#LIKE GENUINELY HOW DID THEY AUTHENTICALLY FAKE ALL THAT BROKEN GLASS THAT QUICKLY | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

uwua3 · 4 years

Note

that taichi headcannon for jealousy broke my heart :( could you do one where he finds another person? one that makes him laugh, ruffles his hair, games with him etc~ a happier one!

oh no!!! i’m so sorry here u go *offers u a new, super cool heart that is angst–proof* ♡ yes, i definitely want taichi to find ~ love ~ like he deserves because he’s such a puppy 🥺 i adore him endlessly so him having a happy alternative is Required Immediately!

summary: love came in many forms—including platonic best friends

warnings: heartbreak, unrequited love

author’s note: i actually went a bit more different route with this! i know this prompt typically means a romantic love, but i didn’t really feel like it would fit. this is a best friend! reader x taichi, and i am so happy with the message in this! go best friends!!!

love is love and you shouldn’t have to rush into a relationship to find it. your friends love you, and although it’s not the same, it’s more than enough ♡ love isn’t just what you do for others, so don’t try so hard to be loved. people will love you for you, not whatever romantic movie–based idea you have of them. i hope you know you are loved. i love you ♡

word count: 2,106

music: ily (i love you baby) – surf mesa ft. emilee

a skater gets back up.

🍁🛹 nanao taichi

taichi missed being in love

he missed writing all those heart–shaped love letters made of pink construction paper and his exaggerated, overwhelming feelings with red pen. he’d write their name in pretty cursive that took so many tries, he dotted the i’s with hearts, he color–coded it so well that it was just an explosion of valentine’s day

he missed dedicating his favorite songs to them, hearing it randomly in his shuffled mix and immediately thinking of them. he missed explaining what the songs meant, feeling all types of love when he repeated them over and over again

he missed creating playlists with them in his mind, forming it so it flowed perfectly and it was like he handcrafted the album himself. he missed sending the link and listening to it on repeat like a lovesick fool

he missed sending good morning/night texts, putting all his time aside just to fall head over heels again like he was on his skateboard. taichi knew he was a good boyfriend, that he loved with all of his heart and his feelings were real. but, he missed all of it, he missed love so much. taichi needed love

(it was so fucked up, but taichi sometimes listened to all the music he dedicated to them at night and stared up at his dark bedroom ceiling, crying just wishing he didn’t break it off. that he kept the toxic relationship going for just a bit more, just for the attention. he missed them)

so, taichi knew what he had to do. he actively started looking for love, not caring if he was going to get hurt again or if his heart was weak and broken from his last situation

(taichi’s reliance on love was so unhealthy, that even his friends got tired of his whining and eventually stopped communicating back when he went on a rant again)

(taichi didn’t mind, his dependency and need to be someone’s and be their one & only was too strong for him to even consider any other rational solution)

but you, you came out of no where

taichi was busy scrolling through his instagram following list, trying to find out if anyone cute was single. he could slide into their DMs with a fun message, be as enthusiastic as possible to avoid being left on seen. he was considering if he should start a digital conversation as he rode home from school

(he wasn’t the best multitasker. taichi was skating to the dorms, texting on his phone without looking up. he was casually skating before bam! he hit a curb, tumbling to the pavement as his phone flew a few feet away)

taichi groaned, knowing he was going to get scolded and laughed at by autumn troupe the moment he showed up to the dorms like he lost in a fight. as he moved to lay on his back, taichi rubbed his eyes as the sunlight was suddenly blocked from his vision

taichi opened his eyes and looked up, you were looking over him with wide, concerned eyes as you were saying something about first aid and asking if he was okay. taichi just blinked, not hearing you over the ringing in his ears as he stared at your face

you were cute! this could work, taichi just had to say some clever pick–up line you’d like. you would maybe find it so witty that you’d give him your number, you two would walk, form a momentary bond where he’d fall in love, and then you’d leave. taichi couldn’t believe fate finally recognized he needed a partner so it made him fall for them instead (literally)

taichi was about to open his mouth before you took his hand and pulled him up, helping him stand and he stared at your face, trying to process the situation. why were you helping? were you interested? did you want to go on a date? taichi blushed, never having someone ever be this direct to him

in reality, taichi’s sense of perception and reading between the lines was so warped. taichi romanticized his entire life, the way you touched his arm and made sure a completely random stranger was okay. this had to be the universe’s calling! but really, he just fell in love with everyone he met and pretended like his soulmate was out there

(maybe, this was all just an elaborate game to prove to himself that someone could love him. maybe, taichi just wanted to be worthy of someone’s love)

last time, he purposely fell off his skateboard to get a person’s attention. but this time, you were the one who came over to help. maybe, this could be different

“hey, hey! are you okay?!”

when the ringing subsided and he could pick up on your voice, taichi kicked his board up and swung it in his open backpack, putting his free hand out as he grinned like he didn’t just embarrass himself in front of you

“nanao taichi, great to meet you!” he exclaimed, smiling like his elbows weren’t scraped or his uniform was in desperate need of an ironing. he had a dull headache and he needed an ice pack for that bruise on his hip, but he looked so happy

you carefully took his hand, shaking it as you warily wondered how could someone be this happy after crashing like that (it was honestly a wreck, he looked like he could’ve died from the way he landed)

you said your name and the rest was history as he picked up his phone, wincing at the cracked screen, as he asked for your number

from there on, it was the start of a healthy friendship. at first, taichi tried to force this image he had onto you, convinced the timeline was basically telling him he had to do everything in his power to fall in love. but you shut him down quickly, emphasizing you guys were only friends and you weren’t about to risk this great friendship for some fling taichi wanted

honestly, it was for the best. taichi respected your boundaries and backed down (especially after you were adamant on not entering a fake relationship for the attention). when taichi took off his rose–tinted glasses and realized not every relationship he had meant pursuing some fantasy of love only he could imagine, your friendship with him became even better

taichi wrote you letters when he genuinely meant them, not because he felt like he was obligated to. sometimes, when he was so appreciative of how much you were there for him, he wrote pages of what you meant to him. they weren’t heart–shaped, but it had even more meaning because you actually read them and ruffled his hair, saying he was the bestest friend ever

you loved it! even though, he didn’t try as hard as he always did. he wrote your name normally, but you still smiled when you read it. he didn’t dot his i’s with hearts, but you still joked about how messy his handwriting was, and it didn’t bother him! it wasn’t perfect nor a representation of his lovey–dovey heart, but you loved it more than anyone else he ever did it for in his past

(his heart swelled with pride, not because he did something romantic, but because it made you happy. taichi was happy you felt loved, and were loved. was that the true purpose of letters? taichi didn’t think he could’ve wrote letters that were just plain without all the love clichés in the world, but you enjoyed them just the same without the flowery language)

taichi even sent you songs he knew you would love. you always listened to them, even sent back feedback about what you liked. but, taichi didn’t think it was romantic in any way. you appreciated that he took his time to send you something he associated with you. you always sent one back, but it wasn’t random, he always had on repeat whatever you chose because it fit him so well

he even remembered the first time he created a playlist for you on your birthday, selecting the same amount of songs as your age with thoughtful consideration. but this time, he didn’t go overboard and nitpicked at every single beat and rhythm. he just picked songs that made him think of you in a random order, and you still loved it. you even sent a video of you listening to it and shooting a thumbs up to the camera

(taichi’s heart doubled in size. you knew him so well! you knew what he liked and always paid attention to his likes & dislikes just like he did with you! you put in just as much effort with him, you really tried in this friendship and it wasn’t for the gifts he’d shower his future significant other with)

taichi always said good morning/night to you, but you didn’t yell at him when he forgot sometimes. you always said it back and even texted him first on occassion

(his heart was truly overwhelmed with all the subtle love you showed him. for once in his life, taichi felt like this was love. but he didn’t have to follow every romance movie’s rules or imitate every protagonist ever to get that love, all he did was be his true, authentic self)

taichi stopped himself from forcing love onto everyone he met. on nights when he felt like texting his ex again, or rekindling old relationships that didn’t work out for a reason, you stayed up with him, reminding him how much pain he went through and he couldn’t just put himself through hell again

taichi had to accept not everyone was his soulmate–to–be, that maybe this wasn’t his time to be in love. it took so much time to know that he’d rather be in love for a very long time than in short bursts

(not because it was more romantic, but he deserved a long–term, stable relationship that wasn’t just him begging for validation)

you taught him he was more than the people who played him in the past. he couldn’t sink to their level and start messing around just for the satisfaction, he would fall in love with someone right and it would be all worth it

(you two even once got into an argument. when taichi was going on and on about wanting a partner, you cut him off angrily, frustrated he wasn’t listening to your pleas for him to stop. you were so confused why he kept doing this to himself on purpose and if he was going to turn into some player. he kept ignoring you, whining about some partner before you gave up, telling him you couldn’t handle it today)

(that’s what it took for him to snap back to reality, taichi apologized immediately and tried his best to avoid ranting so much. at the end, you were always right and wanted the best for him. taichi had to accept that)

you provided taichi with real love that wasn’t because because he did all these romantic things, it was because you liked him for him. he stopped trying to see you as a potential lover and loved you as a friend, and that was more than enough

taichi had skateboarded to your house, rapidly knocking on your door as you came outside to see him with a boquet of flowers and your favorite candy. your heart dropped, oh no, was he about to confess when you made it clear—

“i love you.” taichi said, passing you the gifts as you stood shocked. you couldn’t believe it, you told him numerous times you two would never be in a relationship like this... you were about to object, reprimand him before he burst out laughing, holding his stomach as he hopped off his board

“oh my god! your face!!!” taichi hollered, trying to contain himself as you smacked his head with your boquet. you were genuinely so freaked out but breathed a sigh of relief once you saw he looked at you the same as before. taichi wasn’t in love with you, but—

“i just came to say i love you, as my best friend. i love you, and you taught me real love. i love you.”

your best friend, taichi, smiled just like that day he fell off his skateboard and scraped up his entire body. you hoped he never changed and stayed the same romantic nutcase as before, but for the right person

as you hugged him, taichi realized he didn’t need a relationship. he needed love, and his best friend was more than enough

#nanao taichi #taichi nanao #a3! act! addict! actors!#a3!#act! addict! actors!#a3! actor training game #a3! headcanons #act! addict! actors! headcanons #mankai a3!#mankai company #a3! x reader #a3 x reader #taichi x reader #a3! taichi #a3 taichi

79 notes · View notes

karamatsu-boys · 6 years

Text

Different

This a second part to Choukeimatsu’s Same as Always, but with Iromatsu!

