Saffron's Fire

William Drake

A day and a half of driving passed and the lush landscape was exchanged for the rugged alps and then back to a more rolling hills as they drew closer to Paris. Honestly Evelyn was fascinated watching the people and, though she had not gotten any more talkative with Lord Styles, she had warmed up a touch so that the silence was more companionable.

She had so many questions running through her head, like why did we drive? What is my assignment? What is the whole point of this long journey? She knew though that if she asked she would probably be more frustrated with the answers. She had learned over the course of the drive that her companion was a little afraid that this car was bugged and to compensate for it, he talked piffle until her ears hurt. He also had the nervous twitch of rubbing his thumb against his pointer finger. He had done it so much over the course of their journey that it was dry and red. It got especially bad when they got to check points and border crossings.

She figured that it might be the passports that were the issue. Her's couldn't possibly be legal. She just watched though, and said nothing until they were finally in France. When they crossed the border, it was as if a heavy weight had lifted off his chest. Honestly, a British lord who was happy to see France? What was the world coming to? His demeanor was almost cocky as she swerved through the French countryside.

"So, we safe now?" asked Evelyn. There was no sarcasm, she just wanted to confirm that she had read him correctly.

Lord Styles nodded but did not speak. Another three hours passed. They were driving through the city of Dijon when he pulled off the main road and stopped the car at a small cafe and got them a proper meal.

He found a table outside and Evelyn enjoyed her first unadulterated taste of French sunshine, quite different from the heavy weight of Turkish air. His french was perfect. "Deux Croque Madam et Deux cafe, sil-vous-plait." The waiter replied, "bon" and disappeared to put in their order. Lord Styles looked around at the sleepy little cafe to make sure that they were not being too closely observed, then he began to talk to her again. This time it was more coherent and to the point.

"You were chosen to help my organization as an assassin. We are working very closely with a company called Falcon Technical Institute. They find the targets and your job is to infiltrate, sabotage and destroy if deemed necessary. You will have a partner who you shall meet shortly." The food arrived  and she had to wait to respond until the waiter was again out of sight. 

Evelyn gave him a outright defiant look as she spat, "and if I refuse?"

"I would be surprised if you did. The targets would be the people responsible and profiting from the Shirree/ Shirron system." was the smooth reply. He then gestured to her food with and accompanying, "eat."

Evelyn blinked. Were her ears deceiving her?  Evelyn did not believe that Lord Styles was telling her the truth. He probably didn't mean what she thought he meant. She decided to clarify with, "You mean I am to go after rebels?"

"No I mean your ears didn't misunderstand. You were rescued to help your people and help bring about an end to the corruption that is tainting our world. You will be the hands against the very ones who made you."

Evelyn's frown deepened. She took a few cautious bites, swallowed and pointed out, "I have a kill chip and a tracker. They will know its me and therefore that you are somehow involved."

"We shall simply take it out." he calmly replied.

"It's not that simple. It could kill me in the process." said Evelyn a little more testily. She had taken another mouth full and almost choked on the contents at the suggestion so her response was more spluttery than she would have liked. 

"It has been done many times successfully. They only tell you that you'd perish so you'd continue in subservience. I will introduce you to a survivor." he chuckled then.

Evelyn let all of this information sink in. They were going to take out her chip, they were going to set her to the task of taking down the people responsible and profiting from this system of human trafficking. Oh if only Carrigan were here! She would be so ready to help. Evelyn didn't know how she felt. She had never felt the driving passion that constantly got Carrigan in trouble back at the house. She could compartmentalize. Her emotions had never inspired her to anything but competition where it came to house duties. Was this her fight? She supposed it was now regardless of her own thoughts and feelings. She had been chosen. A tiny flair of resentment crept up.

Lord Styles merely smiled then waved the waiter over and ordered another plate of food. He continued,"Another person will be joining us for lunch. I think you will like him. He is a good man. He is going to be your partner. You will train with him, learn to work in tandem, plan in tandem, and learn to trust another human being outside from your sisters."

This sounded awfully complicated to Evelyn and she hastily stuffed the last morsel of food in her mouth. She had only every worked solo. She did not play well with others. Wasn't that in her profile? Not five minutes later she heard the sound of wheels on the black top of the road. This road where they cafe was sleepy, they were there early in the day so the anomaly of the car pulling up the road either signaled trouble or the mysterious partner that they were waiting for. She looked to Lord Styles to see how he would react. He looked steadily at the oncoming vehicle and waited patiently. 

The small grey sedan pulled into a parallel parking. The driver got out of the car and Evelyn inwardly gasped in spite of herself. His thick dirty blonde hair worn in a modern style, shocking grey-green eyes and a sensitive mouth. She found herself staring at the hard line of his jaw which juxtaposed against the softness of his mouth. That mouth though lost its appeal when his expression changed from indifference to annoyance. Evelyn's face was as impassive as ever. She wondered why he was annoyed. She was soon to find out.

The guy looked straight at Lord Styles and said, "I mean, really?"

"I thought the deportment lessons would have sunk in by now," Lord Styles scolded, " This young lady is your partner. Evelyn Saffron. Evelyn, this is William Drake."

Evelyn cooly held out her hand which William Drake shook she squeezed until he blanched. Then she smiled. Game on.