Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu

by Alexander Marmer

  At that moment the driver’s side window slowly opened, revealing a familiar face: her ex-boyfriend, Seth, his face grim and demanding. He gestured sharply for her to get inside the car. Surprised, Anna obeyed, seeing his presence as an improvement. As soon as she got into the car, the tribesman had shut her door firmly, opened up the back door and taken the seat behind her. Seth had promptly stomped on the accelerator pedal, steered the car into the steady rain filling the empty street and taken a sharp left into an alleyway.

  Michael was not only oblivious to the dramatic scene unfolding in the street below, but also getting weary of relaxing on her couch with nothing to do. He glanced at his watch and shaking his head, slowly stood and walked over to the window. As he neared, the Volvo was making a sharp left turn, escaping Michael’s casual glance. He stood observing the rain’s powerful escalation. With only a few passing vehicles below and a lightning storm off in the distance, Michael sighed when he saw nothing of interest. Michael collapsed onto the sofa, wondering how long a female’s perspective of “be right back” really took. He imagined her laughing and chatting away with the barista inside the warm der Kaffeefreund café as the rain poured noisily outside.

  The Volvo drove two blocks away, stopped abruptly and pulled off the road. Seth turned and barked something in Arabic to his partner-in-crime. To Anna’s profound surprise, the tribesman unquestioningly obeyed by opening the door and stepping into the rain that pounded the car.

  “I did not want to lie to you,” Seth stared firmly at Anna who was trying her best to ignore his once adored countenance by staring blankly in front of her. “But if I had told you the truth,” he continued “it would have scared you away and exposed me to unwarranted risk.”

  “No, you pretty much used me,” Anna snapped angrily. “I thought you were in love with me, but your whole elaborate scheme was to get closer to me in order to get the information you needed. Isn’t that right?”

  “It wasn’t in my power. If I hadn’t complied, the tribe would have killed me,” he paused for a moment. “The tribe did me a favor in the past, and I was in their debt.”

  “So, what do you want with me? I need to know the whole truth.”

  “Unfortunately, you were set up. It’s not your fault. The tribe wanted to get to your father. To them, you were just a way to get back what belonged to them in the first place,” he replied matter-of-factly.

  “And then they killed my father in cold blood because he did not have any more value?”

  “I can assure you that I had no part in killing your father. Trust me, I was shocked by the news.” Seth studied Anna’s expression. “The tribe gave him a chance to return the object that belonged to the tribe, but he refused.”

  “I do not know anything about that,” Anna replied angrily.

  “I believe you. Your father was not one who would trust anybody with his plans,” he paused for effect, “even his own daughter.”

  “So why did you just kidnap me?” Although tense and afraid, she was sure Seth and the tribesman did not intend to kill her: at least not yet. It occurred to her that she needed to play along. “What do you want from me?”

  “Every day lots of people disappear … without a trace.”

  “Is that a threat?” Anna retorted angrily. “I don’t know anything about my father,” she protested before adding in a more desperate tone, “I haven’t been in contact with him for a couple of years. Look, I don’t know anything.”

  “The tribe made a mistake and left their most prized possession out in the open. The ancient artifact disappeared with all traces pointing to your father. The tribe tried to negotiate with him in vain. Everything could have been different, but your father wouldn’t cooperate with the tribe and, thus, predetermined his fate. So, as long as you cooperate and help the tribe to retrieve the artifact, nothing bad will happen to you or your new American friend.”

  Anna stared at him in disbelief. She got to keep her life if she helped some foreign tribe find their trinket? Suddenly, she understood with absolute clarity the full terror of her situation.

  “Yes, we know about the American,” said Seth spitefully, misunderstanding her reaction.

  Anna sighed deeply. She did not know anything about this tribe, but realized she was being forced into signing a contract with Satan himself. While her deal might appear beneficial for the time being, her value would drop dramatically in the end, when she would most certainly pay with her life. Clenching her jaw to keep her fear from dripping out of her mouth, Anna inquired quietly, “So, you want me to work for you and find this ancient artifact that I know nothing about?”

