by Lee Magnus
“No Trey,” she said as if she didn’t hear his question. “Well, that was all I came for. Hope you enjoy the lasagna. Good luck Trey! I love you! Tell your mom I said hey.”
She nearly tripped over her chair exiting the house.
“Remember,” she said virtually sprinting to her car, “don’t tell anyone you have it! This is a serious matter!”
“Ok. I’ll keep it secret. Bye, Aunt Kathy,” Trey said in a low unmeaningful voice as he looked at the disk. He rubbed his finger over the cold engraved markings. He hollered out the door, “Thanks for leaving me this ancient cursed relic!”
Trey looked at the disk again, then said, “Magic spell, huh.” He placed it into a pocket dismissing her warnings.
He went to his room, removed a picture buried deep in a desk drawer. It was of himself in a black and yellow baseball outfit. He was maybe five. His father stood next to him in a matching cap with a serious look, as if he were revealing the secrets of the world while they mounted the diamond.
“I hardly remember this. It seemed so long ago. Was it even real? Was he actually involved in my life? He really cared enough to coach my baseball team and tell stories about me to Grandpa, a man I’ve never met?”
He mused a few more minutes then placed the picture back in the desk drawer. He then tried to drown his emotions in an old video game.
Unexpected Partners
As he strolled through a crowded Dulles International Airport terminal with busy travelers swerving in front and around him, Nick Hampton was unaware of the woman matching his steps. A pleasantly toned man’s voice projected throughout the facility:
Ladies and gentlemen. It is important that you keep a close watch on your baggage and carry-on items. Do not leave items unattended at any time. Do not accept articles from unknown persons to carry onto the aircraft. Maintain carry-on items to prevent the introduction of dangerous articles without your knowledge. Do not carry items belonging to others. Note that all bags are subject to search. Report any suspicious persons or unusual activity to you nearest law enforcement officer. Thank you and have a good flight.
He sat in an empty row adjacent to the gate for the next flight to Egypt and immediately pulled out his phone.
She carried herself confidently – striding as if all eyes were on her every move. Toned arms swayed within snug sleeves that fit loosely at the elbows. From lovely shoulders cascaded tight fitting black material enveloping a trim torso in wide draping layers down to sumptuous knees. The dress accentuated long muscular legs wrapped in black knee-high boots with overlarge clasps.
The phone Nick mindlessly scrolled through slipped from entranced fingers as she took a seat next to him. It clacked on the hard terminal floor. She removed rose lensed aviators revealing intensely dark blue eyes of which if an ocean, a sailor would dream to drift in aimlessly. A wavy tuft of long dark-mahogany hair escaped from the front of a knitted headdress that wore more like a beanie than Hijab and flowed low across a smooth forehead before disappearing behind a neck he fantasized pressing his lips against. Dusky skin, like smooth milk chocolate patted perfectly with powdered sugar, highlighted high flawless cheeks and sensuous red lips.
“To where are you travelling?” she asked in a deep lustrous voice with a hint of an Arabic accent.
She was aware of his rugged attractiveness but gave no notice of the observation.
Surprised by her unbelievable beauty, he was momentarily speechless. He fumbled to retrieve his phone then said in a sheepishly weak voice, “Cairo.” He cleared his throat, sat up straight and tried again in a deeper, manlier tone, “I’m going to Cairo.”
“Interesting. Are you travelling for business or pleasure?” she said as her eyes caressed his sculpted, recently unshaven chin.
“Well, sort of both. I’ve never been to Egypt, so I think that will be pleasurable, but the purpose of the trip will be, well, I suppose it will be workish.”
“That’s a pretty vague description,” she said with a knowing smile. She crossed her legs slowly, then leaned slightly closer. Her radiating warmth encompassed his senses to the point he didn’t feel the pressure on his coat pocket.
“Will you travel anywhere other than Cairo?” she said momentarily dropping her gaze only to return to meet his. “I’m from Egypt and if you have never been, you should visit the southeastern portion of the country. It is rich in history.”
