Manners Maketh Man - Chapter Four

[aria_lerendeair]

 Title: Manners Maketh Man

Author: Aria_Lerendeair

Artist: Bright-Pyrite

Beta: Kate, you wonderful, fucking amazing darling you.  <3  

Pairing (if any): Gabriel/Sam (Sabriel)

Genre/Tropes: Spy AU

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 38,382

Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for the Kingsman Movie, I draw very heavily from it in places, and though I don't own the Kingsman story, I do own some of the additional plot points I added that I wish I could have seen in the movie.  

Summary: Gabriel Novak had known, since he was twelve years old that he would never amount to anything worthwhile.  He'd be a drain on society until his dying day, just like his Dad.  However, when Sam Winchester, a Kingsman agent, waltzes into his life with his bespoke suits, spy gadgets and devastating smile, to give him the opportunity of a lifetime, Gabriel can't say no.  Oh, and they have to save the world.

 

 

The Kingsman compound was quiet when Gabriel got out of the shuttle.  He strode past the dorms, not letting himself look into them as he headed for the conference room where Arthur’s office was. 

 

He’d either get permission to help, and then do the job that needed to be done, or get rejected, arm himself to the teeth from the Kingsman shop, and then go hunt down Metatron on his own.  Gabriel pushed open the door to the office and stood in the doorway, staring at Arthur. 

 

“Gabriel, come in,” Arthur said. 

 

Gabriel gave him a wary look, but walked into the room. 

 

“Do you know what this is?” 

 

Gabriel looked at the bottle and then back to Arthur.  “Brandy, if I had to guess.” 

 

Arthur chuckled.  “This is a Napoleonic brandy from 1815.  We only drink it when we’re toasting one of our own that has fallen.  Tonight we toasted Galahad.  But you knew that already, didn’t you?” 

 

Gabriel watched as Arthur poured them both drinks, walking closer.  “I did.”  There was no point in denying it.  “Sam told me you were a bit of a stickler for the rules.  Why are you breaking them now?” 

 

“Galahad was your mentor.  I believe that allows for an exception,” Arthur said, waving at the seat next to him. 

 

“Thanks,” Gabriel said, sitting down.  He picked up the glass and sniffed it.  Sam had given him a book on different types of drinks and alcohols for his last birthday, and he had maybe been a bit obsessive about reading it.  Something was wrong with the color.  He glanced at the larger bottle and studied it. 

 

“Galahad was very proud of you for getting as far as you did, Gabriel.”

 

Gabriel hummed, looking around the room.  Something was off.  Arthur wasn’t this friendly.  Was usually damn-near hostile around him.  Kingsman 101 training, when something felt off, it was.  He looked up at the portraits hanging in the room behind Arthur.  “Are those founding members?” 

 

Arthur turned to them and Gabriel caught sight of the scar behind his ear.  The same scar the professor had had before Sam was injured.  The one that he had managed to capture with his video feed.  The same scar.  The one that Metatron’s assistant had had during his demonstration.  Metatron had gotten to Arthur, somehow.  In a blink, Gabriel switched their glasses and smiled blandly when Arthur turned back to him. 

 

Trust no one.  If he couldn’t trust Arthur, the other Kingsmen were likely out as well.  Who could he trust?  Merlin, maybe.  Sam’s brother, Dagonet, not that he knew how to contact him.  Kali.  Kali would have told Metatron to take his stupid fucking idea and go stuff.  Just like Sam.  Gabriel swallowed down the wave of pain and raised his drink in a toast. 

 

“To Galahad.” 

 

Gabriel didn’t bother echoing the toast as he swallowed down the brandy, watching as Arthur stood and dusted off his pants.  “When did Metatron get to you?”

 

Arthur chuckled.  “Smarter than you look, boy.  Sam was right about you.” 

 

Fuck.  Gabriel looked down at the empty glass in front of him and stood up as well.  Arthur held up a pen in front of him. 

 

“Do you know what this is?” 

 

Gabriel stared at it and swallowed.  “Sam showed me, yeah.”

 

“Will you join me, Gabriel?  I could make you my proposal for Galahad’s position.  You could have another chance.  As far as you got in training, I have no doubt you would succeed this time,” Arthur said. 

 

Gabriel scowled at Arthur and raised his eyebrows.  “You want to tell me why the fuck you are doing this?” 

 

“Because,” Arthur said, smirking.  “When the world ends, and there is only one billion of us left on the planet, we will shape the world.  It will be paradise.  None of the issues, problems, fighting that exists today.  It will all be gone, because we survived together.” 

 

“If you think that’s true, you’re fucking mental,” Gabriel snarled. 

 

Arthur nodded calmly.  “Is that your final answer?” 

