A/N: Thank you GuestM, Buckhunter, and SnidgetHex for reviewing! Buckhunter, I once nearly crashed my car into a concrete wall because a spider dropped down from my visor in front of my face. I'm glad you did not crash!
Chapter 2
Morgana looked dubiously at the auto shop Arthur had the taxi pull up to. When her brother said he had a safe house for her, this was not what she had pictured.
Arthur paid the driver and climbed out of the back seat, then jogged around to open the door for Morgana, since her hands were bandaged and the pain meds from the ER were beginning to wear off. She spotted Leon and Lancelot standing at the corner of the auto shop, a duffel bag on the sidewalk between them.
"We tried to grab everything you might need for a few days," Leon said as they walked over. "But if you need anything else, just let us know and we'll swing by your place to get it."
"And you weren't followed?" Arthur asked.
"We made sure," Lancelot assured him. "But this guy probably won't hear until tomorrow morning that his attempt with the car failed."
"Don't you think you're taking this all a bit too seriously?" Morgana interjected.
"No," Arthur replied and put a hand on the small of her back to lead her around the side of the garage to some stairs that went up to an apartment above the shop.
Leon picked up the duffel bag as he and Lancelot followed.
Arthur knocked on the door and it quickly opened. A young woman with light brown skin and dark curls invited them all in without question.
"Gwen, this is my sister, Morgana. Morgana, this is Gwen."
"It's nice to meet you," Gwen said with a smile.
Morgana nodded back and would have shook her hand if hers weren't damaged.
"Thank you for doing this," Arthur said to Gwen.
"Of course." She turned to Morgana. "Come in and sit. You must be worn out."
In truth, she was, and she gratefully sank onto the sofa Gwen gestured to. Arthur followed to lean down and kiss the top of her head.
"I'll check on you tomorrow," he said.
Morgana smiled, and he and the guys left, leaving just the two women and an awkwardness between them.
"Are you hungry?" Gwen asked. "Or want something to drink?"
"I'm fine," Morgana said. "You really don't have to wait on me."
"I don't mind. You're my guest, and no offense, but you look like you could use some convalescing."
Morgana winced. "Alright. Something to eat would be lovely. And some Ibuprofen, if you have any."
Gwen went into the kitchen and puttered around while Morgana stayed on the sofa, surveying her temporary living arrangements.
"How do you know Arthur?" she asked.
"My brother Elyan runs with the Knights," Gwen replied as she brought in a bottle of pain relievers and a glass of water. "I admire what you do too," she added as she went back into the kitchen and returned with a sandwich on a plate.
"I'm just doing my job," Morgana said. "It's my brother and the Knights who are the real heroes."
"It may be your job, but you don't have to care as much as you do," Gwen countered. "That makes you a hero too."
Morgana ducked her gaze at the compliment and focused on trying to pick up the sandwich. Her hands still pained her, but she was able to eat without making a mess. It was late, and she was exhausted, so after she finished the sandwich, Gwen led her down the hall to her late father's bedroom to get her settled in.
"Let me know if you need anything," Gwen said.
"Thank you," Morgana replied sincerely. Her brother had good friends.
Arthur went back to Gwen's early the next morning to check on Morgana, even though he'd only left her there the night before. He knew Gwen had to be up early to open the shop, but he still knocked on the door quietly, just in case. Gwen opened it and greeted him with a smile.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning." She stepped back to let him in, and he spotted Morgana sitting at the kitchen table, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt and sipping from a mug. It'd been years since he'd seen her not done up and all prim and proper.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Alright," she said with a wan smile. She still looked exhausted, which was understandable. "I want to go in to work."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "We've been over this. You're overdue for a vacation anyway."
She shifted in her seat, wincing as it pulled on bruised muscles. "But I need to be at work to stay informed on the investigation."
"The police haven't located Resnik," Arthur told her.
"And how would you know that?"
"Your assistant is keeping me informed," he said smugly. "Me and the Knights are also doing some asking around, checking all the haunts and dives a newly released criminal might visit."
Morgana started shaking her head. "Arthur, no…"
"No one messes with my family," he said staunchly. "Don't worry, if we find him, we'll call the cops."
Morgana didn't look appeased, but Arthur wasn't going to be talked out of doing everything he could to protect her. So he left the two women to their breakfast and headed back out to meet up with his Knights at The Apothecary to see if they'd found anything last night. Unfortunately, none of them had.
"We sure this is the guy behind the attempt on Morgana?" Elyan asked.
"Seems too much of a coincidence if he isn't," Arthur replied. "I saw him briefly at the courthouse and he gave off a vibe."
"Well, even if he isn't guilty," Merlin put in, "finding him quickly will let the cops know whether they need to look for someone else."
"Yeah, but if it's not him, the list of suspects could get significantly longer," Leon pointed out.
"If it was anyone from a case we helped with, they'd have to know we'd get involved," Lancelot added.
"Which is why Morgana is staying with Gwen and not one of us," Arthur said. "And in the meantime, all we can do is keep asking around."
