12-The Cup of Osiris

12

The Cup of Osiris

Karl watched as, first E, and then Sam were herded into the tunnel to begin the long climb into the ground.  Bomani popped a few flares and dropped them down the hole then popped one to hold and begin the climb after them.

Before his head disappeared through the hole, he looked at Hoi and smiled.  “Wait till we are out of ear shot, then do what you want with him.”

Hoi’s broken, shark-toothed smile showed through and he turned back to Karl.  “This is going to be fun.”

Karl stood, appraising the situation.  One man stood directly behind him with a submachine gun leveled at the back of his head.  Two men, also carrying guns, stood to his left about fifteen feet away.  Hoi stood a couple of steps in front of him, and the final henchmen stood a couple of feet to his right.

Hoi reached into his sport jacket and pulled out a large and nasty looking S shaped knife.  “So, let me ask you this Karl.  Should I split you side to side, or stem to stern?”

Karl frowned.  “Maybe we got off on the wrong foot, Hoi.  Why don’t we start over?”

Hoi began to laugh.  He looked at his men and they joined in and all five of them shared in the inside joke.  “You want to start over?  Start fresh?”

Karl didn’t find any of it funny.  “I think so.  Maybe give us a chance to be friends.”

Hoi shook his head breathing hard from the good laugh.  “Think it’s a little too late for that.”

“He’s going to cut you out,” Karl said pushing through.  “You’ve figured that out by now, right?  You’re not going to see a red cent.”

Hoi frowned at that.  “You stole from me.”

“I stole something you had already stolen.  I think that’s hardly a crime.” Karl shot back.

Hoi shook his head.  “It is to me.”

Karl decided to return to his original point.  “You are getting screwed.”

Karl had lost Hoi’s attention.  “Maybe I am, maybe I am not, but one thing is for certain, I got you.”

“Have it your way.”  Karl growled.

“Let’s kill this mother fucker.”  Hoi said.

****

They heard the shots from the tunnel and stopped.

It was a quick series of machine gun shots and then nothing.  Sam and E fought the urge to climb back up and go to Karl’s aid.  To do that, they would have to go through Bomani, and neither of them had the ability for that.

“Keep moving.”  Bomani said, pointing the gun at them.

They continued their downward climb for what seemed like forever until E reached the bottom of the ladder.  She could see the flares lying on the floor below them, some fifteen to twenty feet.  They were lighting some kind of chamber.

“Jump,” Bomani said cleanly.

Sam answered for her.  “Are you insane?!  There might not be a way out of that room! That’s suicide!”

Bomani had enough of the arguments and quickly kicked Sam in the face.

Sam had no way of seeing it coming and the shock of the blow stunned him into letting go.  He toppled onto E and, with nowhere to go, E was forced to let go.  The two of them fell to the stone floor below with a sickening thud.

E and Sam coughed as the wind had been knocked out of them.  They then heard the sound of Bomani’s boots hitting the stone floor.

Sam managed to get his bearings and, for a second, the dreadful situation they were in seemed to fade away.  They were in a huge circular room, carvings right out of the stone looked down on them eerily from the walls bathed in the flickering red light of the flares.

Bomani pulled three more flares and they surged to life with a hiss, taking the place of the old and dying light.  They were on one side of a large circular platform in the center of the room.  It was held to the ceiling by three large lines of chain.  Around and below the platform was an endless amount of sand that Sam was very curious about.

He kicked one of the dead flares over the edge and watched the sand swallow it whole in a flash of speed.  It was as if the sand hand been hungry for a long time and was finally getting food.

“Amazing,” He muttered and E turned toward him.

“What?” E asked, finding everything about the room amazing but still wanted to hear what Sam found particularly special.

“Whoever built this must have tapped it into the Nile, and made all the sand in the room into lighting quick sand.” Sam said, still staring at the sand.

“It’s truly a marvel of human ingenuity to create a chamber like this.”  Sam finished.

“Humans had nothing to do with it.”  Bomani’s voice suddenly interrupted the silence. “This is the work of the Gods.”

Both E and Sam looked to Bomani, who’s interest was solely on a pedestal in the center of the platform on which sat an old golden cup.

****

Karl’s first move was like lighting as he snapped a sidekick into the henchmen on his right, putting his boot’s sole into the face of the Mongolian, which sent him heels over head backwards to the stone floor.

Karl set his feet and stepped backward into the machine gunner behind him and trapped the gun under his right arm.  As he did this, he slammed his head backward, driving it into the man’s nose.

The man grunted and Karl’s hand slid over his on the butt of the machine gun.  Karl’s other hand went to the grip and he swung the rifle around to sweep across the other two captors.  As he did this, he depressed the Mongolian’s finger on the trigger and the gun kicked one clean sustained burst.

Karl wasn’t sure of the number and the high speed he was moving but enough of the burst hit the two men to send them both to the ground.

“Whoa,” Hoi said, helpless to do anything but watch.

Karl let off the grip and twisted his body sending his left elbow into the bridge of the broken nosed man standing directly behind him.  This sent the Mongolian into unconsciousness, which forced him to release his grip on the gun.

“Whoa,” Hoi said again, slightly louder.

Karl spun, bracing the automatic weapon to his shoulder and turned just as the first Mongolian he had kicked was pulling his gun up to bare on Karl.  Karl fired a quick three round burst into the man’s chest and he dropped.

Karl spun and leveled the rifle at Hoi’s head.

“WHOA!” Hoi yelled and dropped his knife.

Karl steadied his hand and stared at Hoi.

“Hold up, hold up.  God damn, are you bionic or something?!” Hoi yelled out of frustration and panic.

Karl didn’t flinch, continuing to stare.

“I don’t even need this job,” Hoi said, becoming calm.  “I lost seven guy, now.  That’s my limit on giving a shit, so let’s just call it a day.”