Ao3 Link

It all started with irritation. Ichimatsu wasn’t sure when exactly it started, only that it was around the middle of their first year in high school, but Karamatsu had started to get on his nerves. If he was being honest with himself, Karamatsu never did anything wrong, not really. But a little while after joining that stupid drama club, his older brother had started acting weird. He just suddenly started talking in such an irritating way around the house, like when he did in those dumb plays of his. But soon enough he was talking in that painful way all the time, no matter where they were, and with the same confidence he had on stage. As if the entire world was Karamatsu’s stage.

He admired hated Karamatsu for that.

One day, Karamatsu had just been a bit more annoying, telling Ichimatsu about the new play he got the supporting role in and how excited he was about it. Normally Ichimatsu enjoyed didn’t mind listening to Karamatsu talk about his day, but whenever his older brother talked about drama club, the thing that changed his beloved older brother, the thing that made him different from each other, Ichimatsu couldn’t stop his anger from boiling, and that day, it boiled over capacity.

“I don’t care about your stupid club activities, Shittymatsu.”

It had surprised everyone. It had surprised Ichimatsu himself. An apology had been lodged in his throat that he had been struggling to get out, but then Karamatsu just laughed it off and he had apologized.

“I’m sorry, buraza, I didn’t realize I was boring you. I’ll keep that in mind for future interactions.”

Of course, Karamatsu would forgive him. He was too kind even to a gloomy loner such as himself. But that’s what infuriated Ichimatsu. Karamatsu should’ve gotten angry at him for that, should’ve demanded an apology, should’ve told him off for it, but instead he had forgave him and apologized! Whether it was a conscious decision or not, Ichimatsu referred to Karamatsu as Shittymatsu from that day on.

His behavior towards the second eldest grew worse and worse the more Karamatsu’s personality changed. When he started to wear ridiculous clothes near the end of their first year, Ichimatsu began to glower and glare whenever Karamatsu tried talking to him. Even being in the same room as his older brother seemed to put Ichimatsu in a bad mood. When Karamatsu started to teach himself how to play the guitar and sing songs on the roof in the beginning of their second year, that’s when Ichimatsu started spitting out insults whenever he got the chance. And, God, when Karamatsu started stringing English into his sentences, Ichimatsu just flat out ignored him and deliberately pretended he didn’t exist, even going as far as saying things like ‘Did you guys hear something?’ whenever Karamatsu spoke.

His other brothers at first tried to stop and chastise him for his behavior, but every. Single. Fucking. Time...Karamatsu would just laugh it off and forgive Ichimatsu. Eventually the rest of the sextuplets stopped trying, maybe even caring, over Ichimatsu’s bad treatment towards Karamatsu. Because surely if it truly bothered Karamatsu he would say something...right?

Wrong.

All of sudden, one day, about a month before summer break, Karamatsu had started wearing sunglasses, even when they were indoors. It had been too much, too extra, that even the others started calling Karamatsu ‘painful’ and bully their brother. But never at Ichimatsu’s level of bullying which had taken a new extreme:

Breaking Karamatsu’s things.

And by things, it was those stupid sunglasses. The first time Ichimatsu had broken them, he had felt a bit bad because he realized that Karamatsu had been trying to hide a bruise under his eye. It was probably the only time Ichimatsu ever apologized ever since he started this rebellious behavior against Karamatsu, however, when he had tried to ask Karamatsu about the bruise and Karamatsu had responded with ‘Heh, a Karamatsu Girl reacted a little too roughly towards my attempts to romance her’, Ichimatsu decided that he didn’t and wouldn’t feel bad anymore. After all, he didn’t think he’d break anything super important of Karamatsu’s, just the painful things like his sunglasses (which Karamatsu continued to wear even after the bruise had faded away) or those stupid tank tops that had his name on them.

Wrong again.

There had been something else that changed aside from the addition of those glasses and that bruise: Karamatsu’s relationship with Osomatsu.

Karamatsu and Osomatsu had never been especially close when they were kids or growing up through middle school. Not to say that they were on bad terms, but they just hadn’t been close like they were with their partners in crimes as kids. Just like Ichimatsu is closest to Jyushimatsu, Osomatsu is closest to Choromatsu and Karamatsu is closest to Todomatsu. Well, was closest to Todomatsu. Nowadays the youngest Matsuno spent most of his time avoiding being seen with the second eldest and opted for hanging out with his group of annoying friends. Although Osomatsu was still close with Choromatsu, he suddenly started hanging out lot more with Karamatsu right before their summer break, and Karamatsu in return had become a bit different.

It was as if being around Osomatsu was a reversal spell on Karamatsu. He didn’t talk that stupid flowery speech around Osomatsu, he dressed normally when he and Osomatsu left the house to who knows where, he smiled and laughed more genuinely with Osomatsu instead of that fake deep voice he used when he tried to be cool, and he was just overall like his old self before entering high school. But only around Osomatsu. With anybody else, Karamatsu slipped back into that painful persona. And it seemed like none of the other sextuplets noticed this little detail. It seemed like only Ichimatsu noticed how different Karamatsu behaved around Osomatsu. Even after summer break had ended and they were all back in school, Karamatsu and Osomatsu were always seen together between classes, during lunch, and strangely enough, whenever Karamatsu was said to have skipped out on drama club, Osomatsu would be nowhere to be seen. It made Ichimatsu livid every time.

This morning wasn’t any different.

This morning, on their day off, Osomatsu and Karamatsu volunteered to clean up after breakfast, so the rest of the sextuplets went upstairs to put away the futon. When the futon had been put away, everyone got ready to do whatever they wanted to do for the rest of the day, whether that was to go out with friends, study for a test, practice their swings, or in Ichimatsu’s case, play with his cat friends. But for that, Ichimatsu needed his cat treats, which were in the kitchen.

When Ichimatsu was in the kitchen, looking for his cat treats, he heard soft murmurs from the living room. Now that he thought about it, Osomatsu and Karamatsu didn’t go upstairs did they? Ichimatsu scowled. So they were chatting up again, how annoyi—

A sob came from the living room. A sob he knew belonged to Karamatsu. A sob he hasn’t heard in a long time.

Body moving faster than his mind, Ichimatsu went over, ready to slide the living room door open, to demand what’s wrong, to see what he can do, but despite his desires to see if his older brother was okay, he only opened it a crack. What he saw made his jaw drop.

Karamatsu was basically in Osomatsu’s lap, facing him, with his face buried into the eldest brother’s shoulder and arms clinging to him, and Osomatsu in return was holding onto Karamatsu just as tightly, with one hand rubbing his back soothingly. He could see Osomatsu murmuring something to Karamatsu, but couldn’t catch any of it. Whatever he said, however, made Karamatsu shake his head against his shoulder and whine.

“Well then he’s just going to continue bullying you,” Osomatsu said with a huff, but didn’t stop consoling his immediate younger brother.

What? Someone was bullying Karamatsu at school? Who was it? He’ll beat the shit out of them. No one was allowed to make his brother cry like this. No one.

Before he could stop himself, Ichimatsu slid the door wide open, startling both older brothers.

“Who’s bullying, Shittymatsu?” Ichimatsu asked, teeth grinding and voice a low growl. He will find this piece of shit that was tormenting his older brother.

“Are you seri—mfph!”

“No one is bullying me, my dear buraza!” Karamatsu said quickly as he quickly slapped his hand over Osomatsu’s mouth. “You see, I have a performance coming up! After all, the Cultural Festival is just right around the corner!”

Oh yeah, that was a thing. Now that he thought about it, Karamatsu had been practicing his lines a lot more nowadays, and working on some shitty props for drama club. Didn’t he also bring his costume to show off the other day? But Ichimatsu wasn’t stupid, those were real sobs he heard.

“But you’re crying.”

“Mere acting, my dear buraza!” Karamatsu said, as he climbed out of Osomatsu’s lap and jumped to his feet so he could face Ichimatsu. His tears were still there, but he wiped them away with so much unnecessary movement before he struck a pose. “You see, I asked our dear brother, Osomatsu, to help me with my lines because my scene requires me to shed tears. I want my performance to be authentic, and what better way to produce authentic tears than in the warm embrace of my dear older brother!”

There was a long pause with Ichimatsu staring long and hard at Karamatsu before the fourth son finally clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. So he wasted his time?

“But,” Ichimatsu glanced over at Karamatsu when he noticed that he wasn’t speaking in that obnoxious tone of his, and sucked in a breath when he saw the gentle smile on his older brother’s features, “I appreciate your concern, Ichimatsu.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Ichimatsu grumbled, quickly shutting the door so neither Osomatsu nor Karamatsu would see his face flush pink. He walked back to the kitchen to look for the cat treats he had momentarily forgotten about, not realizing that there was a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Wow, you really do have some serious acting skills. You almost had me believing all of that bullshit you told him was true.”

Ichimatsu froze. Did he just hear Osomatsu right? Did he think that he had gone back upstairs? Or did he know that he was in the kitchen? Ichimatsu heard Karamatsu sigh heavily.

“He doesn’t need to know,” Karamatsu said in the most tired voice Ichimatsu’s ever heard him speak in. “This is my problem to fix, I’ll just burden him with it if I told him... Come on, we have to clean up.”

Cat treats forgotten, Ichimatsu stormed back upstairs, not caring if his thunderous steps revealed to those shitty older brothers that he had been there the entire time, nor did he care that he startled his other brothers when he slammed the door to their bedroom open. He was seething.

“What’s got you in a bad mood this time? Did you have to listen to Karamatsu-niisan monologue?” he heard Todomatsu say, but Ichimatsu didn’t spare him a glance as he searched the room for something, anything. And once he found it, he channeled all of his anger into it.

He ripped, shredded, and utterly destroyed whatever it was he had gotten his hands on. He wasn’t completely sure what it was because he swore all he was seeing was red, but he knew it was something of Karamatsu’s and that’s all that mattered. He thought he heard alarmed voices around him, probably telling him to stop, but he ignored them. There was a couple of times he felt someone try to touch him, but he shoved them away, never really seeing who it was.

How dare he. How dare Karamatsu look down on him like that. How dare he lie to his face like that. How dare he make it blatantly obvious that he thought he was better than him. That his problems were too good to share with Ichimatsu. That Ichimatsu was utter trash unable to help him with his problems. How dare he play favorites! He used to cry in front of all of them, he used to tell all of them when he had problems, he used to rely on all of them. He used to rely on Ichimatsu! But now it was only Osomatsu. Only Osomatsu got to see glimpses of the old Karamatsu. Only Osomatsu could see him cry. Only Osomatsu knew his secrets and problems. Only Osomatsu was relied on. Only Osomatsu.

