Curse of the Pharaoh: A Brock Stone Adventure

“We tried that in High School when we pulled that prank on Mr. Green. Remember what happened?”

“It’s not my fault you ducked into the ladies’ room by mistake.”

“That was a good day.” Alex smiled dreamily. Stone lightly smacked him on the side of the head. “Ouch!”

“Focus,” Stone said. “Are you ready?”

“I suppose.” Alex looked like he was going to be sick.” He took a deep breath, gave a firm nod. “Get on with it.”

Stone stepped out into the hallway. Kane and his thick-necked lackeys froze.

“Who are you?” Kane asked.

“Cleaning crew,” Stone said. “Just finished up.”

Kane wasn’t buying it. The brunos looked at him, questioning. “Bring him here,” Kane snapped. The big men made a dash for Stone.

Stone had played running back at Virginia Military Academy and hadn’t lost a step over the years. He took off at a slow run, letting his pursuers close the gap between them just enough to give them hope of catching him. He led them on a merry chase through the slippery marble-lined hallways. It wasn’t long before the men were gasping for breath. Stone picked up his pace and left them behind.

He emerged into a broad, marble-lined hallway

Someone stepped out of the shadows up ahead. From the size of him, he presumed it was another of Kane’s goons.

The man aimed a pistol at Stone.

* * *

Alex waited for the sound of running feet to subside before he left his hiding place. He turned and found himself face-to-face with John Kane. There was no time to react. Kane punched him square in the jaw.

Alex’s knees wobbled and he staggered back a few steps. Kane was on him in an instant. Alex tried to fight him, but he was a boxer, not a brawler. He quickly found himself caught in a chokehold.

“Where is it?” Kane’s breath smelled of cloves and black coffee.

“What?” Alex rasped.

“The map you stole from the museum, for starters. And whatever you took from here.”

“Don’t… know… what… you’re…” His sentence squelched to a premature end as Kane tightened his hold.

“Tell it to Sweeney,” Kane said. It was a common saying that meant, ‘tell your tale to someone dumb enough to believe you.’ “My patience is wearing thin.”

“Gave… map to… the Bureau.”

“The blonde girl who was at the museum?” Kane caught on fast. “Are you in on it together?”

“She got… caught up… in my scheme,” Alex said.

“If the Bureau has the map, I’ll know soon enough.” What did he mean by that? Bribes? Or did Kane have spies planted within the Bureau’s ranks? “Tell me what you expected to find here tonight?”

Alex tried to reply but he could not form the words. The supply of blood to his brain had been severely restricted. He would lose consciousness soon. Kane let off the pressure a little bit.

“I heard a rumor that the Illuminati have maps of Egypt in their secret library.” His voice sounded like wet sandpaper. “I hoped to match it up with the map from the museum.”

“So it is a map of Egypt!” There was a note of triumph in Kane’s voice that made Alex want to smile. Alex was getting good at inventing stories on the fly. “But you said you gave it to the Bureau.”

Alex wasn’t sure what to say. He faked a cough and grabbed his throat to buy himself time. A moment later, Kane hauled him to his feet and began patting him down like a copper making an arrest. As he searched Alex’s pockets, he continued to speak.

“You’re a fool, you know that? I happen to know for certain the Illuminati has no secret library here.” He paused when his hand found the hard lump that was the book Alex had taken from the library. “What’s this.”

“A book. It was the only thing I found that had a map of Egypt in it.” It was true. There was a rough map of Egypt at the front of the book, but it lacked detail.

Kane turned to the map and barked a scornful laugh. “This is useless.”

Alex shrugged. “I didn’t have time to really look at it.”

Kane flipped through the book, turned it over and shook it. Nothing fell out. Shaking his head, he thrust the book back into Alex’s hands and continued his search. He started out at Alex’s ankle and patted his way up his trousers.

“Buy a man a drink first, sailor,” Alex said.

“You don’t appear to be carrying anything.” Kane narrowed his eyes as if taking Alex’s measure. “But I still don’t believe you. I think I’ll have my boys rough you up a little in case there’s something you forgot to tell me. If that doesn’t work, we’ll cut off your eyelids.” It was easy to tell he wasn’t lying. The indifference to the suffering of others was apparent.

Alex was running out of time. He had swapped out his grappling hook hand for a plain one, so firing the hook at Kane was not an option. He had one play left.

“I did find a map. It’s in my shoe.”

“Take it out. Don’t make any sudden moves and I might not kill you.”

Alex knelt and started to unlace his shoe. He wore a pair of black leather Skips — hi-top sneakers with rubber soles. But there was something special hidden inside.