Disclaimer: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all of its characters are copyrighted by Hanna Barbara. I do not own any of the characters from this show.
Note 1: The ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro does exist and information regarding the city I've given is mostly reliable, however, some accounts of the city are fictional, such as the hideout and the dig site referred to in this piece.
Note 2: This story takes place roughly 1 week after the dino quest story I had posted. It continues following the same storyline, which takes place a few months after the Real Adventures second season ends.
The Desert City
A group of archaeologists dug away carefully, under the shade of a towering structure. One of them was easily differentiated from the rest. Apart from the fact that she was giving orders to the other archaeologists and workers who were working in the area, she was also easy to point out due to the red colour of her hair. Estella Velasquez seemed hardly affected by the evening sunlight, just outside the ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro.
"Come on everyone, we must keep going" she said to some crew members who seemed to have stopped digging for a moment. "We've already uncovered priceless artefacts, but there is more in this site. I can feel it".
As she spoke, a small man ran up behind her. "Madam, we must leave this place at once!" he shouted out, almost out of breath.
All of the crew members nearby stopped digging to listen. "What on Earth are you talking about, Pierre?" she asked, sounding slightly shocked at the man's actions.
"I found a note. It was attached to your tent's door" he said, handing her the note. He leaned down slightly, still struggling to catch his breath. "It says we should leave all artefacts and get out of here by nightfall, or we will be disposed of" he said, finally finishing his sentence.
"Hashim" she said, calling out to a man who was examining a small statue on a wooden table.
Hashim walked up to Estella. "Yes Ms. Velasquez, you called?" he said to her. He was a tall man, taller than most others at the dig site. He was clean shaven was wearing a brown shirt, khaki cargo pants and boots.
"I need you to go back to Karachi today to pick up my family. I have spoken to your father and he said that he will accompany you. He told me that he already knows my ex-husband" Estella said.
"I'm sorry Ms. Velasquez, but I couldn't help but overhearing about the note" Hashim replied, cautio0usly. "Would you like me to do something about it?" he asked her.
"Yes" she replied. "Take it to the closest police post" she said to Hashim. "That is all we can do for now. Now get going before it gets dark. We'll see you back tomorrow".
The young man got into his land cruiser with the note and drove away from the site.
It was soon dark at the camp. The generators had been turned on and allowed some electricity to be provided to the camp. Estella stood outside her tent, talking on her cell phone.
As soon as she was done, she looked to her left to find Pierre standing next to her. "Excuse me madam" Pierre said. "I was wondering if we will have any protection tonight" he said, smiling creepily.
"Not tonight, I'm afraid" Estella replied, looking at her phone. "I just spoke to Hashim. He said that the police think it's just someone playing a trick. The more I think about it, I think they're probably right. It was silly to ask for help when there is no danger" she said wearily.
Pierre grinned slyly. "Oh, I wouldn't say that there is 'no danger'" he said. The sound of incoming vehicles filled the camp.
"What do you mean?" Estella asked, confused. "What's going on" she said, just before Pierre stuck a syringe into her arm and injected something into her.
"Don't worry" he said. "It's only a sedative. You will be fine" he chuckled, as he started dragging her limp figure out of the camp. The vehicles stopped. A number of men dressed in desert camouflage and armed with AK-47s poured out of the vehicles, while the archaeologists gathered to see what was going on. One of them fired a shot in the air, causing people to scream and try to run, only to find that they were surrounded. Two of the men picked up Estella and put her in one of their vehicles.
"You should have heeded our warning, Miss" one of the men said as she was put into the back of a pickup truck. "What shall we do with the others?" Another man asked, turning to the person who appeared to be leader. The leader was wearing a 2 piece suit. He had tanned skin and had no hair. "We'll take them. We can hold onto them for a few weeks until everyone gives up the search, then we ransom them. And if anyone gives you trouble, take them out" the man said, smirking.
"Understood sir" the nearby armed men replied.
15 hours later, at Karachi International Airport...
A clock showed the time to be 12 p.m. A guard looked on as a group of 2 men and 3 teenagers walked out of the relative coolness of the Karachi International Airport arrivals gate, into the 35 degree Celsius heat outside. What caught the guard's eye was the amount of luggage that the group seemed to be carrying. How much could 5 people possibly need? He thought to himself.
