Part 18: Fall of a Queen
Clover coughed and threw up the salt water that had flooded into her lungs, hunched over the sandy beach and panting heavily. She was sopping wet, with her still short but growing hair hanging down over her face in a wild mess. She pushed it aside and looked up when she heard a booming squeal overhead. She caught sight of a WOOHP jet flying overhead, heading inland.
Her head hung down again wearily, and she looked over at Tassara lying unconscious on the sand. She hadn't realized how powerful the currents were out there, or that Tassara wasn't able to swim, having lived away from any large body of water her whole life. She scrambled over to her quickly, putting one hand over her mouth. She felt her breath brush lightly against her fingers.
Clover sighed in relief and sat back onto the sand, panting and resting to regain her strength. She had no clue where Alex and Mandy had gone. She'd held onto Tassara to keep her from drowning, and the others had swum for shore alone. Obviously, the currents had separated them partway through their journey. For all she knew they reached the beach further down... or got dragged even further out to sea...
Tassara's soft cough pulled her attention back to her corner of the beach, watching the queen roll onto her side and spit up the water that had filled her lungs. She gulped in air greedily, looking up at Clover with a dazed expression on her face.
"Welcome to jolly old England." Clover joked without much humor. Tassara rolled to her stomach and pushed herself up to her hands and knees with a soft groan. "Next stop, we'll be burned at the steak by a group of authentic witch hunters."
"At least we made it..." Tassara looked around, panting and resting on the sand. "Where are Alex and Mandy?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Clover replied. "We're pretty lucky we made it. We were further from shore than I thought when we jumped for it." They both remained silent for a few moments until Tassara pushed herself to her feet with a strained grunt. Strangely, she looked better now than she had on the boat. It must have been because she was on dry, steady land again.
"We should get moving... we still have to reach London and warn them of President Chambers' actions. No matter what happened to Alex and Mandy." Tassara stated with the old commanding voice one expected of a queen.
Clover smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, your highness." She pushed herself up from the sand and approached Tassara, grabbing her hand. They turned to walk up the beach, searching for a road or anything they could use to navigate through this mutually unfamiliar country.
Finally they reached a street and walked out onto it, looking in both directions. They didn't see anyone coming from either direction, so they took to walking down the lonely street with their hands clasped together between them. It was a long walk, and they didn't even know if they were going in the right direction. But there wasn't much else to do.
The hot sun overhead beat down on them mercilessly as they passed through the rugged hills on the only paved road to the small beach, driving them to the point of collapse... for Clover anyway. Tassara was well used to a little heat, having lived in a desert all her life. That figured, out of Clover's specialty and into Tassara's. She supposed nobody could be totally effective in every scenario. That was why WOOHP agents worked in teams.
Clover stumbled suddenly, her knees slamming into the pavement. "Agh motherf..." She stopped herself before she could complete the expletive, rolling to the side and clutching her knees in pain. Tassara rushed to her side and knelt down, putting one hand on her leg and moving Clover's hand away from it. She pulled up Clover's pant leg to examine it.
"It's just a bruise... you'll be fine." Tassara informed her, stroking the wound gently with one hand. Clover gritted her teeth in pain.
"Doesn't keep it from hurting like Hell..." Clover replied painfully. Tassara smiled and grabbed her arm, helping her climb to her feet again. She slung one of Clover's arms over her shoulders and continued their march along the street, helping her keep moving. It wasn't really the bruises that were giving her trouble, but lack of food or water.
Tassara looked up at the setting sun after they had been walking for hours, looking down at Clover leaning against her. "We should rest for the night. Regain enough strength to continue our trek tomorrow." She stopped and knelt down to sit Clover in the dirt beside the road. Clover watched her sit down beside her, looking up at the sky.
"Where do you think Mandy and Alex are?" Clover asked softly. Tassara looked down at her.
"I don't know... they could be anywhere I suppose." She shook her head. Silently she reached out to wrap her arms around Clover, pulling her close. Clover moved up against her, resting her head against the queen's shoulder and staring up at the slowly darkening sky.
"Do you think we're wasting our time?" Clover asked softly.
"Of course you're not, Clover. Hope is a powerful thing... as long as you have hope, nothing you do is a waste." Tassara replied. Clover looked at her, resting her chin on her shoulder.
