Me sowwy! I know, it took even longer this time. I've been
in the middle of Christmas rush, just like everyone else. I
got started buying gifts early (I love the various and sundry
Dollar stores!), but there are a few left to buy. And I know
my gifts for my younger brother and his family won't reach
them until AFTER Christmas, because those gifts have to be
shipped to Hawaii. That's what I'm doing when I'm not on
interviews or job-hunting. Hopefully, once the job situation
stabilizes, so will the updates.
Kelekona8: Yup, Ardeth has a lot more information now, especially about Imhotep. He doesn't know WHY Imhotep doesn't want him killed. As for Lock- nah, Imhotep would like nothing better than to fire him, but it's like the old saying goes. . .keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. So long as Lock-nah is in Imhotep's employ, he at least has a chance of keeping an eye on him.
Brunette: Hehehheh. . .thought you'd like the LOTR reference. Unfortunately, I couldn't do the same in this chapter, but I did manage to fulfill your request for more Beni. And Meela. . .Meela is Meela. The only person who likes inflicting pain more than she does is Lock-nah. I just have to be careful because my favorite new character on 'ER' is 'Neela,' and I find myself wanting to call her 'Meela,' even though they don't look or act alike.
Deana: Heheheh. . .I don't have an LOTR references in this chapter, but they'll return in the next. The girls start trying to figure out which LOTR character the guys most resemble.
Sailor Elf: Hehehhe. . .yeah, ticking off Ardeth is at the bottom of any reasonable person's list. Watching Ardeth get angry, though. . .that might be fun. So long as it's directed at someone else. He's a lot bigger than I am, and he could do serious damage with those swords of his.
Terreis: LOLOLOLOL! Evy! Definitely Evy. Rick's less likely to shove her into the well next. Sorry about the delay in update, but it's that time of year.
On a semi-related note: those of you who have Cartoon Network, Oded Fehr did two episodes of 'The Justice League,' voicing Dr Fate (a good guy, by the way. . .apparently, Dr Fate was part of the Golden Age of comics, and is now making a comeback). The name of the episode was 'Terror Beyond.' I'm watching for it on the 5:30 pm showings during the week.
Okay, NOW on with the fic!
Part Nine
It figured. It absolutely figured. Beni Gabor muttered imprecations under his breath in Hungarian, attempting to clean up the mess he just made. Rephrase that. . .the mess some idiot jock made when he tried to flush a bloody sock down the john in the men's shower room. Beni was seriously tempted to kick over his bucket or something else, but stopped himself. If he did that, he would have even more of a mess to clean up.
Today was a day from hell. Perhaps he should have expected it, after the previous day. It started out badly, with that confrontation in the student union building, but it ended in a very different way. When he and Ceci returned to Renee's apartment, she was home. Of course, she had to find out what happened during Ceci's time with her father. And just as predictably, she was furious. That wasn't the surprise. The surprise was, she was furious with O'Connell for frightening a three year old girl.
Beni enjoyed the next four hours a little more than he probably should have. Once they put Ceci to bed, he and Renee indulged in some adult playtime. Beni grinned to himself, remembering just how much they both enjoyed it. Renee, being whom and what she was, tended to be very protective of both him and Ceci. And she allowed all of her protectiveness, all of her tenderness to show in the night that followed. Beni's doubts about a future with Renee were swept away. She still loved him. And he still loved her, and somehow, they would find a way to make this work.
It wouldn't be easy, but Beni knew few things worth having were ever easy. It was always hard to remember that at the time, but after the thrill was gone, after the danger was passed, he felt one thing, and one thing only. . .emptiness. Something he always tried to remember the next time. He hadn't succeeded yet, but would keep trying.
That was, of course, if O'Connell didn't decide to butt in. Which was entirely possible and far too likely. Beni scowled, more at the thought of O'Connell trying to turn Renee against him than at the remaining mess left by the jock. O'Connell had every right to hate him, but Beni's betrayal was eight years ago. Despite his words to Anck-su-namun Cortez, he hoped he learned some things in the last eight years.
What right did O'Connell have, coming here and trying to turn Beni's friends against him? Beni was doing nothing to hurt him. He wanted to avoid trouble with O'Connell. And his brother, for that matter. The black- haired young man seemed quiet, and he protected Ceci during the confrontation, but just looking at the man gave Beni the willies. He had a gut feeling, pissing off that man would be a *very* bad idea.
Beni muttered a few more choice expletives in his native language, then added a few more for good measure when he heard the door opening. Damn these stupid boys, they knew better than to come in here when he was working! Beni tossed over his shoulder, "You should know by now that when my cart blocks off the door, I am working in here!" He didn't bother looking around. There was no reason to.
Until he heard an amused voice say, "Good morning, Mr Gabor." Beni spun around, his foot almost slipping on something he would rather not think about. He grabbed a stall for support, which he really needed when he beheld his visitor. It took all of his will power not to add to the mess on the floor. . .to say nothing of his undershorts. The man in front of him was a good bit taller than Beni, probably around the same size as O'Connell or his brother.
He was dark-skinned and handsome in a. . .almost a cruel way. His complexion reminded Beni of the dark chocolates that Renee loved to eat. Ebony. His eyes, of course, were dark. And his smile. . .that was what made his looks so cruel. Because his smile was cruel. Cold. Beni shuddered, hoping the man didn't see it. He wasn't that lucky, of course. Because the other man's smile grew even colder.
He knew the effect he had on other people. He knew that he frightened people. And he reveled in it. Something else occurred to Beni in that moment. This man knew his name. Ohhhh. . .this was not good. This was not good at all! Still, with courage Beni didn't know he possessed, he asked, "Who are you. . .how do you know my name. . .and what do you want?" This last question was just as important.
"I wish your services, of course. I represent a. . .very wealthy man. Serve him well, and the rewards will be great," the man replied. Beni was scared, yes, but not so scared he didn't notice that only one question was answered. The next thing that occurred to him was whether or not he wanted the other two questions answered. And the man had no intention of answering those questions, either. He added almost mockingly, "And should you betray him. . ."
It wasn't bravery that prompted the next question out of Beni's mouth, but pure stupidity. When he thought about it later, he supposed that he forgot he wasn't dealing with O'Connell. He, at least, usually played fair.
Beni gave his unexpected and unwanted visitor his nastiest look, asking, "Oh? And vat do you think you can do to me?" Dumb question. The big man stepped closer to him, and Beni found himself hoping he would slip in some excretement, whether it was solid or liquid. No such luck. The man seemed to know exactly where his feet were at all times. He seemed like a malevolent version of Rick O'Connell.
"I can make your life very. . .very unpleasant," his visitor replied, looming over Beni. The young man swallowed hard, peering up the man. Who promptly backed down and said with what was obviously meant to be a charming smile, "You will not be asked to do anything life-threatening, I assure you. Just. . .gather information. Nothing terribly difficult. And think of all the things you could do with the money? You have a daughter, do you not? Just think of the things you can give her."
His voice dropped as he spoke the last few words. In spite of himself, Beni closed his eyes. With this money, he could set up a college fund for Ceci. He and Renee could start thinking about getting married. With this money, he could start building a life with both of his girls. Perhaps seeing his acquiescence, the man continued, "You have in this building three roommates. Anck-su-namun Cortez. They have dealings with two brothers, Rick O'Connell and Ardeth Bey. Find out what their plans are."
Anck, Evy, and Celia. Beni looked at his 'guest,' asking, "Just. . .find out their plans. You. . .you won't hurt them?" The man shook his head. Beni shouldn't believe him. He knew that. His instincts yelled at him that this man couldn't be trusted. But he was just asking him to gather information. Nothing big. And he was doing this for his little girl, giving her a chance, the chance every parent wanted to give a child.
"Tell me what you want done," Beni replied. The man smiled, and that smile made Beni wonder if he just sold his soul to the devil for thirty pieces of gold.
. . .
Anck, Celia, and Evy were blissfully unaware of the plans being made in the men's room of their dorm wing. Though they would not remain so unaware for long. Instead, at the moment, Evy was still protesting the inclusion of Rick O'Connell that weekend. Or, perhaps a better way of putting it would have been 'once more protesting.' She gave it a rest the night before, after hearing about Neil Grady.
After the three girls left Tepper's class, they headed to the food court for breakfast. Tepper left them along the way, smiling as he turned down Anck's offer to eat with them.
As Anck listened with half an ear to Evy's protests, Celia slid her napkin over to her. Why would. . .something was written on it. Anck raised an eyebrow at her American roommate, who just shrugged, then looked down at the napkin. And nearly burst out laughing. Celia wrote, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." She was rather fond of that phrase where Evy was concerned, Anck noticed. Which wasn't to say that she was wrong. Evy did tend to go overboard when it came to Rick O'Connell.
Which provided some interesting moments for Anck. Though she was a sociology major, she did take some psych courses the previous year. Her two roommates could provide a case study with the different ways they reacted to their feelings. To put it more bluntly, how they reacted when they were attracted to a man. Celia was brutally honest about how quivery she got around Ardeth Bey (at least, she was brutally honest with Anck. . .whether she was that honest with Evy was something else entirely).
And Evy. . .well, Evy reminded Anck of an old country song she heard Celia play sometimes. 'Cleopatra, Queen of Denial.' Evy was so deep into denial about how she reacted to Rick O'Connell, it was almost embarrassing. She was attracted to him. Anck knew it. Celia knew it. And Celia had almost as little experience with the male population as Evy. The only person who didn't seem to realize that Evy was attracted to Rick O'Connell was Evy herself.
Anck pulled the napkin closer to her, glancing over at Evy. Si, she was in full rant mode. Anck returned her attention to her impromptu note passing, answering, "What do you think would happen if one of us informed her that she's attracted to him?" It was cruel and it was evil, but when Evy was in full rant mode, she didn't stop to ask questions. It wasn't like she was allowing either of them a word in edgewise.
She slid the napkin back to Celia, who read it. A dark eyebrow quirked, right along with the side of her mouth. Then her eyes slid to the ice on her tray. The ice that was originally in Evy's glass, until she remembered she didn't put ice cubes in her orange juice. And instead of dumping the ice cubes into the tray under the orange juice dispenser, she dumped them onto Celia's tray. Prompting the American girl to mutter, "What am I, an ice cube disposal unit?"
It didn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure out what Celia was contemplating. With the revelations the previous night about Neil Grady and his part in Celia's summer, Anck's friend was far more relaxed. She was still somewhat wary, but the mischievous streak she had was rising to the surface. And right now, Celia was thinking about slipping that ice cube down Evy's shirt, one way or the other. Anck could almost hear her smaller roommate saying, "Well, if that's the only way we can cool her off. . ."
However, before either girl could act on that plan, Evy said suddenly, "Oh dear, I'm rambling. I'm sorry, girls. It's just. . .I don't like that man at all. He's rude and. . .ooooh!" Much to Anck's surprise, Evy actually stamped her foot. The impact was lessened by the fact that she was sitting down. That wasn't the end of the surprises. While Celia removed her hand from the ice cubes, the mischievous expression didn't dissipate in the least. Uh-oh. This could get messy. But before it did, it would be fun!
