Sitting on the hotel bed, already in her pyjamas, Julia was wide awake, trying to concentrate on a paper she was supposed to be reading. It was the third time her eyes had gone through the methods section and she hadn't taken in a word of it.
Hard to, when her mind was several kilometres away, imagining the hall in the museum where the original manuscripts were displayed. She knew the place, she had been there recently, but she had no idea about Carmen's plans for tonight. Would she try to enter through the roof? Climbing up the walls? Or just pick one of the staff's pockets for a key card?
Carmen had not explained and Julia knew better as to ask for specifics, but the well trained former Interpol agent couldn't help but imagine possible scenarios.
She knew the security feed had been tapped. By whom, she had no idea, but it had been clear from the beginning that Carmen had help from many fronts. Maybe that help had also deactivated the alarm system?
Unable to pretend she was making any progress, Julia started pacing up and down the small corridor between her bed and the door of the room. Maybe she could have one of the small bottles in the minibar and hope for sleep to come find her. She was not very fond of drinking, but she wasn't of staying awake consumed with worry either. Not for the first time since leaving ACME, she wished she had still access to their many resources. Maybe she could know about...
A knock on her door made her freeze. It was past 2 in the morning, much too late for house keeping. Hastily, she looked through the peephole and a blur of red filled the image. Without missing a beat, Julia opened the door wide.
Carmen was panting, her fedora askew. "Hey, Jules," she said after taking a deep breath.
"Shit, what happened to you?" Julia said, taking the fedora and throwing it on the chair, and then starting to help her take off her coat. She noticed this one was much heavier than the one she had borrowed that time she had impersonated Carmen on a ferry.
"I'm ok."
"You're absolutely not ok," Julia said, her voice harsh. Underneath the coat Carmen was wearing black, and it looked normal, until Julia saw the darker stain on the side. "What happened."
"Just got some scratches," Carmen panted. "Turns out tonight was the night V.I.L.E. scheduled to do the robbery."
"F- Alright, let me see-"
"Wait, listen. I need you to get the manuscripts first."
"What? No, you need some patching up first!" Julia retorted, thinking about the first aid kit she always carried with her since her times at Interpol.
"No, Jules, listen. That can wait, I swear. But I had to leave the files on the roof…"
"This roof?"
Carmen sighed and nodded. "They were too big to get through the vents… and I don't think I could've climbed down to your window…"
Julia almost flinched at the mental image of Carmen crawling down the ventilation system while dripping blood. "Are those the originals?"
"I managed to make the switch before they came. But then," Carmen took a shaky breath, "Tigress and Mime Bomb came in, and I though I could try to capture them for the police to find." She gave Julia a humourless smile. "I don't need to tell you that I failed there."
"There were two against one-"
"Still-"
"You secured the manuscripts, and that's what matters."
"I haven't," Carmen said pointedly. "They are on the roof."
"Alright, I'll go get them, but first let me-"
"Julia, please. Go get them first, please. Otherwise, this," she pointed at her torso, "would've been for nothing. Just go upstairs and you'll see it."
Carmen was looking adamant, her teeth clenched, and Julia knew there would be no use to argue with her.
"Fine. But in the meantime get ready because I'm going to patch you up the instant I come back with the manuscripts, deal?" She said, holding her gaze and trying to look as serious as possible.
Finally, Carmen nodded.
To avoid most of the security cameras, Julia climbed the fire escape until she found herself on the topmost floor, in front of a small door. The roof of the hotel was dirty, and the whirl of machines filled the air. Julia looked around. Of course, Carmen had hidden it, and of course she hadn't told her where.
It must be obvious, Julia thought, otherwise Carmen would've mentioned it. And quick, because she had not been in a condition to really think it through.
Julia looked around the vents, and a couple of rooms with warning signs on the chained doors. Nothing. At the other side of the roof she spotted a row of solar panels. They had talked about light, and about real Medieval miniatures not being dark… maybe…
Five minutes later, a panting Julia was entering the room again, the manuscripts in their container tightly held to her chest.
"Found them," she announced, before realising Carmen was lying on her side on the bed, her eyes almost closed.
"Good," she muttered.
"Alright, we need to see this," Julia said, surprised that she had managed to make her voice sound far more steady than what she really felt. Carefully, she shoved the manuscripts under the bed, and crouched next to Carmen.
Part of the blood had dried, and it was difficult to take off her top, glued to her skin in some parts. At some point she took the small scissors that came with the first aid kid and finished cutting it.
Other than clenching her teeth, Carmen did not say a word.
There were four parallel cuts crossing her waist on the right side, right under her sports bra. Two of them, quite deep.
"How did you-?"
"Tigress," Carmen said. "Those fingernails are not just decoration."
"Do you think you have something broken?"
Carmen shook her head. "She hit me hard in a couple of places, but nothing as serious as that."
Without saying another word, Julia opened the small bottle of alcohol and cleaned the wounds and most of the skin around them. "You need stitches," she said after a moment, knowing in advance that Carmen would not agree.