"I asked about 'us', not 'me'." Clover told her. Tassara looked over at her, then smiled and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, though she remained conspicuously silent. Clover sighed and let it be, not wanting to push the queen into a topic she clearly didn't want to go into.
Sleep was difficult with their stomachs empty. But the next day the clouds had moved in, blocking the heat of the sun and allowing them to move more freely down the road. It didn't put food in their stomachs though, and they were both starving as they reached the top of yet another hill. They stopped and stared down the other side in amazement as a large urban area spread out in front of them. A sign reading 'Welcome to Bristol' assured them that it wasn't just an illusion of their tired minds.
"Civilization... civilization means food!" Clover rushed down the side of the road toward the city, dragging Tassara behind her. They rushed into the city to find people milling about and talking with British accents, as one would expect from Britain. Clover sniffed around until she finally located what smelled like a restaurant and pulled Tassara inside.
Clover blinked when she saw the familiar golden arches of McDonald's plastered on the front of a counter. God this franchise was like a plague, but she wasn't in the mood to be picky. She rushed up to the counter. "Give us six hamburgers and two large drinks! STAT!"
"Uh... that'll be fifteen dollars." The clerk replied, without any trace of a British accent. Clover's enthusiasm faded. She didn't have cash, Sam's credit card had long since been cut off, her own was sitting in her drawer at home, and even if she had any cash on her it would have been waterlogged.
"Um... how about a French Fries?" Clover begged, putting her hands in front of her. "Please? Something?"
"Sorry ma'am. No money, no service." The clerk replied.
"I'll pay for the young lady." Clover looked back as a man in a thick overcoat and a pair of sunglasses walked up beside her. Clover grinned as the clerk deposited the hamburgers on the counter. She snatched them up and carried them to a nearby table, sitting down and tearing one bag open to rip into the burger. Tassara sat on the other side of the table and ate more slowly as the mysterious stranger sat down beside Clover.
"Thanks a lot man. You know, maybe the U.K. really is a nicer place to live than the U.S. I should look into it some time." Clover commented between bites.
"Don't bother Clover, I'm not from around here." The man replied. Clover and Tassara both paused, looking over at him. He knew her name... and now that she thought about it, he did look somewhat familiar...
"Bob?" Clover blinked. "Bob from Russia? What are you doing here?"
"Sam called me in to keep an eye for you in case you passed through this way. I was flown in last night." Bob replied. Clover looked down at her burger slowly, gulping down the piece she'd had in her mouth.
"So I guess that makes us prisoners." Clover stated.
"Yep." Bob replied. "Sorry, but orders are orders. And you did assassinate the WOOHP director."
"She didn't." Tassara stated quickly. Bob looked over at her curiously. "President Chambers set it all up so he could take office... WOOHP wasn't the only organization to have sudden crisis' happen. They strategically replaced everyone with any power over the government so that they could conduct a campaign to take over the world... including the president's assassination."
"That's a Hell of an accusation. Do you have any proof?" Bob asked.
"Check the WOOHP records. They have every death recorded in their archives, but the files are of course kept separate to keep even anyone within WOOHP from putting it all together." Tassara told him.
"I intend to do that. But in the meantime I can't just let you two go." Bob replied. "Now finish eating, we need to get out of here as soon as possible." Clover sighed and proceeded to finish filling the hole in her stomach. Somehow the food didn't taste as good anymore, and Tassara kept staring at Bob as she ate.
When they finished Bob stood up, motioning for the two girls to get out of the booth. They complied and he led them out front to a modest looking car parked next to the sidewalk. "You couldn't just give us a lift to London first could you?" Clover asked ironically.
"Take you out east from here?" Bob smirked. "Not as long as I'm still conscious." His eyes met hers for a brief moment before he grabbed Tassara's arm and guided her toward the car, turning his back to Clover in the process. She smiled slightly and lifted one foot, pulling her boot off and slamming the heel into the back of his head.
Bob collapsed to the ground, drawing the attention of several passersby as Clover hopped back into her boot. "Quick, get in!" Clover rushed to the driver's side of the car, then stopped and blinked. "England, driver's side is the RIGHT side!" So they switched positions and Clover started the car, taking off down the road.
They screamed when they saw a pair of headlights coming straight for them, so Clover swerved to the other side of the road, panting. "Right... England... drive on the LEFT side of the freaking road..."
