CHAPTER 2: Seeking Success.
By ElementsOfSapphire
DISCLAIMER/Please Note: This/these stories are all purely for fan-fun purposes only; no copyright infringement intended. I own none of the rights relating to either The Avengers, nor The New Avengers; none of the characters, sets, the lot. I'm awfully sorry if posting such stories relating to the show is not allowed or is unwanted. In which case, please accept my every apology and inform me so I can take them down. Once again, I'm just a teen fan that wants to get their work shown and evaluated, so please tell me if its is wished for my story/stories to be taken down- or even my entire username. Thank you :)
"I'm thankful, Gambit, that your judgement was off this time around. Lead poisoning can be rather serious, so I'm thankful I came when I did. But you should know by now that it takes more than an ounce of poison to kill Steed."
Kendrick gladly patted Steed's shoulder. The patient was awake, but only just. Mike sat beside Steed, as he had all this time, watching Kendrick and a nurse working with a great deal of urgency, trying to find the right ointments and bottles to administer to his colleague. He was happy that Steed was such a fighter. He'd been more than a teacher, he was a good friend and Mike was quite unsure just how the Ministry may have coped without him.
"It was Purdey that believed he was as good as dead, actually Kendrick, " he pointed out, turning to face his comrade. "I still had faith in you, Steed."
"That doesn't mean to say he's not a lucky man. Any stronger and he would have been wiped off this earth for good. We'll need to keep taking blood samples, and... oh, here comes nurse now."
In came the nurse once more, her bellowing red-brown hair reminding Mike warmly of when he'd first been introduced to Purdey; it was the same colour, same style, same length... but no, Purdey had worn it much better. The woman's white and blue dress hung to just below the knees, revealing in time a well-polished pair of patent leather shoes. She seemed fond enough of Steed. She'd probably heard of him, as nothing seemed to be too much trouble where Steed was concerned.
"I have everything, sir. Shall I take the sample?" she inquired to Kendrick, holding up a syringe and bottle. She held her right hand strongly behind her back, looking like a guard of sorts. How professional, Mike admired. He wasn't sure he'd be as dispassionate if he were in her shoes.
"Yes, go ahead my dear. He should still be quite intoxicated; I'm quite surprised you've come around so quickly. Quite a fighter, aren't you, Steed?"
The nurse nodded to the doctor, walking to the other side of the bed to take a sample from his opposite arm. Steed beckoned weakly to Gambit, who crouched to talk to Steed face to face.
"What is it, Steed?" he whispered, gathering that his colleague didn't want the other occupants of the room to overhear. John winced in pain, his head pounding and his eyes burning. He was exhausted, too tired to be doing anything really, but he simply had to speak to Gambit. It was vital.
"Mike..." he began as the familiar warm shot of a needle hit his arm once again. "The bottle... Don't let them u..."
"Steed? Steed?" called Mike, but it was too late. Presumably summoning the energy to wake up had drained far too many of the man's resources. It was a pity, though. The way Steed had been so assertive that he, Mike, should listen to him, made Gambit only worry more. What if he knew something about who poisoned him? What if he was going to warn him? But then again, knowing Steed, he could have been making a bottle related pun before asking for the cricket scores. The point was, Mike wouldn't know now, not until Steed woke up again, but he didn't have time to wait. He and Purdey were searching for the plotter. But he desperately wanted to know what Steed had wanted to say. "How long is he likely to sleep for?"
"A good eight, nine hours, sir," replied the nurse, gathering up her tray again and hurrying out of the room behind Kendrick, leaving Gambit with no leads or clues of any kind. He could only hope that Purdey was having more luck...
VVVVV
Purdey rapped on the front door to Trisha's flat. It was not only her intention to inform her colleague's girlfriend that he was in fact critically ill, but also to investigate whether Trisha herself had any idea as to what could possibly be going on. She must have knocked a good five times, waiting a minute or two between each tap before calling through the door instead.
"Hello, Trisha? Trisha, are you home? I need to tell you about Steed, he's really not well... Trisha, can I come in?" Still no response. "Bother." She sighed, pushing a neatly manicured hand through clumps of her growing hair. She needed to search the flat to see if there was something incriminating, or if Trisha had also been poisoned. Coming back to check later was not an option as far as Purdey was concerned. She searched for a while through the innards of her purse, glancing furtively over her shoulders now and then to make sure that no one was watching. Eventually her hand fell upon the item she required and so she whipped it out of the bag as quick as she could. A hair pin was all that one needed to enter a door in this business, and a hair pin Purdey had. She made quick work of the lock, picking it in less than a minute prior to giving it a steady push, and letting it swing open smoothly, giving her access to the flat's interior.
The flat itself wasn't particularly special or incriminating. Of course there were a few guns, some sort of test tubes, and container after container of painkillers, but Trisha was only a young agent, and no doubt she was yet to grow accustomed to the pains gained after a day in the field. Apart from that, the flat contained only the usual household items. Purdey did check in a few drawers, behind mirrors and under a few cushions, but could only sigh and leave the flat when she realised that there was evidently nothing there to help her on her quest. She needed to find Trisha. That was the only way to get any real answers. Perhaps she would be at the Ministry. Purdey was going to find Mike anyway, so she might as well detour a bit and check to see if the woman was around.
