Here's a little bit from the next chapter of Fleuve
“Catherine! Get away from the …” Louisa yelled. Her head dropped, clattering against the hardwood floor and sending the cymbals ringing again between her ears. The world spun as the assassin’s hand latched on around her throat instead. Louisa stumbled, vision swimming and lights flickering, back up to her feet as she tried to heave in any trace of air that could make it through his punishing grip.
“Might as well just kill me,” Louisa wheezed. She didn’t have a way to get him whatever it was he wanted. And selfishly she didn’t want to watch him if he did get through the door to Catherine and River. He had likely already cut down Shirley and Marcus if he had made it this far. But there was no reaction, not even a flicker, on the face of her assailant. And then her body went through the door. Louisa felt the full force of the solid wood against her shoulder and then it gave way with a swift kick next to her hip.
No pressure tagging @fatrainbowcat @tarttygoodness @cartwrong @nativestarwrites @joecountry
“Does my cooperation mean I get a gun yet?” River called after her as she pulled her piece out of her holster.
“No,” Louisa called back. This was nothing. She didn’t need to be arming their albeit friendly captive for nothing. Catherine did close the door after her, quietening River’s complaints about how he was actually the most well trained with a weapon out of the three of them and had got shot in the name of proving himself a reluctant ally. The door clicked locked behind her and Louisa could breathe a little easier.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 3/9
Fandom: Slow Horses (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: River Cartwright & Louisa Guy, River Cartwright & Jackson Lamb
Characters: River Cartwright, Louisa Guy, Jackson Lamb (Slough House), David Cartwright, Catherine Standish, Roddy Ho, Marcus Longridge, Shirley Dander
Additional Tags: Les Arbres River AU, Ambigious Time Setting, S3 Slow Horses Crew, Assassin River, but he's still an idiot, Misunderstandings, taser, Canon Typical Violence, Blood, Gun Violence, River is a little shit
Series: Part 12 of Candle's Whumptober 2024, Part 9 of Candle Makes Bad Things Happen
Summary:
The Slow Horses are sent on an op, an international op as well, by the Old Bastard himself David Cartwright. The mission: to retrieve a deep cover asset from rural France before he disappears back off the grid again.
The only problems:
1) the asset isn't an asset, he's a rival operative
2) he's got no clue why MI5 and David Cartwright care about him
3) he keeps on trying to fuck off back to Lavande
4) there's so many people trying to kill him
Can the Slow Horses keep their spy alive for long enough for any of them to work out what the hell is going on?
For @ficwip word game wednesday which this week is Leaf (I did leaves)
From Fleuve Ch4
Louisa could see the picture he was painting but she could also tell what he wasn’t saying. Camping trips in the nice woodland, she was sure those weren’t little family bonding get togethers. This was an assassin family and with River being nice it was surprisingly easy to forget that. This man was dangerous, no matter the pretty picture he was trying to paint.
“It was beautiful when I was younger,” River continued, staring at his hands and picking at his nails as Louisa and Catherine stared wide eyed at each other. “Dad’s let it fall away a bit since we’ve all grown up but we’re barely all there at the same time anymore.”
Louisa couldn’t say anything lest it destroy this tentative moment of sharing from River about his assassin family but she couldn’t understand how he could sit there and talk about his childhood home in the terms of the trees and beautiful colours of falling leaves when it was a den of child torture. How could he not see being raised from the moment you could walk to be a child soldier for the highest bidder as a bad thing? This wasn’t rose coloured glasses, it was rose coloured irises. He couldn’t see the bad no matter how much it was thrown in his face. Louisa could, she could clearly see those beautiful leaves sat in a puddle of blood as the dark liquid leached into the soil of the land that River had been raised on.
Can you share some more SH wips please? Thank you in advance 🌹
Ooo thank you mate! So because of this I decided for lols to add to each of my main Slow Horses WIPs I'm working on right now and do a snippet for each of them like a mad person so putting this under the cut :)
Snow Hope Ch2:
“I’ll make you a drink,” she smiled softly to Catherine who nodded her thanks. Catherine didn’t need a drink and they both knew it but Louisa would do more harm than good staying here. As she stepped into the kitchen however, Lamb and Coe were both stood there and whispering between the two of them in front of the kettle.
“What are you doing?” Louisa hissed when they both looked up at her. Coe had his usually impassive stare on but Lamb looked concerned, guilty even. The last time she had seen that look was when Min had been killed; Lamb had looked guilty and then vowed that he would avenge his job. Something was making him uncomfortable and causing the tightening of his jaw and the addition of frown lines to his forehead.
Coe and Lamb looked at each other again before Coe replied, “we need to do emergency surgery on River.”
Mutually Assured Destruction Ch1:
“Surely though Lou, this job is not looking like it is heading towards anything more safe or better hours or better pay. You are still just a field operative and you aren’t getting any younger dear.”
