Sorry for the strange chapter-revamps! Idk what's going on with my account but my doc manager bumped old drafts I uploaded as the finished preview and all my messages from FF strangely vanished from my email. So I'm trying to fix it now but someone maybe trying to wipe me off. (Might probably my beta cuz she's like, clawing her eyes out haha) Does anyone understand how backup email works and should I use mine as a precaution? Let me know because this is seriously nerve-wracking.
ELF Workshop, 2:22 a.m.
Jack was prompt when they returned.
He didn't let go of Toothiana's grip though and dared Nicolas St. North to make him move – not that Tooth was complaining. They'd managed to get through it undetected as North tried his best to make them feel comfortable.
The Russian knew they didn't part on good terms, especially him and the cold, American brunette so he attempted to be more gentle than he had with his men in weeks. Christmas was the most stressful time of year for him when all the agents went off sleeper mode.
When he saw the two return, he turned and smiled.
He was running over a plan with a team of Elves before a loud alarm went off to signal their departure, but after they saluted and dashed into a nearby hallway, he spread his arms wide in a welcome gesture.
"You have come back! That is good, very good! I was almost afraid, Jack, that you wouldn't listen."
"You and me both," Toothiana mumbled and Jack shot her a glower before he nodded. North then looked at Tooth's new, darker outfit.
"Much better, princess!" he said approvingly and she smiled before he pointed at her bag suddenly.
"Do you still have old dress?"
"Uh, yes?"
"Good. Give to me, please."
Tooth blinked but moved quickly to take it out. When the beautiful fabric left her bag and she placed it in North's oversized palm, the two were surprised when he called Phil over.
Phil returned just before they had and was checking updates on a nearby computer. At North's call, he hobbled over and nodded at the two in greeting.
North handed him the dress.
"I would ask ELF to do it but all available ones just left for mission," he said. "Can you send to local dry cleaners for princess?"
Phil nodded and when he walked away quickly to the nearest exit, Tooth rubbed an arm and looked up.
"That was very nice of you, Mr. St. N–"
"Just North, princess," he stopped her with a kind smile. "Is what everyone calls me."
"O-Okay," Tooth replied. "Thank you...but you didn't have to send it for dry cleaning. I doubt that I'll wear it in this weather."
But North shook his head and raised an arm.
"Is no trouble, in fact, is necessary. You will need to wear it again."
Tooth and Jack's eyes both grew wide.
"Why?" Jack asked suspiciously.
"Not here," the Russian said and he waved a hand away to dismiss it.
He moved to a nearby hallway beside one of the many beds (that both soon realized several ELF agents were using as they slept or were being patched up by their comrades) before he looked over his shoulder and threw his hand back.
"Follow me! We go to quieter place to discuss!"
Jack's face was still serious and he moved close to Tooth to speak to her.
When she felt his presence, her entire body seemed to sing pleasantly. She still couldn't get their earlier proximity and her completely-out-of-Tooth's-comfort-zone move out of her head, even if it did manage to save their tails.
The feel of Jack's bicep around her waist, and his face in her hair, would forever sear into her memory.
"Stay close," he mumbled under his breath and she sighed.
At least she could count on him to pretend like it didn't happen and become the perfect, brooding, espionage worker he was again. No one needed to know what had transpired between them...and (hehe) how she'd managed to get him all flustered! That was her own personal achievement.
Tooth tried not to smile as she just rolled her eyes.
"Stop it," she sang. "You're getting all paranoid again."
"Why can't you ever just give me a straight answer?"
Then the two followed Nicolas.
...
2:30 a.m.
He quickly ushered them down an empty, well-lit, concrete tunnel used for car getaways. Jack memorized the twists and turned perfectly until they were welcomed by a short flight of iron black stairs and led to a set of doors.
North easily went for one of the right.
He held it open for them and smiled down at him.
"Dobro pozhalovat (Welcome)," he said proudly and gestured for Tooth to walk in first.
When Tooth did, her mouth dropped to the floor – this part of the warehouse was not like the one they'd just left!
"Wooooow," she mumbled under her breath and looked up, mesmerised and in love.
The in-agent quarters was a well furnished area of warm reds, browns, and gold. The floor was carpeted and beautiful Russian art covered oakwood walls and floors. As Tooth looked up, three floors went all the way around the area, lined with doors for what she guessed were sleeping areas or boardrooms.
Instantly, her anxiety decreased and her comfort level went up – it was like being in a school dormitory.
Seeing the princess' expression, North walked in after Jack and moved beside her.
"Feel better?" he asked and she nodded quickly. He chuckled warmly and led them across the large carpet threshold.
"This area designed to bring down stress for my men," he explained. "You should know we are not in warehouse anymore. We are in rest workshop, ten blocks east of Tverskaya...this building is disguised from outside."
Jack ran a hand through his hair as he looked around, mildly relaxed – he had to admit, the place did help ease his tension and with it, he felt a little more respect growing for the bearded man. If he took care of his agents this way, then maybe he was judging him too quickly.
"So where are you taking us?" Jack finally asked as he raised an eyebrow and shoved a hand in his pocket.
"Special room," North replied as he looked ahead. There weren't any Elves around (either sleeping or away on missions) so he didn't need to stop and talk to anyone.
When North reached the end of the carpet, he led them up a wide flight of stairs and opened a special door on the left. They were back on ground level and the room inside was setup like a rest station. A simple kitchen and lower lounge area was setup before them but at the other end, was a set of stairs that led up to what Jack and Tooth saw was a loft. A few beds to sleep in were looking over the rest of the room.
Nicolas sighed. The stress of his job always shot his nerves but like the commanding officer he was, he always kept on going.
When he shut the door, a loud grunt was heard – the two turned their heads to the left.
One of Phil's officers, a yeti-lookalike was nearby counting hundreds of Russian coins on the large desk. He ignored them as he concentrated on his task.
North then suddenly whistled and out of the four doors on each side of the lounge, an ELF agent came walking through, carrying a black dress-cover. He didn't have his full uniform and wore dark cargo pants over his red shirt. He smiled immediately and nodded at his boss.
"Welcome back, sir," the young man said.
North immediately walked over and put a hand on the ELF's shoulder.
"Thank you. Have you heard from shop lady?"
The agent nodded as he placed the dress cover on the kitchen's island counter and stepped back.
"Seven minutes ago. She will be here in two."