Karl continued to stare.

Hoi broke the awkward silence.  “So I am just going to go then…”

Hoi didn’t get a response.  Instead, Karl just continued to stare.  Hoi then decided to slowly start moving toward the door.  Karl’s gun continued to track him.  Hoi started to pick up his pace thinking he was going to make it, when Karl stopped him.

“Hoi.”  Karl spoke sternly and Hoi stopped and turned.  “Leave your clothes.”

****

Sam pulled himself to his feet as Bomani lifted the cup from the table.  He watched the man pull out his canteen and pour some water into it.  Sam was seized by an uncontrollable amount of curiosity.  What would happen when he drank from it?

E stood.  “Should we try to stop him?”

Sam shook his head.  “He’s got the gun.”

“Now I will have my eternity.”  Bomani spoke to himself more than to anyone else.

Bomani drank from the cup like he had been in the desert for an eternity.  It poured down the sides of his face and then onto his shirt.

He then began to laugh long and loud.  Sam raised an eyebrow as he stared at him.  E couldn’t turn away either.

“I can feel it.” Bomani said to no one.  “The power coursing through me.  I am like a God!”

“No you aren’t.”  Sam said and Bomani’s attention turned to Sam in an instant.  “You’re just an idiot who drank water out of a dirty cup in an old basement.”

Bomani frowned and almost growled.  “I will show you.”

****

Karl had climbed down the shaft as fast as he could with the small amount of light coming up from below.  But now he had reached the last step and as much as he wanted to drop into action and rescue the people he loved, he knew better then to leap head long into a situation he didn’t fully understand.

He surveyed below, unable to get a good vantage point on Bomani.  He could see his brother and E directly below him.  He could hear them talking.

“Let me show you,” He heard Bomani from somewhere out of his sight line and readied his gun.  He would take the shot as Bomani entered his field of vision to attack Sam.

Karl prayed he didn’t shoot them both.

Suddenly there was a flash of movement in the flickering red light of the flares below.  Bomani had Sam by the throat already and he was lifting him off the ground.

Karl was stunned.  How had Bomani moved so fast?  It didn’t matter now.  He had to move quickly as Bomani’s free hand was coming up with the pistol in it.

Karl let go and entered a controlled fall landing on Bomani’s arms and sending him staggering slightly.  Sam fell to the ground gasping for air.

Bomani’s pistol hit the concrete floor and skidded away from them.

Karl pulled himself up, shouldering the machine gun to take Bomani down, but somehow Bomani was faster and came around with a hard roundhouse kick.  It was perfectly placed to catch the side of the machine gun and despite Karl’s perfect grip, the gun flew away and over the edge into the quick sand below.

Karl was again confused as to where Bomani was getting this from.  Bomani just smiled.  “Lambs to the slaughter.  I am Immortal now.  Bow before me and I will make your deaths quick.”

“Fuck that!” Sam yelled as he rushed past Karl, having gotten to his feet already.

He charged Bomani and took a big hooking right hand.  Sam’s inability to fight showed through and Karl frowned as Bomani side-stepped under the wild haymaker and side kicked him with enough force to send him sliding in the opposite direction.

Karl charged with teeth bared, determined to take this man down.  His first two punches were hard low jabs to the body.  Both connected with full force but Bomani didn’t move.

Instead he chuckled.

Bomani then roundhouse kicked Karl to the side of the head and sent him sprawling backward towards the pistol.  The blow made Karl cough hard and he felt it through his entire body.

“What the hell is going on?”  Karl muttered, looking back at the once-terrorist turned invincible warrior.

“I will say it again, I am immortal.” Bomani said as he began to stride toward Karl.  Karl’s eye caught the pistol and he scrambled for it.

Bomani realized what he was doing and had no interest in testing his God theory and broke into a sprint.  Karl came up with the gun but Bomani was there already, side stepping it, catching his arm and twisting it back toward Karl’s own face.

His strength was incredible and Karl had to use his other hand to stop the barrel of the gun from centering on his face.  Bomani kicked the back of his knee and Karl dropped to a kneel.  Now Bomani had both hands invested in turning Karl’s weapon on himself and Karl slowly began to lose ground.  The barrel edged closer to his face.

“Hey!” E’s voice suddenly broke the melee and everyone looked up at the woman they had forgotten about.

She was holding the cup.  “I’m pretty sure you need this, right?  To stay immortal and all.”

Bomani’s jaw flexed as he stared in horror as to what she would do next.

“I have to be honest.  I’m not interested in immortality.” She said and she summarily tossed it toward the edge of the platform.

“NO!” Bomani shrieked and released Karl, sprinting after the cup.

“NO!” Sam shrieked as he began to pick himself up.

Bomani stretched out one hand and caught the chain as he outstretched the other and grabbed the cup at the last second.

 He had left Karl with the gun, however.  Karl fired three times.  Each shot found their mark in Bomani’s chest.

Bomani did not stagger, he just looked down at the bleeding holes, then back up at Karl and smiled.

It was at this time that Sam collided, head first, into the wannabe Demi-God.

“No!” Karl yelled, and took two steps and leaped.

 “Shit!” E mumbled.  She had already been in motion.

Bomani and Sam went over the edge.  Karl managed to catch Sam’s foot by the ankle, then turned, outstretching his other hand to grab E’s.  E wedged herself against the chain and howled in pain as the enormous weight yanked at her arm.

Bomani caught the handle of the cup with one hand as Sam clasped the base.  Bomani was now dangling inches above the quick sand.

“THIS HURTS BAD!” E yelled in pain as the muscles in her arm were pulled to their limit.

“Sam! Let it go!” Karl yelled as he clutched Sam’s ankle with everything he had and held to E’s wrist knowing he had broken her arm.

Bomani smiled up at Sam.  “You can’t let go, can you Sam?  It has always been your weakness.”

