Blood Oath (Ruby Rose/Ares fan fic)

Thirteen

"Nira!" A whisper in my ear... A hand rubbing tenderly my cheek... "Nira!" Once again the same gentle whisper but this time a hand grabs my shoulder and shakes me. Slowly, I open my eyes with great care and I find myself in a dark place with Ares face very close to mine. "Nira!" I realize that we're on top of the basement stairs, behind the steel-reinforced door, and she's whispering my name worried while hugging me. I swallow hard when I see her trying to move her lips again.

"No, don't strain your voice. You're going to hurt your vocal cords. You've been mute for the last 20 years, you'll need a speech therapist if you want to speak again."

Even under low light I'm able to see her rolling her eyes hard while shaking her head, finally I faint smile spreads across her lips. She touches carefully my head looking for injuries but I think that I'm fine, besides a little bump; I'm just dazed. I sit down on the step with her help and I take a deep breath, I don't feel very dizzy.

"What's happened?" I ask confused. Ares opens her mouth to speak but she takes her hand to her throat with a wince. Then she draws three letters on my thigh with the tip of her index: 'RPG.'

"What? That jerk has fired a rocket-propelled grenade to the second floor of my house? Has that man lost his mind?" I shake my head more furious than I've ever been in my life while the assassin tries to calm me down hugging me. "I'm sorry, I actually believed that he wouldn't dare to attack us just like that. We'd better get out of here but before I have to warn Winston, he needs to send the right firefighter team, the one that works for the Company."

I go downstairs leaning on my bodyguard and I look at her while she closes the second door too; I really feel better and better, I'm not seriously injured. When I grab my phone I realize that Josie is inside her carrier trembling with fear so I pet her trying to reassure her while I tell Winston what's happened. He goes mad too, as I suspected:

"Has that Irish man gone nuts? All right, I'll send the firefighters but Ares and you have to get out of there now, I wait for you at the Continental. I'm also calling the High Table members, Aidan Finn has pushed this far enough."

The assassin is waiting behind me with her bag hanging from her shoulder, her bag of weapons in one hand and Bonny's carrier in the other. Pushing the side of the bookcase I let her in in the tunnel before grabbing my own bag and Josie's carrier, I close behind me slowly making sure that the door is firmly locked: nobody will be able to open it from the other side if he doesn't know where the lock is. The corridor is pretty dark but some floor lights show us where to step, Ares walks before me but it's not easy since this is a narrow space and we're carrying our bags and my cats; in addition to this, is hot in here and the air smells musty. Luckily, we aren't claustrophobic. Finally, after ten minutes walking we arrive to a grille with a security panel hidden behind a brick, I enter de code to open it and we get to a big metallic pipe that almost allows us to be standing. It's way darker here so I look for a flashlight in my bag and fasten it to the top of Josie's carrier so I can light the way before me. I point at some red paint marks on the wall and, without further explanation, I start following them with the assassin right behind me through this labyrinth of pipes that, to be honest, stinks in some areas.

Ten minutes later we arrive to some metallic steps that go up. I leave my stuff on the ground, then I hand Ares the flashlight and let her go upstairs with her gun ready in her waistband. I wait... It doesn't take long for her to be sure that the garage is clear and she comes back to help me with our bags and carriers. I make sure that the manhole cover is shut properly and I look around trying to get my bearings and remember where I parked my car but the assassin solves it taking my key fob and unlocking the car remotely. A 'bip' sounds to our right, that's where my dark grey Toyota Corolla with tinted windows is. Ares seems to approve my vehicle while she places the carries in the back seat and puts our bags in the trunk, pushing aside one suitcase that was already inside. She points at it with an eyebrow raised.