Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/8116591.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      Multi
  Fandom:
      Lewis_(TV), Grimm_(TV)
  Relationship:
      James_Hathaway/Laura_Hobson/Robert_Lewis
  Character:
      Laura_Hobson, James_Hathaway, Robert_Lewis, Jean_Innocent
  Additional Tags:
      Angst, wump, Background_-_Freeform, Case_Fic, Undercover, bad_past, tw:
      rape, tw:_non_con, TW:_human_trafficking, PLEASE_HEED_THE_TRIGGER
      WARNINGS!
  Series:
      Part 7 of Princes_Everywhere
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-09-23 Completed: 2016-11-26 Chapters: 15/15 Words: 15730
****** Undercover Lady ******
by Marmidotte
Summary
     Innocent has an undercover mission for the three of them, but they
     will need to sort out their feelings and their pasts first
Notes
     A LOT of feelings, angst, explanations, and overall not happy themes.
     You have been warned.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Innocent is waiting for them in her office, but tells them not to close the
door yet, and it is only when Laura comes in and shuts the door firmly that
they realise it is not for either of their current case.
"Laura, Gentlemen, I have a problem. Well, more than one, but this one may
concern you. DI Hathaway, you don't have anything against working with DI Lewis
and Dr Hobson? And nothing lined up for the following weeks?"
Hathaway is a bit puzzled by the formal question. "Err, no, ma'am, no problem."
"Good. Because you three are going undercover. We have a fighting ring linked
with human trafficking, we need a team of three, one of them female, and we
have no other team that can work together."
Voices go up together. "WHAT?" - "No, it's too dangerous for..." - "Hm, me,
really?"
Innocent almost whistles to get order, but the three voices subside after a
short while.
Laura tilts her head, and asks "Well all right, but I have to ask, why me?"
James is cautious. "Undercover, Ma'am? You do know it would be my first time?"
Robbie speaks last. "Ma'am, I get it that we are used to each other, but...
Isn't it too dangerous for..." he gestures at Laura. "I mean no disrespect, but
a fighting ring, err..."
Innocent looks at him. "What are you implying, Robbie, that Laura could not
defend herself."
Robbie ear's are pink. "Well, err, yeah. I mean..."
Innocent shakes her head. "If you are quite done. Here are the files on the
problem. Those tablets are encrypted, you need the right fingerprint to unlock
them, and if they were stolen, the whole content would ... ah... self-destruct,
I believe that were the words of the technician. Yes, these are highly
sensitive data yet you can go to the pub to read them, though, as long as you
are careful."
The trio exits Innocent's office, Robbie first and James last. All he can feel
is an overpowering anger coming from Laura. They pass the main corridor and
arrive in the smaller one that goes to Laura's office when she catches Robbie
by the arm, and throws him at the wall, hard.
He scrambles back up, raises his arms palms open and facing Laura, and takes a
step forward. "Laura, lass, I..."
She catches him again, but this time, merely moves around him. In a second,
Robbie is kneeling with one leg on the ground, arm painfully twisted at his
back, head bowed, grimacing, and unable to get free. James is looking at the
scene with pain written on his face. "Bloody hell, lass, ok, ok, I get it!
Never implying you're weak ever again! I swear!"
Laura is seething. "HOW DARE YOU! How dare you, Robert Lewis. You know my past.
You know exactly what happened to me. Yet you undermine me in front of
Innocent, you decide for me, and you treat me like I am a child!"
James can feel the anger easily, but unsatisfied with this too evident feeling,
digs deeper, and is almost submerged by the sadness hidden behind, and the love
underneath all. Laura has been hurt deeply by Robbie's action or reaction.
Laura pushes Robbie away and walks briskly to her office, head held high, spine
rigid and hands closed in fists.
Robbie slumps to the ground, kneeling, sadness and shame pouring out of him.
"Go wi' her, lad. She'll need you."
James hesitates, but finally goes to Laura. She his standing near an empty
examination table that now sports a kind of nook, probably created by a fist
colliding with it. Tears are running on her face. James steps behind her and
takes her in his arms, but keeps silent.
After a while, her sobbing subsides, and she puts her hand on top of James'.
"Sorry" she says in a whisper. "I didn't plan to break down like that." She
tries to calm her breathing. "As you probably gathered, I did not have a very
happy childhood, and..."
James stops her. "Shhh, you don't have to tell me anything."
Laura has a sad smile. "But I want to. You opened yourself up to us, and I know
Robbie's... oh blast! He's going to do something stupid!"
They look at each other, but Laura is still shaking. James asks. "Will you be
all right for a moment?"
Laura's voice is decisive, and while she sounds raw, she has no doubt about
what must happen. "Yes. Go. I will still be here when you drag him back."
James looks at her, checks her feelings, and finds nothing but sadness and
longing. She seems to have burnt all her anger. He turns on his heel and runs
along the corridors, almost sending a PC flying. He is looking everywhere when
Gurdip catches his eyes and points to the main entrance. He nods his thanks
without slowing down. He catches Robbie less than five hundred metres from the
station.
"Where exactly do you think you're going?" his voice is colder than he
intended, but he is hurt too.
Robbie turns his head, stop walking and looks at him. "Why are you not wi'
Laura? She needs you."
"Go with Laura so that you can flee, again?" his words are clipped. "I never
took you for a coward, Robert Lewis."
Robbie's "What?" is not quite a roar, but close. He advances on James, but
seems to deflate the closer he gets to him.
James catches his wrist in his hand a drags him against his chest. "You are an
idiot. You hurt her, yes, but who says you have to go? And did you think of me,
in all that?"
Robbie's skin turns ashen. He shudders. "oh, god. Lad. I'm sorry, I'm so
sorry." His legs don't seem to be able to support him, and they collapse in a
heap on the pavement. Robbie is retching, supported by James' long arms. After
a moment, he looks at James, face wet with tears, sadness written on it, and
asks in a croak "why? Why would you even... I'm no good for you, I'll only
break your heart or get you killed."
James frowns, because the last words make no sense in context. But he answers
the general question. "Because I love you. No. Because WE love you, and when
Laura can't, I can be with you, draw you back from the abyss, scoop you from
the sea. But now we need to go back to her. Come on, up you go." He stands
carefully, and extends a hand to Robbie.
After cleaning his face a bit, Robbie looks at James. The lad has been hurt,
too, but his face is only showing love and worry. "Aye, we need to go. For what
it's worth, I'm sorry. I... We had a row, Val and I. It's why she was in
London, shopping for Christmas. It was our way to deal with it, having a day or
a half day for ourselves once we had settled things. I... if we had not... she
would... I... it was my fault!" he ends in a whisper.
James connects the dots and understands where a large part of the problem comes
from. "oh, you stupid... sorry... but, Robbie, it is NOT your fault. It was
Monkford's and only him. Don't ever think you had a part in it other that being
one of the injured party. Understood?"
Robbie nods.
"Good. Let's go." The walk back to the station is short, but they move hand in
hand. Apart from the PC at the reception desk, their path is suspiciously
empty. James ponders a bit, and decides it's Innocent's way to say sorry,
because she also made a big mistake, at least if she knew about Laura's past
and the circumstances around Val's accident.
They reach Laura's office when Robbie speaks again, though in a weary voice.
"Don' let me fuck this up, not again, please." his pleadings wrenching James'
heart.
James' voice is steel and diamond together when he answers, looking Roobie in
the eyes. "I won't."
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     Laura's life before.
Chapter Notes
     Trigger Warnings are not for fun. BE CAREFUL.
Laura is still sitting on the floor, against the wall, when they come back.
James holds a hand out, but in the few seconds it takes him to do so, Robbie
has landed on the floor near Laura, and set his head in her lap. Since she is
busying herself by combing her fingers into the dark hair, James sits down next
to her. He asks "You know you still don't have to tell me if you don't want
to?" but his question is more a formality than anything else. He knows Laura
made her mind up before he even left to catch Robbie.
Laura begins her story without stopping with her massage. It grounds her, helps
her staying in the now. "I was a 9 years old child, average size for my age,
living in the backcountry of Romania. We lived together, a group of children, a
dozen of unrelated adults, and me. Well, I was much like the other kids, but I
would have gone to school if I had not been in such a poor place. As it was, I
taught myself to read and write with the newspapers."
"We relied on petty theft, helping in the harvest, and pity from the well-off
people of the city for everything. We were happy, or as happy as can be in the
circumstances. Except the year had been hard, crops were few and not given to
us, and one of the adults found a way to get money by sending three of us to a
man. His name was Ivan Dobek. He had asked already on other years, but their
was no real need before, so... He choose me, my friends Lana and a kid named
Lucan. He had taken only wesen."
Her tone is flat, monotonous, and her rhythm invariable. "I don't remember
everything. I think my mind refuses to. What I remember is waking up in a
container, half naked, with some ten other children. We had been warned that
each and any sound from us would result in one of us being killed. We were
silent ghosts. A long while later, after a boat journey – I knew it was a boat
because some of us were ill with the boat rolling from side to side — the
container was open, and we were directed to a tunnel on the shore, surveyed by
a few armed and masked men. We walked to what were holding cells. From that
moment, and from what is, as the DIs told me, 9 and a half month, I would only
see the cell, the showers and the arena."
