A.N: Yay! Stress from exam results is OVER! Got my grades back and they were all pretty good… except one geography one… grrrrrr……… anyway, I hope everyone else did well!
Also, tomorrow I'm going away to Valencia (south Spain) tomorrow, so no one should except any updates until at least Wednesday… Tuesday if you're lucky! ;-)
A little bit of Tom humour in this chappie fellas! I don't really mean to make fun of him, it's just that he's been pretty angsty lately so I thought I'd try to lighten him up a little!
Alrighty, well it's time for…
Shoutouts:
Melantha Nocturne: Yeah… I really couldn't find out anything about carriages in these times, so I made it up. I remember after I wrote that description I wasn't that pleased with it. I had some sort of description writers' block thingy… :bangs head on table: Hee hee… anyway I'm glad you're still liking this!
Diablo Cat: New reviewer:does the happy new reviewer dance: Thanks for the review! I'm always really nervous about setting scenes as they tend to slow down stories, and I'm always worried that the readers'll end up snoring on their keyboards… then they'll drool and get electrocuted…. GAH! DON'T DO THAT! He he!
Silent Bob 546: Yeah… I've been in both of those hotels that I used in my descriptions… I've never actually stayed in them but I went in for drinks a couple of times… they are VERY nice. But also über expensive, so I've never ever been back! Lol! He he he, If anyone is going to try and share a bed with Mina, it'll be, ermmm… well I don't really know, because Mina wouldn't share a bed with anyone that she wasn't married with. We'll have to fix that… :gives Jekyll a sly look: Hee hee! Thanks for you're review!
Disclaimer: They took everything… the League, my DVDs… even my DAMN DOG! What else do YOU want to take:breaks down:
Chapter Ten: Lost in Cairo
The League walked out of the elaborate hotel lobby, and stood in astonishment as they saw the Nemomobile parked at the bottom of the stairs. By some miracle, Nemo had managed to get their automobile into some area of the cargo hold on the boat they had travelled up-river in, and it had been unloaded by Jimuta following their docking in Cairo. It was with some amusement that Nemo watched the jaw's of his companions' faces drop upon seeing their favourite from of transportation sitting in front of them in the driveway.
"I had it transported here shortly after we arrived," he explained simply as he moved to the passenger seat. "I'm afraid that we shall have to push and shove to accommodate us all, the Nemomobile was only built for five."
Jimuta opened the door for Mina, bowing gracefully as she carefully slid in along the leather seats and scrunched as far against the side door as she could to allow the rest of her friends in. She was followed by Skinner, Tom and Jekyll, all of who grumbled under their breath as they were forced to nearly pull their legs under their chins to accommodate themselves.
"Nemo," Tom spoke up. "I really don't think this is going to work. We can barely breathe. Why don't you let me drive?" Nemo looked sceptically first at Tom and then at Jimuta. "Jimuta can give us the directions and then he can stay here at the hotel. We probably won't be long anyway."
Tom's idea did have a certain amount of logic behind it. Besides, it wouldn't be seen as fitting for them as representatives of their respective countries to be packed ungainly in the Nemomobile like so many sardines.
Nemo nodded and Jimuta handed the keys to Tom in the back, who then proceeded to climb through the space between the two front seats, knocking Skinner's hat from his head and forcing the doctor to duck several times as Tom's feet swung about wildly for several moments before he somewhat collapsed in the front.
"Would it not have been easier, Agent Sawyer, if you had simply exited the vehicle and walked around to the driver's seat?" Mina was glaring daggers at Tom through the rear-view mirror.
Tom's face reddened momentarily before he made his apologies, citing as his excuse that he hadn't wanted to bother Jekyll to get out just because of him. Jimuta handed the directions to Tom on a piece of paper through the open window as he started the engine and sped down the driveway, the gravel making popping noises under the tyres as they went.
"Okay, so where exactly are we headed?" Tom passed the directions over to Nemo all the while keeping his eyes locked firmly on the road ahead of him, and accidentally shoved the paper into Nemo's ear. Seemingly unaware, Tom drove on.
The captain appeared slightly ruffled, but quickly regained his composure as he read from the directions now in his hands.
"We are going to the British Museum of Cairo. It says to take the first right after we leave the hotel."
"That would be the street we're passing," Skinner pointed out the window and followed the street with his finger as Tom sailed right past it. "Passed." Skinner corrected himself.
"Whoops." Tom quickly placed his foot on the brakes, perhaps a little more roughly than was necessary, and promptly threw the car into reverse. His companions, who had been recovering from their sudden stop were now thrown forward as their American friend sped backwards along the narrow street, dodging merchants and donkeys left and right.
"Thomas?" Jekyll timidly spoke up from the back.
"Yeah?" Tom had one arm hooked around behind Nemo's seat, and was intently watching the road behind them while driving with his only other free hand.
"Do you think that it might be wiser if we drove at a slower pace?" He clutched at the door as the car ran over a bump, jostling everyone left and right. "After all, the locals have never seen anything like this before… they may be frightened by it." Jekyll couldn't hide the slight quavering in his voice.
"Nah! They'll be okay! Besides, we'll get there faster this way." Tom had now turned down the street that he had earlier missed and was accelerating rapidly. "Now where?"
Nemo tore his wide eyes from the road in front of him and intently read out: "Follow the road until you find a tea and Narguile house, then proceed to turn left."
