Indiana Jones and the [?]

Disclaimer: I don't own Indeh. I just have him locked in my wardrobe. But don't tell anyone. … kidding.
A/N: This chapter needs to either be rewritten or edited, which I shall get around to sometime in the future, after The Lost Hat is complete.

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Prologue

"You must be joking."
Doctor Henry 'Indiana' Jones sat back in his chair and surveyed the stranger sitting in front of him.

"No, my dear sir, I assure you I am not joking," said the stranger, managing to sound insulted.

"So what you're saying," said Indiana incredulously, moving aside some random documents on his desk, "is that you want to hire me to fly to Madagascar to retrieve some kinda… rock from a temple-thingy? All by myself?"

"No, doctor, in fact—"

"In fact what?"

"In fact, if you would be so kind as to let me continue, you will not be alone," said the stranger, sounding the tiniest bit annoyed. "You shall be accompanied by one of my employer's agents. And if you'll excuse me," he continued, glancing at his watch, "I'll take my leave now. I presume you'll have the courtesy of telephoning me tomorrow with your decision? My number's on the card, on the back. We'll discuss your fee then, too… thank you for your time, doctor. Hopefully we'll be seeing each other very soon."

With that, the rather odd man stood up, eyed Indiana up and down and shook his hand before promptly turning around and walking out, coat flapping in his wake.

"Yeah… " said Indiana carelessly, watching the stranger's retreating back thoughtfully. There was something decidedly strange about that man; everything about him, from his exit to his attitude was bizarre, and that included his entrance: all of a sudden, Indiana had received a message from his secretary that there was someone who wanted to see him. He hadn't been doing anything significantly important at the time, so he readily let the company in, curious to see what they had wanted. Strangely enough, it had been that man, dressed in dark clothes that gave him an air of mystery. He had handed Indiana what he called 'his employer's card' (which read 'Sir Jeremy Pierce', along with an address and phone number – and on the back, another number), and introduced himself as Pierce's secretary, before explaining Mr. Pierce wanted Indiana to run a certain errand for him. The errand had been to fetch the aforementioned 'rock' from Madagascar, and Indiana had been hesitant, unsure of what to do in this sort of situation. He hadn't been sure whether to be honored somebody other than the Museum wanted his help, or worried - even if he wasn't quite certain why he should have been worried (worried was always an option in these sort of situations, though, so it was justified). At any rate, after that, the man Indiana was inclined to call 'weirdo' had left, as the reader should have gathered by now.

Indiana had heard a little about Sir Jeremy Pierce; a reclusive millionaire who donated quite a bit to different charities. Indiana didn't know what he wanted in Madagascar (the secretary had been rather vague: "My employer would appreciate it if you agreed to fetch a certain important piece of stone for him."), but if he couldn't just buy it… it must be important. Oh, well, he hadn't been adventuring for a while, and if he had a partner… it would be a vacation.

Indiana stared at his trademark fedora lying buried under the customary paper littering his desk. He had decided.
Madagascar, make way for Indiana Jones.

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Fin