MILA STOOD FROM her seat as the train finally pulled into the station. Late, she thought to herself. Twenty damn minutes late. If she had been in a rush to get somewhere, Mila knew that she'd have been more annoyed at the delay. However, she really couldn't complain; it wasn't as if she was desperate to get home. On the contrary, she rather enjoyed the travelling part. 

She waited patiently for all the passengers to leave the carriage - which, by the look of it, was hardly any - before she made her way towards the door. She pulled her bag closer on her shoulder, consciously aware of the small group of men standing just behind her. Their hoods were pulled up, hiding their faces. She'd never liked the idea of people hiding their faces; it only made them look suspicious.

She hauled up her suitcase as she prepared to step onto the train, patting her pocket to double check that her ticket was still there. After pulling her belongings up onto the train, she turned left into the nearest compartment in the carriage. It was empty, and she let out a relieved sigh. Mila wasn't looking forward to the long journey back to London, and she was thankful that there was no one in her compartment  to chatter relentlessly during the travel. Visiting her parents had drained all of her energy and patience.

Her parents had lived in Glasgow for years, and only when Mila had turned nineteen, had she decided to move to London with Eddie and further her education in hopes of becoming a full time nurse. With top marks in all her science classes, Mila had set her sights on the career of medicine, like her father. Now, she was a University student nearing the end of her long and difficult education.

Shuffling into the compartment was trickier than Mila would have imagined. She tugged her suitcase in behind her with a huff and slid the door shut before collapsing down onto the cushioned blue bench against the wall. She released a sigh of relief and toed her heels off.

"Ow," she complained when noticing the redness on her skin. She stretched her toes, wincing at the pain that momentarily spread through her feet. Heels had never been her favourite type of footwear, but she loved feeling taller than she actually was at five foot two.

Mila reached across to the window and pulled the curtains shut, blocking out the sunshine as best she could before pulling out her mobile. Seven new messages flashed in her inbox and she scrolled through them with a sigh, her eyes drooping ever so slightly.

From: Joanna
What time do u think ur gonna b home 2nite?
U know I can't cook for shit xx

Mila laughed as she read her friend's message, understanding the text all too well. She tapped her way across the screen of her phone, bringing up the Skype app. She clicked on Joanna's name and waiting for her friend to answer.

"Hello!" Joanna said as soon as the picture came into focus. Mila smiled when seeing her best friend's messy hair and sleepy eyes. It was no secret that Joanna was a sleep lover.

"Did you just wake up?" Mila asked, laughing quietly.

Joanna yawned. "No, I just had a late night." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Eddie and I had sex."

"Ah," said Mila, giving her friend a sneaky grin. "How was it?"

"Well, we were both a little pissed, so I don't remember most of it... He makes the funniest face when he comes!"

"Lovely," muttered Mila, trying not to imagine how Eddie - her good friend from high school who she had introduced to Joanna - looked while caught in an intimate state of pleasure. Eddie was incredibly smart for twenty-three years old and one of the kindest people Mila had ever had the pleasure to meet.

It had been at a school trip they had met, when two of the Glasgow schools were pulled together for a day out to the Edinburgh Zoo. He had transferred to her school the week after because of his mother's job, and Mila couldn't have been happier. They'd been close friends ever since, sharing their interests in science and health classes. Still, after leaving high school they had kept in touch and moved to London together to share a flat in the city.

"It really was," chuckled Joanna as she ran her hands through her curly blond hair.

"I'm honestly starting to regret sharing a flat with the both of you. You're too loud," Mila pointed out and Joanna just rolled her eyes.

"Mila, we've been sharing a flat for the last two years. If you wanted to move out bad enough, you would have done it by now," stated Joanna who took a sip from her coffee cup. There was a noise from somewhere in the shared flat and Mila smiled as Eddie sauntered into the kitchen, his glasses propped upon his head and trousers hanging low on his hips.

"Well, hello gorgeous," Eddie said, wrapping his arms around Joanna and kissing her cheek. She giggled like a little girl and Mila cleared her throat before the two love birds could become anymore involved with one another.