 

“You fucking bet it is,” Gabriel growled, glaring at him.  “I would rather die, and be with Sam than I would to live in your perfect fucking paradise!” 

 

“So be it,” Arthur said.  “Then you know that once I do this,” he said, twisting the cap.  “I’ve activated the gel in your drink.  You’ll be dead in less than twenty seconds.  Sorry m’boy, but I couldn’t have you-ghurk-” 

 

Gabriel watched Arthur slump over the table, his eyes going wide in horror.  He tapped his cheek and smirked.  “You know, I learned slight of hand long before I showed up here.  That’s the problem with you blokes.  Too fucking arrogant.” 

 

“You little f-fucking…” 

 

Gabriel ignored Arthur’s last death croak and grabbed the pen that had fallen to the table.  He uncapped it and turned towards Arthur.  Using the nib of the pen, he cut the chip out of Arthur’s neck.  Merlin could make some use of this, if he fucking believed any of it.  Gabriel grabbed Arthur’s phone, pocketed it after looking at the countdown clock.    

 

He stole the pocket scarf in Arthur’s pocket and wrapped the chip in it before stuffing it in his pocket as well.  Now he needed to get the fuck out of here and find Merlin and Kali. 

 

Gabriel headed for the door, but paused in the doorway.  He looked back at the bottle of brandy on the table.  If he managed to fucking live through this, he knew exactly how he was going to celebrate it!  He smirked.  Time to go save the world! 

 

The pocket with Merlin’s phone received another safety notification about getting to a bunker and Gabriel cursed, turning to sprint for the engineering level.  It was late, and if he was lucky, then Merlin would be the only one of the staff there, and he could attempt to explain everything. 

 

“Hold it right there, Gabriel.” 

 

Gabriel cursed and lifted his hands behind his head, turning to look at Kali.  “Kali, I have to speak with you and Merlin, please, it’s fucking urgent.” 

 

Kali shook her head.  “They’re not going to take you back, Gabriel, not this time.  They’re over and done with.” 

 

“I don’t give a fuck if Kingsman robs me of every single valuable item I have ever had.  We have to stop Metatron and what he’s fucking planning!” 

 

“And what exactly is that?  All I know is that you’ve murdered Arthur-“

 

“No I bloody well didn’t, Kali!  He tried to kill me and I stopped him, look!” Gabriel said, reaching in his pocket for the phone there. 

 

The sound of Kali’s gun cocking had him freeze.  Gabriel raised his hands and stared at Kali.  “Kali, you have to listen to me.  Arthur’s phone is in my pocket.  It’s counting down, to the end of the bloody world and we need to stop it!” 

 

Footsteps approached and Gabriel felt the weight of his phone leave his pocket.  He tensed until Merlin entered his line of vision.  “Arthur had the same scar.  He offered to let me join him, switched our spiked drinks and he ended up dead.  His implant is in my right pocket.” 

 

Kali and Merlin shared a look and Gabriel could feel himself getting desperate.  He had to get them to believe him, but a thought occurred.  “Merlin,” he said. 

 

Merlin turned to look at him and Gabriel flinched, but he had to ask.  “How do I know that Metatron didn’t get to you too, Merlin?” 

 

Merlin merely stared at him before he quirked an eyebrow, reaching out to pull out the scarf stuffed in his pocket.  Gabriel swallowed hard as he unwrapped the scarf and took out the chip. 

 

“Kali, it’s all right.  This is Arthur’s phone, and it’s receiving updates about getting to a safe zone.”

 

Kali lowered the gun, but Gabriel only stepped closer, his eyes trained on Merlin.  “Merlin, you didn’t answer my question.” 

 

“I didn’t answer your question, because it’s a bloody stupid question.  Do I look like I have the hairline to hide that scar?” 

 

Gabriel couldn’t help the burst of surprised laughter that escaped him.  “Oh fuck, I didn’t even think of that.” 

 

Merlin snorted.  “No, you clearly didn’t.  However, since you do raise an excellent point that we have no idea who we can trust, we’re going to need to take care of this ourselves, there’s not a lot of time.  C’mon you two.” 

 

 

 

 

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

 

 

 

 

“Have you figured out what the fuck this is yet?” Gabriel asked, kicking the large black bag that held several different yellow pieces.  Merlin had had them lug the thing (and it was fucking heavy) aboard, just before they took off. 

 

He picked up a piece that looked like a gaming joystick and fiddled with it.  “I mean seriously, what kind of use could a fucking thing like-“ 

 

“What you’re playing with,” Merlin interrupted.  “Is a trans-atmospheric vehicle.  It was designed back during Reagan’s administration.  First of it’s kind.” 

 

Gabriel looked down at the joystick and put it back down, carefully, on the pile.  No need to be fucking things up before they even really got started saving the world. 