  “Not for me––but together with me!” Seth exclaimed with a widening smile. Anna forced a smile to her face. “I'm just a small link in this chain. If you cooperate, the tribe will give you another chance at life.” Seth leaned forward, his eyes piercing Anna’s. His voice dropped menacingly, “You can pretend you are safe, but the truth of the matter is that the tribe can eliminate you like that,” Seth snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, causing Anna’s breath to catch in her throat.

  He paused and sat back, studying Anna’s expression intently. He wanted to give her time to digest all of what he had said and for the reality of her situation to sink in fully. Contemplative, she remained silent while succeeding at keeping her face calm. The situation seemed so strange and out of place. The Seth she had known from before this moment in time was full of fun and enthusiasm. But now, in front of her, he had morphed into an entirely different person: menacing and deadly.

  “Come on Anna, your father was never there for you. And what did he do? He literally dragged you into trouble by stealing an artifact that belonged to the tribe?”

  “My dad didn’t steal anything!” she objected forcefully. “He is not a thief!” She choked back a sob before suddenly asking, “What kind of artifact are you talking about anyway?”

  “I can’t tell you that and don’t ask me again,” Seth chuckled, although there was no mirth in his eyes as they drilled into her.

  “If you can’t tell me, and I can’t ask you, then how am I going to help you?” The entire issue was becoming more absurd and impossible.

  Thunder struck nearby as the raindrops dropped bigger and heavier onto the car windows. Anna could not help but think about the tribesman who was patiently waiting in the pouring rain for the outcome of their conversation. Seth stared out the window, and began meticulously planning her unfortunate fate.

  Although the whole predicament of her present situation bewildered Anna, she desperately racked her brain for a way out. What should I do? Then a bright flash of insight struck her. All she had to do was pretend. It would be foolish for her to try to escape, but as she realized with dawning hope, pretending to go along with them until she had an opportunity to escape was her best option for survival.

  Back at the apartment, Michael had no idea what had happened to Anna. After pacing back and forth inside her living room and constantly checking the time, he searched her desk drawers and found some tape. He taped over the front door’s latch mechanism to prevent it from automatically locking itself as he shut it and walked down the stairs.

  Once out of the pouring rain and inside the warm and cozy cafe, the barista politely informed him that Anna had indeed left her cellphone but had never come back for it. Bewildered as to where she might have gone or what could have happened, Michael asked the barista to call the police. Shaking his head, the barista calmly replied that the police would not even respond, as Anna had not been missing for more than twenty-four hours. In fact, the barista tried to assure him, Anna had probably seen one of her friends, gotten carried away and lost track of the time. While Michael doubted this, he nodded in agreement. He politely thanked the barista and pocketed Anna’s cell phone. Putting his hood up over his head, Michael exited the café and stepped into the pounding rain.

  Lingering by the café’s em
pty tables and chairs, he rapidly scanned the street, looking for any clues. The street, however, was deserted with the exception of several passing vehicles; none of which were Volvos. Michael stood on the sidewalk in front of the der Kaffeefreund for a few more minutes before heading back up to Anna’s apartment, hoping that he was overreacting to her disappearance. After all, the Volvo was long gone before she left the apartment to go back to the café for her phone. Maybe the barista was right. Women: can’t live with them, can’t live without them, he thought as he untaped and relocked the apartment’s door. Shedding his soaked jacket in the entryway, he decided to simply stand and observe the neighborhood from the window.

  Meanwhile, inside the Volvo parked several blocks around the corner, Seth had lost almost all hope of ascertaining anything of worth from his victim. He taciturnly informed Anna that the man standing outside the vehicle was a ruthless killer from the Medjay tribe who harbored no pity toward his victims. Having said that, Seth signaled the drenched Medjay to enter the vehicle. Upon his entry, the Medjay and Seth exchanged monosyllabic phrases, none of which Anna could understand, not even what language they were speaking. The Medjay tribesman made certain that Anna saw him stare her down with an evil, predatory look that gave her no doubt that he had anything but the worst animosity for her.