"There it is!" Tom practically shouted the words as he pointed and swung the wheel left with one hand, his eyes following his pointing finger. It was at that precise moment that Mina shrieked. Tom looked ahead of him and saw a man pushing a cart of melons across the road.
"Uh-oh."
There was no time to hit the brakes, he was too close. Tom swerved to the left, careening through the melon cart as he did so, leaving a bemused, shocked and irate merchant in his wake.
"Don't you think we ought to stop, mate?" Skinner tapped Tom's shoulder, but abruptly stopped when Tom twisted around in his seat to look at him – that was the last thing they needed, another incident like the one they'd just had. He pointed frantically at the road in front and Tom obeyed the thief's silent but desperate charade.
"He was fine. Anyway, we don't want any trouble with the authorities." Tom switched on the windscreen wipers, smiling as the juice from the now ruined melons was cleared from before him. "It's best that we just make ourselves invisible."
"Yeah. Guys like us, we'll never stand out around here! Making ourselves invisible oughta be a piece of cake!" Tom frowned at Skinner's sarcasm. "After all, how many European, American and Hindu foreigners could there be here? And how many of them with another Nemomobile, eh?" Skinner lent back in his seat and took off his hat before running a hand over his head and mumbling. "How did he get into the Secret Service? Protecting the pub—"
Tom was distracted from listening as Nemo barked out the next direction. Again he swerved, this time narrowly missing a camel pen before he decided that it really would be best to slow down a little.
Half an hour later, the League found themselves driving through a very familiar looking street. So familiar in fact, that the locals were now waving at them as they went by, no longer unaccustomed to the strange vehicle before them.
"I think we're lost." Mina said simply. She had slouched against the back of her seat and was now staring idly out the window at the smiling faces of the natives. "We've been down this road at least five times already!"
"We are not lost," Tom retorted from upfront. He caught sight of Mina's arched eyebrows in the mirror. "I know exactly where we are!"
"Oh, really?" Mina's voice had a charming little lilt to it. "And where exactly would that be?"
"Ermm…" Tom looked around for any sign that would help him get one up over the vampiress. "Just around this corner is that lamp shop."
"The one you nearly smashed?"
Tom ignored Mina's remark and continued driving. Looking around at the different streets frantically for any clue as to where they might truly be.
"Why don't we just ask for directions?"
"No!" All of the men answered at once and Mina jumped slightly at their strict tones.
"Well why on Earth not?" She popped an eyebrow at them quizzically. "Obviously we're not getting anywhere like this! And we were expected at the museum almost ten minutes ago!"
"We don't need directions," Skinner calmly explained. "We know exactly where it is we're going." With that he leaned forward and began consulting with Nemo and Tom. Henry soon joined in, pointing randomly at streets and then at the paper Nemo still held.
Tom pulled over next to a dried fruits stand and leant over the gear stick, joining the men in their discussion of the streets and the direction they had taken. Mina rolled her eyes and sat back again squirming slightly against the confines of her corset. She took to watching the street, and sat up quickly when she saw a man who was obviously European walking down the street, eyeing their automobile suspiciously as he wove his way in between the scampering children around him.
Turning to look briefly at her colleagues, and realising that they were too engrossed in discussing their new plans to notice anything, Mina quietly opened the door and slipped out. The sudden noise from the street that invaded the relative silence of the Nemomobile alerted Tom to her intentions, and he quickly scrambled out after her, stumbling behind as she made her way towards the European in the distance.
"Excuse me?" Mina called out to him. He stopped and half-turned to look at her. "I was wondering if you could help? My companions and I are lost…" Her voice trailed off as Tom caught up, panting and sweating in the heat.
"Of course, madam. Where is it you're trying to reach?" He smiled at her, ignoring Tom who tugged at her elbow, obviously asking her to leave with him.
"We need to find the British Museum of Cairo. We're utterly lost!" She smiled sweetly at Tom, who scowled back.
"Why, you're very close indeed! It's two streets parallel to this one, over that way." He pointed in the direction they should take. "I hope you find it soon."
"Thank you." Mina turned on her heel, smiling and holding her head up high as she climbed back into the car. Tom followed behind her, grumbling dejectedly. He started up the car again, and without another word they drove on.
No one spoke until they arrived. They parked the car down a small alleyway nearby and proceeded to climb the marbled stairs that led up to the great doors at the front of the museum. Occasionally, Tom would shoot a look at Mina, to which she would smile back sweetly, as if oblivious to what he really meant. The occasionally petulant youth could certainly be fun to have around… even if it meant being at odds with him for a week!
A.N: Alright, for all of you that don't know, narguile (also known as: hookah, or shisha) is a kind of pipe that is smoked throughout most of northern Africa – particularly Egypt – and what was old Arabia.
It basically consists of a bowl of water that is connected to a long tube. When you suck through the pipe, the tobacco that burns at the top of the tube is drawn through the water and it bubbles.
It's pretty healthy – the tobacco contains less than 0.5 nicotine, and the water removes a lot of the tar. It's also tasty: the tobacco is flavoured with fruit essences. There are no mind-altering substances present in it. Unless of course you replace the tobacco with something like pot, in which case you're just silly!
Anyway, hope you all have fun over the next few days! I know that I will! Byeeeeeeee!