Mesopotamia:The Cradle of Civilization-Currently known as Iraq
*Chapter 1: Nick:
Where's your sense of adventure?-Nick Morton
Dust filled the air. The smell of smoke and sweat was strong on the breeze as I looked through a pair of binoculars despite the ringing in my ears from the sound of bullets, pieces from a lion statue flying in the air. The dust and sand flew into my brown hair and brown eyes as if to snap me out of my thoughts, but I refused to rub or acknowledge the pain as I blinked rapidly. A warm wind whipped at the robe and the red head scarf around my mouth as I lowered the pair of binoculars from my eyes, still being in my disguise. I took the bullet out of my teeth and cocked it into a pistol, aware of the heat of the sun warming my neck and scorching over the golden plain. The bay Arabian mount that I was on snorted and shook his head in the wind as its black tail swished around to swat flies. His tail swept carelessly behind like the flag of a courageous country, waving at the plains in a proud victorious fashion. The horse walked like a king, with confidence and exquisite posture, with muscles that rippled under his glossy brown coat. The sound of faint gunfire was heard in the distance as dust shot into the blue sky from explosives.
Perfect. Just perfect. How do we get in there? Do I look like I have a death wish? Apparently we do. June 9, 2017: two soldiers do something stupid, I thought stubbornly as I heard hoofbeats ascend to where I waited.
"Tell me why we're here again, Nick Morton?" I turned around to see my friend, Corporal Chris Vail next to me on a chestnut horse, canteen thumping against his saddlebag filled with our food. The head scarfs that continued to disguise us blew in the warm wind, the two of us looking like refugees on the hunt for trouble. Vail, as everyone he knew called him, was a tall man with short hair as black as coal and a bit of a shaven beard on his chin, knives in his boots and a AR-15 rifle slung across his back. Vail was a corporal in the United States Army as I was a sergeant and a loyal friend, the American flag on his jacket, similar to my own. He'd been my best friend for as long as the two of us could remember, always getting into mischief together in the Army and on the search for adventure.
"We're here because we need to get that score that we've been chasin' after since we landed," I answered, causing Vail to curse as he cocked his rifle, muttering about going rogue and selling ancient antiquities on the black market. We needed to get a certain object from a black market in Haram to pay off a long forgotten debt. The note that I smuggled made it clear:
Jennifer,
This letter contains the address and location to the burial site of Haram.
35 N, 66S
Deepest Regards,
Henry.
As soon as I'd taken the letter containing the map, I knew I was screwed. Vail had been complaining as usual, about the heat, about me dragging him on another treasure hunt when we weren't supposed to be there. The two of us were hunted not only across the Middle East, but across parts in Europe. Having heard enough of his constant complains, I pulled out a photograph from my jacket pocket, unfolded it, and stared down at it as I often did when I was away serving with the Army. It was of a young woman and I. It always brought a smile to my face, seeing our smiles together. It had always been tucked at the front of my chest and I was glad that I carried it.
More gunfire was heard for miles as Vail and I turned our heads to the village of Mosul, the heat from the sun building on like tension before a fight.
"Perfect timing. We're going to have to use stealth and cunning to get in there," I pondered as I tucked the picture back into my jacket.
"Great! Two things I'm bad at. You sure about this, Sarge?" Vail asked as he looked through the spotting scope of his gun before situating it into proper place. At least he's not complaining anymore, I thought.
"Nope," I grinned after lowering my headscarf, "Vail, you've known me for five years now. When have I ever been sure about anything?"
"Okay, that's a good point," he said quickly, tilting his head to one side.
"Haram. That is why we're here. Remember, we are-."
"Liberators of Precious Antiquities." Vail and I recited our motto with my hand resting on his shoulder. Vail looked uneasy while I was grinning from ear to ear like a little kid on Christmas morning.
"That's our cue. Oh boy, this is it. This is gonna be fun! Get ready, Corporal 'cause they're gonna be here any minute. You're with me on this one. A few of those rotten Islamists from Saudi Arabia are on perimeter equipped with the big guns, knives and explosives. They've made rouge missiles in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, bombing capitol buildings and businesses across the globe. Rogue nations have spread from terrorist attacks started by them. It's almost creepy how quiet it is. We could always shoot at 'em. You know, a little fight to break up the silence never hurts," I said as I readied my gun. Vail groaned as he ran a hand through his hair before mumbling about F-15s and New York.
