No Living Soul

by Julie Moffett

  Slash shook his head. “We can’t do that, Elvis. What if those guys who kidnapped you really are policemen? What if the government or some people in the government are supporting this? They might even be in on the jihadist plot. Worse, if they discover there is an antidote in the staff, they may try to destroy it.”

  “Well, according to the legend, the staff would take care of that problem,” Gwen pointed out. “Curse, remember?”

  She had a point, but we had to deal in facts, not curses. “What about Haji Saraf?” I suggested. “If we explain everything to him, maybe he’ll see our side.”

  “He’d be obligated to contact the authorities,” Slash said. “That would bring in the police and the government, and we’re back to a worst-case scenario.”

  “What about the Egyptian government?” Elvis said. “Can’t we have our government talk to their government?”

  “In theory it’s a good idea, but you know better than most that governments move with the speed of a glacier. We are running out of time. If the jihadists upload Gwen’s data, the antidote becomes vital. These are my thoughts. First of all, we need someone to keep monitoring the laptop whereabouts,” Slash said. “We have to get that laptop back. But equally as important, we must verify if there is a viable antidote. There’s only one way to do that. We have to let Arthur examine the staff and see if we can find that antidote.”

  Arthur nodded vigorously. “Finally. I’ve been saying that all along.”

  Elvis looked at his dad and sighed. Exhaustion and exasperation were etched on his face. Probably on all of our faces. “While that may be true, Slash, we can’t just walk in to the museum and waltz out with the staff. How do we do this?”

  “We use our brains.” Slash walked about the room while he spoke, which meant he was thinking on his feet. “The museum security is antiquated. They are using an electronic security card swipe as access control. No biometric systems to defeat.”

  “Which is why you stole the card,” I said.

  “It will help. But there are guards and alarms and a variety of other more complicated problems even if we were able to get in using Zizi’s card. Despite their shoddy ingress security, they do have cameras in every exhibition room of the museum based on our recon of the museum. There are also physical alarms to contend with, except they are present on only a few of the exhibits, none of which concern us. Getting in electronically and shutting down the power, alarms, and cameras remotely will be the easy part. As the museum is old, they make up for their lack of sophisticated security with security guards. Guards are much more unpredictable and dangerous to our success. But since we only need one thing and it is not in the highest security area, we should be able to get in and get out without detection if we do this right.”

  He made it sound easy, but I knew it wasn’t.

  “What are you thinking, Slash?” I asked.

  “I’m thinking I slip in, after hours, using Zizi’s card. You or Elvis hack into their access control system and wipe it clean once I’m in so no one knows her card was used. I enter through the administrative offices and then I watch the museum areas for a bit to determine the location and rotation of the guards before I move. You can help me by monitoring the guards through the cameras once we take control of them. Elvis takes down the cameras as I go through the rooms, maybe even before, filling in a static scene so all looks quiet to any guard who is monitoring it. I take the staff and go out a side entrance. If I run into trouble, someone takes down the electricity or sets off a fire alarm. I’ll handle the rest. The downside is we will be blind to the guards in any area once we take that camera down, so we will have to be on our toes anticipating their movements.”

  “There’s a problem with that approach,” I pointed out. “That chariot is heavy and the staff is facing the back wall of the exhibit. Since the rod is likely attached to the chariot in the same way it’s attached to the harness, it means you’ll have to get behind it in order to cut through the binding. Bottom line—you’re going to have to move the chariot in order to get the staff out in one piece.”

  “She’s right,” Arthur said. “It can’t be done by one man. By chariot standards, the Egyptian design is light, but it is too heavy and awkward for one person to move. Especially if you have to do so stealthily. To move it quietly, you’ll probably need three people and that’s simply to move it enough to slip between the wall and the chariot.”

  “That’s unacceptable,” Slash said.

  I went to my purse and retrieved my phone, swiping until I found the photo. I handed it to Slash. “Here, take a better look at how the chariot is arranged.”

  As Slash studied it, Elvis came to look over his shoulder. “They’re right, Slash. You’re going to need help to move it.”

  “I’m going in with him,” I said.

  “No.” Slash’s voice was firm, harsh. “You are not.”

  “I agree. She’s not.” Elvis stepped up next to Slash. “I will. I got everyone into this mess. I will see it through myself. Lexi will handle the computer.”

  “Whoa.” I held up a hand. “Despite this amazing show of testosterone, I intend to be the voice of reason. Despite your noble intentions, Elvis, your desire to go is totally illogical.”

  “It is not.” Elvis narrowed his eyes at me.

  “It is,” I insisted. “I’m not nearly as good as you with cracking security cameras and systems and you know it. Look how seamlessly you did it when we were trapped in the high school. If we want this to go off without a hitch, we need the best people in the right places. That means I go with Slash and you keep your hands on the keyboard where they need to be. I’m strong enough to help him lift the chariot.”

  “I could go,” Arthur said.

  “No!” Elvis, Slash and I yelled at the same time.