"They had us fighting, barely clothed, in front of men and women who paid to
see wesen kids try to kill each other. We would receive two meals a day, and
when I say meal, no inmate in England would accept what we got. We would get a
shower with rough soap before each fight. And that was all. I had already a
good grip on some of my powers before that, meaning I was almost impossible to
kill, so I would fight every three or four days. Some of us were... Invited to
celebrate with the VIP spectators. It happened twice to me in the beginning,
but after that they were more interested in my 'invincibility' than in my
body."
James is standing and has punched the wall hard enough to make a hole in it,
concrete and tiles no match for his fury. Laura ploughs trough her narration.
"In the middle of a match, lights turns off, then on, and a voice coming
through a megaphone shouts 'Police, do not move, hold your hands up.' And
something like eighty uniforms, and twenty plain cloth with a 'Police' armband
step in. The few that try to escape do so through the tunnel, but there was a
group of policemen there too. They have some Romanian speaking policemen in the
lot who talk to us, and I realise it's only 7 of us left."
James' face is thunderous, but he kneels next to Laura and takes her in his
arms, carefully, lovingly.
Laura falters a bit, now that she is almost at the end. "They, they carry us
outside, to a big vehicle where we get a medical checkup with picture and a
rape kit. They help us or let us take a hot shower. They give us clothing,
soft, warm and covering clothing. And, most important of all, they never cease
to reassure us, explain things to us, and treat us as victims, and not as
guilty party. There is a DI, whose name is Amanda, who learned Romanian because
her teacher husband decided to have cultural exchange with Romanian classes.
She is nice to talk to. She has beautiful and kind eyes, and she helps me
finding underwear. We are asked to tell what we can, it is recorded, and once
that done, we are asked about what we want to do, with several options,
including going back to Romania either to our families or for adoption. I have
no one left, so I ask to be fostered here."
She breathes deeply. "Thing is, normally, we would not have been up for
adoption for the DIs and others, but... the case is so peculiar, the
circumstances so special, that when Amanda asks, she is allowed to take me
home. Her husband is the kindest soul I've ever met... and I've met you,
Robbie. He is there to welcome me in his home. They have a room for me, one
that closes from inside, even if they tell me repeatedly that I can go to them
if I have a nightmare. I get clothes, toys, books, and get taught English and
other things, but most importantly of all... I get a real family. That day,
Adina Radu dies, and Laura Hobson is born. Laura, meaning victory, because I
had won over the men from the trafficking ring."
She says that with such finality that James can only nod and gather her closer
in his arms. Robbie his looking at them both with worry, one hand on Laura's
knee, the other at James' back. They stay like this for a long moment, until
Gurdip knocks at the door, staying in the corridor but clearly wanting to ask
them something. "Err, yeah, I found these" he gestures at the three tablets in
his left hand "on one of the small tables near Innocent's office, and they are
supposed to be for you, so..."
James exhales somewhat noisily through his nose, stands properly and collects
the tablets. "Thank you Gurdip. I think we deserve a lecture on data security,
but we have mitigating circumstances."
Gurdip looks around, nods and retreats back to his own office.
It takes them a while to move again, but they end up more comfortable on the
chairs with each a cup of strong tea, and Robbie asks: "So, I'll get back to
Innocent to tell her we don't..." he looks at Laura who has her bad days face
on. "What?"
Laura turns the tablet she was perusing, and shows them the name of the main
suspect in a human trafficking affair. Goran Dobek. That much cannot be
coincidence.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Summary
     Sometimes, revisiting the past is needed to help the future.
Chapter Notes
     Trigger Warnings still active...
They take time to read through the file carefully. Apparently, the man who had
bought Laura died in the assault, but his brother, who was not present at the
time, disappeared in the USA where he joined some other family members. He was
later found dead in or near Portland, and his nephew came to the UK in hope to
reorganise the traffic.
One of the DIs of the first operation, Gawin, is still active, but now a DCS,
supervising undercover operations, and so he is organising this one before
retiring. As they meet with him in Innocent's office, he treats Laura with
politeness and respect, earning points in James' and Robbie's minds. Why he
needs them soon appears clear. His voice is soft and measured. "The invited
people for the VIP lodges are always bonded triads or couples where the woman
or one of the women is the lead. Also, they all have or had knowledge about
slavery rings. The previous undercover officers were killed, albeit not in an
obvious way, as far as we know, because of a... leak in the Cambridge CID."
He shakes his head. "We can't afford using someone from there, now, and you
have very high solving rates, excellent undercover references, and for you, Dr
Hobson, a very good but rare knowledge of the mechanisms. And all three of you
are teachers in a combat discipline. VIP are expected to take part in one or
the other fight. So for me, it's like wishing for a genie to give us the ideal
team and getting it." Obviously, their triad is balanced and not dom/sub or so,
but if someone can pull it off, it is Laura. "We are going to spread a few
rumours about you, and you should soon get an invite."
Robbie still worries a bit because it means she will have to go back to the old
fort-like mansion, but Laura does not let him continue. "Frankly, it is no big
deal. I already went several times in the past, either alone or with one or
more of the other six children." At the others' surprised looks, she explains.
"It was cathartic. The first ever time was with policemen working on the case,
but after that, it became a kind of... pilgrimage, we had won, we were alive,
free, and the bad guys had been punished, so... I promise I won't freak out or
have a breakdown."
Innocent nods, DCS Gawin thanks her for that insight, and they realise they
already made up their mind. Laura answers for them three, already partly
setting in the mindset she will need for the next months. "We accept. I trust
you will find us the necessary accommodation in Cambridge? We will require
suitable clothing, and a cook or a maid would be good to."
Gawin is visibly happy, but not giving in to any giddiness. "Indeed. Be at this
address in three days, with no identifying items, and everything will be ready
for you. In any case, thank you. Thank you, really. I know Dr. Hobson has more
than experience of what it means, but if we can finally shut the whole
operation down and get the most recent arrivals...well, I don't need a good
case for my end of career, but If I can get those kids out of this hell, I'll
be happy."
He turns to Innocent. "I've had a couple of replacement DIs approved for you so
that you do not have problems while your best elements are away. But they have
not been made privy of the reason. I suggest you make it pass as a ... royal
requirement for the three of them, and give somewhere like Scotland or so as
their destination."
Innocent obviously sees the validity of his argument, and thanks him for
thinking of replacements. DCS Gawin then exits the office. Innocent looks at
each of her friends in turn. "Anything you need or want? You can tell Lyn she
can use me as a point to get news," fixing Lewis with a gaze.
Lewis thinks about it and confirms. "Yes, I will. I will call her later."
Laura asks. "In the meantime, I suppose they will pass their cases to Peterson
or another DI, I will talk to the other pathologists, and we will head home."
"Good. Be careful, and don't let other people's life be more valuable than
yours, hm? I'll see you in a few months. Robbie, I'll brief the Palace myself.
Good bye."
"Thanks, that would be great. Good Bye." the two other echo his farewell, and
quietly exit Innocent's office. Robbie and James take a moment to brief
Peterson on each of their cases, direct their sergeants to administrative tasks
until the replacement DIs arrive, and go home, picking up Laura from her office
as soon as she has briefed her colleagues.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Summary
     SEXY TIMES INSIDE.
Chapter Notes
     Though this chapter is not compulsory to understand the story, it
     might give you insight in the trio's characters and behaviours.
The call with Lyn takes the better part of an hour. While he cannot reveal
anything on their mission, he takes time to update her of their newly formed
bond, of what he did for James, and of what happened to him recently. Lyn is
over the moon about the triad. "Finally! Come on, dad, you cannot stop talking
about them when you come here, and you would rather spend time with either or
both than take vacations alone or with me to anywhere in the world, you can't
expect me to be surprised?"
Robbie is taken aback first, but rallies quickly. "Ah. Well. Eh. Copper
daughter, I s'pose. Yeah, I love them both. It was difficult to convince James
we wanted him in our life, but in the end... so, well, I hope you'll be up to
having three more people for Christmas?"
Lyn's little shriek of happiness is worth putting up with other relatives and
the general Christmas atmosphere. She still sobers up quite quickly. "So you
will be done with your secondment then?"
"Yes, yes, we will. I will take care of it. So, this is me saying good bye and
see you soon. Take care, Pet."
"Take care, dad, and I'll keep in touch with your boss."
Robbie puts the phone down under the loving gaze of his bondeds, and goes to
pack a minimum. His warrant card and other identifying items join James' and
Laura's in a bag they will leave at the office with their main key.
As soon as they are ready, they go. No sense in delaying the inevitable, and
dropping the bag at Innocents office takes only a few minutes.
And then they are on their way. Taxi to the train station, train (first class)
to Cambridge, taxi again to the address they received. Laura acts like a
princess who shall not be hindered or questioned, and it is very hard for the
two men to not send heated glances her way. As soon as they pass the doorstep
of their temporary place, she takes one look at them and gives order. "You,
close the door. Put our luggage in the main room. You, get us something to
drink. As soon as you are done, come to the living room. NOW."
Robbie almost runs up the stairs, and James is soon busy preparing cocktails
for each of them. He brings one to Laura with a flourish, bowing low. She
chuckles darkly, and pulls him by the sleeve on the sofa. As soon as Robbie
returns, he is pushed on the other side of Laura. She kisses James, harsh, but
does not let go of Robbie's arm. A few seconds more, and she is straddling the
lad, kissing him, and Robbie is mesmerised, his mouth dry, his hands clenching
and unclenching, his cock hard, leaking and painful in his trousers.