"Don't remind me. Just…be careful and don't do anything stupid. You know that General Greenway would kill me. If he finds out, he always blames me."
"Yes, I will make sure of it. That's why I picked you as my partner. Not only are you my best friend and partner-in-crime-"
"True," Vail said proudly.
"...but also someone who can take the blame for when we get into trouble and do something that's very stupid, idiotic and might get us killed," I grinned as I reloaded the magazine of my rifle. Vail cursed again as his shoulders dropped.
"Good luck goin' in there, soldier. Godspeed," he told me as he patted my back. I turned my head as a smile lit up my face underneath the scarf, my dark eyes lighting up with mischief.
"No, I'm not. We are." Vail laughed nervously as if I had made a joke. I raised my eyebrows, indicating that I wasn't kidding after taking a swig from my canteen, relishing the feeling of the cold water sliding down my throat.
"Nick, you're hilarious! For a moment I thought we'd…wait you're serious. Stop grinning at me like that, you elusive rogue. It means we're about to do something stupid again. Like Iran. Yikes. You do know that Haram means forbidden knowledge like a curse." Vail's face paled as my smile widened. I just shrugged.
"Well, around here that's just another word for treasure," I replied matter-of-factly as if I knew the place inside and out as I got on my horse and clicked my tongue. "And this Henry guy seems to want it pretty bad. Come on, Vail, it's completely safe. It'll be fun!" Vail shook his head as he turned his horse around.
"Nope. No way! Forget it, man, Vail out!" he replied stubbornly as I led my horse in the direction of the city. The direction we were supposed to go.
"What?" I asked in disbelief. That didn't sound like him at all. In the time I've known Vail, he never refused to do something that involved treasure and antiquities. Once his mind was set to something, he never forgot it until it was accomplished. That was something I admired about him, but I'd never admit it. As driven as he was, he was a little bit cocky.
"We might as well leave if we don't want to get our butts kicked. Greenway gave us his orders," he said back.
"Vail!" I hissed, my voice trembling a warning as my horse loped up to his and I unsheathed my knife.
"What're you going to do? Cut the horse?" he teased. Right after he said that, I knew he should've chose his words more carefully.
"What the…oh, come on! You crazy bastard!" Vail screamed after I rode up and made a clean slice into his canteen with my knife, precious water spilling out onto the golden sand. "The nearest water's miles from here!" I just grinned as Vail continued to complain about the Middle East.
"Oh, you'll be fine. Let's go! The sooner we get there and meet up with Greenway, the sooner we can get our share and leave. Although, it couldn't hurt to kick our feet up and relax," I stated.
"Oh, no, no, no! Nick, we don't even know what's down there," Vail piped up, worry quickly filling his voice. I just grinned.
"Treasure, that's what's down there," I declared with enthusiasm, "Come on Vail. Where's your sense of adventure? Slip in, slip out, just like we always do."
As soon as we reached the city, all hell broke loose. Bullets zipped past our heads as we ran, eventually leading up to the top of a hotel. The two of us ran to any Islamists on the top of the hotel that we could find, kicking, punching and blasting. I flipped a man over by the neck and slammed another into a truck, shooting both of them. Vail shot a few men with his gun before being back-to-back with me, killing as many of them as possible. I kept my eyes trained on the running men, my guns blazing as bullets speared into the men and they went limp on the ground. Leaping off of the roof as I grabbed Vail's shirt collar to prevent him from falling, we continued to scamper from the Islamists, bullets zipping past us.
"Really Nick?" Vail screamed as we slid across the dirt and threw ourselves against a wall, bullets from the armed insurgents' machine guns zipping past our heads, "You crazy son of a biscuit! Slip in, slip out?!"
"Oh my God! Run, Vail! Run!" I yelled as I got up to my feet after spotting a few men, leaped over to an Islamist and snapped his neck back while Vail was shooting others like a maniac. A few men from Saudi Arabia and Baghdad followed us, yelling in a different language as we bolted across the streets. Doffing my robe, I was relieved to once again where my normal clothes; a simple white T-shirt under a light green cargo jacket and a pair of khaki pants, combat boots kicking up the dust. We slid on the ground again as bullets missed us, Vail turning around for a brief moment before shooting them with his gun.