"So Race, who exactly is this contact you were telling us about?" Jonny asked, while pushing a trolley loaded to the brim with boxes. He stopped for a second to wipe the sweat from his brow. As they got out of the main terminal building, Jonny opened a small cage. Bandit ran out, happy to finally be free after the flight.
"He's an old friend of mine Jonny" Race Bannon replied, pushing a preposterously large luggage trolley. "We used to train Afghan Mujahidin in the late 1980's". The group walked out of the shade and were greeted with a blast of sunlight.
"What exactly is your friend doing nowadays", Hadji asked, turning to Race.
"Last I heard, he had just retired from the Pakistani army. He was a Major General, but when I knew him, he was still a Major".
"I'm glad to get to meet mom again, but why does she need so much equipment?" Jessie asked, grunting as she tried to push another luggage trolley.
"Estella told me she'd made some interesting finds at a dig in Mohenjo-Daro and she asked us to bring as much equipment as we could carry, to study it", Dr. Quest said. "It's a good thing we have our own plane though, otherwise I'd have to pay a fortune in excess baggage fees".
As they group walked out of the airport, they were approached by 2 tall men. One had short, grey hair and sported a neatly trimmed English moustache. Jonny estimated his age at around 60, although he appeared to be much younger. "Bannon!" the man exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing Race's hand. "Welcome back to Pakistan, my friend" he said, happily, while the other man stayed back. This man was wearing khaki cargo pants, a dark green collared shirt and sturdy boots. He was the same man who had left the dig site at night, prior to the attack.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet General Mahmoud. We go a long way back" Race said, returning the man's handshake.
"You can all call me Junaid" the man said. "And this must be the great Dr. Quest" he said, turning to the Doctor.
"Wonderful to see you, Junaid" the Doctor replied, shaking his hand. "These are my sons, Hadji and Jonny and Race's daughter, Jessie".
"Nice to meet all of you", the General said genially, as they greeted him. "I'd like to introduce you to my son, Hashim" he said, gesturing to the other man. "He works for the archaeological department. He's been helping Ms. Velasquez at the site". "Hi" the younger man said. He eyed the luggage they were carrying. "Is this all yours?" he asked, looking towards Race.
"Yep, all of it" he replied, scratching the back of his head. Race had forgotten to tell Junaid to about all of the extra equipment they were taking with them.
"No matter", the General replied. "I'll ask a favour of some friends. They'll have it taken to the dig site in a truck later. But for now, I'll take you guys to a hotel. You'll need the rest, after such a long flight."
"That won't be necessary" Dr. Quest said. We've been looking forward to seeing the dig for some time. We'd like to get to the site as soon as possible, if that's alright with you" he said, looking towards Junaid.
The General thought about the matter for a few seconds. "No problem" he said. "I'll take you to the dig site. My son showed me where it is. Hashim can take care of your equipment. I'll have a truck sent here to pick it and him up and bring them to the site".
"That would be wonderful" Dr. Quest said. The General led them to the parking lot. The group walked to the parking lot and got into a Land Cruiser. They started to drive out of the green grounds surrounding the airport.
"Where's the dig site situated?" Jonny asked, looking out of the window, at the buildings around the highway.
"I believe the site is between 200 and 300 kilometres north of here. Some of the roads may not be too good out there. It may take us up to 6 hours" the General replied. "We'll stop for lunch after a while".
"I'm sure you'll all enjoy this trip" Dr. Quest added. "We're going to the ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro. It was built around 2600BC and is one of the oldest major settlements on Earth. It even had a sewer system and had what seemed to be a planned layout. I can only imagine what Estella might find there."
Hadji looked out of the window and noticed a familiar site. One he had not seen for a long time. "A cricket match!" he said excitedly, as he saw teams of people playing in a large open field. "We don't get much of that in Maine" he sighed.
"The sport is practically in our blood" the General said, acknowledging Hadji's excitement.
"Hadji loves it. He even tried to teach me how to play" Jonny said, laughing.
"There's a pitch close to the dig site" the General said. "You can play to your heart's content".
They drove on for a few hours. The General stopped and they had lunch at a roadside restaurant at around 3 o'clock, while the General said his afternoon prayers. General Mahmoud was surprised when he saw that none of them were affected by the strong spices found in the food, which may sometimes send tourists running headfirst into the nearest water pitcher. He attributed their resilience to their travels which Race Bannon had told him about.
