Hey all! Here's another installment. Of course this is going to change some things from the original movie plot, but keep an open mind please.
Belloq glanced over at Marion, who was sitting rigidly in the passenger seat of the army vehicle they were traveling in. And she had every reason to be nervous. Toht was driving, and every so often he would glance back at her, as if he were sizing her up for a coffin he would personally place her in. No one was speaking, and the only sounds in the area were the sounds of the vehicle. Belloq's mind was reeling. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to pull this off. Not only did he have to protect Marion and himself, he had to find a way to save Jones as well!
Belloq pulled out a box of cigarettes and his lighter. Trying to stifle his shaking hands, he cooly lit a cigarette. "How much farther?" He drawled out. Toht seemed to grip the wheel tighter. "Not much. Now would you please put that out? This is a closed in space," He spat out, gesturing blindly towards the cigarette Belloq was holding. With a sneer, Belloq threw it out the window. Panic was beginning to infiltrate his cool facade, and he tried desperately to conceal the worry in his eyes. "We will just have to see what Jones got himself into this time, then figure out what to do about it," he thought, trying desperately to make that panicky feeling go away. "God I wish I had that cigarette back," he thought dryly, finding something rather morbidly funny in his situation.
He turned towards Marion again. He gaze was fixated on the seat in front of her, her eyes shooting daggers at the back of Toht's head. Belloq stifled a laugh. This had to be the most terrifying experience she had been in, yet she showed no fear, and her usual fire continued to burn brightly. Seeing his smile, Marion caught his eye and gave him a grin of her own, just realizing what he was doing. But, her smile slowly faded as their destination grew closer. Belloq subtly reached his hand out to her own, squeezing it in reassurance. Leaning closer to her so Toht couldn't hear, he said in barely a whisper, "It is going to be alright." Marion nodded, not wanting to address it any further. Belloq looked back out the window as they came to a halt, and drew a shaky breath. He was going to have to improvise, and he was going to have to do it quickly.
"We have arrived," Toht said, more to himself than to the others in the car, and wrenched his door open. Belloq followed suit, and escorted Marion out as well. As they made their trek up to the desecrated tomb, Belloq saw Indiana's accomplice being guarded by two Nazi soldiers. "Sallah!" Marion cried out, and started to run toward him. Belloq grabbed her roughly by the hand, and twisted it sharply. Marion yelped in pain and promptly stopped, much to the satisfaction of Toht, and the relief of Belloq. "Ah Marion! Now how would that look to our friends here? Running off to go fraternize with the enemy," Belloq laughed cruelly. Toht laughed as well, and pushed Marion forward. Reluctantly moving away from Marion, Belloq strode toward the tomb, and pushed past the soldiers standing at the edge. "Ah Dr. Jones! I see you have found yourself in a bit of a predicament...no?" Belloq sneered, secretly enjoying the fact that his rival was now in his hands. "Why don't you join me?" Indiana retorted. Belloq held up his hands. "No, I don't think so. I prefer the view," he said cooly. He stepped back from the tomb, beginning to formulate a plan.
Taking a small piece of paper from his pocket, Belloq took out his pen and turned away from the crowd, scribbling something down. Casually, he walked back over to the tomb, and let the paper fall from his hand. Confused, Indiana Jones picked up the paper, and, with the little light he had, began to read.
"They have Marion. I am trying to help. This is not a trick. Do you know where an exit could be? A trapdoor or a loose brick will do. Nod yes or no." Indiana looked back up at Belloq, with shock written all over his face. Realizing this was the only option he had, besides being captured by the Nazis, he gave Belloq a subtle nod yes. Belloq stepped back towards Marion and Toht. "We have the ark. Jones is trapped. Let's hoist him out and give him to the officers in Germany. He is no longer a problem," Belloq offered, gesturing towards the tomb.
Without saying a word, Toht marched over and peered down at the archeologist in question. "Ah, Herr Jones. What a fine mummy you'll make. You should be honored, being able to partake in the history you love so much," Toht said maniacally. Then, turning to Belloq, the Nazi replied, "No. I like him where he is. Out of our hair for good." Belloq opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out, Marion was suddenly wrenched into Toht's arms, and steered toward the pit. Belloq let out a shout of surprise as Marion was shoved backward, and he heard her scream all the way down. His heart lurching, he quickly leaned towards the edge to make sure she was alive.
