by Clay, Verna
Chapter 5: Ultimatum
Rainey’s mouth felt like cotton, her head ached, and the contents of her stomach threatened to erupt like a volcano. Underneath all the discomfort, however, she had a nagging sense of something not being right. Impressions gradually stuck together like a jigsaw puzzle: a black SUV, their Hummer careening around a corner, Roth rolling from the car, whiskey burning her throat, Roth carrying her upstairs and Roth’s lips on hers. Her eyes shot open. "Oh, no…no…no." Surely it had been a nightmare.
She rolled her eyes around the room. Her clothes lay on a chair. She touched her body and heaved a sigh of relief when she felt her camisole and slip.
A bold knock sounded at her door. She moaned and huddled further under the covers. The door opened and Roth entered.
"Good morning, Sunshine; time to get up."
Rainey tried to speak, but only an unintelligible croak came out.
Roth stood over her holding a glass. "Here, drink this. You’ll feel better."
"What…is it?" she rasped.
"It's my own special concoction—doesn’t taste too bad." He set the drink on the nightstand and began gently pulling her up, squishing pillows under her head and shoulders
"Ouch. My head is splitting."
"Trust me. You’ll feel better after you drink this."
"How do I know you’re not trying to poison me?" Her attempt at a joke fell flat.
"Maybe because I possibly saved your life yesterday."
"You’re no fun."
Roth held the drink to her lips and forced her to sip the nasty brew.
"That’s disgusting!"
"Yeah? Well, have another sip." He held the drink to her mouth again."
"Please, take it away," she begged after a big gulp.
Roth set the drink on her nightstand and sat at the foot of her bed, watching her.
Rainey closed her eyes and willed her stomach not to explode. After a few minutes, he asked, "Feeling better?"
On the brink of dozing, his question brought her back to reality. She shifted under the covers and felt the sheet slip to her waist. Quickly pulling it back up, she realized that, indeed, she did feel better. She opened her eyes and blinked.
"I thought so," he said.
"You can leave now."
"First, we have things to discuss."
"What could we possibly have to talk about? You’re the hero; the man of the hour. Everyone’s in love with you. I do thank you for what you did? Now, can we go on with our lives?"
"Oh, we’re going to go on…just not in the same way."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Do you remember I told you it was time for a vacation?"
"No way!" Rainey jammed her hands on either side of her head to stop the ripple of pain her shout had released.
"Yep. It’s all set. We depart tonight. You only need to pack one suitcase of casual clothing. We’re leaving at seven." Roth stood.
Rainey sat straight up and the sheet fell away again. She said, "Absolutely not! I am not leaving. I have my work to finish. You and my father are not going to bulldoze me into leaving. I refuse-"
"I’ll be back at seven, Rainey."
Rainey jumped out of the bed as Roth opened the door. "I am not leaving," she shouted.
* * *
Roth secured his backpack in preparation for their trip. He longed for the cover of night so he could shift and release his pent-up frustration. He would run the forest as a gazelle and then climb the rocks as a mountain lion. He would soar into the wind… He sighed. The woman was a royal pain-in-the-ass.
Damn, but he wished he hadn't lost his tail on the SUV. He'd followed it to downtown Portland, but when the vehicle had driven into an underground parking garage, he'd been forced to dive from his high elevation and change into a smaller, but slower bird. By the time he'd flown into the garage, the car had disappeared. After searching row after row of vehicles, it became clear that the SUV had escaped through another exit.
His written report of the incident had played on the belief that he'd shot out the tires of the tailing vehicle. People tended to believe what they imagined. Although he'd gotten the license plate number, a search had tracked it to a wrecked vehicle in a junkyard. Further investigation was pending.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding Rainey's safety, Roth had felt compelled to offer a plan to Hank. It had taken some persuasion, but he'd finally convinced him that Rainey needed to be transported far away. Not only because someone was following her, but because she had reached an impasse in her research. She needed a change, and her staff needed a break from her. Hell, he needed a break from her!
Finally, after convincing her father to allow for her relocation, he'd then had to convince him of the destination. It hadn’t been easy, but reasoning finally put Hank on the same page as Roth. She needed to be in a place that would allow her to absorb new ideas. She was stuck in a paradigm. She also needed a place that would challenge her not only mentally, but physically. Physical challenge would help release some of her anger at being forced from her work and home. More importantly, however, the location Roth had selected would be the last place expected by would-be kidnappers. Being a pampered heiress, it stood to reason her nemesis would expect her to be under lock and key in a fortress.
Roth grinned. He was taking Rainey to the cradle of civilization, a place of challenge: Egypt. And only the two of them were going.
* * *
Rainey stormed into her father’s study.
"Hello, Rainey. I’ve been expecting you. How do you feel?"
"I am not leaving, Father. You cannot make me and he cannot make me!"
"It’s nice to see you too, daughter."
"Don’t try to change the subject. I am not leaving my lab."
"Your lab has been shut down."
"What! You wouldn’t dare. We’re on the verge of a breakthrough that humanity has never seen. Closing the lab would be unconscionable. What about-"
"The lab is closed, Rainey. Your staff is on extended paid leave."
