The Adventures of FireFox and BlackDog
Episode 7: The Bridge on the River Nile
"Robin's on my side, aren't you Robin?"
Robin had just reached the top of the stairs that led up from the street into Nagira's office.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Don't drag her into this," Dojima growled.
"I'm just asking a question," Nagira said a little defensively.
Dojima snorted.
Robin moved cautiously into the room. She was slightly hunched over with the weight of the mood. She had almost reached the next staircase when Nagira's voice stopped her again.
"Hey Robin, why don't you tell a story to calm her down."
"I don't need to calm down," Dojima snapped.
"I still have one I haven't told. But Amon wouldn't like me telling it," Robin said.
Nagira and Dojima responded in unison. "The Pagoda Restaurant?"
"No. It's not as bad as that one."
"But it bugs Amon, right? That's perfect. Tell it," Nagira commanded with a wicked little grin.
Robin sat down in an empty office chair. Hana was out to lunch so there was plenty of space.
"We were in Cairo. We had just gotten back from a side trip to Giza. We thought it was going to be an ordinary day of wandering the streets looking for food. We didn't know that there was already somebody watching us."
She paused for dramatic effect. Her audience was riveted. She was getting better at this.
"We stopped at a shwarma shop in the middle of the city. I noticed there were two women watching us from the corner. I mentioned it to Amon but he was eating and he didn't think it was important. We were just leaving when we both got wet napkins shoved in our faces. I realized later it was chloroform. When I woke up, it was late in the evening and I was lying in the alley behind the shwarma shop. There was a sticky note stuck on my coat. It said, 'The Opera House bridge at midnight. Go ahead and tell the police.' They were just mocking me. They obviously had no idea who or what I was. I knew that the police were probably paid off, and I didn't need them anyway. I could settle it on my own. So at midnight, I was waiting by the bridge nearest to the Opera House. The first thing I noticed was Amon calling my name from the other side of the bridge. They were so confident that they hadn't even gagged him. He was handcuffed and shackled. He had a rope around his neck and there was a woman pulling him along. She looked like the leader. I could see her gang hanging back in the shadows on their side of the river. She pulled Amon to the middle of the bridge and told me I was brave for coming alone. I asked her what she wanted with Amon and she said she was in the people business."
"A slave trader," Nagira said.
"I asked her why she hadn't taken me when she had the chance. She said she had no use for a scrawny kid like me. I made the first move since I was a little angry by then. It was a small blast just to scare her since I was sure she would turn and run. But she didn't run. She threw the attack off with her own wind power."
"She was a witch too," Nagira said and nodded.
"I burned through Amon's rope so he could get out of the way and he yelled at me to be careful. I could see he was terrified. He only yells when he's afraid. The slave trader was a strong opponent but I was more experienced."
"And you've never lost," Nagira added.
"I finally managed to drive her back to the other side of the bridge. I think she had already decided to give up because as soon as she stepped off the bridge onto the river bank, she called her gang together and took off running."
"She never had a chance," Nagira said.
"I burned through Amon's handcuffs and shackles. He complained the entire time. He asked me what took so long. He asked me why I hadn't killed my opponent like usual. He even said I was rusty. But I wasn't angry with him. He only lashes out like that when he's nervous or scared. He was better by the time we got back to the hotel."
"Sometimes I think you know him better than I do," Nagira said.
"Cummon, she's obviously pulling your leg," Dojima sniffed. "There's no way that story's true. It just goes to show how gullible you are."
"But Dojima…" Robin began.
"Ignore her," Nagira said, turning away from Dojima to face Robin. "She's just trying to get a rise out of us."
"Venus herself couldn't get a rise out of you, you limp noodle," Dojima snarled viciously.
"Now hold on. What are you implying?" Nagira turned on her.
Robin took advantage of the distraction and raced up the stairs to the apartment above. She had only come back to get her sunglasses that she had left there last time, but she would have to stay there for a while until the fight died down. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She opened it as best she could and read the words again. 'The Opera House bridge at midnight. Go ahead and tell the police.' She hadn't told Amon that she'd kept it. He would have made her get rid of it. She wanted to remember.
-
Well, that was episode 7. Giza is a district across the Nile River from downtown Cairo. It's the nearest town to the famous ancient monuments of Egypt. The bridge where Robin's duel happened is also real. It's one of three bridges that spans the Nile River in the heart of the city. On one side is downtown Cairo and on the other is a large park surrounding the city's Opera House.
Shwarma is a popular Mediterranean dish similar to a sub sandwich. It usually consists of some kind of meat, lettuce or kale, and a host of optional toppings, all stuffed into a pocket of pita bread. Shwarma is easy to find in countries like Egypt and Israel. It's also pretty cheap usually so it would make a perfect snack for two hungry part-demons without much cash.
Chloroform is a powerful sedative. It's usually used by wetting a piece of cloth with the solution and forcing the victim to inhale the fumes. It knocks them out in a matter of seconds and the effects can last several hours.
Believe it or not, there are still parts of the world where the slave trade is still operating. According to reports, the Middle East is one of those areas. While modern slave traders usually target women and children for convenience, I thought that having a witch for a leader would make this gang bolder. And it would be more dramatic if they captured Amon. As if they could ever hold Robin anyway.
Thank you again to all the reviewers.
