elaine scoffed.
"Shouldn't I be saying that? This is your wedding brunch." She twirled her own fork in the pasta and took a bite.
"Yes, but you're getting the majority of the disaster though. My mom is in a rare form today, Stephanie is spreading rumors about you to the other bridesmaids and I'm pretty sure my aunt thinks you're either a stripper or a prostitute… or selling drugs."
"Ah, yes; the artist's way of life. I don't get how she could possibly think that, though; I'm literally the most preppy person." Elaine stopped and sent a worried glance at the brunch through the swinging kitchen door. "And what rumors is Stephanie spreading about me?"
"Doesn't matter," Maisey shrugged. "And you literally dress like a school teacher. It's disgusting."
Elaine let the rumors go. She only had enough energy to deal with one trainwreck at a time and Stephanie wasn't worth her attention, neither was Maisey's aunt.
"My stripper name is Weekend Homework," Elaine said, kicking her leg out seductively and almost falling over.
"Be careful, then," Maisey laughed as she helped Elaine balance. "If you break a leg, there'll be no more tips."
"There goes my side job. How can I support the artist's lifestyle without these endless legs?" Elaine said as she took another bite of pasta.
Laughing together with mouths full of alfredo pasta, Elaine and Maisey waited to be kicked out.
Back in London, the Kingsmen were piecing together evidence that should have been clear before.
"Merlin," Roxy called as she walked into the conference room.
"Have a report?" He asked, looking up from his own research.
Roxy set down a tablet in front of him and sat in the adjacent chair.
"Yes, I was looking through the surveillance footage from the trade show and the facial scan I started picked up a face."
Roxy swiped through the tablet with the findings to Merlin.
"William Myrtle?" Merlin observed, taking the device and scrolling through the information on the man himself.
"Sources say he's a hitman for Callisto. He's been spotted leaving multiple assassinations. And..." Roxy paused, worried she'd get reprimanded for not noticing earlier.
"Yes?" Merlin prodded.
"I talked to Mr. Brown to be sure, Myrtle is the person Elaine bumped into, the one she made a date with."
"Ah," Merlin lowered the tablet.
"Yup," Roxy said.
Merlin stood up and put on his glasses.
"Warn Galahad and it might be a good idea to get the Statesmen for reinforcement since they're in the states."
"On it," Roxy said, leaving the room again.
It turns out that Elaine won the bet; the hotel manager promptly informed Maisey's mother that the party was no longer welcomed in the events room or even in the hotel nine minutes after Elaine and Maisey took their guesses.
The hotel manager walked into the kitchen and before he had time to kick them out, Maisey's mother stormed in after him.
"Come on, puddles, we're apparently not welcome here." She stuck up her nose at the manager and gave him a dirty look.
"I'm looking forward to the pedicure," Elaine whispered to Maisey before walking out of the kitchen with the two of them. Once they stood in the banquet hall and said goodbye to a few people, Elaine turned to Maisey's mother. "I'm so sorry the staff here was so terrible, Mrs. Lawrence."
"Yes, well, just goes to show that good service is rare these days," Mrs. Lawrence sighed and adjusted the pearls on her neck.
"Maybe if you hadn't been such a control freak, the staff could have done their job," Maisey mumbled to which Mrs. Lawrence simply rolled her eyes.
"I'll stay and help with the gifts," Elaine said, watching the brunch dissipate in a matter of seconds.
"You're the best," Maisey said, watching the various aunts and cousins berate the staff as they walked out. Finishing the last sips of her mimosa, she gave Elaine a warning look as her mother walked towards them.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, puddles." Mrs. Lawrence said, bringing Maisey into a tight hug. Pulling away but still wrapping an arm around Maisey, Mrs. Lawrence turned to Elaine. "Hurry up and pack all the gifts away. The cab will be here at any moment. And I expect to see a finished fitting of her dress within a week."
"Mom," Maisey started.
"Oh, look the car is pulling up right now. Hurry with the packing I don't want to spend another second here." Mrs. Lawrence turned sharply and walked away from the two of them.
Elaine just smiled and watched Maisey reluctantly follow with an apologetic shrug.
Once Elaine helped stuff all of the gifts (and there was a mountain of them) into Maisey's car, her mother gave Elaine a tight hug and sent her off. Waving goodbye to her friend, Elaine grabbed her purse and walked back into the hotel to call a lift.
Walking by the bathrooms, a tight hand gripped her arm and pulled her into the bathroom.
