The truth about August

Twenty Five

There is something funny about how the universe always gets back at you. Take me for instance, I was currently paying off all of my sins, stuck in a gay brothel with a 6 foot tall, grumpy Englishman, planning how to get an MI6 suitcase back from a bunch of criminals. But even though I would've rather kept living my old life happily ever after, I couldn't help but enjoy the situation just a tad.

"It is called Arabian Lights" Said my loving fight-buddy leaning on the coffee table. "It is an Arabic themed bar" He added, like it was supposed to explain his point.

"So what?" I asked, a bit distracted by the shadows on his hands, they looked very rough and masculine under that certain light, getting slightly mesmerized by them wasn't under my control.

"There are no women allowed unless they work there" He suddenly said and I snapped my eyes from his manly hands back at him.

"That's bullshit" Actually, that's Spain.

"Serena..." He warned half-minded. "As I said, no women allowed... unless they work there" He repeated slowly, with a wicked tinge in his blue eyes. I found it very disconcerting.

"Yes..." I said watching him warily. "And I'm a woman who does not work there!" I stated the obvious which he seemed to not get. "What is that all about? Are we back in the Middle Ages?" I complained "How are we going to do this? It's not like you can just walk there alone, they would recognize you in a heartbeat"

"They have seen you too" He added, still with the same sinister tinge in his eyes I couldn't decipher. "But..." He said standing up straight, folding his arms on his front and leaning on the wall behind him.

"But what?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. He was being secretive and I was sure I wouldn't like the outcome.

"After the gang member told us the name of the place, I undertook a small research"  He said with slightly raised brows that did not look normal. "And found out the waitresses' uniforms might come in handy for you"

"And how is that?" I asked, now very concerned. And when did he even get the time to undertake that "research" of his?

His lips twitched just slightly, which made me actually tremble. "Their faces are covered..." He said and just when I had let go of my breath in relief, he added "Dressed as belly dancers"

"What?" I couldn't have heard that right.

"They are dressed as bellydancers, you know, the modern conception of Egyptian-"

"I know what that means!" I said, standing up and eyeing him with maniac eyes. "Are you saying you want to squeeze me inside one of those stupid costumes?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not in the likes of squeezing you into anything" He stood up straight with his smug face and broad shoulders and stupidly handsome half smile. "But you'll want to consider squeezing yourself inside one if you want to get this plan on going"

"There has to be some other way!"

"There isn't, I've been thinking about this all the way here. I have a plan"

"And you're just telling me this now?" I crossed my arms on my chest.

"I was just saving you some unnecessary stress" He said, walking calmly towards his bag. He took a second to search inside for something while I was still processing his words. Then, he spun around and presented me with a few technological items I deduced were meant for tonight.

He moved and placed them all on the small table in front of me, then his striking blue eyes found me, struck me and made my legs feel weak for a second.  How very usual.

"So, tell me Serena, are you doing this or not?" He asked, looking at me with his straight brows and cold eyes. I was just about to complain again when I noticed the tinge of humor had left his face completely, he was staring at me expectantly and I could feel that he truly believed I could handle this. For the first time he was handing me the responsibility, and even though it meant I had to sacrifice part of my dignity, I knew I could do it too.

I breathed in very deeply, then leaning on the small table and defying him with my eyes, I licked my lips. "What's the plan?"

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It was fairly simple. In fact it was so simple I could have gotten away with it in my high school days.

I repeated that thought again and again while we walked towards the place. I could do it, I would get it and then everything would be fine, I would go back to my life, I would get to be free again.

I could even shrink it all into simple steps. First, watch and observe the situation. Identify the subject carrying the suitcase. Then, inform August about it through the microphone he placed in my ear (Very James Bond-y, if I may add). Finally, create a distraction so that August can switch it without them noticing. Leave.

It was simple, so simple. And it was the fact that it seemed so easy, what made it seem so impossible.

I tried to ignore that thought. I kept repeating I needed to trust myself and August. He was after all, one of the best agents in Britain. I kept telling myself things like that while we walked in silence, I realized it was easy to think about those things, while I couldn't help but feel differently about all of it.

When we were just around the block, August stopped, then turned around and suddenly two big hands were gripping my shoulders firmly.

"If you sense danger in any way, you will tell me" He said, his eyes reflecting the light of an old street lamp beautifully through his lashes.

"Is that your way of telling me you're worried about me?" I asked with a tilt of the head and a small smile.

"Serena..." He warned, but his eyes were not really like they usually were. They didn't feel like they could almost cut me in two. On the contrary, the ice in them was almost warm, it felt like he wanted me to know something he didn't say.

He shook his head just slightly all of a sudden, and letting me go he exhaled. "Just tell me if there's any problem, okay?" The ice-man said, turning away from me once again, continuing his walk.
"And follow me" He commanded when I took too long to keep walking. I shook my head and strode my way behind him again. "We still need to steal one of those uniforms, so don't get distracted"

I rolled my eyes slightly at his condescending tone, but simply kept my thoughts to myself as we neared the bar. As we approached, we confirmed that it was a semi-exclusive club, with guards on the entrance. It was still pretty early for The Ravens to be there, since Sully had told us they were going to meet at midnight, but we still needed to get in before them.

August directed me to the back door, where we saw some giggly girls walk inside. He threw me a glance and I immediately got moving. I needed to get one of those goddamn uniforms before the women noticed I wasn't one of them. I just really wished it wasn't pink.

I smoothly walked towards the entrance, a grey door presented by a single white light that looked suspiciously creepy. I braced myself to open it without making too much noise, and without further ado, I slipped inside.