"Gawain. Change of plans."
"Follow Miss Vox. On it."
"No. Patrick Howell. Wherever this Guilford's taking him, I need you to be there."
"On it."
"No interaction with Gawain."
Merlin turned to another screen for the progress of the searches he pulled up. Names, faces and phone numbers that Guinevere was able to easily acquire through her rounds of mingling. All of them dropping at least a disturbing line alluding to something bigger and whatever it was, had been long in the making. The ease she worked in filtering and pinpointing the crowd to get such substantial information without any guidance from him spoke of her experience. It also rendered his plans of intervention and input to the absolute minimum when it came to her actions. He wanted to see how she operated in as close a situation as she used to back during the war and its aftermath. She got results and with the help of the Kingsman tech, even more than he expected.
Technology. Food. Medicine. Then everything else. Then repeat.
"I'm sorry for being distracted."
"Junge, junge, Alexandre will take care of her. Ja? I still don't understand what happened with the arschloch but it'll be dealt with. Your cousin is in good hands."
"I'm now rethinking if this was the right decision. The invitation came out of nowhere and now my cousin's attacked. Was it even worth it?"
"Ja! It's nothing but a roadblock. I'll make sure of it. Your cousin's a smart woman, for her to be part of our venture is an honor."
Klaus Reinhardt. A name mentioned only twice or thrice at most during the Kingsguard's initial espionage on Alexandre, but here he was acting like he was so much closer to their target than they thought. It wasn't only the man's older age that was highlighted by Galahad's projected innocence, but also his cunning and obvious familiarity of what was happening. He had mentioned to Guinevere that getting Alexandre's favor would be the first step and now that she succeeded a new game was set. He was not the only one amid the crowd of businessmen that surrounded Galahad. All of them people of which Guinevere had talked to about different matters. All of them quite taken by said woman in different ways.
He shifted his gaze to the other set of cameras.
"You're still trembling."
"Adrenaline."
"Maybe talking would help."
"I'm going through my destructive thoughts. I doubt that's something you want to hear."
The cameras embedded in the snake eyes and her earring provided a limited angle, but the pause Alexandre took was noticeable. More noticeable through the surveillance cameras. Merlin focused his attention to these screens.
"Tell me."
"Mr. Alexandre, my mother would slap my mouth—"
"Ursa. Tell me these thoughts."
"Well, ways of killing him in that moment and more ways if I was given the time."
Merlin had overseen more than a thousand missions and had participated in the active field full time before that. There were many obvious differences between veteran spies and the new ones. However, the subtler ones were more important in the long run. Practices that were needed to be straightened out and mastered as easily as breathing. Little things that could instigate the whole failure of the mission. A slip that could lead to a fall. Like Galahad's initial unfamiliarity to the socialite's unspoken rules. Or Lancelot's struggle in realizing identities to adapt to. Even them, long in the business have such flaws.
"How would you have killed him?"
"Stabbed his eyes with my heels and twisted his neck. In my head though, I'm listing down a full torture session. It helps with the stress."
"Indulge me."
Those were his main worries for this mission. Which was why the moment they stepped out the car at the beginning of it, he wanted to ask her if she knew what she was doing and what she had planned. He wanted to open the commlink and ask her what she was seeing that he didn't. He wanted to tell her again what the goal was and that there were easier ways to get it, and that Galahad and Gawain were there because this was her first mission. He had previously informed Galahad and Gawain to make sure that she was allowed to maneuver her way but with a consideration of her safety. There was a reason why Gawain was in charge of the security detail.
At this point though, much has changed.
The surveillance cameras became useless the moment Alexandre and Guinevere entered his office.
"Sit down here. Let me get a medkit and let's see to that wound."
"Fire."
"Hmm?"
"I was thinking how it would look and feel to burn his testicles off."
"For you or for him?"
"More for me. I've always wondered if the surge of power I feel when I imagine would be the same in actuality."
"It is. Any situation where you know you have the control will give you the sense of power. He's most likely to pass out though and that won't be entertaining."
"Maybe just until he's on the brink, then give him some breathing room."
"What guarantee was he talking about?"
And Guinevere told him.
"Merlin."
"I'm here."
"Guilford's bringing Howell underground. Miss Vox is returning to Alexandre. I might not be able to provide communication. It's getting harder to find hiding places."
"Keep safe."
He limited the commlink and made sure that the feedback to the others were minimized. Heard, but minimized. Having a shared commlink without any ability to modify each line had caused them trouble before. He wouldn't risk it now. It was the same with Guinevere whenever anyone came too close to her commlinks.