"How close are we" Jonny asked, sounding slightly bored. They had been out of Karachi for a long time and had spent hours driving through the desert. They had gone off the proper roads a few minutes ago and were driving on old paths, which appeared to mainly be traversed by camels. The desert seemed different from the ones he had seen previously. On the way to the dig, they had passed many novel sites, including large caravans of camels that stretched on for great distances and sturdy local plants which grew despite the extreme environment. They had even passed farms, which due to the Monsoon season rains, were able to grow many types of crops, during a short period of time. However, after driving for nearly 6 hours, the sites were becoming tedious.
"It should be nearby" the General said. As they drove on further, the ancient city started coming into view. From a distance, it looked like a series of earth coloured mounds, but as they got closer, they could make out ancient wall, which had probably stood for thousands of year. There was a large central structure which towered over the other buildings.
"So most of this was built over 4000 years ago?" Jessie asked, sounding impressed.
"Yes, I believe it was. The camp site should be coming into view right ahead of us" the General replied. "You should see some of Dr. Velasquez's finds. My son tells me that they are amazing beyond..." the General's voice trailed off. He stopped the car.
"Something wrong?" Race asked, surprised at how he his friend suddenly stopped speaking. He looked out of the Land Cruiser. He could see the campsite. But something appeared to be wrong. All the tents still set up, generators were still running and although there was still some daylight, the lights around the camp were still on.
Race and the General got out of the Land Cruiser and walked cautiously into the site. Race leaned down towards one of the generators. He turned it off and then removed the lid. "This one's running out of oil. It's also hotter than a supermodel on a barbecue grill" he quipped.
"It appears they've been gone for a long time" the General replied. "My son left the site yesterday. He told me everything was fine when he left. "This place must have been abandoned overnight".
Jessie pushed open the car door and before anyone knew what was going on, she ran straight to Race. Jonny followed swiftly after her. Dr. Quest and Hadji got off a little more cautiously. "I do not have a good feeling about this site" Hadji said to the Doctor. "Yes, Hadji. I have a bad feeling Estella may have uncovered more than she had anticipated" he said, knowledgably. This wasn't the first time a Quest family member or one of their close associates had gotten in trouble as a direct result of their curiosity, he thought to himself. "I just hope she's alright" he added.
Jessie ran up to her father. "Where's mom?" she asked, sounding both confused and worried at the same time.
Before Race could give a reply, the General looked away from the camp, towards a small cloud of dust, which seemed to be approaching the camp. "It's my son" he exclaimed, as it became apparent that the cloud was being caused by a truck. The truck stopped at the camp. Before Hashim could get out, Race and Jessie ran to the truck.
"There's no one here! What happened?" Race asked, almost breathless with worry.
Hashim looked shocked for a second. He flinched, before getting out of the vehicle. "I think I might know what has happened" he said. "Please gather around and I will explain."
He went on in detail about what he had witnessed the day before – about how a note had been found in the camp, threatening to rid the world of all of the archaeologists if they wouldn't leave by nightfall. "No one took it seriously. I left the camp in the evening so that I may meet my father and pick you all up today. I visited the police post nearby, but they blew me off. That is all I know" the young man replied, nervously running a hand through his hair. Everyone was looking at him as if they were interrogating him. Even the dog seemed to be glaring at him.
Having finally decided that the man was telling the truth, Race finally stopped glaring at him and took a step back. "We need to organise a search party. Junaid, can you get us some help?" he asked, turning to the General.
"Yes, I can. I'll also ask some old army friends for help" he said, sympathetically to Race. "And you" he said, turning to his son. "Once we find the team, if any such threat ever comes to this camp, you will let me know of it" he added, gravely.
"Hashim, take me to the police station. I want a word with them" Race said. There was a hint of anger in his voice, as he started walking towards the truck. Hashim followed him and took the driver's seat. They left at a high speed towards the south.
General Mahmoud was already on his cell phone. Dr. Quest scanned the area for the 3 kids. He hadn't seen much of any of them since they had arrived at the camp. He spotted them and Bandit standing at the edge of the camp.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jonny asked, as he and Hadji ran towards Jessie. She had started walking out of the camp into the open desert with a backpack and Bandit.
