The Audi honked thrice.
For a good while, Diamond waited in the car. The amount of time that went by suggested, her signal had fallen on deaf ears. She hadn't exactly announced her visit. Yet, something told her that Skulduggery was simply taking his sweet time with getting ready.
Eventually, he stepped out of his large dark villa in a dark three-piece and a large black coat; looking debonair as usual. Diamond shushed the thought aside and, instead, waited for him to get in on the passenger's side.
"Morning," Diamond greeted curtly.
"Morning," Skulduggery echoed as he fastened his seatbelt.
He was wearing his façade for the ride; an angular face with short brown hair and a clean-shaven jaw. His dark façade eyes mustered her with careful curiosity.
"You know, in times like these, shadow-walking truly would be incredibly helpful," Diamond sourly noted and started up the engine.
"Where are we going?" Skulduggery asked as he leaned his arm onto the Audi's sideboard in a demonstrably casual manner.
"London City." Diamond steered the car around the cul-de-sac, heading away from his villa. "Second Headquarters of MI6."
Skulduggery's head snapped around for a look of surprise. "MI6? The government agency?
"Yup. MI6, the government agency."
He seemed rather confused now. "That's a mortal-run institution."
"And I grew up as a mortal," Diamond exasperatedly retorted, "my my, what a coincidence!"
She steered them onto the main road in silence. When Skulduggery made no effort to argue with her bite, she carefully peeked at him. Diamond wasn't sure if it was her arrival this morning, her crude defensiveness, or the inadvertent information that came with it. But she felt as though the expression on his façade looked much less suspicious of her.
"Yes. MI6 is, generally, a mortal-run institution," Diamond decided to properly answer. "Except for the Second Division, also known as the Subdivision of Magic."
"Which is spearheaded by Major General Stein," Skulduggery connected the dots.
"Correct."
He snorted softly. "Now that doesn't surprise me at all."
"But that I would work for him, does?" she pointedly asked. "Is it so far fetched that he might hire me?"
"I just have a hard time imagining you in the Secret Service, that's all," Skulduggery scrambled to deflect, "not because you wouldn't make an excellent spy, you certainly would! It's just that... I've always felt, you were more..." He hesitated.
"More... what," Diamond glumly guessed; "innocent?"
By the manner in which Skulduggery visibly cringed, she could tell that she had unfortunately guessed correctly.
She bitterly smiled. "Come on, love. Did you really think my hands are clean?"
"Well, no," Skulduggery admitted. "Even still, there's a difference between having killed someone... and having a license to kill."
"I worked under strict guidelines, and I had specific areas of responsibility, just like any other government employee," she clarified, "and in case you're wondering...? No, assassinations weren't part of my daily schedule."
"Well, that's something at least," he mumbled with sarcastic yet growing humour.
Diamond sharply exhaled her own frustration, in order to sound less confrontational. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, alright?"
He patterned her with a nearly gentle look. "Did you think that I would judge you?"
"No, it's just... alot has changed since then. I have changed," she tried to explain in a fluster. "It's a part of my life that I've left behind me..."
"A large part of your life," Skulduggery casually cut in.
"...and I didn't want it to become an issue between us..."
"A massive part really - a majority."
"...like it is, right now, for example!" Diamond pointedly concluded.
"To be fair, it became a significantly larger issue, kept as a secret," Skulduggery pointed out. "I still don't know why you felt the need to lie to me."
"I never lied," Diamond sharply declared. When this rendered him quiet for a moment, she used the opportunity to clarify something important. "You of all people should know; there's a huge difference between not saying something, and lying about it. I might not always be as open as I should, but make no mistake; I never lied to you. You've got some information now, don't you? And you remember everything I've ever said to you? So, feel free to verify."
Skulduggery briefly mustered her and then thoughtfully gazed ahead through the windshield. She allowed for the quiet to persist for a moment, as he likely was following her instructions in verifying her statement with his various memories of her. He should soon find that, in some way or another, she had always told him at least part of the truth.
"It's true, based on what little I know, you haven't directly lied about anything," Skulduggery eventually confirmed. But then he added, "and yet, you've been careful not to give me enough to piece together the whole puzzle. Which still suggests a somewhat calculated effort on your end, to keep me in the dark."
Diamond sharply sighed out the tension and tried to settle the storm in her chest. "Look, I get that this was bound to lead to some major misunderstandings..."
"Then, why...?"
"Skulduggery! I'm not one of your cases!" she interrupted, yet again at the verge of shouting.
He faltered and finally listened, which gave her the resolve to lower her voice to an acceptable level. Albeit, she made sure to show her exasperation at the topic. "I'm not some mystery to figure out, I'm a human being. I will tell you my secrets whenever I'm ready to. And investigating and interrogating me certainly won't make me feel like opening up quicker."
"Clearly," Skulduggery wryly agreed.
She scoffed the answer away and rather focused on making a different point. "Have you considered that I might be doing this, for us?"
Skulduggery did that thing he sometimes tended to do, when Diamond said something he apparently hadn't expected. He paused and mustered her in a stunned sort of way. Usually, this reaction made her feel triumphant about stumping him. This time around, it only made the disappointment cut deeper.
