Manners || Eggsy Unwin

Twelve

"Has the show started yet Merlin?" Neil asked as he glided into man's office. It was a large room in the basement with white walls and metal tables. The wall over the desk was covered in screens, different ones monitoring different things. From the cameras around the building to various internet searches. Four of the screens directly  at eye level of the desk chair were showing the current assessment of the candidates. An assessment that should bring the last six people remaining down to the final candidates. 

Merlin glanced up from his chair as Neil set down two cups of tea on the desk and pulled over a second chair from the table across the room. "Shouldn't you be preparing for your dinner with Valentine tonight?" The Scottish man replied calmly. 

"I've been preparing ever since you let me off medical leave", Neil huffed back as he sipped his tea. A smokey orange blend that smelt lovely. 

"How are your wounds doing? I shall need to check them before you leave later", Merlin spoke as he typed a few keys into the keyboard. One of the screens flicked to black. A green dot showing the plan currently carrying the cadets up into the air above them blinking across it. 

Neil sighed at the nagging. "They're fine. Just scar tissue now. Adding to my collection". 

"You still have less scars than Harry". 

"That's because I don't get into as much fights as Harry", Neil rolled his eyes. He flicked a finger to the screen where the audio channels linked to each cadet's helmet were visible. "They have to be high enough now Merlin". 

Merlin took a sip of his tea at gave Neil a sharp look at the deflection, but he put the cup down with a sigh and wheeled closer to the desk. He fiddled with the mic for a second before pressing the button. "Listen up". Up in the plane hundreds of feet above, his voice crackled through the helmet speakers and the cadets fell silent. "Your mission is to land in the target without the radar detecting you. If I read you on the radar, or if you miss the target, you go home. Is that understood?" There was no reply but they all understood. 

After a few second of silence, Neil leaned forwards to the mic. "Drop zone coming up, twenty seconds". His voice echoed through the helmets of the cadets. Nobody but Roxy, who was sitting directly opposite him, noticed the way Eggsy' expression changed at the sound of Agent Tristan's voice. His eyes widened at the knowledge that the blonde was watching, then narrowed in determination. Roxy filed that information away for later.

Neil watched as Eggsy stood, Roxy following nervously. He knew of her fear of heights and while he wanted to offer her words of assurance, his role as an agent was to show no bias towards the candidates when it came to their tests. (Taunting Eggsy and cheering on Roxy outside of their tests was acceptable. Even if the thing he had going on with Eggsy was erring towards being too personal, he supposed that is he didn't get caught then it would be fine. Nothing had actually happened, yet). On the plane, the loading doors opened and the vast sky was visible. Roxy hesitated. 

"Eggsy, I really don't think I can do this". 

"Of course you can't", Charley muttered. He paused roughly past her. "Head to the back and I will show you how, yeah". 

"He's such a dick", Neil muttered to himself as he watched the screens. 

"There's always worse", Merlin reminded. Neil pulled a face and fell silent.

The green light lit up and everyone ran for the doors. Charley and the other three candidates that followed him like cronies, threw themselves out of the plane with whoops of glee. Roxy stopped and grabbed Eggsy's arm just as they reached the edge. "Eggsy! Eggsy! Wait! Hang on!"

"Roxy, just stop fucking about! Follow me, yeah?" Then Neil watched as Eggsy leaned back and fell out of the plane. He allowed a small smile at the show of confidence, the relaxed way Eggsy allowed himself to simply drop. The air embracing him as he fell. Voice filling the mics with adrenaline filled laughter. Roxy watched for a second longer before jumping with a small shriek. 

Neil watched through the feed of their helmet cams as the group of six spun and flipped through the air. The speed and the weightlessness of falling making them feel alive. He glanced at Merlin, wondering what the man was planning. Merlin was wearing a slight tilt to his lips that seemed mischievous. Neil smirked, "You planning something?" 

Merlin raised a finger then pressed the button for the coms. "My, my you're all cheerful", He greeted as the big screen infant of them show the green dots of each candidate as they fell. "Any idiot can read a heads-up display. A kingsman agent needs to be able to solve problems under pressure. Like what to do if one of your group has no parachute". Then he lifted his finger off the button and took a sip of his tea with a chuckle. Neil snorted and gave the man a grin. 

"That's evil", he gasped. "It is worse than when you made me land a plane by myself and no landing gear. I love it".

"I have to keep myself amused somehow", Merlin shrugged. He leaned forwards to press the microphone button again. "Land in the target and come in under the radar".

"I really hope not to be scraping one of you up", Neil added. "But if I do have to and you're inside the target, Merlin and I will be very impressed". He then paused as the panicked cries of the candidates were audible over the comms. Their brains working as fast as they fell in order to come up with a plan. "They do all have parachutes, right?" Neil checked once Merlin had turned off the microphone. 

"Of course", Merlin replied. "They just don't know that". 

"You're evil", Neil giggled. On screen, the candidates were pairing up. Then Rufus was gone, separating from the group as his chute bloomed up. "There goes one", Neil commented. Rufus had ben caught by the radar and was out. 

"Quick! Make a circle". Eggsy's voice was the loudest from the comms. Neil noted how fast the others obeyed. Eggsy seemed to naturally take charge. (He kinda liked it). "We pull our chords one by one and when we know who's fucked the person on their right grabs them". 

"Good plan", Merlin noted into the mic. "You have thirty seconds. Hurry".

"Me first". Hugo was gone. Another failing the task and coming way above the radar. 

"Now me", Digby was gone from the circle. Neil sighed as he felt the tension rising. Three left and they were cutting it close. His heartbeat was speeding up as he watched. 

"See you". Charlie pulled his chute. 

"Fuck!" Eggsy cursed. Neil leaned closer to the desk. They were under the radar and loosing altitude fast. "Rox. No matter what happens now, I've got you. You go first". 

On the computer screen, warning alarms started beeping as Roxy and Eggsy reached the dangerous distance. Merlin knocked his mug off the desk and Neil cursed loudly as it shattered, the shards narrowly missing his shoes and tea splashing his trousers. He would have glared if his attention wasn't taken up fully by the screen. 

Roxy's chute burst up in a cloud of white and both of them screamed. Eggsy clinging to her legs as their fall continued. They were still falling fast, but at a slower pace than before. The one parachute working hard to slow their descent as the ground rose rapidly. Neil breathed out as he watched them hit the ground. They were fine. He had to owe it to the specially ordered kingsman parachutes, if it was a normal parachute they would have broken their bones on landing. He sighed deeply and leaned against the desk. 

"Well", He smiled at Merlin. "I'm impressed". 

"Suitably". 

unedited