Chapter 2

North Atlantic, RMS Queen Mary

May 7, 1937

"Boy these fellas sure know how to lay one on ya," Jack chuckled as he walked into their shared suite with Mike half passed out on his shoulder, "I told ya it was a bad idea to challenge the captain to a drinking contest."

"He-he cheated," Mike grumbled, "No one can drink eighteen shots of whiskey."

"I don't see how he cheated, and why am I even reasoning with you? You're drunk off your rocker!" Jack laughed as he dropped his friend onto one of the beds.

"Thanks Jack, I don't think anyone else would have carried him back to the room. Especially seeing how he acted tonight," Elizabeth said as she closed the door behind them and sat down next to her brother and tried pulling his head onto a pillow.

"Well he'll be no trouble tonight, I've seen him drunk before. Now tomorrow morning, I might have to ask for sanctuary in your room 'cause he'll be so hungover that not even all the coffee on this entire ship'll be able to help."

"I know, when he got drunk for the first time when he was fourteen he and I were still sharing a room and I was sick and father had to move me out the next day because he thought Michael had contracted some unknown disease he was puking so bad."

Jack had a good laugh at that little tale, "You would think that he'd learn."

"You'd think," Elizabeth giggled, looking at her brother who was now snoring on the bed just as he lay, "Listen, it's getting late, I think I'm going to go to bed. Maybe you can take me to breakfast tomorrow seeing as Michael will be hungover."

"Sure thing Lizzy, good night," he said seeing her to the door that separated their rooms. Then what she'd said to him suddenly dawned on him and he smiled happily as he went to get ready for bed, "Well partner, looks like I got myself a breakfast date with yer sister."

To that Mike only grumbled in his sleep, "No…cars don't fly…I hate cars that fly."

"Oh boy, you're gonna regret living tomorrow buddy, enjoy this sleep while you can," Jack said, taking off his hat and tossing it onto the nightstand next to his bed and switched off the hall light so that it didn't wake up Mike.

After taking off his turquoise and silver Navajo Bola tie he bent down to pull off his boots but then saw something out of the corner of his eye. The hallway outside of the rooms was always lit for safety reasons and so that made it fairly easy to tell when someone was right outside by the shadow of their feet under the door. He saw a pair shadows move in front of his door, muffled steps barely meeting his ears on the thick patterned carpet. But the thing was, the shadow stayed there, and he knew that was not something that was normal. He stood up, carefully making his way to the door and saw the shadow still there peeking under the space between the door and the floor. He carefully went to unlock the door, and tried his best not make a sound. But alas, that was not to be. A soft click came from the door handle and the shadow moved aside. So Jack ripped open the door and ran out to see who it was that was at their door. He wasn't surprised in the least when the one man that had been watching them was the one he locked eyes with standing in the hall.

"Hold it there you!" Jack yelled out, sprinting at the much older man.

But he was not going to hold still and sprinted away towards the stairs at the end of the hall. There were two stairs, two flights going up opposing one in the middle that went down. This guy went up, and Jack followed him like a tick. It was now that he greatly appreciated his boots, because he was used to running in these whereas the creep he was chasing was still in fine dining attire and that wasn't very conducive to running and chasing. So Jack managed to close in on him and as they ascended two more flights Jack caught him when he slipped and stumbled and spun around to face him.

"Alright that's fa-"

SMACK!

A sudden lightning fast kick caught Jack right in the jaw and made him stumble and fall back down two steps before he got back to his feet. This time he got to his feet infuriated, and gave chase and went after him like a bat out of hell.

"Get back here you son of bitch!" Jack roared as he caught up to him again as he charged out of a door where the stairs ended, the Main Deck.

He came out at a tennis court, which the Queen Mary was well known for, and charged out hoping to catch the man. But as he went out he caught suddenly around the neck by a small length of rope and was pulled back. Instantly he felt his air cut off, and desperately gasped for air as he tried pulling the rope off of his neck. But the rope held fast and Jack shoved himself backwards ramming his assailant against the net of the tennis court. Both of them fell back, landing on the hard green court. Jack rolled on top of the guy, and desperately fought back, throwing his elbow into the stomach of his attacker three times, getting pained grunts in response. The hold around his neck loosened and Jack twisted his head and managed to chomp down on the man's knuckle. A scream and the coppery taste of blood rewarded him as the hand let go and the stranglehold was broken. Jack rolled to the side, coughing and gasping as he tried scrambling to his feet. He got up in time to see a fist come plowing into his right cheek throwing him back as another punch landed on his left jaw. He stumbled backwards, caught unprepared as he pulled up his left arm and caught the next punch with his forearm and launched out with a blow to the man's nose with a right hook. He advanced seeing the effect it had and raised his fists as he prepared for a real fight.

