It took more willpower then Liz thought she possessed to not fight and get
out when she realized she was completely out of contact with Cameron. So
where was he? He had promised to stay close and now he wasn't close enough
to stay in touch which meant anything could happen and he wouldn't know or
if something happened to him she wouldn't know and what the hell was she
going to do if she couldn't get to him? But other than some minor mental
hysteria, everything seemed to be going rather smoothly.
The three women were hustled quickly onto a small plane and then flown out over the ocean. Southwood, Bentley and two thugs glared daggers at them and refused to speak. A few hours later and they were suddenly over yellow sand with a single stripe of green cutting the monotone landscape. Egypt. Cities and towns could be seen straddling the Nile down its length. The plane cruised down the length of the river, finally turning inland and flying for a short while away from the river and any semblance of civilization before landing on a strip that was nothing more than hard packed dirt.
The plane was unloaded and much to Liz's dismay there were at least six more thugs waiting for them. That was just flat out too many for now. She was going to have to figure out some way to get the number down a bit without getting one of them killed. And there wasn't a way for Cameron to have followed. Sure, he knew where they were going thanks to Emilie, but unless he managed to charter a plane, there wasn't much chance of him being able to get out here. It was going to be up to her to get the three of them out of there. Well, she was smart and telepathic. She was just going to have to use that to split up the men, take out whoever was left and get the hell out of there. She wasn't a licensed pilot, but Uncle Justin had taught her enough when her and Cameron had spent a summer in LA to fly them out of there. Landing wasn't going to be pretty, but chances of surviving that were much higher than sticking around.
The entrance to the cave wasn't impressive. It was just a small opening in the ground. Emilie didn't think it would be something grand, although excavations around there might prove to be interesting. The people of this area in antiquity had made a trade out of treasure protection. There were a lot of travelers and people wanting to go from one area to another, trading and making profits. However, shipping back the good wasn't very easy and if the owner wasn't present, chances were good that the entire load wouldn't make it back to the Mediterranean Sea. The people of Al- Naron were a small tribe that was known for their scrupulous honesty. Over time, they became treasure protectors. The complex of caves underground would boggle most thieves by itself and there was but a few entrances. For a nominal fee they would allow a person to put their accumulated trade merchandise in the caves and when they returned for it, a point of pride was that not a single coin or gem would be missing. Theoretically this should have ended a thousand years ago, but legend persisted that a treasure was left behind when a Spanish nobleman went into the desert to for some reason that nobody knew. Legend said that shortly after he hid his treasure, there was a terrible earthquake and the entrance to the cave was blocked and hidden for all time. But somehow Southwood had managed to find the place, and the map and put the pieces together. It was actually pretty impressive if one chose to think about it.
One of the thugs took Southwood off to the side, whispering urgently and gesturing into the cave a few times. There was no mistaking the fact that he looked rather scared. They thought they were far enough away but both Liz and Janna could hear the worried conversation. They had received the first glyph and made a foray into the tunnel it marked. It went well. Nothing bad had happened at all. But then one of the guys went into the other cave and an ancient trap had yawned open, the false floor giving out and dropping him about ten feet into a pit of sharpened stakes. The people of Al-Naron had guarded their secrets and treasures very well. The thug was worried. There had to be other traps and one mistake was going to be the death of them all. Southwood had glared at him and said that if he didn't want to take a chance in the cave, then he was going to be food for vultures in a few seconds. Nothing more was needed.
Janna and Liz exchanged a quick glance, both trying to hold back a smirk. Traps. Yawn. They had handled the best that the world had to offer now, and that included when the one alarm went off and released a swarm of bees. Liz had ducked that one without getting a single sting. But these guys were used to intimidating informants and scaring people into giving up protection money. They didn't know how to look for traps and they certainly didn't have the extra abilities that Liz and Janna had. Plus Emilie was on their side. She didn't seem to be the type that would object to eliminating a little of the competition.
Southwood approached them, carrying a flat leather case that Emilie recognized. The map. He sneered at the three women, but his desperation was starting to gleam through ever so slightly. At this point, he had nothing to lose at all. He unzipped the case. "Okay," he snapped and then nodded towards Janna. "Since you're all such good friends, whatever turn you decide to make, she's going down first. For your sake, you better hope that they are good friends," he dripped sarcastically towards Janna.
