Be My Warmth

by Shanade White

  They’d developed a routine, either having a fight or going to bed silently, then waiting until they got the signal that he was gone before dropping their personas and coming together as themselves. This night more than any other since they’d come to Egypt Tani needed Flynn who listened quietly as she talked about her parents and all the good times they’d shared. As she was drifting off to sleep, she realized that she’d never been able to do that before and knew with even more certainty that she was ready to move on with her life.

  The next morning as they readied themselves to enter the tomb, Aman’s assistant interrupted them. “There’s been a cave in at another dig site. The Minister wants me to take every available man and go help.” He announced.

  “But we need those men to get into the tomb.” Tani protested, thrilled that the plan was working so far.

  “The Minister made it clear that he wants us there, the cave in has been all over the internet and we must save the trapped men. Besides he’s decided he wants to be here when the tomb is opened so you would have had to wait anyway.” The man informed them, just as they’d expected.

  Cooper had paid handsomely for the cave in as well as the internet coverage, the perfect distraction to give them an entire day in the tomb without anyone around. The guards Aman’s assistant planned to leave with them were their people and wouldn’t stop them from entering the tomb, but Tani had a part to play so she couldn’t give in that easily.

  “This is ridiculous. What are we supposed to do sit around here all day doing nothing?” She stormed, getting right in the man’s face.

  “That’s none of my concern. I have my orders. No one enters the tomb until the Minister gets here tomorrow. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go.” He said, backing away from her.

  Tani screamed, then grabbed Flynn by the arm. “Let’s go. You’ll have to do for entertainment today.”

  The camp emptied out quickly after that, leaving only the people that Tani needed, the archeologists and photographers. When she suggested that they all enter together, Flynn said, “No I think we should go in first, just you and I.” Then he took her hand, lit his flashlight and hand in hand they entered the tomb.

  It was just as wonderful as Tani remembered, the treasures inside representing one of the biggest finds in decades. The scrolls alone were priceless, containing more information about ancient Egypt than anything ever found before. It was those scrolls that had so pleased her father and she promised herself that they’d end up where they could be treasured. As they walked around the tomb, Tani began to feel her father’s presence and knew that she’d die trying to fulfill his greatest wish.

  Flynn met her in the middle of the tomb in front of the mummy and pulled her into his arms, “It’s amazing and frightening at the same time.” He said with a little shiver.

  “Very few people get to see something like this.” Tani said, the enormity of the moment making any other words impossible. Finally though, she remembered the reason they were there. “We don’t have much time, let’s let everyone in and get this moving.”

  For the next few hours, the photographers took as many pictures of the tomb as they could. Tani became the star of a video that would appear all over the world to document the treasures one by one, making the possibility of them being sold on the black-market remote. No one would want to touch them once they’d been broadcast over the internet. Everything went exactly as planned and by the time the crew returned to camp, they had all the evidence they needed to prove what was in the tomb.

  That night after dinner, and one of their best performances, Flynn and Tani went back to their tent exhausted but satisfied that the plan was going perfectly. “I couldn’t have asked for today to go any better and you were great on camera.”

  “Thanks, it felt funny at first, but after a while I didn’t even notice it.” Tani said, sliding into bed.

  Flynn joined her and took her in his arms, “Tani, up until now this has been easy, but when Aman hears about what we’ve done, it might get dangerous. Promise me that you won’t go anywhere without me.”

  “But that tape won’t air until we’re safely back in Cairo in the American Embassy.” Tani protested, an icy chill running through her.

  “I know that’s the plan, but things can go wrong. I’ve been watching the crew and I’m not sure we don’t have a spy in the group.” Flynn said, gripping her tightly when she tried to sit up. “It’s going to be fine, we just need to talk about worst case scenarios.”

  Tani could only nod her head, she’d been avoiding thinking about the risk they were taking, so wrapped up in the tomb she’d forgotten that they would be putting their lives in danger. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” She said, holding him tighter.