"As far as I remember, the last time I didn't tell you every little detail about my magic, it came in pretty handy. So, was there a possibility in your mind that, maybe, I have good reasons not to tell you absolutely everything about me...?" she challenged. "And not telling you those reasons is the last line of defense I have, to keep you from falling into more pointless, paranoid rabbit holes that make you feel like attacking me?"
Skulduggery snorted, somehow both with agreement and disagreement. "Those must be some excellent reasons, if they've lasted you for over a year," he sourly retorted.
Diamond gave a curt, finalizing nod. "They are."
Uncomfortable silence settled over the sound of running tires and the humming motor. The snide tension in the car gave Diamond a nagging feeling in the gut. Although she was still angry at him, the fear of a pending rejection was growing to become stronger. She had meant every word she'd said but, somewhere beneath the hurt and anger, she could also understand why her answers weren't exactly satisfying.
"You have more than enough reason to be paranoid, love," Diamond seriously said. "Far too many people have stabbed you in the back, so of course you're going to jump to conclusions. But I'm not one of those people. At which point does that become your conclusion? How much do I need to do, how often do I need to put my life on the line, to earn your trust?"
Skulduggery quietly looked her and said nothing to answer her pointed questions. His glum expression suggested that he didn't have a good response, and that he was as frustrated about this as she was.
She continued with a humorless snicker. Albeit his sore reaction had softened her tone further, she clearly indicated that her next question required an actual answer. "Contacting my old team wasn't easy for me, you know. I had good reasons to cut contact before. But I did it anyway, because I wanted to help you out. That wasn't a possibility in your mind?"
Skulduggery sighed sharply but a sense of admittance was reflected on his facade. "I'm sorry I didn't give you the benefit of the doubt, Diamond," he said and sounded sincere about it. "You have earned it."
She curtly nodded it off. "Thank you."
"But I do need to know a bit more, about whatever it was you were doing at MI6, for forty-four years."
"Forty-three," Diamond corrected. He curiously glanced at her for the small piece of actual information, so she elaborated. "I took a gap year, learning how to polish diamonds."
Skulduggery recalled with a nod, "At the jewelery in Brighton, run by a mortal."
"Mostly trying to figure out, where to go from there..." she reminisced with a growing sense of melancholy, "what to do on my own, without my team... I moved back to my childhood home, renovated it and updated the security system, got a flexible job... " She tried to shrug off the sadness and self-doubt that resurfaced at rembering that dark lonely time in her life. "And eventually, I pulled my head out of the gutter and applied for a position at the sanctuary's security department. And, well... my credentials made it rather easy for me to get the job."
"Hmm," Skulduggery acknowledged, seeming contented as more puzzle pieces filled in the picture. "While this does put that story into perspective..." he then remarked, "it doesn't answer my question of what you were doing at the Secret Service."
"That's why we're going to London to talk to General Stein. I'm hoping that a more official environment might make this whole thing a bit less... ominous."
Although he didn't seem entirely happy with that compromise, Skulduggery agreed with a grunt. They spent the remaining ride doing their best to casually talk about unrelated things, but the tension between them never entirely wavered.
If looks could speak, the general reaction in the building would have been a collective gasp of intrigue and scandal.
Some of the agents were surprised to see Diamond back here, after her abrupt exit over two decades ago. Some of them, those who had come after her, were surprised to see Skulduggery Pleasant here. In either case, they were surprised.
And so, an air of curious whispers filled the halls, as they walked through the Second Headquarters of MI6. Diamond tried to pay no mind to it. She knew, returning the various agent's gazes meant, she was bound to recognize many of their faces. Recognizing many of those faces meant, she would be experiencing more emotional turmoil than she currently felt in a state to handle.
Outside the large windows, the skyline of London boasted with its tall and daringly shaped buildings. They were at the former location of the British Sanctuary. The Sanctuary, itself, had been moved to the warehouse facility outside Brighton and - after Nuke had blown that one up - to a former remote prison complex on the countryside near Southampton.
Subsequently, the Second Division of MI6 had settled into the tower in London City Core. Diamond felt this made perfect sense. Its superb security team couldn't only hold up to a Cleaver in combat, they were also much less conspicuous.
She decided that the glamourous view suited the Subdivision much better than their former bland underground base, with the dim ceiling lamps that would never stop humming.
She and Skulduggery made their way through the communal office space, past hundreds of curious sets of eyes. Men and women in tan-colored uniforms or various suits were sitting at and around black desks.
One of the uniformed agents got up and seperated from the rest. Salient Clutch joined them in the hallway, to walk by Diamond's side. He flashed her one of his trademark cheeky grins.
Diamond smiled and, whilst their eyes didn't meet, she silently held out her hand in his direction. Salient shook it, then he leaned past her and offered up his hand to Skulduggery.
"General." he said respectfully in a sharp London accent, and they shook hands as he introduced himself, "Special Agent Salient Clutch."
Skulduggery nodded to him as he accepted the shake. By the manner in which he mustered her former colleague, Diamond couldn't quite tell whether he was intrigued by him, or sizing him up. "Pleasure."
As soon as their hands parted, Salient's attention immediately returned to Diamond. He seemed happy to see her, but also rather confused about it. "What are you doing here, then? I just saw you!"
She nodded over to Skulduggery. "He needs to talk his case over with the General."