Bomani began to pull himself up and Sam frowned at him before smiling.

Bomani hesitated confused by the smile.

“Enjoy your immortality.”

Sam released his grip on the cup and Bomani wailed in rage and frustration as the sand took him and the ancient artifact.  His sound was abruptly cut off and then there was silence.

****

E rode back to the embassy in the back of a large van.  Her arm was in a sling that the medics on site had done up for her.  It was pretty obviously broken.  Karl had called Kim with his phone recovered from Hoi’s pockets and she had called in the Calvary.  They hadn’t shown up for nearly a half an hour but she wasn’t going to complain about that.  It had nearly taken them that long to pull themselves up without following Bomani into the sand.

She had a brief moment of wonder about Bomani.  Nothing that happened in the cave proved he had really become immortal but a whole lot of things suggested he could have been.  Had he really gained powers or just the power of suggestion?

She looked back to see both of the brothers staring at her.

“What?” She asked.

“Are you going to quit?” Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

She thought about it for a second.  “No, not yet anyway.”

Sam smiled.  “Well, in that case, which one of us are you going to pick?”

E shook her head.  “Excuse me?”

“You can’t have both.” Karl said leaning forward.  “Which one of us is it?”

E mocked thought about that for a second, then smiled back at them. “The jury’s out, boys.”

Karl chuckled and grinned slyly, leaning back in his seat.

Sam made a noise of frustration.  “That is total bullshit!”

E just continued to smile and looked back out the window.  Just then, in the light of the new day’s sunrise, she could swear they passed what looked to be a small Mongolian man running through the streets of Cairo.

END OF SEASON 1

11-Together Again

11

Together Again

Sam had finally made a decision.

It had been the most difficult one of his life.  He had agonized over it for the hours that he had been pretending to work on the Tablet of Osiris.  He had been pretending because it had taken him five minutes to figure it out but he wasn’t yet ready to give up his hand.

He turned and looked around the ancient auditorium.  It was a big, open room.  Bomani & Hoi’s men had dug it out over the course of who knows how long.  The walls were decorated with thousands of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.  In the center of the room there was a large cylinder coming up out of the ground that was fifteen feet in diameter.  The top of it was a round heavy stone with three large prongs coming out and covered in very foreign, very not Egyptian writings.

The Tablet of Osiris.

Sam looked down at his hands then clenched them together and sat down planting his butt on the face of the Tablet.  Bomani eyed him hard and so did the other two guards in the room.

“What are you doing?” Bomani asked.

Sam looked up at him.  “Do you want the long answer or the short answer?”

Bomani raised an eyebrow.  “Can I really choose the short answer?”

Sam couldn’t help but grin.  “Sorry, I’m not a short answer sort of guy.”

Bomani made a motion with his hand for him to get on with it.

Sam took a deep breath.  “The cup is here, under the tablet.  The tablet hides a tunnel, not sure how long or how far, but we will find the cup at the bottom.  The tablet is itself like a combination lock.  Turning it the right number of ways in each direction opens it.”

Bomani smiled.  “Then open it and let’s finish our journey together.”

“No.” Sam said cleanly.

“No?” Bomani asked, surprised by the answer.

“You have made it clear that you are going to kill me after we find the cup.”  Sam said with a feel of defeat.  “And honestly, you called it right.  That fact doesn’t bother me as much as not finding the cup would.”

“The problem, then?” Bomani asked.

Sam looked up and frowned.  “The problem is, you are a miserable lunatic who killed the only family I have ever known and I’m not going to lift a finger to help you.  No discovery in the world can change my mind about that.”

Bomani studied Sam, clearly not expecting this.  “I could blow the lid.”

Sam shook his head.  “That’s the first stupid thing you have said since I met you.  You blow that lid and you risk destroying the auditorium as well as the cup since you don’t know how far down it is.”

Bomani cocked his head to the side like a dog studying a beetle.  “I truly didn’t expect this from you, Bier.  I applaud your resolve.  This could not be easy for you.”

“Hardest thing I have ever done.”  Sam said with a grin.

“I am glad,” Bomani began, “that things turned out the way they did then.”

Bomani picked up his cell phone and pressed a button.  Someone picked up on the other end and Bomani spoke two words.  “Bring them.”

Sam looked at him confused then turned to the entrance to the cave and watched as Hoi and two more of his men entered with both Karl and E walking in front of them.

Sam forced himself to tear up.  “You have got to be kidding me.”

“You okay, Sam?”  Karl asked, concerned.

Sam shook his head.  “Am I alright?  You fell out of a plane!”

Karl shrugged.  “Long story.”

E shook her head.  “Short story, actually.  Just very interesting.”

E and Karl shared a look and suddenly Sam’s mood changed.  “Did you two sleep together?”

E snapped back in utter shock.  “Wait, how the hell did you know that?!”

Sam shook his head.  “You did!  What the hell, Karl?”

Karl shrugged.  “Look brother, it happened and let’s face it, I have more in common with her than you do?”

“Hey, will someone tell me how he figured that out in the two seconds we have been here?!” E questioned.

She was ignored.  “What exactly do you two have in common?  She’s a translator not a rich ex-FBI agent who specializes in killing people!”

Karl was offended.  “I don’t specialize in it, and what the hell does it matter to you?  You never sleep with the same girl twice!”

“Maybe she was different!”  Sam shot back.

“Why?!” Karl was yelling now.  “Because I like her?”

Bomani fired one shot in the air to silence the room.

Every one stopped talking and turned toward him.  “This is what I hate about Americans, their inability to prioritize.  I believe the men with guns take priority over your pathetic love lives.”

Sam knew the score now.  It wasn’t just about him anymore.  If he didn’t open the tablet then Bomani would kill Karl and E.  Not that he wouldn’t do that anyway, but the longer he kept them alive the more chance Karl had to pull something out of his ass.