 

“So here’s what we’re going to do.  Kali, you’ll be in this,” Merlin said, kicking the bag of parts.  “You’re going to go up to the edge of the atmosphere and take out one of Metatron’s satellites.  Price being the sharp shooter on the team pays.”  He looked to Gabriel.  “That’ll buy us at least two hours while he re-routes the signal.” 

 

Gabriel swallowed hard when Merlin turned to look at him. 

 

“You’ll get me a way in to his network, and I’ll hack it, then we can stop this from happening when we are far, far out of range.” 

 

“All right,” Gabriel said, nodding.  “Makes enough sense to me, so we’d better get ready.  How far out are we?” 

 

“At least two hours from Kali’s drop zone.  If you can, I suggest both of you take a rest.  Gabriel, I’ll need to wake you up an hour early.  Kali, change into your helo suit.” 

 

“Yes, Merlin,” They both replied in unison. 

 

Gabriel settled into one of the seats while Kali headed into the back to get changed.  They didn’t have long now.  Fuck, when had his life turned into a spy movie!  They were flying to the lair of a secret villain to stop a plot to end the damn world.  In what world was this even remotely normal? 

 

Kali was able to doze off almost immediately after changing, but Gabriel couldn’t get his mind to quiet enough so that it could.  He walked over to where Merlin was examining the implant under a magnifying glass.  “So what do you know about it?” 

 

“It’s designed to counter-act the signal that is going to be coming from those sim cards,” Merlin said, tilting it a little to the side. 

 

Gabriel blinked and stared at the card.  “The signal that turns everyone into a psycho killer?”  His mind wanted to pull up the image of Sam, spinning in that church, deadly grace and movement, but he shook his head, focusing on Merlin. 

 

Merlin nodded.  “Quite.  However, what Metatron didn’t tell anyone, was that it could also heat their soft tissue to the point where it explodes.” 

 

Gabriel knew that he was giving Merlin a blank look and he could feel the frustration from the other man.  He grinned a little bit.  “Which means?” 

 

“It means, the same thing that happened to the Professor that Sam visited, happens.  Head goes kaboom.” 

 

Gabriel nodded and looked at the micro chip again.  “And how does that help us with what we’re trying to do?” 

 

Merlin huffed and put the put the chip down.  “It doesn’t.”  He stood and headed for the front of the plane.  “Try to get some rest Gabriel.  You’re going to need it.” 

 

The reminder didn’t help, but Gabriel dutifully sank back into the seat on the plane and took a deep breath, trying to force his mind to relax. 

 

 

 

 

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

 

 

 

 

“Gabriel, wake up!” 

 

Gabriel snapped out of his chair and to attention before he even thought twice about it, glaring at Merlin.  “What?” 

 

“Here.  You’re going to be impersonating Arthur.  You’re going to need to blend in.” 

 

Gabriel raised both of his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest.  “I’m supposed to play Arthur?  How the fuck do I pull that off?” 

 

“They’re expecting him.  Here, give them his phone, that’s where the invitation is.  Give them his real name.  Zachariah King.  Oh, and you’re going to need to blend in.” 

 

Gabriel looked down at the case in Merlin’s hand and snorted.  “Merlin, is that going to fit me?” 

 

“A bespoke suit always fits,” Merlin said, offering the heavy leather back to Gabriel.  “Just be glad that Sam had it made for you.” 

 

Gabriel swallowed hard and took the bag from Merlin, his heart pounding in his chest.  Fuck.  This was the suit that Sam had picked out for him that day in the shop.  The day that they couldn’t look away from each other.  The day he knew that Sam wanted him too.  He nodded at Merlin and turned towards the back of the plane. 

 

He stripped out of his clothes and took out each of the items that were carefully laid in the case.  If Sam were here, he’d probably make some bullshit comment about how he was shedding one skin for another.  That was all well and good, but it was a bunch of bullshit.  He was still him, just wearing way more fucking expensive clothing. 

 

Gabriel tucked his shirt in carefully, made sure his jacket was settled properly across his shoulders, added his watch, signet ring and glasses.  By the time he straightened to look in the mirror and add the gel to slick back his hair, he wasn’t sure he recognized the person looking back at him in the mirror.  Holy shit. 

 

If Sam had seen him like this, Gabriel was relatively certain that there is no way they would have been able to keep their hands off each other, and the thought made him laugh. 

 

He headed back out of the plane to Merlin and Kali and held his arms out, spinning to show off for both of them.  “Not bad, eh?”

 

Kali gave a wolf whistle.  “So there is a man under all of the snark and swearing.  I was beginning to wonder.” 

 

Gabriel laughed and gave her a wink before turning to Merlin.  He straightened a little bit more under the gaze of the other Kingsman. 

