Heathrow Airport was massive, quite possibly the largest airport Jack had ever seen. People bustled around her like ants in an attempt to get to their locations on time, and she watched them, drawn into the chaos out of sheer boredom and curiosity. The whole group hadn’t gotten to all fly together, and she sat there with Croc as they waited for everyone else to arrive and leave.

“So why London, do you think?” If anyone would speak their mind in this group, it would be Crocodile. The big guy had always been pretty open and friendly with her, and she was dying to know his thoughts on this whole situation. Now that they were away from the others, he might speak a bit more freely. “I mean, what’s so important about London?” Well, besides it being London, she supposed.

Her hopes were dashed when Croc shrugged, his brow furrowed in what appeared to be deep thought. “There’s the London Museum, for sure. Then there’s the National Gallery, the Wallace collection…” He rattled off a list of locations, before he paused and looked down at his hands awkwardly. “One of my little sisters is an art major. I told her I was heading to London and she gave me a checklist of things to see.” This earned a chuckle from her friend, and he continued. “I don’t know how much sightseeing we’re actually going to get done, but it is a helpful list, all things considered.”

Jack nodded along in agreement, and her attention wandered back to the people around them for a bit. What were they here for? Obviously, to steal something. Their enemy wouldn’t have sent them to another country for fun when they could just get them arrested back in the US. London didn’t seem like a particularly odd choice, at first glance, for a heist. But it really was, the more that she thought about it. The Menagerie had only ever stolen things back home, as far as she was aware. Hell, they never even really left the east coast for that matter. That’s what made this bizarre to her. The only one of them that knew anything about London would probably be…

“Cobra lives in this area, right?” She broke the silence again and tore her eyes away from the crowd to look back at Croc. “Could that have anything to do with it?”

Croc shook his head. “Cobra’s from London, but he doesn’t live here anymore.” He explained, before he elaborated further. “For a long time, he lived in the Boston area. He mentioned moving somewhere else maybe a year or two ago?” The big man considered it for a moment, before he shrugged it off. “Maybe he did move back.”

Just then, Jack saw a familiar flash of blonde in the crowd approaching them, and she leapt to her feet. “Mock’s here! That must mean their plane’s arrived, right? The three of them were on the same flight.” As she spoke to Croc, Jack waved her arm in an attempt to catch the doctor’s eye. It worked, and Mock changed her course to meet them.

“The other two are on their way, they told me to go ahead and find you guys while they got their bags.” She explained automatically. “We can meet them at the baggage area, now that I’ve got you two, and we can get the hell out of here.” Mock fidgeted with a pair of earbuds she had in her ears. “I hate airports.” The tall woman threw a disdainful glance over her shoulder, before she attempted a slightly awkward smile towards the two of them. “Let’s get going, then? I can lead you back there.” She gestured for them to follow her, and once she was sure that they were, she started to walk again.

“Hey, Mock?” Jack made sure to raise her voice slightly, so Mock could hear her over her music.

“You don’t have to shout, I can hear you just fine. They just block out,” The blonde made a motion to indicate the rest of their surroundings. “All of this.” That made sense to Jack, and she tried again. “But why do you think we’re here?”

“I think this is an attempt to be the biggest pain in the ass that they can possibly be.” Mock asserted, and shook her head. “Think about it. There are thousands of places they could have sent us in the United States, and yet here we are, having to do things like international travel, get our passports checked, exist in jet lagged hell.” The last word was accompanied by a large yawn, and her friend continued. “It feels like they’re trying to make us as scattered and disorganized as possible, so we can’t settle down and make an effective plan to retaliate.” This guess made sense to Jack, and she nodded.

“It just seemed weird, but I guess you have a point.” She agreed, before she caught sight of their missing teammates, lingering at baggage. They had their bags, but made no attempt to head out to find the rest of them. Jack supposed that they were waiting on Mock to return with her and Croc, so that they didn’t spend the afternoon on a wild goose chase, but they didn’t seem to notice their approach either. The pair discussed something quietly, and Jack saw Mongoose briefly reach out to touch his hand. Cobra brushed it away quickly, and said something else that she didn’t catch as they walked up.

“So, is everyone ready to go?” Cobra brought up, and the energy clashed harshly with the disgruntled mumbles he received in return. He seemed to take this in stride and the group began to travel once more in search of the exit.

-- x --

The ride to the hotel could have hosted a funeral party, each member of the party too anxious to discuss anything going on with the Uber driver nearby. Any questions from the curious driver were answered by Croc, who spun a quick tale of a vacation amongst friends. A sightseeing trip hosted by their British friend, the veracity of which was helped by a quick agreement from a slightly queasy looking Cobra.

“Why didn’t we just rent a car?” Jack groaned quietly once they reached the hotel. “Cobra can play driver for a bit, and we don’t have to deal with that.” She felt like it was a good plan, until her friend shook his head in reply. “Well, we can’t drive over here.” The traffic was going the wrong way, and even seeing it caused her stress levels to hike up at the thought of driving in it. “It’d be easier for you to drive than for one of us to get used to it. And we can’t Uber our way away from the scene of a crime.” This earned a small shh from Mongoose, who shook her head rapidly at her statement. “Well we couldn’t.” Jack muttered, frowning.

