Blood Oath (Ruby Rose/Ares fan fic)

Fifteen

A loud noise brings me back to reality: the assassin has closed the metallic wardrobe and goes to make lunch. I'd better focus on my screen. With the permission of Winston I ruined a little drug deal that Aidan Finn was about to close with a motorcycle club in an attempt of keeping him busy so he stops harassing me for a while. I still want revenge for making my house explode, anyway. I've also cancelled a bank transfer of a payment that Stjepan Dragan owes to a Romanian crime syndicate: word will soon spread that the Albanian doesn't pay his debts in time trashing his reputation even more. I smile mischievously. My plan to eliminate the war criminal works slowly but surely. An alert appears on my screen: someone is moving an important amount of money in South Africa to close a mining deal. Who can it be? Once again I plunge into my work.

One hand taps gently my shoulder. I blink surprised while looking up, Ares is standing by my side pointing at the table were our lunch is waiting for us. "I'm kind of busy so I'll eat later," I answer smiling before looking back at my screen. A new tap on my shoulder makes me frown at her. The assassin keeps pointing at the table but her grin has vanished from her face. "I can't leave this job half done; don't worry, I can make a sandwich later," I say ending the argument so I can focus on my job again. A very loud stomp on the floor makes me jump on the couch, startled, before Ares fingers grab my chin hard forcing me to look at her. She points again at the table while I stare at her clenched jaw mesmerized. "Uh-oh... I'm in trouble," I think scared. "All right, I need two minutes to finish this line of code and then we can eat," I smile faintly trying to convince her. The assassin lifts two fingers and scowls at me before turning around. "Hurry up Nira! Before she gets really upset with you," my conscience whispers in my head while I'm typing as fast as I can.

"Okay, I admit that it was worthy to stop working in order to eat this delicious Beef casserole," I say to myself swallowing the last bite and savouring the hot spices in my mouth. I remember that I ate something similar when I went to Croatia searching for... "Shit!" I think when a memory flashes across my mind. Ares comes back from the kitchen and places before me a cake made of cookie dough and chocolate, sitting next to me she leans her hands on the table entwining her fingers waiting for me to taste it and give her my opinion: she knows that chocolate is my weakness. The sweet treat melts in my mouth and I discover the nuts flavour. "It's delicious," I whisper... it truly is but I'm not in the mood for eating chocolate. The assassin tilts her head staring at me with curiosity in her eyes. She also knows that the only reason for me to refuse a dessert is because I'm worried about something... it's amazing how well she knows me despite the fact that we've met just a few days ago.

"Andreja... don't get mad at me, okay?" She gets tensed when she hears my words and looks at me frowning. I swallow hard, I don't think this is a good idea but anyway... She grabs my wrist with her hand and shakes it, wanting me to start talking. "When I was in Zagreb visiting your neighbour..." She's harshly digging her fingertips into my flesh now. "I've noticed that practically nothing has survived from your former life and... she had a picture of you... and your sister. I mmm... I scanned it and kept it attached to your file and I've thought that maybe you'd want me to print it and... I don't know... put it in a frame." I bite my lip and stare at her, waiting for her to burst into a rage but she just crosses her arms over her chest and closes her eyes. When she finally opens them she points at my laptop and gets up to go to the couch where she sits down again. I shove into my mouth the last bite of my dessert and I sit next to her licking my fingers while she looks at me slightly amused. "What? That's pretty good," I answer pretending to be offended.

The colours of the picture have faded and the image is slightly damaged but two girls are smiling happily in front of the camera. They look like they're 5 and 10 years old and stand proudly wearing lovely blue flowered print dresses, I bet that they were new. It's a sunny day and the grass is emerald green under their gleaming patent leather shoes, it's a beautiful spring day: I know it because they have some colourful hand-painted Easter eggs in their hands. The war broke out barely a month later and their world turned into a hell erasing their sweet smiles... "I can fix it," I whisper keeping my eyes on the screen, not daring to look at her. "Using Photoshop I can highlight the outlines and colours, it'll look like new when I print it." Ares nods next to me but she remains silent... yes, I know she's mute... but all of a sudden I feel like silence has wrapped the house like a blanket, I can barely hear the sea birds cries outside the window and even the kitchen clock sound seems muffled. The assassin takes a deep breath and leans her head to kiss me, her lips taste salty... I haven't realized that she was crying... her eyes look dry and they aren't red but there's no doubt: her lips taste like tears. I deepen the kiss while holding her firmly by her nape and she lets me take control till she falls back on the couch dragging me with her. We stay lying together on the couch with our arms around or waists.

Two hours later I look up from my screen to see Ares standing in front of me with one of her black T-shirt and black sweatpants in her hand. She drops the garments on my lap and points at my shirt, the message is pretty clear: "Change your clothes!" I obey quickly when I realize she's frowning and I'm barely finishing when she also drops a pair of black sneakers at my feet. I don't know what's going on but it seems serious since she's opened the arms locker and has picked up some guns that she's shoving into a bag. Without any explanation, she walks out the door and I rush behind her after taking my phone. She heads to the service elevator and gets in waiting impatiently for me, tapping her foot on the ground. When we reach the ground floor I open my mouth in awe. "God, I keep forgetting how enormous this place is," I think while jogging behind her. She places the bag on a big table located at one end of the factory and she gets the guns out, then she hands me shooting earmuffs for protection and points at the other end of the massive factory several yards away, where the silhouette of a man can be clearly seen on the brick wall background. The assassin has her own shooting range at home... amazing. She crosses her arms over her chest and waits.

"All right," I think while I put my earmuffs on and choose one of the guns. I'm trying to remember all the things Winston taught me: I engage the safety and remove the gun's magazine, check it and push it into again. I get into position with the gun pointed at the ground and my finger far from the trigger, then I cock it and lift it slowly aiming at the target, I hold it firmly by the grip and place my other hand under it. I take a deep breath, put my finger on the trigger and I shoot five bullets trying to keep my arm firm in its position but not tensed. Even if I'm used to it, feeling recoil on your shoulder is always a surprise; also the real gunfire actually sounds fake. With the gun pointing at the ground, I engage the safety again, remove the magazine and check there's no bullet in the chamber. I leave the gun on the table.

Ares is staring at me with squinty eyes and lips pursed while I wait anxiously for her approval, I think I've done well... She gets a pair of little binoculars out of the bag and looks at the silhouette at the back of the room. "Good idea," I think. "She doesn't have to walk there after every round of gunshots" Sucking her teeth she hands me the binoculars: two of my bullets hit the guy right through the head, one close to his ear and one where he should have the mouth. The other three hit different spots on the chest. Well, they aren't perfect tight grouping shoots since I'm not a professional killer but it's clear that I could hurt seriously an enemy. My bodyguard points at the table again so I choose a new gun, I frown and slump my shoulders feeling depressed... I thought I'd done well...

The electronic sound of her device startles me: "Not bad for a beginner, we're going to practice every day till you can do it faster." She smiles at me pointing at a gun and I smile back at her in response. I have the best shooting instructor of the underground.

I just realized... today is Ruby's birthday... today is Ares' birthday too!!! Happy Birthday assassin, apparently you're my most beloved character so I hope you'll stay with us for many more chapters.