Janna rolled her eyes and looked away. Idiot. A surreptitious look at Liz and both of them knew the plan and agreed in a second. Emilie caught the look and bit back a smile. Her two companions reminded her more of her mother than the girls she had known at university. Emilie took the case that was being shoved at her, her eyes flickering over the faded ink. The map and statue were two parts of the key to finding the treasure. The map said which glyph meant what and had a basic diagram. The statue said which order to select the hieroglyphs in. And the map had some warnings about the different pitfalls. But Emilie didn't think that those needed to be revealed just yet. Why ruin the surprise?
The map wasn't needed for the first leg, just the first hieroglyph. But that was only about a hundred yards down into the caves. And even that far had proven to be deadly to anyone with the wrong information. No wonder the thugs were all quite nervous. This was getting amusing in a twisted sort of way.
They all entered the cave, Liz and Emilie leading with Janna and a thug with a gun following close behind. A couple more thugs followed with Southwood and Bentley near the rear with another set of hired help. The temperature was noticeably cooler in the cave, but the air was still incredibly dry and still. Once they got past the small entrance, it flared out considerably so that they could stand easily and fan apart slightly. Janna appreciated that. Her thug obviously had been out here for a while and bathing wasn't a priority in his life. Despite the relative coolness inside, he was still pouring sweat. He's terrified, Janna thought. He was used to concrete shoes and beating people up. This was way beyond his league.
They came to the first turn beyond where Southwood's men had explored. Protected from the wind and the rain, the ancient carvings in the stone were still deep and fresh. Liz looked at them carefully, mentally going back to the statue and examining it. This would be easier if they would hold the lights still. Good thing she could see in the dark. "That one," she said softly, pointing at the third one down.
With the map, the placement of the glyph on the wall was just as important as the glyph itself. Emilie looked at the small drawing on the paper, translated the words beside it and then pointed to the tunnel on the left. "That's the one." Her voice was low, barely above a whisper. The men thought the tremor in it was fear, but it was excitement that she couldn't contain. She had said she wouldn't do this, but now that she was here; there was no way to stop herself. She had to see if the legends were true or not.
Janna's new best friend nudged her forward with the barrel of his gun. She took a breath and stepped forward into the darkness. She really wished she had been given some decent hiking boots or something. These shoes were really cute, but they were going to be murder on the feet after a while, not to mention the serious lack of traction she was dealing with. At least they let her have one of the lights. Not that she really needed it though, but there wasn't a need to give that away quite yet. She went down about twenty-five feet, stepping carefully. The ground was solid and there weren't any hidden levers or the like that she could see.
She sauntered back. "All right," she said, picking back up on the Jaqui accent, "now that I have returned alive and well, you big, brave men can follow. But there were a few spiders so please refrain from screaming like a child if one should drop on you."
Her comments were met with a few glares. "We need to be careful anyways," Emilie said firmly, glancing over her shoulder at the men behind them. "There are no guarantees that even the right tunnel is going to be safe. She caught a ghost of a grin touch Liz's mouth. This was almost, just almost getting to be fun. The men really thought that they had the upper hand. They really, really did. She wondered if they realized that getting out in a cave system like this could be harder than getting in.
They came to the next bend and the process was repeated. The men behind them were noticeably more relaxed now that things were finally going as planned. They didn't notice the tight little smile on Liz's face. They saw blackness above them. She saw details. And all it was going to take was to see one or two little things; a well-timed stumble and those men's outlook on life were going to change drastically. All the three girls were going to have to do was keep from getting themselves killed in the process.
Now this was fun.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Wait a second," Cameron interrupted the piecing together of the tale that Antonio and Heather were giving him after he had explained what happened with Southwood and filled in those details, just skipping over that weird impulse that made him kiss Emilie good bye. "So the legendary Spaniard might be the one that hooked up with your ancestress. Okay, I get that. But you're screwing with me about that whole showing up thing, right?"
They were telling him the story of Isabella and the necklace when Cameron had gotten this funny look and began demanding more information about Isabella right down to what she looked like. "It is only a family legend of sorts," Antonio said dismissively, sounding a little embarrassed. "My mother claims that it is true that Isabella has prevented thefts before, but..."
