Shattered Bonds [Book Three]

Chapter 3: Push and Pull

Cairo, Egypt

        The streets of Cairo were busy as ever, with few vehicles passing through the crowds that collected and passed through the dirt streets. Business was presented as usual; markets remained clustered while single sellers manned their own booths. Nearly everything was for trade, which kept the city booming and full of travelers both familiar and foreign.

        Among the people who filled the city was a woman, dressed traditionally to cover her body in long dark robes. None of her skin showed beyond the slit that revealed her eyes; aside from that, she could not be identified in the public. With a look, no one could even tell that she was an outsider, completely foreign to this side of the world.

        Of course, that was her intention.

        She had been wandering through the streets for some hours now, waiting and watching—keeping a lookout for the one symbol that mattered in her research. A symbol that would hopefully lead her to the peak of her career, to a glimpse into where mutantkind started. She knew what some of the modern followers looked like; she had taken pictures, herself. Though she had yet to find the hideout, she knew it had to be hiding in plain sight somewhere towards the heart of the city.

        So she waited. The hours of the morning sun were still upon them, but the heat of the day was already seeping into the dark clothing that hid her identity well. Nevertheless, she kept on the move, browsing from one seller to the other, always aware of those around her. 

        It happened so fast, she almost missed it.

        There was just a glimpse of the symbol marked on the necks of two men exiting a car before crossing to enter a makeshift restaurant. The one leading the two was one she had seen before, so she knew that she found the ones who would lead her to answers. She ducked her head yet kept her eyes up, crossing the road to follow their lead.

        For only a moment, the head server at the restaurant's window had his back turned to pour a customer his drink. She took the opportunity to sneak past the counter and into the kitchen, completely undetected by the two cooks preparing separate dishes. Moving fast and silently behind them, she found the pathway to the very back of the building trying to find what she was looking for.

        When she found herself outside, she was met with the sight of a man laying a large exotic carpet on the dirt ground. It was clear to her by the indention of the fabric that it was hiding a hole in the ground, the entrance to the place she was looking for: their place of worship.

        The man straightened up quickly when he caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. He wore sunglasses and carried a knife and gun on his belt. He held his hand up to her, shooing her away as he approached her.

        He spoke in Arabic, assertive with his tone, "You can't be back here!"

        She stared him down, unmoving. Quickly, she thought of something to buy her some time, answering in his language. "Do you sell rugs?"

        "You're not allowed in this area." He stopped before her, clearly holding his ground. 

        "This rug is for sale?"

        A look of frustration overcame his features, his guard let down. "I said, this—"

        She took his moment of distraction to attack, hitting him hard in the throat with her fist. Immediately, he began coughing, and as he struggled to catch his breath, she reached for the gun on his holster. In one swift movement, she pulled it from its place on his belt and hit him across the temple with the handle.