"So Howell has your earring. What's the story with Miss Vox then? Does she have anything of yours as well?"
"She's safekeeping something of mine. I was hoping maybe I'll get it back when she comes here."
"A necklace? A ring? Or a bracelet?"
"Nothing like that. Would you like to guess some more?"
Alexandre finished putting back the medkit and went for his desk. Where the goal of the mission was. Merlin had a feeling that the security of the room was in that same computer on his desk, if not then it would lead there.
"Did you give her a guarantee as well?"
"No. Not at all. She's more agreeable than Howell and she's not about to rape someone under your roof."
"There are better places in the house to do it. More comfortable too as long as it's with someone that actually gives consent."
"Indeed."
"Howell had potential for what we had in mind, it's disappointing that inviting him was a waste."
"I hope something good came out of this party for you though."
"You."
"Business wise."
"You."
Pause.
"Confident, aren't we?"
"I achieved this point of power because of such confidence. I did promise that we will be talking business, didn't I?"
Alexandre motioned her to move to his side, the light of the screen making the shadows on his face more sinister.
Merlin took a sip of his coffee and waited.
"Would you..."
Alexandre looked up and met her gaze.
"Would you promise my family and people's safety, before anything else?"
His face warped into a smile that was more a smirk. His eyes twinkled and crinkled almost mockingly. An expression that spoke nothing but amusement to her statement.
"You are too good, Ursa. Too kind."
He moved around the table and took her hand, guiding her to his side before the computer.
"Come see before I clean everything up. I'd like to hear your thoughts."
It was Patrick Howell's profile.
Merlin was already deep in work making more connections and hacking his way through more information he got from that profile and into Patrick Howell's link to this all. Emails. Texts. More of anything and everything he could extend his hold onto.
"Do you have one of me too?"
"No. Not yet. I'll make sure to show you yours once I've had it drawn up."
"I'll hold you to that."
"I hold onto my word."
"Interesting. Howell doesn't look capable enough to manage such a big company. I wouldn't agree to some of his decisions though. A bit too reckless to lose some assets when it could've been prevented in the first place."
"Ambition is quite important in this field of ours."
"Ambition can only do so much. Without preparation and precision, it'll be nothing but a quick rise and a disappointing fall. My family is ambitious, but we wouldn't have lasted as long as we do now just because of it."
"And are you ambitious?"
"I'm careful."
Knocks intruded and the door opened to admit Miss Vox inside.
"Miss Vox, my thanks for bringing Mr. Howell to Guilford. I called you here to accompany Ursa while I handle our drunkard personally, as promised."
Miss Vox only nodded, eyes clearly sliding to Guinevere's direction.
"I remember, you were going to return something to her, right?"
Miss Vox approached the table and pulled out the dagger, offering it to Guinevere with a smile. "Ursa, as promised."
"Miss Sullivan."
"What?"
"Miss Sullivan."
"Miss Sullivan, as promised."
"Do I even want to know,Ursa?"
"We only discovered that this is a real dagger today, Mr. Alexandre."
He shook his head in amusement and pressed a kiss on her cheek.
"I'll be retrieving your other earring then."
"There's no need."
"Nonsense."
He locked his computer and then stepped out the room.
Susan stood before the painting, taking in its details and wringing her hands together and biting her lips. She could feel Alanna's gaze on her. The painting's gazes reminding her of the answers implied but never given. Answers she could already figure out but wanted confirmation of. Telling her that their story was as everything else, just part of a larger whole. She tried her best not to smile too wide.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Are you alright?"
She let show her exhaustion and stretched her lips to a smile. "The silence makes me remember what happened."
"He's a right asshole."
"I'm more worried about Misha, actually. Would it be too much to ask you to fetch him? He must be so wrecked. He promised to protect me."
"I can have someone fetch him."
She shook her head hard and reached out to take Alanna's hands. "No, please. Can you fetch him yourself? He knows you, and your words would comfort him more than anyone could. I will do it myself, but... I'm scared."
"I understand. I'll be back with him as soon as I could."
She smiled in relief. "Thank you, Alanna. He's likely to be pacing through the ballroom as we speak."
She listened until Alanna's footsteps faded completely, then took another deep breath. She tried not to smile and instead shook her head again.
Decades have passed and things have changed, but as much as they changed they stayed the same.
Susan moved to the computer, pulling out a pair of gloves from her clutch and slipping them on. "Merlin. Please tell me you can get past the password and clear the security of this room."
"If it's not an overly complicated biometric type, yes."
She pressed one of the snake's eyes and pulled out a pen drive from its mouth. She plugged it in and watched as screens appeared in succession.
