Darcy Deveruex and the Security Service

Chapter 32

The tunnel echoed the rev of the engine as they drove across. The headlights illuminated the red brick.

“So this is all because of an old line of sneaky art thieves?” Lanyard said.

“Hm? Oh, you mean the tunnels and the lair and everything. Yes, mostly. I spiffed it up a bit, but yes, all this is deliberate long-term work from ages ago.”

“Ever use these?”

“Not until now.”

“You’re worried.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The word economy.”

He huffed. “What do you want, a monologue?”

“Just acknowledging it.”

“Once again, my brother is left alone to go up against the giants. I am not thrilled.”

“He’s not alone. Luke and Lucy have his back, and so do we.”

“Last year, I thought I’d stop Maurice and take Fitz out of this, but—”

“But instead of it being chess, it really was checkers.”

“And now he’s deeper than before.”

“I know. It’s not as easy as we thought it’d be.”

“And yet... Either way, summer’s coming up, and he’s taking a break.”

“Does he know that?”

“He needs to live, Lanyard, while he can. I’m not training a teenage assassin spy whose only mission is taking down disreputable people in charge. He has loads of still unresolved trauma, communication flaws, and issues with facing intense emotions, stress, and anxiety being two of them. No surprise there. Not that I’m faulting him.”

“Of course, not.”

“I just know if he keeps jumping into environments that trigger him, it’s only reopening old wounds and making them take longer to heal. He won’t get a chance to heal, and I’d very much like to give him that chance.”

“What if he doesn’t want it? He’s probably afraid it’s not possible.”

“It’s my job to make it possible.”

“Has he thought about talking to Abner?”

“Here and there. He said he needed more time, and I intend to give it to him instead of letting Orbis steal it.”

“Yeah. He could use some EDMR and DBT. Or at least, Sophie said.”

“Abner agrees. Anyway, how’s Luke doing? And Lucy?”

“Better. The whole Maurice thing has been a roller coaster, and your brother hasn’t been the only one having trouble adjusting after Chicago, but we’re working through it. They’ve been focusing on school, making more friends, and talking to me and Sophie about things. Lucy’s interested in animation and maybe journalism. And Luke’s having a lot less seizures. He might be able to get a driver’s license. They’re doing well. Harry’s excited about graduating. Going to propose soon too.”

“That’s very good.” Ambrose smiled.

“Ambrose,” Luke’s voice crackled on the comms. “Ambrose, hey, come in.”

“Luke, what’s wrong?”

“We lost Darcy on communications. The building’s blocking the signal.”

“So it worked?”

“I guess. But he can’t hear us, and we can’t hear him. We only have his vitals, and his heart rate suddenly slowed down, and his blood pressure down too.”

“Damn. They must’ve knocked him out so he doesn’t see too much of HQ. He’s dangerous that way. Remembers more than an elephant.” Ambrose swore as he recalled something.

“What?”

“I forgot to make sure he took his medicine with him. Did you see him grab it?”

“Uhhh... Oh. I’m looking at it right now.”

Ambrose took a long inhale and pressed his lips together. “Mh-hm. Yeah, I don’t like it. This is already going wrong. Also, how can he remember so much and yet so little at the same time? It’s a wonder he’s still alive.” The stress would no doubt trigger something, and Fitz’s job would be more painful and difficult. So much for a walk in the park.

“Well... To be fair, you didn’t remember either, Mr. Elephant.” Luke harrumphed.

“Luke.”

“Yeah?”

“If I were to scour space and time and multiverses for the occurrence in which I asked for an opinion I would never find it.”

“Wow. Ouch.”

“Damn, Luke, slick burn, you gotta admit,” Lucy said.

Lanyard mimicked a gun being fired with his finger.

“You know you get snippy when Fitz isn’t around,” Luke mentioned.

“Respectfully, Luke?” Ambrose asked.

“Sure.”

“Shut up.”

“Proving my point.”

Lanyard looked out the window, although there was only brick to look at, so he was no doubt hiding laughter.

“All right, back to radio silence. We’re getting out of the tunnel. I need to focus on the route.” Ambrose adjusted his speed.

“What do we do?”

Ambrose tapped the steering wheel. “I need you to retrieve a phone number on the file named Charlie-Oscar-Mike. Fifth number down.”

“Got it.”

“There’s a friend who might be relied upon. Just tell him I sent you. I’ve already notified him of know what’s going on superficially in case we needed his assistance. One of our only shots at keeping Fitz safe is if we know what’s going on. Maybe he can connect one of my old servers of communication to Fitz’s watch. Call him now using one of the burner phones.”

“Okay. Two minutes.”

Ambrose listened while Luke spoke on the phone. After a few minutes of schematics and hacking, Luke and Lucy had helped Pax patch them in.

“We’re in.”

“Great.”

“I think he’s snoring?”

“And he’s says I’m bad,” Ambrose said. “All right, let me know when he wakes up and transmit his vitals the your father. We need to make sure he’s kept stable. Even though Kasim wouldn’t be that reckless.”

Lanyard’s iPad beeped. “We have clearance, Clarence.”

“Roger, roger.” Luke laughed.

“What’s our vector, Victor?” Lucy said.

Ambrose rubbed his forehead and smiled reluctantly. “Okay. Very funny. Radio silence, starting now.”

“Ten-four,” Luke said.

“Roger,” Lucy said.

“Over.”

“That’s Clarence Oveur. Over,” Ambrose added.

Lanyard chuckled. “I knew it.”

The Gallagher’s antics were distracting as well as annoying, but they nevertheless did help him retain his sanity.

The base was two hours away, and meanwhile, Lanyard pulled out a bag of blueberries like a magician pulls rabbits out of top hats. It was as if he hid them everywhere waiting to take them out for the opportune moment. Ambrose had some, of course. After they arrived, they parked the in a dilapidated shed around a mile from the base.

And then they walked the rest of the mile along the field to avoid detection. They stopped at a cobble stile and set up. Lanyard used a gadget to pick up nearby signals and x-ray the underground for structures. Alice’s Grandpa Percival definitely had range in his criminality.

“Hey, Clarence, this is Roger. Over.”

“Go ahead, Luke.”

“Darcy woke up. He has a migraine.”

“Blood pressure’s back up too.”

“That’s normal. What else?”

“They’re taking him to talk to Harrow, and they’re not being very nice,” Lucy said.

“Of course, not. I imagine he’s not making it easy either.”

“If he wasn’t too busy trying not to throw up on 009’s shoes, he’d sass up a storm,” Luke added.

“Best that he’s focused on maintaining control, then.” Ambrose harrumphed.

“How’s it going in Dover?”