"Makes sense..." Salient said with a brief glance in his direction. "Quite the ruckus you're causing... I hope this case is worth it?"
She shrugged in a finalizing manner. "Is Britain worth it?"
He accepted it with a nod, unbothered by the snark in her voice. Opposed to her new family, Diamond's former colleagues were quite familiar with the aloof, sharp side of her.
"Did you used to work together?" Skulduggery chipped in.
Salient snorted. "More like, I used to work for her."
"Agent Clutch joined the Subdivision only a few years after me," Diamond added in Skulduggery's direction, as they closed in on the door to Stein's office, "he was our symbols and artifacts expert."
"Still am, if you can believe it..." Salient ironically murmured.
"He was part of my core team," she rephrased.
"Yeah, the Core Four..." Sal wistfully sighed, "we had a good thing going..."
Diamond felt a pang of sorrow and dread at the mention of this particular topic. She successfully swallowed it, but she couldn't find the strength to respond. Skulduggery clearly noticed her sore reaction, and he looked inclined to find out more from Salient.
Before he could ask anything else, though, Salient quickly wrapped up his bout of nostalgia to announce, "anyway! This is you."
They arrived by a permanent seperation wall that had been drawn into the open space. Its door had a window, which could be used to look out into the communal office. Currently, it was covered by shut blinds, allowing no view into the new office of Diamond's former boss and mentor.
Her heart pounded faster. She didn't know whether to be excited, or if she should turn around and run. This was her last chance to change her mind.
Salient touched his hand to his forehead for a casual salute. "Good luck," he said as he walked off. "Let's grab coffee sometime."
Diamond shot him a slim smile that was neither a confirmation nor a declination. They raised their hands in greeting, and he meandered back to his colleagues.
She could feel Skulduggery's attention return to her, as she stared at the door before her. Her hand raised up, balled to a fist in preparation for knocking politely, but it wavered. It inactively hovered in the air for a longer moment.
Skulduggery quietly watched Diamond struggle with her inner demons. Nothing in his demeanor built any pressure for her to move forward. He could probably tell that she'd rather turn back, and something about the way he gave her time made this option even more appealing.
And yet, she had already made her decision, the moment this mess had spilled over into her relationship. Thus, Diamond took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in," a husky voice called from behind the door.
They stepped inside. An office of dark wood paneled walls with floor-to-ceiling windows opened up in front of them. Floating shelfs were tastefully but subtly decorated with empty expensive vases and framed photos of groups of soldiers. On some of those pictures, Diamond knew, the odd one or two Dead Men showed up, posing along with the British troops.
She and Skulduggery stopped in the center of the room. Facing them, a man in a fitted dark-brown uniform stood hunched over a large mahagony desk. He was sunken into reading a file.
Medals of honor decorated his ironed lapels; silver hair and wrinkles decorated his aged, heart-shaped face. He looked up and mustered the two new arrivals, grey eyes twinkling curiously between his light brows and the rim of his reading glasses.
Major General Municipal Stein was an ancient sorcerer, in the most literal sense of the word. He was so old and experienced, in fact, he had already been a decorated Sergeant when Skulduggery had still been pooping in cloth diapers.
This became ever obvious, as his sharp grey eyes observed them knowingly. And although the two veteran men had known each other for a long time, Stein's gaze remained on Diamond for a moment longer than on the skeleton by her side.
Then, slowly, his lips curled upwards to a bemused smile. "Now now. This isn't something I was ever expecting to see."
"Always glad to defy expectations," Skulduggery proudly said.
Stein stood up straight. He took his glasses off and took another moment muster the two of them. Then, he set down his glasses onto the document on his desk, like the motion itself was a statement. "Alright. Just so that I'm all caught up. You two are working the Bax Hench case together, yes?"
They nodded.
"But we're here for something more pressing." Diamond said.
"Well, in either case," Stein smiled and circled his desk, in order to offer up his hand for handshakes, "always good to see either of you."
"And you, Major General," Skulduggery said warmly, as Stein arrived with him first.
Stein's demeanor was equally as friendly, but it warmed up significantly when he moved on to Diamond. He affectionately clasped her hand in both of his. After they had shook, he leaned down to hint a kiss onto the back of it.
"My Diamond," he admiringly greeted her from his bowing position. "It has been too long."
"It has been, indeed," she softly agreed. Though the upright stance and unreadable demeanor of a soldier had already set back in with her; Diamond found herself smiling back at him with a familiar sense of ease.
All the while, Skulduggery observed their interaction with obvious interest.
"And now," Stein said as he meandered back to his spot behind the desk, "how can I be of aid?"
Diamond folded her hands behind her back and stood aside.
Skulduggery allowed himself another look around before he turned to Stein. "You could first tell me what it is, exactly, you have built here, General."
Stein raised a brow at him, "why, I'm surprised. Didn't Mister Vex inform you of any of this?"
His skull tilted, similarly taken aback. "I wasn't aware that he knew much about it."
"I asked him to keep it under wraps," Diamond interjected. "So did you, Sir, if I remember correctly?"
Stein raised his brows thoughtfully. He continued to curiously muster Skulduggery. But then, he nodded upwards with a sharp inhale through his slim nose. "I suppose I would have said that. Diamond's integrity was always a top priority of ours. But yes, of course I made sure that Mister Vex was fully aware of what plans I had for his protégé. And if I remember correctly, myself, he joined in on a number of missions throughout the years, whenever we needed someone of his... expertise."
