Chapter 48
Dead City of the Sun
Indiana Jones and Vadoma Maniskelko spent a good part of the day relaxing on the sun deck and enjoying the idyllic views as the 'Goddess' made her way southward.
Jones did his best to avoid Yelena Badonov, but he continued to think about her offer. It might just be the best way after all to deal with the situation, he thought. It would be preferable to get Malboury back without any violence if possible. Why not just trade the scroll outright? Sure, the Nazis might get the Sun Tablets, but then again they might all die trying; down there deep beneath the floor of the Valley of the Kings. There's a cheery thought.
He decided to wait though, until he could discuss it first with Marcus. Indiana Jones had learned many times over the years the value of consulting with his long time friend and mentor.
The scenery changed little as they steamed serenely along. Both banks of the mighty river were lined with countless 'shadoofs'; men, women and children engaged in the endless process of lifting water from the bountiful river to irrigate their fields.
"It sometimes seems to me that those people spend their entire lives just...bringing water from the river to the fields." Jones said as he observed the tireless efforts of the hardworking 'shadoofs'.
Vadoma gazed out at the toiling Egyptians, "But without their work, there would be no life for them here anyway. The desert would reclaim the land and there would be no green fields," she said.
"Live to work, work to live..." Jones mused wistfully as a 'dahabeah', a large, lateen rigged sailing craft slid closely past the 'Goddess', headed north.
When the pair was not out sunning on the after deck they sipped cool cocktails in the saloon cabin and leafed through the small collection of photo books of the temples and ruins of the Upper Nile kept on a shelf next to the bar for the tourists.
Jones and Vadoma retired after lunch and punctuated the otherwise languid day with a little 'afternoon delight' in cabin number 11. When they emerged later in the day the 'Goddess' was just pulling in to a dock in the ancient, river side city of El Amarna. She would remain for three hours the captain announced, to take on supplies and to give the European tourists a chance to explore the ancient ruins a little bit before continuing up river.
"Come on," Jones said after the boat was tied up, "let's go for a walk."
Twenty minutes later they had finished scaling the trail to the summit of the low lying cliffs which provided the backdrop for the town of El Amarna.
Not taking any chances, Jones wore his .455 Webley, slung on his side in its brand new holster. Tucked into his belt behind his back was the new bullwhip that he'd purchased in Alexandra.
The archaeologist walked up to the edge of the cliff and pointed down, "There it is," he said, "the City of the Sun...Akhetaten."
Vadoma leaned close to the edge of the cliff and followed her eyes to where Jones' finger pointed at a mostly desolate, desert plain adjacent to the date palm studded shoreline of the Nile, and the clusters of mud and brick dwellings of Amarna. A few low lying ruins were scattered haphazardly about the plain, but that was all.
"I see nothing," she said.
"That's just what the Amun priests would want you to see," Jones said rather cryptically.
"What do you mean Indy?"
"Believe it or not, a magnificent city once stood there," the archaeologist said with a curiously somber tone, as the dusty wind tousled locks of brown hair that stuck out from beneath his fedora..
Vadoma said nothing but continued to gaze down on the plain.
Indiana Jones continued, "The city of Akhetaten was founded and built here by the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaton in 1348 BC. Akhetaten means 'Horizon of the Aten'. It was from here that he and his Queen...Nefertiti, ruled over all of Egypt."
Jones stopped and looked into Vadoma's eyes. He reached out and tenderly touched her face with his hand, "do you know what the name Nefertiti means in Egyptian?"
Vadoma gazed at him, "no, what does it mean?"
"It means 'the beautiful one has come'."
Vadoma looked away shyly for a moment and then back down on to the plain below, "But .....there is nothing."
"It was destroyed," Jones said, "After Akhenaton's death his great city was destroyed by the Amun priests. They took it apart block by block, carted the stones up the Nile and used them to glorify their own temple complexes at Thebes."
Indiana Jones took her hand in his, "But let's go down there," he said "I want to show you something."
As they descended back down the path Indiana Jones finally took notice of two burly men who had been walking around within a close distance to him and Vadoma ever since they had left the boat. Trouble was, neither of them appeared to be either the scholarly type, or the tourist type; and those tight fitting suits weren't exactly what Jones would pick for a day poking about in the ruins. Each time Jones turned to look, the two men looked away and feigned interest in the ancient site.