"Eddie, I've warned you about walking around with hardly anything on," Mila said and he jumped suddenly, looking around for the source of the voice. His eyes landed on Joanna's phone and he immediately grinned, waved and laughed quietly.

"Don't worry," Eddie said, hands held in a surrendering gesture. "We cleaned up everything this time."

Mila cringed. "Thank God."

"Jesus, Mimi, you look knackered," Eddie commented, squinting at the small screen.

"I've been in Scotland visiting my annoying parents for a damn week, Ed," she said. "You know how much they like to talk and give life advice that I've heard almost one hundred times before. It does drain the energy out of a being like myself."

"I know how you feel," Ed muttered, stealing the cup from Joanna and taking a sip. Mila could recall a time when Ed had been lectured abut good grades when he had been over for dinner one night in their youth. Mila knew her parents were only trying to help, but their talks were sometimes too overpowering.

"Do you want us to let you sleep?" Joanna asked Mila who gave a weary nod.

"I think that'd be for the best," Mila sighed, looking at the time in the corner of the screen. "I think I'll be back around seven or eight tonight?"

"Aw, alright," Joanna said. "I was hoping you'd be back around five-ish so you could cook a meal for us. You know we're terrible at cooking."

"Eddie, you can cook, can't you?" asked Mila.

He shrugged. "Only curry. I do make a mean cheese beano though," he added and Joanna just laughed before picking up her phone.

"We've been living off of packaged meals for the last week," Joanna groaned. "We've missed your cooking."

"Well, I promise to make you both a stir-fry or something tomorrow night, OK?"

"Yes!" Eddie cheered before kissing Joanna's cheek once again. "Looking forward to it."

"Do you want us to order a pizza or something for you for when you get in tonight?" Joanna asked Mila, walking from the kitchen into the living room. Mila let her eyes wander around the screen, the familiar scene of her living room bringing a smile to her face.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Margarita remember!" Mila said. Joanna nodded before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Great, so we'll be seeing you later, Mimi," she said, waving to Mila through the phone. Mila said goodbye and closed the video chat. She slowly stood from her seat and stretched before lifting her suitcase up and pushing it into the luggage compartment above the seats.

Once making sure she had everything she needed for the return back to London, she settled down on the seat again and rested her head back against the cushioned surface, glad to finally be leaving Glasgow and returning to England. She had classes on Monday, and she still had to finish a book in time for that, as well as prepare a meal for Jo and Ed. Mila had forgotten just how much she had missed home.

She let out another sigh and closed her eyes.

When Mila had been six, she'd been woken in the middle of the night by a horrible nightmare. She'd screamed to her mum and dad who had rushed through to comfort her straight away. Never had she been woken so suddenly and horrifically since that night. Until now.

A loud noise woke her from her sleep, and she sat up from the bench so quickly that her head spun. She looked around, confused for a second as to where she was. She glanced down at her mobile to see that she had only been asleep for about an hour or so. She listened carefully for the strange noise to sound again but there was only silence.

Slowly she stood, inching closer to the door. She didn't bother pulling up the blinds, instead she slid open the compartment door and stuck her head out, looking from left to right. There was no one in sight, and no sounds could be heard.

Unfortunately, she was mistaken; not a second later, a long bang sounded through the air and something whistled past her head. She screamed and jumped back, into her compartment. She fell to the floor in her hurry and shuffled away from the door as footsteps thundered past in the opposite direction. Covering her ears, Mila could feel her heart racing in her chest, the noise sounding way too much like a gun shot.

That's when the shouting started - male voices just outside her door. Mila remained silent, biting her lip to stop herself from whimpering. Keep quiet, she told herself. Don't let them know that you are in here.

She let out a breath and nervously started to play with a strand of hair that had escaped from her bun. There was no mistaking the bang as the sound of a gun being fired, and Mila tried her best not to think negatively.