"I'm going to find my mother" she replied, sounding determined.
"How on Earth do you plan to do that? She could be anywhere in this desert" Jonny said.
Jessie stopped walking for a second. "Look down, Hotshot".
Jonny looked down. He spotted a number of tracks in the sand, which seemed to carry on as far as the eye could see. "Tire tracks" he said, surprised.
"The dog found them" Jessie said to him. She started walking off following the tracks.
"Jess, wait!" Jonny called out from behind her. Jonny and Hadji started following her. "You're not going on your own. I'll come with you" he called out.
Jonny turned to Hadji. "Hadj, just keep dad busy. We'll activate the tracking devices on our watches. Monitor our positions and when Race can get some help, just tell them where we are. Take Bandit back to camp. We'll follow the tracks from here."
Hadji was in two minds. He knew his friends had a knack of getting in trouble. If they would just wait, help would arrive he thought to himself. But he knew that there was no way of stopping Jessie from going after her mother. He also felt that there was no way of stopping Jonny going after Jessie. Wherever there was trouble, Jonny was more likely going to drop himself in the centre of it, rather than let others solve their own issues, he thought.
"Alright" Hadji said, resignedly. "I'll try to keep Dr. Quest busy for now. Just remember to keep your tracking devices on at all times" he added, before walking back into the campsite.
Jonny ran up to Jessie to catch up. "Hold up Ace, I'm coming too".
As she waited for him, Jessie finally had something that made her feel better. "At least I won't have to do this alone" she said when he caught up.
"You never let me carry out my crazy plans by myself, I figure I might as well return the favour" he replied.
Hadji had found Dr. Quest at the campsite. Junaid was there as well, seated at one of the benches. He took a breath before going up to the Doctor, to give an excuse for Jonny and Jessie's absence.
"They've gone looking for Estella, haven't they?" Dr. Quest said to Hadji resignedly.
"What... How did you know Dr. Quest?" Hadji asked, confused. He had thought up a reason to explain their absence, but the the shock of hearing what the Doctor said had already caused him to forget what he was thinking off.
"I've known those two long enough to know that if any family member is at threat, they'll risk their lives to save them. You can't stop them. When they went into another dimension to save me in Louisiana proved that to me" he said wistfully.
"Well, we might as well start tracking them" Dr. Quest finally said, going over to the land cruiser and taking out a laptop he had brought along with him.
Jonny and Jessie started trekking into the desert, following the tracks. The tracks had so far led them around 3 kilometres from the camp site. They could still see the distant outline of the ruined city, in the setting sun. However, it was starting to get dark. "Jess, we won't be able to see anything in an hour at this rate" Jonny said. He was sure that they wouldn't be able to track down the kidnappers on foot. They were probably miles away from here by now. But he wasn't about to tell Jessie. "She'd just get mad at me and continue" he thought.
"I knew that this would likely happen" she said. She reached into the backpack and pulled out a pair of night vision goggles. She handed one to Jonny.
"Where'd you get these night vision goggle from" he asked, curiously.
"Mom asked us to bring them for her team, so they could work without lights at night. I took some out of one of the suitcases before we left" she said. Both of them continued walking into the desert.
"What do you mean there was no threat?" Race shouted at the chief police officer at the check post. The officer didn't flinch. He apparently didn't know what Race was capable of when provoked.
The officer disdainfully looked at Bannon; "We have threats against archaeologists all the time" he replied. "Besides, there are only 3 of us at this check post. How could we have defended the camp?" he asked.
"You could have called for backup, God damn it!" Hashim said, getting angrier. His leaned in towards the officer, not threateningly, but enough to make the man slightly less comfortable.
The police officer got up from his seat. "You are right. I could have called for backup he said" he said, as, the other 2 officers stood behind the 2 men, armed with AK 47s. The chief officer smirked slyly. "But then we wouldn't get as much money" he said. "Put them in their own car, we don't want to raise suspicion by having a police vehicle wandering around that area" the officer said to the other men. Race and Hashim were handcuffed and led back to their truck. They were joined by the policemen. "These two will fetch you a handsome reward" one of the men said, barely containing his glee. Oddly, he spoke in a slight French accent and his facial features looked somewhat European. He was a short bearded man.