"He's rude, and he totally gets under your skin," Celia observed. Anck almost spit out her orange juice. Not just at what Celia said, but at the way she said it. And Evy looked just as stunned. Celia shook her head, saying, "Why do you two look so surprised? Just because I've never had a boyfriend doesn't mean I'm a total idiot where men are concerned. I do have two brothers, you know, one of whom. . ."
"One of whom is, as the saying goes, a total looker," Anck chimed in. Celia nodded, her smile almost proud. Her brother *was* a handsome man. He was around the same height as the step-brothers who were causing such powerful reactions in both of Anck's roommates. His hair was dark brown or black, varying according to the way the sun hit it during a particular time of day, and his eyes were dark blue.
He was the quintessential flirt, and he adored Celia. Their youngest brother Jason acted as a chick magnet, not that Galen particular needed any chick magnets. He was warm, funny, kind-hearted. . .and hell on feet when you made the mistake of messing with someone he loved. That was why Celia refused to tell her older brother especially about the incident with Neil Grady. Galen would probably kill the son of a bitch.
The sum total of the man was more than most women could resist, and Galen was never without female companionship. At the same time, while he often dated, it seemed he was getting to the point where he wanted to settle down. Celia, being the loving, protective little sister she was, wasn't above playing matchmaker, as Anck well knew. Celia offered several times to set Anck and Galen up together, despite the age difference.
But Anck saw Galen as an older brother. She never had one while she was growing up, and envied Celia for that. Jason was an annoying little brat, though maybe that was understandable, with what he went through. But even though he was an annoying brat, he loved his big sister, and in his own way, he was just as protective of her. Anck had only her mother, Tia Paula, and Meela growing up. Tia Paula betrayed her mother and took Meela away. Now, her roommates and her mother were her family.
Evy was sputtering, which drew Anck's attention back to the conversation. Oh that's right, they were teasing Evy about Rick O'Connell getting under her skin. She sputtered now, "And just what makes you so sure that O'Connell will show up tomorrow at the appointed time, my dear roommate?" Wisely, she left his brother out of this. Anck was certain Ardeth Bey would be there, regardless of anything.
Celia countered, "I have two possible answers to give you, Evy. The politically correct one, and the politically incorrect one. Which would you prefer first?" For the second time in just a few minutes, Anck almost spat out her drink. Daaaaaamn! Celia learned a few new tricks while she was working at that warehouse! Evy was staring at their roommate, wopjawed, and Celia continued, "I'll give you the politically correct one first. I may not like Rick O'Connell, but I think he's an honorable man. When he's not around Beni, at least, he's an honorable man. He says he'll be there. . .he will." Evy was staring at Celia as if she had never seen her before. Either that, or she was still trying to figure out exactly what Celia was saying.
At first, Anck waited patiently for her to figure it out. Evy would start to say something, then stop. Cock her head to one side, studying Celia intently. Start to say something else, then stop again. She would then cock her head to the other side. After a few times of this happening, Anck was running out of patience. So Anck had to do it. She asked, "If that's the politically correct answer to the question, Cele, then what is the politically incorrect answer?"
She couldn't wait to hear this. Celia answered, "He has to go, to make sure I don't seduce his brother." Third time's a charm. This time, in her attempt to keep from spitting out her orange juice, she swallowed it hard. It burned all the way down. She immediately started coughing, and Celia handed her a napkin, continuing, "He doesn't trust me. I can tell from the way he looks at me. He looks at me the same way Neil did right before all hell broke loose. He's afraid I'll try to seduce Ardeth this weekend." She paused, then added sardonically, "Think he's getting me confused with someone else."
Anck glared at her friend, and in retaliation for that and the near- misses with her orange juice, the taller girl gave Celia a brain duster. So, Rick O'Connell thought her roommate was a vamp, did he? Well. . .maybe they should give him a good reason for his fear. Ignoring the glare being pounded into the back of her head, Anck smiled evilly. Maybe it was time Celia was the femme fatale of the group, instead of her!
. . .
Oh no.
No.
Not a chance!
She knew that look. Anck was up to something. One of her wild, hare- brained schemes, that always worked out for reasons that escaped Evy's understanding. And if Evy knew her roommate, which she thought she did. . .this particular scheme involved their other roommate and her wild attraction to Ardeth Bey. Evy groaned silently. This was not a good thing. She had no problem with Ardeth, but if he was in the picture, so was his annoying brother. And that was definitely not a good thing.
What was even more annoying was that Celia was right. Rick O'Connell got under her skin. He *really* got under her skin, and it drove Evy crazy. He was the exact opposite of what she dreamed of for herself. She would marry someone in English society who, even if he didn't take her dreams of being an archaeologist seriously, would not stand in her way.
Her dream man was tall (O'Connell was tall), handsome (as was O'Connell, in a way). He was gentle and kind, intelligent, well-educated. If he wasn't English, then he would be from one of the Ivy League schools. He most certainly wouldn't be a. . .a. . .a. . .hooligan! Of course, Evy's emotions were saying something quite different. Especially when she thought about that kiss in this very building.
Worse yet, Celia had to be deriving some twisted pleasure out of this. She just had to be. She had a warped sense of humor, and this was just the sort of situation that would appeal to Celia with its irony. Evy wondered if she would be able to distract Celia by bringing up her roommate's growing attraction to Ardeth Bey. No, because that would bring things right back to Rick O'Connell, and the way her heart seemed to beat double-time when she was around him.
Like yesterday, when they intervened in the fight. Of course, at the time, Evy's attention was focused mainly on keeping Celia out of trouble. Which was something of a switch. Most of the time, Celia and Anck had to hold back Evy when she was ready to charge into a situation. Then again, after all the times they did that, Evy supposed it was only right that she hold one of her roommates from getting herself into trouble.
And she was focused on that goal, up until the fight was over and they were sitting inside the food court. Then Evy's heart began beating double-time. She found it hard to catch her breath. Especially when she looked at O'Connell. It was only a minor comfort to her to know that Celia was experiencing similar discomfort whenever she looked at Ardeth Bey. And now Anck was attracted to a professor, of all things!
Ah! Evy seized on the new subject almost gratefully. She wanted to think about anyone other than Rick O'Connell or Ardeth Bey, and this would do nicely! She knew, of course, that Anck was talking about Emmett Tepper for the last two days, ever since she met him in the university store. And he was handsome enough, though he wasn't really Evy's type. Or even what she thought her type was.
But Anck, it seemed, was smitten. Evy knew she was being a nay- sayer, but the idea of her roommate getting involved with a college professor. . .it just wasn't a good idea. There were so many things that could go wrong, even without the complications of a relationship gone bad. It was just asking for trouble, and if Celia was right about this Neil Grady person, they had enough trouble, without asking for more. Not that Anck was asking Evy's opinion. . .that would never even occur to her, of course.
And what of Neil Grady? Was he really self-centered enough to do such a stupid thing? Celia got the investigators to back down when they would have pushed. That was going above and beyond the call of duty, as far as Evy was concerned. It wasn't her place to tell people what to do, especially if she never had contact with them. Well. If Mr Neil Grady did try to harm the Terrible Trio, as Evy sometimes heard her and her roommates called, he would find out the hard way that they weren't easily cowed. Especially Anck. Evy grinned in spite of herself. For all her problems with Anck, the other girl didn't know the meaning of the phrase 'back down.' She wouldn't be easily cowed, and no one with any degree of sense would even try.
Then again, Evy wasn't particularly impressed with Neil Grady's intelligence or common sense. She. . .was being used as a tapping board by one of her roommates. Evy turned her attention to the roommate who was currently beating on her. She should have known. Anck. The other girl asked, "Evy, aren't you listening? Celia was just telling me about something that happened to one of her professors?"
Evy blinked, and Celia explained quietly, "I was just warning Anck to be careful where Dr Tepper is concerned. I found out that my World History I professor used to teach at an all-girl college. Remember him, Dr Garrity? The one who was so cute? Anyhow, some of his students came onto him, saying they would do *anything* for an 'A.' He turned 'em down, and in retaliation, they started spreading lies about him."
"And I still do not understand," Anck said, shaking her head, "why they would say something so foolish. Secretly married to a former student? What does it matter if it's a former student, hmm? So not only were these girls bitches, they were bitches with no imagination. If you plan on lying about someone, at least make it an interesting lie. But I promise you, Celia, I will be as careful as I can."
That probably didn't do much to ease Celia's mind, but she would take what she could get from Anck. Evy asked slowly, "What is it, with the two of you. . .allowing yourselves to become attracted to someone you just met?" Anck and Celia looked at each other, and Evy braced herself. Celia had this, 'you must be joking' look on her face, and Anck. . .well, Anck looked like she wanted to smack herself in the forehead.
"Allowing? I dunno, Evy, I don't think we're allowing anything. Either you're attracted to someone, or you aren't. The only thing you really decide is whether or not you'll acknowledge that attraction. Anck and I both decided we would. It takes up too much energy, trying to deny such an attraction. Especially when I have the two of you around to remind me how I reacted when I first saw Ardeth Bey," Celia replied.
Well, there *was* that. However, Evy wasn't fully satisfied with the answer she received. To that end, she asked, "But you both realize there is probably no future in these relationships. Dr Tepper is a professor, and Ardeth will probably return to Egypt eventually. There's little chance of having a future with either of them." Once more, Anck and Celia exchanged a glance.
"Evy, we're nineteen! I just met Dr Tepper yesterday. Not that long after Celia met Ardeth. I don't think either of us is worrying about the future right now, when we've got our hands full with our studies. And Celia, I swear, I will knock you clear into next week about how Ardeth wouldn't give you a second glance, or anything like that! We already know that's not the truth!" Anck warned, glaring at the youngest roommate.
Evy ducked her head, knowing that was probably exactly what Celia would have said. With an affronted look, the tiny brunette retorted, "I was just gonna say that I'm not looking for forever. Sheesh, Anck, I'm not *that* stupid!"
Looking somewhat chastened, Anck replied, "Well. . .okay. Listen, we need to talk about this weekend. I know you told the brothers that we'll take them with us, but you don't have a car. None of us do. Unless Evy was planning to ask Jonathan if he would take us to the ranch." Well, actually, no. . .but that didn't mean she wouldn't. He would do it, she knew. If only for the opportunity to ogle Anck. And then Evy whimpered under her breath, because she just knew she would be thinking about Rick O'Connell for the rest of the day. Damn him!
. . .
Jonathan Carnahan just returned from class to his apartment when the telephone rang. He was quietly cursing whoever had the bright idea of having the Americans drive on the right hand side of the road. Even after working here for five years, he still found himself wanting to drive on the left side. Which was pure foolishness, of course, because American cars had their steering wheels on the left side, instead of the right.
Classes, for once, weren't causing him a great deal of annoyance. However, he did embarrass himself when he walked into a door. But that wasn't entirely his fault, as he saw a woman whom Jonathan could have sworn was Evy's roommate Anck-su-namun Cortez. At least at first, until he looked into her eyes. Those eyes made Jonathan shiver, for they held none of the warmth in Anck's dark eyes.