If they were clandestinely tailing him, they weren't doing a very good job of it Jones thought, as he and Vadoma continued on down to the plain below.
A short while later the pair was walking among the low lying ruins. Virtually all that remained of the once fabulous city was now just a series of foundations. But there were a few structures left, and Indiana Jones led Vadoma towards one of them.
The day was growing late and the sun was sinking in the west as they ducked low to enter a stone structure near the edge of the ruins and walked down a few small, stone steps. As soon as they entered they were bathed in an iridescent golden light.
It was a large room with a high ceiling and two decorated pillars in the center. The floor was sand. All four walls, and even the ceiling, were decorated in detailed, bas-relief works of magnificent, Egyptian art. And all was painted a brilliant gold which refracted the afternoon rays of sunlight that entered from several different points, creating the iridescence. There was an earthy, mustiness to the room; an aged scent that gave one the impression that one were actually breathing in the light itself.
"Indy, it's...beautiful," Vadoma said as she walked up to a painted wall carving of the Pharaoh Akhenaton and his Queen Nefertiti riding in a chariot with the holy symbol of the 'Aten' hovering above and showering its rays down upon them.
"What is this place?" She asked.
"It's the tomb of an Aten priest named Meyre," Jones answered.
She walked over to another wall with another carving of the royal family. Again, hovering above them was the ubiquitous 'Aten' symbol.
"There," Jones pointed with his finger at the 'Aten', "there's the reason that we're all here in Egypt right now," he said, "the Aten, symbol of the power of the Sun."
"The Nazis think that it is more than just a symbol," Vadoma said.
"That's right," Jones replied.
"What do you think Indy?"
Jones shrugged, "I don't know...I honestly don't know. But if there are powerful scientific secrets that the ancients inscribed on the Sun Tablets, then I would certainly hate to see them fall into the hands of that maniac in Berlin."
He took a look outside at the waning rays of the sun, "But I think it's time we got back to the boat, it's getting late."
As they walked back towards the town of El Amarna, and the 'River Goddess' docked alongside, Vadoma turned to Jones and caught him by surprise.
"Indy, last night you said something to me."
"Yes?" Jones asked.
"You said that it was too late....too late for my...kiss. What did you mean?" She stopped and turned to him suddenly, "Indiana Jones did you mean that you....love me?
Jones went silent. Uh oh! He swallowed.
"I meant what I said," He tried to defray the question with a bland statement.
"That's not an answer Indiana Jones."
"Look Vadoma I..."
"Why can't you answer Indy?
Jones looked directly into her eyes, "Look, why can't we just let things go where they go?"
"And what does that mean?" she asked, a bit puzzled.
Indiana Jones appeared confused as well, "I don't know Vadoma, I guess I don't know how to put it into words....I..."
"Maybe I can," she said, "maybe you are a man who can only love things that are old and dead...like , and your artifacts, and your dead cities....maybe you can only love your...archaeology, but you can not love those things that are alive and real."
"Archaeology is real, it is alive," Jones said. "Listen Vadoma, maybe I can't be sure about love because I don't know what love is. If love is how I felt about you last night, and still feel about you today, then yes, I guess I love you. But I don't want to make any promises I can't keep, and I don't want to break anyone's heart, and I don't..."
Jones paused, and seemed at a loss for more words.
"And maybe you don't want to have your own heart broken?" Vadoma said softly, and suddenly sympathetically, "...again?"
They walked in silence for a time, and then Vadoma turned to him. Once again she spoke softly, "I'm sorry Indy. I think....I think I understand," she said, "maybe as you said we should just let things go...where they go."
Jones smiled for a brief moment, "Yeah, whatever that means," he said.
She smiled back at him and laid her head against his shoulder as he snaked his arm around her waist; they walked like that all the way back to the boat.
As they got back to their cabin Indiana Jones paused; something troubled him, and tripped his 'sixth sense' intuition. When he reached his hand out and turned the knob to the cabin door it confirmed it.
"Didn't I lock the door when we left?" He quickly asked Vadoma.
