A/N: this chapter is a tad too descriptive for which I'm sorry. But to make it up to you I've added just a bit of Cophine at the end that I was actually planning to put only in the next time we get back to the present.
Thanks to cophine for working super fast :D
The entire flight my companions slept, the exhaustion we all felt easily pulling at their eyelids and sending them into a deep unconscious state. Unfortunately, in my case, the anxiety I feel is much stronger than tiredness and I spend the entire journey in an annoying vigil; my eyes closed, body still, my mind in constant work.
I shouldn't be feeling like this. What I should do is face this job like any other. Delphine is a stranger to me after all. Everything we had is in the past. Never forgotten; there is always a piece of me that refuses to let her go, but in the past nonetheless. And it has been so long since that it shouldn't really bother me anymore. Time heals everything, doesn't it? It should help to let go, even if only gradually, until there's nothing left other than fond memories that sometimes you find yourself revisiting with a distant smile or with a slight heavy heart.
However, Delphine's mark never really healed. It closed with the pass of time, got less visible. If I dared give it a closer look, I could still see it there, branded and when I allow it, even aching a little. I never bothered to analyze it further, never deemed it necessary, just learned to live with it. But then again, I never thought I would be in this position. Never contemplated the possibility of somewhat voluntarily, flying across an ocean to meet her.
When I turned my back on that heavy iron gate and got in S's car, she told me: "All that is behind you now", and while I don't think she knew the extent of her words at the time, I vowed to myself that they would be applied to everything in my life until that point. And, with that kind of soreness that only young minds allow, I truly believed I would be able to make it. Until now. Until I find my past catching up to me in an unpredictable and inescapable way.
"It will be okay." Ms. S, next to me, seems to sense my unrest and places her hand softly on mine as she says the assuring words.
I look at her. "How do you know about her?" I ask quietly.
"I know more than you might think." Is her answer and she's not saying anything I don't already know.
"When you took the job…" I start but she cuts me off.
"I didn't know at first, Cosima." She breaths out, shaking her head and keeping her voice low. The siblings on the seats in front of us are just waking up, but they don't miss much and Ms. S seems as interested as I am in keeping this quiet, although her reasons, whatever they are, are certainly not the same as mine.
"Then how did you find out?" I ask, because a little part of me will be relieved to know that the leak is not on my end.
"It was easy to learn you attended the same boarding school at the same time." Ms. S then opens a small smile. "It was your reaction to her that gave you away, actually."
"And you still want me to do this job?" I ask confused and with a heavy heart, unable to shake the disappointment that follows her telling me that it was me who caused her to know.
"It was a long time ago." She looks careful at me. "I thought it didn't matter."
"And it doesn't!" I say with a lot more conviction than what I'm feeling.
Ms. S gives a firm nod and her eyes go to Sarah and Felix in front of us. I'm not sure if she takes my word for it. We have all have become such experts in hiding our true emotions, that half the time I don't know if I should believe any of them when we're talking about our private lives - what little we have away from each other. Ms. S lets us disappear at least twice a year for no longer than two weeks and we don't have to give her any information about where we're going or what we do. I've always suspected that she knows; that she's aware of our aliases. It wouldn't be hard for her to track us down if she chose, not with her network of informants. Either way, it is enough to give the three of us the brief notion of freedom, no matter that it's an illusion.
The seatbelt sign illuminates and Ms. S round us up to give her last instructions before we part. "Alright! I want this clean, no messing around or improvisations." This she says looking steadily at Sarah, who snorts but she ignores the little display of rebellion. "Your first job is to integrate, do the work you were hired for until further instructions."
"It'll be fun to see Fee try to achieve that." Sarah can't hold herself, earning an ugly look for Ms. S.
"I can take anyone down." He says annoyed.
"You can!" Sarah agrees. "If said anyone is of the male persuasion and there's a bed nearby."
He swats her arm, but I can see that he's not upset at all. "Hey! No bed required."
"Shut your gob!" Ms. S scolds, unable to hide a quick smile. "Okay!" She clears her throat. "If you've read the briefs you'll know that each of you will have a weekly day off and I don't care what you do with your free time, as long as you stop by the safe house first thing to see if there's any news. Got it?"
We all nod our agreement and take off our seat belts as the sign turns off.
"Be safe." She gets up and gives one last hug to each of us. "And stay out of trouble!" The last thing she says loud enough for all of us to hear, but I feel her eyes steady on me.
For the sake of keeping things simple with a potentially extended mission we all kept our first names, although the two brits will be Jones and they will pose as real siblings. I'll still be Niehaus and while I don't like the idea of everyone knowing my real name, it is a necessity.