  The next day, everyone in camp was up early eager to see the tomb, but they waited for hours for Aman to show up, an intentional move on his part Tani was sure. When he finally showed up, everyone was so anxious it took only minutes to mobilize the crew, and less than half an hour later they were walking down the long corridor that lead to the main burial chamber. Flynn back in character had left her behind with Aman, who had taken her arm supposedly to guide her through the darkness.

  When they walked into the high-ceilinged room full of burial goods and a solid gold sarcophagus, Aman all but forgot her presence as he circled the room. She could see the greed bloom in his eyes as he calculated just how much everything was worth and barley managed a smile when he all but ran to her in his glee.

  “Do you have any idea how much all this will bring at auction. Has anyone else been in here?”

  “No, we’re the first to enter.” Tani said, barely able to hide her dislike of the man.

  “Good. I’ve chosen a few men I trust to guard the entrance and a few more to help us pack all this up and remove it. We’ll tell everyone that the dig is on hold due to unsafe conditions, then tonight we’ll take as much as we can out.” He said, rubbing his hands together.

  Tani wanted to tell him to keep his hands off the precious antiquities, but instead she said, “I see you’ve thought of everything.”

  “I have, including how to get rid of that annoying husband of yours. We don’t need him now and I think it’s time he disappeared.” Aman said, stilling Tani’s heart, she’d never imagined he’d want to kill Flynn.

  “Are you sure that’s necessary?” She asked, sliding up next to him. “I don’t like the idea of blood on my hands.”

  “Don’t you worry; I wouldn’t let you get any blood on your hands.” He said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing the inside of her palm.

  Tani wanted to pull her hand away but instead she batted her eye lashes at him. “As long as he’s gone I suppose it doesn’t matter how it happens. But don’t forget I’ll have to play grieving widow.” She could barely force the words out, but managed to sound convincing.

  “Yes, the grieving widow who needs to get away, to a private island maybe.” Aman said with a nasty chuckle. “And I can’t wait to get the grieving widow all alone on a sandy beach.”

  They left the tomb, Flynn following along pretending not to understand what was going on. When Aman had told him that the tomb was unsafe, he’d begun telling a story about a mine accident in Australia and followed them out. At the surface, Aman declared loudly that the tomb was unsafe and that no one was to enter until an engineer could be called to stabilize it, then he put his personal guards on the entrance and ordered everyone back to camp.

  That night Flynn and Tani were lying in bed fully clothed waiting for the distraction that would give them the time they’d need to get away from camp and on the road to Cairo. The last and most dangerous part of their plan was to happen once they were safely away, a cave in at the tomb that would block the entrance for days, giving them enough time to get to the American Embassy and release the video Tani had made showing the tomb and all its contents.

  As they waited they were silent, both too nervous to talk. They’ve been over and over the plan, knew it by heart,
but both understood something could go wrong. When they heard the bang that signaled the fire that was planned as a distraction, they jumped out of bed and raced for the door, but when Tani came out she ran straight into Aman.

  Tani recovered first, “What was that?” She asked, hoping that Aman would head for the other side of camp where a huge fire could be seen burning.

  “I don’t know, but we have to get to the tomb. My assistant told he overheard some men talking about going inside tonight.” Aman said, pulling her after him.

  “But…the fire.” She stammered, forced to follow Aman who had her by the arm in a vise like grip.

  “You stupid woman, forget the fire. We have to protect our treasure.” Aman said, slapping her across the face.

  Tani was so shocked she stopped fighting him, but Flynn came running up ready to strike. Before he could, Aman stopped and turned to him. “You go check on that fire. This is none of your business.” Then he pointed to one of the guards who grabbed Flynn and pushed him towards the fire.

  Flynn began to fight him, but then he felt the barrel of a gun in his back. “Move.” The man said, pushing him forward again and he had no choice to comply with the order.

