I never intended to have it go this far. I just thought I could smuggle a few coins and some pottery shards to sell – some things no one would miss but would make me enough money to get through college. But my greed got the better of me and I wanted more and more. So I dreamed up the Minotaur scheme and used one of my weekends off to fetch an appropriately terrifying costume.
Two archaeologists busily removed layers of soil from a half-buried column in the twilight. Nick, dressed in his Minotaur costume, snuck up behind them and roared loudly. With a shout of horror, the two raced away and never returned. 'Two down,' Nick muttered to himself.
I…appropriated…the aluminum powder used to dust for fingerprints to make myself breathe fire and make myself even more frightening. I couldn't believe how superstitious the archaeologists were, but it worked in my favor. Soon, I only had to scare away the professor and a few of the divers before I would be home free. But then everything began to unravel…
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Nick asked, ducking into Demetrius' tent.
The professor looked up from the mound of paperwork burying his makeshift desk. "Yes, Nick. Just wondered if you'd been noticing anything…strange lately?"
Nick arranged his face in an appropriately puzzled look. "Strange? Like what?"
Demetrius grimaced. "I hate to say it myself, because I'm afraid…well, it'll sound silly." Nick prompted with a 'go ahead' hand gesture. "Well, the archaeologists all say there's a Minotaur on the loose."
Nick fell into gales of laughter to disguise the guilty look crossing his face. "M-minotaur?! L-like the m-mythological beast Minotaur?" Nick choked through fake guffaws. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard, Professor!"
"Ordinarily, I'd agree with you, my boy," sighed Demetrius. "But I'm not laughing as it means we're down to about three people trying to excavate a whole dig site in less than a month! If something doesn't change and fast, I'll have to call in a favor or two to fix this…"
"A favor?" asked Nick curiously.
Demetrius waved his hand dismissively. "Don't you worry about it, just keep doing what you're doing."
'Keep doing what you're doing?' Now that I could handle.