"He did, Sir," Diamond confirmed, mostly for the sake of Skulduggery hearing it.
"Now, where were we..." Stein pensively muttered, before his face lit up at the memories. "Ah, yes. I should probably begin at the beginning. You are surely aware that I've always had something of a... soft spot for mortals."
"It's by no means a secret," Skulduggery elegantly confirmed.
Stein languishingly gestured as he sunk into his office chair of elegant brown leather. He went on to explain in a grandiose tone, "we began during the Cold War Era! The age of government sleeper agents and super-soldier-serum-experiments! The mortal British Government caught wind of the magical world and, in order to appease their rampant curiosity, I thought it would be best to... collaborate."
"What sort of collaboration are we speaking of?" Skulduggery prodded with a hint of skepticism.
"Well, extraction and crisis prevention of course," Stein replied, gesturing in Diamond's direction by the way of example. "Moving mages through the mortal world; protecting mortals from the magical world. The worlds are bound to connect at some points. We make sure they don't intercept each other."
Skulduggery nodded off the information.
"Early on in my planning, I realized," Stein importantly elaborated, "in order to have a team that works efficiently and quietly in both worlds, we'd need agents that understand both worlds."
"Sorcerers with mortal backgrounds," Skulduggery followed.
"Precisely." He approvingly pointed. "Conveniently so, I happened upon rumors that Dexter Vex had taken on a talented young apprentice. A nameless unique Adept, who was also attending a mortal nursing school. Raised inside the mortal world, by one of my former men." He brightly smiled as his gaze meaningfully attached itself to Diamond.
Albeit she didn't exactly look forward to what was about to come next, she couldn't help but return his smile.
"I thought to myself; that must be a sign," Stein meaningfully said, not removing his gaze from her until he looked at Skulduggery for his final, most important word. "And so, I recruited young Diamond. And she and I built the first small team, merely ten men strong. Together."
Skulduggery stared at Diamond with obvious surprise. She did her best to hold his stunned gaze, though it wasn't easy.
During her time at the Subdivision her identity had been a well-kept secret to outsiders, and Diamond had preferred it that way. The pride of being considered the founder of an MI6 division had always been something she silently carried deep within her core. Glory had never been enough for her to warrant the burdens of fame, and she'd always felt that the attention of the public tended to get in the way.
And the manner in which Skulduggery now looked at her reflected the attention of a thousand people. Even though he didn't move, she could see his opinion of her change in front of her eyes. She saw herself transform into a new person in his mind, based on a person she no longer was or wanted to be.
"It was indeed a sign. Look at us now!" Stein reminisced, "but that's how it all started; merely a dozen capable sorcerers meeting inside a dingy basement..."
Skulduggery continued staring at Diamond in astonishment.
When he still didn't say anything, Stein shot him a scolding look. "Don't you act so shocked. Haven't you been working with her for a year now? You haven't noticed her potential as a leader?"
"I suppose I have only seen her underchallenged, so far," Skulduggery said without taking his intense gaze off her.
Diamond didn't know if this exchange made her feel remotely flattered, or only more uncomfortable than she already was.
"What exactly was the title of your occupation?" Skulduggery asked her.
"I was The Diamond," she told him, once again.
He precariously cocked his skull. "That's an occupation?"
"Yes."
"The position of The Diamond still exists within the agency today," Stein interjected, "another agent now carries that title. Diamond simply honored it by accepting it as her taken name. The Diamond only participates in the most sensitive of missions. Main responsibilities used to include team coordination and information relay, albeit the position has now been adjusted to the size of our efforts."
Diamond had to bite her lip, in order to keep a malicious comment to herself.
"In summary, this Diamond was the junction of our organisation," he continued with a wave in her direction. "The one to receive and distribute any and all intel. Originally, she would pass on the relevant reports directly to me."
"Originally," Diamond echoed with a hint of indignation, which both men naturally picked up on right away.
"Yes," Stein said, equal parts gentle sympathy and sober confirmation. "As organisations grow, more and more responsibilities are bound to be passed on to the different ranks. Therefore, less and less information needs to be relayed via each and every channel. Eventually, Diamond had found her occupation to have become..." He looked at her questioningly. "How did you call it...? 'Futile'?"
"Vain," Diamond specified, and received another curious side glance from Skulduggery.
"Ah yes, 'vain'," Stein neutrally recalled, "a 'prestige of no object'. And she resigned... twenty years ago?"
"Twenty-one."
"I'm sure you two will be able to discuss the details in your own time," Stein segueyed back to the topic. "Irregardless, the focus of our operations is always to maintain a low profile. So you need not worry about us interfering in political matters, especially those of the Irish Sanctuary."
"I suppose I will see about that," Skulduggery ambiguously replied.
Stein only responded to this with a thin-lipped smiled. "Now, old friend. You, being here, is by no means maintaining a low profile," he bemusedly insinuated. "So how about we talk about the information you've here come for?"
The two men quietly regarded each other for a brief moment, yet there seemed to be no real threat hanging between them.
"As you surely have heard, Detective Cain and I have been working on a series of abduction cases," Skulduggery decided to explain, "followed by monster-attacks at worrisome growth rates."
