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.