Steele On the Nile Part 9/?
"Confrontations Of Many Kinds"
Author: Nefret24
Disclaimers and notes, see parts 1 - 8.
A/N: Man, died from the suspense. Had to be resurrected like Buffy. Several times.
Nah. I'm just lazy and have a short attention span and really angry at PAX for no longer running reruns and six other stories at least going on. Wah wah wah. Mea culpa- I'm sorry.
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BOOM.
The entire cliff face seemed to be rocked to its very foundation. Laura choked on dusty air, overly aware of the closeness of Mr. Steele and his arm, protectively gripping her shoulders, turning her away from the entranceway of their little alcove. Rocks rained down with loud, thunderous crashes and she flinched at every one of them, each time irrationally assuming it was the one to knock them into oblivion.
The air was thick, she couldn't see, she couldn't breathe. Were they okay?
Coughing violently, she could feel Mr. Steele's iron grip slacken. She cracked open one eye and saw Joe slowly unwinding the turban from his face. He looked unhurt, Laura assessed thankfully.
Chancing to open both eyes, she looked up at Mr. Steele. He seemed shaken and was not a little bit dirty but essentially okay.
"You alright?" she managed in a hoarse voice.
"You alright?" he asked her back, dusting off her shoulders.
She nodded, trying to swallow and was relieved to see him do the same. "We're okay," she tried her shaky voice again, smiling at Joe.
"We are alive!" Joe said triumphantly, before coughing at the dust he had raised in moving closer to Laura and Mr. Steele.
"We're alive!" Steele let out an ebullient whoop of defiance. Pushing Laura and Joe away from the edge, he cautiously looked out and down to where Omar's men had stood.
"I'd never thought I'd love a view like this but it is not without its subtle charms," he said, retracting his arm so Laura and Joe could see.
Omar's tank had caved in, having been struck with a considerably large boulder. A few jeeps were overturned and the men appeared scattered half hazardly over the ravine floor- dazed and wounded.
Omar himself was trapped inside his overturned jeep, the door jammed by a massive piece of fallen rock debris. As he struggled to extract himself, cursing all the while, he could hear their exultant laughter echoing off the cliff face.
"This is not over, Miss Holt," he yelled back angrily, swatting at Rashid to help him out of the car.
But she never heard him- as she, Steele and Joe had already left their alcove in favor of making tracks fast. Joe had opted to continue to climb the cliff face and since Laura and Steele had no better ideas, they followed behind him, mildly puffing with the exertion in the heat of the desert.
Joe was humming tunelessly and cheerfully climbed one handed, sparing his left for holding his ridiculous umbrella which bobbed up and down in front of them.
Laura paused at a relatively flat area to catch her breath, looking enviously up at Joe's progress. Remington stopped to see if she was alright, needing the respite himself.
"I don't know how he does it," she said, shaking her head and flapping her arms to send a wind towards her glistening throat.
Steele averted his eyes to Joe's back, swallowing hard and desperately not wanting to look at Laura's long, exposed throat. "He seems like a pretty good chap, this Joe or whatever his name is. Maybe we should cut him in on the jewel when we find it," he said, offering her a hand up as he began to climb again.
"The jewel" Laura replied hollowly, curling her lip. Here they were, just recently almost pummeled to death by large falling rocks and a man with an Uzi and still all he could think about was the damn jewel. She said nothing in reply and simply brushed past his extended hand, finding another foothold for herself.
Steele let him hand fall and sighed. Back in LA after a nasty skirmish, Laura could at least maintain civility. Well, to an extent. Now everything seemed hopeless without reason. He was alive, he had been set free of his obligation to her and Joe, there was a priceless jewel to be found and he was in the right place at the right time to do it. And yet here he was- pining like an idiot, climbing a rockface getting horribly dirty by the minute, standing by the woman he loved who scorned him in return.
Lovely. To these depths have we fallen, old boy, he thought grimly and made the mistake of looking down at the ravine. At least we haven't fallen that far, he amended, gulping. They had almost reached the top of the cliff face.
Laura had preceded him- she gave out a little yelp and he feared that she was going to fall. "Laura!" he cried out, unable to move hands or feet without losing his balance.