“No no, I meant that I’d have to learn too. I’ve…never driven over here.” Cobra admitted with a light shrug. “There’s never been a reason to. I’d have to learn just as much as the rest of you.” Jack felt a little start of surprise, and wondered exactly how long he’d lived in the US for him to have never driven here. “It wouldn’t really change things.” He didn’t elaborate further, and instead walked up to the front desk to check in.

“Right, once you get your room keys, just…go rest. If any of you hear from our friend, let the others know immediately.” Mongoose instructed as she took a card from Cobra. She gave a quick glance at the room number and nodded. “The only thing we can do right now is wait, and it’d be stupid to wait up and be exhausted whenever we get instruction.” Jack figured if anyone needed a nap right now, it was the hacker. She’d been an absolute bear to deal with since the airport, and most of her instructions came through her teeth. Without much more fanfare or instruction, Mongoose walked off, a slight limp in her step.

“Well, roomie! We’d better get up to our room, too. We’ll talk to you girls later!” Cobra wrapped his arm around Croc’s broad shoulders and steered him towards the elevator as well.

-- x --

The text from Mongoose came around four in the morning, and Jack was ready for it. She hadn’t been able to settle down at all that night, and had scrolled through her phone for the majority of the time. The last text had been sent to her, so in case the blackmailer struck her phone again, she watched it like a hawk. Every little sound could have been an intruder, or a sign, or anything, and the young woman had been absolutely wired all night.

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When her phone buzzed from receiving the hacker’s text, the sudden motion made her throw it to the floor. After she got out of bed and sheepishly picked it up, a quick muttered apology was given.

[4:09 -- UNKNOWN NUMBER] I meant to tell you this earlier, but you guys need to come check out the view from my room! Come to 418, on the 4th floor. -- Goose

The blatant good cheer and childish fascination with the view of all things threw Jack off for a moment, and she turned to wake Mockingbird up. Unlike her, the doctor had slept like the dead, and Jack was slightly envious. “Ay, ay Mock. Wake up. It’s go time.”

After Mock had been stirred awake, the pair stumbled groggily to the fourth floor of the building. Mongoose met them at the door, and after she’d ushered them inside, Jack heard the lock click behind them. With a small feeling of hilarity, Jack noted that Mongoose had to stand on the tips of her toes to look through the peephole at the door. It wasn’t a bad thing, Jack had to do similar things all the time, but it warmed her slightly towards her aggressive boss.

Cobra was already in the room, the lean man still dressed in the clothes that he’d arrived in. He lounged in the weird corner armchair, the one that held a place in every hotel ever, for reasons Jack never understood. A loud knock at the door brought in Croc, who looked like he’d also gotten some rest in their downtime. He took one look at Cobra, and raised an eyebrow.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, huh?” The bigger man plopped against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest. “I haven’t seen you since we got here, man.”

“Along with other places, here and there. Y’know how it is,” Cobra replied breezily, with a wave of his hand, and the look on Croc’s face implied that he did not know how it was. Jack noticed, then, how tired the Brit looked, and while she was concerned, it was comforting to know she hadn’t been the only one who struggled to get any sleep tonight.

She did have to wonder where he’d been, however.

“So, Mongoose!” Instead of an explanation, the lanky man only brought more questions, and the young man stretched momentarily in his chair. “You’re full of excitement and cheer tonight, and your window only shows another brick wall.” He leaned forward, his elbows now resting on his knees while he folded his hands together. “What do you actually have to share with the class?”

Mongoose, Jack noticed, also looked like she’d actually gotten some rest, which shocked her slightly. If she’d picked anyone to stress over this whole mess and not be able to relax, it would’ve been the boss herself. But the older woman’s curly, dark red hair looked messy, and she looked far less like she was about to take a swing at one of them. “I’m sure you’ve all realized I got a text.” She motioned for the others to come closer, then, and pulled out her phone. She, Croc, and Mock all drew near to investigate, the taller two able to read from over Mongoose’s shoulders. Jack found herself at the hacker’s side, where she found it easier to see. Cobra continued to lounge in the armchair.

[3:43 -- UNKNOWN NUMBER] Who’s up for a walk in Greenwich Park? You guys might learn something!

Mongoose gave them a minute to read it before she spoke again, “Have you ever just wanted to…” The woman mimed throwing her phone at the wall, before she let out an irritated sigh. “Why the park? Why not just directly tell us where we’re going? This whole damn thing is obnoxious.” So the calm that Jack thought she saw earlier wasn’t actually a thing, it seemed. She didn’t really agree that the word for the situation they were in was obnoxious, that felt like a really mild word for an actual threat against their lives and freedom. But she could understand her friend’s irritation.

