Chapter Text
Gordon admired her shiny, perfect hair for a moment longer as she stood at the counter, before grabbing the dirty tray from the now clear table and making his way back towards the kitchen. Gordon’s ears perked up at the soft, gentle click of the cafe's door sliding closed. He really needed to get that bell fixed.
“I’ll be with you in a moment.” He called to the newcomer. Sending a quick glance over his shoulder to see a tall figure clad in a black coat, not too uncommon for the time of night and chilly weather outside.
Next came a horrifying sound that Gordon wished so desperately that he hadn’t heard it enough times to recognise, the sound of a gun being loaded. His eyes darted to the unaware Lady Penelope before dropping the tray in his hands and sprinting for the woman. His arms wrapped around her waist just as the first shot rang out. A strangled gasp came from the figure in his arms. Gordon’s body curled around Lady Penelope as his hip made contact with the front counter, and he propelled them over the top before falling to the ground. He breathed for a moment before lifting his gaze to meet the woman’s eyes.
“Are you ok?” He breathed, his body buzzing with adrenaline that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Another two shots rang out above their heads. Gordon flinched at the sounds of shattering glass as he scrambled to face the woman he had just rolled over the counter, wanting to be sure she was ok.
“Why on earth did you do that?!” Lady Penelope's voice whispered, clearly offended and displeased by the situation.
“Sorry,” Gordon answered, slightly taken aback, “I was just trying to help.”
“How? By potentially injuring both you and myself?”
“I’m sorry, I used to-” He was cut off by the sound of another shot a lot closer than the last.
“Used to what? Throw people around without their consent?”
“What? No!” It was Gordon’s turn to be offended.
“I am very much capable of helping myself, thank you very much.”
“Fine, whatever, can we please get moving now!”
“Not quite. I have a bone to pick with this hooded fellow.”
“What do you mea- Wait, no!”
Another two shots rang out while he watched as Lady Penelope stood from behind the counter, raising a small object in her hand. He tried to reach her to pull her down, but his left shoulder pulsed in pain from what he could only guess was the initial impact to the floor. He recoiled in on himself as a soft clicking noise somehow rose above the sound of the firing gun and shattering glass. How she hadn’t been hit yet was beyond him. For a moment, the clicking stopped, and words were heard through the broken cafe.
“There are more, and they will come; we must finish what once was done.”
Before the person was flung back, glass shattered everywhere as they were propelled through the front window. The world grew silent as the figure landed somewhere far into the dark of the night. The voice was robotic, and a sense of dread sat in Gordon’s stomach at what that figure might have meant. A memory of a note from years ago rang a bell as the words seemed to align.
‘We will do what must be finished.’
The note had been sent to the island with no return address and no other writing. It had plagued Gordon and his brothers for weeks, but nothing happened. They had assumed it was just a prank, but something just didn’t sit well with them; none of them ever fully believed it.
Gordon was dragged from his thoughts by Lady Penelope urging him to get moving.
“That blast may not have been enough to keep him down for long, if we don’t move now we may not move at all.”
Gordon scrambled to his feet ignoring the pain in his shoulder as it flared at the movement, sparing only a moment to glance at what used to be the front of the cafe. He really hoped that wouldn’t be coming out of his pay. Nothing seemed to stirred in the dark but he knew better than to tempt fate.
They had made it through the two back rooms and out of the emergency back door, Lady P leading the way and Gordon lagging behind, trying to keep up. They were halfway across the rear car park before his balance began to fade. He wobbled one step after another, holding his shoulder the best he could through the pain fogging his mind. Warm, oozing liquid leaked from behind his hand as he stumbled again.
“Honestly, do hurry up,” Lady P snapped as she strutted back toward him, “I would prefer not to be shot tonight.”
“‘M tryin’,” He mumbled, “did som’thin’ to my shoulde’,”
“Oh dear,” She exclaimed, “seems you were not quite as fortunate. This could have easily been avoided had you let me deal with it, no matter, let’s get you to the car.”
‘Oh, so that’s why his shoulder hurt?’ Bile rose in his throat as Lady P grabbed his uninjured side and urged him forward. Gordon felt the blood drain from his face as he swayed in her grip.
“Oh, god.” He mumbled weakly.
“What’s wrong?” She asked cautiously, “Other than the obvious, of course.”
He shook her off as he hurried to cover his mouth.
“‘M g’nna thro’ up.” Gordon gagged.
“For goodness sake, we don’t have time for this.”
He shakily stumbled away from the woman, not wanting her to be caught in what was about to happen. He gagged again, lurching forward as the bile rose again in his throat. He shot his good arm out to support himself against the nearest lamp post. The next jolt hit him as pain flashed through his shoulder at the uncoordinated movement, and vomit rose up and out of his mouth, splattering onto the gravel below him. Miraculously, it seemed his shoes had been spared from the unpleasant experience.
Clicking heels came up behind him and a hand gently placed on his arm to stop him from keeling forward.
“Are you alright now?” Lady Penelope asked, “We really must keep going.”
