[Five Years Later]
Maggie collapsed on her bed, muddy and exhausted. She'd just got back to her apartment in New York after a long and tiresome trip to Colombia to research "La Tunda", the ancient legend about a vampire-like demon who was said to obtain its powers from a large powerful stone called the blood ruby. Her trip had taken much longer than expected, when she came across trouble in a small village on the Atrato River. Maggie was looking for the last known location of the stone, and was trying to find the city known as La Ciudad Perdida. As she searched for the ancient city, which had been lost for centuries, she came across some villagers who didn't exactly take to outsiders.
The villagers accused Maggie of trying to steal the power of La Tunda for herself, and she'd spent the last 3 weeks playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse, which included poison arrows and toxic gas bombs. She'd caught a lucky break one day, when she slipped into a natural well after hiding from some village scouts. Despite falling down a 30 foot hole, Maggie was able to escape after she found a narrow underground stream just wide enough for her to crawl through. After dragging her sorry ass for hours through muddy water, Maggie had emerged in a vast cave and it was here that Maggie found the stone.
Unfortunately it didn't get easier for Maggie after that. She still had to find her way out of the cave which took her over a day, and once she'd escaped the caves, she found herself lost in part of the Colombian rainforest with a broken compass and a half sodden map, which looked as though it could disintegrate with one touch. Thankfully, Maggie was not afraid of a challenge, and the years of camping and survivalist activities she had undertaken with her Grandmother meant she was adept at coping in these kinds of circumstances. Using the sun as her guide, Maggie spent the next three days navigating her way expertly through the wilderness, until she finally heard the hubub of a local town and welcomed the busy streets, which were overflowing with cars and people.
Maggie had spent a night here, and slept at the small, overcrowded airport whilst she waited for her flight the next morning. Once in the sky, Maggie slept peacefully for the first time in days, blissfully ignoring the grumbles of people around her as her smell wafted around the plane.
Maggie woke up, dazed and confused. Her hands gripped her light purple bed sheets as she lay sprawled on her bed, looking around at her familiar surroundings. She was home. Maggie groaned as she sat up, her body aching in parts she hadn't previously known. As Maggie studied her large airy bedroom, she noticed mud splatters on opposite walls, from where she had flung her boots in exhaustion.
"Great." Maggie muttered to herself. She eased herself gently from the bed, and peeled herself out of her clothes, which were still muddy and slightly damp. She tossed her clothes in her washing basket, and grabbed a towel out of the cupboard. Maggie trudged across the hall to her bathroom, her muscles burning with every step. She turned on the shower and examined at her reflection while she waited for the water to warm. Mud covered every exposed bit of skin, and dried blood clung to Maggie's hair and forehead from where she had fallen down the well. Maggie examined the numerous cuts and scrapes she had acquired on her trip; she smiled as she counted. Thirteen, two less than last time. She was getting better.
Maggie climbed into the shower as steam filled the bathroom. She stood under the water for a moment, enjoying the hot water running over her, washing away the mud and relaxing her muscles. As she massaged shampoo into her hair, Maggie recounted the trip in her mind. It was only supposed to be a research trip but, as always, things didn't go exactly as planned. Maggie smiled as she thought about her boss at the Museum where she worked, and what he'd say when she showed him the fruits of her labours.
Mick Flannagan was a miserable old man with a kind heart. He didn't like to admit it, ever, but he had a soft spot for Maggie and always worried about her when she was away. He saw her as the daughter he never had, but he treated her like she nothing but a nuisance. A thorn in his side that he couldn't get rid of. Maggie smiled when she recalled the conversation they'd had before she'd left.
"Listen to me, girl," Mick had growled, a cigar hanging from his mouth as he'd scowled at Maggie. "Where you're going to is a dangerous place. Full of dangerous people, who'd kill you as soon as they look at you. Don't you go getting yourself into trouble, you hear me? I don't want to go through the hassle of all that bloody paperwork because you went and did something stupid like get yourself shot!"
"Relax, Mick!" Maggie smirked, "Last time, I only broke my shoulder. No bullet wounds or nothing!"
"Just don't go sneaking into any places you shouldn't, got it? This is a research trip ONLY! You find out what you need to, and you get your sorry ass back here in two weeks! I don't want to get a phone call from the American-bloody-Embassy telling me you've been arrested!"
Maggie laughed to herself as she switched off the shower. She knew Mick wouldn't be happy with her, she was a week later than she should have been. "But," Maggie smiled to herself, "At least you've got a nice little present to make up for it!" She knew her miserable boss/mentor would grumble for a few days, but would soon be telling everybody about the latest treasure his "greatest prodigy" had returned for him.
Maggie wrapped herself in a towel, and walked refreshed back to her room. She sighed as she stripped the bed sheets and added them to the pile of washing mounting in the basket, and walked over to her dresser to run a brush through her towel dried hair. After her long brown hair had been tamed into a fishtail plait, Maggie began working on her makeup. She was applying the last strokes of mascara to her long sweeping eyelashes, when a picture caught her eye. It was of her Graduation ceremony, and tucked in the corner of the frame was a small, crumpled picture of Evelyn. Maggie smiled sadly as she gazed at the pictures.
After Evelyn's funeral, Maggie moved to Columbia University and left her old life behind. She threw herself into her studies, never revealing her past to her college friends and peers. Even when they asked why she never left for the holidays, Maggie would just smile and change the subject. Maggie changed from an angry, fearful girl into a calm and serene young woman. She behaved exactly as her Grandmother had done, never revealing her true feelings, always polite, but firm and strong. Her knowledge and ambition were her greatest assets, and while she was popular with her like-minded classmates, she chose to have very few friends. Maggie graduated top of her class from Columbia University two years ago, and was instantly offered a job at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. There she came under the wing of Mick, who had hired her based on the recommendation of Professor Simon Hewitt, the man who had interviewed her, and became one of her favourite teachers.