He didn't know whom she was, but Jonathan quietly swore that he would keep an eye out for her. She could be trouble. He was still thinking about that when he got home, and half suspected one of the other professors caught him staring at the girl when the phone rang. That would be just his luck. One of the other professors noticed him staring, and called him at home to warn him off getting involved with a student.
However, that wasn't the case at all. Instead, it was his own darling baby sister, Evy. Jonathan heard little from her during the last few days, as they were both getting ready for classes to start up once more. She generally spent the first few days with her roommates, catching up with them and finding out how their summers went. Evy was still warming up to Anck, though Jonathan liked her.
Not just because she was beautiful. . .though of course, she was. A very beautiful, very sexy young woman, who would only get more appealing as the years passed. And despite what his sister probably thought, he wasn't attracted to Anck. He liked beautiful things, and beautiful women. . .but Anck was hands-off twice over. First, and most importantly, she was a student. Jonathan avoided entanglements with students. They were dangerous. Secondly, and just as important, she was his sister's roommate. And that could be just as dangerous.
This was important, because his darling baby sister was asking him to drive her and her two roommates, along with two men, to a property just outside Chicago which belonged to Celia and her family. More to her and her two brothers than anyone else, really. Every year, Celia's older brother took the siblings of ill and injured children to this little place (little if you were educated in Texas, apparently) where they could have just as much attention as their siblings.
Moreover, according to Evy, Celia was quite taken with one of the men. This relieved Jonathan to no end, because he heard some talk that Celia preferred other females. He knew better than to repeat such talk to Evy. His little sister would have gone off on one of her tangents. Jonathan wasn't jealous. Not really. Evy was protective of anyone she cared for.
Still, it was interesting, and just to meet the man who caught Celia's eye, Jonathan would agree to take the five to this camp whatever. However, the conversation became more interesting when his sister started ranting about this man's brother, or step-brother, or foster brother, or something along those lines. This second man obviously made an impression on his little sister, and Jonathan couldn't wait to meet him as well.
Apparently, he was quite annoying. Usually, when someone annoyed Evy, she ignored him, or her. That was what made this so intriguing. Evy, it seemed, could not ignore this man. His baby sister, whom Jonathan always secretly feared would be an old maid, was quite attracted to this man, and fighting it every step of the way. She would. From what Evy said, he was the very antithesis of what Jonathan's sister always wanted.
Which explained the attraction. Jonathan was twelve years older than Evy, and considered himself far more knowledgeable about romance. In part because he was married several times. None of those marriages succeeded, but Jonathan wasn't about to give up. He gave up too many times in the past. And on the other hand, Evy had no idea how to give up. Neither did her two roommates.
Despite what his sister thought, there was actually quite a bit of common ground between the trio. All three were bright, determined girls who would make a future for themselves. They all loved cartoons (though Evy was insistent on calling her favorites, 'anime.' As far as Jonathan was concerned, they were still cartoons). They all loved to laugh and play jokes on each other. . .if only by two ganging up on one and tickling her.
All three loved science fiction and fantasy movies and television shows. Celia got the other two hooked on 'Farscape' and 'Dark Knight.' Anck retaliated by getting the girls hooked on 'Gundam Wing' and 'Stargate SG-1.' Evy was still trying to interest her roommates in British science fiction, particularly the classical 'Dr Who.' Unfortunately, each time the other two girls tried to watch, they fell asleep.
There was common ground in music as well. All three girls loved classical music, though their favorite composers were quite different. And maybe 'classical' wasn't exactly the best term. More like. . .instrumentals with a classical feel, from composers like Kitaro (Evy's favorite aside from opera), Cusco (Anck's favorite), and John Williams (Celia's favorite).
Jonathan wasn't quite sure if Cusco qualified as a composer, since they were actually a musical group, but he wasn't about to argue with Anck, least of all over music. So yes, they had a great deal of common ground. It was just a pity that Evy couldn't see that yet. Then again, she was only nineteen, and for all the traveling the Carnahans did while she was growing up, Evy was still quite sheltered. She spent most of her attention on books, at least until she got to university.
University proved to be a revelation to his little sister. Movie nights, parties, museum exhibits, dances. There was the Homecoming Dance coming up in a few weeks, during Homecoming Weekend. That was almost always entertaining, for the students and faculty. Jonathan loved Homecoming Weekend. He especially loved seeing what happened to the students who mocked him during their time here.
Just the thought of Homecoming made Jonathan expansive. Not even the news that Celia's friend Margit would be visiting during Homecoming could dampen his spirits. It wasn't that he disliked the girl. Not at all. He never even met her. But he knew Evy would be on her guard all through the visit, because of that foolish woman in Heathrow. Really! Jonathan seriously doubted if Margit held a grudge.
Evy once more started venting about this man who would be accompanying them to the Camp on Friday. . .day after tomorrow. Name was O'Connell. Rick O'Connell. And that evil child Celia had some sort of plans for him, something along the lines of dressing him up as a clown. Apparently, she and this Mr O'Connell didn't get off to the best of starts. Bad luck for him, good luck for Jonathan. If Mr O'Connell didn't tick her off, maybe she would have asked Jonathan to be the clown.
The man who caught Celia's eye, Ardeth Bey, was apparently quite good with horses. Horses were fine. But Jonathan *hated* camels. Spent entirely too much time on camels when he was in Egypt on digs with their parents. Evy, on the other hand, thought they were adorable. Jonathan decided he needed to have a little talk with his sister, about what exactly 'adorable' meant. Beasts that were dirty, smelly, and spat did *not* qualify as 'adorable' in Jonathan's book, thank you very much!
Although come to think of it, 'Ardeth Bey' was a rather unusual name. Upon further prompting, Evy admitted that he told them he was named after a distant ancestress, a young foreign concubine to Rameses the Great. Doubtless, that came *before* he married Nefertiri. This young concubine, 'Ardath' by name, was evidently considered quite the heroine, if children were named after her, variations or no.
And now that Jonathan thought about it, he did seem to remember hearing a story about Lady Ardath. He would have to do some checking, because he wasn't entirely sure where he found that information, but the name sounded quite familiar with him. If nothing else, he could pass the information along to Celia. Heaven knew, the girl could be just as shy as Evy where men were concerned. If Jonathan gave that information to her, she would have something to talk about with this Ardeth fellow.
There was never any question in Jonathan's mind that he was invited this weekend. For one thing, Celia invited him the previous year, and it proved quite entertaining for all concerned. Despite his degrees, Jonathan was actually an overgrown child, and the children loved him. He was a good sport, had no trouble whatsoever with getting on his hands and knees and playing horsie for the children.
Last year, he provided the entertainment. This year, the entertainment would be provided for him. Just watching the children would be enjoyable, but now, he could watch his little sister bicker with this O'Connell fellow, and watch Celia struggle past her shyness to make conversation with Ardeth. Yes, it would be quite entertaining. And, Jonathan decided, he wouldn't mind providing some of the entertainment.
Of course, the possibility that Evy would end up providing most of the entertainment never entered his mind. Evy just wasn't that sort of girl!
. . .
The next few days passed quickly. Much to Celia's disappointment, Dr Hafez was back in class the next time, instead of Ardeth. However, she found it much easier to focus on her class, rather than on the handsome (beautiful, gorgeous, take your pick) teaching assistant. She tried to ignore the unease instilled in her by her usual professor. There was no reason in the world for her to feel like this.
But the feeling, no matter how hard she tried, didn't go away. Something inside Celia was telling her that this man couldn't be trusted. Maybe it was the sheer hatred in his eyes when he looked at Evy (when, to the best of her knowledge, they never even met). Maybe it was the way his glance slid over Anck that raised Celia's hackles. She didn't know. She just. . .could not relax around him.
As for Celia, he ignored her, as if she didn't matter. She didn't mind that. Number one, she was still reeling from Neil Grady. She didn't particularly want to be noticed. That could be asking for trouble. Besides, one thing she learned from years of being the dutiful daughter. You learned a lot more when people didn't realize you were there. Her parents often forgot she was in the room, because she didn't draw attention to herself. . .and she ended up learning far more than either of her brothers.
Of course, that wasn't always a good thing. There were times when Celia heard things she wished she hadn't. Times when she wished that the floor would swallow her up whole, when she was being so quiet, her parents forgot she even existed.
She mentioned that to her grandfather once, and he laughed, patting her shoulder as he said, "Just keep on being sneaky that way, sweetheart. But I gotta warn you. Sometimes, you'll hear things you don't wanna hear. Sometimes, what you hear makes you feel dirty. But I won't tell you to be something you aren't. That sneakiness, it could get you outta jam, just as easily as it could get you into that mess."
Celia couldn't remember how old she was when she got that piece of advice from her grandfather. Maybe eleven or twelve? Because she went to him with something she heard, and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear? That sounded about right. By that time, Grandpa began to talk as he did when he was a young boy growing up on an Oklahoma farm during the Depression.
It drove her father nuts. And a few times, he tried to blame it on Alzheimer's. Didn't get too far, because Celia's grandmother set him straight. Grandpa wasn't forgetting anything. He was just too old and too tired to waste energy on pretending to be something he wasn't. He grew up as a dirt poor farm boy with an eighth grade education (which, Celia's grandmother was quick to point out, was nothing like today's eighth grade education). He was comin' full circle.
Galen liked the way she put that. Coming full circle. He knew, even if Celia and Jason didn't, that Grandpa wouldn't live much longer. He was sick, and going downhill fast. Looking back years later, Celia could see it, of course. But she was still young enough to believe that her grandparents and parents would live forever. Up until that time, she never lost anyone she loved. And her grandfather's death hit her hard.
Celia's musings about her grandparents drew her through the class time, even as her fingers moved automatically across the notebook paper. She could, and did, concentrate on more than one thing. She thought about her grandparents all through that class period, and those to follow. That was part of the reason Thursday passed so quickly, and before Celia was entirely sure what happened, it was Friday.
To make sure she was ready to go by four pm, Celia packed her duffel bags and backpack between her classes. Nothing fancy. There was that desire, yes. Ardeth would be there, and Celia realized much to her horror that she wanted to impress him. Bad, bad, bad idea. The last time she tried that. . .well, she learned the hard way not to try to impress someone. Especially if it meant being something she wasn't.
Anck probably had other ideas about that, but Celia would deal with it as it cropped up. And she knew her roommate well enough to realize Anck would try more than once. One drawback to her friend. Anck gave up as often as Celia did. Almost never. So far, she was successful in distracting Anck from making over Celia by mentioning Emmett Tepper. That never failed to provoke a dreamy smile from her roommate. Celia was tempted to ask if she needed a drool bucket. Still, Anck agreed to be careful where the handsome professor was concerned. And he *was* handsome, even Celia and Evy had to agree with that. He seemed very nice. Though, he might be dangerous. He didn't seem inclined to dismiss Celia. That dismissal was a safety net, of sorts, it protected Celia from unwanted attention.
