--
"What were you drawing, Hannah?" Eleanor asked curiously as the train pulled into Hampton Court station.
Hannah grinned, "You. Pretending to read your book."
"I was not pretending," Eleanor protested.
"Uh-huh. You turned one page during the 30 minute ride from Waterloo Station." Hannah burst into laughter when Eleanor sniffed regally as put her book away. "What were you thinking about, anyway?"
"You. Relationships," Eleanor replied slowly. "Everything." They got off the train and started walking towards Hampton Court Palace. "I was wrong when I said you hadn't changed a bit. Quite the contrary, in fact. You've changed a lot, Hannah. You're quieter, more serene, yet at the same time you're stronger and more courageous."
"We were in high school when we met, Eleanor, a lifetime ago," Hannah paused as she remembered those days so long ago. "We've all changed."
There was a short silence as they paused to enjoy the view of the river from the bridge. "I envy you, Hannah." Eleanor told her.
Hannah looked at Eleanor in surprise, "Why?"
"Your relationship with Colby. Your trust in each other."
"It didn't happen overnight, Eleanor," Hannah said gently. "It'll happen for you too, someday."
"You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Eleanor probed curiously.
Hannah grinned, "Did he put you up to this?"
Eleanor laughed. "No, he didn't. I promise!"
"Yes, I would do anything for him. Defend his honor. Love and protect him." Hannah replied softly, a dreamy smile on her lips.
"I get the picture," Eleanor interrupted dryly. They both laughed and headed to the ticket office.
In the surveillance van, Don rolled his eyes at a smirking Colby.
--
Eleanor did her best to keep them both on the plan that Adam had laid out for them. But Hannah was fascinated by the historical architecture and artwork of the palace and kept stopping for sketches or pictures.
"Oh, look at the grisaille, Eleanor!" Hannah exclaimed as they went up the Verrio Grand Staircase to Henry the Eighth's apartments. "Just look at the depth of field in the execution!"
Eleanor looked quizzically at Hannah, "I didn't realize that you were a connoisseur of grisaille art, Hannah."
"I'm really not. It came up in a case that Colby and Don were on. It happened right before we were scheduled to come here."
"I didn't think that Colby shared the details of his cases with you either."
"He doesn't." Hannah grinned at Eleanor's puzzled look. "I just happened to be there, trying to find someone to join me for something at the museum when someone noticed that the crime scene resembled a picture on a brochure I had with me. I'd just as soon not know anything about their cases, really, even if he could tell me anything."
"Doesn't it bother you that he has such an irregular schedule?" Eleanor couldn't help herself. She just couldn't fathom a life based on such uncertainty. "What if...?" She hesitated, unable to bring herself to voice her concerns.
Hannah reached over and squeezed Eleanor's shoulder. "The schedule doesn't bother me all that much. He calls to let me know whenever he can, plus my own schedule isn't exactly regular, depending on what custom orders I have on hand. But it's certainly nerve wracking when the phone rings unexpectedly." She grinned, "He usually more than makes up for it when he gets home though."
Eleanor laughed, "Trust you to think of that!" She looked wistfully at Hannah, "Do you want children, Hannah?"
Hannah looked startled, "Well, I haven't really thought about it, Eleanor. What made you ask?"
"Just... Well, just feeling my own mortality." Eleanor was somber as they moved through the galleries where the courtiers waited for their audience with King Henry.
Hannah let it go when it didn't look like Eleanor was going to say more. She concentrated on the galleries instead. These were long rooms, with no chairs. The galleries were used as filters of the people who came to see the King. The more important the personage, the closer they got to the throne room, thus each subsequent gallery was smaller. Hannah tried to imagine the throngs of people in period dress, just standing around trying to impress the others. She shook her head, unable to understand that way of life.
"We won't get to see the kitchens or even any of the other apartments, Hannah. The gardens are next for us, specifically the Maze."
Hannah caught her breath when they got to the formal gardens. "Colby would have loved this," she said wistfully.
"Does he like to garden?" Eleanor said in surprise.
Hannah grinned, "He likes being outdoors, period. We don't have a garden, and he's said he misses that. Something about being from Idaho, apparently. He'd especially love the Maze, I think."
"For quite a different reason than gardening, I would wager," Eleanor's tone was wry, "The Maze was originally constructed for trysts and liaisons." She laughed at the mischievous grin on Hannah's face. "I don't want to know!"
"Alright." Hannah said, agreeably.
But Eleanor couldn't quite contain her curiousity about one thing, "Isn't it uncomfortable, Hannah?"
Hannah chuckled, "Not if you're the one on top."