Those are the names we see scribbled on a cardboard sign being held by a man waiting for us by the gate. As soon as we leave the plane we've lost sight of Ms. S, but she has informed us that she would be sending someone to drive us to our destination. So, while the day has yet to fully emerge, the sky still dark but the smell of morning already floating around us, we are lead to a van that has everything we'll need, when it comes to clothes, to last us for at least two weeks. The bags we carry contain nothing more than our computers, a few toiletries and, at least in my case, underwear.
The ride is quiet, the three of us stuffed in the backseat, with me in the middle assuring a peaceful trip. Our driver also says very little, merely informing us that it will take thirty minutes to reach the Webster's residence. However, as soon as we leave the city he takes us off the freeway, driving slowly along roads with little or no traffic, bordered by large estates and century old homes. It doesn't take much guessing to know that money in this part of the world is not among the main concerns of the people who can afford to live here.
It takes us close to an hour driving in a scarcely lit road for the driver - who fails to give us his name - to turn left and we enter a dirt road with no lights whatsoever, although by now the sun is fully raised. Two minutes bumping inside the van and we reach a big gate, surrounded by tall, brick walls. I can only assume that we're being expected, because, without hesitation, the massive gates open with a mechanical noise.
There's no guardhouse at the entrance, but two cameras, one on each end of the wall, record our every movement. I remember the blueprint and know that it will take at least a minute slowly driving along a brick road for us to reach the main building.
"Fuck, it's cold!" Sarah says the moment we leave the air-conditioned van, stuffing the hands in her pockets.
I elbow her ribs and she looks to me with clear intentions to protest, but swallows it down once her eyes follow my steady gaze in front of us, where a man in his sixties is looking at us with a raised brow under the pale light of a lamp set on top of the main door. I hear the van drive away, our bags left abandoned on the ground close to us.
"What the hell!?" Felix says, his head turned back just in time to see the van disappear.
"Anyone else has a bad feeling about this?" I can't help but whisper at my companions, only the fog that our words produce indicate that we are speaking among each other.
"Yeah…" Sarah says. "This looks like the start of a horror movie."
Felix and I chuckle, but a low cough makes us stop as we notice the man who's been standing by the door approach us.
"Welcome." He says in a far too impeccable British accent to be believable. "I'm Alfred and I'm the chief of staff."
"That's Cosima, Felix and I'm Sarah." She introduces us aiming her hand in our direction as she goes. "I guess you've been expecting us."
Alfred gives a curt nod and starts to walk away. "Follow me, please."
The three of us gather our bags and struggle to keep up with our guide. It takes several moments to catch up with him as we drag our luggage through the thick fog, the sun rising to burn it away.
With an annoyed expression he stands by a door of a single story house. "These will be your quarters." He says, extending a set of keys to each, forcing us to put our bags down to accept them. "The main gate can only be opened from the inside and in order for you to enter the main building you should use the service door on the back that leads to the kitchen. While that door is always left unlocked during working hours, is befitting your position to knock and wait for someone to let you in."
"What if there's no one there to open the door?" Sarah's patience for his ill manner is running out and anyone could sense it by her tone.
"Then you shouldn't enter." He simply states, not feeling intimidated in the least. "You'll have two hours to settle in, after which I'll be expecting you." Are his last words before he takes his leave.
"What the actual fuck?!" Felix says aloud once we're alone. "Where would he be expecting us?"
"By the service door, of course." I say, impersonating the man's accent and moving forward to open the door.
"Hell of a reception…" Sarah scoffs, grabbing a few bags and following me inside.
"I think I know Mr. Webster's secret." Felix comments moving a couple of suitcases. "He's batman!"
"What are you talking about?" I say with a chuckle, bringing the last of the bags inside and shutting the door behind me.
"Oh c'mon geek!" He continues. "A rich fuck with a gigantic Manor and a butler named Alfred."
Still laughing I finally manage to find the light switch and turn it on, casting a discreet, pale light on what appears to be the living room. "Ohhh not a butler, a chief of staff!" I comment.
The room is not big, but the space is well used, dominated by chocolate colors giving it a cozy appearance. Two caramel couches and a recliner take a big part of the room, a good size flat-screen TV is attached to one of the walls. There's also a mahogany table, not large, but enough to have four chairs around it, a bookshelf completely empty close to it. Between the two sofas there's a small table which we can move around as we please. Heavy brown curtains help to give the space a comfortable aspect.
"Not bad digs…" Sarah says and all but throws herself onto one of the couches.
I shake my head and walk to a door close to the dining table, not surprised to find the kitchen, all the appliances we could possibly need are available. Opening and closing the cabinets' doors and drawers I see that there's nothing missing: dishes, silverware and a variety of glasses are neatly stored. The double door fridge is also well stacked, I'm pleased to notice.
"Whoa… We don't have to shop for a while." I say loud and am immediately joined by the two of them.
