The Book of Thoth

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samanthinator

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Honestly, why the hell was he here?
Daniel couldn't help but ask himself that question as he stood in the elevator. The damn thing was taking its sweet time getting to the specified floor, so he had plenty of time to analyze the specific aspects of this "wondrous" plan.
He was not only visiting the apartment of a known rival. No, that would be far too simple. This particular rival possessed a map that would lead to the fabled hiding place of the Book of Thoth. The map technically belonged to a group of very angry Somali pirates, headed by a ruthless killer. And Daniel was proposing to join forces with her? He was an idiot.
A reckless idiot.
Daniel himself was an interesting looking man for one of his profession, if only because he looked like a boxer. He was tall, just over six foot four, with broad shoulders and a medium build. His physique was lean and muscled, shaped by years of traveling the world, hiking through wilderness, and occasional combat. Black hair, usually carefully styled was shoved under a blue and white baseball cap. His dark brown eyes peered out from under heavy brows and a tanned face. Overall, he was a fairly decent looking man.
He was dressed in casual clothing: a gray tee, cargo pants, well-worn work boots. A black leather jacket covered the tattoos on his arm; he had a full sleeve on the left and a half sleeve on the right. A customary belt wrapped around his waist, a gun holster and a knife sheath clipped to it. The gun was a revolver, specifically a Colt, his trademark weapon. The knife was more for chopping branches than self defense.
The elevator door dinged open. "Finally," he mumbled, stepping out. Quelling the nervousness and praying that she'd at least take him to the hospital after she shot him, he walked to her hotel room door and knocked.
 
Amelia Owen was currently sitting over the hotel desk in her room with her reading glasses on as she examined the map. Her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth and her bangs were currently bobby pinned to the side of her face so they wouldn't get in the way. She sighed as she moved the magnifier glass she added onto the desk lamp to look at the map more closely. It was difficult to do considering the map was currently submerged in a pale of salt water and the water was obscuring the view of it.

Grumbling angrily she adjusted the light so that it would hit the water at the right angle so that the room wasn't reflected off of the surface. The map was already hard enough to read due to its age, but the idiot she had stolen this from had pulled it straight out of the water and the warm and humid air had already begun to cause the water to evaporate, messing with the ink on the papyrus paper. They have no idea how to treat artifacts and the only lead that likely existed was almost lost due to Murad's stupidity! Murad Tamir. Oh, how Amelia hated that name. The evil warlord who definitely knew by now that she had stolen his precious treasure. She grinned to herself at her success. The man had sent an underwater expedition to retrieve this map and many more, and Amelia, who had intercepted their radio transmission, stowed away on one of his larger, carrier ships. Getting the artifact was no problem. It was getting off of the ship that proved to be more difficult. Luckily, she had been able to get a hold of a contact that was willing to go onto the Persian Gulf at night and help her reach the shore without Murad knowing any better.

At the knock from her door, Amelia was startled out of her reverie and bumped the desk. "Shit," she muttered. Instantly, she reached for her pistol and took the safety off. There's no way Murad figured out where I was that quickly, right? she thought to herself. But her heart pounded in her chest uneasily nonetheless. Luckily, she was still dressed in her cargo pants and sneakers, with a simple white (or at least it used to be) V-neck t-shirt. The V-neck showed freckles that were along her shoulders and arms that matched the ones on her nose from years of being out in the desert sun. Her skin was olive-colored and tanned and her brown hair was kept no longer than her neck due to the heat of this part of Earth. Cautiously, Amelia made her way to the door. She had already ruled out the possibility of it being Murad since he would have forced his way into her room by now, but she was still on edge, nonetheless.

Her eyes widened as she took a look through the peephole and she quickly opened the door and with a force that was surprising for her 5'6" frame, dragged the man in. "What the fuck are you doing here, Daniel?" she practically yelled once her door was closed.
 