He stood up and headed out with the intention to do just that, only to pull up short in dismay at the sight of their bikes having been defaced with graffiti—all of Cenred's gang's tags.
"What the…" Gwaine started, too livid to even curse in that moment.
"I'm gonna kill him," Elyan growled, marching around to inspect his ride.
Merlin went up to his and rubbed a finger against the red paint. It had already dried. "This isn't going to just rub off," he said through gritted teeth.
Arthur pivoted on his heel and stormed back into the bar and into the back office to check the security camera footage. He was totally going to press charges against Cenred for this. But as he rolled back the feed from earlier that morning, he found the cameras had been spray painted over first, and not a single distinguishable feature of the culprits had been caught on tape.
"Everything alright?" Gaius asked from the doorway.
"No," he scowled, pushing away from the desk and marching back outside. The rest of the Knights had gotten more upset at the vandalism as they went around their bikes.
"We can't ride around town like this," Gwaine exclaimed. "Boasting Cenred's tags is going to discredit us!"
"More like humiliate us," Lancelot muttered.
Arthur's jaw tightened. And they needed to be out and about tracking down information on Resnik.
"I have an idea," he said. "We only have to make it to Gwen's shop."
No one was happy about driving even that far, and they were all on watch for any of Cenred's goons in case they tried to accost them, but they made it to Smithy's Auto Shop without any snafus. The garage door was open since the shop was open, and the Knights all rode their bikes inside to crowd the limited free space.
Gwen hurried out from the office, looking concerned. "Has something happened?"
"Not with the case," Arthur answered as he dismounted and stepped back.
Gwen's eyes widened as she took in the state of their bikes. "That bastard," she swore.
"I was thinking maybe you could use your paint skills to…fix it," Arthur said, only realizing as he said it out loud how tall an order it was.
Gwen pursed her mouth as she walked around the bikes, scratching a fingernail at some of the paint. "Um, I might be able to work something," she said tentatively. "It's not going to be a quick fix, though."
"I know," Arthur said with a sigh, then turned to the guys. "Guess I better rent us some cars, then."
And when they were done catching the guy after Morgana, he was going to have to figure out what to do about Cenred.
Morgana was utterly bored. She didn't even have her laptop so she could at least get some work done while hiding away. With Gwen working down in her shop, Morgana had spent most of the day watching TV in bed and browsing the books in Gwen's bookcase. It wasn't yet supper time, but she ventured out into the living room and found Gwen sitting at the kitchen table with an open sketchbook and several photographs spread around her. The motorcycles had some garish paint jobs, in her opinion.
Gwen seemed too absorbed to notice Morgana until she pulled out the chair perpendicular to her.
"Oh, hey," she said, startling out of her concentration.
"What are you doing?" Morgana asked curiously, noticing that Gwen had sketched rough copies of the paint shapes but had added some extra lines to them. Morgana suddenly wondered if they were Gwen's work and regretted asking about it.
"Trying to figure out how to turn vandalism into art to cover it up," Gwen answered.
"Vandalism?" Morgana repeated.
"Yeah. A rival gang leader has been giving Arthur and the Knights trouble," she said darkly.
Morgana straightened and leaned in to get a better look at the photographs. She recognized her brother's bike among them. "When did this happen?"
"This morning. Arthur thought I might be able to fix it, but, well, it's going to be challenging." She bent over her sketchbook and added a few more lines and curves, gradually changing the shape into something else.
"Have they reported it to the police?" Morgana asked.
Gwen shook her head. "Arthur said the bar's security cameras had been painted over and didn't catch anything. No evidence."
Morgana gritted her teeth. She remembered telling Arthur that more than once and now knew how frustrating it was when it was a personal attack against someone you cared about.
She looked around the kitchen. "Shall I make something for dinner?"
Gwen sat up straighter. "Oh, sorry. I'll get on that."
"I don't mind," Morgana insisted, standing up and going to look in the fridge. "I'd like to be doing something, and that seems like a big job. Please."
Gwen leaned back in her chair. "Alright."
Morgana perused the contents of the refrigerator, then started pulling out ingredients to make a salad while Gwen returned to her project.
"Is there something going on between you and Arthur?" Morgana asked casually.
"What?" Gwen blurted, cheeks pinking.
Morgana's lips quirked. "I saw the way you looked at each other. And you keep saying Arthur's name first instead of just the Knights."
"Oh, well, Arthur is the leader," Gwen floundered.
"Mm-hmm," Morgana hummed, turning back to toss the salad.
Gwen bit her lip. "Arthur…Arthur never mentioned me?"
Morgana snorted as she served the salad into two bowls. "My brother does not discuss his dating life with me. Forks?"
"Drawer right of the sink."
Morgana retrieved the utensils and brought everything over to the table.
"We actually haven't been on a date yet," Gwen said with a grimace. "Arthur did ask me, but then there was that mess with his uncle and we…never got around to rescheduling."
"You should," Morgana encouraged. "Arthur puts on a brave face for the world, but underneath that exterior is a sweet boy."
"I know," Gwen said with a blushing smile.
Morgana grinned.