"Okay, let's keep our wits about us tonight. We do not want to get jumped by relic men." Lockwood said from just beside Daniel. He had his hand absentmindedly on her knee as his other arm leaned against the window.
"Who even keeps those arseholes in business? I don't understand." Lucy said.
"There's a lot of rich, twisted bastards out there who want something to scandalize their equally twisted mates." Lockwood answered.
Daniel paused for a second before shrugging. "I mean- George steals sources for research."
"One source." George cut off.
Daniel simply smirked before she continued on. "These guys just do it for money."
"Are you really defending-" Anthony sighed.
"What? It's honest work. . .kind of." Daniel reasoned.
"It's so messed up." Lucy shook her head.
"But not surprising." George agreed, somewhat, with Daniel. "Sources are fascinating and illegal. Put those two things together, there's your black market."
"See! George gets it."
"Well now- I wasn't agreeing with you, I was simply-"
Daniel shakes her head. "You can't take it back now."
Lockwood sighed. "It's a ruthless one for sure. Relic men are the scum of the Earth." There was a crowd outside the taxi the team was in, chanting with signs.
"Didn't Kipps say the same about you-"
"Shut up, Dani." Lockwood seethed.
"Sorry."
Anthony sighed, shaking his head softly. "No, I'm sorry. But by and large. . .they'll kill you without hesitation. So, if you see one, run."
"This lot are almost as crazy." George said, looking out the window.
"Who are they?" Lucy asked.
Daniel sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "Oh, Luce. Only the worst people you ever will meet. They worship the problem."
George nodded. "Ghost cult. They think instead of fighting visitors, we should be welcoming them in." Someone started tapping on the glass and Daniel flinched away, inching closer to Anthony. "They're the Venn diagram intersection for noisy, angry, and deliberately thick."
An egg was thrown, shattering against the window. Lucy gasped.
"So kind, honestly." Lockwood called sarcastically, waving to them. "Sorry, there's no autographs tonight. Thank you, though."
The protestors continued to bang on the windows as the team drove past and into the gates of the grave yard. Unsurprisingly, the gates shut behind the taxi, locking the Problem Worshipers on the outside. Daniel let out a tight breath she didn't realize she was keeping trapped, relaxing more into her seat.
"You okay, Dans?" George glanced over at her, noticing the not so subtle change in her body language.
"Yeah- Yeah. . .I just hate, bleh." She shook her head, leaning it back against the headrest behind her.
"You hate. . .bleh?" George questioned, his face showing his clear confusion.
"Attention." She shrugged. George nodded, looking back out the window. Lockwood's hand that was still on Daniel's knee squeezed slightly, as if to reassure her.
Daniel gave him a thankful smile as the taxi pulled to a stop.
"That was horrible." Lucy huffed once they were out of the car, walking through the foggy graveyard with their torches out in front of them.
"You get used to it. It's this bit I don't like." George murmured back.
"I hate graveyards. . .they just feel so. . .unsettling." Daniel agreed, nodding slightly with her words.
"I know most of the dead here are properly dead, but-" George continued.
"It still feels like enemy territory." Lockwood's voice came out quiet, just loud enough to be heard over the gravel crunching under their steps.
"Jesus. . ." Lucy breathed out, seeing all the people who'd set up for the night.
"Like the man said, the cemetery really comes alive at night."
"Who are all these people?"
"It's the security. And the, uh. . .gravediggers. Proper, honest blokes, you know? Real salt of the Earth." The sarcasm in Lockwood's voice was clear, even through his quiet and somewhat uneasy breaths.
"Just like us for tonight." Daniel grinned, bumping Lockwood with her shoulder.
"You've never even spoken to them." George practically glared at Anthony.
"Yeah, well, they're a bit scary." He reasoned. "Night watch. Lowest pay, lowest life expectancy in the business." Lockwood mentioned as they passed another different group of people.
"They need to unionize. I've told them a thousand times." George huffed out a slight laugh.
"You come to the cemetery. . .often?" Daniel shot him an uncertain look, biting down her snickers. George made a face and shook his head, like a child taunting their sibling. She stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation.
"That could've been me." Lucy said sadly when they walked past a group of night watchers, cutting off George and Daniel's silent bickering.
