Authors: Aditya Mewati
The city ended and the desert began. They had been driving for more than two hours, and it was a kind of turning out to be a boring trip. The sun was burning down and had clear intentions to set ablaze everything that dared to block its rays. Luckily the rented car was air conditioned.
Jack parked the car in the parking shed. Hot fumes rushed inside the car, as soon as he opened the door.
"I'll be Damned," Karthik muttered, fretfully while stepping out of the car.
"Wow!" Piper said joyfully. She was wearing a white sleeved blouse and a summer hat shaded her eyes. Karthik grunted. He knew that this trip for her was like a dream come true. But how could she be so happy when people were dying around them? That's so mean of you, piper, He thought, shaking his head.
"What's up, Karthik?" Piper asked Karthik. She was now squarely staring at him.
"Nothing," Karthik said, "... You look happy." He pulled up his sleeves.
Piper balled her fist, "What's your problem?"
"You know what my problem is?" Karthik said.
"Yes. I know. You whine like a little kid," Piper retorted.
Karthik could feel his blood boiling in his veins. "And you are a cold hearted—"
"Whoa! You two, knock it off," Lilly interrupted stepping between them. She slid her hands around Piper's shoulders, and steered Piper away, talking with her.
"That's not the way a man talks to a lady," Mr. Walker said shaking his head.
"Great!" Karthik yelled, "Now you are also against me!"
Mr. Walker ignored him and kept walking.
They walk past the groups of camels. The great pyramid of Giza shimmered on the horizon in the heat. The sun was looming right above their heads. A few minutes passed, and Karthik could already feel his shirt sticking to his back and to his armpits—drenched in sweat.
By the time they drew near to the Pyramids, everyone was drenched in sweat, Positively exhausted. They stop for a few minutes and rehydrated themselves. And trudged their way to the pyramids. Karthik kept falling behind the group. He kept stopping every now and then to regain his breath.
"This is sick," He muttered. "Jack!"
Jack, who was fondly walking with Lilly, stopped dead, spun, and hastily ran toward Karthik. "Don't call me Jack in public," He whispered and glanced around.
"Than what should, I call you?" Karthik grumbled and threw his in frustration.
"Call me Robert, Robert Kelly, Okay?"
"Fine," Karthik said. "Why are we here?"
"I already told you. My friend from C.I.A—"
"I know that," Karthik said. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and whipped his forehead. "I mean: why here?"
"Oh... He prefers meeting in public places. According to him, meeting in public arouses less suspicion. We always meet in public places.”
“Okay,” Karthik said, nodding. “Let’s go then.”
Soon The great pyramids loomed in front of them. And they were way bigger than Karthik had thought.
The tourists were huddled around a tourist guide. The guide was talking about something. Piper walked toward the group of tourists, Jack, Lilly, Mr. Walker (and Karthik reluctantly) followed her.
The guide was saying: "... believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at 146.5 meters, the Great Pyramid was the biggest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years."
"How did they make it?" Someone from the audience asked.
The guide chuckled. His loose shirt fluttered in the searing breeze. "No one knows how the Egyptians made it. It's still a big mystery."
His audience stared at him with awe, their faces blank. He knew that he was grabbing their attention. His trick was working—it always did.
"But there are many hypothesis—many theories," Piper shouted.
The people around her broke into murmurs. The guide gazed at her with utmost displeasure.
"No, No, these are just theories. Just assumptions," He said, trying to get back the hold of the situation.
"Come on," Piper said, frowning at the guide. "Someone has made it. I didn’t just appeared on the earth."
"I'm not denying the fact that someone built these pyramids," The guide now looked clearly irritated. "The real question is: who was that someone?"
Piper raised her eyebrow. "And who do you think built it?"
"... Aliens." The Guide announced.
Piper broke into laughter. "That's completely absurd. There is no life outside earth."