 

“Looking good, Gabriel.” 

 

Gabriel smirked.  “Feeling good, Merlin.” 

 

A ringing sounded from the cockpit and Gabriel dropped his eyes to Kali.  “Looks like we’re at your drop off zone then, Kali?” 

 

“Indeed,” Merlin agreed, grabbing the black bag.  “You two, start assembling this while I land.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~!~!~!~!~

 

 

 

 

It didn’t take long to get Kali set up with the damn thing.  It wasn’t anything more than a big yellow skeleton with a missile attached to the top of it, but it would do the trick. 

 

“The balloons will continue to expand as you rise.  You need to wait until you reach the edge of the atmosphere before you fire your missile.  Afterward, you need to disengage immediately from this as you fall, or you’ll burn up on re-entry.” 

 

Kali nodded and looked up at the balloons.  “Yes, Merlin.” 

 

Gabriel watched Merlin head back to the plane and strode closer to Kali, reaching out to take her hands.  “Listen to me, yeah?  You can do this.  You’ve got this, and I’ll see you after I’m done getting us into the bastard’s place.” 

 

Kali swallowed and gave him a nod.  “Yes.” 

 

“Good girl,” he said, grinning at her. 

 

“Gabriel, come on, we need to go, we’re out of time!” Merlin called from the steps of the plane. 

 

Gabriel gave Kali one last grin and dashed back towards the plane.

 

Now all they needed to do was infiltrate Metatron’s big fucking party for the end of the damn world, stop him, and maybe kill him if he had the chance.  Gabriel grinned and settled into his seat again.  Wasn’t going to take much longer.  Not at all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~!~!~!~!~!~

 

 

 

 

 

“Gabriel, we’re approaching,” Merlin called. 

 

Gabriel closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  He could do this, hell, he’d even been trained to do exactly this.  Now he needed to go in and save the people there.  He stood up and made his way over to the cockpit. 

 

He tapped his glasses twice and swore at the sight of anti-aircraft missiles and more than sixty men guarding the entrance.  He had no doubt that at any hint of a disturbance, they would be on his ass in a heartbeat.  “Holy fuck,” he whispered.  

 

“You’ve got that right,” Merlin said, flicking another switch and angling the plane for landing as the anti-aircraft missiles were pointed away from the plane.  He took a deep breath.  “I’m going to stay here, as I am your pilot.  You get in there and get me online.  Got it?” 

 

Gabriel nodded as the plane finally slowed to a stop.  He summoned up an image of Baldur and straightened his spine.  If he wanted to fit in with a bunch of posh snobs, well, he had the perfect fucking model to be able to do so at least. 

 

He stood and jogged down the steps of the plane, pulling out his phone to present to the woman that was waiting for him with five different armed guards.  Time to turn on the charm.  Gabriel smiled at her and presented his phone.  “Zachariah King.” 

 

She didn’t do more than glance at the phone before handing it back to him.  Gabriel relaxed and grinned again when she held up a scanning rod. 

 

“Mister King, welcome.  I’m sure that you’ve remembered Metatron’s strict no-weapons policy, however, may I?”

 

Gabriel held out his arms.  “Of course.” 

 

“Do you have any luggage, sir?” 

 

Gabriel turned back to where Merlin was still standing in the doorway of the plane.  “Congratulations Mycroft, you’ve been promoted form my pilot, to my valet.”  He could see the exasperated look from Merlin and gave the woman a genuine grin when he turned back around and followed her deeper into the base. 

 

The walk took them past dozens of cells and it was easy to hear people calling out from behind them.  Gabriel recognized a voice or two.  Well, that explained one other mystery, where all of those missing persons had gone.  Metatron had them locked up in a massive facility that was more maze-like than he was expecting. 

 

When Metatron’s assistant stopped in front of a party (full of snobs, perfect he’d fit right in pretending to be like Baldur), and gestured him in, Gabriel gave her another winning smile and stepped into the room. 

 

His eyes went straight to Metatron, standing in a glass room, almost twenty feet above them, a large desk spread out in front of them. 

 

“Would sir care for a drink?” 

 

Gabriel turned to the waiter.  “Absolutely.  Martini.  Gin, not vodka, obviously, stirred for ten seconds while glancing at an unopened bottle of vermouth.”  The man didn’t flinch, only nodded and headed back to where the bar was. 

 

He spared a moment to wonder if people actually fucking ordered drinks like that, before the martini was in his hand.  Gabriel took a slow sip of it and hummed.  Fucking hell, this was probably how Sam drank his martini’s.  It was easier to ignore the spike of pain through his heart as he stepped deeper into the party. 

