Notes: Jack and Gwen explore Khufu Pyramid and Jack's flirting fails to impress.
Chapter 11
They put their holdalls in the back of the Toyota Rava hire car and pulled out of the car park. Gwen started up her tablet PC and checked the messages. She glanced over at Jack briefly.
"Good night was it?" she asked him with a coy smile.
He flashed her his perfect smile. "Yeah, won £200 at Blackjack. How could I lose a game with the name Jack in it?"
"And afterwards?" she enquired, trying to tease the information out of him.
"Gwen O'Toole. I will have you know I am no 'kiss-and-tell'," he told her.
"Ah, no good in the sack then," she grinned.
That got him into gossip mode. "No, actually it was fantastic," he said with a grin.
She reached over and squeezed his arm. "That's so sweet. I'm glad you had a good time."
Jack drove down El-Orouba, heading west towards Cairo city centre. They turned onto a road simply called 6 October Bridge and then 15 May Bridge which crossed over the Nile. They were soon on the outskirts of the city driving along the Ring Road.
Gwen noticed that on their left was a teeming Metropolis, and on their right was reclaimed desert that had been turned into agricultural land. It wasn't until they turned onto the Cairo - Alexandria Desert Road, that they actually saw some desert.
Oh, and the amazing Pyramids of Giza.
They parked the car and kitted themselves with their utility belts and backpacks before walking over to find Naguib El Mallakh, Research Fellow at Cairo University, who was waiting for them outside the Robbers' Tunnel of Khufu Pyramid.
"Good morning, you must be the Torchwood agents," Naguib said. Jack and Gwen sensed that he wasn't too happy about them being there and exploring his magnificent edifice.
Jack switched on his winning smile. "Hi, I'm Jack Harkness, Deputy Director of Torchwood One, London. This is my field partner, Gwen O'Toole."
His charm offensive failed. "I presume you have authorisation and permits to explore the interior of the pyramid?" Naguib asked.
Jack kept his smile on. "Of course we do." He reached an envelope out of his great coat pocket and pulled out the paperwork.
Naguib sat down and started to scrutinise the paperwork in what seemed to be a deliberate attempt to delay their mission. Jack winked at Gwen and sat down next to him and put a friendly hand on Naguib's knee.
"Naguib. Now I understand all about paperwork. Like I said, I'm Deputy Director. But this paperwork was raised by your government, and as far as we're concerned its bona fide," Jack said slapping Nagiub's knee.
Naguib was getting decidedly uncomfortable with Jack's attention to his knee.
"It may be bona fide Mr. Harkness. However, I have to ensure that this site of antiquity is protected from improper use."
"I'm afraid it's a bit late for that Mr. El Mallakh. Some agency has already infiltrated this ancient monument and placed an oscillator somewhere inside that is destroying the Earth."
This started to rattle Naguib, who was very protective of this pyramid. Jack and Gwen could tell that the conversation had gone as far as it could.
"Y'know Naguib, some people are larks. Early risers, bright eyed and bushy tailed. And some people are Owls, better in the evenings and at night. I get the feeling that we've gotten you out of bed too early. What do you think Gwen?"
"Definitely an owl," she agreed.
"I'd get a bit more shut eye if I were you my friend." There was a quiet 'buzzing' sound and Naguib El Mallakh, Research Fellow at Cairo University, fell unconscious and Jack lay him down on the stone steps. He put his stun gun back in its holster.
They took out their headlamps, switched them on and started their scanners. Climbing into the tunnel, the scanner displayed the layout of the pyramid interior.
"Right, we go down here for 27 metres and turn left before reaching the Ascending Passage. The Doc says that the oscillator will be in the centre, which will be near the Queen's Chamber."
Crouching in the metre high tunnel, they set off, trying to make up some time.
"I've noticed that you always call John 'The Doc'," Gwen commented. "Why is that?"
Jack gave a laugh. "We go back a long way. I knew him before he split in two. I've never known him as John, he's always been 'The Doctor' to me."
"Doctor who?" she asked as they reached the left turn.
"Yeah, good question isn't it?" They carried on until they entered the Ascending Passage.
"Okay. 39 metres up here takes us to the Horizontal Passage which leads to the Queen's Chamber," Jack said.
There were wooden handrails on the metre wide walls, and wooden slats in the floor to give purchase for their boots. At the start of the Grand Gallery, they found the Horizontal Passage leading to the Queen's Chamber.
Again, this passage was a metre tall which was murder on their leg muscles. By the time they had reached the end of the Horizontal Passage and the level of the floor dropped, allowing them to stand up, their legs were burning and trembling.
The Queen's Chamber was exactly halfway between the north and south faces of the pyramid and measured just over five metres square. It had a pointed roof with an apex six metres above the floor. At the eastern end of the chamber there was a niche nearly five metres high.
"Well, here we are then," Gwen said as she started scanning the chamber.
"Yeah. There must be another chamber somewhere the Archaeologists don't know about."
