Valentine || •Eggsy Unwin•

9

The candidates lay asleep in the safety of their beds, the only light being the dim bluish green bulb, which was dulled with a thin layer of black paint. Merlin stirred in his chair, his eyes never moving from the candidate's until he was sure that they were all asleep, and now they are. "Ready?" He asked, hand overlong over a little button they liked to call 'ocean time'.

"Of course." She grinned, intrigued to what knew ways of escaping this year's candidates chose to do, so long as it isn't breathing through the toilet, it happens every year. Merlin pressed the button down, a blue hue illuminating from the button as he did so.

Without a second to waste, the air vents filled with water, which was kept in giant holders so that when the time comes, they simply switch off the air vents and close it off from the rest of the building. Water cascaded from the walls, reaching their beds in a matter of seconds, all jumping and screaming in alarm as their beds began to rise with the water.

"So," Gawain tore her eyes away from the scene, sipping from her hot chocolate which Harry had so kindly brought her after a debriefing in the head office. "who's your bets on?" Although this may sound rather cruel, Merlin and her have a tradition for whenever the candidates arrive, in order to make this repetitive job a bit more interesting. You see, from a young age she's been in this compound, both her parents dead in a mission and no outstanding relatives except agent Lancelot. However, due to the man being a full time agent, she was often sent to Merlin as he could look after her and entertain her.

Merlin hummed, tapping his index finger against his chin thoughtfully. "My bets on Roxy." He finally concluded, confident this time that his candidate will free them all, unlike his last four who ended up almost dying.

"My bets on Eggsy." She couldn't quite explain it, but there was something about that boy which just intrigued her. Maybe it's the fact that he isn't of Kingsmen descent and is therefore something new and exciting, or maybe she just fancy's him.

"Why Eggsy?" Merlin asked as the candidates scrambled towards the toilets, yanking off the shower heads. Both Merlin and Gawain groaned in annoyance at their actions, their hopes of seeing something new dying away.

"Why Roxy?" She asked back, challenging the elder man with a teasing smile, however he didn't see it. Instead he trained on Eggsy, who tried desperately to yank the door open, body tensing under the intense weight of the water. She wanted to scream at him that he can't escape that way, that he must fine another way like the single air vent that's still allowing air in.

"What's he doing?" Merlin pondered aloud, watching Eggsy, who had gone very long without air, glance rapidly around the room. His eyes caught the glass, sparking a memory in his brain of his time in the army, it's a reflective mirror. Pushing as hard as he could, with the lack of oxygen which made it more difficult, he flailed his arms and legs widely as he tried to reach the glass. Thankfully, he always kept fit to ensure that if needed, he could put his years of training to use. He glided along the others, all looking at him desperately to try to escape this place. Reaching the glass, Eggsy banged his fist upon it, the glass shuddering under his muscle.

"Move." Merlin instructed, swiftly getting up from his chair and standing at the side of the room. Gawain jumped up, grabbing her hot chocolate with her as she followed the man. Eggsy banged his fist against it again, lungs burning painfully for air, this time a long crack sounded, leaving patterns of cracked glass along it. Digging up all his strength, Eggsy hit it once more, knocking all the air out of his lungs as he did so. The water gushed, sending the team tumbling out in a great wave of water, each spluttering and splattering from the ferocious impact.

Merlin and Gawain watched the candidates look around triumphantly. "Well done." Merlin piped up, breaking them from thier chatter. "Using the U bend of a toilet will give you endless air supply. Roxy, Charlie, well done." Merlin congratulated, nodding his head in approval at the two. "Eggsy, well down for spotting the glass. Not many candidates do." Eggsy smiled shyly, hugging his wet clothes closer to his body.

"Gawain," Merlin turned to the the boy, raising an eyebrow at her. "anything to add?" He asked, something he's always done since she was a child, who didn't understand what was going on.

"They forgot team work," She said without a moments hesitation. "and now she pays the price." Gawain pointed a finger at the lifeless body which sat atop on of the small bathroom walls, water dripping from the walls onto her body. "You'll be shit Kingsman if you don't know fucking team work."

"You can't talk to us like that!" Charlie shouted, standing from the wet floor in annoyance, his clothes irritably sticking to his toned body. Gawain raised an eyebrow at the boy, unsure if he was being serious or not.

"Oh but I can." Gawain smiled, grabbing a body bag from the main table in the room, flinging it at the boy. "Fix that fucking attitude and go put her in that." She pointed a thumb at the bag, questioning the highest choices of candidates.

"I won't." He protested, dropping the bag on the floor childishly. The other trainees sat back, intrigued at what she might do, but instead she just stood there, watching him with an amused expression.

"Then leave." She folded her arms, lifting her shoulders in a pathetic shrug as the boy looked at her bewildered. "If you won't listen to orders, then your not fit to be a Kingsman." She added, knowing her words only conveyed the truth. Charlie grumbled, bending down and snatching the bag from the floor.

"Let that be a lesson to all the future Kingsman here," Merlin began, thankful that the girls input. "if there is no team work, there will be no survivors." He threatened, eyeing the group carefully, each person cowering further into the wall behind them. "You hear that Charlie?" Merlin raised his voice playfully, turning his head towards the boy, who held the dead girls arm with disgust.