Ichimatsu was breathing hard when he was done with the deed. He felt a lot calmer, although his hands were still trembling a bit, but he was back to his senses so that seemed to be a good sign.

Ichimatsu looked down at the mess he made, expecting to see broken sunglasses’ or ripped tank tops and sequin patterned anything or both, but it wasn’t any of that. There, laid before him in shreds and pieces, was Karamatsu’s prized costume for his play. A play he had coming up in a week and had a leading role in.

Ichimatsu felt his hands grow clammy and his boiled blood instantly run cold.

“What have you done, Ichimatsu?” Choromatsu voiced what everyone in the room was thinking, even Ichimatsu himself. Ichimatsu clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. He knew he did something wrong, worse than the usual even. He knew he should really apologize once Karamatsu find outs but when he opens his mouth—

“Shittymatsu pissed me off. He shouldn’t leave his shit lying around.”

With that said, Ichimatsu got up and walked over to sit by the window, not bothering to clean up the mess. Let Karamatsu see what he’s done. That’ll teach him for being so full of himself. Serves him right.

Everyone else lingered a bit, exchanging looks as if wondering if they should do something, but ultimately decided to just carry on like nothing happened. After all, Karamatsu would just forgive Ichimatsu like he always did. However, despite that thought, tension lingered in the air, and it grew thicker and thicker when footsteps of the eldest brothers grew closer to the bedroom. Ichimatsu’s never done something like this, so they weren’t sure what was going to happen once Karamatsu sees his costume destroyed.

Soon the two eldest stood in the doorway and whatever they had been chatting about quickly died in the air when they laid eyes on the mess on the floor. The silence rang loudly in all of their ears. Osomatsu was the first to move, but only towards their shared closet so he could get changed. Karamatsu on the other hand stepped towards his torn costume, getting on his knees and scooping up a handful of fabric. He had his back to everyone else, so no one knew what kind of face Karamatsu was making.

‘Probably that stupid kicked puppy look,’ Ichimatsu thought to himself, not bothering to hide his smirk. He was taking great pleasure in watching his older brother despair and quietly collect all the pieces together into a neat pile. That’s what he gets. Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu on the other hand were all giving the second eldest looks of pity as he stood up, back still to them. They couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to hide his tears.

“Who did this?” came Karamatsu’s steady voice. Probably holding back tears, they all thought. There was a long pause.

“You should know better than to leave your shit lying around, Shittymatsu,” Ichimatsu finally said, his smirk growing into a Cheshire cat grin. “It was just begging to get ripped—”

The sound of the drywall cracking and so easily, frighteningly, giving in filled Ichimatsu’s ears.

“—apart...” Ichimatsu’s sentence, which had started with malicious confidence, ended with meek fear. He glanced to his left and swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw a bare foot an inch away from his head. He followed the leg the foot was attached to up to the body that hovered threateningly above him and up to the stoic face of Karamatsu, who’s eyes burned holes into him.

“That costume was made by a friend of mine, Ichimatsu. She worked really hard on it. It took her about two weeks to finish it,” Karamatsu said in an eerily calm voice, but his eyes were anything but calm. They were like the eyes of a beast that’s been taunted and prodded at for far too long and at last the cage was left open. Ichimatsu’s never seen Karamatsu this angry before, he could hardly recognize him, as if Karamatsu was a different person altogether. It was uncomfortably terrifying. It would’ve been better if Karamatsu had yelled at him and showed his anger in an explosive manner like Ichimatsu did, because this—this was such a cold fury, he was afraid he might get frostbite.

“So imagine my surprise to see it destroyed. All her hard work? Gone,” Karamatsu stomped on the drywall with the word ‘gone’ for emphasis, and Ichimatsu was mortified with how badly he flinched. “All because you had a temper tantrum. I’m very disappointed in you, Ichimatsu.”

Ichimatsu just stared up at Karamatsu with wide eyes, and he hated his body for betraying him and letting his eyes well up with tears. His only saving grace was that they didn’t spill over, but God, he never thought hearing such words from Karamatsu would hurt so much.

“There’s a lesson in this. What is it, Ichimatsu?” Karamatsu asked.

“U-uh...” Ichimatsu glanced around Karamatsu’s intimidating figure, trying to catch someone’s eye so they could help him. But every time he did, they looked away. Even Jyushimatsu looked away, not at all eager to interfere with an angry Karamatsu. The only one who didn’t look away was Osomatsu, who held his gaze for a minute before he gave him a shit eating grin. Shitty eldest.

“Ichimatsu.”

“Y-yes...!?” Ichimatsu yelped, face flushing with shame.

“The lesson.”

“Y...Yes.... u-um...” Ichimatsu hated this so much. “I-I shouldn’t break things...”

“Whose things?”

“Shitty—”

Karamatsu, with his hands in his pajama pants’ pockets, suddenly leaned forward, intentionally or not digging his heel deeper into the drywall as he loomed closer above Ichimatsu.

“Hmm?” Karamatsu hadn’t said a single word but the message was loud and clear.

“Karamatsu-niisan’s things...!” Ichimatsu corrected himself, voice breaking a bit and heart racing in his chest.

“Good.”

And just like that, Karamatsu’s menacing figure was gone, and Ichimatsu let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding in. Back pressed against the wall and body tensed, Ichimatsu followed Karamatsu with wide wary eyes as the second eldest went over to the closet to change out of his pajamas. No one said a word and no one dared to move an inch. Well, no on but Osomatsu who laughed his ass off, but one firm kick to his stomach from Karamatsu quickly shut him up. All the younger brothers merely watched as Karamatsu went about grabbing a plastic bag and putting his torn costume into it, then walk towards the door. Just when he was at the door way, he was stopped by Osomatsu.

“Where are you going, Karamacchan?” Osomatsu asked, earning looks from the younger brothers. How could he be so casual at this moment?! Could he not read the mood?!

“Out,” was Karamatsu’s crisp reply, not bothering to look back.

“Do you need me to come with you?” Osomatsu asked, earning, again, strange looks from the others, but Ichimatsu hadn’t missed the serious undertone to the question. There was a long pause where the tension seemed to grow thick as wool, but it quickly deflated with Karamatsu’s deep sigh and the slight sag in his shoulders.

“No…”

“Okay, then have a safe trip, and be back before dinner time!” Osomatsu said with a grin, merely earning a nod from Karamatsu before the second eldest closed the door behind him. They all remained quiet as they listened to his footsteps, and it wasn’t until they all heard the front door close that they all let out a sigh of relief. Well, except for Ichimatsu, because now all eyes were on him.

“You screwed up,” Choromatsu said gravely.

“Screwed up big time,” Todomatsu said with a pitying shake of his head.

“1 strike! 2 strikes! 3 strikes! You’re out!” Jyushimatsu said, air swinging for emphasis.

“You better apologize to him when he comes back home,” Osomatsu said as he gets up from his lying position on the ground to sit with his legs crossed.

“W—why should I?” Ichimatsu spat. Despite his harsh words, he was still pressed against the wall from shock and he could still hear his heart pounding in his ears.

“Ichimatsu, I know you’re not stupid enough to need me to spell it out for you,” Osomatsu said, his gaze serious for a second and when he got a silent confirmation from Ichimatsu, he closed his eyes and stretched his arms. “In my opinion it was about damn time Karamatsu lost his patience with you.”

“Patience?!” Ichimatsu growled, glaring at Osomatsu. “You call that losing his patience? He nearly smashed my face in with his foot!”

“Oh trust me, he would’ve if you were anything but his cute little brother,” Osomatsu said with a knowing grin. Ah, it irritated Ichimatsu so much when Osomatsu acted like this. As if he knew Karamatsu better than anyone or knew something that Ichimatsu didn’t. Ichimatsu hid his jealousy annoyance with a scoff.

“Please, everyone knows that Shittymatsu is the weakest one after Choromatsu—”

“Hey!”

“—I could’ve easily taken Shittymatsu out like I’ve always done,” Ichimatsu said with more confidence than he felt.

“Mmm, are you sure about that?” Osomatsu said, making a disbelieving face that made Ichimatsu want to wring his neck.

“Yeah, Ichimatsu-niisan! Have you seen the size of the hole in the wall?!” Todomatsu piped in. Now that he thought about it, Ichimatsu hadn’t, and when he did he felt his stomach drop a bit. The hole was the size of his head, he could actually see the wall stud through it, and holy shit, a piece of it had been chipped off. Was Karamatsu’s foot okay?

“There’s a lot about Karamatsu you guys, especially you, Ichimatsu, don’t know about,” Osomatsu said with a stern voice as he folded his arms across his chest. “He went through a lot for you guys, but don’t tell him I told you guys, he’ll just deny it if you do and he might get angry with Oniichan, but try to—"

“Are you fucking bragging?”

Everyone turned to look at Ichimatsu with wide eyes, surprised at the venomous tone he used on the eldest son.

“So, what? You and Shittymatsu are now the best of friends? You guys braid each other’s hair and tell each other secrets when the rest of us aren’t around?” Ichimatsu hissed, his glare focused on Osomatsu, who looked back with surprised and confused eyes. But then a look of realization settled in those identical brown eyes and another knowing smile spread across his face that made Ichimatsu bristle.

“Don’t worry, Ichimatsu, we didn’t start having slumber parties until recently,” Osomatsu said, relishing the way Ichimatsu turned to face him, like a cat ready to pounce on his prey. He laughed as he put his hands up in a surrendering way. “I’m kidding~ Jeez, if you felt lonely without Karamatsu’s attention why don’t you just say so instead of letting jealousy get the best of you? None of this would’ve happened if you were a bit honest with yourself, Ichimatsu.”

“I don’t give two shits about Shittymatsu,” Ichimatsu hissed, ignoring the way his ears burned. Him? Jealous? Of Osomatsu? Yes No.

“Oh really?” Osomatsu said with one brow raised. “Then you won’t care if he doesn’t forgive you for this right?”

Silence met Osomatsu’s words, because until now, Ichimatsu hadn’t considered that. He never considered that maybe one day Karamatsu wouldn’t forgive him so readily anymore. Sure, it pissed him off when he was easily forgiven, but he had never wanted to be…hated by Karamatsu. Did Karamatsu hate him now? The thought made Ichimatsu visibly wilt like a flower.

“But Karamatsu-niisan is so nice! I don’t think he’ll stay angry for long!” Jyushimatsu piped up, his usual wide-open mouth smile had shrunken in size as he nervously looked between Ichimatsu and Osomatsu. It was obvious he was trying to reassure Ichimatsu, and it seemed like it helped a bit judging by the way the fourth son perked up slightly.

