"Ok, Player, what do you have?"

"Several rooms have been booked at the Mena House, an hotel near Giza. I'm still trying to get their guest list… hold on."

Carmen drummed the surface of the formica table, impatient. In front of her were the rest of her kushari. The first proper food she had had in almost 24 hours.

"I've just confirmed it, Red," Player said. "Argent, Devineaux… A.C.M.E. seems to have booked several rooms. I must say, it's a very nice hotel."

Julia chuckled. "Well, they've just unearthed a very nice mountain of gold. I guess they wanted to keep it fancy for the press."

Player chuckled. "Makes sense."

"I'm going radio silent now, Player. I'll let you know if something new happens."

"Get some rest, Red."

"You too."

Too exhausted to walk, Carmen took a taxi that left her one block away from the Mena. Not being in the mood for receptionists, she just climbed up the nearest houses and found herself reaching the roof of the hotel. Player had just texted Julia's room number and she couldn't wait.

Still, she was not going to be stupid enough to wonder halls that, as far as she knew, could very well be filled with A.C.M.E. agents. Downloading the blueprints of the hotel, she found the right balcony.

Silently, she climbed down. Julia was inside, and Carmen enjoyed looking at her for a moment, as she stretched and took off her blazer.

"You look exhausted," she finally said, suddenly unwilling to be kept away from her any longer.

Julia gave two long steps in her direction and they met half-way, in a hug, and a kiss that spoke of want and fear, and above it all, immense relief.

Finally Julia looked up, and Carmen smiled at her pink cheeks. Unable to help herself, she caressed her cheek with the back of her hand. "I am so happy to see you."

"Me too… and so thankful that you're alright."

"I should say the same."

There were dark bags under Julia's eyes, and Carmen suspected she wasn't looking any better.

"I am so sorry, Jules," Carmen managed, finally allowing all her worries and guilt a place in her mind. "I am so, so, sorry."

"What on Earth are you sorry for?" Julia said, her arms around Carmen's waist, and looking both confused and surprised. "You rescued me!"

"What? No! I mean, sort of… but you almost… they almost…" Carmen just sighed, unable to put into words everything that had crossed her mind since she had heard Devineaux's voice on the phone when she had called Julia's landline, ages ago. Julia knew, though, and her hands tightened on Carmen's waist.

"I knew you would come," she whispered. "I knew you would make it alright."

"But I almost failed."

"You succeeded."

"We succeeded."

Julia moved back a little and cupped Carmen's cheek. "This is our line of business, Carmen. You cannot beat yourself up like this."

Carmen looked at her for a long moment and sighed. That was exactly the problem. She hated the fact that Julia had done something more than dangerous and that it had been her, Carmen, the one putting her back into the field. But this was not the time to speak of that, she coils see that in Julia's expression.

"I was so scared when that bitch had you hanging there," she said instead.

"I know," Julia said, and pulled her down for a kiss. Carmen's response was urgent, but brief.

"Listen, Jules."

"Hey… no apologies, alright?"

"That was not what I was about to say." Carmen sighed. There had been so many thoughts: fear, guilt, anger, and that desperate need to win, to have the upper hand, which had been more important than ever. But there had been something else, though. Those words, heavy and true, that had needed to be said for so long.

"Carmen?" Julia's soft voice brought her back from her own mind.

"The thing that was killing me when we were there was," Carmen took a deep breath, and it felt as if she was jumping into a void much more terrifying than the one under the pyramid. "I love you, Jules." Suddenly it seemed as if the room had disappeared. Just those words, hanging there between them. "And I wanted you to know for a while now, but I am such a coward, and there you were, and I was thinking… I love her and I need her to be alright so that I can tell her, over and over again-"

She couldn't finish, because Julia was kissing her again, with fierce intensity, and it was clear to Carmen that it had been the right thing to say. That once she had made the jump, there hadn't been any void at all.

"I love you too, Carmen," Julia said pressing her forehead against hers. "I love you so much."

Carmen sighed and chuckled. Again, she cupped Julia's cheek, and very slowly this time, her lips looked for hers, in a kiss that was much slower but not less filled with emotion.

