Master of Thieves
Chapter 8: Topography 101
Terry shut his eyes tight so he wouldn't be blinded by the blurring streaks of light as he travelled back to the time of Ancient Egypt. He was just wondering on how long it takes to travel between milleniums, when he suddenly felt a hot dry wind blowing from behind. He then slowly peeked his left eye, before opening the other as he realised he's looking at the expansive desert with no signs of an oasis. His right ear then twitched instinctively and turned his head, before turning fully around to see he's close to a nearly finished Giza Pyramid and Sphynx, muttering under his breath "This… is astonishing…"
His Binocu-com then suddenly vibrated in his bag and grabbed it out, before hearing Bentley's voice on the transceiver. He heard him say "Terry? Terry, do you copy?" Terry then replied into the earpiece "10-4, Bentley. I hear you without fault." He then heard a sigh of relief in the receiver, which he supposed Bentley is relieved that the Time Warp Prototype works. He then asked "What about the power usage in the Time Warp? How much is there left?" Terry reached into his pocket and checked the Holo-Screen on the Time Warp, to see it still has 83% of battery left; he then replied to Bentley "Approximately 83% left… unsure if it was on full battery prior to using it, but still."
Terry heard Bentley hum in thought softly, when he noticed something circling the Sphynx's head. He then used the Binocu-com and zoomed in to the Sphynx's head, seeing that it still had its nose still intact. Bentley then said "Is that the Sphynx with its nose still intact?" Terry replied "Yup… But to be honest, I liked it better WITHOUT the nose. Anyway, it's not the Sphynx that caught my attention… it's what circling it." He then noticed the aerial object circling the Sphynx's head and realised it was a Sentry Drone, with what looks like an insignia imprinted on it.
Feeling that Sly's situation is worse than anticipated, Terry climbed up the nearby dune and spied through the Binocu-com, to see the slaves being forced by the Jackal guards to shifting Hi-Tech equipment into the Sphynx itself. Terry then said through the Binocu-com "Uh Bentley? Please tell me you're seeing this." Bentley then replied "Yeah, I am… The situation is worse than anticipated. Just find Sly first, he'll likely to have more intel on what's happening." Terry felt concern about the slaves and asked "What about the slaves? I can't just leave them to such harsh treatment…" Bentley then replied "I'll think of something, just find Sly!" Terry then noted in relent "Jeez, alright! No need for impatience, man…"
He then looked at the rows of tents and inquired "Hmm… Is there any piece of equipment for Topography Mapping?" There was almost a minute of silence from the receiver, when Bentley replied "Actually, yeah, there is. It's embedded in the Binocu-com; just throw it high into the air and it'll develop a detailed overhead map of the area." Terry noted as he checked the top of his Binocu-com "I'm guessing it's a miniature drone used for making snapshots overhead, which then reverts the resulting captures into a detailed overhead layout of the area?" There was some moments of silence, before Bentley replied "Yes… That's a highly accurate description you delivered. As far as members of the Cooper Gang, your level of understanding is not something to joke about."
Terry shook his head neutrally, before he threw the Miniature Scout Drone high in the air; he then peered closer into the air and sees a small, black dot halt in mid-air, making a blink each 5 seconds. Murray then said through the receiver "Wow! You've got a really good arm; were you a favourite pitcher in school?" Terry replied as he puts his hands in his pockets "Not really… I was just throwing rocks at empty cans on the picket fence back at home since first grade. Funny how time flies, considering…" Terry didn't get a response verbally through the receiver, which he assumed that Murray nodded with his lips pursed in interest.
He then noticed the Miniature Scout Drone levelling down towards him, which he held his hands out and it landed on them. He then inserted the drone into the Binocu-com and got a detailed Topographic Map of the Area, including the Giza Pyramid and Sphynx. Terry took a good look at the map and noticed a trail heading out close to the top-right corner of the area map. He then turned off the Binocu-com and said "I think I have an idea where Sly is… I'd better not run along ropes tethered along the tents, so I have less chance of being detected by the Aerial Sentry Drones." Carmelita then responded through the receiver "Good luck Terry… Be vigilant." Terry nodded, before he sneaked between the large amount of tents; due to careful assessment of the map, Terry went from one end of the map to the other in mere minutes.
His right ear then twitched and he turned his head to a large tent, which he supposed where the Pharaoh plans with his inner circle. He doesn't hear any voices inside or movement, so he went inside the large tent to see just a wooden table with a small pile of papers facing the entryway. Out of interest, he looked through the papers with various orders on it, when he turned to the last page and saw something that widened his eyes in shock. He then heard voices coming from behind outside and understood them almost instantaneously as the Pharaoh and his inner circle; he then turned the pages back to normal position, before realising he has no way of exit except through the entry way. His eyes widened as the Pharaoh opened up the tent, having a light hearted conversation with his cloaked Advisor, before they entered the tent. To his astonishment, they didn't notice him in the tent already, so the Pharaoh conversed with his Advisor.
The former said to his Advisor "I'll admit, I was rather sceptical with this plan and the unusually high-end equipment. But I'm surprised that we managed to overthrow the previous Pharaoh with a scarce amount of trouble." The cloaked advisor then replied, in a deep, malice voice that chilled Terry's spine "Trust me, my liege, your predecessor was a weak fool. With your awe-inspiring amount of boldness, your very own empire will be within your grasp. It's only an amount of time before the last of the equipment will be encased inside the Sphynx." Although he was chilled by the voice, Terry leered venomously at the Advisor, feeling that he's the true mastermind here.
The Pharaoh then noted "I'm glad you took a shine to help me rise into leadership, but I'm still puzzled as to why it was me who became a pharaoh and not you…" The advisor shook his head and replied "It was only due to my lack of leadership… You were aspiring to be the Pharaoh, so you have much more chances to be one instead of me." The Pharaoh nodded at his advisor, before he checked the table and asked "By the way, about this plan… how likely is it to fail, theoretically?" The advisor twiddled his thumbs, which were scaled, before replying "Well, if I had to say… if at least the equipment inside the Sphynx itself were sabotaged, the likelihood of success will be severely reduced. Don't fret though… I've personally made sure no one can interfere with my plan." Terry raised his brow, when the Pharaoh corrected his advisor "OUR plan." The Advisor then replied "Yes, of course. My apologies, your highness." The Pharaoh brushed it off, before he and his advisor left the tent, completely unaware that they were overheard.
Terry then thought to himself "So the equipment inside the Sphynx is part of a plan to ensure that the Pharaoh will dominate his enemies? I'd better find Sly quick… Though I'm still puzzled as to why neither of them noticed—" Terry then glanced down and was surprised to see his feet weren't in view; on a hunch, he raised his hands to look at them and realised they weren't visible, finishing in his mind "Me." Terry's hands then suddenly appeared before him, before he looked at his body in astonishment. The realisation suddenly dawned on him as he thought "I… can turn… invisible? How? How is that even possible?!" He looked at his hands, gripping them tight, before he looked at the report and thought "I'd better scan the pages… I'm sure Bentley can come up with a solution."
Terry then scanned each paper into his Binocu-com, before sending them to Bentley's Binocu-com. Bentley then contacted Terry and said in surprise "Terry! What you've sent me… It's astonishingly horrible! If they managed to succeed, the Pharaoh will surely dominate the entire region without fail! You must find Sly now, I'll figure out how to ruin this plan." Terry nodded, before he thought to himself "The Topography Map indicates a trail not far from here… I wonder…" He then perked his right ear near the Tent's entrance to ensure there isn't any passing guards or overhead Sentry Drones, before he went out of the tent and went to the trail, unaware that he's been noticed by someone else.