Playing with Fire

"There's my future brother-in-law!" Rick shouted with a dangerous kind of congeniality. He clapped Beni a little too hard on the back, and took a hold of his shoulder, jerking him out of his seat at the table and dragging him down the deck. Beni let out a high-pitched yelp and struggled to gain his balance, stumbling along behind Rick as best he could.

"What are you doing?" he demanded in a panicky whine.

Rick shrugged his big shoulders. "I just thought we could all sit around, have a chat - "

They arrived to the stairs leading below deck, where Hattie waited nervously. She met Beni's confused eyes with an irritated glare.

"She promised she would not let you hurt me!" Beni squeaked.

Rick glanced at his sister, and she shrugged. "You wouldn't have to hurt him..."

Rick raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"

"Of course she is sure!" Beni said quickly. "We are in love - "

"Yeah, you can stop with that one," Rick told him. "The jig's up. Now let us into your room."

Beni's jaw dropped, and he eyed Hattie suspiciously. "But you said - "

"Now," Rick cut in, his hands flexing around his shoulder holsters. Beni let out a little cry and hurried ahead of them down the stairs. Rick motioned for Hattie to go next, and he brought up the rear. Hattie felt Beni glance back at her, more than once, with something like betrayal in his eyes, but she couldn't be sure. The lighting in the hallway below deck was rather dim.

They arrived at his door (which was surprisingly unguarded at the moment) and Beni unlocked it, flinging it open irritably. Rick gave him a saracastic smile.

"Thanks. Now beat it."

Beni's eyes shifted suspiciously from Rick to the room, and back to him again. "What is this all about, anyway?"

Hattie gulped, staring at her brother with wide, begging eyes. But Rick just shrugged his shoulders and pushed past him into the room, snatching his key from his hand on the way.

"We'll give this back when we're done," he said in a firm tone, daring Beni to protest. Beni watched him with a disgruntled sneer, muttering something under his breath in another language. Hattie side-stepped him awkwardly, not quite glancing up at him. She heard him say something that sounded a little threatening to her back, and then slunk out, slamming the door behind him.

Hattie glanced at her brother anxiously. "Are you sure that was such a good idea?"

Rick gave her a look. "Trust me. I know how to handle Beni. If you try to bargain with him, he'll take you for everything you got. It's better to just deal with him on his terms."

She let out a skeptical sigh, but nodded her head, turning her attention across the room to where Ardeth sat at the desk. Her heart swelled with sympathy when she saw him slouched in his seat, flexing his hands uncomfortably against the restraints. He glanced up at them, and even though he didn't smile, she could see relief in his endless, dark eyes.

"Ardeth," she said with a smile, hurrying over to him. "This is my brother, Rick."

He glanced up, and the two men nodded at each other. Hattie couldn't help but notice a flicker of recognition in Ardeth's eyes; his brow furrowed, and he blinked, and it was gone.

"So," Rick said, "Hattie says I have to talk to you. What's the deal?"

Ardeth told Rick everything that he'd told Hattie, about the City of the Dead and the curse on Imhotep. Hattie glanced nervously at her brother, wondering how he would react to such an outlandish tale. It had been years since she'd seen Rick, but he'd always been so level-headed. His expression was unreadable, though a cynical smirk twitched in the corner of his mouth as Ardeth told him about Meela and her determination to resurrect Imhotep with an artifact that was somewhere on this boat.

When he finished, Rick breathed a sigh, sitting there quietly in the very seat Hattie had been in only the night before. Hattie glanced between him and Ardeth anxiously, holding her breath in anticipation of what he might say, how he might respond.

At last he said, "Well, I don't know about all that. But I know there's definitely something wrong with that place."

Hattie couldn't help breathing a relieved sigh, stealing a little smile at Ardeth.

"And I can't say I totally trust somebody who's willing to throw ten thousand dollars away just to get there," he added, running a hand through his hair. "But - "

Hattie and Ardeth never got a chance to hear what Rick was about to tell them next. The door burst open, and Hattie let out a little cry as half a dozen red-robed warriors poured in, one of them taking a hold of her and the other five occupying themselves with Rick. She saw her brother go for his gun just before she was shoved onto the bed on her stomach. She struggled against the hands that grappled for both of her wrists and inevitably forced them behind her back, binding them together tightly. She could hear the small battle being waged against her brother; but by the time she was properly bound and a cruel hand jerked her back onto her feet, his hands were tied behind his back as well, a man on either side keeping him firmly in place.

"Mr. O'Connell."

The smooth, cultured voice slid into the room like a snake, and Hattie immediately turned her attention to the other side of the room, where Meela leaned in the doorway. Beni lurked just behind her, a satisfied scowl on his face.

"Might I ask what's going on in here?" she said, an unamused smirk nestled in the corner of her mouth.

Hattie glanced back at her brother fearfully, and he met her eyes with confusion and worry. Her heart sank to see him so out of control, and her blood started to pound much faster through her whole body, making her feel light-headed. The silence in the room was defeaning, and Hattie blinked hard, trying to retain some semblance of control over the anxiety that was buzzing through her veins.

Meela raised an eyebrow, staring unblinking at Rick for another agonizing moment before letting out a little sigh.

"Mr. O'Connell, I'm afraid I'm going to have to terminate our agreement. I've found someone else who's just a little more...trustworthy, it would seem."

Hattie sucked in a little breath, her hands tightening into fists behind her back.

"You and your sister have two options," she continued smoothly. "You can either remain with us until we dock at the end of the day tomorrow, and then go on your way back to Cairo, or..." Her eyes hardened, glaring at him in a dangerous, black flash. "We can shoot you both right now and toss you overboard."

Rick gave her a bitter smile. "Guess we'll take the first one."

Meela almost smirked. "I thought so. However, since you've proven yourself less than trustworthy, I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep you imprisoned for the remainder of our journey."

"Seems fair," he said sarcastically.

She did smirk now. "Good. We've made arrangements for you in seperate rooms - "

"Let me keep her," Beni cut in cruelly.

Meela turned and glanced behind her, as if she'd forgotten he was even standing there.

"I'd rather they were all seperated," she said dismissively.

But Beni crossed his arms over his chest, shooting a little glare at Rick. "I did not have to come to you with this." His eyes turned to Hattie, and he mocked her with an exaggerated, pititable expression. "And you see, we are just so in love..."

Hattie's stomach tightened in nervous knots.

Meela let out an impatient sigh and waved her hand. "Fine. I don't care. It doesn't really matter." She turned her attention to one of her men. "Take care of it."

And then she was gone, slipping out of the room like an elegant ghost. The men pushed and tugged her brother out of the room, and she met his eyes. The words, "Rick, I'm sorry," were caught in her throat, and she just couldn't bring herself to say them, or anything at all. She stared at him desperately, hoping he could see the words in her eyes. But his gaze was so fret with worry and the frustration of helplessness that she couldn't tell if he understood or not.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

He was pulled past Beni, who watched his captivity in gloating amusement, leaning against the doorframe where Meela had been a moment ago.

"If you lay one finger on her, I'll - "

Beni scoffed. "You will - what? Enjoy the other Americans, O'Connell. They're real assholes."

Rick was dragged down the hall, and Beni stepped easily into his room, pulling the door shut behind him. Hattie was suddenly aware of the ironclad grip of the warrior on her arm, and sucked in a nervous breath.

"Where do you want her?" he asked Beni impatiently.

She glanced over and met Beni's cruel smirk, and winced.