“We’re at the base picking up the layout. It’s well-foritfied, so it’ll take a while to find out where they might be keeping Father.”

“Uh-oh. We’ve got company.”

“What?” Lanyard furrowed his brow.

“The cameras are picking up men in suits breaking into the house. They’re weirdly quiet.”

“What about Alice and George?” Ambrose said.

“Still sleeping.”

“Good thing George took a day off. He won’t be coming down for a meeting with Singapore.”

“Hey. We need to go, but where?”

“Ambrose.” Lanyard looked at him.

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes darting about as he thought. He snapped his fingers. “The Rolls Royce. Get in the trunk. Now. There’s a panel you can lift to get into the compartment under, so if they look there, you’ll be undetectable. It’s even infrared-proof. Just remember to pull in the sides once you get it so it doesn’t look like a panel, and don’t forget to lock the car and turn off the lights in the lair.”

“It better not stink.”

“Luke, come on,” Lucy urged. “What about the computers?”

“Tell Pax to lock them remotely and make sure they can’t access them. Let Fitz know.”

“Got it.”

“Now don’t say a word until they’re gone.”

“Shit.” Lanyard drew in a breath.

“They’ll be all right.”

“They better be.”

While they waited, Lanyard and Ambrose managed to pinpoint the function of the levels.

“Pax, I know you’re doing more than enough already, but I need you to get us into the cameras into the compound.”

“Doing enough? Please. It’s a regular Monday. I’m in my pajamas running Call of Duty and your side-mission with a pack of Red Bull, five fans, ten servers, and four computers. I can start and end a war if you need it.”

“Just the cameras will do, Pax, but thank you.”

After a while, Pax patched them into the feed.

“Time to find Waldo.” Lanyard and Ambrose flipped through the cameras.

“Hey.”

They jumped.

Ambrose “Luke, I assume, they’ve gone, otherwise you wouldn’t be speaking.”

“Yeah, they’re gone for now, but we’ve got bigger problems.”

“Bigger problems?”

“Apparently, Kasim blackmailed Harrow. He went into Orbis to climb up the ladder, but when he wanted to get out, Kasim threatened his family, so he’s stuck.”

“Not what we expected. Small complication, I suppose.”

“There’s more.”

“Naturally.”

“Pax managed to freeze the feed for enough time, so we know where Harrow’s family is.”

“Good news, then.”

“Now for the worse.”

“What are we in a roller coaster?”

“I’m telling in order of happening, okay? Darcy bluffed, but Kasim called it using your dad, so he made Darcy give him the code ahead of time, and they’re coming for the bolt hole. They also knocked him out again, and his watch lost signal. We’re in the dark. For real this time.”

“You can’t even track him?”

“Nope.”

“That’s it. Today couldn’t get any worse.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Okay, now don’t jinx it. We don’t need more bad juju, right now,” Lanyard said.

“What’s the plan? Did you even account for this stuff?” Luke said.

“Not precisely, but I have fail-safes. Your father and I will take care of it.”

“Right. We’ll keep an eye and ear on things from here then.”

“Also we might be too distracted, but in case anything, and I mean, anything else goes wrong, call Stevie.”

“Ten-four.”

A rustling sounded nearby. Someone was listening in.

Ambrose straightened.

Lanyard furrowed his brow.

“Hello, boys. Mind if I join the fun?”

“Oh, f— You couldn’t have given us a heads up?”

Sabrina strode up in black cargo pants with an insulated jacket and leaned on the stile beside them. “Thought I could test your alertness.”

“We’re alert.”

Ambrose returned to looking through the cameras. “I think I found Father. He looks beaten pretty badly. We’ll need to make an escape plan and then somehow find Fitz before something else happens. Oh, and we’ll need to get to Harrow’s family as soon as possible.”

“I’ve been informed. A team is trying to do an exfil before Kasim decides Harrow isn’t useful anymore, which could be now or later.”

“I’m surprised you’re on board.”

“I’m not a monster, Ambrose, despite our history.”

“You haven’t exactly cared about others for a while now.”

“Maybe you don’t know me well enough. Maybe I’ve changed, and you refuse to see it.”

“Hmm.”

“Okay, so. Plan.” Lanyard looked between them.

“I have some fun toys in my Jeep.”

“Picked them up in Morocco?” Ambrose raised an eyebrow.

“Ukraine, a few months ago.”

Lanyard glanced aside. “Didn’t they... have a revolution a few months ago?”

“Your point?”

“Yep, she hasn’t changed a bit.”

“I’m resourceful. What are you?”

“Funny.” He grinned.

“I’m sure that comes in use.”

“Surprisingly, it does.” Ambrose shrugged. “That aside, I’m sure our little gadgets won’t do much. What you picked up should come in handy.”

“I do have a lot of C4.” She strode some yards aside and opened the trunk.

Lanyard chortled. “Okay, I like her.”

Ambrose cocked his head.

“I didn’t say she was Joan of Arc.”

“On the other hand, she just might be,” Ambrose murmured.

“What was that?” Sabrina turned around

Ambrose coughed and simpered. “Something in my throat.”

“Glock or Beretta?” She help up the pistols.

“Beretta—” Lanyard said.

“Glock,” Ambrose replied.

“I know you’re used to the M9, so lucky you.” She smirked at Lanyard.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t use any other model.”

“You thinking what I’m thinking, Ambrose?”

“Cairo 2010.”

“Right?”

“Could work.”

“Isn’t that a little messy?” Lanyard clicked the mag in place.

“You’re an American. That should be your specialty.”

“Ha, ha, ha, yeah.”

She covered her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry, you’re supposed to be the ‘funny’ one.”

“Still like her?” Ambrose grinned.

“You should meet my wife. She’d get a kick out you.”

“Is she American too?”

“Italian.”

“Ahh, a diplomatic ally.”

“Well. We should get cracking.”

They suited up in minutes, and Sabrina slung a duffel over her shoulder.

“Okay. Lanyard and I will go get Father. You—”

“I’ll find their control room and see if I can find Lost Boy.”

“Sure.”

The three entered through a dilapidated hatch that led to the ventilation. The base was repurposed from an old World War II bunker, which meant it was full of secrets and entrances possibly not on the blueprints. Maurice had always liked these sorts of places. The Cold War seemed to serve him well in many ways, even well after it was over.

The three climbed down the ladder and padded across the damp tunnel. Finding the ventilation shafts, Sabrina leapt and opened the cover, Lanyard catching it. And one by one like black panthers, they jumped noiselessly onto the vents. It was a slow crawl along. The air was surprisingly clean for all the moss and dirt that had occupied the tunnel. Checking the area underneath, they waited for it to empty.

“We might need a diversion,” Ambrose whispered.