"Yes, unfortunately we are all too well aware," Stein grimly confirmed. "We've received the news about the monsters' origin."
Skulduggery nodded, equally as grim. "The perpetrators seem to be communicating via special sensitive channels, but we cannot access them. We don't know who is behind it, and Diamond tells me, you might have some intel that could help."
He swayed his head to agree halfway, "I don't know much about these sensitive channels you speak of. However, we have been noticing activity by some scattered groups of curious sorcerers of unknown origin. We believe that they are involved in both the kidnappings and the attacks."
Stein opened up the file on his desk. It was the exact file he needed for this conversation, Diamond amusedly noted to herself. She didn't believe this to be a mere coincidence.
He spun the folder around and pushed it across the table, then he tapped a scrawny finger at a specific word in the text.
"Mother," Skulduggery read aloud.
Stein curtly nodded. "This is what we can confirm with complete confidence. The criminal underworld that spans our nations has recently gotten involved with the perpetrators. And they keep referring to someone titled, 'Mother'. Whether this refers to a biological mother or a symbolic one is unclear. In either case, we are certain that she is the orchestrator of this conflict. The Mother has plans for the magical world. Big plans."
"Big on which scale?"
"On the Skulduggery-Pleasant-and-Valkyrie-Cain scale. On the our-world-in-danger scale."
Based on the way Skulduggery looked at him, Diamond felt that he was pleased about Stein's intel. "I believe, we should keep this channel open from now on."
"Let me guess;" Stein smiled knowingly, "we exchange intel and, in return, you were never here?"
Skulduggery contentedly tilted his skull at him. "Isn't it wonderful how we already understand each other?"
She was tired and sore from traveling back and forth between two countries for days on end. This was despite their decision to stay in Brighton overnight, in order to cut short the awkward drive back to Ireland. Therefore, they had yet another awkward ride ahead of them, today.
However, this wasn't what bothered Diamond when she got up that following morning.
Skulduggery was sitting on the sofa in her living room; eye-sockets directed downward at one of the books from her collection. When she arrived in the open door, he looked up and carefully mustered her.
"Good morning," Diamond said and made a sad attempt at a cheerful smile.
"Good morning," Skulduggery politely nodded.
What really irked her, Diamond found, was the insecure tension that remained from the past days. It was stumping the casualness that usually flowed between them naturally.
She was well aware that she was mostly to blame for this shift in atmosphere. Thus, she decided that she would need to be the one to break the ice.
Skulduggery beat her to proceeding with the greetings. "How was your night?" he asked.
"Fine," she replied. "Yours?"
"Fine."
"Did you meditate?" she asked.
"Not really," he replied.
"I see."
And quiet followed, once more.
Skulduggery set the book in his hands aside and replaced it with his black hat, which sat on the side table. He didn't put it on, however, simply fidgeted around with it. As casual as the move had looked, it now added all the more to the nervous energy in the room.
"What's the plan for today?" Diamond attempted to start up another conversation, "are we going directly back to Roarhaven?"
"Do you have work to do there as well?" Skulduggery gladly jumped aboard.
"No, but Nuke's still there, I was going to visit Ninja tomorrow, and you don't have your car."
He nodded along to the logic and flipped the hat around between his fingers. "I'm back to work tomorrow so, we should leave before the evening."
"Okay," Diamond nodded. "I was thinking, you could drive this time?"
"Can do."
As the next silence inevitably followed, she quietly watched Skulduggery spin his hat around.
He had chosen an older model yesterday. The pinches were deep and slightly creased, the band was broad and made of grey silk, and the rim softly dipped in the front. Indeed the more she looked at it, the more she believed it to be a genuine 1950s' Classic.
Diamond smiled with sincerety as an idea occurred to her. "You know what?" she cheerfully announced, "I'd like to show you something."
"Okay?" Skulduggery looked intrigued when he finally put on his hat.
"Come on, then." Diamond nodded towards the front door and walked ahead.
She heard him get up and follow her, as she pulled over a wind breaker. While Skulduggery crouched down to put on his shoes, she walked off into the kitchen.
"Wait here."
Once inside the kitchen, she pulled open a drawer and grabbed a set of keys. She hid them in her jacket pocket.
Upon her return, Skulduggery was done tying his shoelaces. "Where are we going?" he curiously asked as he put on his topcoat.
Diamond only gave a secretive smirk in response and put on her own shoes. To her contentment, that only seemed to make him more curious.
Afterwards, she deactivated the security measures, and they headed outside. Instead of walking to her Audi that was parked at the side of the street, Diamond led the way to the garage.
"A-ha," Skulduggery commented, "I have been wondering what's hiding in there."
She pulled out the set of keys from her pocket and bent down to unlock on the garage door. It rattled as he helped her push it up and slide it open. Inside, there were boxes and rubber tubs for storage, a small work bench, and some metal shelves filled with neatly sorted tools and equipment.
Most notably, taking up the majority of the garage, was something large. It was hidden below a protective cover of black imitation satin. The shape and size of the item made it obvious that it was a long, low-slung car.
Skulduggery looked at Diamond with surprise and a rapidly rising sense of intrigue. "And what do we have here?"
Her knowing smirk grew wider as she reached for the cover. "Would you mind giving me a hand?"