Laura notices. "Up. Hands at your back. Legs apart. Now."
Robbie groans, bits his lip, and does as he is told. He feels foolish. Hell, he
has twenty years on the lad, and does not feel like he his the most interesting
prize in the room. But the way Laura gazes at him... he wonders if heating is
broken, because it is hot as hell in there.
Laura moves again, seating herself comfortably on the sofa. She orders James up
with a movement of the head, and the lad joins Robbie in front of Laura.
"Undress each other. Slowly. One item of clothing at a time."
They scramble to obey, and it takes a few seconds to get coordinated. Robbie
first, and James mirroring him. When James removes Robbie's belt, it moves his
trousers, and Robbie moans. Laura, who was looking at James hands, raises her
head and orders "Don't hold back. Don't try to be silent." There is some kind
of urgency in her voice, like the situation requires another type of relation
and lovemaking that they usually have. Not that they are bored in the bedroom.
One doctor with a full knowledge of anatomy and biology + one very enterprising
youngster with eidetic memory + one copper that can suss out his bondeds
preferences make it for very enthusiastic fun times. But – Laura puts it on her
sensitivity and James' reading of feelings – this is something else, something
darker and yet fully accepted by each of them.
Robbie and James answer at the same time. "Yes, Ma'am!" They continue their
weird ballet, and Laura sips at her cocktail while she admires the scene. James
is down to his boxers, Robbie still has is socks, when the door to the living
room opens wide. A young woman wearing an apron comes in, realises she is not
alone and stops abruptly, mouth open, a dusting cloth in the hand.
Laura looks at her, angry at being interrupted, and worried at this person who
should not be here. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The woman starts and stutters. "I'm, I'm the maid, ma'am. I was told to clean
and prepare for you?"
Laura thinks quickly and orders "Come back tomorrow morning. Are we to expect
other interruptions?"
"Yes ma'am. No ma'am, I am the one who will cook and such for you."
Laura's frown turns calculating, at least for her two bondeds. "Good. Tomorrow,
9. Now leave us."
The maid scurries to the entrance as fast as she can, closing the door firmly
behind her.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Summary
     The second part of sexy times...
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Meanwhile Robbie and James have settled back side to side, hands at the back,
and do not move further. As the key in the lock clinks and the door is being
locked, Laura looks at them approvingly, sits back, and orders "Go on."
They are finally nude. Robbie is slightly afraid, they have never been exposed
like that, because their chosen bedroom is cosy and with soft lights. He is
older than James, not as fit as the lad – or at least that is his opinion – ,
and he blushes a bit. It seems to amuse Laura. "Good. Now kiss."
James sucks in a breath. Robbie turns to him, softly puts a hand at the back of
his neck and the other at the small of his back. James is at first a bit too
unsettled to react, but he soon mirrors Robbie. They kiss, lips parting, and
Robbie licks and worries James' lower lip, eliciting a moan, sending
electricity-like energy in his own body.
He looks at James, equally nude, hooded eyes, and kisses him again with renewed
heat. He explores his lanky lad's body, letting his hands roam all over that
endless porcelain skin and those lean muscles. James can barely stay upright.
He moans, keens, groans and Robbie is playing him like an erotic music
instrument.
Judging by the sounds she makes and the irregularity of her breathing, Laura
likes that. Eyes dark with want, she growls "finish each other!"
James shudders, but wills his hands to move towards Robbie. It is difficult, so
difficult when he is feeling so many things at the same time. He can feel
Robbie's left hand on his cock, and his right one still at the back of his
neck. He is hard, leaking, and as he moves to take Robbie in hand, he properly
realises for the first time the differences between them.
He his taller, but not by much. Thiner, but his bonded has a solidity that he
craves. Robbie's cock is bigger than his, fully erect, his body is flushed, and
his breathing barely more regular than James'. James acts on a hunch, taking
both pricks in his hands, using the precome as lubricant, and they are both so
close that it takes him almost no time to get them both shuddering through
their orgasms.
James is left so weak limbered that he slides to the ground. Robbie vaguely
manages to kneel instead of falling. After a few gulps of air, they both turn
to Laura to check her orders and to bring her to climax, but the dark smile she
supports, alongside with her right hand dripping fluids, and the fact she is no
longer sitting but leaning on the sofa makes them realise – after an almost
shameful amount of time – that she needs no help at all.
"Clean me." her voice does wonderful things to her bondeds' insides. James
shivers uncontrollably, watching her with dark and wide eyes, and moves at once
to obey, licking her fanny until she is clean, and then going for her clit.
Somewhere at the back of his brain, he thinks he may get punished for taking
initiative, but he is nowhere capable of stoping. Laura starts moaning and
writhing.
Robbie has not stayed inactive. He has licked Laura's hand clean, finger by
finger, sucking on each obscenely under the focused gaze of the smaller woman.
As soon as James begins his assault, he kisses her, worrying her lips, sucking
her tongue, and yet not doing anything she does not ask for in gesture or
sounds, and ready to stop at the slightest indication she is not willing.
After one particular loud moan James manages to tease out of her, Robbie sucks
hard and she is coming again, body taut, head tipped back, eyes closed. She is
beautiful, small, strong and curved, and Robbie takes a moment to appreciate
how lucky he is, her body a work of art no matter the scars and the ancient
wounds.
His eyes crosses James', but there is not confrontation, no challenge, no
jealousy. Only love and want. His brain seems to come back online at the same
moment James' does, and their breathing hitch at the same time when they
realise they did not obey Laura's order by making her come. James has his
"oops" face on, the same he gets when he is going to be yelled at. Robbie
blushes to the tip of his ears.
"Well, well, well." Laura chuckles, but there is nothing amused or amusing in
her voice or in her attitude. "It looks like I'm going to discipline you. UP!"
she roars, and both men stand to attention, a delighted apprehension tinged
with wonder on their faces. "Hands behind your head, feet apart, stand
straight!"
They obey immediately. "Safeword?" - "Augustine." - "Wagner." - "Good. Now, you
will count. Ten each for trying to outrule me. Turn over." She must have
anticipated them being unruly, because she gets a riding crop from the back of
the sofa, behind the cushions, stands up and flicks it, alternating between the
two. Both men take the punishment seriously, and the only sounds are their
breathing, the sound of the leather on their skin, and the counting.
At nine, Robbie is breathing like he has been in a race, and is fully hard
again. Moans escaped both of them, but Laura has not rescinded her order of
being loud. At ten, Robbie looks at himself, and a "Oh, Christ!" escapes him as
he realises his state. James is has turned on by the punishment, and hungrily
watches Robbie. Robbie's look in return is calculating. They cannot see Laura
at their back, but the feeling of being surveyed is as incandescent on their
skin as the correction they received.
Laura sits back and frowns. "Hm, nice. Very nice. How shall we... ah, I know. A
bit of competition. Turn towards me." She watches their faces. Robbie is
puzzled, James is wary. Not the only one who knows better than to underestimate
Robbie, then. "Go on, move there," she indicates the wide area devoid of
furniture between the coffee table and the wall with the fake fireplace slash
flatscreen TV. They scramble to obey, still facing her.
"You both know wrestling and grappling, so go on. The one who wins gets to
choose how – and if – either of you gets to come. No woging, no use of powers."
Here smile is devilish, and both men are entranced. James reacts first, turns
on his heels and catches Robbie's shoulders, trying to get him down, but Robbie
almost instantly has his own arms around James.
James realises that he is at serious disadvantage. He has a longer reach, and
is slightly taller, but Robbie is heavier, probably stronger, and more
knowledgeable in this field. He tries to unbalance Robbie, even using tricks
like kissing him, nipping at his throat or pinching his recently abused bum –
after all, Laura only said no woging and no powers – but while Robbie shivers,
moans and looks at him with lust and want, he never gives even a centimetre.
James can feel himself weakening, and knows he will not last long. Just before
giving up, he tries a last push, fuelled by despair and desire.
Robbie is expecting something of that kind, but he underestimated his lad's
sheer willpower. James pushes him to the ground, and he has to tap out.
Breathing deeply, back and shoulders on the ground, James on top of him, Robbie
says just "well, damn." But his face is showing happiness, and his smile is
true, and James can't help falling in love again for his bonded.
Laura is clapping, joyous and uninhibited. "Well, James? What do you want,
then?"
James smiles at her and at Robbie. "Hm... I think I am going to fuck you, and
only when I'm so spent that I pass out will you be allowed to come. It might
take more than one orgasm... " he whispers in Robbie's ear, and that is his
"phone love line" voice again.
Robbie has to bite the inside of his cheek and breath deeply in order not to
come here and now. James talking dirty is more than he can bear. He sees stars
for a few seconds, but manages to keep control on his body.
Laura laughs, cristalline and happy. "Oh, James, you are a wonder." She throws
a bottle of lube and a packet of condoms at him, marvelling at the ease with
which James catches all. James skilfully unrolls one on his prick, makes his
bonded turn around simply by looking at him, and then prepares Robbie, slowly
but unrelentingly, with generous amounts of lube, though being very careful
never to touch his prostate.
Robbie writhes and squirms, trying not to come, decided to honour James'
victory. His body is flushed, covered in sweat, muscles tense, and James is
licking his lips at the picture he makes. Slowly, torturously slowly, he
finally gets a fourth finger into Robbie.