He gave a hesitant nod as he tried to straighten to stand once again, Lady P’s careful hands helping to support his wavering body, with a shaky hand he managed to undo the back tie of his apron and let it fall to the ground, the firm waist tie doing nothing to help with his now laboured breathing.
His right arm was thrown around the woman’s shoulders as they tried again to get across the car park and out of the open space. Or that’s what Gordon had thought they were doing until they made it across the car park, and a pastel pink car came speeding down the road. The colour of the car was surprisingly bright in the darkness of the surrounding night and flickering street lights.
Gordon flinched when he felt a cloth dab at his mouth.
“I will not have you messing up my car, Parker would be livid.” Lady Penelope answered his confused look.
He didn’t have time to ask who Parker was as a loud crash came from behind them. There was little to see in the dim lights, but it was clear that their attacker was back. Gordon's shoulder seemed to ache as he thought of the figure that Lady P had previously shot through a wall.
There was a screech of tires as the pastel pink, six-wheeled car pulled up beside them. He was all but pushed into the back seat of the car before it took off once again.
“Are you alright, M’lady?” an older man’s voice asked from the front driver’s seat of the car.
“Yes, quite alright, Parker.” Lady Penelope replied, “However, the same can not be said for Mr. Gordon here. Do we have a spare medical kit?”
“Afraid not, m’lady, used the last one yesterday night on those two children in Burma, we left them what was left as well.”
“That is not good. No stitches then I suppose. Do we have anything in single packets?”
“I do believe there is a small amount of gauze, m’lady.”
“Very well, Parker, may I have it please?”
“Yes, m’lady.”
A single button clicked before a compartment opened in the centre of the car to reveal a small, neat pile of padded gauze with an even smaller amount of cotton padding.
“Th’s ‘s som’ car you’v’ got.” Gordon mumbled, slightly shocked by the suddenly appearing compartments and the sheer speed of the vehicle, “anyth’n else it c’n do?”
“Oh, just the standard,” Lady P spoke as she laid out the little amount of bandages they had. “It can fly and also go underwater, due to the sealed edges and functioning life support built into the car. Nothing too fancy. Although I do believe it is unlike any common car. What say you, Parker?”
Gordon heard the driver hum in agreement.
“She is certainly one of a kind, m’lady,” Parker answered.
“Now Gordon, I won’t be able to remove your shirt as we don’t have a pair of scissors or a blade to cut it, and I would prefer not to aggravate it further by attempting to rip the shirt.”
Gordon’s face heated up slightly in embarrassment at the thought of Lady P cutting his shirt open.
“Um, ye’h could the shir’ stay on?” He grumbled.
“Very well, I will need to lift it for access to the entry point and also to check for an exit wound.”
“J’st don’t hur’ me too ba’, ye’h?” Gordon joked, his voice came out strained. He could feel more blood leaking from his shoulder as his consciousness waned.
“My intent is to help not harm,” Lady P assured. “do try and sit still.”
Gordon felt the first pinch of the needle threading through his skin before he lost the battle against his swirling head and fading vision.
—
His shoulder thrummed in pain as Gordon returned to the land of the living.
“How long was I out?”
“15 minutes, no longer.” Lady Penelope answered, her voice firm and frustrated despite her clear attempts to hide it, “Parker and I were just discussing a place for us to stay, whilst we figure out how to deal with our little friend from the cafe and any others that may follow.”
“Any ideas so far?” He questioned.
“None that we can assure are secure that have a long enough range communications device, and we are unable to contact the GDF due to previous corrupted officers-related issues.”
Gordon ears perked up. “How do you know about the GDF?”
Lady P’s mouth turned into a stern line. “That is none of your concern. How do you know of the GDF?”
“I’m ex-WASP.” He answered truthfully. He hadn’t said it aloud since the accident, he had to push back against memories of fire and even worse pain.
“You’re ex-WASP?” Her mouth agape.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier, I used to help people.”
Lady Penelope’s mouth snapped shut. “Well, I was not in need of your help.”
Gordon sighed. “Haven’t I already said I was sorry?”
“No, I don’t believe you have.” She shot back.
“Well, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware you were this super cool London Agent or something,” Gordon’s eyes wondered to the world beyond the car. “I just thought you were super cool Lady P from the coffee shop who always orders green tea with lemon and 1 sugar even though your favorite is lavender tea because you like the way it smells.”
Gordon saw her face flush red from the corner of his eye. She seemed almost… flustered?
“Yes, well, just try not to let it happen again.” She started, “And for your information, I do quite enjoy green tea.”
Silence filled the space for a moment.
“Even if I do enjoy lavender just a smidge more.”
“Apologies for the interruption m’lady but where might I be driving to? We still haven’t found a place of the security we need.”
“Right you are, Parker. Now. where might we go…”
There was only one place Gordon could think of that would have what they needed, and he hadn’t been there in years.
He hesitated for a moment, “You said this thing can fly, right?” he breathed.
“Indeed, sir,” Parker replied.
“Then I know a place.”