"The stuff in this truck will also get us a lot of money" the other officer said, spying the equipment Dr. Quest had brought for the archaeological crew.
"Who are you people?" Hashim said angrily, as he was pushed into the truck after Race.
"You'll find out soon enough" the Frenchman said, as he got into the back with the 2 restrained men.
Jonny followed Jessie past a small hill. They got to the other side before Jessie finally stopped and sat down on a rock. "It's hopeless" she said, her voice nearly a whisper. She sounded like she was close to crying. Both of them had been walking for hours. Their feet ached and they had nothing to eat and only a limited supply of water she had kept in her back pack. "I should have known we had no hope of finding her. I was foolish to drag you into this" she finally said.
"Jessica Bannon, you take that back" Jonny snapped. Jessie was startled for a second, but couldn't argue. She decided to listen to was he had to say.
"There's nothing foolish about what you did" he said, grabbing hold of her and hugging her, trying to comfort her. "She's your mother. If my dad was in the same situation, we'd probably be doing the exact same thing" he said. "Besides" Jonny added, with a grin on his face, "Look at the bright side. At least we haven't been attacked by dinosaurs this time". Jessie gave a short, muffled laugh. "Not the time for jokes, Jonny." He released her, but kept on hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we should stop here for a bit longer" Jessie said. She could feel blisters on her feet from the desert trekking they had been doing and was certain Jonny wasn't in the best condition either. They needed to rest before they could find Estella she thought.
Suddenly, they noticed lights in the distance. They looked in the direction from which the lights were coming. "It's a car. I think it's coming towards us" Jonny whispered.
"Let's hide" Jessie replied. They quickly crouched down behind some rocks. The vehicle went right past them and stopped at a large mound, about 50 metres away. As it passed, Jonny had noticed something about it. It looked familiar.
"I think its Hashim's truck" he whispered to Jessie.
"What do you think he's doing here?" she asked him. They both looked out to get a better view. Suddenly, they heard a sound behind them. It sounded like a gun being cocked. Jonny turned around and saw a man dressed in desert camouflage, wielding a pistol standing behind him. Jessie remained hidden.
"You thought you could sit here, watching our base for so long without us noticing you?" he asked. He seemed to be in good humour, as if he was enjoying the situation. He took a step closer to Jonny. Just as he was close enough to restrain the boy, Jessie leapt out from behind her hiding place and knocked the gun out of the man's hand. Jonny, seeing that the gunman was distracted, took advantage of the situation by attacking the man. He punched him twice on the head. The attacker responded with a punch of his own, grazing Jonny's jaw and nearly knocking Jonny of his feet, but before Jonny could be further hurt, Jessie punched the attacker, grabbing his attention, and then tripped him. He fell onto a pile of stones, knocking him out.
"Thanks for the help, Ace" Jonny said, rubbing his jaw.
"Don't mention it" Jessie said, giving him a small smile. "You heard what he said? We must be close. These must be the guys who took mom" she said, sounding a bit more excited.
"Why, you're absolutely right, my dear – we did take your mother" a voice replied, from a few metres away. Both the teenagers had been so busy with the first man that they hadn't noticed another group of gunmen coming towards them. Before they could run, the men turned on their flashlights, temporarily blinding Jonny and Jessie. They approached the two at gunpoint and restrained them. "We'll take them back to the base" one of the men said. "Maybe this will get Bannon to shut up".
Jonny and Jessie were dragged into the mound in front of which Hashim's truck was parked. They had both regained their sight by now. Inside the mound, there was a short network of tunnels, leading to various small rooms. They were taken through a secret door, which when opened, revealed a garage filled with the vehicles used to kidnap the archaeologists earlier. They were led past the garage, into a series of well lit caves. The caves looked as if they extended for a long distance, but they were taken to one that was close to the entrance. They were carried into a room which was lined with cells, containing the archaeologists. One of the doors was open and both of them were thrown in. Standing in the centre of the room on the other side of the cages were the 3 police officers, as well as Pierre, from the dig site and 2 guards.
As they sat up, Jessie felt herself being gripped by her shoulder. She turned around and embraced the person who had grabbed her. "Mom! You're alright!" she exclaimed, as she hugged Estella.
"It's nice to see both of you are o.k" Estella said, looking towards Jonny.
"Hey, Estella" he replied. "Wish we could have met under different circumstances".