Laura anticipates his movements, and gracefully slides just behind him,
kneeling, ready to support him.
James catches Robbie with an arm around his belly, and moves his fingers at the
same pace, but curling them, and Robbie locked in place, unable to move
anymore, moans and moans and moans at the sensations coursing trough his body.
James seems to think it is enough, removes his hand, lines his prick and pushes
inside Robbie, more slowly than he did with his fingers. Robbie's body
trembles, his hands are curled into fists, his eyes shut so tightly he does not
even see light. A last push, and James is completely inside him, and coming
with a shout, seeing stars, then passing out.
Laura catches him, lowers him slowly against her, cradling him in her arms. She
touches Robbie's shoulder with one hand, and murmurs "Come, now."
While his brain may not have been up to the task, as he did not hear Laura's
order, his body is so ready than the light touch is enough. Robbie is coming
harder than he ever had, shouting "James!", his body caught in a kind of spasm,
and he passes out too.
Laura lowers James all the way to the ground, then helps Robbie the same. She
goes and gets a cloth and a bowl of warm water, and cleans them both. If either
of them could see this, it has nothing to do with the effective but cold
movements she uses to clean bodies, or the gentleness she has for children
corpses. It is slow, delicate, and loving.
She takes several blankets, a few pillows, and installs her bonded as
comfortably as possible before laying down between them. After a while, hands
are at her shoulders and at her back, and she smiles, realising how lucky she
is and how far she went.
Chapter End Notes
     I think my dictionary is trolling me. For a short while, I thought it
     was telling me the word is used in Pr0n...
     [Heberger image]
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Summary
     Here we go again with the story itself.
When the maid comes in the next morning, she is met by three gazes. A haughty
one, for Laura is comfortably set in her role – so much that a thought at the
back of her brains worries her a bit, why is she so happy of this dark persona?
– who clearly will not tolerate any mistake from her. A disinterested one from
James, who is only caring for his bondeds, and making coffee at the precise
moment. A dark one from Robbie, who seems to see her as a threat. Though if
what Gawin told them is true, odds are that she is one in being a spy for the
slavery ring leaders.
They all wear expensive clothing, and James is forcibly reminded that no matter
how well hidden he was, Robbie is a prince and that is a bit breathtaking when
he is properly attired. The maid curtsies to Laura and goes to make breakfast.
James' making coffee does not seem to bother her, but she must have had other
rich people with weird quirks as employers.
They eat in relative quiet, only commenting the newspaper's titles and the
weather, and then Laura gives the maid strict orders on what to do. They leave,
the three of them, taking the car to the city centre. Robbie is reminded of
Morse and his jaguar, and feels a bit weird. They wander through shops, ending
up with a few bags of books, herbs and spices, and some clothing. One of the
shops they went to, the sales assistant tried to flirt with James, and almost
left running at the twin glares from Laura and Robbie.
They decide to eat at an upscale place, and for the first time in a long while,
Robbie pulls rank and gets them a table despite the reservations usually
involved. They agree on the evening's program but also notes who seems
interested in them. James snaps pictures of people, disguising it under
selfies, movements with his phone, and so on.
As Laura settles the bill with an high end credit card, one of the waiters
slips her a small envelope. She waits until they are in the car to open it.
Inside is a card.
     You are invited to this evening's
     VIP entertainment
     20:00
     Drinks and food will be provided
     ⚔⚔⚔
     RSVP
There is no signature, and the address is geographic coordinates. A phone
number is provided. The small crossed swords are the verification they needed.
They have been invited to the fighting circle that hides the slaves traffic.
Laura sends their common acceptance to the number provided, signing with her
cover identity initials. James sends a picture of the invite at the same secure
number he used for the photos earlier. Gurdip is the one who will receive them.
Robbie and James tense, but Laura does not seem to have problem with it. They
go home and spend the afternoon leisurely. After showering together, and hell
it is difficult to resist the temptation of each other, but they do not want to
be late, they get clothed. Laura is stunning in a dark burgundy dress split
almost up to her hips and boots up to her knees. Robbie is impressive in his
tuxedo that emphasises his broad shoulders. James is enticing in a waistcoat
that extends the lines of his back and showcase his buttocks. Both of them have
heavy duty shoes with steel toes.
They have ordered a car with chauffeur and the elegant dark blue Bentley
waiting for them is perfect. The chauffeur holding his cap in his hand opens
the door for them, and respectfully asks for an address. As soon as Laura gives
him the coordinates for his sat nav, his seems to be twice as respectful. He
leaves them in front of a house that looks more like a castle than a villa,
bowing respectfully and waiting until the door opens before he goes.
A young woman with an expensive suit lets them in. Laura shows their invite,
but apparently they are expected. They are brought to a kind of room
overlooking a roman-like amphitheatre. People are seated on the big steps
around the round surface prepared for the fights. They are seven VIP rooms
altogether. Laura sits in an armchair that looks more like a throne than a
living room seat. Both men sit on a comfortable cushion at her feet. While they
are under her control, there is nothing submissive in their appearance.
A girl, barely ten, comes bearing a tray of foods and drinks, and the three of
them have to work hard to keep emotionless, but they know they are watched and
reacting now will not help anyone. As she finishes placing the tray on a table,
the girl turns towards Laura, head bowed and eyes downcast. Laura thanks her
and sends her on her way, lest the girl tries to offer more.
The lights are dimmed, and the crowd cheers. A man appears in a projector's
light at the bottom of the arena. He introduces himself as Lord Pleasure – to
which James rolls his eyes –, and welcomes them. He explains that a set number
of fighter is planned for the evening, but that anyone can take part, and
encourages their VIP guests to be in it. He then launches the evening.
The fighter are a very mixed lot, from many different fighting style, men and
women, they seem to be there willingly enough, but as far as Gawin's
information went, they are paid and well paid. The fights are interesting
enough, and the three of them even bet on the outcomes. Laura is disgustingly
skilled at this.
After the fifth battle, a knock to their door has Laura lazily turn her head
and order "Come in." Instead of sitting in the chair, she is stretching on it,
a leg over the armrest, back at the other armrest. The man from before comes to
them and explains to Laura that they were chosen on their reputation, and that
having one of them fight would confirm their right to be there. She looks at
both her men, asking them without word. They look at each other, and James
elegantly stands up. "Jared. Make us proud."
James answers in a firm tone "Yes, ma'am." The master of ceremony guides him to
an entrance of the ground level of the arena. He does not have to wait for
long. He steps inside the fight zone, and looks at his opponent
dispassionately. From the VIP lodge, Robbie is watching, fists clenching and
unclenching. James' opponent has at least one foot and three stones on him,
showing muscular shoulders and arms.
James is not exhibiting any fear. The master of ceremony gives the signal to
fight, and James and his opponent circle each other. The huge man attacks, and
the crowd goes wild. James blocks his punch and retaliates with one of his own
directly at his breastbone. His opponent seems surprised at the strength of his
hit and staggers a bit before rallying and trying a roundhouse kick. For a
while, Robbie and Laura fear the worst, but slowly and relentlessly James tires
out his opponent. His attacks are less and less coordinated, he is sweating and
his face is drawn. James, on the other hand, is as prim as he was at the
beginning.
The Master of Ceremony nods at him, and James moves at lightning speed, hitting
his opponent in the jaw, the gut, and the side with a roundhouse kick of his
own. The big fighter goes down. The crowd is singing his name – his undercover
one at least – and applauding. James gets several phone numbers during his
journey back to the VIP lodge. He knocks, goes inside, and bows to Laura. She
beckons him closer, and a soon as he is close enough, tugs on his arm and
kisses him hard. James is smiling as he lowers himself on the cushion. Robbie's
gaze on him is both possessive and hungry.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Chapter Summary
     From the Oxford side.
Innocent is at her desk when the call comes through. Gawin has been found dead
in his flat, and considering that he was the handler of an undercover
operation, the NCA is sending a team to investigate.
She is suddenly worried for her own team. They are good, yes, and far more
resilient than your average copper, but she has a bad feeling. NCA asked for an
office, so she tasks Peterson with it. She is supposed to keep silent on the
topic, but since Peterson is partly aware of what is going on, she cannot stop
him from using his brain and drawing conclusions.
Gurdip comes to show her the pictures he got from Hathaway. The people at the
restaurant present no interest, but the waiter is known from the police
services. The phone number is a prepaid phone with no name associated. She
sighs and hopes thing will go right.
After a half hour with the NCA people, she is not reassured at all. They first
seemed to think Gawin's death was a vengeance by a person he arrested in the
past, but are leaning towards accidental death. They will get a new handler,
but in the meantime, the team is alone, and Innocents starts wondering if they
do not have a mole too.
The NCA rules the murder out, and leaves at the end of the day. Innocent does
not know what to do for now. She cannot leave her post and is not sure about
ordering a DI to go after the NCA decided it was an accident. She leave for
home with an unquiet mind.
Peterson is at Innocent's office first thing the next morning. The secretary
invites him to go in with a hand gesture because she is on the phone. Peterson
goes in silently and waits for Innocent to look at him.
"Yes?"
Peterson is deferential. "Ma'am, I'v got a lot of accrued leave, and, well,
since they sent us three temporary DIs and a sergeant to replace Lewis and
Hathaway, I would like to take some now"
Innocent tilts her head, narrowing her glare at him. "I see. And what will you
do? Travel?"
