Keep Your Enemies Closer | a Bars and Melody Story [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twelve

They left at dawn the next morning, Leo said it wasn't safe to stay at the log cabin any longer. Charlotte felt a pang of sadness as they stepped out into the cold morning air, the sun rising on the horizon. She shut the old screen door behind her, she liked that cabin. It was out of the way, surrounded by fields to the left. There was a steep cliff face if they walked far enough right, but thankfully they weren't going that way. She hadn't come to that mountain side to die. "They'll be looking for us." Leo spoke as they walked, Charlotte wasn't sure if it was nerves or habit. "They'll find out about this cabin eventually, it's not completely off the grid and it's linked to my dad." Leo admitted. "It's hard to find and even harder to get here, but we need to be as far away as possible when they do get here." Leo stopped walking now, forcing Charlotte to skid to a stop going into the back of him. "And they will get here." The look Leo gave her could've frozen hell over, Charlotte was sure of it. It was partly fear and partly annoyance. "I know." Charlotte managed to say. Leo started walking on, but Charlotte stood, stoically. "What are you doing?" Leo spun around and yelled at her in annoyance. "Why? Why did the man come for us, come for you?" Charlotte said, finally saying out loud what she had been thinking for hours. "What are you on about?" Leo asked, he was still scared, she could see it on his face, hear it in his voice. She had never seen Leo so rattled before. "Did you know him?" Charlotte was as shocked by the question as Leo was. "No." Leo said, turning and not facing her. "Then, why is it bothering you so much?" Leo shook his head. "I have a funny feeling he's something to do with my dad." Charlotte stood in front of him, forcing him to look at her. She levelled him with a glare, "doesn't take a genius." She didn't mean to be so harsh, but the words were out and hanging in the air like a bad smell. "Come on, lets go." Leo finally said, but Charlotte stood rooted to the spot. "But.." Leo spun on her. "But nothing!" He yelled, his voice carrying across the small space that stood between them. "We can't stay here Charlotte, it's not safe. So you either come with me and live, or you stay here and die!" Leo dropped his voice to a whisper. "Whatever questions you have, they can wait. Their need-to-know and right now, neither of us need to know why that man found us and why he wanted to kill me, do you understand?" Charlotte wondered at which point Leo had stopped living in his fathers shadow, when he had grown up into a talent spy in his own right. When he had become the good guy in his family. When he had become the serious one. "Charlotte, we have to go, now." She let him take her hand and guide her into the cover of the trees. They reached the main town after a few hours. "Leo, what if someone recognises me?" Charlotte asked. Leo smirked, "don't worry." He said, just as a car came skidding in front of their path. Leo stepped towards it, but Charlotte pulled him back. "Leo, it might not be safe." But Leo just grinned at her, just as a familiar voice from the drivers seat said. "What did I say about starting to trust me?"

"Charlie?" Charlotte said it like a question. "Charlie, what are you doing here? How? Why?" She struggled over all the questions swarming around her head, Charlie just smiled and pointed to himself. "Spy." Leo opened the back door of the car and Charlotte settled into the back seat, whilst Leo joined Charlie in the front of the car. "Where are we going?" Charlotte asked, when they started driving. Charlie shared a worried glance with Leo. "What is it?" Charlotte snapped when neither of them answer her. Leo turned to face her, "we think we should go back abroad." He admitted. "It's not safe for you here Charlotte, we both know that." But Charlotte wasn't really listening. "Running away won't solve this, not now." Before either of them could stop her, she was reaching for the car door. "What are you doing?" Charlie snapped, as he tried to swerve the car, tried to snap her out of it. But Charlotte was already launching herself onto the grass verge besides the road. She watched as the black car drove away, back door swinging open. But neither Leo or Charlie came back for her. The car didn't stop, they just kept driving on without her. Eventually, Charlotte rose to her feet. Her elbow was bleeding and her ankle was sore, but she still managed to limp away from the road. She watched as the traffic sped past her, she heard music coming from the local housing estate. She could've turned any way, gone anywhere. But instead, she turned and started the way they had come, back towards the forest and the safe house. She was well and truly on her own now.

It was night fall when Charlotte finally reached the cabin. She hid behind trees, watching as blue and red lights swirled in the black night. The police were there, talking into their radios, but their voices didn't carry to where Charlotte stood. She watched, tired and hungry, as a black SUV pulled in front of the cabin and three people jumped out. Two men and one women. The men spoke to the police offers. They all wore black, and one of them had a balaclava covering his face. The woman had long black hair almost to her waist, she paced back and forth talking to someone on the phone, until she finally hung up and turned to her colleagues. "Their not here, boys." She said in an American drawl. The two men operatives turned to look at her. "The boy and the girl left this morning, we think." Charlotte's blood ran cold, as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. "Our friends at six are running a bug through the CCTV system here." The police officer turned to the woman. "I'm afraid, your services will not be needed here anymore. If MI6 would like to send us a copy of the CCTV, we would be happy to continue the investigation alone." The woman scowled. "We will do no such thing." Charlotte didn't stick around to hear anymore. She crept deeper into the shadows, walking on into the night away from the police and operatives and all the other people in the world who were looking for her.

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I hope you enjoyed!

I n s t a g r a m: pengmendes

- Naomi x