Chapter 6

Kahlan smiled as Big Ben's gongs announced the new hour. "Come on," she told him and pulled him up and toward the clock.

"What? The tower isn't open to the public," he told her as she pulled him closer to it.

She smiled. "We're not part of the public if I know the guy working."

He chuckled and let her lead him around the tower and to the side. She went up and knocked on the side of the tower as he looked at her questioningly. She laughed at the surprise on his face as part of the wall opened to reveal a nicely hidden door.

An old man swallowed her in a hug as soon as the door was open all the way. "Kay! I can't believe you're actually here!"

"It's good to see you again, Nigel," Kahlan told him as he finally let her go. "This is my husband, Aaron."

Nigel stuck out his hand. "Must be one hell of a man to tame you," he told her with a smile.

Hotch shook his hand as he smiled. "Like that could ever happen."

Nigel laughed. "I like him."

Kahlan laughed, too. "So do I," she told him seriously.

"Let me guess, you want to go to the top," Nigel told her as he pulled her inside.

"Of course I do," she laughed as she pulled Hotch in and Nigel shut the door. "You know I can't leave London until I do."

"You know the way," he told her with a smile as he gestured to the stairs across the room. She smiled and started for them. "Just make sure you stop and say goodbye before you leave!" he called after them.

"You know it," she called back and then took Hotch to the top. She smiled at Hotch's look as he looked around at the city lights. "This is my favorite spot at night, but we won't want to be up here when the next hour strikes."

He chuckled. He could imagine how loud the big bell was up close and personal. He pulled her back to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "This is beautiful."

"Yeah," she told him and sighed contently as she savored the closeness.

"How do you know Nigel?"

She chuckled. "He was an agent I met on my first trip here. He took me under his wing and taught me about the city and such."

"MI6?"

She shook her head and pulled away from him to pull him to the other side so they could look down the river. "He was a true double-o."

Hotch choked on his own breath and turned her around to look at him. "You're serious?"

She giggled. "Yep. You should hear some of his stories," she told him and nestled herself back up against his chest. "This was one of the reasons I wanted to lose our tail. He could get in trouble if they knew he let us in."

"How did he go from being in Her Majesty's Service to care taker of a clock tower?"

She giggled again. "Don't let the façade fool you. It's a lot more than a clock tower," she told him cryptically.

"Care to elaborate on that?"

She giggled some more. "We'll have to see who is here, but maybe Nigel will let us go below. It'll blow your mind." She turned to look him in the face. "You have seen the 007 movies, right?"

"Some of them."

She laughed. "Do you know who 'Q' is?"

"That's the guy with the gadgets, isn't it?"

"Yep," is all she said and turned back around.

He shook his head. And now I'm beginning to understand why you like this place so much.

After about twenty minutes, they made their way back down to the ground level. Nigel was waiting at the bottom of the stairs and he smiled at her. "You want to stay?"

She nodded as she smiled. "So how are the wife and kids?" she asked him as she put her hand in the crock of his elbow.

"Good. I've got six grandkids now," he told her proudly as he led the way into the tower further.

"Six? I bet they love listening to Grandpa's stories."

He laughed. "Two of 'em do. I think they might just be a chip off the 'ol block."

"I bet," she told him as she grabbed Hotch's hand and pulled him up with them. "Aaron and I have three kids."

"Our youngest, Joey, is just like her mother," Hotch told him with a grin.

Nigel nodded and then looked at Kahlan. "I bet she's a handful."

Hotch laughed. "You have no idea."

Nigel stopped in front of a very high tech door that was completely out of place in the old clock tower. "I assume you want to go down?" he asked Kahlan and then glanced at Hotch.

"Don't worry, Nigel. Aaron knows how to keep a secret."

He eyed Hotch warily and then finally nodded. "He'd have to with you for a wife, wouldn't he?"

Hotch laughed and Kahlan smacked him in the gut which made Nigel laugh, too. He punched in a code and the door opened. "Mickey's down there."

"What?" Kahlan asked with surprise. "I thought he got out."

"Retirement doesn't work with our type, you should know that," he told her as he led the way down several flights of stairs.