Vadoma thought for a moment, "Honestly Indy I can not remember."
Cautiously Jones pushed the door open and placed his hand on his Webley hanging on his side. But the room was empty, and it didn't appear that anything had been disturbed. Indiana Jones however knew better.
"Someone's been in here," he said tersely.
Vadoma looked around, "It doesn't look as if anything is out of place."
"Trust me," Jones said, "someone's been in here."
The archaeologist opened drawers, checked in the bathroom, checked his suitcase, and then under the bed, but nothing seemed amiss.
"Maybe it was the steward," Vadoma ventured, "doesn't he have a key?"
"Or maybe," Jones said as he unbuttoned some of his shirt and withdrew Calvertus' scroll, "they didn't find what they were looking for."
"Perhaps the stress of all that has happened," Vadoma spoke soothingly, "perhaps you are worrying too much Indy."
"Yeah maybe," Jones replied, "but let's just be extra careful," he said as he slid the bolt for the door.
The evening was warm. The boat got underway once again, headed up river. Jones and Vadoma ate a late, moonlit dinner out on the dining deck, and later, the sounds of passion once again echoed off the walls of cabin number 11.
Their second morning on the river dawned identical to the first, except that they were that much further up the river; that much closer to the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor; but, to Jones dismay, no sign yet of the "Queen of the Nile".
It had also grown significantly hotter as they moved more south towards the equator, and Indiana Jones wiped sweat from his brow as he sipped his morning coffee.
"Why do you drink hot coffee on such a morning as this Indy?" Vadoma asked him, as they sat out on the dining deck.
Jones took a big gulp, made an exaggerated exclamation of satisfaction, and then set the large mug down on the table, "I don't care where you are," he said, "you can't start the day out wrong when you start it out with a good cup of hot coffee."
Yelena Badonov, Yuri Ivanovich, and another younger Russian man approached their table.
"Maybe I spoke too soon," Jones said as he saw them coming.
As usual Yelena was the only one of her party to speak.
"Good Morning Doctor Jones!"
Her raspy, gravelly voice made Indy's skin crawl.
He nodded in the Russians' general direction, "Yelena, Yuri, ..."
Yelena Badonov approached, but this time did not sit down; neither did her two companions.
"So Doctor Jones, today we will arrive in Luxor. Have you given any more consideration to my generous offer?"
Indiana Jones paused strategically. He didn't want her to know that he might be interested, but at the same time he didn't want to drive her away entirely.
"As I told you before Yelena, I'm not involved in the whole business, but I might know someone who is, and who might be interested. I need time."
"You don't have time Doctor Jones. Today we arrive in Luxor, tomorrow we are gone....myself, Yuri, and Vladimir," she motioned with her head towards the younger man, "we don't have time to wait. We have a permit to dig at Edfu. There are treasures out there buried in the sand that await our spade and shovel. We have already made arrangements for diggers; and as you know they are not cheap anymore."
Jones scrutinized the younger man for a moment, but just a cursory look told him that Vladimir was not one of the two men who had followed him and Vadoma at El Amarna the previous day.
"I understand," Jones said, and then paused for a long moment, "I'll know something tonight, but that's the best I can tell you."
Yelena smiled for a moment, then dropped it like a theatrical curtain, "No later than midnight or the deal is off," she said, "when you are ready to talk you can come to my cabin," she then leered rather lewdly, "you know you are always welcome in my cabin Doctor Jones."
Jones felt nauseated for a moment, and felt that he was looking into the face of a crocodile.
"Well Yelena.....you're not welcome in mine. And if you would, next time please lock the door on your way out."
Yelena Badonov wrinkled her already wrinkled, old brow in an expression of genuine confusion. For once, Jones thought, he was seeing something honest in the woman.
She didn't know what he was talking about.
Yelena's reaction to his comment gave Indiana Jones pause. Maybe it wasn't her or her henchmen who'd searched his cabin after all. But then who?
Jones' sudden unease grew as he glanced across to the other side of the dining deck at the pair of burly men in their tight suits sipping their own morning coffees and reading the newspaper; especially when one of them lowered his paper, peered over, and locked his cold eyes with those of Indiana Jones.