"Would I?" he self-evidently echoed.
Diamond waited for him to reach the other side and grab the second corner of the black fabric. They moved in unison to reveal the nose of the car.
It was painted in a slightly iridescent dark-green color, which tended to appear black in low light. Round headlights and wheel bumpers protruded beside a concave front grill. This was further framed by a silver crest above, and a metal bar mount below.
"Oh my..." Skulduggery murmured in disbelief, "is this...?"
"Yep." Diamond grinned and tugged at the cover fabric. They pulled it off entirely and let it flow to the ground.
Skulduggery walked a couple of steps backwards, in order to get a better look. His jaw was hanging open slightly.
"The 1955' Triumph TR3," Diamond solemnly announced, "soft top convertible, in British Racing Green."
"Wow." Skulduggery stared in astonishment for another moment, then he moved closer to run a delicate hand over the streamlined bumpers. "What a beauty."
"Mh-hm," Diamond agreed and leaned back against a stable shelf. She was having a great time watching Skulduggery be in awe. "The paint is original too. Not a single scratch on it."
He walked along the length of the car for further inspection, some fingers stroking over the glossy surface. "Hasn't this model been discontinued since the Sixties?"
"Since 1962," she confirmed. "If I remember correctly, the brand phased from the streets in the Nineties. The parts are almost impossible to find nowadays."
"Straight-4 motor?"
"Yup."
He arrived at the trunk and marvelled at the elegant curves of the sports car design. "Has it ever seen a race?"
Diamond snorted. "I'd be surprised."
Skulduggery turned around to her. He leaned against the trunk by one hand. "Has there been a vintage car, sitting in your garage, this entire time?" he essentially scolded her.
She shrugged. "Well, Nuke does drive it sometimes, just so it doesn't spark out. I also have a bloke that rents it out for me, once in a while."
Skulduggery's confoundment seemed to grow by the second. "A bloke that rents it out."
"Yeah, for shows and weddings and such. He polishes it and everything."
"But you don't drive it?"
Diamond made a contrite face. "Not really."
By now, he sounded utterly bewildered. "Why not?"
She shrugged. "It just attracts a bit too much attention for my liking."
He asked his next question clearly, as if she was a little slow. "Then, why...? Do you have it?"
Diamond failed in stifling a smile. "Because it belonged to Uncle Alvertos."
Skulduggery immediately ripped his hand away from the car. "Ah."
She snickered, wandered over to it, and carefully sat on the hood. "He bought it when I graduated from highschool, as a reward to himself I guess..." she bitter-sweetly recalled. "He only got to drive it for a few years."
Skulduggery meandered towards her. His hands were now securely stowed away inside his pockets, but his gaze was glued to the black retractable roof and sleek grey interior of the Triumph.
"A man of good taste, I see," he approved as he stood close to her.
"Quite good. But despite all this..." Diamond sighed. "I've been thinking of selling the car."
With this, she successfully regained Skulduggery's full attention. The disbelief returned to his voice. "And why would you sell it?"
"Look at it." She somberly gestured. "It's just sitting here. That's a shame, don't you think? I'd rather, someone puts it to good use."
Now, he sounded rather sad. "I can follow that logic..."
"So, I could either do that..." Diamond insinuated with a growing smirk, "or I could ask someone to take care of it... Someone who has experience with cars from the Fifties. Someone I trust."
Skulduggery stared at her.
The meaningful smirk had fully arrived on her face by now. "You know, take it for a spin once in a while, maintenance if needed... that sort of thing."
"Are you... asking me to... drive your father's car?" Skulduggery incredulously asked.
"No," Diamond clearly said, "I'm asking you to drive my car, so that it doesn't catch rust."
He hesitated. "Is this a test?"
She barely choked back a laugh. "If this was a test... Would I tell you?"
As he faltered this time, Skulduggery looked outright terrified.
Diamond cheekily snickered. She got up and walked around the nose of the car, in order to unlock the door on the passanger's side.
She tossed him the keychain. "Think fast."
Skulduggery yelped, as the set of metal keys almost dropped onto the perfectly shined hood of the Triumph. He caught it easily, but he glared at Diamond nonetheless.
She opened the door with another cheeky smirk and slid inside. "You'll need your façade for the ride."
After her door was shut, a moment of quiet followed. She saw Skulduggery hesitate for almost half a minute, before he opened the door on the driver's side. He was wearing a façade of mid-length brown hair with ingrowing grey streaks, five day stubble, and a straight nose.
Carefully, Skulduggery eased into the seat; one leg in, one leg out the door. She could already tell that the space was a bit too short for his legs, however, they were by no means too wide to fit beside the steering wheel as intended.
Skulduggery looked at her unsurely, as his hand edged the key closer to the ignition. Diamond didn't demonstrate any sort of reluctance.
The key slid in. He moved his other leg inside and closed the door. Placed his feet on the pedals. All the while, he suspiciously monitored Diamond.
Meanwhile, Diamond had a very hard time concealing her amusement. "Mind the cornering," she merely said. "The handling on the inside wheel can be a bit dicey."
That seemed to have done the trick. An excited smirk slowly spread over Skulduggery's façade. He turned the ignition. The Triumph's engine barely stalled, then sprung to life with a slightly rorty, but supple and powerful roar.