"I knew better than to ask," Eleanor was laughing now.
Not all the listeners in the van were amused by their topic of conversation. "I would classify this under 'Too Much Information'," Don grumbled to the others in the surveillance van.
"I did tell them to keep away from the lovey dovey stuff," Adam replied, amused at Don's reaction. None of it had fazed Colby in the least.
"Bairan's been spotted," one of the officer's trailing the the two women said over the mike.
"Alright, everyone," Adam said crisply. "Keep them in sight."
Despite being more attentive than she usually was, Eleanor was startled when they were surrounded by several men, dressed like groundkeepers. Bairan was one of them.
"Don't make a sound," Bairan warned them. "Walk casually out of the Maze with us. We have a van waiting."
The two women obeyed and followed him quietly. They got into a groundkeeper's van and were driven away, hoping and praying that the surveillance van would be right behind them.
--
"I don't understand why you've targeted me, Samrat," Eleanor said. They had been taken to a little cottage not far from the Palace. Eleanor stayed as still as she could. The fire in Bairan's eyes frightened her.
Bairan's lip curled contemptuously. "It is the same for all you Western women. You wreak havoc with your Western ideas and you claim not to know what you've wrought."
He paced around Eleanor, menace in his entire bearing. "My wife and my daughter, Eleanor Hill. Do you remember them?" He continued, oblivious to Eleanor's nod in the affirmative. "They were good, religious women, until they met you. You corrupted them with your way of life. The way of life of an infidel!"
"Samrat, you worked for my father. You seemed to understand each other. You exchanged ideas and discussed the pros and cons of both ways of life. I thought you accepted our way of life! I merely did the same with your wife and daughter! What happened to you? Why are you doing this?"
"It was not your place to discuss these ideals!" Bairan bared his teeth in a snarl as he turned on Eleanor. "And it was not their place to listen to you, or to anyone but me!" His brows lowered in a frown, "It was my job to influence your father to our side. But you corrupted my wife and daughter and destroyed my credibility in my organization! They had to be punished and destroyed for what you did. And I swore I would destroy you for your part in it."
Eleanor backed away in fear.
"They are not things, Mr. Bairan." Hannah said calmly. "Your wife and daughter were human beings with brains. They could decide for themselves what they wanted."
"Stay out of this! You know nothing! You are a mere woman." Bairan sneered. His lip stayed curled in a sneer as he drew himself up to his full height, and folded his arms. "Women like you have emasculated your men. They follow you around like puppies, sniffing at your skirts, begging for what scraps you throw their way. It is disgusting!"
Hannah's eyes narrowed. "You know nothing about my man. He is more of a man than you could ever dream to be. He's secure enough in himself and isn't threatened by who I am. Men like you have to debase your women in order to feel important. You cannot bear to deal with women on equal terms because you are nothing."
"We will not be emasculated!" Bairan spat out.
"You think being ourselves emasculates our men?" Hannah's voice was rising in anger. "You don't know what emasculated is. This is emasculated!" Hannah brought her knee up and rammed it into Bairan's groin.
Bairan's men exploded into motion, one of them reached Hannah and tried to backhand her as Bairan writhed in agony where he'd dropped onto the floor.
Hannah tried to dodge away, as his fist grazed her cheek, then she sobbed in relief when the doors burst open with shouts of "MI-5" and "FBI" ringing in the air. She heard Eleanor scream in fear and she heard shots fired. Then it suddenly, it was over. The quiet was eerie. Hannah shook her head to clear it.
"Hold still," Colby murmured, his hands gentle as they checked the extent of her injuries.
She looked up at him in time to see his eyes narrow. "I don't think it's bad. His fist just grazed my cheek."
"Yeah. Uh-huh." Colby's skepticism made Hannah laugh, albeit a little shakily.
She sniffled as she leaned her head against his chest. "I think I missed."
Colby raised an eyebrow. "Missed? When?"
"With Bairan." She glared at him. "You didn't tell me it would be so difficult to knee someone in the groin when you showed me how."
"I can tell you Bairan doesn't think you missed," Adam's dry voice made both of them look up. He grinned, and his elation at catching Bairan showed through. "You don't seem it, but you're one tough lady, Hannah. I'm pleased to finally meet the real you." He laughed when Colby's arms wrapped protectively around Hannah, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Eleanor's lucky to have you as a friend."
Hannah gasped, "Eleanor! Is she alright? I heard shots fired!"
Still grinning, Adam tilted his chin towards Don and Eleanor. "I think she's just fine." He nodded to Colby. "If you'll stop by Thames House when you're ready, we'll wrap things up there. Bring them too." His laughter made Hannah smile.