Disclaimer: If I owned even a morsel of the franchise, Ardeth would not be single at the end of the movie. So no, I do not own anything. /sob/
It was too painful to watch.
Irene, sitting beside Evie and the warden, couldn't help covering her face with her hand as the guard led Rick onto the hanging stage. She almost didn't want to come at all, but she wanted to stay with him for as long as possible.
She absently tugged at a strand of her dirty blond hair with her free hand - it was a nasty habit of hers to play with her hair when she was extremely nervous. In fact, Rick had often jokingly warned her that she would pull all of her hair out from worrying too much, and she remembered fondly how her response had always been "From worrying about you all the time!" That rendered him speechless.
"I will give you one hundred pounds to save this man's life!" Evie said quickly, snapping Irene out of her reminiscing and reminding her of their current situation.
There's still hope, Irene told herself firmly. Don't give up. Not yet.
"Madame. I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hanged," the warden argued back, gesturing Rick's muscular form.
Irene opened her mouth, but then thought better of it. If whatever she said made him angry, then there was absolutely no chance for him to be freed. It wasn't worth the risk.
"Two! Two hundred pounds!" Evie cried, raising the price in an attempt to persuade him.
The warden didn't even budge. "Proceed!"
"Three hundred pounds!" Evie offered, raising the price even higher.
The man tightened the rope around Rick's neck and whispered something into his ear. Irene saw Rick's mouth move in response to whatever he had said, but she was too far away to hear them. The man called up to the warden in Arabic (only in times like these Irene wished that she knew how to speak the language), who promptly replied "Of course we don't let him go!"
"So much for three hundred pounds," Irene said to Evie as the man smacked Rick in the back of his head.
"Even three hundred isn't enough?" Evie groaned, looking at Irene helplessly.
Irene could tell that Evie was hesitating, deciding whether she could afford to raise the amount or not. While Irene herself didn't possess all that much money - not to mention she had just recently quit her job as an assistant in a hair salon - combining what she had with Evie might just be enough to save Rick. "I can pay, too," she told Evie, unable to hide the desperation in her voice. They were running out of time.
Evie nodded. "Five hundred pounds!" she said finally.
The warden held out a hand for the man to pause. "And what else?" he asked suggestively, running a hand along Evie's thigh. "I am a very lonely man."
Without thinking, Evie slapped his hand away with her pocketbook, causing laughter to erupt from the watching inmates. Irene too would have joined in had it been a very different situation, but she knew that, at this point, Rick's fate was sealed. The warden definitely wouldn't consider letting him go now.
With a final angry command from the warden, Rick was dropped.
"NO!" Irene cried, completely covering her eyes with her her hands. There was no way she was watching this!
However - perhaps it was a miracle after all - Irene did not hear the thud that was sure to follow, and the warden's laugh of "Aha! His neck did not break!" confirmed it. Rick was, somehow, still alive.
Irene permitted herself to peek at Rick through her fingers, and she wished at once that she hadn't looked. Compared to breaking his neck...this was even worse. Every struggle was unbearable to watch, knowing that it could be his last. Irene's heart ached for him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the warden said gleefully, clearly enjoying the scene unfolding beneath him. "Now we must watch him...strangle to death."
The inmates began chanting, their voices raising in volume as Rick continued struggling for his life.
Evie watched Rick with her eyes wide, her mind whirling as she tried to think of something that would appeal to the warden. She turned to Irene and mouthed a single word, "Hamunaptra?"
Irene understood her question, knowing that she was asking whether they should tell him about the city and offer its treasures to him. It was the only option that might work now, and even if Rick wouldn't think that it was a good idea, if it could save his life, then that was all that mattered. Irene gave Evie one, tiny nod, and that was all the encouragement Evie needed.
"He knows the location to Hamunaptra!" she blurted.
The warden turned to her almost at once. "You lie," he accused.
"I would never!" Evie said, disgusted at the thought.
"She's right!" Irene agreed hurriedly. If Rick was to be saved, then it was now or never. "He knows the location because he's been there himself!"
The warden gestured to Rick. "Are you telling me this filthy, godless, son-of-a-pig knows where to find the city of the dead? Truly?"