"And if it is?"
"Pray."
"Galahad. I need you to do a cat and mouse with Alanna. Make it look like you're looking for her too and you just keep on missing each other." She started opening drawers and scanned them without touching anything. There were interesting features in those drawers but it would seem that Lucien Alexandre wasn't a paper and pen person.
"I see her."
"Where's Gawain?" She moved around the room, searching for hidden nooks and crannies. Her gaze always ended to the painting. When nothing came up from her initial search, she approached it. "Merlin, how is Gawain?"
"... Underground, monitoring Howell."
"How about Alexandre?"
"On the way. Held back by some guests."
After a few rounds of checking the room for any hidden pathways or drawers, she gave up and stepped back to find more clues instead.
"Guinevere, get the pen drive. I'm clearing the security footage. Galahad, meet Miss Vox."
"On it." She pulled the pen drive and slipped it back the mouth of the snake, then locked the computer. After that, she made sure everything was in order then slipped off her gloves and put it back in her clutch.
It was after a few deep breaths and a good number of rounds of pacing that the door opened.
"Misha!"
Eggsy had partnered and worked with a good number of Kingsman agents. Through these missions, he had figured out who he could work well with and who he struggled with. He had also learned how to adapt and to find a working dynamic. He's not the best at it, but he's definitely improving.
He was considering ranking Susan at the bottom of his top 5 list. He was even considering a bit lower.
It's not that she's hard to work with, not at all. Especially, for their first time working together. She's a marvel to see in the field and he had already learned a lot of useful techniques from her that he was able to test during this mission.
She was terrifying.
Susan didn't intimidate him in the way that other senior Kingsman did when they partnered up. It wasn't the gap of knowledge and experience that made him worry. It wasn't the chance of dismissal whenever he put forth an idea. He was the one that noticed the incident with Sasha and Patrick Howell, after all. It wasn't how at ease she was amid all of this. The fact that she gathered gazes and attention as easy as one could collect sand in a bucket wasn't even a minor thing.
No. Not those things.
It wasn't even the power that she exuded as easy as breathing.
He watched as Susan walked to and fro across the room. He watched as she paused before the painting every three rounds. He watched as she wring her hands and look at the painting then the door for ten seconds, before doing the routine again. He watched again and again for minutes he had stopped counting on.
"Alexandre's here."
Susan didn't pause. Eggsy hummed.
"What do you see?" Miss Vox finally spoke up. "In the painting."
Susan carried on another round, before finally stopping before the painting. "Questions."
Movement filled Eggsy's hearing. Footsteps. A chair was dragged somewhere. Some muffled words. Sounds soft enough to signal that Cassy was too far from the heart of the scene.
"-for a great cause-"
A begging cry.
"We're doing this for a better future-"
Alanna took a few steps back from the painting.
"-disappointment as a guest-dare to touch something not yours-"
Something metal clanged. Susan and Alanna were still talking.
"-last longer than those children?"
Another clang.
"What are you seeing, Alanna?"
A gush of air. Familiar. So familiar.
Screams.
Screams.
Screams.
Susan laughed.
Screams.
Panting.
Susan was still laughing. Deep from her belly.
Another gush of air.
More screams.
Screams.
"It's not that funny."
"Oh, it is. I didn't expect that at all!"
Susan laughed again.
Eggsy's ears were still ringing.
"Misha?"
The screams were still echoing in his head.
The gust of air didn't happen again.
The screams echoed still.
"Misha, are you alright?"
He shook himself out and found Susan approaching him, arms reaching out. Her smile was worried and warm. Her eyes were soft, blue and alight. Warm.
"You looked like someone's been screaming off your ears, cousin."
It was the warmth. It was the genuinity.
She held his arms and squeezed.
"Don't worry. I'm here. I'll protect you."
It was the realization that you had your head within the gaping maw of the wolf without knowing and still surviving the experience.
No. Susan's not going in his top five list at all.
Gawain flipped her braid to her other shoulder as she took a swig of whiskey that the room service brought up. Normally, she wouldn't even be allowed to do this during debrief when in the HQ. An unspoken rule of professionalism. But then, the immediate reporting without even a break after the very mission called for alcohol. The burn trailed exquisitely down her throat, giving her strength to keep her awareness and wakefulness. At the same time, it gave her distance from the recent events.
Mission wise, they've gotten loads of Intel. More than they've thought in the beginning. Arthur, Merlin and she already drawn up a set of follow up missions to get more info after the result of this one. There was also a reason why she wasn't the forefront of the team. There was supposed to be so much more happening and to happen about this target, but by the results of what happened tonight, changes would be made, for sure. At this point, Guinevere pretty much laid the clearest path.
