Stone

by Linda Mooney

  Chapter 30

  Ambush

  “I go. Wait.”

  Her order to him wasn’t clear, but he was able to get the gist of it. She was going out and would return. His initial reaction was to go with her, but when she glanced over his naked body, he knew he couldn’t leave without proper clothing. Reluctantly, he gave her a kiss to send her on her way and returned to his meal, which wasn’t too bad.

  His humanity had come full circle. First it had been the thirst, then the hunger. Last night he had enjoyed sex with Brielle in a way he’d never imagined possible. And now…

  He got up from the table and went into the bathroom. In many ways it reminded him of some of the lavatories from his time. Except this one was far advanced from the simple seat with a hole in it, where the waste would be collected in a bucket underneath.

  He pressed the lever the way he’d observed Brielle do it. The water in the bowl swirled and vanished down what he assumed was a pipe. With one simple flush, he’d reached the end of his transformation. He was fully human again. Once more, he was Garenth bin Al-Emin—soldier, warrior, and general. Of nothing.

  He sighed, exasperated. When she returned, they were going back to the museum to meet up with Kelling. He could only assume that her leaving had something to do with obtaining him proper apparel before they travelled.

  Garenth scanned the large basin where he’d washed. It and the walls were splattered with dried blood. A thick sludge of what he’d removed from himself rested at the bottom. The floor was also coated with mud and blood droplets.

  “I created this mess. Therefore I am obligated to clean it.”

  Picking up one of the stained rags that Brielle had used for a compress, he turned on the spigot hanging over the basin and proceeded to wipe down the walls.

  The work felt good. Long-unused muscles protested, but he persisted. Even when he had been a general, he had availed himself to performing menial tasks. Although some of his fellow officers used servants for the more mundane chores, he had always chosen to do them himself. Servants were known to be lazy, and on rare occasion, resort to thievery if they felt they could get away with it. By doing his own tasks, he knew they would be done to his satisfaction. That, and he wouldn’t become fat and lazy as some officers grew to be when they weren’t directly involved in battle.

  Besides, it was the least he could do to help Brielle, given everything she had done for him.

  Rather than try to find a container to put the mucky refuse in, he flushed it down the toilet. The bloody walls didn’t take as much effort as he’d first thought. The wall was made of a type of stone that enabled his wet rag to glide over the surface.

  When he was done cleaning the large basin, he turned off the spigot. Getting on his hands and knees, he used the water in the toilet to scrub the floor. The soiled and bloodied towels he piled outside the door, for her to do with as she needed since he had no idea how laundry was handled in this era.

  He was almost finished with his chore when he heard the sound of someone fiddling with the lock on the front door. Garenth froze and listened, on the off chance that it might not be Brielle returning. He was relieved when the door finally opened, but the sound of Brielle’s voice threw up warning flags. She was arguing, no, pleading with someone. There was definite fear in her tone.

  He pressed himself against the inner wall, beside the doorway, and strained his ears. A male voice answered her, and his threats were clear even to Garenth.

  He glanced down at his nude body. Without his stone covering, he was vulnerable to this era’s strange swords. He was defenseless, without armor or a weapon, to help Brielle…

  Unless I draw him to me.

  He looked around to see if there was something he could use to bait the intruder, when he heard Brielle speak again. This time she was coming toward the bedroom. If the intruder came with her, which Garenth believed he would, they would pass by the bathroom door without noticing him there. To be certain, he flipped the switch to turn off the magic candles that lit the room.

  He caught Brielle’s scent before she walked past the bathroom door. She moved stiffly, which emphasized her fear. He saw her look toward the bed, and his thoughts echoed what she must be thinking. Did this intruder mean to physically harm her? The idea of the man sexually assaulting her made his gut tighten.

  He took care to remain out of her line of sight. If she saw him, it might alert the intruder and ruin the element of surprise.

  She moved next to the bed and stopped. Do not turn around, Brielle. Do not turn around or you will see me and give away my presence.

