The Amulet of Power - Mike Resnick [56]
“Probably not,” agreed Lara. “But I hope you’re wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because if it’s part of a building, or beneath a slab foundation, it will never be found, which I gather will please you as much as my finding it.”
“Yes and no,” he answered. “If I knew it was in such a place, inaccessible for all time to come, I think I would be satisfied. . . . But there is always a chance that if you do not find it on your own, it will lead or call or direct you—or someone—to where it lays hidden.”
Suddenly Gaafar nudged him with an elbow. “I see the boat.”
Lara and Omar looked down the river, and sure enough, the rusted, decrepit Amenhotep was finally in sight.
“It will be here in ten minutes,” announced Omar.
His prediction was optimistic. It took the Amenhotep more than half an hour to reach them, and another five to attach the gangplank.
The first one off the ship was the captain himself. He was followed by half a dozen men who looked like they had just escaped from jail or were destined to wind up there before long. Then Mason appeared and walked down the gangplank and onto the shore.
Lara was about to approach him, but Omar grabbed her arm and held her back.
“What’s the matter?” she said.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“I have spotted three Mahdists. Let’s see if they are here for Mason, or if they have some other reason for meeting the boat.”
Lara spent the next couple of minutes scanning the faces in the crowd, trying to pick out the Mahdists. As she did so, Mason walked slowly through the mass of people, obviously looking for her. Finally he gave up and began walking toward the Bortai Hotel, as she’d instructed in the note she’d left him.
“All right, they are not here for him,” said Omar.
Lara walked ahead and caught up with Mason before he had gone another hundred feet. She reached out and touched his shoulder.
He turned and looked at her, eyes widening in surprise and pleasure. “Lara!”
“Did you have a pleasant voyage?” she asked, returning his smile, surprised at how glad she was to see him.
“I searched all over that damned boat for a few hours, looking for you, before I found your note and realized you were all right,” he answered. “The trip was pretty dull. There was nothing to read, so I spent most of my time on deck and got to brush up on a couple of local dialects.” He looked around. “Are you alone?”
“No, I have friends with me. I just thought I’d better speak to you first, so you’ll know you can trust them. They have been with me since I left the boat.” She turned and nodded to Omar and the others, who approached them. “This is Omar, this is Gaafar, and this is Hassam. I don’t know their last names, and frankly, it’s probably safer for all of us if neither you or I ever learn them.”
“I recognize two of you from the boat,” said Mason.
“Only two?” asked Omar with an amused grin.
“Oh, hell!” said Mason after studying his face once again. “You were the waiter!”
Omar bowed. “At your service, Dr. Mason.”
“I’m pleased to meet you all,” said Mason. “And if Lara vouches for you, that’s good enough for me. I hope your trip was as uneventful as mine.”
“We’ve had our share of events,” said Lara. “I’ll tell you about them later.”
“Later?” he repeated. “What are we doing now?”
“Have you eaten breakfast?” she asked.
“Well, I ate something,” replied Mason, making a face. “I’d hesitate to call it breakfast.”
“You don’t have any luggage, right?”
“As you’ll recall, we left Cairo in rather a hurry.”
“Then there’s no need to feed you or to take you to our hotel right now,” said Lara. “So we might as well get to work.”
“An hour from now will be soon enough,” said Omar.
“Oh?” said Lara. “What do you suggest we do first?”
“Lose the men who are following us.”
20
Omar led them on a torturous route as the morning temperature topped the one hundred degree Fahrenheit mark, a sign of worse to come by midday. They circled city blocks, cut through alleyways, walked into the Aeropole Hotel and walked out through a side entrance.