Dr Kaitlyn Richards studied the amulet carefully, her green eyes sparkling, amazed at the wonder she held in her hands. She gently ran her fingers over the gemstones, almost shaking her head in disbelief. It was definitely Osiris, which was clear from the depiction and also the inscription of hieroglyphics down the front. What was unusual though, were the second lot of markings next to the normal glyphs. They weren't quite the same dialect as the others, though they were close. Maybe an older dialect of Ancient Egyptian? Kaitlyn furrowed her brow. She had a doctorate in archaeology, specialising in Ancient Egyptian culture and had just finished her second doctorate in Norse Mythology. The fact that this inscription was eluding her, frustrated her no end.
Grabbing a few books off the shelf, Kaitlyn rifled through them to see if she could find anything she'd perhaps forgotten or missed, however the search turned out fruitless. Not content in just letting it go, Kaitlyn decided to take the amulet down to the lab to have a second pair of eyes look over it. If anyone would know, it would be Dr Jordan.
Down in the lab, as per usual, Dr Jordan was hunched over something, studying it closely as Kaitlyn wandered in. Noticing her, he looked up and smiled, a magnifier stuck in his left eye.
Kaitlyn couldn't help but smile. He was a true geek, yet managed to always look so refined at the same time. It was definitely a pleasure and honour to be working with him.
"Hello, Dr Richards. How's the day treating you?" his jovial voice asked.
Kaitlyn walked over to Dr Jordan, a confused look on her face. "Well, to be honest sir, I've been puzzling over this amulet for the last 2 hours, trying to work out the other dialect next to the glyphs. It looks like Ancient Egyptian however it doesn't match exactly to anything I have ever seen or known. I was hoping you could take a look and point out to me, no doubt quite obviously, what I've missed," she said with a smirk, an in joke between them. There had been times in the past when Kaitlyn had gone to Dr Jordan for help about a problem she'd pored over for hours only to have him solve the puzzle within several minutes.
Dr Jordan chuckled lightly. "We'll see, shall we?" and took the amulet Kaitlyn offered. Bringing the artifact up to his magnifier, Dr Jordan examined it closely. Well, Kaitlyn was certainly right. It looked like Ancient Egyptian dialect but had a slight variance on the usual glyphs.
Kaitlyn looked at Dr Jordan, somewhat surprised, a smile of realisation crossing her face. "You don't know either, do you," she said quietly, though it wasn't smug. If Dr Jordan didn't know what the dialect was, she wondered who would? "Maybe it pre-dates the Ancient Egyptians? I mean, I know that sounds a little out there," she said, making a silly face on 'out there'. "What else could it be?"
"What else could what be?" a voice called from the doorway.
Dr Jordan and Kaitlyn looked up to find Steven Rayner making his way over to them. Steven was a promising student, though Kaitlyn didn't have a lot of time for him. He was cocky and she felt his intentions for finding ancient artifacts was more out of greed & notoriety than scientific advancement.
"Hello, Steven," Dr Jordan said politely. "Dr Richards and I were trying to work out the dialect on this amulet here. I certainly don't recognise it. "
Steven was taken aback somewhat. There was almost nothing David Jordan didn't know about ancient cultures. "Mind if I take a look?" he asked.
"Be my guest." Dr Jordan handed the amulet to Steven, who studied it closely, hoping to find an answer and show up Kaitlyn, though he knew, if Dr Jordan had no idea, his chances were pretty slim. It was known that Kaitlyn and Steven didn't really see eye to eye. Steven shook his head. "No, I don't know either.
Nodding to himself, Dr Jordan looked down at the amulet again. "I'll get Nick to run a carbon test on it. It'll give us more of an idea where to start looking. If this is as old as we think it might be …" Dr Jordan trailed off and looked up at his protégés. Kaitlyn knew what he wasn't saying. If it did pre-date the Ancient Egyptians, it would be the find of the century. She caught Steven's eye, realising he had come to the same conclusion.
"Uh…how about I get this down to Nick and see what he turns up?" Steven offered.
"Thank you, Steven, I'd appreciate that," Dr Jordan said happily. "I want to finish going through a few things here.
Steven smiled, giving Kaitlyn a smug look before he turned and headed out.
Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes briefly, wondering what Steven was up to. He had that weasly expression on his face. No matter, she was the senior archaeologist under Dr Jordan. Nick would send her the results.
Heading back to her office, Kaitlyn became somewhat edgy and unable to sit still. Could this really be it? A chance to prove that there was life before the Ancient Egyptians or that their civilisation was older than was originally thought?