Peterson straightens up, and looks at her directly in the eyes. "I thought I
might do a bit of discovery of the opponent area. Like visiting Cambridge, see
the Cam, and maybe the area around?"
Innocent's only indication that she gets the message is a little quirk of her
mouth. "Well, why not. As you say, we are sufficiently staffed, you have closed
your most recent case. Do take a few weeks, but please keep your charged mobile
at hand."
"Yes, ma'am, understood. By your leave." He exits the office, thanks the still-
on-the-phone secretary with a nod and a smile and goes directly home to pack.
Warm clothing to walk, good shoes, a cap, gloves, the guide of the Cambridge
area he got at the bookshop, a sketchbook and pencils, but also rope, matches,
and a waterproof satchel in which he puts his warrant card, his phone and
charger, and the weapon he is allowed to carry.
He phones the first inn he earmarked in the guide, reserves a room for five
days, and finishes his tasks by setting the alarm, ringing at the door of a
wesen friend and neighbour who will keep an eye on his place. He clearly
mentions where he is going.
The circulation is fluid, that early in the direction he goes. He arrives in
Cambridge in a record hour, parks his car at the inn's underground parking,
leaves his suitcase at the reception since he can only have the room from the
end of the afternoon on, and goes back outside with his backpack, guide and and
a sketchbook, with the satchel deep in his backpack. First thing he does is
finding a friendly place to have breakfast.
He jokes about the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry with the waitress who brings him a
coffee, some bread, butter and marmalade, and when she say she is not from
around but can find him someone, waits patiently while eating the best
breakfast he has had in weeks.
Not long after, a older man sits next to him and greets him. "Our Celie says
you want to visit Cambridge and its surroundings? My name is Myers, I'm a
retired teacher, so I can tell you a lot, but I won't be able to come with ye,
my legs, you see..."
Peterson likes him immediately. He explains the story he had prepared: army
officer turned copper, he had always been interested in forts, privateers'
houses, night contraband ways, and so on. The old teacher accepts it all,
apparently it's not the first time people come here for such reasons, and soon
they are bending their heads over the good map Peterson brought, putting
markers, notes, and so on. Peterson asks him to fact check his guide, too, and
the old gentleman complies with a chuckle. The morning is soon over, and
Peterson buys his new friend a good meal as a thank you, despite him protesting
that helping a wanderer made his day.
When Peterson leaves the restaurant around tea time, he has everything he needs
to investigate. He goes back to the inn, checks in, and after a shower and an
evening meal, goes to bed early.
***** Chapter 8 *****
Chapter Summary
     The why and the how. At least in part.
James' sight is on the arena when he speaks. "He said that we were expected to
fight again. Hold your own, and strike when he gives you a nod. Though your
opponent won't throw the match if you are not up to his level." Pulling a face
and showing how distasteful he find the whole endeavour, James shakes his head
and instals himself comfortably at Laura's feet.
"Hm. Well, Cathal, will you be the next one?" Laura asks. She has not slipped
once, nor from her haughty persona, neither by using the wrong name for her
bondeds.
Robbie is impressed. Of the three of them, he is the one with the most
experience of undercover, but right now, he will defer to Laura without any
afterthought. "Certainly, m'lady." He bows, and departs. He can feel James'
eyes on his back the whole time.
In all the fights they have seen, some of the fighters were clearly wesen, yet
no one woged. As he goes down the stairs, Robbie frowns, some instinct or other
nagging at the back of his brain. He arrives at the bottom where Lord Pleasure
waves him to the centre of the arena with one hand.
In the VIP lodge, James' eyes widen, then narrow as he realises the same thing.
It is the first sign that something is not right. Kneeling again near Laura, he
says "I wonder, with this decoration theme, why he did not have angels. Maybe
they have fallen?" and prays that she gets the message.
His bonded is clever, and she nods, commenting "Well, I don't think I'll get
free passage either."
James' heart thunders in his chest. So she cannot feel or use her wesen side
either. Should they do something? But Laura does not seem to want to move, so
he settles back and waits.
Downstairs, Robbie straightens and waits for his opponent in a light defensive
pose, one hand at heart level, the other at waist level. One thing about him,
people keep underestimating him. They see a rough geordie in the middle of
Oxford – or here Cambridge –, and think he is no threat. But the man is very
intelligent, strong, courageous and resilient – he arrested more than one
suspect while having sustained heavy wounds, from knife to bullet – and in any
situation that is not ideal, he will work with it and find a way.
Five minutes later, he just go his opponent down for good, when he feels a
prick at his neck. His only thoughts are "well, bugger." before he goes down
too. In the VIP lodge, both Laura and James would have screamed if they had not
been held at gunpoint, back to the arena.
When he wakes up again, which he estimates is three hours later, James is
pacing the rather large cell, and Laura is sitting in suwari-waza, breathing
deeply. Robbie thinks it is her way to cope with a panic attack or PTSD.
Something went very very wrong, and he cannot woge. He tries to sit, liberating
his bondeds vests that were used as cushion on the ground of beaten earth. He
shivers, the humidity and cold uncomfortable.
"Wha..." his voice does not come and he has to clear his throat and try again.
"What happened?"
James looks at him with a fairly relieved expression, which worries Robbie even
more as it is not james' usual attitude to let things show on his face. "We...
got caught. For fighting too well."
Robbie's answer is immediate. "WHAT?"
James sighs and rubs his hands on his legs. "Well, we were fairly new, and we
did not go through the usual... circuit. You and I were too good for the
ringmaster's instinct, so he had us removed and brought here."
Robbie seems to get the half said things. "Oh. That's bloody stupid. Not
even... Oh."
Laura watches him and asks about his general state. "No dizziness? Do you feel
like the whole sedative is gone or are you still sleepy?"
Robbie groans. "Ah, bloody hell. A dart, aye? Well, no, I'm all right. But are
you?" He waits for a nod from both of them before going on. "But why did I not
... you 'now, woge?"
James is the one to answer. "Something in the air, or in the drinks. Sadly, I'm
not sure that is all it does. My... reading has been wonky since then." He
seems put out rather than frightened.
Laura seems to be over her flashback, but Robbie and James are still clearly
worried about her. Still, the situation is not ideal, and Laura's best way to
get better is to do something, so she tries to figure out what to do and how to
get out. "So... what do we know?"
James and Robbie get themselves around Laura. James begins in a low voice.
"They have a substance that can prevent woge. May be taken from a wesen. They
are puzzled by us, we do not fit in their usual patrons. They do not want
anything from us... yet."
Robbie goes on. "The maid told them abou' us, but they didn't spy inside our
home. Probably because it had been set by a specific contractor tha' caters for
the rich'n famous, and it would have seemed too dangerous."
Laura adds "Problem is, I don't think anybody knows we're here apart from the
presenter, the goons and the boss... or it may have been one of his underlings,
explaining why we are still here unquestioned. So... how do we get out?"
James looks at the door. While it is ornamented with wrought iron, the base is
wood, and he is fairly confident Robbie and him can break it even without wesen
powers. "Well... we break the door, go out the same way we came in, yes, I
memorised it," he adds, preventing Robbie from asking his question and making
him close his mouth again, "and we escape?"
Robbie gets up carefully. "Works for me." They stand in front of the door, and
in a synchronised move for which they do not even need words, break the door
just shy of the hinges. The sound is loud in the room, and they look at each
other before peeking outside and signalling Laura to come.
They exit the cell, which turns out to be more of a cellar, one by one, James
first, then Laura, and finally Robbie, and walk carefully towards the exit. The
journey seems endless, but after a while, they reach stone stairs going
upwards. Robbie hears something, and lifts his hand to warn the other, when a
kind of hiss sounds close to him, and he goes down for the second time, hit by
a dart. James tries to usher Laura outside, preferring to be able to come back
for Robbie later, but he is hit too, and Laura just after him.
***** Chapter 9 *****
Chapter Summary
     Peterson finds new friends
Peterson wakes up early, gets a quick breakfast, and heads out almost with
daybreak. He follows his notes from the previous day, and quickly discards a
handful of places that do not go with what he knows of the operation. Either
too much near the centre or not big enough to host the ring.
After a while, his steps lead him to what seems to be a warehouse with a villa
on the other side. That would do. The river is nearby, as is the airport, and
even the train station. He goes on exploring so as not to appear too
interested.
Coming midday, he asks for a local restaurant not too far from the interesting
place, and gets directed to a small family-run Greek "inn" were he spends a
good hour and half eating and talking with the waiter, the cook and the boss-
lady who came out of her office to chat with the "nice man" treating her people
so well. Since they live nearby and have been here for decades, Peterson has
more info when he leaves than what was in the file Gurdip had shown him.
They know of the guys who have the fighting arena, and warn him away from the
place. "Only, the nice people who go there are usually not seen again..."
Sophia treats him like her son, berating him for being interested in such
dangerous ventures, but still gives him a lot of information as soon as she
realises it is to help friends. "You can go there to fight, and if you fit the
profile, you get a contract. If you loose too often your contract is broken,
but the basic fighters never have problems there." the waiter adds. Sophia
thinks the guys running the circle do something to the vip people who go there,
and they do not retaliate by fear of bad press or such.