Sabrina looked back. “Maybe we should split up now instead of at the elevator. I’ll create a diversion down the hall parallel. You two go. Then I’ll do my part.”

“Sounds like a fair adjustment. Good luck, everyone.”

“For Narnia,” Lanyard said.

Sabrina inched her way around the corner. The two men’s breaths along with the wind in the base and the footsteps filled the tense atmosphere.

Bang! Clatter! Some weird noises echoed in the halls too. A ferret?

Ambrose furrowed his brow.

“Whatever that is, we better haul ass.”

They ducked as gunshots rang out. The hall cleared as their attention drew toward Sabrina’s location. Lanyard and Ambrose peaked down the vent opening.

“Clear?”

“Seems so.”

Footsteps sounded.

Ambrose pulled Lanyard up and looked at the cameras.

It was a pair of guards heading up. “I have an idea. We need to knock them out and take their uniforms, switch clothes.”

“Great. Like in the movies. Except one thing, Ambrose.”

“What’s that?”

“I see only one guy.”

“And a woman that looks just your size.” He grinned.

“Are you calling me short?” Lanyard raised his eyebrows.

“A little.”

Ambrose kicked down the vent cover and dropped on the man, and Lanyard dropped on the woman. One knock against the wall, and they dropped unconscious. It was easier than planned, but the timetable meant they didn’t really dwell on it.

“You know, we should do this more often,” Lanyard said.

They dragged the guards into a broom closet and swapped clothes before they had a chance to regain consciousness.

“What, invade an enemy territory, knock people out, and steal their clothes to save our relatives?”

“Eh, I don’t know about that. Maybe advanced laser tag with lower stakes.”

“That I can get behind. I’d be happy if I didn’t need to bend the rules to bring my life back into balance.”

“Come on, you kinda love it, though.”

“Part of it.”

Leaving the closet, Lanyard took out a pen.

“What?”

“We can’t leave unlocked, and since there’s no bolt for it, I’m improvising.”

“With a pen?”

“You forgot what these things do?”

“I didn’t read up in a while.”

“Then prepare to be amazed.”

“Within the near future would be nice.”

Lanyard flicked the side of the pen, and a flame came out of one end, a flame which he used to melt the door handle and the side of the door.

“A lighter?”

“I think I’ll keep it.”

“Be my guest.”

“Okay, let’s go get your dad.”

They skulked along the halls to the elevator, managing to get trapped with none other than Kasim and a few other men.

“Shit,” Ambrose mouthed, pulling his hat down. Lanyard didn’t react, only smiled. Cocky bastard.

Kasim looked back. “Who are you? I don’t recognize either of you. I handpicked the people for this base.”

“Erm...” Ambrose had nothing.

“Transfers.” Lanyard winked. “From HR?”

“HR?” Kasim raised his brow.

“Yeah, two of your people got sick. We’re here to replace them.”

“Are you?”

Ambrose pressed a button on a device in his pocket, and the shrill sound reached the air.

Everybody shouted and bent over. Meanwhile, Lanyard knocked out Kasim with the butt of his gun, and Ambrose stunned the rest of the men when they came at him.

“What the hell, Ambrose!” He stopped the elevator.

“What do you mean? I saved our lives. He knows our faces.”

“I was working on it.”

“What, you think we were going to get out of here with that ‘HR’ line? They don’t have an ‘HR’. They’re a crime syndicate. I think money is the only benefit. You’re 401k is the amount of bullets they don’t pound you with for doing your job correctly.”

“I had a plan B.”

“Such as?”

“Rely on you to have one. Smart using their frequency against them.”

He laughed before dropping his expression suddenly. The elevator opened, and he left, intending to look for his father.

“Okay, fine, I was going to use the stapler.”

“You were going to staple them to death?”

“Stun gun.”

“Not bad.”

“Ha.”

Without further interruption, they found the room. Of course, it had two other men standing watch.

“Great. Knock ‘em out?”

“No, let me try something first.” Ambrose walked up to them. He changed his accent to something like his father’s, more British country, less university-bred. “Hey, Kasim sent us to relieve you. He wants you to meet him in the conference room third floor.”

“And who are you?”

“New guys.”

“I don’t know anything about new people.”

Lanyard glanced at Ambrose.

“Well, Kyle caught smallpox, and spreading it wouldn’t be wise, so he went home. We’re trying to take over the world, not cough up a storm.”

“Kasim sent you?”

“Yeah. Transfer from another base.”

“Which one?”

“Lancashire. Cold as shite, but it’s got the best brewery in Ramsbottom, though.”

“You know Peter, then? How’s he doing? Get promoted yet?”

“Peter? Well. Which one? Foster or Litvinsky?”

“Eh, Litvinsky?”

“Ah, well, Litvinsky’s still fooling around, but his aim’s getting better. Clipped me in the shoulder a while ago doing training.”

“Damn. Bloody hell. Hardcore, he is. Well, we’ll let you two keep guard, then. See what the bossman wants.”

“Don’t have too much fun.”

They laughed.

After they were out of view, Lanyard raised his eyebrows. “How did you do that?”

“Fitz talks in his sleep.”

“You knew all about their friend and that base in Lancashire because your brother talks in his sleep?”

“When he said he knew everything about Maurice and his syndicate, he meant everything.”

“How?”

“I don’t ask. It worries me less. He’s had ten years to catch bits here and there, so it’s not that surprising.”

“Damn.”

“Now let’s get out of here before they find Kasim in the elevator.”

They unlocked the door and stopped at the sight. Bloody, bruised, and covered in dirt, Ambrose’s father was barely recognizable.

“Shit, the camera doesn’t do you justice.”

“Lanyard.” Ambrose nudged him. “Let’s untie him.” He kneeled and took the gag from his father’s mouth while Lanyard untied him.

“Ambrose, nice of you... To join the party.”

“Shh, save your energy. We’re getting you out of here. There’s a whole plan.”

“Sabrina?”

“Part of the team.”

“Good. You did good.” He swallowed thickly, head hanging from exhaustion.

“Come on.” Ambrose lifted his father over his shoulders.

“Ready?” Lanyard looked around the corner.

“Yep.”

Lanyard climbed up the vents again, and Ambrose worked with him to get Claude up. Then one pulled Ambrose through while the other assisted. Sabrina was waiting outside to pull them up.

And then the alarm sounded.

“Damn it, they found Kasim.”

“Shhhh. Quiet,” Ambrose whispered. “We keep going.”

The vents sealed off at the corner with grates.

“Bugger all.” Ambrose facepalmed. “Are they serious?”

“We’re trapped,” Claude breathed.

“Nope. No. We’ll think of something. Lanyard, try shorting the circuits.”