"You dirty, rotten, son of a..." Marion's voice called out, allowing Belloq's heart to resume beating. Angrily turning on Toht, Belloq yelled, "What on earth are you doing man? She did not need to be sacrificed! It was Jones you wanted dead, not her." Toht sneered and shrugged his shoulders. "It's one more American. Who cares? We have bigger problems to attend to," he growled menacingly. Belloq couldn't take it anymore. He lunged at Toht, who in turn pulled out a pistol and fired. Belloq staggered backward, and finally fell into the pit. Luckily, Jones had been there to ease the fall. Toht leaned over and laughed cruelly. "My apologies Monsieur Belloq. That was just... Reflex. If you do make it out alive, you know where to find us. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch," Toht yelled out, and then promptly moved out of sight, sealing the door behind him.
Belloq stumbled to the ground, his head still reeling from the fall. Rushing over to him, Marion called out, "Rene! Oh Rene, are you all right?" Indiana looked at her incredulously. "Since when is HE Rene?" He said accusatorially, sticking his finger at the Frenchman. Ignoring Indi, Belloq immediately glanced over at his right shoulder. In his surprise, Toht had missed his target, and just skimmed into his shoulder instead. It still hurt like hell though. Quickly taking off his jacket, and tying it around his arm, Belloq pasted a smile on his face and turned to Marion. "I'll be alright. I've dealt with worse," he said softly. Catching Indi's ever growing look of confusion, Belloq sighed and gritted his teeth. "Well Jones, it seems that we are all for one on this round. You see, we now have a common enemy. Initially, I was just going to save Ms. Ravenwood over here, but seeing as she begged me to save you too, and I will enjoy having you owe me, I suppose I can forget about our past for a little while so we can get out of this mess," he explained haughtily. Indiana muttered something unintelligible, but reluctantly walked over to Belloq and extended his hand. "I can't say I'm happy about it, but it's the only shot I have, so I might as well suck it up," Indi said snidely.
Glaring at Marion, Indi asked, "So when did you two get all buddy buddy?" Marion promptly marched up to Indi, and socked him in the jaw. "When he made good on his word to save my tail you jerk! HE didn't leave me behind! And while this may not be ideal, he did get us away from those creeps. So shut your sorry mouth and help him, and don't you dare say a word about it," Marion yelled in complete fury. Belloq stood, both amused and completely in love with her at that moment. Resisting the urge to kiss her, Belloq turned his attention to the dumbfounded Indi, and asked, "You know where the exit is?" Indi nodded and pointed upward, where a brick had been removed over a large slanted statue of Anubis. Moving quickly, Indi started up the statue, not even turning to check on his companions.
As Belloq walked behind Marion, he let out a small hiss of pain when he moved his arm in the wrong way. Turning around in concern, Marion looked pointedly at his shoulder. Belloq tried to laugh. "I was only planning on getting all three of us into the tomb. Getting shot was not exactly on my list," he joked, shifting his shoulder uncomfortably. "Well, I'm going to take a look when we get out of here," she said rather angrily. Belloq, thinking the tone was for him, said apologetically, "Is your wrist alright? I'm sorry for what I had to do. It's just that it wouldn't have looked right for me to have let you run off to Sallah." Marion gave him a small smile. "It's alright, I'm not mad at you. It's being in the presence of Mr. Egotistical Egghead over there that's got me mad," she finished. Belloq laughed as he started climbing. "Just remember, you call the shots now, not him. You've got a bodyguard who can throw a few punches at him now if he gets out of line," he teased. Marion laughed, and in no time at all, they all reached the top. After the three allies freed the brick up and climbed out, Indi looked off into the distance. "What now?" He asked. Belloq glanced at a small propeller plane that was left behind. "I've got an idea," he said. And with that, the trio began the trek down.
So what do you think? Will Belloq make it to wherever they're going? After all, he does have a bullet in his arm still, and it hasn't exactly stopped bleeding. Will Marion fall for Indi again, or will she choose the right man this time? And will a Belloq and Indi finally patch things up, and bind over the person they care sour most? Read more to find out!