Squad 6: Royal Blood

Chapter 8- Diana

Diana 

The car drove through Paris streets, the cobble beneath the wheels making Diana's insides shake. She looked out the window at the buildings now half in the dark. They didn't stop when they passed the Louvre or when they crossed the bridge over the Seine, continuing into a residential area on the outer rings of the city.

She squeezed Chloe's hand as the car stopped at a red light, the streets around them empty. 

"You okay?"

"I know I wanted this, and I still do, but," she trailed off, the purring of the engine buzzing in line with her anxiety.

"I'm nervous too."

It had been a while since they've last seen Cassandra, and neither of them knew how they would react when they met her again. Diana and Cassandra had a particularly rocky start to their friendship, as Diana had been the one to plant a tracking device on Cassandra when Snakehead wanted her to get the drug for him. She hoped this time it would be different. Phi didn't exist anymore.

The car stopped in front of a building.

Diana sighed, mentally bracing herself. Still, some days were hard, and for those days she kept the wheelchair with her.

She placed one leg on the pavement, then the other. Slowly, she stood, smiling back at Chloe. "We ready?"

Chloe tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, as they got their bags out, and typed the entrance code to the building. Diana threw one last glance at the taxi driving away.

Cassandra had given them the floor and apartment number, but as Diana moved through the dark hallway and struggled up the stairs, fear stirred inside her. Not long ago, she would be walking everywhere with a gun at her side. Now she reluctantly wished she had one. She hadn't noticed just how safe she had begun to feel in the London crowds, and she had most certainly forgotten how lethal she could be when it was required.

They moved up the stairs, one flight after another.

"Wait," Diana said when they reached the third floor. She plopped a suitcase down on the concrete floor with a hollow thud, leaning her back on the wall. Her knees felt much like someone was ripping them apart, joints threatening to buckle.

Chloe said nothing, her hand moving to the handle of Diana's luggage as a sign she would take over. Diana gritted her teeth and relaxed, flashing her girlfriend a grateful smile she wished she didn't have to utilize.

"I don't mind," Chloe assured, hauling the suitcases up the last flight of stairs with ease.

"No working elevator?" Diana asked as they reached the top floor, hand gripping the railing. 

"Cassandra did not think this through."

"Sorry," Chloe said, though it had little to do with her.

Diana knocked on the door to the apartment, giving Chloe's hand another squeeze.

The silence stretched for just long enough to make Diana scan the hallway for escape routes, and contemplate if her earring could be a viable defense weapon. Then the door opened.

Light poured out into the dark corridor and Diana met face to face with her former team leader.

"Hi Cassandra," she said. Their eyes met as they both studied each other's postures trying to gauge how the other felt.

In her usual fashion, Cassandra nodded in acknowledgment and moved out of their way, signaling for them to enter. "We've got work to do."

And work, they had, no doubt about that. Still, Diana had expected something...more. However,