  He looked back over his shoulder to see Aman forcing Tani onto a horse, her hair in his fist and knew that their only hope was for him to escape. The man led him around the outside of camp, avoiding the fire and all the commotion, to the desert. They walked for a long time, giving Flynn time to think about how he’d get out of this, while carefully watching for land marks that would help him get back to camp.

  When the man finally ordered him to stop, Flynn put his only plan into action and began begging the man not to shoot him. “Sorry man, I’ve got my orders.” He said, disgusted by Flynn’s begging and pleading.

  Flynn dropped to his knees and began crawling toward the man, “Please, I don’t even know what’s going on. I just wanted to see an Egyptian mummy.”

  “Get up and take this like a man, at least your death will be honorable.” The man said, unable to pull the trigger on such a pathetic creature.

  Flynn knew this was his only chance, he grabbed two fistfuls of sand and in one motion rose to his feet and threw the sand in the man’s face. Then he went for the gun, but the man was too fast and got off a shot. He felt a burning in his side and a searing pain as if he’d been burned. Realizing that he’d been shot, he covered the wound with his hand and felt the blood seeping through his fingers. The man was cursing and fumbling with the gun, his eyes closed from the sand in them.

  Although the man was blinded by the sand, Flynn knew that he’d only have a second to act, bringing his fist up he connected with the man’s face and heard the satisfying crunch of broken bones. Fueled on pure adrenalin, he punched the man again and he fell to the ground writhing in pain. Flynn grabbed the gun and brought it down on the man’s head, who immediately stilled. Dropping the gun, Flynn sank to his knees, needing a minute to clear his head which was swimming.

  He finally managed to get to his feet again, the gun still clutched in his fist. He tucked it into the waist band of his pants, then kicked the man, pleased when he got no response. Pulling the cords from the man’s robes, he tied him up and began the long journey back to camp, panic about Tani the only thing keeping him going. As he walked, he took off his shirt and fashioned a bandage, the wound from the bullet wasn’t deep, had only grazed him, but he was losing a lot of blood.

  As the adrenalin began to fade from his system, it became harder and harder to walk, the sand seeming to suck his foot in. Finally, he sank to his knees unable to go on, but after a few minutes’ rest he managed to get up again and stumble on. He did this several times, but only managed to cover a small distance, knowing that he’d die out here without help. He did the only thing he could think of and pulled himself to the top of a small hill. If anyone was looking for him, they’d see him here he thought as the world went black.

  When all the commotion from the fire was over and the men went to make sure that Tani and Flynn had gotten away, they discovered that their horses were still there. Positive that something had gone wrong, they began an immediate search of the camp and surrounding area, finding the tracks leading out into the desert. A search party was sent to follow the tracks while another went in search of Aman who had disappeared in all the commotion.

  “Go to the tomb, he might be there.” The leader ordered. “The rest of you follow those tracks, I have a bad feeling that somethings gone wrong.”

  Chapter 12

  Aman had Tani by the hair so she had no choice but to follow along behind him, looking back at Flynn the whole time. When she saw the man put a gun to his back she wanted to strike out at Aman and go to him, but Aman threw her onto a horse and jumped up behind her. Spurring the horse before she could react, and they went thundering through camp towards the tomb.

  “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out what you were up to? It’s not that hard to find a man who’s willing to talk, that is if you give him the right motivation.” Aman said, giving her hair another hard tug.

  Tani’s eyes watered from the pain, but she hardly noticed, her only thoughts of Flynn and what was happening to him. But Aman’s voice in her ear brought her back to her own predicament, “I’m going to show you what happens to someone who tries to steal from me, but first you and I are going to have a little fun.”

  Aman grabbed her breast hard and squeezed until she began to squirm from the pain. She wanted to cry out, but refused to give him the satisfaction. “I can see we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” He said, grabbing the other breast, this time making her cry out.

  “That’s better. I like to hear my women when I please them.” He said, laughing.