"But it's not, luckily. You've dealt with sensitives before, right?" Anthony asked, keeping his eyes straight.
"No. Why?" Lucy also kept watch of the people they passed as they walked.
"They're basically listeners too scared to pick up a rapier."
Daniel scoffed at George's words. "Not all of them are scared, some of them just have other opportunities. I could've been a sensitive, not because I'm scared but because I've got enough money from my parents to not need to work."
George rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you're not. You know why?"
"Why's that?"
"Because you're not scared. And you'd be bored if you weren't an agent."
Daniel stayed quiet for a minute before scoffing in defeat, knowing he was at least partially right.
"Anyways. As I was saying, or too posh to need to. Like our dear friend Daniel over here." George grinned. This lot, anyway. Highgate sensitives."
"That's completely disrespectful." A sensitive off to their side said. Daniel jumped slightly, not expecting her - or anyone - to speak at that moment.
"Go write a poem about it." George called back, stopping to turn and look at the girl and her friend. She scoffed.
"You all signed contracts! Legally binding! Risk is exactly what I'm paying you for." Mr. Saunders yelled at a group of night watchers just as the team walked up the steps he was standing at top of. "Ah, Mr. Lockwood. Just in time." He stopped yelling, glancing at Anthony and moving over to talk with the team. "These troublemakers are refusing to let their teams work."
"It's not safe, and you know it. You call it risk. I call it suicide." One of the night watch team leaders said, clear worry in her voice.
"Even I can sense it, and I haven't been able to see a visitor for thirty-five years!" Another night watch leader called.
"Which is exactly why we have hired these agents, the best of the best, to deal with the whole situation." Mr. Saunders pointed at Lockwood, a cheery tone to his voice despite the circumstances.
"Where's their uniform? Where's their supervisor?" The man questioned, disdain in his tone.
"Myself and my team refuse to work near that grave until it's made safe." Another night watch leader responded to Mr. Saunders. "It's making us ill."
"Ignore them." Mr. Saunders turned back to Lockwood, shaking his head. "Let's get inside."
Daniel hesitated as the rest of her team walked toward the building, she turned to the last night watch team leader who'd spoken. "It's making you ill? Like. . .physically?"
Before the woman could answer, Daniel heard Lockwood's voice boom behind her. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Anthony Lockwood, of Lockwood & Co., and I'm here tonight with my team to assist you all." George waved slightly as the workers looked over to the three of them. "Now, let me assure you, your safety is our number one priority."
"Get us proper agents! Get us Fittes! Get us Rotwell!" The man who hadn't seen anything supernatural in thirty-five years yelled.
Daniel let out a sigh, stepping up in line with Lockwood. "Hi- Uhm. . .My name's Daniel Aiken, you may know of my parents. They were both Fittes agents before they died and I, for a good two, years was also a Fittes agent. I assure you our team here is just as good, if not better, than any Fittes team they could send your way."
Murmurs broke out between the team leaders at the mention of her last name, but nothing clear enough for anyone to hear. Anthony smiled at Daniel before turning back to the crowd. "As my colleague, Ms. Aiken has said, I guarantee you that we are the best agents in London. And the only reason you haven't heard of us is because we don't do our work for applause or attention. No, we do our work discreetly and bespokely. Now, I am certain that no one knows this cemetery quite like you do." Anthony walked down the steps to be closer to the man who had been haggling them. "So, we will do nothing without a full consultation on what you have seen. And, Miss, you have clearly had a terrible experience. So please, take all the time you need, and when you and your team feel strong enough, you will have my undivided attention." He told the woman who'd claimed that her team had grown ill from the visitor.
"Fine."
Anthony laughed slightly, grinning as he turned away from the crowd and back toward Daniel. He walked up the steps, shooting Daniel a smile before going straight past her to Sebastian. "Saunders."
"If we ever really get famous, he'll be absolutely unbearable." George sighed as both him and Lucy picked up their kit bags.
"What? He isn't already?" Daniel quipped, skipping up the last step and following behind Lockwood and Mr. Saunders.
"Never said that." George smirked, him and Lucy falling right next to Daniel as they entered the building.
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Word Count - 1,589
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Published - October 2, 2023
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