"Very good. When she arrives, escort her to powder room and wait there until we are ready."
"Of course, sir!"
Then he turned and shot the princess a bright smile as he went back into the room. Tooth shot him back a tiny one but the second he vanished, she began to scratch her head.
"I...I'm really confused as to what's happening," she confessed and looked up the Russian sheepishly.
"Gwargh!"
When they turned, Phil's officer had his eyes to the ceiling with his hands on either side of his head.
"Grumffuarmphfwagirmfh!" he grumbled in such a guttural tone even Tooth couldn't translate what he had said. North knew instantly and threw a hand at the hairy giant.
"Nyet! I told you! Count in fours!" the Russian barked and the man cried out again. He hated this assignment and wanted to be back on the floor with his crew. As he dropped his hands on the desk again, Tooth frowned slightly and watched the coins roll around.
She walked over to him and Jack turned instantly.
"Princess!"
Tooth ignored him and smiled up at the giant before looking at Nicolas and pointed to the coins.
"Is he trying to count how much this is all worth?"
"Da, princess," the Slav said before he rubbed his bald head stressfully. "We need amount soon but our best man is out so we have backlog."
Tooth turned down at the coins, reading what each silver and gold piece was with her gift.
She smiled.
"Okay then."
Next thing anyone knew, she began to group them quickly with her fingers and piled them with swift precision. Jack and the others watched as she mumbled under her breath and flit her eyes around the desk, pulling rubles this way and that.
"Woah," North commented under his breath.
Tooth was done two minutes later. She took a step back and gazed at all the glittering stacks of coins with a smile before she turned to Phil's officer.
"You have five-hundred and forty-seven rubles...and a bus token," she said gleefully and flipped the tiny coin to the man.
When he caught it, his mouth dropped.
Even Jack looked surprised.
"How did you do that?" he asked as his eyes squinted at the money. Tooth turned back to face him and North.
"I'm really good with money, especially coins," she said humbly and shrugged.
She didn't comment on it anymore after she walked back over to the two, feeling embarrassed by all the awkward stares – North had this look on his face that everyone seemed to miss. Tooth instead pointed at the dress cover on the countertop.
"I-Is that my dress in there?"
As she asked, the other giant thanked Tooth quickly before he wrote down the number and left the room through another door. Someone would pick up the coins later.
North blinked, still amazed by Tooth's skill, then he shook his head and went back to business.
"Nyet," he answered. "Is for Jack."
Jack snapped his head up from where he was still eyeing the 'other Phil' incredulously and raised an eyebrow again.
"What?"
"After you two depart from here, you will need to attend party for me. In Wales," he explained.
Tooth's eyes grew wide and Jack instantly went crazy.
'Wales...as in England?!'
"Hang on, we just met you, and now you want us to leave on your command?" he said as he narrowed his eyes and took a step toward the Slav.
"Is not mission," he argued sternly. "But you will need to arrive there before morning. A new development gala will be hosted..."
He looked at Tooth.
"Your handmaiden is hiding where it will be held. In hotel."
Tooth's eyebrows instantly shot up into her side bangs. A set of smiling purple eyes and loud voices (one of them BT's) flashed in her head.
"Y-You know where they are?! Y–"
"Only this one, princess," he said to calm her down. "The rest are at Sandy's discretion. I try to call him while you two were out, but he never pick up. He knows where each is. Which is why I need him to call back."
Toothiana gulped a dry lump in her throat. The image of a portly, quiet, sweetheart-of-a-man she knew all her life bubbled up in the back of her mind.
"H-He hasn't?" she asked desperately and North frowned with her.
"Nyet, child. I fear he is being held up at your university."
Tooth looked down and nodded glumly.
Jack watched as she wrung her wrists together and chewed on her gum harder as a sick feeling settled into her chest and down into her stomach.
The bearded man quickly walked back around the counter and handed Jack the dress cover.
"Is this a suit?" Jack guessed as he lifted it dubiously. North nodded.
"I guess size but I think will do," he said then pointed at Toothiana. "Her dress more than elegant enough to wear again for gala but I have arranged for e–"
"Sir!" the same ELF agent from earlier called.
He popped his head out of a door that most likely led to the powder room that North was talking about.
"She has arrived."
"Good, good," he said happily then he moved to give Tooth a quick nudge in the back – but with his size and strength, it was more of a shove.
"Izvinite (Sorry)!" North apologized and smiled sheepishly. He forgot how rough he could be sometimes. "Princess, go sit on couch in lounge."
"W-Why?" she gasped as she tried to recover.
Before he could explain, the ELF came back out with an older Russian woman and three of her associates. They all looked posh and were neatly dressed as two carried large briefcases. The third wheeled in a silver container with the initials MK on the side.
Toothiana gulped and Jack frowned as he stepped back near to the princess. North saw their wary expressions and laughed before he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Is nothing to fear," he urged softly. "I simply call for princess assistance."
Tooth raised an eyebrow.
'Princess assistance for what?'
"Princess, come!" the ELF called with a smile as he sat on the couch. The other three took their respective seats in the loveseats and chairs opposite to him. When they began to open their cases and had them face the couch, Tooth bit her lip – she still couldn't see what was in them and prepare for it.
But that didn't mean she wasn't curious.
"O-Okay..."
She began to move forward.
"Toothiana," Jack cautioned and she turned nervously. Neither saw how North's eyebrows lifted surprisingly – he was on a first-name basis with the princess? Tooth seemed to realize it too as a teeny blush pleasantly came on her face.
"I-It's okay, Jack," she said and a small smile appeared on her lips. "I'll be right over there."
"Da, Jack," North said. "Besides you and I must talk."
Jack eyed Tooth's face as she nodded reassuringly. When she moved away to the lounge area, he looked down at the dress cover again.
"So why are you giving me this?" he finally asked.
"I expected you to be her escort," North said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. When Jack didn't answer, North nodded firmly.
"You did not think after what I see tonight that I do not see you are protecting her? Besides, I already see she is comfortable with you. No sense splitting you up and having more Elves sent to infirmary."
A dark look passed over Jack's face and he moved to put the dress cover back on the counter.
"I think she's getting too comfortable with me," he muttered and North lifted his eyebrows curiously.
"Why is that problem, Jack?" he wondered aloud and Jack rubbed his eye as he sighed angrily.