"Evie?" Elaine gasped, pausing to let her surprise settle before throwing her arms around her sister.
"Are you okay?" Evie asked, stepping back to see if anything was physically wrong with her. Elaine had never seen her so tense.
"Yes, but they told me you never tried to contact me or visit me. I was beginning to worry that you hated me more than I thought possible."
The tense set of Evie's shoulders loosened a bit at Elaine's words, and instead, guilt filled her eyes.
"Let's forget about that. It's behind us."
"But, Evie, I really screwed up your life. I promise I didn't me-"
"I screwed up my own life, don't forget that," Evie snapped, cutting her off.
A dull ache was beginning to throb at the base of Elaine's skull, memories of hospitals and pain and hazy faces with far-away voices. Just at the end of those feelings, Elaine suddenly and clearly remembered. A lot was still lost; she didn't know about Gary or her time working at Savile Row, but she did remember Evie and lying in that bed listening to what had become of her.
"Eve," Elaine pulled her into an embrace.
Reciprocating the hug, Evie was silent for a moment and Elaine thought she felt her shaking with fear. But before she could really tell, her sister was composed again. Pulling away, Evie looked straight into Elaine's eyes.
"You have to listen to me. You are in danger. I've mixed myself in with some very bad people and they're trying to get to you to hurt me."
Elaine shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around everything her sister was saying. Just because she remembered what her sister had said a month ago didn't make anything clearer.
"Who is trying to hurt us?" Elaine asked, trying to calm the situation.
"Doesn't matter. Is the Kingsman still in love with you?"
"Kings… what?" Elaine asked, but Evie was too wrapped up in planning things she might not be able to control.
"Doesn't matter. If he followed you here then he's still trying to protect you."
Taking a deep breath, Elaine set her hands on her sister's shoulders.
"I'm really going to need you to start explaining some things."
Evie huffed, running her hands through her blonde hair.
"I know you don't remember, but a few months ago, I warned you that he's no good and to stay away from them. But he and the rest of the Kingsmen are the least of our problems. I made a plan for us to run away. It involves us faking our deaths. It'll be hard to convince the people we're running away from, but I've saved up a couple million so we should be able to do it."
"Okay, Evie?" Elaine started, gently placing her hands on her sister's shoulders. "I really need you to start explaining yourself. I'll help you and follow you wherever you think is safe, but right now, all I need is answers."
Evie grew quiet, her eyes becoming hazardous and scared. Before she could speak, a couple of hotel custodians walked into the hallway outside the bathroom, preparing to clean the bathroom Elaine and Evie were currently plotting in.
Evie turned to her, the sudden time constriction putting fear in her eyes.
"I'll explain everything. But not here. Will you meet me somewhere tomorrow?"
"Of course. Anywhere you want," Elaine nodded, trying to ignore the pit of anxiety steadily growing in her stomach.
"Okay, let me just figure it out." She started pacing the length of the bathroom. "And can you do me a favor?"
"Anything," Elaine nodded.
"Cancel any plans tonight, stay in your apartment and don't let anyone in."
Elaine hesitated. Her date with William was tonight, but she saw that this was important and honestly, Elaine was started to get really scared.
"Yeah," she nodded, already pulling out her phone to cancel. "I promise."
When Elaine got back to her apartment, she was exhausted. The world was turning upside down and she had to make the choice now about what to do about her sister. Should she listen? What about Gary? Or Eggsy, whatever his damn name was.
"Kingsmen." Elaine tested the word in her mouth. It felt familiar and it elicited fear in her. But if Gary was a Kingsmen and he loved her, the word shouldn't be bad, should it?
Grabbing the box with her tweed suit in it, she pulled out the pieces and set them on her bed. Admiring the fabric, she felt the suit between her fingers. Her heart stopped for a moment.
Her complimentary suit was lined with Kevlar.
Just about to take off her shoes and investigate the suit further, the door creaked open.
Had she left it unlocked? She hadn't thought so. Slipping her shoes off, she tiptoed to the entrance to try to hear if someone was there.
"Elaine?"
A familiar voice quietly called.
"Gary?" Elaine spoke up, anger and excitement filling her chest once the surprise cleared up. She walked to the entrance and saw him cautiously standing in the doorway.
"Thank god you're here," he said in a hushed voice, closing the door to her apartment and walking in. Elaine objected, but he didn't appear to hear. Instead, he stealthily checked each room, closing curtains and closing doors, his hand close to his side as if ready to grab for a gun.
When he came back into her view, she saw that he was holding exactly that; a gun.