  He knew she had to be wondering where he was, where he could be hiding.

  Move to the other side of the bed, closer to the clear wall. A little further, my beloved.

  My beloved. The revelation was real and true. And the feeling that filled him with the realization was both new and overwhelming.

  The male intruder spoke again. Brielle halted, her back still to him. She replied, and the intruder’s arm finally came into view, his magic sword pointed at her.

  Garenth moved swiftly and silently. He grabbed the man’s outstretched arm at the wrist and snapped it backwards. At the same time, he wrapped his other arm around the man’s neck and throat, getting him in a headlock. The man screamed in pain from the separated hand. The weapon went off, but the boo-let struck the opposite wall.

  Brielle whirled around, panicked, her eyes wide with fear. Garenth gave her a quick visual inspection but didn’t see any injuries.

  The man struggled in vain. She saw the broken wrist and peeled the weapon from his nerveless fingers. She got into his face and demanded something. The guy spat something back, which she didn’t like, and she slapped the man’s face so hard, he must have bit his tongue. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of the man’s mouth.

  Brielle dug her magic talking stone from her satchel and spoke to someone. When she was done, she spoke to someone else. Afterwards, she spoke to him.

  “Hit man,” the talking stone relayed.

  She saw his confused look and pantomimed knocking the intruder in the head, then pretended to fall unconscious to the floor. Smiling, Garenth slammed a fist to the man’s temple. The intruder slumped, and he let the man go to pull her into his embrace with relief.

  They spoke no words as they tightly held each other. There was no need for words. They were grateful, knowing they had avoided possible serious harm.

  After a while, Brielle pulled away and hurried into the next room, returning with a bag whose contents she dumped on the bed. Picking up a shirt and another garment, she held them out to him.

  “Put on.”

  That he understood and quickly dressed. She showed him how to fasten the breeches since they didn’t tie, and then handed him a pair of sandals. Everything fit, to a degree. The clothing felt strange but not uncomfortable.

  “Stay,” she ordered him, and left him alone to watch over the intruder. He didn’t miss the fact that she took the man’s weapon with her. Although he didn’t know what she planned to do next, he trusted her completely. In the meantime, he was entrusted with guarding the prisoner.

  Pressing a foot to the unconscious man’s neck, he waited for her return.

  Chapter 31

  Complicity

  Brielle pressed a fist between her breasts and tried to will her heart to slow down. She was forced to take a moment and leaned against the side of the refrigerator as the impact of the past few minutes faded. As she took deep, calming breaths, she felt her adrenaline slowly seep out of her bloodstream.

  She’d known Garenth hadn’t left the apartment. Her biggest concern was for his safety. The last thing she’d expected was for him to take out the guy with such ruthless efficiency.

  He’s a trained and seasoned soldier, she reminded herself. I guess he’s taken it upon himself to be my personal bodyguard. In spite of the language barrier, he’d managed to glean enough information to know the man was a danger when she and the int
ruder had entered the apartment.

  She winced, remembering the loud sound of the man’s wrist being broken. She shivered, recalling the way the back of the man’s hand rested against his arm. If Garenth was capable of such destruction bare-handed, she could imagine how lethal he would be with a weapon.

  The buzzer sounded. She hurried over to answer it.

  “Yes?”

  “Police officer, ma’am. Did you call in an emergency?”

  “Yes! I’m in apartment 2D.” She hit the button to allow the cop entry and opened the front door to greet him. Two officers pounded up the steps and entered. She pointed them to the bedroom.

  “He’s in there. My boyfriend is standing guard over him.” She then indicated the pistol she’d set on the kitchen table. “That’s the gun he threatened me with to get inside.”

  She followed the one officer who went into the bedroom. Garenth stood to one side as the policeman knelt to examine the unconscious intruder. “Do you know how his wrist got broken like this, Miss…”

  “Van de Camp. Brielle Van de Camp. Yes. Garenth disarmed him.”