There were several doors leading off the stairwell at each landing and Hotch tried to see what was down them without looking too obvious, but he didn't see much. After going down what he guessed was four stories, Nigel opened another door to the right. Hotch eyed the vault-like door as he passed into the hallway, and he figured whatever was in that hallway was very important. He chuckled as a wheeled robot made its way down the hall towards them. Nigel froze with his hand out in front of Hotch and Kahlan, so they froze, too.

"Nigel, 1138," Nigel told the robot quickly.

The flashing red and yellow lights on its head turned green. "Thank you," it told him in feminine voice and turned around and rolled away from them.

"Stupid bloody things! Give me an armed guard any day," Nigel exclaimed as he started down the hall again.

"What would have happen if you weren't with us?" Hotch asked as he watched the robot turn a corner further down the hall.

"Damn thing would have shot you. It uses voice recognition as well as the code I gave it. Almost got myself shot one day I had a bloody cold, though," he told them as he shook his head. Kahlan shot a grin to Hotch. "I don't care how smart they say they are; artificial intelligence is just that, artificial, compared to a good man." He quickly looked at Kahlan. "Or woman, of course."

Kahlan laughed. "I agree."

"In my experience with new technology, there is always someone who knows how to hack it within moments of it being made," Hotch told him as he followed him down the hall.

Nigel laughed. "And probably by some kid," he agreed and then opened another door that led into a huge room. "I think Mickey's in the back. He was working on some new tool or something," he told them as he gestured into the room. "I've got to go take care of a few things. Mickey will let me know when you are done," he told them and then shut the door.

"Come on," Kahlan told him as she pulled him into the room with a grin. "Mickey is the real life 'Q', and one of the smartest people I have ever met."

Hotch raised his brows. Damn, he must be smart if you're impressed. As Kahlan led him down the aisle, Hotch was busy trying to see everything around him. He noticed a material hanging up and several guns on a table in front of it, and he had to hide a smile as he was sure it was the material that Kahlan had dubbed 'dragon skin'. I guess Chuck's buddies weren't the only ones to hack the research. He leaned close to his wife. "So do you all have a room like this where ever you all are based out of?"

She giggled. He had never asked her where her headquarters were. "Yep, but the British have always had the cooler toys."

"That's because we have better funding," an older man told her as he turned around. He got a massive grin on his face and Kahlan went up and hugged him. "I heard you were in town," he told her as he hugged her back.

She finally pulled away from him and turned to Hotch. "Mickey, this is my husband, Aaron. Aaron, this is Mickey, England's top equipment researcher and developer."

Hotch stepped forward and shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you." He was probably a few years older than Kahlan as his blond hair was turning gray, but his light blue eyes showed the intelligence behind them. He had glasses that were hanging around his neck, and Hotch figured that was due to age, and his hands were callused showing years of working with them.

Mickey eyed him warily as he looked Hotch up and down. Hotch started to feel uneasy at the scrutiny, but the man finally smiled. "Any man who could get her to settle down is a friend in my book."

Hotch laughed and Kahlan rolled her eyes.

She finally went up to the table Mickey was working at. "What kind of awesome stuff are you working on now?"

He laughed. "Something right up your alley," he started as he picked up an object. "You still good with a blade?"

Hotch stepped closer to get a better look at what was in Mickey's hand. It looked like a fat throwing knife.

"I'm decent." Hotch snorted, and she chose to ignore him, but Mickey looked at him knowingly and nodded. "Why? What is that?" Kahlan asked as she held out her hand.

Mickey gave it to her and then pointed at the wall about twenty feet away from them. "Think you could hit that target?"

Kahlan smiled as she tossed the object up in her hand and caught it again. "It is balanced really well." Mickey raised his brows as if to challenge her to hit the target with it. She smiled deviously and stepped toward the wall. With one swift throw, it stuck in the bull's-eye. Before she could ask what made it so special, it exploded.

Kahlan and Hotch both ducked instinctively, and Mickey laughed. Hotch looked at the cinderblock wall; it had a two foot hole ripped into it. He shook his head as Kahlan laughed. "Precision bombs. That's cool as shit, Mickey."

Mickey smiled and then picked up another one; it was a little longer and thinner than the first one. "This one is full of a knockout gas." He then picked up a little one. "This one is a tracker or a painter." With Hotch's confused look he explained. "It paints a target for air strikes or such." Hotch raised his brows in shock as he nodded his understanding.

"And what does that one do?" Kahlan asked as she pointed to the last one on the table.