"I knew it!" Cameron yelled, jumping up. "HA! I knew I wasn't going crazy."
"No, you long since went crazy when you started pulling all this crap," Heather said irritably. "Now stop jumping up and down like an idiot."
He smirked evilly at her. "I'm not making you sick, am I?" She glared at him viciously and then he was suddenly on his rear in his seat. He wasn't cowed. He had survived worse from his older sister. "Nah," he added in that same spiteful tone. "You had a long flight over here. Probably just down to the dry heaves by now, huh? All this swooping and banking and up and down..."
"Cameron!" Jon snapped before Heather could slap the bejeezus out of her brother. She wasn't throwing up again despite some minor turbulence. "Will you stop screwing around and tell us what you're talking about?"
Cameron sat up. "So I grabbed the necklace," he began. "And everything is going better than planned." He looked at Antonio apologetically. "No offense, your system was really good, but we're just pretty much unbeatable."
"Not when Mom and Dad get their hands on you," Heather muttered.
Cameron looked down for a moment. That was painfully true. Oh well. Being beaten by them was pretty much inevitable at this point. "Anyways, I turn around, and there's this chick. And for a second I'm thinking she's got to be a maid or something, but then it hits me that first, she's in this dress from the thirteenth or fourteenth century and second, I can sort of see through her. She opens her mouth like she's about to scream and then suddenly smiles or something and disappears."
"What did you do?" Jon asked.
"Invited her to tea," Cameron said sarcastically. "What do you think I did? I ran like hell. And trust me, I don't care how brave you think you are, but when someone shows up that you can see through, it's pretty much instinct to vacate the premises. Janna and Liz thought I must have lost it, or that it was some kind of projection, but that didn't look like any kind of projection that I had ever seen before." He smiled, looking rather pleased with himself. "You guys are going to have to back me on this when I tell them that I really did see a ghost." He sat back in his chair, smiling the smile of the vindicated.
Antonio looked out the window thoughtfully. "According to family legend, Isabella always shrieked when a thief approached her necklace. I wonder if she meant to scream, but chose not to when the statue was taken."
Heather blinked. "You can't be serious. Come on. Ghosts giving...permission if you will? That's a little hard to believe, and considering who you're talking to, that should say a lot."
He raised a dark eyebrow at her. "Hard to believe or not, it is what happened. If the Spaniard of Al-Naron is in fact her lost Diego, perhaps that statue was the key to discovering why he never returned for her."
"You'll have to forgive her," Cameron said with a little grin, gesturing towards his sister. "She never believed in Santa Claus either." He ran a hand through his blonde hair ignoring the daggers she was glaring at him.
Antonio was amused by the interaction between this brother and sister. He wouldn't have suspected they were siblings by personalities, although there was a passable resemblance. Cameron was as relaxed about himself and what they were doing as she was serious. The only thing that he was edgy about was the fate of his twin, but he was also extremely confident that he would know if something happened to her. And both of them believed that Liz would extricate herself and Janna in a bad situation. Still, it was fun to watch Cameron get a few in on Heather. The young man knew exactly how to irritate his older sister and just how to keep her on edge. He obviously had a great deal of practice at driving her crazy.
In a way Heather was starting to be glad that Antonio was there for the sheer sake of transport. He managed to get them to Egypt without the slightest problem and while there made arrangements for a helicopter to be at the airport where they were going to land and take them out to the site Cameron said the girls had been taken to. Heather was concerned that the helicopter pilot might get a little worried about what they were doing if someone started shooting, but Antonio smirked in that arrogant way that begged to be slapped. Then he revealed that he would be the pilot. Flying a plane had never seemed interesting to him, but a helicopter was quite fun. Heather instantly regretted every rude comment she had made to him because he was so going to get her back once everyone was safe.
They made it to Egypt without incident and everything was ready when they landed. There were several handguns on the plane, in an age where the wealthy were frequently targeted for kidnappings and political killings, having a few weapons hidden were a must, and they were transported into the helicopter. Even Cameron said that Heather should be the one that was armed. His sister could be a pain in the butt, but she was a nearly perfect shot every time. He thought it was an unconscious use of the kinesis even though Heather claimed there was no way for her to be able to control a bullet moving that quickly. It didn't matter why; the point was the girl didn't miss.