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Tassara asked.
"We'll be fine. We know which way to go, and I now know what side of the road to drive on." Clover replied with significantly more confidence than she felt. They made their way east through the city, careful not to make any more missteps. They could see people watching them confusedly as they passed. She wasn't sure what it was about until she saw a familiar flashing light coming up behind her.
"Fantastic... someone called the cops on us." Clover smirked. "What do you think? Should we pull over and try to talk our way out of this?"
"That seems to be the proper thing to do." Tassara replied. Clover looked into the rear view mirror at the approaching squad car, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Too risky. And we're in a hurry." Clover slammed her foot down on the gas, sending their car hurtling down the street. The squad car paced them easily, swerving through pedestrians and other traffic as Clover led him on a wild chase through the city streets.
"Clover... is this wise?" Tassara asked, her hands clutching the arms of her seat tightly.
"Not in the slightest. But I'm in a baaad mood." Clover smirked, jerking the wheel to the right and slamming on the breaks to send them into a wild skid through the middle of the street. The pedestrians on the sidewalks watched in surprise as the other cars on the road swerved to avoid a collision. Their vehicle skidded to a stop in the middle of the road with a deathly screech and the smell of burning rubber filling the air. They were facing back toward their pursuer.
Clover slammed the gas down to the floor, sending their vehicle hurtling straight toward the police officer. The squad car swerved to the right moments before the head-on collision, skidding through the streets in a desperate bid to avoid the pedestrians who were now scrambling for their lives away from the scene. Clover slammed on the breaks again and sent them into a spin, sending the rear of their vehicle slamming into one of the parked cars on the side of the street.
Clover slammed on the gas again, sending them hurtling toward the squad car. The police officer took off as well, streaking down the road away from them as Clover gave chase, gripping the wheel tightly. Finally the police officer skidded onto a side street, but Clover kept on their current street, leaving the police officer far behind.
Tassara was gripping the arms of her seat with white knuckles and a pale expression on her face by the time Clover slowed down slightly after several turns to make sure they'd thoroughly lost their pursuit. She gulped and looked over at Clover, who had a victorious smirk on her face.
"Was all of that necessary?" Tassara asked shakily.
"I don't know. But talk about stress relief." Clover chuckled darkly. Tassara gulped and relaxed somewhat, leaning back as they reached the edge of the city a few hours later. They didn't really want to hang around and attract more cops, so they headed out toward the east on the winding road despite the fact that the sun was halfway down to the horizon.
They rode through the mountain road until it slowly faded into beautiful lush green grasslands, despite the growing winter chill that would soon dominate the Earth. The sun moved across the sky, fading behind the mountains behind them with its usual fiery orange, as if screaming that it would have to give way to the coming night.
Clover pulled over to the side of the road and pulled the keys out of the ignition, yawning. "I guess we should get some sleep. There's no telling how far London is from here."
Tassara nodded. "That would be best." So they climbed into the back seat, where Tassara lay down lengthwise on the seats while Clover laid on top of her, resting her head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist. Tassara ran one hand slowly through her hair and down her back, holding her close until they both drifted off to sleep.
Day came around again, and they resumed their journey East across Great Britain. It would take a miracle for them to reach anyone of any importance, let alone get them to believe their story. Especially if Sam's new team had already arrived and was probably waiting for them in London. The odds didn't matter though, they had to go on no matter what.
Idly, Clover reached down to turn on the radio and give them something to listen to. A voice with a thick British accent floated out from the speakers. "The United States' ploy to disable the military force in Kenyopia is now under way. Kenyopia, along with its already disabled partner Lyrobia, is suspected of breeding terrorists, and specifically the terrorists who murdered the American President just nine days ago."
"I can't believe it... they know where we are, but they're still using us as an excuse to go after other countries." Clover growled. "We've got to put a stop to this soon..."
"I don't think anybody would argue with that." Tassara said simply as Clover flipped the radio off again with a disgusted grunt.
Finally, as the sun was once again drifting toward the horizon, the tall spires and massive buildings of London hove into the view as they reached the top of another grassy hill. It was almost as if someone had set two worlds side-by-side, the peaceful nature of the lush grasslands on one side with the towering symbols of human creativity dominating the other.