"I hate to tell you this, but I think things just got worse," she yelled back.
"What is it?" he cried in alarm.
"I think you mean who is it," she replied and suddenly he saw them. Dozens of them, all over the cliffs.
"I was hoping to avoid them," Joe said, smiling widely up at one of them poised with a spear aimed at his chest. "The Ba'wani."
"Well, let's hope they don't like white meat," Steele quipped, as they were helped up the rest of the way and led back towards the Ba'wani village.
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"We're just local missionary chaps, you know," Steele said to the nearest tribesman in their escort. He had said this several times, to several different tribesmen and received the same reaction: none at all. A blank stare and a "move forward" gesture was the only response.
"I don't think they know English," Laura nudged him with her elbow. It was obvious that they didn't understand- and why should telling them that they were missionaries stop them from butchering them once they reached the village? They might make death more painful if that.
"Alright, Laura, since you're so bloody brilliant, what do you think we should say before we get boiled alive? Serve me with carrots and a Merlot?'" he retorted unkindly.
"You have no proof that they cannibalize people. For all we know they could be perfectly harmless," she explained unconvincingly.
"Harmless, is what they least resemble," Steele replied austerely, eyeing a nearby villager, sporting a large ivory tooth in his nose and carrying a spear with the air of someone practiced at killing things.
"Joe doesn't seem that worried- maybe it'll all work out. Just I don't know smile at them," she said, stretching her lips into a forced grin and nodding at the man closest to her. "See? Harmless," she said through clenched teeth.
"Right," he replied, his eyes narrowing at the grin the man had given her in return. Smile and nod, smile and nod His eyes scanned ahead of them, looking for Joe. He would know what was going on, what the penalty was for trespassing on sacred ground, how to avoid becoming an entrée
Ah. There Joe was, at the head of their little group, swinging his umbrella back and forth as if he hadn't a care in the world. Great.
They were nearing the village. Steele could see the outlines of the huts mark the horizon. He felt an arm curl around his and looked down to see Laura, grimly smiling at the warrior closest to her. Miss Holt isn't impervious to everything, he thought, slightly amused.
He patted her hand with his. "Chin up. Maybe I can convince them you're all skin and bones."
She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow with a bemused smile on her lips. "Well, you certainly have an unhealthy look about you too. Probably filled with diseases," she replied, sotto voce.
"That's what I love about you, Laura- always willing to help a friend in need."
Her brow crinkled and she stared ahead again, removing her arm. Wasn't that what she was doing? Helping out Joe, a friend, in need? And yet, Mr. Steele had made it perfectly clear that he resented it, that he had come along in pursuit of riches and not her
Sometimes she wondered if she made too much out of his cavalier comments. And sometimes she wondered if she never understood them the way she was supposed to. He always said it casually, usually sarcastically even: what he loved about her. He never said the word in any other context.
Well, no, he had suggested they be "lovers" several times, but the three words. In sequence, together- never. And to be fair, neither had she. There were times when she thought them, usually followed by the times she second-guessed herself and willed her mind to un-think them.
Had he thought them? She wished she could trust him implicitly, the way she could in her dreams. She wished he hadn't heard about Joe, and she wished she hadn't lied to him about it. And with a glance at that ever-present companion on her left who hadn't stopped smiling at her since they started walking, she wished that she would live to see tomorrow.
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"I am not a traitor!" Mildred wailed again as she ineffectually pounded the sand with her fist.
Abdullah, who had been listening to the woman cry and shout and snivel for over an hour, stood over her and grimaced. "You are too ignorant to steal our Jewel. Your friend will taste our wrath," he said darkly.
"Look, pal, I don't know what kind of bad movies you've been watching"
"Silence, woman! If you wish to live to see tomorrow, you must prove yourself. And your loyalty to us. Not to this Steele?" he finished, his lips curling.
"What do I hafta do? This doesn't involve becoming blood brothers or anything right?"
Abdullah said nothing but mounted his camel and gestured for her to do the same.