“But this is different. This isn’t his cheap sunglasses or his custom-made shirts. This was his costume for a play he is in as the lead role,” Osomatsu said, arms crossing over his chest again as he shook his head a bit. “Karamatsu really worked hard for this, it’s his first actual leading role.”

Every word Osomatsu said was like a brick added to Ichimatsu’s shoulder as he further slumped from the growing weight of guilt. He did, kind of, sort of remember the day Karamatsu announced her got a leading role in his all-time favorite play for the cultural festival. He could kind of remember how excited he had been about it and the twinkle in his eyes. He could also sort of remember the way Karamatsu showed off his costume but had been extremely careful with handling it. The only reason it was hanging in plain sight was because Karamatsu wanted to be reminded to work hard so he can put on a great performance…or something along those lines anyways…

“Honestly, I am 99% sure that he’s only angry that you destroyed his costume because his friend had made it,” Osomatsu said, looking up off to the side in thought. “If it had been store bought he probably would’ve forgiven you like always and would’ve just bought another one. But well, it was hand made by someone, so who knows if he’ll forgive you on their behalf.”

Ichimatsu felt the back of his eyes burn but refused to acknowledge that they were tears threatening to fill his eyes. He hated it, but Osomatsu was right. Karamatsu was kind; he never got angry on his own behalf, but on other’s. Just like the bully situation he overheard earlier. If Karamatsu used even an ounce of the anger he had shown to Ichimatsu to the bully, they wouldn’t think twice to mess with him again. But he was stupidly kind, he would never do that. So others have to get angry for him.

“You know what to do right, Ichimatsu?” Osomatsu asked as he smiled patiently at his third younger brother, smile widening when he got a nod in response.

—

Ichimatsu stared through the crack in the door, knees trembling and hands sweating, as he watched Karamatsu silently work on what he assumed was his costume. The second son had come back a lot sooner than the rest of sextuplets had thought he would, but it became apparent with the rolls of fabric under one arm and a bagful of sewing tools in the other hand, that he had gone out to buy the things he will need to remake the costume. After letting Osomatsu where he would be, Karamatsu had holed himself up in the guest room with the materials and their mother’s sewing machine. It was near dinner time, and Osomatsu had sent Ichimatsu to go fetch Karamatsu. He had tried to protest, but Osomatsu didn’t have any of his bullshit and threatened to eat his cats’ sardines if he didn’t go make up with Karamatsu. So here he was, trying to build up the courage to face Karamatsu, but he was afraid that he’ll lose before he even get’s a chance.

Swallowing his fear and his pride, Ichimatsu steeled himself, and his moment of courage he opened the door.

“K—Karamatsu-niisan…!”

Karamatsu stopped marking patterns on the fabric he was working on and looked over with a smile on his face.

“What is it my dear—oh. What do you want?” the change in Karamatsu’s tone and the instant drop of his smile when he realized that it was Ichimatsu and not any of the other brothers, gave Ichimatsu emotional whiplash.

“It’s— I-I uh— D-dinner is ready,” Ichimatsu said after a minute of struggling to find his voice, eyes sliding down to look at the ground.

“Okay.”

That was all he got. Ichimatsu willed himself to glance up and saw that Karamatsu had turned back to his work. Was Karamatsu ignoring him? Just like the number of times he has ignored his older brother? Well, Karamatsu was a little nicer about it, he at least answered him when he talked to him. But Karamatsu looked like he couldn’t be bothered to even look at Ichimatsu. Osomatsu’s words from earlier rang loudly in his head. Maybe Karamatsu really won’t forgive him this time.

What did he expect? He was trash, high school has made him realize that. He had no friends other than cats, and whenever someone did try to talk to him in class, he’d scare them away with a glare. He would rather reject people than get rejected after all. With Karamatsu it was the same, he kept rejecting this different side to him, not able to accept this new painful persona. But Karamatsu had always been nice to him and kept trying to reach out to him despite the constant rejection, and now the joke’s on Ichimatsu, because he was being rejected by his kindest brother.

The door shut behind Ichimatsu and he stood by it for a moment before he stepped forward and sat in seiza directly behind Karamatsu. He noticed Karamatsu’s shoulders tense, but he said nothing nor did anything.

“You don’t have to say anything just listen to what I have to say,” Ichimatsu said with more confidence than he had thought possible, but it was a bit ruined when he quickly added in a quiet, “Please…”

He got silence in return, but Ichimatsu took it as permission for him to continue.

“When we entered high school, you suddenly changed… You were the first to become different from the rest of us, and one by one we followed your lead…” Ichimatsu said, his hands gripping his knees to keep them from trembling so much. He wasn’t good with expressing himself very well, but he had to try. “Osomatsu-niisan stayed the same pretty much, but Choromatsu-niisan became such a model student, Jyushimatsu showed interest in baseball and joined the team, Todomatsu became a social butterfly, and then there’s me. I-I’m not as carefree as Osomatsu-niisan, I’m not very smart like Choromatsu-niisan, I’m not athletic like Jyushimatsu, I don’t have any friends like Todomatsu does…I was the only one who wasn’t able to change or adapt, if anything I became trash…but I thought maybe you’d be like me too.”

Ichimatsu swallowed the lump in his throat and bowed his head before he continued.

“You weren’t very smart, or athletic, or had many friends because of your new, strange personality so I thought you and I were the same. We were loners for different reasons, but I thought we could’ve been the loser brothers of the bunch together,” Ichimatsu noticed a tremble in his voice but he tried his best to hide it, mask it with a growl instead. “But you just had to go and join that stupid drama club!”

That finally got a reaction from Karamatsu, as he suddenly turned around to sit facing Ichimatsu, eyes narrowed as if daring the fourth son to disrespect the drama club again. Ichimatsu did jump in alarm when he suddenly had Karamatsu’s full attention, but his anger was greater than his fear, and it drove him to glare back at Karamatsu.

“You just had to get the upper hand on me didn’t you!?” Ichimatsu growled, nearly shouted. “Even though people cringed at the way you talked sometimes or laughed at the way you dressed, you never let it bother you because you were so full of yourself! You thought—you think you’re so cool! Like when you play your stupid guitar on the roof, something you only picked up this year yet you you’re not ashamed to play your mistakes to the world. As if you actually have an audience! And suddenly your acing all your English exams because you think it’s so cool to add English in your sentences! And that ridiculous deep voice of yours! None of it makes you cool! You’re so fucking lame! Fucking trash just like me, but you have so much confidence and a high self-esteem, things I don’t have, and I resent you for that!”

Ichimatsu was breathing a bit heavily from all his shouting, brows furrowed together as he continued to glare defiantly at Karamatsu, but the burning feeling behind his eyes made him turn his gaze down towards his hands on his knees.

“I-I wanted to break that confidence…prove that it was just a façade and prove that you weren’t any better than me… So I started calling you Shittymatsu, insulting you, ignoring you, a-and breaking your things. Because it made me feel better about myself and eventually you would have to give in… But every time. Every single time you would just forgive me. Brush it off—brush me off like it was no big deal. Like I was just some minor inconvenience that didn’t really need your full attention or concern, like all the other little inconveniences you��ve brushed off like nothing.”

Ah great, the tears were starting to well up in his eyes.

“I-I—I just wanted you to go back to how you were. No terrible fashion sense, no stupid deep voice, no flowery sentences, no guitar… Just how you were before, back to when you were timid and a crybaby and you told us everything and—and you relied on us…b-back to when you relied on m-me.”

Great, his throat was tightening up with emotion and as a result his voice was starting to crack. Ichimatsu’s stared down at his hands, noticing that his knuckles were white from how tightly they were gripping his knees. But in a matter of seconds, the sight was blurred as tears spilled and flowed down his face. Heaving in a deep breath, Ichimatsu threw his head back.

“I just wanted my niisan back!” Ichimatsu wailed, no longer trying to hold back his emotions. He didn’t know what kind of face Karamatsu was making, whether it was still stoic or if he was surprised. Even if he tried to see, Ichimatsu couldn’t really see much through his tears even as he tried to wipe them away with his hands, more just kept coming.

“You wouldn’t tell me what was—what was wrong this morning! You only rely on Osomatsu-niisan! Only Osomatsu-niisan!” Ichimatsu wailed through his hiccups and hitched breaths. “It made me so angry! It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough! So—So I destroyed your costume! But that wasn’t the right thing to do, I’m sorry! I-I shouldn’t have r-ripped up your costume! It was wrong of m-me! I know how much i-it meant to you! I’m so sorry Kara—Karamatsu-niisan! Please don’t hate me!”

With his heart on his tear-soaked sleeve, Ichimatsu felt a little lighter getting everything off his chest. But he was still sobbing and sniffling into his balled-up hands because this didn’t guarantee Karamatsu would forgive him. He was too afraid to look at him, because just the thought of seeing rejection in his older brother’s face despite his heart-felt apology would just break his glass heart.

“I could never hate you, Ichimatsu.”

Ichimatsu’s sobs came to an abrupt stop at those words, and he blinked tears out of his wide eyes as he looked up at Karamatsu. The second eldest had bags under his eyes, so obviously exhausted from all the late nights of practicing his lines and no doubt this morning’s stress, but there was kindness in those eyes and a gentle smile on his features. Relief washed over Ichimatsu like a waterfall and before either of them knew it, the younger brother lunged forward to hug Karamatsu around his middle, his face pressed against his stomach, which was a lot firmer than Ichimatsu remembered it being, but nonetheless, he cried against Karamatsu like a little child.

“I’m sorry too, Ichimatsu. I acted rather violently in my moment of anger. I shouldn’t have done that to you,” Ichimatsu heard Karamatsu say as he felt a hand pet his hair. He shook his head against Karamatsu’s stomach.

“N-no, you did nothing wrong, Karamatsu-niisan, you’re only human,” Ichimatsu said, sniffling loudly. He heard Karamatsu chuckle, but he said nothing in return as he continued to pet his hair. They stayed like that for a few minutes, with Ichimatsu clinging to Karamatsu as he calmed down, and Karamatsu soothing down his hair and nerves. It was nice, Ichimatsu had thought. But once he felt calmer or at least got his tears to stop, he pulled away from Karamatsu and sat up. He grimaced when he saw how snot covered and tear soaked Karamatsu’s shirt was.

