Costa Crew 3: Make or Break

Chapter 17 - What We're Fighting For

"What did you do," Becky whispered hoarsely, "what did you do?"

"Just check the news," Amelia repeated coldly.

Becky went to her laptop, hands trembling, searching for Glasgow news and fearing the worst. Two fires in Petunia Hill.

Becky clicked into the article and gasped. "You bitch."

Amelia burst out laughing. "Sorry, that was too funny!" she snorted. "Just consider yourself lucky they weren't inside. No accident, by the way, I thought they should live to see their daughter die. I might visit them afterwards though. To offer my condolences."

"My parents didn't do anything to you," Becky replied. "Why the hell did you have to burn their house down?"

"Your childhood home, why wouldn't I burn it down?" asked Amelia. "Keep reading."

Becky scrolled down. "What," she managed to say, "do you want."

Amelia chuckled. "The same thing I've wanted for the past four years. For you and your friends to suffer for what you did to me. Wait a minute, did you think it was just you I was after?"

Becky didn't know what to say. "I told you, this is between you and me."

"And I told you I'd have to think about it. And I've decided that the Costa Crew were involved in this as much as you were. So they'll pay for your actions."

The undeniable threat to her friends woke something in Becky. A determination. A fire. "No," she said defiantly.

"You can't stop me now," Amelia snarled.

"I can and I will," replied Becky. "Every time you think you've got the upper hand, I always find a way out. You captured me, I escaped. You made sure I ended up in prison, my friends broke me out."

"Oh yes, how was prison?" asked Amelia sweetly. "Did they roll out the red carpet for you like the privileged MI5 agent you are?"

"You know I was almost beaten to death," Becky replied savagely.

"Oh, such a shame," Amelia mocked. "I most certainly didn't watch the whole thing on the security cameras. That's right. I run prison, honey. And I'm going to make sure you go back there for a long, long time."

"When you try your best but you don't succeed..." sang Becky softly.

"You're on thin ice," Amelia snapped. "The next time you hear from me, it won't be over the phone. And don't be surprised if you find a gun to your head very soon. I'll be seeing you, Agent Hidgens."

"Everyone in here," Becky called as soon as Amelia had hung up.

Slowly but surely, everyone gathered in the living room. There was Paul, Charlotte, Ted and Hannah - the Costa Crew, the way it had always been. Lisa, her enemy turned reluctant ally turned...Becky would go as far as to call her a friend these days. John Goodman, her former boss. They had learned a lot from each other. Bruce and Clark, their high school friends who just so happened to get caught up in their mess. Alex Anderson, a reminder of everything Curt stood for. Linda and Matthew Monroe, good kids full of potential. Maya, who had brought out the best in Lisa. And Raymond Drake, a good man trying to make amends for his past mistakes. This was what she was fighting for.

"Amelia's commencing the final stage of her plan," Becky began. "She burned down my parents' house."

"Oh my God," exclaimed half the room.

"They're okay," Becky reassured them. "They weren't inside. But I don't know where they are. If I try and call them...I don't even want to think about what'll happen."

"I can check in," Alex volunteered. "If you can spare me here, that is."

"I'd appreciate it," Becky nodded. "She also burned down Costa."

"I haven't heard anything like that," Drake interrupted.

"Not a London Costa," Becky replied.

"No," Hannah replied, going pale. "Not..."

"Afraid so," Becky replied grimly, confirming many of their worst fears.

"She's going after everything that defines us," Paul muttered. "We defined ourselves by that exact Costa. And now it's gone."

Everyone was speechless. Amelia hadn't even killed anyone in the process. She had destroyed two key locations from Becky's childhood and she clearly wasn't done. "She's not only coming after me, she's coming after every one of us," continued Becky, breaking the silence. "So we need to protect the civilians. That means Bruce, Clark, Linda, Matthew, Maya, Lisa, and anyone else who doesn't want to get involved in this fight. Because I wouldn't blame you one bit. You all have lives ahead of you. Amazing lives."

"I'm in this fight with you," Lisa demanded. "It's only right."

Becky sighed. "You don't have to carry on making amends, Lisa."

"This isn't me making amends," Lisa replied. "I'm not going to stand by and watch as my friends risk their lives. You guys...you mean more to me than that."

Becky was speechless. "There's one more thing," Goodman added. "My undercover agent in the prison hasn't made contact in a while."

"There was an undercover agent?" asked Becky quizzically.

Goodman nodded gravely. "Agent Lindsey Holland. You know her as Lindsey Kirk, the head of your cell block. She was the one who pulled you out of the exercise yard and made sure you received medical attention. I'm now having to declare her missing in action."

Becky's heart plummeted. "The phone calls," she muttered, sinking into the settee. "Amelia must have access to an MI5 phone."

Lindsey Kirk. Just another scary prison face. But it turned out that she was more than that. She was in fact an MI5 agent, who had saved Becky's life and Becky would probably never get the chance to thank her.

"You okay, Becky?" asked Charlotte.

Becky forced a smile. "Yeah. This is just ...kinda overwhelming. To know that we could finally end this. One way or another."

"We will," Charlotte replied, placing a hand on Becky's shoulder. "Together."

"The Costa Crew," added Ted.

"The way it's always been," continued Hannah.

Paul nodded. "Whatever it takes."

Becky stood. "I was beginning to lose sight of what we were fighting for. But now I know. This is for everyone we lost along the way. For Curt. For Lisa. For Lindsey. We'll make sure their sacrifices weren't for nothing. But it's also for everyone in this room. So that you can all live the lives you were meant to live. And get the happy endings you deserve. So I've got a plan to make sure we do."

"And you're sure it'll work?" asked John.

Becky shook her head. "Nope. But it's the best we've got."