“You just lost and you don’t even know it.”  Sam said smiling.  “The worst thing you could do was put us back together.”

“Spare me.”  Bomani said with a frown.  “Open it.”

Sam turned back to the tablet and motioned for E and Karl to help.  “Okay guys, I need to you turn the tablet right toward me until the jackal symbol matches the strange flower looking one.”

E didn’t move.  She stared at the tablet.  “This is amazing, these aren’t hieroglyphics are they?”

Sam shook his head.  “No, they aren’t.”

“Do you know what they are?” She asked, turning to him.

He shrugged.  “A special code used by the ones who built this place.”

“It is the language of the Gods.” Bomani cut in.  “The cup was placed here by Isis to keep it from harming any others.”

Sam shrugged again.  “If you’re superstitious.”

Bomani raised an eyebrow.  “This talk of superstition coming from a man searching for something that exists only in myth.”

Sam ignored their capture and watched as Karl and E pushed hard to twist the large stone tablet in the correct direction.  It locked up with the right pictures and Sam smiled.

“Pull up while turning it clockwise till it hits the symbol that looks like an upper case M.”

They did and there was an audible click.   Everyone was watching now.  “Move it back while pulling up again till it locks with the double droplet looking symbol.”

They did and everyone felt the changing of the air as the tablet freed itself and opened into what seemed like a tunnel leading strait down. Metal rods crossed the center on the round opening which was obviously a ladder.

Sam smiled.  He had done it.  Below was the cup.  He could feel it.

Hoi suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back from the edge, tossing him to the dirt floor.

He yelled.  “I have had just about all I can take of this shit!”

Bomani turned in rage.  “Hoi, what are you doing?”

“What are you doing?  You promised me money, a lot of money.  So far I have three dead guys and nothing to show for it?” Hoi was very frustrated.

Bomani smiled.  “Don’t worry, this is it.  Everything we want is down there.  You watch Karl for insurance and I will take the woman and Samuel.”

Hoi took a deep breath, not wanting to give up on making some money.  “Alright, last chance.  Find me something to make me rich.”

Bomani smiled.  “Don’t worry, Hoi.  Unlike God, I reward the devoted.”

TO BE CONCLUDED…

10-Karl Vs The World

10

Karl vs The World

As E put her clothes on she watched Karl dress out of the corner of her eye.  She felt a ping of sorrow for each piece of hard sculpted body he covered with his shirt and pants. It had been intense and attentive all at the same time.

It was two in the morning and they had to head out.  Karl had decided it would be the best time to ‘storm the castle’ after Sam and the cup.

I’m storming a castle.

E realized just how crazy that sounded and tried not to think about it.  She turned to Karl who had placed the guns in the back of his pants.  He then grabbed a Hawaiian print tourist style button up.  He put it on loosely to cover up the weapons.

The bright orange and blue’s of the shirt had a disarming quality that did not do Karl justice.  “That shirt is no good on you.”

Karl turned with a smile.  “Really?  I kinda like it.”

“Can we really do this?” E asked, unable to contain her concern.

Karl frowned.  “You don’t have to come.  I’ll be honest, the odds are not in our favor.”

“No,” E said quickly.  “I’m in it till the end.”

“Alright.”  Karl responded slowly.  He was not happy with that answer.  “While we are there, do everything I say when I say it.  I don’t want to get you killed.”

E nodded, butterflies of anticipation rushing through her.  This was it.  They were going to storm the castle and rescue Sam from a psychotic terrorist, obsessed with an ancient artifact.

Live or die, her life had become so interesting.

They exited the room and Karl locked it behind him.  They then walked down the stone hallway of the fifth floor toward the old elevator passing three other room doors on either side and pressed the elevator button and listened as the loud and old machinery kicked to life.

E frowned as the door squealed open.  “I don’t feel good about this thing could we take the stairs?”

Karl chuckled.  “Sure.”

Karl turned to the right down the first floor of the box stair case to the first landing when three men walked around the corner.  One was a smaller man covered in tattoos and wore a muscle shirt and torn jeans.  The second was large with broad shoulders and wearing an open Hawaiian button up, not unlike Karl’s.  The final man was fit and toned in a cut off tee shirt and basket ball shorts.

All three men were Mongolian.

The one with the colorful shirt had a Glock 9MM concealed under it.

“Shit,” Karl mouthed, then grabbed E and shoved her into the open elevator just as the doors closed.

“First floor!” He yelled at her as she hit the back of the small metal box in confusion.

As the door closed she heard gunfire.

****

Karl knew instantly that they worked for Hoi.  He also knew they saw him and in the time it took them to figure out who he was, he had to get E out of harm’s way.  She looked confused as the door shut but he knew she would understand in the next couple of seconds as his right hand went to one of the forty-five calibers.

He had the drop on them and the big man couldn’t get to his Glock fast enough.  Karl put two into his chest and the big man lurched backward toppling to the ground.  The other two men went for their weapons and Karl fired off three more quick rounds as he sprinted back down the hallway.

He heard them yelling at each other and looked back around the corner to watch them come around the corner.  One man had an evil looking hand gun, of which Karl did not want to be on the receiving end.  He shifted his momentum and put all his weight into the hotel door to his left.  The old door thankfully gave way and Karl toppled into the room as he heard the gun rattle of a chain of automatic fire.

Karl pulled himself to his feet as the gun stopped firing and he heard them chasing him down the hall.  He sprinted through the small room and covered his face as he threw himself through the glass window and onto the ancient fire escape.

He had to think quickly.  Still trying to put distance between himself and his chasers he climbed onto the railing and leapt across the four story drop to the fire escape across the alley.  At the same time he heard another chain of gunfire behind him.  This threw him off and he slammed into the railing of the fire escape across the way.

