The Labyrinth Key

by Christopher Cartwright

  She grinned. “It’s all right, Caliburn should know better than to take food from you.”

  Sam turned in his seat. “How long have we got, Matthew?” Matthew Sutherland was the best skipper Sam had worked with in his entire life. He could navigate everything from rivers to ocean waves, and always with smooth, professional finesse.

  Tom stretched and yawned. “Matthew says that we’ll be there in less than two hours, if all goes according to plan.”

  Genevieve set a bottle of ouzo in front of them, along with a set of tiny glasses. “Two hours, yes,” she said, as she poured. “But there may be some delays as we get closer to the temple. The Nile might start out in the North as a really big tributary system – so there aren’t any issues up there with boat traffic.” She shrugged. “But as we navigate farther south, it gets tighter and tighter. There’s a few marine checkpoints along the way, too, and you never know how long it might take to get through those.”

  “How far are we from the first checkpoint?” Sam asked, wondering if Matt had factored bribe money into the monthly accounts before they’d made their way to Egypt.

  Genevieve whipped out her phone, unlocked it, and stared at the screen for a few moments. “About thirty minutes, give or take.” She glanced at Tom. “You’ve got about thirty minutes, Tom, if you do want to take a rest. I’ve made up the cabins for both of you. Regular berths. It wouldn’t be a long nap but might be worth it.”

  Tom watched her go with a drowsy smile. Then he turned to Sam. “You know, this reminds me of the old days.”

  Sam laughed. “Oh yeah? Like when?”

  “You know, back when we started this. Back when it was simple. We would go find the treasure and bring it back.”

  Sam sighed. Such an optimistic retelling. “You’re forgetting about the percentage we had to pay to the governments of the territories we dodged in and out of; then having to avoid publicity so we didn’t get robbed, and…”

  “Yeah, blah blah blah. But my point still stands – we were living simply off untouched valuables and, after it was all done, we would relax, just like this, dreaming of our next haul.” When Tom reminisced and spoke of their past like that, it surely did feel sentimental. “Now we’re getting shot at – and shooting back, mind you – over four goddamn stone keys. They’re not even worth anything on their own but somehow, the United States government is involved? What madness is this?”

  Tom threw up his hands as the yacht bumped through another patch of rough water.

  Tom and Sam exchanged a glance – their way of talking things through, although via vibe versus verbal and a method they’d perfected over years of missions, milestones and occasional mishaps together – that said it all.

  Sam said, “I would say it is pretty important madness. You know the stakes.”

  Tom shook his head. “I don’t know about that.”

  “We’re not new to it, anyways,” Sam said. “Now you find it the right time to complain?”

  Ethan opened the door and sat down next to Sam. “So this is what the two of you get up to? Drinking and eating and traveling by luxury yacht?”

  Sam snagged a glass and poured Ethan some ouzo. Ethan toasted him and drained the bitter drink. “Hey. You might have the best air transportation the military can provide, but you have to admit we travel in style.” He suddenly felt a prickle at the back of his neck and turned around to see Josh standing in the door, too. When Sam made eye contact with Josh, he looked away timidly and innocently, but Ethan met Sam’s gaze evenly. As expected from a SEAL, Sam thought. They certainly were taught to show no weakness. Gaze still unbroken, Ethan’s raspy voice sounded.

  “Yeah, you can talk all you want about the boat, but it’s just alright.” He gestured outside beyond the porthole. “You guys should go topside. The Nile is a real beauty, especially this part. It’s where the tributary becomes the singular river. It’s like watching raindrops come together on God’s windshield.”

  Tom stood up and unfurled the yacht blinds. Ethan was right, it really was beautiful. The algae that bloomed over the surface of the water was a deep shade of green, making the Nile look like a green snake in the desert sand surrounding it. The snake slithered over a third of Africa’s length, giving life and sustenance to all the lands around it.

  Josh asked, “You been this way before?”