  She watched as the officer stood and spoke to Garenth, and she hurried to intervene. “He doesn’t speak English.”

  The other officer walked into the room to join them before Officer Number One had the chance to respond. “Pistol’s been fired. We’ll have to swab the suspect for residue.”

  Brielle nodded. “He shot it when Garenth disarmed him.” She motioned to the wall where the bullet hole was obvious. Thankfully it was not a connecting wall to the next apartment.

  “This gentleman doesn’t speak English,” Officer Number One informed his partner.

  Brielle hastened to explain, making up something on the spur of the moment. “He’s an adjunct with the Egyptian government. I work at the Natural History Museum, along with Dr. Chet Kelling. We’re in the process of shipping several rare artifacts from a new dig, and Mr. Al-Emin, Garenth, is here to help oversee the shipment.”

  “Is Dr. Kelling sponsoring his visa? We might need to see his passport.”

  “You’ll have to speak with Dr. Kelling. He would know all that information.” The ramifications of what she’d told them began to loom in the back of her mind like a gathering thundercloud.

  Officer Number One frowned, giving her the impression that he wasn’t quite buying her story about Garenth. “I thought you said he was your boyfriend.”

  At least she was able to blush. “Well, it’s not a full-blown relationship. Not yet, anyway.”

  “So you can speak his language?”

  “Not exactly.” She held up her phone. “I use an app. It’s not perfect, but it manages to get the job done.”

  “Care to tell us what happened here?” Officer Number Two inquired.

  She told the men about how the guy had confronted her outside her apartment building and forced her inside at gunpoint. “He made me come in here, and that’s when Garenth disarmed him.”

  “Mr. Al-Emin was waiting in the bedroom?”

  “He came out of the bathroom. I guess he was hiding in there.”

  “He’s definitely going to need medical attention for that hand,” Officer Two remarked, and placed a call in for EMS on his shoulder mic.

  “Did the intruder say or give any indication why you’d been targeted?” Officer Number One questioned. He’d pulled on a latex glove and was in the process of searching the guy’s pocket. There was no wallet, but he did pull out a plastic card, which he briefly examined before tossing it onto the floor.

  Brielle stared in disbelief where it landed. “Hold it. Wait a minute.”

  Officer One paused and glanced up at her. “What?”

  “That card. Can I see that?”

  The policeman held it out for her to examine. “Don’t touch it. Do you recognize it?”

  She blinked. “Yes. It’s a key card from the museum.”

  “The museum where you work?”

  “Yes. I’m positive. See that little emblem on the bottom corner? The little blue man inside the broken circle? That’s the AMNH symbol.”

  “Is it your card?”

  “No.”

  “Any idea how he got it?”

  “No.”

  “Hey, Daley, wasn’t there a breakin a couple of days ago at that location?” Officer Two queried his partner.

  Brielle gave a quick nod. “Yes. I was involved in that, too.”

  The two officers exchanged glances, and Officer One got to his feet. “Miss Van de Camp, we’re going to need to take you down to the station for further details. This…incident…may not have been a random act.”

  She agreed, glancing down at the suspect. “I’m willing to bet a dozen doughnuts this guy is the same one who broke in and stole some artifacts. Or, if it isn’t him, he knows damn well who did. It’s too much of a coincidence for him to be carrying it around.”

  Officer One started to say more when the door buzzed. At the same time her phone dinged, letting her know she had a message. A quick glance at the text told her it was her uncle waiting below.

  “Officers, Dr. Kelling is here, in case you want to question him.” Before they could question why the man would be coming to her apartment, she explained. “Dr. Kelling is my uncle. My mother’s brother.”

  She hastened to the front door to let the man in. Kelling threw his arms around her the moment she opened it. “Thank God, Brie. Twice now?”

  “I’m okay,” she reassured him, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “I told the police Garenth is from the Egyptian government and is working with you.”