Now Cameron was getting a little edgy. They were close enough where he should have been able to have some contact with Liz, but so far nothing. He knew that she wasn't hurt, but that really wasn't as reassuring as he was letting on. He wanted some kind of contact to know that she was safe. So far there was just the sound of the helicopter filling his ears and nothing in that secret place in his mind where the telepathy held court.
Luck was with them in a small way with a good headwind blowing the sounds of the approaching helicopter. It gave them a few seconds to get closer, but three men suddenly darted from the front of the cave, their guns raised.
Heather didn't hesitate. If they kept their aim and hit Antonio, all three of them were dead. She saw them and suddenly shoved the door open, sliding out of the seat and falling forward. Her right leg caught the skid and she swung around, the sound of bullets coming all too close. But they were coming close to her, and not the other occupants. In a heartbeat, she drew both guns she was carrying, aimed and fired four times with each hand, striking the guards easily.
She disentangled her leg and dropped the forty feet or so into the yellow sand, not noticing Antonio's gape of amazement. She crouched low for a second, her enhanced vision piercing into the dark cave. Nothing. As the helicopter landed behind her, she checked the guards. Dead. That HRT sniper training had really honed her skills in the last two months.
Jon was out of the helicopter before Antonio could have it shut down and ran to where Heather was checking the last guard. "Are you okay?" he gasped.
"I'm fine." Her reassurance wasn't helping. That was obvious. "Jon, I wasn't in any danger with falling. I didn't have kinetics at all, I swear."
Jon wanted to yell at her to never do that again. Unfortunately, he also knew that would be something that she might do at the next family reunion because it looked like fun. "Next time," he said very softly, "keep in mind that you're not wearing a bullet proof vest."
"Jon," Heather went to protest, but he simply touched her shoulder and she realized he was playing with a hole in her sleeve. Her mouth snapped shut. "Point taken," she said contritely.
Cameron was already looking into the cave. Signs of earthquake damage and recent excavations were quite evident. He was willing to bet that in the sands nearby would be some bodies of locals that had helped out for the first few days and then eliminated once they went from helpful to knowing too much. Their families would probably never know what happened to them, but in a thousand years some archeologist would dig up the remains that had mummified in the sand and wonder what had happened. Ironic in a way.
For Heather and Cameron the darkness in the cave wasn't a problem, but Jon and Antonio needed some kind of light. Their high-powered flashlights lit up the immediate area and Heather could only hope that the bad guys up ahead wouldn't notice their light. There was just one other nagging problem. What direction?
"You didn't happen to look at the map?" she asked her brother as she investigated the footprints in the sand. That would do for now, but it was possible that there would be a place where there was no sand and no way to know which direction to head.
Cameron shot her a grin. "Don't need it." His arms crossed and he got a rather drifty look that Heather knew all too well. Normally it meant that the police would be looking for someone of his or Liz's description very soon. But today, it was a welcome sight.
(having fun?)
(CAM!)
(want to point us in the right direction?)
(take the first right, next two are lefts....us?)
(wouldn't be a rescue if the brigade wasn't here)
(oh, god, not mom and dad)
(no....will you tell janna that her boy's all right)
(her what?)
(you heard me...fill you in on the details later baby sister)
(why do i feel like i don't want to know...holler when you need the next direction)
(will do...hey, anything we need to watch out for)
A mental ripple that signified a laugh.
(no...a couple of guys in the group tripped a trap that we just didn't see...poor things, may they rest in peace)
(LIZ!)
(don't worry...emilie orchestrated it better than you'd think and i just carried it through...pretty funny actually)
(you are not right in the head)
(so i have been told...just get here quick because they are really getting nervous and that's not good)
Cameron looked up at the other three, worried about the concern in his twin at the end. If Liz was starting to worry, then time was shorter than they thought. "We take the first right tunnel and then the next two are lefts," he said.
Heather grinned. "When we get closer, we're going to have to go in with no lights." She glanced over at the two men. "You're just going to have to trust that Cam and I can see. And then they won't have the slightest idea that they're being followed."
Cameron nodded. "We're going to have to move quick and be on them before they hit the treasure area," he said. Heather looked at him questioningly. He paused for a second. "I've just been thinking about what the texts actually say...it doesn't matter, let's just get them out of there fast."