Dead City of the Sun
Indiana Jones and Vadoma Maniskelko spent a good part of the day relaxing on the sun deck and enjoying the idyllic views as the 'Goddess' made her way southward.
Jones did his best to avoid Yelena Badonov, but he continued to think about her offer. It might just be the best way after all to deal with the situation, he thought. It would be preferable to get Malboury back without any violence if possible. Why not just trade the scroll outright? Sure, the Nazis might get the Sun Tablets, but then again they might all die trying; down there deep beneath the floor of the Valley of the Kings. There's a cheery thought.
He decided to wait though, until he could discuss it first with Marcus. Indiana Jones had learned many times over the years the value of consulting with his long time friend and mentor.
The scenery changed little as they steamed serenely along. Both banks of the mighty river were lined with countless 'shadoofs'; men, women and children engaged in the endless process of lifting water from the bountiful river to irrigate their fields.
"It sometimes seems to me that those people spend their entire lives just...bringing water from the river to the fields." Jones said as he observed the tireless efforts of the hardworking 'shadoofs'.
Vadoma gazed out at the toiling Egyptians, "But without their work, there would be no life for them here anyway. The desert would reclaim the land and there would be no green fields," she said.
"Live to work, work to live..." Jones mused wistfully as a 'dahabeah', a large, lateen rigged sailing craft slid closely past the 'Goddess', headed north.
When the pair was not out sunning on the after deck they sipped cool cocktails in the saloon cabin and leafed through the small collection of photo books of the temples and ruins of the Upper Nile kept on a shelf next to the bar for the tourists.
Jones and Vadoma retired after lunch and punctuated the otherwise languid day with a little 'afternoon delight' in cabin number 11. When they emerged later in the day the 'Goddess' was just pulling in to a dock in the ancient, river side city of El Amarna. She would remain for three hours the captain announced, to take on supplies and to give the European tourists a chance to explore the ancient ruins a little bit before continuing up river.
"Come on," Jones said after the boat was tied up, "let's go for a walk."
Twenty minutes later they had finished scaling the trail to the summit of the low lying cliffs which provided the backdrop for the town of El Amarna.
Not taking any chances, Jones wore his .455 Webley, slung on his side in its brand new holster. Tucked into his belt behind his back was the new bullwhip that he'd purchased in Alexandra.
The archaeologist walked up to the edge of the cliff and pointed down, "There it is," he said, "the City of the Sun...Akhetaten."
Vadoma leaned close to the edge of the cliff and followed her eyes to where Jones' finger pointed at a mostly desolate, desert plain adjacent to the date palm studded shoreline of the Nile, and the clusters of mud and brick dwellings of Amarna. A few low lying ruins were scattered haphazardly about the plain, but that was all.
"I see nothing," she said.
"That's just what the Amun priests would want you to see," Jones said rather cryptically.
"What do you mean Indy?"
"Believe it or not, a magnificent city once stood there," the archaeologist said with a curiously somber tone, as the dusty wind tousled locks of brown hair that stuck out from beneath his fedora..
Vadoma said nothing but continued to gaze down on the plain.
Indiana Jones continued, "The city of Akhetaten was founded and built here by the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaton in 1348 BC. Akhetaten means 'Horizon of the Aten'. It was from here that he and his Queen...Nefertiti, ruled over all of Egypt."
Jones stopped and looked into Vadoma's eyes. He reached out and tenderly touched her face with his hand, "do you know what the name Nefertiti means in Egyptian?"
Vadoma gazed at him, "no, what does it mean?"
"It means 'the beautiful one has come'."
Vadoma looked away shyly for a moment and then back down on to the plain below, "But .....there is nothing."
"It was destroyed," Jones said, "After Akhenaton's death his great city was destroyed by the Amun priests. They took it apart block by block, carted the stones up the Nile and used them to glorify their own temple complexes at Thebes."
Indiana Jones took her hand in his, "But let's go down there," he said "I want to show you something."
As they descended back down the path Indiana Jones finally took notice of two burly men who had been walking around within a close distance to him and Vadoma ever since they had left the boat. Trouble was, neither of them appeared to be either the scholarly type, or the tourist type; and those tight fitting suits weren't exactly what Jones would pick for a day poking about in the ruins. Each time Jones turned to look, the two men looked away and feigned interest in the ancient site.