"Go, go, go!" I yelled at my friend as I aimed my gun in the air and fired.(The Forbidden Wish: 263-268)We ran from building to building, killing them as they went despite more insurgents trying to grab us. Fortunately, Vail and I knew this city better than anyone in the Army. I dropped into a ball and rolled out of the way as bullets leapt out of guns, sparks flying as the projectiles hit the walls. Vail grabbed a sack of flour and hurling it at a few men after I drove my elbow into his gut. I laughed as my friend continued to curse and scream, guns blazing as I grinned. The sound of the Islamists yelling in Arabic could be heard for miles as they reinforced, trying to find the two of us. They seemed to know that we were outnumbered and they weren't quitting.
Son of a-.
We scrambled up a rickety building, leaping as fast as we could from rooftop to rooftop. We launched ourselves in the air and landed fast on the ground. Vail and I took cover on top of a building, the hot roof being covered by brightly colored rugs and baskets filled with fruit, my friend continuing to yell as he switched to his radio.
"This is Corporal Vail. We need an airstrike! Bombs, Hellfires, anything! We are being pursued! I repeat-!" he screamed into the radio.
"Vail! You did not just call in an airstrike!" I yelled after I managed to yank his radio out of his hand.
"Oh, yes I did!" Vail replied as another bomb went off, chunks of debris making contact with our backs as the explosion tore through the market, the two of us ducking as F-15 planes zipped through the sky, more dust flinging in the air as missiles fired. Fire lit up at the corner of my eyes on palm trees, and I could feel the heat licking the back of my neck. The drone-launched missile blasted again from the small army of Iraqi insurgents.
"We're gonna die! We're going to freaking die here because of you! Oh, I hate you! I hate you so much!" he cried as we covered our heads, bullets from Al-kadiesh rifles ricocheting off the building. I yelped when a bullet grazed my shoulder, the familiar sting of a bullet wound coming back to me like a feeling of deja vú. We were done. We were trapped. We were going to die. Or worse, we'd be captured and made prisoners. Believe it or not, I was determined to die first. The fight was getting closer and I was starting to think what we could do, use our guns, our knives, our hands-anything.
"Vail! We're gonna be fine, okay?! Just let me think!" I yelled back after I cursed again.
"What!?" Vail screamed.
"Shh! Vail, just shut up and let me think, dangit! I'm thinking…" I trailed off awkwardly as if struggling to figure out what to say next that wouldn't get me killed.
"What are you thinking!?" Vail yelled back.
"I'm thinking…we're probably gonna die here," I admitted to my friend as we covered our heads from another explosion.
"I knew it! I knew it! I shouldn't have trusted you! I never wanted to come to this freakin! country! Well I'm glad you're taking this so well!" Vail snapped as I stood up and ran for my life, dodging as many bullets as I could.
"Wait! Where're you going? Don't leave me!" Vail yelled as he tried to catch up with me as I leaped over buildings. It seemed that the Iraqis were trying to write their names on our backs with bullets. I smiled. One Islamist caught me by surprise in mid-air, grabbing me around the chest and flipping us over as we rolled on the ground with a hard impact that may have bruised my ribs. The Islamist grabbed his gun and fired to my chest, but the bullet ended up slicing into my side instead when I turned. I placed my hand lightly on my hip, fingertips came back red with a bit of blood. I stood up quickly after punching him in the gut, grabbing my gun and ending his life, turning around to find one Islamist running through an open air market. Vail joined me as we ran over to the building after placed a small device on the wall of the building.
"Run!" I yelled to my friend. The two of us ran just as the bomb that I'd placed exploded, sending large chunks of debris flying and scattering everywhere, waiting for the other to explode. We both covered our heads with our hands as the debris stopped breaking, waiting for the worst. I started counting off five seconds in my head.
No screaming.
No bullets.
Nothing.
Parting my hands slightly, I looked up, then looked at Vail in confusion. I army-crawled over on my stomach to the wall where I could see the men yelling to one another in Arabic as they climbed into the backs of trucks and drove away. As soon as the dust cleared, Vail let out wheezing laughter and looked up to the sky with his hands in his fist.