"Holy shit! Calm down, woman!" His words were said with intensity, but at barely more than a whisper. "You just announced my arrival to the whole goddamn building!"
Daniel had expected anger, but the yelling...he wasn't prepared for yelling, especially considering the fact that one of the most infamous pirates in the world was after her. Swallowing, he pulled out both his knife and his revolver, then dropped them on the floor.
"I come in peace, alright?" he began, once again barely more than a whisper. He was struggling to clear his mind, honestly. He'd noted that the pistol in her hand was loaded and the safety was definitely off. "Just," he paused looking back up at her. "Just put the damn gun down so I can make my offer without fear of getting my head blown off."
He had no doubt that she'd do it, either. They'd run into each other in the past, and he had to admit...he respected the woman. She was tough, smart, and she usually ended up getting away with the treasure. A powerful ally...if she didn't stab him in the back.
Damn, this was a stupid idea.
 
Amelia glared at Daniel, not lowering the gun in her hand. "You should be afraid of getting you head blown off," she hissed. "This isn't peace time, I know exactly what you're here for." Her eyes involuntarily slid over to the map by the desk, laying there in its dish of water harmlessly. Her grip tightened on the gun, but Daniel should be glad she currently wasn't pointing it at him.
"But I know you, if you came for the map then you wouldn't have simply knocked on my door," she finally relented with a sigh, letting her grip loosen on the gun and bringing it to rest at her side. The safety was still off though. Just in case. "So I ask again, what the fuck are you doing here? And you have about a minute to explain yourself before I shoot you and leave you for Murad to find, got it?" She may be giving him a chance to explain himself, but one funny move and he was out of here. Amelia wasn't fooled for a second to think that just because Daniel put his weapons on the ground, that the man still wasn't dangerous. She'd seen him in action in the past to know better than that. For that, he had her grudging respect, but it also meant that she couldn't let her guard down.
 
"An alliance," he said quickly, again cursing himself for this idea. If she agreed, though, the payoff would be more than worth the risk.
Daniel figured that she'd need reasoning; few treasure hunters formed alliances, and the only ones that did were traitors and the poor, gullible motherfuckers that believed them. Murad was one tenacious bastard with a lot of men and a lot of power. Neither could take the man on alone, so he decided to approach with that argument.
"You're good, Owen, but there's no way in hell you'll be able to dodge Murad's lackeys for long." Crossing his arms, he looked down at her. "You need help, and I've got the skills you need. We split the payoff. Fifty-fifty."
 
Amelia wanted to laugh at the sheer craziness of his suggestion. "You expect me to believe that you would be alright with just fifty percent. Do you take me for an idiot?" she sneered. Still, she could tell this was the real reason he was here and trusted enough that he wouldn't shoot at her, so she flicked the safety back on her gun. She still didn't release it though. She didn't trust him that much.

Amelia was silent for a moment, in thought. Murad would be on her tail from now until he had that treasure in his hands, she knew that much. And she wasn't stupid enough to believe that a power-hungry man like Murad Tamir would give up the chase that easily. Speaking of, Amelia took a glance out the window, but things were still quiet. She would guess that she had about two hours before Tamir's men stormed the place, so she had to be far away from here by then. Her brow furrowed and her freckled nose scrunched up as she took her glasses off to look at Daniel. She hated to admit it, but he was right. She needed help to stay out of Tamir's grasp and still find the Book of Thoth and the temple it was likely hidden in. And, her mind added, Daniel is not the worst treasure hunter out there to make an alliance with.

Amelia let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine," she finally conceded, "an alliance. A temporary alliance." She emphasized the word 'temporary' to remind him that this was no an act of trust, but one of necessity. "But if you stab me in the back, I swear to God, you won't even be alive to collect your fifty percent, we clear?" She threatened as she finally put the gun back in its holster on her hip.
 
It was tempting to point out that he'd get one hundred percent if he crossed her, but Daniel quickly suppressed that desire. Their alliance was literally just a few seconds old; he could wait a few minutes before turning into his usual smartass self. He wouldn't dare betray her, anyway. His body parts were perfectly fine right where they were, and he wished to keep them that way.
"Yeah, yeah, temporary, got it," he replied, nodding. Daniel leaned down, retrieving his knife and gun, then returning them to his belt. "We need to get the hell out of here. Murad knows who you are by now, and this room isn't safe anymore."
He took a deep breath, rubbing his chin. "My Jeep's downstairs. Got any idea as to where we need to go?" The Jeep wasn't his, just a rental, but it was filed under an alias and it'd take Murad's lackeys a while to figure it out...Hopefully.
 