Thunder claps snapped through the air as the man attacked Jack once again with a right jab that Jack caught and responded with but the man dodged it used his left hand to throw an uppercut into his stomach nearly lifting the young Texan of his feet and forced the air from his lungs. A right hook connected just above his eye as Jack was once again on the defensive. Rain began pelting around them as the rumbles of thunder began to become far more ominous and close as the massive ocean liner steamed into the storm. Jack ducked down as he dodged a left hook that would have connected with his nose and plowed himself into his attacker once again driving him back onto the floor and onto his back as Jack reeled back with a left jab that impacted the man's eye and landed another consecutive left hook that drew blood from the man's lips. But this only served to infuriate Jack's opponent and backhanded him across the face, cutting his cheek with the golden ring he wore. Jack was stunned for a moment and that gave the guy all the time he needed to kick him square in the chest and back onto the ground. He quickly took advantage of this, jumping at Jack as he lay on the ground. But Jack quickly kicked him right in the face, stopping him cold and breaking his nose. Both of them now scrambled to their feet, try to make it to be the first one up and attacking.

As Jack's attacker got to his feet, one hand holding his broken and bleeding nose Jack took the initiative and threw a perfect one-two punch with a right and left hook that sent the guy sprawling and tumbling down a flight of stairs to a lower outside deck. Jack jumped down at him trying to punch him again, but the guy threw him into the steel superstructure and Jack collapsed onto the now slick deck that both combatants were now dealing with. Jack tried getting up but was caught with a kick to the face that sent him sprawling onto the deck but Jack lashed out with his kick that swept his opponent's legs out from under him. Now Jack maneuvered again for a tackle and drove himself into the attacker and threw him down another flight of stairs as both of them rolled down and separated at the bottom with Jack's opponent nearest the white superstructure, and worse, a weapon.

Jack felt his heart drop as the man ripped a large firefighting axe off of its mount next to the fire hose and a box of life vests. He smiled sadistically as he advanced on Jack who backed up further towards the bow, trying not to get in range of the deadly weapon. Jack had no weapons of his own, and searched desperately for something to deal with the guy who now seemed determined to kill him. But before he did the guy took a first wild swing which Jack ducked under and closed in and landed another pair of punches that the guy staggered back from but yelled out as he charged forward again and threw his axe forward and down. Jack dodged the axe as it connected with the wooden deck and impaled itself and gave Jack another opportunity to strike back. He landed three successive punches that his opponent took right on the chin and ripped the axe out again as he now charged forward right at Jack and this time, it came down to life and death, Jack's back was against the railing, nothing was behind him but swirling black ocean that spelled death for whichever one of them fell in. But the constant fighting, and emotionally enraged attacker was not aware of this and charged right at Jack who ducked, and felt the guy's legs plow into his shoulders and lifted him up and over himself and out into the cold black storm. Jack never heard a splash, just the terrified scream of the man falling to the sea to be suddenly stopped as he hit the churning waves, never to be seen again.

Jack could barely bring himself to comprehend it, he'd just killed that guy, earlier that day he had seen him smoking a cigarette, eating dinner, and watching him, only to later face him in mortal combat and watch him disappear into the inky black of a storm tossed ocean. But then it dawned on him, it was either him or me. And I am not about to let it be me.

He now realized what he had done and realized he needed to get back before someone saw him or saw what he'd done. So he rushed back up the stairs he just come falling and fighting down and back across the tennis court to the half open door and shut it closed behind him. Jack now felt the stings and tasted the metallic bitterness of the blood and cuts on his face and lip. He was pretty sure he looked pathetic, bleeding, soaking wet, and shaking from the chills and from the realization he'd killed a man. So he quickly made his way back to his room, back down the stairs, and back to his slightly open door.