VVVVVV
"There will be NO unnecessary deaths, do you understand? Purdey and Gambit are only doing their job trailing us around, searching for clues; my dear fellows, they have done nothing wrong."
"Yes but sir, Steed was trying to tell Gambit (it makes more sense for them to call him this. Mike is a little too intimate for someone who doesn't really know Gambit very well, and is planning to kill him) just before I dosed him again this morning. What if he awakens when we're not around? Then what?"
"My dear girl, you are not to even contemplate leaving that bed side ever again. It's your job to be a busy bee bustling around. All nurses do the same."
"But Sir, she has a point. The girl was in my flat today. What if they find something? They're too good to miss everything the-"
"No Trisha! They are nothing without Steed. Don't you understand? Surely you remember how close they were when you were first in Steed's life. That's the beauty of it all! While they're fussing over Steed, we can listen in on all of their discussions, on everything from yesterday's dinner to the next Ministry assignment. They have to trust you two. You are both figures they have to rely on. And when we've heard enough, we can... 'take care of Steed'. They can be moved up into his position and... and what, Trisha?"
"And we can eventually step in and seize the Ministry."
"Precisely; so I dare say its time you, Nurse, waddle back over to that ward. Take care of our patient and report back tonight. I'll tell you when he's said enough."
VVVVVV
"But I'd told mother before, I don't need a husband. I've tried all that before. It just wasn't the right sort of game for me, you know?" prattled Purdey, shoving two or three marshmallows into her mouth and clumsily offering Mike one. He knew she was only being polite, and knew from experience that one didn't simply take one of her beloved, honoured marshmallows.
"No thanks," he dismissed, pushing the bag from in his face. "But that wasn't what I meant when I said 'give me the lo-down'... I meant: how was Trisha?"
"Oh! Oh I have no idea. Flat was clear, she wasn't there, isn't here. I have no idea where she is at all to be honest."
"The flat was clear?" asked Mike, shuffling over slightly so that the nurse could continue to wipe down the surfaces. Honestly, can't she see we're trying to talk?
"Mm," responded Purdey as another sweet bounced around in her mouth. "Only the usual tubes and guns and bottles. Nothing we're not used to."
"Well, we'll still have to find her sooner than later. I'd be annoyed if I found out no one had told me my partner was in hospitable."
"Mike, you don't have a partner," Purdey reminded, swaying out of the way of the nurse as the woman decided to attack John's bed from the other side this time, dabbing and jabbing with a multitude of cleaning concoctions.
"Alright, you then." He smirked at Purdey, despite being aggravated by the gnat of a nurse. The woman never seemed to leave them be, constantly fluttering about performing tasks that he really didn't consider to be necessary. The flowers were new and didn't need dead-heading, the desk she'd wiped only moments before, and as for making the patient a cup of tea, couldn't she see that the man was still asleep?
"Anyway, moving on," he continued, frowning in annoyance at the fluttering nurse. "That Royalty Job next week. Do you think McKay will want us to go on without Steed or will they call someone else in?"
"Well it's just keeping an eye on the palace for an hour or two. Nothing major has ever happened before. They'll probably just get us to tail the carriage in a car and turn off as they reach the gates. We shouldn't need Steed for that."
"True," he agreed, frowning again as the nurse reached down over him without even a hint of an apology. "They might even call Trisha to help, just to make sure there are three of us."
"But she's a first year. Why would she get to work with us?"
"If I remember rightly, you were a first year when you were assigned by Steed to work alongside me. Sometimes there are circumstances where a young mind could come in handy and sometimes—" He paused, looking Purdey from head to toe and back again, his face plastered with a rather disconcerting grin. "Sometimes, the first years are just... special."
"Oh, so she's delectable AND special now? Should I tell Steed about your recent little confessions, or is it something you should probably keep to yourself?"
"Purdey," he sighed, more serious now than he had been. "You know very well I meant you. Besides, why are you so jealous of Trisha?"
"Jealous?" Purdey scoffed, pouring the last of the mini marshmallows into her mouth in disgust.
"Not worried you'll lose my devoted attraction to you as I flip to her instead, are you?"
"Honestly Mike, you think you're God's gift to women, don't you? Do you think he is, nurse?"
"I, err," the woman stumbled, not entirely sure what to reply. "He is rather charming."
Purdey sighed into her hands, shaking her head in disagreement. There was no point arguing, she knew very well that Mike liked to get her wound up. She was aware that it made him laugh to see her scrapping in frustration. "Mike Gambit, if it wasn't your birthday I swear I would have hit you by now..." she grumbled, reaching into her purse to collect and open yet another bag of those delightful gelatine joys.
VVVV
"And they definitely said that Trisha would be called in to help?"
"Well, no, they said that she probably would be. It wasn't confirmed. But they were sure they'd carry on with the assignment."
"And you're certain of that?"
"Yes, sir. Purdey made it sound rather simple, so I believe that it's almost certain that they will continue."
"Ah, well that's good enough for me, my dear. You hear that, Trisha? Looks like you'd better get your practice in. We need McKay to love you. We need you to be the best you possibly can."
"And me... shall I just continue to nurse the man?"
"Oh no my dear lady! No no, we needn't waste time with him anymore. We've got all we need. You can increase his dose in the morning. He's no longer needed on this earth."