The guide glared at her. "Then how the hell did Egyptians dragged and lifted 2.3 million stone blocks that weigh from 2 to 30 tons? How did they precisely aligned the Pyramid of Menkaure, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Pyramid of Khufu with the Constellation of Orion?"
"Even though their constructions seems impossible; it still doesn't justify your belief," Piper snapped. "There are no 'Aliens'. And—"
And before she could say anything more, Jack pulled her away from the audience. "Relax," he said, grinning at her. She shrugged his hand off her shoulder.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked Karthik.
Karthik gazed at him with a don't-drag-me-into-it look on his face.
He meandered around the pyramids for a few more minutes.
"Where the hell is he?" Jack said, shielding his eyes from the harsh sunlight.
"I'm here," a voice whispered behind him.
He spun around and spotted a man. The man's face was hidden behind the white scarf.
"Can I help you?" Jack said uncertainly.
The man slid the scarf, revealing his face for a fraction of seconds, "It's me."
"Thomas?" Jack asked, squinting in the harsh sunlight.
The man nodded.
"Where the hell were you?" Jack demanded.
"I was right behind you. I see you brought some friends—Couldn't talk in front of them."
"You can trust them," Jack said.
"... You met Dr. Sharif?"
"No, not yet."
"Dr. Sharif's life is in great danger. You have to move him to somewhere safer place."
"But I don't know where the hell is he now. That boy who knows where he is hiding hasn't shown up yet."
"I don't trust that kid. All he wants is money," Thomas said, "I think you should leave this city as quickly as possible."
"What do you mean?"
"According to my sources..." Thomas lowered his voice. "Someone else is here... in Cairo... and they are also searching..."
"Dr. Sharif," Jack added.
"That's right," he said, glancing over Jack's shoulder. Karthik was walking toward them. "I think I should leave. And one of my sources heard them talking about Kashmir."
"Kashmir?" Jack frowned. "What are they doing in Kashmir?"
"Some kind of tests?" Thomas shrugged. Karthik drew closer. He hastily turned away from Jack; covered his face and pushed his way through the crowd.
Karthik patted Jack's shoulder. "Who was that guy?"
Jack opened his mouth and paused, thinking. Should he tell them that their lives were in danger and that the only way to get away from the danger is to leave the city as soon as possible. No, he shouldn't. This is his mission. He can't just walk away without completing his task.
"Some idiot," He shrugged. "Let's get back to the hotel."
"What about your friend?" Karthik asked.
"I don't think that he's going to show up."
Karthik frowned. His brow wrinkled. "Okay," he said.
If the trip from the hotel to the pyramids was boring; then their return journey was way worse. Karthik and Piper didn't talk with each other; in fact, they didn't even bother to look at each other. Karthik looked like he had swallowed a big lemon. And to make the things more terrible, Mr.Walker kept babbling about his heroic flights and how he had saved the lives of six passengers by landing the plane on a rugged terrain in the middle of a forest. No one found it amusing, of course, except Mr. Walker himself. Lilly tried her best to lift the mood but ended giving up more topics to Mr. Walker to talk about.
"Will you just shut up!" Snapped Karthik, as Mr. walker was reciting his interview for becoming a pilot.
Mr. Walker stared at him, horror-struck, but said nothing; he acted as if nothing had happened and started staring out the window, at the passing blurs of buildings.
By the time they reached to the hotel it was already dark. The air outside was now cool and dry. The stars had started rising in the purple streaked sky.
Jack pulled the car in front of the hotel. Everyone climbed out of the car but Jack.
Jack reached and slammed the door shut as Karthik climbed out of the car. He turned on the engines, and the car roared to life.
"You are not coming with us?" Karthik asked him, surprised.
Jack shook his head, shifting the gears. "I'll be back in few hours," he said, not making any kind of eye contact with Karthik.
Something flared up in Karthik's mind. He said nothing but made a mental note of it.
"Where are you going?" Lilly asked, her eyes locked at Jack.