  Elvis took a breath and clarified. “We need to get in and out fast, Arthur. You don’t have any experience with this kind of thing.”

  “And you do?”

  “Actually, I do.”

  Gwen lifted her head and crossed her arms against her chest. “Okay, no one has addressed the elephant in the room. Even if Lexi and Slash were able to move the chariot a foot—which is doubtful they can do that alone—neither of them would be small enough to slip behind the chariot and free the staff. I’m the best choice for that. So, the job of releasing the staff from the harness is mine.”

  Elvis looked at her aghast. His face paled. “Oh, hell no.”

  Gwen gave him a fierce stare. “Elvis Zimmerman, this is not your decision. Lexi is right. That’s just the testosterone speaking. I can do this. I may be small, but I’m also strong. I can bench-press eighty pounds at the gym. That may not seem a lot to you, but it’s not bad for someone my size.”

  I didn’t even know how to bench-press any amount, so it seemed pretty darn impressive to me. Still Elvis was glaring at me like somehow it was my fault I’d inspired her to risk her life.

  I sighed. “Elvis is right to be worried. It’s going to be dangerous, Gwen. Really dangerous. We could get hurt, arrested, even killed. Any number of bad outcomes could occur.”

  “I’m not going to sit on the couch and do nothing,” she said. “You need me, so I’m in. End of discussion.”

  Slash handed me my phone back and then turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. “There has to be another way.”

  I wished there was. I truly did. There wasn’t one iota of me that wanted to carry out a heist from the Egyptian Museum, but sometimes—okay, maybe a lot of times—we had to do what was necessary in order to save the world.

  Again.

  “There is no time for another way, Slash.” I spoke quietly. “If we had more time to plan, we might be able to come up with a better solution. But if you want to do this tonight—and I fully agree we must do it tonight—this is the way it has to be. We all have to pitch in and
play to our strengths.”

  Slash sighed, glanced over at my laptop where the signal remained silent. “They haven’t connected to the network yet?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not even to fire it up enough to disable the GPS, if they even know that’s how we found them.”

  “And no sign of the plague being uploaded to the extremist’s website?”

  “Not yet. But if they get help—which we have to assume that’s what they’re trying to do right now—I’d give us less than twelve hours before it’s cracked and that’s probably a generous estimation.”

  He let out a heavy breath and then nodded. “As much as I don’t want any of you involved in this kind of danger, we do need each other to do this right. Please take a minute to consider this fully. If you back out now, we can adjust the plan accordingly. You are in no way obligated to do this.”

  For a moment we just looked around the room at each other, taking the time to acknowledge the danger and difficulty of what we were going to do. What we had to do.

  Rob one of the most well-known museums in the world.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Gwen stepped forward first. “Well, just so we’re all clear, I’m not backing out.” She put her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing. “I say, let’s do this.”

  I decided at that moment I had to stop underestimating her. This fearless, redheaded General Patton was pretty impressive. In fact, I thought she might possibly have more audacity than the rest of us put together.

  “That’s pretty brave of you, Gwen,” I said and looked at Slash. “I’m in, too.”

  “Me, as well,” Elvis added. “The Four Musketeers.”

  Arthur watched us quietly and finally spoke up. “I will do what I can for my part to assist. Please assign me accordingly.”

  Gwen blew out a breath. “Well, that was intense. I want you to know that even though I’m still committed to going, I’m so scared I may pee in my pants.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Slash, now we’re all on board, what’s next?”

  Slash sat down at the table, chin in his hand. We waited, letting him sort it out. Needing him to sort it out.

  Finally, he leaned forward, his brown eyes thoughtful. “Let’s aim for a one thirty break-in. Before that we’ve got work to do. Elvis, you need to take a closer look at the museum’s security system. Get in, figure out how everything works, determine the level of effort we need. See what you have to do to adjust the security cameras, disable any alarms and wipe the entrance log so Zizi’s card can’t be identified.”

  Elvis nodded and sat down in front of his laptop and started to type.

  Slash glanced at Gwen. “You—little weight lifter—are responsible for watching to see if those guys with Arthur’s laptop connect to a network again.”

  “Got it,” she said.

  He looked at me. “I’ll need the last laptop to do my work, so see if you can use your phone to do some research and pull up any useful information or background on the chariot. Arthur, I want you to work with her to fill in any blanks. I want to know everything there is to know about it, and the staff, that you haven’t already told us. After that I’ll need to ask you some questions about the interior of the museum.”

  “Of course, I will assist in any way I can.”

  “What are you going to do, Slash?” Elvis asked from behind his laptop.

  “First, I’m going to pull up the layout of the museum, the location of the exhibit, and figure out an ingress and egress strategy.”

  I started to move to the couch with my phone when Slash reached out and grabbed my hand. “But first, may I speak with you in private?”

  I looked around the room but everyone seemed unusually busy except for Arthur who was watching us with interest.

  I tried to act casual even though my heart had kicked up a notch. “Sure.”