They wandered around the chamber and both came to the Niche facing each other. they looked up from their displays and grinned at each other.
"It's got to be hasn't it?" Gwen said.
"Certainly looks that way," Jack grinned.
They turned their heads and looked into the Niche, which looked a bit like an open chimney with a square hole cut into it a metre off the floor. Gwen climbed up into the hole and crawled along, scanning as she went. Jack got down on his hands and knees and scanned around the opening.
"Anything?" Jack called to her.
"No. I'm coming out."
They stood looking at the 'chimney', contemplating their next move.
"Here, climb up on my shoulders and scan up there Gwen," he said stooping down so that she could put her bum on the back of his neck.
He held onto her legs and slowly stood up. Gwen giggled and steadied herself on the stonework.
"Now this reminds me of a time with Marie Antoinette on her hen night before she married Louis-Auguste," Jack said with a laugh. "It was hilarious under that voluminous skirt."
"Alpha One to Despatch. Inductance coil in position and ready to proceed. Over," they heard John say into their headsets.
Gwen started scanning the stones as she was listening to him.
"Did they have hen nights in those days?" she asked with a hint of scepticism.
"Well they didn't call them hen nights of course, but they used to have a maiden party before they tied the knot."
"Oh, hang on a tick. Brace yourself, I'm going to push the top stone in."
"Delta One to Despatch. Inductance coil in position and ready to proceed. Over," they heard Julia report.
There was a grinding sound as the top stone moved into the wall, followed by the one underneath, and the one under that. Eventually, the stones stopped moving and a set of stone steps went up into the ceiling.
Gwen climbed up onto the steps and crawled into the opening. She turned around, braced herself and held her hand down for Jack. He pulled himself up and they ascended the short steps into a hidden chamber that was suffused with a red light.
In the middle of the chamber, which would be over the apex of the roof below, was a pedestal with a blood red ruby on it. Jack took off his backpack and crouched down at the base of the pedestal. He took out the inductance coil and fastened it around the pedestal. He held his scanner and reported in.
"Beta One to Despatch. Sorry for the delay. Inductance coil in position and ready to proceed. Over."
"Despatch to all teams, activate induction coils on my mark, in three…. two…. one…. mark."
Jack flicked the switch and the blood red light dimmed and went out. He checked the readings and saw that the energy was being diverted from the crystal.
"Alpha One confirms power diverted from crystal," they heard John report.
"Delta One confirms power diverted. Over." Julia reported.
Jack checked the scanner and confirmed that the inductance coil was working.
"Beta One confirms power diverted. Over." Jack reported into his headset.
"Despatch to all teams remove crystals on my mark, in three…. two…. one…. mark."
Gwen lifted the dead ruby off the plinth, holding her breath as she did so. She let a long breath out slowly and admired the magnificent gemstone.
"Who'd have thought that something so beautiful could cause so much trouble?" Gwen said.
"Hah! You could say the same about me," Jack said with a laugh.
Gwen rolled her eyes and laughed with him. "Come on you, let's wrap this up and get out of here."
Jack put the ruby in his backpack, and they made their way to the narrow steps. They climbed down, dropped into the Queen's Chamber, and looked up at the Niche.
"I wonder how we get the stones back to their original positions?" Gwen asked.
"Well, who ever put the ruby in there must have put them back when they came out. Hmmm. If you pushed the top stone in to open it, maybe we could pull the bottom stone down," Jack theorised.
He jumped up and hung on the lowest block that formed the first step. Jerking his legs, he felt the stone start to tip. There was a sound of grinding stone as he let go and dropped back to the floor. The lower stone went back to its original position, and one by one the stones above slid forward.
"There we are then, good as new…. or should I say old."
The went back into the Horizontal Passage and then crouched their way along to the Grand Gallery. They stopped and stretched briefly, having the time now to look around and appreciate the skill of the ancient builders.
Looking up at the large Gallery, they heard Pete Davies on Despatch.
"Attention Alpha and Beta teams. Your status is now red. Repeat, your status is now red. Delta team has come under fire. Take preventative measures and use extreme caution."
"Beta One confirms message received and understood. Over," Jack said, looking over at Gwen. "I thought this was too easy."
"They must have someone watching the pyramids," Gwen said. "I wonder if Naguib was here to try and prevent us from getting the ruby?"
They looked at each other knowingly, then took out their weapons and readied them for firing.
After rubbing their legs they carried on again through the low ceilinged Ascending Passage, and then into the Robber's Tunnel. They could see early morning daylight at the end of the tunnel, which was a welcome sight after the brooding darkness of the ancient mausoleum.
Now it's fair to say that the brooding darkness of an ancient mausoleum was probably more welcoming than the sight that met their eyes when they emerged from the pyramid. There were multiple clicks from automatic weapons that were pointing right at them.
Along the road called Al Haram, there were a number of police cars with blue flashing lights, an ambulance, and officers on camels. They were the Tourism and Antiquities Police, and they were looking decidedly unfriendly.