He thought that perhaps another man had come in behind him to finish Mike and Elizabeth in their sleep, but then got a hold of himself and remembered he'd never closed the door. So he opened it and peaked in, seeing Mike still snoring and then went into the bathroom, dripping water as he walked in. He would need to get his clothes drying now before he caught cold and dripped water everywhere. So he quickly began unbuttoning his shirt then noticed a cut in his shirt and thin red line underneath slightly trailing watered down blood from a cut he'd never noticed. He started poking it, feeling how bad it was until he heard a soft tired voice speak up behind him.

"Jack? What are you doing up?" it was Elizabeth. Shit! I can't let her see me like this! She'll freak out!

"Elizabeth?!" he said, surprised and confused as to what to do and what to say, "I-I."

"Oh my God! What happened to you?!" she nearly screamed, running forward dressed in nothing but a thin white night gown, "Sit down right now, let me get a first aid kit."

Jack now saw the mirror out of the corner of his eye. His face was a mess. There was a cut on his right cheek, his bottom lip was split, and blood trailed from his left eyebrow and nose. There was no getting past it now, he'd have to tell her.

"You're soaking wet, take off your shirt before you catch a cold," she ordered as she sat him down on the edge of the bath tub and placed a tiny first aid kit on the sink she'd taken from the drawer in the bathroom, "Now what happened? Why are you looking like you went to a boxing match in the middle of a storm?"

"Because I kinda did, although the stakes were a bit higher," Jack responded, unbuttoning his red shirt and dropping the wet item in the bath tub. As he did so he felt the sting of a damp cloth on his cheek from Elizabeth pressing the disinfectant to the cut from the man's ring.

"What?" she asked, her eyes showing great concern.

"There was this guy watching us ever since we got on the ship, Mike and I noticed him looking at us really suspiciously. He was the one who did this to me."

"Oh my God! We need to tell the Captain!" Elizabeth declared angrily.

"Lizzy!" Jack snapped, grabbing her by the wrist before she made it out, "I don't think the Captain can give a dead man time in the brig."

"Where is he now? What did you do?" Elizabeth quietly asked, not exactly wanting to know, but needing to hear it from Jack.

"I caught him at our door, listening or picking the lock, I couldn't rightly tell, but when I called him out he took off runnin' and I took off after him. When I caught up to him he kicked me, which ain't what you do to someone you have a misunderstandin' with. And I haven't laid a finger on him alright? So I kept after that varmint and got up to one of them tennis courts where he jumped me and tried to strangle me."

Elizabeth gasped, holding her hands over her mouth, "He tried to kill you?"

"Twice, I managed to get him off of me that first time, we traded punches back and forth, a pretty clean fight, until that sumbitch tried cutting me up with an axe!"

"Jack! He tried murdering you!"

"Oh I couldn't tell Lizzy, I thought that we were cutting firewood!" Jack snapped, but then recovered, "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, well-well how'd you survive?"

"I threw him over the side, he's probably fish food right now."

"My God, I'm so sorry that happened to you," she said, feeling somehow responsible.

"It ain't yer fault Lizzy. I don't know what that fella's deal was or what it was he hoped to accomplish by offing me but what matters now is that I'm alright and you and Mike are safe. Now are you gonna sit there or am I going to have to patch myself up?" Jack said with a forced smile. He may have just gone through a fairly traumatic event but he still needed to put up some show of strength, if only for her benefit.

"Try the cute nurse routine on me and you'll have more than these cuts to patch up Cowboy," she giggled, rubbing the cut above his eye carefully with the cloth before reaching into the case to grab a couple small bandages and pressed them one by one to the individual cuts he was sporting on his cheek. When those were finished she looked down at the cut on his upper chest that Jack himself wasn't sure how it happened.

As she dabbed the cut with a fresh cloth to clean it Jack decided to try and loosen things up with some small talk, anything to get them to move on from this situation, "So, we still on for breakfast?"

Elizabeth looked up at his sideways grin and smiled warmly at the implied meaning, "Of course, it'll take more than someone murdering you to call off breakfast."