  The professor nodded, and she led him into the bedroom where he shook hands with the officers. She noticed her uncle’s face pale as he surveyed the crippled man.

  “Dr. Kelling, would you have any idea why this man is carrying a key card from the museum?”

  This time his eyes went wide, and he tossed a look at Brielle.

  “Uncle Chet, it’s possible this is the man who broke into the museum and stole the artifacts.”

  Officer One held up the piece of plastic. “Can you verify it’s from the museum?”

  Kelling didn’t need to examine it. “Yeah, it’s from the museum.”

  “Any idea how he came into possession of it?”

  Kelling grinned and gave Brielle a wink. “Personally, no, but there’s an easy way to find out. Every key card is coded with the name of the person who has authorization to use it. All you have to do is have that card scanned, and it’ll tell you who it originally belonged to.”

  Brielle looked over to where Garenth continued to stand inside the bathroom door frame, taking it all in with silent scrutiny. “Uncle, can you let Garenth know what’s going on?”

  The professor tried not to stare at the bald man standing almost at attention and observing the proceedings. In response, he quickly filled the man in on what they’d discovered. When he was done, Officer Two approached Garenth, but directed his remarks to Kelling.

  “We’re going to need to see proper documentation for this gentleman.”

  Kelling gave a nod. “I understand.”

  The door buzzer went off again. This time it was the EMS.

  Brielle remained by Garenth’s side and watched as the intruder’s wrist was tended to before they hoisted him onto a gurney. Once the medical techs left, Officer Two approached the professor.

  “We need to take Miss Van de Camp and Mr. Al-Emin down to the station for further questioning. Would you be available to act as interpreter?”

  “Certainly,” Kelling agreed.

  The policemen gathered up the evidence and escorted Brielle out of her apartment. Garenth and Kelling followed directly behind, and climbed into a second squad car that had arrived to wait for them.

  As they pulled away from the building, she glanced back at the car behind her. Kelling looked like he was giving Garenth a heads-up on what to expect once they reached the police station. But for some odd reason, she got the feeling that the cat had been let out
of the bag. There would be no easy way to explain Garenth being in the States, since he had no paperwork, no visa, and no passport.

  Only time would tell what would happen in the hours to come.

  Chapter 32

  Deportation

  Garenth stared in confusion at Kelling as the man tried to explain the best he could what was going to happen.

  “You are not allowed here without proper authority. They’re going to send you back to Egypt.”

  He glanced around the room with its austere furnishings and two frowning men who acted like officials. They had been escorted into this room soon after they had arrived at the building where the supreme commanders worked. Here, he had been grilled about how he’d managed to get into the country. Dr. Kelling was also questioned. From the dour men’s tones, it sounded as if they blamed him for Garenth being here.

  “I tried to tell them all that documentation was lost, but they’re not believing me.”

  “That is because there was no documentation,” Garenth remarked.

  Kelling managed a rueful grin. “You are correct, but you know they wouldn’t believe me if I told them the truth.”

  Garenth had to admit the professor was correct. “Are we to be flogged for our indiscretions?”

  The professor gasped. “Flogged? No! No, they don’t flog illegal aliens. They deport them.”

  A third man entered the room and spoke to one of the two officials. Kelling interpreted. “That key I told you about? The one the intruder had with him? It belongs to the museum curator. They’re going over to the museum now to discuss it with her. It should prove interesting what develops.”

  “The man who tried to hurt Brielle, will he be punished?”

  “Yes. He will be incarcerated and convicted for what he did. They also believe he has lost the ability to use that hand again.” Kelling patted him on the shoulder. “I can’t begin to thank you enough for what you did to protect Brielle. Her mother, my sister, was a single woman raising two girls on her own. I never married, and I always thought of them as my own daughters. I helped Georgia raise Brielle and Tanner ever since they were in grade school. I was thrilled when Brielle decided to get her degree in ancient history, so I helped her to get the job at the museum and made her my assistant. I have hopes that one day she’ll end up joining me in the field.”