“Sorry…” Ichimatsu mumbled, face pink from embarrassment now that he was back to his senses.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just a shirt,” Karamatsu said with a smile that made Ichimatsu felt like he was being blessed by some divine being. His older brother was too kind to trash like him, and he thanked God that he didn’t lose this kindness due to his stupidity. “Come on, let’s go to dinner. I still got a lot of work to do, but I can’t work on an empty stomach!”

Ichimatsu bit his bottom lip in guilt at that, but took Karamatsu’s hand when it was offered to help him get up. However, he didn’t let go of his brother’s hand when he tried to pull away. Karamatsu gave him a questioning look. Ichimatsu looked off to the side, brows furrowed as he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he finally found his voice.

“C—Can I help?” Ichimatsu mumbled, looking down at his feet like a child, but took a peak at Karamatsu when he heard him laugh.

“Okay, I’ll be counting on you Ichimatsu,” Karamatsu said with a wide grin that Ichimatsu found a hard time not giving in with a small smile of his own. He didn’t know how helpful he’d be, but even if it was just holding shit, he’d happily do it for his beloved older brother. Tears dried and wiped away for extra measures, both brothers left the guest room and made their way to the living room. However, when they were walking down the stairs, Ichimatsu spoke up.

“I-I can help with your bully problem too u-uh…that is if y-you want my help.”

“Hm? Bully problem?” Karamatsu said, giving Ichimatsu a confused look. Wait, had that really just been an act? Ichimatsu’s stomach started to sink at the idea that he had misunderstood everything and destroyed Karamatsu’s costume for literally no reason, not that his reason was a good enough reason in the first place but still! “Oh! That, um…don’t worry about it. It’s fixed now.”

“Fixed now? What do you mean? Can you really only rely on Osomatsu-niisan for that?” Ichimatsu asked, a bit of annoyance in his tone, but god damnit he couldn’t help it! They just had a heart to heart, if Karamatsu really didn’t want his help he should just say so!

“N-no it’s not that! It’s just well—um…” Karamatsu looked embarrassed as he struggled to find words.

“Well what?” Ichimatsu said with narrowed eyes. Made up or not, he will keep his right to get angry where it’s due. Suddenly, Ichimatsu felt a weight on his back and if he hadn’t grabbed onto the railing he probably would’ve fallen down the stairs and taken Karamatsu down with him. Ichimatsu looked over his shoulder to see Osomatsu grinning at him. Ugh.

“You still haven’t taken a hint, Ichimacchan? You~” Osomatsu twirled his finger in front of Ichimatsu’s face, “were Karamatsu’s bully, that’s what.”

Osomatsu booped Ichimatsu on the nose, ignoring Karamatsu’s vexed ‘Aniki’ as he watched realization dawn on Ichimatsu’s face as well as a humiliation flush over the fourth son. Ichimatsu then proceeded to sit down on the step with his knees up and face buried against them to muffle his screaming. It took a good thirty minutes for the brothers to calm him down and in that time Osomatsu earned a black eye. The other younger brothers weren’t sure if it was from Karamatsu or Ichimatsu.

#iromatsu #iro #karamatsu #ichimatsu #storge #mun's writing #osomatsu #slight chokei

30 notes · View notes

fatalezr · 3 years

Text

Secret State - Part 9

"I think this is still a fantastic hollandaise"

Rebecca frowned at Kate as she nonchalantly took another bite of her eggs benedict and smiled. The scene was highly reminiscent of their conversation throughout the summer after what had turned out to be Rebecca's first hit for MI5. Kate had joined her at Claridge's for breakfast then, again opting to comment more on the food than the conundrum that Rebecca faced her with. "No, I meant..."

"I know what you meant" Kate said, "look you did the right thing. They know it won't be so easy to get to you now".

"Right" Rebecca said, "but what do I do about today and work? I don't want to be putting you and the team in danger". She now felt guilty about asking Kate to meet her for breakfast - could someone have followed her? She was feeling paranoid after a disturbed sleep.

"Now that, I have an idea about" Kate said, sounding enthusiastic. She opened her bag and revealed a red-haired curly wig. "They might be wanting to follow you, but they won't be following Nellie fucking Brooks will they?" She had a gleeful look on her face and Rebecca had to chuckle - Nellie Brooks was the name Kate had given her during one of their missions to bring down Mulvaney over the summer. It had provoked a conversation about Marcus and Rebecca let her mind wander to him for a second. They had spoken briefly the night before. His rage that his own government might be trying to kill her was palpable but she calmed him.

"I just need a few days," she told him. "We'll get this sorted, I promise". They had agreed it was too risky to see one another for the time being. Marcus's flat would be one of the first places MI6 would stake out if it was looking for Rebecca.

"Oi, Nellie" Kate's voice brought Rebecca back, "what do you think?"

"It's perfect," Rebecca said. She settled the bill for breakfast, told Kate to walk ahead and went up to her room where she put on a new coat that she would not have been seen in before and the red wig. She thought for a second whilst changing and decided to pack her gun into her bag - the previous night had told her she needed to be ready to fight at any moment. She finished her look with some fake glasses that Kate had given her.

She looked like a new person and walked towards Scotland Yard trying to look like her alter ego. When she was inside the door, she quickly ditched the wig into her bag and folded her coat to make her look her normal self again. She walked into the office amid a frenzy of activity. That was strange - it was still only 8:30am.

Tim Warren approached her at pace. "Ah Rebecca, quickly" he said, with urgency in his voice, "we're in the conference room". She looked around the hubbub. Everyone was in. "I was trying to reach you" Warren explained, "is everything OK?"

She realised he would have been calling her phone, which was off and hidden in her now-empty apartment. "Oh yeah, sorry, phone had massive issues last night. Just getting it repaired today". He nodded. "Tim" she asked, "what's happened?"

"Let's speak about it as a team" he urged before walking off to where other members of the support staff sat typing urgently. Rebecca looked around for Kate and saw she was already in the conference room next to Oli Afidi, both of them studying a series of papers with intent on their faces.

"Kate" she said, walking in, "what's going on?". Kate didn't look up from the papers she was reading. Her eyes looked steely-focussed on the paper. "Kate?" Rebecca prompted again.

"Nobody speak to me" she said, her eyes continually darting across the page. Rebecca looked over towards Oli, who got out of his seat and pulled her towards the door of the room. He kept his voice low.

"It's the PM Bec" he said, "we got the tip-off this morning, he's been knowingly helping that drug gang. The op the other night was to take them out".

"What?" Rebecca couldn't help but sound incredulous. "What the actual fuck?"

"I know" Oli said, "this shit is getting ridiculous now. I don't even know where we go from here". He held his hands up.

"You believe this?" Rebecca asked him.

Oli simply shrugged. "I have no idea what to believe anymore," he said. Rebecca wanted to ask for more details but they were interrupted as DSI Sullivan's door opened and he marched towards them, wearing his dress uniform. "Come on" Oli said, and they slid into the conference room and their usual spots. Kate was still reading the stack of papers in front of her.

Sullivan entered, followed by Warren and shut the door. He opened his mouth to speak but Kate was quickest off the mark. "This is bollocks," she said out loud. "We're not actually paying any attention to this, are we?"

Sullivan ignored her comments. "Good morning," he said, addressing the room. "I appreciate everyone coming in so early. Let me bring you up to speed. Earlier this morning, I received a call from the Commissioner about an anonymous tip-off from what she believed was a credible source". Kate scoffed and Sullivan shot her a look. "This source delivered the paperwork you can see in front of you, implicating our Prime Minister as having connections to the drug gang that was killed in an operation at Wembley on Wednesday night. It's our duty to take these allegations seriously and investigate them".

"It's our duty to call it out as bollocks" Kate said, throwing her hands in the air.

"DI Belmont" Sullivan's voice hardened as he reminded her of her rank, "I'll ask you to keep a civil tone in our discussions".

"My apologies, sir" Kate said, emphasising the polite way to address Sullivan. "But this is just utter rubbish. Who is this credible source?"

"From what I can gather, I believe it is someone within the security services".

"The fucking security services! Well that fucking means it's bollocks!" Kate shouted. "The fucking Commissioner needs to shove this up-"

"That's enough!" Sullivan shot back and Kate quietened. There were several moments of silence and the tension in the air was palpable.

Rebecca decided to move the conversation along. "Sir?" she asked, "what documents have we been provided with?"

"Thank you, DC Davison" Sullivan said, "we've been provided with a myriad. Bank records showing payments from accounts connected to both the PM and the gang from the other night. A photograph of the PM at a function with a suspected member of said gang and a photo of that same gang member at Wembley the other night. It's believed he escaped during the operation".

"And we're confident in the authenticity of these documents?" she asked innocently.

"I'm confident in nothing about this case" he said, shaking his head. "But that doesn't mean that we don't proceed as if-". He was stopped by a sharp knock on the door and he turned to see Gabriella, his new assistant enter.

"My apologies sir, but you should turn on Sky News now" she said.

Sullivan frowned but turned towards the television in the room. DI Warren grabbed the remote and switched it on before finding the channel.

Rebecca was in shock. The channel was showing a breaking news alert and the presenter was talking about the documents that Sullivan had been showing them. The news media had this too. She swore inside her head. If it was out in the press, it could do untold damage. A reporter was speaking live outside Downing Street explaining the seriousness of the situation. There were other camera shots outside Scotland Yard amid speculation that an arrest could be made later that day.

"Oh bollocks," Sullivan said softly. His idea of a quiet investigation was now out of the window. There was another sharp knock at the door of the conference room and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner entered the room. Rebecca and her colleagues sprang to their feets and to attention as she walked in.

"At ease" she said, smiling at the team. "Terry, a word please?" she directed towards DSI Sullivan.

"Ma'am" he said, and they both walked out of the conference room, leaving the rest of the team inside. There was silence for a few seconds, finally broken by Warren.

"Well..." he began, "evidently this is going to be a long day. As I'm sure DSI Sullivan would want, we need to act professionally at all times" he directed that remark to Kate, "and we must be sure of our actions. We should all go through this documentation and verify what we can and..." he paused, "we need to be legally prepared with a warrant".

There was a sharp intake of breath across the room. "How do you even spell the Prime Minister's full name?" Oli said, trying to add a moment of levity. It was known the PM had multiple middle names, some of which were French and possibly German in origin.

Kate shook her head. "Tim..." she began to say.

"I know Kate" he said, "I know". The room returned to silence until DSI Sullivan returned. He looked at the group around the table.

"Well I think you're all clever enough to know what that meeting was about" he said, sighing. "I had hoped we could investigate this discreetly but it seems someone has forced our hand....and the Commissioner wants a warrant drawn up straight away. Tim" he said, addressing his senior DI, "I want you to take personal charge of that. We must do this the right way".