  Anna was feeling physically and emotionally drained. She leaned against the door, folded her arms and closed her eyes. While the raindrops outside were sleep inducing, thoughts of her father dying a terrible death at the hands of the ruthless killer sitting behind her kept her firmly awake.

  “You wouldn’t dare try to run away from us now, would you?” asked Seth as he noticed her moving closer to the door.

  She opened her eyes partway and looked sideways at him. He gave her a false smile.

  “I have nowhere to go,” she gloomily responded, feeling her heart start to tremble. I do not want to die. She watched the raindrops run together on the window she was leaning against. “I did get a package from my father recently. I will give that to you.”

  “OK, now we’re talking,” he sounded genuinely cheerful.

  “The American has the package. If you let me go I will bring it to you. I have no interest in it as it’s completely useless and meaningless to me.”

  Seth leaned forward, locked eyes with her and spoke menacingly, “If I do decide to let you go, don’t even think about calling the police.” He paused for effect, “we will find you. My partner, the Medjay, will kill both of you before you can even squeal.” Seth sat back in his seat, “I hope you understand that this is a one-time deal: you bring the package and you will never see us again. I promise.”

  “Yes, I’ll bring you the package,” she replied meekly. “I have no interest in it.”

  Seth exchanged several foreign phrases with his Medjay counterpart, turned on the engine and drove back to Anna’s apartment. As he parked in front of Anna’s building he turned to her, “We’ll be waiting around the corner,” he warned, flipping the switch to unlock the car doors. “Don’t be stupid.”

  Chapter 23

  57 WolfStraße, Berlin, Germany

  Thursday, September 21

  12:40 p.m.

  The apartment door opened abruptly. “What happened?” Michael exclaimed.

  Anna stood dripping in the tiny entryway, “Get your jacket and make sure you have the papyruses.” She quickly leaned over and grabbed her raincoat from its perch on the bathroom doorknob. “I’ll tell you on the way!” she promised, frantically yanking on her coat while turning back to the stairs.

  Michael snatched his jacket, made sure the bag of papyruses were safely tucked inside and started after her. To Michael’s surprise, Anna was running up the next flight of stairs instead of down. Pulling on his jacket, he shut her door and ran after her, catching up just as she started climbing a ladder to the rooftop. Anna quickly informed him that she had been kidnapped and her captors were close behind.

  She forced open a metal hatch leading to the roof. Rain and wind swirled down on them as Anna climbed the last rungs of the ladder and stepped onto the roof. Hunching over, she ran to the other end of the building as Michael quickly flipped the hatch shut and did the same. She wrested open a similar hatch, jumped inside and started climbing down a ladder situated in the building’s opposite stairwell. Amazed at her ingenuity, Michael climbed down the ladder as well, pulling shut the hatch door behind him and racing down the four flights of stairs after her. They paused as Anna peeked out the lobby window. Just then, a taxi rolled up and dropped off one of her neighbors. Anna pushed open the lobby door, grabbed Michael’s hand and sprinted to the taxi. Shoving Michael inside, she squeezed in next to him, both automatically slouching down.

  As their cab pulled away from the apartment building, Anna directed the cabbie to take them to Berlin’s city center. She nervously looked one way and then another out the windows for Seth’s menacing black Volvo to appear. Keeping an eye on their surroundings, she told Michael a little bit about what had happened.

  As they neared Berlin’s city center, Anna directed the cabbie to take them to the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. She explained to Michael that it was an international scientific research organization founded in 1829 whose employees were responsible for performing excavations and research in the field of archeology.