“Mum,” Louisa groaned. That was the secondary problem, Louisa hadn’t told her family about Slough House. Her family were already so scornful of her career choices. If they learnt that she had been demoted to the lowest of the low and still wasn’t quitting, it would be unbearable.
“Just saying dear. You know you don’t have to listen to little old me,” she sighed. “You never do anyway,” she added at a whisper, browsing the cheeses.
“Mum I like my job. I understand you are worried but I’m fine,” Louisa argued.
“It’s a mum’s right to worry,” she argued but Louisa had turned away to try and compose herself. Only to come eye to eye with someone she never thought she would run into at a farmers market. Emma Flyte, chief dog, was stood outside the sprout van with two older women and making awkward eye contact with Louisa.
And A Happy New Year Ch1:
“There was little this Christmas grotto that always creeped me out. That had real reindeer,” he explained.
“Creeped you out?” Louisa questioned.
River hadn’t thought about the place in years. His gran would always take him to it in the lead up to Christmas to see the reindeer and to give his list to Santa and get a present. Every time he just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
“I dunno,” he muttered, brow furrowing. “It was just sus. The place was covered top to tail in gaudy Christmas lights and the people who ran it only seemed to be around for that grotto and there were lots of deliveries, too many for the number of kids. And it didn’t make any money and yet they seemed to throw money at it.”
Dead Weight Ch2:
“My name is Louisa Guy, I work for MI5 and they just tried to kill me and my partner tonight because of this,” Louisa blurted out, there was no time for the mincing of words, and held out the file.
“What?” he whispered breathily.
“My partner, he’s, he’s in the hospital after being shot at and hit with a grenade thrown by men paid for by the service. Please, I need someone to get this out there before they deal with us,” Louisa was not above begging. She was exhausted and bruised and covered in blood, that somehow none of it was her own. She wouldn’t blame Domanic if he slammed the door in her face and called the cops.
“MI5, you’re a whistleblower,” he blinked rubbing at his eyes as he looked her up and down.
Louisa frowned, her mouth opening slightly and hanging there. She was a whistleblower; Christ she was becoming a whistleblower. It hadn’t actually hit her until that moment, the severity of what she was doing. This was going to take down the Park as she knew it and it was Louisa who was the one throwing the grenade this time. There was a grim sort of satisfaction in that. “Yes. Yes I am,” Louisa nodded.
“Ok, come in. Tell me everything,” Domanic pulls open the door.
Fleuve Ch5:
“Catherine,” Louisa yelled over the din. “Get a message to Lamb. We need them back here, now!”
Catherine nodded, her fingers fumbling over the screen as Louisa keeps firing. River was using the edge of the table and had managed to saw through the ties around his wrists, shaking his arms loose.
“Guy, weapon,” he held out his hand.
“No,” Louisa snapped. She wasn’t going to let him shoot her in the back.
“Come on. You know you can trust me. I don’t want to die in a MI5 black site,” he yelled.
Louisa tensed, firing again. “I am not going to be responsible for you killing them,” she nodded her head towards the door. The dogs had stopped trying to come in but were now just firing through the broken window and door.
“I hope you are willing to watch us all die then,” he spat.
“Get Catherine into the bathroom. Barricade you both in there. The team is on the way back,” Louisa argued. She couldn’t give him a weapon. She couldn’t be responsible for that.
“Fine,” River growled.
mangroves Ch5:
“Right. What did Cartwright senior tell you?” Lamb dives straight into it.
“Not anything of importance. His mum dropped off River on his doorstep when River was 14 so that River could go to an English school and he could be more settled. River was a weird kids …”
“And that surprises no one,” Shirley scoffed.
“… but there was no extra information about his upbringing before that and no information about how his upbringing would be linked to Westacres,” Louisa continued.
“That matches with what we know,” Lamb nodded. “Junior appeared when he was 14, no one said anything about it. Senior took a few weeks off to settle him in. Weird kid.”
“So what now? We can’t just pretend it isn’t happening. When River does come back he’ll be walking into a shitstorm,” Catherine commented.
“You all need to use your limited spy capabilities to clear his name if he ever comes back from doing god knows what,” Lamb shrugged.
Something Just Out Of Reach Ch3:
Inside Slough House was no prettier than the outside. Taverner had given him floor plans so he wouldn’t be stumbling around like an idiot. But the floorplans hadn’t given off the aura of dereliction that walking in the front door did. There were boxes everywhere and miscellaneous holes in the wall and floor that Catherine was effortlessly gliding around. River was moving less effortlessly but he could blame that on just being in the hospital.
“I’ll make you a cuppa and I’ll tell Lamb you are back,” Catherine guided him into his office before heading off up the stairs. “So you’re alive,” Louisa commented as River walked in through the door. Louisa Guy, best operative at Slough House according to Taverner. She had done a couple of Park operations since being sent here for fucking up a surveillance op. Louisa was loyal, and cared about these idiots despite her partner being killed in a Slough House operation. River had no way of knowing how Louisa would swing if he was to go against Lamb.