The doctor opened up the panel above. “Ehh, it’ll take a while. Has a bunch of fail safes.”

“Right.”

“Oh.” He snapped. “Lighter pen.”

“Lighter what?” Claude scrunched up his features.

Ambrose rolled his eyes. “Lighter pen. It’s a pen with a lighter. Although, pen lighter would be correct.”

“What are you, the grammar police?”

“It’s the correct way.”

“Okay, fine. I’m going to melt the grate to weaken it and knock it down with my foot.”

Ambrose heard Kasim’s voice carried through the vents.

“I’m sure they’re not dangerous. Rival spies. I’m handling it. As for your dear little brother, he’s not giving an inch.”

“Not that you need it since I’ve come out of the shadows. You certain this is just an anomaly?” A man with a deep, smooth voice stood in the corner of the room where a shadow lay.

Ambrose shuddered as my blood turned to ice at the sound. He knew that voice anywhere.

Lanyard stiffened along with Claude.

“Is that...?”

“Maurice.” Ambrose ran a hand through his hair.

“And my nephew still thinks I’m dead?”

“Definitely. He thought I was the new leader.”

“Ahh, so the rumors did their work. I never thought he’d believe them. He was always so skeptical.” He chuckled. “He was also a good liar. I suppose we should shake the myth then. He needs to learn to keep his nose out of business that doesn’t involve him.”

“Right.” Kasim smirked.

Maurice stepped out of the shadows, a wooden cane clicking on the floor as he left the room. Kasim followed, and the three men were alone again.

“How was he still alive? How?” Lanyard cursed.

“I don’t know.” Claude shook his head.

“Faked his death. Fitz said he might’ve had backup plans in case things didn’t go according to plan. He played dead to work undercover.”

“To distract us, play us. Plan something while biding his time.”

“Do you have the grate down?” Claude wheezed.

Lanyard had used the lighter to weaken the points in four places. “Right...” He pulled back his leg. “Now!” He banged his foot against the grate, and it came loose. “Okay, come on.” He pulled Claude with him. “Sabrina!”

The rope winded down.

“Nice.” He attached Claude to it, and she pulled him up. Then it was Lanyard, and Ambrose followed.

“All right, Maurice is alive. He’s on the ship with Fitz and Kasim. I think they’re going to leave. We need to go.” Ambrose rubbed his face.

“Someone needs to stay with Dad, though.”

“Sabrin—”

“Damn. She’s quiet. And fast.”

Ambrose sprinted off in the same direction. “She’s going after Kasim!”

“I’ll stay here, then! Since I’m the doctor!” Lanyard was to get Claude into the Jeep and drive away pedal to the medal. Ambrose wasn’t worried about that. He was worried about Fitz.

The ground slish-sloshes under their boots. White chalk cliffs surrounded the coast of Dover, and of course, the ship was anchored some distance into the water. Sabrina fire something at the ship. A harpoon? It worked whatever it was, and she used it to get across.

“Sabrina!” He needed to catch it.

She looked back after she landed.

“Don’t do it.”

“I’m sorry, Ambrose.” Her comms crackled.

“No!” He screamed.

Sabrina cut the wire.

Ambrose watched as it fell, and in any case he’d have just stopped and panicked before jumping into the water, but instead he ripped his jacket off and dove, using the wire as a vehicle a point further into the water. His hair flew in the air. Hands slipping, he took a deep breath. And the wire collapsed into the water. Ambrose disappeared into the black expanse.

The water hit him like a wall of ice. Ambrose flinched as the base exploded, rocking the water.

And then. He heard a scream. It was Fitz.

Ambrose took a few breaths before treading the water like a madman. He didn’t have a plan this time. How could anyone make such a plan for this? Life wasn’t always predictable. For once, he was lost. But one thing he knew. He’d do anything.

Chapter 33

I woke up as I’d fallen out of consciousness, nauseous and panicked. My wrist felt odd too. I gasped and sat up. They’d taken my watch. No one knew where I was. Waves. Water. Wind. I was on a ship. Cliffs.

“Oh, no.”

Dover.

“Oh, my God.” I rubbed my face.

“Finally got yourself into a pickle you can’t get yourself out of, eh?”

I jumped up. “I knew it,” I whispered. My pulse went erratic.

Maurice smirked as he leaned against the wall. “I thought you said he had no idea.”

“You said he was good at lying.” Kasim lingered aside.

“Well, Darcy, where’s big brother now? Your amici?”

“I’m sure they’re up to something.”

“Or nothing.”

Kasim had a bruise on his head.

“What happened to you?”

“Take a guess, rat.”

I chuckled. “Ambrose is here, isn’t he?”

“He is. But I’m afraid not for long. You see we caught one of their people planting explosives, and since they’d come in through the vents we decided to activate the security measures, block them off. And their friend had no idea I evacuated the place upon their arrival. Slowly. Subtly of course. Just people leaving in places she wasn’t until she took the vents up and climbed back to the surface. You see, we’re going to blow it up sooner than they planned.”

I swallowed, freezing. “No.”

“Oh, yes. Shouldn’t be long now. You see, at first, I thought I could use your brother. Then he rejected my offer, and I stopped him from using you. But it didn’t stop him from working against me. My brother apparently has decided to come back from the dead as well, and now he’ll perish because he chose the wrong side, once again. But now, at least I’ll be able to get rid of the people who really pose a danger to me. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and keep your family, out of the way.” He shrugged.

“You loved him.”

“And then he said he hated me, wanted nothing to do with me, after all I did. He spat in my face and rejected me, abandoned me.”

“And what did I ever do?”

“You?” He sniggered.

“Why you don’t kill me already is a mystery. You’re ready to do away with Father and Ambrose, but me? No, I’m still here.”

“You’re still my blood, and you haven’t done any real damage, not yet anyway.”

“Excuse me? You think you can convince me you care an inch about me?”

“With my shriveled soul, it’s the least I can do.”

“No, the least you can do is stay out of my life.”

“You first.”

I huffed.

“See? You can’t resist it. This is your drug. Getting back at me. Ambrose knows I’m sure.”

“You attacked my way of being and my family.”

“Did I, though? I showed you the real world. I turned you into a formidable adversary against the world’s tricks.”

“You were supposed to be my uncle!”

“Not everybody can be who you want them to be! Not even your father,” he spat out.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” I lowered my voice dangerously.

He tossed his hands up. “What did he expect from me anyway? To raise you like a mother hen? In my line of work, your humanity is stripped away until it’s gone. You don’t get kindness in this world.”

“Then why didn’t you let Ambrose take me?”