"Look, can you just–"
"AAAHHHHHHH!"
Jack spun instantly and rushed forward. A murderous expression erupted on his face and he was already reaching for a newly-bought knife in his police belt.
"Toothiana, what's–"
"Oh my god, ohmygodohmygod!"
Jack stopped running, his irregular heartbeat trying to catch up with itself.
She wasn't even looking at him – Tooth was too busy holding up a beautiful, designer bag and staring at the ELF sitting next to her.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" she cried as she squeezed it and the agent grinned down at her and nodded.
"Or no, maybe you should go with the coral-colored one," he replied and pointed back down into the briefcase.
Tooth looked around at the associates to find them all smiling at her reaction. She twisted back to the ELF.
"B-But it's Michael Kors!" she sputtered. "I can't afford this on my own money and I...I-I'm not a princess for the entire year so I've never even touched designer things like this so I shou–"
The agent chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's no trouble, princess. Honestly!" he said and Tooth guessed this was why North called him specifically over because he was warm with people and had a keen eye with fashion. "A spy agency needs to have connections so their company rent out their clothes and accessories to us when we need it for high-end disguises."
"B-But...they're so expensive!"
"Hey, North's call. Not mine!"
Tooth was still trying to wipe her mouth off the floor as she looked back at all the open briefcases and the wheeled container. There were shoes, bags, makeup, and jewelry in so many beautiful designs and colors, she thought she'd die!
She didn't even sense Jack's hard expression on her as she cooed nervously, afraid to touch certain things.
"Besides," the ELF continued. "You are a princess and you're going to a social event so you need the right wear to blend in again." When Tooth nodded, he looked back up at North again in the kitchen.
"Sir? Do you think she will need to dye her hair again? Maybe black?"
But North shook his head.
"Nyet, it is fine. Harder to descript highlights than one-tones, remember?"
"Ah, da." He then returned his attention back to the princess and the two started picking things to go with the dress Phil took to the dry cleaners whilst also talking about Tooth's fear of guns, love for birds, and new dream to drive motorcycles. When one of the MK associates produced another, smaller case for bracelets, Jack and North immediately lost her to squeals of excitement and ignorant bliss.
She was a girl after all.
Jack was unaware of North's gaze on his stiff back as he moved back into the kitchen, his eyes still nervously fixed on Toothiana and the people around her.
Even if she was a girl, he still needed to make she didn't drift too far.
...
2:46 a.m.
Several minutes later, the associates left after Tooth made her selections. They left the items she wanted in a closed briefcase in the powder room and told her someone would help her dress later. After the whole thing was over, one of North's ELFs would return the rented accessories back to the store.
"Thank you so much for helping me!" Tooth said to the ELF, feeling bubbly and at ease all over again. Her grin was infectious and he gave her one back before he stood up and led her back to the kitchen.
"You're welcome," he replied. "You wouldn't believe how long it's been since we've helped disguised a woman...men have less flare and choices, you know?"
When they reached the island, he bowed slightly to Toothiana and kissed her hand. "Good luck with everything, princess."
"Take care of yourself out there," she replied warmly.
As he left, he caught Jack's questioning gaze and his boss' warm smile. "Thank you, son."
The second he did, another ELF ushered himself in with a tray of food.
'What in the world?' Tooth thought as the new man came with three plates. A part of her felt guilty that maybe all this pampering for her and Jack was due to the fact that she was a princess; but seeing how nicely North greeted each man told her that maybe he really went all out with hospitality for his agency in general.
"Rest first, you two," North said as he took one plate laid with warm cookies. "My staff short-serviced tonight but I manage to get quick call. Choose: cheese omelette or sourdough bread."
Jack eyed the food suspiciously but when Tooth shot him a deadly look, he sighed and took the bread – he wanted to make sure the princess got the bigger of the two meals.
"Thank you, North," she said politely as she took the other plate and the ELF left the room to return to his other (more important) tasks.
"You're welcome," he said. "And may I call you Thia?"
Tooth paused but a easy smile came to her face, to which North returned.
Sweet baby Thia - that's what the letters from Sanderson were always labelled as.
As the three ate quietly, North stared down at them and tried to assess their characters – he was a trained spy after all.
He stared at Tooth first with a smile. The poor girl didn't know it, but he knew her all her life and it was remarkable to him to be face-to-face with her instead of through photographs. But she was easy to read – right off the bat, her mannerisms, posture, and facial expressions gave away her character.
Timid, curious...but also elegant, smart...not to mention charismatic with my men, much less strangers...patient and caring too.
He smiled to himself. Sandy was right, she would make a wonderful queen one day.
His keen blue eyes also noticed how immediate her body angle was to Jack – comfortable and dainty feet pointed to his legs.
'That is good,' North thought. 'Even better for boy, would do him some good.'
Then he turned to Jack and instantly he felt the man's polar opposite to the princess. While Tooth was warm and easy to read, like an openly, pleasant book, Jack was a shut door. North had a hard time reading his eyes as he ate and his face gave nothing away but a blank thought, almost hostile, stare. He kept his gaze longer on things around the room than people normally did, unafraid to stare – high confidence – and his tight jaw, North guessed, was from his assessment of those things – calculatory, determining his odds, headstrong winner. And then he saw his fingers flex in his glove but North wasn't sure if it was a nervous twitch since Jack appeared calm and alert – perhaps something else?
North inwardly sighed.
But then, Tooth coughed slightly, swallowing too fast from hunger and North saw Jack's reaction.
Jack's eyelids narrowed briefly and a corner of his mouth turned down. Also, his hand froze and gripped the bread tightly – quick reaction time, degree of preparedness. Even after she'd recovered instantly, he still kept a hold on it before he looked away. When his eyes turned, they told North everything – anger, exhaustion, regret...but also nervousness...
The Slav stroked his beard quietly.
...
2:52 am
After they finished, Tooth rubbed her eye and a yawn slipped out. North smiled.
"If you two are tired, rest please," he and pointed up to the loft. "Plane is not ready for pickup for another hour. I would rather you rest first before I explain things further."
"Yeah, that'd be nice," Jack butt in with his jaw set apprehensively.
Tooth looked at him worriedly and reached over to touch his arm gently. The Russian was surprised when Jack did not react (so was the princess).
He shot her a look but she tossed one right back.
Thank HIM, she was signalling.