Not that she thought Dr Tepper was a predator. Just dangerous. And while he was handsome. . .he wasn't Ardeth. Celia stopped packing briefly, a soft sigh breaking free as the teaching assistant's face appeared behind her eyes. Long black hair. . .those amazing dark eyes. . .those beautiful lips, the ones Celia fantasized about kissing so many times during the last few days. Tattoos that begged to be traced with her lips, her tongue, her fingers. And that was just his face!
During her first return to the room, after her first class and after breakfast, she took care of her backpack. That would include her laptop, some books. . .both pleasure reading and studying. . .CD's, a Discman, and some movies. While children could probably watch them, Galen kept a decent supply of the latest children's movies at the ranch house where they would all sleep. He knew about the two newcomers, and decided the step-brothers would share a room.
In her second return to the room, she packed the outer pockets of the backpack with underclothes. The main clothes would go into her duffel bag. She might rearrange things a few times, until she was satisfied, but that was usually how she did things. And as always, she would overpack, because she liked to be prepared. Something which earned her a lot of teasing, but hey, it was worth it, wasn't it? Of course it was.
Because she liked being prepared, Celia decided to pack a dress. Just one. Or rather, a skirt and blouse. The trouble was, she wasn't sure which one to pack. Should it be the red drawstring blouse and denim skirt. . .or the white peasant blouse and emerald green, flowing skirt? What the hell. . .she would pack them both. Just to be on the safe side. Of course. Unfortunately, that also meant she packed two extra pairs of shoes, but Celia had an idea about how to deal with that overage.
Doubtless, both Anck and Evy would tease her about it, in one way or another. Anck would tease her about wanting to impress Ardeth (yeah, right) and Evy would tease her about carrying the kitchen sink. Didn't matter. Of course Celia wasn't trying to impress Ardeth (*oh really*, a mocking little voice asked, *if that's the case, why are you looking through your perfume bottles?* Celia ignored that little voice). She always took at least one nice outfit with her. And the children loved it when they dressed up. It made them feel grown-up.
During her third return to the room, this time after lunch, Celia began looking through her jewelry box. For her last birthday, Anck gave her a roll-up jewelry bag, to use when she went traveling. It got a great deal of use. The girl selected three sets of earrings (never mind they were her favorites and her prettiest ones), three necklaces, and three rings. One for each day. She stopped short at bracelets. That was asking for trouble, and would even get teasing from Jonathan.
With that out of the way, the only things left to pack were her bathroom supplies. Those would go into her two end pockets. Or maybe just one for both her body wash and her shampoo. Yeah, that would probably work. It was now ten til two, and Celia muttered under her breath about missing her last class, which was two to three thirty. Her books were waiting for her on the vanity shared by the three girls.
Books, check. Room key, check. The previous year, the trio got a bad scare when one of the other girls returned from class to find someone unexpected and unwanted in her room. She left the room unlocked because she couldn't find her room key. Ever since, they all were careful about locking the door when they left their room for class. And under no circumstance did Anck ever leave her room key when she was going out at night. That would be asking for trouble.
Everything was ready for when she got back from class. Her bags were all packed. She was good to go. As Celia checked to make sure she put her room key in its pouch, she wriggled the handle to double check. Door was locked. Great. She pulled the door shut behind her with a click, one hand still gripping the pouch holding her room key. Beni was muttering under his breath in Hungarian as she passed his cart in the ladies' room.
Under normal circumstances, she would have checked on him. After all, she had ten minutes to get to class. But right now, he sounded like he really want to be left alone. She didn't recognize most of what he said, but it wasn't really necessary. He did *not* sound like he was in a good mood. Celia paused just long enough to draw a smiley-face on his pad of stickies, and write, "Have a good day, Beni!" Then she headed to class and the longest ninety minutes known to man, because those ninety minutes stood between her and the weekend.
. . .
The source of Beni's *very* bad mood was currently packing his own bags for this weekend, also muttering under his breath. He was in an equally bad mood, thanks in no small part to finding Beni Gabor in *his* apartment, searching through *his* things the previous day. Rick growled under his breath, remembering the previous afternoon. He returned from his job at campus security after an hour-long check in. . .Ardeth was at the library, probably succeeding where Rick failed.
That was one of the few things that allowed him to remain calm when he noticed the front door slightly ajar. He just left Ardeth at the library. . .his brother was safe. It was silly to be worried, since his brother was one helluva fighter. Even so, Rick pulled his pistol free of its holster and eased into the apartment. Technically, he wasn't supposed to have this piece. Rick O'Connell never let technicalities bother him.
He nudged the door shut behind him, smiling grimly as it gently clicked shut, then moved cautiously through the apartment, pistol at the ready. He found his intruder in his room, looking through Rick's papers. His blood ran cold, especially when he saw whom the intruder was, but he forced himself to say very calmly, "Let me guess. . .spring cleaning." Beni froze and turned around. With a yelp, he headed for the window from Rick's desk.
The American just grabbed the rolling chair and shoved it as hard as he could toward his betrayer, smiling coldly when the speeding chair connected with the back of Beni's calves. He tumbled to the ground, and Rick wished he had the room to actually throw a chair at the little weasel. However, he wouldn't waste time worrying about it. Instead, he crossed the room quickly and grabbed Beni by his collar, asking with mock concern, "Ohhh, did you fall down? Here, let me help you up."
He physically lifted the other man from the ground, glancing around as he did. Damn. Oh, wait a minute! Rick released Beni just long enough to turn on the ceiling fan overhead, then lifted his former friend up toward the whirring blades. He momentarily wished the ceiling fan was a lot bigger. . .say, the size of those blades Sylvester Stallone had to pass to get to the Holland Tunnel survivors in 'Daylight,' but Rick would work with what he had.
"What the hell are you doing in my room, Beni, and try not to lie to me!" Rick demanded. He ignored Beni's squeals of terror, and his wriggling. He didn't actually intend to get Beni too close to those blades. . .maybe close enough to give him something of a hair cut, but nothing permanent. However, he had no intention of telling Beni that. He wanted the little stinkweed to think he would actually hurt him.
Unfortunately, Beni seemed to be taking a page from Ardeth's book, 'cause his answer was a little on the cryptic side. He replied, "It is better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path. So long as I serve him, I am immune." What the hell was *that* supposed to mean, and how much was Beni getting paid? Rick was mentally running through the papers he kept at his desk, and while he didn't think he had anything incriminating, he was still worried.
And he wasn't in the mood to solve riddles. He demanded, shaking Beni, "Immune to what? Huh?" He found Beni in his room, going through his things, but that didn't mean he didn't go through Ardeth's things. Didn't mean that he didn't go into Ardeth's room. Most of the things that could cause trouble for the stepbrothers were locked away inside Ardeth's mind, but Rick didn't want to take any chances. He abruptly pulled Beni down from the fan and slammed him into the wall, snarling, "Answer me, immune to what?"
"Piskas allat!" Beni spat, his eyes blazing. Rick froze. That sounded uncomfortably familiar to him, and if he was right. . .
"What did you say?" Rick demanded. If he just said what Rick thought he just said. . . Well, Rick wasn't entirely sure what he would do, but it would be something terribly unpleasant. Beni didn't answer, and this time, Rick slammed him down on the desk, immensely grateful that he and Ardeth kept the computer in the other room. Beni's head hit the wall thud, his back connecting with the top of the desk.
"I don't want to tell you, you'll just hurt me some more," Beni cried out. Hurt him some more? Well, Rick didn't know about that, but. . . He lifted Beni up off the desk once more, twisted both hands in his collar and lifted Beni as high into the air as he could. He was running out of patience with Beni's stalling. Time to scare him good.
The tactic worked. Beni shrieked, crying out as his head neared the fan blades, "Information! He wanted information, because he knew you and your brother were involved with the girls." The girls? Those hellions whom they would be seeing again this weekend? Rick slowly lowered Beni to eye level, and Beni continued, "He wanted to know about the plans the girls had with you. Just that, I swear. I promised I would get information, in return for enough money to marry Renee and give my Ceci a start in life."
Rick ignored the last sentence, afraid that he would actually start to feel sorry for Beni. Instead, he asked, "First question. . .who is this 'he,' and second question, why didn't you ask the girls? Why break in here, and risk getting your ass kicked?" Rick actually had a pretty good idea of whom the 'he' was. But he didn't understand why Beni would take such a risk, especially when he didn't know their schedule.
"I tried to ask the girls. But all three of them, they have been distracted. Worried, even, when I see them, and I haven't seen them much the last few days," Beni replied. Rick decided he would think about that later, and gave Beni a little shake to keep him talking. The little weasel continued, "And I do not know his name. He is a big man, even bigger than you. And dark-skinned. Very dark."
The bottom dropped out of Rick's stomach with that description. Oh shit. This just kept getting better and better. He asked slowly, "Did he wear a lot of gold jewelry. . .earrings in both ears. . .never mind. Did he look a lot like a modern version of a pirate, dressed entirely in scarlet red?" Beni nodded, and Rick swore. Lock-nah. Goddammit, he should have let Ardeth kill him years ago! Rick said, shaking his former friend, "Guess what, Beni, you chose the wrong side. Again. That creep makes a habit of messing with my family."
Beni froze, whispering something in Hungarian that the American couldn't quite make out. Rick shook him, to silence him. He had to think. There was a way he could turn this to their advantage, but he had to think. Rick desperately wished Ardeth was here right now. Ardeth would know a way to turn this to their advantage. Beni said that Lock-nah. . .and by extension, Imhotep. . .wanted information. Somehow, they knew about the encounters between Ardeth and Rick, and those hellions.
Apparently, the hellions weren't providing the necessary information. . .that was it. Rick smiled evilly at the betrayer and said, "You know what you're gonna do, Beni?" The other man shook his head, looking very nervous. He was right to be nervous. Rick continued, "You're gonna do exactly what Lock-nah asked you to do. But with a little change. You're gonna tell him what I'm about to tell you."
Misinformation. Yes, that would work. Rick continued after a moment, "Tell him that you broke into our house, but you didn't find anything out yet, because someone came home, and you had to scram. That should buy you enough time for me to talk to Ardeth about this. He's better at this sort of thing than I am. He can tell you the most convincing lies." One thing Rick did know about lying. . .when creating a lie, a story, the best thing to do was to keep the lie as close to the truth as possible.
"Whatever you say," Beni assured him. . .then jammed his knee into Rick's groin. The larger man doubled over, dropping Beni, and the little weasel made his escape. By the time Rick could move, it was time to pick up Ardeth. His voice was still somewhat high-pitched, but Rick was able to make his brother understand what was going on. Ardeth nodded, complimented Rick for his quick thinking, then lapsed into silence, no doubt planning out the next bit of planted information they would give Beni.
Now Rick had another decision to make. Whether or not he should tell the three hellions what Beni was doing. He had no doubt that Beni talked himself into believing that he wasn't betraying the three girls. They should know what Beni was to up. They should know to watch their backs. But Rick didn't really want to tell them. Not because he wanted to see any of them hurt, but because in a weird sort of way, he respected the little roommate for the way she took up for Beni. Her loyalty was misplaced. . .but damn if she didn't have spunk.