“Ambrose?” He cackled, and it turned into a sort of high-pitched outraged giggle. “Ambrose, oh, Ambrose, he was a shrimp of a boy, mourning the loss of his mother and my brother’s weakness. You think he could’ve looked out for you?”

“Better than you did. We could’ve been fine.”

“He would’ve quit his education to take care of you, run his life off track. Now look at him, top of his class, man in a position of intelligence and power.”

“But what did you care! You just said you had no humanity. So what was the past decade about?” I shouted, my voice carrying across, echoing against the cliffs. “You tortured me all these years because you’re life didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to? Really?”

“Yes!” Maurice hissed.

I stepped back.

“My brother hates me. You think I could’ve loved you? I can’t kill you because you’re still his son, but it doesn’t mean I owe you anymore or anything less. I kept you because you were leverage and all I had left of him. A reminder. An annoying worthless keepsake. Now you’re stuck here. I can’t possibly let you go now. You know too much, and you’re determined to undermine me. Killing you when I have you right here? No. You’re the trophy.”

I ran my hands through my hair.

“Now, you ready to watch the show?”

I fisted my hands. “If you do this, I’ll spend my entire life tearing down everything you’ve ever built, anything you’ve ever loved or cared about, even showed a slight notion of appreciation. Everything. Until you’re left with the shrivel of the man you once were. I will make your life so miserable, you’ll wish you would’ve killed me years ago. I promise.”

“Lovely speech. Emotional. I’m tearing up. But now it’s your turn.” He called a number. “Do it.”

“No—” I launched at him, but Kasim shoved me back.

I winced, watching the cliffs. The wind whipped about my face. All my life I’d wished for light, but this once... This once I prayed for darkness.

Boom!

“No, Ambrose!” I screamed in anguish and ran to the ledge. “No!” They held me back, but I fought them. Broke someone’s nose. “Ambrose!” Five agents were too much for me, and I ended up in a heap on the floor. My throat grew sore. I couldn’t breathe. My face was overrun with tears. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. I was going to live off the rest of my days imprisoned, and my brother wasn’t even alive. My friends... Lost their father. And my father...

They’d stopped restraining me after I collapsed from a panic attack I no longer desired to get rid of. And then when I’d roused from fainting, I dissociated. Of course, I wasn’t any harm now. What was the point in fighting anymore? What reason? Revenge consumed anyone’s life. Mine no longer meant anything. To get back to my friends? I was too weak to face them.

I was forced back to awareness when they pulled me up. Telling from the shouting, there was an intruder. I daren’t hope. And yet, I did.

“Everybody drop your guns! Or I’ll kill him.”

I turned around and furrowed my brow. I knew that voice. Sabrina.

On top of the ship, the formidable spy had a sniper pointed down at us. The red dot...

Was on me.

I stared at it numbly.

“Ah, Sabrina. I wondered when I’d see you again,” Kasim gloated. “Killing your husband wasn’t enough to put you off coming after me then.”

“I’ve spent the last few years of my life working my way, becoming someone else, someone I hated, to get to you, and I’m not letting you get away.”

“By killing him?”

“Drop. Your. Guns.”

Maurice cocked his head, intrigued yet on edge. “Go ahead. Drop them.”

“Into the water.”

Maurice laughed. “In the water, men.” The water splashed. “All right, I’ll play. What is it you want?”

“Vengeance.” She moved the target laser to Kasim’s heart.

“Well, then I won’t stop you.”

“What?” Kasim widened his eyes.

“Kasim’s been trying to gain control behind my back, and I’ve finally found proof while I was busy playing dead, so you can go ahead. Kill him.”

“Maurice—”

“Shut up,” he roared.

I flinched.

“Seriously?” Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “Just like that?”

He smirked. “You show hesitation by talking to me further. All this time, waiting for the moment to put a bullet in his head, and you don’t take the first second? It seems your rampage has left you with some heart yet.”

“Shut up.”

“Let me make it more interesting, then. Kill him,” he took a pistol from his jacket and aimed it me, “ I kill Darcy, here.”

I released a breath.

“Why?”

“Kasim could still be useful, traitor or not. And— I want to see how much you want it. Revenge comes at a price. You’ve no doubt experienced that. You’ve paid with your mind, and your peace, and now you’ll pay with your heart. Killing someone you’re connected to—” He clicked his tongue. “Takes a part of you you can never get back. But can you accept the collateral damage?” He cocked his head.

Sabrina focused her sight. The trigger finger eased closer.

“That’s it.” Maurice smiled devilishly.

I saw her hesitate. “Sabrina,” I said.

She glanced at me.

“Don’t worry. You and I have something in common. I know what it’s like to have a worthless roach of a human have so much up on your life, to take every meaning away.” I took a whisper of a breath. “After you pull the trigger, don’t waste a second taking your life back. Not. One. Second. It’ll be gone before you know it.”

She set her sight back. Focus razor sharp.

Crack!

I ducked in reflex.

Maurice shouted in pain.

Crack, crack! Kasim went down too howling in pain, a hidden gun clattering from his hand.

“Hello there!” Ambrose stood with a revolver in his hand, looking at Maurice.

I furrowed my brow, looking at Sabrina. She’d shot Maurice in the hand. Poetic. And Ambrose had made sure Kasim wouldn’t fight back. He was bleeding. Alive, but bleeding. Slowly. My mind froze seeing Ambrose. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Sabrina, you have them?” Ambrose said.

“We have them.”

Guns cocked everywhere. It was Shadow. Helicopters zoomed in too. “Hands up! Down on the floor!” And MI6. Luke and Lucy had called Stevie after all. And if Ambrose was here, than Lanyard and our father must’ve been alive too.

“Good. Fitz—”

I grasped him, breaths rushing in. “You’re alive.”

“Of course, I’m alive.”

“Maurice told him we died in the explosion to mess with his head,” Sabrina.

“Oh, my God.” Ambrose squeezed me.

I sniffled, my shoulders trembling.

“I’m here, Fizzy. I’m here.” He rubbed my back.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“That’s my line.”

I quirked a smile.

“Good job by the way.”

“On getting caught?”

“You created a diversion to give us time, and you saved a family.”

“Because of you,” Sabrina said, “we discovered Harrow’s family was at risk. You also got us to where they were in less time than we had. I offered the mission to whoever wanted it. Chief of MI6’s family? Everybody came. Well, nearly everybody, I needed some people here. But the point is, you saved lives, and yes, you got caught, but I have never seen someone handle it so well. Most people give up immediately. You have the fight even when you don’t see it yourself. Sometimes winning isn’t being the fight. It’s inspiring it.”

“Sorry, you didn’t get your closure or revenge.”

“What do you mean? Kasim won’t be walking anytime soon. I mean, Ambrose got him in the kneecaps.” She grinned slyly.