“No. Not this trip,” he said unsteadily. “I think I'll manage to spend most of my time in the desert.”
“That doesn’t sound interesting at all. You should be aware the western desert can be treacherous for the unprepared.”
“I have a reliable guide,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll be just fine.” After a moment’s pause Nick said, “I don’t remember saying I would be in the western part of the country.”
“I really must be going,” she said as she rose from the seat. “It was very nice chatting with you. Good luck on your workish pleasure trip,” she said casting a smile over her shoulder.
He could barely remember the conversation as he watched her sway gently away.
“It’s true. He’s waiting on a flight to Cairo now. I don’t know how he knows either. There’s too much security here. I couldn’t make a scene. However, I think there’s a good chance he’ll miss his flight. Plus, even if he makes it, we don’t know for sure he knows where he’s going. Make certain he doesn’t get to the oasis. Keep me updated. I’ll try to find out what I can here and meet you in Cairo if by some chance he actually recovers the eye.” She slipped the phone in her back pocket, then left the airport.
Nick sat in the stiff seat adjoined to twelve others in a row, pondering the interaction he had with the woman.
“Something wasn’t right about her. She seemed to be too flirty and knew too much about my trip.”
“Excuse me sir,” came a strong voice. A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent and an armed police officer were standing in front of him. The officer had a hand on his pistol as if he expected resistance – and he looked eager for trouble. “Place your hands on your head and rise slowly from your seat,” he commanded.
Startled and confused, Nick did as directed. As he rose, he asked very nicely, “I apologize for asking officer, but what is this all about?”
“Come with us, sir,” the TSA agent said while the officer walked behind Nick to a private room near the security screening area.
He was instructed to sit in a chair then the officer and TSA agent left, securing the door behind them. Nick checked his watch several times, nervous about missing his flight.
Thirty minutes passed before a very round police officer named Franklin who wore a thick, reddish moustache and a rather unintelligent looking skinny officer with a belt cinching pants raised too high around his waist entered the room. The skinny one said to Nick, “Please stand, Sir,” then thoroughly patted Nick down.
Franklin asked, “What’d you find there, Willy?” after Willy retrieved something out of Nick’s coat pocket.
Nick stammered nervously, “What is it! What did you find? I didn’t have anything in that pocket! How did it get there?”
“It’s some sort of small device, similar to a TV remote,” Willy said as he examined the object.
“That’s not mine. I don’t know what that is?”
“Is that so, Mr. Hampton of 135 Wilkins Way,” Franklin said as he read Nick’s driver’s license.
“Yes. That’s so. I’ve never seen that,” he craned his head to see what Willy was holding, “that, whatever it is.”
“We had a report that a man fitting your description was mumbling something about a bomb and playing with a trigger device.”
“A what?” Nick replied exasperated.
“A trigger device,” Willy replied curtly.
“Really? They said trigger device?” Nick asked.
“That’s what she said,” replied the round one.
She? It was a woman. But why? Why would she try to get me arrested
?
Nick wasn’t restrained so he turned to face Willy. He looked at the man dumbfounded then snatched the object from his hand drawing surprise and an aggressive stance from both Willy and Franklin. He then said, “It looks like a TV remote because it is a TV remote.” He shoved the remote back into Willy’s hand who had loosened his attention toward Nick. “Can I leave now? I have a flight to catch,” he said angrily.
“Oh yeah. Look at that Frank. It’s a TV remote,” he said as he turned on a TV in the room and started changing channels. “Judge Judy! Look Frank, Judge Judy’s on,” he said happily. “I didn’t know she was still on TV,” he said in utter amazement.
“Willy! Turn that off!” Franklin yelled under his breath. He returned to nick in forced politeness, “I apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. Hampton,” Franklin said as Nick grabbed his things and turned toward the door. Franklin, as an afterthought said to Nick who was storming away, “We at the TSA take threats seriously!”