He had three whole days to make up his mind. For now, it was time for them to head to the campus and meet the girls. As Rick headed into his brother's room, he was actually smiling. As much as he hated to admit it, he was actually looking forward to this weekend. And whether he wanted to admit it or not (and he didn't), he was also looking forward to seeing Evy Carnahan again. If only to see how much he could devil her. Yeah. This weekend would be fun.
Kelekona8: Yup, Ardeth has a lot more information now, especially about Imhotep. He doesn't know WHY Imhotep doesn't want him killed. As for Lock- nah, Imhotep would like nothing better than to fire him, but it's like the old saying goes. . .keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. So long as Lock-nah is in Imhotep's employ, he at least has a chance of keeping an eye on him.
Brunette: Hehehheh. . .thought you'd like the LOTR reference. Unfortunately, I couldn't do the same in this chapter, but I did manage to fulfill your request for more Beni. And Meela. . .Meela is Meela. The only person who likes inflicting pain more than she does is Lock-nah. I just have to be careful because my favorite new character on 'ER' is 'Neela,' and I find myself wanting to call her 'Meela,' even though they don't look or act alike.
Deana: Heheheh. . .I don't have an LOTR references in this chapter, but they'll return in the next. The girls start trying to figure out which LOTR character the guys most resemble.
Sailor Elf: Hehehhe. . .yeah, ticking off Ardeth is at the bottom of any reasonable person's list. Watching Ardeth get angry, though. . .that might be fun. So long as it's directed at someone else. He's a lot bigger than I am, and he could do serious damage with those swords of his.
Terreis: LOLOLOLOL! Evy! Definitely Evy. Rick's less likely to shove her into the well next. Sorry about the delay in update, but it's that time of year.
On a semi-related note: those of you who have Cartoon Network, Oded Fehr did two episodes of 'The Justice League,' voicing Dr Fate (a good guy, by the way. . .apparently, Dr Fate was part of the Golden Age of comics, and is now making a comeback). The name of the episode was 'Terror Beyond.' I'm watching for it on the 5:30 pm showings during the week.
Okay, NOW on with the fic!
Part Nine
It figured. It absolutely figured. Beni Gabor muttered imprecations under his breath in Hungarian, attempting to clean up the mess he just made. Rephrase that. . .the mess some idiot jock made when he tried to flush a bloody sock down the john in the men's shower room. Beni was seriously tempted to kick over his bucket or something else, but stopped himself. If he did that, he would have even more of a mess to clean up.
Today was a day from hell. Perhaps he should have expected it, after the previous day. It started out badly, with that confrontation in the student union building, but it ended in a very different way. When he and Ceci returned to Renee's apartment, she was home. Of course, she had to find out what happened during Ceci's time with her father. And just as predictably, she was furious. That wasn't the surprise. The surprise was, she was furious with O'Connell for frightening a three year old girl.
Beni enjoyed the next four hours a little more than he probably should have. Once they put Ceci to bed, he and Renee indulged in some adult playtime. Beni grinned to himself, remembering just how much they both enjoyed it. Renee, being whom and what she was, tended to be very protective of both him and Ceci. And she allowed all of her protectiveness, all of her tenderness to show in the night that followed. Beni's doubts about a future with Renee were swept away. She still loved him. And he still loved her, and somehow, they would find a way to make this work.
It wouldn't be easy, but Beni knew few things worth having were ever easy. It was always hard to remember that at the time, but after the thrill was gone, after the danger was passed, he felt one thing, and one thing only. . .emptiness. Something he always tried to remember the next time. He hadn't succeeded yet, but would keep trying.
That was, of course, if O'Connell didn't decide to butt in. Which was entirely possible and far too likely. Beni scowled, more at the thought of O'Connell trying to turn Renee against him than at the remaining mess left by the jock. O'Connell had every right to hate him, but Beni's betrayal was eight years ago. Despite his words to Anck-su-namun Cortez, he hoped he learned some things in the last eight years.
What right did O'Connell have, coming here and trying to turn Beni's friends against him? Beni was doing nothing to hurt him. He wanted to avoid trouble with O'Connell. And his brother, for that matter. The black- haired young man seemed quiet, and he protected Ceci during the confrontation, but just looking at the man gave Beni the willies. He had a gut feeling, pissing off that man would be a *very* bad idea.
Beni muttered a few more choice expletives in his native language, then added a few more for good measure when he heard the door opening. Damn these stupid boys, they knew better than to come in here when he was working! Beni tossed over his shoulder, "You should know by now that when my cart blocks off the door, I am working in here!" He didn't bother looking around. There was no reason to.
Until he heard an amused voice say, "Good morning, Mr Gabor." Beni spun around, his foot almost slipping on something he would rather not think about. He grabbed a stall for support, which he really needed when he beheld his visitor. It took all of his will power not to add to the mess on the floor. . .to say nothing of his undershorts. The man in front of him was a good bit taller than Beni, probably around the same size as O'Connell or his brother.
He was dark-skinned and handsome in a. . .almost a cruel way. His complexion reminded Beni of the dark chocolates that Renee loved to eat. Ebony. His eyes, of course, were dark. And his smile. . .that was what made his looks so cruel. Because his smile was cruel. Cold. Beni shuddered, hoping the man didn't see it. He wasn't that lucky, of course. Because the other man's smile grew even colder.
He knew the effect he had on other people. He knew that he frightened people. And he reveled in it. Something else occurred to Beni in that moment. This man knew his name. Ohhhh. . .this was not good. This was not good at all! Still, with courage Beni didn't know he possessed, he asked, "Who are you. . .how do you know my name. . .and what do you want?" This last question was just as important.
"I wish your services, of course. I represent a. . .very wealthy man. Serve him well, and the rewards will be great," the man replied. Beni was scared, yes, but not so scared he didn't notice that only one question was answered. The next thing that occurred to him was whether or not he wanted the other two questions answered. And the man had no intention of answering those questions, either. He added almost mockingly, "And should you betray him. . ."
It wasn't bravery that prompted the next question out of Beni's mouth, but pure stupidity. When he thought about it later, he supposed that he forgot he wasn't dealing with O'Connell. He, at least, usually played fair.
Beni gave his unexpected and unwanted visitor his nastiest look, asking, "Oh? And vat do you think you can do to me?" Dumb question. The big man stepped closer to him, and Beni found himself hoping he would slip in some excretement, whether it was solid or liquid. No such luck. The man seemed to know exactly where his feet were at all times. He seemed like a malevolent version of Rick O'Connell.
"I can make your life very. . .very unpleasant," his visitor replied, looming over Beni. The young man swallowed hard, peering up the man. Who promptly backed down and said with what was obviously meant to be a charming smile, "You will not be asked to do anything life-threatening, I assure you. Just. . .gather information. Nothing terribly difficult. And think of all the things you could do with the money? You have a daughter, do you not? Just think of the things you can give her."
His voice dropped as he spoke the last few words. In spite of himself, Beni closed his eyes. With this money, he could set up a college fund for Ceci. He and Renee could start thinking about getting married. With this money, he could start building a life with both of his girls. Perhaps seeing his acquiescence, the man continued, "You have in this building three roommates. Anck-su-namun Cortez. They have dealings with two brothers, Rick O'Connell and Ardeth Bey. Find out what their plans are."
Anck, Evy, and Celia. Beni looked at his 'guest,' asking, "Just. . .find out their plans. You. . .you won't hurt them?" The man shook his head. Beni shouldn't believe him. He knew that. His instincts yelled at him that this man couldn't be trusted. But he was just asking him to gather information. Nothing big. And he was doing this for his little girl, giving her a chance, the chance every parent wanted to give a child.
"Tell me what you want done," Beni replied. The man smiled, and that smile made Beni wonder if he just sold his soul to the devil for thirty pieces of gold.
. . .
Anck, Celia, and Evy were blissfully unaware of the plans being made in the men's room of their dorm wing. Though they would not remain so unaware for long. Instead, at the moment, Evy was still protesting the inclusion of Rick O'Connell that weekend. Or, perhaps a better way of putting it would have been 'once more protesting.' She gave it a rest the night before, after hearing about Neil Grady.
After the three girls left Tepper's class, they headed to the food court for breakfast. Tepper left them along the way, smiling as he turned down Anck's offer to eat with them.
As Anck listened with half an ear to Evy's protests, Celia slid her napkin over to her. Why would. . .something was written on it. Anck raised an eyebrow at her American roommate, who just shrugged, then looked down at the napkin. And nearly burst out laughing. Celia wrote, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." She was rather fond of that phrase where Evy was concerned, Anck noticed. Which wasn't to say that she was wrong. Evy did tend to go overboard when it came to Rick O'Connell.
Which provided some interesting moments for Anck. Though she was a sociology major, she did take some psych courses the previous year. Her two roommates could provide a case study with the different ways they reacted to their feelings. To put it more bluntly, how they reacted when they were attracted to a man. Celia was brutally honest about how quivery she got around Ardeth Bey (at least, she was brutally honest with Anck. . .whether she was that honest with Evy was something else entirely).
And Evy. . .well, Evy reminded Anck of an old country song she heard Celia play sometimes. 'Cleopatra, Queen of Denial.' Evy was so deep into denial about how she reacted to Rick O'Connell, it was almost embarrassing. She was attracted to him. Anck knew it. Celia knew it. And Celia had almost as little experience with the male population as Evy. The only person who didn't seem to realize that Evy was attracted to Rick O'Connell was Evy herself.
Anck pulled the napkin closer to her, glancing over at Evy. Si, she was in full rant mode. Anck returned her attention to her impromptu note passing, answering, "What do you think would happen if one of us informed her that she's attracted to him?" It was cruel and it was evil, but when Evy was in full rant mode, she didn't stop to ask questions. It wasn't like she was allowing either of them a word in edgewise.
She slid the napkin back to Celia, who read it. A dark eyebrow quirked, right along with the side of her mouth. Then her eyes slid to the ice on her tray. The ice that was originally in Evy's glass, until she remembered she didn't put ice cubes in her orange juice. And instead of dumping the ice cubes into the tray under the orange juice dispenser, she dumped them onto Celia's tray. Prompting the American girl to mutter, "What am I, an ice cube disposal unit?"
It didn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure out what Celia was contemplating. With the revelations the previous night about Neil Grady and his part in Celia's summer, Anck's friend was far more relaxed. She was still somewhat wary, but the mischievous streak she had was rising to the surface. And right now, Celia was thinking about slipping that ice cube down Evy's shirt, one way or the other. Anck could almost hear her smaller roommate saying, "Well, if that's the only way we can cool her off. . ."
However, before either girl could act on that plan, Evy said suddenly, "Oh dear, I'm rambling. I'm sorry, girls. It's just. . .I don't like that man at all. He's rude and. . .ooooh!" Much to Anck's surprise, Evy actually stamped her foot. The impact was lessened by the fact that she was sitting down. That wasn't the end of the surprises. While Celia removed her hand from the ice cubes, the mischievous expression didn't dissipate in the least. Uh-oh. This could get messy. But before it did, it would be fun!
"He's rude, and he totally gets under your skin," Celia observed. Anck almost spit out her orange juice. Not just at what Celia said, but at the way she said it. And Evy looked just as stunned. Celia shook her head, saying, "Why do you two look so surprised? Just because I've never had a boyfriend doesn't mean I'm a total idiot where men are concerned. I do have two brothers, you know, one of whom. . ."