“That’s a really weird way to phrase it too. What is there to learn from a park? I mean…I guess besides bugs or people watching maybe. But that has jack shit to do with art theft, so why?” Jack pointed out. Her mind whirled with a possible answer, not helped by her brain fog or the unfortunate fact that she didn’t know anything about Greenwich park. Instead, she turned to the one person who should have information on his hometown for once. “Cobra, is there anything art related around Greenwich?” She prompted, and prayed that he had some kind of answer that wasn’t that he hadn’t lived here in a while.

To his credit, the man lounged across the armchair appeared to be taking her request seriously. “Greenwich…” He mused, hand on his chin. “Off the top of my head, no. I mean, people go there and use the views as inspiration, but it’s not like it’s known for art shows or anything. It’s a park.” Jack sighed in defeat. There went that idea.

“I guess we’ll just have to get there and see?” Mock seemed to have finally woken up fully. The doctor tapped away on her phone, silent for a moment before she gave the rest of them some context. “I’m calling a cab. We can figure out what else we’re going to do when we get there, be it hiring another cab or stealing a car if they’re actually leading us to the target.”

Actually taking action in their situation appeared to have put some energy and focus back into the group, and Mongoose nodded in response to Mockingbird’s plan. “Right. Everyone, get dressed and meet back down in the lobby.” She must have still been irritated, because Jack heard her mutter. “God, I hate London.”

Cobra, whose eyes had been glued to his phone for the last part of the conversation, put it away and got to his feet. “Great, I’d hate to be arrested in my pajamas, just in case things don’t pan out for us.”

-- x --

Everyone treated that as the end of the discussion, then, and began to filter out of the room to get ready.

Mock left first. She cited the time the car would be around as a warning to the others about not screwing around, and then left without further word or comment. Croc was next to go, his eyes on the ground and his forehead wrinkled. Something was on her friend’s mind, and Jack was determined to find out what. She threw a quick glance back at Cobra, who shook his head. “I’ll be out in a minute, I have a question for you, Mongoose, if you have a minute?” At Mongoose’s nod, Jack turned toward the door to leave.

Once outside in the hall, she caught up to Croc. “Hey big guy, you okay there?” She reached out to touch his arm to get him to slow down, and then stopped herself. It turned out the action wasn’t needed, however, and Croc stopped beside her and slowed his pace to match her own. “You got pretty quiet in there after a bit.”

Croc shook his head to answer her question, clearing his throat before he explained. “Something’s up with Cobra,” He said, his voice hushed and urgent. “He didn’t come back to the room at all after setting his stuff down. Just plopped his bag down on the bed and announced that he was going to check to see if the hotel had any vending machines. He wanted something specific, I don’t remember, but you don’t look for a vending machine for several hours, Jack.”

Jack felt like that elaboration, about the time it took to look for vending machines, wasn’t exactly necessary, but chalked it up to her pal’s stress. “He was probably with Mongoose, Croc, he was in there when Mock and I got there, and it didn’t look like he’d arrived moments before us, either. And we didn’t take that long after the text was sent to get there.” She reasoned, in an attempt to calm him. “You think that he and Mongoose are a thing, though? I could see it -- he gets away with a lot of shit that she probably wouldn’t let him get away with if they weren’t sl-” Her attempt to lighten the mood with some friendly gossip was dashed with Croc’s retort.

“It’s not just the vanishing thing! He’s always on his phone, talking to someone. Won’t say who. He hasn’t looked anyone in the eye since we got here, he’s been avoiding everyone, he’s been saying weird things about getting arrested-” He trailed off, before adding, “Besides, pretty sure Mongoose is married, and it’s not Cobra. She called someone “dear” on the phone earlier, and Cobra was three feet away from her, so it wasn’t him.” The hulk of a man shook his head, looking troubled. “Something isn’t adding up with him. He’s freaking me out.”

“Croc, calm down dude. Cobra never answers questions about anything. That’s business as usual for him. That doesn’t mean he’s living a secret double life as the blackmailer.” Jack scoffed, before she tried to take the sting out of his words with a joke. “I can’t even tell you what that man’s birthday is, much less whatever weird shit runs through his head.”

“July 14th. I’m 27 and a Leo, if you want to know that too.”

Jack yelped, jumping away from the source of Cobra’s voice. Croc visibly cringed and his face flushed a deep red.

Cobra must have asked his question and caught up to them, and the two of them had been so embroiled in this conversation that they hadn’t heard his approach.

“Oh- uh…” Jack struggled to make this situation less horrifically awkward. “Thanks, Cobra. Sorry about all that. We uh…”

Cobra waved off the question merrily, giving his usual mischievous smile. “It’s okay, I didn’t realize that you didn’t know when my birthday was.” The lanky man made his way around the pair of thieves, and Croc drew back slightly to avoid touching him. “I’ll see you guys in the lobby, then?” He walked off without waiting for a response, and Jack watched him go.

Somehow, despite her dismissal of Croc’s concerns, there was something about that exchange that made her skin crawl.

How much had he actually heard?