// bold is written by the talented ginger cat!
[quote=AuntFlavia]
“So, this definitely isn't a human trafficking ring, right?” 
[/quote]
[b]"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what this is. But your guess is as good as mine." Erika blinked over with a bit of a blank expression and curious grey eyes at who was to be the only other woman in the limo, but was the only other person at the time, who had sat down a little bit from her with a Ginger-ale. The space inside shrunk considerably as the remaining three of the "others" made their way in. That was everybody, Erika had assumed. It was that the last person had just sat themselves down, a rather weary looking man who looked older than the rest of the group, before the chauffeur, standing out like a sore thumb in all his glorious attire with the limo to boot, made his way to the driver's seat and that would be the end of it.The Limo had just started moving. [/b]

Meanwhile, across the limousine, James had recovered internally from the dodgy encounter with the man in the loo. He began to examine the occupants of the limo as they entered. He started with the two young ladies across from him that had arrived here before he. The one on the left was in her early twenties, James observed, and was dressed in rather mundane looking clothing: Worn black khakis with a t-shirt.

[i]Obviously not used to travel,[/i] James mused. It was a game he liked to play in his head, trying to read people and gauge their life stories. Much like a reader looking for hidden metaphors and similes in between the lines, James examined them with scrutiny, albeit with as much subterfuge as he could muster. [i]Not well off financially. Someone who was well off would not have thought twice about wearing expensive clothing through a flight,[/i] James continued to muse.Perhaps a waitress? 

James moved on to the next one. 

The other woman was a bit younger. In fact calling her a woman would be a [i]bit[/i] of a stretch. School girl would be closer to the mark. She wore glasses, and was dressed for the winter. Her casual forest-green top contrasting with her flashy black ankle high boots.[i] Leather,[/i] James noted. [i]Good taste.[/i]

She had smooth dark skin. Perhaps of Middle Eastern or Indian descent? Could be South Asian as well? But no, the eyes were the wrong colour. Stormy grey gems like a bank of fog from the River Thames in a sea of pristine pearls. Judging by her age, she was perhaps a university student as well. Studying... James paused before giving his best guess, [i]Astro Physics? [/i]

Two men had entered after James. An awkward young man with blonde hair who seemed about as confident as a snail hiding in it's shell. He was dressed respectably enough though, with a pinstripe suit and leather shoes. Though in James's humble opinion, the man's tie was a little... off. James did find comfort in the fact that the young man seemed to be a fellow Englishman. 

The other man was by far the oldest in the group, and introduced himself as one, "Dr. Henry Halibern". At this, James had nearly shot up to introduce himself as a fellow practitioner of medicine, but there was something strange about the way the doctor held himself... 

James examined him a bit better.

The doctor seemed a bit off balance, truth be told, and a bit drowsy as he downed the brandy in his hand. James wouldn't be trusting this man's advice anytime soon. 

Not exactly the sharpest group of individuals, James had to admit. He wasn't sure how many of them he could trust if push came to shove. 

Once the limousine started moving, the older woman broke off her conversation with the grey eyed student to chat with the "Good Doctor", While the blonde fellow apparently decided that this would be a good idea to take a nap. That just left James and the girl sitting alone across from each other. James reevaluated her out of the corner of his eye. She looked intelligent, perhaps the one person here that James might be able to rely on. Besides, he didn't want to waste an opportunity to entertain a lady.

He turned to make eye contact with her and quipped, "I don't suppose you had any encounters with strange black suitcases filled with money now have you?" His London accent is clearly evident.

