Master of Thieves
Chapter 6: A Problem in Egypt
Sly was slowly waking up to the sound of the hot, dry wind blowing sand and then suddenly opened his eyes, to see he's in the time of Ancient Egypt. Aside from the dunes as far as the eye can see, he also saw the wreckage of Le Paradox's Blimp half covered in the sand; he then saw that his father's cane is lying next to him, so he grasped it and stood up, dusting off the sand off his clothing, before his ears shot upwards and slowly looked up. He then realised that he was close to the legendary Sphynx statue and that its still has its nose; he also realised that his ancestor Slytunkhamen the First might be over there, so he advanced to the Sphynx.
As he went closer to the Sphynx, he has an uneasy feeling that something's wrong, but he can't put his finger on what it is; the answer came when he saw slaves being forced to moving equipment inside the Sphynx and they were DEFINITELY not made in Slytunkhamen's time. He then noticed an outline at the farthest tent to the right, when it suddenly went out of Sly's view; seeing that it might be his ancestor, he snuck past the guards and followed a faint, yet noticeable foot path, ensuring that he doesn't get detected by passing guards. As he delved deeper in the area, he saw technology that seems familiar to him: Laser Grids, Spotlights, even Motion Sensors. Feeling that someone might ruin his family timeline again, he proceeded to find Slytunkhamen, avoiding the security altogether.
As he rounded a corner into an abandoned sandstone home, he was suddenly gripped by the shoulder and pinned against the wall, before he saw a familiar looking cane raised for a blow. He then said in a question "Slytunkhamen?" The cane then suddenly stopped in mid-air, before a figure suddenly appeared inches from Sly, who he recognised almost instantly as Slytunkhamen Cooper the First. Slytunkhamen then took a closer inspection at Sly, before he removed his grip and said, to Sly's surprise, in perfect English "You're… not in league with the Pharaoh?" Sly blankly looked at Slytunkhamen and blinked once before replying in puzzlement "What pharaoh?" Slytunkhamen then made a derisive sigh, before he told Sly "Follow me… and stay out of sight from the guards."
Sly nodded at his ancestor, before they snuck to the nearly complete Pyramid, with Sly running along the overhead ropes as Slytunkhamen went invisible on ground level. They then climbed a pillar at the back of the Sphynx, before they saw a wooden stage at the base of the Giza Pyramid; they then saw what looks like a throne on the stage and sitting on it was a weathered-looking male Jackal in Pharaoh clothing. Sly then asked Slytunkhamen "Uh, Slytunkhamen, who exactly is that?" The latter replied, with a venomous leer "That, my distant descendant, is Pharaoh Ramses. The previous Pharaoh had disappeared and Ramses was next in line to inherit the position."
Sly took a good look at Pharaoh Ramses, before he inquired "How did the former Pharaoh disappear?" Slytunkhamen replied, as a big, cloaked individual went on the stage "I am not sure… though I have suspicions that Ramses was behind it, as well as the increased security presence, especially inside the Sphynx." Sly was surprised at that part and asked "Wait, how did you even get in the Sphynx without being detected?" Slytunkhamen then smirked and replied "I can turn invisible, remember?" Sly then made an awkward laugh and noted "Yeah, sorry… I forgot." Slytunkhamen made a soft chortle, before Sly turned his head back to the stage.
He then noticed the cloaked individual and asked "Hey, Slytunkhamen, who's that robed fellow uttering to Ramses?" Slytunkhamen then looked at the cloaked individual and replied in suspicion "No one knows, not even Ramses himself. If I have to guess, though, he's likely to be his advisor." Sly then peered at the cloaked advisor, who paused for a moment, before he bowed at Ramses before departing; Sly then made a sudden shiver and noted "Whoever it is, I don't have a good feeling about it." Slytunkhamen nodded in agreement, when a couple of drones suddenly spotted them on the pillar. They then said in a pre-recorded message "Hostiles detected… Offense mode activated… Units on high alert." As the drones revealed their small, yet potential tesla turrets, Sly then said to Slytunkhamen "Go."
They then jumped off the pillar and evaded drones and security guards alike; they then successfully evaded the drones and guards by hiding in empty barrels a couple of blocks from the Sphynx. They waited for 2 minutes, before they left the barrels and Sly said "That… was intense…" Slytunkhamen then replied "No doubt… The guards, not much of a problem; those things, however… how did they know where we are?" That was exactly on Sly's mind, but then thought on the Cloaked Advisor and noted "It's a long shot… but I think the Advisor had a feeling we were on the pillar overlooking him and Ramses." Slytunkhamen looked at Sly in astonishment, before the latter made a shrug. Slytunkhamen then said "Let's go to the safehouse… We need to think hard about this." Sly didn't argue about that logic, when his thought came to Bentley, Murray and, much to his pain, Carmelita.
He then followed Slytunkhamen into the desert for 45 minutes, before they came upon a ruin underneath a dune with the Cooper Insignia embedded on the sandstone door. Slytunkhamen then wielded his cane and tapped the door in a certain sequence: One tap, two taps, one tap, three taps, two taps. After he finished the sequence, the door opened upwards and both Sly and Slytunkhamen entered the Safehouse: It was a dimly lit ruin with a few lanterns lit, the walls were plastered with hand-drawn schematics of the interior of the Sphynx and the Giza Pyramid, there was 2 hammocks on the right corner of the room and the middle was a wooden table with a map of the area and, unless his eyes were deceiving him, the recently made Thievius Racconus.
Sly and his ancestor then sat on either end of the table and pondered on the sudden change of events. After almost an hour of brainstorming, Sly said finally "Here's what I'm thinking: Pharaoh Ramses and his Advisor had suddenly overthrown the previous Pharaoh and are forcing the slaves to move highly advanced tech inside the Sphynx in addition to finish building the Pyramid. In order to ensure there isn't any form of rebellion, they set up some Aerial Drones and Laser Grids so the slaves can't even fight back." Slytunkhamen then pondered deeply, before replying "Yeah… that's my read too. But what's their goal and how can we prevent it?" Sly then made a sigh and noted "I dunno… This is my first time brainstorming without Bentley." SLytunkhamen looked at Sly in sympathy, before he drummed his fingers on the wooden table for a possible solution.
He then asked his future descendant "Is there some way you can contact your friend? Any way at all?" Sly gave it a thought, before he realised he still has his Binocu-com; he then grabbed it out and turned it on, to see it has little battery level. Even still, he attempted contact and said "Bentley! Bentley, do you copy?" Sly paused, hoping for a response, before he said "Bentley! I ended up in Ancient Egypt! Hurry up, the situation is bad here!" The Binocu-com then went dead from using the last of its battery, before Sly made a sigh and said to Slytunkhamen "Let's hope against hope it reached him…" Slytunkhamen nodded worriedly at Sly, before they left the Safehouse to assess the Security Measures, unaware that their call has been answered.