Chapter 11
The next morning, Indy's head was still hurting somewhat and he had decided to take the bandages off, which meant he had to be careful when putting his hat on.
They arrived in Shenyang that evening and took a taxi to their hotel and when they arrived, walked to the entrance of the hotel carrying their belongings. Indy was first and he held open the door for Marion. Short Round ran in before him.
"Shortie!"
They walked to the reception desk and checked in.
Someone was watching the party of people and was especially interested in the man dressed in a leather jacket and fedora.
Selene Rogers had glanced over at the trio of people who had just entered the hotel and smiled when she saw Indy open the door for the dark haired woman. Well, at least chivalry isn't dead, just yet she thought. Indy took of his hat and gently wiped the sweat from his brow, taking care not to touch the gash on his forehead. She noticed the gash. That looks painful she thought, almost wanting to go over to the handsome stranger and ask if he was all right. He looked very tired. They all did. However, Indy did not notice the attractive woman looking over at him. Selene was about thirty-five years old, five feet eight in height and had long curly red hair, which seemed to accentuate her blue/green eyes.
An hour later, after they had all settled into their hotel rooms, they dressed for dinner. Marion wore a dark blue evening dress, and Short Round wore a shirt and pants. Indy dressed in pants; shirt and tweed jacket and stayed unshaven.
They met in the restaurant and were seated and Selene Rogers was sat about four or five tables not realising that the man she had noticed earlier that day was sat nearby. Indy put on his glasses to read the menu and after ordering, he excused himself to go to the rest room. As he returned, Selene was walking by his table and she accidentally dropped her evening purse. Indy saw it fall to the ground and went to retrieve it for her. He knelt down and she did the same.
"Woah", said Indy.
"Don't move. It's okay. I've got it", she said looking straight into his eyes.
Gosh, he's so handsome; and those glasses. Wow! Makes him look very intellectual.
"And I certainly don't think that you'd appreciate another bump to your head." And what a nice head that is, she thought.
"Thanks anyway", she said as they both rose.
"No problem."
She was English, and very beautiful thought Indy.
"Selene Rogers", she held out a hand.
"Doctor Indiana Jones."
Hmm, a doctor. Interesting.
"And may I introduce Marion Ravenwood and Short Round."
"Nice to meet you" said Marion.
The feeling was mutual.
"Are you all right?" Selene asked Indy. "That looks like a pretty nasty wound you've got there."
She went to put her hand up to his forehead and Indy backed away slightly, feeling a little bit self-conscious. He smiled pleasantly.
"It's okay, really." It was nice that she was concerned with his well being.
"Well, I hope to see you again, Doctor Jones."
"Yes. It was very nice meeting you", he told her.
She returned to her table and Indy sat down, Marion and Short Round glanced at each other and smiled.
"What? I was just saying hello. Nice of her to show concern for my welfare."
"Ha ha", laughed Short Round.
"Indy got a girlfriend!"
Indy said nothing but shot a withering look at the boy.
After spending the next morning searching for Kabul, the trio found that they were having some trouble gaining visas for French Indo-China and so that afternoon, they left the hotel and took a jeep into the jungles heading towards Tonghua. As the hours rolled on, the heat of the jungle became more and more stifling. It was now dark, and some time later, they came to a small clearing. Moments later, after they had left the jeep and began walking, they came across a cabin, which was secluded and hidden a just a few yards away.
"Mr Kabul?" called Indy.
"Anyone here?" asked Marion.
Then shots of gunfire could be heard which rained down on the ground.
"Get inside", yelled Indy.
They ran into the cabin and as they did, Marion noticed a man led on the floor, barely alive. She crawled over to him as Indy returned the gunfire.
"Kabul?" asked Marion.
He nodded.
"Yes", he said in a quiet voice. "I've been, been expecting you."
"We're gonna get you out of here", shouted Indy, between shots.
Indy aimed at a man in one of the trees and got a clear shot and fired. The man screamed and fell out of the tree to his death. The other gunmen seemed to have disappeared and Indy and his friends took advantage of the situation and carried Kabul out of the house, taking him to the truck.
They had driven back and taken him to the local hospital. Now, Indy found himself entering Kabul's room but found the man in a deep sleep and he decided to come back the next day to find out the location of the Sankara Stones.
They returned to the hotel and Indy saw Selene in the lobby, and after telling Marion that he would catch up with her later, he smiled and walked over to the redhead.
"Hi Selene."
"Oh, hello Doctor Jones. How are you?" she asked.
"Fine. And you?"
"Oh, I'm all right. Just concerned about your head."
"Oh, don't worry. I'll live."
"I hope so", she teased, and excused herself.
As they were unable to go to French Indo-China until their visas came through, Indy thought would be a good idea to take advantage of the situation and spend some time relaxing and exploring the surrounding area. Short Round was in his element. As much has loved America it was great to be back in China. Everywhere they went he looked around at his surroundings wide eyed with wonder. They had spent some time looking around the local stalls and Short Round enjoyed haggling with the market vendor's and demonstrated to Marion how to do the same. Marion found this fascinating to say the least and it almost reminded her of when she used to live in Nepal. They had eaten in a couple of traditional Chinese restaurants and Short Round had advised them what to eat and what to avoid.
