The following afternoon finds Eggsy, Clara, Charlie and Roxy seated around the TV in their quarters, watching the news. It was one of the few channels Merlin had given them access to. The news reporter's voice came blaring through the tv, "This unprecedented giveaway by the philanthropist Richmond Valentine has already seen over a billion cards distributed."

Merlin enters the room and the recruits all stand to attention. 'At ease." He addresses them. "So you thought you were done for the day, huh? Well, we're not." He hands each of them an envelope.

Roxy opens her envelope, eyes quickly scanning over some of the details. "A party?" She asks.

Merlin nods. "Tonight, in London."

Charlie holds up a photo of a girl, a cocky smirk on his face. "Who's this?"

Merlin carefully avoids rolling his eyes at the boyish behavior. "Your target. Your mission is to use your NLP training to win over the individual in the photograph in your envelope. And when I say "win over", I do mean in the biblical sense."

"Easy. Posh girls love a bit of rough." Eggsy says, shooting Clara a wink.

Charlie scoffs, "We'll see about that, yeah?"

Roxy and Clara exchange a look, turning around their pictures to reveal the same girl. Clara smirks, "We certainly will."

~8~

The bartender slides a drink to Clara over the counter and she smiles at him in thanks. She hangs at the bar for a few moments until she spots her target, Lady Sophie. She makes her way over to where Lady Sophie sat, making sure to sway her hips as much as possible, trying to get the girl's attention. She sits down next to Sophie, putting on her most charming smile. "Hi, I'm Clara. And you are?"

"Sophie." The girl says with a giggle.

"Well, Sophie, you look absolutely stunning tonight." Clara says, same charming smile on her face.

Sophie blushes, "Not too bad yourself!" She says with a wink.

Clara smiles, "Awh, thanks! You're too kind." She blushes, leaning forward a little and placing a hand on Sophie's thigh. Sophie looks from Clara's eyes, down to her lips, leaning forward a little.

Clara leant forward, about to place her lips on Sophie's, when she heard the voice she dreaded oh so much. "Hi. Sorry, I just had to come over and say, amazing eyes." Charlie sits down on Sophie's other side, her attention now on him. However, she kept her hand in Clara's during the conversation. "Are you wearing color contacts?" Charlie asks.

Sophie laughs, "No!"

"You so are." Charlie eggs on.

Just then, Clara feels the couch dip beside her. She turns to see Roxy behind her, the proceeds to groan lightly and place her head on Sophie's shoulder. Sophie giggles, squeezing Clara's hand in response. That's when Roxy interrupts, "Oh, my God, negging. That's hilarious. I haven't heard anyone try that since the noughties."

Sophie turns to face Roxy, "Excuse me?" She asks, then placing her chin on Clara's shoulder.

"Negging." Roxy responds, shouting slightly to be heard over the music. "Saying something negative to a pretty girl in order to undermine her social value. It's supposed to make you want to win his approval. Absurdly basic, neuro-linguistic programming technique.

Roxy is then interrupted by Eggsy, not missing the jealous look he shoots in Sophie's direction. "Is it just me, or does this champagne taste a little bit funny?

Charlie scoffs, "It's an acquired taste, mate." Earning an eyeroll from both Eggsy and Clara.

Sophie turns to face Charlie and Eggsy, addressing the latter. "Get one of these instead, they're delicious." She says, taking a sip.

Charlie tries to get Sophie's attention. "You know, if you're into seduction techniques, this guy is textbook. See what he just did? It's called an opinion opener. He got you talking with a neutral question, got all of us involved in the conversation, so that you craved individual attention."

Clara smirks at him, "She can get all the individual attention she wants right here, mate." She says, winking at Sophie, who giggled and blushed in response.

Eggsy pushes down his feelings of jealousy and responds to Charlie, directing the conversation away from the girl's flirting. "No, I'm just saying the champagne tastes rank."

They're interrupted by a slightly strange looking man, as he approaches Sophie. "Lady Sophie Montague-Herring, phone call for you at reception."

Sophie nods at the man then turns to Clara. Before Clara could say anything, Sophie puts a hand behind her head and places her lips on Clara's. After a moment or two, she pulls away. "Be right back." She says with a smile. Clara bites her lip and winks at her in return, Sophie walking off with a light blush on her cheeks.

The other three recruits look at Clara, shell-shocked. Clara looks at them and shrugs, "What?"

Eggsy just shakes his head and walks over to the couch. "Budge up, Clara. I'm feeling a bit rough." He plops down on the couch between Roxy and Clara.

Clara looks at him and puts the back of her hand on Eggsy's forehead. "Are you alright?"

"No." Eggsy says with a shake of his head.

The man from before approaches the group again, "Sorry to eavesdrop, but, you know, there's a much easier way to guarantee getting someone home." The man smirks creepily, "Rohypnol. Or even something stronger."

The recruits were all out cold before they even had a chance to react to the man's words. Clara's head lolled onto Roxy's shoulder, and Eggsy's head fell into Clara's lap. The man mentally wished them luck on what they were about to go through.