They entered the huge city, looking around at people from every corner of the globe come to see the historical structures side-by-side with modern architecture. They weren't here for sightseeing though, they were on a mission. And as such, there was only one place of historical significance that they were interested in. Buckingham Palace.
After finding out where it was from the nearest local shopkeeper they could find, they pulled up outside the palace's massive double gates as the sun vanished behind the horizon, bathing it in an orange, almost mystical glow. This made the White House look like a dollhouse by comparison... but that might have just been because Clover had been to the White House several times before.
"So we're here, do we knock?" Tassara asked. The gates were closed, as the sun was setting and the palace was being locked up for the night to keep the queen safe from intruders.
"Sam probably told the guards about us by now. We have to get to the queen herself without alerting anybody else." Clover looked around for any way to enter, but of course this place was locked up tighter than any prison she'd ever broken out of or into.
"Guess the only option is up and over... here, I'll give you a boost." Clover leaned down to let Tassara climb onto her shoulders. She stood up straight, careful to move slowly along the outer wall of the palace as Tassara reached for the top. She still couldn't reach though, so she sprang from Clover's shoulders to grab hold of the top.
She pulled herself up on top of the wall, looking down to see Clover back away from the wall in a crouch. She sprinted toward the wall, jumping moments before she would have slammed face-first into it. Her shoes slammed into the wall, using her momentum to run up the wall until she threw her hand up, grabbing Tassara's outstretched arm.
Tassara pulled her up and they both climbed to their feet, walking carefully along the wall and looking for a way into the palace. They both went into a crouch when a flashlight was about to sweep over them, just barely avoiding being caught in the stream of light. They crawled around to the side of the palace, where the wall was only feet from a balcony.
Clover jumped across the gap, grabbing hold of the balcony rail and pulling herself up onto it. She turned to catch Tassara as she jumped, pulling her up before they both turned to run inside. They crept through the dark hallways of the palace, keeping low and silent to listen for any footsteps coming toward them. It occurred to Clover that this was the second time in a month that she'd wound up sneaking in to find the leader of a nation. She just hoped this time turned out differently.
They stopped short when a light shined on them, blinding them both after crawling through the darkness for so long. Just inside the light she could see a silver weapon similar to the one Sam had been using in the hotel room back in the 'States.
"You're not getting to the queen Clover. Your killing spree ends here and now." Sam's voice told her grimly.
"We're not here to kill anyone." Clover raised her arms over her head. "We're here to warn them about the corruption in the United States government."
"The most corrupt thing from the U.S. is you." Sam spat angrily. "You've betrayed everything you ever said you stood for Clover. Why the Hell should I ever believe another word you say?"
"Because I'm your friend Sam, no matter what you think I did." Clover said softly.
"Get up, you're coming with me." Sam said coldly. Clover sighed and straightened her knees, watching Tassara do the same out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly a cry rang out from further down the hallway behind Sam.
"Intruders!" Clover couldn't see anything outside of the cone of light but the muzzle flashes as gunfire tore through the hallway. Sam lunged behind the wall out of the crossfire, dropping the flashlight to the floor where it rolled and flickered. Clover couldn't see anything, but the sound of gunfire and a thud against the wall behind her said enough.
"Stop! STOP! I'm with WOOHP!" Sam screamed around the corner. As suddenly as it had come the gunfire subsided, shrouding them all once again in silence. Clover raised her head, turning to look back.
The beam of the flashlight shone against the wall, where Tassara was leaning against it with a stunned expression on her face. Blood leaked down the wall behind her and stained her clothes on the front as she slowly slid down the wall to a sitting position.
"Tassara...? Tassara!" Clover crawled over to her desperately. She cradled her cheeks in her hands, forcing her to look up at her. "Tassara no, hold on they'll get you to a hospital... I'll give myself up, and they'll help you. Just hold on..." Clover begged softly.
"I told you..." Tassara said softly, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "I told you... as Lyrobia fell... I would fall too..." she raised one shaking hand, pressing her fingers against Clover's cheek. "But you... keep hoping... Clover..."
"No... Tassara no..." Tears flowed down Clover's cheeks as she pulled the queen into a tight embrace, holding her head against her shoulder. "I told you I wouldn't let you die... I told you..." She squeezed her eyes closed, blocking out Sam behind her, blocking out the British security guard who came to investigate. Fuck them all... they didn't matter... she'd broken her promise to the first person she ever really loved...