"Why the hell do you have that?" Elaine asked, stepping back. Perhaps he was crazier than she had thought.
He just hushed her.
Pushing her into the inner room of her apartment, he motioned for her to duck down and be quiet. Complying somewhat, Elaine lowered a foot and whispered to him.
"Tell me what's happening, Gary."
She knew now she had previously called him his nickname only, but she didn't want to spare him that privilege. She cast a thought to what Maisey had said about his when she was in her coma. He'd stayed with her, refused to leave. Certainly, someone like that deserved some leniency? Evie wouldn't lie either, but Elaine was so confused by what Evie was trying to tell her she didn't know what to think. She shook herself out of the confusion. Gary had made his true colors shine.
"Evie's met with you?" he asked, eyes to the door.
She paused.
"Yes, and what's it to you? She's my sister."
"Where did she tell you to met up?"
Elaine clammed up. Life was getting too precarious, who was out to kill her and who was trying to protect her?
"None of your business."
They both froze as the door to the front of the apartment creaked open again.
"Someone's he…" Elaine started to say.
She was stopped by Gary's palm over her mouth. She thought about yelling at him, but the hairs at the back of her neck stood up and she stayed silent as she watched Gary walk out of the room, gun drawn and feet stealthy.
"Gary," she whispered as he peeked around the corner. Elaine moved to follow, but he made a clear gesture to stay where she was.
So, she stayed put. But as he disappeared around the corner, Elaine's heart jumped to her throat. She was about to throw all caution to the wind and follow him anyways when a hand caught her throat and pulled her up.
Trying to scream, her voice was stifled in her throat as the hand squeezed even tighter.
"Don't make a sound or you'll die slowly," a familiar voice threatened.
Elaine listened, but his hand didn't loosen any. White spots appeared in her vision.
"Galahad," the man behind her called.
Gary appeared around the corner, gun drawn and pointing at the man behind Elaine. Tears began to flow from her eyes as the white spots that danced in her eyes took up more of her vision. Gary spared her a nervous look then his eyes glowed with calculated fury at her captor.
"Let her go," Gary seethed. "She's not who you think she is."
"Oh, she's exactly who I think she is. Elaine, right?" He tightened his hand around her neck and Elaine let out a pained gasp.
Eggsy's eyes flew to her throat, his mouth in a hard line. As much as Elaine's mind was wrapped around the chaos and panic of the moment, she noticed Eggsy's hands didn't shake at all, he was trained.
At that moment, the person who came to Elaine's mind was ironically Greg. Remembering what he taught her, (and she vaguely remembered using the move against him) Elaine kicked her foot up and slammed her heel as hard as she could against her attacker's knee.
He swore and dropped her, but using the gun, he swung it at Elaine's head and knocked her down. Stars shown in her eyes as she lay on the floor. She reached up and felt the blood trickling down her temple. Glancing up a moment too late, she saw the man pull up his gun and shoot Eggsy once in the chest and once in the stomach.
"No!" she screamed. She didn't hear Eggsy hit the floor, but somehow she felt it. He was just lying there, clutching his chest. "Eggsy," Elaine called, rolling on her knees and making her way to him.
William's foot fell beside her, but she paid no attention, she just kept crawling to Eggsy, but that didn't stop him. A cold hand twisted in Elaine's hair and yanked her up; short, sharp nails digging into her scalp. William brought her up to his eye level and Elaine struggled to stand on her toes and take as much pressure off her hair.
"Why are you doing this?" Elaine asked, surprised at how even and forceful her voice was when she felt so terrified.
William just smiled, jostling her and enjoying the way she cried.
"I just hate when bitches cancel dates at the last minute," he said, bringing Elaine's face closer to his.
His hand jostled her hair again, but this time it was followed by him yelling in pain and letting go of her. Dropping to the floor, Elaine clutched her throbbing head and looked up just as a bullet hit William exactly between his eyes.
Hands shaking as she clutched her head, William seemed to fall backward in slow motion. Behind her, Eggsy stood clutching his abdomen, gun raised.
Still looking at the dead body in the room, she didn't move until Eggsy forced her to. He carefully helped her up and turned her head away from William's imploded one. Sensing that she was in shock, Eggsy waited until her eyes focused on his, tucking her unruly hair behind her ear.
"Stay with me, Elaine, you need to ignore the blood," he said, his eyes boring into hers.
Her hands went up to touch his as he held her face in his palms. Closing her eyes and taking a deep, shaky breath, Elaine nodded.