As she sank into her chair, Kaitlyn realised something else. If this was true, she knew of a certain someone who would be eager to know as well. She smiled, albeit a little sadly, at the thought. It had been close to 5 years since she'd spoken to him, and, truth be told, she missed him a great deal. Kaitlyn would love nothing more than for this to be a vindication, if nothing else, to clear his name. It would certainly cause a lot of people to eat their contemptuous words.
Later that evening, Kaitlyn was pacing her office, ready to head home, though she knew she wasn't going anywhere until Nick's results came through. Walking back to her desk for what seemed like the hundredth time that hour, she clicked "Send/Receive" on her email. To her utter delight, there was finally an email from Nick with the results of the test. She skimmed over all the preliminary junk, scrolling through to what she wanted to read most. As her eyes came to rest on the result, Kaitlyn's mouth gaped.
"Oh my god…" she whispered, momentarily paralysed, her eyes not able to leave the screen. The number screamed at her like a bright, neon sign.
Snapping out of her reverie, Kaitlyn grabbed her bag and her cell and tore out of her office, down to the artifacts lab to see if Dr Jordan was still there. He wasn't. He was probably in the test lab with Nick. It felt as though her feet wouldn't carry her fast enough. Just before she entered Nick's lab, Kaitlyn composed herself. The familiar face of Dr Nick Almeida smiled at her as she walked in, his eyes wide with excitement.
"I can't believe it, Kait! This is…just…I can't even find words to describe it," he said in whispered tones, his whole face red with excitement.
"Nick, why are you whispering?" Kaitlyn whispered back loudly, almost laughing.
Nick shrugged and looked at Kaitlyn conspiratorially. "Come on, this is not the sort of news you want to scream out just yet, right?" he said with a laugh.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and laughed. "You watch too much TV, Nick. Oh, you haven't seen Dr Jordan have you?"
"No, I haven't. He was supposed to come by so we could discuss all of today's results, especially this one, but that was half an hour ago."
"Weird. That's a little unlike him."
Nick nodded in agreement. "Guess he's just tied up with something."
Kaitlyn bit her lip. "OK, I'm going to see if he's back in his office. I'll be back in a sec." Kaitlyn turned to head out, though quickly changed her mind and picked up the amulet. She wrapped it carefully in its cloth and nodded to Nick. "I might take this back to Dr Jordan."
Heading back down the hallway and up the stairs, Kaitlyn poked her head into Dr Jordan's empty office. No sign of him. Just as Kaitlyn was about to leave, she noticed his cell phone still sitting on his desk. OK, now that was strange also. Dr Jordan always had his phone with him. What was going on here? Frustrated, Kaitlyn headed out and back down toward Nick's lab. Rushing in, she was horrified to see Nick unconscious on the ground. She knelt down beside him and checked his pulse. He was still alive, just out cold. Papers were strewn everywhere, tools were on the floor or tipped over & drawers had been opened & dropped onto the floor. It was clear that someone had been looking for something. Didn't take a rocket scientist to work out what…
What the hell was going on? Dr Jordan wasn't in any of the labs, his office or anywhere close by that she'd seen. His cell phone was still sitting on his desk and Nick was unconscious. Kaitlyn felt her stomach turn. This was so not good.
Still holding the amulet, Kaitlyn carefully tucked it into her bag. She certainly had no intention of stealing it, though until her mind was at ease, she wanted to keep it safe. This was going to be the big news pretty soon and it seemed someone wanted it pretty badly.
Just as she was about to head out of Nick's lab and call for help, Steven appeared in the doorway, gun in hand, aimed straight at her. Kaitlyn sucked in a breath, almost jumping in fright.
"Steven, what the hell are you doing?" she asked angrily.
"Give it to me, Kaitlyn and I won't hurt you."
"Give you what?"
"Don't play dumb, Richards. You know very well what! I am not going to allow you to take credit for this. It's my turn, dammit! I am not content to be in anyone's shadow anymore."
She shook her head sadly. She often got the impression that Steven was trying too hard to prove himself. Kaitlyn knew exactly whose shadow he was desperate to overtake. There was no way Steven would be able to and he was obviously coming to that realisation too. Instead of being happy with aspiring to become a great archaeologist, he had to be better. Her instincts had been right – he wasn't in it for the science.
"Tell me Steven, how much are they paying you, hmm? I mean, I sure as hell know you don't have the balls to pull something like this off on your own," Kaitlyn sneered.
Steven's lip curled at her insinuation and he advanced toward her slowly.
It was clear he wasn't confident with the gun and the fact he didn't deny her accusation told her all she needed to know.