They could see Naguib El Mallakh sitting on the side step of the ambulance, being checked over by paramedics. He was looking at them accusingly. Jack and Gwen looked at each other and raised their hands.
"What's all this about then?" Jack asked, smiling at the men wearing black uniforms and berets.
"You are under arrest on suspicion of assault, and interfering with an ancient monument," the sergeant said, as officers move around and relieved them of their weapons.
"Assault?" Gwen asked incredulously as they had their wrist handcuffed behind them.
The sergeant nodded towards the ambulance. "Mr. El Mallakh has made an accusation that you rendered him unconscious so as to enter the pyramid and interfere with the archaeology."
"But we showed him the authorisation and permits, issued by YOUR government on behalf of the United Nations," Jack stated.
"Then you have nothing to worry about. We will sort this out at the station."
"Beta One to Despatch. Beta team taken into police custody. Requesting diplomatic assistance. Over."
"Roger that Beta One, I'll get Director Tyler on to it immediately."
Jack and Gwen were led across the dusty ground to separate vehicles and put into the back seats, before being driven away to the police station in Cairo.
"Hello Jack," Rex said as he came into the interview room with the interviewing officer.
"Hi Rex. Good to see you again. How's Gwen, have you seen her?"
"She's fine. She's in a room across the corridor giving a statement. Lieutenant Khater is here to take your statement."
The man in the same black uniform, sat at the table with a folder of papers and took out a pen.
"This is just a formality Jack," Rex told him. "Your Director is very well connected."
"Yeah, it's handy being a personal friend of the President," Jack said with a grin. "Before we start Lieutenant, you'll need to put an armed guard on our equipment. There is something we have that someone is prepared to kill for. Our team in Mexico has already come under fire and taken casualties."
"Don't worry Jack, I'll go and see to it while you give your statement," Rex offered.
"Thanks Rex. Be careful, these people seem to be well connected as well." Rex nodded at him before leaving the room, and Jack started to give his statement.
Jack was getting to the part where Naguib El Mallakh was being obstructive, when the building was rocked by an explosion and the sound of gunfire. Jack and the Lieutenant stood immediately and looked at each other.
"GWEN!?" Jack shouted.
"JACK!?" he heard her call back.
He looked at Lieutenant Khater. "You need to take us to our equipment now or a lot of people are going to die today."
He could see the Lieutenant considering the options before nodding, drawing his sidearm and heading for the door. They met Gwen and an armed female officer coming out of a room opposite.
"Terrorists?" the female officer asked Khater.
"Aliens!" Jack said. "Which way?"
"This way," Khater said, leading them down the corridor.
At a corner, Khater quickly looked around the corner and dodged back. "One man with a machine gun," he whispered.
"Here, let me." Jack snatched Khater's pistol and moved to the corner. He dived into the corridor, firing as he flew through the air.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
The gunman dropped back against the wall and slid to the ground, leaving a red smear down the wall.
Jack ran forward and picked up the SA80 assault rifle. He threw the pistol back to Khater before checking around the next corner. He beckoned them to follow him to the reception area where the bomb had detonated.
These people need first aid," Jack said to Khater as he looked at the scene of destruction. "Give Gwen a gun and we'll secure our gear."
The Lieutenant nodded at his female colleague, who handed her pistol to Gwen.
"The Evidence Locker is along that corridor and left at the junction," Khater told him. "Be careful. And please, get the bastards who did this."
Jack nodded and he and Gwen set off down the corridor to the junction at the end. As they looked around the corner, three gunmen came out of the Evidence Locker room, carrying their backpacks.
"FREEZE!" Gwen yelled at them.
TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!
Needless to say, they didn't freeze. Instead they shot at them.
Jack and Gwen returned fire and hit one of the attackers, who fell in the corridor. The other two leapt back into the Equipment Locker.
They ran down to the door where Gwen picked up an assault rifle. Police officers came running around the corner. Jack raised his hand to stop them. This was now a Torchwood operation and he was in command.
"Throw down your weapons and come out with your hands up," Jack told them.
There was a burst of gunfire through the door.
"I'll take that as a no then," he said.
A bad-ass looking officer wearing body armour came down the corridor carrying a gas mask and a CSF grenade. He grinned at Jack and Gwen as he pulled the pin and threw it through the door.
There was another burst of gunfire while he put on the mask. Jack and Gwen backed away as they felt the gas stinging their eyes. The policeman pumped the shotgun he was holding and ran into the room.
TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!
BOOM! [pump] TAP-TAP! BOOM! [pump] BOOM!
The corridor went silent. Gas drifted out of the doorway and swirled around the ceiling. The bad-ass policeman loomed out of the fog of gas with his shotgun held over his shoulder. He peeled off his gas mask as he walked past.
"You might want to switch on the extractor fans before you go in there," he said with a gravelly voice as he walked away.