As Karl caught himself on the railing, the top bar gave way and the railing swung out. Karl managed to maintain hold, dropping the forty five into the alley to grab the railing with both hands.  The metal squealed as it spun him low and tossed him onto the fire escape one level below.

Karl hit the metal grating face first.  He reached his left hand back and grabbed for the other pistol.  A shadow sailed over his head as the fit Mongolian easily leapt the distance and landed on the level above Karl.

“Show off.” Karl mumbled to himself as he pulled the gun to shoot him.

Before Karl could pull the trigger, out of the corner of his eye, he caught the other Mongolian with the machine pistol stepping out onto the ledge.  Karl swept the pistol back toward the way he came and fired three shots.

The first two hit the Mongolian in the chest and the third in the eye.  The Mongolian lurched and tumbled over the edge of the railing and into the alley below.

Karl turned back to take out his last attacker but he was too late as the fit henchmen had already dropped to his level and kicked the gun out of Karl’s hand with a standing roundhouse.

The gun sailed into the alley way and the Mongolian wasted no time threw to quick and hard punches to Karl’s mid-section before he could react.  Karl staggered and the fit warrior finished the combo by striking Karl hard with a forearm to the face.

Karl fell backward into the edge of the railing and the Mongolian stepped in to finish him with a sidekick to send him over, but Karl had other plans.  Karl side-stepped the blow and hook punched the Mongolian in the thigh with everything he had.

The Mongolian screamed as his leg cramped.  Karl wasted no time grabbing the back of his head and driving every bit of his knee into the man’s nose.  The force shattered his face and put him out.

The man hit the metal grating and did not move.  Karl took a couple of deep breaths then began to move down the fire escape jumping down on the last story to the ground. He rushed out of the alley way then tried to fix his appearance as he watched police running into the front of the hotel.

Karl looked around trying to find E, starting to feel some relief that he just took out three of Hoi’s boys he might be able to pull this off.

The hope was short lived.

His eyes found E sitting on a bench across the street.  Next to her was Hoi, grinning with his shark teeth.  Sitting in his lap was a newspaper which was also covering his hand, without a doubt concealing a gun that was pointed at E.

Karl shook his head and cursed to himself.

He slowly walked across the street making his hands visible to the gun lord.

“Sorry, he was waiting at the lobby.”  E was the first to speak as soon as Karl was within ear shot.

“It’s okay,” Karl told her.  “Are you okay?”

“Neither of you are okay.”  Hoi decided to field this one.

Karl’s attention turned to the international criminal.  “How did you find us?”

“Bomani’s bitches where supposed to check in once they landed safely.  They never did.” Hoi spoke calmly.  “Now if you wouldn’t mind slowly walking to that public trash can and tossing your weapons, I have a car on the way.”

Karl frowned.  “Why keep us alive, Hoi?  Why not kill us now.”

E frowned at him.  “I’m just fine with the whole living thing, thank you very much.”

Hoi ignored her.  “Not my call.  Bomani wants to talk to you both.  If I had my way, you would be dead already.”

“I see, so what does he want with all of us?” Karl asked as the car pulled up.

Hoi smiled showing his broken teeth.  “Do not know, do not care, but after he gets done with the three of you, you’ll be all mine.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

Episode 9-The Tablet of Osiris

9

The Tablet of Osiris

Cairo was a city of wonder.  It was a series of ancient buildings, some dating back to the time of pharaohs, set to a background of more modern skyscrapers.  The two intermingled in a fascinating combination of old and new in a way that made E feel like she was on cloud nine.

The city itself was populated to the point of bursting.  People where everywhere, Cairo was packed full of youth and energy, making the city feel wild and alive.

E had caught up quick on her Arabic, having to deal with so many fast talking Middle Eastern people.

She had however, After all it was what she did as a living and she was damn good at it.

She couldn’t help but smile as she rounded the corner heading back to the down-trodden hotel room Karl had rented them for the night.  She shouldn’t have been in a good mood considering what she had gone through in the last few days.  She had fallen out of a plane, been attacked by a giant Mongolian thug, and of course been dragged halfway across the world.

Still it had a strange feeling of right.  She turned to look at the sun as it was beginning its descent and it illuminated the ancient metropolis in a way that sent chills through E’s body.  She could almost hear the history whispering to her.  It whispered of loves and battles, victory and defeat.

How could the sight of this not be worth it?

She had seen more and done more in the last two days than most did in their entire lives.  She could only think about all the times she sat between two stuffy old business men and helped to broker by translating a deal.  It had been her job for the last ten years, but this, this was the reason she wanted to speak other languages; to explore, to find things.

This was a reason to get up in the morning.

She turned and entered the hotel, climbing the steps to their room and knocking twice before entering.  Karl had stayed behind.  He would have been useless at this part anyway.  E had gone out to find out what she could about the situation, recon, Karl had called it.

She entered the room and put her bags down on the table, not seeing Karl in the small room.  “Hello?”

As soon as she said that, Karl walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel.

E’s eyes widen as he crossed the room to where he had laid his clothes out on the bed, having not noticed her yet.  She could only stare in wonder at Karl’s hard body, damp from the recent shower.  His stomach was tight and defined by a six-pack, his arms were not overly muscled but instead thick and sturdy.  His thighs matched his upper body and his entire body glistened.

She cleared her throat finally to let him know she was there and he whipped around.  For a second, it looked like the towel was going to fall.

For a second, she wished the towel would fall.

He relaxed at the sight of her.  “Jesus, E.”

“Sorry,” she said, turning to shut the door and hide the deep red that her cheeks were turning.  “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m not scared,” Karl said, having been spooked, obviously bothering his warrior instincts.  “Just jumpy, I guess.  You find anything out?”

She turned smiling.  “Of course I did.  It’s what you pay me for, isn’t it?”

He grinned.  “I guess so.”