Irene bit back an angry retort. Calm down, she thought, taking a deep breath. Arguing with him now will do no good! Not when we're so close to finally saving Rick!
"Yes!" Evie said, in response to the warden's question. Irene nodded in agreement, but she remained quiet. She was worried that she might end up saying something unwelcoming should she open her mouth. "And if you cut him down we will give you - " Evie turned and looked at Rick, as though seeing him struggling was what gave her the strength to continue. " - ten percent," she finished, turning back to the warden.
"Fifty percent," the warden argued greedily.
"Twenty," Evie protested.
The warden, unfortunately, was still not satisfied with the low percentage. "Forty!"
"Thirty!" Evie suggested, just as he decided on "Twenty five!"
"Ah!" Evie cried triumphantly, noticing his error. "Deal!"
The warden realized his mistake too late, but the deal was already done. With a groan, he yelled out "Cut him down!", and Rick landed onto the ground.
Evie stood up, satisfied, and Irene flung her arms around her in gratitude. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" she sobbed, feeling her knees give away as she relaxed for the first time in a long while.
The other woman patted Irene on the back. "It's the least I can do, Miss O'Connell...I understand how you must be feeling at the moment, seeing your brother so close to death. I would hate for the same to happen to Jonathan."
Irene pulled away from the hug and wiped her eyes. "Call me Irene, Miss...?"
"I don't believe we have been properly introduced," she mused, taking Irene's hand. " Carnahan. Evelyn Carnahan."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Evelyn," Irene said formally, but she couldn't stop a large smile from spreading across her face. It was the first time she had felt so happy in a long while.
"And it's done!" Irene finished proudly, cutting off the last stubborn curl in Rick's hair.
Now that he was free from prison, Rick desperately needed a makeover - and Irene offered to help, as she had earned a bit of experience from her previous job at a salon. It also meant that they could finally spend time together.
"I've meant to ask," Rick began, running a hand through his now-fixed hair, "How has things been with that job of yours?"
"Oh, that..." Irene laughed as she set the scissors onto the table. "I, well, I kind of...quit the job."
He whipped his head around and stared at her. "No way," he insisted. "Didn't you tell me the last time we spoke that you finally found a job that you loved?"
"But that was...let me see, five years ago, Rick. A person's taste can change quite a bit in five years, you know," she informed him with a grin. "But that wasn't exactly why I decided to quit. The boss was, uh, acting like an idiot - "
"Don't tell me he was making moves on you?" Rick yelled furiously, clenching his hand into a fist. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would've given him a punch he would've remembered for a long time!"
Irene shook her head and gave him a stern look. "First of all, you weren't exactly with me at the time. And second of all, punching him would've landed you in prison. What would I have done then? I don't think Evelyn would've been there to save you."
Rick sighed, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to get revenge. "You're probably right," he said. "Still, I sure am lucky having you around, Rena. Free haircuts!"
"Giving free haircuts to people isn't going to make me rich, Rick," Irene pointed out. "Anyway, I can't wait to see the look on Evie's face when she sees you at the port!"
"Who said anything about you coming with me to Hamunaptra?" Rick asked sharply. "There's a whole lot of evil hidden beneath that sand, Rena. There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near that place!"
"Who said anything about not letting me go with you?" Irene retorted, folding her arms across her chest. "This is my life, and I can live it how I please! Besides, I've lost you once, Rick. I don't want to lose you again. I am not letting you out of my sight again! What about Evie? She's going, isn't she?"
Rick huffed in annoyance. "Her going there is different! You don't have to go, Rena! Can't you just stay here so I'll know that you're safe?"
Irene glared at him. The one thing she couldn't stand was when he jumped into protective mode, and her mind whirled as she tried to think of something persuasive that would make him give in. "I'm not safe anywhere unless I'm with you!"
Her words made him hesitate, and, after a long pause, he reluctantly grumbled, "You...you do have a point, Rena. Oh, alright, you can come. But promise me that you will always be within my sight?"
Irene beamed, pleased with his answer. "I promise I'll always be close to you, Rick. I just...want to spend as much time as I can with you. It has been a long time since we last saw each other, after all."
"Of course," he assented, pulling her into his arms for a hug. "Sorry I was a little harsh. I've missed you, Rena."
