Stealing a car was so much fucking easier it made my brain hurt just thinking about how we backpacked all the way from Tel Aviv to Dimona. Though I guess the whole point of before was to break as few laws as possible to facilitate a friendly deal.
Now, we just wanted to get our asses the fuck out of here.
An hour drive to an airport where all I had to do was get a flight attendant in the bathroom into a chokehold was easy enough. Like taking candy from a baby. Security wasn't nearly as tight as it was in Ben Gurion and I couldn't be more grateful. What did surprise me though, was when the bathroom door opened to reveal Ashton's tall frame slip in, the lock clicking behind him. My head snapped over my bare shoulder as I dropped the dainty arm of the unconscious raven-haired women I was trying to dress.
"That was locked, you know," I drawled while watching his impassive expression as his polished dress shoes moved against the white tile floor.
"I know," was the only response he offered before crouching down on the balls of his feet and using a much more commanding tone. "Get up."
"Why?" I asked suspiciously, watching from the corner of my eye while going back to pull my black shirt over the woman's head. How Ashton got dressed and redressed the man he took out so fast was beyond my comprehension. Now he stood before me in a polished flight attendants shit and his hair perfectly in place like we hadn't just spent days walking through the desert and stressing ourselves into comas. "This would go faster if you helped instead of watching me."
"Athena, get up or I'll do it for you."
"What are you talking about?" I asked incredulously, standing up aggressively as I gestured nonsensically, turning to face Ashton's cool gaze. Had I not been suspicious and frustrated with his sudden mood shift, I would have made a joke about the way his eyes dipped to my cleavage momentarily.
"You're going to kill me if I tell you first so please, just let me do this."
"Wha-" I didn't even get to respond before his body descended on mine, his arm wrapping around my neck as I tried to elbow him in the throat, his right arm catching mine and pinning it between his torso. Ashton forced me to my knees, my skin hitting the cold tile floor of the bathroom. This was it. He was going to drown me. What a horrible way to die.
I thrashed in his arms, trying my best to get free of his superior grip but it did nothing for me. The bun my hair was in for the purpose of my flight attendant cover had a bobby pin I could stab him with, but without hands I was useless. My jaw was locked shut when I felt on my Ashton's hands snake around the front of my face, trying to pry it open as I used all of my body weight to try and throw him off balance.
Despite myself, Ashton easily dragged my body into one of the stalls of the incredibly clean bathroom, probably getting ready to coat it in my blood. This was the perfect moment; I was disposable now and I had hesitated. Now, I'm going to die because of it.
He slammed my chest against the edge of the white ceramic toilet, all of the air leaving my lungs as my jaw was forced open as a gut reaction. I couldn't breathe in to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen, my brain starting to panic. This was it. I'd had so many near-death experiences and the racing heart and mind never wore off.
I tried to thrash around even more but Ashton had me in the optimal position to control me. Two lengthy, slender fingers were forced down my throat, his whole hand practically in my mouth as my sore jaw was ripped apart. It all happened so fast but at the same time, it took Ashton a second or two to push down hard enough to trigger my gag reflex. Before I knew what was happening, I felt the muscles in my stomach contract as he pulled his large hand out of my mouth, no longer shoving his fingers down my throat. Next thing I knew, Ashton is holding my hand arms behind my back while I empty my stomach of the one singular survival bar he had insisted I eat just hours ago.
Then he let my body drop to the floor limply, getting up and walking away. With my flattened palms on the floor, my lungs gasping for breath, I listened to the water run as he washed the hand he had shoved down my throat. When I had somewhat recovered, I rolled from my knees to my butt before getting up, my mouth open a so searched for air. The first thing I said to him was as clear as day. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
I could already feel the bruise blossoming in my lower ribs, the feeling of the floor still resisting through my knees. Ashton shrugged, tossing my a travel-sized tube of toothpaste and a blue toothbrush he had no doubt lifted off a nearby kiosk. My eyes were blazing holes in his face as he stepped aside and I went to the sink and started to brush my teeth.
Ashton crouched back down at the body and started to remove her red Pegasus clothing, replacing it with mine. "You never would have listened to me if I told you I'd poisoned you first."
I spit out the water I was rinsing my mouth with and wiped it in the back of my hand before whipping my head around so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. My blood ran cold as my heart stopped for a second. "You what?!"
"You'll be fine," he hushed me in a harsh whisper while standing up from the limp woman on the ground. Ashton's deep voice was low as he spoke to me, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "It's powdered amanita mushrooms. It won't reach the bloodstream for another fifteen hours. That's why I made sure you ate this morning so it wouldn't go straight to your blood."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I repeated again, connecting my hand with the side of Ashton's impassive face, the sound of my skin against his echoing through the air. He didn't even turn his head, just like when I'd slapped him in our old apartment. "No shit I would have tried to kill you," I spat at him.
"I had to poison Dayan," he defended himself. "At least I had the forethought to make sure we would both be okay."
"You going have told me earlier!"
"You're still alive, aren't you? If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead, Athena." Ashton's blue eyes burned into my face like they had earlier today, threatening to decimate every thought in my mind. "Yeah, I put your life in danger but I would have done the same thing if he had offered me the glass of water. I saved your life and I didn't have to."
I mulled over his words, newfound distrust lacing every thought I had about the tall Palestinian in front of me. He saved my life but he also almost killed me. "You could have told me before you poisoned me."
"I couldn't risk it. Now let's get going before we miss our flight," Ashton rotated to the next topic almost flawlessly. He could distract me all he wanted, but I would never forget.
Remember those that stab you in the back, because even if they stitch the wound there will still be a scar and scars lasted forever.
I could act like this was nothing, but there were lines in the sand now, whether intentional or not. I understood what he meant when he said he couldn't risk it because I would have done the exact same thing to him. Then again, I was never a good role model.
Ashton Naifeh was no longer my ally. He just wasn't an enemy yet.
