Master of Thieves
Chapter 11: Stealth in the Sphynx
Bentley explained that he needs more reconnaissance photos, but the catch is that they must be taken in the Sphynx, where the hi-tech equipment is being stored. After a few minutes of discussing, it was decided that Terry will venture into the Sphynx, due to his Thief Rush ability and quick mastery of the Invisibility skill. Although security inside will be tight, Terry knew that it's important to get more information. So he nodded at his cousin and Slytunkhamen, before he headed off to the Sphynx; on the way there, he noticed Ramses and his advisor heading to the same direction, so he turned invisible and followed them from behind.
He then heard their conversation and picked up Ramses saying to his advisor "…in the Sphynx, the hi-tech equipment isn't a priority?" The advisor then replied "My apologies, your highness. But I can assure you, what I put in aside from the hi-tech equipment, is one-of-a-kind. No warrior, no matter how skilled, won't destroy it, assuming they managed to get past ALL of the defences." Terry looked unnerved at the discussion, but it doesn't change his primary goal, so he followed Ramses and his advisor into the Sphynx, fortunate that he wasn't detected yet.
After following them down a flight of sandstone stairs, Terry is amazed at how spacious the inside of the Sphynx really is, when Ramses asked his advisor "I must pardon my scepticism, but what is the high-priority object you mentioned?" The Advisor then pointed out to the massive Anubis statue at the main chamber at the end of the hallway, which intrigued both Ramses and Terry, although the latter also felt unease at it. Having a notion it's not ideal to enter the main chamber where the Anubis statue is, Terry looked around for a crack to peek in; fortunately, there was a thin, yet noticeable crack concealed by a pile of wooden crates.
Checking over his shoulders to make sure no guards are coming, he quietly shifted a crate and peeked through the crack to see Ramses and The Advisor looking at the Anubis Statue. He then overheard them discussing, with Ramses inquiring "This statue of Anubis is really detailed, but how is it of the highest priority?" The Advisor wheeled Ramses to the wall and shouted "Bring in the slave!" A small hole from the wall suddenly slid open and a steel cage rose up, holding a scrawny, male lizard slave inside.
It then swung open by itself, which Terry supposed it must've been done electronically, before the lizard slave stumbled out of the cage and fell weakly onto the ground. The Advisor then snapped his scaly fingers, which the Anubis statue's eyes glowed amber, before looking around the room. When it detected the slave, it's gaze turned red and, although the crack wasn't big enough to show what happened, it swiftly swatted the slave into the sandstone wall, killing him instantly. Terry was horrified to witness what transpired, when he saw Ramses and The Advisor left the opposing room through a hidden door.
Terry took what he saw a bit to process, before he grabbed the Binocu-Com and took photos of the security leading to the main chamber, before using the cam cord to slip through the crack and took a photo of the Anubis Statue and where he saw the Hidden Door, before retracting the cam cord and sending the photos to Bentley's and Sly's Binocu-coms.
He then contacted them via conference call and asked "Alright guys, what do you think of the defences?" It took a few moments, before Bentley replied "The cameras, motion sensors and laser grids are easy enough to disable; though I'm still sceptical of the Anubis Statue…" Sly then replied "I dunno Bentley… The Anubis Statue feels like some déjà vu… remember, back in Prague, you warned me on the attack robot posed as a water tower, but I was sceptical about it? This feels like that, but inversed."
Terry recalled through reading a Geology Textbook back in high school that Prague is often under lightning storms, so he noted to the guys "Well, unlike what happened in Prague, I'm having a clairvoyant feeling that the only way out of the main chamber is through the Anubis Statue; fat chance of using electricity though, that statue is protected in smooth marble." There was some moments of silence, before Bentley replied "I see your point… Get back to the safehouse for now, we really need to think this through." Terry nodded, before he snuck back out the entrance and went back to the safehouse, having a feeling that, somehow, it won't be just the Anubis Statue he'll have to fight.