TO BE CONTINUED
Clover coughed and threw up the salt water that had flooded into her lungs, hunched over the sandy beach and panting heavily. She was sopping wet, with her still short but growing hair hanging down over her face in a wild mess. She pushed it aside and looked up when she heard a booming squeal overhead. She caught sight of a WOOHP jet flying overhead, heading inland.
Her head hung down again wearily, and she looked over at Tassara lying unconscious on the sand. She hadn't realized how powerful the currents were out there, or that Tassara wasn't able to swim, having lived away from any large body of water her whole life. She scrambled over to her quickly, putting one hand over her mouth. She felt her breath brush lightly against her fingers.
Clover sighed in relief and sat back onto the sand, panting and resting to regain her strength. She had no clue where Alex and Mandy had gone. She'd held onto Tassara to keep her from drowning, and the others had swum for shore alone. Obviously, the currents had separated them partway through their journey. For all she knew they reached the beach further down... or got dragged even further out to sea...
Tassara's soft cough pulled her attention back to her corner of the beach, watching the queen roll onto her side and spit up the water that had filled her lungs. She gulped in air greedily, looking up at Clover with a dazed expression on her face.
"Welcome to jolly old England." Clover joked without much humor. Tassara rolled to her stomach and pushed herself up to her hands and knees with a soft groan. "Next stop, we'll be burned at the steak by a group of authentic witch hunters."
"At least we made it..." Tassara looked around, panting and resting on the sand. "Where are Alex and Mandy?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Clover replied. "We're pretty lucky we made it. We were further from shore than I thought when we jumped for it." They both remained silent for a few moments until Tassara pushed herself to her feet with a strained grunt. Strangely, she looked better now than she had on the boat. It must have been because she was on dry, steady land again.
"We should get moving... we still have to reach London and warn them of President Chambers' actions. No matter what happened to Alex and Mandy." Tassara stated with the old commanding voice one expected of a queen.
Clover smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, your highness." She pushed herself up from the sand and approached Tassara, grabbing her hand. They turned to walk up the beach, searching for a road or anything they could use to navigate through this mutually unfamiliar country.
Finally they reached a street and walked out onto it, looking in both directions. They didn't see anyone coming from either direction, so they took to walking down the lonely street with their hands clasped together between them. It was a long walk, and they didn't even know if they were going in the right direction. But there wasn't much else to do.
The hot sun overhead beat down on them mercilessly as they passed through the rugged hills on the only paved road to the small beach, driving them to the point of collapse... for Clover anyway. Tassara was well used to a little heat, having lived in a desert all her life. That figured, out of Clover's specialty and into Tassara's. She supposed nobody could be totally effective in every scenario. That was why WOOHP agents worked in teams.
Clover stumbled suddenly, her knees slamming into the pavement. "Agh motherf..." She stopped herself before she could complete the expletive, rolling to the side and clutching her knees in pain. Tassara rushed to her side and knelt down, putting one hand on her leg and moving Clover's hand away from it. She pulled up Clover's pant leg to examine it.
"It's just a bruise... you'll be fine." Tassara informed her, stroking the wound gently with one hand. Clover gritted her teeth in pain.
"Doesn't keep it from hurting like Hell..." Clover replied painfully. Tassara smiled and grabbed her arm, helping her climb to her feet again. She slung one of Clover's arms over her shoulders and continued their march along the street, helping her keep moving. It wasn't really the bruises that were giving her trouble, but lack of food or water.
Tassara looked up at the setting sun after they had been walking for hours, looking down at Clover leaning against her. "We should rest for the night. Regain enough strength to continue our trek tomorrow." She stopped and knelt down to sit Clover in the dirt beside the road. Clover watched her sit down beside her, looking up at the sky.
"Where do you think Mandy and Alex are?" Clover asked softly. Tassara looked down at her.
"I don't know... they could be anywhere I suppose." She shook her head. Silently she reached out to wrap her arms around Clover, pulling her close. Clover moved up against her, resting her head against the queen's shoulder and staring up at the slowly darkening sky.
"Do you think we're wasting our time?" Clover asked softly.
"Of course you're not, Clover. Hope is a powerful thing... as long as you have hope, nothing you do is a waste." Tassara replied. Clover looked at her, resting her chin on her shoulder.