He smiled proudly as he picked it up. "This one is my own design," he started as he led the way to another wall. "Hit that electrical box," he told Kahlan as he handed it to her.

She looked at him questioningly but did as instructed. Within seconds of hitting the box, sparks flashed and the lights hooked up to the box went out. Kahlan giggled. "Even cooler."

"Making them throwable allows for greater access," Mickey explained.

"I would imagine it saves time in a jam, too," Hotch mused.

"Oh yeah. If that box was my target and several people were in front of it, I'd have to fight my way to it normally," Kahlan agreed.

Mickey sighed. "The agents now, though, don't see the benefit in them." He shook his head. "They want more technology."

"Technology is great when it works," Hotch injected dryly.

"And sometimes it just isn't practical," Mickey agreed.

"That and I couldn't kill someone by throwing a device that disrupts the electrical current in a wall. I bet that damn thing would," Kahlan told him with a smile.

"Yeah, especially when it sent out its charge," Hotch told her with a chuckle.

Kahlan winced as she thought about it and Mickey laughed. "Here," he told her as he went back to the table and picked up a small black box. "You can have a set."

"No," Kahlan said as she shook her head. "I couldn't do that."

"Yes you can," he told her as he pushed them to her; she accepted them with a grin. He looked at Hotch. "You're in the business, but you're not like her, are you?"

Hotch chuckled. "No."

Mickey nodded as he looked around. He smiled and looked back at Hotch. "You're not CIA."

Hotch quickly shook his head. "No."

Mickey studied him some more. "FBI then."

Kahlan laughed. "Unit Chief of a BAU," she told him proudly.

Mickey raised his brows in shock. "Nice," he said as he walked away from them.

Hotch looked at Kahlan questioningly but she shrugged letting him know she had no idea what Mickey was doing.

He came back with a small box. Kahlan eyed it warily. "What's that?" she asked him.

He smiled. "The latest in watches," he told her as he opened it to reveal a beautiful, white metal, man's watch. He held it out to Hotch.

Hotch didn't reach for it, though. "Since it's down here, I can surmise that it doesn't just tell time."

Mickey laughed. "There's an owner manual in the box."

Kahlan took it and looked at it. "Give us the gist."

Mickey smiled again. "Let's see, it can disrupt cell service for thirty feet. It can place and receive satellite calls. It can scan images and send them wirelessly. It can. . ."

"Jesus Christ," Hotch exclaimed.

Kahlan laughed. "Are you sure it can tell time?"

Mickey laughed. "Yes. It is also a last resort small explosive."

Kahlan smiled. "Like if you needed to bust a lock on a heavy door?" she asked him with a quick glance at Hotch. Hotch winced as he knew she was referring to the door Damian had put him behind that he couldn't get out of.

"Oh yeah," Mickey chuckled. "It would do that."

Hotch shook his head. "I can't accept that."

"Sure you can. You'll be the only American with one, and when everyone asks you where you got it, you can smile and say a friend gave it to you."

"How sturdy is it? What is it made out of?" Kahlan asked as she shut the box.

"It's a pallidum alloy. One of the strongest alloys made today," Mickey told her proudly. He then reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a key. "You can have this, too," he told Hotch as he held it out.

Hotch took it knowing there wasn't going to be any way to talk him out of the gifts, and he didn't want to offend him. Hotch ran his fingers along the key and realized it was hundreds of little pieces of metal instead of one solid piece. "What's this do?"

Mickey gestured to the door a few rows over. It had several locks in it. "It will open any lock."

Hotch smiled and made his way to the door.

"Insert it slowly and then slowly turn it. The movable pistons will take the shape of the tumblers and allow the lock to open," Mickey instructed.

Hotch tried it on several of the locks and smiled at the ease in which they opened.

"That's not fair," Kahlan told Mickey with a laugh. "We used to have to learn to pick locks."

Mickey shook his head. "It won't work on really small ones or really big ones, but it'll come in handy if you ever find yourself in a jam."

Hotch laughed. "And yet, it looks like a normal key unless you look at it closely," he told Kahlan as he walked back over to them.

