Favoured Friends

Part 28/?

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: Sunday, May 25, 2003

Still groggy – and imminently cranky – Sydney drew the black cotton robe around her, adjusting the filmy veil to cover her face. As much as she hated the very idea of the burqua, she recognized its necessity. Deep in the heart of Algeria wasn't the place to challenge the status quo, especially not while her friends were scattered in a half dozen directions.

As much as she hated to admit it, the extended sleep did her good. Her back was significantly less painful and she was slowly regaining her strength. She stopped short of actually being thankful. She'd save that until she got Nigel back.

Claudia was asleep in the next room, the one shared with Nigel's brother, Preston. Sydney smiled at the thought. If ever there was an odd couple!

Then again, they were no more odd than her and Lloyd, and nobody bothered to challenge their fraudulent marital state. It would have been easier with Nigel, she thought wistfully. Lloyd made advances while holding himself at a distance. The government man reminded her of a predator, a lion that circled his prey before pouncing for the kill. He was dark and mysterious, sleek and powerful, and she was never quite sure what seethed behind his midnight eyes. He was dangerous and exciting - and she knew that in the end he'd walk away, leaving her wounded and crying.

And then there was Nigel. When it came to matters of the heart, Nigel couldn't keep a poker face if he were paralyzed. If Lloyd was a lion, what was Nigel?

Funny... When she first encountered Nigel, he was a puppy dog, eager to bound ahead until something frightened him and he ran to hide behind her. But as time went on, he grew in both confidence and competence. In academic matters, he was the stronger partner from the word go. If he wasn't on equal ground in some areas, well, turnabout was fair play. Nigel was... Nigel. He wasn't like anyone or anything else.

With a sigh, she walked over to the open window, eyes raking the dusty streets for any sign of Lloyd or the Viper. She wasn't naïve enough to really believe her teaching assistant was still alive, but a part of her refused to let go of the last vestiges of hope. It was that sliver of hope that kept her going, that infinitesimal chance that she might get to see him again. As long as she held onto the ghost of a prayer, she could still find the impetus to do what she had to do. Her knuckles were white where they curved over the adobe ledge. Sydney looked out across a sea of human ambiguity: men and women and children hidden away from each other beneath swaths of cotton. Their all-encompassing robes separated each person into his or her own microcosm.

The door creaked behind her and she turned, her heart jumping in hopes of the impossible. But it wasn't Nigel. She dropped the stifling veil, letting Lloyd see her naked grief.

His expression froze her heart. "I'm sorry, Sydney. I tried everything I could to get there first. There was a confrontation in the hallway. Preston got the kid, got him that far, but the Viper was armed. He dropped them both with one shot."

Tears flooded her eyes. "Are they all right?" The alternative was unthinkable, even when she read it in the weary slope of his shoulders.

He shook his head. "Sydney... This Viper dude, he's a pro. He doesn't miss. Preston took a shot to the chest."

"What about Nigel?"

"Sydney…"

"What – about – Nigel?" she demanded. "If the Viper only fired one shot, it's not likely he hit them both." And suddenly she clutched her stomach, resisting the urge to wretch. "You didn't even think about Nigel, did you? All you cared about was capturing the Viper. It was never about saving Nigel, not for you…" She stumbled back, her eyes wide with horror and her voice breaking. "How could you? I was right, you're an animal. All you care about is the prey."

He closed the distance between them in two strides, wrapping his fingers around her upper arms. With all the ferocity of the lion she imagined, he hissed, "That's not true, Sydney. I care too damned much for my own good! I care about you!" He leaned in and mashed his mouth over hers in a kiss that was pure possession.

She was so distraught that didn't see the door open. She didn't see Nigel's face crumble when he witnessed the embrace. She didn't see when the little Englishman quietly closed the door and walked away. She didn't know he was capable of the resolve that would let him hunt for Ichriem alone, even if it meant facing the Viper single-handedly.

And she didn't realize that in the sea of humanity beyond the mud-brick walls, one of the robed multitude was now running away from her as fast as she was running to find him.

End Part Twenty-Eight