Nick rushed to his gate barely making it before the doors closed. He spent the next several hours ruminating on the airport incident coming to one conclusion – she, whoever she was, didn’t want him in Egypt.
After the sixteen-hour flight with a layover in Istanbul, Nick departed the Cairo airport with no checked baggage and dark, tired eyes – still perplexed as to why the woman wanted him to miss the flight. He found a stocky man with a modest belly and thinning black hair holding a sign reading “Hampton.“
“Seth Nahas?” Nick yawned as he approached the man with the sign.
“Yes! Mr. Nick Hampton!” Seth said in a jovial Arabic accent. “It is very good to meet you. We have everything prepared for our journey tomorrow. We shall leave after breakfast around nine A.M.”
“That’s great, Mr. Nahas.”
He patted Nick on the back, took his only bag and said, “Please Mr. Hampton, call me Seth.”
“Ok, Seth,” he said as he followed him out of the airport. “You can call me Nick.”
“Ok, Mr. Nick,” he said with a wide grin. You will be staying in my home tonight. I hope that is ok. It is on the way and I make a wonderful Kushari.”
“Sounds great!” Nick replied, attempting to muster enthusiasm for Seth’s hospitality.
“Right this way, Mr. Nick” Seth ushered. Nick gave him a curious look then followed the man out of the terminal.
As they turned to cross the road leading to the parking lot, Nick noticed two figures approaching swiftly from the corner of his eye. At the last second, Nick yelled, “Seth! Get down!” He then crouched and leaned into the first assailant launching him over his head propelling him painfully onto the pavement. Nick subsequently rolled from the crouched position avoiding a strike from the second attacker. Seth drove a fist into the second attacker crushing his jaw.
A woman screamed while a couple rushed a small child away.
Nick and Seth recognized each other’s bewildered looks before Seth yelled, “This way!”
The first attacker righted himself, then gave chase along with three others, including the second who held a hand to his mouth trying to soothe the pain from Seth’s strike.
“The brown car there!” shouted Seth flashing the lights with the remote.
Nick slid across the hood as Seth took the driver’s seat slamming an attacker’s arm in the door - he fell away reeling in pain. Seth quickly fired the engine as two spread out on the hood while another grasped onto the back.
The engine echoed loudly as Seth piloted the car through the garage. Tires squealed around corners. A quick turn tossed one of the hood riders into the street as they sped away from the airport. The one on the rear pulled himself to the roof.
Three motorcycles raced up from behind the vehicle as Seth zipped through the outskirts of the city. Two riders wearing black outfits and red helmets brandishing pistols pulled up to either side of the car.
“Why are they attacking us!” screamed Seth.
“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Nick’s hand gripped the upper handle, the other braced himself against the console as he looked at Seth with alarmed eyes.
Bullets blasted through the ceiling of the vehicle, narrowly missing the occupants.
Seth slammed the brakes smashing the following cyclist into the rear of the vehicle tossing him onto the trunk. Seth swerved to avoid a slower car causing the cyclist to tumble off into a passing group of pedestrians.
The roof rider slid uncontrollably onto the hood. He grasped onto the original hood rider who lost his grip and slipped off to the right and skidded into the narrow, crowded street.
Blaring the horn, Seth swerved left and right avoiding tuk-tuks and spectators.
The right cyclist smashed the window with a pistol. Nick quickly grabbed his arm as bullets flew through the vehicle, narrowly missing Seth. Seth swerved to drive the right cyclist into a street side vendor causing an explosion of citrus fruits to rain all over the road and nearby people frightened by the chase.
The hood rider pulled a pistol firing five shots through the windshield.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
He proceeded to kick his way through. Seth slammed on the brakes, then turned onto a dead-end alley to the left, cutting-off the left motorcyclist who crashed into the side of the car, launching him overhead into a cart scattering hundreds of cheap jewelry items. The owner of the cart yelled wildly at the cyclist. The hood assailant lost balance and fell to the front of the vehicle. Seth quickly reversed, leaving the two remaining attackers behind.