Really, Jack could act like a bratty five-year-old when his mood turned sour – which was always.
But the brunette did sigh and rub his neck.
"Thank you...uh...back there," Jack tried to form coherently. Tooth rolled her eyes and kicked him under the table.
"Argh, what?! I'm doing the best I can!" he seethed at her.
"No, you're not!" she whispered back.
"You know I'm not good at talking, Toothiana. So why're you forcing me to?"
"Hm."
Jack turned back at North, having heard the deep sound with his acute ears.
He glared at the Slav.
"What?"
North blinked, suddenly feeling the scrutiny under Jack's fire. He had to give the skinny man credit – when he demanded respect, he didn't have to work hard for it.
But Nicolas was an intimidating figure himself so he was not easily pushed. He glared down softly at the boy.
"You are on first-name basis with princess, is all," he said unafraid to beat around the bush.
When Jack didn't say anything and wretched his arm from Tooth's soft grip, she gulped and tried to steer the awkward conversation away from her...from the both of them, really.
"If you don't mind me asking, North," she spoke up, "It's not at the airport?"
He shook his head.
"Private jet, Thia. One of many. Used by my agents for fast missions."
As he said that, Jack's eyes grew dry and he rubbed it with his glove. When he refocused back on North and Tooth, he saw the princess with her hand affectionately placed on North's arm. She then got up and moved away from the counter.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
He had already decided that Toothiana was no longer someone he just had to bodyguard – she was his partner. But her going off alone without confirming with him still ticked him off.
Tooth turned and blinked at him.
"What? I'm going to sleep because North was kind enough to offer," she pointed at the loft and North nodded behind him approvingly.
Jack couldn't understand why his tone had sounded so urgent all of a sudden. He tried a different approach.
"Well, can't you sleep on the couch?" he jerked a thumb down at the lounge area and glared. "It's closer. We don't have time to pamper you."
Translation: I don't want you going off again where I can't see you because 'I'm Jack and I like to control Tooth's life'.
She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips playfully.
"Did you not understand what my scream was for earlier?" she teased. "I'm a princess, remember? Pampering is a requirement."
He then pushed himself away from the counter and stepped toward her giddy expression.
"Don't get roped in so easily. You need him to earn your trust, not buy it off with things he gives you," he mumbled threateningly. "Isn't that what you put me through, remember?"
Tooth automatically parted her lips...
But...
She expected that fire in her chest to flare up whenever he patronized her and even spun to face him, ready for a fight to go down.
When it didn't, she blinked at him.
Jack raised an eyebrow while North looked on peculiarly silent.
"Well?" the ex-spy insisted.
Instead, as she stared Jack's mildly sour expression, she actually...found it funny.
She shut her mouth.
The princess no longer felt the need to argue even though she was itching for a good one.
Jack was petulant, a hot mess, and crush or not, she still wanted to kick him in the balls. But seeing his familiar, cold squint and his strong jaw tense with aggravation...
Something about knowing that he was really protecting her, making her feel comfortable with him, made all those horrible flaws she saw in other boys, made him, him. Made him Jack.
So Tooth paused and, throwing Jack's expectations off, she smiled.
"Nope!" she smirked. "I'm the princess, I can do whatever I want. Right, North?"
And the Russian chuckled.
"Yes, Thia," he joked and Jack shot a look at him that told him he didn't find that funny.
"And what about your hands?" he demanded and Tooth squinted up at him.
"What about them?"
"From the fall in the alley? Remember, you didn't get them looked at yet."
"What're you...Oh!"
She looked down at her palms quickly. She'd forgotten when that Nightmare had grabbed her before North and his Elves showed up she scraped her skin, but the pain had disappeared earlier.
"Jack, I'm fine," she shrugged and hid her hands behind her. His acute attention on her was making her suddenly dizzy.
And even more tired.
"Too–"
Tooth suddenly moved in to put her hand in his ungloved one. She inwardly cheered when he didn't put her in a headlock, reassuring herself that maybe her stunt earlier made him more used to her.
"Do I look like I'm in pain? Like it's hurting me?"
Jack frowned against her touch. The twitch in his fingers wanted to grip her small hands for confirmation, for comfort...but he willed his muscles not to.
"No," he said and immediately let it drop.
"So then just give me peace, please? Leave me alone for like, twenty minutes!"
She then, not so ladylike of her, smacked him across the arm.
"And for once in your life, stop trying to control everything."
Jack reacted instantly but Tooth quickly moved away, not giving a rat's ass if he was going to try and stop her again.
When she was sure there was enough cover distance between them, she turned back at him one, final time.
"Goodnight, Jack," she said looking up with a pointed (tired) smile to which Jack did not obviously return.
Toothiana then made a quick, embarrassed bow to Nicolas.
"And goodnight to you, North. Thank you," she mumbled kindly and scurried for the nearby stairs.
Once she was at the top and had taken off her dark trenchcoat and scarf, the princess laid on one of the beds and curled up in the white sheets. She couldn't see Jack or North from the angle she twisted in (also the white guardrail around the loft to keep people from falling over was blocking her view) and fell asleep instantly.
...
3:00 a.m.
"Do you not wish to rest too?" North finally spoke up, happy the princess was resting.
Jack, as he predicted, shook his head.
He instead was leaning against the kitchen guardrail with his arms crossed, staring up at Toothiana as she slept.
"I don't need to," the brunette mumbled – the nap he'd gotten on the airplane was more than enough to keep him going for the next four days. He also didn't want to eat, and promptly discarded the sourdough bread North had offered him as Tooth ate.
He just couldn't understand how she could be so calm about all this when he kept trying to remind her of strangers ruining their lives and hostile situations. For Christ's sake, two hours ago he had an infection done on by Pitch! She didn't but that still didn't give her clearance to run around and be merry.
It may be Christmas time for the rest of the world, but certainly not for them.
'I swear,' he mentally growled. 'Every second I'm with her, I lose a year off my life!' And he rubbed his eye again as North watched.
Now that Tooth was gone, the Russian looked down at Jack seriously. He mumbled knowingly.
"You should take out contacts now."
Jack froze and looked up at the Russian vehemently. He clenched his jaw in response but the older man merely shrugged.
"I knew straight away," he explained. "You cannot hide secret from other agent who shared similar dilemma. I do not wear mine anymore, but I can tell you have worn yours for long time."
