Chapter 4: Plane Ride

Isa's P.O.V.

Sitting in a crowded, noisy airport with a freshly rested, hyper, two-year old girl is a waking nightmare. Not that Serenity is trying to be difficult but she took a nap on the way here and she didn't wake up until after we were already all the way through security, and since then all we've done is sit for an hour. Now if I'd been by myself I would've just read a book 'till it was time to board, but like I said HYPER, TWO-YEAR OLD. I look at my watch, only five more minutes until we board.

'Thank you Isis.'

"Hey, Serenity why don't we go ahead and put up your dolly? It's almost time to get on the plane."

"Okay Mommy."

"Serenity when we get to England I need you to call me Mummy instead of Mommy. Actually it's probably better if you start now. Can you do that for me?"

'Please say yes.'

"Sure Mummy."

"Oh goodness, now you sound like your Aunt Grace."

'Note to self: be careful what you wish for.'

"Aunt Grace is the one with the black hair, Aunt Cathy's tri-sister right?"

"Yes, that's right. And she has one blue eye and one violet eye."

"Flight number seventeen is now ready for boarding; I repeat flight number seventeen is now ready for boarding."

"Well sweetheart, this is our flight, come on; we need to go get in line."

I swiftly bend down and scoop Serenity up in my left arm and swing our carry on duffel over my right shoulder. As I walk towards the line I whisper in her ear,

"I need you to smile and look shy; do you think you can do that for me?"

"Yes Mummy."

"Good girl." I murmured in the clipped, upper-class, British accent I had been raised with. As we stand in line I listen to the couple and their little boy that are standing behind us.

"Mama, that little girl, (I can practically feel his finger pointing at Serenity's head lying on my shoulder) is pretty."

Serenity glances up at him from under my hair and waves.

"Son get behind me, that little girl is a monster, an abomination, a...a...a…"

"A mutant Jessica, really, I just don't understand what your problem is. They are people just as much as you and I, and as such they deserve just as much respect. And you're right Johnny; she is a pretty little girl."

I turn around before the mother can respond and flash the father a wide smile and a quick, "Thank you" before stepping up to the woman at the desk and handing her our passports and tickets.

"Alright, everything seems to be in order here. Thank you for flying with us today; it's always a pleasure to have a member of the British Service aboard."

'Hemm, I wonder how she knows? It's not on my passport. M must have rang ahead.'

"Thank you."

The plane's a double decker and since we have first class tickets we have a small, private cabin on the top deck. As soon as we sit down I give Serenity her notepad and doll. Then I say,

"Play quietly while I read this file from Aunt Peggy and then when I'm done I'll get you something off the snack cart."

"Okay mama."

Right before we left Renée's house M faxed over the account of the bombing and all the details leading up to it. After reading the file I lean back and sigh, even I know that the list of possible suspects is incredibly limited.

'Alright let's see, who has the brains, the skills, the inclination, and the motive to hack into MI6? Me, Jennet, Uncle Bruce, Kitty Pryde, Remy LeBeau, Mystique, Pyro, Tony Stark, James Bond/007, whoever the current Q is, and of course Tiago Rodriguez. The problem with most of this list is that over half of them don't have a motive for this kind of job. This looks like a sadistic game, which cuts out me, Jennet, Uncle Bruce, Pryde, LeBeau, and Stark.' Just as I'm about to continue down my list the door slides open and a flight attendant pokes her head in.

"Would ya'll like anything from the snack cart?"

I look at Serenity whose nodding franticly and then as I tuck the file into the front of my jacket I turn back to the attendant.

"Sure. What've you got?"

"We have Coke, Dr. Pepper, fruit punch, apple juice, lemonade, coffee, iced tea, bottled water, Bud Light, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, peanut butter cookies, brownies, mm's, peanuts, trail mix, and Mini Oreos."

"Serenity do you want to pick something out or do you want me to do it for you?"

"You can pick."

"Okay, we'll have one lemonade, one bottled water, and one oatmeal raisin cookie."

"Alright let me just grab them from the cart."

"Here let me help you."

"Thanks."

I hand Serenity her lemonade and cookie and take the water bottle the girl hands me. Right before I can start to turn back around the attendant says,

"Miss? The pilot would like you to come down to the cabin if you can spare a minute."