"I should have known you'd both get yourselves caught up in this" they heard someone say, in a strong Texan accent. Jonny and Jessie looked towards another corner of the cell, to see Race Bannon sitting there, with Hashim.
"What happened to you guys?" Jonny asked, perplexed. "I thought you were going to get help".
"We were betrayed by the police officers" Hashim replied, wistfully.
"But who were they working for?" Jessie asked, letting go of her mother and looking towards the Race abd Hashim. "Who's responsible for all of this?".
A voice rang out from the doorway to the cell - "I think I can answer that question". It was the same man who had led the attack on the archaeologists and who had led the men when they grabbed Jonny and Jessie.
"Evening, Mr. Henri" Race replied coldly.
"You know him?" Estella asked, somewhat puzzled.
Race kept staring at Henri. "He was the man who betrayed the Doc, Jade and Myself to Zin in Egypt, when the Maine Compound was destroyed" Race said, in one breath. His gaze was fixed solely on Henri's neck, which he wanted to grab and snap. He had never forgiven the man for his earlier betrayal. And now they were all his prisoners.
"Nice to see you remember me, Bannon. I'm flattered" Henri said, giving a mock courtesy. "You see, even though the good Dr. Zin died, I still maintained my contacts" he said, smirking. "They helped me escape from prison and gave me funding. I bought my own private army and I make money by selling artefacts, we take from digs, like the wonderful statues Ms. Estella found at Mohenjo-Daro. Why, they're stored deep within these very caves".
Estella could hardly contain her anger. Everything found, as a result of the backbreaking work her team had done was being stolen by some nonce who fancied himself an aristocrat. She first gave Henri, then Pierre a look of pure hatred. She wanted to shout at them, but decided there was no point inflaming the situation further.
Henri could see the emotions in her eyes. His smirk grew wider. Estella's reaction only seemed to goad him on more. "So those policemen" Hashim finally said, breaking the silence. "How long ago did you them off?" he asked calmly.
Henri, deciding there was no threat posed by the man, decided to tell him. "In the past, that police post was manned by only 2 men, including the chief who I believe you had the pleasure of meeting" Henri replied, smirking. "However, those 2 men wanted more out of life. So I gave it to them. Now they get a share of all the treasures I steal from Mohenjo-Daro. They let one of my men stay with them, as a sign of goodwill" Henri added, pointing at the short, bearded Frenchman who had accompanied them in the truck.
The two policemen, who had been standing in the centre of the room, suddenly began to bend over. Their faces gave the impression of severe pain. "Of course", Henri continued, not paying them any attention. "Those two are of no more use to me anymore" he said, as they keeled over and fell on their knees, gasping for air. "I made sure they were fed poison capsules, which should be reaching their climax, right about, now". As he spoke, the policemen looked at him in horror. They were both lying on the ground now, clutching their stomachs, barely able to shout due to the pain. "Get them out of here" Henri called to his guards, who dragged the soon to be deceased men out of the prison area, while everyone watched in shock. The only person who didn't seem disturbed was Race Bannon. He had seen enough of that in his day. He was no longer looking at Henri, but was staring at the lock of the cell. Somehow, they had to get out.
"Don't even think of escaping, Bannon" Henri said threateningly. He had seen where Race was looking. He pulled out a pistol and aimed directly at Race's head. People inside the cells screamed, as Jonny, Jessie, Estella and Hashim watched on in shock. However, before Henri could do anything further, there was a violent shudder. The entire cave system seemed to shake, as a loud blast echoed throughout the system.
One of Henri's men ran into the cell. "Sir!" he said, in between breaths. "Soldiers are here! They've breached our outer wall!" he said, still gasping for air.
Henri gave a quick look to the archaeologists. He then looked at the 3 men he still had in the room. "Pierre, you stay here" he said to the man, firmly. "If anyone comes into this room, shoot as many people in the cells as you can" he said, as another guard handed Pierre a rifle. Henri and the other 3 then ran off, deeper into the cave system.
Hashim smiled and looked at the others in the cell. "It seems dad has arrived" he said, contentedly.
Jonny looked down at his watch with the tracking device. He smiled as he realised how they were found. "Mine too" he responded.
