Cairo

Three

Cold air whipped through the helicopter that carried the Raiders home. The only sound was from the rotors atop the helicopter. They had reached steady altitude twenty minutes earlier. Scar was busy on a tablet, taking care of post-mission details. Fox was counting through the team's remaining ammunition. It was unlikely that they would be attacked in the air but having a current ammo update was critical. Cairo was leaning back against the body of the helicopter; asleep. Her hand still held her gun pointed to the floor.

Rashid sat down heavily beside Jordan. He adjusted his gun to point to the floor and took off one of his gloves.

"You need to be careful," Rashid said after five silent minutes. Jordan turned his head to face Rashid with a question in his eyes.

"Cairo," Rashid said in a low voice. Jordan turned his head which was full on throbbing to where Cairo slept. His eyes zeroed in on her thigh where he had cut through her trouser to her skin. There was a colorless bandage over the wound but the edges of the trouser cut had blood stains. If his own head wasn't throbbing like an African drum, he wouldn't believe that he had actually fought her.

"I've been married a long time. I know what I walked into at the gym a few days ago," Rashid said.

"Well then, you should also know that it is none of your business," Jordan snapped moodily.

"That's where you're wrong. It became my business the moment you entered this thing with my wife's best friend," Rashid said. Jordan groaned.

"Why don't you leave well enough alone, Mugume?" Jordan asked.

"Look, Ojok. I want no part of what you do with your d*ck. But you're bringing trouble to my house by way of Huddah and I'm inclined to head you off while this is still a distance away," Rashid said. "You and Cairo are grown enough to do whatever you like. But you need to make up your mind how you're going to treat her. If you're throwing down to fight in the middle of the forest after sucking her face off in the gym, you're raising trouble in her mind which she'll offload on Huddah. What I don't need is my wife talking nonstop about how I need to check you for hurting her friend."

"All I need is for you to fix this with Cairo as soon as our boots touch the ground. That way, you and I shall stay in our own lanes," Rashid said. He thumped Jordan's shoulder, stood and carefully crossed the helicopter to join Scar.

*

Cairo was still furious when she woke up on Wednesday morning. She was furious with Jordan—the idiot—but she was more furious with herself. She had let her guard down with Jordan. It was one of her most stupid decisions and she needed to reverse it speedily. They had shared a few passionate kisses and emotional moments. But it was much easier to fall back into the default setting of sarcastic banter and he had not hesitated to do so.

He was a player at heart and he wasn't going to change no matter how good things were between them. She poured herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen and picked up her phone. She had programmed Micah's number into her phone before she stashed his business card. Her finger hovered over the call button beside his number while she thought about everything she knew about him.

Public figure (or, at least as public as news anchors got). Two years younger than her. Civilian. He was as different from her as a man could get. She dialled and listened to his phone ring.

"Good morning. This is Micah Muramira. Who am I speaking to?" he asked when the call connected. In the background, she could hear the rustle of paper and she guessed that his phone was probably balanced between his ear and shoulder.

"Hi Micah," she greeted.

"Cairo." The satisfaction in his tone as he said her name was enough to curl her toes. He got bonus points for instantly linking her name to her voice. She heard the low squeak of a chair which told her that he had leaned back in his seat to chat with her; work be damned. He was making up for the age difference quite nicely. She sat down at her kitchen counter and glanced out of the window with a smile.