Jack spared her a glance, and then quickly glanced to his left, where Mr. Walker and Piper were standing. "Can't tell now," he said, gesturing at Mr. Walker. Lilly and Karthik backed away as Jack reversed the car. A moment later or two, he was driving away from them. They stared at the departing tail lights until they were lost in the twilight.
Karthik turned to face Lilly, and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything; Piper and Mr. Walker strolled toward them.
"What's Jack up to?" Piper asked Lilly with a slight frown on her forehead.
"I-don't-know," Lilly said, quickly at once, turned and hurried toward the entrance gate. Piper stared at Lilly and then glanced around at Karthik for the answer, but suddenly she reminded herself that she was not supposed to talk to him. She hastily glanced away and hurried to the entrance gate. Mr. Walker briskly followed her, clearly ignoring Karthik. So, this is how you guys want to play? Huh? Karthik thought indignantly.
He sighed, and stared at the dark figure of Mr. Walker hurrying through the small door, and when Mr. Walker was gone; Karthik proceeded through the entrance gate.
He entered in the reception area. Ramses, the owner of the hotel was sitting behind the desk, reading evening newspaper. But he was not alone, a fat woman sat beside him. She was weeding peas. Karthik assumed her to be his, Ramses, wife.
"Evening," Ramses said, putting down his newspaper.
Karthik bade him good evening in return and proceeded to the foot of the stairs, but Ramses called him, "Oh-I forgot to introduce you to my wife, Isis."
"Hello," Karthik said, smiling at her.
"Hello," Isis replied, in a sweet voice. Too sweet, considering her body and considering the fact that he had heard her yelling from the door behind them on the previous night. She resumed weeding the peas.
"Where is that other guy?" Ramsis asked, his eyes fixed at the door.
"He has got some work—"
"Oh, Okay," Ramses replied, pulling up the newspaper, and hiding behind it. Karthik went upstairs and was pleased to find that both the doors (one of Mr. Walker's room and another where Lilly and Piper were staying) were closed. He had not intentions of seeing their face, but Lilly.
He opened the door, entered the room, and turned on the light. Having no idea about to do next, he simply slumped himself on the hard bed. He moved his hands behind his head, his fingers laced together, and stared at the ceiling, trying to justify Jack's behavior. I'm not stupid, Jack, He thought. And he clearly was not(well maybe not that clearly). When he had seen Jack talking with some masked guys, he knew that guy was Jack's friend from the C.I.A. And he clearly knew that Jack was hiding something; some kind of information that he had received from that masked guy. The main question for Karthik was not that what information Jack was hiding, instead it was: why was Jack hiding that information.
Karthik thought of talking Jack out of it, but somewhere in his mind, he knew that would be useless. Only Lilly could do it. I should talk to Lilly, He decided.
He quickly flung his legs off the bed, opened the door, and headed toward their room and stopped in front of their door. His heart raced in his chest. He didn't not wanted to talk about jack in front of Piper. It doesn't matter, he told himself, firmly. He reached for the doorknob and heard footsteps. He hastily backed away from the door and spun. His back now facing the door, and he was staring down the corridor.
He got a glimpse of a boy wearing white clothes, below him. At least, he thought that it was a boy. But wait a second, Ramsis had told him that this place was deserted, and that were no guest except them. So what? That must be Ramsis son, He thought and shrugged.
He spun, now again facing the door, and grasped the doorknob and pushed. The door didn't budge.
Of course, they would have locked it from inside.
He knocked at the door.
"Who is it?" a voice said from inside, which he recognized as Piper's voice. He could feel his face turning red and hot. I'm not going to reply you, he thought firmly, and waited for Lilly to call him, or at least, someone to open the door.
But neither of the things happened. Piper again called: "Who is it?" he could easily feel the alarm in her voice.
"It's me, Karthik," he said at once.
Piper opened the door and step aside. He entered the room, and Piper closed the door behind him.
He found Lilly sitting on the bed. "You are about in time, I was telling her about my dad..." She said.