In silent agreement, the four of them began heading deeper into the caves, stealthily tracking their elusive prey.
The three women were hustled quickly onto a small plane and then flown out over the ocean. Southwood, Bentley and two thugs glared daggers at them and refused to speak. A few hours later and they were suddenly over yellow sand with a single stripe of green cutting the monotone landscape. Egypt. Cities and towns could be seen straddling the Nile down its length. The plane cruised down the length of the river, finally turning inland and flying for a short while away from the river and any semblance of civilization before landing on a strip that was nothing more than hard packed dirt.
The plane was unloaded and much to Liz's dismay there were at least six more thugs waiting for them. That was just flat out too many for now. She was going to have to figure out some way to get the number down a bit without getting one of them killed. And there wasn't a way for Cameron to have followed. Sure, he knew where they were going thanks to Emilie, but unless he managed to charter a plane, there wasn't much chance of him being able to get out here. It was going to be up to her to get the three of them out of there. Well, she was smart and telepathic. She was just going to have to use that to split up the men, take out whoever was left and get the hell out of there. She wasn't a licensed pilot, but Uncle Justin had taught her enough when her and Cameron had spent a summer in LA to fly them out of there. Landing wasn't going to be pretty, but chances of surviving that were much higher than sticking around.
The entrance to the cave wasn't impressive. It was just a small opening in the ground. Emilie didn't think it would be something grand, although excavations around there might prove to be interesting. The people of this area in antiquity had made a trade out of treasure protection. There were a lot of travelers and people wanting to go from one area to another, trading and making profits. However, shipping back the good wasn't very easy and if the owner wasn't present, chances were good that the entire load wouldn't make it back to the Mediterranean Sea. The people of Al- Naron were a small tribe that was known for their scrupulous honesty. Over time, they became treasure protectors. The complex of caves underground would boggle most thieves by itself and there was but a few entrances. For a nominal fee they would allow a person to put their accumulated trade merchandise in the caves and when they returned for it, a point of pride was that not a single coin or gem would be missing. Theoretically this should have ended a thousand years ago, but legend persisted that a treasure was left behind when a Spanish nobleman went into the desert to for some reason that nobody knew. Legend said that shortly after he hid his treasure, there was a terrible earthquake and the entrance to the cave was blocked and hidden for all time. But somehow Southwood had managed to find the place, and the map and put the pieces together. It was actually pretty impressive if one chose to think about it.
One of the thugs took Southwood off to the side, whispering urgently and gesturing into the cave a few times. There was no mistaking the fact that he looked rather scared. They thought they were far enough away but both Liz and Janna could hear the worried conversation. They had received the first glyph and made a foray into the tunnel it marked. It went well. Nothing bad had happened at all. But then one of the guys went into the other cave and an ancient trap had yawned open, the false floor giving out and dropping him about ten feet into a pit of sharpened stakes. The people of Al-Naron had guarded their secrets and treasures very well. The thug was worried. There had to be other traps and one mistake was going to be the death of them all. Southwood had glared at him and said that if he didn't want to take a chance in the cave, then he was going to be food for vultures in a few seconds. Nothing more was needed.
Janna and Liz exchanged a quick glance, both trying to hold back a smirk. Traps. Yawn. They had handled the best that the world had to offer now, and that included when the one alarm went off and released a swarm of bees. Liz had ducked that one without getting a single sting. But these guys were used to intimidating informants and scaring people into giving up protection money. They didn't know how to look for traps and they certainly didn't have the extra abilities that Liz and Janna had. Plus Emilie was on their side. She didn't seem to be the type that would object to eliminating a little of the competition.
Southwood approached them, carrying a flat leather case that Emilie recognized. The map. He sneered at the three women, but his desperation was starting to gleam through ever so slightly. At this point, he had nothing to lose at all. He unzipped the case. "Okay," he snapped and then nodded towards Janna. "Since you're all such good friends, whatever turn you decide to make, she's going down first. For your sake, you better hope that they are good friends," he dripped sarcastically towards Janna.