Jack glared at the man and crossed his arms defensively.
"No thanks," he grumbled. "Not with you here."
North shot Tooth's sleeping form a quick look.
"Does she know?"
Jack didn't reply, so North nodded understandingly and moved around the island again to sit on one of the barstools.
"That is probably for best, then," he said sincerely as his enormous weight made the chair squeak loudly. Jack eyed him with a guarded gaze before he raised an eyebrow.
It was weird to Jack to see Nicolas, having been the epitome of a loud and grand ruler minutes ago in the other warehouse, to this quiet, reserved juggernaut. He even still managed to hold this demanding figure that even trumped Jack's, and it made the brunette feel small for the first time in a long time.
When North caught Jack's look out of the corner of his twinkling blue eye, he frowned and weaved his large fingers together.
"I trust you have not told her anything about the company," he said.
"I never mentioned a company," Jack muttered. "At least not yet..."
"But you know the language?" North said, switching to the secret tongue. He narrowed his eyes and Jack copied.
(Луна) "So?" the brunette spat. "That doesn't prove anything."
"Trust me, boy. It does. Only select few were taught this – and so far only you and I can understand each other."
North then sighed and abruptly stood up, walking to the phone again and dialing a code in. "Watch," he dared and Jack leaned on one foot apprehensively.
After several rings, he lifted the receiver to his lips.
Suddenly, the PA system turned on over their heads and Jack listened as North made an announcement for all the Elves and officers to hear – but he didn't speak in Russian.
(Луна) "Jeen unya!" he said curtly. "Tet clesya nam protoveen. Meenya kuvre gret setyano freur valya. Janyo van!"
Jack raised an eyebrow – he easily understood.
My men! You may leave tonight. Agency is shutting down due to Nightmare invasion. You are fired!
The second he put the receiver down, the phone's twenty-something lights lit up with callbacks from all the ELF agents and supervisors – one even PA'd the boss back.
(Russian) "URGENT call to Chief. Miscommunication on public message. Requesting repeat for clarification."
North raised both his hands with a cheeky smile.
"See?"
Jack didn't want to believe it, but when Phil's garbled voice came on the PA to repeat the request again, his eyebrows lifted. Even his own second-in-command, his partner, didn't understand what the Russian had said!
Jack actually frowned.
"Only you and I?" he mumbled so only they two could hear and North nodded, reassured.
"But Phil...Back in the alley, he said 'I could be another'...he knows–"
"He is only one who knows of company, but not language. Is not like you or I."
"Just him?"
"Da."
"Why?"
"He used to work for them too but was not GUARDIAN...Only knew of program after, through me."
Jack squinted his eyes gently and tried further to understand.
He flexed his fingers in the invisible cross breeze of the vents.
"It's...It's Луна...That's what it's called, right?"
North gave Jack a little, encouraging smile. He then dialed a service code into the phone to disregard the public message – immediately all his men's calls stopped blinking.
"Set. (Yes)," he answered. "We learn it as requirement of GUARDIAN program. I know you must not remember though."
Jack's eyes widened, suddenly feeling that familiar rush of desperation...of something about to slip through his fingers if he didn't catch it fast enough.
When North sat back down again, he looked at Jack.
"What do you remember, Jack?" he finally asked. He made sure his voice was soft and baritone so no one else could eavesdrop. "About the company?"
Jack bit the inside of his cheek as he saw the Russian's perceptive gaze study his face. After some mental warring, he decided that trying to hide anything from the one man with all the answers was the worst decision he could make. With a quick glance at the sleeping princess, he frowned back to North.
It was now or never...Jack kept a grip tightened on his knife's handle under the table in his belt.
"I...I don't," he mumbled under his breath. North smacked his lips together before Jack continued.
"But how did you know I didn't? How come you know so much about me?"
"How come? I tell you how come. Because of what I saw in alley...that wind. I believed you to be spy from another agency, come to help us, but then we fought together. You know this part too."
And Jack nodded – he did remember. That combo kill that he and North performed together...it felt too rehearsed. Jack glared at the countertop.
"Have we...ever met before, you and I? Did we once fight together like that?" he asked hesitantly but North shook his head.
"I still remember working there, but cannot remember you," he admitted and dashed Jack's hopes. "But that move was specifically trained of agents in one special division: Winter. Is how I knew we were from same place."
And Jack looked up at him, with wide maple-brown eyes and an open mouth.
"So..." he started slowly, afraid to lose all the realness of this moment – the senses, the weight of the words, the Russian's steady exterior indicating his truthfulness.
"So we really are...you know where I, and who we worked for?"
"Da."
"But what happened?!" Jack demanded softly so as to not wake Tooth. "What did we do? Who did we fight for?"
Jack gulped uncharacteristically and began the pace. His feet pressed the concrete gently and fluidly, footfalls silent like a stalking cat but his mind was focused elsewhere.
He finally had more puzzle pieces in his hands and the pressure of his guarded life was lessening slightly. But he was still scared – of the Russian, of his past, of himself.
North saw his. He frowned deeply.
"Look there," North interrupted sternly and lifted his finger. Jack turned.
He was pointing at Tooth.
"Everything about her you are protecting...Is a light. People like her. She represents little piece of everything worth fighting for. Especially from danger...from threats like Pitch."
Jack didn't say anything as he stared at her dark tufts of hair high above.
The Slav saw Jack's expression fall.
"Do you see?" North asked softly to Jack and his thick eyebrows furrowed together hopefully. "Some make it their duty to watch over the people of the world and keep them safe. That is what we once did...But now that company is gone, is still what I want, is my mission, what my men do. For as long as people have something to believe in – a family, a dream, a future...we wish to guard them with our lives. And good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them."
Tooth rolled subconsciously in her asleep.
When she did, a flicker of understanding went off behind his eyes and his glare suddenly lessened – he remembered her tears for her loved ones...that feathered hairtie she still kept on her wrist...her smile whenever things seemed to go right while he scowled and doubted them...
A family, a dream, a future...
He sighed deeply as the feelings, like gravel in his stomach, churned softly and became easier to consume.
Jack wasn't easy to break, and yet the Russian's words and his big, expressive eyes seemed to pin him down. He guessed that North had a knack for persuading people and that's why he was the one in charge.
"I hope now you are willing to understand, young man," North said and glared down firmly at Jack. "We are both 'good guys' as they say."