Mother Knows Best Ch3:
River hobbles out of the bathroom. His muscles were still trembling and aching something fierce but he could think a little clearer. He could tell that he wasn’t getting out of here until he was able to piece together where here was and what sort of protections there were to stop him getting out. As he stepped through the bathroom doorway, his mum was sat on the bed with a smile plastered on her face.
“Morning sweetie, everything in the bathroom alright?” she chirped and patted next to her on the bed. River desperately wanted to sit down and get the weight off his tense muscles but he was not going to just capitulate to Isobel’s whims when she had kidnapped him. So instead he leant against the door way of the bathroom and crossed his arms over his chest with a frown.
“Oh Riv baby, this sulk is unbecoming of you,” she rolled her eyes. “Sulking? Really you think I’m sulking?” River snapped.
Captive Audience Ch8:
“Go,” Emma barked.
“You could be a little nicer,” Roddy muttered.
“I could be convinced not to rip off your penis when we next see each other,” Emma hissed.
“Kinky,” Roddy cooed, “but we are at work Agent Flyte.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Emma turned to Louisa and whispered.
“Go wild once all this is done,” Louisa sighed, keeping her eyes on the road.
“Anyway, we’ve got Harkness on CCTV. He stopped at York Hospital and they reported a break in while he was in the area. Someone broke a window, hacked the lock on the store box and walked out with some antibiotics and some seriously heavy duty narcotics,” Roddy explained. “We didn’t see where he went from there but we will keep looking,” Roddy announced and hung up without any more fanfare.
“I’ll get the first watch,” Shirley offered, settling in on the settee and holding her hand out for Marcus’ gun.
“I can stay up,” Louisa offered but was met with a shake of the head from Shirley.
“I’ll get you up in a few hours. Don’t trust this one as far as I could throw him,” Shirley glared over in Lance’s direction.
“As if you could even pick me up let alone throw,” Lance scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Shirley frowned at him, looking at Louisa for a second and then back to Lance. “That’s the whole point dipshit,” she grumbled, jutting her jaw out at him. Catherine held back a chuckle.
Lance’s jaw tightened, teeth grinding in frustration. “Fine can I at least have a drink and piss before you leave me with this one?” he hissed.
“Come on,” Louisa barked, uncuffing him and pulling him to his feet. “What?” she asked, looking at Lamb’s raised eyebrows. “He’ll be insufferable if we don’t.”
“Didn’t say anything,” Lamb shrugged, kicking off his shoes and slumping back onto the bed.
hello! just was wondering if fleuve is still being updated? no stress at all if not but i‘m obsessed rn so thought id ask x
Hello! Thanks for reaching out anon! It absolutely is.
My whumptober has been pushed into November because COVID took be out of action for three weeks but I am just using it now as a prompt list to get shit finished.
Because of that Ch3 - 7 are in the whumptober plan and so should be hitting your screens asap. Chapter 3 is about half done I would say.
Here's a little snippet from that chapter:
When Louisa is woken up, sunlight is streaming in through the now open curtains. “What?” she slurs, blinking until her vision clears. Shirley was supposed to wake her up in the middle of the night for her shift, why was it morning? Catherine flickered into view, her hands softly resting on Louisa’ shoulders.
“He’s gone.”
That woke Louisa up fully, her eye widening as she shot upright. Lance was nowhere to be seen. Roddy was sat at the desk with his computer open. Lamb was in the doorway talking to someone in rapid fire French. Marcus was handing Shirley a glass of water as she massaged her temples. “What happened?” Louisa groaned, accepting the bottle of water from Catherine.
“Somehow he managed to drug Shirley,” Catherine explained.
“Fuck,” Louisa cursed.
Day 13 is an alt prompt: "I hate this job" and is for Fleuve Ch5. Fleuve Ch5 is my favourite because River gets shot 😂 MI5 come to try and retrieve whatever it is the Slow Horses have found in France and it does not go well for River
Here's a little snippet:
Louisa wasn’t watching when it happened. In her defence they were in a kill box of her own employer’s creation. The rattle of gunfire was deafening and her eyes stung with the smoke and the lingering after effects of the stun grenade compiling in black spots dancing across her vision. A breathless screech of “River!” from Catherine was the only warning that Louisa got of the danger. Her whole body spun around, back pressed flush with the table as she watched the bullet rip through River’s jacket. He made a guttural pained grunt as his whole body flinched forward. “No,” Catherine gasped as River pitched forwards, sending them both clattering to the floor in the bathroom doorway. His chest heaved, the rise and fall was comforting no matter the brutish heave it was taking for each inhale. Louisa was never going to be able to forget the gurgling wheeze as his arm trembled trying to get him back upright. Catherine screamed as he dropped back down again over her legs.