"Where's the suit you were given?" he asked, taking his hands from her. Elaine immediately felt the absence of his warmth.
"In my bedroom," she whispered, not trusting her voice to stay even. Her ears rang.
"Go put it on," he ordered gently, pushing her towards her room. Without that push, she probably would have stayed locked in place.
Floating through the haze of adrenaline clouding her mind, Elaine put it on as quickly as she could. Any admiration she would have bestowed on such a well-crafted suit was ignored and forgotten. Stepping out of her bedroom with the suit, Eggsy spared her an appreciating look before nodding and grabbing her hand.
"We have to keep moving," he said.
"Eggsy, I need answers," she said shakily. She didn't tear her arm away from his grip, afraid she might float away if she did.
He paused, turning to look at her.
"You called me Eggsy," was all he said.
"Well… yeah? What about it?" Elaine asked, shifting uncomfortably.
The hope in his eyes dissipated as he seemed to fall back into soldier mode. Taking her hand again, he pulled her along.
"Never mind, come on."
It wasn't until they were at the bottom of the stairs that Elaine noticed the blood.
"Oh my god, he shot you, didn't he?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does! Eggsy, you got shot! You could die!"
"Look, I've had worse-"
"I can't b-"
Eggsy took her by the shoulders and forced her to look up from his bleeding abdomen and into his eyes.
"Yes, I have gone through worse and we need to keep moving."
Once they were in the parking garage, the nearest vehicle was a motorcycle. Walking up to it, Eggsy placed a magnetized disk to the engine and it immediately started.
"What was that?" Elaine asked.
"Universal key," Eggsy said, jumping onto the motorcycle. "Come on."
"Hell no," Elaine said, crossing her arms. "You've been shot and we don't have helmets, plus that device is extremely illegal, I'm sure."
"Get on the damn motorcycle or I'll throw you on," he snapped.
Elaine swallowed her pride and fear before getting on the bike behind him.
"Hold on tight and try to keep your face hidden."
"That would be easier if I had a helmet," Elaine said, tightening her arms around him as tight as she dared and pressed her face against his back.
He revved the motorcycle before kicking it into gear and speeding out of the parking garage. Listening to what he told her, Elaine kept her grip tight around him and her face hidden as he swerved through the traffic.
She didn't know where he was taking her, but the swerving of the bike and cars narrowly missing them did nothing to calm her. The blaring, angry horns were loud and made her heart thunder.
"Shit," Eggsy cursed.
Elaine opened her eyes, but she couldn't see his face.
"What?" Did she want to know why he was cursing?
"We're being followed," he said, Elaine looked to see his eyes flashing in the little rear-view mirror.
"I mean, we're in traffic?" Elaine suggested, trying to deescalate an already escalated situation.
Elaine's words when unresponded as Eggsy turned sharply in front of the car next to them. Elaine's life flashed before her eyes as the car was a breath away from her, but Eggsy didn't even blink. Looking in the mirror, his eyes weren't angry, or scared, or excited, he was focused.
The only title Elaine could give him at that moment was soldier.
Her attention was pulled behind them as cars veered and honked at someone else. Elaine got up the courage to look behind them and sure enough, a sleek black car was head towards them and driving as recklessly and unforgiving as Eggsy was. Elaine tried to convince herself it was just a coincidence and she was starting to succeed, but the bullets changed her mind.
"Keep your head down and trust me," Eggsy shouted.
Pressing her face against his back again, Elaine closed her eyes and held on for dear life.
Siobhan delicately stepped around the blood and gore spattered on the carpet.
"They really make a mess, don't they?" She sighed.
Leonard sat down grumpily in the armchair free of brain splatter.
"Told you he was useless," he said. Looking at the de-brained head of the assassin brought Leonard a certain unexpected melancholy, all that potential wasted on pride and the misheld belief of invincibility. If only Devron and Antony hadn't led him astray. "And even worse, a waste of space under Devron's hand."
"He was young and reckless. Don't be harsh to the dead; it's tacky."
All Leonard did in response to that was snort. When he didn't say anything, Siobhan continued.
"I take it you're ready to act on your plan."
"When I said I wanted Elaine dead tonight, I meant tonight, damn it. Are the machine guns in order."
"Set up and ready to fire," Siobhan assured. "I have a few men assisting the Kingsman and the girl to the execution location."
Leonard relaxed as the feeling of productivity washed over him. If you wanted something done right, you best do it yourself. Leonard nodded to himself as a job well done.