While walking back to the warehouse, he also has a bad feeling. The possibility
of a mole inside the Thames Valley CID is far too high for his liking, and
since the ruling of accident for Gawin's death, he has been trying to identify
who the person is. He removed a few people from his list, either because of a
passive with the trio or an absolutely spotless behaviour, but he still has too
many people who could fit the profile to be at ease.
There is a park near the warehouses, and he sits on a bench, getting his
drawing pad out, and sketching anything of interest, including people. One man
who could be a guard he saw in the morning walks towards him, obviously upset,
but one of his colleagues catches up with him and draws him back to the
warehouse. Still, Peterson knows he has been noticed and goes to another of the
benches in the park. He takes a picture from his drawing and sends it to
Gurdip.
The sun is slowly setting, and Peterson gathers his things, wondering if he
could find an excuse to stay around, but in the end, caution wins and he heads
back to the hotel. He has a troubled night, not sleeping well and waking up at
the end of nightmares.
In the morning, he decides to go back to the first place he ate in, and
breakfasts with Myers who enquires about his search. Peterson mentions the
Villa, and Myers explains that the building is much older than the warehouses,
and that they were rather surprised that the owner never opposed building the
industrial area, seeing how it was at his doorstep. He thinks the owner is
Russian, or something like that, and knows the man has several other properties
in the London, Oxford and Bristol area.
On leaving the café, Peterson sends the info to Gurdip, asking for a list of
the properties. He then walks to the park, and has barely sat down when his
waiter of the previous day, one of Sophia's grandkids, stops his bicycle near
the bench, greet him and says it would be good if he could go to the inn
anytime this morning, because Sophia remembered something. He arrives at the
inn before it is open but is let in at once.
Sophia waves him to the table she has papers and binders and a calculator on.
"Never mind the disorder, young man, I'm trying to do my accounting. Without
much success, but..." she trails off. "I saw something the day before
yesterday, and going back to our discussion, I wonder if it was not related.
You said friends of yours had been invited, nah*? Two men and a woman? Well, I
only saw one man and one woman, but the car was big and the area not well lit.
The woman was not big and I did not saw her well, but the man, afto**, he was
big. Not heavy, but his head touched the cars' ceiling, the way he was sitting
upright and tense. You said your friend was like my envonos***, nah?"
Peterson had likened her grand-kid to Hathaway during the meal the previous
day, when she had shown him pictures of her family, they sort of had the same
build and stance, but Hathaway was blond with a very clear skin while her
grandkid was tanned with black hair. Still, the description seemed to fit well.
Damn, they had moved them already. That was bad. He hesitates to call Innocent,
but not knowing how much the station was compromised, he holds back, sending a
message to Gurdip with a request to find a secure way. He thanks Sophia for her
precious help, and stands.
Suddenly struck by an idea, he asks her. "If I leave something here, can you...
hide it? Make sure I can find it again in a few days?" He is confident Gurdip
is on their side, but he is a civilian consultant, and if someone messes with
the evidence, he would rather have a copy somewhere. He has an envelope
prepared with what he wants to put in safety.
"Of course, young lad." She puts the envelope in one of her binders, adds a few
things written in Greek, and brings the lot back on the shelf in her office. He
hugs her, and thanks her again.
The airport is close, he goes and gets himself a car. In the meantime, Gurdip
has sent him the requested list, and he puts a mark for each of the properties
on an ordnance survey map. Almost all are near water, be it rivers or the sea.
Sophia had noted the registration number, and with Gurdip's magic, he has a
general area were the car could be. It still leaves him with three different
possibilities. With the car, the first one is a two hours journey from
Cambridge.
He closes his eyes, tries a little prayer to whomever is listening, shakes
himself and leaves the parking space with a frown of concentration on his face,
risking going slightly over speed limits to reach his colleagues and friends a
soon as possible.
* yes
** this one
*** grandson
***** Chapter 10 *****
Chapter Summary
     At the... villa.
Their first day in what must be a seaside villa is awful. They are taken in
turn for various experiments, always at gunpoint. Laura has a headache from the
potion she was given, James is nauseous, but more worryingly, Robbie is almost
unconscious when they bring him back to the cell. On the other hand, their
powers have partially come back. They still cannot woge, but Laura can reassure
James and herself that Robbie will be fine and is not dying.
The cell is ghastly. They have water through a tap with a metal sink in one
corner, the only opening besides the door is a very small window barred with
heavy metal bars, and a shrub in front of it blocks the light. Three mattresses
in the opposite corner have blankets on them, but the place is cold and damp.
After a ridiculous excuse for a meal, though they all feel better, James is
brought out of the cell again, and Robbie tries to prevent it. He is shot in
the shoulder for his effort, slumps down with a growl, and Laura almost goes to
attack the guard, but they have already closed the much sturdier door. It
reopens a short while later, and a box with a red cross is thrown inside the
cell.
Laura cleans the wound carefully – the bullet has gone through the meaty part
of the shoulder, exiting on the other side – then sews it and bandages the
shoulder, all while Robbie is gritting his teeth hard enough to chip the
enamel. She has him drinking some water, hoping it is not poisoned or drugged,
and then instals him as well as possible with blankets.
Neither of them has any kind of timekeeping power, and the light from the
window is not enough to guess how much time has passed. One hour? Two? More?
They both have a sigh of relief when the door opens and James is shoved in.
Except that James is pale, sweating, caked in mud, some dark traces on his face
and arm, not saying a word, and sight set on a distant point. Laura, used to
seeing corpses, has a few beats of panic at having him look less lively than
her usual charges. She realises she still has the medical kit, and sets on
cleaning and treating him. James seems to slowly get out of his mutism, but
only to say again "I am sorry, I am sorry, I tried, I tried, but I failed." or
variations thereof.
Robbie emerges from his doze, and sets himself just behind James, enveloping
him with his arms and the blanket. It takes ages for James to regain a modicum
of control, but when he does, he haltingly tells what happened. They had him in
a muddy area outside, and gave him some kind of drug. He managed to get hold of
one of the guards' weapon despite the hallucinations, except they disarmed him
by way of a bat strike on his arm. It does not hurt much, not more than he can
bear at least, but the visions were so awful, so real, so heart breaking that
he still has difficulties differentiating them from reality. He is sobbing in
Laura and Robbie's embrace as he finishes his tale.
As the door opens once more, Laura does not let either of them move before she
is on her feet at the door. With James under influence and Robbie wounded, no
matter how quick he bounces back from that kind of thing, she will not let them
go there. As she is taken away, James and Robbie settle in each other's embrace
and try to rest despite their panic.
When Laura is brought back to the cell, her hands tied behind her, two of the
guards are sporting wounds on their faces, one is new – the old one missing –
and she radiates so much fury that James, not back to his full powers, senses
her from half the building away. He quickly locates scissors in the kit, and
removes her bindings. "What... what happened?"
She sits next to Robbie and puts her arms around her knees. "They wanted me to
tell them who we are working for. They think we belong to a rival company." Her
hands are clenching and unclenching almost mechanically, and James, seeing the
bruised knuckles, slowly and lovingly disinfects her hands and applies a bit of
salve. "They threatened to use James for their sexual amusement." it is said so
softly that both men have to strain to understand it. James shivers in disgust,
Robbie is incensed.
Robbie startles. "Rival company? But... oh, so, that's what they do..."
James and Laura glare at him, Laura enquiring: "Want to explain things a bit
for us less gifted in the art of detecting?"
Robbie frowns at her. "Ha. Ha. As if. But. You remember me sayin' that
something was weird for a slavery ring, or for trafficking kids? The other
place was not equipped for either, this one is equipped all right, but not for
that kind of thing. Well, that's because that's not what they do."
James seems to reach the same point at that moment. "Oh, medical
experimentation, well, medical is perhaps too much of a word for them, but they
try wesen-only chemicals on the VIP they capture."
Robbie nods. "Yes, that's the thing, but also I think they're trying to create
something. A wesen-drug? A woge-preventive ? Did either of you notice any kind
of scientist? Or per'aps an hexenbiest? I'd really like to know who is doin´
the medical part of it."
Laura tries to remember, but she has not seen anyone of the kind. James has a
bit more success. "The one who gave me the hallucinogen. Or... maybe it was
something else, they all had masks, so I could have been in contact with an
aerosol based product. He was far from gentle, but he seemed to know how to do
an injection. Maybe a nurse or an orderly, though."
Laura has had more luck with names, seeing how she attacked her guards when
they joked about James. "The top man I don't know precisely. But one of the
guards nicknamed him Cesar, earning a question from the new guard, to which he
answered 'well, pun on Roman-Romanian, you know?' so we can safely assume that
the boss is one of the Romanians or Dobek himself." Their quiet three voices
meeting is suddenly interrupted by a loud noise outside, followed by voices
talking in a language James does recognise as Romanian for some ten minutes,
followed by an angry and authoritative voice speaking English. And then it
falls quiet again.
It is the smell of burnt tires that slowly wafts in the cell that tells them
there was at least a bit of fire, but since they heard no sirens, they can only
conclude the authorities were not called. As the evening approaches, they
decide to see if escape is possible when they are brought their meal, but the
guards leave the trays in the entrance of the cell instead of bringing them
fully inside. After eating, the three of them pile on the mattresses and try to
stay warm and sleep with only the blankets despite the damp and the cold from
outside.