"Sir" Kate said, interrupting, "I hate to say this, but we still don't know that any of this is genuine. The moment we go arresting the PM, we plunge this country into political chaos. Are you sure we want to do that on the word of an anonymous source?" She was staring at Sullivan with a righteous anger in her eyes.

"Respectfully sir, Kate is right" Warren said, moving to diffuse the tension. "It will take us time to get a warrant ready - DI Belmont should use that time to check on the authenticity of what we have".

"I've got some contacts, sir" Kate said, almost pleading with him, "just give me some time".

There was a pause as Sullivan considered and Rebecca could feel the tension in the air as he did. "OK" he said, nodding. "I can give you until 3pm, then we have to move. Find what you can. Oli, I want you to do some digging on the leak - find out how bloody Sky knows more about this than all of us do".

"Sir, can I use DC Davidson?" Kate asked respectfully. "There's a lot we need to run through".

Sullivan looked at Rebecca. "I think this is the time critical path, sir" she added helpfully, "I can work with DS Afidi on the leak afterwards".

"OK" he said, nodding, "do it, but Kate, 3PM I have to go".

Kate nodded. "Of course sir, thank you" she said genuinely. The team broke from the room. Rebecca grabbed one of the packs of files and walked to Kate's desk with her. She studied the bank account details first and did some simple checking against the records they had already obtained. She frowned - the account was genuine.

"The account's genuine" Rebecca said to Kate, "does that mean the transaction isn't?"

"Or is it for something else?" Kate retorted. "What about the other end?" She was studying some of the photographic evidence and doing some googling of images of the Prime Minister at functions, trying to spot any anomalies.

Rebecca looked for all the details in the transaction. Both accounts were genuine, the Prime Minister's easily traceable to him at one of the UK's private banks and the other leading to what looked like a front company in Cyprus - it could have been anything. That might have normally been an argument to pause, to search for innocence before guilt but with the investigation on the news time was not on their side. She tried searching Cypriot records, looking on Interpol for any details before trying to look again at the transaction code. She wondered if she could get more details from that but it would require a level of access to banking systems that she did not have. An idea struck her.

"Kate" she said, "how possible is it that the banking records have been hacked?"

Kate sat back. "I don't know, that would be pretty difficult" she said out loud, "probably only a handful of people with that kind of access"

"Right" Rebecca said, agreeing, "so if we could find that list, we could cross-reference for any Russian connection".

Kate sat up straight in her chair. "I think I know someone who can help us with this" She grabbed her coat. "Come on!"

------

"Does this have to be now?"

Ravi's face was furrowed. He was wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt and tie and trousers and standing in his company's reception area, trying to talk quietly. The receptionist had given a suspicious look as Kate and Rebecca had entered with their police badges before asking for Ravi to join them.

"Yes Ravi, now please" Kate urged him. He looked at Kate and then Rebecca before sighing.

"O-OK" he stammered, "just let me get my coat".

Rebecca looked at the concerned face of the receptionist. "It's fine" she told her, "we just really need some technical help with your software". The receptionist frowned again but seemed convinced. Ravi returned with a thick coat on and led them out of the office.

"Where are we going? Yours?" he sounded hopeful as he spoke to Kate.

"Well where can we get a strong enough connection for you to break into Coulter's private bank?" Kate asked him.

He laughed heartily but then trailed off as he saw Rebecca and Kate's faces. "Wait, you're serious?" he said.

"We're not robbing the place Ravi, trust me". Rebecca said. "We really need your help". She gave a brief history of the morning's events and their predicament. Ravi listened carefully to every detail. "You're our only hope" Rebecca finished.

Ravi paused, thinking. "I know a place" he said finally. "It's ten minutes walk". He set off down some of the side streets around Waterloo, walking into the heart of Southwark until he reached a dilapidated internet cafe. "Trust me" he said, catching Rebecca's questioning look towards Kate.

The café seemed run down, with relatively old computers that some men sat at, chatting on messenger services or trying to print from. "It's £2 for 15 minutes" a gruff voice said from behind a desk, as a relatively plump man with long black hair and a beard looked up from the book he was reading. "Pay n-oh hey Ravi!" he said, and he beamed as he recognised his friend. "What brings you here?"

"Heya BH!" Ravi said back, walking over to the desk. "What's up mate?" They grasped hands and embraced with a man-hug. "Listen mate, I need to see Jackie...that alright?"

"You need to see Jackie?" BH said. He eyed Rebecca and Kate suspiciously. "Is all OK mate?"

Ravi caught that he was looking at the two women. "Oh yeah, yeah!" he said, "yeah, this is Kate and Rebecca. Kate's my...my" He was looking at her as if he wasn't sure how to continue.

"His girlfriend" Kate offered, standing beside Ravi and putting her arm around him. Ravi blushed but nodded at BH.

"Girlfriend, eh? Ravi mate!" BH seemed very happy. He came out around the desk and offered his hand to Kate. "BigHitter26, and yes, I am the real him" he said proudly.

"Two-time UK Warcraft champion" Ravi said to Kate. "look mate, you mind if I...you know...Jackie?"

"Come with me, she might be sleeping" BH told the group. He fished some keys from his pocket and unlocked a door that led down to the basement. There was another door at the bottom with a series of locks as well as an electronic keypad. BH pressed the combinations and unlocked the door to let them into a dark room, where he switched on a light.

Rebecca had not seen anything like it. Ahead of her were several servers, lights blinking and flashing and at one side of the room they connected to five computer monitors by a mouse and keyboard. The machine whirred into life. "Server 10's been giving us some crap" BH said, going over to one of the servers that had not got all of it's lights on, "but she'll still pack a punch. Why do you need her? This for the guild?"

"It's not quite guild work" Ravi said, "but trust me mate, it is important".

"So what are you doing?"

"Erm....breaking into Coulter's private bank and accessing the PM's financial records".

BH looked from Ravi to Kate and Rebecca. He looked horrified. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no" he protested. "That's not our way Ravi, that's not our-I'm going to kick you out the guild for this" He tried to usher everyone out of the room.

"No, it's not like that!" Ravi said. "I'm not stealing anything, I just need a couple of quick peeks at something".

BH looked unconvinced. "I don't know mate..." he said finally.

"How long do you need, do you think?" Kate asked.

"Erm 10, 15 minutes maybe?" Ravi said, a little unsure.

"Well here's an idea" Kate said, taking charge of the situation. "Look BH, there's not much bad we can do in 15 minutes anyway, so why not let us be down here for that and I'm sure Rebecca would be interested to have a coffee and find out about the second Warcraft title you won". She shot a look at Rebecca, who bit her own tongue and smiled.

"Yeah" she added, "I'm really interested to see how it differed from the first title".

"That's settled then" Kate said. "Go on you two, we'll be fine down here". BH looked a little startled but Rebecca smiled at him.

"Where's your kettle?" she asked, and he led her upstairs. As they reached the top, he began talking about his two Warcraft titles, using an array of terminology of which Rebecca understood maybe half at best. She kept smiling and nodding her head as she made them both a drink, occasionally asking open questions like "why did you choose that?" or "what was going through your head?" and BH was only too happy to keep indulging her in a series of stories. They sat behind his desk together and drank coffee. Rebecca occasionally stole a glance at the time - it seemed to be moving particularly slowly right now.

Just as BH finished regaling Rebecca about his second title win, they were joined upstairs by Ravi and Kate, the latter of whom flashed Rebecca a wink. "We've got to go" Kate said softly as she passed her, heading out of the cafe.

"Well it's been lovely chatting to you" Rebecca said, smiling at BH. She picked up her coat. "Thanks for everything".

"Oh, sure, no probs" BH replied, standing. "Say...erm...you're not single, are you?"

"I have a boyfriend" Rebecca said, and she noted his disappointment, "sorry" she said genuinely before an idea came to her though. "Give me your number though, I've got a friend you might want to meet".

"Yeah, sure, that would be cool" BH said shyly. He wrote his number on a scrap of paper and smiled as Rebecca took it and walked quickly out of the shop. She met Kate and Ravi outside. Kate was already calling an Uber. "What did we get?" she asked urgently.

"So I found some interesting bits of code within the master mainframe of the bank" Ravi said, "a DNS anomaly and a different port protocol being used and then I tracked it all the way to the source coding protocols behind the inner firewall".

Rebecca nodded, trying to untangle the words in her head. "Babes, can you do that in English?" Kate prompted, "remember she's not as clever as us".

Rebecca frowned at Kate's jest but Ravi nodded. "Sure, essentially someone inside the bank went and changed the transaction you were interested in. That's why it was checking out. They modified something relatively innocuous to make it look suspicious".

"And who did the change?" Kate asked, a smug look on her face.

"Petra Grigovic. She works in their compliance unit. You get access to loads within there" Ravi said, nodding. "Pretty good right?"

"Very good babes" Kate said. She kissed him and Rebecca looked away for a second or two.

"So our next step is to find Petra, right?" she asked after growing impatient.

"Exactly" Kate said, gesturing to the Toyota Prius that had pulled up alongside them on the street. The three got into the back seat of the Uber, Ravi squashed in the middle. "Coulters bank please" Kate directed the driver and the car pulled away from the curb.

Rebecca took out her phone and tried to google Petra. She found her LinkedIn profile and her eyes immediately caught something in her past experience. She had spent a year working at Webster Communications before transferring to the bank. Of course, she thought. It was unlikely that Kiryl Yesikov was the only Russian agent that Lana Grainger had helped employ over the years. Her mind flashed back to her fight with Lana and the way she had killed the Russian bodyguard who had come rushing into the office. She felt inside her bag and was reassured that her gun was still in there.

"Is there any way to prove the transaction was falsified?" she asked Ravi.

He considered her question for a few seconds. "Maybe" he said, "if I can get access to the local records then probably, but I'd need her laptop to do that".

Rebecca nodded. She looked over to Kate, who had pulled out her laptop and was furiously typing. The time was now 11am. Four hours was all of the time remaining that Sullivan had given them. It was not long. "Kate" she said, tentatively, deciding to voice a thought in her head, "you know there's another way we can prove that it isn't true, right?"

Kate looked up at her. "No, we're not doing that".

"But it-"

"No!" Kate was forceful. "No bloody Russians are throwing my mate under a bus. I'm not having it". Rebecca sat back in her seat and pondered. It was an option she would keep on the table. She could hand herself in, admit to Sullivan about her involvement at MI5 and the various events of recent weeks. She wondered how he would take the news - would he understand? Would he be ashamed? Would he arrest her on the spot? She shook her head. Kate seemed to be reading her mind. "Look, it wouldn't even work" she said. "Your bosses don't exist anymore, it's all under the purview of the Home Secretary". Rebecca knew she was right.