If they were clandestinely tailing him, they weren't doing a very good job of it Jones thought, as he and Vadoma continued on down to the plain below.
A short while later the pair was walking among the low lying ruins. Virtually all that remained of the once fabulous city was now just a series of foundations. But there were a few structures left, and Indiana Jones led Vadoma towards one of them.
The day was growing late and the sun was sinking in the west as they ducked low to enter a stone structure near the edge of the ruins and walked down a few small, stone steps. As soon as they entered they were bathed in an iridescent golden light.
It was a large room with a high ceiling and two decorated pillars in the center. The floor was sand. All four walls, and even the ceiling, were decorated in detailed, bas-relief works of magnificent, Egyptian art. And all was painted a brilliant gold which refracted the afternoon rays of sunlight that entered from several different points, creating the iridescence. There was an earthy, mustiness to the room; an aged scent that gave one the impression that one were actually breathing in the light itself.
"Indy, it's...beautiful," Vadoma said as she walked up to a painted wall carving of the Pharaoh Akhenaton and his Queen Nefertiti riding in a chariot with the holy symbol of the 'Aten' hovering above and showering its rays down upon them.
"What is this place?" She asked.
"It's the tomb of an Aten priest named Meyre," Jones answered.
She walked over to another wall with another carving of the royal family. Again, hovering above them was the ubiquitous 'Aten' symbol.
"There," Jones pointed with his finger at the 'Aten', "there's the reason that we're all here in Egypt right now," he said, "the Aten, symbol of the power of the Sun."
"The Nazis think that it is more than just a symbol," Vadoma said.
"That's right," Jones replied.
"What do you think Indy?"
Jones shrugged, "I don't know...I honestly don't know. But if there are powerful scientific secrets that the ancients inscribed on the Sun Tablets, then I would certainly hate to see them fall into the hands of that maniac in Berlin."
He took a look outside at the waning rays of the sun, "But I think it's time we got back to the boat, it's getting late."
As they walked back towards the town of El Amarna, and the 'River Goddess' docked alongside, Vadoma turned to Jones and caught him by surprise.
"Indy, last night you said something to me."
"Yes?" Jones asked.
"You said that it was too late....too late for my...kiss. What did you mean?" She stopped and turned to him suddenly, "Indiana Jones did you mean that you....love me?
Jones went silent. Uh oh! He swallowed.
"I meant what I said," He tried to defray the question with a bland statement.
"That's not an answer Indiana Jones."
"Look Vadoma I..."
"Why can't you answer Indy?
Jones looked directly into her eyes, "Look, why can't we just let things go where they go?"
"And what does that mean?" she asked, a bit puzzled.
Indiana Jones appeared confused as well, "I don't know Vadoma, I guess I don't know how to put it into words....I..."
"Maybe I can," she said, "maybe you are a man who can only love things that are old and dead...like , and your artifacts, and your dead cities....maybe you can only love your...archaeology, but you can not love those things that are alive and real."
"Archaeology is real, it is alive," Jones said. "Listen Vadoma, maybe I can't be sure about love because I don't know what love is. If love is how I felt about you last night, and still feel about you today, then yes, I guess I love you. But I don't want to make any promises I can't keep, and I don't want to break anyone's heart, and I don't..."
Jones paused, and seemed at a loss for more words.
"And maybe you don't want to have your own heart broken?" Vadoma said softly, and suddenly sympathetically, "...again?"
They walked in silence for a time, and then Vadoma turned to him. Once again she spoke softly, "I'm sorry Indy. I think....I think I understand," she said, "maybe as you said we should just let things go...where they go."
Jones smiled for a brief moment, "Yeah, whatever that means," he said.
She smiled back at him and laid her head against his shoulder as he snaked his arm around her waist; they walked like that all the way back to the boat.
As they got back to their cabin Indiana Jones paused; something troubled him, and tripped his 'sixth sense' intuition. When he reached his hand out and turned the knob to the cabin door it confirmed it.
"Didn't I lock the door when we left?" He quickly asked Vadoma.