Skulduggery paid homage to the sound with a delightful hum. Diamond burst out laughing.
One of her neighbors, who just happened to be walking by, gawked at the unusual car. If there was one thing Diamond disliked about Classics, it was the looks they got; at the traffic lights, on the sidewalks, at the car park, and everywhere else. She covered up her face with her hands and tried to disappear into the seat cushion.
Skulduggery seemed to find this highly amusing, as he put the shift in gear and rolled them out of the garage, into plain view of the public. Then, he had the audacity to make the car honk!
Diamond squealed for embarrassment and squirmed down lower into her seat. Skulduggery snickered to himself, parked her there, and hopped out. As he shut the garage door, she stayed hidden, and remained so until they had driven all the way down her street.
It took a couple of minutes of driving, for her to ignore the unwanted attention, sit up, and relax. The seats were small but comfortable, and Diamond noticed that hers had an impression of her butt, from where she had sat on it many of times.
Though the Bentley was much larger and heavier, it took no more than a couple of turns for Skulduggery to get a feel for the Triumph. Soon, Diamond found herself sinking into the familiar ambiance, and her thoughts settled over the sound of the purring engine.
"So... Thee Diamond," Skulduggery eventually teased with a laid-back tone.
She sighed. "You're never going to let that go, are you..."
The cheeky expression on his façade spoke volumes before he did. "Not for a while, no."
"I don't carry that title anymore. And I'm sure the bloke who's in charge, now, has transformed the position into something revolutionary!"
"...Ah?" Skulduggery hesitantly asked.
Diamond glanced at him. "What?"
He glanced back. "I'm sorry, did I ruin the mood?"
"No, no," she quickly diverted. "Go on, ask away."
Skulduggery took a quick moment to pick his words. "It's only that..." One of his hands came off the steering to gesture up and down her person. "There's this cool air of contempt and regret that's been emininating from you, ever since the MI6 topic came up. It makes me think, there's more to why you quit."
"Well, you'd be right about that," she coolly confirmed, "as per usual."
"Due to my questionable recent actions, I won't presume to pry..."
"Wise decision."
"...For now. I will certainly pry later," he promised.
She shot him a bemused glance in response. For a little while, they drove through the outskirts of Brighton suburbia. Taking the highway, they made their way to the closest patches of farms and forest. The day was muted by a thin veil of clouds that, thankfully, didn't drop any rain on the delicate roof of the convertible.
"I do have one question, though," Skulduggery addressed.
She stifled a sigh and forced an open-minded smile upon her face. "Yes?"
"If you went by your title after you joined MI6, where you started when you were in your mid-twenties... What did you call yourself in the years before then?" he asked, and she found that she didn't mind this question as much as she had anticipated. "I'm sure, Dexter told you not to use your given name?"
Diamond sincerely smiled with self-irony. "To be honest? I've never been exactly creative about names."
"Creativity comes in various forms."
"The entire idea of naming myself escapes me," she specified. "Even my taken names were all, to an extend, given to me. Alvertos gave me a name when he adopted me, of course. He called me Elizabeth; his surname was Fenthorn."
She caught sight of Skulduggery's false lips moving, as he mouthed along the name.
"Old-fashioned, I know," Diamond smiled. She demonstratively gestured at the vintage car interior that surrounded them. "Alvertos liked Classic things. Not quite unlike you."
Skulduggery grumbled something indistinguishable.
She chuckled at the reaction. "He'd often abbreviate to Liz. And when I met Dexter... It was soon after my Surge, I believe, that he started calling me Lizzie. And that's what I stuck with during the first years."
"Dexter took full credit, I presume?"
"He loved it."
"Figures. Then you joined MI6, and finally, Betty coined your current surname?"
"Yes, decades later."
"Right, so... Elizabeth Fenthorn, or Liz for short - Lizzie - The Diamond - Diamond Irie." Skulduggery listed.
Diamond nodded. "Yep, in that order."
"Phew!" His façade cheeks ballooned, as he pretended to blow out a breath. "Quite the ride!"
"To be fair, my colleagues didn't always refer to me by my full title. It's been just 'Diamond' for the majority of my life."
"Does that mean I can't decide that your name is henceforth, Sparkles?" Skulduggery ironically lamented.
"That ship's sailed I'm afraid," she humorously declined.
"There's no age limit to changing your name," he noted, "I'm living proof of that."
"Living proof, huh?"
"Dead proof, then."
Diamond chuckled, and the conversation faded out. Skulduggery steered the Triumph off the highway to take a detour via a picturesque country road section. Shortly after, flourishing orchards and fields passed them by. They took a moment to appreciate the setting.
Skulduggery drove at a respectful speed, which took little to no risk. Yet, the further they escaped the light late-morning traffic, the more he pushed the engine to its full potential. Diamond felt right at home, observing him and the road from the passanger's angle.
However, as calming as this experience turned out to be, she didn't want the silence to settle over them for too long. Not when the smell of old leather made her feel quite nostalgic. But especially not before she had an answer to her remaining, most important question.
Diamond carefully mustered Skulduggery from the side. Albeit she ironically found the façade slightly unnerving on a regular day, she appreciated it in emotional situations like these. Through it, she could tell that he hadn't yet ceased enjoying the ride. His gaze was focused on the road, but she believed that he was keeping her in the corner of his vision.
