by Rai Aren
Nearly out of breath and choking as they swallowed water, while trying to keep their heads above water as they dragged the heavy object along with them, they finally reached the site where Jack and Bob were anxiously waiting.
“We thought you’d never get back,” Jack said, giving Alex a hand out of the water.
Bob reached down and grabbed the duffel bag, lifting the heavy bag out of the water. “Yeah, we were worried sick. Your air would have run out nearly half an hour ago. We didn’t know what to do. We thought something happened to you.” He gave Mitch a hand up.
Mitch and Alex didn’t answer. They were coughing and trying to catch their breath. They had inhaled a lot of water on the swim back.
Bob and Jack helped them out of their tanks and gear.
“Talk to us, guys,” Bob said.
Alex suddenly turned to her side and threw up.
Jack grabbed some water for her and waited for her to stop retching.
Mitch felt sick, too, but being the physically stronger of the two, he hadn’t swallowed as much water.
Finally Alex stopped throwing up, but she was shivering uncontrollably.
“Alex, are you ok?” Mitch asked.
Her chattering teeth were her only response.
Jack handed her the bottle of water. Her hand shook badly as she took it from him.
“Let’s get her into the van and warmed up,” Mitch said.
Bob nodded, and he and Mitch lifted her up and carried her to the van.
Jack started the engine, and grabbed some towels. They got her out of the wetsuit, put some warm dry clothes on her, and wrapped her up in towels. Mitch rubbed her arms, while Jack and Bob each rubbed one of her legs. She looked very pale.
After a few minutes, her shivering began to calm. “Thanks, guys,” she said, her voice cracking. She took some water. “That was a little harder than I anticipated.” She tried to muster a smile. “I think I need to work out more.”
They all laughed, relieved their friend was coming around.
Mitch filled them in on what had happened. “I can’t believe we found the lighthouse. I wish we could spend lots more time out here, exploring. Another time perhaps…”
“We need to go,” Alex said.
“Maybe we should get you medical attention,” Mitch said, still worried about her.
“No, I’ll be ok,” she said shaking her head. “I just need rest. We should get a move on.”
“You’re sure?” Mitch asked.
“Yes, we need to make contact with Maximilian, help Khadesh and Khamir.” She pulled the towels tighter around her.
“Okay, then, back we go,” Mitch said. “Bob would you mind driving this time? I’m exhausted.”
“You bet,” he replied.
“Thanks, man. We need to drop the scuba gear off first. We don’t need to give anyone else a reason to be looking for us.”
yyyyy
They drove through the night and finally made it back to Khamir’s house in Cairo by early morning. It was still dark outside so they quickly unloaded everything out of the van before anyone awoke and noticed them.
After devouring some pastries Jack and Bob immediately passed out.
Something was puzzling Alex though, so before she turned in to get some rest she turned on Khamir’s computer.
“What are you doing?” Mitch asked as he walked by. “You should get some rest. You gave us quite a scare out there tonight.”
“I will. I just wanted to look something up first,” she said as she typed some words into the search engine. Up popped a familiar picture.
“Hey,” Mitch said, pointing to the monitor, “that looks just like the creature we saw underwater.”
“It is,” she said, staring at the image. “An angel shark.”
“Well, I’ll be,” he whispered.
“Mitch, I had the strangest feeling when it swam around us. I think it was showing us where the Pharom was.”
They looked at one another, then back at the image of the angel shark, both speechless.
Chapter 40
Connections
“IT’S past the time. When is Maximilian going to call?” Jack asked as he paced back and forth. “He said we had seventy-two hours to retrieve the Pharom and that he was going to call us on this cellphone he gave us.”
It had been four hours since they got back from Alexandria. They had immediately set to packing their bags, stuffing their new Egyptian clothing, headscarves, and sunglasses into their carry-on bags. They weren’t sure if they’d be able to fly out of Egypt, once this was all wrapped up, or if they’d even be able to return home anytime soon. However, they knew they’d be leaving to meet up with Maximilian soon and didn’t count on being able to return to Khamir’s house. They were fully prepared to go on the run afterwards, if necessary.