It was a joke of course, and both young college students got a decent laugh at it. They couldn't let what had happened stick with them, it would spell nothing but trouble and heart ache. It was in the past, and they had to move on. But of course they would report it, after all, Jack had nearly been strangled and cut to pieces and a man was dead. Something would need to be done to inform any next of kin about the death of their family member, if the guy had family.

As the two kids talked and quietly patched up the few remaining cuts a shadow passed by their door, paused for a moment and left. Neither knew that it had been there, and never would.

Bedford Connecticut

The grades had been mailed, the year was effectively over, and Indiana Jones was for once enjoying some decent rest and relaxation. There were none of Marcus's treasure hunts to embark upon, the Nazis weren't up to anything that need concern him, and he didn't have any awkward relationships to keep up with. So he simply sat at home on his porch with a glass of lemonade, reading a good book on the Great War.

He'd fought for more than three years in that war, his duties taking him from Flanders, Verdun, the Somme, Africa, the Middle East, and even into the skies with the Lafayette Escadrille. He'd risen to the rank of Captain in the Belgian Army fighting alongside his best friend, Remy Baudouin. He'd gone from the trenches, to runner, back to the trenches, to Africa, and finally to French Intelligence where he even fought with the French Foreign Legion tracking stolen arms being sold to local rebels. During that time he'd seen many things, seen many people die some by his own hand. But the most haunting was in Transylvania, where he'd come across the object of nightmares and horror stories the world over, Vlad the Impaler, Dracula. He'd seen things there that would end up becoming a sign of things to come for his career as an archaeologist/tomb robber. However the thing was, he'd done all of that before the age of twenty years old. But back to the book, he simply enjoyed breaking the book down, and seeing whether its author was someone who had been there, done that, and experienced the horrors of war, or was just some romantic who'd seen the many clips of the war at the theaters and read real memoirs of the war by real soldiers. Thankfully the book he now read was written by one of the few who had seen those horrors for themselves. So he could appreciate the writing and the stories that he himself was able to connect with.

However, not even Indiana Jones could stay reading for long, whether it was a problem of his own discovery, or one of the government's or friend's his work was never done. He looked up from his book to see a black brand new 1937 Ford with three men inside wearing black and gray suits. The car parked in front of his house and Indiana knew that there was more than likely his time relaxing was done for a while.

"Dr. Jones?" the lead man said after walking up to his porch.

"Yes?" Indiana said, noting the normal American accent.

"Special Agent Walter Johnson, FBI."

"What does the FBI want now?" Indiana groaned.

"Perhaps we should have this conversation inside Doctor," the man said, motioning towards the door.

"Fine," Indiana replied.

He got up after tucking the book underneath his arm and collecting his glass of lemonade and walked in. He was surprised to see Agent Johnson signal his men to wait outside the door. So Indiana took a seat on a couch with a coffee table between them and saw the man pull a folder from his briefcase that had been handed to him earlier.

"Dr. Jones have you known that we've been keeping tabs on you?" Agent Johnson asked casually.

"Yes, I have, you've only been doing it for the past five years."

"Well we're not the only ones. Three weeks ago we broke up a ring of Italian Intelligence informants and spies in Manhattan. Among their records we confiscated was a great deal of information about you and the people tasked with watching you," he passed over a file with well over a dozen papers filled with dialogue that Indiana could tell were direct copies of what he'd said in some of lectures and in his conversations he'd had in his office with Marcus Brody.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Three days ago you spoke with one of your students. Elizabeth Downey, daughter of Jonathan Downey of Newport Steel Industries. She told you of an archaeological expedition she, her brother, and a friend were going on. Apparently they were looking for something called the Shield of Gallia."

"Among other things, what does Italian Intelligence keeping tabs on me have to with them?" Indiana asked, sensing something wrong, very wrong.

"For about a month we've been hearing a lot of chatter from Italian Intelligence talking about an objective they call 'Green Ruby' and according to what research shows about the Shield of Gallia it is supposedly a giant green ruby with a great deal of unnatural power. And just yesterday an Italian Agent boarded a ship bound for London, the Queen Mary. Also aboard that ship were Miss Downey, her brother, and their friend. Now Doctor Jones, or should I call you Captain Defense, you and I both don't believe in coincidences in this business."

"What are you saying?"

