Learning | Jacob Frye x Reader |

Hostage Situation

The night hair howled, blowing through London, carrying secrets and concerns with it. Then streets buzzed with warmth, despite the impossibly cold air. The general sound of people talking filled the atmosphere, going in every direction. It seemed to be a night where London was filled with warmth, except the very place I was in. Jacob was leaning against the wall across from me, with his head tilted slightly down, to avoid unwanted attention. He hasn't said anything in a while. He seems to have some sort of scowl on his face. He had his walking stick in his right hand, pressed firmly against the ground. I felt the hard brick run against my back, making me stand up straight.

"Heads up" Jacob says suddenly. With out looking up too suddenly, I tilt my head slightly to the side, to see four men in suits, gathering around a bar. We listened to them for half an hour without anything promising. Soon enough, almost an hour later, a group of 'women of the night' walk past, bewitching the men to follow them off to a whorehouse. I sigh and wait for Jacob to say something. He looks at me, as he was about something but nothing comes out.

"Should we follow them." I whisper, almost silently. He just nods.

"I guess. We haven't got rounds tonight," he says. He reaches up for a ledge, and thrusts up onto the roof of the building I was leaning against. I follow him into the roof, almost slipping my foot on the edge of the roof tiling. I feel free grooves and ridges of the roofing against my feet. A soft noise of my steps combined with Jacob's slightly louder ones echoed quietly on the rooftops. I keep up with Jacob, watching Corener's men on the ground. They walk in a small group, with the various women circling around the four men. The bright moon light shined into the reflective roofs of London, without a cloud in the sky, which was rare. I jump over the next building and land steadily into the next roof. Jacob slows down slightly, keeping up with the men below. I catch up with him, feeling the edge of his tail against my hand. I briefly feel the soft, yet crumbly edges. He picks up his pace, snatching the fabric from my hand. I frown slightly and mimic his pace. We finally get to a stop, watching the men walking into a dark house, with bright lights emerging from the windows. I crawl onto my stomach and have my head peeking off the edge of the building opposite the entry of the brothel. Jacob does the same next to me.

"Can you see anything?" I ask him. He squints slightly in direction of the crowd.

"Not really. There's too many people we need to get on top of the brothel" he says, standing up. He points at me, directing me to go the opposite way he was. He jumps building to building to get to once side of the brothel. I do the same, going the opposite way. Once I land my feet on the brothel, I spot a small roof window looking into the brothel. I gesture at Jacob to alert him of my find, only to see he is already looking through a similar window on his side of the roof. I look down and lightly sweep the dirt from the windows with my hand to get a glimpse inside. I see one of the men sitting on a plush red couch, surrounded by a thick glaze of smoke, which was slowly contaminating the room. I see two women enter the room from the right, dressed scarcely. One donned a purple negligee, with her fiery hair falling behind her back. The other woman had rather dark, chocolaty hair, which personally made me shame my own neglected hair. This woman had on a black outfit which could only be described as 'leaving little to the imagination'. The women danced around the room and soon began to undress the man. I figured there's not much I'm going to learn here, so I move away from the window, walking towards the next one I spotted on my right. I walk lightly to avoid detection and peer through the window. I only see two women in this room. One appears to be sick, lying on a dirty, used bed while the other comforts her. I could see a bowl in one corner of the room, that was covered by a cheese cloth, which was stained in blood. I say a silent prayer for the woman and move on. I reach Jacob's window and peer into it.

"Nothing in the other rooms?" he asks me, not looking up from the window. I reply with 'no' and look into the room.

"I think this woman is mistress of the brothel, judging by her age and clothing" he says, pointing at a stern looking tall woman. I see her sitting at a table beside another, younger girl. On the other side of the table are two of Corener's men. Jacob carefully lifts up the glass portion of the window, so we can hear what they are saying.

"It was to my knowledge that the package was meant to come today" said the older woman. Package? As in the Opium?

"Yes and we understand your disappointment Madame Lou, but there has been some issues which prevented us from getting our shipment of Opium X from America" one of the men reply.

"The Assassins?" the woman retorts. Jacob and I look at each other.

"Why yes, how did you know?"

"A couple of the girls happened to overhear a conversation between two of their men" I look up at Jacob and he points at himself and mouths 'it wasn't me'. I look at him and mouth 'well it wasn't me'.

"But worry not Madame. We have found some leverage to help us continue to operate our system as per usual" the other man says.

"Go on" Lou says, intrigued.

"We have discovered that they have recruited a new member in their ranks, who is from America. If we capture her, we can negotiate with the American Brotherhood. Her name is (Y/N)"