"How long have you wanted to say it?" Julia finally asked, laughter dancing in her eyes.

"A while…" Carmen chuckled. "I don't know. A long while."

"Me too," Julia said, now beaming. "So… I don't know about you, but I am in desperate need of a shower." Without breaking eye contact, Julia moved her hands from Carmen's waist to grab her hand. Gently, she pulled her towards the bathroom. "Care to join me?"

"You're going to be the end of me," Carmen said, following. There was no discussion.

They didn't speak, as Julia pressed Carmen against the counter. Her eyes still fixed on her, she slowly pulled down the zip of her black jacket, her fingers brushing her breasts, and then her waist, before taking it off. Carmen herself hurried in taking her tank top of. Julia's hands were at her sides, now, caressing her skin, as her lips found her neck.

Carmen slid her hands underneath Julia's red sweater and pulled it up. Julia stopped the kiss, and it was clear she had been planning to continue it, but Carmen stopped her.

"What the hell is that?"

It felt as if blood had frozen in her veins. In Julia's otherwise perfect skin, there were several dark marks. Marks Carmen knew only too well, after seeing similar ones in her own body more than once..

"It doesn't hurt," Julia said, and it looked as if she was defensive.

"But it did."

"Not much," Julia said. "Really."

Rage, hard boiling rage was growing inside Carmen. "Who did it?"

"Those two guys, Vlad and Boris." Julia said.

"I'm going to kill them." It was a statement. Not an empty thread, not a way of speaking. Just the plain harsh truth. On Julia's fair skin, the dark bruises seemed to mock Carmen. To remind her that no matter how much she tried, she couldn't protect-

"Hey," Julia said sternly, interrupting her train of thought. "Hey," she repeated, and Carmen finally looked up from the bruises and into her eyes. "You're not. At least, not now, all right?"

Carmen was ready to argue, but she knew Julia was right. Even though she, Carmen, ached to find them and just finish them.

"Listen," Julia went on, her jaw clenched. "You are here now, and it's not going to last. We both know that. And I, for once, do not want to spend this precious time discussing this," she pointed at her torso. "Is that clear?"

For a moment, both women stared at one another. Finally, Carmen bit her lip and very slowly, touched one of the bruises with the tips of her fingers.

"Does it hurt?"

"I've just told you," Julia pulled her hand, and pressed her body against hers. "It doesn't."

Carmen made an effort to smile. "Ok."

"Ok," Julia repeated, kissing her slowly. "Now show me yours." For a moment, Carmen didn't know what she was referring to. "You got hit, too," Julia said, matter-of-factly. "Let's see that."

Slowly, she crouched in front of Carmen to better look at her belly. Sure enough, and far less visible, there was a dark mark from where one of the hitmen had landed a kick. Without a word, Julia got nearer, and the next thing Carmen felt were her lips, kissing her skin, and her hands, pressing her closer.

Carmen sighed, even when she was still upset. But Julia was right. They were there now, and even though this caper was going to give them a little break, she would need to go back home, and Julia back to Oxford.

But Julia was really making it hard to think about anything else but the two of them right there and then. Her hands had now found the button in Carmen's jeans, and without even a glance at her, she had opened it. Using the tips of her fingers, she lowered them, making it part of a long caress that reached down to her ankles and made Carmen finally snap out of it.

Gently, she pulled Julia up again, and kissed her, making it slow and thorough, while her own hands roamed down her tights. "I love you, Jules," she whispered, amazed at how easy it was to say it now.

"I love you, too."

They took their time in getting rid of the rest of their clothes. And when Julia turned around to open the shower, Carmen's hands were on her, caressing the tender skin under her breasts, and kissing the back of her neck.

It was a somewhat clumsy affair, with water getting in their eyes, but Carmen enjoyed every minute of it. When Julia reached for the soap bottle, Carmen took it from her, and slowly and deliberately, made her mission not to leave an inch of Julia's body untouched. Julia sighed, her back pressing against Carmen's front, making it some form of exquisite torture.