Maggie had worked at the Museum for the last two years, and loved it. Mick didn't like to travel, so he was more than happy to hand off all long distance trips to Maggie who, of course, was thrilled. She could travel all over the world, and preferred working on her own anyway. Mick had learned very early on that Maggie wasn't a team player; when she first started at the museum she would often sneak into exploration sites on her own, and used her natural talents to find more than one priceless artifact for the Museum, much to the annoyance of her colleagues who often said that she was "stealing their thunder". Numerous arguments broke out in Mick's office, and eventually Mick decided it was less of a headache to give Maggie her own projects to work on. The first couple of assignments he'd given, Mick had insisted that Maggie take at least one other person with her, but after the first one didn't even come back after his first day, and the next one came back with several broken bones and tried to sue the Museum, Mick quickly gave up on that hope too.
Still, Maggie had proved that she was worth all the headaches she had given Mick, as it was not very often she returned home empty handed. She had even started to build her own collection of treasures, things that the Museum didn't want, and sometimes Maggie was able to sell things to private collectors who often paid well over price, earning Maggie a tidy little side income.
A thunderous knock at Maggie's door interrupted her thoughts. Quickly pulling on some faded denim jeans and a dark grey vest top, Maggie hurried to answer.
"Hold your horses, I'm coming!" Maggie yelled, annoyed at the intrusion. She opened the door and jumped back in surprise, as her best friend Tom came rushing into her apartment looking annoyed and flustered. He was a tall, skinny man in his early twenties, with messy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was a doctor, who had been Maggie's roommate when she first left Columbia, and they'd hit it off straight away. They had shared an apartment for just over a year, until Tom met his girlfriend and had moved out. There had never been anything romantic between the two friends; Tom had always been more of a brother to Maggie, and always looked out for her and treated her injuries when she needed it. He didn't much like adventure though, and would often chastise Maggie for going off on her own. He and Mick shared the same attitude when it came to Maggie's work, and he was often in contact with Mick when Maggie was away, checking for any news.
"Where the hell have you been, Maggie?!" Tom yelled, grabbing Maggie's shoulders and holding her away from him, checking her for any injuries. "I've been worried sick about you, you were supposed to be back a week ago!"
"Calm down, Tom!" Maggie replied impatiently, shrugging off his grip and moving to the large, open kitchen. "I'm fine, I just got back this morning!"
"Well, why didn't you let me know you were safe? Anything could have happened!" Tom asked, noticing the cut on Maggie's forehead. Maggie yelped as Tom grabbed her chin, pulling her closer to him so he could inspect her wound. He pulled her over to the table, and sat down opposite Maggie so he could examine her better.
"You know, they didn't exactly have phones in the rainforest, Tom" Maggie retorted sarcastically, as Tom began rooting through his bag, grabbing some gauze and antisceptic wash. Maggie winced as Tom began treating the cut, bathing it gently, before allowing it to dry naturally as he pulled a needle and thread from his bag.
"Keep still," he warned Maggie, as he began stitching. "You're lucky it's not too deep, this could have been nasty." Tom murmered quietly as he concentrated, "What happened?"
"I fell down a well" Maggie replied sheepishly, whilst Tom rolled his eyes. "I got into a bit of trouble with some locals. But it turned out fine!" she added hastily as she saw Tom's eyes flash in anger as he finished his handiwork.
"You really are hopeless, Maggie" he said, packing away his things. "I've lost count of how many times I've told you not to go on these trips alone. Mick and I were ready to go looking for you, you've never been this late before!"
"I know," Maggie sighed, feeling bad for worrying her friend. "I'm sorry"
Tom smiled, pulling Maggie in for a deep, welcoming hug. "Well at least you're safe, that's the main thing. And the good news is, you're not too late!"
"Too late for what?" Maggie asked, sitting back to question her friend.
"Didn't you see my note?" Tom asked and Maggie should her head. Tom sighed and went to the fridge, grabbing a scrap of paper from the door. He handed it to Maggie as he sat back down. "I've been coming here every day for the last week," Tom explained. "Mick said he's got another job for you, he wanted you to go see him as soon as you got back."
Maggie studied the note as she replied, "Another job? Already? What is it?"
"Like I know!" Tom laughed, "You're the treasure hunter, not me! But I suggest you get down to the Museum, quickly. Mick was saying he would need to get somebody else to do it if you didn't come back soon. I think this is something big!"
"Shit!" Maggie cried, jumping to her feet. "I need to go!" She ran around her apartment, grabbing her her jacket from where it had been dropped on the floor and scouting around for her clean boots. She finally located both boots and hurried to put them on as she hopped towards the front door, Tom laughing as he followed.
"Shut up," Maggie growled, before stopping suddenly in the doorway. "Wait, how did you get into my apartment?" She asked, turning to face her friend.
"You let me in?" Tom replied, smirking.
"Thomas," Maggie warned. "You know what I mean. How did you get in to leave me the note?"
"Well obviously, I still have my key!" he laughed, dangling his keys in front of Maggie. Maggie scowled, and tried to snatch the keys from her friend, but he was too quick. "Oh, come on!" Tom smiled as he held the keys out of Maggie's reach, "Don't you think it's best if I hang on to these? We never know when I'm gonna need to break in to save you!"
Maggie huffed, as she shoved Tom through her door and followed him, locking the door behind her. Secretly, she agreed with him, but she was never going to let him know that.
"Come on," Maggie chuckled, hurrying to catch up with her friend, "Let's see what treasure is waiting for me this time!"