The taxi pulled up 25 minutes later in Mayfair outside the grand building that was Coulters Private Bank. Kate marched inside to the reception desk and pulled out her police badge. "DI Belmont" she informed the young man behind the desk, "I'm looking for one of your employees, Petra Grigovic".

"Erm...OK" the young man stumbled around her authority, "let me perhaps call her". He picked up the phone receiver next to him but Kate put it down for him.

"This is a time sensitive matter - what floor is she on?" she asked.

"Erm...number 3" the man said.

"Do I need an access pass?" Kate asked.

"Sure - here, take this" the young man said, opening a draw next to him and taking out three cards. Is...is everything OK?"

"Just a routine matter" Kate told him, smiling. "Thank you". She handed the additional passes to Ravi and Rebecca and set off towards the lift. Rebecca felt her heart pumping - they were close, she told herself. The time in the bank read 11:30am. There was still time.

The lift opened on the third floor and Rebecca found herself in a labyrinth of corridors and rooms. "Bollocks" she swore. "I'll take left" she said to Kate, walking off in that direction and trusting her colleague to go in the other. She walked around looking at name plates above doors that led to rooms. 'Finance', 'Fund Accounting', 'Private Accounting'. She peeked into each room for a second, trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde hair of Petra until she finally found a room marked 'Compliance'.

She opened the door and scanned the room. There were three men and one brunette woman in the room typing away at computers. She decided to channel her inner Kate. "Excuse me" she said, walking into the room and pulling out her police badge, "I'm looking for Petra Grigovic". The people in the room looked up, startled. "Petra Grigovic" Rebecca said authoritatively.

"She's not in" the brunette woman said, "she called in sick today".

Rebecca cursed silently - of course she was. "Is her laptop here?" she asked. The woman nodded.

"It should be" We keep them in the desks but, but it's locked".

"What's going on?" one of the men in the room asked. "Do you have a warrant to be here?"

Rebecca ignored his question and walked over to where Petra's desk must have been. She tried the door on the desk cabinet. It was locked. She tried to force it open with her hands but it did not budge despite her best efforts.

The brunette woman was shocked. "Can you do that?" she asked.

"Absolutely" Rebecca said, faking the confidence. "Any of you has an issue, contact Scotland Yard and tell them Nellie Brooks was here". She had another go at the cabinet, picking up a stapler on the desk and banging it against the metal. There was still no joy.

"Let me have a go" said a familiar voice, and she looked up to see Kate over her, lockpick in hand. Her colleague was able to get the cabinet open in seconds - it was empty.

"Fuck sake" Rebecca said.

"OK, where does Petra live?" Kate asked the room. There was silence for a few seconds. "She's stolen one of your laptops - now I can either leak that your security controls are piss poor to the papers or you can tell me where she lives".

That sparked a reaction in the room, with murmuring between the rest of the team. Finally one of the men spoke again. "She's along the High Street in Tooting" he said. "Above the launderette I think".

"Thank you" Kate smiled at the room. "Carry on!" She walked swiftly out of the office and Rebecca followed her, keeping up with her pace. Ravi had been waiting outside and he jogged to keep up with their pace.

"South of the river," Rebecca said. Kate nodded. They knew what it meant - more time. It would be almost an hour's journey in the daytime traffic in their Uber that Kate ordered again for them.

"The key thing is the laptop" Kate reiterated to them in the car. "We need that to prove the hoax. The problem is getting it in legitimate terms". It was a puzzling conundrum. How could they explain going all the way to Tooting on a hunch, especially if they needed to hack the laptop? Rebecca pushed the thought from her head - they would deal with that later.

The car wound it's way to South London and it was past 12:30pm when they arrived in Tooting. Kate thanked the driver and the three got out onto the bustling high street.

"There's the launderette" said Kate, pointing at a shop with yellow paint on the outside that was peeling. It was part of a terrace of shops with houses above them that was typical of a main street in South London. They walked slowly past it, Rebecca peeking inside the windows as she did. She saw something strange. Two larger men, both wearing black suits, stood inside. One was thumbing through a magazine while the other was perched near the counter, looking bored. Neither of them appeared to be doing any washing and their suits made them stand out from the couple of other customers inside. Their look gave her flashbacks to Wembley and the security guards of some of the members of the cabal. She noted her observations to Kate.

"That's definitely fishy," said Kate. "Come on". She led Rebecca and Ravi around the block and they tried to get a view of the rear of the property. The side street they were on had walls with heavy metal gates to stop intruders. The street was empty of other people on the pavement but Rebecca found herself noticing a black car that was parked near the back of the launderette. The driver was in the same black suit as the ones inside the shop had been. She realised what was going on.

"Kate, they're getting ready to take her away" Rebecca said softly, "we've got to move now". She hesitated. "Did you bring...?" she knew Kate would grasp her meaning.

Kate nodded and turned to Ravi. "Babes, do you think you could maybe wait in that cafe we passed up the road?"

Ravi looked uncertainly at her. "Why? What are you going to be doing?"

"Asking for the laptop....politely" she said. "Relatively politely" she clarified when he frowned.

"But I can help," he assured her.

"I know babes, and you will but maybe some things might be best if I do with Bec...alone"

Ravi looked at both of them and still seemed uncertain but nodded. "I'll head to the cafe," he said. He looked uncertain again before giving Kate a quick peck on the cheek. Kate watched him walk off. Rebecca turned and looked again at the car. The driver had paid them no attention and looked to be texting on his phone. Rebecca felt inside her bag for her pistol. There was no-one along the street still.

"Do the Uber thing" Kate suggested. It was a tactic they had talked about previously over the summer and Rebecca knew it well. She nodded, then turned and strode over to the car window. She knocked on it and feigned ignorance.

"Excuse me, are you my Uber driver?" she asked the driver when he wound it down. "Uber?"

He was a large man with thinning hair. "No" he spoke in a Russian accent, "no, go away".

Rebecca pushed herself further into his window and took out her phone. "Are you sure?" she asked, "I was trying to get to Waterloo". She showed him the map on her phone.

"No" he said, "n-" his voice was cut off as Kate swiftly walked to the passenger door and opened it, Glock 17 in hand. "Motherf-" he started to protest but she turned the gun and hit him hard with the butt in the temple, knocking him out in one clean hit.

Rebecca was reminiscing about the summer - they were back together as a team, and it felt strangely comforting. She made a mental note to get Kate to teach her how to do that strike - it was extremely effective.

"Come on" Kate said, getting out of the car and walking to the gate at the back of the launderette. She picked the lock again with her lockpick and slowly opened the gate. Rebecca followed her inside, pausing to remove her suppressed Walther P99 from her bag. She put the bag on the ground outside and kept the gun by her side. She saw Kate reach into the pocket of her coat for her suppressor and she wound it on to her gun. There was the sound of machinery humming from inside the building and Rebecca looked up - the curtains on the flat above the place were all closed.

She tentatively tried the back door and found it was unlocked. She carefully opened it. There were some stairs immediately to her left as she entered the small corridor that led to the front of the launderette and she spied customers and others alike through a small window in the door at the other end. She began to make her way upstairs, gun now outstretched in front of her. She knew Kate would be covering behind her. She kept her ears alert. The sound of the washing machines humming made it difficult to hear much from upstairs but she knew conversely it could help cover their footsteps as they walked upstairs. She stopped and held her hand for Kate to do the same as she heard something. There were footsteps from the floor above them and a woman's voice, saying something in Russian, followed by a man's. Their talks sounded urgent.

She pressed forward up the stairs and on to the landing and doubled round. All the room doors were closed and she walked to the foot of the next stairs up when she heard the sound of a toilet flushing. A door behind her opened and a thin man wearing a black suit appeared, still doing up the fly on his trousers. Rebecca saw Kate immediately pointed her gun towards and shushed him.

There was a moment's pause, then the man sprung his hand towards the inside of his jacket. Pfft-pfft-pfft. Kate was quick to react and shot him three times in the chest. His hand reappeared having held the butt of his gun but he slumped to the floor. Rebecca wheeled to look at the stairs again. The voices upstairs had hushed when the man hit the floor. She knew she needed to move quickly and started climbing the stairs. She rounded on the top just as another man in a black suit exited a room on that floor, gun in his hand.

He started to raise it but Rebecca's instincts were too quick. Pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft. Her aim was true and he fell. There was a scream from a woman inside the room and she heard a male voice curse. She crossed the landing, stepped over the man she had shot and entered what seemed to be a bedroom with a case on the bed in the middle being hastily packed by a man with long hair in jeans and a jumper and a woman with blonde hair in leather trousers and a blouse who looked like Petra Grigovic.

"Don't move!" Rebecca said commandingly, pointing her gun. She heard footsteps behind her as Kate joined them in the room. "Where's your laptop Petra?" she asked. There was no response. Rebecca's heart pounded - they needed to get it and soon. She advanced and grabbed Petra, pushing her gun underneath her chin. "Where?" she demanded.

"Here" the man said, pointing at a bag.

"Nyet, fucking, pig" Petra hissed in his direction. She cursed at him in Russian from what Rebecca could tell. She spat in Rebecca's face. "You're too fucking late, bitch"

Rebecca felt the fury rise and punched the blonde woman in the stomach. She doubled over in pain. "Got it" Kate said, as she retrieved the bag. She looked inside and gave Rebecca a smile. "Fucking jackpot", her face lit up, "this is...this is everything, pictures and all" she said, holding up a manilla folder. "Knew they were fake".

Rebecca looked towards her and felt a ray of hope. This could be all they needed. But her joy was soon knocked from her as she heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. Petra seized her chance and tackled Rebecca to the floor, her gun flying from her grasp. The thin man dashed from the room and Petra ducked as Rebecca saw two more men in black suits hurrying up the stairs, guns already aiming in their direction. She rolled to the side as BAM-BAM, a couple of shots were fired into the room. Pfft-pfft. She heard Kate returning fire and saw her colleague ducking behind the bed in the room.

Rebecca continued rolling until she found her pistol. She picked it up and steadied her aim as the first guard's gun turned in her direction. Pfft-pfft. She fired up twice and he collapsed backwards, a neat bullet hole in his forehead. BAM-BAM. The other man fired into the room, hitting the bed. Rebecca fired in his direction pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft and heard a cry as he was hit but immediately felt a pain in her side as Petra kicked her and ran out of the room. She groaned in pain from the blow before attempting to stand, knocking over ornaments from a nightstand as she stumbled to get up.

