Life From Your Lips (Ruby Rose fanfic)

THIRTY-SIX (Iselen POV)

"I'm so sorry," I grimace, turning on the passenger's seat to look at the two Interpol agents behind me, I think they look a bit pale and one of them is grabbing the door handle so hard that his knuckles are white. "I should've warned you about this when my boss insisted on driving from the airport because she knows the city very well. She goes crazy when she sits behind a wheel..."

"Oh please, it's not that bad," Ruby growls overtaking a bike while honking, zigzagging between cars and pedestrians but driving very close to them. "This is Cairo, gentlemen, you have to drive like the locals if you want to survive." Suddenly, my girl sticks her head through the window and screams a curse in Arabic before stepping on the gas again.

"At least, we have air conditioning to fight the heat," I whisper holding onto my seat when the princess takes a turn abruptly and we reach the gated community finally, stopping for a second next to the guard box.

"Hello, professor Langenheim. You got here right in time," the guy smiles while opening the gate. "Your friends arrived a few minutes ago."

"What friends?" I ask perplexed but Ruby shrugs and doesn't answer, speeding up a little although she remains vigilant because a little kid could run across the street here. A small and old car, covered with dust and with visible scratches on the body, is blocking our house driveway and there's another vehicle a little further, black, very big and fancy, with the driver's door open.

"That's an official car, only members of the government or top officials drive those," the princess jumps out of our vehicle, crying at the agents. "Khaled is here!"

"What? Why would the minister be here in your home?" The German guy gets up, staggering slightly after the bumpy ride from the airport, but he seems to recover fast and takes the gun that was hanging from his belt.

"This is personal, we ruined his smuggling operation and helped the police to arrest his business partners in Paris and on the shores of England," I answer the first thing that comes to my mind but was able to provide a coherent explanation nonetheless because both agents nod and exchange a knowing glance.

"Who's inside the house?" he asks with a professional tone of voice.

"My assistant, Athena, and maybe our friend Mahfuz too," Ruby answers pointing at the small and beat-up car. "He promised to come to visit her while we were away on business."

"Okay, stay here," the blond guy smiles reassuringly and points at the side garden with his gun. "Go, watch the back door, don't let him escape," his colleague nods and vanishes immediately while the German man gets closer to the entrance door cautiously and walks into the house slowly.

"No fucking way," I hear Ruby grumbling angrily and can't help smiling. No one gives orders to the daughter of a pharaoh, not even in the 21st century. My princess takes my hand and we both run to the terrace that leads to the living room French doors. What we see inside makes us hold our breaths... "Oh fuck..."

Kahled is standing in the middle of the room, holding a gun and aiming at Mahfuz who remains firm on his feet blocking his way and staring at him with contempt, he probably wishes he could slap his face again like he did three thousand years ago. Athena is hiding behind a couch, crying anxiously, hugging a young boy I don't know but he looks a lot like Mahfuz, he can only be a close relative. The Interpol agents are nowhere to be seen, I bet they're following the police action protocol, checking all the exits of the house and making sure there aren't more enemies holding weapons before coming to the living room. But my girl is too impatient and she's too furious to wait for them.

"Djedi, stop this nonsense. It's over..." Ruby walks into the room slowly, keeping her back straight and showing the confidence of the princess I met many centuries ago, she moves like she's still wearing wigs covered with jewels and the servants were kneeling down in front of her. Her tone of voice is firm and I can feel the power of Goddess Isis behind it, I can also feel her in the evening sunlight pouring into the living room through the open windows. For a second, the pieces of furniture outlines get blurry, the carved wood ceiling vanishes and the plain walls are covered with reliefs and colorful paintings depicting a garden full of birds, the scent of lotus flowers drifts across the room and I can hear the laughs of the pharaoh's children while they play in the Jeneret House courtyard. It feels like we're back in Thebes' palace...