Favoured Friends

Part 3/?

Summary: An invitation to the National Egyptology Conference quickly becomes deadly race for the mythic Ichriem against an old rival of Sydney's - the assassin known only as 'the Viper'.

Note: This is a round robin originally posted at the Relic Hunter Yahoo Group. Although I'm posting it, I did not write the entire thing. This part was written by LeiLani ( dawnleilani@yahoo.com )

Also, I have Support Services. That means that, if you want, you can put me on Author Alert and receive notice when other stories of mine are posted, even if you haven't paid yourself.

Posted: Thursday, June 27, 2002

"Women! Can't live with them, can't handcuff them without their permission."

Nigel craned his neck to see a very large and powerfully-built bald man. The other man stood entirely too close for Nigel's taste. Nigel took a step back and laughed nervously. "I suppose there's a certain logic to that, though I rather like the species, myself." He wasn't sure he could say the same for the man whose expression suggested other interests.

The older man shrugged. "No accounting for tastes. I'm David Blount, by the way." He reached out and gripped Nigel's shoulder in a motion that was something between a perverted caress and a threat.

Startled and unnerved, the assistant relic hunter tried to move away, but Blount's grip was unyielding. "I've got something I'd like to show you now, Mr. Bailey."

Nigel's eyes darted through the crowd, desperately searching for his boss. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I have obligations here. I don't think I should leave just now. I'm waiting for someone." His heart was pounding. He wasn't a martial arts expert, but he made up his mind to learn.

If he lived long enough.

Uncertainty convinced him to palm the scrap of paper from the girl as he feigned tossing it into a nearby wastebasket.

"Nigel! There you are!" Sydney's voice was slurred by alcohol as she draped her arm around him. "I don't think I've had the pleasure, Mr. -?"

Blount didn't bat an eye. He reached for Sydney's hand, raising it to his lips. Somewhere along the way, though, he ended up kissing air and she steered Nigel through the crowd, still weaving on her feet so that her assistant had to support her. Nigel wasn't certain if the drunkenness was a fact or an act. He didn't care, frankly, as long as it got him away from the old creep.

They made it into the elevator before Sydney slumped to the floor. Suddenly Nigel realized that her malaise wasn't caused by drink. Blood leaked through the slinky black fabric of her dress and rolled spidery red rivulets down her arm, spreading a dark stain across the floor. He choked back his own fears and nausea, kneeling beside her. "Sydney… My God, what happened?"

Here alone, Sydney raised frightened eyes to him. "You have… to get away… The Viper is… here."

"Who? Never mind that now, we have to get help for you. You're going to be all right." When the elevator doors opened, he shrieked out to a passing chambermaid, "We need a doctor!" Cradling Sydney in his arms, he recited every prayer he every knew, even those that resembled nursery rhymes, hoping at least one of them was suitable for holding onto a best friend whose life was fading before his eyes.

End Part Three