  Ethan shrugged and handed Josh a glass of ouzo, declining Sam’s offer of a refill. “I’ve been up and down this river a couple times during one of my Middle East tours. Even a few years back, the algae wasn’t this bad. The pollution makes the nitrogen and the algae population spike.” He shook his head. “It’s going to murder the economy and all the people living here and they don’t do a damned thing to stop it.” Beside him, Josh drained his glass and pulled out his phone to check a text ping.

  Ethan turned his gaze back to the window. “But it is beautiful.”

  Sam tilted his glass. “Speaking of beauty… what are your plans with Mia after all this?”

  Ethan glanced at him. “That depends on what happens to the Cartel. She’ll probably stay with some friends of mine who are currently stateside on R and R leave until we can be sure that the Cartel is no longer looking for her.”

  Sam made a wry grin. “You’re going to leave her with some of your SEAL buddies?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Only way to be certain the cartel won’t get a chance to attack her.”

  Sam was about to ask what their plans were, for the long term, when they were interrupted.

  Matthew stuck his head in the room. “First checkpoint, mates. Look alive.” He grinned. “We’re here.”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Crocodilopolis, Egypt (Modern Day City of Faiyum)

  Egyptian cities were some of the most beautiful, vibrant places Sam had ever been. The markets bustled with tradesmen trying to catch unwary tourists with the allure of gifts. Sam, Tom and Ethan sat at a street side cafe and drank some rose spritzers and tried to stay out of the sun.

  Sam loosened his collar, feeling the sweat track down his neck. “This heat makes Georgia feel like Norway,” he said as he finished the last of his soda and realizing it didn’t help.

  Ethan waved away a grimy child forcefully selling roses for exorbitant prices. “Don’t worry. The sun’s setting right now, it’ll get cold soon.”

  Sam glanced over into the street. Above, on the window panes of the buildings, Sam could see a red light slowly creeping down the glass and stone. He was sure that the Egyptian sunset would be very beautiful from a good view. It was the kind of light that artists dreamed of, the kind of light that had a physical weight, like you were swimming in it.

  “Speaking of that.” Tom turned his attention to Sam. “Sam, do you even know where we’re going? I swear I’ve seen this street before. I think we circled a couple times now.”

  They were looking for a hotel. Sam had decided it was better not to stay on the ship in case they were being tailed. There was no reason to bring his crew into this.

  Sam flicked his glass. “A little rusty on my Arabic, Tom. Ethan? This would be a good time to…”

  Ethan laughed. “A little rusty on my Egyptian. Sam.” He reached over to summon the waiter. “We’ll get back on the streets and find it.”

  The waiter leaned down with the check and Ethan handed it to Sam. “Sorry. You’ll have to get the tab.”

  Sam dug in his pocket. Of course he would.

  Tom pushed to his feet and cracked his back. With his height, he shaded his eye against the sun and pointed across the street.

  “Wait, isn’t that it?”

  Sam looked up. Tom was pointing to an obscure sign that was clustered among the endless red and green storefronts. The sign read, “Armenzia, quality hotel,” in somewhat sketchy letters.

  Sam and Ethan glanced at each other. “There’s no way,” Ethan said incredulously.

  Sam agreed, but how many hotels in Egypt were called Armenzia?

  He grinned in sympathy. “He’s a bi
g lout, but we keep him around for a reason. Let’s just go check it out.”

  The trio pushed their way out into the street, fighting through flower vendors and beggars and workers on their way home. Tom was the one who reached the storefront first and pushed. The door opened with an old ding, and Sam peeked inside.

  “Hello?” he called. Inside, there was an old Egyptian man sitting behind a counter. He didn’t even look up when Sam called.

  “I’m Sam-” Before Sam could finish, the man nodded, and fished out a key from behind the counter. The tag read, 34. The man pointed upstairs. Sam looked back at the group, and only saw uneasy faces looking back.

  “I guess this is it.” With that, Sam walked down the hallway, lugging his bags behind him, until he finally came to room number thirty-four.

  Sam put the key to the door and turned. The hinge squeaked, but the door didn’t move.

  “Is there a problem?” Ethan asked from behind Sam. Sam grit his teeth and pushed his annoyance. They were all tired, and they were all on edge.