 

“You clocking this Merlin?”  He asked, getting closer to the glass room so his glasses would capture the images properly for Merlin.  He tuned out Merlin talking to Kali and focused on the room.  Seeming distracted would only get him noticed by more people in the room, and he couldn’t afford that right now. 

 

“Yes.  Stay focused.  Find a way to get me online, now.” 

 

Gabriel scanned the room, looking for someone with a laptop.  On the second level, there was a man sitting alone with his laptop.  Perfect.  Chance for him to use this new fancy watch of his.  “Got it,” he whispered to Merlin, lengthening his stride as he made his way up the stairs and towards the man he’d seen. 

 

He took another sip of his martini as he approached.  “Society is dead, long live society.” 

 

The man looked up at him, smiling and chuckling, and Gabriel recognized him a moment later.  He was the Swedish Prime Minister.  He’d been in the news more than once.  Fuck, it’d feel good to make sure this asshole got what he deserved. 

 

“Martin Lyndstrom.” 

 

Gabriel held out his hand and shook it.  “Zachariah King.”  One firm shake.  Just like Sam had taught him.  He cleared his throat and gestured to the computer.  “How’d you get online?  I couldn’t.” 

 

“Ah, well, it’s pre-authorized connections only.” 

 

Right, of course it fucking was you wanker.  Gabriel only smiled and glanced down at his watch.  “Oh, I’m sorry, do you have the time?  I think I’m still in my last timezone.” 

 

He turned a dial on his watch the second the bastard looked away and shot a small dart into his neck.  The second the man slumped, he slid into the seat and pulled the flash drive out of his pocket, plugging it into the computer. 

 

“Good job, Gabriel!” Merlin called. 

 

Gabriel focused on the computer in front of him, pretending to type while Merlin’s flash drive did whatever the fuck that it needed to do. 

 

A long, slim blade was suddenly under his neck and he swore, leaning back in his seat. 

 

“That’s right you fucker.  Slow and steady,” Baldur breathed against his neck. 

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Gabriel hissed, turning to look at him. 

 

Baldur rolled his eyes, slowly coaxing Gabriel to stand with him.  “My family were invited, obviously.” 

 

Over the radio, Gabriel heard one of Kali’s balloons pop and her scream shortly afterward.  Fuck, she hadn’t gotten off the shot yet! 

 

“Metatron!” Baldur’s voice rang out over the party, causing everyone to hush.  Gabriel swallowed.  Fucking hell if he was holding back on this asshole for one more second. 

 

“I’ve caught a fucking spy!” 

 

Gabriel twisted away from the knife, grabbing Baldur into a lock, pressing his signet ring into his neck and flicking it on.  Baldur immediately released him, his body shaking with spasms.  “How does fifty thousand volts fucking feel, hun?” He snarled, pulling his hand back and slamming it with all the force he could manage into Baldur’s cheek. 

 

The bastard went flying and Gabriel focused on the room again, where everyone, guards included, were staring.  Fucking hell he needed to make a quick exit. 

 

“Gabriel, I’m online, get back to the plane, now!”  Merlin shouted. 

 

Absently, Gabriel heard Kali manage to get her shot off before the second balloon popped.  He took two steps forward and grabbed the railing in front of him, vaulting over it and landing back on the main level.  Posh bastards all backed away from him and left a route through the crowd. 

 

Thank you fucking weak bastards.  Gabriel ducked his head down and sprinted.  Merlin would tell him whatever way he needed to go, he just needed to et there as quickly as fucking possible. 

 

“Take your next left,” Merlin ordered. 

 

Gabriel spun on his heel, but did as he was ordered, ducking when a few more guards turned a corner.  He needed to pick up a fucking gun and get the hell out of here! 

 

“Two guards, now!” 

 

Gabriel slid down on one knee, kicking the bastard’s legs out from under him, yanking his gun away from him.  The rest of the run back to the plane was a blur of men in white outfits, coming at him like fucking storm troopers, one after another.  Unfortunately, these bastards were a hell of a lot better shut. 

 

By the time he made it back to the plane, he was panting hard, his chest heaving under the suit.  Thank fuck for bullet proof suit jacket material.  He was going to have some fucking amazing bruises, but that was a hell of a lot better than some bullet holes. 

 

“Merlin, let’s get the fuck out of here!” 

 

“We can’t.” 

 

Gabriel snapped his eyes open and resisted the urge to groan at the look on Merlin’s face.  Fuck that wasn’t a good one.  “Why the fuck not?” 

 

“Metatron has biometric security.  You’re going to have to go back in there and make sure that his hand never touches that fucking table.” 

 

Gabriel stared at Merlin and thought of the swarms of guards that he had just fought through.  There were probably twice as many now, fuck!  “Are you fucking shitting me right now?” 

 

“I’m afraid not, and you need to hurry.” 

