Blood Oath (Ruby Rose/Ares fan fic)

Twelve

"I ordered it on Amazon long time ago, to be honest Winston paid it. I'm always buying all kinds of gadgets because, you know, I have a thing for technology but I never have the opportunity to use them later. I'm glad that this thing is useful and it isn't in my closet gathering dust anymore."

Twenty minutes later, my bodyguard recovers the drone that has landed on the backyard and we take it downstairs carefully. I connect the memory card to my computer and download the images, while we're waiting Ares surprises me with a kiss on my cheek that makes me blush. "Let's see what we have here..." I whisper. A ten minutes video that doesn't show anything strange, at least that I can see: parked cars, people walking, dogs running, delivery trucks, some workers fixing the pavement, etc. Ares asks me to play it back twice while she takes notice of every detail, to be honest I think that her obsession with security is excessive and I'm starving again... I fancy a ham and avocado sandwich... but we don't have cheese and I haven't called the shop yet. Bored, I lean back in my chair while thinking about what I could make for lunch; maybe I could persuade the assassin to cook something, she's really good at it. Finally, my bodyguard points at five spots on the screen, five streets that surround my building.

"Can you get a static picture of each of them?"

Of course I can: one minute later five snapshots appear on my screens and Ares points again at five spots on them after staring at the images for a long time. I tilt my head trying to see what she sees. They're just five parked cars, what's the problem? And then my mind clears... they all look the same. It wouldn't be any wonder if they were average cars but they're five peacock -blue Honda Civic: what are the chances of that happening? Five expensive and high-end cars of the same colour parked around my house. Those aren't that common after all. Quickly, almost pushing the assassin away with my elbow, I start typing furiously looking for a way to focus the cameras that I have hidden in some buildings on them. Finally, I get images of three of the five cars with two of my security cameras and one form a cash machine across the street: they're at least two men inside each car, sometimes three, one of them is always behind the wheel watching while the other one is walking up and down the street. The license plate number of one Honda is visible so I swing my chair around to reach one of my laptops and check it, in less than three minutes I have my answer: that license belongs to a different car but it's linked to an old Irish mafia work. Aidan Finn minions got us surrounded. "What the hell...?"

*****

Five hours later I'm sitting on the couch with a half-eaten BLT sandwich on the table, to be honest I think I lost my appetite. Ares is sitting on her chair in front of the screens with her loaded gun on her lap, she hasn't moved all day but she ate the sandwich I made her. The only moment she's turned to face me was when she saw me placing a bag with my stuff and two cat carriers next to the bookcase where the tunnel is, just in case we're attacked and need to rush out; she smiled at me and nodded in approval. I've called Winston to explain to him what's happening and he's promised to talk to the High Table members, I've worked for some time, I've had a quick shower, I've played with my cats, I've made something for lunch and I've waited, above all I've waited... and it's getting on my nerves. Aidan Finn's men are watching us from their positions and nothing else, we don't know their plans. They don't use their phones either so I can't intercept they calls and find out what they're up to... Smart boys...

I sigh exhausted and run my fingers through my hair with my elbows leaned on my knees, closing my eyes for a moment; the stiffness of my neck is making my head ache. I feel someone slumping into the couch next to me and immediately Ares hands enclose my waist holding me tight. We stay like that for a few minutes, with my head on her shoulder while she keeps looking sideways at the screens controlling the movements of the Irish men. I instead look straight ahead at a poster with a picture of Carcassonne that is hanging on the wall, I brought it home when I came back from a trip to Europe I took after I graduated but before I started working for Winston... what I'd give for being in the south of France right now! Slowly, I tilt my head even more on Ares shoulder staring at the old fortified town and its castle with grey slate roofs. "Andreja..." I whisper grabbing her attention. She looks at me and then at the picture frowning till she opens her eyes wide when she finally understands.

"They're laying siege to us. They won't attack us because they've surrounded us like this building is a medieval castle. That means that Aidan knows that I have some tricks up my sleeves and he doesn't dare to break into my house, instead his intention is to defeat us through hunger, that's why they took prisoner the boy from the shop with our order: he wants us so desperate that we'll get out of the house shooting to break through their barrier. Then, they can kill us in response and it'll be legal according to the underground rules."

Ares gets up nervously and points at my phone but I shake my head. "Winston can't do anything, it isn't against the Company rules to stand guard on the street. And they won't shoot us till you do it first, in the meantime they won't allow any box or order from the supermarket to get to this house. Fuck! Who would have thought that jerk Aidan Finn would be so smart? Unfortunately for him, I'm even more." The assassin stares at me shocked. "I told you that the tunnel goes under the backyard and reaches a manhole two streets over, from that point I know a route to reach another manhole three streets away outside the siege. I keep my car on the parking lot above. My boss thought that it was weird that I didn't want to park my car closer and that I was paranoid, it's a good thing I didn't listen to him. You'd better pack your things so we can leave as soon as possible."

Smiling amused by my commanding tone Ares walks to her bedroom but, just when she's passing by me, her hand closes around my arm and she pulls me towards her body. Her tongue goes deep inside my mouth turning my legs into jelly in less than a minute, I breathe hard while I hold her tight to stay on my feet when she bites my lower lip. With her usual cocky smirk she lets me go... There goes my dominant moment, just one kiss and I become a whining puppy. "Why does she have that effect on me?" I think feeling dizzy while she finally gets into her room.

Shaking my head to clear my mind I check my bag in case anything's missing, adding my phone and a laptop in order to keep working from the Continental which is where we're heading I guess. Bonny gets in its carrier by himself where there's a blanket and his favourite toy waiting for him, he doesn't mind to travel inside it even if he knows I only use it to take him to the vet. However, it won't be that easy to catch Empress Josephine, she's not in the living room or the kitchen, maybe under my bed... a meowing on top of the stairs gives away her position. "Damn cat!" I grumble exasperated. "Why do you always have to complicate things?" I rush upstairs hoping to find her on the kitchen counter, her favourite place to sunbathe, or scratching the couch cushions but no, the silly fool has sneaked into the second floor trying to escape from her carrier. Without thinking it twice I run upstairs shouting:

"Come on, get over here. I promise we won't go to the vet."

My furious yell has made her stop walking frightened before she could get into one of the rooms, actually I never scream to my cats and she's so shocked that I can catch her easily. I hold her tight despite she's squirming while I go downstairs with great care. "Come on, be quiet and behave. We promised Ares not to go to the second floor and she'll be very upset if she finds out that we're here." In fact, she's already upset. Standing on the last step I swallow hard when I spot the assassin next to the basement door, scowling at me with disapproval with her arms crossed over her chest while tapping with her feet on the hardwood floor. She raises an eyebrow and points at the stairs; shit, I'm getting a telling-off for sure. "I'm sorry..." I'm not able to finish my apology, something pushes me from behind very hard making me hit the floor while a loud noise echoes over my head. Last thing I'm conscious of is how Josie slips from my hands and she rushes downstairs to the basement seeking refuge. "At least my cat is fine," I think before passing out.