The safe and the chase

"Lady Narheda?" the young man's voice cut through the hubbub. "Daughter of Nihaya?" Narheda, who was helping Hikarete up, turned to face a man who could hardly be more than in his mid 20ies. He was slender and dark-skinned like the people of Harnendor, with his curly, jet-black hair done in small braids and tied back in a knot at the back of his head, and he was wearing a long, red cotton kaftan over black leather. He was pulling a likewise red quickpede as he came half-running across the rubble-covered asphalt.

"Yes, that's me," Narheda replied. At the same time did she note that Hikarete was bleeding upon her forehead.
"I'm... I'm Luwan," the young man staggered, catching his breath. "Luwan al Magni. Uh, that is son of Magni."
"And how may I help you?" she enquired, feeling her mind returning to Hikarete, and something to stop the bleeding with.
"It's... it's... the doc," Luwan went on, making very little sense.
"Who?" Narheda replied as she took her attention off the youth and started to rummage in her bag to retrieve a napkin for her friend. Finding what she was looking for, she handed it over to Hikarete, who received it thankfully. "What doc?" Narheda pressed on.

"Arlig al Derlor."
"Arlig? You mean the researcher in the building that exploded? Is he all...?"
"He told me, he told me," Luwan went on while reaching inside of his kaftan. "If anything should happen to him, I should give you this. It's a key. To a safe. In a bank." He was now holding out an envelope with a trembling hand, and for the first time did Narheda see that his eyes were wet. Yes, something had indeed happened to her newly made acquaintance, and Narheda shivered in spite of the warmth of the midmorning sun as an uncomfortable shiver ran down her spine.

With an almost reluctant hand she received the envelope and she could clearly feel the form of a small key through the thin, gray paper.
"Did he say which bank?" she asked, meeting the coal black eyes of Luwan. The latter nodded his head.
"Bank of Anfalas. Has its main office at 156 Anárion Boulevard. We can go there now if you want and..."

"No," she shook her head. "You don't have to come. I... He... what happened?"
"I don't know really," Luwan wetted his lips, he appeared as if he was struggling with a chock. "There was some... something he found which... he told us all to get out and then there was an explosion. And I and Getilla, we ran for our lives and... Getilla is another post-grad, she... we made it out, but... Arlig never came."

Biting her lip, Narheda kept listening to the young man's recollections about the now obvious arson in the lab.
"So there were two explosions?" Narheda could hear Hikarete ask from behind. "One early on and another later?"
"Yes," Luwan nodded his head. "They must have set... they must have been able to break into the building at night, setting up the time bombs. That should not be possible, the place should be closed down for all without the proper access."
"Shows we have appallingly resourceful badasses to deal with," Narheda said angrily. "Now, I will go to that bank and open up the safe, and I will take these matters in hand, make them public before anyone else get killed because of them."

"I'll come with you," Luwan said.
"No, you don't!"
"Yes I am," the young man insisted. "And that's not open for discussion, Arlig was my mentor and he has been like an older brother to me during those years. I want to do my part in assuring he didn't die in vain."
"Okay then," Narheda sighed. "But don't blame me when the going gets tough."
"Cross my heart, I won't," Luwan assured. "We better take a taxi down there, the maglev will take too long and is probably not safe should anyone intercept us."
"Valid point," Narheda said and then she made sure Hikarete was fine. The other woman nodded her head.

"Be careful, Nari!" she said, raising her left hand in a greeting while her right one remained pressed towards her forehead, holding the cloth over where the bleeding was finally dwindling down.
"You too," Narheda said. "And see a medic, will you! You might need some stitches done to that."

Five minutes later Luwan had parked and locked his quickped in a parking stand and then he followed Narheda when she walked out beneath the Marble Arcs again. She had spent less than an hour at the campus, a timespan which nevertheless felt like a life time. Once again her life had been derailed and just as she thought she was going to force it back on track again.

So now she was on her way to a bank to see what was hidden in one of its safes. Her sixth sense told her that it was among other things Dr. Arlig's research regarding the Elves. And she had ended up with a side kick, this Luwan the Harnendorite, and against her will had she to admit it felt a bit better having him there, no matter that she had no desire to pull him into this mess. However he behaved as if he was already in it, and perhaps that was true. Perhaps he too was eager to pull the veil off the truth of the lost specie.

Luwan stepped out from the sidewalk and into the street when a bright orange vehicle came advancing towards them, snaking around the construction site where the orc slaves kept on digging as if nothing around them mattered. TAXI red the large, ornate letters painted to the sides of the car. When Luwan wolf-whistled at the vehicle it pulled to the side and came to a halt in front of him and the older woman.
"Where to?" asked the driver as he pushed out his elderly face through the side window and Narheda gave him the address to the bank and they were welcome to hop inside.

Both Narheda and Luwan chose the back seat, since they had things to ask each other and the vehicle filtered into the traffic and began making its way down towards central Sarmaltar. Narheda started off small-talking, asking the younger man about his studying, how long he had been at it and where he originally came from.

"Troshal, Harnendor," he confirmed her guesses. "I'm here on a scholarship. Sponsored by a governmental fund. The idea is that I'm to return to Harnendor as a medic or a professor, but I have come to feel more and more that I would like to stay here in Gondor. This is kind of more like my place if you know what I mean. The people here are much more open-minded and generous in mind and in thought than back home. And here it's not so much about being born in the right family and knowing people in high places as it is about being an earnestly hard working and clever guy."