"Let's go kill some rats."
Somewhere along the way, Eggsy had managed to escape the black car tailing them. She couldn't explain it, but Eggsy was an expert at making risky choices and judging where a motorcycle can and can't fit. Even in the tiny alleys, he didn't hesitate to speed through them. And he did all of this without a drop of hesitance.
But things were starting to fall into place; her suspicions about Savile Row being a front, Evie mentioning the Kingsmen and how Eggsy was protecting her, and how she was currently wearing a bulletproof tweed suit. Elaine fell for a violent farce, but she didn't know what that farce was.
Flying out of a narrow alley, they sped down a street leading out of the cities. Traffic was sparse and Elaine felt her panic lighten. Loosening her grip around Eggsy, Elaine allowed herself to relax just when Eggsy hit the brakes and skid to a stop.
"Get down!" he shouted, pushing her to the ground and covering her face as bullets rained down on them.
Elaine truly thought she would only hear a machine gun in movies. In real life, she couldn't describe the terror. Eggsy's grip on her tightened painfully as he gasped through clenched teeth. Bulletproof didn't mean painless.
"Eggsy!" She screamed, too terrified to look at him. Instead, she just screamed with eyes slammed shut and Eggsy's body over her's.
"I'm fine," he insisted painfully.
The bullets stopped, and silence fell over them.
Groaning, Eggsy rolled over, body tense. Rolling herself onto her knees, Elaine leaned over him with tears in her eyes.
"Go!" he managed to get out, pushing her away. "Go! Run!"
Elaine looked in the direction the bullets had rained down from and saw three masked assassins walked towards them, guns drawn.
"No," she whispered.
She thought Eggsy was down for the count, but Elaine started to wonder if he ever could be beaten. Hands pushing her down again, Eggsy was up and shooting to kill. He got one down, and as the two assassins brought their guns up, one was focused on her.
Looking up as the assassin pulled the trigger, she didn't even realize a bullet hit her until the pain came. Clutching her stomach, she felt no blood, but the impact might kill her alone, but the kevlar-lined suit had done its job. Eggsy managed to kill the assassin who tried to kill Elaine, but that gave the second one a clear shot.
Watching, this time when Eggsy got shot, a splatter of blood followed.
"NO!" Elaine screamed, falling to the ground as her own wound wouldn't let her stand.
Even after getting a true bullet wound, Eggsy stayed on his feet, aiming a shot at the last assassin. But he never got the shot.
The assassin landed another true bullet wound, more blood splattering from Eggsy. And just like that, he fell to the ground and didn't get up.
Staring at Eggsy's bloody body lying lifeless on the ground, Elaine couldn't stop the tears, but oddly, she had no fear for herself, only for him. Her heart was bleeding out on the street in front of her.
The last of the masked assailants walked up to her, gun in hand, and bent down to pull her chin up. She always thought she would break down and beg for mercy if a gun were ever pointed directly in her face, but as she stared down the barrel, she felt nothing. The only thing she really was aware of was the parading of memories; waking up in Paris beside him, dancing in midnight streets, the breathlessness of being near him.
Fear was gone and a love so deep and fierce it pained Elaine's chest came to her. Closing her eyes, she waited.
A gunshot rang out in the night, but she was still kneeling there. The gunman's hand fell limp against his side, falling forwards not a moment later. Jumping out of the way before he fell on her, Elaine looked up to see Eggsy standing behind where Elaine's would-be murderer stood not a moment before, his gun raised and smoking.
"Oh god," Elaine whispered, unable to move.
When Eggsy started falling, she jumped up and caught him as he staggered.
"You're dying." Her voice shook as she spoke.
"I'm not that easy to kill, love," he said with a pained smile.
Eggsy's chest rose and fell slowly, his labored breathing through clenched teeth loud in Elaine's ears. Unsure if she would hurt him, Elaine gently pressed her shaking hand against his chest. When he closed his eyes, Elaine carefully shifted him so his head lied in her lap. Her hands were wet with his blood.
"I can't lose you," she said, tears running down her face. "Not now, not when I've just remembered how stupid you are."
When he didn't respond, she caressed his face, fingers moving across his jaw to his pulse point. The beating of his heart was weak, but there. Elaine was about to lean down and kiss him when a door slammed open somewhere in the abandoned building behind them. With shaking hands, Elaine grabbed Eggsy's gun. She would have to trust the safety was off because she had no idea where the safety even was, much less how to turn it off.
Her finger over the trigger, Elaine waited.