Janna rolled her eyes and looked away. Idiot. A surreptitious look at Liz and both of them knew the plan and agreed in a second. Emilie caught the look and bit back a smile. Her two companions reminded her more of her mother than the girls she had known at university. Emilie took the case that was being shoved at her, her eyes flickering over the faded ink. The map and statue were two parts of the key to finding the treasure. The map said which glyph meant what and had a basic diagram. The statue said which order to select the hieroglyphs in. And the map had some warnings about the different pitfalls. But Emilie didn't think that those needed to be revealed just yet. Why ruin the surprise?
The map wasn't needed for the first leg, just the first hieroglyph. But that was only about a hundred yards down into the caves. And even that far had proven to be deadly to anyone with the wrong information. No wonder the thugs were all quite nervous. This was getting amusing in a twisted sort of way.
They all entered the cave, Liz and Emilie leading with Janna and a thug with a gun following close behind. A couple more thugs followed with Southwood and Bentley near the rear with another set of hired help. The temperature was noticeably cooler in the cave, but the air was still incredibly dry and still. Once they got past the small entrance, it flared out considerably so that they could stand easily and fan apart slightly. Janna appreciated that. Her thug obviously had been out here for a while and bathing wasn't a priority in his life. Despite the relative coolness inside, he was still pouring sweat. He's terrified, Janna thought. He was used to concrete shoes and beating people up. This was way beyond his league.
They came to the first turn beyond where Southwood's men had explored. Protected from the wind and the rain, the ancient carvings in the stone were still deep and fresh. Liz looked at them carefully, mentally going back to the statue and examining it. This would be easier if they would hold the lights still. Good thing she could see in the dark. "That one," she said softly, pointing at the third one down.
With the map, the placement of the glyph on the wall was just as important as the glyph itself. Emilie looked at the small drawing on the paper, translated the words beside it and then pointed to the tunnel on the left. "That's the one." Her voice was low, barely above a whisper. The men thought the tremor in it was fear, but it was excitement that she couldn't contain. She had said she wouldn't do this, but now that she was here; there was no way to stop herself. She had to see if the legends were true or not.
Janna's new best friend nudged her forward with the barrel of his gun. She took a breath and stepped forward into the darkness. She really wished she had been given some decent hiking boots or something. These shoes were really cute, but they were going to be murder on the feet after a while, not to mention the serious lack of traction she was dealing with. At least they let her have one of the lights. Not that she really needed it though, but there wasn't a need to give that away quite yet. She went down about twenty-five feet, stepping carefully. The ground was solid and there weren't any hidden levers or the like that she could see.
She sauntered back. "All right," she said, picking back up on the Jaqui accent, "now that I have returned alive and well, you big, brave men can follow. But there were a few spiders so please refrain from screaming like a child if one should drop on you."
Her comments were met with a few glares. "We need to be careful anyways," Emilie said firmly, glancing over her shoulder at the men behind them. "There are no guarantees that even the right tunnel is going to be safe. She caught a ghost of a grin touch Liz's mouth. This was almost, just almost getting to be fun. The men really thought that they had the upper hand. They really, really did. She wondered if they realized that getting out in a cave system like this could be harder than getting in.
They came to the next bend and the process was repeated. The men behind them were noticeably more relaxed now that things were finally going as planned. They didn't notice the tight little smile on Liz's face. They saw blackness above them. She saw details. And all it was going to take was to see one or two little things; a well-timed stumble and those men's outlook on life were going to change drastically. All the three girls were going to have to do was keep from getting themselves killed in the process.
Now this was fun.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Wait a second," Cameron interrupted the piecing together of the tale that Antonio and Heather were giving him after he had explained what happened with Southwood and filled in those details, just skipping over that weird impulse that made him kiss Emilie good bye. "So the legendary Spaniard might be the one that hooked up with your ancestress. Okay, I get that. But you're screwing with me about that whole showing up thing, right?"
They were telling him the story of Isabella and the necklace when Cameron had gotten this funny look and began demanding more information about Isabella right down to what she looked like. "It is only a family legend of sorts," Antonio said dismissively, sounding a little embarrassed. "My mother claims that it is true that Isabella has prevented thefts before, but..."
"I knew it!" Cameron yelled, jumping up. "HA! I knew I wasn't going crazy."
"No, you long since went crazy when you started pulling all this crap," Heather said irritably. "Now stop jumping up and down like an idiot."