 

Gabriel pushed himself out of the chair and reached for the machine gun in Merlin’s hand.  “Let’s fucking have that then.” 

 

“Ah, no.  This is mine.  I’ll show you yours,” Merlin said, leading Gabriel to the back of the plane and into the room where he had got changed.  He glanced around once they were both inside and grinned wide when Merlin tilted the picture on the wall just enough to reveal a wall of several different weapons. 

 

His eyes went to the umbrella and stuck there.  He remembered seeing Sam dispatch Crowley and all of his fucking goons with it and reached for it before he even knew what he was doing. 

 

“Good choice,” Merlin said, turning to leave. 

 

Gabriel waited until he had left and then grabbed the pistol, two extra clips and one of the hand grenade cigarette lighters.  Merlin would probably notice if there were two missing and he needed to avoid that.  Not that he could do anything about it. 

 

“Gabriel!” 

 

Gabriel spun and left the room, striding to the door of the plane.  He and Merlin waited for any wave of guards to come at them in the plane, but when there was nothing, he took off running.  This was what he had trained for, after all.  Now he just needed to get the fuck back into the main room, kill Metatron and live to tell the fucking tale. 

 

As he sprinted through the corridor, he could hear Metatron counting down through the feed in Merlin’s computer and swore when it hit zero.  Fuck, he wasn’t close yet and he still had to get by all of the guards!  Dammit! 

 

“Yes!  Well done Lancelot!” Merlin said, relaxing back in his chair.  “Gabriel, the chain is down, but Metatron is going to try reconnecting it immediately.  You have to get to him.”

 

Gabriel took a deep breath.  Okay, Kali had bought him some time, but he still needed to get to Metatron and stop the bastard from reconnecting the chain of satellites. 

 

Which was great, in theory, but even he couldn’t fight against a hundred guards and win.  As he turned another corner and opened up the umbrella, catching the immediate spray of gunfire that came his way, he couldn’t miss the number slowly counting down on the integrity of his bullet proof shield.  Fucking thing wasn’t going to last forever. 

 

He yanked the grenade out of his pocket and activated it, throwing it into the sea of guards.  Why the fuck did Metatron have so many guards in an isolated base like this?  It was fucking ridiculous! 

 

He turned a corner and a loud boom echoed in the hallway.  Gabriel ducked behind the umbrella again, but there was a hole that got ripped right through the top of it.  A second boom caused a second rip.  Were they shooting at him with fucking fifty caliber rounds?  Talk about overkill! 

 

Gabriel ran back around the corner, the way he had originally come and nearly ran into another massive wall of guards.  Dread settled over him and he ducked into one of the little inlets created by the cell doors.  “Merlin!  Merlin I’m fucked.  Got a wall of guards on both sides, and I can’t get out of here.” 

 

He could hear the guards approaching even closer, slowly, cell block by cell block.  He wasn’t going to be protected anymore.  Fuck, fuck, fuck!  “Kali, I need a favor.  Call my Aunt.  Tell her to lock herself away from Anna.  Merlin, call Sam’s brother, tell him to lock himself away from this mess and both of you get to safe fucking places, you understand?” 

 

Silence on the comm told him that they did.  Gabriel took a deep breath and tightened his hand on his umbrella.  Fuck if he was going down without a fight.  He might be about to die, but he would do it taking down as many of the bastards as he possibly could. 

 

Wait. 

 

Wait. 

 

“Merlin,” he hissed.  “Remember those implants that weren’t of any use to us?  You think you could turn the fucking things on?”  

 

Stunned silence from Merlin and suddenly the sound of moving had him grinning.  Gabriel took a deep breath and prayed that Merlin could hack his way through this fast enough. 

 

Now there was the sound of frantic typing in the background.  Come on Merlin, come on, he chanted, cheering him on as he heard the guards get closer.  He was out of fucking time, he had maybe thirty seconds to live if he was lucky. 

 

The echo of Merlin’s ‘Yes, please’ came over his glasses and Gabriel tensed up when he heard the guards start to move. 

 

Then there was the sound of explosions.  Gabriel kept himself pressed back against the cell, but there were blood splatters and hats flying fucking everywhere and he couldn’t help but grin.  They’d all had implants, every single fucking one of them had had the implants! 

 

“Merlin, you’re a fucking genius!!” he shouted, punching the air as he leaned back against the cell. 

 

“What the fuck is going on out there!” A voice from behind him shouted. 

 

Gabriel blinked and turned to the door, raising an eyebrow.  He reached out for the hatch in the center of the door and pulled it down.  Angry green eyes met his and he grinned.  “Well hello there.  Aren’t you that Prince that went missing?” 

 

“Who the hell are you?  Let me out!” 

