Excavations and Enlightenment (A sequel to "Caveats and Cliches")

Chapter 4: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

Sarah and Toby follow my stunned gaze. Sarah looks back at me, incredulous.

"Where is he??" She hisses.

As of in response, we hear a dull thud. Heedless now of the possible danger, we all scurry up to look through the window. The scene before us is movie-like. A table stands near the middle of the nearly empty room, bearing a case of unknown contents. Pema sits in a single chair to the side of the table with her hands tied. Standing behind her are two large, tough looking men. I recognize one of them as her abductor, the other is likely the driver. Another, more formal man kneels in front of the chair, paused in the act of questioning her.

Sarah turns to Toby. "Is it just me, or does that guy look a lot like Sting?"

"I was just thinking the same thing!" He whispers back.

At the moment, everyone's attention is on a door that leads back into the building, no doubt unsettled by the sudden sound in an otherwise abandoned structure. Faint footsteps grow louder until even the humans sense them, and the still scene breaks into a flurry of activity. The kneeling man stands and faces the interior door commanding the other two,

"Get her out of here!"

The two men grab Pema, one on each arm and begin to yank her toward a side door. I tense, readying to move in their direction, already trying formulate a strategy to free her. Then my brother bursts through the inside door, and shouts:

"Release her at once!"

I groan aloud and drag a hand down my face, resting it on my chin in exasperation.

"Did he really just charge into a hostage situation armed with nothing more than a politician's commanding voice?" Sarah asks, wide eyed.

The men hauling Pema barely hesitate at the intrusion, striding quickly out the back door. And I forget all thought of attempting a rescue as the other levels a gun at my brother's chest. Without discussion we race around the corner to the door just vacated by Pema and her jailers. They are already driving off, but I barely glance at the direction they are going as I burst just as impetuously as Easton onto the tense scene. The reaction is not what I hoped. Rather than turning his weapon on me, the man keeps his focus on Easton and cocks the gun. The three of us freeze just inside the door.

"And who might you be?" The man asks with steely calm.

"We are friends of Pema!" Toby answers.

"Friends of Pema." The man slowly repeats.

Still trained on Easton, he gives us an appraising glance.

"Racing to her aid even while unarmed. How noble."

With that he charges forward and snatches Easton by the collar, positioning my brother as a shield between us and himself. Now he has the gun to Easton's head.

I put a hand out and shout "Stop!" In my most imposing voice. I guess it runs in the family. Sarah puts a hand on my arm, taking over.

"Just tell us what you want, maybe we can help you."

His only response is a cold laugh, but Sarah persists.

"My husband and I are private investigators, if you are seeking a ransom we can help you get it. Better to have us working for you than against you."

The man's eyes linger on Sarah for a moment, calculating. Without giving an answer, he slams the butt of his gun into the side of my brother's neck. Easton crumples to the ground coughing and gasping as the man flees through the interior door. We all race to Easton's side. A moment later the sound of a car racing off echoes in my ears. Converging on my brother, we all begin to talk at once

"Are you ok?"

"Can you breathe?"

"What in all the Spheres were you thinking??"

Instead of answering, Easton slaps his hand against the floor.

"They took her AGAIN!" He rasps. "Did anyone see which way they went?"

Toby helps him rise and while I check his throat. The wound is entirely superficial and won't amount to much more than a bruise. I consider hitting him myself for being so rash, but settle for some lecturing, with the older-brother-air-of- superiority laid on thickly.

"What is this?" Sarah asks.

We all turn to see what she is looking at. She's standing next to the table with the case on it. I leave off my speech and we all crowd around. The case contains some ugly looking instruments, presumably designed to torture.
Easton is horrified.

"They...they were going to use these on her?"

Again I see the trace of tears in his eyes and my stomach clenches at this assault on his innocence. I can only hope this miserable experience will shape him into a wiser ruler, rather than putting him off his duties. Mother would kill me.

Sarah looks confused. "Were they?" She picks up a device that extends from a handle to a short pronged fork. "I'm pretty sure this is a..."

Before she can finish a phone rings. Easton reaches behind the case and produce a cell that doesn't belong to any of us. On the third ring he answers and turns the speaker on. The cold voice of the man who hit Easton extends from the device.

"I assume this is the Super Friends? I've reconsidered your offer. Pema is being quite difficult, so I'm going to give you the opportunity to get me what I need."

"What do you want?" Easton says without hesitation.

"Your friend made quite an intriguing discovery during her latest dig. The staff she unearthed houses a diamond the size of an orange, and it's worth quite a bit of money. An entrepreneur like me can't allow it to simply crumble in a museum when it could turn an incredible profit on the black market. So, you bring me that staff and I will release Pema to you."

Easton glances at us, but doesn't give us a chance to discuss.

"We'll do it."

"Excellent. Keep this phone with you and call me on this number when it's done." The call is immediately disconnected.

Sarah rubs her temples and grumbles, "Seriously?? How do you expect us to do this Easton?"

"I'm sorry, Sarah, I had to try. Toby and I, we've known Pema for a long time, she's..."

Sarah throws her hands up. "Like family. Obviously. Because who in our family hasn't been abducted?"

I slowly raise a hand, but Sarah knocks it down and shoots me a sharp look. I suppose she's right, it's not exactly the best time for dark humor.

Toby is pacing, rubbing at his chin. "She wouldn't keep it at her house, it wouldn't be safe there..."

Easton pockets the phone, then looks up suddenly, meeting Toby's eye.

"The Dojo." They say in unison.

"Really? She keeps ancient artifacts in her gym bag?" Sarah quips.

Toby turns to us. "She doesn't just train there, the owner is a family friend. If she were to trust anyone to keep a valuable secret, it would be him."

Easton nods. "Let's go!"