As soon as he reached the bottom of his display, he shouted up urgently, and was answered with a raised shout of many voices and a rope unraveling itself as one end reached his feet. He quickly climbed, reaching the top and taking the outstretched hands of one of his soldiers, who helle d him over the slightly curved lip of the display. When he reached the top, he walked immediately over to one of the men, crested helmet glinting in the artificial light.
"Marcus," He said, gesturing for the man to follow when he looked up.
Marcus turned and scurried after his general, saluting quickly as he kept pace. Marcus, being a good friend and trusted ally for years, even for the general's historical counterpart, was his first choice of help in the situation he faced. Capable and wise, he could easily lead a party of men, as he had proven yet again by finding Larry, and would gladly help when asked.
"Has there been a change in tactics, Sir?" Marcus asked, following as Octavius carefully selected the men he should bring with him.
"We are leaving tonight," Octavius replied, not even turning to face the man that walked beside him.
"What has happened?"
"The man is planning on killing Jedediah in the morning if we do not give him the Tablet."
"What!?" Marcus exclaimed, whirling to face Octavius.
But the Roman general was not in worry mode. Inside, the worry and the fear was almost too much to bear, it in the face of the threat he had to remain strong. A good general pushes these feelings down and commands with confidence. Soldiers are only as confident as their leader. He had to lead these men.
Without replying to Marcus, Octavius continued searching, selecting five men total, whom he knew could do exactly what were told and what needed to be done,
"Right," He said, staring around at the six. "You have all heard by now what has happened, I pressure?" All the men nodded, as news had a way of traveling fast among his people. Good in times of war. "I have selected you specifically to come with myself, Larry and Ahkmenrah in order to find and save Jedediah, and also protect the Tablet. Before we leave, I wish to know if you will help me."
All the soldiers nodded determinedly, and then from the back of the small crowd, came a few voices shouting out their support, and Octavius saw three cowboys standing there, just as determined as the Romans in front of them. Apparently, the news had jumped the borders. With a quick nod, Octavius led the band of men to the edge of the exhibit, and one by one, they made their way down the rope, just as Larry and Ahkmenrah entered, the Egyptian holding his tablet, and Larry holding a shoebox.
"In," He said, getting it on the floor and taking the miniatures two at a time and lowering them inside. Octavius remained on the outside as Larry briefly explained the plan, and then climbed into the night guard's pocket, as he was crucial to the plan.
Quickly, without a moment to spare, Larry and Ahkmenrah ran as fast as they could possibly go into Larry's car, which he only brought in emergencies, and the night guard quickly set the gear into drive, telling Ahkmenrah to buckle up as he set the shoebox in between them, and handed Octavius to the pharaoh, who held him and the Tablet as carefully as if they were children.
As the car sped down the road, the anxiety in Octavius grew, and he found himself staring out the window, desperately seeking the address of the building, though they were at least an hour away, and with each passing moment he became more afraid. The brief phone conversation had alerted him to the fact that his friend and so little time left, probably less than the man had said, and the fact that he was suffering and in pain made it all the more important he reach him quickly, which was nearly impossible as the traffic was horrible. Larry looked at his watch.
"Larry, we will never reach them in time in this traffic!" Ahkmenrah said urgently, straining to see just how far the line of cars went.
"I know," Larry said, suddenly turning off the main street and intima deserted parking lot. "The building's just a few blocks away. We'll have to walk."
"But Larry, the people-"
"I know, Ahkmenrah. I told you not to wear that, didn't I? We can take the back way there."
Hurriedly, but sticking to the shadows as to not arouse suspicion from the people in their cars around them, they quickly made their way the few blocks, and stopped by a back door, Larry going around to check on the address, then returning with the information.
"This is it," He said, kneeling down and setting the shoebox on the ground. He turned on his flashlight so they had enough light to see by, then set down Octavius as the men came out. "There appears to be an entrance on the left side. It's a small hole that appears to lead into the central room. I would take you there myself, but Ahk and I can't wait any longer."
"It is alright, Larry," Octavius said, glancing at the men who stood patiently behind him. "We are ready."
Larry nodded, and then spoke as he went to stand. "Ahk and I'll keep him distracted. It's up to you to find Jed."
Octavius nodded solemnly, and turned with a quiet order to his men to follow as they left down to the tunnel entrance. Larry and Ahkmenrah waited a few moments to make sure they were at least in the walls, and then quickly made their way to the entrance. They exchanged a glance of Are you ready? before Larry raised his hand, and knocked.
As they stood there in the night air, the door creaked slightly and two beady eyes stared out at them. They were accompanied by a low chuckle, and then the door opened completely, and the same man who had been described to Larry stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter. Slowly, they entered.
"Are you ready to trade, Daley?" The man asked, a greedy smile on his face.
"Where's Jed?" Larry asked, purposefully coming to stand between Ahkmenrah and the man.
"After you give me that beautifully expensive slab of gold, you can have your cowboy. What's left of him."
Larry took a threatening step forwards, and then stopped when he heard a sharp, tiny intake of breath. He glanced down to the man's hand and saw with horror little Jedediah, limp and pale, the man's giant thumb pressed against his throat as he stared up at the night guard with pleading fear.
The man laughed. "I don't suggest threatening me, Larry. I could break his neck in half a second if I wanted to."
Larry narrowed his eyes, and his fists clenched at his sides as he stared angrily at the man. "Fine. Just don't hurt him."
The man, still smiling, led them into a small sitting room, and gestured for them to sit. The two did, and they watched as the man walked over to the window, and secured the tiny cowboy down to the sill with a piece of office tape. He then opened the curtains to reveal the starry night sky, and set a timer beside the scarred cowboy, counting down the minutes until sunrise. Larry smirked.
"The sun won't hurt him," Larry said, crossing his arms in victory.
"Yes, it can. Light hurts." The man said. When Larry showed a look of confusion, the man rose, and picked up a small handheld light, and raised it over Jedediah. He turned it on.
Almost immediately Jedediah cried out, and Larry resisted the urge to leap to his feet, gripping the cushions of the couch. Ahkmenrah stiffened beside him, and Larry sensed something was up. With the man distracted by his torturous game, he spoke.
"Ahkmenrah, what's wrong?" He asked, looking him the eyes. "I know that look. Something's not right, is it."
Ahkmenrah, clutching the Tablet tighter and tighter as the cries progressed, he closed his eyes and muttered something in Egyptian, his knuckles turning a pale white as he clutched his precious Tablet tighter.
"Ahkmenrah?"
"The spell," He whispered, opening his eyes but not meeting Larry's gaze. "It is wearing off."
"But I thought it worked for a while-" Larry began, only to be cut off by the pharaoh.
"It does, but with each exposure to light it wears off...and since he's been so far from the Tablet...the light, the artificial light, hurts him badly. And the light from the Sun can kill him. He will not turn to dust, but it will be too much for him to bear."
Larry nodded, and cast a swift glance at the man, who was still playing with the light to get his point across that he was serious. "Like sun stroke, kind of?" He questioned.
Ahkmenrah nodded. "Sort of, but in a more magical sense. Once the Sun's light reaches him, the magic meant to protect will become stronger, overpowering his fragile body and burning him alive. He will die from too much pain and exhaustion, or worse."
"Worse?" Larry asked, raising a worried eyebrow. The man was finishing his demonstration, and would soon have his focus on them again.
"The magic could be so strong, it could stop his heart."
The night guard took a sharp inhalation of breath, about to reply when the man took his seat in an old, raggedy recliner across from them, smiling with his hands folded in his lap. "You have about three hours," He said, still smiling. "So let's get down to business before we both loose something."