Chapter 3: Bargaining

"Bookworm?" William answered in annoyance.

"Well, I-I'm just a local sort of missionary chap," Jonathan said, leading his brother forward with him. "Spreading the good word and all that." Jonathan yanked the younger Carnahan forward. "But this is by brother Will."

"How do you do?" William said politely, still gawking at the woman like a scared child.

Now he understood why Jonathan was so terrified. It was unheard of for women to act and dress like men or even carry guns on their persons. Also, the way the woman was looking at him made him feel like he was on display for a feast.

The brunette woman merely raised a bro at him as if she knew what he was thinking. "Yeah, well, I guess he's not a total loss," she said.

William's eyes went wide before he looked at her defiantly, taking a step forward. "I beg your pardon?"

People started shouting in Arabic, getting the warden's attention to also yell. "I'll be back in a moment," he mumbled before walking where the shouting was coming from.

"Ask her about the box," Jonathan urged his brother quietly.

William glanced at his sibling with a discouraged frown, then looked back at the prisoner. "We have found..." he began, seeing that her attention was now elsewhere. That was rude. "Hello, excuse me?" he barked. The woman glared up at the librarian, making him gulp. "We both found your...your puzzle box and we've come to ask you about it."

The woman shook her head. "No."

"No?" William asked, his hope on this being easy deflating by the second.

"No," the woman repeated, looking bored now. "You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

Jonathan urged the woman to keep her voice down but William's interest suddenly peaked. "How do you know that the box pertains to Hamunaptra?" the librarian asked with a surprised smirk.

The prisoner rolled her eyes. "Because that's where I was when I found it. I was there," she replied.

Jonathan leaned down as William blinked a few times, trying to process what the woman just said. "But how do we know that's not a load of pig's swallow?" the sneaky man asked.

The female brunette leaned back a little, a look of suspicion on her face as she pointed at Jonathan. "You know, do I know you?"

"No, no, no, no," Jonathan laughed nervously. "I've just got one of those faces."

A look of recognition appeared on the woman's face and in a flash, Jonathan was punched. "Casbah!" she shouted as Jonathan hit the ground. William gulped as the guards hit her, making her hiss and cringe in pain. "Bastards," she growled.

William stared down at his brother who was trying to crawl the pain away. The librarian honestly couldn't feel much pity for his brother and shook his head as he stepped over Jonathan and got closer to the woman.

"You were actually at Hamunaptra?" William asked with refound enthusiasm.

The woman smiled up at him brightly. "Yeah, I was there."

"You swear?"

"Every damn day."

"No, I didn't mean that-"

"I know what you meant. I was there. Seti's place. City of the Dead," she emphasized with a waving of her chained hands.

"Could you tell me how to get there?" William asked excitedly. The woman raised her eyebrows at him, as if questioning what he was asking. Will leaned closer as more yelling ensure behind him. "I mean, the exact location."

"You want to know?"

"Well, well yes," William smiled as he inched closer.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

The woman raised her hand and motioned for William to come closer, and he innocently obliged. The next thing he knew, she was yanking his head in and kissing him. It only lasted two seconds before she pulled back, flaring into his eyes angrily. "Then get me the hell outta here!"

The guards came up behind her and started hitting her. William backed up as the woman began to fight back against the guards, knocking ab elbow blow to one guards back. William's eyes widened at the savage looking woman.

"Do it, man!" she shouted at him, the guards finally overpowering her and dragging her back inside.

"Where are they taking her?" William asked.

"To be hanged," the warden answered as Jonathan managed to get up. "Apparently she had a very good time."

Jonathan and William looked at each other in fear before chasing after the warden. "Sir, I must protest to this! She is a woman! She cannot be hanged!" the librarian argued.

"The matter of one's sex does not matter here," the warden explained as he went up some stairs.

"Well what could she have possibly done to deserve a hanging?"

The warden laughed. "She's a deserter. I execute deserters for a fee of fifty pounds to save the French Foreign Legion the trouble of doing it themselves."

"The FFL?" Jonathan asked. "A woman served in their military?"

"That would explain a lot about her, wouldn't it," William surmised before rushing in front of the Warden. "The Legion has no presence in Egypt," he reminded the man. "How about I pay you fifty pounds to let the woman go?"

The warden guffawed before walking past William to his personal viewing box. "No."

William walked in after him, sitting down next to him as the prisoner was being brought up to the hangman's stage, the spectators shouting and the guards protecting the platform. "Seventy five pounds."

"No," the warden repeated.

"I will pay you one hundred pounds to save this woman's life!" William argued desperately.

"Sir, I would pay one hundred pounds just to see her hang."

"Two. Two hundred pounds!"

"Proceed!" the warden announced loudly.

"Three hundred pounds!"

The hangman tightened the knot around the woman's neck and William stared, trying to think of what he could possibly offer the warden in exchange for her life. Perhaps more money?

The warden suddenly yelled in Arabic at the hangman, his arm thrown out. "Of course we don't let him go!"

The hangman smacked the back of the woman's head as she rolled her eyes. "Five hundred pounds!" William blurted out.

The warden held out his hand to pause the hanging, looking at William. "And what else?" he asked.

The librarian's eyes darted around, trying to think of what else he could come up with. "Think, William, think!" he thought to himself.

Before he could come up with something, the warden shouted in Arabic to hang the woman. William stood from his chair. "No!" he yelled as the woman dropped through the platform, her body jerking as she hung at the end of the rope. William gasped as he heard her gasping for breath.

This made the warden laugh. "Her neck did not break!" he shouted, making the prisoners get rambunctious. He looked back at William. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Now we must watch her strangle to death."

William but his lip, trying to think of what to do. She was turning red in the face. He had to do something. "She knows the location to Hamunaptra," William confessed quickly.

The warden scowled at William. "You lied."

The librarian growled, glaring at the warden. "I would never!"

"Are you telling me the s filthy, godless daughter of a pig knows where to find the City of the Dead?"

"Yes!"

"Truly?"

"Yes! And if you cut him down, we will give you..." Mr. Carnahan briefly looked at the woman being strangled before looking back at the warden. "Ten percent."

"Fifty percent."

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Thirty!"

"Twenty-five!"

"Ah! Deal!" William smiled happily.

The warden grabbed his face as he realized his mistake, screamed a little and yelled, "cut her down!"

A guard cut the rope and the woman fell to the ground. William stood up slowly, a smug expression on his face as he looked down upon the coughing but obviously humbled deserter. He chuckled and looked at the warden. "Pleasure doing business with you, sir," he said before leaving the viewing room.

"You better have that money," the warden warned before following him.