You're going to die, chanted a voice in the back of her head and she let out a quiet sob. The sob turned into a scream when more gunshots were heard. A bullet flew through the thin wood of the door and out the window just above Mila's head. Tears fell from her eyes as she remained frozen on the ground, crouching.

Eddie had dragged Mila and Joanna out to the cinema to see crime movies in the past, and the casualties were always high. From her movie knowledge, Mila remained low and silent, her fingers crossed and eyes squeezed shut.

Just when she was beginning to think that everything was going to be OK, the door of her compartment slid open. She remained where she was, waiting for someone to put a bullet in her head. She had nowhere to escape, so what would be the point in fighting back?

"Lady?" said a voice - a man's voice. Mila glanced up and frowned as she saw a woman standing before her. Perhaps the man had left in a rush and someone else had found her? The woman - tall, with long, curly, black hair and a very angular face with glasses - stepped into the small space and slid the door shut behind her.

Mila sat looking at her in bewilderment.

"Keep quiet, no matter what you do," said the woman. Mila took a moment to realize that it was the same voice that had said 'lady' earlier. It was a man that stood before her, not a woman. Mila clambered to her feet and pressed herself against the window, shaking in fear. A drag queen? she wondered.

"Who are you? What's going on?" she demanded, looking over his shoulder at the door. "Why were there gun shots?!"

"Shh!" hissed the man. Mila looked at him incredulously. He wore a lilac shirt which was tucked into a tight black skirt. In any other situation, Mila would have laughed. Suddenly, he moved towards her and to the bench she had been sitting on. He picked up her phone and handed it to her before undoing the buttons on the cuffs of the shirt. He rolled one sleeve up and pulled out a small knife that was tucked under his watch. The weapon made Mila gulp.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"You're in my compartment, lady," he muttered as he looked down at the cushioned part of the bench. He wedged the knife between the wood and cushion before wiggling the hilt up and down, back and forth.

"Excuse me?" Mila asked, confused.

Before he could answer, there was a faint click and the cushioned top of the bench opened like a trunk. The man opened it further and grabbed a black bag from inside. Once collecting the items from within, he returned it to its previous position and lay the black bag on top. Mila watched him in confusion.

"You," he said, turning to face her. He pulled off the large glasses he wore and threw them to the side of the bag. "Are in my compartment."

"But, on my ticket-"

"Your ticket was wrong," he grumbled before reaching up to his hairline. Mila watched in disgusted fascination as he began to peel away the mask he was wearing. Her stomach twisted as the effect reminded her of skin being peeled from bone. With her mouth hanging open, Mila couldn't believe her eyes as his whole face changed from an attractive woman into an even more attractive man. He dropped the mask next to the glasses and opened the bag. "I do apologize for this, by the way."

"You apologize?" squeaked Mila as he turned away from her and ripped open the shirt, sending buttons ricocheting in every direction. She watched in silence as he pulled the material from his top half. Hastily he began to pull out some black clothing from inside the bag. Mila looked away as she saw him pull off the wig and then begin to unzip the skirt.

"Why the hell are you dressed as a woman?" she muttered, glancing over her shoulder to see him in a pair of black jeans and heavy leather boots.

"I'm a spy. I need some sort of disguise." His voice was gruff as he answered and she frowned at the wall before her. A spy? Had she heard him correctly? Spies were things she'd read about and seen in movies, but a real one? That was just too strange for her to accept.

"So you dress as a woman, of all things?" she answered, shrugging off his previous comment. When he didn't answer, she turned to face him once again and held her breath.

The man who stood before her was ridiculously attractive; deep brown eyes, jet black hair and a slight sprinkling of stubble across his chin. No longer wearing the feminine clothing, he stood in a tight black T-shirt, black jeans, boots and jacket with a thick black belt clipped around his waist.

He gave her a quick smile and her heart skipped a beat. Completely forgetting the previous events that had occurred before his intrusion into the compartment, she found herself gazing at him. For a moment, he looked away, but when looking back, Mila was shocked to see an almost dangerous look in his gaze.

"Only on certain occasions," he said, grinning as he extracted a small, metal item from his jacket.

A gun.