Agent Johnson took a deep breath before saying what he came to say, "The FBI believes that Elizabeth Downey, Michael Downey, and Jackson Williams are in mortal danger. We want you to bring them to the American Embassy where they'll be safe and then find the Shield of Gallia before Italian Intelligence or worse, the Germans."

"I thought that the Italians were keeping tabs on me? Sending me might not be the best choice."

"It's them keeping tabs on you we're counting on, we want to clean up the remaining Italian cells here on the East Coast, and you heading to Europe will flush them out. And from what we've seen Miss Downey trusts you, and you've also got the skillset to find the Shield, so we figured we'd kill two birds with one stone."

"That isn't the best way of phrasing a mission to save lives."

"True. Still, we need you Doctor, more importantly, they need you."

"Alright when do I leave?" Indiana said, he didn't need much convincing to go and save the lives of his students.

"We have a gotten a ship to take you, it's the fastest way to Britain under such short circumstances. You may not beat them but you should be able to catch them before anything happens," Agent Johnson said as he passed over a ship boarding pass and its accompanying ticket.

"Alright, guess I'd better get going."

"Very well Doctor Jones, good luck," Agent Johnson said, getting up and shaking his hand, "You're gonna need it."

The man left after snapping his suit case shut and left Indiana to look contemplate exactly what he now had to do. It was a new thing for him, his adventures had met some interesting people before, from pirates, to Nazis, to ancient cults, but never had any of his own students been involved. But he knew their lives were in danger, and he had a duty to help them.

So getting up he went into his office and grabbed a bag for the trip, pulled on the leather jacket he wore for this kind of adventure and then snatched a few clothes into the bag and then pulled out his Smith and Wesson .455 Bapty Revolver and two boxes of bullets. After stuffing a couple stacks of bills into the bag for spending money he turned to the final item in his inventory, his fedora, the symbol of who he was. He slipped the hat on and turned to leave, intent of getting those kids home safe and then finding the Shield of Gallia.

RMS Queen Mary

The Grand Salon was properly named, the three story first class dining room was a sight to behold, marble, plush carpets, finely crafted wood, and smooth classic music was what made this a very good place to be. Especially after the events of the previous night's drama.

Of course Jack and Elizabeth had reported the incident, only to have brushed aside as a common thief who'd had too much to drink and got carried away, and thus lost his life at sea. Their explanation wasn't unfounded, there were other similar incidents of thievery but the attempted murder was a new wrinkle that had concerned the ship's head of security who'd gone so far as to offer free room service for the remainder of the voyage. This had been appreciated, especially since Michael had woken up and instantly taken up residence hunched over the toilet with a nasty hangover. So after reporting Jack's encounter and subsequent fight he and Elizabeth made their way to the Grand Salon for breakfast.

"So what do you think was with that fella? The one I fought?" Jack asked as the two of them were seated near the window with a decent view of the outside that was still in a slight downpour.

"Can we stop talking about him please? The First Mate was probably right, he must have been looking to steal from us and you found him out and being slightly drunk the guy got carried away and you had no choice but to defend yourself," Elizabeth responded as she picked up her menu.

"I know, it just-it doesn't add up. He sure didn't fight like a drunkard, and I've fought my fair share of drunks."

"Jack please, can we please find something else to talk about?" Elizabeth groaned, "Like the treasure. I've been going over my notes and I wanted your input on where it might be."

"Alright Lizzy, shoot," Jack responded, placing his own menu down.

Elizabeth's face lit up as she smiled at being able to talk about something she truly liked. It was no secret that her favorite subject in life was archaeology, and she'd shown true gifts of discerning facts from fiction, and pulling facts from observations that no one else seemed to be able to pick out. So she reached into her purse and pulled out her worn leather notebook that was filled with notes, maps, translations, drawings, and anything else that she'd thought pertained to their trip. She quickly pulled out a map that was folded up to several times and spread it out on the table for him to see.

"Okay, see here?" she pointed at a spot in southeastern France, "That was Alesia, the place where Julius Caesar effectively beat the Gauls and took the Shield of Gallia. I figure that after he conquered all the barbarians he'd go back the way he came along his lines of supply, which means that he would avoid the Alps, and go along the coast in friendly territory where there are roads and towns and people who support him. Because by that time he had effectively chosen to take power, so he was recruiting new troops to supplement his legions," she said pointing along a route she'd highlighted in red and green to symbolize routes taken and the time they were taken.