 

Gabriel grinned and lazily leaned back against the door.  “If I do, will you give me a kiss?  I’ve always wanted to kiss a Prince or a Princess.” 

 

The Prince smirked.  “If you get me out of here, I’ll give you more than a kiss.” 

 

“You bastard,” Metatron’s voice echoed in the hallway and Gabriel stepped away from the cell, looking up. 

 

“You think I’d put one of those implants in my own head?  You think I’m that fucking stupid?  You think I don’t already have another satellite being re-routed so I can start this all over again in about forty seconds?” 

 

Gabriel swallowed and tightened his hand on his gun. 

 

“Do you think you did anything other than murder thousands of innocent people?  For what?  You didn’t stop anything!” 

 

Merlin’s voice replaced Metatron’s a moment later.  “Gabriel, get going, you have to get his hand off that table and you need to do it fucking now!” 

 

Gabriel turned back to the Prince in the cell and winked at him.  “Sorry, but I need to go save the world first.” 

 

“You save the world, I’ll bottom for you,” The Prince said, winking. 

 

The offer was tempting, but…  “Unfortunately, I’m a bit hung up on someone else,” Gabriel said, winking back at the Prince.  “I appreciate the offer though!” 

 

Gabriel waved and then started sprinting down the hallway.  He stopped for a moment to pick up one of the machine guns and two extra clips off the now-headless guard and slipped them into his jacket pocket, running for the main party room. 

 

Now that there were no guards in the way, he made it into the room in sixty seconds.  He started firing at the glass where he could see Metatron almost immediately when the edge of his gun was suddenly cut off. 

 

“What the fu-“ he swore, immediately diving out of the way when another razor-sharp blade swung only inches past his head. 

 

He came up immediately and dumped the extra clips out of his pocket.  Gabriel stared at the woman standing across from him and took a deep breath.  She had been in Metatron’s files.  Meg. 

 

“Well done, Gabriel, you managed to get him off the machine!” Merlin called. 

 

Gabriel allowed himself one quick smile.  But it wouldn’t take more than thirty seconds if he was lucky before Metatron was back starting up whatever insane countdown he had.  “I don’t suppose you’d just let me put a bullet through his head, would you?” 

 

Gabriel ducked under the blade that was suddenly aimed for his head and swore.  “Guess that’s a no!”

 

There was no way he could launch an offensive of any sort when someone was attacking him with razors for legs.  She was lethal, and she could fucking twist in ways that made no sense.  Gabriel slammed his shoulder into her and twisted away when she lifted her leg over her shoulder and tried to stab him that way.  Fucking hell! 

 

“Gabriel, the world is going to shit, you have to get Metatron’s hand off that desk!” 

 

Gabriel cursed and went flying into a table as Meg managed to land a knee to his stomach.  At least he’d landed a blow and sent her sprawling as well.  “Working on it!” 

 

“Is he dead yet?” Metatron shouted over his shoulder. 

 

“Not yet!” Meg called, smirking widely as she leaned down and sprinted for him. 

 

Gabriel pushed himself up and ran at her, twisting out of the way of her leg at the last second.  He managed to (barely) tap his heels together and nick her in the arm with the poisoned blade before he landed back on the tile floor hard enough for his jaw to fucking clack together. 

 

“Tired already?” Meg called, walking closer. 

 

Gabriel managed to get back to his feet and pulled away the now cut in half tie and scowled.  Sam had picked out that tie for him.  He looked up at Meg and watched as she stumbled and glanced at the cut on her arm. 

 

“Neurotoxin,” Gabriel said, smiling blandly at her when her expression changed to shock, and then pain before she slumped over. 

 

“Gabriel!  You have to stop stuff with Metatron now!” 

 

Gabriel swore and looked around for a weapon, fucking anything he could use to knock the bastard away from the desk. 

 

His eyes fell back to Meg’s artificial legs.  Well.  She wasn’t fucking using them anymore.  He stumbled closer and managed to unhook one of them, extending the blade.  Gabriel took a deep breath, then ran two steps and chucked the blade towards Metatron. 

 

He watched it arch through the air before impaling the bastard with a satisfying ‘thunk’.  A second later, Metatron stumbled back from the desk and he could hear Merlin and Kali cheering over the comm. 

 

“Well done you two, well done both of you!”  Merlin called, sinking back in his chair.  “Gabriel, Sam was right.” 

 

Gabriel was only half-listening as he walked closer to Metatron.  The bastard was still breathing, but he’d be dead soon.  Gabriel pulled his Kingsman gun out of his inner pocket and put a new clip in. 

 

“Come to exact revenge on me for your falling friends?” Metatron spat as soon as he caught sight of him. 