They continued it in bed, even though it was still too early, but, for once relaxed and without a hurry, they were trying to make the most out of this rare afternoon with one another.

Finally, after much sighing and caressing, both fell on the pillows, beyond exhaustion. Julia curled next to her body, with a deep sigh, and Carmen hugged her, caressing her temple. And Carmen finally felt a semblance of the peace of mind that had been elusive for so many days.

That night Julia slept soundly, even though she thought the events and the bruises wouldn't let her rest properly. But Carmen was at her side, caressing her temple, and she was asleep in minutes.

When she woke up, she could see through the window that the sun was high in the sky. The side of the bed was empty, and, for a moment, she feared Carmen would be already gone. It was great to see her walking in from the balcony and getting back in bed next to her.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," she said, giving her a small kiss.

"What time is it?" Julia asked, taking her glasses from the side table and remembering, a second too late, that she didn't have her phone with her.

"Almost midday."

"What? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Carmen took the glasses off her again, and leaned forward. "Well, first of all, you looked like you needed the rest." Julia chuckled, as Carmen's hand started tracing circles on her shoulder, and then travelling down to her hips. "Second of all," she kissed her. "I woke up not long ago."

"Is that so?"

"Lately, I only sleep well when I'm sleeping with you," Carmen said, in a rather heavy tone.

Julia cupped her face and pulled her for another kiss, moving from her lips to her neck, as she felt Carmen's fingers playing with the elastic of her underwear.

"I love you," Julia whispered.

Carmen sighed. "Gawd that sounds so good. I love you too, Jules."

This time it felt different. Julia could not say if it was because of the events from the day before, or for the things they had said, but it was both sweet and intense.

Afterwards, though, Carmen was unusually quiet.

"Are you sleeping?" Julia asked, leaning on her elbow to face her. Propped on several pillows, the sheets pooling at her feet, Carmen's eyes were darting from the ceiling, to the wall, to the door, to Julia's body, and back to the ceiling again. She was frowning slightly. "What is it, C.?" Julia pressed a hand on her stomach and Carmen finally turned to face her.

"I don't like it, Jules," she bit her lip.

"What?" she said, a small flame of panic on her stomach.

"What you said yesterday… It's been nagging me."

"What?" Julia repeated.

Turning her entire body towards Julia's, Carmen sighed. "You said this is our line of business. The capers, the risk, I suppose you were referring to that."

"Yes, I was," Julia said cautiously.

"I don't like it, Jules." Slowly, Carmen's hand moved over Julia's hips, and it felt so nice it took Julia a minute to realise she was tracing the bruises with the tips of her fingers. "I don't like the fact that, by asking you to help me, I put your life at risk. I don't want this to be your line of business."

Julia sighed, and ignoring Carmen's hand, she sat up, leaning on the board. "You seem to have forgotten the fact that, when we met, I was an Interpol agent."

"I know you were."

"So… my career choices were made before you were there to have a say on them." It was not fair. Julia knew Carmen was just still feeling scared and guilty, but she couldn't help to feel angry herself.

"But you left, Jules," Carmen said, sitting as well. "You left and I was so happy when I learned that you would be safe. One less person to worry about."

For a moment, Julia didn't know what to say.

"I don't want you to worry about me. I know you would, anyway, but I don't want you to."

"I don't want you to be at risk because of me."

"I would've been at risk regardless. If it weren't for you, I'd still be a field agent at Interpol. With kicks, guns pointed at me, fights, and messy crime scenes. Besides, there is no way to prevent risk. Not when people like those at V.I.L.E.'s are at large." Julia took her hand. "I am sorry that you are feeling guilty, but this is not your burden to carry. Not everything is."

"What if they get you to get me?" Carmen asked, in a whisper.

"Well…" Julia spoke quietly. "I don't think they'll make the connection. And even if they do… they could also take Zack, or Ivy…"

"I know. And it doesn't make me feel any better."

For a moment they stayed silent.

"Jules?" Carmen said after a moment.

"Yes?"

"I just want to be safe."

"I know."