Amelia sighed in relief that the awkwardness of the new alliance was quickly replaced by Daniel getting straight to the point. She didn't say so out loud, but she was grateful he already had a jeep waiting outside. Putting her reading glasses back on, Amelia quickly made her way to the desk where the light was still on. "I think I have it figured out. There was once a legend called the 'The Book of Thoth' about a prince named Neferkaptah who stole the book and committed suicide after the gods cursed him and killed his family for stealing from Thoth. He was buried with the book, supposedly. And, if my guess is correct, this map is a map of the Valley of the Kings on the Western side of the Nile. However," and here she paused to take a deep breath. "I think this map was made by one of the workers who constructed the tombs. For all we know, the tomb could have been robbed." As she said this, however, Amelia quickly put a lid to on top of the dish containing the map to seal it in. With that on, none of the water should spill out. At least, she hoped not. Africa didn't exactly have the smoothest roads. Just in case, though, she seal the lid on with tape. A lot of tape. Perhaps much more than necessary. But she wasn't going to take any chances. "That's all I could gather so far in the time I had, but I will say that I don't think think the book is truly there. The gods of legends were too, ah, almighty to let their worldly possessions be buried with a human. However, I do think there is a clue somewhere. And it's better than nothing."
 
"So, we'll spend hours in the desert? Lovely," he commented, a note of sarcasm in his voice. Daniel preferred the jungle's humid heat to the desert's roasting dryness. And the sand...God, the sand. He sighed inwardly, reminding himself once again of the payoff. A spell book was valuable, no matter if the spells worked or not. "Yeah, I remember a bit of the legend." He did actually do his research. Sometimes. "The thing's supposed to be guarded by servants of Anubis or something, if I remember right." That was bullshit; there were probably just traps. Saying it was some 'supernatural entity' was more exciting than 'Paul worked for many years to perfect the strange mechanism that sends a sharpened spike up the arse of unwary intruders.'
"What are the coordinates?" Daniel asked after a moment, hoping it wasn't too far. Sitting in a car with someone he'd had...altercations with in the past for hours sounded about as appealing as the heat.
 
Amelia was about to make a comment about how he should have expected as much being in Africa of all places, but bit her tongue and just shook her head ruefully and sighed. She was almost positive that she would have to shoot him at some point through this alliance to get him to shut up. "Yeah, only that's a myth and we might not run into any booby traps either if the place has been already ransacked," Amelia said. Though, if she were honest, she would much rather run into a booby-trapped filled tomb that hasn't been touched in thousands of years than an empty tomb that was emptied by grave robbers and bandits.

"If you can take us to Thebes, that'd be great. The Valley of the Kings is right across the Nile from there and is forbidden to tourism so we're going to have to be discrete," Amelia explained as she grabbed her duffelbag of meager belongings and stole the hotel blanket. The dessert got incredibly cold at night and Amelia didn't want either of them to be caught in there without at least something to keep them warm. "Now let's high-tail it out of here," she said.
 
(( I've kinda got this idea that they get attacked leaving the hotel. Gunfight, explosions, maybe a car chase? ))
 
((Sounds good to me! It can be a 'barely made it out of this alive' moment))
 
(( Throwing in a side character because I just checked and the drive from Dubai to Luxor (modern day Thebes) would take about forty four hours... ))
"If we're going to Thebes, we'll need to fly. Driving for," his voice trailed off as he calculated the time. "a couple of days wouldn't be smart. We have the map, but they'd have all the time in the world to ambush us." Flying public airlines was impossible, due to the weaponry that they both carried. "I've got a friend with a plane. Lives a couple hours outside the city." Daniel hoped Asad was home, otherwise they were probably screwed.
He opened the door, grinning as he held it for her. Even if nothing else came from this, he'd at least enjoy annoying the crap out of Amelia.
 
(( Alright, I'm going to poof for about two hours. Watching a movie. ))
 
((Okay! Sorry, I'm going to have to do more research on Egypt hahaha my knowledge of it is very limited, but I tell you, by this time tomorrow, I will be an expert!))