He smirked evilly at her. "I'm not making you sick, am I?" She glared at him viciously and then he was suddenly on his rear in his seat. He wasn't cowed. He had survived worse from his older sister. "Nah," he added in that same spiteful tone. "You had a long flight over here. Probably just down to the dry heaves by now, huh? All this swooping and banking and up and down..."
"Cameron!" Jon snapped before Heather could slap the bejeezus out of her brother. She wasn't throwing up again despite some minor turbulence. "Will you stop screwing around and tell us what you're talking about?"
Cameron sat up. "So I grabbed the necklace," he began. "And everything is going better than planned." He looked at Antonio apologetically. "No offense, your system was really good, but we're just pretty much unbeatable."
"Not when Mom and Dad get their hands on you," Heather muttered.
Cameron looked down for a moment. That was painfully true. Oh well. Being beaten by them was pretty much inevitable at this point. "Anyways, I turn around, and there's this chick. And for a second I'm thinking she's got to be a maid or something, but then it hits me that first, she's in this dress from the thirteenth or fourteenth century and second, I can sort of see through her. She opens her mouth like she's about to scream and then suddenly smiles or something and disappears."
"What did you do?" Jon asked.
"Invited her to tea," Cameron said sarcastically. "What do you think I did? I ran like hell. And trust me, I don't care how brave you think you are, but when someone shows up that you can see through, it's pretty much instinct to vacate the premises. Janna and Liz thought I must have lost it, or that it was some kind of projection, but that didn't look like any kind of projection that I had ever seen before." He smiled, looking rather pleased with himself. "You guys are going to have to back me on this when I tell them that I really did see a ghost." He sat back in his chair, smiling the smile of the vindicated.
Antonio looked out the window thoughtfully. "According to family legend, Isabella always shrieked when a thief approached her necklace. I wonder if she meant to scream, but chose not to when the statue was taken."
Heather blinked. "You can't be serious. Come on. Ghosts giving...permission if you will? That's a little hard to believe, and considering who you're talking to, that should say a lot."
He raised a dark eyebrow at her. "Hard to believe or not, it is what happened. If the Spaniard of Al-Naron is in fact her lost Diego, perhaps that statue was the key to discovering why he never returned for her."
"You'll have to forgive her," Cameron said with a little grin, gesturing towards his sister. "She never believed in Santa Claus either." He ran a hand through his blonde hair ignoring the daggers she was glaring at him.
Antonio was amused by the interaction between this brother and sister. He wouldn't have suspected they were siblings by personalities, although there was a passable resemblance. Cameron was as relaxed about himself and what they were doing as she was serious. The only thing that he was edgy about was the fate of his twin, but he was also extremely confident that he would know if something happened to her. And both of them believed that Liz would extricate herself and Janna in a bad situation. Still, it was fun to watch Cameron get a few in on Heather. The young man knew exactly how to irritate his older sister and just how to keep her on edge. He obviously had a great deal of practice at driving her crazy.
In a way Heather was starting to be glad that Antonio was there for the sheer sake of transport. He managed to get them to Egypt without the slightest problem and while there made arrangements for a helicopter to be at the airport where they were going to land and take them out to the site Cameron said the girls had been taken to. Heather was concerned that the helicopter pilot might get a little worried about what they were doing if someone started shooting, but Antonio smirked in that arrogant way that begged to be slapped. Then he revealed that he would be the pilot. Flying a plane had never seemed interesting to him, but a helicopter was quite fun. Heather instantly regretted every rude comment she had made to him because he was so going to get her back once everyone was safe.
They made it to Egypt without incident and everything was ready when they landed. There were several handguns on the plane, in an age where the wealthy were frequently targeted for kidnappings and political killings, having a few weapons hidden were a must, and they were transported into the helicopter. Even Cameron said that Heather should be the one that was armed. His sister could be a pain in the butt, but she was a nearly perfect shot every time. He thought it was an unconscious use of the kinesis even though Heather claimed there was no way for her to be able to control a bullet moving that quickly. It didn't matter why; the point was the girl didn't miss.