"He did this, didn’t he! I’ll never forgive you, Father." She stormed from the room.
At precisely seven that evening, Roth knocked on her door. When she didn’t answer, he used his key. She sat stoically in her chair; an immovable force. Roth glanced around the room.
"Where’s your suitcase?"
"I am not going."
"I thought you’d be stubborn. But, not to worry, we can always buy what you need. Now Rainey, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It’s your choice. I can carry you downstairs, or you can walk there and keep your dignity."
"You cannot make me."
"That’s where you’re dead wrong. And speaking of dead, if you don’t change your modes operandi, you may become just that."
Roth approached her with determination evident in every step. When she refused to acknowledge him, he reached down and lifted her bodily over his shoulder. On his way out the door, he grabbed her purse.
Rainey squealed and beat his back with her fists. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, her father, the household staff, and the guards had rushed to watch her theatrics. In her upside down position, she looked at her father’s anguished face and repeated what she had told him earlier, "I’ll never forgive you!"
Her father mouthed the words, "I love you, Rainey," and handed a briefcase to Johnson. Johnson rushed to the terrace doors, flung them open, and followed Roth to a helicopter, its blades rotating slowly. Roth handed Rainey to one of the pilots, grabbed the briefcase from Johnson, and clapped him on the back in a farewell gesture before jumping into the cabin. The door shut, the blades picked up speed, and the copter slowly rose into a darkening sky.
Fastened into her seat belt by Roth as the copter rose, she said, "I hate you."
His only response was a tightening of his jaw.
They flew for a long time and Rainey watched occasional twinkling lights brave the night. The helicopter finally banked and began it
s descent. The runway lights of a small airport glittered like jewelry.
"Where are we?"
"We’re landing at a desert airport. There’s a Lear waiting for us."
"Where are we going?"
"You’ll find out soon enough."
"Humph. "What was in the briefcase my father handed over?"
"All your necessary documents: passport, birth certificate, money-"
"Are you telling me we’re leaving the United States?" she shouted.
Roth barely nodded. The interior lights of the cab cast eerie shadows across his face."
"I will not leave the United States!"
"Rainey, when are you going to realize that you have no say in this? Your safety is my mission and I don't intend to fail. Got it?"
The helicopter touched down and the high-pitched whirl of the blades lowered in volume. While the pilot exited the helicopter and came around to open the cab door, Roth unfastened Rainey’s seatbelt. Jerking away from him, she allowed the pilot to help her alight. Roth jumped from the helicopter and grasped her upper arm, guiding her across the tarmac to the waiting jet, its engines revving.
Rainey considered wrenching free from Roth and then running toward a small dimly lit building, but even as the impulse raced through her mind, she knew the attempt would prove futile. She ascended the stairs into the Lear. Falling into a seat like an angry schoolgirl, she jerked her face away from him when he leaned over to pull the seatbelt across her chest.
* * *
Roth moved his gaze from staring at emptiness outside the porthole, to Rainey seated across from him. She'd tilted her seat back and her head lolled to one side. Her deep breathing evidenced her exhaustion. He studied her face. In sleep, she looked young, innocent, and vulnerable; unlike the hellcat that had fought him earlier. He sighed and looked back out the porthole. The black night called to his animal instincts. To distract the desire of his body to shapeshift, he thought about their destination in Egypt.
Located two hundred miles southwest of Cairo, the town of Bawiti in the oasis of Bahariya made him quirk a smile. He remembered a previous assignment as a camel with a Bedouin tribe. He had been sent to make sure a young man named Tahnoon Kahlifa arrived for his nuptials. The Thirteen co-Princes had believed the marriage of Tahnoon to a girl he had been espoused to since childhood, would prove favorable to the human condition. However, the young man hadn't wanted to marry, and when he’d attempted to turn his camel around, Roth had steadfastly stayed on the path. The tenacity of the camel had unnerved the young bridegroom so much so that he’d decided his marriage was the will of Allah. Later, Roth had learned from the co-Princes that the marriage had turned out well.
He glanced at Rainey again, and then allowed himself to drift into sleep. A bank in the plane's direction roused him. He opened his eyes to a lovely pink glow rising in the eastern sky—and Rainey shooting arrows at him with her eyes.
"Good morning to you, too, Sunshine."
She looked away and stood. When she started to step into the aisle, he moved his leg to block her exit. She looked back at him and said acidly, "Do you think I’m going to commandeer the plane? I’m going to the bathroom."
He moved his leg. "I just wanted to hear your sweet voice."
Rainey jerked past him and stalked down the aisle.
The pilot spoke over the speaker. "We’ll begin our descent in fifteen minutes to refuel."