"And I you," she said warmly, burying her head into his chest. "I've been worried about you, Rick! I'm so very glad that you're here with me...just don't do anything that would land you in prison again!"
"I won't," Rick promised, hugging her closer. But Irene still heard what he said next, despite him muttering it so quietly, and his words made her shiver. "If we can make it out of there, that is..."
Irene and Rick caught up to the Carnahans at Giza Port just as they heard Evie remark to Jonathan, "Well, personally, I think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit. Irene is a different question, though..."
"Anyone I know?" Rick cut in, jogging up to the siblings.
Evie, just as Irene had suspected, was at a loss for words as she took in Rick's appearance. Her mouth dropped open in amazement.
"You better appreciate it, woman," Irene muttered, "after all the hard work I've put in."
Evie flushed at Irene's comment, and the only thing that she managed to say without embarrassing herself was "O-Oh..." Evie set her luggage onto the ground so she wouldn't lose her balance due to its heavy weight. "Um...hello."
It was Jonathan who spared his sister from having anymore awkward moments. "Smashing day to start our adventure, eh, O'Connell?" he asked, patting Rick's chest before shaking his hand in greeting. He then turned and, wagging his eyebrows, extended a hand to Irene, but at Rick's warning glare, he quickly retracted it.
Honestly, Irene complained silently, sharing a look with Evie, I'm going to stay single for the rest of my life if Rick's going to scare all the men away!
"Yeah, yeah. Smashing," Rick agreed coolly to Jonathan's remark, the warning in his tone still present. It practically screamed 'Don't touch my sister, or you'll regret it!' He then pulled his wallet out to check that it was still there.
"Oh, no, no! I'd never steal from my partner. Partner," Jonathan said quickly, tapping Rick lightly and causing him to chuckle with amusement.
"That reminds me. No hard feelings about the - " he mock-punched Jonathan to remind him.
Jonathan waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, no, no. Happens all the time."
"I can imagine," Irene commented dryly.
Jonathan let out a laugh. "Ah, well, I wouldn't mind it so much if you were the one inflicting the damage, Miss O'Connell."
Irene gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, pretending that she was horrified at the thought. "Oh, my, whatever would you have done to deserve something as awful as me punching you, Mr. Carnahan? And, uh, let me just warn you that before I can do any damage...Rick would probably beat me to it," she added as she noted the furious glares Rick was giving them.
"You got that right," Rick put in, giving Jonathan's arm a warning squeeze. Jonathan smiled nervously and hurried to stand beside Evie so Rick wouldn't be able to threaten him any further.
Luckily, Evie was clever enough to change to subject. "Mr. O'Connell, can you look me in the eye and guarantee me that this isn't all some kind of a...a flimflam, because if it is, I am warning you I will - "
Rick raised his eyebrows. "You're warning me? Lady, let me put it this way. My whole damn garrison believed in this so much that without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. And when we got there, all we found was sand, and blood. Let me get your bags." He bent down and picked them up and, without another word, marched up the plank.
"Rick!" Irene called after him, but he ignored her and did not look back. "How many times must I tell him to mind his manners?" she groaned.
"Compared to him, I must be a gentleman, Miss O'Connell," Jonathan teased. "And yes, yes, you're right, Evie. He's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. Nothing to like there at all."
But the look Evie gave him suggested otherwise. Before she could speak, another voice interrupted them in the form of the warden's greeting: "Bright, good morning to all."
"Oh, no, what are you doing here?" Evie asked, not sounding very happy at the fact that he had now joined them.
The warden began boarding the boat, but not before he called back down to them, "I'm here to protect my investment, thank you very much!"
The Carnahans sighed.
"As much as I hate to suggest this, but you two wouldn't mind if we just left him in the desert?" Irene asked dryly, watching the warden as he disappeared from her sight.
"Gladly," Jonathan said immediately, and even Evie smiled at that.
Well, Irene thought as she too began boarding the boat, this will be a long journey. I do hope it was worth coming with them...
Either way, she was here with them now, and Irene decided that whatever was going to happen, she was going to stay with Rick until the very end.
A/n: Leave a review and let me know what you think?
Special thanks to The Queen of Water, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Brunette, and princesskitty68 for reviewing!