Elizabeth here: I apologize to the field of archaeology and to the state of Texas for writing this story. For everyone who isn't a Texan or an archaeologist, enjoy!
~~~~~ ~~~~~
Jay was happy to be in Cairo. After the brutal shootout with the Texan treasure-hunting mercenaries on the plane there, the solitude and gentle sounds of the nighttime city felt like cotton candy to him. It was just him, his local driver, and the stolen map in his suitcase. He was looking forward to a night of drinking. Surely those Texans wouldn't follow him here. Surely they had learned their lesson, and had seen enough Indiana Jones movies to know not to mess with a buff archaeologist.
But when he paid the driver, thanked him in fluent Egyptian Arabic, and walked to the bar just in front of the taxi, he saw someone sitting in the window. A blonde someone, with familiar smooth skin, a tight black dress that pressed against her curvy body, and huge wavy hair that went all the way down to her seductive hips.
It was his stalker, Louise. How did she get here? How did she know he was going to come here?
He ducked below the window before she turned her head, thankfully avoiding her gaze. Even here, there was no escape. He thought he was rid of her when the Chicago incident was over, but no. She found him yet again.
Jay ducked and darted down the street, keeping his head down. Passersby looked at him, but nobody said anything. When he was three buildings down, he held his head upright again and began running to the end of the block, where he turned a corner and hailed another cab. He needed to get drunk, and he needed to do it far away from here.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
At 3 A.M., he stumbled into the hotel lobby. It was a top of the line hotel, with a massive, deep pool that hugged against the side of the rectangular building. The front of the hotel was decorated with blinking lights and a neon sign that read "THE PYRAMID DELUXE". It was a hotel meant for English-speaking tourists.
There was a marble fountain in the lobby, which bubbled and splashed as soft music played from speakers in the ceiling. Jay walked to the front desk.
"I have a... reservation for... Jay McArthur," he said to the receptionist at the front desk. They gave him a keycard and a free raisin cookie; he crammed the cookie in his mouth as he wobbled to the elevator, then rode to the third floor.
His hotel suite had a warm theme to it, with red carpet and orange walls. There was a big brass ankh hanging on the wall above the TV. Jay tossed his suitcase by the bathroom door and plopped down in the orange bed, still wearing his clothes. All he could think of was sleep. He finished chewing the cookie and passed out with his right hand hanging off the side of the bed.
That night, he dreamed of the treasure he wanted. The crown and staff of Anubis, said to control the living dead. But, that last part was a myth. The crown and staff were said to be made entirely from solid gold, and were worth a fortune. He dreamed of living in a white mansion, artifacts in hand, ordering around a pack of school bullies from years ago who were now working as his servants. That was his dream life.
~~~~~ ~~~~~
Jay woke up with a minor hangover at ten in the morning to someone stroking his back.
"My love, did you sleep well?" Louise asked. Jay rolled over in a panic. Louise was standing by the bed, peering over him with a lustful smile. She was clad only in black underwear, and her wavy hair formed a blonde cape behind her. He froze for a moment in surprise as she jumped onto the bed and sat on his legs. Her smooth, supple thighs pressed against his jeans, and her breasts jiggled in their loose bra.
For a moment, Jay thought about surrendering. But instead, he pulled his legs out from under her, leapt out of the bed, and grabbed Louise.
"Hold me tighter, my love," she said, staring into his eyes. But, Jay wasn't embracing her in that way. He peeked out the glass door leading to the balcony. As he suspected, his room was in the rear of the hotel, and his balcony was right above the pool.
"You, me, right now, on the balcony," Jay said sternly.
"I knew you'd come around," the gullible Louise said with a playful giggle.
Jay picked her up in his arms and carried her to the glass door. He unlocked it and slid it open. The rising sun and cool morning air of downtown Cairo welcomed him.
Instead of pinning her to the floor and giving her the good dicking down she wanted, Jay had other plans. Louise's eyes perked up when Jay started to swing her in his arms. Jay built up momentum and pitched her over the side of the third floor balcony. Louise fumbled for the ledge, but Jay had thrown her too far. She let out a scream and flailed her arms as she fell.
"Aaa!" she shouted as she splashed into the pool. The gargantuan splash rained down on a handful of early morning sunbathers by the pool's ledge.
Her head popped back up above the water as Jay congratulated himself on a job well done. "I love you!" she shouted as the sunbathers stood up and angrily peered down at her. Jay knew Louise would try to take the blame for it if anyone asked, and tell the staff that she jumped off herself. Her willingness to take the fall for him was the one upside of having her as a stalker. So, the hotel staff probably wouldn't be angry at him.
Still, it was morning, and time for him to leave to hunt down the treasure. And, he would have to leave before Louise could get back up to him. He closed the balcony door, opened his suitcase, and looked at the map. From Cairo, he was supposed to travel far away from the banks of the Nile to a tiny oasis a few hundred miles West, and the tomb would be underneath a solitary hill in the middle of a flat patch of desert.
Then he heard the unmistakable sound of Texan speech outside his door.
"What room do ya reckon she went off into?"
"Shhh! Keep yer voice down! We don't want her to hear us, or she'll run away! Think about it. She's hopelessly in love with him, and won't lead us to him willingly."
"Got it. But how in God's name is she able to find him?"
"Must be one crazy gal."
Jay quietly crept to his suitcase and took out the concealed handgun in the false bottom. It had six bullets. He put his ear to the wood door, careful not to make a sound.
But, he was in a hotel. He realized the gun wouldn't do. Maybe he could get away with pitching a girl into the pool outside, but if there were gunshots, the police would come. If only there were a club he could use... something made of heavy metal...
He walked to the TV and grabbed the giant ankh that hung above it. The tacky decoration was hefty and easy to hold. This could kill someone. He held it like a maul and leaned against the door, waiting for the two men to move on.
When their quiet footsteps passed his room, he creaked open his quiet door. The two burly Texan men outside had small revolvers on their hips and the faint odor of maple syrup and bacon. Was there a Waffle House in Cairo? Jay, strong in his own right, crept up behind the two men. Nobody else was in the hallway.