"I asked about 'us', not 'me'." Clover told her. Tassara looked over at her, then smiled and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, though she remained conspicuously silent. Clover sighed and let it be, not wanting to push the queen into a topic she clearly didn't want to go into.
Sleep was difficult with their stomachs empty. But the next day the clouds had moved in, blocking the heat of the sun and allowing them to move more freely down the road. It didn't put food in their stomachs though, and they were both starving as they reached the top of yet another hill. They stopped and stared down the other side in amazement as a large urban area spread out in front of them. A sign reading 'Welcome to Bristol' assured them that it wasn't just an illusion of their tired minds.
"Civilization... civilization means food!" Clover rushed down the side of the road toward the city, dragging Tassara behind her. They rushed into the city to find people milling about and talking with British accents, as one would expect from Britain. Clover sniffed around until she finally located what smelled like a restaurant and pulled Tassara inside.
Clover blinked when she saw the familiar golden arches of McDonald's plastered on the front of a counter. God this franchise was like a plague, but she wasn't in the mood to be picky. She rushed up to the counter. "Give us six hamburgers and two large drinks! STAT!"
"Uh... that'll be fifteen dollars." The clerk replied, without any trace of a British accent. Clover's enthusiasm faded. She didn't have cash, Sam's credit card had long since been cut off, her own was sitting in her drawer at home, and even if she had any cash on her it would have been waterlogged.
"Um... how about a French Fries?" Clover begged, putting her hands in front of her. "Please? Something?"
"Sorry ma'am. No money, no service." The clerk replied.
"I'll pay for the young lady." Clover looked back as a man in a thick overcoat and a pair of sunglasses walked up beside her. Clover grinned as the clerk deposited the hamburgers on the counter. She snatched them up and carried them to a nearby table, sitting down and tearing one bag open to rip into the burger. Tassara sat on the other side of the table and ate more slowly as the mysterious stranger sat down beside Clover.
"Thanks a lot man. You know, maybe the U.K. really is a nicer place to live than the U.S. I should look into it some time." Clover commented between bites.
"Don't bother Clover, I'm not from around here." The man replied. Clover and Tassara both paused, looking over at him. He knew her name... and now that she thought about it, he did look somewhat familiar...
"Bob?" Clover blinked. "Bob from Russia? What are you doing here?"
"Sam called me in to keep an eye for you in case you passed through this way. I was flown in last night." Bob replied. Clover looked down at her burger slowly, gulping down the piece she'd had in her mouth.
"So I guess that makes us prisoners." Clover stated.
"Yep." Bob replied. "Sorry, but orders are orders. And you did assassinate the WOOHP director."
"She didn't." Tassara stated quickly. Bob looked over at her curiously. "President Chambers set it all up so he could take office... WOOHP wasn't the only organization to have sudden crisis' happen. They strategically replaced everyone with any power over the government so that they could conduct a campaign to take over the world... including the president's assassination."
"That's a Hell of an accusation. Do you have any proof?" Bob asked.
"Check the WOOHP records. They have every death recorded in their archives, but the files are of course kept separate to keep even anyone within WOOHP from putting it all together." Tassara told him.
"I intend to do that. But in the meantime I can't just let you two go." Bob replied. "Now finish eating, we need to get out of here as soon as possible." Clover sighed and proceeded to finish filling the hole in her stomach. Somehow the food didn't taste as good anymore, and Tassara kept staring at Bob as she ate.
When they finished Bob stood up, motioning for the two girls to get out of the booth. They complied and he led them out front to a modest looking car parked next to the sidewalk. "You couldn't just give us a lift to London first could you?" Clover asked ironically.
"Take you out east from here?" Bob smirked. "Not as long as I'm still conscious." His eyes met hers for a brief moment before he grabbed Tassara's arm and guided her toward the car, turning his back to Clover in the process. She smiled slightly and lifted one foot, pulling her boot off and slamming the heel into the back of his head.
Bob collapsed to the ground, drawing the attention of several passersby as Clover hopped back into her boot. "Quick, get in!" Clover rushed to the driver's side of the car, then stopped and blinked. "England, driver's side is the RIGHT side!" So they switched positions and Clover started the car, taking off down the road.
They screamed when they saw a pair of headlights coming straight for them, so Clover swerved to the other side of the road, panting. "Right... England... drive on the LEFT side of the freaking road..."
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Tassara asked.