  Sam heaved again. With a final budge from Sam’s tired shoulder, the door squeaked open and the men made their way inside. Surprisingly, for a motel on the edge of an empty street, the room wasn’t bad. The sheets looked clean and the lighting, when Tom flicked the switch, was bright, yet atmospheric. Moths immediately flocked to the glow in the evening light.

  Ethan went straight to the bed and stretched out. “Wake me up when it’s time, guys.”

  Tom and Sam looked at each other. They waited until Ethan’s eyes were closed and then Tom walked forward and shook Ethan on the shoulder. “Hey. Ethan. It’s time to get up.”

  Ethan’s eyes snapped open. “What the hell?”

  Tom shrugged and glanced at Sam. Sam knew that Tom was already thinking what he was thinking, but he wasn’t sure about Ethan.

  Before Sam had a chance to explain, Tom stepped in. “We’ll explore the pyramid after nightfall but we want to get in place.” He wiggled his fingers. “I’m sure you don’t want to do it when the Ra’s glaring down on you.”

  Ethan frowned. “Ra?”

  “It’s the Egyptian god of the sun.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind.” Sam shook his head and checked his pockets, double checking that he had his phone and the maps it included. The keys were stashed tight around his neck. After Ethan’s misadventures, he didn’t trust his pants. “We need to go. Grab what you need and lock your bags.”

  After a long moment Ethan slapped the bed and pushed himself to his feet. They all spent a few minutes securing their bags. They couldn’t do much about someone stealing their entire bag, but the least they could do was make it difficult.

  Back outside, Sam pulled his jacket closer around him. He hated to admit it, but Ethan was right about the temperature. It was getting cold surprisingly quickly. Yet, the city seemed more alive during the night. Guess it’s not so different anywhere else, Sam thought as he zipped his jacket, glad he hadn’t been too proud to bring it with him.

  They threaded their way through market stalls and ships and revelers toward the outskirts of the city where the pyramid waited at the edge of the desert. As they left the older center behind, the streets became more and more deserted, more and more dark, and Sam fought off the feeling that they were walking into some kind of trap. Even from inside the streets, every now and then they glimpsed the pyramid in the distance, looming over them all. It looked far away, but Sam assumed it would be like all things in the desert, not exactly what it appeared.

  Their boots crunched over the ancient cobblestones and the citizens they passed gave them suspicious looks. Sam didn’t make eye contact with them, but he kept a wary eye. Beside him, he saw Ethan doing the same.

  “Guys.” Tom’s voice interrupted Sam’s thoughts, and he was surprised to hear a grin of delight in his friend’s tone. “You do realize, don’t you, that we’re in Crocodilopolis? Literally the city of the crocodile?”

  Sam and Ethan exchanged a wry grin. “No,” Ethan responded, deadpan. “You’re shitting me. That’s why it’s called this?”

  “Well...” Sam thought that Tom had been checking their location on a map, but now he realized that Tom was flipping through a guide book, squinting at the words in the dim light. “The city of Crocodilopolis was located on the western bank of the Nile, southwest of Memphis in Egypt. Known to the ancient Egyptians by the somewhat less redundant name of Shedet, this city was the center of worship for the Egyptian god Sobek, the- you guessed it!” He adopted a game show style voice with a grin. “Crocodile god! Ever the subtle geniuses when it came to naming foreign places, the ancient Greeks dubbed it “Crocodile City”, or “Crocodilopolis”, as it is now remembered.”

  Sam shook his head, stifling a grin as Tom continued.

  “The inhabitants of Crocodilopolis worshiped a manifestation of Sobek through a sacred crocodile kept at… kept at the city… city named ‘Petsuchos’ – a name that means “son of Sobek”” He frowned. “How the hell do you get Sobek out of Petsuchos?”

  “Suchok? Sobek?” Sam shrugged.

  Tom shook his head. “And I thought English was bad.” He went back to reading as they rounded a corner, pausing under the dim glow from an upper level apartment window. “It says here that- Hey! They actually HAD a crocodile! That’s where it gets it’s- The crocodile was adorned with gold and jewels, and was kept in a temple with its own pond, sand, and special priests to serve his food. After the residing Petsuchos died, the body would be mummified and given a special burial –and then promptly replaced with another ‘son of Sobek’”. Tom flipped the page, enthralled. “The new son would then-”

  “Yeah, yeah, we get the idea,” Ethan said.

