Installment 20

When I woke up, dawn was breaking and we seemed to be deep into the countryside. Elena was whistling a tune from some old musical and seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Morning, sleepy. Welcome to Scotland," her mild Welsh lilt had softened and her pronounciation sounded almost a little Scots. I wondered if she'd sounded English when we were going through England. I hadn't noticed.
"How long have I been asleep?" my voice was a little croaky.
"A few hours. Feel better?"
"Um... not sure yet."

I reached down into my bag and pulled out a bottle of coke. As I opened it, it fizzed up, and I closed the top before it sprayed all over me. The bubbled died down, and I opened the bottle and took a swig. It was warm and sticky and generally not very appetising, but I drank it all down in two or three gulps anyway, hoping the sugar and the caffeine would clear the fog from my brain.

The scenery zooming by us was breathtaking. I've always thought that there's something that much more beautiful about the countryside at dawn, almost as if God decided that those who could be bothered to get up so early in the morning deserved the best views.

"So, where are we?" I asked, still finding it a little difficult to get my words out properly without slurring.
"South-east Scotland. I'm keeping to the back roads, so the journey may take that bit longer."
"Why the back roads?"
"Harder to find us."
"But easier to do something about if if they do, surely? Wouldn't we be safer on the motorway?"
Elena shook her head, "It's shockingly easy to fake a fatal traffic accident."
"And you'd know?"
"Don't go there, Fi."
"What?"
"I've done some stuff in my time that you may not approve of, but it's all for the greater good."
"You've driven people off the road?"
"Fi! Seriously, don't go there. I'm your protector. If I can help it at all, no harm will come to you. My previous assignments have not always been quite so... straightforward."
"Assignments? Who gives you assignments?"
"Fi - stop. It's nothing to do with you. Stop asking me questions. I can't answer them."