She smiled.  “According to the locals, the Fortress Babylon has been closed off for weeks now.  They have been hiring free workers to go in and work during the day… digging.”

“Sam was right.”  Karl suspicions justified.  “The cup is under the fortress.”

E shrugged.  “That, or this Bomani thinks it is.  Anyway, that’s probably where Sam is, but from what I can tell, they haven’t taken any workers up there in a couple of days.  I found one of the workers and although he didn’t know what they were doing down there, he said there were a lot of Asian looking men with guns.  He said they all took their orders from a Mongolian man with bad teeth.”

“Hoi,” Karl hissed with no small amount of disdain.  “You find out how many?”

“The worker said including Bomani and Hoi there are nine men, all armed with machine guns.”  E answered.

Karl frowned.  “Damn it!  How am I supposed to deal with that?”

His question was rhetorical but E smiled and walked to her bag on the table.  “With these.”

She dumped the bag and two Colt model 1911 semi-automatic pistols and four clips fell out onto the wood.

“Holy shit,” Karl said as he stared in shock.  “E, how did you-”

“A good translator can speak the language.”  E smirked.  “A great translator uses it.”

Karl looked at her and smiled.  “You are one hell of a woman.”

E found herself blushing again.  “It was nothing.”

Karl picked up the guns and went through a quick field check of them.  He then set them down.  “Okay I’ll leave tonight.  I’ll have a better chance in the dark.”

“You mean we’ll?”  E interrupted and Karl turned to see her cheeks flushed now with anger.

“E, you can’t come.  You’ve helped a lot but I can’t put you in that kind of danger.”  Karl said with sympathetic eyes.

“You can’t put me in that kind of danger?!” E scuffed before getting into his face.  “Eight hours ago, I fell out of a plane.  Guns cease to scare me.”

“Look, these men are killers,” Karl protested.

 “You can’t do this alone,” E said.  “You lost the right to do it alone when you brought me.”

Karl took a deep breath.  “Okay.”

“Good.” E said putting a period on the conversation.

The two now lingered in a weird place.  The adrenaline was still flowing but now it was flowing in a different way.  E knew Karl felt it too.  Sam was endearing in his mad scientist sort of way, but Karl was earthy.  He was a man with bloody knuckles, a determined warrior.  He struck something deep and primal in E, a female need to pick the biggest and the strongest.

“God help me.”  She said as Karl leaned in to kiss her.

The towel slipped away.

****

Sam had not had the chance to sight see.  He had his hands tied and was hustled into a car and driven directly through town to the fortress.

The operation had taken pull and a lot of money but somehow, Bomani had gotten permission to dig in the basement of the fortress.  He had found the original exit to the cup’s tomb.

They entered the man-made tunnel and Bomani suddenly began to talk.  “It took time, much like when the Egyptians built the pyramids.  They had tricked the laborers inside and collapsed the way out, sealing the tomb and the knowledge of the tomb inside.”

Sam nodded, having already guessed as much.  “Where is your digging crew?”

Bomani turned with a smile.  “No longer needed, we found the tablet.”

Sam’s eyes went wide as they walked through the tunnel.  “The tablet is real.”

“Of course,” Bomani said turning away.

Sam stared at the back at his head and Bomani finally turned, feeling his eyes on him, “Question?”

“I don’t get it,” Sam began.  “You worked for the Taliban.  They’re religious zealots.  How does a Muslim zealot go searching for a Pagan artifact?”

Bomani took a deep breath and for the first time Sam could see pain on his face.  “I believe in the cause.  I believed in the holy land.  Believed in god.  I watched so many die to send the infidels to hell, all the time thinking there would be a place for me in heaven.”

“What happened?” Sam asked honestly curious.

“The Ankh,” He answered.  “It is a thing made not of this earth, but not made of my God. The more I learned of this legend, the more proof showed itself and I realized that the cup’s existence is proof that my God does not exist.”

“That must have been a mind blower, huh?”  Sam’s words had a grounding effect on Bomani.

Bomani shook his head and his soft smile returned, the pain in his eyes vanishing. “Whoever drinks from the cup gains the strength and immortality of a God.”

Bomani turned back to the man made cave in front of him.  “There is no eternity waiting for me, Mr. Bier, so I will make my own.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

Episode 8-Becuase You Need To Know

Episode 8

Because You Need to Know

Sam stood and stared for a second before dusting himself off and charging.

He could only think of his brother and E, free falling through the air, knowing their death was imminent.  He saw Karl, the man who kept him in check slamming into the ground at terminal velocity and knew that as much as this Egyptian was at fault, so was he.

Sam saw the man’s neck and, for the first time in his life, he wanted to kill a living thing.

Hoi went for his gun as Sam charged but it didn’t deter him.  Sam had long past left his need to stay alive behind.  The Egyptian put up his hand to stop Hoi.

Sam reached for the man and it happened fast.

The thief side-stepped Sam’s attack and rolled his hand over Sam’s wrist.  With a hard twist he sent Sam head over heels out of the port hatch and crashing down the stairs.

Sam rolled, bouncing violently down the stairs and slammed into the tarmac.

The pain was everywhere, washing over Sam’s body.  He moaned loud and low and saw stars.

Instinctively, he rolled away from the stairs trying to gain distance.  The man walked down the stairs.  Hoi was behind him.  He made a tsk tsk noise with his mouth.  “Mr. Bier.  I was hoping you would be more civil.”

 Sam scrambled to his feet and came to the realization that he was surrounded by men of Mongolian decent.  “Fuck you!  And fuck your pet gun runner.”

Hoi showed his shark-like, broken teeth in a deep frown and again the Egyptian put up his hand to stop him.

Sam’s eyes narrowed as his very random brain finally caught up with what was happening.  “You went after my brother because he protected me.  E, because she was a witness.  But not me.  We both know Hoi wants to gut me like a fish and you’re stopping him.”