Brushing herself off, Mildred warily mounted and half-into the saddle, the camel began to take off after Abdullah and the rest of the Sufis. "I'm just the secretary!" she moaned.
Where was Mr. Steele and Miss Holt? Were they ok? Did they know that she was in the clutches of these sadistic men? Why had she volunteered to go along? She wasn't an investigator, she answered phones! She liked answering phones. Getting shot at, having her life threatened, not so much.
"I don't get paid enough for this!" she shouted angrily, as she bobbled up and down on her mount, under the watchful eyes of the Sufis.
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"Looks like we're here," Laura whispered as they entered what seemed to be the main square of the village.
"Home sweet home, I'm sure," Steele replied in kind.
Joe had managed to hang back far enough to fall into step with them. Steele nudged his arm. "So, Joe, what's the deal? What's going on?"
"The Ba'wani would like to introduce you to their village. They wish to bestow their hospitality upon us." Upon seeing Steele and Laura's unconvinced countenances, he added, "We should accept."
"By all means. Wouldn't want to disrespect the large spear bearers," Steele agreed, nodding and smiling at a villager thus attired.
"Thank you," Laura pronounced slowly and loudly at the surrounding villagers.
"They're not deaf, Laura," Steele murmured underneath his breath and received a glare in reply.
"They will show you to your tent," Joe made motions to indicate a rather immodestly dressed woman who smiled and bowed at the couple. "You can rest, bathe and prepare for the feast- the men will return with their kills shortly and we have been promised the largest wild fowl!"
Laura and Steele exchanged relieved glances as Joe continued to confer with the villagers.
"Well, then, I guess it's time for my afternoon nap," Steele said, rubbing his hands heartily and chuckling. "Show us the way, good madam, and we will be out of your hair."
"Oh no, no, not yet," Joe said, waving his arms. "First the chief's son would like to greet you himself."
"Oh of course, of course, wouldn't want to disappoint him," Steele agreed and followed Joe.
Laura snagged his arm. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Oh Laura, where's the harm? They're pleasant, poultry-eaters in the desert. Probably just wants to shake our hands and wish us luck. Never can go wrong with the leader of the drove, eh?"
"Leader of the what?"
"You know, leader of the gang. Like that quaint American ditty."
"Leader of the pack."
"Right. Didn't I say that?"
"I think you had better stick with movies. You're better at them. I can't help shake the feeling that we're going to be evaluated."
"We've made it so far without any problems."
"Yeah- by the skin of our teeth."
"Oh come on, Laura, don't look so downcast. Not all leaders of men are swine like Omar." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Laura had gone a trifle pale, and had stifled her expostulations between firmly clamped down lips.
They followed Joe in silence until they reached yet another small group of villagers. Joe bowed low and began to speak with one of them, a very short individual whose head barely passed Steele's mid-torso.
"Is that him?" Laura nudged Steele, indicating the short man with a nod.
"One would suppose so. Though you'd think the son of the chief wouldn't appear so malnourished, eh?"
Laura crinkled her brow and said nothing, but watched every movement of the two men with intense concentration. Finally, the conference seemed over and the small man looked at the couple and smiled broadly. Raising his hand, he spoke to them in his language and they looked to Joe for translation.
"The chief's son Hatae bids you welcome. He hopes you will stay and enjoy the festivities later."
"We would be delighted, thank you," Laura said with a small smile and nodding at Joe.
It was then that the small individual, Hatae?, approached the two and began to stare curiously at Laura's face. She mistook it for an interest in the gold headdress that Omar had given her and so she unwrapped what hair remained pinioned atop her head and extended the headdress to him. He smiled, looked at Steele, smiled again, and returned to his conversation with Joe.
The woman appeared again and it seemed as if the scrutiny would end and that they would finally be shown to their tent.
"Hatae says you may be his special guests at the feast and eat at his table. He also wishes to congratulate you on your marriage and wishes you have many male offspring," Joe translated as the man began to speak at them again.
Steele went white as Laura began to sputter. At first, Steele mistook it for pent-up rage but soon it became evident that she was struggling not to guffaw aloud. She lost the battle and finally amidst her giggles managed, "Thank you again, but we're not married."