***** Chapter 11 *****
Chapter Summary
     Don't hate me. Villa/2
As it happens, Laura manages to slip behind the guards while they put the 
breakfast trays down, and she manages to go quite a while inside the house. She
now knows enough about zaubertrank, but she still wishes Jean could be here,
because she is the expert, and the lab does not give her enough information
about what the so-called scientists are trying to do.
She rummages through various papers, folders, notes, but only gets a name:
wesentraum. She tries to destroy some samples, especially the one they took
from James and Robbie, but that makes noises and when two scientists arrive in
the lab, the white coat she borrowed is not enough to let her blend in, and
alarm is raised. She is brought to a man in a non-descript office, who first
finishes a phone call and then imagines he can interrogates her.
He has a very faint British accent, which Laura thinks he is from Cornwall. He
seems puzzled by Laura's attitude and her unwillingness to answer questions.
After a while, he gives up and has her brought back to the cell. Laura in turn
is puzzled by the assumptions he had. Was something supposed to be in their
water? In their meals?
He still asked a question. She thinks it is a kind of test or a way to get back
at them. Back at the cell, Robbie is resting, and James is pacing. "Laura! Are
you all right? They did not... try something on you?"
"No, no, nothing. One of the lead – a Cornwall man – asked a question, though."
She sighs. "They want to test a new substance and we can choose which of us is
going to receive the thing. They call it Wesentraum, and it is supposed to put
a wesen in touch with his... or her... I suppose, feelings."
She collects her thoughts. "I think that disqualifies you immediately, James.
It would probably do you a lot of harm with your empathy." She pours every
ounce of her worry in her explanation, hoping James will understand.
He makes a face in distaste, but does not try to argue. The drug, if it works
even just a bit, would send him in a feedback loop immediately.
Robbie shakes his hand and says "Me. No. Listen." He catches their wrist in his
hands. "Listen, really. If it is me last action forever, I have to try and
protect you. It's not about you or James being weak, it's not about me being a
regnant and a prince, it's just... I love you both more than words can say. If
you can survive it an' live on... I'm happy to take the hit. And of us two, you
are the one who might be able to help once I got the drug in me blood." He
kisses Laura deeply. Laura's eyes are teary. She does not trust her voice and
nods. She understands, she can see the logic of it, but it does not mean she
likes it. She still cradles James in her lap, and Robbie kind of bows down to
kiss him too, a long deep kiss, breathing in his bondeds, steeling himself for
what is to come.
Laura looks at him, crying, and says "I love you, Robbie. I will alway love
you."
James gazes at him. "Don't you dare not to come back to us. DON'T."
Robbie steels himself, stands and goes to knock on the door of their cell. "Oi!
Anyone? We've decided." The door opens, just enough for him to go out. He may
be about to die, but he will not give their captor the satisfaction to have
broken him. Head held high, shoulders wide, he does not care for his torn
shirt, the blood on him or the layer of dirt and mud, he steps outside with a
stately gait, and has the pleasure of seeing the guards back off slightly.
James passes out, the aftermath of the drug. He regains consciousness a while
later. Laura thinks it has been around half an hour, but grimy, half naked and
all their belongings removed, she has no way to be certain. James looks at her,
then around him, and starts. His speech is notably slurred. "Robbie, where's
Robbie? Where is he?"
Laura knows he might have memory loss – it should be temporary – and tries, but
cannot talk. "He... he..." and breaks into tears.
James' skin is ashen. "No. NOOOO. Why? Why..." He is so shaken than he can not
even raise his head from her lap.
The doors opens again, Robbie's barely alive body is thrown in, and the door
closes. The treatment they inflicted on him has already begun turning his brain
to mush, if the spasms are any indication. Laura looks at James and says
through her tears "I will try to anchor his soul for as long as possible,
but..."
James barely nods. The feeling of grief is overwhelming.
***** Chapter 12 *****
Chapter Summary
     The other side of good.
Peterson arrives at the first site of Gurdip's list. The property is on
seaside, and he thinks he can see the tunnel Laura had mentioned. He is going
to have to be careful. He parks a bit away, and puts on dark clothing, a
formless cap, and sunglasses. He takes the vehicle's keys, a dagger in his left
boot, some rope, matches, his mobile, and a swiss army knife.
Approaching in daylight is not ideal, but he knows he is pressed for time, now.
Luck has it that the first attempt was the right one, but the longer the three
remain captive, the bigger the danger to their lives is. He can see the villa,
a few cars around, a kind of shed, and a stack of – moderately – old tyres.
With the trees and the fact the ground is all but flat, he can go fairly close.
He notices the tyres are burnt.
From the way the people move, he thinks he knows were the trio is being held.
He also notices no authority seems to have come by, reinforcing the idea some
higher ups of the area are in it. He stays a few hours, noting everything he
can, including the registration plates, sending several pictures to Gurdip.
Crawling back to his car, he has a quick message discussion with Innocent, and
drives back to Oxford at once.
As he arrives, DC Maddox gets the keys and parks the car while he is ushered to
Innocent's immediately. The planning takes more time.
"I know, time is of essence, Peterson, but acting in haste will certainly mean
getting one or the tree killed. From what we got between their pictures and
yours, the boss is a Cornish man named Petries, a professor of chemistry who
has been thrown out several business and one university for not respecting
ethics and morals. He seems to be the one in charge of everything, but is the
kind of man who will have injected them with something or prepared a trap with
chemicals."
Innocent takes a breath. "So, either we can get them out in seconds, which...
or we plan for the dangers of chemicals!"
Peterson recoils in horror. "Oh, shit. Ah, sorry, I see, ma'am. I had not
realised... sorry, ma'am. But who are we taking?"
"Who are you taking. I cannot take part. You said it yourself, we're
compromised, and me being aware could invalidate the whole chain of evidences.
Now, go talk to Gurdip, he'll give you everything you need. As for whom... go
with your gut feeling. Obviously, Maddox, Lockhart, and Cleary – she is a
personal friend of mine – can be trusted, but beyond that..."
Peterson nods seriously. "Yes ma'am. I will. By your leave." He quickly walks
to Gurdip's office.
Gurdip, while seemingly frightened, is doing his very best. "There, I set up a
secure channel with an earpice for each person. Those are special bullets that
do not kill but put in a half a day ... ah... trance? Sleep? It really works,
and it is more efficient than normal bullets agains body armour. Oh, our body
armour, as well as dark clothing in several sizes. Will it do?"
Peterson nods approvingly at the young lad. He might be a civil consultant, but
he is more efficient and courageous that a good half of the constables. "It
will do very well. But... our?"
"I will stay in one of the vehicles, monitoring the channel, using various
technologies to help you as much as possible. While I should not be in the line
of fire, I'd rather wear it for nothing than... you know." Gurdip shrugs.
Peterson is impressed. "You? Well, good, right. We go in the afternoon, rendez-
vous is in the training room downstairs at 6 PM, we set of at seven. I'm going
to help you put everything there for now. There is a secondary access to the
place that leads to the parking at the back of the older part of the building."
Gurdip smiles tightly, and they spend half an hour sorting everything. With his
supervision, Peterson sends an encrypted and secured email to each person he
wants the next day, and gets affirmative answers back. No matter the cases and
the things that happened, Robbie, James and Laura are well liked and respected.
Once they are done, Peterson frowns and asks "May I see you to your place?"
Gurdip seems surprised. Apparently, most people are not that nice with him when
they do not want something of him. He smiles, a small but genuine one, and they
walk side by side to his flat. Peterson wishes him a good night and goes back
to his. He knows that by tomorrow, a random DC will have brought the rented car
to Cambridge.
***** Chapter 13 *****
Chapter Summary
     Finding their way in...
Chapter Notes
     Please, if you read and find mistakes, do not hesitate to leave a
     comment.
     Or, well, you can leave a comment anyhow...
     Also quick poll: do you want the next chapters chronologically or do
     you want the resolution of the story first and then what happened?
     Answer... in a comment please? ´^^;
The time seems to crawl by too slowly. Peterson uses his day to review his info
one last time, and then to do some paperwork.
Ten minutes before 6 pm, he is downstairs. He tightens the last fastening on
his body armour when the door to the temporary locker room opens, and Innocent
steps in. Peterson grimaces. "Ma'am? I thought you might.. I mean... plausible
deniability..."
Innocent glares at him. "You did not see me. You did not know I was with you,
only that a few additional constables decided to join the op."
"Ah... yes, ma'am."
"Additionally, I am one of his sworn knights too. And what I have with me can
mean life over death, so you'll have to put me in the team that goes directly
to them, with DC Gray too. But past that, it's your op, even if I have to take
the fallout."
Peterson's eyes widen, he nods deferentially, and sets to check the last items.
Now that he took time to look properly, she has her body armour, a non lethal
gun, a weird leather pouch at her belt, and her earpiece. She is also wearing a
black beanie to conceal her hair. He is fairly sure Gurdip has already included
her in the secure separate channel he prepared for the op.
Peterson gives the last instructions and they all climb into the nondescript
vehicles at the back of the building. It takes a bit less than a two hours to
reach their destination, Convey Island, but no one speaks, save for important
questions and orders.
As soon as the two vehicles arrive into a clearing, everyone is out, ready,
including Gurdip who launches two black and not gleaming drones before climbing
back in the vehicle. Peterson calmly discusses last details with Colleen, puts
Innocent in her team, and sets to his objectives: getting as many guards down
as possible.
