[ Glow ] ~ Anthony Lockwood x OC

XV - Researching

"Seventy grand! He's paying us seventy grand!" Lucy mused, "That's more than our bill!"

"But we haven't got it yet." Lockwood countered, "Alright? And we've gotta move fast. Lucy, get us packed and prepped. George, find out everything you can about Combe Carey Hall, alright? Daniel, go home and rest." 

"Uhm. No." Daniel shook her head. "I'm going with George. I already know about Combe Carey and it'll be better the more research we have." 

Lockwood let out a groan and a sigh, near glaring at Daniel. "Fine. I'm gonna go to Satchell's, find out what help we can get that doesn't explode. See you at home, and tell no one." 

Nearly six hours later, Daniel and George were spreading research out on the kitchen table, Lucy sat just beside George as she looked it over. "Oh, my God." George breathed out, looking at the articles with wide eyes. He had already read them, but he was still in shock.

"I told you it was a suicide mission."

"This job is gonna kill us." 

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lockwood called as he stepped into the kitchen. 

"Wow. This all on Combe Carey Hall?" Lockwood had a large black Satchell's bag in his hand, but it was not nearly large enough to be six hours worth of shopping. 

"Yeah, everything Fairfax forgot to mention. It's not just a country house." George started. "It used to be a satanic priory of medieval devil worshipers."

"We're stepping into a den of self sacrificed devil worshipers who believe that their true purpose was to serve satan. . ." Daniel nodded with her words, her lips wound in a tight line. 

"Oh, good. Evil monks." Lockwood mused, fishing a beer from the fridge. "At least we know what we'll be facing. Anyone fancy another beer?" 

George looked between the girls, a look of disbelief on his face. "No, actually we have no idea. It's killed loads, including some at a party 30 years ago, but those deaths weren't blamed on the monks. No, they were blamed on a Screaming Staircase or a Red Room, whatever they are." 

"My parents once told me, well they told Fittes and I was there to eavesdrop, but they said that Combe Carey was the only place they weren't willing to investigate. They weren't willing to supervise there, knowing that they wouldn't make it back home." Daniel huffed, leaning back in her chair and looking over a polaroid on the Hall. 

"Without flares, this job is suicide. Look!" Lucy grabbed the picture in Daniel's hands, tossing it onto the table further toward Lockwood. "We're not the first ones to try, either."

"At the start of the Problem, an elite Fittes team was sent in. There was only one survivor. And one, Samaran Pandey, is still unaccounted for." George held the picture up so Lockwood could actually see it, pointing to the missing kid. 

"Fairfax kept all this from us." Lucy said.

"No, he got himself a good deal." Lockwood countered. "And so did we, it's a job that's finally big enough for our talents."

Lockwood gave a sigh. "But, we're a team, so. . .if any of you have another option on how to keep this agency afloat then I'm all ears." George looked at Lucy before sitting himself back down. "Right. That's decided, then." 

"Lockwood. This is a cluster case that's going to cost us our lives." Daniel pushed back on the table, scooting her chair back and standing up. "I am not letting you idiots die." Daniel scoffed, shaking her head before she left the room entirely. She heard light footsteps follow her all the way into her room. 

"Dani, come on-" 

"No, Lockwood." She turned around just in time to see hurt cross his face at the lack of her usual nickname for him. 

"Dani, we need this case." Lockwood ran his hand through his hair, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, and I need a team who's not going to throw themselves to the flames just for a bit of money." Daniel countered, her gaze was hard and agitated, though it also held fear. 

"Daniel," Lockwood let out a small sigh, walking forward. Daniel stayed in place, not even flinching away when his hands came up to rest on her biceps. "Nothing's going to happen to us on this case."

"How can you be sure?" Her voice sounded so small, so broken. "Teams more experienced than ours have gone into Combe Carey never to be seen again." 

"They didn't have us." He gave a grin. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel chuckled, shaking her head. 

"It means they may have been more experienced but, not only does that mean their talents were likely weaker, but they probably weren't as incredible at their jobs as us." He smiled.

"You're so full of yourself, Anthony Lockwood." Daniel smiled, biting at the corner of her lip.

"No, I'm just confident." He countered. "Now, we have to finish getting ready for tomorrow. And you should rest." 

"Locks-" A bright smile broke out on the boy's face at the use of her name for him. 

"Dani, please. You're still recovering and we've got a big job tomorrow." 

"Fine." Daniel shook her head with a sigh, stepping back from Lockwood's hold and sitting back on her bed. "Come wake me up if you need my help?"

"Of course." He nodded. "Sleep well."

"Thank you, Locks." 

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Word Count - 902

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Published - July 3, 2023

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{Author's Note}

Hello!! 

I'm so sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual. 

I didn't want to start on Combe Carey Hall yet, because that will be a long part that will hopefully be broken up into fairly long chapters over the next few chapters. 

I hope you understand and are enjoying the story so far! Thank you for all the support I'm getting, every comment and vote means the world to me and helps encourage me to keep working on Glow.

I hope you're all having a wonderful day, evening or night!

<3 - Ghosty