She took another sip and listened for footsteps outside the room.
If they play their cards right, they might just get a direct access to the heart of the syndicate.
"What did you think of tonight?"
Merlin didn't pull back and instead carried on doing whatever he was doing. He didn't even deign her a reply. He's probably reporting to Arthur already and setting up the next missions. She could only sigh and take another sip.
No footsteps still. She had surrendered her commlink and they were set on his desk. Her glasses were folded and in her breast pocket.
"What did you think of tonight?" Merlin finally pulled back a bit and tilted his head to her direction, repeating the question she posed at him. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. She also took another sip, taking her time to contemplate and make him wait as he did to her. All the while, she watched his expressions. His face was blank, but his eyes were intense and hard.
She shrugged. "She's effective and a clear asset."
But.
"She's also either very careful or very reckless." The ice in her drink cracked. "Or very good in making people believe whichever she liked between the two."
Nothing shifted from his face and she was sure that her face mirrored it perfectly.
"It worked so well." She drawled. "Maybe some would say, it worked too well. If we continue this path, it could be an easy way in or a very large production of misdirection."
Merlin hummed and stretched his lips to some sort of a facsimile of a smile paired with a few nods. He then turned to the door. She heard the footsteps just in time to catch Guinevere and Galahad passing through one of the feeds on his screens. Of course, he was the all-knowing one.
And at this moment, Susan Pevensie was the unknown.
The door unlocked and Galahad stepped in, Guinevere following close.
"Yo." Galahad gave them a nod and an easy smile.
"Come on in and have a drink." Gawain raised her drink in acknowledgement. Her attention sliding to Guinevere the moment after.
The woman was once more barefoot with her heels dangling from her curled fingers. She was also very quiet and obviously drowsy enough that Galahad guided her by the elbow so she could sit down the arm chair. Her body sank into its comfort with a quiet sigh, then set her heels to the floor. It was only then that Galahad took a seat beside Gawain.
"I'm glad you're safe, Gawain." Guinevere sighed.
"How was it as your first mission, Majesty?"
"Oh. She's amazing. You should've seen it." Galahad nudged Gawain with his shoulder as he poured himself his own alcohol. "She had them eating on her palm."
"Guinevere?" Gawain asked again.
She yawned, her dazed gaze focusing after. "I'm rough and unused of how this technology works. Everything is faster and thus, the need is greater."
"But you handled it pretty well. Very well."
"Because it involved people and people may change, but they also stay the same."
"Ah. Humanity is quite the constant."
Guinevere yawned again. Galahad chuckled.
Gawain tilted his glass to Merlin who was observing the unknown. "Shall we debrief or leave it for tomorrow morning?"
"Please. I'm awake and aware. Let's have it now so we can all have a relaxing…" Guinevere's gaze moved around the room until she caught sight of the clock. Disappointment colored her gaze with whatever she found. The last time Gawain checked, it was past 3 am. "…sleep."
Merlin nodded.
"You sure you really want to still talk? Su's barely holding up."
Susan shooed Eggsy away with a chuckle. "I might be an old woman, but I have handled more sleepless nights than you can fit in your lifetime."
Eggsy put his arms akimbo and grinned that ever so rakish smile. "You look like I can't drag you away from there even if I tried. You're curled up like a cat."
"Meow?"
"A very dangerous cat."
She mirrored his smile, hugging her legs folded before her and wiggled her toes tucked in the space between the arm and the cushion.
It had been a temptation to succumb to exhaustion and take a nap, but she was telling the truth about her awareness. Adrenaline was still running high and her mind still rushed in review of what occurred. It required her to also think of possible future plans the Kingsman might go for. She wasn't getting far though, and her coherence was unraveling slowly.
She thanked Eggsy and Cassy, smile small and honest. With such honesty came her exhaustion. Cassy had the alcohol bottle in one hand and her glass in the other, saluting as she stepped out the room. Eggsy had his cuffs unbuttoned, his bowtie unlaced, and his coat slung over his shoulder. The door closed, but it didn't sink in until she was staring at it for almost a minute. When it did sink in, she turned back to the desk to find it empty.
Susan blinked and tilted her head to the side. Were magicians recruited in their ranks at some point?
Logic took control with an analysis that the chair looked vacated and an observation that the computer was locked. It helped her mind in battling sleep and catching up on what was happening. Then something clicked and moved on her left periphery. Merlin entered the room with a small medkit in hand. It had her moving without thought, feet back on the carpeted floor to push herself up. Did something happen while they were at the party? Were they discovered and compromised?
