Disclaimer: To own it or not to own it? Ooops, I don't. Indy and co. belong to Lucas/Spielberg.

Indiana Jones and the Shadow of Death

IV

Pausing only to hastily fix his fedora to his head, Indy licked his lips and crammed the folded note into his pocket. The makings of a plan congealed in the archaeologist's mind as his tingling fingers turned the doorknob. Nothing became concrete thought; the young Jones had faint and flitting ideas, clouded by an imminent feeling of helplessness. He concentrated, brought an image of Marion to mind, tried to remember everything about her, anything that could give him a clue. Indy's other hand rested for a moment on the outside of his jacket, directly over the place in his pocket where he had stuffed the note. Beneath the rough and weathered leather was the only tangible link between him and Marion, the only thing he had to go on. . .

The door swung open. Indy stopped short, jolted back to reality.

"Hello, Indy," said an equally surprised Marcus Brody, whose hand was suspended in midair, poised to knock. He lowered it casually and stuck it in his pocket. "Going somewhere, I see?" Marcus added, noting his friend's impatient stance. He raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Yeah. Sorry, Marcus, I don't really have time." Indy's eyes slid swiftly to the staircase, and then back to his unexpected - although not unwelcome - visitor.

The older man was a long-time friend of both Indy and his father, and had gone on many a prolonged expedition with the Joneses. All this time had taught Marcus exactly what he needed to know about his friends - in fact, just about everything there was. He barely had to look at Indy to sense that something was amiss, it was merely in the particulars that his knowledge was lacking. Marcus was overcome by a slightly confused frown. "Is something wrong?"

"You could say that." The archaeologist, inwardly as confused as Marcus was outwardly, absentmindedly patted his pocket. He stepped entirely out of the apartment and closed the door. Indy refused to admit that the choking sensation welling up inside of him meant that he was worried. No, he told himself, I'm not worried. I'm concerned. The archaeologist had always been the one to get everyone else out of a jam. Now, something small - and for all he knew, relatively commonplace - had gotten him all shaken up. None of his in-a-pinch heroics could solve this dilemma, and that unnerved him. Indy swallowed and clenched his jaw. Hiding it was useless; no matter how he tried, Indy knew Marcus would know. They were too close for hiding behind façades.

The troubled Jones sighed. "I'm worried something has happened to Marion-" He stopped, bit his words off. Damnit, I'm not worried. He ridiculed himself for the slip. "She left without saying anything about it, and even though she left me a note, I can't shake the suspicion." Marcus gave him a bit of a 'girls will be girls' look for reassurance, but could see that Indy begged to differ. Marcus called to mind that Indy had once left Marion, without even so much as a note. If this was some sort of revenge on her part, at least she had done him that courtesy. "It might be nothing, but I need to be sure. Her leaving was just so. . . abrupt."

Indy's urgency and uneasiness was becoming contagious, and Marcus had to fight it off with the effort of rationalization, for both their sakes. "You're sure she's said absolutely nothing?" He paused. "Mind if I read the note?"

"No, go ahead."

Marcus sidled next to Indy as his friend withdrew the dogeared paper from his jacket. The older man's eyes scanned the page, his brow furrowed slightly by the time he finished. "Did you call the airport?"

Indy shook his head. "Phone's not hooked up yet. Besides, I was planning on going down there." He sighed and replaced the note, staring resignedly at the wall for a moment. "But if that doesn't turn up anything, I don't know what I'll do next."

Marcus followed his friend slowly across the landing to the top of the stairs. Indy started to descend but stopped two steps down, when he felt his friend hesitate behind him. "I realize that I don't know Marion half so well as you do-" Marcus began, and Indy shot an ironic, although knowing look back at him which implied that even Indy might not know her half as well as he thought. "-and I don't know how much help I would be, but I'd like to go with you. The company might help you to relax a little, and there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about anyway."

Indy stared at the wall in front of him, didn't turn around. "Sure, Marcus. Thanks." He continued easily down toward the lobby with Marcus close behind.