Chapter 11: The plane
'Marion?' Indy asked.
She had always known that Indiana Jones was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. If he had someone with precognition, they'd be the first person he'd ask for help, no matter who it was…almost. She knew, in future, he would have a reluctance to ask her for help because he'd be worried about her. Now, she was here and he needed the information. He had no choice.
'They want to fly it out to Berlin,' she said. 'But first Belloq's going to try to get it to an island south of France.'
'To open it,' Indy muttered. 'Right, by the time the Ark's on that plane, we'll already be on it. Now, Marion, I want you to promise me that you won't go and do anything too reckless just because you see yourself doing it in a vision or you think you need to do it.'
'That's not the only reason I do the stuff, Indy,' she told him, cupping his cheek and rubbing her thumb over his cheek.
He gave her a look that made her want to melt as he turned his head and kissed her palm.
'Especially not for that reason,' he told her. 'I can take care of myself.'
'That's debatable,' she retorted. 'I won't promise anything, because I'll just end up breaking it in the end.'
'Can you at least promise me you'll be careful?' he asked.
She smiled. 'That, I can do.' She leaned in and quickly kissed him, allowing him to kiss her back.
XXX
Crap! Crap! Crap! Indy thought as he tried to fight the burly mechanic. Marion had gotten stuck in the cockpit of the plane and he had to get to her. She had been careful, but she hadn't stayed out of it. The problem was, no one could have guessed on the fuel and the fire.
He grunted as his back hit the ground and he looked up. The thing was, he would've been dead if not for that propeller. Indy gaped for a second when he saw it coming and the German turned around, only to get sliced up like a Christmas turkey.
Indy scrambled away and jumped up on the plane. Damn it! Marion looked terrified. He yanked at the hatch. It wouldn't budge.
'Pull the handle!' he called to her.
Then he realised that she couldn't. It was jammed. He pulled out his gun. He was not going to lose her for real. He pulled the trigger and shot the lock loose. Without a word, he yanked the hatch open and pulled her out. They ran off the plane and then away from it moments before the damned thing exploded, taking the entire area and every structure surrounding it with it.
XXX
The confusion the explosion created allowed them to run into an empty tent. Marion found a canteen of water and a rag as Indy sat down to rest. She wetted the rag and came over to him. He looked up and took the rag from her.
'You all right?' she asked.
'As all right as I could be,' he answered. 'What about you?'
'I'm still alive,' she responded.
He smiled as he wiped the blood off his face. 'Come here.' He sat back.
She smiled and sat in his lap. She tipped his hat back so she could look in his eyes.
'Sweetheart, I don't like you being in these situations,' he told her. 'You could get killed.'
'So could you,' she told him, dropping her head onto his shoulder. 'Is this what you've been doing for the last ten years?'
'Yes,' he breathed. 'Honestly, I'm sorry, honey, but I don't think I could go without it. It's too deeply rooted in me now.'
'I won't try and stop you,' she said. 'But I wish you wouldn't. I worry about you.'
'That's exactly why I don't want you getting mixed up in this, Marion,' he told her softly. 'I worry about you too.'
She looked up at him. 'What are we going to do once we get to America?'
'You don't know?' he challenged.
'You want me to live with you?' she asked.
'Well, I've missed you, Marion,' he told her. 'I don't want to spend any longer than necessary away from you.'
'Isn't it illegal?' she asked. 'Or did they legalise unmarried or unrelated men and women living under the same roof in the last decade?'
'To a point,' he told her. 'They inspect regularly and if there are at least two bedrooms, both in use, it's okay. It does tend to send the rumour mill out of control, though, so if you don't mind gossiping and scrutinising stares…?' He let the question hang.
'All right.' She kissed him again.
She stood up as they saw Sallah and Indy whistled. The Arab ran in.
'Oh, my friends!' he exclaimed. 'I'm so pleased to see you're alive! Indy, listen. If you still want the Ark, it's being loaded on a truck for Cairo.'
'Truck?' Indy threw down the rag. 'What truck?'