Now Cameron was getting a little edgy. They were close enough where he should have been able to have some contact with Liz, but so far nothing. He knew that she wasn't hurt, but that really wasn't as reassuring as he was letting on. He wanted some kind of contact to know that she was safe. So far there was just the sound of the helicopter filling his ears and nothing in that secret place in his mind where the telepathy held court.
Luck was with them in a small way with a good headwind blowing the sounds of the approaching helicopter. It gave them a few seconds to get closer, but three men suddenly darted from the front of the cave, their guns raised.
Heather didn't hesitate. If they kept their aim and hit Antonio, all three of them were dead. She saw them and suddenly shoved the door open, sliding out of the seat and falling forward. Her right leg caught the skid and she swung around, the sound of bullets coming all too close. But they were coming close to her, and not the other occupants. In a heartbeat, she drew both guns she was carrying, aimed and fired four times with each hand, striking the guards easily.
She disentangled her leg and dropped the forty feet or so into the yellow sand, not noticing Antonio's gape of amazement. She crouched low for a second, her enhanced vision piercing into the dark cave. Nothing. As the helicopter landed behind her, she checked the guards. Dead. That HRT sniper training had really honed her skills in the last two months.
Jon was out of the helicopter before Antonio could have it shut down and ran to where Heather was checking the last guard. "Are you okay?" he gasped.
"I'm fine." Her reassurance wasn't helping. That was obvious. "Jon, I wasn't in any danger with falling. I didn't have kinetics at all, I swear."
Jon wanted to yell at her to never do that again. Unfortunately, he also knew that would be something that she might do at the next family reunion because it looked like fun. "Next time," he said very softly, "keep in mind that you're not wearing a bullet proof vest."
"Jon," Heather went to protest, but he simply touched her shoulder and she realized he was playing with a hole in her sleeve. Her mouth snapped shut. "Point taken," she said contritely.
Cameron was already looking into the cave. Signs of earthquake damage and recent excavations were quite evident. He was willing to bet that in the sands nearby would be some bodies of locals that had helped out for the first few days and then eliminated once they went from helpful to knowing too much. Their families would probably never know what happened to them, but in a thousand years some archeologist would dig up the remains that had mummified in the sand and wonder what had happened. Ironic in a way.
For Heather and Cameron the darkness in the cave wasn't a problem, but Jon and Antonio needed some kind of light. Their high-powered flashlights lit up the immediate area and Heather could only hope that the bad guys up ahead wouldn't notice their light. There was just one other nagging problem. What direction?
"You didn't happen to look at the map?" she asked her brother as she investigated the footprints in the sand. That would do for now, but it was possible that there would be a place where there was no sand and no way to know which direction to head.
Cameron shot her a grin. "Don't need it." His arms crossed and he got a rather drifty look that Heather knew all too well. Normally it meant that the police would be looking for someone of his or Liz's description very soon. But today, it was a welcome sight.
(having fun?)
(CAM!)
(want to point us in the right direction?)
(take the first right, next two are lefts....us?)
(wouldn't be a rescue if the brigade wasn't here)
(oh, god, not mom and dad)
(no....will you tell janna that her boy's all right)
(her what?)
(you heard me...fill you in on the details later baby sister)
(why do i feel like i don't want to know...holler when you need the next direction)
(will do...hey, anything we need to watch out for)
A mental ripple that signified a laugh.
(no...a couple of guys in the group tripped a trap that we just didn't see...poor things, may they rest in peace)
(LIZ!)
(don't worry...emilie orchestrated it better than you'd think and i just carried it through...pretty funny actually)
(you are not right in the head)
(so i have been told...just get here quick because they are really getting nervous and that's not good)
Cameron looked up at the other three, worried about the concern in his twin at the end. If Liz was starting to worry, then time was shorter than they thought. "We take the first right tunnel and then the next two are lefts," he said.
Heather grinned. "When we get closer, we're going to have to go in with no lights." She glanced over at the two men. "You're just going to have to trust that Cam and I can see. And then they won't have the slightest idea that they're being followed."
Cameron nodded. "We're going to have to move quick and be on them before they hit the treasure area," he said. Heather looked at him questioningly. He paused for a second. "I've just been thinking about what the texts actually say...it doesn't matter, let's just get them out of there fast."
In silent agreement, the four of them began heading deeper into the caves, stealthily tracking their elusive prey.