The Egyptian raised an eyebrow.  “Your point?”

“You need me.”  Sam smiled.  “You need me to get you through the catacombs that lead to the cup!”

Sam began to laugh out loud but the Egyptian’s smile never faded.  “Mr. Bier, this still doesn’t change your position.”

Sam stopped laughing.  “The hell it doesn’t.  You need me to help you and I’m not going to.”

The Egyptian cut Sam off.  “Help me?  Come now, Sam.  We both know you are going to help me.”

Sam frowned and the man continued.  “You are going to help me because you didn’t come here to bond with your brother and you didn’t come here for a souvenir.  You came here to find the cup.  You came here to see if you can do it.”

Sam almost broke down because as much as he wanted it to be different, this man had him pegged.

Sam couldn’t let it go and just walk away.  That was an ability he had not been born with.

“You’re going to kill me too?  When we find this thing?” Sam asked knowing the answer.

“Undoubtedly.”  The man answered without missing a beat.  “But that doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Sam’s self loathing had never been higher because in the end, he had to know.

****

Karl watched her.

He had been watching her since their narrow escape of death.  They had lucked out and not landed in the desert, instead hitting a road forty miles outside of Cairo.  It was a matter of time before a bus had shown up on the road.  Karl flagged it down and negotiated their way onto the bus.

In all that time, E had not said a word.

She had been silent and Karl had worried she had snapped under the pressure.  Either way, the poor New York translator was in a deep shock.  Karl couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt.  It was his fault she was in this.

He took a breath to say something when his phone rang.  It was Carolyn and he decided E could wait.  He answered.

“Karl?  Is that you?” Carolyn’s normally hard voice sounded concerned.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Karl asked, deciding he wouldn’t tell her about the last hour unless he had to.

“Turn around and come home.  You’re in deep shit.” Her voice was stern but still carried the concern that he had heard before.

Karl raised an eyebrow.  “Talk to me.”

“I found your Egyptian,” Carolyn began to explain.  “His name is Bomani.  He is an international terrorist, but not in the ‘kill himself for his God’ sort of way.  This guy went freelance after starting in Al-Qaida which is extremely rare, and then vanished only to pop up a half dozen more times, always linked to bombings or military actions, then vanishing.”

“He sounds like a movie cliché.” Karl responded, sarcastically.

“Look, this guy is bad news.”  Carolyn ignored Karl’s comment.  “He’s not someone you are going to be able to deal with alone, especially if he’s working for or with Hoi.  Turn yourselves around and call off the hunt.”

Karl took a deep breath and tried to rub the headache from his brow.  “I can’t.  He’s got Sam.”

Karl had come to this conclusion from the plane attack, knowing that a man this well trained would be waiting for the plane on arrival.  There was silence on the other end, and behind him a chicken screeched, reminding him of how hot and crowded the bus was.

“He’s gone then.”  Carolyn said finally, her voice was dead cold.  The concern was gone.  “He’s gone.  You and your translator go in after him and you will just end up joining him.”

Karl frowned.  “Thanks for the info Carolyn, but screw you.”

Karl hung up on her.  He found it hard to be mad at her for her suggestion.  She was a cold hard facts sort of girl, and she was looking at the numbers.  Karl, from a strategic stand point, was more valuable.  Karl had more chance of leading a successful and happy life while functioning in society.  This chance went up tenfold when you subtracted a crazy brother dependent.

This was why Karl had stopped seeing Carolyn and quit the FBI.  Sometimes you had to forget the numbers.

“What’s wrong?” E’s voice broke his train of thought and slightly startled Karl.  With the stress of the situation, he had momentarily forgotten about the woman.

“We’re in over our heads and Sam is being held by the Egyptian.  His name is Bomani.”

“Warrior.”  E said in response and this confused Karl.

“What?” Karl questioned.

“Bomani.  It means warrior.”  She said and Karl remembered her trade of choice.

“Of course it is,” Karl said nodding.  “Look, he’s bad news so when we get to Cairo I will have a private plane take you back to the states.”

“No thank you.”  E said quickly with plenty of fear, the free fall having scared her of flying.

“Not up for debate.  You are going home and that’s-” Karl was cut off mid rant by a kiss from E.  It was soft and gentle and perfect and conveyed her emotions with a silent passion.

“Look,” Karl said finally when she broke contact.  “This isn’t going to change my mind.”

E shook her head.  “You caught me as a plummeted to my death.  Thank you.”

Karl nodded and was quiet.  He found it hard to respond to that.

“Besides,” E continued.  “You’re going to keep me around because you need me.”

This woke Karl up fast.  “How do you figure?”

“You don’t speak Mongolian or Egyptian.” She said matter-of-factly.

She had him there.  At the end of the day, Karl spoke only English, but was about to go head to head with a Mongolian drug syndicate and a high ranking freelance terrorist.

“I can’t protect you, not in there.” Karl said very calmly and quietly.

E took a deep breath.  “I know, but I’m the only one who can help you save Sam.”

Karl gritted his teeth realizing that she was right, even in some small fashion.  She knew the language and, when it came down to it, she would be the most valuable tool in reconnaissance that Karl could have.

She wasn’t a tool, though, she was a human being.

A tool that Karl was very afraid he could not protect.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Episode 7-Free Fall

Episode 7

Free Fall

Karl knew his window was small, incredibly small.  He had one clean shot and that was it.  If he screwed it up, he had a long fall to think about it.

He let go of E.  At the same time, he also let go of his brother’s foot.

“NO!” Sam screamed as Karl watched the fear in his eyes grow like an unchecked infection.

He had no time to reassure his brother, he just had to act.

In the second that he was sucked out the air lock, Karl reached out both hands and grabbed the female assassin by the strap of the parachute and clamped his fingers down.

The force lurched the woman forward suddenly and in that instant Karl, the assassin and E were in a free fall.