  Still holding my hand, he tugged me into our bedroom, clicked on the light and kicked the door shut behind him. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but I wanted to be on equal footing to hear it, so I didn’t sit. Instead I untangled my hand from his and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms against my chest. It was a defensive posture. My heart was pounding so hard, it felt better to be holding my arms against my chest. My throat was dry and tight.

  Was he going to break up with me? Had he realized he was in love with Zizi? What guy wouldn’t be in love with a woman that practically oozed gorgeousness and sexuality? Especially if she were interested in him, which it seemed abundantly clear to me that she was. How could he resist that?

  Okay, now I wasn’t breathing.

  Slash paused for a moment with his back to the door. After a moment, he strode across the room, pulling me into his arms. He rested his chin on the top of my head and held me in silence.

  I stiffened, confused by his actions. Was he trying to comfort me before he dumped me? Was this how couples broke up? It wasn’t like I knew since Slash was my first and only boyfriend.

  He stroked his hand down my hair. “I don’t like being at odds with you.”

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. This was all new territory for me. Hurt. Jealousy. Fear. Not to mention, feelings of relationship inadequacy and insecurity.

  I inhaled a deep breath, summoned my courage. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Slash. I tried to do the right thing. I gave Arthur my word I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  “It’s okay.” He pulled back, held my cheeks between his warm hands. “I understand and respect the fact that you held yourself to your promise.”

  His answer surprised me. Of all the things I’d mentally cataloged as a possible response, that hadn’t been among them. “You understand?”

  “I do. When you say something, you mean it, cara. You stand behind your word. It’s your promise. That’s a rare commodity in a world where people will say or do anything to get ahead...or get what they want, regardless of the cost.”

  “You’re not mad at me?”

  “Hurt a bit, perhaps. Regardless of your honorable intent, you purposefully excluded me. That stings. But on greater reflection, I understand why you did it. Arthur’s motives, however, are another story. He’s been manipulating us from the moment he met us. I’m pretty sure I know his endgame. Still, for now we’re stuck in his game. We have to let it play out the way he thinks it should. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a few surprises of my own planned.”

  I felt the squeeze of my heart ease a bit and I closed my eyes. “I’m glad you’re not angry. It was never my intention.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I know. We’ll get through this, okay?”

  We stayed there in that position, his lips pressed against my forehead. I could have ended the discussion there, but something still bothered me. I wavered between indecision to bring it up and a need to know. Finally, I decided I didn’t want to leave it inside me to fester.

  I opened my eyes, looked directly at him. “Do you think Zizi is pretty?”

  He blinked in surprise, his expression suddenly guarded. Apparently he hadn’t seen that one coming. “Why are you asking me that question?”

  “Why are you avoiding the question?”

  “I’m not avoiding it. I’m trying to figure out what motivated it.”

  I studied his face. I’d clearly caught him off guard. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “It’s just a simple question, Slash.”

  He fell silent, thinking. I could imagine him weighing potential answers and discarding them until he found the one he wanted. Finally, he exhaled. “Si, Zizi is a beautiful woman. I also find the sunset beautiful, as well as the moon on the ocean and a mother cradling an infant.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Then it wasn’t just a simple question.”

  It was my
turn to fall silent, thinking.

  Slash slid a finger under my chin, tipping my head up to look at him. “Why are you asking me that, cara? Really?”

  “No reason. Never mind.”

  “You’re not the kind of woman who asks a question for no reason.”

  I still didn’t say anything.

  “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were jealous.”

  “Me? Don’t be ridiculous.” Unfortunately, I said ridiculous with a bit too much emphasis. My cheeks got hot. “Okay. Maybe a little.”

  My answer seemed to both amuse and baffle him. “Why? There’s no logic, not to mention basis, for thinking that.”

  “Why not? You two look perfect together.”

  “What?” Startled, he took a step back. “You think... Zizi and...me?”

  “Why shouldn’t I? You guys are both gorgeous, poised and smart. Besides, she...likes you. I can tell.”

  He lifted an eyebrow, but his expression was pained. “You can tell?”

  My cheeks got hotter. I was handling this all wrong, but I had no frame of reference, no experience with jealousy. All I knew was that I didn’t like how it made me feel—irrational and upset. “Yes. She’s always looking at you in that womanly way. Fluttering her lashes and crossing her legs whenever you are looking at her. She also likes to touch you. Little touches. Your arm, your shoulder, your leg. I think she wants you to notice her.”

  He sighed and put his hands on my shoulders. “I’m not interested in Zizi. Not in that way. You don’t have to worry about me leaving you for her or for anyone else, cara. That’s my promise to you.”

  I swallowed hard. For some reason, I felt close to tears. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so emotional and vulnerable. Was love really this hard? I tried to get a grip on my feelings, but it wasn’t easy. “I suppose this is what happens when logic is overtaken by emotion. I’m not confident in my role as a girlfriend yet, let alone future roommate. It’s hard for me not to let my insecurities get the best of me.”