They go over the kitchen the same way I did and when they're done have an equally large smile on their faces.
"No alcohol though." Felix notices.
"We're not exactly on vacation here, Fee." I say chuckling and moving to see what else we have.
There are four bedrooms, all the same. A big enough bed to sleep comfortably with two bedside tables and a lamp on top of each, a wardrobe, a vanity and a low bookshelf. I move quickly to set my things in the one at the very end of the hall, for two reasons: it's the one furthest from the bathroom and it will be the first to catch the morning sun. The window is opened to nothing but a green field, the fog lifting up allowing me to see trees far away.
"Do you think they expect us to cook?" Sarah asks from the bedroom door, where I'm starting to unpack, putting a few pants in the closet.
"I don't know, but I'm sure Alfred will bring us up to speed when we meet." I answer.
"Is Cormier gonna be a problem?" She abruptly asks.
I stop what I'm doing to look at her, Sarah's stare fixed on me. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure." She gives a few steps inside and sits on the edge of the bed, her eyes not leaving me, searching for an answer she knows I won't give her. "For starters you've been awfully quiet and that makes me nervous. I'm thinking she might be an additional distraction."
"I'm just tired, Sarah." I quickly say. "I haven't slept much."
She nods but is clearly not convinced by my explanation. "And there's also the little issue that she knows you…"
"Knew me!" I correct her. "Delphine knew me. I haven't seen her in longer than I care to think about."
"So… She's not gonna be a problem." Sarah pushes and I can still feel her eyes on my back as I place shirts in a drawer. "You're not gonna be blinded by the hot Frenchie."
I turn around and meet her stare with steady eyes. "No more than I would be by any other good looking woman." I say, trying to lighten the conversation.
Rolling her eyes and laughing, Sarah lets herself fall on the bed. "Oh Cos… I really hope you're a better liar than that when it's time to get to work."
I shrug and give her an ugly look but don't try to change her mind. I know it would be useless. If there's anything we have in common is our stubbornness. Instead I take the small bag of toiletries and move to the bathroom, knowing that we have more than enough towels at our disposal by the short stop I've made there earlier.
The hot shower helps to rid me of the tiredness and by time the other two have finished, it's time for us to meet Alfred. Like he said, he's waiting for us by the back door, pleased to see that we've understood where we were supposed to meet him.
He gives us a small tour of the lower floor and refers to upstairs as the private quarters of the family with an expression that makes it obvious that we're not meant to go there. Meanwhile we can sense the house awakening; hearing movement on the second floor, with doors opening and closing. Two middle age women are busy setting the table in the dining room for breakfast. As we pass them Alfred informs us that we will normally have our meals in our "house", and that we should deliver a list of everything we need each Tuesday. Constance, one of the maids that he introduces as she reemerges from the kitchen will take care of our shopping needs. She's carrying two baskets filled with freshly baked bread, which we're told will also be delivered to us daily.
Before any of the inhabitants of the house make their way downstairs, he guides us outside. Pointing out the pool, which is covered and most likely freezing, and the two tennis courts. In the distance he indicates the stables that at the moment accommodate two stallions. While these are familiar, we discover a new addition: the gym is a recent construction in steel and glass by the swimming pool and is equipped with anything that "Mr. Jones might find necessary to perform his duties" - at which Sarah snorts, earning a raised eyebrow from Alfred.
What really catches our eyes though it's what he calls the security building. Reaching it, I notice that this construction, while obviously not going back to the time of the main building, is from at least the same time as the cottage we're staying in, is not on the plans we have. The building is quite large and it consists of two distinct areas. The smaller zone, where a security guard monitors the cameras spread throughout the property - I count at least five but am sure there are more - and an armory. A wall covered in handguns and a few shotguns - for Mr. Webster's hunting trips - and an indoor shooting range. This will be Sarah's domain and by the sparkle in her eyes I can see that she's very pleased.
"Exactly what sort of trouble should we be expecting?" She asks, her eyes raking the variety of handguns at her disposal.
Alfred stares at her with a displeased frown. "Honestly, I don't even know why Mr. Webster insisted on hiring you." He quickly turns and starts to walk away. "We've never had any sort of problems until now and I don't expect us to have any in the future."
We follow him outside with a clear notion that our hiring might have created some tension in the rest of the staff.
"As for you, Ms. Niehaus," his calm voice catches my attention, "you should report to Mr. Webster, who will inform you of what is required from you."
"So, we'll finally be meeting our employer?" Felix says, walking next to the older man, as Sarah and I are just behind them.
"Oh, certainly. I suppose he's already expecting you." Alfred answers. "But Ms. Niehaus will be at the orders of his eldest son. He's the one responsible for the security team and was the one who's insisted on hiring you."