"I know very little about your country," Narheda had to admit, as the traffic light switched to blue and the traffic began moving again. The car turned right and they came out on the broad and tree-lined Eshanasar Avenue. Now the glittering azure river Anduin became visible and in the hazy distance one could spot the mighty Argonaths, the statues which had stood since the dawn of Gondor, and which were said to picture two ancient, these days nameless kings. However the origin of the statues was questioned, including how they could have been built, without the help of modern technology. Some people claimed that they had to have been raised using magic, adding to the fuel of this centuries old debate regarding the existence of magic.

One of the kings had lost his once outstretched arm in an earthquake back in 3698 and the second statue was without his head, which had been blown to pieces in an act of terror performed by Mordorian separatists at the end of the last century. Nevertheless the statues made up for a breathtaking sight and just as every other time Narheda saw them, they filled her with an odd kind of pride and a sense of belonging. A belonging that sung in her blood and harked back millennia, back to the time when her ancestors had fought for the safety of this land. As such the Argonaths were a symbol not only for Sarmaltar but for the whole Gondor itself.

Suddenly, the taxi received a violent shunt from behind, shaking Narheda out of her ponderings. The vehicle slewed sharply to the left and slammed into a quickpede, its rider screamed and disappeared from view. Frantically the driver turned the wheel and the tyres screamed, but the car was hit again, jolting them forward. Now the taxi mounted the pavement and began to slow down, their chaffeur yelling out profanities regarding the other driver's ancestry and private parts while he was gesticulating wildly.

Narheda craned her neck and caught sight of the car which had hit them as it pulled up alongside with their vehicle, it was a green and red Meara with one single curved tail fin. Now, the rear window was opening and a rifle was beginning to home in and she felt her eyes widen with fright, but she thought quickly and grabbed Luwan's caftan, pulling him to the floor. Becoming aware of the danger, their driver braked and the other car sped past, a hail of bullets smashed through the side windows exiting through the rear.

The sound was that of shattering glass and tearing metal as more bullets hit the front door and raked down the bonnet. Then came a second impact from the rear, but not a sudden jolt as before, this was a prolonged push. There was another car out there to get them! Narheda couldn't believe this was happening. What beehive had she really trampled into?

Now the taxi driver gave a muted cry and slumped over the wheel, as the back end of his pale yellow tunic began to turn bright red. Understanding their driver was dead, Narheda was leaning over and she tried with all her might to pull his heavy frame away from the wheel, to reach for it, but another salvo of gunfire smashed into the bonnet and then the driver. Cursing out loud, the archeologist ducked down behind the seat while bullets thudded into the upholstery. She could hear Luwan screaming in his own language from the floor, where he was half-sitting curled up and with arms and hands protecting his head.

The now out of control taxi swerved and hit the safety chain between the files, the pressure from the car behind was constant and in an instant the chain burst apart, the links pinged and zinged in all directions and the front wheel dropped over the edge. A car coming against them on the other side was blowing its horn prolonged and angrily.

Narheda sat up and reached for the driver again and began to push his body away from the wheel. For an instant she grabbed the steering wheel and turned it away from the edge and the taxi began to come around. But the roar of the engine from the car behind alerted her that their attackers had accelerated and engaged again. The steering wheel spun out of Narheda's grip and for a moment the taxi teetered on the edge, cut across the opposite going files to the sounds of blaring horns of the meeting traffic and then with an abrupt change in direction it plummeted right down into the Anduin.

When the vehicle hit the water, Narheda and Luwan were thrown back on to the rear seat, pieces of glass tore at their clothing and their skin. The taxi began a lazy roll and the river water poured in through the shattered windows. The water was freezing and the shock galvanized them both into action. They tried the doors but there was no give, the taxi sank like a rock altering its trajectory as the nose dropped. The dead driver took the force of the water and his body began to slide over the front seat. Now the water was up to their shoulders and they began taking deep breaths. When the water was at their chins they took one last look around and gulped in one final breath of air. Within seconds they were submerged.

Trying the door handle again, Narheda found that it wouldn't move and she began to feel the despair, the pressure of the water had sealed the doors closed. The light was fading as they sank down in the boundless green water and dreadfully they began looking around for a way to escape. Together they realized there was only one way out, Narheda could just make out the blurred form of Luwan's upwards pointing index finger. Quickly the couple struggled out through the destroyed rear window, the corpse of the driver floated grotesquely after them, its hand touched Narheda's leg and she almost screamed into the cold silent nightmare.

The momentum was still forcing them down, sucking at their tired bodies. Narheda kicked hard and felt how her foot knocked against the boot of the taxi and she steadied herself and swam for all her worth, aiming for the surface. Pieces of broken glass were bouncing off her and her lungs were bursting, air was seeping from her nose and mouth in a cascade of bubbles. Out of the corner of her eyes she could make out the dark form of Luwan as he too was fighting to reach the surface.

Knowing there was only seconds of air left in her reserves, she pushed on. If Luwan was in the same condition as her, he too would be taking in water very soon and she knew time had run out. However she could see that there was light above them, a glittering mercury surface - they were nearly there. If only she could hold on. Kicking again she realized that the power was gone from her legs. They were so close to the surface, so close to leaving this nightmare but she felt as if she was carrying lead around her ankles, that she had been fighting this for eons.

Then, with a flourish they broke the surface, trough teary eyes beholding the ragged stone of the quay. Narheda became aware of people shouting, then suddenly in front of her there were hands reaching down and pulling them from the water and after scraping over the side, they were finally on terra firma. Excited people were crowded all around, someone was trying to help her stand but her strength was all but gone and she felt herself sink to the knees, spitting sea water from the river as she did. And somewhere she could hear the easily recognizeable sound of sirens as the emergency vehicles were closing in.

"By Middle Earth, Narheda," she was hearing the Harnendorite next to her, he was coughing and vomiting as well. And she knew that nonetheless that they were safe for now, those who were after them would soon be back to try to finish what they had started.