Vadoma thought for a moment, "Honestly Indy I can not remember."
Cautiously Jones pushed the door open and placed his hand on his Webley hanging on his side. But the room was empty, and it didn't appear that anything had been disturbed. Indiana Jones however knew better.
"Someone's been in here," he said tersely.
Vadoma looked around, "It doesn't look as if anything is out of place."
"Trust me," Jones said, "someone's been in here."
The archaeologist opened drawers, checked in the bathroom, checked his suitcase, and then under the bed, but nothing seemed amiss.
"Maybe it was the steward," Vadoma ventured, "doesn't he have a key?"
"Or maybe," Jones said as he unbuttoned some of his shirt and withdrew Calvertus' scroll, "they didn't find what they were looking for."
"Perhaps the stress of all that has happened," Vadoma spoke soothingly, "perhaps you are worrying too much Indy."
"Yeah maybe," Jones replied, "but let's just be extra careful," he said as he slid the bolt for the door.
The evening was warm. The boat got underway once again, headed up river. Jones and Vadoma ate a late, moonlit dinner out on the dining deck, and later, the sounds of passion once again echoed off the walls of cabin number 11.
Their second morning on the river dawned identical to the first, except that they were that much further up the river; that much closer to the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor; but, to Jones dismay, no sign yet of the "Queen of the Nile".
It had also grown significantly hotter as they moved more south towards the equator, and Indiana Jones wiped sweat from his brow as he sipped his morning coffee.
"Why do you drink hot coffee on such a morning as this Indy?" Vadoma asked him, as they sat out on the dining deck.
Jones took a big gulp, made an exaggerated exclamation of satisfaction, and then set the large mug down on the table, "I don't care where you are," he said, "you can't start the day out wrong when you start it out with a good cup of hot coffee."
Yelena Badonov, Yuri Ivanovich, and another younger Russian man approached their table.
"Maybe I spoke too soon," Jones said as he saw them coming.
As usual Yelena was the only one of her party to speak.
"Good Morning Doctor Jones!"
Her raspy, gravelly voice made Indy's skin crawl.
He nodded in the Russians' general direction, "Yelena, Yuri, ..."
Yelena Badonov approached, but this time did not sit down; neither did her two companions.
"So Doctor Jones, today we will arrive in Luxor. Have you given any more consideration to my generous offer?"
Indiana Jones paused strategically. He didn't want her to know that he might be interested, but at the same time he didn't want to drive her away entirely.
"As I told you before Yelena, I'm not involved in the whole business, but I might know someone who is, and who might be interested. I need time."
"You don't have time Doctor Jones. Today we arrive in Luxor, tomorrow we are gone....myself, Yuri, and Vladimir," she motioned with her head towards the younger man, "we don't have time to wait. We have a permit to dig at Edfu. There are treasures out there buried in the sand that await our spade and shovel. We have already made arrangements for diggers; and as you know they are not cheap anymore."
Jones scrutinized the younger man for a moment, but just a cursory look told him that Vladimir was not one of the two men who had followed him and Vadoma at El Amarna the previous day.
"I understand," Jones said, and then paused for a long moment, "I'll know something tonight, but that's the best I can tell you."
Yelena smiled for a moment, then dropped it like a theatrical curtain, "No later than midnight or the deal is off," she said, "when you are ready to talk you can come to my cabin," she then leered rather lewdly, "you know you are always welcome in my cabin Doctor Jones."
Jones felt nauseated for a moment, and felt that he was looking into the face of a crocodile.
"Well Yelena.....you're not welcome in mine. And if you would, next time please lock the door on your way out."
Yelena Badonov wrinkled her already wrinkled, old brow in an expression of genuine confusion. For once, Jones thought, he was seeing something honest in the woman.
She didn't know what he was talking about.
Yelena's reaction to his comment gave Indiana Jones pause. Maybe it wasn't her or her henchmen who'd searched his cabin after all. But then who?
Jones' sudden unease grew as he glanced across to the other side of the dining deck at the pair of burly men in their tight suits sipping their own morning coffees and reading the newspaper; especially when one of them lowered his paper, peered over, and locked his cold eyes with those of Indiana Jones.