  The sky was still leaden and dripping rain when the cab dropped them off in front. The old sandstone exterior was welcoming, almost like a mansion, with its wide, creamy shutters and warm red roof. The wide, covered walkway from the street to the building itself was a majestic refuge from the weather, with multiple pillars and ancient potted ferns. Before they reached the front door, Anna turned to Michael, “The man we need to see is David Krüger. Back in 1993, David and my father were part of the exploration of the two shafts leading outside the Queen’s chamber inside the Great Pyramid.”

  Michael’s eyes lit up, “Oh yes, I remember that.”

  The receptionist at the grand wooden reception desk greeted them warmly in German.

  Anna replied in German.

  The receptionist nodded, speaking again.

  “Anna Schulze,” Anna replied.

  The receptionist paused, smiled wider and picked up the phone. As they walked over to one side to wait, Anna turned to Michael, “So, how do you know about my father’s exploration of the Queen’s Chamber?”

  He smiled, “Easy. I’ve been fascinated by the Egyptian pyramids since I was a teenager.”

  She replied thoughtfully, “Fair enough.”

  “They had a robot go inside the Queen’s Chamber, that’s exciting stuff. I remember they discovered a small door set with metal pins, right?”

  “Yes, there’s speculation that those pins were door handles.”

  “Anna!”

  “Guten Tag, David,” Anna greeted a man approaching them. “Wie geht es Dir?”

  “Hallo, Anna,” David gave Anna a big hug. They spoke in German, but then switched to English when Anna introduced Michael.

  David turned to Michael, “So sorry, I didn’t know that you don’t speak German.”

  “Americans, ha,” Anna smirked. “One universal language: English.”

  “That’s all right,” Michael said to David before giving Anna a sideways smile and adding, “Ich bin nicht Giraffe.” They burst into giggles. After the intensity of their morning, the laughter helped to lift their spirits. As Anna hurried to explain the joke to David, Michael glanced over at the receptionist, concerned that their loud chatter was disturbing her work. He was surprised to find her steadfastly observing them. He met her eyes and smiled at her. She graciously smiled back at him and then politely looked down at the papers on her desk.

  “I knew Anna’s father, Günther, well.” David spoke to Michael, pausing somberly. “We worked together preparing a robot to explore the air shafts of the Great Pyramid. And that was at the beginnin
g of… let me see… 1993?”

  “Yes,” Anna replied softly,

  Taking ahold of Anna’s hands for the moment, David said sadly, “Anna, how nice of you to stop by. I was so sorry to hear about your father. It was a real tragedy both personally as a close friend and to the Archaeological Institute as well. He really was a valuable asset to both the fields of archaeology and Egyptology. This is truly a really big, big, loss … to the world,” David concluded, struggling with his tears.

  “Thank you so much, David, I’m truly touched,” Anna replied, a small, sad smile playing across her lips. “Michael is from New York. He tried to save my father’s life inside the Great Pyramid in Egypt.”

  “Yes, I learned basic CPR back in my military days,” interjected Michael, “but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to save him.”

  Anna looked solemnly into his eyes, “You did everything you could. More than most people would.”

  “You did a truly noble thing.” David added. “I heard he had a heart attack inside the pyramid.”

  Michael gave Anna an odd, questioning look before glancing back to David. “Well,” Anna replied cautiously. “That may not be entirely true.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There might be another explanation related to my father’s death, but it is irrelevant right now because we don’t have proof. In fact, we need your expert opinion on some items my father mailed to me from Egypt. I have them here with me. Do you have time to take a look?”

  “Sure, no problem. I have a little bit of time before I have a teleconference, so please, follow me to my office.”

  As they walked up the stairs to David’s office, Anna and David reminisced about Anna’s father. Meanwhile, Michael’s emotions were brimming over. Logically, he should not be in Germany. He should be in Egypt, enjoying the trip of a lifetime; yet, his heart had taken the lead. At present, he could not wrap his mind around his incredible fortune: he was meeting with an archeologist whose explorations and discoveries were well known within the small world of Egyptology.