Kate was also getting up gingerly and holding her arm. Rebecca saw some blood. "Fucking get them" Kate shouted at her and so she fought through the pain and set off down the stairs after Petra and the man. She rounded on them as they went down the second set of stairs but they had a good head start. They would reach the door at the bottom first. She heard a squeal as they disappeared from sight and a crashing sound. She rounded the corner after the stairs to see two bodies under a sheet and Ravi standing with a chair in his hand.

"I....I...saw the men go up and...." his voice shook and his hands were shaking.

"You did good," Rebecca said. She wasted no time getting on top of where Petra lay under the sheets and handcuffing her before turning and doing the same to the man. Petra cursed some more but Rebecca kneeled on her to stop her moving. "Go upstairs" Rebecca told Ravi, "top floor". He nodded and set off up the stairs.

"Where were you off to?" Rebecca asked Petra once he had departed, "back to the motherland?"

Petra laughed "You know so little, English pigs. The motherland is here now." She snorted. "There is more mother Russia here in London than in Moscow. Think of this - we control so much. Property. Sport. Media and soon, politics too".

Rebecca's anger flashed. "Not on my watch you won't. We've got the laptop. Soon everyone will know what you did".

"Like it matters" Petra said, "you may win today, but you cannot stop us forever". Rebecca was now anxious - what else were they planning?

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There is always a Plan B" Petra said. Rebecca saw her jaw clench and heard something break. Petra started to convulse and foam at the mouth and Rebecca panicked - she had taken cyanide.

"No! No!" she cried out. She tried to turn her over and help but it was too late - the poison had spread in her body and within seconds Petra was limp. The thin man wept.

"Petra...Petra" he said, tears in his eyes. Rebecca looked around. She was in shock.

"Oh bollocks". Rebecca turned to see Kate coming down the stairs, Ravi nervously behind her. Her arm had been grazed by a bullet. "We need to get out of here" she told Rebecca who continued to just look at Petra's lifeless body. "Brooksy, come on" she said, as she reached the bottom.

She was right, Rebecca knew. There was nothing more to be done and time was ticking. The trio exited from the back, leaving the thin man crying next to Petra's body. Rebecca grabbed her bag from outside and disassembled her gun. "Ah, fuck" she heard Kate say by her side. She looked to see more blood seeping from her colleague's arm and realised the graze was worse than that. She was still bleeding and in obvious pain.

"Kate, are-" she asked.

"We've got to move," Kate replied stubbornly. She grabbed Ravi's scarf and wrapped it tightly around her arm. Ravi himself looked pale at the sight of the blood. "Come on!" Kate urged them. Ravi supported her as they left the back of the property, passing the car where the driver was still knocked out. Kate took them down some side streets until they reached a deserted alley. It was a cold day but Rebecca felt warm with all the adrenaline still inside her. "Ravi" Kate said as they stopped, "can you get us what we need here?"

"I'll try" he said. Kate stopped by a wall and winced. "Are you-?" he began to ask.

"Just get us what we need" Kate said, pausing. She was sweating and Rebecca could see the blood starting to soak through the scarf on her arm. She knew it would do no good to argue with Kate and she instead checked the rest of the bag the laptop had been in. Kate was right, the doctored photos were in there, showing originals and of both the criminal and the prime minister. There were annotations showing how the two should look when pushed together. Rebecca nodded at Kate - they could disprove things.

She looked at her phone to check the time and saw it was 1pm. There were also two missed calls from Oli Afidi. She returned them.

"Bec" he said, answering, "where are you? The gaffer's looking for you".

"Oli" she said, "we've been tracking down some leads. We've got the proof, Oli - the photos and bank records have been doctored".

"You what?" he said.

"The charges are false" Rebecca repeated urgently.

"Shitting hell" he said, sounding surprised. "You sure? Black and white?"

"100%" she told him. "You need to get him to call things off".

"Bec, I'm sorry, its..." Oli hesitated. "He's been getting calls all morning. We've got to move Bec, we've got to move now".

"What?!" Rebecca shouted, "but it's a fucking lie Oli! It's a lie!"

"Mate, I believe you" Oli said, "but the Commissioner, she's...she's tying his hands".

"When are you moving out?" Rebecca said, panicking. "When?"

"Maybe 30 minutes, maybe a bit longer".

"Can you stall them?" Rebecca pleaded.

"I can try" he said, "I will try but Bec...hurry".

"Got it" she said. She cut off the call and turned to Kate on the floor. "They're moving up the timetable. I've got to..." she looked at her bleeding colleague, "I'll call Marcus. Ravi...", she looked at him working on the laptop, "keep working and stay with her, alright".

He nodded, almost unable to speak. Rebecca sprinted towards the main road, feet pounding on the ground, taking care to not lose her coat and bag as she did. She gripped the manilla folder with the photographs tightly - they were her best hope now. She dialled Marcus as she ran and spoke breathlessly.

"Marcus...you need to get....Kate" she wheezed. "Please, she's at...alleyway in Tooting, near Governor Street".

"Whoa, whoa Bec, where are you?" he answered, sounding urgent.

"Got to go...office...PM, arrest, proof to stop it with me" she said, giving him just the highlights.

"I'm on it" he said and hung up. They knew they had to keep their conversations brief lest someone monitored his calls to search for Rebecca. She reached the road and quickly hailed a cab, directing it to New Scotland Yard.

"Quickly, please" she urged the driver, praying they could get good traffic. She checked her watch. She might be able to make it...just. She hoped Oli could stall Sullivan.

The cab made good time until they reached Waterloo Bridge where Rebecca saw traffic and other cars snared up. It looked like there had potentially been an accident up ahead and cars were honking their horns but going nowhere. She swore in her head. "I'll get out here" she told the cab driver. She paid him generously, opened the door into the cold air from the River Thames and started running again, her mind fixated on Scotland Yard and running down the steps from the bridge at double-speed.

She almost knocked over a man and woman with shopping bags but could not pause as they cursed her. She ran along the Embankment and up the steps to the building, taking the lift to her floor as soon as she passed security. 'Come on, come on' she pleaded. Everything around her seemed to move so slowly but as she paused and breathed, she could tell she had been sweating and no doubt looked quite dishevelled. The lift finally arrived at her office floor and she sprinted in.

"I've got it!" she shouted and several people looked up at her, "I've got it!" She ran to Sullivan's office door where he and DI Tim Warren were in an animated discussion.

"It's a fake!" she shouted as she burst in, panting and wheezing, "It's a fake....sir" she added as both men gave her a curious look. She took out the manilla folder and threw it on to the desk before opening it for them and showing them the photographs. "It's a fake" she said, "look, that's the doctored image, these are the originals. Someone's been playing us sir, they're taking us for fools. You've got to call the arrest off".

Sullivan looked at Warren and then the photographs again. "How did you get these Rebecca?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter" she said urgently, "you need to call off the arrest sir, please".

"Rebecca!" he said, astonished, "of course it matters. I'm getting pressure from every angle to perform this arrest any second. Now where did you get these from? And where's Kate?"

Rebecca stood back and tried to compose her breathing. Her mind worked. What could she say?

"Perhaps I might be able to offer some enlightenment, Detective Superintendent?" a posh sounding voice came from behind her.

"And who the hell are you?" Sullivan asked the newcomer.

A tall man in a double-breasted pinstriped suit entered the room with his arm outstretched. "Commander George Digby-Wright, Her Majesty's security services, at your service" he said. Sullivan looked astonished but shook his hand anyway. "I was engaged for some advice this morning by Detective Inspector Belmont, an old friend of mine who I met one summer in the south of France. She wanted my opinion on some documentation you have. Naturally, I am only too happy to assist my fellow law-upholding comrades-in-arms at the Metropolitan Police and so I passed on the names of some fellows who I knew to be capable of performing such forgery. Evidently Detective Constable Davidson was able to use her cunning to retrieve these photographs, which as I'm sure you will agree, show that democratically-elected Prime Minister is being set up. Well done, Miss Davidson", he finished, turning to Rebecca and shaking her hand. "What was your first name again?" he said, feigning ignorance.

"Rebecca" she answered, returning the handshake and seeing a brief smile flash across his face.

"Sir, if I may" Tim Warren spoke from the side of the room, "we should withdraw the warrants and investigate some more. I am not entirely sure we can trust what we have been given so far".

Sullivan nodded. "You're right Tim" he said, "call the dogs off. I'll...I'll call the Commissioner". He sounded slightly concerned about the last point. "Thank you Rebecca" he said, "Mr Digby-Wright, perhaps you could stick around for some more of this conversation?"

"I certainly shall" George said, "but may I first partake of a hot drink? The weather outside is frightfully chilly".

"Of course" Sullivan replied, nodding. "Rebecca, would you mind going and grabbing some?"

"Yes sir" she said, and she turned and walked out of the room, George following close behind her. She caught his eye and grinned. "I thought you were out of town?" she whispered to him.

"That was my original intention" he said softly, "but then I spoke to young Mr Beresford and had a change of heart. He was kind enough to put me up on his sofa and when you rang him today, I naturally assumed that my assistance could be useful".

"You stayed with Marcus?" Rebecca queried. That was a surprise in itself - she had supposed him to be the last person George would stay with but then again, maybe that was the intention.

"Yes, his sofa is quite uncomfortable" George said. "Might I suggest that, should you decide to co-habit together, you invest in at least one spare bedroom?" He winked at Rebecca and she smiled back. She felt euphoric.

"Let's see how much money left I have after this is over. The hotel is bloody expensive" she joked.

"I'm sure appropriate arrangements will be made" George said. They reached the coffee pot and Rebecca poured some into a mug for him. She watched him take a sip and nod his head.

"Not bad" he said, slightly surprised at the quality.

"What's our next move?" Rebecca asked him quietly. "The woman at the house indicated there would be a Plan B".

George sighed. "Yes, I suppose there would be. I need to think more on this. We've survived today but the media narrative still needs to be combatted. Keep working, keep investigating and keep safe Rebecca. I will be in touch, that I promise".

Rebecca watched as he turned and walked back to Sullivan's office. She returned to her desk and sighed with relief as she sat down. George was right - there would be more, there would be another reckoning, but for today she knew her work was done. She returned to looking at the records of the Home Secretary. She glared at his face on the screen and felt a determination. She would win. They would win. The truth would win. She focussed her mind and began to type.

#secretstate #story #silencer hitwoman #hitwoman #femme fatale #female assassin #woman gun

0 notes