"One of whom is, as the saying goes, a total looker," Anck chimed in. Celia nodded, her smile almost proud. Her brother *was* a handsome man. He was around the same height as the step-brothers who were causing such powerful reactions in both of Anck's roommates. His hair was dark brown or black, varying according to the way the sun hit it during a particular time of day, and his eyes were dark blue.
He was the quintessential flirt, and he adored Celia. Their youngest brother Jason acted as a chick magnet, not that Galen particular needed any chick magnets. He was warm, funny, kind-hearted. . .and hell on feet when you made the mistake of messing with someone he loved. That was why Celia refused to tell her older brother especially about the incident with Neil Grady. Galen would probably kill the son of a bitch.
The sum total of the man was more than most women could resist, and Galen was never without female companionship. At the same time, while he often dated, it seemed he was getting to the point where he wanted to settle down. Celia, being the loving, protective little sister she was, wasn't above playing matchmaker, as Anck well knew. Celia offered several times to set Anck and Galen up together, despite the age difference.
But Anck saw Galen as an older brother. She never had one while she was growing up, and envied Celia for that. Jason was an annoying little brat, though maybe that was understandable, with what he went through. But even though he was an annoying brat, he loved his big sister, and in his own way, he was just as protective of her. Anck had only her mother, Tia Paula, and Meela growing up. Tia Paula betrayed her mother and took Meela away. Now, her roommates and her mother were her family.
Evy was sputtering, which drew Anck's attention back to the conversation. Oh that's right, they were teasing Evy about Rick O'Connell getting under her skin. She sputtered now, "And just what makes you so sure that O'Connell will show up tomorrow at the appointed time, my dear roommate?" Wisely, she left his brother out of this. Anck was certain Ardeth Bey would be there, regardless of anything.
Celia countered, "I have two possible answers to give you, Evy. The politically correct one, and the politically incorrect one. Which would you prefer first?" For the second time in just a few minutes, Anck almost spat out her drink. Daaaaaamn! Celia learned a few new tricks while she was working at that warehouse! Evy was staring at their roommate, wopjawed, and Celia continued, "I'll give you the politically correct one first. I may not like Rick O'Connell, but I think he's an honorable man. When he's not around Beni, at least, he's an honorable man. He says he'll be there. . .he will." Evy was staring at Celia as if she had never seen her before. Either that, or she was still trying to figure out exactly what Celia was saying.
At first, Anck waited patiently for her to figure it out. Evy would start to say something, then stop. Cock her head to one side, studying Celia intently. Start to say something else, then stop again. She would then cock her head to the other side. After a few times of this happening, Anck was running out of patience. So Anck had to do it. She asked, "If that's the politically correct answer to the question, Cele, then what is the politically incorrect answer?"
She couldn't wait to hear this. Celia answered, "He has to go, to make sure I don't seduce his brother." Third time's a charm. This time, in her attempt to keep from spitting out her orange juice, she swallowed it hard. It burned all the way down. She immediately started coughing, and Celia handed her a napkin, continuing, "He doesn't trust me. I can tell from the way he looks at me. He looks at me the same way Neil did right before all hell broke loose. He's afraid I'll try to seduce Ardeth this weekend." She paused, then added sardonically, "Think he's getting me confused with someone else."
Anck glared at her friend, and in retaliation for that and the near- misses with her orange juice, the taller girl gave Celia a brain duster. So, Rick O'Connell thought her roommate was a vamp, did he? Well. . .maybe they should give him a good reason for his fear. Ignoring the glare being pounded into the back of her head, Anck smiled evilly. Maybe it was time Celia was the femme fatale of the group, instead of her!
. . .
Oh no.
No.
Not a chance!
She knew that look. Anck was up to something. One of her wild, hare- brained schemes, that always worked out for reasons that escaped Evy's understanding. And if Evy knew her roommate, which she thought she did. . .this particular scheme involved their other roommate and her wild attraction to Ardeth Bey. Evy groaned silently. This was not a good thing. She had no problem with Ardeth, but if he was in the picture, so was his annoying brother. And that was definitely not a good thing.
What was even more annoying was that Celia was right. Rick O'Connell got under her skin. He *really* got under her skin, and it drove Evy crazy. He was the exact opposite of what she dreamed of for herself. She would marry someone in English society who, even if he didn't take her dreams of being an archaeologist seriously, would not stand in her way.
Her dream man was tall (O'Connell was tall), handsome (as was O'Connell, in a way). He was gentle and kind, intelligent, well-educated. If he wasn't English, then he would be from one of the Ivy League schools. He most certainly wouldn't be a. . .a. . .a. . .hooligan! Of course, Evy's emotions were saying something quite different. Especially when she thought about that kiss in this very building.
Worse yet, Celia had to be deriving some twisted pleasure out of this. She just had to be. She had a warped sense of humor, and this was just the sort of situation that would appeal to Celia with its irony. Evy wondered if she would be able to distract Celia by bringing up her roommate's growing attraction to Ardeth Bey. No, because that would bring things right back to Rick O'Connell, and the way her heart seemed to beat double-time when she was around him.
Like yesterday, when they intervened in the fight. Of course, at the time, Evy's attention was focused mainly on keeping Celia out of trouble. Which was something of a switch. Most of the time, Celia and Anck had to hold back Evy when she was ready to charge into a situation. Then again, after all the times they did that, Evy supposed it was only right that she hold one of her roommates from getting herself into trouble.
And she was focused on that goal, up until the fight was over and they were sitting inside the food court. Then Evy's heart began beating double-time. She found it hard to catch her breath. Especially when she looked at O'Connell. It was only a minor comfort to her to know that Celia was experiencing similar discomfort whenever she looked at Ardeth Bey. And now Anck was attracted to a professor, of all things!
Ah! Evy seized on the new subject almost gratefully. She wanted to think about anyone other than Rick O'Connell or Ardeth Bey, and this would do nicely! She knew, of course, that Anck was talking about Emmett Tepper for the last two days, ever since she met him in the university store. And he was handsome enough, though he wasn't really Evy's type. Or even what she thought her type was.
But Anck, it seemed, was smitten. Evy knew she was being a nay- sayer, but the idea of her roommate getting involved with a college professor. . .it just wasn't a good idea. There were so many things that could go wrong, even without the complications of a relationship gone bad. It was just asking for trouble, and if Celia was right about this Neil Grady person, they had enough trouble, without asking for more. Not that Anck was asking Evy's opinion. . .that would never even occur to her, of course.
And what of Neil Grady? Was he really self-centered enough to do such a stupid thing? Celia got the investigators to back down when they would have pushed. That was going above and beyond the call of duty, as far as Evy was concerned. It wasn't her place to tell people what to do, especially if she never had contact with them. Well. If Mr Neil Grady did try to harm the Terrible Trio, as Evy sometimes heard her and her roommates called, he would find out the hard way that they weren't easily cowed. Especially Anck. Evy grinned in spite of herself. For all her problems with Anck, the other girl didn't know the meaning of the phrase 'back down.' She wouldn't be easily cowed, and no one with any degree of sense would even try.
Then again, Evy wasn't particularly impressed with Neil Grady's intelligence or common sense. She. . .was being used as a tapping board by one of her roommates. Evy turned her attention to the roommate who was currently beating on her. She should have known. Anck. The other girl asked, "Evy, aren't you listening? Celia was just telling me about something that happened to one of her professors?"
Evy blinked, and Celia explained quietly, "I was just warning Anck to be careful where Dr Tepper is concerned. I found out that my World History I professor used to teach at an all-girl college. Remember him, Dr Garrity? The one who was so cute? Anyhow, some of his students came onto him, saying they would do *anything* for an 'A.' He turned 'em down, and in retaliation, they started spreading lies about him."
"And I still do not understand," Anck said, shaking her head, "why they would say something so foolish. Secretly married to a former student? What does it matter if it's a former student, hmm? So not only were these girls bitches, they were bitches with no imagination. If you plan on lying about someone, at least make it an interesting lie. But I promise you, Celia, I will be as careful as I can."
That probably didn't do much to ease Celia's mind, but she would take what she could get from Anck. Evy asked slowly, "What is it, with the two of you. . .allowing yourselves to become attracted to someone you just met?" Anck and Celia looked at each other, and Evy braced herself. Celia had this, 'you must be joking' look on her face, and Anck. . .well, Anck looked like she wanted to smack herself in the forehead.
"Allowing? I dunno, Evy, I don't think we're allowing anything. Either you're attracted to someone, or you aren't. The only thing you really decide is whether or not you'll acknowledge that attraction. Anck and I both decided we would. It takes up too much energy, trying to deny such an attraction. Especially when I have the two of you around to remind me how I reacted when I first saw Ardeth Bey," Celia replied.
Well, there *was* that. However, Evy wasn't fully satisfied with the answer she received. To that end, she asked, "But you both realize there is probably no future in these relationships. Dr Tepper is a professor, and Ardeth will probably return to Egypt eventually. There's little chance of having a future with either of them." Once more, Anck and Celia exchanged a glance.
"Evy, we're nineteen! I just met Dr Tepper yesterday. Not that long after Celia met Ardeth. I don't think either of us is worrying about the future right now, when we've got our hands full with our studies. And Celia, I swear, I will knock you clear into next week about how Ardeth wouldn't give you a second glance, or anything like that! We already know that's not the truth!" Anck warned, glaring at the youngest roommate.
Evy ducked her head, knowing that was probably exactly what Celia would have said. With an affronted look, the tiny brunette retorted, "I was just gonna say that I'm not looking for forever. Sheesh, Anck, I'm not *that* stupid!"
Looking somewhat chastened, Anck replied, "Well. . .okay. Listen, we need to talk about this weekend. I know you told the brothers that we'll take them with us, but you don't have a car. None of us do. Unless Evy was planning to ask Jonathan if he would take us to the ranch." Well, actually, no. . .but that didn't mean she wouldn't. He would do it, she knew. If only for the opportunity to ogle Anck. And then Evy whimpered under her breath, because she just knew she would be thinking about Rick O'Connell for the rest of the day. Damn him!
. . .
Jonathan Carnahan just returned from class to his apartment when the telephone rang. He was quietly cursing whoever had the bright idea of having the Americans drive on the right hand side of the road. Even after working here for five years, he still found himself wanting to drive on the left side. Which was pure foolishness, of course, because American cars had their steering wheels on the left side, instead of the right.
Classes, for once, weren't causing him a great deal of annoyance. However, he did embarrass himself when he walked into a door. But that wasn't entirely his fault, as he saw a woman whom Jonathan could have sworn was Evy's roommate Anck-su-namun Cortez. At least at first, until he looked into her eyes. Those eyes made Jonathan shiver, for they held none of the warmth in Anck's dark eyes.
He didn't know whom she was, but Jonathan quietly swore that he would keep an eye out for her. She could be trouble. He was still thinking about that when he got home, and half suspected one of the other professors caught him staring at the girl when the phone rang. That would be just his luck. One of the other professors noticed him staring, and called him at home to warn him off getting involved with a student.
