Episode 5-Destination Cairo

5

Destination, Cairo

Carolyn rode the ridiculous elevator up toward the penthouse where the brothers lived.

When Karl had called her and asked her to come over fast and alone, she had wanted to tell him to shove it.  After all, he was the one who had left the bureau and her, twisting in the wind to brew beer.  So why should she help him now?

Because she owed him.  Plain and simple.

She shifted back and forth wanting this to be over already.  She pushed her strawberry blonde hair over her ear and adjusted her suit coat.  The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

“Carrie! So lovely to see you again.”  Sam’s voice cut the silence suddenly and Carolyn frowned.

Carolyn hated Sam.

The reasons for this hatred were numerous, including the fact that he was one of the biggest reasons Karl had left the bureau and eventually her, but he was also just plain unlikable.

She also hated being called Carrie.

“Don’t start with me, Sam.” She turned at him with a hard and stern look.

Sam grinned.  “But I missed you so much.”

Carolyn ignored him as she walked into the penthouse and looked at Karl.  “Okay, I’m here.  What do you want?”

Karl looked like he felt awkward, “Well we had a situation.”

Sam chuckled.  “A situation?  We were attacked by terrorists!”

E came down the stairs.  “They weren’t terrorists, the big one keeps saying Nahoi will make us pay.”

Carolyn’s scowl intensified and Sam tried to look innocent.  “How?  How, Sam?  How could you possibly get into it with that psycho?  Last time you got in with that psycho you almost ended up dead and we had to quell an international incident!”

“How was I supposed to know it’s rude to make eye contact?” Sam got defensive.

E barged in.  “Excuse me, but who is Nahoi?”

Carolyn raised an eyebrow and looked over E.  “Who’s the skirt?”

“Who’s the skirt?” Sam mocked.  “Were you born in 1952?”

Carolyn gritted her teeth.  “Karl put a muzzle on him, or I will.”

“What the hell are you doing with a muzzle?” Sam never missed a beat.

“Sam, give it a rest.” Karl played peacekeeper.

E was yet again being forgotten about.  “Excuse me, but no one answered my question.  Who is Nahoi?”

Karl turned to E first.  “He’s a Mongolian weapons dealer, mostly dealing in stolen guns, but he also has a pension for acquiring rare artifacts.”

Karl then turned back to Carolyn.  “She’s our new translator.”

Carolyn gave Karl a knowing look.  “Sure she is, a little too hot for a translator.”

Sam shrugged.  “I don’t know, she’s a high seven, tops.”

E snapped a glared at Sam.  “Screw you buddy.”

“Kidding!” Sam said, chuckling.

“Wait,” Carolyn interjected.  “My turn for questions.  What happened here, how are you involved with Hoi again, and what does she mean by the big one?”

Karl took a deep breath and looked at Sam.  Sam shrugged and smiled.  “Hey, this is all you.”

****

“So let me get this straight,” Carolyn said as she watched the security camera footage from the research room.  “You guys stole an artifact from Nahoi-”

“Reclaimed.”  Sam interrupted.

Carolyn continued ignoring him.  “Then this guy shows up with his Mongolian buddy to take it back.”

“Steal.” Sam corrected again.

Carolyn continued to ignore him, “And you two manage to fight them off, during which, one jumps out your broken window.  You need to report this.”

Karl shook his head.  “I think we are going to keep this one between us.”

Carolyn turned from the footage.  “So, what exactly do you want me to do for you?”

“Take the big guy off our hands, for one.  Turn him over to the C.I.A or Interpol.  Then, off the books, try and find out who the Egyptian is.” Karl answered.

Carolyn’s eyes narrowed.  “And how should I explain the big guy?  I just ran into him in the super market?”

Karl grinned.  “Be creative, don’t forget… you owe me.”

Carolyn sighed.  “Fine, but when this is over we are even.”

****

The Thief

He boarded the private jet and took a seat.  A very attractive American woman walked over with a glass of champagne on a tray.  She bent over to the thief and he smiled, before taking the glass and saying ‘thank you.’

The flight attendant smiled back.  “Of course sir, we will be taking off in fifteen minutes.”

The thief nodded before pulling out his phone, it was time to give Hoi an update.

He scrolled through his contact list and found Hoi.  He selected the option to call and waited for his Mongolian, gun-running associate to answer.

“Hoi.” He answered in English with a heavy accent.

“It’s me.” the thief said in perfect English.  “I’m on my way back now.”

“You get the ankle?” Hoi said flubbing the last word.

“The ankh,” The thief corrected him.  “Yes I did, although sacrifices had to be made.”

Hoi laughed.  “I told you Karl was a tough bastard!  What happened?”

“I will be coming home alone.” The thief said.

Hoi hesitated to respond, and the thief could read the silence.  Hoi didn’t like the fact that the thief had left his man behind, used him as a large distraction.  He would be worried that his friend would roll over on Hoi, not to mention he would have to replace the loyal soldier.

Finally, Hoi spoke.  “You used him as a distraction to steal the thing and left him behind?”

The thief paused while considering how to answer this question.  “Yes.”

He went with honesty because there was no reason not to.  The ankh was the last piece of the puzzle.  He would now finally be able to enter the vault and get to the cup, and Hoi had already spent too much on the operation to back out now.

“You better not be thinking of pulling that shit with me.” Hoi threatened.

The thief was planning exactly that.  “Of course not, what is one soldier in the face of the millions you’re going to make?”

The question was rhetorical and Hoi changed the subject.  “Fine, you get back fast and I send a car.  I want to get out of this fucking desert.”

The thief smiled.  “I will call.”

The thief hung up the phone as the plane began to taxi onto the run way.

****

The Brothers

Carolyn had left and taken the enforcer with her.  It was easy for her after the damage Karl had done to the big man’s knee and face.

Now the brothers and E walked through the disaster area that was the research room. This room was Sam’s temple, when he wasn’t drunk, that is.  He would be here for hours scouring through books and internet pages in order to decipher ancient legends and come up with locations for the treasures they hunted.

Karl was unequivocally the muscle, his skills in combat and war were unparalleled.  He was also gifted with a good business sense and an ability to learn anything quickly.

But no one researched like Sam.

He was never wrong about a location or a puzzle.  His brain craved the challenge.

Sam now went through the papers and books scattered around the floor, picking them up and trying to organize them.

Karl was inspecting the damage as well.

E turned over a chair and plopped down, looking exhausted.  Karl turned seeing her stressed face.  “You can go if you like.”

E looked up, not quite understanding.  “Are you firing me?”

Karl chuckled.  “No, of course not, but you looked as if you wanted out of here.”

E pushed herself up.  “I’m fine.  All in a day’s work, and I have no interest in quitting.”

Karl raised an eyebrow.  “Are you sure?  It can be dangerous with us.”

E thought about her empty, one bedroom apartment and the complete lack of excitement in her life and managed a smile.  “No worries.”

“Ooh, I think she’s a keeper.” Sam said it with a certain insinuation.

Both Karl and E gave him dirty looks, then Karl looked back to E.  “Well that’s good, although it doesn’t matter right now.  Without the ankh, we are dead in the water.”

E frowned.  She was actually slightly bummed at the cancelling of the adventure.

Sam began to grin.  “Not so sure about that.”

Karl and E turned back toward him. “The cup is in Cairo.”

TO BE CONTINUED…