But his praise turned sour on Jack's ears. The ex-operative looked away.
"I'm uncomfortable with that label," he muttered and Nicolas pulled back. He crossed his arms.
"Why?"
Jack looked down at his leather glove and made a gentle fist. He softly glared at his pale wrist, blinding him from where it peeked outside his trenchcoat's sleeve.
"I'm not like you," he mumbled. "I never...Until she showed up, I didn't do any good, for anyone...Only myself."
North didn't say anything but Jack still found it surprisingly (and strangely) easy to confess that with the Slav.
"I don't deserve that, Nic," he looked away, "I'm just here to help her and shut that son of a bitch down."
"But ah, see that fire? That care? You motivate her to keep fighting, and still, she stays with you," North said softly and moved around the table.
He then risked placing a hand on Jack's shoulder...the brunette tensed, but he didn't jerk away. Instead, he put his knife back into his belt.
Jack looked up at him.
"In this life," North continued. "We can choose to lie down when we fall. Or, we can rise again. Then, we lead by example and inspire through our activities. Do you think I was always this nice? Nyet, before company, before GUARDIAN program, I was naughty. Very naughty!"
He laughed deeply to himself before he pointed a finger at Jack sternly.
"But I choose to rise after hardships. And so did you, despite what horror you see before."
Jack eyed him weirdly.
"How would you know?"
"Because I feel it," he said and pulled back before he patted his gut with both hands. "In my belly."
Jack blinked slowly before he sighed and rubbed his eye. He looked at the doors around the room.
Jack was still grateful they'd talked but now they needed a change in conversation – and normally he heated to start conversations because he was always terrible at continuing them. But he needed to know more – this might be the only chance he and the bearded chief might get.
And...it felt oddly nice to the brunette to have the older, wiser man talk to him with such faith and wonder. He reminded Jack of a father-figure or a grandfather who intimidated you but respected.
"So..." he said with a low whistle. "How did you do that thing...you did back there?"
North looked down at him with a warm smile.
He gestured Jack down into the lounge and the two sat promptly. Jack sat in the loveseat, making sure his vision was angled to the princess at all times. North sat in the armchair adjacent to him.
"It is my gene," the bearded man explained. "My Center Gene, like yours but very much different. I cannot control element like wind. Only people."
"People?" Jack repeated and furrowed his dark eyebrows. "How is that–"
"Do I ask how you control wind, boy? Nyet. Is just what my Center Gene gave me, the ability to amplify one's deepest desires and use it to control their actions. Is how I keep some ELFs under loyalty to cause. No slipups...But I apologize again that it affected the princess."
When North frowned sadly, Jack found it hard to be mad with him. Instead of having to show him his forgiveness, Jack looked around the room.
He pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"Was that all it gave you?" he asked slowly.
"Also these," he said and lifted his fists, to which Jack stared at. "Remember block that almost hit you? I can punch through any thick surface. Is very efficient but loud. I do not use much. And all else – speed, strength, endurance...like you, I trained to become before GUARDIAN program."
When Jack nodded, North put down his buff biceps and tilted his head.
"Why did you follow my ELF in Belarus?" he asked and Jack lifted his head. He hoped the subject of the dead ELF wouldn't come back.
"I thought I...I thought he was working for Pitch," Jack admitted slowly. "He had these yellow eyes...but then he recognized me, so I thought he might've been from the company. But I know now that's impossible since only you and I were f–"
"Nyet, Jack. He was one of us too."
Jack stopped instantly.
"He was?"
North nodded somberly and looked at the glass coffee table between them.
"Like I said before. Was an old friend of mine...and another GUARDIAN agent. 'ELF' was his original codename, we used it for rest of agents here when new company was built. He was on courier mission for me, delivering something to Punjam Hy Loo Prime Minister at gala event, on behalf of Sanderson."
Jack's eyes grew wide.
"You..." the agent managed to expel. His voice grew more gurgled. "I-I kn-...I kno-y-!"
...
"What?" he asked starkly. "What did he take?"
But the dying man continued to pat his coat frantically, gasping for more air.
"Th-pri! Ne-eed to w'n th-pri-!"
"He was meeting Prime Minister Bangkot?" Jack mumbled. "For the princess' caregiver?"
"Da," North agreed. "But Pitch found out and intervened. He stole what needed to be delivered."
Jack then shot a dark look at the floor.
He remembered searching the dead man's pockets and finding a large pocket that looked like something used to be in it.
"I could've stopped him," Jack said bitterly to himself and North looked back at him with a firm gaze.
"Nyet, Jack," he said earnestly. "You did not know. And Sanderson always make backup plan so it was not complete loss."
Jack looked up after a while and gave the Russian a heavy look.
"Has the princess' private tutor always been involved with you? In all of this?"
North did not want to say and his forehead creased with wrinkles as he put his hands on his brawny knees.
"All I will say, Jack," he grumbled, "is that Pitch and Sanderson have had long, bad history together, but that is not the point. The point is now you know where you come from and what matters is that Pitch be stopped once and for all."
And when Jack nodded, something in his chest flared awake. Like the heart of a lion, Nicolas' heart, Jack felt a positive energy surge through his veins.
He felt enriched, not weighed down by the feeling.
North's words, his equal hatred for the British terrorist, and knowing Toothiana (and him, in a small way) were connected to all these morally-bound allies, made the tempest in his heart and in his head calm down. He felt like he had come up for air for the first time in such a long time all thanks to North and his immediate faith in him – he also couldn't deny the kindred feelings he felt for the older man.
Jack's shoulders relaxed visibly and North held in a smile, pretending not to notice.
'Maybe it's true,' Jack thought cautiously as he blew a cold breath between his thin lips. 'Maybe...maybe I did for the good side.'
Jack desperately wanted to believe so.
"But..." Jack wanted to ask to confirm it. "How are we all connected?"
North took this chance to smile mischievously, the twinkle in his blue eyes glinting again back at Jack.
"There are 'many of us', Jack, but is not place to tell," he said cryptically and when Jack titled his head, North shook his.
He leaned over and pointed his finger at the brunette again.
"Jack, if you want to figure out for self, you must go back to the place where everything started for you. Only that is how you will remember."
Jack's heart began to race beyond his control.
There was a chance...to remember?
"B...Why? Why can't you just tell me?" North only shook his head.