"We'll be fine. We know which way to go, and I now know what side of the road to drive on." Clover replied with significantly more confidence than she felt. They made their way east through the city, careful not to make any more missteps. They could see people watching them confusedly as they passed. She wasn't sure what it was about until she saw a familiar flashing light coming up behind her.
"Fantastic... someone called the cops on us." Clover smirked. "What do you think? Should we pull over and try to talk our way out of this?"
"That seems to be the proper thing to do." Tassara replied. Clover looked into the rear view mirror at the approaching squad car, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Too risky. And we're in a hurry." Clover slammed her foot down on the gas, sending their car hurtling down the street. The squad car paced them easily, swerving through pedestrians and other traffic as Clover led him on a wild chase through the city streets.
"Clover... is this wise?" Tassara asked, her hands clutching the arms of her seat tightly.
"Not in the slightest. But I'm in a baaad mood." Clover smirked, jerking the wheel to the right and slamming on the breaks to send them into a wild skid through the middle of the street. The pedestrians on the sidewalks watched in surprise as the other cars on the road swerved to avoid a collision. Their vehicle skidded to a stop in the middle of the road with a deathly screech and the smell of burning rubber filling the air. They were facing back toward their pursuer.
Clover slammed the gas down to the floor, sending their vehicle hurtling straight toward the police officer. The squad car swerved to the right moments before the head-on collision, skidding through the streets in a desperate bid to avoid the pedestrians who were now scrambling for their lives away from the scene. Clover slammed on the breaks again and sent them into a spin, sending the rear of their vehicle slamming into one of the parked cars on the side of the street.
Clover slammed on the gas again, sending them hurtling toward the squad car. The police officer took off as well, streaking down the road away from them as Clover gave chase, gripping the wheel tightly. Finally the police officer skidded onto a side street, but Clover kept on their current street, leaving the police officer far behind.
Tassara was gripping the arms of her seat with white knuckles and a pale expression on her face by the time Clover slowed down slightly after several turns to make sure they'd thoroughly lost their pursuit. She gulped and looked over at Clover, who had a victorious smirk on her face.
"Was all of that necessary?" Tassara asked shakily.
"I don't know. But talk about stress relief." Clover chuckled darkly. Tassara gulped and relaxed somewhat, leaning back as they reached the edge of the city a few hours later. They didn't really want to hang around and attract more cops, so they headed out toward the east on the winding road despite the fact that the sun was halfway down to the horizon.
They rode through the mountain road until it slowly faded into beautiful lush green grasslands, despite the growing winter chill that would soon dominate the Earth. The sun moved across the sky, fading behind the mountains behind them with its usual fiery orange, as if screaming that it would have to give way to the coming night.
Clover pulled over to the side of the road and pulled the keys out of the ignition, yawning. "I guess we should get some sleep. There's no telling how far London is from here."
Tassara nodded. "That would be best." So they climbed into the back seat, where Tassara lay down lengthwise on the seats while Clover laid on top of her, resting her head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist. Tassara ran one hand slowly through her hair and down her back, holding her close until they both drifted off to sleep.
Day came around again, and they resumed their journey East across Great Britain. It would take a miracle for them to reach anyone of any importance, let alone get them to believe their story. Especially if Sam's new team had already arrived and was probably waiting for them in London. The odds didn't matter though, they had to go on no matter what.
Idly, Clover reached down to turn on the radio and give them something to listen to. A voice with a thick British accent floated out from the speakers. "The United States' ploy to disable the military force in Kenyopia is now under way. Kenyopia, along with its already disabled partner Lyrobia, is suspected of breeding terrorists, and specifically the terrorists who murdered the American President just nine days ago."
"I can't believe it... they know where we are, but they're still using us as an excuse to go after other countries." Clover growled. "We've got to put a stop to this soon..."
"I don't think anybody would argue with that." Tassara said simply as Clover flipped the radio off again with a disgusted grunt.
Finally, as the sun was once again drifting toward the horizon, the tall spires and massive buildings of London hove into the view as they reached the top of another grassy hill. It was almost as if someone had set two worlds side-by-side, the peaceful nature of the lush grasslands on one side with the towering symbols of human creativity dominating the other.
They entered the huge city, looking around at people from every corner of the globe come to see the historical structures side-by-side with modern architecture. They weren't here for sightseeing though, they were on a mission. And as such, there was only one place of historical significance that they were interested in. Buckingham Palace.