"We can't go to a hospital."
"I know that," Julia said. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here."
Carmen shifted uncomfortably. "I wanted to tend to the wounds on my own," she said, as if she was making a hard confession. "But Pla- somebody from my team made me promise I'd get help."
"Well, I'm glad they did," Julia snapped.
Carmen sighed. "Can you do it?"
"I don't have the equipment for stitches. Or the skills."
"It's ok. I just need those wounds to be clean. I think if you put a very tight bandage, maybe we can forgo the stitches."
Julia nodded, taking a sad small roll of bandages from her kit. "This won't do," she muttered to herself. "Can you stand up? Here, put some pressure there." She pressed a towel to the wound and Carmen held it. Without missing a beat, Julia put the duvet aside and grabbed the sheets. With strong pulls, she teared the fabric apart, feeling Carmen's eyes looking at her every move.
"I need you to stand still," she finally said. Carmen obliged and she took the towel off the wound. It was bright red. Carefully, Julia tried to place the first piece of fabric.
"You need to tighten it real hard, Jules."
"It will hurt."
"I know. It's ok."
"Let me know, all right? I don't want to break one of your ribs on top of this."
"Go ahead."
Julia pulled, but it didn't seem enough. The wound still looked open, and was bleeding a little.
"Harder, Jules," Carmen commanded, and this time, Julia grabbed both sides of the makeshift bandages and hugged her with them, feeling Carmen's warm skin against her chest. For a moment her mind considered the woman next to her; the stretch of caramel skin, the strong body she had seen in action so many times… but this was definitely not the time. Frowning in concentration, Julia pulled the fabric around her torso one, two, three times, trying hard not to look at her face, or any other part of her body, until the job was done. Finally Carmen sighed. "That's better," she said. "How does it look?"
Julia bent a little closer and checked the sides of the wounds that were still visible. "I think this will do."
Finally she dared to look at Carmen's face. The thief was smiling. "I knew I could trust you."
Julia gave a nervous chuckle. "You're crazy," she said.
"Maybe I am… Is that a problem?"
Julia shook her head. "Not really."
Carmen nodded, and looked down to the bandage and back at Julia. "I'm tired," she finally muttered. "Is it ok if I rest here for a moment?"
"What do you mean for a moment? Were you planning on leaving any time soon?" Julia said, half amused and half annoyed.
"I was…"
"You're staying. That's final."
Carmen opened her mouth, and then she closed it, probably seeing in Julia's eyes that there was no point in arguing. And there was not. Finally, she nodded, and carefully sat on the bed again. This time, Julia helped her lie down on her good side, putting some pillows next to her back and abdomen. It was too much of a distracting task, with so much skin to look at, despite of the bandages.
"Get some rest," Julia finally said, a bit curtly. Carefully, she placed the duvet over Carmen's body and left for the bathroom.
She washed her hands slowly, trying to make sense of the flood of thoughts inside her head. The wounds on Carmen's side seemed to be well for the time being, but, embarrassed as she was to admit it even to herself, that was not her most pressing thought. She remembered the feel of her skin, the way she had had to clean the wounds, her body pressed against hers when she hugged her… but also how Carmen's eyes had softened when she had finally managed to put on the bandages and how she had smiled her thanks.
Julia sighed, trying to put all those thoughts aside and failing. She was in a hopeless situation.
When she walked back to the room, Carmen was asleep, her breathing even and her expression peaceful. Julia had never seen her look so unguarded and young, and for a moment she just stared.
It was late, though, and she needed to try to get some sleep. Something was telling her she would need all her energy for the next day, if only to convince Carmen she was not yet fit to start jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
Carefully, she sat on the bed, her back to the headrest, and leaving a considerable space between her and Carmen's back. She didn't want to lay down. It felt somewhat too intimate. A closeness she was not sure Carmen would be comfortable with. So, Julia re-arranged the pillows and settled as well as possible in her current position.
She had turned off the lights. The soft glow entering through the window partially illuminated the bed. Her eyes rested on Carmen's hair. It laid in complete disarray over the pillow. From all of Carmen's physical traits, Julia had always been fascinated by her hair. Slowly, she touched the tips with the fingers of her left hand. Part of it had some dirt and blood, but it was mostly clean and soft. Her hand moved forward, to put some tresses off her neck, and her fingers lingered for a second. Now she could gently caress the length of it, and before she could think if it was a good idea, Julia was softly stroking Carmen's hair, from her temple to the tips.
"Hmm, Jules, that feels so good."
Carmen's sleepy voice made her freeze, her hand awkwardly tangled in her hair.
"I- I'm sorry… I-"
"Please, don't stop."
Julia doubted for a second, and then, with a slightly trembling hand, she touched Carmen's temple again.
"Thanks, Jules" Carmen muttered, before her breathing evened. Julia, on the other hand, felt her heart jump madly. Her hands were not really steady anymore, but she continued stroking Carmen's hair and, after a moment, she relaxed as well, and fell into deep slumber.