Karl knew he had little more than seconds to save himself and E.  He was expecting a fight from the assassin but he quickly realized she was not moving.  The sudden inertia of him grabbing her and jerking her out of the plane had snapped her neck.

Karl put it out of his mind and went to work grabbing the center buckle that held the parachute onto the assassin.  The free fall was insane.  The wind forced E to rush past his head and Karl forced himself to stay calm and not to panic.  He had done jumps before, part of his training from a life that seemed far away, now.

Although he had never jumped out of a plane not wearing a chute, he had also never had to try to save a woman in mid air either.

Details.

****

“Karl!” Sam was still screaming as he watched his brother sacrifice himself and another woman to save him.

He had done it to save Sam.

Sam felt the tears stream down his face as he was whipped back and forth by the air pressure.  He wanted to let go, to follow his brother.  He didn’t want to be the one to make it through.  He didn’t deserve to make it through.

What was he going to do without Karl?

The plane dipped below the pressure line and the air equalized.  Sam dropped to the floor, the suction relinquishing its hold on him and there he laid, the wind still whipping through the cabin of the plane.

Tears ran down his face.

What the hell was Sam going to do?

****

Karl managed to pull the chute away from the lifeless female assassin and kicked her body away sending it rag dolling into the wind.

Karl immediately went about the task of getting the parachute around his shoulders and fastened, which was easier said than done while free falling at terminal velocity.

Karl tried to force himself to focus on the job at hand and not on the ground rushing up at him.  He knew that he was on the clock and that clock was ticking fast.  The need to know how long he had until he hit the ground was overwhelming but he willed himself to see only the task at hand.

Don’t look down.

He felt the buckle clasp latch around his mid section and breathed a quick sigh of relief. The job wasn’t done yet and he turned, spinning in mid-air, trying to find E.

There!

He caught his eye on her and found hope.  She hadn’t drifted too far from him.  He clasped his hand to his side and made himself into an arrow, increasing his fall velocity to catch up to the screaming flailing translator.

Hold on!

He got close to her and opened his arms and halted his speed reaching out to grab her.

Come on…

He grabbed her hand and dragged her toward him, the shock stopped her screaming and she stared at him mystified as to what was happening.

“Hold on to me!” Karl yelled it as loud as he could but the words seemed to die on his lips.  They were swallowed up by the wind.

Nonetheless, she seemed to comprehend and nodded, wrapping her arm around his chest under the chute, then her legs around his waist.  She held on so tight Karl could barely breathe.

Karl wasn’t sure this would work.  The force of the parachute stopping their fall might have been to great for them to hold on.  He might not have tightened the buckle enough.  It didn’t matter, he was out of time.

Karl pulled the rip-cord.

The harness system tightened as the chute opened and caught the wind.  The force of gravity was mighty.  Karl felt his own grip give at the same time E’s did and he struggled desperately to stop it from happening by reaching out.  She did the same as the pull threatened to claim her.

Karl caught her wrist and took the rest of the force onto himself, his arm nearly tearing off.

He held fast, straining with everything he had.  She latched onto his wrist with the same hand, digging herself in so tight that her nails broke his flesh.

Suddenly, there was silence.  The wind had stopped and all that could be heard was their panting and the far off echo of the plane that they had once occupied.

Karl knew they weren’t out of the fire yet.  The parachute held but they had at least ten minutes before they touched down.  He could see the land now, past the struggling E. Although he held her, he only had one of his hands on her.  Soon his arm would give out and instinct would take over, releasing the woman to fall to her death.

Her weight pulled his one side forward too much and he couldn’t get his other hand in a good enough position to help.  To make matters worse, she was panicked and flailing like a lunatic.

“STOP MOVING!” Karl tried to yell and ended up half growling, half groaning the words.

She froze like a person in a car that teetered on the edge of a cliff.  He could tell she was even holding her breath.

“Don’t let go.”  She whispered, pleading.

Karl shook his head.  “I can’t hang on for much longer.  You have to pull yourself up.”

E shook her head, tears streaming down her face.  Karl felt a ping of sorrow.  The poor thing was probably in shock, it was a wonder she held on this long.

The worst part was that it was his fault.

“Listen to me.  If you don’t do anything, I’m going to drop you, not because I want you but because I can’t keep this up.  You have to pull yourself up.”

“What if you let go when I pull?”  She asked, trying to bring herself back from a fear and shock-addled brain.

“If you try, I’ll hold on.” Karl said, staring at the woman in the eyes.

He watched her resolve change and a strength came over her that he had seen on her before when she helped with the Mongolian in New York.  He welled with a deep respect born out of a shared experience with death and flexed as she pulled with her arm.

Every muscle in his arm screamed in pain but he willed himself to hold on.  He would not let her go.  Not today.

She pulled herself up straining and finally reaching with her other hand to catch Karl’s free hand.

With the new position it was easier for him to pull her up and she latched onto him again.

Karl started laughing.  “Holy shit.  I can’t believe we did that!”

****

Sam just sat on the floor, back against the couch with no sense of guidance or direction, only the absolute and utter emptiness.

What was the point of anything?

He felt the plane touchdown, having completely ignored the fasten seat belt warnings or the oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.

The plane taxied to a stop and then a ladder was wheeled to the opening where the door would have been.

Sam continued to sit there in silence, not noticing the men who walked up and into the cabin.

“Hello Sam.”  Sam recognized the voice and looked up to see the broken rotting teeth of Hoi’s toothy grin.

Sam took a deep breath as he realized that Hoi was behind it all.  He was behind the murder of his brother, which made it Sam’s fault.

Then a new figure entered the cabin.  The well-dressed and good looking Egyptian thief.

“Mr. Bier.  I believe you can help me with this.” He held up the Ankh.  “I want the cup of Osiris.”

TO BE CONTINUED…