[b]"Why, however would you know?" Erika, who was sitting just next to one of the windows and was previously occupying herself by taking in the passing surroundings whilst letting her fingers drum idly against the armrest, was shaken back and into conversation. Her eyes searched the source of the sound before they rested on the man sitting directly in front of her, and almost instinctively her eyes raked over him, taking him in with the other girl's half-joking fears that she brought up being pushed and locked up in the very back of this woman's mind. A suit. Classy. The accent was familiar to a degree too, it reminded her of where she'd just flown in from. She hadn't lived in the country nearly long enough to be able to tell people's regions apart by accents. To her, they were all English, aggressive-English, Scottish, not-very-Scottish, or none of the above for the moment. "To answer your question, one was delivered to me, yes. You too, sir, I'm presuming. Unless you were someone who was a part of arranging for the suitcases to be delivered, but the latter seems a little less likely. You'd be sitting up front if you were, I'm presuming. In the big leagues. Though your suit...I must ask, do you know what's going on? At all? And do you know who this Miss Olsen is or what she might want, in the slightest?"[/b]

James chuckled. "Funny thing. Suits. They make a man seem to have more power than he actually holds." He took a sip from his drink and continued, "Contrary to your belief, I have absolutely no idea as to what is going on. No one's even heard of Woll manor or Miss Olsen as far as I'm aware of... The fellow outside wasn't much help either. About as talkative as a post, that one"

He smiled and took off his aviator gloves before offering his hand, "And just James will do. Despite the clothes, I'm nothing more than a university student!"

[b]"I see. He definitely is...a quiet man." the woman's lips finally formed a little smile with her sipping her coke right after the man, and she lay back in her seat some more. It was comforting somehow to know that this man was as modest. And for some reason, his cluelessness was comforting as well. It was soothing to know her conversational-partner was not involved with whatever was going on, and that it would be just as much a leap for him as well as her. And the girl from earlier too. That made three of the five. One was out like a light, but from the looks of how tired he seemed, even in his sleep with the soft sounds of snoring coming from him that almost made Erika chuckle, he didn't seem like a threat. He didn't seem to know too much either. The only other man who was left was the doctor, or as Erika knew him, the-man-who-the-lady-with-the-ale-is-conversing-with. From snippets of their conversation she overheard, he was an alright guy. As far as she would know without speaking to him, anyway. Just a bit intangibly strange.

"Erika. Soon to be in college. It's a pleasure, James." the woman responded with a little more eager smile of her own, earlier curiosity in her dusky grey eyes being replaced with a slight warmth. The man seemed quite honest really, and though modest, confident enough to be forward, and it was something she could respect. "You're an English university student, I presume? The accent is pretty thick."[/b]

"Thick to you perhaps," James retorted, "to me, it's just like any other chap."

James smirked and paused to gaze out the window, admiring the Swedish country side that rolled by. Steel grey skies prophesying the creeping frost sweeped over verdant green fields. It was a beautiful sight. Reminded him of Ireland. His smile faded, however, and he turned back to her. "And I attend London University, actually," James added a bit ruefully. "To be frank, University is a dreadful bore. My parents wanted me to attend medical school."He paused before asking curiosity, "What about you? Where are you from?"

[b]"Me? I wouldn't want to bore you with the details. It's a small, small world, though." a smirk took her lips and her free hand made a dismissive brushing-off motion as she took another sip of her drink, albeit a bit of a long drag this time, with those eyes focused on the floor at the man's shoes for the duration before she looked back up at him. "Some relatives helped me get set up in Birmingham for the moment, close to where they live. In a little apartment, which is where I received said suitcase. I've been there for just a little while now but I'm looking to find somewhere closer to London maybe. I'll be attending the Royal Veterinary College there in fall. Which, if I'm not mistaken, and hours of constantly checking its location on Google Maps have aided me in this deduction I assure you, is not very far from London University, no? Such a small, small world."