"I am still alive!" he said happily. At that moment, a great rumbling noise shook the earth. The roof we had just been standing on collapsed from a Hellfire missile that was whooshed in. I yelped and scrambled backward as more of the ground crumbled and plunged down into a deep, sandy chasm, taking Vail along with it. Sand swirled around my friend as he screamed my name. The quaking stopped suddenly, so I crawled to the edge to look down. Holding my flashlight over the edge didn't help much because I still couldn't see how deep the hole was. Vail was standing on what seemed like a head of some sort. It seemed Egyptian. What's down there? I wondered, Why would this be hidden from the world? Did something bad happen? What would an Egyptian tomb be doing in Iraq?
After I pulled Vail out, I grinned and said, "I can't believe that worked. We're not dead!"
"Sergeant Morton! Vail! What have I told you two about your missions?" Greenway barked at us as we walked toward the square. His dark skin was covered in sweat and dust, same as his camouflage military uniform.
"Yes, sir!" I shouted over the noise as the two of us joined the soldiers and our general just as the sound of helicopters landing was heard. The group of soldiers wore tan camouflage shirts and pants, black boots covered in dust, holding all types of guns including sniper rifles. Vail and I looked like two outcasts who looked like we didn't know what we were doing when we said we wanted to join the United States Army. The soldiers in the group looked at us as if to say that exact thing.
"We held no hostages! We were surrounded by open fire!" I explained.
"You can't just attack militants head-on!" Greenway said.
"Hehsy wehnseh ef sah," Vail cursed in Egyptian, causing me to smack him upside the head.
"Sir, Corporal Vail risked his life to save mine, being too humble to admit it. I figure he should be moved up to a higher rank instead of being stuck as a Corporal for the rest of his life. He's a hero, and I'd like to notify him," I suggested.
"We had reason to believe the militants were taking civilian hostages," Vail lied smoothly, causing me to stomp on his boot hard. He grimaced in pain. I sighed, he wasn't a very good liar.
"Here's how I'd put it: Two dumb-aces in a long-range reconnaissance screwing around in the Middle East, and instead of hunting for the enemy, you hunt for antiquities to sell on the black market," Greenway told us, looking at the two of us in turn as if debating on which one of us he wanted to kick out of the Army.
"Gentlemen, please meet Miss Jennifer Halsey," Greenway introduced, gesturing to a woman that I recognized. She was beautiful with golden blonde hair that she had down so that it hung long, a curvy figure and striking blue eyes, wearing a white blouse and having a blue scarf wrapped around her neck, sunglasses tucked into her shirt. There was something very familiar about the young woman. Even as I tried not to stare at her, I wasn't doing a very good job.
As if she heard my inner thoughts, she walked up to me.
"Sergeant Morton," she said with a British accent before striking me across the face, causing me to blink in surprise. The slap hurt…almost in a very good way.
"Where is it?" she asked me.
This was going to get ugly in a few minutes. "W-where's what?" I replied innocently.
"The letter. The map you stole from me last night," she replied like I was an idiot. Ah, that, I thought to myself with a wince, remembering when I slept with her. Greenway rolled his eyes, as if he knew this wasn't the first time this has happened.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. How can I steal anything from you…" I trailed off awkwardly before hearing Jenny's chuckle. I stared at her for a moment.
There was silence before the colonel said, "What's going on Sergeant?"
"Uh, nothing Sir," I stuttered. Then I regained composure as quickly as I could. "I assure you there must be some mistake because I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting this woman, Miss...miss…"
She smiled smugly. "Ah I see." She turned to the superior officer. "It seems that your sergeant here is too embarrassed to admit that we slept together. Well I'm not too embarrassed, Nicolas." She turned on me again. "Disgusted? Yes. Regretful of our time together? Oh certainly. Embarrassed? No. But really just amazed at your ability to mimic all the qualities of genuine human intimacy, if only for, oh-" She paused to shrug. "-Fifteen seconds."
Damn, this girl is good.
Even I didn't have anything to say to that. Vail snorted with laughter behind his hand. Greenway just shook his head at me. I winced again, know that the secret of our little affair was out.