  Tani braced herself for more, closing her eyes and clamping her lips shut, promising herself that she wouldn’t make a sound. But Aman grew tired of her for the moment; he tugged on her hair again and covered her mouth with his hand, “Now shut up, I don’t want you to make a sound. I want you to see this.”

  Tani struggled for a moment, but found it was useless, Aman had her in an iron grip. As they neared the tomb Tani began to panic, the site was devoid of people, and she knew what that meant. Any moment the charge that was going to shut off the tomb was going to explode and they were much too close, the blast alone would throw them twenty feet or more. Worse, falling debris might crush them.

  Aman cursed, “Looks like I have a spy in my ranks as well. Someone must have told your men we didn’t fall for that fire you all started.”

  He’d finally let go of her so she tried to escape, thinking only of getting away from the blast that was to come. She managed to get off the horse and make it a few feet, before Aman was on her, grabbing her by the waist. “I was thinking we’d settle our little differences somewhere else, but here might be just fine. I like a woman who puts up a good fight.” Aman said, putting his arms around her in a grip she couldn’t break.

  His mouth was just inches from hers, when the charge went off, throwing them ten feet through the air. Tani felt her head connect with a rock and then everything went black. When she awoke, she was thrown over the back of the horse and it was moving at a fast pace through the desert. The motion of the horse made her head pound and the world again faded to black again.

  When she surfaced the next time, she was lying on a dirty mattress in a dark room, a smell she didn’t recognize permeating the air. She took several shallow breaths before risking a big one, then tried to sit up. The room spun and she fell back on the mattress, her head pounding, reaching up she felt a huge knot on her head and dried blood in her hair. Moving a bit more slowly, she managed to get to her feet and stumble to the door only to find it locked.

  When her attempt to get out the door didn’t bring anyone running, she began to beat on the door hoping that it would give way, but all that did was exhaust her and make her head pound. Gingerly, she sat down on the filthy bed again and put her head in her hands until the pounding and nausea
passed. She couldn’t stop thinking about seeing Flynn being led away with a gun pressed into his back, and she knew that he could already be dead.

  She stifled the sob that threatened to escape, Flynn wouldn’t be beat that easily, he’d find a way to get away. Now she had to do the same thing. She had no idea where she was, but she knew who had brought her here. Focusing her mind on everything she knew about Aman didn’t help, if he thought she had double crossed him, he’d never be satisfied until she was dead. It was then that she decided that she’d have to resort to physical violence, nothing better had come to mind.

  Getting to her feet, she began to search the room for a weapon, anything that she might use when his guard was down would work. Finally, she found what she’d been looking for in the bottom of an old cabinet pushed off into one corner. The knife wasn’t that sharp, but it was thin and long, it would be easy to conceal under the mattress or even in her clothes. Knife securely in her hand, she crept back to the bed and laid down, assuming that Aman would be back soon and she’d have her chance to escape.

  Flynn opened his eyes to a room he didn’t recognize and tried to sit up, but the stabbing pain in his side stopped him. “Don’t try to sit up just yet Flynn.” A wizened voice said from the darkness. “You’ve lost a lot of blood and need to rest.”

  It took Flynn a moment to remember what had happened, the man in the desert, Tani riding off with Aman and he tried to sit up again. This time a hand was placed on his chest, and the old man said, “Tani is fine for now. She and the Minister are riding for Cairo, I’ve got men following them.”

  Flynn let the words sink in, “Who are you?” Flynn finally managed to ask.

  The old man turned up the light and gestured to a woman who had been standing in a dark corner. She approached Flynn, placed her hand on his forehead then satisfied he wasn’t feverish, she began to unwind the bandage wrapped around his chest. He grimaced when the bandage came off to reveal a long gash in his ribcage, clearly the path the bullet had taken. To his relief the wound looked clean, but it burned like it was on fire, so he sucked in little breaths through his teeth.