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, and he will spend the rest of his life in an underground government prison. Worst type believe me.”

“She would know,” Ambrose quipped.

I looked between them. “Wow, you two had quite the adventures then.”

“Er, ahem, that’s classified.” He gave a mock serious look.

“Classified?”

“Yes.”

“Right. Is this classified?” I tickled him.

He laughed. “Let’s get off this ship.”

“Yes, let’s. Wait, why are you wet?”

“Took a swim. Good for the lungs.”

“You’re freezing!”

“It’s not exactly the Bahamas, Fitz.”

“You’ll get hypothermia! Coat. Now.” I ripped my coat off and threw it on him.

He put his arms in the sleeves.

As if he didn’t feel it. I huffed. He’d been shaking the entire time.

“Hey, I have a winter camouflage outfit if you want it. It’s wool.”

“Yes. Go. Change.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

“Pfft, ‘fine’. Damn. Do I act like that when I’m ill?”

“You have no idea.”

After he’d changed, one of the helicopters gave us a ride to the shore.

“So. Don’t hate each other anymore?”

“I... do not.”

“What?” Sabrina raised her brow.

“I let my previous experience get in the way of who you’d become since our chase, and obviously you’ve given people a purpose, something good to make out of what Maurice has made their life into. You were there for our father, and it seems revenge has not been your only objective. Whether or not it was self-defense all those years ago or not, back there you did save Fitz’s life. I think it’s time we start over.”

“Okay, my turn. How?”

“The shot to Maurice she made was just the distraction I needed to get on the docks and take Kasim. It was the perfect chain reaction to the flip in advantages.”

“Well, not really. I had backup either way. Someone was ready to shoot Maurice at a cue, but they noticed you planning your own shot, so they stepped back.”

“So— why did you cut the zip line? Why keep me out if you had backup?”

“Because you complicate things than they need to be, and I didn’t think you’d be crazy enough to jump.”

“Complicate? I don’t complicate things.”

“Yeah, you do. Always. You both do.”

“I take affront to that.” I snorted.

“I took a dive for that.”

“That was stupid.”

Ambrose looked at me appalled.

“You tell me not to make risky choices, and then you go ahead and jump into 40-degree water? What the hell?”

He shrugged and smirked. “Desperate times, desperate measures.”

I shook my head. He was still shivering, although a little less. “You’re crazy.”

“Now you know how I feel.”

We met the rest of our little troupe soon enough.

“Darce!”

“Darcy!”

My friends hugged me before I saw them, and my father wrapped his arms around me, tousling my hair.

“You’ve got a fine family here.”

“Which you are a part of.” I squeezed him. “You’re not leaving this time.”

“I’ve got no choice, do I?”

“Well, you do have a lot to answer for, government-wise; you look like you were mauled by a lion; and Ambrose is getting married when he proposes, so you need to be there. It’s non-negotiable.”

“I’ll try to stay.”

“And I mean, if you try to go, we could always shoot you in the kneecaps.”

Sabrina chortled.

Ambrose covered his face. “You were waiting for it, wasn’t it?”

“For five minutes.”

Luke and Lucy looked at each other.

“Kasim. Ambrose shot him in the... Oh, it’s fine. Whatever.”

Abner had strode down from a hill with a grin. “Darcy, old boy, heard you could use some medical assistance. Ohh. Wrong Devereux.” He frowned and drew his head back. “This is ‘Dad’?”

My father shook hands with him while holding onto me and Lanyard. “The one and only. Abner?”

“Heard about me, have you?”

“More like read about you and watched you.”

“Yes. Awkward. Ambrose told me you keep an eye on... Things. From the shadows as it were.”

Father raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, he knows? This entire time?” I widened my eyes.

Ambrose shrugged. “He’s MI5. Well, sort of. It’s on a contractor basis. He’s the British Columbo. No one assumes he knows anything, and it’s to our advantage. It’s for his safety and his family’s. And it better stay that way.”

“Fine. Makes sense.”

Stevie stepped out of a black van.

“Be right back.” Ambrose walked over to meet her.

“Let’s take a look at you then.” Abner climbed into the ambulance.

“I’m at your disposal, doctor.”

I sat on the edge with my friends.

“Oh, Darcy, here.” Abner gave me an orange blanket.

“What’s this for?”

“It’s a shock blanket. You look cold and in shock.”

“I’m not in shock. If anything Ambrose is in shock.”

“He does look like he’s in shock,” Lanyard commented.

“See?” Abner cocked his head.

“Fine, I’m a little bit in shock. And... Come to think of it ravenous, which is surprising considering the circumstances.”

“I picked something up on the way.”

“Chicken wings, right?” Lanyard said.

“He insisted.” Abner sighed. “At least I got a salad.”

“I’ll take anything at this point,” I said.

Ambrose had gone into a car got out changed into dry clothes. Now he was over by a Jeep talking to Stevie. He looked over at me once or twice, and I knew their subject immediately. Mission accomplished apparently. We’d done them a favor and caught one of the world’s most notorious criminals. It wouldn’t be a habit, but as my brother said, ‘desperate times, desperate measures.’

Sabrina contributed to the conversation for a minute, then joined us holding a ferret.

“Where did you get that from?” Lanyard and I said.

“Oh, this is Gus. He created that distraction you and Ambrose needed.”

“That?” Lanyard gestured.

“Don’t question my methods. Gus is very effective.”

After some minutes, Ambrose came over.

“Gus. Are you serious? I didn’t know he was still alive.” Ambrose tossed his hand.

“Oh, you know Gus?” Lanyard raised his brow.

“She found it in a village with a broken leg and kept it after she nursed it back to health. Even took it with her when I chased her to Morocco.” Ambrose rubbed the ferret’s belly. “How she kept it alive? I have no idea.”

“Admit it. You like him?”

“I never said I didn’t. You just waited years before neutralising the stink up he made.”

“I needed to find the right doctor, not some back-alley hack.”

“Right.”

I smiled. “Home?”

“Well, yes and no. But the important thing is we can just sit here and not worry for the next two hours.”

“Nice.”

“Oh, and Stevie got your watch back from Harrow.”

I rose my eyebrows. “I thought I’d never see it again.”

“Well, we could’ve tracked it either way.”

“Hmm.”

Dr. Abner checked everyone before we took the ride back to MI6 or MI5, wherever we were debriefing. Father was in the worst state. Enumerating the amount of bruises and broken ribs would only take too much time, but he’d heal with rest. I apparently only suffered from shock and a concussion. Everybody else? Post-adrenaline fatigue. Oh, and Ambrose was recovering from hypothermia, but the change of clothes had helped.