 

Gabriel smiled and pointed the gun at Metatron’s head, savoring the way the bastard’s eyes widened.  “Yes, I am.  This is for Sam.”  He pulled the trigger.  Right in the head.  Just like the fucker had done to Sam.  Gabriel dropped the point of the gun and flicked the safety on before returning it to his holster. 

 

It was over and done with. 

 

 

 

~!~!~!~!~

 

 

 

Except it wasn’t. 

 

Gabriel made his way back down the hallway and had Merlin give him the code to all of the cells, opening them a minute later.  People flooded into the hallway, all of them looking for answers to what the hell had happened.  He sank down against the wall and closed his eyes. 

 

“Gabriel, make your way back to the jet, we need to pick up Kali.” 

 

He opened his eyes and sighed.  Right.  There would still be so much more work to do, now that hundreds of world leaders were dead, thousands, maybe millions of people would be dead too.  There would be a clean up, and then a cover up of some sort.  Gabriel made his way through the crowds of celebrities and royalty, heading back to the hanger where the jet was. 

 

Merlin was waiting for him, and clapped him on the shoulder, squeezing it.  “Sam would be proud of you, Gabriel.” 

 

Gabriel ignored the pulse of pain in his heart at the mention of Sam’s name and limped onto the jet.  He settled back into one of the seats and let his head fall back against the smooth leather.  At least he’d managed to avenge Sam.  And he’d saved the day.  He’d even been propositioned by a Prince.  Damn good day all in all. 

 

Except for the niggling fact that, at the end of it, Sam was still dead.  Gabriel let himself have one moment to wonder if Sam would be proud of what he managed to do, that he’d saved the world before he took a deep breath. 

 

They would need to know if any of the other knights had been turned like Arthur had.  There would be emergency councils and elections across the world.  There would be chaos, at least for a little while.  He wasn’t done yet.  He couldn’t be done yet. 

 

Gabriel managed to give Kali a grin when she complimented his suit.  He did look fucking posh as hell in this suit, despite the loss of the tie that Sam had picked out for him.  He’d have to get another when they were back in London. 

 

He blinked, staring out the window for another few minutes.  Exhaustion was demanding he sleep, and the soreness that he had tried not to think about after tearing through Metatron’s facility, killing Meg, all of it was making his head pound.  He could rest a little while.  Just for a little while.

 

He was out before he remembered closing his eyes. 

 

 

 

~!~!~!~

 

 

 

The three months in the wake of Metatron’s attack were a blur.  Gabriel went on more missions than he could have ever imagined wanting too, even as a James Bond-esque super spy. 

 

To add insult to fucking injury, he’d even assumed Sam’s old title - Galahad.  Merlin assured him there was a sense of poetic justice in doing so, but Gabriel still had to fight the urge to look around for Sam whenever he was addressed by his alias. 

 

Kali knew, but let him pretend that he was fine.  Merlin pretended that he didn’t know Gabriel was living in Sam’s townhouse.  He didn’t care what they thought of him, how pathetic he was - pining for a man he barely knew. 

 

The only person who understood was Sam’s brother.  Dean would come to stay in the townhouse, from time to time.  But often, he was never in town for more than one night before he was being sent off on assignment again.  He’d come in often enough when Gabriel was blackout drunk, regretting everything he had never bothered to say to Sam.  They’d even gotten drunk together.  Merlin was worried about him, fuck, about them, but they were too busy to do anything about it. 

 

He returned the favor when he could, taking Kali out and covering her back while she worked off some of the tension the job gave them, fucking men and dropping them like the flies they were to her.  Merlin was far easier, Gabriel simply had to order Merlin home and have Kali take him there while he covered the base and monitored the missions the other Kingsmen were on. 

 

When the next class of recruits came in, he wouldn’t be able to do it anymore, but for now, Merlin gave him a quick, grateful smile, and dragged himself up to one of the emergency suites available for all Kingsmen. 

 

The monitor in front of him beeped.  Incoming transmission, urgent.  Gabriel frowned and opened the file.  All current missions were in steady-state.  Nothing urgent should have come through.  If he’d thought that something could have happened, he never would have been able to tell Merlin to piss off and sleep for eight hours. 

 

The file was encrypted and he ran the standard translator application on it.  He frowned when the file got more garbled than before.  He downloaded it to his personal tablet and ran another search on the metadata of it.  Where the hell had this message come from and why wasn’t it using standard Kingsman encryption? 

 

Gabriel ran a few more tests on it, before pulling up the metadata.  The message had originated from…

 

No.

 

He ran the metadata again.  Then on Merlin’s computer.  Gabriel swallowed and watched it come back with the same result.  The file had originated in Kentucky, sent to the Kingsman mainframe, which only agents had access to.  It was encoded with a non-standard key, something that…

 

No.  It couldn’t be.  It couldn’t.  It’d been three months.  Three months!  Sam was…