After a few minutes of assessing the situation, they both determined the barrage was over.
Just as Nick caught his breath, Seth skidded the car to a stop and yelled, “Get out!”
“But I have –” Nick began to plead before Seth cut him off, “No! Get Out!”
“But I don’t even know where I am.”
Seth pointed out the window as a signal for him to exit the car. Nick got out as Seth peeled away from the stranded teacher.
Now what do I do?
The street was busy with people in a hurry to get places and sell things. A vendor held out a blue-faced mask. Nick shook his head, then began to walk. A well-dressed couple were perusing fresh fruits and vegetables to his left. A tall man dressed in a religious thawb eyed him suspiciously as he passed. He hailed a cab and shortly after, arrived at a nearby inconspicuous hotel where he paid cash for one night.
Staring into the ceiling in a single bedroom hoping to drift off to sleep after the earlier excitement, a soft knock startled him. Wary of visitors, Nick wondered who it could be.
From the other side, “It’s me Mr. Nick.”
“Seth? Is that you?”
“Yes. Let me in, your life is in danger.”
“What are you talking about?” he said with his face close to the door.
“You don’t understand. You have to let me in.”
Nick opened the door. They regarded each other for an uncomfortable moment before Seth took a seat in a small chair next to the bed. Nick sat across from him on the edge of the bed.
“How did you find me? I took a random cab and paid cash at a random hotel.”
Seth leaned back in the chair. He raised a hand in the air and said in a rhythmic tone that traveled from high to low, “My cousin is a driver in the district south of us. I asked him to call around to see if anyone picked up a man fitting your description. It was really easy to find you, so we can’t stay here much longer.
“The man that shot through the windshield had a tattoo just on the inside of his forearm. I wouldn’t have seen it had the wind not pushed up his sleeve. I haven’t seen that design in many years. I dismissed it at the time but if those guys are who I think they are, you need to disappear and quick.”
“So what. That doesn’t mean anything,” said Nick in a dismissive tone. “It’s just a tattoo. Besides, how do you know they weren’t after you? No one even knows me or that I’m here.”
“Don’t be naive, Mr. Nick. The moment you booked t
he flight, everyone who wanted to know, knew you would be here at that time.” He paused and sat up facing Nick. “This is serious, Mr. Nick!” he said in a gruff voice. “Tell me what you are looking for in the Oasis?”
“This is ridiculous, there isn’t a group of people trying to stop me from getting to the Oasis,” he replied leaning back on the bed. He turned his eyes to the ceiling thinking about the woman.
“Really? Then why were we attacked today? What are you looking for?” asked Seth again in a more forceful voice.
After a few minutes Nick looked at Seth and said, “Fine. I’m a physicist. I’ve studied the effects of quantum theory for many years. I developed a theory of quantum teleportation and built a machine that I believe will bring this theory to life.” He took a breath to assess Seth’s response.
“Please continue,” Seth said flatly.
“You see, the problem with today’s notions is that they rely on the copy and destroy paradigm, meaning that basically a copy of you is made in the destination and the existing you would be destroyed. That’s not really an optimal scenario. Plus, the computing power required would be tremendous. However, what I have created is more like the theoretical wormhole, or a door to the destination that you would simply walk through. I believe there is a geode located in western Egypt or eastern Libya that is somehow related.”
“And you think that’s a typical activity of normal people?”
“I don’t suppose so,” Nick replied.
“Are you seeking Egyptian artifacts?” Seth said accusatively.
“No. I don’t believe that is my mission,” he said but began developing the notion that an artifact is exactly what he was searching for.
Seth looked at Nick for quite some time. His head cocked slightly to one side. His brow furrowed.
Nick uncomfortably adjusted his position.