"I cannot, truthfully I cannot," he said then in a low mumble he spoke again. "Company is disbanded now, Jack. No more agents work there...they all vanish."
Jack leaned in too, his eyebrows furrowing and his forehead creased with anxiety. He was finally getting answers to things he'd been wanting to know for months!
"They vanished?"
"Set (Yes)," North said. He decided to switch to Луна so only he and Jack could speak.
(Луна) " Only I and two others got out before shutdown. The rest in Project GUARDIAN, like you, undergo Defragmention. Memory wipe...more like scramble."
"But...why?"
"Is not obvious?" North answered bitterly. "Something went wrong. We knew too much."
Jack's throat grew dry as all those conversations in his head, about people wanting to transport him, cam bubbling back up like hot tar. He couldn't believe what he was hearing...what he feared to believe all along.
His past was dark. And now, it was broken too and slowly washing away like footprints on a beach.
North continued.
"But there is..still hope, Jack. For those who have recovered memories...like you. Scientists defragmented every agent's memory differently. So would not be easy to piece together. But you can retrieve it, if you go back."
"Go back?...Back to the company?" Jack asked slowly, still trying to understand the depth of this confession.
But when he swallowed a heavy lump in his throat, North shook his head.
"Nyet, the place where it all began – what you remembered first. But you do not have to, son," North comforted gently and moved to stand. Jack followed the action but on slightly jellied legs, his mind still spinning from all these new crossroads opening up.
When the two were upright, the Russian put a hand Jack's shoulder again.
"Perhaps you would like to join my intelligence agency and become GUARDIAN again," he offered but even though it was appreciated, Jack shook his head firmly and flat out refused.
"Thank you, North, but being a GUARDIAN is the last thing I want. I...think it destroyed me."
North nodded humbly and pursed his lips.
"It has destroyed many of us. But you would still like to retrieve old memories, da?" he asked and the ex-operative nodded his head without hesitation. North sighed.
"I respect your decision, Jack. But do not forget...Remembering means opening old wounds," he said wisely. "Had you done something terrible before Defrag, may destroy you now. Promise you will think about my suggestion in future."
After a pause, Jack looked North straight in the eye and nodded steadily. His respect and trust for the bearded man settled pleasantly in his heart like wet cement. The man maybe big, loud, and intimidating, but North was courageous and also very kind, even if he did get heated under stress.
Suddenly–
Boom! A heavy pound went off in one of the rooms.
...
3:19 a.m.
North quickly reacted and spun.
As he did, Phil came through one of the doors having finally returned from the dry cleaners. He had a heavy sheen of sweat around his nose and under his fur cap. The princess' dress was gripped in his gloved hand and he looked wild.
"What is wrong?" North demanded.
Phil went off with a garbled response of fluttering hands and angry outbursts. When he was finished, North's eyebrows shot up his forehead like rockets.
"Oy nyet..." North mumbled before he spun on Jack and pointed at him.
"Wake up Princess Toothiana!" he ordered, falling back into the role of commanding officer.
"Why!? What did he–"
"Now! Idti! (Go!)" North shouted and moved into another room quickly with Phil. As they did, North pressed a tiny Bluetooth complink in his left ear and called ahead to one of his Elves.
Jack gritted his teeth and wasted no time taking the stairs to the loft.
He used a French-parkour technique and ran straight towards the high wall. He performed a tic-tac wall climb before he pushed off with the ball of his foot to reach the top. When he caught the ledge with one hand, Jack used his upper body strength to pull himself up and grabbed the rest of the guardrail. When he reached the rest of the way, he flipped over Tooth's bed and landed on the floor beside it.
Jack spun and shook her shoulder.
"Princess! Toothiana, come on! Wake up!" he barked softly and she immediately woke up.
"Wh...Jack?" she grumbled and rubbed her eye. "What is your pr–"
"Something's happening," he interrupted her and grabbed her coat and scarf before tossing them to her. "North wants you to get up now!"
"O-Okay," she answered more awake now by the urgency.
Tooth flung the sheet aside and clumsily threw on her coat and scarf. When she got them on and rushed quickly down the loft's stairs, she watched Jack perform an underbar vault through the guardrail and drop over the edge instead.
"Show off," she grumbled tiredly as she huffed and jumped the last three steps to reach the ground.
When she jogged back to Jack, North and Phil returned from the other room with the silver suitcase that the MK associates had left for Tooth and another two black suitcases that were small and compact.
"Quickly!" he ordered to Phil and the two men proceeded to open the cases.
"I wish I had had more time to explain to you both. But is no time left," North explained as he began to take three small items from each suitcase.
"Why?" Tooth asked. "What's happened?"
North growled angrily.
"Phil was followed by Russian spy agent. Interpol. They photo-ID'd dress he brought from cleaners as similar to one you wore to Bangkok gala."
Tooth's eyebrows rose.
"B-But I don't understand!" she exclaimed. "That doesn't even make any sense! Both dresses were completely different and–"
"Is same color, same fabric. And in Russia, spies track everything the same," North stopped her and shot Jack a glare. "I told you to be careful."
Jack tightened his fist and moved to Tooth's side.
"And they know I'm here," he finally admitted.
North froze. He narrowed his eyes threateningly.
"что? (What?)" he hissed and Jack ran a hand savagely through his hair.
"In the newspaper," he bit out. "I'm wanted by other agencies and they suspected I landed here several hours ag–"
"PROKLYATIYE (DAMNIT), JACK!" North shouted angrily. "If they see you with princess–"
"ARGH I KNOW! So...So what do we do?" he asked, giving North complete reins on this course of action since they were in his workshop. Tooth would've smiled proudly up at him, but her anxiety had come back and she kept fiddling with the gum still in her pocket.
"Interpol is here to check premises," the Slav explained and walked back around the counter to them. "They never find secret door to this room or rest of agency – is well hidden by toys I create. But you must take her now as precaution! So head back to tunnel and find Overpass 9. I already have car for you to take. My ELF will wait for you on private runway for plane. Coordinates are in car. Windows are tinted."
"Why doesn't one of your men just take us to him?" Tooth tried to argue, still baffled by all this madness. "Can't he just drive us there?!"
"Nyet Thia," North argued. "Russian Interpol will spot you the minute you leave this place. You need fast driver," then he eyed Jack, "and Jack, you specialize high-performance, da?"
