Having left behind the men that held and then broke her heart, Imani found herself again.
Marie staying her side every step of the way as they became family.
They knew that their past would look for them and they were determined to not be found.
So...
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Imani weaved through the crowded Khan El-Khalili Bazaar. The smell of spices hitting her nose at every turn as vendors showcased their products to the tourists.
The heat blasting as she adjusted her maxi skirt, stopping in front of a stall selling silk shawls she picked up a yellow one with sunflowers decorating the edges to match her skirt and also picked out a forest green one that was covered in small purple flowers.
Paying the man who ran the stall she wrapped the yellow shawl around her shoulders and placed the green one into the woven bag she was carrying. She re-joined the crowded streets finally reaching her destination, the El Feshawy Café.
Her eyes gravitated towards a brunette who sat with their back to the door, weaving around the tables she seated herself across from them. "Hello love." They smiled widely "Imani, I was starting to think you got lost." "The only place I would ever get lost is in your eyes Marie."
Marie left out a snort "You got lost in the mall when we were in Australia, I had to retrieve you from the information desk." Imani stuck her tongue out at the girl as she admired her.
She wore a long purple skirt and top that clung to her body perfectly, her skin had tanned in their travels making her eyes pop whilst her now chin length hair sharpened her jawline.
Imani sighed in delight at her as she picked up Marie's hand and kissed the palm. "You simp" was all she got in return as Marie's cheeks darkened slightly. "Only for you, oh I got you a gift" Imani stood and placed the shawl around her shoulders receiving a kiss on the cheek as Marie admired the fabric.
Sitting back down with a happy wiggle at the gesture Imani ordered coffee as well as Basbousa and Kunafa for the both of them. "So, you've finished the assignment then?" Marie asked once Imani finished ordering.
"Sure did Love, ten favours into our accounts plus the promised hundred thousand for helping them out." Marie nodded happily her hair bouncing slightly, "wonderful now we can enjoy our holiday."
Imani rested her arms on the table leaning in towards Marie "You know I can think of one way we could spend the first few days" she wiggled her eyebrows at the now red girl who smacked her over the head.
"Such a pervert you are, we have three months off there's plenty of time for that", Imani wined at the response as their coffee and food was delivered to the table. "Shukran" Marie said to the lady as she left with a nod of her head "äafwan".
Imani picked up a Kunafa reaching it over to Marie "To us Tesoro and the adventures we are going to go on." Marie ate the Kunafa smiling as she swallowed and replied, "To us and whatever trouble you manage to get yourself into."
Imani pouted at that causing Marie to laugh and peck her on the lips before pulling back and taking a sip of her coffee. Humming in delight her mind wandered, it had been three years since they had left America, left Sang and the boys.
It had hurt both girls at first, but they knew they needed to move on, so they did. They moved on with each other. The girls had spent a year in Australia learning as much as they could, Marie learned how to be in the background, she was the brains having learnt to code and hack in the span of six months.
Imani became the front woman, developing her skills and was now able to break into anything and escape any situation. The girls both learnt fighting, basic medical skills as well as how to blend into any crowd. It took them a year to learn everything, and they both decided after the year was up to 'die'.
Not physically but on paper, Marie wiped them out of every system they had ever entered, schools, hotels visited, medical records. They became ghosts.
That was when the Academy stepped in. Surprisingly there was an Australian branch who hated the Americans for their lack of well everything, they found the girls and offered for them to join giving them freedom to choose what assignments they took and negotiate the payment.
The girls had joined creating their own team becoming infamous amongst various branches as they completed over fifty assignments in their first year. They became known as the spectres although Imani wanted their team to be called the sparkle princess unicorns.
Marie was not a fan of that idea and shut it down as quickly as possible.
No one knew their real names and they never met the teams they worked with only contacting them over burner phones. They did their best to make sure no one would ever find out who they were, and if they did? Not for long.
Once a job was completed the identity used was throw out and never used again, no lose ends left behind. It was dangerous but had paid off in the end, their team was highly sought after, and they were on their way to retire fully at 25 only working an assignment if they wanted to.
Pulling herself back into reality Imani cast her eyes back to Marie placing her coffee back onto the table, "I was thinking...". "That's never good" Marie interrupted her causing her to pout. "This is a good idea I swear."
Marie raised an eyebrow as Imani continued "Well I was thinking that we could celebrate your 22nd Birthday on Ios island and stay at Callio for a week or two." Marie smiled, "That does sound nice, let do that."
Imani nodded making a mental note to book everything the island had to offer, only the best for her love. Reaching and picking up a Kunafa her eyes darted towards the entrance of café where a large group had just entered.
Imani dropped the Kunafa she had just picked up straight into her coffee as she stared at the door a look of horror on her face "what is it Tesoro?" Marie turned towards the door going pale as she turned back towards Imani.
For there in the doorway was a group of fifteen people they have vowed to never see again.