Gunfire echoed throughout the cave system, as they heard people shouting and running deeper into the caves. Another blast echoed through the caves. "We need to get out of here" Jessie said, as pieces of rock started falling from the ceiling. "The whole place could collapse" she said, worriedly.
"Leave that to me" Race responded. He got up and walked to the cell door. "Hey, Pierre he shouted at the man with the gun. Pierre looked frightened from the situation. "You need to let us out, or all of us, including you, are going to die". Estella was starting to get angry with her ex-husband. The man had a gun, she thought. All he's doing is making him more nervous. Pierre walked up to Race, wielding the gun.
"Sit down Bannon, or I'll kill you and all of your family" he shouted at Race.
Race smirked at him. "Go ahead. I dare you". Pierre had had enough. He took another step closer and raised his gun, aiming at Race's chest from barely a foot away. Before he could respond, Race grabbed the end of the gun and pulled Pierre face first into the cell, knocking him out and taking the gun from his hands. "Never threaten someone with a gun when the safety's on" Race said, smiling. Everyone released a sigh of relief. They had been sure that Race was about to die. "Hold on, everyone" Race said, turning the safety on the gun off and shooting the cell lock. He then opened the door and shot off the locks for the other 2 doors. That very second, 2 gunmen burst into the room, their MP5 submachine guns ready to kill. However, these men had different uniforms from Pierre's men. They were dressed in a darker desert camouflage and wore bulletproof vests and gas masks. They also sported steel helmets, whereas Henri's men wore none.
Seeing the archaeologists, the men stopped aiming their weapons. One of them took off his gasmask and looked at Race. "Is everyone from the dig team here?" he asked. Race nodded. "We're Pakistan army Mr. Bannon. We're here to get you out" he said, before turning on a walkie talkie. "This is Alpha Team, we have found the target. All units return to surface". The men led the archaeologists out of the cave, as well as the still dizzy Pierre, who now found himself handcuffed. The cave floor started shaking violently. Rocks were falling all around. It was apparent that the mound and the entire cave system around it was starting to collapse, as a result of the explosives used by the soldiers to blast their way in. As they were close to the garage, where the soldiers had made their way in, they quickly stepped out. The vehicles were full of bullet holes. Henri's men had tried to fight. This was apparent, as two of their bodies were lying in the garage.
The group walked out, followed by a group of almost 20 more commandos who had gone into the cave. As soon as they were out, more rocks started falling. Shouting could be heard, coming from deep inside the cave. Suddenly, the entire mound collapsed in on itself.
It was still dark outside. Race saw General Mahmoud walk up. He first walked up to his son, Hashim. He grabbed the young man by his shoulder and then walked up to Race. "I made a few calls, as you can see" he said, laughing. There were over a hundred soldiers and police officers gathered around the now collapsed mound. "All of the soldiers got out of there alive" the General said. "But what happened to the hostage takers?" he asked.
"They were trying to smuggle the artefacts" Race said, looking at the mound. "It looks like now; they're buried with their treasures".
Meanwhile, Jonny and Jessie were standing with Estella. They were with the rest of the team, who were being loaded into trucks, to take them back to Karachi. Before they got in, Jonny heard someone shouting his name. He turned around to see his father, adopted brother and dog running to him.
Dr. Quest swept his son into a deep hug. "I'm glad to see you're alright, son".
"I'm just glad that the trackers worked fine" he said, returning his father's hug. Dr Quest released him and grabbed hold of Jessie.
"Thanks for keeping track of us, Hadj" he said, looking at his adopted brother.
"It was the least I could do" Hadji said. "Keeping track of you also exerts a lot less energy than following you around physically" he said, smiling.
Estella looked at the collapsed mound, as Race walked to her side. "We'll have to dig it all up again" she sighed.
"Look at the bright side" Race said. "At least none of US have to be dug out of there" he said, placing his arm around his ex-wife's shoulder.
The Quest team had faced yet another villain and had succeeded intact. They would soon be going back to Maine. However, on a separate hill a short distance away, a boulder was slowly pushed away, revealing a secret tunnel entrance. Henri stumbled out of the tunnel. He was badly battered, but still breathing. As soon as he got out, more rocks fell from above, sealing the fate of his men. He stumbled onto his feet and looked on, as the military vehicles transported the survivors towards Karachi. "You've ruined me, Bannon" he said to himself.
"But someday, I will have my revenge".