Amelia's nose scrunched up as she realized that Daniel had a point. Although she doubted the legality of flying a plane of what was considered a Middle Eastern country, she also doubted that it was any less legal than half of the things this expedition would require of her. "Alright, then," she said simply, giving him a shove that she hoped would wash off that stupid grin on his as she moved past him and into the hall.

Amelia froze at the sound of voices making their way around the lower floors of the hotel she was staying in. "Fuck, Daniel, get back in the room!" she hissed at him as she shoved him back in an closed the door. She quickly closed the door and moved the desk so that it was in front of it. No doubt, they would be searching all of the rooms which would buy them a few minutes. "It looks like Tamir found me faster than either of us thought," she mumbled as she began to pace. This is what she did when she was planning something, she would circle around and speak faster than her mind could process the thoughts. "We have to get out of here right now. Obviously. No doubt they have the front and back entrances surrounded by now," she said as she went to the window of the hotel and glanced down. Luckily, they were several stories up, too far for anyone on the ground to notice a figure moving in a room whose only source of light was a desk lamp on the other side of the room. "We're going to have to do some climbing," she mumbled, as she crossed one arm over her chest and nibbled at her thumbnail on the other. "Daniel, reach into my bag and get out the M4 Carbine in there, you're going to need it and there's no way I can carry the map and my bag with that weighing me down." As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad Daniel was here, and the extra strength he brought ensured that she wouldn't have to leave much behind as they made their escape. "We're going to climb up a few stories and onto the roof and we're going to have to do some rooftop hopping until we can get down the street and make it to your Jeep, got it?" She said finally. "If we're lucky, Tamir won't even notice us leave." Though, she highly doubted the universe would make things that easy for her.
 
((No problem! I'm probably going to go to sleep honestly))
 
(( Yeah, I need to do some research too. c: I'll meet you on this board tomorrow, loaded with random crap about Egypt. ))
"Alright, I know that was important, but you have an M4?" he asked, more amazed that she had gotten it into the country than that she had one. Daniel leaned down, pulling the rifle from her bag and grinning. This one was not the grin he had used just a moment before, no, this was closer to 'bat-shit crazy'. He was familiar with the weapon; their occupation usually involved guns and familiarizing yourself with them was wise. Without waiting for her to respond, since they had no time for the delay, Daniel forced the window open as wide as it would go and looked around outside. Urban gymnastics wasn't his specialty. He was a climber, but he was more suited to trees and the odd rock. This...This was going to be crazy. "Doubt it's going to be as simple as that." Sneaking around to the hotel's parking lot would be an interesting feat.
 
((Hahaha yeah! We're going to be pros on the subject!))
Amelia rolled her eyes as his attention was completely thrown off by the rifle he pulled out of her duffelbag, but let out a small smirk. "If you think that's impressive, wait until you see the RPG I have stowed away in a safehouse in Cairo," she commented lightly as she pushed past Daniel to the window. Climbing was one of her specialties, due to the fact that she was light and agile, Amelia's climbing skills rivaled that of a monkey, and she was quite proud of it too.

With one foot on the windowsill, Amelia silently hoisted herself outside as swiftly and silently as possible. "See you up top," she said to Daniel before making her way up the two stories that were left to reach the flat roof of the hotel.
 
Daniel let her climb up, then stuck his head out the window and looked down. Vertigo set in almost immediately. He pulled his head back in, judging that looking down wasn't wise.
Footsteps approached the door...a whole lot of them. The knob rattled, but wouldn't open. The men trying to open it began shouting in Somali, probably announcing that this was the room.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, climbing out the window. He paid no attention to the view, moving swiftly out of view for anyone who looked through the window. He could move surprisingly quickly for his size, although that was likely powered by adrenaline and his survival instinct, not any innate athletic ability.
 
Amelia heard Nate's swear from the window she was currently scaling and knew that was in no way a good sign. "Fuck," she muttered as she picked up the pace. In less than minute, she was vaulting herself up and over onto the roof and could hear the shouts of men. They were definitely in her room now. Amelia leaned over the ledge to see Daniel's progress and hissed at him. "You might want to hurry it up there, and get that gun ready!" Luckily the men haven't realized they were on the roof yet, but it wouldn't be long now and they had to at least make it to the parking lot before shots were fired.
 
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