Snakeskin (Tangerine) ✓

八

The Cobra

I stared at the man before me in complete shock. He had just uttered two words that I had never heard him say in my entire life. I'm sorry. I was speechless. All I could do was stare at him, mouth agape, in surprise. He didn't say anything. He just continued looking at his feet, his jaw clenched, waiting for me to respond. I didn't.

"Can you please fucking say something?"

I shook my head, composing myself. I still didn't really know what to do. "What do you want me to say?"

He finally looked at me, his forehead creased in uncertainty. "I don't know," he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Tell me it's not enough or to fuck off. Anything."

I stared at him uneasily. He was right. It wasn't enough. Sorry would never be enough. I wasn't sure anything would be enough to make up for what he did to me. But this was a start. He was making an effort and I couldn't ignore that.

"It's not enough," I began and he sighed defeatedly. "But I appreciate it. Maybe one day it will be."

He nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly." I hope so." He straightened, brushing down the front of his wrinkled waistcoat. "But I really mean it, Bronte. I fucked up and I never should've let those bastards take you away." He turned to fully face me and I could clearly see the guilt in his eyes. "It's my biggest regret."

I nodded, accepting his apology. I knew it was difficult for him to admit his faults and he wasn't very good at being sincere. "Okay," I said and he visibly relaxed. "As I said, it's a start."

He nodded, stepping forward to trigger the door into the next car. "After you, love." He extended his hand, motioning for me to go ahead. I smiled ever so slightly. I knew he called everyone love—he was British after all—but it always seemed different when he said it to me. This was no exception. I slipped past him and through the open door.

"Thank you, Tang."

I left Tangerine at his seat with Lemon and the dead man. Lemon seemed shocked to see me, but our reuniting interaction was much shorter than that with Tangerine.

"Hello Bronte," he had said with the smallest amount of surprise on his face. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Likewise," I had replied with a nod, before leaving them and heading towards the first class lounge.

As the door opened into the empty lounge, I immediately rushed towards the rubbish bin, opening the panel, despite knowing the case was gone. I had no leads and nowhere to start, so I decided to check to make me feel productive. When I opened the panel I was shocked to see the familiar train sticker on the silver handle.

"What the hell?" I muttered, pulling out the case. It was like it had never been gone; like it had been there the whole time. But it hadn't. Someone had returned it, which immediately made warning bells go off in my mind.

I pulled the case from the bin and tucked it under my arm. I poked my head out of the door, making sure the coast was clear. It was, so I quickly ducked into the next car. I made my way back to car 3, prepared to duck past and into car 2, but I was stopped by a hand held out in front of me.

"What do we have here?" Tangerine stepped out from his seat, a confused look on his face. "You knew where the case was and you didn't tell me?"

I shook my head, holding it out of his reach. "I didn't know where it was." He looked unconvinced. "I just found it in the first class lounge. Now move, so I can get back to my seat."

Tangerine let out a bark of a laugh, throwing his head back in mockery. "Do you honestly fuckin' think I'm going to let you leave with the case?" He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at me as Lemon poked his head into the aisle. "That's my case."

"Our case."

Tangerine glared at his brother. "Who fuckin' cares, Lemon? It's not her case."

"Actually," I interjected pointedly, causing him to turn back to me. "Finders, keepers." I winked at him humorously. "Losers, weepers."

I tried again to push past him, but he grabbed my shoulders, holding me in place. "I don't think so, darling." He looked at his watch and then at the dead man, before sighing in defeat. "Look." He stepped back, gesturing to the empty seat beside the dead man. "Can we discuss this?"

I looked at him warily, conscious of how manipulative he could be. The only outcome he would agree to would be one that benefitted him and his mission. He most likely didn't give a rat's ass about me or my job.

Nonetheless, I took the seat and he reciprocated, plopping down across from me and folding his hands together. He analysed my face for a few moments, his gaze raking over the bored expression I was displaying. With a huff of indignation, he spoke.

"We both want the case," he began, earning a raised eyebrow from me. "And so does that other guy. But we can't all have it."

"What do you propose?" I asked, humouring him. I didn't plan on making any compromises, but I was open o hearing him out. "I'm listening."

Tangerine smiled slightly, glancing triumphantly at Lemon, before continuing. "We have to meet our employer at Kyoto Station. I'm assuming you do, too?"

I nodded. "I wanted to get off and catch a different train, though."

"Well, it would be in our best interest to work together." Lemon looked like he was going to protest, but he stayed quiet. "We should work as a team to keep the case safe. Then when we get to Kyoto, the truce is off. It's every man-." He noticed the roll of my eyes. "-and woman for themselves."

I pressed my lips together in thought, taking my time to think over the proposal. He seemed anxious to hear my answer, so I lifted my hand to my face, dramatically pretending to be deep in thought. Tangerine squinted his eyes at me. He could see past my antics. He knew I was playing with him.

"What do you say?" He urged, leaning forward, over the table. "The team, back together?"

"The team is not back together," I snapped in reply, upset he would even bring that up. "But I will accept this truce. But at Kyoto Station, I am taking the case, so you guys better start thinking up a good excuse if you like your arms."

"Ha!" Lemon started chuckling from beside Tangerine, his laugh resonating around the quiet car. "That was good," he said, with a wink. "And you're right; I do like my arms, very much."

"So do I," Tangerine muttered. "And just know that we will have the case at Kyoto." He gave me an award-winning smile that took me slightly by surprise, as it had b been so long since I'd seen one similar. "I like my arms."

"And your hands too, I'm sure," I mused suggestively. "What would you possibly do without them?" I chuckled, joined in by Lemon as Tangerine turned red with embarrassment and annoyance.

"Shut the fuck up," he snapped, but I noticed the small smile appear on his face, despite him clearly trying to suppress it. "We need to fuckin's focus on the bloody geezer who also wants the case."

"You mean Ladybug," I corrected. "Possibly the only person with a worse code name than you." I high-fived Lemon with a grin on my face. "I mean seriously; you don't honestly think Tangerine is a good name, do you?"

Tangerine looked slightly hurt and I felt a little bad for overstepping. He pressed his lips together, looking at me, offended. "It is a good name," he whined. "Besides, you came up with our names, so it's kind of on you."

"Perhaps," I agreed. "But you choose to keep them. I chose them as a joke. You actually went along with it."

That was the end of the argument. We fell silent, just staring at our hands in awkward tension. There wasn't really anything to do. We had the case; all we had to do now was hold onto it until Kyoto. Then it would be a free-for-all. In an attempt to break the silence, I leaned forward, looking into Tangerine's hopeful eyes.

"Do you guys remember when we first met?"

A/N: How do you think Bronte and The Twins met? Leave a comment. I'm interested to see what you guys think.