However, that wasn't the case at all. Instead, it was his own darling baby sister, Evy. Jonathan heard little from her during the last few days, as they were both getting ready for classes to start up once more. She generally spent the first few days with her roommates, catching up with them and finding out how their summers went. Evy was still warming up to Anck, though Jonathan liked her.
Not just because she was beautiful. . .though of course, she was. A very beautiful, very sexy young woman, who would only get more appealing as the years passed. And despite what his sister probably thought, he wasn't attracted to Anck. He liked beautiful things, and beautiful women. . .but Anck was hands-off twice over. First, and most importantly, she was a student. Jonathan avoided entanglements with students. They were dangerous. Secondly, and just as important, she was his sister's roommate. And that could be just as dangerous.
This was important, because his darling baby sister was asking him to drive her and her two roommates, along with two men, to a property just outside Chicago which belonged to Celia and her family. More to her and her two brothers than anyone else, really. Every year, Celia's older brother took the siblings of ill and injured children to this little place (little if you were educated in Texas, apparently) where they could have just as much attention as their siblings.
Moreover, according to Evy, Celia was quite taken with one of the men. This relieved Jonathan to no end, because he heard some talk that Celia preferred other females. He knew better than to repeat such talk to Evy. His little sister would have gone off on one of her tangents. Jonathan wasn't jealous. Not really. Evy was protective of anyone she cared for.
Still, it was interesting, and just to meet the man who caught Celia's eye, Jonathan would agree to take the five to this camp whatever. However, the conversation became more interesting when his sister started ranting about this man's brother, or step-brother, or foster brother, or something along those lines. This second man obviously made an impression on his little sister, and Jonathan couldn't wait to meet him as well.
Apparently, he was quite annoying. Usually, when someone annoyed Evy, she ignored him, or her. That was what made this so intriguing. Evy, it seemed, could not ignore this man. His baby sister, whom Jonathan always secretly feared would be an old maid, was quite attracted to this man, and fighting it every step of the way. She would. From what Evy said, he was the very antithesis of what Jonathan's sister always wanted.
Which explained the attraction. Jonathan was twelve years older than Evy, and considered himself far more knowledgeable about romance. In part because he was married several times. None of those marriages succeeded, but Jonathan wasn't about to give up. He gave up too many times in the past. And on the other hand, Evy had no idea how to give up. Neither did her two roommates.
Despite what his sister thought, there was actually quite a bit of common ground between the trio. All three were bright, determined girls who would make a future for themselves. They all loved cartoons (though Evy was insistent on calling her favorites, 'anime.' As far as Jonathan was concerned, they were still cartoons). They all loved to laugh and play jokes on each other. . .if only by two ganging up on one and tickling her.
All three loved science fiction and fantasy movies and television shows. Celia got the other two hooked on 'Farscape' and 'Dark Knight.' Anck retaliated by getting the girls hooked on 'Gundam Wing' and 'Stargate SG-1.' Evy was still trying to interest her roommates in British science fiction, particularly the classical 'Dr Who.' Unfortunately, each time the other two girls tried to watch, they fell asleep.
There was common ground in music as well. All three girls loved classical music, though their favorite composers were quite different. And maybe 'classical' wasn't exactly the best term. More like. . .instrumentals with a classical feel, from composers like Kitaro (Evy's favorite aside from opera), Cusco (Anck's favorite), and John Williams (Celia's favorite).
Jonathan wasn't quite sure if Cusco qualified as a composer, since they were actually a musical group, but he wasn't about to argue with Anck, least of all over music. So yes, they had a great deal of common ground. It was just a pity that Evy couldn't see that yet. Then again, she was only nineteen, and for all the traveling the Carnahans did while she was growing up, Evy was still quite sheltered. She spent most of her attention on books, at least until she got to university.
University proved to be a revelation to his little sister. Movie nights, parties, museum exhibits, dances. There was the Homecoming Dance coming up in a few weeks, during Homecoming Weekend. That was almost always entertaining, for the students and faculty. Jonathan loved Homecoming Weekend. He especially loved seeing what happened to the students who mocked him during their time here.
Just the thought of Homecoming made Jonathan expansive. Not even the news that Celia's friend Margit would be visiting during Homecoming could dampen his spirits. It wasn't that he disliked the girl. Not at all. He never even met her. But he knew Evy would be on her guard all through the visit, because of that foolish woman in Heathrow. Really! Jonathan seriously doubted if Margit held a grudge.
Evy once more started venting about this man who would be accompanying them to the Camp on Friday. . .day after tomorrow. Name was O'Connell. Rick O'Connell. And that evil child Celia had some sort of plans for him, something along the lines of dressing him up as a clown. Apparently, she and this Mr O'Connell didn't get off to the best of starts. Bad luck for him, good luck for Jonathan. If Mr O'Connell didn't tick her off, maybe she would have asked Jonathan to be the clown.
The man who caught Celia's eye, Ardeth Bey, was apparently quite good with horses. Horses were fine. But Jonathan *hated* camels. Spent entirely too much time on camels when he was in Egypt on digs with their parents. Evy, on the other hand, thought they were adorable. Jonathan decided he needed to have a little talk with his sister, about what exactly 'adorable' meant. Beasts that were dirty, smelly, and spat did *not* qualify as 'adorable' in Jonathan's book, thank you very much!
Although come to think of it, 'Ardeth Bey' was a rather unusual name. Upon further prompting, Evy admitted that he told them he was named after a distant ancestress, a young foreign concubine to Rameses the Great. Doubtless, that came *before* he married Nefertiri. This young concubine, 'Ardath' by name, was evidently considered quite the heroine, if children were named after her, variations or no.
And now that Jonathan thought about it, he did seem to remember hearing a story about Lady Ardath. He would have to do some checking, because he wasn't entirely sure where he found that information, but the name sounded quite familiar with him. If nothing else, he could pass the information along to Celia. Heaven knew, the girl could be just as shy as Evy where men were concerned. If Jonathan gave that information to her, she would have something to talk about with this Ardeth fellow.
There was never any question in Jonathan's mind that he was invited this weekend. For one thing, Celia invited him the previous year, and it proved quite entertaining for all concerned. Despite his degrees, Jonathan was actually an overgrown child, and the children loved him. He was a good sport, had no trouble whatsoever with getting on his hands and knees and playing horsie for the children.
Last year, he provided the entertainment. This year, the entertainment would be provided for him. Just watching the children would be enjoyable, but now, he could watch his little sister bicker with this O'Connell fellow, and watch Celia struggle past her shyness to make conversation with Ardeth. Yes, it would be quite entertaining. And, Jonathan decided, he wouldn't mind providing some of the entertainment.
Of course, the possibility that Evy would end up providing most of the entertainment never entered his mind. Evy just wasn't that sort of girl!
. . .
The next few days passed quickly. Much to Celia's disappointment, Dr Hafez was back in class the next time, instead of Ardeth. However, she found it much easier to focus on her class, rather than on the handsome (beautiful, gorgeous, take your pick) teaching assistant. She tried to ignore the unease instilled in her by her usual professor. There was no reason in the world for her to feel like this.
But the feeling, no matter how hard she tried, didn't go away. Something inside Celia was telling her that this man couldn't be trusted. Maybe it was the sheer hatred in his eyes when he looked at Evy (when, to the best of her knowledge, they never even met). Maybe it was the way his glance slid over Anck that raised Celia's hackles. She didn't know. She just. . .could not relax around him.
As for Celia, he ignored her, as if she didn't matter. She didn't mind that. Number one, she was still reeling from Neil Grady. She didn't particularly want to be noticed. That could be asking for trouble. Besides, one thing she learned from years of being the dutiful daughter. You learned a lot more when people didn't realize you were there. Her parents often forgot she was in the room, because she didn't draw attention to herself. . .and she ended up learning far more than either of her brothers.
Of course, that wasn't always a good thing. There were times when Celia heard things she wished she hadn't. Times when she wished that the floor would swallow her up whole, when she was being so quiet, her parents forgot she even existed.
She mentioned that to her grandfather once, and he laughed, patting her shoulder as he said, "Just keep on being sneaky that way, sweetheart. But I gotta warn you. Sometimes, you'll hear things you don't wanna hear. Sometimes, what you hear makes you feel dirty. But I won't tell you to be something you aren't. That sneakiness, it could get you outta jam, just as easily as it could get you into that mess."
Celia couldn't remember how old she was when she got that piece of advice from her grandfather. Maybe eleven or twelve? Because she went to him with something she heard, and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear? That sounded about right. By that time, Grandpa began to talk as he did when he was a young boy growing up on an Oklahoma farm during the Depression.
It drove her father nuts. And a few times, he tried to blame it on Alzheimer's. Didn't get too far, because Celia's grandmother set him straight. Grandpa wasn't forgetting anything. He was just too old and too tired to waste energy on pretending to be something he wasn't. He grew up as a dirt poor farm boy with an eighth grade education (which, Celia's grandmother was quick to point out, was nothing like today's eighth grade education). He was comin' full circle.
Galen liked the way she put that. Coming full circle. He knew, even if Celia and Jason didn't, that Grandpa wouldn't live much longer. He was sick, and going downhill fast. Looking back years later, Celia could see it, of course. But she was still young enough to believe that her grandparents and parents would live forever. Up until that time, she never lost anyone she loved. And her grandfather's death hit her hard.
Celia's musings about her grandparents drew her through the class time, even as her fingers moved automatically across the notebook paper. She could, and did, concentrate on more than one thing. She thought about her grandparents all through that class period, and those to follow. That was part of the reason Thursday passed so quickly, and before Celia was entirely sure what happened, it was Friday.
To make sure she was ready to go by four pm, Celia packed her duffel bags and backpack between her classes. Nothing fancy. There was that desire, yes. Ardeth would be there, and Celia realized much to her horror that she wanted to impress him. Bad, bad, bad idea. The last time she tried that. . .well, she learned the hard way not to try to impress someone. Especially if it meant being something she wasn't.
Anck probably had other ideas about that, but Celia would deal with it as it cropped up. And she knew her roommate well enough to realize Anck would try more than once. One drawback to her friend. Anck gave up as often as Celia did. Almost never. So far, she was successful in distracting Anck from making over Celia by mentioning Emmett Tepper. That never failed to provoke a dreamy smile from her roommate. Celia was tempted to ask if she needed a drool bucket. Still, Anck agreed to be careful where the handsome professor was concerned. And he *was* handsome, even Celia and Evy had to agree with that. He seemed very nice. Though, he might be dangerous. He didn't seem inclined to dismiss Celia. That dismissal was a safety net, of sorts, it protected Celia from unwanted attention.
Not that she thought Dr Tepper was a predator. Just dangerous. And while he was handsome. . .he wasn't Ardeth. Celia stopped packing briefly, a soft sigh breaking free as the teaching assistant's face appeared behind her eyes. Long black hair. . .those amazing dark eyes. . .those beautiful lips, the ones Celia fantasized about kissing so many times during the last few days. Tattoos that begged to be traced with her lips, her tongue, her fingers. And that was just his face!