After packing they had let Alex rest and try to sleep and recover more in one of the guest rooms. They had taken seats in the living room, near the cellphone. Nodding off occasionally, they were too nervous and wired to fully relax, as exhausted as they all felt.
“Don’t worry, Jack, Maximilian will call,” Mitch reassured him. “I don’t think he’s the kind of person to miss deadlines.”
He got up and peered through the window curtains. It was almost eight o’clock in the morning, as the morning sun cast a bright fiery streak across the sky. The morning seemed unusually quiet or maybe it was just his nerves and mind playing tricks on him.
They heard a door open, and turned around to look.
Alex was up and dressed. “The sunrise woke me. It’s bright out there.”
“Good morning,” Mitch said, happy to see her up and about. “How do you feel?”
“Better, thanks,” she said as she walked into the living room where they all sat around.
“Coffee?” Jack asked. “I made it. It’s not as good as yours, but it’s drinkable.”
“Love some,” she smiled. She looked tired and a little haggard from the evening’s activities.
Jack poured her cup. She sat down on the sofa, wrapping a woven blanket around herself. “No word yet, I gather?”
“Nope,” Bob replied.
She gripped her cup tight. She was very worried about Khadesh and Khamir. She wanted to see them again, and know that they were ok. The last few days felt like a dream, events were beginning to blur.
“We’ve been so focused on finding the Pharom,” Mitch said, “that we haven’t really considered what we’re going to do once we give it to Maximilian. Thoughts anyone?”
“There’s something wrong with Maximilian’s cellphone.” Jack tapped the phone several times and held it high in the air. “The signal is kind of wonky. We keep losing it.”
“Give it to me. I’ll take a look at it,” Bob said.
“Mitch, I know we went to all of this trouble to get it, but we can’t give him the Pharom,” Alex said.
“I know,” Mitch said somberly.
“We’re going to have to think of something.”
Suddenly, the cellphone rang, but it was a broken, choppy ring. The four friends jumped, startled. They looked at the phone. The electronic bars on it showing its reception were going up and down wildly.
“Show time,” Jack said.
Bob, frowning at the phone’s strange behavior, hesitantly turned on the speakerphone.
“Hello?” Mitch answered.
No response, only static.
“Maximilian?” he asked. There was a lot of static, but this time a faint voice could be heard. “Hello? I can’t understand you.”
There was a sudden high-pitched whine, then connection was lost.
“What the hell was that?” Jack asked.
Bob shook his head.
“What
’s wrong with the phone?” Mitch asked.
“I’m not sure, but there seems to be some interference with the signal, or maybe a technical malfunction,” Bob said as he examined the cellphone. “That was really weird.”
“He’ll probably call again,” Alex offered. “At least, I hope so.”
The cellphone rang again. The ring was still choppy. Bob pressed the button to answer the phone. The reception was still full of static. Staccato beeps could be heard through the line. A muffled voice was heard, but the sound was badly garbled.
“Hello?” Alex asked. “We can’t hear you. We have a bad connection.”
They waited for an answer. More static.
“Hello?” Mitch asked. “Can you call us back?”
He was answered only by the same sudden high-pitched whine. The phone went dead.
“What’s happening?” Mitch asked.
Bob felt a sudden sense of panic. “Oh no,” he whispered.
“What?” Alex asked. “What is it?”
“Oh crap,” Bob said, “I think the call was traced. The static reception, the spotty signal, I think Maximilian had the phone traced.”
“That means…” Jack started to say.
“We have to get out of here. Now!” Bob exclaimed. He threw the phone on the floor and repeatedly smashed it with the heel of his shoe. It shattered into pieces.
In a total panic they grabbed their bags. Mitch grabbed the Pharom, which was still inside the wet, soggy duffel bag. The foursome rushed out of the house.
Suddenly, police cars sped around the corner. Their lights were flashing, but the sirens were off. They had hoped to catch their targets by surprise.