"Hand it over, Richards and you'll live to see another day," he said, his hand shaking and body sweating.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "God, you watch more crime shows than Nick does! Can you be any more corny?" she said, trying to rattle his confidence. There was no way she was going to hand over the amulet to Steven. "Look, I don't have it, Steven. I gave it back to Dr Jordan."
"Then why are you here?"
"I just came to say goodbye to Nick on my way home, alright?" she said, keeping her voice calm and even, looking innocently at him.
Steven clenched his teeth, holding her gaze for a few moments. He began backing away before tearing off down the hall toward Dr Jordan's office.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes again. Obviously he was even dumber than she thought. If he'd been smart about it, he would've made her go with him.
As soon as he was out of sight, Kaitlyn tore off in the other direction. She knew she didn't have much time before Steven realised she'd deceived him. She wanted to alert security to the situation, though if she did, there'd be questions asked, bags searched and she'd have to give up the amulet. No, Kaitlyn was going to have to take things into her own hands.
The problem was, where to go? She knew she couldn't go home. That would be one of the first places he'd look. There was one chance. One hope. It would be a long shot, but it was better than the options she had right now.
Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Kaitlyn calmly walked out the front door of the building, two men passing her on the way in. She didn't recognise them and it certainly seemed strange that they'd turn up at this hour. It was probable they were working with Steven. Kaitlyn kept her cool and held tightly to her satchel as she headed out. They didn't seem to notice her, though once they caught up with Steven, it would be different.
Walking quickly along the main road, Kaitlyn looked desperately for a taxi. She had to get out of here and fast! At the sign of the first cab, she tore across the road.
"TAXI!!" she screamed and jumped in, noticing just as she did, Steven and the two men coming out of the building. "GO, please!" she yelled, her heart beating wildly. They tried chasing after her but the taxi was too fast. Kaitlyn turned around and faced the front, breathing a sigh of relief. Small mercies, she thought, though she knew this wasn't over yet.
"Where to, miss?" the driver asked, looking at her a little strangely.
"Airport, please. Quick as you can." Opening her satchel, Kaitlyn patted the amulet to assure herself it was still safe. Grabbing her cell, she flipped it open and began scrolling through to find the name she wanted. A panicked thought struck her then. What if they tried to trace her cell? Kaitlyn didn't think Steven would know how but the men he was with could have that sort of equipment. It might be a little far-fetched, but if Steven was prepared to point a gun at her, Kaitlyn wasn't going to take any chances. She'd have to ditch it. Quickly writing down the number she needed plus a few others just in case, Kaitlyn threw her phone out the window. "Track that", she mumbled, a small grin crossing her face.
As the scenery passed them, Kaitlyn tried to control the psychotic butterflies that were wreaking havoc in her stomach. No matter what happened, she had to play it cool and stay safe. This artifact could not, under any circumstances, fall into the wrong hands.
Paying the cab driver once they'd reached the airport, Kaitlyn held tightly to her bag and walked in, heading toward the first little cell phone dealer she saw. She quickly chose and paid for a small phone and a pre-paid card. At least no one would have this number. If Steven and the two men didn't go to Kaitlyn's home first, the airport was the next place they'd look, so she had to move fast.
Moving to a nearby wall, out of sight as much as she could, Kaitlyn pulled out the piece of paper with the number she needed. Her heart began to beat a little more, praying he'd pick up. She had no idea if he even had the same cell number anymore, though she prayed silently he would. He was the only one she trusted with this, other than Dr Jordan, but he was nowhere to be found, and who knows if he was even involved? Kaitlyn doubted this, though she hadn't exactly expected Steven to pull a gun on her either.
Carefully, she punched the number into the keypad and waited. The phone rang and rang, Kaitlyn becoming more nervous, her hands beginning to sweat. Damn, settle down, she scolded herself. He didn't pick up but his voicemail did, telling her it was still his number. Kaitlyn thanked the angels and waited for the beep.
"Uh…hi…Daniel…it's Kaitlyn…Richards. Look, I…know we haven't spoken for a long time…but I really need to talk to you. It's very important," she began, her voice nervous. "I don't trust anyone else. Please…if you get this message…call me back as soon as you can. I'm at O'Hare now. Wherever you are, I'll fly to meet you. Please…just…call me back…" and left him her new cell number. At least she knew that if a call came through, it could only be Daniel.
Grabbing herself a cup of coffee, Kaitlyn tried to make herself as comfortable as she could in an uncomfortable airport chair, hoping desperately her old friend would return her call.