After finding out where it was from the nearest local shopkeeper they could find, they pulled up outside the palace's massive double gates as the sun vanished behind the horizon, bathing it in an orange, almost mystical glow. This made the White House look like a dollhouse by comparison... but that might have just been because Clover had been to the White House several times before.
"So we're here, do we knock?" Tassara asked. The gates were closed, as the sun was setting and the palace was being locked up for the night to keep the queen safe from intruders.
"Sam probably told the guards about us by now. We have to get to the queen herself without alerting anybody else." Clover looked around for any way to enter, but of course this place was locked up tighter than any prison she'd ever broken out of or into.
"Guess the only option is up and over... here, I'll give you a boost." Clover leaned down to let Tassara climb onto her shoulders. She stood up straight, careful to move slowly along the outer wall of the palace as Tassara reached for the top. She still couldn't reach though, so she sprang from Clover's shoulders to grab hold of the top.
She pulled herself up on top of the wall, looking down to see Clover back away from the wall in a crouch. She sprinted toward the wall, jumping moments before she would have slammed face-first into it. Her shoes slammed into the wall, using her momentum to run up the wall until she threw her hand up, grabbing Tassara's outstretched arm.
Tassara pulled her up and they both climbed to their feet, walking carefully along the wall and looking for a way into the palace. They both went into a crouch when a flashlight was about to sweep over them, just barely avoiding being caught in the stream of light. They crawled around to the side of the palace, where the wall was only feet from a balcony.
Clover jumped across the gap, grabbing hold of the balcony rail and pulling herself up onto it. She turned to catch Tassara as she jumped, pulling her up before they both turned to run inside. They crept through the dark hallways of the palace, keeping low and silent to listen for any footsteps coming toward them. It occurred to Clover that this was the second time in a month that she'd wound up sneaking in to find the leader of a nation. She just hoped this time turned out differently.
They stopped short when a light shined on them, blinding them both after crawling through the darkness for so long. Just inside the light she could see a silver weapon similar to the one Sam had been using in the hotel room back in the 'States.
"You're not getting to the queen Clover. Your killing spree ends here and now." Sam's voice told her grimly.
"We're not here to kill anyone." Clover raised her arms over her head. "We're here to warn them about the corruption in the United States government."
"The most corrupt thing from the U.S. is you." Sam spat angrily. "You've betrayed everything you ever said you stood for Clover. Why the Hell should I ever believe another word you say?"
"Because I'm your friend Sam, no matter what you think I did." Clover said softly.
"Get up, you're coming with me." Sam said coldly. Clover sighed and straightened her knees, watching Tassara do the same out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly a cry rang out from further down the hallway behind Sam.
"Intruders!" Clover couldn't see anything outside of the cone of light but the muzzle flashes as gunfire tore through the hallway. Sam lunged behind the wall out of the crossfire, dropping the flashlight to the floor where it rolled and flickered. Clover couldn't see anything, but the sound of gunfire and a thud against the wall behind her said enough.
"Stop! STOP! I'm with WOOHP!" Sam screamed around the corner. As suddenly as it had come the gunfire subsided, shrouding them all once again in silence. Clover raised her head, turning to look back.
The beam of the flashlight shone against the wall, where Tassara was leaning against it with a stunned expression on her face. Blood leaked down the wall behind her and stained her clothes on the front as she slowly slid down the wall to a sitting position.
"Tassara...? Tassara!" Clover crawled over to her desperately. She cradled her cheeks in her hands, forcing her to look up at her. "Tassara no, hold on they'll get you to a hospital... I'll give myself up, and they'll help you. Just hold on..." Clover begged softly.
"I told you..." Tassara said softly, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "I told you... as Lyrobia fell... I would fall too..." she raised one shaking hand, pressing her fingers against Clover's cheek. "But you... keep hoping... Clover..."
"No... Tassara no..." Tears flowed down Clover's cheeks as she pulled the queen into a tight embrace, holding her head against her shoulder. "I told you I wouldn't let you die... I told you..." She squeezed her eyes closed, blocking out Sam behind her, blocking out the British security guard who came to investigate. Fuck them all... they didn't matter... she'd broken her promise to the first person she ever really loved...
TO BE CONTINUED