Diamond tried to sound and look as casual as possible at her next point. "So, I take from all this... We keep going?"
Skulduggery's sharply gaze flickered in her direction. "What do you mean?"
"Yesterday's visit with Stein?" she reminded him, as she felt the insecure tension return to her body. "We went there, because you wanted to know if I was a secret agent. You've made it quite clear that you're unsettled by that idea. But the answer is; yes. I was a secret agent. So, now, I'm sort of unclear on... where we stand."
"I hadn't considered breaking up with you, if that's what you're insinuating," Skulduggery surprisedly replied. "If anything, you should be breaking up with me."
She shot him a gently scolding smile. "If I wanted to break up over this, I would've done it by now."
"So, why haven't you?"
Diamond decided to refer to a different question. "Do you trust me again?"
He briefly mustered her like he was considering it, but it took only a second for him to tentatively nod. "It's slowly coming back to me..."
"So, your trust is something I can loose by making a mistake," she evaluated, "but it's also something I can earn back by fixing my mistake. Is that about accurate?"
Skulduggery looked almost impressed at that evaluation, if also a bit flustered. "I suppose so...?"
"Well, then," Diamond concluded with a shrug. "I can work with that. How about you?"
A series of different notions flickered across his façade; surprise, agreeableness, contentment... She even thought to detect some coyness, like she'd just given him a compliment big enough to make even Skulduggery Pleasant blush.
"That would be an understatement," he then replied with growing flirtation and admiration. "As a matter of fact, ever since we've left General Stein's office, all I've been able to think about is... how formidable you are."
Diamond faltered and snorted puzzedly. "Seriously?"
"Well, I've always known that you were brilliant, I just couldn't quite gauge to which extent."
She blinked. "Thank... you?"
"As for the secretiveness; your position would have made you something of a government asset. That would technically make you a British state secret, wouldn't it?" he mused as he eased up in the gas and capably steered the Triumph around a sharp corner.
Some of the sharp seriousness re-entered her voice, as Diamond meaningfully nodded in agreement. "It's not the type of information I typically share with top agents of foreign sanctuaries, yeah."
"And just so that I'm one hundred percent clear on the details; the agency that we visited, yesterday...? The shiny office tower in London City that employs hundreds, maybe thousands, of highly specialized sorcerer troops. You were the one who built all that. Yes?"
Diamond looked out the window and tried to hide away again, this time from the blood that was obviously shooting up into her cheeks. "Not all of it..."
He waved away her attempt at humility. "Therefore, leaving aside my initial knee-jerk reaction, you can rest assured that my opinion of you has nothing but improved."
She sassily raised a brow at him. "Because you've realized that I have status?"
"Well... I suppose I'm just beginning to invision it now;" Skulduggery clarified. His voice delved into the low tone of an overly dramatic storyteller. "It's the turbulent 1960s; society is entrapped in the icy clutches of the Cold War. The Diamond sits in a gloomy smokey pub, sipping whiskey much older than herself, puffing those cigarettes she thinks her future boyfriend won't notice her sneaking in behind his back. Her observant but objective gaze sharply analyzes the patrons in the room, before precisely locking onto her target. She seems just like any other respectable gal here, but little do they know; she is on a top secret mission."
Despite herself, Diamond laughed. "Well, umm," she awkwardly admitted, "that's eerily on point, actually."
Skulduggery approvingly nodded. "Sounds like just my crowd."
Diamond smiled but sighed. Her humour stuck around just enough to enable a self-aware response. "I'm not so sure you would see me in the same light, if we'd met back then. It took a couple of decades for me to... warm up."
He looked curious about this admission but, instead of asking for details, he went in for another compliment. "I don't know... I find, the feisty side of you grows on me more by the day."
While she was undeniably flattered and relieved and humbled by the line of compliments, she couldn't help but to make one hundred percent sure. "So, umm... Could we move on?" she asked, nearly batting her eyes at him in pleading. "At very least, could we put a cork in it until the next time this becomes at all relevant?"
Skulduggery tilted his head down at her as a warm understanding simper developed on his façade. "Let's move on."
Diamond contentedly sighed and returned her gaze to the view of the road ahead. "Beautiful."
"I'll have you know; you didn't need to bribe me with a vintage car to have this conversation," Skulduggery teased.
"It didn't hurt," she playfully shrugged. Then she continued on a more serious note, "but I mean it; I really do want you to take care of it."
His façade eyes glimmered and his gloved fingers excitedly readjusted on the leathern steering wheel. "I don't think I need to tell you how much I would love to do that."
"She drives well, then, I gather?" Diamond teasingly asked.
Something flirtatious in his look told her that his response came with a double meaning. "She's amazing."
"Always nice doing business with you," Diamond smiled.
Skulduggery returned his sights to the street, and she followed his example. They came back to the highway, where an empty stretch of asphalt was coming up ahead. It was just waiting to be used as a moderate race track.
"By the way, I've been wondering;" he casually mentioned, "your former boss... Is he aware of us?"
Diamond held on to her door in precaution. "I hadn't told him about it. But this is General Stein we're talking about, so... Who knows?"
Skulduggery nodded. "That's what I thought."
The hint of a smug smile snuck onto his façade lips, as he slowly accelerated the Triumph to top speeds.