She finally did extend her hand to take his and gave it a shake, her grip on his hand delicate though the shake lasted for a good handful of seconds. "If you're still wondering where I'm from, really, I suppose my nationality would trace back to India, if the tan and the dark hair hadn't given away the eastern roots. I suppose we can't see much here in the dark at all though, and since I was the first in the car, nobody really would have seen me otherwise. Never lived there though. Wasn't even born there. Folks never wanted to go back, and I didn't mind. Prior to Birmingham, I lived in the little pearl of the middle-east. Dubai, if you've heard of it. An absolute gem indeed, my home."And here the smile faded as pangs of familiar longing struck, and made her bite her lip a little, thankful it wasn't too easily seen in the dark. Though it never stopped her from speaking for too long."And there, my good man, is everything you have to know about me for the moment. Though your parents seem very much like most of the people from where I'm from, haha. It's frankly either a medical school or an engineering school parents from back home look at for their children. Mine were more lenient. I'm sorry to hear university's a bore though, gah. It makes me a little worried, and jittery about my own situation-to-be. If not medical school, what would you rather be doing? You must have something in mind, no? Everyone has dreams and wants, it's only human."
[/b]
At the mention of his home city, James came up as if sprung from a box. "You'll be moving to London? You wouldn't happen to be looking for a flat near Westminster, would you? That's where I live!" 

The conversation sobered however when Erika brought up her past. James listened carefully while Erika spoke, holding her stormy grey eyes within his own gaze. "Dubai seems so far away," he said quietly, "but I'm sure you will see it again someday. In the meantime, I'm sure London or where ever you decide to make your home a will serve you well."

James leaned back and gazed out the window for a minute. "And If I may be truthful with you, Erika, and..." he chuckled quietly to himself before continuing, "promise that you won't poke fun."

James looked around to make sure everyone else was otherwise occupied before leaning in with a bashful smile. "I've always wanted to be a writer. Like one who writes books you see? Specifically books concerning espionage and covert affairs. Spy novels. Like Ian Fleming! As a child I would always ride my bike across the Vauxhall bridge to see the MI6 building. Couldn't get too close however for obvious reasons. The best I can do is speculate about the covert affairs that take place through my writings. But unfortunately, I'm afraid that it will never become reality."
[b]
"Really, Westminster?" the eyes now lit up with the earlier curiosity, and the thought that someone had come from so close was comforting. Maybe they even missed each other at the airport? Which airport had he flown in from? Strange, but...not in a bad way. "That's very close. Perhaps you and I might meet, or run into each other, after this little Swedish joy-ride of a trip after all. I wouldn't not welcome it. It would be interesting, to say the least."

She sat back in her chair and took the last few sips from her can as he spoke of his passions, and it brought a glittering to her own. Adventures, spies, mystery, all seemed like a whirlwind of an adventure that this man's books would be filled with. She couldn't help but smile, until the very last sentence, which made her lips form a little frown.
"James. I'd like to think of myself as an avid reader, but moreso a terrible critic. I would love to read some of your work sometime. I think it's a reality that's just waiting to happen."
[/b]
When Erika mentioned meeting up after the vacation, James smiled and said quietly, "I might just take you up on that offer, you know?"

James also remembered that he had handed his laptop bag to the chauffeur, before he had entered the limo. "It's funny you should mention that as well, Erika. I brought my work on my laptop. I was planning on working on it some in my downtime but," he laughed slightly, "something tells me that I won't get much work done. I would not be opposed to you reading it however, yeah?"

Erika smiled, as if in agreement, but before she could make any formal acceptance. they arrived at their destination. The manor rising up through the trees like a majestic palace from a fairy tale. It was certainly a sight to behold. James turned to Erika to make a comment, but the chauffeur abruptly opened the passenger door and made a polite motion for the lot of them to exit the vehicle. 

James waited for Erika to leave first before stepping out himself, his new leather soles making popping sounds as it embraced the gravel. 

"Welcome, misters and misses, to the Woll Manor," the chauffeur said, almost gravely. 

It was like James had expected. Having seemed plucked straight off the hands of some baroness from Victorian age England. It was a familiar sight for him, and though interest thoroughly piqued, he showed no signs of awe or surprise. 

"If you would all follow me, please. Your carry-ons will be taken to your rooms after you." 

James thought that the chauffeur's voice had decidedly become slightly more menacing. He swallowed, and glanced towards Erika for comfort before steeling himself and standing up a bit straighter. [i]Well then,[/i] James thought, [i]into the breach...[/i]