“Well, by tomorrow I will be back in my office as if none of this day or yesterday has ever happened.” Abner smiled slyly.

“What happens in Dover stays in Dover,” Ambrose quipped.

I huffed. “Definitely staying in Dover.” Then a yawn hit me. Upon looking at my watch, it was midnight. “Oh, happy birthday, Luke.”

“Thanks, Darce.”

“Oh, yeahhh,” Lucy said. “You’re officially one more year annoying than you already are.”

“I love you too, Luce.”

She chuckled. “Buon compleanno.”

“Happy birthday, kiddo,” Lanyard ruffled Luke’s hair and patted his back.

“Many happy returns.” Ambrose smiled.

“Also, let me just say, best birthday ever,” Luke joked.

I chuckled. “Big victory for Les Trois Cerveuax.”

“What is that?” Father asked.

“Oh, it’s just... What we call our little group. Us three.”

“Oh. Ingenious. And you three?”

Sabrina, Ambrose, and Lanyard looked amongst each other.

Ambrose shook his head. “Oh, we don’t—”

“I don’t know.” Lanyard shrugged.

“We’re not a...” Sabrina furrowed her brow.

Lucy grinned. “Well, they’d be the original Les Trois Mousquetaires.”

Father seemed intrigued. “Ohh, yes. I think there’s merit in it. Who do think is which?”

“Papa is Porthos.”

“Guilty as charged.” Lanyard grinned.

“I think Ambrose at first sight looks like an Athos,” I commented.

Ambrose quirked his lips.

“But on closer inspection, he’s an Aramis, and Sabrina, Athos, no contest.”

“Ha!” She seemed to favor that, shooting Ambrose a smug look.

Father chortled.

“I still think I’m a cross between the two.” Ambrose crossed his arms with a sigh, looking out the window. It must’ve been an old argument somehow.

“Hey, since we’re like a 2.0, who would we be?” Luke raised his brow.

“Porthos, Aramis, Athos, no question.” Ambrose pointed to Luke, me, and then Lucy.

I furrowed my brow. “So I’m like you?”

“You remember, I’m cross between the two.”

“Nope. Doesn’t work that way.”

He chuckled. “Right.”

After we’d eaten, Ambrose, Luke, Lucy, and I piled into Sabrina’s Jeep while Father, Abner, and Lanyard took the Jag. I fell asleep and slumped into the most uncomfortable position before Ambrose leveraged me onto his lap. It had been a long night, and thankfully I’d get to live through more. We’d all get to live through it.

Everything was, for once, as it should’ve been.

Chapter 34

“Fizzy, wake up. We’re here.” Ambrose rubbed my arm.

I stirred with a huff and a groan. We were in London again, at headquarters to be debriefed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Mph. Not any different. Much.”

Luke chuckled.

“What?”

“Who’s Fizzy?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, noo. Ambrose!”

Ambrose scratched his eyebrow. “Oops?”

“It’s nothing. Forget you heard it.”

“When he was two, he couldn’t pronounce his name. I still call him that.”

I groaned and rubbed my face. “Not cool, Ambrose. Not cool.”

We jumped out of the Jeep.

Lucy laughed. “It’s cute.”

I pouted.

Ambrose ruffled my hair and pecked my forehead. “Let’s go.”

“I’m going to tickle you when you least expect.”

“Worth it.”

Lanyard dropped Abner off at his home before he and Father joined us.

My friends had been sworn to secrecy on pain of treason, trial, and imprisonment, as we all were. It was morning pertinent officials had gotten the whole story, it was near morning. I’d officially taken a vacation from consulting or passing on information. My friends were here for the week. Lanyard had their bags moved into the house as they had been on Christmas Eve, and we all went to bed as soon as possible. Lanyard took the couch, and Luke and Lucy’s shared the guest bed on the same floor. Father took Ambrose’s room, and I shared with my brother for the night.

It had been a long day, and for once Maurice and Kasim were in the hands of the law. No faked deaths or workarounds. Stevie would make sure the trial was airtight without needing to involve me in it, and Father could finally relax as well.

Of course, I woke up in the middle of the night unable to find sleep again. Ambrose, normally a light sleeper, was out like a Mummy. Luke tiptoed down the stairs, and I shuffled along to him.

“I’ll make the tea. You grab the frozen yogurt and the chocolate cake.”

“It is my birthday.”

In the kitchen, the kettle boiled. The yoghurt softened. I grabbed two spoons and joined Luke who sat on the kitchen island, spooning a smidge of thick white honey into the cups. And we scooped the cake in wine glasses.

I took a spoon of vanilla.

Luke made a mocha flavor by mixing the chocolate with the coffee and wasted no time in combining it with the cake.

I took the coffee ice cream from him and combined a spoon of chocolate hazelnut fudge. Then Lucy wandered down too with Ambrose and Lanyard not far behind. Ambrose grabbed the red velvet and took a stool, and Lucy went for for the cookies and cream. She crunched the bits of Oreos with a satisfied expression. Lanyard went for the pistachio pint.

Father did wander down too, but he stopped with wide eyes at seeing us all hanging out on the counter and the kitchen island with cake and frozen yogurt. “Well. Seems we’re all a little insomnolent.”

“Join the party?” I shrugged.

“Is that raspberry?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

Of course, after the soiree, tea consumed and frozen yoghurt enjoyed, cake absolutely demolished, we were drunk with sleep in the midst of a sugar coma. It attacked us one by one. Luke and I stumbled over towards the stairs, catching each other multiple times and laughing madly before we gave up and collapsed on the couch, in a tangle. Lucy tripped into a coffee table and stubbed her toe fighting with her sweater with a swear, whereafter she’d relented and flopped onto an armchair near the record player. Ambrose...? He didn’t make it. My brother ended up sprawled on the Persian rug on the kitchen threshold, clinging to an afghan. And of course, Lanyard hugged the antique lamp like a slow jazz dancer from the 1920s, and Father passed out on the counter. He never made it off the stool. It was like seeing a bunch of college seniors back after a night of heavy drinking.

And so, Alice walked in late in the morning to catch such a sight. “Woah. What the hell did you guys do last night?”

I groaned and stretched.

Luke muffled. “Shit.”

“Literally.” I tried sitting up, but Luke fell off the couch, and we cracked up again.

Ambrose chuckled drowsily. “We don’t talk about that.” He rubbed his eyes.

Lucy nodded. “Pfft, like never.”

Alice furrowed her brow. “Okay,” she drawled. “But you all look like you went clubbing and then picked a fight.”

“Er, half right, we, erm,” I yawned, “we went out to celebrate spring break for old times’ sake, no alcohol involved, played some nasty games of poker. Then I insulted the loser, and a brawl sort of broke out. I emerged as you see. Ambrose managed to diffuse the situation.”