During this time, Indy spotted a familiar figure in the distance. It was Selene, and she was dressed in a blue Chinese style blouse and matching pants. She looks great, thought Indy, making his way over to her.
"Hey Selene. You look nice."
She hadn't realised that he was there.
"Oh good morning, Indiana. How's the head?"
He smiled.
"You've definitely got a thing about this head. Not much to see really. A few brains."
She smiled back.
"Oh, I don't know. I think you're too modest", she teased.
He smiled again.
Selene glanced over at Short Round.
"I think you're friend is in his element over there. They certainly can't pull one over on him."
"Tell me about it."
"Is he yours? What I meant was, um, I know that he's obviously not yours as such, what I mean is…"
"No. I'm not his adoptive father if that's what you meant. I wanted to be, but was unable to adopt him as I travel a lot because of my career."
She nodded.
"I see. Well, hope to see you soon", she said, smiling and wandered off to look at some more stalls.
Indy smiled. He really liked her, even if he wasn't about to admit it to the others. Not yet.
Early evening
Indy and Short Round were all sat in the restaurant, eating. Marion had not felt well since the last meal from the street vendor and decided to skip the evening meal.
"So", asked Short Round "What did lady say to you?"
"We were just talking really."
"Oh, yeah", said Willie. "Just talking. Right. I think she like you, Indy."
"And what's wrong with that?" he asked
"Oh, nothing. Just saying that's all."
"Indy. Is, lady, uh, Marion going to be all right?"
"She'll be fine," said Indy. "She just ate something that disagreed with her."
Short Round paused for a moment and grinned at Indy.
"Doctor Jones?"
"Yes, Shortie."
"You like Selene?"
"She seems really nice."
"You not answer my question, Indy"
"Okay, yeah. I like her just fine. Now can we drop it?"
Later that evening, Indy knocked on Marion's door and entered. He opened the door and Marion was sat on a couch, reading.
"Hey", he began. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Hey there, Jones. Didn't hear you come in. I think I'm gonna be okay. That food really didn't agree with me. Guess I'm just used to plain old cooking. I'll be all right. I'm just tired."
"Okay", he said. "Why don't you turn in early for the evening?" he advised.
"Yeah, I might just do that. You guys carry on. I'll be okay in the morning."
He smiled.
"Okay. See you later", he said, and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Indy."
He turned to her.
"I'm enjoying this expedition. And, I'm pretty sure that Selene likes you."
Indy sighed, and was about to reply.
"I've seen the way she looks at you when you enter the room. Perhaps you should…"
"Look, I'm going to see how Short Round is. And please, stop putting ideas in the kids head."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Jones", she smiled slyly.
Indy smiled to himself, walked out of the room and descended the staircase, which led out into the hallway of the Hotel. He ran into Short Round.
"Indy, I find a garden in the hotel. Come on!"
Indy followed him and as they did, a familiar figure walked towards the front desk.
"Can I help, you madam?" asked the clerk.
"Yes, I understand that Dr. Indiana Jones is staying here."
The clerk checked the current lists of guests and indeed confirmed that Doctor Jones was staying here.
Indy and Short Round entered the gardens, and a wonderful mixed fragrance filled their senses. The scent was a mixture of flowers, ferns, shrubs and plants.
"Surprise!" called a familiar voice.
Indy turned and stared.
"Willie?!" he exclaimed, hardly believing what he saw.
"Willie!" yelled Short Round, running over to her.
"Don't get me wrong. It's great to see you again. But, what are you doing here?" asked Indy, surprised.
"Listen Indy. I felt bad for not joining you sooner, and I figured with all that the three of us have been through, I not only owed it to myself but to both of you also. Besides, from the telegraph that you sent Marcus, I figure you needed all the help you could get."
Indy could have sworn that he had seem something or someone hiding inside of the bushes and his worse fears were confirmed when at that moment, out stepped a man dressed in black who aimed a gun at Willie. Indy instinctively pushed Willie aside and as he did the man fired two bullets in quick succession, and they found their target, one bullet hitting Indy in the upper chest and another hitting him in the left arm. Indy staggered back through the impact and Willie cried out and yelled for help, her voice growing louder with each passing second. Marion, who had heard the noise from her room through an open window bolted downstairs and moments later came running out the gardens and as she did, the first thing that she saw was Willie, who looked very pale and was shaking. She then glanced over at Indy who was now collapsed on the grass. Both she and Willie ran over to him and she inspected his wounds. He was bleeding quite badly now and blood was already seeping through his shirt. Willie looked down at him.
Indy then realised something.
Short Round was gone.
"Willie!" he yelled. "What's going on? Where's Shorty?"
"They've taken him," she wailed. "Short Round's gone!"
"Indy, I, I tried. They took him. I tried to stop him, but…"
He looked up at her
"It's okay" he said, slurring his words, "We'll find …", his voice trailed off and he could feel himself slipping into darkness, as their voices got quieter and quieter and he could hear snatches of a conversation. A male voice Okay…unconscious…called…ambulance…got away…blood loss… He closed his eyes and gave into unconsciousness, their voices being the last thing that he remembered, then nothing at all.