Jack's eyebrows lifted. "How did you know?"
North patted his belly, talking about his gut feeling. "I trust belly. I know you will make it there, but I will send Elves to intervene should chase get too close."
Tooth's mouth fell open again. 'There's gonna be a chase?!' she mentally cried. 'But I didn't even get a full half-hour of sleep!'
As she was ranting to herself, North finally walked up to Jack and gave him something short and cold from one of the briefcases.
It was a short, black rod but was very easy for him to grip.
Jack frowned.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" he scowled and looked up the Russian. North pointed at a spot on the short rod and smiled briefly.
"I remember you broke baton," he indicated from the earlier fight with Pitch's Nightmares. "I figure this is hundred times better."
After Jack fiddled with the short bar for a couple of seconds, his thumb pressed some unknown activator near the near centre and it glowed electric, blue. Next thing anyone knew, the bar stretched into a six foot staff of pure titanium.
"HOLY CRAP!" Tooth cried and jumped back. Even Jack pulled away a bit before he immediately moved in again to inspect it.
As he glanced at it intensely, loving the look and feel of it in his hands, he gazed back up at North quickly.
"You're giving this to me?" he asked slowly and North nodded with a small smile.
"Is one of best inventions I ever designed, and only prototype my scientists ever built successfully. I want you to have."
"Wow..." Jack mumbled and twisted it sideways easily to run his ungloved hand against the smooth steel – it felt almost natural in his hold...like he'd used one before and was being reacquainted with the feeling again.
Jack looked up suddenly.
"I remember using something like this, back at the company during the GUARDIAN program," he said and eyed the Russian suspiciously. "Did you use your gene on me?"
North shrugged nonchalantly and ignored Jack's disturbed look as he handed him a tiny complink – it was much less noticeable than what Pitch's men had used.
"This is to only be used in emergencies! You can reach me anywhere in world," he instructed Jack and the brunette eyed him firmly. "But only call once for me and ELFs will be dispatched. We cannot risk trace call."
When Jack nodded, Tooth moved forward to Jack's new weapon again and eventually cooed at the sleek design – she immediately decided it suited him.
"Wow, Jack," she mumbled as she reached out to poke it. "Imagine all the damage you could to a Nightmare with this thi–"
Her finger accidentally activated another hidden trigger and when the button glowed again, the top end of the staff extended into a large, Sheppard's hook with a deep, humming noise. The two of them freaked.
"What is that for?!" Tooth asked and North smirked at Jack.
"Close combat," he simply stated. "Is also very strong, like steel. Will hold weight of up to 230 pounds – much less than me though!"
And when the Russian chuckled deeply, Jack, despite the bewildering shock, shot North a tiny (grateful) smirk.
"I won't let you down," Jack said firmly and North smiled before he looked at the princess.
"And this, princess. Take this," he said and handed Tooth what looked like a small semi-circle tube made of gold and painted different colors. "You must give it to the ELF that is with your handmaiden. He will know what to do with it. Make sure Pitch's men do not find out about it."
Tooth blinked down at it carefully before she frowned up at him.
"North, wh–"
Suddenly the boom went off again and North flinched.
"No time! GO!" he ordered and the two shoved their new toys into their pockets and went to grab their bags. But North stopped them.
"Leave them! I will have another ELF bring them to plane – no IDs on you!"
Jack immediately understood and with trust finally in the Slav, he reached into his pocket and pulled out their passports to give to the Russian. North read each quickly and nodded firmly.
"Da," he confirmed. "Jack, I will have friend retrieve old bank accounts under your codename."
"What?" Jack shook his head and the Russian turned quickly, feeling strapped for time.
"All agents from old company left accounts open under each codename. If yours, JACK FROST, still exist, I have him reactivate so you can use it."
"Seriously?"
Jack couldn't believe it – all his old records and his own money would be returned to him?! But North didn't confirm.
"Now head to car and hurry! You must meet handmaiden and my ELF in Wales before they station to hide again."
"Wow," Tooth breathed as Phil went into the room and looked up at Nicolas. She moved to him and smiled.
"You're like, Santa Claus, giving us all the toys we wanted for Christmas! Thank you..." she said as she touched his arm gratefully, actually sad to leave him.
And North smiled with a twinkle in his electric blue eyes again.
"I have been called so before," he said secretly.
Jack suddenly flinched slightly.
"...n-nner divisi...sio...Dia'sis co–et–plete...complete."
A whole slew of memories suddenly flashed in his head.
"Dia-alysis complete...T-This agent's progress report in-indicates that he is best...est suited for m-m-missions with strict countdowns–"
"Now hurry, you two!" North urged them back the way they came and began to roll down his sleeves over his tattoos. "I must stall and deal with them as long as I can!"
A third boom was heard as Tooth and Jack crossed the room. When Jack was a couple steps away from the door, he paused to turn to look back at Nicolas.
"Russia...th-the North wind I c...par-part of the Winter division! A trainer hah–I am in charge of-f the dr-dr-dropoff for you agents today!"
Tooth eyed his hesitation and touched his arm.
"Jack?" she urged with worried eyes. Her pink gaze filled his senses and brought him back. Jack shook his head and frowned.
"You okay?" she asked quickly.
Jack turned instead to look at North before he left the room.
"Spasibo! (Thank you)" Jack called and North paused in the doorframe before he gave the brunette a stern nod.
"Udachi," the bearded giant said and Tooth smiled back at him too, understanding what he'd said: Good luck. Then he vanished behind the door, after his partner.
When Jack turned to look at Tooth, she nodded quickly. They grabbed each other's hands and both sprinted out of the room, across the living quarters, down the iron staircase, and back into the hollow tunnels to look for Overpass 9.
It didn't take long to find it after a couple twists and turns but when they did, Tooth's jaw dropped.
Overpass 9 was a giant, underground parking lot with an alarm going off overhead. At least fifty ELFs dressed in their red uniforms were dashing around, getting into cars. When one pulled up beside them near the exit tunnel, he hit the brakes and got out, ready to give it to Jack.
North had set them up with a slick, black car – but Jack knew one better.
It was a Noble M600 with a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine that clocked in at 225 mph.
He smirked devilishly.
"Welcome to the Gunner division, boys!"
Chapter's soundtrack: "F.U.Y.A." – C2C Big thanx to LauraEnRetard for recommending me this awesome French band!