During her first return to the room, after her first class and after breakfast, she took care of her backpack. That would include her laptop, some books. . .both pleasure reading and studying. . .CD's, a Discman, and some movies. While children could probably watch them, Galen kept a decent supply of the latest children's movies at the ranch house where they would all sleep. He knew about the two newcomers, and decided the step-brothers would share a room.
In her second return to the room, she packed the outer pockets of the backpack with underclothes. The main clothes would go into her duffel bag. She might rearrange things a few times, until she was satisfied, but that was usually how she did things. And as always, she would overpack, because she liked to be prepared. Something which earned her a lot of teasing, but hey, it was worth it, wasn't it? Of course it was.
Because she liked being prepared, Celia decided to pack a dress. Just one. Or rather, a skirt and blouse. The trouble was, she wasn't sure which one to pack. Should it be the red drawstring blouse and denim skirt. . .or the white peasant blouse and emerald green, flowing skirt? What the hell. . .she would pack them both. Just to be on the safe side. Of course. Unfortunately, that also meant she packed two extra pairs of shoes, but Celia had an idea about how to deal with that overage.
Doubtless, both Anck and Evy would tease her about it, in one way or another. Anck would tease her about wanting to impress Ardeth (yeah, right) and Evy would tease her about carrying the kitchen sink. Didn't matter. Of course Celia wasn't trying to impress Ardeth (*oh really*, a mocking little voice asked, *if that's the case, why are you looking through your perfume bottles?* Celia ignored that little voice). She always took at least one nice outfit with her. And the children loved it when they dressed up. It made them feel grown-up.
During her third return to the room, this time after lunch, Celia began looking through her jewelry box. For her last birthday, Anck gave her a roll-up jewelry bag, to use when she went traveling. It got a great deal of use. The girl selected three sets of earrings (never mind they were her favorites and her prettiest ones), three necklaces, and three rings. One for each day. She stopped short at bracelets. That was asking for trouble, and would even get teasing from Jonathan.
With that out of the way, the only things left to pack were her bathroom supplies. Those would go into her two end pockets. Or maybe just one for both her body wash and her shampoo. Yeah, that would probably work. It was now ten til two, and Celia muttered under her breath about missing her last class, which was two to three thirty. Her books were waiting for her on the vanity shared by the three girls.
Books, check. Room key, check. The previous year, the trio got a bad scare when one of the other girls returned from class to find someone unexpected and unwanted in her room. She left the room unlocked because she couldn't find her room key. Ever since, they all were careful about locking the door when they left their room for class. And under no circumstance did Anck ever leave her room key when she was going out at night. That would be asking for trouble.
Everything was ready for when she got back from class. Her bags were all packed. She was good to go. As Celia checked to make sure she put her room key in its pouch, she wriggled the handle to double check. Door was locked. Great. She pulled the door shut behind her with a click, one hand still gripping the pouch holding her room key. Beni was muttering under his breath in Hungarian as she passed his cart in the ladies' room.
Under normal circumstances, she would have checked on him. After all, she had ten minutes to get to class. But right now, he sounded like he really want to be left alone. She didn't recognize most of what he said, but it wasn't really necessary. He did *not* sound like he was in a good mood. Celia paused just long enough to draw a smiley-face on his pad of stickies, and write, "Have a good day, Beni!" Then she headed to class and the longest ninety minutes known to man, because those ninety minutes stood between her and the weekend.
. . .
The source of Beni's *very* bad mood was currently packing his own bags for this weekend, also muttering under his breath. He was in an equally bad mood, thanks in no small part to finding Beni Gabor in *his* apartment, searching through *his* things the previous day. Rick growled under his breath, remembering the previous afternoon. He returned from his job at campus security after an hour-long check in. . .Ardeth was at the library, probably succeeding where Rick failed.
That was one of the few things that allowed him to remain calm when he noticed the front door slightly ajar. He just left Ardeth at the library. . .his brother was safe. It was silly to be worried, since his brother was one helluva fighter. Even so, Rick pulled his pistol free of its holster and eased into the apartment. Technically, he wasn't supposed to have this piece. Rick O'Connell never let technicalities bother him.
He nudged the door shut behind him, smiling grimly as it gently clicked shut, then moved cautiously through the apartment, pistol at the ready. He found his intruder in his room, looking through Rick's papers. His blood ran cold, especially when he saw whom the intruder was, but he forced himself to say very calmly, "Let me guess. . .spring cleaning." Beni froze and turned around. With a yelp, he headed for the window from Rick's desk.
The American just grabbed the rolling chair and shoved it as hard as he could toward his betrayer, smiling coldly when the speeding chair connected with the back of Beni's calves. He tumbled to the ground, and Rick wished he had the room to actually throw a chair at the little weasel. However, he wouldn't waste time worrying about it. Instead, he crossed the room quickly and grabbed Beni by his collar, asking with mock concern, "Ohhh, did you fall down? Here, let me help you up."
He physically lifted the other man from the ground, glancing around as he did. Damn. Oh, wait a minute! Rick released Beni just long enough to turn on the ceiling fan overhead, then lifted his former friend up toward the whirring blades. He momentarily wished the ceiling fan was a lot bigger. . .say, the size of those blades Sylvester Stallone had to pass to get to the Holland Tunnel survivors in 'Daylight,' but Rick would work with what he had.
"What the hell are you doing in my room, Beni, and try not to lie to me!" Rick demanded. He ignored Beni's squeals of terror, and his wriggling. He didn't actually intend to get Beni too close to those blades. . .maybe close enough to give him something of a hair cut, but nothing permanent. However, he had no intention of telling Beni that. He wanted the little stinkweed to think he would actually hurt him.
Unfortunately, Beni seemed to be taking a page from Ardeth's book, 'cause his answer was a little on the cryptic side. He replied, "It is better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path. So long as I serve him, I am immune." What the hell was *that* supposed to mean, and how much was Beni getting paid? Rick was mentally running through the papers he kept at his desk, and while he didn't think he had anything incriminating, he was still worried.
And he wasn't in the mood to solve riddles. He demanded, shaking Beni, "Immune to what? Huh?" He found Beni in his room, going through his things, but that didn't mean he didn't go through Ardeth's things. Didn't mean that he didn't go into Ardeth's room. Most of the things that could cause trouble for the stepbrothers were locked away inside Ardeth's mind, but Rick didn't want to take any chances. He abruptly pulled Beni down from the fan and slammed him into the wall, snarling, "Answer me, immune to what?"
"Piskas allat!" Beni spat, his eyes blazing. Rick froze. That sounded uncomfortably familiar to him, and if he was right. . .
"What did you say?" Rick demanded. If he just said what Rick thought he just said. . . Well, Rick wasn't entirely sure what he would do, but it would be something terribly unpleasant. Beni didn't answer, and this time, Rick slammed him down on the desk, immensely grateful that he and Ardeth kept the computer in the other room. Beni's head hit the wall thud, his back connecting with the top of the desk.
"I don't want to tell you, you'll just hurt me some more," Beni cried out. Hurt him some more? Well, Rick didn't know about that, but. . . He lifted Beni up off the desk once more, twisted both hands in his collar and lifted Beni as high into the air as he could. He was running out of patience with Beni's stalling. Time to scare him good.
The tactic worked. Beni shrieked, crying out as his head neared the fan blades, "Information! He wanted information, because he knew you and your brother were involved with the girls." The girls? Those hellions whom they would be seeing again this weekend? Rick slowly lowered Beni to eye level, and Beni continued, "He wanted to know about the plans the girls had with you. Just that, I swear. I promised I would get information, in return for enough money to marry Renee and give my Ceci a start in life."
Rick ignored the last sentence, afraid that he would actually start to feel sorry for Beni. Instead, he asked, "First question. . .who is this 'he,' and second question, why didn't you ask the girls? Why break in here, and risk getting your ass kicked?" Rick actually had a pretty good idea of whom the 'he' was. But he didn't understand why Beni would take such a risk, especially when he didn't know their schedule.
"I tried to ask the girls. But all three of them, they have been distracted. Worried, even, when I see them, and I haven't seen them much the last few days," Beni replied. Rick decided he would think about that later, and gave Beni a little shake to keep him talking. The little weasel continued, "And I do not know his name. He is a big man, even bigger than you. And dark-skinned. Very dark."
The bottom dropped out of Rick's stomach with that description. Oh shit. This just kept getting better and better. He asked slowly, "Did he wear a lot of gold jewelry. . .earrings in both ears. . .never mind. Did he look a lot like a modern version of a pirate, dressed entirely in scarlet red?" Beni nodded, and Rick swore. Lock-nah. Goddammit, he should have let Ardeth kill him years ago! Rick said, shaking his former friend, "Guess what, Beni, you chose the wrong side. Again. That creep makes a habit of messing with my family."
Beni froze, whispering something in Hungarian that the American couldn't quite make out. Rick shook him, to silence him. He had to think. There was a way he could turn this to their advantage, but he had to think. Rick desperately wished Ardeth was here right now. Ardeth would know a way to turn this to their advantage. Beni said that Lock-nah. . .and by extension, Imhotep. . .wanted information. Somehow, they knew about the encounters between Ardeth and Rick, and those hellions.
Apparently, the hellions weren't providing the necessary information. . .that was it. Rick smiled evilly at the betrayer and said, "You know what you're gonna do, Beni?" The other man shook his head, looking very nervous. He was right to be nervous. Rick continued, "You're gonna do exactly what Lock-nah asked you to do. But with a little change. You're gonna tell him what I'm about to tell you."
Misinformation. Yes, that would work. Rick continued after a moment, "Tell him that you broke into our house, but you didn't find anything out yet, because someone came home, and you had to scram. That should buy you enough time for me to talk to Ardeth about this. He's better at this sort of thing than I am. He can tell you the most convincing lies." One thing Rick did know about lying. . .when creating a lie, a story, the best thing to do was to keep the lie as close to the truth as possible.
"Whatever you say," Beni assured him. . .then jammed his knee into Rick's groin. The larger man doubled over, dropping Beni, and the little weasel made his escape. By the time Rick could move, it was time to pick up Ardeth. His voice was still somewhat high-pitched, but Rick was able to make his brother understand what was going on. Ardeth nodded, complimented Rick for his quick thinking, then lapsed into silence, no doubt planning out the next bit of planted information they would give Beni.
Now Rick had another decision to make. Whether or not he should tell the three hellions what Beni was doing. He had no doubt that Beni talked himself into believing that he wasn't betraying the three girls. They should know what Beni was to up. They should know to watch their backs. But Rick didn't really want to tell them. Not because he wanted to see any of them hurt, but because in a weird sort of way, he respected the little roommate for the way she took up for Beni. Her loyalty was misplaced. . .but damn if she didn't have spunk.
He had three whole days to make up his mind. For now, it was time for them to head to the campus and meet the girls. As Rick headed into his brother's room, he was actually smiling. As much as he hated to admit it, he was actually looking forward to this weekend. And whether he wanted to admit it or not (and he didn't), he was also looking forward to seeing Evy Carnahan again. If only to see how much he could devil her. Yeah. This weekend would be fun.