Kingsman: Statesman Meets Challenger

Chapter 10

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Back in her suite at the Statesman building in New York, Roxy swiftly folded and stowed the few things she brought with her on this trip in a Kingsman suitcase, her thoughts busy. Working with Statesman was proving an education on a number of levels- as a relatively new Kingsman agent, Roxy was aware there was a great deal of information she wasn't privy to, but until she encountered Statesman she hadn't really appreciated how compartmentalized her agency really was. And how little she really knew about... everything! How on earth had it not occurred to her before now to wonder where Kingsman got all that wonderful technology? Such incredible equipment?

One of Eggsy's jokes came uncomfortably to mind- he teased her about being such a nob she didn't even know where her toilet paper came from, and probably never bought a roll in her life. They both laughed about it at the time when she admitted it was true, but this turn of events had Roxy wondering uncomfortably if maybe she wasn't a lot more limited by her upbringing than she had any idea. She couldn't afford that kind of tunnel vision as an agent!

She would have felt worse, but she'd been watching the same thing happen to Harry in his new role as head of Kingsman. After the purge, the ranks of Kingsman were down to five upper-level members- Harry as agency head, herself, Eggsy and Tequila as field agents, and Merlin, who was currently operating as a de-facto agent and their entire field support staff. With so few to undertake the nearly complete rebuild of Kingsman and no time right now to recruit and train new agents, they were all of necessity covering a lot more responsibilities than ever before in Kingsman's history.

Hell, she was essentially functioning as second in command of Kingsman now; the management and administration skills she learned running an estate had Harry piling everything he could possibly offload onto her shoulders as they fought to get Kingsman back on an even keel. Eggsy and Tequila were helping all they could, but neither of them had her flair for organization or could handle the intricacies of orchestrating all these random resources back into a cohesive unit half as well as she could.

And right after discovering a hitherto forgotten brother agency to Kingsman, suddenly here was Challenger! A third private intelligence agency -as a bloody sideline!- and more importantly a scientific research foundation unparalleled in the world. If one tenth of the old Fleet Street stories about the Challengers were true -hell, she held dinosaur hide boots in her hands yesterday!- they were every bit a match for Kingsman or Statesman and probably had a whole raft of surprises she couldn't even begin to guess at!

Roxy closed her suitcase and decided what she needed most right now was recon- hers. She and Ginger were headed straight for the third Challenger heir, and she could learn more with direct contact than any other way... and maybe run interference -just a little- for Merlin. She knew Merlin's tells, even if he protested he didn't have any, and she hadn't missed the way the corners of his lips tightened slightly when Rafe was teasing Ginger. Well, however great Rafael was, in her opinion Ginger couldn't do better than Merlin, and she could always make sure her new friend didn't let the quiet charm of a Kingsman be eclipsed by the glamour of a Challenger.

Roxy grinned as she shrugged into her coat, shouldered her travel bag and grabbed her suitcase. So Statesman's fancy jet was all that, hummn? Well, it sounded like a great time for another extended girl talk, as far as she was concerned! And if she greeted Rafael with a kiss that dropped him to his knees first, maybe she could keep him distracted for a bit while Merlin got off his damned ass and did something about his feelings for Ginger.

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In his office in the plush apartment converted from the chapter house of the old cathedral, Jean-Pierre leaned back and considered the readouts on the bank of monitors in front of him.