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Outside the Black Pyramid, Dahshur, Egypt
LEONARD HURRIED OUT of the underground chamber, through the dim passage and up the steep incline into the sun. Panic made his heart beat faster along with the physical exercise as he ran for his car, trying not to look suspicious. He kept glancing over his shoulder, fearing the two intruders would escape and come after him. He was no fighter, as their easy humiliation of him had already proven. But he was no fool, and no pushover. They had paid dearly for underestimating him. But it wasn’t over yet.
He glanced back again, certain he’d see that angry face bearing down on him. That woman alongside, beautiful but fearsome, determined to make him suffer for striking her. He didn’t even know their names. She claimed to be the sister of that Iris Brown woman, and certainly looked so alike she couldn’t be lying, but he knew no more than that. And he got the impression that Iris Brown was a fake name. Hadn’t that rough fellow said another name before correcting himself? Lily! That was it. Ah, nothing made any sense, and none of it mattered. He had trapped them in the bone room and there was no way out of there, he knew that for a fact. Enough paranoia, just make the call.
He reached his jeep parked on the far side of the lot and unlocked it, took his phone from the glove box. He hit the quick dial and waited, chewing his lip as it rang, then a gruff voice answered.
“Yes?”
“There’s a problem,” Leonard said.
“What kind of problem?”
“The girl who came last week? Remember her? She has a sister. She just showed up asking questions.”
“She came alone?”
Leonard sighed, remembering his impotence to stand against her friend. “No. She came with a big guy. Bigger than me anyway, six foot tall probably, muscular. He had the bearing of a military guy, you know?”
“Military? You know that for sure?”
“No, just the impression I got. He incapacitated me easily, had all the hallmarks of some special forces type.”
A soft chuckle on the other end made Leonard wince. “Okay, if you say so. How much do they know?”
“I can’t say for certain,” Leonard admitted. “They claimed they were looking for the sister, said she was missing, but...” He hesitated, scared. Then he said, “They did ask about the Anubis Cult.”
The person on the other end let out a slow exhale.
“They didn’t seem to know anything about it,” Leonard added quickly. “I had the impression it was just something they’d heard about while searching for the sister. But they’re the kind to cause trouble, I’m sure of that.”
“Anything else?”
Leonard hesitated again, cold sweat prickling his brow, his heart racing. “They asked...” His throat was suddenly dry and he swallowed hard. “They asked about the Anubis Key.”
Silence from the other end of the line. Leonard kept his own peace for several seconds until he began to fear that he’d been cut off. He took the phone away from his ear, glanced at the screen, but the signal was strong, the call connected. “Hello?”
There was a slow sigh from the other end. “Do you know where they went?”
Leonard brightened, finally having something positive to report. “I shut them up in the bone room.”
“Really? I thought you said he incapacitated you.”
Leonard rolled his eyes. “He did, but I turned things around.”
“I’m not sure you know what ‘incapacitate’ means, but all right. Where are you now?”
“In my car,” Leonard said, ignoring the jibe. “I needed a signal.”
“Have you left yet?”
“Not yet.”
The voice on the other end sounded calm now. “Good. Hold tight and keep an eye on the pyramid in case they get out. If they reappear, do not let them out of your sight, understand?”
“They can’t get out, I’m sure of it. You know how that mechanism works.”
“Just in case.”
Leonard’s shoulders sagged. “Okay.”
“And keep me posted on where they are. I’m sending someone right away.”
Leonard began to nod, then thought about the man he had locked in that room. “If you really think there’s a chance they might get out, you might want to send several someones.”