* * *
Rainey watched out the porthole as the plane taxied to a hangar on the outskirts of a huge bustling airport. Having been to the "Big Apple" many times, she recognized New York International. A uniformed gentleman stood outside the hangar. When the plane braked, airport workers pushed moveable stairs into place and others began attaching a refueling hose. The official mounted the stairs and the pilot handed him paperwork. Roth handed him their passports. The man studied the documents, looked at Roth intently, and then glanced down the aisle at Rainey. Rainey wanted to scream that she had been kidnapped, but wisdom made her hold her tongue. If she made a raucous, no doubt she and Roth would be hauled into custody, which would cause an international event and fodder for the tabloids. No, she would bide her time until circumstances were ripe for an escape.
The official nodded at her, handed the passports back to Roth, and exited the plane. After refueling, they were airborne again. Their flight path took them over a vast ocean until late afternoon. When the plane descended over a large city, Rainey recognized it as being London. Another official greeted their plane and approved their passports and paperwork. Within the hour they were back in the air. London gave way to smaller cities and then rolling countryside. After that, mountains and forests gave way to blue seas, and eventually desert. The pilot instructed them to fasten their seatbelts. With the plane's final descent at sunset, Rainey caught sight of something that made her breath hitch—the Great Pyramid of Egypt! Suffused in golden rays, a sinking sun bid goodnight to possibly the most recognized structure on earth. She glanced sharply at Roth and saw a small tug quirking the corners of his mouth. He was enjoying this.
The plane taxied to an outlying terminal and two uniformed men entered the cabin. Again, credentials and passports were shown. When the officials were satisfied, Roth escorted her from the plane. An old Toyota 4x4 Land Cruiser awaited them on the tarmac. She looked at the vehicle and said, "You've got to be kidding. I know my father gave you enough money to rent or buy a Mercedes."
Roth opened the passenger door. Before grabbing the keys on the driver's seat, he said, amused, "Rule number one in the Bodyguard for Dummies Handbook—don't call attention to yourself. Let's go, Rainey."
Within minutes, they were across the tarmac and exiting onto an access road.
"Why are we in Egypt?"
"You need to step outside your paradigm, and what better place than the cradle of civilization? Also, it seemed a good place to hide you."
"I don’t need to step outside of anything. I need to return to the United States and my lab."
He did not reply. Instead, he asked, "Have you ever been to Egypt?"
"No."
"It seems strange that with your inquisitive mind you haven't made it a priority to visit this country."
"Oh. And why is that?"
"Have you never read speculations about the purpose of the Great Pyramid?"
"It was a tomb for some Pharaoh."
"Really. I wonder why hieroglyphs were never found, like in the tombs of other Pharaohs."
"Okay, Mr. Beowolf, what are the speculations of the purpose of the Great Pyramid?"
"Well, Ms. Childress, some have thought it to be a coded depiction of history and others have thought the various chambers, antechambers, shafts, and passageways, were somehow used in a rites of passage to bring an individual into illumination; some believe it was once a power generator; still others think it may have been used to project sound into the earth. Shall I go on?"
"Who are all these others you keep referring to?"
"The group includes scientists, engineers, geologists, astronomers, musicians, and yes, psychics and those studied in the paranormal."
"Humph."
"I take it you don’t believe in anything paranormal."
"I do not."
"That’s sad."
"Why is it sad?"
"Because it makes your world black and white—colorless."
"Please do not judge my world according to your criteria. Not to change the subject, but you seem to know where you’re going. Have you been here before?"
"Yes."
"So you’re taking me to a location you’re familiar with?"
"At one time it was familiar. I haven’t been there in a long time."
"How long?"
"A long time."
Rainey refused to humble herself by badgering Roth to be more specific. She turned her head and watched sand dunes whiz past in the fading light. In the distance, the Great Pyramid effectuated a hazy, otherworldly look; seemingly mocking her disbelief in anything
paranormal.
Chapter 6: New Digs
After spending the night in Cairo at an inexpensive hotel with an extremely cranky Rainey, Roth wasn't looking forward to the next five-hour drive to Bahariya Oasis. However, she fell asleep during most of the drive and he enjoyed the peace and quiet. When the oasis materialized in the distance, he smiled, remembering his "camel" assignment. It had been over fifty years since that mission. Since then, the highway from Cairo had been built and Tahnoon and his wife would be in their seventies.
Gently shaking Rainey, he said, "Wake up; you don’t want to miss this." Although he'd tried not to startle her, she jerked upright. "Whoa, girl, everything’s okay."
"What’s happening?"
"I woke you so you could watch our descent into Bahariya. It’s a beautiful place. There are several villages and towns in the oasis. We’re going to be staying in the town of Bawiti."
"Lovely."
The sarcasm in her voice made Roth wish he hadn't awakened her.
She reached to release the band holding her hair and scrub her hands through the tangles before securing it again. Roth watched from the corner of his eyes. She looked like hell.
"So, since I have no clothes and no toiletries, what do you propose to do about that? I am not sleeping in my clothes another night."
"I don’t mind pointing out that you have nothing because you didn’t pack your suitcase as requested."
"Don’t you mean as ordered?"
"As ordered for your protection."
"Whatever. As soon as we’re settled in our hotel and I’ve had time to bathe, I want to shop for clothing and necessities."
"What makes you think we’ll be staying in a hotel?"