“Down the alley!” Mitch directed.
They ran.
Two armored vehicles drove into the neighborhood. The back doors swung open. Paramilitary police in body armor and carrying semi-automatic machine guns rushed out. Several police cars were moving into position to setup a perimeter around the block.
The four friends ran as fast as they could, occasionally looking back over their shoulders.
“They’re barricading the area. We’ll be safe if we can get to the open market and get lost in the crowd,” Mitch said. The rising sun did not offer them much concealment. They needed to be among the crowd, but the market was still several blocks away.
A police car pulled in front of them and screeched to a stop. The officers looked in their direction. One officer shouted in Arabic into his radio.
“Halt!” the officers shouted, getting out of the car. Their weapons were drawn.
“In here!” Bob said, as he squared his shoulder and charged into a door leading into a large four story, rundown apartment building. The rusted hinges holding the old, flimsy lock broke away from the doorframe. Bob held the door open and waved everybody through. “Hurry!”
Mitch now took the lead. They raced up the stairs. Mitch took the stairs two and three at a time, in spite of the weight of the Pharom on his back. The others struggled to keep up. The Egyptian police were hot on their tails. Hearing the commotion, residents of the building opened their doors to see what was happening, but immediately shut and locked their doors closed when they realized the police were in the building. Mitch and his friends raced up two flights of stairs and into the dim and dingy main hallway of the third floor.
Down below, the voice of one of the police officers could be heard yelling frantically into his radio. The officer shouted something in Arabic. He repeated himself several times.
“Mitch! Do you know where you’re going?” Alex wheezed, as he led them down an adjoining hallway, then turned right again into another hallway.
“No!”
“Mitch, I need to stop,” Bob said huffing.
He ignored his friend’s pleas. He was trying to open doors. All were locked. He kept trying. He reached the apartment second from the end. He tried the door. It opened. “Hello?” he asked. No answer. He stepped inside. He peered around. It was empty, save for a threadbare curtain partially covering a window, and an empty packing box in the center of the room. “In here!” he said, motioning them inside.
“Are you crazy?” Alex asked, “What if someone comes home and finds us?”
“It’s empty, hurry up!”
They did. Mitch locked the door behind them.
They all stood still as statues, save for Bob, who was hunched over, hands on his knees, wheezing.
While the group caught their breath, Mitch tiptoed to the window, set the heavy duffel bag down, and peered out. Down below he saw two police officers gesturing wildly and heading to a parked cruiser. They were shaking their radios.
“Interesting…” he said.
“What? What is it?” Jack asked.
Bob slumped down on the floor, still winded.
“I think their radios aren’t working” Mitch said, still looking down at the street.
“Really?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, that’s what it looks like,” he said.
She thought for a moment, and glanced at the duffel bag. “The Pharom?” she ventured.
“I wonder,” Mitch said. “I think that’s why they’re not up here pounding on every door in the building. If their radios aren’t working, they can’t communicate with each other and that poses a significant risk to their safety. They could walk straight into a trap, and not be able to alert anyone. They’re probably trying to figure out what’s going on.”
“If that’s so, it gives us a significant advantage,” Alex said. She walked up behind Mitch and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough the cops were yelling and gesturing excitedly. One even threw his radio down on the ground. The other cop repeatedly shook his radio. She bit her lip. “We should get out of here, while they’re in the midst of the confusion and their attention is occupied.”
“Can’t we rest for a bit?” Bob asked, sweat pouring down his face and back.
Mitch shook his head. He watched as the two policemen got in the car, and pulled away. He looked in the opposite direction of the police cruiser. “No, we need to go, now. They just left, but I don’t know if they’re staying close by. The market’s only a few blocks away. I can see it from here.”
“And there’s a fire escape outside this window,” Alex said, looking down. “We need to hurry, though. Before they come back…with friends.”
“Guys,” Jack said, “let’s change into our Egyptian clothing first, put sunglasses on, and wrap our heads in the scarves. It’ll help us stand out less.”