Jenny smiled at her success. "And you want to know what I regret most? Ever falling for your so-called 'charm'."
I stared back at her for a moment before recovering and turning back to the colonel.
"I assure you Sir I have only fond memories and a broken heart. Miss Halsey and I spent a very long, satisfying night in Baghdad. And miss Halsey was exhausted-," I tried to explain as if to defend my case. "As you can see Sir, Hell hath no fury." I gave her a smug smile.
"Shut up," Jenny sighed as she glared up at me.
"Okay," I said quietly as I looked down. Oh, if looks could kill…
SMACK! The sound it made when her hand contacted with my cheek was so loud that Vail and the Colonel all nearly jumped back. I myself stumbled back, holding my now red and stinging cheek, jaw agape, again taken aback.
"What the hell are you doing?" I shot back, still holding my cheek.
"Doing my job. Colonel," stepped in Jenny, momentarily breaking up our bickering. "I'm an archaeologist from the Natural History Museum in London, and I have been instructed to conduct a dig for a tomb around here."
"Well you're in luck. These boys here just dropped an explosive on it."
"What?!"
I pointed to Vail. "He called in the airstrike." Now it was Vail's turn to stomp on my boot, but I didn't wince. When my friend shot me a death glare, I continued. "Well what a coincidence! We're looking for a tomb too."
"Oh really? Another one you can raid?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're a tomb raider Nick."
"Well, with all due respect, so are you." I said as if to defend my case as why I came to this village in the first place, or better yet, the Middle East.
"Yes but I was trained and it's my actual job. And I do it so that we can further our understanding of human history and evolution, not so I can steal precious antiquities and sell them on the black market for profit."
Vail was nodding as she spoke, and I elbowed him hard in the stomach. When I shot him a glare, he stopped. "Well you know as good as I do that to find treasure, you need a map. We just happen to have found a map-"
"You stole a map."
"What, no. We found a map-"
"You're a thief Nick. Finding is your way of saying stealing. That was my life's work and you were going to steal it," she hissed.
"Now that is a great overstatement-"
"Well, we have our own map." Heaving a sigh, she turned toward Vail, her face breaking out into a smile. "Chirs! How are you?" She pulled him in for a hug. I cocked my head. How did she know him?
"Hey Jen. Well, I almost died, but I didn't, so I'm feeling pretty good," he said with a smile.
"Oh my God-" The bickering was finally broken apart by Jenny's gasp. "Come look at this. It's Egyptian," she cried excitedly.
"Oh, is that unusual?" asked Vail.
"We're in the Persian Gulf," I reminded him. "Egypt's miles away, so it's unusual."
"Oh, you're so smart," Jenny said sarcastically with a sneer. I just smiled smugly.
"Colonel, this is a significant find. I need your men to secure this village," Jenny said, marching towards one of the supplies bags.
"We're not even supposed to be here," Greenway protested.
"It's our job to make sure anything of value stays out of enemy hands. We have no idea what could be down there. The contents of Tutankhamun's tomb alone were valued at six-hundred-and-fifty million pounds sterling."
At this, Vail and I exchanged a glance. Our eyebrows raised at the same time, and we seemed to know what each other was thinking.
"Don't even think about it," threatened Jenny.
The colonel sighed. "Fine. You've got two hours, then we're moving out." He turned to me. "You're getting in the hole with them."
"Him?" cried Jenny, horror-struck.
"Me?" I cried. "But Sir, I-"
"Oh no," Jenny protested, stepping forward. "I will not have him ruin this excavation."
"Sergeant Morton you gear up, that's an order."
Jenny cursed under her breath.
"I'll be right here holding the rope Sarge," said Vail.
"Get in the damn hole Vail," Greenway ordered right as I was removing my jacket.
"Aw man," Vail sighed as we walked over to the hole. One moment I was hunting for treasure, the next, I was heading into a tomb long forgotten by any man who hadn't dared to identify it.
Haha, I love this scene, it's hilarious! I love quoting from this with my best friend who, sadly, hasn't seen this movie, but I respect her opinion and I really want to go to the Middle East with her and be her partner-in-crime, hehe :). I hope you guys ENjoy reading this as much as I had fun writing it! Have a great day! Love you all :)