In the corner of my eye I see Sarah smirking at me and even Felix bothers to look back and give me an open smile. I try to maintain my steps steady so they don't keep up with my racing mind. Although that is not entirely due to the fact that apparently I'll be working directly under Delphine's fiancé's supervision, but because of the little piece of information Alfred has inadvertently given us.
From the beginning I suspected that someone inside Henry Webster's organization has moved some strings to put us inside. Of course I've entertained the idea that it had to be someone close to the big boss, however it never occurred to me that person could be his own son. Obviously I could be wrong and, more importantly, I really don't know what it means; not until I know what's the purpose of having us here. But the fact that we're not exactly your everyday security team is not irrelevant.
This time Alfred lets us in through the front door and we're received by two men I immediately recognize as Henry and Daniel Webster. While the father greets us with a warm yet reserved smile, the son has a closed expression.
"I hope you've found the accommodations to your liking." Henry Webster says after the introductions.
"It's not a bad shed." Felix quips, a bashful smile in the younger Webster's direction.
I roll my eyes as discreetly as I can; what is it with that guy?
"What my brother meant to say is that the accommodations are… agreeable." Sarah says in an uncharacteristically appeasing manner.
Maybe she transforms herself when on a mission, charming everyone. I've never been on a long mission with her, usually is a grab and dash. Her success must come from somewhere, perhaps this is it.
"Ms. Niehaus, we'll be reviewing your responsibilities in the afternoon." Daniels says in a gloomy tone. "It will take quite some time and it will require you to stay focused, which is not compatible with a long flight. So I suggest you to take the time until then to…"
"Oh Daniel, give it a rest, will you?"
I hear her voice before I see her. As far as I can tell, her accent has diluted, only a hint of it left. Taller than I remember, but with the same grace, Delphine makes her way with steady steps down the stairs, to which I have an unobstructed view. I'm already looking at her before her eyes lay on us and immediately her smile goes away and it's replaced by a surprised frown. Her hair presenting the blonde curls I once knew too well, her hazel eyes continue to be able to absorb all the light in the room. As she approaches us I can see the signs of age in the small wrinkles on the corner of her eyes and traces of too many nights with little rest under them.
She's wearing skinny jeans that show how kind the years have been, and tall brown boots with no heel to lessen the height difference between her and her fiancé. A loose cream button up only adding to the illusion that she floats instead of actually walk like a mere mortal.
For a terrifying moment I'm unsure how to react, wondering if she prefers to pretend that we've never met. Thankfully, it doesn't last long.
"Cosima?" She says, squinting a little and it can be just a weird auditory imagination, but the way she says my name sounds exactly same, thick accent and all. "Oh, my God…"
Her startled expression does nothing to clarify if it's a good or a bad surprise. What is clear is that she's not interested in pretending we don't know each other and I find myself, like in the past, incredibly satisfied with this little victory.
"Oh… Hi, Delphine…" I mumble in a low voice, for some mysterious reason unable to meet her stare any longer.
"You two know each other?" Daniel asks confused, his eyes moving between the two of us.
"Oui… hmm… Yes, we attended boarding school together."
I let her handle the explanations. She's the one who has to decide what she wants her boyfriend to know. It's none of my business, I tell myself; we no longer know each other, she has the right to live her life.
It is all true. Yet, the second I see Daniel's arm go around her waist, possessively pulling Delphine to him, I feel the anger rise in my chest. The sudden surge of jealousy making an unwanted appearance. I swallow dryly, with my jaw set and ball my fists at the side of my body for some semblance of control.
"Oh… Then perhaps you can assist me in some other matter." The young Webster smiles for the first time since we've arrived.
My eyes refocus on him. "Like what?" I ask, unable to keep the rash tone from my words, especially when I see Delphine's hand moving to his shoulder.
He looks adoringly at her. "Delphine is so reserved… I bet you have some stories you can share."
You have no idea, I think, feeling Delphine's uneasy gaze on me, briefly biting her lower lip, a habit that used to tell me she was feeling nervous about something, before she catches herself and stops.
I go for a much more pacifying answer. "We barely knew each other." I say and see Delphine visibly expel a breath she was holding. "She used to hang with the popular crowd. I was never invited." I add, because she shouldn't be feeling so relieved to watch me lying for her benefit.
I should not regret it, that time it was not a lie and she knows it as well as I do. But I see her eyes sadden and it still has the same effect it always did. My heart sinks and the uncomfortable heaviness of guilt grows in my stomach.
Incapable of reading the shift in the mood that settled between us, Daniel lays small peck on her cheek and chuckles softly. "I believe you. Delphine has a way with people."
She flinched almost imperceptibly at his words and I have to smirk. "That she does." I agree, nodding.