He and his team are shooting the guards with some of those non lethal bullets –
they work perfectly – with a rifle, unseen and unsuspected for a while. Once
they have taken down a majority of them, the group goes directly to the villa
by the front entrance. They stop at each guard to cuff them with plastic ties
and get them out of the way. In the time they need to reach the stairs,
Peterson reckons the other team has to have reached the cell. Still, they did
not hear an alarm or so, meaning they managed to get all or most guards on both
accesses.
Colleen loses no time in progressing towards the nearby shore. She has all the
attention of her team, and issues short and to the point orders: walk along the
river, turn left 500 metres before the water, walk parallel to the water, and
the waterside entrance will be visible.
She thinks the torturers – for it is exactly that, torture – have been stupid
in their organisation, but then, it means it will be easier for them. She goes
first, and another teammate follows every ten minutes. It takes a moment, and
she is safely at the tunnel, concealed by the darkness and the stones. As soon
as the group of six of them is there, including Innocent, they move inside the
tunnel, as silent as ghosts.
They encounter their first guards a few minutes later, and take them down in
silence. Maddox seems particularly at ease with the gun, but Innocent looks
like she does missions like that in her spare time, and Colleen remembers that
while it may not be the case anymore, she certainly used to. They arrive in an
area with very sturdy doors for what seems to be cells, and a weird mechanism
above them.
Colleen lifts a hand in a 'stop' motion, and they all wait while she examines
the door nearby. She frowns and signals DC Gray to come near: he is an
Eisdrache, an Ice Wyvern, – which was more than a bit surprising for his family
when they discovered that – with the power to spread extreme cold by touch,
albeit on a small distance only. They tried a few times, it works for a door
and its surrounding on both side, meaning whatever the bad guys have in store
for them will be taken care of simply by virtue of being frozen.
As soon as it is done, they break the now fragile door and enter, spreading
quickly and surveying surroundings. They find two of the DIs that had
disappeared early on in the enquiry, their third member apparently dead. Both
are in a very bad state, and Colleen spares two of her team to evacuate them.
They press on to the next cell, and start the same procedure again.
It takes two and a half minutes to get the door open without triggering the
mechanism. But when the door opens, they recoil in horror. Laura is crying,
kneeling a meter away from James and Robbie. Robbie's face is contorted, wild,
mad, angry and smiling at the same time.
But it's James's appearance that shocks them. He looks famished, bones jutting
from too close from under his skin, face a grotesque grimace of horror, skin
almost yellow instead of his usual porcelain complexion, and his eyes are
completely masked by a blue-greenish veil, like his cornea had been injected
with colours.
***** Chapter 14 *****
Chapter Summary
     What happens when you have Innocent in your recovery team
Innocent pushes the others aside, reaches for something in her pouch, and
injects Robbie with it without touching either him or James. She looks at
James, frowns, digs a second vial and seringue from her pouch and injects James
with this one. She then settles on her heels next to Laura, and hugs her.
"Shhh, shhh, they will be all right. Give them five minutes, that's how long
the zaubertrank will take, and then... well, you know as well as I do that they
are persistent buggers, they will not leave you."
Laura's tears slowly recede, she is still breathing in sobs, but she feebly
nods to Innocent's words.
===============================================================================
Earlier
James tries to control his thoughts again, and shakes his head, clearing his
eyes from tears as he comes up with a plan. He can do that. He will do that. He
looks at Laura, and asks, no, orders: "Do not touch me, do not touch him. Do
NOT try to separate us." and he is inside his bonded's mind like he simply
stepped in another room.
As fear, anger, shame and other feelings whirl inside Robbie's mind, he takes
full control of his bonded, and leaves only love, courage and hope. It hurts
like hell, and guilt for not having asked for consent burns like acid, but he
holds on. He will have to stay like that for hours, until the drug completely
fades from Robbie's body or until someone reaches them with some kind of
antidote. The death of two other prisoners and the notes Laura found taught
them that. And they still do not know if her message to Innocent went through.
In the cell, Laura looks at them. She is still anchoring Robbie, and adds
James's 'soul' to her visualisation. Settling on her heels, showering her two
bondeds with every possible positive feeling and memory, she prepares for a
long day or night.
As time passes, she sees Robbie going pale and red in turn, but the feelings he
shows seem less potent, like they are filtered. James, on the other hand, looks
awful. She almost goes to him, but he had been adamant with his orders. Hours
pass, and James' appearance is worrying her more and more.
As she almost gives up and decides to stand and check on them, she hears noises
outside. She hesitates on what to do, but she would have to give up anchoring
to fight, so she sighs, defeated, and sits back.
===============================================================================
Robbie comes back to reality like he is waking from a terrible nightmare. For a
moment, he cannot tell what is real and what is his imagination. And then, as
he disentangle himself from James, a smaller body collides into him, and Laura
hugs him like she has not seen him for days. He is first unresponsive, and then
slowly hugs her back. She then proceeds to check him over.
Robbie has difficulties talking at first. "Ja... James?"
Innocent, who approached him, raises her head. "He will be fine. He will feel
weird for a while, like an indigestion, but other than that... Oh, a few
bizarre secondary effects, like being synchrone or sharing moods – and it's not
like you never did so before even without a link. But I swear, nothing life
threatening or mind threatening, ok? And as soon as he wakes up, Laura, you can
check him up."
"Ma... " Innocent cuts him middle-word. "Call me Mary. I have given you an
antidote corresponding to the 'trank you got injected with. I also gave a
cleaning-slash-fortifying 'trank to your friend. He might need a few days to be
completely well, though."
Robbie understands the need for secrecy and allows Innocent to remain a mere PC
named Mary for the moment. A moan of pain catches his attention back to James,
and suddenly they all try to hug the lanky git at the same time.
"What on earth did I get drunk with?" James' statement is more of a croak than
his usual beautiful singing voice, but he manages to convey his meaning.
Innocent steps back next to her – for the moment – boss Colleen, and they
watch, relieved, as the three bonded hug and kiss each other with tears and
smiles.
Noise in the opposite area make them tense until they see it is Peterson with a
team and, more important, DCS Margrave and a doctor. Margrave looks at what is
in Front of him with a frown, but Innocent got out through the tunnel before
she could be seen. Colleen has a sigh of relief and winks at Peterson.
As soon as they have been seen to, the three bondeds are evacuated in a
comfortable car. The men Margrave brought with him get all the prisoners seen
to, cautioned, and brought to the nearest station. Margrave takes hold of the
two bosses himself. Their victims – the ones still alive, obviously – are been
sent with help to a recovery clinic of the area.
***** Chapter 15 *****
Chapter Summary
     "Go on till you come to the end: then stop."
Chapter Notes
     There we are. The end for this story. I hope to post more stories in
     this universe in the following weeks.
Two days later, Goran Dobek is seated in an interrogation room with his lawyer,
facing DCSs Innocent and Margrave, clearly showing contempt.
"My client would like to know why you still detain him. If you have nothing
solid against him, my client is going back home. Your so-called proofs are
nothing but hearsay and flimsy paper."
Innocent affects boredom, and Margrave answers. He looks at Dobek, though, not
at his lawyer. "I think you will find that we have witnesses of flesh and bone.
They are able to speak for themselves, and equally able to stand in court." he
turns his head towards the microphone. "For the record, the witnesses enter the
room."
Dobek frowns and looks at the people coming in on Margrave's words. He flails,
pales, and shoots out of his chair, landing on the floor, crawling as far as
possible from them.
Facing him are DI Lewis, DI Hathaway and Dr. Hobson, hands linked, the look on
their faces chilling to the bone, and even Innocent, who is not the target of
their gazes, shivers. Laura has a frightening smile and says "Oh, I don't know,
I think seeing you condemned forever might be exactly what we need for our
trauma."
Dobek is spilling every secrets before they even get out. His lawyer is looking
at him with a face showing he does not understand his client's behaviour, and
trying to stop him talking without resorting to physical harm.
The three of them nod at the DCSs, and Laura ushers her two bondeds outside
before exiting, closing the door firmly behind herself.
They saw Petries through the one way glass earlier, he gave in as soon as he
was told about the three of them surviving. A half day later, and he had given
every name he knew, all the chemical formulas, and signed his statement,
incriminating Dobek and many others. He also gave a kind of explanation about
their aim and the drugs they wanted to create. Sadly, he was not aware of the
identity of the plants in the various CIDs.
Peterson went back to his new favourite Greek inn and retrieved his documentary
evidence, which he brought to DCS Margrave. Since he knew the man from before,
he also knew he could be trusted, and that helped a lot in making sure the
culprits would be jailed. He still had to have a meal at Sophia's before being
allowed to come back to Oxford.
In the corridor next to the interrogation rooms, Laura looks at her two men,
and asks "Home?" in a hopeful tone.
The two answer at the same time. "Home." James said it would fade, but for now,
the two of them are behaving exactly like two synchronised machines. They both
place one hand on Laura's back, and steer her to the car they took to come in.
Laura just hopes they will really manage to be their own self soon.
They love each other, and the ordeal only tightened their bond and made them
discover new powers, which Laura wants to explore. Their immediate future is a
week and a half of rest and recuperation with no call from the station,
Innocent even made sure they would be delivered meals so as to get them to stay
inside.
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