The Seven Seals of Egypt

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Another hour of the day and another safe house — this one in the center of Luxor City, as close as prudence would allow to Hatshepsut’s temple. Once the capital of Ancient Egypt, Luxor, then called Thebes, was situated close to many of the famous sites — Karnak, Hatshepsut’s Temple, and the Valley of the Kings. The main city was modern and shining bright under the midday sun as the team arrived; with wide through-roads lined with rows of trees and a variety of transport. In sharp contrast, within the contemporary environs lay the remains of the old city, the temple ruins of Karnak and Luxor still standing inside the new city. Before they arrived Crouch told them he had visited Luxor many times, likening the city to one large open-air museum, a fantasy theme park for an old archaeologist like him.

The Nile cut through, and across the west bank Necropolis lay the Valley of the Kings, and the Valley of the Queens.

“Feels even hotter down here.” Alicia fanned her face, trying to bask in the air-conditioning.

“It doesn’t get much hotter than this,” Crouch agreed. “Or sunnier. We’ll be at the safe house soon.”

“Please tell me it has air-con,” Smyth pleaded.

“Well, it has decent sized windows.”

“Crap.”

Ten minutes later they were ensconced in their apartment, a modern block this time with three different rooms and a modicum of comfort. Hayden walked over to the TV and switched it on, searching for a news channel.

“I was hoping this would be prime news.” She threw the remote down.

On screen, a reporter spoke live from the streets of Cairo, a government building in the background. It was a BBC broadcast and came across in English.

“With the deadline fast approaching, officials in Egypt, Turkey and Greece remain steadfast but nervous. A terrorist organization that call themselves FrameHub continue to hold these countries hostage, reiterating just an hour ago that the first country to capitulate wins.” The reporter enunciated the last word and the picture cut to an image medley of each country as a robotic, unidentified voice spoke over the top.

“We will send the other two countries back to the dark ages. Your missile sites will be used against you. Network disruption will cripple you; roads, hospitals and all crucial services will be rendered useless. You have two hours to comply or we will be happy to give you a small taste of what we can accomplish.”

Hayden sat down heavily, still watching as the picture cut back to the reporter. Most of the team watched with her as they rechecked weapons and reloaded. Drake changed his stab vest; the team wiping sweat away with towels. Kinimaka found the air-con unit and switched it on; though the feeble machine barely managed to huff out a decent blast of air.

“Awful, brahs,” he complained. “If we got Lancelot Smyth upset we’d get better airflow.”

Smyth was studying his cell and quickly returned it to his pocket. The look on his face told them he hadn’t heard Kinimaka — his mind was in an entirely different place. Dahl shrugged back into his gear, eyeing the covering T-shirt with trepidation.

“Just once,” he said. “I’d like to step out of the door in a hot country in just my T-shirt.”

Alicia raised a brow. “Really? I’d pay to see that.”

Dahl sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“Cool it,” Drake intervened. “That’s my bird you’re stirring up there.”

“She wants to see a real man.” Dahl flexed a few muscles. “Leave the poor girl alone.”

“And they’re mine,” Kenzie said with a salacious smile. “Or soon will be.”

Dahl found a space to sit and watch the TV. “Don’t bet on it, Kenzie.”

Hayden raised a hand to shush them as the reporter wound up.

“So here we are; just a few hours until this unknown group threaten to unleash some kind of warning attack on the countries of Egypt, Turkey and Greece. A source in the Egyptian government tells us that, so far, they have been unable to unearth any information on the so-called FrameHub organization threatening to send at least two countries back to the dark ages.”

Hayden checked her own weapons. “That’s what we’d be involved with if we were still operational.”

“Don’t fret,” Dahl said. “I’m sure they’ll have someone working on it. Another team.”

“That’s what worries me too,” Hayden said. “They shut us down, disavowed us all. How many other teams have they disowned?”

Drake hadn’t thought of that. “You’re think there may be more?”

“Well, we surely can’t think we’re the only ones. That’d be naïve. I’m thinking if we could contact them…” She let the idea hang.

Crouch was listening. “I could help with that,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything that supports such a theory, but I agree it’s unwise to assume you are the only ones. I’ll make some calls.” He slid out his cell and flicked at the screen a few times.

“Well a little more information now. As you know I tasked a couple of contacts with finding out more of this FrameHub. They might be new to the world, but they’re an old unit, together at least two years. Apparently they’re made up of super-geeks and, by turns, considered myths and then supposedly proven bona fide. Nobody has ever proven their existence. Nobody has even met anyone involved—” Crouch paused, looked up with an expression of exasperation on his face. “Nobody has ever met anybody who’s met anybody involved. They’re ghosts, people, just ghosts.”

“Put ’em on a shelf,” Alicia said. “And we’ll exorcize ’em later. Is everyone ready?”

Crouch’s face changed instantly to excitement. “Moving out?”

“Yeah, and let’s make this one quick. The last thing we want is those mercs turning up in such a busy place. And the same goes for Luther.”

The team grabbed water and snacks and headed straight for the door.