"Yep. You can put it on a regular key ring and nobody will be the wiser," Mickey told him proudly. "You could pick a lock in front of a Bobbie and he'd think you actually had the key." Hotch's look of disgust told Mickey that he would never even consider such a thing, and Mickey laughed. He put his arm around Kahlan and looked at Hotch. "You should come to the pub for a pint or two. The stories I could tell you about this one," he told him as he shook his head slowly. Kahlan shot him a look.

Hotch chuckled. "That sounds great."

"Think Nigel would go with us?" Kahlan asked as Mickey led them toward the door.

"I don't see why not," he told her as he opened the door. The robot quickly approached them, but Mickey quickly subdued it with a remote. "Bloody piece of shit!"

"That's not very secure if you can stop it with a remote. What if the remote got into the wrong hands?" Hotch asked as they made their way past the frozen robot.

Mickey laughed. "I made that and it's the only one." He laughed a strong belly laugh. "Damn techs can never figure out why the damn thing just stops like that."

Kahlan and Hotch shared a look and laughed.

By the time they got back to the surface, Nigel was waiting with his coat in his hand. "Did someone say pint?"

They all laughed and walked to a pub of Nigel's choosing. As soon as they received their first beers, Nigel fixed Hotch with a look. Before he could open his mouth Kahlan spoke up. "This is not going to be a 'tell all of Kahlan's secrets' session."

Nigel looked wounded. "Of course not."

"No, this is going to be a 'tell all of Kay's embarrassing stories' session," Mickey clarified.

Hotch chuckled and took a drink of his beer. Kahlan rolled her eyes and sunk into her seat a little which made Nigel and Mickey laugh even more.

"Would you believe that this one," Nigel started as he hooked a thumb towards Kahlan. "Was brave enough to actually break into the palace?"

Hotch half choked on his beer. "Buckingham Palace? Seriously, Babe?"

Kahlan cut her eyes to the side and shook her head.

"And whose fault was that?" Mickey asked him with a look.

"I can't help it if she was naive enough to believe me," Nigel defended himself. "I didn't actually think she would actually go through with it."

Hotch looked back and forth between the two men expecting one of them to elaborate.

Nigel laughed. "It was her first trip here and I was saddled with the wild, young, American phenom. The stories that came to us described someone who couldn't possibly be as good as they thought, so I decided to test her." Kahlan shot him a look, and he laughed again. "I told her that the information she was seeking was hidden in the palace and that she'd have to get in there to get it." He paused to take a drink and chuckle. "She broke in, got into one of the most guarded rooms, and stole what she thought was her information."

"And I got out without being caught," Kahlan told him defiantly.

"What was the information?" Hotch asked as he studied Nigel.

Mickey laughed. "Part of the Queen's personal itinerary. She would have been shot had she been caught with it."

Hotch almost choked on his own breath. "Jesus, Babe."

Kahlan shook her head again. "Yeah, because they would never had believed me if I told them one of their own high ranking agents told me to do it."

"I never thought you'd get that far let alone actually get it and get out. I figured you'd get caught trying to get in and that would put a dent in that bloody American pride," Nigel admitted.

"Did you tell her the truth once you figured out what she had done?" Hotch asked him.

"I had to didn't I? I had to get the information back to its proper place before someone found out," Nigel defended himself.

"And he got caught," Mickey told Hotch with a loud laugh.

Hotch shook his head.

"I guess you should have had her take it back," Mickey told him.

"Yeah right! After I found out, I was so embarrassed that I wasn't going anywhere near that place again," Kahlan told them seriously.

"So did it make her pride worse?" Hotch asked as he looked at Kahlan. He would never have thought she was ever prideful, but he knew she was young at the time.

"What? No, you misunderstood. It wasn't her; it was her bloody boss that talked her up so much. He kept saying that she was better than everyone else on his team and that with a little more training she'd be better than any of us, too," Nigel told him as he shook his head and then smiled at Kahlan.

"I never told him what I did, though," Kahlan defended herself.

"What can I say?" he asked as he held up his mug to her. "He was right."

Kahlan snorted and shook her head. "I was just lucky."

Nigel and Mickey both gave her knowing looks. "Of course you were," Nigel told her as he still held up his mug.

Kahlan finally smiled and picked hers up and clinked hers with his. "I had great teachers."

After a couple more hours and plenty of entertaining stories, Kahlan kissed and hugged her friends goodbye. Hotch shook their hands and thanked them for the great evening. The couple made their way back to their hotel.