They began to follow the woman before hands took hold of them and dragged them back to face the short man.
"What? What is it? What did I say?" Laura asked frantically, struggling.
"Maybe some delightful Puritan missionaries turned up here last and looked down on extramarital relations," Steele muttered, his eyes darting from one tribe member to another, hopelessly looking for a weak spot in the throng.
"We do not have extramarital relations!" Laura hissed. "We're business partners!" she shrieked. "Nothing more!"
Joe seemed to be in deep converse with the man again. He turned to the couple with a grim countenance. "Hatae says if you are not married, he would like to court you," Joe said to Laura.
"Court me?"
"Woo you," Steele said through clenched teeth.
"Woo me? Tell him I'm flattered," she said with a wary look at the short man, "but that I don't like long distance relationships."
"What does this mean, long-distance relationship?" Joe said, his eyes squinting with confusion. "I do not think the Ba'wani have a word for this."
"Look, she's with me," Steele said, breaking an arm free from a villager's grasp and placing it protectively around Laura's shoulder. "Okay? Settled? Let's go find this tent," he said trying to make his way past the people.
They herded the two back into the inner circle and held them fast again. This time, the little man's and Joe's voices were raised as they held conversation while all Laura and Steele could do was hopelessly look on.
Laura for her part was dreading a lifetime bound to a midget for a husband and was experiencing horrible visions of herself ten years down the road with ten children in a tent in the middle of the Sahara. Whatever qualms she had had about Steele claiming ownership of her were gone; of the two, she'd pick Steele in a heartbeat.
Steele was angered beyond all belief. Between Laura practically screaming that all they were to each other consisted of business- not even friendship but just business, she had said!- and that little brat Hatae trying to claim her for his own- well, that was too much for one man to take. She might be many things, and consider him, Steele, to be many things, but no one deserved to get thrust in the midst of the desert against their will for the rest of their life. All he really wanted to do was punch someone in the face, starting with the little, high and mighty Hatae.
Joe offered them an explanation after a pause in the discourse. "Because there are two suitors, a test of valor must be attempted to determine the worthiest one."
"What if I just choose Mr. Steele?" Laura cried out, digging her nails into Steele's forearm, a worried look on her face.
"Hand to hand combat is the usual method of settlement," Joe explained to Steele.
Eyeing the diminutive Hatae, he allowed a smirk to cross his face. "Can't be too hard. Just be like boxing at old Glasbie. Never one to shirk a challenge," he nodded, rolling up his sleeves. He shot a confident glance down at Laura and pried her fingers off him. "Don't worry, love, he'll never know what hit him."
Then, from amidst the throng, appeared the tallest and proportionally broadest man Steele had ever seen. Muscles upon muscles rippled across his chest. Towering over Steele, he looked down and grinned malevolently.
"This is Hatae," Joe said, gesturing at the large man.
"Then who?" Laura said, open-mouthed.
"His chief consul, Ma-rahi."
"What was that about he'll never know what hit him?" Laura muttered at Steele, who simply swallowed loudly. "I don't think he's in the same weight class."
"I don't think he's from the same planet. What can you eat to get that gigantic?"
"Wild fowl, apparently," Laura said with a smirk.
"You just had to say we weren't married!"
"I'm supposed to lie to the son of the chief?"
"Yes," he hissed, watching as a ring slowly began to form.
"Whatever happened to never shirking a challenge?"
"This isn't a challenge. This is a sure-fire way to die. I think I would have preferred being basted to death."
"I won't allow this!" Laura screamed at the larger man. "I will not be fought over like meat between Neanderthals! Do you understand! This stops now!" As she screamed she began to wrap herself around Steele protectively, never taking her eyes off Hatae.
Tribesmen dragged her to the outside of the circle, kicking and screaming.
"Do you see what you'll have to put up with? Better let me handle it, old man, I'm at least used to it," Steele said with a nervous chuckle as Hatae began to crack his large knuckles.
Joe climbed onto a nearby fruit basket and raised his umbrella high in the air. Waving it over his head, he called for silence. Then he broke into English:
"The fight will begin now."
TBC.