Ambrose nodded to the side. Not a bad story, I supposed.

“Damn, Devereux. I knew you had style and class but...” She cocked her head. “I didn’t know you were a rogue too.” She looked at me in amused thought before ambling into the kitchen.

We all snickered.

“Did you hear that Darcy? You’re a rogue.” Lucy imitated her accent.

I rolled my eyes. “’’fraidso. A rogue disguised as a gentleman.”

“Or a gentleman disguised as a rogue?” Ambrose raised an amused eyebrow.

“Hmm.”

“Er, who’s this?” Alice found Father still conked out on the counter.

“Oh, meet our father. Claude, Alice. Alice, Claude.”

Father snored.

“I thought he was dead,” Alice murmured.

“Ehh, that’s complicated. Top secret. But the important thing is, we thought he disappeared; then he was presumed dead while he hunted down some conspiratorial bastard, and now he’s back.”

She blew out a breath. “Wow. Whiplash much?”

“Happens all the time,” Luke quipped, patting her shoulder while he made for the tea.

The moment George walked in he couldn’t hold back laughter, cackling even as he walked towards the kitchen to make coffee.

That’s when Lanyard woke up. “Huh? What? Mmmh?” He stumbled back from the lamp to stretch. “Boy, that was a night. I need coffee.”

“Okay, where did the frozen yogurt go?” George looked into the freezer.

We all four looked at each other.

“We don’t talk about last night,” Lanyard said.

“Uh-huh.” He rolled his eyes.

Then Lanyard went to introduce himself to a hot cup of coffee.

I grunted, sitting up. “I need a shower and some aspirin.”

The morning drifted by like clouds on a slow summer morning, even though it was only March. I took my time shaving, and George made eggs a fry-up of beans, onions, dill, bacon, carrots, and some black pepper, chili, and sunflower seeds. The ultimate hangover cure, end-of-mission breakfast, and comfort food.

And so the year continued. It would take a while to assemble a case for the upcoming trial, and with all my time off, I found myself more at the piano, and surprisingly even at therapy. Dr. Abner said EDMR therapy might help, a way of separating the reaction from the memory, removing the power from them. It wouldn’t be easy or quick, but he was hopeful, so I took a chance. Over the months, my nightmares came less often, which was a small solace.

As for Sabrina, she and Father continued to lead Shadow, although he did visit this time, and we got to know each other again and pass the time comfortably once more.

Constance and I got to know each other more as well too. Mondays while Ambrose was at work, we played chess, and she helped me get back to ballet. Alice and I kept our routine of snacks and films.

As I took every day at a time to build the life I wanted, the months had passed easier than I’d thought. I got my driver’s license in May, and then my friends’ graduation came before I knew it.

Constance had retired a few days before, and the party had been epic. Her first day at the new job was in two months so she’d have some vacation time herself.

So on Saturday in the third week of June we flew over to the windy city in the heat of summer. The ceremony was boring except for Lucy’s valedictorian speech. Of course, she’d topped all her classes. Her discipline and practice had served her well. And that wit had never ceased to amuse. Luke had come out with honors as well and won a math competition with the tutoring I’d given him. Never would’ve guessed.

And so, Lanyard and Sophia were talking with Father, while Luke, Lucy, and I strolled the lawn, arms around each others shoulders. Ambrose and Constance ambled further on. They had a love struck smile and a pure laugh, whatever they were talking about.

“They look adorable—” She gasped and threw her hands over her mouth.

Ambrose kneeled down with a ring in his hands.

“Oh, my God,” Luke murmured.

My jaw dropped.

Constance nodded earnestly. They cried and laughed. Constance jumped into his arms and captured his lips in a kiss. He slipped the ring on her finger reverently.

“Are you crying?” Lucy sniffled

“Oh, yeah.”

“Not ashamed.” Luke’s voice cracked.

Finding someone whose mind challenged Ambrose’s, who’s heart provoked feeling, and whose character impressed, it had been a challenge. But then again, it was what they had built from what they found in one another.

When the couple came over, there were hugs and congratulations all around. Father gave his blessing. And while Ambrose and Constance went to celebrate, Les Cerveuax convened around a bonfire in their backyard eating goat brie and apples and blackberries with honeycomb. We ran along the shore and swam. It felt good to move! Oh, God. I felt free. We watched the sun set and the moon rise.

And then we closed the evening with dinner.

For once, I knew whatever came, five brains were better than one.

Or something like that.



THE END

Epilogue

​The thunder rumbled. In the afternoon it was glorious. Raindrops meet the pavement graciously. The wind rushed through the trees, and in old whispers of the leaves, I heard memories.

“Come on, Ambrose! Whoo! It’s raining!” I ran out of the backdoor.

“Let me get my coat on!” Ambrose caught up as we made it across the road. “Boatswain!” He laughed. The mud slush-sloshed as we frolicked about St. James Park. We took to the trees, whooping.

“Ho! What cheer, Ambrose? What cheer?” I hung upside down from a branch some distance up.

Ambrose twisted around some branch for the view. “Good. Speak to the mariners: fall to’t, yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir.”

“Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts!” I commanded the imaginary sailors. “Yare, yare! Take in the top sail. Tend to the master whistle. Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough! Come on, my boys!” I waved my arms wildly, curls bouncing about sprinkled with rain.

Ambrose chuckled. “You look ridiculous.”

“Likewise, Peter Pan.”

He laughed. “Peter Pan, seriously?”

“Where were we?”

“We’re sinking.”

“Oh, yeah.”

He pulled a goofy expression and a drunken voice. “Good boatswain, have care. Where's the master?”

I snorted, drawing in an operatic baritone, “Pray now, keep below.” Then I pulled a nasally tone. “Where is the master, boatswain?” Switching voices, “Do you not hear him? You mar our labour: keep your cabins: you do assist the storm.” I gestured, shooing myself.

“Nay, good, be patient,” Ambrose tutted like a Victorian gentleman and laughed.

I cackled. “When the sea is. Hence! What cares these roarers for the name of king? To cabin: silence! trouble us not.”

Ambrose and I giggled, nearly falling off the tree.

“We should do this more often.”

I sighed. “It’s what Shakespeare would’ve wanted.”

Watching the rain, I pondered fondly. Ambrose was right. Being alone was a part of life, but it wasn’t all to it. Being alone made me appreciate togetherness, friendships, and family. I saw the importance of sticking together, of keeping hope, and never losing faith. Faith that everything would turn out all right in the end, no matter what. I only had to have an inkling, and life would paint the rest of the picture. The storm was all part of the journey to clearer skies.