"And you think that he hid the treasure somewhere in these southern mountains?"

"No," she said definitively, holding up her hand, "this area was still fairly remote and the barbarians living there still knew the mountains better than he and his own Romans knew them. To put it in perspective answer me this. Where do people hide their life savings? Someone else's property? Or would you hide it in your back yard?"

"So you're saying he didn't hide it here in the Alps?" Jack asked, "So where do you think he hid it? In a piggy bank?"

"You're not listening," she snapped, lightly flicking him on the head, "He hid the treasure where he knew it would be safe where the people there were loyal to him where he could retreat to a solid base of power. Here, in Northern Italy near Genoa and Milan. There the treasure was in Roman territory, out of the reach of the Gauls and rogue barbarians. But still out of reach of the Senate and their allies in Southern and Middle Italy. It has to be there, and the thing is, only one archaeologist has ever looked there, and he was killed in an avalanche in the middle of winter so the trip was canceled. Don't you get it? It's a much smaller area to search that has never been searched, and all we have to do is get there find the treasure and boom," she said, banging her fist on the table causing a chain reaction of the silverware and china to shake and tinkle loudly, getting the odd looks of most of the other patrons sitting and conversing nearby.

"I see you do have this figured Lizzy," Jack said, seeing the smile still on her face as she looked at her handiwork with a great deal of self-satisfaction.

"Sir madam, are we ready to order?" a waiter calmly asked as she folded up the map again and put it back into her notebook.

"Oh," Elizabeth said, grabbing her menu, "I'll take…the seafood omelet with some orange juice please."

"Excellent choice madam," the waiter said, then turned to Jack, "And for the gentleman? Would it be eggs and fritters?"

"You trying to start somethin' swabby?" Jack growled, not taking to the jab at his Western appearance and accent lightly.

"Simply making an observation sir," the waiter responded with the classic snobby air that seemed to permeate the entire room.

"Best watch yer mouth partner," Jack hissed, reaching into the back of his pants and calmly set his revolver, a Colt Peacemaker 1910 Bisley Model, on the table, making sure the bullets in the rotating chamber were clearly visible, "Or yer likely to get into some trouble. I'll have what she's having, but with coffee, black. Make sure you write that down."

"Of-of course sir," the waiter responded shakily, his hand scrambling to write down the order as he tried not to stare at the Colt revolver sitting menacingly on the table.

As he walked away quickly Jack placed the weapon back where he'd had it, and Elizabeth about went off on him.

"Jack! What the Hell?! Are you trying to get us arrested?!" she hissed, "I told you not to bring that gun!"

"After last night I'm glad I brought it. Better safe than sorry."

"Better smart than stupid I'd say," Elizabeth responded testily.

"It's not just for my protection Lizzy," he responded, looking her seriously with an eye that told her what he meant.

"I'm guessing Mike brought that new gun of his too?" she responded.

"Yeah he did, which reminds me, best not tell him you and I went out to breakfast. I don't reckon he'd take too kindly to us going on a breakfast date without him knowing."

Elizabeth's cheeks instantly flared to a light pink at the mention that this was basically a date, "Wh-when did this become a date?!"

"When you asked me to take you to breakfast."

"This-this," she stammered, not really sure what to say, as he was right, she had asked him to take her breakfast.

"This is me takin' you from our room to eat breakfast. Sounds like a date to me."

She continued to blush as she watched him stifle laughter at how much she was getting flustered over it all. It was enough to make her wish that she had brought her hung over brother with them, even with the perks that came with it. But she did feel comfortable around Jack, like she were just speaking with an old friend, that nothing seemed wrong with being there alone with him.

"Fine, you can call it a date, but don't tell Mike."

There we are, that was quick wouldn't you say? And is this romance in the air? *Cue Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"* I have a few tricks up my sleeve folks, like that action scene, that little hint of romantic possibility, and the promise of Indiana Jones being on his way to foil some unknown evil plot? I told you I've got plans for this story. Thanks for reading and if you wouldn't mind I'd like some feedback so just write a quick review and let me know your thoughts.

Next Chapter Preview: Welcome to Europe kids, say hello to the sights, people, and dangers it comes with.