"Are you injur—"
"Nae. Sit down, Pevensie."
Confused, she plopped back to her seat. A beat later, she yawned again. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. Merlin sat down on the side of the couch closest to her.
"Are you al—" She yawned again, an obvious sign of her adrenaline bleeding out.
He only hummed, opening the medkit and worked.
She still couldn't figure why he's doing it in the first place.
"How are you?"
"I'm listing the advantages of accepting Alexandre's invitation." She folded her legs under her and leaned to the side closer to Merlin. "I am sure it's an opening we can take advantage of in addition to the ones the others are pursuing. We may not succeed, which I doubt, but even misdirecting will have an effect we can use."
She paused, gritting her teeth to stop the yawn that's tickling its way out. She lost the battle either way and yawned again. A frown marred her face immediately after. She caught a huff from him but she wasn't really sure if she heard it right. She wasn't even sure if that was of amusement or mockery. She's too tired to retaliate if it was the latter. She closed her eyes.
"How are you?"
She paused and frowned, not sure if she heard him right. She just answered that question. "…What?"
"How are you?" His tone was different than the one he used before. Softer. Seeking. She couldn't figure out what exactly he was asking about. It had her opening her eyes.
"I'm alive." That's the first line that tumbled out of her mouth. A line shared between her siblings when their world was more precious than her current reality. Where they were close enough that tone could give almost everything away. It was enough, for her at this moment at the very least.
Merlin nodded and motioned to her, a cotton ball held in one hand. "Here."
The fact that he had to clarify, "Your wound.", was a clear sign of her exhaustion. He even motioned to her neck.
When she understood, she straightened with an "Oh." Then, moved her hair to the other shoulder so it didn't hinder the view of it. She closed her eyes after.
In the darkness and following silence, she took slow deep breaths and counted them. Dancing with Sleep and Wakefulness. She was pulled away by the warmth on her neck, her eyes snapping open as fast as one could.
"I'm just cleaning the wound." His voice was low. Low enough that it reminded her of a Wolf's growl.
"It's not even deep." She watched him nod and tell her nothing else. His hands were busy peeling off the band aid Alexandre put on earlier. The expression on his face most curious. "Or dangerous."
"Aye." He swiped the cotton ball on the wound and she barely felt any sting. "We need to work on your stamina."
"I have good stamina. I just…"
She yawned. He smirked.
"Just?"
"I crash the moment I feel safe." She sighed. "It's not the best explanation, but it's the only one I have. My brothers used to tell me that it's not the most beautiful sight. Don't worry. I can work through many nights with no sleep and operate with a few minutes of a nap as long as there's something that's needed to be done."
Silence followed. She didn't know how long it lasted, but she knew she closed her eyes at some point of it.
"Do you always crash after missions?"
"No. Not always." She succeeded in opening her eyes again. It's getting harder each time. "Give me a few more missions and I'll be back to ideal form. Everything is just…faster this time around."
He already had the medkit packed and was just looking at her with a shadow of the smirk he wore earlier. She touched her wound to find a new band aid on it.
"Thank you, Merlin." She pushed herself up to her feet and searched for the clock once more. He followed suit, picking up the medkit. "May I be dismissed?"
"Aye. Good night Pevensie."
She smiled in amusement before it was pushed away by the following thought. "That would mean Eggsy's to be my partner for these missions. If you do agree in allowing me to pursue this."
"If needed, yes. Why?"
"I'll try not to unsettle him."
She yawned again.
"Get to bed, Pevensie."
Another yawn. "You too."
"Hm."
She gave him a look. He returned it with the same expression.
Another yawn signaled her loss. She growled, "By the mane."
"Sleep well."
"I've texted Su earlier. Should I go and wake her up?" Breakfast was ending and they should be going back to HQ. It was a quiet morning, not only between them but also in the state of the news. The latter was concerning, but entirely expected.
Eggsy gave them a sweeping look.
Cassandra patted her mouth with a napkin, taking the time to think. "You sound like you've done it before."
"Nah. Not really."
Merlin set the tablet he was holding to the side, having finished his meal way before any of the others. "Give her another hour."
Eggsy simply nodded. Cassandra raised a brow at him.
"Did something happen, Merlin?"
Merlin waved her concern away. "Just let her. Eggsy can wake her after an hour."
Pevensie needed it. It was her first mission, after all. Even if she didn't look obviously exhausted, she acted it. Especially when there's a pair of forgotten heels in Merlin's baggage as proof.
"Just an hour, Cassandra. We have time for it."