  Tom glanced up and his face fell as he realized the game was up. He tucked the book in his pocket. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I thought it was cool.”

  “It is cool.” Sam sent him a grin. “We’ll get into it later.”

  Tom ducked his head and brought up the rear.

  For the rest of the walk, the group stayed silent. Everyone was tired, but Sam knew that he couldn’t slip up again. The obsidian door was the last piece of the puzzle, and if someone beat him to it, everything would have been for nothing.

  He broke off as they rounded a corner and stalled immediately.

  The pyramid loomed before them with sudden, unexpected glory, rising from the night like a ghost of the past in the gloom.

  Despite themselves, all three stood and stared.

  It was a good three minutes before they collected themselves enough. Sam and Ethan looked at each other.

  Ethan looked at Tom. “Your guide book have anything useful to say?”

  Tom shook his head and Sam was surprised to see a knife suddenly flash in his hand. Tom pushed between them, headed for the tomb.

  “Yeah,” he said as he passed. “There are ghosts inside.”

  Ethan and Sam looked at each other.

  Then they followed Tom’s lead.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Sam and Tom and Ethan stalled, staring at the structure. “Looks like some pretty active ghosts,” Ethan said. A line of people stretched to the entrance. “Want to find out exactly what’s going on? When I came for military tour here, our squad only had free time at night, and the attractions were all closed.”

  A stream of tourists milled around outside in newly-bought shirts proudly displaying EGYPT and pictures of the pyramids in various angles. “Clearly not here.” An admissions and ticket booth stood proudly in front of the Hawara Pyramid. A man at the counter marked entries on a tablet, glowing ghostly computer blue in his face. Clearly, nothing was left unmonetized in a country where tourism was a huge part of the national gross domestic product.

  Sam shrugged, not taking his eyes off the scene. “Maybe that’s just because you were in a warzone.”

  Ethan looked skeptical. “Maybe.”

  Sam started forward. “I’ll check it out.”

  Tom shook his head
. “We’ll go with you.”

  They all headed forward. When Sam reached the back of the line he gestured to the crowd in a friendly manner. “Didn’t know we could get night tours!”

  The man glowered. “You pay for it?”

  The three of them glanced at each other. “Uh-”

  “It’s a special tour.” A breathless woman who might have been his wife smiled at them. “WE had to sign up four months in advance to get a place in line.” She held her husband’s hand. “We’re so excited. It’s our two year anniversary.”

  Sam kept his smile in place, barely. “Congratulations!” he said. “You’ll have to tell us how it was.”

  They moved away as the line started to move.

  Ethan snorted. “Now what? We sneak in at the back of the line?”

  Tom shook his head, quickly scanning and counting the mob. “Only about twenty of them. Not enough to disappear, and too many to just buy our way in.”

  While Sam and Ethan were discussing, Sam caught Tom from the corner of his eye, jotting down notes furiously on the beat-up steno notebook his friend had held on to for years. He could never tell how Tom managed to never run out of pages. Regardless, Sam knew that if Tom was writing in it, he was thinking up a storm over the situation. Eventually his curiosity overwhelmed him.

  “Relax, Mister Anxiety. I’m sure everything will work out according to plan. Once we’re inside. We’ve already discussed this on the yacht.”

  Tom looked up from the paper judgmentally. “Yes, once we’re INSIDE. None of us expected there to be tourists!” He hissed the last word so loudly that a gaggle of Americans in Hawaiian shirts glanced backwards. Ignoring this, he continued. “More pedestrians forces us to change our entire plan. There are simply too many people around for us to get off the beaten path and slip past unnoticed. Plus, since their business hours are apparently 24/7 like a goddamn McDonald’s, there will be more guards.”

  “If we need help dismembering some of the security personnel, I’ve got it.” Ethan shrugged nonchalantly.