"Right now?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

I glance over my shoulder at Serenity. She takes a large bite out of her cookie and waves me off with one hand, a clear dismissal. 'Not even three yet and she already acts like she's sixteen.' I turn back to the girl and she gives in to a small giggle, clearly she was watching Serenity as well. I roll my eyes.

"It's no trouble at all, lead the way."

After she puts away the cart, the attendant leads me to the cabin and opens the door. As I step inside the cabin my eyes zero in on the back of the co-pilot's head.

"Eve?"

"Hey girl, how are you?"

"In shock for the most part, what are you doing here? I thought you were doing field work."

"I was, until I shot Bond off the top of a moving train."

"Sweet Isis above. Is he still alive?"

"M wrote his obituary."

"Did they ever find his body?"

"Well no..."

"Then it doesn't mean anything, he could still be playing a part in this damned game."

"Bloody hell, do you think so?"

As we've been speaking I've sat down, now I lean back and cock my head to side so that it's tilted in the direction of the pilot and ask,

"Just how much do you know?"

Eve instantly catches on to my double meaning.

"Isa don't worry. He's one of us, besides this conversation is strictly confidential, it will never leave this room."

"And the headsets?"

"We turned them off as soon as we could."

I nod my head slowly.

"Alright then. Can you speak Gaelic?"

"Only a little, but I can read it."

I pull out the file and hand it to her.

"Here, read it, just so I know we're on the same page, and then I'll fill you in on my theory so far."

10 minutes later

"Well, there is very little in here that I didn't already know, but I suppose I understand better now why you called this a game."

"Have there been any changes in key personnel since I left, aside from Bond that is?"

"Well we lost six agents in the bombing, but other than that the only change is that we have a new Q."

"I thought that might be the case. What's this one like?"

"Well he's a kid for starters, probably no older than nineteen at most? And he's terrified of flying, which incidentally is why he's not here instead of me. He's also cocky, arrogant, and completely brilliant. And if you ever tell him I said that, I'll shoot you in your sleep."

"Ha! Scared of a teenager now are you? This doesn't bode well for your chances of getting back in the field now, does it?"

Eve glares at me.

"Shut up."

"Oh come on, I haven't seen you in two years, nearly three, and you're going to deny me teasing rights? Eve, that's just cruel."

All she does in response is raise one perfectly manicured eyebrow. I sigh.

"Fine. Look the reason I asked about Q is... well, do you think his loyalty could lie elsewhere?"

Eve looks startled at this idea.

"No."

"Eve are you sure?"

"Isa, Q is so completely and utterly British that, even though it may be possible, it is highly improbable."

"Alright I'll take your word about him. And that takes one more off my list and leaves only four more, at least until I speak to Q in person."

"Four more on what list?"

"I've compiled a list of all possible suspects and have started to narrow it down by process of elimination."

"And you've got it down to four?"

"Yes. And as soon as we land I plan to make a phone call that will hopefully eliminate one, if not two more."

Eve is now staring at me with a look of utter disbelief.

"How were you able to come up with a list so quickly?"

"Easy, I personally know all but one, of the hackers who are capable of getting in to MI6's data base."

"And just how many are there?"

"Including me? Eleven."

"So few?"

"Yes. It does make things quite a bit easier though."

"Yes I suppose it does, at that. So who are the last four?"

Just then the pilot speaks up for the first time.

"Hey we're just about to enter British airspace, so we're going to have to turn the headsets back on."

"Okay. I'll see you later then Eve, maybe we can meet up and go to lunch together after I and my daughter get settled in."

"That sounds lovely. Wait for me after you get off and we can go down to the luggage carousel together."

"Alright I'll see you then."

And with that I walk back to my cabin.

To Be Continued

A/N: Well firstly I would like to thank all of the wonderful readers, who decided to favorite/follow and/or review this story, ya'll have been so encouraging and I know that I would not have gotten this far with each and every one of you. That being said, this is the first story I have written that has lived to see its third chapter and it's the only one to ever reach the site, so it's fairly safe to say I'm new at all this and would definitely appreciate some constructive criticism, no flaming mind you, but honest feedback is always welcome. Also if you have questions about the plot line or the characters, please feel free to ask me about them in a review or a PM. I don't know when I'll have the fifth chapter up because as soon as I finish writing a chapter I post it. Also this story's rating will never go up to M. I hope ya'll enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Until next time,

R&R

Blackrose Magick :)